The Nation August 16, 2012

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

PDP members urge court to sack Oyinlola

Oyo uncovers 7000 ghost workers

NEWS

NEWS Page 10

Page 6

•‘He is occupying office illegally’

•Govt beams searchlight on councils

www.thenationonlineng.net

VOL. 7, NO. 2219 THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

N150.00

Indicted marketers behind fuel scarcity, says govt

F

UEL queues are back, with the government blaming it all on indicted oil marketers.

Minister of State for Finance Dr. Yerima Lawan Ngama insisted that the government has been paying fuel subsidy claims to genuine market-

From Nduka Chiejina, Abuja

ers as at when due.

Ngama said despite the threats by the indicted marketers, the government will not succumb to their manoeuvres to blackmail it but will remain focused on its efforts to eliminate all forms of fraudulent practices in the

fuel subsidy regime.

He denied claims by the marketers that they embarked on the strike because the Federal Government failed to pay them for fuel imports.

Describing the allegation as inaccurate, the Minister, who read a statement issued by the ministry, said the

Federal Government was not owing any marketer whose claims had been verified by the appropriate authorities.

He said: “Between April and May 2012, Batches D/12 and E/12 involving 14 oil marketers with a claim of N17 billion were fully settled through the issuance of

Sovereign Debt Notes and other relevant documentation.”

Ngama said: “Since the directive by the Coordinating Minister to the DMO to continue payments of all verified claims, N25.6 billion worth of claims have been fully settled with the issuance of Sovereign Debt

Notes.”

He said between April and August, in respect of 2012 PMS claims, Sovereign Debt Notes amounting to N42.666 billion have been issued to 31 oil marketers.

He maintained that claims by marketers who Continued on Page 2

Nine die as Boko Haram fights fake members A

Jonathan orders sports overhaul

COMPREHENSIVE reorganisation of the sports sector has been ordered by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The President issued the order yesterday after a review of Nigeria’s performance at the just ended London 2012 Olympic Games by the Federal Executive...

Govt welcomes dialogue with sect From Duku Joel, Damaturu and Joseph Abiodun, Maiduguri

T

HIRTEEN people died yesterday in gun battles in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital and Damaturu, the Yobe State capital. The two cities are in the northeast, hotbed of the fundamentalist group Boko Haram .

Men of the sect and the Joint Task Force (JTF)) clashed in Maiduguri after a suicide attack was foiled.

The clash ground the city as civil servants fled their offices.

A suicide bomber, a passerby and two sect members died.

In Damturu, a clash of two gangs left nine people dead. A source said the sect was going after impostors.

The gangs of gunmen clashed at NayiNawa, one of the trouble spots in the town.

Yobe Police spokesman Toyin Gbadegesin, who confirmed the incident, said the police were alerted by the ward head of the area and the bodies were deposited at the mortuary.

Gbadegesin said the affected persons are within ages 18-25 bracket.

He said the bodies were riddled with gunshot injuries and deep knife cuts, indicating intense fighting.

Gbadegesin said one person had been arrested.

The police were silent on the gangs involved in the clash. A resident, who begged for anonymity, said: “It is a clash of Boko Haram members and some boys percieved to be criminals who are committing atrocities in the town under the cover of Boko Haram.”

Commissioner of Police Patrick Egbuniwe also said a group of gunmen attacked his men in Gwange, but no life was lost.

He described as unfair the statement credited to Yobe State Deputy Governor Abubakar Aliyu that his convoy was shot at by a drunken policeman.

Sports Page 2

Oyerinde: Governor seeks probe

E

DO State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to set up a panel of inquiry to look into the contradictions between the police and the State Security Services (SSS) over the killing of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, his Principal Private Secretary.

News Page 56

•KIDN APPED: Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT) VC Prof. Cyprian Onyeji •KIDNAPPED:

Gunmen abduct VC Army chief Ihejirika: kidnappers

STORY ON PAGES 4 & 5

Crude account down by N160b

O

VER N160 billion (equivalent of $1 billion) was withdrawn from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) for distribution of the threetiers of government in July.

relocated to Enugu, Imo, Anambra •FED GOVERNMENT TARGETS 245MILLION CUBIC FEET GAS SUPPLY P11 Continued on Page 2

Business Page 11

2

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

NEWS PHCN crisis parley ends in deadlock

T

•Vice President Namadi Sambo (left) with other world leaders of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation; during a summit in Makkah, Saudi Arabia…on Tuesday

Jonathan orders re-organisation of sports

A

COMPREHENSIVE reorganisation of the sports sector has been ordered by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The President issued the order yesterday after a review of Nigeria’s performance at the London 2012 Olympic Games by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

Nigeria fielded 53 athletes at the Games and spent N2.2billion but failed to win a medal.

Nigerians are outraged by the poor performance of Team Nigeria and have been calling for a shake-up in the administration of sports.

Information Minister Labaran Maku said after the meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja: “President Goodluck Jonathan today ordered a total and comprehensive re-organisation of the sporting sector, following the disappointing performance of the Nige-

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

rian contingent to the London 2012 Olympics.

“The President, accordingly directed that a national retreat which will involve state governments as well as the private sector to re-order priorities in the Nigerian sporting sector,” be held.

Maku added: “He said what took place in London must be the beginning of a new momentum to place Nigerian sports at a level that will enable this country to return to the glory it is known for in the area of sports.

“President Jonathan believes for us to change the present scenario, we need to specialise, we need to plan and we need to fund sports in a way that this country will continue to make impact in the sporting sector.

“He believes that the next

Commonwealth Games as well as the 2016 Olympics in Brazil must enable Nigeria to set specific targets and realise them in order to promote our sports development.

“He also called for a new direction in sports management as well as funding and planning.

“He believes that what this nation needs at the moment is to take a sober look at what has happened, and, indeed change the scenario by working hard on all that we need to do to return the sporting sector to his glory.”

The re-organisation will be comprehensive, Maku said, adding that it will include a review of sporting policies.

The President, according to the minister, also underscored the need for re-examination of national attitude to competitions.

He said there would also be the need for the country to

identify specific sports on which to concentrate resources and energy.

According to him, the identified specialised sports will be the nation’s priority that Nigeria would be identified with in global competitions.

He said all stakeholders, including the states, the Federal Government and the private sector would come together in the re-organisation.

Nigeria’s best performance was at the Atlantic 1996 Olympics when the country won two gold medals in long jump through Chioma Ajunwa and in football by the “Dream Team”.

At the Sydney Games in 2000, Nigeria won one gold and two silver medals.

In Athens 2004, the nation won two bronze medals. In Beijing 2008, it was one silver and two bronze medals.

Another issue that got the Continued on Page 59

Indicted marketers behind fuel scarcity, says govt Continued from Page 1

have been recommended for further investigation by the Aig-Imoukhuede Presidential Committee, have not been paid, adding that payments or sanctions to this category of marketers would be

determined by the outcome of investigations.

“It is clear that the strike was instigated mainly by marketers who were indicted by the Aig-Imoukhuede Committee which investigated fuel subsidy payments.

Their obvious intention is to

blackmail the Federal Government in order to escape sanctions for the crimes they have committed”.

“As we have communicated severally in the last few months, payment of marketers whose claims have been verified will continue to go

on in a consistent and structured way which protects the best interests of the country.

“All marketers who have genuine issues to raise regarding their claims are encouraged to come forward for discussions or clarification” the minister said.

HE talks between the Federal Government and labour over the power sector crisis yesterday ended in a stalemate.

Minister of Power Barth Nnaji and officials of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) failed to turn up at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity venue of the meeting.

The talks were to address the threat by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) to go on strike.

The meeting was initiated

by Labour and Productivity Minister Emeka Wogu. The NLC President Abdulwaheed Omar, was also absent.

He sent a representative.

Former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Timiebi Koripamo Agary, one of the government representatives, warned the unions to shelve the strike because the prevailing security constraints the government is battling with.

She reiterated that government was open to discussion at all times and that gratuity and pension which are the lingering issues in the sector could be resolved if all parties agree to dialogue.

The NLC and electricity workers have been battling the government over its intention to privatise the power sector without what they termed due process with regards to workers pension and gratuities.

The meeting which started around 3pm was attended by Deputy President of the NLC who is also General Secretary of NUEE, Comrade Joe Ajaero, NLC’s Head of Administration, Comrade Emmanuel Ogbuaja, and Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Comrade John Kolawole.

But it was learnt that the Federal Government made certain concessions which labour representatives agreed to take to their National Executive Council (NEC) after which all parties reconvene on October 22 to address the remaining issues.

Besides, a source at the meeting said the 7.5 percent

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

contributory pension by the workers would no longer be deducted pending the outcome of the ongoing negotiations between the two parties.

The source said: “We are all committed to social dialogue.

But we said the withdrawal of soldiers would signal the take off for dialogue which has to take place under a calm situation.

“Our demands are clear, certainty of gratuity, certainty of pension, certainty of decent wage for a worker. It would be shocking to hear that workers in PHCN are yet to collect their June salary.”

Wogu assured the unions that their salaries for June will be paid before the end of the week.

The NLC put its affiliates and Nigerians on notice over its plan to call a general strike over the PHCN crisis.

A statement by NLC Assistant General Secretary, Denja Yaqub, said the labour body was mobilising for the strike as the Federal Government had not shown readiness to listen to the demands of PHCN workers.

Yaqub said the NLC was displeased that the Federal Government was trying to “shortchange” PHCN employees and Continued on Page 59

•Nnaji

Nine die as Boko Haram fights fake members Fed Govt welcomes dialogue with sect

Continued from Page 1

According to the CP, he is still investigating the case, but he wondered where the deputy govenor got his information.

“I really don’t know where he got that information that the policeman was drunk when we are still investigating the matter. As far as I know, we have not concluded investigation on that matter and for the deputy governor to say the policeman was drunk, is very unfortunate.

“The report of the investigation will soon be ready, but I will have to forward it to the InspectorGeneral,” Egbuniwe said.

The Maiduguri incident affected business. Traders closed their shops at the popular Monday market as early as 11am.

Civil servants immediately

T

HE Federal Government has welcomed the news of Boko Haram’s readiness for dialogue to end vilence in the country.

Minister of Information Labaran Maku said government from outset is open to dialogue.

“We have heard the news. The position of government from the beginning has been that we are prepared to negotiate and returned to their homes.

When our correspondent visited the secretariat at about 1pm, many offices were locked. Only a few workers were seen.

A civil servant who pleaded not to be named said many of us left for our various homes when we heard sporadic gunshots, which sounded so loud that they seemed to be within the premises.

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

dialogue with members of this group because we believe they are Nigerians and they are our children.

“It is a known fact that violence has disrupted social and economic activities in some parts of Northern Nigeria.

“We have accepted dialogue as a way of bringing the situation to an end as quickly as possible.

He said they later heard that there was an attempted robbery at the Monday market, which was repelled by the JTF. Confirming the attacks, JTF spokesman Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa said: “At about 10:00 am today (yesterday), a suicide bomber on a tricycle (KEKE NAPEP) targeted a JTF patrol vehicle and missed it. In the process, he rammed into a moving Mercedes Benz

“We have always called on those engaging in violence to stop because violence can’t solve any problem. So we welcome the decision to dialogue,” he said.

The Voice of America on Tuesday quoted a purported spokesman for Boko Haram, Habu Mohammed, as saying that the group was engaged in direct talks with the government to end violence in the North.

car and detonated an Improvised Explosive Device. The bomber instantly died, one civilian died, two others and a soldier were injured as a result of the explosion.”

He added: “The bodies and the three injured persons were taken to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital for treatment.”

Lt.-Col. Musa said one of the incidents was at Customs.

“The Task Force has since cordoned off, swept the affected area and routine activities are going on unhindered.”

The spokesman said in another incident in the town “two suspected members of Boko Haram terrorists who stormed the Monday market with the intention of killing innocent citizens were encountered and killed by troops of the JTF”.

He said in the incident, which occurred at about 11am, two AK 47 rifles and 18 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the assailants.

The JTF in Borno also alerted the public to the planned attacks by the men of the Boko Haram sect during weekend’s Eid-elFitril celebration.

The task force, in a statement said: “Intelligence information available to the JTF, Op RESTORE ORDER, indicated planned attacks on military and civilian targets by terrorists during the Sallah.

“People are advised to report any suspicious persons/movement to the Task Force so as to beef up security arrangement already put in place in order to achieve the desired peace and security during and after the period.”

ADVERT HOTLINES: 01-280668, 08070591302, 08052592524 NEWSROOM: LAGOS – 01-8962807, ABUJA – 07028105302 COMPLAINTS: 01-8930678

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

3

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

4

NEWS KIDNAPPERS ON RAMPAGE

Kidnappers Enugu, Imo, •Gunmen abduct ESUT Vice-Chancellor •Whereabouts of four expatriates kidnapped in Rivers unknown •Anambra State Governor Peter Obi (right) and the Director and Deputy Head, UN Peace Building Support Office Ambassador Ejeviome Eloko Otobo (left) who visited the governor in Awka

•Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson (left)presenting a souvenir to the Vicar of Ockiya Memorial Anglican Church, Nembe, Rev. Collins Okolo (centre) who visited him at the Government House, Yenagoa...yesterday With them is Ven. H.A. Agi (right).

•The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. O.A Ihejirika (centre), the GOC 82 Division, Maj. Gen. O Oshinowo (right) and Enugu State Commissioner for Local Govt. Matters, Prince Okey Ani at the inauguration of the Nigerian Army Project 103 Battalion Barracks Enugu….yesterday PHOTO: OBI CLETUS

T

HE Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, yesterday said kidnappings have resurfaced in three states-- Enugu, Anambra and Imo. The COAS spoke in Enugu shortly after commissioning the Nigerian Army Projects in 103 Battalion Barracks in Awkunanaw.

Enugu, one of the states he identified as kidnappers’ den, yesterday witnessed the kidnap of the ViceChancellor of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Prof. Cyprain Onyeji.

Onyeji was kidnapped in front of the university about 11.30 am.

Three policemen on duty at the university gate tried to stop the fourman gang.

They engaged the gunmen in a gun battle, but were overpowered.

The hoodlums dragged Onyeji out of his car and bundled him into theirs, escaping to an unknown destination.

Police spokesman Ebere Amaraizu confirmed the kidnap.

He said the police were on the trail of the kidnappers.

Amaraizu said the injured policemen have been treated.

Varsity’s spokesman Ossy Ugwuoti said no demand had been made by Onyeji’s abductors.

Lt.-GenIhejirika said the army was making tremendous progress in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents.

He said kidnapping was one of the biggest problems that the army confronted in 2010 in Aba, Abia State.

He regretted that after the army had helped Aba to bounce back, the kidnappers seemed to have relocated to Enugu, Anambra and Imo states.

The army chief said there was need to put in place measures to stop the menace.

Lt.-Gen. Ihejirika promised to provide additional patrol vehicles that would help fight the menace. He urged the Enugu State government and other stakeholders to comple-

From Chris Oji, Enugu, Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt and Chris Orji, Enugu

ment the efforts of the army towards ending kidnappings.

Lt.-Gen. Ihejirika urged governors, local government chairmen and community leaders to join the fight.

He said such collaboration would assist security agencies to perform better.

The army chief said: “What this means is that we still have to go back because a lot needs to be done. It is a serious concern not just to the army but to every person who calls himself an indigene of Enugu State.

“I have just discussed with the commanding officer on certain measures he has to take. Part of the things I intend to do is to give him additional vehicles for patrol. “l want efforts in this regard to be complimented by the state government, all the local government chairmen and community leaders because these kidnappers are people living within the society.’’

He encouraged members of the public to give information to security agents on people who live in affluence without visible means of livelihood .

The chief of army staff reminded the people that such security threat would scare investors as it was another form of terrorism.

Lt-Gen. Ihejirika said: “For every bomb that goes off, several others have been stopped from going off. So, I think we are making tremendous progress. “ We must remain resolute and undaunted in our resolve to support the Federal Government in defeating the emerging threat of terrorism in the country.”

Eleven days after, the whereabouts of four expatriates kidnapped in Rivers State remain unknown, in spite of the efforts by operatives of security agencies.

The four expatriates, who were kidnapped off the coast of Bonny Island, include a Malaysian, an Iranian, an Indonesian and a Thai.

Anambra community kicks as police intensify arrests over alleged abduction From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

Y

•The Managing Director of Learn Africa Plc, Fred Ijewere, the CEO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Oscar Onyema and the Chairman of Learn Africa Plc, Emeke Iwerebon at the African & Caribbean Business Expo held in London

OUTHS in Nkpor, Idemmili North Local Government Area, Anambra State are alleging harassment by the police.

Governor Peter Obi last week ordered the sealing of a hotel in the community, Arthur Garden Hotel Nkpor, after the arrest of four suspected kidnappers in the facility. The owner of the hotel, Chief Christopher Udo, and a youth leader, Chief Godwin Onwukwe, were arrested.

Addressing a news conference yesterday, the spokesmen of Nkpor Stakeholders Forum, Chief Christian Okeke and Chief Chukwuma Chukwurah, said the invasion of the community by the police was politically motivated.

Okeke said: “We are saying that the arrest of two prominent sons of Nkpor community is not a welcome development and we are not comfortable with the stories of kidnapping and the sealing of the hotel and we urge the police to speedy investigations into the matter.

“We condemn any act of criminality in its entirety and we wish to state it categorically that the police should intensify investigations into the matter; if the owner is culpable, he should face the law, but if not, he should be released and the hotel reopened because tension is currently mounting in the community. “ He urged the police not to base their investigations on hearsay, saying some faceless groups within the community roped in some prominent men not loyal to the council boss.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

5

NEWS KIDNAPPERS ON RAMPAGE

have relocated to Anambra, mo, says Army chief Ihejirika ‘

We are still searching. We have deployed a boat and a helicopter to the area where the the attack took place.

We have not established any contact with the attackers or the foreigners abducted

•Wife of the Indonesian kidnapped in Rivers State, George Lipih anak Ambo,Bibi and her children (from left), Nathaniel Japang, 18, Bill Easter, 15 and Aaron Jay, 12, with a picture of their father PHOTO: NEW STRAIT TIMES

The yet-to-be-identified gunmen killed two naval ratings and injured two other naval personnel, who were providing security for the expatriates.

They were seized aboard a Dutch oil servicing company’s vessel, marked Jascon 33, and owned by Sea Trucks Group, based in The Netherlands.

The Information Officer of NNS Pathfinder at Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt, Lt. Charles Sele Brinemigha, expressed optimism that the expatriates would soon regain their freedom.

Another source, who would not want to be named, disclosed that the naval authorities had begun investigation, vowing to apprehend the gunmen and prosecute them to serve as a deterrent to others.

A spokeswoman for Sea Trucks Group, which provides support vessels to oil companies operating in Nigeria,

told AFP that one of the company's ships came under fire and that four of the firm's employees were taken in the raid.

"At this time Sea Trucks Group is making every effort to ascertain the whereabouts of its personnel," the spokeswoman, Corrie van Kessel, told AFP. She said Sea Trucks Group is heavily involved in the oil and gas sector in the Niger Delta.

Navy spokesman Commodore Kabir Aliyu said during the attack "four expatriates are reported to have been kidnapped from the vessel; two sailors were killed."

He said those kidnapped were from Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Thailand.

"We have not made any arrest yet.

We are still trying to ascertain the true

identities of the attackers and their motive," he told AFP. "We are still searching. We have deployed a boat and a helicopter to the area where the the attack took place," he said, adding: "We have not established any contact with the attackers or the foreigners abducted."

Aliyu said six naval personnel were stationed on board the Sea Trucks Group vessel following a security request from the company.

The attack, which also left two other seamen injured, took place at roughly 0100 on Saturday, 35 nautical miles off Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta coastal area, the navy and company said.

The volatile area was for years crippled by armed insurgency, largely made up of militants from the Delta who claimed that the region's

Olubolade faults calls for scrapping of Police Affairs Ministry

P

OLICE Affairs Minister Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade (rtd) yesterday accused the presidential committee that recommended the scrapping of his ministry of going beyond its briefs.

Olubolade spoke to State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa.

In its report submitted to Jonathan on Tuesday, the Presidential Committee on the Re-organisation of the Police recommended the scrapping of the ministry.

The committee, chaired by retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), Parry Osayande, also recommended the merger of parallel organisations that were carved out of the police.

Reacting to the development, the minister said the committee was President Goodluck Jonathan’s response to the spate of insecurity in the land and how the police could be re-organised to be more proactive to the challenges.

He said the terms of reference of the

committee was distinct from that of the earlier committee on restructuring of ministries, parastatal and agencies, headed by Mr. Steve Oronsaye.

Navy Capt. Olubolade said: “What happened yesterday was that this committee headed by Parry Osayande submitted its report to the President. Incidentally, in the same vein, the retired Inspectors-General of Police paid a visit to the President.

“Somehow, it got into the limelight that this issue of scrapping the ministry became an issue. But the assignment given to that panel was to look at how the police can be professionalised and reorganised.

“Usually, when an assignment like this is given, one must look at the subject; the subject is to re-organise the police and any issue discussed outside that can be termed to be a derailment.

“Whatever assignment is given, you must look at the subject matter and stay within that confines so that it does not generate unusual discussions within the public.’’

Contrary to the position of the

•Olubolade

committee, the minister said there were two budgetary provisions for the police, a regular and a reform budget.

He said the police award contracts on their own without the interference of the ministry, which approves payments.

Navy Capt. Olubolade said: “The police are involved in their own budgetary dispensation. The ministry does not award contracts on behalf of the police, except in capital bud-

people were not benefitting from its vast oil wealth, while crude production devastated the environment.

Armed groups in the Delta were notorious for kidnapping oil workers, especially foreigners.

A 2009 amnesty deal greatly reduced the unrest, but sporadic incidents have continued to occur including robberies and, most prominently, piracy.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said in a report released last month that there had been 32 piracy incidents recorded in the Gulf of Guinea in the first half of 2012, up from the 25 attacks in 2011.

Many of the raids have involved "high levels of violence," kidnappings, and were increasingly occurring further offshore, the report added.

‘

The police are involved in their own budgetary dispensation. The ministry does not award contracts on behalf of the police, except in capital budgets.

“All operational provisions are managed by the police itself

‘

gets.

“All operational provisions are managed by the police itself.’’

The minister cited the Ministry of Defence, which co-exists with the three armed forces, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.

He said: “They all report to the Minister of Defence. All their budgetary provisions go through that line and the political head for them is the minister, so also is the Ministry of Police Affairs.’’

‘

Nigeria and neighbouring Benin launched joint patrols last year to address the problem.

An IMB official said attacks in the area have been under-reported for several years.

On July 27, suspected sea pirates attacked a vessel transporting workers for Italian firm Agip in the Delta's Bayelsa state, leaving at least one person dead.

Van Kessel said two of the company's vessels came under attack, although the navy insisted only one ship was involved.

Sea Trucks Group, which also operates in Australia and East Asia, was founded as a Nigerian firm in 1977 before expanding and currently has a "corporate support office" in the Netherlands, according to its website.

According to him, a committee was raised at the FEC meeting to appraise the Osayande report and produce a white paper within three weeks.

He named the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke as chairman of the white paper committee.

Besides him, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Godswill Orubebe and the Minister of State for Federal Capital Terriotry (FCT), Chief Olajumoke Akinjide are members of the committee.

The Osayande Committee recommended the scrapping of the ministry, but the forum of the retired Inspector General of Police was opposed to the recommendation.

The forum had made their position known shortly after they met with the President on Tuesday.

The leaders of the group, former IGP Gambo Jimeta, said rather than scrap the ministry, the government should outline distinct functions for it.

He explained: “The police are directly under the President or the Prime Minister then. With his busy schedule, the Prime Minister or President will not have enough time to attend to the day-to-day issues that arise on police issues.”

6

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

NEWS How to handle bomb victims, by expert

Eight Down Syndrome members denied South African visas

M

E

IGHT Nigerian members of Down Syndrome Foundation, including three children, have been denied visas by the South African Authorities to attend the 11th World Down Syndrome Congress scheduled for Cape Town.

Mrs Rose Mordi, the President of the foundation and leader of the delegation, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on yesterday that they were denied visas for invalid yellow fever certificates.

She said that the five dayprogramme slated for between August 14 and 18 was the first to be hosted by an African country, adding that it was organised by Down Syndrome International.

Mordi said that they submitted their applications for visas on July 27, adding that the processes ought to have lasted for only six working days.

According to him, they delayed the processes till Tuesday without giving them the travelling documents on the mere excuse of invalid yellow fever certificates.

“I am very upset about the whole thing. We run a charity for children with the Down Syndrome.

“This is the first congress that is being held on an African soil in South Africa and ours is the first African organisation to be given an award which I was to receive on Wednesday.”

‘1,000 HIV/AIDS cases recorded daily’ From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

A

BOUT 1,000 persons get infected with HIV/AIDS on a daily basis, the Director-General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Prof.

John Idono said yesterday.

Speaking at a Post-International AIDS Summit in Abuja, he said Nigeria is ready to use any globally acceptable strategy that would help combat the spread of the scourge.

Idomo said: “We have 1,000 infection of the disease in Nigeria daily. We need our own data to be able to determine which way to go.”

According to him, the recently concluded Conference of the AIDS Society in USA has further proven the effectiveness of contemporary drugs and models like PrExposure, and Postexposure Prophylaxis, Combination Prevention Therapy, Tenofovir Microbicide and Placebo Gel. The drugs, he said, are being used to stop the spread of the virus globally.

He however noted that resistance to the drugs could occur when patients or users fail to follow the instructions on the use of such drugs.

Idoko also maintained that a girl child in Nigeria is three times more at risk of getting infected with the disease than a boy.

•Conoil Filling Station opposite NNPC Towers, Abuja... yesterday.

PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE

Fuel scarcity looms as marketers give Fed Govt seven days to pay claims

S

HOULD they make good their threat, an impending fuel crisis is imminent.

Independent oil marketing and depot companies have given the Federal Government seven days ultimatum to pay their outstanding subsidy claims put at N200 billion.

The oil marketing companies, depot and jetty owners under the aegis of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), and Jetties and Petroleum Tank Farms Owners of Nigeria (JEPTFON) have warned the Federal Government to pay their members all outstanding subsidy claims or the country will face severe fuel scarcity.

Already, there was fuel scarcity in Abuja yesterday.

Some filling stations including Conoil at Central Area, opposite NNPC Towers witnessed long queue of vehicles.

The Executive Secretary of

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

JEPTFON, Enoch Kanawa told our correspondent that if after the expiration of the seven days notice, there is no substantial result from the government, members of the four organisations would shut down their depots and jetties across the country.

He said it doesn’t make sense doing business at a loss and that business is currently ‘so bad’ that some member companies are contemplating reducing their workforce.

Kanawa said interest on loans from banks continue to rise, payment of staff is becoming very challenging as well as maintenance of the depots, hence the need to close shop.

He said: “We are all planning to retrench because how do you maintain them. You cannot continue to borrow to pay salaries. We cannot operate when our debts are not paid. The Federal Government is hiding under some clauses to shy away from its responsibility and the only option left to us is to close shops.”

A statement signed by Obafemi Olawore, Executive

Secretary MOMAN, Mike Osatuyi, National Secretary IPMAN, Ikem Ohia, Secretary DAPPMA and Enoch Kanawa, Executive Secretary JEPTFON, said the associations control 90 per cent of functional facilities and market share of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.

They explained that their members own over 25,000 filling stations, have tank farms and storage facilities with about 2.5 billion litres and with dealers in excess of 25,000 and employ about 300,000 station attendants and over 100,000 drivers and mates. They also said there are about 100,000 direct staff and several millions of indirect staff such as contractors and peddlers.

The oil marketers warned the government and the general public of the impending fuel crisis that would follow shut down of their operation should the Ministry of Finance fail to reimburse them their subsidy claims since January, adding that interest rate has risen to a minimum of 22 percent while interest charge in naira stands at N3.7

billion per month.

The associations said: “Our member companies are under the threat of being driven into extinction due to the non payment of the huge sums of legitimate money due to them that have been verified under the subsidy scheme. It is important to stress that our members financed the importation on behalf of the Federal Government with loans borrowed from Nigerian banks at ridiculous interest rates which are presently due. Further delays will result in additional charges that may completely erode our slim margins allowed under the scheme.

“We humbly call the attention of the Federal Government to the above and strongly appeal that all our outstanding payments be made immediately. We wish to reiterate our support for government efforts towards sanitising the PSF scheme but take exception to a selective payment process where majority are deemed guilty as a result of an investigation that has lasted seven months.”

EDICAL doctors have been advised to improve their skills in treating bomb explosion victims.

The President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria (AISSON), Dr. Ona Ekhomu, spoke in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, during the annual general meeting (AGM) and scientific conference of the state’s branch of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

He explained that an explosion would produce thermal injuries, blast injuries and kinetic injuries.

Ekhomu spoke against the backdrop of bomb explosions in parts of the country.

He said every community should prepare for the types of injuries that are usually caused by bombs and other weapons of mass destruction.

The safety expert said bomb explosions are becoming common in Nigeria.

According to him, those closest to the seats of bomb victims suffer severe thermal injuries as well as blast injuries.

Ekhomu said blast shock waves affect the cells in the body and result in extensive organ damage as well as internal bleeding.

Vehicle owners warned

T

HE Lagos State Police Command has warned owners of accident and abandoned vehicles parked at Ijanikin, Aswani Divisional Headquarters and Area ‘H’ Ogudu to remove them or lose them through auction.

The vehicles are; Mitsubishi marked CB487JJJ, Opel DM102GGE, LT Bus XF369FST, Toyota Carina BP 272KRD, Nissan Urvan Bus DX443 AAA, Mazda 323, MB176KJA, Mazda323 XL351GNN and Volkswagen Vanagon bus XL360ABJ. Others are Mercedez Benz Wagon V/boot with registration number B596MUS, M/Benz V/boot Saloon car AM258 MAP and Volkswagen bus XL113AAA.

PDP members urge court to remove Oyinlola

A

FRESH crisis is brewing in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Its Ogun State chapter has urged a Federal High Court, Abuja, to remove Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola as the party’s National Secretary.

In a suit, filed by Chairman, Adebayo Dayo and Secretary Semiu Sodipo for and on behalf of other officers, the Plaintiffs are challenging the retention of Oyinlola as national officer.

By the order and two separate judgments of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos that nullified the Southwest zonal congress that produced Oyinlola as candidate, the Plaintiffs are contending that he has since ceased to be the national secretary.

Besides, they pointed out

From Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja

that Oyinlola was foisted on them as the candidate by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in concert with the then National Vice Chairman (Southwest), Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo.

Consequently, the Plaintiffs are asking the court to declare Oyinlola’s continous stay in office as invalid, null and void since his candidacy had been nullified.

They are also asking the court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to delete his name and replace same with another candidate that will emerge from a fresh zonal congress to be ordered by the court.

The defendants are Oyinlola, PDP and INEC. The Plaintiffs counsel, Dr.

‘They are also asking the court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to delete his name and replace same with another candidate that will emerge from a fresh zonal congress to be ordered by the court’ Amaechi Nwaiwu (SAN) formulated three questions for the court to determine: •Whether the candidacy of Oyinlola as a nominee of the Southwest zonal chapter of the PDP and his consequent election to the office of National

Secretary at the National Convention in March, 2012 were not invalid, null and void by reason of the order and judgment of the Federal High Court made respectively in April 27, and May 2 2012 suits nullifying the Southwest zonal congress of March 2012 from which Oyinlola emerged or ought to have emerged.

•Whether the candidacy of Oyinlola as a nominee of the Southwest zonal chapter of the PDP and his consequent election to the office of National Secretary at the National Convention in March 2012 were not invalid, null and void by reason that he was not a valid nominee of the Southwest zone.

Whether the candidacy of Oyinlola as a nominee of the Sothwest zonal chapter of the PDP and his consequent elec-

tion to the office of National Secretary at the National Convention in March 2012 were not invalid, null and void in the combined circumstances of the said order and judgment of the Federal High Court.

If the answers are resolved in their favour, the Plaintiffs are seeking.

• a declaration that the candidacy of Oyinlola as a nominee of the Southwest zonal chapter of the PDP and his consequent election to the office of National Secretary in March 2012 were invalid, null and void by reason of the order Federal High Court made on April 27 2012 in a suit nullifying the Southwest zonal congress of the PDP conducted in March 2012 from which Oyinlola emerged or ought to have emerged.

7

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

NEWS

Jonathan must fire Okupe, ACN insists

‘President’s aide not under investigation’

•Party warns EFCC against cover up

“Checks reveal that the whole brouhaha was a calculated attempt to malign the presidential spokesman...

T

HE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday said the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, is not fit for the position.

ACN said Okupe’s past is “steeped in corruption and the criminal conversion of state funds”.

It warned the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) against covering up Okupe’s “crimes”.

In a statement in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, ACN said: “We urge the public to shun the deliberate misleading statement credited to the EFCC spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaaren, where he said he is not aware that Okupe is under investigation.

“It is on record that Okupe was in the custody of the EFCC in Lagos for almost one month, between July and August, 2006, on account of a contract he obtained from Imo State and failed to execute, after collecting a hefty mobilisation fee.”

The party warned the EFCC, other relevant agencies and the Presidency not to attempt to “falsify and obliterate records” in order

‘

It is on record that Okupe was in the custody of the EFCC in Lagos for almost one month, between July and August, 2006, on account of a contract he obtained from Imo State and failed to execute, after collecting a hefty mobilisation fee.

’

to give Okupe a clean bill as regards the allegations.

It said: “Okupe’s fraudulent activities extend to Benue State and are not limited to these two states.

They are too well documented for any attempt at a

cover up. We warn those who know how to bury dead bodies to remember that some people know how to exhume them.

“Retaining Okupe as the president’s spokesman is not just an insult to the collective integrity of Nigerians; it also flies in the face of the administration’s flaunted commitment to fighting corruption.

“The president’s spokesman is not only the face of the President, but that of Nigeria as a whole, and that responsibility cannot rest on the shoulders of a morally damaged person.

“Nigeria is not in want of qualified individuals with the talent and credentials required for the position of a Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs.

“Retaining Okupe in the face of incontrovertible evidence as to his unsuitability will only give credence to the widely held belief that this administration is a haven for persons with criminal pasts.”

‘

•Dr Okupe

I

T is not true that the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Communication, Dr. Doyin Okpue, is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Okupe’s media aide, Dr. Sanya Awosan, has said.

Awosan, in a statement in Abuja, said his boss is not being investigated for any unwholesome act while executing a contract in Benue State.

He said the Benue State Government has never accused Okupe of any malpractice.

In a statement on Monday, the National Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Alhaji Lai Mohammed, alleged that Okupe is on the list of those

’

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

being investigated by the EFCC on account of a contract running into hundreds of millions of Naira.

Rather than execute the project, Okupe was alleged to have bolted with the over N200 million mobilisation money, which he is believed to have invested in his illfated political ambition.

Awosan refuted the allegation.

He said his boss was not under any investigation by the antigraft agency.

Awosan said: “Checks reveal that the whole brouhaha was a calculated attempt to malign the presidential spokesman, whose mandate, among others, is to properly

T

T

•The Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of Congo, Princess Jolaade Onipede, presenting her letter of credence to Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso at the Presidential Palace in Brazaville.

SERAP seeks documents on maternal death prevention

A

CIVIL society group, Socio-

Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has written to the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi

Chukwu, requesting information on the ministry’s spending on child and maternal health care delivery in the last five years.

SERAP said the minister is expected to release

the information within seven days.

The letter, which was sent on Monday, was signed by SERAP’s Executive Director Mr. Adetokunbo Mumuni.

It reads: “SERAP is

concerned about the worsening rate of maternal mortality in Nigeria, which is one of the highest ratios globally.

Women in rural areas share a considerable percentage of this ratio.

NUC, JAMB to monitor state universities

T

HE National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) will soon visit state-owned universities to ensure compliance with admission regulations.

NUC Executive Secretary Prof. Julius Okojie announced this yesterday at a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja.

He said: “The visit is to assess the level of compliance with NUC’s approved ad-

ICPC: Fund delay impedes corruption fight

By Nduka Chiejina Assistant Editor

Methodists elect seven bishops HE Methodist Church of Nigeria has elected seven bishops at its just concluded 43rd/Eight Biennial Conference, which was hosted by the Diocese of Lagos Mainland.

The church also ordained 121 priests and five deaconesses.

The bishops are: Very Rev. Rufus Olanrewaju Babalola (Diocese of Kubwa), Very Rev. Edoka Amuta (Evangelism and Discipleship), Very Rev. Abayomi Adegbite (Diocese of Owo), Very Rev. Titus Omoniyi (Diocese of Oyo), Very Rev. Dr. Olusesan Abejide (Diocese of Okun), Very Rev. Isaac Bola Osunjuyigbe (Diocese of Ijesha-North), Very Rev. Nnam Lebee Humphrey (Diocese of Gokana) and Very Rev. Okpara Chukwudi Chiemeka (Diocese of Uzuakoli).

propagate the programmes, achievements and policies of the administration.

“It is hypocritical of the ACN to latch onto allegations published online.”

He said the root of the ACN’s attack can be traced to Ogun State, where he said the ACN is jittery of Okupe’s perceived governorship ambition.

Awosan said Okupe has maintained that he has no such ambition.

According to Awosan, EFCC spokesman Mr. Wilson Uwujiaren on Monday denied the allegation that Okupe is being investigated by the commission and officials of the Benue State Government said Okupe did not bolt with government fund.

Awosan said the claim is the figment of the opposition’s imagination.

He also relied on the report in the Punch, quoting the EFCC spokesman that his boss was not under investigation, to exonerate his boss.

mission quota and the qualification of new entrants, among other tasks.”

Okojie said the two organisations have distinct roles in the running of the universities.

He said the visit would address the issue of enrolment, which has led to overstretching of facilities, adding that NUC has introduced an admission quota appropriate for each university based on its capacity.

Okojie said: “In spite of the

guidelines, many universities still exceed the approved quota, thereby impeding the delivery of quality education.

“Some candidates were admitted without meeting the requirements, while some state universities violate the operational guidelines and procedures on the system.”

He said NUC and JAMB have a very rigorous task to perform and urged the officials to exhibit a high sense of responsibility in the course of the assignment.

NUC’s Acting Director, Inspection and Monitoring, Mrs. Hansatu Abechi said one of the objectives of the visit is to ascertain that all students were admitted through JAMB. She said: “The visit is also to determine the number of students admitted and how many matriculated as well as determine other channels, such as from foundation, preliminary and remedial, for admitting students.

“We are expected to de-

•Okojie

velop a data-base on new entrants into the universities per session.”

HE delay in the release of fund to anti-graft agencies by the Ministry of Finance is stalling the fight against corruption and other economic crimes.

According to a statement by the ministry’s Deputy Director (Press), Mr. Alphonsus Okoroafor, the Acting Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta, stated this when he visited Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Nta reportedly urged the minister to promptly release fund to the commission, so that it can effectively execute its duties.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said the ministry would partner ICPC to ensure the success of its economic reforms, especially on pension management.

She said recent public hearings at the National Assembly on pension management by various government agencies have revealed a high-level of corruption.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said the ministry is in the process of harmonising pension management nationwide to eliminate bottlenecks, check corruption and ensure efficient management through the use of information technology.

She said to develop the muscle necessary to execute this type of economic reform and to discourage resistance from the various administrators managing pension services for Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs), a partnership with ICPC and other anticorruption agencies would be necessary.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

8

CITYBEATS

08033054340, 08034699757 E-mail:- ynotcitybeats@gmail.com

Journalists protest

JOURNALISTS in Lagos will this morning be protesting the growing harassment of some of their colleagues.

The latest was last Thursday’s mauling of a photo-journalist, Benedict Uwalaka, of Leadership by morgue attendants at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja. The protesting journalists are expected to present their grievance to Governor Babatunde Fashola in his office.

The protest, spearheaded by the Lagos Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), will take off from the Ladi Lawal Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja. It will be led by the Chairman, Mr. Deji Elumoye.

The journalists are billed to also visit the House of Assembly and the Police Command.

The protest, it was learnt, will precede a legal action being considered by the NUJ over the frequent attacks of its members.

Besides Uwalaka, Tunde Ogundeji, a photo-journalist with Nigeria Compass was also assaulted by people at the railway line in Ikeja.

The union plans to file a case of ‘attempted murder’ against TOS Funeral Services and two of its workers, and a case of ‘assault’ against the management of railway and some of its workers.

Man docked for beating father

By Precious Igbonwelundu

THE Police have arraigned a 30year-old man before an Apapa Magistrate’s Court in Lagos for allegedly beating his father, Mr. Lawrence Uagbale.

Uagbale Samsom, who resides at House 15, B Close, 511 Road, Festac Town, was brought before Magistrate A.K. Shonubi on a three-count charge of intent to commit felony, stealing and assault.

Prosecuting Sergeant Uche Kalu said the accused entered his father’s room around 10am and stole N50, 000. When he was confronted by his father, he pounced on him and beat him up.

Kalu said the offence contravened Sections 306, 285 and 171 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2011.

The accused pleaded not guilty and was granted N50, 000 bail, with two sureties in the like sum.

Mrs. Shonubi adjourned the matter till September 18.

Also, eight persons including four women were yesterday arraigned before Magistrate Shonubi for allegedly smoking and drinking local gin ‘Ogogoro’ in public.

Nkereuwen Akpan, 29, James Patricia, 39, Jenifer John, 27, Salami Kazeem, 37, Festus Opara, 35, Princess Pius, 26, Gold Johnson, 27 and John Idoh, 32, were charged on two counts of misdemeanour and unlawful assembly.

Kalu told the court that on August 14 at 1:20am at Kazuma roundabout, Apapa, the accused unlawfully gathered to smoke and drink the local gin in a manner to cause fear and panic in the neighbourhood.

Kalu said their offence contravened Sections 409 and 44(1) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2011.

The accused pleaded not guilty and were granted N20,000 bail with one surety in the like sum each. The Magistrate adjourned the matter till September 17.

•From left: Leader, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Legislative Council, Councillor Wasiu Bello, Area E. Commander, ACP Dan Okoro, Chairman of the Local Government Comrade Ayodele Adewale, Commissioner of Police Mr. Umar Abubakar Manko during his visit to the council... yesterday

‘Ill-fated Dana plane checked for 12 minutes’

B

BEFORE the ill-fated Dana plane left Abuja for Lagos on June 3, it underwent “only 12 minutes maintenance check,” an engineer with the airline, Lawrence Edekome, said yesterday.

He was testifying at the inquest into the June 3 Dana plane crash in which 153 died.

The inquest, which is being conducted by a Coroner, Magistrate Alexander Oyetade Komolafe, is at the instance of some “interested parties.”

Answering questions from the parties’ counsel, Edekome who said he conducted the maintenance check, added that it lasted for “only 12 minutes before the plane took off from Abuja on the return lap.”

Edekome, who was summoned to shed light on the maintenance schedule of the aircraft, especially

By Adebisi Onanuga

on its trip from Abuja to Lagos, said it underwent routine check before its final departure to Lagos.

He insisted that the engines were certified fit before the plane embarked on the ill-fated journey.

According to him, he left Lagos for Abuja with the ill-fated plane on the fateful day but stayed back in the capital city.

He said after he completed the checks and was satisfied, he cleared the plane for the return journey to Lagos.

Edekome said he did not join the aircraft on its return trip because he was expected to return to Lagos in the afternoon of the following day.

This according to him was because he went to Abuja to relieve another technical crew.

On his routine check on the craft before it took off and how what is observed is recorded, he said: “whatever is seen in the aircraft is what is recorded in the technical log book.”

Asked why he spent only 12 minutes on the maintenance check, Edekome said: “I arrived Abuja around 2pm and I went straight to my office to drop my luggage and came back to the aircraft 25 minutes later and I inspected the aircraft for 12 minutes.”

At a point, the witness came under intense pressure from lawyers, who questioned his qualification and capabilities. They noted that he is not “a qualified engineer but a technician.”

Edekome insisted that he is a qualified aircraft maintenance engineer.

He claimed to have undergone

training to handle aircraft maintenance, adding that he is recognised across the world as an aircraft maintenance engineer.

As a maintenance engineer, he said, it was not his duty to keep and go through the technical log book.

Asked about the engine problem suffered by the aircraft in 2010, he said though the craft suffered some engine problems, the one mentioned before the coroner was caused by bird strike.

The incident, he said, informed the change of the plane’s engine.

He said the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), was informed of the bird strike and the change of the engine, adding that there are several other repairs carried out on the engine which made it to be certified for flights.

Train crushes expectant mother, two others N expectant mother and two others died yesterday when a train crushed their bus at the Ikeja rail line crossing. Two others were injured .

The accident occurred about 6.45am when a J5 bus marked XE899FGG was trying to cross the rail time.

The accident, it was learnt, might have occurred because traffic duty officer, who was supposed to flag down oncoming vehicles, was not at his duty post.

A mechanic, who operates in the area, said: “This kind of accidents happens at this junction early in the mornings, one happened on Monday because the duty officer was not around to stop vehicles for the approaching train. They don’t resume on time.”

The mechanic said the vehicle loaded with goods, was coming from

A

By Jude Isiguzo and Segun Balogun

Oshodi.

“Unfortunately it was not fast enough for the moving train which ran into it, spilling all its content on the road,” the witness said.

He said the train did not stop as it dragged the vehicle and its occupants along before it eventually stopped.

The Nation learnt that the bodies have been deposited at the morgue of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja .

A police source blamed the management of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) for not doing enough public enlightenment on the dangers around rail crossings.

The Assistant Director of Public Relations, NRC, Mr. David Ndakotsu, confirmed that a woman died in the accident.

Neighbours, churches disown pastor

I

S the detained Revd Alexander Emmanuel father of his 15year-old-daughter, Brilliant’s two babies?

This is the puzzle a DNA test is expected to unravel as the Ministry of Women Affair and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) probes the matter.

WAPA has taken custody of the bobies, their mother and her siblings. The pastor is said to be in prison custody. He was arrested by the police at the instance of WAPA, which acted following a tip off.

They all lived together with the pastor at 33, Pastor Olusola Street, Agric Bus Stop, Egan, a Lagos suburb, before WAPA came to their rescue.

The Pastor and his wife had moved into the house in 2010 but she reportedly died three weeks after they secured the accommodation. The cause of her death was said to be complication arising from child birth.

Following her death, the Pastor was raid to have resorted to locking all their nine children indoors whenever he was going out. He also allegedly sleeping with Brilliant, his first daughter, a

By Precious Igbonwelundu

few moths after his wife’s death.

Brilliant was said to have delivered a baby last year and another one about a month ago.

Some of their neighbours told The Nation that the pastor has been locking Brilliant indoors since then.

A neighbour said: “The last time we saw Brilliant outside was in 2011. Even when the landlord asked him about his daughter, he said she had travelled.

“We later learnt that she was locked inside the house. Whenever I am in my room, I usually hear her talking with her younger ones. I am happy that she has been rescued by WAPA, now, we sleep peacefully. The man used to disturb us with his prayers. In fact it was as though he turned his flat into a church.”

Another neighbour urged the police to dig into how the pastor disposed the body of his wife in 2010.

At some of the churches where he ministered before his arrest The Nation gathered that he was.

Israelite Camp, after the General

Overseer (GO), Pastor Obahi Ebalohi, inquired about the paternity of the babies in his house.

Ebalohi, who told our reporter that he met Emmanuel through his brother in 2010, after the death of his wife, said: “I met Revd Emmanuel through his brother Francis in 2010, when he lost his wife. Francis, my former colleague, told me he has a brother in our area who just lost his wife, I joined him to visit the bereaved family and prayed for them.

“When I saw Emmanuel’s children, I wept and took it upon myself to give him financial assistance, since he told me that he has stopped going to the church where he was ministering.

“I did not ask him why and accepted him when he started coming to my church. So when my members told me he ran away from that church after he was accused of impregnating his daughter, I called him to my office and inquired.”

Obalohi said the pastor claimed that the babies were abandoned by his sister-in-law who was impregnated by an unknown man.

The woman was said to have fled after delivering the baby.

“ I gave him money to take the baby back to his biological mother because rumour was making the rounds that it was his daughter’s child.

“I was disappointed when he did not adhere to my advice and stopped coming to my church after a member reported that she saw the daughter breastfeeding the baby,” he said.

At the Lord’s House of Mercy and Grace, Emmanuel Street, Egan, it was learnt that Emmanuel was not a member, nor one of their pastors.

A spokesman, who pleaded for anonymity described Emmanuel as a “freelance worshipper in the church.”

The church said it did not have his name in its record, adding that it is not interested in his problems.

Attempts to reach Francis failed, but his wife said they do not have money to bail Emmanuel.

“It was one of his children who informed us when he was arrested. We know he is in Kirikiri, but we do not have money to bail him,” she said.

WAPA’s Permanent Secretary Mrs. Risikat Akiyode said the ministry was still conducting investigation into the case.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

9

NEWS

Fayemi hails contractors handling schools’ renovation •Schools to have horticulture depart

E

KITI State Governor Kayode Fayemi has hailed the contractors handling ongoing renovation of 100 public secondary schools in the 16 local government areas.

He noted that they were working to meet the deadline the government set for them.

The governor spoke in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, after inspecting the renovation of 31 secondary schools in eight local governments.

He said the pace at which the contractors were working showed their commitment to the government’s vision, which is to create a good learning environment for pupils.

Fayemi noted that some contractors were renovating more than the number of buildings contracted out to them.

He hoped that the projects would be completed before schools resume next month, since many of the buildings have been roofed while others are being plastered.

The governor said the renovation was well planned to avoid the disruption of academics.

Over 40,000 units of furniture will be delivered to the 183 secondary schools to usher in a new era of comfort for the pupils.

Justifying his administration’s decision to invest in schools, Fayemi said the quality of the learning environment is essential to pupils’ performance.

He explained that the absence of a good learning environment would hamper pupils’ concentration on the teaching and learning.

The governor spoke of the need for teachers and school heads to display a high sense of responsibility towards the pupils so that they too can contribute to the maintenance of the new structures.

• One of the blocks of classroms being renovated...yesterday. Below: A classroom taking shape with a new roof

•Dr Fayemi (second left); his Personal Assistant, Mr. O’seun Odewale (left); the Special Adviser, Buraeu of Special Projects, Mr. Bayo Kelekun (third left); and Chairman, Ekiti State Teaching Service Commission, Chief Bayo Adeniran, during the governor’s inspection of schools in the Operation Renovate All Schools in Ekiti (ORASE) at Ola-Oluwa Muslim Grammar School, Ado-Ilawe Road... yesterday.

At Ilejemeje Community High School, Iye, pupils on summer coaching trooped out to welcome the governor.

They expressed gratitude to the governor for renovating their schools.

Fayemi urged them to pay more attention to their studies, adding that a maintenance culture is important so that the government’s investment in the buildings would not be wasted.

On the need to plant trees near school buildings, the governor explained that horticulturists would be

contracted to work with school authorities and pupils to nurture trees and flowers.

The Special Adviser in charge of Special Projects, Mr. Bayo Kelekun, said the trees in some schools had damaged the structures.

He, however, assured that the trees would be cut down while new ones would be planted far from the structures to avoid damage.

Kelekun said Fayemi had directed that new examination halls be built for some schools with dilapidated structures.

Governor has too many aides, says Ekiti PDP •‘This is the most prudent govt in Ekiti history’

E

KITI State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe, has accused the Kayode Fayemi administration of having many aides.

In a statement in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, the party chairman alleged that the governor and his party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), appointed “over 1,200 personal aides”.

He urged the governor to cut down the number of political appointees.

But the government yesterday replied the PDP chairman.

Through the Commissioner of Information and Civic Orientation, Mr. Funminiyi Afuye, the government said: “The entire Ekiti people, anywhere in the world today, are counting themselves lucky for the critical interventionist role the state government has been playing.”

The commissioner said Fayemi runs a transparent administration, which has also been accountable and prudent.

In a telephone conversation with reporters in Ado-Ekiti, Afuye said the PDP has lost touch with the reality of what is happening in the state”.

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

He added: “If the party is not in disarray, it would know this is no time to distract an administration that wins commendation from groups and personalities, whose voices the world still counts as weighty and credible.

“History has remained the albatross of the party (PDP) in the state. They had almost a decade to do what we as a party are doing today and had wasted all partying and sharing Ekiti people’s collective wealth.

“It is a shame that rather than bury their befuddled heads in the shame of defeat, they still muster the effrontery to apply their voices to litigate against the clearly redemptive moves of Governor Fayemi.

“Every appointment by the governor today speaks of his sincerity of purpose, his astute and keen sense of judgment, his peerless and open love for a people that have been bruised by a band of locusts and still seeking means to return to unleash their art of profligacy and brigandage.

“The governor is doing everything to manage the meagre resources of the state well, unlike the era of waste witnessed by Ekiti people under their (PDP) administration...”

10

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

NEWS Osun to give free train service during Eid-el-Fitri From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

T

HE Osun State Government, in conjunction with the management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), will give free rail transportation for passengers travelling from Lagos to the state during the Eid-el-Fitri festival.

A statement yesterday by the Director of the Bureau of Communications and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, said the train service would begin tomorrow and Saturday at 9am. It will convey passengers from the Ido Terminus in Lagos to Osogbo, the Osun State capital.

The statement said the government is offering the Omoluabi Train service to make life better for Osun residents in and outside the state.

The government explained that passengers would be conveyed from Osogbo back to Lagos for two days, beginning on Sunday at 10am and ending on Monday.

It said the free train ride is part of the tourism and economic development strategies of the Rauf Aregbesola administration.

The Commissioner for Commerce and Cooperatives, Mr. Ismail Jaiyeola Alagbada, assured the holidaymakers of train ride.

David-West to Jonathan: reject Bayelsa’s coat of arms or resign A

FORMER Minister of Petroleum Resources, Prof. Tam DavidWest, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to reject the introduction of a coat of arms for Bayelsa State.

He said if the President fails to condemn the coat of arms, he should resign because it means he cannot defend the Constitution.

The eminent professor of Virology spoke with our correspondent in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, following the legalisation of the Bayelsa coat of arms and anthem by the state government last week.

He described the legalisation of the coat of arms and anthem for a federating state as the declaration of secession.

According to him, the Bayelsa State Government action is worse than the attempt by the late Chief Emeka Odumegu-Ojukwu to secede Biafra from Nigeria.

David-West noted that by legalising the two state symbols, Governor Seriake Dickson has violated the Constitution he swore to defend.

The former minister added

•Dickson: decision not to declare autonomy

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan and Isaac Ombe, Yenagoa

that President Jonathan, “on whose influence Dickson got to office”, should condemn the action.

Failure to do so, David-West said, is tantamount to violating the Constitution.

The don said he was surprised that notable Nigerians and groups have not spoken against the Bayelsa “treason”.

He said the Boko Haram insurgence and the Niger Delta crisis started as a local problem, snowballing into the national crises they have now become.

David-West said: “I was shocked to read that the governor of Bayelsa State has enacted into law that the state will have its own coat of arms, anthem and flag. I have never seen such level of political irresponsibility. It is the height of political rascality. The gov-

ernor of Bayelsa State, like others, swore to uphold the Constitution and protect it.

“What the Bayelsa State Government has done is tantamount to treason and sedition because he has virtually made Bayelsa a separate state from Nigeria. Why is he not bold enough to declare a separate currency, separate Supreme Court and military?

What he has done is worse than what Odumegu-Ojukwu did for Biafra.

“In the case of OdumeguOjukwu, the secession was based on grievances of Ibos over injustice of several years.

These culminated in the northern Ibo pogrom, after the collapse of the Aburi Accord (in Ghana). What he (Dickson) has done is tantamount to secession.

“I am asking President Jonathan to publicly condemn Bayelsa Government’s action immediately. He is from Bayelsa and Governor Dickson

emerged through the influence of the President and his wife. If he fails to do that, he is aiding and abetting the secession of Bayelsa. He would be violating the Constitution of Nigeria and subverting the Nigerian state. Then he will have to resign.”

Governor Dickson has explained why the state composed its anthem and made a coat of arms.

The governor said contrary to insinuations, the decision was not to declare an autonomous state but to recognise itself as a federating unit in Nigeria.

He added that other states had taken a similar step.

Dickson spoke in Yenagoa, the state capital, when he signed into law eight bills passed by the House of Assembly. They include the Bill on Bayelsa State Symbols and Songs Law 2012.

The governor said Bayelsa State is a federating unit in

Abeokuta

T

•Oyo State Deputy Governor Moses Adeyemo (second left) addressing reporters during the inspection...yesterday. With him are the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr. Adeolu Akande (second right); the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Dr. Festus Adedayo (right) and the Site Engineer, Kopek Construction Company, Mr. Charbel Semaan.

‘INEC officials collude with LP to falsify voters’ register in Ondo’

HE Akeredolu Campaign Organisation (ACO) yesterday accused the national leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of colluding with the ruling Labour Party (LP) in the illegal registration of voters in Ondo State.

In a statement recently in Akure, the state capital, the electoral body, through the Head of its Public Affairs, Mrs Celina Beckley, had alerted the public to illegal house-to-house compilation of voters’ cards by a politi-

T

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

cal party. It did not name the party.

INEC condemned the exercise as unconstitutional.

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) accused the Olusegun Mimiko administration of spearheading the alleged illegal compilation under the pretext that it is a biometric registration of civil servants in the state.

But ACO yesterday said the ruling party was carry-

ing out the illegal compilation of voters’ cards in league with some top INEC officials in Abuja.

The organisation alleged that the electoral officials have made attempts to alter the voter registration in the state to enable the LP rig the October 20 poll.

A statement by its Director of Media, Publicity and Strategy, Mr Idowu Ajanaku, reads: “Let it be known that all the political parties, including ACN, have the offi-

Oyo uncovers 7,000 ghost workers HE Oyo State Government yesterday said it has uncovered about 7,000 ghost workers in its civil and public service in the last one year.

The Commissioner of Information and Orientation, Mr Bosu Oladele, spoke in Ibadan, the state capital, at a roundtable organised bythe

T

Ogun signs N500m agric equipment pact, others From Ernest Nwokolo,

Ajimobi decries slow pace of work on bridge OYO State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has decried what he called the slow pace of work on the construction of the Bodija/Secretariat bridge in Ibadan, the state capital.

The governor expressed concern on the pace of work when he inspected the bridge.

Represented by his deputy, Chief Moses Adeyemo, the governor noted that months after the construction started, the contractor had not made progress on the job.

He said the bridge is important to the socio-economic lives of the people, adding that the government wanted the job done quickly to reduce the suffering of commuters.

Ajimobi expressed displeasure at the traffic bottleneck the slow construction has caused around the bridge.

According to him, the contractor needs to accelerate effort to complete the job on schedule.

The governor, however, urged the contractor to make a section of the bridge available to road users to reduce the heavy traffic on the road.

Nigeria, adding that it was created and recognised in the Constitution with rights, powers and obligations.

He said all the structures, organs and officials of the state operate under the Constitution.

According to him, his administration’s decision to have the symbols and song was because of “our belief in true federalism as a cardinal cornerstone of Nigerian nationhood and it is in exercise of our inalienable rights as a federating unit”.

Dickson added: “This is a right, which we cannot be denied of, since several other states with the same rights have equally exercised them.”

The decision taken by the administration, he said, was because of his administration’s “commitment to the propagation of Ijaw culture, language, history and ideals”.

He said: “This decision also creates a platform for us as a government to rally our people for positive development within the context of a united, egalitarian and democratic Nigeria.”

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

League of Veteran Journalists in the state.

The commissioner, who said a search for such workers are ongoing, explained that they were discovered through staff audit and biometric exercise.

According to him, the search will be extended to lo-

cal governments and the pensions board to expose those feeding fat on government revenue.

Oladele, however, said despite the discovery, the state has about 38,000 workers and 38,000 pensioners, who receive monthly income from the treasury.

He said the resources from

the Federation Account are inadequate to meet the overhead.

To overcome the shortfall in revenue and the gap created between the administration’s goal of developing the state, the commissioner said the Abiola Ajimobi administration would increase the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

cial registration of voters in Ondo State as given out earlier by INEC. “Anything outside this official one will not be accepted by ACN for the election because INEC has not embarked on any registration since the last elections in April 2011.

“We believe that this plot, which collapsed like a pack of cards in the Edo State election, is what the INEC is trying to import to Ondo State for the governorship election. It is against this backdrop that the ACO is calling on Prof Attahiru Jega (INEC Chairman) to investigate this plot and name the party involved, so that security agents can prosecute them.

“We want to sound a note of warning that any attempt to rig the election in Ondo State may bring back the ugly memory of massive violence that swept through the state in 1983, which ACN does not pray for.”

HE Ogun State Government has signed a contract worth over N500 million with three firms to buy land clearing and preparation equipment to boost agriculture.

The deal, it was learnt, will assist farmers to get the best of the new planting season.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Ayo Olubori, broke the news in Abeokuta, the state capital, after signing the contract agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture and Dizengoff West Africa (Nigeria) Limited, as well as two other companies.

The contract with Dizengoff is worth N189,810,000.

Mimiko’s aide resigns From Damisi Ojo, Akure

SENIOR Special Assistant on Special Interest to Ondo State Governor, Mr. Modupe Ogundiminigha, yesterday resigned from the ruling Labour Party (LP) government.

In his letter of resignation, a copy of which The Nation obtained, Ogundiminigha said he quit the Olusegun Mimiko administration to save his name from dishonor and shame.

The former governor’s aide, who was a two-term chairman of Ose Local Government Area, described the Mimiko administration as that of inhumanity, failure and frustration.

He said it was reasonable of him to quit the government so that his political career would not be rubbished through the “atrocities” of the government.

The letter reads: “I have decided to leave your administration at this time to save my name from further shame, dishonor and frustration that have been my lot under your watch in the last three and a half years.”

A

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

11

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

Naira firms on bond buying

T

HE naira firmed to a more than three and half month high against the United States’ dollar on the interbank market and official window yesterday, supported by dollar flows from offshore investors into Nigerian debts.

The naira closed at N157.25 to the dollar, a level last seen on April 25 and higher than the N158.75 it closed at the previous day. The naira has gained 1.84 per cent this year, from N160.20 to the dollar on January 3.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold $200 million at N155.80 to the dollar, compared with $147 million sold at N155.83 to the dollar at its previous auction on Monday.

Dealers said last month’s decision by the apex bank to reduce banks’ net open foreign exchange position limit to one per cent from three per cent had curbed lenders’ ability to speculate on the forex market.

1000MW of power plant will need 300 million Standard cubic Feet (SCF) of gas yearly and that the supply of this quality would require meticulous proactive plan and sustainability.

- Prof Barth Nnaji, Minister of Power

‘Funds delay hamper fight against corruption’

FAAC withdraws over N160b from Excess Crude Account • N825.39b shared in July O D VER N160 billion (equivalent of $1 billion) was withdrawn from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) for distribution to the three-tiers of government in July.

Rising from the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting in Abuja yesterday, the committee said it shared about N703.45 billion to the federal, states and local governments.

Giving a breakdown of the accrued revenue and amount shared, the Minister of State for Finance, Dr Yerima Ngama, said the revenues generated far exceeded the budgeted figures, assuring that the targeted $10 billion savings in the Excess Crude Account will be exceeded by

From Nduka Chiejina, Asst. Editor

year end.

He said N646.47 billion was realised from the sale of crude oil during the month, compared to the N178.92 billion from non-oil source and cumulative Value Added Tax (VAT) collection of N53.91 billion, adding that statutory allocation distributed to the three tiers of government from mineral and nonmineral sources for last month was: Federal Government N216.43 billion, states N109.77 billion and local councils N84.63 billion.

He said the total fund for distribution this month stands at N825.39 billion,

which exceeds the budgeted N502 billion that is normally distributed, explaining that the figure includes VAT accruals, statutory disbursements, the N7.6 billion remittance from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and deductions from the excess crude account.

On accruals into the Federation Account, Ngama said: “The total oil minerals revenue that the government collected for July was N646.47 billion. This is almost twice the budgeted revenue, according to the 2012 budget.

The budgeted revenue is N383.9 billion, giving a positive variance of N262.56 bil-

lion. And this figure also exceeded the amount collected in June by N116 billion.

“For non-mineral revenue, the total revenue collected for July was N178.92 billion. This has also exceeded the budgeted amount of N118.64 billion by N60.27 billion.”

He explained further that excess mineral revenue amounting to N85 billion and excess non-mineral revenue of N60 billion was also recorded, saying that in view of the surplus earnings, N213.1 billion would be credited to Excess Crude Account.

Ngama disclosed that N35.6 billion was refunded to the three tiers of government under the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).

Fed Govt to issue N71b in T-bills

T

HE Federal Government has said it plans to issue N70.65 billion ($445.18 million) in treasury bills ranging from threemonth to six-month maturities at its regular bi-monthly debt auction on next week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on yesterday, as part of measures to tighten liquidity.

The bank said it will issue N30.65 billion in 91-day paper and N40 billion in 182day bills on August 23.

The banking watchdog issues treasury bills regularly to reduce money supply, curb inflation and help lenders manage their liquidity.

NSE JSE NYSE LSE

-N6.503 trillion -Z5.112trillion -$10.84 trillion -£61.67 trillion RATES Inflation -10.5% Treasury Bills -7.08% Maximum lending -22.42% Prime lending -15.87% Savings rate -2% 91-day NTB -15% Time Deposit -5.49% MPR -12% Foreign Reserve $35.8b FOREX CFA 0.2958 EUR 206.9 £ 242.1 $ 156 ¥ 1.9179 SDR 238 RIYAL 40.472

Asst. Editor

ELAY in the release of funds to anti-graft agencies is stalling the fight against corruption and other economic crimes in the country, the Acting Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission (ICPC), Ekpo Nta, has said.

He spoke during a visit to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. He appealed for financial assistance to enable the anti-graft agency perform its role.

In a statement, the Deputy Director, Press, Ministry of Finance, Alphonsus Okoroafor, said Nta appealed to the Minister for quick release of funds to prosecute the fight against corruption and ensure best practices in government organisations.

The statement said ICPC was ready to partner with the Federal Ministry of Finance to bring about transparency and efficiency in the management of the country’s finances.

It said Mrs Okonjo-Iweala promised her ministry would collaborate with anti-corruption agencies to ensure the success of its economic reforms, especially pension funds management, stating that recent public hearings at the National Assembly on pension management by various government agencies have revealed high level of corruption which the administration has vowed to deal with.

She said her ministry was harmonising pension management nationwide to eliminate bottlenecks, check corruption and ensure a more efficient management through the use of information technology.

ExxonMobil probes oil spill

DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$107/barrel Cocoa -$2,686.35/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢95.17pound Gold -$1,800/troy ounce Rubber -¢159.21pound MARKET CAPITALISATIONS

From Nduka Chiejina,

• Mrs Alison-Madueke (left); Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu and Group Executive Director,Exploration and Production, Abiye Membere, at the briefing in Abuja ... yesterday.

PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE

Fed Govt to pay gas suppliers N26b

T

HE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is set to pay an outstanding bill of N26billion to gas suppliers.

The payment will cover the monthly gas supply bill up to June, this year, the corporation’s Group Executive Director of Gas, Mr David Ige, has said, noting that the average monthly bill is N2.5billion.

He said NNPC had been paying about 60 per cent of its monthly bill and it is preparing to effect 100 per cent gas supply payment obligation.

The NNPC boss noted that the corporation was on the verge of disbursing the money before the operators embarked on the last strike.

Ige, who spoke at a press

• Eyes 245mmcf/d gas supply in Sept.

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

conference on gas supply in Abuja, added that the corporation has already issued the invoice for payment and that the Minister of Power is also committed to the decision.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani AlisonMadueke said ”by September, the gross short term additions to gas supply resulting from the aggressive emergency plan implementation will be 245mmcf/d as opposed to the promised 180mmcf/d.”

She added that going forward, the planned addition of 35mmcf/d by October/

November and 300mmcf/d

by February remains on course.

The minister explained that she expects that between now and December, Nigeria would witness continued growth in the alltime peaks recorded in both power and gas supply.

Within the next four weeks, according to Mrs. Alison-Madueke, a further 65mmcf/d, which would bridge the outstanding gap in supply with available power plants on the Western axis, is expected to come from Ordeo.

She said since the roll out of the emergency plan, the ministry has attained the expansion of the Escravos-

Lagos Pipeline System, which is the major gas supply artery to the power plants.

The minister noted that after the launch of the plan, the 31kmx24inch permanent gas supply pipeline from Itoki to Olorunshogo via Ewekoro and also the 56kmx24inch Escravos-Warri gas pipeline has been completed. These, she said, would double the pipeline capacity and enhance gas evacuation from Escravos.

She said: ”The net impact of the above pipeline intervention is the addition of 120mmcf/d of gas to the grid and the permanent elimination of the challenge of low gas pressure that has plagued the Olorunshogo Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and NIPP power plants.”

E

XXONMOBIL’s Nigeria unit said it was investigating an oil spill near its facility in Akwa Ibom State, which local fishermen said had covered the waters where they fish with a toxic film.

Mobil Producing Nigeria, a joint venture between ExxonMobil and the state oil firm, said yesterday that relevant government agencies had been notified of the spill.

“Mobil Producing Nigeria ... confirms that oiling from an unknown source has been sighted along the shoreline near Ibeno, Akwa Ibom State,” spokesman Nigel Cookey-Gam said.

“An emergency response team was immediately dispatched to the shoreline, and samples of the substance were collected for fingerprinting to determine its source, which remains unknown.”

Sam Ayadi, a fisherman in Ibeno, said by telephone that no one had been able to go fishing since the spill was first noticed on Sunday.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

12

BUSINESS NEWS

World Bank liable for corruption, says Falana

I

ll-ADVISED policies and dubious financial packages by the World Bank and its related neo-colonial Western financial institutions are the cause of the endemic corruption in Nigeria, frontline lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has said.

In a review of the recent report by the World Bank, which depicted Nigerian business environment as highly corrupt, Falana (SAN) said the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other related financial institutions should take the blame for the endemic corruption rather than issuing reports on the corruption in the country.

The World Bank report had claimed that 80 per cent of Nigerian businesses bribe government officials to facilitate deals. While admitting that Nigeria remains the most at-

tractive investment destination in Africa, the report noted the high proclivity for bribery and corruption among Nigerian businesses.

Falana (SAN) said although the latest report on corruption by the global bank may be an understatement of the rate of corruption in Nigeria, the global bank has failed to own up that its policies were the causes of the menace.

According to him, while there was corruption in Nigeria up to the 1980s, social services were not so prevalent at the time because the Federal Government placed emphasis on building an egalitarian society in line with the extended family system of Africans.

“However, the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), which was instigated by the World Bank and the International Mon-

etary Fund ruined the Nigerian economy completely and destroyed the morality of the society. With retrenchment of workers, abolition of marketing boards, commercialisation of social services, sale of the assets of the nation, trade liberalisation, currency devaluation and other dangerous components of SAP mass poverty bacame the order of the day. The middle class was wiped out while the manufacturing sector became extinct,” Falana stated.

He decried the hypocritical nature of the ‘fight’ against corruption of the World Bank and other-related Western financial institutions and governments, pointing out that these institutions and governments have continued to be the havens for stolen funds from Nigeria and other African countries.

• From left: Mr Boshoro Adeniyi, CEO, Consumer Distribution Networks & Services and Mr Sunil Jhingran, General Manager, LPG Oando Plc, during Oando’s launch of ‘O-Gas at your doorstep’initiative, at the Oando Igbobi Filling Station, Ikorodu road, Lagos.

Fed Govt spends N464m to boost cassava production

T

HE Federal Government has spent N464 million to boost cassava production in the country.

The Desk Head,Cassava Value Chain, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ademola Efuntoye, stated this in Lagos.

By Daniel Essiet

He said Nigeria spent N635billion on wheat importation and that the import rate was growing at 13 per cent yearly. It is estimated that the nation’s annual wheat imports bill will hit 17 million metric

tonnes (MT) by 2020, he stated.

To reverse the trend, he said the government would support farmers who produce crops that could be used as substitutes for wheat in bread.

Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Prince Gbolahan Lawal,

said the government has resolved to encourage domestic substitution for wheat. He said the United States is facing its worst drought in 100 years.

The implication of this is that the price of wheat would rise by at least 50 per cent, and Nigeria, if not for the policy of

wheat substitution, would be importing inflation, a situation that would make the economy vulnerable.

He said the nation needs an aggressive and improved production of cassava to leverage the diversified use of cassava flour.

He said the government is expanding the role of cassava from being just a staple food for human consumption, to an efficient industrial crop, adding that Lagos would provide incentives to encourage farmers to increase cultivation and production of cassava.

One way to achieve this is to connect cassava farmers to buyers and producers to improve their income and provide a reliable source of raw materials to industries.

He said farmers would be trained on better cassava farm-

ing husbandry and facilities to access a ready market. In collaboration with the FederalGovernment through the Growth Enhancement Support (GES), Lawal said farmers would be given new cassava varieties that are highyielding, adding that the new varieties have the capacity to increase yields to 40 metric tonnes per hectare.

The Technical Adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cassava Value Chain, Mrs Toyin Adetunji, said government is facilitating the importation of 700 compact mills, which will decentralise private sector milling of wheat and mixing and production of premix composite cassava flour, to be sold directly to master bakers and households.

Nigeria not oil rich, says ex-NEITI chair

F

ORMER chairman, Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Prof Asisi Asobie, has said Nigeria cannot be described as an oil rich country, as its capita per income is very low compared with other petroleum exporting countries.

Speaking in Abuja at the inauguration of Media Initiative for Transparency in Extractive Industries (MITEI), he noted: “Contrary to the popular notion, Nigeria is not among the topmost petroleum rich countries.”

He said of the world ‘s top 40 per capita petroleum producers in 2003, Nigeria ranked 37 th, stating that in that year, the five most petroleum-rich countries, on a per capita basis, were Qatar, United Arab Emirate, Norway, Brunei and Kuwait.

He said each produced an average of 300 barrels of oil equivalent or more per head in 2002/2003, adding that a newly emergent top producer is Equatorial Guinea, which occupies the sixth position.

He said Nigeria’s petroleum production in 2003 was equivalent to only seven barrels of petroleum equivalent per person per year, in 2003, “ worth only a net $140 for

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

every Nigerian compared with a Gross Domestic Product of $800 per capita in the same year.”

He said if what each Nigerian can get from petroleum is N21,000 per annum, were the net revenue to be shared equally among Nigerians, it means that Nigeria cannot be transformed by petroleum alone.

In her remarks, the NEITI Executive Secretary, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, urged MITEI to serve as a strong independent platform for effective dissemination of NEITI audit reports. She also urged MEITI to serve as an independent platform for public feedback and provide complimentary platform for social mobilisation.

The Nigeria’s Country Director of the World Bank, Francosise Marie- Nelly, said the bank looks forward to seeing MITEI taking advantage of the NEITI Act to convey the key messages of the audit report to the people, stating that with MITEI, NEITI will be able to participate in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) debate in accordance with international best practices.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

13

INDUSTRY

Nigeria still investors’ haven, says World Bank D

ESPITE infrastructure challenges, Nigeria is still attractive to investors, the Country Director for the World Bank, Ms Marie Francoise MarieNelly, has said.

At the launch of the World Bank’s Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) report in Abuja, MarieNelly, said there was need for the country to improve its business environment to maximise untapped investment opportunities.

She said: “Nigeria has the most attractive environment for investment because it is a large market in the continent; it is the second largest economy in the continent.

It is a market that any investor cannot ignore with over 160 million people and a gateway to the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS).

“For me, while we say the country’s current investment climate could be better in terms of providing electricity, access to finance and other things, you should also look at the huge opportunities for investment in Nigeria .

“The basic lesson from the World Bank Assessment Report titled Nigeria, An Assessment of the Investment Climate in 26 states, is that there are critical constraints in Nigeria that impede the development of the non-oil sector.”

She said some of the critical issues include electricity, which affects the productivity and competitiveness of enterprises. However, she said the labour cost is

‘Very soon, most of our SMEs will start to feel the positive impact of our investment climate reforms programmes which we have embarked upon so far’

•From left: Country Director, Department For International Development (DFID), Mr Richard Montgomery, Aganga and Anambra State Governor Peter Obi at the event.

Stories by Toba Agboola

actually lower than that of most of Nigeria’s competitors, such as Brazil and South Africa.

According to her, there is need

for Nigeria to address some of the constraints in order to take advantage of its huge investment opportunities.”

In his keynote address entitled:

Reforming Nigeria’s Investment Climate, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, said his ministry had already embarked on far-reaching invest-

ment climate reforms to improve thecountry’s competitiveness ranking and attract more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Aganga said his ministry was partnering the Ministry of Power for uninterrupted electricity supplying nine industrial cities by the first quarter of 2013.

He said: “Very soon, most of our SMEs will start to feel the positive impact of our Investment climate reforms programmes which we have embarked upon so far.

“In terms of electricity, we are working with the Ministry of Power to ensure that nine industrial cities have access to uninterrupted power supply by the first quarter of 2013 .

“But in terms of improving our Doing Business and Competitiveness Ranking, it will take at least a year for all the reforms we are implementing now to reflect because samples have already been taken in June last year before we began the reforms.”

Minister: govt plans 6.4m tonnes of rice in 2015

T

HE Federal Government plans to increase milled rice production to 6.4 million tonnes per year within the next three years, Minister of Agriculture Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina has said.

The Minister made this known at the inauguration of a cottage rice mill, an agro - processing unit for S.K.F. He was represented by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Ezekiel Oyemomi.

He said besides the government efforts to bring in about 100 large rice mills into the country, it had equally planned to achieve the target by forming clusters of rice farms around the mills and also equip farmers with the right seeds, technologies and practices.

According to the Minister, such height, when attained, would mean that Nigeria has made good its resolve to achieve self sufficiency in rice production and complete substitution of imported rice by the year 2015.

Adesina said the drive to increase the volume of locally produced rice had become imperative, not only because of the volatile nature of the rice market, but also due to the imminent rise in import bill on the commodity.

“Nigeria is the world’s second importer of rice, spending about N356 billion for about two million metric tonnes of milled rice. The world’s rice market is highly volatile. Nigeria’s largest supplier,Thailand is poised to increase price by over 50 per cent.

Hence, if we do not grow our own rice, our import bill may also go up by 50 per cent,” he said.

He said the government would encourage local production of rice, stressing that Nigeria, not only spends

N1billion daily on rice importation but also risk paying more in foreign currency in future to import rice.

He said: “We have started with the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) where the issues of right seedlings are taken care of. Hitherto, people are planting just grains not realising that they will not get the correct yield. So, we will ensure now that the farmers get the correct seeds, to equally ensure higher yield.

“The second leg is that of fertiliser, which is also part of GES. We are distributing subsidised fertilisers and other agro - chemicals to farmers. “We are also into mechanised agriculture so that we can have rice growing clusters where existing farmers would be given all inputs and they would be around rice mills like this. We are doing all these so that rice mills like this would not lie waste and the market would also spring around the area.’’

“The Federal Government is also bringing in 100 large rice processing mills because we know that without those things, we won’t be able to produce the rice that have the correct quality and comparable to the one our people are lusting after.”

He pointed that people prefer the rice from overseas ratherthan patronise locally made ones, adding that if the country can produce rice locally - that compare favourably with foreign ones, Nigerians will go for the local ones.

SMEDAN partners Abia to empower indigent youths

T

HE Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has taken a major step towards the actualisation of the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan on job creation.

To address poverty and unemployment, the agency signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Abia State Oil-Producing Areas Development Commission (ASOPADEC), a body established to deepen industrialisation:

SMEDAN’s Director-General, Alhaji Muhammed Nadada Umar said at the ceremony: “This strategy that we have adopted is designed to stimulate in the youths, the desire to think out of the box on ways to kick-start their own profitable enterprise through the acquisition of vocational skills, entrepreneurship development training and soft access to funding a venture that would hopefully outlive them,” Umar said.

He expressed optimism that combined with capacity-building efforts,

the attractive arrangement would present the participants with a unique opportunity to contribute to the economic growth with the expectation of creating jobs and wealth not only in their state, but in the country as a whole as well as keep the youths off social vices inherent in the society today.

Chairman of ASOPADEC, Mr Sam Nwogu described the collaboration of his Commission with SMEDAN as a turning point in the history of the Commission, which he said was

established by an Act of the Abia State government to make a difference in the oil-producing areas of the state through skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development programmes.

The objective of the collaboration is to intervene and redefine positively, the living conditions of the catchment communities of the oilproducing areas of Abia State through skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development programmes.

Insecurity won’t stop investors, says Akpabio

F

OREIGNERS are still interested in investing in Nigeria despite its present security challenge ,Akwa Ibom State Governor , Godswill Akpabia has said.

He told reporters in Abuja: “The investors have confidence in the Nigerian economy and the ability of President Goodluck Jonathan in steering the ship of state.

“Of course, they know that in Nigeria there is a high return on investment and if they invest in the economy they will have a high return on their investment like the companies that invested in the telecoms sector. So they are very enthusiastic.”

He listed investment opportunities in his state to include aviation,

maritime, tourism, oil and gas and small and medium scale industries.

He expressed the hope that the state would attract the much needed foreign investment because of the excellent state of infrastructure.

On insecurity, he said he was satisfied with measures adopted by the President to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency.

According to him, members of the group would soon surrender their arms because as Nigerians, they also want to witness peace.

He said: “Who are the members of Boko Haram? When we see Boko Haram members, we will discuss with them because as far as I am

concerned, we still have a lot of people masquerading under Boko Haram to send a lot of mischievous text messages, information, among others. Mr President has the apparatus of government to know truly who is a Boko Haram member and who is not.

“I am sure he is taking the right security steps to address their feelings and I am very sure that very

soon, Boko Haram members will lay down their arms because they are Nigerians and they would like to see peace.

“The rumour about Islamisation of Nigeria is being orchestrated by people who are hiding under Boko Haram to cause crisis. It happened in the Niger Delta when we had militants and all sorts of people claiming to be Boyloaf, Tompolo and others.

‘I am sure that he is taking the right security steps to address their feelings and I am very sure that very soon, Boko Haram members will lay down their arms because they are Nigerians and they would like to see peace’

“It was only after the amnesty was declared that these kingpins under militancy came around and people saw them.

They were people who were being used; some people were paying money to these people who called themselves militant warlords in the Niger Delta.

They were not and clearly speaking, a lot of 419 and a lot of youths are trying to take advantage of the situation and trying to be Boko Haram,” he said.

Akpabio urged Nigerians to support the President and his transformation agenda, saying Nigerians have begun to enjoy the dividends of democracy under the present administration.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

14

INDUSTRY

UNIDO harps on economic diversification

A

GRO-industries and economic diversification are key factors that can lead Nigeria and other African countries to prosperity, Director-General, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Kandeh Yumkella has said.

In a keynote address at the Africa Caucus Meeting in Congo, he said agriculture is the most important sector of the African economy, adding that it should be the continent’s driving engine out of poverty.

He added that agriculture, accounts for 65 per cent of the continent’s employment and 75 per cent of its domestic trade.

“Africa is also urbanising at a fast rate. In order to turn bright prospects into employment opportunities for its young people, Africa needs to embrace economic diversification,”said Yumkella.

Yumkella said it was necessary to boost agricultural productivity in

Nutritionist advises on dairy products

C

Stories by Toba Agboola

the continent in order to achieve sustainable industrial and agribusiness development as a means of wealth and job creation.

“The transformation of agricultural raw materials into industrial products depends increasingly on the capacity of African entrepreneurs to participate and compete in global, regional and local value chains.

“Accordingly, African agri-business value chains will have to adapt to changing market conditions, continuously improve efficiency and strive to meet consumer requirements in a competitive global trade system,” said Yumkella.

He said high performance agribusiness value chains need to be based on processes that guarantee the highest product quality in a challenging global marketplace.

“Africa needs new learning and innovative systems involving re-

•Yumkella

gional cooperation, new types of partnerships between farmers, sellers, investors and researchers, and the right incentives and public actions that crowd-in rather than crowd-out private investment,” he said.

Yumkella urged African countries to strategically invest in transport, infrastructure, access to energy and water, ICTs and management efficiency in order for agribusiness to thrive.

Fed Govt may reconsider duty waivers for computer producers

T

HE Federal Government may reintroduce duty waivers for manufacturers of local computers and other information communication and technology (ICT) products, Minister of Communications Mrs Omobola Johnson has said.

Speaking during a facility tour of the Computer Village in Lagos, Mrs Johnson said the plan was informed by the need to create more investment opportunities and further grow the economy.

She said there would be zero per cent review of duties for such manufacturers to galvanise the economy.

Mrs Johnson said: “We are going to consider duty waivers for completely knocked out products. That is ICT products that were manufactured from the scratch in the country. There will be zero per cent of review of du-

By Akinola Ajibade

ties. We will ensure that every bonafide assemble benefits from this issue.”

She said Nigeria has remained a consuming nation, rather than being a producer of ICT devices. “ My biggest regret is that we do not have Nigerian brands, especially computers in large quantities in the country. We do not have enough Nigerian made ICT products.

“We need to get Nigerian devices into the hands of Nigerians. We would work with the Computers and Allied Product Dealers Association of Nigeria.

“Going forward, there is the need to have more Nigerian banking institutions in markets like this. We are going to ensure that value chains are created in the ICT sector to increase

local investments,” she said.

She attributed the congestion of the market to the fact that Lagos is thickly populated, aside being the commercial nerve centre of the country.

According to her, efforts would be made to talk to the Lagos State government on the issue of making the market less clumsy and crowded.

“Though the state government is doing its best to make the market good, the market no doubt is congested. But this is Lagos. We need to talk to the Lagos government to see what they can do further on the market,” she added.

Mrs Johnson said she was amazed by the quality of the shops in the Computer Villages, impressed by the quality of the shops in the market, stressing that the retail experience is like any other in the world.

‘Africa’s intra-trade relations can generate HE economic integration of African Union and erring states will $200b yearly’ Africa will improve the be adequately sanctioned. continent’s economic prosper-

T

ity, president of the Pan African Parliament, Bethel Amadi has said.

According to him, two per cent intra-trade among Africans could generate as much as $200 billion yearly.

He said in Abuja that the parliament is doing everything to ensure that Africa is integrated economically because this will have spiral effect on the economies of the 54 countries.

Said Amadi: “Once we make available a blueprint of the proposed eco-

nomic integration of the continent to the assembly of heads of states and approval is given, we will set the ball rolling to better the lot of Africans.

“Once there is a legal framework in this direction, the issue of unnecessary and heavy taxation as being experienced in Ghana by Nigerian businessmen will be a thing of the past.

“The continental body will ensure that such continental laws must be domesticated by member states of the

“Some countries have more trade advantage and without proper collective bargaining on behalf of member states it may not augur well for weaker countries.”

He said the face-off between Nigeria and Ghana over excessive taxation on Nigerian investors in Ghana is being looked into.

“I believe ECOWAS is looking into it but a strong legislative framework could have solved the imbroglio,” he said.

OUNCIL member, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Dr. Bran Batholomew, has urged Nigerians to consider the health implication of what they eat, particularly dairy products.

He gave the advice at the launch of Yo Classic yoghurt, a product of Nutricima Nigeria Limited in Lagos .

“Consider the health implication of what you eat, especially dairy products so that you will not complicate your health,” he said.

He urged the company to educate consumers on the nutritional value of the yoghurt.

Batholomew, however, said any fermented product is good as it

Unilever unveils Sunlight NILEVER Nigeria PLC has detergent introduced a two-in-one

U

sunlight detergent powder to the market to give its consumers a clean laundry and freshness with the added value of fragrance.

The product, which is in two variants - the tropical sensation (pink) and spring sensation (yellow) - redefines laundry and gives it absolute freshness.

Managing Director, Unilver Nigeria Plc, Mr Thabo Mabe said the company has exteremely been committed to giving its consumers the best of brands that will meet their needs at every given time.

He said the product is well packaged, economical and produced in good quality, a standard which Unilever has never compromised.

Brand Building Manager,

Unilever Nigeria Plc, Mr David Okeme said the product has become the leader in the smart-shopper category which, therefore, has the licence to procreate technically and it has come to redefine laundry by the kind of sensorials it promises the consumer who buys from the shelf.

His words: “Sunlight promises to clean your laundry and give you freshness.The brand is for consumers who are looking for added fragrance to their laundry.

In front of the pack, you will see the flowers from which the fragrances are made to give a fragrance wash to your laundry and add freshness as the product has promised.

Minister challenges sesame seeds investors on processing

M

INISTER of State for Trade and Investment Dr. Samuel Ortom has said prospective investors in sesame seed production should take advantage of incentives put in place by government and engage in full scale production and processing of the crop.

Ortom made the remark at the National Workshop on Sesame Seed Development and Marketing in Nigeria held at Makurdi, Benue State.

Represented by his Special Assistant, Mr Steve Amase, the minister said sesame seed offers unprecedented opportunities of contributing positively to the growth of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through job and wealth creation, especially as it has many applications such as in the food, pharmaceuticals and automobile industries.

He said the Ministry is conscious

of the various challenges in the business environment, adding that government is proffering solutions such as implementing policies under the Nigeria Agri-business and Agro-industry Development Initiative (NAADI) and the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).

In a statement from the ministry, the minister also implored stakeholders to embrace the Export Expansion Grant (EEG), a scheme that will assist indigenous exporters of agric-commodities.

Considering the current production capacity of about 250,000 to 300,000mt yearly with potentials for increased output, Nigeria, he said, can benefit immensely from the sesame seed industry if the requisite value addition and processing is made on the commodity locally.

Infrastructure: Govt plans policy to attract investment

T

•From left:Assistant HOD, Agric, Mr Gbenga Akinola; Supervisor for Agric (representing the Chairman, Ojokoro LCDA), Hamed Tijani and the Director, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Lagos State, Mr Kareem Adeniji, presenting a brouchure on Lagos Directory, during the just concluded Eko Expo 2012 at Lekki Trade Zone, Ibeju, Lagos.

would enhance wellness, stressing that the company should try to accommodate all age groups.

“The aged are compromised and we need to help them. Products should be made available to all ages,” the nutritionist said.

Senior Brand Manager, Nutricima Limited, Mrs. Adeola Kasali, said the Yo! brand was introduced into the Nigerian market in November 2009 and had since offered various products.

He said: “The essence of the Yo brand is to provide products that support the health and general wellness of its teeming consumers in a fun and exciting way.”

HE Federal Government has said it would soon unveil an infrastructure master plan that would enable it drive new investments across all sectors of the economy.

Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, said this in Abuja.

Aganga said Nigeria’s Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan, which is being worked upon by the ministries of National Planning and Trade and Investment, as well as the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, would be ready before the end of the year.

He added that when the plan was eventually unveiled, it would help the country focus on attracting investors for key infrastructure projects.

Speaking further on government’s plan, he said: “The government now has an

industrialisation plan. We have also established a competitiveness committee to help us in this regard.

“We have embarked on national tax reform which has culminated in national tax policy and we will also make it easy for businesses to be registered in 24 hours.

“For serious investors, we will also have Visa application processing in 24 hours.”

He stated that key sectors of the economy, especially where the country has competitive advantage have successfully been opened up for participation by interested individuals, saying the government is investing heavily in education, health, and other areas.

Aganga said the Federal Government would concentrate on using available resources to develop the country instead of encouraging exportation of manpower through continuing exportation of raw materials.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

15

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

16

OYO STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, IGBOORA INVITATION FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST/BIDS T he Oyo State College of Agriculture, Igboora is desirous in executing the following list of projects: 1. Construction of one school building.

2. Procurement of Tractors and implements – MF435 3. Construction of fish ponds (rectangular and circular) 4. Installation of intercom systems 5. Construction of Hatchery Building – to house hatchery of 60, 000 capacity 6. Redesign of the College Website 7. Design and Operation of student Portal and E-Registration 8. Campus – Wide Internet Networking.

Interested firms and Companies are hereby invited to submit expression of interest bids for review by the College. The bids are required to contain the following: a. Evidence of registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) b. Company Resume c. Record of similar Past Projects (with evidence) d. Copy of three years Tax Clearance Certificate e. Copy of VAT Registration f. Evidence of registration with Oyo State Bureau of Public Procurement g. Evidence of registration with Oyo State College of Agriculture, Igboora. h. Evidence of payment of Tender Fee of N25, 000.00 to the cash office, Bursary Department, Oyo State College of Agriculture, Igboora. i. Any other information that can further assist in determining the suitability of the bidder. Duly completed bids to be neatly packaged, addressed and submitted to: The Registrar, Oyo State College of Agriculture, P. M. B. 10, Igboora The covering envelope should be marked at the top left hand corner as: “EXPRESSION OF INTEREST/BIDS FOR ………………….”

Submission of duly completed bids closes on Thursday, 30th August, 2012 by 12 noon.

The bids will be opened by 2pm same day in the Conference Room of the College. Bidders are required to be present at the opening.

Interested applicants are to note that: (i). The Oyo State College of Agriculture, Igboora is neither committed nor obligated to short-listed any applicant. (ii). The College reserves the right to reject any and or all bidding packages (iii). The College will only recognize and correspond with authorized officers of the applying companies and not through individual or agents acting on their behalf. (iv). The advertisement for invitation shall neither be confused as a commitment on the part of the College nor shall it entitle any company to make any claims whatsoever and/or seek any indemnity from the Oyo State College of Agriculture, Igboora.

Thank you.

O. B. Gbadamosi For the Registrar & Secretary to Council

17

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF EDUCATION NATIONAL EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL (NECO) NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS COMPLEX KM 8, MINNA-BIDA ROAD, P. M. B. 159 MINNA, NIGER STATE www.mynecoexam.com

RE: ADDENDUM TO ADVERTISEMENT INVITATION FOR THE PRE-QUALIFICATION AND TENDER FOR THE PURCHASE OF SCANNERS AND UTILITY VEHICLES UNDER THE 2012 CAPITAL PROJECTS APPROPRIATION

Following the addendum placed in the Federal Tenders Journal Vol. 8, page 23 of Monday August 6 – Sunday 19, 2012 highlighting amendments to previous advertisements placed in page 52 of Daily Trust Newspaper of Monday July 23, 2012, page 17 of The Nation Newspaper of Monday July 23, 2012 and page 17 of Federal Tenders Journal of Monday July 23 – Sunday August 5, 2012, the Council wishes to notify Contractors/Bidders and General Public of the following changes on the above subject matter: (a)

The closing date for submission of tenders has been extended to Monday 3rd September, 2012 by 4 p.m.

(b)

Original copies of the technical and financial tenders are to be marked with the name of the bidder, lot nos and project type and should be dropped by hand into the tamper proof tender box located in the procurement office.

(c)

The technical documents will be opened first and only pre-qualified contractors will participate in the financial bid opening.

INVITATION FOR PRE-QUALIFICATION FOR YEAR 2006, 2007, 2010 AND 2011 TETFUND PROJECTS The Plateau State University, Bokkos intends to execute the following project: Construction of School of Management Sciences The University is therefore, inviting reputable contractors with proven competence and experience for pre-qualification. Interested contractors are requested to submit pre-qualification documents as follows: MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS 1. Evidence of Incorporation and Registration with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) 2. Company’s tax clearance certificate for the preceding three (3) years i.e. 2009 – 2011.

3. Company’s Audited Accounts for the last three (3) years including annual turnover.

4. Evidence of payment of ITF employers’ contribution.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS (i) Evidence of financial capability to execute the projects, Bank reference and a commitment to provide loan facility for the execution of the contract if won. (ii) List of similar verifiable and successful completed or on-going projects. Enclose copies of letters of award, interin payment certificates and practical completion certificate, in the last five (5) years (i.e. 2007 to date only). (iii) List of key managerial, technical and administrative staff of the company. This should include names, qualifications, curriculum vitae and copies of certificates and professional certificates of registration. (iv) Have fulfilled all its obligations to pay taxes, Company Income Tax, Education Tax, Pensions, and Social Security Contribution as contained in Section 16, Subsection 6(d) of the Public Procurement Act 2007. (v) List of equipment owned or to be leased by the company for the execution of the project showing evidence of ownership. (vi) VAT registration with evidence of remittances in three (3) years. (vii) A sworn affidavit indicating that all documents submitted are genuine, verifiable and that, no officer of the University has a pecuniary interest or is a former, present director or shareholder in the company. (viii) Evidence of community social responsibility (if any).

Please come along with original copies of the Documents for sighting on the day of opening of the pre-qualification documents.

All claims are subject to verification. Please note that any false claims shall be ground for disqualification.

COLLECTION OF PRE-QUALIFICATION DOCUMENTS The pre-qualification document is to be collected in the Office of the Registry, Plateau State University, Bokkos, on payment in the Bursary Department of a non refundable processing fee of Thirty Thousand Naira (N30,000.00) only.

SUBMISSION OF PRE-QUALIFICATION DOCUMENTS The Pre-qualification document should be spiral bound, packaged in an enveloped and clearly marked “Pre-qualification for project – Construction of School of Management Science” at the top left hand corner of the envelope.

The name, address of the company and telephone number shall also be clearly written on the reversed side of the enveloped.

All documents are to be addressed to the Registrar, Plateau State University, Bokkos and submitted in the Tender box provided in the Registrar’s Office, not later than 11:00am, three (3) weeks from the date of this publication.

OPENING OF PRE-QUALIFCATION DOCUMENTS The Pre-qualification documents will be opened three (3) weeks from the date of this publication at 11:00am in the Senate Chamber, Plateau State University, Bokkos.

Contractors are to attend the meeting for the opening of the pre-qualification documents. The list of successful pre-qualified companies will be displayed on the University notice board at the Front of the Administrative Building. Only pre-qualified contractors shall be invited to tender for the projects accordingly.

PLEASE NOTE 1. A submission of the pre-qualification documents to the Plateau State University, Bokkos is neither a commitment nor an obligation to award contract to any contractor or his agent.

2. All claims are subject to verification. Take notice that any false claim shall be a ground for disqualification.

3. The Plateau State University, Bokkos reserves the right to reject any or all documents submitted at any time prior to tendering or acceptance.

4. The Plateau State University, Bokkos reserves the right to cancel the procurement proceedings at any stage in the public interest without incurring any liability to any firm.

5. Those who have not executed projects worth over N200 million need not apply.

Opening of Tenders All tender documents shall be opened as scheduled below: Date: Venue: Time:

Tuesday 4th September, 2012 NECO Headquarters, Km 8, Minna-Bida Road, Minna 11.00 a.m.

All Bidders, Civil Society Organizations and relevant Professional Bodies are invited.

SIGNED REGISTRAR/CEO National Examinations Council

18

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

19

COMMENTARY EDITORIALS

EDITORIAL FROM OTHER LAND

Israel and Iran

Stop the bickering • Cross River and Akwa Ibom states must sheathe their swords and look beyond the 76 oil wells saga

I

T is a well settled notion that after a Supreme Court has pronounced on an issue, the matter remains settled and closed. But this seems to be no longer the norm in Nigeria. Recently, judgments of the apex court have been subjected to all manner of scrutiny, disputation and sometimes, outright rejection. Ready examples abound, such as the local council case between the Lagos State Government and the Federal Government; the Anambra State governorship case between Andy Uba and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to name just two.

But the current post-Supreme Court feuding between the two Niger Delta States of Akwa Ibom and Cross River is the latest and may well turn out the most virulent of all. This may be understand-

‘These pronouncements are clear enough and should be taken in good faith. But that has not been the case; the two sister states have continued to bicker and put up an increasingly messy fight in the media. The first major point to be made here is the lack of respect for court process and the rule of law.

A lot of what has come out after the Supreme Court judgment have no doubt impugned the integrity of the apex court and in effect, eroded the credibility of the judicial system’

able as the stakes are very high. About a month ago, the Supreme Court had ruled in favour of Akwa Ibom State in the tussle for 76 oil wells off the coasts of these contiguous states. The matter of offshore oil wells in the Niger Delta had been subject of litigation among states in the area for some time. Rivers State first had a long legal battle with Akwa Ibom over the ownership of over 300 oil wells which the court settled upon splitting the wells.

However, in the case between Akwa Ibom and Cross River states, the 76 oil wells were awarded to the former on the core ground that Cross River State ceased to have littoral boundaries upon Nigeria ceding the Bakassi Peninsula to the Republic of Cameroon. The Supreme Court verdict on the matter, given on July 10, 2012, is quite clear and unambiguous, it states: “After the affected areas were ceded to Cameroon, Cross River State became landlocked with no seaward boundaries. It was deprived the status of a littoral state and eventually, Cross River State shares no maritime boundary with Akwa Ibom State or any other Nigerian state.”

An earlier judgment by the apex court in 2002 also pronounced in the same vein that the effect of the judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2002 concerning the land and maritime boundaries between Nigeria and Cameroon is that it has wiped off what used to be the estuarine sector of Cross River State as a result of which the state is hemmed in by the international boundary between Nigeria and Cameroon.

These pronouncements are clear enough and should be taken in good faith. But that has not been the case; the two sister states have continued to bicker and put up an increasingly messy fight in the media. The first major point to be made here is the lack of respect for court process and the rule of law. A lot of what has come out after the Supreme Court judgment have no doubt impugned the integrity of the apex court and in effect, eroded the credibility of the judicial system. If we do not have confidence in the system, then we must desist from taking our cause before the courts ab initio.

Another important point is that it has been proven across the world that it is not the quantum of oil or natural resources that an entity has that makes it great but the ability to mobilise its human resources. Singapore is a good example; Japan is another. Why has Nigeria remained a very poor country in spite of her enormous mineral wealth? And Cross River, for instance, has huge potential in tourism that can yield more revenue than all the oil wells in Nigeria. It must therefore, put the seeming loss behind it and move on to greater things.

Lastly, these are basically the same people rent in two by artificial boundaries. With perspicacious leadership, what belongs to one of these states would naturally benefit the other immensely.

This quarrel is lapsing into unhealthy personal abuses of the principals. This is disgraceful and rather diminishing for the two governors. We appeal to them to stop while we urge respectable elders to mediate in the matter.

Delta’s money • The claim by the Delta State government on $15 million allegedly offered by Ibori has come home to roost

I

T is a matter of law, but it is also a matter of decency. The Delta State Government recently went to court to ask the Federal Government to release the $15 million (N2.4 billion) that its former governor, James Ibori, allegedly gave to the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

The story of the money, which attracted tremendous theatre, sometimes of the absurd variety, is roosting in the public glare. But it is taking on the nature of a conflict rather than resolution. The Delta State Government, which had been sometimes mute and sometimes cagy on the con-

‘The Federal Government and the EFCC, by that advertorial, should expect no other claimant than the Delta State Government since Ibori was governor of the state at the time of the alleged exchange of $15 million with the former EFCC boss. What is tricky about this is that the Federal Government wants to use the money as exhibit and seek the presence of Ibori for trial before determining the destination of the money. This is perverse wisdom’

troversy until now, is responding to an advertorial giving a 14-day deadline for anyone to lay claim to the money, otherwise the alleged sum would be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

It took this rather brash order for the Delta State Government to stake its claim on that money, but just as well.

What is curious about the order, though, is that Ibori is a convict languishing in a British jail and there is no way he could have been conjured from the penitentiary to Nigeria, to make any claims in court.

It was natural for the Delta State government to come forward the way it has. Mallam Ribadu had claimed that the said sum was offered by the former governor, but Ibori denied this, and the ensuing drama was a firestorm of recriminations.

The matter was never resolved until Ibori fled the shores of this country for Dubai and the United Kingdom, where the law caught up with him. The money has remained in the vault of the Central Bank of Nigeria, under the temporary custody of the Federal Government.

In an application filed by the attorney-general and commissioner for justice, Delta State, Charles Ajuyah, before the Federal High Court, the state asked the court to order the refund of the money to the state in that it belongs to the people and government of Delta State.

The Delta State attorney general also claimed that it was wrong for the Ibori case to be likened to those of the former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepriye Alamieyeseigha and his Plateau State counterpart, Chief Joshua Dariye. He claimed, and rightly too, that both men were not subjected to fresh trials of corrupt enrichment other than the criminal charges for which they suffered just punishment. Trials for corrupt enrichment should be pursued when Ibori returns, but that should not prejudice where the money belongs.

The Federal Government and the EFCC, by that advertorial, should expect no other claimant than the Delta State Government since Ibori was governor of the state at the time of the alleged exchange of $15 million with the former EFCC boss.

What is tricky about this is that the Federal Government wants to use the money as exhibit and seek the presence of Ibori for trial before determining the destination of the money. This is perverse wisdom.

Ibori cannot in good conscience be expected to vacate his solitary confinement in Britain to answer to fresh charges at home. The onus, however, is for the Delta State Government to prove in court that the money actually came from its coffers. Once that is achieved, the only logical and natural thing is for the money to return to where it came from.

I

SRAELI leaders are again talking about possible military action against Iran. This is, at best, mischievous and, at worst, irresponsible, especially when diplomacy has time to run.

Iran’s nuclear ambitions are clearly dangerous to the region. Iranian leaders operated a nuclear program in secret for two decades and continued to invest in it even after its discovery in 2002. The government is outspoken in its hatred of Israel. It supports President Bashar al-Assad of Syria and extremist groups like Hezbollah. If Iran gets a weapon, other countries in the region may want one, too.

But while Israel’s defense minster, Ehud Barak, suggested on Israel Radio Thursday that Iran had made significant progress toward acquiring weapons capability — citing what he said was a new American intelligence report — there is no proof that Iran is at the point of producing a weapon. Obama administration officials would not confirm the existence of such a report, and, in any case, continue to insist strongly that Iran is not on the verge of achieving a weapon.

It is impossible to know what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning or why he has ignored American entreaties to give diplomacy a reasonable chance. There is, however, persistent speculation in Israel that Mr. Netanyahu wants to attack in the coming weeks in the belief that President Obama will be forced to support the decision because of his political needs in his re-election campaign.

Such a move would be outrageously cynical.

Military action is no quick fix. Even a sustained air campaign would likely set Iran’s nuclear program back only by a few years and would rally tremendous sympathy for Iran both at home and abroad. The current international consensus for sanctions, and the punishments, would evaporate. It would shift international outrage against Mr. Assad’s brutality in Syria to Israel. Many former Israeli intelligence and military officials have spoken out against a military attack. And polls show that many ordinary Israelis oppose unilateral action.

Even so, Mr. Netanyahu’s hard-line government has never liked the idea of negotiating with Iran on the nuclear issue, and, at times, seems in a rush to end them altogether. On Sunday, the deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, told Israel Radio that the United States and the other major powers should simply “declare today that the talks have failed.”

Of course, it is disappointing that the negotiations have made so little progress. No one can be sure that any mix of diplomacy and sanctions will persuade Iran to give up its ambitions. But the talks have been under way only since April, and the toughest sanctions just took effect in July.

There is still time for intensified diplomacy.

It would be best served if the major powers stay united and Israeli leaders temper loose talk of war.

– New York Times

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh • Editor Gbenga Omotoso

•Editorial Page Editor Sanya Oni

•Chairman, Editorial • Executive Director Board Sam Omatseye (Finance & Administration) Ade Odunewu •General Editor Kunle Fagbemi • Gen. Manager (Training and Development) •Editor Online Soji Omotunde Lekan Otufodunrin •Managing Editor Northern Operation Yusuf Alli

•Chief Internal Auditor Toke Folorunsho

•Managin Editor Waheed Odusile

• Senior Manager (Sales) Akeem Shoge

•Deputy Editor Lawal Ogienagbon •Deputy Editor (News) Niyi Adesina

•Advert Manager Robinson Osirike •IT Manager Bolarinwa Meekness

•Group Political Editor Bolade Omonijo

•Press Manager Udensi Chikaodi

•Abuja Bureau Chief Yomi Odunuga

•Manager, Corporate Marketing Hameed Odejayi

•Sport Editor Ade Ojeikere •Group Business Editor Ayodele Aminu

• Manager (Admin) Folake Adeoye

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

20

CARTOON & LETTERS

S

IR: Being the President at this time is like walking a tightrope, or having planks pulled one by one from under one’s feet on a deep river. Unfortunately, the present occupant of the office, President Goodluck Jonathan and his lieutenants, seem to be oblivious of this as they trudge aimlessly around in a house which harbours a huge venomous snake.

This snake is not Boko Haram, but corruption. The first Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Lee Kwan Yew, in his autobiography -From Third World to First- wrote: “When we took office in 1959 we set out to have a clean administration. We were sickened by the greed, corruption and decadence of many Asian leaders. Fighters for freedom for their people have become plunderers of their wealth. Their societies slipped backwards. We made sure from the day we took office, that every dollar in revenue would

EDITOR’S MAIL BAG SEND TYPEWRITTEN, DOUBLE SPACED AND SIGNED CONTRIBUTIONS, LETTERS AND REJOINDERS OF NOT MORE THAN 800 WORDS TO THE EDITOR, THE NATION, 27B, FATAI ATERE ROAD, MATORI, LAGOS. E-mail: views@thenationonlineng.net

Corruption as the ticking time-bomb be properly accounted for and would reach the beneficiaries at the grassroots as one dollar, without being siphoned off along the way.”

Singapore was so corruption-ridden that she was showing all the symptoms of a country that could go under any moment, same symptoms Nigeria is currently showing.

The leaders of Singapore knew this and did not for a second convince themselves otherwise, neither did they place propaganda above prosperity by hiring spent forces as media contractors to defend ineptitude.

Singaporean leaders agreed that to progress was to do away with corruption, and so the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) was set up and empowered in such a way that it could summon any government official, irrespective of his status, for questioning.

In Singapore, if you are earning 150 thousand naira monthly and you are seeing driving around in expensive cars that you cannot afford with your salary, you will be invited for questioning.

A Singaporean president would never take a ‘church gift’ and hope

God would pardon him. Even if God pardons him (which he would not), the state will not. A Singaporean leader or official would not say on national TV that he does not ‘give a damn’ about declaring his assets. If he does, he sure has a date with doom. These were, and are still, the measures taken to rid Singapore of corruption. The leaders wanted progress and they showed the political will.

Has Jonathan or any of his allies shown this will?

History has shown, in all climes, that government, above all, must

‘Danfo’ drivers and the new Lagos traffic law IR: It was heartwarming to read in the newspapers of the signing of the new Lagos traffic law.

However, what is surprising to me is the criticism that has trailed it by some so-called groups. Does it imply that we are a nation of lawless people as foreigners are wont to project us?

But if traffic offenders should be graded according to the gravity and frequency of their offences, I think the commercial bus drivers, popularly called “danfo”, will take the lead. Upon all the regulations put forward to curb their excesses and the sanctions they suffer in the hands of traffic officers, this group of drivers have persisted in their recklessness on the roads.

A while ago, the government restricted them to the service lanes on major roads like Ikorodu Road and other dual carriage ways in the metropolis. But these drivers have not only defied that order but have gone back to discharging and picking passengers on the highways. Most traffic jams along Ikorodu Road and Oshodi-Apapa Expressway can, most times, be traced to the danfo drivers.

At major bus-stops like Ojota, Mile 12, Ojuelegba and those along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, for example, the situation is simply crazy.

The drivers not only drop their passengers randomly even before get-

S

ting to the bus-stops, they make Uturns in unauthorised places and sometimes drive over the road divides to change direction. Whenever there is any traffic hold-up, no matter how slight, they immediately form lines outside the major roads, taking up every available space on the sidewalks only to go to the front to force their way into the lane. This often compounds the traffic hold-up as it often results in avoidable accidents.

S

The truth is that the average ‘danfo’ driver is a bundle of recklessness. He operates his vehicle, which is often without valid identification, as if he is the only one who has the right to drive on the road. Probably due to the fact that they are often not owners of the bus, the average driver can afford to twist and turn on the road and speed through very rough roads.

While you try to manoeuvre your car to avoid potholes, the ‘danfo’ driver jumps the queue to come in

front of you and force you to let him rejoin the queue. The drivers do not obey traffic lights, especially where traffic officers are not around to compel obedience. They are also usually the first to divert to the opposite road to drive against traffic.

I believe the new law will greatly reduce the number of ‘danfo’ buses on Lagos roads.

• Zakari Uthman, Agege, Lagos

demonstrate the political will to effect change. In places where this is not so, people have resorted to violence. No matter the zeal of civil societies, NGOs or the masses, it will amount to nought or lead to violence when government does not demonstrate the political will to show that it is on the same page with those yearning for progressive change. It was the lack of this will and the inability of government to listen to the legitimate yearnings of the people that resulted in violence in countries like Tunisia, Libya and Syria.

At some point, the people will get tired of talking and start acting. This is why I believe the ruling class is walking on land-mines. Jonathan, at present, has enough advice and suggestions on how to progress, but he doesn’t seem to “give a damn”.

His body language is that of a man who has resigned to fate, expecting God to work it out for him.

Building a nation requires serious sacrifices which include selfdenial. There is no time that Nigeria requires these sacrifices more than now. If the David Mark-led National Assembly and the Jonathan-led government cannot make these sacrifices, then they must get off before all the planks are pulled from under their feet and let serious-minded people start minding Nigeria, because at present, nothing is working for them, other than corruption.

• ‘Dimeji Daniels Ekiti State.

Adebanjo and Akande: Who is more Awoist?

IR: Pa Ayo Adebanjo and Bisi Akande are my father’s age mates. I have been following their political histories for quite sometime. Who among the two is a true Awoist?

It is true that Adebanjo was one of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) chieftains who approved the gubernatorial candidature of Akande in 1999. Unfortunately, Adebanjo was also one of the AD chieftains who sold-out the party to General Olusegun Obasanjo who later cajoled them to support his own presidential re-election in 2003.

The AD leaders succumbed. Then, Obasanjo cleverly told the so-called Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to put presidential election to come first. And after

he was re-elected, he used his mantra of “Voting or no voting, PDP will win” to rob Akande and the other AD governors of their re-election.

In one interview he granted awhile ago, Adebanjo related how he and the other AD chieftains went to wine and dine with Obasanjo. I challenge Adebanjo to tell Nigerians if Pa Obafemi Awolowo, as Leader of the Opposition, ever compromised as he and the other AD leaders did.

The only AD governor who resisted the Obasanjo bait was the Asiwaju (Senator) Bola Tinubu, and the only one who withstood the PDP Tsunami that swept-away the AD governors. He secured his gubernatorial re-election against the federal might and electoral machinations.

He has been so magnanimous and

trying to re-organise Yorubaland under one umbrella, as Pa Awo used to do. But the so-called elders have remained unrepentant, with Adebanjo, Olu Falae, and Reuben Fasoranti, et al abusing Tinubu, and accusing him of lack of respect for elders.

Would Tinubu have respected the so-called elders who overlooked how President Obasanjo seized the financial entitlements of Lagos State, only to go and be wining and dining with him (Obasanjo)? Look at how the so-called elders misled Mama HID Awolowo to organize the socalled Yoruba re-union, only so that they could go cap-in-hand to beg President Goodluck Jonathan to give Yoruba some juicy appointments.

Whose interest did they represent?

And if they were sincere, why did they not go to Obasanjo who declared operation totality for Jonathan’s presidential election, and used the PDP machinery to work in his favour?

Would Pa Awo have overlooked Jonathan’s mis-governance to be begging him for juicy appointments for the Yoruba race? Jonathan has just said he would discuss the state of Nigeria with (north and south) ethnic leaders that he has compromised; those who would not tell him to resign. Look at how the so-called Yoruba elders rallied round Olusegun Mimiko who only abandoned the PDP so he could attain his gubernatorial ambition!

• Pius Oyeniran Abioje, Ph. D, University of Ilorin.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

21

COMMENTS

Victory for democracy in Edo State

T

HE gubernatorial elections in Edo State has come and gone and thank God it ended peacefully.

Adams Oshiomhole, the ACN Governor of the state was elected as predicted by everybody. Oshiomhole himself came out to upbraid INEC for not performing at optimal level. He may be right and as he graphically put it, the arrival of a passenger at a destination does not mean there was no accident on the way. According to the governor, the electoral materials arrived very late ironically in the capital and its surroundings. Obviously, the plan was to allow elections there to continue till night time so that the polls could be massively rigged. However, elections have come and gone according to predictions and the right winner has emerged.

One of the most impressive things about this election was that candidates were asked to debate and this was televised so that people could listen to the party manifesto and plans of each candidate. There was also massive use of the media, both electronic and print by the candidates. The effect of this American style of campaign is not quite clear. But the use of the media is highly commendable. What to my mind favoured Oshiomhole was the solid support he had among the traditional leadership of the state, particularly the Obas, Onoges, and Otaru of Auchi. Most in particular, the support of the Oba of Benin must have been decisive. Not only did the Oba say openly that he has prayed for Oshiomhole’s victory and that he cannot pray again for the candidate of PDP, even though he was a Bini man; the Edaiken of Uselu, the heir apparent Ambassador Eredua spoke less

’The challenge before Oshiomhole and his party is great but not impossible. He must double his efforts to show that the achievements of his first term were not a flash in the pan, but a deliberate execution of carefully and ideologically planned development’

J

OURNALISTS know that they walk in the shadow of death everyday. Whenever they are going to work, they know that danger is lurking, but they still brave the odds to go out because as they say ‘’man must wack’’. And for man to wack and also feed his family, he must work hard, meaning that he has to be diligent in what he does. For those who know, journalism entails hardwork. It is not a job for the indolent nor is it for the lily-livered.

A journalist, who wishes to make his mark must be bold and daring; he must be prepared to go the extra mile in order to get that story or that picture that will make the difference. On the face of it, the job may appear easy to the uninitiated, but ask the practitioners, they will tell you what they go through in the line of duty.

Whether here or abroad, the challenges are the same. But things are better over there because the people are more civilised. Here, virtually, every Nigerian sees the journalist as an enemy; we are only their friends when they are in trouble.

At such a time, they will do anything to curry the favour of the journalist because at that point, he is the only one that can let the world know what their problem is. Once, they surmount that problem, the journalist again becomes their enemy. Clearly, we have become rags that are used, dumped and picked up again when the need arises.

Sadly, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s description of journalists as the ‘flotsam and jetsam of the earth’ rings true today as it was over 50 years ago when he uttered those words. Journalists are endan-

diplomatically than his father and pointedly said he was supporting Oshiomhole because the governor was his friend and because the Governor had developed Benin City.

The ACN party machine and its leadership, particularly Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governors Fayemi, Fashola, Amosun and Aregbesola brought their political weight to support Oshiomhole. But as Governor Oshiomhole himself said, we need to commend President Goodluck Jonathan for doing the right and statesmanlike thing of not allowing himself to be used against the will of the people. In any civilized country this would have been expected. Elections are routine and are usually conducted fairly and transparently; so the issue of our thanking the President would not have arisen because that’s the right thing to do. But of course we are in Africa and Nigeria where state power is routinely used against the state and the people. We should gradually begin to set standards in this country so that democratic norms would be the rule rather than the exception. From now on, we sincerely hope that elections would be conducted fairly, seamlessly and transparently and that results would reflect what pollsters indicate would be their outcomes.

Finally, we cannot but comment on the fact that so called godfathers of Edo politics were roundly defeated and one hopes that their counterparts in other parts of the country would take a cue from what happened in EdoState. I chuckled when I read Chief Edwin Clark’s remarks in the papers about this election, when he dismissed some people who according to him were parading themselves as leaders of their state while in Aso-Rock and apparently misleading the President about their political clout at home. The riddle of this statement was not difficult to solve and we all know who Mr. Fixer is.

The election has shown us that if given the opportunity, the Nigerian electorate would choose wisely as they have done in the case of Edo State. The challenge before Oshiomhole and his party is great but not impossible.

He must double his efforts to show that the achievements of his first term were not a flash in the pan, but a deliberate execution of carefully and ideologically planned development. The ACN is now seen as a party of great achievement which began first in Lagos, extended to Edo

State and which the governors of Ekiti, Osun, Ogun and Oyo states are trying to beat. Not all the states are equally endowed with resources. Ekiti my state is the least endowed materially.

But without being arrogant, John Kayode Fayemi, our governor epitomizes the collectivity of brain power that is available in Ekiti and in any good Jide country; he would be Osuntokun a formidable candidate for the highest office in the land. Of course the future is pregnant. Who knows what it would bear?

The challenge before ACN is to harness all the organisational powers it has and enlist the support of the intelligentsia to make the party a formidable national party, rather than a regional party and to form a grand alliance with other progressive parties in the country so that it can be a formidable challenge to the PDP and wrestle power from it in 2015.

‘I chuckled when I read Chief Edwin Clark’s remarks in the papers about this election, when he dismissed some people who according to him were parading themselves as leaders of their state while in Aso-Rock and apparently misleading the President about their political clout at home’

In the line of duty gered species because some people just hate their faces.

When some people see a journalist, what comes to their mind is to harm him. If you ask them the reason for such baleful thought, they will have no plausible response.

They just hate the guts of the journalist. Many journalists have been victims of the senseless actions of some people.Whether in Monrovia, Liberia or Lagos, Nigeria, the story is the same. Journalists are mauled for doing their job. These assaults are perpetrated not only by those you may want to refer to as thugs, but also by those who are expected to know better. These are the people in authority, who stand by and watch their aides brutalise journalists, after which they will offer insincere apology.

After such fake apology, everything will remain quiet until the next attack on another journalist. If the government places a premium on the lives of journalists, it would not have treated casually the killing of two Nigerian journalists, Krees Imodibe and Tayo Awotunsin in Monrovia in 1990.

The world saw how the United States (US) and France reacted when their journalist-citizens, Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik, were killed a few months ago in crisistorn Syria. We also saw how the remains of Ochlik and his wounded colleague were received at home by no less a person than former President Nicolas Sarzoky. That is how it should be; the state must have the interest of its people at

heart in order to build in them a sense of belonging.

HY will our leaders care about us when their poli cies are even geared toward killing us? So, when we are killed outside, it means nothing to them; they will even be happy since they won’t be accused of carrying out the dastardly act. Some people just take delight in battering journalists. If this is not so, those who descended on a photojournalist, Benedict Uwalaka, of Leadership at the morgue of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, last Thursday, would have thought twice before behaving like street urchins. Uwalaka and his colleagues were at the morgue to carry out their duty. They were not there on a frolic of their own. They went to cover the release of bodies of victims of the June 3 Dana plane crash to their families.

The photo-journalists had not even started taking photographs when they were accosted by some attendants of Lekan Ogunsola Memorial Morgue and warned against snapping pictures as if they wanted them for the fun of it. Bayo, Idowu

W

and Kunle, who were said to have beaten up Uwalaka, have no rights whatsoever to have warned the photo-journalists against taking photographs. Who are they to have barred the journalists from taking pictures? Do they know the significance of the event of that day? The June 3 Dana crash was a national tragedy covered not only by our media but also the international press. Were the attendants acting on instruction? Who gave them such instruction? What these ruffians seem not to know is that journalists were attracted to the morgue because the release of bodies of the crash victims was of public importance.

They should get this into their numbskull, the journalists were not there for a tea party. They were there for serious business, but it is sad that those taken off the streets so that they can become useful citizens went mad for no just reason and at the end of the day brutalised a man who was performing his lawful duty. Bayo, Kunle and Idowu even had the effrontery to still inflict injury on Uwalaka in the presence of the police. Are they saying they are above the law? Well, the handling of investigation into the matter will show whether they are above the law or not.

It is unacceptable for journalists or any professional for that matter to be maltreated in the course of their duties. We know that every job has its hazards. But this deliberate attack on Uwalaka cannot pass as one of such hazards.

Will Quadri Kasali get justice?

‘It is unacceptable for journalists or any professional for that matter to be maltreated in the course of their duties. We know that every job has its hazards. But this deliberate attack on Uwalaka cannot pass as one of such hazards’ •Uwalaka

Quadri Kasali is a Lagos bus driver, who has been in prison custody since March 5 for allegedly hitting a judge. Ordinarily, this is

Lawal Ogienagbon lawal.ogienagbon@thenationonlineng.net SMS ONLY: 08099400204

a bailable offence, but the magistrate’s court has been denying him bail. Six times now the court has denied him bail. Agreed that bail is at the discretion of the court, a judge is expected to look at the circumstances surrounding a case and most importantly, the likelihood of the accused jumping bail, in exercising that discretion.

There is nothing before the court to show that Kasali will jump bail.

Then why is he being denied bail?

According to the court, he does not deserve bail because he hit a judge. Haba! Your worship, is that the law?

There is no law that says an accused should be denied bail because of the status of the complainant. That would be the day if such a provision finds its way into the statute book. Kasali has suffered enough. By now, I believe he would have become sober. He has been taught a lesson that it is not good to offend a ‘big man’.

This lesson will stick forever. I don’t see him going out of his way again to commit the same offence in future. Milord, please temper justice with mercy. After all, we are still in Ramadan, the month of forgiveness. May Allah, forgive us our sins.

SMS ONLY: 08099400204

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

22

COMMENTS

L

AGOS State’s resourceful governor, Raji Fashola, has been under severe strain these past weeks following his reclamation of the Makoko lagoon front from slum dwellers. The spate of criticism was enough to drown a non-performing state governor and permanently seal the chances for a future elective office. He has drawn flaks from human right lawyers and the press, the self appointed defenders of the underprivileged in equal measures.

This was the same way we railed against Colonel Raji Rasaki’s demolition of Maroko in 1990 dismissing as self serving, his claim that his action was to “prevent unnecessary and avoidable danger and calamities to the people”, sneering at his promise “to rehabilitate those who settled in Maroko before the acquisition of the land in 1972” as well as his declaration that his “mandate as a military governor did not include making provision of houses for illegal squatters.” Critics have tried to draw a parallel between Fashola’s action and what was then described as Rasaki’s “naked crime against humanity and an uncivilised, barbaric and brutal episode”.

In a satirical piece, titled Colonel Rasaki and the Challenge of Maroko in The Guardian of April 5, 1990, I had also said that “Even if Colonel Raji Rasaki defaults in honoring his promise to give part of the reclaimed land back to the masses, and chose instead to share the plots among the parasitic elite, and a small cult of social dreamers, without whose efforts society decays, it would still be a win- win situation for the nation.” As it turned out, government put value on the land and shared the plots among the elite including some media practitioners, Rasaki’s most vociferous critics who as residents of Victoria Island extension, suddenly found themselves rubbing shoulders with the rich.

Professor Olatunji Dare, in his own inimitable way, brilliantly captured the essence of the demolished Makoko water front slum in the following imagery “Like Maroko, it was an affront to human dignity. Smoke billowed non-stop from heaps of sawdust dotting the landscape, putting the health of residents and indeed the entire neighborhood at risk. Rickety gangways took the place of roads, and the lagoon served as the community’s lavatory”.

This situation which governor Fashola says is unacceptable is what his government claimed it set out to reverse. It is difficult to fault the governor on this noble endeavor.

Towards this end, Governor Fashola, a well

G

ROWING up in Delta State in the eighties and nineties was fun. We were living at Maduemezie Street Asaba. I had many friends. We engaged in many childish plays and pranks and I always remember those years with nostalgia but I would not say so about schooling. I had my primary school at Ahabam Primary School Asaba and secondary education at Saint Roses Agwasiukwu. The teachers and pupils were lovely but the same cannot be said about the school facilities. We were schooling under collapsed roofs, dilapidated buildings, classroom blocks with paints peeling off. Both pupils and teachers were at the mercy of snakes because most times, the school compounds were outgrown with weeds. Even as a little girl then in primary school, I always wondered why we had so much weed and grass in

• Uduaghan

Makoko as metaphor for national indiscipline polished individual, who sees himself, first as a public servant directed that a letter be sent to the communities of Makoko and Iwaya, rightly accusing them of “occupying and developing shanties and unwholesome structures on the water front without authority, thereby constituting environmental nuisance, security risks, impediments to economic and gainful utilization of the water front.”

The government through its Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure and Development also reminded the people of its obligation to “protect life and property, promote legitimate economic activities on the water front, restore security, improve water transportation and beautify the Lagos water front/coast line in line with the state megacity plan”.

The government went a step further to have a meeting with the community leaders at the state secretariat where the commissioner Prince Adesegun Oniru informed the community leaders that they should voluntarily dismantle houses built with planks on the coastal waters of the state or the government would move in to do it for them by cutting them with saws.

Of course they had no defence for their indiscipline and lawlessness in reducing the lagoon water front into what Professor Olatunji Dare described as an ‘affront to humanity’. If there was to be any defence for what was unarguably a product of share indiscipline and lawlessness, by those who fraudulently advertise poverty, it came from journalists who regaled us with tales of residents who

have two wives and 12 children or those who earn enough from their fishing activities to support their wards in a N350, 000 North American University in Benin Republic. It was as if that should be a justification for people to live like animals eating and bathing with lagoon water they equally use as lavatory. It is as if those who want to have 12 children also have the right to pollute the environment and endanger the lives of others in the process.

The point must be made that there are no villages in any part of the country where people even in the midst of grinding poverty live like pigs the way those who turned Makoko water front into slum lived before Fashola’s timely intervention mid July. The old Makoko was a product of a culture of indiscipline, illegality and lawlessness rather than poverty and impoverishment as the press and human rights lawyers want us to believe.

A man who can sustain two wives and 12 children or pay N350, 000 school fees can afford to rent a descent house.

Once again, it dovetails to the question of leadership in our nation. The culture of indiscipline, illegality and lawlessness of squatters turning Lagos lagoon front and large parts of Abuja into slums, are all but a reflection of the failure of leadership by the political class.

The federal government that has done little to address crises of housing in urban centres like Lagos and Abuja has been busy selling the inherited structures to themselves. What can be more reckless than senate presidents, outgoing speakers and top level public office

What Uduaghan did to my Alma Mater

By Obiageli Uponi the school compound instead of flowers.

I cannot forget one particular day, during my fifth year in Ahabam Primary School. That day we were all convinced in our innocent minds that the Biblical story of Noah and the flood was being recreated and we all children will get drowned in the flood. It rained heavily with thunderstorm and lightening. Our classroom and the entire school compound was flooded.

As we had little or no windows, the 46 pupils huddled round our teacher Mr Ejiro Ohanusi as we were convinced the world was coming to an end. No this is not an experience I wish on any child.

So with all this experience you can imagine my surprise, amazement, elation when I travelled down to Delta State after six years in England. Saint Patricks College Asaba where my elder brother Jewere schooled was a beauty to behold. This was a miserable block of classroom, then painted in green and yellow. Standing on that same compound now is three story block of buildings painted in beautiful brown, yellow orka and cream colours that can match any standards in the international community.

Visiting friends and moving further around, I observed that a lot of new schools have been built while dilapidated ones have been refurbished and modernized with electronic facilities.

Eku Primary School, Odion Primary School Emevor, Ugba Primary School Onicha Olana, Urhobo College Effurun, Aganbi Grammar School Eku, Agbor Technical College, Calvagina Primary School among others have all been renovated by the present administration.

It is note worthy that this revolution in

the education sector in the state has touched virtually the lives of every pupil in the state as over 18,000 classroom blocks have been constructed in 1,500 schools spreading across hundreds of communities in the 25 local government areas of the state.

Inclusive also is the 10 new model primary schools built and furnished to spread across the three senatorial zones. Resumption of academic activities in these schools will commence in September when a new school year begins. No doubt these model schools will expose pupils to electronic learning and ensure academic excellence in the state.

My joy knew no bounds as one cannot really over-emphasised the importance of education. Education is the wealth of any nation. The Bible says “my people die for lack of knowledge”. A good school environment encourages pupils to excel in their academic pursuit.

It is instructive that this kind of attention is being given to primary education as the creche, nursery and primary school levels are the foundational and formative stages of education. This time is the best period to mould children to become successful individuals in future. Therefore exposing them to modern education facilities in a conducive learning environment will enhance academic excellence and point the right way for them.

Teachers are not left out in the silent educational revolution in Delta State, as the government is also committed in training and retraining them. Incentives have been worked out for teachers serving in the riverine areas, while the primary school teachers salary has been augmented with N500 million monthly.

When the Emmanuel Uduaghan admin-

holders buying off their official residences that rightly belong to coming generation?

In The Guardian piece published 22 years ago referred to above, I spoke of Very Important Squatters (VIS) who took over federal government houses in FESTAC Town, Ikoyi, Victoria Island , Satellite town, etc. This has today become institutionalised. Immoral and barefaced stealing of our national patrimony started by the military has now been codified into law by PDP successive administrations in the last 13 years.

Besides confiscating inherited structures, the bulk of the properties in Abuja are owned by former political office holders. They are still engaged in frenzy to build more for themselves and their children with thoughts for neither the lower salary earners in the civil service and others who engage in private economic activities. Yet without them Abuja will collapse. And what moral justification has those who immorally confiscate our national patrimony by virtue of being in power temporarily to dismantle illegal structures in Abuja if one may ask?

And while Lagos governor is on track for removing those who have become a danger to others, there is a need to pay more attention to housing in Lagos. After the heroic efforts of Lateef Jakande’s massive provision of housing for teaming Lagos residents, an exercise that allowed even messengers in private companies to buy houses of their own, and successive power holders in Lagos have deviated from Jakande’s vision. It is today near impossible for junior workers earning N18,000 a month in Lagos, to dream of owning a house with flats built by LSDPC selling for between N3m and N7m.

There is no doubt that the Lagos as the commercial nerve centre of the country has been shortchanged by the federal government, especially during the eight years of Obasanjo presidency, a period when structures that would have reduced pressure on housing demands of Lagos residents were fraudulently sold to the same set of politicians who carved out Abuja for themselves and their children.

The governor, as part of his initiative to reduce housing crisis in Lagos must also continue his current legal battle to retrieve some of those structures bought by absentee retired top public servants, on behalf of absentee children living in properties acquired with Nigerian stolen funds in exclusive parts of London, Washington or Maryland in USA.

istration took over the reins of government, it convened an education summit where the stakeholders decried the state of education in the state. At the end of the summit, the stakeholders discovered that schools had been characterized by over population of pupils, dearth of qualified teachers, overused and inadequate infrastructure, lack of modern facilities and many more resulting in massive exodus of pupils from public schools.

It is therefore commendable that things are changing for the better, and it is a classical manifestation that the government is fulfilling its promises in the educational sector. Posterity will ever be grateful to Governor Uduaghan and his team for the lofty and giant stride in the education sector. What is happening in the education sector in Delta State is quite challenging and inspiring. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Aminu Tambuwal visited Delta State recently and described what is happening in the state as “silent revolution in terms of infrastructural and manpower development”.

I therefore call on all Deltans within and in disapora to support and encourage the Governor in this noble venture.

• Uponi writes from Abuja

Teachers are not left out in the silent educational revolution in Delta State, as the government is also committed in training and retraining them. Incentives have been worked out for teachers serving in the riverine areas, while the primary school teachers salary has been augmented with N500 million monthly.

25

THE NATION

EDUCATION Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.com

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

email:- education@thenationonlineng.com

To them, their disability is not a barrier. It is what is propelling them to forge ahead in their quest for higher education. But these physically-challenged students KANO’s N180m for need assistance to achieve their hearts’desires, reports BISI OLADELE INSIDE

girl-child education

KANO State government, in partnership with the Department for International Development (DFID), has budgeted N180 million to kickstart the new girl-child education programme, which is targeted at 13,500 less privileged girls selected from 12 local government areas of the state.

-Page 26

Teachers' inventions for Ukraine

BETWEEN September 25 and October 3, three teachers and some primary and secondary pupils will fly Nigeria's flag in Ukraine at the International Science Fair Competition for primary and secondary school pupils and teachers.

-Page 27

CAMPUS LIFE •An eight-page section on campus news, people etc

About-to-wed Corps member dies AFEW months ago, the people of Ezi-Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State gathered for the introduction of the late Miss Gladys Chizoba-Nwanna and Kingsley Ebere. It was a wellattended ceremony, which the Chizoba-Nwanna family hosted before Gladys went for the mandatory one year National Youth Service.

-Page 29

•Blind students writing their examination. Inset: Provost, Dr Adeniyi

The world of challenged students T

HEY bear a burden as people who are physically-challenged, but they don’t allow their disabilities to weigh them down.

Though they have different challenges, they share something in common - the thirst for further education which brought them to the Federal College of Education (Special) in Oyo (SPED).

Because of their conditions, they require specialist teachers. Their classroom sessions reveal another side of life. For those without any challenges, the reality of living with disabilities becomes poignant watching these special students being taught.

For many of them, especially those not born with disabilities, earning a higher school qualification is a way of preparing for the future. The training is, however, expensive. Though the college tries its best to meet their needs, neither students nor the management can provide the optimal environment and equipment required for learning.

A visually impaired student, Olajide Oladejo, wanted to be an engineer. He had almost fulfilled his dream before he went blind in 2001. He was in the final year of his Higher National Diploma (HND) Mechanical Engineering programme at the Polytechnic, Ibadan when he developed glaucoma at 24.

The 35-year-old 200-Level student of Primary Education recalls that what started as blurred vision developed into blindness within a short time, forcing him to discontinue his studies.

He said: “It all happened when I was studying for my HND in Mechanical Engineering at The Polytechnic, Ibadan in 2001. I was walking on the campus one fateful day when I suddenly discovered that I couldn’t see clearly again. Though my eyes later opened, I gradually went blind within a short time. Then I went home and told my parents. At the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital in Osogbo I was referred to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

There they placed me on drugs and carried out several tests. At the end, they said I had glaucoma but they said they could not operate it because the pressure of my eyes was too high.

Then, I could still see partially. I was still moving around unaided.

“I used to cry all day at that time, seeing that my dreams in life of becoming an engineer had been dashed.”

Succour came when another physically-challenged teacher told him about SPED. The teacher

counselled him not to lose hope and told him about schools for the blind, one of which was where he taught.

Oladejo enrolled again in a school where he was rehabilitated and taught how to read and write using braille. It was after the rehabilitation that he wrote the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and gained admission into SPED to study Primary Education/Visually Impairment.

At the Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oladejo studied with pen and paper. Now, as a blind student, the process is more complex.

“As a special student, when others are taking notes, I record with my voice recorder. I sometimes use writing frame or stylus. I also sometimes use braille machine which I can borrow from our Resource Centre. I read by playing back the recorded material or use braille,” he said.

However, the complexity cannot be compared to the life of hopelessness Oladejo thought he was resigned to when he went blind because he has

visually impaired need 1000 per cent ‘ ofWewhat the sighted people need. We can also carry out researches like others once we are equipped to do so ...We need more readers and writers. We do not even have any reader or writer at the moment

’

been rehabilitated at SPED. “Now I can see that I still have my future. I now know that if I study well, my ambition will be realised. I can even do much more than the time I was seeing. The challenge helps me to concentrate on my studies – no more socials and frivolities. SPED has contributed greatly to my life. I used to fall into pit when I newly came resulting to several injuries on my legs. But now with the mobility training and materials here, have greatly improved my life,” he said.

While he is grateful, Oladejo said learning can be better for challenged students if government and public spirited individuals can provide braille machines, mobility canes and computers to help visually-impaired students stand on their own. He also wants the government to employ more handicapped graduates so that they won’t return home after their studies, thereby increasing their frustration in life.

“We visually impaired need 1000 per cent of what the sighted people need. We can also carry out researches like others once we are equipped to do so,” he said.

A hearing-impaired student, Akeem Janet, would like to see more people learn sign language so that they can communicate with the deaf.

The 28-year-old student of Special Education for Hearing Impaired and Christian Religious Studies has come a long way since she suffered hearing loss at five.

• Continued on page 26

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

26

EDUCATION

• Graduands of Vanguard Academy, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, during their graduation

K

ANO State government, in partnership with the Department for International Development (DFID), has budgeted N180 million to kickstart the new girl-child education programme, which is targeted at 13,500 less privileged girls selected from 12 local government areas of the state.

Tagged Conditional Cash Transfer programme for Girls Education(CCTGT), it entails money transfer to the selected female children from less privileged households, attending primary and Junior secondary schools.

KANO, DFID vote N180m for girl-child education From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

After assessing the economic status of their families the state government approved between N5, 000 and N2, 500 for beneficiaries.

Distributing the money to them at the Government House, Kano, Governor Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso said under the scheme, the state would contribute N120.6 million, 67 per cent of the total sum, while DFID will pay N59.4 million through the Education

Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN).

Warning co-ordinators of the programme to avoid misconduct, he said he would monitor them to ensure that they don't take advantage of it. If well implemented, he said the programme will not only increase the enrolment of girls, but also improve the retention and completion rate for upper primary classes, as well as transition into JSS classes.

"It is, therfore, gratifying to note that

at the end of the successful implementation of the pilot scheme across the state, the programme will reduce the problems associated with girls' education, as well as the menace of poverty among the beneficiaries," he said.

In his address on the occasion, the Commissioner of Education, Mr Farouk Iya Sanbo, said the programme is expected to reduce the drop out rate of girls from primary and Junior Secondary schools, which is related to poverty and low-level

of awareness.

Sanbo added that the modalities for payment consists of centralised and decentralised approaches, explaining that in the decentralised approach, the amount would be paid directly to the mother of the child or household through the banking system.

With the centralised approach, the money would be transferred to the child through the School Based Management Committee (SBMC) of his school.

The world of challenged students

•Continued from page 25

She said: “When I became deaf, it was difficult for me to continue with my education. My parents transferred me to a village and left me in a school for the deaf in Obudu, Cross River State.

“After my primary education, I could not proceed to secondary school because of poverty. I worked as a house girl in Kaduna to save some money with which I paid for my Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE). I eventually passed and gained admission to SPED.” Janet dreams of being a teacher, and teaching hearing-impaired students how to use the computer.

“Apart from teaching, there are some courses I will like to study but can’t because of money. I love computer studies. I wish to learn it so I can teach other deaf people how to use the computer. I will like people to provide us with computers so I can learn and teach other people,” she said.

Multiple disabilities have not dampened Mudiaga Tuedor ambition of becoming a computer programmer.

He has already designed a website and is at graphics and data analysis.

The 200-Level student of Computer Science said he was born normal until a blood transfusion for the treatment of jaundice at birth left him with disabilities. He suffers speaking and walking impairment and is not stable physically. He is unable to write. Yet, he is learning. Explaining how he learns, Tuedor said he uses only one hand to type on the keyboard, and reads whatever he is able to type for examination.

“I just listen in class and borrow notes later and then input into the system so that I can read. During examination, I can read the questions. Then I will dictate the answer to a writer who scribbles it down for me.”

Tuedor needs an electronic wheel chair and a care giver who will attend to his needs for effective living.

Providing an enabling environment for these students is a Herculean task for the management of the college. For instance, five of the students in Tuedor’s class use writers for their examinations. But the head of SPED’s Resource Centre, Mr. Moses Ojetade, said the college does not employ writers.

“Writers are fellow normal students who volunteer to assist their colleagues,” said Ojetade, a chartered accountant, who went blind about 15 years ago while working as a banker.

Ojetade said the physically impaired need extra time to do all things in the learning process including reading and answering questions using a machine.

He added that visually-impaired students undergoing rehabilitation are taught four courses – Braille reading and writing; typewriting; daily living skills; orientation and mobility.

Through these, they learn how to communicate using the Braille; cope with basic living and move around.

Though the 7,000 students of the college need to learn how to use Braille so they can teach the visually-impaired after graduation, Ojetade lamented that the college has only 30 functioning Braille machines – far short of what is needed to train the students. Each machine is said to cost about N250,000, he said, adding that no student has a personal machine that is in order.

Other items needed by challenged students include writers, readers, voice recorders, new resource centres to be dedicated to each of the three levels, vocational centre to be integrated into rehabilitation programme. SPED’s Provost Dr Emmanuel Adeniyi said the college faces challenges of making adequate provision for teaching and learning of the challenged, who make up about 10 per cent of the student populace.

“In each of the classrooms, one student is likely to be a deaf person.

And because we need two interpreters to a deaf student in any class lasting more than one hour, we have 35 interpreters. That falls short of the number needed to attend to these students. So the population of interpreters is not enough. In all, the college has 7,000 students out of which 10 per cent require assistance in learning. Government does not normally provide funds for rehabilitation.

Adeniyi said there was need for more interpreters because the hearingimpaired have a lot of communication to do with both academic and nonacademic staff as well as fellow

•Oladejo (left) Janet (right) and other students

students.

He said: “Not all of these people can make effective communication in sign language. So, to make them have that sense of belonging, we should have not less than 60 interpreters. We also need more braillists who transcribe to Braille. We need more readers and writers. We do not even have any reader or writer at the moment. Some staff members only engage the services of some and pay them while some normal students volunteer to help their colleagues.”

The Provost also lamented that despite the need of the handicapped students, the college is only able to provide just two hostels – one for male and female. The situation forces the students to seek accommodation outside the campus which compounds their problem. Vehicles are another great need of the college.

“We have only one vehicle designated to transport them to and from the college which is grossly inadequate. We need many more vehicles to convey them. I feel bad seeing these students facing mobility challenge. It makes me feel that we have not been able to make significant positive impact. I just thank God because they have the ability to cope.

“Our roads need to be upgraded.

We still have many untarred roads that create problem for the visually impaired using mobility cane and those on wheel chair. We also need serious landscaping and improved water supply as the college is ex-

panding.

“All these make it imperative for government to please increase funding. It is because of the uniqueness of this college. It should not be treated like other colleges. We also need financial support for the students. We need sponsorship that can cover their needs including further studies. If government wants equal

opportunities, these people need financial support.

“Government should take the responsibility of providing free education at all levels for the disabled, not just in terms of excluding them from paying school fees where applicable but providing funds for their books, accommodation, feeding and transportation.”

“In my book, that’s still an ‘F’ for the education system!”

27

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

EDUCATION

Teachers' inventions for Ukraine exhibition

NANS seek scholarship expansion

By Adegunle Olugbamila

T

B

ETWEEN September 25 and October 3, three teachers and some primary and secondary pupils will fly Nigeria's flag in Ukraine at the International Science Fair Competition for primary and secondary school pupils and teachers.

They were those who emerged winners in the project category of the Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) Science Fair and Quiz competition held in Abuja last week as part of the 53rd annual conference of the association sponsored by the NNPC/Mobil Producing Nigeria.

They were rewarded with cash and gift prizes at an awards ceremony organised by Mobil at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja last Saturday.

However, the teachers hope that their projects will be developed further to positively impact the society.

Mr Seun Olufolaji, a teacher at Calvary Arrows College, Benue State, who has designed a means for physically-challenged learners to use the computer without hands or legs, looks forward to a time when challenged people will not only be able to use the computer for documentary purpose but to carry out daily chores as well.

Olufolaji said his project, which won him the first prize of N200,000 cash and a laptop worth N100,000,

• Olufolaji

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

can help a physically-challenged people to use the computer with head motions.

He said: "The device will just monitor your head movement and when you want to work on a particular part of the screen, you look in that direction. The device will monitor your movement and move the mouse to that direction. With some other head motions, you will click, so that you will be able to use the system just like any other person that has his own hands.

If Mr Olaonipekun Eweje's recycled laboratory kit which won the second prize is available for sale in the market, the cost of some vital laboratory equipment that many secondary schools lack will be slashed by more than 90 per cent.

Eweje successfully converted nonbiodegradable materials into laboratory equipment like test tubes, burette, conical flasks and others.

Unlike the expensive ones, Eweje said his equipment are unbreakable. The implication of this is that more pupils will have access to the

• Eweje

• Emaofor

laboratory to perform experiments, which is not currently the case.

"One of the limitation we have is the equipment we have in the laboratory are glassware and we restrict our students from using them because they are expensive, breaking them will amount to government replacing them which government is not even ready to do. Children of six to seven years of age should be exposed to laboratory training, exposed to technology but the teachers are afraid that if the materials are destroyed by the students, they may have to replace it with their salaries.

"Using syringes, wasted plastic bottles, I was able to develop 16 laboratory kits. There is no more punishing my students for breaking the equipment. I just send them on errands to get materials to make burette or pipette, Hoffman's voltammeter, bicker, test tube."

"For the burette I spent N25 00 and the one in the market cost N1,800; for the pipette, I spent N1500 and it costs N600 in the market. The most amazing one is the Hoffman's Vol-

tammeter which is very scarce and very expensive. I spent N720 but it costs about N28,000."

On his part third placed Emeafor Roland Chigozie of Government Science Secondary School, Pyakasa, FCT, won for extracting indicators used for science experiments from Zobo leaf and red cabbage.

With this, he said schools located in rural areas can easily extract indicators from plants within their environments.

He said: "When you go to remote villages, there are places where these indicators are scarce. Teachers and students can get indicators and extract it from Zobo and red cabbage for experiment in the laboratory."

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Dr Tunde Adekola, Science and Technology Post-Basic Manager for World Bank commended STAN for providing a platform for the progress of Science and Technology education. He added that the World Bank has provided N100 million for the training of science teachers in the unity colleges.

HE National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has commended the Federal Government for launching the Presidential Scholarship Award.

However, the students want more than 100 underprivileged students to benefit from it.

In a statement by its National President, Comrade Dauda Muhammed, NANS said the presidential award should be expanded to accommodate beyond the 100 indigent students which it targets.

The statement reads: "We must particularly appreciate the recently launched Presidential Scholarship Award which at inception is giving at least a 100 students support to fulfill their dreams.

“We urge the Federal Government to consider the dire need to expand the scope of the award and other supportive package that can assist students, particularly the indigent ones in having more access to education. This is surely key to our development as a nation.

"While we are continuously confronted with an increasing demand for the improved commitment of the government of Nigeria to the educational sector, we must, but at this point, commend the dedication of the present administration and the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Education headed by Prof Ruqqayat Ahmed-Rufa’i for their improved effort at ensuring qualitative education and the upward review in commitment being made by the government to education."

28

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

EDUCATION

WAEC boss bows out

‘Nigeria spends more on education, achieves less’

D

•New head named

A

FTER announcing the result of the May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) the Head of Nigerian National Office (HNO) of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) last Friday, Dr Iyi Uwadiae named Mr Charleston Egurido as his successsor.

Eguridu, currently the Senior Deputy Registrar/Head, International Examinations Department of WAEC International, Ghana, will replace Uwadiae from October 1, the same day Uwadiae will resume in Accra, Ghana, as the Registrar of WAEC International.

Uwadiae, who has been in the saddle since February 4, 2008, is succeeding another Nigerian, Alhaja Mulikat Bello, who retires from service on October 1.

His appointment as Registrar was ratified during the 60th Annual Council Meeting of the examining body hosted by Nigeria in Abuja in March.

He joined WAEC on November 1, 1985 as Assistant Registrar III and became Deputy Registrar in 2003. He acted as Head of Research Division and Headquarters Office in Lagos

• Uwadiae

• Egurido

By Ramat Musa

between May 2005 and February 2008 before he became the HNO. The new HNO,Eguridu, hails from Eku, Delta State. He earned his first and second degrees at the University of Lagos in 1979 and 1981.

Before joining the council, Eguridu was a Graduate Assistant at the University of Lagos from 1981-1983. He also worked with Gasp & Co. Ltd, Lagos as Administration Officer in 1984, as well as the Federal Ministry of Education as an Education Officer.

He joined WAEC on November 1 1985 as Assistant Registrar III and rose through the ranks to become Senior Deputy Registrar/Head, In-

ternational Examinations Department at the WAEC Headquarters, Accra on April 1, 2009.

At last Friday’s briefing held at the WAEC Headquarters in Yaba, Uwadiae thanked invigilators and supervisors and the government for supporting the body to conduct the WASSCE. “Our sincere thanks also go to Federal and state Ministry of Education for the support in terms of facilities and logistics, given to us during the conduct of the examinations. We are also grateful to the chairman of INEC for making available for our use in some states their utility vehicles," he said.

'Nigerians under-utilise foreign scholarships'

T

HE Acting Director-General, National Mathematical Centre (NMC), Prof. Adewale Solarin, has said Nigerians have not been taking advantage of the several foreign scholarships offered abroad.

Solarin spoke at the closing of the Summer Gifted Camp Programme organised by a nongovernmental organisation, International Academy for the Gifted, in Abuja.

He said: "There are a lot of scholarships abroad that Nigerians and

From Olugbenga Adanikin, Abuja

Africans can access. But before they can access that, they must demonstrate that they have the academic competence. And many who passed through this kind of camp are in the universities and are doing well."

Solarin also revealed that the centre was planning to invite experts from Europe to train teachers by October.

"The NMC has been organising the Olympiad, but in October, we are bringing experts from Europe to join us in training teachers with

their students across the country," he said.

The founder of the NGO Mrs Veronica Solarin said the initiative was to allow students to explore their favourite subjects in-depth, with access to teachers from higher institutions in and outside the country.

Mrs Solarin, who was represented by the Camp Commandant, Ambassador Olubisi David, said the camp was meant to broaden the mental and physical capacity of participants as related to their career.

• Bamgbose presenting a form to one of the beneficiaries

Council donates SSCE forms

A

TOTAL of 100 youths from the Badagry West Local Council Development Area (LCDA) have received free forms to register for the November/December West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) courtesy of the council Chairman, Hontonyon Bambgose.

The lucky youths stepped onto the podium to receive the forms and the scratch cards with which they can assess their results later.

At the council hall, where the event held, Bambgose said the gesture was to support youths in the five wards of the council, especially those

By Adegunle Olugbamila

whose parents could afford the form.

"This is the third time our Badagry West LCDA will be doing this. We want to encourage our children, especially some who once failed WASSCE that all hope is not lost.

We believe the free forms will give you another opportunity to prepare yourselves again and I am sure victory will be yours. Scratch card are also provided for student to check their results," he said.

Aside the donations, Bamgbose said the council would organise free tutorials at some yet-to-be-decided

centres to boost their preparations, and also ensure that those successful eventually secure admission into tertiary institutions.

A beneficiary, Mosun Justina, expressed appreciation to the council on behalf of others.

"We want to thank the council and our chairman for these donations.

In fact, the 100 of us considered ourselves very lucky among many others in this ward. We want to promise you that we will all do our best to justify the confidence you have in us by preparing hard ahead of the exams, and ensuring we come out in flying colours," she said.

ESPITE spending so much more on education, learning outcomes of Nigerian learners are behind those of other sub-Saharan African countries, Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said.

Delivering a keynote address entitled: “Reforming Nigeria’s Education System: Paradigm Shift” at the 2012 Isaac Moghalu Foundation (IMoF) Leadership Lecture in Lagos recently, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala blamed the problem on lack of transparency in the implementation of the budget.

She said: “Nigerian students in grades four and six performed worst out of 22 African countries that participated in UNESCO’s effort at measuring learning outcomes – the Monitoring Learning Achievement (MLA) assessment in 1996, behind countries like Niger, Togo, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Mali and others in Africa.

“But the alarming finding is that Nigeria’s position did not improve when the test was taken again in 2003. Among fourth graders, only 25 per cent (in 1996) and 35 per cent (in 2003) of answers that were provided on the test were correct; only 32 per cent (in 1996) and 34 per cent (in 2003) answers in the Mathematics test were correct. In national examinations of primary school pupils in four main subjects in 2001 and 2003, only 20 per cent of fifth grade students could correctly answer over 30 per cent of the test, and less than one per cent could correctly answer over half of the test questions.,” Dr. OkonjoIweala said.

She went on:“It is obvious that substantial inefficiency persists in the use of education resources.

Federal Government allocations to the education sector have averaged nearly eight per cent of the total budget between 2004 and 2012. The 2012 education budget is N409.5 billion. There is also the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TEFT) – a two per cent tax on the assessable profits of all registered companies in Nigeria to improve the quality of education in the country. TEFT raised N130.75 billion in 2011. There is also UBEC’s allocation of N63.12 billion.

“Yet, the standard of education is not commensurate with the financial outlay. According to a World Bank study in 2008, federal and state governments aggregate spending on education, as a per cent of GDP, is higher than the average of sub-Saharan countries, but on par with South Africa and Kenya. Yet, learning outcomes in Nigeria are weaker than in these two countries. Much of this inefficiency is the result of weak budget management and accountability.”

She added that until the problem of poor learning outcomes was addressed, the impact of education on the development of the economy would remain minimal.

• Dr. Okonjo-Iweala

• Mrs Moghalu

“But to yield sustained benefits at the national level, research shows that education needs to be more about learning outcomes and skills acquisition than just years of schooling. So regardless of the number of years spent in the classroom, or the level of academic qualifications a nation’s workforce attain, if they lack the right technical and practical skills…the impact of such an education system on economic growth will be very limited,” Dr. Okonjo-Iweala said.

The Executive Director of IMoF, Mrs Maryanne Moghalu said the foundation would contribute its quota to address some of these challenges by enhancing access to quality education for underprivileged children in rural areas through its scholarship scheme.

She added that the foundation inaugurated in 2005, is shopping for N300 million to provide secondary and tertiary scholarships for 200 youths and called for support in this regard.

“As we face the future, we are determined to increase and maintain the impact of IMoF. To achieve this, we need the partnership support of men, women, and organisations with goodwill and a strong sense of social responsibility.

“Our immediate goal is to raise funds for N300 million to endow the Isaac Moghalu Memorial Scholarships and put 200 youths on full scholarships for secondary and university education, in the case of the latter, to obtain qualifications in science and technology, the professions, and entrepreneurial skills,” she said.

‘According to a World Bank study in 2008, federal and state governments aggregate spending on education, as a per cent of GDP, is higher than the average of sub-Saharan countries, but on par with South Africa and Kenya.Yet, learning outcomes in Nigeria are weaker than in these two countries. Much of this inefficiency is the result of weak budget management and accountability’

29

Flood sacks students’ hostel

Unity in cultural diversity

Page 31

Page 34

*CAMPUSES *NEWS *PEOPLE *KUDOS& KNOCKS *GRANTS

THE NATION

CAMPUS LIFE 0802-4550-354 email: ladycampus@yahoo.com THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.net

‘Good leadership must have short term goals’ Tokunbo Salako is the immediate past president of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) at the University of Ibadan (UI). He was elected after 11 years of legal battle between the management and the students. He told SIKIRU AKINOLA (300-Level Political Science, Obafemi Awolowo University) of his administration’s achievements.

email:- campuslife@thenationonlineng.net

The late Gladys Chizoba-Nwanna would have got married next week in Ezi-Awka in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State where she held her introduction to Kingsley Ebere a few months ago. The Corps member died of headache three weeks before the wedding.

AYODEJI ADESINA (Corps member, NYSC Onitsha), who was at the burial, writes.

•Anambra corps members carrying Gladys’ coffin to the grave. Inset: The late Gladys at the orientation camp

Three weeks to wedding, Corps member dies

A

•Tokunbo •Continued on page 30

FEW months ago, the people of Ezi-Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State gathered for the introduction of the late Miss Gladys Chizoba-Nwanna and Kingsley Ebere. It was a well-attended ceremony, which the ChizobaNwanna family hosted before Gladys went for the mandatory one year National Youth Service.

Barely four months after her deployment in Nasarawa State to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and a month before her traditional wedding, she died. The late Gladys died in Lagos on July 10, two weeks after she complained of headache.

When the late Gladys’ remains were brought to Ezi-Awka community on July 31 for interment,

the hearse conveying the body was received by grief-stricken members of Ezi-Akwa community. The atmosphere was gloomy at the Chizoba-Nwanna’s family compound. As the pallbearers moved the brown casket for the lying-in-state, tears flowed freely; both the young and the old wept over the death of a promising daughter.

People gathered in groups, mourning, with some intermittently chanting dirges in Igbo language. Some sympathisers could not control their emotion. Ebere, Gladys’ fiance, was inconsolable.

CAMPUSLIFE gathered that plans were in top gear for her traditional wedding and birthday.

The late Gladys would have been 28 next month. She died 57 days

to her birthday and three weeks before the traditional wedding.

Sympathisers at the funeral described her death as “mysterious”.

Gladys’ sister, Mrs. Blessing Chukwuma Calistus, said in tears: “On July 5, Gladys complained of headache where she was serving in Nasarawa State. She had thought it was a normal headache and took some drugs. But when the headache persisted, she started complaining and we were all worried as to what could have caused such illness.”

Mrs. Calistus said she immediately told Gladys to “come to Lagos for better treatment.”

She added: “Having spent days in a hospital without any changes, the doctor told us that the headache had resulted into meningoen-

cephalitis (inflammation of cerebral membranes). We were referred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) to see an expert in the field. She, however, died on our way to LUTH.” Some Corps members from Nasarawa State, who came for Gladys’ funeral, were joined by their colleagues in Anambra State to pay their last respects to the dead. About 100 Corps members filed out and sang the National Anthem during the service of songs and at the grave side.

Some of Gladys’ colleagues recalled that after starting the orientation at Magaji Dan Yamusa NYSC camp, Keffi, she immediately fell in love with Nasarawa •Continued on page 31

•Campus journalists train members• OAU postpones resumption -P33

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

30

CAMPUS LIFE

The perilous Pushing Out pursuit of with certificates Agbo Agbo

F

OR those who have sat on job interview panels, one recurring decimal that will, often times, stare them in the face is the gulf between the certificate of an applicant.

How, for instance, do you reconcile a First Class or Second Class Upper degree certificate with an individual that can hardly express himself?

The question that will run through your mind will be: How in the world did he or she get this certificate? I have pondered this question for some time and feel that our tertiary educational system should go beyond the award of certificates to ensuring that graduates are imbued with skills that will make them meaningful members of the society. It is strange that undergraduates go through higher education for four, five and, sometimes, six years without having an inkling about where the degree they are acquiring will lead them after school other than the porous hope they will get a job and start a career somewhere.

I’ve observed this critically and found that a fallout and prominent feature of our society, today, is the proliferation of workshops, seminars, refresher courses and conferences bent on bridging the lacuna created by the quest for certificates by Nigerian graduates, a failure of our educational system in the preparation of graduates for the bright future they all desire. Trust Nigerians, a completely new “industry” of motivational speakers and “life” coaches seems to be developing at a very rapid rate and there seems to be a very ripe market of “buyers” for these services in the half-baked, poorly trained and ill-exposed products of our educational system. This is not to say that some of these workshops and conferences are not necessary, some credible ones definitely are.

Without doubt, education is one of the major arbiters of socialisation but when it is reduced to mere ability to obtain a certificate by fair or foul means, it becomes a tool for underdevelopment and retrogradation of a scale hardly imagined. Our present leadership crisis is a pointer to this fact.

For qualitative education to be achieved and sustained, critical value must be placed on it so that those who receive it can see beyond it “putting food on the table” and refocus on the imperative to apply the gains of education to the needs of society. In other words, educa-

08052959489 (SMS only)

•aagboa@gmail.com tion, especially at the university level, needs to be properly valued and repositioned. As the world shrinks as a result of globalisation, new and complex challenges emerge. These challenges need newer and, sometimes, radical tools to help address them.

A look at some of the curricula in our tertiary educational system seems to suggest that we are gradually being left behind as some courses have not been reviewed to fall in line with the times. It is sad to know that some of our lecturers are still relying on researches conducted years ago; some of which cannot fit the current challenges. For instance, of what use is churning out thousands of graduates yearly without the requisite entrepreneurial skill of fitting into the society given that the labour market has shrunk considerably. Before now, only the best brains and outstanding scholars were employed in the universities. But today, as I had argued elsewhere, teaching, scholarship, and academics have been watered down with regular research becoming a rarity.

Education is supposed to prepare young people for the challenges of facing the future and making the best of it. It is supposed to help students to discover themselves, nurture their innate abilities and give vent to their God-given talents. Education is not supposed to put food in the hands of a hungry lad. It is supposed to help him learn the skills of scouting, hunting and getting food to satisfy the hunger as well as create value out of his acquisitions which can be exchanged for a store of further value (wealth creation).

Education can, therefore, not be about passing examinations and getting promoted into the next grade. It cannot be about acquiring certificates or certifications that do not empower the holder to add value to society or to him/her in real terms. It must be a journey in self-discovery (which is why it never ends); a journey that leads a man to the place of his assignment, the duty post that enables him to contribute not only to the enrichment and betterment of soci-

ety but also towards empowering him to attain self-actualisation. This is the major reason the visionary of this project, the late Mrs. Ngozi Agbo, this great newspaper (The Nation) and the sponsors, Coca-Cola Nigeria and Nigerian Bottling Company took it upon themselves to equip Campus Journalists with the requisite skills long before they graduate.

A side effect of this is that success literatures have taken over the book stands and libraries as a testament to the widespread subordination of hard work and diligence to riches at any cost. This in addition to the earlier stated point about the success-teaching entrepreneurs who have created a burgeoning industry out of the lacuna that has been created by formal education.

I often ponder where we got things wrong.

From the beginning of this perilous pursuit of certificates, our prospective undergraduate is engaged in a rat race of passing his UTME exams to scaling the extra road block of post-UTME screening exercises. While in this race, most of them may not have been properly mentored to know what they are up against. The journey of higher education in Nigeria places undue strong emphasis on students passing examinations and acquiring certificates without any serious attempt to link or lead the students and eventual graduates to discovering their calling and how the education being acquired will empower them to be masters of their destinies in the very near future. It is very easy to find graduates who know next to nothing in their chosen field of study. Again, you may ask: “How did he get the certificate?” The answer is simple - by passing exams! So, those who contend that Nigerian graduates are ill prepared for the real world of work cannot be more right, after all.

What’s my take on this? I believe the time to rethink our tertiary educational system is now.

Education must be structured to unleash the potential in every learner, leading them to acquire the much-needed skills to become a source of value addition to life and the nation.

Much of the ignorance that encircles contemporary Nigeria today certainly stems from the education industry. It is easy to point to government’s lack-lustre attitude as the major problem of the sector. But that cannot be the whole truth. The education industry is also an adversary unto itself. Beyond turn-coat ministers of Education, who even as academics helped to under-develop education, teachers and students have not lived up to expectation. In the lower levels (especially in the public schools), there are quack teachers who cannot read or write good English, and yet English remains the language of instruction.

Given the role of education in human societies, Nigeria’s future remains very bleak, indeed. I say so because the educational system is merely a pastiche of the society. This is especially true of the universities which should be centres of excellence, but which have become a pitiable extension of the rotten political system in Nigeria. If the universities – indeed the educational system – must be the vanguard of excellence and development, they have to operate at a level higher than the ugly realities that define contemporary Nigeria; sports that used to be a healing balm has become another source of misery, the latest being the Olympic Games where a whopping N2.2 billion was spent.

The questions I want to ask before signing off are: Must every WASSCE/GCE/ NECO holder go to the university? Why can we not resuscitate technical schools that can award certificates in selected vocations, such as carpentry, auto mechanics, masonry, photography, craft, pottery, printing technology, and so on? If done properly, it would reduce the unnecessary strain on the university system while affording some youths the opportunity to gain practical proficiency in some chosen fields without having to read for degrees in the universities for which they are ill-equipped.

At the same time, I’m not blind to the fact that our undergraduates are simply victims of circumstance. What propels them into such a condition is a long history of the humiliation of the collective psyche of the Nigerian intelligentsia which dates back to the military era.

Simply put, at the point of entry into the university, the average “Jambite” is a thoroughly disoriented young adult. But then, he has to make the best of a hopeless situation. Somehow, he manages to complete his secondary school education, irrespective of his academic capabilities, or intellectual potential. Next is the certificate acquisition road blocks of “state of origin”, variable “cut-off” points, geopolitically preset indices of “educational disadvantaged”, and the advantages of proximity of a candidate’s village of origin to the university campus (the “catchment area” factor). He aspires very passionately to be a graduate, by all means necessary. On admission into the university, he finds out that most of his neighbourhood hoodlums, some of them well-known Area Boys, and chronic drop-outs, are fully dressed in their academic regalia on matriculation day. He is happy that, at last, he’s on the road of the perilous pursuit of certificate. Is this the way to go?

‘Good leadership must have short-term goals’ •Continued from page 29

F

OR 11 years, students’ unionism generated row between the management of the University of Ibadan (UI) and students. When news broke that the school would lift the ban on unionism, the students were happy.Those interested in leading the Students’ Union Government (SUG) started holding nocturnal meetings.

Tokunbo Salako, Psychology department, was in this group of students. The post of the president was the most keenly contested. After an election the students described as tight, Tokunbo, who is known as Tcool, became the leader of the union.

Given that unionism was banned for over a decade, many thought that the Tokunbo-led SUG would have a tough time. But the management was surprised by Tokunbo’s leadership acumen. He led many protests and fought for the rights of the students. He was also in the vanguard of students’ in Oyo State, who protested against fuel subsidy removal.

Tokunbo said he had been involved in students’ unionism since his days at the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) where he got Diploma in Business Administration. “ I was motivated to contest as I have held many positions at the departmental, hall and association levels. I had won and lost elections before contesting for president. I was a Social Director and the Vice-President of my department and faculty before I tendered my resignation letter to contest the students’ union election.”

Though Tokunbo’s administration was confronted with challenges, which made it not to achieve some of its’ set goals, Tokunbo said he focused on shortterm goals which the students needed then.

He said: “The most important thing is that UI students now have a voice after many years of being voiceless. Students can now speak in the face of oppression.

Their consciousness was raised while we represented them.

“We believed good leadership must have short-term goals to address what students needed at a particular time. The amount paid by students to get access to the Zoo was reduced to what is affordable by all while we renovated the swimming pool. Before we came in, the swimming pool was bad but we put some measures in place and now, students visit the place regularly. We charged the management to upgrade the university library and open it for 24 hours service. This was achieved in conjunction with the efforts of the librarian, Dr Benedict Oladele, who supported us throughout the period.”

Tokunbo went on : “We were also able to get an eatery to open shop on campus.

It is the first of its kind as students enjoyed the services at a reduced price. For the first time, we organised the union week that produced the first Miss UI. This may sound uninspiring but on the UI campus, we consider it an achievement because such activities had been in absence for over a decade in UI. We equally organised free medical checkup for students during the SUG Health Week.

All this boils down to our ability to delivered within the shortest possible time.”

•The late Gladys’ casket on display during the service of songs

Three weeks to wedding, Corps member dies •Continued from page 29

State. They said despite pressure from friends and family, She refused redeployment in her state because of security challenges in some northern states.

Her reason, according to Gladys’ colleagues, was her belief God brought her to Nasarawa State for a purpose and that she could not alter God’s plan for her life. She decided to stay but little did she know she would never return to Anambra State alive.

During the funeral, Anambra State Directorate of NYSC sent a delegation, led by the Awka South

Zonal Inspector, Mr. Umofong.

Also, Nasarawa State Directorate sent a delegate to commiserate with the family. The Nasarawa State NYSC gave the family N50,000 for the funeral.

A family member praised NYSC Awka for sending corps members, nearly 100 member delegation to the funeral.

Addressing Corps members after the interment, Umofong urged them to pray against untimely death.

During the brief service of songs Reverend Joseph Chianu, a clergy with the Cathedral Church of St Faith Anglican Communion, Awka, described the late Gladys

as a dutiful young woman, reminding sympathisers that everyone would stand before God to give account of his stewardship.

The late Glady’s was born on September 26, 1984 at Aforoagbala, Awka. She attended Ezi-Awka Primary School from 1994 to 2000. Gladys moved to Lagos for her secondary education. She attended Clegg Girls’ High School, Surulere and returned back to Anambra State for her university education.

Between 2006 and 2010, she studied Marketing at St. Paul College, Awka. The college is affiliated to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). Her graduation was celebrated by the family.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

31

CAMPUS LIFE The Naraguta Hostel at the University of Jos (UNIJOS) was among houses hit by the flood which ravaged Plateau State.

ESTHER MARK (400-Level Mass Communication) reports.

•Soaked mattresses and pillows belonging to students

T

HE shouts of “wake up, wake up, wake up” roused Evelyn Akpa, 200-Level Medicine, from her sleep. Still struggling to get up, Evelyn thought it was the usual An fara (disturbance) chant which she was accustomed to.

Getting off her bed, she found the floor wet and cold. Her eyes cleared immediately. She looked around her and saw her roommate draining water from the room.

She quickly carried her mattress, which was almost touched by the water. Then she realised what had happened-her room was flooded. Evelyn’s foodstuff was soaked.

For the first time, the University of Jos (UNIJOS) experienced flooding last weekend. The Naraguta female hostel was worst hit by the flood, which happened two weeks after scores of people had died in Jos in the July 22 downpour that

•Water-soaked rugs spread by students the following day

Flood sacks students’ hostel affected areas such as Angwan Rogo, Gangare and Rikkos.

No death was recorded in the UNIJOS flood, but over 70 students in 19 rooms lost personal effects, such as books, food items, mattresses, rugs and carpets. The flood, was caused by overflowing drainage in front of D Block, Naraguta Hostel. Most of the affected students were either sleeping or reading when the rain started.

Only the ground floor was affected by the flood, which also destroyed the electric transformer, leading to a blackout in the hostel for days.

When CAMPUSLIFE visited the hostel, students were scooping water from their rooms and mopping the floor. Friends assisted them in moving soaked items out

of the rooms.

Visitors greeted by the sight of soaked rugs and carpets hung on the fence and iron rafters to dry.

Mattresses and pillows were also littered the hostel. Most of the comments, saying students declined they were too busy to talk.

An affected students, Juliana Emmanuel, 100-Level English, described the incident as serious. She said: “I was asleep but it was my roommates’ scream that woke me up. We had to pack our property in one place and leave the room. I slept upstairs in a friend’s room; now, I am trying to see how I can clean this mess.”

She added: “I don’t see myself sleeping here in the next one week. My mattress is fully soaked; my foodstuffs are also affected. My

rug is still dripping water. How do you expect me to sleep here?

As you can see, the cloud is already misty and, in a couple of minutes, it may start raining again. What are the chances that it won’t result to another flood?”

A student, who pleaded anonymity, linked the cause of the flood to the bad drainage system around the hostel. She said if a proper drainage was provided around the hostel, the incident would not have happened. “This is July and we are witnessing this.

What would happen in August?” she asked.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Hayward Mafuyai, visited the hostel, pleaded with the students to be patient. He said the management would provide more facilities in

the hostel and prevent a recurrence. He urged the affected students to go back to their rooms.

The Welfare Secretary of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), Joshua Pythm, said: “We have assessed the damage and we have made arrangement with the hall governess to clear White House to accommodate some displaced students. Surprisingly, none of them showed up. We thank God the incident did not result to loss of lives.”

Joshua attributed the flood to the blockage of the drainage system by a heap of dirt.

To avoid a recurrence, the Naraguta Hall governor, Laritmwa Ginget, has warned students against throwing dirt into drainages. She said defaulters would be fined N500.

Efforts to speak to the Dean of Students’ Affairs, Prof Rotgak Gofwen, were futile. The students have since returned to their rooms.

In preparation for the graduation of their Igwe in a few days, Igbo students at the University of Calabar (UNICAL) held the Ofala Festival to commemorate the end of the reign of their outgoing traditional ruler. CHARLES UDENZE and HOPE OFOBIKE were there.

Igbo students hold Ofala Festival

T

HE Ofala is a yearly festival marking a king’s coronation in certain parts of the Southeast. At the University of Calabar (UNICAL), it is a tradition observed before an Igwe (traditional leader of Igbo students on campus) can transcend to the spirit realm (the euphemism for handing over) and be accepted by the ancestors.

During the ofala, some hidden Igbo cultures are learnt and students who have contributed to the development of the Federation of Igbo Students (FIS) are honoured with chieftaincy titles.

Before last weeks’ celebration to mark the end of the reign of Igwe Gabriel Ejikeme, a 21-market day was observed. During the event, Ejikeme and his chiefs sat with the FIS president, Kelechi Nkoroh, and the Chief Priest.

They selected the date for the Ofala, after which the town crier (information adviser to the Igwe) went round the Halls of Residence to announce the date. The festival was preceded by Ofala night, where those to be honoured with traditional titles were called to test their

understanding of Igbo tradition; and teach them more, esepcially how to behave in school as titled chiefs in Malabo kingdom. The male honorees were warned not to visit the female hostels at night, an act considered unbecoming of a titled chief in the kingdom.

On Ofala night, the chief priest, Peter Chibuike, interpreted the oracle’s message that nobody should panic after a two-week heavy downpour in the kingdom.

He said the gods were consulted and they gave their blessing for the festival to be held, with a promise to withhold rain on the Ofala day.

The festival, slated for 2pm, began about 90 minutes behind schedule. The Igwe arrived with his entourage that included, among others, Ezinne Ntamu (lolo), Maduabuchi Chibuike, the acting Prime Minister (onowu), Chief Priest (ezenmo), Gerald Ude, the scribe of the council, Ejikeme Aniagboso, Economic Adviser to Igwe and Kingsley Onyemachi, adviser on media and publicity.

Just as the Chief Priest predicted at Ofala night, there was no rain on

•Igwe blessing one of the new chiefs and his wife

the day of the festival. The celebration started with the breaking of kolanut by Igwe. Special prayer was said on the kolanut in line with the tradition of Igbo people.

Gabriel said: “It is only Igbo people that accord respect to kolanut. While Yoruba cultivate it more than any other tribe in Nigeria, the Hausa eat it more than any other tribe. But we pray with it and give it respect in Igbo tradition.”

He described students as visitors who must leave the campus at a point in time. Gabriel said he would ‘join his ancestors’ within the next 14 market days when the new Igwe would be crowned and presented to the kingdom. He thanked those who stood by him

during his reign.

After the breaking of kolanut, the chairman of the occasion, Fabian Mbaso, took the stage to advise students to shun acts that could terminate their academic career.

Among the cultural dance troupes that graced the occasion were Ohafia War Dance group from Abia State, Elewe Ukwu Egbu Ewu Dance group from Ebonyi State and Adanma Dance group from Imo State. The UNICAL dance troupe known as Igwe’s daughters also entertained the guests.

The high point of the event was the dance performed by the lolo, who had the audience hypnotised with her dance steps and waist wriggle. Her performance was

greeted with a standing ovation.

Those honoured with chieftaincy titles included Stewart Chikiri as Anagba Ego Nkiti Ona Ezuzu, which literally means “because we ignore money, it keeps misbehaving”.

Others were Emmanuel Ikemba as Odu Ama Enyi (rope doesn’t know cow); Henry Ogbuezi as the Anambra students’ president; Bassey Eyo as Nwanne di na mba 1 (a brother in another land).

Bassey thanked the Igbo students for the honour.

Giving his vote of thanks, Kelechi thanked the participants and reassured them that Igbo culture would continue to be present on the campus.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

32

CAMPUS LIFE Provost urges students to seek academic excellence

T

HE Provost, Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze, Prof Josephat Ogbuagu, has challenged new degree students to make the institution proud by making distinctions in their final examinations.

Prof Ogbuagu gave the charge during the combined matriculation ceremony for National Certificate in Education (NCE) and Degree students admitted into the college.

He told the students that making distinctions during their first year in school would affect their career positively and make them not to strive for jobs after their graduation.

Prof Ogbuagu advised the matriculating students not to engage

Student launches book on advocacy

A

F

OLLOWING the security challenges being experienced in Maiduguri and other parts of Borno State, the management of University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) has cancelled the 2011/ 2012 session. The university directed applicants, who were offered admission, to register for the 2012/2013 academic session instead of 2011/ 2011.

This was contained in the admission lists released by the office of the Registrar last week. This decision has affected the chances of applicants who applied for admission

From Tobi Babalola LASU

Lagos State Ministry of Justice. The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof John Obafunwa, was represented

by Dr Biodun Akinpelu.

The chairman of the occasion, Mr Layi Babatunde (SAN), delivered the key note address. He said the book provided tips for mastering and overcoming the challenges in the legal profession.

Pedro commended Chinedu for “a job well done”. He said: “Chinedu is an example of qualitative education.

The time and effort deployed into the book should be commended. The work is a good reference point for advocacy.” Prof Olarewaju Fagbohun of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced

Legal Studies (NIALS) reviewed the book.

Chinedu thanked his colleagues for their support, quoting the word of Walt Disney, he said: “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue it.”

The representative of 400-Level Law students, Vincent Adebola, described Chinedu as a humble and intelligent student.

Prof Martin Hunter of Essex Court Chambers, London, wrote the foreword of the book. The Dean of Faculty of Law, Oxford University, Prof Timothy Endicott, wrote on the book: “This book is a unique laboratory that exposes the art of mooting as a unique skill for law students across the globe. It is insightful and apt. Congratulations Mr Geoffrey.”

Varsity cancels session From Taiwo Isola UNIMAID

into the institution last year. The fear of the admission seekers was heightened when the university did not conduct post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for those that applied to the institution last year without any explanation.

The institution had a long session following the activities of Boko

in cultism, examination malpractice and other vices that could terminate their academic career. He also urged them to be time-conscious and dress in accordance with the university dress code.

He noted that the institution has resolved to train the students into men and women of integrity, character and learning, who would stand the test of time and build a just and virile society. He said: “For this reason, we have put in place machineries that will ensure comfortable life for students as well as conducive and congenial teaching and learning environment.”

‘Education of youth our priority’

•Chinedu (third left) with his colleagues after the book launch

LAW undergraduate at the Lagos State University (LASU) has launched a book on advocacy. Chinedu Geoffrey Ihenetu, a 500-Level student, presented a book entitled The Power of Advocacy: A Moot Guide for Global Law Students at an event held at the MBA Hall, LASU. The launch was graced by students, lawyers and lecturers from the university and other schools. Chinedu’s mother and uncle were also part of the occasion. Special guests of honour Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) and Lagos Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Mr Ade Ipaye, were represented by Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN), the SolicitorGeneral and Permanent Secretary,

From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu NNEWI

Haram sect. This forced the management to close down the school for three months, which culminated into the extension of the 2011/2012 session.

Meanwhile, reactions have trailed the cancellation of the session and the extension of the three-month session break given to students. Students lamented that the university ought not to have extended the break, saying it would affect the academic calendar.

•PDP chief donates conference hall

T

HE department of Public Administration and Local Government, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), has held its 2012 Home-Coming Public Lecture. The occasion was used to commission the Conference Hall donated by Dr Sam Sam Jaja, the Deputy National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Delivering a lecture entitled: Resource optimisation in governance: A participant’s perspective, the Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, who was represented by Hon. Seikibo Peterside, a member of the Federal House of Representatives, noted that the objective of Rivers State government was to provide a platform for the youth to optimise their potentials using the state’s Strategic Development Plan as a guide.

The governor said his administration employed three steps in order to optimise her resources. The steps include defining the objective of government, getting management and stakeholders’ co-operation and defining strategies to address the problems of the state. He said the state had defined its visions and remained resolute to actualising them.

Amaechi said in his effort to make optimum use of the state’s resources, his administration placed priority on education and set out to build 750 primary schools equipped with Information Technology-compliant gadgets and 24 Model Secondary Schools with hostel facilities to house 1,000 students.

He also said that over 500 students were sent for additional studies in the United Kingdom and other parts

From Inya Agha UNN

of the world on scholarship.

In his address, UNN Vice-Chancellor, Prof Bartho Okolo, who was represented by his deputy on Administration, Prof Malachy Okwueze, said the institution was undergoing a regeneration process that needed the support of all stakeholders.

Dr Jaja, an alumnus of the university, had earlier paid a courtesy visit to the principal officers of the school.

He was received by the Deputy ViceChancellor (Academic), Prof Isaac Asuzu, who called on the UNN alumni to support the current administration to transform the school into a world0class university. He noted that world-acclaimed institutions such as Harvard and Oxford universities were developed by their alumni.

The Head of Public Administration and Local Government department, Prof Fab Onah, said the department had fulfilled its responsibility by training professional career officers in local government within the states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Ebonyi, Kogi, Imo and Rivers states.

The highpoint of the event was the presentation to Governor Amaechi an “Excellence in Innovative Governance” award. Dr Jaja also received award of “Excellence in Public Service”, Hon. Ossai Nicholas Ossai received award of “Excellence in Political Leadership” and Mr Adeline Idike were given an award of “Distinction in Service to Humanity.”

Welding students get leaders

T

HE Nigerian Institute of Welding Students (NIWS), Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) chapter, has held its handover ceremony to usher in a new set of leaders for the 2012/2013 academic session. The ceremony took place last Thursday and was attended by students and lecturers of the department. The event was chaired by the Head of the department, Mr

•The leader of Bayero University, Kano (BUK) team receiving N250,000 cheque from Natalie Dickson, an official of First Hydrocarbon Nigeria (FHN). The University won FHN Environmental Impact Award at the SIFE Contest recently.

From Princewill Jacob PTI

G.E. Aire.

The outgoing president, Jacob Otu, praised the members of his executive for their selfless service rendered for the association. He urged the incoming executive members to consolidate on the foundation laid down by his administration.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

33

CAMPUS LIFE OAU postpones resumption OR the second time, the management of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) has extended the resumption date for the commencement of second semester of the 2011/ 2012 academic session. Academic activities were billed to resume next Monday after weeks of first semester break.

However, in a statement posted on the university website and signed by the institution’s Registrar, Mr Ayorinde Ogunruku, the management postponed the resumption date to September 3.

The statement reads: “Further to our earlier notice in the circular reference number RO.2/Vol. V/472 of July 20, 2012 on postponement of resumption for the rain semester of 2011/ 2012 session, this is to inform all members of the university community that Senate, at its meeting of July 25, 2012, has approved that the rain semester should commence on September 3.

To this effect, all students are ex-

F

•Some of the campus writers after the seminar

Campus journalists train members

T

HE Nigeria Union of Campus Journalists (NUCJ), Akampka College of Education chapter, has organised a seminar for the new members of the union. The programme took place at the Students’ Union Government Conference Hall in the college.

Speaking on the Basic skills in news writing, Mrs Florence Oluoha, the guest speaker, who described journalism as a sacrificial profession, said a good journalist must be original and get his facts correctly. She urged the participants

From Ahanonu Emmanuel and Unimke Ipong COE Akamkpa

to be imaginative and operate within the ambit of regulatory law.

The event, which was well attended by students, also witnessed questions and answers session. The questions centered on publishing news reports and hazard journalists are exposed to in the course of their job.

In his remark, the chapter presi-

dent of NUCJ, Jeremiah Archibong, thanked members for attending the event despite their busy academic schedule. Also speaking, the Vice President of the union, Patience Ofem, said the programme served as an eye-opener for members of the union.

One of the participants, Christiana Emmanuel, said the training afforded her the opportunity to learn what it takes to be a good journalist. She thanked the organisers of the event.

From Wilberforce Arevore OAU

pected to return to residence for the semester on September 2.

On line registration, however, will begin on July 30, 2012 and end on September 9, 2012.”

Reasons for the extension could not be ascertained by CAMPUSLIFE but the development seems not to go down well with the students.

Hammed Oluwafolajimi, a 300Level student, said the postponement would extend the academic calendar of the school. Another student, who craved for anonymity, said the extension was uncalled for and would disturb the future plans of students.

It should be recalled that the students finished their exams on July 12 and were given two weeks break to resume on July 23. But the management cancelled the resumption date and fixed August 13 for students to resume.

However, the resumption has been postponed again to September 3.

Journalism students hold seminar

T

HE students of Journalism of Lagos State University (LASU), last week, held a one-week programme tagged “Journalism education and practice in Nigeria: How far, how well?”. The seminar was held at the 300-Level classroom at Adebola Adegunwa School of Communication, Surulere.

The seminar, which started around 1pm last Thursday, was attended by the representative of Director of News and Current Affairs, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria

From Esther Adeyanju LASU

(FRCN), Mr Oyetunji Ogunwele, an editor with The Sun newspaper, Mr Sola Osunkeye, Dean of the school, Prof Lai Osho and the Head of Journalism department, Mr Jimi Kayode among others.

Speaking, Ogunwele said: “Journalism is not only a paper work but it is also a business-oriented profession.”

Abidemi Odu, a student of Broadcast, told CAMPUSLIFE: “The seminar is educative and I learned a lot.”

Ramadan lecture at varsity

T

HE Muslim community of the University of Ibadan (UI) held its 20th Ramadan Lecture series last week. The programme was held at the university Central Mosque and was attended by dignitaries from within and outside the campus.

Delivering a lecture titled Islam and Security, the head of Religious Studies department of Lagos State University (LASU), Prof Isiaq Akintola, spoke on insecurity in the country and explained Islamic stance on it.

The professor of Religious Studies did an appraisal of the security situation that has taken another dimension with the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), since the current spate of killing is not new to

From Hammed Hamzat UI

Nigerians.

He lamented that there is no internal security in Nigeria because the police are poorly remunerated.

He said: “Policemen are not well paid and there is no good accommodation for them. They need a conducive environment to operate so as to be motivated to arresting insecurity.”

The Speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon Monsurat Sunmonu, in her remark, urged Muslims to be security-conscious. She also enjoined Muslims to live peacefully with other religions’ faithful.

Fellowship celebrates week •The graduates taking the oath

Lab Scientists take the oath

N

O fewer than 127 graduates of Medical Laboratory Science were inducted by the University of Calabar (UNICAL) in an induction and oath-taking ceremony held last week. The Conference Centre of the UNICAL Hotel was filled to the brim as parents, guardians and students came to congratulate the inductees.

Declaring the event open, UNICAL Vice-Chancellor, Prof James Epoke, in high spirits, praised the graduates for distinguishing themselves in learning

T

HE management of the Federal Polytechnic, Offa (OFFA POLY) has concluded plan, to start online checking of results. The new development is one of the activities lined up for the forthcoming 20th anniversary of the institution.

The electronic system will replace the manual of computing students’ results. “It will hasten the work of Management Information Service (MIS) after the examination

From Isaac Mensah UNICAL

and character. He charged the graduates to adhere to the ethics of the profession and act in accordance to the oath they took on the ceremony.

The Registrar/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN), Prof Anthony Emeribe, administered the oath on the graduates. He advised the inductees to be dynamic through self-development. He charged them to

guard the profession jealously, saying the future of the profession rests solemnly on their shoulders.

Head of Medical Laboratory Science department, Dr Paul InyangEtoh, said 20 of the graduates were graduates from Ebonyi State University (EBSU).

The best graduating student, Akpan Uwem, was presented with a certificate by Prof Saturday Etuk, a lecturer.

An inductee, Shedrack Ebri, was full of praise to God for seeing him through the “struggles of academic work”.

Poly adopts e-system From Akinola Oluyi OFFA POLY

as students will log on through their access code and check their results,” Hameed Omuiyadun, Students Union president, said.

Reacting to the new development, a HND 1 Mass Communication student,

Oluwafemi Ajiboye, welcomed the new method, saying it would prevent students from rushing to the notice boards to check results.

A Students’ Union official, Johnson Eleko, told CAMPUSLIFE that the e-system would make the institution one of the best in the world.

T

HE brothers of Fellowship of Christian Students (FCS), Ibrahim Babangida University (IBBU), Lapai chapter, celebrated their Week last weekend. The programmes lined up to mark the week included a debate between brothers and sisters in the fellowship. Participants trooped into the auditorium where the event took place.

The three-day programme started on Friday. The pioneer Vice President of the fellowship, Stephen Omale, speaking on the theme A brother with a vision, said: “Being a child of God is the highest position a man can attain on earth.”

In his sermon titled Redeeming the time, the guest speaker, Dr Paul Gana, who is a lecturer at the department of Mathematics and Computer Science in the

From Yinka Olatunbosun IBBUL

institution, admonished the brothers to exercise patience and wait for God’s appointed time. Quoting copiously from Ecclesiastes 3:1-9, Gana stressed that everything that happened on earth happened at God’s proposed times. He said: “If as a Christian or a believer, you intentionally engage an unbeliever in a sexual relationship, you have disgraced yourself and the Kingdom of God may elude you unless you confess your sins.”

Survival of the fittest game, where contestants recited as many bible passages as they could, was organised for the participants. In the end, Opeyemi Omoyemi, 200-Level Mathematics, won and was given a new Bible.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

34

CAMPUS LIFE

•Students in mishmash of attires during the Week

Students of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) Television College (TV College) have held their Maiden week for the fostering of unity. JOHNPAUL NNAMDI (400Level TV Journalism) reports.

Unity in cultural diversity

T

HEIR attires reflected cultural diversities. Some wore the glowing Hausa babanriga; some were dressed in the Yoruba Yeri and others were clad in Ijaw or Igbo dresses. Tradition and culture were highlighted as students of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) Television College (TV College), Jos Plateau State, held their Maiden Week.

All ethnic groups in Nigeria united during the event. From the good, to the bad and to the ugly, some students dressed to promote their tradition, others dressed to entertain the rest of their colleagues.

Two boys among the students were the cynosure of all eyes. One sportted bra and a skirt with a woman’s hairdo. The other shaved his hair to resemble a bald hunter in traditional African setting. Some girls also dressed to depict old and pregnant women.

Other students that attracted attention were those dressed in the gear of the ancient Taroh warlords from Plateau State and another group that portrayed secondary school pupils. This was the outlook on the Costume Day, one of the events during the week.

The week was organised by the Television

Journalism Students Association (TEJOSA) and Television Production Students Association (TEPSA). The three-day celebration also featured events such as Battle of the Football Fans, Jeans Carnival, Inter-departmental football matches and seminar.

The theme of the event was “Student unionism: A tool for fostering unity”. The week was a platform for students to interact and ease off stress from academic work.

Stressing the need for students to be passionate and dedicated to their academics, a speakers at the seminar, Ibrahim Lawrence, who is a photographer, urged them to make proper use of their time and resources to develop their talents. He also advised them to discover their talents and not to rely on white collar jobs.

Mr Audu Moses, Head of Psychiatry Department, Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), highlighted the dangers and effects of drug abuse.

Mr Alfred Mangai, spoke on: The new media: Challenges and opportunities of a media student. He challenged the students to key into the changing trend in the media industry by taking advantage of the online

•A student playing a bald hunter

medium in disseminating information.

During the Battle of the Football Fans, students came out in their favourite clubs’ jerseys to play the game. The week ended with a party and the Jeans Carnival which took place at the Crest Hotel. Students were seen in tattered jeans and ragged outfits.

Steve Dakas, president of TEPSA, noted that the organisation of the event was timeconsuming. He urged students to participate in the subsequent week event, adding that it is an avenue to voice out their

Is sport a male preserve?

Sport is believed to be the exclusive preserve of men. Female participation in sport is not as strong as that of men on the campus. HANNAH OJO (400-Level English, Obafemi Awolowo University) writes on why girls don’t participate in sports.

T

HE throwing of the javelin with a touch of feminine subtleness; girls dashing toward a ball in motion with keen eyes on the goal post. With or without make-ups, a female on the track field will always attract attention if not admiration.

The history of sports in Nigeria is replete

•Female football team of C & S campus fellowship

with women who earned their mark by etching the name of the country in gold. Mary Onyali-Omagbemi, Falilat Ogunkoya, Chioma Ajunwa-Opara are among such women. The world recognised their achievements, despite being women.

In 1921, Britain’s football association banned women from playing football be-

cause the game was considered “unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged”.

For 50 years, the ban was in force until female football attracted attention in the world. With their exploits in sports, women seem to be breaking the fetters with which they are historically bound.

A critical look at female participation in

plight and promote unity among themselves.

Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, Prisca Olayinka, 200-Level Television Journalism, commended the associations for the feat, adding that she was happy to be part of the event.

She said: “The organisers tried in making this event happen for the first time in the college. I think I am fortunate to be part of it because I learnt a lot and my attention was diverted to other aspects of life that will help me interact with others.” sporting events on Nigerian campuses shows that the enthusiasm and interest are below the expectation. This has rendered female sports not to be competitive as coaches would have wanted.

Segun Apata, 300-Level Medical Rehabilitation, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) and a basketball player, believes that girls do not show interest in sports because of academic demands.

“Here in OAU, I can rate the performance of female in sport activities to 60 per cent.

This is even better compared to other schools in the Southwest. I have been to the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) and the turnout of girls was not impressive. They feel it is a guy’s show and are quick to accept this belief that girls are weaker sex.”

Is it that female students are predisposed to some certain types of sports? Segun answered: “Girls here like to play basketball, lawn tennis, swimming and maybe badminton. The reason some don’t do other sports is that they complain they are not strong enough but I have seen others perform well in energy-sapping sports like taekwondo and judo. Again, girls are afraid of losing their feminine physiques.”

It is not surprising that many still believe that physical exercise by women has a detrimental effect on their reproductive organs and that women lose their femininity •Continued on page 36

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

35

CAMPUS LIFE

“V

ox populi, vox dei.” This Latin saying aptly described the re-election, on Saturday, July 14, of Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole.

The electorate proved that the voice of the people is truly the voice of God. They came out in their numbers to vote who they perceived as the most competent man for the job. After hours of voting, the results were finally announced the next day.

It was a landslide victory! The candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Oshiomhole, came victorious. He won nearly 70 per cent of the votes. Of the 630,099 valid votes, Oshiomole polled 447,478 votes, winning in all constituencies. His Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rival, Charles Airhiavbere, came second with 144,325 votes, which was not even half the vote cast for Oshiomhole.

Women, children, the elderly and the youth of the state took to the streets clutching brooms and danced triumphantly. Perhaps spontaneous jubilation by Edo people is evident that election riggers have been schemed out of the

O

NE serious problem plaguing Nigeria’s education system today is large scale examination malpractice. Indeed, the incident of examination malpractice has now permeated every level of our education system, making it the public to doubt the product of the system.

Today, pupils and students use subtle ways to beat supervisors and examiners. Parents and teachers now aid and abet students to cheat in exam especially in national examinations.

Nigeria records cases of fraud in examinations every year. That pupils cannot use their brain to an-

The Edo example business.

The oracle had spoken and it came to pass! Who was the oracle in this case? The people! They bought into the transformation agenda of Governor Oshiomhole in the state and they considered it fit to re-elect him. They saw he deserved the re-election for his achievments during his first term.

Oshiomhole’s policies are not only felt by the elite in state but masses also attested that the governor’s programmes are people-orienred.

The Edo people have proven to Nigerians and people in the outside world that a good leader will always be rewarded and re-elected to power to continue the progressive work. They have brought back the hope of having free and fair elections in the nation.

If only 2011 elections were like this, may be Nigeria would have been a better than it is now. The sweet victory of Governor Oshiomhole is memorable. It

should serve as example to others and should be used as a standard in the forthcoming elections. Ondo State will also be holding election in October. The people of the state have the opportunity to emulate their counterparts in neighbouring Edo. The outcome of the election, it must be emphasised, is totally dependent on the peoples’ will and determination.

Whether the election is won by the deserved candidate is totally up to the people of Ondo State. The denizens of the state must ponder on who to elect as their new governor.

They must not just vote for any candidate, but one with a clear-cut vision. An altruistic personality that believes in general advancement of the people. The peoples’ candidate must be an agent of progress, a liberalist, a reformist that will work towards development of the state.

The beauty of democracy is that leaders are given their dossiers of performance. The information in the sheet determines whether they will get re-election or not.

This should also giude the people in the oncoming election in Ondo State.

On October 20, sun will be shining gloriously in the Sunshine State. Its light will aid the smooth running of the election. It will enable the voters see the ballot boxes, vote wisely and keep watching eyes for any form of irregularities.

The people of Ondo, on that crucial day, should object to any form of rigging. They must protect their mandate because their lives and future will be totally dependent on it.

They should come out en masse to make sure their votes count and are counted. The time has come; the era of credible elections is now!

Ondo State, like its neighbouring

That Nigeria education may be better

By Jeremiah Augustine

swer question without depending on expo is an evidence that the scourge has eaten deep the fabric of the society.

It is only student, who are not prepared for test, see examination as a big hurdle. It could be that the students do not have comprehensive note books or do not take part in the continuous assessment that form part of their examination.

Lack of confidence on the part of

the students also makes them cheat during examination. In order not to fail their tests, unserious students engage in malpractice just to pass by all means. To them, the end justifies the means.

In this era of GSM, the technology aided the cheats to pass test easily. Answers are stored in the device without the knowledge of the invigilators.

Some even use Blackberry smart phones to browse answer in the exam hall. This is the new method

of cheating and if it goes unchecked, the society will be bad for it as generation of graduates that would come of such would have nothing in their brain.

Government and stakeholders in education sector must move to arrest thi scourge. They must introduce measures that will curb bane which must include stringent regulations against malpractices. They must ensure that defaulters are punished accordingly.

Furthermore, government

Our complacency towards development

O

NE of America’s founding fathers, Abraham Lincoln, put forward a good definition of democracy to be the government of the people, by the people and for the people. This has formed the foundation of democracies across the world. This definition presupposes that every democracy must be people-oriented.

People, in this context, refers to ordinary citizens.

However, in Nigeria, the definition is an anathema. It is instructive to know that since independence, successive Nigerian leaders have failed the people.

Our leaders have done nothing but to erode the true meaning and essence of democracy. At first, they came as the awaited messiah, pleading to be given the opportunity to transform the nation; to make it bear the semblance of Heaven on earth; to put smiles on the faces of the common man. But after their (s)election, they reveal their true colours. Rather than serve the people, the people serve them.

In his work entitled Legal and judicial activism in an emergent democracy: The last hope of the common man, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa (rtd) noted: “The first challenge of democracy is thus… the inculcation of the democratic spirit”. He asked this question: Are we building a society in which nobody counts except a politician or an official? He also asserted: “Look at the affluent, extravagant lifestyle of political office holders and the abject poverty of the rural village dwellers whose rates and taxes are used to maintain and sustain the

former’s lifestyle. Look at the plight of the low income worker who has to pay for his rent and the rich ministers and commissioners who are given either free houses or who pay less nominal rent, who are given free official cars and who have almost everything free...”

There is no gainsaying the fact that this legal giant clearly depicted the reality of our acclaimed democracy.

Corruption knows our nation’s name. Political betrayal is common; we have become weary by the failed promises of the political office holders. Only few of our politicians can be said to be competent, accountable and dedicated.

The actions and inactions of the ruling elite has made Nigeria to be called a failed nation. It has become a country where anything and everything goes; a place where the leadership perpetrate unimaginable crimes with the most alarming impunity. The most disturbing of all is our growing complacency in the face of glaring facts of political misdeeds and misappropriation. We forget that the occupants of all political offices are mere trustees and that as of right; we are the supposed true beneficiaries of the system. We forget that we were the electorates and that without us, there will be no elected; we treat with utmost levity, the provision of Section 14 our hallowed constitution which enacts that ,’sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom the government, through this constitution derives all its powers and authority’. We ignore the provision of Section 15(5) which mandates the government to, ’abolish all corrupt

By Feyisara Ibitoye

Edo State, can help in the campaign for credible, free and fair elections in order to deepen democracy in Nigeria.

Feyisara, 200-Level Physics and Electronics, AAUA

should ensure exams are conducted in standard halls with electronic gadgets that will detect cheating.

Students should also be checked thoroughly before they go into the examination hall . Teachers must cover syllabuses and have time to do revision.

It is better to fail an exam with a clear conscience, than to pass with the result one cannot defend. Let us defend our integrity and personality to be greater people in the society and the nation at large Jeremiah, is a student of The Polytechnic, Adamawa State.

Youth’s attitude to hard work

I

By Uche Anichebe

practices and abuse of power’.

So far we have neglected the fact that the government owes us a fundamental duty of accountability, but inspired by sheer complacence, and all we do is put up a ‘siddonlook’ attitude. We neglect the fact that we are given far less than we deserve by ‘the powers that be’. We shrug off the reports of political malpractice; we have become immune to them and habituated to the frequent tales of political misconduct. And the repercussion has not been far from expected. Our democracy has long ago been upturned and replaced with ‘kleptocracy’. Our politics is a game of who gets what, when and how.

It has no electorate or peoples’ perspective to it.

Leadership and followership in Nigeria have remained a huge paradox. Every political issue is addressed with an age long solution; panels and •Continued on page 36

write this piece with a heavy heart. What informed tjos article is the mentality and attitude of the Nigerian youth towards hard work. Most youths nowadays are only after wealth.

They cherish material things so much so that they accord respect to people in possession of material wealth and despise those who do not have. They also see themselves as inferior to wealthy people, a situation that affects the way most of them think and behave.

Materialism, as we know, is a thing of the earth. It does not get one anything better than the adulation of sycophants.

Today’s youths are too desperate to have this wealth, which our parents worked all their lives to acquire. Because of this, most of them steal, defraud and engage in all sorts of dishonest business in order to acquire this material wealth.

When they acquire the material wealth, they use it to oppress others who cherish hard work. They would buy exotic cars, expensive phones, and put on expensive clothes than they need.

This attitude is very wrong because it does not promote development in the society. It is also the major cause of corruption prevealent in our society. The only solution to this our attitude is that, youth need to be re-oriented on how to a contented live.

Living is not all about the acquisition of material property, but to have a good standard of living that take care of the present and cater for the future.

The main difference between a

By Olaleke Ayegbayo

wealthy person in America and Nigeria is orientation. Whereas, a wealthy American will buy a house and car and use the rest of his money for charity, a wealthy Nigerian man buys dozens of houses and cars to show people that he is rich. This is lack of foresight and product of materialist mentality.

Inferiority complex is not new.

Most Nigerian youth usually feel inferior especially to their peers who are well to do.

They feel inferior to other because they think they cannot be like them or equal to them in terms how experience, knowledge, and meterials property.

They feel inferior to themselves because of envy. Nigerians always aim to be superior because of pride and because we don’t class ourselves equal. I’m not saying that we are meant to be equal but envy and pride should be eliminated in our traits.

Feeling inferior to people of another colour is a product of our thinking. We always think that white people do things perfectly compare to black men. This notion is very wrong. It is only when we move closer to them that we would realise the challenges they are also facing which is more compared to what we are facing as a race.

To conclude this article, I appeal to all youths to change their orientation because God has blessed us with everything good in our country.

Olaleke, 200-Level Biochemistry, FUTA

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

36

CAMPUS LIFE

LASPOTECH introduces strict dress code HE management of Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) has banned wearing of skimpy clothes on the campus. The ban came on the heels of rising indecent dressing on the campus by students.

The academic board of LASPOTECH, at its meeting, which was held last June, deliberated on indecent dressing of students in the institution’s campuses. However, the management came up with the recommendation, which was pasted on the notice board and the school website last week, for all students to take note of the new dress code.

The statement reads: “The board, after much deliberation, considered the under listed dressing code as unacceptable: all tight-fitting clothes, including shirt, trousers and blouses; clothes that reveal sensitive parts of the body such as the breasts, chest, belly, upper arms and the buttocks, transparent clothing, spaghetti tops, wicked straps, mono strap, tubes, show me your belly and skirts with slits above the knees.

“Also knickers and mini-skirts which are not at least knee length; indecent outfits such as party wears, beach wear, fez caps and dark glasses are all banned for ladies in the campus. The boys too are not left out. They should not put on t-shirts and jeans which carry obscene and subliminal messages. Trousers such as hip-riders and low waist jeans are not acceptable by the academic board of the institution.”

The approved clothes are shirts and trousers or complete suit, complete native dress, decent jean trousers with shirt. Ladies are to put on skirts that are below knee level. Long and short sleeve jeans are also approved. The statement said: “The decision of the academic board is for strict compliance by all students on campuses of the polytechnic. Students who do not comply with the above dress code will be sanctioned.”

Meanwhile, students have started reacting to the

T

Robert Uwemedimo HND I Computer Science, LASPOTECH new dress codes. Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, Tolulope Ogunleye, HND 1 Computer Science, praised the academic board on the new dressing code. According to him, “this is a new development in the school system. They have made the right decision. There have been a lot of indecent dressing in the campuses. Ladies exposing what they are supposed to hide from men. Every culture in Nigeria disapproves of such exposure and, at the same time, regards such exposure as an abomination. It is okay by me but they should relax the regulation a bit to allow students’ carnival.”

Morayo Akinsulire, HND 1 Computer Science, condemned the new dress code, saying the academic board made the wrong decision of deciding on the types of clothes students should put on. According to her, “we are all adults and I think they can’t tell us what to wear.

Whoever is dressing indecently is doing it on his or her own. What of those that don’t like putting on suit? To me I think this new dress code is going to cost students a lot of money to change their wardrobe. I don’t like the idea or they should just recommend a school uniform for all of us.”

Funke Tomori, ND II Mass Communication, welcomed the new code. She said: “Thank God, I am happy because the way most ladies dress sometime on campus is terrible. A lot of them flaunt their breasts for the public to view.

Sometimes it is really disgusting seeing them.

To me it is a good decision by the board.”

She added: “Whoever that is not ready to abide by the rules and regulations of the school authority is advised to withdraw. They cannot change the academic board’s decision.”

On and Off Campus By Solomon Izekor 08061522600

•Some of the skirts banned by the management

Is sport a male preserve?

•Continued from page 34

through active participation in sports.

On why female students record low participation in sports, Joice Ebiden, a student of Benson Idahosa University, attributes it to tough training. She said undergoing such exercise may reshape their feminine body.

“Even guys discourage females from active participation in sports,” Joice added.

Religion has been said to be another factor preventing girls from participating in sports.

Many girls especially those dressed in niqab detest exposing the sensitive parts of their bodies by putting on skimpy sports’ wears.

Even Chioma Ajunwa-Opara hinted on this in an interview with National Mirror last year.

She said: “Honestly, I was so ashamed of that small pant I was given. I wasn’t used to it.

But when Mary Onyali told me that if I didn’t wear it, they will disqualify Nigeria, I had to agree. That was why when I jumped, I came down gently. If you watched the videos you would notice that I came down closing my

legs.”

Tunbosun Lawal, a student of OAU, also told CAMPUSLIFE that girls seldom participate in sport owing to the religious teachings. “You will agree with me that Nigerians are highly religious. Some of the sports’ wears are not good because judging by religious standards, they are not decent enough.

They expose sensitive body parts of girls to for men to see freely.”

For Ope Fadimu, 100-Level Management and Accounting, who recently joined the athletics team in OAU, believes that for girls to participate in sport, they must be motivated.

“Girls want their coach to be friendly by motivating them. If the coach is not encouraging them, they will lose interest.”

Emmanuel Emmason believes girls are interested in sports but men. “I don’t think female students like sports to that extent. They like to put on clothes with many colours, Brazilian hair and looking for men with money to buy them latest Blackberry smart phones,” he said.

Our complacency towards development •Continued from page 35

tepid probes. The hundreds of conducted probes and their resolutions have met two possible ends; its either they never see the light of day, or when they do, the political players bid time, and when the public outcry wrought by the finding ebb, they are flung into the garbage bin of history. And in the face this tradition, there is one thing that we always do; nothing. What happened to the shocking findings of the renowned Oputa Panel(1999), what happened to the Pats Acholonu Maritime Workers Union Probe (2001); what happened to the findings of the finding of the Senate Probe of NNPC under Gaius-Obaseki(2003) Did they beget any bit of change, or even an iota of remorse and apology from the indicted persons. Were their fates any different from the Bola Ajibola Panel on Jos Disturbance(2010), the House of Reps probe of energy sector(2008); the Senate probe of Fct Minister, El- Rufai(2008); the Pension Probe(2012), and countless other probes that have been conducted in Nigeria.

Truth be told, these foregoing exercises have so far been futile because of our culture of unshakable complacence. While the mind boggling results are quickly swept under carpets, inspired

by our undying traits of inexplicable self –satisfaction, we say and do nothing. Not too long ago, the former minister of Information and national Chairman of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Prince Tony Momoh, expressed the reality of the level of our complacence, when he said that he would not be surprised if nothing is done about the revelations of the Farouk Lawan probe on fuel subsidy.

We have come to a level where we should be agitated by the impropriety of the elected; where the ‘powers that be’ will sit and think twice before venturing into acts that are tantamount to slapping us on our faces; We have come to a stage where the elected will live up to their call and ensure that accountability is their watch word.

We live in desperate times, times which necessitate that we strip ourselves of our complacence and mandate the elected to do what must be done by trying and punishing the persons indicted by probes, especially the present bone of contention, the report of the Farouk Lawan probe. I do not blame our Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka for suggesting that a massive protest be organized. For we live in desperate times; and desperate times require desperate measures.

Uche, 400-Level Law, UNIZIK

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

37

EDUCATION

NNPC/ Esso train Geosciences dons

ACE FILE Health Centre registers with PCN THE Health Centre of the Adeyemi College of Education (ACE), Owo in Ondo State, is now registered with the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN).

The Director of Medical Services, Dr. A.E Ogunmosin, in a letter to the Provost, Prof Adeyemi Idowu, said he received the certificate of registration from the Akure office of the Council on July 11.

With the registration, Ogunmosin said the college would be able to conclude the registration of the Centre's Pharmacy with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

The Provost in his response congratulated the Health Centre for the registration and urged them to go ahead and make necessary enquiries for the NHIS registration.

I

N furtherance of its commitment to the development of science education, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (EEPNL), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, in production sharing contract with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has organised a fiveday training for seven Nigerian universities under the University Assistance Programme (UAP) initiative.

The UAP is aimed at developing human capacity in universities, particularly in Geosciences, as a way of supporting youth development.

Geosciences lecturers from the seven universities who participated in the training held in Benin City, Edo State, last week are expected to impart the knowledge gained on their students.

The universities are: University of Benin; University of Calabar, Cross Rivers State; University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State; Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun; Delta State University,Abraka; Niger State University,Amasomma and Akwa Ibom State University of Technology, MkpatEnin.

Speaking at the opening, Mr Goodluck Adagbasa, manager, Deepwater Production, Geosciences, EEPNL, said the sponsors expected the training to have a ripple effect on

Student bags scholarship

• From left: Dr Mayowa Afe, MD, Danvic Concepts, Mr Adagbasa, and Mr Abdullahi during the workshop

the quality of Geosciences graduates produced by the universities.

"We want to help empower the graduates coming out of our universities to be able to compete in the marketplace with their counterparts from other parts of the world. It is our sincere hope and belief that the better the output of the university, the more impact they will have on our business, moving forward."

Mr Ahmed Abdullahi, Supervisor, Community Development, Public

Affairs Department, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), representing the Manager, Public Affairs Department, NAPIMS, Mr Kennie Obateru, noted: "Today's Initiative by NNPC/EEPNL is part of that continuous effort to ensure that we contribute to the development of the country and to the study of Geosciences, which is an important part of the oil and gas industry. We hope this training will leverage on the domino effect of the skill and knowledge transfer from one individual to several others."

A STUDENT of the Adeyemi College of Education (ACE), Ondo, Mr Isaiah Idowu Johnson, is the best performing student at the immersion programme at the Nigerian French Language Village in Badagry, Lagos.

Isaiah came second at the end of the first semester examination of the programme among the students drawn from 26 universities across the federation. In a letter, the Director-General and Chief Executive, the Nigeria French Language Village, Prof Samuel Aje, congratulated the Provost and the College, especially the French Department for giving the students the necessary background to excel at that level.

"I wish to request that your college, having been known for excellence, should continue in that direction while I assure you that the Nigerian French language Village by its mandate would continue to provide language acquisition for all Nigerians, particularly at the University level," he stated in the letter.

The student will have their fees returned, in addition to receiving French books.

Honour for pupil A PUPIL of the Adeyemi College of Education Demonstration Secondary School has been honoured by the Ondo State Government for excellent performance in the JETS and Science and Technology Quiz competitions.

The student, Akinseloyin Ayobami and others were honoured by the state government at a reception at the Cocoa Conference Hall, Governor's Office .

According to a circular from the Ministry of Education, Akinseloyin participated in the state, national/international competition in 2010, 2011 and did the state proud in some of the competitions.

UNN VC to ASUU: Look beyond govt’s funding

T

HE Vice-Chancellor, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Prof Bartho Okolo, has urged the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to look beyond the funds from government in its effort to make the university system more viable.

Okolo stated this when he received members of the National Executive Council of ASUU, who were in the university for a three-day National Executive Meeting.

He said inadequate funding was one of the problems undermining the performance of universities.

He outlined some of the problems needing attention to include: indiscipline among workers, scholars' lukewarm attitude to teaching and research, low quality of staff and students, poor learning environment and the absence of mentorship of young graduates by more experienced scholars.

Okolo said the burden of sustain-

Emir of Ningi, Alhaji Yunusa Danyaya, after his conferment with a honorary doctorate degree of Administration by the Commonwealth University, Belize in Dubai ... on Tuesday.

From Chris Oji, Enugu

able resource mobilisation for universities lay with scholars who were expected to attract grants and equipment to their institutions through research projects.

He bemoaned the laxity of scholars who often complained of lack of research funds without exploring the numerous global grant opportunities open to them.

Okolo urged ASUU to come up with plans that would ensure that people do the work for which they are paid in the universities.

He also called on the union to come up with a new education model that would enhance and accelerate national development.

He said UNN in the past three years had started addressing some of these problems by cleaning up its environment, ensuring that students get their certificates on graduation day and developing one of the most robust ICT infrastructures in the country through

its partnership with Google, and other ICT companies.

He also announced plans to inaugurate the university's Alumni portal which would enable its graduates to access their transcripts within 48 hours of application.

The ASUU President, Dr. Nasir Fagge, had commended the ViceChancellor for sourcing funds from outside to finance development projects in the University. He noted that he had seen many new projects in the University since his last visit.

He also thanked Okolo for restoring the ASUU branch in UNN and ensuring a proper deduction of checkoff dues of its members in UNN. Also speaking, the immediate past president of ASUU, Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie, urged the Vice-Chancellor to use his position to convince the Committee of Vice-Chancellors, CVC to partner with ASUU in its effort to attract better funding for universities.

18,000 jostle for 3,000 spaces at AAUA

S

INCE Monday, the Adekunle Ajasin University, AkungbaAkoko (AAUA) in Ondo State has been conducting the post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (PUTME) screening test for the 18,000 candidates seeking admission for the 2012/2013 Session.

However, the Senior Assistant Registrar (Admissions), Mr Tajudeen Salami, said only about 3,000 of the 18,000 would be con-

sidered for admission on merit in line with the university's policy.

The computer-based screening ends on Saturday.

Salami said, among other advantages, the computer-based test would eradicate impersonation and ensure the quick generation of results.

He envisaged that the results of the test would be ready six days after the exercise.

• From left: Education Minister Prof. Rukayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i; Rector Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Dr. Mufutau Olatinwo and former Deputy Senate President and Chairman of the occasion Senator Ibrahim Mantu shortly after Dr. Olatinwo received the Rector of the Year Award at the Nigeria Outstanding Leadership Awards organised by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in Abuja.

38

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

EDUCATION

Abuja Council hosts 37% of FCT's basic education pupils

College adds IT to curriculum From Mariam Sanni, Abeokuta

TAIDOB International College, Abeokuta, Ogun State has enhanced its secondary school curriculum with the National International Information Technology (NIIT) project for students'effective Information Communications Technological (ICT) skills.

The NIIT project is an Indian globally-inclined institution that gives youths the opportunity of acquiring professional skills and competency treasured in the labour market.

The Proprietor of Taidob International College, Mr Abayomi Jiboku, told reporters at this year’s graduation of the school, that the NIIT programmes were introduced to pupils so they could be equipped with the skills needed to compete effectively in an ICT-driven world.

"The project is approved in the school, because the whole world is going computer and any standard school should ensure that all the students are computer compliant," he said.

According to him, the NIIT project would encourage the college's products to be employers of labour and not job seekers.

The proprietor charged the students to use the skills they gain in building their future.

The Centre Head of NIIT, Abeokuta, Mr Prasun Debe, likened the diligence and intelligence of any Nigerian student to that of an Indian. He added that knowledge needed to be imparted at a young age for effectiveness and sustainability.

Administrator urges Fashola to monitor private schools

•289,516 pupils enrolled in 2010/2011 session

T

HE Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration enrolled 289,516 children into its primary and Junior Secondary Schools in the 2010/2011 session.

Over 37 per cent (107,808) of them were registered by the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).

The FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, disclosed this in Abuja after meeting with some officials of the FCT Education Secretariat.

Giving the breakdown, he said the 156 Early Child Care Development Education (ECCDE) classes registered 14,073 pre-schoolers, while the 512 primary schools (including Nomadic schools)

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

enrolled 188,698 pupils, and in the 127 Junior Secondary Schools, there were 86,745 pupils.

The minister said the pupils were taught by 332 caregivers for the ECCDE classes; 6,778 teachers for the primary schools, and 4,436 teachers in the Junior Secondary Schools during the same session.

With 3,337 registered, Mohammed said the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) had the highest number of pre-schoolers among the six Area Councils. It was followed by Bwari with 3,283; Gwagwalada (3,180); Abaji

(1,747); Kuje (1,337); and Kwali and (1,189).

Primary school enrolments followed the same trend with AMAC having 64,000 pupils; Bwari (33,591); Gwagwalada (32,480); Kuje (22,727); Kwali (18,749) and Abaji (17,151).

In the Junior Secondary School, he said AMAC had 40,471; Bwari, 16,267; Gwagwalada, 13,806; Kuje6,703; Kwali-5,390; and Abaji-4,108 enrolled.

Despite the daily influx of people to Abuja, he assured that FCT Administration would continue to provide the needed infrastructure to enable it set a pace for the 36 states to emulate.

Mohammed expressed ap-

•Bala Mohammed

preciation to development partners, including Japan, China, UNDAF, NGOs, ETF as well as MDGs for their uncommon contributions to the growth of education in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

By Miriam Ndikanwu

THE Proprietress of Headstart School, Lagos, Mrs. Udenwa Obi, has called on Governor Babatunde Fashola and other regulatory authorities to monitor the activities of private school operators to ensure that they provide effective and qualitative education.

Mrs. Obi, who spoke at the 19th valedictory/graduation of the Nursery and Primary schools, said there was the need for all hands to be on deck to tackle deteriorating standard of education in the country.

"The private school operators of which I am one have been doing well in lifting our educational standard, but I will want to implore the Ministry of Education and the state government to please get into the system more. They can probe us if need be to ensure that private school owners provide qualitative education for the people."

She explained that the school has since inception lived up to the expectation of the people, while assuring of her commitment to quality standard.

She said: "The progress has been so encouraging and we intend that by September when we will have a full house, there will be no compromise because we will remain committed to standard.

"We have put a lot of facilities in place, our language laboratory is well equipped with the capacity of 25 students at a time, and we also have all the basic skills in place as well as our Intro Tech and Home Economics laboratory."

• From left: Dr Solomon Azumurana from the Department of English, UNILAG; Director, NASCON; Carolina Eyewuoma; NASCON Event/Media Manager Charles Osemene; Founder and National Secretary, Idu Ewere; at the event.

National Spelling Bee kicks off

C

• From left: Head, Sales, Main One Cable Company Victoria Island, Lagos, Bolanle Ogundogba, shaking hands with Mr Safara Iyowun, Head Teacher Ogombo Community Primary School Lekki (2nd left) and Head, Support Services, Main One Cable Company Bimbola Olu-Martins, with pupils of the school during the donation of educational items by the company to the school.

T

HE Founder of Unveiling Africa Foundation, Chizoba Imoka,has scrapped its two-year-old essay competition to be replaced by a new initiative - Teenagers Innovation Prize.

Ms Imoka announced this at a briefing in Opebi, Lagos last week to unveil the new contest.

The decision, he added, is in line with the foundation's commitment to 'producing teenagers with competence in problem solving and critical thinking.'

The initiative was informed by what Imoka described as five key challenges confronting Nigeria in terms of paucity of accountable and value driven

OME November, the National Spelling Bee competition will begin.

Tagged: National Spelling Bee Competition of Nigeria (NASCON), the maiden competition hopes to address, among other challenges, 'near absence of quality linguistic education in Nigeria’, according to its Founder Umogu Samson.

At a briefing at Reliance Royal Suites, Ikeja, Lagos, last week, Samson harped on pupils'perennial deficiency in the English language, which he said, is a major factor in declining education, examination racketeering and mass failure.

"It has been ascertained that the fundamental cause of this 'disease' (falling education standard) is the near absence

By Adegunle Olugbamila

of quality linguistic education, in the case of Nigeria English language.

“Deficiencies in English are a horrible decimal since other courses of study in Nigeria - at all tiers of learning - are taught in English."

He added: "Nowadays, people generally make use of abbreviations that are not standard in text messages. Unfortunately, students have ignorantly taken to this in formal writing. This makes them commit the mistake of using them in exams which is very wrong."

The NASCON, he added, hopes to address the aforementioned gaps, and by so doing, contribute to enhance correct spelling of the English words.

The NASCON team, he

Foundation to begin ‘Teenagers Innovation’ contest

By Dawodu Olawale

citizens.

According to her, they are academic excellence, community impact, personal leadership, excellence in social interaction and entrepreneurship, adding that these are what the foundation is committed to addressing.

She said: "We understand the issues. We know Nigeria's problems are hydra-headed; we know that solving Nigeria's problem will require a multitude of people doing the right things

at the right time simultaneously. We know that it will be difficult and inconvenient to solve this problem but we are not daunted.”

The contest, tagged: Solving everyday problems, he said, is aimed at rewarding teenagers, who can identify certain key societal problems, while also proffering solutions to them.

“For example, we want to see how teenagers can solve problems ranging from traffic, to lack of public washrooms, drainage and power problems. We are hoping that teenagers can think outside

the box and create innovations across their interest lines. For example, a kid that is passionate about video games can come up with an innovation to improve the playing experience or process,” he further said.

Ms Imoka added that the contest was open to youths between the ages of 13 and 19 irrespective of whether they are in school or not.

"As such, our vision is to produce a future Nigeria where the majority of citizens are value-driven and are competent in these five key areas

of life.

"The top three winners of this contest will share N500, 000 and the top 10 contestants will get to participate in the Unveiling Africa Leadership & Entrepreneurship programme,”she further said.

The founder said to encourage as much participation as possible, the contest deadline has been moved to November 30, this year. The contestants, Imoka stressed, would be evaluated based on four parameters uniqueness, societal impact, scalability and business viability as well as adaptability.

stressed, comprises distinguished members who, over the years, have attempted to streamline education with their many years of classroom teaching. The objectives, according to him, include: 'stimulating and sustaining intellectual thinking in Nigerians'; 'providing the framework for a holistic education of the Nigerian youth; contributing towards grassroots education reforms; and creating avenues; encouraging vocabulary development, public speaking and accurate spelling skills in Nigerian students' and incentives for academic excellence, among others.

NASCON Media Manager Charles Osemene said the competition was structured to evaluate contestants' spelling abilities vis-à-vis their mastery of English as well as public speaking.

The contest, he added, is in junior and senior categories involving learners in Primary five to JSS two, and pupils between JSS3 and SSS two.

Osemene said the competition would kick off in all states first, before it would be streamlined into a regional competition across the six geo-political zones. The Director, Carolina Eyewuoma, said a sample of likely words during the competition was available on the NASCON website, urging parents to avail their children the opportunity of visiting the site to practise to improve on their spelling abilities this vacation.

39

THE NATION THURSDAY, AGUSUT 16, 2012

EDUCATION GRADUATION

GRADUATION

GRADUATION

GRADUATION

GRADUATION

Show more interest in pupils' welfare, parents urged

P

ARENTS and guardians have been tasked on the education of their children.

The Proprietor of Eni-Ade School, Ifako Ijaiye, Chief Adebisi Awoniyi, gave the charge at the school’s 2011/ 2012 academic session's graduation/ prize giving.

According to him, the best legacy parents should give their wards is education, adding that this would enhance their self-reliance in future.

It will also enhance their opportunities for respectable positions in the

society.

"On our part, we shall not depart from our vision of academic excellence as we shall from time to time update our facilities for better learning process," he said.

The chairman on the occasion and a former chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) Lagos State, Alhaji Tayo Sowunmi, while giving out prizes to excellent pupils, commended the management's spirit of survival and forging ahead amid the harsh economy.

Proprietor seeks improved education budget HE Founder of Doregos Private Academy, Ipaja, Lagos, Mrs. Clementina Abeke Doregos, has called on governments to increase budgetary allocations to the education sector, noting that it would help enhance the quality of education for tomorrow's leaders.

Mrs.Doregos said this at the school's 18th valedictory service.

The event, which featured a cultural display and dance, among others, had over 100 graduands bowing out of the school.

It also featured the presentation of Mrs. Dorego's biography.

According to her, the poor standard of education is largely due to perennial underfunding of a sector which is the nation's engine room.

She lamented the increasing num-

T

By Adeola Ogunlade

ber of ill-equipped or half-baked graduates who cannot meet the demands of the 21st Century because they are products of tertiary institutions which had been victims of poor infrastructure over the years.

She noted that preparing today's children to meet the challenges in Information Communication Technology (ICT) agriculture, transport, manufacturing and vocational skills required new thinking, resources and technique of teaching and learning.

Mrs Doregos said: "It is important to note that more developmental effort would have been achieved in the education sector if half the entire budget goes to education which is needed urgently in our search for development in Nigeria.”

•Graduands of the AOCOED International School (AIS) at their graduation/prize giving ceremony at the school premises in Otto/Ijanikin,Lagos.

36 graduands groomed for impact

I

T was, indeed, a special day for 36 SS3 pupils of Mictec International College who bade farewell to their teachers and juniors during their graduation.

The authorities of the school, pupils, teachers and their parents put in all efforts to give them a deserving send-off spiced with songs, dance, and motivational talks.

The graduands looked resplendent in their black skirts/trouser suits - with most of the girls wearing six inches diva shoes that have become the rave among secondary school graduands.

They glowed with excitement as their Biology teacher, Mrs Funmi Awoniyi, took time to introduce each of them in superlatives.

Outstanding ones among them also received awards for their performance.

But it was not all about fun as the graduands were not let off without

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

words of admonition from some dignitaries that graced the event.

Speaking on the theme Groomed to impact: Habits for a life of sustained impact, the Chairman of the event, Mr P.B. Yaro, told the graduands they had a responsibility to influence others given the training they had received.

He, therefore, counselled that they should imbibe some habits that would help them impact their world like many great people.

Dissecting the habit of integrity and character, he urged the graduands to do what is right irrespective of the circumstance.

"It doesn't mean that a person who has integrity is perfect. It doesn't mean that person doesn't make mistakes. It means a person of integrity can only make genuine and unintentional mistakes. When the person

makes such a mistake, he/she won't hide the wrong or mistake. And he/ she will not remain in his/her mistake. As a person of integrity, he/ she will apologise for the mistake and immediately refrain from making same mistake again," he said.

In his address, Executive Director of the school, Mr Michael Tejuosho, praised parents for supporting their wards throughout their secondary education. He called for their continued partnership in ensuring the right values are passed at home and the school.

"Grooming the children to excel, we cannot but be in partnership. We have to ensure that we have the same focus so that what they learn in school will be reinforced at home," he said.

Tejuosho added that given the grooming they received at Mictec, the graduands are equipped to fill the leadership gaps in the country.

Lagos schools graduate 17 pupils

G •Graduands of Grenville, Lagos at the event.

'Why our primary school was established’

T

HE Managing Director/Chief Executive, Early Life, FESTAC Town, Lagos, Chief Innocent Nwokeji, has given reasons for establishing a primary school 24 years after it opened shop.

Nwokeji spoke at its annual graduation/prize giving held on the school premises on Iba/Igando Road.

Fifty-one pupils pased out at the event.

He said: "Our aim of establishing the primary arm after 24 years is to afford children in Iba community quality education while at the same time providing employment opportunities for jobless teachers. At Early Life Schools, we believe in quality education. And because the school is coming 24 years after the secondary arm was established, we decided not to compromise quality by ensuring every facility is put in place. We have already started with 500 pupils, but we hope with time the number would increase. For now, our target is to convince the residents of the quality of service we are capable of delivering."

Looking back, over two decades,

RENVILLE Schools in Ikeja GRA, Lagos, have graduated 17, cutting across primary, secondary level and International Degree Foundation Programme (IDFP).

The event, which held at the Lagos Country Club, was tagged: Pass on the Torch.

In his opening speech, the Chairman, Jide Babalola, described the event as a celebration of academic excellence. He said the move was targeted at showcasing quality academic tuition handed down to the pupils by the institution.

By Adegunle Olugbamila

Chief Nwokeji said he had enough thanks for his Creator.

“I'm glad we are 24 years old,” he said, adding: "Some of you were here during same event last year, and it's also nice to see you again this year. I must confess the journey has not been easy. Running a private school in Lagos is a herculean task and capital intensive. You have to get land in a suitable location, erect befitting structures, put in laboratory tools and other equipment, and above all, ensure they are manned by competent teachers. I must say, it is not easy.”

The outgoing headgirl, Umechiedo Onyinye, thanked parents, the school management and their teachers for a successful sojourn.

Onyinye recalled the six-year experience in the school, describing it as a trying time, which they all overcame. The head girl, who also emerged best student in English Language, Biology, Geography, Physics, Chemistry, Economics and Igbo language, advised her fellow graduands to keep the flag of the school flying while aspiring to greater heights.

•Graduands of Early Life Schools

He said the school was focused on providing affordable qualitative education for the citizenry in line with the best international education practice.

He said Grenville Schools did not focus on certification of pupils alone as the management was determined to impact total education that involves vocational and skills acquisition to the pupils so that they will understand the importance of selfemployment at an early age.

His words: "Greenville Schools' management is focused on the provision of qualitative education to the citizenry. That is why we are work-

ing hard to providequalitative instructional materials for our pupils.

I will also use this opportunity to call on other school administrators to invest more in the provision of quality instructional materials that will bring the best out of their pupils."

Mrs Josephine Imade, Head Teacher, Secondary School arm, said the management had provided the school with state-of-art instructional materials, including science laboratories, smart boards, library and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) laboratory.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

40

EDUCATION EDUTALK

with

Minding the gap

D

EVELOPMENT in the world runs faster than our tertiary institutions can catch up with. While other countries look up to the universities to lead the way in terms of research, the opposite is the case in Nigeria. That is why Kofoworola employers of labour keep complaining that our graduates don't measure up to the standards required for them to function Kofosagie@yahoo.com satisfactorily.

08054503077 (SMS only) The complaints have gone on for too long. We should no longer lose time in addressing them for good.

Yes, government needs to provide conducive environments in our tertiary institutions by allocating funds to replace moribund equipment and train lecturers. However, beyond that, the kind of development we seek can only be possible with collaborations between the institutions and employers of labour, especially those in the private sector.

Businesses know how vital staying current means to their survival.

They know that to stay ahead of competition, they have to offer more value than their rivals because their performance is tied to their profits.

As a result, they seek cutting edge skills to be able deliver quality products and services to customers.

Since their workers must have these skills, it is in their interest to be concerned and contribute to training in tertiary institutions. It is also time that the government agencies in charge of developing and updating the curricular in our schools involve employers in their activities.

Another way businesses can collaborate with the institutions is by commissioning researches. Companies can provide grants and endow professorial chairs in areas where they are seeking solutions. They can challenge our academics and their students to come up with ideas for them. I am sure they will be pleasantly surprised with the solutions our own people can produce if only they would give it a chance. Many business heads who attended the final of the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) National Cup at the Eko Hotel and Suites on July 24 were amazed by the products that undergraduates who participated in the competition had created in response to problems in the society. Judges of the IdeaThrophy competition organised by Unilever Nigeria were also impressed by the ideas the six undergraduate teams generated in response to a campaign they were asked to implement. So, there is indeed hope in our universities.

Regarding research collaborations, the private sector, especially multinationals, need to demonstrate faith in the capabilities of our academics. Many times, academics have complained that rather than give them a chance, big companies carry their research proposals abroad. Even when Nigerian lecturers come up with interesting breakthroughs, they still take the findings abroad to finish the business thereby robbing us of the funding, experience and recognition.

Apart from harvesting ideas from the institutions, businesses can also help to ensure that the training their future employees are getting is relevant by visiting regularly to deliver lecturers. Some organisations are already doing so. They are visiting to tell students how their training is relevant to their businesses. They are telling them, for instance, what role a mechanical engineer plays in their organisation; what skills he is expected to have; and what he should know about their line of business. If more organisations do so, it will expand the scope of the students in the course of their studies. It will help them understand what all the theory is all about. It could also have a ripple effect on their level of seriousness as they see live examples in the managers addressing them. They can aspire to be like them or even greater.

In a nutshell, collaborations between organisations and our tertiary institutions is necessary if we are to bridge the gap between town and gown.

Belo-Osagie

•Mabe (second right) and Mrs Agiri (left) with the winners: Williams, Brenda and Owolabi

Students earn valuable training

B

EING a triangular student – one whose activities revolve around the classroom, the library, and the hostel – may earn students First Class grades, but participating in extra-curricular activities may benefit them better in the long run.

This was the experience of students who participated in the IdeaThrophy competition organised

by Unilever Nigeria to challenge undergraduates to think outside the box and proffer creative solutions to problems.

Members of the winning team from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, were each rewarded with ipad 3. They will visit South Africa to meet the leaders of firm, and, later London to represent Nigeria in the global edition of the competition.

Team Aspire, from the Federal University of Minna, came second in the competition and its members went home with laptops, while members of third placed Team Deluxe Brains got Blackberry phones.

University of Lagos (UNILAG) Team Achievers may have been disappointment that their campaign with pupils of the UNILAG Staff School failed to impress judges enough to earn them the top three prizes. Nevertheless, they will not forget the experience they have gained and the privileged opportunity they got to rub minds with the top management of Unilever and

outside school

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

other respected professionals during the boot camp organised for finalists.

Joseph Adebayo, a 200-Level Mechanical Engineering student, said of the experience: “It has been great, especially at the boot camp. It was an avenue to build myself. We learnt about leadership, time management, effective presentation and communication skills and how to relate socially.”

His teammate, Peace Omoruyi, said though stressful, participating in the competition made him learn about things outside engineering.

“It was stressful. We had to do a lot of research and stayed up all night. We had to leave our comfort zone. But the experience has been worth it. I know a lot of things I am going home with. I have also met with a lot of Nigerians and they have given us experiences from their lives,”he said.

The winning team, made up of Brenda Agidi, Owolabi Opeyemi and Adeyemi Williams, developed the best campaign to market Lifebuoy soap, one of the organisation’s products, to young people and communities among the seven teams that featured in the final of the competition at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja.

But had they not won the competi-

tion, the trio who went by the name “Team Lifebuoy Musketeers,” would not trade the wealth of experience they gained practisng their ideas on the field, and learning from seasoned professionals during the boot camp with the time and money they invested in participating.

Brenda, a 400-Level student of Geology, who said she and others contributed N73,000 to implement the case study given them by Unilever, said the knowledge she gained is waiting to explode.

“I would not have felt any regrets if we had not won because what we have learnt is more valuable than the gifts.

“We are grateful for the advice we got from personalities, such as Prof Pat Utomi. It is not just about academics,” she said.

Unilever’s Human Resource Manager, Mrs Tolulope Agiri, said the aim of the competition is to bridge the gap between town and gown.

“This is not just about winning the competition. We believe the students have changed because of this competition. This has been a journey where we engaged managers of Unilever to speak with them,” she said.

Managing Director of Unilever, Mr Thabo Mabe said the competition is a way of giving back to the society.

“The IdeaTrophy is all about saying thank you to Nigeria. We are here to work together to create a better future for all,” he said.

Ogun libraries to get face-lift

L

IBRARIES in Ogun State will soon be given face-lift and stocked with up-to-date books and journals to improve the reading culture of members of the public.

Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Segun Odubela, said this during a visit to Salamotu Kuku Memorial Library, Ijebu-Ode, built and handed over to the government by the Kuku family in 2006.

Odubela, a lawyer, who was conducted round the complex by the

State Director of Library Services, Mr Lateef Benson, assured that prompt attention would be given to the leaking roof, cracked walls and moribund internet facilities.

"Provision of free education and reconstruction of dilapidated blocks of classrooms in our secondary schools without well-stocked libraries may be counterproductive. We will immediately step-up action towards ensuring that our libraries are put into proper shape," he said.

He also promised that secondary

school libraries will be improved.

Odubela visited other places including the State Library, Sagamu; Muslim College, Ikenne; construction site of Model College, Ijebu-Ode and the new site of Ilisan Community High School, Ilisan.

The Commissioner was accompanied on the visit by Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Science and Technology, Dr. Tunji Abimbola; the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Alhaji Ambali Ishola and directors.

Catholic students plan youth centre

T

HE National Federation of Catholic Students (NFSC) is to build a multi-purpose Youth Centre at the Veritas University, Bwari, Abuja.

Its National President, Mr Stanislaus Ogbu, stated this when he led the executives of the group on a visit to the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Abuja.

Briefing the Secretary of the Bishops Conference Youth Committee, Rev. Fr. Charles Ndubisi, on the plans of the new executive, Ogbu sought the secretariat's assistance in getting the approval of the bishops for the site of the project.

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

When completed, Ogbu said the facility would enable the leaders of the association to carry out their activities in a conducive environment.

Responding, Rev. Fr. Ndubisi stressed the importance of the association to Catholic youths in the country, adding that the executives have a major role to play in this perspective.

Congratulating the new executives on their election, he assured them of the support of secretariat in the realisation of their project.

He also urged the association to collaborate with the Catholic Youth

Organisation of Nigeria (CYON), the umbrella body of all Catholic youth associations in the country, to enhance the realisation of their objectives.

Other members of the executive, who were in the entourage, were: Miss Jennifer Enugwaraonu, National Vice-President; Mr Agwasim Joshua, National Vice-President II; Miss Nkwocha Onyinyechi, National Secretary; Mr Hope Augustine, Financial Secretary; Mr Musa Mohammed, Public Relations Officer II; Miss Agatha Bororo, Assistant Secretary and Mr Atundu Thomas, Provost.

Many times, academics have complained that rather than give them a chance, big companies carry their research proposals abroad. Even when Nigerian lecturers come up with interesting breakthroughs, they still take the findings abroad to finish the business thereby robbing us of the funding, experience and recognition

From my Inbox Re: Olympic Blues (Thursday, August 09, 2012) Your article depicts one facet of the multiple dilemmas we are facing in the country. It is a dot of eczema that metamorphoses into leprosy. God helps us. Leo, Maiduguri.

It is maladministration and corruption and Boko Haram. From Saka Issa.

Re: Addressing Foundational Challenges (Thursday, August 02, 2012) I disagree with your views. 08186457---.

Dear Kofoworola, your articles are always interesting. I will soon join Nigerians to compensate you for the work. Thanks and God bless. Prince Adegoroye Francis.

43

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

The 2012 Budget has been a subject of controversy between the National Assembly and the Presidency. Many had thought something of a bang would come out of the face-off. Assistant Editor ONYEDI OJIABOR presents what seems to be an anti-climax to a much hyped row over budget implementation.

Legislature versus Presidency: Is the storm over?

T

HE anticipated showdown between the Presidency and the Senate over the unimpressive implementation of the 2012 Appropriation Act fizzled out just the way the hype started.

Though the Senate is awaiting a detailed report from its Appropriation Committee on the execution of the budget when it resumes from recess in September, observers are still struggling to figure out why the budget row ended even before it started in the upper chamber.

The crux of the matter was the failure of Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iwela, to honour a scheduled meeting with the Senate to offer explanations on the perceived abysmal implementation of the budget.

Insiders say the mood of the Senate, led by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, at the botched budget implementation interactive session on July 31, and the matching order handed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim and his team, came to the Presidency as a rude shock.

Presidency’s foot soldiers at the botched meeting led by Anyim, it was learnt, had little or no excuse to tender before Jonathan for the avoidable face off that erupted between the Presidency and the Senate over budget execution.

The botched interactive session might well have answered the question on the lips of close watchers of the National Assembly as to why the Presidency has been unable to leverage on the goodwill and respect the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Joy Emodi, better known as “Joy of the Senate” enjoys among her former colleagues and National Assembly leadership in particular.

Notwithstanding, a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriation said Emodi was seen making desperate contacts after the Senator-Anyim led delegation was snubbed and disallowed to speak during the botched meeting on July 31, apparently to stave any further embarrassment in the rescheduled meeting of Thursday August 2. The lawmaker said Emodi was spotted at the residence of the Senate President, Senator David Mark.

The smooth sail recorded at the rescheduled meeting on August 2, when Okonjo-Iweala appeared before the lawmakers to defend the implementation of the budget appeared to give credence to the intervention of Emodi.

The Senate President may not have known that the implementation of the 2012 budget will become a subject of controversy when he declared the readiness of the Senate to champion the full execution of the budget.

Mark had declared that: “We will not relent in carrying out our oversight responsibilities. We must continue to apply the same energy exerted in passing budgets to our oversight functions.

“Our nation is in dire need of infrastructure renewal and urgent interventions in various critical sectors. Our people are in dire need of democracy dividends. And we can only make their dreams come true by the diligent implementation of the Appropriation Act. All standing committees must therefore work hard to realise this goal.”

Those were the words of Mark in an address to mark the resumption of the second session of the 7th Senate on June 20, 2012. On Tuesday, September 13, 2011 in another address to inaugurate the resumption of plenary, Mark declared: “We must be detailed in our over-sight functions. And as natural barometers of the Nigerian people, we need to listen to their cries, wipe away their tears, and nip in the bud, the simmering frustrations before they snowball into something dangerous. ‘If a free society cannot help the many who are poor,” says the late US President John F. Kennedy, “it cannot save the few who are rich.’

Perhaps Mark’s declaration in the two auspicious occasions may be imperative in the light of the budget row. Apparently in keeping with its agenda to track the implementation of the budget, the Senate decided to invite OkonjoIweala to clear the air. Ekweremadu led a group of other senators to the botched budget interac-

• Mark

tive session.

Known to be serious when seriousness is essential, Ekweremadu stated how disappointed senators were that Okonjo-Iweala failed to honour their invitation. For the Deputy Senate President, Okonjo-Iweala should have appreciated the fact that she was invited not for “a family affair” but for “a serious business.”

Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Ahmed Maccido, flagged off the short lived session.

The aim of the interactive session, Maccido said, was for Okonjo-Iweala to “clear doubts and put records straight as well as for senators to know what may have constituted a hindrance to the implementation of the 2012 budget and how it be corrected.”

For Maccido, the Senate was at a loss as to the level of performance of the 2012 Appropriation Act and desired to know what the problem might be.

“Okonjo-Iweala told Nigerians that the 2012 budget performance is 56 per cent but records available to the Senate indicate a budget performance level of 21.56 per cent,” Maccido said.

Ekweremadu took over from Maccido and avowed that issues at stake were made worse because Okonjo-Iweala had failed to honour Senate invitation on the subject of budget implementation twice. Taking a cue from the mood of Senators at the parley, he mandated the Joint Committee on Appropriation and Finance to ensure that Okonjo-Iweala appeared before it “even if it means summoning her.”

A visibly agitated Ekweremadu said “we are here to have a public hearing on the performance of the 2012 budget. This is supposed to include the degree of releases to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the degree of utilization by MDAs. It is not a family meeting, it is a very “As our Chairman on Appropriation mentioned, this matter was supposed to have been discussed last week Thursday, the minister was absent and we learnt she went to Asaba, Delta State capital to inaugurate a SURE-P. “We consider our meeting with her on the issue that has to do with budget implementation to be more important than any other assignment.

“Today we have also been told she has gone to London to represent the President on investment forum of which we know there are other ministers and government officials that could have gone and done that to enable her to be here with us. So it is regrettable that she is not here.

“Over the years we’ve had this issue of non-

• Okonjo-Iweala

implementation of the budget and the reason they usually give revolves around the area of National Assembly input.

“So we decided we are going to make minimal input if anything at all. On the basis of this we returned the budget basically the way it came.

Unfortunately, the level of implementation has been anything less than commendable and that is why we are worried.

“We want to see roads being worked on; we want to see the water projects going on. We want to see electricity projects going on. We appropriated about N900billion for security in the country. We want to see whether these monies have been released and we want to see the desired impact of the utilisation in Kano, Sokoto, Kaduna, Yobe and all the northern parts of Nigeria .

“That is exactly what we thought this public hearing will afford us all today. But now we are disappointed that it is not going to take place”.

But the talkshop took a different dimension when Okonjo-Iweala appeared before the Joint Senate Committee on Appropriation, Finance, National Planning and Public Accounts on August 2.

The frosty atmosphere that characterised the July 31 session evaporated. First, Okonjo-Iweala insisted that the 2012 capital budget has attained 56 per cent performance so far.

According to her “Out of N4.7trillion total budget, government has made N85billion Statutory Transfers, N95billion as payments for Domestic Debts, Personnel cost of N449billion and N95billion on Overheads”.

The minister was quick to say that a situation where capital budgets are allowed to spill over to the New Year is not a good budgetary practice.

Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, who chaired the rescheduled session, sought explanations from the minister for her failure to appear before the committee on three consecutive occasions.

The minister blamed “miscommunications” and apologised profusely saying, “I must say that there was a miscommunication about which day it should be and therefore there is no way I would have been told and I will not appear. I sincerely want to apologise if there have been any miscommunication on that issue.”

Ndoma-Egba said the Senate had decided to put the matter of the minister’s absence “behind us” but insisted that the performance of the budget is of “major concern to Nigerians because it is through budget implementation that we de-

‘We want to see roads being worked on; we want to see the water projects going on. We want to see electricity projects going on. We appropriated about N900billion for security in the country. We want to see whether these monies have been released and we want to see the desired impact of the utilisation in Kano, Sokoto, Kaduna, Yobe and all the northern parts of Nigeria’

liver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians.”

He stated that as much as the National Assembly is ready to admit it’s failure where necessary it would resist being made scapegoats over the failures of others.

“We will like to take responsibility where we go wrong but what we certainly will not take responsibility for is the failure of others.

“If others fail let them take responsibility.

Where we fail we will take responsibility. We are willing and we’ve always been the whipping boys of Nigerian politics. We will continue to take the whipping but we will not be the scapegoats for anybody. We will not be the excuse for anybody not to have done his or her duty.”

But Okonjo-Iweala insisted that the Executive and the Senate are on the same page on the issue of ensuring total implementation of the budget.

She blamed the media for her travails saying she was “amazed” over their write-ups and “twisted” comments on official press release from her office to explain the budget performance.

The Minister said: “I want to say two things, there is no difference between what the Senate and the President want to do. The President has been insistent on the need for full implementation of the budget and that results are achieved, as a result, he has been holding meetings on the use of resources so that Nigerians can get what they are looking for.

“We have been open and transparent on the figures we have. I want to say that when I read papers, I am amazed with some figures; some section of the media has been misinforming the country.

“We sent out a press release, detailing all what has been done regarding the use of resources but even with written comments, it has been twisted, thereby leading to misinformation. I appreciate this opportunity to dialogue.

“I understand that the National Assembly has been looking at various other ratios with regards to budget performance.

On the Constituency projects of members of the National Assembly, she said: “We have no problems with that, the projects are there, neither the President nor any one has said that the projects would not be executed. Ministers have launched these projects and they are on it, it takes some time to understand the whole process.

She denied allegations that members of the National Assembly tampered with the 2012 Appropriation Bill before passing it into law thereby impeding the smooth implementation of the budget.

“I want to reiterate that constituency projects are being designed and procured. I do not think that it is something we should make a big deal out of. Rather, we should work together to solve the problem”.

She explained that out of the N1.3trillion capital budget, excluding the SURE-P, a total N404billion has been released between April and July 31.

Of the amount, she said N324billion representing 56 per cent has been cash backed so far while N184billion representing 41.3 per cent has been utilized.

“We have used 56 per cent of the amount cash backed, meaning there is 44 per cent remaining and we are working hard to ensure the remaining 44 per cent is utilised.

“We have a proper management of the resources, we have released all the money available, the Central Bank is our bankers and if CBN is here, they would have testified that no money is withheld.

“Forty four per cent of what was released is yet to be used. What we are now doing is to focus on the utilisation of the remaining resources. In two weeks’ time, the third quarter release would be out” she said.

Asked what should be the role of the National Assembly in the budgetary process, the Minister declined comments claiming incompetence.

For her only a constitutional lawyer can talk authoritatively on the subject.

On the financial status of the country, she said: “The country is absolutely not broke, though it may have problem of cash flow at times, but it is not out of place. There may be temporary cash flow issue but broke, no.”

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

44

POLITICS For eight years, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo presided over an administration that has remained a model and benchmark in Africa as the Premier of the defunct Western Region. Although his dream of becoming federal Chief Executive was abortive, he has remained a legend of ideas, vision, courage and integrity. Ayo Opadokun, who worked closely with him as the Deputy Director of Organisation of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), revisits the political philosophy and thoughts of the consumate politician and leader.

• The Late Awolowo

• Asiwaju Tinubu

• The Late Abiola

• Akande•To be continued tomorrow

Intimate reminiscences on Awo and his politics

•Continued from yesterday

A

WOLOWO’S leadership qualities in clude unequalled industry and intellect, courage, value for time and choice of excellent thinkers. Always, he surrounded himself with experts in various disciplines.

That way, he never lacked resources for the purposes of getting an all-inclusive position on any particular subject matter. The positive and negative sides of every viewpoint were keenly debated and finally resolved before he or his organization took a position. OA remained current on contemporary matters till the end. I was always amazed at OA’s consciousness of modern trends. In fact, before anyone else, OA in 1986 one early morning, as soon as he cited me, from his normally closed window informed me of the newlyreleased Christian lyrics of the Ilesha-born Evangelist Niyi Adedokun titled “Amona Tete Wa”. OA’s notable thinkers which included the University of Ife collectives among others were: Prof. Hezekiah Oluwasanmi, Prof. Sam Aluko, Prof. David Oke, Prof. S. Banji Akintoye, Prof. Akin Mabogunje, Prof.

Ambrose Alli, Chief Wumi Adegbonmire and others to mention a few which my memory can instantly recollect.

The reality was that once Awolowo spoke on a subject matter on Nigeria, public opinion writers and leaders, as well as University academics, would usually break into two broad divisions – for and against Awolowo’s particular viewpoints. But he never did deliberately stir up the hornets’ nest of controversy. Awolowo utilized the value of silence to the maximum effect. Except his commentary would improve or advance positively the topical issue of the day, Awolowo would not speak. That was why whenever he chose to address the media, they would severally declare that “Awolowo has finally broken his silence” upon such-and-such a matter. After any speech, the development has always been that his contribution quickly turned into the subject of analysis, debate, criticism or commendation for long. For example, when in his Chancellor’s convocation address at Ife in 1973, he scientifically discredited the population census count of that year and proved that the result was fraudulent and unacceptable, the caption of that speech by the most widely read Sunday Times then was “CENSUS, A BARREN EXERCISE” BY OBAFEMI AWOLOWO. Positive reaction to his speech was wide and instantaneous. The Sunday Times in those days when Chief Gbolabo Ogunsanwo was the Editor was selling over 250,000 copies daily.

There is no doubt that Awolowo, for all he was, generated passionate love and hatred in equal measures. For example, a significant segment of the Igbo community will, till to-

morrow, continue to accuse him of instigating cross-carpeting just so that he could prevent Dr. Azikwe from leading an NCNC Government in the Western Region in 1951. Alhaji Ganiyu Dawodu’s book has reasonably provided evidence to discredit their ridiculous claim. The Ibadan Peoples Party and or the Mabolaje Grand Alliance were never in any written and or official alliance with NCNC. When the then Electoral umpire officially asked all political parties contesting in Ibadan election to submit the names of their candidates, the NCNC never submitted the names of the IPP or the Mabolaje Grand Alliance as contesting on their platform.

One wonders, where is the sense of fairness, justice and equity of the anti-Awolowo rabble, when Dr. Azikiwe’s party had already formed an NCNC Government in Eastern Region.

What the NCNC party attempted to do was to rubbish the Yoruba Nation by trying to make it looks as if the Yoruba nation could not find one of her own best materials to lead a government for the Western Region. You can appreciate what would have been the implications of such reality on the psyche of the Yoruba folks.

During the 1979 campaigns, the windscreen of OA’s helicopter was stoned, forcing him to hurriedly leave Igboland because of the hostility.

Part of this hostility sprouts from some elements from the Igbo platform, who apart from other private reasons, have claimed that Awolowo pauperized their people during the Civil War by directing the Central Bank of Nigeria to give natives of defeated Biafra enclave, just one or two pounds in compensation for all their deposits in banks. Serious-minded people know that if there was government policy to that effect, OA was just implementing such policy and should not be held guilty for such because he was then Deputy Leader of the Federal Executive Council and the Federal Commissioner of Finance. Finally on these allegations, they claimed that OA said that starvation was a weapon of war. They equally took that out of context.

The Yoruba people have proven time and again that they can be accommodating to other Nigerian nationalities that have come to ply their trades and businesses in Yorubaland. It is only in the Yorubaland that some State Governments appoint Igbo and Hausa people into their prominent cabinets positions or make them heads of various departments. What Yoruba rejects are the instances of where people they have graciously accommodated subsequently trying to lord it over our people. It is equally typical of an

average Yoruba offspring that one of the greatest Yoruba Military Leaders Col. Adekunle Fajuyi offered to be assassinated along with his Commander-in-Chief, General Aguiyi Ironsi when the mutineer came to Ibadan Government House to take away Ironsi. Is there anything more than the supreme sacrifice a Yoruba leader can pay in defence of his Igbo boss?

Many of the established far Northerners have, individually and in groups, in private discussion and at important meetings involving me, admitted that they never doubted that Awolowo was the best presidential materials; but they did not work for his victory because Chief Awolowo had always formed his political parties (the Action Group and Unity Party of Nigeria), before inviting them to come and join, with the sole purpose of getting him elected as Prime Minister and or President.

Awolowo is the only former Nigeria leader whose name has repeatedly opens and closes doors in the Nigerian political firmament, even after a quarter of century of his transition to the great beyond. And for all intent and purposes, the Awolowo’s phenomenon will continue to shape the political divisions among the Yoruba people and their cousins in Delta and Edo States as well as among the Yoruba people of Kwara and Kogi States because of the unprecedented life of discipline, courage, enterprise and development that were vintage Awolowo.

The absence of Awolowo has led to the emergence of political parties without ideological leanings and preferences. It is difficult to differentiate between the political parties philosophy and actions, except with the star like excellent performances of Raji Fashola, Adams Oshiomhole, Rauf Aregbesola, Kayode Fayemi, Abiola Ajimobi, Ibikunle Amosu of the current ACN Governors and two or three PDP Governors like Rotimi Amaechi, Sule Lamido and the likes. Nowadays, contestants merely talk about their 12 or 10 or 9 or 7 or 6 or 5-point programmes. There is virtually no prescribed benchmark against which elected people are to be assessed by the voters as either having performed or not. In fact, within the same political party, each candidate will usually present individualized promises, leaving the voters confused. For example, it is difficult for any positively disposed person to reproach or contradict the Four-Cardinal Programmes of the Unity Party of Nigeria, (UPN) namely:Free Education Programme; Free Medical Services; Gainful Employment; And Integrated Rural Development; All that any UPN Candidate needed to do was just to subscribe to the above and work towards executing them while in office.

‘The Yoruba people have proven time and again that they can be accommodating to other Nigerian nationalities that have come to ply their trades and businesses in Yorubaland. It is only in the Yorubaland that some State Governments appoint Igbo and Hausa people into their prominent cabinets positions or make them heads of various departments’

There is no diligent general discussion, debates and conclusions on party policy options. Party supporters ordinarily should be well equipped with the party’s policy on the economy, power, education, welfare programme, agriculture so that they will be foot soldiers to propagate and popularise the party’s positions etc. In the UPN days, we spent two to three days discussing and concluding on the party’s policies. We equally used to have goodwill messages and contributions from social democrats political parties globally.

Since 1999, party conventions have become nauseating scenarios, where government and party bigwigs exhibit personal wealth. Elective Conventions are much more bizarre because there is usually the presence of out-spent and out-bribed delegates who usually become praise singers at these events. For example, there were revelations of how delegates to the last PDP convention to choose presidential delegates were bought. The story, as revealed by some delegates, was that one of the aspirants bribed each delegate with 10,000USD while his less-endowed rival could only afford 2,500USD. When Awolowo was here, the choice of candidates for political offices were democratic and at very little cost. Till 1982/83 for example, none of the UPN governorship candidates could claim that he spent N20,000 of his own money to become a Candidate and a Governor-Elect. The party searched among its ranks and adopted the relatively best candidates to run. Interested party men only needed to formally notify the party of their interests. In fact, Chief Bisi Akande in 1998, (now National Chairman of ACN became the Alliance for Democracy (AD) Candidate for Osun in that same manner. He was not interested to run, but Chief Bola Ige literally forced him to run because he (Akande) remained such a decent, principled personality. His legacies in Osun remain yet to be beaten. The utility and befitting Secretariat he built remains an enviable contribution of unimpeachable leadership in public service and without borrowing a dime. Until the arrival of Oranmiyan and the symbol (Aregbesola) into the coveted office of governor, those who rigged him (Akande) out have no significant land mark as their legacy except ruins and hopelessness. But with the emergence of Aregbesola, an unusual governor, governing in an unusual style, the fortune of Osun people had started to change for the better. The symbol (Aregbesola) and his other collegues, Fashola, Oshiomhole, Fayemi, Ajimobi and Amosu have turned their states into construction sites on roads and schools. Each one is positively taking concrete steps to uplift agriculture to a promising level so that each state can become self sufficient in food production and generate employment for the young people. I have it on good authority that they are all embarking on scientific and technologically driven agriculture works so that our country will on its own produce the raw materials and process them into semi and or finished products that can also be exported.

•To be continued

45

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

THE NATION

NATURAL HEALTH E-mail:- health@thenationonlineng.net

OPEN DEBATE

‘Role of research in traditional medicine’ table later. Their kidneys and liver were managed along with placenta previa, undulated cervix bone.

Prostate Problems Two patients enrolled for prostate problems with the use of Procin-X and Cellod-S. After they had under gone some treatment at our clinic with some herbal products for the duration of two to three months, they are now completely free of their clinical problems.

Sickle cell Anaemia Procin-X and Cellod-S was combined for the treatment of sickle cell anemia and the products were effective.

Daily Detox Nine out of 10 patients confirmed it effective.

A patient returned hers because she can’t endure the hot fermentation.

Benafen It was found promising in the pain management on five patients.

Pillars of the Research Institute for Traditional and Alternative Medicine (RITAM), Otunba Olajuwon Okubena and Dr Johnson Idowu speak on the activities of the institute.

W

E believe, as stakeholders and practitioners, that the government at both the Federal and state levels in collaboration with stakeholders have a major role to play in ensuring the development of traditional medicine in Nigeria to provide an affordable and safe access to traditional and natural health products as obtain in other countries, including the United States and Europe.

As part of our role, we have established the institution called RITAM. We appeal to the Federal Ministry of Health to co-operate with this private initiative that could provide a foundation for putting traditional medicine on a firm footing in Nigeria.

Applied Training Programmes

What is RITAM? Research Institute of Traditional and Alternative Medicine (RITAM) is the research arm of the National Association of Nigerian Traditional Medicine Practitioners.

Our goal is to discover and evaluate the therapeutic values of safe and efficacious traditional medicine products, to develop a resource compendium of medicines for the Primary Health Care Centres (PHC) in all local government areas.

To achieve a client-based healthcare, we opened RITAM Model Clinic to the public as an experiment centre for the conduct of biomedical research on human subjects in phases one and two of clinical trial.

What do we do?

At RITAM, we evaluate the herbal products on a research protocol based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines in a document entitled: “General Guidelines for Methodologist on Research and Evaluation of Traditional Medicine, Traditional Medicine and Pharmacopeia by Organisation of African Unity/Scientific Technical and Research Commission, and Harmonised Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Guidelines for African Vaccines Regulations Forum (AVAREF) Countries.”

To put science in what we are doing at RITAM Model Clinic, we formed a collaborative arrangement with Namfi Diagnostic Centre, an outfit of Nigerian-American Medical Foundation International Trust, to conduct laboratory control tests for patients at 50 per cent discount on any ailment. This has made it possible for clients to conduct tests before, during and after treatment period.

Since Nigeria, a member of AVAREF Countries (African Vaccines Regulations Forum), has no law and regulations, we have constituted our own Ethics Committee to liaise and have access to the National Health Research Ethics Committee (NHREC) to design our evaluation in our own theoretical framework.

RITAM in a tripartite collaboration with the producer, the Clinical Research Consultants and the National Primary Healthcare Agency, will package the successful products for long term toxicity tests, such as immunotoxicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity and reproductive toxicity enlistment into essential medicinal products at primary healthcare levels in the country to be manned by RITAM consultants.

The result of the clinical studies will be published in the Nigerian Journal of Traditional Medicine and other international research publications for international

•Herbal plants and other natural ingredients are veritable sources of vibrant health

acceptance for drug development.

RITAM in collaboration with the producer can now seek approval of accredited International Trial Centres such as Nigerian Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

Ethical Committee’s approval by two teaching hospitals in Lagos, has been obtained for three of the products being developed by RITAM.

Clinical conditions We have answered and educated sufferers about the following cases and some have enrolled for treatment after signing the informed consent forms: Fibroid, severe malaria, Ante-natal care (ANC), liver problems, heart problems, stroke, cancer of the eye, Prostate problems, cervical cancers, pain management, diabetes, hypertension, anaemia – sickle cell and low Hb and PCV, weight management – weight loss and weight gain, down syndrome, HIV/AIDS, Asthma, obsterics and gynaecology (O and G), psychiatry, chronic infection, psychosomatic problems etc.

Clinical products under-going investigation We have up to 100 different products at various stages of development such as: regulated, toxicologically analysed, and extemporaneous preparations. Within the first two quarters of operations, we have experimented the following products on human subjects.

Category A(i) are products listed by NAFDAC: Jobelyn, Abaleria, Asthmacare, Benabiotic, Procin-X, Cellod-S, Alayo comfort herbal capsule.

Category A(ii): Homeopathic Medicines: • Gastric and indigestion formula • Typhoid formula • Malaria formula Category B are products with evidence of toxicology analysis and trademark: Hepacare, erect aid, benafen, benalax,

benacough, flobiotic, slim and smart, haemotonic, siphiherp, lumbacare, holisa, gornocure, aily detox, esfoline, elaskin, arthritis and Rheumatism.

Categories C are other extemporaneous preparations in compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) principles made and prescribed by the Licensed Practitioners.

What are the results of our activities?

Some of the results of conditions we have treated with herbal products: Anaemia Jobelyn proved significantly effective either alone or in combination with human recombinant erythropoietin injection in all the six patients with the various forms of anaemia such as: cervical cancer, iron deficiency and chronic disease. It was also found effective in Down Syndrome. The combination was also effective on the Jehovah Witnesses who refused blood transfusions or payment in lieu of blood and were denied admission by healthcare providers. Hb 6g/dl was achieved within one week of care.

Good Ante-natal Care Three pregnant women who were denied registration because of blood pre donation policy of public health system at Ifako-Ijaye General Hospital, Lagos received treatment from us. They were placed on Jobelyn and Hepacare. Various tests and scans such as pelvimetry were taken to prevent problems that can lead to blood transfusion on delivery

To achieve training programmes in human resources at all levels of the National Healthcare System, we have developed three categories of Training Curriculum for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP); Professional and Academic Validation. The first one is for Good Manufacturing Practice in collaboration with NAFDAC, Lagos Zone. The second on is Continuous Professional Development Training for RITAM Consultants for Associate/ Fellowship membership of RITAM and the third is for certificates programme. And we have a record of registered National Association of Nigeria Traditional medicine Practitioners(NANTMP) members numbering up to 2,000 in the Southwest geo-political zones of the federation alone as prospective actors in the Primary Health Care System. The practitioners are encouraged and required to have proper training in both traditional and conventional medicine; as training skill will affect the safety and efficacy of the treatment.

We can beat our chest and say, “No TMPs, No Primary Health Care”. This would also remove the stigma the orthodox medicine had placed on us as illiterate people that are neither qualified nor capable of handling Healthcare services in Nigeria.

In conclusion, this is the path we have charted for traditional medicine to tread to fast-track our development in a country where laboratory infrastructure is limited and is designed for parameters in analysing chemical structures of a “new drug” from pharmaceutical industry.

RITAM Model Clinic has demonstrated that it is an essential part of health system in a favourable and unfavourable season of doctors’ incessant strikes in a country where the bulk of the national budget on health is being allocated to cater for the 30 per cent of health services which Western Medicine offers at the expense of 70 per cent who patronise Traditional Medicine and illegal refusal of public health providers to register pregnant women because of their refusal to accept blood transfusion or pay in lieu of blood.

By this, we need urgently a national law that will enable the government and the practitioners to benefit and contribute meaningfully from the world trade of traditional medicine.

At RITAM, we are ready to provide skillful direction to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

PAX stakeholders to hold congress

T

HE National Association of PAX Health Care Providers (NAPHCP) will hold its sixth national congress at Bishop Kelly Pastoral Centre, Benin City, the Edo State capital from August 24 to 26.

The event would be chaired by a medical expert, Prof Aaron C. Ojule.

The convener is the Catholic Monk, Revd Father Anselm Adodo.

The aim of the congress is to bring PAX

distributors, co-ordinators, directors, friends and other stakeholders to celebrate nature; propagate its i0mmense potential and benefits to African herbal medicine.

The association comprised priests, religious brothers and sisters, medical doctors, pharmacists, botanists, nurses, agriculturists and other professionals who are committed to the development of African herbal medicine through the initiatives and motivation of PAXHERBALS.

46

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

NATURAL HEALTH

Memories of August and Dr. Pottenger’s cats (1) A UGUST is here again, to remind me of two memorable events. Women who die while having babies and people who die of congestive heart failure. My mother died on August 5, 1959, while having her fifth child, the fourth son. On August 25, 1998, my father went to bed at about 11 after watching television. Shortly after, he began to cough. That night, he was taken to the hospital opposite his house. He didn't return home. From the hospital records, he left the flesh at about 3:30am that Wednesday of August 26. Twenty minutes later, I woke from a dream in which he held my hand and told me he was gone, and I should remember all we had discussed. The kernel of those discussions of immediate relevance to his passage was that his remains, which were not to be deposited in the mortuary, should be interred not later than the first Saturday after his earthly demise. I fulfilled his wish.

As I write today, August 5, it has been 53 long years since my mother bled to death in the maternity ward of the then Ikeja General Hospital, Lagos (now Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH), simply because the muscles of her womb were too weak to expel the placenta. She bled to death.

About 53 years after, women continue to die of pregnancyrelated complications. Mrs. Omoriye Aisosa- Igiebor, of Zenith Bank, Agege, Lagos, who is passionate about maternal health, nostalgically remembers Joy Anozie, her room-mate at Madona University. Joy died at childbirth. She was under 30. The newspapers are filled with obituaries like hers. Some women die of malaria- induced anaemia, some of malnutrition, some of material depletion, some of hormonal constrictions of their biochemistry, due to emotional or physical stress, including fear of the labour room.

Some women experience spontaneous abortions because of "incompetent cervix", uterine muscle spasms, or genetic malformation of the fetus.The birth canals of some women cannot accommodate the coming baby, so cesarean section or C- Section has to be carried out in which the baby is surgically removed from the womb. In some other situations, the umbilical cord may have prolapsed and wound around fetal neck, sometimes stifling, if not suffocating enough to cause strangulation and still birth. In some other cases, episiototomies are performed to create more room for the baby. Years ago, some women had ragged vaginal tears giving birth to babies bigger than the birth passage.

Women do not appear to always prepare well enough for pregnancy and childbirth. Both events are taken for granted.

Yet they are comparable to land cultivation and farming.

Farmers in the village do not cultivate the land without first preparing it for cultivation. In days of old, the moon was a good guide. The full moon is the time to build, to cultivate.

Water level everywhere is higher. The waning or receding moon (half moon or quarter moon) is the time for breakdowns.

With regard to preparing the female body for pregnancy, especially where there had been difficulties, it is better to check on many, if not all, biochemistry factors important for conception and sustenance of pregnancy. In Nigeria, doctors and medical researchers are so constrained by many factors of bread and butter that they do not have enough energy for studies that would be useful to troubled women and their healthcare providers.

ROM many research findings abroad, I suspect that my mother's body was suffused with stress hormones, adrenalin in particular. She worked round the clock on her business and housekeeping. That would make the adrenal glands pump a certain amount of adrenalin into her blood. In some women, this may have no serious side effects. In some studies, it was suggested that where a woman had unresolved emotional or psychological disturbances, these could tip this hormone and others over the edge. In their good naturedness, what these stress hormones do is equip the body with the wherewithal to confront challenges of existence. Thoughts of the mother-in- law or of other in-laws may be menacing a woman.

It could be that there is an other woman in her husband's life.

The husband may not be emotionally supportive enough, and this could be upselling a woman. In some cases, a woman may have become pregnant not because she wanted to, and, emotionally, is disconnected from the baby growing in her as a part of her make-up. Not many women talk to or play with their babies. Yet science has proven that babies in the womb respond to music. When a woman is angry, it affects her baby in the womb. Didn't the Bible report that Baby Jesus and baby John the Baptist lept in the womb when their mothers met? In Mrs. Elizabeth Kafaru's nature cure clinic, Ijaw female masseurs massaged their client's abdomen so well that babies who lay across or who sat up engaged head down for their delivery.

My mother was an only surviving child of her mother's seven children. There was no evidence that she was sickle-cell challenged. She was, in fact, a work obsessed person and hardly fell ill. But, somehow, she had problem at the fourth childbirth, which probably accounted for the fifth child coming three years after the fourth, rather than two-year spacing for the first four.

Perhaps she wanted a second daughter. Perhaps her mother wanted more replications of herself through her daughter. I do not know if she made adequate preparations to replenish biochemical losses from maternal depletion, other than through the, starchy staple diet. Cow's milk, like Horticks, was novel in those days. Perhaps she took lots of it believing it was nutritionally speaking, good for her. But we have now seen from the POTTENGER'S CATS EXPERIMENTS that pasteurised milk is non-living; that is, it is dead, and does not adequately support living cells. I learned about this experiment from Dr. Roger Williams's THE WONDERFUL WORLD WITHIN US. Prof.

Pottenger, paedetrician and research scientist, began his now world famous cat nutrition studies from 1932 to 1942.

F

POTTENGER'S CATS Dr Pottenger fed cats with different kinds of food, cooked

and unlocked, to determine the effects of nutrition on these cats and their offspring. He began with cooked meat scraps, which comprised liver, stripes, brain, heart and muscles. He discovered, to his shock, that the cats were sickly and had fertility and reproduction problems. His shock stemmed from the fact that this diet, in those days, was considered by nutritionists and doctors to be highly nutritious. How often do we still not hear our doctors today ask their pregnant patients to take liver, for all its assumed load of nutrients! Dr. Pottenger, too, reasoned likewise until his shock discovery. This led him to enlarge his experiment and add pasteurised and raw milk to the diet. He divided the cats into two groups and gave them the following diet.

GROUP: 1 • 2/3 Cooked meat • 1/3 pasteurized milk • Some Cod liver oil GROUP: 2 • 2/3 raw meat • 1/3 market grade raw milk • Some Cod liver oil For the uninitiated, Pasteurised milk is milk which was heated to boiling point, allowed to cool a little, and then canned or bottled. The idea of boiling was developed by Dr. Louis Pasteur who discovered that this process killed germs in raw milk and protected milk consumers against germ infection. The process was named after him ... Pasteurisation. It would appear Dr. Pasteur did not realise he was "killing" food by subjection it to this process.

Anyway, Dr. Pottenger soon discovered that cats on the cooked food diet were falling ill, whereas those on the raw diet were doing well. In summary, the following were some of the differences he found between the two groups.

RAW FOOD GROUP • Healthy offspring (kittens) • Mother cats delivered with ease • Mother cats nursed kittens almost effortlessly • More kittens per birthing • Kittens healthy and weighed well.

COOKED FOOD GROUP • Mother cats could not carry their pregnancies to term • Many of the kittens died because their mothers did not produce enough milk (lactate) and couldn't take proper care of them • The cats were under weight at birth and suffered from allergies of all sorts, had cavities, kidney disease and subnormal bone structures • Many of them suffered from thyroid disease • By the fourth generation, all the cats had died Dr. Pottenger discovered that the problems escalated when he added pasteurised milk to the diet. He came to the conclusion that, even for humans, food resets the geneses for sickness or wellness. And this was to lead the nutrition community to reset the slogan YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT to YOU EAT WHAT YOU ARE. The long and short of the study is that food influences gene expression not only in our mothers and fathers but also, in many generations after them. In this, I come to a deeper recognition of the spiritual warning of sins of one generation being visited up to the third and fourth generations. For not eating right, to maintain the health of the physical body, a great gift from the Greater to man, is, indeed, a sin. For isn't a sin a transgression of Order? Was there no Order in the Creation Plan for nutritional upkeep of the body, which is meant to render a certain service to the human spirit in the course of its sojourn on earth? This Plan is transgressed when the body is not fed aright, because an ill body cannot fulfill the Creation Plan for it.

If we all watch our diet carefully, we'd find it is mostly cooked food. Can we relate this to our health and Dr. Pottenger's cat experiments? What will an essentially cooked food diet bring in the end?

MESO HEALTH, of course! MESO HEALTH is the opposite of RADIANT HEALTH. In Radiant Health, the cells are radiating warmth and energy from inside, outwards. In MESO

e-mail: www. olufemikusa@yahoo.com

Health, the energy radiation is poor or non-existent as Semyor Kirian has shown Kirlian photographic techniques. To understand these concepts, imagine an aeroplane in the sky. It is flying because the engines are producing energy. If the engines stop working or fall off, the plane will still fly for a while before it drops from the sky. The energy it uses then is INERTIA. This is reserve energy or left over or slumbering or stafic energy, energy at rest leftover, energy from KINETIC energy or energy at work, working energy. Anyone on meso health mode is easily attacked and overwhelmed by the environment, including germs. The cells and tissues are weak and cannot perform their natural functions. Soon, like the fourth generation Pottenger cats fed cooked food, the fourth generation or so of meso health cells in our bodies come to extinction as well and, with them, the entire body.

In the care of pregnant women, their doctors hardly advise them sufficiently about nutrition. They give them, instead, all sorts of drugs which have crippling effects on not only the health of these women, but also on that of their babies. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ACOG) has issued a long list of problems which these drugs may inflict on babies in the womb. One of these that I remember is how TETRACYCYENE, prescribed for infections, may remove enamel from forming tooth and deposit in on the bones, setting the stage in later life for teeth and bone problems, origins of which the attending doctor may not know. ASPIRIN, given for blood clotting conditions, in place of fish oil or oily fish which does the job better, may cause miscarriage. Many pregnant women are under all sorts of emotional, physical and psychological stress, which may unbalance the hormones, make getting pregnancy difficult, hamper healthy growth of the baby and causes trouble on due date. In an experiment in which pregnant rabbits, monkeys, and guinea pigs were subjected to stress, excess inflow of adrenalin into the blood to make them cope with this challenge without breaking down constricted blood flow to the womb and placenta. This reduced oxygen flow to the fetuses, many of which died (became unviable) due to asphyxia (oxygen depreciation).

HEN I see a woman who wishes to get pregnant or is pregnant, I sense she is under pressure. A check on her tongue often reveals oral thrush, another name for Candida infestation. Candida belongs to the huge family of yeast, plant like organism. This column emphasises the need to keep Candida in bounds. As a parasite, it feeds on the body and injects it with its poisonous waste products. It exists naturally in the intestines, but may overgrow its population when the body is suffused with blood sugar as in diabetes, states of stress or when too much of sugary fruits or sugared food is taken or after prolonged use of antibiotics which destroy friendly bacteria. Bread is leavened with yeast. Candida is yeast. So, it is advisable they give up milk (it has sugar), sugar, and bread and fried foods. Candida thrives in injured cells. One doctor has written a book entitled: CANCER IS A FUNGUS, in which he explains that Candida cause cancer. Candida has been found in large populations in breast cancer tissue and uterine fibroid tissue, common problems of women it isn't surprising: women have sweet tooth. In the three part series on Ramadan fast, which ended last week, this column made copious suggestions about how raw food may be added to the diet to achieve the 80-20 per cent ratio in favour of raw food suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Perhaps I should now add that, because of the excessive carbohydrate diet which obtains here, there is a way proteins can be added to the body without the need for cooked meat or fish. What we get when the body breaks these down are amino acids. There are 23 of them. Some are essential amino acids. The others are not. The non-essential amino acids are so called because the body can transform an excess of one to another as needed to prevent a deficiency at any time. The essential ones cannot be so manufactured and have to come with food. Dr. F. Batmanghelidj linked a deficiency of some of these and zinc in the DNA to the occurrence of the dreaded HIV. In his test tube experiments, HIV cells given all essential amino acids and Zinc transformed to normal cells. The health industry has responded to this and to Dr Pottenger's discovery by producing AMINO ACIDS, many of them in FREE FORM and called FREE FORM AMINO ACIDS. Some brands come encapsulated in soft gels, others in illiquid form. This amino acid can be sprinkled on food. It provides all the amino acids one needs. When I advise people who need to give up meat (beef) and fish during a detoxification programme, I advise they take amino acids with food. A baby growing in the womb is drawing amino acids from the mother's body to form its own body ... bones, muscles, red blood cells, hair, teeth, organs, name it. Look at a baby as it is born. All of that is what has come out of the mother's body.

That's maternal depletion. Two years spacing for another child on regular cooked diet is not enough to replace all of that.

In any case, another baby will soon come to pull more life out.

And, rapidly, the woman ages beyond her imagination.

A woman is at her best when she prepares her body before pregnancy and continues to fortify it during pregnancy and after. My suggestions usually, are these food supplements and more in organic form should be taken with the diet • Minerals •Vitamins •Green drinks (liquid and powder) •Organic phosphate cell salts •Lecithin •Flax seed oil •Udo's oil •Herbs (Vitex, Squaw Vine, Ladies mantle... to tone the reproductive organs and balance the hormones) •Alkaline water.

Every man who loves his wife will set up a budget for her health. It is not late for children to give something back to their mothers, whose bodies they ransacked and depreciated in the womb. Omoriye, in this matter, I doff my hat for the great sacrifice of women. Without them, can we be here? Sometimes, I wish my mother hadn't gone so soon ... when I was only nine.

W

Tel: 08034004247, 07025077303

47

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012 PUBLIC NOTICE I formerly known and addressed as Miss Olatuyi Simisola Olayinka now wish to be known and address as Mrs. Adeyinka Simisola Olayinka. All former documents remain valid. The general public please take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE I formerly known and addressed as Miss. Beauty Iwokura. now wish to be known and address as Mrs. Kuroghofa Nelson Ebimie. All former documents remain valid. The General public please take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE ORIMOLOYE-BOLUTIFE I, formerly known and addressed as Orimoloye-Bolutife Daniel, now wish to be known and addressed as Daniel-Orimoloye Bolutife. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

LOSS OF DOCUMENT

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND THE MINISTRY OF LANDS,ENUGUN THAT I Mr GODWIN OGUGUO ANEKE LOST THE ORIGINAL COPY OF MY CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY REG. AS No 32 of Page 32 in Volume 1422 of 24/11/1995 IN THE LANDS REGISTY ENUGUN.IF FOUND CONTACT MINISTRY OF LANDS ENUNGU.

LOSS OF DOCUMENT This is to inform the General public of the Loss of the original Certificate of Occupancy dated 19th December, 1988 and registered as number 51/51/1988s of the Lagos State of Nigeria Land Registry office, Ikeja in the name of ROSENJE NIGERIA INDUSTRY LIMITED. If found please contact Mr. Rosenje Street, Gbagada, Lagos.

Signed: Messrs KB & Co. of Suite 135 Block A2-11, Sura Complex, Simpson Street, Lagos Island, Lagos.

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

AZUKA

MUSTAPHA

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Heidelberger-Ezekwem Obiageli Azuka, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Heidelberger-Nkenke Obiageli. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Mustapha Adeola Risqat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adekunle-Adebisi Adeola Risqat. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

THE NATION, THURSDAY AUGUST 16, 2012

48

NEWS RAMADAN Foundation feeds fasting Muslims

By Safiyyah Abdur-Razaq

A

charity organisation, Suf’yan Abimbola Islamic Foundation (SAIF), has presented food items to fasting Muslims.

The foundation gave the food items at the annual Ramadan lecture/Iftar in Lagos.

Speaking on the topic, Life after Death, Mallam Ahmad Abimbola urged Muslims to be closer to God. He stated that there are six stages of human existence the first, he said, is the period before conception; the second is the life in the womb; the third is the life of this world; the fourth is death and life in the grave while the last is resurrection and eternal life.

The feeding of the fasting Muslims, according to the Acting President of the foundation, Abdul-Fattah Fadairo, is to propagate Islam and provide relief for indigent Muslims.

Speaking on behalf of the foundation Imam Lukman Daud Adegboyega said the foundation was named after the Imam of Aranse Oluwa Mosque, Alhaji Suf’yan Abimbola whom he described as very knowledgeable, humble and generous.

“The foundation was established by his children in order to continue to remember his good deeds.

The aim of the foundation is to give relief to the orphans, widows, less privileged and all Muslims just as the late Imam always do,” he said.

•Cross-section of worshippers Sujud (prostrate) during the Lailatul Qadr (Night of Majesty) organised by The Muslim Congress (TMC) Mushin Local Government at Mushin Youth Centre (formerly ArchBishop Aggey Secondary School), Ilasamaja, Mushin, Lagos yesternight (Inset) Master Hassan Taiwo at the event.

‘Boko Haram not representing Muslims’ •Prayers for Gawat, nation T HE Council of Imams and Alfas in Eti-Osa, Lagos State has reiterated that the activities of the Boko Haram sect do not represent the teachings of Islam.

Baba Adini of the area, Alhaji AbdulYekeen Olawale Bakare described the recent demand by the sect that President Jonathan must accept Islam as balderdash.

Alhaji Bakare stated this at the special prayer held for the missing ace presenter, Alhaji Aremu Gawat and press conference on the state of the nation organised by the Council of Imams and Alfas in EtiOsa, Lagos State.

The two hours prayer session featured recitation of the Holy Quran and prayer for the safe return of Alhaji Gawat.

It was led by the chairman

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

of the council, Alhaji AbdulBarri Yossuff Afini.

Reading the communique after the prayer, the chairman of the council, Alhaji Afini, said government should intensify efforts towards unraveling the whereabouts of the ace presenter.

The group which described the mysterious missing of Gawat as a test from Allah, appealed to his captors to have a rethink and release him forthwith.

“We appeal to any person or group of persons that may be connected or have hand in the missing of Alhaji Abdurasaq Aremu Gawat to please have a re-think of their action and make available means of negotiation. Life is give and take. We are ready for nego-

•From left: Guest Lecturer, Naibul Amir (Vice-President) Hizbullah Movemen of Nigeria Ustaz Abdul Wahab Awwal; Reional Project Manager, Quality Services, English Speaking West Africa, Alhaji Yaya Wambai and Chief Administrative Officer with the Lagos State Government Alhaji Jamiu Anifowoshe at the Quran Competition/Ramadan Lecture organised

by Daru-L-Quran Wa Sunnat in conjunction with the family of the late Alhaji Muhammed Ayinla in memory of the late Ayinla in Lagos.

Lagos Commissioner felicitates with Muslims

T

HE Commissioner for the Environment, Hon Tunji Bello, has felicitated with Muslim faithful on the Ramadan fast.

Bello urged them to continue to pray for the Lagos State government in its quest for good governance.

He enjoined them to imbibe the lesson derived from the fasting period.

“We should devote more of our energies, intellect and resources, not only into shaping our characters and c o m p o r t m e n t s , individually and as group to present the best image for Islam, Muslims, and Nigeria to the outside world.”

Bello, who is the patron of Mainland Independent Group

(MIG) gave the charge while distributing food items to Action Congress of Nigeria members in Yaba and Mainland wards.

He spoke through ACN chieftains, Alhaji Ibrahim Alao Megida and Hon Kayode Aransiola who received some People’s Democratic Party (PDP) decampees to the party on his behalf .

tiation, whatever it is; nothing from heaven is too heavy for the earth. We are sure the society is very much ready to forgive you, if he (Alhaji Abdurasaq Aremu Gawat) can be released and we shall go by your terms. Take it as a promise from Imams and it shall be fulfilled. Please release Alhaji Gawat,” he said.

The Imams noted that the nation at this point needs divine intervention and urged Muslims to use the period to pray for the nation.

“There is no better time to step up our prayers for Gawat and the nation than now.

We seek the blessings and spiritual power of this period, for Allah to salvage us as

Don urges peaceful co-existence

By Amidu Arije

L

AGOS State University (LASU) lecturer, Dr Kazeem Adegoke has said the need for peaceful co-existence in the nation.

Dr Adegoke made this appeal at a Ramadan lecture organised by the Ansar-Ud-Deen College of Education in Lagos.

He urged religious sects to come together for the sake of peace in the country, saying no religion preaches violence.

The don said that love, salvation and brotherhood should be embraced by all as they follow the tenets of all religions.

“All religious adherents should be encouraged by their religious leaders to follow the basic teachings of their religions which are love, brotherhood and salvation. These three religious teachings give recognition to the sacredness of human blood and property which should not be destroyed for the sake of religious differences,” “Adherents of all religions should shun religious fanaticism and religious discrimination against one another in the country. Every Nigerian should be allowed to uphold the tenets of his or her religion without intimidation,” he said.

The institution’s Provost Prof Tajudeen Gbadamosi, urged all to abide by the lessons derived from the lecture for peace to continue to reign in the country.

“All the religion preach peace, love, brotherhood and salvation that is one thing we have gain from it, we also gain from the discussion that the basis of the crisis is not just religious, many of the crisis have other dimensions too, there is economic dimension, there is political dimension and there is a social dimension.

a nation and avert any calamity.” said the chairman of the council.

He stated that it showed that no one is above temptation and divine trial. “Ordinarily, no one would think such a thing could befall somebody as popular as Gawat. It is a lesson for every Muslim. Almighty Allah has just showed us that no one is too big to be tried.”

RAMADAN GUIDE WITH FEMI ABBAS e-mail: femabbas@yahoo.com Tel: 08122697498

Origin of Tafsir

M

USLIMS traditionally congregate in various Mosques or learning centres where Tafsir (exposition of the Qur’an) is rendered by scholars during Ramadan every year.

The word Tafsir linguistically means exposition. But technically, it means the comprehensive analysis of the Qur’an. In other words, Tafsir is the exposition of the contents of the Qur’an, as usually done comprehensively by Islamic scholars especially during the month of Ramadan throughout the Muslim world.

Because of the coded language of the Qur’anic revelation, it became necessary for the verses of that sacred book to be decoded for the purpose of thorough understanding of the Muslim Ummah.

Thus, with the explanation above, it becomes clear that the revelations of the Qur’an were the immediate cause of intellectual research in Islam. For instance, Arabic the original language of the Qur’an had no grammar prior to the revelations of the divine message. The grammar of that language evolved only from the contents of the Qur’an.

The challenge which the Qur’an threw to humanity in all spheres of life led to competition among the scholars. Each time a revelation came, the disciples of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) wanted to know what the new verses connoted. And this led to closer association with the Prophet who paved the way towards that intellectual research.

Although the formal study of Tafsir as an independent discipline did not evolve until many years after the demise of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), he (the Prophet) nevertheless started its process. He did not only give the exoteric and esoteric meanings of revealed verses of the Qur’an, he also explained their application to daily life of man.

It was the prophet who decoded most of the coded areas of the Qur’an for proper understanding of the ordinary Muslims through his utterances and actions which were later to be known as Hadith and Sunnah, until the contents of the Qur’an became more and more understandable to the Muslims.

After the prophet’s demise, Hadith and Sunnah too became an independent subject of research. And these helped, in no small measure, in expanding the scope of Tafsir. From it, all new discoveries and new frontiers in knowledge were adapted to the study of Tafsir until Tafsir became an estuary through which every stream of knowledge was passed to humanity.

Ever since, Tafsir has become a field of study and research in all spheres of knowledge with resultant development of man. It is through such research that man zoomed into the firmament of science which eventually brought about the gigantic civilization of the modern time. However, this field of study is not without some challenges.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

49

e-Business THE NATION

For operators, it is time to shrug off the lethargy and make IT outsourcing a good business. The Nigeria Association of Information Technology Enabled Outsourcing Companies (NAITEOC) has been formed to serve as the umbrella body for IT outsourcing companies. But the idea will take time to gain acceptance, writes AKINOLA AJIBADE.

Outsourcing: how far can IT operators go?

F

ROM available data in the information and technology (IT) industry, outsourcing is still at its infancy in Nigeria. This is because it has not gained wide acceptance, generated revenue for the stakeholders, and contributed to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

IT outsourcing is a specialised service, which a company cannot handle but contracts out to another firm that has a higher degree of competence in such area. Services, such as bandwidth management to ensure optimisation of Internet usage, cloud computing, web security, enterprise solution management, software/hardware development, and data management, among others can be outsourced to foster the growth of the sector.

Usually, the contract is between two or more firms that desire transfer of skills to ensure competitive advantage. The contract is mutually beneficial to the parties involved, depending on the terms of agreement.

Often times, financial gains are paramount to the parties involved in IT outsourcing. So, firms in developed markets have leveraged on outsourcing IT to improve their fortunes, and that of the economy in which they operate.

Research has shown that IT outsourcing is profitable, creates employment and contributes to the GDP of India and Ghana. For instance, the share of IT enabled outsourcing services in the GDP of India stood at an impressive 5.8 per cent in 2009 from 1.2 per cent in 1998. The IT export earning in India was $40 billion with a yearly growth rate of 36 per cent, which translated to $100billion in 2011 from IT outsourcing in the country.

Also, Ghana Association of Software and IT Service Companies (GASSCOM) has positioned the industry such that it is the highest contributor to the country’s GDP. GASSCOM, through its IT Enabled Outsourcing Services Scheme, has contributed immensely to the GDP growth rate of Ghana. Its contribution to the GDP increased from 4.4 per cent to 5.2 per cent in the last three years.

The Ghanian government attested to this recently when it said the development has enhanced job creation, as well as accelerated economic growth. It has identi-

fied IT outsourcing services as one of the non-traditional sectors with the potential to speed up economic growth.

However, IT outsourcing is yet to flourish in Nigeria because stakeholders have not given it the desired attention. Though operators have made a lot of noise about IT outsourcing, they have not been able to record meaningful progress. Operators argue that IT outsourcing is not growing relative to the achievements recorded in the sector in the past few years.

Citing the growth in the telecom industry vis-à-vis the over 80 million subscriber-base of the operators, they reason that the industry was yet to tap from the huge potential (material and capital) that exist in the area of IT outsourcing services.

A school of thought argues that Nigeria is unknowingly scuttling the opportunities in that field. To ensure growth of IT outsourcing, operators last week in Lagos gathered to form an association that will serve as the umbrella body for prospective and old IT outsourcing companies. The event was at the instance of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), a body under the Ministry of Communication and Technology.

Speaking during the stakeholders meeting in Lagos, the Director-General, NITDA Prof Cleopas Angaye said the formation of the umbrella body for IT outsourcing companies would help in the development of outsourcing business, and effective utilisation of resources meant for outsourcing in the national policy, coordinating, monitoring and evaluating the outsourcing sector. Besides, he said it provides an identity that interfaces with the government and the world in particular.

Represented by the Director,

•Prof. Angaye

•Uwaje

• President, Nigeria Computer Society Demola Aladekomo

Software and Outsourcing Department, NITDA, Dr Ashiru Daura, Angaye said it was time to sanitise the industry and make the idea workable, gainful and beneficial to the economy. He said they have resolved to name the association the Nigeria Association of Information Technology Outsourcing Companies (NAITEOC), adding that starting offices would be in Lagos and Abuja.

Angaye said the association would keep a close tab on IT outsourcing companies in the two cities due to their significant role in the economy. He said Lagos plays a critical role because it is the hub of IT operations, adding that individuals and corporate bodies are eligible for admission as members of the association.

He said: “NITDA has already provided an office and N20million for the take-off of the umbrella body and we will continuously support it. When we come together under one umbrella, we would be able to monitor and regulate the activities of the members. We would be able to sanitise the industry. We want to create awareness and make outsourcing beneficial to the economy. We are planning a trade mission to India to foster growth and tap into opportunities that would grow the industry.”

He said efforts would be made to mobilise all organisations that are in outsourcing practice to ensure growth of the industry nay the economy.

Angaye said outsourcing services would be limited to the IT in-

dustry now, adding that the scope would be broadened in the future to accommodate other sectors in the economy.

Director, Regulations and Standards, NITDA Mr Iyke Kemabuta said outsource services providers are asking for a common front, hence the formation of the association. Kemabuta said the issue now is how to engage the Federal, state and local governments among other big spenders in the economy in advocacy to create jobs and generate revenue. He said every issue would be looked into from the molecule of IT to foster growth.

President, Internet Service Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPAN), Mr Chris Uwaje said the idea is a noble one capable of transforming the fortune of the sector. Uwaje said there are potentials to unearth in the IT outsourcing field, advising operators to work together to achieve results.

He said the implementation of policies guiding the operations of the association is necessary to achieve meaningful results. He opined that the contributions of outsourcing firms to the economy would be great, if efforts are made to grow the association.

A lecturer at the Lagos Business School, Dr Nweke said nothing stops the outsourcing companies from contributing immensely to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Nweke, also a participant at the meeting, said the IT outsourcing initiative is working in developed economies where billions of dollars are being generated yearly. He said re-

organisation of IT outsourcing companies and exposure to happenings in other climes would help in repositioning businesses in the industry.

Nweke said hope is on the horizon for IT service providers, arguing that they must do the right things to maximize the potentials in the industry.

“Globally, IT outsourcing services have come to be one of the major contributors to the economy. In developed countries, IT services are being exported to make money for the economy. The same thing can happen in Nigeria. Now that the association has been formed, I think there are brighter prospects ahead of the operators in the information communication and technology (ICT) field,” he said.

He called for concerted efforts among the operators, adding that cooperation would go a long way in achieving good results.

Nweke said if the policy guiding IT outsourcing companies is well implemented, revenues would be generated in the economy.

Corroborating Nweke, Angaye said outsourcing policy has been implemented in 2007 to enable companies to practice the idea.

Angaye said nothing positive has been done since then to bring the idea to fruition. He said there are hopes that the idea would generate a lot of money to the economy if it is well implemented.

“I cannot say how much the IT outsourcing services would bring to the economy or contribute to the gross domestic product. It is difficult to give figures on that. But all I know is that the initiative would generate money for the industry and the economy in general,” he said.

Though the operators have resolved to make IT outsourcing field better and stronger to grow the industry, they need to overcome challenges in the areas of making the idea enjoy wide acceptability among various players in the economy, and getting the necessary regulations in place.

‘For instance, the share of IT enabled outsourcing services in the GDP of India stood at an impressive 5.8 per cent in 2009 from 1.2 per cent in 1998. The IT export earning in India was $40 billion with a yearly growth rate of 36 per cent, which translated to $100 billion in 2011 from IT outsourcing in the country’

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

50

e-Business Matters e-Rising Segun Oruame segun@segunoruame.com

N

OT many stakeholders are aware that there is a bill before the senate seeking to firm up the role of NIGCOMSAT Limited in the nation’s communication space. Already okayed by the House of Representatives to formally create Nigerian Communications Satellite Corporation, the bill is waiting to pass through the rigorous legislative processes at the Senate before it could then get assent of the president. It has been at the Senate since March.

NIGCOMSAT (Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited) was originally part of NASRDA (National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA)) established by the Obasanjo government to begin Nigeria’s entry into the global space industry.

As expediency would warrant, NIGCOMSAT Limited was carved out of NASRDA to concentrate on the more specific agenda of meeting Nigeria’s communication needs via satellite infrastructure backbones. NASRDA has remained committed to the broader agenda of satellite research using satellite resource for geographical imagery and the likes. It has three low earth orbit satellite in space (two are new satellites) while NIGCOMSAT has only communication satellite: NIGCOMSAT 1R, actually a replacement for a faulty one that was launched as Africa’s first communication satellite.

Satellites have many uses. They range from the military to the commercial. All nations are motivated into global satellite arena chiefly for “political, commercial, and military motives. All satellite programmes are a source of pride and of revenue.” Satellites are viable vehicles for socio-economic changes and are extra-ordinary spy machines for national intelligence and security. Part of the reasons that necessitates the creation of NASRDA and NIGCOMSAT was to address the increasing need for technology aided intelligence for national security whether internal or external. As one Nigerian expert puts it: “in the emerging global technology space, new challenges and opportunities for our nation require strategic review and tactical introspection.”

Tactical introspection means asking ques-

Making an Act for NIGCOMSAT Corporation

tions that demand answers. Does NIGCOMSAT and its communication resource demand to be positioned by policy and by an Act to serve this country’s intelligence gathering against its external and internal enemies particularly home-grown terrorists? Why is there no clearcut Act to position NIGCOMSAT as a strategic national communication resource to enforce the country’s economic, political and security interests? Do our strategic goals for communication and security admit NIGCOMSAT as a strategic resource to achieving those goals?

Why since its commercial launch is NIGCOMSAT not the primary provider of bandwidth to all MDAs (ministries, departments and agencies) so that foreign communication commercial satellite providers become secondary providers? Does government have the best interest of its own investment in NIGCOMSAT at heart when the resource itself does not primary serve government?

Government must have its own strategic communication resource to rely on at all times.

Proponents of a 100% private sector led economy would conveniently forget that the crash of the western economy including the fumbling US economy is private sector led.

Now, it is taking the intervention of government in the western economic spheres with huge public fund to restore confidence in the economy and get it moving again on its feet.

Why is the thriving economy of China with huge government presence conveniently ignored in the face of the collapse of private sector led economy of the west?

All over the world, increase in demand for satellites has made space to go from “being a preserve of the superpowers to a crowded commercial arena. New governmental actors— Europe, China, and India—have entered the market. Space services, in communications, remote sensing, and navigation, are now commercially available in sufficient quantity and quality to change the national security equation for the United States. Other countries including Nigeria and Venezuela have joined the fray and depending on their level of funding and political willpower, their satellite ventures can either bring them great benefits or simply become awry misadventures. India is

Publishers to Senate: make telecom national strategic service

I

CT Publishers Alliance has urged the Senate to consider an Act that makes telecommunication infrastructure a strategic critical national infrastructure. It made the call in a 24page paper it presented to the Senate Committee on Communications hearing in Abuja, on problems associated with quality of service in mobile phone operations and co-location.

The Committee, chaired by Gilbert Nnaji, took oral and paper presentations from stakeholders in the telecom industry.

In a paper presented by its Chairman, Aaron Ukodie, to the Senate hearing, the Alliance according to a statement, said telecom services should be considered as Strategic National Services so as to free it from the debilitating effect of multiple taxation and regulation from various government agencies at the three tiers of government.

According to the Alliance, the perception today among different strata of government is that telecom operators are cash-cows, therefore should be milked to no end such that taxations at even council levels are notoriously and arbitrarily imposed in such a way as to make continuous or seamless service delivery impossible.

This year alone, the NCC has had to intervene in several locations where telecom infrastructures (base stations) have been shut down by council officials enforcing compliance with imposed taxes by local councils, the Alliance said.

“Although cases of multiple regulation and taxation may not be limited to Nigeria alone; our position is that Nigeria can eliminate such cases and become an example to other countries and regions.

“It is the responsibility of lawmakers, as the repository of the people’s destinies, to ensure that laws made do not run counter to the needs, desires and social wellbeing of the people they represent,” the Alliance noted.

The Alliance said further that a situation where every agency of government taxes telecom just because they see the industry as the cash-cow, does not and will not augur well

By Ajibade Akinola for our fledgling telecom industry.

“All of a sudden, for instance, every state government, every local government, and every community has become a law maker unto themselves, churning out one law after another nearly every month or quarter of the year, all targeted at milking telecom operators,” according to the Alliance.

It said the National Assembly needs to put all these in check - if the telecom industry, especially mobile operators - is to continue to grow and deliver quality services to the people. The Alliance said that the gazetting of the Quality of Service Regulations by the Federal Ministry of Justice is a right step in the right direction to strengthen the NCC to take some severe measures when service providers are found wanting and that the NCC must also sustain its efforts in the engagement of DriveTest contractors to carry out continuous quality of service drive-testing in the six geo-political zones and Lagos.

a good model to follow. It shares so many traits with Nigeria. A population always eight times that of Nigeria; huge poverty and wealth disparity, massive communication needs; and an expansive landmass. The Indian advantage is that it boasts of a more organised economy and a functional democracy. And of course, a far more advanced satellite industry. Ours is still at its extreme infancy stage. It must be encouraged to grow.

What is the import of the rising demand for global economy? I will quote from a recent report on how rising number of commercial satellites could impact on the US national security titled Commercial Satellite Services and National Security: We Are Not Alone. “Demand for satellites and other information technologies reflect the increasing importance of services and information in the international economy. Services have been the fastest growing sector of international trade for the past 20 years and are now worth perhaps a quarter of all international trade. Services depend on the flow of information, so demand for information technologies including satellites has increased. The number of commercial satellites and the number of companies supplying these satellites and satellite services will continue to grow in response.

“The number of foreign satellite programmes (private and governmental) that provide communications, navigation, and imagery services have increased dramatically over the last 10 years and continue to expand.

Demand for satellite services has created a new space environment where most activity is commercial. Commercial satellite services fall into three categories—communications, imagery and navigation. Access to these commercial services allows potential opponents to narrow the US advantage in information dominance.

An array of foreign communications, remote sensing, and navigation satellites have been built and launched in response to strong commercial and government demand. These services are sufficient for military needs.” In the last few 10 years, developing economies from South America, Asia and Africa (Nigeria, South Africa and North Africa) have joined global space and satellite capabilities.

T

ECHNOLOGY Distributions Limited, an ICT distribution firm has brought honour to Nigeria by winning Microsoft’s Top Regional Partner of the Year Award at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) 2012 in Toronto. TD, the Nigerian company that controls 60 per cent of the IT space in West Africa, was named the strongest performing Microsoft partner for West, East, Central Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, WECA. Speaking at the conference, Vice President, Microsoft Dynamics Partners and Support Services, Doug Kennedy described this time of the year as when the Microsoft family comes together to recognise and celebrate the achievements of top Microsoft partners and support services.

Describing Microsoft as a partner-centric business, he said the success of Microsoft is directly dependent upon the expertise, commitment and performance of our partners.

Kennedy said the quality and depth of the Microsoft channel is envied in the marketplace. His words: “The annual Microsoft Partners award winners are clearly an elite set of partners – the best of the best. On behalf of Microsoft, I thank our award winners and congratulate them for their achievements this

How do all these fit into the global satellite ecosystem for NIGCOMSAT? By law, government must back NIGCOMSAT’s role in national development by an Act. Part of its functions captures those roles. They include “designing, manufacturing in-orbit launch and operation of a communication, satellite in respect of, but not limited to telephony, television, radio, broadcasting, broadband internet services, navigation, and global positioning system with the transmitters, teleports, transponders, earth stations, terminals, antennae, frequency bands.”

The role also includes but not limited to “setting up, establishing, operating, managing, marketing, sales and maintaining in-orbit communications satellites, whether in respect of satellite services, telephony (urban and rural), television, HDTV, DTH, teleprocessing, telepresence, tele-education, telemedicine, e-government, e-commerce, telegraph, telemetry, radio, mobile and paging, internet services, real time monitoring services in-shipping and freight handling, petroleum pipeline, equipment installation, inventory control and cash flow, supervisory control and data acquisition, fleet management systems, maritime and aviation services with the employment of navigation and global positioning systems with coverage over most of the earth with particular focus on Africa.”

NIGCOMSAT needs full recognition by law as a government and commercial entity. Its mandate to actualise our national communication destiny is fully articulated in its mandate. The mandate underscores its relevance as a strategic national communication resource in the face of its inherent value proposition to “improve the fast growing ICT landscape in Nigeria especially in the areas of broadband Internet connectivity and network transmission coverage area; to domesticate broadband services by curtailing capital flight, which has stood at about $500million yearly; and to key into the overall policy-thrust of the Ministry of Communications Technology for ubiquitous broadband access as they concern the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as this present government transformational agenda.

TD wins Microsoft’s award past year and for their dedication and support of Microsoft applications.”

Addressing journalists on the award, the Managing Director of Technology Distributions, Mrs. Chioma Ekeh, dedicated the award to TD Resellers in the West African region for being responsive to professional spurs from TD marketing. She noted that the stiff criteria considered when selecting Microsoft Regional Partners for this special recognition would not have been met without the team work of the Resellers. These criteria include outstanding sales performance, thorough technological expertise on Microsoft products and services, a consistently high level of customer satisfaction, and feedback from Microsoft team members.

Mrs. Ekeh assured the Resellers that TD would continue to be dedicated to those strategies and innovations that consistently improve the bottom-line for them. In turn, the Resellers must aim at helping the end users drive their business forward.

Senate Committee meets with CPN management

T

HE Senate Committee on Education has met with the management of Computer Professionals of Nigeria (CPN) as part of its oversight functions over Ministries, Departments and Agencies under the Federal Ministry of Education.

The meeting, which was held last Tuesday, was a unique opportunity for the two teams to exchange ideas on how to enhance the budget performance of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) under the Federal Ministry of Education.

The team, which was led by Senator Uche Chukwumerije, praised the manage-

ment of the Council for their ability to do much despite the lean resources available to them. He informed the meeting that the 21st century is one of the unique centuries in human civilisation because that is the century being challenged by the Information Technology(IT) revolution.

“Therefore, every country that desires growth and sustainable development thereby becoming a member of the 21st century family should give priority attention to Information Technology.”

He promised to assist the Council of CPN in its bid to strengthen the Act that estab-

lished it in order to promote professionalism and best practices in the country in line with the Federal Government transformation agenda. Additionally, the Committee promised to assist the Council to get necessary funds for the completion of its Centre of Excellence building project in Abuja.

Other members of the team were Senators Sola Adeyeye, Oluremi Tinubu, Pius Ewherido, Sunday Ogbuji and Garba Babayo while the CPN team was led by the Chairman of Council represented by the Vice-Chairman, Alhaja Sekinat Yusuf and the Registrar, Mr Sikiru Shehu.

51

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

DISCOURSE Challenges to governance in emerging democracies Text of a paper delivered by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, FCIarb, during the 50th anniversary celebration of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos (UNILAG) on July 26, 2012, in the school’s auditorium • Continued from Monday

T

HE second trend is the practice, originated by the Obasanjo regime, of the executive ‘directing the enforcement of court orders.’ This was seen as recent as last week when the Attorney-General of the Federation purportedly directed the enforcement of a judgment of the Court of Appeal which ordered the Governor of Imo State to reinstate Council Chairmen that were illegally removed.[42] Even though this is often done under the guise of ‘respect for the Rule of Law,’ in truth, this practice actually undermines and attenuates the Rule of Law. It has subtly established the norm that ‘executive blessing’ is required for agents of state, such as the Police, to enforce court judgments. While we have seen this practice more recently in the form of positive pronouncements, we will recall the danger inherent in it from the days of the Obasanjo administration when there was an ‘executive stay’ of the judgment of the Court of Appeal regarding the impeachment of the then Governor Ladoja of Oyo State.

Corruption Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary General while xraying the despondency and hopelessness of African corruption said: “Corruption in Africa is a manifestation of the quality of our leadership: dominated by greedy personalities eager to ‘bleed a leech to fatten a heifer.’ What do you expect? Big businesses and junior leaders take advantage and the society continues to decay.

With corruption, there can be no sustainable development, nor political stability. Corruption emasculates the system of social organisation. I encourage the governments of Africa to undertake the necessary changes in economic development. This implies good governance, competent elites and the disappearance of corruption”.

The Black’s Law Dictionary defines “Corruption” as “impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle; especially the impairment of a public officer’s duties by bribery.”

Nigerian Statutes and Courts have also given various definition of Corruption. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act defines Corruption vaguely to include bribery, fraud and other related offences.

The Supreme Court in Attorney-General Ondo State v AttorneyGeneral Federation per Katsina Alu JSC (as he then was), while recognising the presence of corruption in our society and amongst individuals held as follows: “Corrupt practices and abuse of power spread across and eat into every segment of the society. These vices are not limited only to certain sections of the society. It is lame argument to say that private individuals or persons do not corrupt officials or get them to abuse their power.”

In the view of Alex Gboyega, corruption is any decision, act or conduct that subverts the integrity of people in authority or institution charged with promoting, defending or sustaining the democratization process, thereby undermining its effectiveness in performing its assigned roles.

It is incontrovertible that corruption is a hydra headed monster that is capable of bringing any society to its precipice. Perhaps apart from genocide, (crime against humanity), there is nothing as lethal, pernicious and virulent as corruption in any society. The level and extent of corruption in Nigeria was aptly, stated in the words of Uwaifo JSC in the case of Attorney-General Ondo State v AttorneyGeneral Federation[48] as follows: “The need and urgency for the Federal Republic of Nigeria to show its concern and act in line with Section 15(5) was aptly represented and captured in two passages in the amicus curiae brief of Chief Afe Babalola. First, he said in the preamble to the brief: “In the last 20 years, the pervasiveness of corruption in all its ramifications has assumed renewed dimensions of cancerous proportions in Nigeria, to the extent that the Germany based Transparency International, a respected independent, universal, non-governmental organisation ranked Nigeria in the unenviable position of being the most corrupt nation in the world for a consecutive period of more than seven years. The unpleasant news was published in all national newspapers in Nigeria. In foreign Countries, Nigerians are regarded and treated as corrupt people. Unlike other nationals, no bank would allow Nigerians to open a bank account as of right.

The Nigerian Green Passport is synonymous with Corruption. Consequently, at foreign airports, Nigerians with green passports are separated from other nationals. While others are allowed to go freely, Nigerians are subjected to degrading and inhuman treatments and treated as pariahs on the ground that they are Nigerians who hail from the most corrupt country of the world. National newspapers are filled with stories of looted money stashed in foreign banks. The stolen resources, lost by Nigeria through endemic corruption and abuse of office have had inimical effect on the economy of the country. — The crisis which endemic corruption has triggered off in Nigeria, certainly poses exceptional peril to the economic, social and political stability, the National interest and integrity of the Nigerian nation. This, no doubt goes beyond local and state concern.”

Mohammed JSC whilst acknowledging the endemic nature of corruption in Nigeria stated: “It is quite plain that the issue of corruption in Nigerian society has gone beyond our borders. It is no more a local affair. It is a national malaise, which must be tackled by the Government of the Federal Republic. The disastrous consequences of the evil practice of corruption have taken this nation into the list of the most corrupt nations on earth.”

The malignant effect of corruption in our society is evident. We

• Chief Olanipekun

are all living witnesses to the ongoing racket and drama in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Millions of dollars that would have otherwise been channelled to developmental purposes have been filched away via the bogus fuel subsidy scheme. An attempted investigation into the scandal has degenerated into a drama of the absurd. It is often said that ‘when you fight corruption, corruption fights back.’ Apparently, what we have in Nigeria is a case of ‘corruption fighting corruption,’ while the citizens watch on helpless and hapless.

Corruption poses a serious developmental challenge. In the political realm it undermines democracy and good governance by flouting or even subverting formal processes. Corruption in elections and in legislative bodies reduces accountability and distorts representation in policy making. Corruption in the Judiciary compromises the Rule of Law and corruption in public administration results in the unfair provisions of services. More generally, corruption erodes the institutional capacity of government as procedures are disregarded, resources are siphoned off and public offices are bought and sold. At the same time, corruption undermines the legitimacy of government and such democratic values as trust and tolerance. The ravaging effect of corruption is aptly depicted by Peter Cunliffe-Jones in his book My Nigeria: Five Decades of Independence where he states that: “It is clear that no country whose leaders steal or squander $350 billion and distort the economy is going to prosper. And this is what has happened in Nigeria. Corruption has undermined Nigeria’s economy since independence. As Nigerians say, the country’s experience of corruption is far from unique in the world. It is just more extreme than most.”

Leadership 6.4.1 In a lecture titled “Transition in Democracy: The Search for Good Leadership” which I delivered in 2004,[51] I gave an exposition on the term leadership as follows: “Leadership is a concept distinct from rulership. The former connotes showing the way. In other words, leadership constitutes a guide, an indication, a direction, just as it provides the led with the desirables in, and of, charting a course and new direction. Thus, the noun “leadership” is meaningfully defined by the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English as “the position of being the leader of a team, organization, country etc.; the quality of being good at leading a team, organization, country, etc. Put differently, “a leader” is a true representative of the people, consciously and conscientiously chosen by the led, (without undue influence or coercion) and given the necessary political power and authority. Therefore, a leader, like a magnet, radiates aura which attracts the people. The relationship between the duo, that is, the leader and the led, can therefore be linked to the first law of magnetism which says “Opposite Poles Attract.”

Contrariwise, a ruler is “someone …. who has official power over a country or area.” On its part, the Concise Oxford Dictionary defines a ruler as “a person or agent exercising government or dominion.” A ruler therefore, radiates heat or fire which consumes his subjects over whom he dominates” This relationship or scenario can favourably and justifiably be compared with the second law of magnetism which goes thus “Like Poles Repel”.

From the foregoing definitions, it can be gleaned that leadership is arguably a better and preferred notion or institution for any nation which aspires to achieve greatness. Our Country continues to be bedevilled by the problem of leadership, hence, over fifty years after independence; over five decades of extrication from the shackles of colonialism; for more than two and a half score years after it severed itself from the apron strings of the British overlords, Nigeria is still being ingloriously ranked among the poorest nation of the world. No thanks to inept and visionless leadership. As far back as 1983, renowned and world acclaimed novelist, Professor Chinua Achebe graphically captured the problem of leadership in Nigeria in his book ‘The Trouble with Nigeria’ in the following memorable words: “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely as failure of leadership …. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibilities to the challenge of personal example, which are the hallmarks of true leadership.”

These coniferous words voiced out 29 years ago are still apt to the Nigerian situation of today in several material particulars, except that one should quickly add that it has now become a fashion in our nation to continuously punch and decimate the leadership at the centre as visionless and inept, corrupt and rudderless, without also dissecting the very decadent, decaying, arbitrary and even rotten leadership at both the state and local government levels. Major aspects of our national life, including education, security, health, justice, sports, infrastructure and economy suffer from the lack of necessary attention which they deserve at all levels. This is compounded by the depletion of our human, mental, natural, material and financial resources through terrorism, avoidable disasters, (including preventable accidents and crashes both on our roads and air space), unemployment, capital flight and corruption.

What I consider the bane of leadership in Nigeria is the inverse corelationship between individuals and institutions. There are little or no institutions left in Nigeria but everyday we see the emergence of powerful and puissant individuals whose influence, policies and ‘kingdoms’ only last as long as their tenure in office. We do not have enduring institutions but leaders whose ‘kingdoms’ rise and fall like the ancient mid-eastern kingdoms. Undoubtedly, this situation is propelled by egoistic leaders who are surrounded by sycophants.

This individualization of institutions is a trait, which trickles down from the top to every organ of state. So, when you hear of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) or Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), what immediately comes to mind is the person who occupies the position of the Managing Director or Governor, since he is the one who defines what the institution represents for the time being. Permit me to repeat the point I made in one of my lectures where I stated that: “One funny tale about our country is that successive Nigerian leaders use(d) Nigeria and Nigerians as experiments for every infertile imagination. Stretched further, our country is being used as a game of chess by those who have found themselves at the corridors of power. In the process, all traditional institutions which ordinarily should be meant for the people and protect their interest and, by extension, sustain democracy, have become personal instruments or edifices of our transient leaders.”

The resultant effect of our instituting personalised leadership at the expense of lasting and enduring institutions of state is that governance at different levels in Nigeria has become personalised and individualised. We glorify and deitify every leader in every office, including government institutions, companies and corporations.

Personalised leadership, in my view would more often than not be an antithesis to visionized leadership, and in such a situation, the people suffer. Solomon, the third King of Israel, wrote: ‘where there is no vision the people perish.’ Only an altruistic leader will put in place a blueprint, which he may not stay in office long-enough to execute and take the glory. Indeed, King Solomon’s father King David, exhibited rare altruism when he made provision for the building of the Temple, even when he had been told by God that the building project would not take place during his reign and lifetime.

No wonder, he is still being celebrated in Israel, well over 2000 years after his reign.

Dr. Tunji Abayomi in the Nigerian Tribune of Thursday 21, July 2011 blamed the leadership problem of Nigeria on failure of men of integrity to seek elective and leadership positions in the country.

He said: “Nigeria had not developed its full potentials and had been lagging behind because she had failed to elect leaders with genuine interest of the masses at heart. He also stated that people of moral rectitude who contributed to the development of the country should not hesitate to come out and show interest in leading the country.”

According to Chief Richard Akinjide, SAN: “It is because leadership is weak that there are corruption and bad management which prohibit development and accentuate poverty…

Take the price of petrol in Nigeria. There is nothing unreasonable for Nigerians, recognizing that Nigeria is a leading world oil producer blessed with substantial reserve of a prime crude oil, to expect to pay a cheap price for petrol especially as the Nigerians purchasing power is very low. This is why the World Bank keeps exerting pressure on Nigeria, despite all the organized denials and hypocrisy, not only to remove existing subsidies but also to increase domestic petrol prices at each time world crude oil prices move up.

To all appearances, these positions are as contradictory as they are equally indefensible. France and some other European nations last week reduced the pump price of petrol. Nigerians are therefore at a loss when government comes to explain to them why domestic petrol prices must go up. Nigerians are at a loss because government fails to reveal a critical fact: the real reason why petrol prices in Nigeria are higher than they should be. This reason is bad, inept management and corruption.”

Poverty

Over ninety million of the people in Nigeria live below USD1 per day. The Tribune newspaper of Monday, 13 February 2012 had this caption: “Nigeria’s poverty level rises, hits 71.5%.” The report stated: “Poverty in Nigeria is rising with almost 100 million people living on less than $1 a day despite strong growth, data showed on Monday. The percentage of Nigerians living in absolute poverty those who can afford only the bare essentials of food, shelter and clothing – rose to 60.9 percent in 2010, compared with 54.7 per cent in 2004, the National Bureau of Statistics said. .... It remains a paradox that despite the fact that the Nigerian economy is growing, the proportion of Nigerians living in poverty is increasing every year.”

In 2009, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)[59] ranked Nigeria among the 20 least developed nations, of the world.

The Punch newspaper in its Editorial of Thursday September 15, 2006 reacting to the UNDP report, at page 16 stated: “The latest United Nations Human Development Report has, again, provided grim statistics on Nigeria’s human development indices and social conditions. The report, which is in line with the views of other respected international agencies, on degenerating living standards in the country, reflects a study in alarming regression to poverty. The report ranked Nigeria among the 20 poorest and most vulnerable nations worldwide. Using life expectancy, literacy level and Gross Domestic Product to rank 177 countries, Nigeria took the 158th position in UNDP’s Prosperity Index ... The implications of the report on the nation’s political stability, and on progress in Africa as a continent, are quite disturbing. One out of every five Africans is a Nigerian, while the nation constitutes two percent of the world population ... Presently, the nation’s external reserve has hit an all time high of about $27 billion, while the Excess Crude Oil Account stands at roughly $12billion. With such fortuitous financial resources at its disposal, a government that has the welfare of its citizen at heart, and which is desirous of pulling the nation from the edge of economic precipice, can achieve a lot.... Much of the violence and soaring crime wave in the country, which affects life expectancy calculations, are believed to be rooted in the injustices perpetrated by the corrupt haves against the less privileged have nots. Unless good governance is sincerely embraced at all levels and fighting corruption ceases to be mere rhetoric, the nation’s future is at risk.

The Federal Government should reflect on its economic reform project that has worsened, instead of improving living standards in the past six years.”

• Continued on page 52

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

52

DISCOURSE

Challenges to governance in emerging democracies

• Continued from page 51

T

HE Editorial of the Punch newspaper of Sunday February, 2012 with this caption “Tackling extreme poverty in the North” reported as follows: “In a nation wracked by poverty, Northern Nigeria manages to be poorer than even the average poor. Sadly, recent comment by some leading Northerners place the blame for under development everywhere except where it rightly belongs: the poor management of resources by Northern leaders. But the Northern States, like other parts of the country, will not climb out of poverty until a new, visionary leadership emerges that will harness the region’s abundant resources and wipe out illiteracy and religious extremism.”

We cannot say the above statement applies only to the Northern part of Nigeria. It extends to every part, region and geo-political zone of Nigeria. No wonder the writer went ahead to state that: “The reality on grim poverty in the North is stark. Of the 100 million Nigerians living in ‘absolute poverty’ those who can afford only bare essential of food, shelter and clothing – the majority reside in the Northern States. The Northwest has the highest poverty rate with 70 percent of its people living below $1 per day. The North-East follows with 69 percent and the North-Central with 59.5 percent. The three Southern Zones have no cause to rejoice either as poverty level there ranges between 49.8 percent and 58.7 percent. The lesson from these last figures from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics is that wrong choices, wrong polices and poor leadership have led to the rise in poverty from a National average of 54.7 percent in 2004 to 60.9 percent in 2010.”

These reports and statistics paint a grim but candid picture. We have to pause and consider the irony of the Nigerian nation. A nation where there is so much seed and yet little harvest; a nation blessed with resources in abundance, but its citizens wallow in abject poverty; a nation blessed with the brightest of minds, but with a decaying educational system; a leading producer of crude oil with four (un)serviced refineries capable of producing 445,000 barrels of refined oil per day, but which now imports refined petroleum products from the SORAZ Refinery at Zinder from Niger Republic. I can go on and on talking about the Nigerian paradox. Permit me again to refer to the words of the Preacher, which I believe capture the Nigerian irony: “There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, ......I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.”

There are 774 local governments in Nigeria and each of them directly receives allocations from the centre on monthly basis. What do these local governments do with their monthly allocations? I come from a one-town local government, that is, Ikere Local Government, created by General Ibrahim Babangida since 1987 and anytime I go home, I keep on asking myself what exactly my people have relatively benefitted from the creation of the Local Government ever since.

I believe the same nagging question crosses the minds of most Nigerians.

Studies by the World Bank and the United Nations show a clear correlation between illiteracy and poverty. Poverty, unemployment, underdevelopment and lack of basic amenities do provide a large pool of recruits for violent groups, prostitution, armed robbery, kidnapping etc. In a lecture I delivered sometimes in 2005 I put forward the following questions, “What is the essence of the right to life provided or enshrined under s.33 of the Constitution to a Nigerian adult who is jobless and homeless and cannot afford a square meal per day? Is the life of such a person not worthless and already decimated? What is the meaning or sense of the right to dignity of the human person contained in s.34 to the team and cream of young Nigerian ladies who have taken to prostitution or harlotry as a result of the frustration occasioned by their failure to secure any job several years after graduation?

We are all aware that several of the young ladies are now being regularly exported to Italy and other European countries to engage in prostitution by modern day human traffickers who are reincarnating the slave trade of the days of yore.”

Illiteracy 6.6.1 Again, some not-too-cheering statistics: Nigeria finds itself in the rather ignoble ranks of nine countries with the highest population of illiterates in the world. The group, otherwise known as the E9 Countries, comprises Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, In-

Text of a paper delivered by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, FCIarb, during the 50th anniversary celebration of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos (UNILAG) on July 26, 2012, in the school’s auditorium

• Chief Olanipekun

dia, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan.

These nations also account for more than 50 percent of the world’s population.

The Punch newspaper of Wednesday, December 7, 2011 had this caption: “Nigeria, eight others top UNESCO Illiteracy Chart.”

The newspaper reported as follows: “The United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation has said 535 million out of the total non-literate population of 800 million of the world’s illiterates reside in nine countries. The countries are Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan.”

The Nigerian Tribune newspaper, of Thursday, 13 October 2011 has this caption: Illiteracy rate in Nigeria is 56.9 percent. The Vice Chancellor of University of Ilorin was reported in the newspaper saying that the illiteracy rate in the country has climbed up to 56.9 percent of the total population in Nigeria. Further in the online Vanguard newspaper of April 19, 2012 it was reported that: “At present, Nigeria has over 60 million illiterates. These are people without the basic literary skills to contribute meaningfully to national development.”

It can be gleaned from the above facts that a majority of Nigerians are illiterates. There is no gain saying that this has impacted negatively on all the facets of her developmental efforts and goals. There is no doubt that literacy helps to foster development and improve the living standards of a society. The higher literacy rate means that the level of productivity and awareness in a country will increase. Illiteracy not only creates unemployment, it makes millions, without formal education and skills, become unemployable for life. Analysts have argued that the problem of militancy in the Niger Delta region, prostitution, child trafficking, and terrorism are all consequences of the growing illiteracy level across the country.

Louis Kossuth enthused several years back that “It is on sound education of the people that the security and destiny of every nation chiefly rests.” I had earlier emphasized the importance of having a blueprint for development. This necessarily involves an engagement of the mind, which is impossible where the mind is not trained to develop its analytical capabilities.

Crime/terrorism Most Nigerians live in palpable fear and in the face of real threats to life, limb and property. The reason for this is not far-fetched. Nigeria is ranked 6th among the 10 most dangerous African countries to live in, ahead of Ethiopia, Burundi, Zimbabwe and Chad. According

to the Global Peace Index, developed by the Research Institute of Economics and Peace, the ranking is based on countries most affected by war, terrorism, political instability, regular violence etc. This was reported over the electronic media on Friday, 29th June, 2012 by Channels TV and published on its website.

We are all familiar with the usual moulds of crime, which range from theft and burglary to the more serious and heinous crimes of armed robbery and murder. Of course, we have also the prevalent ‘white-collar crimes,’ which border mainly on corruption. There is no gainsaying the fact that our law-enforcement agents, the Judiciary and Penitentiary have all struggled to cope with the magnitude of the problem. It is in the light of this that the nation now has to grapple with the emerging threat of terrorism. While the rest of the world identified terrorism as a real threat following the multiple attacks on the United States of America on the 11th of September, 2001, Nigeria did not wake up to this reality until the recent Boko Haram insurgency in the north of the country.

Crime and terrorism is co-terminus. They share a lot in common and can be seen as one and the other. Looked at in a different way, terrorism can be seen as a component of crime.

The Black’s Law Dictionary[66] defines crime as an act that the law makes punishable; the breach of a legal duty treated as the subjectmatter of a criminal proceeding. The Court of Appeal in Odon v Barigha - Amange (No. 2) defined Crime in these words: “A crime is an offence which is punished by law or activities that involve breaking the law or prohibited by the law. It is an act that the law makes punishable, or the breach of a legal duty treated as the subject matter of criminal proceedings.”

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act 2004[69] defines terrorism as follows: “Terrorism” means (a) any act which is a violation of the Criminal Code or the Penal Code and which may endanger the life, physical integrity or freedom of, or cause serious injury or death to, any person, any number or group of persons or causes or may cause damage to public property, natural resources, environmental or cultural heritage and is calculated or intended to • intimidate, put in fear, force, coerce, or induce any government, body, institution, the general public or any segment thereof, to do or abstain from doing any act or to adopt or abandon a particular standpoint, or to act according to certain principles, or • disrupt any public service, the delivery of any essential service to the public or to create a public emergency, or (b) create general insurrection in a state; • any promotion, sponsorship of, contribution to, command, aid incitement, encouragement, attempt threat, conspiracy, organization or procurement of any person, with the intent to commit any act referred to in paragraph (a) (i), (ii) and (iii).

The recently enacted Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011 defines act of terrorism in section 1(2) as follows: In this section, “act of terrorism” means an act which is deliberately done with malice, aforethought and which: (a) may seriously harm or damage a country or an international organization; (b) is intended or can reasonably be regarded as having been intended to— • unduly compel a government or international organization to perform or abstain from performing any act; • seriously intimidate a population; • seriously destabilize or destroy the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an international organization; or • otherwise influence such government or international organization by intimidation or

The reality on grim poverty in the North is stark. Of the 100 million Nigerians living in ‘absolute poverty’ those who can afford only bare essential of food, shelter and clothing – the majority reside in the Northern States. The Northwest has the highest poverty rate with 70 percent of its people living below $1 per day. The North-East follows with 69 percent and the North-Central with 59.5 percent. The three Southern Zones have no cause to rejoice either as poverty level there ranges between 49.8 percent and 58.7 percent.

coercion; and • involves or causes, as the case may be— • an attack upon a person’s life which may cause serious bodily harm or death; • kidnapping of a person; • destruction to a Government or public facility, a transport system, an infrastructure facility, including an information system, a fixed platform located on the continental shelf, a public place or private property, likely to endanger human life or result in major economic loss; • the seizure of an aircraft, ship or other means of public or goods transport and diversion or the use of such means of transportation for any of the purposes in paragraph (b)(iv) of this subsection; • the manufacture, possession, acquisition, transport, supply or use of weapons, explosives or of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, as well as research into, and development of biological and chemical weapons without lawful authority; • the release of dangerous substances or causing of fire, explosions or floods, the effect of which is to endanger human life; • interference with or disruption of the supply of water, power or any other fundamental natural resource, the effect of which is to endanger human life.

Terrorism in Nigeria takes different forms ranging from kidnapping to economic sabotage to the carnage that has now become a regular feature of our news. In a recent lecture I delivered titled “Nigeria: A Country in search of a Birth Certificate” I did a summary of the gory and horrendous news we read and hear everyday: On October, 1, 2010 as reported in the Punch newspaper of October 2, 2010, 14 people were killed while 66 injured in what was termed “Golden Jubilee Bombings.”, On page 7 of ThisDay newspaper of June 27, 2011 was a story titled “25 killed in Bomb Blast Attack at Maiduguri”, the cover story of the Saturday Tribune newspaper of 27th August, 2011 was titled “Abuja UN Building Bombed ... 18 Killed, Several Others on Danger List.

Boko Haram Claims Responsibility Threatens to Launch More Attacks after Ramadan.”

The same Tribune in its edition of 9th April, 2011 had these front page caption “INEC Office Bombed. 25 killed. 17 Corps Members Involved. ThisDay newspaper of December 26, 2011 came out with this front page headline “Nigeria’s Blackest Christmas ...... Ever!”

“I heard a deafening noise which shook the foundation of the church building ... I saw one of the victims beckoning for help moments before he slumped and died,” Inside the Madalla Blasts.” The Sun newspaper of May 4, 2012 had this front page alarming caption “60 killed as Gunmen attacked market.”, while the Nation newspaper of April 28, 2012 had this story on page 28 titled “Kidnappers kill exlawmaker’s daughter, injure wife in Anambra.”

In the Sunday Tribune of 22nd July, 2011 was also this caption “Over 100 dead in Kaduna blast.”, The Punch newspaper of Friday, April 27, 2012 as well as all the national newspaper reported the twin bomb attacks that rocked media houses (THISDAY) in Abuja and Kaduna; in the Sunday Sun of 22nd January, 2012, particularly on page 11 was this story titled “Corpses litter Kano as Boko Haram invades Barracks kills Policemen”, in the Daily Sun newspaper of Monday, April 9, 2012 was this horrifying headline “Bloody Easter; Suicide Bomber killed 40 in Kaduna, 20 injured, church, houses, hotels, vehicles blown up, SSS kills 2 gunmen in Bauchi.” The editorial opinion of the Guardian newspaper of October 3, 2011 was in respect of 15 children kidnapped in Abia State. The first paragraph reads: “The violence visited on 15 kidnapped school children in Abia State, all ages under 10, in a week of the country’s golden jubilee anniversary is a tragic, irony as well as manifestation of national crisis that the Federal Government must tackle with every resource at its disposal.

The children have now been released by their abductors, but the current desperate security situation in the country demands more concerted action on the part of the authorities to protect the people’s right to human dignity.”

I can go on and on to the point of the recent mindless massacre in Plateau State, but I will spare you the gory details of this now-toofamiliar headlines. While those who perpetrate these dastardly acts remain faceless, but are generically classed as Boko Haram, it is clear that the authorities are at a loss as to how exactly to tackle the menace. Slowly, but surely, terrorism is taking it toll on the Nigerian economy in general, and the economy of the northern states in particular.

• To be continued

53

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

STATE GOVERNMENT OF OSUN Ipinle Omoluabi

O-REAP YOUTH ACADEMY PARTICIPANTS OYAN FARM CENTRE ODO-OTIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA S/NO NAMES 1.

Adeyemo M.A. 2.

Adeleke Emmanuel Sunday 3.

Oyelade Samuel T. 4.

Ganiyu Rasheed O. 5.

Omotoso Morufu Kayode 6.

Raji Omoniyi Kehinde 7.

Olarinde Seth O. 8.

Enoch Sunday N. 9.

Adegbite Wasiu A. 10.

Ojeniran Soliu A. 11.

Adeyemo Sunday B. 12.

Adeyemo Damilola S. 13.

Abioye Awolowo J. 14.

Adeleke Adeola 15.

Jimoh Musiliyu 16.

Olaotan Joseph Abiodun 17.

Adeyemi Taofeed A. 18.

Adepoju Zainab Nike

13 14 15 16 17 18.

19

Adebayo Julius K. Aina Sunday Ogunwale Tajudeen Afolabi Babatunde Alimi Basirat Lawal Fatimo Adewale Adeniyi

KEREDOLU, ILE-IFE FARM CENTRE IFE CENTRAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA S/NO NAMES 1.

Orewole Latifat 2.

Awojoodu Rasaq 3.

Isola Ayoola 4 Aseperi Oluwakemi 5 Jeje Oluwatoyin 6 Shittu Ismaila 7 Akindoyin Abiola 8 Adefioye Rebecca 9 Fatunmise Nike 10 Oguntayo Afusat OYAN FARM CENTRE 11 Adeniji Selimot IFELODUN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 12 Obayemi Adefunke S/NO NAMES 13 Ololade Olatokunbo 1.

Aderemi Segun 14 Adedini Kemi 2.

Adepoju Isiaka O. 15 Arewa Mukhail Taiwo 3 Kazeem Sakirat O. 16 Olasode Joseph 4 Taiwo Muideen O. 17 Mobolaji Adeolu S. 5 Salako Yisa KEREDOLU, ILE-IFE FARM CENTRE 6 Salawu Fatai O. IFE EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 7 Ajibade Olatunji G. S/NO NAMES 8 Olutoye Taofeek 1.

Ezekiel Omisakin 9 Adegboyega Rashidat 2.

Adedamola Adekunle 10 Lateef Rukayat D. 3.

Adebamiji Mufutau 11 Onisabi Nurat A. 4.

Akopi Comfort 12 Oladimeji Suliyat 5.

Awofisayo Safiriyu 13 Kareem Rasheed A. 6.

Omisade Seun 14 Kareem Jamiu 7 Adefisan Olufemi 15 Afolabi Taofeek 8.

Adebayo Funmilayo 16 Oyekunle Rukayat 9.

Yusuf Olayinka 17 Oseni Lukman 10.

Aworefa Emmanuel 18 Lamidi Moruf 11.

Olubobade Damilola 19 Isiaka Ganiyu 12.

Jegede Hakeem 20 Jimoh Wasiu 13.

Makinde Olalekan OYAN FARM CENTRE 14.

Ayoola Tejumade BORIPE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 15.

Alice Ibidayo S/NO NAMES 16.

Aduku Mary 1.

Afolabi Lateef 17.

Oriade Fatai 2.

Adebayo Taofeek 18.

Adefisayo Saheed 3.

Oseni Nurudeen 19 Ogundare Dele A. 4.

Fagbile Oludare 20 Olowe Mayowa T. 5.

Odeyemi Adetunji A. 6.

Babatunde Tajudeen KEREDOLU, ILE-IFE FARM CENTRE 7.

Odunadi Rafiu O. IFE SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 8.

Babatunde Tope A. S/NO NAMES 9.

Fadugba Rasheed A. 1.

Adeola Samuel 10.

Yakubu T. usman 2.

Oyebade Simeon 11.

Agboola Olaitan I. 3.

Adedire Lydia 12.

Oyeniyi Simiyu B. 4.

Sulaiman Isiaka 13.

Tiamiyu Ramoni A. 5.

Okunola Mujidat 14.

Olayemi Saheed 6.

Adeosun Adewale 15.

Ayandosu Asimiyu A. 7.

Adebiyi Ademola 16.

Kolapo Samson O. 8.

Afolabi Olalekan 17.

Aliyu Saheed I. 9.

Awodire Samuel 18.

Popoola Isiaka O. 10.

Kareem Saheed 19.

Adeyeye Gafari 11.

Lawal Omotoso 20.

Ademola Ganiyat K. 12.

Adebambo Felix ILA FARM CENTRE 13.

Aderemi Kemi ILA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 14.

Bakare Akeem S/NO NAMES KEREDOLU, ILE-IFE FARM CENTRE 1.

Kareem Rafiu IFE NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 2.

Ademola Nurudeen S/NO NAMES 3.

Abdul Azeez Haolat 1.

Olanrewaju Simeon 4.

Jolayemi Elizabeth 2.

Olatoye Kazeem 5.

Poopoola Funmilola 3.

Olabayo Nurudeen 6.

Kareem Kamorudeen 4.

Adetunji Adeboye 7.

Adeyemi Adeyinka 5 Ogundele Ayobami 8.

Azeez Lateefat 6 Oyeniyi Joseph 9.

Adebisi Rashidat 7 Oyeniyi Timothy 10.

Idowu Omolara 8 Ojo Johnson 11.

Bamidele Wasiu 9 Olayioye Adeboye 12.

Oke David 10 Adeniji Bolaji 13.

Awolowo Azeez 11 Ojeleye Lydia 14.

Adebisi Kayode 12 Alabi Isiaka 15.

Adebisi Kazeem 13 Kehinde Idowu Temitope 16.

Adetoyi Muftau 14 Babatunde Olusakin 17.

Bajepade Wahab A. 15 Akinlabi Kemi 18.

Iyanda Yinusa 16 Oyerinde Sunday 19.

Azeez Wasiu 17 Ogundele Kehinde 20.

Dare Rhoda Omolade 18 Akinrinade Hezekiah ILA FARM CENTRE 19 Adebayo Sunday IFEDAYO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 20 Ojeyemi Isaac S/NO NAMES WAASINMI FARM CENTRE 1.

Jolayemi Segun M. IREWOLE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA 2.

Ajiboye Samuel A. S/NO NAMES 3.

Adeoye Abiodun 1.

Mumini Abiodun S. 4.

Odeyide Joseph O. 2.

Abubaka Abdulahi 5.

Ogunleye Funmilola 3.

Ganiyu Raheed 6.

Oyinloye Oyinlola A. 4.

Quadri Adijat 7.

Ayanlowo Ayanleke 5.

Olaniyi Anthony 8.

Ibitoye Adekunle 6.

Abass Kolawole O. 9.

Afolayan Motunrayo 7.

Olufemi Mary 10.

Ige Adebayo 8.

Ogunlabi Musa O. 11.

Daniel Stephen S. 9.

Ojeniyi Akeem O. 12.

Afolayan Kikelomo 10.

Oguneeye Azeez A. 13.

Taiwo Adefunke T. 11.

Mustapha Sodiq A. 14.

Abikoye Seun 12.

Akinbade Saleem 15.

Adeniyi Gboyega 13.

Olaniyan Aderibigbe O. 16.

Jamiyu Ismail O. 14.

Okoro Sunday 17.

Yusuf Jamiyu K. 15.

Gabriel Isiah 18.

Bamidele Muda 16.

Fiade Sadiat 19.

Lawal Ismail 17.

Odetola Afeez 20.

Odeyemi Samuel A.

S/NO. 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

NAMES Rahaman Raufu Oyebamiji Mutiat Ibitowa Jelili Ajibola Siyanbola Adebisi Isaal Sangolade Adelowo Amoo Abdullahi Hassan Akeem Idris Abidemi Adeleke AZeez Folajin Jimoh Hammed Muritala Adejumo Adeniyi Oyedokun Kehinde Ismail Kamaideen Alagbe Kazeem A.

EDE FARM CENTER EGBEDORE LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/NO. NAMES 1.

Kehinde Foluke 2.

Adewole Adenike 3.

Ajayi Joshua 4.

Fagbemi Jelili 5.

Falola Opeyemi 6.

Agboola Charles 7.

Jokotola Olusegun 8.

Akinloye Babatunde 9.

Ojekale Mudasiru 10.

Oyelekan Ayandokun 11.

Adiatllahi Kamorudeen 12.

Ayanlola Aderonke EDE FARM CENTER EDE NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/NO. NAMES 1.

Kareem Lukuman 2.

Dauda Wasiu 3.

Oyelola Wasiu 4.

Olapade Monsuru 5.

Oladejo Lateefat 6.

Lawal Nurudeen 7.

Adekunle Jimoh 8.

Adediran Akeem 9.

Adesola Babatunde 10.

Rasheed Rasaki 11.

Abd Rahaman Hammed 12.

Solomon Florence 13.

Alabi Mufutau 14.

Akanni Owayemi 15.

Adediran Akeem B. 16.

Raheem Rukayat 17.

Olajinmi Jamiu O. 18.

Fatai Hafiz Adeyemi 19.

Adebayo Janet M. EDE FARM CENTER EDE SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/NO. NAMES 1.

Aderibigbe Ayoola 2.

Idowu Ruth 3.

Lawal Muinat 4.

Ogunbola Olajumoke 5.

Soliu Iyabo 6.

Samuel Titilayo 7.

Omobiyi Toyosi 8.

Oloyede Oluwakemi 9.

Ajayi Omolara 10.

Adisa Rukayat 11.

Okunloye Saliat 12.

Fele Tawakalitu 13.

Adekunle Omowunmi 14.

Adeeyo Semiu 15.

Lawal Habib 16.

Abiodun Bilikisu 17.

Olagunju Wobilat 18.

Lateef Adetunji 19.

Jimoh Taofeek 20.

Iwayemi Janet O KELEBE FARM CENTER OROLU LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/NO. NAMES 1.

Olaore Yekeen 2.

Akinlola Musibau 3.

Olalule Abdullahi 4.

Taiwo Grace O. 5.

Rabiu Semiu 6.

Akinyooye Dele 7.

Omotosho Judge 8.

Akintayo Kehinde 9.

Olaniyi Kazeem 10.

Afolabi Temitope 11.

Sheu Taiwo Hassan 12.

Muritala Jamiu 13.

Olaniyan Nurudeen 14.

Azeez Mumini 15.

Adedeji Seyi 16.

Adewale Odunola 17.

Rasheed Rilwat 18.

Raheem Lateef Aderemi 19.

Bakare Mohammed 20.

Olaniyan Kazeem

KELEBE FARM CENTER OSOGBO LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/NO. NAMES 1.

Major J.A. Babalola 2.

ADelu Wasiu 3.

Adebisi David 4.

Ade Abdul Akeem 5.

Yusuf Rukayat 6.

Adegbemile Sunday 7.

Adebisi Funmil;ayo 8.

Ibrahim Modinat 9.

Bilawu Ganiyu 10.

Agboola Kamoru ILA FARM CENTRE WAASINMI FARM CENTRE 11.

Kadiri Sadiat BOLUWADURO LOCAL GOVERNMENT IFE AREA OFFICE LOCAL GOVERNMENT 12.

Faremi Rachael AREA S/NO NAMES 13.

Ojo Adeleye S/NO NAMES 1.

Oderanti C. Olajide 14.

Oyekanmi Ismail 1.

Oyetunji Femi 2.

Olaleke Lawrence 15.

Sanusi Rukayat 2.

Ponle Abidemi 3.

Olaniyan O. Mathew 16.

Aboyeji T. Deborah 3.

Ajeigbe Thomas 4.

Taiwo Ejiwumi D. 17.

Akano Olaniyi 4 Sangotayo Taiwo J. 5.

Fadare Tolulope 18.

Olaseeni Korede 5 Adegbite Yinka S. 6.

Olayinka Abass 19.

Raji Rasheedat A. 6 Adu Temitope 7.

Akande Biola B. KELEBE FARM CENTER 7 Omilana Elusola 8.

Oladunjoye Tolulope OLORUNDA LOCAL GOVERNMENT 8 Awodele Omowumi 9.

Onigbinde Ruben O. S/NO. NAMES 9 Ilori Ezekiel A. 10.

Komolafe Comfort A. 1.

Hussein Adetokunbo 10 Babajide Toyin EDE FARM CENTER 2.

Salawudeen Morufu 11 Aina Olusola Peter EJIGBO LOCAL GOVERNMENT 3.

Oru Alimot 12 Durosinmi Samuel

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Ogbu Lawrence Adegboye Olatunde Aregbesola Bashiru Azeez Ismail Adegoke Abosede Ibrahim Babatunde Adejumo Opeyemi Oladejo Wakeel Adeyemi Toyin Abd Salami Muritala Aderemi Adebowale Mary Ogedengbe Busayo Cateune Johnso Oyetunji Afeez Ajibola Sule Olajide Janet.

Rafiu Kazeem

KELEBE FARM CENTER IREPODUN LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/NO. NAMES 1.

Ayanwale Mikail 2.

Alabi Hassan Kehinde 3.

Oke Olusola Robson ILE OGBO FARM CENTER AYEDIRE LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/NO. NAMES 1.

Akinkunli Abiola 2.

Sangogbenro Liadi 3.

Ali Rukayat O. 4.

Totoola Saheed 5.

Oyewole Olufemi 6.

Lateef Nureni 7.

Odelade Kadijat 8.

Waheed Oyesiji 9.

Lasisi Yusuf 10.

Oyatundi Rufus 11.

Gbadamosi Mamudat 12.

Adeniji Kamilu 13.

Ganiyu Abideen 14.

Adedeji Musa A. 15.

Odetunde Elijah 16.

Yekeen Musirafa 17.

Asiyanbola Alira 18.

Ogundeji Banjo 19.

Oyatunde Olabisi 20.

ILE OGBO FARM CENTER OLAOLUWA LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/NO. NAMES 1.

Muraina Mumini 2.

Oyeniran Isiaka 3.

Yekeen Yunus 4.

Oyekola Taiwo M. 5.

Oyelakun Oyeyinka 6.

Amusan Adeleye 7.

Sulaimon Akeem A. 8.

Amusan Akinware 9.

Amusan Fredric 10.

Rabiu Ridwan Oyeniran 11.

Faboye Sunday 12.

IKYO Celestine 13.

Oladeji Ambali A. 14.

Bamiji Michael A. 15.

Omolaoye Nurein A. 16.

Babatunde Adekunle ILE OGBO FARM CENTER IWO LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/NO. NAMES 1.

Adewole Lanre Joshua 2.

Rabiu A. Adewale 3.

Tijani Iyabo Kaleat 4.

Hammed Aderonke M. 5.

Adesiji Adekunle B. 6.

Abdul Rasaq Michael 7.

Ogunmodede O. Simeon 8.

Adeoti Morufat 9.

Oladipo Akintunde A. 10.

Akintunde Olutoyin A. 11.

Asafa Abdul Muhayin 12.

Olaniyi Nurudeen A. 13.

Rasaki Sauda A. 14.

Najeem Ganiyat O. 15.

Yekini Idayat Omolara 16.

Akinola Kazeem Oyedele 17.

Azeez Muritala Ola Olalekan 18.

Fawumi Olusoji Idowu 19.

Oyebamiji Ojo M. 20.

Akinlawon ESA-ODO FARM CENTER ORIADE LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/N NAMES 1.

Idowu Segun O. 2.

Oluwadare A. Afolabi 3.

Aderemi Adedayo 4.

Peter Samuel 5.

Fapojuwo Adewale 6.

Oyedeji Isreal 7.

Igbigbesie John 8.

Adeyemi Temidayo T. 9.

Amusa Kazeem K. 10.

Tiamiyu Sabitu B. 11.

Gbadeyan J. Oloruntoba 12.

Ajibade Adenike O. 13.

Alao Babatope S. 14.

Omilana Bose J. 15.

Jegede Titilayo 16.

Adeleke Sunday S. 17.

Opejobi Taiwo O. 18.

Fayipe Ajibola B. 19.

Ademikore Kehinde A. 20.

ESA ODO FARM CENTER OBOKUN LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/NO. NAME 1.

Oguntegbe Modupe 2.

Falope Yemisi A. 3.

Adeyolanu Janet K. 4.

Yisa Lateef 5.

Temitope Jacob K. 6.

Ojo Oluwafunke 7.

Arabambi Kehinde 8.

Jimoh Olanike 9.

Ilori Oluwaseun 10.

Eso Iseoluwa 11.

Onikanni Ajibola Ayo 12.

Ilyas Kazeem Ayinla 13.

Dagunduro Folasade B. 14.

Ola Oluwayomi.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

Taiwo Oluwabunmi Awoniyi Oluwaponmile Oyeniyi Atinuke Ojiwusi Saliu S. Oguntunji Odunayo B.

ILESA FARM CENTER ILESA WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/NO. NAME 1.

Olabode Mathew 2.

Oyedepo Oluwadusin 3.

Owopetu Titilope 4.

Ariyikaye Grace O. 5.

Odetoye Ayodeji E 6.

Okeowo Yetunde I 7.

Agboola Omolara 8.

Adejuyigbe Omolara 9.

Makinde Magret 10.

Adebisi Yetunde 11.

Asepari Paul A. 12.

Famokunwa Tolulope 13.

Adegoke Adewunmi.

14.

Asaolu Folashade 15.

Obembe Olatunde 16.

Oyebayo Olawale S. 17.

Ojo Olalekan O. 18.

Adetunbeni Taiwo A. 19.

Tayo Taiwo 20.

Ogunleye Olabisi ILESA FARM CENTER ILESA EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/NO. NAME 1.

Adebiyi Sunday A. 2.

Ayeni Dupe K. 3.

Ayodele Lanke Jumoke 4.

Ayodele Ojo Seun 5.

Ayodele Oludare Seun 6.

Ethe Henry O. 7.

Obaya P. Adesunloye 8.

Ogunniyi Olubukola 9.

Olukoya Ebenezer B. 10.

Ajifolokun Adekanmi 11.

Owoeye Paul O. 12.

Jegede Olanike Veronica 13.

Eso Janet Oluwayimi 14.

Folorunso Bosede Bukky 15.

Abe Julius Bunmi 16.

Falomo Idowu O. 17.

Oluwasanmi Bukela 18.

Aluko Mary Oluwakemi 19.

Oguntoke Seun Roseline 20.

Adebanji Abiodun Samuel ILESA FARM CENTER ATAKUNMOSA EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/NO. NAME 1.

Olalere Abdulfatai 2.

Oladejo Olawale J. 3.

Oluyemi Folasade O. 4.

Ojo Festus Idowu 5.

Ojo Joseph M. 6.

Ojo Olaniyi 7.

Ogunleye Abosede 8.

Oluwasuyi Olaosebikan 9.

Ogunleye Tosin 10.

Bewaji Felix O. 11.

Azeez Jakirat F. 12.

Aribilola Folasade 13.

Oke Abiodun O. 14.

Adeniyi Elijah S. 15.

Komolafe Funso 16.

Ayeni Samson 17.

Oladiran Idowu R. 18.

Ojo Olumide 19.

Olukitibi Isaac 20.

Sokunbi Omowumi ILESA FARM CENTER ATAKUNMOSA WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/NO. NAME 1.

John Salem 2.

Sunday Adejoh 3.

Olatunbosun Abiodun 4.

Olajide Joseph 5.

Adedeji Adekemi T. 6.

Olaniyan Ismaila 7.

Ibitoye Folorunso Samuel 8.

Moses Caroline 9.

Oladosu Raseed 10.

Ajayi Mopelola E. 11.

Adelugbin Mujairu A. 12.

Akilapa Omoniyi E 13.

Aderele Bola WASINMI FARM CENTER ISOKAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/NO. NAME 1.

Akiije Adegoke 2.

Adedeji Adekunle 3.

Nafiu Oladoyo H 4.

Oyedeji Folake E 5.

Sani Bukoye A. 6.

Babatunde Kemi 7.

Ariyo Bukola M 8.

Olalekan Sefiu O. 9.

Oladeji Olure 10.

Aderoomu Bose 11.

Oyewole Bukola 12.

Ariyo Bola 13.

Aransi Folasade 14.

Ajisafe Rachael 15.

Gbemisoye Waliyat WASINMI FARM CENTER AYEDAADE LOCAL GOVERNMENT S/NO. NAME 1.

Alade Odesanmi 2.

Ajibade Gideon 3.

Amusan Tajudeen 4.

Ayoola Sunday 5.

Sabitu Wasiu 6.

Oke Gafar 7.

Habeeb Tirimisiyu 8.

Ojo Omotayo A. 9.

Ayandiran Omoniyi 10.

Akinpelu Olugbemi 11.

Olayiwola Jimoh 12.

Lasisi Afera 13.

Adeojo Abiodun 14.

Fasanya Adekemi 15.

Ogundare Michael

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

54

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 15-8-12

High-cap stocks sustain downtrend at NSE

T

HE Nigerian Stock Exchange’s benchmark index declined for the second day in a row, shaving off N5 billion from market capitalisation.

Midweek’s downtrend was sustained by further losses recorded by Dangote Cement, Guaranty Trust Bank, Nigerian Breweries, Zenith Bank, Access Bank and Lafarge WAPCO. The All-Share-Index (ASI) dropped by 0.09 per cent to close at 23,105.05 points. Market capitalisation of all listed equities declined by N5 billion, to close at N7.355 trillion.

However, investors traded 231.981 million shares worth N1.647 billion in 3,757 deals.

By Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

The financial services sector retained the lead as the most sought after with 176.874 million shares worth N1.257 billion in 2,168 deals.

The ICT sector followed with 13.505 million shares worth N6.817 million in 16 deals.

Other actively traded sectors were the conglomerates, consumer goods, industrial goods and oil & gas with 11.901 million shares, 10.836 million shares, 7.621 million shares and 6.813 million shares.

On price movement, a total of 41 equities recorded price changes with 17 appreciating

while the remaining 24 reduced in value. International Breweries led the gainers with a price increase of N0.31 to close at N6.61 followed by Longman with a value increase of N0.09 to close at N1.94.

Also on the table were Ikeja Hotel, UTC, Evans Medical, AG Leventist, Honeywell Flour, Wapic insurance, Livestocks and First Bank.

On the flip side, Berger Paint led the table with a drop of N0.36 to close at N6.93 followed

by Red Star Express with a price drop of N0.13 to close at N2.62.

Also on the table were Continental Insurance, Mobil, CCNN, Eterna Oil and Gas, Piant Company, Skye Bank, Diamond Bank and RT Briscoe.

NAHCO’s half year profit drops

T

HE Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO aviance) has mapped out strategies to grow its income base in the second half of the year after a dip in profit occasioned by operational disruptions in the first part of the fiscal year.

Though, the first quarter of the year is usually the lowest season in the Aviation industry, the company in a statement said it lost about 30 days to strikes in its cargo operations due to disagreements between licensed cargo

agents and Customs Service as well as with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.

“Parts of the Cargo section, which is the company’s revenue basket, were also shut down early in the year to accommodate the construction of the new warehouse.

“In the last two years, there have been massive investments in facilities and equipment. So far, $40 million has been spent on the company’s ultramodern warehouse and fleets of Ground Support Equipment totalling

325,” the company said.

The firm said it also responded to the heightened security challenge by investing in bomb/explosive detection machines and CCTV surveillance system.

The management of NAHCO aviance said it was thrilled by the investments in the GSEs and the warehouse, which have capacity for cargo regional hub, and is poised to translate them into improved performance and higher returns as the industry moves into high activity season in the second half of the year.

“The company’s subsidiary, Nahco Energy and Power Ltd has been pre-qualified for the privatisation of the country’s Power sector, while the Nahco FTZ Nigeria Limited is expected to stimulate economic activities at the nation’s airports,” the statement said.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 15-8-12

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

55

MONEY LINK

Foreign reserves record $460m inflows

N

IGERIA’S foreign reserves swelled by $460 million within seven days, pushing to $36.81 billion the cumulative reserves of the nation as at August 14, 2012.

The reserves, which stood at $36.35 billion on August 7; rose to $36.41 in August 8; $36.46 in August 9 and $36.51 in August 10.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) website showed that the buildup continued in August 13 as the reserves inched up to $36.69 and rose to $36.81 in August 14, completing a one week cycle of consistent gains.

By Collins Nweze

The reserves also opened the month at $36.5 billion in August 1. The apex bank had consistently maintained that inflow into the reserves was not consistent with the oil prices and, this underscore the need for tighter fiscal controls around oil revenues.

The foreign currency reserves stood at $37 billion as at July 4, 2010, and were up to $68 billion in August 2008 before the global financial crises impacted negatively on it.

Analysts at Afrinvest said the CBN needs to build up adequate external reserves to satisfy the genuine needs for for-

eign exchange as such is consistent with the increase in the growth in economic activity. It will equally assist in conserving resources and withstanding external shocks.

The apex bank has also said there was urgent need to pursue policies that would foster macro-economic stability, economic diversification as well as encouraging foreign capital inflows.

It said a higher rate of retention of oil revenues should facilitate the efforts at maintaining exchange rate stability as an antidote to imported inflation without excessive reliance on monetary tightening measures.

Meanwhile, apex bank has in the last one week, sold $465.9 million forex at the bi-weekly Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS). The sales cover WDAS transactions conducted on August 8 and 13th.

On August 13, the CBN offered $180 million but sold $147.2 million at a marginal rate of N155.83 to a dollar and a weighted average rate of N155.87 to a dollar.

The highest bid rate was N155.90 to a dollar while the lowest was N155.83 to a dollar.

All the 15 participating banks at the auction were successful.

Also, on August 8, the CBN offered $350 million but sold

$318.7 million at a marginal rate of N155.83 to a dollar and a weighted average rate of N155.90 to a dollar. The highest bid rate was N155.93 to a dollar while the lowest was N155.83 to a dollar. All the 17 participating banks at the auction were successful.

Analysts predicted that the money market rates will rise this week, as liquidity levels remain tight.

It said that cost of funds in the money market jumped across board last week, as debits for WDAS and T-Bills auctions out weighted a T-Bill maturity of N224 billion.

‘Free Trade Zones prone to money laundering’

T

HE Director-General, Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (GIABA), Dr Abdullahi Shehu has advised the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the need to forestall the usage of free trade zones for money laundering activities.

Speaking during a workshop with the theme: Anti-Money Laundering Through Free

T

HE Financial Institions Training Centre (FITC) has been conferred with the West African award for Training Excellence and Innovative Services, by Aspire West Africa, a leading sub regional magazine.

The award according to a statement, was given to the institute in collaboration with the West African Nobles and

By Akinola Ajibade

Trade Zones (FTZs) in Lagos, Shehu said launderers were using such avenues to carry out their acts and other illegal activities.

He said the standards, and regulations governing FTZs have not kept pace with these developments, stressing that money launderers leveraged on this to carry out their nefarious activities.

tion of weapons of mass destruction.”

Shehu said the identified deficiencies in the AML regimes of member states call for common and coordinated action by all ECOWAS countries.

He added that the low level of compliance to the FATF Standards by GIABA member States is reminiscence of the environmental peculiarities of the region.

He said: “As a result, illicit actors have been able to take advantage the vulnerability of FTZs to launder the proceeds of crime. It is therefore of urgent need for FTZs to be kept abreast of their responsibilities in implementing AML/CFT regimes within their operational zones to prevent the misuse of FTZs as a conduit for money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing of prolifera-

FITC gets recognition for training excellence Top Entrepreneurs Forum, a network of leading entrepreneurs.

According to Theophilus Enyali, Executive Secretary of Aspire West Africa, the award winners were selected on their ability to operate sustainable and innovative businesses and demonstrate excellence in key

areas including return on investment and growth, longterm strategy execution, while making a contribution to the community and the sub-region.

FITC Managing Director, Mrs Lucy Newman, who was represented by the Institution’s Head of Training, Mr Tunji

Ajiboye, expressed her appreciation for the award.

Newman said the award confirmed the effectiveness of some of the programmes the institute has been implementing especially in recent years, within the region are being noticed and appreciated by stakeholders.

FGN BONDS Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year 5-Year

35m 35m 35m

11.039 12.23 13.19

19-05-2014 18-05-2016 19-05-2016

Amount Amount Offered ($) Demanded ($) 350m 150m 350m 138m 350m 113m

Price Loss 2754.67 447.80

INTERBANK RATES 7.9-10% 10-11%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day 1-Year

Amount 30m 46.7m 50m

Rate % 10.96 9.62 12.34

Date 28-04-2012 “ 14-04-2012

GAINERS AS AT 15-8-12 SYMBOL

INTBREW LONGMAN IKEJAHOTEL UTC EVANSMED AGLEVENT HONYFLOUR WAPIC LIVESTOCK FIRSTBANK

O/PRICE

6.30 1.85 1.07 0.88 1.10 1.15 1.90 0.51 1.33 12.10

C/PRICE

6.61 1.94 1.12 0.92 1.15 1.20 1.98 0.53 1.37 12.37

NGN USD NGN GBP NGN EUR NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N) (S/N) Bureau de Change (S/N) Parallel Market

Current Before

C/PRICE 6.93 2.62 0.63 115.51 4.30 2.35 2.20 2.67 2.56 1.65

CHANGE 0.36 0.13 0.03 4.98 0.19 0.10 0.09 0.10 0.09 0.05

Exchange Rate (N) 155.2 155.8 155.7

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

147.6000 239.4810 212.4997

149.7100 244.0123 207.9023

150.7100 245.6422 209.2910

-2.11 -2.57 -1.51

149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

152.0000

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

153.0000

154.0000

156.0000

-1.96

DISCOUNT WINDOW Feb. ’11

July ’11

Dec ’11

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

12%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate Inflation Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00% 12.10%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00% 12.10%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00% 12.6%

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days 150 Days

NSE CAP Index

27-10-11 N6.5236tr 20,607.37

Date 2-7-12 27-6-12 22-6-12

Rate (Previous) 4 Mar, 2012 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917 12.1250

Rate (Currency) 6, Mar, 2012 10.17% 11.46% 11.96% 12.54%

28-10-11 N6.617tr 20,903.16

% Change -1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

CHANGE

0.31 0.09 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.08 0.02 0.04 0.27

Amount Sold ($) 150m 138m 113m

CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Year Start Offer

LOSERS AS AT 15-8-12

SYMBOL O/PRICE BERGER 7.29 REDSTAREX 2.75 CONTINSURE 0.66 MOBIL 116.49 CCNN 4.49 ETERNA 2.45 PAINTCOM 2.29 SKYEBANK 2.77 DIAMONDBNK 2.65 RTBRISCOE 1.70

By Joseph Jibueze

merit in the application and granted the orders as prayed pending the determination of the substantive suit.

AMCON was permitted to take possession of the properties located in Ajao Estate, Mushin, Somolu and Ejigbo areas in Lagos State.

The properties include a duplex in Ajao Estate said to be occupied by the debtor, a duplex in Shomolu and a Plaza at Ladipo, Mushin Local Government Area, housing over 50 shops and offices.

Meanwhile, American Specification Autos has urged the court to set the order aside.

Hearing in the firm’s application will come up today.

AMCON is a creation of the government in response to recent near collapse of Nigeria’s financial sector.

EXHANGE RATE 6-03-12 Currency

OBB Rate Call Rate

FEDERAL High Court, Lagos, has granted an order permitting the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to take possession of prime assets and properties of one of its debtors.

The alleged debtor is American Specification Autos Limited, whose Managing Director is Chief Felix Amaefuna.

AMCON through its counsel, Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) sought the court’s discretion to invoke its special powers in a debt recovery case.

It sought the court’s order to take possession of the landed properties which the firm allegedly pledged as securities for a loan.

AMCON also sought an injunction to prevent the debtors from taking away their assets from the court’s jurisdiction.

The court, presided over by Justice Mohammed Idris found

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM

MANAGED FUNDS

NIDF NESF

AMCON takes over firm’s properties

DATA BANK

Tenor

Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33 N1000.00 N552.20

A

•CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido

Offer Price

Bid Price

ARM AGGRESSIVE 9.17 KAKAWA GUARANTEED 1.00 STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE 123.47 AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND 107.75 LOTUS CAPITAL HALAL 0.76 BGL SAPPHIRE FUND 1.10 BGL NUBIAN FUND 0.93 NIGERIA INTERNATIONAL DEB. 1,731.32 PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND 9.66 CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST 1.39 CENTRE-POINT UNIT TRUST 1.87 STANBIC IBTC NIG EQUITY 8,005.52 THE DISCOVERY FUND 193.00 FIDELITY NIGFUND 1.67 • ARM AGGRESSIVE • KAKAWA GUARANTEED • STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE • AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND

9.08 1.00 123.32 107.53 0.74 1.10 0.91 1,729.01 9.19 1.33 1.80 7,792.77 191.08 1.62

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK

Bank P/Court

Previous 04 July, 2011

Current 07, Aug, 2011

8.5000 8.0833

8.5000 8.0833

Movement

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

56

NEWS Explosion rocks banana plantation in Rivers From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

T

HEREwas an explosion yesterdayat the controversial 2,000-hectare banana plantation of the Rivers State Government and a Mexican investor in Ueke-Tai-Ogoni in Tai Local Government.

It was learnt that two of the three explosive devices went off, but no one was hurt nor the buildings damaged.

Most Ogoni people and human rights activists protested against the siting of the plantation in Ogoniland and challenged it in court, but the suit was dismissed.

The Youth President of Ueke-Tai, Nnaa Rekpana, said some aggrieved persons from an Ogoni community in neighbouring Khana Local Government might be responsible for the explosion.

Rekpana said the Ueke-Tai people were happy about the location of the banana plantation in their area, reiterating that the government had adequately compensated them.

The youth president also urged the government to provide adequate security in the area.

Commissioner of Police Mohammed Indabawa said the blast originated from locally-made explosive devices around the banana plantation.

Indabawa added that policemen recovered on the scene, two locally-made explosive devices.

He said the devices were planted by hoodlums.

T

Missing kids released from unknown custody

HE four children who were missing yesterday resurfaced mysteriously at the “A” Divisional Police Station in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

The Nation gathered that the children were handed over to their family in the presence of their lawyer, B.C. Ofiaeli.

It was gathered that the release of the children may not be unconnected with a petition by their lawyer.

Okungbowa Aiwertie, Asaba

A source said “the children are now at home with their family.

“They were released to us at the police station this afternoon.”

Sophia Hyacinth (seven), Kelvin Hyacinth (five), Dominion Hyacinth (two) and Nonso Unachukwu (five)

were purportedly arrested along with five others, including their expectant mother, said to be the wife of Hyacinth Okwute.

Hyacinth, it was learnt, was, until August 7, a domestic worker.

The domestic worker, said to be at large, was alleged to have conspired with others to steal N13.8 million of the N60 million

reportedly kept by his boss in his car boot.

While Hyacinth’s wife and four others were released after interrogation by the police, the whereabouts of the kids remained unknown as at Tuesday.

The police had insisted that the kids were in the custody of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Social and Community Development but this was denied by ministry officials.

Ultimatum for NDDC From Polycarp Orosevwotu, Warri

A

COALITION of the Coastal/Swampy Oil Producing Communities of Bayelsa and Delta states has given a 14-day ultimatum to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to address the marginalisation of their communities.

The group in a statement warned that if their demands are not meant within the stated time they would stop operations of oil companies in their areas.

The statement said despite the fact that the total oil production capacity of the communities is 668,000 barrels per day, the communities cannot say they have benefited.

The group called on President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly to prevail on the NDDC to cause their communities to be surveyed in conjunction with the accredited representatives of their group.

Illegal petroleum products destroyed From Shola O’Neil, Port Harcourt

T

HE Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta, ‘Operation Pulo Shield’, said it has destroyed about 18million litres of product from criminal gangs operating in the region.

The street value of the seized products is put at nearly N3billion, while several billions of naira worth of equipment, including refineries, tanks, vessels and barges, have also been destroyed.

The force’s spokesperson, Lt. Col Onyeama Nwachukwu, said nearly 1,000 “major illegal refineries” and about 2,700 cooking points operated by the criminal gangs have been destroyed within the past six months since it got a fresh mandate from the Defence Headquarters.

The JTF spokesman said: “Over 927 illegal refineries have been brought to complete extinction, 21 vessels, 86 barges, 293 Cotonou boats and surface tanks with total capacity of 17, 515, 320 litres of products have been destroyed by our operatives.”

He said 86 suspects have so far been apprehended and handed over to the appropriate prosecuting authorities, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Shell confirms pump failure HE Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) yesterday confirmed a pump failure at its facility in Bayelsa State.

This is contained in a statement by Shell’s spokesman Precious Okolobo, who said the failure took place at Nembe Creek 3 flow station.

It stated that a pump failure was reported at SPDC’s Nembe Creek 3 flow station, noting that the pump was immediately shut down.

The statement said some oil escaped from the seal into the saver pit in the flow station with some sheen observed within the right of way. The pump has been repaired.

“There was no oil spill and there was no impact on the environment,” the statement said.

T

Bayelsa to employ 300 teachers

From right: Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Kombowei Benson, Deputy Governor John Jonah and House Leader Peter Akpe at the signing into law of eight bills at the Government House in Yenagoa…yesterday

Oyerinde: Probe police, SSS claims, says Oshiomhole

E

DO State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to set up a Panel of Enquiry to look into the contradictory claims by the police and the State Security Services (SSS) over the killing of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, his Principal Private Secretary.

Oyerinde was killed in his residence in Benin City, on May 4.

In a statement, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Peter Okhiria, said:“The attention of Governor Adams Oshiomhole has been drawn to the contradictory claims by the SSS and the police.

“While the SSS paraded some people who allegedly confessed to the killing, the police also said they have in their custody the same number of persons who allegedly confessed to the killing.

“In fact, the police have

T

short his vacation, and upon his return to the state invited the Commissioner of Police to brief him on the latest development.

“Oshiomhole is surprised that about two weeks after Ugolor’s arrest, there is no concrete link between him and his accuser.

“One would have thought that such a link would have been established before any arrest is made.

“Like every other Nigerian, the governor is worried about the claims of two agencies.

“For the avoidance of doubt, there are too many contradictions in the narrative of the police and their reluctance even to brief the governor on the progress as the chief complainant.

“With the level of technological advancements in the world, and given the police admission that a lot of the

•Oshiomhole

exchange of conversation between the alleged suspects was on the telephone, the governor is of the view that the police ought to have established through the call logs the evidence between the suspects before the detention of Ugolor.

“Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, therefore, respectfully requests President Goodluck Jonathan to set up a panel or a crack team to resolve this national embarrassment.”

Bakassi group vows to reclaim Peninsula

From Isaac Ombe, Yenagoa

HE Bayelsa State Government is to recruit 300 Science and Information Communication Technology (ICT) teachers to be deployed in primary and secondary schools.

Plans are on to retrain 5,119 teachers and 541 head teachers from public primary schools to consolidate the state’s free education policy.

Governor Seriake Decision said this at a stakeholders’ meeting in Yenagoa.

He said the plan was aimed at taking a step further in the development of science education in the state.

Only persons who may have performed creditably in the one-week intensive training and retraining programme will be allowed to remain in the school system.

“The exercise is part of the government’s plan to make changes in the education sector in line with its free and compulsory education policy,” said Dickson.

arrested David Ugolor, who is alleged to have been implicated as the sponsor of the murder.

“From the interface with the suspects paraded by the SSS, the governor was convinced that they were responsible for the murder to which they had confessed.

“The suspects also repeated to the governor the confessions they had made to the SSS that they were the same gang that tried to attack the Commissioner for Information, Louis Odion at his residence and their account corroborated that of Odion.

“Each time the governor asked the Commissioner of Police on the progress made on the matter, he said the case was being handled by the Force Headquarters.

“Following the arrest of Ugolor and the interest it has generated, the governor cut

T

HE Bakassi Self Determination Front has claimed to have penetrated parts of the ceded Bakassi Peninsula in its bid to get the land back.

The group had said it would take over the Peninsula by force and warned Nigerians traversing the river from Ikang in Cross River to the ceded area to desist from doing so from August 11.

However, regular visits to the Ikang jetty where speedboats depart for Bakassi

From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

showed that activities have been going on as usual.

It was observed that there has been no increase in the number of soldiers, as well as other security agents at their posts at Ikang.

But it was gathered that the area is ‘crawling’ with plain cloth security agents, who have been sent in to monitor the area.

The monarch, Dr Etim Okon Edet, said: “From what I have

heard, the boys have entered Ekoi, and have entered Akwa Ukwak and they have nearly entered Akpankaya which is near Abana.

“So how are they entering?

They have entered and no life is lost. It means that the gods are with them and I pray that the gods of the land should continue to be with them until the whole area is recovered quietly and silently.”

He said since ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo ceded the land unilaterally without re-

course to the National Assembly, they have the right to go to war on behalf of Nigeria.

His words: “They are saying they don’t know what the man did. So if as a legislative arm of government, you say you did not know what happened, that means you are authorising the people to go and take back their place.”

He said what the boys are doing is right and constitutional because they are chasing illegal tenants from their land.

57

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

NEWS Obi seeks participatory governance From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

A

•The Olu of Warri, Olu Ogiame Atuwase II (right), Airtel Chief Sales Officer Ainusa Bello (left) and Chief Patrick Yalaju.

Ndigbo won’t revolt against Jonathan, says Uwazuruike

M

OVEMENT for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) Leader Chief Ralph Uwazuruike has said Ndigbo would continue to support President Goodluck Jonathan in finding a solution to the country’s challenges.

Uwazuruike said although Ndigbo have suffered great casualty in the Boko Haram insurgency, they would not frustrate Jonathan’s administration.

He said Jonathan’s support during the funeral of the late Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Emeka Ojukwu, did not go unnoticed and will forever remain etched in the minds of Ndigbo.

Uwazuruike spoke in Obinugu, Imo State, during the Iri Iji festival of the Obi of Obinugu, Eze Cletus Ilomuanya, who is also the Chairman of the Southeast

•MASSOB condemns call for president’s resignation From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

Traditional Rulers Council.

He said the Southeast would not join other zones in villifying the president or involve in activities that would threaten the country’s peace and security.

The MASSOB leader said: “Jonathan is our brother from the neighbouring Southsouth region and he has shown commensurate respect for the Igbo Agenda and, most importantly, the Igbo presidency will not be realisable without his support. We need to build a synergy with our brothers in the Southsouth to have a formidable front for the Igbo presidency agenda.”

Condemning calls for Jonathan’s resignation, he said the bombings in the North and

the killing of Ndigbo was a ploy to dismantle the administration.

Uwazuruike said Ndigbo would not be swayed by any campaign of calumny against the president by any group .

He said: “Ndigbo is still a deciding factor in the peace and stability of this country and we will continue to resist attempts to drag us into mischievous and selfish agendas.”

Frontline politician and Publisher of Champion newspapers Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu blamed the insecurity on the desperation of a section of the country to remain in power.

Iwuanyanwu said every zone in the country has equal right to the presidency and it should not be seen as the exclusive reserve of any particu-

lar people.

He said the Jonathan administration has done well in managing the security situation in the face of sabotage and deliberate attempts to frustrate it.

Iwuanyanwu urged Igbo across the country to be courageous.

He said the Federal Government would be held accountable for the killing of Ndigbo in the North.

Iwuanyanwu said: “When the civil war ended, the government said there was no victor and no vanquished, but the genocide and destruction of the property of Ndigbo continued.

“The same thing is repeating itself and we will hold the government accountable.”

‘APGA crisis is insult to Ojukwu’s vision’

T

HE crisis rocking the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) is an insult to the vision of its late national leader, Chief Chukwuemeka OdumegwuOjukwu, a chieftain of the party has said.

APGA Deputy Chairman in Anambra State Chief Ifeanyi Udokwu said this on Tuesday while speaking with reporters in Awka, the state capital.

Udokwu said he has been appealing to the various factions to resolve their differences and save the party from embarrassment.

He said: “I am not comfortable with it at all. I have sleep-

less nights whenever I remember the crisis in APGA. It is creating a bad impression about the party.

“I do not think what is going on now is the vision of the late Ojukwu. It is not and wherever he is now, he will be unhappy.

“For us to respect the integrity and principles of our exleader, we need to sheath our swords and uphold his legacy.

We have to stop dancing on Ojukwu’s grave.

“We have been urging members, especially those people at the top level, to come together because we are one family.

“We have been going with

people to their homes. We have gone to Agulu to see Nwaobu Alor; we have gone to Enugu to see Chief Umeh; we have been to Governor Peter Obi. “We have been pleading with them to bury all differences for the progress of the party.”

Udokwu said the crisis would be resolved, if members of the Anambra chapter unite.

He said: “I strongly believe the crisis emanated from Anambra. It started a few months after Ojikwu’s funeral. If he were to be around, all these would not

be happening.

“We need to nip the crisis in the bud here in Anambra because it is rocking the foundation of the national party. People now write anything they like about our party.”

Udokwu said APGA is the only national party with deep roots in the Southeast and must not be allowed to remain in crisis.

He said he believes in the judicial system and would always abide by the decisions of the court.

In cases where he is not satisfied, the APGA chieftain said he would appeal.

Demolition: Onitsha traders count their losses

T

RADERS in Onitsha, Anambra State, yesterday lamented the demolition of their structures by the state government.

Traders and industrialists at God’s Own Line on the Atani Road said they lost all their property to the demolition.

They said the demolition team arrived in the area about midnight on Saturday and levelled it.

Chairman of the traders’ union Godwin Ezeike; Managing Director of Fubi Block

From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

Industry Emeka Udeze and a motor spare parts dealer, Chief Vincent Luemobi, among others, said they have been running their offices in the area since 1983.

They said they were given Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) in 2000 by the administration of former Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju.

They said recently, during the present administration of Governor Peter Obi, officials of the Ministry of Lands surveyed the area and re-

newed their Cs of O. The traders said they paid millions of naira to renew their documents.

Ezeike said he lost property worth over N200 million. Udeze estimated his loss at N50 million.

Luemobi estimated to be N30 million.

National Coordinator of the Human Rights Guide Association Mr. Raphael Agu said the government should have given the traders, at least, 24 hours notice to pack their belongings.

Agu advised the traders

to sue the government, if it fails to compensate them.

The governor had been appealing to traders and business owners to vacate the highway.

He warned earlier this year that no one would be spared when he is ready to remodel the state.

NAMBRA State Governor Peter Obi has said governance fails because the people do not take full ownership of the process.

Obi spoke at J. JUMAC Hotels, Awka, during a stakeholders’ consultative meeting on the application for the 2012 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Conditional Grant Scheme by states.

He said regular interaction with the government enables the people to understand and appreciate government policies and programmes.

Obi said his administration has been carrying everybody along and has opened the door for public involvement in decision-making.

Department for International Development (DFID) Team Leader and National Programme Manager Dr. Joe Abba said Anambra has consistently implemented DFID programmes, adding that it was a reflection of the good governance entrenched by the Obi administration.

Abba said Anambra was chosen to pioneer the Governors’ Forum Peer Review Mechanism and it was the first state to offer itself for assessment.

Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget Prof. Chinyere Okunna said the state’s vision is centred around the MDGs. She said the administration is grassroots-oriented and urged individuals and organisations to support it.

Special Adviser to the Governor on MDGs Mrs. Vivian Nwandu said the state is expected to pay a counterpart fund of N1.2 billion to DFID for the provision of MDGs in the communities.

He said the Federal Government is expected to pay N600 million out of the amount.

Mrs. Nwandu said adequate consultations would encourage communities to take over ownership of the projects and monitor them.

President-General of Nkwelle Town Union Elder Chris Elumuno praised the governor for striving to meet the MDGs.

Oil communities demand amenities From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

I

NDIGENES of the oil producing communities of Umuokanne, Asaa and Ilile in Ohaji/Egbema Council Area of Imo State, under the aegis of the Concerned Indigenes of Ohaji/Egbema, have decried the lack of basic amenities in the communities.

They said this is the activities of oil companies in the area have exposed the people to hardship and environmental hazards without commensurate benefits.

They said despite the huge revenue accruing to the state government through the 13 per cent derivation as a result of the oil deposits in the communities.

Leader of the group Chief Cletus Ukwuoma said the area lacks schools, good roads, hospitals and several other amenities.

Ukwuoma said despite various petitions to the state government and relevant agencies, the situation has remained the same.

Urging the Federal Government to come to their aid, he said: “It took many years of militancy in the Niger Delta for the Federal Government to wake up to its responsibilities and we may be forced to adopt that option because we have suffered enough.”

Egbema gets monarch

T

HREE years after the death of the monarch of Egbema Kingdom in Imo State, Eze Sunday Uzor, his son, Eze Steve Ayodele Uzor, ascended the throne at the weekend.

The new monarch, who has served as a regent for three years, was described as “a peace-loving and people-oriented leader, who will consolidate on the achievements of his father”.

Speaking at the coronation ceremony, the PresidentGeneral of the community, Mr. Christy Ezekwe, said Eze Uzor was selected in line with the provisions of the constitution of Egbema kingdom.

He said: “The traditions of Egbema does not allow vacuum. We urge all the sons of Egbema kingdom to support the new king to bring peace and development to the community.”

The monarch assured his subjects of the promotion of their culture.

He said he would foster unity among the people, irrespective of their religious or political background.

Eze Uzor thanked Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha for his support to traditional rulers and the creation of the Community Government Councils, which he said

From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

would bring government closer to the people at the grassroots.

The traditional ruler pledged to work with the government to end youth restiveness in the community .

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16 , 2012

58

NEWS Jang’s Chief of Staff quits THE Chief of Staff to Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State, Mr. Gyang Pwajok, has resigned.

A statement issued in Jos yesterday by the Director of Press Affairs, Mr. James Mannok, said Governor Jang has accepted the resignation. He wished Pwajok the best in his future endeavour.

No reason was given for the resignation, but unconfirmed sources said Pwajok is aspiring to run for the vacant Plateau North senatorial seat.

It became vacant following the death of Senator Gyang Dantong on July 8 in a stampede when gunmen attacked mourners at a burial ground in Maseh, a village in Riyom Local Government.

Don’t be distracted, youths urge Suswam

16 dead as bus plunges into river

S

IXTEEN persons died yesterday when an 18-seater bus heading for Abuja from Kaduna plunged into a river, near Rijiana village on the Kaduna/Abuja Highway.

Details of the accident were sketchy, but the Ka-

From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

duna Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Olamke Olagunju, said “we have despatched a rescue team to the scene of the accident.”

The crash occurred less than 24 hours after two suspected suicide bombers were blown up on their way to an unknown destination on the Ali Akilu Road in Abakpa area of Kaduna.

The Nation learnt that the

Flood destroys houses, roads in Bauchi

F

LOOD has killed thousands of domestic animals and destroyed about 250 houses, 470 farmlands and crops at Zigau and Desina in Shira Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

The animals included goats, sheep and cows. Domestic birds were also affected. Personal effects and foodstuffs were destroyed.

There was no casualty.

The victims are taking refuge in nearby primary schools.

At Zigau, 150 houses and 400 farmlands were washed

•Kills domestic animals From Austine Tsenzughul, Bauchi

away, while at Desina,70 houses and 250 farmlands were affected.

Governor Isa Yuguda has assured the victims that his administration would solve the flood problem.

He directed the relevant agencies to repair the damaged roads, including those that belonged to the Federal Government, to prevent the affected communities from being cut off from other parts

of the state.

Yuguda, who visited the affected places to assess the damage, sympathised with the victims. He assured them that government would come to their aid.

The governor, who also visited some of the flooded places in Misau, Giade and Jama’are local governments, directed that the culverts on the Misau-Hardawa and Zadawa roads be built to prevent other communities from being cut off.

At Arobana bridge on the Kari—Misau-Kano Federal Highway, Yuguda said it was regrettable that four years after his administration had rebuilt the road to salvage it from collapse, the federal authorities in charge had not refunded the money.

He directed the Ministry of Rural Development and other agencies to salvage the bridge.

According to him, “this time round, serious technical work must be done so that the bridge will not collapse again.”

Kaduna orders roadside business operators to leave

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

THE Benue Youths in Diaspora Association has urged Governor Gabriel Suswam to be committed to the actualisation of his developmental blueprint tagged: ‘Our Benue, Our Future’.

The group said he should not campaign for the 2015 elections now.

The President-General of the association, Philip Agbese, who addressed reporters yesterday in Abuja on the clamour for Suswam to contest the National Assembly election in 2015, enjoined Benue indigenes to allow him concentrate on the transformation of the state.

He said the performance of Governor Suswam has made him a rallying point in Nigeria’s political landscape, adding that the next three years should be singled out for the consolidation of the achievements of the Suswam administration.

Agbese noted that Suswam’s age is an advantage. He urged him to remain focused in his dream for a greater nation.

Agbese said: “We appeal to Governor Suswam to remain focused and committed to his developmental blueprint, ‘Our Benue, Our Future’. He should ignore calls by Nigerians that he should go back to the National Assembly in 2015.

“Nigerians are eager to benefit from his experience and dynamism in future. The present calls are unnecessary and can cause distractions if not properly managed by Governor Suswam. The continuation of his developmental programmes in Benue State is sacrosanct to the state in particular and Nigeria in general.”

accident occurred about 9am. It was not clear how many people were in the vehicle and whether or not there were survivors.

An eyewitness said the accident caused a traffic build-up on both sides of the highway.

HE Kaduna State Government yesterday issued a seven-day ultimatum to roadside business operators to remove their shops.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Kaduna, the Acting General Manager of the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUPDA), Mrs. Saratu Haruna, said the ultimatum served as a quit notice.

She said the structures were erected without approval by KASUPDA. “This ultimatum gives owners of such structures time to vacate the roadside shops and kiosks before the commencement of demolition.”

Haruna said indiscriminate erection of shops and kiosks had contributed to improper town planning, adding that the authority would work out modalities to remove illegal structures in the Kaduna Millennium City.

T

• General Superintendent, Deeper Life Christian Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, his wife, Esther Folashade and others during a visit to the survivors and bereaved families of the Kogi attack...on Tuesday

Benue Assembly tells commissioner to resign

B

ENUE State House of Assembly has passed a motion directing the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Conrad Wergba, to resign within seven days.

This followed adoption of a motion by an Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) member representing Makurdi South Constituency, Benjamin Adanyi.

From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

He said the commissioner’s comment against the lawmakers in the media amounts to abuse of the constitution and false claims, adding that this makes him unfit to be a member of the executive council (Exco).

Seconding the motion, another member, James Ochojila, decried the atti-

tude of the commissioner, who appeared on the floor of the Assembly yesterday.

He said he has insulted Benue people by his comments and actions.

Other lawmakers, Kenneth Iyo, Terhemba Chabo, Audu Sule and Samson Ocholi condemned the commissioner and called for his resignation.

Islamic group canvasses action against Boko Haram

A

An Islamic group under the aegis of the Concerned Muslim Youths of Northern Nigeria (CMYNN) has called for a collective action by Islamic faithful in the country to use every persuasive means to root the deadly Islamic sect, Boko Haram, out of the country.

In a statement yesterday, CMYNN decried the continued bloody attacks on the public by the sect, noting that the attacks have affected major Islamic prayers and

From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

rites like Itikaf and Lailatulquadri during the Ramadan in some parts of the North.

Mallam Jameel Shetima and Dr. Bilkis Muhammed, chairman and secretary of CMYNN who signed the statement lamented that the activities of the sect are eroding the sanctity of the practice of Islam.

“Activities of the members

are making adherents fail in observing key special rite and prayers. We are utterly disturbed and worried at the level the deadly activities of this group are leading the country to, particularly the devastating effects on Islam.

“Our initial worry was the bad image the sect was giving Islam, the religion of peace. Now it’s menace is keeping Islamic faithful away from mosques and practice. This is anti-Islam and it is unacceptable. “

Wergba, who remained calm during the questionand-answer session, admitted responsibility for the media statements credited to him. He said he was doing his job as the imagemaker of the state government.

The Majority Leader, Paul Biam, said the Assembly would meet to take further decision if the commissioner failed to resign within seven days.

All the members supported the motion.

This is the second time the lawmakers have called for the resignation of a member of the exco during the tenure of Governor Gabriel Suswam.

In his first tenure, the Assembly under the leadership of Speaker Terseer Tsumba passed a motion, which directed the Commissioner for Education Dr. Eugene Aliegba to resign.

The motion was ignored.

Aliegba is still serving in the Suswam administration as the Commissioner for Agriculture.

Northern CAN crisis worsens From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

T

HE crisis rocking the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) took a new dimension yesterday when the Kaduna chapter of the association accused the body of being paid to destabilise the Jonathan administration.

The Chairman of the chapter, Rev. Sam Kujiyat, said in a statement that the Northern CAN cannot speak for Christians in the North because the body is not recognised by the 2004 Constitution of CAN. Spokesman for CAN in the North, Sunday Oibe, had called for the resignation of President Goodluck Jonathan over his statement that the government could not draft soldiers to wipe out members of the Boko Haram sect.

He said by that statement, the President disappointed Nigerians and showed that he did not care about what happened to them.

The Secretary of the Northern CAN, Prof. Daniel Babayi, dissociated the body from the statement of its spokesman. He said they never called for the President’s resignation. He described the statement credited to them as malicious and a mischievous attempt to bring division within the group.

The Kaduna State branch of CAN said: “For the umpteenth time, we say the socalled Northern CAN is an illegal body not recognised in the CAN Constitution of 2004. Therefore, it is not entitled to speak for the 19 state chapters of CAN in the North.

“If any branch disagrees with the Kaduna State CAN, as already stated, it does not speak for us. They have become paid agents of the opposition to distract Mr. President from his transformation agenda of bringing good governance to Nigerians.”

Kano to mark low-key Eid-El-Fitri From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

T

THE Kano Emirate Council has cancelled Eid–El-Fitr celebrations associated with the end of Ramadan.

This followed the Emir of Kano Alhaji Ado Bayero’s illhealth.

The Emirate, however, said the Eid–El-Fitr prayer would hold.

It said the Hawan Nassarawa, Daushe, Dorayi and Durbar during which the Emir of Kano rides on a horse to acknowledge cheers from the indigenes and spectators have been cancelled.

The Wamban Kano, Alhaji Abbas Sanusi, who made this known yesterday when addressing reporters, said the suspension of the festivities was due to the Emir’s illness.

He urged Muslims to celebrate the festival peacefully, adding that they should use the occasion to visit friends and relatives.

Prominent among those that attended the event was the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

59

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

NEWS DG defends identity commission’s sack of 4,000

N

ATIONAL Identity Management Com-

mission (NIMC) has defended its plan to lay off more than 4,000 workers “for redundancy’’.

Director General Chris Onyemenam said the commission could not accommodate the over-bloated workforce, hence the decision to declare them redundant.

The director-general, who spoke through his Labour Adviser, Mr Ayo Olorunfemi, described the organisation as one of the few in the country that had majority of its workforce in the junior cadre.

Onyemenam said the affected staff members were inherited by NIMC from the defunct Department of National Civic Registration (DNCR) under the former Ministry of Internal Affairs, now Ministry of Interior.

On claims by the affected workers that they had been stagnated for 10 years on Grade levels 04 and 05, the director general said the organisation had no vacancy to promote them to.

He admitted that the management had not conducted

‘We have not conducted any promotion since we took over the management of the organisation, what we have done is upgrading of employees that have made efforts to upgrade themselves’ any promotions since it took over the affairs of the organisation four years ago.

“We have not conducted any promotion since we took over the management of the organisation, what we have done is upgrading of employees that have made efforts to upgrade themselves,” he said.

He also said the NIMC was being operated through a high technology system, adding that the affected staff members lacked the requisite qualification to work with the organisation.

He added that the staff members had failed to improve themselves over the

years to meet the requisite qualifications that would allow them to work with the commission.

According to Onyemenam, 500 of the 4,029 affected staff members had been upgraded and retained by the commission.

On the issue of alleged plans to deny the workers’ pension benefits, Onyemenam claimed that “pension has been discontinued by government’’.

He said the organisation had, however, adhered to sections 20 and 25 of the Labour Act in declaring the workers redundant.

Redundancy is defined in section 20(3) of the Labour Act 1990 as “an involuntary and permanent loss of employment, caused by an excess of manpower.

“What section 20 (1) of the Labour Act provides is that in the event of redundancy, the employer must inform the trade union or workers’ representative concerned of the reasons for and the extent of the anticipated redundancy.

“That the principle of “last in, first out” shall be adopted in the discharge of the

particular category of workers affected, subject to all factors of the relative merit, including skill, ability and reliability.

“And that the employer shall use his best endeavours to negotiate redundancy payments to any discharged workers who are not protected by regulations made under section 20(2) of the Labour Act.” He said the management had followed all the due process required for declaring the staff members redundant.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NIMC’s staff members embarked on a protest match against their planned sack on Wednesday.

NAN reports that the affected staff members grounded activities at the NIMC headquarters by shutting down all the entrances and exit into the place for several hours.

NAN observed that people who were at NIMC to participate in its pilot scheme for the enrolment into the organisation’s National Identity Number (NIN) programme were denied access into the premises

Jonathan orders re-organisation of sports

•Dr. Jonathan Continued from Page 2

nod of FEC was the N1.66billion contract for the rehabilitation of the Obudu

PHCN crisis parley ends in deadlock Continued from Page 2

had been using soldiers to intimidate them and force them to collect severance letters.

“Fellow Nigerians, let’s prepare to defend the rights of employees of Power Holding Company of Nigeria as the Nigerian Government prepares to short change them.

“Just as the report of a committee the government set up

Osogbo-Ilado road to be completed in 24 months, says bank

T

HE 45-kilometre Osogbo-Ilado dual carriageway will be completed in 24 months, the Managing Director of Infrastructure Bank PLC, Mr Adekunle Oyinloye, has said.

In a statement yesterday in Abuja, the bank chief said the contract for the project was awarded recently by the Osun Government to Sammya Nigeria Limited, an indigenous construction firm.

He said the negotiations

for the funding have been concluded.

Oyinloye said the bank would provide “the pioneering financial solutions” for the take-off of the N17.8 billion project.

The bank chief explained that First Bank PLC has accepted to guarantee the funding according to the re-payment capabilities of the government.

Onyinloye described the project as a clear statement of intent of the bank to be

at the forefront of attracting capital for infrastructure development.

He said the bank was delighted to provide the catalytic financing for the project preparation and development, and subsequently raise the N17.8 billion of capital required for its completion.

Oyinloye lauded the Osun Government for embracing the bank’s innovative project-financing.

He said the bank was able

to invest in critical infrastructure and provide the necessary credit and enabling environment to attract private capital for the state’s infrastructure development.

He urged other state governments to emulate such project-financing policy by creating escrow accounts to attract private investments and developmental funds from both local and international financial institutions.

“This is the only way to fill

Dam in Cross River State.

The project which is 100per cent sponsored under the International Development Association, when completed, is expected to create about 5,000 jobs.

Maku said the minister of water resources brought the memo to council seeking approval for the contract to rehabilitate the dam, which belongs to the Federal Government.

The approval will enable the government of Cross River State to carry out its regional, urban water supply project, which will cover four communities of Obudu, Ogoja, Ikom and Calabar.

the yawing infrastructure gaps across the nation and meet the challenges of national socio-economic transformation, Oyinloye said.

He advised government to adopt the policy of publicprivate partnership (PPP) for the execution of developmental projects.

This, he said, would also successfully create numerous micro-economic activities around such project corridors through well-thoughtout concession programmes.

to resolve issues is being expected, armed soldiers are being used to intimidate the workers as well as attempt to force workers to collect their severance letters.

“The ultimatum issued by the Nigeria Labour Congress on these issues, particularly the immediate withdrawal of armed soldiers from PHCN work zones, expires in 48 hours and all affiliates of NLC and its state councils have already been put on notice on what follows after the expiration of this ultimatum, based on the pronouncement of the National Executive Council of the NLC.

All night praise JUJU music icon Ebenezer Obey-Fabiyi and Prophet Taiwo Idris, will hold an all night praise worship tomorrow.

It will hold inside the auditorium of the Christian Revival Rain Mission in Mowe, Ogun state, according to a statement.

‘Govt needs action on polio’

N

•Participants at the National Productivity Day and Conferment of National Productivity order of merit award in Abuja…yesterday

PHOTO: NAN

IGERIA yesterday approached the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to arrest the scourge of Polio in the country.

Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, made the request on behalf of the country while hosting the President of the bank, Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Ali in the Royal Palace Hotel, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

Expressing the good wishes of his boss, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and fellow countrymen, Sambo called on the Bank to make cheap funds available to both the government and private concerns to address infrastructural deficit and boost domestic economy.

Sambo was particular in hydropower generation, agricultural development and efficient transportation system to improve haulage of persons, goods and services.

The vice president also made a case for the Nigerian farmer to have the opportunity realising their full potentials by opening them tools and inputs and expose them to multi-million dollar bilingual education funds.

In his remark, President of the bank, Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Ali, had told Sambo that the bank has developed a new mode of financing polio eradication.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

60

FOREIGN NEWS Prince Philip back In hospital

Court upholds Australian cigarette pack AUSTRALIA’S highest court has upheld a new government law on mandatory packaging for cigarettes that removes brand colours and logos from packaging.

The law requires cigarettes to be sold in olive green packets, with graphic images warning of the consequences of smoking.

Leading global tobacco manufacturers, including British American Tobacco and Philip Morris, had challenged the law.

The new packaging rules are scheduled to be implemented from December 1.

“At least a majority of the court is of the opinion that the Act is not contrary to (Australia’s constitution),” the court said in a brief statement.

The full judgement is expected to be published on a later date.

The law was passed by the government last year. Authorities have said that plain packaging of cigarettes will help reduce the number of smokers in the country.

Romney condemns ‘hate’ campaign REPUBLICAN presidential candidate Mitt Romney has branded the Obama campaign as one of “division and attack and hatred”, in a national TV interview.

Speaking to CBS News, Romney said President Barack Obama was “running just to hang on to power”.

His criticism followed an acrimonious day on the campaign trail, which saw the Romney and Obama camps spar over healthcare and Wall Street.

Romney is challenging Obama for the White House in November’s election.

Recent opinion polls show the candidates locked in a close race, with Obama maintaining a narrow lead over his opponent.

Israel ‘ready for war with Iran’ ISRAEL’S outgoing home front defence minister says an attack on Iran would likely trigger a month-long conflict that would leave 500 Israelis dead.

Matan Vilnai told the Maariv newspaper that the fighting would be “on several fronts”, with hundreds of missiles fired at Israeli towns and cities.

Israel was prepared, he said, though strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities had to be coordinated with the US. Meanwhile, a US blogger has published what he says are Israel’s attack plans.

Richard Silverstein told the BBC he had been given an internal briefing memo for Israel’s eight-member security cabinet, which outlined what the Israeli military would do to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons.

The purported leaked Israeli memo suggests that the military operation would begin with a massive cyberattack against Iran’s infrastructure, followed by a barrage of ballistic missiles launched at its nuclear facilities.

T

•A handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows firefighters dousing a blaze following a bomb explosion in central Damascus near the hotel used by the UN observer mission in Syria...yesterday. Syrian TV said the blast, in the Abu Remaneh district near a military depot and the trade union headquarters, was caused by a bomb planted on a fuel truck.

PHOTO:AFP

Hypersonic jet fails test T

HE United States Air Force has said an attempt to fly its hypersonic jet Waverider at Mach 6 (3,600mph; 5795km/h) failed.

The unmanned aircraft had been designed to fly at six times the speed of sound after being dropped from a B52 bomber.

But officials said that a faulty control fin prevented it from starting its supersonic-combustion ramjet engine, and the craft was lost.

It marks the second time in a row that the Air Force has been unable to test the technology as planned.

The latest attempt had sought to fly at its maximum speed for five minutes.

But a spokesman said that a problem was recognised 16 seconds after a rocket booster was triggered to increase its velocity, ahead of the scramjet engine being started.

When the rocket unit detached 15 seconds later the X51A craft lost control and broke apart, falling into the Pacific Ocean north-west of Los Angeles.

“It is unfortunate that a problem with this subsystem caused a termination before

we could light the scramjet engine,” Charlie Brink, of the Air Force Research Laboratory at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, said in a statement.

“All our data showed we had created the right conditions for engine ignition and we were very hopeful to meet our test objectives.”

The previous test aircraft was also lost to the Pacific after it was unable to restart its engine.

But the original test flight, in 2010, flew at five times the speed of sound for three minutes.

The Pentagon - which helped fund the project has been testing hypersonic technologies in an effort to develop faster missiles.

It has also been suggested the research could eventually help build a commercial plane with the promise of London to New York trips taking as little as an hour, or Tokyo to Paris journeys slightly more than double that time.

For now only one X-51A vehicle remains and the Air Force has not yet decided whether to organise a fourth test.

Arab states urge citizens to leave Lebanon

T

HREE Arab states have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon amid signs that the conflict in Syria is spilling over into its western neighbour.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar urged immediate action after a string of kidnappings of Sunni Muslims by a powerful Shia clan.

They were retaliating for the abduction of a clan member by rebels in Damascus.

The rebels say the man was fighting for the Syrian government on behalf of Lebanon’s Shia Hezbollah move-

ment.

That claim has been denied by his family.

The official Saudi news agency Spa quoted a foreign ministry official as saying Saudi citizens should avoid “travelling to Lebanon for their own safety”.

A UAE foreign ministry official said it issued its alert after the embassy “received information about UAE nationals being targeted and because of the difficult and sensitive circumstances in Lebanon”, state news agency Wam reported.

The Shia al-Meqdad clan in

Lebanon said it had abducted more than 20 people it claimed were connected to Syrian rebels. Most of the men abducted were Syrians but a Turkish national was also reported to be among those seized.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey are all Sunni Muslim countries that support the Syrian rebels fighting the government of Bashar al-Assad.

The BBC’s Kevin Connolly, in Beirut, says the al-Meqdads, who are thought to be heavily involved in smuggling, have been described as

a family with a military wing.

Lebanon is a popular tourist destination for Saudis and citizens of other Gulf states.

Like Syria’s other neighbours - Turkey, Iraq and Jordan - Lebanon has absorbed thousands of refugees fleeing from the conflict.

But unlike the other countries, Lebanon risks being plunged into sectarian strife, possibly even civil war, by the strains inflicted on its own delicate internal situation by the Syrian crisis, correspondents say.

New economic stimulus package for Brazil

B

RAZIL’S government has unveiled the first phase of a major economic stimulus package designed to boost growth in the flagging economy.

More than $60billion (£38billion) will be invested in the country’s roads and railways over the next 25 years, with more than half in the next five years.

This includes 8,000 kilometres of new roads and 8,000kms of railways.

Further announcements involving investment in ports and airports are expected in the coming weeks.

Growth in Brazil is pre-

dicted to be less than 2 per cent this year, the weakest annual performance since 2009 and a sharp slowdown from an impressive 7.5% rise in 2010.

The government’s recent measures, such as the recent devaluation of the currency, the real, and the progressive reduction in interest rates, have so far failed to stimulate growth.

“The measures unveiled by the Brazilian government this afternoon are good news insofar as they will help tackle some of the supply-side problems that are holding

the economy back,” said Neil Shearing at Capital Economics.

But he said the benefits would not be felt fully for a number of years.

Brazil’s growth over the past few years has been based on the expansion of credit and on consumer spending.

But while this strategy seemed to work, it also exposed serious weaknesses in the country’s infrastructure.

The government has now made a conscious decision to encourage more private sector investment.

The business community in Brazil has praised the government’s decision to boost investment in infrastructure, but says the action is long overdue.

In addition to the announcements made yesterday, President Dilma Rousseff is preparing to lower the price of energy for industry with the abolition of some federal taxes, which could cut the price by 10 per cent.

Brazil is also hoping for an economic boost from hosting the Olympic Games in 2016.

HE Duke of Edinburgh has been taken to hospital as a “precautionary measure” after a recurrence of a bladder infection, Buckingham Palace has said.

Prince Philip, who is 91, was driven by ambulance to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary while staying at Balmoral with the Queen, a spokesperson said.

The duke originally suffered the infection shortly before the Diamond Jubilee concert on 4 June.

He is likely to remain in the NHS hospital for the next few days Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall are at their private residence of Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate, while the Earl and Countess of Wessex are at Balmoral with the Queen, BBC correspondent Peter Hunt says.

It is not known whether other royals are there, but a palace spokesman said it was usual for members of the royal family to be in residence at Balmoral during the summer .

The duke has been seen at public engagements in Cowes over the last few days.

Man pleads not guilty to murder

A

MAN has pleaded not guilty to murdering honeymooner Anni Dewani in South Africa.

Xolile Mngeni’s trial at the Western Cape High Court, in Cape Town, is expected to last for six weeks.

Mrs Dewani, 28, from Sweden, was shot when a taxi she was in was hijacked in the Gugulethu township in November 2010.

Her husband, Shrien Dewani, 32, from Bristol, is accused of arranging her murder but denies the charge.

An extradition order for the care home owner to face trial in South Africa had been agreed, but was halted by the High Court in London on mental health grounds.

Mngeni was named as an accomplice by Mziwamadoda Qwabe, who last week pleaded guilty to her mur-

Immigration reform in US

U

NDOCUMENTED immigrants are applying for the temporary right to live and work openly in the US, as a sweeping immigration policy reform takes effect.

Up to 1.7 million people could be eligible for the programme, unveiled in June by President Barack Obama amid pressure from Hispanic voters.

Republicans say Obama has passed over Congress and unemployed US citizens - with the programme.

The Latino vote could be important in November’s presidential election.

Most of the estimated 11.5 million undocumented immigrants in the US are from Latin America.

Illegal immigrants are getting their records in order as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) starts accepting applications.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

61

SPORT EXTRA

Phelps plans retirement

@ 27

W

HEN Michael Phelps came to London for the 2012 Summer Games, he had 14 Olympic gold medals. He's leaving with 18 and a record 22 overall. And now he's retiring at 27, leaving the sport in which he always said he wanted to do things that had never been done before.

He put a big new "first" on his resume in London, as he became the only Olympic swimmer to win gold in the same event three times. He also became the most decorated Olympian in history. And after his last race, he was given a statue to mark that status.

"It's kind of weird looking at this and seeing 'Greatest Olympian of All Time,'" Phelps said at the time. "I finished my career the way I wanted to. I think that's pretty cool."

A few weeks before he left for London, I called Phelps to talk about his swimming career, his training and his plans after retiring. Those plans include visiting some of the cities he's competed in — but seeing them outside the bubble of swim meets for a change.

In a statement that won't make anybody who lost to Phelps in London feel any better, he said, "I am getting older, and I do find it harder to recover."

Here's an edited version of our conversation: Phelps leaves the pool after his final Olympic swim, in the men's 4x100 meter medley relay.

Phelps, who won his 18th gold medal in the race, has said "I am getting older, and I do find it harder to recover" after events.

Phelps leaves the pool after his final Olympic swim, in the men's 4x100 meter medley relay.

Phelps, who won his 18th gold medal in the race, has said "I am getting older, and I do find it harder to recover" after events.

This will be your last Olympics. What will you do next?

"After the summer, I really don't know what I'm going to do. Obviously, I'd like to be able to travel around and take some time and just sort of take a break, and travel, and SEE some cities.

You know, I haven't been able to see too many of the cities that I've been able to travel to, just because I see the pool and I see the hotel.

So, just being able to travel and have some fun, and just relax is something that I'm looking forward to do first.

You stopped training after the Beijing Games.

What made you want to start back again?

"It's just, kind of finding the want, and the drive to do it again. There were some times when I was kind of in La-La Land and not really too focused on anything, and didn't really have any goals.

Once I was able to find goals that I had, that sort of helped me get back into the water and, I guess, be productive. I wasn't really being too productive at that time."

You're a big music fan. What do you listen to before you swim?

"It just depends on the kind of mood that I'm in.

It depends on if I'm sort of in an old-school mood or newer stuff. I mean, music has always played such a big role in my life. Whether it's in training or whether it's in competition, I think it really just helps me sort of get in the zone and get

focused and sort of help me get ready for what I'm about to do."

"Whenever I get out of the car in the morning or in the afternoon, heading to work out, I kind of just replay the song that was playing right before I got out of the car. That just sort of is on repeat in my head throughout the whole entire workout.

So it kind of helps me not think about the pain that I'm going through in workouts."

It can be pretty quiet in the pool, too.

"It can. And you know, I'm just staring at the black line on the bottom of the pool. You kind of need something to think about, I guess, to get you through the two-hour workouts."

When I swam a lot, I used to wish there were video screens on the bottom of the pool.

"That would be awesome. That would make the workout go a lot faster, that's for sure."

On 60 Minutes, you talked about sleeping in a low-oxygen chamber.

Did you notice any big changes from doing that?

"I was able to build up to what, I guess, the level that I was at — I think it was something that pretty much really helped me recover ... you know, I am getting older, and I do find it harder to recover. It's something that I think has played a big role and helped us to be ready for every single workout."

What does it make you feel like? It seems like

you'd want more oxygen after a workout, not less.

"You feel sort of rejuvenated, and you feel kind of recovered. For me, it's very important. Getting older, I need to be able to be at the top level. The more recovered I am, the faster I can swim, the harder I can train. So, it's extremely important.”

On Twitter recently, I saw you cooked breakfast ... and posted a picture of your dish.

"I don't really cook that often. The breakfast place that I usually go to was kinda crowded, so I decided to just go to the grocery store and make some stuff at my house. It was kind of just like throwing everything together. Kind of, whatever sounded good, I just threw it in the skillet and ate it."

So, you're a good cook?

"No, I'm a terrible cook. I'm awful, actually. It's not really a Phelps thing, to cook. It's not going to be something that's in my future.”

You've said that you got motivated to compete again. Is that because of rivals — like Ryan Lochte?

"I guess competition is just something that really excites me. That's always something that motivates me and gets me sort of going. I hate to lose at anything. So, we've just kind of been able to, from Day 1, in anything I do, I just always try to be the best."

What do you think about staying in athletes' village?

"We are always in the village. The swim team is always in the village, and we always stay together. I think that's just part of the experience of going to the Olympics and being able to represent your country. Being able to be in the same exact environment as people from all over the world, and sort of the best athletes from all over the world coming together, I think, is something you don't find at any other place but the Olympic Games. That's something that's exciting for me to be a part of."

Do younger swimmers ask you for advice?

"I think, once you're at that level — everybody is there trying to prepare themselves for racing. And once you're part of the Olympics you're there just really enjoying the experience. I'm able really to just travel around in the village and do what I need to do, and try and take care of what I'm there to do.... We're pretty much left alone.

What about the fans at the races?

"You know, you can definitely hear and see people cheering, and going crazy. So, I think that's something that's very special."

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

62

SPORT EXTRA

Menas holds Eagles in Niamey ...Keshi proud of players attitude

N

IGERIA’S Super Eagles were on Wednesday held to a goaless draw by the Menas or Gazelles of Niger Republic in an international friendly that both sides will use to prepare for the upcoming Nations Cup qualifiers in September.

The entertaining encounter played at the 50,000 capacity Stade General Seyni Kountche in Niamey, which was halffilled, saw both sides give their best with Nigeria having the edge in a match that saw three yellow cards to the visitors and one to the hosts. The culprits were Solomon Kwambe, Solomon Jabason and Sanni Sanusi.

While Niger

hitman Kalilou Dawodu was also booked for rough play.

Niger started the better side when after only five minutes Boubacar Talatou tried to chip the ball past goalkeeper and skipper, Chigozie Agbim. The Warri Wolves man slipped, picked himself up and went for the save, which resulted in him hitting his shoulder againt the woodwork. The

Nigerian bench looked worried but after the medical attended to him he was back to his feet but needed additional attention after the game. Isoufou Boubacar, Sidibe Modibo and Mohammed Soumaila, also had their shots at the Nigerian goal area in the first quarter but Azubuike Eguweke, Papa Idis and Juwon Oshaniwa held on strong. Egwueke gave his bench another scare in the 20th minute when he was stretchered off after hitting

United, Arsenal reach deal on van Persie

M

ANCHESTER United says the club has reached an agreement with Premier League rival Arsenal to buy Netherlands striker Robin van Persie.

United says Van Persie is yet to agree to personal terms, with the deal subject to a medical examination.

No financial details were disclosed, although British media has reported that Arsenal wanted STG20 million ($A30 million) for its captain, who has one year left on his contract.

Arsenal says van Persie will travel to United on Thursday to complete the deal.

Advertisement The Dutchman was the Premier League's top scorer last season but then refused to sign a new contract with Arsenal.

the ground while attempting a clearance, but he was again back after treatment.

From then on it was Nigeria all the way with Uche Kalu’s freee kick blocked by Nigerien defenders in the 21st minute for one of the nine corner kicks played by the Eagles. Menas had five on the evening. Kalu had other chances in the 27th and 35th minute but they were all wasted, before Ejike Uzoenyi’s blistering run from the right fell to Mba who also blasted wide..

In the second half, stand in coach for Niger, Frederic Acosta made six changes in the first 20 minutes of the half but nothing changed as Nigeria continue to dictate the pace of the game but not before Agbim was again called to duty by dangerman, Kalilou Dawouda, whose chip was going into the net before the big Nigerian palmed clear for a corner.

Keshi also made changes bringing in Umar Zango for a tired Idris, Kwambe was pulled out for Ugonna, Philip Asuquo for Sunday Mba, Sibi Gwar for Ejike Uzoenyi and Sanni Sanusi for Uche Kalu. As usual, Asuquo seized the midfield from the host but chances that fell to Sani, Reuben and Gwar were wasted as the referee blew the final whistle after five minutes of extra time for the home side to heave a sigh of relief.

Pillars rise again as Rangers slip

P

ILLARS recorded a big win at Akwa United to regain leadership of the NPL as Lobi shot down Rangers with a 3-0 home win on Wednesday.

With a game to spare till the end of the season, Pillars now have 64 points, while Lobi moved into second place courtesy of a 3-0 home win over erstwhile table toppers Enugu Rangers.

Nasiru Ali scored the allimportant goal for Pillars in the 56th minute after he collected a through pass from Turkey-bound Gambo Mohammed.

But the bigger drama was in Katsina-Ala, where Lobi tore apart Rangers with youth international striker Tony Okpotu grabbing a brace.

"We were clear of what we wanted and that is the league crown. Rangers also want that too so we knew beating them will take us closer to our target and we did just that in style.

We will go for same in our last game away to Kaduna United," skipper Terna Ikpeen told MTNFootball.com Lobi put behind a fire outbreak at their hotel as Okpotu opened scoring after just eight minutes from close range.

Jonah Abutu doubled the advantage of the hosts on 23 minutes from the penalty spot after goal-bound Chimaobi Nworgu was brought down inside the box.

Okpotu fired his second goal in the 65th minute to

now have seven league goals this season.

Ocean Boys confirmed their withdrawal from the NPL after they failed to turn up for a Week 37 home tie against Rising Stars.

Ocean Boys, who have missed two games before not showing up for Wednesday’s game in Yenagoa, have maintained they have pulled out of the league, a move that could have very serious implications in the final standings on the table.

Rising Stars chairman Fisayo Akinkuade told MTNFootball.com that home team Ocean Boys did not honour the game as promised.

He said, "We travelled for the game only for Ocean Boys not to show up for the game."

Ocean Boys media officer Eddy Ohis had insisted that his team will not play the game as they have pulled out of the competition.

"There is no way we will honour the game as our players have been sent home,” Ohis said even before the game that never was.

There were also sensational wins for Niger Tornadoes and Wikki Tourists.

Tornadoes battered champions Dolphin 4-0 at home, while Wikki recorded a massive 3-2 win at Sharks in Port Harcourt.

Heartland defeated Gombe United 2-1 and Warri Wolves also won 1-0 at home against Shooting Stars.

MTN Lagos Street Soccer Round of 64 draws hold tomorrow •Nigeria's Kalu Uche (R) jumps with Egypt's Hussam Ghali to head the ball during their friendly football match in the Gulf emirate of Dubai on April 12, 2012.

A

LL is now set for the draws of the Round of 64 of the season five of MTNLagos Street Soccer Championship taking place at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.

According to the Local Organising Committee (LOC)

of the tournament, some players and teams, who contradict the rules guiding the championship were also disqualified and sanctioned to serve as deterrent to others.

The draw will commence at 10am with the female team

expected to be part of the exercise.

LOC confirmed that some teams were involved in match fixing and fielding of ineligible players during the round of three of the competition.

TEAM NIGERIA’S LONDON OLYMPICS DISASTER

House to probe NOC’s N2.2bn funds • Advocates re-organisation of NSC, NOC • Says Nigeria paraded the oldest team in London

T

HE Chairman, House of Representative Committees on Sports, Honourable Godfrey Gaiya has told SportingLife exclusively that Nigeria’s disastrous outing at the just concluded London 2012 Olympic Games would be probed when the House resumes in September.

“We at the parliament are not going to fold our arms on this matter. As soon as we resume there is going to be Olympics post mortem of what happened in London. Nigerians want to know and we also in the House want them (NOC and NSC) to tell us what went wrong in London particularly the N2.2 billion that was released for the Games and the Team Nigeria came back with no medal”.

Gaiya, however, tendered unreserved apologies to expectant Nigerians who had hoped for a wonderful performance from Team Nigeria at the Games. “I am using this medium to tender unreserved and very sincere

From Segun Ogunjimi, Abuja apologies to Nigerians. We raised their hopes and also assured them that we are going to do well in the 2012 London Olympics but it didn’t quite work out the way we assured them. Let me identify with them by their frustration and their disappointment.

“As at the time we handed the athletes to the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) in Lagos, it appeared everything was working in accordance with our expectations. But what actually happened in London is what I can not fathom. Before our departure to London, the team was in high spirit; the team was competing and doing well so we thought we were on course.

But unfortunately the moment we went to London something happened. What happened I can not say exactly?

He also revealed that he and the other parliament members couldn’t have access to the team

which he claimed it could have afforded them the opportunity of salvaging the situation in London.

“My Speaker and I and the representative of the Senate President, the Chairman Senate Committee on Sport made attempts to try to see the athletes at their Games Village camp but honestly for two days we were unable to get access to the athletes so we wouldn’t have known what actually happened and what really caused the dismal and disgraceful performance of the athletes at the just concluded Games.

“They kept telling and promising us that they will get the pass and tickets that could have enabled us to watch the athletes in action which they never did. So we didn’t have the opportunity of communicating with the athletes to know their conditions, problems and state of mind. So we had no choice than to leave London two days

afterwards”, he complained.

Gaiya, however, advocated for immediate preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games holding in Brazil. “The preparations for the Brazil 2016 Olympics should start now. But to achieve any meaningful success at the next Olympics we need to as a matter of urgency remove the administrators that have stayed too long in their positions and inject fresh blood to move sports forward in the country. We need to inject people that have the passion and that could impact positively on our athletes between now and the next Olympics”.

He also called for reorganisation of the National Sports Commission and Nigeria Olympic Commission in order to enhance positive drives towards the next Games.

“There must be a total cleansing of the National Sports Commission (NSC). We have people that have been there for too long. They have

run out of ideas and I don’t think we can still trust them to deliver the 2016 Games in Brazil.

“Having said that we must look inward I was opportune to inspect the camp site of our athletes before going to London and I realised that there was nothing spectacular about the place. We can camp our athletes here if we develop our facilities like the running (tartan) tracks instead of hurriedly flying our athletes to abroad to prepare our athletes”.

Gaiya also disclosed, “sadly also Nigeria paraded the oldest team in the London Olympics.

Our athletes’ average age was more than 30 years and most of them have participated in more than three Olympics while other countries of the world came to the London Games with little teenagers of 15 and 19 years, while we were on our knees praying to God to give us miracle.

“Now we must start from the scratch by going to secondary schools to catch them young.

We must look at the schools’ inter-house sports and fish out the talents and nurture them for four years and see the result

there after.

“Finally the sports federations must be empowered because they are the engine room of our sports development. They are the ones that are the custodians of our athletes and they train them.

That means these federations will require funding from the (federal) government.

“Also, the federation presidents that have been in that position for 10 years or more should honourably leave their positions for people with fresh ideas to come in. For example I understand that the NOC president has been there for over 12 years while (Abu) Gumel (the Nigeria Volleyball Federation President), has been in that position for 15 years.

“We can no longer condone this for people to be at the saddle of sports for so long and have not made their mark in such sport(s). So I also call for new election that would enable overhauling of these federations’ hierarchy with the view of bringing people that are confident and capable. As soon as we can do this it will be a sure way of moving our sports forward”, he summed up.

THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012

63

TODAY IN THE NATION

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL. 7, NO.2,219

‘It is unacceptable for journalists or any professional for that matter to be maltreated in the course of their duties. We know that every job has its hazards. But this deliberate attack on Uwalaka cannot pass as one of such hazards LAWAL OGIENAGBON

C OMMENT & D EB ATE EBA

T

HERE is a growing demand in the country for the creation of state police. It is one of the major controversial issues in the current debate on the review of the 1999 Constitution. The governors are divided over the issue. While most of the Northern PDP governors are opposed to the idea of a state police, their Southern counterparts, particularly the ACN governors in the Southwest, are in favour of the proposal. The dispute is not about corruption in the police, or its professional ineptitude. Rather, it is about the powerful role of the police in future elections in the country.

Both the ruling and opposition parties are already thinking of the critical 2015 elections and beyond when the role of the police will become even more crucial and decisive. An impartial and non-partisan police is crucial to free and fair elections. The party that rules the country will control the police. But the opposition parties do not believe that the police, under the control of the Federal Government, can be trusted to conduct free and fair elections in the country.

The idea of a state police was first raised at the independence talks in 1959 in London when the Action Group, the ruling party in the former Western Region, demanded the creation of a regional police in the independence constitution. The party had become dissatisfied with the partisan role of the police in Nigeria’s politics and elections. Specifically, it had serious doubts that the Nigeria Police, under the control of a hostile Federal Government, could be relied upon to be politically impartial in enforcing law and order in Nigeria and in ensuring free and fair elections in the country. But the Federal Government, led by the NPC and the NCNC, that had control of the federal police, opposed the demand for regional police.

With the active support of the British colonial government, the idea of a regional police was rejected at the conference. The police had inherited the traditions of the colonial police which was often used to smash political agitations in the colony. The Action Group found itself a lone voice crying in the political wilderness. The AG feared that the police would, in future, be used by the ruling party at the centre as a political instrument for intimidating the opposition parties and for rigging elections in the country. Its fears were real and proved justified later, shortly after independence in 1960.

Before independence most enlightened and educated Nigerians were not in support of a regional police force, which they equated with the notorious and hated old Native Authority police all over Nigeria, but particularly in the North, where it was used as an instrument of oppression against the people and the main opposition parties. It was assumed by the educated Nigerian elite that a sole federal police would be in a better position to enforce the right of free association and guarantee free and fair elections in Nigeria. But these enlightened views and assumptions soon proved unrealistic in the context of Nigerian politics in which, soon after independence, the police became increasingly involved in partisan politics and tended to support the ruling party. For the NPC

DAPO FAFOWORA

FROM THE SUMMIT dapo.fafowora@thenationonlineng.net

The case for state police

•Ngige

and the NCNC, the main coalition partners in the Federal Government, control of the police was vital if they were to maintain their dominant electoral position in the country. Under their joint control the single police could easily be used to advance their electoral interests.

The fears of the Action Group opposition about the dangers to the regions of a sole federal police were soon justified by the 1959 federal elections in which the federal (Nigerian) Police were used massively, particularly in Northern Nigeria, to prevent the Action Group leaders from holding their political campaigns. The opposition parties were often refused police permits to hold political rallies in the Northern Region. Many opposition candidates were illegally arrested by the police, in breach of the electoral laws, and released only after the elections. Then again in 1962, during the internal crisis of the Action Group, the federal NPC/NCNC coalition government used the police which it controlled to intimidate the Action Group, the ruling party in the Western region, and break up demonstrations of public support for the party in the region. Specifically, the use of the police by the Federal Government to break up proceedings in the Western Region House of Assembly was plainly illegal and unconstitutional.

Claiming falsely that there was a breakdown of law and order in the region, the federal coalition government declared a state of emergency in the region. Soon after, most of the AG leaders, including Chief Awolowo, were incarcerated unfairly and subsequently tried and jailed on trumped up charges of treason.

The police was used to carry out these unconstitutional and illegal acts by the federal coalition government to destroy the AG regional government.

This regrettable development increased existing fears regarding the impartiality of the police in Nigerian politics and the use to which it could be put during elections to suppress the opposition. After the long military interlude, the partisan role of the police in the 1979 federal elections and subsequent elections reinforced the growing feeling, particularly in the South, that the police was being used to rig elections in Nigeria in support of the ruling party. The classic case was that of the former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Adewusi, who, in the 1983 federal elections, announced publicly without any authority, and even before the results of the elections had been announced by the electoral commission, that President Shagari of the NPN had won the elections. He could barely conceal his brazen and ardent support for the ruling Party, the NPN, in the elections. He threatened to arrest and detain any opposition leader who challenged the results of the elections which, by all accounts, were massively rigged. His role, as the head of the police, was clearly partisan and a clear negation of the constitution. The police had become increasingly corrupt and professionally inept in discharging its statutory functions. It was no longer an independent and neutral national security institution, but an extension of the Federal Government.

There can be little or no doubt that in 2003 and 2007 the police was used by the PDP Federal Government to rig the elections. The Obasanjo PDP Federal Government certainly used the police as an instrument for the rigging of the 2003 elections, the ‘do or die’ elections, particularly in the Southwest where the PDP, except in Lagos, unbelievably swept the polls. This is the background to the present demand for the creation of states police in addition to the existing federal police, now considered to be highly politicised and inherently incapable of being neutral in handling elections in the country. The truth of the matter is that the police have been made a political instrument of the federal authorities for subverting free and fair elections in the states and the nation. It is no longer trusted by the opposi-

HARDBALL

T

HE Parry Osayande panel on the reorganisation of the Nigeria Police has suggested, among other measures, that the unitary structure of the law enforcement agency be retained. It made this recommendation in the face of increasingly assertive campaign by the Governors’ Forum for the decentralisation of the police. But just as the campaign appeared to be looking credible, a significant number of governors, particularly from the North, developed cold feet and backed out. State police, they said, was inimical to unity. The northern governors’ position and the Osayande panel report seem to have taken the steam out of the campaign and doomed it at least for the foreseeable future.

However, the calls for state police are not likely to abate anytime soon. This is because the reasons that prompt the campaign have not been rigorously analysed and understood, let alone seriously and sensibly tackled. Suggestions by previous panels on how to make policing effective have either been perfunctory or misconstrued. So, instead of improving, the security situation has grown much worse until virtually every part of the country is now in

Scaremongers and state police turmoil. Citizens are neither safe in their houses nor on the highways, and the law enforcement agencies themselves have become unresponsive to the needs of the people and the demands of modern policing. The panel thinks by introducing three-tier joint funding arrangement, scrapping the Ministry of Police Affairs and giving the police power over its own affairs (including financial autonomy) within the ambit of an omnibus Police Council, the problem of insecurity would be ameliorated.

Of all the issues addressed by the panel, its scaremongering stands out vividly as a depressing reminder of and pointer to the lack of altruism that has bedevilled the search for development and stability in the country. By emphatically concluding that state police would be a dangerous precursor to disintegration, the panel short-sightedly shut itself away from a better and more productive appreciation of the rising menace of insecurity and the attendant implications for social harmony, political sta-

bility, and economic development. And having lived and worked essentially under unitary governments for decades, it has obviously become impossible for many analysts and public officials to think outside the box.

They believe true federalism does not conduce to unity, or that even if federalism must be enthroned, it must be adjusted desperately to suit local needs.

The Osayande panel may have doubtless made a few sensible suggestions on how best to police the country, but it has merely tackled the symptoms and scratched the surface of the problem. Like previous governments and panels before it, the new panel is living in denial of the real problems afflicting and predisposing the country to rising insecurity, political, ethnic and sectarian conflicts, and economic regression. Poor policing and rising insecurity are merely a part of the long-standing general problem afflicting the country. That general problem is rooted in the inability of the leader-

tion parties.

In different circumstances, there is a lot that can be said in favour of a sole federal police in the country. But this is only if the professionalism and political neutrality of the police can be guaranteed. This is by no means the case now. The police are answerable to only the federal authorities. In normal circumstances, the internal security of the nation should remain the constitutional responsibility of the Federal Government. But even in this case, the governors are designated as the Chief Security Officers of their states. Obviously, there is an anomaly here as the governors are not responsible for the police even in their states where the Police Commissioners are answerable only to the Inspector General of Police and, through him, to the Minister of Internal Affairs, or the Minister for Police Affairs, a federal agent. In other words, the governors are assigned responsibility without power.

The case of the former governor of Anambra, Dr. Chris Ngige, illustrates the dilemma faced by a governor who has no control over the police in his state. The fear that the governors will abuse the state police in the same manner as the Federal Government has been abusing the federal police is real. But that should not be advanced as a reason for opposing the demand for the creation of state police in Nigeria, a federal state.

In the context of Nigerian politics, the case for a state police has become increasingly clear and urgent. With a population of over 150 million, Nigeria is too large to have a single police force. The point has been made repeatedly that Nigeria is currently under policed.

This accounts for the sharp increase in crime rate. There is no country with a comparable size and population that has a single police force; not the USA, India, Australia, Switzerland, nor Canada, all of which have federal constitutions. Even Britain, now a quasi-federal state, does not have a single police force.

Each region, even Metropolis, has its own separate police. At the moment the police are under funded, under equipped and lacking in the resources needed to ensure effective internal security in the nation. It is overstretched.

It simply cannot cope with the increasing crime rate in the country, not to even talk about effectively tackling the menace of terrorism in the country.

In addition, the police lack the required local intelligence to tackle terrorism. Only a state police can fill this gap. A neighbourhood police is the most effective way to gather such intelligence. If the states are allowed to have their own police forces, it will relieve the federal police of its enormous security burdens, and allow the Federal Government to fund and equip it better. Broadly, the police should have functions similar to those of the FBI in the United States. The time has come for those states that would like to have their own police force to be allowed under the proposed new Constitution to do so. This will reduce the pressure on the federal police force and the high crime rate in the country.

• For comments, send SMS to 08054503031

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above ship elite to devise a realistic and workable arrangement of co-existence. Rather than address this failure, that elite has written pretentious constitutions that pretend to federalism, thereby making them monstrous creations sustainable only by coercion.

One fundamental problem the panel failed to address, and could of course not have addressed because it was not equipped to, is the fact that in spite of apparent unity, the peoples of Nigeria are different in too many critical respects. If there is any country in Africa incontestably and boisterously culturally diverse, Nigeria is one. More importantly, that cultural diversity has farreaching impact on virtually everything, from politics to religion, and from business to society. It is strange and unhelpful that the panel and even previous governments fear that recognising these differences and building institutions, like state police, to moderate and mediate them necessarily trigger fractionalisation or, worse, disintegration. The cost of denying state police, it will be clear eventually, far outweighs the fear of disintegration. The country has lived too long in denial; it is time the elite quit pussyfooting.

Published and printed by Vintage Press Limited. Corporate Office: 27B Fatai Atere Way, Matori, Lagos. P.M.B. 1025,Oshodi, Lagos.

Telephone: Switch Board: 01-8168361. Editor Daily:01-8962807, Marketing: 01-8155547 . Abuja Office: Plot 5, Nanka Close AMAC Commercial Complex, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja. Tel: 07028105302.

WEBSITE: www.thenationonlineng.net E-mail: info@thenationonlineng.net ISSN: 115-5302 Editor: GBENGA OMOTOSO