August 16, 2015

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

Guinness: 26-yearold cat in Oregon is world’s oldest alive 26-YEAR-OLD cat in Oregon has been named the oldest living cat by Guinness World Records.

The cat named Corduroy is owned by a family in the central Oregon city of Sisters. His owner, Ashley Reed Okura, has had him since he was a kitten and she was 7.

It’s the second time Corduroy has claimed the title. He was first recognized last year until officials discovered another cat, Tiffany Two, which lived to be just over 27. Corduroy reclaimed the title after Tiffany Two’s death.

Okura told The Oregonian (http://bit.ly/1JhCCrj ) that Corduroy is still active and in good health, except for some kidney problems. He still hunts on the family’s 160-acre property.

For his birthday August 1, Okura bought him a live white mouse from Petco and says he enjoyed it “right away.”

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CAPTURED

Babies as begging tools It is a thing of joy for every woman to have baby. However, to many who don't have the financial capacity to take care of them it's an avenue to make money. This woman with a triplet was captured at Iyana-Ipaja Round About begging for money.

PHOTO: OLUSEGUN RAPHEAL

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R E S I D E N T Muhammadu Buhari recently hosted three remarkable visitors in the past 10 days or so, triggering lots of apprehensions and speculations. The first on August 7 was former president Olusegun Obasanjo, whose past visits to his elected successors raised eyebrows and sent tremors coursing through agitated hearts. The second on August 11 was the peace committee headed by former military head of state Abdulsalami Abubakar, which played a pivotal role in the peaceful outcome of the 2015 polls and the equally peaceful transfer of power. Many Nigerians, including reporters who immersed themselves in speculative reporting, were troubled by the visits. There was a third but highly secretive earlier visit on August 6 by the immediate past president, Goodluck Jonathan. No photographs accompanied Dr Jonathan’s visit, and no statement was issued. Chief

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OTH Ekiti State returnee governor Ayo Fayose and Benue State fresher governor Samuel Ortom have spoken gleefully of their harassed childhood as either bus conductors/motor boys or bus and taxi drivers and motor park officials.

Their accounts are thought to be genuine and inspiring stories of rags to riches; stories designed to demonstrate that anyone can tap into the Nigerian dream and become whatever he wants to become, lawfully and gracefully. The stories are not only convincingly of Dickensian proportions, they hark back to the lives of Genghis Khan who created the largest empire in

sunday@thenationonlineng.net

Can Buhari walk alone?

Obasanjo’s and Gen Abubakar’s peace committee visits were garnished with photographs.

If the speculative reports of the past few days are closer to the truth than presidency officials care to admit, all the visits were designed to pressure or placate President Buhari, or coax him into putting his anti-corruption battles in the proper perspective. One report suggested that the president reassured a plaintive Dr Jonathan, when the former president complained on behalf of his aides, that he had nothing to fear because the targets of investigations and probes were government officials who soiled their hands.

There were no indications how the proper perspective would be defined or circumscribed, nor how the president would resolve the contradictions certain to confront him

should it be established that Dr Jonathan himself knew of or participated actively in the sleaze.

Chief Obasanjo, whose visit lasted for only minutes, would not disclose what he discussed with the president, but the Gen Abubakar committee was a little bit more forthcoming. Speaking copiously on behalf of the committee, which reports suggested had transformed into the National Peace Council, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, said the peace group did not intervene on behalf of anybody. The Aso Villa visit, he said, was a follow-up to other visits to other stakeholders in the Nigerian project. He added that they only advised the president to follow due process in pursuing the

anti-corruption war.

Shorn of all the prevarications, nocturnal visits, and sealed lips, all three visits appeared designed to subtly pressure the president into actually putting his war in proper perspective. Nigerian leaders have no precedence of openly probing their predecessors. If President Buhari continues along the present path, it does seem like Dr Jonathan would find it difficult to come out unscathed. Until sometime in the future, Nigerians may never know exactly what Chief Obasanjo advised President Buhari, given the urgency of the visit and the place where it took place, at the president’s private residence. But Dr Jonathan can be safely secondguessed, and the waffling of the peace committee all but left President Buhari to read between the lines of the due process admonition.

Fayose, Ortom and their ‘rags to riches’ stories history and the Roman Emperor Diocletian.

A few years before, former president Goodluck Jonathan had also rendered his own fascinating story of rags to riches, rising from a shoeless nobody to a debonair wonder. In the early years of his presidency, Dr Jonathan was never tired of inflicting his now allegorised shoeless stories on a testy and wary public. His Christian audience cooed in wonderment at the myths he wove around his bare feet, and his detractors chafed relentlessly in puzzles, both impelled to react to what they argued was either unprecedented piffle or unrestrained, virtuoso music.

But, as Dr Jonathan’s

shoeless story demonstrated, harrowing childhood stories have their drawbacks and limitations. When Dr Jonathan and his wife began to festoon their dual mandate with jarring malapropisms and disruptive misrule, the public wondered whether the former president’s childhood deprivations had not irreparably scarred him.

He was unable to respond to life’s higher and eternal verities, they mourned. He was a philistine who was inured to culture and civilisation, they also mocked. And like that great narcissist and apostle of ochlocracy, former president Olusegun Obasanjo, Dr Jonathan despised his betters and raucously and furiously

sought advantage over them, no matter how little.

Alas, too, Mr Fayose, more than anyone in Nigerian history, has shown himself deeply and emotionally scarred. Whether in his first abridged term or during last year’s electioneering, the Ekiti governor showed there was no refinement left in him. How such a coarse man won a governorship election, and affects to speak grandly on moral and exigent issues of the day must be one of the most befuddling political events ever in Nigeria. Mr Ortom, a deeply religious man, it is said, had not shown any of the classical symptoms of deprived childhood. But notwithstanding his

intellectual and political accomplishments and his humanistic approach to governance, he will leave many of his compatriots on tenterhooks, as they wait nervously for the other shoe to drop.

Nigerian leaders operate like a camorra. It is now left for President Buhari to conform or play the iconoclast.

Can he walk alone? And even if he can, will he choose to? The safe bet is that he will cajole those who looted public funds in recent years to disgorge a sizable part of the loot. A few well-connected scapegoats, perhaps with one or two high-profile thieves, will be put on trial. But otherwise, those who will be put on trial will be nitwits and inconsequential names who took advantage both of the system and their permissive and larcenous bosses to rifle through the national treasury and help themselves.

After all, before the poll that enthroned President Buhari, he had all but given his word that no harm of any sort would come to Dr Jonathan, however that harm was defined.

President Buhari’s natural instinct is, however, to walk alone. He had tried a few times to be president before now, but failed, largely because he did not want to be beholden to those he regarded as ethically tainted.

Had he stuck to his sanctimonious past, he would still not be president. For a man configured by nature to be a loner, he will have noticed already how helplessly he is morphing into something both shocking and galling to himself. If he were a good poker player, however, he could decide to go the whole hog, bring the country’s tormentors to justice, damn the revolutionary consequences of his bravado, and perhaps put the country finally on the right track. Only President Buhari himself knows whether he has the guts, depth and great judgement to pull off that sublime and consolidated feat.

By ADEKUNLE ADE-ADELEYE

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

On the Northern Question: two exemplary positions

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COLUMN

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nooping around With

Tatalo Alamu

•Shehu Sani

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F you ignore the National Question, it will not ignore you. This is because nations are never a settled, unquestionable affair; they are forever in question. As we have seen with some of the world’s oldest nations, particularly Spain, Great Britain, Canada, Russia, the Philippines and many Latin American countries, affronted nationalities are questioning the very basis and essence of the nation, often in scary armed critiques and bloody confrontations.

But as we have seen in the many brutal and bloody civil wars in postcolonial Africa, particularly in Nigeria, the two Congos, Central African Republic, Somalia, Mozambique, Angola and now the two Sudan, National Questions are never settled by force but by exemplary statesmanship and visionary pacting which address the fears and grievances of political elites.

Often, many of these elite formations use the National Question as a mask and platform for bitter power struggles and deep state intrigues, or as rearguard rallies after electoral shellacking. That is neither here nor there. It is in the nature of politics and politicians to complicate and problematize the National Question, particularly in the absence of a genuine nationalist elite formation and its overriding ethos.

The creation of a nation particularly by colonial fiat does not and cannot come with the creation of nationals. That task is left to visionary nationalist elite groups. An Italian patriot famously snorted after the Garibaldi unification by sword: “Now that we have created Italy, it is time to create Italians!” Many African nations were created by the colonial overlords with enemy nationals deeply embedded, making the task of genuine nation-building a forlorn Sisyphean quest.

In postcolonial Africa, particularly multi-national Nigeria, these nascent colonial creations continue to roil in crisis and contradictions with mutually incompatible nationalities in a war of all against all. Like a stubborn and unwavering limpet stuck to a rock, the nationality question is deeply embedded in the National Question, implicated and furiously implicating. The tsetse fly does not kill a cow, but it can make life very uncomfortable and worthless indeed.

This is not a question of tribe or tongue. Either as a regional bloc or as individual entities, most Nigerian nationalities are permanently engaged in a driven quest for self-validation or self-determination which often erupts as an armed critique of the state or the nation itself or a determined bid to bend or break the

•Nasir el-Rufai

nation to their private will. But in the absence of a powerfully driven and historically motivated national elite formation, it is like trying to feel your way out of a funeral sack; it often feels like being buried alive.

For example, in the old west, despite the bravest visionary efforts of Obafemi Awolowo and his progressive successors to collar the region and drive it in the direction of western modernity and modernization, the lingering ideological efficacy of its old powerful feudal structure still continues to play lead violin with the Yoruba nationality forced to feel and probe its way towards modernity like a stalled caterpillar. This can be seen in the cultural politics surrounding the transition of the Ooni, the spiritual father of the Yoruba people.

In the old east, the general conviction is that the Igbo nation has never been able to throw up a visionary and purposeful political elite to match and valorize the republican dynamism, entrepreneurial brilliance and outstanding creative gifts of the people. The result has been perpetual perfidy and betrayals which in the tumult and turbulence of a dysfunctional nation often eventuate in unhealthy bitterness and tantrum-throwing which in turn jeopardize inter-elite harmony and cooperation.

As for the Ijaw nationality and its failed hegemonic bid, discerning Ijaw nationalists will for long rue the postcolonial incubus which has foisted an inept and corrupt leadership on the ethnic group at its most critical hour of need. As General Obasanjo recently hostilely averred, this leadership lapse will haunt the ethnic formation for quite some time to come. But as Kafka once noted, “it is not that what you say is false, but it is so hostile”.

Yet of all the regional blocs and nationalities in Nigeria, it is perhaps the north that has been most critically shortchanged and left holding the wrong end of the stick. Political success is the mother of economic and cultural failure. Unlike other regions, colonial conquest and occupation met a ruling class which had by dint of its own internal conquest and occupation leavened by political guile and astute engineering imposed a measure of order, stability and cohesiveness on the entire region. If this superior feudal politicking has allowed the north to dictate the political terms in post-independence Nigeria, it has also left some hideous social contradictions in its wake.

Colonial occupation met the north stoutly facing the Middle East and Islamic civilization for succor and political guidance. This is a fact

of historical congruence and spiritual consanguinity which cannot be wished away. The problem is that after it was thrown out of Spain and after the debacle of the Ottoman Turks in modern day Serbia in the fifteenth century, Islamic modernity has been reeling relentlessly from the hammer of western modernity and modernization.

As this relentless western modernity impinges on the north destabilizing and compromising its classical Islamic feudal political structure and economy even as it hammers away at its Wahhabist spiritual hegemony through the advent of western education and the menace of globalization, we have been witnessing a horrid reenactment of the Middle East horror in Sahelian Nigeria. It has even occasioned the rise and hegemony of a northern officers’ class reminiscent of the occupation of Egypt by slave soldiers of the Mamluk caste for almost five hundred years. Welcome to Boko Haram country.

It is just as well, then, that the Boko Haram threat is about to be completely degraded by a rejuvenated and re-engineered Nigerian military. But unless the root political and economic causes of this scourge are addressed and in the light of relentless globalization which is an equal opportunity transmitter and transmission spacecraft for spiritual merchandise and Islamic radicalism, we may witness the advent of even more horrid and murderous mutants in the future.

Luckily for Nigeria, There is a breath of fresh air and optimism blowing across the country which is kindled by President Mohammadu Buhari’s return to power and exemplary personal example. It is unfortunate that age is no longer on the retired general’s side. Buhari’s announcement of a multi-billion naira rehabilitation plan for the ravaged north east is a step in the right direction. This project must now include a holistic plan for the compulsory education of northern youths and the economic empowerment of its underclass which will wean its desperate peasantry and disoriented hoi polloi away from the sedulous and seductive lore of the paradisiacal paeans of Islamic militancy.

What the north and by extension the rest of the nation need is a modernizing Ataturk who will take the entire country by the scruff of the neck and push its political, economic and spiritual structures into compulsory modernization. A primitive economic structure can only breed primitive corruption and mammoth greed associated with hunter-gatherers not sure of the next meal. One does not

need to like Buhari’s face or stern visage to associate with what he is doing. This is Nigeria’s last chance.

Whether his shameless traducers are willing to admit it or not, Buhari has got many things right.

Yet the National Question, like an old impertinent and unwanted guest, persists and subsists. It will not go away. Turkey was a culturally and religiously homogenous nation which made it relatively easy for Mustapha Kemal Ataturk to deal with rump of the Ottoman Empire he bravely carved out. But the modern world is no longer driven by arms and their bearers but by the force transcendental thinking.

A modern Nigerian Ataturk must combine the visionary modernizing genius of the old Turkish hero with the cultural and intellectual nous and sensitivity which must allow him to see Nigeria as a multinational nation with nationalities in relatively autonomous and mutually incompatible stages of political, economic and spiritual developments. This not only requires astute political engineering, but simultaneous synchronic and structural discriminations and rigorous differentiations. Whether Buhari has these or is driven by a solitary messianism without commensurate conceptual scaffolding remains to be seen.

But the national question waits for nobody as it aims at the jugular of fragile and inchoate nations. As if to remind us of unfinished business, the northern in the national Question reechoed recently in a stormy collision of ideas between two of the brightest political stars the northern Nigerian firmament has thrown up in recent times.

Malam Nasir el-Rufai , the governor of Kaduna State, needs no introduction. Brilliant, bold, tempestuous and with a hint of temperamental irritability with opposing ideas, the pesky, pint-sized accidental politician does not take hostages. Often controversial but with a cause, elRufai has established quite a reputation as a radical iconoclast and northern gadfly who does not care a hoot about protocols and procedures for political hostilities. In a starchy conservative milieu, this may come across as impish arrogance, but there is considerable merit in el-Rufai’s hell raising.

Ever since he became governor, el-Rufai has seized the central northern state by the scruff of the neck dragging the bull screaming and kicking to the watering hole of modernization. When he is not severely downsizing the bloated and unsustainable structure of governance, he is busy abolishing the customary practice of state Sallah munificence.

When he is not busy pruning down and “rationalizing” the unwieldy ministries, he is tirelessly scissoring the mammoth workforce.

There are faint hints of the infamous IMF conditionalities about these reforms and more than a whiff of text book monetarist economics.

Nasir el-Rufai often comes across as an unfeeling, hard-hearted patrolman of the World Bank autobahn.

But it is better to do something and be wrong than to do nothing and be right. Corrective measures often come from the collision of proactive errors and practical insights.

It is a desperate situation indeed.

It is however el-rufai’s attempt to banish beggars (but not begging) from the streets of Kaduna that has drawn the ire of Shehu Sani, his fellow party man and senator from the

same Kaduna state who has accused the governor of pursuing anti-people policies. Urbane, courteous and impeccably well-mannered, Sani comes from an illustrious line of radical civil society activism and high wire political networking.

Begging and its corollary of alms giving, particularly in the north, is a culturally sensitive and spiritually explosive affair which should be handled with tact and caution. But it should be noted that begging was never a profession until alms giving was religiously codified as a sign of spiritual ennoblement and charity towards the perpetually impecunious and begging itself is spiritually transformed as a symptom of honorable poverty. Dishonorable poverty breeds revolutions and republican perversities.

But for the distinguished senator and civil rights activist, these selfsame beggars and despised mendicants form a considerable part of his constituency. They are his people.

He was not elected by beggars to abolish beggars –and begging. In a conservative society, this is the politically correct stance to take. In the event, it is el-Rufai’s monetarist conservatism with its echoes of brutal modernization that tilts at the edge of radical iconoclasm and visionary innovation.

It is intriguing however that neither Shehu Sani nor Nasir el-Rufai has come up with a holistic and comprehensive programme about addressing the phenomenon of begging in the north which strikes at the root of the problem. This must involve a regimen of drastic reorientation, compulsorily mass-education and what the great Brazilian sociologist has called “conscientization” of the people. But this is tantamount to striking a fatal blow at the vital artery of the old northern ruling class.

If it is sufficiently scaffolded and theoretically integrated to become a coherent ideology, President Buhari’s messianic populism may be of help here. It has been established in political philosophy that the greatest good that can come from government is the maximum happiness of the maximum number of citizens. From different ideological spectrums, the Lula advent in Brazil and the Lee Kuan Yew experiment in Singapore have shown how it is people for bold visionary governance to lift a nation and its people from the trough of poverty and indignity to global reckoning.

How this will pan out in Nigeria remains to be seen. But that this debate is taking place at all between two of the northern luminaries of their generation is a pointer to the political and intellectual ferment that has seized hold of Nigeria and the first astral sign of a post-PDP Nigeria. In sixteen years of misbegotten rule, this kind of intellectual contention that is potentially regenerative in its sheer disruptiveness of the existing order never took place on an inter-party basis not to talk of within the same party in the same region and the same state.

Once again, we wager that the APC has its work cut out for it. What the “thrilla in Kaduna” is showing is that the new ruling party cannot afford to slam arbitrary textbook policies on the whole nation without first coming to terms with the political, cultural, economic and spiritual peculiarities of its constituting units and mutually contradictory constituencies. The National Question is still very much alive and kicking at us.

4 Naira rain at NASS as senators collect N23.4m each •Reps receive N17m each T •Two months gone, no bill passed THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

NEWS

HE nation may have spent about N12, 967, 600,000 in two months to maintain National Assembly members, who were inaugurated on June 9, it has been learnt.

The 109 senators got N36.4 million each; the 360 members of the House of Representatives received N25 million each.

The Senators and the representatives were first paid N10milion each in June to ‘cushion’ the difficulty of settling down in Abuja.

The amount, which was to cover their expenses on housing, transport and furniture, cost the public about N4.6billion.

Last month under a prorata arrangement for quarterly allowance covering June, Senators got N13. 4 million each and representatives, N7million each.

Since their inauguration,

By Our Reporters

the legislators have gone on recess three times. Before going on break last Thursday, Senators got N13 million each and representatives, N8 million. They have yet to pass a bill since they began sitting in June.

Their inauguration was followed by the controversial emergence of Senators Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu as Senate President and Deputy President.

Yakubu Dogara and Lasun Yusuf were also picked as House Speaker and Deputy Speaker against the wish of their party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Last Wednesday, senators disagreed on the recommen-

dation by the Finance Committee to cut their salary and allowances.

The James Manager-led committee had recommended a 30 percent cut which, if accepted,would have saved tax payers about N2billion yearly .

This translates to N2 million reduction from the N51 million quarterly allowances enjoyed under the 7th Senate or about N874 million saved from each year’s four quarterly allowances alone.

Besides, the representatives’ reduction of their quarterly allowances from N39million to N33 million will save the nation about N2.

1 billion, made up of N6million reduction in each member’s allowances over four quarters.

Some Nigerians have criticised the Senators for rejecting the pay cut proposal even after President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have resolved to slash their salary by 50 per cent.

Following public criticism over the yearly N150billion budget being enjoyed by the National Assembly over the past few years, members decided to reduce their 2015 budget by N30 billion, to N120billion.

YEAR 2011 - 2014 SENATE N51millio HOUSE OF REPS N39million

EFCC The Nation learnt that many Senators and representatives have signed documents that could make them vulnerable to inquiry by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-corruption bodies.

According to sources, just like their predecessors, the lawmakers had circulated a template used to ‘account’ for their multi-million Naira allowances.

The template only requires the gathering of receipts to render an account of expenditure and it is basically given as follows: •SENATE TEMPLATE FOR JULY 2015 ALLOWANCES (See Attached) •2015 HOUSE OF REPS’ ND 2 QUARTER PAYMENT (JULY 2015) (See Attached) Transparency: citizens have right to know,CICLAC claims The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) hold the view that Nigerians have a right to know how legislators are spending tax payers’ money.

Speaking with The Nation, CISLAC’s Executive Director, Mr. Auwal Ibrahim Musa asserted that his organisation and other civil society organisations had long been urging the National Assembly to bring in more transparency into its affairs.

His words: “At CISLAC, we have done some work on the cost of governance and the need for members of the National Assembly to have a more responsive budget, based on the reality of the

YEAR 2015 SENATE N49million HOUSE OF REPS N33million

After a two-hour closed door meeting on Wednesday, S e n a t e President Bukola Saraki announced that the Manager committee’s report aimed at reducing salary and allowances, would be stood down. The report, he added, would debated on later date.

• Vice President's wife Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo with Imo State Governor’s wife Mrs Nkechi Okorocha at a march past by Imo State Women’s August meeting, yesterday in Owerri

Air Force bombards Boko Haram bunkers in Sambisa Forest

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ARELY 72.hours after President Muhammadu gave a three-month deadline, the Nigerian Air Force yesterday bombarded all Boko Haram bunkers located in the dreaded Sambisa Forest.

The bunkers might be between 30 and 40 being managed by the sect.

Also, troops yesterday foiled a suicide bombing attack on Rumirgo Market in Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.

According to a top military source, who spoke in confidence, the bombardment of the bunkers will be extended to all the camps and cells of the insurgents in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

The source said: “The Nigerian Air Force has commenced aerial bombardments of hidden bunkers of Boko Haram in Sambisa Forest and other camps or cells in the North-East.

“The Air Force and ground troops have located many bunkers being managed by the sect. There is no retreat, no surrender again. We are taking the battle to the insur-

•Troops foil suicide bombing From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

gents.”

Responding to a question, the source added: “We are talking of 30 to 40 bunkers in Sambisa Forest. Our mission is to smoke out the insurgents from the bunkers.”

An official statement by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) confirmed the aerial attacks on Sambisa Forest.

In a statement by its Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore, Dele Alonge, NAF said the aerial bombardments have degraded the capability of the insurgents.

The statement said: “The Nigerian Military in its resolution to incapacitate and further degrade the fighting spirit of Boko Haram Terrorist Group (BHT), has carried out several bombings and air strike missions in Sambisa Forest.

“The strike missions came after several weeks of tactical reconnaissance by the reconnaissance/ surveillance air-

craft.

“The air strikes carried out

by F-7NI and Alpha Jet fighter aircraft, as well as attack helicopters have resulted in the degradation of the terrorists capabilities and destruction of some of their strong holds.

“Intelligence report revealed that as aftermath of the strike missions, the terrorists have been confined and their capabilities greatly reduced, thereby restricting their nefarious activities to small-scale attacks and suicide bombings.

“The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar assures all Nigerians that the air efforts would be sustained until the Boko Haram Activities become a thing of the past.

“He further stated that, the Nigerian Air Force with their support is willing, able and ready to meet up with current and future security challenges of the nation.”

Meanwhile, troops yesterday foiled a suicide bombing attack on Rumirgo Market in Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.

A statement by the Acting

Director Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman, confirmed the foiling of the suicide mission by troops.

The statement said: “An attempt by a suicide bomber to attack and wreak havoc at Rumirgo Market in Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State on Saturday morning was thwarted by a gallant vigilante group member.

“The suspected suicide bomber heading to Rumirgo market was accosted by the ever vigilant and security conscious vigilante.

“In the process of interrogation, the suspected terrorist blew himself off and died on the spot. The vigilante member sustained injuries and has been rushed to hospital for medical treatment by troops.

“The situation is under control as people go about their normal businesses. The Nigerian Troops have been placed on maximum alert to forestall further attack.

“We want to seize this opportunity to call on the public to continue to be more vigilant and security conscious.”

economy.

“We also want the National Assembly to open up on its budget so that Nigerians will appreciate what they are really doing because a lot of people do not understand why the National Assembly should be having such kinds of monies while the National Assembly members are not helping matters by clarifying things or enlightening citizens.

“Rather, they sometimes get angry over calls for more transparency in their accounts and this is not the best way to communicate with the public. These are public funds!

“Instead of them to exercise patience and act with understanding so that Nigerians can appreciate the representation they give, they sometimes get angry and try to dismiss people as if it is their personal money.

“I think there is poor communication from the National Assembly and this is not helping them and it is not helping the nation. They need to explain because they are in charge of the nation’s appropriations. If they want others to be transparent and also subject their own budget to National Assembly’s oversight, they must be able to account for what they are doing.

“As it is now, unfortunately the National Assembly is not accountable to anybody; it is supposed to be accountable to the electorate but it is not accountable to anybody. Many of them do not even go their constituencies for constituents to ask questions. Yet sometimes, when people speculate, they just get angry.

“If you don’t want people to speculate, you need to create a platform where you can share information on what you are doing. Your going into public office is not a private thing, especially when public funds are involved.”

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

NEWS

5

DSS begins probe of military contracts, arms deal

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HE Department of State Security Service (DSS) has started probing contracts awarded by the military and other security agencies.

The probe includes arms procurement in the past few years.

It was also learnt that some contractors were detained by the military for about 24 to 48 hours for quizzing.

The names of the contractors were however kept under wraps as at the time of filing this report.

But the affected contractors were released after making relevant documents available to the security agency.

According to investigation by our correspondent, the ongoing findings border on four pegs including: *alleged extra-budgetary spending on military hardware and the sources of funding; *what became of the $1billion approved for arms purchase by the National Assembly; *the sources of the $15million seized by South Africa *why the military budget had declined in the last five years or whether or not the military budget had been diverted to other use; and *likely cases of mismanagement.

It was gathered that the presidency was disturbed that some of the immediate past Service Chiefs had complained of lack of equipment contrary to the records available to the government.

Although the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Mr. Sambo Dasuki, had clarified that enough modern arms and ammunition, the government has set out to find out how much was spent on arms, the actual Defence budget, what was released and spent.

A reliable source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The DSS has launched a discreet probe into award of contracts, procurement and extra-budgetary votes by the military and security agencies in the past five years.

“Some contractors were detained and grilled for about 24 to 36 hours before they were released to their lawyers. Some of the contractors will still be re-

Contractors detained, released FROM: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

invited as the probe progresses.

“Where contracts were duly awarded, the DSS only screened the process and confirmed execution. Some procurements were also verified.

“The job is however easier in some cases because one of the present Service Chiefs was in charge of procurement in his service.”

One of the affected contractors confirmed invitation

by DSS to our correspondent.

The contractor said: “I was asked to present my contract papers, due process approval and the execution. They were civil because after presenting all the details, I was left off the hook after 24 hours.

“This is why it is not good to cut corners in any business one is doing.”

It was however learnt that the DSS will look find out whether or not the $1billion external loan sought by the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan was approved.

The 7th Senate had on September 25 approved President Goodluck Jonathan’s request to borrow a $1bn external loan to buy arms and hardware fight insurgency in the country.

The source added: “The ongoing investigation will help to find out if the loan was fully accessed or not, what it was spent on and what gaps to be filled.

“It is not a witch-hunt but if you go through the report of the Transition Committee of Jonathan, there were so many gaps to fill.

“There were allegations of underfunding, short-changing of military budget, extrabudgetary spending, and unnecessary debts.

“We also got reports that some military equipment ordered from abroad are still being expected.

“There is need to reconcile all these records. If there are infractions, those concerned will be prosecuted.

“In all, the report of the Ministry of Defence was not at par with the votes spent on the arms in the Armed Forces and

security agencies.

In a report to the Federal Government Transition Committee, headed by ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo, the Ministry of Defence said the defence budget has declined under the administration of exPresident Goodluck Jonathan.

Out of N445.309billion voted for the ministry in five years, about N273.831billion was actually released.

The withheld amount was about N171.478billion.

Also, the ministry had an outstanding liability of N26,830,532,161.24 including N2,618,509,462.05 and $20,962.96 incurred on capital and overhead expenditures and excess commitment of N24,212,022,699.19 on Peace Support operations The breakdown of the report shows that the Federal Government budgeted N445.309billion for the Ministry of Defence between 2011 and 2015 as follows N213.122billion (capital) and

overhead (N232.187billion).

Out of the N213.122billion capital votes, only N110.916 billion was released.

Concerning the recurrent budget, out of N232.187billion, about N162.915billion was released The report said in part: “There has been consistent decline in both Capital and Overhead allocations to the Defence Sector in the past five years (2011-2015) as shown in the table below. In spite of the limited funds the responsibilities of both the Ministry and its agencies are increasing on a daily basis.

Mostly with the level of insecurity arising from insurgency in the North-East, Niger Delta and other flash points in the country.

“Follow the inadequacy of regular funding for Peace Support Operations (PSOs), N35,000,000,000.00 (thirty five billion naira only) Bond was raised at 9.75% per annum in 2008 to equip Nigerian troops

engaged in various UN missions.

“The equipment procured were delivered at the Nigerian Arm Ordinance Depot, Lagos for onward deployment to mission areas under the supervision of the Defence Headquarters. However, it should be noted that Contingent Owned Equipment (COE) attracts reimbursements from the United Nations Peace keeping which account is domiciled with CBN UN Account General of the Federation and utilized for the repayment of the Bond. So far, the sum of N27.3 billion has been repaid for the loan taken.

“However, following a request by the ministry to Mr. President for the transfer of control/management of the Armed Forces Peace Keeping reimbursement account from Nigeria Permanent Mission in the UN to the Defence Section in New York from where the funds will be remitted into the MOD account, the request was

graciously approved and it is expected that with the transfer, funds would be easily accessed and utilized more judiciously for the maintenance and upgrade of the equipment.

“The repayment schedule due to non-regular remittance of funds from the Defence Section in New York to the ministry, which therefore affected the loan payment which hitherto was to be fully paid in June, 2015 but will now be paid on a quarterly sum of N1,284,122,196.23 with effect from 30th June, 2015 to 30th September, 2017 “The Ministry has an outstanding liability of N26, 830,532,161.24 and $20,962.96.

This is made up of N2,618,509,462.05 and $20,962.96 incurred on capital and overhead expenditures and excess commitment of N24,212,022,699.19 on Peace Support operations (i.e.

N11,370,800,729.85 for UNAMID and N1,246,102,623.11 for Guinea Bissau) and DMO debt of N12,841,221,969.34.”

•From left, Prof. Ibraheem Abubakar Njodi, Vice Chancellor, University of Maiduguri; presenting a Souvenir to Oba Adeyemi III as new Chancellor of the University. During the visit of the management team of the University to Alaafin’s Palace, Oyo on Friday

Why PDP lost 2015 election -Bamanga Tukur

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ORMER National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has described the emergence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the centre in the 2015 general elections as people’s quest for alternative to a failed party.

He said, “Democracy is government of the people by the people for the people. So, if the PDP fails to deliver on its promises, people will go to the alternative. Change is always good, provided it is going to bring better alternative.”

The former PDP chairman stated this while featuring on Guest of the Week, a programme on Kaduna based Liberty Radio, yesterday.

Tukur also blamed the PDP’s woes on lack of internal democracy.

According to him, certain people in the party didn’t want him to practice internal democracy that he was

From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

preaching.

He noted that the APC, by making all the elements relevant and allowing the people choose their leaders through elections allowed the democratic system to prevail for the interest of allý.

Speaking on his ordeal that forced him out as National Chairman of the party, Tukur cleared the air that, “Jonathan did not insist I leave the party, there are people in the PDP

who felt I should not practice what I preach because discipline is very important, following the laws you established, is very important, why you do not want to follow the laws you established and you don’t change them, you have problem.

“President Jonathan could not protect me due to the powers of the governors, the governors are very powerful and therefore, if you do not do what they want, you are done away with and I believe

nothing can be done to themý. ý”I was accused of being a virus in PDP, and I did not deny it, I told them I am a virus for good governance, virus for internal democracy, virus for equity and justice, I hope that ývirus will continue,” he explained.

On the leadership style on President Muhammadu Buhari, the former PDP Chairman threw his weight behind the President and asked Nigerians to allow Buhari lead the nation at his calculated

pace.

“I salute Muhammadu Buhari because he has integrity. He believes in discipline, he believes in fighting corruption and believes in good governance because, the only way we can go forward and be respected in the community of nations is by coming together and carrying our people along”, he said.

Speaking on insecurity in the north east, he said, “In

discipline in all facets of our national life owing to the President’s integrity and incorruptibility.

Government institutions, the former senator added, have also keyed into the change mantra by improving on their service delivery.

Speaking on the achievements of the federal government, he said: “There is increase in the

federal allocation in spite of the continuous fall in the price of crude oil in the international market. It shows Buhari has been blocking all the leakages through which our money was being siphoned. Allocation to states is now improving and by default, things are changing for good.

“In just three months, our refineries are now working

simply because of the fear that Buhari would not condone indiscipline, corruption and sabotage. Power generation has also increased and Nigerians are beginning to enjoy stable electricity.”

On the financial crisis in Osun State, Hussain said it is not peculiar to the state, even as he expressed his optimism that the state would soon overcome its

2013, when Boko Haram element started I said to Nigerians, ýif the country is attacked, all Nigerians must come together and attack the elements and indicate their principles including, strengthening both military and para-military defences, dialogue, so that they understand why they are doing what they are doing and diplomacy, by making sure they government talks to Niger, Chad, Mali and Cameroon.”

Buhari performing to expectations, says ex-lawmaker

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ARELY three months into the tenure of the current administration, Coordinator of Buhari/ Osinbajo Campaign Organisation in Osun State, Senator Mudasiru Hussain, has expressed satisfaction that president Muhammadu Buhari has performed to expectations.

According to Hussain, the Buhari presidency has restored

challenges within the shortest period of time.

Husain said: “The economic crisis we are facing in Osun is not peculiar to the state.

Sincerely, the economic quagmire of the state is as a result of the bastardisation of the country’s economy and brazen corruption under the former President Goodluck Jonathan led administration.”

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

NEWS

ICPC seizes properties of Niger Delta Ministry staff

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• Vice President Yemi Osinbajo flanked by Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbeshola (left), and the event’s Chairman Prof. Oye Ibidapo-Obe, during a dinner organised by Faculty of Law, University of Lagos for the vice president at Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island at the weekend.

PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

N what could be described as a big haul, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has seized various landed properties belonging to three senior staff of the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

The three are being investigated according to the commission for possessing properties which are "excessive, having regards to their present emoluments and all other relevant circumstances."

In a notice of seizure by the Commission dated August 11, 2015, it said that the movable and immovable properties seized from the affected staff were part of the subject of the investigation. It was signed by the ICPC Chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta. The affected staff, who are mostly accountants in the ministry, include one Poloma

Kabiru Nuhu from whom an uncompleted duplex situated at Diamond Estate, Apo, Abuja, valued at N90million was seized. Also seized from him was a plot of land valued at N50million in Kuje, Abuja and 16 other plots of land in Gwagwalada, Abuja. He alone was alleged to have 18 landed properties in Abuja.

A four-bedroom duplex in Abuja valued for N60 was seized from one Daniel Obah along with four plots of land at various locations in Rivers State with the least value of N16.5m , while a plot of land in Kubwa District, Abuja valued at N7million s seized from Mangset Longyl Dickson.

According to Nta, the notice of the seizure of the properties are "to be served on the appropriate Land Registries and Departments in all states where those properties are situated."

Why oil theft persists in Niger Eradicating poverty, insecurity Delta, by Navy Commander top on Buhari's list, says Osinbajo T

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HE greatest challenges of the President Muhammadu Buhariled administration are how to bring about 110 million Nigerians out of extreme poverty, as well as end Boko Haram insurgency.

This disclosure was made by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), on Friday night at a dinner organised in his honour by the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos.

Prof. Osinbajo, who noted that extreme poverty and illiteracy were the bane of the Nigerian society, stated that the government was open to ideas and contributions from professionals on how to solve the problem.

He stated that over time, successive governments have had various budgets including consolidation and budget of the future, but with little or no impact in the lives of the people.

While noting that the president understands the expectations of Nigerians, Prof.

By Precious Igbonwelundu

Osinbajo urged the elite not to leave eradication of poverty for the government alone, adding, "The real challenge today is how do you bring 110 million extremely poor people out of poverty? It's not just a matter of creating some jobs, setting up industries and all that."

According to him, "It is a much bigger challenge because that number of people are not just extremely poor, many of them lack education. I was in Borno State to visit the IDPs in the camps. One of the most frightening things that I've seen especially going around some of those states is the fact that so many people are completely illiterate, especially women and when I say completely illiterate, you can imagine someone who lives in the north and does not even speak Hausa.

"That's the level of illiteracy we are talking about. That you are living up there in the north and you only speak a local dialect, you don't even speak

Hausa let alone English or any other language. That's the kind of situation that our country is in especially in terms of a broader picture and I think that for those of us who are academics and professionals, it is a great challenge to us to generate answers/big ideas that would solve these problems. We, who are there are all ears to whatever ideas/thoughts you may have about these issues."

The vice president observed, "Over time, I have come to recognise the incredible responsibility that we have, especially those of us who are professionals. And I think that in many ways we have the training, we have the knowledge and everything that it takes to take our country out of where it is and put it where it belongs on the map and I do not believe for one moment that we need to be in a political office to do so.

"There are so many different ways by which we can make a serious contribution. It helps if we are in political offices but I

think there are so many things we can do, so many different outlets for us to focus our minds on solving the problems of poverty."

On the deadline given the military to end terrorism in the North East, Prof. Osinbajo said it was achievable, adding that what President Buhari did was pass a presidential order to the newly appointed service chiefs, who he said, have also expressed their willingness to execute same.

"I know that it is entirely possible, I know that they can do it and we have a great military, we know that there have been problems such as lack of equipments and resources, but that's a problem that we have to deal with as we go along.

"We have to fix the car while the engine is running, you can't say we are going to wait until we get all the equipments before we do it. We have to fix this car while the engine is running, that's what we are doing now," he said.

Probe Adisa's death, Afonja Descendants charges Buhari

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HE Afonja Descendants Union (ADU) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the planned probe of politically-motivated killings in the country to the death of former Minister of Works, Gen. AbdulKareem Adisa.

At a media briefing today in Ogbomoso, Chairman of the Union, Alhaji Olola Kasumu, said the probe became necessary due to the mysterious circumstances that led to the death of the retired

M

ANAGING Director, Bank of Agriculture, Prof.

Danbaba Danju, has suggested a two-year jail term for defaulters of agricultural loans in the country.

Danju spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Makurdi, against the backdrop of increasing cases of loan diversion and default.

He said that owing to the frequency of loan default in the country, it has become imperative for the government to enact a legislation that would reduce the occur-

From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo general.

Recalling how the former Minister of Works passed on, Kasunmu said: "General Adisa travelled to Kogi State, from Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, where he attended the burial ceremony of retired General David Jemibewon's mother. While returning, he died under circumstances that were mysterious."

Kasumu stated that the people of Kwara State in general and the Afonja Descendants

in particular would be grateful to the Buhari-led administration if the death of the two-star general could be probed.

He further advised President Buhari to be decisive in the handling of the crisis in the Senate, saying nothing short of standing firm against the alleged forgeries of the Senate rules would be acceptable.

He noted, "Most Ilorin people are of the conviction that the President is under spell not to deal with Dr. Saraki.

How can the President fight

corruption with corrupt lawmakers as leaders of the Senate? Somebody committed impunity by turning over the Senate rules, which is a criminal offence.

"Can impunity be fought with impunity? President Buhari appears too slow and is like a dormant lion which must be woken up, otherwise the government will cease from him. For the President not to act fast on the Senate leadership crisis is like sitting on a keg of gun powder."

Bank chief advocates two-year jail term for defaulters of agric loans rence.

According to him, such a law will prescribe appropriate punitive measures against such defaulters. He, however, suggested a twoyear jail sentence for such offenders.

Danju regretted that many beneficiaries of agricultural loans deliberately misapply them, while some never pay back at all.

He also advised the gov-

ernment to fashion ways of stabilizing the exchange rate to support the growth domestic industries.

He said the government should focus on achieving low exchange rates to boost agricultural production.

The bank top executive said the current exchange rate, aimed at raising the local currency, was not good for agro-business in the country.

Although, he admitted

that the exchange rate was a function of both the fiscal and monetary policies of the government, he insisted it was better for the government to control it in favour of agrobusiness.

He advised the government to learn from the Chinese model which was in support of the depreciation of its local currency to boost local production and discourage imports.

HE Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Delta, Commodore Aliyu Sule, said yesterday that impunity and slow pace of adjudication are largely responsible for the persistence of illegal bunkering in the Niger Delta region.

Sule who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Warri said the slow process of trial of arrested suspects for oil theft is encouraging the perpetrators to easily go back into the illicit act.

He cited the cases of more than five ships apprehended by his command over stolen oil since 2005 which are yet to be resolved in the courts.

"It takes a longer time for justice to be done in matters of oil theft, that is why the illicit business persists," he said.

"So suspects should be tried almost immediately and jailed.''

Sule stressed the need for effective surveillance and speedy trial of oil thieves, saying these are germane to the eradication of illegal bunker-

ing in the region.

His command, according to him, has adopted a constant and effective surveillance of the hinterland from both land and air with a view to adequately comb the terrains.

He noted that the approach is yielding positive result.

"We will continue to go after them until they desist from it,'' he said.

Sule, who assumed leadership of the NNS Delta in April, has destroyed 28 illegal refineries and over 2,700 metric tons of crude oil in less than three months.

The exercise was carried out in three separate operations between June and August in Warri South and Warri South-West Local Government Areas of Delta. He said that in the recent operation in Kantu forest on Aug. 13 in Warri South-West, nine illegal refineries and over 700 metric tons of crude oil were destroyed.

He said that three generating sets and five portable pumping machines were recovered in the raid.

Customs seizes over N45b smuggled poultry products

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HE Nigeria Customs 'Operation Hawk Descend' has seized over N45 billion poultry products smuggled into the country since the launch of the operation in July, spokesman for the organisation, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, has said.

Hawk Descend is the Federal Operations Units of the service.

Adeniyi said that the duty paid value was the highest recorded since the launch of the operation.

According to the breakdown of the seizures Ogun Command led with 6, 565 cartons and duty paid value is N2, 937,441.00, while Federal Operation Unit (FOU) A (Lagos) quantity of seizure is 1,395 cartons and duty paid value is N7, 533,000.00.

It is followed by FOU B (Kaduna) with the seizure of 6,000 cartons and duty paid value of N35,000,000 .

Adeniyi quoted the Customs Comptroller-General, Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi as saying that smugglers of poultry products were exploring routes in the Northern and

Eastern parts of the country.

The Customs spokesman said that the special operation had made life difficult for smugglers in the South-Western flank.

Abdullahi lauded the FOU in Lagos and Kaduna for their huge seizures, adding that the FOU in the two states had put other Commands on alert. ``Last week, FOU Operatives in Kaduna apprehended two trucks conveying smuggled poultry products at Gidan Wali, along Babana border in Niger State,'' he added.

Adeniyi said that the success of operation Hawk Descend had attracted the commendation from the Poultry Association of Nigeria.

He said the President of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, Mr. Onallo Akpa, had expressed appreciation for the outstanding performance in containment of smuggled poultry products.

He added that farmers also commended FOU performance through various acts of onslaught, arrests and confiscation of smuggled poultry products into the country.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

El-Rufai: I saved N221m from cancelled sponsorship of Hajj From: Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

K

ADUNA State Governor Malam Nasir

El-Rufai has declared the N221.81m has been saved from stoppage of sponsorship of Hajj Pilgrimage.

He, however, clarified that stopping government sponsored Hajj will not affect care for over 5,000 pilgrims from the state.

The governor said the state is sponsoring 116 officials for the 2015 Hajj exercise to support the 5,682 citizens going for the Holy Pilgrimage.

El-Rufai, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, said: “The government is saving N221.81m from the steps it has taken to reorganise the way the pilgrimage is conducted.

“In recognition of this, Kaduna State has been selected as the state whose pilgrims will be the first to be flown out this year.

“The government has completely eliminated the concept of governmentsponsored pilgrims.

“But not sponsoring pilgrims is not the same thing as not providing care while on the Hajj for citizens of Kaduna State who are paying their own way.”

He went on: “The government recognises its duty to provide officials who will cater for the spiritual and welfare needs of the pilgrims.

“Therefore, the government will discharge its obligation to the pilgrims and send a delegation of guides, preachers, medical personnel, media professionals and pilgrim officers.”

NEWS

Alaibe, Lokpobiri, 2,000 others join APC

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POLITICAL tsunami swept through the Bayelsa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday.

Over 2,000 members of the party led by its chairman, Col. Sam Inokoba (retd), Timi Alaibe, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, former acting governors, Chief Werinipre Sebarugu and Chief Nestor Binabo joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Other prominent PDP chieftains that joined the broom revolution with their supporters were: Senator John Brambraifa, Maj. Andrew Oputa (retd), Christopher Milky, Alex Ekiotene, Christopher Enai, Dr. Stella Dorgu and Mathew Karimu The stalwarts dumped the PDP’s umbrella during a mega rally at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex Yenagoa, which grounded commercial activities and vehicular movement at the capital city.

There was a lockdown, forcing residents to abandon their homes and trek to the stadium to participate in the carnival-like event.

The stadium and its surroundings were filled with party faithful who shoved and elbowed one another to catch a glimpse of the event.

Echoes of change and Sai Buhari rent the air as enthusiastic party supporters waved their specially decorated brooms in the colours of the APC. The National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC led by its National Chairman,

• Why I left Bayelsa PDP, by ex-chairman • Defectors are traitors, say militants From: Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

Chief John Odigie Oyegun, led other members, including the National Vice-Chairman, Chief Olusegun Oni, the party’s vice-chairmen, SouthSouth, South-East and NorthEast; the National Deputy Publicity Secretary, Mr. Timi Frank and the National Organising Secretary, Osita Ozinaso, to the rally.

Oyegun, who was elated at what he described as an earthquake, said: “This is the first time a party is totally decapitated.

The chairman of the PDP who represents the head of the party has left and the PDP is now headless. Anybody that is headless cannot survive.

“We now have former deputy governors, former National Assembly members, former commissioners, former this and former that. Who is left in the PDP? Nobody. The People in Bayelsa are making history for the South South zone.”

He said the lost of the Presidency was a blessing in disguise because it opened the eyes of the people to see underdevelopment, hunger, poverty, suffering, bad roads and other vices.

He said after the December 5 governorship election, the APC will produce more progressive governors in the region.

He said with Bayelsa join-

ing mainstream politics the people will have more roads and dividends of democracy.

Former governor Timipre Sylva said the coming together of his brothers and sisters had brought joy to his heart, describing APC as a complete party.

“The time for the unity and peace of Bayelsa has come. We need to foster peace in the party and the state because Bayelsa has seen enough division,” he said.

Citing examples of political killings in the state, he said the administration of Governor Seriake Dickson has failed the people.

“There have been too many political killings under this administration. They have blood on their hands.

“The creeks of Bayelsa have become impassable. Nobody can move because the government has completely failed”, he said.

He said all the developmental projects that their kinsmen refused to bring to them will be brought to them through the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Alaibe said the defection of notable members of the PDP showed the needed change in the state.

According to him: “This is common sense revolution. It is not change for the sake of it.

“We are changing from poverty to prosperity. We are

changing from lies and deceit.

We are changing from Wayo.

Inokoba said the PDP administration under the leadership of Dickson witnessed misrule and bad governance.

“The labours of our forefathers have been rubbished.

Bayelsa restoration has become retrogression.

“Bayelsa PDP has become a Fuji House of Commotion.

Instead of development, we have witnessed underdevelopment and abandoned projects,” he said.

He listed the nine reasons why he dumped the party as total failure of PDP to deliver electoral promises and dividends of democracy and primitive and undemocratic ways of piloting the affairs of the party.

Others include insensitivity to the plight of its members/government officials; apparent injustice and impunity endemic in the party and failure of the leadership to resolve issues in the party promptly.

Reacting to the development, unrepentant militants in the state under the auspices of Mangrove Boys of Bayelsa (MBB) condemned those who defected as traitors of the Ijaw nation.

In a statement by its president, Ebi Aderi, MBB described the defectors as “a bunch of greedy people who only look out for their selfish interests.”

Osa-Oni dedicates 7,500 -seater cathedral

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VINEYARD Christian Ministries will next Saturday dedicate a 7,500-seater auditorium at Osolo Way, Ajao Estate, Lagos.

The cathedral will be commissioned by the presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Dr Mike Okonkwo.

Speaking to journalists on the event, the host, Archbishop John Osa-Oni, said the cathedral dedication will flag off Vineyard Christian Ministries’ Kingdom celebration with the theme just like a dream.

He said: “We dreamed of a befitting place of worship to serve our Lord, and God in His mercies gave us the grace to bring this beautiful edifice to completion. It is a dream come true.”

7

(L-R): APC National Organising Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso; APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; Bayelsa State PDP Chairman, Col Sam Inokoba (rtd.); former Bayelsa State Governor and APC Bayelsa State Leader, Chief Timipre Sylva; APC South South Vice Chairman, Prince Hilliard Etta and APC South West Vice Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure at the rally... yesterday

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HE National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno and Service Chiefs with the Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase yesterday reiterated their commitment to ending the Boko Haram insurgency.

They spoke during a courtesy call on Governor Ibrahim Gaidam at the Government House in Damaturu.

Monguno solicited the cooperation of the civilian society, which according to him was critical to ending the insurgency.

He informed the decision to visit Yobe and Borno was in line with the mandate issued to them by President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure “a total finish to the mad-

We’ll flush out insurgents, NSA, Service Chiefs reassure • Gaidam promises cooperation From: Duku JOEL, Yobe

ness called Boko Haram.”

The NSA explained that the people must be ready to give out information against the bad people among them since the insurgents are blended in the civilian population.

He added that the military was more than committed and willing to ending the insurgency with the calibre of officers in the driver’s seat at the moment.

He informed that their swift decision to also visit the Boko Haram troubled states was for on- the- spot assessment of the equipment and troops.

Monguno also said they were there to meet with the political class to discuss critical areas for a better coordination of the fight.

Gaidam commended the political will of the present administration of Muhammadu Buhari in ending the insurgency in his region.

The governor was particularly grateful to the cream of military brass the NSA led to the state describing it as the first in the history of the state and the fight against the Boko Haram menace.

According to him, the visit will give not just the morale of the military but also confidence in the civilian population as well.

Gaidam promised to initiate a deliberate campaign with all stakeholders including traditional rulers, religions leaders to mobilise against the insurgency.

Aderi said it was unbelievable those who benefitted from the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Seriake Dickson would publicly pledge loyalty to the APC. He claimed that defectors whom he described as governorship candidates failed in their account of stewardship at different times they held political offices.

Aderi faulted the claims of Sylva that political assassinations were rife in Dickson’s government, saying the present governor had restored peace in the state and made it possible for people to go to bed without molestation.

“We are asking Dickson not to be deterred by the APC rally as we are calling on him to declare his second term ambition as he will witness the mother of all rally with support and grassroots mobilisation of our teeming youths and parents,” he said.

Defectors are of no electoral value, says PDP From: Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State yesterday said that its stalwarts that defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) were a huge disappointment.

The party said it was embarrassing to the party and the Ijaw nation that persons who benefitted from the PDP and rode on its back to amass wealth would engage in a dance of shame in the name of defection.

The party in a statement signed by its state acting Chairman, Mr. Serena Dokubo, said it was clear that the defectors were driven largely by greed and personal aggrandisement.

Dokubo described the defectors as yesterday’s men and women who no longer have electoral value, saying the PDP would not miss them.

He said: “Defectors are also those politicians who sponsored candidates against the PDP in the last state house of assembly election and worked with the opposition to betray both Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP at the last presidential election.

“This crop of politicians could not be regarded as dependable nor should they be celebrated by the APC as political assets, stressing that they were never at anytime with us.

“Suffice it to say that no member of the PDP in the state or any of the party’s organ was part of this charade called a mega rally.

“The PDP in Bayelsa State is intact. All the structures and organs of the party at all levels are fully intact. Our great party is not perturbed in anyway.

“The so-called defectors were never with us because they are the same people who betrayed the PDP at the presidential election and also sponsored candidates against our party in the state house of assembly election. These are spent forces and we are not moved by APC’s charade.”

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

NEWS

Ikorodu Monarch honours Tinubu, others

By Dare Odufowokan, Asst Editor

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CIVIC reception was held yesterday to commemorate the installation of Oba Kabir Adewale Shotobi as the new Ayangburen of Ikorodu.

Shotobi who was last May presented with the staff of office by former Governor Babatunde Fashola following his selection by the Kingmakers, used the occasion to honour some eminent persons with chieftaincy titles.

Among those honoured are the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who became the Baba Oba of Ikorodu; Alhaja Mutiat Ogbara, Iya Oba of Ikorodu; Chief Kazeeem Ogbara, the Asoju Oba of Ikorodu and Speaker of the Lagos State Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, who bagged the title of Sobaloju of Ikorodu.

Other dignitaries at the event were former Deputy Governor of the Lagos State, Femi Pedro, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, Hon. Jimi Benson; Majority Leader of Lagos Assembly, SOB Agunbiade, party leaders, traditional rulers and captains of industry.

Speaking at the event, Oba Shotobi called on the people of the town to embrace peace. He also appealed to the government to construct the 4th Mainland Bridge as a matter of urgency.

Asipa Kaoli Olusanya, Chairman of Ayangburen Coronation Committee, said Shotobi’s emergence as Oba is a divine intervention. Reacting to the petition by some Lasunwon Princes, Olusanya, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state, said the development was normal.

He said: “The fact that we had some initial objection is normal in a contest for a throne as prestigious as that of the Ayangbure of Ikorodu. But I can assure you that today, all Princes and Princesses are solidly behind the new Oba. Look around yourself and you will see that he is the right man for the throne.

“There is no row whatsoever again. All contestants’ names were forwarded by the ruling house to the Kingmakers for consideration. And the Kingmakers unanimously chose Shotobi as the King in accordance with Obas and Chiefs law of Lagos State.

“His selection was subsequently approved by the Lagos State Executive Council on the 25th of May, 2015 and former Governor Fashola presented him with the Staff of Office the next day.

“Today, the whole of Ikorodu is united behind him.

We are optimistic that his reign will usher in more development and prosperity for the people of this town. Knowing the person of Oba Shotobi, I am in a position to tell you that he is well equipped for the tasks ahead,” he said.

Shotobi was crowned as the new Ayangbure on August 2 in a traditional ceremony witnessed by state government officials, traditional Chiefs, Kingmakers and a mammoth crowd of indigenes and residents.

• Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (2nd left) with former military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (left), Deputy Governor, Dr. Oluranti Adebule (2nd right) and Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello, when Gowon visited the governor at the Lagos House, Ikeja on Friday.

Protest over alleged plan to reverse Adeyemi Varsity status

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EMBERS of the nonteaching staff of the Adeyemi University of Education (AUE) in Ondo have protested the alleged plan to reverse the status of the institution back to college of Education.

AUE was among four other Colleges upgraded to specialised universities by the administration of exPresident Goodluck Jonathan.

The aggrieved workers, who include members of the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), further alleged that some unnamed persons were behind the

From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

move to revert the institution to its former status.

The Nation, however, learnt that some lecturers in the institution and other newly upgraded Universities were those allegedly agitating this move.

Sources revealed that some of these lecturers are those without PhD qualifications who are afraid of being laid off if the full academic activities commence in the institution.

Before the protest, the workers called a congress where the unions formed an association called the Joint Non-Teaching Staff Action Committee (JNTSAC) to fight their cause.

They later moved to the Ondo-Ore-Lagos express road opposite the gate of the university carrying placards with different inscriptions such as ‘Mr. President take away corruption, not our university, ‘University status, no going back,’ ‘forward ever, backward never’.

Speaking with reporters, the Chairman of JNTSAC, Mr. Femi Lademikan, said the non-teaching staff of the institution are against any move to reverse the status of the university.

He said: “We want our university to remain as it is; we are appealing to the government through this peaceful demonstration that the status of the university should remain. Our governor, Dr.

Olusegun Mimiko, is doing very well and we appreciate him on this. We are using this medium to tell him that we want him to be more proactive on this issue.

“We are also telling President Muhammadu Buhari that the institution has everything to qualify it for a university.

We have the manpower, people and resources to maintain this school. The structure is there and we have an enabling environment, Mr. President must not listen to people who are enemies of progress.”

Also, members of Adeyemi Federal University of Education Academic Staff Union (AFUEASU) said they were against the agitation for the reversal of the institution status to college.

The Union in a statement issued and signed by its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr. Olaolu Olaniyan, said taking such action would cause an avoidable crisis in the University.

Auto dealers protest alleged killing of colleague

by Customs men H

ELL was let loose over the weekend when members of the Motor Dealers Association (MDA), Oyo State chapter, stormed the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) office in Ibadan to protest the alleged killing of one of their colleagues by some Customs officers.

The deceased auto dealer, identified as Tunde Abdul, 32, was reportedly knocked down by a truck around 4:30am on Saturday at Alapako on the Lagos/Ibadan expressway when he was stopped by some Customs officers led by one Kunle Yinusa.

It was gathered that a DAF truck with registration number Osun PRN-123 XA, had tried to avoid a pothole on the road, but lost control

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

and in the process hit the three cars that were cleared from Lagos port by the late Abdul.

In protest, angry auto dealers blocked the road along Bodija-Secretariat axis where the Customs office is located to demand probe of Abdul’s death, which they described as “unacceptable.”

The late Abdul, according to sources, is survived by a pregnant wife and a child.

Addressing journalists at the Customs office, Public Relations Officer of MDA, Pastor Vincent Ayodeji, said harassment by Customs officers on their members along Lagos/

Ibadan expressway has become incessant, stressing that all the vehicles being transported from Lagos port to Ibadan were legally cleared at the point of entry.

He said: “We heard this morning that some of our members while bringing two cars from Lagos were stopped

by Customs officers around Alapako at the border between Oyo and Ogun State around 4am. So, they asked for the papers of the cars, which they were obliged. But the Custom officer asked them for a bribe which they refused to give.

“They therefore insisted that the papers are not genuine and told them to wait till

day break to be able to confirm from their office. While waiting, a truck coming from the opposite direction of the road crushed the vehicles.

“Unfortunately, one of our three members died, his name is Tunde Abdul. One other person was injured and that is why we have come here to protest against the incessant harassment of our members by men of the Custom officers.”

He called on the leadership of NCS to carry out a detailed investigation of the incident and bring the erring officers to book.

Efforts to reach the Public Relations Officer of Customs in the state, Njeoma Nkiru, proved abortive as at the time of filling this report, as her phone numbers indicated she was not reachable.

Ambode praises Gowon, preaches peaceful coexistence, unity

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AGOS State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has urged Nigerians to continue to co-exist peacefully and work for unity of the country.

He gave this admonition at the weekend during a courtesy visit at the Lagos House, Ikeja, by former Military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), and other executives members of Nigeria Prays.

The governor praised Gowon for his relentless efforts in pursuing national peace and unity from the pe-

riod he became Head of State till date.

He said: “I can recall that at the end of the civil war in 1970, your good self declared that there was no victor and no vanquished and the main reason why you did that was because you wanted to create a platform for the future unity of Nigeria and that is why we are so glad to receive you here today. All these point to the fact that you have an unalloyed commitment to the unity of all Nigerians irrespective of where they come from and that is what we are very

proud of in Lagos.”

Ambode, who also recalled that it was the former military ruler that created Lagos, noted that it remains the only state where people have continued to live peacefully in spite of their tribal and religious differences.

He added, “Lagos remains the only state that has not been divided ever since you (Gowon) created it since 1967.

I remember also that the former Head of State was the person who created Unity Schools for the cohesion of Nigerians and to create future

leaders of which I am a product.”

While urging Lagosians to join the group in praying for the country, the governor noted that the success of the last general elections could not have been achieved without divine intervention.

Earlier, the former Head of State said he and his team were in Lagos to pay homage to the governor, saying he has done some incredible work for the group. He also lauded the governor for accepting to host the prayer session for the South West zone.

Insurgency: British security experts train policemen From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

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OME British security experts have arrived the country to provide expertise training for men and officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) across the country.

Speaking at the opening ceremony on Special Weapon and Arms Training (SWAT) for the first batch of policemen at the Mobile Police Training College, IlaOrangun in Osun State, the Commandant of the College, Dankwara Mohammed, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, said the programme was timely, particularly with the federal government’s renewed efforts to put a total end to Boko Haram insurgency and other insecurity challenges facing the nation.

According to Mohammed, the special training programme, which will hold in batches, was designed for all men and officers cutting of the force.

He further disclosed that the training will comprise a combined unit of counter terrorism, the close protection unit, the anti-bomb among others.

Mohammed commended the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Solomon Arase, for the initiative, which he said would be beneficial to men and officers of the force.

He further expressed delight that the training will reposition the force to tackle rising crimes in the country, including insurgents, kidnapping and armed robbery.

He said: “SWAT is a programme for most responsive action initiated by the British and American police. The Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, considered it necessary to upgrade the combat readiness initiative for members of the Force.”

The commandant advised participants to take the programme with utmost seriousness, while warning them to maintain discipline throughout the duration of the programme.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

INTERVIEW

9

For all the years that his party was in opposition, Alhaji Lai Mohammed was a thorn in the flesh of the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

As his party’s spokeman, he took on PDP on every issue. Now that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is in power, Mohammed has not lost steam. He is still firing from all cylinders. In this interview, he speaks on why President Muhammadu Buhari is biding his time before appointing ministers; the row over INEC chair and other issues. MUSA ODOSIMOKHE was there.

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HY has the President not appointed ministers over two months after he assumed office?

Frankly speaking, I think we will be unfair to the President on the issue of ministerial appointment. The President was elected for a term of four years. If he spends four months planning what he is going to do in four years, I don't think it is out of place. When you appoint ministers, they don't come to office with their own agenda.

Ministers are handed the government agenda and party manifestoes to implement.

It is the government that says this is my blueprint. This is what I want you to do in education, health or agriculture. We all agree that ministers can as well contribute to it. It is the responsibility of the government or President to have a blueprint. It is the blueprint that the ministers are going to implement. In the past, ministers had been appointed within two or three months that the president assumed office, but what has been the result? What has been happening is that they are either removed, reshuffled or you have to relieve some of them because they cannot perform. The President as far as I am concerned was short-changed by the last administration. The Transition Committee that he set up was not allowed to function the way it should. In short, handover notes were not handed over to us until May 26. It was then that we knew what we were inheriting. That is why the President is taking his time, calling every ministry, and asking to be briefed. Again, there has been some useful effect to not appointing the ministers because if they have been in place, the President will not have access to the information he has. The permanent secretary would have reported to the Ministers. The perm secretary would not be able to see the president directly, except through their ministers. All the information that we are hearing about $600 million being diverted might have been buried. The information by the Ministry of Mineral Resources that touts have taken control of the industry, if that kind of briefing had not taken place, the people will not get to know.

I think Nigerians should look beyond this obsession for ministers. At the end of the day, the President will be held responsible for the quality of his policy. And it will not be a credit to him that he appointed ministers within one month and things did not work.

I believe that the President is being thorough, very meticulous because he really wanted to know what he is inheriting before he

'Jonathan shortchanged Buhari before handing over' appoints ministers. Basically, if he appoints ministers today without knowing what is on ground, what is the brief that the President is going to give? All the report that the President is getting is forming part of the blueprint that he is working on. He has promised us September and it is just around the corner.

Does that explain why he has not also appointed the Chief of Staff, SGF etc?

You see, The Chief of Staff and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), are people that relate daily with the President.

So, the President must appoint people that he has confidence in. I believe that the President has the prerogative to choose who he wants. If he has not found a suitable person, they should give him more time. At the end of the day he would be held accountable for any decision he takes. He has assured us, and I am sure when he will come out with the appointment, Nigerians will applaud him. They will applaud him, just like they applauded the appointment

of the MD of NNPC. Nigerians and investors are worried that there is no clear cut policy direction of government on the economy for now; what path is government towing?

I think the economic direction of the government is very clear, even from the manifesto of the party and also from the steps taken by our government. When people say they are worried about the economic direction or policy of the government, I begin to wonder what the problem is because the action that has been taken, would determine largely the economic direction of government. Nigeria's economy depends on oil, for the 70 per cent of its total revenue. Unless you get that industry right, the entire economic policy will wobble.

I think getting the reform in the petroleum sector right, has been the pointer to what government direction is heading. Not only do we a have world acclaimed reformer and expert

“At the end of the day, the President will be held responsible for the quality of his policy. And it will not be a credit to him that he appointed ministers within one month and things did not work. I believe that the President is being thorough, very meticulous because he really wanted to know what he is inheriting before he appoints ministers. Basically, if he appoints ministers today without knowing what is on ground, what is the brief that the President is going to give? All the report that the President is getting is forming part of the blueprint that he is working on. He has promised us September and it is just around the corner. “

at the helm of affairs in the NNPC today, but we have also taken certain bold steps. This shows that even the refineries that were not supposed to be working, by 2016 they will reach 90 per cent capacity. And when you look at the economy today, what you spend on oil accounts for more than 40 per cent of your foreign exchange expenditure. Now, if you get your oil industry right, with the refineries working, you need to import less. And then you also spend less money. The Federal Government has issued a statement directing everybody to pay into Treasury Single Account (TSA). If you ask me, what is the economic direction of this government? I will say transparency and accountability.

Can the refineries be optimally utilized to set the economy in the right direction?

As a matter of fact the Kaduna refinery is capable of producing five million litres per day and that is at a loss.

Is it not better to sell them to people who can run them? What about the subsidy issue being raised regularly?

I don't share your position. Take the issue of timing, there was a time in this country, when the refineries were working and we were exporting refined products. So, why can't we go back to that era? Without prejudice to those who want to set up refineries, if we sell these refineries today, if they work in the hands of the new owner, it is either they improved on their equipment or the work ethic has changed. I don't think selling is the only solution. It can work, and we can reach the capacity of 20 million litres a day. I think it will solve our problem.

Nigerians don't even know how much fuel

•Contd. on page 10

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

INTERVIEW

•Photos:

•Contd. on page 9 they consume in a day. We are told it is 30 other say 40 million but all we know is that when we reviewed the package only five companies were involved, now it became seven. What Buhari has read and there has been of lot of literature on this, he is yet to be convinced whether there is subsidy or not. If we refine oil locally, the issue of subsidy will not arise at all. Today, if we import the entire 40 million litres that we need, it means we are subsidising the entire 40 million litres if there is any at all. But, if our refineries start working, if we need to import at all, it is only the balance that we are going to import.

We seem not to understand the mathematics, when oil was selling at $140 per barrel, Okonjo-Iweala told Nigerians that we were subsidising with N72 per litre. She said this is because the cost of crude accounts for 80 percent of the cost of refined product.

Therefore, if we are paying subsidy of N72, when oil was sold at N140, the subsidy that will be available now, when oil is sold at N50 or under N50, should be an improvement. The President wants to be sure that where there is subsidy at all and if there is how do we cure it. And the best way to cure it in my view is your local production capacity. So far, he has not been convinced on the argument for subsidy removal. The issue of subsidy is not a close issue. There are many schools of thought on the issue.

Members of the PDP have accused the President of being selective in the anticorruption war; how accurate is the allegation?

The President has said no member of my party will escape justice. Now, people, especially PDP members are saying the war against corruption is selective. That only PDP former governors are being probed and I said it is not true. Murtala Nyako was an APC governor, he is facing the EFCC. Silva, Goje are under probe, so that argument is not valid. The truth of the matter is that if there is going to be a probe, and it is going to affect everybody, for every one APC member, there will be 10 PDP. Let us face the truth, who were on the board of NNPC were they APC people? How many governors did APC have

MUYIWA HASSAN

“The truth of the matter is that if there is going to be a probe, and it is going to affect everybody, for every one APC member, there will be 10 PDP. Let us face the truth, who were on the board of NNPC; were they APC people? How many governors did APC have compared to PDP? Even at the height of our glory, we had only 14 governors, they had 22 governors. Who had been in power for 16 years? Who made all the appointments? It is only natural that they should top the list. “ compared to PDP? Even at the height of our glory, we had only 14 governors, they had 22 governors. Who had been in power for 16 years? Who made all the appointments? It is only natural that they should top the list.

What do you make of the row over the acting INEC chair, Mrs. Amina Zakari, who Prof. Jega handed over to? The PDP is insinuating that she was given the job to manipulate the forthcoming governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi States.

People are not seeing the appointment of Hajia Amina Zakari in correct perspective of the law. They are not divorcing the person of Mrs. Zakari from her position as a national commissioner. The Constitution is very clear on who can be the chairman of INEC. The President alone can nominate the chairman of INEC. And the only condition attached to it, is that he must be a person of integrity and must not be under 50 years. Look at Mrs. Zakari, forget that she was a national commissioner. The President could today like Jonathan did the other time, pick somebody from outside the commission and make that fellow the chairman of INEC. It is also clear that if he can make a substantive appointment, he can also make an acting appointment. In other word, he can nominate the chairman of INEC. The law also inferred that I can nominate whoever is going to be the acting chairman. There is no law that says that the acting chairman must be an INEC commissioner. Mrs. Zakari, and I keep telling them this argument would have held water if she is a new appointee by us. Mrs. Zakari

was appointed by the PDP government.

Whether she is related to Buhari or not is irrelevant. We met her there; she was the most senior and Jega handed over to her.

When her tenure expires she just became an ordinary Nigerian like me and you. Her appointment as acting INEC chairman has nothing to do with her past as a former national commissioner. Just like Buhari could have appointed you in acting capacity. And unless they can tell me, if the law gives him power to appoint a substantive, that he cannot appoint an acting chairman. They know and are only being mischievous. It would have even been a different case, it the law says that only a national commissioner can become the chairman. The we would say, you cannot become chairman because your tenure has expired. When Jega was appointed, he was from the university.

As to the elections in Kogi and Bayelsa, a President must never be intimidated. Once you are convinced of the correctness of your position, you have checked with the Ministry of Justice and you have not violated the law, no matter the noise, just remain focused. And that is where the issue of Mrs. Zakari comes again, she is not our appointee, we met her in office. There is no record that she has been biased. But, if you allow them to intimidate you, the next person you are going to bring, won't that person be an appointee of the President?

What is the guarantee that the elections in Kogi and Bayelsa will be free and fair? In addition, what are you doing about electoral reform?

If you had listened to the President, he keeps saying that there will be free and fair elections under him. For the electoral reform, if not for the adoption of the Permanent Voter's Card (PVC) and the Card Reader, he would have not won. Clearly, we will uphold the innovation. Our government is going to improve on the level of transparency that helped us to get to power. The President has said so, even in his inaugural address that the electoral reform will ensure that henceforth, government will be elected solely on the wishes of the people of Nigeria.

I don't think the government is going to micro-manage any particular agency responsible for election. We came to power on the back of a 'free and fair election'; I think it is morally right to ensure that the elections do not come short of expectations.

What have been the President achievements since assuming office?

If you look at the areas which we have based our campaign, security, corruption and economy, I think he has achieved a lot in these areas. If you look at the area of security, he has succeed in channelling international, national and regional supports in the fight against Boko Haram. We now have a rejuvenated Nigeria army, that is far more purposeful and mechanical to tackling the challenge of Boko Haram. We now have the Multi-national Joint Force (MNJF) to combat the insurgents. We have been able to impress it on the US to review its law to allow their troops to come and train our personnel to combat the menace. We are of the view that Boko Haram cannot only be combated with weapons, but we are looking at the underlying causes of what have made the ideology attractive to young men. This we believe is the economy, the lack of jobs and things like that. I think it is a step in the right direction that the Vice President is visiting the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), to give them hope. I think the facility by the World Bank of $2.1 billion will go a long way in making the Boko Haram fight successful.

It is true that in recent time there have been cases of suicide bombings in the Northeast, anybody who is familiar with insurgency phenomenon, will know that it normally happens when insurgency is on its way out. A year ago, about 14 local governments were under the full control of Boko Haram in Borno State alone. They had their emirs and collected taxes, they even hoisted their own flags, today you cannot find such a thing.

But Jonathan was able to handle them…

There is no doubt Jonathan did a lot, but we kept the pace. We could have lost territories back to them, but we have not lost one inch. We have been able to dislodge them from the Sambisa Forest. What we have now is lone suicide bombers. I believe that the new crops of Service Chiefs, many of them have intelligence backgrounds which they will deploy to the combat.

On the economy, I think the trip to the US has been largely successful. We have been able to get commitment in the area of power, agriculture and health. We have been able to secure almost $11.5 billion commitment and we have been able to get 20 committed business interests of international repute to invest in our economy. Locally on the economic side too, I think we must give credit to the government for the bailout package. Without it many of the states would have been on strike by now. There would have been massive industrial unrest.

What the President did much more, I think is the restructuring of the commercial bank loan for 20 years tenure. Most state governments were choked, they were spending between 20 and 30 per cent of the allocation servicing debts. Now, they have enough money not only to pay salaries but to embark on projects.

I think in the area of transparency and accountability, he has encouraged lots of people, to come and invest in Nigeria. The cost of doing business in Nigeria is now far cheaper than it used to be. Again, the President's directive that all payments be made into a treasury single account will also help in enhancing the economy.

On the war against corruption, the President has achieved a lot. He is one person that has the political will. And sincerely there is enough laws in Nigeria to address the issue of corruption and bad government but what has always been lacking is the political will to tackle it. There is no new head in ICPC or EFCC but all of a sudden they have reopened all cases, all because there is a man at the top that will not stop them from doing what they ought to do.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

NEWS

11

ALHAJI ZANNAH UMAR MUSTAPHA, Mustapha was a tested, committed patriot, says Tambuwal

He was a loyal, dedicated deputy governor, Ambode

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From Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto

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OKOTO State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has expressed shock over the death of Deputy Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha.

He described the late Mustapha as a tested and committed patriot that gave his time and energy to the peace and development of the entire people of Borno State.

In a statement yesterday in Sokoto by his spokesman, Mallam Imam Imam, made available to newsmen, Governor Tambuwal also described deceased as a committed democrat who worked hard to ensure the return of peace to his dear state in particular and the North East in general.

The late Deputy Governor was reported to have been confirmed dead yesterday in a hospital in Yola, Adamawa state.

He said Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima has lost a trusted ally and a refined human being who never shied away from giving his best for the people.

While sending the condolence of the people and government of Sokoto State to their Borno counterparts, Tambuwal prayed to almighty Allah to grant the decease eternal rest, and give his family the fortitude to bear the loss.

Gaidam expresses shock, commiserates with Shettima From Duku Joel, Maiduguri

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HE governor of Yobe State, Ibrahim Gaidam, has expressed shock over the death of Borno State Deputy Governor, Zanna Umar Mustapha, who died in the early hours of Saturday in Yola, Adamawa State.

Gaidam, in a statement from his Director of Press Affairs, Abdullahi Bego, also conveyed his condolence to Governor Kashim Shettima and the entire people of Borno State over the loss.

The statement reads: “His Excellency, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam, has received with deep shock and sadness the news of the passing away of Borno State Deputy Governor, His Excellency, Alhaji Zanna Mustapha.

“The governor’s thoughts and prayers are with the family of the late deputygovernorandthegovernment and people of Borno State at this time of great loss.

“Throughout his tenure as deputy governor, Alhaji Zanna Mustapha has identified closely with thevisionofHisExcellencyGovernor KashimShettimaindoingeverything necessary to provide succour to the people, especially those affected by the mindless and bloody insurgency of Boko Haram.

“His work in helping to coordinate support for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) will be particularlymissedbyallandsundry.

“On behalf of the government and people of Yobe State, therefore, His Excellency, Governor Gaidam, extends his heartfelt condolences to thefamilyofthelatedeputygovernor and to the government and people of Borno State.

•Thelate Borno State Deputy Governor, Mustapha

•Imam Idain of Borno, Alhaji Adam Ibn El Sanusiyu, leading the funeral prayer for the late Deputy Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Zanna Mustapha, in Maiduguri on Saturday Photo: NAN

Borno Deputy Governor, Mustapha, dies of cardiac arrest

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HE Deputy Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha, yesterday died of cardiac arrest in his hotel room in Yola in Adamawa State.

He was buried yesterday in Maiduguri, Borno State according to Islamic rite.

He was said to have been found dead by his security aides.

According to a reliable source, the deceased had arrived in Yola on Friday and lodged in Hometel Hotel along Army Barracks Road, which is very close to the Adamawa State House of Assembly.

The source said: “The Deputy Governor of Borno State was found dead in his room on Saturday morning by his security aides. He died of suspected cardiac arrest.

“Unlike his normal routine, the aides became curious when the Deputy Governor did not come out or ask them to do a few things for him.

“When they entered his room, they saw him not responding, they decided to rush him to the Federal Medical

From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation; Barnabas Manyam, Yola and Duku Joel, Maiduguri

Centre in Yola where he was certified dead. The corpse was later deposited in the morgue of the medical centre.”

Sources at the hotel however told The Nation in Yola that the dead body of the late Deputy Governor was discovered when the Adamawa State Deputy Governor, Mr. Martins Babale, went to the hotel to pick his colleague from Borno State.

According to the account, after knocking severally on the hotel room without reply, the hotel manager forced the door open only to find the body of Alhaji Zanna Umar Mustapha lifeless on the bed.

When reporters first approached the Adamawa State Deputy Governor for comments, he was in shock and could not respond. Also, Babale’s Press Secretary, Mr. Samuel Gangwaja, declined to confirm the death then, stressing that the National Security Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari

will be in the state by 3pm to confirm the medical position of the Deputy Governor of Borno State to Nigeria.

“In spite of the fact that no autopsy was conducted, hospital sources said cardiac arrest might account for the death of the Deputy Governor.

“Members of the entourage had alerted the Adamawa State Government which raised a team to convey the corpse to Maiduguri. The Borno State Government has also made provision for a chartered jet to convey the remains of the Deputy Governor. The Adamawa delegation will be led by the Secretary to the State Government, Umar Bindir.”

A statement by the Secretary to Borno State Government, Alhaji Usman Jidda Shuwa, confirmed the passage of the Deputy Governor.

The statement said: “It is with deep sense of utter shock and disbelief but with complete submission to the will of the Almighty Allah that the Borno State Government hereby announces the passing away of

His Excellency, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha, the Deputy Governor of Borno State.

“He died in his sleep this morning in Yola, Adamawa State where he was to represent Borno State Government at the convocation ceremony of Modibbo Adama University of Science and Technology, Yola.

“He was also scheduled to follow up on his earlier visit to Yola, in connection with the welfare of Borno State citizens internally displaced as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency.

“His remains would be brought to Maiduguri for funeral at the Government House, Maiduguri at 4pm today, Saturday, 15th August, 2015. He will be buried in Maiduguri.

“His Excellency, Hon. Kashim Shettima, the Executive Governor of Borno State, expresses his heartfelt condolence to the family of the Deputy Governor and the entire people of Borno State for the irreparable loss and appealed for prayers for the repose of the soul of our late Deputy Governor.

May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace, Amen.”

Buhari condoles family, relatives P R E S I D E N T Muhammadu Buhari has expressed shock and sadness over the news of the passing away of the Deputy Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha.

On behalf of himself and the Federal Government,

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja the president extends heartfelt condolences to the late Deputy Governor’s immediate family and his relatives.

The president, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and

Publicity, Femi Adesina, also commiserated with Governor Kashim Shettima and the entire people of Borno State on the loss of Alhaji Zannah who passed away while on an official assignment in Yola, Adamawa State.

The statement said Buhari

joined Governor Shettima, members of Alhaji Zannah’s family, his friends, political associates, colleagues in the Borno State Government, constituents and supporters in praying that Almighty Allah will receive the late Mustapha’s soul and grant him eternal rest.

AGOS State Governor, Mr. A k i n w u n m i Ambode on Saturday also expressed deep pain over the passage of the Deputy Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha, describing the unfortunate incident as a tragic loss.

Mr. Mustapha died in his sleep Saturday morning while visiting Yola, the Adamawa State capital, to attend the convocation ceremony of Modibbo Adama University of Science and Technology, Yola.

In a condolence message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Habib Aruna, Ambode, who said he shares in the sorrow of his brother governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, over the sad event, noted that the late Mustapha was a loyal, diligent and dedicated deputy governor.

“As a brother governor, I feel completely overwhelmed just imagining the depth of your pain and anguish at the death of a most loyal, dependable and diligent deputy which you had in Alhaji Mustapha”, Ambode said.

Praying to Almighty God to grant the soul of the departed deputy governor peaceful repose, Ambode, on behalf of the government and people of Lagos State, also prayed that God abides with Mustapha’s family, the government, members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nigeria and the people of Borno State at this difficult time.

It’s a huge loss to Nigeria, says APC

T

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed deep shock and sadness at the sudden death of the Deputy Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Moham m ed, the party described Zannah’s demise as a huge loss to his family, his party, his state and indeed to Nigeria. ‘’The suddenness of Alhaji Zannah’s passing has deepened the pain caused by his death,’’ it said, praying that God will comfort his family and give them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

The APC also commiserated with the people and government of Borno State over the Deputy Governor’s death, and prayed that God will grant repose to his soul.

12

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

NEWS ALHAJI ZANNAH UMAR MUSTAPHA

Remains of the late Deputy Governor of Borno, Alhaji Zanna Mustapha, who died at the age of 47, at the Gwange burial ground for interment in Maiduguri on Saturday Photo: NAN

Mustapha was a devoted servant-leader - Saraki S

ENATE President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, yesterday received with shock the news of the death of the Deputy Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha.

Saraki in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, in Abuja, said it was difficult to believe the information that a man he met in Borno about a week ago during his tour of some Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Maiduguri could have left this

world so soon.

Saraki said: “When I met Umar Mustapha in Maiduguri, he was so full of life that it could not have crossed ones imagination that we were meeting for the last time.

“He came across to me as a complete gentleman who was doing all in his power to assist his principal, Governor Kashim Shettima, not only to defeat insurgency in the zone, but to bring succour to the entire people of Borno State, especially those adversely affected by the

insurgency.

“It is a pity that today he is not going to witness the imminent end of the mindless bloodletting and destruction of property being visited on a peaceful and hospitable people in the North-East zone of the country.

“We can only take solace in the fact that he lived a good life and died in the service of his people. He was a complete gentleman and a devoted servant-leader. May Almighty Allah grant him a place among

the righteous ones in Aljannah Firdaus”, Saraki stated.

The Senate President also commiserated with the immediate family of the deceased, the governor and people of Borno State and prayed God to grant them the fortitude to bear the sad incident.

He added that “Only the complete and total eradication of insurgency from every part of the North-East and other affected parts of the country can serve as a befitting tribute to this great Nigerian who has departed so soon.”

He was vibrant, loyal, committed politician- ACF N ORTHERN Sociocultural group, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has expressed shock over the death of the Borno State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Zanna Umar Mustapha, who passed away in his sleep in the early hours of yesterday.

ACF said with the passing away of Alhaji Zanna Mustapha, Borno State and indeed Nigeria have lost an illustrious son whose contributions in the service of the nation will forever be remembered.

The mouthpiece of the North in a statement by its

From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim, made available to newsmen in Kaduna yesterday, described the late Alhaji Zanna Mustapha as a vibrant, young, loyal and committed politician who served his state and the people of Borno state with passion and dedication.

“We learnt with shock and grief the passing away of the Deputy-Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Zanna Umar Mustapha who died in his sleep in the early hours

of today Saturday 15th August, 2015 in Yola, Adamawa State. ACF learnt that the Deputy Governor was in Yola to represent Borno state Governor at the convocation of Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola. Alhaji Zanna Mustapha was a vibrant, young, loyal and committed politician who served his state and the people of Borno state with passion and dedication. He was also at one time Chairman, National Library Board. Abuja.

“With the passing away of Alhaji Zanna Mustapha,

Borno state and indeed Nigeria have lost an illustrious son whose contributions in the service of the nation will forever be remembered.

“ACF hereby extends its sincere condolences to his immediate family, the good people of Biu Emirate, Governor Kashim Shettima, Government and people of Borno state over this irreparable loss.

“We pray Allah (SWT) to grant his soul an eternal rest in Aljannah Firdaus and the family the fortitude to bear this irreparable lost,” the statement read.

PDP mourns his demise

T

HE Acting N a t i o n a l Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, on behalf of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the

From Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja PDP family nationwide, has expressed the party’s condolences over the death of the Deputy Governor of the Borno State, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement on Saturday, said the party was shocked by the sudden death of the deputy governor.

The party commiserated

with Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, the Mustapha family, the people of Borno and the All Progressives Congress (APC) family over the loss and prayed God to grant the departed eternal rest.

Overhaul security structure, group tells Buhari

A

legal practitioner, Tony Okafor, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently overhaul the security structure of the nation in view of the enormous lives and property being wasted on regular basis across the country due to activities of insurgents, criminals and corrupt office holders.

He made the call in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital.

Okafor, who is also the President of Praise International Fellowship, maintained that the Nigerian security apparatus needs modern crime fighting equipment and enabling environment to contain the

riotous advancement of insurgents and acts of criminality in the country.

He stressed the need for the Buhari-led administration to step up security strategies, create institutions with inbuilt checks and balances mechanism in order to subdue the present high level of corruption and divide tendencies that slow down Nigeria's march to true greatness.

The lawyer also advised members of the Boko Haram sect to listen to reason when it matters most and discard aggression against the Nigerian state and embrace peace in the interest of the unity of the nation.

Ropo Sekoni

13

Page 14

Femi Orebe Page 16

SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

Africa should demand reparation not bailout T HE anti -colonial movements that swept across Africa and Asia transformed world politics, creating a new Third World the emergent countries. At that time, a radical mind was vehemently critical of the colonial powers. In his book, The Wretched of the Earth, Frantz Fanon exposed the economic and psychological degradation of imperialism and pointed the way forward by violence that would ultimately lead to socialism. He recognized that colonial domination is total and tends to over- simplify, very soon manages to disrupt in spectacular fashion the cultural life of a conquered people. This cultural obliteration is made possible by negation of national reality by new legal relations introduced by the occupying power and banishment of the natives and their customs to the outlying districts by colonial society.

By appropriation and by the systematic enslaving of men and women, this thought provoking historical analysis of colonialism given by one of African revolutionary minds; gives us a peep into the chequered history of Africa. The plight of African continent can be traced down time line; the slave era. Although slavery was one of the admixtures of productive labour relations practised in many nations in Africa long before the adventure of Arabs slave merchants and subsequently their European counterparts. The lust for black skin by these two slave merchants race signalled the precursor of what became the Trans-Atlantic slave trade that lasted over four centuries.

More than four centuries of dehumanizing any human race was enough to truncate and stagnant its natural evolution in all ramification. As slave trade came under scathing castigation by the capitalist in the early stage of industrial revolution, they used the church to propagate its moral burden on nations trading in slaves. The frontier of dehumanization was systematically extended to encompass acquisition of colonial territories outside the mother countries. This was another phase of domination by ruling the freed people in their own continent.

This phase saw the scramble for African continent by European nations. The unfair balance of economic, military and technology might was always in favour of the conquerors against the conquered people. As the conquering nations grow richer and more powerful due to their new mode of production, they seek foreign markets and also natural resources to feed their industries. The capitalist had to look no further than where their fore-bears looked (Africa) to get their needed resources. Their grandfathers came to buy or catch black skins; they too came to expropriate the riches in Africa’s soil. Pockets of resistance by angry, humiliated and dehumanized Africans were met by brute force made possible by the use of superior fire arms.

According to Frantz Fanon, the colony’s economy was organised in order to complement the economy of the different mother countries. Colonialism hardly ever exploits the whole of the country. It contents itself with bringing to light the natural resources, which it extracts and exports to meet the need of the mother country’s industries. There by allowing certain sectors of the colony to become relatively rich while the rest of the colony follows its path of underdevelopment and poverty or sink into it more deeply.

Immediately after independence, the people who live in the more prosperous regions realise their good luck and show a primary and profound reaction in refusing to feed the other people. African unity, that vague formula, yet one to which the man and woman of Africa were passionately attached and whose operative value serve to bring immense pressure to bear on colonialism takes off the mask and crumbles into regionalism inside the hollow shell of nationality itself. The national bourgeoisie,

talist powers that in fact they must pay for it through lack of intelligence the capitalist countries refuse to pay, then the relentless dialectic of their own system will smother them. It is a fact that young nations do not attract much private capital.

There are many reasons which explain and render legitimate this reserve on the part of the monopoly.

As soon as the capitalists know that their government is getting ready to decolonize, they hasten to withdraw all their capital from the colony in question.

The spectacular flight of capital is one of the most constant phenomena of decolonization.

This distillation of Fanon’s narrative and the historical trajectory of western capitalist exploit in underdeveloped nations of the world in general and Africa in particular gives an insight into what obtains today. From the epoch of conquest and slave trade to colonial domination and imperialism, they keep perfecting their art of domination and control.

Great African leaders like; Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, Thomas Sankara, Patrick Lumumba, Amilcar Calbra, Samora Machel, Julius Nyerere, and others would be shuddering in their graves if they were to witness the plunder that has ripped Africa to bits, thanks

•Sankara

By Ogbu A. Ameh

since it is strung up to defend its immediate interests and sees no farther than the end of its nose, reveals itself incapable of simply bringing national unity into being or of building up the nation on a stable and productive basis. The national front which has forced colonialism to withdraw cracks up and wastes the victory it has gained.

Not long ago Nazism transformed the whole of Europe into veritable colony. The government of the various European nations called for reparations and demanded the restitution in kind and money of the wealth which had been stolen from them. Cultural treasures, pictures, sculptures and stained glasses have been given back to their owners. There was only one slogan in the mouths of the Europeans on the eve of the 1945 Vday; Germany must pay.

In the same way, we may say that the imperialist state would make a great mistake and commit an unspeakable injustice if they contented themselves with withdrawing from our soil the military cohorts, the administrative and managerial services whose function it was to discover the wealth of the country, to export it and sent it off to the mother countries. We are not blinded by the moral reparation of national independence, nor are we fed by it. The wealth of the imperial countries is our wealth too. Europe has stuffed herself inordinately with the gold and raw materials of the colonial countries.

Latin America, China and Africa from all these continents under whose eyes Europe today raise up her tower of opulence, there has flowed out for centuries towards that same Europe. Europe is literally the creation of the third world, the wealth which smothers her is that which was stolen from the underdeveloped peoples. The ports of Holland and docks of Bordeaux and Liverpool were specialised in Negro slave trade and owe their renown to millions of deported slaves.

So when we hear the head of a European state declare with his hands on his chest that he must come to the help of the poor underdeveloped peoples, we do not tremble with gratitude. Quite the contrary; we say to ourselves; it is our just reparation which will be paid to us. Nor will we acquiesce in the help for underdeveloped countries being a programme of sisters of charity. This help should be the ratification of a double racialization.

The realization by colonized peoples that it is their due, and the realization by the capi-

to the convenience of leaders whom transnational corporations, ventures philanthropists and international financial advisers have led by the nose. Sankara illustrated the African spirit needed to realign the continent away from economic and political poverty and towards liberating ideas and people’s sovereignty. According to award winning activist Nnimmo Bassey in his book; ‘To cook a continent’ ‘some people think Sankara was an idealist and thus left his flank open to deadly bullets from guns wielded by friends.’

The western powers in their Machiavellian control of world economy are adept in the use of blackmail, deception, intimidation, agent provocateur, conflict and crisis instigation and wars to maintain stranglehold on underdeveloped nations of the world. Today, carbon trading has crept into the socio-economic relations in international politics. As usual, African continent has been targeted to bear the burden of climate changed caused by industrial nations of Europe.

This among other forms of control and domination is what we in the progressive left term second slavery era. We must align with present day activists and others spread across underdeveloped countries of the world to resist any form of neo-liberalism which is new era of imperialism. The imperialists have carted away uncountable able bodied black Africans. They came back for her rich soil resources and plundered it. Now, they are back to uproot Africans through wars and terrorism. Their corporations despoiled and degraded our rich eco system through oil and mineral explorations. They are buying our forest now in their bid to grab our lands in the name of a phoney carbon trading deals. Just like in the days of slavery, our greedy selfcentred and unpatriotic leaders always connive with them as accomplice in all the dehumanizing trade relations. Renowned revolutionary writers like; Walter Rodney, Frantz Fanon, and Afro beat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti have pointed the way forward. It is left for us in this generation to fulfil their patriotic aspirations and rescue Africa from being a sleeping giant.

•Ameh is the Founder of Generation for Change in Africa and Organising Secretary, Socialist Workers League Abuja branch.

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Abati: Burden of public office

I

HAVE not been opportune to hold a public office, but I know a number of people who have and whose experience has not been as pleasant as imagined.

There is a lot of assumption about public office that makes many to do anything possible to get political appointments. President Muhammadu Buhari and many state governors who are yet to appoint their commissioners will currently have more than enough curriculum vitae for consideration.

The delay in making appointments by Buhari must be giving many sleepless nights as they had expected by now that they would have been rewarded with appointments for their contributions to the president’s election victory.

While not many easily admit that they want public office to enrich themselves, it is the main attraction for most and not service as claimed.

There are, indeed, legitimate and illegitimate money to be made in government. Beyond the normal salaries, there are numerous allowances and other pecuniary benefits which make political appointments attractive.

However, beyond the financial gains, there are a lot of other hassles associated with government appointments which need to be understood by not only those who crave for appointments but members of the public who subject the appointees to what I regard as unfair criticisms.

This piece is informed by the recent article by a former presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, titled: The phones no longer ring.

“As spokesman to President Goodluck Jonathan, my phones rang endlessly and became more than personal navigators within the social space. They defined my entire life; dusk to dawn, all year-round. The phones buzzed non-stop, my email was permanently active; my twitter account received tons of messages per second. The worst moments were those days when there was a Boko Haram attack virtually every Sunday.

“The intrusion into my private life was total as my wife complained about her sleep being disrupted by phones that never seemed to stop ringing,” Abati wrote.

Expectedly, his piece attracted some negative comments from those who felt that Abati does not deserve any pity or understanding based on the role he played in the Jonathan’s presidency. Abati was definitely not seeking any pity. All he sought to do as far as I am concerned was to give an insight about the life of a typical top government official occupying some sensitive positions.

Despite his hectic schedule, his greatest crime for which some journalists who should sympathise with him but rather crucify him is that he didn’t pick their calls while he was in office. Yes, he should pick their calls since his job was that of a spokesperson for the government, but the truth is that there is a limit to how many he can, given the various assignments he had to juggle.

I am not aware of any spokesperson, either at federal or state level, who has not been accused of not responding to calls as much as their former colleagues expect them. A former Press Secretary to a former Deputy Governor told me how difficult it was for her to cope with numerous calls because of meetings she had to attend, travels and other assignments.

Much as spokesmen and other public office holders should try to maintain their pre-appointment relationships, they should not be expected to meet every demand that require their attention.

Their stay in government office should not be regarded as an opportunity for them to meet some difficult expectations beyond their capacity. The inner workings of government can be very complicated and unless one is in, it may be difficult to appreciate what it takes to be a government official.

14

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

COMMENT

As if there is no change in the air The recent expression of worries of members of the National Peace Committee (now re-named the National Peace Council) at the end of a meeting with President Buhari provides a subtle demonstration of the desire to tolerate the culture of impunity

T

HE more things change, the more they remain the same? This question cannot be more apt than it appears to be in today’s Nigeria. Many pundits are already describing the durability of old habits in the country as a manifestation of the Nigeria Factor, a psycho-social condition that gives Nigerians across the social spectrum oversize energy to make the wrong thing look right without blinking; to do the wrong thing and expect the right result; etc. How else does one explain the behaviour of some members of the Peace Committee or of the Senate that is still not totally out of the woods from the crisis some of its members foisted on the body of the country’s upper legislative chamber a few weeks ago?

Immunity or the flair to soar above the rule of law has been a part of the Nigerian condition for a very long time. It did not come with the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan nor with the first post-military civilian regime midwifed by General Abdulsalami Abubakar. Immunity in political, social, and economic matters was present during most of the decades of military rule. Military dictators fired tenured civil servants with enthusiasm and without any reference to the law of the land. There were also military governors who flogged civil servants; shaved the heads of journalists; and ordered some public servants to do frog jumping. What got worse over time and especially during the post-military civilian regime since 1999 is the desire of elected political office holders or appointed ones to do whatever appealed to their fancy, without worrying about how such behaviour advances the cause of accountable, ethical, and elegant civic life.

The recent expression of worries of members of the National Peace Committee (now re-named the National Peace Council) at the end of a meeting with President Buhari provides a subtle demonstration of the desire to tolerate the culture of impunity. Some of the statements of Bishop Kukah in particular should worry lovers of democratic governance. In his assurance to citizens about the objective of the meeting the National Peace Committee held with President Buhari, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto said: “I think what we are concerned about is the process. It is no longer a mili-

tary regime and under our existing laws, everybody is innocent until proven guilty. . . .Again, our own commitment is not to intimidate or fight anybody. The former president’s commitment and what he did still remains spectacular and I think that President Buhari himself appreciates that. So, our effort really is to make sure that the right thing is done.”

As much as the Bishop tried to assure citizens that the NPC is not worried about the federal government’s decision to put on trial those under investigation for looting the nation’s treasury, there are still questions that are not answered by his clarifications on the purpose of the special meeting with President Buhari. What has the president done since his assumption of office to suggest that he is likely to act in contravention of the principle of rule of law or to ignore ‘doing the right thing’? Have any citizens approached the National Peace Committee that their rights have been violated? Since when did the NPC, a group cobbled together before the 2015 presidential election, become a group for promotion of human rights in place of the constitution and the judiciary? Are there any suggestions that those being prepared for arraignment in a matter of weeks may be unable to protect their rights, should President Buhari’s government put them on trial without just cause? Perhaps, the NPC needs to give citizens more information about details of the negotiations that made the result of the presidential election acceptable to former President Jonathan, if only to assure citizens that the Committee/Council is not to become a non-elected and informal layer in the governing process.

Now that President Buhari has given the National Peace Committee a new name, is this an indication that the body has been given a new lease of life? In what specific areas is the National Peace Council to look for peace? What exactly has broken that the NPC is now being charged or re-charged to fix? The nation and the entire world had amply congratulated former President Jonathan for accepting the results of the 2015 presidential election. What other matters are yet to be resolved after the graceful departure of Dr. Jonathan at the end of

the inauguration of President Buhari? What is the cause of democratic governance going to gain from NPC becoming a permanent feature of the political culture? Is the extension of the tenure of the Peace Council an indication that the war in Nigeria is not just the one with Boko Haram but others within the polity that are yet to be named?

Furthermore, is the re-naming of the Peace Committee an attempt to turn the ad hoc group into a standing body to settle issues outside the judicial framework? Shouldn’t members of the committee give the new president the benefit of the doubt that he ought to know what is right to do before accusing or arraigning any citizen on charges of corruption? Is it too much to expect that President Buhari can understand without being prodded that the government he now heads is not a military regime, months after he had contested and won a national election? Once a new government is in power, such pre-election groups set up to advise outgoing and incoming administrations should be allowed to move off the political and media radar, particularly once they had fulfilled the objective for which they were created. Shouldn’t members of the Peace Committee/Council have been thanked for a job well done and given the time to face their regular responsibilities in the various sectors of the society from which they were recruited?

There is also a report that the Senate has decided abruptly to end public hearing on review of its members’ salaries and allowances.

The Senate has chosen to refer matters of salary review to its own committees while some of its members are noting that the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission is the sole authority to determine how much lawmakers earn. It is reassuring that the Senate is now preoccupied with the matter of process. Other senators seem to have concluded that having pruned down the budget of the national assembly from 150 billion to 120 billion naira, there should be no need for any review of the salaries and perquisites of lawmakers. In the tradition of maximising the use

of power entrusted to individuals and groups in an ethos characterised by immunity, the Senate is acting as if it wants to avoid being monitored by citizens who initially showed concerns about the oversize pay and benefit package of lawmakers.

Is the Senate leader’s decision to move debate over salary/allowance review from public gaze an attempt to sweep the matter of legislative finance under the mat? The culture of the last national assembly was similar in many ways to that of the executive of the time. During the Jonathan era, it was not unusual for lawmakers to summon members of the executive for fact-finding and for such office holders to refuse to heed such calls with impunity. For four years, the lawmakers kept with impunity the details of their salaries and allowances away from the public. It is therefore not unlikely that the decision to halt public hearing on salary and allowance is being made with the belief that there is nothing citizens can do to make senators change their mind on how much they want to be paid.

What senators should not be allowed to forget is that the game has changed. The voters that brought the lawmakers to office are starkly different from those that were claimed to have voted for many of them four years ago. In 2015, majority of voters got fed up with the ethic and style of governance and lawmaking in the last six or more years and thus voted for a new governance ethic. The mandate given to majority of the lawmakers last April, just like the one given to President Buhari, is one that requires transparency and accountability. If there are lawmakers who believe that they can muscle their way into any level of salary and allowance they feel can carry “increasing obligations to their constituencies,” they will need to remember that the constituents they now have will like to be consulted fully on all matters including how much their representatives take home as salaries and allowances. Should the nation’s revenue profile require any form of rationalisation that may affect any kind of allowance for lawmakers personally or for their constituencies, legislators and the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission need to be made aware of the principle that ultimate sovereignty lies with the citizens, not their representatives in the lower or upper House.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

COMMENT

15

Looters beware President Buhari’s insistence that all who looted the treasury will be brought to book is commendable

P

RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to restoration of probity and sanity to national life should be sweet music in the ears of patriots and nationalists. For so long, things have gone wrong and the easy way that have been preached by many Nigerians is privatisation of the nation’s patrimony. Despite that path, values and virtues have virtually disappeared from the public space.

The President, who was elected on the solemn pledge to reduce corruption to the barest minimum and make that path unattractive, has been confronted with a stiff resistance by those who may soon be charged before the law courts to answer to charges of theft and fraud. In the past two weeks, the President has been receiving visitors ostensibly on matters that relate to the plans to expose those who fiddled with the national wealth.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan was at the Aso Villa, where he called the shots until May 29, to confer with his successor. He was reported to have brought up the ordeal of his aides who had been guests of the security agencies to respond to queries. Former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki, the former Chief Security Officer Gordon Obua and some of the ministers are said to have been invited as a probe has been launched into large-scale malfeasance under the Jonathan administration.

Thereafter, the General Abdulsalami Abubakar-led National Peace Committee was seen at the Villa to confer with the President, ostensibly on related matters. Although details of discussions held behind closed doors have not been made public, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, The Most Rev. Matthew Kukah, gave credence to speculations that they had come to mediate at the instance of Dr. Jonathan.

He indicated that the President should spend more time in addressing other pertinent problems

S

CHOOLS offering business and management education abound, but experts know that only a few actually fit the profile. Research reveals that less than five percent of the world’s 13,000 business programmes have earned the Association to Advance the Collegiate School of Business’ (AACSB) accreditation, touted as the highest achievement for business schools worldwide.

Typically, AACSB-accredited schools have good faculty, a challenging curriculum, and provide educational and career opportunities unavailable at other business schools. Lagos Business School earned the association’s coveted accreditation this year.

The Financial Times of London also contributes its two cents’ worth to quality control in management education.

Every year, it publishes a list of some of the world’s best business institutions to guide prospective students’ choices.

LBS has consistently featured in the ‘open enrolment education’ category of that list since 2007. More significantly, the school recently joined the FT’s ranking of top custom education providers; the first time it would be achieving the feat.

Since 1991 when LBS started as a small institution offering management education in Lagos, it has consistently resonated with a mix of top executives and upwardly-

confronting the country and insistently said the former President deserved commendation for his “spectacular act” of conceding defeat after the March presidential election. He subtly upbraided President Buhari for “frittering away” the goodwill engendered by the Jonathan concession.

We find nothing wrong in the voluntary activities of the Peace Committee. Nigerians, especially those who have held high offices in the land, have a duty to take more than passing interest in national affairs.

However, it is unacceptable that a matter that came up during the election and on which the electorate have spoken so loudly should be made subject to undue negotiation after the inauguration of the administration. President Buhari campaigned on the need to stem the tide of corruption. He solicited the support of Nigerians in undertaking the battle. It is therefore unacceptable that he would be reminded of a need to soft-pedal on the battle. Both Dr. Jonathan and the Peace Committee should be reminded that, in a democracy, the will of the people is paramount.

The mind-boggling revelations coming out on how the national wealth was shared among a few should have elicited a strident call from the former president, his aides and admirers; as it would avail him the opportunity of laying the truth in the public domain. All that the administration’s key officials could ask is that the due process be followed. We TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

•Editor Festus Eriye

•Managing Director/ Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh

•Deputy Editor Olayinka Oyegbile

•Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye

•Associate Editor Sam Egburonu

•General Editor Adekunle Ade-Adeleye

agree with the Peace Committee that the Department of State Services, the Police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have a duty to ensure that the Rule of Law prevails in the process of investigation and prosecution of suspects.

To this end, we commend the president’s resolve to take those against whom prima facie cases have been established to court speedily. He has said, very soon, they would be arraigned and the charges against them made public. Thus far, no one has been unduly detained for days or denied access to their lawyers. The appointment of the Itse Sagay Panel to insulate the process from allegations of partisanship and pettiness is a step in the right direction. The reputation of the eminent lawyers and academics is an indication that the President does not intend to witch-hunt anyone.

It is obvious that if the corruption virus is not exterminated, it has the capacity to snuff life out of Nigerians and Nigeria. The high level of unemployment in the country, poor state of infrastructure and the capital flight engendered by the sorry position of educational and health facilities, could be traced to the evil that general maladministration and corruption wrought on the economy.

The Augean stable must be cleansed and there is no better time to do so than now. Rather than stand in the way of the Buhari administration to clear the mess, all statesmen and nationalists — indeed, all patriots —should lend a helping hand in ensuring that those duly ascertained as having a hand in perverting the course of national growth and development are punished and their loot recovered.

All felons, no matter how highly or lowlyplaced, must be punished to serve as deterrence to others, especially as President Buhari is taking steps to set up the structure of his administration.

LETTERS

Lagos Business School and its programmes

mobile youths interested in gaining useful management insights. The reason for this pull is abstract to some, while many others typically associate the school with prestige and high ethical standards.

From LBS’ standpoint, however, three characteristics are responsible for the success stories recorded by some of its alumni. Sound knowledge is one, the right attitude another; and a solid network tops it.

Participants in LBS’ programmes always stand out, thanks to the School’s focus on providing sound knowledge that equips them to succeed in Africa and beyond. To achieve this, LBS employs the services of world-class local and international faculty to facilitate its MBA and Executive Education programmes. These academics are oftentimes expert sources for financial/business intelligence and thought leaders whose research works are published in international journals of repute.

The school’s full-time MBA programme is designed to prepare managers to succeed in the increasingly complex global business environment. Small wonder, then, that

participants in the programme are highly regarded both locally and internationally for the aptitude they display in their respective circles.

Last year, former MBA student, Adebayo Alonge, emerged one of the finalists in the maiden Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. The Fellowship is the flagship programme of President Barack Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), which takes 500 young leaders to the US for academic coursework and leadership training. In the same year, Onyanta Adama, another MBA student, made the shortlist for the FT MBA Challenge with UK charity World Child Cancer. She joined five other students from Lagos and abroad to draft a plan on how Ghana could treat childhood cancer in a self-sustainable manner.

But business education at LBS goes beyond building the intellect. After all, it takes a blend of knowledge and the right ethical attitude to pro-

duce the ideal business person or manager. Thus, in the course of their studies, participants also internalise the school’s values that will set them apart in the real world such as integrity, professionalism, spirit of service, mutual respect and community. In a word, they are groomed to have the right ethical attitude towards business and management in a system dominated by sharp practices.

After the programme, they join a solid network of

over 5000 alumni whose expertise they can leverage in their quest to take their careers or businesses to the next level.

Such launch pads have never been in short supply from the pool of participants in LBS’ executive programmes. Earlier this year, Paul Orajiaka (AMP 20) revamped a rundown school in Ikorodu, Lagos. He assured that the project was the first in a long line of CSR initiatives that would cut across the six geopolitical zones of the country in months to come. This was preceded by his interview with Forbes magazine for starting his doll manu-

facturing company, Auldon Limited, with a paltry $30, and making it a success story in the industry. Other positive change agents associated with LBS include Dr Christopher Kolade, Professor Pat Utomi, Pascal Dozie and governors, top executives/managers of multinationals and medium-to-large scale businesses too numerous to count.

Every institution worthy of the name stands for something and LBS is no exception.

LBS stands for sound knowledge, the right attitude and a solid network. With a mix of these characteristics, it empowers managers to succeed in the fast-paced 21st century business environment defined by cut-throat competition.

•By Francis Jakpor Communications Officer, Lagos Business School

The Senator as a bodyguard

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VOTED for change to rescue my dear nation from the hands of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) 15 years of misrule and bad governance. I view President Muhammadu Buhari as the messiah that will lead this blessed country and its people to the Promised Land as a result some disgruntled, corrupt evil minded politicians also hid under the name

of Change and Buhari to win election to continue their evil acts.

The senator representing me, Dino Melaye, was amongst the politicians who used the name of Buhari to win. We know how he emerged victorious through the efforts of the people of Lokoja/ Koton-Karfe, as his Okun people rejected him. But he has disappointed our people with his

infamous new role as a bodyguard to Senate President Bukola Saraki’s wife. We didn’t vote for Melaye to serve the interest of a woman under investigation on corruption. He should apologise to our people or we are going to use the same votes to remove him any time!!

•By Abdullateef Tanko, nayashit @yahoo.com

SEND TYPEWRITTEN, DOUBLE SPACED AND SIGNED CONTRIBUTIONS, LETTERS AND REJOINDERS OF NOT MORE THAN 500 WORDS TO THE EDITOR, THE NATION, 27B, FATAI ATERE ROAD, MATORI, LAGOS: sundaynation@yahoo.com

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

COMMENT

The obstreperous judge of the state of Osun There is no way a judge would spew such banalities on a state chief executive if, indeed, she was not consumed by hate and it is rather a shame that we still have such bigoted individuals, with the power of life and death, adjudicating in our hallowed courts of justice

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O matter in which university her worshipful majesty, Justice Folahanmi Oloyede, read her law, she could never have passed through the likes of Professors Okunuga, Ijalaiye, Kasunmu or Olawoyin, the way she completely desecrated the judiciary by her illadvised petition against the Osun State governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, which petition, it is obvious, she must have written out of some deep-seated bitterness. There is no way a judge would spew such banalities on a state chief executive if, indeed, she was not consumed by hate and it is rather a shame that we still have such bigoted individuals, with the power of life and death, adjudicating in our hallowed courts of justice. Reading this woman’s petition, you would not think that any other state, besides Osun, has a backlog of unpaid salaries.

Meanwhile in Benue State, for reasons not unconnected with non-payment of workers’ salaries, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja temporarily froze the state’s accounts in Skye Bank, Zenith Bank, First Bank of Nigeria and First City Monument Bank while for the same reason. The Daily Independent of May 16, 2015 reported that workers in Plateau State sacked the entire state 24 lawmakers from sitting over their failure to prevail on the state government to pay their salary arrears running to about seven months. While this is the situation in at least 23 of Nigeria’s 36 states we have the words of the Edo State governor, Comrade Adam Oshiomhole, to the effect that President Jonathan “could only be said to have paid wages only to the extent that Okonjo-Iweala

borrowed from the Central Bank; from various bond instruments including drawing down over N3 trillion from pension funds. It was in realisation of this truly pervasive problem that governors of both the APC and the PDP approached the federal government for a bail out which was granted. Unfortunately, given Yoruba’s historic bad belle and pullhim-down syndrome, things were bound to be treated differently in the Southwest, especially in Osun State, where a particular individual, forever wanting to be governor, was sure to find ‘agent provocateurs’, ready to pull his chestnuts out of the fire for him. This, I suspect, is where this judge, who has subsequently been thoroughly excoriated for desecrating the judiciary by legal juggernauts like Chief (Mrs) Folake Solanke, SAN and Professor Itse Sagay, SAN, comes in.

It is also with this macabre circumstances in mind, this complete disregard for judicial norms as well as everything that can be considered decent, and respectful, that Adewale Adeoye, a CNN African Journalist Award winner, decided to weigh in on Oloyede’s monumental faux pas. His views are presented, mutatis mutandis: “Governors should, by all means, be held accountable for their deeds. All the same, Justice Oloyede erred. Her petition is curious, suspicious and raises serious issues about the separation of powers just as it is a complete negation of the prescriptions of the code of conduct as it concerns judicial officers. As one, it is obviously not in Justice Oloyede’s place to initiate

impeachment proceedings against the governor. Her petition is novel, has never been known to happen; not here nor in the advanced democracies. This Judge has no history of being a radical and so must have acted at the prompting of politicians, or of a political party. That she did so publicly is as dreadful as it is bizarre. No judge, not even in a banana republic, should be seen acting in such a rash and repugnant manner. Why, for instance, has the Chief Justice of the Federation not written such a petition to the Senate calling for the impeachment of former President Goodluck Jonathan when the federal government was borrowing in trillions to pay salaries? Without doubt, her action demonstrates a gross lack of professional etiquette and so she can justifiably be described as a threat to the judiciary.

We have heard that a section of the judiciary stinks with corruption and by this, she has confirmed that such corruption is not limited to financials only; it could very well be attitudinal.

Her inability to check and moderate her sentiments smells to high heavens, exposing her as being extremely weak and unable to rein in her impulses. She demonstrated a flirtatious display of reactionary alliance with the roguish PDP; a party which has spared no effort in making governance in the State of Osun impossible.

Without a doubt, that party is from whence came the contents of her petition and it is meant to distract a governor who is doing his best to ameliorate the effects of their party’s unrestrained looting which ensured that trillions of naira that should have ended up in the federation account never got there in the

first place. Nigerians must thank God PDP et al, have been dispatched to political Siberia to rot.

Judges are neither police nor expected to be politicians. Judges are there to interpret the law based on evidence before them. They are not prosecutors, nor can they be judges in their own case. This misdirected judge quoted figures that are confidential to the state even when she did not get them, leveraging on the FOI law, which obviously means that she has either been personally spying or has agents leaking state secrets to her. Clearly, Justice Oloyede is a remnant of the old order, a rookie of the political clan, planted in the judiciary; a clan that wishes to see Nigeria remain a fiefdom of ineptitude, run by a rogue cartel wishing to dominate government for selfish ends. It is the responsibility of any society that wishes to uphold the separation of powers, that intruders like her must not go unpunished by the appropriate authorities.” Were Justice Oloyede a woman of principles, or a citizen who truly means well for her state; if she were a woman of her word, she should have promptly resigned her appointment except she still cannot see the difference between her high office as judge, and that of a mere busy body who has obviously been playing ‘Edward Snowden’, on the state’s official secrets . The State of Osun, I think, should proceed to make her have her day in court for this profanity. In concluding, let me say a word for the poor, suffering Nigerian worker.

Nothing can be worse than not getting paid for work done and it becomes more excruciating when this situation continues for months on

Arms and the Men I welcome our new service chiefs to this broiling situation and pray they will be able to make better sense of it and translate it to the rest of us in the English we understand so that all things can add up. I'm thinking the kind of English that says 'the war is over'

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am sure I join many wary Nigerians in congratulating and welcoming the new service chiefs to their new posts. When I saw them being decorated by the president and their individual wives last night on television, they looked such a picture of strength and purpose I positively shed a few tears. No, I wasn't crying because of envy this time; I was crying because I wasn't there to ... you know... just hug them and wish them great good luck before they go into battle! Three months to defeat boko haram is a strong and, to many of us, tall order, but you never can tell. I have decided that if I can't go to the battle front myself (a little busy, you know), I will not let my doubts stand in their way.

Honestly though, when I saw them last night on TV, they just reminded me of that brave group of fighters called the Three Musketeers who constituted the British Medieval king's last bastion of defence. They later became four I think; at least many editions later made them four (they knew three were not enough to defeat the enemy) as they were joined by a ruddy youth who quite took everyone's breath away with his looks and fighting skills. So we do have an appropriate number here. Anyway, The Musketeers were supposed to be men whose oaths to defend the king

and state included a readiness to lay down their lives and all. That meant only the bravest, boldest and most noble of fellows could be members of that most elite of elite forces; that was why they were so few.

To be honest, I never looked long enough at our past servicemen to know if they had those qualities or not. By the time they came, I had been infected by the indifference virus many Nigerians suffered from BB (Before Buhari). So like the rest of my countrymen, I just concluded that the government had simply changed the group of the CC (Come Choppers) and refused to expect anything from them. I do not believe I am in a position to assess them except to say that the war they met on their watch is still on our hands, many months after they took the baton. Reasons for this sad state are not mine to excavate although I have heard someone say that that insurgency was not so serious that even our MB (Mobile Police) unit could not put down under three months if the country was serious.

But everyone is entitled to their own opinion; that's what I say.

In our new servicemen, I thought I heard soldiers who swore to lay down all they had in the service of the president and country, mostly because the president himself is

prepared to do likewise. This means they had come not as soldiers of fortune but of some seriousness. I think they had seen something of the seriousness on our president's face and that he was not smiling when he invited them to come and serve with him. The guy never smiles anyway.

Anyways, they had not come to be chocolate cream soldiers. Those are Bernard Shaw's soldiers who hide in ladies' wardrobes eating chocolates while a war is going on. Actually that's where we got our title today.

So, I am sure our new service chiefs know they are coming at a rather delicate time in the country's history when everyone is just about fed up with the country constantly paying out trillions of Naira prosecuting a war it is not winning against some armed banditry. Rather than the war going away, we have all been compelled to watch in horror as our Naira has been going away to never-never land. Honestly, I do believe that if it were not for the fact that we now have Buhari for president, we would not even have known that all that Naira has gone to never-never land; we would all have continued to labour under the heavy tolls of that war believing it was being fought. Actually, I was coming to the conclusion that the war was fast becoming the most

expensive in history going by the ratio and strength of the enemy to the country.

Thanks, I say, to Buhari who is not into any of our nonsense, we now have the luxury of hearing strange tunes from the now retired service chiefs. For instance, we have just been told again that Nigerian soldiers were fighting that war with antiquated war gear while the enemy was fighting with modern war gear.

(We first heard it from the soldiers who refused to fight the war with, well, bare hands.) And I thought, someone was doing the arming. But, did that someone get confused as to who the enemy really was? Was the wrong side being armed out in human error? Seriously, it could happen; well, this is Nigeria, man!

Nevertheless, I consider it rather striking that after such a long time and lots of money, the army is now telling us this unfortunate tale of insufficiency. As the story goes, the U.S. refused to sell arms to the country on account of some breach of some human rights laws. No one in the U.S. will come out clearly on whether it is the breach of the Leahy law or gays' rights law. Yet militants north and south are somehow able to lay their own illegal hands on the arms they require. How come? These things are just not adding up for me.

end. And, given Nigeria’s parlous circumstances, this situation could go on for years. Or how many times can state governors run to a federal government that is, itself living by its shoestrings? This is why I think the Nigerian Labour Congress should now quit adversarial relationship with the different arms of government. Labour should set out to properly serve the interest of Nigerians workers by posing and finding answers to questions that are crucial if they hope to take workers out of their present cul-de-sac. For instance, labour’s insistence on uniform salary in all states of the federation is unhelpful because states are not equally endowed. Also, if the federal government will not perpetually come to states’ assistance in the payment of salaries, then it must quit negotiating salaries and allowances on behalf of other tiers of government.

It is absolutely fallacious to think that states like Ebonyi, Ekiti, Osun etc, can comfortably pay the same salary as Lagos, Rivers, Kano, Akwa Ibom, for instance. States must be allowed to pay salaries it can afford based on honest negotiations between Labour and government. For instance, Osun did not have its current problem until the senior workers union arm twisted the government to extend the minimum wage agreement to all categories of staff. From that point on, most states discovered they could no longer afford their monthly salary bills. It must be pointed out that in any state of the federation, the public service does not cater to more than about 10 percent or thereabouts of the population. When this small fraction takes everything a government earns in a month, what is left for government to do anything else? Only this past week the House of Representatives decided to investigate why the capital component of the current budget is not being implemented.

Should any serious body go into such things when even a kindergarten knows why?

Labour must do this hard work on behalf of workers or give states a free hand to determine their staff strength.

But then, things never seem to add up for me anyway since my mathematics is near to non-existent.

My worry is this: if the army had all these facts about weaponry, why were the soldiers who were put on trial for desertion given the death sentence without considering the extenuating circumstances of the case? Like I always say, I am not a soldier; I am just an observer with a desire to set things right. From my observatory therefore, I can see and therefore say that that sentence is a little harsh and untoward. True, the punishment for the crime of desertion should always harsh. But the soldiers did not hide in ladies' cupboards; they just did not have the right arms they said. So, when the punishment is too harsh, it is no longer punishment; it becomes sadism. In the name of the humanity under which we all groan, I hope the new chiefs will review that sentence.

So, once again, I welcome our new service chiefs to this broiling situation and pray they will be able to make better sense of it and translate it to the rest of us in the English we understand so that all things can add up. I'm thinking the kind of English that says 'the war is over'. That is easy enough to understand. I hope that they will use the time they have been given to prosecute the boko haram war to truly bring this sickening situation to an end. They should remember that just as their predecessors now have the opportunity to explain their commands to the nation, they will also have theirs at the end of their own service lines. For their sake, the nation hopes they will be able to employ their opportunities to give explanations of triumph rather than apologies.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

COMMENT

17

(129) In the war against corruption effective prosecutions not probes are the ultimate weapons I START my column this week with two separate but related questions and their answers, together with the known, documented effects of the answers.

First question: what does a probe of probable or suspected cases of looting of government revenues or assets achieve? Answer: if successful, it will reveal the identities, the names of the culprits, together with the sums they might have stolen. Known and documented effects: in most cases no effect is achieved; there are no punishments, and no refund of stolen loot. Second question: what will vigorous and effective prosecution of identified and named culprits of looting of government or public funds and assets achieve? Answer: it will recover vast amounts of stolen loot; it will send culprits to long terms of imprisonment; and it will serve as a warning, a deterrent to others that corruption will be met with the full force of the law in our country. Known and documented effects: None, precisely because vigorous and effective prosecutions of criminal looters have been virtually absent in our law courts for at least the last decade and a half; our country is a looters’ paradise, the most redoubtable in the whole world.

The causative background to this series of questions and answers is the controversy currently raging over the announcement of President Buhari that his administration’s probe of corruption in our country will be limited to only the administration of his immediate predecessor in office, Goodluck Jonathan. I am not uninterested in the controversy, but I confess that it is of very mild interest to me. If I had to take a clear and unambiguous position on the issue, it will be that Buhari ought not to limit the probe to the Jonathan administration, that all the administrations since the return to civilian rule in 1999 should be probed. This is because, absolutely without any exception, looting with impunity was a constant and invariant phenomenon as much in the Obasanjo and Yar’ Adua administrations as in the Jonathan government. For this reason, Buhari is playing into hands of those who, for their own self-interested reasons, have been making loud and acrimonious noises that the new administration’s intended probe is nothing but a witch-hunt directed solely at the Jonathan administration. And now having stated my own views on the matter, I wish to say with as much emphasis as I can muster that this controversy is a diversion away from the most serious area of the war against corruption and its ramifications for the survival of our country. This area is none other than vigorous and effective prosecution of criminal cases against our high and mighty

country that there have been even probes to probe probes!

In my recollection, the most recent of s u c h uniquely Nigerian and endlessly red u n d a n t “probes-top r o b e probes” is the well known scandalwithin-ascandal involving the Hon Farouk Lawan. As readers of this piece may recall, in the probe into the oil subsidy mega scam of 2011 by a Committee of the House of Representatives that L a w a n chaired, he was caught in a bribery setup that then attracted a probe of Lawan and his Committee by a SubCommittee of the same House of Representatives. In that notorious case, neither the person being probed who bribed nor •“Who will be the new Minister of Justice and Attorney Lawan General? Will he or she wrest control of the law from the Lawan him‘lootocrats’? self paid any significant class of “untouchable” looters. price for the revelations of both Permit me to make a few com- the initial probe and the subsements in support of this observa- quent probe-to-probe-the-probe. tion, this claim.

Given this inglorious history It is an understatement to say of probes in the war against corthat probes relating to official cor- ruption in our country, the reader ruption are not lacking in Nigeria may wonder why so much disfor indeed, there are few places cursive energy and political capion the planet with as many tal are invested in calls for probprobes and investigations of cor- ing either only the Jonathan adruption as in our country. Indeed, ministration or all the adminisif probes had any positive connec- trations since 1999. Is it because tion to the war on corruption, Ni- probes and their revelations act geria would have emerged more as a sort of shaming ritual than a decade ago as one of the against our “lootocrats”? Percountries in the world with the haps. On this account, deep lowest levels of official or govern- down in the Nigerian collective mental corruption. As a matter of psyche and popular imagination historical fact, the tradition goes is the conviction that the law in all the way back before 1999 to general and most of our very senthe period of military dictator- ior lawyers, and a great number ships. So endemic, so constant of our magistrates and judges are but so utterly of little or no use is there to protect the lootocrats. On the legal-administrative culture this account, the thinking is that of probes into corruption in our at least if, thanks to the prevail-

ing judicial system, you can’t jail them and you can’t make them pay back what they have looted, you can at least shame them by revealing through probes who they are and how much they have looted. If this underlying logic holds true, it means that ours is a society that has already lost the entire war against corruption even before the first battle – in the law courts – has been fought and lost. And there is also the fact that our looters are completely beyond shame; indeed to the contrary, they normatively wear their “shame” like a badge of honor, unfortunately with the connivance of the popular masses, the looted and the disenfranchised.

The great challenge now is to shift the indisputably great public interest in the success of the war against corruption away from calls for or against probes to why it is that the battles are nearly always lost in our law courts and what we need to do to end the control of the law by the looters and their advocates. In making this particular observation, I ask the reader to please reflect on the fact that only a very tiny segment of civil society organizations and individuals, trade unions and professional associations, and students’ bodies and voluntary organizations pay careful and sustained attention to what goes on in our law courts with regard to how the high and mighty of the land who have looted and continue to loot our public coffers control senior lawyers, judges and magistrates.

As I write these words, there are dozens, indeed scores of cases tied up in our law courts more or less permanently against successful prosecution. In the few cases where accused culprits are actually tried and found guilty, the “punishments” are so light as to be laughable in their ineffectiveness, either as punishment or as deterrent. I cite just a few of these. One: John Yakubu Yusuf who admitted to stealing more than 2 billion naira from Police Pension Funds; he was given only two years jail sentence but with an option of a fine of N750,000 naira which he paid and then walked away a free man. Two: the Judge who gave him this “handshake” of a sentence, Justice Abubakar Talba, was found compromised by the National Judicial Council (NJC).

What punishment did the NJC give him? One year suspension from duties without pay! Three: a certain Justice Okechukwu Okeke of the Federal High Court who, in his appearance before the NJC, had no convincing defense against the numerous petitions against his judgments; he was not sanctioned at all but was let off the hook because his retirement was close at hand!

I am not of course saying stop

all probes; far from it. Probes have their uses, especially if and when they are complemented by vigorous and effective prosecutions.

What I am saying is that beyond the calls for probes, please pay far greater attention to what is going on in the law courts! The names of the most active and notorious senior lawyers, magistrates and judges who provide cover and protection to the lootocrats should be publicized.

Tear away the cloak of judicial respectability and personal anonymity from their “illustrious” careers! Don’t scapegoat them in place of the lootocrats themselves, but unmask the hidden symbiosis between the two groups! Above all else, pay attention to the Administration of Justice Act of 2015 and fight with all your moral energy and political imagination to make sure that the provisions of this new Act are enforced in our law courts.

Naturally, the reader will wonder: what exactly is the Administration of Justice Act of 2015 about? Well, here I must confess that I have myself just come into knowledge of both its clearly revolutionary implications and the tremendous obstacles that we may expect from the forces both inside and outside our judicial system who benefit from the status quo that favors looters. For this reason, rather than give a summary or outline of the provisions and implications of this Act, I intend next week to invite one or two members of the judiciary to share the space of this column with me in discussion and explication of the Act. For now, let me close the present discussion with the following “last words”.

One of the truly amazing ironies of the war against corruption in our country in the law courts is the fact that our looters have been far more widely successfully prosecuted outside the country than in Nigeria. In some really unbelievable cases, individuals who had been unsuccessfully prosecuted in Nigerian courts have been victoriously prosecuted abroad for the same crimes! This pattern has brought much ridicule and infamy to our judicial order in the court of international juridical onion.

Right now, at this present historical moment when so many countries in the world have promised to help the new administration recover the untold loot hidden away in foreign countries and bank vaults, the very least we can begin to do is prosecute our looters vigorously and successfully at home. Charity, they say, begins at home. So does justice for the millions of the looted and impoverished in the land.

Biodun Jeyifo bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

COMMENT

Nigeria has always been within the grasp of terror L

ONG before the emergence of Boko Haram, the Nigerian Muslim population-especially those in the northern part-has always craved for a unifying leader. A leader that would lead based on the Sharia system.

The amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorates in 1914 saw to the end of the last vestiges of the Uthman Dan Fodio Caliphate. Ever since, abjuration of this Caliphate legacy has proved difficult for the Muslims to come to terms with. They have strived to find a replacement to it.

The Amalgamation gave rise to series of constitutional amendments, and eventually Independence in 1960. The twin impacts of the amalgamation and independence reduced the former Caliphate to a mere fragmented states within nations (Niger, Cameroun and Nigeria). To the Muslims in the north of Nigeria, it was a re-ordering on a scale never envisaged. Hence, the held notion that human rights and democracy are western manifestations must be debunked and resisted. Senegal, unlike Nigeria, had that unifying leader before and after Independence in person of Sheikh Ibrahim Niass in the early and late 20th century.

Even after his death in 1975, he is still being held as a source of inspiration and guidance to not only by the Senegalese, but also to a large number of Muslims in West Africa. By this sheer fate, Senegal would build the most enduring democracy in the region with little or no sectarian strife, or without any flirtation with the ever divisive and unstable Arab world. Essentially, they aren’t torn between the Sunni-Shia conflicts that have come to define

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•Shekau

By Nuhu Othman Islam. The Tijjaniyya Islam which Sheikh Ibrahim Niass propagated has so far proved to be the safety valve, and most importantly as a hedge against radical Islam in Senegal.

Nigeria, on the other hand, has been searching in the wilderness for such a leader as Senegal had. This saw the Muslims in Nigeria journeying far afield in search of this. In the 1970s when Muammar Ghaddafi declared Libya a Jamhuriyya (a republic), it was common place to see male children named after him. Fast forward to the 1990s, the Gulf War to be precise. Male children were named after Saddam Hussein. The one personality with the most devastating impact was Osama bin Laden, who exploited one of the major ideological issues uniting the Muslim world: the

•Al-Baghdadi

statehood and sovereignty of Israel. This ideological sentiment that the leader of Al Qaeda used to coalesce an army of followers around the globe found ready enthusiasts in Nigeria. These factors further radicalised the Muslim population, and to some certain degree steeled them to great feats of endurance with the ultimate aim of re-establishing a pax Islamica. The clerical parvenu that was created, politically speaking, by above factors and personalities mentioned, considers the reestablishment of the Sharia system as an elemental necessitya precondition for justice and fair play. And the radical characters in this clerical assemblage conceived themselves as a divine will. This movement is at cross purposes with the Westphalia style of governance or international order where citizens are expected to obey a

sovereign power other than God in return for security and protection.

A 21st century Nigeria finally bowed to terror. But something is missing in this gradual radicalisation of Muslims in Nigeria in the 21st century. In as much as a more extreme form of Islamic terror has replaced Al Qaeda, that is ISIS. We are yet to see parents naming their male children as Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi or even Abubakar Shekau-the leader of Boko Haram.

So, what has changed?

Truth is; ISIS and Boko Haram have the same ideology, which is the total annihilation of any form of a secular society or government. The positive here is that, Nigerians have come to understand, first hand, what religious extremism is. The same way the Afghans and Pakistanis have come to the realisation that this cannot be the proper way to pursue a cause. This shift is what

I prefer to call the positive, and governments around the world must seize it. Yes. They must make Islam and democracy as compatible opposites. Not even the case of Charlie Hebdo could reverse this positive trend in Nigeria. There were no rioting, instead adherents of the Islamic faith took to the media (electronic and print) to register their grouse with the Charlie Hebdo magazine. We must understand that terror groups latch on such rifts and divisions to loom large.

Another salient positive is the issue of conventional banking that deals in interest. Muslims around the globe have always desired to have a banking system that incorporates ethical products. This feat was achieved not by war but by a simple democratic legislation in Nigeria.

These positives have increasingly made the prospect of having an extreme individual or group as the fidei defensor diminished in the future.

However, the smooth elections of March and April 2015, and the now seamless transition process have denied these elements of terror what would have been their own opposite version of “The Miracle House of the Brandenburg”, if we have had a chaotic election.

In a nutshell, the war on terror cannot be about bullets alone, but above all, enlightenment on how far the world has become very much interdependent. Hence, the notion of universality of any one system must be aligned to work in tandem with an interdependent world shaped by what is unanimously agreed upon as a legit partnership.

Othman sent this piece through nuhuothman@gmail.com

Hunger and the Nigerian journalist

RECENTLY read an article titled ‘Bailout for debtor media houses?’ by Idowu Sowunmi, a media consultant. On the third paragraph of that article, he highlighted the names of media houses that owe workers salaries from as ‘little’ as four months to 18 months. As I scanned through the list of the who-is-who in the Fourth Estate of the realm that have ‘turned workers in these media houses to beautiful slaves of some sort’, I remembered that in 2009, I had had cause to write an article like Mr. Sowunmi’s. In it I had wondered at how a journalist who had not been paid his salary for eight, nine or ten months could take care of his rent, fuel his car, provide for his nuclear and extended families and still remain in a sound frame of mind to report on state governors who had not paid salaries of workers for as long as seven months as well. That article was serialized in the Daily Independent newspaper, and titled ‘Nigerian Journalism Heal thyself’.

There were several reactions to that article and the one that I vividly remember was one by a journalist who misread my theme and upbraided me for daring to discuss a topic so wrapped in awe and discussed in hushed tones. But I came off from that discussion with the journalist with an awkward feeling in my gut: how long are we going to pretend that journalists are not being

By Bob Majiri Oghene Etemiku

enslaved, subjected to hunger in their minds, souls and bodies, and that the only way some survive is to go aborrowing and ‘marketing’ since the regularity of the ‘brown envelope’ is seemingly irregular?

The other day I called up a colleague with whom I had had informal and professional dealings.

All I wanted of him was the name and email of the editor in charge of a certain page of his newspaper. I was stunned that he asked me to pay a fee for that ‘service’ and I told him so. He told me off as well, insisting that there was no way in hell that I was going to be able to reach that editor. ‘Even if you reach him, your article will only end up in his junk of his email. You will have to pay for me so that I can tell the editor to publish your article’, he said. He was right - even though I had sent some articles to that paper, none has ever seen the light of day. I cannot say that this is the same attitude of editors at ThisDay, Daily Independent, The Guardian, The Punch and The Nation Newspapers have exhibited – I have never met anyone of them personally, yet they subject my articles to the fire of objectivity and fairness and publish if my articles met their high standards.

Therefore, I cannot be in a hurry to point fingers at whom or what is responsible for the mess the media is in today. A colleague demanding for

and asking to be paid for doing a job for which he is not being paid is probably just being human. The only problem there is at this stage is that the journalist is asking for his wages from source(s) from which he shouldn’t be expecting to be paid.

Human beings have real and tangible needs, and these needs have to be met whether you like it or not. But human beings are the problems of human beings. Our journalists are no less trained than other professionals in other fields of human endeavour who do a decent job and who earn a decent wage.

Let me explain: most of Europe and the Americas do not employ you to be a journalist simply because you can write or simply because you have a BA in Mass Communications. They employ you based on your track record in your chosen profession – architect, economist, sociologist or that you are a marine biologist who will be able to bring the full weight of your professional capacity to bear on information dissemination. The assumption is that a marine biologist would be better trained to understand, dissect and distil information before it gets to the public. If a media house in Europe and America were to employ a lawyer or an accountant, they would have to pay him, else they would have no option but to close shop.

Another thing that makes the

practice of journalism in the modern world much more interesting and exciting than what obtains in some media houses in Nigeria is that the media houses themselves have flexible professional affiliations with journalists. Most will not employ large members of staff if they know that they cannot afford to pay them.

They know that keeping a large number of journalists translates to a huge wage bill not just in terms of monthly salaries but welfare packages and emoluments as well. So what they do is that they keep a large number of stringers - professional journalists who work freelance and only get paid if they have a story that sells – and yes, stories sell like hot cake in that part of the world. A journalist who has a good story can sell it to as many mediums as possible.

He doesn’t have to be employed and sit at a desk from Monday to Sunday, without holidays and with no pay.

But that is not all – journalists in the modern world do other things apart from just sitting at a desk. They multitask – they teach, blog, write books, take pictures and engage on speaking tasks that rake in a nice income. If a Nigerian journalist were to do this, the wrath of his employers would probably fall on him and the fear of losing a job for which he is not even paid or paid well is so great.

And it is at this point that I would part ways with the author of ‘Bail out

for media houses?’ who seeks government intervention for the inability of media to pay its workers.

The minute government intervenes and gives newspaper houses a bailout, they would become rubber stamps and news agencies of government. I would prefer to have a medium struggling to pay its workers salaries than having one on the payroll or bailout or one that has collected dole from government. The very essence of journalism is in being able to speak truth to power and hold government accountable. How many journalists on the entourage of a governor or a minister actually do hard investigations on government expenditure in spite of their proximity to that government official?

Consequently, I would recommend that media houses that are unable to pay salaries should democratize, ‘rebrand’ or restrategize – they should use more freelancers, bloggers, reporters and syndicated columnists who have a job elsewhere but who are interested in earning something extra. The current practice where a journalist’s ID card is a meal-ticket is an embarrassment to Nigeria, and which stunts the growth and development of democracy.

Etemiku is Communications Manager with the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ.

19

LIFE

SUNDAY

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

Wife Battery: Inching towards a dangerous bend In anger, some men turn their wives to punch- bags, battering them to no end. This has touched the raw nerves of gender advocates and womenfolk in general. Sina Fadare reports.

•Continued on Page 20

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

20 SUNDAY LIFE • Continued from Page 19

Domestic violene on the front burner

• Two victims of domestic violence

• Nwigwe

• Continued on Page 21

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

SUNDAY LIFE 21

•Mrs Ahmed

W

Dehumanising environment responsible for domestic violence Poor economy aggravates wife battery, and this can only be minimised if couples learn to communicate with one another.

Mr. Remi Ajiboye, a Lecturer and psychologist at the Yaba College of Technology, speaks on this and more in this interview with Sina Fadare.

•Ajiboye

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

22 SUNDAY LIFE

Death and the king’s ancient town His death was shrouded in secrecy for days. His funeral last Friday laid the matter to rest. Taiwo Abiodun writes on the passage of Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II, whose demise has locked down the ancient Ife town in Osun State

•Oba Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II

• Moremi’s statue at the palace

• Entrance to Ooni’s palace

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

Udemma Chukwuma chronicles the story of Regoe Alfredo-Durugo, aka Mama Makoko, who runs a free school for lessprivileged children, giving them hope and a future.

SUNDAY LIFE

‘Why I run a free school in Makoko’

I

•Alfredo-Durugo

• Alfredo-Durugo some of her pupils

Girls empowerment initiative launched Adeola Ogunlade reports on the launch of Girls Apostolic Ministry of All Nations in Lagos

• Okeowo in a group photo with participants at the event

23

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

24 SUNDAY LIFE

Now a fully committed evangelist of the Celestial Church of Christ, Abayomi Samuel, who, as a staff member of SCOA, worked actively in the build-up to Nigeria's hosting of FESTAC '77, tells Taiwo Abiodun why the country should not have hosted the festival.

•Tokosi

•Samuel

Returning sanctity to local communities The Women Right and Health Project, WRAHP, has taken its campaign against gender-based violence and other vices to Idimu, Lagos. Medinat Zuberu-Kanabe reports.

• A cross section of participants at the training

Photo: Taiwo Abiodun

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

28 GLAMOUR

ADETUTU AUDU

crownkool@yahoo.com

Fine Mailaka celebrates at 40

P

OPULAR socialite and founder, C&S Church, Apata Ayeraye, Prophetess Adetolani Ayenitaju, fondly called Fine Malaika, was 40 a few days ago. To celebrate the milestone, she hosted family members, friends and wellwishers at a thanksgiving service at her church in Ikorodu, Lagos. Showbiz personalities and top politicians were also there to celebrate with the birthday gal, who recently returned from an evangelical tour of the United Arab Emirates.

Kate Henshaw seeks new abode D

ELECTABLE actress, Kate Henshaw, is still traumatised by the inferno that gutted her Lekki, Lagos home.

The fire left Henshaw's apartment

in ruins; nothing was spared. A source close to the Cross River Stateborn thespian says she is now searching for a new apartment still in the Lekki.

Ronke Ayuba savouring single status

Omolewa Ahmed, Toyin Saraki flex muscles

S

UBDUED tension is what currently prevails between Omolewa Ahmed, First Lady of Kwara State, and her predecessor, Toyin Saraki. For the past five years, the two women have managed to keep their differences to themselves but not anymore. For Omolewa, her grouse is the a l l e g e d overbearing posture of Toyin, wife of Senate President, Bukola S a r a k i , t h e acclaimed political leader of

the state. An aristocrat of noble pedigree, Toyin, however, believes that Omolewa is not paying her the courtesies she deserves as the wife of Kwara's undisputed political leader. But Omolewa, described as a strong-willed woman with the confidence to stand her ground, would have none of this “intimidation”.

She has told whoever cares to listen that she, unlike her husband, is not a politician ready to massage any one’s ego.

08023849036, 08112662587

Ajimobi's daughter, Ajibola’s wedding for December

A

JIBOLA Ajimobi, one of the daughters of Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi is still over the moon two months after she got engaged to her long time boyfriend, Ayo. Jibola's boyfriend had requested for her hand in marriage on Sunday, June 14, 2015 as she celebrated her birthday at a private dinner.

Though there were no words as regards when the wedding would take place, a source close to the beautiful lady disclosed that a tentative date in December has been agreed upon by both families. Ajibola's elder sister, Abisola, who is married to Kolapo Kola-Daisi, would coordinate preparations for the wedding.

OUT & ABOUT 29

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

Omoboriowo and Omitokun unite in love

T

he wedding between Adebayo John Omoboriowo (official photographer of President Muhammadu Buhari) and Omolola Temitope Omitokun was held at Our Saviour's Anglican Church, Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Onikan. Reception followed at Yetunde Apartment at Park View, Ikoyi, Lagos.

• L-R: Bride's parents; Commodore Olutayo Omitokun (retd), his wife, Adetokunbo; the couple, Adebayo and Omolola; and groom's parents, Prince Oluyemi Omoboriowo and wife, Abosede

• Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole with his wife, Iara at the event.

Adenike and Oluwole

T

he wedding between Adenike Mojirade Oyagoke & Oluwole Kayode Olugbode took place at Christ Deliverance Mission Agbala Isegun off Offa Garage , Ilorin, Kwara State.The reception was held at Gravel Guest House Hall , Pipeline Road, Ilorin. The wedding was attended by wife of former Osun

State governor, Princess Omolola Oyinlola , Sir and Dr. Dame Philip Kolawole, Chief and Mrs. Adepoju Olugbode , Mr. and Mrs. Adesina Fagbenro- Bryon, Mrs. Margaret Fagboyo , Mrs. Nike Ayodele and Golden Friends International. Others included the Registrar Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo, Mr. T. I Adediran, Bursar Mr. L .A Opasina and Director of Works, Mr. H. A. Amuda.

•The couple with their parents

Couple: Oluwole and Adenike

Tastee Fried Chicken opens 14th outlet

Taiyelolu weds Olugbenga

O

n August 9, the families of Mr. & Mrs Olatunde Lawal of Iperu-Remo and Pa & Mrs. Adeyeye of Ondo became one when their children, Taiyelolu Oladoyin and Olugbenga Adeyemi, got married at the Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja.

•L-R: Mr. Kunle Adedayo (Chairman Tastee), Dr. Olufowoke Akinleye, Mrs. Olayinka Pamela Adedayo (MD Tastee), Mr. Bode Ogunsanwo (Ag. MD Tastee) and Dr Ayo Adeniji

Couple: Oluwagbenga Adeyemi and Taiyelolu Oladoyin cutting their wedding cake

30

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

ETCETERA

SUNNY SIDE

Cartoons

By Olubanwo Fagbemi

POLITICKLE

deewalebf@yahoo.com 08060343214 (SMS only)

The fix (I)

CHEEK BY JOWL

OH, LIFE!

THE GReggs

My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began; So is it now I am a man; So be it when I shall grow old, Or let me die!

The Child is father of the Man; And I could wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety.

—William Wordsworth, ‘My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold’ FAR from lenient, the judge handed down the sentence. The young man would spend the next 10 years behind bars. Unlikely until the emergence of credible leadership via democratic means, the verdict signalled democratic change, thought many in the courtroom. “It’s such a shame to see a bright young man end up like this. But the society is responsible for failing the child as much as the man,” someone said.

That society must include me, I thought. As the subject’s older brother’s friend, I followed his development from childhood, and often attempted some carefully weighed counsel or two. No one, least of all the brother, listened. “Let’s give him some time. He’ll learn from experience,” he said.

But his sibling slipped fast.

Nobody slapped the wrist with which the boy raided the soup pot for extra helping while the mother turned her attention elsewhere. No one reprimanded him when he returned from school with pilfered books and pens. And when he lied to get his way, none mentioned in strong terms how wrong it was.

Despite a tendency to perpetrate pranks, he managed to evade notice through primary school until he got to secondary school. There he raised his naughty game a notch. Errant, and lacking in academic discipline, he fell behind. English Grammar lessons turned Greek and common Maths problems assumed the shape of rocket science.

A combination of peer pressure and the desperation to pass without perspiring pushed him to registration with a miracle study centre that promised a ‘minimum’ of six credits including English and Mathematics at secondary school certificate level and an admission-guaranteed score of ‘at least’ 280 in the university matriculation examination.

In a higher institution at last, the young man coursed through the campus as much as it passed through him. To ensure his on- and offcampus carrying-on didn’t slow him down, he resorted to ‘sorting’, the colloquial term for gratification offered corruptible varsity staff. It helped sustain a breezy lifestyle described by illicit drugs, cultism and student unionism en route to a second class upper degree in a difficult course when more studious but ‘less resourceful’ mates suffered an extra semester or year.

Graduating from a life of examinations without sweat and mercantile unionism to national youth service, the man encountered odds he deemed relevant to the recent past. Choosing to stay away from a north ravaged by Boko Haram insurgency, he had his hapless parents ‘sort’ National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) officials for a posting to the country’s commercial capital where, with further sorting, he hoped that decades-long efforts would culminate in a juicy bank position.

He found himself in a merciless job market after service instead. To his shock, recruitment conditions of a first class degree, years of experience and allied accomplishments penetrated his thick skin.

But a way soon opens for the relentless wayfarer, and the man considered himself up to the task, but not before paying his dues on the pock-marked streets of the former national capital. Assisted by crooked errand boys on a notorious Lagos Island address after roving the city’s road network in futility, he forged enough documents to beat the requisite ‘10 years of cognate experience’ and sundry employment booby-traps.

QUOTE Even from my sick bed, even if you are going to lower me into the grave and I feel something is going wrong, I will get up.

— Lee kuan Yew

Jokes Humour First Aid A FELLOW decides to take off early from work and go drinking. He stays until the bar closes at 2am, when he is extremely drunk.

He doesn’t want to wake anyone as he enters his house, so he takes off his shoes and starts tip-toeing up the stairs.

Half-way up the stairs, he falls over backwards and lands flat on his buttocks.

That wouldn’t have been so bad, except that he had couple of empty beer bottles in his back pockets, and they broke with the broken glass carving up his buttocks terribly.

But he was so drunk that he didn’t know he was hurt.

As he undressed a few minutes later, he noticed blood. He checked himself out in the mirror, and, sure enough, his behind was badly cut up. He repaired the damage as best he could under the circumstances, and he went to bed.

The next morning, his head and rear end hurt so much. While hiding under the covers and trying to think up some good story to tell his meddlesome wife, she came into the bedroom.

“Well, you really tied one on last night,” she said. “Where’d you go?”

“I worked late,” he said, “and I stopped off for a couple of beers.”

“A couple of beers? That’s a laugh,” she said.

“You got plastered last night. Where did you really go?”

“What makes you so sure I got drunk last night, anyway?”

“Well, my first big clue was when I got up this morning and found a bunch of plasters stuck to the mirror.”

Court Cracks Q: THIS myasthenia gravis - does it affect your memory at all?

A: Yes. Q: And in what ways does it affect your memory?

A: I forget.

Q: You forget. Can you give us an example of something that you’ve forgotten? ***** Q: What is your date of birth?

A: July fifteenth.

Q: What year?

A: Every year. ***** •Adapted from the Internet

Writer ’s Fountain OW to hook the reader: What would grab the reader’s attention who writes for the type of reader for whom you and hold it? You must know that the reader are writing. How did he hook you, how did he doesn’t expect a killer moment, like a beautiful keep you reading on and on? What was the pace song, to last on and on. No author can maintain of the book, and when did he tighten the line?”

Some writers grip you in tension from page excitement for too long. He drops it on the reader to page.

They leave you grieving that you had and then goes into exposition or dialogue which will carry it for a bit and then increase the tension completed the book or the series, especially when they hook you with the opening sentence on the on the line at just the right moment.

This is the craft of the art or the art of the first page. Find the outstanding hook in such craft – knowing when to tighten the line. Avoid books and use it as a technique, and store it a trite opening line like “It was a dark and stormy among your growing toolbox of hooks.

Just as TV mystery or crime series put you night”. Consider the following tips instead. right at the crime scene during the first few Look at the beginning lines of any author minutes and you are hooked, want to be hooked, and expect to be hooked, you cannot Human moves: stop reading a book filled with suspense to the •According to a British law passed in 1845, end. attempting to commit suicide was a capital As a technique, you may use a bit of flash offense. Offenders could be hanged for trying. forward or backward at the beginning of a •A walla-walla scene is one where extras long narrative. You may use it as a prologue pretend to be talking in the background — to draw the reader into the book. He will want when they say “walla-walla” it looks like they to find out “what happened next.” are actually talking.

The opening hook doesn’t have to involve •Another word for volleyball is mignonette. violence or intrigue. It could involve aesthetics.

•After human death, post-mortem rigidity A writer’s skillful use of language may as well starts in the head and travels to the feet, and invite the reader for more than a passing leaves the same way it came – head to toe. interest in your story.

H

Insight

31

AUGUST 16, 2015

THE NATION ON SUNDAY,

The reported resignation of Inde Dikko as Customs Comptroller General of (CCG) has sparked controversies over his stewardship, writes Remi Adelowo

•Dikko

•Continued on Page 32

•Nwosu

•Atte

•Akinade

•Tahiru

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

32 INSIGHT

•Customs officers at work

•Customs men with seized bags of rice

•Customs men destroying seized poultry

PAGE 33

AUGUST 16, 2015

• Dickson

• Alaibe

• Sylva

BAYELSA 2016:

Dickson and the APC challenge

Pages 36 & 37

• Alameiyeseigha

Anambra PDP crisis: No end in sight Pages 34

‘Jonathan would have been a formidable dictator if’ …

Pages 35

Jubrila and Adamawa's transformation Pages 41

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

POLITICS

34

Anambra PDP crisis: No end in sight Barely two weeks after a faction of the Anambra State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) elected its executive, another faction has also elected its own executive, deepening the party's crisis in the state, reports Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu

W

HEN a faction of Anambra State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on July 26, 2014 held its state congress, leading to the emergence of Prince Ken Emeakayi and Mr. Joemartins Uzodike as Chairman and Secretary respectively, observers expressed worry because the other faction loyal to Senator Andy Uba and Tony Nwoye, allegedly boycotted the congress. It was then alleged that efforts were being made to reconcile the principal elements in the party as a way of moving the party forward.

As the other faction conducted its own state congress last week where Ossy Ezenwa, a former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), emerged the new state chairman of the party, it seems certain that the alleged reconciliation moves may not have yielded any positive result. This is even as the faction also passed a vote of no confidence on Chief Olisa Metuh, the PDP's National Publicity Secretary, who is perceived as the power behind the emergence of Emeakayi.

Years of crisis PDP, which was once the ruling party in the state, has suffered greatly over the years primarily because of the high scale intrigues arising from intense power game played by its leaders, especially the super rich and the politically strong members who have consistently disagreed over the control of the party structures.

So, when his faction pronounced Emeakayi the new helmsman of the party in the state, informed observers said it would be difficult for him to enjoy the support of the other faction in the state This, according to some members opposed to his emergence is because Emeakayi, who is the immediate past chairman of the state chapter of the party, has been involved in the crisis over the years, having been the arrow head of one of the leading factions.

Based on that, they expressed doubt if his return as PDP state chairman, barely nine months after the party's former State Executive Committee (SEC) was dissolved by the National Working Committee (NWC) of PDP, will bring the needed peace, unity and progress. According to one of them, another major player in Anambra State PDP, "We all know that except something more tangible is done to really reconcile the powerful godfathers behind the factions; it would be difficult for Emeakayi or any other candidate identified with any known faction to carry all the others along. This is the dilemma we are contending with today in Anambra. Without being told, you can see that election of different factional executives cannot take us far. It only means deliberate decimation of our great party by those who should protect and grow it in the state."

The future of Anambra State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been a source of concern both to members of the party and to other observers. This is because of the varying interests of powerful elements in the party, which have not only led to incessant clashes and factionalisation but also to lack of a generally acceptable leadership of the state chapter of the party.

Crisis in Anambra PDP, which was primarily blamed for the party's loss of political power in the state to All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) over eight years ago, still manifest in the current factionalisation within the party. Although all the party chieftains agree that the party

•Emeakayi

•Ezenwa

has since remained out of power in the state, primarily because of the internal crisis, each of the influential leaders of the party has overtly refused to cooperate with the other, leading to factionalisations. This problem was well pronounced in 2013 prior to the 2014 governorship election in the state when the party clearly split in two with the national leadership of the party recognizing one faction while the other was recognized by INEC. At the primaries, the two strong factions came up with different governorship candidates. The Ken Emeakayi-led faction, which was backed by the national executive, produced Tony

Nwoye as its candidate while the Ejike Oguebego-led Executive, which was backed by INEC, produced Senator Andy Uba as its governorship candidate.

At the commencement of the drama, Oguebego-led executive had approached a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt. At first, the court gave an exparte order restraining both INEC and PDP from dealing with the Ken Emeakayi faction until the main application is heard. Later, the trial Judge, Justice H.A Nganjiwa, ordered that the result of the Ejike Oguebego-led Executive, backed by INEC where Senator Andy Uba emerged winner,

should be accepted pending the hearing and determination of the suit before the court.

The confusion had deepened when the national leadership of PDP formally declared that its candidate in the November 16 governorship election in Anambra State was Comrade Tony Nwoye, who won the primary election conducted by the Emeakayi faction of the party in the state while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Anambra State maintained that it won't recognise the Emeakayi-led faction of the state chapter of PDP. Explaining why the commission did not monitor the primaries conducted by Oguebego faction, which produced Senator Uba as its candidate, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state then, Professor Chukwuemeka Onukogu, had said "I have instructions to deal with that faction; we monitored their ward congresses substantially. We didn't monitor the other one. We respect the law of the land and what my chairman tells me is what I'm going to do. Nothing more, nothing less."

The crisis and division continued all through 2014 until this year's National Assembly elections where each of the godfathers practically fought the other, thus crippling the party further.

"We are worried at this cyclical motion.

All we can see is unnecessary power flexing by the so-called super rich leaders of our party in Anambra. With the emergence of Emeakayi and Ezenwa, some of us who do not feel comfortable with factionalisation are really worried. Since we know that Metuh is also involved, we have to reach out to leaders like Dr Goodluck Jonathan to save Anambra PDP before it is too late," said Dr, Rufos Udochukwu. Like him, many concerned observers say only such external intervention will save the party in the state.

Yet another victory for Uba

T

HE ambition of the erstwhile Chairman of the Nigeria Communications Commission, Engr. Ernest Ndukwe, to replace Sen. Andy Uba in the Senate recently suffered a major setback. Ndukwe had headed to the National Assembly Election Tribunal sitting in Awka, asking it to declare him winner of the Anambra South Senatorial election held on April 11, 2015. It will be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Sen. Andy Uba winner of the election.

At the tribunal, Ndukwe filed his petition according to procedure and filed the list of his witnesses and their depositions and the documents to be relied on, also according to procedure. He had 21 days to do this according to the Electoral Act. The latitude of time gives a petitioner and his legal team the opportunity to cross all the 't' s and dot all 'i's. The long period also affords time to assemble everything which will help the petitioner and the liability for not availing oneself of this opportunity is very strict.

This means that the petitioner must file his petition within 21 days and this time cannot on any grounds be extended. It is the proper filing of a petition that invites a respondent to a legal duel, to challenge the depositions of the petitioner and his witnesses. In this present case, it is properly assumed that at the point Ndukwe challenged Andy Uba to the legal contest, he (Ndukwe) and his legal team had taken their time to prepare their case.

When Andy Uba responded to Ndukwe's petition, Ndukwe was expected by law to file his reply (if any) to Uba's response within 5 days of being served with that reply. The liability is also strict and compels the implication that time for filing Ndukwe's reply cannot be extended beyond the 5 days provided.

However, mid-way into the sitting of the tribunal on the matter and long after the expiration of 5 days since Ndukwe was served with Uba's reply; he (Ndukwe) and his lawyers chose to re-write the laws directing the conduct of the tribunal. They deliberately chose not to be guided by the provisions of existing laws.

In an application unknown to law, Ndukwe applied to the tribunal, seeking leave of the tribunal to bring in 68 additional witnesses, long after the time stipulated by law.

By Uchem Obi Is this mischief, radicalism or rascalism?

Lawyers, commentators and reformers would have quite a hectic time debating these. What is note-worthy is that, the tribunal did not hesitate to dismiss the frivolous application.

Surprisingly, Ndukwe objected to the ruling of the tribunal and took his objection to the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu. Would and could the appellate court grant the prayers contained in the application? Would Ndukwe's bid to scuttle Andy Uba's election receive momentum? Only time will tell. The time came too soon on Monday 3rd August, 2015.

Senior Counsel to Ndukwe, Dr. Nnoruka Udechukwu (SAN), leading Emeka Offodile (SAN) and a team of other lawyers had urged the tribunal to allow his application on the ground that the additional witnesses and their oaths were necessary to answer to new issues of facts raised by the Respondents in their replies. Senior Counsel to the Respondent, Sen. Uba, Arthur Obi-Okafor (SAN), leading other lawyers opposed the application. In a unanimous judgment, the Court of Appeal upheld the objections of the Respondent and dismissed the application, thereby, affirming the ruling of the tribunal sitting in Awka, on the matter.

Hon. Justice Agim, delivering judgment of the court held that the application lacked merit as the 68 additional witnesses and their oaths ought to have accompanied the petitioner's reply. The court gave four reasons for its judgment and each of the reasons echoes the question; is it mischief, radicalism or rascalism?

With utmost respect I further ask; is it ignorance or desperation? Whichever it is, time will also tell.

The first reason was that contrary to the submissions of the appellants, the tribunal did not prejudge the case of the Petitioners/ Appellants since it was them that invited the tribunal by its application to file additional witnesses and their oaths. In other words, the application of the Petitioners mandated the tribunal to adjudicate on the matter in the exercise of its jurisdiction. It is trite that a party who invokes the jurisdiction of the court cannot complain about the exercise of that jurisdiction.

The second reason derived from paragraph 2 of the Practice Directions for Election Tribunals

which Provides that the rule governing the filing of petition applies with equal force to the filing of Petitioner's Reply. Since list of witnesses and their depositions and documents to be relied on are required to be filed along with the petition, it therefore follows, that these documents have to be filed along with the Petitioner's Reply.

When this paragraph is read in conjunction with paragraph 16 (1) (a) of the first schedule to the Electoral Act which requires Petitioner's Reply to be filed within 5 days of being served, the reply of the Respondent, it means that the list of witnesses and their oaths and documents to be relied on must be filed within 5 days. Paragraph 16 (2) of the first schedule to the Electoral Act expressly provides that the time for filing the Petitioner's Reply cannot be extended beyond the 5 days provided. It follows that time cannot also be extended for filing additional witnesses and their oaths and additional documents.

The Court also upheld the Tribunal's ruling that the respective replies of the Respondents did not raise any new facts as alleged by the Appellants to warrant the filing of the Petitioner's reply in the first place.

Finally, the Court held that a party is not at liberty to change on appeal his case at the trial court. The case of the Petitioners/ Appellants at the Tribunal is that the additional oaths sought to be allowed are in support of the Petitioner's reply. They cannot on appeal change their position that the additional oaths are in support of the petition. In any case, even if they were, time has caught up with them as time cannot be extended beyond the 21 days provided by law.

It may not be immediately known why Ndukwe's legal team attempted this frivolity. It does appear as a defeatist approach ab nitio because one does not need a soothsayer to predict its high potentials of un-workability. However, what is immediately known is that the attempt failed woefully but for Andy Uba, it is yet another victory.

–Obi, a legal practitioner, wrote in from Abuja

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

Y

ou were a strong member of the Peoples Democratic Party in Borno State but you have suddenly dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress, (APC). Why did you abandon the PDP? I think the PDP has gone moribund, because you can technically say that it is a dying party and the person that has made sure that it died is none other than former President Goodluck Jonathan. The former president literarily killed the PDP because of his ambition.

He didn't understand this country and he wasn't prepared to understand the country. He couldn't think outside the small enclave of his Niger-Delta, both in terms of friendship, political affiliation and other relationships. All his relationships centred only around his Niger-Delta enclave. So, he wasn't only ignorant of the dynamics of our country, but also he wasn't even prepared to learn. My close association with him actually showed me this in clear terms when I was working in the Presidency.

You worked with him as Adviser on National Assembly Matters. What were your findings?

He had ambition which he wanted to see through regardless of what the environment is about. I remember the first major problem was when we were determining his proper ascension to power after the demise of President Yar'Adua. It was something that was new. It has never happened in our constitutional democracy and therefore, it was a new challenge and it almost resulted in a constitutional crisis.

I remember that at the height of this most important thing was a meeting at that time and I was a member of the national caucus. There was a meeting of the Board of Trustees, the working committee of the party and all PDP governors. We assembled at the First Lady's conference hall to discuss this. I remember that Professor Sam Oyovbaire was the first to speak and he spoke nonsense. He was talking from a typical unreasonable Niger-Delta elements' view. There are reasonable Niger-Deltans, definitely who are source of reasoning, who throughout were very reasonable people.

But they were not invited to that meeting. So, he was saying it was their right and President Jonathan was properly entitled to run for election. The mood in the room was dampened by this very naïve and undiplomatic assessment. When General Samuel Ogbemudia realised this, he raised his hand to speak, he took exception to what Professor Oyovbaire had said and he acknowledged that this was the turn of the North; that President Yar'Adua died without completing his term and therefore, it remained to be completed as a turn of the North but that the South-South was begging. He used those words, clearly, ''we are begging'' and to quote him again, he said, ''we are on our knees. We want one term for President; we know this is the turn of the North'' and he said, ''we know this belongs to you, because Yar'Adua didn't complete his term, but please, allow us so that President Jonathan can have it.'' What he said was very reasonable, very diplomatic, and nonconfrontational. So, people said, this is something that should be looked at and people immediately started to consult, including the governors. I remember that the first agreement to this was enunciated by the now Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

At that time, he was the Governor of Kwara State and he was the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, (NGF). So, he rose and he said that, if he were to base his comments on what Professor Oyovbaire had said, it was a different thing, but since General Ogbemudia had spoken quite reasonably and in a very statesmanlike manner, he said that they were disposed to allowing Jonathan one term. It was clearly one term! We finished that meeting on that clear note that Jonathan was going for one term. Yes, undoubtedly. But I knew that something was going to brew, something was going to be wrong, because Jonathan was seated there and the meeting ended and he didn't even say thank you. He didn't comment at all, he acted as if he wasn't even in that room. So, I knew that we were going to have a problem in the future. I tried to test that problem when we came for the next caucus meeting, because many people had bought the nomination forms and I didn't understand it and I said: wait a minute; all of us, National Caucus, Board of Trustees, Governors' Forum and the Working Committee had already agreed unanimously that Jonathan was going to

POLITICS

‘Jonathan would have been a formidable dictator if’ …

Senator Mohammed Abba-Aji was a key player in the Yar 'Adua-Jonathan administration. But he withdrew from the political scene after Jonathan won the 2011 presidential election. In this interview with reporters in Abuja, he speaks on inner workings of the Jonathan administration and how the former President bungled the Boko Haram war, among other issues. Assistant Editor, Gbade Ogunwale, was there.

•Abba-Aji have one term. Why would anybody else buy the form? But many people had bought the nomination form, so we came to the national caucus meeting and I rose to speak and asked the national chairman. I said: "Mr. Chairman, I don't understand. You are the one who presided over the meeting at the First Lady Conference Hall where we all assembled and all unanimously agreed that Mr. President would have the next term. Why are you selling forms to other people?"

David Mark, surprisingly, although my question wasn't addressed to him, he quickly tried to suggest that I was out of order. But Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, who was National Chairman, knew just like everybody else in that room, including David Mark, that I wasn't out of order; that we had actually agreed to this in an earlier enlarged meeting. Then, I knew that there was a hidden agenda. David Mark was trying to shut me down, he didn't know how because there was no way.

Again, I addressed the question, directly at Nwodo who was National Chairman, and he said, 'yes, you are right. We met and we agreed that the President would have one term. Yes, also you are right that it doesn't seem right that others were also buying the forms". Nwodo, being an astute statesman, said, ''we would check when we go back; I would discuss this with the National Working Committee and definitely I would get back to you". That's what he said. That was very diplomatic but I knew that he wouldn't get back to me. He couldn't because he was removed as chairman for being reasonable.

The problem with the Jonathan administration is that he burnt his goodwill by removing everybody who made any reasonable comment. They didn't tolerate any comment other than the President is always right, President is entitled to everything he asked for. It was a dictatorship in the making.

Jonathan would have made a formidable dictator if he were an intelligent person.

Nigerians were very lucky that he wasn't an intelligent person. He just contained himself within the cocoon of his small group among the Niger Deltans-very, very, tiny group usually those with militant colouration. He didn't even like reasonable statesmen of Niger-Delta extraction; he couldn't relate with them. He was instead relating more even in the Niger-Delta to the elements, the loud voices that made provocative statements, who challenged everybody, insulted statesmen.

Those were the people Jonathan associated, very closely with.

I remember when he was Acting President, he surprised me. He said, Distinguished, I was thinking you in the North, that all of you are Hausa. I have never known that there are other tribes. I was very surprised. He went on to become President and he remained in that state of mind. He saw Nigerians, as NigerDelta and the rest of Nigeria; he saw Nigerians as Christians and Moslems and he tried to define this and made a very hard dichotomy between the Moslems and the Christians. In his entire decision making, he never understood Nigeria as one country. He didn't even try to break any barrier even in the SouthSouth.

After seeing all this, did you share your observations with him because you were part of his team? And what were the circumstances surrounding your exit from his cabinet?

Well, I wasn't the only one that was very concerned with this development, because I was appointed by President Yar'Adua as Adviser on National Assembly Matters and I treated the Presidency as one. I respected him very well as Vice President and when the President died, he made his own decision to keep all of us the appointees of President Yar'Adua until the end of the tenure of the late President. So, he kept us in office and we tried as much as possible to give him all the cooperation, loyalty and to advise the way we were advising President Yar'Adua. But

35

actually, he was just waiting; he didn't have to wait because there is no rule that says he has to keep us until the end of the tenure.

There was no such rule but for reasons that I don't know, he decided to keep us till the end of the tenure and when it ended, he gathered us and he said, thank you very much and we parted ways. That was the manner we disengaged.

The disengagement, I must say, was a big one.

But what I am telling you were the things I observed in the course of his Presidency and we tried very much to advice.

Even his handling of the National Assembly was unorthodox. He submitted to the will of the then Senate President, David Mark. David Mark gradually became like a co-president, even in the parking order, the sitting arrangement and so on.

He didn't want to sit next to the VicePresident. He came up with this idea which Jonathan naively accepted, which violated our ranking order, because he said that he wasn't a deputy. Mark made Jonathan to believe that the President was the head of the executive and he was the head of the legislature and therefore, the vice-president was deputy to the executive an equivalent of Deputy Senate President. And he changed even the sitting arrangement, so that when the President sat, he (Mark) would sit before the vice-president sat or if he realised that it was awfully wrong, then he would sit on the left of the President, with the vicepresident on the right of the President. He just distorted the entire system, because Jonathan so naively elevated him beyond his constitutional position. Jonathan feared him.

Don't you think Mark did all you perceived as infractions to ensure harmonious relationship with the legislative arm of government?

No, he didn't. I was in charge of the harmonious relationship and it was so harmonious even at the time when we were faced with the challenges of the ill health of President Yar'Adua, the National Assembly was harmonious; they acted very maturely, they didn't try to take advantage of the ill health of the President. So, the relationship between the National Assembly and the Presidency was so cordial. But Jonathan saw the entire country as north and south, Christians versus Moslems, this was the frame of mind with which he related with all the governmental superstructures. He became very close to David Mark because they were both Catholic and he created an unnecessary distance between himself and the then Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, because he is a Moslem. He believed that just because Tambuwal is a Moslem, he must be scheming all the time and Tambuwal wasn't scheming against him.

But Tambuwal by his actions and body language, distanced himself from the Presidency and the national secretariat of the party. Would you have related with him as a trusted ally if you were in Jonathan's shoes?

Well, Tambuwal, because of the manner he came in; a House that is both Christians and Moslems and he was supported and brought about by both Moslems and Christians, there was no way for him to play the religious card and survive in that room.

There is no way you play religious card the way Jonathan did in the House leadership even for a week. They will get rid of you.

So, because Tambuwal derived all of his mandate from his members, he didn't scheme against the President.

There is this perception; some call it a cynical mindset; that the Buhari administration is very slow. What is your take on that?

You see, when you understand governance, the processes of governance, you will know that it seems to be slow, because it is exactly doing what Jonathan planned for it. You know that when Buhari was President- elect, there was time enough between his election and the inauguration.

Whether it is president or state governor, this time between when you were a governor or president -elect and when you are inaugurated and sworn-in that is the time of planning. You remember that Buhari appointed a transition committee.

Normally, Jonathan was supposed to appoint his transition committee and the two were supposed to work together and this is the proper, technical detailed handover process. That's why the transition committee members are always properly handpicked with experienced people who will be able to take over complex organisations. And then on the basis of what

•Contd. on page 39

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

POLITICS

Opposition is mounting against Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson in his questto return to office.Can he swim against the tide and return to the Creek House next year?Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo, examines his chances in this report

Bayelsa 2016: Dickson an

A

T public outings, Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, talks confidently about retaining his plum seat next year without breaking much sweat.

But that may just be a façade after all.

Deep down in the governor's heart, he is worried about the emergence of formidable forces arrayed against his return bid, sources claimed.

Within the governor's camp, palpable panic seems the order of the day, with many of his loyalists working round the clock to prevent his defeat in the governorship election in the state taking place later this year.

That the governor is confronting a twodimensional battle - one, within his party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the rejuvenated All Progressives Congress (APC) - makes his bid for another term in office a more herculean task.

Indeed for the first time since the return of democratic rule in 1999, the strangle-like hold of the PDP on the governorship seat is facing a real test from an opposition party, which has taken over the central government for the first time in the nation's political history.

No thanks to the defeat of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in the March 28 presidential election, opposition parties in Bayelsa, particularly the APC now fancy their chances to upstage the PDP from Creek Haven Government House in Yenagoa, the state capital.

What may have further buoyed this confidence were the unexpected modest victories recorded by the APC and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state and National Assembly elections in the state.

The APC, according to party leaders in Bayelsa, defeated the PDP in about seven constituencies out of the 16 at the poll, but was allegedly shortchanged with the declaration of different results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) acting in connivance with the PDP. The internal crisis within the PDP has not helped matters. In the last few months, some party stakeholders have been up in arms against the governor over issues that arose from the outcome of the party primaries.

Pitched against the governor are prominent personalities, including the former Senator representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District, Heineken Lokpobiri, his counterpart in Bayelsa Central, Senator Emmanuel Paulker, Senator Ikisikpo, who has since defected to the APC and the former Senior Special Assistant to ex- President Jonathan on Domestic Matters, Wariponmowei Dudafagh, the man believed to be the anointed candidate of former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, to succeed Dickson.

But the governor, according to sources, is not taking the mounting opposition against him with kid gloves. He appears poised to go for broke, The Nation learnt.

Some weeks ago, the Bayelsa PDP, allegedly acting on Dickson's directive, suspended some members of the party, while others, led by Dudafagha, were summarily expelled for alleged anti-party activities.

The recent intervention by the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), led by Haliru Mohammed, calling on Dickson to re-admit the members into the party, sources say, was the clearest indication that the leadership of the party is jittery about going into the election with a divided house.

Before the suspension and expulsion of these members was announced, the leadership of the party in the state had summoned and queried them over their noncommittal role and alleged anti-party activities during the House of Assembly elections, especially the open support given to APGA, Labour Party and APC candidates.

• Dickson More defections in Bayelsa PDP likely While in power, former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, was unarguably the rallying figure and father figure for all party members in the state.

Though many of these party chieftains detested Dickson's style, they however could not dump the PDP for fear of getting into the bad books of the former President.

But times have changed. Following Jonathan's exit from the Presidential Villa, many PDP members in the state have begun to find their voices and now ready to take their political destinies in their own hands.

In the last two months, scores of PDP chieftains have defected to the APC, with many more currently perfecting plans to dump the party ahead the governorship election.

As expected, the APC has become the biggest beneficiary of the internal wrangling in the PDP. Former Governor Timipre Sylva, the APC leader in the state, is spearheading the onslaught against Dickson and by extension, Jonathan, as a payback to the two men over his unceremonious exit from office four years ago.

Sources revealed that several consultative meetings have been held between Sylva and some disgruntled PDP members in the state preparatory to their formal defection to the APC any moment from now.

"We cannot continue to cope with the excesses of Governor Dickson. He appears bent on destroying the party for his personal ambition," said one of those opposed to him in the party.

But the Dickson camp is unperturbed over the ongoing moves to oust him. His supporters readily point to his "achievements", particularly in the area of infrastructural development to market him as deserving a second term in office.

APC and 2016 poll With its rejuvenation in the state where it was virtually non-existent until recently, the APC seems poised to give the PDP a run for its money in the next governorship election.

The alleged decision of Sylva not to contest the governorship primary in order to present a fresh and non-controversial candidate to confront Dickson at the polls has been interpreted by political watchers in the state as a strong indication that the APC wants to avoid any acrimony that could arise from the conduct of the primary to choose its candidate.

But other sources view the issue differently.

Sylva, they argue, may still contest for the governorship ticket if he fails to get a

• Sylva ministerial appointment from President Muhammadu Buhari.

In the last few weeks, names of prominent politicians, including the first civilian governor of the state, Chief D.S.P Alameiseigha, former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Timi

Alaibe, were mentioned as eyeing the Dickson's seat. Alameiseigha has since denied the report and thrown his weight behind Dickson.

On his part, Alaibe has left everyone guessing on his plans. The former NDDC boss, according to reports, would join the APC in

Why I am in governorship ra

A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Bayelsa State, Chief Reuben Boutwaowel Okoya, speaks with Emmanuel Udodinma on why he wants to take over Bayelsa State Government House next year from Governor Seriake Dickson. Excerpts

W

HAT informed your decision to run for the governorship position in your state?

I have been a part of Bayelsa since it came into civilian regime. I later went into private practice in 2007 as a registered Architect in America, Uk and Nigeria. I am a development person. Then in 2011 when Dr Goodluck Jonathan became the president, he invited me to Abuja, to help him manage the city of Abuja.

The president is actually the governor of Abuja, but by the virtue of his busy schedule, he delegates those powers to a minister, and that is how the FCT ministers came on board; so, I was called by the president to help him manage the city, and by that reason I oversaw the entire development in Abuja We approved plans and make sure that the master plans were sacrosanct; we make sure the master plan was implemented properly. We make sure that the city was developed according to the master plan.

I was actually the Abuja Developmental Management Council, a kind of mayor, and as a city manager, I also oversaw the Abuja Environmental Protection Board which was in charge of environmental sanitation in the entire city. I also took charge of all the park and garden in Abuja and the FCT Fire Service Management Agency.

Of course, when Jonathan's government ended, my job ended and I decided to come and transfer the experiences I had to develop Bayelsa.

I want to bring my experience to Bayelsa. In summary I am here to serve Bayelsans in any capacity that I can. I want to do it at the highest level, to be able to develop the state.

To become the governor of a state, one should understand the peculiar problems of that state. What are the peculiar problems you have identified in Bayelsa?

Over 70 percent of surface area in Bayelsa is water and we have problem of developing the state in terms of structures. Rainy seasons last for seven months or there about but a couple of years ago, we had devastating flood that actually consumed some homes, so we have problems of rain and environment unlike in Abuja. In Bayelsa, you have to excavate before you sand fill; so you spend a lot of money at the foundation level. So, we have that problem of developing Bayelsa State infrastructurally. But these problems are surmountable and we can do it.

You know we are not as educated as we should be and you know education is the key to success.

The problems are many. To solve them, it takes focus, proper direction and dedication. One must also carry the people along. No man is an Island and as a leader, you must have lieutenants.

What is your economic blueprint as the state is a mono-economy; how do you hope to diversify?

When I was Commissioner of Special Projects and I was constructing buildings the governor that I worked for hardly come to my site because they had confidence in me; so, I know how to go about the problems. Another problem we have is lack of private industry in Bayelsa which really affects the IGR and all that.

It is like that all over the word that if you build a good city, investors will come; if you build a good Bayelsa, tourists will come. Investors find investment destinations themselves and tourists find theirs by themselves. If you go to Dubai, nobody is calling on investors to come and invest. We must deal with first things first; we must build good roads, schools, private hospitals and primary healthcare facilities to treat malaria, dysentery and simple diabetes.

When the necessary things are taken care of first, then the investors will come. There are a

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

POLITICS

n and the APC challenge

• Alameiyeseigha

• Alaibe

the next few weeks, thus ending his 15-year romance with the PDP, save for his brief sojourn in the Labour Party (LP) about six years ago.

Until his name cropped up recently as one of those interested in the governorship seat, Alaibe has been on a sabbatical of sorts preferring to watch political events from the sidelines.

His aloofness may not be unconnected to his falling out with ex-President Jonathan for his "effrontery" to challenge the latter for the PDP governorship ticket in 2007.

Jonathan's emergence as President in 2010 did not help Alaibe's case, as he was relegated to the background in the PDP scheme of things.

Other names being touted as setting up structures to contest for the exalted seat in the APC include the current General Manager of the State Transport Company, Ebitimi Angbare, who is reportedly banking on his closeness with one of the national leaders of the party to clinch the governorship ticket.

lot of things that government does today which are mere waste of money, time and energy.

Bayelsa deserves the best, so coming on board; I will give them the best.

You will be contesting against a sitting governor. Do you have the structures to go into the party primaries?

Let me say this very distinctly, politics is not a do-or-die affair and the constitution allows for two tenures which is not a must, and serving out one term does not guarantee you second tenure. Nobody is perfect. However, people say politics is a game and l believe that if you are a serving governor and you want to go for second term, you ought to work for it; you ought to convince your party and the people that you want to go for it. If somebody decides to compete with you in an election, it doesn't mean he is your enemy. It will be a check on you. The reason why presidential election has two tenures is that if you are not performing well, somebody else or another party will be given the opportunity to take over. Now, Nigeria adopted Presidential system for a purpose, to make sure that the governors, senators, and members of the House of Representatives are in check. There are some systems that have single tenure of six years. So, in our system, if someone decides to run election against you, it is for you to buckle up. In Bayelsa, we have had four governors, Alamieyeigha finished his first tenure and his second tenure was cut short before Jonathan took over.

Then Sylva took over and did not get his second tenure because somebody felt he should run against him, he won. Was it criminal to run against him, of course not? If Dickson wants to run for a second tenure, he is free to run, as a true democrat. Two tenures do not mean you are guaranteed the two tenures; you are only guaranteed for the current one you are running.

The issues really for me are for us to change our mind set. Talking about structures, the party structures belong to the parties and not to individuals; that is why there are party primaries and the delegates vote for you because of one reason or the other. We must train ourselves to

know that politics is not do-or-die. If you partake in it, either you win or lose. Jonathan ran and conceded; in Ekiti State, Fayemi ran, lost and conceded. That is good for democracy.

What are those things the current administration is not doing right which you think you are going to correct if elected?

I want to look at the state budget critically and only undertake those things we know we would be able to do. The reason most governments fail is that they bite more than they can chew. You are building this road, that road, structures just to answer name that you are embarking on projects and again you have political patronage and before you know you have given out contracts worth N100billion when you have N10billion budget. As an individual, you would not get yourself involved in what you can't finish, simply cut your coat according to your cloth. I will be able to look at the budget critically and ensure that the projects I tackle are projects I can finish in no time.

There so many abandoned projects in Bayelsa. As an architect, if elected, are you going to complete them or are you going to embark on new projects?

I don't believe in abandoned projects. When I worked as a commissioner, I never abandoned any project; we look at projects carefully without bias and tackle them frontally. We will embark on projects that are meaningful, that can impact on people and we can finish on time and hand over for people to use. The projects are not just going to be handled by me but by specialists, by people who know what they are doing. You cannot bring somebody who don't have advantage in infrastructure to manage infrastructure, or somebody who is not versed in agriculture to manage agriculture. I know what it means to put round pegs in round holes.

States that are doing well are doing so because of dedication and they know what they are doing.

The Tower Hotel and other projects like the 350 bed hospital that have been lying unfinished will be finished in my time. It's very simple because that is what I have been doing for a

living in the past 30 years. That Tower Hotels is a project I know I will finish within 18 months if I become the governor. I know everything about the project as an architect. If you ask me anything about law and the judicial system in Bayelsa State, I may not be able to get it right, but if you ask me about project, it's nothing to me; it's like telling a journalist to write a story.

What Bayelsa needs today is infrastructural and human capital development and they can be done concurrently.

How are you going to manage Bayelsa politicians?

My temperament is very cool. I don't talk too much. I have the capacity to listen and take advice from the right people, not from the wrong people and I know how to manage people properly. People are looking for survival and relevance. They want to contribute. An average civil servant is looking for the capacity to take care of his children and some day, own a home. People are looking for independence and Bayelsa is one of the richest states in this country. If you take the FAC allocation and the IGR and you take it to per capital income, take it with that ratio of our population, you will know that Bayelsa is the richest. Prudent management is the key word and one of the things I must do is to build a Yenagoa city. Abuja is conceived by somebody.

If we can have such built on the crude on our soil, with all the social amenities like water, light good infrastructures, Bayelsa will become the real glory of all lands.

How are you going to tackle in security?

Security is very important and it comes with stability. If you look at the society where there is good security, you will find out that people don't talk about killing each other. When you come to a society where young men are employed and not killing each other, you will

hip race, by PDP aspirant

37

Angbare was the flag bearer of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) during the 2007 governorship race in Bayelsa State, which was won by Sylva but later annulled by the Election Tribunal. The re-run ordered by the Federal Court of Appeal, was however won by Sylva.

The APC Chairman in the state, Chief Tiwei Orunimigha, a former Chairman of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa and a close associate of Sylva, is also not left out in the battle for the Government House.

Dickson still confident At his monthly transparency briefing at the state's Banquet Hall, Dickson boasted that he remains the best governor of the state, adding that his performance in the last four years would earn him a second term.

While acknowledging the fact that PDP in the state has witnessed cases of defection, disloyalty by some members and series of anti-party meetings by some known PDP elective and appointed leaders, he said the political activities in the state, including outcome of elections, have shown that Bayelsa belongs to the PDP and cannot change.

The APC, he says, stands no chance of winning the election, because in his words, "Bayelsa is a PDP stronghold."

And in furtherance of his preparations for his campaign, the governor has set up a Special Contact and Mobilisation Committee charged with the responsibility of addressing the grievances and complaints from genuine party members in the state.

But sources told The Nation that not all PDP members in the state are on the same page with Dickson on the need for PDP to retain the governorship seat.

An aggrieved member said: "Bayelsans will vote Dickson out in the November election, because they have discovered that he does not have the capacity to run the state.

Dickson has only succeeded in polarising the party and alienating the political leadership in the state.

"He is fighting a lost battle; he is fighting everybody from the former First Lady (Dame Patience Jonathan) to past and serving senators, legislators and all known political leaders in the state. Let him come out and point one single leader in the state that is still with him, including all those that helped him to become the governor. He is a total failure."

With the governor taking the battle to his opponents in the battle for the Creek House, the governorship election promises to be a keenly contested race.

• Okoya find out that the society has some level of stability. One of the most secured countries in the world is Netherlands and the country has about 2.3 percent unemployment rate.

There is absolute increase in crime level when the employment is low and insecurity here does not necessarily mean armed robbers and kidnappers but young men walking in the night, looking for where to steal phone and other minor things. But if there are activities in the state in terms of programmes and buildings, you will see young men engaged in one thing or the other where they will make little money, and then they will think differently. If you drop three billion naria into Bayelsa's economy every month, people will smile and economic activities on the state will pick up.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

POLITICS

A coalition of activists, led

by Femi Falana (SAN), at Dr. Musa Babayo's book presentation in Abuja, deliberated on the government's anti-corruption crusade, economic and foreign policies and the way forward.

Gboyega Alaka reports.

The Buhari change revolution

A

LTHOUGH President Muhammadu Buhari has embarked on a global pilgrimage to right the wrongs and atrocities committed by successive regimes and improve the nation's image in the comity of nations, his mission and intentions, however noble, may remain a Sisyphean exercise, if priority is not given to the fight against corruption, economic diplomacy and foreign policy.

This was made known at the presentation of the book: "Economic Diplomacy and Nigeria's Foreign Policy," written by Dr. Musa Babayo, immediate past chairman, Board of Tertiary Education Trust Fund. Legal practitioner, Femi Falana (SAN), and a coalition of activists seized the opportunity of the occasion to provoke a discussion on why the Buhari administration should beam its searchlight on reviving the country's foreign policy and the anti-graft crusade.

In a lead paper, titled: "The right to accountable government in Nigeria," Falana was not happy that what should be a national commonwealth has been hijacked and placed under the control of a few hands. This, he said, runs contrary to nationalism and principles behind demands for independence.

Nigeria has ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and is therefore under a duty to ensure the exercise of the right to development and respect the economic, social and cultural rights of the people, with due regard to their freedom and identity and in the equal enjoyment of the common heritage of mankind.

Falana is not comfortable with the politicisation of government's anti-corruption

I

T is gladdening to note that Enugu State under the leadership of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has witnessed a remarkable level of financial discipline, probity, transparency and accountability borne out of his burning desire to keep the state on the right track of steady progress for socio-economic and political advancement.

Barely three months into his administration, the governor through his vision, steadfastness and innovations has made steady progress and engineered far reaching reforms geared towards the restructuring, re-engineering and reinvigoration of the state's economy on the altar of accountability, transparency and fiscal stability.

This is in keeping faith with his campaign promise to pilot the affairs of the state to the satisfaction of the masses who voted him into office.

Today, the consequence of the downturn in the oil sector on the nation's economy has made it imperative for government at all levels to review several issues hindering development and proffer solutions on how best to service the people.

In this regard, it is pertinent to note that this new thinking has taken the centre stage in Enugu State in line with the governor's desire to give the state quality leadership and render selfless service in an atmosphere of peace, accountability and fiscal discipline.

Many believe that Ugwuanyi has started well through his visionary leadership and spontaneous innovative actions that have started yielding positive results. He has also made accountability and fiscal discipline the watchword of his administration in order to put an end to the incessant attitude of financial recklessness, misconduct and other forms of mismanagement by those at the helm of government agencies.

Even though the menace of corruption in the country remains a source of worry to many, the truth is that no responsible government would sit down and watch, while its resources are being drained to coma and vehemently abused to the detriment of the people.

This unfortunate nightmare, no doubt, informed the reason why the governor did not hesitate, shortly after he took over the mantle of leadership of the state, to launch an administrative review into the affairs of major government agencies and local government administration with a view to plugging all avenues of leakages and wastages that have hitherto threatened the economic fortunes of the state, mostly at the grassroots.

As a visionary leader, one is impressed to note that within few weeks into his administration, he constituted series of sensitive

• Buhari

• Babayo

crusade; especially with allegations of vendetta being read into the Buhari government's actions.

He said, "Since the allegations of bias or persecution being levelled against the EFCC are deliberately designed to discredit the renewed fight against corruption and shield looters from prosecution, it is high time that the attention of Nigerians was drawn to the fact that corruption is fighting back."

He noted that majority of the petitions that formed the basis of the ongoing investigation by the EFCC were submitted before the emergence of the Buhari administration.

On his part, Babayo said Buhari's anticorruption drive should be pursued with all amount of vigour and radicalism, considering that over $157 billion has been lost by Nigeria, according to a Global Financial Integrity report, to illicit financial flows between 2003 and 2012.

He said this is where the nation's foreign policy formulators should intervene.

Babayo also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to "turn his attention to the activities of multinational corporations in Nigeria, with a view to repatriating the funds stolen from Nigeria

and putting a stop to further bleeding of the nation's economy." He drew a parallel between the economic policies of Buhari as a military Head of State and now as a civilian president and wondered if there were lessons from his economic policies then that could be useful in the current administration.

A former Minister of Foreign Affairs and founder of Savannah Centre, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, on his part, expressed concern about the fact that "Africa has the highest amount of foreign investments abroad." He wondered how Nigeria and indeed Africa can be great, if the people do not invest at home. He said decades of talks on diversification of the economy from a mono-economy should now be translated into concrete actions, with all major stakeholders coming together to foster better economic management.

Gambari, who was former head of United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur, said government must tackle headlong the current socio-economic challenges, such as high poverty level, huge youth unemployment and perennial disconnect between the government and the

Enthroning accountability, fiscal discipline in Enugu

By Louis Amoke and fact finding committees to review some of the endemic lapses in governance both at the state and local government levels.

Consequently, there is no doubt that the news of the inauguration of the 11-man Committee on Local Government Staff Audit and Biometrics Data Capturing Exercise, to address the irregularities undermining the progress of the local government system in the state, has strengthened the confidence of the people in the ability of the governor to institute fiscal discipline and accountability.

Governor Ugwuanyi mandated the committee, which is headed by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi, to among other things, "identify and flush out ghost workers and plug all avenues of leakages and wastages that have hitherto weighed down the finances of local government councils".

It is worthy of note that the governor in his firm commitment to transparency and progress of the local government administration also noted that "the committee's report will be central to the successful execution of government's plans to institute far reaching reforms and take requisite measures to standardize and restore sanity to the manner with which staff matters and related issues are handled in our local governments".

From all indications, it is obvious that the essence of the whole exercise is to enforce fiscal discipline, probity and accountability in the state to be able to save cost and deliver on its promises to the people.

As a man of integrity, the governor did not only stop at this, he equally, inaugurated an 8-man Administrative Committee on the Completion of Enugu State Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB) projects in the primary schools of Enugu State, with a vow to take disciplinary action against any contractor or official of the government that contributed to the poor conditions of primary schools in the state which have undermined the conducive learning of the children.

While disclosing that the constitution of the committee was in line with his campaign promise to improve the standard of education and educational facilities, he added that it was also fallout of his unscheduled visits to the primary schools in different locations of the state, which he revealed were in "shockingly, deplorable and unbefitting state".

As a spirited leader who believes in the progress and welfare of the children, he disclosed that "no

• Ugwuanyi responsible government would allow such conditions to continue to exist in its schools" adding that "we considered it urgent and imperative, to constitute a committee to investigate this ugly situation and recommend the most appropriate measures to ensure that it is promptly and completely reversed".

While x-raying the seriousness and importance of the exercise to his administration's vision for development, the governor charged the committee to discharge "this very crucial assignment with unreserved diligence, firmness and detachment" bearing in mind that "the security, welfare and proper education of the children remain the cardinal and inescapable responsibility of his administration".

It is also notable that the Chairman of the investigative committee and Deputy Governor of the state, Hon. Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, has assured the governor of the willingness of her committee to discharge their duties diligently without fear or favour, in order to ensure that the premium the governor places on education is sustained.

Governor Ugwuanyi has also embarked on innovations and remarkable projects geared towards development and alleviation of the sufferings of the people.

Notable among them include: the commissioning of a civic centre at Ezi-Nze, Udi

citizens. He advocated "a new permanent inter-ministerial council which would provide an effective link between our general foreign policy endeavours with external trade and international economic interest."

His views were supported by a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, who bemoaned the deplorable state of most Nigerian foreign missions saying, "Almost half of our missions overseas are in deplorable condition."

Ahmed therefore emphasised the need for the present government to critically review the number of Nigerian embassies abroad. The ex-SGF said, "We have to get the management of our resources right in this country. When we can predict that work on the second Onitsha Bridge will start and be completed in a certain time, then we would have improved."

He denounced a situation where Nigerian politicians make every development issue political, wondering how it is that "At the time of campaign, we will go and say Onitsha Bridge will be completed," only to use the same bridge to campaign at the next election? He therefore clamoured for proper national planning, as was being attempted by the late Yar' Adua administration.

President of Public Interest Lawyers League, Mr. Abdul Mahmud, gave a legal insight into Nigeria's foreign policy, when he argued that for almost a decade and half, Nigeria's foreign policy has retrogressed almost to a point that her claim of Africa as its centre-piece is today a non-recognisable relic of the foreign policy museum.

He argued that "In the years following Nigeria's glorious contributions to the anticolonial and anti-imperialist struggles on the continent, there has not been any conscious attempt at reinvigorating her foreign policy to meet contemporary realities, globalisation, high modernity and the plurality of global politics."

But if others were interested in anti-graft crusade and foreign policy, the Executive Director, Human Rights Monitor, Festus Okoye, wants Buhari to implement the report of the 2014 national conference. He said since the last all Nigerian conference on foreign policy, nothing has been said about it again and posited that "You cannot embark on good and effective foreign policy if everything takes us by surprise."

Local Government Area of Enugu State and the 15km Inter-Town-Connection (ITC) 2.5MVA Injection Sub-Station that will provide electricity to communities across Udi, Uzo-Uwani and Igbo-Etiti Local Government Areas of the state; the completion of the hitherto intractable Ogbete Main Market entrance road project; commencement of rehabilitation work at Airport Roundabout/ Orie Emene/ St. Patrick's College/ Eke-Obinagu Road project; provision of fund as 30 percent Equity Contribution for Enugu State Civil Servants, between grade levels 01-10, for the purchase of 100 units of one bedroom flats at Elim Estate, Ibagwa Nike, Enugu; constitution of a 4-man committee to review the status of the Enugu State School of Basic Midwifery, Awgu, in order to facilitate its re-accreditation and recommissioning for the training of midwives to enhance pre-maternal and child healthcare delivery in the state.

Others include constitution of an Economic Advisory Committee to advice government on best economic policies that will engender sustainable growth and development for the state to navigate through the adverse effects of the negative development in the nation's economy; setting-up of a committee on Nsukka Urban Renewal as part of his vision for the development of new cities in the state, advertisement for the expression of interest for the bidding of the construction of eight major roads across the state; approval of fund for the provision of electricity, water and other ancillary works at the new state secretariat complex; near completion of the new Government House lion building, quick resolution of the six-month judiciary workers' strike impasse in the state, and numerous social responsibility engagements in schools, hospitals, churches, markets; among others.

In all, the point remains that Enugu State has taken the lead towards the advancement of good governance and socio-economic and political stability through its commitment to restore the widely cherished norms and values that guarantee effective administration.

The public, especially, relevant stakeholders can only be advised to give this reinvigorating drive the necessary assistance, cooperation and support it deserves for the governor to be able to achieve his lofty dreams of restoring probity, accountability and fiscal discipline for a better and prosperous Enugu State.

–Amoke is Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

POLITICS

39

‘Jonathan’s action slowed down Buhari’ •Contd. from page 35 the handover shows because regardless of how closely you observe government - if you observe from outside, you see less than half. You have to be inside before you can see everything.

The average government file in any government ministry or other agencies are classified. So, government all over the world are known to be secretive. So, for you to understand it all, you have to be inside. So, these inside information were supposed to have been given by Jonathan's transition committee to Buhari's committee during the time that Buhari was waiting to be swornin. The Jonathan administration refused to cooperate throughout that period.

Are you saying there were no handover notes?

Not at that time. If the transition committee were allowed proper access to government record at that time, then President Buhari would have had good time to see things for what they are, develop his blue print or fine-tune whatever blueprint he had before he was elected. But Jonathan said no government official should listen to Buhari transition committee. The two Permanent Secretaries that took the night to come to give a little information were fired. So, when he fired these officials, the others got the signal. So, the Buhari transition committee didn't have any access to proper information about the governance of this country till after the president was sworn in. So, now, after he was sworn-in he would have access to proper information and then start to fine-tune his blue print. So, this necessarily caused what seems to be sluggishness.

It wasn't that President Buhari is slow but actually he was slowed down by the actions of Jonathandeliberate actions.

There is also this perception from the opposition party, the erstwhile ruling party that Buhari appears to be on a vengeance mission. They insist that his anti-corruption crusade is targeting only PDP stalwarts.

What is your reaction to that?

Well, who are the beneficiaries of corruption when PDP was ruling? As I told you, President Jonathan was highly nepotic both geographical and political and then those who had benefited from the sleaze were necessarily PDP members. So, if you are chasing every dollar or every naira, going the wrong way, yes, chances are that you will find it among the PDP, because he wouldn't give it to his perceived opponents because he was highly nepotic.

Why is it so difficult to tackle insurgency in Borno State?

You see, under Jonathan the insurgency was rife because all the equipment, to use the word I picked in a foreign paper were 'donated' by the Nigerian military and this is clearly true.

There was one incidence which caught the attention of the entire world. You remember the Baga saga. For no reason that anybody understands, huge military equipment like the type that you see in military warehouses: tanks, anti-aircrafts, guns, bullets, you name them.

They were all gathered in a village near Baga. Baga, for God sake, a border village, an outpost but it was elevated to a military dump and then what happened, Boko Haram came shooting in the air and then our soldiers

• Abba-Aji were reported to have run away and then Shekau came there by himself and he was taking pictures and videos and he said, "look at what I have got. With this, I should be able to defeat the whole of Nigeria." And it was open for all to see. The crates were about three metres high. These were all military equipment.

Something else that borders my mind that actually makes me to believe President Jonathan and his military were actually 'donating' Nigerian military equipment to these insurgents is the fact that ordinary cars have security fixed to them. Why would a military tank, a mass destruction equipment, not have any security and just an untrained insurgent will jump into it, would start it and would drive it away!

How possible is that? Why would an Armoured Personnel Carrier, (APC) of the military be taken away by an insurgent and he drives it away?

How? I cannot understand this.

These things are supposed to come with security, some of them in the good old days by biometric security, so that whoever is responsible for driving it would use biometric information to start but even the rudimentary security device was lacking. I don't believe this; I don't think the makers of those equipment didn't fix them. I think the security was disabled deliberately by whoever is 'donating' them to the insurgents.

So, all the military equipment, including the uniform, everything that the Boko Haram used belong to the Nigerian military. We had reports where helicopters were dropping supplies for the insurgents.

You are in the race for the senatorial ticket of Borno Central District. This is your second coming.

What is your mission this time around?

When I realised that both President Jonathan and the PDP weren't sincere; you know Jonathan only went to Maiduguri during his presidential campaign, I was conspicuously not there. Even the governorship election, I didn't go, because I had already in my mind parted ways with both the PDP and Jonathan. I am not the kind of person that would like being idle. During my last sojourn in the Senate, I fell in love with Law itself; I saw Law from a point of view that I have never seen it before and I saw it as occupying the highest moral platform in relationship among people. I see Law as an instrument of modern society, as agent of development, justice. So, I fell in love with Law. I went to study Lawnot to get a job or anything like that.

I am a retired man; I enrolled purely out of interest. I went to New Zealand to study Law. I have put in one year study, until the demise of my senator, representing Borno

Central. So, people started to call me to come and contest the byeelection and I was ignoring some of them and explaining some away but it developed into more than 20 calls a day. They were coming from the leadership in my state; from politicians, even from our leaders who aren't politicians. So, I said truly I am studying this Law because of what to do. Now, that I am invited, why shouldn't I heed the call. I left the school, removed my daughter from her own school and we came back.

I went to join the APC officially and declared my intention to run for the bye-election for Borno Central Senatorial District and I am getting a lot of support. So, this is what I want to do. I know that the challenges are different from when I was in the Senate before between 2003 and 2007. I said to myself, when you get to the Senate, what are you going to do and this is what I would do. You see, Borno State, of the 36 states, we belong to the six states that have the lowest federal allocation but our problem, if you put the problems of the 35 states, they aren't more than our own. So, we have enormous problems, we have very little income. So, I said, what is the best way?

Look at our history, particularly I look at the civil war. The war was civil because it wasn't a foreign aggression and I see Boko Haram also as a civil war; it isn't foreign aggression. In the Biafran case, they were trying to establish a Biafran state; in the Boko Haram case, they are trying to establish an Islamic state, a Sharia state.

General Gowon when he was Head of State, surely he hasn't received enough credit for what he had achieved when you look at it from the benefit of hindsight.

Recovering from a civil war isn't easy, not many countries have done that. In fact, many countries have expressed surprise at the quick way at which we recovered from the civil war, the reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation.

Gowon pumped a lot of money into it; that's what enabled the Igbo to bounce back and very quickly to heal all the scars of the war, both physical and mental and economically. They bounced back like nothing happened before because of Gowon's policy.

So, I think now that Borno State is qualified for that; I think that we cannot recover at the rate we are going even in 20 years except when we conceive and implement the triple R programme of General Gowon. It is time now to implement it and thank God General Gowon is still alive. So, we need to do that in order to ensure our fast recovering.

Remember the Niger-Delta unrest.

They were destroying equipment, bursting pipes, kidnapping oil workers as a result many oil companies had folded up and some of them moved away from us and so on. And during Obasanjo's time, you remember that even we were unable to fulfill our OPEC quota because of the unrest there but when the late President Yar'Adua came on board in spite of his ill health, one of the things that he achieved even Obasanjo was unable to achieve was the amnesty programme. I was his adviser, not Economic Adviser but because of my National Assembly job and because of the National Assembly's importance in actualizing it, I was involved very closely.

So, you can see a properly implemented amnesty programme with this Ministry of Niger-Delta as if you poured water on fire. Quickly, things were healed and we started to produce even more than our OPEC quota and that's what brought peace there. I think that we need a similar programme for Borno.

The changing national political equation (1) N

IGERIANS spoke so loud and so eloquently on March 28 and April 11 that no one could mistake their position on the way forward.

Except for the 1993 presidential election, at no other time in the national history did the people achieve near unanimity in deciding the preferred direction of governance. Out of the six geopolitical zones, four voted for a change. The 2015 mandate is even superior to the 1993 mandate because, it was not restricted to the presidential election. In the aborted Third Republic, the NRC was stronger in the governorship and House of Assembly elections held in the North West, South East and South South, while the SDP held sway in the South West, North Central and the North East.

Besides, the SDP only held a narrow majority in the National Assembly. It took the personality of the late Chief Moshood Abiola to revive the political standing of the SDP in the presidential election. He defeated the NRC presidential candidate, Alhaji Bashir Tofa in his home state, Kano, and changed the tide in the South South and the South East.

But, this time, President Muhammadu Buhari was not the singular factor in swinging the election in the APC direction. The same candidate who could not penetrate the South West in 2011, won handsomely in five of the six states in the zone this year. In the North Central where there has been an age-long anti-Fulani sentiment, despite the heavy deployment of religion as a weapon of the electoral battle, the APC held its own, even in Benue State.

In this piece, I am paying attention to the changing political behaviour in the South East, South West, North West and North Central. It is a fact that the North West and the South west have always stood on opposite sides of the dais. In the First Republic, the North West was the bastion of the NPC's support. It had no representation whatsoever in the West. The trend continued in the Second Republic when the UPN was the choice of the people, with Chief Obafemi Awolowo winning an average 80 per cent of the votes in the region.

The scenario in the Central Belt has been particularly interesting. In the First Republic, there was a fierce resistance to what was dubbed Hausa-Fulani domination of the Northern Region. As a result, the middle belt constituted itself into an opposition under the leadership of the late J. S. Tarka on the platform of the UMBC. The party entered into an alliance with the West-based Action Group. It led to the famous (or infamous Tiv riots of 1961.

However, there was a slight change in the Second Republic as Tarka had gone into the NPN, believing that he would be handed the party's presidential ticket on a platter of gold. He played into the hands of the Kaduna mafia and had to settle for a senatorial seat. He died a broken man within two years of that dispensation. Kwara narrowly went to the NPN, Plateau gravitated towards the Easternbased NPP, while Niger State was a solid ground for the NPN. In the Third Republic, Benue, Plateau and Kwara Kwara aligned again with the West in the SDP, while Niger and the newly created Kogi found the NPC attractive.

In the East, the people have always made efforts to work with what is considered the dominant national political party. In the First Republic, what dictated their political behaviour was the Awo-Zik feud. The NCNC which dominated the region's political scene chose to align with the conservative NPC. It was more of the junior partner in the Balewa administration.

It felt comfortable with being offered the sinecure position of a ceremonial President. It, however, did not take long before the people realized that they had been handed the short end of the stick. The party split, with the West branch teaming up with the Akintola faction of the AG that sought and obtained a place in the NPC dominated federal government.

The Michael Okpara-led eastern wing struck up an alliance with the Awolowo faction of the AG to form the UPGA alliance ahead of the 1964 federal elections that was massively rigged by the Sardauna-Akintola-OkotieEboh-Fani-Kayode NNA. In the Second Republic, the East went along with Zik into the NPP, but soon, as was the case in the First republic, romped into an alliance with the NPN in order to have a piece of the national cake. In the Third Republic, the east was solidly NRC zone. The party was seen as Northerndominated and thus waiting to form the government.

By the 2015 elections, a lot has changed. An understanding of the current situation, what has changed and the movements would help in analyzing what to expect in the days ahead, especially in view of the fragility of the APC and the lack of doctrinal anchor in the PDP. This will form the basis of the second part of this analysis of the undercurrents of Nigerian politics.

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POLITICS

W

HAT are your chances of getting the Peoples Democratic Party's ticket for the governorship race?

I will say the chances are in the hands of God, the Almighty. But as governor of the state, I have been very loyal to the party; I have served to the best of my ability. I have implemented the party's manifesto in carrying out development projects in line with the transformation agenda.

I think we have done well within the lean resources available to us. We are basically a civil service's state and so we have focused on areas that will diversify our revenue base like agriculture, transportation and encouragement of public-private partnership. We have also focused on rural development, electrification, the provision of water and health centers because most of our people are rural dwellers. So, I believe, on this basis, it is just logical that the party re-presents me for the elections.

Some stakeholders in the state chapter of the party are seemingly disquieted by an allegation that you will be granted an automatic ticket for the race?

Anyone within the state chapter of the party can easily attest to what I stand for and what I don't. I am a man of principles and as a result, internal democracy is one thing I have entrenched deeply into the party system. For example, take a look at the recently concluded congress. It was not only democratic, it was also transparent. As a matter of fact, the party stakeholders and the media adjudged it free, fair and credible despite all the brouhaha preceding it.

As you know, these kinds of allegations can easily be associated with the election season. Many people vying for this position have already set in place their propaganda apparatus, thus the use of falsehood can be well expected.

I am a firm believer in democratic principles and as such I believe the popularity of a public servant isn't in the media but at the grassroots.

But the party is rocked by internal wrangling as well as the disagreement within the National Working Committee of the party.

Don't you think these will affect your chances?

I am not aware of internal wrangling in the party at the state level. Even at the national level, I do not categorize a dispute with staff as internal wrangling. To the best of my knowledge, even that dispute is being resolved amicably.

I agree with you that whenever there is a governorship election, there would be people within the party that will slug it out for the highest office of the state. They will spread rumour, create intrigues and innuendoes.

The party knows that we have to reorganise ourselves for the

• Wada

'Why I deserve second term'

Kogi State Governor Idris Wada speaks with Sunday Oguntola on his chances in the forthcoming gubernatorial election and stewardship in the last four years. forthcoming election and whatever internal crisis we have, I am sure that we will find solutions to them to ensure that we do well in the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states. I have every confidence that our leadership will overcome the current challenges in time enough for the elections ahead.

Members of the opposition say you have not done enough to deserve reelection. How do you respond to that?

My reaction is that it is to be expected of the opposition. No matter how much you have done, they will always say you have done nothing and they can do better.

The reality is that the developmental strides we have achieved with the few resources at hand are massive.

Basically, we are a civil service state and I have done so much to move it to an economically, self-sustaining, viable state.

We have records of

the things we have done, some of which have been published.

For example, we are building an 11storey Kogi House in Abuja, which is to showcase our pride as a state and generate incomes. We have a land at a prime place in the Federal Capital City and we are at the fifth floor now. We believe it will be a good source of income for the state. We have completed a stadium in Lokoja, which is a FIFA-standard facility. We have the Greater Lokoja Water Project, which is there. We are working on a strong embankment that will protect us from flood.

We have built 272 housing units for those affected by flood. We are also building another 500 housing units in Lokoja. We are building a dual carriageway bye-pass across Lokoja to provide new development centres across the capital city. We are overhauling the main Lokoja township road. We are working on over 58 other roads. They are either completed or at advanced stages of completion.

We are building a very modern mega transport terminal, the first of its kind in northern Nigeria for vehicles passing through the state. In about two or three months, it should be ready for commissioning.

We have built an ultra-modern vocational training centre in Lokoja, which we commissioned some weeks back in partnership with Korea Development Agency. It is the most modern vocational training centre in Nigeria.

We now have the capacity to train people, especially the youth, in ICT, motor engineering, agriculture, metal fabrication and others. We are looking at educated but unemployable youths so that they can fend for themselves. We have built so many schools and renovated so many. We are funding the universities, colleges of education and polytechnics.

We have succeeded in reorientation of our youths. Till date, over 10,000 youths have been trained and empowered in our novel youth programme, tagged YAD 4 KOGI. There is also the 250 bed teaching hospital that is ongoing at Ayingba. The ultramodern diagnostic center at Lokoja is almost complete.

Over 300 rural communities have been supplied electricity; t h e y h a v e access

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015 to pipe borne water and trunk roads across the state. These are projects that have direct bearings with our people.

So, if the opposition is saying I have not done anything, you can go and verify all these projects. It is just that I am not a noise maker; I am not a propaganda kind of person. You know leadership is about one's personality.

All my life, I have always focused on my job and getting things done. The fact that I became a governor has not changed me.

I have always thought that my works will speak for me but it is becoming clearer to me now that no matter how much you have done, you have to let people know or your opponents will get their own story out first. It is not my nature to make noise but the things I told you are the truth. In three years, we have done a lot. You can verify all the claims I have made here.

You are contesting against the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is today the ruling party at the centre.

Don't you think the clamour for change will consume you?

I like to take things one after the other. The major thing for me now is to go to the primary and emerge as the candidate of the party.

I am sure with our knowledge and experience within the state and at the federal; we will come up with appropriate strategies to beat the APC because we are on ground. PDP is the only party in Kogi State across the nooks and crannies. We are in all wards and I have things to show people that we have done within their communities. The victory of the APC in the presidential was a one- off. We defeated the APC in the House of Assembly elections that came after the presidential elections and we are determined to repeat that victory come November.

Do you believe in the INEC as currently constituted, especially the appointment of Amina Zakari?

I have no comment on that. I am not competent to speak on it; it is the prerogative of the President.

You have no complaints on her appointment?

I just said I have no comment at all on it.

Why should Kogi people reelect you?

They should reelect me because I have governed them with the fear of God and done my best to meet our salary obligations and provide them with infrastructure within the lean resources available to the state. We have started a lot of good works together and it is important that we finish them in the interest of the good people of the state.

If given more time, we can complete the good works we have started and embark on much more in the state.

‘I have always thought that my works will speak for me but it is becoming clearer to me now that no matter how much you have done, you have to let people know or your opponents will get their own story out first’

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

Barnabas Manyam in Yola reports on some of the steps that Governor Mohammed Umar Jibrila of Adamawa State has taken that have raised hopes of transformation of the Northeast state

POLITICS

Jubrila and Adamawa's transformation

D

ESTINY has a way of putting people in various perspectives and bringing surprises to many.

The ascension of Sen. Mohammed Umar Jibrila (aka Bindow) to the hallowed seat of governor took the state of Adamawa by the storm.

Affable 'Bindow' became governor when many human judgments thought it was impossible.

The election in the state was keenly contested between All Progressives Congress (APC), Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other parties, but God smiled on Sen. Mohammed Umaru Jibrilla, who was undoubtedly the choice of the good people of Adamawa State.

He was described as always patient with a quite mien throughout the four years he served in the National Assembly as a senator representing Adamawa North Senatorial Zone, but one thing stood him out and that is that he is a hard-nosed businessman who has carved a niche for himself in business which was his second passion after politics.

Bindow may seem slow in appearance or his soft spoken nature may deceive many but he is certainly a guru in commerce; he sees it and smells it in the air and he knows how to go about it.

Governor Jibrila believes in proficiency in everything even as his associates said honesty is one of his major values. He has promised that his government will create an enabling opportunity for youths to get jobs as a way of facilitating development instead of the many wars and battles fought in the state.

• Jubrila

He also said his administration will focus more on the people, as he wants to begin by reconciling the people involved in the many political battles recently fought in the state.

Given Jibrila's background, observers said Adamawa state will move forward under him and commerce will also thrive because he knows areas that need quick attention. Now that the buck stops at his table, it is believed that he will move fast to increase the state's financial standing by reorganising the Board of Internal

Revenue (BIR), which under Tuta, its current chairman, looses millions due to illegal activities and low revenue generation.

Bindow is ambitious in putting Adamawa first among equals and revenue generation must be put in the hands of ambitious people who are driven by zeal to realise above one Billion Naira monthly not sluggish thinkers.

Agriculture is the main stay of the people and the governor will need to focus on bringing herbicides to the farmers and

41

creating access roads to rural areas to bring harvested crops to the market.

Security will also be provided on the international cattle markets in Mubi, Ganye, Ngurore and other major cattle markets to avoid incessant attacks like what happened three years ago when the Ganye International Cattle Market was invaded by bandits who destroyed goods and carted away cash running into several billions of naira.

Notwithstanding what transpired during the Admiral Murtala Nyako's controversial impeachment, observers believed the members of Adamawa State House of Assembly should cue in to the Bindow's government because the role of a legislator is not meant to rule but to make laws and provide fair checks and balances to the leadership.

Observers pointed out that leadership is not the business of the any responsible legislature and the present legislature should not be finding faults or form an antagonistic barrier against Bindow. Instead, the House should join hands with Jubrila in moving Adamawa forward unlike the former legislature.

For now, the governor seems to be focused on key areas that can change the state for the better and so all shades of opinion have applauded him since he took the oath as the Executive Governor.

The state needs a Bindow at this point in time to steer the ship of state and move the state forward. The fruits of good governance and good things to come have already begun to manifest as Governor Jubrila has began the transformation with the inauguration of more than 234km roads in Adamawa State. So far, he has also being paying salaries as and when due even as reports confirm that other projects are coming on board.

The list of the commissioners have just been screened and passed by the Adamawa State House of Assembly.

Some of the commissioners are highly knowledgeable to pilot the affairs of the state to greater heights.

This explains why many say Jubrila has started well.

Aba dilemma: Ikpeazu's first bold steps

F

ROM the old, cranky bridge overlooking the Aba waterside, the crowd of bystanders stood to watch the new cinema. There used to be the old REX and EMI Cinema in this town where the senior boys of old stole out of bed and scale over the barbed wire fences of their dormitories at night to watch the escapades of the Chinese macho man, Bruce Lee, the American version of Rambo. That was the Aba of old, the paradise lost.

Today, there is no more Rex, no more Emi and no more Bruce Lee. But, there is a new fancy that has caught the attention of the Aba people this early morning and they are looking with consumed absentmindedness, oblivious of the risk of the speeding trucks behind them. The new cinema is the combusting dredger crawling in the Aba River, excavating the waters and evacuating the accumulated debris that have caused the water to meander away from its concave shores. The bystanders are looking with curiosity because a dredger in the Aba River is a novelty.

There is no memory, as much as they can flashback, of a dredger in Aba or of a dredging work in Aba River. So they must be part of this drama!

The scenario, in symbolic terms, goes to signal the Aba Urban Renewal Drive, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu's driving force under which he is reviewing the truncated dream that is Aba city. Recently, he deployed the dredger to the Aba water as part of effort to recover an endangered water line. The sedimentation of debris below the water

By Godwin Adindu

bed is partly the cause of the Aba flood and the environmental decay. If there had been constant dredging in the past, the river would accommodate more storm water from the drainages and the entire network of drainages in the city will flow freely.

Cutting through the thick forest of Okpu Umuobo in Osisioma local council, the Aba River snakes its way through the city to Ukwa and empties into the Opopo River. In the hey days of Aba's fame, the river provided water as raw material to the manufacturing companies which were strategically located along its banks and also accommodated sewage. Old students of the many old schools of Aba savour sweet memories of their swimming spree in the waterside. Courtyard swimming pools were not common currency in those days so Aba boys and girls got their first swimming encounter here and mastered the symphony of the ebbs and tides. Thus, the Aba waterside remains another source of nostalgia for old Aba people.

Indeed, the Aba waterside is what the lagoon is to Lagos. It defines its landscape and its topography and projects its environmental beauty. If you point at the heavy capacity ships that hang onshore waiting for the right to berth from the authorities of the ports of Apapa, Aba people would point at the wooden canoes paddled by the swamp dwellers of the waterlines. Apart from the sea breeze generated by the cascading waves of the Atlantic, there is nothing that the Lagos water offers that Aba waterside is not capable of offering Aba people. Abia can

• Ikpeazu

create her own beaches like Lagos. It could create a tourism delight out of the waterside.

Governor Ikpeazu is looking in this direction. In the effort to create a new city, using local content and harnessing the latent ingenuity of the Aba people, the Aba River must be a key element in the mapping of a new landscape and designing of a new environmental order. If the Aba River is well guarded, it could provide potentials for marine transport. With the process of urbanization catching up with yesterday's rural communities like Ovom, Akpa and the communities along the Aba-Opobo road, a marine transport system is all the

natives need to access the city. Same with the communities along the Osisioma stretch of land. Mini commuter boats with final embarkation point at the waterside could serve this purpose. This will ease the traffic along the Orgbor hill axis and on the Aba-Owerri Road.

The governor is prepared for the task at hand. The dredging of the waterside is the first step in a large and broad vision that encapsulates a marine culture that will add value to life, create a new symphony of drama of city life, re-engineer the economy and bring Aba back to its pride of place as the hub of commerce and trade. This is being driven in unison with the construction of new roads and maintenance of the old ones and the general infrastructural renewal of the city.

Before the arrival of the dredger, the desilting of drainages, gutters, storm water systems and flood channels have been going on in earnest. It has been an amazing discovery to see drainages of more than thirty feet deep, built by the colonial administration with the original plan of the city covered up by residents over the years, some with solid structures built over them. The dream is big; the will must be strong.

This morning, the Aba people saw the tenacity of the will in the combusting dredger crawling in the water like a dancing duck. It provided a good sight, in the absence of Emi and Rex. But, much more than that, it heralded the town crier's voice: a Daniel has come to judgment! –Adindu is the Chief Press Secretary to Abia State Governor

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

POLITICS

Lalong confronts Jang

A

• Abdullahi

Abdullahi and Buhari's cabinet

big battle between Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State and his predecessor, Jonah Jang, appears imminent. The rift may not be unconnected with the alleged misappropriation of several billions of naira by the Jang administration after the April 28 governorship election had been won and lost. Worried by the precarious financial position of the state, Lalong has asked the then administration to refund the money or risk being dragged before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Jang has yet to respond to the allegation. Sources say the state may petition the EFCC in the next few weeks over the matter.

• Okowa

Disquiet over Okowa's appointment of 100 aides

T

HE recent appointment of about 100 aides designated as Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) Special Assistants (SAs) and Personal Assistants (PAs), by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa is causing disquiet in Delta State. Opinions are divided on the governor's motive for having this high number of aides, just weeks after he complained of the poor financial status of the state and the huge debt he inherited.

While some believe the appointments are to compensate party men who worked for the governor's victory at the polls, others are alleging that they are aimed at having a large pool of loyal supporters who would be deployed to campaign for the governor if the Election Petitions Tribunal orders a rerun in the state.

Akinlade bags new appointment

I

NSIDERS in the Buhari administration seem divided over the possible emergence of Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, former Minister of Sports, on the cabinet list to be unveiled next month. This is because of the controversial election of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President. Those expressing fear that the former minister may not make the list are basing their argument on the fact that Saraki is Abdullahi's political mentor and leader.

Abdullahi, who served as Deputy Director in the Policy and Strategy Directorate of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Council (APCPC), had been mentioned as a potential ministerial nominee before the National Assembly crisis. The question now is will Abdullahi make the list?

• Lalong

• Jang

Gbajabiamila to Tambuwal: I’ve moved on

A

FORMER member of the House of Representatives, Abiodun Akinlade, whose failed bid to return to the National Assembly remains one of the biggest surprises of the last general elections, is back on the beat again. Last week, the Yewa, Ogun State-born former lawmaker was appointed Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Lasun Yusuf.

His supporters believe the appointment is an attestation of his competence and brilliance.

A

• Tambuwal

recent statement credited to Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal on why he supported Yakubu Dogara for the Speakership of the House of Representatives over Femi Gbajabiamila is ruffling many feathers within the All Progressives Congress (APC). Tambuwal and Gbajabiamila enjoyed cordial relations in the 7th N a t i o n a l Assembly.Gbajabiamila stood behind Tambuwal when the latter was speaker.

He took all the shots fired at Tambuwal by the then Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)- led government. But Gbajabiamila, who has been chosen as the Majority Leader of the current House, is taking Tambuwal's comment in his strides. He was quoted as saying: "Rt. Hon. Tambuwal is entitled to • Gbajabiamila his opinion. For me, I have moved on."

• Akinlade

IN VOGUE

By Kehinde Oluleye

Tel: 08023689894 (sms) E-mail: kehinde.oluleye@thenationonlineng.net

PILLOWTALK Raising a voice for the Nigerian girl With Temilolu Okeowo temilolu@girlsclub.org.ng 07086620576 (sms only) Please visit my blog www.temiloluokeowo.wordpress.com for more inspiring articles. Twitter@temiloluokeowo

YETUNDE OLADEINDE molaralife@yahoo.com

55

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

T

HE steaming argument that often attends the gathering of the literati in Nigeria of whether literature is thriving does not seem to end soon. In addition to this argument also is whether the reading culture among the teeming Nigerian youths is ebbing or growing. All these debates and discussions and positions are indeed good for the development and expansion of literature, the reading culture and even writing in the society. Above all, it is good that those who feel up to it, now put series of programmes in place to entice literary enthusiasts and also ensure that the sector is never bereft of ideas and the cross-fertilization of ideas.

But can literature really die in the form we know it today even if the internet has come to stand as a wedge between it and the so-called age of technology? These and more were some of the knotty and burning issues raised last weekend in Lagos when the literati gathered for a book reading orchestrated by Victor Ehikhamenor and Toni Kan. The venue was the Gele Art Gallery, Onikan, Lagos and the crowd was really impressive and responsive. The duo of Victor and Kan who have been churning out series of fictional and non-fictional works in the past years read from their latest works.

While Victor read from his book, Excuse me, Toni pelted the crowd with stimulating lines from his collection called Night of the Creaking Bed. They were all stories that related to the people, cutting across age, generation and class.

As Victor read excerpts from his short story entitled, My Mother, Information Management Czar, the crowd cheered and jeered and applauded.

He said: “when I was growing up, my mother took me up on public behaviour, and information management. I wonder if the KGB, DSS, SSS, CIA, can go through the kind of drilling we got from mum. She truly designed all that for me. Growing up in the village there were unwritten manuals by mum on how to grow up and survive the rough terrain.

“My mother started early on me because I appeared too free and went round freely, too trusting. She knew she needed a strong hand to manage me, and told me too to cut or control my enthusiasm whenever visitors were around.

This was so because many people came to my father to resolve their differences. At that young age I would hear all sorts of things and arguments from adults… Each time I defaulted, my mother was ever ready to scold me silly. If I thought I could run to evade her, her legs were always faster than mine to catch me and discipline me in return. At Christmas I would be so carried away by the excitement in the air that I would be walking around knocking down China bowels and breaking tumblers forgetting the information management my mother gave to me. Whenever my excesses became too much, she would excuse herself from the visitors and took me away to discipline me…”

Also reading excerpts from a short story entitled Love Letters, Victor took the audience back and forth into the throes of love and romance; into the memories of how teenagers used smooth words and soothing lines in those days to catch the women they fancied. But more than that, he chronicled how the letter writing issues soon became part of his past time as a village champion; an expert in crafting wonderful letters for village women who sought for his services.

One day, however, one of the love letters he wrote to a lover landed him in the principal’s office because the go-between for the delivery of the offending letter did not like the writer. Then instead of giving it to the owner, she sent it straight to the principal’s office just to create trouble for him. “A good love letter made things easier for a boy who was interested in a particular girl,” Victor informed. “We had no money to give. We only had sweet things to write to entice our women. Then part of the letter would read, you are the flowers I see every morning, the soothing stars I gaze at in the skies. You are the reason I am alive, the flower of my life. My life can never have meaning if you do not love me in return.

“But when was the last time you wrote a love letter? Victor asked the chagrined audience. Of course, no one present could remember or even knew what a love letter sounds like these days. Yet the story took people into the lovely past when romance was at its peak; when lovers were genuine and true to each

Taking literature to the grassroots

•A cross section of guests at the reading

•From left: Victor, Wana and Kan, reading their works.

PHOTOS: EDOZIE UDEZE

Book reading has become part of the promotion of the reading culture. Edozie Udeze writes on a book reading that took place last weekend in Lagos and how it was used to dissect the literary firmament. other. Interestingly, most of the lines drew laughter from the audience since it zeroed down into the fabric of the nuances of love.

Reading from the Night of the Creaking Bed, Toni Kan told of the engaging encounter between an average citizen and the police every day in Nigeria. What is the role or place of the police in Nigeria? Are they to correct erring offenders or help them to compound their situations when they are in trouble? Series of such encounters have so far jeopardised most situations for people who otherwise would have been cautioned and left off the hook. But making some of these happenings into a story helps to enlighten the public and probably dissuade the police from being too harsh and binding on the people.

In an interview, Kan reiterated that people who still show interest in literature are ever eager to have new works of literature to make their day. “Oh, yes, people are reading,” he enthused. “See, when you are inside a bus or driving through the Third Mainland Bridge, you’d see young people sitting in their cars

reading books. The essence of what we are doing is to continue to do our bit as writers and reporters. Most of the books people read are all second-hard foreign books. So why wouldn’t we write to suit their tastes? To give them what they desire to read? Whether it is motivational book or not, but they are reading. May be we are not writing what inspires people. This is what we need to look into.

Now my last book has sold ten thousand copies. Who read it? Why is Chimamanda Adichie selling? We need to know as writers to be able to know how to navigate our works to capture the people.

“Yes, now, I think we need to begin to change what we write. I think that’s the problem we have. Why not write stories that sound like Nollywood? Why couldn’t we think in that direction since that is what propels people on? No, we don’t have to write like Soyinka or Achebe to get it right. We need to write for our own purposes, for the reason we are who we are at the present moment. What I mean is that we should write what people will find accessi-

ble and also relate with. Okay, where are the books now, the thrillers, the bestsellers, the type we get from other writers? Where are they, for our people to read? We need to begin to do that now,” Kan, a seasoned journalist, novelist and poet, asserted.

He stressed that in truth people do not find what they really want to read in Nigerian book stores. “You could see the crowd and the sort of reactions they gave to the stories read out to them. It was quite encouraging and that shows that people really need to be ignited somewhat towards literature and writing. When books are read out like this often, why wouldn’t people show good reactions? We always shy away from saying that we are making money as writers. As a writer shouldn’t I make money for God’s sake? Where else do you want us to make money from? Are they not our works; our creative talent?”

As Kan raised these fundamental issues, the point most people noted was how to stop the internet from bastardising the standard of the English Language. A lot of younger ones do not want to make out time to read to master the language very well. Everybody goes into the net with all sorts of rubbish in the name of literature or short stories. This, most of the people that responded said is not good enough to promote literary issues in the society.

In his own reaction, Olayinka Oyegbile, a Lagos journalist, berated the over-reliance on the new technology of internet as the hub of the problem. “In those days, if you wrote a letter to the editor and once the editor opened it and noticed that the first two sentences were correct, he would use it. And once he used it, you also were a champion. But what do we get these days? It is so disheartening,” he offered.

Oyegbile was not alone in this contention.

Most people who spoke argued that even though technology has helped the expansion of knowledge, it has its own limitations. Text messages done in short hand and more confusing sentences have influenced the way some people reason, write the English language and even react to serious and committed issues.

Wana Udubong who anchored the programme was of the opinion, however, that hard core literature cannot fizzle out. Internet, to her, is just a phase that can only aid and not totally obliterate the core values of literature. How do you undo hard copies of books or bookshops or even publishing houses in a society?

Internet has been on for decades in developed worlds, yet hard copies of books have not died. So it is only the problem of control and teaching children to read to know English better, both in terms of speech and writing that can help to prosper literature.

56

I

T was a moment to remember and cherish. It was a moment of reflection on the pains and growth of the Nigerian society from the time past. In fact, the bulk of the matter raised during the convocation lecture is whether science and the humanities can blend together to ignite the desired change, growth and development in the Nigerian society. At the 17th convocation and the investiture ceremony of new fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL), which took place during the week at the University of Lagos, the main lecture delivered

by Professor Moses Akinola Makinde centred on the Humanities and Societal Change with emphasis on Reflections on the Pains of Growth of a nation. But above all, the theme dwelt on the programmes put in place by successive governments to truly make for a concerted change in a society like Nigeria where the populace and the leadership have been polarised along ethnic, religious and political lines. It is a place where dichotomy of all sorts have tended to tear the society to shreds since 1914 when the Northern and Southern protectorates were amalgamated to form Nigeria.

Before the lecture proper took place, the president of NAL, Professor Benjamin Olatunji Oloruntimehin had hinted on the need for writers, artists, humanists and those responsible for reordering the society through their creative endeavours to come together to ensure that the leadership is made responsive and responsible to the yearnings of the people.

Most of the issues raised were indeed directed at the three new inductees in the persons of Mr. Sam Omatseye, Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Nation newspapers, Professor Amechi Akwanga of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Professor Jacob Kehinde Olupona of the Harvard University, Massachusetts, the United States of America.

N

THE NATION ON SUNDAY,

ARTS

OT too many people these days really understand the concept of an art dealing in the visual art world in Nigeria. When the issue of what the responsibility of an art dealer is raised, many people tend to see it as an aberration. But in real life and in most developed societies of the world where visual art business thrives on a daily basis, the role of an art dealer is most welcome. His role is factored into the arts business in order to help artists themselves be involved in the marketing and sales of their works.

Tayo Rotimi Awokoya is one of such dealers. A Nigerian resident in London, Awokoya has been in this business for decades, only shuttling between England and Nigeria to make Nigerian contemporary works have a place in the English market. He explains his role thus: “Overtime it just seems that the trust between some artists and dealers is falling. That has been the case for quite a while but I do not think it still obtains. I can only say that it is quite a difficult job.

Usually, sometimes, you get a client who does not pay on time. And the artist gets impatient about it. This also affects you and what you do and the trust we are talking about. At times, when you have sold the work, the client is a bit reluctant to release the money,” Awokoya, a product of the Uni-

AUGUST 16, 2015

Honouring a man of letters It is not always that the Nigerian Academy of Letters inducts a non-academic.

Sam Omatseye, Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Nation, has become one of the few to be so honoured. He and two others were inducted into the Academy on Thursday. Edozie Udeze reports board of The Nation newspapers, he equally serves on the Governing Board of the Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos.

He is a prolific writer, deep in his thinking, whose works of art span over the years.

He has written two volumes of poetry, one prose fiction, a collection of his column known as In Touch. In addition, Omatseye has edited a couple of books on politics and leadership in Nigeria. His works harp essentially on the rudiments of politics and the exigencies of leadership where those at the helm of affairs appear rudderless, clueless, mindless and ineffectual.

This is one man of letters who has won the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award three times; he has also capped it up with the Diamond Award on •Professor Oloruntimehin decorating Omatseye. PHOTO: EDOZIE UDEZE three different occasions. Being a foThese three new fellows numerous writings is un- cused humanist, Omatseye is have been using their works, equivocal. As a Historian, said to be in the habit of comtheir professional roles and Omatseye has come to be so bining fiction with reality to callings to enrich the people analytical and critical in his make for more classical stoand then call for change. handling of national issues ries, for which he is known Omatseye, for instance, was as they pertain to leaders and world-wide. described during the citation their innocuous behaviour Layiwola did not only

by Professor Dele Layiwola that today, he has become a trace his professional career of the University of Ibadan, reference point; a writer to as a journalist and a writer, as one writer who is not only reckon with. he described him as a brave Layiwola said: “Here is a reporter who did not mind fearless but blunt and courageous. He dares where oth- Historian, a human rights his own safety on several ocers fear to tread. Therefore, activist, who is not just a casions to get his exclusives. his love for championing the thorough-bred journalist and This is one man who even as cause of the people via his the chairman of the editorial a young reporter dared the

military for which he immediately became a marked man. Yet in the face of all these difficulties and threats to his life, Omatseye has continued to excel. This is why he was even admitted into the Academy because based on his commitment and his call to duty, he has used his numerous works for the growth and emancipation of the society and the common man.

Even though his firebrand style of writing has earned him too many foes and also garnered for him those who truly believe in what he writes, Omatseye has never shrieked his responsibility.

His role, his thrust, and his central focal point to contribute to a meaningful change so that Nigeria will one day become one of the best societies among the comity of nations has not waned. In an interview, he confessed that his inclusion as one of those to be inducted into this highly revered Academy came to him as a surprise.

“I didn’t expect it,” he said. “But once my name was announced as a member I took it with philosophical calm and contentment. It is for me to do more and that is all I can say.” But then, he harped on the urgent need to have a society where change is permissible; where leaders should hearken to the people.

“We have a new government in place now and from what has been happening the issue of change is possible.”

Omatseye’s attitude to change has always been crystal from the beginning. His open aversion to inept leadership, to the corruptive tendencies of people in corridors of power has not been hid-

‘Why I became an art dealer’

By Edozie Udeze

versity of Ibadan, said.

He said, “and then you know most of these artists are genius and geniuses frown at imperfections. That is another thing you have to manage. I always love to be an art dealer, to be a-go-between between an artist and a client who loves and wants to buy his work. My first contact with the visual art was in 1977. From that moment, I told myself I would have close contacts with this aspect of the art.”

Now, if you look at Monalisa, today, there is only one original, but there are so many other copies. “So, people who cannot afford the original, can afford the print.

That is the whole essence of it all. This is why we are also into prints but a lot of people do not seem to appreciate it. Most people who are into art development cannot afford to buy the actual work because of its high price. Now, whether they can pay for it immediately or later is even another story.

These are some of the things we battle with in this business of art dealings.”

Yes, before an art work is sold, the level of agreement and what price to be sold is indicated and finalized between

•Awokoya

the dealer and the artist. This is so in order to avoid distrust or rancor in this regard. “What we do is that we put it in paper, to be done and dusted in black and white. So if an artist later comes to claim what is not, you refer him to the agreement which is even written and made clear. Then when you show him the proceeds of what has been sold, there will be no doubt in his mind. He has to receive his commission there from.”

Awokoya whose outfit is called Art Innundated is also into tourism promotion where he does Yellow Pages to help tourists into Nigeria to know where to be once they are in town or in any other part of the country. “As you can see, the world is global now and we need to do more for one another. No matter where you are, you can see the world; you can assess the internet to get the information you need. So, both Art Innundated and the

Yellow Pages can be assessed on the net. Now, let us see if the new leadership in Nigeria can help fix things especially the health sector. That is one of the ways to bring back some of our physicians who are now in Diaspora. In England alone, there are thousands of such Nigerian experts and if the federal government is not prepared to pay them well when they come, we are doomed.”

A Political Scientist trained in the days when education was taken seriously, Awokoya berates Nigerian leaders for the woes that bedevil the society and says, however, that even the standard of Nigerian visual art works in Europe cannot be compromised. “Nigerian art works are good. Nigerian artists are also good; they can compete with their mates anywhere in the world. But the government itself should have something substantial for the poor. Things that ought to benefit the poor should be factored into the programmes especially in Lagos State.

“Yes, for a long time we’ve not sold works. But we are not the type of people who believe in immediate profits. It is even hard to convince artists to give us their copyright. But we are pushing, we will continue to push. If you go to our website,

den. His column in The Nation every Monday has been devoted to tongue-lashing a set of people or cabal who have consistently chosen to milk the nation dry.

As a populist writer, given to robust and poetic innuendoes and water-tight logic, the Academy of Letters quickly discovered that here is a man whose place in history is indeed incontrovertible. Or how else do you describe or categorise a writer whose works have traversed all genres and manner of literature and who finds the appropriate time and space to tackle myriad of issues for the good of the society.

Responding on behalf of other inductees, Professor Olupona said: “This will make us more soul-searching, more committed to help in finding ways to make Nigeria better. Nigeria has the potentials to be great. We are only part of the instruments to make the country really great. To me, that is the main point of this outing today.

The humanities are critical in solving the problems of Nigeria and so let us use our positions to continue to agitate for Nigerians. For Nigeria will be great someday soon.”

The atmosphere outside the auditorium after the lecture showed the sort of person Omatseye is, as friends, well-wishers and people of like minds gathered to wish him well and join in the euphoria of the moment. Even older members of the Academy, seasoned professors of many years running, like Professor Emeritus Ayo Banjo, Professor A. I. Asiwaju, Professor Jide Osuntokun, Professor Olu Obafemi, and others, were among those who mixed freely with the crowd.

It was indeed a sight to behold; a rare moment to be happy and reflect on the gains and pains of nationhood. you’ll see a lot of works that belong to Nigerians. Basically, we deal with Nigerian artists and a few from West Africa. A lot of Nigerian singers even market works from other climes by using foreign names.

Even though Nigerian musicians are doing well in the world, they need to be able be market themselves. This is what the visual need now and that’s what we are into. Even in the auction art floor, Nigerian arts are doing well. They are known; they can be reckoned with. But what we also find in that South Africans have given a lot of support to their own market.

The reason for this, Awokoya reiterates, is that the society is more organized.

“South Africans have multinationals here in Nigeria. How many do we have over there?

This is how organized they are and their works in the contemporary art often tend to be more in place than those of Nigerians. Therefore, let us try to get it right, for art can be used to overcome the world. It is a gold mine indeed,” he asserted with gusto.

For now some of the artists he deals with include Sam Ovraiti, Edosa Oguigo, Biodun Olaku, and more. “These are the middle artists because we have the masters in the persons of Kolade Osinow, Ben Enwonwu and lots of others in that category.”

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

Page 53 ‘Nigeria --has huge tourism potential’

GSM at 14: So far, so fair

Page 58, 59

A troubled capital market

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•Zmyslowski

NEPC seeks alternative revenue sources From Franca Ochigbo, Abuja

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• From left: Mr. Gilles Valentin, Managing Partner, The Oil and Gas Year, Ms. Gergana Urdarevska, Country Director, The Oil and Gas Year and Mr. Charles Odita, Managing Director, Midwestern Oil & Gas Company Limited during the presentation of the Upstream Company of the Year Award to Midwestern.

Oshiomhole: Jonathan’s agric revolution a big scam

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DO State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole has criticised the much touted agricultural revolution of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, describing, it as a big scam. The nation, he said, is still import-dependent on rice and other foods.

Speaking with The Nation, Oshiomhole accused the past government of frittering away over N800billion on waivers for rice millers and others. The past government, he added, also killed local rice production and made agriculture unattractive.

“The agriculture revolution was one of the advertised achievements of

• ‘N800b wasted on waivers’

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

President Goodluck Jonathan but we have since realised that it was purely a scam on us. It is also a policy contradiction where a government will give waivers and support importers to import what can be produced locally, thereby putting its own people out of business while enriching other nations. Local manufacturers that produce locally are punished. Unfortunately for us, rice millers imported rice without even paying duties, as a nation we should not be seen to be importing what is locally

produced. Where then is the success story in the sector? Agriculture is not about bow-ties and designers suits but hard facts that cannot be uncontroverted.”

According to him what the rice millers are practicing is known as dumping in international trade. He accused them of importing all manner of things both the good and the expired and dump it on the people whose government failed to protect due to corruption and maladministration.

Oshiomhole also called for the immediate discontinuance of fuel importation,

urging President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the refineries are made to produce to local capacity.

He commended local entrepreneurs such as the President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote who he said though received waivers on VAT posed on local production of rice and cement.

On the planned revitalisation of Edo Cement Company at Okpella, he regretted that previous wrong policy of the People Democratic Party caused the ownership of the plant to change three times because rather than locally producing cement the company was importing the product.

‘Nigerian second hand market worth $1.97billion’

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IGERIA’S rapidly growing second hand trade is worth $1.97billion, MOBOfree, the leading African social marketplace, has said.

According to MOBOfree, the trade in second hand goods rose from a 274 percent yearon-year increase in the total value of goods on their platform in Nigeria.

The current value of goods is $1.97 billion (N394 billion), up from $526million (N102.5 billion) last year. This impressive growth outper-

forms the forecasted figure for 2015 by 30 percent.

MOBOfree attributes this huge increase in the value of goods to the safety of the MOBOfree platform, to an increasing number of repeat customers and to a renewed focus on the automotive and real estate categories of classified advertisements.

“Customers are going to the site because they are confident that buyers and sellers have been vetted. Once they experience the ease of use and added security, customers come back and use the site and are reassured on each occasion,” says

MOBOfree CEO Cristobal Alonso.

MOBOfree has invested heavily in safety and security with a recently launched ID verification programme in addition to a dedicated quality control team which manually reviews every single advert before launching it live.

“This increase is indicative of a growing number of Nigerian consumers willing to buy, sell and swap stuff with people they can trust, MOBOfree makes this process easier and safer,” adds Alonso.

With this in mind,

MOBOfree has hired local teams on the ground in Lagos to visit the largest car dealers and real estate agents. These teams on the ground serve to increase the adverts on the platform but more importantly they meet car dealers in person, check the cars and take photographs of the cars themselves to ensure that car buyers on MOBOfree get access to trustworthy car classifieds.

MOBOfree currently has over 500,000 active classifieds in Nigeria, twothree times more than their closest competitors.

HE Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) is set to reduce overdependence on global oil market.

Its Executive Director/ CEO, Segun Awolowo, said the falling price of oil has reduced government revenue, leading to pronounced negative effect on the economy.

Awolowo, represented by his Technical Advisor, Maureen Ideozu, during a facility tour of some companies in Lagos, said the Council was determined to promote products outside the shores of Nigeria.

“The Ministry of Industry, Trade and investment in a bid to ensure total diversification has articulated the industrialisation roadmap of the Nation in the Nigerians Industrial Revolution Plan, NIRP.” Pressed further, Awolowo said: “At a time like this when the country is facing the challenges of dwindling foreign exchange earnings, and depleting foreign reserves, there is need for concerted effort to develop our numerous commodities with a view to diversify our economy.

“Export is one of our strategic efforts to enhance our communication with stakeholders and the general public.”

One of the beneficiaries of NEPC, Mrs. Morin Obaweya, Creative Director, You.Leather.Artistry, said NEPC has been of immense help to her company, as she strives hard to meet international products. The council assist her in promoting her products in foreign countries through exhibition and trips were made in Nigerian products are needed.

Engineer suspended for ‘gross negligence’ From: Franca Ochigbo and Halima Farouk, Abuja

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HE Council for the Regulation of Engineering (COREN) has suspended Noble Osarunwense Egharevba, an engineer, from practicing for one year.

It’s President, Kashim Abdul, said during the council’s tribunal’s sitting in Abuja, that the respondent’s application for registration as an engineering consulting firm has been cancelled.

He said; “The respondent, Engr. Noble Oarunwense Egharevba of NOBA Associates Ltd, no. 78B, Ekenwan road, Benin-city Edo state is hereby convicted of the offence of infamous conduct in a professional respect under Rules 5 (7) of Engineering Code.

“In view of the fact that Engr. Noble Osarunwense Egharevba of NOBA Associates Ltd is a first time offender, we forthwith suspend Engr. Noble Osarunwense Egharevba of NOBA Associates Ltd, No.78B Ekenwan road stadium junction, Benin-City Edo state.

“From applying to register NOBA Associates Ltd as an engineering consulting firm and his licence to practice as an engineer is forthwith suspended for one calendar year for committing an infamous conduct and gross negligence.”

Firm launches Morning Fresh variants

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O promote a clean environment, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc has introduced three variants of its “Morning Fresh” products to the Abuja market.

The products are Morning Fresh Original otherwise known as classic, Morning Fresh Zesty Lemon for lemon fragrance, and Morning Fresh Antibacterial for germ free kitchens.

Addressing reporters at the sidelines of the event, the Brand Manager, Morning Fresh, PZ Cussons Nigeria, Mrs Mina Georgewill, said the three variants contain the Byotrol barrier which kills about 99.9 per cent of germs 24 hours after its use.

She disclosed that the “Morning Fresh” campaign would be carried out in nine states to make the people aware of the best ways to use the products giving that Morning Fresh is a market leader in that category of household products.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

BUSINESS

A troubled capital market AlI has not been well with the capital market since the third quarter of last year. What is ailing the market? Bukola Aroloye writes on the market’s intricacies

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OR many operators in the capital market, these are really tough times. From the third quarter of last year, there have been signs that the market was in dire straits. with eight months almost gone in 2015, the ill-wind has yet to blow over, indicating that things are really bad.

How it all began The unfolding crisis in the Euro zone following Greece economic problems and the rout in China stock market had effect on the Nigerian stock market given the fact the local bourse is still dominated by foreign investors.

But particularly, issues of the recapitalisation of market operators and the implementation of minimum operating standards will bring about a new capital market beginning from the fourth quarter.

Trading activities on the nation’s capital market, which opened the third quarter of the year as at last month July the weak numbers, continued culminating into a loss of N42 billion.

Misplaced optimism The positive expectations which heralded the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari at the April 2015 general elections drove the bullish sentiment that pervaded the market early in the second quarter.

As a result, the market ended in the green zone in April with the All Share Index gaining 9.15%. This positive sentiment was soon to reverse as investors became apprehensive of the new government and decided to play on the sideline pending a pronouncement on the economic thrust of the Buhari administration.

Unfortunately almost 42 days after inauguration, the government is yet to unveil its economic blueprint.

A total 106 stocks traded in the period under review out of which 43 appreciated in prices. Forty-six stocks depreciated in prices while 17 stocks recorded no movement in their share prices in the entire six month to June 2015.

In spite of the reign of the bears resulting from sell downs and weak demands for equities, some investors reaped bountiful harvests from some stocks in the form of capital gain.

In the view of analysts, it appears that the bearish mood in the Nigerian capital market will linger for a while until investors are sure of where the government is going in terms of economic policy.

Market analysts believe investors, especially foreigners, were unlikely to make significant investment in the market until they had a clear picture of the policy direction of the government, which is yet to name its economic recorded the previous day.

Just as operators were at a quandary as to what mold the economy would take, the naira’s fate has being hanging in the balance what with the free fall it has had to endure since last quarter 2014.

Commenting on this development, Aminu Gwadabe, president of the Association of Bureaus de Change of Nigeria, said, it is anybody’s guess why the naira has suffered an eclipse.

The currency declined to N215 per dollar from N226.

The currency traded at 215 per dollar last week before the new restrictions, Gwadabe said.

In interbank trading, the naira advanced 0.1 percent to N198.85 per dollar in Lagos.

The nation’s foreign-currency reserves have declined 16 percent this year, to $29 billion.

Also tougher regulation and policies by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the devaluation

•Stockbrokers on the floor of the Exchange

of the naira and other economic headwinds have changed the fortunes of Deposit Money Banks in the country significantly, it has been gathered.

The banks, which have mostly battled in futility to grow their profit margins in recent times, have seen their share prices and market capitalisation decline as well.

Between January 1, 2014 and February 28, 2015, the total market capitalisation of the banking sub-sector had declined by 24.5 per cent or N720bn to N2.219tn. This is despite the rights issue embarked upon by some of the banks, which significantly increased the capitalisation.

The dwindling fortunes of the banks are also reflected in the Nigerian Stock Exchange Banking Index, which is designed to provide an investable benchmark to capture the performance of the banking sector.

The index, which comprises the 10 most capitalised and liquid companies in the banking sector, emerged the Exchange’s worst performing sectoral index in 2014 after it fell by 21.53 percent According to the Exchange, the FPI outflows include sales transactions or liquidation of portfolio investments through the stock market.

The N482.91 billion withdrawn by the foreign investors between January and August represented a 35.4 per cent increase on the N356.64 billion FPI outflow reported for the same period of 2013.

The rise in the outflows comes on the back of a 0.4 per cent year-on-year drop in FPI inflow.

According to the data, foreign portfolio investors staked N389.06 billion on equities on the NSE between January and August, compared to the N390.59 billion they spent on equities in the corresponding period of last year.

The development was a marked departure from the situation in 2013 when the FPI inflow exceeded outflow. As of August 2014, the FPI outflow accounted for 55.4 per cent of the N871.97 billion total foreign transactions, while the FPI inflow represented 44.6 per cent of total inflow.

Economists and analysts said the increase in FPI outflow and decrease in inflow could be attributed to concerns over developments in the global and domestic economies, especially the build up to the general elections in the country.

The Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company, Mr. Bismarck Rewane explained that preparations for the elections and the declining oil prices were likely factors for the rise in FPI outflow.

He said, “Last year, the market gained over 40 per cent; this year, the market has lost about

ous election period before now revealed that the stock market gained 6.88 percent in January 2011 after a 2010 gains of 18.93 percent.

Afterwards, the market started adjusting in anticipation of the elections in April 2011.

The market recorded 4.90 percent losses in February 2011 and a similar pattern was also witnessed in March with a loss of 5.36 percent. In April, the election month, the Nigerian stock market lost another 3.77 percent in 11 trading days before the presidential election held.

Nonetheless, the stock market presently exhibits an “unpredictable” behaviour in a way that saw the market gain 9.13 percent in the last 10 days in February 2015 to reduce the loss from 17.90 percent to 13.14 percent.

•Rewane

four or five per cent. So, investors that came in last year made gains; but this year, the market has been very soft.

“Secondly, this is a year of elections.

Thirdly, the price of oil, which is the underlying strength of the economy, is declining. So, if you are an international investor, you will take a position; you will be more tentative in what you are doing.”

Rewane stressed that the development was not a sign of loss of confidence in the country, adding that in any case, if people were worried that things might not be great, they had a right to reduce their investment in a country.

A review of trends in the similar period of 2014 revealed that the market recorded 4.27 percent YTD loss, a clear indication that the level of uncertainties surrounding the forthcoming general election, among other factors, has contributed to the current trend in the Nigerian capital market.

The losses recorded till date in the year cannot be disconnected from the trend observed towards the end of the year in 2014, which eventually culminated in the loss of 16.14 per cent.

Further analysis of the yearly performance review of the NSE index from 2010 till date shows that towards the buildup of the 2011 general elections, the market closed the year 2010 with 18.93 percent gains while the election year closed negative with 16.31 percent loss.

However, the market recorded strong resilience in 2012 and 2013 with +35.45 percent and +47.19 percent gains recorded respectively.

According to analysts at Proshare, the fall in oil price has also affected market performance and it has also resulted in government revenue reduction and by extension affected overall liquidity in the Nigerian economy.

Analysis of trading patterns in the previ-

Market Efficiency In an attempt to explain the prevailing scenario at the stock market, a research analyst with Proshare Nigeria Limited, Mr. Taiwo Ologbon-ori said two key things were involved, and needed to be addressed.

The first, according to him is what he called market efficiency. This, according to him, has to do with how efficient the market is in terms of accessing and pricing all available information about a particular stock. As we know, market discounts all information available.

“In the case of the NSE, information is either scanty/inaccurate or not available at all.

We expect this to be corrected by the licensed market makers but the situation is yet to change, since there is no means of assessing accurate information about business performances of these listed firms. The financials and market announcement only cannot help the situation.

“The companies are not communicating at all, though it might be expensive to maintain interactive relationship with the investing community but the information is very crucial to maintain fair valuation. The little and inaccurate information available within the investing community determine the valuation we are currently seeing on the bourse - Bargain hunters would not trade outside the available information.

“Please note that information required here are more than market announcements or financials. It includes full and detail information about business and industry knowledge; this will aid investors’ knowledge and understanding in pricing the share price of the firm fairly,” he said.

Market psychology The second factor he identified is what he called fair value. He said this had to do with “market psychology - a function of how information is interpreted, which we don’t have

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015 control over. Though, it takes its feed from processed information (market efficiency) available to aid a valuation processes. In this regard, the key is how the information is interpreted.

Some people hear news and choose to be aggressive and buy. Some hear the same news and choose to be conservative by either holding or selling.

“In my opinion, the current undervaluation of quoted firms on the exchange will persist and bargain hunters cannot change the outlook.

Robust information about the quoted company is very key for fair valuation. Nigerian quoted firms need to understand this. And is high time, NSE and SEC should compel and enforce investors relation principles on Nigerian bourse. It is very crucial and necessary.”

Negative sentiments In the opinion of the Managing Director, Proshare Nigeria Limited, there is so much negative sentiments affecting the market.

According to him, all the companies are declaring reasonable profits yet there is little to show for it for two reasons.

He said the first reason for the regime of decline share performance in the market was the election circle that normally affects the market, noting however that the effect is more severe this year because of the prevailing negative sentiment in the polity.

He said, “Whether we like it or not, the impact of the so-called missing money led to the position of Standards and Poor’s that Nigeria is generating oil revenue but yet they can’t see it as it does not reflect in the nation’s foreign reserves.”

The implication, according to the Proshare chief, means by borrowing more money, it means we are putting ourselves under pressure.

“We argued we have not overborrowed but they are worried that our ability to generate revenue is declining. So, any reasonable person will say why will I be encouraging you to borrow when your ability to pay is doubtful and these foreign investors make most of the market.

They are the ones driving the market so they are a little bit cautious,” he explained.

A capital market analyst pointed out that no economic activity operates in a vacuum.

According to him, markets react promptly and uncharacteristically to rumours of war, changes in regulatory environment; political climate seen as a negative factor by the business (investing) community; and interest rate variation to general performance of the economy.

He added that it was a common trend for stock prices of some quoted companies to rise and fall or fall and rise twice or thrice within a year. The stock prices of quoted companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) are affected either positively or negatively by a number of factors occurring within and without the economic system.

Investment in stock market is long-term in nature; any development that could affect the stability of the economy usually has serious impact on the stock prices. In recent times, the NSE has consistently lost points and the prices of stocks have experienced sharp decline.

Commenting on the performance of the market, a stockbroker and managing director of Lambeth Trust and Investment Company Limited, Mr. David Adonri, was quoted as saying the equities market entered 2014 overheated.

“Subsequent market correction cooled down in January. Series of events since February have added in taking the breath out of the entire financial market. Notable among which were tightened monetary policy and sudden suspension of the CBN governor. These were the factors that forced the market into decline,” Adonri said.

As operators of the Global System for Mobile Communication, GSM, mark 14th anniversary, Bukola Aroloye reports on the high and low points of the burgeoning telecoms sub-sector

BUSINESS

GSM at 14: So far, so fair

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HE launch of the Global System for Mobile communications in 2001 liberated Nigerians from the shackles of the once powerful, but now virtually insignificant, national telecoms monopoly, NITEL. Thus Nigerians breathe a sigh of relief when Econet (now Airtel) and MTN Nigeria launched their GSM mobile services in 2001.

The revolution brought to bear on the life style of Nigerians several characteristics such as talking to oneself on the street while walking, which actually means that the person is receiving call through via a wireless earpiece.

With the trend came also laws such as no phone call driving rule meant to regulate the use of mobile phones by motorists. But all that is now history, as Nigerians have come to realise the magic that GSM brought into their life.

The auction ran from January 17 to 19, 2001 with Radio Spectrum International (RSI), Charles Rivers Associates, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) and Mr.Paul Usoro (SAN) as consultants to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The auction’s success set a very important precedent by conducting the world’s first ascending clock spectrum auction which convinced the global community of transparent government processes by informing the public of the details of the auction exercise.

The new telecoms era has been supported with the Nigerian Communication Act, 2003, which provides regulatory regime for investors and all the players, even as the country has remained and will continue to be an investment haven in years to come, according to a Pyramid Research study.

Analysis of the developments in the sector in the last 14 years is a pointer to the positive impacts the sector has been having on all sectors of the economy, notwithstanding existing challenges, which the industry still contends with.

“From whatever point of view one looks at it, the telecoms industry remains one of the most outstanding sectors going by available statistics in the industry,” observes a telecoms industry analyst, Mr Akin Akinbo.

The sector has recorded tremen-

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dous growth with multiplier effects being felt in all other sectors of the economy, ranging from banking, education, e-commerce/retailing, agriculture, medicine, media, oil and gas, among others, he said.

Industry experts said for the sector to have recorded a growth from 450, 000 connected lines in 2001 to over 135 million active subscribers as at the end of 2014, the industry has, indeed, fared very well.

Not only this, backed by the NCA 2003, the deregulation has resulted in geometric growth in the local and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow.

According to the former Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr, Eugene Juwah, “Over $32 billion investment has been recorded in the sector as at June 2014 from $50 million in year 2001. The investment stood at $18 billion in 2010 and $25 billion in 2012.”

With this investment, telecoms companies have been able to successfully deploy 68,124 kilometre of fibre optic cabling as at the end of December, 2013 while in 2014 alone, additional 38, 000 kilometre of fibre optic cables were laid, according to NCC. Experts say this represents an increase of about 44.2 per cent investment in fibre optic cabling by the telecoms companies last year alone.

Meanwhile, in the last 14 years, telecoms companies in Nigeria have also increased their base transceiver stations (BTS) expansion efforts from few thousands to over 27, 000, making it possible for more people to have access to telephone services thus covering many hitherto unserved and underserved communities across the country.

Beyond carrying voice signals, the industry operators are also making their BTS either 2G-enabled or 3G-enabled to be able to carry adequate data services, with the coun-

try relying on the 11 terabyte of internet capacity brought into the country by the likes of Main One, Glo1, West African Cable Systems (WACS), among others.

According to data from the Ministry of Communication Technology, between 2013 and December, 2014, 2G-enabled sites have increased from 22, 578 to 28,289 while 3G-enabled sites have increased from less than 10,000 to 15,048 during the same period.

However, a backbone infrastructure project, started by the NCC, through the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), has also continued to bridge the gap between the served and underserved or unserved areas in the country, especially areas not considered commercially viable by the telcos.

Through the project, former Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson, said about 1, 200 kilometres of fibre optic cabling has also been run so far.

According to Mrs. Johnson, over 170 base stations, in total, had been deployed only through the USPF to un-served and underserved areas by the end of 2014, with each of the base stations serving a cluster of communities.

These metrics have, thus, made Nigeria the fastest growing telecommunications country by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ratings for five consecutive years, a feat attributed to the robust and transparent regulatory regime engendered by the NCC. Perhaps, one area that has been of significant measure of how the industry has fared in the last 168 months of its revolution has been in the area of service tariff, cost of owning communication devices and cost of acquiring Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card or telephone line.

The NCC adopted in 2013 ‘progressive reduction interconnect ter-

• From left: Head of Administration and Accountant, Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Nigeria (DGIC), Mrs. Titilayo Ogunesan, Head, Examination Board, Dr. Jens Gebhardt, Project Coordinator, German Dual Vocational Training Partnership with Nigeria, Kehinde Stephen Awoyele, Vice Consul, Federal Republic of Germany, Miss. Sophia Stephan; Head, Energy Desk, DGIC, Mrs. Baerbel Freyer and German Consul General-Designate to Nigeria, Mr. Ingo Herbert, during the graduation of the first set of apprentices trained in the Office Administration Profession of the ongoing German Dual Vocational Training Partnership with Nigeria, in Lagos

mination rates’ whereby new entrants and small operators had termination rates for voice services pegged at N4.90 in April 2013, N4.40 in April 2014 and by April this year it will drop to N3.90 for all networks.

Also, SIM cards are almost given pro bono by telecoms networks today, whereas, 14 years ago, Nigerians were paying between N25, 000 and N20, 000 to acquire a SIM card with only net-worth individuals being able to own telephone lines.

In the same vein, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Secretary, EPayment Providers Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN), Mrs Regha Onajite, noted that the increasing volumes of e-banking transactions, being driven by the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), “are all resting on the shoulder of the telecoms industry.”

In a similar submission, Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr Gbenga Adebayo, said the telecoms sector has performed well as an enabler of most of the ICTdriven activities that have brought about efficiency in the country.

However, while insisting that the sector has not done badly in the last 14 years, the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) noted that the industry is still bedeviled with myriad of challenges, which, if addressed with the needed velocity, will add a fillip to the sector’s performance in the coming years.

CCNN establishes 3mn metric tonne plant From Nduka Chejina (Assistant Editor), Abuja EMENT Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) plans to boost its revenue and cement output this year with the coming on stream of its three million metric tonn Obu Cement plant in the South.

Speaking on CCNN’s performance last year, Ms Adetutu Adegbayibi, an Investment Research Analyst at Meristem Securities anticipates that CCNN Plc’s figures for 2015 could show a Profit After Tax of N1.94 billion, 1.93 percent higher than 2014.

It was disclosed at the cement company’s Annual General Meeting in Abuja that CCNN posted a profit after tax of N1.9 billion in the financial year ended December 31, 2014, indicating an increase of 23 per cent over the N1.56 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2013.

Rising from the company’s 36th Annual General Meeting in Abuja, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Chairman of CCNN Plc noted that despite lower cement sales recorded in the last quarter of 2014 mainly due to pockets of unrest in CCNN Plc’s business markets, the company’s focus on efficiency and strategic investments resulted in steady growth during this period.

Dr Abdulsamad Rabiu, stated that the company achieved this feat despite a marginal decline on turnover during the period. Turnover declined by one per cent in 2014 to N 15.1 billion compared to N15.3 billion in 2013.

From a high of N2.77 billion in 2013, CCNN Plc’s production and operational expenses significantly declined to N2.40 billion in 2014.

Shareholders were also apprised of the developments the company took in the financial year, including CCNN Plc’s proposed N48billion cement plant expansion, which will modernise production facilities and raise the company’s output to 2.0 million metric tonnes of cement annually.

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‘Nigeria has huge tourism potential’ Marek Zmyslowski is Managing Director/Chief Executive, Jovago.com, which is arguably Africa’s largest hotel booking portal. The outfit began operation in Nigeria two years ago. In this interview with Daniel Adeleye and Omolewa Oshin, Zmyslowski speaks on running an internet-based firm.

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ELL us about Jovago Company. What really inspired the whole idea?

Before now, hotel bookings were made at the reception of the hotel. But with the help of technology, we can book the hotel on internet or Jovago.com portal. So this impact of technology offered some opportunities to hotel to increase sale.

As it were, Jovago is Africa’s No.1 hotel booking website, which allows you to get the best prices for more than 25,000 hotels in Africa, 2,000 hotels in Pakistan and more than 200,000 hotels around the world.

Our ambition is to bring every bit of available accommodation on line, and to create the easiest and cheapest way for customers to book it.

At Jovago, we have hundreds of travel specialists constantly in touch with our customers.

We made our debut in Nigeria two years ago. So far, we have 8,500 hotels registered on our platform. Currently, our offices are located in Lagos, Ibadan, Calabar, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Nairobi in

Kenya, Senegal, Dakar, Abidjan and across other cities in Africa.

What is the strength of the company?

I think after two years, we’re able to become the leader of online tussles. Our target is to become the leader of online hotel booking in Nigeria and on the continent of Africa.

So far, we are proud to say today that we work with the biggest number of hotels in Africa which has been verified by our people. Right now, we have the biggest task to make sure everyone knows Jovago and they will find out about our services and start to use them because we know we have great products that we want everybody to know and use.

What proportions of Nigerian hotels are on your platform and what is the process of getting them listed?

We have about 8,500 hotels in Nigeria since we started and we plan to expand those further. In the next four years, we are looking for how we can enlist more 7,500 hotels on our platform, to work with Jovago, to allow us put them online and bring them customers. On what it takes to get them listed, it sound more easier than what it appears in reality.

Just to bring people and convince them to work with us because they want to have face-to-face connection with Jovago.

Your firm is not the only booking platform in Nigeria. Tell us what is unique about your own platform?

If you ask me, I’ll say our customer service. Because we understand that customer service is everything that happens during travelling for customers. Because you’re going to end up mixing with the experiences and coming up with one image. So we make sure our customer service is focus on efficient service delivery. That not only makes Jovago the best but the hotels that customers go are also the best. We try to give our customers the best, and also make the hotels on our platform the best.

What is your perception about doing this kind of business in this part of the world?

I think it’s much more challenging because there are many more challenges that you’re faced with in a developing market than in a developed market. But it is much more rewarding here than in the developed market because you can just win more. I wouldn’t say business is bad but there is a whole lot of difference.

How do you overcome challenges?

I don’t want to give you something simple and obvious but what I do to overcome challenges. I make a mistake and I find out why did I made that mistake and I try to change my approach towards the game with different approaches and if it works, I move on.

What is the contribution of the Nigerian market to Jovago’s operation?

Nigeria remains our key market and our biggest market. More than half of our revenue comes from Nigeria and it will stay like that. Nigeria is the biggest country, biggest economy with largest population for our operation and it will continue like that.

Normally, no business can survive in an insecure and tense environment. How has insurgency in the Northeast affected your operation?

I will say no because Nigeria travels is all about business and Boko Haram has been there for some years unfortunately. But business has already known about this and business has to go, the show must go on any-

•Zmyslowski way despite the insecurity in the north. But generally, I will say no, it is not affecting us. It’s not as bad as people say.

Tell us your management style?

I think management style is defined by the people you work with. I believe you have to have different management styles for different persons you work with. Your management style is defined by the persons you’re working with. So I will have different management style for the people that work with me. I will also have different management style for a very smart person who is very committed, for instance. So I think management style is something that

UK-based decor firm lands in Lagos

D

ECOR Group, a UK-based creative agency - Decor Fusion and Decor Cribs has concluded arrangement to set up a branding and design shop in Lagos.

Speaking during a press conference to announce the launch, Chief Executive Officer of the firm, Mr Michael Banjo said the event will witness lecture on creative interior designing by Jimi Tewe, CEO,

By Medinat Kanabe Inspiro Consulting, a career services and human management firm.

Banjo who studied Business and Management said: “We don’t just want to come into Nigeria.

We want to train Nigerians on interior decor. We discovered that

Expert backs removal of fuel subsidy HE Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Tricontinental Group, Professor Toyin Ashiru, has stressed the need for the removal of subsidy on petroleum products.

He spoke during the of the 49th President and 2015/2016 Board Members of the Rotary Club of Ikeja, in Lagos.

Citing the probe by House of Representatives Committees on subsidy claims, which revealed that the quantity of fuel consumed daily in Nigeria is overblown, Ashiru said due process was not followed in the prequalification, allocation, verification, certification and payment for supplies.

“The value of subsidy jumped from N188billion in 2007 at the end of Obasanjo’s government to N2trillion in 2011 under Jonathan’s watch, more than 10 folds increase,” he stressed.

Expatiating, he said: “Probes

T

By Biodun-Thomas Davids by different house committees revealed that over N232billion on subsidy paid to marketers for PMS in 2011 not supplied; consumption stands at 31million litres per day as opposed to marketers’ claims of 60million litres in 2011; 197 subsidy transactions worth N229bn were illegitimate.”

He was of the view that these figures are more than sufficient to restore the four major refineries in Nigeria with installed capacity of about 445,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

According to him, “Encouraging dependence on welfarism, which subsidy represents has overtime been proven to inhibit competition, which is a strong catalyst for innovation and development. Continued practice of consumer subsidies eventually creates a beggarly society, where the citizenry solely focus on the government for survival. Energy is a vital

you should have differently for different people because I’m just trying to adjust to the situations.

What is the toughest decision you have made in your capacity as CEO? My toughest business decision was a situation when I had to change my acquisition strategy for the people working with me on full-time, because it costs much money and I came to this conclusion that if I want to have the biggest number of hotels, I don’t need much people working with me, because I don’t have money to pay them for fulltime. So I ended up giving them freelance jobs. If you work well you will m a k e money, if you don’t w o r k well you will not m a k e money.

So I have to select f e w people w h o w i l l w o r k with me on fulltime basis.

And I told others that I can’t continue doing this review, I couldn’t offer you job here for personal reasons. And it finished very well for the company.

How do you motivate your staff?

I offer them a very controversial opinion because I don’t think it’s right to motivate anyone, you have to motivate yourself. Everyone needs to keep on going, either motivation or no motivation. In order for someone to get motivated in the company I need to make sure that you contribute well to the growth of the company.

economic good, it therefore should not be bottled into the monopolistic world of consumer subsidy that breeds corruption and feeds the appetite of rent seekers.”

“Subsidy removal will free the government funds to provide life’s bare necessities, such as better infra-

structure, health, quality education, agriculture and food security, transportation and the creation of enabling environment for businesses to flourish. These have better chances of affecting the lives of the masses than a poorly regulated and unsustainable subsidy scheme.”

there is no university offering academic course in interior design so we have taken it upon ourselves to do so.

“Because there is so much to learn, we have designed a one year course for them. There is a need to introduce vocational training to give people the tools and practical ideas in terms of how to decorate and design. A lot of people want it but no skill set or structure.”

He noted that the training is affordable, runs throughout the week with flexible time schedule among others.

On partnership, he said they are looking at partnering some institutions to provide training for interested students as well as give scholarships to indigent Nigerians.

‘How youths can achieve their dreams’ TISALAT, Nigeria’s most innovative and youth friendly network, has encouraged youths to look beyond their present circumstance and break any limitation to achieving their dreams.

Gerald Osugo, Head, Marketing Communications, Etisalat Nigeria gave the advice when the Etisalat team visited some youths, undergoing Information Communication Technology (ICT) training at the Paradigm Initiative Network (PIN) Centre in Lagos, in com-

E

memoration of the 2015 United Nations International Youth Day. While stressing that the rewards within the ICT space are remarkable, Osugo noted that Etisalat has been at the forefront of youth empowerment by promoting initiatives that help them reach their full potential.

“Etisalat has developed several platforms that are geared towards adding value to the youth. Last year a young Nigerian won the Etisalat Prize for Innovation when he came up with an innovative ICT solution

called Exammate which helps students to study for examinations,” he disclosed.

The Programme Manager, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN), Oluwatosin Abolaji, said PIN is a social enterprise that connects Nigerian youths with ICTenabled opportunities. He explained that the digital jobs industry is estimated to grow to about $5 billion global by 2018, therefore it is important to expose the youth to opportunities in digital/online jobs.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

Understanding manufacturers’ information to maximise benefits of products L

AST WEEK Tuesday, I was at the ‘Ready to Eat Meal’ section of Shoprite at the Ikeja Shopping Mall when I noticed two ladies, with one clutching a pack of frozen vegetables, keenly arguing over something and scrutinising the pack of vegetables.

Dragging my gaze from the well-dressed ladies, I focused my attention on making my selection and leaving the shop as fast as possible in order to meet up with my other appointments. But that was not to be as I soon overheard them beckoning to a shop attendant, asking for the difference between ‘Best Before’ date and ‘expiry’ date.

I could not help but listen to the shop attendant’s inadequate explanations. Dismayed, I walked up to the three persons. After introducing myself and apologising for eavesdropping, I patiently enlightened them as much as I could do. Expressing their gratitude, they asked for my contact details and we exchanged phone numbers.

However, that experience changed my whole plans for this page this week. There are information printed on cans and packages to make shopping easier for consumers, the sad thing, however, is that some people find these information confusing and difficult to understand, like the case of the ladies above.

Labels provide a wide range of information about products, and understanding all of that information is important if we are to make use of it. Explaining the different icons, abbreviations and signs will take many pages, so for the benefit of this report we shall dwell on the most important ones and focus on food and cosmetics products for now.

Let’s not take for granted that everyone understands what shelf life means. Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption or for sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf or just no longer on a supermarket shelf.

It applies to cosmetics, foods, medical devices, explosives, beverages, pharmaceutical drugs, chemicals and many other perishable items.

Best Before date, Use by date, Sell by date, Display Until and Sell by, Use by and Best before, Packaged On date, Expiry date, among others, are all interesting messages from manufacturers which are associated with the shelf life of food items.

Period after opening date, preservative-free, are some of the messages which you will see on cosmetics packages and which consumers need to understand and adhere to in order to enjoy the maximum

•Supermarket shelf benefit of the product.

Best Before Date (BBD) is, according to the manufacturer, the last date by which a product’s flavour or quality is best; the optimal time of its shelf life for quality. BBD is about quality and not safety. The date tells you how long a product will retain its optimum flavour, texture and nutritional value when stored under normal conditions. When the date is past, it does not mean the food will be harmful, but it might begin to lose its flavour, texture and nutritional values.

For example, orange juice will not have as much Vitamin C as it should.

Eggs can be eaten after their BBD as long as they are cooked thoroughly, until both yolk and white are solid. They can be used in dishes, such as cakes, where they will be cooked well. Cooking egg until it’s solid, will kill any bacteria like salmonella. As long as the egg is not cracked, it can be used beyond its BBD. Remember, the BBD will only be accurate if food is stored according to the instructions on the label such as ‘store

in a cool dry place’, or ‘keep in the fridge once opened’.

Use by date: Such messages are usually on foods that go off quickly. Products like smoked fish, meat products and ready prepared salads. Consumers should not use any product after the end of the Use by date even if it looks or smells fine.

For the Use by date to be a valid guide, you must follow storage instructions. Once a product with a Use by date is opened, you must follow any instructions such as “eat within 2 days of opening”.

You must remember, however, that if the Use by is tomorrow, then you must use the product by the end of tomorrow even if the label says “eat within a week of opening’’ and you have only opened the food today.

If the food can be frozen, its life can be extended beyond the Use by date. But make sure you follow any instructions on the pack such as “cook from frozen”, or “defrost thoroughly before use and use within 24hrs”.

Display Until or Sell by date: Date marks, such as Dis-

play until or Sell by date often, appear near or next to the BBD or Use by date. These are instructions for shop staff not for shoppers.

Packaged on dates: This date is mandatory for meat and poultry processors. These dates tell the shopper, the day the fresh food was packaged in the store. The Packaged on date is usually the starting point for how long you can expect the food to stay safe to eat. Do not eat packaged foods once the suggested storage time has elapsed.

Expiry date: People often confuse BBD with expiry date.

This date tells the consumer the last day a product is safe to consume. Food should never be consumed after the expiry date.

The expiration date of pharmaceuticals specifies the date the manufacturer guarantees the full potency of a drug. Most medications, however, continue to be effective and safe for a time after the expiration date.

Sell by date: This refers to the item expiration date, the end of its shelf life at the store.

This is the last date stores are

supposed to display the product for sale. After the Sell by date, the store should remove it as the shelf life has expired.

Although the food product may be used and enjoyed past this date.

Most people do not even have clues about the meaning of so many icons and other letters on the packages of the cosmetics they use. We shall dwell on the most common ones.

Period After Opening date which is abbreviated as PAO comes as a symbol. (A number followed by an M and an open jar symbol) is spotted on any skincare or make up product sold in Europe, including USbased brands that are sold throughout Europe. The PAO tells you when to throw a product away after opening.

The letter M stands for the Latin word for month and the number refers to how many months. So, a “12M” with an open jar symbol means you should throw the product out 12 months after you have opened it.

Whether moisturiser or mascara, preservatives in products only last so long after open-

ing and the stability of ingredients have a shelf life as well.

The tricky thing is that only products regulated as Overthe-Counter drugs like sunscreens and anti-acne treatments have official expiration dates stamped or printed on their packaging.

The average beauty products expiration date depends on when you first use them and how they are packaged or stored.

If a product seems unusually discoloured, runny or lumpy, has separated or developed a strange odour, or feels different on the skin than it once did, then throw it away.

Packaging that has expanded, warped or has signs of deterioration is definitely a warning that something is wrong. A product does not have to be old to go bad.

It should be noted that, as a rule, products that contain water as one of the first ingredients have the shortest shelf life after opening because water encourages the growth of bacteria and other microbes. Also susceptible to bacterial contamination and breakdown from exposure to air are products that contain plant extracts, whether pure extracts or plant tea.

Products made up of almost no water, such as powder, last the longest because almost nothing can grow in these kinds of products.

Preservative-Free: One should definitely take extra caution because without some kind of preservatives, bacteria will flourish easily.

Things like mascara and even nail polish have expiry dates. While using old foundation will not make you sick, it could cause break outs or irritation. Using a product beyond its expiry date exposes the user to skin irritation, rashes, blemishes and various skin or eye infections.

LG electronics, Google join forces

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T is no longer news that LG Electronics, Nigeria’s No.1 Leading brand in consumer electronics, introduced into the Nigerian market, the world’s first curved OLED TV some years back which has created a huge vacuum for competing brands to catch up with.

In line with this strategy, LG announced that it would join hands with Google to promote LG’s premium OLED TVs. “Through the joint promotion LG will have potential consumers experience the superb picture quality and true values of LG OLED TVs and enhance the firm’s brand image,” said Kim Ki-wan, the head of LG’s global marketing division, in a media chat recently in Lekki, Lagos.

“Google has been supporting marketers to communicate

•LG-Google Partnership on OLED TV Marketing effectively with customers online through Google’s advertising and marketing solutions,” John Lee, chief executive of Google Korea, said.

“The company will continue to help global firms such as LG to promote their products and the values of the products around the world,” he said.

The latest collaboration is also aimed at upping the ante against LG’s rivals in the TV market, especially its compatriots Samsung. Since putting a hold on the production of large screen OLED TVs in 2013, Samsung has been focusing on liquid crystal display-based UHD TVs.

Most recently, Samsung has been rolling out SUHD TVs with the back lights of the displays applied with nano-crystal to improve the colour gamut and brightness.

Not to be outdone, LG Electronics and LG Display business arm of LG Group, have been going full throttle to grow the OLED TV and display businesses.

Yeo Sang-duk, president of LG Display’s OLED business unit, emphasised the importance of the OLED display business for the company itself and the domestic display industry as a whole at a press meeting recently, saying “OLED is the ultimate display technology”.

He anticipated that Samsung would resume the production of OLED TVs, echoing with other market experts.

The LG curved OLED TV has indeed ushered in a new

era in TV technology as most leading brands only recently rolled-out their own version of the TV. Unlike traditional, synthetic LED’s, OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) uses an organic, carbon-based compound that emits its own light when hit with an electric current. A thin-film transistor (TFT) backplane switches each specific pixel on and off and light passes through a combination of filters to reproduce amazing high-definition images. Since OLED displays do not require a backlight, pixels that are switched off are truly black, so OLED achieves deeper black levels and a higher contrast ratio when compared to LCD and LED TV’s. This revolutionary material enables drastically thinner, lighter televisions, with truly breathtaking resolution.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

Jessica Vonkat is a farmer in Jos, the Plateau State capital. Besides, she has also mentored other women farmers in the state. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she speaks on her successes, challenges and the art of giving back to society:

W

HAT are some of the challenges facing women?

In my state one of the major challenges is the low economy. The economy is really low for the past one year, there has been no payment of salaries for civil servants and the bad part is that the women would have tomatoes and other goods in the market and it would end being rotten. People don’t have money to buy these things and that is where the problem is.

Even the other products that the women have may spend a whole week with people not buying because of the lack of funds. It is really a problem but we thank God with the new government, two months salaries were paid. If you see how the market was transformed instantly, you would be really surprised.

Do you have younger women doing very well in farming in your communities?

That is the big issue. It is a big issue in the sense that some of them would want to go to the farm but there is no money. You know that Plateau State was affected by this tin mining problem and if you do not apply fertilizer on your farm, you’re wasting your time.

You better don’t even start at all and fertilizer is very expensive right now. A bag of fertilizer is from N6000 and above. So, it is not easy for the youths to go to the farm because they did not have the means of getting this fertilizer to apply on their farm. Secondly, for a long time, for more than eight years there hasn’t been unemployment.

There are so many youths roaming the streets looking for jobs, looking for something to do. Some of them are very hard working and I would doff my cap for them because if you go to construction sites, you see these youths working there, at least to get something for themselves rather than staying idle.

What will be your advice to government?

I would appeal to the government to quickly tackle the problem of youth unemployment. I know that they cannot give all of them

‘Women can succeed as smallholder farmers’ jobs but those that have one skill or the other can be given loans to put those skills into practice.

Those that do not have skills can benefit from the different trainings and exhibitions organised by government. The youths should therefore be trained on vocational skills and after the training give them something to do.

What would you consider as your greatest influence?

I would say that chief Mrs. Bisi Ogunleye known as Mama COWAN was my mentor.

What would you describe as the turning point in the organisation?

Our turning point in COWAN was when we were able to acquire a building for the organisation. We worked for an organisation for the development of cooperatives by the Church of Netherlands. We did a project for three years and they were moving out of Nigeria completely in December and I submitted my final report in August. I just wrote under the report that please can you do something for me before you go. I did it as a joke. I said I needed office space, we were in a rented house and it was very inadequate for us and very unsuitable for office.

I already sighted a burnt down building. I knew the owner and one day I jokingly told him that this place is COWAN’s office. He said do I like it, I said yes. Then he said I can give him N10million for it and we just joked about it. When I went home I kept on dreaming about this place. Then one day, I just said let’s negotiate for real.

How much can we really pay for it? We negotiated and he said okay, I should bring N6million. So I told these people that there was a place where they need N6million, please can you do this for me?

Or I do not have salary for staff, can you please pay their salary for three years. When I did that I just laughed. For me, all that I did was jokingly. But you know that after six months, they replied and said that they had approved N6million for me. They said I should choose between staff salary and office space. I quickly called the management staff and said that the space if we can have the space I showed them earlier on and they said yes. I responded that I need the office space and they sent me the N6million. I was surprised but it came just like that. When I called the man, ‘Please come and take your N6million, he thought I was joking. It was at that point that he brought the document for the place and did transfer of ownership in our name and we just gave him a cheque.

Did you get to this stage with the support you got from micro credit organisations and teamwork?

You are right. We also do other activities to help the

growth and development of our women’s business. Anything that would hinder the achievement of microcredit we try to tackle. There are a number of challenges apart from funding for women who are farmers. Imagine that we give a woman loan to do business and she spends the whole day looking for water. There is no time for her to put the money into useful venture and repay back. So we try as much as possible to tackle water problem and there was this donor called ‘Water Aid’ that came to Plateau and we quickly joined them, worked for them for about six years trying to provide water and borehole in the rural communities. The women now have time to go for their business activities.

Are women better entrepreneurs?

Yes, they really are. We may not see it as we see that of the men.

Why? It is because the little gains that she makes, she brings back to the house and cooks it and they all eat it. But for the husband, if he has already made up his mind that this is what I want to do with the money, whether you sleep hungry or not would not bother him. He would not take out of the money for anyone, to make a pot of soup. That is why we hardly look at women’s achievements. We don’t look at the N200 or N300 that goes into the soup pot every blessed day.

If you quantify it, you would find that she can use it to buy a machine or something reason-

able. I would advise Nigerian women that the time to sit down and wait for husbands has passed.

Things are really difficult now and if we say we’re going to wait for somebody we would sleep hungry one day. We should get up. I would also plead with government at all levels to come to the aid of women like the N220billion loan that they have been playing with in the past two years now. We’re supposed to benefit at least 50 per cent of it but the truth of the matter is that even those of us in COWAN do not have access to that money talk less of other women. So, I do not know how they want us to benefit. I believe that every level of government from local, state and federal government should be involved and make sure women get the

resources to do their business, to farm, process their products and all other trade. When this is done, the sky would be our limit.

It is on record that 80 per cent of the foods we consume are produced by smallholder farmers.

The big time farmers produce for companies and for export, they rarely take it to the open market.

Food grown by smallholder farmers are what we see in the market daily and this is what is sustaining us and not really the big time farmers. COWAN had been empowering smallholder women farmers with macro-credit loans and training on farming practices that would increase their yields. Most of these farmers do not have the skills that would help to increase their yields; they also have no access to loans from the commercial banks. We in COWAN identified the areas of impediment to the farmers, so, we give them macro-credit loans. We train them on ways to increase their yields and on ways to preserve their produce after harvest.

Our organisation has also worked in association with OXFAM with six smallholder women farmers; two each from Benue, Osun and Plateau and we did a documentary on their successes and challenges.

As a young girl, what were your dreams?

My passion was towards agriculture maybe because my parents were farmers. So when COWAN came I decided to mingle with the women farmers. Personally I plant Irish potatoes, maize and mostly vegetables. Now I want to go into fish farming. I just have the passion for it.

•Ochem

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

INTERVIEW

‘Our church‘ll never marry same-sex couples’ Y

OU have been in Nigeria for a few weeks.

What feelings have you been nursing?

It’s been wonderful and I love coming back to Nigeria.

The Spirit here is great and I thank God for what churches here are doing. It’s good to be back at home and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Anytime I come back, I am always challenged because this land is anointed.

The move of God is mighty upon this country. The Lord has been helping us to be solid ambassadors of Jesus Christ in the United States of America through the solid foundation we got here.

Well, you said Nigeria is blessed but many say Nigeria is cursed and that is why we are still not moving forward. Is Nigeria cursed?

No, Nigeria is not cursed.

Nigeria can’t be cursed because we have God’s children all over the nation. Before the last elections, people said Nigeria was going to break but because of the prayers of the saints, we are still standing.

If you compare Nigeria of ten years ago with today’s Nigeria, you will realise that we are not where we used to be. We are developing and Nigeria is not cursed. We cannot be cursed because there are great children of God here. I have been to many countries but I don’t know of any that parades the great men and women of God we have here. So, Nigeria is blessed.

Well, they argue is the nation is not cursed, we won’t be here we are… …You see, it will be. It is so easy to destroy than to

The presiding pastor of Dominion International Centre, Houston Texas, Pastor Toye Ademola, spoke with Sunday Oguntola on the same-sex challenge in America and sundry issues. Excerpts: build. It will take time. If Nigeria is still standing, it is a sign that there is hope for Nigerians. There was a time Nigeria was not the first economy in Africa but Nigeria is taking its place back.

We are regaining our prestige in the comity of nations.

So, Nigeria is highly blessed.

In those days, you don’t want to identify yourself as a Nigerian in the western world but now if you tell people you are a pastor from Nigeria, they respect you and the anointing upon you. So, we are highly blessed.

But how come every minister wants to jet to western countries for ministries?

I don’t think it is all ministers. Yes, those who don’t know their place in destiny might hustle around but those who know where to be and what to do will never hesitate to stay back home.

If God is calling you to be in any part of the world, there is nothing stopping you from going there. But if He asks you to stay back, go ahead by all means and follow Him. Remember the message has given us is not just for Nigeria but the world. That is why you see us going everywhere.

When God told me to move over to America, I was convinced I was not going there for dollars but to fulfill the will and work of God. I come back and move around but I am not in the west because I have to or want to but because God asked me to. I believe I am not the only one. Those who God called

for the West will be there and those He wants back home are here.

My advice for ministers will be to hear God well and be sure where He wants there to function. We are all building the kingdom. If He does not ask you to go somewhere, everyone will know in a matter of time.

Some Christians over here are wondering how church leaders like you will cope with the legalisation of same-sex marriage by the American Supreme Court. If a gay couple asks to be married in your church, what will you do?

Our bye-law clearly states that we don’t believe in homosexuality. It is a sin against God and humanity.

If anybody comes to our church that they want to be joined, the answer is no.

And such person cannot sue us and there is nothing the government can do about it.

Our bye-law states that we are a church that does not believe in homosexuality.

And I live in the state of Texas that protects churches to live out their bye-laws.

So, there is nothing to worry about. So, if the government and some sections of the country believe in homosexuality, it doesn’t mean is everyone in America believes in it.

We cannot join gay couples because we either stand with God or get out of the way. The word of God is the final authority on same-sex, not the government of America and there is noth-

ing they can do about it. We are praying for revival in America and trust God to show up.

Many are worried traditional Christianity is dead in America with the policy.

Is that true?

I don’t believe that at all.

It’s like saying every Nigerian is corrupt. Is that right?

There are still honest people around. We only need to pray more in America for revival.

President Muhammadu Buhari appears to be in a quagmire on those to form his cabinet. If you were to advise him, what would you be saying?

I will tell him to take the right step he’s taking now. If you want to be a good leader, you need to know what you believe in and stand by it. If He chooses anyone that comes his way, they will mess him up. It is better for him to wait and scrutinize the people that he believes will do a good job.

I will tell Mr. President ‘I salute you sir. Keep doing what you are doing.’

But is he not too slow?

He is not. You can break anything in less than a minute but you cannot manufacture anything in less than a day.

What is your advice to the church in Nigeria?

I will say don’t allow the spirit of merchandise to creep in. You have been strong in prayers. Continue in that path and keep yourself from the love of money and the spirit of merchandise.

•Ademola

NEWS

Impact, fun, thrill at Anglican kids rally

C

HILDREN drawn from four zones last week were treated to a session of moral instruction and fun during the kids rally organised by the Diocese of Lagos West Anglican Communion.

Various talents were also on display just as the children also competed in a bible recitation exercise that bought out the best in them.

The Sunday School chaplain of the Diocese,

M

O T A I L A T U Church Cherubim & Seraphim Worldwide has organised a sevenday revival prayer meeting for Nigeria, churches and the global world.

A release by the General Secretary of the Church Worldwide, Most Snr. Apos-

By Ibrahim Adam

Ven. Abraham Odumuyiwa, charged parents to lead their children in the way of God at home.

He also implored teachers in various Sunday schools to encourage students in acquiring more knowledge in the word of God and other fields.

He said the essence of the event was to encourage children recite various books, display their tal-

ents and encourage them to take the words of God serious.

“My message to the children is to take the word of God serious because it won’t be difficult for them in their studies. When you are busy with the words of God, God will give you wisdom to do more in life,” he stated.

The Diocesan Sunday School President, Mrs. Olanike Awodele, said: “All we want to do is to im-

bibe the culture of learning the way of God in acts.

“If the children can continue this way, their relationship will be cordial and nothing can come between them because when you have the word of God you know God.” The Ikosi Archdeaconry Chaplain, Rev Canon Samuel Idowu, who led the supervision of the talent hunt, said the children have made the chaplaincy proud with the talents displayed.

Church prays for Nigeria tle Samuel Adekoya, stated that the meeting holds at the International Headquarters of the Church in Ajah, Lekki, Lagos.

The theme, according to him, is “worships that overcome

Infirmities (Exodus 23:25).

The summit holds from August 31-September 6 in all the branches of the church worldwide.

The celebration of Seraphim Anniversary to be pre-

sided by the Prelate and Supreme Head, Baba Aladura (Dr) Israel Akinadewo, with the General Evangelist of the Church, Elder Professor Joseph Otubu, is slated for September 9.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015

WORSHIP FEATURE

COLUMN

Comedians light up #HarvestersUnwind I T was billed for 4pm but families started arriving as early as 2pm. By 3pm, the expanded auditorium of Harvesters International Christian Centre was already overflowing. Worshippers that attended the four services of the church refused to go home.

They sat in groups eagerly awaiting the kick-off of the much-anticipated Comedy, Dance and Music event: “Unwind with Emeka Smith and friends”. By 3:30pm, the two auditoriums of the church, the galleries and adjoining streets had been filled up; organisers had to regrettably turned back guests.

When the show finally started, guests had been thrown into a frenzy. Young families, some with kids, were transfixed on the colourful rostrum. They had come to unwind after a tedious work week.

Popular comedian, Emeka Smith, who is a member of the church, said he decided to invite his friends in the industry over to offer young families in Lagos a “platform to laugh, mingle and unwind.” He said the fast pace of a cosmopolitan city like Lagos has forced families to drift apart, sparing no time for rejuvenation.

“All we have got is our families. God forbids anything goes wrong but we have got nobody apart from God and our families. So, we have to treasure that great asset and

By Sunday Oguntola

create time to unwind in God’s presence with holy laughter,” he explained.

Emeka Smith started bringing upstage the A-list comedians at hand one after the other: AY, Omo Baba, Funny Bone, Larry Jay, Ajebo and a dancing group, D Flex.

The comedians got down to business and cracked ribs effortlessly. Husbands and wives exchanged banters; seeing themselves in a new light.

Their kids joined in the euphoria, revealing their milk teeth.

Harvesters also engaged the social media as part of preserving the show’s memories: guests were encouraged to take selfies and tweet with the hashtag #Harvestersunwind.

It trended on twitter for another two days with many intriguing pictures.

But the show was not just about comedy and dancing, many attendees had the wonderful opportunity of encountering the Change that Harvesters stands for. Pitching for change, Harvesters Lekki Centre Resident Pastor, Deji Agboade, opined that the fun the young families just had will be incomparable with the eternal comfort that awaits them in heaven.

Agboade appealed to them to turn over their lives to God, saying God has the willingness and capacity to change their stories for good here on earth and in the here-

after. “If you give God a chance in your life, He will turn it around and make it better than you can imagine,” he stressed.

Harvesters Executive Pastor, Dayo Ogunrombi, said the show was the church’s way of “having fun in an unusual environment.” He said Unwind was designed to be appealing to the unchurched and hopefully soften their hearts to God. Harvester’s Senior Pastor, Bolaji Idowu, said the show was crafted to emphasise the family-friendly disposition of the church. “Our mission is influence,” he began. “We desire to create a setting for families to bond and thrive. That is why young families find this place irresistible.”

This, he explained, is responsible for the astronomical growth of the church. While its Gbagada headquarters hold four services every Sunday, the third service of its Lekki centre is kicking off in September. The Ikeja Centre is also opening in the same month to accommodate the yearning of young families for an atmosphere filled with love and God. Idowu said: “Our greatest asset is love. We love people to a fault here. We tell them to come the way they are and God will turn their lives around.

We are heavy on love and that is why we are becoming a safe haven for young families.”

•Crowd in the church's auditorium

Living Faith

By Dr. David Oyedepo

Experiencing the wonders of settlement in the word!

W

ELCOME to your regular column.

From scriptures, we understand that encounter with God’s Word is the master key to a world of allround settlement. For instance, until Joseph’s word came, the Word of the Lord tried him. But after his word came, the king sent for him, loosed and settled him in a grand style. We also saw how God sent His Word into Jacob, bringing him out of the ordeal of his life. It is also said that God sent His Word to settle our health issues and deliver us from every form of destructions (Psalm 105:19-22, Isaiah 9:8, Psalm 107:20; 1 Peter 5:10; John 10:1).

This helps us to know that we are redeemed to live pressure-free, anguish-free and distress-free lives. In the light of this, we are not permitted to live under pressure; at least, not beyond a while, because every issue of long continuance is a curse. As it is written: Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.But thank God Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, which includes that of any long continuance (Deuteronomy 28:58-59; Isaiah 10:25; Galatians 3:13-14).

Therefore, any issue beyond a moment is anti-covenant; it is not permitted and must be resisted (2 Corinthian 4: 17).

What is a While or a Moment?

•A moment connotes ‘Now’: As it is written: For he

saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).

•It also connotes ‘Today’: As stated above, “...Behold, today is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Furthermore, the Word says: Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee. That means there is a ‘today settlement’ agenda (Zechariah 9:12).

•Overnight:It is written: For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning (Psalm 30:5). This signifies an overnight settlement.

•Three days: It is written in Hosea 6:2: After two days will He revive us: in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.

In the light of these, we must understand that when God settles us by His Word, no devil can unsettle us.

Furthermore, there is a Covenant Way Out We must recognize that we serve a covenant-keeping God. As it is written, My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips (Psalms 89:34).

What is a Covenant?

In our context, a covenant can be defined as fulfilling the conditions attached to any promise of scriptures so we can have them fulfilled in our lives.Any time we fulfil the conditions attached to any promise, God’s integrity is committed to perform. The Bible is not a Book of promises; it is a Book of covenants. That’s why it is called the Old and New Testaments. Note that Testament also means Cov-

enant. However, we must understand that every provision of scripture places a demand on us to access them. This is why Christianity is a faith of responsibility.

Remember, it is written: Whatever He tells you to do, do it. For instance, salvation is free, but it takes our repentance to access it. In like manner, concerning the subject of settlement, the Bible says: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light(Matthew 11:28-30).

There is what to learn and know, to enter into His rest.

As it is written:The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace (Isaiah 59:8).

From the above scripture, there is the way of peace that must be learnt, before we can be established in God’s peace and it is through We must bear the yoke of learning by loving the Word of God, which in turn settles us (Psalm 119:165).

Friend, we must understand that until we are born again, we are cannot access the realms of settlement. Are you born again? You can allow Jesus Christ to take the wheels in your situations as your Lord and Saviour? Say this prayer of faith:”Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the Living God. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!”

For further reading, please get my books: Maximized Destiny, Making Maximum Impact, All You Need To Have All Your Needs Met and Miracle seed.

I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 9:40 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. respectively.

I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 7747546-8; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

CHURCH CLINIC

A

CAREFUL study of modern churches will reveal these categories of people. Most churches of today have either one of these people in majority and they will determine the health or otherwise of those churches.

1. Customers These are people who only come to the church to collect blessing of healings, miracles, signs and wonders.

They seek for prayers and ministrations for one afflictions or the other. They move from church to church every now and then. They want prophetic directions but are not interested in serving The Lord. They largely see God as Father -Christmas who is obligated to give to them and meet their needs, either they serve Him or not.

Preachers also play along

Customers, members or converts?

By Dr. Bola Akin-John

by only telling them what they want to hear and use their swagger to fleece rather than feed them. Such churches operate largely as Hospitals— where people come for solutions but don’t stay. Constant movement of people in and out of the church is very rampant. No stable members and back door loses is frequent.

2. Members These are regular and nominal church members.

They are both cultural and nominal Christians who have been in church for a long time, but are not in Christ. They are more faithful to the church and their leaders than to Christ. They believe more in what their

leaders says than what the Bible says. Most times, they become stakeholders, power brokers and cliques in the church. Their lifestyle drives people away from the church because they are eyesore to others. You can be members of a church, yet you don’t really know The Lord. Ask Judas, Ananias and Saphira and Diotrephes in the Bible.

3. Converts These are people who truly repent of their sins, have personal encounter with Christ and experience true inner transformation by the renewal of the Holy Spirit. They have moved from darkness to light and from serving sin, Satan to serving The Lord in truth and Spirit.

They are growing to true disciples of The Lord and daily showing the fruits of salvation in every area of their lives. They are FREE from lies, bribery, fornication, adultery and corruptions of this life.

Now, the big question is this, which one these three people are I the majority in our churches?

A true healthy church demands for more converts than customers and members. And it will have to start with pastors and our pulpits. What is being regularly dish out from the pulpit is what will determine the kind of people that will fill our pews.

Remember, if we don’t lead the people to God by

preaching the undiluted gospel of Christ regularly, they will nonetheless lead us and our churches away from Christ.

If we fail to give altar call for genuine repentance from sin and ungodly living, our churches shall be filled with customers and cultural Christians and will never become a

Rapturable church.

My newest book, DISCIPLESHIFT TODAY will HELP every sincere pastor raise more converts and disciples than customers and routine members.

Akin-John is President of International Church Growth Ministries ( 0 8 0 2 3 0 0 0 7 1 4 ; akingrow@yahoo.com). www.churchgrowthafrica.org, allroundgrowth.com,

NEWS

Church starts 21-day vigil

A

21-DAY annual vigil to mark the Ramah conference of New Foundation Evangelical Church has commenced.

The theme of the conference, which holds at the premises of the church 86, Ishola-Agboluade pipeline,

Ishasi, Ogun state, is arise and shine.

The general overseer Rev. (Dr) Elizabeth Davies (JP), in a statement, said the conference will usher participants into a new wave of success, breakthrough and deliverance.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY,

65

AUGUST 16, 2015 CHANGE OF NAME HASSAN Formerly addressed as Hassan, Iyabode Sakirat, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Akinbode, Iyabode Sakirat. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

AHON Formerly addressed as Miss Ahon Judith Kwaghdoo, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Awua Judith Kwaghdoo. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

BABARINDE Formerly addressed as Miss Babarinde, Lola Oladoyin, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Olatunbosun, Lola Oladoyin.

Former documents remain valid. Ekiti State Local govt. Service CommissionGeneral public take note.

EWUMI Formerly addressed as Olamide David Ewumi, now wish to be addressed as Mohamed-Marten Olamide David Ewumi. Former documents remain valid. Nigeria Immigration Service and general public take note.

OYEBODE Formerly addressed as Miss Oyebode, Elizabeth Oluwakemi, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Owojori, Elizabeth Oluwakemi.

Former documents remain valid.

Boripe Local govt., Iragbiji and general public take note.

OREFO Formerly addressed as Miss Orefo, Nkiru Rita, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Akinwale, Nkiru Rita Oluremi. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

AKINWANDE Formerly addressed as Miss Akinwande, Omowunmi Stella, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Soyebi, Omowunmi Stella. Former documents remain valid. MAPOLY, Abeokuta and general public take note.

EKEHOMEN Formerly addressed as Miss Christy Ekekhomen, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Christy Saidu. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

OYELEYE Formerly addressed as Oyeleye Olabisi Rebecca, now wish to be addressed as Oyedele, Olabisi Rebecca. Former documents remain valid. Oyo TESCOM and general public take note.

OPARAOCHA Formerly addressed as Oparaocha Blessing Onyekachi, now wish to be addressed as Ojediran, Blessing Onyekachi. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

OJO Formerly addressed as Miss Ojo, Tolulope Deborah, now wish to be addressed as Oyedotun, Tolulope Deborah. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHUJOR Formerly addressed as Princess Okaka Chujor, now wish to be addressed as Princess Okaka Saint Mube. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

NWANWUNA Formerly addressed as Miss Chioma Vivian Nwanwuna, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Chioma Vivian Onyema. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

OMORODION Formerly addressed as Miss Omorodion, Esohe Owamagbe, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Oamen Esohe Owamagbe. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

AKAMOBI Formerly addressed as Miss Adaobi Augusta Akamobi, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Adaobi Augusta Okafor. Former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

BAKARE Formerly addressed as Bakare, Zainab Ejide, now wish to be addressed as Sanni, Zainab Ejide.

Former documents remain valid.

Lagos State Civil Service and general public take note.

OLAYORI Formerly addressed as Miss Ramota Folake Olayori, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Ramota Folake Olayori Adeniji. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

ADENIRAN Formerly addressed as Miss Adeniran, Olaronke Olubusola, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. AlliJide, Olaronke O. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

EGBO Formerly addressed as Miss Linda Amaka Egbo, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Linda Amaka Onyeacho. Former documents remain valid. University of Nigeria Teaching Hopital, Enugu and general public take note.

OSONOWO Formerly addressed as Miss Osonowo Abiola Latifat, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Lawal Abiola Latifat. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

AIYEYI Formerly addressed as Mrs Aiyeyi Yetunde Anne, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Ebenezer Yetunde Anne. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF CHANGE OF NAME NAME OMIDIJI Formerly addressed as Miss Hellen Oluwanife Omodiji, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Hellen Oluwanife Monibiri. Former documents remain valid. GTBank and general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME This is to notify the general public that Kole Patrick Toyinbo and Kole Aladetoyinbo is the same and one person as His Royal Majesty, Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi. All documents bearing the above names remain valid. American Embassey and general public take note.

OKEKE Formerly addressed as Chinyere Martha Okeke, now wish to be addressed as Chinyere Martha Okoro. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

FADIRAN Formerly addressed as Miss Fatimoh Temitope Fadiran, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Fatimoh Temitope Babatunde.

Former documents remain valid. The Ambassadors School and general public take note.

OKUKU Formerly addressed as Miss Anietie Anthony Okuku, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Anietie Babatunde Olatujoye. Former documents remain valid.General public take note.

OWONIFARI Formerly addressed as Olainke Ololade Owonifari, now wish to be addressed as Olainke Ololade Babalola. Former documents remain valid.General public take note.

OLALEYE Formerly addressed as Miss Oluwatosin Oluwayemisi Olaleye, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Oluwatosin Oluwayemisi Sanyaolu.

Former documents remain valid.General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I Quadri Saheed Olaitan Okandeji is the same and one person as Quadri Saheed Okandeji, Quadri Saheed Olaitan and Quadri. All documents bearing the above names remain valid.General public take note.

AKINBOLADE Formerly addressed as Mr. Akinbolade, Samuel Owoyele, now wish to be addressed as Mr. Akinbolade Azeez Owoyele. Former documents remain valid.General public take note.

AINA Formerly addressed as Miss Aina, Oluwakemi Olawumi, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Adeosun, Oluwakemi Olawumi. Former documents remain valid.General public take note.

ADEMOLA Formerly addressed as Miss Ademola Aweke Oluwatoyin, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Fatunbi, Aweke Oluwatoyin. Former documents remain valid.General public take note.

LIKE Formerly addressed as Miss Like Blessing Ijeoma, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Olumba Ijeoma Blessing. Former documents remain valid.General public take note.

AYEGBUSI Formerly addressed as Miss Ayegbusi, Oyebola Comfort, changed to Mrs. Olaleetan, Oyebola Comfort, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Daramola Oyebola Comfort. Former documents remain valid.Efon LG, Efon-Alaaye, Ekiti State and general public take note.

OLAIFA Formerly addressed as OLAIFA, JONATHAN OLUSOJI, now wish to be addressed as OLAOLUWA JONATHAN OLUSOJI. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OLAIFA Formerly addressed as OLAIFA, CHRISTIANAH MOJISOLA, now wish to be addressed as OLAOLUWA CHRISTIANAH MOJISOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

OLAIFA Formerly addressed as OLAIFA, LYDIA OLUWATOMILOLA, now wish to be addressed as OLUSOJI LYDIA OLUWATOMILOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

OLAIFA Formerly addressed as OLAIFA, MOSES OLUWASOGO, now wish to be addressed as OLUSOJI MOSES OLUWASOGO. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OLAIFA Formerly addressed as OLAIFA TIMOTHY OLUWATIMILEHIN, now wish to be addressed as OLUSOJI, TIMOTHY OLUWATIMILEHIN. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME DERIABEBE DAVID and BORO DERIABEBE, refers to one and the same person. Former documents bearing the above names remain valid.

General public should please take note.

ETUNGHA Formerly addressed as Miss Odum Vera Etungha, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Edom Vera Joseph.

Former documents remain valid. The Nurses and Midwifery Council of Nigeria and the general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

LAWAL Formerly addressed as MISS KAFAYAT OLABISI LAWAL, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. KAFAYAT OLABISI MOHAMMED. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

OYELEKE Formerly addressed as MISS OLUWASEUN FOLASHADE OYELEKE, now wish to be addressed as MRS. OLUWASEUN FOLASHADE ONI. Former documents remain valid. UNILAG, NYSC and the general public should please take note.

BADMUS Formerly addressed as Miss BADMUS LATIFAT OMOLARA, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. LATIFAT OMOLARA BADMUSOYEBOLA. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

OKOYE Formerly addressed as MISS OKOYE AMAKA JESSICA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. IFEZUE AMAKA JESSICA. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

ANIEDEH Formerly addressed as MISS EUNICE ANIEDEH now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. EUNICE IBE. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

UMEH Formerly addressed as MISS UMEH CHINEDU PEACE now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. CHUKWU CHINEDU PEACE. Former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

UGWU Formerly addressed as MISS UGWU CELINE OBIAGELI now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. EJEKWU CELINE OBIAGELI. Former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

BOBI Formerly addressed as MISS BOBI UCHECHUKWU QUEENETH now to be addressed as MRS. SOLOMON UCHE QUEENETH. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

ELUMA

OROGBEMI Formerly addressed as Miss Orogbemi, Kehinde Tope, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Bodunrin, Temitope Kehinde.

Former documents remain valid.

Lagos State Polytechnic, National Open University and general public take note.

DAIRO Formerly addressed as Miss Dairo Olajumoke Esther, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Ogundele, Esther. Olajumoke. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

JONAH Formerly addressed as MISS BECKY KATTO JONAH, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. BECKY JONAH YUSUF. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

SALAMI Formerly addressed as MISS SALAMI FAITH RICHARD, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. FAITH VICTOR. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

OGUCHE Formerly addressed as PATIENCE EDOEJE OGUCHE, now wish to be known and addressed as PATIENCE EDOEJE OCHARIFO. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

DANIEL Formerly addressed as Ibiam Daniel, now wish to be known and addressed as Udeh Ibiam Daniel.

Former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

AJIBADE Formerly addressed as Miss Ajibade, Omolabake Rachael, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olomo, Omolabake Rachael.

Former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

JAMES Formerly addressed as Miss James, Aderemilekun Celinah, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adeniyi, Aderemilekun Celinah. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

JAYEOBA Formerly addressed as Miss Jayeoba Kehinde Rebecca, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Olabanji Kehinde Rebecca Jesutomisin. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

AJAYI Formerly addressed as Miss Ajayi Kemi Abolade, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Ezekiel Oluwakemi Abolade. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I hereby confirm that I am Pereao Olubukola Oludunsin and not Pereho Olubukola Oludunsin..

Former documents remain valid.

NYSC and general public take note.

Formerly addressed as Eluma Vivian Udoka now to be addressed as Oboh Vivian Udoka. Former documents remain valid. Lagos State Polytechnic, Lagos City Polytechnic, Sterling Bank Plc and general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Mrs.Bankole Mary Abimbola is the same person as Mrs. Babatunde Welington, Mary Abimbola. Former documents remain valid. WEMA Bank Plc, First Bank Plc and general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Miss AdesolaYemisi Adeoye and Mrs.Adesola Mary Jolaiya, refers to one and the same person. Former documents bearing the above remain valid. First Bank Plc, Zenith Bank, Access Bank and general public take note.

OLATINWO Formerly addressed as Miss Wuraola Aishat Olatinwo now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Wuraola Aishat Dasylva. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

ETUK Formerly addressed as Miss Mercy Linda Effiong Etuk, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Mercy Linda Effiong Matthews.

Former documents remain valid. GTB, First Bank, Fidelity Bank, British Embassy (UK), The Polytechnic Calabar, University of Ado-Ekiti and general public take note.

SALAMI Formerly addressed as Miss Salami, Abolayo now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Adigun Abolayo.

Former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

AZEEZ Formerly addressed as Miss Azeez, Rafiat Iyabode now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Olayiwola Rafiat Iyabode. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

NTANG Formerly addressed as MISS INEMESIT CHRISTOPHER NTANG, now wish to be addressed as MRS. INEMESIT UBONG JOHN. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

OLAIFA Formerly addressed as OLAIFA, CHARITY AYOOLUWA, now wish to be addressed as OLUSOJI CHARITY AYOOLUWA. Former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

AJAGUNA Formerly addressed as Miss Ajaguna Oluwaseun Modupe, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Faleke Oluwaseun Modupe. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

SALAUDEEN Formerly addressed as Salaudeen Issa Adeshola, now wish to be known and addressed as Salau Issa Adeshola. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

IYABOR Formerly addressed as Alhaja Iyabor Fausat Adigun, now wish to be addressed as Alhaja Ajoke Fausat Amao. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

RAPHAEL Formerly addressed as Miss Raphael, Jennifer Tima, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Jennifer Oghenetega Akpojotor.

Former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

BANKOLE Formerly addressed as Miss Bankole, Abosede Celina, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Gejede, Abosede Celina. Former documents remain valid.

Lagos State govt. Neighbourhood Watch, Min. of Rural Devt., Skye Bank Plc. and general public take note.

LEKE-OYEDEMI Formerly addressed as Miss LekeOyedemi, Adesola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Afun-Ogidan, Adesola. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

LEKE-OYEDEMI Formerly addressed as Miss LekeOyedemi, Adesola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Afun-Ogidan, Adesola. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

IDODO Formerly addressed as Miss Patience Malik O. Idodo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Patience Effiong.

Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

ENEARU Formerly addressed as Miss Enearu Ibhade Faith, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Aidenojie Ibhade Faith. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

EMMANUEL Formerly addressed as Miss Oluchi J. Emmanuel, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oluchi E. Alex. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

COMAS Formerly addressed as Njoku Comas, now wish to be addressed as Abana Jude C. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

OJUKWU Formerly addressed as MISS JULIANA CHIBUZO OJUKWU now wish to be addressed as MRS. JULIANA CHIBUZO OKPALA. Former documents remain valid.

Rivers State Government and general public take note.

BAKARE Formerly addressed as Miss Bakare Rainat Moromoke now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Adetunji Rainat Moromoke.

Former documents remain valid.

LAUTECH Ogbomoso, NYSC and general public take note.

OLUWOLE Formerly addressed as Miss Adesiyan Oluwatosin Ayobami, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Oyewusi Oluwatosin Ayobami. Former documents remain valid. Obokun Local Government, Local Government Service Commission State of Osunand general public should please take note.

ESEZOBOR Formerly addressed as Mrs. Augusta Esezobor, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Augusta Nze. Former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

AMEH Formerly addressed as Miss Ameh Paulina, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Ujah Paulina. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

OSUAGWU Formerly addressed as Miss Osuagwu Eucharia Ugochi, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Ariwodo Eucharia Ugochi. . Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

OGUNDARE Formerly addressed as Mrs. Miss Ogundare Oluyemisi Adeyanju, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Daramola Oluyemisi Adeyanju.

Former documents remain valid.

FBN and general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME Umeaku Ifeoma Edith is the same and one person as Umeaku Ifeoma.

Former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

ASAGWARA Formerly addressed as Miss Glory Oluchi Asagwara, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Glory Oluchi Uzoma. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

OSUJI Formerly addressed as Miss Prisca Chidinma Osuji, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Prisca Chidinma Chine. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

MUOKA Formerly addressed as MISS MUOKA ADAOBI DORIS, now wish to be addressed as MRS. OHAGBA ADAOBI DORIS. Former documents remain valid.General public take note.

ANYIMUKWU Formerly addressed as Miss Anyimukwu Nwanyieze, now wish to be as Mrs. Kaforcha Camilus Nwanyieze. Former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

NGWU Formerly addressed as Mr Ugwu Remigius Ngwu, now wish to be addressed as Mr. Ugwu Josephat Ndubuisi. Former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc. and general public should please take note.

OMOREGIE Formerly addressed as Omoregie Precious Osamede, now wish to be addressed as Obikaonu Precious Osamede. Former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, BRENDAN C. DUNAMIS PATRICK and OKONWEZE CHIKE BRENDAN refers to one and the same person. Now wish to be addressed as BRENDAN C. DUNAMIS PATRICK. Former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, ENEJERE TITUS and NNADI TITUS refers to one and the same person. Now wish to be known and addressed as ENEJERE TITUS. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, ENEJERE TITUS and NNADI TITUS refers to one and the same person. Now wish to be known and addressed as ENEJERE TITUS. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

MADU

Formerly addressed as Miss MADU SUSSAN CHIKA, now wish to be known as Mrs. SUSSAN CHIKA IKECHUKWU. Former documents remain valid general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, OHIA, BEN-FRED and OHIA, BEN FREDRICK IMA refers to one and the same person. Now wish to be known and addressed as OHIA, BEN-FRED. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take.

ETTA Formerly addressed as Miss ETTA FUNYI ELIZABETH, now wish to be known as Mrs. ALPHONSUS ELIZABETH AZIBAYE. all former documents remain valid general public take note.

ANDREW Formerly known and addressed as Miss ANDREW CHISOM STELLA, now wish to be known as Mrs. IBE CHISOM STELLA. Former documents remain valid general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME SAMUEL NWOBA NWALI and SAMUEL AWUGO NWANCHO, refers to one and the same person. now wish to be known as SAMUEL AWUGO NWANCHO. all former documents remain valid Ebonyi State Govt. and the general public take note.

KUROKA Formerly addressed as Miss KUROKA RUTH AGENE, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. KUROKA RUTH MOFUNLEWI. Former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

MUFTU Formerly addressed as Alhaja Mariam Muftau, now wish to be addressed as Fatoye Abatan Funmilayo. Former documents remain valid. General public take note.

OLUWOLE Formerly addressed as Mr. Oluwole Dare, now wish to be addressed as Asaolu Oluwole. Former documents remain valid. Nigeria Police and general public should please take note.

EZE Formerly addressed as Miss EZE CHINENYE ERICA, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. OKEHIE CHINENYE ERICA. Former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME NWIGUBE CHUKWUEMEKA SOLOMON, NWIGUBE CHUKWUEMEKA U., NWANKPU CHUKWUEMEKA, refers to one and the same person now wish to be known as NWIGUBE CHUKWUEMEKA SOLOMON. Former documents remain valid general public take note.

IWUEKE Formerly addressed as MISS IWUEKE CHIDINMA, now wish to be addressed as MRS. INAKU CHIDINMA. Former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

66

EBERE WABARA

WORDSWORTH 08055001948

ewabara@yahoo.com

Affront to, not on

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ATIONAL MIRROR front and inside pages of August 13 did not circulate all the facts: “Auditor-General raises alarm (the alarm— irrespective of headlining) over missing N183bn” “My grouse with (about) Nigerian media— Obasanjo” Next is NATIONAL MIRROR Editorial of the edition under review: “…ostensibly as a first step in the country’s search for remediation of the grave damages (damage) done to Ogoniland by decades of oil exploration.” ‘Damage’ is mostly uncountable except in reparative (compensatory/judicial) circumstances. “…some of these states have not even shown willingness to pay despite our various pleads to them.”

Education Today: various pleas with them “Why Ambode shouldn’t handover (hand over) Aunty Ayo Girls to investor—Parents” “Of carry-overs, makeup (make-ups), re-sits exams (resit exams)” “Beehive of activities at Nnamdi Azikiwe Street, Lagos” Broad Street: hive of activity “Principals (Principals’) Cup gets October date” Lastly from National Mirror under focus: “Gumel, Choue condole (condole with or console) Nnaji” The PUNCH AM BUSINESS of August 12 takes over from National Mirror of August 13, 2015, with just two faults: “Nigeria is currently passing through a financial storm.” Can anyone tell me the function of ‘currently’ here in the same environment with ‘is’?

“The handwriting (The writing) was on the wall for years.”

Wrong: as a result Right: because “Abia North: Youths besiege tribunal, want Kalu declare (declared) winner” “Police probe officer for drunkeness (drunkenness)” “Agric union commissions (inaugurates) N7m house” “Nigeria (Nigerian) textile industry needs N137bn lifeline” “Okowa’s antidote for (to) Delta debt burden” National Mirror Views Page of August 6 contributed copiously to last week’s grammatical infractions: “…irrespective of what the world think (thinks) about them.” The ‘world’ is mostly singular.

“Many saw the development as an affront on (to) power sharing…political balancing and party supremacy.”

“The PDP did all it could to reverse the situation but nothing change (changed) at the end of the day.”

“Accusing fingers (The finger) then were (was) pointed at the leaders of the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria….”

Finally from existential humanism column: “This requires a good measure of Independent (independence) by its leadership.”

“EKSU celebrates hitch free e-post UTME” A rewrite: EKSU celebrates hitchfree e-post-UTME “FirstBank flags off (auspicates) radio programme for SMEs” There are restrictions on usage of ‘flag off’ as a phrasal verb—it is mostly used in motor racing and similar sporting activities.

“Feuding NURTW, RTEAN members remanded in prison” It is either ‘remand in custody’ or ‘remand on bail’, depending on context. ‘Remand in prison’ is awkward. It makes good sense to apply only ‘remand’, which means the suspect is returned to confinement usually in prison or occasionally police/EFCC/ NDLEA/et al custody until the next adjourned date.

“203 micro finance (micro-finance) banks fail returns’ rendition” “…we have grown to become a major player in the Nigerian financial landscape.” (Full-page advertisement by WEMA BANK, THE GUARDIAN, July 14) With you…all the way: on the Nigerian financial landscape.

Finally, from the back page of The Guardian under review comes this: “Why small scale (smallscale) labour must be professionalised” “Okorocha reads riot act (the riot act) to Imo traditional rulers” “Sokoto ALGON commends Buhari over (for/on) states, LGs (LGs’) bailout” “Let’s have part time (part-time) legislators” “Customs clinic, COWA office commissioned (inaugurated) at Western Marine Command” ‘Commission’ requires special (verbal) application.

“Group lauds senator’s N150m poverty alleviation (poverty-alleviation) programme” “Kidnapped victim killed after abductors collected N2m” Crime Watch Today: kidnap victim “Corpses constitute great health harzard” Spell-check: hazard “Shippers’ Council to unveil cargo tracking

(cargo-tracking) scheme” “…the lawmakers’ budgets are approved by same (the same) legislators without outside oversight.”

Overheard for the umpteenth time: “How is (are) your children?” “When are you returning back?” Delete ‘back’!

FEEDBACK TAYO Ogunbiyi’s ‘For President Buhari the clock is already tickling’instead of ‘ticking’ close to WORDSWORTH on Page 66 of THE NATION ON SUNDAY of July 26, 2015, is like singeing the beard of the lion. Thank you for your very educative column. (Wilfred Akemu, Aladja, Delta State/ 08037152175) EKITI State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has said the challenges that have brought the Oodua Investment Group to its knees “date” (dated) back to several years. – DAILY SUN NATIONAL NEWS Page, July 23, 2015. Special notes on grammar and usage: “date back (to)” inflects dates back—dating back— dated back; “date from” inflects also like “hard back to”, “stretch back to”, “go back to”, “trace back to”, “refer back to” (a phrasal verb), “fall back to”, etc.

Examples: The amalgamation of the Southern and Northern protectorates of Nigeria dated back to Sunday, January 1, 1914. The Nigerian independence dated back to Saturday, October 1, 1960. Segun Okeowo’s activist trajectory dated back to his days in Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, Ondo State, where he was also the Students’ Union Leader. – THE NATION’S SECOND EDITORIAL, January 31, 2014.

Meanwhile, the Second Niger Bridge idea was first mooted in 1979, which shows the bridge, as a vote– milking sop, dated back to the Second Republic, from 1979–1983. – THE NATION’S SECOND EDITORIAL, July 22, 2015. For further information, see COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY and THORNDIKE & BARNHART BEGINNING DICTIONARY (page 214).

Ebere, you are another word man and word– watcher, keep it up, man!

(BAYO OGUNTUNASE/ 08056180046).

CHEERS! I “hail” and not “hale” him. Chief Buari Abu-Oloto is “Hale & Hearty @ 71" and not “Hail & Hearty” as used in the congratulatory advert placed on Page 70, The Nation, Aug. 9. (KOLA DANISA/ 07068074257)

•L-R : Deputy Corps Marshal, Operations, Adei Abu; Sector Commander, Rivers State Command Dele Kumapayi and Head Media Relations and Strategy, Bisi Kazeem, during the Federal Road Safety Corps(FRSC) Operations Scorpion in Port Harcourt... yesterday

NNPC MD seeks workers' support for reforms

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HE Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has implored the management to team up with him to close the skills gap and turn the fortunes of the corporation around.

Kachikwu made the appeal during the maiden interactive session with the top management of the Corporation at the NNPC Towers Abuja.

The GMD said that efforts were in top gear to cre-

ate conducive working environment for members of staff, adding that for the NNPC to transform into a profit centre like its peers in other climes, the morale of the work force must be high.

Kachikwu also urged the management to provide leadership by example to the workforce while adding that sectionalism, tribalism and any form of nontransparent transactions must be completely stamped out of the NNPC. The GMD noted that his

administration would ensure that all the refineries of the corporation were run efficiently and profitably to meet the energy needs of the country.

He said the Corporate Service Unit and all the Strategic Business Units of the Corporation would henceforth be run as profit centres while noting that the days when the Corporation was perceived as a civil service organization instead of a Corporation were over.

Be impartial, Zakari tells RECs

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CTING Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Amina Zakari has called on Resident Electoral Commissioner's (RECs) to remain impartial and deliver credible electoral services.

She spoke yesterday at a meeting with RECs at the Commission's headquarters in Abuja according to a bulletin from the electoral commission.

The Acting Chairman called for caution, noting that INEC was experiencing challenges in the management of the various cases before the election petition tribunals.

"We shall continue to uphold our role as independent, non-partisan and an unbiased umpire.

"We must ensure that we act according to the

rules and remain above board, as well as cooperate with all stakeholders to ensure free, fair and un-interrupted dispensation of justice," she said.

Speaking on the agenda of the meeting, Amina Zakari said: "Our meeting today is designed to enable us focus and re-strategize on key issues of the electoral process.

"It is obvious that the recommendations from the Uyo retreat have been farreaching.

"We need to understudy those reports with a view to identifying suitable modalities for the implementation of the recommendations therein".

The recommendations, which required urgent attention, Mrs. Zakari said, include continuous voter

registration and permanent voter cards' distribution; improved communication strategies with internal and external stakeholders; Ad-hoc staff matters (recruitment, training and payment) and Legal reforms among others.

On the forthcoming Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections, she challenged the RECs and staff of the Commission to ensure the exercise meet international standards.

According to her: "It is important to begin to look towards the necessary mechanisms that would positively impact on the conduct of these exercises.

"We have already set good records; but should still improve to make the elections a world class exercise."

Institute raises alarm over crop disease

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ATIONAL Root Crops Research Institute [NRCRI], Umudike, Abia State, has warned against possible outbreak of Cassava Brown Streak Disease [CBSD], a deadly crop disease, in the country.

The institute is advising the federal government to do something immediately to arrest the situation saying it would drastically affect the nation's economy if not checked on time.

The institute warned that outbreak of CBSD, which mainly attacks cassava, could cost the Nigerian economy about N400

From Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia billion [$2 billion) annually.

It said it based its loss assessment from the effect the disease had in countries it had attacked, stressing that those who do not learn from history plan to fail.

The Umudike-based NRCRI said the deadly crop disease has not come to Nigeria or any West African country yet but "there was great need to prepare against it as it is already having devastating effect in some East African nations like Kenya".

The warning was given during the launching of

WAVE Project, a campaign against the dreaded CBSD at Umudike, Abia State, which was attended by agricultural researchers from Ivory Cost, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Togo and Ghana.

The institute said that as an institution with a national mandate for cassava research and development, it was taking a pre-emptive initiative to the CBSD threat in Nigeria.

This it said is because its effect could result in complete loss of root yield in cassava thus making it a severe threat to food security in the sub-Saharan Africa.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

Russian 40 die in shipwreck off Libya coast helicopter T crashes into sea

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USSIAN investigators say a helicopter crashed into the Sea of Okhotsk in the far east, and five of the 16 people on board were missing and presumed dead.

The pilot reported by satellite phone that he and 10 others made it to a tourist base on the Tugur Peninsula, the Interfax news agency said, citing the emergency services.

Investigators said the Mi-8 helicopter took off yesterday from the Polina Osipenko village in the Khabarovsk region and was scheduled to land near a lake on the Tugur Peninsula, but crashed into the sea. The cause of the crash was not yet known.

The state news agency Tass said the helicopter was transporting a group of top managers from a Russian company on a trip to the rugged Shantar Islands.

HE Italian navy confirm the deaths of at least 40 migrants thought to have “suffocated” in a boat in the Mediterranean.

The captain of the navy vessel leading the rescue off the coast of Libya said victims were found “immersed in water and fuel”.

The victims are thought to have suffocated after inhaling fumes from fuels after the boat

took on water in the hold.

Speaking from the ship, Commander Massimo Tozzi said that when his men boarded the migrant boat they found the dead in the hold “immersed in water, fuel and human excrement”.

An Italian news agency said the boat was 21 miles off Libya and carrying more than 300 migrants.

Admiral Pierpaolo

Libuffo, head of Italy’s rescue operations, told Italian television that 312 survivors had been taken on board, including 45 women and 3 children.

The boat, which was being towed to the Italian island of Lampedusa, had not capsized.

This is the second fatal incident in the Mediterranean in the last month. Last Tuesday, up to 50 migrants went missing when a large rubber din-

ghy sank in the Mediterranean Sea. The migrant crisis has sprawled across the Mediterranean as thousand fleeing war-torn countries attempt to reach Europe in search of a better life.

More than 2,000 migrants have died at sea so far this year as many continually put their lives at risk.

At least 100,000 have ar-

Somali region re-elects former warlord to fight al Shabaab

A An Iranian migrant carrying his son at a beach on the Greek Island of Kos yesterday

Car bomb Pakistani Minister resigns over spy allegation kills eight A in Baghdad

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N Iraqi police official says a car bomb at a popular car dealership in eastern Baghdad has killed eight people.

The explosion took place yesterday in the Habibiya neighborhood of Sadr City, a district in the Iraqi capital. The official says at least 17 people were wounded.

The well-known Habibiya car dealership has been targeted multiple times in the past.

Hospital officials corroborated the casualties.

Officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.

A massive explosion in a Sadr City market on Thursday killed at least 67 people. It was one of the worst attacks in Baghdad in a decade.

No one has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s attack but the Islamic State group said it was behind Thursday’s attack.

rived in Italy so far this year and thousands more have crossed from Syria and Turkey into Greece.

Tensions have flared on the Greek island of Kos in the last few days as hundreds of migrants have been waiting outside the Antagoras stadium to be registered.

The Greek island has struggled to cope with the massive flux of migrants and a cruise ship has arrived intended to temporarily house 2,500 of them.

The Geneva-based organisation said the number of migrants who have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year is approaching a quarter of a million, compared with 219,000 for all of last year.

SENIOR Pakistani minister has resigned after claiming that the country’s former spy chief wanted to overthrow prime minister Nawaz Sharif through violent demonstrations in Islamabad last year.

Environment minister Mushahid Ullah Khan submitted his resignation on yesterday, the information minister Pervez Rashid said. It was not clear whether Sharif would accept Ullah Khan’s offer to quit.

The resignation of Ullah Khan, a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N party, came a day after the BBC’s Urdu service broadcast an interview in

which he claimed that Zaheerul-Islam, former head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency, was behind last year’s anti-government rallies organised by opposition leader Imran Khan and fiery cleric Tahir ul-Qadri.

Three people were killed and more than 500 wounded in the two months of protests.

Imran Khan and ul-Qadri had vowed to bring down the government over allegations of election-rigging and corruption.

Ullah Khan alleged that a civilian intelligence agency had recorded Zaheer-ul-Islam instructing protesters to cause chaos. The tape had been played to the prime minister

and chief of army staff, Ullah Khan said, but he had not personally heard it. The military denied Mushahid Ullah Khan’s claim and Sharif’s government said it was not aware of any such conspiracy.

The comments have again highlighted the fragile balance between Pakistan’s fledgling civilian government and its powerful military, which has a history of mounting coups.

Military spokesman Major-General Asim Bajwa denied the minister’s claims.

“The story about any tape recording as being discussed in media is totally baseless, unfounded and farthest from [the] truth,” he tweeted. “Such

rumours are irresponsible, and unprofessional.”

The interview fanned speculation in a nation where the relationship between the civilian government and the military is constantly scrutinised for any hint of tension.

Sharif’s victory in 2013 elections marked Pakistan’s first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power. Relations between the government and military were initially rocky, and the demonstrations fed national unease. Since then, relations have improved as Sharif has aligned his position on security and foreign policy more closely with the military.

Former Burundian military chief shot dead NIDENTIFIED gunmen shot and killed Burundi’s former army chief of staff yesterday in the second high-profile killing this month amid chaos linked to the disputed reelection of President Pierre Nkurunziza.

Col. Jean Bikomagu was shot dead outside his home in Bujumbura in the morning as he returned from church, said a witness who declined to give his name. His daughter, who was with him, was seriously wounded and rushed to hospital.

Gunmen killed a former Burundian security chief and close ally of Nkurunziza in

U

early August. The next day, a prominent human rights activist who openly opposed Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term in office was shot and seriously wounded.

“Another black weekend in Burundi. Blackened by the assassination of a senior member of the Burundian army in retirement, Colonel Jean Bikomagu ...Very sad, very shocking,” presidency spokesman Willy Nyamitwe said on Facebook.

Bikomagu was army chief during the civil war that started in 1993 when the Tutsidominated army was fighting then rebel leader, and now President, Nkurunziza’s

CNDD-FDD Hutu rebels.

Nkurunziza was reelected in July to a third term that opponents and Western powers said violated the constitution and a peace deal that ended the civil war in 2005.

On Friday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights’ office in Geneva said at least 96 people had been killed since the start of election-related unrest in April and urged leaders to renounce violence and resume their political dialogue.

The witness and a relative described Bikomagu’s death as an assassination. “He was in front of his gate, ready to enter his home, when a gun-

man who pulled out of the back of a motorcycle shot at him,” the witness said.

“He was not killed by bandits and there was no money stolen, it’s something else,” said a relative who also did not wish to be named.

The presidency spokesman said the attackers would be caught and tried and issued an appeal “that anger and desire for revenge are contained by respect for justice and the desire to live together.”

The election-related violence has been especially frequent in the capital Bujumbura, where the sound of gunfire is regularly heard at night.

FORMER Islamist warlord won re-election yesterday as president of Somalia’s southern region of Jubbaland, a territory partly controlled by al Shabaab militants and at odds with the central government of the Horn of Africa country.Ahmed Madobe was elected for four more years by members of the regional parliament, which has defied a government decision in June to disband it on the grounds it was unrepresentative and dominated by hand-picked members of Madobe’s clan.

Madobe, leader of the powerful Ras Kamboni militia, has fought against the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants who fully control one of Jubbaland’s three regions.”God willing, I will eliminate al Shabaab from the remaining towns of the region,” he said.Jubbaland includes the strategic port of Kismayu. Madobe and Barre Hirale, a clan elder, fought for years to control the city, which generates valuable revenues from taxes, charcoal exports and levies on arms and other illegal imports.

Hirale ruled Kismayu in the 1990s and into the 2000s until he was unseated by Madobe, who was at the time aligned to the Islamic Courts Union that ruled Somalia until 2006.Al Shabaab then ruled the southern part of the country until 2011, when it was thrown out of the capital Mogadishu by African Union peacekeeping troops.The fate of Kismayu and Jubbaland is seen as a test of the central government’s skill in building a federal system and pacifying a nation fought over for more than two decades by warlords and Islamist rebels.”We shall sit and discuss with the federal government and the clans and solve the issues through peaceful dialogue and reconciliation,” Madobe said.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

NEWS

NAFDAC arraigns businessman over fake Alomo Bitter

Helicopter crash: Bristow resumes flight operations

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businessman, Magnus Onyenkwu Ezeago, has been arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for producing false labelling, stocking and distributing fake Alomo Bitters a popular alcoholic beverage.

Ezeago, who resides at No 27 Toyin Street, Oke Ibadan, Oyo State, is standing trial before a Federal High Court, Lagos on a six-count charge bordering on unlawful production and distribution of unwholesome processed food.

The Prosecuting counsel, Bartholomew Simon, told the court that the accused unlawfully produced, packaged, falsely labelled, distributed and sold to the public Kasapreko Alomo Bitters, an unwholesome food product.

Justice Mohammed Yunusa, in his ruling said he preferred such an application to be made formally.

He ordered the remand of the accused to prison custody while adjourning the case to August 20, for hearing on bail application.

Youths association protests against Shell

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O fewer than 400 persons under the aegis of Jumbo Major House Youth Association Bonny yesterday protested the alleged shortchanging of their interests by Mr. Japhet Gad Jumbo.

They took to the streets of Bonny demanding that Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) should negotiate with Chief Prof. Jasper Jumbo on behalf of House and not Mr. Japhet Akie Gad Jumbo.

Though they conceded that Japhet is their brother, the protesting youths maintained that Japhet does not have the mandate of Jumbo Major House to represent them.

They insisted that Jasper is the rightful Head of the House with the mandate to negotiate on their behalf, especially on financial and related development transactions.

They demanded the immediate payment of long-standing rent accrual, stating further that any delay will be seen as an attempt to deprive them of their opportunity to salvage the youth and the Family House from abject penury.

They agreed to resolve the issue amicably and cooperate in maintaining peaceful coexistence with the SPDC in Bonny henceforth.

Lamenting what the delay has caused them, president of the protesting youths, Mr. Dagogo A. Jumbo, pointed out that some of them have been forced into vices such as prostitution and restiveness.

OAAN gets new helmsman

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HE Managing Director of Media View Limited, Mr Babatunde Adedoyin, has emerged the new president of Outdoor Advertising Agency of Nigeria (OAAN).

He succeeds Mr. Charles Chijide who completed his tenure.

Adedoyin defeated Mr. Ladi Sole of Uniksites Nigeria Limited by 47 to 11 votes.

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B

• Jumbo youths protesting alleged shortchanging... last week

39 soldiers attack community

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HIRTY-NINE soldiers from the Nigeria Army School of Military Engineering (NASME) yesterday attacked a community in north bank area of Makurdi, capital of Benue State.

It was gathered that the rampaging soldiers vandalised not less than 200 vehicles and made away with mobile phones, TV set, radio and other personal effects belonging to the residents.

Some of them men alleged that the soldiers raped their wives, a claim our correspondent could not confirm.

The soldiers also beat up the Divisional Police Officer

* Beat up DPO, smash vehicles * 33 soldiers detained over incident From: Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

(DPO) Samuel Attah.

His new Toyota Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) was also smashed.

It was gathered that the soldiers went on rampage because a girl courted by one of them was given out in marriage to another man in the Hausa community.

Governor Samuel Ortom, who returned from Abuja on hearing the news, visited the

community.

Ortom, who toured the affected areas, said about 33 of the soldiers involved in the incident have been arrested and detained according to a brief from the commandant.

The governor, who visited the victims, stated that the era of impunity was over, vowing that the soldiers who committed the act must be sanctioned.

He said: "No soldier will go scot free. This is senseless, this is madness. My heart is bleed-

ing with blood. Why should those who are supposed to protect us turn their guns against us?

"This is unacceptable and it would be the last attack on Hausa community who are peace -loving."

He commended the Commissioner of Police and Hausa community for not reacting to the needless provocation, promising to get to the roots of the matter.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) leader of the Hausa and Muslim community, Shiehk Ibrahim Aliyu, told Ortom it was the fourth time the soldiers were attacking them.

UI mourns death of DLC student * suspends examination A UTHORITIES of the University of Ibadan have suspended the remaining first semester examinations at its Lagos centre following the death of one of its students, Bolaji Pelewura.

Pelewura, a 100 level student at the department of political science, was said to have died on Friday few minutes after writing one of his examination papers at the institution's Adebayo Akande e-Centre, Ikeja, Lagos.

A statement by the institution's spokesperson, Mr. Olatunji Oladejo, quoted the centre's director, Prof. Bayo Okunade, as describing the death as "a huge loss to the uni-

From Sikiru Akinola, Ibadan

versity as the institution's students are its precious assets."

He said: "You are all aware of the sad event of yesterday which led to the demise of Pelewura Bolaji, a 29- year- old Political Science Student.

"We regret the situation and commiserate with the family and you all. May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace. By His grace, we will never have a repeat."

He continued: "Since the incident and even before, certain measures were taken to put the situation under control with

the support of many of our students in Lagos who took the lead in managing the situation.

"In particular, we appreciate our students who provided assistance to Bolaji before he finally gave up and subsequently the link with the family.

"We thank you all for the maturity and support that averted breakdown of law and order."

Okunade advised that "this is not the time to apportion blame."

He said: "I have read many posts and discussed with some of you on the incident and wish to appeal for your understand-

ing.

"There was no way we would have continued examinations as some of you desired.

We appreciate the concerns of those who had approved releases from their places of work.

"We will try to see how we can manage the situation to minimise inconveniences," he said.

The remaining examinations have been suspended as a mark of respect for the deceased.

According to Okunade, the remaining examinations would re-commence soon while the interactive session for the returning students continues.

RISTOW Helicopters has resumed flight operations after conducting an enhanced inspection review of its S-76 fleet.

It said it has resumed flyin with the full endorsement of the regulatory authorities.

Bristow's Regional Director Africa, Duncan Moore in a statement said: "We would wish to reiterate our appreciation for the help, support and understanding we have received from the NCAA, the AIB, our clients and other industry stakeholders during this very difficult period."

"Bristow continues to cooperate fully with the AIB on the ongoing investigation and has recovered the aircraft that was involved in an accident in Lagos on August 12, 2015.

"The aircraft, a Sikorsky S76 C+, was certificated to carry 12 passengers plus two crew members. Bristow operated the airxxxfor 10 passencraft configured gers and two crew members."

The airline suspended its operations last Thursday following a crash which left six dead and another six injured last Wednesday in Oworonshoki, Lagos.

Three docked for loitering at MMA

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KECHUKWU Nicholas (35), Timothy Jackson (26) and Charles Okafor (30) have been arraigned before a Magistrate Court sitting in Ogba, Lagos for allegedly loitering at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

The trio was arrested by security operatives attached to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

According to the prosecution, the suspects entered the international airport premises without reasonable cause or permission from the appropriate authorities, an offence contrary to Section 3 (e) and punishable under section (e) of the bye laws of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), 2005.

They were alleged to have been found walking aimlessly in the said area, knowing that such action was against FAAN's Bye Law; anxxx offence under Section 3 (b) and punishable under Section (2) of FAAN Bye Laws 2005.

Each of the suspects pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail in the sum of N100, 000.00 with two sureties who must be gainfully employed and whose addresses can be verified.

Robbery: FERMA, IGP partner on highway safety

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HE Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and the ?Nigeria Police Force (NPF) will deploy 90 patrol vehicles to ensure safety of commuters on federal highways across the nation.

The partnership will also include clearing of vegetation in dangerous locations along the Abuja-Lokoja express road.

The Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase during an inspection visit with FERMA Managing Director, Gabriel Amuchi at the weekend disclosed that the partnership became very important to prevent activities of hoodlums.

He said the Police officers were ready to partner with other

From: Olugbenga Adanikin, Abuja

relevant stakeholders, adding that the second phase of the collaboration will be on AuchiIruekpe road.

"This stretch of the road has become a source of security concern to us due to armed robbery and kidnappers.

"So I decided to seek the assistance of FERMA to see how we can open the space here as part of our security prevention to ensure that the place is safe.

"I have always said it that security cannot be left to police alone, all other stakeholders are crucial to ensure that we have a secure environment and you

could see that what they are doing is crucial to ensure that the highways are safe.

"It is going to be a continuous process but you know that the cost implication would be taken into consideration. Once we are able to take of this axis we would face Auchi- Iruekpe and Ehor black spots where hoodlums are also notorious and we would also appeal to FERMA to intervene in those areas to address the security challenges."

Amuchi said aside from safety of travellers, clearing of the roadside vegetation will aid better visibility of drivers.

He said the agency had commenced monitoring of the right of ways through a com-

mittee which includes the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) among other Para-military bodies.

"What is happening here is a very strong collaboration and because of these hoodlums, we need serious security presence and patrol.

"At the end of this clearing we would improve visibility and sight scene so it is going to be a continuous relationship and in other flash points we would also need collaboration to commence work in your place for safety."

The Kogi State Police Commissioner, Samuel Ogunjemilusi, described the

partnership as prompt, stressing that there would be no hiding place for kidnappers on the road because motorists can see criminals far apart and inform the police or make u-turn.

"We were given 90 vehicles to patrol the high way and we are everywhere on the road. So once we are able to create this visibility, there would be no hiding place for criminals in Kogi state.

"We have already flushed them out of the town and we are moving to flush them out of the highway.

"The beauty of it was that our response time would be fast and we would savage the highway together with FERMA," Ogunjemilusi added.

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SPORTS THE NATION ON SUNDAY

Musa excited with victorious goal

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I G E R I A international Ahmed Musa has told AfricanFootball.com he is delighted to score the winner for CSKA Moscow in a Moscow derby against Spartak.

CSKA Moscow lead the league table in Russia with 15 points from five games.

"I am very happy to score the goal that gave us victory. It was a derby and wasn't easy, we put in our best and were rewarded with victory,” Ahmed M u s a t o l d AfricanFootball.com “I will keep working hard to get better every time."

Musa scored in the 35th minute to give his team a 20 lead. He has now scored two goals in five games.

EXTRA

AUGUST 16, 2015

N'Jie pens five-year deal at Spurs

Emenike (L) with the trophy

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'Sunshine Stars will beat Enyimba'

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UNSHINE Stars coach Kennedy B o b o y e h a s maintained his team are still on track to win their first Nigeria league championship despite the surge by Enyimba.

Last week, Sunshine Stars lost their leadership to six-time champions Enyimba, who have 41 points from 22 matches, two points ahead of the Akure club.

Boboye said his team are very much focused on their set target play continental football next year as Nigeria league champions.

“Enyimba's current form does not scare us in anyway. They are on top today but we shall catch up with them soon,” said the young coach.

“We have our plans and we are on track. There are still 16 rounds of matches to play and we are sure of clinching the trophy at the end of the season.”

Emeteole begins another El-Kanemi era

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XPERIENCED manager, Kelechi Emeteole, begins his third spell as head coach/technical adviser of El-Kanemi Warriors with Sunday's match day 23 road trip at Abia Warriors.

Emeteole returns to the club he left on the eve of the 2013 season after returning the side to the top flight.

“I watched the Cup match against Rangers and have to work with players since the transfer window is already closed,” Emeteole said to supersport.com.

Emeteole rejoined one of his former teams, Heartland, last year and a romance with Rangers went sour before the midseason break this term.

Emenike brace gives Al Ain Super Cup

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M M A N U E L Emenike scored twice as Al Ain beat Al Nasr 4-2 to win this year's UAE Super Cup. Nigeria striker Emenike, who is on loan from Turkish club Fenerbache,

was on target in the fourth minute for the opening goal and he completed his brace in the 72nd minute.

Al Nasr drew level in the 50th minute through Jamal Ibrahim Moroof and scored a late goal in

stoppage time to put some respectability in the scoreline.

Last week, Emenike helped his team clinch another trophy in Morocco.

It is now left to be seen if

new Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh will pick Emenike for next month's AFCON qualifier in Tanzania.

T h e N i g e r i a International joined the United Arab Emirate side on loan from his Turkish side, Fenerbahce.

SUPER SUNDAY

Man City battle Chelsea at Etihad

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ANCHESTER City host Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday looking to pile more misery on the Blues following their opening day draw with Swansea.

The champions were lucky to escape their opener at Stamford Bridge with a point following Thibaut Courtois' red card early in the second half as they held on for a 2-2 draw against the spirited Swans.

Jose Mourinho's criticised his club's own medical staff this week after they went on

to treat Eden Hazard late on, reducing the team to nine players in the dying minutes. His controversial comments have unsettled the camp, with doctors Eva Caneiro and Jon Fearn having reportedly been suspended by the club.

Whether the backroom drama has any effect on the squad's performance remains to be seen and an early trip to their most realistic rivals for the title promises to be a stern test of the club's resolve.

Mourinho will, however, be boosted with a fully-fit

squad to take to Eastlands should playmaker Oscar (knock) come through a late fitness test as expected, but Courtois will begin a threematch suspension, giving new-signing Asmir Begovic a chance in the Blues' goal.

Similarly, City have a largely unchanged squad from the one that eased past West Brom 3-0 in their opener on Monday night and boss Manuel Pellegrini may have full-back Gael Clichy back amongst the substitutes after overcoming an ankle injury.

The Chilean is stll without

new signing Fabian Delph (hamstring), who is yet to make his debut for the Citizens following his move from Aston Villa, though the England internatinal is expected be fit for City's trip to Everton in a week's time.

Fernando (groin) remains sidelined. City will be favourites to win the clash and should the midfield trio of Yaya Toure, David Silva and Fernandinho replicate their performance in the win over the Baggies, Mourinho may need to use all his tactical expertise to come away with a result.

Enyeama is Lille's hero at AS Monaco

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INCENT Enyeama continued to underline his potential as one of the world's best goalkeepers with a fine performance as Lille OSC held AS Monaco to a 0-0 draw on match day two in France's Ligue 1 on Friday.

The 33-year-old was in

supreme form at Stade Louis II as he produced top class saves to deny the Principality club what would have been a deserved win.

The highlight of the Super Eagles captain's performance came in the second half when he dived spectacularly to beat out

Ricardo Carvalho's goalbound effort in the 76th minute.

Enyeama has not missed a Ligue 1 match for Lille since he returned from his loan spell from Israeli club, Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2013.

Lille now have one point from their first two games following their opening day

0-1 defeat at home to champions, PSG last weekend.

Lille coach, Herve Renard is impressed with the result and voiced his sentiments after the game.

"A draw is a very good thing for us. It's one point in the bag," Renard told Bein Sports TV.

OTTENHAM Hotspur have announced the signing of Cameroon striker Clinton N'Jie on a five-year deal subject to international clearance and the player receiving a work permit.

Spurs have long been linked with N'Jie who finally put pen to paper on Saturday, celebrating his 22nd birthday in style.

N'Jie joins the North London club from Lyon where he scored eight goals in all competitions last season, including a further six in 11 games for the Indomitable Lions since his debut in September last year.

“I'm still young, still growing up and it's a big challenge - the Premier League is one of the biggest leagues in the world," N'Jie told the club's official website on his arrival.

“The club is ambitious and I'm ready to give my best to help the club achieve its aims.

“Like I said, I'm still learning and I'm here to give my best. I just hope I get the chance to give [back] to the club what they are giving to me.”

Ubong closer to Fed Cup golden boot

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KWA United winger, Friday Ubong, moved closer to claiming the 2015 Federation Cup golden boot after scoring his sixth goal of the competition.

Ubong increased his tally in Wednesday's quarterfinal clash against amateurs, Niger Tornadoes Feeders.

After uneventful campaigns in the 2012 and 2014 editions of Nigeria's knockout competition with lower division side, Akwa Starlets, Ubong has hit the right cord in his first season in the top flight.

Interestingly, he announced his readiness for business with a hat-trick against Dalhatu United and earned a brace against Peacemakers FC before scoring his sixth goal on Wednesday.

“I'm working hard to emerge top scorer in the competition,” Ubong said to supersport.com.

The winger gets another chance against Nasarawa United to boost his ambition to win the highest goal scorer award when his side plays Nasarawa United in the semifinals to be decided at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 16, 2015

SPORT EXTRA

71

Mahrez, Ayew continue great form in EPL

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LGERIAN winger Riyad Mahrez and Ghana playmaker Andre Ayew continued their excellent starts to the 2015/16 English Premier League season on Saturday afternoon.

Mahrez netted his third Premier League goal in two games to help Leicester City back to the top of the standings with a 2-1 win away to West Ham United.

The Algerian doubled the Foxes' lead in the 38th

minute after Shinji Okazaki had put the visitors ahead in the 27th.

West Ham fought back in the second half, with Senegal's Cheikhou Kouyate providing an assist for Dimitri Payet to pull a goal back, but the match ended with the visitors claiming all three points.

In Wales, Andre Ayew scored his second goal in as many games to help Swansea beat 10-man Newcastle United 2-0.

Romelu Lukaku double fires Everton to victory Swansea City striker Bafetembi Gomis (left) celebrates after scoring against Newcastle in the Premier League match on Saturday

Barca eye fightback after shock defeat

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ARCELONA boss Luis Enrique defiantly backed his side to pull off an incredible comeback in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup on Monday after being thrashed 4-0 by Athletic Bilbao.

An under-strength Barca side were torn apart by

Athletic on Friday as Mikel San Jose's stunning opener and a second-half hat-trick from Aritz Aduriz put them on the verge of a first trophy in 31 years.

"If there is anyone who can turn this around it is Barca. We will wait till Monday and will give everything we have," said

Enrique.

The European champions lifted their fourth trophy of the year earlier in the week, but were equally as shambolic in defence as they threw away a 4-1 lead before overcoming Sevilla 5-4 in extra time. It is the first time in 14 years that Barca have conceded four times in two

consecutive games and comes as even more of a it took 13 games for the Catalans to concede eight times last season. shock as it took 13 games for the Catalans to concede eight times last season.

"It worries me that we are conceding so many goals," added Enrique.

R

OMELU Lukaku scored two first-half goals and Ross Barkley added another as Everton claimed their first victory of the Premier League season by winning 30 at Southampton on Saturday.

Belgium striker Lukaku headed home Arouna Kone's 22nd-minute cross and swept in from Barkley's astute pass on the stroke of half-time before the England midfielder neatly curled in a third goal six minutes from time.

Victory, Everton's first at St Mary's since 2002, provisionally elevated Roberto Martinez's team to

second place in the fledgling standings, two points below Manchester United, who won 1-0 at Aston Villa on Friday.

An impressive seventh last season in manager Ronald Koeman's first campaign, Southampton are without a win after two matches, having drawn 2-2 at Newcastle United in their opening fixture.

Manchester City host Chelsea in an early clash of title contenders on Sunday, when the visitors will hope to move on from the furore sparked by manager Jose Mourinho's demotion of medics Eva Carneiro and Jon Fearn.

QUOTABLE “I can’t say President (Muhammadu) Buhari is my in-law. I am not married to his son. My daughter is not married to him.

That is what I understand about being an in-law, but obviously in life, you have acquaintances, people you have known.”

SUNDAY, AUGUST 16, 2015 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL. 9, NO. 3309

—Acting Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mrs. AminatZakari, denying accusation from critics that she is an an-law to President MuhammaduBuhari.

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HILE decorating the new service chiefs on Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari charged the nation’s armed forces to bring the Boko Haram menace to an end in three months.

Militarily speaking, and given the rearmament begun under the Goodluck Jonathan presidency but now intensified, coupled with the coalition the president has deftly built with Nigeria’s neighbours to take the fight to the insurgents, both the task of defeating the sect and meeting the November deadline should be achievable. Under Dr Jonathan, many such optimistic deadlines were routinely given by the government and scornfully defied and broken by the insurgents. Notwithstanding this poor record, which shattered the credibility of the armed forces, particularly the army and the air force, it does appear that resolving the corruption conundrum in the anti-terror war and reorganising and motivating the military should knock Boko Haram into a cocked hat.

But there is nothing the president has said thus far that gives the impression his understanding of the Boko Haram menace is much better than his predecessor’s. He of course recognises the socio-economic dimension of the problem, and has spoken blithely in support of recognising and tackling poverty, a causative agent of the revolt. He has also indicated the value of forming and inspiring a coalition to give muscle to the war effort. In addition, he appears sensibly to understand the place of education in the equation, and how wiping out ignorance among the populace could deny terror merchants the support base they have so casually and complacently relied on. Undoubtedly too, as the president has indicated, and in response to external pressures, he will intensify efforts to fight a clean and just war, as well as deliver justice to victims of the war, including members and leaders of the sect extra-judicially murdered by the police.

President Buhari will do many things different from his lethargic predecessor, Dr Jonathan. He will approach the war honestly, diligently and with all the integrity he can muster. Reassuringly too, he will handle the counterinsurgency exercise with all the methodicalness at his disposal. Indeed, the country will not be irrationally optimistic to expect that soon, all will be quiet on the war front, not excluding the bombing cauldrons. But irrespective of all the salutary changes he will bring to the war effort, and going by his statement when he decorated the new service chiefs, his understanding of Boko Haram has only gone a tad above that of his predecessor’s. He appears to perceive the problem as an existential issue, one of crime and punishment to ensure the survival of the country, and one in which he speaks effusively of misguided individuals as the bane of the country’s many headaches. The president seems painfully at odds with the historical significance of the Boko Haram insurgency.

If effective and comprehensive strategies are to be developed to fight Boko Haram terror, the Buhari government must go beyond the usual explanations. The government is admittedly not wrong to identify economic, social and even political injustice as some of the factors that predisposed the Northeast to revolt. They are in fact right to single out religious fanaticism, poverty, ignorance, corruption in government and in the military, and general misrule. These factors, and many more, are important in understanding Boko Haram.

And these factors may in fact explain why Dr Jonathan put too much premium on crushing and defeating the insurgency militarily. These factors may also be why President Buhari, having taken care to approach the problem methodically, also believes that he now possesses the military antitoxin to neutralise the sect in three months.

Both President Buhari and Dr Jonathan, however, exaggerate their understanding of Boko Haram’s causative factors, and put misplaced confidence in what should be

November deadline mystifies Boko Haram

•Buhari done to defeat the menace. Boko Haram’s foot soldiers may be poor, harassed, uneducated and exploited; yet, its leaders have a fair understanding of what they think of Nigeria and what must be done to tackle the problems that hobble it. It does not matter how contemptuously the rest of Nigeria and the outside world view the Boko Haram leaders’ worldview, all they care about is their vision of the revolutionary changes they seek to impose on a country they visualise as diseased and untenable. Without a deep understanding of the dynamics shaping, influencing and inspiring Boko Haram, whatever solutions are conceived may, therefore, be temporary and probably ineffective.

A sizable number of the social and religious revolts that have convulsed the country took place in the Northeast. The Northeast is regarded as the poorest part of Nigeria. But apart from poverty, and perhaps misrule, which is not exclusive to that blighted region, religion and empire building (caliphate) greatly fascinate the people. Borno State, the epicenter of the current revolt, not only hosted the great Kanem-Bornu Empire, it was the first part of what later became Nigeria to introduce Islam.

To Boko Haram leaders, the ongoing revolt is little more than a political clash between a secular order and a theocratic order, a clash, in their view, between the unwanted old and the desired new. Terror is merely a tool to bring about the utopia of their dreams. Events in other parts of the world, such as the fearsome exploits of al-Qaeda, and now ISIS, simply give fillip to the Boko Haram project and help refine and sharpen their ideology.

President Buhari must bring into the Northeast equation an understanding of the historical dynamics that have shaped the world for centuries.

Nigeria is not an island, and is thus not immune to these caliphal forces, whether they are cruel and brutal or gentle and modernising. Nothing however indicates that the Buhari government has a substantial understanding of these historical forces. If the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) is not guilty of exaggeration, its announcement that it barred nearly 5,000 Nigerians from travelling abroad between January and March this year probably to enlist in the bloody reign of terror masterminded by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is not just an indica-

•Buratai tion of a passing fad, but a countervailing manifestation of powerful historical dynamics. Boko Haram, with its theocratic overtone, has become an ideology. It is unlikely to end until it is replaced in the esteem and fascination of the people of the Northeast by something bigger, better and more endearing.

Empire builders are an integral part of human society and history. There will always be movements, religions and ideologies attempting, sometimes successfully and at other times unsuccessfully, to reshape the world and redraw borders. In contemporary times, Russian borders have been redrawn twice, and are still being redrawn. There is no proof the exercise will end soon, as Ukraine and Georgia are showing. The Mongoloid Empire of Genghis Khan is regarded as the most brutal ever, leaving approximately 40 million people dead in its wake, and wiping out or transplanting whole nations from Asia to Europe. Historians describe him as “a great ruler who was equal parts military genius, political statesman and bloodthirsty terror.” Under Stalin’s Soviet Union, it is estimated that more than 15 million people were killed to nurture the Soviet communist system and ideology. Suleyman the Magnificent’s Ottoman Empire also authored fierce displacement and destruction of peoples and cultures, without undermining the laudatory view of his rule. Like ISIS, Boko Haram is bitten by the same ambition bug as these other historical greats.

The allure of ISIS will continue for some time to come, attracting fervent and adventurous youths from all parts of the world. ISIS can of course not be divorced from the terrible mistake committed by the United States when it overthrew Saddam Hussein’s Sunni/Baath rule, a mistake and regime change policy that has not only produced ISIS but also empowered and elevated Iran into a major regional power destined to shake and influence the Middle East and parts of Europe in the near future. Al-Qaeda in Iraq feasted on the disintegration of Iraq, then transformed into ISIS when the former’s ideology became con-

stricting, and is now exploiting the SunniShiite dichotomy to unleash a reign of terror on the region and carve out a contiguous, more or less Sunni, theocratic territory. Even if the US were to compound its mistake by putting boots on the ground sometime in the near future, it is difficult to see them extinguishing the ISIS flame.

If the Nigerian Immigration Service actually barred about 5,000 Nigerians from travelling to Iraq and Syria to join ISIS, as it claims, then the question to ask is: how many others have successfully smuggled themselves into linking up with ISIS and al-Qaeda? Last week, two Kano youths were caught in India attempting to enter Pakistan from where they hoped to journey to Iraq. The fascination for ghoulish and grandiose adventures will not end even after Boko Haram has been militarily defeated. It is of course necessary to engage Boko Haram in the battlefield, but President Buhari must get his perspectives right.

Military victory and economic empowerment will not be sufficient to end the fascination for Boko Haram ideology or similar extremist ideologies. The government must urgently seek to replace the passion for Boko Haram and other such ideologies with a unifying national essence or raison d’etre. This is the biggest challenge facing Nigeria today: how to instill a unifying and inspiring concept of Nigeria into the minds of Nigerians, how to infuse into them the powerful and overriding doctrine of Nigerian exceptionalism. But given the dynamics on the ground, it is hard to see President Buhari and the northern elite who are on the front lines of the terrible war embracing such radical measures.

To replace Boko Haram’s fervency and ideology in the hearts of Nigeria’s boisterous youths, and to supplant its irresistibly isolationist, exclusionist and parochial attractions, will involve subsuming the North’s main religions under a national ideology in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious pastiche. At the moment, the mind of the country is vacant, except for irritating cobwebs. If Boko Haram can’t fill that vacancy because of defeat, ethnic irredentists will try to; and if ethnic bigots fail, religious bigots will give it a shot. The Nigerian condition is so bad that except those who live in denial, everyone is apprehensive of the implications of Nigeria’s longstanding inability to shake off its label as a mere geographical expression.

Boko Haram has not been intelligently led. Were it to have brilliant leaders, Nigeria would be in far worse trouble than its puny intellect can manage. Just as the world’s tectonic plates are shifting, the world’s political and behavioural plates are also moving, sometimes very radically. Indeed they have never stopped shifting. North Africa and the Middle East have witnessed great shifts. Rashidun, Abbasid, Umayyad and Ottoman Caliphates, and other ‘successor’ entities within Nigeria’s borders such as the Sokoto Caliphate and Kanem-Bornu made vast regions restive and fertile for revolt and adventure. Rather than set a November deadline to defeat Boko Haram, President Buhari and his government should be drawing lessons from the factors that made great societies and empires endure for a long time.

Those lessons will help Nigeria fashion a way out of its present cul-de-sac and make victory in the Boko Haram war certain and enduring.

If the right measures are not adopted, if the ‘nations’ in Nigeria’s South and the ‘nations’ in Nigeria’s North continue to hold on tightly to their prejudices and exclusionist ideologies, there is no amount of military power, local and international, that can defend the country when a powerful, intelligently-led movement comes along. Nigerian leaders have not been bright enough to learn from their country’s chequered history since independence. If the present political structure and behaviour are not reformed, the country would be sailing near the wind, courting disaster and disintegration. Boko Haram is the perfect example of why it is time to think outside the box.

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Website: www.thenationonlineng.net ISSN: 115-5302 E-mail: sunday@thenationonlineng.net Editor: FESTUS ERIYE