The Nation August 17, 2014 by The Nation

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

COLUMN

The progress of former progressives

T is one of the great paradoxes of Nigerian history that the most vicious and venal reactionaries are often former progressives. Given the enormous damage they subsequently cause to the progressive cause, the question must now be asked as to whether they were ever progressive at all in the first instance or mere ideological choir boys chanting what they hardly understood or barely believed in. Some of them may even be innocent victims of political disorientation or mere wannabes looking for a political platform to actualise their legitimate ambition. Or in some extreme cases, this crisis of ideological orientation can be traced to the political equivalent of gender confusion or some more profound case of genital conflation which produces political hermaphrodites. As it is now being revealed in the twilight of their political career, it is even possible that a few of our progressive avatars were nominal conservatives who cheated demystification by sheer good luck. Rather than hurling insults and invectives at each other, it may be better to understudy the very notion of progressive politics in order to lay bare the structure of contradictions that power politics at any given time and place and the radical restructuring of the status quo which happens to be the hallmark of progressive politics. It may well be that we have all along been confusing an abiding preference for modernity and modernisation which is the default temperament of the majority of the Yoruba people as well as the template for their pre-colonial and post-colonial politics with progressive ideology

S the progressive forces look set to reclaim their traditional political redoubt of the old west, one can feel a mood of upbeat defiance and rugged optimism sweeping through the region. There is a sense in which it feels like the end of another inglorious era in Yoruba politics or what is known by the fastidious French as a fin de siece. But since history is full of paradoxes, it also feels like just the end of a particular beginning rather than the beginning of a particular end. In this modern equivalent of the War of the Roses, a battle is only the culmination of an engagement between opposing forces and not necessarily the end of hostilities. It is a small arc within a wider arc of history in a long revolution full of stunning victories and equally daring retreats. Although ideologically and intellectually vanquished, the Yoruba reactionaries may yet regroup under the federal might with a new retrogressive war-cry, but that is if the federal might itself were to remain federal or mighty. There is a time for everything and nothing remains forever, not even oppression which often has to change its hue in order to accommodate new realities. All of which is to say that it doesn’t really matter which way the Osun Tribunal proceeds. All over the political ramparts of the old west, the forces of retrogression and their mongrel offspring have their back to the wall. The entire region is in ferment. The fat lady is walking towards the stage with roly-poly assurance. If it pleases their lordships, they may choose to prolong the misery of a government and party in total disarray by a few months. It simply means the end will be even more cataclysmic. And who can query their wisdom? It was the great Mike Tyson who wryly noted that he knew of certain blows that can make a heavyweight boxer crash to the canvas many cynical minutes after delivery. Let it be with the mainstream adventurers in the old west. But for this politically turbulent region, an epoch also seems to be

nooping around With

Tatalo Alamu

•Aregbesola

which is marked by a clear and intellectually sustained preference for the radical reorganisation of the existing order. To say that the Yoruba are naturally progressive because of their instinctive preference for modernity and the modernisation project may well be true. But it does not exhaust the possibilities of the term. In the same individual, the same people and the same society, the conservative may well coexist and cohere with the progressive until a defining crisis forces one tendency to supplant the other. .

As we have seen in the case of Dubai, Singapore and the Asian Tigers, it is quite possible for great modernising drives to be sustained by or anchored on conservative politics which is suspicious of the radically disruptive. Yet by creating a potent and prosperous middle class, these conservative societies have already provided the future nursery beds of radical discontent with the existing status quo. With the resounding victory of Governor Rauf Aregbesola in the Osun gubernatorial election, a

new vista has opened up in the perpetual struggle between progressives and former progressives in the old western region of Nigeria. It was a major political rout and electoral shellacking of the Yoruba conservatives and sundry mainstream apostles of federal power. Yet some rabid ideologues of the right and their ethnic carrion feeder collaborators are already insinuating that having captured forty two per cent of the total votes cast, the PDP is clearly ascendant in this heartland of Yoruba progressive politics. They have conveniently forgotten that this was the same state they claimed to have legitimately ruled between 2003 and 2010 when they were dislodged by judicial justice. What happened to that majority of their imaginary hallucinations? In the 2011 elections, Aregbesola completely cleaned out the entire state in a brilliant display of total politics. Was it possible to proceed from nothing to this electoral substantiality? It is obvious that this is all part of the anticipatory approval of the looming electoral heist their principal is preparing to foist on the entire nation come 2015. The PDP has been hoisted by the petard of its own lies and electoral chicaneries. For Aregbesola, it has been a close shave indeed, but they have not

History 101 for political renegades coming to an end. Just as oppression changes colour, the forces of resistance also undergo critical transformation in terms of engagement and in terms of the men and material they have been saddled with. Adjustments have to be made to accommodate new developments. Since you cannot step into the same battlefield twice, you cannot also fight new battles with old weapons and strategies. In the event, this is the first time you have in power in several parts of the old west people who are not direct disciples of Obafemi Awolowo but who seem to buy into the progressive ideals and ideology dominant in the region. Twenty three years after the demise of the late sage and with a new generation of voters who grew up without his overpowering aura, it may no longer be enough to swear by the old man’s name, or to appeal to him directly. But as the old political wizard from Ikenne recedes into the background, we must still pity the mainstreamers. They seem to have read their history books upside down, that is if they ever completed a history book in the first instance. When Zik urged the late Sardauna of Sokoto that they should forget their differences, the great grandson of Othman Dan Fodio famously retorted that it was more important that they should understand their differences. This is the ideological and intellectual tragedy of our modern day mainstreamers. A gifted and outstanding political strategist, the scion of the Sokoto caliphate never surrendered his semitheocratic vision of the modern nationstate to any mainstream. It is a troubling and unviable proposition all right, but the great man never wavered in his granite determination to remould modern Nigeria as a semi-feudal fiefdom. All he did was to identify acolytes and collaborators all over the country willing to subscribe to this quaint and anomalous notion of the modern state. This was no political crime. He had the force of history and political cul-

ture to back him. He was even willing to surrender the levers of the state and their immense leverages to non-native believers. After all, Saladin, the great Islamic conqueror and ruler, was of Kurdish extraction. Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa himself belonged to an endangered minority ethnic group from the old Bauchi province. The problem, then, is not the mainstream but what you bring to the mainstream. If you surrender your own political and cultural dominant for a mess of federal pottage, it is your business. Obafemi Awolowo, the Sardauna’s greatest political adversary, despite being coopted to the mainstream at a time of grave national crisis, never surrendered his unflinching belief in the destiny of Nigeria as a progressive modern nation-state based on rationality and order. In book after book and tract after tract, the Ikenne titan railed and rallied against feudalism as a homophobic nuisance and the greatest threat to national aspiration. The feudal mindset was a veritable obstacle to the development of mental magnitude and the emancipation of human-kind as a free autonomous rational being capable of taking his destiny into his own hand. Just like his arch-rival, the Sardauna, Awolowo was stubbornly unyielding and unwilling to surrender his vision of Nigeria as a progressive, genuinely federated modern nation-state. If his antagonists were willing to cooperate with him and allow him to move the nation forward by moulding it along his visionary ethos for the benefit of everybody so be it. If not, tough luck to Nigeria. It was a collision of altars and of mutually contradictory and savagely antagonistic worldviews. But Awolowo did not just emerge from nowhere. He was at once a product and great beneficiary of what is known as the political unconscious of his Yoruba people, their progres-

sive libertarian outlook and their fiercely robust sense of self-worth. It is to be noted that those progressives who jumped into the mainstream without their battlements and order of battle always come back in political body bags. On the other hand an early mainstreamer like MKO Abiola who finally saw through the charade and chicanery was also brought back home in a body bag. It may have to do with an ancestral curse, but it also has to do with the political consequences of surrendering the initiative to the adversary. If anybody calls the Yoruba republican monarchists, he would not be wide of the mark. This apparent contradiction would probably have been resolved in favour of full modernity or some compromised variant had they been allowed to follow the trajectory of their own history without colonial irruption. For two centuries before colonial conquest, the Yoruba had been locked in a battle of wits and will with their kingship institution, relentlessly subverting the system from within through periodic eruptions of rebellions and civil disobedience. By this they had hoped to tame and domesticate the institution by curing it of its grosser and more tyrannical absurdities. Some of their subversive lyrics and wittily profane proverbs attest to this battle royale. In the old Oyo Empire, a tyrannical Basorun Gaa was eventually subdued and summarily incinerated by an angry mob. After the old empire fell to Fulani incursion, the former prince Atiba who had converted the old Ago hamlet to a new Oyo was openly mocked, disdained and treated as a powerless feudal dinosaur by a succession of Ibadan warlords. The same fate was reserved for his successors. An “empire” without an army was a huge joke indeed. Meanwhile as the Ibadan army went about establishing its suzerainty and hegemony over the rest of Yorubaland, it was also resisted and

managed to touch his shrubby beard. That magical goatee should be preserved for posterity and in the interest of electoral sanity in Nigeria. Having captured the old Ondo province, had the PDP succeeded in overrunning Osun State through its blatant intimidation and electoral cajolery, it would have been a straight dash to the sea through Oyo and Ogun.. Like his illustrious warrior forebears did in 1840 at the Jalumi battle, Aregbesola has managed to turn the tide against federal invaders. Like all those who have tried to turn Yorubaland into a theatre of war using Yoruba renegades, Jonathan will learn his lesson the hard way. By trying once again to humiliate the Yoruba people and rob them of their electoral preference, the federal authorities have roused a slumbering bear. The magnitude of Aregbesola’s victory will appear in bold relief as we slouch towards 2015. We may yet have to thank the federal authorities. Before taking a look at the immediate future and its portents, we have chosen to take a retrospective glance at the immediate past by republishing an article which first appeared on this page about four years ago. undermined militarily and politically from within. After Owu was defeated and sacked, old antagonisms culminated in the Ijaiye war with Kurunmi who was originally from a village near Ogbomosho squaring it up with the Ibadan generalissimos in a bitter military duel which reverberated throughout the region . Yet this was the same Ibadan army that stood between the Yoruba and Fulani subjugation. In the meantime, the Ijebu and the Egba armies made sure that they were frustrated in their territorial ambition by standing between them and the sea from where they could have obtained more deadly ordnance. The Ibadan army eventually met its Waterloo when the Ekiti people chose confrontation and rebellion rather than acquiesce to tyranny and feudal servitude. In Awolowo this healthy rebelliousness, stubborn self-will and fiercely independent outlook seemed to have crystallised in the way it normally happens when there is a total convergence between public destiny and the private destiny of the exceptional individual. Journeys end in lovers’ meeting, as Shakespeare famously noted. Awolowo could not have imposed the feudalism and prebendalism of mainstreaming on his own people without falling on his political sword. That would have amounted to a historic retrogression and a negation of the gains of two hundred years of struggle. In times of stress, an organic nationality must throw up its own organic standard bearer. Those who have attempted to drag the Yoruba people into the mainstream of greed, opportunism, power pragmatism and its buccaneers’ ethos must now realise their historic folly. Judging from the irascible mien, the gloomy grimace of their current principal and the frozen, death-like grin of their minions, they seem to realise that the game has reached injury time. It is time indeed for restitution. First published in 2010.

IGERIA has its first good news about Ebola in the country. One of those infected by the late Liberian-American Patrick Sawyer has pulled out of danger and subsequently discharged from hospital. The lucky survivor is a female victim involved in the index case of the Ebola patient, Patrick Sawyer at First Consultant Hospital,Obalende,Lagos. Five other infected persons are said to be responding to treatment and stand a chance of also pulling through. “She was among the confirmed cases of EVD in Nigeria. It is gladdening that she is now free of the disease,” Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said last night in Lagos in an update on the Ebola

Ebola: Female patient discharged from Lagos hospital By Oyeyemi GbengaMustapha (Lagos) and Vincent Ikuomola disease. But he did not name the discharged patient. He added: “At present, five of the patients have almost fully recovered.” He said the lucky patient had been allowed home from the quarantine unit of the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), at the Mainland Hospital, Yaba, Lagos. The minister was silent on the manner of treatment the patient received and if there was any drug used. He simply said: “We

Catholic Conference approves communion by hand

HE Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria has approved the reception of Holy Communion in the hand as a precautionary measure against the spread of the Ebola virus. The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, the Most Rev. Alfred Martins, said yesterday that although the traditional receipt of Holy Communion remains communion on the tongue, “the faithful must prepare for this alternative means of receiving it. Due reverence to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist must be maintained. “It is important that when the faithful receive the Eucharistic bread in their hands, they must put it in their mouth, consume the host immediately before returning to their seats”, added the statement. It stressed that the traditional formula for receiving communion must be maintained, adding that when the Priest says, “The Body of Christ”; the communicant responds: “Amen.” It emphasised that care must

be taken not to allow the particles of the host to fall or scatter. “The communicant must keep his or her hands clean and maintain a reverential comportment that befits the Body of Christ. “The Priest or Eucharistic Minister should give the communion to the faithful themselves. The faithful are not permitted to take the host from the Ciborium or Paten.’’ The statement said the kneeling down and expressing adoration and reverence before receiving communion must be observed, adding that it was spiritually significant. “For in kneeling, a person makes himself/herself small before the presence of God before whom every knee shall bend (Phil. 2:10). “As Benedict XVI reminded; here his bodily gesture attains the status of a confession of faith, we must insist on this.’’ Martins, in the statement, prayed that the Lord Jesus present in the Holy Eucharist should heal Nigeria and protect her in these trying times.

Ebola: Catholic diocese gives condition for accepting corpses in churches

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

NEWS

ORPSES are no longer freely welcome in Catholic Churches in the Makurdi Diocese, at least until the Ebola scare is over. The Diocese said yesterday in the Benue State capital that members should, for now, produce death certificates confirming that their departed ones did not die of Ebola for funeral services to be held for them. The measure is to check the spread of deadly Ebola virus. The Director of Communications in the diocese, Moses Iorapuu, said in a statement yesterday on behalf of the Bishop of the diocese, Athanissius Usu, that in addition, parishioners will henceforth be served the Eucharistic feast on their hands as against the practice of putting it on their tongue by the priest. Besides, the exchange of the sign of peace, involving handshakes has been replaced with other suitable gestures to avoid the possibilities of contacting the Ebola virus. The diocese advised priests,

who conduct pastoral visitation to hospitals to be cautious, and seek doctor’s permission before touching sick people with undisclosed illnesses. It also announced the prohibition of group prayer sessions that involved touching and praying over unknown sicknesses. According to the statement, the measures, which are in accordance with Federal Government’s directive on ways of preventing the spread of Ebola virus, are aimed at safeguarding the health of members. “We hope that with these preventive pastoral and standard procedures and with prayers and steadfastness in responsible behaviours, the Lord will keep this virus away from us. “We also encourage personal hygiene, washing of hands regularly, clean environment and eating habits. “We urge you not to ignore government’s advice and other official statements on how to prevent the outbreak of Ebola virus.”

kept to international standard of managing the case and we are happy she was screened and rescreened over the stipulated period by World Health Organisation (WHO) and confirmed free of any trace of Ebola virus.” The minister with whom was the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, said the discharged patient had been given a clean bill of health to go home. “ I have consulted with the experts, and they say clearly that there is a discharge protocol that was employed for this particular patient. It has been followed strictly and was concluded

todayý and what you are getting now is the final outcome. Ordinarily, if she had been afflicted with another illness she would have been discharged long before now.” According to him, the total number of confirmed cases of EVD in the country now stands at12, with four deaths and 189 under surveillance in Lagos and six in Enugu. On the welfare of the Ebola patients, the minister said those receiving treatment have been moved to the new 40 bed capacity isolation ward provided by the Lagos state government. Additional equipment has been provided by the

Federal Government at the isolation ward. He also said that the controversial drug –Nano Silver- will not be administered on any patient in Nigeria as it does not meet the requirement stipulated by the National Health Research Ethics Committee. His words:”You will recall that last Thursday. I announced that we were ready to deploy an experimental drug, Nano Silver, until it was cleared by the National Health Research Research Ethics Committee. “Although the drug has since last Thursday been made available to the EOC

in Lagos. It has not been administered to any patient because we were awaiting clearance by ýthe National Health Research Ethics Committee. “I regret to inform you that the drug did not meet the requirements of the National Health Research Ethics Code. Accordingly, approval for its use was withheld by the National Health Research Ethics Committee.” He, however, said the other nominee drugs are currently under evaluation by the Treatment Research Group for EVD. “As soon as any of the experimental drugs ýis cleared by the National Health Research Ethics Committee, and issue available we shall incident if in the treatment regeneration subject to the informed consent of the patient,” he said.

• From left: President Goodluck Jonathan; former Head of Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan; Vice President Namadi Sambo; former Heads of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon and Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, at the National Council of State meeting in Abuja at the weekend. PHOTO: NAN

Kenya bars travellers from worst-hit Ebola countries James Macharia said the

AIROBI - KENYA is shutting its borders against travellers from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three countries worst hit by the Ebola outbreak, the government said yesterday.

Kenya Airways also announced that it would suspend its flights to Freetown and Monrovia when the government travel bar on passengers comes into effect on Wednesday. Several European

carriers have already suspended services to the Sierra Leonean and Liberian capitals, where states of emergency have been declared to try to slow the spread of the disease. Kenyan Health Minister

Liberia opens second Ebola centre

Liberia has opened a new centre to treat Ebola patients after the existing one in the capital became overwhelmed with patients. Assistant Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah said the first centre was only meant to treat 25 people and now has about

80 patients. The new centre which opened yesterday will have 120 beds but may eventually be tripled in size because of the ongoing crisis Isolating Ebola patients is key to slowing the spread of the disease, as sick people can transmit it through their bodily fluids

such as blood, sweat or urine. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa may last another six months. It also says the current toll of 1,069 may “vastly underestimate the magnitude of the outbreak.”

Ebola outbreak takes toll on Africa’s economy Aremu who consults for

across the country keep up with the tempo of activities especially campaign meeting to raise awareness on the dangers of the disease, it will not have any adverse effect on the nation’s economy. According to him, “With the kind of seriousness shown by government at all levels, in terms of education that has helped to limit the spreading of the disease to the extent that the WHO even commended us, I think it is a good development.”

ECOWAS said Nigerians for the first time seem to have gotten it right. “As the entire hub of the entire Africa, Nigeria does appear to have handled this whole thing very appropriately. Even in the villages the awareness level is high. So, I think on the economic front if we go ahead with the level of seriousness we have shown, all will be well.” On his part, Dr Austin Nweze, a political economist at Pan African University, Lagos, holds a different view.

measure is also aimed at travellers who have passed through the affected countries. “In the interest of public health the government has decided to temporarily suspend entry into Kenya of passengers travelling from or through the three West African countries affected by Ebola, namely Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia,” he said. The measure does not affect health workers fighting the epidemic, Macharia said, nor Kenyans returning home from the three countries. However, he warned that both groups would be subject to “strict checks... and it may be necessary to put people in quarantine”. Kenyan health officials have already spotted four suspected cases of Ebola, which experts say is raging out of control in west Africa, but all proved negative after tests. Kenyan Airways will continue to fly to Nigeria, despite a much smaller Ebola outbreak in its largest city, Lagos, the company said in a statement.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

2015: TAN canvasses support for Jonathan in Anambra •Obi, Orji, Iwuanyanwu others storm Awka From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

O all intents and purposes, the 2015 re-election race for President Goodluck Jonathan got underway yesterday in Awka where Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), launched a campaign ostensibly to herald his formal declaration. The president himself is shy of publicly coming out to say so now apparently in view of the continued incarceration of the over 200 school girls abducted in April in Chibok,Borno State by Boko Haram. But his men were at the rally in full force with his Special Adviser on Inter Party Affairs,Senator Ben Obi, declaring that his principal will consider his invitation to recontest. Secretary to the Federal Government, Anyim Pius Anyim, PDP bigwig Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Emeka Ihedioha,Power Minister Chinedu Nebo, immediate past governor of Anambra State,Peter Obi, Abia State governor, Theodore Orji and Secretary to the Anambra State Government, Oseloka Obaze, were among the crowd at the Ekwueme Square. Obi asked Jonathan to declare his presidential ambition, promising that the people of South East geopolitical are solidly behind him.

Town planners warn against unwarranted litigations From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

S part of measures towards adhering to the Federal Capital Territory master plan, the Director, Department of Urban and Regional Planning in the FCT, Rahmon Ishola Salami, has called on town planners in the city to guide against unwarranted litigations. He also charged residents of Abuja to cooperate with members of the newly reconstituted FCT Urban and Regional Planning Tribunal in order for them to succeed. The director stated this when he paid the chairman of the tribunal a courtesy visit in his office in Wuse in the company of some management staff of the department in Abuja. Salami re-iterated that the visit is the first since the Tribunal was set up. He said plans are in top gear to ensure that professionalism in the line of duty is implored at every stage of the implementation of the master plan. He advised that adequate precaution be taken into consideration to avoid unnecessary litigation even as he added that if given the chance to perform its duty the tribunal is capable of addressing the many lingering court litigation against the authority. While congratulating the chairman and members of the board for their appointment, he said their track records in their various fields of endeavour have earned them this enviable position today hence the need for them to work assiduously to fulfill the mandate given to them by the authority.

Deputy Sheriff’s defection: APC plans Borno Gov seeks cooperation to curb insurgency nationwide thanksgiving T T

HE All Progressives Youth Forum plans to organise a nationwide thanks giving in churches and mosques over the planned defection of former Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The forum chairman, Ismail Ahmed, said yesterday that his group received the news with so much joy as it considers Sheriff’s exit as the best thing that would ever happen to the life of the party due to what it calls ‘strategic blackmail of the APC by the PDD using Sheriff’s alleged links with the Boko Haram, regardless whether Sheriff was guilty or not. The Forum said: “It has

conducted very serious investigations about all the games in trying to attach a bad name to the APC locally and internationally. We found out that the PDP uses sponsored commentators in Nigeria to link Sheriff with Boko Haram, rightly or wrongly, and because he was a chieftain of the APC, it was easy to sell that to Nigerians using the media. “The Forum recalled that the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, and Femi Fani Kayode, recently said in public that Sheriff was behind Boko Haram and they openly used that to associate APC with Boko Haram.” It recalled that in 2011 the PDP spread the allegation that Sheriff was responsible for the emergence of a violent Boko Haram attack after a certain

deal he struck with their late leader to support his bid in 2003 to be governor and in return Sheriff created a Ministry for Religious Affairs and made one of the Boko Haram’s major financial backbones, Buji Foi, as Commissioner for Religious Affairs. Sheriff later fell out with Foi leading to the 2009 first major crisis which led to the killing of Foi and Yusuf Muhammed, the Boko Haram founder. Ahmed added: “Most importantly also, the PDP and the federal government are in the habit of telling the international community that APC has links with Boko Haram and in each of their meetings with representatives of foreign countries and international institutions, the PDP and the FG

cited Sheriff’s membership of the APC as basis of APC’S false link with Boko Haram. At a point two months ago, some agents working to satisfy PDP wanted the British parliament to move a motion in session seeking to probe APC’S alleged link with Boko Haram principally on the basis of Sheriff’s membership of APC “By the time Sheriff leaves the APC, nobody will have any reason to further demonise the party locally or internationally. We had actually recommended his expulsion to the leadership of the party a while ago “We don’t want him one bit in APC. He was a big burden to us, we feel so relieved and this is why we will call on our members nationwide to attend special Sunday church service and jumma’at prayers to offer thanksgiving to God almighty for cleansing the APC.”

•Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN (4th left) cutting the ribbon to commission the Main Tejuosho Shopping Complex at the Shopping Complex, Tejuosho, Lagos on Friday, August 15, 2014. With him are: His Deputy, Hon. (Mrs) Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire (3rd left), Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Obafemi Hamzat (2nd left), his Finance, Information& Strategy and Physical Planning & Urban Development counterparts, Mr. Ayo Gbeleyi (right), Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba (left), Tpl Toyin Ayinde (4th right), Group Managing Director, First Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Bisi Onasanya (5th right) and the Iyaloja General, Chief (Mrs) Folashade Tinubu-Ojo (3rd right). INSET is the Main Tejuosho Shopping Complex

APC slams DSS for linking party with Boko Haram •Threatens to sue Ogar T HE All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday condemned the thinly-veiled attempt by the Directorate of Security Service (DSS) to link it with the Boko Haram sect without providing a shred of evidence to that effect. The APC asked the agency’s spokesperson, Marilyn Ogar, to resign or be fired. The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said in a statement yesterday in Ilorin that his party has also decided to sue Ogar for attempting to blame the APC for the series of bomb blasts in the country. This is to enable her present whatever evidence she may have of the party’s alleged complicity in a court of law. The APC said the DSS “threw caution to the wind and

ORMER Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, yesterday registered as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the party’s primaries to pick its candidate for the October governorship bye election in Adamawa State. He was registered at Bako Ward in Yola South. He was until now a member of the APC. He ran for president on the platform of

exhibited its crass partisanship when the agency’s spokesperson, Ogar, said on national television that anytime the APC wins an election, there is no bomb blast, but that whenever other parties win, there is always a bomb blast. ‘’That this incredulous accusation could be made by the spokesperson of a security agency, without providing a scintilla of evidence to support such claim, has confirmed our fears that the nation’s security agencies have now constituted themselves into the enforcement arm of the PDP,” APC said and added: ‘’For the DSS spokesperson to echo the same capricious statement that has been made in the past by the spokesman of the PDP

shows that the agency has dropped its toga of non-partisanship and has descended into the political fray. If the DSS has any professional ethics, if DSS is not an arm of the PDP, then the agency must publicly dissociate itself from the irresponsible and unfounded allegation by Ogar and disengage her from the service. ‘’Doing that will be the first step in restoring the credibility, or whatever is left of it, of the DSS. In the alternative, we challenge the DSS to present to Nigerians any evidence it may have linking our party to the spate of bomb blasts in the country. After all, it is trite that he who alleges must prove.’’ The party said since it won the election in Osun,

Ogar has been struggling hard to discredit it and its victory, including making a spurious allegation that the party offered the DSS N14 million as a bribe and also trying to make a joke of the arrest of the party’s spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, for no other reason than that he belongs to the opposition. The APC said: ‘’Institutions of state like the DSS must know that their responsibility is to the nation, not to any political party that may be having a transient hold on power, that their loyalty is to the nation, not to any individual. This way, the institutions will keep their integrity intact and also serve the nation properly. Irrespective of the government in power, institutions of state must stay above the fray, in line with best practices.

Adamawa governorship poll: Ribadu registers for PDP •Meets party chair Muazu From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) He is expected to pick the nomination form tomorrow in Yola. His registration had been preceded by meetings with several PDP chieftains and lately with the party’s national chairman, Alhaji

Adamu Muazu. Some party chieftains are rooting for Ribadu to fly the PDP flag in the October 11 byeelection to replace the impeached Governor Murtala Nyako. Ribadu is also said to be banking on a presidential aide to push for a waiver for him to contest in the PDP primaries. The number of PDP governorship aspirants has already increased to six, the latest be-

ing ex-Military Administrator of Lagos State, Gen. Buba Marwa; Dr. Umar Ardo, and Mr. Marcus Gundiri. The nomination process closes on Tuesday sparking an intense horse-trading in the last 48 hours. It was gathered that Muazu met Ribadu for some hours on Friday as part of the last minute moves to pressurise the ex-EFCC chairman to join the PDP.

HE Deputy Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Umar Zanna, said at the weekend that stakeholders need to cooperate with a view to defeating insurgency in the country. Zanna, on a visit to 1,600 Borno indigenes in Gombe displaced by insurgents’ attacks in Damboa Local Government Area of the state, hailed the state government for accommodating the displaced persons. He said normalcy has now returned to Damboa and neighbouring communities and assured them that the area would soon be safe for their return. He told them that proper arrangement would be made for them to return to their communities and charged them to pray for peace in the state. Zanna commended the people for conducting themselves peacefully in Gombe where they are taking refuge in a camp and assured them of Borno Government’s assistance while they remained in the camp. Earlier, the Deputy Governor of Gombe State, Mr Tha’nda Rubaina, said that the state government has been responsible for the welfare of the Borno citizens since they arrived in the state. “Borno and Gombe are brothers and we are willing to assist the people whenever the need arises,” Rubaina said.

‘APC ready for Adamawa governorship bye-election’

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State says it will participate in the Oct. 11 governorship bye-election in the state. In a communiqué issued yesterday at the end of a twoday stakeholders meeting, the APC declared that it was determined to reclaim “the stolen mandate of the party.” The last governor, Murtala Nyako, who was impeached recently, is an APC member. The party urged all members to be united and reconcile with one another for its success in the election. The communiqué, read by Mr. Phineas Padio, the party’s Public Relations Officer in the state, said the Adamawa leadership of APC had agreed to embrace the political reality in the state. “The APC regrets the unfortunate removal of Nyako. The party also resolved that while the pending legal issues subsist, the party’s leadership has agreed to embrace the existing reality.’’ “The meeting acknowledged the tremendous support and goodwill enjoyed by the party across the state.’’ The communiqué called on major stakeholders to ensure the survival and operational viability of the party by providing the necessary logistic and material support to it.’’ It also said that the meeting received situation reports from the 21 local government areas of the state, adding that the party was healthy and vibrant.

NEWS

HE Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) yesterday called on President Goodluck Jonathan to unconditionally reinstate the 16,000 resident doctors he sacked last Thursday. It said only after their reinstatement will it return to the negotiation table with the federal government on the strike, which began on July 1. The Chairman, Lagos State Branch of NMA, Dr Tope Ojo, stated this in a briefing at the weekend. He urged Jonathan to do the right thing by reversing the sack and lifting the ban on residency training while engaging the NMA in discussion. He said because of the sack all medical schools have been shut down, saying the resident doctors contribute about 50 per cent to the training of the stu-

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

Reverse sack of 16,000 doctors, NMA tells Jonathan By Wale Adepoju

dents. This, he said, also caused the cancellation of major/ specialist surgical operations in the teaching hospitals. According to him: “The consultants by default perform all major surgical operations with the assistance of their resident doctors.” Resident doctors, he said, are part of the NMA, which declared the strike and as such should not be singled out for punishment.

He said: “All attempts by the government to divide the NMA by sacking its 16,000 resident doctors are well understood and will be resisted by the NMA. “Doctors will resist victimisation or harassment by the government or its agents because an injury to one is an injury to all.” He said the sack of doctors may trigger more cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) because most volunteers involved in case management and other levels of Ebola Emergency Response Com-

Aziza, who convicted Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, dies

mittee are resident doctors. The chairman said resident doctors are sensitive and will continue to participate in the Ebola response at all levels despite their purported sacks. He lamented lack of adequate equipment to manage the disease, adding that government has been silent on the security of volunteer doctors managing the cases. He said one of the demands of NMA is for the government to establish a National Residency Training Board and review the current policy on residency training

in Nigeria to meet international standards. Ojo said for over six years, there has been consistent pressure from some Allied Health Workers Union (AHWU) for government to stop the training of specialists in Nigeria. He urged the Lagos State government to embrace true democracy by stopping the employment of casual/ locum doctors. Doctors, he said, were given casual employment when the state Medical Guild embarked on an indefinite strike on May 7, 2012.

Bolaji Ogundele, Warri and Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

HAIRMAN of the Special Military Tribunal that convicted former President Olusegun Obasanjo and late Major General Shehu Yar’Adua of involvement in an alleged 1995 coup plot, General Patrick Aziza (Rtd) is dead. The 66-year-old first Military Administrator of Kebbi State reportedly died of cancer in the early hours of yesterday in an Abuja hospital. Until his death, he was the President-General of the Urhobo Progressive Union (UPU). Aziza, who was also a onetime Minister of Communication, was Minister of Commerce and Tourism during the transitional regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar until his retirement in 1999. He was born in Okpe Local Government Area in Delta State on 23 December 1947. He was raised in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. He went to Ibadan for his secondary education before joining the Army and participating in the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970). Aziza then attended the Nigeria Defence Academy, Kaduna, graduating in 1970. The Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, described the deceased an irreplaceable statesman. In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sunny Ogefere, Uduaghan noted that the loss itself was devastating but worsened by the timing when the invaluable contribution and experience of the late general were needed at this critical period of Nigeria’s history. ”In General Patrick Aziza we have lost one of the finest military officers, administrators, peace builders, nationalists and more fundamentally a statesman of repute. “My administration enjoyed unparalleled support and cooperation from General Aziza as President General of the UPU, who was always there to share his wealth of experience with me anytime I called on him,” he said. The governor expressed deepest condolences to his immediate family, the Urhobo nation and the State. His death threw the Urhobos into mourning. The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Dr. Steve Oru, described Aziza’s demise as very sad.

•Chairman, Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory, Smart Adeyemi(Kogi West) surrounded by Yagba West Youths during a consultative tour of the Constituency... at the weekend.

MDGs: Why we lag behind, by Gbeneol From: Faith Yahaya, Abuja

HE Federal Government has attributed its inability to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to insurgency in some parts of the country. It listed size of the population and unavailability of data, amongst others as factors militating against the targets. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goal, Dr. Precious Gbeneol, stated this in a chat with reporters. According to him: “Despite commitment shown in the setting up of institutions, formulation of policies and programs, most African countries still face a lot of challenges in meeting the MDGs. “For Nigeria, apart from the size of its population, data availability and management for development planning has presented itself a huge challenge in the attainment of the MDGs.” Speaking about areas where Nigeria is behind, she said: “There are goals we are lagging behind; goals of sanitation and water for example, we are lagging slightly behind. “Universal Basic Education, with what is going on, the issues of regional insurgents and problems going on, the percentage has also fallen.” On some goals that have experienced positive result, Gbeneol said: “We have done well in reducing the proportion of people who suffer from hunger and poverty, gender parity has been reduced and HIV prevalence has also reduced.”

‘Counterfeiting business worth $200b per year’ From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

Pension Act denies federal staff T of gratuity, EX-TUC boss alleges T HE implementation of the 2004 Pension Act is denying federal civil servants their gratuities, a former Trade Union Congress (TUC) President, Comrade Peace Obiajulu, has alleged. She spoke with reporters yesterday at the fitness training exercise of the Trustfund Pension Plc at Abuja. The implementation of the Act, she stated, is at variance with the provision. She recalled that upon the enactment of the new Pension Act, former President Olusegun Obasanjo insisted that workers should still earn gratuity alongside their pension entitlement. Obiajulu, who compared

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

the old with the new pension schemes, said: “In comparison, it is better but there is room for improvement. “Some organisations, especially Federal Government now use it to steal the workers’ gratuity because workers are no more being paid gratuity in Federal Ministries.” Calling for improvement in the implementation of the new scheme, the ex- TUC boss said although the Pension Act makes provisions for payment of pension, the Pension Fund custodians now prefer paying 25% and spreading the balance for life.

She lamented that those who knew her as an advocate of the new Pension law complain the implementation is different from what they battled for. Obiajulu, however, said nobody has complained about the operation of the Trustfund Pension Plc to her. Former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Timiebi Koripamo-Agari, noted that the Act has improved on the payment of pension. She admitted that although there are few challenges in the implementation, the Pension Scheme is better than it was. “Whether the amount is

enough is a different matter but in terms of payment, the pensioners now receive their payment,” Koripamo-Agari stressed. The Managing Director, Trustfund Pension Administration, Mrs. Helen Dasouza, revealed that the firm is about boosting of about 600,000 customers nationwide. Announcing the organisation’s target for 2014, she said: “We said that by the end of the year we should be 650,000 registrations.” She said that the Trust fund mobile solution vehicle has been of tremendous progress in terms of registration of new customers.

FG’s agric programme targets over 1.5million households

O fewer than 1,776,000 families will benefit from the new agricultural programme of the federal government. The scheme, which will be introduced to schools, will be solely based on business. Twelve states from the six geo-political zones are expected to participate in the first phase of the programme. The government la-

From: Faith Yahaya, Abuja

mented the reduction in the number of farmers because youths have no interest in agriculture. The programme is, however, expected to create interest amongst students and boost the economy of the nation. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Schools Agriculture Programme, Dr. Baraka Sani, stated these in Abuja

at the weekend during a stakeholders’ meeting. She assured that the initiative will revive the agriculture sector, which is challenged by extinction of farmers. Abuja, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Ebonyi, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Ogun and Oyo States are expected to kick start the scheme. Sani explained: “This programme will introduce young students to business

opportunities obtained in agriculture. The programme is out to change the negative perception about agriculture. “We all agree that no polished student wants to become a farmer and that is the perception we want to change because they see it as a dirty profession.” The scheme has a life span of five years and is estimated to benefit 1,776,000 million households when completed.

HE counterfeiting business in Nigeria is flourishing due to greed and is worth between $75billion to $200billion annually. The Director of Special Duties, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mr. Abubakar Jimoh, stated these at a public enlightenment programme for members of the Nigerian Youth Corp in Abuja. He said: “The Pharmaceutical Security Institutes data estimates that drug counterfeiting is a $75billion business while the world Customs Service puts it at $200 billion business annually.” Citing a World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics, Jimoh said in wealthy economies, counterfeits account for less than one percent of the market value but 50 percent of internet sales are counterfeit. He also told the NYSC members that in emerging economies, counterfeits are estimated at ten percent while in some parts of developing world, counterfeits are put at about 30 percent. He said Nigeria has put in place measures to contain counterfeiting, which include sustained public enlightenment, capacity building for workers and review of the law to make them serve as deterrents. NAFDAC, he added, is spearheading global efforts in the use of cutting-edge technologies to fight counterfeit drugs and other regulated products.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

Presbyterian Church marks 168 years, urges unity From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

HE Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PFN) yesterday marked its 168th year of existence. Speaking at its 21st General Assembly to mark the occasion, the Prelate of the General Assembly of the PCN, His Eminence, Rev (Prof) Emele Uka, called on Christians to emulate the virtues of missionaries who came to Africa and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He said the missionaries despite all odds which they face at the time due to the differences which existed in language, culture, religion and race still persevered in the aim. Uka called for unity, urging Christians to see themselves as brothers and sisters who are in the vineyard of God. Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State said arrangements have been concluded to restructure the missionaries’ cemetery to meet up with the state’s tourism initiative. Represented by his Special Assistant on Religious Matters, Eyo Ene, Imoke said that the cemetery would be sited at Creek Town in Odukpani Local Government Area of the state. He pointed out that the cemetery would be in recognition of the stewardship of the missionaries who spent all their lives inculcating Christian values in Nigeria. The Governor challenged Christians in the country to emulate the virtues of early missionaries who denied themselves comfort to spread the word of God. The Obong of Calabar, His Eminence, Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu V, urged the church not to despise the Ekpe society because it was through them that the church passed to gain its members for inculcation of the Christian values.

PVC distribution: Minister commends INEC From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

HE Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Dr. Steve Oru, has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the orderly management of the ongoing collection of Permanent Voters Card (PVC) exercise across the country. He spoke shortly after collecting his PVC at his polling unity in Otovwodo Primary School in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State. Oru described the exercise as very peaceful and orderly. “So far, the exercise is peaceful and people are orderly and not unruly. “It is a good process being managed by INEC. I wish to congratulate them for having a peaceful exercise which is for the promotion of democracy,” he said. He advised Nigerians to turn out “to make sure that they are not disenfranchised to collect their permanent voters’ card before it expires today.” According to him: “Those people who wish it away that they don’t have time are only trying to reduce the advancement of our democracy in Nigeria.”

NEWS

Fire destroys over 100 shops in Ibadan market

OODS worth over N1billion were destroyed in a fire inferno that ravaged parts of the popular Aleshinloye market in Ibadan,Oyo state capital at the weekend. Men of the State Fire Service yesterday successfully quenched the raging fire, which began on Friday night. Hundreds of affected traders were seen wailing over the huge loss, calling on wellmeaning individuals and government at all levels to come and assist them. The leader of Igbo community in the state, Eze Ndigbo of Ibadanland, Eze Alex Anozie, led other Igbo chiefs

From: Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

to the market to sympathise with the traders yesterday. Describing the loss as very devastating, Anozie made passionate appeal to the government to assist the affected traders financially and also help in reconstructing the shops. He also suggested that the market be ordered to close by 6pm daily, leaving only the security personnel to man the market and open for business by 7am. “I remember that since such was introduced at Onitsha market, frequent fire out break stopped,” Anozie

added. The burnt items are mainly jeweleries, fabrics, shoes, handbags and travelling bags as well as wrist watches, among others. One of the affected traders, Mr.Adeoye Soyemi, who deals with jeweleries, told newsmen that no fewer than six hundred shops were affected in the inferno, putting his loss at close to N1 million. He revealed that the fire started as a result of power surge, which affected one refrigerator inside one of the affected shops. Further investigation revealed that when the fire initially started, five shops were

affected while the private night guards on duty alerted men of Oyo State fire service. It was also learnt that the fire fighters could however not get enough water to contain the fire, a development which worsened the situation. It was a sad tale for many of the traders who got to know of the incident as late as midnight as hoodlums had already vandalised and stolen their goods before getting to the market. As at press time, scores of affected traders were compiling their names and items lost to the inferno with sympathisers thronging the market.

•Staff of the Osun State Investment Company Limited led by the Managing Director, Mr. Bola Oyebamiji during the celebration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s re-election in Osogbo… at the weekend

I played no role in Osun election, says Kuku

HEspecial Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Amnesty, Mr. Kinsley Kuku, said at the weekend he did not play any role in the August 9 governorship election in Osun State. Kuku said he was outside the country on official assignment at that time, contrary to the claims that he led a team of Niger Delta youths to Osun State for the election. The presidential adviser cleared the air on the issue in a lecture he delivered at the 10th convocation ceremony of the Benson Idahosa University in Benin on Friday. Kuku, who spoke on the topic: Challenging current security issues for national transformation: the way forward, said: “They even went as far as publishing

that on the Election Day, I, Kingsley Kuku, led ‘Niger Delta militants’ into Osun State to help the PDP win the election. “I left the country on official assignment to the United States of America on Wednesday, July 30, 2014 and returned to the country on Monday, August 11, 2014. So, how could I have been in Osun State and the United States of America at the same time? “ He described the election as “a new dawn” which is free and fair and the result acceptable to all including foreign observers and the party that lost, saying the credit for it should be given to President Goodluck Jonathan. Commending the late Bishop Benson Idahosa for his vision to establish the university more than 30 years ago, Kuku said: “Boko Haram con-

tinues to militate against the transformation agenda of President Jonathan.” He added that “discerning Nigerians have since formed the opinion that political actors and interests generously help to fan the embers of insecurity in the country for selfish and pecuniary reasons.” He said: “There is indeed a nexus between education, transformation and security,” hence the federal government’s investment in education in the north especially through the Almajiri schools to combat the terrorist activities of the sect. “The Boko Haram insurgency is not just a problem for northern Nigeria or Nigeria as a whole. It is a global problem that deserves collective effort to confront and defeat. I can assure you that this unfortunate matter is receiving the maximum

albeit sophisticated attention that it deserves.” Kuku praised security agents for their untiring efforts which most of the time is unheralded. “I am aware that for every suicide bombing that occurs, more than 100 attempts would have been prevented by our vigilant security agents,” he said. The presidential adviser blamed the insecurity situation on “the ineptitude, insensitivity and tardiness of successive past leaderships in the country both at the Federal and State levels” which Jonathan inherited. Kuku said in spite of the security situation, the president had achieved a lot in many areas like aviation, agriculture, education and transportation, among others.

Confab: ALGON rejects recommendation to scrap LGs From: Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

HE Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) has condemned the recommendation of the National Conference to scrap the local government administration from the constitution. ALGON described the call by some of the delegates as ‘misguided’. The national chairman of ALGON, Ozo Okafor, told newsmen at the end of the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja that the conference should have rather suggested ways to strengthen the councils and among others guarantee their independency and tenure of office. ALGON NEC also resolved that the Federal Ministry of Health should be more proactive in tackling the deadly Ebola virus and ensure that it does not spread to other states. Okafor enjoined ALGON members to go to their various local government areas and carry out sensitisation on the Ebola virus and ways of managing it. His words: “We saw some members arguing that the local government as a tier of government should be scrapped because most of the governors were mismanaging the funds meant for them, we also saw some other members rather calling for the strengthening of the councils. “We all know the councils are the closest to the people. We all need to collectively fight to ensure that the illegal deductions are stopped and that the tenure of office of four years currently enjoyed at the federal and state levels are also enshrined in the constitution.” He also commended the Supreme Court for ruling that the state governments lack constitutional powers to dissolve elected council officials and those states that illegally dissolve the elected officials of the local governments should reinstate them. Okafor urged some of the states where the Supreme Court orders have not been obeyed to take legal means and enforce their rights of reinstatement. The National Publicity Secretary of the association, Hon. Danladi Etsu Zhin, said that the general assembly of the association will in September elect a new executive to replace the officials sworn in last May after the resolution of the protracted crisis that rocked the association and also to amend the constitution to strengthen the association.

Groups support grazing reserves for Fulani herdsmen

HE Catholic Institute for Development, Peace and Justice (CIDJAP) and African Centre for Human Security, Peace and Sustainable Development (AFRISDEV) have thrown their weight behind the calls for grazing reserves for nomadic Fulani herdsmen in the South East. They said this would checkmate the incessant bloody clashes between some farming communities in the Southeast and Fulani

From Chris Oji, Enugu

herdsmen. The reserve, according to them, will also minimise such conflicts in the zone. Ahead of the establishment of the reserve, the groups last weekend organised a security seminar for the Fulani and the communities leaders in the state. The Director of CIDJAP, Prof. Monsignor Obiora Ike,

stated that the seminar was timely because the bloody clashes have become a ticking time bomb. Ike, who was represented by Rev. Fr. Anthony Ezekwu, stressed that CIDJAP stands to promote the pastoral and social teachings of the Church, giving succour to the downtrodden including the spirit of work and dignity of labour. He urged for peace, dialogue, tolerance and

freedom of existence in the communities. “Era of nomadic practices of roaming villages with cattle and sheep is over and must be approached differently. “Many lives of humans and cattle have been lost. Properties have been destroyed and a lot of harm done. “The Fulani are not Boko Haram. They are humans, friends and brothers. They need us and we need them,”

he said. The Enugu State Commissioner for Agriculture, Engr. Mike Ene, regretted that out of 415 grazing reserves none exists in the South-East. The commissioner, who was represented by Dr. Onyeka Emmanuel, Director of Veterinary Services, recommended that every state in the zone should have at least one reserve through Public Private Partnership (PPP).

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

â&#x20AC;˘Jonathan

HEN President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan inaugurated Nigeria's 2014 National Conference in Abuja, March 17th, 2014, the project was dismissed by many intellectuals, leaders and informed analysts as a waste of time and resources. Pessimists, who reasoned that only a Sovereign National Conference would resolve pertinent issues in the country, had condemned the timing of the conference, it's status, the mode of selection of delegates and virtually everything about its convocation. They concluded particularly that the delegates would not be able to agree on any tangible issue of socio-political and economic importance. However, when on Thursday, the conference finally came to close in a very happy mood, most Nigerians, including some political leaders that did not give it a chance, say it turned out better than many feared it would. The final plenary, which also served as the formal closure was a sight to behold as delegates who had tackled each other embraced one another in love and solidarity. One of the delegates, an elder statesman and one of Nigeria's most outstanding legal luminaries, Chief Mike Ahamba, SAN, described the day as "a day of pride and honour because when we came here, nobody expected us to end this wayâ&#x20AC;ŚWe have disappointed the skeptics," he said. In his report, the Conference Assistant Secretary, Media and Communication, Akpandem James, said: "It was a happy end to an uncertain journey on Thursday when the plenary session and indeed the 2014 National Conference drew to a close amidst fanfare laced with solidarity songs... "A scenario of unsolicited hugs, multiple pats on the back, wide smiles, handshakes unhindered by ethnic divides unfolded naturally as the unanimous adoption of the reports was

National Confab: Setting new hope Nigeria's 2014 National Conference ended last week's Thursday. In this report, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, presents a review of the historic dialogue taken." Highlights of Thursday's final plenary include the presentation of a motion to mandate the secretariat to vet and effect amendment to the three reports earlier presented. Part of the motion sponsored by High Chief Jerry Okwuonu and former governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, read: "Whereas the secretariat has done a very marvelous job of compiling the report of the Conference and presenting same to us in easily readable and crosscheckable format; and "Whereas delegates have perused all the reports and submitted in writing all items of omission or incorrect addition to the final report; and Bearing in mind the dual necessity of bringing the conference to a close for purposes of not unduly over-reaching the logistics provision of the conference and not unnecessarily prolonging the continued conglomeration of people in contradiction to the prescription of Health Authorities especially as the

country tackles the Ebola crisis. "It is hereby moved that the secretariat be mandated to vet all the written submission by delegates and make necessary correction thereby providing the final draft of the Conference reports." A second motion "to slightly amend the earlier motion was taken for a change in the nomenclature of one of the volumes of the reports from Draft Constitution to Proposed Amendments to the 1999 Constitution was moved by another delegate, Adamu Maina Waziri." Full text of the motion read: "To cultivate a conducive environment for delegates to validate and adopt the final report of the Conference, we the undersigned delegates, hereby offer and endorse the following observations and recommendation that seek to facilitate the process and lead to amicable ending of the Conference proceedings. "We note that the Secretariat of the

Conference on August 11, 2014 tabled before delegates a draft report contained in three volumes that are broken down in seven chapters "In particular, we observed that volume III titled Draft Constitution, conveys an attempt to insert various resolutions and recommendations of a constitutional nature that were adopted by the Conference as proposed amendments to the appropriate sections of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. "We recall and welcome the clarification and confirmation offered by Conference Chairman at plenary on August 13, 2014 that indeed Volume III contains proposals for the amendment of the 1999 Constitution. "We urged the leadership of the Conference, in collating the final report, to more appropriately designate Volume 111 as: Draft Proposals to Amend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

"Furthermore, we note and welcome the amenability of the Conference Secretariat to entertain suggestions from the delegates that point out any specific error to misrepresentation of decisions taken or resolutions adopted by the Conference and/or any inadvertent failure to incorporate same in the draft report. "We are aware that delegates have responded to this call and submitted to the Secretariat their various observations and suggested amendments to the draft. "In preparing the final report, we urged the Conference Secretariat to keep faith with and reflect fully and accurately all resolutions and recommendations accepted by the Conference and as contained in votes and preceding that were formally adopted. "Subject to the acceptance of the foregoing understanding, assurances and conditions and in accordance with the Procedure Rules, 2014 of the Conference, we move for the validation and adoption of the draft reports contained in volume 1,2 and 3 without further debate. "In the spirit of the consensus building cultivated by members and to maintain the bridges built during the currency of the Conference, we urge all delegates to subscribe to this plea." When the Chairman, Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi, put the two motions to voice vote separately, delegates expressed unanimous acceptance. What followed was spontaneous outpouring of comradeship as almost all the delegates stood up suddenly singing the old National Anthem "Nigeria We Hail Thee". So, when Chief Richard Akinjide formally moved a motion for the adoption of the final Conference Report, the First Republic Minister did not hesitate in describing the conference as a "very successful conference".

â&#x20AC;˘Contd. on page 12

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

NEWS

•Madugu (middle) signing the handover note in the presence of EFCC and other naval officers

UCKY Osigbe from Delta State does not look like an oil merchant. He appears like a typical jobless Nigerian seeking to eke out a living. Perhaps Osigbe in his desperate search for a greener pasture became a pawn in the plot by powerful moneybags to drain the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. He was recently arrested in the creeks of Sangana, Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State while trying to flee with 500,000 litres of stolen crude oil. He was the captain of MV ELMINA, a huge vessel whose compartments were laden with the black gold. The captain and his ship were apprehended by the naval operatives of the Forward Operating Base (FOB), FORMOSO, a key operational arm of the Central Naval Command (CNC). The base which is strategically located close to the Atlantic Ocean is currently under the Commanding Officer, Capt. Noel Madugu. In fact, without the timely intervention of NNS BOMADI, of the naval ships, MV ELMINA would have escaped with her product. Preliminary investigations revealed that Osigbe sailed the ship from Togo waters to the entrance of Sangana River and waited patiently for a while. Caught in the act A boat reportedly emerged from the creeks with jerry cans of a petroleum product which was later confirmed to be crude oil. The jerry cans were emptied into the compartments of the ship and through the process, MV ELMINA was loaded. After collecting much of the crude, Osigbe became apprehensive and made a u-turn to escape. "I was no longer comfortable with the pattern of the transaction and I decided to sail the ship out of the place. It was on my way that a naval ship intercepted us", the captain said. He added: "I have never done this kind of thing before. I was a fisherman when a friend called me and asked me to take up this job." But the navy was not able to have access to MV ELMINA after some drama. The vessel refused to stop until the naval ship fired some warning shots. Through radio communication, the captain claimed that 19 crew members were on board the vessel. But after searching the

Oil thieves of Bayelsa The creeks of Bayelsa State have become notorious with oil thieves who have turned it to a big business route. Mike Odiegwu in Yenagoa tells the story

• The 20 suspects on parade

vessel, the navy discovered that 20 crew members on board. When asked to state the mission of the ship, Osigbe and his crew members claimed the owner of the ship asked them to lift Automated Gas Oil (AGO). But samples taken and tested in a laboratory revealed that the ship was laden with illegally bunkered crude oil. On how the vessel was arrested, the Commanding Officer, FORMOSO, Capt. Noel Madugu, said: The vessel was intercepted by the men of the Forward Operating Base, FORMOSO at about 0130hours off Sangana River entrance. She was intercepted on Thursday. "They were coming out from the creeks where they siphoned crude oil

• The Ship

from one of the trunk lines of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC). The vessel is carrying about 500,000 litres of crude oil. "Initially, they told us that they were carrying AGO. But after our investigations, we sent our men onboard to take samples and we sent it to the lab for test and it was confirmed that it was crude oil. "They initially told us that they were 19 but when I sent my men onboard we discovered a stowaway, somebody was hiding inside the vessel. They were 20, 18 Nigerians, one Cameroonian and one Ghanaian." Madugu gave the names of the suspects as Lucky Osiegbe, captain; Adakole Onmoniji, Chief engineer;

Monday Esemutoye; Tonwoye College; Collins Ograko; Odaba Divine; Dutie Ezetu; Frederick Onwoievbe; Bonley Atangeho and Dover Abruda. Others are Joe Richard, Campala Lewis, Efe Godday, Aaron Amohefe, Reuben Dabbi, Joseph Koey, Ponmile Gideon, Wafo Marcel, Dominion Agbo and Akinbolu David. In fact, there is no doubt that Osiegbe and other suspects including the ship are in for a big problem. Already, a team of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have commenced further investigations with the purpose of prosecuting them. The navy in a brief ceremony recently handed over the suspects to the EFCC. The handover agreement was signed and sealed at FORMOSO. While

Madugu signed on behalf of the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), CNC, Rear Admiral Peter Agba; Mr. Owoeye Timothy from the zonal office of EFFCC, Port Harcourt, Rivers Statement signed for the commission. The officials of the EFCC also marked MV ELMINA which was anchored in Brass waters as an exhibit after taking samples of her product. They conveyed the suspected crew members to Port Harcourt. In his comment, Timothy, who took delivery of the suspects, said investigation would begin for possible prosecution. "We have taken over MV ELMINA and the suspects. Investigation continues," he said. But some stakeholders who witnessed the ceremony believe that Osigbe and 19 others were simply pawns on the chessboard of powerful syndicate out to wreck the commonwealth. The haggard and hungury suspects are only paid peanuts after each suicide mission. They also believe that oil theft would not stop until the influential individuals who are behind it are arrested, prosecuted and jailed. One of them who refused to mention his name said: "These people arrested by the navy are not the main suspects. The main suspects are rich and famous. They are relaxing in their expensive hotels in Lagos and other major cities in the world. These people are simply suffering for nothing. What these big men who own these ships do is to mount pressure on their friends in high places to get their ships and workers released after which the business continues." But Madugu said the navy would not relent in its efforts to eradicate economic sabotage. He said the navy was determined to wage war against economic sabotage adding that the security outfit would not rest until oil theft was stamped out. "There is no hiding place for any illegal bunkering activities in the Niger Delta. The Navy will comb every nooks and crannies of the region to ensure oil theft is curbed to the barest minimum. "It is a continuous operation that will be sustained by the navy because the navy has the mandate which has been given to us by the Chief of the Naval Staff. We won't rest until we ensure that the mandate is carried out to the letter", he said.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014 â&#x20AC;˘Contd. from page 9 nationalities, professional groups, political parties, civil society groups and government nominees were given three months to discuss and agree on, amongst other issues, the country's constitutional, security and political challenges. But as soon as the list of the delegates was made public; a list featuring 37 Elder Statesmen, amongst other well known top political leaders, some Nigerians, especially youth activists and other critical observers voiced out criticism of the choice of the delegates, writing off some of them as either "too old, too tired, fagged out, sick or simply over used already." Most of the critics said openly that many of the delegates would not make any meaningful contribution on account of ill health or age. This tension deepened when northern delegates, led by the Lamido of Adamawa, Dr Aliyu Musdafa threatened to leave the country for Cameroon over disagreements on the model to be adopted in reaching decision. It was a tension tensed beginning. This unfortunate development was however checked and put under control through dialogue and negotiations. Again, skeptics' fears almost materialised late July when Northern and Southern delegates also parted ways over some sensitive issues. Northern delegates had rejected resolutions adopted by the conference on Thursday, July 3rd 2014 on the grounds that some of the thematic issues adopted were allegedly lifted from a document not prepared by the Conference Committee on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government. Before that day, Southern and Northern delegates under a platform called the "Consensus Bridge Building Group (CBBG)" tried to map out avenues for common grounds on the so-called sensitive issues before the conference. The Nation had reported then that the CBBG, which had its inaugural meeting on June 22, 2014, was convened by Chief Raymond Dokpesi in his Asokoro Abuja DAAR Communications Complex. The CBBG group included leaders of delegation to the conference, Chief Edwin Clark (South-South), Chief Olu Falae (South-West), General Ike Nwachukwu (South-East), Alhaji

NEWS

Setting new hope

â&#x20AC;˘Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi with Justice Kutigi

Ibrahim Coomassie (North-West), Professor Ibrahim Gambari (NorthCentral), Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga and others. Problem however set in because Coomassie, The Nation reported, did not attend some meetings held by the group but mandated Professor Auwalu Yadudu (North-West) to lead three others to the consultative meetings. It worsened when Yadudu wrote in a letter entitled, "Re: Terms of agreement of the six geo-political zones," that northern members of the group were withdrawing from further participation in the group. The northern delegates accused the Deputy Chairman of the

conference, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi of lobbying northern delegates to support a new constitution. Some of the major recommendations the conference made through consensus: State Police One of the major recommendations made by the National Conference is the establishment of State Police to complement the efforts of the Nigeria police Force. - It recommended that the areas of jurisdiction of the Federal Police will cover the entire country while the jurisdiction of the State Police will cover the state and operate within the laws enacted by the State Assembly.

- It however rejected proposal that state governors should exercise control over police commissioners posted to the state. - Aside state police, the conference also recommended that states be given the mandate to make laws for establishment of Community Police. - Other major recommendations on security include: setting up of Security and Intelligence Services Oversight Committee (SISOC) to be assigned the task of mapping out security architecture for the country. - They also endorsed a recommendation for the establishment of Waterway Safety Corps to man the waterways in riverine areas. This organization, if finally established, may be expected

to perform similar functions as those performed by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). - They also recommended that state governors should be involved in the running of the Federal Police in their respective states. Creation of 18 new states The conference recommended creation of 18 new states. It specifically agreed that "in the spirit of reconciliation, equity and justice, an additional state should be created for the South-East zone. The implication is that if the federal government accepts the Thursday, July 3, 2014 recommendation, Nigeria will now have 54 states with nine in each of the six geo-political zones. -Some of the proposed states already approved by the conference are Apa from Benue State, Kainji from Kebbi, Katagun from Benue, Savannah from borno, Amana from Adamawa, Gurara from Kaduna, Ghari from Kano, Etiti from the South-East, Aba from Abia, Adada from Enugu and Njaba-Anim from Anambra and Imo. The others are Anioma from Delta State, Orashi from Rivers State, Ogoja from Cross River State, Ijebu from Ogun and New Oyo State from the present Oyo State. The conference announced during the week that it will later determine the names of the remaining two states and their capitals, which are to be created in the South-South and South-West zones. Rotation of the office of the President The conference also recommended rotation of the office of the president, which should be between the North and the South and among the six-geo political zones while the office of the state governor should be rotated among the senatorial districts in each state. " We are satisfied with the moderate achievements of the conference. So, the ball is now in the court of the government, I mean both the legislature and the executive, to ensure that these recommendations are adopted into law and implemented," said Dr Eugene Okogbeka, a political scientist. This represents the views of many Nigerians now eager to see what President Jonathan will do with the recommendations of the conference. Expectations are indeed high!

NEWS

SURE-P MCH inaugurates Oyo CCT Committee

HE Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Program (SureP), Maternal and Child Health (MCH), ?has inaugurated the Committee on Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. Dr. Oluwatoyin Oyelakin is the chairman of the committee. The CCT is a project of the SURE-P Maternal and Child Health (MCH) to increase the demand for basic mother and child health facilities. The project which is targeted at the rural communities to encourage antenatal and post-natal clinical attendance, will also encourage pregnant women to patronise primary governmentowned healthcare centers for delivery and child care. In his address at the inauguration, the Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Ado Mohammed, who was represented by Mrs. Victoria Akinrolabu, noted that the SURE-P project will achieve success through the synergy and consistent cooperation of the state government, local government and the various sectors in charge of tackling mortality rate and the general public. Also speaking, the State Technical

Officer of the SURE-P MCH, disclosed that CCT will pay each woman the sum of N5, 000 after after child delivery. He added that intending beneficiaries are only entitled to the money if they attend the four compulsory ante-natal, deliver the baby in the PCH and return back within 48 hours of child delivery to vaccinate their child. Earlier in his own address, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, who was represented b Dr. Oluwatoyin Oyelakin, disclosed that the state government recently launched Abiyamo healthcare scheme to complement the effort of SURE-P to assist pregnant women in the rural areas.

2015: Group promises Jonathan four million votes in South West

Agroup, Victory Platform (VP), has promised to deliver 4million votes for President Goodluck Jonathan in next year's presidential election. Convener of the group, Pastor Emmanuel Igbasan, made this known while inaugurating the executive council of the group in the South West comprising of Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Lagos, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, and Ogun, at Irele local government area of Ondo State. While giving an assurance that the group will deliver on its

mandate by adequately sensitising people in the region on the achievements of Jonathan, Igbasan also lauded the Federal Government on the creation of the Industrial Revolution Fund, which he noted, would create an enabling environment for employment generation. And in another development, the National Association of Akure Students (NAAS) said it has properly sensitised students of Akure descent across the country on the need to collect their

Permanent Voters Card (PVC) during the three-day collection exercise which ends today. In a statement issued and signed by its President, Tayo Akintade and Public Relations Officer (PRO), Ifeoluwa Orimoloye respectively after the end of its meeting held at the Deji of Akure's palace, NAAS urged the students to take advantage of the exercise to enable them elect credible leaders of their choice during the 2015 general elections.

'Osun election, wake up call for sincere politicians' member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hakeem Masha, has described the last governorship election in Osun State as a wakeup call for politicians who are sincerely committed to serving their people. Noting that Governor Rauf Aregbesola emerged victorious due to his doggedness in delivering

By Oziegbe Okoeki dividends of democracy, the lawmaker who spoke during an interactive weekly programme organised by the Lagos State House of Assembly correspondents tagged: 'Time out with the Press' said, "The Osun election has taught us so many lessons. First, we should

be very close to our people; Aregbesola is an astute politician who understands the game. He was everywhere, met with people and worked tirelessly." Speaking further on how the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the election, Masha said, "All the rigging plans by the PDP were leaked to us and we tirelessly worked on them. Again,

Aregbesola worked day and night and he was able to meet the right people." Masha, who is a first term member in the House, added that APC has learnt useful lessons from the election, adding that members of the party are now ready take on more challenges in subsequent elections.

NEWS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

Ropo Sekoni

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Femi Orebe Page 16

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

Beyond Aregbe’s victory For the progressives, it’s time for introspection tunjade@yahoo.co.uk 08054503906 (sms only)

WO weeks before, I had made a case for the reelection of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State in the (then) forthcoming governorship election in the state billed for August 9. I mentioned some of Aregbesola’s many achievements in less than four years, and in spite of financial limitations. As I said then, such campaign would have been unnecessary as Aregbesola’s achievements should have spoken for him. But we have entered a dangerous era in our political development where achievements alone no longer speak. That much was learnt from the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State in which the incumbent Governor Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) lost to his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenger, Ayo Fayose. Mercifully, the Osun election result was different. Although Osun people took ‘political notice’ of the nuisance value in Aregbesola’s challenger, they rewarded performance by retaining Aregbe (APC) as governor with 394, 684 votes against Iyiola Omisore’s (PDP) 292,747. It would have been tragic to have allowed unserious people and impostors to take over another state in a pacesetter region like the south-west. It was not that they did not try; they did, but the people’s eternal vigilance and God made it impossible for them to carry out their satanic desire. This is why I find it so ridiculous to laud President Goodluck Jonathan for deploying troops to Osun as he did in Ekiti. Only that in the former, we saw not only genuine soldiers but also suspected fakes; both hooded and hoodless. Moreover, the motive for sending the soldiers was not altruistic. An account had it that at a point, the soldiers were reminded of the ‘patriotic duty’ not to disappoint their C-in-C in Osun. But everyone who should know ought to have realised that Nigeria is one of the very few places where President Goodluck Jonathan could be a political asset. A situation where the president would have thrown his hat into the ring should have been avoided instead of allowing him to do that only to start looking for security agents to ensure his party was rigged in. More importantly, soldiers would have had no business in elections if the ruling party had done what was required in the police force all these years. Why should soldiers take up police duties while duty calls at Sambisa Forest? It baffles me that despite what happened in the Western Region in the ‘60s and ‘80s, some people still had the effrontery to want to rig election in the region so barefacedly like the PDP tried even in Osun on August 9. But, as we all know, if history is always to repeat itself, there must be people to make that happen. Renegades there always will be. They were there even in Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s time. With every 12 disciples, there must be a Judas. I mean sons of perdition will always be sons of perdition, no matter what. But, it is good we continue to remind such people that they rig election, especially in the south-west, at their own risk. This is not a clarion call to arms. And even if it is, it is nothing to be apologetic about. After all, John Kennedy in 1962, it was who said, “Those who make peaceful revolution im-

•Omisore

possible will make violent revolution inevitable.” This is forever true, whether in Kennedy’s America or anywhere for that matter. America will not experience violent revolution today simply because politicians there would not attempt to subvert the will of the people blatantly as our politicians do at the polls. Elections are supposed to be sacred and those who desecrate that sacredness are like people who cause rain to fall. Unfortunately, they did not reckon that when the rain starts, the possibility of its being accompanied by thunderstorm is high. Yet, they do not want thunderstorm. One of the reasons why Africa is in a shambles today is because people who do not deserve to lead have forced their way into positions of authority in many African countries. And they always want to stay put even when it is clear that they have outlived their usefulness. When undeserving people sit tight in power, it has implications not only for today but also for tomorrow. It is people’s future; people lives and people’s progress that such usurpers arrest for every minute that they stay in power. Anyway, having driven away those who wanted to reap where they did not sow in Osun, it is time to tell the progressives some home truths. Posterity would not be kind to them if they give people who have nothing to offer the opportunity to fish for ridiculous excuses why politicians who perform cannot be reelected, thus throwing the people into perpetual lamentation. All over the democratic world, performance is key. We should resist the attempt by non-performers and vagabonds who are lurking around, waiting to exploit minor weaknesses of some of the region’s performing politicians. We have passed that stage in our political evolution where achievements would take the back seat; we should not allow the PDP to reduce the region to its base standards. I say this because if truly Omisore scored the 292,747 votes that INEC said he scored in the August 9 election, then, the value system that we used to hold dear in the south west is being gradually eroded. And this is dangerous. In the past, no one in Yorubaland would touch Omisore, not even with a long pole, given his antecedents. His acquittal over the murder of Chief Bola Ige might have had the force of law, but it would have lacked the force of votes in the

“ If the Yoruba people were ready to insist that their votes count in the 1960s, breaking their rediffusion sets which they saw then as the roguish government’s tool of propaganda in the process; and if they did same in 1983, then there must be a reason why they think such struggle is no longer worth it today when robbed of their votes, even in broad daylight … Like the biblical missing axe, it is that missing link that the progressives must find to make the difference in 2015”

south west because the people’s court too used to count. Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, in one of his evergreens it was who sang that ‘ka to fi’yan j’oye larin Egba, o ni lati je’ni rere’ (before anyone is given chieftaincy title by the Egba people, such a person must be worthy of it). Ekiti people say their land is ile iyi; (land of honour); but this is not true of the Ekitis alone, it used to be like that all over Yorubaland. Yes, the PDP might have fielded Omisore, not necessarily because of what he has to offer, but, as a source put it, because it wanted people who have an infinite capacity to cause trouble; still, the Yoruba people would have rejected him resoundingly at the polls. I hear the ruling party also sponsored another candidate in the region because, again, as the source said, ‘he get craze for head’! These are, trying times for the south west; indeed trying times for Nigeria! But, the point is, if the Yoruba people were ready to insist that their votes count in the 1960s, breaking their rediffusion sets which they saw then as the roguish government’s tool of propaganda in the process; and if they were ready to do same even in 1983, then there must be a reason why they think such struggle is no longer worth it today when robbed of their votes, even in broad daylight. Agreed, as Hans J. Morgenthau argued ‘… all politics is a struggle for power’ but not all struggles for power are struggles for people’s development. If politicians in Nigeria devote only 30 percent of the energy they give seeking power into governance, things would never have been this bad. Indeed, as we saw in the First and Second Republics, and as we must have seen so far after more than 15 years of PDP rule, the struggle for power has largely been a struggle for personal aggrandisement. “If someone spent eight years in power, I should be able to beat that record”. “If someone who entered the Government House in bathroom slippers is able to come out in golden shoes barely a week after, I should be able to do same in two days”. This may seem more of exaggeration, but that is the spirit among many of our public office holders now. Without doubt, the PDP would not mind allowing people who want to ride Okada from Lagos to Ibadan on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway kill themselves if that would fetch it votes. It is ready to return Nigeria to the Stone Age, provided that would bring in votes. Such is its desperation. And it is understandable; that is the only way it can get gullible people to still reckon with it in spite of its monumental failure since 1999, especially at the centre. I am not arguing that the south west should fall to such base standards, because the region has always been a pace-setter, but the political leaders in the region have to learn to sell their programmes to the electorate instead of putting up a ‘know-all’ posture or being arrogant or messianic in doing things. And, when like all mortals, they find they are wrong, they should not hesitate to reverse themselves. That is one sure way to keep the predators at bay. All said, the progressives family has to call a meeting where they have to tell themselves the bitter truth. As I argued earlier, if the Yoruba people were ready to go the whole hog like they did in 1966 and 1983 when roguish politicians subverted their electoral choice, then something is missing if they cannot take a similar risk today in the face of a rampaging ruling party that has nothing to offer and yet wants to ‘capture’ more states in the country, particularly in the south-west. Like the biblical missing axe, it is that missing link that the progressives must find to make the difference in 2015.

What you should know about social media

HAT should youths and other users know about social media which has become a major source of sharing and getting information? This was the question I was asked to speak on at a lecture last Tuesday to mark the International Youth Day. This question is very relevant considering how addicted many youths have become to social media. While there is nothing wrong in using the platforms, there are concerns that they are being misused and many are not maximising their full potential. Here are ten things to know about the social media. Social media are not only meant for idle social interaction like picture sharing and endless chats but should, more than ever, be used as learning tools to enhance knowledge and source information. There is nothing wrong in being a young person - who you are, by catching some bit of fun when necessary and hanging out with your friends online, but don’t be obsessed with it. The social media offers you an opportunity to be a global citizen and make contacts locally, nationally and internationally. It is up to you to determine how you want to utilise this opportunity. You have a choice to determine who you want to interact with. •Social media skill is a work skill that you can fully acquire and become an expert in rendering paid-for services. Increasing deep knowledge of social media use is becoming a requirement for fresh graduates in many industries and it is an added advantage for employment by some companies. You have to be careful about what you share on social media. Share, if you must, but avoid over sharing which has become the pastime of young people. You have to realise that you are permanently documenting your life story and how you want to be perceived each time you do anything on the social media. It is necessary to spend quality time online instead of moving from one social account to the other and clicking all manner of links. The internet platform is like a shopping mall where you can spend the whole day window shopping if you don’t know what you want to buy and decide how long you want to spend there. Your online preferences should be things that matter to you and can enhance your life and whatever you are doing at any particular time. Search for useful websites on your areas of studies and interests and bookmark them on your computer. You don’t need to be on all social media. While it is necessary to be online compliant in the present age and have social media accounts, you don’t have to have too many social media accounts. You can easily get overwhelmed with checking and responding to messages on the platforms. Don’t hesitate to delete or be dormant on accounts that are giving you nightmares. There are many fraudsters online and you have to be careful how you respond to your mails and those you interact with. Some of the accounts online are fake and with false identities and claims. Don’t accept every friend request you get on Facebook without checking who they truly are. Don’t be gullible and fall for offers, invitations and messages you cannot double check. Your user name matters. The user name you use on social media is also important. As much as possible, use your real names instead of some funny ones that are not too suitable for official purposes. Don’t abuse the use of social media through postings that offend public sensibilities. Yes, the online platforms are still largely not regulated, but you need to mind what you share and write on the various platforms. What you share speaks a lot about who you are.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

COMMENT

U.S.-Africa summit: beyond the fanfare On the African side, no amount of money from the United States will bring development to most African countries if the right thing is not done at the right time

UST about a week ago, a momentous event took place in Washington. President Barack Obama invited African leaders (short of a few sit-tight dictators out of many on the continent) to discuss with him and his staff the opportunities waiting to be tapped in relation to increasing trade and investment between the United States and Africa. The event was filled with pomp and ceremony. Now that African leaders have returned to their base, it is advisable that both sides of the summit—the U.S. and Africa—come to terms with why trade and investment has been abysmally low, compared to what the situation is between China and Africa. Though the United States did not participate in colonisation of Africa (despite the special relationship between Washington and Monrovia since President Monroe settled some enslaved Africans in Monrovia), America has largely followed the model established by the two major countries that colonised Africa: Britain and France, with respect to stimulating trade and investment between the U.S. and Africa in the years following the decade of decolonisation in the 1960s. Instead of taking the business risk of trading with and investing in African countries, it imitated Britain and France in taking the model of giving aid to Africa. It, like Britain and France and later Portugal, got into the tradition of giving aid to cover all manners of issues in the continent: population control, food and nutrition, partial democratisation, etc. Most of these efforts first went to African governments during the era of big governments and government doing business and later to non-governmental organisations. Giving aid to Africa instead of trading with the continent has not worked, according to someone who should know, World Bank loan expert in Africa, Robert Calderisi in his book, The Trouble with Africa:

Why Foreign Aid Isn’t Working (2006). It is noteworthy that the United States has finally come to terms with the fears of Calderisi. It is also good news that the United States has chosen to take notice of China’s aggressive trade and investment in Africa. Pledging to respond positively to what President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden consider encouraging stories from Africa: good growth rate, a very young population, and promise of consolidation of democracy in many countries on the continent, the Obama administration has reasons to shift from the tradition of aid to trade in Africa. While a summit with the theme: “Investing in the Next Generation” shows optimism on the part of the United States, there is need for realistic thinking that separates the promise of commitment to democracy and the rule of law by many African leaders for the reality on the ground in many parts of the continent. Without doubt, both sides have more home work to do after the elaborate celebration of good intentions in Washington. On the African side, no amount of money from the United States will bring development to most African countries if the right thing is not done at the right time. Proper infrastructure (good roads, regular supply of electricity, functioning rail transportation, and reliable aviation sector for moving goods and services) is a sine qua non if the over $14 billion dollars in investment for the continent is to lead to any progress. Africa had received much more than this in aid over the years, without having anything to show for it. $14 billion dollars looks like a lot of money, but in reality, it is not much for a continent of Africa’s size and population, more so, if it ends up being thrown into an environment of chaotic transportation, lack of security for citizens and foreigners, mounting corruption fuelled by a culture of impunity. In addition, no amount of investment dol-

lar by itself can bring progress if African governments are not committed and prepared to make themselves to be seen to be genuinely committed to sustaining democracy, particularly free, fair, and transparent elections in nonthreatening atmosphere. The problem of poor record of rule of law and independent judiciary in many African countries cannot be divorced from lack of free and fair elections and readiness of elected officials to respect the sovereignty of the people. It is such commitment to the culture of transparency, accountability, and respect of the citizenry that makes political leaders in functioning democracies to aspire to provide good governance. When government leaders rig themselves directly or indirectly into office, they are not likely to support or encourage independent judiciary and the rule of law. Committing to reforming the way business is done in many African countries without reforming the way elections are conducted may not be enough for creating an enabling environment for good use of new or additional investment from the United States. Generally, businesses are about making profit. American business in Africa will not be an exception, and there may be no profit for such business in an atmosphere of corruption, insecurity, and political instability. On the American side, there is a need for investors to influence their government to separate the grain from the chaff, with respect to African leaders promising in the most mendacious of tongues good governance and free and fair election. Just as Calderisi has said in his book referred to earlier, the United States must insist on proper internationally-supervised elections in many of the countries that are basically in transition to democracy. Countries that are not ready to play by the rules should be de-listed from the group of countries to receive foreign investment. African leaders that

have no respect for their citizens are more likely to waste such investments as they will be unable to empower their citizens to become consumers of goods and services. The United States needs to pay attention to the kind of subtle racism that has prevented it from recognizing the need to trade with Africa over the years well ahead of China, despite the fact that many of the African countries speak the same language as the United States. But the U.S. must avoid copying the China model of trading with any country regardless of human rights record and level of commitment of its leaders to genuine democracy. The just concluded summit and the commitment on both sides to increase trade and investment for mutual benefit must give the United States and Africa an opportunity to pay new attention to Africans in Diaspora in the United States. There are thousands of Africans with good American education and training and with rich experience of the culture of rule of law and understanding of American business practices that can be used to add value to the new business between the two blocks. Africans in Diaspora have the added advantage of bi-cultural fluency that is needed to understand the nuances of business practice in both continents. In short, America and Africa need to pay attention to President Obama’s statement: “Our message to those who would derail the democratic process is clear and unequivocal: the United States will not stand by when actors threaten legitimately elected government or manipulate the fairness and integrity of democratic processes….” (U.S. Strategy toward SubSaharan Africa) and to President Jonathan’s assurance that the era of election manipulation is over and his assurance to African Diaspora: “We will continue to engage your services and expertise when we can.”

COMMENT

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

Endangered future WASSCE overall result shows there is much to be done to improve education standards in the country

ITHOUT a solid and qualitative educational system, no country can progress or achieve any meaningful development. That is why the most advanced countries are those that have invested in a functional, efficient and effective educational system that equips the youth with the knowledge, skills and character to contribute positively to the transformation of the society as well as exercise their role of future leadership. Thus, a country that leaves its education sector to decay is endangering its own future and jeopardising the chances of unborn generations. In their speeches, our leaders at all levels demonstrate a realisation of these truths. They ceaselessly pledge their commitment to enhancing the quality of education in the country. Yet, the reality is that the sector continues to decline steadily with negative consequences for the attainment of national objectives, especially the ambitious but increasingly unrealistic target of making Nigeria one of the top 20 economies in the world by 2020. The gloomy reality of the abysmal decline of academic standards in Nigeria has, once again, been forcefully brought to the fore by the dismal performance of students in the May/June 2014 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, WASSCE. The results just released by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), showed mass failure of candidates, particularly in the two critical subjects English Language and Mathematics. Of the 1, 692, 435 candidates that sat for the examination, a mere 31.28 per cent or 529,425 obtained credits in five subjects and above, inclusive of English Language and Mathematics. While 1,293, 389 candidates (76.42%) obtained credits and above in three subjects, 1, 148, 262 candidates achieved credits and above in four subjects. It is noteworthy that this result marked a decline in the performance recorded by candidates in the 2012 and 2013 May/June WASCE results when 38.81% and 36.57%, respectively, of candidates obtained the requisite credits in five subjects, including English and Mathematics. This paints the pic-

HE news is puzzling to so many of us. Each and every day , we are bombarded by atrocities committed by state actors as well as non-state actors such as non-governmental organizations in the international system. For the past two months, rapidly unfolding events in Gaza and Ukraine have grabbed the media headlines. From the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 with 298 casualties by Ukrainian separatists allegedly with the Buk missile obtained from Russia to the Israeli Operation Protective Edge in Gaza that has killed thousands of Palestinians since late last month, the carnage could be incomprehensible to the mind not conversant with international

HE article Theatre of absurd in Enugu, published in your soaraway Sunday Nation, made my day as one took time after last church service to read between the lines. Indeed, very strange happenings have become the order of the day in our beloved Enugu State. The reasons of course are not far-fetched. The craze for political offices in the 2015 general elections seems to have beclouded sound reasoning as those at the helm of affairs of Enugu State are unfortunately playing God. That article was bold and audacious to raise a genuine fear that the once adored

ture of a sector that continues its steady slide. As has been repeatedly pointed out, inadequate funding is a key factor responsible for the pathetic state of education in Nigeria. On the surface, the budgetary allocation to education has been impressive at the federal level. The allocation to education in the national budget for instance, rose from N396.2 billion in 2011 to N400.15 billion in 2012, N426.5 billion in 2013 but fell to N424.3 billion this year. Even though education has been one of the highest funded sectors in these years, the amount allocated to the sector is still negligible compared to the gargantuan challenges requiring urgent and sustained attention. Neither the federal nor any level of government has been able to meet the 23% of total budgetary allocation set the by United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as the requisite funding benchmark for education. The paucity of resources for the sector is compounded by the fact that even the available funds are not judiciously, efficiently and transparently utilised. Not unexpectedly, the education sector is not exempted from the phenomenal corruption that is the bane of development in Nigeria. Again, the money that should go directly into equipping schools at all levels as well as adequately compensating and motivating teachers is gulped by unproductive multiple bureaucracies and the attendant award of inflated and frivolous contracts. The consequence is the gross de-

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

•Editor Festus Eriye •Deputy Editor Olayinka Oyegbile •Associate Editors Taiwo Ogundipe Sam Egburonu

•Managing Director/ Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Adekunle Ade-Adeleye

terioration of facilities in public schools at all levels primary, secondary and tertiary. Laboratories, libraries and vital learning and teaching aids are either non-existent or substandard. In most cases, the necessary environment does not exist for meaningful importation of knowledge. Disenchanted and poorly motivated teachers are frequently on strike across the educational system. For instance, public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education have only recently resumed from prolonged strikes. Frequent disruptions of the academic calendar take its toll on both teachers and students, with negative implications for the quality of education. What we thus have in the education sector is a debilitating vicious cycle. Most of those produced by tertiary institutions to teach in primary and secondary schools are themselves poorly equipped academically to effectively play this role. Yet, many teachers are reluctant to take competency tests to determine their suitability for the job. In turn, those who successfully pass through public primary and secondary schools and enter tertiary institutions do not have the proper foundation necessary for that level. Matters are not helped by students who are now distracted by things that have no bearing to their studies. It is, therefore, mostly a question of garbage in, garbage out. What we have on our hands is a broken education system in need of drastic overhaul. A tiny wealthy minority is of course, able to send its children to expensive private schools at home or abroad. But the vast majority of Nigerians who are too poor to do so are forced to make do with the public schools. This situation is clearly unhealthy and the whole educational system may simply implode if things continue this way. We are aware that a number of states have made commendable efforts to raise the quality of public schools. It is either the sector has degenerated too badly or it is too early for such token efforts to make the desired impact. Nigeria must confront the crisis in education as a national emergency that requires revolutionary remedial measures.

prescribes rules and regulations that should govern warfare for instance. Unfortunately, the reality is that the law is subject to power on the international stage. Thus, Israel’s Operation Protective Edge has caused the deaths of thousands of civilians in Gaza even as Hamas has consistently fired rockets into thickly populated Israeli areas and used its network of underground tunnels to attack civilians despising international law. Russia desires Ukraine to remain its ally in Eastern Europe thereby serving as a buffer to the rapidly

expanding European Union from Western Europe. It therefore annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014, instigated the current efforts by separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk to break away from Ukraine and is even alleged to have plans afoot to invade Ukraine in the nearest future. Despite the robust growth of international law with doctrines like the Responsibility To Protect which tries to prevent state oppression of its own citizens, international politics has always been amoral and hugely influenced by calculations of strategic interests rather than morality to the detriment of huge numbers of casualties evidenced in the current crises in Gaza and Ukraine. Allwell Akhigbe amb.welo2013@gmail.com

torial candidate of the party for Enugu East. It makes a mockery of participatory democracy- he goes to the Senate for Enugu West and the Chief of Staff catapulted to the Senate, with little or no political experience. One is nostalgic of the old when party supremacy reigned undisputed. The last local government elections, it became so shameful that the state party Chairman who had a candidate could not as much as influence the adoption of the candidate and of course ‘Lord Manor’, single-handedly brought a political novice from Lon-

don to become the Nsukka Local Government Chairman. The concluding part of the article about ex-this and ex-that, is a food for thought, because very soon Chime would join the bandwagon of former governors who now are numerous in the lonely club so insignificant because of their ill doings and have been consigned to history. Leave a good legacy of mutual understanding, amity and comradeship that would be my advice to the pilots of Enugu State. Munachim Agbo Agbani, Enugu.

LETTER

Can international politics be moral: crises in Gaza, Ukraine

relations and politics. States are the primary actors on the world scene. Their existence dates back to the Treaty of Westphalia of 1648 that confers sovereignty on it . Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States of 1933 says that a typical state should have a population, territory, government and capacity to enter into relations with other states. The system in which states operate in is chaotic, that is, not disorganized but simply lacking a body above states that can ef-

fectively regulate their behaviour. To achieve their objectives, states therefore jostle for power. The state’s means of attaining influence in the system is amoral, that is neither good nor bad. It usually does whatever it needs to do to protect its strategic goals .Realists support this stance blaming state behaviour on the chaotic self-help system while idealists contend that states should consider moral means of attaining their

goals. International law gained prominence during the 1950s as a constraint to the tendency of state actors to resort to violent means to achieve their objectives. Article 2(4) and (7) of the United Nations Charter explicitly outlaws the use of force in the relations between states and the meddling of one state into another’s affairs. International law also frowns at the annexation or break-up of territories and

Cry my beloved Enugu State Governor of the State, Sullivan Chime, had become dictatorial and being goaded by sycophants who are perhaps pushing an unwilling horse to the stream. It really makes a caricature of the democratic system we are practising for a governor to want to quarrel, discard and pull down a ladder he had used in ascending to power, simply because of inordinate ambition. The irony of the Enugu politics is that because of spoils of office, no one had been brave enough to call a

spade by its name, for hardly had they for fear of victimisation praised the ‘Lord of the Manor’ to high heavens in his presence than they disparage him outside under the cover of darkness. Piteous spectacle! No one is bold to tell him to forget this urge to replace a serving Senator whose activities and performance are in the ‘A’ bracket. As governor, Chime’s name cannot be forgotten in a hurry for the good and the bad and the ugly. He, however, misfires, when all attempts are being made by

his machinery to deny and frustrate Senator Ike Ekweremadu from coming back or getting the ticket of the party to run in the forthcoming polls, even with Ekweremadu’s excellent record in the Senate as Deputy Senate President. In my quiet moments, I have wondered why party faithful in Enugu would be so docile and frightened by the mere shadow of the governor and his Chief of Staff, whom he is hell bent on pushing through the electoral web as the next Sena-

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COMMENT

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

Osun: Oju ti owo (money is shamed) and the fascists are put to shame

Ministers of Yoruba extraction became couriers and guardians of money meant to swindle elections in two southwest states, yet it failed in Osun’s case.

FEW reactions to my last week’s article questioned my fidelity to the cause of progressivism when they saw me give hints as to how President Goodluck Jonathan could brighten his chances in the 2015 presidential election without him having to ride roughshod on the rights of the electorate by unduly militarising elections and putting opposition party members through untold torture. Let me confess that I did that because I know that the man is not intrinsically bad; nor is he a Pharaoh but being too sold on his reelection, he has permitted himself to be dominated by two groups of Yoruba politicians, namely, the elders, whose politics is now being solely driven by their enmity towards the former Lagos State governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who they never cease to claim they made, but now looms a million times larger than them politically and so had to be stopped in his tracks by their being on the coattails of whoever is Lord of Abuja while the other group is the rambunctious power mongers I have dubbed the fascists in the title of this article and who would not mind Nigeria going to perdition. These are the two groups that recommended the total clamp down on APC members in both Ekiti and Osun, a scenario that was completely absent in the militarisation of both Edo and Anambra elections simply because, for them, Jonathan must, willy nilly, be re-elected. A clear attestation to this was Dr Okunrounmu’s fervent prayer to God, in a newspaper interview, that Aregbesola should lose the Osun election but which prayer the all-

NE day last week, I went into a shop to purchase a perishable food item. I watched as the salesperson blew with his mouth into paper bags in order to properly open the bags and wrap the sold items. This continued until I pointed out that in an Ebola state, he would have succeeded in distributing the virus to several homes. That got me thinking. In Nigeria, there are just too many casual acts and contacts that are so insanitary even the bacterial world are beginning to despair whether they will ever get to leave this country and try other lands. There are the casual handshakes. I could not have given or taken anything less than five during the week on reflex before remembering Ebola. There are the banisters we touch to assist weak bones to climb staircases. Then, the biggest of all, the exchange of goods that takes place thousands of times per second in this country. Hands touch while handbags are moving from one person to the other. Use antiseptic, you say? What about the thousands of God’s own tiny but deadly creatures which exchange homes in droplets of spittle when people speak to each other? Is there an antiseptic for that? There is no doubt that a little warning preparation would have saved us many agonies over this Ebola outbreak. True, there are some among us who would not bat an eye-

knowing God returned to his laps in ringing hollowness because they do not mean well for the Yoruba. Lest I forget, I must quickly point out that the first part of this title, OJU TI OWO, is in deference to a very distinguished retired General who called me first thing on the Monday after Ogbeni shamed them all, to suggest that title for the week. As for the elders, distinguished men in all respects, what also drives them is excessive bile. When was this one born and didn’t we make him governor in the first place? That is their regular refrain about Tinubu and it accounts for all the troubles President Jonathan is putting us through in Yoruba land. I will actually not be surprised if some of these elders elect to go meet their maker than see Tinubu’s party holding the reins of federal power. It should be remembered that they were publicly led to the Villa by the duo of Olusegun Mimiko and Gbenga Daniel, two men that can never serve the president enough. It has been suggested in serious circles that it is to enhance President Jonathan’s re-election that these elders mooted the idea of the just concluded National Conference and got their inhouse academic to write the enabling memo complete with a word as to how to ‘work’ the membership so that the president could be gifted a fresh term of six years. All they needed to do, going forward, was to be vigilant and ensure that from start to finish, a member of the group was on the ringside, missing nothing. Only problem, it turned out, was how to finally turn the resolutions

of a conference that was only a presidential proclamation without any legal backing to a draft constitution. That ended up causing the ruckus at the end of the conference because they did try to force it through, pretending not to know that constitution making requires a different set of modalities. Then come the fascists and I challenge any Nigerian to tell me where, in this country today, there is a greater assemblage of the type of characters that mill around the president claiming to be the PDP poster-boys than the Southwest; those former governor OIagunsoye Oyinlola so uncannily described. These are men who have quite easily made an angel of the once swashbuckling Chief Bode George of the Obasanjo era and who will not mind seeing Nigeria to Armageddon. No wonder there is the whispering news that PDP leaders from both the NigerDelta and the South-East hate their arrogance with a passion. I have no doubt they sold election militarisation in the Southwest to the president. They had earlier conned him to cede to them, the macho ministries of Police Affairs and Defence in the belief that Yoruba are weaklings, a suggestion to which the president easily agreed. And money was never their problem as this was being ferried, a day to each election, in millions from Abuja by choppers accompanied by Yoruba ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It does not get more sickening. If we were caught unawares in Ekiti with militarisation, torture and pre-programmed ballot papers which they, of course, could no longer deploy in Osun having been busted, not so in Osun

where our compatriots showed them that the Yoruba are no weaklings, after all. Indeed, they were so determined to shame the ‘Ode Apanias’ –as one called himself after he slapped a former governor of the state – that they trouped out in mammoth numbers and ended up recording the highest percentage at any election in Nigeria since June 12. To demonstrate what exactly these power mongers are turning the president to all because they claim they would deliver the votes of a region where they are loathed like a leach come 2015, I reproduce below the notes of Wole Olujobi, a journalist and Media Adviser to the Rt. Honourable Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, on how these desperadoes led soldiers, policemen and hooded others to deal with APC leaders, members, and Ekitis in general: “At a press conference attended by about 40 journalists a few days before the election, the State Chairman of APC, Chief Jide Awe, gave the names of members marked for arrest. Governor Fayemi was himself tear-gassed and the MOPOL Commander Gabriel Selenkere, from the Niger-Delta, was quoted as saying that he was “acting on orders from above”. But the siege was yet to come as members slated for arrest included the Chairman himself, the Chief of Staff to the governor, Yemi Adaramodu; Richard Apolola , Hon Sunday Ibitoye, Niyi Adedipe, Tope Olanipekun, Rotimi Olambiwonu, Otunba Femi Olanrewaju, Peter Oladosu and Speaker, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Adewale Omirin, Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon Olurotimi Odu, Member of the state House of Assembly;

The Giant who wielded the big stick on an ant

Unfortunately, whenever the wake-up calls on our hospitals have come from the doctors, the typical response from government has been to display its fangs and threaten to tear all concerned to pieces. How indescribably inane!

lid if the devil were to drive down hereabouts and told them personally to beware of a catastrophic epidemic coming from his kingdom. They would guffaw and go on sharing cups and needles. By and large though, the rest of us would have been grateful for that head-up from the ministry of health on the Ebola crisis. I know that the doctor and nurses at the clinic that tried to treat Sawyer would have. They could have been saved this agony and death. Now, I understand that some are dead and some are dying for doing the right thing. Sadly, reports from newspapers are saying that for doing their duties, the quarantined survivors of that Sawyer contact are being neglected and abandoned in filthy, unsanitary circumstances with no amenities. They are cut off from what used to be their world. Just imagine right now the psychological state they are in: the terror, confusion and mental turmoil they are roiling in. Imagine right now how much gratitude they have towards the country they served which is now giving them disservice. Imagine right now what prayers they are saying for the country. We could have saved them from going down this torturous path if our ministry of health had been working like it should. Their families have the right to demand an answer from this country in the law courts.

The most dangerous reasoning so far on the matter of the nurse who escaped to her family from quarantine has come from our national officials. They say that because the nurse had not shown any signs of succumbing to the disease, her fellow travelers are not in any danger. Now, that is just so bizarre, because many of them could have touched what she touched; taken droplets from the air she breathed or from a cough or a sneeze from her innocently. And we say they are in no danger, or in danger of infecting others? How unutterably careless can we be? I think what everyone agrees on so far is the fact that we were not only not ready, we even now still lack the facilities that can sufficiently take care of victims; you know, something that indicates some attempt to keep in step with modern civilization. There we were, with our hospitals being no more than ‘mere consulting rooms’ as described thirty years ago, and we all are still in denial about it today. Over those thirty years, I cannot count the number of times doctors have gone on strike to impress on all, government and masses alike, that hospitals need to be equipped so that they would no longer stand by and watch people die because of one lack or the other. Unfortunately, whenever these calls have come, the typical response from government has been to display its fangs and threaten to tear all con-

cerned to pieces. How indescribably inane! Rather than face issues of inadequacy in public hospitals, every group has been encouraged to fight for control of HOSPITALS THAT DON’T WORK! After all, it is well known that government officials do not use our hospitals around here – their families live abroad; their girlfriends and boyfriends shuttle in between. At government expense, all of them together use hospitals abroad that have been well funded, well equipped, well staffed with people who know their place in the system. Why, even when they want to die, they go to well-furnished hospitals in India or the West. Need I say more? So, why should they care what confusion may ensue in the nation’s hospitals? As it is now, I believe even Hospital Sanitation Engineers (Cleaners) can rise to take charge of the government hospitals. Now, our hospitals are still no more than consulting rooms, and the government hopes that doctors would call off their strike to rush to hospitals and treat the Ebola scare. It is even miffed that they have not! Pray, what protective equipment are doctors to use when they go back to these hospitals? What drugs are they to use? What insurance is there for them should they have incidental contacts with infectious diseases? And I am not talking about the emergency insurance offered by Lagos state in

Oladipo Ige, Hon Taiwo Olatunbosun Former Deputy Speaker, the Jamiu brothers, the Security Adviser to the governor, Col Babatunde Oluwayose (rtd), Special Adviser to the governor, Kayode Akinyemi, Hon. Peter Adekunle, Ojo Olanipekun, Kayode Ojo, Femi Aluko, Tayo Egunlusi. Caroline Egunlusi and Thomas Ajewole. “APC members were to be shocked into knowing that that was only the beginning when Chief Dapo Awojolu, a 70-year-old APC leader was seized. The Director General of Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation, Hon. Bimbo Daramola,MHR, was arrested and his father thrown into an army jeep and driven away. Finance Commissioner, Dapo Kolawole, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, Oodua Board member; State Protocol Officer,TadeAluko,SpecialAdviser,Tope Osatoyinbo and others too numerous to mention were all arrested and kept incommunicado until voting was over. Hon. Femi Awe, an LG Chairman had to scale the fence of his house to escape the early morning. Sunday Adeyanju was pointed out by a PDP member, himself in mask inside a soldiers’ truck. Earlier, Vice President Namadi Sambo had declared Ekiti election a war. “Eight PDP members were arrested thumb-printing ballot papers in Dipo Ani’s, (Ayo Fayose’s campaign manager) hotel at Are-Ekiti. Yet nothing came of it even after the then AIG confirmed their arrest. A week before election, a vehicle with voting materials was intercepted by soldiers who were alarmed to see 2014 stamps for Ekiti election among the materials. Till today, nothing more has been heard. In Ekiti soldiers were under instruction to respond with maximum force to any reaction by the people and the soldiers did not leave Ekiti until the House of Assembly passed a resolution to that effect.” This was the torture chamber these reprobates cooked Ekiti APC leaders, members and Ekiti people in general in and they are here gloating all over the place that they won an election and Marilyn Oga continues with her joke of the century. the heat of the moment. And what would happen if some of the over twenty thousand doctors and other hospital workers were to take Ebola home? Now, that is what I call calamitous. Sadly, we the public (including government) cannot see the scarcity of personnel or resources in our hospitals. All we can see is that doctors’ strikes have been too frequent. True, but I think it may be because we have failed to appreciate the dynamics of those call-outs: the reasons for their existence in the first place, the background, the processes, the personae, etc. No, it appears all we want to do is possibly teach those doctors who are not politicians a lesson. A story is told of how, a long time ago, a member of the public who was waiting to see a doctor during a lean period in the hospital, rejoiced when he heard that the government had dismissed all the doctors on strike. No, I am not biased, just irritated that we are not ordering our priorities right. Every sector is important in a serious economy, but in a growing one like ours, the most important ones demand that we put our money where our mouths are: education, health, industry, and the police system to keep us all in line. Sadly, the government appears to be allowing corruption to toy with them all. This is why we consider that the country is in serious trouble. I consider that the move to terminate the appointments of over sixteen thousand doctors at once in a country as seriously in trouble as this does not speak well of our politicians. If we think it is wrong for the doctors to refuse to resume work and help with the Ebola virus, the government’s action is a more massively wrong stroke. It is nothing but a giant wielding a big stick to fight an ant. If the government is not beating itself up for not acting on time on the Ebola virus, why is it now cudgeling doctors for asking for the right thing?

COMMENT

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

(78) Ogbeni’s victory; Omisore’s defeat: the 1965 Western Regional Elections Revisited Ogbeni’s victory

REE, fair and credible elections are to a genuine democratic order what oxygenated blood that flows without blockages, clots and hemorrhages is to a healthy human body. In this case, the human body is like a nation’s body politic: a nation on the brink of becoming a failed state, a nation that hobbles from one nation-wrecking crisis to another is like a diseased human body whose arteries and veins are so blocked that the vascular and circulatory systems are prone to, and sometimes give way to cardiac arrest or stroke. Fortunately, and thanks largely to the wonders of modern medical science, cardiac arrest and stroke are not always fatal. A quick and effective intervention can bring a person stricken by stroke or heart attack back to life and the chance to gradually recover either completely or with a fairly good chance of a long and productive life. These thoughts were at the back of my mind on Sunday, July 10 when around 8 a.m. Berlin time (7 a.m. in Nigeria) I went online and discovered to my great relief and satisfaction that Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola had soundly defeated Iyiola Omisore in the recent Osun governorship elections. To me, the Ogbeni’s victory was like a successful triple bypass heart surgery to an electoral system that has hovered for a very long time on the edge of political cardiac arrest. Please note that I say that these thoughts comparing the diseased human body to a national body politick in a perpetual terminal crisis were at the back of my mind and not in the foreground of my consciousness. Let me explain. Now, the regular reader of this column ought to know by now that I am not a supporter of any of the ruling class parties in Nigeria. I am resolutely against the ruling party, the PDP, which, in my opinion, is one of the worst, one of the most corrupt and one of the most mediocre ruling class parties in the world. But I do not consider any of the opposition ruling class parties a sufficiently consistently progressive and clean counterforce to the PDP. As political parties aspiring to power, the only claim that all the opposition parties have is the fact that any other group or party can and will do better in office than the PDP. The most telling fact of the absence of a real or true choice for voters between our ruling class parties is the quite phenomenonal scope of the perpetual crossing and re-crossing from one party to another by members of our political class. In other words, in the present political order in power at the centre and in the states in our country, you can never be so corrupt, so mediocre, so cynical and so devoid of any ideas as a politician that you cannot move from being a chieftain in one party to becoming a kingpin in another party. Nothing, absolutely nothing, disqualifies you from being a power broker in one party today and a strongman in another party tomorrow. This situation is similar to the phenomenon in the linguistic philosophy of the identity of the letters of the alphabet in which,

Be se tiwa, bee si se tiwa, Demo a wole [Whether you are with us or not, Demo will win] Declaration on radio and television by Chief Remi Fani-Kayode on the eve of the 1965 Western Regional Elections

to a far much bigger scale than we had hitherto ever seen in this country. The sheer size of the military presence can mean only one thing: anticipation of mass uprising, of widespread popular rejection of election(s) that people in their hundreds of thousands or even millions perceive as rigged, stolen. Ekiti and Osun: two gone, more still to come before 2015. I repeat: we must not be complacent; we must not tire of protesting to the high heavens and to the whole world that we reject the militarization of the electoral and political processes in our country. Ogbeni’s victory is enormously gratifying in itself; it had the additional advantage of reminding us that the popular will counts and must be defended. Omisore’s defeat “Congrat osun people, congrat APC, and congrat Nigerian, people have spoking and God have spoking too” From a tweet by someone selfidentified as “Musco”

•Aregbesola and Omisore

say, the identity of the letter A is established, not by anything in itself, but by the fact that it is not B, or C, or D or any of the other letters in the alphabet. Thus, by the logic of this philosophy, in the Nigerian political context APC is APC not because of some things inherent in the party but because it is not PDP But real choice for the voter in Nigeria is fortunately not completely absent. For if it is the case that, at least for now there is no real choice between the political parties as parties with programs, policies and worldviews that distinguish one from another, there is sometimes a choice between candidates. In the Osun State governorship elections last week, there was a real choice for the voter between the Ogbeni and Omisore, quite apart from the election being a pre-2015 showdown between the APC and the PDP. Indeed, so palpable, so stark was the choice between the two candidates that it was like a choice between day and night or between light and darkness. The most evident indicator of this is the fact that Aregbesola is quite possibly the most articulate governor on the ideals and practices of good governance in our country at the present time while Omisore, on the evidence of his unscripted speeches and impromptu pronouncements, cannot put two or three coherent thoughts together on responsible and accountable governance. To expatiate a little more on this distinction, Aregbesola belongs to the rather rare order of politicians in our country at the present time who actually think; who actually have progres-

sive and compassionate ideas about obligations that governments have for their constituents; and who actually have sophisticated knowledge regarding where our country and our continent stand in relation to the rest of the world and the contradictory forces of modernity, especially in the new millennium. By contrast, Omisore is a political operator whose vocation begins and ends with making the best for himself politically by following party diktats and carrying out the will of his superiors in the party apparatus. Last week as I waited anxiously for the results of the Osun state elections, I began to think, rather subliminally about the analogies between a diseased human body and our national body politic. And as I did so, I worried greatly that the PDP might have completely buried the real choice between the Ogbeni and Omisore under the weight of pre-2015 showdown between the APC and the PDP. In the entirety of my experience as a Nigerian very much aware of the precarious nature of electoral politics in our country, no incident stands out more in my consciousness as the ultimate negation of the voter’s choice than the chilling declaration of the late Chief Remi Fani-Kayode on the eve of the legislative elections in the Western Region in October 1965. This is the declaration that I have appropriated as the epigraph to this piece: “Be se tiwa, bee si se tiwa, Demo a wole”. I have given an approximate translation of this declaration: “Whether you are with us or not, Demo will win”. By “Demo”, FaniKayode who was the Deputy Premier

to Chief S.L. Akintola, meant the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), perhaps the most fascist, right-wing party this country’s politics has ever produced. But what does this observation have to do with last week’s Osun state elections? Again, let me explain. Among other things, all fascist parties have this in common: the votes - and the will of the electorate - are always already subjugated to the control of the Party. Last week, the ghost of the fascist political legacy of the late Deputy Premier of the old Western Region in the mid60s appeared and stalked the length and breadth of Osun State. The choice between Aregbesola and Omisore seemed about to be completely abrogated and denied the good people of the state. But Ogbeni’s victory sent it back to the shades of the netherworld of bad conscience and troubled and troubling memory where it belongs. We must not be complacent. PDP is determined to make every election before the 2015 showdown a prologue, a foreshadowing of the total elimination of choice and popular will in our country’s electoral politics. The militarization of the electoral process is particularly apposite here. Most commentators have said of this phenomenon that it is meant to intimidate voters, especially those voters that wish to exercise their choice, not only between parties, but also between candidates. While this is true, I think there is something more sinister, more ominous in this militarization of the electoral process that Jonathan has taken

I encountered the epigraph above when I was reading the reactions to the defeat of Omisore on the internet. The bizarre and colorful murder of language in the tweet made me laugh hard, very hard. It reminded me of the language of Chief Zebrudaya Okoroigwe Nwogbo, alias 4:30. The language of tweets on the internet is often so awful that it seems to come from undiagnosed cases of mental leprosy. But in the particular case of this tweet commenting on Omisore’s defeat, it seemed to come straight from the heart. And at any rate, it read like vintage Zebrudaya English. But consider the following strangulation of logic, syntax, tense and grammar from a letter that Omisore wrote to the press on the night of Saturday, July 9, to protest what he saw as premature release of elections results by the APC in order, according to him, to delegitimize the true results of the elections which he was confident would end up in his favour. The statement was personally signed by Omisore who, by the way, added the title “Dr.” to his name. Here goes: “I hereby condemn the APC candidate, Raufu Aregbesola declaring his own version of the results without recourse to INEC. With the facts of results, its apparent the PDP candidate, Dr. Iyiola Omisore, is leading. This act of APC is in conflict with the provisions of Electoral Law 2010 whereby a candidate can concoct figures and released to confuse the public thus make this election inconclusive until facts behind the figures are released by the INEC. The peace and stability of this state is such under an unprecedented threat. The result so far by APC remained cancelled.” A use of language protesting defeat that paradoxically ends up in a thorough defeat of language. It is unintended but is revealing, very revealing. Biodun Jeyifo bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

COMMENT

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

Osun: Aribisala and the fear of APC

HAT Nigeria’s brand of politics is a mixed bag of the good, the bad, and of course the ugly tactics of sheer blackmail, barefaced betrayals and subtle subterfuge is stating the obvious. This do-or-die battle field mentality is all because the winner takes it all. Critical observers of the polity should therefore, be driven by the tenets of objectivity and patriotism to say it as it is, and more importantly to make valuable suggestions to fashion the best way out of the political wood. It boggles any discerning mind when a citizen, a writer, an associate professor of international affairs and a pastor at that decides willy-nilly, to view a particular political party from the prism of outright hatred and frequent misguided mudslinging. The man in question is none other than Femi Aribisala. The political party that he has chosen, perhaps for pecuniary gains, to be the numero uno traducer is the All Progressives Congress (APC). While more informed minds have hailed its emergence on the nation’s political landscape as a much-needed and timely intervention, to provide a credible opposition and alternative to the behemoth that the PDP has become, Aribisala thinks otherwise. If he is not taking on the revered national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a noholds -barred vitriolic attack asking what more does he really wants, Aribisala would be cooking another poisonous pot fuelled by the wrong reasons why APC is likely to lose Lagos governorship election come 2015. In other climes, his type may be tolerated for providing comic relief as an exception to the rule, but not so in Nigeria. As Vladimir Lenin rightly noted, ‘a lie told often enough becomes the truth’. Our cherished democratic culture cannot afford such political anomaly. Not now. And not ever! And that brings us to the recently held gubernatorial election, in the State of Osun which incidentally was won by the Independent Newspaper Limited Man-of-the Year and incumbent Governor, Rauf Aregbesola. While not a few political affairs analysts are of the candid opinion that the exemplary preparedness and high level of alertness to plug all loopholes on the part of APC added to the sterling performance of Aregbesola won it for the party, Aribisala has his own theory to it all. What he calls ‘crying wolf’ such as the condemnable arrest of the party’s chieftains, including Lai Mohammed, and commissioners

IREBRAND activist, the only socialist governor in Nigeria, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola defeated his bitter rival, Mr. Iyiola Omisore on August 9, 2014. I was deeply involved in the Ekiti and Osun campaigns. I saw the thick and thin. Aregbesola and Fayemi invested wits, energy, brain and vigour. Victory is sweet, but the investment in it tastes like a bile. Before the elections, I met the two. I saw exhaustion. On one occasion, I met Aregbesola around 11 pm. He had not eaten anything since morning. There was simply no time to eat; pale but resolute. On another occasion, I met him around 4.34 am on a Monday. I had waited since 8am the previous Sunday. He was attending to endless sea of visitors. By the time I left around 5am on Monday, scores of people were still waiting to see him. Aregbesola visited all the 332 wards, unlike Mr. Iyiola Omisore. He met with all the traditional institutions in the over 300 towns and hamlets. He spent about 3,000 hours in the past six months preparing for the election. On the contrary, the most formidable slogans of Mr. Ayodele Fayose and Mr. Omisore were “I shall be declared. I shall win. I will be the Governor.” On Tuesday when he raised up the Certificate of Return in Abuja, Aregbesola was lean, emaciated but nevertheless, his face as strong as granite. The same exhaustion of the flesh, in the build up to the campaign, was not noticeable in his main contender, whose most noticeable trademarks were roasted corns which he munched all through, and the armed masked men that usually encircled him. I have searched in vain for Mr. Omisore’s manifesto, his plans for Osun people, but could not find one. Yet, this man polled 292,747 votes. For me, that is a tragedy in this victory. It reflects the heartbreak of a crestfallen nation, a country in perpetual turmoil largely due to the institutionalisation of corruption. More than anything else, Osun has further exposed the catastrophe that has befallen the Yoruba nation and Nigeria as a whole. Aregbesola had

By Idowu Ajanaku

on the eve of the election, the harassment of party agents during the exercise and the use of brute force by the security forces against unarmed voters were indeed, all predicted by the APC. It even went further to alert the public to the nefarious collaboration between INEC and the police bulldogs using both the print and electronic media. But Aribisala thinks differently. In his words: “Before every election, APC goes to town shouting itself hoarse that the election will be rigged. It brings out all sorts of fictitious documents showing “beyond reasonable doubt” that the PDP, in collusion with the INEC, has perfected outrageous plans to rig the election. Then when it loses, it says “We told you so” and decides to contest the results frivolously in court. Apparently, the only election that is not rigged in Nigeria today is the one that APC wins. At least, we are yet to hear APC say it is going to court to contest the Osun results.” How utterly ludicrous one could be! Unknown to him there were conflicting shadows over the purported plan by Iyiola Omisore of the PDP to head to court for redress. He found his defeat under the upper cut blow from the master of the game of politics, Aregbesola too bitter a pill to swallow. But for the prompt acceptance of defeat from the man at Aso Rock, who had a week before raised his hand to the paid crowd and declared him the ‘next governor of Osun’ Omisore would have done so. Yet, Aribisala calls it a ‘pyrrhic victory’! Can you beat that? Try to juxtapose this piece with the reality on ground. Said he : “Before the election in Osun, the APC went to town telling the whole world it would be rigged. Every so often, it came out with broadsides as to the discovery of fresh plans to rig the election which it discovered through its detective agency. Its Sherlock Holmes in this regard is Lai Mohammed, its Publicity Secretary. Lai Mohammed has the unique capacity to smell smoke where there is no fire whatsoever. These days, whenever he makes an announcement, it is to cry wolf yet again.” Unfortunately he has forgotten the wise counsel from Wendell Philips that: “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty”. So good and timely that the APC knew this axiom and put it to full use. Let us consider the nitty-gritty of Philpot Curran’s statement,

million to N1.5 billion, without increasing tax. That speaks volumes about a visionary leader. There is also the N4.2 billion fixed in state reserve and the establishment of a Debt Management Office (DMO). That is judicious use of public funds which the corruption-riddled PDP should learn from. In addition to the N1 billion support for the rural farmers, about 1,765 hectares of land have been cleared for profitable use. Even the PDP could not accuse him of neglecting ‘stomach infrastructure’, Aregbesola can proudly show them the daily feeding of over 240,000 Osun Elementary school children and the economic empowerment of 3,000 caterers. Similarly, the giant strides in infrastructural development with durable roads and the Ede Water Works capacity raised from 13 per cent to 30 per cent all stand him in good stead. Add these to the ground-breaking •Odigie-Oyegun, APC National Chairman Opo Imo educative tablet for students applauded internationally. “The condition upon which God hath given Osun people can recount similar achieveliberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he breaks, servitude is at once ments in the sectors of health care services, the consequence of his crime and the pun- agriculture, tourism and transportation which was why they appreciated him through the ishment of his guilt.” The APC learnt lasting lessons from this. resounding victory at the polls. With 394,684 No more would it want the good people of representing 55.02 per cent out of 11 parties Osun, nay Nigeria to remain helpless and and beating his closest rival by 101,973 votes, voiceless slaves to the overbearing PDP-con- there are lessons for the PDP to learn. One is that good and effective leadership trolled central government that has said more than it has done on the critical issue of is the sine qua non to re-election not propatransformative leadership. Little wonder its ganda. The second is the need for intra-party governors are up and doing when it comes unity. While the PDP in Osun State has suffered internal crisis the same cannot be said to good governance. For instance, Governor Aregbesola has of the APC. Also important is the need to efdischarged his mandate to his people to the fectively counter misinformation and all acts best of his government’s capacity and abili- of deliberate mischief. The likes of Aribisala and his ties, in spite of the lean purse. He exhibited the rare traits of a politician adequately pre- conscienceless sponsors should make out time pared for the challenging tasks of govern- for sober reflection. If the seed of democracy ance. Also, he is one who thinks and acts would flourish and flower to fruition the peooutside the box, propelled by high dose of ple’s interests must be uppermost in the minds of all the stakeholders, especially the creativity. He frontally tackled the monster of youth political leaders. No matter how long it may unemployment with Osun Youth Empow- take truth would always overtake falsehood. erment Scheme (O,YES). That has actively en- Well done, Aregbesola. Well done APC. The gaged some 40,000 young citizens with 5,000 tasks ahead are enormous but Osun has set others trained in ICT. That is no mean feat. the template for more victories. PDP’s misHis government raised the Internally Gen- adventure in the South-West and its desire to erated Revenue (IGR) from a paltry N300 win by crook instead of hook would remain nothing but a pipe-dream.

Osun: The tragedy of victory By Adewale Adeoye

394,684 compared with Omisore’s 292,747. The difference is 101,937 votes. This raises fundamental issues. First, the PDP could have had many elected people if the election was into the state or national assemblies. Two, how did a man with so huge a moral burden, following the death of Chief Bola Ige, of which he was a key suspect, manage to record such a high figure in the home state of Chief Ige? Again, the PDP has, no doubt, brought Nigeria unto her knees. The economy is in tatters. Hunger and deprivation rule the land. Deceit, a tradition of treachery and sham are the standards of the PDP. The definition of the party as a ‘nest of killers’ has not changed. The party has also compounded the woes of Nigeria by dragging her into the red light district of global affairs. Yet, this rickety machine has a huge population of people hanging on it, according to election outcome. Here lays the misfortune. While Aregbesola campaigned on the basis of a social-economic agenda, like his counterpart in Ekiti, the PDP had no inspiring action plan. What then was responsible for the ‘victory’ of the PDP in Ekiti and the high votes recorded in Osun? The PDP’s strength is the criminalisation of the electorate through the cultivation of a cult of voters driven by perks and immediate gains. Apart from loads of rice and goodies distributed to voters openly and covertly, the PDP has set up a phantom financial institution code named “Omo Ilu Foundation,” at least in the South West. This group gives out forms to thousands of people. Agents sent by the APC indicated that beneficiaries were asked to take an oath of allegiance. Also the PDP has been attacking reform programmes of the APC, offering in its place, euphoric material gains for the electorate. This,

in itself, constitutes a grave danger to the future of political and economic transformation of Nigeria. For a society exposed to long years of deprivation, perks are likely to be seen as more crucial than superstructure. The PDP is giving institutional backing to this backwater axiom. There is the militarisation of the electoral process backed up with denial of human freedom and brute force repression of the opposition. After the fiercely contested Osun poll for instance, like the rhythmical movement of a chain of millipedes in the farmstead, a long, orderly crowd of broom-waving supporters snaked through the Osogbo highways. As the crowd milled with glee and unending spasms of joy, a PDP official in a convoy of tainted cars tore through the crowd. Armed masked men that perched like bats on vehicles in the raging convoy released a volley of sporadic gun shots. I remember. We were at a restaurant after an all-night meeting before the election. Five hungry-looking armed men in military fatigue came. Unkempt and in filthy uniforms. They wore beards and slippers, unusual of military men. The ‘soldiers’ had no name tags. One of them had red tattoos on his left cheek. One had the shape of a 12th century wrestler. The other stood like a small bulldozer. Their AK-47s hung loosely on their shoulders. In military and police tradition, guns, when not in use, should be kept nozzle down. These men kept their guns with nozzles pointed at onlookers. One breast feeding woman had to quit her seat. She quietly walked away into the descending evening cloud. There was naked show of brute force. After they had finished their dinner-we were all held captive-two of them took strategic positions on the adjacent highway and fired consistently into the sky, hands fidgeting like amateurs. They later left in an unmarked car.

People have chilling stories to tell. In the night of Thursday preceding the election, one APC top shot who was my host received a text message that masked armed men were abducting people from their homes in the thickest of night. At the last count, the Commissioner for Regional Integration, Mr. Bashiru Ajibola, said over 200 were arrested in the night preceding the election. In Ekiti, 459 APC leaders were abducted, never to return until after the election. The ‘soldiers’ did not only arrest; they visited homes and collected money meant for mobilisation. Mr. Charles Fasubaa, the General Manager of the Ekiti State Traffic Management Authority, (EKSTMA) was picked from his bedroom and his cash snatched. One leader of APC in Osun was detained all night from Friday until after the election. I was informed that N5million meant for some wards were collected by force from another APC leader in Osun. This apart, I strongly believe PDP rigged the elections in Ekiti and Osun. In the two states, PDP stalwarts were arrested with ballot papers. Where are the ballot papers seized in Ekiti and Osun? Did PDP minimise its rigging tactics in Osun to create a credibility booster? If this heinous plot continues, the other South West states should not expect elections but brutal “war” as warned earlier by the PDP. Therefore, the APC needs real strategic and tactical realignment to deal with a monstrous opponent that has no respect for the rules. It is infamy that this happened under the nose of Prof Attahiru Jega’s INEC. It is bizarre that INEC consistently describes the elections as free and fair in a malicious rivalry, where in a boxing ring, the umpire watches, as one hand of a contender is tied to the stake. This is my personal submission: gloom is taking its full circle. There needs to be a revolution in Nigeria before we can talk of democracy. Adeoye, a CNN African Journalist of the Year winner, writes from Lagos.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

Enugu impeachment: The roots, the intrigues and the power game PAGES 20

Ngige: APC’ll give Ndigbo platform they’ve craved for

Benue 2O15: As governor, I’ll unite opposing forces Ortom

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•Tambuwal

2015 Presidency: Waiting on Tambuwal

HE countdown may have begun for the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to formally declare intent to contest the 2015 Presidency. Indications to this effect emerged last week following a whistle-stop visit by Nigeria’s number four citizen to the hilltop residence of former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This is the second of such visits this year. On February 23, the Speaker had paid a courtesy call on Obasanjo in company of about five of his associates and colleagues in the National Assembly. The agenda of the visit, just like the latest one, according to the Speaker’s spokesperson, was to “discuss the state of the nation and how to move it

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, appears set to take the bull by the horn by declaring his interest in the 2015 Presidency, reports Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo forward.” But there was more to the visits, a source who is a close ally of the Speaker has confided in The Nation. The 47 years old federal lawmaker, it was gathered, visited the former leader to kick-start what the source described as an “all embracing and all inclusive consultations with relevant stakeholders on his 2015 presidential ambition.” Speaking on the Speaker’s seriousness to throw his hat into the presidential ring, another source disclosed that it is not a matter of if but when, adding that Tambuwal’s seeming footdragging on the issue is not

unconnected to the non-release of the timetable for the 2015 general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In the last couple of months, there have been speculations on the Speaker’s plan for 2015, with conflicting reports claiming that the Sokoto State-born lawmaker is torn between contesting for the governorship of his home state, seeking another term in the National Assembly and contesting the Presidency. Sokoto governorship Sources revealed that not a few close allies of the Speaker are asking him to give the governorship a shot, arguing that vying for the position appears the

best bet in view of the prevailing political dynamics playing out in Sokoto State. This school of thought, it was learnt, argued further that the state governor, Aliyu Wammako, would have no qualms with Tambuwal succeeding him in office since both men have sustained a close relationship that precedes their current elective positions. Returning to National Assembly Another option being considered by the Speaker is to seek another term in the National Assembly, but this proposal, according to sources, looks appealing only on the unlikely possibility that Tambuwal will

return as Speaker. But those opposed to this move argue that based on the national status that Tambuwal has assumed in the last three years, contesting for a higher office would not be out of place after all. Stretching the argument further, the Speaker’s associates posit that if eventually the Speaker is reelected into the House, his chances of retaining his current position is rather slim, particularly if the ruling party at the centre wins the Presidency in 2015. For Tambuwal and the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and by extension the Presidency, there has been no love lost to say the least. •Continued on Page 22

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

POLITICS

Enugu impeachment: The roots, the intrigues and the power game

S Enugu State House of Assembly this week rounds up the impeachment proceedings against the Deputy Governor, Chief Sunday Onyebuchi, there are indications that the outcome may untie the web-like political texture of the South-East state ahead 2015 general elections. Varying interpretations to the forces that led to the political crisis have already been offered. But our investigation confirmed that all the interpretations point to different political interests, a fact that suggests that the post impeachment realities of Enugu State may not only define the existing political interests of the top players but also expose where each of them stands. Until now, some major political stakeholders in the state have carefully hidden their interests, their loyalties and where they stand, but it seems the wind of impeachment will finally blow open some carefully hidden political secrets and expose who is where in the intricate game for 2015 elections. For now, as has been the case since last year when the face- off at the Government House began, the Enugu State politics has remained largely anchored on a delicate blame game. So, notwistanding the fact that the House of Assembly made its position and reasons for the impeachment proceedings very clear, there still exist different accounts of what led to the action. While the deputy governor is accusing his boss, Governor Sullivan Chime, of being behind his predicament because he wants to create political opportunity for his Chief of Staff, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, officials of the state government and other insiders to PDP leadership in the state, who spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity, said it was members of the House of Assembly that noted the gross impeachable offenses committed by Onyebuchi and decided to do their constitutional duties in order to save the state and the inherent threats to democracy. They said Onyebuchi has since ceased to respect, obey or take instructions from the governor, a development that, according to them, has hampered governance in the state. For example, a source in Enugu, a civil servant, explaining the genesis of the crisis, has this to say: “The principal impeachable offense against the deputy governor, that of deliberate disobedience to the governor, is neither false no a secret here. It has been there for long. As you must have read in the papers, it led to serious embarrassment of the state during the visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to flag-off the construction of the Second Niger Bridge in Anambra State and during a recent meeting of South-East Governors Forum in Enugu. These are just the few instances that finally brought out this obvious case of deliberate insubordination to the public sphere. The instances have been much but the governor had chosen to manage the situation. In most cases, when the governor directs the deputy to represent him in some critical occasions, the later will claim to be indisposed or sick even when everybody knows that he would attend more strenuous personal assignments at the same specified time. I think both the House of Assembly and the people of Enugu State saw it clearly that these two political leaders, who have been political allies since the days of former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani, can no longer work together, hence the impeachment proceeding.” Another source, a top PDP chieftain in Enugu, who refused to be named in

The impeachment proceedings against the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Sunday Onyebuchi, has recorded a lot of twists and intrigues. But as it enters its final stages, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, dug into the genesis of the crisis, and reports that it is rooted in the power game ahead 2015

•Chime

•Onyebuchi

“It seems the deputy governor is caught in a fierce political battle between Governor Chime and Senator Ike Ekweremadu for the control of power in Enugu State from 2015. It may not be false that Onyebuchi associates greatly with Ekweremadu and the former governor, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani, but whether he deliberately disobeys the governor on account of his relationship with these powerful political personalities is what I can neither ascertain now nor realistically comment upon, but I can tell you without any fear of contradiction that for Chime and Onyekwere, things have really fallen apart and we in the party know that it may no longer be in the interest of the party and the state to insist they must work together. Something has to go in the interest of peace and progress of the state,” he said.” order not to be seen as taking sides, said the matter has to do with the 2015 politics and the control of the state power. “It seems the deputy governor is caught in a fierce political battle between Governor Chime and Senator Ike Ekweremadu for the control of power in Enugu State from 2015. It may not be false that Onyebuchi associates greatly with Ekweremadu and the former governor, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani, but whether he deliberately disobeys the governor on account of his relationship with these powerful political personalities is what I can neither ascertain now nor realistically comment upon, but I can tell you without any fear of contradiction that for Chime and Onyekwere, things have really fallen apart and we in the party know that it may no longer be in the interest of the party and the state to insist they must work together. Something has to go in the interest of peace and progress of the state,” he said. Genesis of the face-off The Nation’s investigation shows that the disagreement between the governor and his deputy dates back to last year

when the governor went on a prolonged medical leave. During the leave, it was alleged that the deputy governor refused to represent the governor in some vital state functions, a development that not only ridiculed and embarrassed the state but also exposed the cat and mouse relationship between the governor and the deputy. In fact, the face-off preceded this recent leave as it can actually preceded the famed poultry evacuation saga. The poultry saga Although the argument over the poultry farm run by the deputy governor in his private residence at the Government House had dragged for a long time, it came to a head on February 28, 2014, when news reports of its evacuation hit headlines. That day, over 3,000 fowls plus 40 crates of eggs from the poultry farm were evacuated in the presence of news men and other onlookers. The evacuation was carried out by the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA) and the Ministry of

Environment. The officials, led by their commissioners said the poultry farm was constituting public health hazard. The ministry officials, who carried out the duty said the Deputy Governor had earlier been directed to relocate the poultry farm in two letters dated December 24 and 27, 2013 with reference numbers GHE/CAO/31/239 and GHE/CAO/31/240, signed by Mr. G.O.C Ajah, Permanent Secretary incharge of Government House, Enugu. However, the deputy governor described the evacuation of his poultry as a wicked act of impunity intended to humiliate him, alleging that Mrs Ifeoma Nwobodo, the Chief of Staff to the governor was behind the action. But an official of Enugu Ministry of Environment, who spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity said “none of the letters to the deputy governor, allegedly signed by the Chief of Staff was actually signed by her. In fact, as if divinely ordained, when most of those correspondences to the deputy governor were to be signed, it happens that Madam is usually not around. The ones that emanated from her office or from the Government House were usually signed for her by an officer or by G.O.C Ajah, the Permanent Secretary in-charge of Government House, Enugu. “But as you know, even if she signs any of those letters, it would be unfair on her to allege she was the one trying to boss the deputy governor. No, that is cheap politicking, chief blackmail of an innocent woman. Her office as the Chief of Staff is simply designed to convey the governor’s instructions and directives. Everybody, including His Excellency, the Deputy Governor, knows that when a letter comes from the Chief of Staff office, it is not a •Continued on page 21

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

POLITICS

Enugu impeachment: The roots, the intrigues and the power game •Continued from page 20

directive from the Chief of Staff herself but a directive from the governor. It is both laughable and painful that people who know are deliberately striving hard to drag Mrs Nwobodo into everything, projecting her as if she is super human. Is it not instructive that even when the Deputy Governor collapsed at the hearing of the Impeachment Panel this week, the people were careful enough to put it in the papers that he collapsed shortly after the arrival of Mrs Nwobodo. Why must we link everything to this simple woman? She only got to the panel because she was summoned to go and give evidence, just like the other officials.” According to the official, during Poultry evacuation saga, both the deputy governor and his loyalists also accused the Chief of Staff of being behind it all. It would be recalled that at the peak of the poultry saga, Onyebuchi had said, “I told them that the poultry farm was designated Agriculture Unit and I want them to deny that the structure had been used as a poultry farm before I became deputy governor. Let them also deny that I have not operated the poultry farm since 2008. That was why I put in my Assets Declaration at the end of my first term and at the beginning of this term that I have operated the poultry farm and this was verified by the Code of Conduct Bureau. How suddenly my poultry farm became a health hazard when it has been in existence since 2008,” he said, adding that it was Mrs Nwobodo that gave the instruction just to ridicule and humiliate him. But the Ministry of Environment official, who saw it all said it is not true that Nwobodo simply gave that directive to get at the deputy governor. “I can assure you that the directive is from the very top. Everybody was complaining about the offensive odour emanating from the farm. This was because, as at that time, the deputy governor was not living in the quarters and his workers were obviously unable to keep the place tidy. “I was involved in the Poultry matter. I learnt, I don’t know how correct it is, that at a point, the governor was so disturbed by the unending complaints of staff and visitors to the Government House that he offered to give the deputy governor a piece of land outside the Government House to relocate the birds, but he reportedly refused it. I also remember vividly that even that very morning, the deputy governor was contacted on phone by the commissioner or some other top official I cannot remember clearly and told that the ministry will evacuate the birds to a temporary location to enable us tidy up the place. But you know politicians, he said okay, that there were people there to open the gate for us. But as soon as we got there, the deputy governor arrived with camera men and other newsmen and made a big case of the matter. He said it was the Chief of Staff that instructed the destruction of the farm to humiliate him. I felt sorry for the Madam.” The parting encounter Until a recent historic meeting between the governor and his deputy at the governor’s office, which insiders ironically see as the parting encounter, the face-off was averagely managed by both parties as an open secret. But it got out of control as the two leaders ended up in an open quarrel at that meeting. Today, loyalists of the two personalities are peddling different versions of what transpired between Chime and Onyebuchi in that meeting. A source close to the deputy governor said it was the governor that summoned the governor to a meeting in his office. At the meeting, said the

invitation to any official in the Government House, is it not the usual way of giving the governor’s instructions? Why would the deputy governor prefer a telephone instruction from the governor to the universally acknowledged medium? While the supporters of the two leaders defend the cause of their principal, the House on Thursday, 31 July, 2014 went ahead to direct the State Chief Judge, Justice Innocent Umezurike, to constitute a panel to investigate the allegations.

•Umezurike

source, the governor accused the deputy of disobedience to lawful orders. At a point in the discussion, he became so angry that he asked the deputy governor to walk out of his office and to resign his position immediately. The source claimed that Chime’s anger was Onyebuchi’s insistence that he must contest the senatorial seat of Enugu East. The source said, “The deputy governor frankly told the governor that he must exercise his right to contest election into the senate in the coming elections but the governor opposed the move. When voices started rising, the deputy had to leave,” he said. Insiders to Enugu State Government however gave The Nation in Enugu a more graphic account of what happened that day. According to the accounts by two of such sources, it was the deputy governor that actually came on his own to meet with the governor and to seek permission to attend to some personal family affairs. According to the accounts, “before granting the oral request, Chime, who at that time just returned from his annual leave abroad, used the opportunity to ask his deputy why he could not represent him in two very important state functions while he was away in spite of the fact that he was given a formal invitation to the event by the Chief of Protocol, the right officer to convey such invitation “The functions include the visit of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to Anambra State to flag-off the construction of the Second Niger Bridge and the meeting of South-East Governors’s Forum in Enugu? “The governor also expressed displeasure to the report that in his absence for a mere leave, the deputy governor attempted to remove from office the Chief of Staff, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, who as a personal staff to the governor and as such cannot be removed in that manner without the governor’s consent. “To the governor’s rude shock, instead of being at least civil in his explanations, the deputy governor said pointedly that declined to show up at the South-East Governors meeting because the governor did not give him any directive to act in his absence. On the presidential visit Onyebuchi fired back at the governor at the presence of some other governor’s aides, “why should I represent you at those functions? Tell me why I should represent you at those functions.” “Almost dumbfounded at the sudden outburst, Chime first said, ‘okay, tell me also why I should grant your permission now.’ “Then, he paused as if in deep thought over the development. By the time he spoke again, he was visibly angry. It was at this stage that the governor listed other cases of alleged insubordination on the part of the deputy governor, accusing Onyebuchi of dancing to a secret song from political rivals. He therefore concluded that the deputy is obviously

•Nwobodo tired of working with him as he could not be working under another person and be taking instructions from his boss’ political rivals. He therefore advised Onyebuchi to leave his office and to resign his position forthwith.” The impeachment charges Following the obvious breakdown in the relationship between the governor and the deputy governor, the House of Assembly, in what a lawmaker described as a timely move to save the state from a possible descent to anarchy and chaos, served the deputy governor a notice of impeachment, signed by 20 out of the 24 lawmakers at the Enugu State House of Assembly. The lawmakers accused Onyebuchi of maintaining a poultry farm in his official residence contrary to a resolution of the House prohibiting the maintenance of and operation of commercial livestock and poultry farms within residential neighborhoods in Enugu Metropolis. They also accused him of defying the governor’s directive to represent him at some occasions which they said violates Section 193 (1) of the 1999 Constitution. On the first charge, the deputy governor replied that he came and met an area in his official residence designated as ‘Agricultural Unit’, which includes a poultry farm, and whose facilities were installed by the first premier of Eastern Nigeria and that all his predecessors used it and maintained the poultry farm. On the second charge, Onyebuchi said, “Let me start by saying that on June 9, 2014, the Governor commenced his 2014 annual vacation. This was made public through various news media. He did not tell me to take any action on his behalf pending his return, and I am not aware that he sent a formal letter to the Enugu State House of Assembly informing the Assembly that he was proceeding on vacation. The governor did not tell me to take any action on his behalf pending his return, neither did he tell me that he would pass instructions to me through a third party. I did not receive instructions from him personally, by phone or in writing asking me to represent him at the meeting of the South East Governors Forum that took place in Enugu on July 6, 2014. “I did not have any reason not to represent him if he had so instructed me to do so. I do not think it is appropriate for a deputy governor to act in the absence of the governor deriving authority from a subordinate or based on press release to the effect that the governor handed over to his deputy. Reacting to these response, a top government official said it is unfortunate for the deputy governor to pretend not to know the usual channel of giving official directives. The source asked rhetorically, “If the Chief of Protocol delivers an

Why Chime, Onyebuchi parted ways Ironically, the governor, Sullivan Chime and the deputy governor, Sunday Onyebuchi were considered strong political allies when they were both favoured by the former governor, Chimaroke Nnamani. For a long time, insiders said they worked hamounously until alleged political interests put a wedge between them. The resultant icy relationship first manifested when the governor became ill and had to stay away for a very long time. According to a source, it was at this period that political intrigues to wrest control of the political structure from Chime started. So, when Chime miraculously recovered and returned home, all was no longer as before. At a stage, the governor reportedly accused Onyebuchi of fraternizing with the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, whom he sees as his major political opponent in 2015. Up till today, insiders say Ekweremadu wields enormous influence on Onyebuchi. In fact, as soon as it became known that an ultimatum had been given by the Enugu State House of Assembly to Sunday Onyebuchi, the state deputy governor to respond to the impeachment notice served him, a group led by Ekweremadu and former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani, reportedly stormed Abuja in a bid to stop the impeachment. Also, Enugu State House of Assembly sources confirmed that on the day the Assembly served the impeachment notice, the deputy governor had travelled to Abuja to contact his benefactors in an attempt to stop the impeachment. A day before the incident, Onyebuchi had raised the alarm that there was a plot to impeach him, alleging that Chime was behind the plot. He allegedly old a group known as Ebeano Machinery, at a meetings with top chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Abuja that they must work hard to stop the impeachment plot A source in Abuja confirmed that the group actually met with the National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, to plead for his support. Mrs Nwobodo’s angle Perhaps because Mrs Ifeoma Nwobodo hardly speaks to the media to defend herself over the numerous allegations about her alleged quest for power, her name has never ceased to appear in the various controversies surrounding the Enugu power game. Some of the questions most observers are asking are who is this woman, what does she want and why does she enjoy so much confidence of the governor? A top government official who attempted an answer to these questions simply said: “Chief is a simple woman, a dependable workaholic who is being accused of things she knows nothing about. I think her fault is that she calls a spade a spade and is not willing to follow the ways of politicians. “She is being opposed because she is like a formidable pillar to the government of Enugu State. We call her our Madam due process and I don’t see that as an offense though I know many politicians who hate her for it.”

POLITICS

N the last governorship election in Osun State, your party, APC, won. What is your impression of the election? My party won the election convincingly. We defeated our major opponent, who is the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with a wide margin. He scored about 292,000 votes while our candidate scored 394,000 and won overwhelmingly in 23 local governments. Therefore, one would say that because we won, we would not say that that election had pitfalls. Two important things there are that, first and foremost, the state was over militarised and secondly, our strong supporters, the key people who anchored our elections in their local governments were hounded. If you go to Ede North, Senator Adeleke, who was former governor, was hounded. They arrested our spokesperson, Alhaji Lai and arrested one other technical person working with us who is an Assistant to former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Mr. Sunday Dare. They arrested them for no just cause and without reason. So, even though Osun people rose up in defence of their votes, in defence of their sovereignty, one would not say that there wasn’t intimidation in Osun State. There was a mighty and gargantuan show of force aimed at cowing and intimidating the people because in the main, the people of Osun State were ACN supporters and sympathizers. So, I am telling you on good authority that if we remove those elements of intimidation, our candidate would have gotten double the votes that he got, especially in his area; Ijesha, Ilesha and even in Ebe. And these are the populous areas Osogbo, Ijesha, Ife and Ede. But if you go to Ife, the PDP candidate had a field day. They allowed his people to come. They allowed them to mix freely with the polling clerks and everybody and you can see the result that they produced from there. So, that result from Ife is a rigged result. It is a rigged result. I mean the result of Ife, the three local governments of Ife. How would you assess the logistics for the election in Osun compared to what happened in Anambra? In terms of logistics planning, INEC did better than they did in Anambra. Anambra was a colossal failure for INEC in terms of logistics. In terms of staff deployment, personnel deployment for the Anambra election, INEC did not even get pass mark. And in terms of corruption of the electoral process in the Anambra elections, which means colluding with one political party against the others, which means the Resident Electoral Commissioner deploying APGA people as ad-hoc staff, which also means and connotes and entails disenfranchisement of voters in areas where my party in particular, All Progressives Congress, was strong, in areas of Idemili North, Idemili South, parts of Ogbaru, especially Okpoko, parts of Awka South, especially areas where previous results show that the former ACN had been able to do wonderfully well like Government House area, GRA, St Thomas Aquinas, Esther Obiakor booths, all those areas were starved of electoral materials, such that voting could not take place in those places. And then I had to score zero and for them also to score zero. But in the final analysis, our party was the biggest loser. So, compared side by side with what we saw in Osun, where the people were very resolute and were ready to die and confront any security men, I will say that INEC had been pressurized to improve. This improvement, I don’t know whether they can carry it on to 2015. We will watch and see what they will do in the bye-election of

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

Ngige: APC’ll give Ndigbo platform they’ve craved for Senator Chris Ngige, former governor of Anambra State, and senator representing Anambra Central Zone in this interview with reporters in Awka speaks on the governorship election in Osun, 2015 General Elections and Igbo presidency, pointing out that All Progressive Congress (APC) will give Ndigbo the platform they have craved for in the country. Nwanosike Onu was there.

•Ngige

Adamawa which is coming up in the next two months because Adamawa, as you all know, is an APC -friendly state. Why did you say so? It is our stronghold. It is an APC state. So, I use this opportunity to congratulate our brother, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. You talked about militarisation in Osun. Would you say this may have contributed to the loss of Ekiti because APC didn’t envision the large presence of security men and therefore lost as a result? Yes, partly, it was one of the major reasons. We were prepared for this over militarisation. I am a member of the National Election Committee of APC and we visited Osun State twice before the election to assess the situation on ground. And in our last visit, the militarisation has started. So, we did indoctrination and sensitisation of our party members, to the extent that we had a leadership structure in every booth that had alternates. If you arrest

one person, there is another person to take over. If you arrest that person that has taken over, there is another person to take over. We did that structure, expecting what had happened and they played that game. And you know that in military warfare, if you know the strength of your enemy, and know the war tactics that he uses, you can be able to confront him, to stop him on his track. So, Osun people were not afraid of all the guns and the hooded and masked people that they saw because we told them that they were coming. But my take again on this is that in the general election, it will not be solitary election. Election will be taking place in all the states of the federation at the same time. So, where do you get this number of soldiers or number of police and State Security operatives to pump into one state? May be they can earmark some few states and do the over militarisation there but then, we will again apply our Osun strategy in dealing with such situation. My worry about 2015 is that INEC will not then be in a position to dis-

pense with Resident Electoral Commissioners. Jega will not be able to dispense with them-the commissioners that are corrupt or deemed corrupt or who have compromised themselves with politicians. In Osun, PDP wrote a petition and did press conference and the man was transferred, Akeju and a new person was brought. In Anambra State, the man there had been there before the last general election, conducted general elections, conducted governorship election and conducted bye-elections and everything and he is angling to stay there again and do the next general elections. We are saying no to that. Resident Electoral Commissioner in Anambra, Onukaogu should leave. We know you are now in the Supreme Court, challenging what happened in Anambra. Irrespective of that, what is your assessment of Governor Willie Obiano’s administration so far? Well, I won’t be able to do a good assessment for you for two reasons: First, the man who is on the saddle is about 130 days in office. 100 days is

about three months. It is not enough for anybody to settle down and do something tangible as such, more so when the person has not been in government. For now, he says the major thing he is doing is security. I won’t also assess him by the number of various Hilux pickups donated to the Nigerian police or given to vigilante services in the state. I will assess him when the results start coming out. For now, kidnapping is still going on. For now, armed robbery is still going on. So, I will be unfair if I start assessing him now. May be I will do that after his one year in office. And I am in court. If I also start doing anything now, I will be a jaundiced assessor. Any assessment that I make, will be jaundiced. And I am jaundiced in my view because I think that he didn’t get in there the proper way. I have nothing against his person. He is an amiable person. And those who dealt with him know him and say he is an honest person. They also say he is frank like me. He talks straight. I don’t do double speak. I don’t do double talk. So, I don’t want to be unfair to him now. 2015 general election is fast approaching, are you contesting for any office? 2015 is February/March election and your question is good but if you calculate now, you can see it is about seven months away. And six/seven months away is a lot of time in politics. A lot of things can change. But we learnt party primaries will hold in October. Primaries start in October. My party will do their presidential primaries first. We are starting with presidential and from there we move to other primaries. Positions that are there to be contested are many. President-I am qualified to be President. I can contest it. It doesn’t then make it an Anambra election. There is also Senate or National Assembly. Well, National Assembly, but I cannot be a Senator and then go back to House of Representatives. That again is a seat that is available to be contested for. But more importantly, I am in the court challenging the last governorship election of November 16. We have just finished at the Court of Appeal. This week, our lawyers have submitted their papers to the Supreme Court and if you look here, you will see my own copy. They just delivered them today. If the Supreme Court says that the election in Anambra State was not right and agrees with APC and PDP that there were electoral flaws that made for non substantial compliance by INEC with the Electoral laws in declaring Governor Willie Obiano as the Governor of the State, and ordering a rerun, then we will go for a re-run to repeat election. If they also finds that Mr. Willie Obiano did multiple registration in two places and also did a transfer of his old registration in Lagos State which is third registration, and they concur with us and agree with us that he placed two voters cards which to all intents and purposes are voting certificates, voters ID certificates, and extrapolates from there to affidavit he swore in CF001, that we are not presenting any forged certificates because that is what we asked, if they extrapolates into that and agree with our counsels that these voters cards are voters certificates, voters identification certificates, it then means that one of them was forged. And if it is forged, it has contravened information given in form CF001 because people mistake that area of forged certificate to mean only academic certificates from institutions whereas a certificate is anything that certifies you as Mr. A or Mr. B. of this particular identity. And that is what also we have. It is a voter’s card because it has a VIN number. It identifies •Continued on Page 23

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014 •Continued from Page 22 you with a voter’s identification number called VIN number. It identifies you with an address. It identifies you with your trade or business. It identifies you with your photographs, everything. So, it is a certificate. So, if they agree with us, they will disqualify Willie Obiano as prayed and then order for fresh election. But if they don’t do that, we leave them to God. We leave the whole matter to God for final judgment and in which case if they agree with us like I said, we will re-run the election. And I will be qualified to run. If it were a question of whether I choose to run or I don’t choose to run. It depends on my party. From the grapevine, we learnt the Vice Presidential candidate of APC has been reserved for you. Is this true? Where did this grape come from and where did the vine come from? In which vineyard is this vine coming from? But we thought it has been zoned? We have not zoned any position of our party to any zone. We have not. As a matter of fact, organs of our party are now being put in place. After our last convention, what we now have is state, local government and ward executive. But we are going to put in place, our booth executives in the respective states. At the national, what we put in place at the Eagle Square Convention of 12 and 13 June is our working committee. By next week hopefully, according to the timetable drawn up by our National Chairman, we will inaugurate our full NEC, which encompasses all officers in the working committee, their deputies, two Senators per zone, three House of Representatives members per zone, zonal officers of the cadre of youth leaders, women leaders, even the zonal chairman who is also a member of the working committee, zonal secretary and zonal treasurer. These are members of the full NEC and our governors who are sovereign in their respective states. After these, we are also putting our Board of Trustees. Nominations are ongoing now as we speak and members of the national caucus. Luckily, I am a member of all these organs of our party by my being the only Senator from the South-East. I am automatically a member of the NEC of our party. I am a former governor. I am automatically a member of the national caucus and the Board of Trustees of our party. So, there will be no decision taken in all these places that I will not be privy to. So, as far as I know, we have not zoned any office. The only zoning that we did was for party offices. In the next few weeks, we will meet as elders of the party and fashion out what we are going to do about our presidential

POLITICS

Ngige: APC’ll give Ndigbo platform they’ve craved for

•Ngige

candidate because we don’t have time anymore. There is no time. As we sit here, my very good friend, President Jonathan is campaigning every day. In all the media, you will see various groups, transformation agenda, gift, Jonathan for President, over our dead body, if Jonathan doesn’t become President, we shall die, etc. These organisations are there and campaigning. You can’t also stop them because they have not said vote for Jonathan. They are only showing that he did this work, he did that work. But luckily enough our brother in Imo State is also showing his own work now. And when Mandela’s photograph and Obama’s own come out, his own comes out too. So, we as a party, we have realised that we don’t have time. In the next few weeks, it will be run, run, run for us. There are speculations that President Jonathan, who is your very good friend, has been prevailing on you to join PDP to run for Senate in 2015. Is this true? There is no law that for two persons to be friends forever or continue to maintain their mutuality, they must belong to the same political party. As a matter of fact, you can lose your friend when you go into the same political party. So, to me, our different political parties don’t matter. What matters to me is good governance. What is your opinion about the impeachments going on in the country now, especially the ones affecting your party the APC in Nasawara and Adamawa? Well, the impeachments have gone

down now. As you can see, the impeachment in Nasarawa has fallen like pack of cards. The panel has dismissed the allegations. When the House of Assembly reconvenes, they will get their report and the constitution is clear. When you get such a report, the whole processes have died. You cannot do anything about it anymore. In Adamawa, yes, that one was successful. But the good thing about Adamawa is that we are going for a new election, brand new election and we have put in place, processes for our primaries, to get a solid candidate that will win back the state for us. Do not forget that that state was won by us under ACN when Nyako was PDP. So that our ACN structure that delivered that state to Gundiri is still there. So, we are raving up that structure and we rave that structure, with Atiku Abubakar as the anchor man there, and then we will take over that state in an election. We will go there just like we went to Osun and make sure that our people are not intimidated again and we shall win the election and get back that state. In the country, especially in the South East here, we see people calling APC all kinds of names. Some people call it a northern party, others call it Yoruba party. How are you going to convince Ndigbo to vote for APC with all these name tags? Some people call it northern party, some people call it Yoruba party, so why is it that the third leg of the tripod in Nigeria, in terms of major tribes in the nation, is not finding that party attractive to go and put their leg there? It then means that the political strategists in that region are not thinking. But some of us who are empirical and analytical, in whatever we do, in line with my principle of not deceiving myself, we decided to go and form that third leg for our people. Nobody knows tomorrow. We are not soothsayers but I know that we have a leg in PDP, therefore why should we not have a leg in the main opposition, because as the Igbo would say it, “tomorrow is pregnant.” Nobody knows tomorrow. So, we are going to work very hard in the South-East, to convince a lot of our people that we should not put all our eggs in one basket because for us to do that would amount to political suicide.

2015: What’s in for Mark’s Chief of Staff?

OU may or may not notice him. He is a consumate and calculated professional who is almost enslaved by his work. At the moment, he works round the clock to see to the smooth administration of the office of the President of the Senate. His designation is the Chief of Staff to the President of the Senate. He is Senator George Anthony Manzo, Fellow Royal College of Surgeons. (FRCS), London . He represented Taraba North Senatorial zone in the upper legislative chamber between 2007 and 2011. He is a member of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP). He, obviously is not the loud type, but he always have his eyes on the goal. He acts as the brain box of the office, an ideas man who synchronizes and indeed aggregates opinions and views, sieve the chaff from the grain before making informed decisions. Endowed with an energetic and strategic leadership skills, coupled with local and international exposure, Senator Manzo has in the last three and half years managed the office of the President of the Senate with its associated huge responsibilities smoothly albeit, successfully. An innovative and result -oriented leader with extensive planning and negotiation skills and proven ability to take leadership roles and efficiently execute assignment, Manzo daily oversees the operation of Special Advisers, Special Assistants and other legislative aides to the

By Ibrahim Danse Principal as well as manage the interrelationship between and among the various units under the office of the Chief lawmaker of the federation otherwise called No 3 citizen. During his stint in the Senate between 2007 and 2011, Senator Manzo championed the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2008, National Security Enhancement Bill. 2008, Bill for the amendment of the Pychiatric Hospital Management Board Act, University of Abuja College of Medicine, Mental Health and free Medical centres as well as sponsored a motion on ‘Global Credit Crisis and its impact on Nigeria ‘among others. As Nigerian Ambassador to the State of Isreal and High Commissioner to the Republic of Cyprus between 2004 and 2007, Manzo strengthened and opened new vistas of bilateral relationship between Nigeria and the host nations. It is instructive to note that his excellent performance as an Ambassador unarguably earned him the ticket to the Senate in 2007. A proficient Surgeon of a very high repute, Manzo has in the mean time dropped the stethoscope, a call to save lives to a call to serve the larger number of people through the instrumentality of politics. Before his foray into the murky waters of Nigerian politics, Manzo was a medical practitioner and Chairman, Medi-

cal Advisory Committee, Specialist Hospital, Gwagwalada, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Consultant surgeon, Commissioner for Health, Taraba State and member State Executive Council among others. An avid reader, Senator Manzo is an encyclopedia of sort at least in the field of surgery. As the 2015 general elections gathers momentum, the straight jacket question is what’s in for Senator Anthony Manzo? Political pundits posit that Manzo is eyeing the Government House, Jalingo. But unfolding scenario points to the direction that Manzo is more likely to return to his familiar turf, the Senate dubbed the red chamber of the National Assembly. For him, the Taraba North PDP Senatorial ticket is just for his asking, having done much in terms of service delivery and empowerment of the constituents to earn their trust and confidence. The incumbent Senator Aisha Alhassan has since jumped ship to the emerging All Progressive Congress (APC) and already eyeing the governor’s seat. All eyes are on Senator Manzo to break the ice. Although , the Senate President’s Chief of Staff is not making any categorical statement for now, in the next few weeks or months, the political road- Map for 2015 would be clearer and Manzo would make a loud and unambiguous statement . The electorates are waiting. - Danse, a public commentator, wrote in from Abuja

Dissecting figures from Osun poll

NE week after the all-important governorship election in Osun State, the tension it generated has sufficiently cooled down to allow a sober look at the result. While the All Progressives Congress candidate, the incumbent Governor Rauf Aregbesola, polled 394,684 votes, his main challenger, Iyiola Omisore, obtained 292,431 votes. By the result, the governor was empowered to continue in office for another four years. The APC faithful have been celebrating since, while the Peoples Democratic Party that fielded Omisore could not believe that the federal might could ever fail to deliver as it did on August 9. But, through the figures, the people of Osun said a lot that have not been reported. Let me first declare here that I am not looking beyond the figures. This is not to say that there is no truth in the contention that a lot might have gone wrong. First, the general principles. Aregbesola won in 22 local government areas, while Omisore made the mark in eight. Both candidates made more than the mandatory 25 per cent in the 30 local government areas and, by that, the spread factor counted for nothing. In every election, candidates usually have their strongholds. Aregbesola’s were Ilesa East and West LGAs, Osogbo and Olorunda, as well as Irewole and Olaoluwa. Being evenly distributed among the three Senatorial districts, it was a vindication of the pre-election APC claim to state-wide popularity. On the other hand, Ife Central, South and East LGAs rallied round their son, Omisore. Outside the three, the PDP standard bearer failed to make sufficient impact elsewhere. In my view, a candidate could claim anywhere he records two-thirds of the votes as his stronghold. But, a candidate could record clear victory in an area where it led his main opponent with more than 20 per cent of the votes, but below the two-third mark. The APC thus had clear victory in Irepodun, Ifelodun, Ede South, Obokun, Egbedore, Ila, Ejigbo, Boripe and Atakumosa East. The PDP did not record such a feat outside the Ife enclave. The marginal fields where neither party recorded up to 10 per cent lead over the other were Boluwaduro, Ifedayo, Odo Otin, Orolu, Oriade, Atakumosa West, Ife North, Ayedire, Isokan Ayedaade and Ede North. Of particular note are Ayedire where the PDP led with only 89 votes, Boluwaduro where the party led with a meager 144 and Ifedayo where it won with 243 votes. In reality, these are, therefore swing LGAs. Further, the results show that Omisore polled 73,038 votes in the four Ife LGAs, about double APC’s 39,419. The PDP candidate’s Ife votes represent about 25 per cent of the total votes for the party. Similarly, the APC candidate recorded 71,477 of the 113,106 votes from the six Ijesa LGAs. Both candidates recorded more than 35 per cent of the votes cast in the stronghold of the other. The import of the electorate’s decision is that the people of Osun are not particularly averse to any party or candidate and ideological stance may not count for much in elections held in the state in the near future, particularly next year. It might be wrong to come to the conclusion that the 2015 elections would follow similar pattern in the 30 LGAs. First, variables could have changed, especially as determinants of voting pattern in local, state and presidential elections are never the same. However, it means that the candidates for the various offices would play major roles in determining voter behaviour. Where identification with parties and ideology is very strong, choice of candidates might not count for much, but in a state where the people do not care much about that factor; it might be the most important factor. Second, the part played by some defectors from the PDP to the APC just before the election could have contributed to the spread of the party’s vote. This implies that the party needs stability of its structure to hold on to the lever of power. How it manages the primaries to pick candidates for national and state legislative seats could affect its fortunes at the poll. A lot would depend, too, on how well the PDP handles the internal dynamics, first, in holding the party together in the face of the defeat just recorded, and two, satisfying the yearnings of the party members when the time comes to decide those to fly its flag next year. The heavy role played by financial inducement in the election is an indication that every candidate for the next elections should be prepared to grease palms. It is an indication that the clamour for “stomach infrastructure” might not, after all, be limited to Ekiti State. It is also a pointer to the continued relevance of godfathers in Nigerian politics. In view of the results of the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States, there is a need for scholars of Political Science and Political Sociology to come up with authoritative studies on the changing dynamics of politics, especially in the old Western Region. It will equally be useful to authoritatively determine the part played by federal might in the conduct and outcome of elections in this part of the world. Certainly, the last has not been heard of the Osun elections.

POLITICS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

Benue 2O15: As governor, I’ll unite opposing forces - Ortom

AN you comment on the alleged pruning of governorship aspirants of Minda by the Tiv Area Traditional Council

Gboko? I have been in this game of politics for over thirty years now and I know that in this game, you are dealing with people. In political calculations, one plus one can be two, and the same one plus one can be ten or even five. Those of you who were there when we did the primary elections that Suswam emerged in 2007 the rule then was that even with your highest number of votes, you most have 50% of the total votes otherwise you will go for a runoff with the person next to you. At that time, to suit the peculiar situation we found ourselves in we had to adopt a method that was convenient for all the stakeholders. We said they should donate votes and nobody was coerced into doing it and people willingly came and donated votes for Suswam to attain the 50 percent that was required and he became the winner. Did he not become the governor? So, I really want to commend what our traditional rulers did, coming together to say look, of the five ruling houses in Tiv land covering Zones A and B, it is only Minda political bloc that has not taken a shot at the governorship position, now it should come to Minda. I think it was a positive development for those of us from the Minda axis. In this axis alone, we were 18 and I know that every Minda son and daughter that has come out is qualified to rule Benue State. But the unfortunate thing is that the seat is only one. Even the four of us that were recommended, the seat is just for one person. There are no four Government Houses and so there is no way all of us will be there. Even if the method used by the Tiv Area Traditional Council to arrive at the four of us was not perfect, I believe it can lead us to somewhere that we can dialogue. Do you have a rift with Governor Suswam over alleged association with Senator George Akume? I don’t know where this thing is coming from, but may be one of you will tell me where Suswam stood and was insulting or complaining about Samuel Ortom.

•Continued from Page 19 Tambuwal’s emergence as Speaker in 2011, which made nonsense of the zoning arrangement of the ruling party, which had earmarked the position for the SouthWest geo-political zone, irked the Presidency to no end. And despite the public facade that all is well, sources say the relationship between Tambuwal and the party, on which he was elected into the National Assembly for two consecutive terms, has degenerated almost irreconcilably. In the last one year, the Speaker’s conspicuous absence at functions organised by the PDP, particularly zonal rallies held in Yola, Kano, Sokoto and Enugu to welcome defectors to the party, is being interpreted as his subtle way of sending a strong message that heart and soul is no longer in the party. 2015 Presidency Across all the major political divides in the country, many stakeholders are allegedly calling on Tambuwal to contest the 2015 Presidency based on the premise that his broad-based support among different political tendencies in the House of Representatives would come in handy when the battle for the 2015 Presidency gets under way. Outside the House, the Speaker would not lack support if he joins the presidential race, sources have revealed.

Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Samuel Ortom, who is aspiring to be governor of Benue State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, interacted with journalists at his residence in Makurdi recently where he spoke about his plans for the state, the pruning of aspirants by the Tiv Area Traditional Council, his relationship with Governor Suswam and other issues. Our Correspondent Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi, was there. Excerpts: The body language shows that you and Governor Suswam are not together politically. Is it correct to think so? Body language or whatever can be a logical fallacy. I want to assure you that I have no single problem with the governor. The governor is my friend till tomorrow. Let me tell you, this house where all of you are sitting now I completed it in 2007 and I want to tell you that it was the governor that built it for me. When he was at the National Assembly, he sowed the seed. The first two million naira that I ever had in my life, even when I was a local government chairman, I never saw it because the whole allocation was less than one million, was given to me by Suswam. When I started my printing and publishing company, the governor was then at the National Assembly. He visited me and saw what I was doing. Where our headquarters is now, that is where I was operating in, one room, trying to start off the business. When he saw it and I opened up my vision to him he was moved and invited me to Abuja. I went there and he gave me two million naira. That was what I started my printing and publishing company with and today, we are where we are. Through that business, I was able to build this house. I was also able to establish other factories that are today giving employment to our people. In 2006 when the party in the state had crisis and the national secretariat dissolved the state executive committee, it was Suswam that lobbied and secured the position of deputy chairman for me. In 2007, when my tenure as the deputy chairman was about to expire and Suswam had won election in which I participated fully, you will recall that for three days, I anchored the primaries that ushered him in as the candidate of the party. When he eventually got elected and I could not be made a commissioner, he asked me

•Ortom

what I wanted and I told him that I wanted to serve the party at the national level. Then the position of the National Auditor of the PDP was zoned to Kogi State. Suswam took it as a challenge and went to Abuja, met with his colleagues and the then President Yar’adua and they were able to reverse the zoning to Benue State and made me the National Auditor of the party. Today, as I am standing before you as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it was Suswam. We were not

to get two slots in Benue because it was argued at the national level that we have the Senate President, so why should we be given two ministerial slots? Suswam was with me in Abuja for a whole week for me to secure the position I am holding today. So I don’t know, if you hate someone, will you also contribute in building him to the level I am today? Where have you heard me complaining or insulting the governor? You talked about the relationship I have with Akume. Akume is my neighbour. Look at his house there and I am here. At my age of 53 years and as a born again Christian who believes in making peace and building bridges of unity, which I have been practicing for many years and you want to bend me? Yes, if I have my way today I will reconcile Akume and Suswam so that Benue State can move forward. Politics is a game of interest, no permanent enemies; no permanent friends. If tomorrow Akume returns to PDP, will we not accept him? We will accept him. Today he is in APC and I am in PDP. When he contested for Senate in PDP, I supported and worked for him and he won in my polling unit, council ward and in my local government. But when Akume contested on the ticket of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Akume lost in my polling unit. Tsegba, who was not the best of my friends then, (now we are best of friends), won in my polling unit, won in my council ward and also won in my local government. In fact, he got the highest number of votes in my local government. ACN lost heavily in Guma Local Government. So how do you now talk about my association with Akume and all that? I don’t believe in forgetting the past so soon. Akume was my leader. I served under him for seven years and we worked together very closely. In those days somebody came and told Akume that I was a Paul Unongo man, later we were able to convince him that look that is not the case. I’m a different person; I’m a Christian who works for peace and respects elders. Up till today, I respect Paul Unongo and everybody. That does not translate to me doing their bidding. So, I told Akume that look, one day, all these people you see around you, sycophants and mediocres, tomorrow you will

2015 Presidency: Waiting on Tambuwal

•Obasanjo

Speaking in Lagos at the investiture of Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, and former Managing Director of Access Bank, Mr. Aigboje AigImoukhuode, as Vanguard Newspaper ‘Personality of the Year 2013’, former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, had expressed confidence in the leadership qualities of Tambuwal. While praising Tambuwal

•Babangida

“for giving us hope and assurances,” Babangida added that the Speaker’s conduct has proved that the upcoming generation has the capacity to lead the country. As a clincher, Babangida quipped, “When leaders like Tambuwal have delivered on their electoral promises, we advise them to try something higher.”

While some Nigerians described this statement as ambiguous and lacking in clarity, others interpreted it as Babangida’s tacit endorsement of Tambuwal for the Presidency. Which party platform? Though still a PDP member, there are indications that Tambuwal may call it quits with the party and join the APC once the guidelines for next year’s

elections are released by the INEC. The APC platform, for now, appears the most attractive for the Speaker to realise his alleged presidential ambition, as the PDP ticket, barring any last minute political upset, is President Goodluck Jonathan for the taking. If Tambuwal eventually defects to the APC as it is being speculated, a complex political scenario may likely play out in the Lower House over his continued retention of the Speakership position. For one, analysts say the Presidency and the leadership of the ruling party will not sit idly and allow the Speaker to use the position to promote his alleged presidential campaign, even as Presidency strategists are alleged to have mapped out measures aimed at checkmating him. A source said, “The Presidency sees the Speaker as more of an APC member than PDP. But how to get the Speaker removed has proved impossible so far, because of the high confidence his colleagues repose in him.” In the weeks to come, The Nation gathered that Tambuwal will engage in more consultations across the country before making a formal announcement on his 2015 plan. While it is almost given that Tambuwal is looking beyond the PDP to actualise his post-2015 agenda, what remains unknown is how he would navigate the likely backlash that would trail his possible defection from the party.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

015 is around the corner and already there is controversy over the way INEC’s is distributing the Permanent Voters Register. How would you assess INEC preparations for the 2015 elections? My personal assessment is that the present leaders of INEC is doing better in conducting elections than all the INEC leaderships I have witnessed in this country. INEC is doing better. It is doing better in terms of preparation, in terms of carrying all the stakeholders along. They are also trying to respond to criticisms by attempting some changes to make their performance better. So, there has been some noticeable improvement. Unfortunately, the Anambra election that took place in November 3, just last year, was a disaster; such a disaster that it cast so much doubt. It was as if the commission had done so many kilometres backwards. I think that also jolted them to some realities and they came back to do something better. We saw improvement on the Ekiti election and Osun. This is an indication that 2015, which is a big one, would be better than the previous general elections that we have had. To that extent, I want to give INEC some bit of credit, hoping again that certain measures, which the UPP, the party that I lead, has suggested, which has received the attention of the National Assembly, will be embraced by INEC. By this I mean the Electronic Voting System, The electronic voting system was more or less championed by the UPP, right from the very day of our registration as a political party. We began to canvass it; using every official interaction we had with INEC. In fact, we wrote a memo on it to Mr. President, the President of Senate; the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Chairman of INEC himself. We didn’t get any reply, no response, no acknowledgement. So, we decided to do the same memo to every member of the National Assembly. We are happy that when the Senate considered that aspect of the provision of the Electoral Act, the Senate did exactly what we wanted them to do; to expunge session 52:2 which restrained INEC from using Electronic Voting System. And why are we passionate about this system? We are passionate about this system because it is the only system that is feasible to be used now that we already have Electronic Register, electronically generated voters card and the basic infrastructure to transit to it. And it is the only system that will eliminate the use of thugs; it will eliminate the use of ballot papers to a large extent; there will be no ballot boxes to a large extent; people can vote with their GSM telephones; those who cannot send text messages, because it is just like sending an SMS can then go the polling booth to vote manually. This way; those who registered their biodata in Maiduguri and have relocated to Lagos as a result of the security challenges of the country can still vote and his vote will count where they registered. One can voteVote from the comfort of his home or work place without having to queue and be exposed to the danger of being bombed or attacked by terrorists. There will be no use for thugs because there will be no job for them to do. Nigeria will not have to declare work-free day on election days with the attendant opportunity costs to our economy; participation will be between 80, 90 and 95 percent unlike now that we have just maximum 25 percent participation, which by any stretch of imagination cannot be regarded as legitimate, if you have that low level of participation. These are just some of the advantages that we highlighted and we made sure every member of the National Assembly had a copy of the memo. And on the day of the debate, a Senator from Zamfara State, whom we didn’t even meet personally, only read our memo as his position as it was carried without debate. So, what

POLITICS

Why UPP is championing Electronic voting system – Okorie In this interview with Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, Chief Chekwas Okorie, the National Chairman of United Progressives Party ( UPP) explains why his party is passionate over adoption of Electronic Voters System. He also spoke on other national issues. Excerpts

•Okorie

“So, what is left now is for Nigerians to join in putting pressure on INEC to adopt Electronic Voting System. It can be adopted; it is feasible, the infrastructure is there. It is only the ruling political party that lacks the will power to submit itself to the ordinary people for the next election because what is simply means is that the people will now be able to determine who will preside over their affairs; to manipulate the system becomes a Herculean task. “ is left now is for Nigerians to join in putting pressure on INEC to adopt Electronic Voting System. It can be adopted; it is feasible, the infrastructure is there. It is only the ruling political party that lacks the will power to submit itself to the ordinary people for the next election because what is simply means is that the people will now be able to determine who will preside over their affairs; to manipulate the system becomes a Herculean task. But it must have some disadvantages. For example, in the present day Nigeria an individual can own 10 telephone lines with different names. Why are you presenting this thing as if Nigerians will not find a way to manipulate it? One can register with different names.

No you can’t. You can disguise your face you can lay claims to 10 different names but you cannot have 10 finger prints. You can only have one finger print. When we talk of biodata it includes even your eye contact because there is photograph. Remember that the Electronic Voters Register now has been dictating those who registered twice with different photographs. That’s what Obiano did. Obiano changed his dress, registered in two or three different places and those things appeared at the Voters Register and he was shown to have done multiple registration. So, even if you disguise your face, you cannot disguise your finger print. Secondly, third world countries have been using it. Ghana has used it twice and there has not been complaint

about manipulation of the technology. Indonesia is using it. These are third world countries. India, with a population of over 60 million voters; that’s what they used, not to talk of developed countries and Nigeria is technologically more advanced than most of the third world country already using it. So what is just holding us back is the fear of the masses, because the masses are not irrational; what we see, written as election results are not the wishes of the people. We also have enough time now to make that transition, and it will make the work of INEC easier. We don’t need all these security people marching everywhere. I know that APC has strong complaint about intimidation of their people in Ekiti and Osun. If we use Electronic Voting System all these will not happen and as you are voting, the result will be captured instantaneously across the board; from voting booth to the ward up there. The issue of late arrival of sensitive materials will not arise; late return of result will not arise; litigation will be minimized. So why can’t Nigeria adopt that and let us have a peaceful election for once. Even INEC told us in interactions they had with political parties, not only UPP, that the only thing holding them from using Electronic Voting System was the legal provision that should had now been expunged by the Senate. Given the security situation, if the Electronic Voting System is not adopted in 2015, it will be dangerous to go out to vote, especially in the North-East. What do you envisage? If the Electronic Voting System is not adopted and the security situation remains as it is in 2015, it is certain that a lot of people, in the security endangered area who cannot go out to vote would be d i se n f ra n c h i se d ; n o t th a t th e go v e rn m e n t w a n t th e m to b e disenfranchised but because the situation will make them to keep away for their own safety because they do not believe the present crop of politicians are worth dying for. That will be unfortunate because it will amount to the same situation where about 25 percent will vote and we claim it is a legitimate result. What is your impression of the National Conference, which has just ended. Is it a waste of time as many said on the outset that it would be? I was one of the people that said then that it would be a waste of time. It has not turned out to be a waste of time and resources. It has exposed quite a lot. It has exposed how unpatriotic so many Nigerians can be. Nigerian present structure was designed by fiat. Military government created states and local governments that made everything lopsided. They put in policies that alienated certain parts of the country. They created local government structure that defied logic, they created policies that made landmass a basis for revenue distribution; state creation that has nothing to do with viability. For instance, by 1963, when Nigeria became a Republic, based on creation of the colonial masters who considered the hard realities on ground, the Western Region had nine provinces, the Eastern Region had 12 provinces and the whole North had 14 provinces. So, the South had 21 provinces with the North having 14 provinces. But the moment the military came in, the first thing General Yakubu Gowon administration did was to create 12 states, giving six to North and six to the South, thus making the North and South equal. From there, they began to give the North some advantages to the point that today we have 36 states with 19 in the North and 17 in the South, excluding Abuja. There was no dialogue, to discuss the reason for this. As a result tension has been building up and people have been calling for a dialogue for equity.

26 POLITICS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

ripples •Jang

Jang’s loyalists oppose Mantu’s Senate ambition

Shettima wins round one against Sheriff

•Mantu

Can Umeh defeat Ngige?

•Shettima

•Sheriff

•Umeh

•Ngige

Dakingari mute on 2015 ambition

•Dakingari

IN VOGUE Tel: 08023689894 (sms) E-mail: kehinde.oluleye@thenationonlineng.net

By Kehinde Oluleye

34 GLAMOUR

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

American Idol, Josh Gracin, writes suicide note….blames wife A

Robin Williams ‘had Parkinson‘s’ when he died

John Legend reaches a million sales in the UK with ‘All of Me’

Kim Kardashian regrets her dip into the music industry

MERICAN Idol' Season 2 finalist, Josh Gracin, had neighbors and police racing to his door after posting what looked like a suicide note in the wake of marital problems. We're told cops responded to the former Marine's home in Spring Hill, TN -- where he lives with his wife and 4 kids -- for a welfare check after a family member saw an ominous Facebook post: "I've loved her for 17 years ... I made mistakes ... I admitted them, told her the truth and she turned her back on me when I needed her help the most." He continued, "Please remember me as someone who gave his all in his music ... Pray for my family as they carry on in this world without me. Goodbye." Cops are staying at the home until Josh arrives.

Micheal Strahan, Nicole Murphy reconcile

Lily Allen blasts divorce rumours Nicki Minaj Beats Michael Jackson's Chart Tally

38 MAGAZINE

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

MAGAZINE 39

17,

56 GLAMOUR/OUT & ABOUT

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

-- Page 53

Complaints trail cashless policy nationwide Page 58, 59

ICE President Namadi Sambo recently said the Federal Government had earmarked N752 billion for expansion of power transmission in the next five years. Sambo said this at the inauguration of the National Council on Power in Abuja. Sambo, represented by the Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo, said government would continue to expand the national transmission grid to all parts of the country. He said this would be done through additional resources leveraged from Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). The VP said government was also committed to adequate provisions within the national annual budget in the years ahead. He added that government also intended that more innovative approaches would

‘We focus more on emotional qualifications’

‘What Nigeria stands to gain from WTO’ •Adejuwon

Page 60

• Brewer

Page 62

holds Miss Heritage FG earmarks N752bn for Firmpageant in October expansion of power transmission for five years P be adopted to fund the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) by opening private sector investment window in future. He said some institutions had been established to earn investors' confidence by further enhancing the environment for doing business in the sector. Sambo said for the sector to grow in the direction the government intended it to be, metering gap amongst consumers must be bridged to shore up market revenue.

He said it was for this reason that government was sourcing for various fundings. Sambo said this included opening an initial N33 billion soft term credit line to enable the distribution companies to acquire smart meters. He stated that the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Mines and Solid Minerals Development had been directed to ensure the take-off of the first large scale coal-to- power project. Sambo called on the council

to come up with clear roles and mandates for stakeholders in the sector, as well as set targets and strategies toward achieving the power reform objectives. The Minister of Power, who is also the Chairman of the council, said it would facilitate the progress needed to adequately advance the sector. Nebo said the council would ensure the transformation of power to launch the country into an era of massive industrialisation and double digit GDP growth rate.

REPARATIONS are currently underway for the 4th edition of the Miss Heritage Nigeria and the National Heritage Awards 2014 which will take place in Lagos in October 5, 2014 with a brand new car and cash to the winner at the competition. According to Caires Grooming Agency Ltd, the organisation that holds the event patent, it has engaged the services of a consulting team which includes EDZ Entertainment Ltd and Golden Alpha Networks Nigeria to ensure this year's event succeeds. In a statement, founder/CEO, Caires Grooming Agency, Miss Chinor Emeka, said, "Miss Heritage Nigeria is a unique event that seeks to display our traditional heritage, harnessing the essence of the real beauty of our young women from within while also promoting our rich cultural diversity. "Also at the event, the National Heritage Awards would be used as a platform to confer awards to people of outstanding reputation in alignment with preserving and promoting our national heritage. This year's award will go to distinguished corporations and individuals in recognition for their contributions and value added services towards nation building. "Our past event which started in 2011 is now in its 4th edition, has attracted dignitaries, notable amongst whom were Dr. Harbhajan Batth, Her Excellency, Mrs. Titi Atiku Abubakar, Chika Ike, Oge Okoye, Frank Oshodi, Baba Kumar Farouk and Tuface Idibia." According to the event's publicist, Mr. Kenneth Okonjo, "Miss Heritage Nigeria exists as a way to celebrate and empower young women who exemplify intelligence, talent and total beauty of the Nigerian woman." He further revealed that the event is also designed to promote Nigeria's hospitality, creativity, culture and tourism desired for development and social advancement.

StarTimes launches digital satellite TV By Biodun-Thomas Davids

T •From left: Head, Youth Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Elvis Daniel, Etisalat customers, Mrs. Divine Aidelokhai and Mr. Revelation Aidelokhai, Head, Customer Experience and Retention, Etisalat Nigeria, Biola Edun and Head, Regional Sales (South), Etisalat Nigeria, Taiwo Embassey at the Port Harcourt edition of Etisalat Customer Forum 2014, held in Port Harcourt…recently

Mixed reactions trail CBN's proposed reintroduction of ATM charges

HE planned reintroduction of ATM charges by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been described as unnecessary. Speaking with The Nation at the weekend, a cross-section of respondents argued that the new policy was bound to affect the banking culture and also capable of jeopardizing the cashless policy. Emeka Ofoegbu, a financial expert said the reintroduction of ATM charges was not well-thought out. "The policy will affect the saving culture." Echoing similar sentiments, Rotimi Oladejo, a capital market analyst said the reason adduced for the

reintroduction of ATM charges was skewed towards the banks without recourse to the consumers." The apex bank had announced that withdrawals would attract N65 per transaction to cover remuneration for the switches from Sept. 1 The CBN in a circular signed by Dipo Fatokun, Director Banking and Payment System Department, said: `The reintroduction of ``Remote-OnUs'' ATM cash withdrawal transactions fee, which will be now N65 per transaction to cover the remuneration of the switches, ATM monitoring and fit-notes processing by acquiring banks.

By Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf ``The new charge shall apply as from fourth ``Remoteon-us'' withdrawal in a month by a card holder, thereby making the first three `remote on us' transactions free for the card holders, but to be paid for by the issuing bank,'' it said. According to the circular, Sept. 1, 2014 shall be the effective date for the implementation of the new fee. It stated that banks were expected to conduct adequate sensitisation of their customers on the introduction of the new fee. The circular stated that all ATM cash withdrawal on the ATM of issuing banks should

be at no cost to the card holder. It recalled that CBN in collaboration with the Bankers Committee had in December 2012 transferred the payment of N100 fee on Remote-on-us ATM cash withdrawal transactions to issuing banks. ``This fee was shared between the acquirers, issuers and switches. On the commencement of the arrangement in December 2012, banks decided to waive the issuer fee (N35) which should have ordinarily been an income to them. ``Consequently banks only bore the cost of N65 each time their customers use another banks' ATM,'' it said.

O increase competition and give Nigerians more televiewing options, NTA-Star TV Network, StarTimes has introduced StarSat, a digital satellite TV brand, offering a multitude of channels available in simple package choices for subscribers. Addressing journalists in Abuja at the launch of the digital satellite package, Mr. Maxwell Loco the Chief Executive Officer of StarTimes said StarSat uses the DTH technology that "would be offering Nigerians more television viewing channels, good sound quality as well as high picture quality that are characteristics of digital television; moreso, it utilizes a full HD decoder with HD Channels. StarSat will offer subscribers choice in their TV viewing at an affordable price through packages that are streamlined to suit their pockets and viewing preferences. Its content offerings would include movies, news, series, kid's programmes, music, gospel, documentaries, sport, lifestyle, telenovelas, and others." Loco stated that "there are over 100 channels and audio music channels available on StarSat for subscribers' selection from our available bouquets, depending on their individual needs. Channels on offering on StarSat includes African Movie Channel, WAP TV, Al Jazeera, BBC World News, TVC News, NTA Sports 24, Star Sport 2, NBA TV, Fine Living, National Geographic, BET, Jimjam, Discovery, Fox, Bollywood, MGM and others." Subscribers, he said, can determine the most suitable packages for their lifestyle from the three bouquets available on StarSat. The bouquets are StarSat Special with 50 TV channels and 25 audio music Channel, StarSat Smart with 70 TV channels and 25 audio music channels and StarSat Super with 100 TV and 25 audio music channels. The StarSat HD decoder Loco added "boots faster than any of its kind when switched on. The StarSat HD Decoder costs only N12, 600; the price includes the satellite dish, decoder and three months Subscription. Nigerians can enjoy a bumper promo package as StarSat is launched with just N12, 600 + 3 months Super Bouquet with Indian Channels starting from 13th August - 5th of October" he said.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

BUSINESS

NDERSTANDABLY so, a lot of media hype greeted the introduction of the cashless policy, which began nationwide on Tuesday, July 1, 2014. The policy places a limit on the amount of cash that could be withdrawn from banks, with more emphasis on the use of mobile and internet banking. Besides, the policy allows individual customers to make cumulative withdrawal of N500, 000 daily across the counters and the ATM, while withdrawal above this limit will attract the payment of a processing fee of three per cent for the amount above the limit. For corporate customers, they are allowed to make cumulative withdrawal of three million naira daily while withdrawal above the limit will attract a processing fee of five per cent. Justification for cashless policy The apex bank brought the policy to reduce the use of cash and engender cash inclusion. It was also expected that it would help to reduce corruption and trace stolen money by government officials. It was also expected it would help to reduce and discourage armed robbery incidences as people would now move around with little cash as well as minimise revenue leakages. According to CBN statistics in 2012 when the policy commenced, an estimated N192 billion was being spent annually on cash handling and management in the country. If not curbed, the situation could lead to a continuous increase in the cost of cash management, necessitating the introduction of the policy, the CBN argued. Successes recorded with cashless policy As at the first half of 2013, the CBN report indicated that the volume and value of mobile payments increased during the review period to 5,982 million and N51.79 billion, from 1,668 million and N25.50 billion respectively in the second half of 2012. This was attributed to the significant rise in the number of mobile payment users, as well as improved public awareness in the use of mobile banking services. It also revealed that ATMs accounted for 91.42 per cent usage; mobile payments, 3.68 per cent; POS, 3.43 per cent while the internet accounted for just 1.47 per cent. However, to tackle the problem, the CBN had indicated that more POS have been deployed in the country with increment from over 5,000 deployed in 2012 to 153,167 as at April 2014. POS recorded transactions were 1,624,564 valued at N24 billion transactions in the month of April 2014, compared to 3, 197 transactions valued at N99 million in January 2012. Nationwide experience with cashless policy After its successful operation in Lagos, where the policy was earlier marred by inadequate preparation such as lack of sufficient Point Of Sales (PoS) machines, fluctuating bank network and few ATM machines, residents of other states where the policy has just kicked off are beginning to also lament the difficulty in abiding

Complaints trail cashless policy nationwide As anticipated, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)'s cashless policy went nationwide over a month ago, precisely on Tuesday, July 1, 2014, after its efficiency was first tested in Lagos and a few other states two years back. In this report, Bukola Afolabi gives fresh perspectives on how the policy has fared thus far

â&#x20AC;˘CBN Headquaters, Abuja. INSET: Governor, CBN, Emefiele

with the policy. Recall that as soon as the policy started in Lagos, residents went through lots of stress in an effort to abide with the policy. There were hues and cries about the policy as many lamented the difficulty they encountered trying to access their money. Though mobile banking has continued to gain popularity in a city like Lagos and more, PoS terminals are now available in major stores, as well as the introduction of various channels outside the banking halls that banks have put in place, yet those experiencing the policy newly are battling to adapt to it. Some residents of Ibadan, capital of Oyo State, Osun and Ondo states, and other parts of the country who spoke with The Nation, have started narrating the challenges they are facing adjusting to the new regulation. Mrs. Comfort Alabi, a plank seller at the Sango Market, Ibadan, who spoke on tel-

ephone, said she is yet to get used to the new policy. "It has not been easy adapting to the new policy. Because of the kind of business I do, I have been used to carrying lots of cash up to N1million to buy what I sell but now I can't do that again because I can't withdraw more than N500, 000. In most cases, you have to start explaining to some older people you transact business with who are not literate the reason you can't give them all their money in cash. These are people who have been used to collecting cash and at times keeping it at home," she lamented. In the same manner, Mr. Ayoola Somorin, also a plank seller, said: " I agree it is a good policy, but the problem is that I expect that by now, some of the problems discovered when it started in Lagos would have been corrected by now before it was extended to other states, but we are also experiencing the same problems. Most times, you find it hard to withdraw from

the ATM because of the large number of people at the ATM machines. The machines would have overworked, so by the time one wants to withdraw, you experience cash retract." He further said that lack of stable bank network is making it difficult to make use of the mobile banking as, in most cases, he finds it hard to access his bank details on his mobile phones. "Another problem is that anytime I try to log into my bank accounts on my phone, it doesn't go through. If it eventually goes through, it goes off again before I complete my transaction. I know some people who are experiencing the same thing. The mobile banking is not working well. If you go to the bank and complain, they tell you it is their network and tell you they are working on it without any improvement. However, I am optimistic that it will improve as time goes," he said. Somorin also said the extra charges which apply for with-

drawing above the daily officially stipulated amount would not prevent him from moving around with huge cash. From Ondo State, Mr. Adelola Ademola, a civil engineer in Akure, also said lack of enough ATM machines, knowledge of the operation of PoS, as well as illiteracy are some of the challenges threatening the smooth running of the policy. "There are not enough ATM machines here. The few ones available are not even working, making it difficult to make withdrawal from them. That is why many people still prefer to withdraw across the counter. I think banks should be encouraged to have more ATM machines to ease the stress of going into the banking hall. "The mobile banking is not even working because bank network always fails. Large percentages of transactions are still carried out in the banking hall. Where are the PoS? You can't find them in most public places, only in few places," he said.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014 In Osogbo, Osun State capital, Adedayo Salami, a businessman, also said unstable bank network is one of the major problems they are facing. Unintended consequences The CBN had also admitted that there are challenges such as illegal charges on mobile transaction, and lack of enough PoS is still hampering the smooth running of the policy. According to the Director, Banking and Payments System Department of the CBN, Dipo Fatokun, mobile money operators have inadequate capital having spent more on agent network, marketing, amongst others, than they budgeted for at the beginning, adding that this has led to inadequate agent network in the country. "There is a difficulty in reaching the unbanked especially in remote areas as agents are not available. Apart from being concentrated in the urban areas at the moment, the agents are grossly inadequate," he said. The issue of security is also not ruled out as electronic fraud has made many unsuspecting bank customers to fall victim to fraudsters as fraudsters hack into the online banking platform to dupe bank customers. There have also been cases of unauthorised withdrawals from ATM. One of those who had expressed concern over the challenges facing the policy was EPPAN's Chief Executive Officer, Onajite Regha, who expressed concern over some of the challenges the policy was facing. "A lot of people have heard about the policy but many believe it does not affect them. The people concerned felt very upset about the policy, saying it's a punishment, like the Timber Association in Sapele, Delta State. This was because they didn't associate themselves with the merit of operating cash-less which involves conveniences and safety for the users," she said. She added: "Other challenges are the fear of fraud, fear of losing their phones, fear of ATM scam. During the awareness campaign, we discovered that many share their Personal Identification Numbers (PIN) with friends, relatives and office assistants with the ignorance of fraud. We also informed them on the new improvement of the CBN to provide a Consumer Protection Department, exclusively dedicated to the cash-less policy. The department operates 24 hours per day for complaints and problems regarding the cashless policy. We don't want people to see the adoption of the electronic payment policy as a compulsion but conveniences." To rectify the problems, efforts are, though, being put in place to make sure Nigerians enjoy the full benefit of the policy. Giving that assurance, the Executive Director, Business Development, Nigeria InterBank Settlement System (NIBSS), Christabel Onyejekwe, had said then, "In the last two months, NIBSS embarked on a data clean-up exercise of duplicate and idle PoS terminals on our database and at merchant locations."

BUSINESS

Nigeria Customs Service: So far, soâ&#x20AC;Ś The Nigeria Customs Service has gone through significant transformation since its creation, but the current Comptroller General (CG) seems to be working to launch the service into a new era of an efficient and effective service. Assistant Editor, Nduka Chiejina, reviews the reign of Abdullahi Dikko Inde as Customs boss â&#x20AC;˘Dikko

OR an agency founded in 1891 when the former British Colonial administration appointed T. A. Wall as DirectorGeneral of Customs for the collection of Inland Revenue in Niger Coast Protectorate, over the years, the Nigeria Customs Service has gone through several metamorphosis occasioned by accusations and the desire to meet its statutory mandate. The service's reputation was marred by numerous corruption and fraud scandals over the years. According to Transparency International's 2010 Global Corruption Barometer, more than half of local households surveyed attested to paying bribes to NCS officers in 2009. To date, complex customs regulations and bureaucracy surrounding the import and export of goods has nurtured an environment in which bribes are alleged to be commonly paid. Several companies are also believed to undervalue their goods upon importation to avoid penalties. Yet other companies, operating in the informal economy, resort to smuggling as a means of avoiding legal trade. However, the federal government has moved to correct this negative image, first by appointing a career customs officer, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko Inde, to head the service with the added mandate to meet set targets or surpass them and clean up the activities and image of the service. Dikko Inde has a largely positive reputation within the customs community, having risen through the ranks of the service since entering it at superintendent level in 1988 and rising to become the organisation's Comptroller General. He is said to have a "distaste" for injustice and gives junior officers their due, regardless of how small a contribution they have made. His appointment as head of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has been seen by some within the service as a last-ditch attempt to clear up the image of the unit in which he is known as "Mr Welfare." His crowning welfare achievement so far is the

construction and commissioning of Customs Barracks in Abuja. Industry observers have pointed out that in order to get the active buy-in of all officers and men on the current reforms, the Customs Comptroller General (CG) will need to continue to ensure enhanced welfare package through increases in salaries and allowances, adequate housings, due promotions and the purchase of adequate operational equipment. Dikko Inde had publicly pledged at a training seminar, "to be steadfast, committed and resolute in this fight no matter how overwhelming the challenges may appear." His efforts appear to be taking effect. The service secured its revenue target for 2011, seen in part to be as a result of an increase in transparency. In addition, 14 officers have also been suspended and their salaries stopped for their involvement in corrupt dealings. Following past years' economic down turn that ravaged world economies, the Nigeria Customs Service, under the current administration, keyed into the global customs body 'Revenue Package' (RP), which was developed and is still further developing, to meet the members' needs and provide technical assistance to support implementation. The Nigeria Customs of today is not only innovative, but proactive, transformative and futuristic, in tandem with the transformation agenda of the government and that of the global body the World Customs Organisation (WCO). "No change ever comes without some pains. As we take over these processes, we will anticipate some

hiccups at the beginning before we can fully stabilise. Some of these may arise from the sheer volumes of declarations, communication support for our systems or other reputation risks associated with take-over of a project of this magnitude. As a service, we have taken measures to address these risks and manage them to the advantage of our stakeholders," Dikko Inde said, when the service took over destination inspection. Early this year, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) admitted that they had faced challenges in a bid to take over the Destination Inspection Service from contracted Scanning Service Providers (SSPs) as directed by President Goodluck Jonathan. The service, however, said that it was "coping very well and very adequately." According to the service's Spokesman, Wale Adeniyi, "having taken over the responsibility towards December, an upbeat period and considering the volume of importation for Christmas and New Year, we were able to cope with all the challenges in volume, challenges of putting a new system in place and challenges of mobilising the stakeholders behind the new scheme." This new regime of destination inspection by the NCS promised better management of revenue generation operations, enhanced trade facilitation and better collaboration with other agencies of government to enhance national security. Also speaking on the takeover of destination inspection by the NCS on a Channels Television programme, a member of the Freight Forwarders Group at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and

Today, we are not fighting smuggling but we are fighting terrorism. The earlier we start seeing it as the challenges of the Nigeria Customs Service the better. I urge all of you to hold yourselves at alert to save the lives and properties of Nigerians

Industry, Ikenna Nwosu, lauded the decision by the federal government to implement the policy, adding that the "organised private sector is fully in support of it" and are "partnering the customs to see it work." With regards to revenue generation, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) announced a revenue generation target of N1.2 trillion in 2014. Dikko Inde said that the customs goal was tailored around trade facilitation. According to him, "2014 is a year we have to prove to the federal government that, yes, we have come of age that we have built technological competitors that will stand the test of time. You are very much aware of the revenue target for us this year- it is N1.2trillion. "Today, we are not fighting smuggling but we are fighting terrorism. The earlier we start seeing it as the challenges of the Nigeria Customs Service the better. I urge all of you to hold yourselves at alert to save the lives and properties of Nigerians," he said. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Nigeria Customs Service have also agreed to strengthen their trade facilitation partnership, in order to enhance the trade between Nigeria and its global partners. Dr. Olusegun Aganga urged the Nigeria Customs Service not to be seen only as a revenue generating agency to government, but also an important stakeholder in trade facilitation. "Globally, there is a paradigm shift in the way the customs is seen as not only a revenue generating agency to government, but also a very important stakeholder in the area of trade facilitation," the Minister noted. Despite the successes recorded by the NCS, the activities of smugglers remain a thorn in the flesh of the service. Recently, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adeshina, was said to accuse the service of not doing much to curb the smuggling of rice into Nigeria.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

BUSINESS

'What Nigeria stands to gain W from WTO' ith your appointment, what do you think are the expectations of the federal government in view of the current investment drive? The expectations of government include taking advantage of Nigeria's membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to impact positively on our national economies through increase in the volume of trade, Foreign Direct Investment inflow, increased technical assistance and support from the multinational trading system and donor countries in the areas of capacity-building, infrastructure development, enhanced foreign exchange earnings, and market access for the countries' exportable commodities through removal of technical and non-technical barriers to trade. This is by highlighting the various government policies and programmes that are geared towards stimulation of sustainable, all inclusive economic growth; sharing of information and experiences on trade and investment opportunities in Nigeria; harvesting the available technical assistance and support from the multilateral trading system and other international trade and investment-related organisations in Geneva; promoting bilateral trade relationship with some of the Nigerian trading and potential trading partners on a win-win situation; providing critical information on the trade and investment policies, including the regulatory frameworks to fellow ambassadors of the WTO with a view to attracting Foreign Direct Investment into the critical sectors of the economy, including mining, power, energy, transport, agriculture, communication, aviation, banking, manufacturing. The expectation is also to ensure that our national, sub-regional and continental interests are well-advanced and protected in the ongoing Doha Development Agenda (DDA) Negotiations. It is to ensure the integration of the Nigerian economy into the multilateral trading system so as to enable Nigeria have its good share of the global market in terms of export of value-added product. How do you want to go about achieving these expectations? I intend to achieve these expectations through a focused and regular dialogue/engagement with some of the strategic trading partners of Nigeria who are members of the WTO both at bilateral, pluri-lateral and multilateral levels. I also intend to establish a very strong working relationship as well as collaborate effectively with some of the multilateral organisations in Geneva such as UNCTAD, WIPO, ITC and by so doing, explore and harvest all available technical assistance and support that can be given to Nigeria to achieve the objective of sustainable and all inclusive economic growth with emphasis on export product development, export competitiveness, capacity-building in the area of negotiation skills, implementation of some of the protocols to which Nigeria is a signatory, including legislation and domestication requirements; organising national and regional workshops, seminars/ training programmes in Nigeria with the support of the international organisations; workshops for the parliamentarians, executives, judiciary, civil society organisations (CSOs), the organised private sector (OPS), media on the activities and benefits of being a member of the multilateral trading system and the expected roles of the target participants in actualising the objective of stimulating sustainable growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through provision of an enabling environment. I also plan to engage the international organisations in discussions and secure support to some of the country's flagship projects, including the SMEs Development Plan; Train-to-Work Skills Development initiative in close liaison with Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to assist the SMEs; capacity-building programmes for the African Women Development Programme (AWEP), Nigeria chapter, to enable them take advantage of the opportunities provided by AGOA in terms of product development, packaging, labelling and

Nigeria's new Ambassador to World Trade Organisation (WTO), David Adejuwon, explaines the strategic trade brief handed to him by the Federal Government, the politics in WTO and how developing countries can negotiate better deals in the global trade body. He spoke with Assistant Editor, Bola Olajuwon. Excerpts:

export competitiveness; establishment of the Transnational Border Markets and border development in some of the geo-political zones as part of the efforts to promote intra-regional trade with Okerete Transnational Border Market as a Pilot; enlist support on how to facilitate the movement of goods and people through removal of border crossing barriers at the airports and border posts. I also intend working in concert with the Task-force on Trade Facilitation of which I happened to be the chairman before my appointment as an Ambassador to the WTO and thereby reduce the cost of doing business, establishment of joint border posts; establishment of modern and accredited quality laboratories in Nigeria as a precursor to the realisation of economic diversification objective of the federal government from crude oil export to export of valueadded oil and non-oil export products. I look forward to securing commitments to assist and support plans to set up more quality infrastructure in Nigeria to facilitate international trade and competitiveness of Nigerian goods in the international markets. To achieve these will definitely require formulation of trade and investment friendly policies that will enable the local and foreign investors see Nigeria as an investors' haven. The launching of the National Industrial Revolution Plan by Mr. President in February is a very

welcome development. This policy document, which is a five-year plan that aims at rapidly building up industrial capacity as well as improving competitiveness in Nigeria, will be distributed to some of the targeted countries that will support Nigeria in realising the dream. The policy document will drive both domestic and foreign direct investment into Nigeria on a sustainable basis, especially in the areas of agroprocessing and agro-allied business; metals and solid minerals processing, oil and gas-related industries, construction, light manufacturing (automobile) and services. It is generally believed that the developing countries and their emerging markets are not being treated fairly by main actors in WTO. What is your stance on the issue? We must first of all understand that the WTO is a rule-based organisation and member states driven. All agreements are negotiated based on bottom-up all inclusiveness principle. We should also expect that in all trade negotiations, you do not get all you want as negotiation is "give' and 'take'. What you get depends on your offensive, rather than defensive negotiation skill. It is within this context that the developed countries and some developing countries have fared well in the WTO. In Africa, some countries and blocs are doing well in the negotiations. Every member country is expected to first of all define its national/regional interest and priori-

ties on the basis of which its position on the various issues being negotiated would be defended. Due to serious gaps in the negotiation skills of LDCs and developing countries, majority of the countries go to the negotiation table not well-prepared, thereby resulting into defensive rather than offensive negotiation. It is important that we properly define our national and regional positions before going to the negotiation table. It is also important to negotiate as a regional bloc like EU, negotiating on behalf of its 28 members instead of the African member countries negotiating as individual countries and not as an African Trade Bloc in the WTO on-going Doha Development Round. In unity lies our strength. It is also being suggested that developing countries should close ranks and create a better platform to tackle unfair practices in the organisation that are not in their best interests. Do you think this is necessary? How can it be done? Yes, I quite agree with you on the need to promote South-South Cooperation as a way of defending or negotiating issues based on commonalities. As I mentioned earlier, in unity lays the strength of the LDC, developing countries as well as countries with small vulnerable economy. The need to close ranks and form a formidable front in the course of negotiations cannot be over-emphasised. This is what informed the establishment of the various groupings in the WTO comprising WTO members with common interests and aspirations. Unlike in the previous Uruguay Round where many developing and LDCs did not participate actively in the negotiations, the story has changed in the current DDA negotiations with many of the developing, LDCs, small and vulnerable economies organising themselves into groups based on their shared interests and thereby speaking in one voice in advancing their established economic position. These groups include African Group; African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP that have strong economic interest with the EU); G90 (Group of Developing and Less Developed Countries with common interests on the negotiation issues); SVEs (Group of 15 Small Islands that are members of the WTO with common interest in Agriculture, Fisheries and Non-Agriculture Market Access - NAMA);G20 (Group of Developing and LDCs with commonality in agriculture negotiation); G33 (Another Group of 33 countries with interest in agriculture negotiation); C4 (Group of Four West African Cotton Producers with common interest in Cotton). I intend to leverage on the existing platform and others to further promote our national economic interest in line with the transformation agenda and the policies of the federal government. ECOWAS and EU have finally agreed on the grey areas of EPA. But analysts argued that the contents of the deal which will be ink soon are not in the best interest of West Africa. What is your position? The Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment had already made it clear at the last ECOWAS Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting that was held in Dakar on February 17, 2014, immediately after the chief negotiators meeting that there is a need for economic impact analysis of the ECOWAS-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) on the national economy and sensitisation of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), CSOs etc. on the outcome. The analysis, according to the HMITI, is important because the negotiation process was stalled and the Authority of Heads of States gave a mandate for the chief negotiators to exercise flexibilities from both sides to conclude the negotiations. We therefore have to analyse the extent of the use of the flexibilities mandate and its implication on our national and regional economies before the region can ink the agreement. Towards this end, The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has assembled a team of experts from the academia, MDAs and OPS to conduct the study and plans to organise a stakeholder dialogue to enable Nigeria take an informed national position on the agreement.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

Honeywell boosts youths' cooking skills

ONEYWELL Flour Mills Plc has reiterated

â&#x20AC;˘Oroh

HE Dangote Group has announced Edo State among the states to invest a $1b integrated rice project on. What does it portend for the state? We have already in Edo State identified about 50,000 hectares of land suitable for rice in Etsako Central Local Government of Edo State. We believe that the future of Nigeria is agriculture and we cannot continue to import those things that we can produce in Nigeria efficiently and economically. So, Edo State wants to be part of this process. We believe that Edo State alone can at least produce 25 per cent of the total national rice need because we have about 500, 000 hectares of land suitable for rice production which cuts across the state and we are determined that the next few years, Edo State will take a desirable position as the leading riceproducing state in the country. With this single investment, we also expect that at least hundreds of thousands of youths will be affected directly or indirectly through employment, through the out grower scheme that we are introducing under the scheme and also the value chain in respect of processing the rice and manufacturing them and encouraging communities in riceproducing states to produce rice and sell directly to processing plants to be established under this project. Right now, the Dangote Group is already doing a survey of the land. They have done soil test, they are now surveying the land. They have confirmed that the land is very suitable. They have confirmed that the policy of the state government and other incentives in place to encourage them to participate is very good. They have interacted with the communities and they have found the communities in the area very receptive, very warm, and appreciative of their request. We as a state are mindful of the issue of land grab and we have taken care of that in our Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). We have an MoU with the group which takes into account the interest of the communities, the interest of Edo

'Edo can produce 25 per cent of total national rice need' The Dangote Group recently picked Edo State as one of the states to invest $1bn integrated rice project on after signing a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Government. Edo State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Abdul Shaibu Oroh, spoke with Frank Ikpefan on what the investment will bring to the state and how far the state government has gone in the development of agriculture in the state. State government, and which also captures some of the incentives Alhaji Dangote announced. He has said he will assist the out growers to grow paddy, which his company will buy as an off taker; that is, you can be a market for out growers and also he will train people, provide free seedlings and free fertilisers to the rice growers. So we are looking ahead with confidence that Edo State will ultimately emerge as a leading rice-producing state in Nigeria. How many metric tonnes of rice does the start hope to produce with this investment? We are looking at 450, 000 metric tonnes of rice paddy. With the focus on rice production in the state, will other food value chains like cassava and the rest suffer? Right now, we are the leading the cassava-producing state in the Southsouth. According to official records, they say we are sixteenth nationally. We are still opening up more lands. We have received a lot of investors. There is one called Ogbah; we have identified about twenty hectares of lands. They want to produce various cassava products and ethanol. We are also leading in oil palm-production. We have identified about 200, 000 hectares of additional land to expand oil palm-production for the next four

years. The existing companies like Okomu and Presco we are looking at the possibilities of giving them additional twenty thousand hectares of land within this year or early next year to continue to expand their areas of production. So we have no problem with that at all. If you want to grow cocoa in Edo State, we have a land bank. We have codified some of these various interests and we will know where to take you to if you want to grow cocoa or rubber. For instance, the rubber estate of Nigeria is doing rubber. I have concluded discussions on transferring the Urhonigbe Rubber Estate to them and we are ready to expand the land they need to make it the biggest rubber company in Nigeria. So, our plan is to make Edo State, through agriculture in the next couple of years, one of the richest states in Nigeria. Our strategic plan is to be able to produce at least twenty five per cent of every crop that is suitable to be able to produce in Edo State, consumed locally and also suitable for export. Whether it is from horticulture like oranges, banana, water melon or even cotton, yam, sugar cane, potatoes and pineapples which are all produced in abundance in Edo State. So, we are not in any way marginalising the rural farmers; they are being incorporated into the system. We have about 195,

000 registered farmers in Edo State. We have their telephone numbers, we know the wards they belong to, we know their villages and about 950 cooperatives. So, we work through these cooperatives and we also have various associations like Cocoa Producers Association and they are all very well organised. So, there is nothing we are doing now that does not affect or does not receive the input of the various interest groups in Edo State. We have had issues of land grab in some states, where land belonging to communities or certain individuals are acquired without due compensation. What is the policy of the state government regarding such issue? Our land policy is based on what we call Free, Prior and Informed Consent. It is a United Nations acronym. Is it free? Are they giving the land for free? Do they have prior consent? Is there free consent? And then the issues of compensations, have they been addressed? Because it is a constitutional right. The constitution states that you cannot take anybody's property, or his land without compensation. So, we are also taking all these into account. So, nobody will lose his land or her land without giving it freely for the purpose for which we are using it. If it is for agriculture, it must be for agriculture. If it is for housing estate, it must be for that purpose. But, of course, at some point, we will have overriding public interest; which means the state acquiring the land for that purpose and of course the state will always compensate the original owners of the land. The good thing in Edo State is that people from various communities come to my office, that they have land to give out to various investors. We go into dialogue with them. We meet with the youths, we meet with the traditional rulers and then we broker a relationship between them and the investors and if they are able to arrive at some compromise or a decision, then we take over from there. The state will now take the next step of acquiring the land, leasing it based on certain parameters, certain conditions to the investor. But we must make sure that we create the relationship that makes the people part ownership of the process.

its desire to make Nigerian youths rediscover themselves and be useful to the society through skills development. The company listed its regular Wheat meal cooking competition among youth corps members as one of the ways it is achieving this objective. Executive Director, Marketing, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, Mr. Benson Evbuomwan, who stated this on Thursday at the Cooking Competition held at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Lagos State camp, Iyana Ipaja said Honeywell will continue to promote cooking talents among the youths, as such will bring out their unique skills with a view to equipping them for future challenges. It will also endear them early enough to the company's products by making them Honeywell Ambassadors. Explaining the rationale for the competition, Evbuomwan said the company, Nigeria's premier producer of wheat based products, is utilizing the opportunity provided by the unique change point of the youth corps members who are basically future mothers and fathers by introducing to them the company's products so as to appreciate them with a view to shaping their choice of food items in future. "We are looking beyond today. Our expectation is in the long run. These are prospective mothers and fathers who will be opinion molders in their respective families. They will virtually be Honeywell Ambassadors as they have affinity with the products already. Besides, we are doing this to also lift the social activities in the camp so that the corpers' stay will not remain boring", he said. The company, which produces Superfine Flour, Whole Wheat Meal, Semolina, Brown Flour, Honeywell Noodles, Spaghetti and Macaroni, is currently at advanced stages in the development of a new Pasta plant and an Integrated Animal Feed Mill in Sagamu, Ogun State. Both projects, which are to be completed in year 2016, will create thousands of jobs and support several agriculture value chains in Nigeria, focusing on local raw material inputs. The competition, which was also graced by top notch of the Service including NYSC Lagos State Coordinator, Mrs. Adenike Adeyemi, also witnessed various talent shows where various gifts and consolation prizes were won.

T the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, at the moment, stage theatre is totally on course. A group of artistes have come together to organise what they termed legendary plays series in which, periodically, plays of renowned Nigerian playwrights are packaged and presented to the public. For now, the plays of Fred Agbeyegbe, Lawyer and one of the most consistent dramatists in Nigeria are being showcased. In the show, four of his plays are involved and three professional and seasoned stage directors including Biodun Abe, William Ekpo and Muyiwa Osinaike were chosen to direct the plays. For the month of August, the plays would run every weekend to enable thespians and theatre enthusiasts to have the opportunity to watch live and stage plays. Invariably, it is to keep the stage alive and ensure also that the National Theatre is not bereft of attention and ideas. According to Ekpo who incidentally directed two of the plays, “before we decided on the project, we looked at the National Theatre, where there is so much passion, so much interest, and found that if we do this here, people would come back to begin to patronise the National Theatre. We are happy that a lot of things are happening at Freedom Park, the Muson Centre, Terra Kulture and so on. But we are not too happy that theatre is not totally alive here.” Based on this consideration, the artistes decided to put up plays that would appeal to the people; plays that are not only topical but equally dwell on issues that pertain to the very existence of the society. “So we decided to include The King Must Dance Naked; a play that is based on the selfishness of a leader who later paid for his in-ordinate behaviour. With the assistance of the National Theatre management and others we’ve been able to do this so that after Agbeyegbe’s we will do more in the series. It has to be every three months so that people will not be bored. It will also give us more time to create and build enough enthusiasm in the minds of the people,” Ekpo explained. With the plays which include Woe Unto Death, Human Cargo, Conflict Resolution and the King Must Dance Naked mounting the stage, Nigerian artistes are indeed bubbling with enthusiasm to keep the hope alive. While The King Must Dance Naked was on stage at the weekend, with the hall packed to brim, the audience could glimpse through the kingship situation in a typical Itsekiri settlement in the Niger Delta. At the same time, it is the story of Nigeria, of a people steeped in a state of anomy. Explaining the play further Osinaike who directed it said: “Even though the play was given to me to direct, the inherent message is not indeed lost on those who follow events in the society. The story of the culture of some people, from the SouthSouth region, precisely the Itsekiri people, is what is presented. It was written many years ago and was performed during the Ajo Festival in 1986. The theme and message are still very topical. “If the king in my life has been pretending to be what he is not and then I have to be more careful on how to handle such a person. This king may be my wife or my son; he could be a relation. There are many pretenders in the society; people trying to be too deceitful in whatever they lay their hands on. So, if the leader or king is that of my country who has been this deceitful, then the people should expose him and shame him publicly so that there will be progress. So, to me, it is topical now. In fact, it may not have to be the president. It can be the councellor of your area or the local government chairman. Now, the people say okay, we do not have employment. There is youth restiveness and all of that and we have to react to show our disdain towards the king.” In the process of all this, the people forced their king to dance naked in public.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

Celebrating the legends The theatre scene is bubbling with life now. The legendary plays series is going on with four plays by Fred Agbeyegbe put together by top Nigerian artistes. Edozie Udeze spoke with the three directors of the plays

•A scene at the palace

Today, many people want the king to dance naked so that the secret of the high places will be revealed and peace will reign. At the end the day a new king will ascend the throne to usher in progreess and modernisation. Abe who directed Conflict Resolution which will be the last play to be staged, harped on the need for people to look inwards to promote local plays, plays that have a lot to offer the public. To him, that is one of the ways to bring back life to the National Theatre and recreate that wonderful ambiance or peace for which Theatre is known over the years. “Having renovated the Theatre, we feel it is time for us to encourage theatrical activities to begin to happen here. We have many cinema halls, many other halls well-equipped to serve this purpose. Today the management feels that the best it can do is to bring back live drama and that is why it gave out the halls for this legendary plays series. As it is, the management has even called all the interest associations and theatre groups to a meeting and told them that the Theatre is ready for use,” Abe said. As a result of this, more plays are expected to be staged as time goes by so that live theatre will not continue to be in limbo. “For now, we’ve decided to collaborate with groups or individuals who have need of the place. The collaboration is made so conducive so as to enable artistes have the opportunity and wherewithal to have most of these shows in the numerous theatre halls that are available at the Theatre.” In supporting the industry and the artistes who are the direct beneficiaries of this arrangement, the hosting of these series of plays thus became imperative. It is expected that fewer theatrical programmes in the next years, will be back on track now. The plays have been made to incorporate other issues like jokes, music and more, so that it will embrace total entertainment that will sustain and captivate the interest of thespians. “Yes, it is a way of ensuring that nothing is lacking in the process,” Abe enthused. Abe also noted that even as the plays go on, the industry players need to do their own bit to ensure that the project becomes •Continued on page 66

•The king addressing his subjects

ARTS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

The Siege : Pitching evil against good F

OR a long time, the Muson Centre, Lagos, had not had it so good with the large turnout of thespians, stakeholders, and artistes who trooped in to watch the show. It was The Siege, an epic play written by Sam Omatseye which premier performance was to usher the society into the inner workings of political and religious chess players who, through their inordinate activities often plunge the world into a state of abyss and confusion and retrogression. The audience had waited eagerly to see this play that had gripped the society for a while. It was the appearance of Charles Gordon a role played by Sam Quinn that first alerted and excited the people. Quinn, a Briton had emerged with that unmistakable arrogant posture and carriage of a typical British overlord. As he bestrode the stage, dictating the pace on how to make Sudan and Africa see civilisation from his own point of view and bend to the whims of the British colonialists, the Mahdi, standing in for the Sudanese people, refused to be so intimidated. For a while it seemed the two would lock together into a combat. The argument on both sides showed how much most people have come to use their own ideals to hoodwink the world. But the idea presented so profusely by the playwright was to show a state in which ideological leanings and their attendant consequences have slowed world progress. The Mahdi, speaking on behalf of his people couldn’t see the role of Gordon in the internal affairs of his country. His sentiments further infuriated Gordon who, in his own world views had elected himself the policeman of the world. It was more in marshalling out these arguments, laced with plenty of venoms and racial hatred that the play succeeded in elucidating the sympathy of the audience. In it, the people could see the fallacy of imperialism, the high handedness of a people who went round imposing themselves on others, insisting that the cultural, moral and social values of Africa were at their lowest ebb and therefore should be substituted with those of the English. The loyalty of the Ansar, the foot soldiers of the Mahdi and the Khalifa who later took over from him, proved very relevant till date. They proved that their own beliefs could not be allowed to fizzle out, giving rise to the idiocy of the impostors, the invaders. It was that tug of war, that innate trust in what was theirs that propelled the play on. It so energized it, giving it the kind of blend

The staging of The Siege, a stage play by Sam Omatseye at the Muson Centre, Lagos, recently, has demonstrated the impetuosity and resilience of a people in the face of mounting pressure by their oppressors, writes Edozie Udeze

•The Ansars carrying the corpse of the Madhi for burial .

common with most epic plays that the suspense also became heightened and somewhat elitist. It was made a director’s play in some sense because Wole Oguntokun who handled it, brought all the elements of the theatricals to make it tick. The role of Aminatu, the romantic damsel that became the centre of attraction to both Gordon and the Mahdi indeed helped to embellish and soften the play. The romantic scenarios and escapades of a maiden hooked in between two important and stubborn men of history demonstrated that a world without the role women play continues to be incomplete, indeed incongruous. At a point it seemed the core of the argument and the squabble was who to take over Aminatu or whose love live for her was the most

WriteHouse publishes Dami Ajayi’s ‘Clinical Blues’

RITEHOUSE Collective, a firm poised to create credible and enduring platforms for writers, has recently signed a publishing contract with Dami Ajayi, winner of the Melissa Manuscript Prize. The award winning manuscript, Clinical Blues, now due for publishing under WriteHouse is a collection of poetry that has remained in its manuscript form since it won the prize in 2012. Dami Ajayi is a prolific bard; a medical doctor by day and writer by night. He is also the co-publisher of the Saraba Magazine and one of the leading lights in the literary landscape of the young generation. His works have featured in online media and international journals like The Guardian, PalaPala Magazine, Africanwriter.com, Nigeriansbiz.com, Sentinel Magazine, The Maple Tree Literary Supplement, amongst others. His poetry chapbook, Daybreak and Other Poems, published as the first of its kind on Saraba Magazine in November 2013 has gained wide acceptance across both literal and non-literary audience. ‘Clinical Blues’ is a surgery of meanings and memory. It weaves a subtle narrative surrounding pop culture, music, love, sex and social issues. The collection shows a light for a new generation of authors. It is buoyant accessible collection with layers of meanings. Femi Morgan, managing partner of WriteHouse Collective, noted that ‘WriteHouse has always had the creative capacities of writers and the reading culture

•Morgan and Ajayi

of Africans at heart. We have started our publishing arm in order to deepen our commitment to literature and reading culture on the continent, by creating enduring platforms for writers and creative people. We are also interested in opening up the creative space for a vista of profound writing and narratives.’

PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

poignant and effectual. It was in seeing the scenes, the topical sequences of her place in the set up that one could fathom where the pendulum tilted to. In the play, there is the beauty of a colourful setting, a situation that clearly depicted the Sudan of the past. But this is not totally different from the Sudan of today or the British of tomorrow. In some respect, it was proper to glimpse through the problems of the world divided along the East and the West. And with the death of Gordon in the hands of the Sudanese and the arrival of Kitchener to avenge the death of his compatriot, it was obvious that the British would never let go. The desecration and denigration that followed showed some level of irresponsibility, but then the English would al-

ways prove that they can never be overawed by whatever circumstances. Must Kitchener mutilate or even exhume the skull of the Madhi to prove his superiority or his personal hatred towards the natives? The level of bizarre and absurdity this displayed and the manner in which the director of the play orchestrated it, further gave clear scenario to the intentions of the playwright. Must an imperialist overwhelm his subjects even to the point of incurring public blame and submerging his own integrity? Must Kitchener had to wait for the Queen of England to order him to be a bit more civil and prudent? All these combined to keep the audience spellbound. Like it is said in theatre circle it is the audience that show the depth or profundity of a play through their reactions and attention while it is on stage. The attitude of the audience, most of whom had not watched an epic in a long while helped to give unquestionable approval to the play. However, many scenes were not clearly spelt out. As the Madhi finally joined his ancestors, most people could not fathom what led to his death. As Aminatu rocked him and nursed his physical and inner wounds and torments, he suddenly succumbed to death, why? A lot of scenes have to be made clearer in order to properly situate the import of this play that has come to join in re-establishing a sane society; a sombre ambiance for the total progress of mankind. Like Omatseye himself explained, he wrote it to re-visit an important event in the history of mankind. And this is a history that has to be made relevant on stage for posterity and for humanity.

Celebrating the legends

•Continued on page 66

a huge success. Even as the venue was given to them at no cost, it is expected that they provide alternate source of power in case there is a power outage. It is when some of these essential issues are properly taken into context that the plays can run smoothly and thespians will be guaranteed a pleasant outing. “What we are saying is that when there’s power outage, provide your own source of power. That should be your own part of the collaboration. We are also saying that stakeholders should try to come back to their trade; it is their responsibility to join in making the National Theatre lively by bringing their shows and programmes to the place.” Part of the problems that militate against the promotion of shows, according to Abe, is lack of funds and the inability of a lot of artistes to raise enough money to put up shows. “But we are hoping that with this kind of collaboration, more artistes would be encouraged to look inwards, knowing that they do not have to pay exorbitantly to host shows. In addition, this is the time to encourage artistes’ cooperatives. This way, let all artistes guilds, professionals, directors and so on come together to do shows in order to keep arts running. From whatever money realized from the shows, we can put it back to do more events. This way, there will be constant running of plays and more people will come along.” On the whole, there is need to keep the

•A scene in The King Must Dance Naked

Theatre running and so with time, other programmes would attract fees so that more amenities will be provided for the convenience of all.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

WIFE OF A RENOWNED ESSAYIST, PROF ADEBAYO WILLIAMS, BOLA CELEBRATED 60TH BIRTHDAY IN LAGOS

•Dr Wale Babalakin (SAN) (right) and Elder Tunde Adedeji

•The celebrator, Mrs Bola Williams (second right); her husband Prof Adebayo Williams and children (from left) Bisola; Temilola and Ladi cutting the cake

•Chief Herry Temola

•Chief Wuyi Atiba

•Mr Akin Ige (left) and Mr Kayode Sofombo

•Otunba Emmanuela Ogunnusi (left) and Yeye Toyin Fajobi

•Dr Femi Olugbile (left) and Mr Gbolabo Ogunsanwo

•Mrs Idowu Oyebode

•Mr Sam Omatseye

•Pastor Gbenga Oyebode

Chief Abimbola Aboderin

•Otunba Yomi Ogunnusi (left) and Mr Ade Odunewu

•Mr Olatunde Bello (left) and Prince Yomi Adedeji

•Col. Paul Taiwo and his wife, Shade

•Mr Tunji Adegboyega

•Mr Olakunle Abimbola PHOTOS: ADEJO DAVID

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

EBERE WABARA

WORDSWORTH 08055001948

ewabara@yahoo.com

Family celebrates 84-year bond

Celebrant or celebrator? I D

O you know that ‘celebrant’ does not refer to only an officiating priest at a religious event, which informs usage of ‘celebrator’ by some purists? According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, International Student’s Edition, North Americans also use ‘celebrant’ in reference to a person who is celebrating something, for example at a party. But for British Standard English sticklers, ‘celebrator’ is the word for secular applications while ‘celebrant’ is exclusively for spiritual ceremonies. An outpatient (name withheld) of my language clinic from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, sent a short messaging service last week in declaration of the erroneous belief that ‘to all intents and purposes’ is the only correct expression, according to his dictionary. That is the challenge when you restrict yourself to just one dictionary, possibly a Michael West version. I used to be a victim until I was harassed and embarrassed thrice by some eagle-eyed readers of this column! Thereafter, like Baba Bayo Oguntunase, the English language restless and restive activist, I have never stopped procuring and accessing as many dictionaries and reference books, including online portals, as possible. In fact, this week I will head for Ikorodu, a suburb of Lagos, to borrow Uncle Bayo’s World Book Dictionary. Back to the subject: both ‘for’ and ‘to’ all intents and purposes are right, going by my multifarious sources. National Mirror of August 14 circulated a few misapprehensions: “Chieftain berates clamp down (clampdown) on PDP by APC” Noun: clampdown; phrasal verb: clamp down. What morphology has joined let no medium put asunder! “They have a record five former heads of states (state) that are member (members) of (the) National Council of State.” “Firm sensitizes students on (to) digital migration” This same error of last week again by yet another medium. That is the dilemma of press releases sent by corporate bodies that are slothfully used by assistant editors without editing or

perfunctorily done if at all! “Students brace for cooking competition across campus (campuses) in Nigeria” “The finalists will enjoy an all-expense paid (sic) four day (four-day) of….” Get it right for the umpteenth time: an allexpenses-paid trip/ programme…. Lastly from National Mirror under review: “…to publish book on world class (world-class) Nigerians” THISDAY STYLE of July 27 fumbled: “Her dream to create awareness by liberating and unleashing the powers that lay (lie) dormant while….” THISDAY Back Page Headline of July 25 goofed: “Assasination attempt on Buhari?” Robust journalism: Assassination Wrong: flower vase; Right: vase Wrong: to be forewarned is to be forearmed; Right: forewarned is forearmed THE NATION ON SUNDAY of August 10 was indecisive in its application of comma, among other linguistic atrocities: “APC spokesman, Lai Mohammed (another comma) released from detention” “He was diagnosed for (with) EVD after two days and three days later, he died.” (THE NATION ON SUNDAY COMMENT, August 10) “…used the opportunity to speak on series (a series) of issues about himself and Nigerian football.” “Last Sunday (a comma) artistes gathered in Lagos under the aegis of CORA to celebrate, interact and rub minds (exchange ideas)….” “Action was taken immediately and the trouble-shooting chairman was suspended and a caretaker committee set up. “ If a trouble-shooting chairman is suspended in a crisis, what would happen to his trouble-making counterpart? In the interest of grammatical orderliness, a troubleshooter is a person employed in conciliating and arbitrating between parties in conflict. “In their heydays, most of these citizens were active people.” (NTA Channel 10, Lagos, August 8) Not just a broadcast!

Also, strive after correctness: heyday. “We were given halfhearted political freedom, while the reigns of our economy were tied tight to her majesty’s apron. No strings? And of course ‘reins’ not ‘reigns’, in this context. “Pomp and pageantry.…” (Saturday VANGUARD, August 2) Nigerian sub-editors are incurably lazy. Just because a word or phrase is in vogue, nobody cares a hoot about its acceptability. There is no familiarity (tradition) or mass appeal in the literate use of the English language. The above headline is Nigerian English. Standard version: pomp and circumstance or pomp and ceremony or just pomp. “The board comprised of a DSP and ASP….” Gently dump ‘of’. “We grief for him and his family.” (NIGERIAN TRIBUNE, August 8) I grieve for the English language! “It is no exaggeration therefore to assert that the Nigerian child is an endangered specie considering….” Certainly, the Nigerian (and indeed any other) child cannot be a specie, but a species. “Rate of misses worry (worries) pilots, controllers” The discord here worries me so much. Proximity of verbs should not confuse journalists. “What follows are some of the salient provisions of the budget as it dispenses some soothing balm on the festering sore of the economy.” ‘Soothing balm’ is sheer vulgarism! What is balm for? “Last but not the least.…” Apart from being almost a cliché, the formal expression is ‘last but not least’. “We won’t handover to anyone picked by fraud” It is only a fraudulent subeditor (or his production colleagues) that will use a noun in place of a phrasal verb! I shall hand over a second culprit to a grammatical jury empanelled by me! FEEDBACK IS it right to say “…3 a. m. in the morning”? (THE NATION ON SUNDAY, August 10, 2014, Page 3, 1st Paragraph, Tatalo Alamu) (Mike Aiyemo, Abuja, 08052355655) From the columnist: It is utterly wrong. Ante meridiem is the time between midnight and midday.

N a world of increasing individualism and gradual destruction of family values, the celebration of a family reunion is worthy of focus, particularly when it is the 84 th edition of the event. The Jibolu-Taiwo Family of Egbaland in Ogun State, on August 2-3 not only held its annual reunion, which is called Ajoyo, but also installed 87-year-old Mrs. Yewande Orewande Januario as its Olori Ebi , family head. She succeeded Mrs. Christiana Ibijoke Oladeinde who died in March. Januario was elected by the family’s Central Executive Committee and was formally decorated in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. The Jibolu-Taiwo Family of Egbaland has active branches in the UK and the USA, where family members also celebrate Ajoyo in August. Januario, whose family background has remarkable historical aspects, stands out as the oldest old girl of the Queen’s College, Lagos, who is still attending alumnae meetings. Her maternal grandmother, Mrs. Winifred Olatokunboh Macaulay, was the daughter of the late Rev R. A. Coker; and she was married to Frank Gurney Venn Macaulay, son of Rev Thomas Babington Macaulay, founder and first principal of CMS Grammar School, Lagos, and grandson of the late Bishop Ajayi Crowther. Januario’s father was the late Major Akinwande TomJones of the Salvation Army, son of the famous Lagos merchant, the late Tom Jones, and her mother was Mrs. Phillipa Oreoluwa Jones, daughter of Frank Gurney Venn Macaulay, who was the brother of Herbert Macaulay, the illustrious Nigerian nationalist. After her secondary education in 1945, she was employed as a cub reporter by the Daily Times and she covered the Courts for the newspaper. She left journalism to train as a nurse because she felt that female journalists were hardly recognised at the time. She retired as Chief Health Visitor in Lagos in 1982 after 35 years of meritorious

•Januario By Femi Macaulay

service. She is respected for her passion for family unity even at the risk of her health, which is demonstrated by the fact that she has maintained links with the various strands of her roots, namely, JiboluTaiwo Aderupoko Family of Egbaland, Crowther-Macaulay Family, Tom-Jones Family and Smith/ Lambo/Sogbetun Family of Egbaland. Also, despite her advanced age, she remains an active member of the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, Lagos, and the Methodist Church of the Trinity, Tinubu, Lagos. At her investiture,

she made thought-provoking remarks on the subject of family unity. She said: “Over the ages, love and respect has been the mainstay of the family passed down by practical examples to this celebration of the 84 th reunion, Ajoyo, of the family worldwide since 1930. With love and understanding, the family bond will be continually strengthened for generations to come.” The theme of this year’s celebration was “I have a goodly heritage (Psalm 16:6)”; and the two-day programme included children’s rally, youth forum, annual general meeting, installation of the new Olori Ebi, business meeting and thanksgiving service.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

CONTROVERSY

Should churches use comedian in services? H

ELL was literally let loose in a new generation Church a few weeks back. The general overseer was fuming. He was livid that the youth department had spent a whopping N750, 000 on honorarium to invite a popular comedian for its annual summit. The comedian, who requested for N1million to anchor the occasion, was persuaded to accept the cut. The general overseer, who was away on a foreign trip when the deal was sealed, was furious such amount was expended on someone “who is only interested in cracking ribs.” He wondered if any spiritual enrichment took place when the star comedian featured and castigated his pastors for allowing such ‘ignominy’ take place right under their nose. “I thought with all the teachings here and the seriousness we attach to the gospel, none of you will think of such infamy. How on earth can you bring a comedian to our pulpit? How can you expend N750, 000 on a comedian who did nothing but make jests? How much value did that add to you as a Christian? I am ashamed to be your general overseer,” the church founder stated. But the youth leadership was unimpressed by the stance of the general overseer. They felt he was too conservative and outlandish. “With due respect sir, I don’t see anything wrong in bringing a comedian to the church,” the youth pastor mildly started. “These youths come to church when they are happy. All we wanted was a bait to bring them before we preach the word to them. What we paid is very inconsequential sir if you consider what having five steady members from the summit will bring to us. Besides, we paid from our purses and did not approach the treasury for the fund. We were just trying to help and we see nothing wrong in what we did.” The general overseer was

For some time now, some churches have been inviting comedians to anchor their services. This practice has become controversial in the Christian community, reports Sunday Oguntola

Lagos Chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Rev. Toyin Kehinde, said there is nothing wrong in inviting comedians to social functions organised by Christians. He, however, said comedians must never officiate in services because they don’t instruct Christians on righteousness. “There are Christian comedians, but are they teaching us to be better Christians? Are they praying for us to be healed? Are they coming to instruct us to be disciples? There are also Christian bankers and drivers who work elsewhere and come to church for instructions. Should they also start functioning in churches because they are Christians?” Kehinde, who is general overseer of Agape Generation Church Maryland, said churches must rededicate themselves to instruction in righteousness and leave inconsequential acts that tend to subtract as against adding value to their mandates. To the President of International Church Growth Ministries, Dr Francis Akin-John, humour is a necessary ingredient among Christians. He pointed out that even God laughs and is humorous. “God has a good sense of humour. Even Psalm 2 says that God laughs. We can be humorous but we must never be jesters.” Comedians, he explained, are jesters who trivialise serious issues of great values to the church. “Bringing comedians turn churches to commercial and entertainment centres. People just laugh off serious issues of eternity. These comedians jest on pastors, the church and even God.” He pointed out that Ephesians 5:14 warns against jesting that is not convenient, warning to get over the practice of bringing comedians to anchor their services for whatever reasons. “It is wrong and God is not happy about it,” Akin-John maintained.

xxx

•Douglas-West

boiling by the time his youth pastor finished. He castigated the exuberance displayed by the department and insisted using a comedian in a service was inimical to the church’s health. The youth pastor, utterly disappointed, tendered his resignation. The general overseer was happy. According to him, the pastor was a bad influence polluting the youth department. Using comedian as anchors and comperes in churches has become a trend these days. It is not uncommon to see A-list comedians in churches, cracking ribs and smiling to the banks. The trend, our correspondent observed, is prevalent among new generation churches, especially model parishes. Those who embrace the idea confided in our correspondent that it is simply to shore up attendance, especially among the youthful elements. “You need more than persuasions to bring youths to church these days. You have

•Olubo

•Akin John

•Rev. Toyin Kehinde

to go the extra mile and use popular faces to interest them,” a youth leader, who craved anonymity, said. He argued that it is just like using popular singers and artistes to drive membership. “If you ask me, I don’t see anything bad in this. I mean we invite gospel artistes and singers, so why not Christian comedians? They light up the atmosphere and bring humour to play. “They make people relax and give room for the church to reach people through some other means other than the preachy angles. It is just as simple as that and we should not spiritualise things in this direction,” a female member of a Pentecostal church in Abeokuta stated. The parish priest of St Peter’s Anglican Church, Lekki Lagos, Rev. Asoliye DouglasWest, sees nothing wrong in the practice. He said: “Obviously, and without doubt, the art of comedy is a talent. Every individual has benevolently

received some gift of endowments from God. So do the comedians. “Then why should we restrict the choice of arena where such talents could be displayed? The church is a very dynamic institution which is not alienated from the environment but in due manner connected to the world, otherwise atrophy would encroach on its fabric. “The church is also a platform where potentialities could be identified, nurtured, and energies channelled into creative and profitable enterprise. There is nothing out of place inviting comedy artistes to anchor programmes in the church for as long as they do not poke obscene fun at the revered personality of Jesus or diminish the Holiness of God.” Douglas-West added: “Comedy contains satires and caricatures which mirror ills and contradictions of the society. Beyond the rib-cracking

jokes and wisecracks, the issues bordering on the wellbeing of society highlighted should provoke the thoughts and conscience of the listening audience to cause a change in our attitude and relationships.” But the general overseer of House Favour Church Egbeda, Rev. Bayode Olubo, frowned at such practice. He said: “I hate it because it is a means of desperation. I know they want to use them to invite youths but Jesus would never do that. When comedians come, they offer no inspiration, even if they are Christians.” He said the pulpit is a sacred place that must be protected by all means. “The church is the only property of God on earth and it must be protected with consciousness. The Holy Spirit has left many churches because such comedians pollute the altars.” The General Secretary of

NEWS WHAT AND WHERE?

God’s Covenant Woman International celebrates at two T HE second anniversary of God’s Covenant Woman International Outreach holds next Sunday with the theme “realm of glory”. It holds by 12noon at GCWIO auditorium Unity Estate, Pakuro in Obafemi/ Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State. The chief host, Rev (Mrs.) Irene Agbanobi (JP), in a statement, said that God will bless every par-

ticipant. Guest speakers include Pastor Benny Apena (Rhema World Ministry, Lagos) and Pastor Olaolu Ojo of Christ Apostolic Church, Lagos among others. Baptist youths meet The annual youth summit of Triumphant Baptist Church Akowonjo takes place next Saturday.

The theme of the summit, which holds at Shonowo Hall behind Mr. Biggs, Akowonjo, Lagos, is the visionary youth. A renowned educationist, Mrs. Olukemi Oke; The Chief Finance Officer of Leadway PFA, Mr. Abayomi Adesope and the senior pastor of the church, Dr Sunday Oladejo, will minister to the youths.

•L-R: Conference Secretary, Lagos Central Baptist Conference, Dr. Kehinde Babarinde; Senior Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on Religious matters, Rev. Adefunmilayo AkitoyeBraimoh; and Executive Director, Churches in Action for Peace and Development, Archbishop Kehinde Stephen at the justice Advocacy seminar on Palestine by CAPAD with support of the Karibu Foundation in Lagos on Monday

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

WORSHIP

My vision for Lagos PFN, by new helmsman T HE newly elected chairman of the Lagos chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Sola Ore, has said his administration will pursue unity among Christians. He spoke at a meeting of the new executive committee, which is due for inauguration on August 29 at the Fountain of Life Church, Ilupeju Lagos. Ore told the new executives that there was a need for Christians to come together and work towards advancing the body of Christ to make a meaningful impact in the country.

By Sunday Oguntola

According to him: “We want to build the body of Christ by fostering love among members. “We want to extend fellowship to members outside the fold. We really have to humble ourselves to do this. “We want to create a sense of belonging to everyone. There is no small church. We have growing churches.” Ore, who is also the General Overseer of Love Aglow Ministry, added that his administration will pursue a policy that will give every member a sense of belonging. He assured that “the new

administration will empower grassroots ministers. “We will try to do something. Whatever we can do, we want to improve the minister himself. Information is empowerment. We need to educate our people.” He charged the new executive to be ready for service, saying “I want to appeal to you all get ready for real work. We have a responsibility to reposition the PFN in Lagos for greater service. “The past executive has worked a lot. We should help to build on what they have done and make our members feel a sense of belonging.”

cated its members on how to protect themselves and will not be taking further preventive measures. Lagos State chairman of the body, Pastor Joshua Ibidapo, stated these while speaking with reporters ahead of convocation with the theme: Apostolic fathers’ blessings slated for August 24. It holds at the Apostolic Church head office LAWNA, Ketu. Speaking on how Christians can overcome the spread

By Dr. David Oyedepo

Encounter with destiny through God’s word!

of the virus, which has killed over 1,000 in West Africa, Ibidapo said: “God gave us the privilege to trample and sicknesses so such is not our portion if we live a life of holiness. “God will soon drive the virus away from the country and it will be a thing of the past just like He did other diseases just as bird flu and polio.” Giving a rundown of the programme of events, the cleric added that it will feature prayer sessions to bring about good tidings in the nation, state and church as a whole.

diligent worshippers.” He added: “Some people have been frustrated because they pray and they have not seen result. We must let them know how big our God is.” The cleric recalled how God delivered the Israelites from their troubles, stating “He is still alive to intervene in any situation we may find ourselves.” He was convinced these hardships will work out well for the body of Christ. “The church will come out stronger and more people will be converted and more souls will come into the kingdom of God,” he assured.

HE Methodist Church Nigeria has advised to desist from selling their votes ahead of the 2005 general elections. Rather, it said Nigerians should vote with their conscience for candidates that offer the best possibility for improved living. The church also called on the National Assembly to accept credible proposals put forward by the ongoing confab. These were some of the resolutions contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the 44th\9th biennial conference of the church in Port-Harcourt, capital of Rivers State last week. The conference with the

Ebola or no Ebola, we’ll continue to commune C By Nneka Nwaneri

Living Faith ROM scriptures, we understand that every child of God is a child of destiny. Not just any kind of destiny, but a glorious destiny (Romans 8:29-30). Furthermore, we discover in scriptures that every encounter with God, is an encounter with destiny. For example, men like Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Gideon, Peter, Paul and many others validate this fact (Hebrews11:6-10; Genesis 22:1-18; Judges 6,7). First, we must recognize that the destiny of every believer is locked up in the Bible and it takes a diligent search in the word to unlock it. When we discover and believe the truth regarding our inheritance, God is committed to make good His promise. Just as God said to Abraham, as far as your eyes can see, God is committed to make happen (Gen. 13:14-15; Rev.3:18). We must understand that when we discover and believe the truth regarding our inheritance, God is committed to making good His promise. Just as God said to Abraham, as far as your eyes can see, God is committed to make happen (Gen 13:14-15; Revelation 3:18). But what is our Destiny Worth in Redemption? From scriptures, we understand that: We have a victorious destiny in Christ: We may be challenged, but we are not permitted to be defeated. Christ causes us to triumph in all our ways, including our places of work, homes and every of our journeys (2 Corinthians 2:14). We have a glorious destiny: We must understand that God has called us unto eternal glory, which means unending glory. That also

•L-R: Secretary of Conference, Rt. Rev. Chibuzo Opoko; Prelate, His Eminence Dr. Samuel Uche and Lay President of Conference, Sir Jimmy Coker (KJW) during a briefing by the Methodist Church Nigeria in Port-Harcourt… last week

ONTRARY to measures taken by some churches to minimise physical contacts to fight the spread of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) among worshippers, the Christian Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (CPFN) has vowed to continue its activities without restraint. The CPFN, a bloc in the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) comprising of all apostolic churches said worship activities will continue without caution because its members are immune against the Ebola virus. It added that it has edu-

COLUMN

connotes a shame-free destiny (1 Peter 5:10; Rom. 8:2930). We have an enviable destiny: As it is written, concerning Isaac, he went forward, became strong, waxed great and the Philistines envied him. This implies that, we are to be envied and not to be pitied. Therefore, anything pitiable around us must be swallowed up in victory (Genesis 26:14; Galatians 4:28). We have a prosperous destiny in Christ: We are not redeemed to suffer, but we are redeemed to enjoy abundance of all things (2 Cor. 8:9; 2 Cor. 9:8-11). We have a destiny of fruitfulness in the covenant: As it is written; Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle (Deuteronomy 7:14; Ps 89:34; Matthew 5:17). We have a destiny of health and vitality in the covenant: Serving God qualifies us for health and vitality (Exodus 23:25). None of our covenant fathers were ever recorded sick; instead, they enjoyed health and vitality all through their lives. Longevity is our portion in the covenant: Long life is part of our covenant rights in redemption (Psalm 91:16). All our covenant fathers enjoyed long life. These include Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Joshua, etc (Isaiah 51:1-3; Genesis 25:7; Genesis 35:27-28; Genesis 47:28; Deuteronomy 37:7; Joshua 24:29). How, then, do we encounter Destiny? The Following, among others, are some of the ways we can encounter destiny: First, through the Bible – The Living Word of God: God’s Word is the mirror of life where we discover who

we are, what we have and what we can do. Every believer has a free access to the Word, from where we have encounter with destiny. Through anointed books: Anointed books are not only designed to enlighten us, but they are also channels through which we encounter destiny (Hosea 12:10). What are the Benefits of Encounters with the Word? •Encounter with the Word connects us with destiny, our inheritance. For example, Jacob had a glorious destiny through an encounter with God (Isaiah 9:8). •Encounter with the Word preserves our destiny, as in the case of Joseph. (Psalm 105:17-22). •It dignifies destiny, as it was with Samuel, who had series of encounters with the Word and emerged an honourable man of God(1 Sam. 3:21, 1 Samuel 9:6). •It advances destiny. Diverse encounters with the Word enlarged the destinies of Abraham and Moses (Gen. 12:1-3; Gen. 22:17-18; 1Samuel 12:6) Friend, the power to benefit from the above, is the preserve of those saved. You get saved by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Saviour and Lord. To be saved, please say this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You, Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!” This week, you are going to see amazing manifestations of angelic intervention! I will be with you next week, if Jesus tarries. Stay Blessed in Jesus’ name! Every exploit in life is a product of knowledge. For further reading, you can get my books: The Force Of Freedom, Walking In Dominion and Maximize Destiny. 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

NEWS Cleric to northern Christians: Rejoice living out of ignorance of EGARDLESS of the always unending blessing of God Methodists Church: Don’t sell your votes persecution and for true and

threat to their faith, Christians in the north have been advised to praise God. The Senior Pastor of Kingdom Life Christian Centre, Jimmy Olagunju, gave this advice at the monthly Praise Arena night of the Church in Lagos. He noted that many of them have paid the ultimate price while others are encountering tough challenges beyond their imagination. These situations, he pointed out, might have made them run out of prayers or even query God. Yet, he said they should look up to God and praise Him always in the face of

By Adeola Ogunlade

stiff oppositions to their faith. Olagunju said: “We must learn to praise God at all times and He will take over the situation and victory will be ours. “Pastors must continually remind the people of God in troubled areas of the manifold greatness of God to do all things and change negative situation for those who will put their trust in Him and praise Him at all times.” God, he claimed, told him: “My people are suffering and perishing not because I cannot answer their prayers but because they are

By Sunday Oguntola

theme ‘Let my people move forward’ attracted delegates from across the federation. A communiqué signed by the Prelate of the church, His Eminence Dr Samuel Uche and Secretary of Conference, Rt. Rev. Raphael Opoko, said: “Electorates are charged to desist from selling their votes and to vote for credible candidates who will work for their interest on assumption of office.” On the abduction of over 200 Chibok girls, the church urged the federal government and the international community to expedite actions on their safe return. The church frowned

against membership of secret societies and urged those involved to desist or face disciplinary actions. It also vowed to sanction any member involved in polygamy in accordance with the rules of the church. It was also resolved that the church should go into commercial agriculture “to support the efforts of the different tiers of government in provision of food security and employment for women and young Nigerians”. The conference also commended the establishment of Wesley Microfinance Bank towards the empowerment of youths and the active poor, both within and outside the Church.

Crime

The Nation on Sunday August 17, 2014

Harvest of criminals in Kaduna

•The suspects

•The recovered vehicles

•The fake currency maker

•The fake police officer From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

•The tanker containing Indian hemp

Oddities

The Nation on Sunday August 17, 2014

•The mysterious tree

•Room where firewoods are burnt

tanding majestically at the frontage of the bungalow of Olowa Iberu compound in Odo Esa, Ijebu -Ode is a firmly rooted huge and tall tree the residents claim has been there for hundreds of years. Its trunk is wrapped with a white cloth ( which had turned brown , no thanks to the weather that had beaten it ) while a carcass of a dried dog is hung on it, dangling like pendulum .The tree is revered and feared and sacrifices are offered to it . Its custodian, High Chief Rasaq Adeneye Oshimodi , the Olowa Iberu of Ijebu land, told this reporter: "What amazes the natives and nonnatives is that when it rains, the rain does not fall on the leaves. Not only this, when the trunk and taproots dry off, the leaves will remain fresh and green and will not wither. It is the same thing when the leaves wither and dry off. The trunks and tap roots become fresh and strong. Welcome to Olowa Iberu's compound in Ijebu -Ode , a town noted to be rich in culture. According to Olowa Iberu, there are three notable and important palaces in Ijebu Ode, and these are Awujale, Lisa and Olowa palaces. According to the Olowa Iberu of Ijebuland, "The tree has been there for over 500 years. You cannot mention Ijebu -Ode without mentioning this tree. It was a tiny staff planted here by our forefathers years ago that eventually metamorphosed to this big tree standing here till date. It is a mysterious tree that must not be cut down.” Olowa Iberu affirmed the spiritual power behind the tree, saying, "No one has ever tried to cut it. In fact, it is worshipped along with so many things .I am the spiritual leader here who oversee all these things and know when and how to offer sacrifices to all these. I ascended the Olowa throne early last year when the former one died." He continued, "A female dog is used for the sacrifice, while its internal organs are clinically removed. When all the blood has dried up, it is then hung on the tree. The dog's blood must not touch the tree. It is forbidden.” Mysterious rooms In one of the Olowa Iberu's rooms is a sacred room where they 'offer' fire as sacrifice to the Obinrin Ojowu (Jealous Goddess). According to Olowa, many rooms there are forbidden to be entered into especially except the initiated ones. He said, "There is a room where we make firewood. No one enters it. And if you take the picture, your camera could crack and the picture will not show. There is a room where we keep the firewood which must not be entered by a woman, while special leather drums here are forbidden

•Forbidden drum

Goddess that eats fire

There is a mysterious tree in Ijebu - Ode that rain does not touch when it falls, and a sacred room where fire is served as food to a goddess, Obinrin Ojowu. Taiwo Abiodun reports.

to be beaten by just anybody." He continued, "The goddess here does not eat food or animal but eats fire. In that room, we burn firewood to heat the big basket that contains some strange things in the basket which is placed on the bamboo racks here every nine days. The fire from the burning of the firewood and the heat serve as the goddess' food. The goddess does not eat anything but fire. We prepare firewood in the sacred room to burn or heat the basket every nine days and it burns continually for five or six days. The fire must not quench." Asked what would happen if there is no money to buy firewood or if the firewood are exhausted within the nine days' ritual or if the ritual is missed and not observed, the Olowa Iberu and his visitor who is an indigene screamed as they both stated, "It is forbidden, we dare not! We must not miss it.God forbid! If we miss it, there will be calamity in the town.” As the reporter peeped into the room, he could see a basket placed on a bamboo rack. The bamboo rack had turned brown - no thanks to the fire and fumes it had consumed. The Olowa Iberu said, “We set firewood and burn them under the bamboo rack but the bamboo and the basket are never burnt as they only turn brown. I know you will be surprised but that is the mysterious power of the goddess , Obinrin Ojowu.” Forbidden drum The Olowa Iberu said further, "One must not beat the traditional drum in the compound and no woman should enter the room where the drum is brought out. No woman will ever enter this place, it is forbidden. We don't just beat the drum anyhow, it has an occasion for it.” Olowa Iberu himself Dressed in a traditional wear with beads dangling on his neck, Olowa Iberu's plaited hair made him look like a woman. His blood-shot eyes were frightening. As he spoke, his eyes rolled

•High Chief Olowa Iberu

from one side to another as if possessed by the spirit of the goddess. He said, “As the chief custodian, I must not see a dead body. I must not eat turkey or any bird. I must not kill or eat snake. Even if the snake crawls into our living room we will send it away instead of killing it. Not only this, I must not kill cat or eat an egg." According to Olowa Iberu, the Obinrin Ojowu festival is held every March. He spoke about the rules the Olowa Iberu should obey. He said, " When it is three months to the festival (around December), Olowa Iberu should not have sexual intercourse with any woman and should be chaste. No woman should cook or wash his clothes. Rather he should do all these for himself or some servants of the monarch should come and assist him. In fact, he should not get c l o s e t o a n y w o m a n . " He spoke further about the goddess. "It (the goddess) could make you become

PHOTOS: Taiwo Abiodun

crippled or make you go blind or even kill whoever disobeys its rules such as by bringing kolanuts or hot drink to its place as it abhors all these. The goddess d oes not forgive and it is not easily given to anger. It does not arrest or punish or victimise people at random. Not only this. It does not ask questions and it's annoyance could be fatal.” Asked whether any Olowa had broken the taboo before, the Olowa Iberu scratched his head and said that one Olowa broke the taboo of not having sex. As a result, he did not live for a long. Olowa's lamentation However, the current Olowa Iberu said he is not happy with the goings on as at present as he is not given enough money for the rituals being carried out. According to him, the state government gave the community N60, 0000 for the ceremony last year. He lamented, “The money was not enough. I spend a lot of money on this festival or ceremony. I don't receive salaries on all these. If you call the Ijebu Ode people, even those who love the goddess will not give you money to do all these". He said further, "I spend about 700, 0000 naira doing this annually .This year the state gave us 60, 0000 naira only and it does not cover the security alone. The firewood I buy every nine days are expensive and if I don't do this things could go wrong in Ijebu Ode.” How powerful the goddess is The Olowa Iberu said there is spiritual power to stop the rain during the celebration in case it would disrupt their activities when offering sacrifice. His words: "We will stop the rain if we are bringing the goddess out and we will all trek or walk round the town during the festival. We usually inform the king for he owns the goddess.” Asked to confirm whether it is true that human beings were being used in the past for sacrifice to the goddess, the custodian of the goddess tactically replied, "Well, that was in the olden days. I don't know of that but we don't use human being here.” According to Olowa Iberu, the goddess groans and moans when there is an impending disaster. There was a time an accident was about to happen on the express, we went to offer sacrifice. Only 25 people died, the figure could have been more than that.” Man of three religions Olowa Iberu said he was once a devoted Muslim but changed to Christianity because Christians “are the one supporting me. I go to church also and this does not affect my traditional religion and as the spiritual leader of Olowa Iberu dynasty.”

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014

Challenging Current Security Issues For National Transformation: The Way Forward BEING CONVOCATION LECTURE DELIVERED BY HON. KINGSLEY KUKU, SPECIAL ADVISER TO THE PRESIDENT ON NIGER DELTA AND CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENTIAL AMNESTY PROGRAMME, AT THE 10TH CONVOCATION CEREMONY OF THE BENSON IDAHOSA UNIVERSITY, BENIN CITY, EDO STATE, ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2014 PROTOCOL INTRODUCTION I am exceedingly grateful to the Senate and the Governing Council of Nigeria’s foremost private university, the Benson Idahosa University, Benin, for giving me the huge platform of your 10th convocation lecture to offer my humble perspectives on the crucial issues of security and transformation. Kindly permit me to pay deserved tribute to the founder of this great Christian university, our beloved Daddy, the Archbishop Benson Idahosa, who thirty years ago established this institution with a clear mission of “raising leaders who are complete in spirit, mind and body.” Like most of us here are well aware, when Archbishop Benson Idahosa made this bold move, private universities had not even been legalized in Nigeria. But being a dogged crusader, he was neither dissuaded nor deterred in any way. Just as Papa envisioned from the outset, Benson Idahosa University has become the quintessential citadel of learning comparable to other first class universities globally. I dare say that this university has become a beacon of hope and a veritable grooming ground for future leaders even as our nation march gloriously towards greatness under the able leadership of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR. I must also pay tribute to a great woman of valour, the Archbishop Margaret Idahosa who, against huge odds, tenaciously continued from where Papa Idahosa stopped and nurtured this great institution to maturity and ensured that its foretold greatness was achieved. We salute you, Mummy. Our warmest felicitations must also go to Pastor Faith Emmanuel Benson-Idahosa, the young, energetic, enterprising and charismatic President of this university. Your untiring efforts are clearly paying off and this much is evidenced in the fact that you are, today, running one of the best universities in Africa. Distinguished members of the Benson Idahosa University community, invited guests, graduating students, members of the press, ladies and gentlemen, I have been asked to speak on the topic: Challenging Current Security Issues For National Transformation: The Way Forward. I dare say that the aptness of this topic cannot be overemphasized, especially given that insecurity, particularly as posed by the dastardly activities of the terrorist organization, Boko Haram, continues to militate against the transformation agenda of our dear President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. I must quickly add, though, that most discerning Nigerians have since formed the opinion that political actors and interests generously help to fan the embers of insecurity in the country for selfish and pecuniary reasons. I shall return to this point shortly. Between Security And Transformation My assignment as the Special Adviser to Mr. President on Niger Delta and Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme entails among other things the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration of 30,000 former agitators in the Niger Delta. A core component of this mandate that the President has graciously given me is the placement of thousands of these Niger Delta youths in universities and vocational training facilities both within the country and offshore. Relying on my experience on this job as well as my training in conflict and dispute resolution, I wish to boldly affirm that there is indeed a nexus between education, transformation and security. Security is gen-

erally defined as any mechanism deliberately fashioned to alleviate the most serious and immediate threats that prevent people from pursuing their cherished values. Several scholars and revered authorities have further redefined security to encompass not merely the security of people but more broadly to include economic and social concerns such as welfare, employment and the distribution of national wealth. Indeed, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2003 averred that “human security in its broadest sense embraces far more than the absence of violent conflict. It encompasses human rights, good governance, access to education and health care, and ensuring that each individual has opportunities and choices to fulfill his or her own potential. Every step in this direction is also a step towards reducing poverty, achieving economic growth and preventing conflict.”(UN 2003) Talking about transformation, I crave your kind indulgence to take a cue from our dear President, who has abundantly communicated his transformation agenda to encompass a seamless process that will radically, fundamentally, structurally and massively transform the national economy, reinvent the politics of our nation, secure the polity, care for the underprivileged and provide responsible, responsive and credible leadership to Africa’s largest and most promising economy. Using the above indicators, the facts are very bare and are verifiable that even against huge odds, Nigeria under the able leadership of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is finally in the safe and capable hands of a genuine transformational leader. Our country is now being steered by a true democrat, an intellectual who operates quietly but records giant strides. In its 2013 state-of-nations’ report, the Bill Clinton Foundation, which has a remarkable presence in Nigeria, identified Nigeria as one of the ten fastest growing economies in the world. While addressing the Annual Conservative Party Conference in June 2013, David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, said: “We’ve been hearing about China and India for years but it’s hard to believe what’s happening in Brazil, in Indonesia and in Nigeria.” In January this year, the British Under-Secretary of State for Africa, Mr. Henry Bellingham, said of Nigeria: “Nigeria has averaged growth of 8.9 per cent, which is really stunning. Nigeria is the world’s fourth fastest growing economy with solid growth in the next five years and beyond. This is truly remarkable.” Of course in August 2012, President Barack Obama declared Nigeria the “world’s next economic success story.” In its 2013 annual report, the World Bank posited that poverty in Nigeria reduced from 48 to 46% in the last one year. The same bank and its affiliates in late 2013 announced that Nigeria’s inflation had reduced to 9%, the first time it has hit single digit in four years. My dear compatriots, our quiet and unassuming President has achieved this much even in the face of unprecedented security challenges, which he inherited. I have said it elsewhere and I repeat it hear that it is not an exaggeration to assert that Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is Nigeria’s second wartime President after General Yakubu Gowon. Since assuming Office, Dr Jonathan has been buffeted by security challenges that were planted, watered and nurtured by the ineptitude, insensitivity and tardiness of successive past leaderships in the country both at the Federal and State levels.

74 It is not my intention to bore you with the history or the story of the insurgency of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram. I know you all know how that monster was created and nurtured. It smacks of crass insincerity or even a chronic case of selective amnesia for anyone to suggest that President Jonathan has not given the war on terror, as now epitomized by Boko Haram and its affiliates, his very best since assuming office. Being a true, caring and sensitive leader, President Jonathan never for once balked at the arduous task of confronting head-on this colossal problem that germinated, grew and festered under his predecessors. The very humane President we have today has adopted a scientific, sophisticated and pragmatic approach in his war against terrorism and insurgency and I can attest to you today that profound results are being achieved. Even when I do not have the mandate to speak on the efforts being made to stem the ugly tide of terrorism in our nation, I can boldly confirm that it is to the credit of our President and our armed forces that the activities of the terrorists remain confined to only sections of the northeastern parts of the country. I am also aware that for every suicide bombing that occurs, more than 100 attempts would have been prevented by our vigilant security agents. The truth of the matter is that the world has come to realize and understand that the Boko Haram insurgency is not just a problem for northern Nigeria or Nigeria as a whole. It is a global problem that deserves collective effort to confront and defeat. Without going into details, I can assure you that this unfortunate matter is receiving the maximum albeit sophisticated attention that it deserves. The President has repeatedly assured Nigerians that our great nation shall in a short while overcome Boko Haram and its allies operating in the country. We trust in the abilities and capabilities of the gallant officers and men of our armed forces to rein in the terrorists. It behooves us all to support this President who is transforming our great country not just for our good but also for the good of our children and generations yet unborn. Despite the antics and wiles of political opponents who seek to reap cheap benefits by attempting to sweep under the carpet the achievements of the Jonathan administration, most Nigerians now know and say it openly that President Goodluck Jonathan deserves commendation for the achievements he has recorded thus far with our economy, the power sector, provision of critical infrastructure in transportation, electoral reforms, aviation, agriculture, the consolidation of peace, safety and security in the Niger Delta as well as the war against terror. On the critical issues of development, transformation and security, scholars continue to engage in the chicken and egg debate. The question is, which came first: the chicken or the egg? In other words, does security precede development or is it lack of development that breeds insecurity? Again, I will dabble into this great debate drawing from my varied experiences as a Niger Delta activist, a conflict and dispute resolution scholar and of course my current assignment as the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme. I was an active participant in the struggle for economic, social and environmental justice in the Niger Delta and a signatory to the bible of the struggle, the Kaiama Declaration in 1998 wherein Ijaw youths sought full control of the resources in Ijawland. By extension we were also seeking same conditions for our fellow Niger Deltans, as did Isaac Boro and Ken Saro-Wiwa before our time. It was a difficult time as the Federal Government responded with the use of force; a continuation of the policy that led to the unfortunate loss of hundreds (if not thousands) of precious lives on all sides, including of course the “judicial murder” of acclaimed environmentalist, Ken SaroWiwa in November 1995. It was not long before a combination of factors resulted into various armed movements in the Niger Delta. At the height of violent conflict in the region, oil production went dangerously below one million barrels per day (bpd) and kidnappings of oil workers and others deemed prosperous was rampant. The conflict in the Niger Delta had all but pushed Nigeria off the fiscal cliff. Conversely, the conflict worsened the poverty and underdevelop-

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014 ment index in this otherwise rich part of our great country. Even when the Niger Delta struggle was a justifiable one, it showed also that conflicts or insecurity repels development and transformation. Luckily, however, peace offer was made by the Federal Government, which was graciously accepted by agitators in the Niger Delta, and paved the way for the amnesty proclamation. Today, the Niger Delta has become the safest and most secure zone in Nigeria. Importantly also, the relative peace, safety and security that the amnesty proclamation and the post-amnesty programme engendered in the Niger Delta have helped to buoy our economy. As against the crude export figure of 700,000 barrels per day at the peak of the Niger Delta conflict in January of 2009, Nigeria now exports between 2.4 and 2.6 million barrels of crude per day. Given this improved earnings in the oil sector, the President is funding and pursuing the speedy revamping and transformation of several moribund but critical sectors of our economy. President Jonathan is conscious of the fact that no nation can boast of development without an efficient and reliable transport sector. Today, under his able leadership, the aviation sector in Nigeria is enjoying a fresh lease and can now compare with the best in at least Africa. For the first time in 20 years, in 2012 alone, the Federal Government remodeled and reconstructed 12 key airports across the country with a view to ensuring that they became true centres of commercial and economic activities. Today these airports are wearing a new look with their terminals totally overhauled for the comfort and safety of air travellers. The revolution in the sector is aimed at restoring Nigeria’s aviation industry to its rightful place as a hub in Africa aviation and to contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of our dear country. Similarly, the achievements of the Presidential Amnesty Programme have helped Nigeria earn enough money to revamp the comatose railway sector after over 20 years of inactivity and criminal neglect. The rail lines are back on track, thanks to the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan. Not too long ago, the President himself led several top government officials to take a long ride in one of the new locomotives owned by the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) from Lagos to Abeokuta, Ogun State. The commissioning of the reactivated Lagos-Jebba rail lines that cost the nation N12.13 billion is without any iota of doubt a major achievement by the Jonathan administration. I am also aware that in continuation of efforts to revitalize and modernize rail transport in the country, the Federal Government has signed a N67 billion contract for the rehabilitation of 2,119-kilometre three Eastern rail lines, comprising 463-kilometre rail line from Port Harcourt to Makurdi; 1,016 kilometres rail line from Makurdi to Kuru including spur line to Jos and Kafanchan; and 640-kilometre rail line from Kuru to Maiduguri respectively. Compatriots, in case you are not already aware, grant me the honour of informing you that for the first time in over 20 years, petroleum products and other heavy equipment are now being transported from the southern parts of the Nigeria to the northern parts of the country by train. Even then, President Jonathan is determined to ensure that before the end of this year, the NRC would commence operating long distance express passenger train services from Port Harcourt to Kano like the Lagos to Kano route; Lagos to Jos and Maiduguri as well as Port Harcourt to Jos and Maiduguri. These services will include offer of full air conditioning to the first class “seater” or “sleeper” luxury saloons, with wagons equipped with conveniences, just like the rail services in developed countries of the world. The peace in the Niger Delta and the successful management of the Presidential Amnesty Programme under President Goodluck Jonathan has also aided the transformation that is currently going on in the critical power sector. All discerning Nigerians can testify to the fact that electricity supply, distribution and transmission in the country have greatly improved in the last two years. In 2010 when President Jonathan assumed office, first as acting President and later President, power generation from all the power stations across the country was less than

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014 2,000 megawatt. But today with the revamping of these power stations and with the peace in the Niger Delta where several of the power stations are located, Nigeria now generates, distributes and transmits as at today 4,517.6 megawatts. With the successful privatization of the generating and distributing components of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, President Jonathan projects that by 2015 power generation will grow to 10,000 megawatts. Given this huge benefit of the resolution of the crisis and insecurity in the Niger Delta, the logical question to ask is: how was peace achieved in the Niger Delta at a time many had assumed that the conflicts in the zone had become intractable? As a key participant in the struggle, I shall, very briefly, give you an insider’s account. The processes of achieving political solution rather than sustaining the military option in solving the Niger Delta crisis began earnestly in 2007 and was led by political, opinion and intellectual leaders in the Niger Delta ably coordinated by the then Vice President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. Even though he was a sitting Vice President, Dr. Jonathan was physically involved in major negotiations and consultations, which led to the brokering of the peace accord between the Federal Government and the Niger Delta ex-agitators. Dr. Jonathan defied all security advice and warnings at the time to undertake visits to the militants-controlled creek areas of the Niger Delta, particularly the then dreaded Camp Five in Delta State, which was under the command of Chief Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, otherwise known as Tompolo. Dr. Jonathan risked his life and breached all protocols for the sake and objective of extracting peace commitment and ensuring total ceasefire in the region. I recall vividly Dr. Jonathan’s visit to Camp Five. He was accompanied on that trip by several leaders of the Niger Delta, including Chief E.K Clark and Chief Tony Anenih. As the secretary of the Niger Delta Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee already in place then, I was privileged to be at this particular meeting. In Camp Five, Tompolo and other leaders of the agitation made the then Vice President sit on a bare plank of wood for a meeting that lasted for several hours. It was indeed at this meeting that the Federal Government extracted peace commitment from the ex-agitators, which in turn led to the amnesty proclamation. So today, we salute the courage of President Goodluck Jonathan and also pay tribute to his predecessor, the Late Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who graciously yielded to wise counsel and proclaimed amnesty for the former agitators in the Niger Delta on June 25, 2009. It is our fervent prayer that Almighty God will grant the soul of our late President eternal rest. I am also very aware that political, opinion, religious and intellectual leaders in the southwest of Nigeria played key roles in reining in the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) when their activities became inimical to development and transformation in the zone. Today, OPC operatives have become respectable officers of Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LATSMA), Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASSA), Lagos State Residence Registration Agency (LASRAA), Lagos State Parks and Garden Agency (LASPAGA), Lagos State Planning and Environmental Monitoring Agency (LASPEMA) and several other agencies of the government of Lagos State. In the southeast of Nigeria also, community, political and intellectual leaders were also on hand to curb the excesses of MASSOB when the activities of the group began militating against development and transformation in that region. I have said on several occasions and I reiterate that even while the Federal Government and the Armed Forces of our great nation are doing all they can to restore peace, safety and security in north-eastern Nigeria, political, community, opinion, religious and intellectual leaders in northern Nigeria must borrow a leaf from Niger Delta leaders, southwest leaders as well as leaders in the southeastern parts of the country and lead efforts to restore peace, safety and security in their communities. The

greatest mistake any person or group of persons would ever make is to politicize insecurity, particularly terrorism. The war against insurgency and terrorism must be a collective one, But I insist, based on facts I have presented to you today, that northern leaders must lead the charge against obvious enemies of their people, their religion, their land and people. The political resolution of the Niger Delta crisis has since shown that it is not all the time that guns and bombs are used in stemming conflicts. I am indeed an adherent of Benjamin Franklin’s position that “there was never a good war or a bad peace.” As a senior official of this administration, I am aware that President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan plans to transform all facets of Nigeria. In the north, the President has since elected to use education as a veritable tool to end squalor, poverty and deprivation in that part of the country. On this score, he has since established special schools to absorb thousands of northern boys and girls who for years were denied formal, western education. He has also established Federal Universities in all the northern states of Nigeria. Like we all are well aware, this educational revolution in northern Nigeria is one of the reasons the Boko Haram insurgents have given for their terrorist activities. But my compatriots, one of the greatest duties of any responsible government is to offer its citizens profound education. Education is the most potent weapon against poverty, underdevelopment and even insecurity. As the nation inches close to the 2015 general election, persons who are keen on scoring cheap political points against President Jonathan have continued to politicize insecurity in the northeast and are even stoking new crisis in other parts of the country. For instance, the recently held gubernatorial election in Osun State witnessed very condemnable and irresponsible acts of incitement by members of a particular opposition party. There was no name they did not call the President simply because he deployed security agents to ensure free and fair voting and collation of votes. They even went as far as publishing in both the social and mainstream media that on election day, I, Kingsley Kuku, led “Niger Delta militants” into Osun State to help the PDP win the election. Ladies and gentlemen, I left the country on official assignment to the United States of America on Wednesday, July 30, 2014 and returned to the country on Monday, August 11, 2014. The Osun State gubernatorial election held on Saturday, August 9, 2014. So, how could I have been in Osun State and the United States of America at the same time? (Indeed, I have come here with my ticket image that clearly bears my itinerary during the period). Like all the elections that the Jonathan administration has superintended, the Osun election has been adjudged by all stakeholders, including international observers, as free and fair. Even parties that lost at the polls have since congratulated the winner of the election. For the first time in the recent history of our great country, we no longer witness ugly and retrogressive incidences of rigging of elections or upturning of the results of otherwise free and fair elections. It is a new dawn in Nigeria and our President must be commended for this. As I round off this lecture, let me posit that development or transformation can hardly be achieved in times of war or under an atmosphere of insecurity. No matter how hard our President and members of his team work, no matter how hard and profound they innovate, the desired and envisaged transformation may be retarded. Globally, it has been proven that in times of crisis or war, citizens bury their differences and join efforts to defeat the common enemy. Nigeria cannot be an exception to this golden rule. My position therefore is that given that President Goodluck Jonathan has shown that he is sincere and that he can deliver, it behooves all patriotic Nigerians to support him as he works assiduously to transform our dear country, like he promised. That, for me, is the way forward. Once again, I thank the Senate and the Governing Council of the Benson Idahosa University for offering me the platform of your 10th Graduation Lecture to give my humble perspectives on the crucial issues of security and transformation. I am exceedingly grateful. I thank you. Hon. Kingsley Kuku Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Programme

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

Iraqi Kurdish leader appeals to Germany for weapons T

Three Liberian health workers get experimental Ebola drug

HE leader of Iraq’s Kurds appealed to Germany for weapons to help Kurdish fighters battling militants of the Islamic State, and said foreign powers must find a way to cut off the group’s funding. The European Union on Friday gave a green light to EU governments to supply arms and ammunition to the Kurds if it has the consent of the government in Baghdad. Germany has shied away from direct involvement in military conflicts for much of the post-war era and a survey

conducted for Bild am Sonntag newspaper indicated that almost three quarters of Germans were against shipping weapons to the Kurds. But Germany’s defence minister has said the government was looking into the possibility of delivering military hardware. Masoud Barzani, the president of Iraqi Kurdistan, said the Kurds needed more than the humanitarian aid that Germany began sending on Friday to support people forced to flee their homes by the Sunni militant group’s advance.

“We also expect Germany to deliver weapons and ammunition to our army so that we can fight back against the IS terrorists,” Barzani told German magazine Focus. He said they needed German training and what they lacked most were anti-tank weapons. Proclaiming a ‘caliphate’ straddling parts of Iraq and Syria, the radical Islamists have swept across northern Iraq in recent weeks, pushing back Kurdish regional forces and driving tens of thousands of Christians and members of the Yazidi religious minority from

their homes. German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen sought to temper Kurdish expectations, saying on Friday that forces in Iraq were trained on Sovietdesigned weapons that Germany did not have and could not deliver. But Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier held out the possibility of sending more than humanitarian help. He said Barzani had made clear to him in Iraq on Saturday that Kurdish fighters did not always have the necessary equipment to defend themselves.

HREE Liberian health care workers who have Ebola received an extremely scarce experimental serum on Friday at a hospital outside the national capital, Monrovia, a Liberian health official said Saturday. Tolbert G. Nyenswah, an assistant minister of health and social welfare, would not say if any of the three were doctors. The drug, a mix of monoclonal antibodies called ZMapp, has been tested in animals, but has not been studied for safety or effectiveness in humans. It arrived in Liberia on Wednesday following

Missouri protests reignite over police shooting of black teenager

•Members of Germany’s Kurdish and Yazidi communities rally to denounce what they say is violence committed by Islamic State militants against their communities. PHOTO: REUTERS

Protesters demand Pakistani PM’s resignation

NTI-government protesters have arrived in the Pakistani capital to call for the end of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government. They say they won’t leave Islamabad until their demands are met. Cricketer-turned-politician and head of the Movement for Justice (PTI) party Imran Khan told the media on Friday, August 15, that his vehicle had been shot at by members of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League party. Clashes broke out on Fri-

day as tens of thousands of Pakistani protesters from two anti-government movements marched on the capital, presenting the 15-month-old civilian government with its biggest challenge yet. Their caravans are moving slowly, but gathering pace as they get closer to the capital. Pakistani media put the number of march participants at around 200,000. The Pakistani government blocked all roads leading to Islamabad and has deployed

thousands of policemen and paramilitary forces to prevent the protesters from entering the capital. Pakistani-Canadian Sunni cleric, Tahir-ul-Qadri, held a separate march on Islamabad. The two politicians claim the May 2013 elections, in which PM Sharif’s Muslim League party won a landslide victory, were rigged, and that the government is corrupt and incompetent. The march, which coincides with the country’s Independ-

ence Day, is likely to culminate in a sit-in outside the parliament building and continue for days as the protesters say they won’t leave Islamabad until PM Sharif tenders his resignation. Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has a huge support among the country’s youth. In a televised address to the nation on Wednesday, August 13, Premier Sharif offered the opposition groups to set up a judicial commission to investigate allegations of election fraud. Both Khan and Qadri rejected it.

after a coup plunged the impoverished country into sectarian violence. Seleka, a coalition of mostly Muslim fighters which seized power in March 2013 then later handed over to an interim government under international pressure, said it would look into the accusations. Spokesman Ahmat Nejad said anyone found guilty should be pun-

ished. “Fighters from Seleka and some Fulani shot the victims at point blank range, slit their throats or hung them up by ropes,” the mayor of Mbres, Bienvenue Sarapata, told Reuters on Saturday. “Three young people were hanged on Wednesday afternoon. Other villagers were assassinated in the town centre,” he said, adding that

he had fled to the nearby town of Kaga-Bandora with hundreds of others. The mayor’s first counsellor Christine Ouadjapou said 34 people had killed in the attack on Mbres and surrounding villages from August 10-15. Rights groups accused Seleka of widespread killings and other abuses after it took power.

Rebel gunmen kill 34 in Central African Republic

EBELS armed with guns and knives killed 34 people in Central African Republic, hanging some civilians and slitting others’ throats in a series of attacks this week, officials said. Fighters from the Seleka insurgent group, sometimes backed by herdsmen, raided small central settlements, said authorities, more than a year

appeals by that country’s officials to top United States officials and a letter from President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia to President Obama. Mapp Biopharmaceutical in San Diego, Calif., which provided the drug, said the “available supply of ZMapp has been exhausted.” Nyenswah, who picked up the drug at the airport and took part in a meeting to discuss which patients should be selected, said the three recipients had signed consent forms stating that they understood the risks and were releasing all parties involved from liability.

ACIALLY charged protests flared overnight in Ferguson, Missouri, in an eruption of fresh anger over the fatal Aug. 9 shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a police officer. Tensions had temporarily cooled on Thursday night but by Friday evening, protesters were again swarming through a residential and retail district in the small town outside St. Louis that has become the site of repeated clashes between black residents and mostly white police forces. Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson, an AfricanAmerican who was named by Governor Jay Nixon to lead security in the town on Thursday, said police fired a teargas canister at a crowd near a food and liquor store and broader violence and looting erupted. Some protesters threw bottles at riot gear-clad police who had ordered the crowd to disperse. Tensions have been high since police officer Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown, 18, shortly after noon last Saturday as Brown and a friend walked down a street that runs through an apartment complex where Brown's grandmother lives. Emotions ramped up again Friday when authorities finally gave in to days of pressure and released the name of the officer who shot Brown, but did so only after first saying that Brown was a suspect in the theft of cigars from a convenience store at the time he was shot, a move that supporters of Brown's family called a

"smear" campaign. That store was the site where the looting began on Friday night, said Johnson. A vigil at the site of Brown's killing was set for Saturday morning. Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson acknowledged in a news conference on Friday that Wilson did not know Brown was a suspect in the robbery and that the shooting resulted from the officer's request for Brown to move out of the street. There was no connection between the shooting and the alleged robbery, Jackson said. Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Brown's family, said in a statement issued Friday that the family was "beyond outraged" at the police attempts to "assassinate the character of their son, following such a brutal assassination of his person in broad daylight." Civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton said he would lead a rally with Brown's family in Ferguson on Sunday. "There's nothing more contemptible and offensive to the people of this country than for law enforcement to try to smear a dead man or dead child that can't speak for themselves," Sharpton said on Saturday morning at a weekly rally he holds in New York City that is broadcast on the Internet. The police version of Brown's shooting differs markedly from witness accounts, including that of the friend who was walking with Brown at the time, Dorian Johnson, 22.

Indian PM inducts country’s largest homemade warship into Navy

NDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi inducted the country’s largest ever indigenously built warship, INS Kolkata, into the Navy at the naval dockyard in Mumbai. “In the age of science and technology, intelligence and security is of utmost importance. INS Kolkata is the biggest indigenous warship in our fleet. Through this commissioning, we are providing a glimpse of India’s strength to the world,” Modi said in his address to the sailors. He added: “INS Kolkata is

a prime example of India’s technical abilities. Our Naval officers have prepared a fine vessel of communication in this modern age. Let India be powerful and let our armed forces never fall behind in the world.” The 6,800-tonne stealth destroyer is a part of the Kolkata Class destroyers of the Indian Navy, which will include follow-on ships by the names of INS Kochi and INS Chennai. It is fitted with the most advanced weapons systems, including anti-submarine technology.

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I formerly known and addressed as Miss. OLADIMEJI BLESSING OLUTOSIN, now wish to be known as Mrs. OMOJOWO BLESSING OLUTOSIN. All former documents remain valid. BOWEN, University of Ibadan and general public please take note.

JERRY

I formerly known and Addressed as Mr. Jerry Couple Woyengiemi Sigha, now wish to be known and addressed as Revd. Jeremiah Couple Woyengiemi Sigha. All former documents remain valid general public take note.

SUBAIR

I formerly known and Addressed as Subair, Modinat Adejoke Abosede, now wish to be known and addressed as Adekanbi Mistura Mopelola Adejoke. All former documents remain valid general public take note.

OFFOR

OGBUAGU

I formerly known and Addressed as Offor Hannah Ikodiya, now wish to be known and addressed as Nnadi Hannah Ikodiya. All former documents remain valid general public take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Agnes Onimasomi Akharueme, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Agnes Onimasomi Aitanum. All former documents remain valid. Capex, Epart Care Health, GTBank Plc. and general public should please take note.

BASSEY

I,formerly known and addressed as MISS. CHUKWU BRIDGET AMUCHECHI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. ONU BRIDGET AMUCHECHI. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I formerly known and Addressed as Miss Bassey Uche Igwe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Michael, Glorious Uchechukwu. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

EWOH

I formerly known and Addressed as Femi Adebanjo Atoke Zainab, now wish to be known and addressed as Adebanjo Atoke Zainab. All former documents remain valid. Dangote Sugar Refinary, British High Commission and general public take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS. FORTUNE EWOH, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. FORTUNE CHIGOZIE EMEZU. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

EBONNE

I formerly known and Addressed as Offor Chukwudi Benjamin, now wish to be known and addressed as Nnadi Chukwudi Benjamin. All former documents remain valid general public take note.

AKHARUEME

ADEBANJO

ZUBAIR

I formerly known and Addressed as Miss Zubair Latifat Olubukola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Akinyoade Latifat Olubukola. All former documents remain valid general public take note.

I formerly known and Addressed as Miss Morakinyo, Tope Tosin, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Aderibigbe, Tope Tosin. All former documents remain valid general public take note. I formerly known and Addressed as Miss Ogbuagu, Rejoice Ekwutosi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Asogwa, Rejoice Ekwutosi. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

OFFOR

JOMBO

I formerly known and Addressed as Mrs. Olakitan Eunice Jombo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olakitan Eunice Adejombo. All former documents remain valid. Federal Inland Revenue Service and general public take note.

NWORGU

I formerly known and Addressed as Miss Catherine Onyedinma Nworgu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Catherine Oyedinma Ovunda. All former documents remain valid. Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, University of Port harcourt Teaching Hospital and general public take note.

EJAH

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Sunday Ejah Helen, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Helen Samuel Isong. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OGUNBODEDE

UGHOO

I formerly known and Addressed as Ughoo Cathering Chiamaka now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Okorie Cathering Chiamaka. All former documents remain valid general public take note.

AKINWUMI

I formerly known and Addressed as MISS AKINWUMI ELIZABETH TOYIN now wish to be known and addressed as MRS BADMUS ELIZABETH TOYIN. All former documents remain valid general public take note.

ONAKOYA

I formerly known and Addressed as Miss Onakoya Enuogbope Omotunde, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Obadeyi Enuogbope Omotunde. All former documents remain valid general public take note.

ISHMAEL

I formerly known and Addressed as Miss Ishmael Silas Aniebiet, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. JosephSabbath Aniebiet. All former documents remain valid general public take note.

FAGBORO

I formerly known and Addressed as Miss Fagboro Olubunmi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Sodimu Olubunmi. All former documents remain valid general public take note.

OBINNA

I formerly known and Addressed as Obinna Johnvianney Ndubuisi, now wish to be known and addressed as Chibuike Johnvianney Ndubuisi. All former documents remain valid general public take note.

NEWS 77 Church installs archbishop, dedicates auditorium today

HE Victory Church of The Lord will today install its primate and founder, Bishop Michael Odupitan, as archbishop. The installation is the high point of the 30th anniversary of the church. There will also be dedication of a new auditorium of the church at its National Headquarters in Oworonshoki Lagos by 10am. The special guest minister is Primate (Dr.) Luke O. Babasanya (JP) of the King of Kings Cherubim and Seraphim (C &S). There will also be rallies, leadership seminar, revival and award night as well as gospel concert and visit to the orphanage as part of activities marking the church’s anniversary.

Ayika goes home

SALAKO

I formerly known and Addressed as Miss Salako, Esther Oluwatosin, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Talabi, Esther Oluwatosin. All former documents remain valid general public take note.

ODEBUDO

I formerly known and Addressed as Odebudo, Omobolanle Waliat, now wish to be known and addressed as Malomo Omobolanle Waliat. All former documents remain valid general public take note.

AMADI

I formerly known and Addressed as Miss Amadi, Laura Ruwhuoma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Laura Ruwhuoma Nyeche. All former documents remain valid and general public take note.

IBANIBO

I formerly known and Addressed as Miss Ibifaka, Beniah Ibanibo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ibifaka Ekpedeme Amadeekay. All former documents remain valid and general public take note.

ADELOTAN

I formerly known and Addressed as Oluwaseun Azeez Adelotan, now wish to be known and addressed as Oluwaseun Azeez Adebowale. All former documents remain valid and general public take note. CONFIRMATION OF NAME I Mr. Aniefiok Akpan Ikpong and Mr. Sebastian Akpan Efiok refers to one and the same person. Now wish be known and addressed as Mr. Aniefiok Akpan Ikong. All former documents remain valid and general public take note.

OBATOLA

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Obatola, Oluwaseyi Alice, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Isaac, Oluwaseyi Alice. All former documents remain valid. Omotosho Generation Company and general public should please take note. ADVERT: Simply produce your marriage certificate or sworn affidavit for a change of name publication, with just N4,500. The payment can be made through - FIRST BANK of Nigeria Plc. Account number - 2017220392 Account Name VINTAGE PRESS LIMITED Scan the details of your advert and teller to gbengaodejide @yahoo.com orthenation.advert @gmail.com. For enquiry please contact: Gbenga on 08052720421, 08161675390, Emailgbengaodejide @yahoo.com or our offices nationwide. Note this! Change of name is now published every Sundays, all materials should reach us two days before publication.

•Ayika

A Daniel Ayika, the Odunnaya n’ume Of Enugwu Ukwa na Umunri in Anambra State, is dead. He was 95 years old. The deceased carved a business niche in Agriculture Produce and Supplies and plied his trade in many parts of the country including Lagos, Enugu, Uyo, Calabar , Kano, and the Cameroon. He also set up a block industry in Enugwu Ukwa, which supplied blocks within and around Anambra State. He is survived by three wives, many children, grand and great grand children, including the minority Whip in Anambra House of Assembly, Hon. Val Ayika. His remains will be laid to rest in Enugwu Ukwu on Wednesday August 27th after funeral mass at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church Enugwu Ukwu.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY AUGUST 17, 2014

NEWS

FOUR year old Nigerian kid, and two other Nigerians aged 79 and 37 on a visit to India were taken into medical isolation on arrival in New Delhi yesterday for Ebola screening and treatment if required. The three Nigerians were admitted at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. The three Nigerians quarantined in India reportedly had fever and their tests were being done at the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi, according to a statement. A 32-year-old Indian from Durg in Chhattisgarh who returned from Nigeria was similarly admitted to a hospital in

Ebola: India quarantines Nigerian kid, grandfather, one other •Lagos trains 800 volunteers in fight against spread Bhilai. His samples are also being tested at NCDC, the statement said. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said air travel, even from Ebola-affected countries, is low-risk for transmission of the disease. The organisation has reported a total of 2,127 cases and 1,145 deaths due to Ebola from affected countries.

The Lagos State government confirmed yesterday its training of 800 volunteers to help fight the deadly Ebola epidemic that has already claimed four lives in the state. The state government last week appealed for volunteers to make up for a shortage of medical personnel because of a sixweek doctors’ strike over pay.

“People have heeded our call for service,” Hakeem Bello, Special Adviser on Media to Governor Babatunde Fashola said. “We have trained some 800 volunteers in the area of contact tracing, sensitisation and treatment of the Ebola disease.” Apart from the four lives claimed by Ebola in the city, six

other people are infected by Ebola. Volunteers have so far been deployed to parts of the state, Bello said, adding that more are needed to contain the outbreak, particularly to treat those infected with the disease. Nigerian doctors have been on strike nationwide since July 1 to demand a pay rise and better working conditions. Nigeria became the fourth West African country to be hit by the Ebola epidemic last month after Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Athletes from Nigeria have

been forced to withdraw from the Youth Olympics in China as a result of the outbreak, Chinese state media reported Saturday. The International Olympic Committee has barred athletes from Ebola-hit countries from competing in pool events and combat sports. The disease is spread by contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids such as sweat, blood and tissue and no cure or vaccine is currently available. Nigeria’s first fatality was Liberian government employee Patrick Sawyer, who brought the virus to Lagos on July 20. He died in hospital on July 25. Nigeria has not recorded a case outside Lagos but there were fears that a nurse who contracted Ebola from Sawyer at the hospital may have carried the virus to Enugu.

Troops kill 22 in encounters with Boko Haram •Security agencies, military probe ‘abduction of 100’

•Flooded road leading to the Federal Medical Centre, Birnin Kebbi, following a heavy rainfall yesterday

PHOTO: NAN

Ebola outbreak takes toll on Africa’s economy

HERE are fears that the outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa is beginning to bite into Nigeria’s economy and that of the continent at large. Already many business appointments in the sub region have been cancelled or scaled down while fears are rising that this may do harm to the economy of the country. However, Dr Jonathan Aremu, an economist, said if the Federal Government and states across the country keep up with the tempo of activities especially campaign meeting to raise awareness on the dangers of the disease, it will not have any adverse effect on the nation’s economy. According to him, “With the kind of seriousness shown by government at all levels, in terms of education that has helped to limit the spreading of the disease to the extent that the WHO even commended us, I think it is a good development.” Aremu who consults for ECOWAS said Nigerians for the first time seem to have gotten it right. “As the entire hub of the entire Africa, Nigeria does appear to have handled this whole thing very appropriately. Even in the villages the awareness level is high. So, I think on the economic front if we go ahead with the level of seriousness we have shown, all will be well.”

•Nigeria not significantly affected-experts By Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf with agency reports

On his part, Dr Austin Nweze, a political economist at Pan African University, Lagos, holds a different view. According to him, the virus has a huge economic impact in diverse areas of life. “From preliminary findings, one can say that the Ebola virus is already taking its toll on Nigeria’s economy. Even in sport the news that our people were asked not to participate in some sporting events is a negative development.” Other sectors, it has impacted, Nweze said are aviation and banking. “Flights would not be full again because most countries are closing their borders. Even the banking sector is already feeling the pinch because a lot of people are not coming into the banks to transact business as much as before. Most customers are using online banking while those who can’t are staying out of the banks.” Nweze, however said the Ebola epidemic may have brought economic boom to some sectors as it has led to an upswing for businesses built around hygiene and other allied products. “Again those that are already benefitting from the outbreak of Ebola are those businesses involved in hygiene

products and sanitary wares. So, I think this is a wakeup call for prospecting in this sector to go into the business,” he stressed. The Ebola epidemic is believed to be threatening the continent’s hard-won image as a rising economic star. The outbreak, declared an international health emergency by the World Health Organization, has killed more than 1,000 people and ravaged the small, fragile economies of the three worst-hit states, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Consequently, scarce financial resources are being diverted to contain the epidemic in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. The Federal Government has earmarked N1.9billion to fight the scourge which has claimed four lives in the country. The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has admitted that the Ebola scare has slowed down its operations at the ports and border stations. The Public Relations Officer of the service, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the downturn in the activities of the service to current operational emphasis on the protection of its officers and men against the virus. He said that measures were being taken to provide necessary

facilities for the safety of the personnel and those they come in contact with in the course of their duties, adding that not much was being done operationally. “So, for now we are not really concerned much about revenue collection but we are concerned on how to ensure that officers and men do not contract the virus while doing their jobs,” he said. Besides, he said that the traffic of port users who deal with the Customs had reduced as everyone was being cautious of the virus. Adeniyi admitted that the current situation could negatively impact on revenue generation by the service. “The panic created by Ebola is definitely slowing down our operations particularly at the border stations, and if the current situation negatively impacts on revenue, I believe it will be perfectly understood,” he said. He said that officers and men of the service who made contact with passengers and their luggage would be equipped with adequate protective facilities to prevent them from contracting the virus. “We are also following this up with sensitisation of all stakeholders in the ports and borders to stress the importance of personal hygiene in curtailing the Ebola spread.”

HE Defence Headquarters said yesterday that soldiers killed 22 insurgents in encounters with Boko Haram in Buduram and Doron Baga in Borno State. The insurgents had allegedly disguised as women in hijab to infiltrate the two communities. The DHQ in an update on the ongoing counter-insurgency measures in the NorthEast said: “Troops of the MultiNational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in a dawn raid operation yesterday cleared a terrorists camp in Buduram, North of Doron Baga, where terrorists were massing up and reorganizing to carry out a reprisal attack after being routed in Doron Baga in a previous encounter last Sunday. “17 terrorists died in the raid operation while some who escaped into neighbouring islands in the Lake Chad Peninsula are still being pursued. “Meanwhile, calm has been restored in Doron Baga after the Sunday attack by terrorists who infiltrated the community with some of

FROM: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

them disguising as women in hijab. “Five of the terrorists died in the counter offensive to defend Doron Baga by troops of the MNJTF. “Many of the inhabitants of the community who had fled into nearby bushes for safety are now returning.” The claims could not be independently confirmed. The Nation however gathered that security agencies and the military have launched an investigation into the reported abduction of 100 young men from Hadaija community in Doron Baga, Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State by Boko Haram. A reliable source said: “The alleged abduction of the young men appears to be a hoax because neither the community nor relatives of these young men have got in touch. “But we are not taking things for granted, we are investigating the allegation no matter how exaggerated it might be.”

Liberia’s president apologises over death of health workers

IBERIA’S President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf yesterday apologised for the high death toll among the country’s healthcare workers who have fought an Ebola outbreak, which has killed nearly 1,000 people in three countries. President Sirleaf pledged up to $18 million for the Ebola fight, part of which will be given to health workers to help with insuranceanddeathbenefits,tofund more ambulances and to increase the number of treatment centres. “If we haven’t done enough so far, I have come to apologise to you,” she told hundreds of health workers who gathered at Monrovia’s City Hall for a meeting with her government. The Ebola outbreak, centred on Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, is the worst in history. The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday it is an international health emergency that will likely continue spreading for months. The disease has put a severe strain on the health systems of affected states and governments have responded with a range of measures, including the declaration of national emergencies in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria,

which confirmed seven cases of Ebola in Lagos. Ebola has reaped a high toll onhealthworkerswhohaveacted as first responders. Liberia alone has lost at least three doctors to the virus and 32 health workers. Sierra Leone’s Health Ministry said a senior physician had contracted the disease at the Connaught referral hospital in the capital, Freetown. Dr.ModupehColecontracted the disease “after treating a patient ... who was later proved to have the virus and died,” said ministry spokesman Sidi Yahya Tunis. Cole was taken to an Ebola treatment centre in eastern Kailahun district, run by medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, Tunis said. He is the latest Sierra Leonean medical practitioner to contract the virus. The country’s leading Ebola doctor, Shek Umar Khan, died of the disease last month and several nurses have died. Guinea said earlier on Saturdayatanewsconferenceattended by four government ministers that it had closed its borders with Sierra Leone and Liberia to halt the spread of Ebola.

SPORTS THE NATION ON SUNDAY

Surulere wins Sen. Adefuye Cup

EXTRA

AUGUST 17, 2014

Stoke City secure Moses’ services

By Taiwo Alimi

URULERE Local G o v e r n m e n t , emerged winners of the Senator Anthony Adefuye Gold Cup for Under-20 Football Tournament in Lagos on Friday. T h e t h r e e - d a y tournament, which, came to a climatic end at the Campos Mini Stadium, Lagos, was witnessed by Sen. Adefuye, other top politicians in Lagos, ex-internationals and a sizable capacity that watched the final game between Surulere and Bariga u-20 teams. The match ended in favour of Surulere in a lone goal margin. Put together by Chairman of Surulere LG, Hon. Tajudeen Ajide, who is also chairman, organizing committee, it is part of activities to celebrate the Senator representing S o m o l u - B a r i g a Constituency, as he turns 70 last week. To qualify for the final play, Surulere defeated Lagos Island East 2-0 and Kosofe LG 3-1 in the playoffs. Bariga LG also beat Shomolu team 1-0 and Lagos Island team 2-1 on the way to qualifying into the Friday's grand finale against eventual winners, Surulere. According to exinternational and special assistant on sports to Surulere LG Chairman, Taju Disu, the Surulere team, which paraded some new players from its arsenal of youth players gave spectators something to cheer in the thrilling finals.

Ramsey secures late winner for Arsenal

ARON Ramsey s c o r e d i n stoppage time to break the resolve of Crystal Palace and give title contenders Arsenal a winning start to their league campaign. Managerless Palace looked set for a point but had forward Jason Puncheon sent off for a second offence in the 89th minute before Ramsey pounced. The visitors took a shock first-half lead when Brede Hangeland headed in. T h e G u n n e r s equalised just before the break when Laurent Koscielny nodded home from Alexis Sanchez's free-kick.

Louis van Gaal loses first game in charge

OUIS van Gaal felt Manchester United did not play as a team in the 2-1 defeat by Swansea City as he continues to think about making new signings. United had enjoyed an unbeaten pre-season campaign, but came unstuck in Van Gaal's first competitive game as Gylfi Sigurdsson's 72nd minute goal earned Swansea a first league win at Old Trafford. Van Gaal pointed to nerves among his players for the below-par performance, which saw new captain Wayne Rooney score an acrobatic equaliser early in the second half after Ki SungYueng had put Swansea head

on 28 minutes. "When you have so much preparation time and work so hard, it can't get worse than this,” said Van Gaal. “We had great confidence and it got smashed down. But it's one game of many. You are not champions after one game. “The question is if we can play as a team, if we can reach the right level. We couldn't do that today. "We had great confidence and it got smashed down. But it's one game of many. You are not champions after one game. The question is if we can play as a team, of we can reach the right level. We couldn't do that today."

“Because of our wins in the US, expectation is so high. But I saw a lot of nervous players out there today, making wrong decisions. You have to cope with that pressure.” United have been the quietest Premier League club in the transfer market this summer and Van Gaal is aware of the areas he needs to strengthen before the window closes in just over two weeks' time. He added: “I have thought about new players, I have HE duo of Ebere done since the US tour. I Christian Osinachi and know the positions we need. Ernest Agenor were But you can only buy the players when you know what the heroes for Nigeria's U-17 team as they shared four they are expected to do.” goals equally in a 4-0 win against Ebi Global FC in a friendly match played on Saturday at UNICAL's Abraham Ordia Stadium. awaited a visa and work Despite the omission of permit in his homeland. key players, the Golden Irvine only met Ideye at E a g l e t s p r a c t i c a l l y the start of this week, but dominated the opposition the former Dynamo Kiev w h o s e s e c o n d t e a m man has made a good incidentally lost 2-1 to the impression on the Scotsman coach Emmanuel Amuneleand scored twice in a 3-1 tutoured side last weekend. victory for Albion UnderFleet-footed Osinachi 21s against Nottingham grabbed the first goal in the Forest last Tuesday. 6th minute when he sidestepped his marker after collecting a floater from Akpan Etiboy to slot the ball day. She won the net prize as beyond the reach of Global's well as Nearest to the Pin prize goalkeeper Ejukwa Bright. (Hole 12), netting 77. The goal indeed Strater Winston, who plays brightened up the Golden off nine handicaps, playing 81 gross, won the gross event. The Eaglets with spirited display prize for Nearest to Pin (Hole from the likes of Etiboy, 12) went to veteran amateur, Agenor, and Douglas Uzama Tijani Abdusalam while Ansay amongst others. Yet it was Osinachi who Okoebor took the Longest added the second goal in the Drive Hole 18 prize. President of Nigeria Heart 31st minute at the end of a Foundation (NHF), Dr Kinsley t r i a n g u l a r p a s s w i t h Akinroye said NHF was always Adewale Adeyinka and looking forward to coming to Sunday Alimi. Ikoyi Club to play a round of Agenor in the meantime, golf, keeping fit and talking c o n t i n u e d f r o m w h e r e about how to keep a healthy Osinachi- who was heart condition.

Ideye sits out West Brom draw with Sunderland

IGERIAN player Brown Ideye sat out 90 minutes for West Bromwich as Sebastian Larsson's late goal salvaged Sunderland a deserved point in an entertaining Premier League opening day draw at West Brom on Saturday. West Brom head coach Alan

Irvine had said Ideye could feature in yesterday's opener against Sunderland but ended up not fielding Ideye even after using his mandatory three substitutes. The Nigeria striker, West Brom's record signing, stated earlier this month that he did not expect to face Gus Poyet's side due to his preseason being limited as he

Martins nets 70 to win NHF Charity Golf Tournament

ITH a net score of 70, two better than closest rival, 24 handicapper; Bolaji Martins in the weekend emerged winner of the 2014 Nigeria Heart Foundation Charity Golf Tournament in Lagos. Played at the golf section of Ikoyi Club 1938 by about 100 EPL Results players, Martins finish the 18Man Utd 1-2 Swansea hole one-day tournament with 70 net ahead of Maurice Leicester 2-2 Everton Hobeiche and Boni Obieze who QPR 0-1 Hull City play off 20 and 13 handicap respectively. Stoke 0-1 A/ Villa Though Hobeiche and W/Brom 2-2 Sunderland Obieze net scores tally at 72, the West Ham 0-1 Tottenham former smiled home with the

runner-up prize on count back, while Obeize earned the third place net prize. An elated Martins said he held on nicely from the keen challenged posed by Hobeiche and Obieze by placing safe. “I had a great day but not without having to watch over my shoulders each time knowing that others are interested in this coveted trophy. I am happy I won,' said the winner while delivering his speech with a glistering trophy to show. In the women category, Busola Joseph, handicapper 24 was the biggest winner of the

TOKE City have completed their sixth signing of the transfer window, bringing winger Victor Moses in on a season-long loan deal from Chelsea. The 23-year-old joined the Blues back in 2012 from Wigan and made 23 appearances in his first season at Stamford Bridge. However, the Nigeria international has struggled to get into the Chelsea team since and spent last season on loan at Liverpool, but failed to break into the first-team reckoning at Anfield. He will now get another chance to revive his career at the Britannia stadium and Stoke chief executive Tony Scholes believes Moses will be a key player for the Potters this season. "We are delighted to have secured the services of such an exciting young talent in Victor. "He will certainly add to our attacking options and from talking to him it's obvious that he's really excited about the prospect of making an impact in the Premier League with Stoke City.”

Golden Eaglets shine in four-goal win

substituted for Kehinde Ayinde- stopped when he scored the third goal in the 60th minute against the run of play. Second half substitute, Suleiman Abdullahi nearly got another goal 15th minute later but his shot went slightly over the bar after a one-touch exchange with Samuel Chukwueze. But Abdullahi would later compensate for his earlier glaring miss by feeding off Agenor with the pass for the fourth and final goal of the match in the 83rd minute. "This is a mauling," confessed coach Baron." We actually came with the mindset to get at least a draw but you just set us up against your tigers. "It was a good match for us as we have learnt few more things today but frankly, I'm impressed with the technical and tactical display of the Golden Eaglets," he added. Overall, Cross River's home boy and former Nigeria's Under-15 attacking midfielder, Etiboy was adjudged the best player of the day for his Yeoman's job despite playing at an unfamiliar right-full back position

QUOTABLE “Towns and villages are being wiped out, innocent people including security personnel are being attacked and killed on daily basis in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states which have been under emergency rule in the last 14 months. The Federal and States governments’ combined efforts in tackling the security challenges are yet to achieve the desired results and some Nigerians are busy planning solidarity rallies.”

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL. 9, NO. 2943

- The Arewa Consultative Torum (ACF) faulting the proposed nationwide rally to galvanise support for President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the 2015 presidential election by the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) as untimely and in variance with the mood of the nation.

OR a politician whose credibility is in doubt, and whose principles and values are in contention, the performance of Iyiola Omisore, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the recent Osun governorship poll, must worry both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other political analysts. Though Senator Omisore got a huge part of that surprising vote from his Ile-Ife stronghold, thereby raising doubts about the fidelity of the balloting in those places, it is certainly not out of place to take cognisance of the electorate’s unpredictability and sometimes weirdness when they perform their civic responsibility. If in the 1993 presidential poll, Bashir Tofa lost his home state of Kano to M.K.O Abiola, it should not be regarded as normal that Southwest voters, who sometimes erroneously pride themselves as more sophisticated than any other electorate in Nigeria, should vote so bizarrely in favour of someone so controversial, so unqualified for high office, and so unprincipled. President Goodluck Jonathan defends his embarrassing militarisation of elections in the name of providing security, but he will be unable to do that in 2015, for the forces available to him are so limited that even if he wishes, there is no way he can pour troops into the states on the contemptuous scale witnessed in the Ekiti and Osun elections. The APC has promised to campaign against the militarisation of elections, it should go ahead, for there is hardly any Nigerian who is not embarrassed, even humiliated, by Dr Jonathan’s immature methods. However, while the APC must continue to doubt the president’s oath to conduct free and fair elections, seeing how boisterously he often fails to match words with actions, the party should not lose sleep over any attempt to militarise the polls. Dr Jonathan simply won’t be able to do it, not even if he succeeds in pacifying the restive Northeast. What should preoccupy the APC, and by extension right-thinking patriots, is how to respond to the increasing pedestrianism of Nigerian politics and elections. It is not only the Nigerian leadership that is incompetent and infantile, the voters themselves are probably far worse, with the Southwest electorate in greater ferment than any other geopolitical zone. For instance, consequent upon the loss of Ekiti, governors in the zone have started to roll back their principled and fairly well-considered stand on education, infrastructure and other policies. They have begun to enact mass surrender to the short-sighted and even whimsical needs of the electorate. Indeed, if they refuse to cut school fees, the truth is that the PDP opposition would simply promise to do it and sweep the polls. If they enforce their sensible stand on restricting the use of commercial motorcycles, the opposition would simply take advantage of what is now ludicrously described as a disconnect. Yet, the current, newly modified policy on education, particularly as it relates to cutting of school fees, is simply not tenable. The end is disaster, considering how the quality of education, like infrastructure, health and security, has been declining for decades. If things look dreary on the social and economic policy fronts for the APC, the party however remains unchallenged on one front: that of providing, in alliance with likeminded and principled politicians, ideological, visionary and sound leadership for the Southwest in particular, and the nation in general. It will be recalled that when Olusegun Mimiko won the Ondo governorship poll in 2012, there was a thunderous clamour by a faction of the Yoruba leadership – the same Afenifere faction that now unreflectively and selfishly allies with Dr Jonathan – for the projection of a new leadership for the Yoruba. They failed to understand that no one can give what he doesn’t have. Dr Mimiko has of course been unable to satisfy the longings of that faction. And when in spite of his mediocre talent and accomplishment, not to say temper and superficiality, Ayo Fayose won the Ekiti poll, the same faction began noisily to celebrate what they described as the impending change of leadership in the Southwest, a

Osun poll: What next for APC?

•Aregbesola

•Omisore

change they swore in June would sweep Osun into the PDP column and sound the death knell to the APC. Osun has been saved. But that is not to say that Ogun, Oyo and Lagos are safe. The APC must recognise that the pedestrianism undermining the polity in general is also wasting the Southwest even more. The electorate cannot be trusted to be sensible or futuristic, and in many ways their private envies, which, like the Afenifere faction’s, manifest in their hatred for APC leaders, will tempt them into the same fatalism and self-destruction that are convulsing the Middle East. Osun has been saved,

but Osun is also in many ways different. The state appears impervious to the private demons gnawing at the livers of the electorate, and immune to the hobgoblins erected as scarecrows by a faction of the Yoruba leadership who implausibly see the PDP as their salvation. The APC must find ways to counter the religious card foolishly played by the PDP in the region, and the campaign of calumny directed at one or two members of the party’s leadership in Lagos. If Southwest voters had recalled the stagnation they endured under the PDP after 2003, they would have spurned the PDP’s advances in Ekiti and elsewhere.

But memories are short, and the APC, in spite of its stellar performance in its Southwest states, is actually threatened by protest votes, with the non-performing PDP poised to benefit. Ogun and Oyo States must also find ways of uniting their party; and Osun, in spite of APC’s spectacular victory must recognise the need to find common ground with those who voted against the party. Indeed, given the needless controversies engendered by the APC government in Osun, one shudders to think what might have been had the PDP found someone less controversial and more brilliant and earthy than the obnoxious Senator Omisore. There is, however, no way the campaigns for the 2015 polls will not exert some influence on the voting pattern in the other APC states in the Southwest, for many issues will come up between now and the general elections. To that extent, the APC may not be in mortal danger. But following the Osun victory, the party must cleverly repackage itself, refine and make its message more succinct, rejigger its internal democratic processes and, knowing the limitations of the electorate, how they are often swayed by frivolities rather than substance, find a means of reaching out to them and meeting them on safe and common ground. The Osun victory is a relief to the APC. Now must begin the hard work of appealing to the sometimes superficial desires of an undiscriminating electorate without compromising the futuristic plans and noble principles of the progressive party. For, notwithstanding the propaganda of the PDP, and in spite of many conservatives and reactionaries joining their ranks, the APC remains Nigeria’s best chance at the moment to escape the chaos, madness and retrogression instituted and reinforced by the PDP in the last 16 years.

Jonathan, Osun and poll militarisation

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan last week spoke glibly and lyrically of the effectiveness of the massive security cordon he ordered for the recently concluded Osun State governorship election. But for that show of force, he argued tenuously, the election could have miscarried. One of the curious things about the president is his quaint logic, and even more, his often far-fetched conclusions. Probably the most reductionist president Nigeria has ever had, he commonly oversimplifies Nigeria’s complex problems and regards his dramatic interventions as the product of uncommon astuteness, unequalled by anything in recent memory. His views, published last week, were nothing but patent falsehoods capable of impressing only his fawning aides in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former militants led by both the obsessive and excitable Mujahid AsariDokubo and the phlegmatic Edwin Clark, a faction of Afenifere, the Yoruba socio-cultural and political organisation competing for dominance in the Southwest and in need of the external alliance that Dr Jonathan offers, and other fanatical groups inspired by ethnic and religious calculations. Right from his skewed premises to his outlandish conclusions, Dr Jonathan was either deliberately wrong or intentionally misleading. He used the political violence that accompanied electioneering and polling in some states such as Bauchi, Kano and Akwa Ibom a few years ago to justify his militarisation of Ekiti and Osun elections. He had promised to secure the polls, he boasted, and it was incomprehensible to him that anyone could question that noble goal. But he needed more than 30,000 security agents in Ekiti in June, and over 70, 000 in Osun this August to execute his concealed agenda. A day before both polls his security agents, some of them hooded, embarked on the arrest and

harassment of chieftains of the leading opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). How that amounted to safeguarding the polls defies common sense. In Osun, as in Ekiti, opposition party chieftains were arrested and deposited in the bush; some were assaulted or briefly locked up; and one or two had treason charges slammed on them. Candidates and chieftains of the PDP in the two states, including two thuggish ministers of the federal Republic, inspired and championed the arrests, gave orders to security forces, and superintended the physical harassment and restriction of the opposition chiefs. How Dr Jonathan could confidently sum up these methods as conducing to free and fair elections must reflect his poor perception of politics, if not his semantic challenge. In 2015, when he will not have the luxury of hundreds of thousands of security agents to lather the states, how would he ‘secure’ the ‘free and fair’ polls he promised? Dr Jonathan uses his party’s electoral losses in Edo, Ondo, Anambra and Osun as proof of his fair-mindedness and unwillingness to manipulate elections. Did he expect to win everywhere, when even in the Second Republic and under the abrasive former president Olusegun Obasanjo, the ruling parties did not win everywhere? The lost states do not prove his altruism or patriotism, as he thinks, for he is not capable of either. Instead, they testify to his limitations and fallibility, both of which have blighted his government and ridiculed him. More, it is evident that the president’s motive was not to secure the polls but to mould the polity, through tailored elections, to fit his discordant worldview. He has become so overtaken by the trappings of power that he simply can’t forbear in its reckless use. Dr Jonathan’s effusive but misleading remarks at the Interfaith Conference in Abuja last week should worry us. He has got to a point

where he can no longer fully understand the issues he is contending with as president. The issues are complex, and they have farreaching implications than he has appeared to appreciate. For example, even if the militarisation of polls in Osun and elsewhere appealed to him, he had the duty as president to recognise its dangers, its capacity for subverting the democratic process, its unintended and harmful consequences, and its potential for corrupting national and state institutions. Unfortunately, the president has shown no capacity to grapple with these highly nuanced issues, let alone graft a great vision into the country’s future. More concretely, the Osun and Ekiti polls show very clearly that Dr Jonathan is unable to forge the right national spirit upon which to build a great and united country. That greatness, it must be reiterated, will not come as a result of propaganda or reorientation campaigns. History shows how national spirits are forged, as exampled by Germany, Japan, United States, Britain and others. It starts with a leader who can crystallise the yearnings of the people far better than the people’s foggy thoughts are capable of. It begins with leaders who can, with iron discipline, totally subordinate their private ambitions and accomplishments to the national goal. But if because of ignorance and incompetence a leader cannot distil the people’s yearnings and amorphous desires, nor bury his own ambition beneath the people’s, then, as Dr Jonathan is showing distressingly, the country will harvest nothing but dire trouble. Contrary to what Dr Jonathan says, it really does not matter whether the opposition won in Ekiti and Osun or not; what matters is that by displaying such a poor grasp of what the national spirit should be, he is leading the country into a cul-de-sac: a place where terrible and corrosive rivalries await everyone, a place of intense denudation of the national ethos, a place of chaos, division, sectarian conflicts and bitter and meaningless struggle for power.

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