The Nation August 27, 2011

Nigeria’s truly national newspaper

VOL.05 N0. 1865

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

PA G E

-Mr. Andrew Philips, Assistant House Manager with the UN

l a s r G to l fir se

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As I approached the lobby, I heard the first explosion, a small oU’s explosion. Then, my mind told me that there must be a problem M ia n and I am supposed to be part of the emergency response team. So, sig ger y I decided to rush to the lobby and just as I was getting to the BA h Nione U nc t m ice lobby, then the main bomb exploded PAGE 6 , v o u

SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

N150.00

FACTS & FIGURES of 275 Number those affected (46 men 68 Injured and 22 women) of dead, 20 Number including 17 men

Bombkills 20 at Abuja UNHouse

and three women

of kids 20 Number at a creche whose fate was uncertain

death toll, 5 The according to NEMA

68 injured Fateof 20 kids unknown

MORE STORIES AND PICTURES ON PAGES 2,3,4,5&6

2 NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

ATTACK ON UN HOUSE

Bomb kills 20 •68 injured • Fate

•Victim being rescued

•Remnant of the vehicle used by the suicide bombers

•Victim being rescue •Number plate of the car used to carry out the attack

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HERE were strong indications that about 20 people were killed yesterday in a suicide bomb explosion at the UN Building in Abuja.

Also, as at press time, 68 others were injured, although the blast affected 275 people.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), however, officially confirmed five dead and 20 injured as at 4pm.

NEMA had not updated its figures as at press time.

But the UN SecretaryGeneral, Ban Ki-moon, who admitted that the casualty figures could be “considerable,” has sent the Deputy Secretary-General, Ms. Asha-Rose Migiro, to Nigeria.

Many staff of the UN were still trapped in the devastated building.

The fate of about 20 babies in a crèche inside the building was uncertain as at press time.

The UN Building in Abuja is one of the most secured public places in the country, fuelling anxiety

Yusuf ALLI and Bukola AMUSAN. that some terrorists might have been at work.

Investigation by The Nation showed that a suicide bomber had broken through the two electronically controlled gates leading to the UN Building at about 10.20am and crashed into the basement where the explosives were detonated.

While some staff claimed that the suicide bomber crashed into the UN office in an Honda Car, others said they suspected that he used a truck.

But the bomber, who evaded security, took advantage of the rains at the time to strike.

Apart from those killed at the ground floor and reception, the first floor of the building was the worst hit.

Some staff from different units were locked up in some meeting rooms on the first floor at the time of the blast.

A UN staff, who spoke with one of our correspondents, said: “I have a strong conviction that it was suicide bombing because a car broke the water tight security barriers when it was raining to hit at the ground floor of the building.

“If you look at the floor, you will see how the car was smothered into something like a box.

“Ordinarily, unless a vehicle is screened, you cannot pass through the security controlled gates.”

A staff with UNICEF, Dr. Taroo Sema, whose white overall was drenched with blood, said: “I managed to survive, look at the blood all over my body. It is sad.”

AUNFPA staff, Mrs. Kori Habeeb, who escaped by a whisker, said: “I really thank God for His mercy on us and other staff that survived. I had a close shave.

“I and my colleagues had a meeting on the First Floor. But when we got to the Meeting Room, we discovered that one of our staff was not around to be part of the session.

•Lifeless body of a victim being brought down

“We decided to return to our office on the Fourth Floor since the key staff was not around. Barely a minute into our office and as we were settling down, we heard a deafening explosion, and the roof of the building caved in on us.

“Some of us managed to

escape through the back of the building. Others were not too lucky.”

As at press time, mass screening of the UN Building by anti-bomb experts had started following indications that more than 100 staff were still trapped.

Also, it was unclear what has become of the fate of

some babies in the crèche inside the building.

A staff of UN Women added: “I know we have a crèche in the building but I cannot tell you the actual number of babies or children on the roll there.”

Findings by our correspondents showed that the casualty figures over-

o

NEWS 3

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

ATTACK ON UN HOUSE

ls 20 at Abuja UN House

e

of 20 kids unknown

UNICEF Country Representative, Dr. Suommi Sakai being hugged after surviving a blast at the UN House in Abuja .... yesterday

•People donating blood for victims of the UN bomb blast •FCT Police Commissioner Micheal Zuokumor

•The building after the blast

whelmed the rescue teams to the extent that referral private hospitals were engaged by the Federal Government.

A reliable security source, who spoke in confidence, gave the details of the records available to some government agen-

cies involved in the rescue operation.

The source said: “The blast occurred at about 1020 hours but rescued operation could not assume a full swing until about 10.29am.

“The number of vehicles involved has not been known, but the blast affected

275 people. Those injured were 68(46 males, 22 females) and they are receiving treatment in different hospitals.

“On the casualty rate, those killed by the blast were 20, including 17 males and three females.

“But no item has been

recovered which could provide clues. Security agencies are still screening the UN Building.”

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) yesterday confirmed that a suicide bomber was behind the blast which devastated the UN Building in Abuja .

The agency also said so far, five people had died in the incident and 20 injured.

It released the details of how the bomb was detonated by the suicide bomber.

NEMA gave the statistics in a situation report on the explosion which was signed by its Head of Public Relations Unit, Alhaji Yushau Shuaib.

The statement reads: “The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other response agencies this morning responded to a devastating explosion from a vehicle laden with explosive devises.

“So far, some of the casualties, including the dead bodies and seriously

injured victims, have been taken to hospitals.

“The full details and figures of the casualties from the incidence will be communicated as soon as relevant bodies confirm and authenticate same.

“NEMA officials at the site of the incident confirmed more than five deaths and over 20 seriously injured. It happened around 9am to 10am.

“A suicide bomber drove past the first gate and second gate right into the reception before detonating. On arrival, many injured victim were taken to various hospitals.

“Search for likely dead bodies and survivals is still going on now.”

On how the explosion started, NEMA gave graphic details.

It added: “The UN Building in Abuja came under attack at about 11am (local time) when a suspected suicide bomber rode in a Honda Car laden with explosive rammed into the building.

“All the four floors of the building were affected. The car, which

rammed into the lobby of the building, exploded immediately killing the suspected bomber instantly and almost everyone that was at the spot.

“The impact was hardly felt in the first, second and third floors of the building where some of the other persons were affected.

“NEMA’s rescue team immediately deployed to site and evacuated the victims using the ambulances to convey both the unconscious and deaths to the nearby National Hospital.

“Other rescue teams included the Red Cross, Civil Defence, Airforce, Police, Army and Navy, FCT Administrations, Federal Fire Services who all deployed their various ambulances.

“The Police Bomb Squad were deployed and they combed the area in case of any more explosives.

More than 20 ambulances were mobilised to the scene of the blast.

There was however official silence on the actual number of the dead, the injured and those rescued.

•Continued from Page 6

4 NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

ATTACK ON UN HOUSE

Attack is an assault on global peace, security __ Jonathan

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•Some of the survivors

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has de scribed the suicide bomb attack on the Abuja UN Building as nothing but barbaric and senseless.

He noted that the Federal Government utterly condemns the cowardly attack.

The President, according to a statement from his spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, “believes that the attack is a most despicable assault on the United Nations’ objectives of global peace and security, and the sanctity of human life to which Nigeria wholly subscribes”.

President Jonathan also reaffirms the Federal Government’s total commitment to vigorously combat the incursion of all forms of terrorism into Nigeria.

He also reassured all Ni-

Vincent IKUOMOLA, Abuja gerians and the international community that his administration will spare no effort to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The President has also directed all relevant government agencies to assist in the search and rescue effort at the UN Building, and ordered heightened security across the Federal Capital Territory.

He has also urged “Nigerians to cooperate fully with the government in its efforts to expose the desperate elements who promote violence, terrorism and division in the country.”

He also noted that yesterday’s attack was a reminder of the international character of terrorism and its

indiscriminate targeting of innocent civilians.

President Jonathan affirmed Nigeria’s determination to continue to play its part in the global effort to eradicate the scourge of terrorism in all its ramifications.

He also urged “Nigerians and foreigners resident in the country to go about their normal affairs with the full assurance that the Federal Government and its law enforcement agencies will continue working diligently to ensure the full protection of lives and property in the country.”

He also extended his sincere condolences to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, and all members of the United Nations’ families who have lost loved ones in the heinous attack.

Confusion about casualty figure

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•Minister of Internal Affairs, Abba Moro (left), with the Minister of State FCT, Jumoke Akinjide.

HERE was confusion yesterday over the actual number of casualties recorded from the bomb blast that rocked the United Nations House in Abuja.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mike Ozormokumo, earlier told newsmen that 18 people were confirmed dead and eight injured.

He said: "So far, we have 18 dead and eight injured. You know, this is the United Nations Building, a vehicle filled up with explosives and the point at which he entered was the exit gate, passed the first gate, passed the second gate, ran into the reception and the building was bombed."

But few minutes later, the Police boss recalled newsmen to announce that he was not certain about the casualty figure.

His words: "We want to be honest with everything and be open so that you too can also contribute. As for the causality figure, you know that different people were taken to different hospitals, so we are not sure of the causality figure, but the moment I get it, I will let you know.

"What of the one you gave us earlier? "he was asked. He responded: “That one is not correct because there are different hospitals, but we will compile everything and let you know. So, the causality is not quite known yet. It is likely to be lower or higher, but I can assure you that I am going to give you the actual figure."

Ozormokumo revealed that the car used for the suicide mission was a clean Honda Accord Car, assuring that with time, those involved in the bombing would be arrested.

He said he was not certain about the number

Tayo OWOLABI, Abuja of foreign nationals who were victims of the explosion, adding that there was no information or threat that heralded the attack.

"The car was a Honda accord and the driver (suicide bomber) died. In fact, the explosives cut him into three. For the number of foreign nationals now, we cannot say but we are still on it. At the end of the day, we are still going to call you and address you formally, but I want to assure you that this is an embodiment of evil. Those people who can plan something like this are evil and they are compelled by the forces of darkness. But light will always triumph over darkness and I know that with time, we are going to bring out people who are conjuring things like this to kill innocent people for nothing. With time, we are going to get everyone of them arrested.

"Was there any sensitive information or ant threat? "There was no sensitive information but then, we have this bomb blast in the country and we have been at full alert; even yesterday when we heard about things happening from other places, we decided to strengthen exit points.

“Look at the car, Honda Accord, a clean car driven by a Nigerian and because we have fundamental human rights, there is an extent to which the police can question him and if they question him and see that there is nothing suspicious about him, they will allow him to go.

But yesterday for some reasons, we just felt that we should strengthen security, and we really strengthened security, particularly the exit and entry points of the FCT," Ozormokumo said.

Boko Haram claims responsibility, as Obama deplores blast • Sympathisers at the scene

•Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ify Okoronkwo (3rd left),leading others officers to the scene of the blast

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IGERIA’S radical Islamic sect, the Boko Haram, yesterday claimed responsibility for the bomb blast at the UN House in Abuja. The Broadcasting Corporation [BBC] claimed on its website that the sect leader in a telephone call claimed that it carried out the attack.

The bombing is coming barely two months after a similar suicide attack at the police headquarters in the nation’s capital claimed several other people.

Boko Haram whose name translates from the northern Hausa language as “Western education is sinful”, has been behind almost daily bombings and shootings, mostly targeting police in the northeastern region of Nigeria.

The group claimed responsibility for the June bomb attack on the car park of the Abuja police headquarters which bore similarities to Friday’s blast at the U.N. building.

The bomb blast which rocked the UN mission building in Nigeria’s capital city on Friday is still eliciting reactions from different groups and individuals as they have condemned the attack and raised questions about Nigeria’s security situation which has been a fierce battle in recent times.

US President Barack Obama condemned Friday the “horrific and cowardly” attack on the UN headquarters in Nigeria and offered America’s condolences to the victims and their families.

“The UN has been working in partnership with the people of Nigeria for more than five decades,” Obama said.

“An attack on Nigerian and international public servants demonstrates the bankruptcy of the ideology that led to this heinous action.”

“I strongly condemn today’s horrific and cowardly attack on the United Nations headquarters building in Abuja, Nigeria, which killed and wounded many innocent civilians from Nigeria and around the world,” Obama said.

“The people who serve the United Nations do so with a simple purpose: to try to improve the lives of their neighbors and promote the values on which the UN was founded — dignity, freedom, security, and peace.

“The United States strongly supports the work of the United Nations and its lasting bond with the people of Nigeria, a bond that will only emerge stronger in the wake of this murderous act,” he said.

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ATTACK ON UN HOUSE

It’s a senseless attack, says Obasanjo F ORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday in far away Sierra - Leone, condemned in strong terms, the bombing of the United Nations Building in Abuja, Nigeria, and the attendant loss of lives, describing it as " senseless and unfair attack."

Obasanjo also urged the people and government of Nigeria to condemn the attack and the yet - to - be identified persons behind the unprovoked bombing that equally left scores of innocent others gravely injured and properties in millions of naira destroyed.

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] spoke with journalists in a telephone interview from Sierra Leone, a West African country.

Describing victims of the

Ernest NWOKOLO, Abeokuta savage attack as "workers of World peace and unity," Obasanjo rued that the "senseless and unfair attack" was neither in the best interest of the country nor that of the attackers.

"It is condemnable. This is unfair. It is unfair to do that at a place where we have both our people and foreigners working for the peace and unity of the world. I do not want to know where it is coming from or those it meant to target, it is not in the best interest of those who do it or Nigeria as a country.

"The country called Nigeria at this time must unite and stand together to condemn

this senseless attack (long pause). We cannot just take it. We have to reject it in its entirety for whatever reason or purpose," Obasanjo said.

He urged the international community to "stand solidly with Nigeria in ensuring that that the perpetrators are fished out and brought to book so that this type of senseless attack is not repeated," he said.

He equally sympathised with victims and families that lost loved ones to the explosion, saying: "My sympathy goes to the families of those who lost their lives and for those who are wounded. It is saddening to hear this again. It is saddening, and we must condemn it in all ramifications."

•Rescue workers

PDP, NLC condemn bombing

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HE Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Abubakar Baraje, yesterday condemned the suicide bomb attack at the United Nations (UN) House in Abuja.

Baraje in a personal statement also called on all Nigerians to support the President and government of Nigeria in “defending our democracy and freedom.”

The statement reads in part: “Alhaji Baraje commends the swift response of rescue agencies and called on all Nigerians to be more

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John OFIKHENUA, Abuja and Sanni ONOGU, Abuja vigilant and pray for our dear country.”

Also condemning the attack, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in a statement, which the Acting Secretary General, Comrade Owei Lakemfa made available to our correspondent yesterday, urged the Federal Government to take security issues in the country seriously.

He noted that the attack was a wake- up call on the Nigerian government to take security matters seriously.

Owei, who said the Nigerian workers mourned with the families of the victims of the bomb blast.

While condemning the bestial action, NLC said it takes the loss of mind to commit such act of terrorism.

“The NLC is shocked beyond words by the bombing of the UN Building in Abuja, which houses 26 UN organisations in Nigeria. This incomprehensive act of bestial terrorism against humanity could only have been carried out by people who have lost their minds,” said Owei.

•Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen Azubuike Ihejirika, being received by the FCT Police Commissioner, Mr Michael Zoukumor.

Ajimobi, Jang decry blast

OVERNORS Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and David Jang of Plateau States have condemned in strong terms the bombing of the United Nations office in Abuja, describing the perpetrators of the heinous crime as enemies of Nigeria.

Ajimobi in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Dr. Festus Adedayo, wondered what could have been the motive of those behind the bombing.

“This act of heightening tension and creating unnecessary fear of insecurity in the country by the masterminds of the bombing is condemnable in all its ramifications.

“There is really nothing wrong in citizens or group of citizens having an axe to grind with the country. But taking up arms against such a country is certainly not the best way to settle the score.

“Whatever their grouse is, they should let the government know so that prompt moves can be made to address them. They should desist from turning Nigeria into a terrorist nation, which will eventually rub-off on our collective image as Nigerians,’’ Senator Ajimobi said.

He recalled the strenuous efforts made in the past to get the name of Nigeria off the list of terrorists nations as drawn by the United States of America, warning that the country should not be returned to the inglorious past in whatever form.

The governor particularly

Yusufu Aminu IDEGU, Jos expressed regrets that now that all hands should be on deck to positively project Nigeria’s image within the comity of nations and make it one of the 20 best economies in the world within the shortest possible time, enemies of progress are constituting a clog in the country’s wheel of progress through crime and criminal activities.

According to him, such dastardly act will also not help Nigeria in its quest to attain a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council.

Sen. Ajimobi appealed to the perpetrators to let reason prevail and sheathe their swords in the collective interest of the country.

The Plateau State Governor, Jonah David Jang, has received with shock and

disbelief the attack on the United Nations Building in Abuja, which is the symbol of international collaboration and brotherliness for global peace and security.

In a statement issued by Jang's Director of Press and Publicity, James Mannok, Gov. Jang said: "This is no doubt a challenge on the collective will and efforts of all leaders and people of goodwill to step up on the fight against acts of terrorism wherever they occur.

"The governor sympathises with families of victims and expressed condolences and solidarity to the United Nation's Secretary General Ban ki Mon. Jang stated that he stood with President Jonathan at this moment of national grieve and urged him not to lose courage but intensify his fight against every form of terrorism in the country.

•The UN Building after the explosion

TUC expresses worry over helplessness of security agencies Bisi OLANIYI, Port Harcourt

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HE Trade Union Congress (TUC), Rivers State chapter, yesterday expressed worry over the bomb blast at the Abuja Office of the United Nations (UN).

It condemned in its entirety, the unwarranted bombing and the death and maiming of innocent persons.

Rivers Chairman of the TUC, Mr. Chika Onuegbu, in Port Harcourt, the state capital, noted that bomb blasts all over Nigeria were becoming worrisome.

TUC said: "We extend our heartfelt condolence to the families of those killed and pray for the quick recovery of the injured.

"We are, however, deeply worried at the growing spate of bombings in Nigeria and the apparent inability of the Nigerian security agencies to effectively handle the situation”.

•Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Martin Uhomoibhi (left), and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs 1, Prof. Viola Onwuliri.

Photos: Yusuf ALLI, Yomi ODUNUGA, Abayomi FAYESE and NAN

6 NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

•One of the survivors.

•Rescue team.

Casualties overwhelm National Hospital

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HERE was confusion at the National Hospital, Abuja when the casualties started coming in, even though the staff displayed readiness for emergency situation as all the manpower available was deployed to receive and attend to the injured.

As at 2.30 pm, eight people made up of five males and three females had been confirmed dead by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the National Hospital, Dr. Tayo Hastrup.

He could not however confirmed the number of casualties brought to the hospital. Neither could he confirm the number of those that would be admitted or discharged.

Dele ANOFI, Abuja The Emergency Unit of the hospital could not cope with the number of victims as many of them were laid on the floor and on the ground in the quadrangle where they were being attended to. After receiving the first aid treatment, they were transferred to the Orthopaedic Ward where all the available bed spaces were taken up. the new arrivals had to make do with foams on the floor.

As at 12. 28 pm, victims were still being brought into the hospital while the first set of victims were evacuated to other hospitals like the Garki Hospital, Abuja Clinic and Julius Berger Clinic.

Ambulances from the three hospitals and one belonging

to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) were on ground to ferry the victims.

The number of victims taken to the National Hospital was so high that some of them were left on their own after the initial attention. Others whose injuries were not too serious had to discharge themselves.

Inadequate bed space was also accompanied by need for blood. Public address system was deployed by hospital officials to appeal for blood donation by well-meaning individuals.

Several sympathisers were seen trooping to the blood unit to save lives.

At about 1 pm, the Minister of State for Health, Dr Mohammed Pate and his FCT counterpart, Ms Judoka Akinjide, arrived the hospital

to sympathise with victims.

Pate addressed journalists after they had gone round the hospital saying the focus was to save as many lives as possible. He could not volunteer the exact number of causalties brought to the hospital.

He said: “We have directed the National Hospital and other hospitals to treat those that were wounded to ensure that as many lives as possible are saved. ‘’That is our focus. And I believe that my FCT colleague and other Federal Government agencies are working hard to ensure that they save as many lives as possible.

“This has just happened. So, investigations are ongoing and I believe the full details

Survivor relives experience

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R. Andrew Philips, Assistant House Manager with the UN, recounted his experience even though he had injuries on his left leg and part of his face.

While he was being attended to by a doctor on a makeshift chair, he said everybody should thank God for him.

He said: "I was on the ground floor just heading towards the main lobby of the reception.

My office is on the 4th floor. ‘’As I approached the lobby, I heard the first explosion; a small explosion. Then my mind told me that there must be a problem. And I am supposed to be part of the emergency response team. So, I de-

Dele ANOFI, Abuja cided to rush to the lobby. Just as I was getting to the lobby, the main bomb exploded. ‘’Then it was all rubble. I only had thoughts of a car drove into the building from outside, because I didn't see it.

I really did not see the car. But immediately the explosion occurred, everything around came down and I was under the rubble. Not only me, many of us. ‘’As a mater of fact, a lady was beside me in the rubble and I tried to help her to get up. It was traumatic because everything was happening in

seconds–rubbles, fire , debris, water, screams of pains. ‘’My concern at that point was to remove the debris around me and help the other lady too. I was just shouting Jesus, Jesus. Immediately I was a able to emerge from the rubble, I saw a ray of light from one direction and I headed there. ‘’There was no way I could see the number of people on the ground or around me, because the smoke was too much. There was no way one could know the direction to follow because of the thickness of the smoke and the ensuing confusion.

It’s wrong signal to the world, says ACF

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HE northern socio-political organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) yesterday said that the bombing of the United Nations office in Abuja would send a wrong signal to the world that Nigeria is not safe.

The ACF said in a statement through an SMS by its National Publicity Secretary, Anthony Sani, that apart from the lives and property lost in the unfortunate blast, the incident was sending what it termed "unsavoury signal" across the globe that Nigeria is not safe, even for foreigners to do business.

The forum said that the consequences of such action was dire for the nation and called on the government and the security agencies to immediately step up the efforts of intelligence community and the activities of security agencies, with a view to nibbing such occurences in the bud in future.

The statement reads: "Arewa Consultative Forum has received the news of a car bomb in UN office, Abuja Nigeria, with great shock. Shock

Tony AKOWE, Kadua in the sense that apart from the lives and property destroyed or lost, the incident sends unsavoury signal across the globe that Nigeria is not safe, even for foreigners to do business. The consequences are, therefore, dire for our dear country.

"It is against this backdrop that ACF calls on the governments and the intelligence agencies, as well as the security elements, to step up the efforts of intelligence community and the activities of security agencies, with a view to nibbing such occurences in the bud in future " This kind of incident also demands thorough investigation with a view to bringing perpetrators to justice as a deterrence to future ocurrences. Such approaches would help improve the security situation of the country and inspire confidence of Nigerians and the international community that the country is safe for business. Failure to do so is capable of putting the nation on the harm's way.’’

‘’It was when I got outside the gate that one of our security officers told me that a car drove into the building from the exit gate. Because of the situation of things, no one was ready to give or listen to detail. So, I continued to limp off before one of my senior colleagues, who was at the car park, ready to go out, saw me.

He was the one that took me to the National Hospital. ‘’Outside, I could see many people running for dear lives; many with various degrees of injury. ‘’One could say that this was predetermined because I heard someone say that an alert was raised about three weeks ago that something might happen. To me, this is just to show that the global trend is catching up with us.

This is not unexpected, only that we don't know why they would single out the UN building. ‘’It is not logical because the UN is a purely humanitarian organisation. I think the reason for whoever is behind it was to gain international attention. So, if anybody is attacking the UN, I think it is just to gain recognition and tell the whole world that he is around. ‘’My heart only goes out to those who were at the reception at that time. Let me thank God for this wonderful privilege of surviving this explosion. I know I serve a living God and I know I will be okay and I know the perpetrators will always fail.

will be known later. ‘’Our focus for now is to save the lives of those that were affected and ensure that everyone is accounted for. We are getting all the cooperation that we need and the staff of the National Hospital is doing

a great job in terms of getting ready and responding to this emergency situation.

“This is a tragic situation and we are joining our hands together to ensure that we save many lives.”

Bomb kills 20 at Abuja UN House Continued from Page 3 The UNFPA Representative in in Nigeria, Dr. Agathe Lawson, who said it was difficult to ascertain the number of casualties, claimed that the strike was a “painful and difficult experience.”

Top officials who visited the scene could not be of help. They included the Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade (rtd); the representative of the IGP, DIG Ivy Okoronkwo; the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Ali Pate; the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri; and the Minister of State for the FCT, and Oloye Jumoke Akinjide.

Briefing the Minister of State for Health, the UNFPA Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Agathe Lawson, said: “We cannot say the actual number of the dead or those injured. But I will get in touch with you later.”

Some of the hospitals where the victims were taken to include the National Hospital, Wuse General Hospital, Federal Staff Hospital, Abuja Clinics and Kelina Clinic.

While addressing the UN staff, the UNFPA Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Agathe Lawson, said: “This is a painful and difficult situation for us. We have definitely lost some security officials, some staff but I plead with all of you to be united and strong at this critical period. We will communicate with you on every step being taken.”

There was tension however over the alleged recovery of the number plate of the car of the suicide bomber by the FRSC. The said number is tagged Kano AV 38 NSR. Another source added: “Security agencies are already looking into the number plate found at the scene of the blast. It is too early to comment.”

As at the time of filing this report, the census of UN Staff was still in progress.

A staff of the UN Systems in Nigeria , Mr. Bello Ademola was sighted taking a roll call of staff.

In a statement on the blast, the UN Secretary-General, Ban KiMoon said although the casualty figures might be considerable, none of the victims will be abandoned.

The statement said: “Around 11 o’clock this morning, local time, the United Nations House in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, was struck by a car bomb. ”These buildings house 26 humanitarian and development agencies of the United Nations family. This was an assault on those who devote their lives to helping others.

“We condemn this terrible act, utterly. We do not yet have precise casualty figures but they are likely to be considerable. A number of people are dead; many more are wounded.

“Nigerian and international search and rescue teams have mobilised and are moving the wounded to hospitals and providing emergency aid. ”I am asking the Deputy UN Secretary-General, Ms. AshaRose Migiro, (to go) to Nigeria immediately and I am mobilising the UN system to respond to this emergency. She will be accompanied by the UN security chief, Under-Secretary-General Gregory Starr, and meet with Nigerian authorities upon arrival in Abuja . ”I am going to call President (Goodluck) Jonathan of Nigeria soon. ”On this very sad occasion, I extend my deepest sympathies to the victims and their families. The United Nations will undertake every possible effort to assist them during this difficult time.”

•Rebels surround Gaddafi’s hideout page 59

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

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8 COMMENTARY

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27 2011

As Jonathan pushes good luck beyond good reason

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan may have done enough to leave many with the im pression that his thoughts are guided by the hawks in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). But not many would dispute the fact that he has lived up to his name in terms of luck. His effortless rise from relative obscurity as a preventive officer with the Nigerian Customs Service to global prominence as the president of the most populous black nation in the world is a phenomenon that has shaken the belief of many who think there is nothing more to a name than mere label.

After his stints as an inspector of education, a lecturer at the Rivers State College of Education and an Assistant Director (Ecology) in the defunct Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), he ventured into politics when the nation returned to democratic governance in 1999 and became the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State. He was quietly minding his business as Diepriye Alamieyeseigha’s deputy when the former was removed from office after he subjected the nation to international embarrassment by jumping bail in the UK where he had been arrested for money laundering, nocturnally returning to the country. With the removal of his boss, Jonathan became the governor of Bayelsa State on a platter.

He was still trying to savour the massive stroke of good luck when the then outgoing President, Olusegun Obasanjo facilitated his emergence as the running mate to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, who was then the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2007 election.

With Yar’Adua declared the winner of the election, Jonathan became the nation’s Vice President. Midway into his tenure, however, Yar’Adua died, paving the way for Jonathan to

become the nation’s President.

But it would seem that the excitement of good luck is taking a toll on the President’s sense of discretion. Since his presidential rally in Ibadan in February, where he desribed South West leaders as rascals, President Jonathan has embraced blunder like a child would a piece of cake. He had barely settled down in office after his inauguration for a fresh four-year tenure when he muted the idea of six-year single tenure for the nation’s president and governors.

Well-meaning Nigerians, who had watched his penchant for doing the bidding of rapacious power mongers in the leadership of the PDP were quick to read between the lines and concluded that Jonathan was pursuing an agenda for tenure elongation. The opposition was widespread and intense, particularly because it was believed a bill for tenure elongation was the least expected from the President in the face of the nation’s electricity crisis and the deplorable state of its roads.

But the dust generated by the unpopular tenure elongation bill had not settled when the President dabbled into a dispute between the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloysius KatsinaAlu and the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami. As concerned Nigerians now have reasons to suspect, at the base of the face-off is a desperate effort by the powers that be in the PDP to halt continued reversal by the courts of the party’s ill-secured victories at

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The most circumspect thing to do in the circumstance would be for the President to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the matter. Unfortunately, he fell into the trap of PDP hawks by plunging himself into a matter he would have best dealt with by not dealing with it

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the polls. With the party’s occupation of the governorship seats Ekiti, Edo and Osun states reversed in favour of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the ruling party felt it could lose its hold on the nation in no time if the trend continued. Naturally, therefore, the leadership of the Appeal Court, which was the final arbiter on governorship election petition became the target. Salami, a man reputed to proceed strictly upon the principle that two plus two is four, must be removed and replaced with a more malleable character if the ruling party, which had threatened to rule for 60 years must maintain its grip on the nation’s jugular.

Then came the election petition filed by the governorship candidate for the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), Alhaji Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi against the governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko in the 2007 general election. As the story goes, at the time Wamakko was standing for election on the platform of the PDP, he had secured the nomination of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), with Senator Bello Gada as his running mate. Without relinquishing his candidacy of the ANPP, he also adopted the flag of the PDP a few days to the election, thus becoming the governorship candidate of two parties. The election held and Professor Maurice Iwu-led Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Wamakko the winner of the election even without a running mate! Alhaji Mukhtar Shagari, the present Deputy Governor of Sokoto State only became the running mate to Wamakko 13 days after the election had been held.

As would be expected, the DPP and Dingyadi cried blue murder and challenged Wamakko’s victory before the state’s electoral tribunal which still returned Wamakko as the duly elected governor. The legal battle proceeded to the Court of Appeal in Kaduna, but it ended in an anti-climax. Observers were left to wonder what was going on until Justice Salami alleged that the judgement that would have emerged from the proceedings was arrested by Justice Katsina-Alu. This was the genesis of the war between the two justices, which has now polarised the na-

tion into two camps of progressive elements represented by Salami and the reactionary forces represented Katsina-Alu. A panel constituted by the National Judicial Council (NJC) to look into the dispute, headed by Justice Umaru Abdullahi, the immediate past president of the Court of Appeal noted that Katsina-Alu acted outside his powers in stopping a judgement that was not before his court.

Apparently determined that Salami must be indicted, the council constituted another threeman panel headed by Justice Ibrahim Auta who chaired the tribunal that sentenced Ogoni playwright and environmental activist, Ken SaroWiwa to death, to review Justice Umaru Abdullahi’s report. The new panel did not only clear Katsina-Alu of any form of wrong doing, it also recommended that Salami should tender an apology to Katsina-Alu and the NJC within seven days.

While it would have been pretty easy for Salami to tender an apology if that would rest the matter, he had more than enough experience as a judge to see through the desperation of his traducers. He probably feared that tendering an apology at that point could be translated as an admission of guilt, in which case he will be equipping them with the rope they needed to hang him. He decided to go to court to challenge the allegation of impudence the panel had leveled against him. But while the matter remained in court, the NJC recommended Salami’s retirement to Jonathan.

The most circumspect thing to do in the circumstance would be for the President to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the matter. Unfortunately, he fell into the trap of PDP hawks by plunging himself into a matter he would have best dealt with by not dealing with it. In the process, he drew against himself the ire of progressive minds across the country.

If the men and women we have saddled with the responsibility of administering justice have chosen the path of ignorance in a matter they are regarded as authorities, it is not in the interest of the good name of Jonathan to dance to their beats of treachery.

Paradox of the educated illiterate Knucklehead

G

ROWING up in the backwaters of Itire, a suburb in Surelere, Lagos, in the 70s through the 80s and down to the 90s; many of us dreaded and did everything humanly possible to avoid a scenario where other children would be invited to chant a particularly repulsive song; ‘Olodo rabata, oju eja lo mo je’ (the pitiable dullard who only knows how to eat the eye of the fish) on our heads.. The song was meant to serve as an effective deterrent against future failure. Even when such ugly experiences happened, it was perceived as a challenge to ‘revenge’ by doing better in subsequent examinations. At an early age, it had become clear to us that education was an important passport to better living in the nearest future.

As far as I can remember, life in my neighborhood was rather rough, tough and brutish. However, it also provided those that managed to earn one form of academic certificate or the other to understand that the path towards success is filled with thorns.

Learning on the streets and the daily battle for survival might not be the best way for any child to grow but it does have its own advantages, especially in later stages of life. Amidst the suffering and smiling, the intermittent successes recorded by a few were enough to, as they put it in the local parlance, ginger the swagger of many others to take the bold step in encouraging their children to shake off the suffocating penury. And it was not uncommon seeing many parents publicly chastising their children for performing woefully in their schoolwork.

Then, it was not an excuse if the child had spent the better part of the day hawking wares to ‘help’ the family.

With the introduction of free education by the government, it was not surprising that many grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Today, many of these persons are occupying key positions in the society. Most of them have become active stakeholders in the polity. They are in every strata of the economy, living large. Nevertheless, there is a sickening paradox to all this. Those who studied under the scotching heat in uncompleted buildings; those who truly burnt the midnight oil; those who struggled to ‘earn’ certificates and degrees are the same persons who, by their action and inaction, appear to have dealt a fatal blow to the education sector. Because we have adopted a quick fix approach to doing things, we are silently breeding a community of educated illiterates. Here I am not talking about the millions of children that have dropped out of school due to no fault of theirs. I speak of the gang of privileged students who are being assisted to cheat their way through formal education by those who should have insisted on strict compliance with the rules. Has anybody wondered why the West African Examinations Council results that were released in the last four years had been on a gradual slope? The answers are not that difficult to fathom.

It is sheer escapism to put the blame squarely on the shoul-

ders of the school authorities or on the government. Aside the fact that most parents over-protect their wards, they have also abdicated their responsibility in mentoring and closely monitoring their performance as they progress in school. For some parents, it is enough that their children communicate fluently in English Language. Ask these same children to put their thoughts down on paper and that becomes a herculean task. Yet, instead of seeing this as a setback most parents would rather employ the services of mercenaries to either procure examination papers for their wards or write the exams for them! That is how far some have gone to pamper their wards. It is one hidden truth that many would rather not talk about in public.

Of course, some of those who constitute school authorities, especially the ones running private concerns, would rather gratify the pupils than risk losing the huge sums they collect from parents as fees. They would rather ‘help’ a pupil to the next class than risk the anger of a doting parent who would not understand why he had to pay so much to produce an intellectually lazy child.

Some even go as far as helping the child to obtain favourable results in the final exams. Yet, at the end of the sham, only few come out in flying colours in spite of the scant attention given to public schools.

The proliferation of private tertiary institutions, though a welcome development, has not helped matters. No doubt, quality is being sacrificed on the altar of quantity. Before, Nigerians speak of half-baked graduates. Today, we have added a new lexicon to the list— unemployable graduates. How did we end up with this category of ‘intellectuals’ that are worse than the half-baked types?

University graduates who cannot manage to write an error-free, single page formal letter. Well, it all started when emphasis was placed on the acquisition of certificates at the expense of expertise and quality.

Just the other day, the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Austen Oniwon, joined in lamenting the dwindling standard of education in the country.

He wondered why only 20 per cent of job seekers passed the corporation’s recruitment examination which was conducted recently for graduates who passed out with high grades.

“The recent mass failure of candidates in WAEC and NECO exams nationwide makes the call for an urgent surgical review of our schools system more urgent than envisaged. Also our current experience in the ongoing recruitment exercise where candidates with the so-called 2:1 certificates post less than 20 percent score line in some cases has heightened our apprehension about the lack of functionality in our education format. Over dependent on certificates is not the best. Over 80% of the candidates that wrote the NNPC recruitment exams failed”, Oniwon said.

Surely, the NNPC chief was not saying anything new. Oniwon’s condemnation came barely a week after the release of the this

With

Yomi Odunuga E-mail:yomi.odunuga @thenationonlineng.net SMS only: 07028006913

year’s WAEC results where only 30 per cent of students who sat for the examinations scored the minimum five credits while less than that got credits in crucial subjects like English and Mathematics.

That was not in any way better than the June-July, 2009 National Examinations Council (NECO) results where less than 11 per cent of the 1.2 million candidates passed English and Mathematics while 89.32 per cent failed these two important subjects. In this particular year, it was discovered that majority of the students that failed English Language were found to be fluent in speaking it. The tragedy lay in their inability to put it in black and white!

The grim statistics was to continue in 2010 where only 33,071 out of the 1,351,557 candidates that sat for the May-June Senior Secondary School Examinations (SSCE) passed in at least five subjects, including Mathematics and English Language. More than 75 per cent failed to obtain the minimum entry requirement for university admission. And so, the 2011 figures can only attest to the rot.

Therefore, Oniwon’s lamentation couldn’t have come at a better time. Why should the best brains produced from our tertiary institutions record such a woeful performance?

It is true that Nigeria is buffeted with a plethora of problems each of which demands urgent attention. However, like I once wrote on this page, the greatest danger lies in the way we handle the crisis in the education sector. At a time when the three vital arms of government are soaked in deep crisis with the last hope of the masses—the judiciary—firmly tucked in the pockets of politicians, it would amount to a monumental national tragedy if nothing is done to halt the official culture of being besotted with the production of educated illiterates. Unfortunately for the nation, many of such persons may end up holding positions that may be too crucial to be left in the hands of dim-witted fellows. That, I believe, should be our greatest fear as we abandon our education sector to the vagaries of the times while the authorities continue to experiment with their plethora of compromised values, ill-conceived programmes and our collective future prospects! Question is: will that urgent surgical review badly needed in our education sector ever take off?

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

T

HE political concept or philosophy of separation of powers was formulated as an antidote to the creation of dictatorships in democracies.

Globally its practice revolves around the presidential system of government as practiced in the US and as smuggled into Nigeria under military rule by the now 70- year-old former military president of Nigeria, retired General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. Before this, Nigeria’s politics at independence was weaned in the political art and practice of parliamentary democracy.

This was based on the present British political system in which government is led by a cabinet of ministers with collective responsibility and a Prime Minister who is just a primus inter pares facing a recognized opposition led by an opposition leader who leads an alternative government in waiting.

Babangida’s coup and cunning to have absolute power put paid to the practice of parliamentary democracy in Nigeria. This has led to the present presidential system whose maintenance cost in terms of money , leadership, responsiveness and dividends of democracy for the masses of this nation, has become quite prohibitive and debilitating to the political system it is expected to sustain through the application of the principle of separation of powers.

Power is separated in the presidential system in a check and balance process that makes each arm of government - namely the executive, the legislative and judiciary - equal and independent of each other in such a way that none predominates or influences the other unfairly in the governance of the state. In reality, however, this system of checks and balances is not sacrosanct and political actors in various offices or arms can by the force of personality and circumstances make the required checks and balances wobbly, ineffectual and self serving.

When that happens, a mockery of separation of powers ensues in apparent breach of the values of transparency and constitutionalism, and the course of justice and the rule of law - the sine qua non for a democracy - becomes perverted and turned upside down. This in itself and in pragmatic political terms is the highway to a breakdown of political stability through the generation of avoidable systemic political tension and pressure in a democratic state.

I will take a look today at events in Libya, in the aftermath of the eclipse of the Muammar Gaddafi regime; the crisis enveloping the inner chambers of the temple of justice in Nigeria at the National Judicial Council NJC; and the dismissal in New York of the attempted rape charge against the former Managing Director of the IMF Dominique Strauss Kahn (DSK). I discuss Libya in the context of the US led and NATO executed intervention in that nation and its import for international law and justice.

I raise issues on the

Justice and separation of powers

present imbroglio rocking the Nigeria judiciary in the dashed hope that Nigerians expect their judges, like Caesar’s wife, to be above reproach and to be able to remove the speck in their eyes before attempting to remove that in their neighbour’s. I also will use the DSK matter to illustrate comparative cultural influence on justice and global politics.

Starting with Libya, let me state clearly that I believe that but for the US and NATO bombing of Tripoli Muammar Gaddafi would still be the defacto ruler of Libya today rather than the rebels that have put a price of one million pounds on his head–dead or alive. Let me add that I find the action of the US especially, commendable not only on the Libyan case, but in earlier ones in Tunisia and Egypt . I doff my hat for the nations of the world that have made it possible for dictators like Gaddafi and Mubarak to either be on the run or in hiding or ready to face the law and justice as Mubarak and his sons are ready to do in Cairo in their cages in an open court.

Mubarak’s arraignment shows the world that nobody is above the law and Gaddafi’s disappearing act shows that dictators are cowards when it comes to accepting responsibility for their

actions. For some analysts, the interventionists breached international law by interfering in the internal affairs of Libya. But after the UN and France, by proxy, intervened on behalf of democracy in Ivory Coast, the non interference principle looked somewhat obsolete enough to be deleted from the lexicon of modern diplomacy.

Also with an International Criminal Court Justice in place to bring lawless dictators to book in or out of office, there is little space to hide or go to exile , as Gaddafi is about to find out. I therefore join those who are congratulating the US President Barak Obama for the success of his ‘Engagement diplomacy’ which has created rapport for the US in its background in Latin America and has sent Arab dictators

packing in the Middle East.

For this US ‘Engagement diplomacy’ success, the policy backbone have been traced to three Obama Administration functionaries.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , UN ambassador Susan Rice and Presidential Aide Samantha Powers, all women, must take a bow for excelling where powerful men and diplomatic advisers have failed woefully in the past. Unarguably outside interference such as has happened in North Africa in recent times, is a potent form of check and balance on the excesses of real and budding global dictators and the success of the intervention makes nonsense of the pessimistic view that the Western powers are in Libya for oil and oil alone.

On the events unfolding in

Mubarak’s arraignment shows the world that nobody is above the law and Gaddafi’s disappearing act shows that dictators are cowards when it comes to accepting responsibility for their actions

the judiciary over the suspension of the President of the Court of Appeal in the case involving him and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, I will comment not on personalities but on the action of the NJC with regard to the presidential system we operate and the separation of powers. When the NJC Investigating Committee asked the President of the Court of Appeal to apologise in writing for lying to his boss it offered the culprit no leeway but a potent career and integrity hemlock to commit judicial hara-kiri. By going to court instead, the indignant PCA reacted with the unbridled rage and fury of the herbalist who broke the eggs of the fowl that upturned his potent concoction. There is neither justice nor wisdom in the acts of the NJC or that of the PCA. By recommending a replacement for the PCA to the President while the Senate which is an approving body for the post of PCA was on recess and a case on the matter was in court, the NJC shot itself in the leg fatally and politically. For in pushing the issue to the presidency it thought it was shifting responsibility but it was abandoning the system of checks and balances inherent in our presidential system and its fulcrum of the rule of law which is the essence of the judiciary itself .

In all these, the NJC acted like a cartel or a conclave rather than the highest supervisory body for the judiciary in Nigeria. It reminds one of the Yoruba system of checks and balances in the old Oyo Kingdom. The Alaafin was the king but real power was embedded in the traditional cabinet – the Oyomesi - which had the power to offer the white calabash of suicide to the Alaafin in case of misdemeanor or misrule.

The fear of the calabash kept the Alaafin in check. When

the NJC asked the PCA to apologise for lying it acted like a court of last resort which it was not. It literally threw a fox amongst pigeons with predictable consequences.

The dismissal of the case against former IMF boss DSK is a disgrace for the US judicial system and its sense of justice. DSK was arraigned like a guilty criminal and placed in a maximum security prison and given stiff prohibitive bail terms. He lost his prestigious job and was replaced by his country woman. Yet it is the same prosecution that arraigned him with all the venom and fanfare that has now pleaded with the court to dismiss the case because the rape accuser lacked credibility. So what legal, political or diplomatic restitution is DSK entitled to?

None I dare say. Except perhaps to find his way speedily to the nearest airport and get out of the US .Funnily enough DSK should understand what happened to him in the US, being a French citizen. This is because in France the judicial system assumes the accused is guilty until he proves his innocence.

He could be detained by the magistrate who is the prosecutor for as long as possible and released without trial and no apologies although there are reforms being made to curb the powers of the French magistrates.

In the US the accused is presumed innocent until proven otherwise. In DSK ‘s case he was taken in handcuff straight to jail before being tried . Which is like giving him the French treatment on US soil .

I doubt if there is any better case of a vivid miscarriage of justice than this. Yet, the US is the bastion of democracy , separation of powers and the rule of law in our topsy turvy world of politics and diplomacy.

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SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

Saturday

11

SPECIAL Grandmother’s order turns awry

Traders destroy N40m property as they protest the killing of one of their own

My husband’s 12 ere days in captivity w ced like we were divor for 12 months Mikel Obi’s mother

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Social Scene 41

wood actress, Bimbo Thomas

r/20

‘Good-looking mengive me goose pimples’ —Nolly

Karimu hit Vera on the chest and tied her two hands to her neck, weaving the rope round her mouth and neck and refusing to listen to pleas from Vera for mercy

Thrille

Screen/ 23

Randy on hospital bed after being shot

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16-yr-old strangled to death for going to party

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

•Continued from Page 11

S

IXTEEN year-old daughter of the publisher of a local tabloid in Benin Benin City, Vera Efe, was a bubbling secondary school girl until July 24, 2011 when she was strangled to death in a tragic circumstance allegedly on the orders of her grandmother, Madam Roseline Igiebor.

The late Vera was a Senior Secondary School 2 (SSS2) student of Idia College in Benin City. Her friends said she loved attending parties, making friends, dancing, writing and acting. It was an attempt by her grandmother to punish her for attending one of such parties that led to her death.

Her father, Efe Stewart, told The Nation that Vera's mother left him to marry another man, leaving three children for him to cater for. He said he was bringing up the children all alone until their maternal grandmother, Roseline, returned from America and requested that the children should stay with her for some time.

Efe recalled that efforts later made by him to make the children return to him were unsuccessful, as their grandmother kept telling him that the children were happy staying with her.

Narrating the circumstances that led to the girl’s death, Efe said: "I was told that Vera left the house for four days without telling anyone her whereabouts. On Saturday, she came back and told her grandmother that she had gone to attend a friend's relation's burial ceremony."

Vera was said to have received another call on Sunday morning inviting her for another party; a development that was said to have enraged her grandmother, who promptly demanded for Vera's cell phone.

It was learnt that Vera gave her grandmother the phone after removing the sim card. When all efforts to recover the sim card from her had failed, the grandmother invited one of her sons, Ovbokhan, to discipline Vera.

Her younger sister, Esohe, who witnessed the event, said Vera decided to move out of the house after Ovbokhan had beaten her up.

Esohe said their grandmother invited one Karimu to tie the late Vera to prevent her from moving out of the house before she returned from church.

She stated that Karimu hit Vera on the chest and tied her two hands to her neck, weaving the rope round her mouth and neck and refusing to listen to pleas from Vera for mercy.

Esohe noted that when they noticed that Vera was no longer moving her body, she called on Karimu to loosen the rope but he retorted that Vera was only pretending.

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16-yr-old strangled to death for going to party •Adewale Karimu •Efe Stewart, her father

Osagie OTABOR, Benin

She said she reported the matter to a tenant in their house who called their biological mother. But before anything could be done, Vera was already dead.

Their father said he met his daughter dead at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital where he

Esohe noted that when they noticed that Vera was no longer moving her body, she called on Karimu to loosen the rope but he retorted that Vera was only pretending

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directed that she should be taken to when he was informed about her condition.

He said it was a doctor that told him that his daughter was strangled to death, adding that it was when his remaining two daughters came home that the truth was unfolded to him.

“I was still confused about her death but was later told what really transpired by my daughters who witnessed the beatings. My late daughter had written some plays which she wanted to publish.

“Her dream was to become a writer, actress and dancer. I was told that the biological mother was beaten up by some youths who threatened to burn down their house. Wherever that Karimu is hiding, he will be arrested and punished for killing my daughter,” he said.

Karimu is said to be a professional

tailor and is currently on the run while the grandmother and members of her family have since fled their residence.

No arrest has been made by the police. Police sources at the Okhoro Police Station where the matter was reported confirmed that they were investigating the alleged killing.

P

ain and anguish were visible on her face. It was evident that her psychology had been dealt a deadly blow. She had just been rescued from the grips of a man, who allegedly masterminded her abduction and forcibly deflowered her, leaving her with physical and psychological scars she may live with for the rest of her life.

That is the story of 18-year-old Omotayo (surname withheld) who left home on an errand for an elderly man in her neighbourhood only to be abducted and taken to a hideout where she was allegedly raped by a man old enough to be her father.

It had all begun last year when the elderly man approached her and told her he wanted to keep some money with her. “I told her to go to the bank if he wanted to keep his money,” Omotayo said, as she recalled the genesis of an incident that has left her traumatised.

She had forgotten about the encounter until last month when the mystery man accosted her again as she was returning from a filling station where an elderly man in her neighbourhood had sent her to buy fuel for him.

Recalling the experience, she said: “On August 20, one elderly man told me to go and buy fuel for him. As I was coming back, the man that had accosted me the year before came to me again. I asked him what the matter was, and he said he asked me to keep some money for him last year but I refused. I advised him to go and keep the money with one of his children. The next thing I saw was that the guy commanded two boys to carry me into a nearby building.

“I was shouting for help but there was nobody in sight to help me. I pleaded with them to leave me alone but they did not budge. He warned that if I kept shouting, he would invite one other person to join in raping me. He tore my dress and started beating me. Then the two men pinned me to the floor and spread my legs while he raped me.

“In tears, I asked them what I had done to deserve what they did to me.

The man said I was an arrogant person.

He said they had called me many times but I did not answer them. They threatened to kill me if I did not stop shouting. He tore my dress and started beating me. He also warned me not to discuss the incident with anybody.

After the whole thing, he left me and I went home.”

Not one to be weighed down by the fear of stigma, Omotayo reported the incident to her mother as soon as she got home. Her mother then took her to the hospital where a medical examination confirmed that somebody had forcibly made love to her.

Thereafter, the matter was reported at Itele Police Station, Ota, Ogun State.

Luckily, she could not only recognise the man that raped her, she could also recognise an accomplice who happened to be the younger brother of the man that had forcibly made love to her.

Asked how much she knew about the man before she was raped, she said she did not know anything about him beyond the fact that he was living in the same area with her. “I never knew his name. The most I had done was to wave back at him each time he waved at me,” she said.

To compound Omotayo's pains, the suspect's wife, she said, came to their

Saturday

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

SPECIAL

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How I was abducted and forcibly deflowered by a man old enough to be my father -18-year-old Omotayo

Gbenga ADERANTI

Bromide of the doctor’s report house and started abusing her parents.

“Imagine his wife coming to our house, shouting and saying her husband would not do a thing like that. But all her ranting ceased when the man himself admitted in the presence of everybody that he raped me,” she said.

The 18-year-old SS1 student is also angry that after defiling her, the suspect had the effrontery to ask some highlyplaced people in the community to plead on his behalf. “Didn't he think about the consequences of his action before now?” she queried.

She said although she had resolved to carry on with her life, she was finding it extremely difficult to bury the thoughts of losing her virginity to a rapist. “Each time I remember the incident, I cry,” she said.

In a fit of regrets, she recalled that her father had warned her not to go out any time after 8 pm. “But I felt I should help a neighbour who was in need. I would advise teenagers not to go out once it is late. Ordinarily, I would not have gone out at that time of the day. But the man who sent me on errand was old enough to be my grandfather. That was why I felt I should accede to his request to help him to buy fuel,” she said.

Speaking on the matter, Omotayo's parents were very angry that the man who defiled their daughter was still roaming free more than a month after the incident. They recalled that as soon as the matter was reported at the Itele Police

student Station, Ota, Ogun State, the police went to the suspect's house but he bolted before they got there. His brother was then invited to the police station for questioning.

Omotayo's father said: “Rather than the man coming to my house to apologise, he sent one of the influential people in the community to call me on the phone. The man eventually came with four other people. The question we asked was, 'where is the man that did this to my daughter?

How can they be begging me on behalf of somebody I don't know?

“I told them to invite him (the suspect) and his wife to my house. The two of them came and he confessed that he raped my daughter. Even his brother confirmed it in the statement he made at the police station.”

Omotayo's parents said they had submitted the result of her medical test to the police. Incidentally, Omotayo's father is also a policeman. Still, he fears that the suspect was trying to use some influential people to 'kill' the case. He said the only way his anger would be assuaged was for the suspect to be punished according to the law. “If he is not discouraged, he will do it again,” he said.

As at the time of writing this report the spokesman of the Ogun State Police Command, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, confirmed that the matter had been reported. He said the command was awaiting the doctor's report in order to begin investigations into the matter.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

H

E looked calm and composed.

No one would suspect he had just passed through a harrowing experience. For five hours the previous night, the 22-year-old native of Jos, Plateau State was in the company of dead bodies and a distressed two-yearold baby who lost her mother in a motor accident both of them had been involved in.

“I carried the baby in my hands. She cried throughout the night,” William Kefas of the Plateau State Police Command, said shaking his head.

He had embarked on a night journey from Jos to Lagos in order to participate in the monthly ‘Emzor Wellness Race’, a keep fit monthly contest organised by Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd for professionals and amateur athletes.

Kefas would have shunned the competition but for the fact that he missed the previous race because he had a malaria attack. Hence, he resolved to be a part of the August edition of the race, no matter what. He had participated in three previous editions of the contest and came out tops.

This time, he surprised even himself that he could participate in the race and still win in spite of the ugly experience he had a few hours before.

“I came from Jos yesterday night.

Early this morning, I joined other athletes to participate in the ‘Wellness Race,” said Kafas, who had just survived an accident in which two people died.

The night journey from Jos to Lagos had been smooth until they got to Ibadan. According to Kefas, “ I took a night bus from Jos to participate in the race. But on getting to Ibadan, a trailer hit the bus I was travelling in and two people died instantly.”

Among those who died, according to the police officer, was a woman who had a two- year-old baby.

Narrating the unfortunate incident further, he said the driver took the injured passengers to the hospital but left him with the two-year-old baby and the dead bodies. Other passengers who had minor injuries also left the scene of the accident.

Rather than leave the hapless twoyear-old baby and seek medical treatment, he chose to wait. He said: “I wanted to go, but I saw the baby, whose mother had died, crying. I carried the baby, holding her like this (demonstrating the way he cuddled the baby). “ I was just begging the baby to keep quiet. She then fell asleep. I put her inside the bus. Then she woke up to go to her mother. She was crying but the mother was already dead. I carried her again to pet her. She stopped crying.”

He had to pamper the baby throughout the night. When the police arrived in the morning, he had a relief as the police collected the bereaved baby from him.”

When he eventually made it to Lagos in the morning, fatigue and sadness nearly robbed him of winning the race, but the encouragement he got from one of his friends gingered him up.

He said: “My body was weak. I didn’t know I would be able to run. But my friend told me that I should not worry about all these things. He said it was their time to go. That was why I participated in the competition. I participated in this competition not to win because I had

I became an instant ‘nursing father’ to a two-yr-old survivor •Police officer recounts a fatal accident he was involved in on the eve of a marathon race he still won

•Kefas

‘

I wanted to go, but I saw the baby, whose mother had died, crying. I carried her... I was just begging her to keep quiet. She then fell asleep. I put her inside the bus. Then she woke up to go to her mother. She was crying but the mother was already dead...

’

•Kefas with Aminat Olowoira with their trophies Gbenga ADERANTI pains all over my body. Even as I was running, I was feeling the pain.”

Kefas said the accident could have consumed him, because he sat beside the driver of the bus. According to him, the way people died in the accident kept flashing through his mind throughout the race.

She said: “The trailer hit one person near me and he died instantly . One woman died, another got injured. One lady broke her hand. I was the one who carrried her inside the bus. My body is aching. My back is paining me, after this race I will go and treat myself. As I ran the race I felt pains on my back,” he said.

Kefas who did 24: 30 in the eightkilometre marathon race said training and prayers were the secrets of his

success. “I train twice a day, morning and evening,” he said.

But his knack for success has robbed him of his love life. His love for athletics had made his female partner to abandon him.

He said: “Before, I had a girlfriend.

But we parted ways because I did not have time for her. Every day, I tell her that I have competitions. I don’t like women disturbing me. She said she could no longer endure it and that she couldn’t be waiting for me every time.

So, she left.”

He was full of praises for the Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries for the competition. He said apart from making use of the prizes from the competition to better his life, the race also helps him in preparing for bigger competitions.

15

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

Collapsed 50year-old storey building kills six family members in Kano

•20-year-old female occupant dies few days to wedding

•The collapsed building

ing fell down flat, having been weathered and weakened for decades. The 50-year-old mud building could not withstand the heavy downpour in the face of which it came down like a pack of cards.

Although he escaped death by a whisker, Mallam Bello lamented the fact that the incident would shatter his family forever.

When The Nation arrived at the neighbourhood, Bello was still grieving over the loss of his 45year-old wife, Amina Bello and four children, as well as his three-

Kolade ADEYEMI, Kano as a rude shock to the people of the densely populated neighbourhood of Warure, with residents of the quarters yet to come to terms with the sudden tragedy that befell the family of 55-year-old Mallam Sanusi Bello when our correspondent visited.

Minutes after the building collapsed, our correspondent had visited the area to assess the level of destruction. The destruction was immense. The entire build-

‘

The most agonising aspect of the disaster is that Bello’s daughter was due to be given out in marriage at the end of the Ramadan period. The highly traumatised Mallam Bello believes his wife and children died as martyrs, because the incident occurred within the glorious month of Ramadan

‘

T

HE rainy season came with mixed blessings. For many, it offered an opportunity to create wealth through farming.

For others, especially in Kano, the rains came with tales of sorrow for many who have either lost loved ones or had their homes destroyed.

The latest of the natural disasters occurred at about 1.45 am on August 22, 2011 at Warure Quarters in Gwale Local Government Area, Kano State, where several hours of torrential rainfall left six members of a family dead. The tragic event occurred a few weeks after several hours of torrential rainfall killed about 30 people and rendered hundreds of others homeless after destroying more than 300 houses.

The tragedy struck in Warure Quarters of the ancient city of Kano when a mud storey building erected more than 50 years ago, collapsed while its occupants were fast asleep. There were said to be 12 people in the house when the incident occurred.

The disastrous incident came

‘

•Mallam Sanusi Bello father of victims that perished in the collapsed building

year nephew, Abdu Bello. His 20year-old daughter, Ruqqayya, and his three sons—Fidausi (6), Abashiya (6) and Bello (2) all perished in the disaster.

The most agonising aspect of the disaster is that Bello’s daughter was due to be given out in marriage at the end of the Ramadan period. The highly traumatised Mallam Bello believes his wife and children died as martyrs, because the incident occurred within the glorious month of Ramadan.

He said: “On that fateful night, I had no premonition that the rain would lead to the collapse of my house. This house was built by my father about 50 years ago. At that time, it was one of the best houses in Kano. My elder brother, Mansur Bello, who is now 58 years old, lived upstairs, while myself and my family occupied the down floor. We

were all fast asleep when all of a sudden, I had a big bang. The next thing I knew was that the building had caved in and buried my wife and four of my children.

“A column of wall fell on my brother’s son. I can’t explain how I managed to get out of the rubble. All I can remember is that I sustained an injury on my right leg. My sister in law also had a fracture on her waist, but she survived. I thank God for that.

“But my elder brother and two of my other relatives sustained varying degrees of injury.”

As he narrated the incident, he paused to shed some tears, lamenting that his wife and children, who he said had been his pillar for more than two decades now, were no more alive. He wondered what the future holds for him and appeared lost on how to continue with life without a greater part of his family.

He continued: “Now, I am squatting with my next door neighbour since I have nowhere to lay my head. There is no food and no clothes for me. My neighbours are the ones who have been feeding me.

“It is so pathetic. I don’t know what to do with my life any more. I feel like dying and joining my wife and children. I miss them so much.

But one thing I believe in my heart is that I have not lost anything.

Allah has simply taken back what he gave me in trust, and I believe my family members died as martyrs because they died during this holy month of Ramadan.”

Two days after the disaster, Mallam Sanusi Bello is yet to receive any tangible assistance from any quarter other than the food and clothing provided by his neighbours. Appearing helpless and hopeless, Bello is making passionate appeals to the state government, charitable organisations and public spirited individuals to help him stand on his feet again.

The Secretary to the Kano State Government, Dr. Rabi’u Suleiman Bichi, was at the scene of the collapsed building to commiserate with Bello on behalf of the state Governor, Engr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso.

The diseased persons have since been buried according to Islamic rites. But it may take Bello some time to come to terms with the disaster that hit his household in the early hours of penultimate Monday.

16

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

I

T would be a big challenge to find the words that would capture the mood and countenance of Pa John Agbo. The entire family of the 82-year-old man, made up of his wife and seven children, was wiped out in a single attack in Heipang, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, Plateau State.

Ironically, the octogenarian had been married for 60 years and had never lost any of his children or even grandchildren until tragedy struck in the early hours of penultimate Sunday.

His wife and nine children were all hale and hearty before then.

It was four days after the incident when our correspondent met the bereaved octogenarian, but he was yet to come to terms with the grievous incident that left him in deep sorrow. “I don’t understand. People are saying that all my family members are dead. They said that somebody came to my house and killed them. I say let me go and see them to know if they are really dead, but they say I should not go to my house.

“Since that day, I have not been allowed to go to my house. I don’t know what is going on. But I want to see my people. I should be allowed to go home. I went to work in the evening, and when I closed at work, as I normally do, I go home. But on that day, when I closed from work and wanted to go home, the district head met me on the way and said I should follow him to his house. I went with him and since then, I have not been allowed to go to my house.”

Without a premonition of the danger that lurked in a corner of his house, the aged man had left home on the fateful day for the company where he worked as a night guard. So, while his house was being invaded and his wife and children were being dispatched to the world beyond around 2am, he was busy guarding the company where he worked. But before dawn, virtually all the 82-year-old man had laboured for in his entire life was gone.

He closed from work and headed home in the belief that he would be received by his wife and children as usual. Unknown to him, the story of his life had assumed a tragic dimension. His house remained intact but its occupants were no more.

Fearing that matters would be compounded if he set his eyes on the gory sight of his murdered wife and children, some members of the community, including the ward head, felt that wise thing to do was to intercept him on the way and prevent him from going home.

The house in question was like a slaughter’s slab when our correspondent visited penultimate Thursday. Everywhere in the house was splattered with blood, leaving every visitor sick with shock and disbelief. But the empty shells of ammunition used by the unknown men who invaded the house were there to tell the story. Their footsteps were all over the place and the path they followed to and fro the house was easily discernible.

One of the surviving members of the family, 31-year-old Tochukwu John, who was away to Jos during the attack, said: “I don’t know how it happened. I just got a call from one of our relations who said I should meet him at the Plateau State Specialists Hospital. He did not tell me what had happened.

“On getting there, I saw my mother’s body as well as those of my two sisters, my elder brother and my younger ones.

They were all lying dead. Eight of them.”

•Pa John Agbo's wife, daughter and grand children , victims of the attack

Jos attack: I still can’t believe what is happening to me — 82-yr-old old man who lost his wife and seven children Yusufu AMINU-IDEGU, Jos When the old man was finally told that his wife and children had been killed by some unknown persons, he went into coma and had to be rushed to a nearby clinic where doctors battled to revive him the next day.

After he was revived, he suffered a serious memory loss. He could not remember the last words he heard before he fainted and nobody was willing to remind him either. He was moved from the clinic in Heipang to Jos to prevent him from going back to his house in Heipang.

When the Deputy Governor of the state visited him in the clinic, he wondered aloud why a deputy governor would come to visit him. He also asked what he was doing in the strange environment and why the people around him were looking worried.

The doctor at the private clinic in Heipang had advised that the octogenarian guard should not be reminded of the incident until a few weeks, after which he must have recovered fully from the shock. Although our correspondent succeeded in tracing the old man to Bukuru, Jos South, where he was relocated, he remained speechless.

According to Tochukwu, the octogenarian is regarded as the second oldest man in Heipang community today.

The father of nine children un-

‘

As the council chairman, posterity will not forgive me if I sit down here and allow the unwarranted killing of my people without justification. I demand justice because I’m on oath to defend and protect lives and property within the local government

,

til the Sunday incident is now left with two, namely Tochkwu and Oluchi, who were spared only because they were not at home when the attackers came.

One of his grand children, a sixmonth-old bay named Innocent, •Continued on page 17

•Pa John Agbo

17

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011 •Continued from page 16 was seen crying endlessly in search of his mother who was also killed in the attack. Two of his grandchildren were receiving treatment at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH).

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Barkin Ladi Local Government, Hon. Emmanuel Loman, has petitioned The Presidency, the National Assembly, the Inspector General of Police, the Plateau State Governor, the Plateau State Police Command and the Commander, Special Task Force (STF) on Jos crises over Sunday’s killings in the local government.

Loman, who spoke with newsmen in his office, said: “The petition became necessary in view of the discovery that some members of the military took part in the killing of innocent citizens in my local government.

“Members of the vigilante group of the community who encountered the attackers confirmed that they saw some of them in military uniform, particularly the STF uniform. In addition to that, some identity cards of soldiers were found at the scene of the attack. The soldiers claimed they were not there when the attack was carried out, but how did their identity cards get there.?

“I’m not convinced about the excuse the soldiers gave. They claimed that the youths chased them out of their base and burnt the house and that the youths ransacked their accommodation and picked their identity cards.

This is ridiculous because, if the youths asked soldiers to go and they left, were they supposed to leave their identity cards behind?

“I’m not convinced. So, I want the state government and the

•Children’s matress soaked in blood after the attack

•Empty shells of amunition left in the house after the attack

•Barkin Ladi council chair, Emmanuel Loman

Federal Government to set up a panel to investigate the complicity or otherwise of the men of the STF, so that they can prove to the whole world that they had no hand in the killings in my local government.

“As the council chairman, posterity will not forgive me if I sit

down here and allow the unwarranted killing of my people without justification. I demand justice because I’m on oath to defend and protect lives and property within the local government.

“I mean the case of this old man whose entire family has been wiped out is unacceptable to me

and to any sane man or woman.

Apart from the attack, the police killed many youths who were protesting the attack on their people. I expected the police to use light weapon in dealing with civilian’s protest, but they were shooting directly at the youths and they ended up killing some of them.”

Family seeks N4m to treat baby with swollen head

F

OR Mr. Chukwudi Aniekwe and his wife, sleep has become a luxury since they had their last baby, Chukwuemerie about one year ago. The residents of No 39, Limca Road, Nkpor and natives of Agukwu Nri in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State are left to brood endlessly over the condition of their one-year old baby, which they said had defied all orthodox and traditional treatments.

The couple, who are in dire need of financial assistance from well-meaning individuals, groups, governmental and non-governmental organisations, said their pockets had been drained by the search for a solution to their baby’s problem while they now need to fly the toddler to India for medical treatment.

Chinwe, the distraught mother of Chukwuemerie, says he is the third issue of the family, adding that he was a normal baby like his elder siblings when she was delivered of him on August 2, 2010. Along the line, however, he was struck by a strange ailment which has caused his head to swell continuously.

The parents, who narrated the ordeal of their baby, recalled that a few months after he was born, he developed a sickness, which they said began like convulsion. But it later graduated into a strange ailment which has caused the little boy’s head to grow bigger and bigger.

He said that when the boy started suffering from convulsion, they decided to take him to the hospital where he was treated. But they soon realised that his head was increasing in weight and size until it became a very big problem.

Aniekwe, a trader in Onitsha, said

•Chukwuemerie before the shunt operation

Adimike GEORGE, Onitsha that when they could not understand the nature of the illness that had hit their son, they began to take him from one hospital to another, seeking for solution. They said that despite spending more than N1.7 million, the strange ailment had defied a solution.

This, he said, was why doctors had to refer them to an Indian hospital.

But he lamented that the sum involved was such that they could not afford. Hence, they have remained in Nigeria.

On her part, Chinwe, who spoke to our correspondent amid sobs, said: “When the child began to convulse, we thought it was just an ordinary convulsion. We quickly took him to the hospital where he was cured. But to our greatest surprise, the boy developed another strange sickness.

When I could not understand what was wrong with him, I decided to ask other women who had more experience than me. They told me that my son was suffering from Mgbawaisi, which medical doctors called hydrocaferus.”

She said the sickness had taken them

from one hospital to another as they tried to get a cure for it without any success. She, therefore, appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to come to their aid.

Aniekwe recalled that when they took their son to the hospital for scan, it was discovered that he is suffering from hydrocaferus, which doctors said resulted in the enlargement of his head.

He quoted doctors as saying that the sickness had made it possible for water to accumulate in the boy’s head, which caused his head to increase in size and weight, adding that they

•David, grandchild, the only survivor of the attack

were warned that it could rupture the boy’s brain and make him abnormal if he was not treated on time.

“We want to go to India, because that was where I was directed. But because of cash, I told the person who wanted to direct us to give me little time to gather some money. But when I was looking for money, people kept telling us to go from one hospital to the other. In the process, we spent the little I had saved.

“Now, my fear is that there is no help in sight for us to fly the boy abroad for medical treatment and doctors have warned us about the danger in wasting more time, that the water which has accumulated in his brain could rupture the brain and the boy could begin to behave like an imbecile. We are calling for financial assistance. We can’t carry this burden alone.”

He recalled that while they were seeking for fund with which they would take their son to India, they were advised to take him to a hospital in Onitsha where the doctor carried out surgical operation on the boy’s head with a view to reducing its size and weight.

“The doctor carried out what they called Shunt operation on Chukwuemerie and we stayed there for some time. Actually, I can tell you that the head reduced in size. But we still need money to take him abroad.”

He called on Nigerians to come to their aid by donating towards restoring the health of Chukwuemerie, who he said has not enjoyed peace since he was born about a year ago.

Asked how much was required for Chukwumerie’s treatment abroad, the distraught father said the family needed about N4 million to be able to take him to India for another surgical operation. He said that donors could reach him or his wife on phone numbers 08064114190 and 07038863204 respectively. He also gave his account name and number at Main Street Bank PLC (formerly Afribank PLC) as Chukwudi Aniekwe, 400806986.

18

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

•Model public primary school: One of the many the party saw on the gubernatorial trip “He wants you to come.”

We were heading for the vehicle from which we had disembarked when one of the aides to the governor said his boss wanted us in another vehicle.

Us? Tunji Adegboyega and Olakunle Abimbola, two members of The Nation Editorial Board, who just finished a scheduled interview with Rivers State Governor, Chubuike Rotimi Amaechi.

The interview had taken some 45 minutes. But the governor wanted The Nation duo to accompany him to Ubiama, his village in Ikwerre Local Government area of Rivers State, where he was scheduled to address the community. The request was sequel to some questions at the interview. If we could accompany him, the governor reasoned, he would show us some of the on-going projects he had earlier discussed, and we could see things for ourselves.

That should have been fine, except that we needed to catch a flight back to Lagos for around 6pm that day.

That Ubiama trip was also the second with the governor.

“Let’s go”, the governor had, without much ado, told his waiting guests, primed for the interview. The reporters had sniffed that the governor would attend some church service that morning, and the anxiety was that it would get in the way of the interview.

That was the first trip – and it was to St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Diobu, Port Harcourt, where he was guest of honour at the national convention of the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion (EFAC).

Between the two trips, the interview had been sandwiched. It was sure going to be a long day; and the flight back to Lagos was becoming less and less feasible.

As I headed for the car, I found Tunji already ensconced to the right of the backseat, in the jeep, in which we were to travel. Another passenger was in the passenger’s seat at the front. And between Tunji and I was a tagged file of three newspapers, consisting the day’s issue of The Nation, Daily Sun and a local publication, neatly tucked in the middle part of the backseat.

I thought the governor was going to climb into the jeep right after me and I was about removing the file of newspapers to sit in the middle when my eyes darted to the driver’s seat – and behold, it was the governor himself at the wheels!

“Cyclone (that is Tunji’s pen name)” I whispered, “you mean you’re going on an executive ride, chauffeurdriven by His Excellency himself, and there you are ensconced in the ownor’s kornor (owner’s corner)?

“And so?” the governor queried, in a jocular what-is-the-big-deal manner, to suggest this is what he

The Amaechi ride

•Gubernatorial driver: The governor driving his guests

Olakunle ABIMBOLA does all of the time. It was a mere whisper though, not meant for his ears.

That set the tone for our Amaechi ride to Ubiama, some 40 kilometres from Port Harcourt, via the Port Harcourt-Aba-Ikwerre Road, on a major artery called Chief Godrey U. Akeh road, still under reconstruction.

That ride would take some good four hours, with the governor making a sortie to as many projects as lay along the direction which he drove.

Hardly had the convoy of eight or ten vehicles, with two out-riding bikers, snaked out of the Government House Port Harcourt than the governor wondered why the convoy branched left instead of going straight. If he was in the front, he explained, he would have driven

straight just to beat traffic at the main Port Harcout- Aba road.

“You know,” he said, looking at the traffic on Port Harcourt-Aba road, clogged at some spots and light at others, “it’s amazing how the Okada riders [referring to commercial bikers, now banned from Port Harcourt roads] just vamoosed from our roads. I think most of them must have left for their home states.”

“But how did you swing it?” I asked.

“I did nothing. I just announced that gentlemen, by January 1st, Okada would be banned from Port Harcourt roads. And on that day, I grabbed my car, with my family inside and I drove round the city – and they were gone!” He feigned surprise. “I guess they had the mind that this guy is crazy!” he added, sending everyone into a loud guffaw.

“Yeah, I thought the traffic was

rather sane, even if it is not light. But I couldn’t put my fingers on it. Now, I know it is the Okada people – what pests! But,” I added, “Was there an upswing in crime thereafter?”

“No,” the governor answered. “I think they just went back to their states; and that confirmed my belief that most of them were not from Rivers State.”

By this time, the governor’s party had swung off the Port Harcourt-Aba road to join the Airforce-Bori CampIkwerre road.

“Ah see,” the governor remarked as we neared a roundabout. “That is one of our model primary schools I told you about!” almost with childlike gaiety.

It was an impressive sight – goldpainted bungalow with vertical spices of brown brick, with green roof. It comes with well-tended lawns, wine-coloured tartan tracks

“What name would you‘give this complex?”

“Adokiye Amiesimaka Sports Complex,” he returned.“Adokiye, the former Nigerian football international? That’s nice!” , I gushed

for athletics, aside from a standard football pitch and a basketball court.

It was the first of the many model schools we saw in different locations of the state during the trip.

“Inside,” the governor explained, “there is e-library, sick bay, a computer section. These are the standard features.”

“A child trained in such environment,” Cyclone remarked, “would probably grow up a gentleman; rather than one trained in ghetto-like schools. Nice one!”

“I will tell you something about this road,” the governor disclosed. “I think we are the only state, aside from the Federal Government, that has underground drainage. It is a standard feature of the new roads we are constructing now. No open drains. But the road is expensive: N10.2 billion for eight kilometres.”

Indeed, the part of the road undergoing reconstruction was raised some two or three feet higher than the other part, which was the current level of the old road.

“It’s like a road bridge,” the other gubernatorial passenger, sharing the passenger’s seat with the governor in front, remarked.

“It is raised that high to ensure longevity. And mark you, the underlay is sharp sand, not laterite. First, sharp sand ensures longer construction time, even well into the rainy season, since laterite easily turns to mud and bog. Then sharp sand protects the tar from underground water seepage. As you know, when water penetrates laterite, it would result in mounds, which in turn could upset the road surface and lead to craters,” the governor explained.

Indeed, in the other segment of the road awaiting reconstruction were piles and piles of quicksand, which the governor explained would be spread to raise the road level. As a policy, he added, every road contractor quotes for sand and not laterite, on on-going road works.

“What is that?” I asked, pointing the governor’s attention to a bluish looking structure that looks like an extensive park, lying some 1,200 metres from the road. The party had driven some ten minutes from the Chief A.Y. Akeh road.

“It is our new interstate motor park,” the governor announced.

“When it is in use, every interstate commuter vehicle will not go beyond this point. It will be their terminus.”

“That should free up the city centre from some traffic clog,” remarked Cyclone.

“Exactly,” returned the governor.

“But when will it be commissioned?” I asked.

“We don’t commission projects here. We just finish them and put them into use.”

•Continued on page 22

THE NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

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20

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

Left and right: Security men at the entrance of the closed market

Day of rage in Onitsha: Traders they protest the killing of one T

HE hustling and bustling of the popular Electronics Market in the commercial city of Onitsha came to a standstill on Wednesday last week, following the alleged killing of a market tout by the police.

The incident triggered a violent protest in which the Chairman of the market, Chief Okey Okoli alias Gossac lost about N40 million worth of goods. Two policemen were said to have escaped death in the hands of the rioters, but they had their heads injured and the windscreen of their vehicle smashed.

Another truck was set ablaze by the rioters before the intervention of a combined team of soldiers and policemen. According to eyewitnesses, the deceased, simply identified as Okija, had buried his father about three weeks before he met his untimely death.

Trouble was said to have started when Okija and two other market touts were arrested by the task force in charge of the market and handed over to a visiting Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) from Asaba, the Delta State Capital, to be taken to the Okpoko Police Division. But Okija jumped out of the vehicle and ran across the expressway.

One of the ATS men was said to have pursued him up to Premier Breweries where Okija was said to have surrendered himself as passers by joined in pursing him. It was alleged that the ATS man pushed Okija into the gutter and then shot him.

It was also alleged that after shooting the deceased, the ATS man jumped on

Adimike GEORGE, Onitsha

his bike and zoomed off. An eyewitness said that while all this was going on, some traders watched helplessly across the road. But no sooner had the ATS man fled than they mobilised their colleagues for the riot.

Another source said the traders did not believe that Okija had been killed until some of his colleagues arranged for a wheel barrow with which they took his corpse to the market.

On sighting the corpse in the wheel barrow, some touts in the market were said to have gone straight to Gossac’s shop where they looted goods and smashed other valuables.

Gossac himself estimated his damaged goods and burnt vehicle at about N40 million, adding that the protesters were instigated by some people in the market to destroy his goods.

On the issue of touting in the market, Gossac maintained the touts’ activities had always been an embarrassment to the leadership of the market, adding that they could push a potential customer down just to make him buy from them.

He noted that when the Peace Committee of the market could not checkmate the excesses of the touts, a special task force was put in place with the hope of flushing them out for good.

According to Gossac, a task force committee was constituted by the authorities of the market to checkmate the illegal activities of the so-called Ndi-

Oso-Ahia, whom he said had been involved in various forms of crimes within and outside the market.

He said the task force committee, which was led by a renowned security personnel he simply identified as Baruwa, swung into action to arrest three members of the group who he said had held traders and customers by the jugular, and tried to hand them over to the police when the deceased tried to escape and was shot by a police officer.

He said the market authorities, after appraising the devastating business condition in the market and the heinous activities of the touts, decided to constitute the task force to checkmate them.

He said: “The task force committee, led

by Baruwa, started working. These touts had been the ones giving information to armed robbers and kidnappers about the movement of traders and their goods.

So, the three persons who persisted in the act were arrested when one of them jumped out of a moving vehicle to escape and he was shot.”

He called on the federal and state governments to come to his aid, adding that all his goods were carted away while the remaining were destroyed by the rampaging youths during the violent protest.

He recalled that about two weeks before the incident, some touts in the market had tried attacking and looting the branch of Intercontinental Bank within the market over the electrocution of one of them, but for the eagle- eyed

leadership of the market that confronted them.

He disclosed that a day before the incident, about seven of the touts were arrested and handed over to the police for prosecution. He blamed the market security operatives for failing to live up to expectation when it mattered, adding that if they had locked the market when the crisis was building up, the incident would have been aborted.

He disclosed that when he was alerted on the crisis he was outside the market but had to place calls to relevant quarters to help in resolving the crisis immediately. But he lamented that two policemen who came on rescue mission had their heads broken by the hoodlums while the windscreen of their vehicle was also smashed.

He called on the government to thoroughly investigate the matter with a view to bringing to book the hoodlums, whose faces he said were not unknown to the traders.

The protest also led to the closure of some banks and petrol stations around the market, as the customers and staff of the institutions scampered into safety while the violent protest lasted.

It was, however, gathered that the incident assumed another dimension when one of the market executive members invited by the Area Commander, Mr. Larry Osita, said the policemen who shot Okija were actually men of the Anti-Terrorist Squad from the Delta State Police Command.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

destroy N40m property as e of their own He narrated that the deceased was one of the suspects earlier arrested by the task force team in the market and were to be transferred to Okpoko Police Division when the incident occurred.

An undisclosed source was also said to have told the police that the policemen, led by one Inspector Amechi, came to visit one of their friends in the market but were accosted by the task force team, which prevailed on them to help drop the suspect at the police station.

However, the leader of the ATS men who allegedly shot the deceased said they were in the electronics market to buy some products, contrary to the first statement that they came to visit their friends. He, however, corroborated the claim that the market leaders pleaded with them to help them drop the deceased at the police station when he jumped out of the vehicle and was shot by one of them.

A visit to the closed market by our reporter showed heavy presence of security men, including fierce looking local vigilante group drafted to the area to forestall further breakdown of law and order in the market.People suspected to be traders were sighted hanging around the market.

A leader of the security agency who pleaded anonymity blamed the violence on the leadership of the market, whom he accused of earlier adopting jungle justice against suspects. One of the traders also said the market had been held hostage by those he described as market urchins, adding that they had taken

buying and selling away from genuine traders within the market.

He said: “Their operation includes intercepting customers before they enter into the market and taking them to a place where they would keep them and make them relax. Then they will go and get sub-standard goods for the innocent customers who end up paying more for the substandard goods.

“These boys have held us hostage. At times, you find that they feed better than you. And then some of them who are real criminals will do that in the day time while in the night they go out for robbery operations. Some of them had been caught giving information to armed robbers and even kidnappers. So, we are begging Governor Peter Obi to save our souls from these miscreants.”

But in a swift reaction, one of the suspected touts, who gave his name simply as Kingsley, said the market executive had been using force against them, adding that the recent protest was as a result of pent up anger.

Kingsley accused the task force of conniving with the police in Okpoko Police Division to extort money from traders and the market urchins through unwarranted arrests. He said that the attack on the stores of the chairman of the market was triggered by the series of complaints against the chairman of the task force, which he said had been pending before the chairman.

He said: “Well, I can’t tell you everything because I don’t know who you are.

As you can see, we all are traders, no

‘

The task force committee, led by Baruwa, started working. These touts had been the ones giving information to armed robbers and kidnappers about the movement of traders and their goods. So, the three persons who persisted in the act were arrested when one of them jumped out of a moving vehicle to escape and he was shot

matter how the market authority looks at it. But what I can only say is that we will blame the attack on Gossac and Baruwa, because if Gossac had acted on our complaints against Baruwa, the tragedy would have been avoided and the protest could not have occurred.”

The body of the deceased had been recovered from the rampaging traders who carried the corpse from the scene of the incident into the market square in a wheel barrow, where they kept it and chanted war songs as the protest lasted.

A police source said the corpse had been deposited at an undisclosed mortuary within the commercial city from where it would be taken to the State Police Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further autopsy.

Meanwhile, when the tension heightened in the market as the traders were blocking the major Asaba-Onitsha

’

Expressway and making bonfire, the Onitsha Area Commander, Mr. Larry Osita, drafted a detachment of mobile policemen to the scene.

The Area Commander, who was at the scene of the incident, could not speak to journalists. But he was seen directing affairs as the joint police and army were also sent there to maintain law and order.

When contacted on the development, the Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka, said the command was aware of the incident.

He declined comment on the number of arrests made so far.

Mr. Chukwuemeka also could not say if the policeman who shot the deceased had been arrested for prosecution. But he said since the policeman belonged to the Delta State Police Command, his trial would be done in their command.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

Controversy trails businessman’s sudden disappearance T

HE family of a 28-year-old businessman, Bartholomew Okeke has been thrown into confusion, following his disappearance since February 16, 2011.

The businessman, who sells cloth at the Onitsha Market in Anambra State hasd experienced a streak of misfortune in recent times. He was said to have been involved in a motor accident that left him bedridden for five years. His crutches were said to have been removed in January, only for him to be kidnapped in February.

Okeke, who hails from Oyi Local Government Area, Anambra State, according to his sister, Chidi, left their Suncity Estate, Garki, Abuja residence on the fateful day, shortly after he received a call from an unknown person.

He was said to have told the caller that he was on his way without disclosing the identity of the caller to his sister or other people around.

Speaking with our correspondent, Chidi said: “Before his disappearance, he had a motor accident and was using crutches with Plaster of Paris (POP) on his legs. The incident made him to relocate to Abuja, so that he could have access to good medical attention.

“The family was happy when he was certified fit to walk without the aid of crutches in January, five years after the incident.

•Continued from page 18 “Why?” “Well, no specific reason. I guess I would rather do a job without the accompanying frills. The people are not blind!”

“Okay, when will the park be put to use?”

“When the other three are completed. There are four of such inter-state bus termini.”

The party is near Ubiama, the governor’s village now. But it appears the main artery is being expanded into a four-lane motorway, leading to the pulling down of houses, most of them ancestral, which some locals are kicking against.

“Poor guy!” the governor remarked, driving past the rubble of a house just pulled down to make for the road.

“But the house had to go for the general good. They don’t understand it that way, though – sentimental attachment to family land.”

“But were they not compensated?”

“They were; everyone was.

But they just don’t want their ancestral houses pulled down,” the governor replied.

“But for modernity, something would have to give,” Cyclone quipped. “Many would come to hail the decision in the future.”

“Ah, I’m in trouble, if this church is pulled down!” the governor announced, his eye darting to a church, on which walls were demolition marks.

But even see our own school,” he added, as he drove past the Ubiama model primary school, “part of its fence has been pulled down,” he said with the air of one who is helpless against state policy.

Just then, the governor drove into the fields of St. Theresa’s

Kunle AKINRINADE “On February 16, 2011, at about 11.30 am, he was talking to someone on the telephone when he suddenly left home without any trace.

He had earlier planned to take my car to the mechanic workshop, but as soon as he got the call, he started preparing to go out.

“When I asked him who the caller was, he said he didn’t know, but he promised to come back at 2 pm.

When he didn’t turn up around 5 pm, we called his telephone but it was switched off. I even contacted some of his friends on the telephone to know if they were aware of his whereabouts because I was on bed rest, but his friends could not offer any clue.”

She explained further that her phone was later inundated with anonymous calls from some people who claimed that they were the ones who kidnapped her brother and demanded N1.5 million as ransom.

She continued: “On Friday February 19, 2011, I received an anonymous call from a man who asked me to pay N1.5 million if I wanted my brother to regain his freedom.

He claimed that they had kidnapped him shortly after he left home on the day of the incident and he even sent me an account num-

Catholic Church, Ubiama, to the waiting hands of the community. As he emerged from the driver’s seat, the crowd went agog with excitement.

The native that made good had returned and his people were more than willing to give him their unalloyed attention.

But the reporters did not get much from the exchanges of the natives and their governor-son, since it was in Ikwerre (which they spoke not), except that it was animated and good natured – the governor talking frankly with the air of someone well loved; and his people, elders and youth, returning with the air that the governor was one in whom they were all well pleased.

The high point of the meeting was the appointment of a youth as the village vigilante leader, after the naming of members of the new community development committee (CDC). The youth marched towards the governor in measured steps, paused to bask in the governor’s seal of authority and raised his two arms to acknowledge cheers; and thereafter turned back. But he had not taken more than a few steps before other youths, apparently his own supporters, swept him off the ground on their shoulders.

“That guy was head of the vigilante when I was Speaker,” the governor disclosed later.

“He drove out all the criminals around here. That is why,” he explained, “I want him to return to his office, even though some of his rivals tried to scheme him out.”

But just as the governor was driving out of the field for the return trip to Port Harcourt, he noticed another youth. “This man, I think, is a drunk,” he told his visitors. “But whenever I

ber to pay the ransom into.

“But following a petition written by the family to the Abuja Police Command, detectives took over the matter and the bank account was traced to a lady who was subsequently arrested alongside her male accomplices. The suspects allegedly confessed that their leader, who is now at large, was the mastermind of the act.

“We reported the strange callers to the police at the office of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Area 11 Command, and detectives swung into action, which led to the arrest of the lady who was alleged to be the owner of the bank account and her male accomplices. “Surprisingly, they claimed they were only instructed to call me on the phone for the ransom before they were apprehended by policemen, and that their leader, who is the kingpin of the kidnap syndicate, had fled the country to an unknown country.

“I want to appeal to the masterminds of his disappearance to please release him for God’s sake, because the incident has really devastated me and other members of our family. We have not even heard anything from the police since the suspects were arrested a few months ago.”

It was gathered from the family of the businessman that the leader of

•Okeke the kidnap syndicate had been making moves to free his boys from his hideout somewhere in Benin Republic.

But while a source in the family said the police had vowed to unravel

The Amaechi ride

•Return of the native: Amaechi at Ubiama

‘

“This man, I think, is a drunk,” he told his visitors.

“But whenever I come home,

he gives me [bunches of] banana” come home, he gives me (bunches of) banana.”

He decided to share with his guests what he discussed with his people.

“You know what I told them?

I told them we were all thieves – including myself. I said it was a shame that six-year old urchins in our village could go and clean out the food prepared for this little reception.

When they grow older, what

,

would they steal?”

The youth, the governor continued, just countered: “Give us employment!”

“Shut up!” the governor snapped equally jocularly, “Did I promise you I would employ everybody?” But the youth only roared their approval and love. Nevertheless, the governor admitted youths needed to be trained and given economic

the mystery behind Okeke’s disappearance, the spokesman of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, Mr. Moshood Jimoh denied the claim that the matter was reported to the police.

opportunities. “That has formed the backbone of our educational policy and all our investment in that sector.”

“You know,” I said as we drove ahead. “Chinua Achebe once wrote a book, A Man of the People, painting Chief Nanga, MP, as the ultimate cynical politician. Maybe we are seeing the real man of the people today.”

“Maybe,” was the governor’s cryptic response.

We were on the Port Harcourt-Airport-Aluu road when the governor suddenly broke the convoy, and swung into a dirt and bumpy road. It was the site of some new town under development, part and parcel of which was to be the new Adokiye Amiesimaka Sports Complex, which though uncompleted, hosted part of the just concluded National Sports Festival, which Rivers State hosted, as well as the site for the 200-hectare River State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), an ambitious N150 billion project to accommodate 20, 000 students.

The governor drove into the under-construction Amiesimaka complex, showing off the completed athletic and football stand complete with alluring tartan tracks, the sports medicine centre, the twin swimming pools with stands still looking all alluring and all new, the two training pitches, before making a detour to the main bowl, very much still under construction, and out of the complex.

“What name would you give this complex?”

“Adokiye Amiesimaka

Sports Complex,” he returned.

“Adokiye, the former Nigerian football international?

That’s nice!” I gushed.

“You know how he got to know about it?” prompted the governor. “I invited him to the turning of the sod when the president was visiting. There and then, I announced that the new complex would be named after Adokiye. He was shocked!”

“Nice gesture,” said Cyclone, “and so kind. It is a good example to the on-coming ones.”

As the party drove out of the dirt road and a futuristic stadium whose site nevertheless looked abandoned to the casual eye, the governor spoke about the RSUST project.

“Many people have expressed fear that a governor that comes after me might not be so keen on the university project; and wondered if I would complete it. But I always tell them: I intend to do so,” he added, as he pointed his guests’ attention to the future university’s ring road, already under construction.

Earlier, he had told us at the formal interview that though the N150 billion university project was gigantic by any standard, that was the easy part.

“The hard and most challenging part is getting quality lecturers from Nigeria and all over the world to teach and really impart world-class instructions. That is what makes a university, not how grandiose the structures are.”

As the trip wound down, the question popped: “What is the latest on your monorail project?”

“But you saw them now – those pillars near State House.

That is the monorail. It is very much under construction.”

23

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

Edited by: VICTOR AKANDE

Tel: 08077408676

E-mail: victor_akande@yahoo.com

ntertainment

I like when I see a good looking man.

When I mean a good looking man, I am talking about a man who has a moderate height, well groomed and articulate. That kind of man would surely give me goose pimples

llywood actress

LOCATION

BACKSTAGE

SNAPSHOT

REEL NEWS

MUSIC

SCREEN

‘Good-looking m en give me goose p imples’ —No , Bimbo Thoma s

Bimbo Thomas b ecame a movie w atc up a daring perf ormance in Funk hers’ delight after she put eA Omo Ghetto. Quit e unassuming an kindele’s movie entitled d engaging, the Creative Arts fro graduate of m the University of Lagos opened number of issue s in this intervie w with AHMED up on a BOULOR

24

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

THINK

SNAPSHOTS

nt part of An importa s of any the succes is its civilisation late the mu ability to e t led to the a factors th f other success o s.—Eric civilisation rt Reine

Oge Okoye cries out A technocrat declares for DGN on marriage crash!

T

HE various associations in Nollywood have been politicised so much that practitioners now seek a part of what they call national cake.

Their stock-in-trade overtime has been how to get government appointments or the desire to use office positions to dine with ministers and be part of their lousy entourage overseas. Others have been known to ride on the 'hunchback' of ethnic bias to make nonsense of other practitioners through which an unwilling government has enjoyed divide and rule.

Little wonder there have been series of crisis of leadership in Nollywood, leading to duplication of associations and in some cases, factional leadership.

Without sounding disparaging, it is upon some of these excuses that an alternative body was formed among the producers which the aggrieved party called the Association of Nollywood Core Producers (ANCOPS). To this effect, as bad as it is that a parallel body has to be formed, the move is a sign of an honest outburst that tells us that some producers have merely abandoned the art for politics, hence the subtle campaign that has come to tag them as 'minors' while presenting the protesters as 'core' in the business.

Therefore, if Andy Amenechi calls himself a technocrat, this sounds attractive to me because there is no body that requires a leadership that is anchored on skills and capability like Nollywood. First, because it is a creative industry; and second, because it has been so relegated such that it does not need another politician to play 'ludo' with its case. There must be an aggressive campaign to push Nollywood and only a man who is worth his onions can do this. Not some sort of tea-crazy filmmaker who has lost the art.

I wish I had been closer to this man called Andy Amenechi before now to be able to say more about his person, but I have been in this industry long enough to know that he is not so crazy about the fore-front and has relatively been scandal-free. I will keep an open heart to absorb whatever surprises that may later equal him to some of the scavengers that you and I know in this industry, but I must speak from a present point of view.

With well over 140 directorial credits and 12 years working experience as a motion picture practitioner and executive, in different capacities of the Directors' Guild of Nigeria (DGN), Andy Amenechi says he

of the few in Nollywood who have maintained relationship There is no society with the other wings of the industry, one of which is the that requires a Independent Television leadership that is Producers Association of Nigeria anchored on skills (IPTAN) - a partnership he has enjoyed since 2000 and serving as and capability like Executive Council member in Nollywood. First, 2009. Amenechi, who hails from because it is a creative Delta State, it would be noted has directed some Yoruba industry; and second, also language movies among which is because it has been so Oduduwa, a historic epic of the heritage which also won relegated such that it Yoruba him the Best Director award in does not need another 2000.

As one of the pioneers of politician to play Nollywood, the father of three 'ludo' with its case whose exposure to international film festivals and events began in 2002 noted that it is his dream to is the next best thing for the leave a legacy of an industry that leadership of the association. is unified, organised and self The 48 year-old who described regulatory with appropriate himself as a technocrat, rather quality control mechanism, as a than a politician, said he will way of driving up the ante for top bring his experience and integrity quality productions of acceptable to consolidate on the gains of the international standards if elected past as well as put in place a into office. constitutional reform that he Perhaps for the first time, I am believes the guild requires. taking a second look at a Hear him: “With all modesty, I candidate gunning for an elective offer a credible leadership that position in an affair of will maximize access to Nollywood. Amenechi does not supervising agencies and look like he has lost the verve of international partners, with a filmmaking because as at the last view to strengthening our time I checked, he still made a practice of filmmaking. I hereby film in 2009. stake my reputation, by offering a Talking about constitution leadership of trust, with a “No reform, the guy truly does not Door” policy that ensures easy sound like a politician. In an access 24-7, on an enhanced industry where the status quo is interactive, digital, I.C.T in favour of the marketers who platform.” for 18 years have dictated the Indeed, Amenechi comes to tunes of Nollywood, here comes a mind when references are made 'piper' who says to the bourgeois to some of the movies that that he is at liberty of his tune as signalled the cradle of great ideas rule the world and not Nollywood; among them, Mortal money. That sounds courageous, Inheritance and Igodo, both films and as if that is not enough he winning 10 awards each at the turns to the electorate and says; 1997 and 1999 THEMA “To your tents, o Israel!” This also respectively. does not sound desperate.

A further peek into his dossier And looking at his credentials, I reveals that the filmmaker is one have no doubt that he has got the acumen for the job. In all, mine is just the thought of a man who is not afraid to stake his convictions. A critic who jumps at the rarely available and prays that the available becomes desirable so that my views may be balanced against the numerous scornful comments directed at the industry.

Therefore, if the industry is truly tired of the glamour boys, then Andy should on September •Chika Ike 2 succeed Bond Emeruwa, another knowledgeable director F the rumour making the rounds and astute leader who doubles as about Nollywood actress Chika chairman of the Coalition of Ike is anything to go by, the Nollywood Guilds and actress has landed a jackpot.

Associations (CONGA).

Chika, who was reported to have acquired a Range Rover worth To your tents, o Nollywood!

N18million just few weeks ago, it is •Amenechi said, is set to open a fashion accessories store in an highbrow Do you watch Nollywood movies? What do you think of the Nigerian motion picture industry? Send area in Abuja soon.

The fashion store which has taken your review of any movie or short essay on any topic of your choice about the film industry in not more than 200 words. Send entries by e-mail to: victor_akande@yahoo.com or SMS your short three months to set up according to comments to 08077408676

I

WRITE TO US!

•Oge Okoye

Chika Ike’s dream becomes real! the actress is deliberate on her part as she wants anything associated with her brand to be different. “I can't afford anything less Chika” she said.

According to a close source, the actress who has made trips to Paris and America to order her merchandise is presently in the UK and will be back soon to set up her store which have been undergoing some architectural design for over 3months. “The store is like you closing your eyes and been dropped in a highbrow fashion store in the US. You know Chika has got class”, the source added.

It was also disclosed that soon after the Abuja launch that Chika who claims that one of her childhood dreams is coming true, has already set plans in motion to open a Port-Harcourt and Lagos outlets soon.

25

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

BACK STAGE

Filmmaker, Andy Amenechi writes on:

The Nigerian motion picture industry •Today’s challenges, tomorrow’s opportunities The motion picture industry in Nigeria today, faces unprecedented challenges that have brought a once thriving Industry to its knees, in a choke hold that is partly self-inflicted and partly due to neglect and under utilisation by government. At the same time, the industry is also facing immense prospects and commercial opportunities provided by the digital revolution.

The phenomenon called Nollywood in 18 years, has positioned itself as the most viable information dissemination and image making tool in Africa, as well as a veritable vehicle for social change, providing jobs for over 250,000 Nigerians, in all spheres of the production and distribution process. The challenges hampering the full potential, accelerated growth and development of the Nigerian film industry, can be categorized, but not limited, to the following broad headings:

Piracy has become so rampant and unbridled, that what was previously done in secret, under the counter, is now done openly on street corners and markets, in the full glare of law enforcement, with people selling 20-in1 DVD's of pirated

-Continued on page 28

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

Pakurumo is my song g,, I did not steal it —Wizkid

I did not say I will be quitting school, because I can never do such a thing.

My parents would never allow that. What I did is to take a year break from school, for my tour. Once I am done with that, I will be going back to complete my studies

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

eLDee, NCC at war with Techno over copyright infringement

Fatai Rolling Dollar gathers crowd at 85!

•ELDee

Terry G dazzles at ‘Emzor Wellness Race’

•L-R: Terry G (Gabriel Amanyi); Executive Director, Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, Mr. Marcel Ezeoke; Wellness Race Coordinator, Mrs Laureta Oshuo, during the monthly Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Limited,' Wellness Race,' in Lagos.

Stingomania, Highlife greats in ‘Metamorphosis’

•Ope Banwo

Orlando Julius honoured with doctoral degree

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

COVER COVER

COVER COVER

The Nigerian motion picture industry

‘Sexual harassment can be narrowed down to desperation’

•Today’s challenges, tomorrow’s opportunities -Continued from page 25

•Bimbo Thom

as

o ie, Omo Ghett

ov •On set of a m

•Bimbo Thomas

37

WIGAN V QPR

HENRY NWOSU’S FELELE TO FOOTBALL FAME STORY (2)

My father’s death Shittu may tackle Victor couldn’t stop me Moses to consolidate Pg. 30,35

Pg. 34

Nation Saturday, August 20, 2011

CHELSEA V NORWICH Pg. 34

Mikel seeks second league win

•Mikel

SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

30

35

NATION SPORT

NATION SPORT HENRY NWOSU’S FELELE TO FOOTBALL FAME STORY (2)

My father’s death couldn’t stop me Henry Nwosu (MON) was a Superstar though one of a small stature. He was skillful and successful at his chosen vocation - football. He played for the Green as well as the Super Eagles, winning the Africa Nations Cup in 1980 and silver in 1984 and 1988. He played his last match for the team in an away fixture in an African Nations Cup qualifier in 1991against Togo. He saw action in the shirts of Nigerian clubs and played in Ivory Coast and Cameroon. Last week, he relayed his exploits with the New Nigerian Bank (NNB) of Benin among other issues. In this interview with OLUSOJI OLIKAYODE, Nwosu continues his felele to football fame story

• Henry Nwosu

W

HAT primary school did you attend?

I attended Salvation Army Primary School at Iyun Road off Barracks (Surulere) and when the (civil) war broke out we left for the east and I attended briefly St Jude Catholic Primary School, Nnanzi, that’s my home town. Immediately after the war I came back to Salvation Army Primary School and that was where I finished my primary school before I proceeded to secondary school. I started from Ansar Udeen High School here in Surulere too, my childhood revolves around Surulere.

I started my secondary school with Ansar Udeen High School, ‘74 and I spent just a year with them and that wasn’t the school I wanted to attend but because I bought my form there they said I must choose the school as my first choice so that was why I choose Ansar Udeen High School as my first choice. My first year in

secondary school from outside left and that was where other schools saw me. I liked St Finbarrs College; I liked Igbobi College as well. The two of them came. At a time I said this is more popular in football let me join St Finbarrs College when Father Slattery, A.A. Potie and Omoya came for me, I said let me join them that was how I joined St Finbarrs College in my class two and there I finished my secondary school.

Back in school, did you ever think of becoming a medical doctor or lawyer Yes, I won’t tell you lie, I had always wanted to be a doctor but as I was growing up I became more frightened, I didn’t like seeing blood.

So that idea of becoming a doctor started fading off from me and that’s how I forgot about being a doctor and when the chance came for me to play football I concentrated more on

football. After my secondary school I now faced football and I tried to make the best of it and to enjoy myself as well that was it.

Was there a particular sad occurrence that you had in life that..

(Cuts in) My father wasn’t rich but at least we were comfortable. For me I was loved in the family and as such I lacked nothing, it was either I was getting from my elder sister or elder brother, Chris Montes or from my parents because everybody loved me.

But my terrifying moments was during the War when we will be seated in the house and all of a sudden we will hear gun shots and hand mortars sounding here and there, close to us and my parents will say ‘look, anything you can pack, any little thing, just pack and lets start running.’

Most times we don’t even lock our doors, we don’t lock our homes we just leave the place and we are off before you come back they have

looted the whole place. That aside too, sometimes when I (see my mother off) to the market, I was very small, I was about seven to eight years and people will say ‘ah, this small boy where are you going to, madam, why you dey carry this boy up and down?’ things like that. I was determined to follow my mother because I love my mother so much, you know, I was very close to her and she would like ‘no, when I’m going out he will never leave me.’ You’ll see me, short boy, I will follow my mother behind and people will be talking, things like that to an extent gave me joy and to an extent too it was dangerous because anything could happen on the way and you won’t be able to run away, or maybe as your mother is running away you can’t catch up with her pace but thank god it didn’t happen.

Where are your dad and mum now?

Ah, they are both remarried up, (chuckles). Unfortunately, my father died 1977 before I became a sports star but my father died about five years ago. But my regret is that my father didn’t stay to see me as a star because he was always telling them that ‘look, I’m sure this my son will become a superstar in the nearest future’ which I did but he wasn’t there to see me really mature in the game.

I remember an incident that happened in 1977 when we were playing the Lagos State Festival. I was playing for Somolu Zone and when the competition was on I got a message that my father died and we were already in the final. Football being what I love, I said okay, I have heard, my father is dead but I must finish this competition first. So I stayed on and we finished that competition and we won the gold medal before I now traveled home to go and see what had happened.

What kind of impact did his death have on the family?

It was a serious blow, very serious blow you know because he was a breadwinner, and we all looked up to him. Even people around in the village looked up to him as well and for such a thing like that to happen just like that, he wasn’t sick. They said it was heart attack, you know. For such a thing to happen, you know we were not prepared for it, if he was sick we might be having the mind that he might die or he might stay. But he wasn’t sick. I was told he sat this way (on a seat with his back in a resting backward position) and that was it, he gave up the ghost, very devastating. But what can one do, life must go on.

I want to talk about Finbarrs. You, Keshi and company, how did you meet? Did you meet them in the school or did they meet you in the school?

We met outside the school. As young boys, we were about 8, 9, 10

years (old) when we were playing felele that was how we met through felele and we became close friends.

Can you remember the place you met?

I can’t remember the place now I can’t tell you lies. As at that time I was taller than Keshi, so in some areas I will be above the height (standard height for those eligible to play) for me to play and I will go keeping and Keshi was shorter. Keshi, Benson Edema, the three of us that was how we met ourselves playing felele games and we became so close.

Edema was living at Palm Groove, Keshi at Costain, my self here in Surulere but whenever we have match to play we agree to meet at a place and sometimes I go round to pick them to pick them up and we go playing our games ad that was how we started growing together that was how we met ourselves even though Benson was at Sumratul Islamiya, Yaba. I and Keshi played for Finbarrs and later too Franklin Howard joined us so we started growing.

Obey Adedeji came along and some others that was the union.

Tell us the story of Finbarrs. How was it like, you being called to come and play? Football brought you to Finbarrs..

And education brought me to Finbarrs. I went first to be taken as a student and when the man saw my face and recollected and said this is that young man that was playing so well. Even though we were beaten in the first round, our first match but I terrorized the opposing side and everybody was talking much about me. And when Finbarrs now heard that I came to their school they didn’t even waste time to take me and of course the principal said ‘look my boy won’t pay school fees. And when I was to leave Ansar udeen too, the principal too, Mrs Dinah said ‘look I will give you scholarship, you won’t pay school fees but I told her, Madam you know I’m a Christian and this is a Muslim school, I prefer to be in the catholic school for St Finbarrs on Scholarship, I didn’t pay a dine all through and I lived in the school all through too.

Was it boarding school?

Not boarding but we had a few rooms. The principal allowed few of us most especially the sportsmen and a few other principal students amongst us.

Your memories of those days playing Principal’s Cup, friendly matches, Keshi, Wakilu and co?

It was fun, it was fun you know.

We came together, met ourselves and them we started playing together as friends , as brothers, Wakilu, Olumide Banjo, Keshi, Nathaniel Ogedegbe, Emeka James and the rest of them so many of them that I may not be able to remember now. We

met again and we started playing.

Sometimes we go playing what we called jeun, jeun. We had our main team but when we have a competition maybe in Agege, they will call for us to go and play.

Sometimes we played against ourselves, sometimes for the same team. We were young boys that loved football, anywhere there is football we were ready to play. There was even a game we went to play in Sango Ota (Ogun State). We were about 10 to 15 minutes old in that game and we had scored about three goals, ‘old boy, they pursued us, ha, ha, ha (laughter)’. They said ‘no, this match won’t be concluded because these boys are too much for us because if we had concluded that match maybe it would have ended with 10 goals. I remember in my secondary school days we had beaten a team 15-1 or 15-0. We beat this school here, Jibril Marins, Iponri 111.

In the Principal Cup? Yes, 11-1, I alone scored seven goals, the ones we beat 15 I scored nine goals. So when we played that game (at Sango) and they saw how we were playing and some of them now recognized me, they said ‘ah, this boy wey dey score goals anyhow ebi like say dem’ll kill us today,’ that was how their thugs enter the field and pursued us.

So since that day I stopped going to play outside Lagos.

Did Finbarrs win the Principal Cup before your set?

Ah, they have always won Principal’s Cup (chuckles), the Emilo Johns, the Odiyes, Obinatos, Finbarrs had starts in those days. They had won the cup ever before we came to the school and when we came in, 1977 or so, yeah, I think ’77 we won the Principals’ Cup you know and when we were to win it again in 1978 we were robbed of the Cup. We got to the finals. We played against St Gregory College and out of wayo (fraud) and everything (they won).

They had H.S.C., we didn’t have H.S.C., some boys who had left school they will still brought them in as H.S.C. students. And they played against us. That day, we lost that match, it was here, where we know now as Teslim Balogun, it was (then called) U.A.C. field. We played very well, better, Keshi scored a very beautiful goal the referee disallowed it and then they scored against us, we were beaten 1-0. When we got back to the school everybody was crying, the Principal, the teachers, the students, the players, everybody was crying because we didn’t believe we could lose that match because we had a very solid team and we were very good. We played so very well that we could have won that match. To an extent the referee didn’t allow us and to an extent too because they had

more matured men but maturity not withstanding we still played our game but unfortunately we couldn’t win.

Would that be your last principal Cup? Yes. You did not play ’79?

I was out of secondary school early ‘79; it was 78/79 Principal Cup we played Which is your greatest game at that level and who were your favourite friends?

(Sighs), I can’t remember the greatest game o, I can’t remember but I think that day we won the Principal’s Cup was one of my greatest moments. It was against Zamratul, yeah against Zumratul Islamiya, against Benson, my good friend, he was on that side and I was on this side. Before then we had played them at the league stage, we beat them 2-1, I scored the first goal and Wakilu Oyenuga scored the second goal. In the finals again, Wakilu Oyenuga scored the first and I scored the second and we beat them again 2-1.

It was like we were superior, nice game. My best friend? I love all my colleagues; we were very close because as a family we were always moving together, doing things together. I can’t just say this was my best friend. They were all good to me and I was good to them as well.

I want to ask you this question. Any strange occurrence in school, something funny..

(Cuts in) yes, I think it was towards my last days in the secondary school.

We went to went to play a game in Benin against the state champions, Edo College. We were leading 3-1 and I scored two goals in that match but as home team they managed to give them offside goal and penalty and they equalized. We played 3-3. But as rascals now, when we were to come back to Lagos the following day about three of us did not come back with the team.

They were looking for us all around but they couldn’t see us and that was how they left without us Can you remember those three?

I think Patrick Obitan, Ernest, and one other Benin boy. Ernest was a Benin boy and one other boy, he called me recently, he’s in the U.S. so we escaped and they came back to Lagos without

us. Before we came back there was already a rumour that they’ll suspend us, they will flog us. So when we came back we were afraid to see our principal because we lived in the school and the principal lived in the school too, he had his own quarters.

Fortunately, we met our coach the day we came back. We didn’t come back the day they came back, we came back the following day. We saw the coach, he said ‘ol boy, make una ready, dem go flog you for assembly, so make una ready, there’s nothing you can do about it and they will suspend una.’ Hey! Wahala.

Because the principal so liked me, I now braved it up and I faced the principal and said ‘oga, we are very sorry sir.’ He said ‘no.’ already, some of the teachers believed I was too powerful, that I was too influential in the school that they couldn’t touch me that was now an opportunity to say ‘this boy we must punish him.’ In the morning of the third day they came back, they called us out at the assembly, the four of us. They called us out, told the school what we had done. They said they could have kept this thing but they felt it was wrong, since we travelled as a team we should have come back as a team but that we didn’t come back with them for reasons best known to us and they didn’t care to know what the reason was that it was act of truancy an as such we shall go on suspension for two weeks with hard labour. Ah! And that they will flog us 12 strokes of the cane. Before we went for that assembly, me I din load up. I was wearing about three shirts, I was wearing about three knickers too since we already knew they were going to flog us, I was ready for the cane and I told the other boys ‘make una, make una load, ready.’ But one of us didn’t load, Patrick Obitan. I was the first person that was called and we had a teacher then, Mr Beckley that man can flog. But when it was my turn, they called me out, I did like this (folded arms infront then) paa, paa, paa, 12 strokes of the cane, I didn’t shake, I didn’t move. The boys hailed me (other students on the assembly), my final year in the school o, the boys shouted ‘heyyyyy.’ Oga was annoyed that’s the principal. He took his cane again, he gave me another three ‘tua, tua, tua, I didn’t shake, again, (the boys shouted again) ‘heyyyyy.’ He said ‘you are a *** boy, look at your hair, your hair is bushy, go and cut it so that you can read well for you school cert. he said they should give him scissors, they gave him scissors and he just put it at the middle and cut it off like that. So the rest came and were flogged. Obitan sort of cried, after they had beaten us and my oga had destroyed my hair I went to my class and others went to their classes too. I saw the principal coming on the road from his house to his office, I said ‘oga, now that you have cut my hair o, I no get money to go do the hair and you know say na the head they make me score goals very welll, so how I go take cut am now?

He said ‘Meku, don’t worry’ because he calls me Meku. He said ‘Meku don’t worry, I will give you money to go cut your hair but you must cut it and it must come down’ I said ‘yes sir.’

They man so loved me, Mr A.A. Potie, he so loved me that he gave me money to go cut my hair.

So it wasn’t Father Slattery that was the principal then?

No Father Slaterry had retired and Omerara had left for St Gregory, so A.A. Potie was now the Principal. That was how he gave me money to cut my hair and lif

“Yes, 11-1, I alone scored seven goals, the ones we beat 15 I scored nine goals. So when we played that game (at Sango) and they saw how we were playing and some of them now recognized me, they said ‘ah, this boy wey dey score goals anyhow ebi like say dem’ll kill us today,’ that was how their thugs enter the field and pursued us.”

AKINLOYE AT LARGE 08050246155 atlarge84@yahoo.com

Ugbade is the right choice

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HE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) early in the week short listed six coaches for the Golden Eaglets job.

Top in the list is Emmanuel Amuneke, the former winger with the Super Eagles that won the African cup of Nations in 1994 in Tunisia.

Others are Nduka Ugbade, Oladunni Oyekale, and Rangers International handler, Fancy Ewulu, Emeka Amadi and Garba Manu. By the time you would be reading this piece, the six coaches must have undergone interview to pick one for the Eaglets. And that coach in my opinion should be Ugbade. The captain of the 1985 Golden Eaglets squad that won the maiden edition of the U16 World Championship in China has paid his dues and should be trusted with the U-17 coaching job. Though he has not handled any high flying job, Ugbade had played in all age group competitions except the U-23 and should be made to put his experience to use in the U-17 job. He has the talent of handling youth teams and his appointment will be a square peg in square hole. Ugbade understands the mentality of youth players and knows how to handle them to achieve good result. His appointment as Eaglets’s coach will be romantic as well. It is a good story to tell that the U-17 competition has come of age as a former captain and winner is found in charge of a U-17 squad.

It is what the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) wants and they will sing the song to high heavens. Ugbade recently won the Copa Coca Cola Cup with the team from Calabar He was audacious about it. Before the competition kicked off, Uduka told the world that it was time for him to teach others the job of coaching and the fact that he did not eat his words is a testimony that he knows his onions. And such coaches should be encouraged to handle national assignments. They are coaches that not only know the job but delivers as well. It is important to go back in time. In 1989, Ugbade was with the U-20 team, the Flying Eagles in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Soviet Union were leading 4-O and Ugbade was injured. He had to continue playing because the substitution has been used up. With his leg bandaged and limping, Ugbade went on to score the equalizer which enabled Nigeria to win the match via penalty shoot out. Uduka did not consider he could aggravate the knee injury and risked ending his career as players in the national teams these days would think.

Amadi was in the same U-20 squad. He played a part in the success story under Coach Tunde Disu, but after the Damman miracle, we never heard of Amadi. He never moved up to the senior national team like Ugbade who played in the final of the 1994 Nations Cup along with Amuneke. The former Barcelona winger won the 1994 Nations Cup and the Olympic gold medal two years later, but his coaching stint since he came on stream has not been impressive. He handled Ocean Boys during the last season and he was forced to quit the job. He had no stint with any youth team though he played for the U-23 squad in Cairo during the All Africa Games in 1991. His failure in coaching so far has put a shade on his achievement as a player and; therefore, not suitable to handle the Eaglets. Ewulu and Amadi are former goalkeepers. They were between the sticks in their own time as players. Amadi was in goal in 1989 in Damman. He came in as a substitute in the memorable match against Soviet Union and he saved some penalties too. But his profile has not risen to that of Ugbade. He played in only one competition for Nigeria and disappeared from the scene. The profile of Ewulu is beginning to rise with the performances of Rangers International in the Nigeria Premier League and the WAFU Cup with their string of victories.

Yet, he is way behind Ugbade. Ewulu is the one of the short listed coaches who can come close to the former Super Eagle. If not Ugbade, why not Ewulu?

Garba Manu played for the Super Eagles and he is the one that is likely to have the nod of selectors in the name of balancing. Austin Eguavoen handles the U-23; John Obuh handled the U-20 and Samson Siasia the Super Eagles. No northerner is in the equation. The job may be given to a northerner to balance the equation. But the selectors will be making a mistake if they consider tribal balancing. The national teams deserve competent hands to handle their affairs no matter where they came from.

Tribal consideration will continue to over shadow our football and make our teams also run in international competitions. The Eaglets job should be given to a competent hand.

Oyekale was also a member of the glorious 1985 squad that won the World championship in China. He has been quiet at the national level.

He was never moved up to the senior team. He has operated in the back waters of Nigerian football. His applying for the job of the national team gaffer is a surprise to many who know him and it is an indication that he has been busy coaching somewhere in the country. Yet he cannot match the achievement of Ugbade or any of the short listed coaches.

The selectors should put in mind that it is Nigeria that the coach would handle and not another youth team. The journey would be long and tiring so they should name a coach that knows the job and can deliver. In my opinion it is Ugbade.

MIKEL’S FATHER AND HIS ABDUCTORS I join millions of people world wide who feels concerned with the abduction of Mikel John Obi”s father, known as Michael Obi this morning. I asked the abductors to release the bread winner of the family of Obi to his children and wife.

I have the feeling that the abductors are football lovers and must have kidnapped him to get money from the Chelsea star. Now that they have not contacted the family gives the impression that the abductors are not after money. The kidnapper should speak out about their intentions so that we can know how to begin. No matter the reason, I appeal again to the abductors to release the old man for the same of Mikel Obi.

THE NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

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NATION SPORT

A Memorandum for Oneya’s Reform Committee I

N choosing General Dominic Oneya to head the football Reform Committee, the Sports Minister, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman displayed an unusual but good reading of the sports parameters that we have not beheld in recent years at the apex sports administrative seat. First, Oneya is a known man of peace despite his military background. The retired General remains one of the few persons whose presence in sports was not induced by pecuniary interests but rather by a long standing innate passion that has seen him graduate from tutelage of participation as an athlete, through to becoming officiating (technical) personnel as a referee and then as an administrator. He is not given to the usual quislings of most ‘I can serve’ administrators who see in positions an avenue to further aggrandize their voluptuous greed for money. Simply put, Oneya is not one of the ‘do or die administrators.

While the full details of the committee’s terms of reference are not known to me, permit me the convenience of using this platform to submit a memorandum. In pleading a CAVEAT for lack of complete information on the agenda of the committee, there is a presumption that the work of the team has been narrowed to bringing an immediate truce between the National Sports Commission (NSC) Director General and the Board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) led by Aminu Maigari. Yes. The agitators against the board of NFF derived their impetus for rabble-rousing from the surreptitious backing offered by the NSC leadership before the arrival of Yusuf.

In the long term, the committee is also expected to fashion means that will ensure vibrancy (my words) in the configuration of the board of Nigerian football apex body. It will be recalled that at the now famous Ikoyi, Lagos truce meeting in 2010 that led to the withdrawal of Mr. Harrison Jalla’s law suit against the NFF Board, the only meaningful item on the list of drawn-up agreements was that which called for the institution of football administrative reforms. Yet, it was a bogus item as no specific aspects of the desired reform was stated.

This memorandum is not about the externally-induced and contrived crisis in the NFF which have only served to divert attention away from more trouble that enveloped football in the country in the last five years. The dissonance between the former board of the Nigeria Premier League under the leadership of Chief Oyuki Obaseki and the NFF led by Alhaji Sani Abdullahi Lulu is at the epicenter of the football crisis we have been grappling

By Harry Iwuala

with. A little history here will bring us to the point.

A resolution was reached by the Ibrahim Galadima-led Nigeria Football Association (NFA) board congress sometime in 2004 to grant autonomy to clubs for the formation of the Nigeria Football League Board (NFL) that will administer the Nigeria Premier League. An interim committee led by Obaseki was thus constituted to oversee the affairs of the nascent Premier League comprising 20 clubs. Some other members included Lulu, Amanze Uchegbulam, Ade Ojeikere, Lumumba Adeh, Aisha Falode, Arthur Kwame and others with Salihu Abubakar as Secretary. Some members of this committee formed the nucleus of what became known as the Football Stakeholders that were later joined by some external persons to wrestle the NFA Chairmanship from Galadima.

Following one season of running the Premier League without a sponsor in 2005/ 06, the NFL (surprisingly baptized NPL)landed a major sponsorship deal with Globacom that raked in N693 Million in the first year and ten percent increment for each of the following three seasons after. The League became awash with money and past alliances began to thaw leading to a near deep rivalries between the Oyuki Obaseki League board and the Sani Lulu NFF board.

Herein lay the great divide that has entrenched football in the country into camps.

Expectedly, some interested by-standers in the battle for the soul of football in the country have been forming alliances with any of the camps that can serve their

•Patrick Ekeji

purpose of ascending the throne and it does not matter if the camp represents the devil.

It is instructive that the alliance that took out Galadima turned on themselves when their common enemy was subdued with the might of the then sitting Sports Minister, Saidu Samaila Sambawa. Cheered on by a mix of largely uninformed and mischief-minded lot, Obaseki basked in the limelight of achieving the biggest sponsorship. Old alliances was discarded and buoyed on by a deep in the integrity rating of the antiGaladima gang, the NPL began to sing a tune of autonomy as though the board just sprang up from the woods. While it was very attractive to dismiss the NFF Board as merely interested in laying hands on the NPL big pay, very few cautioned that both agencies must work harmoniously. Very few reminded the NPL that they derived their license (that is what the autonomy really was) from the NFF and that the same body could revoke the license and create another Premier League body. Very few paused to remind us all that without the NFF, clubs from the Premier League cannot compete in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup. The toppling of the Lulu board followed in the heels of their fast-tracking the ejection of Obaseki from the NPL as he plotted another term in office. Those who had hitherto been in the trenches on the side of the NPL leadership quickly seized the moment to draw their own battle line with Lulu and his team. This time as in the case of Galadima, they larched on to the Supper Eagles bad run to the 2010 World Cup and

uninspiring outing at the Nations Cup in Angola to pummel Lulu and co.

Away from history, this write-up urges Oneya to take a holistic and good look at the Premier League with a view to resolving all lingering issues. It is not enough to organize an election into the NPL Board, but we need to revisit the issue of club ownership structures and infrastructure. The effort of the reform committee will come to nought if the league that forms the basis of having a national team is allowed to remain archival in administration and organization.

A true stakeholder’s confab involving state governments, private sector, players, coaches, the media and marketing agencies is required to re-invent the league. A time has come to redefine the paradigm and flush out parasites that leech on the league. The agenda will also properly define the relationship between the Federation and the League so that there is policy coherence rather than the competitive existence between otherwise complimentary organs.

The crisis at the NFF is but a manifestation of the symptom of the malaise in the league. This of course is in addition to redefining the threshold for membership of both the local government, state and zonal FA Boards as well as determining the parameters for membership of the Club Owners Association and the League Board. No doubt, legislative activities will be required to institute some of the far reaching reforms that is germane to the attainment of our desired football administrative Eldorado.

Harry Iwuala is a renowned Journalist based in Lagos, Nigeria

VOICE OF SPORTS

With Clement Nwankpa Jnr. sportswar@yahoo.com

Heartland, Oh My Heartland!

IT appears the good times are back at my darling club, Heartland. It has been a very long wait, precisely 18 years, for a trophy to be added to the club’s trophy cabinet. We can’t wait for the moment a Heartland captain will lay his hands on a trophy. Will that person be current captain, Chinedu Efugh?

I remember what Efugh, the one they call Chicago, told me on the night after Heartland lost to Kaduna United in Kaduna.

The nature of that loss was such that the players’ commitment was in question. Later that night, while hanging out with Chicago and Heartland Team Manager, Promise Nwachukwu, we battled to diagnose the problem with the club. Chicago pointed out that he had organized fasting and prayer sessions aimed at changing the club’s fortunes but to no avail. He confessed that the management had taken their welfare seriously and did not deserve the poor results the boys were churning out and promised that the boys will make up for their poor form in the league by winning the Federation Cup. I was not optimistic but prayed the boys will live up to Chicago’s promise.

But after watching the boys dispatch Dolphins at the quarterfinal stage in Ilorin, I am beginning to share in Chicago’s optimism. In a keenly contested game at the magnificent Kwara Township Stadium, Heartland was the better team on the day.

It was not for lack of efforts, Dolphins really pushed for the equalizer when Obinna Nwachukwu hit target for Heartland but the resilience of the boys from Owerri was laudable.

Emmanuel Olowo and Chicago kept their cool at the heart of the defence shielding the in-form keeper Daniel Akpeyi while the forays of full backs, Chibuzor Okonkwo and Jackson on both flanks kept Dolphins’ wide players quiet. Julius Ubido was solid in the holding midfield role while attackers Okey Nwadike, Belo Kofarmata and Stanley Ohawuchi were threats on the counter. The Heartland display was so eye-catching that the fans couldn’t help cheering the boys’ every move. The consensus was that the team was good enough to lift the trophy.

One of the Ilorin-based sports journalists advised that the players should be kept together and motivated for the Federation Cup and saved the rigours of the league where Heartland doesn’t have any realistic chance of winning.

One thing was obvious on the day, the players’ commitment and resolve to triumph. That was just what gave them the day against league leaders Dolphins. There was a joker Heartland General Manager played to fire the boys up. This joker is what gives Heartland players the extra tonic when the oppositions come harder. I won’t reveal this joker as opposing club chairmen could deploy it against my beloved Heartland. But I promise to reveal this Fan Midas touch after the club would have triumphed in the final. What a moment it would be. It would be a fitting welcome gift for Imo State governor, Owele Rochas Okorocha. Ending Heartland’s 18 years trophy drought few months after assuming office will mean Owele has come with some element of luck. But the governor has to motivate these boys. They need the motivation badly at this point. Would there be a better way of motivating the players than paying up their sign-on fees? At a breakfast meeting with the boys before they left for Ilorin, Owele had promised to pay the boys this week. That also played a key part in motivating the boys to raise the bar against Dolphins but the mood in camp at the moment is gloomy. I have just returned from Owerri where I monitored the team’s preparation for the semi-final outing against Bayelsa United in Kano today and at the time of writing this piece the boys had not been paid. I would love Rochas to raise the boys’ spirits by ensuring that whatever approvals he made are promptly released. Having come this far, it will be disheartening if the team loses due to paucity of funds. If Rochas desires to be involved in the road show with the Federation Cup akin to what transpired when he won at the polls, he has to dip hands into his, or is it the state’s, pockets.

The trail-blazing achievements of Enyimba today must be traced to the advent of Orji Uzor Kalu as Abia State governor.

Suddenly, Enyimba transformed from a feeder team to Heartland, then Nationale, to Nigerian and African champions.

Now that the once gigantic Heartland is negotiating its way out of a hitherto crawling situation, Rochas should make the difference. He should do an OUK on Heartland. He should be the team’s number one fan. The only way he can successfully do this is by ensuring that all monies due this team are released promptly.

During the week I reminded Chicago the promise he made to me in Kaduna. The fact is that Heartland is two matches away from winning the Federation Cup. A season that started in a somewhat bleak form is ending on a high. Now I can hear echoes of the glory days of the 80s and early 90s. I remember with nostalgia 1988 when the club won the double while losing in the final of the CAF Champions League then known as Sekou Toure Cup. Once more, we want to hear chants of Owerri wu oke mba (Owerri is a great city) reverberate through the Eastern Heartland.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

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UEF A CHAMPIONS LEA GUE DRA WS ...UEF A CHAMPIONS LEA GUE DRA WS ...UEF A CHAMPIONS LEA GUE DRA WS ...

UEFA LEAGUE DRAWS WS...UEF ...UEFA LEAGUE DRAWS WS...UEF ...UEFA LEAGUE DRAWS WS...

NATION SPORT

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but our group includes two teams who we are very confident against,” the Coach told Milan Channel.

“The challenge against Barcelona is fascinating and we have to prepare in order to face it as best we can.

“I think this game provides great motivation and excitement without any further input needed.

“We will certainly be in the best condition and ready to face Barcelona.”

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ORTO director Fernando Gomes has indicated his side has been drawn in one of the hardest Champions League groups.

The Portuguese champions have been paired with Shakhtar Donetsk, Zenit St Petersburg and Apoel Nicosia just there months after winning the Europa League in Dublin.

"We got one of the hardest groups, given the high difficulty level of the teams and also the very long trips," Gomes told SPORT TV. "Shakhtar and Zenit are two of the European clubs who have been investing the most, they have several players who represent their respective countries and are guided by very good coaches."

Zubizarreta: 'AC Milan are very, very powerful'

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ARCELONA sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta believes AC Milan represent a tough rival for the Catalan club as the European champions face the Serie A winners in Group H of the Champions League following an intriguing draw on Thursday.

Barca, Champions League winners in two of the last three seasons, will meet the strongest side from Pot 2 and return to Milan for the first time since its European exit at the hands of Inter in

the 2009-10 competition.

"The one we know is Milan and they are a very, very powerful rival. And they have a great player in Ibrahimovic."

BATE Borisov of Belarus and Viktoria Plzen of the Czech Republic make up the numbers in Group H, something that Zubizarreta is excited for.

"It's a very diverse group," said Zubizarreta. "One is Czech and the other is from Belarus; they are new teams for us but they will allow us to learn new things."

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IAN Piero Gasperini warns Inter have “a dangerous group” in the Champions League against CSKA Moscow, Lille and Trabzonspor.

“I know CSKA Moscow and Lille,” the Coach told Inter Channel after this evening’s Group B draw.

“Trabzonspor are a little more of a mystery, so we must study them carefully, because Turkish football always provides difficult opponents. The atmosphere there is very fiery.

“At the moment CSKA are considered the strongest side in Russia and those with the most

behind in Wednesday’s second leg against the Italians, and Miles was full of praise for the Gunners’ resilience to recover and qualify.

"Cynics probably would have said, having gone one-nil down, that we were on our way out," he suggested.

"But it was a fantastic performance by the team, they showed great resolve in coming back –Wojciech Szczesny’s penalty save was fantastic, and we're delighted to be here."

Miles remains optimistic about the possibility of bringing in more signings before the end of the transfer window.

"I can't give specifics but everyone is committed," he added. "If there's quality players to be brought in then I have faith that Arsene Wenger will do so. We've got just under a week.

I've been involved myself in some lastminute transfers, and until the transfer window actually closes we're open for business."

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ANCHESTER City football administrator Brian Marwood has spoken of his excitement after the club were pitted against Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Napoli in the UEFA Champions League group phase.

City qualified for the competition for the first time after finishing third in the Premier League last season, and will be regarded as dark horses to go all the way after continuing to spend heavily on new players this summer.

Roberto Mancini's men were nevertheless in danger of being handed a tough group after finding themselves in the third pot of seeds for Thursday's draw in Monte Carlo.

While the final outcome is not the worst-case scenario, City will have to perform well against three sides with European pedigree.

"It's a fantastic group with four fantastic sides," Marwood told Sky Sports News.

"It's going to be extremely competitive. I genuinely believe there's four teams who can compete for the two places on an even keel."

Marwood revealed the club were looking forward to making their debut in the competition.

"It's a fantastic part of Manchester City's history to be here for the first time in Europe's premier club competition," he added.

"We really believe we can go into this competition and do well with the spirit that we have."

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international experience.

“I faced Lille two years ago with Genoa in the Europa League. At the time they were growing and already very organised. They went on to win the title and, although they sold several players, maintained a solid squad with important individuals.”

Inter faced CSKA Moscow in the 2010 quarter-finals on their way to winning the trophy, but have never taken on Lille or Trabzonspor.

The Turks were introduced into the Champions League draw on Thursday night after Fenerbahce were withdrawn due to a matchfixing investigation.

Fenerbahce's appeal rejected

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City - We Gill—Fergie will be happy can compete ANCHESTER United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will be happy with the draw for the UEFA Champions League group stages, according to chief executive David Gill.

Last season's defeated finalists were drawn with Benfica, Basel and Romanian newcomers Otelul Galati in Group C. United beat Benfica to win their first European Cup in 1968 - a match in

The group brings together two other sides with recent European trophies in their cabinets, with Zenit and Shakhtar having won the UEFA Cup in 2008 and 2009, respectively.

Porto avoided the likes of AC Milan and Lyon in Pot 2, and though Gomes admitted his side 'have a good record' against Eastern European clubs, he declared he is not happy with the outcome of the draw.

"I cannot deny Porto is the most prestigious club and the one with the best CV, but what will make us progress or not is being competent, having the desire to win and also a little bit of luck."

Gasperini: 'Dangerous Inter group'

Miles: Arsenal'quietlypleased'withgroup RSENAL is "quietly pleased" after drawing Marseille, Olympiakos and Borussia Dortmund in Group F of the Champions League, says club secretary David Miles.

The Gunners reached the group phase of the tournament after a 3-1 aggregate win over Udinese and following Thursday's draw Miles was excited for the opportunity.

"We'll be quietly pleased with the draw," Miles told Sky Sports News.

"We've never played Marseille in a competitive tournament, so we're looking forward to that one and we've played our other opponents once in the last 15 years, so we're looking forward to it. But the first priority was to get here."

Manager Arsene Wenger would have undoubtedly been pleased to be in the draw at all after falling a goal

NATION SPORT

Porto: We got one of the toughest CL groups

Allegri: 'Ready for Barcelona' ASSIMILIANO Allegri realises Milan “have drawn the strongest team, but we are ready to face Barcelona” in the Champions League.

The Rossoneri begin their campaign at Camp Nou against the trophy holders, while the other sides in Group H are BATE Borisov of Belarus and Czech surprise qualifiers Viktoria Plzen.

“We have drawn the strongest team,

33

which former player Sir Bobby Charlton played - and he paired the two together again during the draw in Monaco.

Gill said: "We have had great matches against them and he (Charlton) was reminiscing before the draw about that great match back in 1968.

"We had some great games against them in 2000 so we are looking forward to going back to Portugal."

Gill told Sky Sports News: "We've had great success in the last few years in the competition and we're looking forward to it.

"I'm sure he's (Ferguson's) happy with that. We have a new Romanian team, congratulations to them for getting in the competition. We are looking forward to going there."

Mazzarri: 'Difficult and fascinating'

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ALTER Mazzarri feels Napoli have a “difficult and fascinating” group in League.

“It’s tough,the butChampions a reward to face these sides.”

The Partenopei have been paired with Manchester City, Villarreal and Bayern Munich in Group A. “Obviously we weren’t lucky with this draw, as we are in the most difficult group of the lot, but at the same time it’s fascinating too,” said the Coach.

“It’s tough, but a reward to face these sides, as we earned this opportunity thanks to our extraordinary season.

“We’ll be playing against the best side in Germany, the team that for me are currently the best in England after their transfer campaign and one of the

top clubs in Spain.”

Napoli begin their Champions League campaign with a trip to the City of Manchester Stadium.

“The debut is already a huge test against champions like Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko.

“For us, this Champions League must represent another stepping stone in our maturation, above all on the international stage.

“This doesn’t mean we’re beaten before we even begin. We have to fight in every game without thinking about prestige or the strength of the side we’re facing. We’ll give it our all and then see where we end up.”

Blues relish Ballack reunion

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HELSEA are looking forward to a reunion with Michael Ballack in the UEFA Champions League, according to the club's communications director, Steve Atkins.

The 2008 finalists were drawn in Group E along with Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen and Belgian club Genk.

That means new signing Juan Mata will be facing former club Valencia after completing his move to Andre Villas-Boas' Chelsea.

The draw will also see Ballack, who left Stamford Bridge in 2010 after four years at Stamford Bridge, face his ex-employers.

Atkins said: "Every draw throws up challenges and this is no different, and I have spoken to Andre and he certainly feels that too.

"Valencia is a formidable team and a very difficult place to go with their support - Juan Mata will be returning there a little bit more quickly than he thought!

"Bayer Leverkusen is also a difficult one and we will be delighted to meet up with Michael Ballack again, and Genk too are full of talent and should not be underestimated."

•Michael Ballack

Szczesny —We're behind Wenger

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OJCIECH Szczesny insists the Arsenal players still have faith in their manager Arsene Wenger.

The Gunners' shot-stopper helped his side qualify for the UEFA Champions League with a stunning penalty save that galvanized Arsenal towards a 2-1 victory at Udinese after securing a 1-0 lead in the first leg.

However, critics cast doubt over Wenger's ability to produce a team worthy of challenging for titles prior to the return leg as Arsenal saw the heart of their midfield crumble following the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.

But Szczesny said the remaining crop of players had never doubted their boss and claimed it was only those outside the club that applied the pressure on the Frenchman.

"I think the only people who actually believed in the team was the team itself," said the Polish star.

"Inside the team, we don't do that at all.

"We know how good we are and how good our manager is.

"We believe in what he is doing so I believe we answered a lot of questions."

Szczesny was instrumental in helping Arsenal qualify after denying Antonio Di Natale from the penalty spot and even admitted giving the Italian forward a rough ride before the spot-kick.

"I told him he wasn't good enough, I was too good for him and he wasn't going to score - but in a nice way," revealed the 21-year-old.

"I got in his head in the end

because he missed the penalty."

With Arsenal coming off the back of a 2-0 league defeat to Liverpool, their next match at Old Trafford to face champions Manchester United on Sunday is nothing less than a 'must-win' for the north Londoners.

Szczesny added: "The last couple of games, we had disappointing results but, as I said, there was never a doubt in our heads that we are a very good side.

"So we are going to keep going, put in a good performance at Old Trafford on Sunday and see how it goes from there.

"The team believes we are capable of playing very well and winning games."

URKISH champions Fenerbahce's appeal against their exclusion from this season's Champions League over a match-fixing investigation was rejected by the country's soccer federation on Thursday.

The top Istanbul club were replaced by Trabzonspor, the league runners-up on goal difference last season, in Thursday's group stage draw for Europe's elite club competition.

Trabzonspor will play in Group B alongside Inter Milan, CSKA Moscow and Lille.

Before the draw, state-run Anatolian news agency reported Fenerbahce's appeal had been rejected by the Turkish football federation's arbitration board.

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) decision to bar Fenerbahce, taken under pressure from European soccer's governing body Uefa, has added to revenue concerns among clubs since the match-fixing court case emerged, although no decision has been taken to relegate any clubs.

Fenerbahce said its loss of revenue due to the Champions League exclusion would be some 25 million euros ($36 million) and its shares tumbled 18 percent on the Istanbul Stock Exchange on

Napoli welcome 'prestigious' draw

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APOLI President Aurelio De Laurentiis looks forward to a “prestigious” group with Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Giuseppe Rossi’s Villarreal.

The Partenopei haven’t qualified for the European Cup in 20 years, so were placed in Pot 4 for today’s draw and got an extremely tough group.

“It is a prestigious draw and we will play six wonderful games against three formidable opponents,” De Laurentiis told Sky Sport Italia.

“We already faced Villarreal last

season in the Europa League. I’d like to see a genuine European championship and hope within two or three years the situation can change.”

The Napoli chief made an offer for Italian international Rossi this summer and won’t disguise he’s planning another swoop.

“I continue to monitor Rossi. I like him very much, as he is an extraordinary person and the fact he was born in America makes him different to other Italians.

“My negotiations with Rossi will continue next year and I hope to bring him to Napoli.”

Thursday.

Shares in Black Sea club Trabzon, which said it expected competition income of 20 million euros, surged 21.8 percent.

"Our club's lawyers applied to the TFF Arbitration Board to suspend and annul the decision to bar it from the Uefa Champions League," Fenerbahce said in a statement.

2011/12 UEFA Champions League group stage Group A FC Bayern München (GER) Villarreal CF (ESP) Manchester City FC (ENG) SSC Napoli (ITA) Group B FC Internazionale Milano (ITA) PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS) LOSC Lille Métropole (FRA) Trabzonspor AS (TUR) Group C Manchester United FC (ENG) SL Benfica (POR) FC Basel 1893 (SUI) FC Otelul Galati (ROU) Group D Real Madrid CF (ESP) Olympique Lyonnais (FRA) AFC Ajax (NED) GNK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) Group E Chelsea FC (ENG) Valencia CF (ESP) Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER) KRC Genk (BEL) Group F Arsenal FC (ENG) Olympique de Marseille (FRA) Olympiacos FC (GRE) Borussia Dortmund (GER) Group G FC Porto (POR) FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) FC Zenit St Petersburg (RUS) APOEL FC (CYP) Group H FC Barcelona (ESP) AC Milan (ITA) FC BATE Borisov (BLR) FC Viktoria Plzen (CZE)

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THE NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

NATION SPORT

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NTERNATIONAL football returns to the National Stadium Complex, Abuja today when the Senior National Women’s Team, known and addressed as the Super Falcons, take on their counterparts from Cameroon in a final qualifying fixture for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The nature of our team’s qualification for this final round (in the form of homeand-away victories over Namibia must send jitters down the minds of any opposition, but the big message today is that the Super Falcons must take nothing for granted in the entire 90 minutes against the neighbours to the east.

Cameroon has done so much damage to our teams in the past that we must start NOW to pile up our own credits against that country on the international front.

Go back to 27 years ago, when the Super Eagles led by the youthful Stephen Keshi steamed all the way to the Final match of the African Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, only to be stopped at the final hurdle by the more experienced Indomitable Lions, who barely two years earlier had taken the FIFA World Cup by storm, losing none of three matches in Spain but crashing out as a result of ‘match-fixing’ between then West Germany and neighbours Austria.

In that final match in Abidjan on a day then President Felix Houphouet-Boigny ordered a national holiday, Mudashiru Babatunde Lawal shot Nigeria in front after only 10 minutes when he connected with a loose ball off James Etokebe’s pullout. But the Cameroonians equalized fortutiously with a free-kick in the last minute of the first half which was misdirected into his own net by Keshi.

There have been debates since then over whether the Cameroonian team, which

Inside The Glass House WITH AMINU MAIGARI

Falcons must take no prisoners included Roger Milla, Emmanuel Kunde, Ibrahim Aoudou, Gregoire Mbida, Antoine Bell, Theophile Abega and other legends would have been able to turn the table without that own goal.

Two years later, our Eagles failed to qualify for the finals in Egypt, which Cameroon lost on penalties to the host nation. That was the last time our Senior Team have failed to reach the African Cup of Nations finals (another subtopic in this piece).

In 1988, the Cameroonians pounced on the Eagles again, though a long debate raged over whether Henry Nwosu’s goal at the Mohamed V Stadium in Casablanca that day was truly ineligible, as Referee Idrissa Sarr from Mauritania claimed. But the result stood: Cameroon 1 Nigeria 0. The Cameroonians had beaten us to it again.

At home, when we co-hosted the Cup of Nations with Ghana in 2000, the Cameroonians again came, saw and conquered. Two early goals in the first half settled it, though the Super Eagles battled back to level, the

second a magnificent effort by Jay Jay Okocha (today, a member of NFF Technical Committee), the matter was resolved on penalties in favour of the Lions, though there were still several fingers that pointed accusingly in the direction of the Tunisian referee, Mourad Daami.

The two teams escaped each other in Mali two years later when Senegal defeated the Super Eagles in the semi finals and went ahead to play Cameroon in the final, which the Lions won on penalties.

But the big one my pen had been waiting to come to was the quarter-final clash in Monastir, Tunisia in 2004, when the Eagles gobbled up the Lions on a bright and sunny afternoon in North Africa.

I remember how the Cameroonian delegation, led

by President Issa Hayatou, took over the entire VIP Box and ‘naturally’ expected the Lions to roll over the Eagles.

Somewhere in the stands, Cameroonian supporters had a huge banner which read: ‘WANTED: EAGLES FOR SUPPER”. Ironically, after 90 minutes, the Nigerian

Lessons from South America (2)

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NE of the real lessons we learnt at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia is the way to support your national team, or preferred team, for that matter.

All through the group phase and the quarter finals, Colombians backed their U-20 National Team to the hilt, in a way that you would not be able to imagine. The stadium in Bogota (where the team played) was filled to capacity each time, and passion and patriotic fervour were never in short supply. The flags were always there in huge and miniature versions and the music and dance never waned.

When the Colombia U-20 team was eliminated on Saturday, 13th August, the Colombians switched, automatically and inexplicably, to the Flying Eagles. And what we saw in Cali on Sunday, 14th August, as I described last week, was out of the ordinary.

You would somehow expect that Nigeria would get secondbest support in a match against France, in a Spanish-speaking nation. There definitely is greater affinity between the French and the Spanish than between the English and the Spanish. But the fans in Cali turned every stereotype on its head and went all out to back Nigeria to the roof.

In Colombia, football is

serious business, as in all South American territoties. On Friday, 12th August, the Flying Eagles had arrived at a venue on the outskirts of Cali for a training session. The facility, as was later gathered, belonged to a Colombian premier division club, Deportivo Cali.

The vice president of Deportivo Cali FC, Mr. Henry Cuartas Martinez, explained that the club had about 1,500 members, each of whom pay the sum of $150 every month for the running of the club. The club has its own stadium, named Deportivo Cali Stadium, also in that Colombia third biggest city, and different from the Estadio Olimpico Pascual Guerrero where Nigeria played France.

The club also runs on the profit made from sale of exceptional players to the big Europeans teams – an example being the same of Hugo Rodallega to Wigan Athletics in the English Premiership. The club also made some money from the sale of Carlos Valderrama (that gorgeous talisman and image of Colombian football) to Montpellier in the French top flight a couple of decades ago.

The facility includes two training pitches, a standard club house, with a lounge, a bar, a sportswear shop, tennis court, swimming pools and a 24room hostel, which houses the

players and technical officials and has all the convenience that matters (not only restroom, please) though, the man said jokingly, no wives and girlfriends are allowed inside!

Is it impossible for our own premier and professional league clubs to have this kind of facilities? Definitely, it is not.

Treasured Experience...

I was happy to be in London in the second week of August when the Super Eagles were to play the Black Stars of Ghana in an international friendly, though the match was later cancelled as a result of the riots.

One experience I will treasure for life is the meeting with the family of the late Mudashiru Babatunde Lawal, former Captain of the Senior National Team. Mrs Yetunde MudaLawal was such a pleasant person, alongside the two children with her in London.

She came around and we had photos together at the Hilton Watford, and I assured her that come October 11 when the match is eventually played, we would bring her and the children back to be part of the experience.

Two days before then, we would have opportunity of having the Muda’s three children in Nigeria at the 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifying match against the Syli Nationale of Guinea at the National Stadium, Abuja.

supporters were moving round the restaurants in Monastir, asking to be served ‘lion meat for dinner’.

The story of Nigeria/ Cameroon clashes is a veritable chapter in the story of African football. But at the women’s football level, the Lionesses have always played second fiddle to the Super Falcons. And this MUST continue this evening at the National Stadium, Abuja, with the Falcons having prepared adequately over the past three weeks for this encounter.

Pedigree-wise, the Falcons have represented Africa at the Olympic Games Women’s Football Tournament in Sydney (Australia) 2000, Athens (Greece) 2004 and Beijing (China) 2008. The Lionesses do not look like the team that have liver to stop our girls, having been restored to the race ONLY after FIFA disqualified the Senior Women’s Team of Equatorial Guinea for fielding ineligible players.

Our special appeal today is that the people of Abuja and environs should troop out to the National Stadium, Abuja to support our Super Falcons to victory, in order that we would enact a big advantage ahead of the return leg match, coming up in Yaounde on 22nd October as a result of the Lionesses’ participation in the 10th All-Africa Games in Mozambique.

If we continue to say that football is our number one sport in this country, there is no reason why the stadium should not be filled to capacity anytime any of the National Teams is playing. We see club matches watched by full houses in Europe and elsewhere on a weekly basis.

Dear fan, please come and support the Super Falcons against Cameroon this evening at the National Stadium, Abuja.

• Eucharia

• Mikel

CHELSEA V NORWICH

Mikel seeks second league win

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IGERIA and Chelsea of England midfielder, John Mikel Obi should be head bent on scooping his second league win alongside his teammates in their third match of the season today at home.

The Nigerian international, still basking in the euphoria of the recovery of his missing father, after putting up a splendid performance in the last two matches during his ordeal, will be expected to do better now that his dad has been found.

Also invited by Nigeria for the all- important African Cup of Nation encounter against Madagascar September 4, and the international friendly against Argentina, Mikel will be gunning for a win to give him the needed boost to mount the Super Eagles midfield.

They will be welcoming Premier League new boys Norwich to Stamford Bridge seeking to improve on their lacklustre start to the season.

After being held to a goalless draw by Stoke on the opening day, Chelsea were staring down the barrel of a loss to West Brom in new manager Andre Villas-Boas' first home league game at the helm.

But after Shane Long handed the visitors an early lead, second-half goals to Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda helped last season's runners-up

to their first win of the campaign.

Their cause will be boosted by the signing of exciting 23year-old Spanish winger Juan Mata, who arrived from Valencia in a 26-million-pound deal and should make his debut on Saturday.

For Norwich, the season has begun with two successive 1-1 draws – against Wigan at DW Stadium on the opening day, and then again against Stoke a week later at Carrow Road.

But Paul Lambert's men will no doubt be smarting after their inglorious Carling Cup exit at the hands of MK Dons on Tuesday, when they suffered a 4-0 rout at home against the League One leaders.

Lambert's side is close to full strength for the daunting trip to London, with only longterm knee injury victims Elliott Ward and James Vaughan sure to miss out on Saturday.

Striker Steve Morison was in some doubt for the MK Dons clash with a groin strain, but after managing 30 minutes he should be in the frame for a start at Stamford Bridge.

For Villas-Boas, first-choice goalkeeper Petr Cech is still out with a knee injury suffered in training, meaning Portuguese shot stopper Henrique Hilario will keep his place in the starting 11, while Michael Essien is out long term with a serious knee injury.

WIGAN V QPR

Shittu may tackle Victor Moses to consolidate

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UT-OF-FAVOUR Nigerian defender, Danny Shittu, who has not been given any opportunity to prove his worth in his new England Premier League side Queens Park Rangers(QPR), may have his chance today as they travel away to Wigan Athletics.

But having been handed an invitation by his country's football federation to be part of the party in the African Cup of Nations quaifiers against Madagascar, and the international friendly aginst Argentina, Shittu will be delighted to star for newly promoted QPR for the first time to better his chances in the national team.

Wigan on their part will be looking for full points from their home clash with QPR on Saturday, after failing to capitalise on a dream run of fixtures.

The Roberto Martinez's men, who finished just three points clear of the relegation zone last season, faced newly promoted opposition in their first two English Premier League games, and continue that trend against QPR. But after drawing against Norwich and Swansea in the opening two weeks, Saturday's visit of Neil Warnock's side to the DW Stadium looms as a must-win clash for Wigan.

Having won one match and lost one, QPR, meanwhile, are riding a wave of optimism at Loftus Road, after the club's takeover by Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes was followed by a 1-0 win at Goodison Park over Everton on Saturday.

Olubanwo Fagbemi

On Sport Sport On SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

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e-mail: deewalebf@yahoo.com

Now, a coaching conundrum

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•Garde

•Allegri ITALY – SERIE A

FRANCE - LIGUE 1

Allegri: Inter still got quality

Garde calls for spirited display

A

S it stands, there remains doubt as to whether first round of Serie A games will go ahead.

The first fixtures of the season are currently set to occur and AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri believes the departure of Samuel Eto’o will not weaken rivals Inter Milan this season.

The Cameroon international completed his move to Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala this week after two years with the Italian giants, joining Javier Pastore and Alexis Sanchez as leading

players to leave Serie A this summer.

“Eto’o is a great player,” Allegri said. “It’s logical that they will lose something but I’m sure Inter will sign another great player to replace him.

“They have Wesley Sneijder, who is a key player.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Inter will be, alongside us, favourites to win the league title.

“There are other teams that have strengthened their squads but I believe we are a step above them.”

Ambrosini praises Aquilani swoop

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ASSIMO Ambrosini has welcomed Alberto Aquilani to Milan, but warned that nobody can substitute Andrea Pirlo.

The latter left the Rossoneri over the summer to join Juventus, the same club who opted against signing Aquilani outright following his loan spell.

However, the midfielder is now on his way to San Siro after an agreement was reached with Liverpool.

“Pirlo can’t be replaced in terms of his character and personality, but it is unjust to make comparisons,” Ambrosini told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Andrea marked an era here, but whoever replaces him can do well by interpreting the role in a slightly different way.

“Aquilani will be useful because he has different characteristics to the midfielders who are already at the club.

“He played with consistency and recovered his fitness at Juventus. I don’t see a reason why he wouldn’t do well here.”

FIXTURES

Saturday Siena v Fiorentina Cagliari v AC Milan

•Aquilani

Sunday Napoliv Genoa Novarav Palermo Parma v Catania Udinese v Juventus Atalanta v Cesena Bologna v Roma Inter Milan v Lecce Stadio Lazio v Chievo

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YON coach Remi Garde has called on his players to maintain the team spirit shown in reaching the Champions League group phase when they welcome Ligue 1 leaders Montpellier to the Stade Gerland this weekend.

Les Gones advanced to the group phase of Europe’s premier club competition for the 12th straight season as a 1-1 draw in Russia on Wednesday night gave them a 4-2 aggregate play-off win over Rubin Kazan.

Garde’s side return their focus to domestic matters on Saturday for the visit of Montpellier - the only team in the league with a 100% record from their first three games - and will do so on a

high.

“This qualification is very beautiful because we suffered,” said the coach.

“We stuck together well after the first goal. I was very scared but the equaliser from Bako [Bakari Kone] helped us a lot.

“I am very proud of the players. We all pulled together to organise this.

“We must instil team spirit and keep it.

“Saturday will be complicated because we meet the league leaders. In terms of recovery from this game and preparation for Montpellier, it is not straightforward.

“We will ask the players for one last effort before the international break.”

Diarra: ‘Make our own luck’

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ARSEILLE new recruit Alou Diarra isn’t worried by his side’s slow start to the season - three consecutive draws saying that spirits are high at the club ahead of Sunday’s trip to champions Lille.

Sunday night’s 0-0 draw with Saint-Etienne was OM’s sixth consecutive Ligue 1 stalemate. Leaving the club in 12th place with just three points, but France international midfielder Alou Diarra insists that the 2009-10 French champions are not about to start panicking.

“Sure, it was another draw that didn’t really help our position on the table, but it did prove that we are solid in defence,” said the former Bordeaux captain, who has played all 270 minutes of the season so far at his new club.

“We’re undefeated in three matches and I think our spirits are pretty high; we have a lot of desire. We just need to keep working hard to bag this first win of the season. We have to recuperate well and prepare ourselves for a tough trip to

Lille.”

Six points behind leaders Montpellier, Diarra knows that the clock is ticking for Marseille to throw their hat into the ring as title contenders, but the holding midfielder knows that worrying won’t help anyone - except maybe OM’s opponents.

“We’re taking care of our own performances,” he said.

“We’re not going to worry about our adversaries, we’re going to concentrate on ourselves.

FIXTURES Saturday Auxerre v AC Ajaccio Evian TG v Dijon Lorient v AS Nancy Nice v Brest Valenciennes v Bordeaux Lyon v Montpellier Sunday Rennes v Caen Sochaux v St Etienne Toulouse v PSG Lille v Marseille

HILE Nigeria and the rest of Africa count player indiscipline as significant factor in the failure to register greater impact on world football, inefficient administration is a more potent reason. Derived from football maladministration is delay, for reasons other than patriotic, in appointing the best coaches available, which when eventually done, is often followed by hesitation in changing handlers as circumstances warrant.

That was the scenario at different stages of the men’s and women’s national teams’ recent campaigns. The engagement and tenure of Eucharia Uche as Super Falcons’ coach, Samson Siasia at the helm of the Super Eagles and, lately, John Obuh with the Flying Eagles refer.

Some questioned Uche’s antecedents in the first place, but as the former international secured gold at the 2011 Africa Women’s Championship in South Africa, they were partly disarmed.

While I didn’t think Uche should have been selected in the first place for the same critical reason, I believed, for her qualification efforts, that she deserved to lead the team to the subsequent FIFA World Women’s World Cup in Germany so as to prevent recurrence of the procedural error of appointing Lars Lagerback as Super Eagles boss a few months before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Uche’s rather laid-back handling of the Falcons was never free of criticism, and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) responded by appointing a German, Thomas Obliers, to help with the Germany 2011 assignment. The result of the improbable combination was a first round exit.

The Falcons were not disgraced, but Uche’s attempt to make up for technical deficiency with physical play was evident. The girls rocked Germany and France with typical agility but still lost before overpowering Canada in the last preliminary Group A match to save face.

After hitting Germany with an ethnically-biased team devoid of strategic ideas, midfield leadership, or bite in attack, she was allowed a 45-day extension by the football federation to handle the team for the crucial London 2012 first leg qualifier against Cameroon today in Abuja with the return fixture in Cameroon two weeks after. Qualification may eventually be earned but playing style will always be limited to the coach’s abilities.

If champions of Uche’s cause could point to relatively poor pay – $2, 000 (N300, 000) monthly to Obliers’ $16, 000 as evidence of inadequate motivation, however, the same should not be said of Siasia and Obuh. As confirmed recently by an NFF official, both coaches negotiated worthy remuneration packages with the former’s long-drawn negotiation with the NFF following his initial demand for $1m per month well-documented.

Obuh, who came across as level-headed, even more so than Siasia, could be considered an official favourite as the football federation’s backing, following the unfortunate quarter-final exit of his Flying Eagles from the 2011 World Youth Championship (WYC) in Colombia, implied.

Without undermining his credentials, I still thought Obuh deserved tactical refresh instead of stagnation in the system. As I had cause to warn here after Siasia was out-thought by his Argentina counterpart during the football final of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, the only thing that mattered more than players’ physical conditioning in crucial games was perceptive technical input from the bench.

It is a quality often demonstrated by Siasia, but the Eagles tactician is immediately faced with the challenge of crushing Madagascar away on September 3 to correct a skewered 2012 Africa Nations Cup Group B qualification course. He must then confront Argentina – still smarting from last June’s 4-1 drubbing by the Eagles in Abuja – three days later in an exotic international friendly in Bangladesh, and wrest bragging rights from Ghana in the friendly West African derby slated for London in October before the final qualifier against table-topping Guinea.

Obuh, meanwhile, has time on his hands with the Under-20 squad in redundant mode. Had he overcome the Colombia test convincingly, he would have completed the London 2012 Olympics jigsaw that presently stumps national Under-23 team, Dream Team V. Since being shunted to the Under-23s after failing to inspire the Super Eagles in caretaker capacity following Lagerback’s illfated mastermind of the South Africa 2010 expedition, Austin Eguavoen has failed to excite supporters. His collection of mostly foreign-based players started qualification campaigns for London 2012 and the 2011 All Africa Games in Maputo brightly but faltered in the latter competition, handing the Games ticket to a less-endowed Ghana.

It was an outcome dreaded by critics who insisted that Eguavoen’s reliance on foreign-based players could backfire.

They advocated the alternative cultivation of gifted local lads as nucleus of the team.

Siasia reacted thus in similar circumstances with the successful Beijing 2008 Olympics set. But Eguavoen is no Siasia, so supporters would do well to perish any thought of replicating the silver medal finish from China.

As with the other coaching appointments save Siasia’s, leaving Eguavoen in charge of London 2012 qualification from the eightteam tournament scheduled for December is risky. NFF must act fast to resolve the coaching dilemma in the collective interest.

Whether the re-formed Under-17 national team technical crew of Manu Garba, Emmanuel Amuneke and Nduka Ugbade can recapture the late Yemi Tella’s 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cupwinning magic is anybody’s guess. Obuh’s silver-medal attainment from the 2009 edition is certainly the bar to raise.

38

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

RE ELNEW S

SNAPSHOTS

Making of a Chef berths in Nigeria

Stella Damasus set for Cameroon

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cooking competition like never before, Edwin Scholly is bringing his experiences as world renowned cook to bear on the Nigerian soil. Not only will the competition reveal the cooking career as a noble profession, it is expected to enrich the winner and other participants with the tools needed to achieve their goals as professional chefs worldwide.

Scholly was himself in Nigeria to advance this idea.

He said at the Eko Hotel & Suites that the show will offer

the opportunity of popularizing the Nigerian delicacies. “It is a World-class platform and opportunity to showcase the tourism potentials of Nigeria from the angle of its people, culture, cuisines, language and places through the premier reality cooking TV show Making of a Chef Nigeria.

Created by Rhodium LLC USA, the creators of Titanium Chef in the USA, the show will be hosted by the celebrity chef himself, Edwin Scholly and will be directed and produced in Nigeria by ROK

Productionz, a leading production outfit owned by award winning director, Daniel Ademinokan.

Scholly, it would be noted has served the likes of Queen of England; former United States President, George Bush; as well as personal chef to Donald Trump, Garth Brooks, Bruce Springstein, and Madonna.

He said that Making of a Chef - Nigeria is building on that global platform and heritage to build a revolutionary cookery academy and franchise in Nigeria, Africa and all around the world. It will be transmitted in the United States and Nigeria. Ghana and South Africa, he said will be the next stop of the reality TV. The show, he said is not just for the professionally trained chefs but anyone who has the passion for cooking and think they have what it takes, setting it aside from other reality cooking competitions.

The competition which will begin sales of forms to wouldbe contestants from September 5 is expected to hold screening in Abuja, Lagos and PortHarcourt.

Ademinokan who said Eko Hotel & Suites and the National Tourism number of contestants to 30.

Owerri. Lagos regional Development Corporation For the first time also, the show selections will hold from have endorsed the show, will have two anchor persons August 27 to August 31,” he explained that the test for the Bob Manuel Udokwu and added.

Darey Art Alade.

Gulder Ultimate Search 8 will participants will be based on Meanwhile, Bassey said, all is be staged in Egbetua Quarters, the main teachings of Master now set for the next stage Ososo Mountains in Akoko Chef Scholly who will train the which is the regional selection Edo, Edo State, between contestants on American, of the individuals. “The September and December this Asian, European, French, and regional selection process will year.

African cuisines. take place in Lagos, Abuja, Benin and Owerri. Successful applicants will be invited to locations in these regions, and subjected to several tests to test for physical strength, endurance, swimming ability, ASKEM Muslimci, a the company as well as positive among other tests. live Islamic programme inputs by the channel's The selection process will titled has finally begun manager, Mr. Ali Yakubu. take place over a three day airing on HiTV's Islamic “Haskem Muslimci is finally period in all locations, except in channel, Hi Gamji. According to a success and currently running Lagos, which will extend to five Justin Akpovi-Esade, HiTV's on air”, Akpovi-Esade said. The days. While the screening will Public Relations Manager, the programme comes up every take place from August 23 to 25 programme launch was made Friday by 11am-12 noon with a in Benin and Abuja; it will hold possible through weeks of hard repeat edition at 7pm same day. from August 27 to 29 in work by the production team of Also, in the spirit of Ramadan, Justin added, a special programme has been designed by the proudly Nigerian Pay TV Company to cater for all Abdulrazaq Abdulahi, the CEO Muslim faithful. Tagged Tafrir, of Corporate pictures about the programme also shows on this prowling dupe. Following Hi Gamji. It comes up every the alert, a team of police 9pm during this month of officers were immediately sent Ramadan. It actually started from Ebute Ero, police station, since August 2. in Idumota, and were planted The introduction of the new at Sheraton Hotel. At exactly Islamic packages on HiTV 10am Adelaja appeared and compliments the Christian ones was swiftly arrested. already running on Dove TV, The case has been adjourned Daystar and ACBN channels, by the magistrate of Igbosere the HiTV official said. court 6 in the person of Mrs. However, the excitement in the O.J Awope, until the 2nd of special Ramadan Kareem September 2011. He is programme on Television presently cooling off his heels Continental, TVC and at the Ebute Ero police station Amuludun both channels on cell. He will be charged and the HiTV platform is reaching sent to prison if found guilty. fever pitch.

•Adekunle

GUS 8 sets new registration record

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Queen Nwokoye bonds with twitter friends

ITH more people intending to participate in challenging reality television programme, the Gulder Ultimate Search, organizers say that a record number of registrants have been recorded.

As at 12 midnight of August 19, when the registration closed, 26,004 individuals had registered for a chance to participate in the reality TV show.

This figure, according to Ita Bassey, Senior Brand Manager, Gulder, is a new registration record, surpassing last year's, when a total number of 20,634 people registered.

Describing the record increase as an indication that Gulder Ultimate Search 8 will be highly successful, Bassey said that the record number of registrations for Gulder Ultimate Search 8 is a feat. “For over 26, 000 individuals to register for a spot on this very novel reality TV show reflects the popularity of Gulder Ultimate Search. Close to 6,000 individuals registered over and above last year's figure. Even more spectacular is the fact that over 1,000 people registered with just twelve hours to the deadline.”

Bassey re-iterated his confidence that Gulder Ultimate Search 8 would surpass previous editions, given the increase in the

Haskem Muslimci comes live on Hi Gamji

H

Fake movie director in police net

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T is day of reckoning for one Alhaji Adelaja Adekunle, who has been parading himself a movie Director as the long arm of the law finally caught up with him.

Parading himself as the MD/CEO of Corporate Pictures, Adekunle is reported to have duped one Ms Folashade Ojo to the tune of N.3m. The man fake Director was said to have requested Ojo to meet him at the prestigious Sheraton Hotel and Towers, in Ikeja by 10am on the 12th of this month.

At this point, it was said, an alert was sent to Alhaji

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

H

IS assessment of the nation’s educational system.

I want to subscribe to the view that the nation’s educational system has undergone some form of metamorphosis, particularly from the immediate post-independence era up to the present time. Metamorphosis in the sense that today, we hear different strands of arguments. Some will tell us that the standard of education has fallen; others will say certain things are only wrong.

I want to hold on to the position that the Nigerian educational system is a reflection of the country’s political economy. The educational system is just a part of the entire system. And where the substructure is faulty, of course, the superstructure of which the educational system is one, cannot but be faulty.

Having said that, people talk about mere participation these days. People talk about education without quality. People talk about education merely on paper.

They talk about education without skills. And you can see the manifestation of these even from the quality of graduates we produce these days. Most of the people we churn out as graduates of tertiary institutions are mere certificated people. Landmark University, from its inception, realised this lacuna. And it was out to bridge this. We have what we call the Total Man Concept otherwise known as TMC. TMC is out to address this social malaise in a very positive way.

We do not see man as a mere physical being; we see man as a tripartite structure made up of soul, mind and body. That is why we have incorporated into our curriculum courses that will help build the man spiritually and his skills even after graduation.

I make bold to say that we inherited that from our proprietors.

It does not only talk about spiritual development, it talks about impartation of skills in relevant fields. We have also introduced farming to inculcate in them the whole concept of dignity of labour. This is to ensure that we produce employers of labour at the end of the day. This will go a long way in bridging the gap between theory and practice.

On web-metric ranking of Nigerian universities.

We congratulate Covenant University for emerging among the first 10 universities. However, as our proprietors will also say, we would have been surprised if Covenant University is not there.

A lot of inputs, investments and sacrifice have gone into that. I say it authoritatively because I was part and still part of the system.

As a university, when you see a line of progress, a path of glory, a course of action that engenders success, you ask yourself what are those ingredients that led to that success story and you will want to emulate it to achieve a similar result. I can boldly say that Landmark University will not only follow in the footsteps of Covenant University, we are going to surpass it. As part of our foundation, the university has put in place the concept of ICTdriven tertiary institution. Very shortly, we will be among the top 10 universities.

How to uplift the Nigerian educational system.

I believe what is required on the part of government is political will. There is no doubt that every government has had marvellous blueprints that are grandiose in nature and well packaged. But the point of implementation is where the issue lies. You will recall the recent establishment of

39

INTERVIEW

How to take jobless youths off the streets —Landmark University VC The Vice Chancellor of Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Prof. Rotimi Ajayi proffers solutions to some problems confronting the nation’s educational system, particularly the process of admitting students into the nation’s tertiary institutions. He spoke with ADEKUNLE JIMOH nine universities across the country. It is no doubt a very laudable programme, because if you ask me, the number of universities we have in Nigeria cannot be said to be commensurate with the demand. We are not there yet in terms of number. However, we also heard recently that not all the new universities will take off because the enabling environment is not there yet. That, to me, means there is a disconnection between plan and action. One would think that before such pronouncements are made, enough groundwork would have been done in terms of location, funding, structure. Even where it is not completed, we should have it on blueprint and action would have commenced immediately.

What we need on the part of government is sincerity and the will to be able to achieve these goals and objectives. We have the resources even though they are not unlimited. We know what private entrepreneurs spend in setting up facilities of this nature. If Landmark University were to be a government institution, would the same result have been achieved?

More importantly, in terms of human capital, we need a drastic revolution to uplift the stan-

dard of men and women saddled with our educational system; talking about the teachers from primary to tertiary levels, as they are the drivers of the vehicle.

Imagine what it entails to have frustrated, incompetent and unprepared teachers. That is the challenge we have with the managers of our educational system in Nigeria. A lot need to be done to improve the welfare of these people.

Need for more universities.

We need more universities in Nigeria. I mean universities not just in name but in every parameter that makes up one. Having partaken in previous National Universities Commission (NUC)’s accreditation exercise in some parts of the country, I have witnessed some universities that may really live up to that appellation in terms of structure and human resources, particularly among the privately-owned universities. The demand is enormous. Some reputable private universities today find it difficult to cope with high number of applicants. Indeed, to cope with the high numbers, some public universities have introduced extraneous regulations in their admis-

‘

sion processes.

We need to take care of the army of students roaming the streets.

We need to take care of the frustrated and disgruntled ones who are qualified but have no place to go. As the universities come on board, I think the universities should focus on programmes that will address the basic needs and challenges of the country.

They are not to run courses that have no relevance to the needs and aspirations of the society for the purpose of milking the unsuspecting students dry.

The onus lies on the regulatory bodies, particularly the NUC, as the universities come on board to ensure that quality is not diminished; to ensure that the atmosphere conducive for teaching, learning and research is created.

Government policies on private varsities Policies are not there to stifle aspirations. With the benefit of hindsight, any investor that is worth his salt will comply with them and set up such university.

For example, the minimum requirement of N200 million for any private university is insignificant compared to the enormous resources for setting up a university. I don’t see that as a

Why don’t we tackle unemployment and give ourselves some targets in that area?... We can tackle unemployment by going back to agriculture and by extension through the multiplier effect resuscitating the manufacturing industries

,

regulation. But the challenge is that any private investor who sees setting up a varsity as a business venture is bound to miss the mark in no distant time, because investment in university education is not something that yields immediate returns.

On youth restiveness The youth need to be kept off the streets. Many of our teeming youths are on the streets doing nothing. The resultant effect is social upheaval. Look at the calibre of boys and girls recruited to fight religious uprising. They are the people who don’t have a future. It is a reflection of that social malaise that we really need to tackle. And government must willingly and sincerely focus on the issue of employment generation.

Amnesty programme has been put in place. Then why don’t we tackle unemployment and give ourselves some targets in that area? National Directorate of Employment (NDE) tried it but it later became political at the end of the day and it was lost to political considerations. We can tackle unemployment by going back to agriculture and by extension through the multiplier effect resuscitating the manufacturing industries. What has happened to the industries of old? When we talk about leadership, we must also not forget the issue of accountability and responsibility.

A society where leaders have become our rulers and not our guardians, a society where the gap between the social classes is very wide, a society where the people now ask themselves the essence of going to school, needs to be restructured and reformed.

40

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

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EXUAL harassment is in timidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favours. In some contexts, sexual harassment may be illegal. It includes a range of behaviour from seemingly mild transgressions and annoyance to actual sexual abuse or sexual assault.

According to research, the term sexual harassment was used in 1973 by Dr. Mary Rowe in a report to the then President and Chancellor of MIT about various forms of gender issues. Rowe stated that she believed she was not the first to use the term, since sexual harassment was being discussed in women’s groups in Massachusetts in the early 70s, but that MIT might have been the first or one of the first large organisations to discuss the topic.

Having said that, I would like to state here that majority of the cases that have been reported have always presented women as the harassed and the men as the aggressors. It worries me; not because it is untrue or that most of the stories could be made up. The question that bothers me is this: could it be even remotely possible that women are the only victims in this? Is it possible that the women are and have always been 100 per cent innocent in this sexual harassment game? Hmm, it bothers me. I would like to say that we, as women, sometimes have a huge role to play in this game.

It is possible for us to either encourage or discourage a potential sexual harasser.

A recent case that was brought to my ‘ears’ by a regular reader of Feminique, got me thinking seriously about this.

Consequently, at the risk of having my fellow women cast the proverbial ‘first stones’ on me, I have the idea that some

•Vera, you have said it all, every working woman must try to maintain a balance in keeping a good relationship with their children and their work. Only one hand cannot sustain the family in Nigeria of today. Keep on shinny Oloyede Gabriel, Igbokoda •Vera, to be honest, if you had wanted jobs in banks and the oil, you would have gotten by now. Rather you tend to balance many things and settled for journalism where you have a rest of mind. Having most of your gender colleagues both educated, fairly educated and the illiterates are money-conscious! Why must banks, oil-gas and full time

Sexual harassment; are women always the victims? of us, in some cases, bring it upon ourselves.

Cynthia (not real name) called me up sometime last week that her senior colleague suddenly grabbed her bum and breast while she brought him some official documents for his signature. She insisted I help her confront Eric, before she reported to the management. Without any hesitation, I called him up, with her permission, of course. The phone rang severally and just as I was about to hang up, he picked up the call, after I introduced myself, I told him of Cynthia’s allegations. While I spoke to him, I observed his unusual calmness. He did not try to deny it or even interrupt me. When I was through, his reaction was as unsual as his earlier calmness, he insisted on coming to my office right away to tell me his own side of the story. He said: “Vera, I have a couple of hours to spare, if you are free, I will tell you my side of the story, as this, I assure you, it’s not a phone matter.”

Well, call it inquisitive, but I did allow him come to me to explain himself.

Long story short, since I had about 30 minutes to spare, he tried to make his explanation as brief as possible.

First, he was shocked that politics be the first port of calls for female gender? There are brilliant women in academics, ministries and parastatal. Such can never feel guilty of denying their children of the required time, advice and care.

Those feeling guilty know the type of jobs to undertake to free themselves. I agree with you that both quantity and quality of time spent with children, determine the success of the care in question. The exception where a female could be money-conscious is where or when her man is unable to get a job at all or unable to get a sustainable job.

Lanre Oseni, Lagos •If working mothers are dying of guilt then something

she was alleging harassment, when in actual fact; she was the person running after him in every way possible. She would insist on doing lunch dates with him, hitching rides with him at every given opportunity, even though they didn’t reside in the same area.

“Cynthia,” he claimed, “would come into my office and ask me to help her adjust her zip, she would show signs of jealousy whenever I entertained female visitors, she even brought me food from her house. Her possessive nature towards me not only as a senior colleague but as a man was not entirely unnoticed by our other colleagues. Some, till date, tease me to be careful of other female friends since Madam (referring to Cynthia), could be jealous. Vera, I am a man now, I have blood in my veins,” he said, as if thinking aloud.

He continued: “The last straw that broke the Carmel’s back was on the second week of January, when she insisted on showing me where she had abscess injection wound on her bum bum. My refusal to see it simply fell on her deaf ears.

She insisted on showing it to me, locked up my office door, raised her dress up and showed me.

“I tell you, I couldn’t handle that. I am not a doctor for Pete’s sake. Why on earth would a lady pull down her undies, lock my door and insist I have a look? So, I asked myself, ‘what are you waiting for?’ Thinking she wanted me, considering the obvious signals she was throwing my way, I acted like any man would, I grabbed her breasts and the rest, you know.”

He insisted the lady was the one harassing him and not the other way round.

Long after Eric left my office, I could not fathom why Cynthia had called me up in the first place. Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of ways. Often, but not always, the ‘harasser’ is in a position of power or authority over the victim. I have heard of housemaids deliberately tempting their masters when Madam is not around. The truth about sexual harassment is that the victim can be any gender. The ‘harasser’ can be any gender.

The ‘harasser’ can be anyone, such as a client, a co-worker, a teacher or professor, a student, a friend, or a stranger.

A lecturer friend of mine, has also told me how women of all ages, married, single, darkskinned, fair-skinned have sev-

Text messages

Re: Help! Working mothers are dying of guilt must be wrong somewhere.

No amount of self justification or rationalization can save such a mom. Unless the root cause is looked into as dip passionately and as possible, chances are that she will continue to feel guilt. I have always felt that the primary role of a woman is to build a home, every other thing is secondary. Perhaps this is why a woman is unhappy when she is failing in this area. The role of a man is to cater for the needs of his immediate family. I would go for a non career woman rather than a career woman. The reason is not

•Odole Oluwadamilola Mercy celebrating her birthday recently

far fetched; non career woman has the time to impact basic home training on her children. This helps in sound character development. I often wonder how possible it is for a career woman who leaves for work before her children wakes and returns when they are asleep to spend quality time with her children.

Oyelami Oyetunde •Hi Vera, on working mothers are dying of guilt, I like your write-up and I want to conclude by saying it is every mother’s joy to be working or to be fully engaged in doing something. Mothers of nowadays find it boring to being at home only to be taken care of their kids, they always want to find something doing in order to support the family.

Tinuke, Ogba •Your write-up in The Nation, Saturday, August 20 is nice and it interests me. I think you have tried your best to palliate the guilt of working mothers. I will not blame them too for working and working so hard to have a life, but I think you left out the fact that where the mothers are not there the fathers should fill in the space after all they both own the children. But to be more focused on your title and being a woman yourself, may be that’s why you left out the father angle, so you can have woman-to-woman talk.

However, I think women

erally offered him sex for marks without mincing words.

He also told me how he could have as many as three women per day if he so desired, but instead, he tries his best to ward them off (at least that’s what he told me, and since he is my friend, I believe him. After all, like Eric said, every man has blood flowing through his veins abi? It is well o).

Ironically, if this category of women gives sex in exchange for marks and they don’t get the desired marks, they cry ‘blue murder.’

Fine, women are harassed.

Everyday, it happens, even if it does not take place physically like Eric’s and Cynthia’s, it could be verbal. It could even be non-verbal. A man can, with one sweeping glance, strip you naked. A colleague can deliberately touch a female colleague, pretending it was an accident. But I dare say, that as women, we can put a red light or a check on it when a man is passing his boundary with us, we don’t have to allow it. There are always options. Seek better options. Don’t encourage a man deliberately with your ‘come-on’ signals. If you do and he acts on those signals, it’s not fair on him for you to start crying ‘wolf!’

Studies show that

organisational climates (an organisation tolerance and work place environment), are essential for understanding the conditions in which sexual harassment is likely to occur, and the way its victims will be affected. Another element which increases the risk of sexual harassment is the job’s gender context. Some of the psychological and health effects that can occur in someone who has been sexually harassed are depression, anxiety, panic, sleeplessness, shame, guilt, difficulty in concentration, headaches, fatigue, feeling violated and betrayed, anger, loss of confidence, self esteem, withdrawal and isolation, lost of trust in people, etc.

In conclusion, Cynthia, may have asked for what she got, but that is not to say that anybody will deliberately ask to be harassed; and since she considers Eric’s ‘invasion’ on her body, a harassment, then I think it is only civil and decent for Eric to tender her an unreserved apology. As long as they still hope to continue to work in the same environment, the stigma that could follow, if known to their management and colleagues, could be more than they can handle. So, for the Erics and Cynthias out there, I say enough!

should rather consider jobs that will allow them both quantity and quality time with their children, what happened to teaching and allied jobs as a job and profession? I think our women miss the point more by going for jobs that will take them off their natural calling.

I hope I will not be chewed raw for being a male chauvinist. The society is in a big hurry, hurry to where? I don’t know. We should remember that these children are our future investments when women would have been thrown out of these jobs and it might just make sense for us to slow down and think before we take steps. Again, thanks Vera for calling the attention of women to their children. It’s a wake up call.

Yinka Obiwole

but I want to comment on your edition on “Working mothers”. If I will summarise everything in this write-up, I think it is about love and care towards their children. Love is a kind of feeling that needs to be expressed. When a mother loves her child, she will love to spend time and money on the child. But what happens if a mother stops working and the means of providing this is no longer there or what if the bread winner dies, the love can not be expressed materially. I am also of the opinion that women should be financially independent. Permit me to use this medium to say well done to mothers. As for me if there is anybody I love on earth most it is my mother.

Omini Destiny

•To me, no woman should die of guilt whatever the situation, but rather pray and trust in God so that your final result balances well as you indicated in your last paragraph.

Mohd Y. Maiyaki •I was thrilled to no end reading your write up: Help!

Working mothers are dying of guilt. The issues for and against working were very well canvassed. What a decision dilemma facing young couples, both men and woman. We parents are in bigger dilemma.

Nsikak Essien •I read your articles most often. I would love to say well done. I am a single young man

About couples’ and separate bedrooms…

•Vera, one man’s sauce is another man’s poison. What works within a family circle will definitely be strange somewhere else. Ideally, couples should sleep in the same room but if the only constant thing in life is change, it is no big deal if couples sleep separately.

Such an arrangement gives either party a kind of freedom to express and enjoy privacy to the fullest and most importantly too the chance to fully meditate and commune with God. Either way, I think the man and his wife should agree on a common objective.

Remi Adesina

Profile Partying Happenstances Style

SOCIAL SCENE Saturday

SPECIAL THE NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

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Saturday

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SPECIAL

THE NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

With KAYODE OLANSHILE-ALFRED E-mail:kayflex2@yahoo.com TEL:08035733605

Ayo Adedoyin's new moves

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rince Ayo Adedoyin seems to be making the most of life at present.

Soon after he parted ways with his former wife, Oghogho, he was bombarded by ladies who wanted to fill Oghogho's slot.

Even some of the erstwhile friends of his estranged wife were alleged to be involved in the scramble for Adedoyin's heart.

While some of his close associates say he is not ready for another marriage now because the collapse of his last marriage still hurts, others believe he is ready to dump the experience in the dustbin of history and move on. It definitely will not be easy to forget how much money was deployed at his superlative wedding ceremony in which Ayo tied the nuptial knot with Oghogho many years ago.

A few years after the marriage was consummated, however, rumour began to fly that theirs was a marriage of convenience. Before well-wishers could come out to dispel the rumour, the marriage had fallen apart.

Although for Ayo, it is hard to completely wipe out memories of his relationship with his ex-wife, he has bounced back into full vitality, leaping and spinning where necessary. In fact, sources say he is already reciprocating the come-hither smiles of another pretty lady. This, of course, is according to those who should know.

Nike Shonibare goes home

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t is generally accepted that death is man's inevitable end. However, when it does happen, it leaves in its trail anguish and sorrow. Nothing can be more bone-chilling than the sight of a once vibrant person lying helpless in the jaws of death.

That was the faith that befell Lagos big boy, Alaba Shonibare, whose wife died of a cancerrelated illness on August 16, 2011. Apart from the fact that Nike was extremely beautiful, she was also widely loved and cherished. There is no doubt that she will be greatly missed by many of her friends, especially the likes of Tutu Ayeni, Mimi Akinkugbe, Yewande Zaccheus, Nike De Sousa and Funke Osibodu.

Nike, who gave up the ghost at the age of 51 after a brief illness, was buried on Wednesday August 24, 2011 at Vaults and Gardens, behind the headquarters of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Ikoyi, Lagos.

In her days, the stylish lady served on the executive board of Woman to Woman Ministry. She was humble, diligent and resourceful. She was also a role model to many, particularly at her church, House on the Rock.

Quincy Ayodele is bereaved

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he harvest of deaths in the circle of socialites in recent times reminds one of the grim reality of the mortal nature of man. Yet another illustrious man has departed the social firmament. Quincy Ayodele's father-in-law, Pa Jacob Ayodele Amoko, has bidden the land of the living farewell.

Employees, business associates and friends of Quincy Ayodele, the CEO of Quincy Herbal Slimmer, are currently in mourning mood, offering their shoulders to one of their own to cry on.

Although a sad moment for the Ayodele family, burial plans are said to be underway to give the patriarch of the Ayodele family a befitting burial.

The burial is said to be slated for next month. The wake is said to be scheduled for September 15 in Egbe, Kogi State. Funeral service and Interment will take place the following day.

There is already a scramble for the aso ebi (ceremonial uniform) among socialites and celebrities.

Remi Lagos joins the golden club

A

lthough she looks 10 years younger, fashion icon and black apparel loving designer, Remi Osholanke, popularly called Remi Lagos, has hit the golden age.

It is a piece of information that might come as a shocker to many who are familiar with the energetic and vivacious designer. A very hardworking and devoted entrepreneur, Remi has carved a niche for herself in the fashion industry.

Her label, Remi Lagos, ranks among the top labels in the Nigerian fashion scene.

There was nothing to indicate she had clocked the golden age when she did because contrary to popular expectation, she marked it in a small way with her close friends and associates.

But she is said to be planning a big fashion project.

Shade Alesh in new lease of life

H

e who finds a wife, the Bible says, finds a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord.

Consequently, any man who finds popular jeweller, Shade Alesh, as a wife must have found a good thing.

The fair-complexioned ex-wife of Rilwan Aleshinloye is at present in an euphoric state as love crosses her path again.

Theirs was a fairy-tale marriage while she remained married to Rilwan. They were indeed the envy of many eyes. The rich hotelier's lengthy union with Sade seemed cast in iron. But joy, they say, has a slender body.

Right now, the CEO of

Jewellery Affair, an exclusive jewellery shop at Civic Centre on Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, Victoria Island, is back in her groove. Shade Alesh has been made a complete woman again, and the lucky man is no other than Gboyega Shoye, a businessman who shuttles between Nigeria and the United States.

The wedding, according to those in the know, was an extremely quiet affair. Now she spots an 18-carat diamond encrusted gold wedding band, which she flaunts everywhere she goes and leaving no one in doubt about her new social status.

TEL:08035733605

Another headache for Joseph Yobo

Pamela Yough out of circulation

Shina Peller gets serious

Igbinedion, Mantu set to become in-laws?

Saturday

THE NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

SPECIAL

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44

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

‘Like the kidnappers, many people errorneously think we are rolling in dollars and pound sterling’ •Mrs. Obieneze, Mikel Obi’s mother

H

OW long have you been married to your husband?

Since 1974; that was the year he took me to the altar.

How many children has this marriage produced?

We are blesses with 10 children.

Is John Mikel Obi, the Chelsea player, your first or your last son?

He is the second to the last.

Throughout your married life, have you been separated from your husband like the recent one?

Never, it has never happened like this one. This is the first of its kind in our relationship, except when he travels and we plan the journey together. I know where he is going and I know when he will return. But I was divorced from my husband by kidnappers for 12 days; it was like we were divorced for 12 months.

So you really missed him during those 12 days he was away from home?

You can imagine, if you were in my shoe, won’t you miss the one you love most? It was more than missing him.

I felt we should have been kidnapped together instead of kidnapping him and leaving me at home; whatever God has joined together, let no man put asunder. That was why God Almighty fought for us in this situation, because within these 12 days of his absence, I never slept for one hour. It was difficult to sleep without him around me. So instead of sleeping, we were doing night vigil.

How did you get the news of the kidnap of your husband?

On that Friday, I closed from my shop and came back home and

Mikel Obi’s mother, Mrs. Roseline Obieneze, a businesswoman, in this encounter with YUSUFU AMINU IDEGU in Jos, relives her trauma during the kidnap of her husband, Mr. Michael Obieneze.

discovered that my husband was not at home. He normally closes early from his business and comes home before me because he cannot drive when it is dark; he hates driving at night so he closes as soon as sun set.

So it was unusual that I came home and he was not around. The moment he gets home after office, he doesn’t normally go out. So when I asked the children at home, they told me they had not seen daddy come home. So I decided to call his phone, the phone was telling me ‘the number was not available at the moment’. I was not worried immediately. I waited for his arrival for one hour, I did not see him.

I had to call his line again and this time around, the message I got from the phone was that ‘the number you are trying to call is switched off’. That was at the point I

became worried.

What did you do after that?

My children and I went out in search for him because I had called all his relations that I knew in Jos and they said they did not see him. We first went through his normal route when going out and coming in, to see if there was any accident on the road, but we did not see anything like that. Before we began the search, we reported to the police that he was missing. While we were searching for him, we kept trying his phone line which remained switched off. The next thing we did was to go from one hospital to another asking if there was any accident casualty, but there was none. There was no known hospital in Jos that we did not go to in search of my husband.

We kept searching throughout the night till the next day.

45

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011 There was confusion in the family. I just told my children, let’s begin to pray; we started praying. I called our church leaders to pray for us. It was continuous prayer, we booked mass for his sake. While we were praying here, our people in the village were also organising mass for him; it was prayer everywhere.

At what point did you get to know that he was kidnapped? Did any of them call you?

No, they did not call me initially, but later somebody called me with unknown number to say, ‘Madam, don’t worry, your husband is with us.

He is safe; you don’t need to worry’.

When the person speaking to me finished, I asked who are you? He said: ‘Don’t worry, I will tell you when I call next time; don’t panic; don’t go to anybody; don’t contact anybody; don’t talk to anybody; your husband is in safe hands’.

Your contact with the unknown number, was it on the very day your husband was kidnapped?

It was the next day, Saturday; he was picked on a Friday.

That was when you realised your husband was kidnapped?

Exactly, but before then, after we searched everywhere and we could not find him, my mind told me he had been kidnapped. I suspected that before I got the call. So the call was a confirmation of what I had in mind.

We initially thought he had an accident but we also reasoned that if he was involved in an accident, the medical people or security people would have called us because all our numbers are in his phone.

So when nobody called from a hospital, my mind told me he was kidnapped.

Did the caller ask for any money to be paid for them to release your husband?

No, that person did not ask for any money when they called me, but when later the called one of my sons, they asked him for money. So my son kept telling me what their demands were each time they called him. So they were communicating more with my son than me.

When you discovered that your husband was kidnapped, what was your state of mind then?

I can’t describe my state of mind as at that time, it is difficult to explain. I was in deep confusion. The entire family was in total confusion. In fact, if I was hypertensive I would have collapsed. I would have died of high blood pressure, but I thank God because God gave me the courage to manage the confusion I found myself.

I went into deep prayers for God to deliver my husband and God has done it for me.

Did you have any dream or premonition that something negative was about to happen in your family?

No, there was nothing like that. I never even contemplated such a thing would happen in Jos because this is the first major kidnap case in Jos; it had never happened and I never contemplated such a thing, not to talk of dreaming of such a thing.

When you discovered that your husband was kidnapped, did you ever contemplate he would come back alive?

Yes, I had that confidence because while I kept praying, God revealed to me one day that my husband was alive and that he would come back home one day but it was not revealed to me how long it would take for him to come back home. So I kept praying that God should do his miracle fast enough for me to see my husband. God has answered my prayers; within 12 days, my husband was freed.

•Mr. Obieneze, his father

‘

People think our family is rolling in dollars because our son is a soccer star and that was why they think of kidnapping the head of the family to make money from us. They made a mistake because we don’t have all the dollars and pounds they think we have

But were you prepared to pay any ransom to secure the release of your husband?

Impossible, I was not ready to pay any ransom, where would I get the money from? People think our family is rolling in dollars because our son is a soccer star and that was why they think of kidnapping the head of the family to make money from us. They made a mistake because we don’t have all the dollars and pounds they think we have.

But one thing is that the moment

‘

•Mikel Obi

’

God revealed to me during prayers that my husband would come back home alive, my fear was reduced. I placed my hope in God from then. So my belief was that it is not money that would deliver my husband, it is God that would do it. So I was not prepared to pay anyone to deliver my husband.

Funny enough, the kidnappers were demanding for money that even if our son is the president of America, we could not have afforded the money.

Their demand was ridiculous, we

I felt we should have been kidnapped together instead of kidnapping him and leaving me at home; whatever God has joined together, let no man put asunder.

That was why God Almighty fought for us in this situation, because within these 12 days of his absence, I never slept for one hour

’

have never seen such money in all our lives.

How much were they demanding for?

I don’t know, the amount is something I’ve not heard before. I don’t even remember the amount because that was not my area of concentration. I was just prayerful throughout. So if you ask me the amount, I won’t know. So I allowed my son to be discussing with them regarding money while I concentrated on my prayers.

Are you going to organise thanksgiving for this miracle?

You can say that again, it is going to be more than just thanksgiving; we are going to celebrate God’s faithfulness to this family. In fact I can spend the huge amount they asked for as ransom to organise the thanksgiving. I can spend that amount to thank God rather than throwing it away to criminals. If the criminals thought they can make millions from us in this style, they will never succeed; my God in heaven will not allow them to succeed. So I m going to spend my millions to thank God.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

Nigerian designers shine at African Fashion Week in London P

eople fell in love with ankara designs of Da Viva at the African Fashion Week held in London recently. The event,which took place at the Gipson Hall of Bishopsgate in East London, is the only regular African fashion show in UK aimed at celebrating the creativity of African designers using local fabrics mixed with some western elements.

The show ,which featured 50 designers from different parts of the world, saw Nigerian fashion designers like Frank Oshodi, Meg Alabi, eldimaafashion,Ozora, Charles Toye and some others thrill guests with their spectacular designs.

Da Viva has six designers with eight outfits each, making a total of 48 outfits on the catwalk at the gala. Apart from the Nigerian designers, UK arts/ garments exhibitors, from different parts of the world, showcased their talents at the event.

•Model

•Model

•Model •Model

Tips Boxer briefs Have you found the best style? Below are a few boxer brief tips.

Always go for something

made of soft stretch cotton.

Always go for all one colour. Dark colours are best and have a nice slimming effect.

Your boxer brief must fit

your waist.

To keep your supply fresh, fading colours and stretched out material are not sexy.

Stay away from anything made of satin, silk,

•Model

leather and so on.

For a man’s underwear, animal and flower prints are no-go areas.

The boxer brief must not be too long. Remember it is meant to be underwear.

47

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

Looking modest?

A

re you looking for modest designs exuding confidence, vibrance and comfort to wear for Eid-el-Fitri .

A practical Muslim will want to project positive impressions in his or her attire with Islamic modesty.

Whether you are single, married or professional, you will want to wear clothes that are suitable for the occasion.

Below are some suitable modest Islamic designs to help you with your dressing

•Sanusi Lamido Sanui,CBN Governor

•Model for Nana Kursheki

•Model for Nana Kursheki

•Model for Nana Kursheki •Hakeem Ishola

Alexander Wang is collaborating with Sally Hansen

Elite Model Look Nigeria finale holds in Lagos

E

LITE Model Look, which is unique in providing opportunity for young girls to enter the fashion world as models, holds in Lagos on September 3.

The contest is a prestigious event open to beginners with a professional aim: discovering the young who will become top models of the future.

The show is in four segments. The New Urban section featuring Eki Orleans and Republic of Foreigner, Swimwear by Melissa Odabash, Vintage with Virgos Lounge and Bridget Awosika as the closer and headliner.

•Chika Emmanuella, Elite Model Look 2010

•Nails Alexander Wang is collaborating with Sally Hansen on a line of nail polishes which will debut alongside his spring 2012 collection at New York Fashion Week next month.

•Skin

•Alexander Wang

Lush Cosmetics is launching a Shark Fin Soap, but it’s an imitation fin, and proceeds from sales of the soap will benefit a nonprofit organisation dedicated to protecting sharks.

48

Society

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

The clergy, Lagos monarch honour Cardinal Okogie at 75

E

After Cardinal Okogie formally declared open the St. Peter Nurseryand Primary School, he advised the school management to handle the school in accordance with laws governing schools in Lagos State.

The cardinal celebrated a mass with Fr. Iheanacho, the parish priest.

Oba Ojoola commended the church for its noble activities and implored parish priest to continue doing his good work.

The Chairman of Ejigbo LCDA, Hon Kehinde Bamigbetan,praised the Catholic Church for its contributions to the development of the nation.

Chief Odinaka Iwu , who spoke on behalf of the parish ,thanked Cardinal Okogie for finding time for the event and wished him very well..

The event had in attendance igwes, administrators and politicians .Among them were Hon Onadeko Damilola and HRH A.U. Obiora.

•L-R: Rev. Fr. Abba Williams, Parish Priest In-Residence, Saint Peter Catholic Church, Ejigbo and Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie

•Parish Priest Iheanacho and Anthony Cardinal Okogie arriving the Adoration Ground

•Cardinal Okogie and Oojon of Ejigbo, Oba Marufu Adisa Adekunle, at the Adoration Ground.

•L-R: Igwe A.U. Obiora and the Chairman of Ejigbo LCDA, Hon. Kehinde Bamigbetan

What and Where?

JIGBO, a suburb of Lagos, was in a festive mood last Sunday as the Catholic faithful trooped to the St Peter Catholic Church to celebrate with Anthony Cardi nal Okogie on his 75th birthday, commission the 40-plot Adoration Ground and declare open a nursery and primary school.

The sight of the faithful in their yellow shirts was good to behold, as they rushed to the venue of the events.

The cardinal, who expressed his happiness at the turnout of the faithful, thanked the church for remembering his birthday, though he jocularly said it was being “celebrated in arrears”.

He commended the church for the adoration ground project and expressed his gratitude to Oba Marufu Adisa Adekunle, the Oojon of Ejigbo, for helping the church to get the land which was dedicated by Cardinal Okogie.

L-R: Deputy Comptroller of Customs, Federal Operations Unit, Zone A, Ikeja, Mr. Victor David Dimka, receiving the First Eminent Gold Award from the Chairman of First Eminent Associates, Chief Mrs Adunni Bankole, while Mr. Olumide Ojelade (second left), and the President, Mr. Kola Anunlopo (right), watch with delight in Lagos during the presentation.

•L-R: Executive Director, Domestic Banking, Ecobank, Mr. Kingsley Aigbokhaevbo; Executive Director, Corporate Banking, Ecobank, Mrs. Foluke Aboderin; and Deputy Manager, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Mr. Ita Calix, at the Ecobank Salary Account Promo draw in Lagos on Thursday.

Photo: Bola Omilabu

49

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

•The Business Bridge boat

Business Bridge acrossAtlantic Ocean

T

HE Atlantic Ocean waves raged as they crashed on the Ikegun beach shore. The white surf continually made a huge splash on the clean white sandy beach. The wind from the ocean was strong making whooshing noise as came in contact with the face. About ten metres away were about 20 people gathered around a new yellow wooden boat. The inscription on the body was B.B. (Buisness Bridge). History is about to be made in Nigeria with a pilot tourism project.

The modern philosophy of tourism is predicated on two ideas: the first is sustainability, making sure that man, in his effort to make money and indulge himself, does not harm the environment. The second is making sure that tourism impact positively on the economy and life of the host community.

The novel project, launched early this week ,is a tripartite arrangement, involving Lekki Local Government Development Area, Lagos, the World Conference of Mayors and the Motherland Beckons, an initiative of Otunba Wanle Akinboboye.

The initiative is a means of poverty alleviation that seeks to empower the local fishermen in Ikegun with capital to help them do their fishing business and make profit.

The initiative was conceptualized by the head of Motherland Beckons, Otunba Akinboboye who is also the Tourism Ambassador of the WCM for Africa.

He explained what the initiative is all about: “It has to do with service to humanity. We must begin to trade well. The concept is for both Nigeria and the continent of Africa. We must, as a people , begin to look out for the other guys, not to spoon feed them, not to give

them handouts, but to actually teach them how to fish and empower them to fish. So, the philosophy is simple: for an average American to invest in Africa, it will take tremendous efforts because first, he must overcome the fear that has been created in him by the Western media about Nigeria in particular.

“He has to overcome that fear first, then he has to arrange and figure out how to get a visa, and then figure out where to go and how to go because there is really no data in most of our embassies that is very detailed. Then he has to buy the ticket, fly over here, look for accommodation, transportation, write a business plan, spend a minimum of three months before they can make such investment. It is too expensive compared to what they can get to do in a neighboring country like, let’s say, Mexico, where they can just walk in and do their trade.

“Under the auspices of the Motherland Beckons and the World Conference of Mayors, we decided that we must look at how to make it easy for them to invest on the continent of Africa. That is how the concept of Business Bridge came into being.

So, you take an average investor in the Diaspora. He doesn’t have to be an African, but a lover of Africa to help Africa not through handouts, but hand up, by saying fine, I sit in my home in, let us say, Colorado or Alabama, and I invest 10,000 dollars. That in Nigeria is about N1.5 million naira. It will start a lot of small scale vocational entrepreneurial businesses.

“We have a bank and a business manager overseeing the affairs so that the man in America, Mexico, Brazil or any part of the world that he decides to do that investment from can sit back, on a monthly basis, generate income without leav-

ing his homes. From the net, he could monitor the activities of the locals. That is the general philosophy.

“Immediately I was appointed an ambassador for the World Conference of Mayors,I started telling people that appointment is not an achievement; it is what you do with the appointment that matters.

People have recognized that I have this capability and as such I was appointed. We don’t celebrate that, but we acknowledge the responsibility.

Your celebration should come when you have recorded successes.

By the time we have five thousand people, investing in the Business Bridge project, from all over the world, I will begin to celebrate because then, lives of millions of people would have been touched.

“Looking at the Lagos State alone, we have about 190 kilometres of

beachfront and over eight to 10 million riverine dwellers that have fishing as their vocation. That is clearly all they know all their lives and that is all they have been doing all their lives. How do they get the capital to start ? How do they write the business plan? How do they get the collateral? How do they get the business knowhow? How do they manage the business? There is much wealth in the ocean. What and what do they use the money for apart from the boat, the net and the engine?

“Basically, what the money has been put into is the buying of the boat, the engine, the net and other things they need for the business and because they are sharing profit on a regular basis, the entrepreneur is responsible for the maintenance.

We don’t want the man in Alabama, for example, to start asking :Is it

true you bought petrol for N1,000?

Okay prove that you bought a petrol of N1,000. He does not have that kind of time. The man here is responsible for all these from his own percentage, so that the man abroad does have to worry about all these. Of course, we are just beginning. We don’t expect to kick it off and it will be perfect. We will be finetuning as we are moving on.

The sharing formula, like I said, is 50-50”.

Although the project has started in Lagos, the Motherland Beckons and WCM hope to replicate it in other states in Nigeria and African countries. Akinboboye explains: “We are also going to tap into what I call sentimental investment. What I mean by sentimental investment is that we will get people to regis-

Continued on Page 50

•L-R: Mayor James Walls, Baale of Ikegun and Otunba Wanle Akinboboye

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

Business Bridge acrossAtlantic Ocean Continued from Page 49

ter to be part of it, whatever vocation. There is a huge textile business in Ogun State untapped, so many people have learnt it over the years. It takes less than half a million naira to start the business.

But a lot of them do not have access to capital to kick it off.

What we will do is that we will list all these vocations so that when you go on the site and decide that you want to invest, you choose where you want to invest, but it is going to micro loans.

“The idea is to reach and touch the lives of the common riverine man that cannot even speak English, but has talent. For example, in the adire trade, a typical apprentice who has completed her training for years, but goes back to where she learnt her trade because she cannot afford to start her own business.”

On how other beneficiaries would be sourced, he said: “There is a form we are creating that they will be bought from the bank, any GTBank.

Those interested will fill the form, indicating the area of interest and specialization and the bank will align all the available vocations with the available investors.”

The mayor of District Heights in Maryland, the United States of America, Mr. James Walls, talked about

why he decided to buy into the project by putting in the 10,000 dollars needed to kick start the first project.

“The Conference of Mayors recently appointed Wanle Akinboboye as our Ambassador for the Continent of Africa, focusing on tourism and part of it is to intertwine Motherland Beckons as our tourism pieced to promote tourism throughout the continent of Africa. Wanle has done a great job with Motherland Beckons and what we want is collaborating this effort with what the WCM intentions were in trying to move forward in promoting tourism here on the continent.

“Part of what we did with the Motherland Beckons is this Business Bridge to give opportunities to people across the Atlantic to be able to come and invest in Africa.

We know that part of tourism has a lot to do with economic development and different aspects. This is the aspects we are promoting for people who may not have the means or time to travel to Africa, but they may want to invest in Africa. So, they have such opportunities. For instance, we are working with the local fishermen where we are providing small bridge loans to them to purchase boats and everything they need as far as nets and other things they need to get ready for their business so that they can start

making money. Once they start doing that we have helped provide not only for them, but for their family and the community that they live in,”Mr Walls said The Baale of Ikegun, Musiliu Azeez Akolawole, the first beneficiary of the Business Bridge, said the injection of money would help him to really go into his fishing business in a bigger way.

He said hitherto most of the villagers, because of lack of capital ,put their resources together and ended up doing community fishing. He continued: “The fishing business is our major occupation. We don’t have much land to engage in farming. Fishing is our only means of livelihood.

You know fishing business needs money. Because of that, we engage in community fishing in form of co-operative association. This is the way we survive.”

He thanked the WCM and Motherland Beckons for the initiative.

He believed the project would be a success. “ As we start now, we are praying for the success of the business.

We pray to God to make a success of this business, so that it will grow and impact positively on our lives,”he said.

On the entourage of Mayor Walls was Bishop Diana Tiaara Williams. She prayed and blessed the project.

Kehinde FALODE: 08023689894

•Preparing to launch into the water

Healthy and nutritional benefit of butter

Chocolate mint Foluke ADEMOLA

Chocolate mint cookies is a wonderful, doubly flavoured cookie. Easy and fast to make; just try one today and you surely never want to stop.

Ingredients • 2 eggs • 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour • 3/4 cup butter • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips • 1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar • 1-1/4 tsp baking soda • 2 tbsp water • 1/2 tsp salt • 36 chocolate mint wafer candies Preparation • Take a large saucepan and cook butter and sugar over low to medium heat. Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted. Take the pan off heat and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted.

• Transfer it into a large bowl and allow it to cool down for ten minutes. Turning the blender into high speed beat in eggs, one at a time into chocolate mixture.

• Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients, beating until blended. Let this dough chill in the refrigerator for one hour. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C.

•Prayer for business success

• Make little balls of the dough and place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes. While cookies are baking, unwrap mints and divide each in half.

• When cookies are brought out of the oven, put 1/2 mint on top of each cookie and let the mint sit for up to 5 minutes until melted, then spread the mint on top of the cookie

Butter is a concentrated form of whole milk. It is typically made from cow’s milk, but it can also be created from goat and sheep milk. It has been dated back to nearly 4500 years ago.

Dairies make butter by letting milk sit in large vats in a cool place, allowing for the cream to rise to the top. The cream is then skimmed off and moved to a separate vat.

This cream is then usually allowed to sit so that acids form on the top which helps break down the fat and give the butter a slight sour taste.

Butter contains protein, calcium and phosphorus.

The main vitamins in butter include vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K. Additional nutrients in butter include fatty acids, lactones, methyl ketones and dimethl and diacetyl sulfide.

While butter is high in fat, this fat features heart-healthy

Canberry citrus drink This lovely rosy drink, with its appealing fresh fruit flavour, is not too sweet or too tart. It can be served as hot beverage for brunch gatherings as an alternative to coffee, tea or cold juice Ingredients • 1 (12 ounce) package fresh or frozen cranberries • 2 1/2 quarts water • 2 cups orange juice • 1 cup sugar • 1 cup pineapple juice • 2 tablespoons lemon juice • 3 (3 inches) cinnamon sticks

Directions • In a large saucepan, bring cranberries and water to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 5-7 minutes or until berries pop.

• Stir in the remaining ingredients; return to boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 25-30 minutes.

Strain through cheesecloth; discard pulp and cinnamon sticks.

Serve warm or hot.

fats, which have shown to lower cholesterol, prevent certain cancers and prevent the spread or growth of tumors. Butter is one of the easiest forms of vitamin A to absorb. Vitamin A promotes good vision, a healthy thyroid and adrenal health.

Butter contains antioxidants, specifically selenium, which helps protect the body from free radical damage.

Additionally, butter contains iodine which has shown to support the thyroid gland. It contains arachidonic acid (AA) which plays a role in brain function and is a vital component of cell membranes and protects against gastrointestinal infections in the very young or the elderly.

It is beneficial for fighting tooth decay and to promote muscle growth. This dairy product contains less amounts of lactose and so, those who are lactose intolerant may also consume it moderately. It is also said that the lecithin in butter is essential for cholesterol metabolism.

The only source of an anti-stiffness factor, butter, protects the calcification of the joints and pineal gland, prevents hardening of arteries and cataract. It is a source of Vitamin K2 which is important for treating arthritis, osteoporosis, tooth decay; tuberculosis, emphysema and asthma. It also helps in keeping the skin smooth and healthy.

51

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

T

HE Nigerian Tourism Development Corpora tion is set to elevate the Gadan Allah spring water tourist site located in Niger State to the status of national prominence weaving a festival around the natural location.

The pristine spring water site, which has been variously described as a veritable tourist location in Niger State, is said to possess the potential of enriching Nigeria’s tourism fortunes which will further translate into viable economic gains for the state and the country at large.

The Director General of the Corporation, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, revealed that after a thorough assessment of the site, the NTDC may further recommend it to appropriate federal government agency which will also recommend it to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for subsequent global promotion.

Otunba Runsewe made this known while playing host to a delegation from Niger State led by the honourable Commissioner for Information, Communication and Strategy, Danladi Umar Abdulhameed.

The NTDC chief, while describing the commissioner as a mobilizer of repute said, “Gadan Allah will be one of our destinations and with the permission of the chief servant of Niger State, I will suggest the development of a national festival around the Gadan Allah” Runsewe further expressed his gratitude to the Governor of Niger State for the appointment of Alhaji

NTDC to upgrade Gadan Allah

WTM laucnhes free mobile app

W

orld Travel Market (WTM), the lead ing global event for the travel industry, has launched a free mobile app, available to download to all major smart phones.

Otunba Segun Runsewe, DG, NTDC (left), giving a souvenir to Alhaji Danladi Umar Abdulhameed, Niger State Commissioner for Information,Communication and Strategy

Abdulhameed,noting that his appointment is indeed a round peg in a round hole.

In his words, “I must say that the chief servant of Niger State is a very unique and highly detribalized person, just as the people of Niger State are unique and I commend him for your appointment. Niger State is the first to have visited the NTDC in this dispensation with interest in how to move tourism forward in our country.

“Your visit is divine because there is an ongoing initiative by the NTDC on tourism virtual tour and we are currently in Niger State capturing various tourism sites so that you don’t need to visit Niger State before you see some of these locations, instead you can simply view them by taking a virtual tour through the computer system”.

He added:“I will also suggest the creation of a rail system from Abuja to Minna as this will further boost tourism in Niger State.”

Earlier, the commissioner, while thanking the DG for accepting to receive him despite the short notice, intimated that the reason for his visit was to say “well-done and keep it up”.

He informed the NTDC boss that the vision of the present administration in Niger State is to transform the state into a viable economic hub, ranking among the top three in Nigeria by 20-20, noting that for this to be achieved, there was the need to emulate proactive Nigerians like Otunba Runsewe and align with his result-oriented disposition.

Commending notable achievements of the Runsewe administration, like the Outside Broadcast

Van and NTDC’s Navigator system which he described as the best in Nigeria, Alhaji Abdulhameed observed that Niger State holds a lot of tourism potential stating, “There is a place called Gadan Allah meaning Allah’s Bridge in Hausa and it is still very much intact and offers a lot of opportunity as a tourist destination. We want you to help us promote it because people are not aware of it.”

Concluding, Otunba Runsewe reaffirmed his resolve to promote the Gadan Allah spring water site as a tourist location of international repute assuring the visitors that the Niger State vision 20-20 is realizable with the efforts thus far while recognizing the fact that there were still challenges, he expressed his confidence in surmounting them.

tra roaming charges.

World Travel Market Exhibition Director, Simon Press, said: “The WTM app is a great initiative which will improve all our participants’ experience at WTM by increasing the ability to plan before WTM 2011 and maximize everybody’s time while attending the event.”

“The app enables our audience to know everything about WTM at the touch of a button. It will allow visitors and exhibitors to interact with WTM from their mobile phones and encourage increased connections between exhibitors and visitors , adding to the overall exhibition experience.”

The app is the perfect accessory for all World Travel Market participants before, during and after the event, helping exhibitors to plan their time at WTM 2011.

The app includes a number of features, including”: the ability to register; realtime news; Twitter feeds; videos; an array of photos from the exhibition floor; exhibitor and seminar listing; receipt of bespoke information from WTM based on your particular area of interest; bespoke personal event planner and route finder.

The app, which was designed by GenieMobile, is available to download free of charge to all iPhones from the APP Store, from the Android Market and from the WTM website (www.wtmlondon.com/ app) for Blackberry and Windows smart phones or from this QR code.

It can be updated prior to arriving at WTM to get the most up-to-date information without incurring ex-

Fiona

SUDOKU Welcome to SUDOKU, the captivating and engrossing numbers logic puzzle popularised by the Japanese.

The idea of the puzzle is to fill the grid of 81 cells divided into nine 3 x 3 boxes, such that every box, every row, and every column contains the numbers 1-9, each number appearing only once in each box, row and column.

1ST STEP IN SOLVING PUZZLE 323: Look at the 3 middle horizontal (DEF) 3x3 boxes. The lest box has 5 in cell Eb, while the right box has its 5 in cell Dg. The middle box must, therefore, have its own 5 in row F, where there is only 1 vacant space - cell Fe. Reasoning along these lines, try and fill in all the other vacant cells.

SOLUTION TOMORROW. HAPPY PUZZLING!

PUZZLE 329

GM, Sheraton, Abuja, Morten Ebbesen; VP and Director of Operations (Africa and Indian Ocean) Starwood , Mr. Hassan Ahdab; Mr. Shigeru Hamano, Deputy Head of Missions, Japanese High Commission in Abuja; Area General Manager, ,Starwood Nigeria, Alexander Gassauer; PR Manager, Starwood, Nanji Tyem; Mary Williams, Area Digital, Starwood; and Daniel Sekoni, Director, Sales and Marketing, Sheraton, Abuja.

Starwood supports Japanese tsunami victims

A

LMOST six months after the tsunami that swept through Japan, leaving behind massive destruction and tales of woes, relief is still coming the way of this island nation of Asia.

The Starwood group in Nigeria, which includes the Sheraton properties in Lagos and Abuja, Le Meridien in Uyo and Port Harcourt and the Four Point by Sheraton Lagos,in line with its worldwide culture of giving warmth and embracing com-

munities, has made a donation to the Japan Tsunami Relief Fund through the Red Cross.

In a release by the group’s Public Relations Manager, Nanji Tyem, the area manager of Starwood property in Nigeria, Mr. Alexander Gassauer, championed this initiative with the central idea of creating typical Japanese Sushi stands in the lobbies of each hotel where Sushi will be sold to customers. The in-

come collected will then be donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society in support of victims of the Japanese tsunami.

Vice President and Director of Operations ( Africa and Indian Ocean), Mr. Hassan Ahdab, together with Mr. Gassauer arrived Abuja to hand over the cheque of (USD$5000) to Mr. Shigeru Hamano- the Deputy Head of Missions at the Japanese High Commission in Abuja.

Mr. Gassauer said the group hoped the contribution will help make a difference in the lives of people most affected.

He equally added that “as our footprint grows, we have even greater social responsibilities to the communities we operate in, and one that we share across all Starwood hotels. Each of us has a role in ‘doing the right thing’ to help create a comforting world.

A B C D E F G H I

7

4 2

1 8 5 9

1

9

9

6 7

4

7

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1

5 3 6

2 6

7

SOLUTION TO PUZZLE 328 3

7

6

4

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5

9

1

8

2

5

1

7

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3

6

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9

4

1

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2 6

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1

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2 7

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3 8

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9

5

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52

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

The place of the in-laws (3)

D

EAR Reader, I thank God for the privilege to bring His Word your way again today.

Last week, I taught on the keys of acceptance, love and allowing brotherly love to continue in relating efficiently with your inlaws.

This week, I will be speaking on Forgiveness, as a major tool in reverencing the place of your in-laws.

If you are not ready to adopt this tool of forgiveness, you can’t love your in-laws effectively.

Looking from the perspective of God’s Word, forgiveness is not what you should feel like doing but a decision to be made. You might have had some terrible ex-

plump pillow is essential for a good night’s sleep, but it is also a breeding ground for disease, scientists warned recently.

A study suggests pillows used at home and in hospitals have been underestimated as carriers of infection such as potentially deadly super bugs.

After only two years, more than a third of the weight of a pillow is comprised of allergens made up from dead skin, bacteria, dead dust mites and their faeces.

Doctors from Barts and the London NHS Trust investigated whether pillows used in hospitals could aid the spread of disease.

The team found 30 different types of infections in a sample of standard £5 pillows taken from wards.

They said that a worrying number showed evidence of wear and tear, allowing mites and bacteria to enter, and as such were potential vehicles for infections such as MRSA and C.difficile.

The findings were presented

by Dr Arthur Tucker at the Hospital Acquired Infection Confer-

A

Pillow Talk •Allergy sufferers should opt for synthetic pillows over feather ones and fit them with anti-allergen covers.

•Kill mites by washing pillows regularly at 60C or putting them in the freezer for 24 hours.

•Good Housekeeping recommends washing your pillows once every three months on a delicate cycle.

•Wash two pillows together to balance the machine and use only a small amount of detergent. Rinse them twice.

•On a hot sunny day, try hanging your pillows outside to dry. Bacteria and fungi like moist environments.

•Fold it in half, place a book on top and let go. If the pillow throws off the item and fluffs back to shape, it’s still sleepworthy.

•Change the pillow once it is due for replacement.

periences with your in-laws in the past, perhaps to a point that has affected your marriage; forgiveness is still a decision you must make. Forgive them for that wrong they did to you.

Unforgiveness thrives on two major evils: First, it capitalizes on the past – it keeps your memory fresh on what your sister-in-law did to you many years ago, or what your mother-in-law said against you. Unforgiveness does nothing other than bringing you back to your past.

My husband once gave this illustration: “If you are driving a vehicle and you are looking backward when you want to go forward, what will happen?” Obviously an accident! Many people

are not moving forward in life, even after praying, reading the Bible and confessing, because they refuse to let go of the past, holding unforgiveness in their hearts.

I hope the testimony of Sister Olaleye will give you a re-think in that state of unforgiveness that you are: “What brought me to this Commission was my spiritual lack. I was born again five years before I came here and I was attending a living church. But since I started worshipping here, God has given me the spirit of understanding, so that the Word of God and my faith have been on the increase. Most importantly, there has been captivity turnaround in my life, particularly in my marriage.

My marriage technically broke down on the wedding day, at the reception table! But I stayed on in it for almost a decade. It was a thorn in the flesh. Eventually, I had to leave. Right inside my matrimonial home, I got a SAN to prosecute the divorce.

I got born again after then, but the Word never came to me until I got to this church. There was a

teaching on forgiveness. One day, I realized that I had been living in self-righteousness all along. I forgive, but don’t forget.

I got this corrected in my mind and through the anointed book, Marriage Covenant, and anointed preachings and counselling of the men of God. My marriage was miraculously healed, and right now, I’m having a honeymoon.”

So, that your destiny in God may be fulfilled, even maritally, I want you to let go of whatever thing that person that you have vowed never to forgive has done to you.

Another evil unforgiveness thrives on is that it opens the door to the tormentors. From God’s Word, we saw a man who owed 10,000 talents and that his creditor forgave him the debt.

This same man had a fellow servant who owed him only 100 pence, but he refused to forgive him, and threw the man into prison. As a result of his unforgiveness, he was handed over to the tormentors according to Matthew 18:32-34.

When you hold on to unforgiveness, you are saying,

“Welcome” to the tormentors of life. They have no power over you until you open the door to them!

But as you clear out of all that unforgiveness in your heart, I see you saying an eternal “Goodbye” to the tormentors.

Before you can forgive others, you need forgiveness from God. To receive this forgiveness, you need to confess your sins and accept the Lord Jesus Christ and your sins shall be forgiven. Say this prayer of faith: Dear Lord, I come to You today. I am a sinner.

Forgive me my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Now I know I am born again!

Congratulations! Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through: E-mail: faithdavid@yahoo.com Tel. No: 234-1-7747546-8; 07026385437, 07094254102.

For more insight, these books authored by Pastor Faith Oyedepo are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all the Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, and Success In Marriage (Co-authored).

How your pillow is the perfect breeding ground for gruesome array of pests and diseases ence in London yesterday.

Although hospital pillows are routinely washed between patients, the study revealed many of them had become damaged.

The team said: ‘This damage can actively promote the growth of micro-organisms, which are a potential cause of cross infection within the bed and indeed throughout the whole hospital.’

They said that pillows constituted a particular risk in passing on infection as they come into contact with mouths, eyes and noses.

Worryingly, the doctors found the risk was ‘grossly underestimated’ in clinical practice.

The team also tested a new anti-bacterial variety of pillows as part of their study.

The £22 ‘Sleep Angel’ pillows were found to contain no infections after three months.

The hermetically sealed pillows, manufactured by Gabriel Scientific, are made from a membrane more typically used as a filter in heart stents that allowed the pillow to vent without letting anything in.

They are sealed by welding rather than a stitched seam so lasted longer as well.

Dr Tucker said hospitals should consider stocking the new pillows as an ‘infection control medical device’.

The study stopped short of saying that hospital pillows increased the risk of transmitting infections between patients.

But Duncan Bain at Gabriel Scientific insisted that normal pillows were an ideal home for bacteria.

He said: ‘It is a wet sponge that absorbs bodily fluids providing nutrients, it is kept at an ideal culture temperature by the warm body lying on top.’

•Diseaseridden: Pillows absorb bodily fluids and are an ideal home for colonies of bacteria. Up to 100,000 dust mites may be living in your pillow.

Stressful jobs giving women heart disease: High flyers at 50 percent greater risk Pushed to the limit: Women with stressful careers could be at risk of heart disease, a study has found.

High-flying career women with stressful jobs face a higher risk of heart disease, warn researchers.

Traditionally, men under pressure at work have been the most likely victims of heart attacks, but a study has revealed that some young women are just as likely to end up in the coronary unit.

Those who feel the pressure they are under at work is ‘much too high’ are 50 per cent more likely to suffer heart disease than women who say their job is manageable.

Even after lifestyle factors such as smoking are taken into account, the additional risk remains high, at 35 per cent.

Women who said work pressures were a ‘little too high’ were 25 per cent more likely to suffer heart disease, according to the Danish researchers.

The study, published in the journal Occupational And Environmental Medicine, looked at the impact of work pressure on heart disease risk among 12,116 nurses, who were aged between 45 and 64 at the start

of the research in 1993 and were followed for 15 years.

By 2008, 580 women had been admitted to hospital with heart disease, of which 138 had suffered a heart attack, 369 had angina and 73 had another type of heart disease.

The strongest risk factors were work pressures and age. Dr Yrsa Andersen Hundrup, who led the study at Glostrup University Hospital in Denmark, said younger women were bearing the brunt of the effect of work pressures on their health - and older women may be less at risk because they had given up their jobs.

Dr Duncan Dymond, consultant cardiologist at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, said: ‘The age profile is shifting downwards. We assumed it was the effects of obesity, diabetes and increased rates of smoking coming through, but it could also be stress and other lifestyle issues.’

June Davison, cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, warned: ‘Feeling under pressure at work means stressed employees may pick up some unhealthy bad habits and add to their risk of developing heart problems.’

Hidden signs of stress There are many symptoms of stress that are less well known.

Here are a few, as well as tips on how to deal with them: •Blood: Stress was good for your ancestors, who needed the adrenaline to outrun tigers and cannibals. Sadly, it also causes hormones called catecholamines to make your blood thicken. Over prolonged periods it heightens your risk of heart attack.

•Sweating: Another hormonal result of stress is that you sweat prolifically, especially under the arms, where the sweat is smellier than elsewhere on your body. The solution? Shower daily, use rollon and learn to deal with stress.

•Feeling parched: The dry mouth is caused by a decrease in the flow of saliva in the mouth. It can also lead to Death Breath, or halitosis, and dental problems. Drink water, and floss and brush

your teeth regularly.

•Sore muscles: When you’re stressed, your muscles contract and can end up feeling strained. The back muscles are particularly prone to this, and those in the lower back can go into spasm. You can ease the muscle pain by doing some squats, resting your arms on your knees. Hold for ten seconds.

•Stuffy and snotty: Your immune system takes a pounding when you’re badly stressed (other symptoms include outbreaks of acne, psoriasis, hives and even warts). This will make you more susceptible to colds and flu. Arguably the most powerful weapon against this is exercise of the aerobic, weight-bearing sort that lasts at least half an hour, takes place at least three times a week and makes the sweat flow freely.

53 Coping with diseases

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

Difference between traditional medicine and conventional medicine (2)

T

HE conventional medi cal treatment is based on known theory, accurate diagnosis, and risk-benefit judgement. The latter relates to all physical, psychological, and social impacts the treatment may produce. Treatment is specific, e.g. a malignant cancer of the liver will be treated differently from a small local skin cancer of the leg.

Some sick people may not get satisfaction from one system and thus go to the other system. There are people who claim they got relief from either system respectively.

Knowing the complexity of life, many Nigerians tend to double-deal. When a problem looks straight forward and knowable, e.g., malaria, headache, diarrhoea, or hypertension, they use the conventional practice. When a problem seems mysterious, chronic, life changing, or unbeatable, they beseech TAM. Those who do not believe in or are afraid of the fetish of TAM turn instead to healing churches and other faith groups which have over the years replaced TAM in African culture.

Disease is a complex topic.

Cause of disease is difficult to deal with. For example, bacteria are an immediate cause of disease. If a person poisons you by putting bacteria in your food or spreading bacteria in your room, then, bacte-

S

TAPHYLOCOCCAL infections can lead to erectile dysfunction in men.

Erectile dysfunction is the inability of a man to produce a consistent or maintain an erection of the penis sufficient to have a sexual intercourse.

Erectile dysfunction is also referred to as sexual impotence.

Sexual impotence is a serious health problem that has broken many marriages today. Studies have revealed that apart from the need for couples to be rooted in God, sex is the next best tonic for a strong relationship! Studies have shown that over 20% of men in our society today are either partially or totally impotent.

Impotency is usually caused by two major factors; (i) The presence of serious

ria are still the immediate cause of the disease but there is also a primary cause: the enemy. TAM tends to focus on the primary cause of disease and traditionally knows little about science and the immediate causes. Conventional medicine deals solely with immediate causes - bacteria, etc.Thus, in the above example, if a conventional practitioner prescribes an antibiotic, it cures for some time. The enemy comes back and the disease comes back.

More antibiotics again achieve a cure but as long as the primary cause remains or is able to return, the patient has no (permanent) relief.

TAM aims to get rid of the primary cause from the onset.

This difference in approach of the two systems is perhaps best appreciated in the way remedies are applied. In the traditional practice, there is no means of determining if the medicine gets to the brain or liver or stomach or legs, assuming those are the areas that hurt. The aim is usually for the drug to enter the body, to be worn on the body, or to be placed in the abode of the client or patient. These substances are therefore attributed with healing or protective powers whether they actually make contact with the body or not. The oral, topi-

with Prof. Dayo Oyekole

HIV/AIDS

T cal (on the skin) or inhalation routes are used. Scarification and rubbing is a common method of getting medicines into the body systems. Medical preparations are also produced as amulets, necklaces, anklets, and charms. They are aimed at the primary cause.

In conventional medicine, the aim is to get the drug to a particular site of action within the body through which the immediate cause can be antagonized. The drug formulation: ointment, drops, tablets, capsules, injections, syrups, skin patches or other forms are carefully selected depending on where the drug is intended to act within the body.

In TAM, the aim of treatment is two-fold, to appease the primary cause and to restore health. Generally, treatment is not regarded as effective if health is not restored, an allor-none mentality. In conventional medicine, success is considered at different levels. The aims of treatment are variable: to restore health, to relieve symptoms, to restore body functions, to prevent deterioration, to save life, or to prolong life.

The Codes of Conduct of the

two systems differ. In TAM, various cults are involved and some cults, e.g., ‘Ifa’ have well defined codes of conduct. In the advent of modern life, many of these cults are no longer practical and their ethics have been obliterated by the formation of modern associations of contemporary traditional medicine practitioners. Many of the latter simply exist to protect their own interests against governmental influence and regulation and may not be ethics-oriented. The present day ‘traditional practitioner’ may procure abortion, may engage in witchcraft, poisoning, psychic manipulation and profiteering as long as he is safely registered under an association.On the other hand, the conventional practitioner takes an oath and the system does not admit freelancing into non-conventional matters. It has two tenets: love of neighbour and respect for life.

Dr. ’Bola John is a biomedical scientist based in Nigeria and in the USA. For any comments or questions on this column, please Email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 07028338910

Staph and erectile dysfunction ailments like diabetes and (ii) STD (sexually transmitted diseases).

In the days of our forefathers, excessive consumption of sugary foods and alcohol were not encouraged, that was why they were able to remain sexually potent till old age. Secondly, the presence of STD’s is another major causative factor. Most men suffer from STD’s which have ended up destroying their libidos. A sexual disease like staph.aureus is a known destroyer of the sexual organ. Apart from those that are born with sexual impotence, these two factors are usually responsible for the impotence in men these days. Normally,

a healthy man with full potency should be able to have erection at least three times daily. If a man sleeps, an erection should be the first thing to wake him from sleep if truly he’s sexually potent, it is a natural phenomenon. If a man does not experience an erection even when a naked body of a woman is paraded before him, then there is a serious problem.

Naturally, although age has a role to play in erection sustainability that is it takes a little stimulation for a youth of between ages 20 – 30 to gain an erection, he may climax quickly but he gains back his erection in a few minutes. An adult male of 40 years will need a more direct stimulation to attain an erection, while a 60 year old male may need an even more direct stimulation before an erection can be achieved. But these days it’s so amazing that even youths in their early twenties are having a problem of erectile dysfunction and almost all the cases involved are due to one infection or another most especially staph infection. This situation is so alarming that I begin to wonder what the situation will be like in the next 5 to 7 years. Even as an adult one’s sexual life should be very active especially among married adults because this will foster a serious relationship among such couples. Most men usually complain of having difficulty in retaining their erection after a round of sexual intercourse, and this has really caused a lot of problem between them and their hubby.

This reminds me of a case of Mr. Ade (not real name), who came to our office to complain bitterly of a problem with his

sexual incompetence. He is a 40 year old man married to a lady in her late twenties and he is finding it rather difficult to satisfy her in bed. The reason being that after just about 5 mins of intercourse he ejaculates and could not get back his erection till the following day. After listening to his complains, we carried out some tests on him and it was discovered that he has a heavy growth of staph. aureus. He was treated for the infection, then after the treatment he was giving some herbal drugs for his sexual performance. Now the table has turned around as it is the man that is complaining that his wife cannot withstand his sexual prowess.

There have been many cases like that, that we have treated and God has used us to save homes from breaking apart. If as a man you wake up in the morning without your manhood becoming turgid for more than 3 – 5 days then you should know that there is a cause for alarm. You really need to examine yourself before it becomes too late. My candid advice to all men is to avoid having any form of casual sex in order to prevent infection. They should also live a healthy life, eat good and well- balanced diet, exercise regularly and abstain from casual sex. Whenever they notice any form of problem concerning their sexual life they should not hesitate to go for medical check up before the situation gets worse.

•Dr B. Filani is the Chief Consultant of Sound Health Centre, Lagos. You can contact him on 08023422010 or on facebook or email soundhealthcentre@yahoo.com.

HE term AIDS is an acronym that stands for “Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome”. It is acquired because the victims do not inherit the condition, but contract it.

Immune deficiency means that the victim’s natural bodily defense mechanisms are unable to function properly, and “syndrome” refers to the combination of different abnormalities or diseases making up this condition.

AIDS is a complex of diseases and symptoms resulting from unexplained immune deficiency; caused by a retrovirus, culminating in a “mixed-bag” of life-threatening opportunistic infections, which invariably results in death.

The retrovirus that causes AIDS is known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) with types I, II, and III already isolated.

Although there have been wide speculations and insinuations as to the origin of the virus (HIV), the fact still remains that the first cases of AIDS were diagnosed in North America, Europe and Central Africa about the same time in 1981. Since then, cases are being reported all over the world and most countries now have people with “full-blown” AIDS as well as carriers infected with the virus. It occurs in about 1 to 10% of the population and the incubation period is 4 to 10 years.

The virus has been isolated mostly from semen, vaginal secretion and blood. It is generally believed to be contracted through sexual intercourse, transfusion of contaminated blood, use of un-sterile instruments such as needles, blades and catheters, trans-placental infection, organ transplant, tattooing and circumcision as well as breast-feeding.

The major characteristic feature of AIDS is weight loss of about 10kg within 1 month without a known cause. Other symptoms include chronic diarrhoea, persistent cough, skin infections, oro-pharyngeal candidiasis, swollen lymph glands and night sweating.

Prevention Prevention of AIDS is achieved through avoidance of casual sex, and other factors that may predispose to HIV infection; as well as sterile procedures in clinico-surgical practices.

Treatment and Control Before recommending our treatment and control packages for HIV/ AIDS, it is pertinent to ask the following questions: 1. Why do outbreaks of serious infectious diseases leave some people devastated and others free?

2. If some people are known to be carriers and could go around with the virus for up to 15 years before they physically breakdown, couldn’t there be ways of helping to cleanse the virus from the system before it manifests?

3. Are the sufferer’s thoughts, aspirations and living habits not affecting the disease cycle as well as response to treatment?

If yes, then in Holistic Lifecare, we are committed to total cure of HIV/AIDS sufferers when they have just been tested and diagnosed positive, when they are still able to eat, drink and move around on their own, but not when they are expecting their funeral the next day!

The Holistic Natural Remedy being suggested for restoring good health, vitality, and total cure in HIV/AIDS sufferers; is a combination of herbal, nutritional and psychosocial therapies at the appropriate time and in the right proportion. Notable among the useful herbs for HIV/AIDS are Aloe vera, Allium sativum, Harpagophytum zeyheri, Echinacea augustifolia and Zingiber officinale.

For further information and consultation, please call on: 0803330-3897 or visit: Mosebolatan Holistic Lifecare Centre, Adeyalo Layout, Ogbere-Tioya, Off Olorunsogo Express Bridge, Ibadan.

Website: www.holisticlifecare.com. Distance is no barrier, we can send remedies by courier if need be. We also have facilities for accommodation, admission and hospitalization in a serene and homely environment.

54

I

N one of his often quoted parables in the Holy Bible, Jesus Christ established the necessity of being fruitful. He told his disciples the story of a vineyard owner who discovered to his chagrin that for three consecutive years, a particular fig tree in the garden miserably failed to bear fruits when others, apparently of the same stature and age with it, are bearing fruits.

Disappointed, the vineyard owner not only complained loudly to the dresser of his vineyard, he demanded to know why it should still enjoy the same privileges the others which are doing well enjoy. He immediately decreed that the fruitless tree be cut down.

He questioned the rationale behind allowing it to exist when it was literally “useless”. His words: “Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none; cut it down, why should I continue to nourish it and allow it to occupy this space?”

His servant made a strong case for the fruitless tree, pleading with the master to give it just “one more year” and if it still fails to bear fruits, then it could be cut down. Theologians have since then propounded the doctrine of God’s severity on those who are continually fruitless.

Last week, a development akin to what happened in the Bible was recorded within the Nigeria’s political space. The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega, relying on certain provisions in the Electoral Act 2010, as amended, felt strongly that seven political parties should be helped to close shop on account of their “fruitlessness” and should not be allowed to taste the privileges other performing parties are enjoying.

Addressing the media in Abuja, and in company with one of his national commissioners, Mr. Philip Umeadi, the INEC chairman, Jega, announced that for failing to field candidates for various contestable positions during the last April general elections, the Certificates of Registration earlier issued to the parties had been withdrawn.

The unambiguous implication is that the seven parties will, henceforth, not participate in the electoral process in the country as political parties. The parties as announced

by INEC are: the Democratic Alternative (DA), National Democratic Council (NDC), National Action Council (NAC), Masses Movement of Nigeria (MMN), Nigeria People Congress (NPC), Nigeria Elements Progressive Party (NEPP) and the National Unity Party (NUP).

The INEC boss said the law remains clear on the fact that any party that does not win any seat at the polls stand the risk of being deregistered. He said the affected parties did not even field any candidate during the just-concluded general elections, let alone winning any legislative or executive seat.

Part V, Section 7 of the Electoral Act 2011, as amended, stipulates: “The commission (INEC) shall have powers to deregister political parties on the following grounds: (i) breach of any of the requirements for registration, and (ii) for failure to win a seat in the National Assembly or state Assembly election.”

Jega disclosed that all the parties involved had since been informed.

He also gave indication that this might just be the beginning of an

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

Delisting of parties

Limiting or sanitising political space? ‘

The late Chief Gani Fawehinmi went to court over this issue and got a favourable judgment from the Supreme Court which led to the opening up of the democratic space. As we talk, people are in court. It pains one because we expected Professor Jega to know better

,

•Jega

country during the last general election in April, only 10 parties won at least a seat as required by the provision of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

They include Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Labour Party (LP), Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Accord Party (AP), Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) and KOWA Party.

If by the time the whole tribunal proceedings are concluded, no other party gets a seat, it means that only ten parties are statutorily qualified to exist in Nigeria.

The pros and cons exercise aimed at sanitising the political space.

Jega and his team certainly must have decided to apply the section which gives INEC powers to deregister political parties on account of the above reasons because they had proved to be “fruitless”.

He disclosed that the action was taken after a series of wide consultations with the affected parties and some stakeholders.

He made it clear that the seven parties weeded from the comity of political parties in Nigeria were not

Augustine AVWODE Assistant Editor among those who had gone to court to challenge the provisions in the Electoral Act 2010 as amended for the deregistration of political parties.

It was learnt that what happened last week had been on the table for at least the past three months when the electoral body moved to apply the new provisions. But the implementation was halted by sugges-

tions that political parties which are at various tribunals may end up winning their petitions and should anything be done then it could create a messy situation for the electoral umpire.

The superiority of that argument was said to have saved about 53 political parties listed for deregistration at that time in May. That caution was to enable the INEC know the parties that would not make the survival list and those that would be weeded off.

Of the 63 political parties in the

The action of the INEC has raised, yet again, the argument for or against the multiplicity of parties in Nigeria. Some people are of the opinion that the INEC should not have deregistered the parties partly because there is a case in court and partly because the provisions in the Electoral Act are “inherently against the spirit and letters of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which guaranteed the fundamental human rights of Nigerians.”

•Continued on page 56

56 •Continued from page 54 Speaking to The Nation on Thursday, spokesperson for the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Osita Okechukwu, said the action of the INEC is nothing but trying to limit the political space and make it difficult for some people to participate in the democratic process. He said that he sees a situation where people who do not agree with the development are likely to take the electoral umpire to court.

Osita said that “democracy is not about winning elections only, it is part of it but essentially, democracy should provide a forum for propagating developmental ideas and that is where political parties come in.

He said that the ruling of the Supreme Court in 2002 when the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi fought for the registration of the National Conscience Party (NCP) is still very relevant and nothing must be done to render the efforts of the late legal luminary null and void His words: “The late Chief Gani Fawehinmi went to court over this issue and got a favourable judgment from the Supreme Court which led to the opening up of the democratic space. As we talk, people are in court. It pains one because we expected Professor Jega to know better.

“Is democracy all about winning elections only? The answer is no, capital no!. Democracy is about contributing ideas that nurture democratic culture. There are many parties in the US that we always claim to copy from, that have not won election and they still exist. Look at the Tea Party for instance. So that is it. It is a wrong decision.”

Also, a Port Harcourt-based legal practitioner, Clifford Odudu, told The Nation on the phone that the law which the INEC based its action on “is illegal.” He said it was unnecessary because there is also a provision in the Act which makes funding of parties by the INEC a thing of the past and as such the electoral body ought to have left these parties that are obviously not strong alone to die naturally.

“Apart from the fact that the law is illegal, the INEC should have just left them alone because they are naturally weak parties with very little chance for survival. It would have been better to allow them die naturally than stir this controversy.

“Their right to associate as enshrined in the constitution ought to have been critically considered.

There is need to respect the right of citizens to seek political office as individuals or as representatives of political parties. This should be without discrimination and the right of individuals and groups to establish, in full freedom, their own political parties and provide them with the necessary legal guarantee to enable them compete on a basis of equal treatment before the law, must be protected. Which right is more than the right to form political parties or even associations?

Don’t let us deny them such freedom”, he said.

But many others feel strongly that such submissions are mere expressions of emotion and sentiments which have failed to take into consideration the fact that many of the parties were just merely for the owners and their families.

They argue that the proliferation of political parties has given rise to an unwieldy political atmosphere in the country which is a far cry from what it was in the days of either the National Republican Convention (NRC) or the Social Democratic Party (SDP) when only two parties existed in the land.

Then once one is not in the NRC, he is sure to be in the SDP or at worst engages in what the late Bola Ige used to call siddon look.

They urge the electoral body to deregister all “mushroom” parties so as to make room for healthy few

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

Delisting of parties:Limiting or sanitising political space?

•Mark •Musa

parties that can provide a ruling and a strong opposition party like it was in the days of the SDP and NRC. Douglas Okonedo, a PDP chieftain from Delta State, actually recommended between three and four political parties for the country, saying the smaller the number of parties, the more effective they would be in deepening democratic roots in the country.

“During the NRC and SDP period, both parties were more or less of the same strength; they won almost equal numbers of governorship and legislative elections. Such a situation will throw up a ruling power, but also a very strong opposition party.

“Many of the parties we are parading and celebrating are nothing, but briefcase political parties and they should be sent to where they belong. They should be allowed to go into oblivion, where they belong, because they came into existence because the INEC was giving them subventions. Now that the INEC has stopped doing that, they have no business existing. The only thing they do is to endorse candidates.

You see a party saying publicly without shame that we are endorsing the presidential candidate of another party. Why on earth should such parties be allowed to exist”, he queried.

From 1999 till date At the return of democracy in 1999, the INEC registered only three political parties: PDP, All Peoples Party (APP) (which later became All Nigeria Peoples Party ,ANPP) and Alliance for Democracy (AD).

What happened last week had a forerunner in 1998 during the regime of General Abdulsalam Abubakar. During that period, parties were registered based on their performances at the then local government elections which were first conducted. The political associations that did not win any local government seat were not registered to contest the general elections of 1999.This was how the first three parties emerged.

But after the 1999 elections, politicians began agitations for the political space to be widened so as to accommodate more political interests which could not fit into either of the three existing parties.

But while the argument went on the INEC was busy preparing guidelines for the registration of political parties. When the INEC

•Umeh

•Baraje

•Onu

eventually released the guidelines in May 2002, many politicians were disappointed at the kind of hurdles placed before them.

Some of the provisions in the guidelines demanded that any group seeking to be registered as a political party must have offices in at least 24 states of the federation.

Also, the party must submit “the names, residential addresses and states of origin respectively of the members of its national and state executive committees and the records of the proceedings of the meetings where the officers were elected.”

The late Fawehinmi’s party, NCP, was not registered. He rose up to challenge the guidelines which he claimed were stifling and not liberal enough to allow Nigerians exercise

‘

their fundamental human rights of association.

He went to court to challenge some of the provisions of the 2002 Electoral Act that empowered the INEC to issue such guidelines. The NCP was later joined by the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) led by Alhaji Balarabe Musa and M.D Yusuf’s Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJ) with other two parties.

The suit progressed from the Federal High Court and eventually to the Supreme Court which was then headed by Justice Mohammadu Uwais. On November 8, 2002, Justice Uwais, in a lead judgment, held, among others things, that the INEC power to issue the guidelines contravened the 1999 Constitution and thus pronounced the guidelines as

It is, perhaps, this realisation that Nigeria might have inadvertently created the opportunity for ‘fruitless’ parties to thrive without adding value to the democratic process other than meet the need of their leaders that made the lawmakers to add the clause which forbids government from funding any party as well as empower the INEC to deregister any party that could not live up to expectations

,

invalid. This epochal judgment opened the floodgate for more political parties in Nigeria. The doors for the emergence of more political parties was thus flung opened from there on.

Additionally, when the Electoral Act of 2006, through Section 91 (2) provides grants from the Federal Government to political parties, coupled with the ruling of the Supreme Court of 2002, all manners of groups sprang up, seeking registration as political parties.

The section of the Electoral Act provides that 30% of the annual grant to political parties should be shared across board to all registered political parties, while 70% be shared among parties that won National Assembly elections in proportion to the number of seats they won. It is estimated that between 2003 and 2009, the INEC gave out about N3 billion to political parties as subvention. People and groups saw the provision as an attractive source of cheap money. Soon, a negative byproduct of this policy manifested in intra-party fighting for positions and offices so as to be the one controlling the subventions which, in some cases, allegedly run into N6 million annually.

So, Nigerians witnessed the emergence of mostly inconsequential parties that existed only for the sharing of the largesse. In July 2006, 30 registered political parties dragged the INEC to court over the formula adopted by the electoral umpire in sharing N600 million annual grants to political parties.

Between 1999, when only three political parties contested the first election, and the 2011 April elections, the number of political parties rose from a meagre three to 63 in such a short space of 12 years.

What that means is that in the next 24 years, Nigeria will have a total of about 125 political parties at the least.

It is, perhaps, this realisation that Nigeria might have inadvertently created the opportunity for ‘fruitless’ parties to thrive without adding value to the democratic process other than meet the need of their leaders that made the lawmakers to add the clause which forbids government from funding any party as well as empower the INEC to deregister any party that could not live up to expectations.

It is left for Nigerians to decide whether this process is restricting the political space or sanitising it.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

57

58

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

59

NPL’s British jets bomb Gaddafi’s hometown’s bunker future ENDGAME IN LIBYA

B

RITISH aircraft bombed a headquar ters bunker overnight in Gaddafi’s birthplace of Sirte. A city beyond rebel control, on the Mediterranean coast 450 km (300 miles) east of Tripoli, some believe he might seek refuge there among his tribesmen.

Loyalist forces also still hold positions deep in the Sahara desert.

“Sirte remains an operating base from which proGaddafi troops project hostile forces against Misrata and Tripoli,” a NATO offi-

cial said, adding that its forces had also acted to stop a column of 29 vehicles heading west toward Misrata.

In Benghazi, rebel military spokesman Ahmed Bani said the bombing in Sirte was aimed at ammunition stores and depots for Scud missiles. “Maybe the mercenaries will run away,” he said, referring to suggestions Gaddafi’s forces include hired fighters from Chad and other sub-Saharan African countries. “After this bombing, maybe the people there

will try to rise up.” he added.

British officials denied the strike in Sirte was aimed at killing Gaddafi, who the rebel leadership believes is most likely to be around Tripoli, using long-prepared safe houses and carefully planned networks of bunkers and tunnels.

“It’s not a question of finding Gaddafi, it’s ensuring the regime does not have the capability to continue waging war against its own people,” said Defense Secretary Liam Fox. U.S. officials, wary of pub-

lic sentiment against involvement in a new foreign war after Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as of wider international opposition to any Western grab for influence in Libya, played down Washington’s role in hunting Gaddafi.

“Neither the United States nor NATO is involved in this manhunt,” said State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland.

France and Britain have taken a military lead in backing the rebels who rose up against Gaddafi six months

Abdulsalami blames international community for escalating crisis

N

IGERIA’S former Head of State, Gen e r a l Abdulsalami Abubakar has blamed the international community, especially the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for not adopting the African Union resolution on Libya.

He said that the African Union had already charted a way to resolve the Libya crisis but the international community ignored the AU and proceeded with their own agenda.

Abdulsalam stated this yes-

Jide ORINTUNSIN, Minna terday while addressing journalists at his residence in Minna after playing host to a Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General in Liberia, Mrs. Ellen Magarethe Loj who was on a visit to the former military leader. “I blame the international community for not listening to Africa Union, Africa Union has charted a way forward to solving Libya crisis. But the international

community in their own wisdom and their own interest decided to ignore African Union and went ahead to do what they did in carrying out the bombing Mission in Libya thereby bringing us to where we are today” he added The former head of State who has led several mediation talks in Liberia, Sudan and other African countries said that he was not in support of Gadaffi for what he was accused of adding that if the International Commu-

•Gaddafi’s swimming pool

nity have consulted with the African Union and involve them (AU) in the decision they took concerning Libya, the situation may have not degenerated to what it is today.

He also attributed the upsurge in protest against governments in some African and Arab countries to the stretched tolerance of the people to bad governance stressing that the people had been kept in bondage by their government for a long time and their patience could not hold fort any longer.

According to Abdulsalam, “the people in Africa and Arab nations need their freedom and the right to have a say in the affairs of their country, “this is the effect government get when they keep their people in bondage and suffering and when they are not given their right to exercise their freedom.

“To an extent there is more to be done in democratizing Africa. I can say things are little bit better in Africa than what is happening in these Arab countries, people would definitely fight for their freedom , that is exactly what is happening in the Arab world now” he added.

Abdulsalam further urged African leaders to be transparent and ensure good governance so that the situations in the continent will not further degenerate to an uncontrollable level.

Earlier the United Nations special representative, Mrs. Loj stated she was in Minna to see the former Head of State and a mediator who had brokered peace for the country on the forth coming general elections in Liberia and asked for special advices on the way to move Liberia forward.

Rebels plan to govern from Tripoli

T

HE rebel leadership announced it w a s planning to move from the eastern city of Benghazi, where the revolution to topple Gaddafi began, to govern the country from Tripoli. A spokesman for Mustafa Abdel Jalil, Gaddafi’s former justice minister who heads the National Transitional Council in Benghazi, said he may reach Tripoli next week -- but he could not be sure of that.

Loyalist forces are still present in several areas of the city, some of them flying rebel banners rather than the

greenflagsoftheGaddafiera.NATO warplanes,whosesupporthasbeen crucial to the rebels’ advance into the capital, could be heard over Tripoli during the night, residents said.

Westernpowershavedemanded Gaddafi’s surrender and worked to helptheoppositionstartdeveloping the trappings of government and bureaucracy lacking in the oil-rich stateafterfourdecadesofaneccentric personality cult.

However,despiteadealbetween Washington and South Africa to ensure the release of $1.5 billion in frozen Libyan assets for immediate relief, diplomatic wrangling between Western and other states over recognizing the

new leadership continued.

The African Union, which was long close to Gaddafi and has been wary of the way Western powers have unseated him, has yet to offer the explicit recognition the rebel leadership has asked for. Two Western diplomats said AU officials meeting in Addis Ababa on Friday would maintain that refusal of recognition.

Other developing powers, including Brazil, China and Russia, have also voiced reservations over the Western and NATO influence over the new leaders in Libya.

Competition for Libya’s oil resources is providing spice

for the political arguments.

Mahmoud Jibril, head of the government in waiting, said time was short, however.

Visiting NATO member Turkey, which is also pushing for a quick end to U.N.imposed sanctions intended to punish Gaddafi, Jibril said the new leadership needed funds now.

“We have to establish an army, strong police force to be able meet the needs of the people and we need capital and we need the assets,” Jibril said.

“All our friends in the international community speak of stability and security. We need that too.”

ago under the influence of the Arab Spring revolts in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt. They have said NATO is helping with reconnaissance and intelligence and many analysts assume some British and French Special Forces units on the ground, working with the rebels.

Colonel Hisham Buhagiar of the rebel force in the capital said Libyan commandos were targeting several areas: “We are sending special forces every day to hunt down Gaddafi. We have one unit that does intelligence and other units that hunt him.”

•Gaddafi

Fighters surround Gaddafi’s hideout

A

MINISTER in Libya’s National Transitional Council said on Friday rebel forces were surrounding an area of Tripoli where Muammar Gaddafi and his entourage were hiding and were monitoring their presence before attempting to capture them.

“The area where he is now is under siege,” Justice Minister Mohammed alAlagi told Reuters. “The rebels are monitoring the area and they are dealing with it.”

Alagi, a lawyer who said he had come to Tripoli to establish the new “legal authority” declined to specify where Gaddafi was.

Other rebel officials have said they believe the fallen strongman has taken refuge in the Abu Salim area in the south of the capital — an area that saw clashes in recent days.

Rebel fighters have said earlier this week that they thought they had Gaddafi cornered but these reports have turned out to be inaccu-

Continued from Back Page

vision rights that serve as one of the means of sourcing for funds independently.

Nigerians wear European clubs’ outfits because they cannot find ours in the market.

Most of them grew up supporting the local clubs such as 3SC, Bendel Insurance, Stationery Stores, Enugu Rangers, Kano Pillars, Calabar Rovers, Enyimba, Iwuanyanwu Nationale, Mighty Jets and BCC Lions etc.

They still love these clubs, but with a malfunctioning domestic league, they have been compelled to embrace the European clubs especially, those in which Nigerians ply their trade. Will you blame them?

Happily, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) chiefs have seen through the diabolical scheming by the electoral committee to freeze the judge’s pronouncement by buying time.

This devious delay tactic is to create a window of mischief.

Now the NFF board has ruled that the rerun elections must be done on or before September 5, otherwise, it would constitute an electoral body that would conduct the elections before September 15, in line with the judge’s ruling that it must be held within 45 days.

Frankly speaking, that is the way forward because it falls within NFF’s purview to act where an inferior body is stalling an important issue to create confusion.

The backlash from the legal tussle since the truncated elections held is that we have not ended the 2010/2011 season when others have begun the 2011/2012 season.

As it stands, our players are being rushed through the season. This is not good as they are likely to get injured and have their chances of seeking greener pastures jeopardised.

The time to correct the ills of the domestic league is now. It should start with convening the NPL congress to declare Victor Rumson Baribote the new NPL chairman and Alhaji Abdulaziz chairman of chairmen, both positions one person held in a single electoral process. Did such a person buy two forms for two positions in one election? I no know book o!

Thank you Siasia The list of players invited for the September 3 game against Madagascar in Antananarivo is interesting because Samson Siasia seemed to have listened to the voice of reason.

No list is perfect, yet the ones picked should give us the desired result, if our players play as if their lives depend on winning the match. I was excited with the boys brought from the U-23 Eagles and, of course, Siasia’s courage in picking home-based goalkeeper Agbim for the two matches in Antananarivo and Bangladesh against Argentina.

One only hopes that Siasia does not play brown Ideye in a wrong position to justify why he didn’t pick him earlier for the Eagles. I also hope that God can touch Siasia’s heart to give Ideye opportunities to find his feet in the Eagles like he has done with Ambrose Efe, Okoronkwo and Isaac Promise et al.

May God also give Siasia the wisdom to be fair in selecting players for the Madagascar match and the players the luck needed to triumph over the Madagascans?

60

THE NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 26-08-11 2ND-TIER SECURITIES Company Name FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC PRESCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 21 23

Quotation(N) 0.50 7.48

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 19,741 9,870.50 183,500 1,363,873.00 203,241 1,373,743.50

Quotation(N) 2.12 6.70

Quantity Traded Value 1,124,306 342,474 1,466,780

Quotation(N) 0.50 1.31

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 5,400 2,700.00 261,487 349,588.46 266,887 352,288.46

Quotation(N) 5.85 4.07 2.86 5.52 2.08 10.83 0.50 12.74 9.50 0.70 1.15 5.70 1.40 4.17 2.09 0.57 0.76 12.35

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 15,914,782 94,329,933.54 2,724,074 11,047,114.86 160,301 436,432.73 301,829 1,665,203.78 13,207,936 26,853,407.06 9,131,438 98,514,838.82 125,814,821 62,907,410.50 44,071,182 561,466,858.68 276,621 2,622,984.60 78,116 54,681.20 335,000 385,250.00 762,246 4,332,727.16 6,020,628 8,376,667.78 7,897,919 33,992,797.73 3,099,801 6,478,584.09 1,233,934 667,293.09 1,456,645 1,111,813.06 9,067,782 112,121,482.61 241,555,055 1,027,365,481.29

No of Deals 12 86 1 109 2 210

Quotation(N) 4.46 215.00 6.15 83.00 0.97

Quantity Traded Value 133,573 229,206 1,250 338,281 11,000 713,310

of Shares (N) 595,735.58 49,364,727.08 7,312.50 27,935,983.60 10,670.00 77,914,428.76

No of Deals 35 5 34 48 122

Quotation(N) 19.58 7.70 111.11 41.00

Quantity Traded Value 253,680 111,112 158,871 416,817 940,480

of Shares (N) 4,934,830.44 855,156.60 17,044,306.39 17,087,328.13 39,921,621.56

Quotation(N) 9.90 26.51 10.53

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 103,375 1,022,400.00 14,946 393,926.80 2,231 22,332.31 120,552 1,438,659.11

AIR SERVICES Company Name AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 22 40 62

of Shares (N) 2,386,083.72 2,388,172.59 4,774,256.31

AUTOMOBILE & TYRE Company Name DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC R. T. BRISCOE (NIGERIA) PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 20 21 BANKING

Company Name ACCESS BANK PLC DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK NIGERIA PLC FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC FIDELITY BANK PLC FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA PLC FINBANK PLC GTBANK PLC STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC INTERCONTINENTAL BANK PLC. OCEANIC BANK INTERNATIONAL PLC SKYE BANK PLC. STERLING BANK PLC UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC. UNION BANK OF NIGERIA PLC UNITYBANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC ZENITH BANK PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 141 64 13 28 87 480 18 412 29 11 4 61 27 267 9 33 24 219 1,927 BREWERIES

Company Name CHAMPION BREWERIES PLC GUINNESS NIGERIA PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC PREMIER BREWERIES PLC Sector Totals

Eid-ul-Fitr rush compounds market decline A

S the Muslims look forward to the Eid-ulFitr - the celebration of the end of Ramadan Fast next week, the stock market is already feeling the impact of the cash demand with investors opting for unrestricted sale orders to push through sales in a depressed market.

The upsurge in shares supply at the weekend compared with available demand created an overtly buyer’s market, which compounded the negative overall market situation.

All major indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) subsequently closed on the negative with the All Share Index dropping from 22,061.21 points to 21,976.87 points. Aggregate market capitalisation of all equities dropped by N27 billion from N7.057 trillion to N7.030 trillion.

Indicating the willingness of many investors to sell at market prices, turnover grew to 536.87 million shares valued at N1.62 billion in 3,440 deals as against 312.98 million shares worth N1.54 billion traded in 4,117 deals in previous day.

Banking stocks remained

BUILDING MATERIALS Company Name ASHAKA CEMENT PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTHERN NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC Sector Totals

CHEMICAL & PAINTS Company Name BERGER PAINTS NIGERIA PLC CHEMICAL AND ALLIED PRODUCTS PLC NIGERIAN-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 9 1 12

COMMERCIAL/SERVICES Company Name RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 3

Quotation(N) 2.78

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 18,300 48,495.00 18,300 48,495.00

COMPUTER & OFFICE EQUIPMENT Company Name OMATEK VENTURES PLC TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 3 5

Quotation(N) 0.50 3.25

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 45,250 22,625.00 10,000 30,900.00 55,250 53,525.00

Quotation(N) 31.00 6.11 0.89 39.00 28.00

Quantity Traded Value 134,229 920 3,389,102 205,856 1,362,151 5,092,258

CONGLOMERATES Company Name PZ CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC SCOA NIGERIA PLC TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC UAC OF NIGERIA PLC UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 39 1 42 38 77 197

of Shares (N) 4,147,136.11 5,345.20 3,016,537.78 7,996,959.64 37,931,427.57 53,097,406.30

CONSTRUCTION Company Name COSTAIN (WA) PLC JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC MULTIVERSE PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 7 8 2 17

Quotation(N) 2.66 55.11 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 8,112 20,523.36 114,245 6,301,352.50 450,000 225,000.00 572,357 6,546,875.86

ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY Company Name CUTIX PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1

Quotation(N) 2.18

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 58,648 127,852.64 58,648 127,852.64

FOOD/BEVERAGES & TOBACCO Company Name 7-UP BOTTLING CO. PLC CADBURY NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIGERIA PLC HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NATIONAL SALT COMPANY NIGERIA PLC NESTLE NIGERIA PLC NORTHERN NIGERIA FLOUR MILLS PLC TANTALIZERS PLC UTC NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 12 53 26 71 56 15 33 44 2 1 9 322

Quotation(N) 45.00 16.96 10.64 11.80 81.50 4.40 4.50 401.01 22.61 0.50 0.57

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 16,191 764,252.56 1,150,398 19,469,829.16 368,602 3,921,925.28 2,488,064 29,261,964.26 242,008 19,703,953.40 26,342 110,109.56 293,900 1,298,842.06 220,580 88,495,614.06 2,000 42,960.00 3,750.00 7,500 54,860,552 31,270,514.64 59,676,137 194,343,714.98

Quotation(N) 1.75 27.00 4.00 1.47 3.87 0.50

Quantity Traded Value 36,093,997 47,238 15,000 7,000 1,208 20,000 36,184,443

Quotation(N) 4.32

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 200 864.00 200 864.00

HEALTHCARE Company Name FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXOSMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC PHARMA-DEKO PLC UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 22 11 4 3 1 1 42

of Shares (N) 60,601,608.81 1,277,615.86 57,000.00 9,800.00 4,445.44 10,000.00 61,960,470.11

By Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

the most active with a turnover of 241.555 million shares worth N1.027 billion in 1,927 deals.

This was followed by the insurance stocks with 180.848 million shares worth N94.431 million in 127 deals.

On the price movement tables, the number of losers increased to 24 while the gainers reduced to just 12.

Cutix led the gainers’ table with a price increase of10 kobo to close at N2.18 followed by AIICO with price

‘It was followed

by Dangote Flour with a drop of N0.56 to close at N10.64. Also on the table were Air Services, Eterna Oil and UPL with price drop of N0.11, N0.23 and N0.20 respectively’

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 26-08-11 Company Name STARCOMMS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 12 12

No of Deals 1 1

No of Deals 1 13 1 15

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2,450,500 1,225,250.00 2,450,500 1,225,250.00

Quotation(N) 0.68 1.04 2.65 0.50 1.09 0.50 0.50 0.54 0.50 0.51 1.65 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

Quantity Traded Value 1,320,745 4,301,336 497,616 800,000 568,700 277,777 15,452 53,300 4,000 232,000 128,710 155,491,732 1,845 15,789,473 1,365,367 180,848,053

Quotation(N) 0.98

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 171,350 163,366.00 171,350 163,366.00

Quotation(N) 1.00

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,656,100 1,642,391.35 1,656,100 1,642,391.35

of Shares (N) 851,421.40 4,373,289.38 1,348,243.86 410,005.00 616,042.00 138,888.50 7,726.00 27,716.00 2,000.00 117,580.00 213,381.60 77,745,866.00 922.50 7,894,736.50 682,683.50 94,430,502.24

LEASING Company Name C&I LEASING PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 8 8 MARITIME

Company Name JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 40 40

MORTGAGE COMPANIES Company Name RESORT SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 3 4

Quotation(N) 0.50 0.52

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 400,000 200,000.00 10,000 5,000.00 410,000 205,000.00

OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Company Name NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 6 7

Quotation(N) 1.13 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2,000 2,260.00 578,949 289,485.75 580,949 291,745.75

Quotation(N) 1.98

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,332,942 2,639,992.31 1,332,942 2,639,992.31

PACKAGING Company Name NIGERIAN BAG MANUFACTURING COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 36 36

PETROLEUM(MARKETING) Company Name MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC CONOIL PLC ETERNA OIL & GAS PLC. FORTE OIL PLC MOBIL OIL NIGERIA PLC. OANDO PLC TOTAL NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 17 4 5 7 119 14 168

Quotation(N) 63.86 34.36 4.47 17.41 148.00 28.75 203.32

Quantity Traded Value 2,408 54,258 202,000 9,275 16,260 460,010 31,952 776,163

of Shares (N) 148,423.36 1,942,064.16 902,940.00 153,408.50 2,359,954.49 13,280,321.52 6,501,964.00 25,289,076.03

PRINTING & PUBLISHING Company Name ACADEMY PRESS PLC. UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 5 11 16

Quotation(N) 3.17 3.89

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 500 1,510.00 250,759 980,977.36 251,259 982,487.36

Quotation(N) 19.69

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 981,003 18,845,877.10 981,003 18,845,877.10

REAL ESTATE Company Name UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. PLC Sector Totals

INDUSTRIAL/DOMESTIC PRODUCTS Company Name ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION INDUSTRIES PLC VITAFOAM NIGERIA PLC VONO PRODUCTS PLC Sector Totals

Quotation(N) 0.50

INSURANCE Company Name No of Deals AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 45 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 9 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INSURANCE PLC 14 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 5 GUARANTY TRUST ASSURANCE PLC 19 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 1 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 1 LAW UNION AND ROCK INSURANCE PLC. 3 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC 1 N.E.M. INSURANCE CO. (NIG.) PLC. 5 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC. 7 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 9 UNIC INSURANCE PLC. 1 UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 1 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 6 Sector Totals 127

HOTEL & TOURISM Company Name TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

gain of 3.0 kobo to close at 68 kobo. Others on the table were Fidson, Unity Bank and Bagco with price gain of N0.07, N0.02 and N0.06 respectively.

On the losers’ table, UTC led the list with a drop of N0.03 to close at N0.57.

It was followed by Dangote Flour with a drop of N0.56 to close at N10.64.

Also on the table were Air Services, Eterna Oil and UPL with price drop of N0.11, N0.23 and N0.20 respectively.

With the losses yesterday, average year-to-date return on the Nigerian stock market now stands at -11.28 per cent, indicating potential negative real return of 20 per cent when adjusted for inflation rate.

Week-on-week analysis showed that the stock market dropped by 3.29 per cent during the week.

Market analysts said the continuing decline was due to sell pressure related to cash demand for the Muslim’s festival and profit-taking transactions by investors.

Quotation(N) 11.20 6.00 2.88

No of Deals 19 19

THE FOREIGN LISTINGS Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 81 861.84 154,081 929,549.89 4,090 11,779.20 158,252 942,190.93

INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Company Name ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED Sector Totals Overall Totals

No of Deals 14 14

Quotation(N) 13.00

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 263,650 3,431,690.00 263,650 3,431,690.00

3,431

536,804,119

1,619,409,251.95

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

NBA to Jonathan: Reinstate Salami forthwith

T

HE Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to reinstate forthwith the “suspended” President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Ayo Salami.

It described the appointment of Justice Dalhatu Adamu as the Acting PCA as a breach of due process and the rule of law.

NBA also stated that the next Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) should not be any one who had either directly or indirectly participated in the ongoing “embarrassing murk” at the apex judicial body and must be appointed from outside the Supreme Court to ensure transparency and continued sanctity of the judicial process.

The six-year single tenure bill of President Jonathan for the president and governors was described as a distraction, opportunistic and self-serving, stressing that the President was expected to build on the gains of the last elections, rather than political exigencies.

The President was told by the NBA to concentrate on economic transformation and deliverables, rather than mundane constitutional amendments for six-year single tenure and to call the National Judicial Council (NJC) to order in the face-off between the outgoing CJN and Salami.

As a result of the over-concentration of powers in the Office of the CJN by the 1999 Constitution, leading to the “abuse of such powers” by the incumbent CJN, Justice Aloysius KatsinaAlu, particularly in all the matters leading to the face-off between the CJN and Salami, the lawyers said the CJN should

Swearing-in

SAN awardees defy NBA •Association boycotts event

Kamarudeen OGUNDELE, Abuja

A

MID tight security, the outgoing Chief Justice of Nigeria Aloysius Katsina-Alu swore in 30 new Senior Advocates of Nigeria yesterday in Abuja.

This year’s swearing-in will go down in the history as the most dogged with controversy since inception in 1975 when the late Chief F.R.A Williams and Dr. N.B. Graham-Douglas became the first set of SANs. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) made good its threat to boycott the ceremony. The association was not represented at the event. Senior members of the bar also shunned the ceremony which was devoid of the usual fanfare.

Only a few junior lawyers attended the special court session conducted by the outgoing CJN. Requesting the CJN for a change of date, the NBA had queried the rationale behind the fixing of the inauguration for the vacation period of courts.

After failure to get a response from the CJN, the association directed its members to stay away from the ceremony.

The Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) had at its July 7 meeting approved 15 names each for 2010 and 2011 calendar years from 62 applicants invited for interview after chambers inspection.

The general public was also asked to comment on the integrity and competence of any of the candidates.

Chaired by the CJN, the LPPC is the body charged with the responsibility of selecting lawyers that are eligible to be conferred with the rank of SAN.

John Austin UNACHUKWU and Bisi OLANIYI, Port Harcourt

henceforth cease to be the chairman of the NJC and other similar constitutional and statutory bodies.

These were contained in a 16page communiqué in Port Harcourt, Rivers State yesterday, read by NBA President, Joseph Bodunrin Daudu (SAN), at the Alfred Diete-Spiff Civic Centre, marking the close of the 51st Annual General Conference of the association.

NBA said: “The purported suspension of Justice Salami by the NJC, taken in full knowledge of the pending litigation in the Federal High Court, Abuja on the

subject matter of the competence of the NJC, her agents and servants to discipline one of the parties to the proceedings, is not only legal anathema (forbidden), but is mala fide, unacceptable, unconstitutional, illegal and damaging to the image of the nation, the credibility of the judiciary, the legal profession and our fledging democracy.

“That the NBA representatives on the NJC boycott forthwith the body, until NBA demands for constitutional reform of the composition, chairmanship and functions of the NJC are met.

The CJN shall no longer appoint other members of the NJC. “Any suitable Nigerian with requisite experience, impeccable records of service and compe-

PUBLIC NOTICE EBIRA YOUTH PROGRESSIVE FOUNDATION (EYPF) This is to inform the general public that the above named foundation has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.

Alhaji Aliyu Auwalu Ohindase 2.

Jim Adeiza 3.

Hajia Ladi Ibrahim 4.

Engr. Ismaila Akaba Member 5.

Alhaji Damisa Suleiman Member 6.

Alhaji M. J. Aliyu Member AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1) To train our youths in various self-reliant endeavours.

2) To empower our women and youths with trade tools and facilities.

3) To create general awareness and stimulate response to health and environmental hazards.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent , off Agunyi Ironsi Street, Maitama. P.M.B. 198, Garki Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED: SECRETARY

tence like a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, former President of the NBA, Professor of Law or any legal practitioner could be appointed Chairman of the NJC for only one term of five years.

“Appointments into the Bench at whatever level, the Higher Bench especially, must henceforth be predicated upon merit and the recommendation of the Bar to ensure that only quality people are elevated as judicial

officers and that corruption is reduced to the barest minimum.

“All levels of government in Nigeria must ensure the independence of the judiciary. The rule of law must prevail in Nigeria and the NBA shall keep a vigilant watch to ensure this at all times.

“The Bar and the Bench must show mutual respect for each other, so that the administration of justice would not be jeopardised. The five nominees

61

of the NBA to the NJC should be increased to at least ten by the necessary constitutional amendment.”

As part of NBA’s social responsibility agenda, the lawyers also resolved that a Trust Fund for children dying of famine and starvation in most parts of the world, particularly Somalia, be created with every lawyer in Nigeria contributing a minimum of five hundred naira in order to ensure the plight of the needy and socially-disadvantaged are brought to the attention of the world.

62 News

THE NATION, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

Glo, UBA sign MoU to launch Nigeria’s first money service

L

EADING telecommunications company, Glo Mobile on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Afripay Ltd, a member of the UBA Group, which has obtained a Mobile Money License from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

This is in preparation for the commercial launch of Nigeria’s first Mobile Money Services.

The landmark deal will enable mobile subscribers open mobile money account to store Electronic Value (EValue) of money easily on their mobile phones, using their mobile number as account number.

They can also transfer money to any mobile number, spend the money directly from their mobile money account to pay for goods as well as buy airtime top-up for themselves and others.

Branded as “U-Mo”, Afripay’s Mobile Money product has been successfully text-run through select agents. With the wide mobile coverage of Glo in Nigeria, the Glo-UBA partnership will ensure that the U-Mo product is available in the remotest parts of the country, from the smallest village and local markets to the largest towns, in line with CBN’s objective of enhancing financial inclusion through a “Secure, Convenient & Reliable” mobile money account.

Mohamed Jameel, Group Chief Operating Officer, Globacom, explained that when the product is launched, people won’t have to carry a wallet and a mobile phone at the same time.

“Your mobile phone now becomes your wallet”. According to Jameel, Glo and UBA have had a good relationship over the years.

“What is happening today is an extension of the partnership”, he said.

Mr. Jameel said the objective of this partnership is to join hands with the UBA group for their mobile money initiative, to cater to subscribers across Glo Mobile network with the widest geographical coverage in the whole of Nigeria. This initiative will bring facilities similar to banking to the unbanked population through their mobile phones and would redefine their ways of life.

The Deputy Managing Director of UBA (designate), Kennedy Uzoka, described the signing of the MoU as a public declaration of the partnership between UBA and Glo. UBA, according to Uzoka, has over 700 outlets and seven million accounts which will give UBA a platform to offer mobile money to anyone with the Glo sim.

During the signing ceremony, Glo also launched its television commercial on Glo Text Cash, the platform on which the UBA’s U-Mo will run. The commercial emphasized that the service will be available pan-Nigeria to all segments of the society.

This product can be accessed by all Glo subscribers after registration and dialing *866# for USSD or by downloading the menu through a link provided by Afripay for Java application, upon registration. Existing Glo subscribers and new ones can perform various operations including Deposit/Cash-In; Withdrawal/Cash-Out;

Transfer from mobile to mobile; Buy Airtime credit for self or for others and Bill Payment.

Others are account maintenance including balance enquiries, last transactions and mini-statements. It will also enable customers to request for PIN change. Other lifestyle changing products and remittances will be introduced with time.

Designed to encourage the savings culture among the population wider than the currently banked, it requires fewer information to register for the services on mobile phone, a development regarded as a big boost for Glo subscribers all over the country.

The Afripay’s “U-Mo” mobile money solution is very versatile and does not exclude any customer irrespective of the type of phone.

Tunde Kuponiyi,

Globacom’s Director of TeleBanking, said Glo’s partnership with UBA Group conforms to the national carrier’s long-established tradition of leading the Telecommunication Services for expanding the Financial Services network through the medium of mobile technology.

He said UBA’s over 700 branches would serve as agents to take deposits into the mobile account and pay out for any withdrawal or any money sent to anyone through the mobile. In addition, Gloworld shops and Glozones spread across the country would also be covered as agents.

Agents have been trained in urban and rural areas to serve customers on behalf of UBA/Afri-Pay. The U-Mo experience is expected to bring about a paradigm shift in the common man’s way of life.

•Group Chief Operating Officer of Globacom, Mohamed Jameel (right), exchanging documents with the Chairman of Afripay, Obinna Ofuma, at the signing in Lagos yesterday of an MoU in readiness for the commercial launch of Glo Text Cash and UBA's U-MO, Nigeria's first mobile money transfer service. With them are and the Managing Director of Afripay, Yinka Adedeji (second right), and the Deputy Managing Director designate of UBA, Kennedy Uzoka.

THE NATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

63

SPORT EXTRA FIFA BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP

Four Sand Eagles players stranded in Lagos A

S the national beach soccer team, Super Sand Eagles finalise their preparation at their European camp in Portugal ahead of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, scheduled to hold in Ravenna, Italy, from September 1- 11th, four key members of the team are still in Lagos.

The players are: Azeez Abu (Defender, Bridge Boys FC, Lagos), Emmanuel Kyande (Defender, Adamawa United, Yola), .Shehu Maijama’a (Defender, Wikki Tourists, Bauchi) and Atu Irumekhai (Unattached).

NationSport learnt that the players, who were supposed to be part of the team that are currently in Portugal, could not

By Akeem Lawal make the trip due to visa hitch.

It would be recalled that the training tour was earlier scheduled to hold from August 15 to 29 but was delayed for over a week due to inability to secure visas from the Portugal embassy for the players and officials listed for the trip.

As it is, only 12 players are available for selection to Coach Adamu Audu in Portugal.

In a chat with NationSport in Lagos on Friday, one of the players who pleaded anonymity appealed to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to hasten their traveling process, so that they can join the team as soon as possible.

“We don’t know what is

happening concerning our travelling. Last Saturday, they called all of us to go to the hotel very close to the airport because it is likely we leave for Portugal very early on Monday morning.

“When we got to the hotel on Sunday night, the coach called me and the other three players and told us that our visa had a small hitch, and has not been stamped. So we have been here since then and we’ve not heard anything from the federation.

Before the team left, they gave us some numbers of some protocol officers who we could contact concerning our visa. But when we call them they won’t pick our calls. So we decided to send them text messages, the first one we sent was on

Monday and they replied that they will contact us if there was any development. Since then we have not heard any other thing, till this moment we have not heard anything. We are just wondering what is happening because the competition starts on the September 1, which is Thursday and our first game is on the September 2 which is Friday. The team is expected to leave Portugal for Italy on either Tuesday or Wednesday and we are here loitering around waiting anxiously. We wake up, eat, do some personal training in order to be in shape.

“So we are appealing to the concerned authority to hasten our travel plans so that we can join the team on time, though we have been assured by our

coordinator, Mr Uti that these things would soon be sorted out.

“We have been training together in Badagry for the past one month. Aside that, three of us here now went to the Nations Cup in Morroco where we finished second. We have been used to each other and I believe they will be feeling our absence. It’s not as if we are indispensable, but at least if the three of us were with the team, the preparation will be different,” the player said.

When contacted, the team coordinator, Uti Anderson, who confirmed the players plight revealed to NationSport that the Federation is doing all it could to ensure that their visas are issued on time.

“They will travel, we had issues with the Portuguese embassy but I can assure you that they will join their teammates very soon. Though I can’t say specifically when they will travel, but we are seriously working on it. The team leaves for Italy on the 29th and if the players get the visa before then, they will join the team in Portugal”, he assued.

Fabregas scores as Barca wins Super Cup

C

ESC FABREGAS came off the bench to score Barcelona’s second goal as they beat nine-man Porto 2-0 in the Super Cup at the Stade Louis II Stadium in Monaco.

Barcelona struggled to get into the game and were forced to make a number of mistakes under serious pressure from the disciplined Porto.

Victor Valdes in the Barcelona net was the first keeper to be tested when Joao Moutinho received the ball on the left of the penalty area before turning inside and volleying towards the far corner. The effort may have been flying narrowly wide but Valdes couldn’t be sure and was forced to turn it around the post for a corner.

The Portuguese champions hadn’t a great deal of joy when going forward throughout the half but made sure to keep their opponents opportunities to a minimum.

However, Freddy Guarin picked up the ball following a Barcelona attack and looked to build one of his own. The Colombian midfielder skipped past one challenge deep in his own half before attempting to play the ball back to Rolando.

The pass was misplaced and rolled into the path of Messi on the edge of the penalty area.

The Argentinean took a number of close touches before superbly rounding the onrushing Helton, faking to come inside before going the opposite way, and slotting the ball calmly into an empty net.

Barca did, however, control the entirety of the second half. They made a number of substitutions, including that of Fabregas who scored with three minutes to go.

The midfielder made a trademark run into the penalty area and was picked out with a wonder ball from Messi. The Barcelona number four took one touch on his chest before volleying into the net from six yards.

Porto had Rolando and Freddy Guarin sent off in the final five minutes as frustration started to show.

•Fabregas

Tomorrow in THE NATION PUNCHLINE

SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL.5, NO. 1864

It is crucial that we sustain the rule of law where the law is king in a democratic polity, and not any individual, group of individuals, or agency functioning as king in a democracy —Ropo Sekoni

J

USTICE Aloysius Katsina – Alu, the outgo ing Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), will most likely wake up tomorrow morning a very fulfilled man. The Tiv jurist will clock seventy eventful years on earth. He will be retiring at the very leadership apex of his profession.

There will be some joy in his heart that, in the twilight of his departure, he dealt his archadversary, Justice Isa Ayo Salami, suspended President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), a stunning upper court – albeit temporarily. Katsina Alu will walk with some swagger that, on his way out, he even demonstrated to the irreverent Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), who is the real Lord of Nigeria’s judicial manor. Yes, His Lordship will thank whatever Lord he worships for abundant mercies. Some men of God will surely be found to preside over a valedictory service in his honour.

Many will quarrel at the causes Justice Katsina Alu chose to fight. Some will consider his preoccupations and obsessions often petty, vain and even demeaning. They will strive to recollect in which outstanding instances during his career that Justice Katsina Alu sought to offer judicial succour to the weak, helpless, infirm and the disadvantaged. Did he at any time essay to dispel the darkness of injustice and oppression with the flaming torch of justice and elevated moral values? Can we recall any quotable quotes, any lofty thoughts, any landmark judgements, any earth shaking decisions of His Lordship that expanded the intellectual horizons of the country’s jurisprudence and reinforced the ramparts of justice?

These are questions for legal pundits to ponder. Every man chooses, in the final analysis, the battles he will fight, the causes he will invest his life in and the legacy he will bequeath posterity. The important thing is that he is at peace with himself as the distinguished Justice Katsina Alu evidently is. We thank God for him.

It will be tempting to seek to define the out going CJN’s legacy in terms of his seeming readiness to pull down the very pillars on which the delicate temple of justice rests just to demonstrate to lesser mortals that he is His Worshipful Majesty to whom even the laws of the land must bow. That would be most unfair. Like all mortals, Justice Katsina Alu has his failings and weaknesses. His greatest legacy, in my view, lies in the opportunity that Katsina Alu’s glaring moral and mental deficits offer us as a people to re-examine the foundations of the critical institutions on which our society rests. A fundamentally flawed Aloysius Katsina Alu must be thrown up as a historical necessity once in a while to help indicate those structural and behavioural impediments that must be overcome for society to progress. Such individuals thus serve very useful historic purposes.

How for instance could such a remarkably unremarkable mind have ascended to the very acme of the country’s judicial structure – an institution so crucial to the existence and continuity of society? Many lawyers have expressed the fear that his designated successor,

Appreciating Justice Katsina-Alu

‘

Obasanjo’s imperial presidency was brash, impulsive and had scant regard for the rule of law.

You knew where you stood with the rustic soldier – farmer. Jonathan preaches the rule of law but has shown he can thrust a dagger into its very heart with clinical efficiency while maintaining a straight face •Katsina-Alu Justice Dahiru Musdapher, operates from a no less stunted professional and moral compass being part and parcel of the infamous arrest of the Sokoto Governorship Appeal Court judgement; an action that remains a cancerous sore on the leprous skin of a pathetically diseased judiciary. How did we become burdened with members of the National Judicial Council (NJC), supposedly distinguished jurists, who not only openly tried to evade service of court processes and even when served went ahead to take punitive action against the PCA on a matter already pending in court? How did such lawless characters rise to their exalted positions?

But then, this is not a problem that is limited to the judiciary. Ex-Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida have been proclaiming each other fools at 70 from the roof tops. Not many analysts will disagree with their assessment of each other. But how did self confessed fools, including the cretinous Sani Abacha, ascend to the top of the country’s military hierarchy? How did veritable gangsters become predatory bank Chief Executhieves feeding fat on depositors’ funds?

’

What are the recruitment as well as continuous assessment and elevation processes within critical institutions including the media, the professions, security agencies, civil service, academia, clergy, corporate business and other critical institutions of society? These are pertinent questions that Katsina Alu’s conduct must prod us to begin to examine critically and seek remedies.

Again, our experience with the out going CJN shows that the existing formal separation of powers among the executive, legislature and judiciary is not enough to guarantee good and accountable governance. Equally critical is the imperative to avoid leadership tyranny within each arm of government. Power perverts. Absolute power perverts absolutely. The absolute concentration of judicial power in the CJN who heads and dominates the Supreme Court, the NJC and the Judicial Service Commission is patently unhealthy. In the same vein, are there checks on the absolute powers of the Head of Service within the executive bureaucratic structure or the Clerk of the National or State Assemblies within the legislative arm?

We have Katsina Alu to thank for inadvertently exposing this weakness in our governance process.

But most importantly, the outgoing CJN has helped to unveil the true colour of the Jonathan presidency. The swift and brutal way in which the deceptively simple and unassuming President Goodluck Jonathan moved illegally to remove the PCA and appoint an Acting President of the court is instructive. Obasanjo’s imperial presidency was brash, impulsive and had scant regard for the rule of law. You knew where you stood with the rustic soldier – farmer. Jonathan preaches the rule of law but has shown he can thrust a dagger into its very heart with clinical efficiency while maintaining a straight face. His is a very dangerous presidency precisely because of its subversive, almost unobtrusive subtility. All the rationalizations given for the President’s action by the increasingly difficult to believe Dr. Reuben Abati fall flat in the face of logic and common sense. Most of the justifications are nonsequitor. The conclusions do not flow logically from the premises.

Jonathan’s handlers claim he acted to save the judiciary from anarchy. This was pure falsehood. The PCA was already in court questioning the NJC’s actions. Anarchy existed only in the presidency’s opportunistic imagination.

This was the same reason given by IBB for the annulment of the June 12 election. The presidency said it could not leave the appellate court without leadership and had to fill the vacuum. A vacuum could only arise if the PCA had been validly removed. No such thing had been done. The President, Dr. Abati said, could not have ignored the letter of the NJC, the highest disciplinary body of the judiciary. But the President completely ignored the NJC letter, which requested the retirement of Salami, and went on to arbitrarily appoint an Acting President for a non-vacant position. The presidency admonished the NBA that only the judiciary can resolve the problem. But that is precisely why the NBA argued that the President should have waited for a judicial pronouncement on Justice Salami’s court action before taking its ill concieved pre-emptive action.

The Presidency said it is mindful of the separation of powers. But it dealt a violent blow to the principle by removing the PCA without the requisite consent of the National Assembly as required by law. The Presidency even insinuated that it helped Salami by not yet transmitting the NJC’s resolution on him to the Senate. I am not sure the suspended PCA sought any such favour. His case is in court. If he loses, he faces the consequences. If he wins, the law takes its course. It is not a matter of sentiments. The President’s handlers say his action was taken to ensure the crisis is not inflamed. But he has actually compounded the crisis especially because he has indirectly interferred with the CPC petition against his election being presided over by Salami. At every point, the President’s action is fraught with incurable contradictions. He acted in bad faith. The portents are ominous.

Ade Ojeikere on Saturday

NPL’s future

T

HE courts are the common man’s plat form to seek redress over any issue.

Besides, the law is no respecter of persons, even as it has a room for redress anytime an aggrieved person is dissatisfied with the judgment of a lower court.

Therefore, when a man decides to head for the court, it is expected that he may have exhausted all channels of getting a favourable answer on a knotty issue. Such a man would also want an unbiased judge to pronounce on the matter for an amicable resolution.

So, when the controversy surrounding the eventual winner of the Nigeria Premier League was taken to the law court, one was satisfied knowing that any judgment would serve as the precedence in taking decisions in the future.

One was also glad that none of the gladiators was willing to take matter out of court for various parties to mediate.

The twists and turns in the several orders granted to either party as the case ran its course was expected. One, therefore, looked forward to the judgment, not forgetting the fact that there would always be an appeal from the loser.

The 93-page judgment addressed the resolutions of the Ibidapo Obe-led arbitration committee and corroborated the submission of the arbitrator.

Expectedly, the matter is heading for the Court of Appeal, which means that any reference to it without the consent of the court amounts to contempt.

I may be wrong, but one would have thought the sports minister should have allowed the aggrieved party to go the whole hog, rather than mediate, especially when a judge had ruled on the matter.

Since the minister’s directive for peace outside what the court had provided for on the matter, fifth columnists have offered bi-

zarre solutions, some of which have stood truth on its head.

If a judge nullifies a process and rules that one of the parties is ineligible to participate in such a process, is it right for the minister or anyone to rule otherwise?

Shouldn’t the minister have studied the Ibidapo-Obe report before making any pronouncement? If the minister had any doubts about the Ibidapo-Obe recommendations, was it out of place for him to invite the learned fellow for further explanation?

The court ruling, a 93-page document, ought to have been given to seasoned lawyers for expert advice and not those who last visited the court as law students.

The minister’s directive has stalled the conduct a run-off election, even though his motive was to seek peace.

It has created a lacuna, which does not augur well for the game. If the judge has ruled based on the facts tendered by the winning party, it is the responsibility of the electoral body to conduct the elections as directed now that no counter motion has been sought from

the Court of Appeal.

A situation where members of the electoral committee are making statements that negate the court ruling is uncouth. It shows grave bias against one of the parties.

The rudderless domestic league must be given a direction and this will only happen when there is a legitimate leader at the Nigeria Premier League, irrespective of what those in the National Sports Commission (NSC) think.

If they wanted to influence the winner of the election, they should have gotten a winner who would have met all the conditions of eligibility.

We are tired of running sports through cabals because such a system produces the same people who have stunted the growth of the game.

The domestic league needs freshness; it starts with getting people with ideas and dumping those who want to continue with the ills of the past perpetuated by their godfathers.

The European leagues have thrown up several marketing widows that our local club owners can exploit, beginning with the tele

•Continued on Page 59

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