The Nation December 19, 2011

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

News Obasanjo working against Oyo PDP, says Senator Sport Hodgson craves Eagles star Osaze’s goal rain Business Jonathan, IMF chief to discuss Nigeria’s economy

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VOL. 7, NO. 1979 MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

•From right: Co-ordinating Minister of the Economic Team and Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala discussing with former President of Poland Mr. Aleksander Kwasniewski, President/CEO of Nestoil plc, Dr. Ernest Azudialu and Chairman of KULCZYK Investments Holdings, Dr. Jan Kulczyk, during a Nestoil-led visit to Ministry of Finance in Abuja.

N150.00

•Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola receiving his ticket after paying the toll fee at the Admiralty Circle Toll Plaza on the Lekki-Epe Expressway ... yesterday. INSET: The Lekki-Epe toll gate.

Fuel subsidy: Employers warn govt to avert crisis NECA: protest will weaken economy CNPP to back planned action

E

MPLOYERS have warned of the implication of protests over the planned removal of fuel subsidy.

“Any crisis will worsen the economic situation. You know that salaries are paid from the daily income of the companies – the manufacturers – and it will be difficult for the employers to honour their salary obligations, if businesses are put

By Emmanuel Oladesu, Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu, Adegunle Olugbamila (Lagos), Bisi Olaniyi (Port Harcourt) and Gbenga Omokhunu (Abuja)

on hold due to labour protests,” Director General of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) Mr. Olusegun Osinowo said yesterday.

Osinowo accused the government of failing to carry along workers’ unions over its plan to remove fuel subsidy.

He said: “The government has been crude in giving information on what would happen to the subsidy money. Also, discussions with stakeholders have not been well handled. The government is behaving like a king, sitting on a throne, talking down on his subjects.”

He urged the government

to address the issue, “before the bubble bursts.”

The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) met in Abuja at the weekend and resolved to resist the plan to remove fuel subsidy.

The government has said about N1.3trillion has been spent this year on the subsidy. The cash, it says, will go into rebuilding infrastruc-

ture.

But, opponents of subsidy removal insists it will lead to high fuel prices and impoverish Nigerians.

“All we are saying: don’t push us to the street; for we went to the street to make you President and would not like to go to the street to remove you as president!,” CNPP and CSOs told President Jonathan.

According to a statement

signed by CNPP National Publicity Secretary Osita Okechukwu, they added: “All we are saying: build new refineries; for if you don’t have confidence that Nigerians can manage refineries, we don’t have confidence that you can manage the withdrawal proceeds!

“All we are saying: stop Continued on page 2

Fashola pleads with residents on toll T •Fashola

OLL collectors at the redeveloped 49-kilometre EtiOsa/Lekki-Epe highway attended to their first customers yesterday.

Governor Babatunde Fashola led the way, stopping at the toll gate to pay. He was driving his official Land Rover Sport Utility Vehicle at 1.35p.m. The stretch was redeveloped by the concessionaire, Messrs Lekki Concessioning Company (LCC).

By Emmanuel Oladesu and Miriam Ndikanwu

With the governor were the Director-General, Office of Public Private Partnership (PPP), Mr Ayo Gbeleyi and LCC officials.

The tolling began after 11 months of consultations with stakeholders, who registered their opposition, forcing the government to stop toll payment, originally billed for takeoff on January 3.

Fashola had told a Town Hall

meeting that his administration paid N4billion to the concessionaire for as long as his directive to suspend tolling lasted.

Lekki residents complained that there was no alternative route for those without the financial wherewithal to pay the toll.

Some of the aggrieved residents who protested at the weekend were arrested by the police. The governor directed they should be released.

An excited Fashola expressed satis-

faction with the take-off of the tolling and urged motorists to embrace the positive change introduced to road redevelopment by the initiative.

The governor urged residents to always give peace a chance.

He denied reports that there was a dead body on the highway on the eve of the inauguration of the toll, pointing out that the photograph published in a newspaper was a figment of imagination.

Continued on page 2

•SPORT P23 •POLITICS P25 •CITYBEATS P31 •JOBS P47 •CEO P49

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

NEWS

•First Lady Patience Jonathan (centre) flanked by widow of the late Chief Emeka Ojukwu, Bianca, and wife of Enugu State Governor, Mrs. Clara Chime, during a condolence visit to Mrs Ojukwu in Enugu ... yesterday.

PHOTO: OBI CLETUS

•Rivers State Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (second right) cheering his wife, Judith as she dances during the CARNIRIV freestyle bands street parade in Port Harcourt ... at the weekend.

They are flanked by Deputy Governor Tele Ikuru (right) and Sen. Magnus Abe.

Boko Haram kill three policemen in Kano

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HREE policemen were killed at the weekend in Kano, in a series of co-ordinated attacks by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members.

The dreaded Boko Haram Islamic sect appeared to have unveiled its presence in the ancient city of Kano, launching the attacks.

The policemen were gunned down at Darmanawa Quarters at Ungwan Uku, in the Kano metropolis.

The police arrested 14 suspects whom they said are members of a syndicate, during a raid that lasted for several hours. Four of the suspects were shot dead by the special anti- robbery squad, who responded to a distress call.

A police officer was injured in the attacks allegedly launched by the sect between 7 and 8p.m. on Saturday.

Trouble started when a team of police officers, acting on a tipoff, invaded a suspected hideout of Boko Haram at UngwanUku, ostensibly to fish out members, believed to be hatching a plan to attack security for-

•14 suspects arrested From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

mations within the state.

Gunmen believed to be Boko Haram members at the weekend also killed three Air Force officers and injured another at the Nigerian Air Force Comprehensive Secondary School, Kano-Katsina Road on Thursday night The police intercepted a vehicle loaded with several GSM handsets and Walkie Talkies at Gwale Quarters in the ancient city.

The four occupants of the vehicle, in a bid to evade arrest, allegedly shot sporadically into the air and fled, leaving their vehicle behind.

Security sources said the Boko Haram members might have resorted to attacking security formations in Kano, following the discovery of their hideout and their bomb factory at Ungwan–Uku, where chemicals believed to be explosive materials were recovered by the police, who carried out a raid on the site.

The wave of attacks on secu-

rity personnel and formations has put the police authorities on high alert.

At a news conference yesterday at Bompai, the Kano Police Headquarters, Police Commissioner Ibrahim Idris said the police recovered three vehicles, seven riffles – four AK47, one Pump Action and two Lar rifles, one pomp action, one G3 – nine magazines and 1,125 live ammunition of various calibres.

Idris said the recovered rifles, magazines and ammunition were found in a black Honda Accord car with Lagos registration number FF 479 APP. He said one of the recovered cars was laden with explosives, meant for a planned attack, which he said the police foiled.

Idris explained that after a search conducted by Police in the house of Mohammed Ali at Darnamawa Quarters, one Honda Henesy loaded with 50 litres of petrol and 50 kg cylinders prepared for suicide bombing, were recovered.

“Investigation has shown that all the suspects so far arrested or being declared wanted are non-natives of the

Fashola pleads with residents on toll Continued from page 1

•Ringim

state. They are strangers who have made their states inhabitable and have fled to Kano to abuse its hospitality.

“These incidents that occurred in the last few days and the support demonstrated by the indigenes of this state has shown that they have neither sympathy nor affiliation with this group of individuals,” the police chief said.

Idris said Inspector General of Police Hafiz Ringim has approved a heroic burial for the slain officers.

Fashola said: “The picture was non-existent. It was published with a malicious intention to malign the integrity of the Lagos State government.”

Fashola defended his administration’s position on the toll gate, saying that he acted in good faith and utter sensitivity to reality. He urged Lagosians to show understanding.

Fielding questions from reporters later, Fashola described the road as the first with a technologically driven toll gate in the country and assured motorists of efficient services as the road was built with facilities for electronic operations.

He admonished Lagosians to see the road, with its modern facilities, as a positive change which was necessary to connect them with the future.

He said: “Technology is change; Lagos is moving on; Nigeria is moving on. We cannot continue to wish this kind of thing only in our experiences outside our country. Change has

Fuel subsidy: Employers warn govt to avert crisis Continued from page 1

the rampant corruption in fuel importation before removing the fuel subsidy! All we are saying: if you can’t stop rampant corruption in fuel importation, you cannot guarantee the proceeds to be withdrawn!

“All we are saying: removal of fuel subsidy is a road Nigerians have passed severally since 1978! All we are saying: the serial promises made were broken and the pains of serial removal of fuel subsidy have remained permanent!

“All we are saying: strident call on all patriots to join the mother of mass action!

“We resolved also to work in league with the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress and other patriots to resist the inordinate resolve of President Jonathan against public will to remove Fuel Subsidy.”

The NLC will meet tomorrow to take a stance on the planned fuel subsidy removal.

Yesterday, NLC Head of Information Chris Uyot urged Nigerians to prepare for a strike, should the government remove the subsidy. He also criticised the government’s 2012 budget proposal.

He described the exclusion of fuel subsidy in the budget

as tragic. “Thus, the Nigerian people will have no choice but to confront this challenge,” Uyot said, adding: “We call on all Nigerian workers and people to begin preparation for a general strike and mass protests. The people must be prepared in the next few weeks when the Jonathan administration begins to implement its anti-Nigerian policy. Nigerians should prepare to occupy the streets and public institutions to prevent them from being taken over by anti-patriotic forces,” the NLC added.

Former Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) VicePresidential candidate Pastor Tunde Bakare yesterday criticised President Jonathan for planning to remove fuel subsidy .

He said the Federal Government is creating confusion by not considering the effect of the planned action on the people.

The cleric, who is the founder of the Latter Rain Assembly, Ikeja, Lagos, addressed the congregation on the danger of fuel subsidy removal on Nigerians.

He disagreed that the Government has been subsidising the cost of fuel, adding: “What government is doing is subsidising the alternative

cost of production.

“It is an idiotic choice to continue to import fuel due to the refusal to turn around the country’s refineries. What is required is 66 per cent working capacity of the refineries. President Jonathan, like Jeroboam, is pursuing antipeople policies in readiness for a mass revolt”.

Urging the President to emulate Nehemiah, who rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem, Bakare advised those in power to refrain from imposing unnecessary burden on the people.

The Federal Government and other stakeholders have been urged to build more refineries, since the existing four cannot supply the required refined petroleum products.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) Prof. Joseph Ajienka, spoke in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, at the weekend.

There are two refineries in Port Harcourt; one in Warri, in Delta State; and another one in Kaduna.

Ajienka noted that there was need for the quick passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which could not be passed by the last National Assembly.

A former President of the

Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Mr. Bobo Brown, said the planned removal of fuel subsidy is a trap that would hasten President Jonathan’s removal.

A member of the Board of Treasure Energy Resources, Dr. Joe Ellah, urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on refineries’ construction, saying they must not be done on a large scale.

He called for the scrapping of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), accusing it of awarding contracts to marketers.

He said crude oil should be refined locally, adding that the Offshore Processing Scheme (OPS) of crude oil should be revisited.

They spoke at a Roundtable on Petroleum Subsidy organised by the Emerald Institute of Energy Economics, Policy and Strategic Studies of UNIPORT. Ajienka said: “Queues are building up. We may buy fuel (petrol) at N140 per litre. Nigeria does not have refining capacity. We must consider short, medium and long term solutions, most important of which are building of more refineries and passage of PIB. “Refined petroleum prod-

ucts should be readily available throughout Nigeria. We should not be depending on importation of fuel.”

The General Leader and Chairman of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church (Ayo Ni O), Surulere, Lagos District headquarters, Lagos, Prophet Gabriel Olubunmi Fakeye, has urged President Jonathanh to apply appropriate sanctions on those who have helped themselves with the proceeds from oil subsidy.

Speaking at the 21st Interdenominational Christmas/ Carol service at the headquarters of the church, the cleric noted that the planned action has generated heated debates at the National Assembly and among Nigerians.

He said: “The planned removal of oil subsidy at this point may not be good for us.

But there in no time the subsidy will not be removed. If our refineries are working well, we won’t need subsidy.

“I commend President Jonathan who changed his mind not to remove fuel subsidy in January as he promised but let us hope that we will be a better country than this in the nearest future.I also advise government to apply appropriate sanctions to the beneficiaries of the oil racket.”

come upon us; let us embrace it.”

The governor urged residents to see the future and the bigger picture of the toll gate rather than the little discomfort they may be caused by the introduction. “Change calls for all of us to give up our vested rights and move on,” he said, adding: “I see a better future, I see a brighter future.”

On the traffic congestion as a result of the tolling, Fashola said: “Really, it is the change.

Every time we have had to adapt to something new, there is always some discomfort.

“The day GSM started, there were so many drop-calls that you could not connect. But within a few days, there were feedbacks which made it easy for the operators to rectify the situation and make it better.

“We need feedbacks. What is the problem? Feedbacks will help us and the concessionaire to adapt and respond. We are here to serve; that is our job.

Anywhere the shoe pinches you, tell us and leave us to solve it and make it better.”

He said the decision to launch the toll payment on a Sunday was informed by the need to reduce the impact of a first experience and give the people time to adjust to the change. In the next few days, traffic will flow freely, he said.

Fashola advised motorists to use the electronic tag, instead of paying cash at the plaza, pointing out that the process of paying cash and obtaining change contributes to the delay that triggers the gridlock.

“You get a discount for even buying the electronic tag and you get the discount immediately. I am sure we will all be telling a better story in a few weeks time,” Fashola said.

In his view, the protesters were exercising their democratic rights. The governor said: “That is democracy; there must be another side. This is also employment. The concessionaire is a Nigerian company with international investments. They are employing our people.”

On alternative routes, the governor said his administration had provided an alternative route, contrary to insinuations that there was no alternative route.

Said Fashola: “Of course, there is an alternative route.

We are increasing it. The story out there before was that there was no alternative road, but you have seen for yourselves that there is an alternative road. We will make it better and increase it as we go on.”

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

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

NEWS

Huge wage bill: Fed Govt to raise panel on ghost workers

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ORRIED by increasing wage bill and alleged high number of ghost workers, the Federal Government will soon raise a committee to ascertain the real figure of its workforce.

The government is suspecting that between 10 and 20 per cent of its workforce might be ghost workers.

Going by the declaration of the immediate past Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, there are about 120,000 workers in the Federal Civil Service.

But with the alleged smuggling of ghost workers into the payroll of the civil service, the staff strength figure could be about 100,000 or 80,000.

Investigation revealed that the government came into the conclusion of a bloated civil service with ghost workers following the findings of the pilot phase of its Integrated Personal Payroll Informa-

From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation, Abuja

tion System(IPPIS) which was introduced during the tenure of a former Accountant-General of the Federtion, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo.

It was learnt that although 10 Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs) were involved in the first or pilot phase of the IPPIS, the feedback was said to be mindboggling.

According to findings, over 15 others had been captured in the second phase of the IPPIS with more shocking revelations and reduction in wage bill.

It was gathered that the feedback informed the decision of President Goodluk Jonathan to buy into the idea of raising a committee to fish out ghost workers in the system.

A government source, who spoke in confidence on the plan, said: “The government has discovered that there are ghost workers in the sys-

tem and it will soon set up a committee to detect them.

“There is a strong suspicion that about 20 to 30 per cent of the present workforce in the Federal Civil Service might be ghost workers.

“It is unimaginable that the wage bill of the workforce is about N1.5trillion. Recent capturing of biometrics of some staff of some MDAs has confirmed that the staff strength might be bloated because of ghost workers.

“The President has decided to take the bull by the horn to ask a panel to verify and ascertain its real workforce. Look at the pension scheme, the scam uncovered at the Pensions Office proved that if we re-examine our roll system, we can rid the service of these ghost workers.”

A civil servant, who gave more insight into the phenomenon of ghost workers, said: “The challenge arose from a policy in the past which gave powers to coordinators of

FERMA ‘didn’t ask for N100b’

MDAs in all the 36 states to recruit staff within Grade levels 01-06.

“So, what some of these officers did was to embark on imaginary or fake recruitment of staff in order to jack up the payroll. And most often, the excess funds are diverted into private purse.

“The government has stopped the mass recruitment by MDAs at the state level until the system is sanitized after this coming stock-taking.

“The staff auditing is a welcome development if the government will have the courage to do so.”

The source also said with the IPPIS, “we now operate a centralized wage and staff records of some MDAs but not all workers have been integrated into this computerized system.

“The benefit of weeding out ghost workers is that the government can create new jobs and have a manageable workforce with reduced bill.”

From Olugbenga Adanikin, Abuja

M

ANAGING Director of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Mr. Gabriel Amuchi, has denied calling on government to provide N100 billion yearly for maintenance of federal roads.

In statement yesterday in Abuja, FERMA Head of Communications, Mrs. Maryam Sanusi said Amuchi was misquoted.

The statement said the FERMA MD recently called for a partnership with the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) to strengthen its Preventive Maintenance and Road Surveillance Programme. He also unveiled plans to adopt the cold asphalt technology for quick road patching.

That he also said the road maintenance programme was aimed at inculcating in Nigerians a new culture of preserving roads in the country, stressing that it is cheaper and more effective.

“To ensure effective management of our roads on day to day basis, FERMA has also considered the need to employ the cold asphalt technology to be used for quick patching,” Amuchi reportedly said.

President of the NSE, Mr. Olumuyiwa Ajibola, has decried government’s dependence on foreign expatriates even as he called for better collaboration between the body and FERMA. According to him, there is the need for government to encourage local industries in order to grow the nation’s engineering profession.

He said: “This is a time when government needs to support local companies to grow the nation’s engineering profession; it is lamentable that most engineering contracts are awarded to expatriate firms, even when the nation is blessed with a large number of well trained engineers and technicians.”

USAID’s, others’ $82m to fight malaria THE fight against malaria scourge in the country has received a boost as multi-national collaboration led by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has pledged $82 million to curb proliferation of the menace.

The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Terrence Mcculley broke the news at the launch of Malaria Action Projects for states (MAPS) last weekend. He said the U S President’s administration is resolutely committed to partnering with African countries to build capacity in stamping out malaria.

Launching the new initiative at a forum in Abuja, Mcculley said: “Under the U S-funded President’s Malaria initiative (PMI) there are plans to work with partners to reduce by half, the burden of malaria to 70 per cent of the at – risk populations in sub- Saharan African (approximately 450 million residents) thereby eliminating malaria as a major public concern and promoting development throughout Africa.

MAPS is a USAID funded integrated malaria project that enjoys PMI support. The MAPS project, which spans five years beginning from last year to 2015, will run in six states. They are: Zamfara, Benue, Nasarawa, Oyo, Ebonyi and Cross River states. Minister of State for Health, Dr Muhammed Pate at the launch, disclosed that Nigeria loses about N132 billion yearly to managing malaria illness among its population leading to depletion of labour force through diseases caused by specie of mosquitoes. The minister, who was represented by his Special Assistant, Dr. Labaran Shinkaffi said that associated loss includes huge man hour by the nation’s labour force.

‘Ondo people won’t sell birthright’

By Emmanuel Oladesu •Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola flanked by his Deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori and Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Muiz Banire (right) at the 2011 Osogbo Oroki Day celebration and launch of N1billion Development Fund at Osogbo City Stadium...at the weekend

10 years after, court frees man detained without trial

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USTICE Habeeb Abiru of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja has freed a 43-year old man, Mamman Keita, who hails from the Republic of Niger, 10 years after he was arrested for manslaughter without trial.

The judge ordered his unconditional release, and asked the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Ade Ipaye, and the Commissioner of Police, Mr Yakubu Alkali, to pay him N7million damages.

They are also to apologise to him, the judge ruled at the weekend.

Keita was charged with manslaughter at the Magistrate’s Court, Ebute-Metta on July 23, 2001. He was never tried.

The judge said the continuous remand of Keita for over 10 years without proper arraignment and trial is unlawful .

He added that it constitutes what he called an unbridled violation of his fundamental rights to dignity of

•Awards him N7m damages

By Joseph Jibueze

his person, personal liberty and freedom of movement.

Keita’s counsel Ahmed AdetolaKazeem, prayed the court to enforce Keita’s fundamental human rights.

In an October 24, 2011 Motion on Notice, he asked for N100million compensation for his client. The respondents did not reply the motion.

Abiru said his records showed that they were duly served, adding that although a counsel appeared for the Attorney-General at the hearing of the application, none of the respondents filed any affidavit challenging or denying the applicant’s claims.

Ipaye’s counsel argued that Keita was not arrested or detained by the office of the Attorney-General, but the judge dismissed the submission.

“The Attorney General of Lagos State is accountable for all matters and issues relating to remand pro-

ceedings. It is a ministerial responsibility owed by the Attorney-General of the state and as such is a strict liability issue and is not dependent on his knowledge of the proceedings.

“These provisions impose on the second respondent (the AttorneyGeneral) a heavy responsibility which includes taking concrete steps to make itself aware of all criminal prosecutions commenced in all the courts in Lagos State.”

Keita, a ram seller at the Alaba Rago and Apogbon areas of Lagos, claimed that in 2001, on the eve of the salah celebration, his bag containing N177,000, being the proceeds of his sales, was snatched.

He said one of his assailants stabbed him in the buttock. In a struggle to save his life, Keita said he stabbed the hoodlum, who reportedly died some days later due to the injuries he sustained.

CHIEFTAINS of the Action Congress (ACN), in Ondo State, in collaboration with the party’s national leadership, have said the electorate will not sell their birthright but will ensure their votes count in the next elections.

The group, which has begun a strategy designed to ensure, the party produces the next governor, asserts that an ACN government will reverse all unpopular programmes and uphold the sanctity of the rule of law.

Working under the aegis of ACN Stakeholders, comprising members who contested various elections in 2007 and 2011, the group argued that with the growing popularity of the party, it will win the governorship seat in the 2013 elections.

Chaired by Matthew Oyewunmi, the group, which held a strategy session with Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who is leading ACN’s campaign “Operation Alagbaka 2012,” said the performance of the governors in the ACN ruling states as well as the daily influx of defectors have strengthened its conviction that the party will govern the state in the next elections.

Mark challenges Senators’ Forum on national unity

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ENATE President David Mark at the weekend urged the Senators’ Forum to fashion out a blue print on how Nigeria can be developed.

Mark, according to a statement by his media aide, Paul Mumeh, told his colleagues comprising former and serving senators in Abuja that “this is not the time to sit on the fence and watch things deteriorate. We must be reminded that whether serving or former senators, we are all stakeholders

From Onyedi Ojiabor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

in the project Nigeria.

“We must be ready at all times to contribute our quota to make it work.”

Mark, who spoke at the maiden end of year assembly of Senators’ Forum made up of Senators who served between 1999 and this year, added that the present scenario in the country unarguably requires their wealth of experience and

ready hands to tackle.

The Senate President, who spoke through his Chief of Staff, Senator Anthony Manzo said Senators must help to build bridges of understanding and mutual co- existence between and amongst ethnic and religious groups in the country.

He said: “Senators’ Forum is very apt at this time, the nation is in dire need of peace, unity and national cohesion.

“As statesmen, we must strive at

all times to forge national unity and integration.

“What ever advice we give must be taken seriously. We must therefore be guided by genuine patriotism and love of our country in proffering solutions to our problems.”

Like the Senators’ Forum in the United States , Mark urged his colleagues to live up to their billings as true nationalists who put the interest of the nation above personal considerations.

He expressed gratitude to his former colleagues whom he acknowledged for laying a solid foundation for today’s stability in the National Assembly and the polity.

The statement reads in part: “Earlier, Chairman of the Forum, Senator Khariat Gwadabe said the forum was initiated as a platform for all former Senators to have a common ground for contributing their quota to national development.

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

NEWS Bafarawa returns to ANPP From Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto

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ORMER Sokoto State Governor Attahiru Bafarawa has returned to the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP).

He declared his return in Sokoto at a ceremony that brought together the party’s leadership. They include former Kano State Governor and the party’s presidential candidate in the April election, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau; ANPP National Chairman, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu; Gombe State Governor Ali Gaidam; and the deputy governors of Borno and Zamfara states.

His return is coming a day after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held its governorship primary in the state.

‘States, councils need Public Procurement Act’

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie, Asst. Editor

S

TATES and local governments have been advised to key into the provisions of the Public Procurement Act to stimulate development for the nation.

Addressing reporters in Lagos at a public forum on Public Procurement Reporting, the Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Head of Secretariat, National Procurement Watch Platform (NPWP), Mr. Auwal Musa, called for the domestication of the Act. According to him, this will check the widespread corruption in governance and free funds for national development.

Musa urged reporters to report issues that would expose corruption in contract procurement and resist relying on statements from such agencies without detailed analysis.

Boko Haram confirms members’ death in Maiduguri blast T HE Boko Haram sect yesterday confirmed that three of its members were killed by their bombs in Saturday’s explosion in Shuwari, Maiduguri.

Spokesman of the sect, Mallam Abul Qaqa, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with reporters in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

He said: “We have hundreds of members who are willing to sacrifice their lives in this crusade. The unfortunate incident on Saturday will not discourage us. If anything, it will encourage us to strategise and diversify our techniques, because we are not afraid of death.”

The Joint Task Force (JTF), codenamed Operation Restore Order, said at the weekend that three suspected members of the group died in an early morning explosion at Shuwari, in Maiduguri.

JTF spokesman Lt.-Col. Hassan Ifijeh, told reporters that large quantities of unused Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), AK 47 rifles, ammunitions and other vital items were recovered from the scene of the blast.

He said three unidentified mutilated bodies of suspected Boko Haram mem-

bers, suspected to be running the illegal bomb-making factory, were also found.

Abul Qaqa said: “Hundreds of our members were killed in 2009, but we remain resolute.”

He claimed that his men had repelled alleged attempts by security agencies to arrest some members of the sect after cordoning off a house at Karkasara area of Kano.

He also claimed that the group set its men free by killing the security operatives.

Mallam Abubakar Shekau, the “spiritual head” of the sect, threatened yesterday to unleash mayhem on Kano unless urgent steps are taken by the authorities to stop the arrest of its members.

Shekau, in an e-mail statement in Maiduguri, said the group would “launch endless attacks on Kano following arbitrary arrest and persecution of our members”.

He claimed that the sect had sent open letters to some prominent people, including the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero; Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso; Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata and Sheikh Isiaka Rabiu.

Slain General’s wife cries out for justice

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HE wife of the Army officer who was killed on September 20 in Badagry, Lagos State, Brig.-Gen. Umar Jabril Uwagbe, has urged security agencies to ensure that justice is done over the matter.

Mrs Saratu Uwagbe has just been discharged from the hospital, where she was treated for the injury she sustained from her husband’s suspected killers.

Speaking with The Nation, Mrs Uwagbe narrated the event that led to her husband’s death.

She said: “He told to me he wanted to switch off the generator to refill it with diesel and reserve it for the night.

I never thought that he was sending me his last greeting. It was his voice that made me and my grand-daughters to rush downstairs, where we saw him being macheted by two men in our compound.”

It was learnt that on September 20, at about 4.30pm, the deceased was macheted to death by two suspects.

Mrs Uwagbe gave the suspects’ names as Samuel Sosu and Abiodun Sosube. They are said to be Beninioise resident in Lagos.

She said she recognised the suspects as she ran downstairs to find them attacking her husband.

When the suspects were paraded by the police, they reportedly made con-

•‘My grad-daughter died of shock’

By Titilayo Banjoko

flicting statements. Sosu is still being held but Sosube is said to have escaped.

Sosu said he had no hand in the murder, adding that he and the deceased had a cordial relationship.

He said: “The General and I were very close. He gave me seven acres of land, which I used for farming. I was not even at the crime scene. It was the two men, who I employed as labourers, (Sosube and another suspect), that killed the General.”

But Mrs Uwagbe, a retired nurse, said she and her husband built the house about 13 years ago and had been living there as retirees until he was killed in September.

She said: “I remember that before the incident, Sosu, who lived three houses from our house, came to my late husband and asked for his permission to farm on our piece of land, close to our house. My late husband, who was very nice, agreed. But he told Sosu that he must obey his rules and regulations to use the land for farming. So, they both signed an agreement.”

According to her, the late General said if Sosu kept to the rules, he would be allowed to use the land for farming the following season. But Sosu did not, she

added.

She said after the first harvest, “we asked him to leave because he did not follow the agreement”.

“Sosu asked my late husband about the money he spent on clearing the land; that he hadn’t made his money from the farm. We told him that he disobeyed the rules and regulations.

“Few weeks later, on a Sunday, Sosu came to our house with two live chickens, saying it’s a way of thanking us. We told him that we didn’t need the chickens, that he needed it the most. He went away unhappy.

“Barely 48hours after, on Tuesday, I was with my family at home. I sent one of my daughters to buy me a recharge card. My husband was at the backyard to switch off the generator.

The next thing we heard was ‘blood of Jesus’ twice. This made me and my two grand-daughters to rush downstairs to where we heard the sound. On getting there, we saw two men and what they were doing to my husband.

“I was shocked. I quickly carried my two grand-daughters and rushed inside the house to make some phone calls. Though I didn’t have credit, the calls were all going through to my daughter for her not

to come back home because some men were out to kill us. I also called men of the Nigerian Army and also the Police. I then rushed back and took my grand-daughters to hide.

“While I was trying to hide them, the two men saw me and they came running after me to my room. They macheted me all over. The first machete cut landed on my neck while others followed on my head and on my left hand. It was then I called Dogo, saying, ‘Why do you want to kill us?’

“It was while they wanted to cut me again that I pretended to be dead, so that they would leave me. When they thought I had died, they left.

“The next thing I heard was the voice of soldiers shouting to know where I was, but because I was too weak, I couldn’t say anything.

“Immediately they saw me, they took me to a nearby hospital where the soldiers were told that I could not survive it. They later moved me to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) but I wasn’t comfortable there. So, I was later moved to an Army hospital, where I received treatment for months.

“My 17-year-old grand-daughter died from the shock of seeing her grandfather being butchered in her presence and also seeing me in a pool of blood.”

NIPR to tackle fake members From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

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HE President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Alhaji Mohammed Abdullahi, has vowed to tackle quackery among public relations practitioners in the country.

Abdullahi spoke in Kano after his re-election for another term at this year’s annual conference/general meeting of the institute.

He promised to apply Sections 10 and 11 of the Act establishing NIPR to deal with unregistered public relations practitioners, adding that the time has come for the institute to uphold professionalism.

Promising to build on his past achievements, Abdullahi said the new council would make amends, where necessary, to move the institute to the next level.

According to him, the council will be amenable to suggestions and constructive criticisms.

He praised the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the institute for conducting a free, fair and credible election, noting that the success of the poll was an indication that Nigeria is heading towards conducting more credible general elections.

The NIPR president, who said Nigeria is passing through a traumatic experience, promised that the institute would build a positive image for the country.

•From left: Sokoto State Governor Aliyu Wamako; Chairman, Sokoto State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governornorship He urged those who lost out in the election to accept the Primary Election Committee and Minister of State for Education, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike; and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, at the declaration of the result of the primary by Wike in Sokoto...at the weekend defeat in good fate, while pledging to carry them along for the next two years.

Fed Govt should accord aviation priority, says Tambuwal

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OUSE of Representatives’ Speaker Aminu Tambuwal has urged the Federal Government to give priority to the aviation industry to enable it meet international standard.

Tambuwal noted that besides being capital-intensive, the aviation industry requires adequate attention to avoid mistakes that could cause great damage.

He urged stakeholders to demonstrate greater commitment to attract more international airlines to

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.

Tambuwal promised to persuade the management of KLM to rescind its decision to withdraw its flight operations from the airport from next year.

The Speaker spoke in Kano at the inauguration of the airport’s multimillion Hajj Terminal 2.

He praised the Aviation Ministry for transforming some infra-

•Advises stakeholders against cutting corners structure in the industry, adding that it has recognised the importance of the sector to nation-building.

Governor Musa Kwankwaso, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, urged the minister to intervene in the rampant closure of international airlines at the airport.

He urged KLM to stop its plan to close down its operation in Kano next year.

Sultan of Sokoto Dr. Saad Abubakar said the transformation by the Aviation Ministry is an indication that the minister means well for the country.

Tambuwal cautioned aviation stakeholders against cutting corners. He said this could cause a

major disaster.

He noted that many airlines have folded up over the years.

The Speaker said the airlines include Nigeria Airways, adding that government’s investment in the aviation industry has become critical to the survival of the sector.

Tambuwal said the government would provide facilities that would increase the industry’s safety and bring incentives to local investors in the sector.

5

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

NEWS ‘We’ll ensure supply of fuel’ From Ugochukwu Eke, Umuahia

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HE Abia State Commissioner for Petroleum, Akujuobi Nkoro, has assured residents of adequate supply of petroleum products during the festive peri-

od.

Nkoro said the recent hike in prices of petroleum products in the state was as a result of the five-day strike by the tanker drivers union, who were protesting the deflation of five tyres on their trucks.

The commissioner said the government paid for the five tyres, “but trouble reared its head again when the drivers alleged that soldiers went to a mechanic shop to puncture 11 tyres, which made them go on strike”.

He said Deputy Governor Emeka Ananaba paid N350,000 for the five tyres for peace to reign and for the tanker drivers to freely supply petroleum products.

Nkoro assured that there will be petroleum products in the state at the normal prices, “except when the Federal Government decides to remove the controversial fuel subsidy, but before then the prices will always be the same”.

Youths plan economic summit OUTHS under the aegis of Civil Society Organisations (CSO) and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Ngwaland, Abia State, are planning an economic summit to discuss the development and economic transformation of Ngwa land.

President of Ngwa Development Group and Chairman of the Planning Committee Ben Ezinne said

Y

From Ugochukwu Eke, Umuahia

the objective was to generate ideas for the growth of Ngwa land.

Ezinne decried the crimes and kidnappings in the area known for its hospitability.

He said the summit slated for Aba would be the highest intellectual gathering of Ngwa people, adding that resource persons are expected to deliver lectures at the event.

• The celebrator and first woman officer of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Capt Josephine Tolefe (rtd); President-General, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Ralph Uwechue (right); representative of the Chief of Army Staff, Maj-Gen Samuel Ameh (second right) and Managing Director, Mish Aviation Flying School, Accra, Capt Ibrahim Mshelia, during Mrs. Tolefe’s 80th birthday in Abuja.... at the weekend

Lifeline for Abia community From Ugochukwu Eke, Umuahia

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N Abuja businessman, Chinedu Okoronkwo, has established a Non-Governmental Organisation, the Centre for Ecclessia, to provide free medical care for the people of Umuhu-Ezechi in Bende Local Government of Abia State.

Okoronkwo said he was touched by the plight of his people, who trek to Igbere or Abam for treatment.

He said drugs worth millions would be distributed to the six autonomous communities in Umuhu-Ezechi and that nobody should pay during the three-day free medical treatment.

The chairman of the NGO, Robert Orji, said Okoronkwo has also donated wrappers to 200 widows in the community.

“He asked us to stop contributing money for the rural electrification of the place, as he gave N570,000 to the committee in charge of the electricity project,” Orji said.

A beneficiary, Madam Mgbafor Kalu, said: “I can only ask and pray to God o keep him alive to continue his good works for our people.”

Anyim, Okonjo-Iweala honoured at ABSU From Ugochukwu Eke, Umuahia

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HE Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim and Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala were among those honoured with doctorate degrees by the Abia State University, Uturu during its 21st convocation.

Other awardees included former Deputy Governor of the old Imo State, Francis Oji, who was installed as the institution’s chancellor and the Chief Executive Officer of Bourdex Telecoms Nig. Limited, David Onuoha.

Anyim, an alumnus of the university, received a Doctorate Degree in Law. Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala got hers in International Relations and Diplomacy.

Governor Theodore Orji, who is also the university’s Visitor, urged the institution to explore new avenues of improving its internally-generated revenue.

Orji, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Mkpa Agu Mkpa, decried the increasing cases of “unacceptable conduct” by both the students and lecturers in the institution.

The governor urged the university management to intensify the fight against social vices, such as examination malpractices, armed robbery and cultism.

Funeral for man

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HE funeral rites for Pa Gideon Obinna Nwaorie, who died on November 28, have been announced. He was 74.

The body will leave Aladinma Hospital, Owerri, Imo State, for his home town, Eziamulu in Eziihite Autonomous Community tomorrow.

There will be a church service on the same day at St. Michael Anglican Church, Amaulu and interment will follow immediately.

This will be rounded up on December 25 with an outing service at St. Michael Anglican Church. He is survived by his wife, Charity, six children, three grandchildren and other relations.

•The late Nwaorie

•Bishop, Diocese of Lagos West, Rt. Rev. Dr. Peter Awelewa Adebiyi flanked by preacher, Rt. Revd. Olugbenga Oduntan (left), Deacon Adebayo Taiwo Isaac (second left), Deacon Nosika Christopher Chinwuba (second right) and Bishop of Ijebu Diocese, Rt. Revd. Ayo Awosoga, at the 2011 Advent Ordination of the Diocese of Lagos West Aglican Church Communion at the Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral, Lagos...yesterday

‘Nigeria’s history incomplete without Ojukwu’

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IRST Lady Patience Jonathan has said the nation’s history would not be complete without the late Biafran Leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, occupying a prominent place.

The President’s wife said this yesterday in Enugu when she visited the widow, Bianca.

She described the late Ojukwu as a lover of democracy, saying his death was a great shock to her.

From Chris Oji, Enugu

According to her, the deceased supported her husband when he was campaigning , adding that his moral, intellectual and political capabilities were a source of inspiration to the Igbo and Nigeria.

In her condolence note, Mrs. Jonathan wrote: “Eze Igbo gburugburu, your courage, fortitude and vision are worthy of emulation.

“You made your mark as a

well educated soldier and it is commendable that you were willing to share your knowledge and ideas.

“You served your community and indeed Nigeria very well.

“Your moral, intellectual and political capabilities were a source of inspiration to the Igbo and the people of Nigeria.

“You were a gallant soldier and a political icon.”

Anambra State Governor Peter Obi thanked the First

Lady and her husband for their concern and support when Ojukwu was in the hospital.

Obi, who is also the Chairman of the South East Governors’ Forum, assured that the late Igbo leader would be given a befitting burial.

Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim; Senator Andy Uba,; Minister of Health Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu; Senator Ayogu Eze accompanied the First Lady.

‘House won’t accept selective implementation of budget’

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HE House of Representatives has reiterated its resolve to oppose selective or non-adherence to the 2012 Appropriation Act when it is eventually passed.

Abayomi Kako Are (Action Congress of Nigeria ACN Lagos) said President Goodluck Jonathan has no option because Nigerians are against selective budget implementation.

The lawmaker also said the Presidency has not been sincere to Nigerians over the subsidy.

Are, in an interview with The Nation at the weekend, pointed out the House’s position was made clear to the President when he presented the budget proposal at a joint sitting last week.

“You will recall that during the budget presentation that the Speaker’s speech was wide-

From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

ly applauded because he emphasised that selective implementation of the budget will not be accepted. “ Nigerians are not happy with selective budgeting.

“Budget is a law, and once it is passed it must be exe-

T

cuted.

“Selective budget is a partial implementation of the approved budget, so what the Speaker is saying and what every one of us agreed to is that the budget must be implemented 100 percent.

“That is the position of the

House that there must be 100 percent full implementation of the budget”.

The lawmaker also aligned himself with the opinion that too much money was allocated to security in a country that is dire need of infrastructural revamp.

DIG’s companion moved to Abuja

HE woman Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), who was the last person to see the late Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of Investigation ‘D’ Department, Force Headquarters, Ganiyu Daudu, was yesterday flown to Abuja for questioning.

It was learnt that the woman , who had been in the custody of Lagos Police Command since Friday when the incident occurred, was taken to Abuja on Sat-

By Jude Isiguzo

urday.

Police sources told The Nation that the decision to move the policewoman was not unusual since she was the last person to see the deceased.

The source added that she was only taken to Abuja to assist the Police to unravel the mystery behind Daudu’s death.

The source said she would be released when investiga-

tion is completed.

Daudu reportedly died in his hotel room in Ikorodu, Lagos, on Friday.

The policewoman was said to be the only person with him when the incident occurred.

She reportedly raced out of the room and raised an alarm when the DIG slumped.

It was learnt that the late Daudu had a history of heart related ailment and recently underwent treatment in South Africa.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

6

NEWS The unemployment profile in Nigeria is alarming: Many graduates have taken to menial jobs and crime to survive. Of recent, it has generated concerns , writes LEKE SALAUDEEN

Concerns over rising unemployment E

DWARD Ekundayo has a degree in Physics. He graduated five years ago with a Second Class Upper from one of the first generation universities in the country. He was promised a job by the state government where he did his national service following his outstanding performance. That promise was never fulfilled. Having searched for a job for over three years, he decided to be a commercial motorcyclist just to keep body and soul together. He relived his experience: “ I left university at the age of 27. Now I am 32. How can I remain a burden on my parents. I cannot expect them to be responsible for my feeding, clothing and accommodation. Moreso, I have younger brothers and sisters who are still in school. If I can’t contribute to their educational wellbeing, I should not deprive them their right.

This is what has pushed me into Okada riding.

“When I first started, I was ashamed that people who knew me would be surprised to see me doing this kind of job. But now I have developed thick skin. Idon’t care what people say. It’s the situation in the country that has turned me into a garage boy. It has changed my way of life. I don’t have time to read books. I am now used to drinking local gin which I never tasted when I was in school. The most painful experience is that my fiancée who now lectures in the university has dropped me because she believes we are no longer compatible. That is what unemployment has done to me”.

Edward is one of the army of unemployed youths, whom former President Olusegun Obasanjo, some weeks back, said are capable of leading Arab Spring-type of revolution against the country’s leader.

President Goodluck Jonathan has also admitted that the uemployment rate calls for concern. He said if nothing was done to correct it soon, the country could be sitting on a keg of gunpowder.

Obasanjo’s and Jonathan’s worries may make sense if juxtaposed with the ordeal of Saheed Adebowale, an applicant who is now languishing in detention on trumped up charges. A graduate of Economics, Saheed went to an office in Ikeja where he had submitted an application to find out if he was among the shortlisted candidates. He was so elated to find his name among those invited for the interview. On his way home his joy was short-lived. He passed through an area where armed robbery had just taken place. Unknown to him, plain cloth policemen were on the trail of men of the underworld. He was instantly arrested and bundled into the waiting van and taken to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Oduduwa, Ikeja. He has been under interrogation since October. He missed the interview that could have fetched him his first job four years after graduation. All testimony to prove that Saheed was at the company two hours before the robbery incident was turned down by the police. The police is working on the theory that jobless school leavers have taken to robbery these days, hence the plea of innocence by Sa-

heed was in doubt.

The involvement of four graduates in robbery incidents in Ogun State bears testimony to the view that school leavers too are members of the underworld. The suspects were arrested by men Ogun State police command after a series of bank robbery in the state. According to a statement by one of them, Ganiyu Olajide, a graduate of Psychology, he was pushed into robbery because five years after leaving school he could not get a job. “It is frustration that has led me into this,” he added.

Another applicant, Godwin Izuogu, had his world shattered by a trigger-happy policeman attached to Surulere Division in Lagos. Godwin who hails from Anambra State came to Lagos in search of a job. The policeman was said to have fired his gun at the commuter bus which Godwin boarded from Lagos Island at National Stadium bus stop. It was only Godwin that was hit. The policeman who was apprehended by the people around said the driver refused to stop when he flagged him down.

By the time the smoke from the cop’s gun cleared, the entire flesh of the upper biceps of Godwin’s left hand was completely gone leaving only the bones. He had been taken to many hospitals for treatment.

Doctors say he may lose his hand.

Nigeria has about 90 million people who are willing and able to work, but about 70 million of them have no jobs. The figure is alarming. It means that only about 20 million Nigerians have jobs of a population of 160 million. According to a World Bank report, the millions of people with no jobs represent a serious impediment to Nigeria’s economic development. Besides draining the country’s human resources, it gen-

erates losses in terms of lower output which results in poorer incomes and increased poverty. It also causes social decay and inhibits national cohesion. This causes the country to lose about N2 trillion annually.

The national unemployment rate rose from 4.3 per cent in 1970 to 6.4 per cent in 1980; 40 per cent in 1992 and 41.6 per cent in 2011.The high rate of unemployment recorded this year is attributed largely to depression in the economy.

The Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN) reports that 834 industries closed in 2010. It cited erratic power as the major reason for these closures.Many industries ran to neighbouring West African countries because of lower production cost.

The Kano chapter of MAN said 86 industries have closed down in the state due to unfriendly government policies. The branch chairman Alhaji Sani Umar lamented that thousands of workers have lost their jobs, saying “We considered it necessary to associate the current problems bedevilling the development of industries in Kano to absence of clear government’s industrial policy.”

Over the years, hundreds of factories that hitherto provided employment to graduates and artisans have collapsed. For instance, over 150 textile industries had closed and the trend continues.

This is because energy supply which serves as the main engine of production has been comatose, thus forcing the surviving industries to depend on power generators while the country becomes a dumping ground for all imported items.

• A group of youths protesting rising unemployment in the country Many artisans like welders, aluminium window fitters, tailors, who cannot afford power generators are today out of work. In desperation, many Nigerian youths have taken to riding commercial motor cycles while others went into street hawking just to keep body and soul together. The country is faced with a gross abuse and under-utilisation of human resources with direct impact on national productivity and competitiveness. Brain drain in all professions has become common.

Youth and Social Development Minister Mr Bolaji Abdullahi said the unemployment figure of 41.6 per cent is about the highest in the world, noting that the lack of opportunities and the sense of hopelessness make the youth susceptible to violence, crime and terrorism.

Abdullahi said: “There are clear indications of this already, given the role of the youths in the 2011 postelection violence and the increasing incidence of religious extremism

typified by the Boko Haram menace”. He asserted that the figure in Nigeria was well above the 25 per cent average rate for North Africa and the Middle East which have been rocked by civil unrest largely spearheaded by unemployed youths.

The minister, who noted that there were developmental initiatives across various sectors and tiers of government aimed primarily to address the problem of unemployment in Nigeria, however regretted that the efforts were hardly visible.

“Unfortunately, most of these initiatives fall short in terms of scope and scale. All put together, current interventions in the public, private and non-public sector reach fewer than 100,000 youths per year of more than 20 million unemployed youths.

“In addition, the subsisting initiatives are limited by not being youth specific, by poor collaboration and cooperation across the sectors, by outdated and theoretical training models, and by distance from the grassroots.”

A lecturer in the Department of Economics at The Bells University, Otta, Oluwatosin Oyetayo, has expressed dismay at the failure of the Federal Government to make adequate provision for youth employment in the 2012 budget. She spoke with LEKE SALAUDEEN

2012 budget fails to address unemployment, says varsity teacher

H

OW would you assess the performance of our economy in terms of job creation?

Our economy has not been viable in terms of creating job opportunities. Our production has reduced to almost level zero because of inadequate power supply. Companies are moving out of Nigeria and relocating to countries with steady power supply. The implication of this is job loss and Nigeria turning into a dumping ground of finished products from foreign countries. The economic implication is that we cannot manage our balance of payment. The social implication is that the unemployed youths are engaged in criminal activities. Given the kind of intelligence through which the Boko Haram boys and the Niger Delta

militants unleashed terror on the society, you can imagine how they could have used their intelligence positively if the economy was managed well.

Even most technicians and artisans have abandoned their trade for commercial motorcycle (Okada) riding because of the erratic power supply which has reduced their income.

In the 2012 budget, President Jonathan promised to create 100,000 jobs. Do you think this provision is adequate?

It pains me that the President has underestimated what is on ground.

Is he aware of the total number of unemployed youths in the country?

It has taken us back to the fact that people at the helm of affairs don’t really understand what the problem is? It is sad that the government

could still be talking of 100,000 jobs at this point in time when the jobless youths in Bayelsa State alone is over 100,000.

Even if it is 100,000 all we are interested in is what kind of jobs will be offered? Will the new employment be in the formal sector or through entrepreneurship? It should be gainful employment, nothing less.

Over 800 manufacturing companies closed in Nigeria within a year.

What does it portend for our economy?

Unless the government addresses the issues of infrastructural decay and policy inconsistencies, we shall continue to experience this kind of problem. The world over, small scale enterprises build the economy.

In America, you find the Apples, the Intels, the McDonalds and Microsoft,

•Oyetayo they all started as one man business and somehow became big organisations. In Nigeria, we have lost small scale industries that are supposed to serve as the backbone of our economy. Business enterprises with lofty ideas hardly survive in this country because of unconducive environment in which they operate. They have to source their own energy supply by spending fortunes on diesel to power their machines and struggle to pay staff salaries. We encourage small scale industries to grow in other countries at the expense of our economy and the growing unemployment at home.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

7

NEWS

he country

• Dr. Jonathan

• Abdullahi

‘Idle hands, devil’s workshop’ Bank robbery and household burglary have become common. The security situation has compelled some governors to acquire Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCS) for the police. But experts say government needs to reduce the growing army of unemployed youths, writes JOKE KUJENYA

• Policemen sitting on Armoured Personnel Carriers

I

KECHUKWU Onyema, a lawyer and Mr. Ebenezer Peters, a trader at the Alaba International Market have had encounter with armed robbers. Onyema was in a bank when the armed robbers came calling. Police came in on time and saved the situation.

For Peters, the fear of armed robbers is the beginning of wisdom.

He told The Nation that in his area of residence, Ipaja all able bodied are in vigilance groups to ward off attacks.

Peters said: “We have not been able to sleep. They wrote to the Baale that we have just started and since then, we have not had any respite from them. Now, we can’t sleep. We live in fear because we don’t know whose target it is next.

They have been to my street and home during which they came in with a cutlass, used it to hit my wife on her thigh twice and asked her to bring out all the money we had. When they could not get as much as they wanted, they asked me to bring my laptop and threatened to kill me. Yet, I never owned a laptop. When they left my apartment, they went round to each of our neighbours. And we’ve been at it since then. We reported to the Ipaja Police station but I know that they can only do little since the weapons of the burglars are more sophisticated.”

Within the last two years, governors have been procuring Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) to curtail the excesses of

armed bandits in their respective domains.

Between 2007 and 2011, the Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN), said about 603 policemen were killed by criminals.

The governor spoke during the handing over of security equipment worth millions of naira to the police to aid them combat crime.

At the event where the governor presented 10 APCs, 50 patrol vans, a mobile workshop, 200 bullet proof vests,100 Walkie- Talkies and the 300 newly trained Police drivers to the State Police Command, he noted that the challenges of security and law are a growing threat across the world.

Fashola said: “The world is increasingly plagued by ideological,

religious and economic challenges, and the countries like the United States, Britain, Greece and Italy, which used to act as shock absorbers receiving millions of immigrants are facing grave social and economic problems.”

To stem the tide of crime and robbery in Osun State, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, in October, ordered for five APCs. He also announced that some members of the Osun State Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) would assist the Police in the discharge of their duties.

Aregbesola said the move was to curb bandits who now openly use explosives and dynamites in the prosecution of their daring raids on banks and residences within the state.

Two weeks prior to the presentation of the APCs to the police, the governor said six banks were raided at Iwo and Ilesa in which several people were injured and millions of naira carted away. A police Inspector, Christopher Atama, was killed at the Iwo robbery.

Robbers in Ondo State recently held residents captive. Banks and other corporate outfits refused to open to customers.

Governor Olusegun Mimiko procured and delivered three APCs to the police. The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, said the APCs were designed to transport infantry to the battlefield. He said the APCs would bedeployed in strategic locations, especially the Business Districts of Akure and other major towns in the state.

He also said the arrival of the equipment and other logistics extended by the government to the

various security agencies would eventually make Ondo a no-goarea for armed robbers.

In Ekiti State, Governor Kayode Fayemi also donated two APCs to the Police Command as part of measures to fight crimes and secure the life and property of indigenes and investors. During the hand over of the security equipment to the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olayinka Balogun, the governor said the gesture was a demonstration of his administration’s commitment to the safety of residents.

Like Lagos and other Southwest states, the Delta State, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, also provided APCs to the police. But the governor said his government’s determination was driven by the will to stall militants who refuse to embrace the amnesty granted them by the Federal Government.

The governor spoke in Asaba at the presentation of 35 Toyota Hilux Pick-Up Vans and two APCs. Uduaghan said his administration was committed to assisting the police in combating crime. He added that they are also assisting the force in gathering information to enhance their job of flushing out criminals, noting that it was the responsibility of the governors to ensure peace and security in their various states.

But good as the efforts of the governors are, many are of the view that the growing army of unemployed youths needs to be curtailed. Analysts said while many are into robbery for greed, idleness can also contribute to it. So, they are asking for more jobs for idle hands.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

8

NEWS Constable to die by hanging From Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja

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•Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko (middle) and newly appointed State Ambassadors for Tourism and Culture...at the weekend. They are Funsho Adeolu (left); Bimbo Oshin (2nd left); Aralola Olumuyiwa a.k.a. Ara (3rd left); Yemi Olatunji a.k.a Yemi Black (4th right); Mo Abudu (3rd right); and Jibola Dabo.

Rep decries mass failure From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

HOUSE of Representatives Committee Chairman on Education Mr. Farouk Lawan has again decried the mass failure of external examinations.

One of its causes, Lawan said, is writing too many examinations at thesame time.

Speaking at the examination summit in Abuja , the lawmaker called on political leaders to address the problem.

His words: “This summit is far behind schedule.

The state of performance in the education sector over the years is bad. We must talk to ourselves for me what we are seeing is a deep issue that has been neglected over the years.

Governors should have been invited to this summit for further improvement.

“We are subjecting candidates to too many examinations and this is some of the problems. The political leaders must address this.

“Credibility and integrity of examination is very important.”

Falana urges judge to disqualify self from case

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CTIVIST lawyer Femi Falana has urged a Lagos High Court judge, Justice E.A. Adebayo, to disqualify himself from hearing a suit brought against his client, the Managing Director of Gulf Coast Marine Limited, Mr. Sunday Akinyemi, on grounds of bias.

Falana sought the court order in a motion on notice filed in the Lagos High Court, pursuant to Section 36 of the 1999 Constituton (as amended) and under the Inherent Jurisdiction of the court.

Falana claimed that the judge complained in open court that the first defendant wrote several petitions against him and by his pronouncements had already found him guilty of contempt.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had charged Akinyemi and Mr. Olu Osho to court on allegations that they stole money from Akinyemi’s com-

By Adebisi Onanuga

pany.

Falana averred in the application that the judge constituted his court into an appellate court, over the order of a Federal High Court for the enforcement of the first defendant’s right to life.

He claimed that the judge frustrated the court order which allowed the first defendant to travel to the United Kingdom for the treatment of cancer of the colon.

He also alleged in the eight-paragraph application deposed to by Oludare Falana that the judge openly instigated the prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, to raise the allegation of contempt against the first defendant’s counsel.

He claimed that the judge also instigated the prosecutor to bring an application for contempt against the ComptrollerGeneral of Prisons for releasing the first defendant to go abroad for medical treatment.

Femi Falana deposed to a 43-paragraph affidavit in support of the motion on notice.

In the affidavit, the lawyer claimed that despite his appeal to the judge to forgive the first defendant, he continued to refer to the petitions written against him with unrestrained bitterness.

The judge, he claimed further, did not allow the first defendant to travel for medical treatment until the court went on vacation in July, although a Federal High Court ordered the EFCC, in March, to sponsor his client’s travelling and medical expenses.

Falana said the judge refused to allow his client travel to India for treatment without any legal justification.

He deposed that Akinyemi took ill while on trial and was admitted at the Military Hospital, Ikoyi, and later Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), in line with Section 8 of the Prisons Act. Falana averred that the judge refused an application that his client’s matter be transferred to a vacation judge on the grounds that he was not going to go on vacation without ruling on the matter.

HE Supreme Court, on Friday sentenced a triggerhappy police constable, Emmanuel Ochiba, to death by hanging.

The convict was arraigned before a Jos High Court, which sentenced him on November 9, 2005 for killing Godwin Momoh, in Jos on September 12, 2001.

The Court of Appeal, Jos, dismissed the appeal on June 29, 2010 and upheld the judgment of the trial court.

Before his murder on Tafawa Balewa Street adjoining Langtang Street Jos, the deceased and his friends were returning to their homes between 12 noon and 1pm.

They were stopped by some policemen.

They raised their hands up and obeyed the instructions before the triggerhappy constable was seen coming out from a shop with a bottle of hot drink.

He collected a gun from one of his colleagues and shot the deceased in the chest. Momoh died instantly.

In a unanimous decision, the apex court affirmed the death sentence after dismissing the appeal for lack of merit.

Gowon, others at ‘Xmas Carol

By Nneka Nwaneri •Falana

He said the judge, notwithstanding the failing health of his client, reneged on his promise and went on vacation, adjourning the case to September 29.

Falana said the judge also refused to send the case file to the Chief Judge for re-assignment, even though he gave assurances that he would do so.

He said the judge made prejudicial statements to prove that he committed contempt of court without giving him fair hearing.

Falana claims that up till now, he does not know the nature of the offence of contempt he was alleged to have committed by the judge.

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ORMER Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd) yesterday led other dignitaries to the Apostolic Faith Christmas Concert at the Campground, Anthony, Lagos.

Others in attendance were the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Tunde Lemo; eminent industrialist Chief Olusegun Osunkeye; and Ambassador Segun Olusola, among others.

It was an evening of brilliant orchestra, where the 252-man choir sang tunes from G. F. Handel, Caleb Simpson, Carl Weber, Dave Williamson, and others.

Strike remains indefinite, says ASUU

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HE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said it would not call off its ongoing strike until its demands are met.

ASUU Coordinator, Bauchi Zone, Dr. Usman Abubakar, who is also the chairman of the union in the University of Maiduguri (UniMaid), has said ASUU would not call off the strike until its demands are met.

He spoke with reporters in Jos, the Plateau State capital, at the weekend.

Abubakar said: “We wish to remind members of the public that the university’s

From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

authority did not declare this strike, so it cannot call it off. Only ASUU can call off this strike. The public should not be misled by any digressional announcement on the strike from sources other than ASUU leadership.

“This strike is total, comprehensive and indefinite, because ASUU has sacrificed enough time, energy and mental resources to avoid this, but the Federal Government has remained insensitive to the rot in our universities.

“We just finished a meet-

ing in Yola, Adamawa State, to review the strike.

We have come up with the resolution that the Federal Government is still not committed to resolving this strike and so agreed to continue with it until further notice.

“It is the only way to save the nation’s highest learning institutions from total collapse, otherwise the future generations will have no where to study.

“Also, UniMaid ASUU is under this zone and is part of this strike. It never withdrew from the strike at any point and the rumour that it did is diversionary

news. I am a member of UniMaid ASUU and we are currently on strike.”

On the internal crises rocking the Yola branch of the union, Abubakar said: “The disagreement has been resolved and the branch’s election has been scheduled for February, next year.

“We want to bring to your notice some publications in some national dailies on petitions against the Chairperson of ASUU, Yola branch, Dr. Daniel Dahiru. There is no report of indictment from any court of competent jurisdiction on this issue.”

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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NEWS Osun workers get 13th month salary From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

CIVIL servants in Osun State have been paid the 13th month salary. They have also received this month’s salary.

In a statement yesterday, Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s media aide, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, said even though the state has not received its November allocation from the Federation Account, it remains committed to workers’ welfare.

Okanlawon said: “This shows the state government’s readiness to improve workers’ welfare. The governor, during his inauguration, promised workers a good package. That is why he ordered the payment of the 13th month salary for workers at all levels; making his administration the first to do so in the history of the 20year-old state.”

He said the governor has directed that salaries should henceforth be paid on or before the 26th of every month.

Lekki protest was sponsored, says Lagos ACN

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HE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Lagos State has described Saturday’s protest at the Lekki Toll Plaza as “cheap, crude and wicked politics.”

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Joe Igbokwe, ACN said: “”We do not understand the reason for the protest, because an alternative route has been provided for those who do not want to pay toll.

“We know that it is all politics, because some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains in Lagos have told us so.

“During the protest, we saw some placards with the inscription: ‘Who Killed Chief Funsho Williams?’

“We wonder what Lekki Toll Plaza protest has got to do with the unfortunate death of Chief Williams, if not for the chief sponsors and proponents of the protest, who generously mentioned William’s death to gain cheap benefits?

•Party seeks support for govt “We have sufficient reasons to believe the protest was either planned by the desperate PDP or hijacked by its frustrated members in Lagos, who have been so vociferous in inciting Lagosians to revolt against the toll implementation, prior to the commencement date.

“Our fear that the protest may be a PDP show was proved beyond reasonable doubt when some PDP candidates, who contested and lost elections, were among those arrested on Saturday for disturbing public peace.

“We find it very difficult to understand that while the PDP-controlled Federal Government is planning to bring back toll gates on dilapidated federal highways, the same party is sponsoring a protest against a similar project in Lagos.

“Is it not ironic that the same party, whose government has given out the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to Bi Courtney to build and manage for years, is now opposing such practice on a road that was built to world standard?

“Is it not ironic that a party, whose government has successfully concessioned so many federal parastatals, including the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, is now on a desperate mission to incite Lagosians to revolt against a similar move?

“Is it not ironic that a party that has sold off every national patrimony is now leading a revolt against the state government for building a worthy road that will certainly alleviate the sufferings of the masses?

“We regret that what

should have been a progenitor to great infrastructural revival in Lagos has been mired in the dirty politics of those that will neither build nor allow others do so.

“Those who seek to benefit from the continued atrophy of the state and the country are now inciting Lagosians to work against concessioning, even when they are beneficiaries of the concessioning of our prized national assets. It is worrisome that these people are now pretending to love Lagosians more than themselves.

“We expect those that ignited the needless protest to be on standby to lead such protests across the country next year, when the PDP-led Federal Government introduces toll gates on all federal roads.

“Lagos PDP continues to shoot itself in the foot in matters of politics by indulging in unpopular, unproductive

and retrogressive ventures that have rubbished and diminished the party’s fortunes in the past 12 years, and yet, no lessons of history have been learnt.

“We appeal to Lagosians, especially those on the Lekki corridor, to continue to support the state government, as more goodies are coming their way. We regret that sometimes, hard decisions are taken that will be beneficial to all in the long run, which we may not see now.

“The party deeply regrets that some Lagosians were injured on Saturday in the standoff with security agents, as they tried to clear the blockage of the road.

“As a responsible and responsive party that believes in partnership with the people, we apologise for this mistake and once again plead for the understanding of Lagosians on this issue.”

‘ACN only hope for Nigerians’ From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

THE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) is the only hope for the emancipation of Nigerians, the party’s Chairman in Ekiti State, Chief Jide Awe, has said.

He said it is the only party with the right mix of people and ideology needed to tackle the country’s problems.

Awe spoke in Oye-Ekiti at the weekend, while receiving a former Labour Party (LP) chieftain, Tale Oguntoyinbo, into the ACN. He said the influx of people into the party is not surprising.

Awe said: “The people know the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not their government. What have Nigerians benefitted since the advent of PDP in this country?

“Despite the suffering of the masses, under the misgovernance of the PDP government, it is still pressing ahead with its ruse of petroleum subsidy removal.

“Who are those getting the subsidy, Nigerians don’t know. What palliatives are in place to immediately cushion the effects of price surges that will follow the removal, no one has been told.

“Road, water, electricity, effectively checked inflation; all have eluded Nigerians under the voodoo administration and ultra-elitist focus of PDP. “Is the PDP government seeking to bring the whole country down before it realises it has failed the people?

“In Ekiti State, if people wonder what magic we are performing that is making ACN receive new faithfuls everyday, let them come and see.

“The difference between darkness and light is a natural one, which will equally attract a natural response from the long tired populace.

“Governance is development; it is concrete and evidence based and people are seeing that in Ekiti State.”

.From left: Onisan of Isan Kingdom, Oba Sunday Ajiboye (Adaloko 1); Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin; Governor Kayode Fayemi; and his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi; during the 19th Isan-Ekiti Unity Day celebration in Isan... on Saturday

Balogun accuses Obasanjo of working against Oyo PDP

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CHIEFTAIN of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State, Senator Lekan Balogun, yesterday accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of working against the state party at the federal level.

Balogun said Obasanjo is responsible for the “low” positions that were given to the state at the federal level in the last 10 years.

He said Oyo was shortchanged in the appoint-

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

ment of officials into the cabinet of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Balogun spoke yesterday in Ibadan, the state capital, after the thanksgiving service to mark the 50th wedding anniversary of Chief Omowale Kuye and Dame Priscilia at the Catholic Church of Ascension in Bodija.

He said the only way to compensate the state in the Jonathan administration is

to zone the position of PDP National Secretary to Oyo. Balogun, who represented the Olubadan of Ibadanland at the event, said: “In Oyo State we didn’t get good ministerial positions.

That has been the pattern in the last 10 years. We want the position of the PDP National Secretary to come to Oyo State as a compensation for the lopsided nature of appointments in the last 10years.

“The least position we

can be given now is that of the National Secretary. I don’t want to mention names now, but I can assure you that we have very capable hands in the state.

“You will note that no other state in the Southwest was able to match us in terms of representation at the National Assembly, judging from the last election.

“That is why I am amazed at the kind of short-changing that Obas-

Ex-LP chair alleges fraud in Ondo

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ORMER Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) in Ondo State Dr. Olaiya Oni has alleged mismanagement of state funds by the administration of Governor Olusegun Mimiko.

Oni, who spoke with reporters in Akure, the state capital, at the weekend, also alleged that some of Mimiko’s aides were quizzed by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recently, over what he described as “financial recklessness”.

Oni said: “The financial rascality of the Mimiko administration has affected many of the projects he em-

barked on since three years ago. Many of them are still ongoing at a snail’s speed.

“Let me use the road dualisation project in his home town, Ondo, as an example. The work is still at stage one.

“He (Mimiko) recently terminated the contract of the company handling the project because the contractor was demanding more funds.”

Oni said the DOME project has failed, but the governor is still investing

money in it.

Oni, who is now a chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), said stakeholders will continue to fight the alleged financial recklessness of the government.

But Commissioner for Information Mr. Kayode Akinmade debunked the allegations.

Akinmade said none of the governor’s aides was interrogated by EFCC. He said: “If Oni is sure of what he is saying and has relevant documents to back this up, he should go on and

Oyo to launch 1,000 tricycles

O

•Govt: allegations false From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

anjo has been doing to Oyo State all these years. We have to reverse that trend.

“Can you imagine us having just the position of Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory?

What position is that? It is humiliating and unacceptable.”

On ongoing reconciliation within the party, the politician was hopeful that it would succeed.

•Oni

publish the names of those invited by the EFCC.” Akinmade urged the people to ignore the allegations.

YO State Governor Abiola Ajimobi will tomorrow inaugurate an empowerment scheme, where 1,000 tricycles would be distributed to members of the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycles Owners and Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN).

The governor’s media aide, Dr. Festus Adedayo, said the scheme, tagged: “Keke Ajumose,” would provide jobs, reduce motorcycle accidents and eliminate motorcycle operation on highways.

Beneficiaries of the scheme are expected to remit an amount of money to the government weekly.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

Henceforth, we have reached a decision not to allow procurement and distribution of subsidised fertilisers by government agencies again. Now, private firms will be allowed to handle the service.

-Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, Minister of Agric

Market recovery: SEC inaugurates sub-committees

By Tonia Osundolire

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HE Securities and Ex change Commission (SEC) at the weekend inaugurated seven subcommittees of the Capital Market Committee (CMC) with the mandate to map out strategies for the recovery of the capital market and sustained performance in the years ahead.

The sub-committees were constituted at the maiden retreat of the CMC in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The CMC comprises officials of the SEC, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), operators and other stakeholders in the nation’s capital market.

The seven sub-committees includes: Investors Confidence Restoration, Investment Management, Market Information/Technology, Commodities Exchange/Capital Trade Points, Fixed Income Securities, Products and Business Development and Rules and Compliance.

The Director-General of SEC, Ms. Arunmah Oteh, at the event said subcommittees would come up with roadmap that would assist in the determination of direction of the market in 2012 and beyond.

According to her, the investor confidence restoration subcommittee is expected to come up with strategies and home grown policies that would ensure that investors refocus attention on the market and ensure that their needs are adequately taken care of.

She said the Investment Management subcommittee would evolve strategies that would ensure greater participation in portfolio investment by investors whether in stocks, equities or commodities.

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

-N6.503 trillion -Z5.112trillion -$10.84 trillion -£61.67 trillion RATES Inflation -10.5% Treasury Bills -7.08% Maximum lending-22.42% Prime lending -15.87% Savings rate -2% 91-day NTB -15% Time Deposit -5.49% MPR -12% Foreign Reserve $33.01b FOREX CFA EUR £ $ ¥ SDR RIYAL

-

0.2958 206.9 242.1 156 1.9179 238 40.472

• Chief of Cabinet to the Director-General, World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ms. Arancha Gonzalez; Director-General, WTO, Mr. Pascal Lamy and Chairman, Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference, Olusegun Aganga, during the closing ceremony of the conference in Geneva, Switzerland ... at the weekend.

Exchange ‘Why domestic airlines are down to 19’ 2012: to remain stable, says Rewane

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RONG business model, increased regulatory framework, inadequate operational funds and the huge cost of offshore aircraft maintenance as well as government policy on age limit of aircraft have reduced the number of active airlines flying the Nigerian airspace from 150 to 19, in the last 10 years, investigations have revealed.

Apart from these factors, the noose of the aviation regulator, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA), on the conditions attached to the issuance of the mandatory Air Operators’ Certificate ( AOC), remains a hurdle many operators are grappling to overcome.

Director-General, NCAA, Dr Harold Demuren, who confirmed the shrink in the number of airlines, explained that if there must be flight safety in and out of the Nigerian airspace, there will

By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

be going back on raising the bar in the issuance of the mandatory document.

He stressed that without an AOC, no airline could fly, even as the NCAA, under the new regulation has introduced five major phases a prospective airline operator must go through before the issuance of the certificate.

The NCAA boss listed the phases to include: pre-application, formal application process, document compliance, flight demonstration and inspection phase as well as certification phase.

Demuren confirmed that the NCAA register that had in the past contained about 150 airlines operators has been reduced to 19 functional airlines.

According to investigations, the current holders of the AOC issued by the NCAA include: Aero Airlines; Allied Air; Arik Air Limited; Associated Avia-

tion; Bristow Helicopters; Caverton Nigeria Limited; Chanchangi Airlines Limited; Dorbier Aviation Nigeria AIEP Limited and IRS Airlines.

Others are: Kabo Air; Kings Airlines and Travel Limited, Odegene Air Shuttle Services Limited; Overland Airways; Pan African Airlines Nigeria; Skypower Express Airways; Air Nigeria Development Limited; Wings Aviation, Dana Airlines and Max Air Limited and First Nation Airways.

Demuren said only Arik Air and First Nation Airways have scaled through the new recertification process of the NCAA as the 17 others are to undergo the new recertification.

According to investigations, the carriers that lost their AOC in the last 10 years include Bellview Airlines, Capital Airlines, Savannah Airlines, Trans Sahara Airlines, Freedom Air Services, Albarka Air Services, Fresh

Airlines and ADC Airlines.

Also included are Sosoliso Airlines, NICON Airways, Slok Airlines, Nigeria Airways Limited, Harka Air, Harco Airlines, Chrome Air Services, Falcon Airlines as well as Spaceworld International Airlines and Oriental Airlines.

Others are: Okada Air, Concorde Airlines, Air MidWest Airlines and Afrijet Airlines.

Investigations further revealed that the increase in the capital base of domestic airlines from N500 million to about N1 billion affected some carriers. Besides, the government policy banning the use of a single aircraft did not help matters for most operators.

Also, the 22 years age limit set for aircraft flying in the airspace led to the collapse of many carriers as the lack of funds militated against the capacity of the owners to acquire relatively brand new aircraft.

IMF chief, Jonathan discuss Nigeria’s economy today T

HE Managing Direc tor of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms Christine Lagarde, will today discuss with President Goodluck Jonathan ‘the comprehensive agenda’ that the government is formulating to tackle its economic challenges, dependence on oil and the need to accelerate job creation.

Also likely to be discussed, is the planned oil subsidy removal that cost Nigeria about N1.3trillion this year.

Another topical issue that will be in the front burner is the deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry which will allow new investments and development of the Nigerian economy.

In Lagos this evening, Lagarde will be hosted to a dinner at Eko Hotel by Women in Business (WIMBIZ) dinner at Eko Hotel.

In her Oped entitled: It’s time to showcase a confident continent, she said the IMF is ready to support African countries’ needs in the core areas of its expertise - policy

• Pledges support for African countries

By Ayodele Aminu, Group Business Editor

advice, technical assistance (including through four regional centres on the continent), and lending programs tailored to individual needs (and carrying zero interest rates through 2012).

Noting that the overall outlook for Africa is bright, she said there is still a lot of work to do.

Africa, she said, is on the move, while several other regions of the world have to address slowdown and uncertainty. “Many countries in Africa have been facing a contrasting challenge: to respond to the growing demand for their bountiful resources and manage rising investment in much-needed infrastructure investment.

At the same time, growing economic uncertainty in the world is raising concerns across the continent, where vulnerability to global

shocks remains high,” she noted.

Given these developments, she said her first visit to Africa as head of the Fund could hardly be better timed.

Lagarde, however, said that Africa’s natural resource wealth is attracting rising foreign investment to help develop and extract those resources. “Domestic and foreign investment is increasingly addressing the large infrastructure gaps that many countries still face. And spending in the social sectors, while still insufficient in many countries, has been rising steadily – reflected in better health and education outcomes,”she said.

Besides, she noted that in Sub-Saharan Africa, growth has averaged five to six percent a year over the past decade. “That is good— but not good enough. In particular, the management of natural resource wealth poses both economic and governance

challenges that will need to be addressed to ensure sustained and inclusive growth, and decisive progress in poverty reduction.

“It will be important to ensure that the benefits of growth are shared and that it fosters job creation. It will also be important to promote the development of financial sectors, which remain shallow in many African countries. Indeed, innovative solutions to foster financial sector development could be a spur to much needed growth, not least by strengthening financial ties between Africa and its partners, the IMF boss stressed.

She is billed to visit Niger, and South Africa. South Africa is closely integrated with global capital markets and global economic uncertainty has a particularly direct impact on the South African economy, including its labour market.

First-hand experience of key issues in each of these countries, she said, would help her understand where and how the IMF can best offer its assistance to Africa.

By Collins Nweze

N

IGERIA’s exchange rate is expected to remain stable in 2012 with the current foreign exchange band of N150 to a dollar to N160 to a dollar,” the Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company (FDC), Bismarck Rewane, has said.

Monetary condition will also ease to create room for monetary stimulus but the deregulation of the downstream oil sector in 2012 will add to inflation risks.

Speaking during the Lagos Business School End of Year Dinner, the expert said oil price will remain single largest determinant of the country’s external position, adding that uncertainty surrounding the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) has resulted in a drop in investment levels in the sector.

He listed main risks of inflation to include a loose fiscal stance, high imported food prices and exchange rate depreciation. Rewane added that it would take a tighter fiscal policy to bring inflation, which now stands at 10.5 per cent, down to single digit.

Interbank rate falls as liquidity rises

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NTERBANK lending rate fell marginally last week, to average 15.83 per cent, helped by inflows as some revenues from the Federal Government’s crude oil account were distributed to government agencies.

“Some funds came into the system through the allocation from the excess crude account to state and local government last Wednesday, which helped raise the volume of liquidity in the market in the week,” one dealer said.

The interbank lending rate according to Reuters News, came down from 16 per cent last week.

Traders said the market opened on Friday with a credit balance of about N18.33 billion ($113.01 million) compared to a deficit of N36.70 billion last Friday.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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BUSINESS NEWS Flight Schedule MONDAY - FRIDAY LAGOS – ABUJA Departure Arrival 1. Aero 06.50 08.10 2. Associated 07.00 09.30 3. Air Nigeria 07.00 08.20 4. IRS 07.00 08.20 5. Dana 07.02 08.22 6. Arik 07.15 08.15 7. Chanchangi 07.15 8. Air Nigeria 08.15 09.35 9. Dana 08.10 09.20 10. Aero 08.45 10.05 11. Arik 09.15 10.15 12. Chanchangi 10.00 11.00 13. IRS 11.15 12.35 14. Dana 12.06 12.26 15. Aero 12.20 13.30 16. Air Nigeria 13.25 14.45 17. Chanchangi 13.30 14.30 18. Arik 13.45 14.45 19. IRS 14.00 15.20 20. Aero 14.10 15.30 21. Air Nigeria 14.50 16.10 22. Dana 15.30 16.50 23. Chanchangi 15.30 16.30 24. Arik 15.50 16.50 25. Aero 16.00 17.20 26. IRS 16.30 17.50 27. Arik 16.50 17.50 28. Dana 17.10 18.30 29. Chanchangi 17.30 18.30 30. Air Nigeria 17.35 18.55 31. Air Nigeria (T/TH) 18.30 19.50 32. Arik 18.45 19.45 33. Aero 19.20 20.40 1.

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LAGOS – BENIN Arik 07.30 Associated 08.30 Aero 10.50 Arik 11.45 Associated 13.00 Aero 14.25 Arik 15.30 Associated 16.00

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Arik Aero Arik Aero

1. Arik 2. Aero 1.

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LAGOS – CALABAR 07.30 11.20 12.50 16.00 LAGOS – JOS 10.55 11.15

LAGOS – KADUNA Aero 08.00 Chanchangi 10.00 Arik 10.00 Arik 15.10

08.30 09.10 11.50 12.45 13.40 15.20 16.30 16.40

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By Collins Nweze

tral Bank, Managing Director of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Chief Executive Officers of the deposit money banks, chose the theme: Financial system stability and implication for economic development, in recognition of the challenges facing the global and local financial system.

The Bankers’Committee engaged experts from within and outside Nigeria for the retreat to develop strategies for improving on the gains recorded in real sector development, ensuring sustained stability of the financial system as well as determine further opportunities for financial system intervention, Sanusi said.

He said the CBN is keen on increasing the impact of the banking system on the economy and by that is adopting a strategic approach to increase formal usage of financial services to 70 per cent from the current level of three per cent of the adult population of Nigerians.

“We affirm our commitment as bankers to a stable financial system for Nigeria and one that contributes to economic development,’’ Sanusi said. He stressed that the apex financial institution has

taken proactive actions to address short, medium and long-term issues facing the banks.

On monetary and fiscal policy development, the Committee in the Communiqué advocated greater fiscal prudence and rationality in government expenditure.

It asked for the establishment of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) and expressed support towards its operation.

Sanusi said the CBN will remain focused on its primary mandate of ensuring price stability, stressing that it has instituted a framework for enhanced monetary policy, transparency and accountability.

He said the apex bank will in the short-term “continue to implement a tight policy rate environment to support price stability.”

Fielding questions from journalists, the CBN Governor said that planned removal of petroleum subsidy will not trigger very high inflation rate in the country, “as only about 2 per cent rise is anticipated and that it is in the short term.”

Sanusi said “If inflation remains at about 10.5 per cent and when subsidy is removed, we expect it to be at about 12.5 per cent, which is just an addition of 2 per cent,” the CBN Governor said.

09.10 11.00 11.10 16.20

LAGOS – OWERRI Aero 07.30 Arik 07.30 Air Nigeria 13.40 Arik 14.00 Arik 16.30

08.40 08.40 14.55 15.10 17.40

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Arik Aero Arik Aero

LAGOS – WARRI 08.15 11.50 11.55 14.55

09.1 12.50 12.55 15.55

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LAGOS – KANO Air Nigeria 07.10 IRS 08.00 Dana 08.10 Arik 12.20 IRS 14.00 IRS 18.15

08.50 09.45 09.40 14.00 15.45 19.55

LAGOS – OWERRI 07.20 14.00 16.30

08.30 15.10 17.40

LAGOS – UYO 10.35

11.35

LAGOS – MAIDUGURI 1. IRS 11.15 13.15 2. Arik 15.50 18.00 LAGOS – ILORIN 1. Overland 07.15 2. Arik (M/T/TH/F) 17.30

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HE banking system is stable and well-positioned to stimulate the growth and development of the economy, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has said.

The Governor, who spoke at the end of the Third Bankers’ Committee yearly Retreat in Calabar, Cross Rivers State, said: “After two years of focused attention by the regulator and operators, the nation’s financial crisis is in the final lap of resolution.”

The CBN Governor said in 2012, the banking industry agenda will address outstanding issues relating to the restoration of the balance sheet of banks, entrenching corporate governance, avoiding build-up of non-performing loans and encouraging lending to the agricultural sector, amongst others.

The Bankers in a communiqué at the end of the retreat resolved to impact the economy more positively and also lauded President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, for his reform agenda at creating jobs and growing the economy.

Sanusi said the Bankers’ Committee, which has the CBN Governor, the Deputy Governors of the Cen-

12.15 12.45

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1. Dana

‘Dangote spends N15b on CSR’

08.50 12.40 14.10 17.20

LAGOS – PORT HARCOURT (CIVIL) 1. Aero 07.15 08.35 2. Arik 07.15 08.35 3. Arik 09.00 10.20 4. Dana 09.27 10.40 5. Aero 10.50 12.30 6. Arik 11.40 13.00 7. Air Nigeria 12.00 13.10 8. IRS 13.30 15.00 9. Arik 14.00 15.20 10. Dana 15.03 16.20 11. Air Nigeria 16.00 17.10 12. Arik 16.10 17.30 13. Aero 16.15 17.30 14. Arik 17.10 18.30

1. Arik 2. Arik 3. Arik

CBN: Banking system now stable

08.00 18.00

LAGOS – ABUJA SAT/SUN Arik 7.15; 10.20; 2.20; 5.20pm – 7.30; 9.15; 10.20; 2.20; 4.50; 6.45 Aero 07.30; 09.35; 13.10; 14.50; 20.20 – 07.30; 09.35; 13.10; 14.50; 20.20 Air Nigeria 08.15; 14.30; 17.15; 18.30 – 08.15; 13.30; 14.30; 17.15; 18.30

HE Dangote group has spent N15.5 billion to impact posi tively on the society this

year.

The group in a statement said under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme,executed through the Dangote Foundation, covered sectors, such as health, community service, education, empowerment in Africa and beyond.

Speaking with reporters on the CSR profile of the organisation at the weekend, Executive Director of the Foundation, Mr Ahmed Iya, said the Dangote group has it as business policy to impact positively not on the communities hosting its many investments but deliberate intervention in the areas of human needs globally.

He stated that the CSR was an intrinsic part of its activities by which the group fulfills its mission, lives by its values, engages with its stakeholders, measures its impact and reports on its activities.

He said Dangote has invested several billions of naira in its CSR activities. He sais: ‘’ This is not just the traditional building of bore holes, or provision of electricity poles without light, or health care centers without drugs.”

Reeling out some of the CSR activities, Iya stated that the Dangote Group has established a technical training institution known as the Dangote Academy, to address the dearth of skilled manpower, especially in the manufacturing sector, and to promote rapid industrialisation of the country, using local talent.

Group Head Corporate Communication of the Group, Anthony Chiejina, explained that the organisation’s CSR has been embedded in the ethics of the group’s businesses with the company always striving to take steps to improve the quality of lives of its employees, their families as well as those of host communities.

FIRS boss seeks tax studies in schools From Nduka Chiejina, Assistant Editor, Abuja

• Group Managing Director, Mainstreet Bank Limited, Faith Tuedor-Matthews and her Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) counterpart, Mustapha Chike-Obi, during a courtesy visit by Tuedor-Matthews to the Corporation in Lagos … at the weekend.

World leaders pledge more investments for Nigeria T HE World Trade Organisation (WTO) closed its biennial ministerial conference on Saturday night in Geneva, Switzerland, with enhanced trade and investment prospects for Nigeria.

The United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Ronald Kirk, said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the meetings that he was impressed by the leadership of the Chairman of the Ministerial Conference, Olusegun Aganga.

He added that his “calm and thorough approach” to tackle issues arising between the member-countries had made the conference fruitful in spite of the bottlenecks.

Nigeria made history this year as the first African nation to chair the conference since WTO’s establishment 16 years ago.

Kirk, who was a former Mayor of Dallas, said Nigeria would benefit greatly from this opportunity in terms of strong trade and investment relationships with other countries as well as other benefits of the WTO. These, he said, “show the leadership quality in Nigeria.”

Indonesian Minister of Trade, Mr. Gita Wirjawan, according to statement, stated during a bilateral

meeting with Aganga, the Minister of Trade and Investment, that the quality participation of Nigeria at the conference, had enhanced the confidence of his country in the Nigerian economy.

Wirjawan added that he would lead a trade delegation to the country in February 2012 to strike some huge, mutually beneficial investment deals with it, noting that he was happy that a developing country chaired the conference for the first time and managed the MC8 very well.

He said he wsa happy that an African country chaired a peaceful and fruitful WTO ministerial and conference and that this was enough to enhance the confidence of countries in the country, noting that the two countries must work to ensure an improvement in the trade volume between them.

The South African Trade and Industry Minister, Dr. Rob Davies, also commended Nigeria’s leadership of the conference, saying that President Goodluck Jonathan assembled the best brains in his cabinet.

Aganga said: “This is a great opportunity for Nigeria and it doesn’t come every time. There are over 153 countries here from all over the world and you know what that means for trade relationships and investment. We have had a lot of bilateral meetings here and everyone is interested in coming to Nigeria to see things by themselves and invest in the country.

“We have had good meetings at the WTO conference and the issues raised have been amicably resolved. We have also commenced talks to establish trade and investment councils in about five other countries, apart from Australia.

The trade ministers of Indonesia and Hong Kong have indicated interests in seeing that through.”

The Chairman of the WTO General Council, Ambassador Yonov Agah, said: “The MC8 is taking place at a very difficult time, when there are significant differences among the members based on substance. Against this background, the preparatory process, which Nigeria led, focused on trying to build consensus on broad elements that all members can agree on and would be comfortable to live with.

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HE Executive Chairman, Fed eral Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Ifueko OmoiguiOkauru, has appealed to the Federal Ministry of Education to fast-track the entrenchment of taxation in the nation’s education curriculum.

Okauru made this call while commending the ministry and the organisers of the President’s School Debate Nigeria (PSDN) for a successful competition during the final lap and dinner in Abuja for students who participated in the exercise.

She said: “Entrenchment of taxation is not about debate only, but to entrench taxation into the psyche of Nigerian citizens, especially for all students of today and in the future from kindergarten to territorial levels.”

The FIRS noted that it has been part of FIRS efforts to strike a balance between the implementation of the tax laws and educating the populace (taxpayers) to willingly obey the laws.

Okauru said such efforts were not only aimed at ensuring more revenue generation and simplicity in tax administration, but to build a bridge between the old and the younger generation to enhance the culture of voluntary tax compliance.

She added: “As we have all resolved to volunteer our time, talent and resources to build a new generation of Nigerians who will be tax compliant, we can be assured of a better Nigeria bearing in mind that the younger generations are great assets to the nation’s development.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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ISSUES

Pushing for multinationals’ listing The growing clamour for the listing of multinational companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has thrown up issues of national interest and private ownership.

TONIA OSUNDOLIRE examines ways to deepen the stock market with these companies without jeopardising free market principles.

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HE capital market is often referred to as the barometer of the economy because of its centrality to the national capital formation process, and the distribution of such capital. As the economy’s barometer, the performance of the market is usually reflective of the general economic trend. To achieve that status the capital market must be representative of the broad spectrum of the economy.

In many advanced and emerging economies, the stock market indices serve as the main comparative indices for measuring growth and development. Where the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shows a growing economy, it is expected that the stock market indices would also indicate an up trend and vice versa. However, the role of the capital market as the barometer of the economy has been hampered by the absence of major companies in the key sectors of the economy, including oil and gas, telecommunication and power. While Nigeria’s GDP has maintained an average growth of some 7.0 per cent in recent years, the stock market has witnessed a sharp decline over the years, presenting a contradictory picture of growth and recession. But the reason for this contradiction lies in the structure of the capital market.

With the absence of multinationals in the

•SEC building

oil and gas and telecommunication sectors two key sectors of the economy, and the near subsistence level of the agriculture sector - the largest sector in terms of participation, the capital market is dominated by financial services companies, which dictate the market direction.

The crisis in the financial services sector and, more importantly, the banking reform have thus become the defining compass for the stock market.

Besides, given the size of oil and gas and telecommunication sectors, the market capitalisation of the NSE of N6.26 trillion is not representative of the economy. This lowers the comparative advantage of the Nigerian market in the global capital market. These are the kernels of the arguments for the listing of major companies in the key sectors on the NSE.

A legislative agenda The House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market and Institutions is planning to partner the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the NSE in its efforts to woo multinational telecommunications, oil and gas companies, to list on the Exchange.

The committee is making efforts to ensure that the capital market is repositioned to play its role. Listing the telcos and oil firms is one

of the ways to achieve that.

Speaking on its strategies, Chairman of the Committee, Hermen Hembe said a bill is being planned to compel the companies to list their shares on the Exchange.

“The Committee is thinking of how to get a joint bill that will mandate those multinational companies operating in the country to list their shares for the growth of the economy. The Committee believes that getting the input of market regulators and operators would avoid certain mistakes as they are in charge of the market and know the challenges that may come against the bill,” Hembe said.

Hembe had lamented that telcos and oil companies made huge profits but were not listed on the exchange so that more Nigerians could benefit in form of dividends among others.

“MTN, for instance got a licence in 2001 for $285 million mostly financed by Nigerian banks. Between January and June of the same year, MTN repatriated some $5 billion as profits from their Nigerian operations,” he said.

Hembe said the Committee would set out to get the oil and gas sector and its players also listed on the floor of the NSE The legislator had disclosed that the committee would partner relevant stakeholders to speed up passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to foster subsequent listing of major upstream players.

He said: “We would also legislate to get power generation and distribution companies listed once the process of their privatisation is complete. What needs to be done is very clear to us and the general consensus is that the reforms we have planned will address the development gaps as observed.”

Same goal, different methods The CEO of Partnership Investment Company Limited, a dealing and council member of the NSE, Mr Victor Ogiemwonyi also lent his voice to the call for the listing of multinationals.

He said while forcing companies to list on the exchange is not his first option, public interest companies operating with a government licence should be required after five to seven years of operating to list their shares on the Exchange.

He said there are two reasons for this. One, he said, is the government licence, which creates a sort of monopoly or high entry barrier that make the public to patronise them.

“It is a good way to have public owner• Continued on page 14

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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ISSUES • Continued from page 13

ship that democratises capitalism. If more people are involved in the ownership of these large enterprises, it not only ensures larger public support, it also ensures greater accountability and transparency. We should first offer them incentives such as tax breaks, to attract them if they fail, then legislating it will be appropriate. This is why Barclays Bank is listed in Kenya,” he said.

However, Managing Director, Sigma Securities Limited, Mr D. S. Balami, said, for now the market is not attractive for the multinationals to seek listing . He said the Nigerian market is closed, by which he meant the ease of moving money in and out of the country, adding that no investor wants to wait and suffer the lapses and other glaring inadequacies in our economy.

Besides, he said, other markets are on line and real time, pointing out that a system that does not exhibit these attributes is at a disadvantage to attract foreign investors.

He also mentioned the issue of corporate governance, the absence of which has brought Nigeria to its knees in the comity of nations in recent times.

He picked holes in cross border listing which he said has been creating a lot of problems, advising that there was need to harmonise the various policies to make them much easier to implement.

Besides, Balami said some of these companies may have genuine reasons for not wanting to be quoted. According to him, these could be merger issues and other commitments which listed companies are at pains to pursue because of the time consuming nature of the processes.

Citing the case of Airtel, which had cause to change its name four times; the stockbroker said if the company was listed on the stock exchange, rapid changes of names could not have been an easy nut to crack.

“In more developed economies, companies are compelled to seek quotation in the stock market if they attain certain levels of profitability and turnover,” he said. He regretted that in Nigeria, there was no law to arm-twist these multinationals to sell their shares to members of the public.

CEO of Resource and Trust Company, Mr Opeyemi Agbaje, said in as much as he will like to see the multinationals listed what he does not think should be embarked on is forcing these companies.

According to him, the psychology behind the forced listing is a wrong one.

“Investment is a context in which funds decides, based on the attractiveness of the market, the transparency of the capital market, business environment, the investment climate in the country which continues to grow, we can compel those already here but can’t compel those who are still thinking about investing,” he said.

He said compulsion to list might turn out to be an error just as the indigenisation of the 70s was an error.

“I think it freezes the flow of capital to this economy and that is what it will do. It provides perverse incentives. So, some elites who will like to be shareholders of MTN will lobby parliament to make a law so that they can be on the board of MTN. But does it change the structure of the economy. Does it ensure that you do the right things to make investment come into the economy, to improve the investment climate, I don’t think so,” he stressed.

According to him, if you say force listing, you can’t own 100 per cent; the same psychology behind indigenisation is at play with a different method. Create the right condition why must we think it is only by compelling people. Build a credible stock exchange, a good investment climate and do the right thing in terms of policy and investors will come. I’m not against encouraging them for listing but let’s go through incentives of benefits, encouragement of moral suasion of doing engagement with those people rather than a compulsion which can have a negative effect of determining further investment in our economy.

He, however, suggested that the companies already on ground can be compelled rather than those thinking of investing. He noted that those yet to come into the country are the larger pool of capital that we should be talking to rather than the limited ones already here.

“Yes I want them to list, I believe that the benefits are obvious, deepening our capital market; spreading the base of share ownership but I believe we can get them to do this through persuasion and incentives rather than compulsion,” he added.

Global practices Chairman of Dangote Group of Companies,

•CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

•DG, SEC Ms Arunma-Oteh

•CEO, NSE Oscar Onyema

Pushing for multinationals’ listing Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said some of the companies were operating as if they were mere conduits to tap money out of Nigeria.

Supporting the carrot and stick approach, Dangote suggested that if the multinationals failed to heed the entreaties made to them, then the government should be bold enough to show them the way out of the country, a move he said could be achieved within six months.

“Let them not give us the crap that they have issues with the market or with a government policy which compels them to list. We went to South Africa to take over a company there and we are complying with the Black empowerment policy put in place by the government there. MTN cannot be making $2 billion in profit yearly and seeking to remain a private company,” he said.

Founder of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, also hit the nail on the head, when he said it has become unacceptable for the telecom firms to remain private.

His words: “Take for instance MTN which reportedly makes 60 per cent of its profit from Nigeria. Why should MTN be listed in South Africa and not be listed in Nigeria. This is totally unacceptable and it is time for the government to step in.”

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was explicit in his comments on the issue. Speaking during the recent Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, Sanusi wondered why there has not been any legislation to force these firms to be listed on the floor of the NSE. According to him, the question is, “why can’t we have a law that will compel companies such a MTN, Globacom and Shell to list on the NSE? There is absolutely no reason. They don’t need to own 100 per cent of their companies and they don’t need to be held closely by a narrow range of Nigerians. At a time, countries such as France, United Kingdom and America had legislations that ensured that any company that does business in those countries for a period of time is listed on their stock exchange. If in Nigeria we say any company doing business here for more than 18 months has to list or get out, they will comply. We have to get legislation for these companies to list,” he said.

Foreign case studies According to a report by Modern Ghana, an online news medium, as far back as 2010 foreign players in Ghana’s high-potential telecommunications, energy and mining sectors were told to list their shares locally to ensure Ghanaians reap some of their profits.

However, the report says come 2015 more foreign firms operating in Ghana could be forced to list on the Ghana Stock Exchange

(GSE) when the exchange gets approval for a local content legislation for the capital market.

This, it said, means big and multinational firms including MTN, Vodafone Ghana, Newmont Gold Ghana, Gold Fields Ghana, Equity Assurance, Zenith Bank Ghana and Guaranty Trust Bank Ghana, which are listed in their respective home countries stock markets, would all be listed on the Accra Bourse.

Kofi Yamoah, Managing Director, GSE, was reported to have been advocating for a local content legislation for the capital market that would compel all multinational firms in Ghana to float their shares on the Accra Bourse to enable Ghanaians share in their fortunes.

According to the GSE boss, the GSE council made a case to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor to start the whole process.

Already, a stakeholder’s workshop comprising members of the parliamentary committee on finance has been held.

Yamoah said: “The stock market doesn’t see local contents in only empowered individuals in jobs but also want local content to be seen as companies being made to offer part of their shares to their Ghanaian investing public. We want it in a much wider context; we want it in energy, oil and gas , cocoa and mining, telecom, banking and insurance so that at the end of the day we will have more of these sectors represented on our stock markets.”

According to him, the stock market represents a world economy and, therefore, having many more of these companies with huge capitalisation, then the stock market would become very attractive for not only local investors but also foreign investors.

With the argument that when the policy is implemented it could scare some investors, he reacted in the affirmative, saying it will depend on how it is implemented.

“Many of these companies have their parents listed back home…For example Vodafone GT, the parent is listed in UK; Zain, the parent firm is listed in Kuwait, TIGO’s parent is in Luxemburg among others.

“If you talk about mining companies as well as banking and insurance firms, all their parents are listed so they know what the stock market is all about and that is why we are saying the policy will be accepted”. The 2015 proposed date is expected to offer the target companies ample time to prepare, adjust and float their shares on the market.

According to another report, a similar situation took place in Tanzania last year where legislation was passed for all foreign firms operating in the country to list on its local bourse.

Last year, the Tanzanian government passed a law making it mandatory for foreign telecoms investors to list their companies from

‘I think it freezes the flow of capital to this economy and that is what it will do. It provides perverse incentives. So, some elites who will like to be shareholders of MTN will lobby parliament to make a law so that they can be on the board of MTN. But does it change the structure of the economy. Does it ensure that you do the right things to make investment come into the economy, to improve the investment climate, I don’t think so’

2013. Analysts warn the law could affect new investment. The exchange is against the law, saying it raises the spectre of nationalisation, which left the Tanzanian economy in tatters before. The Dar es Salaam exchange, like many in Africa, is small and illiquid with minimal trading, making it unattractive to large foreign-listed global players.

Africa has little by way of resources listings.

Companies are listed primarily in Canada and London. According to figures compiled by the JSE’s Africa Board, there are at least 80 resources companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange that are operating in Africa. Many listed oil companies on these exchanges have upstream assets in Africa.

The low points However, critics argued that forcing foreign companies to list on African exchanges on the basis that they need to contribute more to local economies is misplaced. Multinationals in Africa are already contributing. They pay taxes, create jobs, develop skills, contribute to investment inflows, and help to build local supply chains. On the whole, the investments are for the long term.

In the oil and gas industry, the state “take” of contracts — a combination of taxes due, royalties, payments and related corporate obligations to governments over the life cycle of projects — is rising and in Uganda it is 80 per cent. But this has not stopped Uganda imposing further taxes on asset sales in the industry, which Ghana is also considering.

Resource companies need to consider the business case for doing so, given the more assertive messages coming from Africans about getting greater benefits from their resources.

Many African exchanges would find it difficult to absorb large global companies and creative thinking would need to be applied. For example, in Uganda, a new, separate index is being created for Tullow, as it is worth four times the value of all 11 companies listed on the stock market.

Tullow is the operator in Ghana of the large Jubilee oilfield discovered in 2007, and others, with recoverable reserves of up to 1-billion barrels. Given the money it stands to make from its Ghana operations, its listing is timely and positive. Next year, it plans to cross-list in Uganda, where it is gearing up for oil production in the Lake Albertine Rift basin.

There is already some movement by resource companies in other African markets.

For example, the London-listed African Barrick Gold is finalising a listing on the Tanzanian exchange and Canada’s First Quantum is to list its depositary receipts on the Zambian exchange.

Conclusion Governments should be doing more to create broad-based growth in their countries while encouraging private enterprises to open up to the general investing public. There is need to create more fiscal and monetary incentives to attract companies to the stock market. The National Assembly can greatly enhance the attraction of the NSE by reviewing issues of multiple taxation and regulatory framework while pushing for more concessions to publicly listed companies.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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PERSONAL FINANCE

Email: taofad2000@yahoo.co.uk

Investor’s Worth

Dasuki’s networth ALLAM Ahmed Dasuki, the son of former Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki, is one of Nigeria’s most astute businessmen. With business interests spanning financial services, telecommunications, tourism, manufacturing, media, information and communication technology, and real estate among others, he has a bagful of equity investments in several quoted and unquoted companies.

At the last public disclosure, he has a nine-figure shareholding in Stanbic IBTC Bank, then the fourth largest direct shareholding by any director of the bank. At current market valuation, this equity investment is worth

M

N687 million with average annual cash dividend of about N40 million.

Dasuki also reportedly has substantial equities in many blue chip companies including MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, Celtelcom Investment Limited and Friesland Food WAMCO Nigeria Plc. Besides, he’s associated with Maitama Amusement Park, Drill Masters Africa, ARM Business Jets, Interior Options Limited, Credit Registry Services Limited, Timbuktu Media Limited, First Fossils Limited, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, Phillips Project Centre Limited, Tinapa Business Resorts Limited, SASpv Limited and Islama Financial and Investment Trust. He also sits

•Dasuki

on the board of Interglobal Ltd and Quaditect Consultants.

Ask a Broker

A

What is arbitrage?

RBITRAGE simply refers to the practice of simultaneous purchase of identical or similar securities in different markets in order to take advantage of price difference between the

markets.

An arbitrageur, someone who engages in arbitrage, capitalises on market inefficiencies and exploits price differences, thereby creating a profit margin on the basis of

the price differential.

Arbitrage however can serve correctional purpose by ensuring that prices do not deviate substantially from fair value for long periods of time.

Financial planning as backbone of business HE overall aim of any root. growth business can be A major objective should be

T

summed up in one phrase, continuing profitable operation. One of the key survival strategies for business growth is adequate funding.

This is because to ensure its preservation, continuity and survival a business must be adequately funded and has enough funds at its disposal to carry out its operations. As oxygen is to a man for survival, so is funding to a business; finance is the oxygen a business needs to survive.

Concomitantly, to ensure that a business is well funded for enhanced growth, there is need for proper, efficient and effective financial planning.

Simply put, financial planning is a proactive and systematic process of gathering financial data and information, analyzing these data and preparing a financial guide for the future.

The first step in the process of financial planning is to assess and determine where you are now, in terms of your present financial net worth, by way of preparing a balance sheet. The essential purpose of preparing the balance sheet is to determine how much funds you have now, so that you can estimate how much more you will need to attain

Ways and Means

How to plan for retirement

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ETIREMENT is one of the most critical stages of human’s life.

Its inevitability makes it one of the most distant yet closed goals. From pre-retirement planning during the active working period to actual retirement planning and postretirement management, retirement requires an arduous and discipline process.

A new book: Planning for Retirement, written by Mr. Charles Osibodu, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) offered detailed expositions on various steps and processes to attain successful retirement. Osibodu’s book, launched last week, combined the precious insights of deep knowledge of the subject matter and practical experience of the author, who has taken the same route to achieve a comfortable retirement. Besides, the provision of complementary quotations from the Bible added spiritual balance to the book. The book offers insightful reading.

Retirement generally falls under two categories- voluntary, official and involuntary retirements. Voluntary retirement includes retirement due to personal reason and retirement due to official incentives. Official retirement entails all retirements that arise as a result of statutes, rules and regulations including length of service, age and agreement. Involuntary retirement or forced retirement usually arises as a result of permanent or temporary disability including ill health and death as well as disciplinary actions and lack of requisite skills and knowledge.

Post-retirement period is usually characterized by relatively low income, waning strength, more expenses and

diminished socio-economic status. But good planning provides foundation for a comfortable post-retirement period. In ‘Planning for Retirement’, Osibodu outlined what may be described as 17 golden rules of retirement planning. These include: 1.

Work hard early in life: The first rule and perhaps the foundation stone of others. Work hard with the knowledge that you will certainly be unable to work or you may not find a work at a period.

2.

Go for pensionable and stable jobs: Employment choice is a crucial determinant in the retirement planning process. Stable job with adequate compensations provides stable platform for planning.

3.

Cultivate the habit of saving regularly: No matter one’s income, it’s important to imbibe the culture of uninterrupted savings.

4.

Develop multiple streams of incomes: Multiple streams of incomes safeguard against constraint and possible downturn that may affect a particular source. When incomes flow from many sources, the person is able to sustain the financial plan irrespective of economic changes.

5.

Get a good investment adviser: This provides you with the professional guide needed to navigate investment and economic choices.

6.

Take a life assurance policy: Carefully select a reliable insurance company and obtain a life assurance policy, which provides succor to your family in case of untimely death. Some life assurance policies also provide the policy owner with opportunities to draw on the benefits.

7.

Obtain medical and

long-term care insurance: In the absence of an omnibus insurance policy that include healthcare, obtaining a separate medical and long-term care insurance policy provides you cover against health challenges that may come with old age.

8.

Buy or build a house before retirement: Owning a house insulates you from recurrent capital expenditure that comes with rent. Besides, a house provides stability and preserves your social status.

9.

Marry early in life: It’s better for a man that has fully matured financially and psychologically to consider marriage immediately. Early marriage allows you to complete huge expenses related to marriage including training the children in good time while you are still active.

10. Carefully select a spouse: A good spouse is an invaluable asset in personal planning; a continuing source of joy and strength. A good spouse is a motivator, a comforter, confidant, adviser and trustee.

11. See to business and financial development of your wife: This will provide a cushion in case of untimely death or involuntary retirement.

12. Educate your children: Do not be miserly when it comes to education of your children, send them to the best educational institutions you can afford. This frees you from future expenses and brings you comfort as they make headway in life.

13. Create a family time: To ensure peace, love and harmony in the family, create a stable platform for interactions no matter the tight schedules and strenuous requirements of your job.

14. Bring up your children in God’s way: Train your chil-

•Osibodu

dren to understand the morals, ethics and lessons in religious teachings. This will impact on their personalities and provide them with a stable compass, even when they are far away from you.

15. Prepare a Will and register it: A Will is a document containing one’s intentions and plans on one’s assets after death. Since death is inevitable, prepare for it by putting your house in order. A will enables you to straighten all issues that may lead to discord and quarrels.

16. Carefully choose your next of kin: The next of kin is the person that you would like to act on your behalf in case of temporary or permanent disability or absence. In other words, someone to be contacted by your employer, banker, investment manager, insurer among others for your entitlements and benefits.

17. Make a good succession plan: This makes life to continue unhindered in your absence.

Develop an organogram that lays out functions and responsibilities of your employees as well as the top-down succession plan. It’s also important to decide on who will take over the management of your family business among your children and groom such appropriately.

By Kayode Oluwa

your short term and long term financial goals. In other words, the balance sheet will enable you, at a glance, to identify what you own-assets and what you owe-liabilities.

The difference between the two – assets minus liabilities – is the net worth. A positive net worth is the excess of assets over liabilities.

You have a negative net worth if your liabilities are more than your assets. Your net worth is, therefore, a snapshot of your financial standing or position at a particular point in time. By analyzing and taking stock of the financial net worth of your business at periodic intervals, say monthly, quarterly or yearly, as the case may be, you will be in a position to compare and determine your financial progress and success, from time to time.

After establishing your present financial standing, the next step is to identify and articulate your financial goals and objectives both in the short and long terms to enable you have a purpose and direction.

For instance, if your present net worth is negative, then your primary financial goal should be to increase your net worth by either decreasing your liabilities, increasing your assets, or both.

To enable you determine your financial goals and objectives in quantitative terms and your plan to achieve them, there is the need to prepare a budge/ cash flow. A budget is a basic tool of financial planning and management which helps you to anticipate income that will be received-fees, profits etc and how that income will be spent-rent, salaries, overheads maintenance etc. If strictly and duly followed, a budget allows you to live within your means. The motivation for maintaining and sticking to a budget/cash flow is that it enables you to cover all your bills by paying according to a cash-management agenda and to have some funds left over for savings and investments.

The budget is, therefore, crucial to gaining control of your financial future and ultimately achieving financial success. You must avoid, as much as possible, a budget deficit, a situation where you spend more that you budgeted for. In other words try to always be in a “black” instead of “red” and live below or, at least, within your means, in order to achieve an enduring financial success.

A businessman or entrepreneur who truly wants to achieve financial success understand that lifestyle choices that consume money need to be monitored, and in some cases, delayed in order for the process of investments and financial wealth-building and accumulation to take a firm

to save, build enough reserves and invest appropriately to prepare for future needs. Accordingly, there is the need to be frugal, responsible, prudent, and judicious in spending and utilisation of resources. A lifestyle of frivolous living, conspicuous consumption and extravagant spending patterns usually results in financial and economic failures.

Learning how to invest and effectively allocate your financial resources in a way that provides for quality lifestyle now and in the future is key to business success.

A major mistake most businessmen and entrepreneurs often make in the area of financial management is the failure to appropriately allocate their financial and investment resources efficiently. The premise of efficient asset allocation is that, over time, you will allocate your financial resources to different investment mixes or portfolios with varying risk sensitivities.

Some investments will be low risk, others high risk, while others in between.

When you consider any investment, remember that risk and return are a trade-off.

Risk is directly correlated to the uncertainty of the return you can expect.

In most cases, investments with low risks have low yields, while those with high risks have high returns, although these vary from one investment to the other. The amount or portion of your portfolio that is allocated to anyone class or risk category changes, from time to time, based on your goals, current realities and other variables.

In sum, effective allocation of resources presupposes that you find the right mix and diversify your investments in order to have a reasonable hedge to reduce the danger of losing the overall value of your investments.

There are various types of investments that you can go into including, but not limited to the following: Bank deposits and fixed income investments-including commercial papers, treasury bills etc., stock and equity investments, pension funds, unit trusts, real estate investments, hard asset investments-e.g. gold, diamond, precious stone, oil and gas etc. You may need to seek expert advice and opinion in order to determine which of the investments you will opt for.

Finally, every successful entrepreneur knows that how far you grow your business depends on how far you can go to take risks, by venturing into new vistas of unexplored opportunities. Taking risks is not a bed of roses, but it is better to fail doing something than to make the mistake of doing nothing. Be optimistic and work towards your financial plan, goals and objectives and success will be yours.

‘When you consider any investment, remember that risk and return are a trade-off.

Risk is directly correlated to the uncertainty of the return you can expect’

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

19

EDITORIAL/OPINION EDITORIAL FROM OTHER LAND

COMMENT

Vanishing trillions •NNPC boss’ testimony reveals can of worms in the oil industry generally

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HE bits and pieces of the elaborate puzzle of why the nation’s dream of true deregulation has remained elusive may finally be coming together, going by the revelations at the sitting of the Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream, Appropriation and Finance), in Abuja.

One of the intriguing puzzle emerged from the testimony of Austin Oniwon, Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

According to the NNPC top-shot, the corporation continues to appropriate 445,000 barrels of the nation’s crude at a time its four combined refineries could only refine 170,000 barrels – barely a third. Out of this, Warri refinery takes 80,000 while Port Harcourt could only refine 90,000 barrels daily.

But that is not all: of the remaining bal-

‘Nigerians are quite familiar with the antics of the corporation, particularly its records of playing tricks with the destiny of the nation. But the image of a cheating corporation – selling the nation’s crude under some dubious arrangement supposedly to offset its bills, after running the nation’s four refineries aground – would seem a new low in its unflattering records’

ance, 150,000 is said to be taken offshore for refining – split between the Abidjan, Ivory Coast-based Societe Ivoiriene de Raffinage (SIR) (60,000 barrels), and 90,000 barrels daily swapped with the UK-based Trafigura. Then came the shocker: the NNPC-GMD could not tell the members of the National Assembly joint committee what happened to the balance of 60,0000 barrels daily allocation. Only later in a paid advertisement did the corporation announce to Nigerians that the variance –said to be the quantity allocated to the Kaduna refineries known to be out of action –was sold by the corporation to meet its obligations.

The image of the NNPC as an opaque, lawless, corrupt and inept corporation is hardly new. Nigerians are quite familiar with the antics of the corporation, particularly its records of playing tricks with the destiny of the nation. But the image of a cheating corporation – selling the nation’s crude under some dubious arrangement supposedly to offset its bills, after running the nation’s four refineries aground – would seem a new low in its unflattering records.

In the first place, it seems only in the opaque practices of the NNPC would the act of allocating crude to non-functional refineries be found. Is the idea to sell in some black market or what? If not, why purchase the crude in the first place?

And, how long has the practice of selling crude allocated for domestic processing to pay its bills been going on? Who gave the authority – and is it in the power of

the corporation to do so?

The nation obviously deserves the benefit of thorough investigations on these and many more. We are convinced that the National Assembly committee has only lifted the lid on the extensive shady practices starring the national oil corporation. The nation deserves the benefit of a deeper, more penetrating –if need be– forensic probe of how its oil is traded and by whom. It should not stop at that, we expect the naming of the culprits and meting of appropriate sanctions on those found to have soiled their hands.

The above of course represents a tip of the iceberg in the fraud-ridden industry that our petroleum industry has become.

There can be no question about it – the NNPC has failed to live to its rationale.

Whether it is on the matter of local content in which the corporation currently aspires to a measly 10 percent after more than five decades of oil industry experience, or the question of domestic refining capacity, the verdict is long out: NNPC as presently constituted is a colossal disaster. The same obviously applies to the Department of Petroleum Resources. Can the body claim to have accurate figures on daily lifting of our oil? Even its capacity to undertake the job is suspect.

This is why we consider the current investigations by the National Assembly as important but only to the extent that it leads to the cleansing of the entire petroleum industry. Anything short of that would amount to a mere window- dressing.

Anxiety over bonds •Only proper supervision and robust industrial base can reverse the trend HE persistent drop in the value of investible equities in the Nigerian economy is well known. Indeed, the country’s Stock Market Index has fallen to an eight-year low, as investors now avoid the capital market. The worrisome part however is the unpreparedness of the handlers of the market to come to terms with the reality of this thoroughly messed-up capital market.

For instance, there was palpable anxiety among investors and watchers of the economy when the media reported what some experts regarded as the coup de grâce’ of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) make-believe recovery, revealing perhaps for the first time, what approximates the current ‘little worth’ of Nigerian equities.

The truth is that, hitherto, NSE’s operations had been based on false figures and business conjectures that were neither related to production nor attuned to the conventional dictates of the free market maxim. Consequently, the market capitalisation dropped drastically, seeking perhaps, through market dynamics, its true and realistic value.

By implication therefore, the celebrated stock appreciation achievement of over 65,000 points in 2008 was a packaged ruse. The growth noticed then was an artificial one, which never percolated or translated to improved living standard for the average Nigerian. It gave little insight and showed an apparent lack of depth, when global risk aversion and the peculiarly low yield on Nigerian equities are considered as the major cause of the

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downturn in the stock index of the NSE. Indeed, the fortunes of the NSE were, and have remained a floating but well packaged ‘bubble’ waiting to burst. The burst came all right; ‘margin loans’ became the guinea pig, and the perfect euphemism for big frauds and other scandalous embezzlement. Whereas, what needed to be addressed, and holistically too, was the procedural sanctity of the whole Stock Market operations and radical overhaul of the capital market, the concerned institutions and agencies of the Federal Government feigned ignorance and typically opted for palliatives.

Put differently, measures deployed by the NSE and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in particular, which were masqueraded as the pathway to recovery were less than wholesome. Bottom line is; the Nigeria capital market is ailing, and as long as the CBN maintains its holier-than-thou attitude, while the ‘debt hangover’ occasioned by margin and other unsecured loans locked down the lending capacity of most commercial banks, the risks would remain grave that the stock market could slip further into crisis that typify spiral recession.

Without doubt, the possibility of the Federal Government’s intervention by way of ‘bail out’ for the Stock Market as suggested by the finance minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala recently appears a little belated. The damage has been done.

For now, the Federal Government will have to work twice as hard to restore normalcy in the volatile stock market. It is

not only foreign investors that are wary of Nigerian stocks; the local stocks speculators are equally worried.

There is the urgent need to re-examine the legislation and structural ambivalence in the NSE’s operations, with a view to blocking the loopholes and taming corruption in the market. Second is the wobbling production base in the real sector that must be urgently reinvigorated, and the need to address the dearth of adequate and functional infrastructure that could help jumpstart industrial mass production in the country. The time to act is now; without the direct intervention of loanable funds from the finance sector, a thriving business environment, and a sufficiently robust public confidence, the survival or otherwise of the Stock Market is doubtful.

‘There is the urgent need to reexamine the legislation and structural ambivalence in the NSE’s operations, with a view to blocking the loopholes and taming corruption in the market. Second is the wobbling production base in the real sector that must be urgently reinvigorated, and the need to address the dearth of adequate and functional infrastructure that could help jumpstart industrial mass production in the country’

The U.S. has options to help end the carnage in Syria

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DEEPLY DISTURBING report about the situation in Syria was delivered Monday to the U.N. Security Council

by Navi Pillay, the high commissioner for human rights. Her account was stark: The regime of Bashar al-Assad continues to murder unarmed civilians, including children, in large numbers. Some 200 have died since Dec. 2, Ms. Pillay said; she estimated that more than 5,000 have been killed overall, including more than 300 children. Military and security forces have “received orders to shoot unarmed protesters without warning,” she said, according to a draft text of her closed-door briefing obtained by The Post’s Colum Lynch.

“I am appalled by these grave violations,” Ms. Pillay said. “I am concerned that this continued ruthless repression may soon plunge Syria into civil war.”

That may already have happened. Reports from Syria — fragmentary because of the regime’s refusal to admit international observers or journalists — say that armed clashes between regime forces and defectors have spread across the country, from Israa in the south to Idlib in the north. Scores are being killed every day; more than 40 deaths were reported Tuesday alone. Ms. Pillay echoed reports that the army may be preparing a major offensive against the city of Homs, where several neighborhoods are reportedly held by opposition forces. Tanks and artillery have been seen heading to the city; trenches have been dug around it, checkpoints set up and electricity cut in some areas.

Ms. Pillay made one other key point: “Inaction by the international community” is emboldening the regime and encouraging it to continue the slaughter. The Security Council has yet to pass a resolution about Syria, thanks to resistance from Russia and China; the Arab League, which suspended Syria last month and threatened tough sanctions, is now prevaricating, repeatedly offering Mr. Assad more time to meet conditions he will never accept. The Obama administration and European governments have adopted strong economic sanctions but continue to rule out intervention.

If Western military action is off the table for now, it is time for the administration and its allies to consider other steps. While the administration rightly has urged the Syrian opposition to remain peaceful, if civil war is inevitable, it is in the United States’ interest for that war to end as quickly as possible with the defeat of Mr. Assad. Prolonged fighting could draw in neighbors and spread to Lebanon and Iraq; a victory by Mr. Assad would be a disaster for the region as well as for his people.

If it is not doing so already, the administration should be quietly working with Arab allies such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, as well as with Turkey, to provide greater support to the opposition — including its armed components.

The sooner Syrian commanders and the regime’s remaining supporters can be convinced that Mr. Assad cannot survive by force of arms, the more lives can be saved.

– Washington Post

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh • Editor Gbenga Omotoso •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Kunle Fagbemi •Editor, Online Lekan Otufodunrin •Managing Editor Northern Operation Yusuf Alli •Managing Editor Waheed Odusile •Deputy Editor Lawal Ogienagbon •Deputy Editor (News) Adeniyi Adesina •Group Political Editor Bolade Omonijo •Group Business Editor Ayodele Aminu •Abuja Bureau Chief Yomi Odunuga •Sport Editor Ade Ojeikere •Editorial Page Editor Sanya Oni

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

20

9EDITORIAL/OPINION

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IR: From a very close observation at a meeting that select leaders of the organized civil society groups held last weekend with President Jonathan in which I attended, I came out with the impression that President Jonathan means well for Nigeria but he seems to be under some formidable pressure from forces from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to pull out whatever government now pays as subsidy on petroleum products.

These scientific liars that have invaded Nigeria have drawn up spurious blueprint on the programs and so-called palliatives that the subsidy withdrawal funds would be used to achieve in the shortest possible time.

They have cleverly tagged it “Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment program” or “SURE Programme”.

The proponents of the subsidy withdrawal who have populated the seat of power disingenuously pad-

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Lies of subsidy removal proponents ded up the subsidy withdrawal reinvestment blueprint with the same projects that for the last 10 years have always appeared as part of the annual budgets approved by the National Assembly but which never get executed by the executive arm of government.

From the briefing sessions conducted by the Minister of Finance Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, Vice President Namadi Sambo and the President himself, I came out with the impression that the proponents of this subsidy withdrawal have surely run out of ideas and have chosen to use falla-

cies beautifully presented in the form of statistics to deceive Nigerians.

For instance, if government insists that subsidy fund ought to be withdrawn before the health sector can offer effective social safety nets to 12 million pregnant women, then what is the essence of running the ministry of health?

This cheap lie by the proponent of the fuel subsidy withdrawal that part of the fund would be used to assist 12 million pregnant women to have safe delivery is a soft propaganda meant to win the support of the women. Isn’t that itself an admission that the Fed-

eral Ministry of Health and the state ministries of health have recorded abysmal failure and can only function when subsidy money is withdrawn and used to provide services to Nigerians in the health sector?

Another populist lie is that the second Niger Bridge for which the then President Obasanjo told South Eastern voters prior to the 2003 election that the federal government had awarded, can only be achieved with the subsidy money.

Even the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja dual carriage way said to have been

progress recorded.

Clearly, this is a radical departure from the past practice where contents of this annual report would have been shrouded in secrecy. The credit goes to the VC who seems to be shocking the university community with an enviable approach to university administration. Apart from the annual report, Prof. Adewole equally gave the audience other new publications such as profile of the recipients of the university’s honorary degree, a compendium of his many of speeches, report of the flood which ravaged the institution on August 26 among others.

Another heart-warming development was the award of automatic post-graduate scholarships to all the 106 first-class graduates of the university. Prof.

Adewole had promised, while campaigning to become the VC, to give post-graduate scholarship award to first class students. The promise was greeted by sheer cynicism, as some of his detractors described the promise as a political gimmick. But with the promise gaining full expression, the enigmatic VC has recorded yet another credit, difficult to dismiss.

As noted by The Nation

newspaper’s editorial of November 24, “encouraging the best graduating students to stay back and pursue post graduate studies has been an old tradition in the academia until Nigeria’s educational system became seriously dysfunctional about two decades ago.” Prof. Adewole is by this gesture, reviving the cherished old tradition, thus, setting pace for other universities.

One of the major challenges militating against meaningful development in UI is electricity.

Although, this is a national albatross, University of Ibadan ought to have overcome this challenge if all the considerable technical expertise are harnessed and synergized. The VC wanted a short-term solution upon his arrival on board, at least to serve as a palliative measure. He wanted to buy gigantic generators that could serve the university community.

But he was told that it would take close to seven months before he could take delivery of his desire.

Power outage is still creating hopelessness in the academic community despite spirited effort by the silent achiever.

Then came the flood of August 26 which delivered debilitating blows

on the institution and destroyed property worth close to N10 billion. The fish ponds were washed away, bookshops, library, teaching and research farm were badly damaged.

It is appropriate at this point to call on all those who have benefitted from UI, including the alumni and alumnae, friends and well-wishers as well as philanthropists to come to the aid of the university.

The institution will appreciate every contribution that may come its way at this point in time.

Interestingly, a 400 level student of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Akinkunmi Ajisafe who was touched by the plight of the institution did the unusual recently by dipping into his small savings account to donate the sum of five thousand naira into the UI Flood Disaster Relief Fund.

One of the greatest ways of immortalizing one’ name is to give back to the university that made one. Yes, some have done well for UI, but they can still do more.

Thousands are still hiding; let them come and donate so as to make UI truly the first and the best.

Prospects and challenges of UI at 63

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IR: Two major events unfolded recently which vividly illustrated the prospects and challenges of the Nigeria’s oldest university. First, the university celebrated its 63 rd Foundation Day with fanfare.

The second event was the silent commemoration of the first year in office of the incumbent ViceChancellor, Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole. Those who witnessed the two events saw UI in its true states of hope and hopelessness.

Let us consider the gleaming and the gloomy sides of our dear university with a view to sharing both its joy and toil, after all, light is yoke when it is shared.

Arising from its Graduation and Foundation Day ceremonies, it is evident that UI is fast moving towards becoming a world-class institution. For the first time in many years, the university substantially expanded the scope of its documentation by producing its annual report, as is standard practice in the private sector. In the glossy annual report, Prof.

Adewole gave account of his stewardship, including all the contracts awarded, the cost, the contractors, the completion period, payment up to date as well as the

• Sunday Saanu University of Ibadan

awarded by the then Yar’adua/ Jonathan Presidency has found its way into the subsidy reinvestment and empowerment programme.

Why has the Federal government failed to find alternative sources of revenue rather than implement this draconian withdrawal of subsidy on petroleum products that will adversely affect the survival of millions of seriously impoverished citizenry?

Why is government not thinking of waging an-all—out war on corruption to recover the over US$400 billion of public funds looted by known officials that served successive administrations in Nigeria so that the proceeds can be used to reinvest in the critical areas of the economy?

Why has government failed to plug all the loopholes that have frustrated the efficient implementation of the fuel subsidy scheme for poor Nigerians in order to stop the so-called criminal mafia from benefiting through illegal smuggling of these subsidized petroleum products to the neighboring countries?

Why is the Federal Government not thinking of taxing the rich Nigerians more and ensure transparent utilization of the proceeds of these taxation rather than over burden the poorest Nigerians by removing the subsidy on fuel which will automatically lead to increased poverty and high cost of living?

Why is government not looking towards maximizing the benefits from Nigeria’s maritime industry as alternative source of revenue generation?

Why is the government offering import waivers to the rich to bring in all manners of products that can even be locally produced if the right environment is provided?

What I see from this campaign of government officials to withdraw fuel subsidy is like a group of greedy/ selfish politicians who managed to enter a ‘mansion’ whereby milk and honey are flowing freely but have locked out millions of poor Nigerians outside to undergo intense period of economic hardship even while some of these government officials are looking out from the well -secured windows to talk down to hungry Nigerians outside the ‘mansion’ to be patient and resilient.

• Emmanuel Onwubiko Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria Abuja

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

EDITORIAL/OPINION

Listen to the people, Mr. President

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OTWITHSTANDING the national outcry, President Goodluck Jonathan is still insisting that fuel subsidy must go essentially because Nigeria cannot continue to borrow to fund its economy. His continuous stance is in defiance to the popular feelings of most Nigerians as declared last week by European Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. David MacRae who said subsidy removal “is not a popular issue according to the survey we have seen.” To him, the reactions of the general public, which is negative, is in part due to lack of trust. “They are not sure if anything better can come out of it. I think it relates to the issue of governance.” He has said it all.

In MacRae’s view, “after many years of mistrust, when a new administration comes with such an idea like this, there has to be a clarification. People need to know better what amount of budget will be needed. I have heard public officers say unless the government removed the oil subsidy, Nigeria could become as broke as Greece.” But he believes Nigerians have to be informed of the facts of the matter. “In a general context, subsidy on petroleum is not a thing that countries generally want to do.

If you want to help poor people, you have to look at the social sectors – water, health, education and access to jobs.” What most countries do for their citizens is to provide basic services like electricity, water, health, education and mass employment which unfortunately are what are lacking in Nigeria of today.

MacRae urged the Federal Government to engage in wider consultations and enlightenment of the public on fuel subsidy removal for proper understanding. In deed, President Jonathan has in the last few days been discussing with several groups and select organisations, except that he has been coming out of such meetings conveying a fixed mind. True consultation ought to be geared towards better illumination and fresh ideas such that even a stony heart would absorb measures of flesh.

At Aso Villa’s Christmas carol service last week, the president made what could arguably be termed his best presentation. He laboured to explain that his idea of subsidy removal is not to inflict pains on Nigerians. He admitted that “even now that we have oil, we are borrowing and we are not expanding the economy,” and expressed the fear that in the next in 35 to 40 years, if there is no discovery of more oil reserves, the fate of the nation’s children and grandchildren will be hanging. He asked rhetorically: “Do we begin to plan a country where our children and grandchildren will become slaves? Flashing back to the ‘Andrew’ of Buhari/Idiagbon era, he recalled that even now, Nigerians are checking out of the country. “There was a time we were talking about check out, but now that slogan has died down.”

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HERE is a fundamental problem at the heart of Nigeria’s politics which, if it is not re-built, will prevent us from ever achieving the greatness we deserve as a nation, in fact, its increasingly rapid deterioration will potentially lead to a steep decline in our fortunes.

Our problem is that we, with absolute justification I might add, have no trust in our government, at any level of the system. At the top level, we do not trust that the President will deliver on his grandiose agenda of transformation, we believe he is making promises he cannot keep. The fundamental objection of all Nigerian’s to the removal of fuel subsidy if not that it should not be done, but that there is no trust that the government will spend the savings for the wider benefit of Nigeria and its people.

At the bottom level, we do not believe that our local governments are acting in our interest. Attacks on local government representatives, or community leaders in the Niger Delta are not uncommon because the people believe that they are being paid off not to pursue the will of their people.

I raise this because this lack of trust in the ability, or the desire, of government to meet its obligations is at the heart of the second problem I believe means we will stagnate rather than succeed. If we do not trust our government,

‘Our problem is that we, with absolute justification I might add, have no trust in our government, at any level of the system. At the top level, we do not trust that the President will deliver on his grandiose agenda of transformation, we believe he is making promises he cannot keep. The fundamental objection of all Nigerian’s to the removal of fuel subsidy if not that it should not be done, but that there is no trust that the government will spend the savings for the wider benefit of Nigeria and its people’

He also concurred that the time has come that the government must look for ways to expand the economy and explore other means of earning money. He responded to himself with a seemingly sound solution: “We must go back to farming; and not just subsistent farming that we know, but really taking farming as a business. We must create wealth through farming; we must industrialise; we must begin to produce things in this country.”

Honestly, no patriotic citizen would contend with Mr. President’s analysis. I was even more touched with his assertion that he knows the pains Nigerians are passing through. “Yes, I am here in the State House and being fed by government, but that does not keep me so far from the people. There is no day that I don’t interact with Nigerians both low and high and I appreciate the pains of the people.” But then, this is also where the dilemma comes in.

The people who voted Dr. Jonathan into office as president might not be as intelligent and knowledgeable as he is; yet, wisdom demands that the voice and wish of the people must be supreme – no matter how stupid it may seem. He might have shared the people’s trepidation, but the crux of the subsidy removal debacle is the people’s lack of confidence is his walking his talk. Many are yet to see hope of a better tomorrow in his way of governance and implementation of his campaign manifesto thus far.

No one can dispute his acceptance that the nation is facing challenges and need to take certain decisions to reposition our economy so that things will ease out. However, pleading that “people must be courageous to take the rightful decisions” if they do not want to die in pains, yet staying stubborn at doing the dictates of world monetary institutions would surely not be to the nation’s ultimate advantage.

While it is true that we do not have to always agree on every issue, the beauty of democracy over dictatorship comes in when the wish of the people are allowed to prevail. In the same vain, while the president might not want Nigeria to continue going the unprofitable usual way, the people must see the genuineness of the wish in action. A true talk would only become meaningful when it has practical impact on the people.

Nigerians are asking today: Why must any sincere government insist on importation of fuel while not concerned with the fixing of the under-utilised refineries – or taking visible steps in constructing new ones? What is happening to daily degenerating power supply beyond the arbitrary increase they see in monthly bills? Why is an agreed pittance minimum wage becoming a burden on the government? What is the condition of the federal roads across the country with the annual huge budgettary allocations? What are the huge debts being claimed to be owed used for with the virtual collapse of the nation’s social infrastructures? Why is malaria still allowed to be a killer disease when the few rich prefer overseas treatment to basic ailments? Why is the government acting unbothered about the future of our children heading in disarray? Are these and other basic challenges not what the people should see the president tackling ahead of any so-called subsidy removal that they might

end up not seeing the result other than inflated cost of living?

Nigerians could see insincerity of purpose as government’s inability to successfully manage the refineries. Rather than dealing with corruption and make the refineries work, and even build more, it is the masses that are to now being asked to suffer “temporary pains” before private refineries will become operational. Neighbouring Ghana, Niger and Benin republic have just discovered oil but already have functional refineries. People remains at loss as to what makes it difficult for our own government to refine enough fuel locally.

As if to depress the people more, the Jonathan government has again voted the highest expenditure in the just submitted 2012 budget for security as if the country is at war. For people to take the president serious, why should the biggest allocation not tailored towards development? Why not devote more of the available resources to areas that will stimulate the economy? The huge budget on security could as well be used to reduce poverty and the swarming unemployment that constitute actual insecurity.

Because successive administrations cowardly succumbed to official corruption and graft, the Jonathan government cannot afford to enforce a policy of sacrifice at the expense of the life of the people who are hardly convinced that trillions of naira are truly going on subsidy. Not many are persuaded that whatever is made from subsidy removal will be properly channelled to the promised infrastructural development.

Nigeria Labour Congress through its Vice President Issa Aremu got it right by insisting that the president should not succumb to the dictate of the World Bank and IMF, but rather redirect his energy towards fulfilling his campaign promises as the planned removal will become an abuse of his mandate.

He is being counselled to follow his transformation agenda by first putting a stop to oil theft, and the rehabilitate and construct new refineries, as well as ensure acceleration of the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill before the National Assembly.

The poor and the downtrodden Nigerians should not be made to pay for failure or incompetence of the political class.

The government should check the way contracts are concocted and awarded. Let there be an end to inflated and economically unviable contracts. The system must be seen to be working well before more hardship is inflicted on the people. It is true that nothing good comes easy; but when well-served people are due to pay sacrifice, they will surely be pleased about it.

Nigerian masses are very resilient, but they should not be pushed to the wall. They have made enough sacrifices that are being pocketed by the privileged few. The problem to be resolved is that of insincere and self-centred leadership. Let them first remove their own subsidy before removing the one on enjoyed by the poor. Let top government functionaries cut down on their lavish expenditures and entitlements to build infrastructures for the masses.

Let government fully confront corruption instead of tasking the already over-burdened citizens. Otherwise, the return on removal of the subsidy would again end up in the few overloaded private pockets.

Who do we trust enough to make a leap of faith?

The problem of enforcement is twofold. Firstly we must address an information gap. We must know how many people live in our country, where they live, what they do for employment and ensure that they have tax records.

We already have at least 4 separate electronic databases built up over the years, we need to pay someone to integrate them, identify they gaps and verify the data.

The construction of this database is vital, but only contributes to a solution to our problem if the people in charge of the database use it for its prescribed purpose and that they aggressively prosecute, expose and ostracise from society those found to be abusing the system for individual benefit. We need an incorruptible and powerful anti-corruption force empowered to carry out their duty without hindrance or political interference.

If we can create an environment within which the government has the information it needs to pursue corruption and the tools and integrity needed to fight it, then we will begin to change the culture of impunity that currently exists. If a government can be seen to be doing that, then it will begin to build up that elusive and valuable notion of trust, and if our people begin to trust their leaders to be wise, they will begin to trust them with their money. That money is what will drive our development, but accessing it is a challenge that has proven to great for many generations of our leaders.

By Patrick Dele Cole we do not have any reason to pay our taxes. If we simply believe that tax revenue flows into the hands of individuals rather than into the coffers of projects that will contribute to national development, then what motivation does a Nigerian have to enter the formal economy?

The renowned Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto was asked by Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola to look at the economy of Lagos State earlier this year. His conclusions are quite stunning. He estimates that the informal economy within Lagos State alone is worth up to US$50 billion. To put that in perspective, it equates to over a quarter of Nigeria’s entire GDP. The potential additional revenue available to government from Lagos alone is huge, but the question is, how do we access it? How can we persuade our people that our leaders will use their money wisely, for the long term benefit of all Nigerians?

The answer is that in order to rebuild trust, we have to take a two-fold approach, we have to first of all demonstrate to those in government that there are severe consequences associated with corruption and secondly, we have to somehow make them ashamed to be doing what they are doing. I estimate that up to 50% of our senior civil servants across the nation have children in £40,000 per annum boarding schools in the UK. The numbers simply don’t add up when you look at remuneration packages. These are people flying back and forth to the UK on a regular basis. They are not hiding their wealth, they are not ashamed to be seen, in fact, they are often proud. There is no stigma associated with theft of public finances; it is so ingrained within our society that the aspirations of many of our youths are focused on public services, not from a desire to do good but from the knowledge that it is the fastest route to wealth.

‘If we can create an environment within which the government has the information it needs to pursue corruption and the tools and integrity needed to fight it, then we will begin to change the culture of impunity that currently exists.

If a government can be seen to be doing that, then it will begin to build up that elusive and valuable notion of trust, and if our people begin to trust their leaders to be wise, they will begin to trust them with their money’

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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EDITORIAL/OPINION

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HOSE calling for the heads of President Goodluck Jonathan and Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo for daring to predict a revolution if nothing urgent is done to stem the rising unemployment rate should sheathe their swords. This is because such calls may have missed the overall context of these predictions.

It would appear that reactions so far, did not fully reckon with the nexus between the timing of the predictions and the current debate on fuel subsidy removal. Had that been taken into full consideration, perhaps the circumstance that led both Jonathan and Obasanjo into such foreboding statements would have been better understood.

Obasanjo had a forthnight ago, warned of the possibility of having the “Arab Spring in Nigeria if similar conditions, hardship and unemployment which gave birth to it are not addressed” About the same period also, Jonathan warned of a possible revolution in the country if government does not provide jobs for the army of the unemployed youths.

Given the exalted positions of these later day prophets, many Nigerians have smelt a rat over their warnings. Obasanjo in particular, has been taken to the cleaners for daring to speak on a cankerworm he had ample opportunity of eight solid years as President to redress but failed to do so. For this, there is the feeling that he is the least qualified to speak on the matter. There are some others who feel there may be more to the warnings than ordinarily meets the eyes.

All these can be conceded. No doubt, unemployment has for long been one key social problem successive governments have not been able to find solutions to. The matter is compounded by the very high number of graduates that come out of our institutions of higher learning yearly. The astronomical increase in higher educational institutions without a corresponding increase in employment avenues had resulted in serious unemployment challenges such that have led to the high crime rate the country has been facing.

Given the correlation between high unemployment level, social discontent and mass uprising, Obasanjo and Jonathan were only saying the obvious. But the furor their predictions are attracting is on account of the fact that whereas Obasanjo had the opportunity to redress the situation and

Emeka OMEIHE 08121971199 email: EmekaOmeihe@yahoo.com

Revolution and subsidy debate failed, Jonathan is currently facing the problem and could still do something positive to redress it. He has ample time as a sitting President to remedy the objective conditions which in his own prediction, could precipitate a revolution. It therefore makes little sense for him to be issuing warnings on the prospects of a revolution if unemployment is not addressed instead of taking very bold and decisive steps to address the nagging problem.

That is the point critics seem to be making and it goes without saying.

Having said this, the link between the current debate on the removal of fuel subsidy and the warnings on an impending mass unrest if unemployment is not checked cues in here. Jonathan had in defending the compelling imperative for deregulation said that Nigeria will be broke within the next one and a half years if fuel subsidy is not removed. He also justified the move on the grounds that it will “open up vast opportunities for Nigeria’s school leavers and population of unemployed graduates in the new refineries and petrochemical industries that will emerge after deregulation”.

These could be construed as Jonathan’s solutions to the rising unemployment rate in the country and by the same token, his panacea for stemming the looming danger of a revolution. Thus, those faulting his effrontery in foreseeing a possible revolution can now understand the full context of that warning.

It may not be out of place if the prediction is interpreted as a subterfuge for going ahead with his reformation agenda in the oil sector.

That could as well be. It could also be

contended that there is no assurance that these promises of high employment prospects consequent upon deregulation will not be mere pipe dream. This could also be admitted.

But Jonathan was reported to have said “even if we deregulate and I am shamed, posterity will be there to judge me, that I did the right thing and I will be vindicated when Nigerians start enjoying the benefits of my decision” This assertion is weighty in more ways than one. First, it recognizes the possibility of policy failure. In this regard, Jonathan admits that deregulation could as well turn out to create more problems than it is intended to solve on account of the hardship that is bound to come with it. That is why he talks of the possibility of his being shamed. Secondly, that hardship could also lead to situations Jonathan may not have anticipated. In this wise, there is yet the other possibility of another revolution should deregulation failed to deliver those benefits for which Jonathan is seriously selling the idea to the nation.

The logic is like this: we can stem unemployment through fuel subsidy removal as earlier demonstrated by its proponents. But deregulation could also come with serious hardship which in turn will accentuate unemployment. If this happens, deregulation may also bring about a revolution through the unprecedented sufferings it will expose the ordinarily people to.

Thus, it would appear that a revolution is the inevitable two sides of the deregulation

coin. If we do not create jobs through the removal of fuel subsidy, Jonathan and Obasanjo tell us we risk a revolution. If we deregulate and there is loss of more jobs on account of the hardship that goes with it, we also risk a revolution. Which ever way we look at the matter, we are faced with two options. We are faced with a dilemma that could either way, bring about a revolution depending on the interplay of intervening variables.

It is a game situation where rational calculations must come into play.

Game theorists are concerned with what should be the rational choice of Jonathan in such a circumstance: deregulate or fail to deregulate? For them, the game option Jonathan should adopt should be one that will minimize his losses in the event of the worst outcome. This rule instructs that Jonathan should deregulate. If he does, there is the possibility of success. If he does not we are left with the subsisting situation which we have been told may soon consume us all.

What is left is for him to anticipate those excruciating situations that have the prospects of compounding the exercise and find solutions to them. If he does this very successfully, he would have stemmed those intervening variables that could catalyze a revolution through policy failure. Then he would have no cause to be shamed.

That is perhaps, the line of argument the President was following when he said government will embark on a programme of carefully selected social relief interventions to ameliorate the impact of deregulation on the vulnerable sections of the Nigerian population. Though there is wide spread skepticisms on the ability of the government to deliver on these promises, the success of the exercise will largely depend on the efficacy of these palliatives.

Jonathan wants to take responsibility for the success or failure of the exercise despite his staying action on the proposal for now.

For a President who is largely seen to be weak to be grandstanding in such a very strong manner in this matter, we will be doing ourselves a lot of harm if we do not allow him to take responsibility for his actions.

Irrespective of the genuine reservations we have on fuel subsidy removal, Jonathan should be allowed to take responsibility on this singular issue if he is so convinced and rise and fall together with its outcome.

VIEW FROM THE FOREIGN PRESS

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ECENTLY, the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Abuja, gave victory to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State and leader of the main opposition party in the country, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), over a spurious allegation of illegal operation of foreign bank accounts while in office from 1999 to 2007.

The landmark judgment, a unanymous decision of the three-man jury led by Justice Danladi Umar, has reinforced the importance of a truly independent judiciary as a vehicle for the advancement of our burgeoning democracy while signaling respite for public officers from the ambiguities in the Code of Conduct Law. The victory has put an end, once and for all, to the usual intimidation and harassment that celebrate the implementation of the law. The judgment also puts to rest the constant intimidation and cheap blackmail on the person of Tinubu, who has had to go through threats and counter threats of prosecution, as his persecutors and their collaborators will now have to find more profitable ventures to engage in.

However, beyond that victory, there is a historic need to put in perspective certain misconceptions about the person of Tinubu and some deliberate attempts to cast aspiration on him. It often hurts to see the person of this illustrious son of Africa being maligned and smeared in many circles. It is even more worrisome that most of those who orchestrate this demonisation of Tinubu, most often, do so from the position of ignorance and lack of real understanding of the man. Political persecution is not a strange phenomenon in the country and indeed the world and it will not end during our own time. Many great men of history have had to pass through it to be able to write their names in gold. The late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, one of Africa’s brightest brains, was, perhaps, the most politically persecuted person in Nigeria. Indeed, like the legendary Nelson Mandela, his persecutors succeeded in keeping him in jail for a season. But like it is always the case, they never succeeded in killing his spirit, as the man lived well and fulfilled his destiny to the chagrin of even his enemies, some of who waited for him to die before making us know that the sage was the “best president Nigeria never had” How scandalous!

Tinubu and the price of leadership

By Lateef Ibirogba Like Awo, Asiwaju Tinubu is averse to corruption. Unfortunately, the garb of corruption is one with which his persecutors have, for long, been using to slander him. But, unknown to many, Tinubu deride corruption like a plague. Indeed, most of his major fallouts with some of his political followers have emanated from his deep-rooted revulsion for corruption. Undeniably, one of the major reasons why Tinubu put his political career on the line, in the face of all odds, to back the candidature of Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) in the build up to the 2007 governorship election in Lagos was his total conviction that Fashola is incorruptible. Tinubu has put the integrity of Fashola to test many times before sticking out his neck for him. It was when he became fully convinced of Fashola’s impeccable disposition that he decided to sink and swim with him.

A careful look at those that have been politically lifted by Tinubu in the current political dispensation would reveal that they are men whose honour and integrity are never in doubt. Concerning Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the governor of Osun State, Tinubu once publicly declared, at a function in Ogun State, that he is one man in whose hands one could commit huge resources and go to sleep without blinking an eye. The pedigree of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, governor of Edo State, is not hidden to even children in the country. So it is with Dr. Kayode Fayemi, governor of Ekiti State, who all his life, has been in the forefront of the struggle to make accountability in public institutions the order of the day. Of course, Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State and Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo) are also progressives who understand the enormity of the task of building Nigeria on a sound foundation for the good of coming generations. This is just to mention a few of those that have benefitted from Tinubu’s widely acclaimed political savvy.

Equally, Asiwaju is one who will never abandon his followers no matter the circumstances.

Not only that, he is a leader, who ensures that

those that cross his path in life never regret doing so. He could be described as a ‘transformer’ who ‘sees’ something special in people and help to nurture it for the good of the society at large. Similarly, Tinubu is a workaholic. Those that have been privileged to work with him will tell you that he is a hard worker. In-fact, his staff calls him ‘Adan’ (bat-a nocturnal bird that flies mostly at nights) because of his inclination to working late into the night. In same vein, Tinubu is a principled democrat who has chosen to remain in the opposition in a place like Nigeria where it is ‘unprofitable’ and risky to play opposition politics. When his then party, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) lost all the states under its control in the South-west with the exception of Lagos, the easiest and most predictable thing to have done would have been for him to jump ship and find succor under the PDP’s umbrella.

But no, the vintage Tinubu did not do that.

Instead, he stayed back and re-positioned the party for future challenges and glory. Today, he has been vindicated.

A lot of factors have been adduced for the success of the Fashola’s administration in Lagos State. Many have tied the achievements of the administration to the personality of the governor himself. To those who hold this view, Fashola has a passionate commitment to connecting with the people, particularly the ordinary man on the street and building their trust in the sincerity and noble intentions of government. Others, who share this view, insist that Fashola is a rugged goal getter who sees time as too precious to be wasted on frivolities. No wonder, on assumption of office in May 2007, he summed up the next four years of his administration as mere “35,000 hours and 40 minutes and this is why I am in a hurry to make impact”. Others, however, ascribe the administration’s success to Fashola’s dispassionate attitude to politics which makes him focus totally on governance. Quite a few also attribute the success of the administration to the assemblage of a crack team of

technocrats, majority of who have been working round the clock to actualise the vision for a new Lagos since 1999. However, of all the propounded success theories, the one which stands out and describes the situation succinctly is the continuity perspective.

No doubt, the eight years spent in office by Asiwaju Tinubu, set the pace for the birth of a modern Lagos. From health, to education, to finance and to the transport sectors, the Tinubu administration laid a solid foundation for the new Lagos. It was the administration that began the systematic fixing of the state’s infrastructure.

Roads were rehabilitated and expanded; drainages and canals were cleared, the Lagos Business District was upgraded into a world class business enclave, among others.

Perhaps, more importantly, the Tinubu administration put the state on the trail of economic independence as it shoved up the revenue base of the state. Though it inherited a failed economy from the Marwa administration, by the time it was leaving office in May 2007, it increased the state revenue base from a meagre N600 million to over N10 billion by the time it was winding up in 2007.

That the administration survived the Obasanjo’s onslaught was mainly due to its rich revenue stand. BRF’s performance so far is a vindication of the precise political mast and sound aptitude for human judgment of Asiwaju Tinubu and the ACN leadership that recommended him to Lagosians. A leader is not successful until he has gotten for himself a worthy successor. The success account of the Fashola’s administration is a critical lesson in progressive political engineering. Therefore, rather than denigrate Tinubu, it is only logical that the man be appreciated and celebrated for succeeding where others have failed. The man has gone the way of Awolowo by making success in the face of persecution, breaking new grounds where enemies think it is over for him, putting his whole personality and resources on the line to give meaning to our democracy and lifting up other people to take up mantle of leadership so that our country will not be in dearth of progressive, selfless and visionary leaders to take her to greater heights. Indeed, it is like Awo, like Tinubu.

• Ibirogba, is Lagos Commissioner for Information and Strategy

NFF appoints Alaiya new Heartland urged to Super Eagles’ Media Officer win more luarels Pg. 24

Pg. 41

Nation PAGE 23

Monday, November 19, 2011

• Hodgson

Hodgson craves goal rain for Osaze Pg. 24

Pg. 24

2012 NPL FIXTURES

Dolphins set to battle Sunshine COPA LAGOS FINAL

Pg. 24

Nigeria beats Brazil 9-4

• Osaze

MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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NATION SPORT

NATION SPORT

Caterer ‘drinks’ NFF appoints Alaiya Heineken after 23 Years Super Eagles’ Media Officer

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HE history of some of the world’s greatest female personalities is one replete with unlikely women doing extraordinary things. This range of individuals span from female politicians to sport’s icons, highly celebrated musical artistes, screen divas, world renowned academicians to highly successful business moguls and other celebrated female pace-setters in diverse fields.

Passion, patience and the desire to succeed are some distinguishing qualities and attributes common to these genres of people. These groups of achievers, demystified convention, shattered norms and successfully pursued their dreams to the very end.

Though not an International Star, Lady Dianna Okah can be said to have unequivocally distinguished herself in her own field of special endeavor. A foremost female Nigerian golfer who sprang into lime-light when she won the Heineken sponsored 37th Ikoyi Club Ladies Golf Open Championship.

Her story is one which is well expressed in the words of Comte de Buffon (1707 - 1788) that “Genius is only a greater aptitude for patience”.

Lady Okah’s foray in golf began in 1988 when as a professional caterer; she oversaw the food needs of members of the Port-Harcourt Golf course in Rivers State of Nigeria. According to the Lady Champion, who is well over sixty, she pointed out that at the time she was catering at the State golf course, she always saw women coming in daily to play but was not really impressed by their style of play. And born out of the drive to make a change, she approached the pros and inquired about playing the game. She told them that if she was given a chance to play, she would perform better than the women she saw playing and from that point, she has never looked back and thus her rise to prominence in the game of golf.

Okah, a native of Delta state, admitted that she had lost count of the number of trophies she had won, saying she was one time ranked as the number one female golfer in Nigeria for over 10 years. She represented the country both in local and foreign competitions where she also excelled exceedingly - due to her pedigree in the game.

Despite winning at almost every golf tourney in Nigeria, Lady Okah had never won a championship in the Ikoyi Club Ladies Golf Open Championship since 1988 when she started participating in the tournament. She just couldn’t explain why she wasn’t able to win although she was always a hairs breadth from winning the championship. It seemed the more she tried, the more it eluded her.

At over sixty years of age, one would expect her to have abandoned playing

active golf let alone take part in the championships. She can best be described as a relentless and passionate competitor who never gave up on her pursuit to win the highly coveted Ikoyi Club Ladies Golf Championship. So as usual, the Port-Harcourt based golfer flew in from her base to once again take part in this year’s championships in Ikoyi Club 1938.

Just like it has always been, the Ikoyi Club Ladies Golf Open Championship was very challenging and after two days of golf duel amongst the best female golfers in the country on the Ikoyi golf course, Lady Okah emerged victorious defeating all other competitors to emerge the overall winner of the prestigious Ikoyi Club Ladies Golf Open Championship 2011 edition.

An emotion laden Okah, described her win as long due, saying “I just wanted to come out to participate because since 1988 that I have been playing on this course, I have never emerged champion.

Everytime I play here, I always make it to the last group but somehow always emerge runner up but never the champion. Sometimes I would go for sudden death and I would not make it.

But to my greatest surprise, at over 60yrs of age, I emerged winner for this year’s Ikoyi ladies golf championships.

I am so happy. This is the only club I have played and have never emerged as a champion until now. I have won in all other clubs in the country but now I am so happy and give God all the glory”.

Her passion for the game is undeniable. When asked what time she would retire from golf, Lady Okah responded that she would continue to play the game for as long as she can.

She describes the game of golf as a game of life where one must remain focused to become a champion.

Asked how she still manages to beat her younger opponents, Lady Okah, the mother of six children, said she is always motivated to win anytime she steps on the golf course. She also added that her experience also plays a key role in helping her win most games.

Speaking on Heineken’s sponsorship of the 37th Ikoyi Club Ladies Golf Open Championship 2011, Jacqueline Van Faassen, Senior Brand Manager, Heineken said that prior to the sponsorship; Heineken has sponsored the Nigeria Cup Golf tournament and embarked on many other Golf projects in the country. However, “we have decided to endorse the Ikoyi Club Ladies Golf Open Championship because it is different and also helps to depict the strength that lies in women.

Normally Heineken is associated among men with the sponsorship of the UEFA but we also want to connect with women through sports which has led to this decision.”

• Senior Brand Manager, Heineken, NB Plc, Jacqueline Van Faassen; Lady Captain, Ikoyi Golf Club, Mrs. Busola Joseph presenting a Trophy to Mrs. Dianna Okah, winner of the 37th edition of Ikoyi Club Ladies Golf Open Championship in Lagos

•condoles AFN on Sunday Bada’s death

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HE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed the Editorin-Chief of SportsDay Newspapers, Mr. Ben Alaiya as the new Press Officer for the Senior National Team, Super Eagles.

The appointment takes immediate effect. Alaiya replaces Mr. Colin Udoh of KICK OFF Nigeria.

Born in Ososo, Delta State on December 9, 1968, Ben Alaiya is a graduate of English Language from the prestigeous University of Lagos, and also earned a postgraduate diploma in Mass Communication from the Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ).

He had previously worked with Majesty Weekly, THISDAY Newspapers, National Interest, Comet Newspapers, Daily Independent and National Mirror, before teaming up with two other hard-working journalists to establish SportsDay Newspapers, a daily allsport publication, three years ago.

Mr. Alaiya is also the Secretary of the Sports Editors’ Forum of Nigeria.

Meanwhile, The Nigeria Football Federation has condoled the Athletics Federation of Nigeria on the untimely death, last week, of the latter’s

Technical and Performance Director and former international athlete of repute, Mr. Sunday Bada.

In a letter signed by NFF President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, the NFF noted that Bada was a dynamic and energetic official and served his country with all he had, as an athlete and as an administrator.

“The demise of Mr. Sunday Bada at this time and season cruelly robs the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, and track and field sport in general, of an industrious and visionary personality, full of energy and enterprise. As a role model who served Nigeria with all his heart and won more honours more than any other individual in the history of Nigeria track and field, the untimely demise of Mr. Bada is bound to demoralize the Athletic Federation and the sport of athletics.

“But we make haste to say that the AFN should take solace in the giant footprints left by the late Bada and be encouraged by the fact that he lived a good life of diligence, selfesteem and thoroughness”, wrote Maigari.

COPA LAGOS FINAL

Nigeria beats Brazil 9-4 • England defeats South Africa 4-3 for third place t was an empathic victory for Nigeria Beach team, the Super Sand Eagles soccer on final day of competition when they defeated hard-fighting Brazillian team 9-4 to lift the trophy. On a day when the duo of Isiaka Olawale and Azeez Abu displayed high-wired Soccer Skills and grit to exact a sweet revenge on the Clinical Brazillian team, dubbed Kings of the beach. Right from the 1st period, when the wound down clock (12.00) went down to 11.57 minutes No 8 shirt Azeez Abu struck the first goal and five minutes later, 6.50 he doubled the tally to 2-0. The Brazillians refused to go down by erasing the 0-2 deficit in quick succession. Thereafter, it was the Brazillians who took the advantage with beautiful moves that mesmerised their West Africa opponents.

When the second period opened, the Nigerians, through Abu were punished when they failed to convert a brilliant move, because shortly after that No. 5 shirt Bruno Mendes at 10.03 minutes, put Brazil ahead at 3-2.

When the third period opened, it was ‘goal for goal’, save for save’ and ‘grit for grit’ all the way as the fans and spectators waited with bated breath to know which side would carry the day, until Abu made it 5-4 for the SuperSand Eagles, thereon it was captain Isiaka Olawale, Azeez Abu and Victor Tale who ran the show.

The Eagles’ goalkeeper Abdullahi Isa was at his best, when he twarthed several deft moves of the South Americans to the admiration of fans.

Equally, it was a Yeoman’s job for Ogbonnaya Okemmiri, who stood between hard-hitting Brazillians as the last man in defence.

In the third place match a come-back England team, came form one goal down to defeat South Africa 4-3 in the dying seconds of the match. With goals from Dean Blake and Mitchell Day England nearly left it too late for the third place. The South Africans scored through Ryle Penn, Prince Gumede and Nkosinathi Ndlovu.

Fans were also entertained to a Celebrity Match which included the likes of Austin JayJay Okocha, Emmanuel Okocha (brother) Nduka Ugbade, Peter Rufai Mutiu Adepoju,

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By Kayode Williams Henry Nwosu, Victor Ikpeba, Segun Arinze, Mr. Ladi Balogun M.D FCMQ and presentation was made by Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah, chairman and CEO of Capital Oil, one of the sponsors of the competition.

Hodgson craves Osaze's goal rain R

OY Hodgson praised Peter Odemwingie for his late winner and hopes it will spark a flurry of goals for the Nigerian.

Last season Odemwingie was Albion’s top scorer with 15 Premier League goals but Saturday’s strike was only his third of the campaign.

Injuries have blighted his progress this season but Hodgson hopes he will start to rediscover his best form after Saturday’s performance.

“Peter Odemwingie, who by his standards had a very good game, showed what a class player he is (with the goal),” he said.

“Peter’s season has been blighted by injury and he’s not been able to get that run of games and, more importantly, getting that run of training sessions.

“He hasn’t been able to get out there with the rest of us.

“But he will get better and his partnership with Shane (Long) will get better in time.

“I thought long and hard about the formation but I would like to think that their performance justified my decision.’’

Hodgson admitted he felt hard done by when Blackburn equalised but said the win was justified in the end.

“It took two very good goals to win the game but I think over the course of the 90 minutes we were more than satisfied with our work,’’

added the head coach.

“I can comfortably say that we more than deserved it on the basis of our play and possession and our chances created.’’

Meanwhile, under-fire Rovers manager Steve Kean, who was taunted mercilessly throughout as Blackburn fans called for his head at Ewood Park, said he could understand their frustrations.

Before the game a planned protest by supporters was cancelled but the

abuse was still vociferous from the home section.

“Like the crowd, the staff are disappointed,” he said.

“We all feel the same, we want to win and get out of this position.

“I think there was a big missed opportunity, especially with the way the other results went.

“At 1-1 the momentum was with us and we are disappointed with the last goal because we shouldn’t have let Odemwingie in.”

Heartland urged to win more laurels

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HE Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has described the 2011 Federation Cup triumph by Heartland FC as the appropriate way to end the trophy drought and the beginning of m ore laurels to come to the State.

The Governor who was represented by his Deputy, Jude Agbaso, at the Fund raising dinner and Award night held in honour of Heartland FC at Art Noveau, Owerri stated that the need to do everything possible to make the club financially automonous necessity his invitation of his friends and indigenes of the State to partner with the club and generate ways of making money besides sole reliance on government.

He emphasized that Heartland had come to stay in the State and all

GLO/CAF AWARD

Bafoe,Marawa of Super Sports as MCs X- GHANAIAN International and FIFA Ambassador, Tony Bafoe and Super Sports Presenter and analyst, Robert Marawa have been confirmed as the official Masters of Ceremony at the 2011Glo-Caf Awards slated for Accra, Ghana.

Baffoe, who is a former Ghanaian football player and son of a Ghanaian diplomat, Baffoe grew up near the former West German capital, Bonn and made a name for himself in the 1980s in the Bundesliga, becoming a real crowd favourite for FC Köln and later Fortuna Düsseldorf.

Currently, Baffoe handles several functions for the African Football Confederation (CAF) as well as for

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FIFA. He is a member of FIFA and CAF Football Committees. Baffoe is a FIFA Ambassador for campaign against racism, a FIFA ambassador for SOS Children’s Village and an ambassador for Play Soccer Ghana.

Robert Marawa on the other hand is currently a presenter at SuperSport (SuperDiski, Extra Time and Thursday Night with Marawa) as

well as a host for Discovery Sports Centre on Metro FM. Robert “Madluphuthu” Marawa is currently hosting the Discovery Sports Centre 6-7pm, weekdays on Metro FM. He also hosts soccer shows on Supersport.

Tony Bafoe and Robert Marawa will no doubt add to the glitz and glamour.

From Tunde Liadi, Owerri necessary support must be given to the club to return to its good old days when title accolades were a routine rather than unusual highlighting that the Naze Millionaires forays to Africa again next year would afford the State to showcase her hospitality to their guests who would be coming from evry part of the continent.

“Football has come to stay in Imo State and Heartland has turned out to be a winning unifying force that needs encouragement. The club has brought the can do spirit back. We believe the team can be financially independent.

The beginning of that process leading to being financially automonous is what brought us here today (Saturday).

“The Imo government believes in Heartland and as the club proceeds to Africa we know that they will go beyond our shores to do the State proud,” were the words of the Deputy Governor, Agbaso, who spoke on the Governor’s behalf.

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in Lagos described his death as “a great loss not only to Athletics Federation of Nigeria but entire country”.

Globacom stated that Sunday Bada made the nation proud in his lifetime, winning medals in all major continental and international championships and games including the Olympic games.

“He was the only Nigerian male athlete to win an IAAF World championships medal, both indoor and outdoor; in addition to IAAF World Cup title.” Globacom added.

Glo stated further that “Nigeria has indeed lost an asset and a gem”.

The Company therefore extends its heartfelt sympathy to the family of the deceased and to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria while praying for the repose of his gentle soul.

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• Supersand Eagles’ captian Isiaka Olawale lifts the Copa Lagos trophy, won by Nigeria when they defeated Brazil on Sunday night 9-4

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Dolphins set to battle Sunshine From Florence Nkem Isreal in Bayelsa HE Nigeria Premier League (NPL) draws was held in Yenagoa on Saturday night at Hoil Suites after the NPL 6th Annual Congress/ Pre -season workshop.

2011/2010 League champions, Dolphins Fc of Port Harcourt got drawn against arch rivals, Sunshine stars of Akure for the star match of week one on Saturday, January 7, 2012.

2010/2011 Surprise club, Bukola Babes Fc travels to the Enyimba City to battle it out with the People' Elephant of Aba while league rookies, Rising Stars also of Akure would be facing Returnees, Akwa United in Akure.

Below is the week one fixtures for the 2011/2012 Nigeria Premier League season.

OTHER FIXTURES 1. Rangers vs Warri Wolve 2. Kwara Utd vs Ocean Boys 3. Wikki Tourists vs Heartland 4. Enyimba vs Bukola Babes 5. Kano Pillars vs Niger Tornadoes 6. Kaduna Utd vs Jigawa 7. Shooting Stars vs Sharks 8. Rising Stars vs Akwa Utd 9. Gombe Utd vs Lobi Stars.

T • Bada

Sylva promises great days ahead for wrestling OVERNOR Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa state has promised great days ahead for the game of Wrestling in the country.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 2011/3rd edition of the Sylva National Wrestling Classics in Yenagoa on Saturday night at the Samson Siasia sports complex, governor Sylva who had earlier laid the foundation of a world wrestling gym congratulated the participating athletes from the various states of the federation, while promising to host a continental classic in 2013.

The governor also went ahead to assure best preparations for the olympic wrestling athletes.

"Its always great to sit back and enjoy some great fun by watching these young athletes display their wrestling prowess.

"In Bayelsa, wrestling is our culture and that is why we want to deliberately make Bayelsa state the wrestling headquarters in the nation.

"The chairman of the Wrestling Federation has promised to bring

From Florence Nkem Israel, Bayelsa HE chief helmsmen of the Nigeria Football League has pledged their supports to the 1Game campaign in order to enable fans enjoy football without violence.

Taking the bold step at the. 2011 Preseason seminar/workshop held in Bayelsa during the Annual General Meeting of the Nigeria Premier, the Chairmen pledged their supports by picking and filling the 1Game support form at the end of the session which centred on improving and repackaging of the Nigeria Premier League to help attract fans and more sponsors to the round leather game in the country.

The 1Game coordinator, Philip Obaji had asked the club administrators to make commitment to the game of football by pledging to eradicate violent fans, help home fans to respect visiting fans and players and to liase with antiviolence agencies in order to ensure that sanity is restored to our game.

Meanwhile, at the Pre-season seminar, various resource persons lectured on the various means of improving on clubs finances in order to make them more independent.

2012 NPL FIXTURES

•••Mourns Sunday Bada ELECOMMUNICATION Company, Globacom has expressed shock on the sudden death of the Technical Director of Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Mr. Sunday Bada.

The company in a press statement

NPL Chairman, Baribote pledges 1 Game support

From Florence Nkem Israel in Bayelsa

continental wrestling classic to Bayelsa at the completion of our ultra modern wrestling gym that we've started and I stand here to assure him that by 2012 we would have completed the best equipped wrestling facility in Nigeria.

"I also assure best preparations for our olympic athletes from January next year by sending them for trainings to other countries. Our budget for sports next year is very robust".

Governor Sylva reiterated his charge to former world wrestling champion, Daniel Baraladei Igali to reproduce an Olympic champion from Bayelsa state.

He also promised continuity in sponsorship of the annual wrestling classics saying the 2012 edition would be bigger while he expects the intercontinental clash in 2013.

He did not forget to mention that the Bayelsan athletes that made the state proud at the Garden City Games 2011 would get their rewards as an Christmas gift this December

Chidi Nwanu’s mother for burial Tuesday

T

HE deceased mother of former international defender, Mr. Chidi Nwanu would be committed to mother earth on Tuesday, December 20.

Mrs Cecilia Nwanu died of stroke at the age of 76 three weeks ago and will be buried in Mbaise, Imo State on Tuesday.

NFF President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari has commiserated with the former World Cup star, while praying that the Almighty God will give him and the rest of the family the fortitude to bear the loss, and grant the departed eternal rest.

Chidi Nwanu played for the Senior National Team, Super Eagles at the 1994 FIFA World Cup finals in the United States of Americca, and was at the heart of defence of a team that came very close to a place in the quarter finals at its debut outing. The team was eventually selected the second most entertaining team of the tournament, behind eventual champions Brazil.

25

MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

A decade after the gruesome murder of the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, his killers are still at large. Deputy Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU writes on the life and time of the colourful politician and his unfulfilled agenda for national restructuring.

Ige: Where are the killers?

T

EN years after, the pain lingers in Esa-Oke, the rustic Ijesa town in Osun State, Ibadan, the political headquarters of the Southwest and the entire geo-political zone. Every Yuletide brings back the memory of the midnight murder. The scars have not faded. The puzzle remains unresolved. Who killed the Cecero, the most colourful Yoruba politician in post-Awolowo era?

Perhaps, the greatest tribute to his memory is that his ambition to rid his zone of the ‘mainstream marauders’, interlopers and impostors has been fulfilled. His associates have always drawn a connection between that aspiration and the circumstances surrounding his demise. The inability of government to apprehend the assassins of the slain Attorney-General and Minister of Justice aptly underscores the illusion of justice.

Yet, James Ajibola Ige, lawyer, prolific writer, eloquent social critic and astute politician towers in death above his rivals. His achievements as an ideologue and ally of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Publicity Secretary of the proscribed Action Group (AG), Second Republic governor of Oyo State, pro-democracy crusader and deputy leader of Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-political group showed that he did depart without a memorial.

Full of grace, incisive wit, charisma, carriage and magnetism, Ige, known for his caustic tongue, was simply electrifying on the podium. In private and public, when he was assailed by the vicissitudes of life, he bore his ordeals with philosophical calmness. His loss of a promising son, Olugbenga, was hearth-rendering. So was his ouster from ‘Agodi House’ in 1983 by massive rigging. As a fighter, he was always in the black book of the military. Being some steps ahead of his peers in Awo camp, he was also a subject of envy. On some occasions, his political career was threatened by malicious colleagues. He survived the bitterness in Awo’s days. It was a different ball game afterwards.

Enveloped in controversy, Ige was also plagued by contradictions because he collaborated with strange bed fellows at the twilight of his career. What could have motivated Ige to collaborate with former President Olusegun Obasanjo? Was old friendship ties the baseline? Was history just repeating itself because he was nearly axed as a Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) top shot for fraternising with the former military Head of State at Yola? Was it out of sheer patriotism? Was it a calculated attempt to spite the crisis-ridden Afenifere?

Little did he guess that he would not return from the federal cabinet alive. The slain minister had retraced his steps, as his architect son, Muyiwa, now Osun State Commissioner, later disclosed to the public. The goal was to enable him return to the critical task of mapping out an alternative route. To forge ahead, he needed to put his house, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in order. It was not to be. The once vibrant party became a ghost of its self, with its members scattered, like sheep without a shepherd, across the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA), Action Congress (AC) and Social Mega Democratic Party (SMDP).

The credit goes to the assassins who invaded his Bodija residence at Ibadan with a mission to snuff life out of him. Ige had no premonition about the looming disaster. Perhaps, he ignored the signs. He had travelled to his home town in that December 2001 to intimate his traditional ruler, Owa Omiran Adediran, that the community should expect an influx of guests from far and near. Ige was planning to host a big political meeting, after which he intended to travel out of the country that December.

But when the guests turned up at Esa-Oke, it was for another ceremony; the funeral of the Cerero.

The challenge the political veteran faced from the armed hoodlums inside his bedroom when all security agents had abandoned their duty post dwarfed his many titanic battles. When his grey hairs, the sign of old age, could not deter them from evil, he may have deployed his verbal arsenal as he faced the reality of an untimely end in dignity.

His ordeal may have started at the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, where he was a guest of a former First Lady, the late Mrs. Stella Obasanjo, who was taking a honorary title from the ancient town. Suddenly, some hoodlums seized his cap and hung it on a nearby tree. It was a turn of events. In the same palace in 1980, he had presented the Staff of Office to Oba Olubuse 11. Many Yoruba elders at the scene shook their heads.

It was the forerunner to the sad event of December 22. His death provoked rage, emotional outburst and lamentation.

Eminent Nigerians described the killing as too callous. His death was painful to a vast segment of citizens. His Ibadan in-laws could not be consoled. His mates at Ibadan Grammar School decried the violent death. His Ijesa kinsmen, who perceived him as the precious gift were downcast. Young politicians who saw him as a mentor and role model mourned his passage.

At his lying-in-state, Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka decried the hypocrisy of his foes crying more than the bereaved.

He said: “Ige’s killers are here with us”. The endless wailings, agitation and bitterness could not resuscitate him from deep

•Former Oyo State Governor Bola Ige and wife, Atinuke, at the sixth anniversary of Oyo State Radio Service, Ibadan in 1982.

sleep. It was the end of an era.

Like Awo, his leader, Ige’s pastime was the hunt for talents.

Thus, he made friends across the six geo-political zones, even beyond his political circle. One of them, the late Chief Hammed Kusamotu, former National Chairman of National Republican Convention (NRC) described him as a polished, articulate, determined, courageous and brilliant leader who relished the power of debate, exchange of ideas and development of the intellect, adding that he could not suffer fools gladly.

Fork-tongued and skilled in the war of words, Ige’s mouth was reputed to be sharper than the razor’s edge. That adequate verbal facility jollied well with him as a public speaker. He as also a man of principle; an Awoist who did not desert the battle when it was hot. That eternal loyalty made to be projected by admirers who nicknamed as “Arole Awolowo”, a likely successor to the late sage. While he emulated Awo’s devotion to ideas, he, like the late Aare Ona Kanakanfo Ladoke Akintola was endowed with an uncanny capacity for humour. As governor, he had chided the students of Ibadan Polytechnic for demonstrating on the streets. He said: “With your three credits, you cannot enter University of Ibadan. Now, you managed to enter polytechnic, you are mot serious again”. They all dropped their placards. Some of them went to take university JAMB form for administion to U.I. In Law, his profession, and politics, his vocation, Ige distinguished himself, to the delight of the indomitable Awo. Neither did he joke with his religion, Christianity. In fact, as a student at the University of Ibadan, where he studied Classics, he was both a campus political guru and revered Christian brother who led Christian delegations to foreign conferences.

Naturally, he was fascinated by Awo’s AG. Yet, when he was a law student in London, Ige became an ardent critic of the party’s philosophical exposition. At a time people were elougising Awo, the successful Premier of Western Region, Ige detected a gap in the programmes of the party. In particular, he observed that AG had failed to articulate a foreign policy. Awo opened a file where he kept the thought-provoking articles written by Ige, especially his documented attacks against the party.

When Awo’s lawyer friend, Chief Morohundiya, under whom Ige later took off as a pupil lawyer, took the rebellious young

‘The greatest tribute to his memory is that his ambition to rid his zone of the ‘mainstream marauders, interlopers and impostors has been fulfilled. His associates have always drawn a connection between that aspiration and circumstances surrounding his demise. The inability of government to apprehend the assassins of the slain Attorney-General and Minister of Justice aptly underscores the illusion of justice’

lawyer to the AG leader, Ige’s trait unfolded. Awo confronted him with the incisive articles. Ige stood by his writings. He told Awo that nothing had changed to compel a change of stance.

Awo admired that candour, for only a few could call a spade a spade. Recognising his potentials, he resolved to groom him, encourage him and moderate his views.

Consequently, Awo made Ige a member of the AG Committee for Review of Foreign Policy, along with the late Prof.

Hezekiah Oluwasanmi, Akin Mabogunje, Tunde Oloko, Olumbe Bashir and Dr. SamAluko. He was also an active member of the AG Youth Association led by Remi Fani-Kayode, and later, Ayo Fasanmi, the revolutionary chemist with a beard. Ige was a trusted lawyer who was asked by Awo to defend the oppressed United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC) in court when tribulation arose in the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) controlled-Northern Region. When the House of Representatives primaries on Lagos Mainland between Sikiru Shitta-Bey, secretary of the AG Youth Association, and Adewale Thompson, son of the licensed surveyor at Odaliki Street, Ebute-Meta, was deadlocked, Ige was the young AG leader sent to hold a fresh shadow poll. He reported to Awo, that although both of them were popular, it appeared to him that the pendulum of victory tilted more to the direction of the son of “Seriki Musulumi” of Lagos. Awo ratified his report.

He was also a firebrand social critic and thorn in the flesh of Balewa Government. His platforms were the radio and television personality programmes. On the eve of the Commonwealth of Nations’ Head of Government meeting in Lagos, Prime Minister Balewa had to stop a live television programme in which Ige was a discussant. After dissecting the agenda of the meeting, Ige described the Commonwealth as an organisation where the wealth was not common. The programme was stopped immediately.

Earlier, he had dazed Akintola, who had regained the Premiership of the Western Region, with verbal missiles. SLA had boasted that the ring of power had been fixed on his finger and nobody could remove it. Ige was furious. He went on air, saying that, if the ring could not be removed, the finger could be cut off. Before then Awolowo boys were in for trouble. Around the same period, Sunday Afolabi slapped Akintola in Iree and vanished into the thin air. But Akin Omoboriowo was intercepted at AramokoEkiti on the order of the deputy premier, “Fani-Power” and sent to the Owo Prison.

Ige shared in the tribulation of Awo and other AG leaders who were caged. In those days, restrictions were discriminatory during the emergency period. The administrator detained “Demo Party” leaders-Akintola, Osuntokun, Fani-Kayode in their homes. But Ige was detained in Kwale, old Midwest Region.

A wordsmith and effective campaigner, Ige had a heart of steel.

He was brave and bold. Once, he led the AG campaign to Kano, relying on his fluency in Hausa. There, like Aminu Kano, he descended on Ahmadu Bello, the Sokoto Prince and Sardauna, who he described as an oppressor and epitome of aristocratic oppresion, urging the “talakawas” to free themselves from captivity. Ige, the ring leader, was promptly clamped into deten• Continued on page 26

26

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

POLITICS REVIEW OF 2011 EVENTS

O

NE state that has been on the political radar throughout the year is Bayelsa. Governor Timipre Sylva has been fighting to save his political career.

He has remained in the eye of the storm which is believed have been masterminded by his political opponents in Abuja. To them, Sylva’s much-desired return to the state’s number-one seat through next year’s governorship election will only fructify if they are politically dead and buried. They are men of grit and power. They dictate what happens in the party and polity. Therefore, they must be obeyed by all, including governors.

Far back before the 2007 elections, Sylva had got acquainted with the fact that politics in the part of the country is not for the lily-livered. Even after braing the odds in his own ‘family,’ the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he was soon to face a stiffer storm against his opponents. He did a grim political duel with Action Congress’s (AC) governorship flag-bearer, Ebitimi Amgbare, among others.

While after the poll Sylva was popping the champagne, Amgbare was belly-aching. Eventually, he not only kicked, he cried to the tribunal with the allegation that there was no governorship election in the state, alleging that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) merely allocated results to parties that participated in the elections.

The AC also accused INEC of conniving with the PDP to cook up results. The PDP and INEC denied the allegations and defended the results at the tribunal.

The state’s Elections Petition Tribunal looked into the complaints and ruled in Sylva’s favour. Not satisfied, Amgbare sought solace at the Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt. But it ordered a re-run election in the state. It held, and again, the PDP carried the day. Sylva was crowned the second time in one year as governor. The massive campaigns that characterised the preparations towards the April 2011 governorship

Turbulence in Bayelsa State

• Jonathan

By Dada Aladelokun, Assistant Editor

elections in the state fizzled out.

Later, the ruling by the Federal High Court, Abuja, upheld the prayers of five governors including Sylva, thus ruling that their tenure ought to end 2012 when elections are expected to take place.

INEC headed for the Appeal Court, Abuja which also affirmed the ruling, before it later headed for the Supreme Court which is still at work.

The ruling of the Federal High Court is now history as it turned back the hand of the clock of the heightened preparations for the governorship elections in Bayelsa State. Hence, the ongoing frenzied wait till 2012.

However, at the height of the campaigns, there were a few major political parties with serious governorship candidates. They included

• Sylva the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with Chief Timipre Sylva; the Labour Party (LP) with Mr. Timi Alaibe; the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) featuring Dr. Imorno Kubor; Social Democratic Mega Party (SDMP); Mr. Ebitimi Amgbare; Change for Advocate Party (CAP) Chief Abel Ebifemowei and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) which features Chief Eberiye.

There were other parties, but the main ones that were so pronounced in the race were the PDP, LP and the ACN. As the 2012 governorship election approaches in the state, serious but underground preparations have been in top gear among the governorship candidates in the various parties. But Sylva has remained their major headache. Reason: His acknowledged performance in the saddle.

Sylva once beat his chest that his administration’s developmental projects would speak for his performance at the 2012 elections.

And the pro-Sylva group also claimed: “There is no need for another primary in the PDP; the candidature of Governor Sylva is okay for the party because he has performed well.”

However, not many were shocked to the marrow when, recently, Sylva was curiously excluded from the PDP’s governorship primary. And insinuations were thick in the air that the political enmity between him and President Goodluck Jonathan has been his costliest undoing.

Now, he is still flexing muscles that he remains in the race, even in the same PDP, even if heaven will fall.

Whatever happens between now and the next election, if it will hold, will determine whether or not the political whirlwind in the state will simmer down. But a poser remains unanswered by the PDP leadership: What is Sylva’s sin?

Constitution review At long last, President Goodluck Jonathan, in September, set in motion, the process of tackling a major issue that had for long, kept the blood of most concerned Nigerians on the all-time boil. He constituted a 21-member panel to finally ‘panelbeat’ the nation’s generally adjudged wonky constitution.

By the decision, the panel is saddled with looking into the grey areas in the existing constitution and eventually making valuable recommendations to the National Assembly The panel which has former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Muhammed Belgore as chairman, parades other tested names as members. They include: Senator Udoma Udo Udoma,

Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Babagana Kingibe, Prof. Oladipo Afolabi, Chief Ebenezer Babatope and Mr. Ledum Mittee, among others.

Urging the panel to work on the ‘settled’ areas of national discourse, Jonathan also told the panel members: “You must feel free to suggest fresh solutions to old problems, especially those that may have defied consensus in times past.”

Of course, keen followers of events in that country would agree that the decision to finally inaugurate the panel did not just come overnight.

The human rights community and indeed, the progressives among the nation’s key political players had for long cried to the heavens, drawing attention to the various indices of imbalance in the nation’s constitution, warning that unless the vital document was reviewed, the nation’s unity and eventual prosperity would remain an illusion.

What turned out to be an attempt by the President to trouble a sleeping dog reared its ugly head when shortly after his assumption of office after the April election, he flew the kite of a seven-year single term for both the President and the governors.

The suggestion drew people’s ire from every nook and cranny of the land. Thus, anger and shock filled the air. To many, it should not have come from the President’s mouth, while to many others, it came at the wrong time.

“How could a President come up with that when unresolved issues like badly skewed revenue allocation formula, monstrous corruption, growing insecurity, festering disunity and all other manners of discontents are threatening the wholesomeness of the nation?” Nigerians had wondered.

Obviously, the noise that trailed the ‘presidential suggestion’ appeared a precursor to the decision to ex-ray the constitution to see if the ‘born again’ document that may arise from the effort after due consideration by the National Assembly will ensure the needful: Take Nigeria to the next level.

Can slain Justice Minister get justice?

• Continued from page 25

tion by the feudal landlords.

When Awo was released from the prison and became Federal Commissioner for Finance and Vice Chairman of the Federal Executive Council in Gowon Administration, he recommended Ige for a ministerial position. However, Ige was to serve as Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources under Military Military Governor Adeyinka Adebayo in the Western State. But he was shoved aside for being a rebel criticising other agencies of government. Out of government, he returned to his legal practice. In1975, he became a member of Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) set up by Muritala/Obasanjo Administration to fashion out a new constitution, preparatory to the return of power to civilians. The committee was chaired by the late Chief Rotimi Williams.

Awo declined to serve in the committee.

As a member of the “Committee of Friends”, Ige became a founding leader of the UPN led by Awo. In 1979, he contested for the governorship of Oyo State, defeating his rival and former Vice Principal, Venerable Emmanuel Alayande,who Awo favoured for the slot. When the AG chaplain was Vice Principal, Ige as Senior Prefect. Asked to step down for the old man by Awo, who promised to make him a minister after winning the presidential election, Ige was said to have retorted: “I cannot leave certainty for uncertainty”. After his victory at the poll, he mounted pressure on Alayande to serve as his Special Adviser on Education.

The 1979 governorship election was a tough battle between him and First

republic Education Minister and former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) President, Richard Akinjide, the candidate of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). It was in postAdegoke Adelabu period and UPN, and offshoot of AG, was about to assert dominance. At a television debate, there was a hot argument between the two lawyers. The old “NCNCer” was said to have, in Ige’s view, politically disparaged Awo’s Free Education Policy. Ige’s reply was harsh. He asked: “ How many of your relatives who benefitted from the programme are armed robbers, charlatans and social miscreants”. Tempers rose. Feathers had been ruffled.

Some scolded Ige for extreme polemics. Others laughed it off.

Ige as an achiever as governor. But the relationship between him and his deputy, Afolabi, was strained. At a time, Afolabi’s allowances were stopped during the friction. Obasanjo, who had been the duo’s mutual friend, offered to mediate in the crisis. It became Ige’s undoing. His rivals in the UPN came up with charges of disloyalty against in at the Yola Conference of the party. The penalty would have beenn expulsion from UPN and ostracisation from Awo political clan. Historians have referred to difficult moment as the “night of long knives”. Ige’s saving grace was Awo, who employed wisdom in handling the sensitive matter. Afolabi later defected to the NPN to team up with Adisa Akinloye, Akinjide, Busari Adelakun, Lamidi Adedibu and Victor Olunloyo to sack Ige from power.

Following the 1983 coup, he was detained, tried and sentenced to imprisonment by the military tribunal.

He was released by Babangida Regime, which dethroned Major Gen.

Muhammadu Buhari as Head of State.

But in private life, controversy also dodged Ige’s steps. At a public lecture, he had conducted an historical excursion on traditional rulers in Yorubaland, contending that the Olubadan of Ibadan and Soun of Ogbomoso were Baales upgraded into first class obaship by former Governor David Jemibewon. His Ibadan title, the “Aare Alasa” was withdrawn by the Olubadan-In-Council and conferred on the Ewi exponent, Olarewaju Adepoju.

Politics was always in Ige’s blood, but he avoided it under the IBB regime, in deference to Awo’s advice that his followers should learn to dine with the devil with a long spoon. In 1986, Awo had shunned the Political Bureau set up by IBB and chaired by Dr. Cookery. Peeping into the future, he doubted the sincerity of the military President, warning that the nation had embarked on a fruitless search. Awo said: “When we imagine that the new political order has arrived, we will be terribly disappointed”. The prophecy came true with the annulment of the presidential election of 1993 won by Chief Moshood Abiola, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate.

Ige continued with the “siddon look” style during the Abacha regime when he dismissed the five political parties of the era as the five fingers of a leprous hand. When he later teamed up with pro-democracy fighters and “June 12” agitators coordinated by the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), he was on the collision course with the military.

When Abdulsalami regime came, he traversed the two parties, PDP, which had majority of his colleagues in “G 34” as members, and All Nigeria Peo-

ples Party (APP). Although he wrote the constitutions of the two parties, he could not cohabitate with the political hawks of Abacha era. Although the closing date for party registration had elapsed, the regime, based on the advice of Admiral Mike Akhigbe, registered AD, to forestall the exclusion of credible Southwest leaders from the transition programme.

The third party was later to be seized by protracted crisis. At D’Rovans, Awoists rejected Ige in preference for Chief Olu Falae as presidential flag bearer. When their decision was communicated to Ige, who was abroad, by Kusamotu, he described it as “ the second fall of man”. Observers contented that the scenario manifested the repressed tension, suspicion and hate arising from battle for succession into Awo’s political stool. Bisi Onabanjo, the “Ayekooto”, was dead. Lateef Jakande, “Baba Kekere” was fenced out of Afenifere circle. Now, Ige, the “Arole Awolowo” had met his political waterloo.

Ige fought back. Against Afenifere’s wish, he joined Obasanjo’s cabinet.

There, he was mocked by his erstwhile deputy, Afolabi, Minister of Internal Affairs, who described his former boss as a visitor, who was invited to eat, only to hold the had of his host. Ige replied that he had not come to eat, but to serve his fatherland. It was an understatement. Although barriers were erected against performance in the Power and Steel ministry, it was a different ball game at the Ministry of Justice. There, Ige motivated the celebrated suit on resource control and laid the template for the anti-graft war.

Before his death, he was said to have

• The Late Ige

commenced a process of disengagement. He was said to have written to Obasanjo, intimating him of his desire to bid farewell to the Federal Executive Council. He said he would focus his attention on the Southwest, where much should be done in the interest of progress in an atmosphere of national tolerance.

Ige, an advocate of restructuring, also stood for the convocation of Sovereign National Conference (SNC) to deliberate on the basis for mutual coexistence. But rebuilding AD was the immediate priority. “I have a pivotal role to play in my party, AD, while you are engineering your party, PDP. I need to strengthen my own, so that in 2003, there will be a credible, strong and clean national government in which the major parties will be represented”, he wrote. Ige prayed that “nothing will happen adversely which will frustrate the fond hope”.

It was an answered prayer.

CHARITY

REFUTATION

REWARD

Firm donates transformer to community

Community denies allegations of neglect

Honour for community high chief

Lagos

30

Ondo

MONDAY DECEMBER 19, 2011

38

Ogun

38

Page 27

Email: news_extra@yahoo.com

C

ULTURE and traditions are two component parts of a people’s life that they cherish immensely. They therefore guard against any external threat to them. They also deploy all efforts to ward off any factor that could be contributory to the contamination of these cultures and traditions.

In the circumstances, the Igbo have been called upon to preserve the core values of their culture to avoid a massive eclipse of the mores of the land which will be of great catastrophe on the people and what they represent.

Vice-Chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof.

Boniface Egboka made this call recently during a cultural carnival at the Awka Campus of the University.

It was an afternoon of undiluted fun and the atmosphere that Wednesday was electrifying. All the high sounding grammar associated with professors and other university teachers gave way for traditional way of life.

Head of Departments (HODs), lecturers, and non-academic staff of the university all turned out in their best native dresses. The Chinese lecturers of The Confucius Institute of the University became the cynosure of all eyes.

Clad in rich Igbo costumes with red cap to match, they not only spoke the Igbo language but also capped it all with a relish of Igbo traditional delicacies and dance steps. Some described it as one of its kind while others say it will remain etched in people’s minds.

Even clergy men of the Catholic denomination serving in the university were not left out. They also abandoned their white cassocks and turned out in African fabrics resembling Igbo Chiefs.

The raw beauty of the African woman and the agility of the African man shone brightly during the day.

The Head of Department of Mass Communication, Dr. Kate Omenugha shone like an African

•Prof. Edmond Egbo and Dr. Frank Collins Okafor displaying cultural dexterity

Cultural splendour at Awka varsity Igbo warned against dangers of extinction Traditional rulers, dons praise V-C From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

maiden in her beads and rich costumes.

As Faculty members filed out in procession to greet the Vice-Chancellor, various traditional titles rented the air -Nwachinemere

Umuchu, Owelle Umuchu, Ebubedike Umueje, Odezuluigbo Abagana, Omereoha Nnarambia, Nwannedinamba Uvuru, Ahiazu Mbaise, Odogwu n’ Mmuta Nnewi, Omazulu Aguleri, Ugodioramma Nimo, Mmirioma Ukpo Dunukofia and Igbo- Amalu Agulu.

The chairman of the occasion and the traditional ruler of Awka, Eze Uzu II of Awka, Obi Gilbson Nwosu blessed the kola nut after the opening prayer said by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Prof. Ben Chuks Okeke.

In his address, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Egboka defined culture as a system of shared beliefs, languages, values, behaviours, customs and artifacts by which people relate with one another and adapt to their environment. He stressed that every people should have a culture and it should not be erroneously be regarded as being primitive or •Continued on Page 28

Uduaghan urges monarchs on peace

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•Uduaghan

ELTA State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has urged traditional rulers in the state to assist in sensitising and enlightening their subjects on government’s policies and programmes.

Uduaghan, who made the appeal while presenting staff of office to the traditional ruler of Ughievwen Kingdom , His Royal Majesty, Matthew Edirin Egbin, Owawha 11, in Otu-Jeremi, Ughelli South Local Government Area, maintained that as traditional rulers are closer to the grassroots, they owe government a duty to enlighten their subjects

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

on programmes and policies of state Governor Uduaghan, represented by his Deputy, Prof Amos Utuama (SAN) promised to support the traditional institution to function effectively, adding, “as a system of government at the grassroots, the institution must be encouraged to perform.”

He said: ”I wish to restate the role of traditional institution in the promotion of the welfare of the people

and assisting government in enlightenment and sensitisation programmes in the rural areas. ”I implore Your Royal Majesty, to work closely with the law enforcement agencies and the local government council to ensure that peace and security prevail in your domain. It is such atmosphere that accelerates the pace of development.”

Uduaghan urged the people of Ughievwen to rally round their king, calling on them to promote the integrity of the stool by according him the respect that he deserves.

Continuing, he said: “Your Royal Highness, I appeal to you to discharge your responsibilities transparently by being fair and just to all. You are the father of all your subjects, so you should be fair to all and sundry.

“As the custodian of the tradition of your people, it is important that you do not, in words or actions, give any cause for your subjects to doubt your ability to uphold the sanctity of their customs. I sincerely appeal to you to imbibe the virtues of dialogue and consultation in all your dealings with the people.”

•Continued on Page 28

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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Groups intensify campaign against road accidents

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FFICIALS of the Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC) in collaboration with Child Safety and Support Foundation (TOCSS) have intensified campaign to help checkmate the incessant cases of accidents on the highways.

Towards this end, a road show was held recently to further drum home the campaign against road accident.

The event, which marked TOCSS Foundation’s 5th annual Road Safety/Road Show 2011, featured about 80 participants including officials of the FRSC, Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs), Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, among others.

The procession took off from Ojodu, Lagos South West Nigeria through Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State to the Lagos State Television and ended at the Lagos State House of Assembly.

The event seeks to scale up the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety and to promote all road safety activities that involve children as projected by the World Health Organisation through the Violence and Injury Prevention Programme.

Lagos State Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps, Jonas Agwu said the Walk was to sensitise Lagosians on the need to be safety conscious while driving, especially when there were children in the vehicles.

He decried a situation where parents keep their children in the front seat while driving without providing the necessary safety means for them.

On drivers taking alcohol before driving, the FRSC commander said the commission

•Participants at the walk

By Miriam Ndikanwu

had been going round parks to sensitise drivers not to drink while driving and to also ensure that drivers plying inter-state routes did not drink before embarking on any journey.

Executive Director, TOCSS Foundation, Mrs Dayo Ogan said this year’s campaign was aimed at demanding child restrain law

in Nigeria and the enforcement of the use of seat belt.

“Children below 12 years should not be made to seat in the front seat of cars. We demand improved pedestrian safety. Many Nigerians do not know the zebra crossing sign. We demand the political will to help actualise our fight for road safety.

“This year’s Walk is different because we engaged the FRSC, VIOs, LASTMA and reli-

gious organisations. We are crying and clamouring for change. Road accidents are killing more people than malaria.

By 2030, if nothing is done, more people will be killed. Let us give attention to road safety,” she stated.

According to Ogan, statistics had it that 50 million people died of accidents annually worldwide. She therefore called for concerted fight against accidents by improving road safety in the country.

Cultural splendour at Awka varsity •Continued from Page 27 antiquated.

Egboka warned that the Igbo race faces a veritable threat of cultural extinction, an insidious assault against which many of Nigeria’s educated elite and nouveau riche unknowingly fall prey.

He charged the Igbo to preserve the core values of their culture that have continuing validity in helping them change with the changing environment which, according to him, has become more complex.

Several other personalities from the university community spoke on the essence of the cultural carnival.

A lecturer in the Department of Architecture and the Superior, Holy Ghost Congregation of the Spiritan Fathers, Very. Rev. Fr. (Arc) Peter Chukwuemeka Agbonome said that the importance of culture in any society cannot be over-emphasised.

“One cannot underscore the role of culture in any society. It is one of the things that distinguish us from other animals and it is through culture that we learn the tenets, the dos and don’ts of the society.

“It is culture that bestows honour and apportions punishment and I’m happy that our culture-conscious Vice-Chancellor has taken up the cause in line with other elders of the university to tell the world that we must identify with our culture,” he said.

The Catholic Priest also pointed out that the church doesn’t antagonise culture; rather it sieves out those aspects of culture that have pagan origin and points the way forward in order to make the society better.

The Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof. Edmund Egbo described the cultural carnival as spectacular and a project that is worthy to be a showcase to the rich traditions of our people.

“What the Vice-Chancellor has done today was to unify culture and academics to strike a balance between the two and he deserves commendation because if he wasn’t a culture enthusiast, today wouldn’t have been a reality,” he said.

On the controversy over the clash of culture and academics, Prof .Egbo described all human beings as cultural people irrespective of being a professor or an illiterate.

He also praised members of his Faculty for what he described as an outstanding performance.

For Dr. Frank Collins Okafor, the Head of Department of Political Science, the university has achieved a milestone by adding culture to its dynamics.

“This university has added another colour to its former colours courtesy of the Vice-Chancellor. As a citadel of learning, we should also be a place where culture is pro-

One cannot underscore the role of culture in any society. It is one of the things that distinguish us from other animals and it is through culture that we learn the tenets, the dos and don’ts of the society

•Prof. Egboka, Lolo Ifeoma Egboka and Prof. Ahaneku during the cultural festival moted because if we fail to teach culture in schools, especially in the university, then our cultural heritage will eventually die a natural death,” Okafor said.

The Eze Uzu II of Awka, Obi Gilbson Nwosu praised the ViceChancellor for the wonderful idea, even as he reminded the university community that, according to Awka tradition, Prof. Egboka, having received a chieftaincy title from his palace last year will be the one to wash the hands of those to be conferred with chieftaincy titles for this year.

Other activities for the day were the competitive traditional outfit and dance parade among all faculties and units from the three campuses of the university.

The Faculty of Education came first while the Faculty of Arts and Environmental Sciences followed came second and third respectively.

The Department of Theatre Arts

also made the day most memorable with a powerful dance drama.

Adaeze Dance Troupe from Enugu, Izaga Masquerads from Oti Aguleri, Akum Awka, Umuchu Masquerade Performance and Ijele Masquerade all formed part of side attractions for the day.

Some of the dignitaries present at the carnival were former Vice-

Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Prof. Pita Ejiofor, Rev. Fr. (Prof.) Joseph Kenny Order of Preachers (OP) (Retd) from University of Ibadan and an ardent lover of culture, Prof. Edward Joseph Alam from the Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, Notre Dame University, Lebanon, among others.

THE NATION

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

Rotary raises alarm over rising cases of breast cancer

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IQUED by the growing cases of breast cancer among women in recent times, health professionals of the Rotary Club of Enugu City Layout, Rotary International District 9140, have raised an alarm on the need to curb the menace. They have therefore called on the three tiers of government to urgently incorporate breast cancer awareness programme in their primary healthcare scheme in order to save the lives of our women.

Briefing journalists in Enugu on the activities of the club’s Breast Cancer Awareness Initiative, the co-ordinator of the programme, Ogugua Nwankwu, announced that out of the 62 breast cancer clinics opened in the six Southeast states, including Akwa-Ibom, in 2009, her medical team had received over 3,000 breast cancer-related cases.

He expressed shock that despite the level of Nigeria’s development since independence in 1960, most Nigerian women, including young girls, were not aware of the prevalence of breast cancer; a situation he blamed on a faulty national health programme which had ignored such ailments as breast cancer.

He explained that breast cancer develops when a single cell begins to multiply uncon-

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HE wife of Ebonyi State Governor Mrs. Josephine Elechi has distributed items worth over N100m to the less-privileged persons; widows; people living with HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable groups to mark the Ebonyi Women’s Day celebration.

The items distributed to the needy were 100 wheelchairs; 200 sewing machines; cassava processing machines; drugs; power generating sets; hairdryers; vulcanising machines; computers and other items.

In her address, Mrs. Elechi said that Ebonyi women have associated themselves with the objectives of several treaties and conventions that are aimed at eliminating discriminations and violence against women, even as she called on various societies and cultures to do away with obnoxious and harmful traditional practices.

She said: “We Ebonyi women associate ourselves with the objec-

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HE Chairman, Presidential Committee on Public Awareness on Security and Civic Responsibilities Dr Abdul Lateef Adegbite has urged government at all levels to integrate inter-faith dialogue into the curricular of educational institutions.

Dr Adegbite said this at the International Conference on Security and Law organised by National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in Lagos.

The Secretary-General, Nigerian

From Chris Oji, Enugu

trollably and forms a tumor. He added that in this complex situation, some cells may break away and move to other parts of the body to form new tumors.

The co-ordinator, however, identified age, family history, hormone replacement therapy, consumption of oral contraceptive pills, obesity and excessive alcohol intake as well as menstruation at early age or late menopause

as some of the possible factors responsible for breast cancer among women, even as he disclosed that early breast cancer screening is one of the ways of preventing the occurrence of the disease.

Also speaking, the President of the Club, Mr. Chidi Uzuegbu, disclosed that the club, in October, 2009, in partnership with District 6200 in USA, secured a 3-H grant from Rotary Foundation of Rotary International for project on breast cancer awareness in the

During the period under review, we also organised capacity building seminars and experience-sharing workshops in the six states, established 62 breast cancer clinics, sponsored jingles on radio, television and newspapers and mounted several bill boards, produced and circulated several educational materials on breast cancer and breast self examination and visited women groups in schools, markets and churches

five Southeast states and Akwa-Ibom.

Mr. Uzuegbu expressed his joy that in the past two years of massive campaign, the project committee had recorded several achievements, prominent among them were the mounting of Mammogram machines for breast cancer screening at subsidised costs at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital, Nnewi Anambra State and the Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT) Teaching Hospital, Park Lane, Enugu, as well as the procurement of a brand new Nissan Bus for advocacy campaigns.

He said: “During the period under review, we also organised capacity building seminars and experience-sharing workshops in the six states, established 62 breast cancer clinics, sponsored jingles on radio, television and newspapers and mounted several bill boards, produced and circulated several educational materials on breast cancer and breast self examination and visited women groups in schools, markets and churches.”

He also noted that as the club remained committed to humanitarian service, government and wealthy Nigerians should complement the work of the club with their resources.

Elechi’s wife empowers 330 From Ogbonnaya Obinna, Abakaliki

tives of several treaties and conventions that aim at eliminating discriminations and violence against women. To this end, we call on various societies and cultures to do away with obnoxious and harmful traditional practices that

bar women from attaining their full potential, and in some cases, deny them access to justice.”

Mrs. Elechi further said that her pet project, the Mother and Child Care Initiative (MCCI) would soon commence the repair of another batch of Vesico Vagina Fistula (VVF) clients and prolapsed cases, adding that so far, the centre has

To this end, we call on various societies and cultures to do away with obnoxious and harmful traditional practices that bar women from attaining their full potential, and in some cases, deny them access to justice

repaired 904 VVF clients from 16 states including Ebonyi State free.

She regretted that most doctors in the Southeast geo-political zone always shy away from the repair of Vesico Vagina Fistula clients, even as she added that most times, her pet project had to invite doctors from the Northern part of the country to perform the repair.

Mrs. Elechi stated that the project would employ permanently the services of doctors from the Northern part of the country to carry out the repairs, stating that she would continue to give succour to the women living with the VVF problem.

The chairman National Fistula Group noted that the cancer screening centre at the National Fistula Centre Complex has commenced screening for breast, cervical and

prostate cancer to ensure early detection, with a view to averting its fatal resultant effects.

In his address, Governor Martin Elechi also joined other Nigerians to commend the National Assembly for passing the bill prohibiting gay marriage and all the tendencies that would likely advance it.

Chief Elechi pointed out that neither homosexuality nor lesbianism is tolerated in Nigerian culture and urged Nigerian women, especially promoters of cultural values and norms, to totally support what the Senate has done to give the country characteristic identity as upholders of God’s law.

Elechi thanked the women for the way they have transformed from being carriers of wood and water, hawkers of yam tubers along the major streets of Abakaliki to scientific farmers, business women, educationists, lawyers and administrators.

Integrate inter-faith dialogue in school curriculum

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) while delivering a lecture on National Security and Religious Violence: the Muslim Perspective said peaceful co-existence, religious tolerance and mutual understanding should be embraced by adherents of different faiths.

“Religious education should focus on authentic text and practices, and avoid exaggerations that feed extremism. The concept of Jihad should be understood from the genuine sources of Islam and not the figment of imagination of the detractors of Islam.

“More so, civic education should be introduced in all institutions of learning to impart the values and

•From right: Mallam Abdullahi; Acting Dean Faculty of Law NOUN, Dr Ifidon Oyakhiromen; Mr Nekabari Annah and Rev. Jim Stevens

virtues of the nation, emphasising as well the responsibilities of the citizens to the state and their respective communities. In this regard, institutionalised dialogue which the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) represents should be fully supported by the authorities,” he said.

Represented by the Coordinator, Conference of Islamic Organisations (CIO), Lagos chapter, Dr Adegbite urged agencies charged with the duty of maintaining national security to be alive to their responsibilities.

The agencies, he said, should be supported by government through adequate provision of human and material resources to achieve optimal results.

He also urged perpetrators of violence under the guise of religion to desist from the act so as to enhance national stability and avert divine chastisement.

“Perpetrators of religious violence

as well as ethnic and political unrests should be brought to book promptly irrespective of their social status to serve as deterrent to other evilminded ones. The Nigerian Legal System should be reformed to make for simplicity and speedy criminal processes,” he said.

The Seriki and Baba Adini of Egbaland urged government to quickly address social and economic problems of the polity.

“Political Education, he noted, should be introduced for all Nigerians. Discussion cells should be established in all the nook and cranny of the country to facilitate dialogue between Nigerian leaders and the people.

“Poverty alleviation and eradication should be seriously pursued. Programmes should be adopted to ensure full youth employment. The introduction of Social Security System should be hastened, given the income accruing to Nigeria annually,” he said.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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Amosun seeks monarchs’support in crime control G

OVERNOR Ibikunle Amosun has charged the traditional rulers in Ogun to assist the government and the Police in the task of freeing the state from the throes of criminals and other vices so that the requisite safety and peace needed for rapid “economic development” could be attained.

Senator Amosun said the increasing activities of “criminals” in the Gateway State can no longer be ignored and urged the royal fathers to join in the struggle by mobilising their people towards identifying the “criminals” in their respective domains.

The governor, who spoke at the Obas’ Complex, Oke – Mosan, during the inauguration of the re-constituted Ogun State Council of Obas, added that the

•Amosun

Group trains 700 in skills

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HE President, Customs Officers’ Wives Association (COWA),Hajiya Sa’adiya Dikko has said that the association has trained 700 members in various skills to economically empower them.

According Sa’adiya, the training also extended to other less-priviledged women who were not members of the association.

She disclosed this at the launch of the COWA magazine – “The Home Builders”.

The president said that COWA recorded considerable achievements in the last two years of its existence, as it sought to better the circumstances of its members and the society at large.

She said that the trainees were schooled in fashion designing, interior decoration, soap making and bakery, among others.

“Our activities in the area of charity have taken us to orphanages and schools in Kundu Village in the FCT. Our anti-malaria campaign has also involved fumigation of barracks and the distribution of mosquito nets.

“We also distribute insecticides to our members as well as others in our neighbouring communities.’’

Sa’adiya said that the launch of the magazine was to celebrate members’ “selfless husbands, who have worked so hard to secure the economic and security well-being of this great country.’’

She said that the activities of the association had attracted global attention

Abuja and were being seen as integrity-building strategy for customs’ administrations.

The president expressed gratitude to organisations as Blue Anchor, the National Directorate of Employment and the War on Malaria Initiative for their support.

Erelu empowers multiple births parents

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Ogun administration had taken decisive steps to rid the state of bandits.

The Alake of Egbaland, Oba Michael Aremu Gbadebo, is now the new Chairman of the State’s Council of Obas. He succeeded the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Michael Adeniyi Sonarinwo.

Describing the monarchs as the “custodians of the people’s heritage,” he charged them to support the government efforts at “rebuilding Ogun” and the implementation of its five cardinal programme bordering on qualitative and affordable education, healthcare delivery, infrastructural development for massive industrialisation and agriculture.

He reminded them that their roles in the society entail advising on matters relating to customary laws and Chieftaincy, inter-communal relations, serving as intermediaries between the government and their subjects on all matters as well as mobilising for self – help projects in communities.

• Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State (middle) speaking at his investiture as the Grand Patron of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) ‘B’ Zone at the NUJ Press Centre, Ibadan on Tuesday.

He is flanked the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Akin Olajide (left) and the state NUJ Chairman, Mr. Gbenga Opadotun (right).

PHOTO: OYO STATE GOVERNMENT HOUSE

Transformer for to community

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HE People of Odi-Olowo Local Council Development Area,Lagos State, last week got a boost to their quest for stable electricity, when Solution Media and Infotech

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IFE of the Ekiti State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi yesterday gave parents of multiplie births money gifts and some food items.

The event organised by the Multiple Births Trust Fund in concert with the Ministry of women Affairs held yesterday at Jibowu Hall in Ado-Ekiti attracted scores of parents of multiple births.

The parents who were informed through text messages and selected from an established data of multiple births across the sixteen local governments of the state expressed joy that the Trust Fund had done it before and was doing it again.

The parents who totalled 169 received cash gifts of N25,000 and N30,000 and food items with additional transportation stipend depending on the number of births, whether twins or triplets.

Lagos He said the location of the library is very strategic and central to the users saying that only the best would be suitable for the users.

Petrossian promised to partner with the council to ensure that reading was made attractive, enjoyable and interesting to the users of the library located within St. Jude’s Primary School, Itire, opposite bishop Aggey Stadium.

The Head of Department of Education in the council, Mrs Lawal, said all the relevant organisations that can donate modern books to the library are already being contacted.

“The library is a digital one, it shall be made to make reading and writing very easy, we want it to be a model and good example on how on library should look like”,she said.

• Residents of Odi-Olowo Community receiving the transformer and electric poles from solution media and intotech Ltd.

Lawmaker condemns killing, brutality

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HE Lagos State House of Assembly member representing Ikorodu Consistuency II, Hon. AdebimpeAkinsola has condenmed the alledged killing of people and vandalisation of properties by land speculators in the Oreta metropolis of the Igbogbo/Bayewu LCDA. It was earlier reported that two people were murdered, with one kidnapped and several during the incudent which took place recently injured. Several properties were touched as many rushed to the Lagoon in a bid to escape from the mayhem. The heinous crime was allegedly carried out by the popular Ajagungbale group led by one Nurudeen Arowolo who has been blamed for several of such crime prior to the recent one.

Speaking through her Personal Assistant, Sakirudeen Seidu,Hon Adepimpe said that government would intervene in the crises

ensuring that the mastrer minds would face the wrath of the law. She also reassured the residents of keeping up with her electoral promises. “I want to reassure the electorate who trusted and voted for us that they would get their due dividends of democracy.It is important to Lagos State government to secure lives and properties,it is our primary duty. ” She sympatised saying:“I want with to the family of those affected commiserate with the family of the deceased and pray that God would grant them the fortitude to bear the loss” I want to assure all that there shall not be any hiding place for criminals as we shall do all within our reach to ensure that they are brought to book.

•Hon Akinsola

NNPC cautioned on exposed pipelines

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• Hon. Adepitan explaining a point to Dr Petrossian during the visit

HAIRMAN of Agbado/Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Dr Augustine Arogundade has called on the authority of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Lagos to repair exposed pipeline in some strategic locations in the area to avoid severe environmental challenges.

Arogundade noted it has become necessary for NNPC maintenance group to send their engineers and carry out necessary repairs in the affected areas. The affected areas are Abule-Egba, Ile-Epo, Oke-Odo, Aboru, Pipeline, Igoke and Ekoro Olota junction area where oil pipes have been exposed to danger due to unfavourable climatic conditions.

Apart from the fact that such development

N line with the quest of the Osun State government to tackle human trafficking, the Office of the Wife of Governor state is to partner with a United State-based organisation, Safehouse International to fight child trafficking.

At a partnership meeting with the Osun First Lady in Osogbo, the Founder and Cofounder of the organisation, Mr David Moscrip and Dr John Laoye said that the organisation was triggered to partner with the state due to its personal commitment and passion to work to impact on the lives of youths and motivate them to realise their full potential.

They said that the organisation was specifically motivated by the efforts of the wife of the governor, Mrs Sherifat Aregbesola in tackling the menace of child trafficking in the state.

“One of articles read in newspapers about what had been done and action seeing to have been taken on child trafficking by the wife of the governor, informed our commitment to stand by you and even the state government to ensure that every child had the privilege to enjoy the abundant life that God created them for” said the organisation.

Mrs Aregbesola said that it was her passion for women and especially children that propelled her to be working towards ensuring that all children have at least basic education, from which they could move to be whatever they want to be in life.

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From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

‘Mushin library ‘ll be a model’ HE Chairman of Mushin Local Government Hon. Olatunde Babatunde Adepitan has assured the users of the digital library currently under construction that modern furniture and equipment will be installed in the room, comparable to those in modern libraries all over the world.

He spoke during the facility tour of the place with Italian specialists on furniture and office equipment.

According to Adepitan, “a modern library should enjoy facilities that can not be rivalled, Mushin Local Government is prepared to ensure that the users of the library have good testimonies to tell about the place”.

Dr A. Petrossian and Mr Lino Spinnato who came to see the magnitude of the library all the way from Italy praised the chairman for the initiative.

Governor’s wife partners foreign organisation on child trafficking

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

encourages activities of vandals and constitute environmental nuisance, the council boss said imminent disaster of explosion is looming in the area.

“This may lead to loss of lives and properties destroyed as witnessed in the past if urgent precautions are not taken by the authorities of NNPC,” he said.

Dr. Arogundade also cautioned road users like Okada riders and motorists plying all the troubled pipeline areas particularly in Aboru to be more conscious and careful since ignorance is no excuse. He enjoined officials of the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment to re-double their efforts by embarking on more sensitisation package on the consequence of trespassing on the pipeline areas in different communities.

Lagos

By Musa Odoshimokhe

Limited donated a transformer and 10 electric poles to the community.

Speaking on behalf of the company’s management, the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mrs Basirat Lawal, said the gesture was part of its corporate social responsibilities and bid also to complement government efforts.

She noted that what the company had done was a tip of the iceberg as it would assist the community from time to time in areas that need its attention.

She said: “Our company is a responsive organisation; we are committed to the peoples’ welfare and that is why we donate this transformer to the community. We use this opportunity to call on others, both corporate and individual to assist their communities.”

According to the PRO, despite company’s relative newness in the area, its prompt response to the request of the community was because it places emphasis on human and capital development.

The initiator of the project , Hon Olamilekan Adeyi, said he took the decision to approach some of the companies so that they could give back to society that had supported their business.

He said: “I realised that the ward I represent is situated in an industrial estate; we have quite a lot of them around but we have not seen their impact as much in terms of corporate social responsibilities. Having made this observation, I went to speak with the executive director of Solution Media and Infotech Limited which he obliged.”

Adeyi said the increase in electricity consumption on Cover Road, Sura Mogaji, Obanle-Aro and Sere Close had overstretched the existing transformer which made the demand for new one imperative.

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She frowned at the negligence of some parents who hold their children back home to work for them when they are supposed to be in schools, saying that such trend must be corrected, with a view to ensuring that the children who are the leaders of tomorrow become successful in life.

According to her, the measure against the negligence on the part of the affected parents does not mean that the children should not assist their parents, but they should be allowed to render the assistance after school hours, with a view to allowing them to go to school and face their studies.

She emphasised that she would do whatever it required to partner any organisation, either

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HE Chairman, Interim Management Committee of Atiba Local Government, Oyo State, Prince Akeem Adeniyi, Adeyemi has given kudos to his father the Alaafin of Oyo for his quality upbringing.

The council chief said this at the presentation of sporting kits, cash award to the best graduating students of Olivet

By Dada Aladelokun

are still there,” he said.

Apart from providing a chapel and computer centre for inmates at Ikoyi Prisons, he enthused that not a few among the inmates were being sponsored at the National Open University (NOUN), Lagos to give meaning to their lives.

Disclosing that plans were afoot to establish a resource centre and well-equipped library for youths, the Vicar hinted further that the church was already considering the establishment of an economic empowerment unit to tackle youth and adult unemployment.

“The rate of unemployment in the land is high and very disturbing. We are going to use all the opportunity available to us to assist the youth and others out of the yoke of joblessness,” Ven. Isemede added.

The celebrations, which kicked off with the lighting of The Centenary Torch on December 4, he said, would be rounded off on December 24 when the church clocks 100 years, with anniversary service with The Most Rev, Dr. Adebola Ademowo as President and The Most Rev. Joseph Akinfenwa as preacher.

•Mrs Aregbesola home or abroad to ensure that children especially, have education to be able to be the good leaders of tomorrow.

Don tasks govt on Vision 20: 2020

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HE Federal Government has been urged to invest in education, research, infrastructure and education if it is to attain its Vision 20:2020.

A Senior Lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, Dr Sylvanus A. Nwafili, made the call in a lecture he delivered during the award of fellowships of the Institute of Administrators and Researchers in Lagos.

He said it was due to lack of these factors that other visions failed in the past. He said: “There are prices, which must be paid, if we are to join the comity of developed nations.

We must invest in competence, manufacturing

• Prof Jocob Etinagbedia and Mrs Josephine Obwa a fellow, after the induction at the University of Lagos

Church counts blessings ESPITE various challenges, we have substantially succeeded in justifying the existence of the church by impacting positively on the lives of our people and the community as an entity. We have covered grounds in terms of evangelism, mission work and ministers’ training.”

These were the words of the Vicar of Our Saviour’s Church, Diocese of Lagos (Anglican Communion), Ven. Sam Igein Isemede at a media parley held on the church’s ongoing centenary celebrations at its TBS, Lagos premises.

He spoke further: “A special feature of this church is that it is where many policy-making public office holders across the land worship.

We are close to the government at all levels.

Therefore, we have always seized the opportunity to minister to them and guide them aright on how well to make use of their leadership positions in the interest of the led.”

Besides house fellowships aimed at spreading the gospel, the cleric recalled that the church has been caring for all manners of destitute. “We have picked and raised many from the streets to become successful in life. The church has helped some through various universities while some

Osun

Lagos

By Joseph Eshanokpe

ability, in the job training, skills, genuine administration, research, education and many other critical success factors.”

He said the country’s education is declining seriously because of government’s apathy to research funding.

He cited South Korea’s 2.55 per cent, TaiwanChina’s 1.97 per cent and Singapore’s 1.47 per cent investments of their Gross Domestic Products (GDPs) on research and development against Nigeria’s less than one per cent, saying that the figure must be increased if the government wants its vision achieved.

On administration, he said: “The position occupied by administrators is not wellutilised for the benefits of state institutions.

Our administrators are not result-oriented.

They are inefficient and lack the needed administrative skills required to succeed in the execution of government policies and programmes.” He added that some administrators have been failing the nation.

He called for their attitudinal change.

The Director-General of the institute, Prof Jacob Etinagbedia, asked the new fellows to exhibit a high degree of probity, accountability and integrity. “As certified administrators and researchers, you are dynamic, unique and dependable. You must discard mediocrity. This will make you outstanding wherever you are. Endeavour to loathe and abstain from any act that will bring the name of the institute into the mud,” he advised. He announced that the institute is working on establishing a university.

Council boosts sports Height Baptist Senior School, Oyo, at the John Lafihan Library.

He charged them to make judicious use of the sporting kits just as he was ready to offer assistance on demand.

Earlier, Chairman, Old Students Association Olivet Baptist High School, Chief B.A. Lala, who was represented by Chief Adesope, thanked the chairman for the hand of fellowship extended to his alma mater.

Replying, the principal of the school, Mrs. A. Ayoade, thanked the chairman for the incentives given to lift the standard of sports in the school.

Dignataries present at the occasion were the Director of Personnel Management of the council Alhaji H.A. Muili, Mrs R.A. Olabode, Director of Finance and Supplies, zonal inspectors of Education, Oyo East and Atiba Local Government, principals, career officers and students.

• Prince Akeem Adeniyi Adeyemi (middle) with old students of Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo during the presentation

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

CITYBEATS THE NATION

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E-mail:- ynotcitybeats@gmail.com

F

OR a visitor who has not made up his mind yet on whether or not to stay in Lagos, a visit to Falomo may be all he needs to make a decision.

A visit to the area, especially at night, will leave the visitor gaping and gawking. The twinkling lights and flowers doting the area, gives the Falomo under-bridge a picturesque look.

By the roundabout, are two Santa Claus, who welcome visitors with trumpets and a load of gifts. To their right is their grotto, and the beautiful ambience is simply breathtaking.

But it isn’t only Falomo that is wearing this creative look. With the Christmas six days away, the Lagos metropolis has suddenly become bejewelled with flowers and an assortment of decorations endearing it to residents.

What began as a sole effort by the government to make the metropolis look beautiful for Christmas, has seen others take a cue from that effort to make their own contributions. Corporate organisations, especially banks and other financial institutions, event centres, schools, hotels, and private individuals with properties along major streets joined in celebrating the season with colours.

From Ikoyi, to Victoria Island, Marina, Victoria Garden City, more popularly known as VGC, Lekki, Dolphin Estate, Surulere, Anthony, Palmgrove, Ikeja, Ogba, Agege, Oshodi, everywhere is lit up and decorated for the Yuletide. Virtually everything is decorated. Roads and public buildings seem to be the most decorated. Even the Community Development Associations (CDAs) are teaming up with youth groups to ensure that their areas are decorated with breath taking colours, bounties, flowers, and Christmas foils.

A practice that began eight years ago during the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it took on a life of its own four years ago under his successor, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola.

His attempts to bequeath to residents an alluring environment have resulted in the beautification of the city.

Hitherto busy roads, such as the Mobolaji Bank Anthony way, from Ikeja second bridge to Maryland, the Mobolaji Johnson Avenue, from the 7up Bottling Company complex to the Secretariat, are a beauty to behold at night because of the decorations and lightings.

A motorist, Ayinde Samson, who lives in Maryland and works at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja said he looks forward to going home every day as the Christmas lightings along the route has reduced the burden of traffic snarl.

He said: "Since these decorations were mounted along the road, I have begun to enjoy my trip home. You need to see this place at night; it’s usually so alluring that you would be tempted to prolong your stay on the road just to enjoy the ambience a little bit more."

Lagos wraps more than colours into this Yuletide. Virtually all youth groups in all communities have lined up carnivals to celebrate the Christmas.

One of such is the Fanty Carnival, a major

Season of colours, carnivals

Lagos is bejewelled with decorations

•Views of Xmas decorations in Lagos

By Yinka Aderibigbe

event that bonds all indigenes of Isale Eko together.

Fanty is believed to have its origin in the activities of the Oju Ina/ Isale Gangan traders who storm the streets in a special cos-

Council chief tasks residents RESIDENTS of Apapa Local Government Area in Lagos State have been urged to be security-conscious and keep a clean environment during the Christmas/New Year celebration.

The Council chairman, Ayodeji Joseph, made the call in his •Joseph Christmas message to the residents.

"It is a known fact that during seasons like this, the people tend to be less concerned about their environment as they go on a revelry. But we must realise that health is wealth during and off festive season. This is why we must encourage our people not to relent in observing the ethics of keeping their environment clean," Joseph said.

PHOTOS: SOLOMON ADEOLA

tume, dancing and making merry.

Following wider participation, Fanty became a popular show sharing close affinity with the Brazillian Carnival or the Tottenham Carnival in the United Kingdom for its colourful street parade.

Soon, the Fanty became synonymous with Isale Eko, with youths in the area promoting

Okada riders seek stricter regulations MEMBERS of Motorcycle Operators Association, Lagos State (MOALS), have pleaded with the government to impose stricter regulations and controls on their activities.

The plea followed the running battle between the governmant and the riders, which has forced government to start considering a ban.

Early this year, the government introduces measures to reduce the risk of okada riding.

It said operators should not ply the highway, carry more than one passenger, wear crash helmet, not convey pregnant women and children and must not operate after 10pm. But, the government discovered that none of the directives were complied with and began massive raid aimed at enforcing the regulations.

The Chairman of MOALS, Comrade Tijani Pekis, in a press conference, exonerated members of his association from all allegations by the government and canvassed more serious enforcement.

it as the most significant event in the area.

The Fanty Carnival which holds on January 1, every year, is regarded by all Isale Eko indigenes as the 'father' of all carnivals in Lagos, subsuming other usually fanciful carnivals like the Olowogbowo, Campus, Oke

•SEE PAGE 34

Oke assures residents on roads Chairman of Ifako-Ijaiye, Dr Oloruntoba Oke has assured residents of his commitment to rehabilitating bad roads.

Oke in his Christmas message to residents said men of the works department are working at providing palliative measures on some major roads as part of his immediate remedial intervention.

He said the council would soon take possession of its earth moving vehicles and graders to facilitate the job. Oke, who listed roads, provision of potable water and healthcare as his core areas of attention in the next three years, assured that the people would begin to feel the impact of his government in the coming year. On health care, he said one of the health care centres in the council would be upgraded to the level of a general hospital to be solely managed by the council in the coming year.

32

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

33

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

34

CITYBEATS Season of colours, carnivals •Continued from page 31

popo and Oko Faaji Carnivals; which are usually held before Fanty.

But the Fanty craze has crossed the lagoon (as Lagosians are wont to say) to the mainland. Several communities especially in the mainland have caught the fever and are preparing to mark the outgoing year or welcome the new one with carnivals.

From Mushin to Oshodi, Ilasa, Agege, Ogba, Abule Egba, Alakuko, Orile Iganmu, Jebba Street, Ebute Metta, Yaba, Ojuelegba, Mulero, Fagba, Ishaga, Oko-Oba, Okokomaiko, among other thickly populated communities in the state, preparations for carnival have heightened by various youth groups.

Daily, no fewer than 10 youth take to the streets mobilising resources from residents to enable them organise a successful carnival.

Street corners are adorned with banners and posters, ranging from life-size banners like the one being mounted at Ilasa to miniature ones, announcing their carnivals, and so-

‘

The Christmas is a season when everyone wants to do something for the other person.

That is what all of these summed up to and that is the reason for the season

’

liciting for patronage.

Interestingly, all seem to have picked dates ranging between December 25 and 31, to celebrate their carnivals.

But for most groups, the revenues generated are not only for the carnival. Most communities also devote a portion to finance their areas of infrastructural needs.

For instance, residents of Olaniyi Street, around Power Line, OkoOba, a community under IjaiyeOjokoro LCDA, addressed the problematic drainage channel.

A very happy resident, Mr Chika Unamene, told CityBeats that the efforts surprised not a few residents who had earlier expressed misgivings over the collections when the youths took to the streets few weeks ago.

He said: "Our joy knew no bounds when we saw excavators drove into the community to begin work on our failed drainage channel. When we made enquiries, the youths told me that they had gone ahead to lease the caterpillars for four days and the money had been deducted from the funds already made from the 'toll collection'. If all youth groups would be responding this way, we would have fewer challenges in the state".

Other youth groups were known to have embarked upon house numbering in their domains to facilitate easier identification of houses, especially by visitors.

A civil servant, Mr Taiwo Ajisafe, said he was not surprised at what was going on in the state at this season. He said: "The Christmas is a season when everyone wants to do something for the other person. That is what all of these summed up to and that is the reason for the season."

•Top and bottom: different faces of Falomo

Photos: Solomon Adeola

Lawmakers discover illegal dredgers

S

EVERAL illegal dredging sites have been discovered by the Lagos State House of Assembly.

The House five-man ad hoc committee made the discovery during a visit to the Lagos Lagoon.

The committee led by its chairman, Rotimi Abiru, was accompanied by officials of the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA).

Other members of the panel are: Bayo Osinowo, Saka Fafunmi, Yishau Gbolahan and Abiodun Tobun.

The committee also discovered that some companies who were duly registered and with valid permit went beyond their brief.

For instance some were stockpiling when they are not supposed to, while some were dredging in more than one site. Officially, only 22 dredgers are registered and approved by the state government.

Speaking with journalists who were part of the monitoring team at the end of the tour, Abiru said: "From what we have seen so far, there are more dredgers on our waters than the number registered by the government."

He added that the committee has invited all dredgers to the House of Assembly to verify their permit.

•The lawmakers on a speedboat at one of the dredging sites

1. Fire and Safety Services Control Room Phone Nos: 01-7944929; 080-33235892; 080-33235890; 08023321770; 080-56374036.

EMERGENCY LINES 2. Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Lagos Zonal Command Phone No: 080-77690200; 01-7742771 Sector Commander Phone No: 080-776909201; 01-2881304 FRSC Emergency No: 070-022553772

3. LASTMA Emergency Numbers: 080-75005411; 080-60152462 080-23111742; 080-29728371 080-23909364; 080-77551000, 01-7904983 4. KAI Brigade Phone Nos: 080-23036632; 0805-5284914 Head office Phone Nos: 01-4703325; 01-7743026

5. Rapid Response Squad (RRS) Phone Nos: 070-55350249; 070-35068242 080-79279349; 080-63299264 070-55462708; 080-65154338 767 or email: rapidresponsesquad@yahoo.com

By Oziegbe Okoeki

Abiru warned that all illegal operators would be dealt with according to the law.

"We have sent letters to those who have not registered with LASWA to come to the Lagos State House of Assembly for scrutiny. The law is very clear on the penalty for illegal dredging as it is all spelt out in the laws setting up the agency regulating their operations.

"By the time we conclude the assignment, we would know the appropriate penalty to award the defaulting companies," Abiru said.

Among the dredging sites visited were Banana Island, Itedo and Ikate waterside in Lekki, Oke-Era in Lekki-Ajah zone; Bayeku, Ijede and Ibeshe, Owode Rabiaka and Majidun all in Ikorodu.

The companies whose sites were visited on the Lagoon include: Harris Dredging Ltd.; Swan Dredging and Marine Ltd.; CSD Lagoon Dredging; VGC/DSD Dredging Coy.; Sedac Dredging Coy; Berger Dredging Coy.; Sato Dredging; Brasstop Dredging Coy; Dully Dredging and Construction Ltd.; Wech and Brann Oil and Dredging; Ibile Holding Ltd.; Madodel Eng. Coy. Ltd and Lands Eng. Coy.

6. Health Services – LASAMBUS Ambulance Services Phone Nos: 01-4979844; 01-4979866; 01-4979899; 01-4979888; 01-2637853-4; 080-33057916; 080-33051918-9; 080-29000003-5.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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R

ESIDENTS of various communities in Ondo State are wearing cheerful looks. This is because the present administration has shown commitment in transforming the rural areas from their rustic states to semi-urban status. This it does by establishing several liveschanging projects in the communities.

The communities see this as something that is novel and have been wondering whether previous administrations in the state never thought along the line of developing the rural areas, at least to make life worth living for the rural dwellers and to curb the perennial rural-urban migration.

To prove its commitment to rural and sub-urban transformation of communities, the present administration in Ondo State is attaching greater importance to the development of the rural areas.

To achieve this objective, the state Governor Olusegun Mimiko shortly after assuming office in February 2009, created the Ministry of Community Development and Co-operative Services which is saddled with the responsibility of transforming the rural areas to sub-urban status. It was encapsulated in a programme tagged 3Is Initiative.

It has the task of providing infrastructures, cottage industries and institutional framework to various communities.

Last year, a total of 320 community change champions in the three local government areas of Owo, Ifedore and Odigbo were trained during which the state government promised that the training workshop would be a continuous exercise.

Addressing community change representatives from 15 local government areas, the state Commissioner for Community Development and Cooperative Services, Mr. Clement Faboyede said over 300 life-impacting Quick Win Projects are at various levels of completion in 305 communities.

Faboyede, an Engineer, told the

I

N an attempt to make Oyo State less prone to fire hazards, the state government has approved the Fire Safety Week to sensitise members of the public on some safe measures to be taken in preventing fire outbreaks.

The measure, according to the Commissioner for Works and

• Faboyede addressing community change representatives in Akure

Rural transformation excites Ondo communities From Damisi Ojo, Akure

900 participants at the workshop held at Ade Super Hotel in Akure, the state capital, that most of these projects had since been inaugurated and put into use.

Besides, he said the sum of N73m was recently disbursed as first batch of grant in aid to 17 communities to facilitate the completion of their various selfhelp projects.

Faboyede said: “I wish to assure you that additional funds will be made available for disbursement to other deserving self-help projects in due course.”

The Commissioner, who was a former local government chair-

man, however lamented that most of these projects when completed, particularly those executed by government, may not be sustained due to lack of maintenance.

“It is in view of this that the present administration resolved to train people who have shown interest in the development of their communities.

“They are also expected to

Seminars and orientation courses would be continually encouraged and facilitated among community change champions to strengthen their capacity in the management of the development process in their various communities…Government would not relent in its efforts at developing both people and the land in various communities

serve as liaison officers between their communities and the government,” he said.

He assured that seminars and orientation courses would be continually encouraged and facilitated among community change champions to strengthen their capacity in the management of the development process in their various communities.

Faboyede reiterated that government would not relent in its efforts at developing both people and the land in various communities.

The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mrs. Kosemani Kolawole praised Governor Mimiko for his vision in transforming the state through various laudable projects.

Oyo steps up campaign against fire From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

Transport, Alhaji Yunus Akintunde, was to reduce the damage done by fire outbreaks

in Nigeria.

While declaring this year’s campaign open at the Fire Centre, Secretariat, Ibadan, Alhaji Akintunde said the campaign

•From left: General Manager, Choice FM, Mr Samuel Osayuwa; Chairman Mosan-Okunola Local Council Development Area, Hon Abiodun Mafe; Alhaja Adepeju Ogidan and Alhaji Olamide Kasali during the flagoff of Choice FM Christmas Fun Fair GRA Ikeja, Lagos

would be taken to major communities and grassroots areas.

The campaign will focus on how to prevent fire disaster, fire safety inspection at industrial premises, high-rise buildings and major markets.

Alhaji Akintunde further noted that fire outbreaks are extremely dangerous, adding that with the approach of dry season, every caution must be exercised in the handling of fire accidents.

He said: “I wish to appeal to our farmers to be more careful.

They should desist from illplanned bush burning. Whenever it is essential to set the bush on fire, efforts must be made to monitor the process in order to

prevent the destruction of farm products. “ I also wish to appeal to petroleum marketers, owners of industrial premises, high-rise buildings and other buildings where businesses are carried out; not excluding residential buildings to please co-operate fully with Oyo State Fire Services during and after the Fire Safety Week Public Enlightenment programmes.”

Also speaking at the event, the state Director of Fire Services, Mr Oyekunle Kareem, explained that, over the years, the state has recorded over 457 cases of fire incidents, 314 emergency cases, 48 false alarms and 14 corpses recovered from such fire accidents.

I wish to appeal to our farmers to be more careful. They should desist from ill-planned bush burning. Whenever it is essential to set the bush on fire, efforts must be made to monitor the process in order to prevent the destruction of farm products

THE NATION

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

T

OUCHED by the plight of members of his UmuhuEzechi community in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State, an Abuja-based businessman, Prince Chinedu Okoronkwo has floated a nongovernmental organisation (NGO) known as Centre for Ecclesia. It is charged with the responsibility of providing free medical care for the people and donating refrigerators for the safe keeping of the drugs donated by him.

Explaining the rationale for providing the free medical treatment for members of the community, Okoronkwo said that he was touched by the plight of his people who have to trek to Igbere which is the nearest community in the same local government area or to Abam which is in Arochukwu Local Government Area for normal treatment for simple illnesses.

Okoronkwo further said that the drugs worth millions of Naira will be distributed to the six autonomous communities in Umuhu-Ezechi, even as he warned that nobody is expected to give anybody money during the three-day free medical treatment.

Community gets free medical treatment From Ugochukwu Eke, Umuahia

He noted that health is important to his people. He disclosed that after days of toiling under the sun, there is need for the people to take drugs that would assuage their stress. He said he felt so bad when he learnt that an old man died because of lack of adequate health treatment.

Declaring the free medical treatment open, the chairman of

the NGO, Robert Orji, said that the president of the NGO, Okoronkwo is not only giving them free medical care, but has also donated wrappers to about 200 widows in the community and “has asked us to stop contributing money for the rural electrification of the area, as he singularly gave out the sum of N570, 000 to the committee in charge of the electricity project to ensure that the old people in the area were not disturbed again until the project is completed.”

The president of the NGO, Okoronkwo is not only giving them free medical care, but has also donated wrappers to about 200 widows in the community and “has asked us to stop contributing money for the rural electrification of the area, as he singularly gave out the sum of N570, 000 to the committee in charge of the electricity project to ensure that the old people in the area were not disturbed again until the project is completed

Orji said that the good things that Okoronkwo has been doing for the community have forced other rich individuals from the community to complement his efforts in helping the community to develop. He disclosed that another member of the community has undertaken the grading of the road from Abam to their community without waiting for the local government to do it for them.

He said that the businessman has also given out the sum of N2.5m to all the rural farmers to help them in their farming business, adding that he is currently helping them to level a hill at Amaobia community that makes it very difficult for non-strong vehicles to come into their community.

Orji, who expressed his happiness over the contributions of Okoronkwo and other members of the community towards the development of the community, said that Okonkwo has also sent over 400 youths from the community abroad for businesses and for further studies.

In his speech, the secretary of the NGO, Iroka Nwankwo said that the organisation was formed in order to help the old people in the community to enable them to access medical treatment, “especially those who are no longer strong to take care of themselves and those whose children are either dead or far away.”

One of the beneficiaries of the free medical treatment, Madam Mgbafor Kalu, said that she was short of words to describe what Okoronkwo has done for people like her who are not only widows but have also lost all her children for one reason or the other.

“I can only ask and pray to God o keep him alive to continue his good works for our people.”

Also speaking, the traditional ruler of the community, Eze Festus Okworo commended the NGO for what their president; Chinedu Okoronkwo has been doing for the community. He urged others to emulate him so as to engender rapid development of the community.

resulted from bad companion and others, “he said.

In her address, the NAFDAC representative, Mrs. Shamo, described drug as a chemical substance that affect the normal functioning of the brain and the body.

According to her, drug doesn’t affect the individual concerned alone but everybody around him.

“Drug can be mis-used either through over-dosage, under-dosage, sharing of drugs or self-medication which has become rampant among some people these days.

“Drug is divided into three main classes namely legal drugs, prescription drugs and over-the– counter drugs such as anti-biotic, and anti-malarial.

Illegal drugs are those drugs that the law prohibits their manufacture, distribution, possession and use. Their use is under control and can only be handled by competent authority for medical and research

purposes. Included in this category are Indian hemp, cocaine and others. Socially acceptable drugs are chemical substances of some kind that have some effects on the body or mind and they are not considered to be ‘bad’ by the general public or the law,” Shamo explained.

She further explained that the causes of drug abuse among youths is due to peer pressure , ignorance, single parenthood, loneliness, loss of loved ones and unemployment.

Drug abuse, according to the NAFDAC official, could also lead the victims to contact HIV/AIDS or other sexually-transmitted diseases.

“A research once revealed that most homosexuals and lesbians are drug abuser and easily transfer HIV/ AIDS and other sexually- transmitted diseases to one another. It’s the duty of the government and parents to ensure the total care of the youth for a better future, “she concluded.

Eradicating drug-related vices among youths

A

ONE-DAY workshop to create awareness on drug abuse and other social vices has been held at the Prince Charles International School in Ajeromi/ Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos State.

The programme was put together by Prince Decson Savechild Life Foundation, a non-governmental organisation established to stem the growing number of drugrelated crimes in the country.

The Foundation, which had organised similar workshops in the past, draw participants from various youth groups in the area.

Present at the programme were the Vice-Chairman of Ajeromi/ Ifelodun Local Government Area, Deacon Obinna Nwabueze, Mrs. Shamo, who represented the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the General Crime Officer (GCO), Ajeromi /Ifelodun, Obiora Okonkwo.

Also in attendance were the members of the foundation, representatives of the community and members of the Nigeria Police Force, among others. In his address, Nwabueze, who is also the Supervisor of Education in the local government, decried the growing incidence of drug-induced crimes in the country.

He attributed the prevalence of drugs-related crimes to failure oon the part of those in authority to put in place policies and programmes that would improve the economic fortunes of the masses.

“It gives me joy when I see an NGO coming out to take up the responsibility of helping the youth.

This workshop is a great thing because, I remember when I was a youngman, I made up my mind to be a source of pride not only to my parents but also to the nation. I implore you not to be distracted.

There are greater challenges ahead of you. Prepare to face the challenges ahead of you and triumph because that is the only way you can become a better person in the society.

“Life is a stage which we all have to pass through. These forums help

•Pupils at the event

By Foluke Ademola

the youth to have a better understanding about the effects of drug abuse and other vices, “he added.

In his remarks, the President of the foundation, Mr. Eustace E. C. Njoku, said that in recent times, good cultural values have been over-looked and replaced with misinterpretation of our so-called modern values.

He said: “In other to make greater impact in our area of interest, the programme and activities are sub-divided into three basic areas-Enlightenment, Rehabilitation and Reformation. The first one is creating awareness to help youths from going into drugs. The second one was designed to disengage and give treatment for those ones that are already into drugs and crimes. And the third is to empower youths and engage them in

fruitful ventures that would make them become useful to themselves, their families and the society. We are also creating job opportunities to the youth because we believe that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”

Speaking on partnership, he said the organisation is working in collaboration with some government agencies like NAFDAC and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), though some of the agencies have not been giving desired supports and encouragements to the foundation in its bid to transform the youth into better citizens.

“We have decided to focus basically on students from primary, secondary and tertiary levels because we believe these form the most critical group. Some of these children, particularly those in secondary schools, are already involved in drugs and crime which

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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We hereby warn anybody or group of individuals fanning the embers of discord among our people to desist from using the name of Ikorigho or any other community in the oil-producing area in Ugbo Kingdom against the interest of our people

Honour for community high chief

T

HE High Chief of Lisa Village in Ifo, Ogun State, Najeem Oladele Odugbemi, has assured absolute security and ease of stay on well-meaning individuals and corporate organisations who intend to set up organisation in the community.

Aside that such willing organisation will further open up the community, it would also generate employment for hundreds of youths in Lisa and its adjoining communities.

Chief Odugbemi made the call while being honoured as a Fellow of the Maranatha Bible University during the institution’s ninth convocation ceremony held at Lisa Village last Saturday.

Chief Odugbemi recalled the legions of promises made by the federal and state governments as well as NGOs to open up the village after the crash of an aircraft in the village few years ago, noting that immediately after the mass burial for the victims, helps only trickled in. As the only aviation monument in the country and perhaps in Africa, Odugbemi said the Lisa site should be further improved upon in terms of facilities, at least in memory of those who died in the crash. He said as the Baale of the community, he has been making moves with state and federal governments, expressing optimism that something good would be done soon.

“Anytime I remember the incident (plane crash) six years ago, I feel bad. We have prayed about that and taken necessary steps to ensure such calamity never happens in this community again, and I can assure you it will never happen,” Odugbemi added.

Chief Odugbemi, who described

•Chief Odugbemi (second right) receiving a certificate from Dr. Oladosu (right) while Prof. Oludemilade Otulana (second left) as Chief Lateef looks on

By Adegunle Olugbamila

the citing of the institution’s headquarters at Lisa, added that prospective investors would enjoy land at very secured and affordable prices.

While receiving his certificate of Fellowship from the founder of the institution Dr Omololu Oladosu, and the institute’s Provost Prof.

Oludemilade Otulana Chief Odugbemi likened the coming of the religious university to Lisa as a divine intervention.

“We never gave him (Oladosu) money. I did not sell land to him either. He came in here by mira-

cle. All I can assure you is that their coming here is a miracle of God. It is God’s wish that Lisa community becomes a big city in my own time,” said Chief Odugbemi.

He also expressed appreciation to his chiefs and subjects for their support since he was officially installed as the head of the community six years ago by HRH Alake of Egbaland Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo. He vowed not to rest on his oars until he his dream of turning Lisa community into a global tourist centre becomes a reality.

According to him, he is already in touch with the present administration in Ogun State on how to further preserve the Lisa Memorial Ar-

Community rebuts allegations of neglect

T

HE people of Ikorigho, an oil-producing community within Ugbo Kingdom in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State have described as untrue, a recent media report alleging that the state and Federal Government had neglected and marginalised them.

The people also said there was never a time that they issued ultimatum to oil prospecting firms in the area with a threat to disrupt their activities.

Speaking on behalf of the elders of the community, the Baale of Ayerin Community, Ikorigho, Chief Adeyemi Idowu, told reporters in Akure that contrary to the claims of some people, Ugbo Kingdom is the only oil-producing area in the entire Ilaje Local Government Area.

Idowu expressed the confidence of his people in their monarch, the Olugbo of Ugboland, Oba Obateru Akinruntan’s ability to use his position to bring the much- needed development to the entire Ilaje land.

He said: “We hereby warn anybody or group of individuals fanning the embers of discord among our people to desist from using the name of Ikorigho or any other com-

soliciting for the university, adding that the magnanimity of Chief Odugbemi allayed his fears and gave him the confidence that Lisa was where God wanted the university to berth.

“We believe he deserves to be honoured because of his large heart. He did not give us money to buy the honour. I remember when we came here from Lagos, we were initially reluctant to settle here because of the distance. But he allayed our fears, assuring us that we would enjoy our stay. Today, when we look back, we have no regrets for settling down here,” Dr Oladosu said.

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We thank Nigerians, says father of hole-inthe-heart boy

HE father of the one-year-old baby, Joseph, who had a hole in his heart, Mr Akinsola Akinkunmi has expressed his appreciation to public-spirited Nigerians who rendered financial support to him in his efforts to raise N2.2m for surgery in India to block the hole.

Akinkunmi, who expressed his regrets that Joseph passed away a few days ago, said Nigerians stood by him in his efforts to save his boy’s life.

The secondary school teacher had watched helplessly as Joseph lived in pains day and night until he was diagnosed to have a hole in the heart, which could only be blocked through a surgery in India.

Newsextra had exclusively reported the plight of baby Joseph and his parents two weeks ago.

No sooner had the story been published than Nigerians began to reach

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

munity in the oil-producing area in Ugbo Kingdom against the interest of our people. ”There was no time that we authorised anybody to issue a statement on our behalf. Ikorigho is purely an Ugbo community in Ugboland under the control of the Olugbo. The community never threatened the activities of the oil companies.

“Although we appreciate the fact that the level of the impact of the oil companies in the town has not justified the status of the community as a major oil-producing community, we are deploying peaceful means to resolve the issue,” he added.

A statement signed by Mr. Williams Ayerin recently alleged that the Ikorigho people were being marginalised by government and the oil firms because of the affiliation to the Mahin Kingdom.

Ayerin, who claimed that Ikorigho belonged to Mahin Kingdom, had also claimed that the youth have resolved to disrupt the activities of the oil companies if the issues were not addressed within one month.

cade that houses the 117 victims.

He has also taken letters to the Federal Ministry of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation in Abuja all in a bid to initiate moves to further modernise the arcade.

“We cannot do anything in isolation. I’m working in collaboration with my chiefs and the entire indigenes. I have their full support,” he said.

In his brief address prior to the award, Dr Oladesu described Chief Odugbemi as a leader and father who has been working tirelessly to make Lisa community a world destination centre.

He recalled how he visited the community leader few years ago

•Chief Idowu He said: “At least 60 per cent of the coastal line of Ilaje Local Government Area, which covers the area of activities of oil companies, is controlled by the eastern part of Ilaje, while Mahin Kingdom controls 40 per cent.

Ayerin had also claimed that about seven oil fields with over 250 oil wells are located in Ilaje Local Government Area and that Ikorigho community alone was producing 90 per cent of the natural resources.

Unfortunately; we lost him a few days ago. We surrender to God who gave us Joseph, believing that he has gone to rest.

We really thank Nigerians from the bottom of our heart

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

the parents through telephone calls.

They donated various sums of money that could help the family overcome the challenge.

A Lagos-based philanthropist later took up the challenge by promising to pick up the bill. He searched for a new hospital in India where he was asked to forward the medical records of the boy. But Joseph passed away only one week after the pledge and the efforts in India.

Speaking with Newsextra, Akinkunmi said: “I want to thank Nigerians who rose up to support us during our trying times. People called from all over the country and donated several sums of money to ensure we give Joseph a chance to live. “Unfortunately, we lost him a few days ago.

We surrender to God who gave us Joseph, believing that he has gone to rest. We really thank Nigerians from the bottom of our heart.

“We also urge those good donors to contact us and furnish us with the details of their donations so that we can refund them. Nigerians are wonderful.”

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER19, 2011

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DISCOURSE

Building a vibrant Legislature as a means of deepening democratic consolidation Conclusion of the text of the Keynote Address delivered by the Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, at the Conference of Speakers of State Legislators in Abuja.

• Continued from Friday

H

OWEVER, in spite of what seemed to be a well-crafted constitution, the second republic collapsed barely four years after its inception in December 1983. How can this collapse be explained? Billy Dudley would argue that poor political virtues or lack of civic culture among the politicians led to the collapse of the second republic just as it did for the first. Samuel Huntington would likely blame weak political institutions for the nation’s apparent political decay. Eghosa Osaghae may likely direct our attention to the problem of ethnicity and the need for an appropriate federal solution. Richard Joseph identifies prebendal politics as the cause of political failure in Nigeria, while Julius Ihonbvere and Toyin Falola focused on the crisis of the Nigerian political economy especially the crisis of accumulation as leading to irresponsible political behaviour by the political elite. Whatever the reasons that may be adduced for the collapse of the second republic, what became apparent is that Nigeria’s presidential system could not safeguard the nation’s second attempt at democratic rule. Indeed, some have argued that the presidential system of government itself was part of the problem rather the solution. The presidency because of the enormous powers it commands became the focus of inordinate ambition as the party or individual that controls it has command over “life and death”. As such, the endgame of politics in the second republic was to capture presidential power. The presidential system of government could therefore not solve the question of political power in Nigeria. This was the context in which the second republic collapsed.

The Obasanjo regime and the politics of presidential monarchism- Babacracy The collapse of the second republic led to fifteen years of military rule (1984-1999). A brief period of three months of an un-elected Interim National Government (ING) contrived by the military junta of General Ibrahim Babangida was the only interregnum in this period. This itself (ING) could be regarded as part of the military process since it was installed by the military and served its purposes. Successive military regimes during this period took the nation on circuitous, but dubious political transition programmes, which did not produce any civilian rule. It was the brief Abubakar regime (1998-1999) that quickly transferred political power given the circumstances in which the regime was born, and the political pressure it came under. Even when transferring political power the regime itself was not an uninterested actor in the process, and sought to carefully manage the disengagement agenda. The political context of the disengagement also ensured that a particular geo-political zone was a beneficiary of political power at the centre. The new civilian political arrangement was also factored in a presidential mode. A new constitution was put in place-the 1999 constitution to serve as legal framework for the presidential system. The 1999 constitution takes after the 1979 one except that the number of states in the country by 1999 had increased to 36 and over 700 local government areas had been created by this period. The PDP won the presidential polls held in February 1999, with its candidate, General Olusegun Obasanjo emerging as president of the country.

The trend with the Obasanjo presidency has been the emergence of what Robert Fatton refers to as “presidential monarchism”. According to Fatton, presidential monarchs often dominate their political environment. He described it in these telling terms: The centrality of the presidential monarch is continuously emphasised by the ideological apparatuses of the state. In an effort to legitimise his rule, these apparatuses incessantly nurture the cult of his personality, imparting to it supranatural power and unlimited knowledge…the presidential monarch has an all encompassing sphere of competence. His presence is felt everywhere; he is the father of the nation to whom filial respect is always due.

Fatton continued that the presidential monarch is the “the only sun of the political system; the courtiers’ radiance can only be reflection of his rays. People must be led to believe that without him there could be only darkness and disorder. Presidential monarchs know that their rule depends on their capacity to suppress alternative centres of authority. A ruler does seek

to keep his courtiers at his mercy and makes sure that they all know it. He is the ultimate dispenser of favour and disfavour, of gift and confiscation, of privilege and ruin. He places himself above the law; indeed, he is the law”.

The point being underscored is that the presidency in the current democratic conjuncture has assumed enormous powers and the entire political system tends to revolve around the personality of the president. There are structural and behavioural dimensions to this. The structural basis is that the 1999 constitution grants enormous powers to the federal government to be exercised by the president. He appoints and controls his cabinet, fill the boards of parastatals and government agencies, and also appoint members to virtually all federal commissions including sensitive commissions like the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and National Population Commission (NPC). The federal government also controls enormous financial resources, which leaves other tiers of government at the mercy of the federal government. This reinforces the centrality of the position of the president. The behavioural dimension to it has to do with the urge to consolidate political power by counteracting alternative source(s) of political power and contest. Some have adduced this to the military and authoritarian background of the president, while others argue that it is a simply one of deft political manoeuvring.

Making democracy work in Nigeria: Beyond the parliamentary and presidential systems.

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HE foregoing analysis clearly suggests that institutional arrangements between the presidential and parliamentary systems of government have not been a safeguard against the collapse of democracy in the country. The feat of the first republic was repeated in the second and signposts in the current political dispensations are not too promising. Intra and inter party feuds have assumed dangerous proportions, politically inspired assassinations are occurring and virtually all the current elected officials have taken it for granted that they would be re-elected back to power through all means possible. This situation has led some to suggest that there is no marked difference between the presidential and parliamentary systems of government on the political fortune of the country. Rotimi Suberu argues this quite poignantly: The supposed advantages of the presidential system of government over the parliamentary system are nebulous if not preposterous. While it has been argued that the executive presidential system furnishes a clear focal point of loyalty, which not only avoids the clashes and conflicts inherent in the separation of the head of state from the head of government in the parliamentary system, but is also functional and indispensable for national integration, there is indeed no a prior basis on which to determine which form of government, the presidential or the Westminster type is more suitable… In a word, the change from the parliamentary to the presidential system can be seen as cosmetic and of no consequence in ensuring governmental stability.

Suberu further argues that the departure point on government stability should be the underlying social, economic, and cultural forces as the decisive factors influencing the dynamics of political processes and the prospects of stable and effective government41. Suberu’s observation is quite relevant. A critical analysis of the issue of governmental stability and the survival of democracy in the country would turn our attention in three directions. First is the issue of federalism. The whole logic of federalism is about power decentralisation. Nigeria’s federalism has tended towards the concentration of power at the centre such that the challenge for politicians and their parties is to seek to capture federal power. In order to diffuse the internecine political struggles that characterise the centre, there is need to devolve more powers and resources to the sub-national units and make federal power less attractive than it is. The Federal Government ought to simply co-ordinate things general to the commonwealth - customs, immigration, external defence and national security, currency issuance and all other matters that may be mutually agreed to by commonwealth. It is these issues about federalism that constitutes the crux of the national question. Confronting the national question through the federal idea may be an easier but politically expedient way than the

• Dr Fayemi

convocation of a sovereign national conference.

There should be no illusion that adopting a much-decentralised federal system will fully resolve the question of political power in the country. It would not. What it would have done is to change the site of political contestation from the national to the sub-national levels. However, this would have changed the constellation of inter-ethnic group relations and tensions as it currently manifests and produce patterns of political behaviour and negotiation in the different sub-national units. This is where state Assemblies become critical.

The second issue germane to the question of democratic stability and consolidation in Nigeria is that of institutions. Key state institutions need to be reformed and restructured for them to support the democratic process. This will include the INEC, the judiciary and the security apparatuses especially the police force and also the political parties. With regard to INEC the major kind of reform to be carried out is in the composition of the body. A situation in which the federal government appoints members of INEC is unacceptable, which cannot make for fairness in the electoral process.

The composition of INEC should be broad based representing key social interests and forces like civil society groups of labour and the human rights community, and political parties. The second reform with concern to INEC is about the electoral process. The “first past the post” or majoritarian electoral process that the country uses makes for a deadly contest for political power. It is a “winner takes all” game.

Those who win do so handsomely and those who lose are bad losers. There is need to change this. The proportional representation system may provide an alternative electoral model for the country. The reform of the judiciary and some other state institutions will take the dimension of relative autonomy for them to act independently of executive control and to be accountable to the people rather than the executive. These institutions need to be purged of corruption, especially the police force.

The third dimension of democratic stability in Nigeria is the foundations of the economy. The Nigerian economy must one at the same time promote economic growth, distribution, and social welfare. If this does not happen politics will remain a bourgeois class project, social alienation would intensify and political participation will continue to dwindle. The net result will be the promotion of what Thandika Mkandawire referred to as “choiceless democracy”.

Conclusion.

HE search for democratic stability and con solidation in Nigeria will go beyond the institutional differences between the parliamentary and the presidential systems of government. The solution will also not lie in a mixed model of both. So, will the logic of presidential messianism take the nation too far. What would guarantee democratic stability in Nigeria will be a confluence of three things. First is re-examining the federal idea as presently practised in Nigeria. In terms of political and administrative management Nigeria currently tends towards a unitary state. The federal idea should be reclaimed with considerable degree of political and economic decentralisation to subnational units. The second dimension is to begin to rebuild institutions and strengthen them.

The two foregoing issues will have to be ac-

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complished through a process of constitutionalism. The third dimension of democratic stability has to do with the economic bases of society. The triple cord of economic growth, distribution and social welfare must go hand in hand. Extreme and pervasive poverty constitutes a threat to democracy. It is when this socioeconomic context is re-engineered can the politics of consociational democracy, which Arend Lijphart talks about begin to germinate and take firm root in Nigeria.

From the foregoing, you would no less agree that the Legislature is a crucial institution and one of the pillars of government in most advanced and transitional democracies in the world; and this is largely due to the frameworks for good governance which it provides through the making of popular laws, the control of public funds, and its oversight and monitoring of other levels of government in order to promote transparency and accountability in the management of public resources. Hence, as representatives of the people, you are holding sacred mandates as the faces and voices of so many constituencies and people whose sovereignty you are giving expression to.

Under the Presidential system, the relationship existing between the Legislature and the Executive is defined through the doctrine of the Separation of Powers, which declares that each branch of government – whether the Executive, the Legislature, or the Judiciary – has powers that are unique and exclusive to it, and which cannot be exercised by any other branch.

As such, the doctrine ensures that the three levels of government are separate and check each other from excesses. Also, there is a veto inserted in each of the branches to guarantee against possible abuse by any domineering organ of government.

Whilst the notion of the separation of powers in the Nigerian Constitution specifies distinct roles for the different organs of government, the reality and complexity of governance necessitates increasing interrelationships among the branches of government, yet the critical challenge that has faced most presidential democracies is how the various organs, particularly the Legislative and the Executive, will be able to work together amicably while avoiding a deterioration in their relationship.

T, therefore, becomes a significant issue for those of us in the Executive to continue to make efforts to reach out a hand of support and cooperation to you our dear colleagues in our state Legislatures, as we are essentially partners in progress, with the promotion of the welfare of our people as the raison d’être for our intervention within the public space. And, we hope that our honourable members of parliament will take on the gauntlet of being genuine collaborators in development with us in good faith, because it is only when there is such synergy that our programmes and policies can enjoy meaningful passage through the Legislature, devoid of bureaucratic hindrances or bottlenecks. Any Executive worth its salt would understand the benefits of having vibrant members of the Legislature who can run with its programmes on its side.

As a country, having just come out of decades of authoritarian rule, this not only eroded constitutional federalism through the centralisation of power and resources by the military, it also led to the elevation of a culture of arbitrariness and impunity, the violation of the rights of citizens, high levels of corruption, etc. And, these and other concerns can only be effectively reversed through a harmonious working relationship between the Executive and Legislature – between the policy/legal formulators, implementers, and the monitors; and this will ultimately enhance the efficiency and transparency of government.

Still, with our various States espousing and making very bold statements about the direction of progress in which their Executives seek to take the people (such as through the attainment of the MDGS), and with the larger Nigeria being committed towards the eradication of HIV/AIDS, illiteracy, etc and the realisation of ascending to become one of the 20 principal economies in the world in a few years, the achievement of some of these key targets can only be met if strong and vibrant institutions such as the Legislature are built and continuously nurtured. As such, the Legislature has an important responsibility in the creation of people-oriented public policy, and in the monitoring of the implementation of such by the Executive, because it is only when we work in unison, devoid of rancour, that we can attain the greatest possible good for the greatest number of our people, within the shortest possible time.

Our dear honourable Heads of Parliament from the farther and nearer reaches of this country, I wish you a very productive engagement as you set about sharing ideas and best practices on how to build vibrant Legislatures in your home states. Do have rewarding deliberations.

I

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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MOTORING

•From left: Winner of the Ford Focus Titanium; Azuka Mpi; General Manager (Sales), Briscoe Ford, Oseme Oiklagha; winner of Ford Focus Titanium, Tunji Meshioye and Managing Director, Exp Marketing Nigeria Ltd, Wole Olagundoye, at the grand finale of Ford Focus Relay in Lagos

•From left: TNL Executive Director Mr Kunle Ade Ojo; TNL Managing Director Mr Chandra Thampy and General Manager Corporate Services, Mr Bunmi Onafowokan, during the unveiling PHOTO: JOHN EBHOTA

FERMA partners NSE on road maintenance T

HE Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) Mr Gabriel Amuchi, has called for collaboration between his agency and Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) to bolster the Preventive Maintenance and Road Surveillance programme launched by FERMA. Amuchi made the call in a chat with leaders of NSE in Abuja.

He said the agency has come a long way in building its capacity to discharge its mandate, especially in the area of employing

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

and deploying qualified and experienced engineers and technicians in the 36 states and Abuja.

He said the programme is aimed at inculcating in Nigerians a preventive maintenance culture, which he said is a cheaper and more effective road asset management approach. He said the strategy include: nipping in the bud, cracks and other failures and prevent them from developing into large potholes, gullies or washouts.

Amuchi said to ensure effective management of the roads on day

daily, FERMA also considered the need to employ the cold asphalt technology to be used for quick patching.

The FERMA boss said all the necessary arrangements for ensuring the programme’s success, including acquisition and deployment of machinery and equipment, identification and deployment of experienced engineers and technicians, as well as other logistical support.

In his response, NSE President Mr Olumuyiwa Ajibola called for closer collaboration between the body and FERMA.

Ajibola said at a time when government needs to support local companies to grow the nation’s engineering profession, it is lamentable that most engineering contracts are awarded to expatriate firms, even when the nation is blessed with well trained engineers and technicians.

Ajibola praised the FERMA boss for deeming it fit to visit the NSE soon after his appointment.

He also lauded government’s gesture of appointing seasoned engineers in the agency’s operational departments.

Bus operators caution motorists, passengers

FRSC trains Osun’s convoy drivers

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HE Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has completed the three-day training workshop in Osogbo for drivers, including those driving the government convoy.

Those in the first batch, who participated in the ongoing nationwide training, include drivers in the convoy of Governor of Osun State Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

Also drivers on the convoy of the state’s deputy governor, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori, were among the first batch of 14 trainees, presented with certificate of participation.

This certificate would qualify them to obtain the new class V driver’s licence.

The Head of Unit Manpower Development, FRSC Headquarters, Ebenezer Asaniyan, said participants were trained on convoy, security and defensive driving techniques, executive protection techniques and driving under special condition.

The training was aimed at correcting the negative traits, such as driving against the traffic, discourtesy to other road users and “bully on the road,” which characterised some of the executive convoy drivers.

In his opening address, the Corps Marshal of FRSC, Osita Chidoka, said the commission decided to embark on the training to mitigate the problems associated with the convoy drivers.

Chidoka, who was represented by the Osun Sector Commander, Mrs Aderonke Daniel, urged the participants to make use of the opportunity to enrich what they already know about driving and praised the Governors Forum for its cooperation on the training programme.

•Records 69 accidents in Kebbi He further disclosed that the commission had begun details documentation on vehicles with flashers and beacon lights as well as ambulances nationwide.

According to him, the commission is also introducing compulsory medical certification for all commercial drivers in the country, saying medical certification would be part of the requirement for issuance and renewal of commercial driver’s licence, “Attitude test, blood pressure, epilepsy, blood sugar level among others shall be properly accessed by qualified doctors already selected across the country,” the FRSC boss said.

He assured Nigerians that every effort that would enhance the performance of drivers would be vigorously pursued, adding that the training would go a long way in reducing crashes involving high profile citizens.

Alhaji Fasasi Ajayi and Isah Mohammed, chief drivers of Osun governor and his deputy praised the initiatives of the FRSC for organising the training.

In a related development, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Kebbi State has recorded 69 road accidents that claimed 14 lives in the past 12

months.

The state FRSC Sector Commander in Kebbi, Mr Mohammed Garba, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Birnin Kebbi that 141 people were injured within the period.

He attributed the accidents to over speeding and reckless overtaking by motorists, stressing that the commission would not relent in educating motorists to obey traffic rules.

Garba cautioned drivers against haste during their journeys, adding that many accidents were caused by impatience and disregard for other road users.

The sector commander said the commission had embarked on awareness campaign in motor parks to educate commercial drivers on the need to adhere to traffic rules.

Meanwhile, Alhaji Mohammed Kardi, an official of the state chapter of NURTW told NAN that commercial drivers would collaborate with the FRSC in reducing the rate of road accidents in the country.

He called for the establishment of literacy classes in motor parks to enhance the scope of the FRSC campaign and to improve the literacy level of drivers to comprehend traffic rules and regulations.

‘The training was aimed at correcting the negative traits, such as driving against the traffic, discourtesy to other road users and “bully on the road’

While urging FERMA to be a linchpin for developing national engineering capacity by employing young engineers and awarding major maintenance contracts to indigenous firms, he said emphasis must be placed on quality and specifications.

Ajibola urged governments at all levels to emulate FERMA by incorporating long-term management concepts in planning, designing and construction of roads and highways with preventive maintenance strategy as it centerpiece.

B

ARELY a week to Christmas, the Luxury Bus Proprietors Association, Mararaba branch, near Abuja, has called on motorists and passengers to exercise caution on the roads to ensure an accident-free festivity.

Chairman of the branch Mr Raphael Ozoemena, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the “motorists should be extra careful on the roads during the yuletide to ensure an accident free celebration.

“They should be mindful of the road traffic signs and make sure they comply with them accordingly.”

The chairman also appealed to commercial drivers to be friendly with their passengers and cooperate with the police, soldiers, FRSC officials, VIOs and other road safety officials on the highways.

“They should equally be mindful of the dilapidated nature of our highways; the safety and comfort of the passengers should be paramount in their minds.”

Ozoemena further advised the motorists, especially commercial vehicle operators, to always share information on the state of roads ahead of them.

He gave assurance that buses operated by the association were road worthy, noting that “we do not put any bus that is not fully road worthy on any highway.

“Our mechanics carry out routine checks on our vehicles daily to make sure that they are in sound condition for the long journeys.”

In a separate interview, the association’s General Secretary and Public Relations Officer, Prince Oluchukwu Chukwuji, said the bus operators “always counsel the drivers on the importance of complying strictly with the road safety provisions.

“We know that it is God that protects people; so, we always want them to be mindful of the fact that they also have families and relations back home to cater for.

“Therefore, they should drive safely to return alive to meet members of their families and other relatives who are equally eager to see them back home safely.”

On the anticipated upsurge in the number of passengers travelling for the Christmas celebrations, Chukwuji said the operators were equal to the task.

“There are enough vehicles to transport them to their various destinations safely.

“We are not going to increase our fares just because of the Christmas rush; neither shall we increase the fares after the Yuletide unless the government increases the price of diesel, which we don’t pray for.”

‘We are not going to increase our fares just because of the Christmas rush; neither shall we increase the fares after the Yuletide unless the government increases the price of diesel, which we don’t pray for’

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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•NUC building

Life of an academic

The life of an academic can never be drab because he is always on the go. He plies his trade everywhere his services are required. In these days of joblessness, being an academic pays because it puts food on the table always. AKINOLA AJIBADE reports.

• STORY ON PAGE 48

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

JOBS

Life of an academic A

CADEMICS are revered. People hold them in awe because of their intelligence, patience, and systematic approach to life and teaching. Of course, they ensure that students understand them.

They carry with them an air of dignity, always careful not to bring disrepute to themselves or their profession. In the 70s and 80s, it was a big deal for families to produce an academic. Such families command respect within and outside their localities. The reason is people perceive them as interested in developing the society. Often times, academics use their knowledge to build leaders for the society. They use several avenues to impact on the society, and further earn a living.

They work as career counsellors, teachers, speakers, and authors, among other activities that can guarantee their survival. This has made many people to conclude that academics have various options to choose from and earn a living.

To this school of thought, academics have limitless opportunities to create jobs for themselves and survive.

A worker of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Dr Ronke Ogunmakin, believes there is no profession that provides jobs for people. She said making the best out of one’s profession is a thing of the mind. To her, one can tap into any opportunity at his disposal, and discover areas that others have not looked into. She said the advent of information and communication technology (ICT) has made it possible for people to sit in the comfort of their homes or offices to earn a living.

She said the education sector is broad, arguing that it is only those who know their onions that can make good use of job opportunities that open up.

Dr Ogunmakin said when an academic is versatile, he or she would be invited frequently to deliver papers. The academic will be paid for such efforts. She advised academics to look inwards, create opportunities within and outside their fields, and earn a living.

She urged academics to do more research, adding that the development would give them the necessary spread they need to survive.

A senior lecturer, Lagos State University, Dr Oluwakemi Aboderin, said there are many job opportunities for academics.

Dr Aboderin observed that the education sector is broad, adding that there are

several job opportunities for people. She said opportunities abound in Nigeria and beyond, adding that one needs to be creative to discover them.

She noted that it is only an academic who is not creative, that would not get something to do. She said the opportunities vary since they are determined by the courses one studied.

She said: “ For instance, I studied Yoruba, and that means that I can be invited to deliver a paper anywhere based on my course. These papers can be delivered within and outside Nigeria. It depends on where and what the organisers want you to give a talk on. There are other avenues as well. The same goes for people in other disciplines. I quite believe that no academic should be jobless. They can be self employed. It is a matter of being resourceful.”

She noted that people can be invited for translation. Her assertion is evident in the various part-time programmes that lecturers are involved in. She said lecturers are invited to anchor educational programmes on television/radio stations. “Often times, psychologists are invited to counsel people on vices such as prostitution, and drug abuse, among others. The aim is to change people, and those invited to counsel people are paid.

Other opportunities include counselling primary and secondary school pupils, and giving expert ideas on critical issues affecting the sector,” she added.

Still on job prospects, Dr Aboderin said lecturing is not only for academics. She said lecturers can use the academic break to improve their skill and make money.

On the fees charged by academics, she said the fees may be low, but can be converted to good use.

“I don’t think the fees or the finance is small. You can make use of the small finance and convert it to something

•Minister of Education, Prof Rukayat Rufai

•Nigerian Universities Commission Secretary, Prof Julius Okogie

big,” she advised.

Also, a lecturer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said academics can convert their break to something more useful. He listed part-time teaching, paper presentation, and providing academic materials for schools abroad as some of the opportunities open to academics.

The Dean, Faculty of Social Science, University of Lagos, Prof Lai Olurode, said academics can provide jobs for themselves, if they are creative. He cited a graduate, who set up a coaching class and within a short period got good pa-

tronage.

Said he: “On my way home, I saw a man who otherwise would not have been employed, organising a coaching class. He had a sizeable number of students under him. He started with two, three students. As time went on, the number increased.”

He, however, said most graduates lack skills, and as a result, are finding it difficult to get jobs.

Olurode noted that graduates do not have prerequisite skills that would provide jobs, noting that the number of unemployed graduates has increased.

He argued that many graduates are not current, stressing that they would find it difficult to compete with their counterparts abroad.

Olurode said globalisation is putting pressure on the labour market, adding that the unemployed must align themselves with happenings in the global economy.

He advised people to be IT compliant in order to increase their chances of getting jobs. “ It would be difficult to get a job in this age of globalisation if one is not IT compliant,” he said.

‘Often times, psychologists are invited to counsel people on vices such as prostitution, and drug abuse, among others. The aim is to change people, and those invited to counsel people are paid.

Other opportunities include counselling primary and secondary school pupils, and giving expert ideas on critical issues affecting the sector’

CAREER MANAGEMENT

Are you not supposed to be employed by now?

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RE you still wondering why you have not yet secured your dream job? Or even worse, why you are not even being called in for a job interview by the recruitment agency let alone the employer?

Well, have you taken a step back and looked at the package that you are offering and how you are presenting it? Maybe your offering is just not packaged together correctly which is why you are continuously being overlooked, even though you just know you are the right person for that job.

With the unofficial unemployment rate in Nigeria standing at over 30 per cent, there are millions of un-employed Job Seekers scouting the marketplace for their ideal job, and even more employed professionals applying for the same jobs, it is imperative that you take every effort of going above and beyond to ensure that you stand out from the crowds.

Let’s start by considering the basics, your resume Clean up your resume and ensure that your it is professionally put-together with no typographical, spelling or grammatical errors.

Make sure that the layout and format conforms to that of a professional resume. Your strengths and key skills – as they relate specifically to

the job that you are applying to – should be clearly highlighted and visible at a glance at the off-set. Be sure not to make silly mistakes that can get you eliminated even before the short-list stage. Go through your resume to ensure that you have covered all essential aspects that make up a professional resume.

the job advertised and on which date.

Then immediately get to the point and explain briefly why your skills best match the job and why you should be considered. End off by thanking the recruiter for their time.

Be sure to include any relevant documentation or information that the recruiter might have asked for in the job advertisement. (see more on this at www.jobsearchhow.com)

Next, develop a professionally-written application

Finally, present yourself in the most professional manner

When applying for a job opening, please extend the recruiter the courtesy of ensuring that your skills do, in fact, meet the minimum requirements that he has set-out in the job advertisements. Do not apply to job advertisements that you are not suitably qualified for as this wastes both your time and that of the recruiter.

If you do believe that you closely match the requirements and skills contained in the job advertisement, then be sure to create a professional, top self-selling customised application, sometimes referred to as cover-note (not a standard one-size-fits-all) that is addressed to the hiring manager (not personnel/human resource dept), if possible, and that refers to the job title and where you saw

Should you be fortunate enough to secure an interview either with a recruitment agency or the employer directly, be sure that the product (you) matches the brochure (your resume) in the most professional manner. Be mindful of your interview manners but most importantly, dress appropriately for the job interview. Remember to prepare to dazzle in the job interview by researching the company, understanding the job requirements and knowing your strengths and how to communicate these effectively and in context to the job that you are being interviewed for.

Consider carefully the type of interview body language that you are giving off and be careful to avoid - as far as possible - making any of the common job interview mistakes. Come

By Olu Oyeniran

prepared with a set of interview questions yourself. Job seekers who attend a job interview with a well prepared set of interviewee questions are always most successful.

Remember, every job interview is an employment opportunity. Should you be called back for a second interview, take just as much time preparing for the second job interview as you would on the initial meeting. When getting a call back for a second job interview ask the interviewer if there is anything that you specifically need to prepare for.

Without being over confident, attend your second job interview with the same intention as you did the first. Carry yourself with poise and professionalism.

One more thing, remember that the best way to prepare is by anticipating securing your dream job. Good luck. Now go and secure that dream job now!

Olu Oyeniran is the Lead Consultant, EkiniConsult & Assoiciates.

Website: www.jobsearchhow.com E-mail: oluoyeniran@yahoo.com Tel 08083843230 (SMS Only).

49

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

THE CEO

The maritime sector is a sleeping giant that has to be awakened and prodded to take its rightful place. In this interview with UYOATTA ESHIET, Chairman/ CEO, KENPRIMA Nigeria Limited, Chief Kunle Folarin, speaks on the challenges of the sector and how to grow it.

W

HAT is your assessment of the maritime sector?

The issues revolve around the concessionaire regime, ports access roads and Customs tariff and multiple government agencies at the ports. Others have to do with congestion and piracy on our waterways.

There are still other issues such as the dredging of the Calabar Port Channel as well as the Warri Channel. These are in addition to Nigeria’s position with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), building capacity in the maritime sector, the issue of seafarers, implementation of the cabotage regime and the issue of infrastructure at the ports. All these have to be addressed.

These were the central issues facing the sector at the beginning of the year. Now at the end of the year, what we have is like a report card on what has been achieved among the issues that have been outlined.

Let us start with concession. The concessioning regime is an on-going issue.

The concession agreement varies between five and 10 years. We are in the mid- term now, while some were for five years, some others were for 10 years. In the course of the year, there was a review by a committee to look into the regime to see how they have fared and what can be done to improve their situation. The government reaction is yet to be received. Then on the issue of the dredging of Calabar and Warri ports channels, these have not been accomplished yet, there are on-going discussions. We believe that in the new year, tenders for their dredging will be out.

The issue of piracy has been addressed by the Navy, and to some extent by NIMASA, but there appears to be some danger. We are yet to see attention paid by the authorities to the issue. Coming down stream to ports infrastructures, the situation has not changed.

The common user areas in the ports are yet to be addressed - the ports access road is in con-

•Folarin

Maritime sector can surpass oil, gas in revenue fusion, a lot of man hours are lost everyday because of the bad roads, and this is not good for commerce because a lot of demurrage would accrue due to poor access road to the ports, this has not been addressed. There is hope as the Minister has given NPA and other agencies marching order to arrest the situation. On the issue of manpower development, not much has been done.

Other nagging issues, are the intercreativity at the ports; things are still done manually in terms of cargo documentation. This is almost primitive when you compare it with the situation in other parts of the world. Across the world, they have left this stage, but, we are

still carrying pieces of paper for signature.

We are still grappling with manual documentation; there is no absolute interconnectivity between the agencies – Customs, the banks, the terminal operators and shipping companies. There should be connectivity to reduce the unhealthy crowd found in the ports. The ports are to be restricted zones and not an all comers affairs as the situation is today. When things are done manually, you end up having thousands of people milling around the port carrying one piece of paper or the other.

What is the achievement of the ASYCUDA project?

The ASYCUDA project stopped a long time

ago. Some other countries have even forgotten about the ASYCUDA. The ASYCUDA ++ which is the new version that would have enabled the interconnectivity within the ports, has not been done. The post ASYCUDA++ is to ensure total connectivity.

It is a seamless arrangement whereby you can achieve a 48 hours clearance programme which is a mandatory requirements by the United Nations. We are still far away from compliance to international norms and conventions. We need to have interconnectivity, it will enable us achieve the 48 hours clear• Continued on page 50

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

50

THE CEO

Maritime sector can surpass oil, gas in revenue •Continued from page 49

ance time, reduce to the barest minimum, if not totally eliminate maritime fraud in terms of cargo documentation, as well as reduce the time lag.

The maritime sector is said to be big enough to take over from the oil sector as the primary source of income and job creation in Nigeria. Why is it not?

There is no question that the maritime sector, especially that of Nigeria has the capacity to take over the oil and gas, in terms of revenue generation and employment opportunities. Nigeria has a coast line of over 900 nautical miles, over 200 miles of exclusive economic zone, 572 kilometres of inland water ways as well as eight coastal states.

It is obvious that in terms of multimodal mode of transportation opportunity, Nigeria has an advantage over many West and Central African states. In terms of exclusive economic zone, in terms of coast line, Nigeria has a high advantage over these other countries. Nigeria can actually service four major land-locked African states such as Mali , Burkina-Faso , Niger and Chad.

Nigeria has opportunity not only in terms of logistics but leadership role to play. If you look at the volume of import and export, if you look at the crude oil and gas resources, the volume of imports stands at about 50 million metric tons a year. Potentially, all resources utilized are to Nigeria’s advantage.

The oil and gas are ‘end determined resources,’ but maritime resources are there for eternity. We can use it for so many other resources. We can use it for social life, we can connect all our people through the maritime resource, through the multimodal transform system.

How much has the sector contributed to the economy?

The maritime sector provides the vehicle for the transportation of our products. The oil and gas, which contributes about 85 per cent to our economy, would have been impossible to transport without the maritime industry.

Secondly, the industry services the landlocked countries. For instance, Niger Republic had just inaugurated her oil refinery. During exploration, most of its oil exploration materials, such as pipes were transported through the Nigerian maritime industry. The products from the refinery are also targeted to be transported through the Nigerian maritime resources.

The industry is a critical factor to the development of Nigeria .

Is the sector living up to expectation?

There are well over 42 sub-sectors. Dry docking, manpower training and ship building, just to mention but a few. Philippines has no oil or gas, but exports maritime manpower to the whole world. Philippines exports about one third of the Ratings that service ships globally today. On the issue of building additional ports and harbours, Nigeria has the expertise to do this. We have about 16 ports (major and minor). The maritime sector, if properly harnessed, can contribute economically and diplomatically to the image of Nigeria.

As to each sector’s contribution, we lack the appropriate technology. In the cabotage law which domesticated coastal shipping, there are over 4,000 vessels operating in the coastal waters, we cannot take advantage of this huge opportunity. The cabotage regime said the ship must be built in Nigeria, but we have 4,000 ships in the cabotage, none of them is built in Nigeria. We are almost a failure in that respect. We have not been able to rise up to the occasion since the last seven years that the regime has been in existence.

Waivers are granted because we lack the capacity that would have been created. Imagine the employment that would have been created and the amount that would have been earned in terms of foreign exchange because we would have built for ourselves and for other nations.

What is the government doing and your organisation doing about it?

Nigeria has laws which if implemented, would have changed things. The cabotage law is there with provision for waivers. What the government does is use more of the waiver clause than pay attention to ship building and other aspects of the law. It is giving undue advantage to the companies that ask for it.

Unless we are able to implement the law to the letter, and look at areas where we can use it constructively, or on the other hand, look at other arrangements by which we can get

•Folarin

‘In terms of multimodal mode of transportation opportunity, Nigeria has an advantage over many West and Central African states. In terms of exclusive economic zone, in terms of coast line, Nigeria has a high advantage over these other countries. Nigeria can actually service four major land-locked African states such as Mali , Burkina-Faso , Niger and Chad’ the cabotage law to take off, we may not make it. The primary responsibility rests on NIMASA. Other port stakeholders including ports implementation committee has been a strong advocate against the waiver clause because it will lead to abuse. I think, it should be expunged from the Cabotage Act because it has been misused.

What is the place of the seafarers in the maritime sector?

If of the over 5,000 ships that enter Nigeria’s territorial waters and the over 4,000 vessels on the cabotage area, if they employ just one of our seafarers on board each ship, you are talking in terms of 9,000 seafarers employed In other words, the seafarers are the critical manpower for the international and coastal ship. Nigeria should invest where she has comparative advantage.

The cargo they are taking away is from Nigeria and the ones they are bringing are for Nigerians, then we should have a contribution. Out of the at least 10,000 vessels that come, I don’t think up to 2,000 Nigerian seafarers are employed.

What can the seafarers contribute to the economy?

Their contribution is enormous. In the Philippines , they remit not less than $5 billion annually. Total remittance of Philippines overseas workers to the home government is not less than $15 billion annually. It is a major source of income to the country . Over 300,000 Philippinos are working aboard ships abroad and about three million people depend on them. When you provide employment and means of livelihood in a society, you are reducing social crime, illiteracy and other social vices.

There are over 140 maritime schools in the Philippines . Imagine the number of the academic and non-academic staff employed in these schools because they have a way of feeding them into the world shipping industry.

The seafarer institutions contribute a lot to the economy. They earn income, they remit income, they are in employment, they provide social responsibility to the country, and help reduce juvenile delinquencies in the society. It is a major contributor to the well being of any country.

Why was it necessary to set up the National Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP)?

The NSDP came to address some very fundamental flaws in our society. In the early 50s, 60s and 70s, the NPA and Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) provided training for officers to the NNSL vessels and to man the crafts. At the demise of NNSL, there was no further training for sea officers. Between 1970 and 2010, a gap of 40 years, there were no efforts to train any cadre of officer in the maritime sector and within Nigeria; in the cabotage area with over 4,000 vessels, probably only one per cent of the officers onboard those vessels are Nigerian, the rest are foreigners. There was a huge gap and a great need to train Nigerians at the officers level and the Ratings level. Nigeria has invested huge sums of money in the LNG vessels and there are very expensive vessels. The LNG have trainway a few Nigerians and they are onboard these vessels. So NIMASA, now in a bid to complement the efforts of LNG , started the NSDP. It is a gap bridging scheme between the need and the possible. Taking into account the number of ships that call at our territorial waters and the number of coastal ships, if we

have at least five per cent of these ships that call at out territorial waters take a Nigeria seafarer on board, we are talking about 250, this will be a good starting point but we don’t have that. The officers that were trained in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, are all aging, so there is urgent need to replace them. The steps taken by NIMASA concerning the seafarers training is a commendable step even through it is just a bridge gap for now.

Can you address some of the challenges confronting seafarers in Nigeria ?

Employment is the major challenge. The Ratings that have been trained, are not employed because of lack of total enforcement of the cabotage law, which gives waivers to foreign vessels that should not have operated if the regime was implemented. Another challenge they have has to do with lack of sea- time training, (the practical aspect), if they complete their training, without the practical aspect, they cannot be called competent until they complete the theoretical and the practical aspects of their training. It is frustrating for most of them that have left the academy. There is need for the government to address this sea-time training issue either by providing training ships or mandating that every ship granted a waiver, the waiver should be only for a short time and after that they are mandated to take onboard one or two Nigerians so that they can complete their sea -time training.

Can NSDP address some of these challenges?

The NSDP is designed in such a way that it combines theoretical and practical aspects. That means those trained under this programme, immediately they complete the theoretical aspect, must proceed to the practical where they are awarded certificate of competence on completion. There is guaranteed sea- time training in this arrangement.

Why is the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron not a standard school till now?

For MAN, Oron to be reckoned with in modern times, it has to upgrade. It is over 20 years and its equipment may have become obsolete. It has to be upgraded with modern equipment.

MAN, Oron has to sign MoUs with shipping lines and other agencies whereby they will be guaranteed sea -time training for their cadets after the completion of the theoretical aspect.

The school should take further steps. They can buy a training ship. They can go into agreement with shipping lines trading with Nigeria . MAN could approach them with a request for just one of their cadets onboard each ship for sea- time training. Out of the over 5,000 ships and the over 4,000 costal vessels, if they take just a cadet onboard each, you’ll be taking about 9,000 cadets and expose them to sea- time training. If these steps are followed, before you know it, you would have addressed the issue to an extent.

Nigeria should have a maritime university by now. Ghana started many years after MAN Oron but today Ghana has a maritime university. It is a pity that every time people learn from us and after many years we go to back to learn from them.

It is very sad that in the maritime sector, Nigeria has absolute advantage over other West African states but not reaping the advantage.

Is NIMASA living up to expectation?

NIMASA started well with the NSDP but they should go the whole way. They should not stop at the cadet level, they should go to the Ratings too because you cannot man a ship without the cadet and the ratings. We should start now, otherwise in five years time, we may end up having only officers and no ratings and the ship requires the whole cadre on board. Otherwise it will be like a car with engine but without tyres Nigeria is a big oil/gas and maritime nation with over 20,000 ships calling on our waters yearly. How many of these ships employ Nigerian seafarers?

Over 20,000 ships call at the Nigeria waters but it’s not benefiting us because we do not have MoUs with these other countries to that effect. At the government level there should be a bi-lateral agreement between governments of these other countries who are our trading partners with government requesting that their ships take aboard at least two or three Nigerians for sea- time training. I am sure they will not reject. What is a short fall today of 1,000 will become 5,000 or more in five years time if we don’t start addressing it today on a small scale. On the large scale one maritime academy is not enough, we need to promote training. The Philippines has 140 maritime schools while Nigeria with a huge population has only one.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

51

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

52

LABOUR END OF THE YEAR REVIEW

T

Labour: The struggle continues

HE year started with a string of struggles for labour. It is likely to end the year with struggles in the face of the government’s insistence to remove fuel subsidy.

The struggle continues is Labour’s credo, hence, any policy workers are against, they resort to protest.

Minimum wage The implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage took the centre stage from the beginning of the year. From there, Labour did a combined struggle of ‘No to fuel subsidy removal’, and ‘On N18,000 minimum wage we stand’.

Its struggle on N18,000 minimum wage yielded fruits, as many states have implemented the wage. It is, however, still waging a war against states that have refused to implement the minimum wage.

Many states’ workforces abandoned their duty posts while the national minimum wage negotiation lasted.

Some states are now before the National Industrial Court, over the seemingly un-resolvable wage crisis between the government and workers in such states.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is insisting that policy dictatorship is not part of President Jonathan’s given mandate, hence, its opposition to the proposed fuel subsidy removal.

Labour also tasked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on credible elections in April.

It made the conduct of credible election an issue. It later scored INEC, under Attahiru Jega’s watch, high, giving it a pass mark for this year’s general elections.

N5b loan saga Towards the end of February a deep crisis engulfed the NLC over a Federal Government loan of N5 billion. The crisis divided the Congress and made it lose millions of Naira in check-off dues.

The loan was meant for the turnaround of the moribund Labour City Transport Service (LCTS).The NLC met with the management of Urban Development Bank of Nigeria, the bank through which the government released the money.

The crisis rocked NLC so much that eight unions were aggrieved about the shoddy management of issues and alleged victimisation of the General Secretary, John Odah.

On why they pulled out of the Congress, the aggrieved unions said all was not well with the NLC. They also said this year’s edition of the annual MayDay celebration was colourless because of inadequate planning. There was no time for proper

Stories by Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu

planning as the leadership was deep in crisis.

The unions include Non -Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), National Union of Banks Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), National Union of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) Hotel and Personnel Services Union, Radio Television and Theatre Workers Union (RATTAWU) among others.

The erstwhile General Secretary, John Odah, sought legal action on his alleged unconstitutional removal from office. His case comes up for mention in January.

The Trade Union Congress fought alongside the NLC towards achieving some of the industrial goals of the senior workers.

In the out-going year, people viewed TUC as an upcoming and focussed labour centre, as it guided against crisis and achieved so much for its members.

Strike galore Strikes and lockouts were also rampant this year. Doctors, teachers, civil servants, all have their fair share of strikes. The aviation workers are still contemplating a return to their suspended strike if the Federal Ministry of Aviation did not implement the agreement signed with them over two years ago.

Not much of jobs creation was recorded this year. Many workers lost their jobs as the economic situation got worse.

In the banking industry, job losses were also recorded. Many banks after consolidation and mergers retrenched thousands of workers.

The bankers union, Association of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) held sway for the senior bank workers.

Also, Comrade Sunday Olusoji Salako, President of ASSBIFI noted the collapse of industries as fallout of neo-liberalism.

He said the manifestations of the economic policies in Nigeria can be seen in the near total collapse of industries, collapse of the textile industries and other manufacturing companies; reduction in expenditure on public social services; perennial increment in the prices of petroleum products and multiple taxation of the poor. He added that there was also mass dismissal of workers, aggravating the unemployment crisis; financial crisis affecting the banking sector, and aviation sector liquidity crunch.

“The Association observed that for the fundamentals of our economy to take-off smoothly and, in the process for the nation to re-discover itself, we

• Struggling workers.

• President Goodluck Jonathan

• NLC President Abdulwaheed Omar

• TUC President, Peter Esele

must prioritise 75 per cent of the nation’s teeming population living in the rural areas; encourage agriculture and actively promote Small and Medium Scale Enterprises. This is the irreducible requirement for sustainable growth of any given society and a veritable tool to stop the rural-urban development drift and the vicious cycle of crippling poverty,” he said.

ASSBIFI also deliberated on the power reform policy, wondering why the Government had spent between $10billion and $15billion of public funds on electricity generation when it knew that it would still privatise.

The union also condemned lack of commitment by the Government to

social services such as education and health care. ÄSSBIFI said that the cosmetic attempts at bailing out troubled companies and the financial sector would not fundamentally address the problems of the economy until it is protected from adverse social consequences of the “vicious exploitation and manipulations by the advanced industrial world”.

The focus of the economy according to the union must be re-directed towards providing food security and adaptable home-made small scale enterprises that prioritise the needs of the working and toiling people.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are yet to resolve the issue of non – implementation of

a 2009 agreement with the Federal Government.

Meanwhile, National Association of Nigerian students (NANS) is also struggling against over N200 per cent hike in school fees in some state government schools.

Fuel subsidy The struggles here and there, especially the fuel subsidy removal, which is believed to be a veiled name for fuel price increase, is thus making Nigerian workers wonder what the new year has in store for them.

In less than two weeks, people will start saying happy new year. The question on labour’s lips is “Will the new year indeed be a happy one?” Only time can tell.

Subsidy removal not inevitable, NLC tells Jonathan

T

HE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has advised President Goodluck Jonathan to re-direct his energy towards the fulfilment of his campaign promises.

In a statement signed by its VicePresident, Comrade Issa Aremu, NLC said fuel subsidy removal is not inevitable. It urged President Jonathan to re- direct “his energy of engagement to re-electrification, reindustrialisation, revival of industries, job creation, reduction in cost of governance, physical and social security in the transformation agenda he envisions.”

Aremu said the transformation agenda promises a pragmatic expansion and development of the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry, capable of creating about one million jobs for Nigerians; the expansion of the production capacity in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry to earn more revenue for the country through increased crude oil

exports and local value addition “and not the present diversionary ideologically-motivated and vested interest-driven fuel subsidy removal mantra” He said government can achieve a lot in savings by “offering leadership to reduce the costs of governance by first curbing executive travels and stop the on-going governance tourism that is gulping trillions of Naira compared to so called expected savings from so called subsidy removal.”

Urging the President to take good advice from past leaders like General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), Aremu said: “President Jonathan should stand up to engage Nigerians about the blueprint for economic transformation that promises additional economic benefits, including safeguarding macro-economic stability, ensuring stable power supply, commercialised agriculture and youth employment.

President must govern. He is a

statesman for all Nigerians not a salesman for forces of imported petroleum products at the so-called deregulated prices. He must take wise counsel from statesmen like General Gowon.”

He observed that Nigerians have risen to challenge policy dictation from abroad through military regimes, since 1980s. He said “no doubt that mass resistance awaits President Jonathan’s latest policy of unnecessary adventure. Fuel subsidy removal is not inevitable but good governance is indispensable.

President should not take the path of least resistance in governance.”

The labour leader also advised that the President must be counted in pushing the quick passage of Petroleum Industry Bill aimed at improving local content, technology transfer and ensuring national industry control is removed from the clutches of multinational oil companies.

President Jonathan, he said, must

also use his good office to persuade some governors to implement the minimum wage he signed into law last year.

On the whole, he said President Jonathan must know that subsidy removal mantra is no substitute to governance and the good governance he promised during his campaign.

He added that the President and his party never promised Nigerian voters about subsidy removal if elected. “The latest Presidential blackmail according to which if subsidy is not removed, Nigeria’s project would allegedly collapse in two years is an unacceptable belated blackmail.

President is elected for Nigeriaoptimism not policy pessimistic hysteria/doomsday scenario.”

NLC reminded the President of his announcement on transformation agenda.

“At inauguration in May 2011, President Goodluck Jonathan, announced a transformation agenda for

Nigeria; he hinges on a commitment to build an inclusive society where mass job creation constitutes a major pillar for economic growth; provision of cheap and long-term capital for businesses; removal of barriers to increased productivity; as well as improvement on the environment for doing business. The current feverish top-down activism of the President is a departure from his given and promised mandate of hope and “fresh air” to some stories of despair and policy oppression that fuel price increase engenders. The promise of democracy is not just that election is free and fair, elected leaders must indeed live to their mandate with integrity deliver on promises. The President’s repeated dogmatic push for fuel price increases (which subsidy removal portends) is a sad return to electoral rigging by other dangerous and unacceptable way; policy dictatorship not part of the given mandate.”

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

53

CAPITAL MARKET

All Share Index rises by 0.22%

O

VERALL activities at the exchange last week ended on a bullish note as the All share Index increased by 0.22 per cent.

Other indices including market capitalisation and braIndex® also increased by 0.16 per cent and 1.38 per cent.

All Share Index (ALSI) rose by 0.22 per cent as against the previous week’s performance of 0.69 per cent.

The bullish trend in our analysis is much expected as prices of stocks still dwindled across stocks during the week. To recap, overall market performance instruments i.e. the market capitalisation, all share Index and the braIndex® rose by 0.22 per cent, 0.16per cent and 1.38 per cent.

The market capitalisation, which measures the share price movement rose from N6.24 trillion a fortnight ago to N6.26 trillion last week; the all share index also increased to 19,828.40 from 19,785.03, representing a 0.22 per cent rise on weekly assessment. Apparently, the braIndex® also rose by 1.38 per cent.

The stocks of the banking sector claimed 77 per cent of the total volume of transaction that exchanged hands at the stock market last week.

A lingering situation, which had been in existence some months back, the weekly observation shows that banking stocks was active compared to the figure recorded a fortnight ago, which stood at 70 per cent.

Contribution shows that traders exchanged 0.82 billion units worth N6.07 billion in 6,922 deals as against 0.42 billion units valued at N2.63 billion in 5,392 deals a fortnight ago.

This affirmed that the banking stocks were actively traded at the Exchange compared with 74 per cent accustomed to the sector two weeks ago. Returns on banking volume rose by 0.51 per cent and the value of money spent on banking stocks stood at 63.91 per cent.

Shares of Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, Access Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc and First City Monument Bank Plc were the toast of investors as they were actively traded in terms of volume and total investment.

The Insurance sector occupied the first runner-up with 69.48 million units worth N39.72 million in 310 deals.

On average evaluation, the Insurance sub-sector accounted for 6.59 per cent of the total activity and 0.41 per cent of the total funds invested at the Exchange during the week under review.

Transactional volume shows that Conglomerates sub-sector’s performance decreased by 0.51 per cent last week.The total weekly value of stocks in this sub-sector stood at N212 million.

All the three market indicators increased last week showing that overall activities in terms of volume and fund invested also increased. The direction in returns on both benchmarks was less than two per cent.

On a year-to-date basis, both benchmarks - the NSE All-Share Index and the braIndex® - showed loses of 5.47 per cent and 5.61 per cent .

Stock market sectoral performance Investors in the stocks of Zenith Bank Plc exchanged 353.87 million units in 1,040 deals worth N 4.10 billion. The average number of deals remained well over 208 deals per day during the week.

United Bank for Africa Plc was second with 212.50 million shares worth N 0.47 billion.

In the Insurance sub-sector, Hallmark Insurance Plc led with 24.75 million shares worth N12.37 million.

The sectoral volume amounted to almost 69.48 million units and constituted over 6.59 per cent of the sector’s trading volume.

Table 1: A Five-Day Moving Average Data of the Market Indices Change(%)

Market Capitalisation (%)

All-Share

Average Weekly Depth

(0.33)

(0.29)

(0.09)

Year To Date (YTD)

(5.43)

(5.47)

(5.61)

Month To Date (MTD) Week To Date(WTD)

(2.84) 0.16

(2.82) 0.22

(3.41) 1.38

Values

Market Cap(trillion Naira)

All-Share Index

braIndex®

As of closing on December 15, 2011

6.26

19,828.40

12.30

Source: NSE & bra Limited Table 2: Stock Market Summary Statistics for the week ending Dec. 15, 2011.

Period Market Capitalisation (Trillion) 08/12/2011 6.24 09/12/2011 6.25 12/12/2011 6.25 13/12/2011 6.28 14/12/2011 6.27 15/12/2011 6.26 Source: NSE & Bra Limited

All-Share Index (Base Points) 19,829.29 19,785.03 19,791.00 19,871.97 19,849.31 19,828.40

braIndex® (Base Points) 12.62 12.47 12.46 12.42 12.28 12.30

Table 3: Statistics on Weekly Sectoral Contribution Sectors Banking Petroleum Marketing Insurance Food, Beverages and Tobacco Conglomerates Source: bra Limited

% of Total Trading Net Worth 63.91% 2.42% 0.41% 15.42% 2.23%

Trading Net Worth(in Naira Millions ) 6,075.41 230.88 39.72 1,465.99 212.00

Figure 1a: The All Share Index and braIndex® Performance at a Glance

Source: BRA Computation

Source: BRA Computation

Companies appraisal Zenith Bank Plc was the most active company in the Banking sub-sector with 353.87 million units; United Bank for Africa Plc was the first runner-up in the sector. United Bank for Africa Plc closed the week with N0.47 billion in 614 deals.

Among the most active companies in the Insurance sub-sector were Hallmark Insurance Plc, Aiico Insurance Plc, Mutual Benefit Insurance Plc, Guinea Insurance Plc, Goldlink Insurance Plc, UNIC Insurance Plc and Custodian Insurance Plc. In the insurance industry, Hallmark Insurance Plc claimed to be the most active com-

pany in the sector.

In the Food, Beverages and Tobacco Industry, share of the industry were actively traded in terms of the market volume. Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Dangote Flour Plc and Dangote Flour Mills Plc were some of the most active stocks in the sub-sector.

Last week, shareholders of Julius Berger Plc, Roads Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and NASCON Plc saw the value of their investments earning profit less than one per cent while investors in Okomu Oil Plc, Oando Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Presco Plc made less than

two per cent loss daily.

Points to note: The weekly stock market analysis reports the current position of the outlook of the stock of the companies listed on the Exchange and the aggregate market.

The NSE closed the 50th trading week on a bullish note on weekly assessment. Historical analysis of trading volume shows that in the new week, the Banking, Insurance and Food, Beverages and Tobacco stocks are likely to continue to be the toast of investors.

Disclaimer

This report has been prepared for information purposes only and for private use. Whilst reasonable care had been taken in its production, bra Limited does not guarantee the correctness of its contents nor does the company accept liability for any loss arising from a reliance on its contents.

Kindly note that our suggested recommendations and other tactical actions are based on bra Limited best estimates which are guided by generally available information and our Proprietary Tools. This is not an invitation or a solicitation to deal in any stocks and we do not guarantee the future outcome of such recommendation.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

54

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 16-12-11 2ND-TIER SECURITIES Company Name CAPITAL OIL PLC ROKANA INDUSTRIES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1 2

Quotation(N) 0.50 0.60

AGRICULTURE/AGRO-ALLIED No of Deals Quotation(N) 3 0.54 15 22.00 3 7.36 21

Company Name LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Sector Totals

Company Name AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

AIR SERVICES No of Deals 3 15 18

Quotation(N) 2.18 5.00

AUTOMOBILE & TYRE No of Deals Quotation(N) 1 0.50 6 1.29 7

Company Name DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC R. T. BRISCOE (NIGERIA) PLC Sector Totals

Company Name ACCESS BANK PLC DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK NIGERIA PLC FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC FIDELITY BANK PLC FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA PLC GTBANK PLC STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC SKYE BANK PLC. STERLING BANK PLC UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC. UNITYBANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC ZENITH BANK PLC Sector Totals

Company Name CHAMPION BREWERIES PLC GUINNESS NIGERIA PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC Sector Totals

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 6,700 3,350.00 1,500 945.00 8,200 4,295.00

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 530,500 286,470.00 589,500 12,896,150.00 9,600 68,888.00 1,129,600 13,251,508.00

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 187,172 407,929.96 147,287 736,282.85 334,459 1,144,212.81

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 347 173.50 4,714 6,095.82 5,061 6,269.32

BANKING No of Deals 80 43 17 16 87 447 252 41 57 33 208 7 12 190 1,490

Quotation(N) 4.65 2.08 1.70 4.12 1.32 8.40 13.52 8.02 3.90 0.96 2.36 0.50 0.54 11.85

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 11,320,769 51,516,175.78 946,751 2,024,925.18 299,038 496,382.32 86,667 344,460.65 5,894,227 7,732,431.41 59,044,321 479,705,418.41 7,818,668 105,399,818.79 2,217,942 17,434,642.80 2,973,868 11,574,798.35 3,462,365 3,294,118.75 42,246,873 96,599,876.08 705,000 352,500.00 300,932 163,812.90 13,954,138 162,059,443.12 151,271,559 938,698,804.54

BREWERIES No of Deals 2 102 2 124 230

Quotation(N) 4.03 228.90 5.70 98.00

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 175,000 705,250.00 390,355 89,003,997.81 9,050 49,051.00 1,238,190 120,863,856.15 1,812,595 210,622,154.96

BUILDING MATERIALS No of Deals Quotation(N) 24 12.32 6 4.50 25 105.28 53 44.00 108

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 184,592 2,240,436.05 154,500 695,250.00 223,751 23,564,581.18 1,189,713 52,383,576.00 1,752,556 78,883,843.23

Company Name BERGER PAINTS NIGERIA PLC CHEMICAL AND ALLIED PRODUCTS PLC Sector Totals

CHEMICAL & PAINTS No of Deals Quotation(N) 7 8.50 10 15.63 17

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 23,282 188,118.56 55,452 855,251.33 78,734 1,043,369.89

Company Name COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Sector Totals

COMMERCIAL/SERVICES No of Deals Quotation(N) 1 0.50 4 2.10 5

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 9,800 4,900.00 18,400 39,912.00 28,200 44,812.00

COMPUTER & OFFICE EQUIPMENT No of Deals Quotation(N) 2 9.31 2

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 49,500 483,615.00 49,500 483,615.00

Company Name ASHAKA CEMENT PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTHERN NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC Sector Totals

Company Name NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. Sector Totals

CONGLOMERATES Company Name No of Deals A. G. LEVENTIS (NIGERIA) PLC 21 JOHN HOLT PLC 1 PZ CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC 46 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 15 UAC OF NIGERIA PLC 37 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC 57 Sector Totals 177 CONSTRUCTION No of Deals 9 1 10

Company Name JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC ROADS NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

Company Name CUTIX PLC Sector Totals

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

Company Name VITAFOAM NIGERIA PLC VONO PRODUCTS PLC Sector Totals

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 277,326 432,628.56 66 369.60 480,580 13,623,048.49 1,098,000 585,175.00 54,249 1,590,005.87 776,148 20,997,814.71 2,686,369 37,229,042.23

Quotation(N) 32.96 8.28

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 27,148 873,344.00 29 228.23 27,177 873,572.23

ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY No of Deals Quotation(N) 5 1.80 5

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 75,119 129,660.70 75,119 129,660.70

FOOD/BEVERAGES & TOBACCO No of Deals Quotation(N) 27 47.90 53 10.17 44 4.53 99 4.02 41 62.50 8 2.43 15 4.00 42 424.46 1 21.48 8 0.50 1 0.50 339

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 1,076,222 51,492,598.16 1,195,366 12,298,037.22 686,862 3,123,724.40 3,636,691 14,650,419.40 481,253 30,081,160.34 482,500 1,184,346.00 359,700 1,438,057.30 137,174 58,156,111.48 10,000 204,100.00 1,950,000 975,000.00 190 91.20 10,015,958 173,603,645.50

HEALTHCARE Company Name No of Deals EVANS MEDICALPLC. 1 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 3 GLAXOSMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC 11 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 4 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 3 Sector Totals 22

Company Name IKEJA HOTEL PLC Sector Totals

Quotation(N) 1.56 5.89 28.01 0.53 29.20 27.22

Quotation(N) 0.70 0.95 22.90 1.81 1.18

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 1,000 670.00 65,000 62,090.00 33,191 744,775.70 13,500 23,675.00 2,148 2,427.24 114,839 833,637.94

HOTEL & TOURISM No of Deals Quotation(N) 35 2.28 35

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 9,754,830 22,241,012.40 9,754,830 22,241,012.40

INDUSTRIAL/DOMESTIC PRODUCTS No of Deals Quotation(N) 12 4.78 1 2.88 13

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 70,349 337,376.84 16 46.08 70,365 337,422.92

INSURANCE

Equities take shine off sovereign bonds

T

URNOVER at the sec ondary market for government-issued bonds dropped considerably last week as investors showed keen interests in quoted equities.

Investors staked N85.63 billion on 99.54 million units through 825 deals at the Over-the Counter (OTC) market, representing a decrease of 26 per cent from N115.29 billion staked on 128.43 million units in 983 deals in the previous week.

The most active bond meanwhile remained the 8th FGN Bond 2014 Series 1 with a traded volume of 29.8 million units valued at N27.9 billion in 284 deals.

The 7th FGN Bond 2013 Series 1 with a coupon of 5.5 per cent recorded a turnover of 25.4 million units valued at N23.12 billion in 240 deals.

There were however wider spread last week with transactions on 22 of the available 27 FGN bonds as against 19 that were traded the previous week.

Meanwhile, the number of listed sub-national bonds has increased to 11 with the listing of the Niger State N9 billion 14 per cent fixed rate development bond at N1,

By Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

000 per unit due in 2018.

This increased the number of listed securities to 249.

The slowdown at the OTC bond market contrasted with the uptrend at the equities market where investors substantially increased market orders, nudging the overall market position to positive.

Turnover at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) stood at 1.3 billion shares worth N11.03 billion in 16,402 deals compared with a total of 1.1 billion shares valued at N8.02 billion exchanged in 16,538 deals in the previous week.

The benchmark value index, the All Share Index (ASI), which measures the general pricing trend at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), rose by 1.2 per cent to 20,025.94, while total market capitalisation of all quoted equities rose to N6.331 trillion Most sub-group indices were on the positive. The NSE 30 Index appreciated by 1.5 per cent to close at 895.20 point. The NSE Food and Beverage Index appreciated

by 1.0 per cent to close at 558.26 points, while the NSE Banking Index appreciated by 2.9 per cent to close at 263.08.

However, the NSE Insurance Index and oil and gas, depreciated by 1.8 per cent to close at 144.02 point, as well as by 4.8 per cent to close at 225.14 points, respectively.

Further analysis showed that 22 stocks appreciated, while 44 stocks depreciated; but the inclusion of leading stocks on the gainers’ list tilted the market to positive.

Nestle Nigeria Plc led the gainers with a gain of N124.46 to close at N424.46 per share.

Guinness Nigeria Plc followed with a gain of N12.90 to close at N228.90 per share. Julius Berger Nigeria Plc led the losers with a loss of N3.55 to close at N32.96 per share. Oando Plc followed with a loss of N3.40 to close at N21.45 per share.

Banking subsector was the most active during the week with 985.24 million shares worth N7.1 billion in 8,717 deals. Insurance subsector followed with a turnover of 77.53 million shares valued at N48.52 million in 427 deals.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 16-12-11 Company Name No of Deals AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 16 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 11 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INSURANCE PLC 11 EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC 2 GREAT NIGERIA INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 1 GUARANTY TRUST ASSURANCE PLC 11 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 1 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 1 LAW UNION AND ROCK INSURANCE PLC. 3 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC 1 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. 2 OASIS INSURANCE PLC 1 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC. 4 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 2 INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 5 Sector Totals 72

Company Name C&I LEASING PLC Sector Totals

Company Name JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Sector Totals

Company Name CRUSADER NIGERIA PLC. NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC Sector Totals

Quotation(N) 0.51 0.99 2.00 0.50 0.50 1.44 0.50 0.50 0.52 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.98 0.50 0.52

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 1,219,758 618,379.00 408,000 381,077.59 256,250 514,000.00 1,500 750.00 1,000 500.00 528,000 764,220.00 40,000 20,000.00 9,721 4,860.50 34,000 17,610.64 50,000 25,000.00 22,198 11,099.00 1,000 500.00 18,698 18,479.80 28,719 14,359.50 143,002 74,361.04 2,761,846 2,465,197.07

LEASING No of Deals 4 4

Quotation(N) 0.62

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 76,023 47,156.76 76,023 47,156.76

MARITIME No of Deals 25 25

Quotation(N) 0.71

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 1,221,984 866,014.08 1,221,984 866,014.08

OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS No of Deals Quotation(N) 1 0.50 2 0.94 2 0.50 5

Company Name NIGERIAN BAG MANUFACTURING COMPANY PLC BETA GLASS CO. PLC Sector Totals

PACKAGING No of Deals 18 1 19

Quotation(N) 1.62 12.71

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 1,000 500.00 6,000 5,400.00 1,569,895 784,947.50 1,576,895 790,847.50

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 118,310 191,692.18 1,000 12,080.00 119,310 203,772.18

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

PETROLEUM(MARKETING) No of Deals Quotation(N) 2 60.67 13 31.64 8 3.13 5 13.54 10 133.95 114 21.45 198.00 9 161

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 303 17,464.92 437,316 14,158,820.98 250,269 784,821.57 3,262 41,981.94 4,004 540,127.50 895,752 19,337,647.03 5,904 1,111,186.70 1,596,810 35,992,050.64

Company Name LEARN AFRICA PLC UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC Sector Totals

PRINTING & PUBLISHING No of Deals Quotation(N) 3 2.95 6 3.35 9

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 2,420 6,800.20 127,893 431,236.94 130,313 438,037.14

Company Name UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. PLC Sector Totals

Company Name ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

Company Name ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED Sector Totals Overall Totals

REAL ESTATE No of Deals 3 3

Quotation(N) 12.16

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 6,462 78,529.97 6,462 78,529.97

ROAD TRANSPORTATION No of Deals Quotation(N) 5 0.50 5

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 1,127,521 563,760.50 1,127,521 563,760.50

THE FOREIGN LISTINGS No of Deals Quotation(N) 46 9.89 46

Quantity TradedValue of Shares (N) 817,441 8,097,005.04 817,441 8,097,005.04

2,850

188,649,726

1,528,973,249.55

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

55

MONEY LINK

CEO: AMCON won’t seek more funds from Govt

T

HE Asset Management Corpo ration of Nigeria (AMCON) has said that the N10 billion combined statutory injections it got from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Ministry of Finance is sufficient to funds its operations. This means that the corporation would not need more funds from government as being speculated.

The AMCON Chief Executive Officer, Mustafa Chike-Obi disclosed this at the weekend in an interview with Channels Television.

He explained that recoveries from non-performing loans (NPLs), equity investments in nationalised banks and inflows from the Banking Sector Resolution Fund (Sinking Fund) are sufficient to aid its operations.

“We have received N5 billion from the CBN and another N5 billion from the Ministry of Finance. The possibility of the Federal Government spending more funds on AMCON remains very low,” he said. The Sinking Fund is a binding agreement between the banks to contribute three basis points of audited total assets at the end of each year to help the AMCON pay some of its recovery expenses. It became exigent after the CBN and the banks realised that funds from the management and realisation of the eligible banks’ assets to be acquired by AMCON may be insufficient to meet the resolution cost of restoring financial stability.

Chike-Obi also hinted that the three nationalised banks- Mainstreet Bank, Keystone Bank and Enterprise Bank will be sold to new investors by 2013. He reiterated AMCON’s commitment to protecting depositors’ funds and continued willingness to intervene in any ailing bank(s) if the need arises. He said that AMCON will not hesitate to takeover any other ailing bank, if the situation that presented themselves in the above three banks’ cases reoccur. The AMCON boss said that AMCON had

•To sell nationalised banks in 2013

By Collins Nweze

injected N679 billion into the three banks to bring them to right capital adequacy levels and strengthen them into meeting their obligations to depositors. He however, said that the corporation will stabilise the banks before selling them to new investors.

“We want to stabilise the banks before selling them within the next two years. So far, our intervention in these banks have saved 14,000 jobs and will continue to add value to the economy,” he said.

over these loans from the lending banks would stabilise the industry and remove the adverse implications of default on the banks’ liquidity. Of the 9,000 loans AMCON took over since December last year, 200 accounts for 80 per cent of the total value. The corporation has recovered over 15 per cent of the bad debts and aims to recoup 70 per cent. He explained that the corporation is more interested in securing the jobs of employees of those firms, than taking measures that would run them out of business.

The AMCON’s objectives he said were to stabilise the banking system, and bring banks to a comfortable level where they will have enough funds to lend to the real sector of the economy. He said that after its intervention in the banks by acquiring over N3.1 trillion NPLs from them, banks’ balance sheets have become cleaner and healthier than they have been in a long time. According to him, AMCON has acquired bad debt worth N3.14 trillion.

Chike-Obi explained that taking

NSPM engages CBN on cash-lite banking

T

HE Nigerian Security Print ing and Minting Company (NSPM) Plc has commenced discussions with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the impacts of the proposed cashless economy.

Managing Director, Ehi Okoyomon, who disclosed this while, receiving the House committee on Banking and Currency members on its oversight function to the firm in Abuja, expressed worries that the new system would reduce NSPM’s volume of production.

He explained that the firm needs plenty of production volume to survive or resort to high prices.

Committee over its increasing cost of procuring diesel for power generation.

He said the firm requires five megawatts of electricity to power its heavy equipment. He however noted that due to the recent fuel scarcity in Abuja, the cost of power is already taking a toll on the company, adding that the situation is already affecting its profit.

He explained that instead of focusing on the core mandate of the company, its management now exerts efforts and time in managing power.

Hear him: “Our biggest problem is power. Power is a big problem for us because our industry is heavy. For our

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

He said: “We want to improve our production capability because the margin is small. Our chief financial officer will tell you that for every hour we are not producing we are losing money.

Because our margin is so small we depend on volume to succeed. So, even the cashless economy, we are also discussing with the Central Bank and hoping it is not going to affect our business because we need plenty volume to survive. If we don’t do that, then we will have to do with high prices.”

Okoyomon also intimated the House

E

Ogbalu, called on businessmen, parents, students, faith-based organisations and others engaged in cross border transfers to use the product to meet their daily money transfer needs.

He explained that transfers could be made in the form of cash to cash, cash to account, account to cash, account to account and cash pull.

Apart from eliminating the risk of carrying cash across borders, there is no need for users of this product to

By Collins Nweze

is also available locally at all Ecobank locations within Nigeria,”said Ecobank Head, Cards & e-Products, Mr. Mike Ogbalu.

He said in order to commemorate the season, the bank is offering gifts to reward the loyalty of customers who avail themselves of the product, describing it as a suitable and accessible payment solution for economic activities across Africa.

Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year 5-Year

35m 35m 35m

11.039 12.23 13.19

19-05-2014 18-05-2016 19-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount

Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33 N1000.00 N552.20

Price Loss 2754.67 447.80

INTERBANK RATES 7.9-10% 10-11%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Amount 30m 46.7m 50m

Rate % 10.96 9.62 12.34

Date 28-04-2011 “ 14-04-2011

GAINERS AS AT 16-12-11 SYMBOL FIRSTBANK GUINNESS NESTLE IBTC ACCESS UBA AIRSERVICE JAPAULOIL CONTINSURE WAPIC

O/PRICE 8.00 218.00 404.25 7.64 4.43 2.25 2.08 0.68 0.95 0.50

C/PRICE 8.40 228.90 424.46 8.02 4.65 2.36 2.18 0.71 0.99 0.52

CHANGE 0.40 10.90 20.21 0.38 0.22 0.11 0.10 0.03 0.04 0.02

LOSER AS AT 16-12-11 SYMBOL CONOIL CADBURY CHAMPION AGLEVENT ETERNAOIL DANGFLOUR CUSTODYINS HONYFLOUR CILEASING IKEJAHOTEL

O/PRICE 33.30 10.70 4.24 1.64 3.29 4.76 2.10 2.55 0.65 2.39

C/PRICE 31.64 10.17 4.03 1.56 3.13 4.53 2.00 2.43 0.62 2.28

Amount

Offered ($) Demanded ($)

MANAGED FUNDS

Tenor 91-Day 182-Day 1-Year

source for foreign currencies before a transfer is made within the Ecobank network in Africa.

The product, seen as a fast, convenient and reliable way to transfer money across Africa, carries out transactions in the local currencies of the countries involved and funds received are made available for payment within five minutes of delivery period. It is available to both customers of the bank and non-customers across Africa.

DATA BANK

Tenor

OBB Rate Call Rate

two factories, we need a minimum of five megawatts of power at the minimum. Honestly we are finding it difficult to get that.

“We are having to invest so much in generators. With the fluctuating price of diesel, it is really taking a toll on us.

“So it is affecting our profit. It is actually distracting us from our core business. So we spend so much time and effort managing power which is not our business. Between last week and now diesel price in Abuja just went up so getting diesel at low prices at this critical time is one of the challenges we are facing.”

Ecobank courts cross-border customers

COBANK Nigeria has said its Rapid Transfer product will as sist in its commitment to providing seamless services to its customers, both locally and internationally.

The bank said the product, has enabled it capture transactions from the informal sector to the formal sector in over 29 countries where it operates across the globe.

“Rapid Transfer is an instant money transfer product offered at all branches of Ecobank in 29 African countries. It

FGN BONDS

NIDF NESF

“We want to make sure that institutions with viable businesses are well run and profitably. AMCON will continue to cooperate with honest and viable businesses that approach us in good faith, and show firm commitment to repay their debts,” he said.

On the stock market performance, Chike-obi said that the market is complicated and would have been worse-off but for AMCON’s intervention that took away NPLs from banks.

He said that the market would have suffered seriously but for the intervention of AMCON.

Amount

Exchange

Sold ($)

Rate (N)

Date

450m

452.7m

450m

150.8

08-8-11

250m

313.5m

250m

150.8

03-8-11

400m

443m

400m

150.7

01-8-11

EXHANGE RATE 26-08-11 CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Currency

Year Start Offer

Current Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

NGN USD

147.6000

149.7100

150.7100

-2.11

NGN GBP

239.4810

244.0123

245.6422

-2.57

NGN EUR

212.4997

207.9023

209.2910

-1.51

149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

Bureau de Change 152.0000 (S/N)

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

Parallel Market

154.0000

156.0000

-1.96

NSE CAP Index

NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N)

27-10-11 N6.5236tr 20,607.37

28-10-11 N6.617tr 20,903.16

% Change -1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

(S/N)

153.0000

DISCOUNT WINDOW Feb. ’11

July ’11

Aug ’11

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

8.75%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate Inflation Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00% 12.10%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00% 12.10%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00% 9.4%

Offer Price

Bid Price

9.17 1.00 118.85 98.43 0.76 1.04 0.88 1,642.73 8.24 1.39 1.87 7,351.90 193.00

9.08 1.00 118.69 97.65 0.73 1.04 0.87 1,635.25 7.84 1.33 1.80 7,149.37 191.08

ARM AGGRESSIVE KAKAWA GUARANTEED STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND THE LOTUS CAPITAL HALAL BGL SAPPHIRE FUND BGL NUBIAN FUND NIGERIA INTERNATIONAL DEB. PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CENTRE-POINT UNIT TRUST STANBIC IBTC NIG EQUITY THE DISCOVERY FUND • ARM AGGRESSIVE • KAKAWA GUARANTEED

CHANGE 1.66 0.53 0.21 0.08 0.16 0.23 0.10 0.12 0.03 0.11

• STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE • AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days 150 Days

Rate (Previous) 24 Aug, 2011 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917 12.1250

Rate (Currency) 26, Aug, 2011 10.17% 11.46% 11.96% 12.54%

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK Previous

Current

04 July, 2011

07, Aug, 2011

Bank

8.5000

8.5000

P/Court

8.0833

8.0833

Movement

56

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

57

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

58

NEWS

We’re not spending N300m on security, says Kaduna

T

HE Kaduna State Government yesterday denied reports that it has been spending about N300 million weekly on security.

The report was attributed to a senior government official.

The Principal Private Secretary to the Governor, Allahmagani Yohana, was quoted as saying in southern Kaduna that the government has been spending an average of N300 million weekly to maintain security as a result of the post-election violence in April.

A faction of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the state, led by Mohammed Musa Soba, described the reported expenditure as a waste of government resources.

It urged the House of Assembly to impeach the gov-

From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

ernor.

In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Reuben Buhari, the government said the figure was uttered to show the government’s efforts at ensuring peace.

The statement reads: “The attention of the government has been drawn to a figure being reported by some media establishments, alleging that N300 million is being spent weekly on security issues.

“There is no gainsaying the fact that the post-presidential election violence that happened in Kaduna State brought a lot of security challenges that the state has since been working hard to overcome.

“It is also true that the state

has been spending a lot of money in ensuring that it has a secured environment for both its developmental agenda and for mutual and peaceful coexistence among all inhabitants of the state.

“However, the amount being quoted by some of the media houses is certainly incorrect as the figure was uttered in a figurative sense by an official of government to emphasise and highlight the quantum of effort the government is pouring into its quest for a secured environment.

“The government, while thanking all the journalists that showed interest on the issue, reiterates its commitment to having a secured, peaceful and conducive environment for all in the state so that mutual and peaceful coexistence, development and progress could continue to thrive unabated.”

Insecurity: ‘Boko Haram used as alibi’

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ORNO State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information and Culture, Mr. Inuwa Bwala, has expressed worry that Boko Haram is being used to commit criminal activities in Nigeria.

The Boko Haram sect, he noted, is not solely responsible for the high insecurity in the country.

Bwala addressed reporters in Abuja at the weekend.

He said: “A lot of groups and individuals have used Boko Haram as alibi to commit various crimes. Armed robbers have used Boko Haram as an alibi to attack and rob innocent citizens and banks; politicians have used Boko Haram as an alibi to attack their opponents and exterminate them or settle

From Fanen Ihyongo, Jalingo

scores. Also, other criminals have used Boko Haram as alibi to commit different forms of misdemeanour “If you look at some of the modes of killings or violence in the country, there are quite different from the mode of operations of the Boko Haram sect.”

The commissioner urged the Federal Government to adopt the stick and carrot approach in handling security across the country.

He said the state government was worried because the residents were thrown into panic due to the insecurity in the state.

He noted that insecurity in the state has escalated into

bombings and destruction of property.

According to him, socioeconomic and government activities have been paralysed in the state due to insecurity.

Bwala traced the cause of Nigeria’s insecurity, including the Boko Haram menace, to illiteracy and unemployment among youths.

He said the state government was empowering the youth through basic training in agriculture and other vocational training with soft loans to reduce poverty and crime.

The lawmaker said: “Our focus, as a government, is to arrest the human factor, by providing employment for youths and making them understand that it is wrong to pick up arms against one another.”

•Gundiri (left) and Vunobulki at the event in Yola..yesterday

Adamawa ACN raises alarm over alleged plan to rig 2012 poll

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HE Adamawa State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has raised the alarm over an alleged plan by the Presidency to rig next year’s governorship election for Governor Murtala Nyako.

The Chairman of the Marcus Gundiri Governorship Campaign Organisation, Chief Maurice Vuno Bolki, alleged that the Presidency plans to return Nyako to office at all cost.

He said the ACN would confront any attempt to suppress the wishes of the people of Adamawa State.

Bolki described the flag off of Nyako’s campaign, led by Vice-President Namadi Sambo and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, as a desperate move by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to return the governor through hook and crook.

According to him, the ACN governorship candidate, Markus Gundiri, will win the election in a free and fair contest.

He said he has designed the programmes to win the support of the residents for the ACN candidate, adding that the people are fed up with the dismal performance of the

From Barnabas Manyam, Yola

Nyako administration and the corruption in the government.

The ACN addressed reporters yesterday at the Nigeria Union of journalists (NUJ) secretariat in Yola, the state capital.

ACN state Chairman Chief Maurine Vunobulki and Gundiri noted that the scientific method of rigging by the Presidency to save the ruling PDP from total disgrace in next year’s election would be resisted by the Adamawa electorate.

Vunobolki alleged that PDP has planned to repeat what it did in Kogi, adding that it would be difficult for Sambo to deliver Nyako from the electorate in the coming polls.

He said: “How is Sambo going to deliver Nyako than to apply jungle rule in what PDP call scientific method of rigging, as adopted in Kogi State? One thing that is sure is that Adamawa is not Kogi. The Vice-President should be aware of the fact that ACN will resist any attempt to rig the party at the polls.”

Kwara: Police warn Fulani herdsmen From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

HEAD of the Yuletide and New Year celebrations, the Kwara State Police Command has said it would arrest Fulani herdsmen and other persons found carrying dangerous weapons.

In a statement, the command’s spokesman, Dabo Ezekiel, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said: “The command warns the public, especially parents and guardians, that the use of knockouts and explosive materials of any kind during the Yuletide period is banned. Parents are, therefore, enjoined to warn their children and wards to desist from such acts as defaulters will be arrested and prosecuted under the appropriate law.

“The command further warns those who go around with dangerous weapons such as knives, cutlasses, planks, clubs, etc, that anyone found with such weapons, shall be arrested.

“The command wishes all Kwarans a happy celebration and assure all law-abiding citizens that tight security measures have been put in place for a hitch-free celebration...”

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Yuletide: Plateau lawmaker urges vigilance O avoid a repeat of the

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December 24, last year’s bomb blasts in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, the residents have been urged to avoid elaborate fanfare that could breach the peace of the state during the Yuletide.

Addressing reporters at the weekend in Jos, the member representing Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Bitrus Kaze, urged the residents to shun all forms of intoxicants.

He said fanfare could be sacrificed to achieve a casualtyfree Christmas.

Kaze urged the residents to be vigilant and cooperate with the government and security agencies to ensure a peaceful Christmas celebration.

Praising the Special Task Force (STF) for keeping the peace in the state, the law-

From Marie-Therese Peter, Jos

maker urged them to do more because of some killings in the hinterlands.

He hailed the Solicitor to Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Mr. Femi Falana, saying anyone found perpetrating violence in the state would not escape justice.

Kaze said: “The outbreak of violence in Barkin Ladi in November and the explosions on Bauchi Ring Road last week again interrupted the relative peace in Jos. At peace times, while unsuspecting citizens on the Plateau relax, believing albeit erroneously that everyone loves peace, our traducers returned to work to reinvigorate their evil schemes and strike when we least expected...”

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NEWS Delta to implement amnesty for ex-militants HE Delta State Gov-

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ernment has planned an amnesty programme for exmilitants in the state.

Commissioner for Youth Development Ebifa Ijeoma said this yesterday in Asaba, the state capital.

He said the amnesty would be extended to youths selected from various communities.

He, however, did not give the details of the programme, which will commence in the first quarter of next year.

Ijeoma said the amnesty would create jobs and teach new skills to youths.

According to him, the programme will help youths benefit from government policies and complement the Federal

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

Government’s amnesty initiative.

He said through the various policies of government, his ministry has resolved the crises in Ekpan, Uvwie Local Government, Udu, Udu Local Government, Irri Isoko South Local Government and Kwale Ndokwa West Local Government.

Ijeoma urged the private sector to collaborate with government to create jobs for the youths.

He said the focus of his ministry is to concentrate on development of youths at local communities and redirect their energies towards productive goals.

Suspected fraudsters dupe trader From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

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TRADER, Mrs. Felicia Ashokodi, has lost over N80, 000 to suspected fraudsters in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

Mrs. Ashikodi said she received a call that she won N2 million in the MTN N1billion mega reward with batch number M17.

According to the victim, she was asked to call Amadi Paul on 07030413125.

She said the fraudsters asked her to pay N76, 800 into a GTB account with number 0033295674 or 4224598481590 with A/C name Obiajulu Chikasally to enable her collect her compensation.

Mrs. Ashikodi said she had earlier been made to part with N6, 000 recharge cards.

She said she paid the money into the fraudsters account on November 1.

The victim said she had lodged a complaint at the police station.

Court okays Ogun PDP exco for congress

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FEDERAL High Court has declared the Dayo Soremiled executive of the Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the authentic body to conduct the forth coming congresses.

Ruling on Friday on a motion exparte brought by Soremi & two others

against PDP and members of its National Working Committee (NWC), Justice Charles Achibong, reiterated his earlier order of December 14 that the register compiled by the Soremi-led exco should be the “only register used for the congresses of the first respondent in Ogun State” The court adjourned hearing till January 21.

•Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio (left); Deputy Governor Nsima Ekere (second right) ; Akpabio’s wife, Ekaette (second left) and Ekere’s wife, Ese, at the Government House monthly prayer meeting ... at the weekend.

Fuel price rises in Delta

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HE price of petrol has risen in Delta State. It sells for between N70 and N85 per litre.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the development has resulted in long queues at some filling stations as some motorists are resorting to panic buying.

NAN learnt that motorists are buying above the approved N65 per litre for fear of a possible with-

drawal of fuel subsidy in January.

Some of them told NAN that they want to stock pile in preparation for the possible subsidy removal.

According to Mrs Ena Jibuno, “I am ready to buy the product at any given price now, so that I will be able to stock it, because January will be tough with the subsidy removal.

“If the subsidy is removed, labour will go on

strike, this will result in scarcity of petrol during the period and if there is no strike, the subsidy removal will still result in increase in prices of the petroleum products.”

NAN also reports that the prices of kerosene and diesel have gone up.

Kerosene is being sold for between N120 and N135 per litre while Diesel sells for between N145 and N165 per litre.

Black marketers are enjoying patronage from customers as those who can’t queue at the filling stations have resorted to buying from them.

Managers and supervisors of some filling stations declined to comment.

A supervisor at Anioma Filling Station on Nnebisi Road, Asaba, who pleaded anonymity said: “Go and ask the government”.

Oshiomhole alleges PDP’s plans to print fake ballot papers

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•Party: go to the police

DO State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has alleged plans by

the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rig next year’s governorship election.

Oshiomhole said the PDP is planning to announce election results with fake ballot papers it has printed.

The governor spoke at a reception organised for him last weekend by Civil Society Organisations in the state on the conferment of the National Honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) on him by

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to Oshiomhole, “The favour I need from the Civil Society is not to trust that these people (PDP) believe in the principle of “One Man, One Vote”.

“As we speak, they are printing fake result sheets to announce fake results even while people are still voting in the field.

“Civil Society Organisations must be vigilant to ensure that the rigging machines of godfatherism which we have dismantled do not reappear.

PDP’s Publicity Secretary Matthew Urhoghide said Oshiomhole should report to the police if there was any proof that the PDP has printed ballot papers.

His words: “I think Oshiomhole is an alarmist.

If he has proof, let him go to

•Oshiomhole

the police and let them arrest those people.

“PDP is not a lawless party.

He should not make such baseless accusation without proof.

“At the right time, we shall reply him.”

Akpabio advises SEC on Vision 20:20:20

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KWA IBOM State Governor Godswill Akpabio yesterday urged the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to lead Nigeria to achieve the Vision 20:20:20 policy of the Federal Government.

Akpabio presented a keynote address titled: “Transformational leadership in the Actualisation of vision 20:20:20, the case of Akwa Ibom State” at the maiden edition of the Capital Market Committee Retreat 2011 in Uyo, the state capital.

The governor said the alternative to making Nigeria one of the top 20 nations in 2020, was “Nightmare 20:20”.

This, he said, meant Nigeria will become one of the 20 poorest countries in the world.

To achieve Vision 20:20:20, Akpabio said: “We must all cooperate so that by 2020, Nigeria will be one of the 20 largest economies in the world, able to establish itself

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

as a significant player in the global arena.”

While noting that the SEC has taken Nigeria from where it started as an arm of the Central Bank of Nigeria under the name, “Capital Issues Committee” in 1962, he said there were still many challenges.

His words: “Now is the time for us to capitalise on our economic growth rates and launch ourselves onto a path of sustained and rapid economic progress.

“Nigeria must lay the foundation for the global faith in the country’s ability to emerge as an economic power.”

The governor said between now and 2020, Nigerian should set up an agenda for rapid economic growth.

He identified transformational leadership as the most critical ingredient for the success of the Vision 20:20.

Akpabio said this must be complemented with sound management of resources that would seal all leakages in the economy.

SEC Director-General Aruama Oteh praised Akpabio for the transformation of Akwa Ibom State.

She said other governors should follow his example, adding that those who came to the state before the advent of Akpabio were astounded at the level of development.

She said no country can develop without the capital market.

The SEC DG maintained that a strong capital market was necessary for the economic development of any nation.

Idahosa Varsity graduates 486

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HE Benson Idahosa University (BIU), Edo State, has awarded first degrees to 486 graduates .

Thirteen students were awarded First Class.

Honorary degrees were awarded to Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, former Minister of Defence Maj-Gen Godwin Abbey (rtd) and the Chief Executive Officer of Emzor Pharmaceuticals Plc, Mrs. Stella Okolie.

Vice-Chancellor Prof MacDonald Idu said Oshiomhole was conferred with Doctor of

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

Science (DSc) in Political Science (Honoris Causa), following his political sagacity and commitment to changing the face of governance by providing infrastructure.

The governor said the future of Nigeria depends on the quality of its human capital.

He advocated federal grants for private universities, which he said, had contributed to the development of the society.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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FOREIGN NEWS

Ex-Czech President Vaclav Havel dies at 75

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ACLAV Havel, the Czech Republic’s first president after the Velvet Revolution against communist rule, has died at the age of 75.

The former dissident playwright, who suffered from prolonged ill-health, died yesterday morning, his secretary Sabina Tancecova said.

As president, he presided over Czechoslovakia’s transition to democracy and a free-market economy.

He oversaw its peaceful 1993 split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Havel first came to international fame as a dissident playwright in the 1970s through his involvement with the human rights manifesto Charter 77.

Tributes have been pouring in for the man many consider a driving force in the overthrow of communist rule in eastern Europe.

German Chancellor Ange-

la Merkel hailed Havel as a “great European” in a letter of condolence to Czech President Vaclav Klaus.

It was clear to all who saw him in recent months that Vaclav Havel was not in the best of health.

He cut a gaunt, shrunken figure at the handful of public appearances he attended in Prague, most recently a meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

Nonetheless his death has come as a shock, and politicians and many others have been paying their respects to the man who, in the words of his successor, Vaclav Klaus, “was a symbol of the Czech state”.

Miroslava Nemcova, speaker of the lower house, said her country had “lost its moral authority.” Similar tributes have been pouring in from all over the world. For once, those words do not sound like cliches.

Within hours of the announcement of his death people began lighting candles and laying flowers at the statue of St Wenceslas on Wenceslas Square, where Havel addressed huge crowds of demonstrators in November 1989.

A black flag has been raised in mourning above Prague Castle. Church bells across the country will ring out to mark the death of a man who lived by a naive, but simple motto “truth and love will prevail over lies and hatred”.

“His fight for freedom and democracy was as unforgettable as his great humanity,” wrote Mrs Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany.

“We Germans in particular have much for which we are grateful to him. We mourn this loss of a great European with you,” she wrote.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was “deeply saddened” and that Europe

Egypt violence: Third day of deadly clashes in Cairo

P • The late Havel

owed Havel a “profound debt”.

“Havel devoted his life to the cause of human freedom.

For years, Communism tried to crush him, and to extinguish his voice. But Havel could not be silenced.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on Twitter: “Vaclav Havel was one of the greatest Europeans of our age. His voice for freedom paved way for a Europe whole and free.”

Havel died at his country home north-east of Prague.

In his final moments, he was comforted by his wife Dagmar and several nuns, his secretary was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

ROTESTERS have been stoning security forces in Cairo on the third day of unrest in the Egyptian capital over the military government.

Ten people are now known to have been killed and hundreds injured since the trouble began on Friday.

It has emerged that precious national archives were burnt when the Institute of Egypt was set alight.

The violence has overshadowed the first parliamentary elections since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February.

The latest unrest has highlighted divisions in Egyptian society, the BBC correspondent reports from the city.

The smell of smoke hangs in the air on Qasr al-Aini Street where the neo-classical Scien-

tific Academy building is still smouldering. A boy ran to show journalists singed pages of documents and maps from its archives, which dated back to the late 18th Century.

Many spectators hang back on nearby streets watching as youths continue to throw stones at the military police.

There is shock and anger at the brutal force used earlier by troops to try to clear a sitin by protesters calling for an immediate end to military rule.

“We want Field Marshal Tantawi to just get out of here. We understand every little step the military is taking to undermine our revolution,” an activist, Muhammad Sawry, told me. “If he’s not careful our peaceful revolution will turn into something else - a nightmare.”

South Africa’s firebrand Malema openly mocks Zuma

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IREBRAND party rebel Julius Malema mocked South African President Jacob Zuma at a provincial conference at the weekend, local media said, in the latest sign of a growing power struggle within the ruling ANC ahead of its leadership election next year.

Malema, currently appealing a five-year suspension from the ANC, led supporters at a conference on Saturday in singing “The shower man is giving us a hard time”, the Sunday Times said.

The paper showed a photograph of a beret-clad Malema cupping his hand over his head to imitate a shower. The reference was to Zuma’s admission in a 2006 rape trial - in which he was acquitted - that he did not use a condom during sex with a woman he knew to be HIV-positive, but took a shower afterwards in the hope of reducing the risk of infection.

Malema was attending an ANC conference in his home province of Limpopo, where

he still commands wide support.

The ANC last month expelled the 30-year-old leader of its powerful youth wing for five years for dividing the party and bringing it into disrepute.

Malema has called for the nationalisation of mines and banks, the seizure of whiteowned land, and the overthow of neighbouring Botswana’s democratically elected government. His suspension should help pave the way for Zuma to secure a second term as ANC leader, and hence as South African president, at a party conference next year.

But Malema’s appearance at the weekend sent a different message from comments last month in which he said he was “finished politically” and had decided to go into cattle farming.

At the conference on Sunday, a key Malema ally scored a major win when he was reelected as head of the Limpopo ANC.

THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

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THE NATION MONDAY, DECEMMBER 19, 2011

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NATION SPORT MAN CITY 1-0 ARSENAL

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Silva sends hosts back to top

ANCHESTER CITY returned to the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win against Arsenal in a pulsating game at the Etihad Stadium.

David Silva’s second half goal secured all three points in a brilliant match that swayed to and fro from the first minute.

Player Ratings: Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal Neville: Mancini under pressure if City lose Wenger: Arsenal can beat Manchester CityNo rush to renew Mancini's contract - report City made three changes from their first defeat of the season against Chelsea on Monday with Arsenal old boys Kolo Toure and Samir Nasri coming into the side.

Pablo Zabaleta joined them in the starting lineup as Joleon Lescott, James Milner and Gael Clichy all missed out. Meanwhile, the Gunners were unchanged from their defeat of Everton last Saturday.

The early stages were

dominated by the home side as the Gunners looked nervy on the ball and struggled to retain possession.

City’s bright start should

have seen them take the lead in the ninth minute as Zabaleta was played clear on the left hand side by Gareth Barry before sliding the ball

Oyetayo, Bello crowned champions

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By Innocent Amomoh made nonsense of most of his opponents in the top 16 finale to become the overall champion in the men’s division.

For the technical coordinator of the championship, John Peters, it was indeed a worthwhile experience for most of the players, as this also reflected in their performance at the Asoju Oba Cup with

Ganiyu Ashimiyu dethroning defending champion, Kazeem Adeniyi.

“I think this is a good time for table tennis in Lagos and this was because the present commissioner for sports, who was also a former chairman of the Lagos State Table Tennis Association (LSTTA), continues what he did when he was in charge of the game.

There is doubt that Lagos owns the game in Nigeria

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The Heartland creative midfielder has resumed training after suffering a knock on his ankle in a league game towards the end of last season and he is also sounding very confident of his club will win the 2012 CAF Confederation Cup at first try.

“We are very ready to conquer Africa after our failure to win the 2009 CAF Champi-

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By David Onyeka ding talents that can hold their own in world stage.

"The players i have seen here today are ripe for the U-17 national team. They are young and very talented. I am really impressed with their performance here today," he said.

Amun thanked the organizers for a job well done, while

From Tunde Liadi, Owerri the Governor of Imo State who promptly gave approval to the tune of 20 million naira for their travel expenses and other logistics.

She also expressed her sincere gratitude to the Honourable Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Comrade Kenneth Emelu for his role in facilitating the arrangement for their adventure.

One of the country’s other representatives, Niger Flickers was not that fortunate in the male category as the team from Minna could only settle for 4th place while others that featured from Nigeria were not placed at all.

Meanwhile, the victorious Heartland Flickers will arrive Nigeria from Zambia today (Monday) after lifting the Hockey Championship again.

ons League,” said Ubido, who recently got married.

“The players who have been retained by the management and the new ones who are coming will to a very large extent enhance our chances of been crowned continental champions.

“I know it will be tough but we are more than prepared to give it our best shot.”

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RAIG Bellamy inspired Liverpool to their fifth away league win of the season by scoring one goal and creating another in the space of four minutes.

The former Manchester City man fired home from close range after Jonjo Shelvey's clever flick created the opening from Stewart Downing's corner. Bellamy then swung in a 15th-minute corner for Martin Skrtel to head home.

Charles N'Zogbia's effort in the first half was the closest Aston Villa came as they slumped to their fifth defeat.

Villa's final-day win over Liverpool at the end of last season was their first in 13 attempts but with the Reds having only one defeat in their 10 previous games before this visit, it was always going to be tough for the hosts.

And Alex McLeish's side's task was made even harder as a sluggish start saw them two down after only 15 minutes.

Downing, making his first visit to Villa Park since his £20m move in the summer to Anfield, squandered an early chance to a chorus of

sarcastic cheers from the home faithful. However, the Villa fans were soon silenced when Downing whipped in a corner that Shelvey diverted goalwards.

Luis Suarez attempted a trick of his own that Guzan blocked but Villa's second-choice keeper could do nothing to deny Bellamy smashing home.

Liverpool have the best defensive record in the top flight, conceding only 13 goals and keeping six clean sheets Four minutes later, Skrtel grabbed his second goal of the season to double the visitors' advantage with Bellamy turning provider with a pacey corner that the Slovakian defender rose above Alan Hutton to head in.

With Gabriel Agbonlahor suspended and Darren Bent a late withdrawal because of injury, McLeish was missing his two top scorers and it was obvious as they created little in a first half that Liverpool dominated.

N'Zogbia was the one bright spark for the home side as he fired over just before the half-hour mark before hitting another effort into the side-netting soon after.

Rooney, Carrick score against QPR

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ANCHESTER United maintained the pressure on Manchester City at the Premier League summit with a comfortable win against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road.

Wayne Rooney set them on the way to a victory that restored them to the top of the table - if only for a few hours -

Youngstars excite Fanny Amun, as Paddysco Talent Hunt ends one-time General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Fanny Amun, has expressed excitement at the show of talent from young stars who participated in the just concluded Paddysco Talent Hunt.

Amun, who was the guest of honour at the final day of the event said that the development is an indication that Nigeria if blessed with bud-

and with what happened in the league, it has confirmed that the state is ready to continue to dominate the game.

Apart from the live that returned to the game in the state, most of the players are now in top form for any major competitions. We hope that the next edition will be more competitive because new players have emerged from the maiden edition,” Peters said.

The tournament was bankrolled by Arrowhead Automobiles with support from the Lagos State HIV/ AIDS Control Agency (LASACA).

Ubido says he's new 'Jay Jay' E A R T L A N D midfielder, Julius Ubido, has said Eagles coach Stephen Keshi should not have to look too far for a replacement for Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha as he is that player.

Ubido has already been selected by Keshi for a training camp for players from the domestic league beginning Monday in Abuja.

“I am not tying to be boastful but I believe that my God given talent will see me impress the Super Eagles that I am the new Okocha waiting to explode,” the gifted Ubido told MTNFoootball.com Keshi is shopping for a central midfielder or playmaker for the new team he is building ahead of the qualifying campaigns for both the 2013 Nations Cup and the 2014 World Cup.

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IGERIA Hockey side, Heartland Flickers have again retained the African Hockey Club Championship which was rounded off Saturday in Lusaka, Zambia.

The Nigeria flagbearer defeated their Zimbabwean counterpart 5-1 in a one sided final played Saturday afternoon to thus record their 6th triumph at the tourney.

It was another dominating outing from the Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha inspired ladies and they made victory sure yet again with a thumping defeat a feat the team had got used to since the competition began last week.

NationSport spoke with the Director of Sports, Imo State Chizotam Aretola and see disclosed that the Heartland Flickers were buoyed by the motivation given to them by

Liverpool beat Aston Villa

• David Silva nips in to score his sixth goal of the season after 53 minutes

LAGOS TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE MIDST stiff competition from the top players at the grand finale of the Lagos table tennis league, the duo of Sola Oyetayo and Fatimo Bello were crowned the champions for emerging the best players in the eight-week tournament.

For Bello, it was a sweet end for the year having made the final of the league thrice and missing out from the title, she ended the last two week as winner and the icing on the cake for the southpaw player was claiming the overall title of the championship.

It was in the midst of the league that Bello also won her maiden title at the 43rd Asoju Oba Cup to be among the top players that had won the competition at three levels – cadet, junior and senior.

To confirm her status as the best female player in Lagos, Bello whitewashed ageing Yetunde Thompson 3-0 in the grand finale watched by the state Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Wahid Enitan Oshodi.

For Oyetayo, it was a difficult task considering his misfortune since the league began. Though he managed to win the second week but since then he could not find his voice among the top four. But at the weekend, he

across the front of both Arsenal centre-halves to Sergio Aguero, whose first touch was exemplary, but still saw him fire over from 15 yards.

Heartland Flickers retain African Hockey Championship • Returns to Nigeria today

saying that the players discovered are capable of correcting the flops that have characterized Nigerian Football in recent time.

The event which was rounded up with a friendly match between Paddysco International Football Club and Young Stars Fc staged at the National Stadium, is a week-long event aimed at discovering young talents.

with a header inside the first minute.

And after United missed a succession of chances and were denied by QPR keeper Radek Cerny, Michael Carrick settled an entertaining encounter and gave them the winning margin their vast superiority deserved with his first goal in 70 games for United, shortly after half-time.

QPR were tenacious but were eventually outclassed by United's greater quality, as Sir Alex Ferguson's side continued their rehabilitation from their shock Champions League exit with a second successive league win to maintain their pursuit of a 20th title.

With Darren Fletcher ruled out for the foreseeable future through illness, Carrick was paired with Phil Jones in central midfield. And the versatile England teenager could also have got on the scoresheet in a powerful and impressive performance, hitting the woodwork and being halted by

Cerny after a surging run.

United still showed occasional signs of frailty in defence without injured captain Nemanja Vidic and with Patrice Evra particularly vulnerable, but they ultimately carried far too much power for QPR, especially with Rooney restored to his familiar attacking role after a spell in midfield.

It was Rooney who made the instant impact as he stole in on Antonio Valencia's cross to send a downward header beyond the reach of Cerny in the opening seconds to subdue a typically vibrant atmosphere inside Loftus Road.

United's slick passing was proving too much for QPR in the early exchanges and Cerny needed to dash off his line to block Danny Welbeck after he was played in by Nani.

QPR, however, showed real reserves of resilience to dig their way back into a match that looked well beyond

them at the start, with striker Heidar Helguson taking advantage of weakness in United's defence as he headed Joey Barton's cross just over.

For all the typical endeavour of Warnock's side, it was United who showed thrust going forward as they created a succession of chances before the interval.

Jonny Evans headed on to the bar from a corner, while Cerny saved QPR again after 28 minutes when he dived at the feet of Jones after Rooney's incisive pass sent him racing clear.

Cerny, heroic in QPR's defeat at Liverpool last week, was in outstanding form again as he demonstrated agility and sharp reflexes to save from Valencia as he looked certain to add United's second.

RESULTS Premier league

QP R. 0 - 2 Man Utd. Aston Villa 0 - 2 Liverpool Tottenham 1 - 0Sunderland Man City 1 - 0 Arsenal

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WHO SAID WHAT

‘Selective budget is a partial implementation of the TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

C OMMENT & D EB ATE EBA

W

HEN I was a journalism fellow at the University of Toronto, a friend and now professor in Massachusetts, Chidi Nwaubani, referred to a phrase he once heard about Nigerians. It was “elasticity of endurance.” He was a lecturer at the Imo State University when a fellow teacher spun the theory to show that there could never be a revolution in Nigeria.

I never forget the phrase because it brings to mind the story of Sisyphus, the mythical figure who eternally carries a rock up a hill and just before reaching the top, the rock rolls back to the foot of the hill. Some people have argued that Sisyphus was happy carrying the rock uphill without ever reaching the top.

Novelist and philosopher Albert Camus was in the forefront of this glorification of the suffering of Sisyphus. Many who read the story through the ages have defined the character as an exemplar of the cursed. But to Camus and his fellow travellers, the sweaty, burdened rock carrier is blessed. So, if Sisyphus is happy, then he is a Nigerian.

The reasons for these allusions were the assertions of two important men, President Goodluck Jonathan and his mentor and predecessor, Olusegun Obasanjo. President Jonathan noted that the levels of youth joblessness and suffering and alienation are at an unacceptable level. So he warned that a revolution was imminent if the worries of the young were not tackled.

Not long after, Obasanjo waded in and asserted that Nigeria could be on the cusp of our version of the Arab Spring. The irony is that the two men had roles to play in what brought this country to this sorry state. The other irony is that they have the talisman against the omen of the prophesies. The third irony is that neither acts with the urgency of avoiding a revolution in Nigeria.

But more important is the question: Do Nigerians want a revolution? No. Is Nigeria ripe for one? A long time ago. Nigerians have been suffering for decades. Yet in the past two decades, we have not experienced anything close to a revolutionary ardour. The June 12 period was a period of angst, but it had no revolutionary ferment. People were frustrated with an election. Nigerians wanted a democracy, a system of fairness. But it did not savour a universal air of urgency.

Although we had participants from different parts of the country, it still came across as a Southwest rumble with sympathies from some persons in other parts. Yet, if we looked at the June 12 period, it was easy to argue that the rage was as much about a Yoruba man deprived of an election victory as it was about the rot in education, the paralysis in healthcare, a generation out of touch with the future, the burgeoning army of the jobless and the plummeting value of the naira. But it was simplified as a Yoruba thing. Even within the Southwest, bottlenecks came in the form of traitors and fifth columnists and reactionaries.

conditions were not surefire predictors. Hence he wrote: “The English have all the material requisites for the revolution. What they lack is the spirit of generalisation and revolutionary ardour.”

I wrote a few weeks back that we cannot have an Arab Spring partly because Nigeria is a country without Nigerians. We are still lost in our ethnic nights.

Perhaps that is why a strong civil protest or uprising is hard to sustain. We do not have a proprietary air over our country. Noteworthy is that the people have hardly counted. The elite, especially the political elite, decide it. We the people just swallow the decisions with impotent murmurs.

Somehow, I believe Nigerians have not suffered enough. Politicians believe, for instance, that they can decide who becomes governor or local government chairman or lawmaker and the people don’t matter. If the people disagree, the people will lose at the polls anyway and nothing will happen. In a few cases when judicial victory came to the actual winners, it was not the people who decided but the elite.

The same thing happens to policies. No one is fighting the decay in education or the fury of

human rights violations by our police force.

We are a docile people. The looming removal of fuel subsidy has not generated the outward disgust many feel inside. We are an optimistic people with creative ways to get by. But do we really get by? What is our life expectancy? How many have square meals or can pay N2,000 hospital bills or pay house rents in their dingy neighbourhoods? Not many.

But there is no rage. One, we have too many people who benefit from our unofficial welfare state. The house help or guard or clerk knows that a boss or well-heeled neighbour or uncle will help out in times of need from transport money to the wedding of the daughter. It is strengthened by the billions that pour in from family in diaspora.

Two, faith. The array of prosperity gospels has dampened the power of self-help and initiative, with the champion crusades serving as soporific scripts of escape. A certain individualism of hope has trumped the wisdom of collective effort. Nigeria is a project for individuals. “God will help me and not us,” is the attitude, since faith only takes cognisance of individual salvation. Hence our personal optimism and collective despair.

Jonathan knows the paralysis of effort among the ordinary Nigerians against their fates hence the subsidy removal. We all know that the real fuel subsidy is small and the huge money at stake is actually corruption subsidy.

We all know that N1.3 trillion in one year could not account for the cars and fuel and movements in Nigeria in one year alone. We all know that Jonathan is just trying to move money from one place to another. If he does not have the will and discipline to tackle the corruption, how will he have the discipline to spend the money? After all, during the presidential campaigns, he announced hundreds of billions in contracts for jobs and other infrastructure work, and we have not seen any results since.

When people talk of revolution, they expect a jolt. The jolt has to be inside the people first.

I don’t feel it inside Nigerians. Hear Eric Hoffer: “We used to think that revolutions are the cause of change. Actually it is the other way around.”

In revolutionary America, John Adams said the “revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people…The radical change in the principles, opinions and sentiments and affections of the people, was the real American revolution.”

Vladimir Lenin, who helped fulfil Marx’s prediction even though Marx expected it elsewhere, said: “A revolution is impossible without a revolutionary situation; furthermore, not every revolutionary situation leads to revolution.”

I noted at a gathering that the reason Nigerians would not bring down the system is that most of us think our time at the top is coming.

Nigerians don’t hate their oppressors. We just wish we were in their shoes. That is the great Nigerian illusion, and the reason we deserve to suffer a little more.

HARDBALL

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above

SAM OMATSEYE

IN TOUCH

intouchsam@yahoo.com 08054501081(sms only) •Winner, Informed Commentary 2009& 2010 (D.A.M.E)

Are the people ready?

‘

•Dr. Jonathan

•Obasanjo

The condition for revolution existed but it did not birth a revolution. Rather, when democracy came, it was not those who toiled and deposited casualties that took over, but the collaborators. We did not have a revolution, but people were content to believe in the illusion of change. Even those years gave off a scent of intrepid men and women, daring the gun and the barricade for the equality of citizens. I agree with one of the greatest essayists of all time, G.K. Chesterton: “You can never have a revolution to establish a democracy. You have a democracy in order to have a revolution.”

We wanted the reverse. It is because we never collectively believed in real change during the June 12 struggle that this democracy is disappointing.

We have continued to slide. In the midst of this, we were described as the happiest people in the world. Yet, that was before Boko Haram and the relentless Jos inferno, before the Naira hit 150 to a dollar, before we bottomed out of the top 5,000 universities in the world. The conditions may be ripe for democracy but it does not guarantee it. When Karl Marx predicted revolutions, he thought it would start in Europe, particularly Germany. But he knew that

RIPPLES

We all know that Jonathan is just trying to move money from one place to another. If he does not have the will and discipline to tackle the corruption, how will he have the discipline to spend the money?

Ojukwu: Greater love hath no university than this

Edo PDP asiprant woos voters with rice– News

I

Only RICE?...they need BEER too!

VOL.7, NO. 1,979

‘

MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011

approved budget, so what the Speaker is saying and what everyone of us agreed to is that the budget must be implemented 100 per cent’ ABAYOMI KAKO ARE

T is impossible to miss the irony in the advice given by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka Alumni Association (UNAA) to the Federal Government to shelve any plan to rename the University of Nigeria (UNN) after the departed Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. That would amount to localising the institution and violating the spirit of the institution’s founding father, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, they argued. Instead, they went on, it would not be out of place to rename the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) after the former rebel leader who led an unsuccessful secession between 1967 and 1970. The alumni reasoned that the NDA alternative was not outrageous because Ojukwu was the first graduate to join the Nigerian Army.

It is difficult but not impossible to fault the argument that UNN would become localised if it was renamed after Ojukwu. If, as they suggested, Ojukwu was qualified for the honour of giving Nigeria’s elite military academy his name, why then should he be undeserving of UNN? Are they worried that the university would become localised once it is named after

someone of Igbo origin? Or are they uncomfortable with the fact that Ojukwu’s name would be inappropriate for the institution simply because he led a rebellion? What if the rebellion had succeeded? The argument of the university becoming localised because of Ojukwu’s name in fact becomes difficult to sustain in the face of the equally prestigious University of Ife being renamed after Chief Obafemi Awolowo, a politician and statesman of Yoruba origin.

The UNN alumni association may, however, have a point. If Nigeria is really a nation as all those who have ruled the country gave the impression, why did they not attempt to name UNN after Awolowo, for instance, and, say, University of Benin after Ojukwu? Without saying so, it seems that what agitates the UNN alumni is the fear of losing the peculiar name the university has borne since its founding. It is the only university named after Nigeria. That uniqueness, in their estimation, is to be guarded more jealously than the need to honour one of their famous sons. After all, if the institution needed to be renamed, Zik should

even qualify more than anyone else. But if its founding father was not so honoured, it would indeed be difficult to name the university after the former rebel leader, no matter how justified the rebellion he led was.

The UNN alumni should not count it presumptuous of this columnist to consider their suggestion of NDA alternative as superfluous. It is unlikely their suggestion would be given any attention anywhere; nor is it helpful that they described the suggestion of renaming UNN as parochial. Ojukwu might be the first graduate to enlist in the Nigerian Army, the fact that he led a rebellion is unlikely to qualify him to receive that honour.

In addition, in a multicultural society riven by distrust and rancour, the NDA is unlikely ever to be renamed after any Nigerian, no matter how distinguished. The UNN alumni have a right to guard the unique name of their alma mater, but they would need to come up with a better suggestion than NDA if they hope to be taken seriously or stand a chance of achieving their goal of seeing Ojukwu honoured outside his homeland.

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