The Nation February 3, 2013

18 Nigerians face execution in Indonesia tomorrow

NIGERIAVSCOTED’IVOIRE Jonathan, Maigari fire up Super Eagles Keshi, Yobo eye victory Elephant’s coach wary of Nigeria Ghana, Mali book semi final tickets

Jonathan begs for stay of action –Page 4

–Pages 70-71

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

Vol.07, No. 2390

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

SUNDAY

FEBRUARY 3, 2013

N200.00

2011 POLLS

Obasanjo wanted Buhari, Okonjo-Iweala ticket –El-Rufai

Feared Jonathan won’t be competent president

If Buhari agreed to these proposals, Obasanjo undertook to get three or four unnamed wealthy people to help with funding the CPC campaign, and Obasanjo would try bringing Labour Party to endorse the Buhari-Ngozi ticket.

Harvard University Boko Haram: FG suspends 60 considering response to ceasefire –Sambo students for cheating –Page 4

–Page 4

–Page 2

WHO raises cancer alarm • Only 17% African nations have control plans –Page 6

2

NEWS THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

F

ORMER Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir el- Rufai, has alleged a plot by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo to stop President Goodluck Jonathan from winning the 2011 election.

The alleged plot, according to El-Rufai in his memoirs The Accidental Public Servant, was based on the exPresident’s perception of Jonathan as a weak leader.

El-Rufai calls the scheme an “interesting move” to stop Jonathan.

Obasanjo’s preference, he says, was a joint ticket of General Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Okonjo-Iweala also served in the Obasanjo government in the same capacity.

The book, which is due for public presentation this week in Abuja, has become a hot cake.

But for security reasons, its pre-launch circulation has been restricted to a select few.

The ex-Minister, who enjoyed the confidence of the former President and was one of his trusted aides, said of the alleged plot: “The period between 15th January and the deadline for submission of nominations by political parties to INEC had its own version of intrigues. Pastor Bakare had not immediately accepted the offer to be running mate, but the media was awash with speculations that Buhari had chosen him.

“On 25th January, I was summoned by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to his hotel room at the Hilton for reasons he said were both urgent and important. On arrival, I exchanged pleasantries with Steven Oronsaye and Akin Osuntokun in the living room and we went straight into his bedroom.

“After greetings, Obasanjo asked if I was still in touch with Buhari. I replied that I was not directly but could reach him anytime I wished. He then asked that I resumed my role of emissary between the two of them and wished to know quickly if I could reach Buhari with a message. I responded that I could do so pretty quickly.

“Obasanjo then said that he concurred with my earlier

2011 polls: Obasanjo wanted Buhari, Okonjo-Iweala ticket –El-Rufai From: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

belief that Jonathan would not make a competent President and that the best presidential candidate of the whole lot was Buhari.

“He expressed willingness to support Buhari and go public with it if CPC and Buhari are willing to consider his suggestions and implement them.

“Obasanjo suggested that I should convince Buhari to pick Ngozi as his running mate, enter immediately into an alliance with the ACN and ANPP, and then offer the Senate President’s position to the South-West to secure Tinubu’s support.”

The former Minister said Obasanjo offered to source for four wealthy Nigerians who could finance Buhari and CPC’s campaign.

El-Rufai added: “If Buhari agreed to these proposals, Obasanjo undertook to get three or four unnamed wealthy people to help with funding the CPC campaign, and Obasanjo would try bringing Labour Party to endorse the Buhari-Ngozi ticket.

“Obasanjo promised to resign from the chairmanship of the Board of Trustees of the PDP and announce his support for the ticket if it would be helpful. I took notes on the hotel notepaper and left, promising to report back the next day.

“It was fortuitous that both Buhari and Pastor Bakare were in Abuja, so along with Pastor Bakare we met Buhari and delivered Obasanjo’s message.

“Bakare, who until then was a reluctant running mate, saw the Obasanjo offer as good for CPC and Buhari and hoped it would free him from the burden that Buhari had imposed on him.

“He added that since Buhari had not yet officially announced his name as running mate, he would be happy

• Feared Jonathan won’t be competent president

•President Goodluck Jonathan welcoming the visiting Indonesia President, Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. With them is Mrs. Patience Jonathan and wife of the Indonesia President, Ani (left) in Abuja, yesterday.

to step aside for Ngozi. I was simply an emissary so I was silent, hoping that Buhari would accept so I would be free of my commitment to be at Bakare’s side!

“Buhari smiled and asked for my opinion as someone that knew Obasanjo pretty well. I told both of them that I thought Obasanjo was being honest in his recommendations as I would urge Buhari to take similar steps of merger with other parties and so on “I doubted if Obasanjo would deliver on the monies promised and the resignation from the PDP Board of Trustees and did not even think the latter would help the CPC and GMB in anyway.

“I also added that Obasanjo’s faction of Ogun PDP had just lost all their tickets to contest the next elections and should this situation change,

Obasanjo would renege on everything he had committed to. Obasanjo may also be making another strategic move of removing Bakare’s name from the ticket, in addition to responding to Jonathan’s failure to ensure that his faction got the ticket by hook or crooksomething Jonathan simply refused to do, preferring to support the state governor, Gbenga Daniel and his faction.

“Buhari restated that he thought long and hard before deciding on Bakare and would not change his mind.

However, we all agreed to continue to engage Obasanjo and encourage contacts with Ngozi while pushing to see real movement towards the financial and other political commitments made.

“The same evening I returned to Obasanjo to brief him. He was excited and

promised to contact Ngozi, Labour Party, the ANPP leadership and a few wealthy benefactors.”

The ex-Minister also revealed how Obasanjo made a U-turn on Jonathan and threw his weight behind him regardless of his ‘weaknesses’.

He said: “Some days later on 1st February, I got a call from Prof. Julius Ihonvbere requesting a meeting to follow up on my discussions with Obasanjo and Buhari. We met in the 3G offices on 2nd February with Julius and Festus Odimegwu on the same subject.

“We exchanged information and updates on the political situation and ended with the question posed by Obasanjo to me and then to Julius and Festus- “How do we stop Jonathan from get-

2015: Northern Union woos Obasanjo, others S

OME Northern leaders have reached out to former President Olusegun Obasanjo for his support in ensuring that power returns to the North in 2015.

The Northern leaders under the auspices of the Northern Union (NU), it was gathered, visited Obasanjo in his Abeokuta residence last weekend to discuss the matter.

The leaders, a source told The Nation, pleaded with Obasanjo to support the aspiration of the North to produce the PDP presidential candidate for the 2015 elec-

By Dare Odufowokan tion.

The decision to approach the former President, it was gathered, was taken at a meeting of northern political elite held in Kaduna last month in the build- up to the next presidential race.

The calculation of the northern leaders is that securing the support of the former President will boost the chances of the region to secure the party’s ticket and also give its presidential aspiration a national appeal.

The team that met with Obasanjo, The Nation learnt,

included Alhaji Ahmad Adamu, Ambassador Aliko Daniyan, Alhaji Hussein Kaltungo and Dr. Joseph Hembe.

The team relayed a message from prominent northern elders appealing to Obasanjo to support the region’s quest to produce the next president of the country.

The source said:”The northern leaders met Baba (Obasanjo) during the week.

It was an unscheduled visit but he received them warmly. They brought a message from northern elite soliciting his support for

their desire to produce a Nigerian President of northern extraction.

“Baba (Obasanjo) received them in the presence of some other leaders of the ruling party in the Southwest who had come to see him for another matter. The parley lasted for more than an hour and details of the discussions are still very sketchy but I can tell you that the 2015 presidential election was discussed.”

It is unclear how the former President responded to the request of the NU team but our source said the delegation departed Abeokuta

a few hours after their arrival with the explanation that they wanted to visit Lagos and Ibadan to meet with other leaders of the party in the Southwest, suggesting that Obasanjo may not be the only leader being wooed by the North ahead of the 2015 presidential contest.

“The team said they were going to Lagos and Ibadan for discussion with other prominent party leaders.

They also promised to repeat their visit to Baba very soon as there is need to keep him abreast of developments,” our source said.

ting elected, and thereby saving the country from state failure?

“We discussed various steps but unanimously recognised that Obasanjo would abandon the plan as soon as his temporary disagreement with the Jonathan administration was resolved. Since we believed in what we were doing, we agreed to soldier on under whatever scenario.

“On 7th February, we all travelled to Abeokuta to meet with Obasanjo. Odimegwu and Julius had developed a clear roadmap about remedying the weaknesses in Buhari’s organization and campaign for Obasanjo to play his lead role in the antiJonathan effort.

“By then, a weird Federal High Court ruling had restored the tickets of Iyabo Obasanjo and other members of their faction in Ogun State.

So true to form, Obasanjo simply back-tracked, rejected the roadmap he had asked us to prepare, and said we should now explore ways of “remedying Jonathan’s weaknesses” and supporting his candidature.

“His commitments to Buhari vanished that day, just as we all predicted on 25th January. It was a very depressing drive late at night to Lagos for the five of us-Prof.

Julius Ihonvbere, Festus Odimegwu, and Prof. George Obiozor with Otunba Akingboye driving.

“We lamented Obasanjo’s consistency in putting his personal interest before that of the nation and agreed that never again will he get another opportunity to waste our time the way he just did.”

Column

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

The return of Mlungu (Towards the recolonisation of sub-Saharan Africa)

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nooping around With

Tatalo Alamu

•Malians welcoming French troops

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S he lay mortally wounded in the open field, with vultures circling overhead and hyenas braying in the distance, Chaka made one final superhuman effort to raise himself from the valley of the dying. The great Zulu emperor was no stranger to near death experiences. He had survived horrific wounds before and outlived savage mutilations unleashed by enemy spears. But the gaping eyesores inflicted by his own envious siblings proved too close to call.

His eyes glazed over with imminent death. But before he gave up the ghost, the great African warrior who was often referred to as a black Napoleon roused himself to give his historic verdict on those who had betrayed him. The great Zulu empire would not pass on to his resentful siblings. Mlungu is coming, Chaka noted as his great frame finally toppled over. Mlungu is the South African native epithet for a white person, particularly from overseas. As predicted, the empire promptly dissolved before the Boer invaders after some momentous bloodletting.

As it is with everything African where legend is inseparable from reality and where fact meshes with fiction and fantasy, nobody is sure whether the prophecy is true, or whether Thomas Mofolo, Chaka’s fictional biographer, was indulging his splendid imagination. Some have even gone as far as accusing the great South African novelist of Sotho nationalism.

It was alleged that a resentful Mofolo never forgave Chaka for smashing up his people’s pre-colonial fiefdom.. On the historic scale of a testament-like dismissal and denouncement of a whole race for perfidy, this one is at par with Alafin Aole’s celebrated denouncement of the Yoruba race. Ironically, they both happened around the same time. It was death and the king’s horsemen again as two different African communities in different parts of Africa experienced the same stress and strain brought about by historical pressures on old African feudal formations.

Almost three centuries on, the successor nation-states to the old African empires are experiencing the stress and strains brought about by new historical realities. All over Africa, particularly in its sub-Saharan region, the nation-state paradigm is in dire straits. It appears as if the colonial falcon no longer hearkens to the post-colonial fal-

coner. As anarchy is let loose in the region, the old imperialist cartography of the continent is under siege.

If the pictures coming out of Mali this past fortnight are to be believed, Mlungu is clearly back in Africa, that is if he ever left. A recolonisation of failing and failed states in Africa is underway. If in the past, the recolonisation was often purely ideological or predatory, this time around it is for reasons of self-preservation. Let the African political dinosaurs who have failed their people and their nations continue to strut and preen about the imperial metropole without any sense of shame or sobriety. The judgement hour is at hand, and it is going to be a messy and savage denouement indeed.

An engrossing historical paradox is unfolding before our very eyes. The crowds of native Malians lustily cheering and hailing French troops as they swept through the historic cities of Gao, Timbuktu and Kildai are welcoming their old colonial conquerors as new post-colonial liberators! It doesn’t get more paradoxical than that. This is not some desert mirage, or a sandstorm-induced optical illusion. It will be the same if the scene were to be repeated in many African countries.

As we have noted repeatedly in this column, a dead man will have to be buried, if not because of his relations but because his corpse constitutes a health hazard to the rest of the community. As at this moment, many African countries,

particularly in the sub-Saharan region, constitute a health hazard to the international community. As it has been brilliantly formulated, globalisation is both the universalisation of the particular and the particularisation of the universal. In other words, except where it meets successful local particulars, western modernity will try to extend its domain to every nook and corner of the world.

With the globalisation of the social media network and the universalisation of satellite communication, the native Malians even in their desert encroaches know what good governance is all about. They reject the incompetent and bankrupt government in the South and the savage species of prehistoric Islamic fundamentalism that was foisted on them by the al-queda militants in the north.

The Islamic fanatics did nothing to endear themselves to the local populace while they were in charge, and it was clear they had nothing to offer except the wild and merciless cruelty of their Stone Age inquisition. The testimony of the natives who had suffered under the harsh misrule of the frowning jihadists is apt and compelling. “Cest ne pas bon!,” they chorused in broken French with near universal revulsion.

It was clear that to the average Malian there was nothing to choose between the buffoonish incompetence of the political elite left behind by colonisation and the Stone Age barbarity of the Islamic fundamentalists who are the sadistic relics of an older Islamic civilisation masquerading as a new variant of modernity. They chose their old co-

Okon dazzles them in Akure

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HEN beggars die, there are no comets seen, but the heavens themselves blaze forth at the death of princes” The immortal William Shakespeare could not have been more perceptive. It was a carnivallike exit on Friday in Akure as the entire state capital rose to bid goodbye to one of Akure’s most illustrious sons ever, Chief Adewunmi Adegbonmire, a.k.a Omo Ekun, the late Asiwaju of Akureland. Ancient and folklored political gladiators, the new kids on the political block and the cream of Nigeria’s progressive politicians came to wave a final goodbye to a true political generalissimo.

Snooper was there, and so was the impossible and impertinent Okon who was fronting as Domestic and Political Secretary with concurrent accreditation to the Kitchen Cabinet.. It is quite a mouthful but then Okon himself is quite a handful.

Strangely enough, the crazy boy seems to know the social and cultural topography of Akure and environ very well claiming to have served as an apprentice journeyman— whatever that means in the area.

After an initial weather scare, the journey got on to a smooth cruise until Okon began his demented antics to Snooper’s acute regret. All of a sudden, the mad boy jumped up as if stung by a scorpion.

“Oga, tell dem plane driver to park, as I wan pee,” the crazy boy yelled at me.

“Okon, don’t be stupid. This is not a kabukabu bus.” Snooper screamed at the fool.

“Even dem kabukabu dey park for pipul make dem pee” Okon shouted at me. Before Snooper could comprehend what was going on, Okon yanked an empty bottle from a revered politician and rapidly began filling the bottle to his bladder’s content with the velocity of a consummate rapist even as he was neighing like a wild horse. After this his face became frozen by a deranged grin. Snooper avoided him for the rest of the flight.

But the firework started again as soon as we reached the church premises, teeming and milling with a mammoth crowd which was unprecedented in colour and diversity.

From the distance, Snooper began counting professors and eggheads from the old University of Ife who had come to bid goodbye to the illustrious warrior, but this seemed to have drawn Okon’s juvenile ire.

“Kai, kai, dis yeye Yoruba people and dem feferity. If to say na better person kaput now dem no go comout. But na animal dem dey worship. See how dem they cry for dem tiger im pikin. If to say na tiger himself come kaput nko?” the mad boy snorted and Snooper immediately whipped him into line with a look full of daggers.

But the testy truce lasted up to the church doorstep. As soon as Snooper hailed his old friend and school chum, Bola Akingbade, a.k.a Skiddy, the retired MTN mogul who was part of the choir, Okon exploded, “So na here dis one come dey hide after dem done daburu dem MTN? Dem phone don become kalokalo,” Okon sneered as Snooper deliber-

ately stepped on his toes to shut him up.

Then as if contrite and penitent the mad boy sidled up. “Oga, ask him whether him get recharge card,” Okon crowed as Snooper quickly doubled his pace only to run almost headlong into retired General Alani Akinrinade. “And where is Okon?” the great and greatly civil soldier whispered to Snooper not realising that the scourge was right behind him.

“Oga, no be dem sakadeli Brigadier be dat?” Okon sniggered.

“Okon, just shut up,” Snooper screamed.

“So how come him no sabi Okon again? Abi no be me dey…?” before he could finish his idle drooling, Snooper pushed him through the crowd and ordered him to seat down.

This particular treaty lasted only a few minutes as Okon suddenly jumped up amidst the din of thanksgiving.

“Oga I don look inside dem coffin, I no see tiger him pikin, na old man I see oo” the mad man boy shouted. Then as the ecumenical finally caught up with the secular, the officiating priest announced Kayode Fayemi as the governor of the Ekiti Diocese to prolong and protracted laughter.

“You see now, when dem Yisa Jaguda come say Nigeria be country of 150 million naira na dem Yoruba people dey yab am.” The crazy boy hollered. Fearing for the worst, it was at this point that Snooper initiated the process which put Oko in a semiconscious haze until we got back to Lagos. It has been a glorious day for progressives in Akure.

lonial masters instead.

In the continent of Sekou Toure, Kwame Nkrumah, Herbert Macauley, Julius Nyerere, the former Benjamin Azikiwe and the former Jeremiah Awolowo and all the great titans of the decolonising project that seized the African imagination in the period leading to independence, this is like going back to one’s vomit. These great avatars of African consciousness must be turning in their grave at the plight of the continent.

But let us be clear in our mind about one thing. The tragedy we are witnessing in Mali is not about a clash of two civilisations, that is western civilisation and its Islamic variant. Rather, it is the endgame of a dismal miscarriage of the two civilisations on the continent of Africa. This is about aborted western modernity and rationality as seen in the chaotic mess of sub-Saharan Africa and the debasement of the classical tenets of Islam as seen in the antics of the unenlightened jihadists that have seized the desert dunes of North Africa.

With this in mind, the central question can now be posed and answered. Why is it that modern Mali, conceived as a true nationstate cannot solve the security challenges posed by corrupt and inefficient governance and the subsequent threat posed to its corporate existence by the Jihadists’ rebellion? And why is it that neighbouring countries in the West African community were so lax and laggard in coming to the aid of their sister-country until France seized the bull by the horns? The answer is that most of these colonial contraptions are not true nation-states in the classical sense of the paradigm. You cannot give what you don’t have..

France is not in Mali on a naïve humanitarian mission. This is a security operation abroad for the purpose of maintaining internal security at home, such as happens with the periodic occupation of Haiti by the US in what is known as immigration control at source.

With its large immigrant community of African extraction, a fundamentalist Islamic corridor straddling the desert fringes of northern Africa is a direct threat to metropolitan France.

As the Islamic terrorists melt away into their desert redoubts wilting under the superior firepower of France, it is not yet Uhuru for Mali. They will be back as soon as French troops withdraw, to inflict momentous casualties on African peace keepers and the renegade Malian army. The jihadists already had a measure of Malian troops and they know they are not up to scratch. The Sahara Desert will be foaming with blood for a long time to come.

After military expedition must come political expiation. It is not surprising that it is France that is showing utmost clarity in the confusion, calling on the Malian government to initiate negotiations with the more moderate elements in the north. This is the way forward not just for Mali but for other failed and failing states in sub-Saharan Africa. The political basis of these structural time-bombs will have to be re-negotiated clause by clause and phrase by phrase before their political elite bring the populace to further peril.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

News

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IGHTEEN Nigerians have a date with the executioner tomorrow in the Asian state of Indonesia, except President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is currently on a visit to Nigeria, intervenes.

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday pleaded with his Indonesian counterpart to stop the execution of the Nigerians who were convicted for drug-related offences.

He was yet to give any commitment before the two leaders went for a state dinner last night in Abuja.

Apart from the 18, 30 other Nigerians are on the death row in that country for drug trafficking.

Jonathan, who made the plea during a bilateral discussion with the Indonesian President in Abuja, demanded a bilateral tie on exchange of prisoners by both countries.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, in a tweet last night said his principal was concerned about the planned execution.

Abati said: “President Jonathan requested for a stay of execution of Nigerians on death row in Indonesia while both explore agreement on exchange of prisoners.

“Both leaders agreed to support each other also on the basis of reciprocity for non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council for the period 2014/2015-2016.

“They discussed re-election of Kanayo Nwanze of IFAD and candidature of Mari Pangestu for DG WTO and agreed to support each other’s candidate.

“The presidents pledged to work together towards attaining a more balanced and mutually beneficial relationship between Nigeria and Indonesia. The two presidents agreed that Nigeria and Indonesia will share best

18 Nigerians face execution in Indonesia tomorrow From: Yusuf Alli and Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

practices and capacity building in the achievement of MDGs.” A source said: “The Indonesian leader has not made any commitment on Jonathan’s plea because of his country’s strict laws on drug trafficking.

“We are hopeful that the execution will not hold on Monday. We do not know if there will be any waiver eventually.”

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the visiting President was accompanied by 99 Indonesian businessmen. On ar-

rival, Yudhoyono inspected a guard of honour mounted by the Brigade of Guards, and also a 21 gunsalute in his honour.

The FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, said that the two-day visit of the Indonesian President would strengthen the bilateral relations existing between the two countries.

After their bilateral discussions, President Jonathan pointed out the importance of the conference and the visit, stressing that it has become evident that most countries might not be able to meet up with the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs).

He said: “We discussed areas that we can work together, like food, agriculture, energy, politics and security, particularly, in international peace keeping operations.”

Both leaders also agreed to promote training cooperation involving military officers of both countries by encouraging participation of Indonesian and Nigerian military officers in training programmes at the staff colleges of both countries.

The two leaders discussed the conflicts in

Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and the Sahel, and the correlation between these and the war on terror. They shared the view that terrorism remains a global security threat. They, therefore, agreed to foster closer bilateral partnership to address this threat by cooperating closely in exchange of information, training and education as well as sharing of best practices. The two leaders instructed the relevant agencies of both countries to assess counter-terrorism needs upon which bilateral collaboration would be appropriately developed.

•L-R: Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, the new wedded couple, Mr. Tolulope Ijogun and former Miss Andrea Chigozie Ekeh the daughter of Leo-Stan Eke, and Asiwaju Bola Ahamed Tinubu during their wedding reception at Eko Hotel yesterday.

Photo: Olusegun Rapheal

Fire sacks over 200 persons in Port Harcourt

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O fewer than 80 houses have been razed by fire at TransWoji area of Port Harcourt.

The fire at Peace Valley Estate on Thursday rendered about 200 residents homeless and destroyed properties said to run into millions of naira.

The houses, all shanties, were erected on five plots of land owned by a native of Woji community.

This happened barely five days after fire had burnt the house of traditional ruler in Rumu-Woji community, killing one.

There have been series of fire outbreaks in Port Harcourt since the end of last year.

The climax was the New Year event that led to the sack of the former state commissioner for Special Duties, Mr. Emeka Nwogu, by Governor Romiti Amaechi.

It was gathered that the fire raged between 5pm and 7pm Thursday.

Help did not come the way of the victims early as

From: Rosemary Nwisi, Port Harcourt fire fighters from the state fire service arrived when the fire had almost abated.

It was gathered that the fire started from one of the shanties after the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) restored power supply.

Most of the occupants were not around when the fire started and lost all their belongings to the fire.

When The Nation visited the scene yesterday evening, some of the victims were sighted lurking around the neighbourhood stranded.

Victims appealed for assistance from the state gov-

ernment.

A builder, Mr. Wisdom Samuel Aso, who lost all his property to the fire disaster, passionately appealed for relocation by the government.

“I beg the governor to come to our help; we are law abiding citizens of this country. We are not criminals.

“I went to work at Buguma when a neighbour called and told me that the compound was on fire, nothing was rescued from my house and as we speak now, my wife put to bed two days ago and is still in the hospital. I don’t have anywhere to go with them now,” he lamented.

Boko Haram: FG considering response to ceasefire –Sambo

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H E F e d e r a l Government said yesterday that it recognises and welcomes the cease-fire announced by the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, and is considering how to respond to it.

Vice President Namadi Sambo speaking in Maiduguri, Borno State, the hot bed of the sect’s insurgency said government will do all

within its power to restore peace to all areas affected by the Boko Haram crisis.

“We welcome the cease-fire offer announced recently by the Boko Haram group and we will do everything as a government to see that we achieve a lasting peace in Nigeria,” Sambo told reporters.

“That is why the federal government is seriously consulting on the best

approach to handle the cease-fire offer,” he added.

Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz had earlier informed reporters also in Maiduguri that the group agreed to put down arms on the condition that its members were freed from prisons. He said the group made the decision after meetings with the Borno State government.

However, hours after the cease-fire was announced, the Joint Military Task Force, backed by helicopter gunships, raided two Boko Haram camps in Borno and killed 17 of their members in gunfights, while one soldier was killed in the clashes on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30, Sagir Musa, spokesman for the force, said in Borno.

Harvard University suspends 60 students for cheating

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BOUT 60 students of the prestigious Harvard University, USA, have been suspended and others disciplined in a mass cheating scandal at the elite college, the administration said at the weekend.

Faculty of Arts and Sciences dean, Michael Smith, told staff and students at the university near Boston that “somewhat more than half” of the cases under investigation ended with students being required “to withdraw from the college for a period of time.

“Of the remaining cases, roughly half the students received disciplinary probation, while the balance ended in no disciplinary action,” Smith said in a campus-wide email.

When the scandal first became public in August, Harvard said that as many as 125 students were suspected of helping each other in a final exam.

The university said a large number of undergraduates “may have inappropriately collaborated on answers, or plagiarised classmates’ responses, on the final exam for the course.”

Harvard, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of the most exclusive universities in the world, with students paying about $63,000 (about N10 million) a year to attend after winning a place in a highly competitive admissions’ process.

Smith called the scale of the cheating incident “unprecedented” and said reforms were being drawn up to “promote academic integrity and a deeper understanding of it within our community.”

“We all can do better,” he said in the email.

‘3.35m victims of floods in 2012 in SouthSouth’

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HE National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the SouthSouth region says that floods affected over three million persons within the region last year.

Within the period under review, the agency stated that fire incidents also affected 2,076 persons.

Mr Umesi Emenike, the South-South Zonal Co-ordinator of NEMA, made the disclosure in Port Harcourt on Friday at an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

His figure showed that a total of 3,353,210 were flood victims while 2,076 persons were victims of fire incidents in the region in 2012.

Emenike also said that NEMA would soon commence sensitisation on emergency management as part of efforts to minimise occurrence of disasters in the region.

Emenike said the sensitisation was necessary because of the vulnerable nature of the zone to disasters.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Minister x enjoins expectant mothers to deliver babies From Adanikin, inOlugbenga hospitals Abuja

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X HE Minister of State for Health, Dr Muhammad Pate, has enjoined expectant mothers go to hospitals or medical centres to deliver their babies to avail themselves of the usage of health facilities.

Pate said this was necessary to enable HIV positive mothers to have access to proper HIV treatment in order to protect their new babies from acquiring the virus.

The minister gave the advice in Uyo on Saturday when he paid a courtesy call on Gov. Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom.

“We are making progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS but needed to do more, we need to know why more than 600 expectant mothers will attend antenatal and only 87 will deliver in the centre.

He advised Nigerians to know their HIV status in order to allow them to live a healthy and productive life.

Responding, Akpabio said people still held the view that HIV and AIDS were not existing, even though they had eaten deep into the lives of many people.

Represented by Lady Valarie Ebe, deputy governor of the state, Akpabio said poverty was one of the contributors to the spread of the virus.

He pointed out that many young girls got involved in risky behaviours due to their economic conditions.

The governor said the rural dwellers were not well-informed about the virus and disclosed that only five per cent of women gave birth in the hospitals.

According to him, people living in riverine areas are involved in risky behaviours because they live along rivers without their wives.

He suggested that the Federal Government should purchase the analysis machines for proper result as the prevalence in the state might not be correct.

Also speaking, Dr John Markson, Akwa Ibom State HIV and AIDS Programme Coordinator, echoed the governor’s position that most women did not deliver in hospitals or medical centres.

Markson attributed problem to illiteracy and sociocultural believe, adding, however, that the state would find a way to tackle it.

“Most X of our women do not deliver in the hospitals, they patronise the Traditional Birth Attendants(TBAs).

“The TBAs have taken the delivery from the experts, we will find out how we will work with them,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the team visited the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, General Hospital, Quita, in Oron Local Government Area and Primary Health Care Centre, Itam, Itu. It was gathered from a reliable source at the hospitals visited that women preferred to patronise the TBAs. A traditional birth attendant, who gave her name as Mama Akpan, said some women believed more in TBAs than the medical personnel in the hospitals. ‘’They prefer to come to us because at times, we do it (take delivery) for free for them and they believe they are safe with us,’’ she said

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Corruption, poverty threat to national development, says Tambuwal

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HE Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, has said that corruption and poverty are national social menaces that are detrimental to national development.

He said this at a lecture on “Religion, Ethnicity and Corruption: Challenges of National Security” held at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria yesterday.

A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report said that the lecture was organised by the Centre for Peace, Conflict and Security Studies, ABU, in collaboration with Students’ Representative Council of the institution.

Tambuwal, who was represented by Rep. Bashir Adamu, Chairman, House

Committee on Defence, lamented over the prevalence of corruption and poverty in the country.

“Corruption is not only in the public service but it cuts across all segments including schools, businesses and even our homes.

“In the same vein, unity of Nigeria is a foregone conclusion. This should be a topmost priority because the idea of separation is not an issue,” he said.

The speaker stressed the need for Nigerians to exploit all avenues to ensure corporate existence of the nation through unity, peace, tolerance and understanding of one another’s cultures and values.

“For democracy to suc-

ceed, people must learn to accommodate, tolerate and embrace one another,” Tambuwal said.

In his speech, the ABU vice-chancellor, Prof.

Abdullahi Mustapha, observed that national conflicts were added conflicts emanating from ward, local and state levels.

Mustapha, who was represented by Prof. Adebayo Joshua, dean, School of PostGraduate Studies, assured the centre of the institution’s support.

He hoped that more of such lecture would be organised to enlighten the people on the consequences of the menace.

The guest speakers, Prof.

Aminu Mohammed-Dorayi,

of the Institute of Security Studies and Dr Abubakar Saddiq-Muhammad of Political Science Department, ABU, advised Nigerians not to use religion and ethnicity as a means of achieving political goals.

They identified lack of political will to genuinely deal with corruption, poor criminal justice system, absence of moral code of ethics and integrity benchmark, as some of the factors responsible for endemic corruption in the country.

The guest speakers also described lack of energy as a threat to national security and called for urgent measures to address the problem to provide employment opportunities to millions of Nigerians.

•L - R , Osita Chidoka, Corps Marshal, FRSC, Boboye Oyeyemi, Deputy Corps Marshal, Operations, during the 2013 Annual Workshop for Officers and Marshals of Operations Department In Abuja yesterday. They are flanked by Adei Abu, Deputy Corps Marshall (Admin), left, and Ayo Omidiji, Deputy Corps Marshal, (Policy) right.

FERMA pledges aggressive road rehabilitation in South-West

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HE Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) yesterday pledged that it would rehabilitate major highways in the South-West geopolitical zone this year.

Mr Taiwo Ladipo, FERMA’s Executive Director (Finance and Accounts), made the promise when he led a monitoring team from Abuja to inspect ongoing road rehabilitation projects in Lagos.

He stressed that the agency was poised to embark on aggressive roads rehabilitation, adding that it had already started the rehabilitation of the LagosAbeokuta Expressway.

“We were in Ilaro yesterday and we later went to Shagamu and Ikorodu to inspect ongoing road projects.

Today, we have inspected the ones in Lagos.

“We are rehabilitating the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway and we would extend the project to other areas.

“Before the peak of the

rainy season, we would have repaired all bad locations on this road; we would have also repaired other roads in Lagos and in the entire South West,” he said.

Also speaking, Mr Oladipo Fagbamila, FERMA’s Zonal Coordinator (South-West II), said that the agency was working “on the fast lane” so as to avoid road repairs during the peak of the rainy season.

He said that FERMA started with the rehabilitation of all access and exit routes to the LagosAbeokuta Expressway, so as to make the overall road rehabilitation project more meaningful.

Besides, Fagbamila said that the agency’s asphalt plant in Lagos, which was under construction, would be ready before the end of February.

He stressed that the plant would boost FERMA’s roads’ rehabilitation programme.

During the inspection of works on the Iyana-Ipaja exit

route, some residents commended the Federal Government for the road project.

They, however, urged FERMA to reconstruct drainage channels in the area to curb the perennial menace of erosion and flood.

Chief Rotimi Ore-

loluwa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that they were happy with the rehabilitation of the neighbourhood’s access and exit routes, which had been neglected for long.

He urged FERMA to sustain roads’ rehabilitation in the area, while constructing more drainage channels to tackle the problem erosion.

Another resident, Chief Adegboyega Olatunji, urged FERMA to always clear the neighbourhood’s drainage channels.

News 5 xxgovt Kwara warns against use of cow urine to treat epilespy

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HE Kwara State Government on Saturday warned mothers to desist from administering cow urine and other herbal concoctions on infants to treat epilepsy.

The commissioner for Health, Alhaji Issa Kayode, said that the warning became necessary in view of the deaths of infants, which had occurred as a result of the administration of herbal concoctions on them, in an effort to cure epilepsy.

The commissioner issued the warning at the onset of a week-long Maternal and Neonatal Child Week programme at the Children’s Specialist Hospital, Ilorin.

“A lot of emergency cases had been reported in the hospital, where several parents brought their babies in an unX state after giving conscious them herbs, popularly known as ‘agbo’,’’ Kayode said.

“These children were brought in a state of ‘lethargic prostration’, leading to respiratory distress, which required the administration of oxygen on the children to resuscitate them,’’ he said.

Represented by Dr Ibrahim Gambari, the Special Assistant to Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed on Secondary Health Issues, the commissioner said that most parents were ignorant of the health implications of ingesting cow urine and other herbal concoctions.

Kayode, however, said that the Maternal and Neonatal Child Week programme would also deal with nutritional assessment of babies, while giving them the necessary dietary requirements.

He stressed that the government had made de-worming medication and Vitamin ‘A’ drugs available in the Children Specialist Hospital for the children’s use.

Kayode stressed that the government’s gesture was aimed at achieving Goals 4 and 5 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which specifically advocated the reduction of child and maternal mortality in the society.

He said that the health programme would soon start in all the 16 local government areas of the state.

“Registrations of various health centres are ongoing to enable the children to acquire excellent health services at the centres,’’ he said.

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Don calls for review of PENCOM guidelines

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ROF. Timothy Nubi of the University of Lagos has urged the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) to review its guidelines, which hindered access to pension funds for real estate development.

Nubi, a professor of Housing and Urban Regeneration, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

He stressed that the Pension Act 2004 made provision for the investment of 40 per cent of the pension funds in real estate.

“However, this cannot be because PENCOM has a clause in its guidelines for accessing pension funds; the clause stipulates that the 40 per cent of the funds could only be accessed through the Real Estate Investment Trust Fund (REIT).

“Currently, there is no REIT in the country and the processes of having one are cumbersome. It involves a review of capital market rules and regulations,” he said.

Nubi stressed that as far as the clause remains, nobody could have access to

pension funds for real estate development.

“This is a pity as the funds have accumulated to over N2.4 trillion as at the end of December, 2012,’’ he added.

The professor said that pension funds had played a major role in boosting and increasing housing stocks in developed and developing economies, which had been able to find solutions to their housing problems.

Nubi reiterated that the clause in PENCOM guidelines should be reviewed so as to stimulate real estate development in the country.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

News

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‘Nigeria cannot achieve vision 2020 with armscarrying youth’ From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

FORMER Minister of State for Education, Hajiya Aisha Duku,

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yesterday cautioned all tiers of government that Nigeria cannot accomplish Vision 2020 with many youths carrying weapons.

Speaking with journalists at the Global Peace Convention titled “Moral and Innovative Leadership” in Abuja, she also urged government to incorporate character and creativity into the education curriculum.

She said: “We cannot achieve vision 2020 with our youths carry weapons, it is not possible.”

The ex-minister hinted the nation’s teeming 30 million youth must be tutored in character to be able to contribute their quota to nationbuilding.

While stating that the challenge in the education sector is not lack of political will, Duku explained: “the implementation of our policies is our major problem.

We have very good political will. But when it comes to implementation we stop at do as I say.”

The Country Director, Global Peace Foundation, Mr. John Oko, explained that the essence of the foundation and the convention is to raise people’s consciousness about character so that they can become change agents in the society.

He added that “All the challenges and problems in our society boil down to the character of our people.”

Lagos to nightclubs: behave or else…

By Joe Agbro Jr.

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The Lagos State Government has warned nightclubs operators in the state to conform to the safety guideline policy or face closure. The Director-General of the Lagos State Safety Commission, Mrs. Dominga Odebunmi, issued the warning at the grand finale of the commission’s first safety conference organised for proprietors, administrators, and teachers of private schools in the six educational districts of the state.Speaking at the end of the conference with the theme “Safety culture and compliance”, Odebunmi said that the commission was intensifying its focus on public spaces following the death of 236 persons in a Brazilian nightclub few days ago. She said: “We know that a lot of nightclubs only have one exit and it is unacceptable.

“It is contrary to the safety standard that we have put and that they have also been given as a permit for the place. “A lot of non-compliances are lurking around and very soon there would be a nameshame.”

WHO raises cancer alarm • Only 17% of African nations have control plans in place •Half of world countries unprepared to deal with scourge

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NLY 17 percent of African nations have sufficiently funded cancer control plans and less than half of all countries in the world have functioning plans to prevent the disease and provide treatment and care to patients, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.

The United Nations will tomorrow commemorate Cancer Day Worldwide to draw attention to the disease that killed 7.6 million persons in 2008,a figure that could double by 2030 to 13 million.

A WHO official, Dr. Oleg Chestnov ,however says cancer should not be “ a death sentence anywhere in the world, as there are proven ways to prevent and cure

many cancers.”

The U.N.’s health body said it had recently conducted a survey of 185 countries revealing that less than half of them, and only 17 percent of countries in Africa, had sufficiently funded cancer control plans.

This is a major concern in a world where each year almost 13 million new cancer cases are diagnosed and some 7.6 million people die of cancer — a number the WHO warned in 2010 could double to more than 13 million by 2030.

The shortage of functioning cancer control plans is especially alarming in developing countries, since they already account for more than two-thirds of the new cancer cases and deaths each year.

And things are only expected to get worse as populations age and increasingly feel the impact of exposure to major risk factors like tobacco, certain chemicals and infections, according to Dr. Andreas Ullrich, of WHO’s Department of Chronic Diseases.

“We expect, especially in metropolitan areas of the developing world, to see a major increase in cancer,” he told reporters in Geneva Friday.

The agency pointed out that up to a third of all cancer deaths are linked to “modifiable risks” like tobacco, obesity and harmful use of alcohol.

Vaccines exist for some infections linked to cancer, including hepatitis B, which can cause liver cancer, and

papillomavirus, which can cause cervical cancer.

And if detected early on, many types of cancer can be cured, the agency pointed out.

“In order to reduce exposure to risk factors leading to cancer and ensure that every person living with cancer gets access to appropriate care and treatment, comprehensive cancer control programs need to be set up in every country,” Chestnov in charge of WHO’s non-communicable diseases and mental health unit, said in a statement.

Cancer accounts for 13 percent of all deaths registered globally and 70 per cent of that total occurs in middle and low income countries, according to the WHO.

Traditional ruler hails Obi

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HE traditional ruler of Ikenga, Igwe Ezeobi Onwuneme, has described the Anambra state governor, Mr. Peter Obi, as a saviour.

He spoke yesterday when Obi visited St. Anthony’s Secondary School in the town.

He said that if not for governor, towns like Ikenga would never have witnessed development.

He expressed gratitude for all the projects executed by Obi’s administration in the town.

Obi donated a brand new 18-seater bus to ST. Anthony’s secondary school, the only institution in the community.

He also presented 10 computer sets and promised to provide funds for the rehabilitation of the school’s laboratories.

Obi also pledged to build a library for the school, describing education as the most important currency for tomorrow.

The Catholic Bishop of Awka, Bishop Paulinus Ezeokafor, thanked the governor, saying that he was a good example of how Christians should behave in politics.

New Acting CMD for NAUTH •Performs first knee replacement surgery From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

T • Obi with students of the school… yesterday

Orji to ICAN: Purge yourself of corruption

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BIA State governor, Chief Theodore Orji, has called on the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) to purge its members from corruption since no fraud takes place in any organisation without the connivance of accountants.

Orji spoke when the National President of ICAN, Mr. Adedoyin Owolabi, led a delegation of national officers of the Institute on a

By Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

visit in Umuahia.

The governor said the alleged involvement of some of their members in corrupt practices in the country was worrisome.

According to him: “No commissioner can get involved in corruption without the involvement of the director of Finance and accountants in any office

where they are working.

“You people have a vital role to play in terms of fighting corruption; there is no corruption in the ministry that the accountant does not have an idea of.

“I implore you to check your members of corrupt practices and stop the nation from embarrassment.”

Orji commended ICAN for its contribution to the development of the country’s economy.

He assured of the readiness of his administration to partner with the institute in the development of the economy.

Owolabi expressed the readiness of the institute to curb corrupt practices among their members through whistle –blowing.

He added the institute has forwarded a private Bill to the National Assembly to this effect.

450 students receive N21m scholarship in Ekiti

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KITI State has disbursed the sum of N21, 980,000.00 to 450 students of its origin.

This was part of the second batch of the 2010/ 2011 scholarship to students of tertiary institutions across the country.

A statement from Ekiti State Scholarship Board stated that the gesture was in line with the 8-point agenda of the present administration to uplift

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

indigent but promising students of Ekiti State origin in tertiary institutions.

According to the statement, university undergraduates and Higher National Diploma students would be given N60, 000 each while those in Education Colleges would receive N40, 000.

The statement noted that

benefitting students are drawn from Obafemi Awolowo University, IleIfe; Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Osun State University, Osogbo, Federal Polytechnic Ede and Osun State College of Education, Ilesa.

Others are from College of Education, Ilemona, Federal College of Education Okene and Osun State College of Techno-

logy, Esa-Oke. Students still in school are requested should visit the office of Bursar or Registrar of their various schools to receive their cheque while those that have left school should report at the Ekiti State Scholarship board, the statement added.

It advised the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the funds.

HE Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital University (NAUTH) Nnewi has appointed Dr Anthony Igwegbe as its acting Chief Medical Director (CMD).

Igwegbe was the former Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) of the hospital until his appointment.

The appointment coincides with the performance of the first know joint replacement surgery by the teaching hospital.

NAUTH, in November 2012, performed its first successful Hip Replacement Surgery with three patients The immediate past CMD of the hospital, Prof.

Robinson Ofiaeli, an orthopedic Surgeon and a Senior Consultant from Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh Deli India, Dr Subhash Jangid, led the team of doctors from NAUTH that carried out the surgery.

The Acting CMD said the hospital is committed to becoming the best teaching hospital in the country, stating it has sent some consultants to India for better knowledge.

According to him: “The hospital has acquired a lot of equipment with its internally generated revenue to carry out different types of surgeries”.

Igwegbe also promised NAUTH will utilise the VAMED equipment worth over N2 billion received from the Federal Ministry of Health judiciously.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013 ‘Ikorodu LASTMA officials have highest blood pressure’

By Oziegbe Okoeki

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FFICIALS of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) stationed in Ikorodu area have the highest level of high blood pressure, Commissioner for Transportation, Kayode Opeifa, has disclosed.

He said this was due to the recklessness and attitude of Okada riders and other motorists in the area.

The commissioner spoke during a public enlightenment and interactive session on the ‘Lagos state traffic law and traffic challenges in Ikorodu’ organised by the representative of the Ikorodu I Constituency in the House of Assembly, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade.

Opeifa explained that the Ministry of Health has confirmed the risks LASTMA officials in the axis were passing through to decongest traffic after the new traffic law came into operations.

He said: “I can emphatically confirm to you that LASTMA officials in Ikorodu have the highest level of blood pressure above all their colleagues in other areas of the state”.

On some achievements of the law, Opeifa revealed that the number of accident victims at Igbobi Orthopedic Hospital and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) has reduced by 60 percent after enforcement.

He added that arrests made by officials of the traffic management have reduced by 68 percent while the number of people attending the State Drivers’ Institute has also increased by 35 percent since the law came into being.

Opeifa maintained the law was made to protect lives because the state cares about its residents.

He revealed that arrangements have been concluded by the government to embark on a recertification exercise for Okada riders across the state.

“We have also planned to provide jobs for those who became jobless as a result of the restriction of the operations of Okada riders.

“The Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) as well as the Ministry of Works will help out in this area,” he added.

He boasted that Lagos State is different from other states, which banned Okada business out rightly without enabling laws.

News

New sea port for Delta

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HE Federal Government (FG) has unveiled plans to develop a new sea port at Ogidigbe in Delta State.

The port is expected to be a major hub for the FG’s gas revolution initiative.

The Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, disclosed this during the inauguration of a new Board for the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) at the weekend in Abuja.

Umar said: “Efforts are in progress for the establishment of a port at Ogidigbe near Escravos and is expected to be the hub for gas revolution initiative of the federal government”.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, stated in November that the proposed

•As FG inaugurates new board for NPA, NIMASA From Olugbenga Adanikin, Abuja

site for the multi-billion dollars gas-based industrial park was being relocated from its main site in Koko, Delta State to Ogidigbe, also in Delta State.

The Minister tasked the new board to work in line with the performance agreement signed with President Goodluck Jonathan aimed at transforming the sector.

He emphasised that the maritime sector is embedded with enormous potential capable of transforming the economy.

“As members of the Boards of Directors of the agencies, you are expected to acquaint yourselves with the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) specific to your agencies and assiduously work towards

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Legal Adviser).

Members of the Board for NIMASA are: Lt. Col. Agbu Kefas (Rtd) (Chairman); Badamasi Gamawa, Rep Min of Transport (Director); Rep. Min. of Labour and Productivity (Director), Rep. of the Nigerian Navy (Director); Ibrahim Mark (Director), Alhaji Hassan Baba (Director); Alhaji Aliyu Usman (Director); Z.P Akpobolokemi (Director General); Mr. Baba Haruna (Executive Director, Finance and Administration).

Others are: Barr. Callistus Obi (Executive Director, Cabotage and Labour Services); Capt. Ezekiel Baba Agaba, (Executive Director, Marine Safety and Shipping Development) and Barr. (Mrs.) Rita Chinedu Uruakpa (Secretary and Legal Adviser).

•Cobham presenting a laptop computer to one of the teachers, Mrs. Ruth Ene-obong of Girls Secondary School, Akim, Calabar

REA awards N3.2b electrification projects

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HE Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has awarded new capital projects worth N3.2b.

The successful bidders from the projects that were advertised last November have been contacted, a statement yesterday from the Association of Rural Electrification Contractors of Nigeria (ARECON) confirmed.

ARECON’s National Chairman, Alhaji Ida Badamosi and the National Secretary, Noel Kayen, in the statement said members actively responded to the adverts and

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

participated in the bidding process, which was adjudged successful.

It warned some of its unsuccessful members to desist from embarking on negative propaganda against the continuation of new projects.

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

Immunisation Plus Days (NIPDs).

He noted that though the state has successfully eliminated wild polio, all hands must be on deck to maintain the status so that the scourge would not find its way back through neighbouring states.

Fayemi advised parents not to be negligent by

The statement added: “the process was monitored

by ARECON and adjudged satisfactory and successful bidders have since been contacted for their award letters.”

According to Badamasi and Kayen, the Federal Ministry of Power and the REA

reserve the right to award new capital projects provided they are captured in the appropriate year’s budget being an instrument of law.

They advised all arms of government to complete all abandoned projects as an issue of national security.

Lawmaker hails EFCC for re-arresting former police pension boss

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EPUTY Whip of the Lagos state House of Assembly, Hon. Rotimi Abiru, has praised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

Fayemi: Ekiti will maintain zero polio prevalence KITI State governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has assured that all efforts shall be made to ensure the state maintains its current zero prevalence rate in polio rate.

Fayemi said: “no single child will be lost to the war being waged to maintain zero percentage prevalence rate of wild polio in the state.”

He spoke at the weekend in Ado-Ekiti, capital of the state, while flagging off the first round of this year’s

meeting the targets set in the performance agreement,” he told the board members.

Members of the new NPA board are : Chief Tony Anenih (Chairman); Sen. Florence Ita Giwa (Director); Hon. Hamza Dan Mahawi (Director); Sen. Lekan Mustapha (Director); Alhaji Aminu Babba Danagundi (Director); Mr. Austin Cosmos Nwaokerie (Director); Musa Nagogo, Rep. of the Ministry of Transport (Director); Habib Abdullahi (Managing Director); Mohammed Saleh (Executive Director, Engineering and Technical Services).

Others are: Mr. Olumide Oduntan (Executive Director, Finance and Administration); Engr. David Omonibeke (Executive Director, Marine and Operations) and Barr. (Mrs.) Obiageli Anubi (Secretary/

preventing their children from being immunised.

Fayemi stressed that allowing children of immunisation age to get the vaccines particularly through government sources will help in assuring their safety.

Advocating more support from community and religious leaders, he said governors have decided on partnership with their neighbouring states to kick polio completely out of Nigeria.

•Calls on judiciary to redeem image

By Oziegbe Okoeki

for re-arresting the former Director of Pension in the Police Affairs Ministry, Mr. John Yakubu Yesufu, who got away with a light sentence from a Federal High Court, Abuja over his role in the N38billion police pension fund fraud.

Abiru, who spoke with correspondents in his office at the Assembly complex over the weekend, described the judgment as most unfortunate “for our nation and Nigerian judiciary.”

He lamented: “Despite the huge amount in question, which also involves the lives of those who have worked

tirelessly in serving the nation and hoping to survive on their pensions, the court just let the culprit go almost scot-free.”

The lawmaker said such sentences encourage corruption and would-be looters.

According to him:”A sentence commensurate with offence will go a long way to serve as a deterrent to others who are in his position and wants to try similar thing.

“Anything short of this is a mockery of the anti-corruption crusade, the judiciary and the entire nation in the eyes of our neighbors and the international community.”

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Cross River gives teachers laptops

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OT less than 10,000 computers have been presented to teachers in Cross River State under the Teachers’ Laptop Computer Distribution in the E-learning and Digital Literacy Programme.

The Acting Governor, Mr. Efiok Cobham, said the gesture was borne out of its desire to belong to the League of Nations that have done it right in education revolution and transformation.

He said education takes a big chunk of the budget because of the high premium the state places on it.

He recalled the many strides the state has taken in the education sector.

According to him: “armed with resolution, we plunged into comprehensive renovation of schools where the 60 secondary schools in Phase 1 were renovated and brought to a standard where conducive environment can actually be said to have created for teaching and learning to take place.”

He explained all the schools have been equipped with laboratories for Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Computer Science.

The processes for the award of contract for the second phase comprising additional 41 schools, Cobham added, have commenced.

The Commissioner for Education, Prof Offiong E. Offiong, said the laptops are meant to facilitate the teachers’ acquisition of ICT skills for their benefit and that of the school system.

He remarked that all the schools have been grouped into 48 clusters for the purpose of distributing the laptops across the state.

Training on the use of the laptops, he hinted, will commence in the next two weeks and run in phases.

The Project Management Officer (PMO) of the T-CAP Project, Mr. Chinenye Mba Uzoukwu, disclosed each of the laptops has a variety of over 300 subjects to enable the teachers do better jobs.

He stated they are also internet-ready and installed with anti-virus.

18-year-old jailed for vandalising school property From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

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N Oredo Magistrate Court sitting in Benin City has sentenced 18year- old Olumide Ogunbanjo to 18-month imprisonment for willful and malicious destruction of public property.

The court presided over by Chief Magistrate R. A. Ogbevoen handed down the sentence to Ogunbanjo, who pleaded guilty to the two- count charge of stealing, willful and malicious destruction of public property.

He was said to have broken last September into the premises of Fabiyi Akpata Primary School, Benin and made away some PVC aluminum frames and accessories worth thousands of naira.

Ogunbanjo said he was a former pupil of the school.

The court also fixed hearing for the second accused person, 25year- old Mallam Nuru Abubakar, whom the convict named as an accomplice.

He confessed thatAbubakar bought the stolen items from him.

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News

CHANGE OF NAME AWA I, formerly known and addressed asMISS JENNIFER IJEOMA AWA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS JENNIFER IJEOMA AWA NWANKWO. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, UGWU IFECHUKWU MICHAEL and UGWU IFECHUKWU C. are one and the same person as UGWU IFECHUKWU MICHAEL CHRISTIAN. All former documents remain valid. Federal University of Lafia and general public should please take note.

OPARA

I, formerly known and addressed asEZINNE CHIZOBAM OPARA, now wish to be known and addressed as EZINNE CHIZOBAM FAVOUR AHANEKU. All former documents remain valid. Nursing & Midwifery Council of Nigeria (N&MCN), FCDA and general public should please take note.

AKANDE I, formerly known and addressed asMR JOSHUA BABAJIDE AKANDE, now wish to be known and addressed as JOSHUA BOLUJIDE AKANDAJERSLEM. All former documents remain valid. Office of SurveyorGeneral and general public should please take note.

OCHAJE

I, formerly known and addressed asMISS ROSE C. OCHAJE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS ROSE C. EJEMBI ITODO. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ADAMU We, formerly known as HALIMA ADAMU and ZAINAB ADAMU, now wish to be known as HALIMA ADAMU ALHASAN andZAINAB ADAMU ALHASAN. All former documents remain valid.

Nasarawa State University, Keffi and general public should please take note.

SALISU I, formerly known as Miss Salisu Risikat Opeyemi, now wish to be known as Mrs Thompson Risikat.

All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

NJOTEA I, formerly known as Miss Njotea Ekene Gladys, now wish to be known as Mrs Badru Ekene Gladys. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OYEWOLE I, formerly known as Miss Oyewole Atinuke Eniola, now wish to be known as Mrs Olasunkanmi Atinuke Eniola. All former documents remain valid.

Oyo State Internal Revenue Service and general public should please take note.

OMOTOSHO I, formerly known as Miss Omotosho Oluwaseun Motunrayo, now wish to be known as Mrs Ogedegbe Oluwaseun Motunrayo. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

ADELEKE I, formerly known as Miss Adeleke Tolulope Ifeoluwa, now wish to be known as Mrs Adedayo Tolulope Ifeoluwa. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

KANU I, formerly known as Kanu Uchenna Edith, now wish to be known as Mgbaramuko Uchenna Edith. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

GEORGE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Queen Adaku George, now wish to be known as Mrs. Queen Adaku Enamuotor. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

ABDULLAHI

I, former known and addressed as ABDULLAHI OLUMESE GOLD OSEGBA,now wish to be known and addressed as COKERSON OSEGBA OLUMESE GOLD. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013 CHANGE OF NAME ASOGWA I formerly known and addressed as Miss Asogwa Nnenna Ogechukwu, now wish to be known as Mrs. Ugwuja Nnenna Ogechukwu.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

UGWUEZE I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ugwueze Clementina Oluchi, now wish to be known as Mrs. Igwe Clementina Oluchi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

AIREN I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Anoye Nancy Airen, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Anoye Nancy Edeh. All formerly documents remain valid. General public should take note.

AJALA I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ajala Olajoke Hannah, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Akanbi Olajoke Hannah. All formerly documents remain valid. General public should take note.

Over 40 percent of Nigerians are hungry, says expert E

FFORTS by successive governments at addressing food security in the country are yet to provide the desired result as over 40 percent of Nigerians do not have sufficient food on daily basis, a university teacher, Professor Babatope Alabadan, has disclosed.

He also said that globally, over 800 million people, including 300 million children, go to bed hungry daily due to food insecurity.

Alabadan who made these assertions yesterday while delivering the 25th inaugural lecture of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, titled, ‘’Housing and Food Se-

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

curity: Now and in the FutureLessons from the Termites’’, said the three tiers of government in the country must go beyond paying lip service to food security by ensuring that the people have physcial, economic and social access to food, if Vision 20:2020 is to be accomplished.

The professor of Agricultural Engineering blamed the food shortages in the country on huge food losses due to inadequate storage facilities, a development which he said has continued to affect the country’s economy and pos-

sess a threat to her national security.

To this end, he said the three tiers of government in the country should embark on mass construction of capacity silos, especially for small scale farmers in order to reduce food losses and increase local supplies.

He lamented that despite the favourable natural condition for food production in the country, food is still being imported into the country to meet up demand because of huge food losses at the expense of the economy of the country.

Enumerating the dangers of food losses to the nation and

the world at large, Alabadan stressed that food losses represent a significant cost to the economy and greatly impacts on the nation’s ability to feed the world, emphasising that losses affect food quality and safety, economic development and the environment.

He then urged the federal government to establish agricultural estates and farmsteads in every state and local governments, pointing out that in addition to increasing food production, it will create jobs and reduce poverty, which will be in line with the attainment of the transformation agenda and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

AJIE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss. Ajie Justina Nkechi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oluwole Justina Nkechi. All formerly documents remain valid. General public should take note.

MOMOH I, formerly known and addressed as Miss. Momoh Helen Odufa, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Kwuelum Helen Odufa . All formerly documents remain valid. General public should take note.

RASHEED

I, formerly known and addressed as Rasheed Kehinde Martins, now wish to be known and addressed as Yusuf Kehinde Martins. All formerly documents remain valid. LASU and general public should take note.

OKAFOR I, formerly known and addressed as Miss. Okafor Adaora Nzubechukwu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Uzoh Adachukwu Nzubechukwu. All formerly documents remain valid. General public should take note.

ARODE I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Arode Temitope Funmilayo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Jane Olufunmi Temitope . All formerly documents remain valid. General public should take note.

ARO

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss. Aro Fadilat Atinuke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. OyebolaAro Fadilat Anike. All formerly documents remain valid. NYSC and General public should take note.

MUDASIR

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss. Mudasir Modupe Shukra, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Fatunbi Modupe Seraphine. All formerly documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

LAMIDI I, formerly known and addressed as Miss. Lamidi Taiwo Rofiyat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Raji Taiwo Rofiyat. All formerly documents remain valid. General public should take note.

OSUJI I, formerly known as Miss Osuji Emmanuela Chigozie, now wish to be known as Mrs Nkwocha Emmanuela Chigozie. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

BRIGHT

I formerly known and addressed as Prince Richard Justine Bright now wish to be known as Eze Charles Johnbull.

All former documents remain valid. general public please take note.

ADEYEMI

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Adeyemi Adetayo Taibat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Raji Adetayo Toyeebah. All formerly documents remain valid. General public should take note.

•Former General Officer Commanding (GOC) the 3 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major- General J. O. Nwaogbo, decorating his successor, Major-General Awala at the 3 Division Headquarters Jos, yesterday.

Enugu acting governor tasks doctors on infant mortality rate E

NUGU State Acting Governor, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi, has challenged health professionals in the country, especially pediatricians, to intensify efforts to reduce the infant mortality rate in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

Declaring open the 44th Annual General and Scientific Conference of the Paediatric Association of Nigeria in Enugu yesterday, the governor, who was represented on the occasion by the state commissioner for Health, Dr. Fidelia Ugwu, lamented that a situation where UNICEF reported recently that Nigeria loses 2,300 under – five children and 145 women of childbearing age daily was no longer acceptable.

The theme of the conference was “The challenges of improving child health indices in Nigeria.”

The acting governor stated that with this shocking statistics, Nigeria is ranked the second largest contributor to the under – five and maternal mortality rate in the world, adding that the death of

From Chris Oji, Enugu

newborn babies in Nigeria represents a quarter of the total number of deaths of under- five children globally.

He disclosed that as part of efforts to reduce child and maternal death, Enugu State government had introduced free maternal and child health scheme, including the distribution of long-lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets to all households in the state, de-worming of children

twice every year and intensified childhood immunisation coverage (80% coverage).

The president of Pediatric Association of Nigeria, Dr. Dorothy Esangbedo, announced that the association with the support of Latter Day Charities of USA, has trained more than 400 medical doctors and nurses in the past one year as part of its commitment to boost health care in the country and called on the federal government to include rotavirus vaccine in the national

childhood immunisation schedule, as rotavirus infection is the leading cause of diarrhoea in infants.

The chairman of the local organising committee and former deputy vice chancellor, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Prof. Bede Ibe, blamed government for the poor state of health facilities in the country, stressing that despite the availability of manpower, government had failed to equip hospitals and health centres to improve health care delivery.

Sokoto holds peaceful council bye-election

E

LIGIBLE voters yesterday filed out to exercise their franchise in a bye-election in Bagida/ Lukkingo Ward of Tambawal Local Government of Sokoto State to fill a vacant position of councillor.

About 12,000 registered voters were expected to cast votes across 21 polling units that made up the ward.

Five political parties fielded candidates for the contest. They included People’s Democratic Party,

From: Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto

PDP, All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Labour Party, LP, NCP and AP respectively.

However, the bye-election was sequel to the death of a council member, Haliru Mode Maradun, a PDP counsellor who died some three months ago after a brief illness.

Meanwhile, as at the time our correspondent visited Bagida 002 polling unit, ac-

creditation had commenced with voters, seen in long queues. It was also observed that the exercise was going on peacefully across the ward.

The presence of security agents: police, civil defence and vigilante group also contributed to the smooth conduct of the exercise in the area, which was known to be difficult during elections The situation was not different in other units visited, like Dogon-Marke , Danmadi and Lukingo.

NEWS REVIEW

9

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

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NAMBRA State has in the last few weeks witnessed strings of tragedies which have made many wonder what was amiss.

First was the floating of some bodies in Ezu River. Penultimate week, it was one crash to another in which at the last count over 23 persons travelling from one point to the other lost their lives!

On January 31, at least two people were confirmed dead while 13 others sustained varying degrees of injuries in two separate road accidents near the Nkwelle-Ezunaka Junction in Oyi Local Government Area of the state. Another occurred along the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.

The first involved a commercial bus carrying 13 passengers with registration number: NZM 27 XA and a Toyota Sequoia Jeep with registration number: SMK 91 AC. The two were involved in a headon collision.

The second was also a headon collision involving a Mack Petroleum tanker loaded with fuel with registration number: AWK 839 XA and a Honda Accord car with registration number: SMK 567 BB. Commander of the Nteje Unit of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Sunday Joseph, told journalists that one casualty was also recorded in the second accident while one other person was critically injured.

He said N9, 000 and an ATM card belonging to one of the passengers in the bus, and another N4, 600 and an ATM card and a driver's licence contained in a Bible belonging to another passenger of the bus were recovered at the accident scene.

Anambra’s week of tragedies Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, in this report, chronicles the loss of lives through road crashes that swept through Anambra State in recent times.

He added that the recovered N9, 000 and the ATM card had been released to the husband of the victim. The unit commander advised commuters plying the road to observe all traffic rules to ensure safety on the roads.

On Monday, more than 18 persons died in a crash at Nkpor near Onitsha when a speeding trailer lost control while descending the Nkpor fly-over, ramming into Anambra State Transport Company (TRACAS) and other six vehicles.

The accident happened at the Nkpor Main Market yam section at the peak of close of market around 5pm. The trailer fell on traders on the road side who were hawking wares and unsuspecting road users, hitting several vehicles. The vehicles were using one lane because of construction work going on in the other lane by the federal government.

Lucky children According to an eye witness, Dede Uzor A Uzor, more than 15 victims were alleged to be students. He said the trailer was going down to Onitsha while the buses were going out of Onitsha.

20 school children survived.

Although there was wailing, the survival of 20 children in a 608 bus brought joy to many faces. The children were rescued by men of the Red Cross Society unharmed.

The Reverend Sisters who own the school were said to be in jubilation over the safety of the children.

Some observers, however, laid the blame for the accident on the construction firm handling the road construction for blocking one of the access roads and delaying the construction work. A staff of the construction was said to have also lost his life in the accident.

Some of the vehicles involved in the accident include a J5 bus with Reg No XC770 NNE, a 608 bus with Reg No BD 983AKD, a Dyna bus with Reg No XA897KDE and L300 bus fully loaded with passengers with Reg No BB557RBC and others.

But for the fact that the tanker was not carrying fuel, a major calamity would have happened.

However, the Managing Director of TRACAS, Mr Tony

Ileka, confirmed that one of the vehicles in his fleet was among those in the crash. He said the vehicle that was carrying 14 passengers had only three survivors out of 14 meaning that 11 died on the spot! He could not give further details of other vehicles involved in the accident and the victim ratio as he was only concerned about his own vehicle. He said his area manager on ground disclosed that many were injured and many vehicles involved. The Campaign for Democracy (CD) decried lateness of road officials in arriving at the scene of the tragedy, and called for the overhaul of the unit in Onitsha.

The Chairman, Dede Uzor A Uzor, lamented that emergency calls put across were not immediately honoured even as he appealed to the Governor, Mr Peter Obi, to assist the survivors. He further decried the excessive speed of drivers of long lorries, wondering if they are always on a suicide mission to destroy immediately they enter Igbo land.

"The driver should be arrested and prosecuted for murder because his speed appears as if he was on a suicide mission in a crowd of people."

The Sector Commander of the FRSC Anambra State, Mr Hyginus Omeje, faulted the call

by CD, saying his men were also fast in responding to emergencies. He said the casualty figures were not yet ascertained as at press time, but insisted that the 40 claimed by a witness was outrageous.

As people were wringing their arms in agony over this gory incidents, news filtered in again that about three other passengers have been killed in another auto accident at Eziagu along Enugu-Onitsha Express way. More than 15 others were injured with their legs broken.

A mass transit bus heading to Enugu with number plate XA 9272CL was said to have had a head-on collision with another bus coming from Enugu to Onitsha with registration number LSD936XA. The accident, according to eyewitnesses, was due to the recklessness of one of the drivers who was overtaking a trailer. The driver did not properly observe the other lane while trying to overtake.

The driver of the mass transit bus died immediately alongside two passengers who broke their heads and died bleeding.

Another tanker loaded with diesel had crashed into vehicles at Esther Obiakor Estate Junction at Agu Awka, along Enugu-Onitsha road while another crashed at Ug wuoba. These strings of accidents led to the loss of 23 lives.

10

WORLD NEWS THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Ahmadinejad unveils Iran's newest fighter jet

I

RAN yesterday unveiled its newest combat jet, a domestically manufactured fighter-bomber that military officials claim can evade radar.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a ceremony broadcast on state TV that building the Qaher F-313, or Dominant F-313, shows Iran's will to "conquer scientific peaks."

The Qaher is one of several aircraft designs the Iranian military has rolled out since 2007. Tehran has repeatedly claimed to have developed advanced military technologies in recent years, but its claims cannot be independently verified because the country does not release technical details of its arsenals.

The Islamic republic launched a self-sufficient military program in the 1980s to compensate for a Western weapons embargo that banned export of military technology and equipment to Iran.

Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles, torpedoes, drones and fighter planes.

"Qaher is a fully indigenous aircraft designed and built by our aerospace experts. This is a radarevading plane that can fly at low altitude, carry weapons, engage enemy aircrafts and land at short airstrips," Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said.

French president visits Mali F amid cheers RENCH President Francois Hollande bathed in the cheers and accolades of the thousands of people of this embattled city yesterday, making a triumphant stop six days after French forces parachuted into Timbuktu to liberate the fabled city from the radical Islamists occupying it.

His arrival comes three weeks

after France unilaterally launched a military intervention in order to stem the advance of the al-Qaidalinked fighters, and since then French troops have succeeded in ousting the rebels from the three main northern cities they occupied,

including Timbuktu.

"Alongside the Malians and the Africans, we have liberated this town. Today Timbuktu. Tomorrow Kidal. And others are still to come," Hollande told the French troops who stood at attention on the

Israel dismantle Palestinian encampment

I

SRAELI troops fired tear gas and stun grenades at rock-throwing Palestinian protesters yesterday as soldiers tried to dismantle an encampment that activists set up in the West Bank to protest Israeli building restrictions.

The al-Manatir camp - a group of four tents and five metal shacks built in a Palestinian olive grove near the West Bank village of Burin - is the fourth protest encampment that Palestinians have tried to establish in recent weeks. The Palestinians are trying to draw attention to Israel's control of territory that they want for their future state.

In particular, they protest what they say is Israel's broader policy of not allowing Palestinians to build in areas under Israeli control.

Clashes erupted yesterday after khaki-clad soldiers tried to dismantle the camp, with soldiers firing tear gas and some of the dozens of Palestinians throwing rocks.

Syrian rebels capture key area near Aleppo airport CTIVISTS say Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar Assad's troops have made advances in the country's north after capturing a strategic neighbourhood near Aleppo's airport.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says rebels captured the Sheik Said area southeast of the embattled Syrian city yesterday after several days of fierce battles with Assad's troops. It's a significant blow to regime forces because the captured area includes a major road, linking Aleppo with the airport. The army has used the road to supply troops, fighting rebels for control of the city that is Syria's largest urban center.

The government controls parts of Aleppo, but the rebels have captured several neighbourhood.

A

• Israeli soldiers use pepper spray towards Palestinians demonstrators as they forcefully remove them from a new camp set up to protest against Jewish settlements near the West Bank village of Burin yesterday.

AFP PHOTO

23 killed in Taliban attack on Pakistan army post

T

ALIBAN militants wearing suicide vests fired automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades at an army post in northwestern Pakistan in a pre-dawn raid yesterday, killing 23 people, including 10 civilians, officials said.

Twelve attackers also were killed in the assault.

The raid came a day after a suicide bombing at a Shiite Muslim mosque elsewhere in the northwest that killed 24 people, police said. The blast at the mosque was the latest in a rising number of sectarian attacks in the country.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks. The group has been waging a bloody insurgency against the government for years and sometimes targets the country's minority Shiites.

The Taliban and allied militant groups have stepped up the pace of attacks in Pakistan in recent months, an indication of their strength despite numerous army operations against their strongholds in the northwest.

The raid on the army post in Serai Naurang town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province began around 3:45 a.m. local time and lasted for several hours, said senior police officer Arif Khan Wazir. The militants fired automatic weapons and rocketpropelled grenades, he said.

Two security officials said the militants killed 10 civilians, including three women and three children, in a nearby house. In addition to the civilians, nine soldiers; four members of the Frontier Constabulary, a force that polices parts of northwestern Pakistan; and 12 attackers also were

killed in the fighting.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to The Associated Press from an undisclosed location. Ahsan

said the attack was in retaliation for the recent deaths of two Taliban commanders in U.S. drone strikes. He accused the Pakistani army of helping with the attacks. Pakistani officials often criticize drone operations as a violation of the country's sovereignty, but are known to have assisted some U.S. strikes in the past.

Five accused men plead not guilty in India gang rape

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IVE men pleaded not guilty yesterday after being formally indicted in a special court on 13 charges, including rape and murder, in the fatal gang rape of a woman in a New Delhi bus, a lawyer said.

The men signed statements in the fast-track court saying they were innocent of all charges, said one of the men's lawyers. The lawyer cannot be identified under a gag order imposed by the court.

The men were indicted on 13 counts, including rape, murder, destroying evidence and kidnapping.

The court will begin hearing the evidence of witnesses on Tuesday. If convicted, the five men, who are in their 20s and 30s, could face the death penalty.

A sixth suspect, who is 17, will be tried in a juvenile court and could face a maximum sentence of three years in a reform facility if convicted.

Police say the victim and a male friend were attacked after boarding a bus Dec. 16 as they tried to return home after watching a movie. The six men, the only occupants of the private

bus, beat the man with a metal bar, raped the woman and used the bar to inflict massive internal injuries to her, police say. The victims were dumped naked on the roadside, and the woman died from her injuries two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.

The brutal attack set off nationwide protests, sparking a debate about the treatment of women in India and highlighting the inability of law enforcement agencies to protect them.

On Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Cabinet approved an ordinance to introduce stricter penalties for crimes against women, including death in extreme cases of rape. It also approved increasing the maximum seven-year sentence for rape to 20 years and imposing stiff punishments for crimes such as stalking, cyber stalking and voyeurism.

The ordinance has to be signed

by President Pranab Mukherjee to become law. It would then have to be passed by Parliament within six months.

tarmac of the city's airport. They secured the airfield on Monday, after special forces parachuted onto the dunes just north of the city.

They were joined by 600 infantrymen, who came in by land in a convoy of armored cars. "You have accomplished an exceptional mission."

Thousands of people stood elbow-to-elbow behind a perimeter line in downtown Timbuktu, hoisting the homemade French flags they had prepared for Hollande's arrival. The swatches of red, white and blue fabric were sown together by hand, and held up by sticks. Others painted the three colors on pieces of paper, and held them aloft as the president's convoy rolled into the sandblanketed square.

Women wore vibrantlycolored African prints, and bared their midriffs, their arms and their backs, after nearly a year of being forced to wear a colorless, allenveloping veil. They danced as men played the drums - a loud, raucous celebration after months of privation.

Fatou Traore, a 25-year-old student screamed out her thanks as the French president stepped out of an armored Toyota V8 allterrain vehicle. "It's the president of France who has freed us from the prison we have lived in for the past 10 months," she said, emotions overtaking her, as she laughed and cried at the same time.

In a sign of how tense the city remains, Hollande arrived with what looked like a private army.

Soldiers holding bomb-sniffing dogs and at least a dozen armored personnel carriers patrolled the square in front of the library of ancient manuscripts which Hollande visited during his twohour stop in the city.

Just before French troops arrived in Timbuktu last week, the retreating Islamic extremists set fire to a portion of the collection at the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research. It was their final blow, not just to Mali but to the world. The oldest manuscripts in the repository date back nearly 1,000 years, and are crucial to Africa's identity, because they show that the continent had a written record, not just an oral history, said the library's acting director Abdoulaye Cisse.

Although an inventory has not yet been completed, the director believes less than 5 percent of the library's priceless manuscripts were destroyed, because the majority of the library was spirited out of the library and hidden hundreds of miles away in the capital, said Cisse.

Despite the outpouring of joy, many expressed worry about France's long-term intentions. Mali's military has proved to be no match for the better-armed Islamic extremists, who seized a territory equal in size to France last year, after the army simply abandoned their posts. Hollande made clear that France intends to hand off the control of the recuperated terrain to Mali's military, and to the African troops pledged by neighboring countries.

"Now, it's the Malians who have the responsibility to assure the transition, and especially the security, of their country," he said at the airport. Asked by reporters how soon French troops will begin to draw down from Timbuktu, he said: "The handover is soon enough."

Around 800 French soldiers are still stationed in Timbuktu, out of a total of 3,500 taking part in the operation codenamed Serval, after a sub-Saharan wildcat.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

T

HIS is a column in two parts.

The first movement concerns Mali. The latter portion centers on the despondent economic news coming out of Europe and America.

Given some comments I received last week, there is a need to refine points raised in last week's submission on Mali. Some comments received were quite instructive. Others revealed that many people view complex events too simplistically. Because the violent Islamists in Mali seek to impose a vile existence, these commentators reasoned that the French-led western intervention is an unalloyed positive.

Some people even claimed the piece backed the Islamists. That they missed the crucial point of the piece is likely attributable to my imprecise and clumsy pen. Indulge me as I try to clarify the central theme of that piece in hope of helping people discern the motives of the great powers.

The violent extremists are not the children of Islam; they are spores of evil.

However, just because the West now fights them in Mali does not render the intervention altruistic or mean the outcome will redound to the benefit of Mali or West Africa. The situation is tragic because it allows only a choice between bad and worse. In such straits, we opt for bad because it is less onerous; it does not present a happy occasion. That the jailer severs one man's leg at the knee but maims yours only at the foot is not a proper cause for elation.

Many applied the adage "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" to the crisis.

Because the radical Islamists are an incendiary scourge, the western guns opposing them must be friendly these people reason. Sadly, they take the hoary maxim out of context and thus take false comfort in it. The saying applies when the third party has no significant relationship with you and no vital interests contrary to yours. If that party has interests colliding with yours, better toss the maxim out the window. Otherwise, it will lead to certain folly through imprudent policy. During World War II, Germany and the Soviet Union wanted to consume Poland. They allied in the despicable endeavor of dismembering a sovereign nation for no legitimate reason save the love of brigandage on a grand scale. Afterward, Germany used seized Polish territory as its forward platform to invade the Soviet Union. This is not to imply that Western designs in the Sahel are as sinister as Hitler's machinations. Western nations are calculating; they are not irrational madmen. No, this example is a cautionary one. The domain of the great powers is not a simple place. The shortest distance to a desired point is never a straight line.

Shadows serve as the filament of light in this world of intrigue within intrigue. In this place, the enemy of your enemy may well be your enemy.

Such is the case in the Sahel. He who fiercely battles the Islamists does so for their selfish interests. Hopefully, the jihadists will be defeated; most likely they will fade into the ocean of sand to bide their time. The West will appear to have saved the day. But for whom? African leaders must think strategically. The people on the street are free to applaud the Europeans' heroics. National leaders cannot afford the frivolity. They must formulate strategies minimizing the influence foreign militaries have in the region or risk lurching toward a new form of inferiority redolent of that old evil called neo-colonialism. Again, WWII provides the apt lesson. While Germany threatened, America and the Soviet Union allied against it. The minute Berlin fell prostrate, America and the Soviet Union descended into a Cold War. It is natural to feel relief that France has grasped the cudgel in Mali. This relieved sensation should block us from questioning why this was not done in Libya. Had they deployed troops in Libya, Mali would not have erupted.

Tactically, it would have been easier to contain the Islamists along the narrow strip of fertile Libyan coast than to chase them the length and breadth of Mali.

Moreover, the current Libyan government would have been strengthened.

Where did the West think the jihadists would go after Gaddafi's departure? Did they think the fighters would seek to vacation on the French Riviera? Months ago, the jihadists established several

World/Commentary

11

Mali and how to strangle your economy in one easy step •In times of war, a word of wise council is to be sought above the chatter of anxious men.

•French President Francois Hollande, centre, visited Timbuktu, Mali, yesterday. The French leader made a triumphant stop in the town, which French forces liberated six days ago from the al-Qaida-linked extremists who seized northern Mali last year.

AP Photo

BRIAN BROWNE

camps in southern Libya. Yet nothing was done about these camps although their very presence indicated the extremists were plotting a southern strategy. It was almost as if the West dared the jihadists to do what jihadists do: make war.

Mali has become a beachhead for the western counterattack against Islamic insurgency in the Sahel. Coincidentally, the battleground of northern Mali reportedly has large quantities of uranium. The area lies adjacent to confirmed deposits in Niger. No wonder France has turned into a charging bull.

Nuclear reactors supplies 75 percent of Gallic electricity. Having your soldiers deployed in the vital areas is a head start to getting your hands on the precious commodity. The fracas will also deter China; the West believes the meddlesome Chinese might sell their offspring to consummate a deal but they are not ready to fight for one.

America has announced it will operate a drone airplane base in Niger.

American troops also have deployed in Mali as advisors. AFRICOM has finally arrived by stealth, under the guise of emergency help. Several years ago, African leaders steadfastly opposed AFRICOM's deployment on the continent. They blanched at a vastly superior, imperial military having a permanent presence on the continent. Since then, AFRICOM has searched for the slightest aperture through which it could set boot on African soil. They found the crack when a stream of nonblack African jihadists funneled into the Sahel. This raised such apprehension that African nations forgot their stance against AFRICOM. Now, western deployments are greeted with indiscriminate applause.

The deployments will arrest the fall of Mali. This is good. However, Africa must brace itself for the blowback. The Malian crisis will not be fully resolved under the present constellation of factors. The Tuaregs will likely remain embittered. Consequently, the northern tier of the Mali and Niger will be-

come the Sahelian equivalent of the eastern region of the Congo. The government's writ will have no currency in these badlands. However, exploration and mining will intensify, feeding French energy needs and the coffers of western firms. Meanwhile, western military deployments, under the guise of training, will sprout throughout the region. Previously barred entry through the front door, AFRICOM entered the house through the hole in the roof caused by the Libyan debacle. Most people will see this as a needed level of new security. History says otherwise. No long-term American deployment in a developing nation suffering an insurgency has ever relieved that nation of the insurgency.

Usually, the deployments make a grander mess of things. This is the future that now beckons. There is no reason to applaud it. Now, on to economics.

Western governments are not so busy in the Sahel that they don't have time to choke their own economies.

Europe and America stumble along the road of austerity like zombies in a trance. These countries relish a close relationship with economic disaster.

Spain's unemployment rate has reached a historic high. Greece falls so deeply into depression that many of its citizens no longer can afford heating oil to see them through the winter.

They resort to burning tires, and furniture as well as chopping down trees for firewood. The nation that was the world's first democracy has been demoted to the Third World. Europe's third largest economy, Italy contracted by 2.3 percent last year; this year's shrinkage is predicted to be worse. The Netherlands joined the recession parade late last year. The German economy, Europe's largest, slowed during the last half of 2012. The UK faces an unprecedented triple-dip recession, experiencing its third sustained downturn in less than four years. America's economy also shrank by a small margin during 2012's final quarter.

These nations share a common economic trait. They all persisted with fiscal austerity despite preponderant empirical evidence against this approach.

They are like the madcap adventurer who places his finger under the descending guillotine blade. Upon seeing the severed finger, he reasons he will be safe if he puts his head under the blade because the thickness of his neck will protect against his head's amputation.

The pain caused by austerity is beyond a sad joke. It is sadism practiced by governments now servant to those who inhabit the strongholds of finance and power. These people and their servants derive malevolent glee at watching the poor scamper about like small insects trying to escape before the descending boot crushes them into the turf. If only they were forsaken, the poor could make it. However, austerity has added burden to their burden. There is no escape or recovery. There is only dismal endurance. Light has perished from their lives. The complex theories of mainstream economics have escorted the people into a modern Dark Ages that need not have been. It is tragic and mean because it is all so unnecessary.

Yet, the princes of high money insist on austerity because it benefits them if no one else. Governments continue slashing their budgets, particularly funding for the poor and underclass.

Millions of people have been set adrift.

England now suffers the most dumbfounding example of stubborn adherence to discredited policy since Chamberlain walked backwards into WW II by appeasing Hitler in hope that the hyena of Berlin would tire and be sated if fed a generous snack of small, defenseless nations to devour.

Not shackled by membership in the Eurozone, England has its own sovereign currency. Thus, it can run fiscal deficits without fearing insolvency. Instead, what PM Cameron and his Tory brethren most fear is an insolvency that will never come. Thus, they force feed austerity to their countrymen as a warden feeds gruel to his inmates. Repeatedly, Cameron has promised that austerity would grow the economy. Each time he has repeated it, the claim has failed him. Now the country borders on a rare triple-dip recession. Yet he cannot concede the error. He keeps promising prosperity is around the corner. It may be around the corner but sadly not the corner toward which he leads the nation. When Cameron stands on the international stage to berate Nigeria or any other nation for economic wastage he stands as a self-righteous thrower of stones liv-

ing in a glass hut. The pain he inflicts on his economy is of the same magnitude as that for which he denigrates Nigeria. His misdeeds are also done for the corrupt purpose of bettering the moneyed elite. Consequently, the man has no more right castigating Nigeria than a drunk has fulminating against a drug addict for engaging in substance abuse.

The shrinkage of the American economy is directly attributable to a reduction in government spending.

Still, both Democrats and Republicans waltz toward a deal whereby they will brusquely cut the federal budget by several hundred billion dollars.

This will plunge the nation into a recession that will bear President Obama's name.

Despite the books and theories written by the prominent economists paid and made by Big Money, nothing substitutes for the truth. The more governments impose austerity in a time of economic weakness, the more their economies falter. Being a clerk to Money Power, the IMF traverses the world seeking out vulnerable economies it can stifle, contract, and deflate.

This travelling show often tours Africa selling its enervating wares. Africa consumes the defective products with good humor; but the good humor does little to mask our bad poverty. Austerity should be jettisoned before too many people are force to consume the flesh of their own diminution. Unless African nations break the intellectual shackles to forge independent-mind policies that grow their economies for the benefit of the people, they will consign their populations to an existence hounded by a poverty so relentless and omnipresent that it shall become synonymous with life itself.

In this vein, news that West Africa pursues a monetary union is discomfiting. The contemplated regional union is eerily similar to the Eurozone architecture. The flawed structure of the European monetary union intensified the economic downturn of that area. A monetary union strips nations of their currency sovereignty. A nation with a sovereign fiat currency can run government deficits that spur growth without fear of becoming insolvent.

Once a nation agrees use a currency over which it is not sovereign, the nation becomes slave to the currency.

The country can no longer run deficits to spur the economy because it is no longer the producer of its own currency. The nation is reduced to the status of any common shop or household. It can go bankrupt and thus is prone to austerity as protection against such an outcome. This is a steep price to pay for the ephemeral, uncertain benefits of a common currency. West Africa should rethink this move lest it repeat the mistake Europe made. The costs for West Africa will be steeper because its economies are frailer than their Western European counterparts.

The critique of austerity and financialist policies is a recurrent theme of this column. I do this not to bore but to warn you of what is to come unless we begin to think for ourselves. These policies are inhumane at best. They also don't work. The policies do the opposite of what their advocates espouse. This outcome goes beyond GDP statistics and government accounting ledgers. The contest of progressive, pro-growth policies versus conservative austerity policies goes beyond ideology. It will dictate whether African governments will be sufficiently equipped to educate our children, build the roads and bridges that open to a more placid future, and care for the elderly and infirmed. It will determine whether the general economy is sufficiently healthy to produce jobs giving the average man the chance at a decent wage and dignified life. It speaks to whether Africa can free itself from the past or remain prisoner of it. In the end, we must decide whether we live for ourselves and author our own fate or serve as the stationery upon which someone else writes their own story.

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World News

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Mali needs more than a call to arms

M

Y mind, frankly, was on anything but peace as I entered the United Nations conference hall to participate in a Culture of Peace and NonViolence event. On that same day - 21 September 2012 - yet another UN resolution had been released on the crisis in Mali. I felt overwhelmed by the ponderousness of the UN machine. That the UN, in association with African political leaders, recognised the danger posed by fundamentalist aggression to the Sahel and west Africa was not in doubt. The sense of urgency, however, lagged so far behind my own that it was a marvel I did not invade the conference hall with a banner, screaming: TAKE BACK MALI - YESTERDAY! The security council had already set out a "roadmap" for a west African force of intervention in the Sahel - it required the secretary general to report back on "progress" a few months later. This, it struck me, was an instruction not to the secretary general, but to the fundamentalist invaders to report to the world on the progress they would have made in destroying the ancient libraries of Timbuktu; amputating the arms of a few more Malians; and stoning to death deviationists from their "moral code".

It was an invitation to Ansar Dine's allies Boko Haram to nudge a few more terminators into Nigeria; demolish a few more educational, cultural and religious institutions; eliminate what was left of the UN presence after its bomb attack on the UN HQ in Abuja; and continue its project of unleashing death and destruction in southern Nigeria.

Before the conference, I had button-holed senior Nigerian officials at every opportunity. None needed any persuasion about the danger to West Africa if the fundamentalist menace were not contained, rapidly. President Jonathan himself, I was assured, was sensitive to the ramifications of Mali's northern takeover. So were a number of African heads of state.

What was lacking was the practical preparedness for action. To any student of the fundamentalist temperament, this imperative of urgent response should be second nature. Africa's political leadership should be in a state of permanent consciousness - and responsiveness. We are not novices, after all, to the ruthless nature of fundamentalist insurgency, its territorial desperation and, above all, its contempt for humanity.

Logically, Mali's neighbours should have taken the initiative - and within weeks of the expansion of what had been a local, opportunistic insurgency

West Africa's al-Qaida clones are neither religious nor political The world is facing viral mutations of the human psyche

into the global arena. As it was, evidence accumulated that northern Mali had been infiltrated by al-Qaida fighters dislodged from Libya, Somalia and other former sanctuaries, as was acknowledged by the Nigerian government.

Nevertheless, in the end, it took a former colonial power to seize the leadership.

Humiliating? Not quite. This invasion was not just a Malian affair, or even an African one: it was a global challenge. It had become clear that a few more weeks of inaction would have empowered

Mali's invaders and, by extension, the murderous campaign of Nigeria's own Boko Haram.

Unlike most commentators, I confess that I find it impossible to regard these al-Qaida clones as either political or religious movements, even of the extremist kind. That their ability to recruit foot soldiers is a reflection on society's failures is not in doubt; nonetheless, it is naive to attribute this solely to unemployment, marginalisation and other social inequities. The world is facing viral mutations of

By Wole Soyinka the human psyche. Take Joseph Kony, the Christian warrior of Uganda whose idea of "resistance" is child conscription, abduction and rape, spiced with the slicing off of lips, ears and noses of unbelievers. People such as he belong to a special category that is part-criminal, part-psychopathic - hence my warning to that UN meeting: "Let us recall that it is not anti-Muslims who have lately desecrated and destroyed - and with such fiendish self-righteousness - the

tombs of Muslim saints in Timbuktu ‌ The orientation - backed by declarations - of these violators leaves us with a foreboding that the invaluable library treasures of Timbuktu may be next."

The truth, alas, is that the science fiction archetype of the mad scientist who craves to dominate the world has been replaced by the mad cleric who can only conceive of the world in his own image, proudly flaunting James Bond's 007 credentials - licensed to kill. The sooner national leaders and genuine religious leaders understand

this, and admit that no nation lacks its own dangerous lunatics, be they Ansar Dine of Mali, or Terry Jones of Florida, the earlier they will turn their attention to the issues truly deserving priority.

The treasures of Timbuktu appear to have been saved from total destruction. Mali, finally, is being restored. For Africa's leadership, however, it is yet another wake-up call - and one that goes beyond a mere call to arms.

Courtesy:The Guardian of London

13

COMMENT and ANALYSIS THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Hypocrisy of yesterday’s men A

LOOSELY bound group of yesterday’s men and women seems to be on the offensive against the Jonathan administration. They pick issues with virtually every effort of the administration, pretending to do so in the public interest; positing that they alone, know it all. Arrogantly, they claim to be better and smarter than everyone else in the current government. They are ever so censorious, contrarian and supercilious. They have no original claim to their pretensions other than they were privileged to have been in the corridors of power once upon a time in their lives. They obviously got so engrossed with their own sense of importance they began to imagine themselves indispensable to Nigeria. It is dangerous to have such a navel-gazing, narcissistic group inflict themselves with so much ferocity on an otherwise impressionable public. We are in reality dealing with a bunch of hypocrites.

With exceptions so few, they really don’t care about Nigeria as a sovereign but the political spoils that accrue from it. And so they will stop at nothing to discredit those they think are not as deserving as they imagine themselves to be. President Jonathan has unfairly become the target of their pitiable frustrations.

Underneath their superfluous appearance, lies an unspoken class disdain directed at the person and office of a duly elected president of the country.

It is a Nigerian problem, perhaps. In the same advanced societies which these same yesterday men and women often like to refer to, public service is seen and treated as a privilege. People are called upon to serve; they do so with humility and great commitment, and when it is all over, they move on to other things. The quantity surveyor returns to his or her quantity surveying or some other decent work; the lawyer to his or her wig and gown; the university teacher, to the classroom, glad to have been found worthy of national service.

When and where necessary, as private citizens they are entitled to use the benefit of this experience to contribute to national development, they speak up on matters of public importance not as a fulltime job as is the case in Nigeria currently.

What then, is the problem with us? As part of our governance evolution, most people become public servants by accident, but they soon get so used to the glamour of office that they lose sight of their own ordinariness. They use the system to climb: to become media celebrities, to gain international attention and to morph into selfappointed guardians of the Nigerian estate. They mask self interest motives as public causes and manipulate the public’s desire for improvements in their daily struggles as opportunity for power grab.

They are perpetually hanging around, lobbying and hustling for undeserved privileges.

They exploit ethnic and religious connections where they can or join political parties and run for political office. They even write books (I, me and myself books, packaged as cerebral stuff); if that still doesn’t work, they lobby newspaper houses for columns to write and they become apostolic pundits pontificating on matters ranging from the nebulous to the non-descript. Power blinds them to the reality that we are all in this together and we have a unique opportunity to do well for the taxpayers and hardworking electorate that provide every public official the privilege to serve.

Unsatisfied with the newspaper columns, they open social media accounts and pretend to be voices of wisdom seeking to cultivate an angry crowd which they feed continually with their own brand of negativity. They arrange to give lectures at high profile events where they abuse the government of the day in order to gain attention and steal a few minutes in the sun; hoping to force an audience that may ‘open doors’ for them, back into the corridors of power. These characters are in different sizes and shapes: small, big; Godfathers, agents, proxies. The tactics of the big figures on this rung of opportunism may be slightly different.

They parade themselves as a Godfather or kingmaker or the better man who should have been king. They suffer of course, from messianic delusions. The fact that they boast of some followership and the media often treats them as icons, makes their nuisance factor worse. They and their protégés and proxies are united by one factor though: their hypocrisy.

It is in the larger interest of our country that the point be made that the government of the day welcomes criticism and political activism. This is

•Jonathan

By Reuben Abati

an aspect of our emergent democracy that expands on the growing freedom of expression, thought and association but there is need for caution and vigilance, lest we get taken hostage by the architects of odious disinformation. Nigerians must not allow any group of individuals to hold this country to ransom and no one alone should appropriate the right to determine what is best for Nigeria. The accidental public servants who have turned that privilege into a life-long obsession and profession must be told to go get a life and find meaningful work to do.

Those who believe that no one else can run Nigeria without them must be told to stop hallucinating. The former Ministers, former Governors, former DGs, and all sorts who have been busy quoting mischievous figures, spreading cruel propaganda must be reminded that the Jonathan administration is in fact trying to clean up the mess that they created. They want to own the game when the ball is not in their possession.

They want to be the referee when nobody has offered them a whistle. They seek to play God, forgetting that the case for God is not in the hands of man. One of the virtues of enlightenment is for persons to have a true perspective of their own location in the order of things. What they do not seem to realise or accept is that the political climate has changed.

When one of them was in charge of this same estate called Nigeria, he shut down the Port Harcourt airport and other airports for close to two years under the guise of renovation. The Port Harcourt airport was abandoned for so long it was overgrown with weeds after serving for months as a practice ground for motoring schools.

It was reopened without any improvement and with so much money down the drain, and the pervasive suspicion that the reason it was shut

“Those who believe that no one else can run Nigeria without them must be told to stop hallucinating. The former Ministers, former Governors, former DGs, and all sorts who have been busy quoting mischievous figures, spreading cruel propaganda must be reminded that the Jonathan administration is in fact trying to clean up the mess that they created.”

Lekan Otufodunrin

down in the first place was to create a market for a new airline that had been allowed the monopoly use of the other airport in the city. Under President Jonathan, airports across the country are being upgraded, rebuilt and modernized; in less than two years, the transformation is self-evident.

Perhaps the greatest hypocrisy from our see-no-good commentators comes from the one who superintended over the near-collapse of the aviation sector who is now audacious enough to claim to be a social critic.

For the first time since 1999, the Nigerian Railway Corporation is up and running as a service organization. The rail lines have become functional from Lagos to Kano; Ewekoro to Minna, and very soon, from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, Abuja to Kaduna and Lagos to Ibadan.

They couldn’t do this in their time, now they are busy looking for money that is not missing with their teeth. When questions are asked, they claim they invented the ideas of due process and accountability. They once promised to solve the crisis of electricity supply in Nigeria. But what did they do? They managed to leave the country in darkness with less than 2,000 MW; abandoned independent power projects, mismanaged power stations, and uncompleted procurement processes.

The mess was so bad their immediate successors had to declare an emergency in the power sector. It has taken President Jonathan to make the difference. Today, there is greater coherence in the management of the power sector with power supply in excess of 4, 200 MW; a better conceived power sector road map is running apace, and the administration is determined to make it better.

They complain about the state of the roads. Most of the contracts were actually awarded under their watch to the tune of billions! They talk about corruption, yet many of them have thick case files with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the courts and the police on corruption-related charges. One of them was even accused of having awarded choice plots of government land to himself, his wives, his companies and other relations when he was in charge of such allocations! Really, have we forgotten so soon?

These yesterday men and women certainly don’t seem to care very much about the Nigerian taxpayer who has had to bear the brunt of the many scandals this administration is exposing in its bid to clear out the Augean stable. They’d rather grandstand with the ex-General this, Chief that, Doctor this and ex-(dis)Honourable Minister who has no record of what he or she did with the funds the nation provided them to deliver results to protect our interest so that we don’t end up continuing to make the same wasteful mistakes.

It is enough to make you shudder at the thought of any of them being part of government with access to the public purse; but then we’ve already seen what some of them are capable of doing when in control of public money, authority and influence; and to that the people have spoken in unison – they have had enough. Nigerians are wiser and are now familiar with the trickery from these persons whose claim to fame and fortune was on the back of their public service.

Our point at the risk of overstating what is by now too obvious: We have too many yesterday men and women behaving too badly. We are dealing with a group of power-point technocrats who have mastered the rhetoric of public grandstanding: carefully crafted emotion-laden sound bites passed off as meaningful engagements. That is all there is to them, after many years of hanging around in relevant places and mingling in the right corridors, all made possible through the use/abuse of Nigeria. Our caveat to their audience is the same old line: let the buyer beware!

ROFESSOR Abiodun Salawu, a former colleague at The Punch newspaper, used to be a Mass Communication lecturer at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, University of Lagos and later Ajayi Crowther University.

I was, however, surprised to hear that he relocated to South Africa some years ago considering that there are not enough mass communication scholars to teach in Mass Communication departments in the country’s public and private universities.

Following his recent appointment to Mazisi Kunene Chair at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, I had an online interview with him during which he spoke on his experience living and teaching in South Africa.

Why did you relocate to South Africa?

I relocated to South Africa because of the better infrastructure in the country. Today, it has the best infrastructure on the continent; certain aspects of these, some people call world class. The research environment is also an attraction. There are motivations and facilities for research.

What is the difference between being a lecturer in South Africa and Nigeria?

This goes back to my last statement.

The infrastructure and facilities are there to enable you do your work without much hassles.

Colleagues in the sciences appreciate this better as they require certain equipment and facilities in their laboratories to do their work. For us in the humanities, we appreciate more the abundant online resources that we have to do our work.

Provision of basic office facilities is also appreciated.

What do you miss about Nigeria?

I miss the culture of our people. I miss the culture of respect for elders, of appreciation of good deeds, of communalism and of industry. I miss listening to high standard Yoruba on certain radio/television programmes and movies. I also miss our foods – amala, ewedu, yam, fried plantain etc.

How would you describe living in South Africa?

It is a more organised living.

What should Nigeria learn from South Africa?

Nigeria can learn organisation of higher education from South Africa. Research is a priority in South Africa and there is huge provision of funds to facilitate, motivate and incentivise it. Many of our colleagues in Nigeria do not have (regular) opportunities to attend international conferences, but this is what an average lecturer in South Africa takes for granted.

We can also do better with little or no disruption in our academic calendars as a result of staff strikes. Since I came here, I have not heard of staff (either academic or non-academic) going on strike. May be, we can just say such is rare here.

Of course, there are grievances but they hardly result into industrial actions. I guess we need to find a way of managing conflict in our public institutions. This requires sincerity. The campuses in South Africa are much more peaceful than our own campuses. The fear of student cultism is remote. Even when students go on strike, it is not usually prolonged; and the grievances may be about lack of study loans. There was a time when students at University of Fort Hare demonstrated and one of the things they were demonstrating about was lack of internet in their residences.

Dr. Abati is Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to President Goodluck Jonathan

Full interview on : thenationonlineng.net/ new/category/online-special/

Otufodunrin@thenationonlineng.net 08023000621 (SMS only)

South African experience

P

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Ogochukwu Ikeje ohgeeoh@gmail.com 08084235961 (SMS only)

E

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Comment & Analysis

VERYONE knows that you need more than wings to fly. More than anything else, you need a heart. To make a success of anything, you require more than tools or tutelage. You need a heart to fly, a fire to propel you.

Only a few years ago, planes were falling off the Nigerian sky at an alarming frequency, plunging people to a most horrific death. It wasn’t that Nigerian pilots could not fly an aircraft. Nor was it that the planes were wingless or not altogether airworthy. The aircraft were crashing simply because there was no heart to ensure safety in the air. Without such a heart, therefore, no one prioritised the installation of obligatory flying aids. Nor was the right orientation in place for ground personnel. The result was the unforgettable catalogue of air tragedies of the Obasanjo years. The moment the right heart came the planes flew began to fly peacefully in the Nigerian air space.

Hard-nosed football coaches look for this sort of heart in their players especially the strikers. A good pair of legs is not enough. Nor is ball control. Do you have enough push, an insatiable hunger to put the ball behind the opponent’s net?

Attackers are rested if this fire is not in their belly.

We need such fire to successfully tackle every challenge facing this country, including insecurity. These days of Boko Haram bloodletting, we have read that virtually every world power has lent us their security and intelligence services

A heart to thrive We need home-made fire to confront evil to help tackle terrorism. The other day, we read again that the Jonathan administration appealed to Britain for help in this regard.

If outsiders help, it is all well and good, considering that no nation is, or can be, an island. But as a people, we need a heart of our own to confront evil. External help is welcome but it may not endure. Beyond the obligation stirred by our common humanity, the West will only help us or anyone if the gesture will benefit its people one way or another. There are interests to protect, new grounds to break and virgin frontiers to explore. Beyond that, you are essentially on your own. We need a heart to survive before the helpers come. We need a heart to survive while they are here.

And we definitely need a heart to stay alive after the helpers are gone.

Such a heart has eluded the Nigerian leadership. In spite of assorted national mantra, slogans and other forms of rhetoric, leadership has perpetually failed the nation and its people. Why? No heart to swing things. No heart to fly.

A few examples won’t go amiss. Our leadership has consistently expended a lot of energy and cash to project a polished Nigerian brand to the world. We have been urged to dress Nigerian and to love the local fabric. But what effort has been made to revive the abandoned indigenous textile industry that should spin out the fabric?

The Ministry of Works takes a handsome cut of statutory funds from the federal purse but has failed to build roads or repair damaged ones on which our perish every day.

“Beyond the obligation stirred by our common humanity, the West will only help us or anyone if the gesture will benefit its people one way or another. There are interests to protect, new grounds to break and virgin frontiers to explore. Beyond that, you are essentially on your own. We need a heart to survive before the helpers come. We need a heart to survive while they are here. And we definitely need a heart to stay alive after the helpers are gone”

Every government has trumpeted its iron-cast resolve to put corruption out of the Nigerian space, but the monster continues to grow in stature nevertheless. It continues to cripple everything we hold dear. Providing electricity, for instance, has since become an unsolvable puzzle essentially because of corruption.

Some might say we lack most of the things we need to take off. No. We have everything we need. We do not lack resources, whether in human or natural form. If crude oil were for drinking, I believe we have enough of it to serve every family three times a day. But its abundance has ironically not always guaranteed its availability nor stopped us from importing fuel at a huge cost. Our human resources have also been helping to build overseas nations. But we cannot build ours. Why? We lack a heart to convert resources to assets, deployable to the common good.

Boko Haram has set everyone’s teeth on edge. Last week our prized federal lawmakers were in an uncoordinated marathon race, beginning from their hallowed seats and terminating in the open space outside the legislative chambers where they felt safe. A security officer was later to dismiss the marathon as a needless product of an empty rumour. But you won’t blame the frightened lawmakers any more than you will chide a man who was robbed by someone wielding what he suspected was a toy gun. Who will wait to find out if a Boko Haram threat is a baseless rumour, or that a robber’s weapon is actually not made of iron?

So bring in the British anti-terror experts, but we must bear in mind that we need much more than them to live peacefully in this country. We need a heart to protect our own, and a new order that puts premium on the human life, even that of a single individual.

First published September 25, 2011

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Comment & Analysis

15

Boko Haram ‘ceasefire’ A lot of hard questions and equally hard counter-demands must precede any talk of amnesty

C

HINUA Achebe quipped in one of his novels, quoting an Igbo proverb: when a bully sees someone he can beat up, he becomes hungry for a fight. The attitude that drives bullies is cowardice. So, the converse to that Igbo proverb is when a bully sees someone that can beat him up, he scurries away like a rat.

That explains Boko Haram, the terrorist group’s sudden unilateral declaration of ceasefire. When it was busy running rings round Goodluck Jonathan’s security apparatuses, Imam Abubakar Shekau and his group were waxing bloodily lyrical as to how they would finish with the North and go on to Islamise the whole of Nigeria.

They even told Jonathan to convert to Islam as a prelude to any peace talk! Shekau even rhapsodised on some exclusive divine charter from ‘Allah’, to kill his enemies – as if God, that created Man, needed any man to fight His battles.

But now that the French are pacifying the Mali base of the cowardly Boko Haram leaders, they are scurrying home and panting “ceasefire”; in a fond hope to turn looming defeat into a victory of sorts – not unlike the dead Osama Bin Laden that hid in the dubious safety of rocks, but told brain-washed suicide bombers to go kill themselves and thousands of innocent others for a false cause.

But make no mistake. Boko Haram and its mass murder serve as wake-up call from the iniquity of running this country. President Jonathan is not the strongest president in Nigerian history. But his glaring weakness in confronting the Boko Haram crisis goes beyond his perceived weakness or strength. And the collateral damage, in lost lives, hacked limbs and shattered psyches, desecrated worship places, is glaring but tragic comeuppance for a nation ever willing to be hustled and bustled into systemic injustices.

Jonathan’s road to the presidency was clearly controversial, if not outright iniquitous; given the brazen abrogation of his party’s zoning principle. When this debate raged, Nigerians almost as a consensus, hee-hawed; when they should have spoken out on principle.

So when the first Boko Haram mass slaughter hit the polity, Jonathan, perhaps smitten by his own conscience, felt obliged to appease. But the more he did that, the more contemptuous his traducers – angry victims of an unfair power deal – appeared to become. We must note that his olive branch was tentative and gloatingly hypocritical. Hence, the lexicon: “political Boko Haram”, made a tragic entry into the polity. For a society that readily acquiesces to injustice, the Boko Haram mass destruction was a tragic consequence. We hope everyone has

D

ESPITE the frantic effort of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to set up a combined military task force in Warri to combat incessant kidnappings in the state, kidnapping is growing at geometrical progression while victims bear the brunt.

Kidnapping in the state is fast becoming a worthwhile business for some of the youths who feel it is the only way to make ends meet. Even Governor Uduaghan went as far as to set up another Delta Police Anti- kidnapping Squad (PAS) and purchased heavily armoured vehicles for security agencies in the state to combat the menace but to no avail.

It is sad that an oil rich state is being put under the siege of ferocious kidnappers.

This is preventing foreign investors from investing. Kidnapping is fast becoming a scientific crime that has spread into every nook and cranny of the state. The continuation of high profile kidnappings of prominent sons and daughters could be traced to political instability that has crept into the state with no definite solution.

The incessant arrests of abductors are yet to bring a stop to kidnapping.

Since 2010 when the menace spread to Delta State over 200 kidnappers have been apprehended while the head of the Delta Police Anti- kidnap-

learnt their lessons.

That brings the question to Boko Haram and its demands, in exchange for some “amnesty”, which in real terms sound more like amnesia. But amnesia is the costliest commodity this polity can afford right now, if it is not to sink in a messier bog in the immediate future.

Interestingly, some “Northern elders” under the auspices of the Northern Development Focus Initiative (NDFI) are already pushing for “amnesty” in a surface link with the Niger Delta amnesty package, which curbed the swamp terrorism in the South.

Many might even wax poetic by this poser: if the late Umaru Yar’Adua, a “northern” president could fix the Niger Delta crisis, why shouldn’t President Jonathan, a “southern” president, draw the curtains on Boko Haram’s urban warfare?

There is no reason why not. To start with, terrorism is terrorism. It did not matter if Niger Delta militants were attacking oil installations; and the Boko Haram lunatics are bombing innocent citizens in the streets, many of them luckless Christians in their churches, muslims in mosques, merchandisers in the open markets and vulnerable police officers who never had any quarrel with Boko Haram; or demystifying the Nigerian state by facing down and “vanquishing” the Police, prime symbol of power and authority of the Nigerian state.

So, if you could do a deal with Niger Delta militants and later set many of them up with juicy federal contracts, why not also pat Boko Haram leaders in the back and hand them their own golden handshakes? Amnesia is amnesia. If you can, for “peace”, forget the havoc of militants, so can you for the havoc of Boko Haram murderers!

Beyond sarcasm, however, there are at least two definitive differences in the end game of the two crises: the Niger Delta militants were close to defeat; and the amnesty deal was some face-saving device. In the present

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

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

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case, Boko Haram is far from defeat. So, those crowing amnesty must know that, as things stand, should the French go back to Paris, Boko Haram can restart where it left off.

But more fundamentally, the Niger Delta amnesty was basically a deal for agents of the Nigerian state to have more access to oil and its endless gravy. In the case of Boko Haram, there is no such consensus based on strategic greed.

All Boko Haram has left in its trail is a smouldering North: troubled politics, prostrate economy, ruptured society, especially along religious and sectarian lines, and a shattered psyche. In other words, if indeed there is anything like “political Boko Haram” as alleged, all it has done is cut the North’s nose to spite its face; while hoping to put Jonathan’s nose out of joint. So those “northern elders” who push for amnesty based on amnesia should think twice: an un-decapitated Boko Haram may yet wreak more havoc for that region, its luckless people and the Federal Republic.

While the Jonathan presidency must make some compromises for peace, such compromises must not be at the expense of justice – for there can be no peace without justice. That is why it must rigorously examine Boko Haram demands and only grant those that are reasonable.

If Boko Haram, for instance, asks for their mosques to be rebuilt, that demand is reasonable, equitable, just and fair. If the state knows its Basic Law guarantees freedom of worship and still recklessly goes ahead to destroy places of worship, it must pay for its constitutional crime. If that would come in rebuilding mosques and paying compensation, so be it.

But the Boko Haram request that its detained members should be released is patently absurd. How can the state release willful and murderous criminals? If there is any soft-landing at all, it should be for the brainwashed canon fodders. To serve as deterrent, the Boko Haram ring leaders must be made to pay for their crime, though in the spirit of compromise, the severity of the penalty could be tempered.

Beyond reasonable and unreasonable demands, however, the Nigerian state should evolve an economic recovery and rehabilitation template for post-Boko Haram North to wipe out the poverty that has served as convenient nursery for Abubakar Shekau and his doctrinal anarchists to thrive.

It is time the North – and the country – made a fresh start. But that should be under the template of a reworked and productive federal system.

LETTERS

Delta kidnappings: A way out ping Squad, Dickson Adeyemi was accused and arrested alongside with his boys over aiding and abetting of kidnappers in the state.

Some say kidnappings could be traced to unemployment among youths, greed, insider involvement, politics and ex-militants. But the fact is that kidnapping is a high form of criminality which is similar to

W

HEN former Kogi State Governor, Ibrahim Idris, was at the helm of affairs, he promised to leave a worthy legacy, hence his foresight in providing the people of Lokoja one of the basic amenities of life, which is water.

The town that has the unique opportunity of having two of the biggest rivers in Nigeria, has now gone back to history of water shortage that has been giving the people of the town great concern.

The greater water work project which gulped bil-

armed robbery, raping, ritual killings and stealing. Statistics show that over 20 people have been kidnapped. Some of the recent victims are Professor Hope Eghagha, Delta State Commissioner for Higher Education, Chief Gregory Oke Akpojene, Markson Macaulay, the son of the present SSG, and Prof Kanene Okonjo, the mother of the Minister of Fi-

nance, among others.

Last year, Dr Mrs. Ugboma, the mother of the popular comedian, Bovi Ugboma, was almost kidnapped but for the quick intervention of the police who were on patrol duty.

Overtly, kidnapping could also be traced to the failure to tackle the emergence of insurgent Islamic extremist group,

Boko Haram, which has killed thousands of people with property worth millions of naira destroyed.

Terrorism is gradually spreading to other parts of the country. In the South West, pipeline vandalism is becoming more pronounced while in the South East, kidnapping is a major profession of youths now. Yet security is being treated with levity despite the huge budgetary vote.

Again, the unjust ban of motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada, is also caus-

One year of Wada in Kogi lions of naira when it was constructed has started witnessing lack of water supply to Lokoja town and its environs.

The appointment of the water resources commissioner, whom everybody hope should live up to expectation of her office, has not been seen directing affairs of the ministry for some time now.This calls for her redeployment if she is found wanting in her sole responsibilities of giving water to the teeming populace.

In another clime, provision of this basic amenity to the people should not be of priority to the government of the day for now, because other important things should be at front burner and not this that should have been provided.

We call on the Kogi State government to make haste in ensuring the restoration of water to Lokoja town and its environs for the people to enjoy the basic amenities.

The current heat been experienced generally in the

country needs to be complimented with provision of water to help in reducing dehydration amongst the people of the town.

The water board authority should as matter of urgency ensure that all the pipes are properly maintained to make it convenient for water to flow without any hindrance. Also, protection should be given to all its facilities to stem the activities of vandals in our societies.

Bala Nayashi, Lokoja

ing incessant kidnappings without providing alternative means to Okada riders. Rather the government is providing tricycles that are beyond the reach of ordinary okada rider on the street in the state. Some traditional leaders and politicians are behind the kidnapping spree. Most of the youths that resort to kidnapping as the only way to survive are the ones neglected by politicians.

In a nutshell, Governor Uduaghan needs to hold comprehensive town hall meetings on monthly basis where all traditional rulers, elders, community leaders, security agencies, the 25 local government chairmen, stakeholders, industrialists, church leaders, NGOs, NBA, students, medical practitioners, traders associations, artisans and others should find a lasting solution to kidnappings in the state.

Jailing kidnappers for 44 years would rather increase kidnappings.

It is time for the state government to involve privatepublic partnership in curbing crime among unemployable youths in the state. The threepoint agenda of the governor of which security and peace topped the list must be achieved to make the state centre of excellence

By Godday Odidi Ajegunle Apapa. Lagos.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Comment & Analysis

On the road to cosmetic federalism again?

Ropo Sekoni ropo.sekoni @thenationonlineng.net

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F the preliminary result of National Assembly’s efforts to involve Nigerians in the amendment of the 1999 Constitution released exclusively by Leadership Sunday is accurate (and there is no reason to disbelieve the notes leaked to the newspaper by those in charge of the exercise), then Nigerians calling for re-federalisation of the country are about being urged to start the process of de-militarisation of the polity afresh.

We said in this column a few weeks back that Nigerians might be buying a lemon at the end of the protracted effort by the national assembly to neutralise the call for sovereign national conference or constitutional conference. We raised issues with the process of selecting or inviting citizens to meet representatives of the national assembly in hotels in state capitals across the country; the amount of time made available for discussion; and why on earth anyone would prefer such informal consultation with citizens to a referendum.

With the release of outcome of lawmakers/citizens’ interactions in November last year published by Leadership Sunday of January 27, Nigerians may at the end be blamed for an amended constitution that is

Femi Orebe femi.orebe @thenationonlineng.net 08056504626 (sms only)

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I had intended to commence, this Sunday, a series of articles on the refreshing re-engineering presently afoot in the South-West courtesy of the A C N governors in the region, a pan-regional renewal of infrastructure, education, agriculture and ground-breaking social security programmes for the elderly so heartwarming Chief Obafemi Awolowo would give the architects a thumbs up from his grave since they are earnestly working towards the happiness and well-being of the greater majority of the people which the Avatar unequivocally prescribed as the raison d’être of a good government. That, however, was before the news broke of an insensitive Abuja High Court judge sentencing one John Yusufu, a self-confessed thief of N32.8billion Police Pension fund, to two years imprisonment with an option of a measly N750, 000 fine which the convict promptly paid.

Interestingly, less than 24 hours after that judgment, an Ikare Magistrate Court in Ondo State sentenced an accused to three years imprisonment for stealing a telephone handset worth N17, 000.

More nauseating than Mr Justice Talba Mohammed’s unthinking judgment is the fact that the EFCC, with all its effete posturing about corruption, was privy to this unconscionable arrangement. This is obvious from the following statement by the agency: ‘The Commission is of the view that the option of fine runs contrary to the understanding between the prosecution and the defence wherein the convict con-

It is uncharitable to think that the national assembly would intentionally parade the views of a few Nigerians at one-day public hearing as the voice of 160 million Nigerians. more unitary than the one that federalists have found to be a source of inter-ethnic or inter-regional tension and of national under-development since the outing of the 1999 Constitution by General Abdulsalam Abubakar, after the presidential and legislative elections of 1999.

In what Leadership Sunday called the highpoints of the House of Representatives’ People Public Sessions on the review of the 1999 Constitution conducted on November 10, 2012, ‘Nigerians have rejected’ the following: any mention of the country’s six geopolitical zones in the constitution as administrative or political units; abolition of State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) and transfer of its functions to INEC; call for a provision to allow Nigerians in diaspora to vote at national elections; establishment of state police; affirmative action for women in elective offices; transfer of any responsibility from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent List; etc.

Is the report of Leadership Sunday only about what citizens have rejected? No. As the paper puts it: ‘As widely expected, voting patterns show Nigerians want state houses of assembly to be granted financial autonomy/independence as is the case with the National Assembly….The collated report disclosed that Nigerians backed amendments’ to abolish Joint State/Local Government Account; to create a role or place for traditional rulers at federal and state levels; to award indigeneship (rather than residency) to indigenes of other

communities; etc. What is unmistakable about the preliminary result of collation of responses from citizens that travelled to speak with legislators in November is that majority of such citizens largely prefer the constitutional status quo that puts centralism over federalism.

It is not clear what the announcement in Leadership Sunday: ‘voting patterns on all the issues itemised in the template for voting during the sessions in 318 federal constituencies of the original 360 constituencies have been collated and ready for official unveiling on January 31’ is designed to achieve. Is the unveiling of an informal voting by citizens that had no mandate from their constituencies being packaged as a true reflection of the thinking of constituents on the items presented in November to selected invitees by legislators? Is voting by an infinitesimal number of invitees to public hearings in hotel rooms being designed as a substitute for direct indication of citizens’ choice? Are Nigerians being prepared by the leaked collation of votes of a few Nigerians that had the privilege to travel to state capitals to meet with lawmakers for what the national assembly is likely to recommend as amendments?

What does ‘as widely expected’ mean? Who widely expected what— the legislators or Leadership Sunday?

It is uncharitable to think that the national assembly would intentionally parade the views of a few Nigerians at one-day public hearing as the voice of 160 million Nigerians.

What is not uncharitable to do is to remind members of the national assembly that fears expressed before the decision of the national assembly to initiate amendment of the 1999 Constitution may be justified at the end of exercise. When citizens called for sovereign national conference or constitutional conference for the purpose of writing a people’s constitution that is mandated by citizens and assented to by citizens through a referendum, members of the legislative assembly said that all that was needed was ordinary amendment to the 1999 Constitution. Legislators refused to include involvement of citizens directly in the process by rejecting calls for a referendum. Now the same national assembly is claiming that majority of Nigerians have taken a position on items slated for amendment, when in fact only a handful of citizens attended the hearings organised for interaction between lawmakers and citizens.

Many citizens at that time warned that legislators elected under the constitution in contention were not elected to write constitutions and that the matter of creating a people’s constitution should be given to another group set up principally for that task. Citizens were told by lawmakers and even the president that Nigeria should settle for amendment to a constitution that citizens never saw until after the inauguration of the first post-military government in 1999. While citizens called for constitutional transformation, their leaders, elected for pur-

poses other than writing a constitution, preached and pushed for panelbeating of a constitution that citizens thought was a write-off.

If the leaked report to Leadership Sunday is accurate, then federalists and constitutional purists who warned that amending a constitution that had no imprint of citizens ab initio would amount to a waste of time and emotion may be more prophetic than legislators who affirmed that re-federalisation of the country was attainable through amendments. Issues that citizens have been reported to reject indicate that the 1999 Constitution authored by the military on the eve of handing power to elected governments in 1999 only needs cosmetic touches designed to enhance the powers of the centre.

A graphic example of further defederalisation of the polity is the socalled approval by citizens that the exclusive legislative list should remain sacrosanct. Another example is purported approval by ‘citizens’ of the provision to divorce local governments from the states that constitute them. The Federal Republic of Nigeria will be the first such federation in the world, just as it will be the first federation that is incapable of tolerating state and local government police for purposes of enforcing laws and ordinances created by states and local governments.

Without doubt, the report released to Leadership Sunday must signal the message of a luta continua to lovers of federalism and believers in federalism as the only way to ensure sustainable democracy and development in postcolonial Nigeria.

Steal the Central Bank of Nigeria, plead guilty, go home free With things as they stand in the country today, the EFCC must reckon as the greatest motivator of corruption. sented to a custodial sentence with the forfeiture of all assets and money that are proceeds of crime’. Little wonder the convict knew well ahead, exactly how much he was going to be fined. With things as they stand in the country today, the EFCC must reckon as the greatest motivator of corruption. Where in the civilised world, other than Nigeria, would such a rogue walk away with a slap on the wrist? Did Mardof get a plea bargain in the U.S? Is whatever money or property seized more important than the immoralities EFCC is inculcating in the citizenry through these brazen compromises?

Where is the money paid by the likes of former governor Lucky Igbinedion and co in past plea bargains or where are the houses forfeited to government in all these ludicrous paddy paddy bargains?

Were they not all sold within their cabal? If a man could literally walk free from such humongous heist, why would unemployed graduates not go into armed robbery and some jobless miscreants into kidnapping? As it stands today, EFCC deserves to be completely scrapped.

It was no surprise that another government agency, the Code of Conduct, was reported to have summarily quashed the case of one of the co- accused persons in whose account at the United Bank of Africa a whooping N500 million was found, freed allegedly on the intervention of the wife of a very senior government official.

Since the news broke, I have heard lawyers of all hue rationalising plea bargaining. I make bold to say that while this may be provided for in our law books, it is absolutely unhelpful in a Nigerian society where corruption has become, not only endemic but, systemic. Whichever way you turn, all you hear are

public servants stealing, no longer millions but, billions of naira given the certainty that no punishment awaits them. Impunity has taken over the land and when anti-corruption agencies make a sham of going to court, all you get is what the Abuja judge dispensed here as punishment -a huge joke and the same reason Ibori was treated here in Nigeria as a paragon of honesty only to be shamefully jailed in the U.K. What a rudderless government we have and what a spineless people we are turning out to be? What a country? Why will the world not call us thieves? Coming so soon after a British court described one-time governor Ibori as a common thief in state house, who in the world should respect any Nigerian? Are these judicial officers, supposedly operating in the temple of justice, so uncaring they can vomit any judgment, however inane? Granted that this judge cannot single-highhandedly re-write the law, (but) was he obligated to offer the criminal an option of fine knowing full well that a cow thief in a part of this country could have a limb chopped off? What impunity, and, again, is there a single reason young Nigerians should not go into armed robbery or kidnapping when men and women constitutionally empowered to moderate our values through the instrumentality of law are so unthinking? Going by the level of listlessness routinely displayed by the judiciary, shouldn’t every Nigerian be a criminal of sorts since criminality pays so handsomely? And by the way, hasn’t it been suggested this same judge it was who ruled that Kenny Martins had no case to answer in another policerelated case where sleaze was strongly alleged? Doesn’t he realise that hundreds of thousands of poor

retired old men who had served this nation to the best of their abilities are victims of this heist and that some of them actually die, queuing for this same pension? God, give us judges: men and women in their dignified robes, who will know that they are chosen by you, though appointed by man, to perform what essentially is a solemn function to the edification of your name, rather than simply see it as working for a meal ticket.

Lord, give us responsible judges.

Questions ad infinitum, but let us get to the nitty gritty of this thoroughly revolting case. We have in this country, a party which, as I often describe it, has held this country under its stranglehold for close on 14 years and always with about three quarters of members of the National Assembly. For these many years, has the National Assembly been so irresponsible it did not know that even if you steal the entire Central Bank of Nigeria, all you get is a 2year jail term? Did they consider this equitable to the offence? What then is the responsibility of the Committees on Judiciary in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, or does it stop with the squandering of funds and allocation of state of the art cars for so-called committee work? Of course Nigerians will not be surprised their representatives are too blinded by graft and greed to notice such inequities.

This case is so nauseating you want to puke.

Where now is PDP’s so-called Ethical Revolution, that shibboleth, like Vision 20 20 20, and its cousin, Rebranding, through which they once ate the nation raw. PDP is never short of such grandstanding rhetoric. Trending now is their Centenary anniversary and Senator Ayim Pius Ayim, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, is throwing his en-

tire weight into it. By the time the dust settles on this too, Nigeria would have been short-changed to the tune of billions of naira. Didn’t former minister Ezekwezili, only last week, ask them questions as to how they squandered a colossal $67 billion; an amount no West African country, beside Ghana, can boast of in a given financial year?

That is PDP with its ideology of ‘share the money’.

And what manner of people are we? Are we so consumed with the challenges of life and living that we have become so spineless? Must we take just about anything when, as you read this, Egyptians, in spite of an emergency declared by government, are still out there on the streets protesting against some draconian decrees by the Morsi government? .And as somebody has asked, why are the two major religions silent on this evil plaguing our country? What are the moral and ethical tenets driving these religions that they cannot lead their adherents out on a massive anti-corruption demonstration as is routinely done in other countries?

And concerning the Bible and the Quran which these rogues, counting on the mercy of God, do not take seriously, shouldn’t our constitution now prescribe that public officials should swear on Ogun – the god of iron – and such like gods which show no mercy to criminals? Shouldn’t our traditional religionists place a curse on those rabidly raping this hapless country? At least one remembers General Obasanjo once suggesting we fight purveyors of the apartheid system with African juju.

If these nation wreckers are so unrelenting, l will suggest it is time unforgiving African gods are unleashed on them for the sake of fatherland.

Comment & Analysis

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Tunji

Adegboyega tunjade@yahoo.co.uk 08054503906 (sms only)

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F anyone had doubts that Nigeria was yet to start any serious anticorruption war, the judgment handed down to a director of the Police Pension Office, Mr. John Yusuf,

by Justice Abubakar Talba of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, on January 28, was enough to erase that doubt. Yusuf’s case had been a celebrated one, given the magnitude of the amount allegedly stolen by the pension thieves in the Police Pension Office, and the fact that he was the first person to be tried for the police pension fraud. About N38.8billion was alleged to have been stolen.

However, Yusuf and his ilk were said to have stolen N27.2billion of the amount. Indeed, Yusuf personally admitted to stealing N2billion. For this, the best Justice Talba could do was to ask the big thief to refund N325million, forfeit 32 houses and pay a fine of N750,000 or spend two years behind bars.

It is unusual for people to engage in loud discussion in the courtroom, but in this case, people in the court, engaged in loud exchanges, loud enough for the court clerk to call everybody to order when Justice Talba pronounced his judgment.

Obviously, Yusuf had stolen more than enough for the owner to notice; and Justice Talba too had shown a kind of uncommon compassion.

Where did he expect the owners of the funds to get their money at retirement if this is the kind of kid gloves that judges in Nigeria would be treating people like Yusuf? Did it

Postscript, Unlimited!

By

Oyinkan Medubi 07057012862 (SMS only) puchuckles7@gmail.com

S

OME court adjudications, the last bastion of social hope for the average citizen, are so right on the mark that one can shriek with delight and exclaim like Shakespeare’s Shylock that indeed, a Daniel has come to judgment! On another hand, some are so incredible they can make one hiss and spit in disgust and exclaim that indeed, the law is such an ass!

On a third hand, there are some judgements that are so bizarre they leave everyone’s mouth agape for the first five minutes. Then, the words start rolling out in gabbles as people go ‘gabble, gabble, judgement, gabble, bizarre gabble, gabble ...’ The whole world, err, country is gabbling right now about the judgement of some seven hundred thousand Naira handed down against someone alleged to have pilfered over twenty billion Naira. It has me fair whistling now, and I tell you, I don’t whistle easily; I do it through the nose.

That is also how I speak English.

Now, if we remember anything about Shylock, it is the fact that the man was difficult to please. First, he drew a contract so tight that literally required that his debtor would not be able to wriggle out of it without shedding some of his precious blood. Next, he wound his daughter up in a domestic wreath so carefully woven with starvation that the poor girl could not legally

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Justice Talba and the pension thief What could have informed the lenient judgment? ever occur to Justice Talba that he too could be a victim of the Yusufs of this world upon his retirement?

Quite annoyingly, the pension thief immediately paid the peanut of a fine, to the admiration and applause of his friends and family members, and headed for home. No shame; no remorse. I wonder what Yusuf would tell his children and grandchildren, if he is already a grandfather. Will he tell them that he just paid a fine instead of going to jail for stealing other people’s sweat? Do you know that in the kind of Nigeria where we now live, Yusuf would have organised an elaborate party to mark his victory over the country’s rotten system if the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had not rearrested him to face trial, this time, for allegedly not declaring some assets, among other allegations, including, again, theft? Some people might even take space in the media to felicitate with their own who was lucky to escape imprisonment for stealing. That is how sunk we are as a nation. This country is indeed in trouble if this is the way we want to fight corruption. I wonder how our leaders feel in the company of other countries’ leaders when matters like this crop up in the comity of nations.

But I am happy that, for once, many Nigerians were enraged by the judgment. They must have been wondering why Justice Talba did not

emulate Jesus Christ by simply telling the accused to ‘go but sin no more’. I am happy that, Nigerians protested the judgment; and particularly so that students and other youths were in the vanguard of the protest. It is rightly so because it is their parents’ future, and by extension their own future, that the Yusufs of this world are eating up today. With the kind of judgment handed down to Yusuf, we have every cause to be apprehensive of the pension savings.

Rather than serve as deterrent, it will serve as stimulus for other pension and allied thieves. All they have to do is to steal big enough.

That was why I laughed when last Monday, Justice Okon Abang ruled (in a matter between Capital Oil and Gas Ltd and its managing director, Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah, and Access Bank Plc and Coscharis Motors, over a N10billion loan the bank claimed to have given Capital Oil and Gas Ltd.), that Access Bank must withdraw its suit on the same matter in a London court. With rulings such as the one by Justice Talba, one does not need any expert advice that if one could afford it, he should not leave such matters in the hands of the unpredictable Nigerian judiciary. At any rate, I wonder why Justice Abang should be so concerned about whether someone has confidence in the Nigerian Judiciary or not; what, to me, should be his uppermost concern is that justice is

“But I am happy that, for once, many Nigerians were enraged by the judgment. They must have been wondering why Justice Talba did not emulate Jesus Christ by simply telling the accused to ‘go but sin no more’…. . Even Kootu Ashipa of old (Ashipa’s Court) would have done better, if only to prove to the world that the country’s anticorruption war is not a huge racket or, sorry, a huge joke”

done, no matter from where; whether home or from abroad. In any case, don’t Nigerian rich people leave our hospitals for hospitals abroad for the same reason that they do not have confidence in the country’s hospitals?

Why couldn’t the minister of health or even the president protest this by decreeing a stop to it? The point that Justice Abang seems not to know is that confidence or trust are priced words that cannot be decreed or imposed; both are earned. It does not seem to me that anyone can force another person to have confidence in what he or she has a choice not to have confidence in. l leave the matter at that for now.

But, meanwhile, to underscore how ridiculous the Yusuf sentence was, Justice Mashood Abass of the Oyo State High Court, Ibadan, just the day after Justice Talba’s judgment, sentenced the Provost of the Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan, Mrs Ruth Aweto, and the bursar, Mr Adekanye Komolafe, to four years imprisonment for deceiving the Federal Government by passing off 41 casual staff of the college as permanent staff, with annual emolument of about N7million, instead of N3.6million. They thereby made a dubious gain of N3.4million over one year. They had no option of fine. Their crime must have been that they are ‘petty thieves’.

I do not know of a place where people set a date for revolution; it builds up over years only for the bubble to burst when the people run out of patience. The spontaneous reaction of Nigerians to the verdict tells me that there is still hope for this country. All we need is to sustain

such protest whenever strange things like this happen.

I know President Goodluck Jonathan has hardly seized any great moments. But he can take advantage of this because, to do otherwise would confirm the notion that the government itself is handicapped when it is anti-corruption because its hands too are not clean. The President may be saying this is the problem of the judiciary; but the buck stops at his desk.

There is nothing that says he cannot initiate a genuine judicial reform that will take care of the inadequacies of our present laws which make it easy for big thieves to escape justice while poor ones get all the punishment. Anything can happen in a situation where people lose confidence in the judiciary, which is the last hope of the common man.

All the arguments advanced by Yusuf’s counsel that made Justice Talba to have compassion (I hope it is compassion) on the accused pale into insignificance when juxtaposed with the sufferings that the owners of the pension being stolen and their dependants would face when the time to reap the fruits of their labour comes and there is no money forthcoming. Even Kootu Ashipa of old (Ashipa’s Court) would have done better, if only to prove to the world that the country’s anticorruption war is not a huge racket or, sorry, a huge joke.

CORRECTION In my piece on Deacon Ayo Ositelu on January 13, I said in the first paragraph that he would have been 70 on April 6. However, I quoted March as the date he would have been 70 in the third to the last paragraph. The former is correct.

Error regretted.

A judgment so bizarre, a Daniel could not have done it It is only in Nigeria that one can loot Naira in its billions and all you get is a tweak of your nose and a playful twist of your earlobe by the equally playful court get out of it without resorting to elopement. And that was what she did, with his lucre and diamonds.

And that had him crying for his daughter and, yes, his lucre too. In the midst of his woes, he remembered a very comforting thought: the contract he had drawn up would at least give him the much needed respite of being able to obtain a pint of blood or two, just for the satisfaction of seeing someone shed some blood. The judge said yes, he was entitled, and so he enthused ‘... A Daniel come to judgement!’ Why am I giving you this long story in its entire height and breadth? I honestly don’t know except perhaps to give you the background of how Daniel, the biblical prophet, came to be associated with Judge Advocacy Duties (JAD).

Good judgements are getting increasingly rare in Nigeria, perhaps because good judges are getting increasingly rare. Good judges are getting increasingly rare because, let’s face it, there aren’t many Daniels around anymore. (Don’t get me wrong; there are many people called Daniel but obviously, they are not necessarily judges.) So, good people are getting increasingly rare in Nigeria. Just to buttress that last point, I heard the other day that a couple in this country employed a supposed house girl; only to find the next day that their house had been swept clean of both goods and girl while they were at work. In English, this means that the girl disappeared with all their worldly goods before the good people came back from

work the next day. What dangerous times we live in.

And how’s this for a horror story? Someone recounted how the commercial vehicle he travelled in was waylaid on a Nigerian highway by the Nigerian highwaymen who demanded everything everyone had. After the robbers left, everyone was relieved to find that the only things they lost were material things, all that is, except one person who had cleverly quipped to the highway men that all fingers were not equal, that was why he could not give more than he did.

They then made his fingers equal with their cutlass. I tell you, things are so bad in the country now you do not go around testing your wit against anybody’s anyhow. Now, where was I? Ok, like I said, everyone is gabbling about that judgement.

People are wondering how on earth anyone can be said to embezzle something in the region of twenty billion Naira, and the court hands down a judgement that finds him guilty but awards only seven hundred and something thousand naira against him? That judgement stinks. It is laughable.

It will encourage us all to steal and damn the consequences. That’s as good as throwing the judiciary into the dustbin of history like a discarded appendix.

To start with, it has us all wondering what the role of the judiciary is in this world. I had always thought the judiciary was supposed to serve the purpose of arbitrating between two contending sides such as my dog

and I. If I fulfil my contract of feeding, sheltering and clothing it (I brush his coat, don’t I?), then he should please bark to assure me he can guard the house. Now, when, rather than bark, he prefers to lick visitors’ feet, I have the right to call in the courts, don’t I? The judiciary should mediate between ‘We the People’ and anyone who decides he/she wants to go buy Italian villas adorned with swimming pools with the hard earned money of pensioners.

We should expect the judiciary to hang such people for us by going after him/her, guns blazing and daggers drawn, on the side of The People against the corroding insect.

But that’s just silly us talking.

We must have thought we were in this normal country where everything runs as it should.

Instead, we find ourselves in another country where the abnormal is not only common place but quite the norm because ‘friend, this is Nigeria’. Come, it is only in Nigeria that one can loot any number of billions and all you get is a tweak of your nose and a playful twist of your earlobe by the equally playful court. It is only in Nigeria that a major airport can be put in total darkness on the orders of a minion while his superiors are literally in the dark about it all. And all we do about these things is grumble silently.

Really, I don’t begin to know the role of the judiciary any more, given their antecedents. Together with the police and the press, the judiciary is supposed to work for the progress and good of the

society by punishing the bad and rewarding the good. Now, all that the judgement has done is show that the judiciary is crumbling. So, should these courts continue to adjudicate for us or should we look for another?

Perhaps, we should look out for some wise men in our midst and set them up with all the paraphernalia of office without the wig, for I am beginning to suspect that wig. Just look at the colour. Ugh! That’s right, let us look for some hard-nosed, whitehaired wise men who would come to judgements with only one thing on their mind: the good of the society. Forget your schooltrained judges: they seem to be more preoccupied with wanting to be like the politicians – interested only in filling their offshore accounts that cannot be traced and which they will never spend.

Believe me, I know; there are too many examples of Nigerians who did not spend theirs. Forget the law also: it is an ass anyway.

Look, I believe that people are really not interested in the law being an ass any longer in Nigeria.

The sanctity of the law is the progress and sanity of the society.

I therefore recommend that the country should reject that judgement and ask that it be reviewed. It is too bizarre to believe. Indeed, one should not even let it stay in the records because someday, if the Martians succeed in colonising the earth and they come across that judgement, it will give a very bad image of the country and leave a sour taste in their mouths, if they have any.

18

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

MISCELLANY

KILLING ME

SOFTLY Brazilian Jezebel’s botched homicide

A BRAZILIAN woman has confessed to trying to kill her husband by putting poison in her vagina and urging him to have oral sex with her, a news agency claims.

The bizarre murder plot took place in the city of Sao de Jose Rio Preto.

The intended victim, a 43-yearold man who has not been named, says his wife tried to lure him into bed and encouraged him to perform oral sex on her. His suspicions were aroused when he noticed an unusual odour emanating from her private parts and, fearing she was unwell, took her to hospital, Brazil's Tvi24 reports. Medical tests revealed she had doused her vagina with enough of the unspecified toxin to kill both her husband and herself.

Confronted with the test results the woman repor tedly confessed t o her crime. It is beli eved she hatched the bizarre plot after asking her husband for a divorce, a request he now seems rather more likely to acquiesce to.

Tvi24 says the woman has received medical treatment and sources claim her husband plans to sue her for attempted murder.

JUSTICE, MALIAN STYLE Malian youths restrain an alleged shop looter after arresting him in the northern city that is a key Islamist stronghold until it was retaken on Saturday by French and Malian troops in a major boost to the French-led offensive against the Al Qaedalinked rebels. Photo: AFP / Getty Images

NEXT STOP: THE NOBEL!

Footballers are smarter than PhD students, survey claims

I •Taj Mahal

•Patience Jonathan

CASTLES IN THE AIR

F you think the average footballer is a dimwit, then think again! A new study claims players have better cognitive skills than undergraduates and even PhD students.

Research by Canadian academic Jocelyn Faubert, of the University of Montreal, found that sports stars were able to "hyper-focus" when doing tests, thanks to physical differences in their brains.

Footballers from Manchester United

Patience's very own Taj Mahal

DUMB MOVE

A man who won't take no for an answer

T

HE Taj Mahal is one of the eight wonders of the world. It was built by a grief-stricken Indian Muslim Emperor Shah Jahan (died 1666 C.E.) in the memory of his dear wife and queen, Mumtaz Mahal, at Agra, India. There are many who'll swear that the architectural splendor of the Taj has never been surpassed. That is until Dame Patience Jonathan entered the scene.

Now, Nigeria might just get the honour of being the location of the ninth wonder of the world! This is courtesy of the proposed N4 billion First Ladies Mission House an initiative of the deep-thinking dame. If only the National Assembly will quit quibbling and sign off on the cheque!

took part in the study along with NHL ice hockey players in Canada and French Super 14 rugby players. Amateur athletes and students were also involved.

All the volunteers were set complex visual challenges on a machine called a Neurotracker, such as following 3D balls as they moved around a screen, to test their perceptual and cognitive abilities.

During the survey it became clear that professional athletes were able to learn how to track fast-moving objects much more quickly than the other groups.

S

•Osaze

UPER Eagles star and English Premier League side, West Bromwich Albion (WBA) striker, Peter Osaze Odemwingie, thought he was set for a move to struggling London side, Queens Park Rangers (QPR). The only problem was his present club had said no repeatedly. That didn't stop him from showing up uninvited at QPR's doorstep only to have the door slammed in his face.

This is what a former Chelsea player, Tony Cascarino, thought of Osaze's move: “I can't believe it, what on earth was he doing? I'm astonished someone would do something so daft. In moments of transfer speculation, you speak to friends, family,

your agent. I can't believe not one of them told him not to do that, especially his agent.

“You do not go down to another club and knock on their door. It's absolutely mind-blowing that someone would attempt to do such a daft thing.

“He hasn't thought about it. That is a level of stupidity you just can't imagine.

The (West Brom) fans are going to be furious and now he's got to go back into a dressing room where players are going to have a lot less respect for him.

“When you sign a contract, you go on the club's terms. And trying push it through (this transfer) is the highest level of stupidity I've ever heard of,” said Cascarino.

POLITICS

19

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

•Amaechi

•Jonathan

The ongoing political battle between the Presidency and Nigerian Governors’ Forum seems poised to redefine the country’s power balance ahead 2015. Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, opens a window to the operations of the new political mafia called Nigerian Governors’ Forum

Inside the governors’ mafia W

HEN Nigerian Governors Forum was established in 1999, it was seen by most Nigerians as a harmless non-partisan association that would help promote unity and better understanding among the governors and governments of the 36 states.

So, not many, including its bitterest critics then, reasoned that such understanding may ultimately evolve to become a powerful political mafia that has literally hijacked the country’s power base.

Today, barely 14 years after, NGF has, according to The Nation investigation, become the most powerful power broker in the country, as it has been pulling the most vital strings since 2007, when it succeeded in influencing the then outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo to install two of its members, the late Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua and Dr Goodluck Jonathan as President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, respectively.

Since then, according to sources close to the seat of power in Abuja, whenever the need arises, the forum

has been playing the Joker in almost all critical political and economic games in Abuja, and have been having its way to the chagrin of older political lords, who have been sidelined and major players in the Presidency.

Dr. Okechukwu Nkemdirim, a political scientist and social commentator, told The Nation that Nigerian Governors Forum has become a recognisable political mafia in Nigeria.

‘Some people think NGF is noisy, I think otherwise. I can see that the forum is the only functioning political mafia in the country. It is the only faceless group that has the wherewithal and the political might to influence major decisions and appointments in Nigeria. So, to me, it is only reasonable that president’s men, who want him to recontest in 2015, recognise the forum as a possible obstacle and are, therefore, raising the alarm.’

Nkemdirim compared the forum to an Octopus “whose tentacles have already spread across the length and breathe of the country’s political theatres. As governors, the members of the forum have state resources and political leadership of their areas. So,

once they decide and agree on an issue, it will demand a lot to deny them of it,” he said.

It took one of President Goodluck Jonathan’s closest associates, Chief Edwin Clark’s recent call to outlaw the forum for Nigerians to renew their interest on the operations and functions of the forum. Already, there is a raging debate on the relevance or otherwise of the forum?

How it operates The official records of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) said it is ‘a coalition of the elected governors of the country’s 36 states.

It added that it was ‘established in 1999, following a multi-party conference of all the 36 democratically elected state governors. The Nigeria Governors’ Forum is registered under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, (CAMA), 1990, and also draws its legality from Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,’ the reord said.

Given this kind of task, said one of the aides of one of the former chairmen of the forum, ‘It should not be

strange to anybody if the governors, as the leaders of the people decide to play leading roles in ensuring that their people’s interest and the interest of the federating states are protected. If that is what you call being a mafia, I think there is nothing wrong in it,’ said the aide, who declined to be quoted, pointing out that he was not the spokesperson of the forum.

The aide, who has worked closely with a former leader of the group, however, opened a window of how the organisation operates and why it has become so powerful.

As he puts it, “As state governors, the members do not wait until there is a problem before deciding how to solve it. Using the practical problems in their states, they usually come to their meeting with reports of major political and economic problems that must be tackled.

“For example, many Nigerians are not aware of the role The Nigeria Governors Forum played in facilitating the release of excess crude funds (from Paris Club debts) to the states in 2008. This has, I believe, played an important role in the development of states.”

The source argued that Nigeria actually needs a powerful group like NGF to checkmate the all powerful federal government.

One of the governors, speaking off-handedly in a private meeting, also gave an insight into the operations of the forum. He explains that their meetings are both formal an impromptu, depending on the issue at stake. According to him, the forum’s meetings and ability to carry out decisions ‘one, because finance, which has remained a major hindrance in many political organisations, is not a problem. Also because the members are close to the problems as leaders in their states, they know where it is paining. They understand the problems better than the Abuja big men.’

But many Nigerian intellectuals and activists insist that the governors are over doing it and have displayed desperation to hijack power at all cost.

Dr. Sonny Ajala, a legal practitioner in Abuja told The Nation in a telephone chat that what is happening ‘is part of the distortion of federalism in Nigeria.’ According to him, the forum was set up to encourage unity and spirit of healthy competition among the states. ‘Today, the forum is primarily a means of wresting power from the common people who truly owns it. It is not merely a battle between NGF and the presidency, it is a means of power appropriation for the selfish interest of a few privileged.

‘I agree with the allegation that NGF has become the greatest threat to Nigerian democracy. Don’t forget that the group contributed to the depletion of Nigeria’s foreign reserve and ask me what they have done with the money?

The current face-off As a major beneficiary of the growing power of the forum, many are wondering why the President Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government is engaged in the current power game.

A source, an insider, who would not want to be named, told The Nation that it all began, soon after the emergence of Jonathan. He said the president had rode on the back of the forum to emerge vice president. But the power brokers in the forum then, never contemplated he would become president the way he did. So, when the late Yar'Adua's sickness worsened, the power show began.

The same forces that made him, became desperate to remove him. The

•Continued on Page 23

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Politics

and quantifiable goals. “My work ethic is in tandem with the spirit of service to the fatherland, and borrowing from President John Kennedy, ask what you can do for Abia State first before asking what Abia can do for you. In our tenure, full implementation of all salary commitments agreed upon, is given and this includes teachers and other categories of civil servants working in this ministry. Project supervision and execution with an even spread to all the communities is a must. The idea of clustering projects in a given area is history even as we aspire to build state of the art infrastructure with our strident drive to boost our internally generated revenue (IGR).”

Nwabuko knows agriculture is the mainstay of the rural folks whose residents increase in sophistication and style of living by the day. That is why the ministry is partnering with its agriculture counterpart to have a model of farmers powered by the LGAs and tailored to specific areas such as plantain plantations, and poultry farms. You could imagine with these projects on course, Nwabuko’s evenly spread smiles should go beyond a grin, but he tells you he has a bigger pay packet on hand to contend with. His reason is that many Abia indigenes working in neighbouring and other states of the federation had had to be displaced and returned home jobless. He was mandated by Governor Orji to find them a space in the LG civil service structure.

That demand led to a downsizing that affected civil servants from other states working for the state, and that was after the governor politely called his governor colleagues whose indigenes were affected by the exercise.

‘Orji in a hurry to write his name on marble’ Abia Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Sir Emma Nwabuko, spoke with Agamnetochi Onoh on the local government reforms of Governor Theodore Orji with the expected dividends.

A

FTER a brilliant record of work performance as Commissioner for Works in 2009, Sir Emmanuel Nwabuko was moved to the Local Government in August 2011 where turnaround reforms were put in place. Just like in the works ministry, Nwabuko has been carrying out a crusade in his current portfolio, working tirelessly to make a difference in the second and last lap of the Theodore Orji administration.

The emphasis of the new administration is collective responsibility, with zero tolerance for divided loyalty, not after the previous chief executives left the LGAs impoverished. Nwabuko soon realised that the funds were not enough to go round, especially when the issues revolving on internally generated revenue had many leakages that had to be plugged if he had to produce results. Beyond this, ghost workers papered over with an overbloated workforce, milked his budget.

He received an average of N1.7 billion which peaked to N2 billion in the July/August allocation. But his big concern was that he had little left to execute his huge outlay of capital projects after paying out N1.5 billion in salaries most of which, it became apparent, were going to these faceless employees inclusive of LG staff, teachers, pensioners and the political class, transition chairmen, and councillors with traditional rulers taking 30 percent of the total allocation. The effect was that the ministry could neither fully meet its obligations, including loans servicing, nor carry out meaningful capital projects as well as fund running costs for such normal activities as refuse disposal. He had no option left but to right size and downsize his staff profile.

Biometric system The state House of Assembly, which has the oversight function of ensuring governance meets acceptable standards approved a biometric system of checking staff performance. A test run was carried out early last year but acts of fraudulence in critical quarters sabotaged the exercise and delayed the implementation.

Nwabuko and his team refused to bulge and by last July,

the biometric system rolled off the ground with the payment for that month; a 70 percent staff attendance to work was placed as the cut off point, yet only 10 percent was able to meet this cut off mark.

The mark was brought down to 50 percent of the LGA workforce while concession was given to staff on in-service training. The exemptions from the log in-log out system were officers of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and a category of man•Nwabuko agement staff.

Nwabuko noticed a trend where a large number of staff of the LGAs was placed on mass transfers through the outstation arrangement. Apparently, this was a conduit designed to short change the system using faceless staff, who were obviously ghost workers on fictitious transfers. In spite of the strong opposition to the biometric system, Nwabuko insisted on a form of payment which in local language is known as face-to-face payment Game Plan Nwabuko called a meeting of heads of service and local government management staff to evolve a workable plan that would drive the ministry forward along the line of transparency and due process. Part of that plan was to carry out unscheduled visits to the local government headquarters and certain local government institutions to find out who is at work or not and why. He also raised a team of secret service men whose mandate was to deliver to the ministry a regular feedback of what goes on where with CCTV cameras installed at strategic locations.

Who is employed?

The local government service commission in partnership with

the ministry agreed to collaborate with each other to be able to ward off this evil. That meant every staff in the local government had a computerised profile as part of a comprehensive inventory that recorded among other things, the movement of employees and its progression in terms of retirement and the attendant pension schemes and payouts. This also meant that files were being modified on a daily basis. Yet, it turned out that even with the embargo on unemployment, salaries, gratuity and pensions kept increasing. But the warning has long been made that anyone caught cheating would be dealt with since the civil service rules and regulations were clear on what constitutes a code of behaviour and the penalties for a default.

Inspectorate and Monitoring Department Nwabuko’s commitment to results led to the setting up of the project and monitoring department where local government chairmen come up with their proposals with the advice that such projects should at the possible earliest time be realised with an even spread on the communities that make up the LGA. This approach to local government governance and their deliverables to

the communities have led to improved project execution, eliminating waste in areas that were conduit pipes for leakages. Skill acquisition was one of the projects that was used as a test run for this new policy and it turned out a huge success. Funds under the current arrangement are tied to specific projects and over time it has been possible to carry out rural electricity projects, build town halls and construct feeder roads Nwabuko agrees that local government administration, which in many civilised climes is the fulcrum of grassroots governance and infrastructure development and maintenance, failed in Nigeria because priorities were either misplaced or fraudulence took the better part of those in charge. Many local government administrators, he observes, embark on bogus projects that are not realisable in their four year tenure. Currently in Abia State, Governor Orji, like many of his colleagues in other states, is vocal on realisable, prioritised projects.

Agenda The commissioner insists said part of his agenda is a call for a work ethic that is proactive, and committed with achievable

Effect Nwabuko observes the vitriolic media attacks sponsored by the affected states were just unfair not even where the exercise has its advantages till date absorbing well over 2000 Abia indigenes, who had hitherto been idle, directly into its employ. It also helped to reduce an overbloated teaching staff, who with one teacher to four students or pupils, were mainly non-indigenous businessmen appearing on pay days to pick salaries and disappear.

Youth Empowerment Part of Nwabuko’s agenda is to reduce the unemployment rate of the youth of Abia. He has in his data book 4000 unemployed youths he has earmarked for employment in the LGAs, a selection he has handed over to the local community leaders. Adds Nwabuko in apparent deference to his boss, “We respect Governor T.A. Orji so much, and more importantly because he has succeeded in bringing peace to a once disparate state. We now speak with one voice. Before now Abia stakeholders were not united but Governor Orji’s all inclusive style of governance or what you may call consensus government means Abia is becoming more progressive by the day in terms of development.

“We want to walk the streets unmolested, seeing everywhere we go dotted with meaningful projects on the ground. Orji is in a hurry to write his name on marble. With Government House moving to a more befitting complex, the water scheme projects across the length and stretch of Abia will help to complete this exercise and this will be on course as the studies are ready for implementation.”

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Politics

21

As the debate over the next zone to produce the president of Nigeria gathers momentum, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, takes a look at the position and preparedness of the South-East zone to produce the country’s president in 2015.

W

HEN Dr. Dozie Ikedife, a former President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, reportedly declared that Ndigbo will contest the 2015 presidential election only if President Goodluck Jonathan is not seeking reelection, little did he know he was fanning the ember of discord among the leaders and people of the SouthEast region.

Formed in 1976 by a group of eminent Igbos led by frontline legal luminary, Professor Ben Nwabueze, Ohaneze Ndigbo is seen as the umbrella body of all pan-Igbo organisations. As such, when its leaders talk, their utterances are usually taken very seriously within and outside the region.

As if not to leave anyone in doubt about its pro-Jonathan stance, Ohanaeze, speaking through its newly elected leadership confirmed Ikedife’s position recently, when it said it would go along with Jonathan’s decision to either run or not in 2015.

Addressing a maiden news conference in Lagos, the newly elected National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Chief Tonnie Oganah, said the President was constitutionally empowered to seek re-election at the expiration of his tenure except he declined.

“After Jonathan’s tenure is completed either in 2015 or 2019, it will be the turn of the Igbo for the Presidency. What we are saying is that the Igbo, being a major player in the country, are entitled to the Presidency and it is their turn. If President Jonathan declines to run in 2015, it then makes it quicker for the Igbo. The bottom line is that an Igbo man will succeed Jonathan whether in 2015 or 2019,” Oganah said.

But just as politicians and other stakeholders across the country were beginning to see the pronouncement as the collective position of the South-East region on the forthcoming general election, dissenting voices started emerging from the region, suggesting that Ohaenaeze’s position may after-all be an unpopular one among Ndigbo.

Socio-political groups like the Ikenga, Igbo Mandate Group (IMG) and Njiko Igbo, have all come out to refute the claim by Ohanaeze that Ndigbo are willing to forfeit their presidential pursuit if President Jonathan is desirous of another term in office come 2015.

For Njiko Igbo, there is no going back on the quest to have a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in 2015. The group said majority of the people of the South-East are opposed to Ohanaeze’s support for Jonathan at the expense of what it called the collective dream of the Igbo people.

The acting National Publicity

•Ikedife

•Obi

• Kalu

2015 Presidency: Igbo leaders sing discordant tunes Secretary of the group and former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial aspirant in Imo State, Mr. Brady Nwosu, said the organisation’s position was in line with its objective to promote the place of the Igbo nation in the Nigerian project.

Nwosu said while the leaders of Njiko Igbo believe in the corporate existence of Nigeria, they also believe there should be equity in the country, especially as it concerns the presidency of Nigeria.

“Right now, our brothers from Ijaw have already attained the presidency and we have not and the Igbo nation is a major political bloc.

“Our group believes that an Igbo man must become president in 2015. An Igbo has never been opportuned to be president of this country. It is our turn to produce the president in 2015,” Nwosu said.

But the Ohanaeze Ndigbo feels different. The group said there is no reason Ndigbo should be against Jonathan’s ambition in 2015. The organisation declared that it is not ready to obstruct the President’s quest for another term irrespective of how other stakeholders in the region view the development.

Acknowledging that the orgnisation shares the agitation for Igbo presidency, Oganah said they will expect political parties to have the Igbo Presidency in mind in selecting their flag bearers for the presidential election.

He said “all Ohanaeze and indeed the Igbos want is to get their fair share of leadership of the country. But such expectation is subject to the decision of President Jonathan to run or not to run in 2015.

“Either way, we are not against him. We will urge Nigerians to give him the necessary support needed to make life better for Nigerians until his tenure expires,” Oganah said.

But the Njiko Igbo would want the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to take stock of political development since the inception of the present democratic dispensation. The group said given that the South-East contributed substantially to the emergence of presidents from other geopolitical zones, it is imperative for the other zones to reciprocate by supporting an Igbo man to be Nigeria’s president in 2015.

Not to be left out of the raging controversy, the Oganiru Ndigbo Foundation recently distanced itself from calls on Jonathan to contest the 2015 election, warning those using the name of the Igbos for such pronouncements to desist or prepare to be ostracized.

The group said while Ndigbo are not at war with Jonathan, there is absolutely no reason, at this time, to endorse him or any other politician for 2015 election, especially as Ndigbo has already expressed interest in producing the next President of Nigeria in 2015.

“Whereas Ndigbo overwhelmingly supported the election of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 elections, we remain of the view that the President should not be distracted by relevance-seeking political jobbers with such calls, even when he is yet to deliver on his major promises to Ndigbo,” they said in a statement.

The statement was signed by Emeka Maduewesi (Leader), Uche Onuh Lucas (President-General), Maxi Okwu; Okey Igbokwe,

Onyema Uche and Obichi Ikechi, on behalf of others.

They drew attention to Jonathan’s failures so far to honour promises made to the Igbos, including construction of the second Niger Bridge within his first tenure; to convert Enugu Airport to an international hub; and to give roads in the South-East urgently needed attention within his current tenure.

“As at today, none of these promises have been fulfilled,” the statement said. “Second Niger Bridge is still in the “drawing board” and no international flight has yet landed or taken off from Enugu Airport. South-East roads remain the worst in the country.

They also contended that in the sharing of national resources, Ndigbo are yet to get any favors from the Jonathan regime.

“No single refinery out of the six promised by Jonathan is located in the South - East even though three South-East states, Abia, Imo and now Anambra are oil producing states,” they said. “Revenue allocation is heavily skewed against Igbo states with one state receiving more monthly allocation than all the five South-East states.

Commenting on the debate, Presidential adviser on inter party relations, Senator Ben Obi, said it is proper for the Igbos to wait for President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision on whether to run or not before taking their own decision on the 2015 presidential race.

The senator, who spoke in Awka during the week, observed that although some individuals and organisations had insisted that the Igbo were already working towards taking over from Jonathan in 2015, there is need for them to allow the president to make his intention

known first.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo, of which I am a caucus member, has said it loud and clear that it is the turn of Ndigbo to produce the president in 2015. Indeed, we are highly interested in the 2015 presidency, but that is if President Jonathan decides not to run. If, eventually he decides to run, then Ndigbo will have to consider the situation and weigh the options. I do not have any right to question the decision of Ohanaeze to insist on presenting a candidate because the group has a leadership which we all follow.”

Obi said it is the duty of the leadership of Ndigbo to champion the cause of the people, while other people he described as foot soldiers would join, adding that when the leaders do not make the much needed move, others would have nothing to do.

But former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, is of the opinion that Ndigbo should be allowed to provide leadership for Nigeria and Nigerians in 2015. Kalu said anyone who would emerge president from the South-East would have dynamic leadership qualities that could turn around the economy.

He said that Ndigbo, having excelled in various fields of endeavour, with qualified people who can bring their vast experiences in the private and public sectors into play if given the chance to rule the nation, should be given the nod to rule the country.

Given the ongoing scenarios in the region and the expectation that more organisations and individuals will soon join the fray, Nigerians are waiting with keen interest to see what will become of this renewed aspiration for the presidency on the part of the South-East region.

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Politics

Why I defected to ACN —Iyabo Anisulowo Y

OU have been involved so much in politics in the country, what is your view on the level of women involvement in politics?

Women are more in politics now, unlike in those days. But there are also categories of women, some are just there to support the men; they sing and dance.

While some are activists, agitating for political positions to pull their weight and show that they can also do what the men are doing.

But because of lack of enough education, the women have not been able to occupy some of these positions. We want more women to contest election, even if they are not going to win, at least people will know that we tried to wrestle power from the men. But we are improving now.

Politics is also very expensive to play and most women are poor .For instance, when we go for rallies, you have to pay for buses to convey your supporters, cook food, among other things.

In developed countries, it is not like that. You can interact with your people through the use of technology.

Women are not also violent in nature. Politics now involves thuggery and the usage of arms, and only few women can withstand that.

You once said you were not given the second term ticket to the Senate because you were not ready to ‘grace the bed of some old men’ in your party. Don’t you think things like this may be driving some women away from politics?

I said it, not really to scare people but to encourage women that you don’t necessarily need to grace anybody’s bed to get what you want. There is nobody that is perfect, but one needs to take a stand. We didn’t come into politics to be treated like second class citizens. We came to rub shoulders with the men and we can with our money and our resources, and also have the support of our family.

It is not easy to leave home and go and play politics. If you have a husband that releases you and he is supporting you, I think the best thing for the woman is to respect the institution of marriage.

If the man discovers that you are not respecting that institution, then there will be trouble. Many homes have been destroyed because of that. There are more women voters than men. If we have such principled women, we should rally round ourselves.

And you know I won’t be asking such woman to go to bed with me, except I am a lesbian.

You have served the country in various capacities. Do you think the country has been fair to you?

It has not been fair to me. And the country can not be fair to me, when it is dominated by men. Even my own town that I have contributed so much to, I came here early in life with nothing. I turned nothing to something in this place. Men are ganging up everyday that they don’t want the leadership of women.

The Adele of Olu Ilaro is saying that the struggle we are in now is to liberate the men from the women. It is absurd.

You have been a strong woman rubbing shoulders with the men. Can you recount your experience with Isa Mohammed at the Senate for example?

Well, that situation ought not to have happened. I was a strict person and a Christian who used my Bible as my constitution first, before the conventional constitution. What I did was that if as a member of the committee you do not par-

Senator Iyabo Anisulowo represented the Ogun West Senatorial District in the Senate and was popular for her bluntness. She speaks with Adetutu Audu on her romance with politics and why she joined ACN.

•Anisulowo

ticipate in the committee work, you will not benefit in the allowances provided.

At that time, those who were not around wanted to be partakers in the allowances, against which I took my stand. It was as if you have to appeal to them before they should do their work. But if there is an appointment to meet Mr. President, all of them will be around with one of the best of their wardrobe materials. To me, it should not be so. That was what happened between me and Isa Mohammed. He was a rich man and thought that he could do anything with impunity. But l humbled him. I proved to him that l do not swim in shallow waters.

Former National Vice Chairman of PDP, Chief Bode George, came back from prison, the kind of reception he was given was unprecedented. What is your opinion?

I don’t have any view on it. I don’t want to offend Bode George or those who went to felicitate with him. I chose not to go because I didn’t feel like. Maybe those that went wanted to show him that they love him. But I know that many went to see whether he was gaunt, or if he was still okay. But I thank God for him and I know that he will use the experience to be closer to God and know that power is transient. When you have power use it well because it can slip-off you and it is what you did with the power that people will talk about.

Prior to 2011 general elections, you were a chieftain of the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), Otunba Gbenga Daniel’s party in Ogun State, and now you are in the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), what informed your defection?

What made me to defect to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) was the fact that, in the first instance, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had always been in problems, but I was not part of the problems. I left the PDP in 2007. When the case of Senator Ibikunle Amosun was quashed and the PDP-led government was thinking of zoning the governorship seat to Ogun West Senatorial district, former Governor Gbenga Daniel approached me and even sent some people to me.

He said he was sorry for what he did to me and that apart from that, he was confident that with me on his train, we would achieve this ‘Yewa-for-governor ambition.’ Though I joined, my own choice for a candidate was Gboyega Isiaka from Imeko and the choice of other people within the party was my brother, General Adetunji Idowu Olurin from the same Ilaro with me. I decided to support Isiaka and that was why I had a little romance with the PDP. You should know the relationship between Amosun and I. At the Senate, we were colleagues, we sat beside each other. In my

usual self, I don’t really fight people. So, there was not really anytime we had a quarrel that we could not settle.

Again, when I joined Amosun, you should remember that I sponsored the entire Yewa land for ANPP in 2007 general elections. And two, I am the secretary to the Senators’ Forum in the Southwest and as a colleague of mine, I couldn’t just leave him like that, other than to wish him well and say, “I am behind you and also, you are one of us.”

I am a liberal and an activist. I am not particular about any political party, especially when we have several of them without much ideology. Really, here you can not say who you are in politics. What is important is your group interest, where your people will benefit, where they will be able to say, apart from government, they are enjoying government’s patronages and where development is coming to them.

So, that is the main reason I joined Amosun. Amosun has a global vision of what he wanted to turn Ogun State into, especially the state capital where he has started developing.

Asides politics, what do you do?

I am a farmer. I arrange flowers and I am a decorator, though I don’t make much money out of it. I am not too organised but I try to be organised.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Politics

23

Political Politics turf

with Bolade Omonijo boladeomonijo@yahoo.com

Motion for twoparty system

T •Adamu

•Continued from Page 19 dividing line had to be ruled.

He explained that when Fortune smiled on Jonathan and he became President, he failed to take control of the NGF and that is the major problem he is facing today. 'This is so because since then, it is the state governors that have been funding political parties in their states, it is the governors that have therefore been making the most important nominations for federal appointments and for emergence of federal and state lawmakers. Under this scenario, it would be expected if the forum actually decides the future elections, including the presidency Worried by this possibility, close associates of President Goodluck Jonathan, fearing that the forum is being nurtured by sworn political enemies of Jonathan as a potent arsenal for the 2015 political battle, have reportedly agreed that the forum's wings must be cut to size as quickly as possible.

Our checks indicate however that it took long to convince Jonathan that such a threat exists. It is alleged that after a prolonged debate recently in his home in Aso Rock and several briefings on the matter, Jonathan, whose selections as Vice Presidential Candidate and later President were largely influenced by the forum, reluctantly agreed with his advisers that he must have to tackle the forum in order to be in charge ahead 2015.

The ongoing political battle between Dr. Goodluck Jonathan-led Presidency and the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) has

•Attah

•Saraki

The governors’ mafia

witnessed disturbing twists in recent times, raising fears that the battle may soon be narrowed to become that of the Governor Rotimi Amaechi, the current chairman of the forum and the President. A source said the feeling at the Presidency is that some people in NGF are poised to use the forum to fight personal battles. But the aide of the former leader told The Nation that NGF has always remained a serious group and cannot be so used.

So, while reacting to Clark's recent call on the federal government to outlaw the Nigerian Governors Forum, alleging that it has become not only an opposition to the government but also a threat to Nigeria's democracy, observers said he only reopened an old debate as to whether Jonathan is doing well and if the governors are performing and delivering dividends of democracy.

Also, although Clark's critics has dismissed him as merely voicing the sentiments of the presidency, it seems many Nigerians share the fear that NGF has unlawfully hijacked Nigeria's power base from the electorate and have been using same to dictate political trends since 2007 or thereabout.

Political

ripples Pray, who is afraid of Kalu’s return?

FIRST, it was a band of politicians who claimed to be from former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu’’s Igbere community lamenting his then planned return to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Not long afterwards, the state chairman of the party, Chief Emma Nwaka, came out and rejected Kalu’s claims, insisting that the former governor had not been readmitted into the PDP in the state.

Then the leadership of the party in his Local Government Area that protested his eventual return. And just yesterday, the zonal leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-East joined the fray and kicked against •Kalu his reported readmission into the party.

The National Vice-Chairman of PDP, Col Austin Akobundu (rtd), even said Kalu is unknown to the zone as a member of the party. He did not mince words in saying the ex-Governor is not welcomed in the PDP. While the controversy rage, with the man in the middle of the storm, Kalu insisting on his return to his former party, observers are left to worry over the reasons why Akobundu and others may be bent on keeping Kalu out of the PDP. Or is it that some people are actually afraid of his return as he claimed in a recent interview? If this is the case, then the question to ask would be ‘who is afraid of Kalu’s return?

An elder political player, very close to Aso Rock, however told The Nation during the week that 'In a democracy, you cannot decree an Organisation like NGF out of power.

'This is democracy. We do not believe the solution is to decree out any group as long as its members are not flouting the laws of the country.'

Dr. Ajala disagreed. He said, 'NGF has become Nigeria's invisible government and though such mafia- like groups exist in advanced democracies of the west, like America, it is not ideal and should not be tolerated. Power belongs to the people and not to the President or governors. Such mafia organisations are just corporate moguls interested in entrenching their interests and not that of the common man. The problem is that Nigerians are still awaiting the emergence of a strong and performing president who will enjoy the support of the people and so can call bluff of the governors,' he said.

The intrigues continue.

What manner of ceasefire?

S

EVEN police men have been killed in three attacks by suspected members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect barely 48 hours after the militant Islamic group offered to ceasefire and dialogue with the federal government.

These latest round of killings call to question the sincerity of the sect concerning the olive branch it offered and supports the opinion of people like activist, Shehu Sani, that the group should not be trusted.

Although the group is yet to publicly claim responsibility for the killings, it has also not come out to deny involvement or condemn the attacks. fueling suspicions that its men were behind the dastard acts.

In Kano, two policemen died after unknown gunmen threw explosives at a police station in Bunkure Local Government Area of the state. In Gombe, capital of Gombe State, gunmen opened fire on policemen who were on duty at a stopand-search point at 6.30am in the central area of the city.

In Kaduna, the North’s political capital, three policemen were killed in Birnin Gwari, headquarters of Birnin Gwari Local Government when an army of gunmen overpowered the policemen on duty at a police station.

Unless the group is able to exonerate its men from the latest attacks, it will be pretty difficult for Nigerians to see the ceasefire deal as something to rejoice about.

HE deregistration of thirty-five political parties by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) since the 2011 general elections understandably generated uproar across the land. Many analysts denounced the action of the commission for constraining democracy. I fail to see the logic in their presentations.

From whatever angle one may choose to look at the matter, the commission should be commended for attempting to give effect to the spirit of the constitution.

While some lawyers have queried the legal power of the commission to delist registered parties and the matter is subject to the ruling of a competent court of law, the logic appears crystal clear. All democrats must agree that only strong political parties can aggregate values and mobilize popular support. In a fragile democracy like Nigeria feeble associations masquerading as political parties can only force down the progress of the country.

In recent years, we have seen disaffected politicians on the run from established political parties seizing weak platforms to contests elections, thus further befuddling issues and complicating matters.

Hitherto, many moribund parties exist on the roll, contributing nothing to national development. Their leaders lack ideas and visibility. They have no road map to power and no views on revamping the economy or restructuring the polity. They only existed to share whatever may come by way of grant from the electoral commission. Whenever a runaway politician from a viable platform comes knocking, the door is opened for a fee.

It has been argued that small political parties could have strong views and uphold values. But, this has not been demonstrated by parties in Nigeria ’s recent history. The time will come when we can open the space for micro parties.

Not now.

Going by the very liberal conditions set by the constitution for registration of parties, any group would pass the test.

All that is needed is produce a constitution and manifesto; come up with aims and objects procure a national headquarters in Abuja and bring together a body of friends from different states to satisfy the national character principle. Anyone who schooled in Nigeria could easily pass the test and get transformed overnight to national leader of a national political party. This is not what Nigeria needs now.

It is time for nation-building. It is the moment of getting the best hands and brains to put Nigeria together again.

When leaders of political parties are invited for meetings, we want to see experienced political giants. This cannot be done with scores of political parties.

It is my view that the country’s political history supports not more than two political parties. In the First Republic when there was no compulsion to register political parties, politicians were more mature and focused. They could fairly be trusted to act responsibly. Now, there are many jesters on the scene. Some people, with funny, imported accent and speaking through the nose think they could start the political journey with a shot at the presidential race. They think all it takes is to think up a name and proclaim it a political party and thus parade themselves as master tacticians. They wait for the opportunity for disaffection following poll dispute to take a stand that would create confusion in the land. Sanity must reign. Such parties deserve to be proscribed.

The many parties of the First Republic soon realised the will of the people and came together in two broad coalitions- the United Progressives Grand Alliance (UPGA) and the Nigerian National Alliance (NNA). In the Second Republic , although only five political parties were registered under the 1979 Constitution, they had to coalesce into two along the line in order to form government and opposition. The National Party of Nigeria was not strong enough to run the country alone, and therefore reached an accord with the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP). The others, Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP) and the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), also reached an understanding to provide a strong alternative viewpoint on governance with expectation that they could merge into a political party before the 1983 general elections.

As soon as the NPN-NPP Accord broke down, the NPP also moved to team up with the others.

This is a time for consolidation. Ahead of the 2015 polls, the serious political leaders owe it a duty to Nigeria and Nigerians to combine efforts either in support of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which is today dominant, or against it. It makes the choice easy for the electorate.

I do not support the Babangida formula of foisting parastatals on the polity, but if INEC chooses to apply the rules and weeds off all parties that fail to meet constitutional obligations in terms of filing financial returns, providing a register of assets and liabilities and have no proofs of holding regular conventions and congresses, it has my full support and deserves commendation.

24

THE SUNDAY INTERVIEW

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

If Yar’Adua was ‘Baba go slow’, Jonathan is ‘Baba slumber’

Senator Rufai Hanga was pioneer National Chairman of the Congress for Progress Change (CPC). He represented Kano Central Senatorial Zone from 2003 to 2007. A businessman and administrator with over 25 years in the corporate world, Hanga talks of the commitment and determination of his party to ensure that the proposed merger plan with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), among other parties, becomes a reality ahead of 2015. In this interview with Assistant Editor, LINUS OBOGO, he also faults President Goodluck Jonathan’s performance, describing him as ‘Baba Slumber’.

“

Today, the governors have become part of Nigeria’s problems. They are selfish and wicked. They are no longer in office for their people but for themselves.

That explains why they seem to be afraid of the unknown.

brand of democracy?

Today, the governors have become part of Nigeria’s problems.

They are selfish and wicked. They are no longer in office for their people but for themselves. That explains why they seem to be afraid of the unknown. They do not trust anybody, not even their deputies who are supposed to be their closest allies. They are self-centered and selfish. They are more concerned about themselves and their families alone. That is why they would rather guard their office so jealously.

With that being said, I want to say that what is happening to them is not of their own making, but an act of God. They did not swear an oath to fall sick. Illness is something that comes naturally.

However, the culture of not wanting to delegate or transfer power under a situation of ill health is undemocratic and unfair.

When this similar scenario played out during the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, some of us made our position known that it was not the best practice in a democracy. So, it will not make a difference if I maintain the same position now because I had said it before and I am saying it now that it is wrong and unfair for not wanting deputy governors to hold the fort when they are sick.

When you say that the governors are Nigerian’s problem, how exactly do you mean?

I say it with all sense of responsibility that the governors are our problem because they always want things their own way. It is rather unfortunate and unfair. Whenever there is an issue that should agitate their minds, that is when you will hear of the Governors’ Forum. I have not seen or heard of this anywhere in the world where governors have a forum and constitute themselves into a cabal.

They constitute themselves into a forum in order to manipulate the system and serve their selfish interest. There are so many issues like unemployment, insecurity and corruption confronting the country which the governors ought to concentrate their energies on tackling. They are not doing that, but rather, forming a forum to protect their interest. They are busy fighting for the control and pillaging of local government fund. That is why I said the governors are our problem.

Could this be the reason why they are alleged to be working hard to frustrate the aspect of the autonomy of the local councils in the ongoing Constitution Review exercise?

This is one of the ills that the governors have become, which is why I said they are part of the problems of the country. They control the local governments and House of Assemblies of their states. The governors know that they are part of the two-third requirement for any constitution review or amendment to be effected, that is why they will have a forum to arm-twist any process that will bring about the autonomy of the local governments. They will want to see that this does not happen.

The local governments should be autonomous. If the federal government is not controlling the resources of the sates after the sharing exercise, why should the states control that of the councils?

Are they doing it simply because they are the senior partners in the state/local government relationship? Why should the state control

the joint account of the councils?

The constitution provides for the autonomy of the federal, state and council tiers of government. They are supposed to be independent of one another. Today, as we speak, there are states that have not held local government election in the country. What happens is that they will constitute a caretaker arrangement for six months as allowed by the constitution and dissolve them and reconstitute them after two months. This is part of the manipulation that goes on at the state level, which is why no election has been conducted in some of the states.

It is in bad faith and it is rather unfortunate.

How can the governors’ overbearing control of the councils be checkmated?

The only way is to ensure that there is an intense pressure from concerned stakeholders and civil society groups on the governors to give in to the demand for the autonomy of the local councils in the ongoing constitution review by the National Assembly. We must stand up as a people and ensure that there is a provision in the reviewed or amended constitution for the autonomy of the local councils in Nigeria.

Governors, including those who are serving their second term, must be told in clear terms that they cannot aspire to be the next president or senators when it is not in their interest to allow local government councils to be autonomous of the state governors. We must fight the governors and wrest the independence of the councils from their vice grip.

“

After your first term in the Senate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), you could not make it back for obvious reasons. Was it that you were edged out or the excitement was no longer

The local governments should be autonomous. If the federal government is not controlling the resources of the sates after the sharing exercise, why should the states control that of the councils?

Are they doing it simply because they are the senior partners in the state/local government relationship? Why should the state control the joint account of the councils?

“

T

HE Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar III, has blamed the Boko Haram and other security challenges ravaging the North on the region itself.

What do you make of this open indictment of the region by the Islamic leader?

The Sultan was absolutely right about what has become a source of embarrassment to the region. It is the result of long years of bad leadership and injustice in the region and at the centre. The region has not done enough to bring the scourge to an end. It is a result of long years of deprivations and exploitation by the leadership.

The Boko Haram sect proposed a dialogue with the Federal Government and it has yet remained unrelenting in its attacks on both the security agencies and Christian institutions. Do you think the militant sect is desirous of peace to warrant the Federal Government to take their dialogue overtures seriously?

I recall that the sect had proposed a dialogue with the Federal Government, but surprisingly, it was rejected.

The position of the government then was that the dialogue option by the Boko Haram was in bad faith.

On the other hand, the sect was equally suspicious of the government. But whether the sect was sincere or not, I cannot say because I do not even know them. I do not have much knowledge about the character and composition of the militant group. The only thing I know of them is what I read in the papers like any other Nigerian. I cannot lay claim to have sufficient knowledge of the Boko Haram and their motives as to arrive at a judgment on their insincerity or otherwise.

We are being taken along the path similar to what we witnessed during the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s era when he disappeared from governance radar for months without transferring power to his vice-president. Some governors have been out of office for months on the ground of ill health, yet without their deputies functioning in an acting capacity. What does this say about our

•Continued on Page 25

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

THE SUNDAY INTERVIEW

25

•Hanga

affect some other regions in the country, like state creation, derivation formula, the Petroleum Industry Bill, among others. What do you think is often at the heart of such leaders like Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State and his ilk?

On state creation, the argument of the likes of Governor Kwankwaso has been that you just do not create states for the sake of it or on the basis of regions or zones simply because you want to satisfy some people.

There must be criteria for creating these states such as population and land mass. Let me give you an instance, while you can traverse the entire South East and South South in just one day, you cannot traverse one state in the North West in one day.

Secondly, a state like Akwa Ibom has 31 council areas, yet the entire population of the state is not more than two million people. And if you put the population of the entire South South zone together, it is not up to that of Kano State. Again, the entire land mass is not up to Kano State. That is just the simple argument and so, you cannot go about creating states on the basis of regions, ethnicity or zones.

You will also agree with me that it is grossly unfair to have one senator representing just two local governments, while one senator will represent about 16 local governments in the North. The same also holds for one senator representing one million people while elsewhere, five million people have one senator representing them. That is the argument Kwankwaso seems to be making. Sincerely, I think there is a sense in it.

You cited land mass as one of the criteria for creating either state or council area.

Would you or Kwankwaso be comfortable to have desert with no human beings mapped out as states and council areas, when the so called land mass is just a vast stretch of sand dunes with no human habitation? And have you for-

“

Come 2015, the PDP will become the smallest minority party in Nigeria, you just wait and see. From their claim of being the biggest party in Africa, they will become the smallest party in Nigeria.

“

•Continued from Page 24 there?

I did not attempt to go back to the Senate this time around because I am the National Chairman of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). I may still go back to the Senate. After all, I am still in politics. It is not the end of me yet, so, anything can happen. I will never be tired of lending my voice to issues of national concern.

Tomorrow is still pregnant and we cannot tell what it will bring.

Your party, the Congress for Progressive Change, is about going into a merger discussion with some political parties, how optimistic are you?

I am highly optimistic because all the parties to the merger are ready to surrender their certificates to INEC and fuse into one party.

The ANPP is willing to surrender its certificate, same as the ACN, the CPC. It is just a matter of time and we will all surrender our certificates and come out on one platform and as a new party.

The last time the alliance did not work because we were in the eve of an election, but it is not going to be like that again as we are going to collapse into one big party.

Nothing is going to stop me from surrendering the certificate of CPC to INEC in a bid to forge a successful merger.

As I speak, the certificate is deposited in a bank and I have written a Will stating that if I die, my children should collect it and hand it over to INEC for the purpose of a merger.

In Nigeria today, we know that the strongest opposition party is the ACN, which is why I told my son that if I die any moment, he should give the certificate to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to surrender to INEC for the purpose of forming a merger.

The merger is already a reality and nobody can stop it now, not even the PDP. Do you think that with parties merely surrendering their certificates of registration, it guarantees the presidency or ensure a defeat of the PDP in 2015?

We are going to have a single candidate as soon as we fuse into one party. And what that means is that all the supporters of the three or four political parties will yield their votes and support to a single candidate to emerge from the merger exercise. There will be a strong synergy as all the different candidates that hitherto contested on their individual platform will pool their followers for a single and strong candidate.

The whole North will never vote for the PDP this time around.

When the entire South West, South East, vote for a single candidate, you can only imagine the kind of landslide that will be witnessed.

Come 2015, the PDP will become the smallest minority party in Nigeria, you just wait and see. From their claim of being the biggest party in Africa, they will become the smallest party in Nigeria.

With most of the parties being deregistered, PDP will crash from being the biggest to the smallest party in Nigeria.

Some section of the North and particularly their leaders, have in recent times, been in virulent opposition to certain issues that

gotten that the so called population you touted has for years been manipulated in favour of the North by Northern officials in charge of census?

Well, I am not arguing in support of his position, but that is what I perceive him to be saying. However, I agree with you on the issues contained in your questions and the fact that nobody is living in the desert and it is a vast stretch of sand dunes. But let me remind you of some of the censuses conducted from 1960 to date. I am from Kano and I will speak from that perspective. 80 per cent of people from Kano have three or four wives and their wives bear a lot of children for them. Each wife is capable of bearing ten or more children. So, if one woman has ten children, multiply ten by four wives. That gives you 40 children.

Meanwhile, my university mates from the south of Nigeria, who got married to one wife, would end up with either three or four children. Yet he is a husband of one wife. Will his practice of one wife and three or four children help in increasing the population of his zone? The answer is capital NO! We met after about 30 years of graduation as ‘Old boys’ and I asked them how about their families?

Some of them told me they were married with three kids and others with two.

For some of us from the North, we have four wives with each of the wives have eight to ten children. This is very logical to me as a sound argument. However, I do not intend this argument to generate bad blood. I remember telling a senator colleague of mine back then when argument like this came up.

So, you are correct on the issue of desert with no human being but when you come to Kano, you will understand what I am talking about.

Well, having said this, I want to make it clear that that is just the governor’s argument and not mine. What I am interested in is the unity of this country and the common good of Nigerians as a whole.

I believe in justice, equality and equity for all.

How would you rate the performance of the PDP government in Kano and at the centre?

As a matter of fact, there is no PDP government in Kano. He does not believe in PDP. He merely contested on the platform of the PDP, but he is not of the PDP. What we have is ‘Kwankwasiya’ government. Even the PDP members in the state know that as much.

‘Kwankwasiya’ is a philosophy or a movement and he acts as the group head. He runs the state as ‘Kwankwasiya’ and he does not believe in the PDP anymore.

He is executing a lot of projects for the people and at the same time stepping on toes. He is taking on the ‘big men’ in the state, the aristocrat and the rich. But he is doing a lot for the masses.

As for President Goodluck Jonathan’s government, while people said Yar’Adua was ‘Baba go slow’, I will describe Jonathan as an abysmal failure. It is true that Yar’Adua was ‘Baba go slow’, Jonathan is ‘Baba slumber’. For me, Jonathan’s scorecard will definitely read as ‘poverty, unemployment, hunger and insecurity’. That is Jonathan’s performance index in his three years as President.

26

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Politics

It’s not our priority to remove Chime —Okwu

The continuous absence of Enugu State governor, Sullivan Chime, has been the source of a long drawn battle between Save Enugu Group and the state government. In this interview with Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, the convener of SEG, Maxi Okwu, explains the position of the group, denying the much held Ebeano agenda. Excerpts HY is Save Nigeria Group so passionate about Governor Sullivan Chime’s removal?

The Save Enugu Group is pro-democracy association based in Enugu. The promoters of the association are Nigerian citizens of Enugu State extraction, driven by the highest patriotic ideals which are of particular concern to our dear state.

Their credential as activists and their patriotic favor can be easily discerned from their civil society signature path.

Yours truly is the Convener, a left of centre politician, coordinator Patriotic Alliance of Nigeria (PAN) and Presidential candidate in 2007, Chief Willy Ezeugwu, (Ochiagha Nsukka) is the Secretary-General of CNPP, Ozo Igbonekwu Ogazimora, is a former Commissioner of Information in Enugu, Chief Barrister Ray Nnaji, is formerly Nkanu LGA Chairman and State Commissioner, Comrade Ibuchukwu Ezike, Executive Director Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Comrade Uchenna Ezima, activist, blogger, Comrade Victor Chigozie Eneh former student leader and activist etc etc.

So, SEG is committed to the rule of law and liberal democracy, the greatest good for the greatest number. We also believe that governments must be responsible and responsive to the yearning of the electorate. We shall hold the government accountable to faithful observance of section 14 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which makes the welfare and security of the people the primary purpose of government.

SEG is irrevocably committed to democratically engaging the government on full disclosure, transparency and accountability. SEG eschews violence and formally declares itself a non-violent association.

In our agitation and advocacy campaign we are entitled and would extract the benefits of our fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). We refer particularly to sections 39 and 40.

The Chime saga is merely the factor that triggered our first public intervention. It is only the first in a series of populist pro-democracy en-

W

•Okwu

gagements in Enugu state. For too long the political administration of the state has been run Mafioso style. The only difference between a military administration and a democratic one is the existence of a virile and active legislature.

There is also the need for a vigilant press and civil society.

The Enugu state legislature has been in deep slumber over the years. The civil society penetration has been poor or essentially focused on single is-

sues. The press largely compromised or intimidated. The same can be said of organized Labour. The SEG was therefore born to address this vacum and stitch together a broad based multi-issue advocacy blending civil society activism with political bias.

It is not our priority to remove Governor Chime and we have never stated so. In our first outing on 7th January 2013, the query in that statement came down to this; where

is Governor Sullivan Iheanacho Chime?

Do you and the Ebeano political family have some personal issues against Chime and some PDP state executive members?

I for one was never part of the Ebeano family ditto many of the founders of the SEG. Chief Willy Ezeugwu, Comrade Ibuchukwu Ezike, Comrade Victor Chigozie Eneh and Comrade Uchenna Ezima were never part of Ebeano. Yes Ozo

Igbonekwu Ogazimora and Chief Barr. Ray Nnaji were or are members of Ebeano. But again, all political office holders in Enugu State today emerged on that platform. If some of them are estranged and now biting the fingers that fed them, how is that my business? Chime would never have been governor had he not been anointed in 2007 by the godfather of Ebeano, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani.

I have never been part of PDP and therefore have no issues or axe to grind except political with members of its executive council.

Is it true you want the Acting Governor to take over? Is he behind this struggle?

By the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) particularly section 190, whenever the Governor is absent, unable to discharge the functions of his office, is removed or dies, the Deputy Governor automatically or should take over. We stand by the Constitution. In the present Chime saga, we have not had any contact whatsoever with the H.E. Mr Sunday Onyebuchi.

I personally have never seen him live. I only see his pictures.

Which other political leader in Enugu State share your sentiment in this Chime saga?

We have contacted by way of formal notification and introduction, a huge chunk of the formal and informal leadership of Enugu State. We did so also to counter the distortion of our mission, and labeling by Enugu State Government and its sympathizers against us. The attitude of any other political leader would be known as we forge ahead. We are just three weeks into this campaign.

What is your relationship with Senators Ike Ekweremadu, Ken Nnamani, and Jim Nwobodo?

The gentlemen you mentioned are all well known to me. Ike Ekwerenmadu worked in my chambers in the late 80’s.

Ken Nnamani I have known socially since SDP days. Chief Jim Nwobodo is a senior and respected elder of Enugu state.

Are these leaders, who are well known to you, also related to Save Enugu Group?

No. Save Enugu Group does not have any relationship with any of these people whatsoever. We have not contacted any of the people you mentioned and they have not contacted us on this campaign. We are dealing with the new face of Enugu State, not the.

Is the former governor, Dr. Chimaraoke Nnamani part of the Save Enugu Group? Is he associated to the campaign?

No SEG does not have any relationship with former governor Chimaroke Nnamani.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

u m e r A e k i M w o H e l e b E – e m s e r i p s n i –Page 43

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Glamour

Kehinde Oluleye Tel: 08023689894 (sms)

E-mail: kehinde.oluleye@thenationonlineng.net

d e t a n i c s Fawith s r o t a n i c s fa H

AIR accessories, especially hats and fascinators, are getting more stylish and trendier. From small bowler hats to big, round curve cow-boy hats, hats are now the in-thing. Some are plain while others are studded with exotic bows, feathers, sequins, ribbon and beads.

Fascinators add to beauty and they are good for all occasions. They can be worn on anything: casuals, dinner wear, and skirts and trousers suits, depending on the designs.

Celebrities use hats to create a distinct image of themselves. Some have turned themselves into brands by wearing exotic, trendy and classic hats to functions. Showbiz personality, Nena Kalu Ogba and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of Britain, are examples of celebrities that have created unique styles with fascinators.

So, why not jazz up your look with good fascinators this season and enjoy the attention that's reserved for celebrities.

•Stella Okoli

•Feather fascinators

•Ene Lawani

•Chiaku Odili

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Glamour •Ankara bag by lamidostudio.com

Flat Ankara Sandals.

Source made in china.com

•Ankara to-match shoes and bag

•Vlisco-fashion collection

•Karen Igho

•Vilsco

Ankara thrills and frills

W

E are in the era of indigenous fabrics, especially ankara, and we are going to see more of it either as an entity or mixed with other fabrics.

Ankara is still sassily hot on the runway and has become a great leveller, a fabric worn by the lowly and the wellto-do.

Though the good ones are

•Funlola Aofiyebi-Raheem

expensive, either expensive or not, when a good designer does justice to an ankara fabric as an entity or stylishly mixed with other fabrics, people will certainly appreciate the result. In other words, the finished product depends on the designer; in fact it is the designer that would determine whether your ankara would look cheap or out of this world.

29

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Glamour Nollywood actress and AMBO Season 3 contestant, Anabel Zyndwilla, reveals her favo urite s thin gs to Keh inde Oluleye

31

1

Favourite perfume Tommy Hilfiger’s Tommy girl

2

Favourite shoes Christian Dior

3

Favourite bags Christian Dior

4

Favourite wrist watch

Anne Klein from Macy's

5

Favourite acting location

Calabar, Nigeria

6

Favourite car

Toyota Camry Solara

7 Favourite jewelleries Pandora bracelets

8

Anabel’s

top

10

Favourite quote “Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time...Vision with action can change the world.”

9

Favourite Nigerian designer Lanre Da-Silva Ajayi

10

Favourite holiday spot Montreal, Canada.

32

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Glamour

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

I found

Nigeria kind of complicated

T

HIS is beyond strange. Chiwetel Ejiofor is sitting in my kitchen, staring at my wet laundry. I'm trying to act cool, but with the noise of a bawling child upstairs, and my husband clattering pots on the hob, I'm struggling. The opposite is true of Ejiofor, who leaps eloquently from one politically charged subject to the next. He doesn't mention the washing.

OK, he's not strictly speaking actually in my kitchen, but he is on the screen of my laptop, which is sitting on my kitchen table.

Minutes earlier, he was in my arms, so to speak, as I carried him through the house to escape the aforementioned cries, although to be fair, he wasn't the one being put off by the squawks.

I'd hoped for more from doing this over Skype: an insight into the famously reserved Los Angeles-based actor's world that a mere phone call wouldn't have provided. A mystery partner, perhaps, calling out to him; or maybe a screen grab of his dog, C l a y t h e Pyrenean Shepherd, bounding over to lick his face.

Instead, I get the blank walls of what turns out to be a hotel room in New Orleans, where he's spending a couple of weeks finishing off a film with Steve McQueen about the slave S o l o m o n Northup

Chiwetel Ejiofor, the British-Nigerian actor, is an A-list actor even by the standards of Hollywod and Los Angeles where he resides. In this interview with Susan Mesure, he talks his new TV drama examining the relationship between black musicians and the aristocracy in 1930s London. He also recalls memories of Nigeria his homeland. . So much for snooping.

He's talking race: what it meant to be black and musically talented in the 1930s, something he describes as "not black and white", no irony intended. His latest onscreen alter ego, a jazz musician, tests society's attitude towards blacks at the very highest levels in a new Stephen Poliakoff TV drama, which starts next week.

The series, Dancing on the Edge, exposes the interaction between b l a c k musicians and the British aristocracy via a fictional jazz band, led by the pianist Louis Lester, played by the 36-year-old Ejiofor. He loved the role, which was loosely based on the cabaret star "Hutch" (Leslie Hutc

hinson), finding the "racial concepts" fascinating "the ideas we perceive now as liberal, and the formation of those ideas at a time when there's a rising idea of fascism and the real polarisation of race and class".

I watch him lean back in his chair, stretching out his arms before adding: "The Second World War simplified things like race, and people came down on very clear lines. I feel like modern-day racial discussions are much more complicated. At any given point, different sides of that argument are winning or pushing their viewpoint forward. 'Winning' in inverted commas. The perception is always that things get more liberal, but that's not always how it works. The investigation of race politics in the Thirties and people's openness had an interesting parallel. Paul Robeson would be playing Othello, as opposed to Laurence Olivier. And even though him kissing Peggy Ashcroft would mean that some people would walk out, some others would think it was brilliant and take it back to the States. But then, 20 years later, that sort of dynamic was impossible for a while."

For his part, Ejiofor, who sprang to fame, aged 24, playing the Nigerian immigrant Okwe in Stephen Frears's Dirty Pretty Things, denies ever finding his skin colour constricting. "I've been fortunate to be able to do a lot of different things. I haven't felt any frustration [about parts he's been able to play]. In certain areas, British films don't have as many black characters [as US films] and in other areas they do."

Dancing on the Edge is the second British television drama that Ejiofor has done in the past few years, following his p a r t a s a policeman in Hugo Blick's The Shadow L i n e , underlini

ng the fact that, although he may be based in sunny LA, the reality is more complicated. "I guess I live ... I don't know ... I live, well, the two places that I spend most time in are London and Los Angeles." I have to bite my lip to stop myself butting in to admit being able to pinpoint his base over here. Not because I'm an Ejiofor stalker, but because he bought the mews house next door to my oldest school friend, in Marylebone.

He spent a large chunk of last year banishing family demons in Nigeria, where he filmed the British-financed Half of a Yellow Sun, based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's brilliant book about the Biafran war. The conflict prompted his parents to flee the country, emigrating to London, where they had Chiwetel, along with his elder brother and two younger sisters. The fighting also uprooted his grandfather, a story Ejiofor captured on tape a few years ago.

"We spent maybe 10 hours talking about the Biafran war and what it had meant to him. He was an accountant in the mining corporation in the north of Nigeria. By the end of the war, he was travelling with his entire family. They were migrating through the east as [the government] was trying to bomb villages. He didn't have anything. Not a penny a huge turn of fortune from being quite wealthy, to being destitute. He had eight children, and he lost one boy, my uncle Arthur, but everybody else survived. To play somebody almost the same age as my grandfather was when that was happening was really interesting, and emotional."

Nigeria was also the scene of Ejiofor's greatest trauma: a car crash aged 11 while on a family trip back home that cost his father his life and left the young Chiwetel hospitalised for 10 weeks with broken arms, wrists, and head trauma. Not to mention a scar across his forehead. I attempt to tread carefully around the memories, but Ejiofor is blunt. "Maybe the first few times I went back to Nigeria I found it kind of complicated, but you get past that. This is 20-something years on." Cue tough guy voice: "I can handle it."

Indeed, there is something astonishingly self-possessed about the cut-glass accented Ejiofor, who sounds not dissimilar to Poliakoff's well-spoken Louis Lester. Such is the power of a public school education Dulwich College, where he fell in love with acting. He is the only one of his siblings to tread the boards: his brother works in fashion, while one sister has just finished at London's Imperial College and the other is with CNN in New York.

After New Orleans, it's back to LA, then to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Ejiofor will research his next big role, as the country's short-lived first independence leader, Patrice Lumumba. Joe Wright will direct him in A Season in the Congo at the Young Vic, in what will be Ejiofor's first London play since he won an Olivier award for his Othello at the Donmar Warehouse five years ago.

I may have conducted the interview in reverse: given him the measure of my chaotic, exhausting life while letting him keep his own under wraps, but I'll settle for the fact that the Hollywood star was in my house. Sort of.

Source: The Independent

THEATRE

t

BIGSCREEN

With VICTOR AKANDE

SOUND TRACK

Tel: 07029013958

Yvonne Okoro brings Contract to Lagos

GISTS

33

plus

E-mail: victor_akande@yahoo.com

OC Ukeje stars in The Awakening

F

D

IRECTED by Shirley Frimpong Manso and starring South Africa's Hlomla Dandala and Nigeria's Joseph Benjamin as the lead cast, Ghanaian actress, Yvonne Okoro, is set to bring her new movie titled Contract to Silverbird Cinemas, Ikeja, Lagos for a star-studded premiere, according to reports.

To be held on the 22nd of March 2012, the actress explained that Contract tells the story of a successful 40-year-old bachelor, Peter Puplampo (Hlomla Dandala), who, despite his mother's persistent attempts to find him a woman, sticks to his rule of non-committal casual dates, freedom and being in control of his life, until the desire to have a child arises.

•OC Ukeje

ROM the stable of Studio 84 comes The Awakening, a thriller starring Nollywood sweetheart, OC Ukeje.

At a press preview of the film held at Silverbird Galleria on Friday, January 25, producer of the movie, Theresa Ananenu, explained the decision to do the film was borne out of the need to step up the quality of Nigerian movies.

The Awakening is a story of a young advertising agent who starts to have premonitions of death and actually they begin to happen. He meets with a female journalist who is inquisitive and wants to get a better handle to his

story. Together they begin to find out that all the deaths are connected and they find out why it is happening. The movie also touches on sundry issues including romance, especially as the journalist also has some mysteries happening in her life as well.

Lead act of the movie, OC Ukeje, explains his decision to be a part of the project. “Apart from the fact that I thought the story was really unique from the kind of stories we do in this part of the world, it was well written; I liked it and I was very interested in being a part of the project, even before we had discussed terms and agreement. I knew that I would gladly do it. I didn't need much convincing. I was already bought over by the script,” he said.

o Babatunde Oladip in dad’s shoes

B

•Yvonne

Tango with Me goes to Scotland

company dedicated to ALKING Drum Entertainment, a UK-based and TV content, film black of the development and distribution reached with been has ment agree an that that d has announce promotion of its and on ibuti distr the TrendyPR Promotions & Events for ory. territ ish Scott films within the agreed to theatrical By the announcement, both companies have alogun film, Tango with Ali-B mood Mah releases of the award-winning ow and Dundee. The Glasg h, burg Edin , deen Aber of cities Me, in the the first screening with ce, allian the from movie is the first to benefit Picture House 49, ont Belm scheduled for the 15th February, 2013 at the 1JS. AB10 Belmont Street Aberdeen en with Me is a Nigerian romantic drama film writt Tango de, Kayo Femi and n alogu Ali-B Mahmood by Mahmood produced and directed by AliBalogun, starring Genevieve Nnaji, Joke Silva and Joseph Benjamin, among others.

T

ABATUNDE Oladipo, first of the late Lekan Oladipo, itson reported, has taken up from is where his father stopped. The be completing his latest pro artiste will ject titled Irosun Meji if everything goe s as planned.

Known as Armani Arante, Bab atunde, a graduate of Business Adm from Yabatech, is presently inistration also geared up to hit the set for his person al film project which might come afte r Irosun Meji.

“Apart from the fact that I pick ed after my father, to be a successful been my childhood ambitio actor, has n but my father insisted that I finish my education before going to acting. My pas acting grew when I started follsion for him to movie locations. While owing in higher institution, I opted for Busine Administration because of myss love for banking job, but life later card as I'm back to my firstplayed me its love which is acting,” he said.

Tonto Dikeh •Genevieve

PAGE

drops

‘Itz Ova’ video

D

ARING Nollywood actres the video for her first sin s, Tonto Dikeh, released Thursday, January 31. Bugle titled 'Itz Ova' last t the song which has go over 3 million downloads t not getting the best of rev online since it was released is also iew s from critics and staunch music listeners alike.

The video is coming mo debut songs; and despite nths after Tonto dropped her to her singles, she makes the less than enthusiastic response the Nigerian music industgood on her promise to remain in ry with her recent video launch.

It would also be recalled to be signed onto D'Ban that she was recently rumoured j's She however, revealed thaDB Records which she denied. onto the label if the offer t she would be willing to sign is good.

•Tonto Dikeh

34

Entertainment

Why I left my husband abroad

L

ET'S talk about your new movie.

It is called Within and it was shot in 2011. It was premiered in Lagos Oriental Hotel, Sheraton Abuja and Grand Hotel Asaba. We also took it to the US where we entered for a competition called Movie Awards; we were nominated but we didn't win. We then entered for another one in the UK JEFTA Awards, and got the Best Child Actor award 2011.

Last year, it was released in the US and we kept doing promotions. We went to South Africa and eventually back to Nigeria where it was released on st DVD on the 21 of this month. Also at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library Abeokuta, we have ; agreement to show the movie for two weekend ; that is last weekend and this one, so we obliged them. So far it is going well and I am glad that the movie has been released.

So far, how has the response been?

The response since the release has been amazing and I am happy about it. I hope it continues like that. I wrote and produced the story myself when I had nothing doing. Then I was nursing a baby. It has turned out to be a blessing.

What was the motive behind the script?

I feel we should create a balance in the stories we write, not only movies that adult could watch, but one that families can sit down to watch and enjoy together and children would learn from; to create a balance between the very good and bad. We will be going on set very soon for another one.

Now that you are so busy with production, how do you manage family and work?

There is so much to be done, taking care of the children, taking care of my family as a whole and then my movie and music. I just released a single into the market and so far it has been amazing. It is coverage of an old song of Celestial Okonkwo redone by me with a bit of R&B and highlife.

It is not just me, but the passion for what I want to do and taking care of my family. I create time to write my scripts. Being that I do not go to location all the time, I have time to write other stories and songs. I create time to go to the studio too. But everything I put my mind to do, I do it to the best, to the glory of God. Tell us about your music It is a 12-track album and will be released before the end of the year. We are coming out with a single in a week or two while trying to shoot the videos. I have come to do music professionally now. We want to promote two or three singles and shoot videos first.

When did you discover you have a passion for music?

I have always said that music was my first love but acting found me first so I gave it my best. Now I am back to my baby which is music.

How do you intend to meet up with the competition on the music scene?

To me music is not competition but ambition. I am living my dream and doing what I want to do. And my kind of song, I don't exactly do hip-hop. I write and sing songs that go with my personality.

I do inspirational, love songs, high life and jazz. I might add a little bit of hip-hop maybe at one time, but that is if it works. I am more of a soul singer.

So you get to love my songs for what they are. I do not want to sing what is commercial. I know we need to make money but guess there are still people out there doing so well. I intend to make a whole lot of money from it. My music is not for now, it is a generational thing. I want people to listen to my music ten years from now and remember me for good music.

Listen to Sonia Spence and Onyeka Owenu, how many years over? We still play their songs.

I write strong lyrics, and in my songs I like to do a bit of entertainment with exposure to societal illness. The same thing I am doing with my songs is what I am doing with my movies. Reggae is almost extinct in Nigeria, but guess what, I can tell you that with that singular song, reggae will come alive again. I am not exactly a reggae artiste, but I love reggae and it is for all ages.

Did you take permission before redoing the deceased’s song?

Yes. The people who run his estate, Premier Records,

Entertainment

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

VIACOM Africa partners NTA

I

—Jennifer Eliogwu

Jenifer Eliogu is one actress who has made a mark for herself. She relocated abroad a few years back to be with her husband, a union which produced a boy and girl. Back as a movie producer and singer, the actress, in this interview with DUPE AYINLA-OLASUKANMI, talks about her NGO, and then COSON cover the record reasons for going into label; so I wrote to both parties. I am a music, her decision law-abiding citizen. I to return home, spoke to the president of Premier Records too and I among other gave them a letter too.

Unlike people who just pick issues.

up people's works and feel that because it is an old song or probably because the person is dead, ‘I can do the song.’ It is someone else's intellectual property.

We have actors who have tried their hands on music but didn't succeed. Do you think yours will be different?

As I said earlier, I have come to do music professionally. I am not leaving music for acting, I am doing entertainment in totality which I believe I have a gift for. The bible says your gift will make way for you, so I am going to stick with my kind of songs, be myself and do what I know how to do best. I am not going to try to be someone else and then lose focus.

I know a lot of actors in Nollywood have tried music but everybody has the right to experiment. If you think you have passion for music; give it a try, because it is worse when you are scared of what people will say. I know I have what it takes; I have the voice. I know I

might not have that voice of Whitney Houston, but I am comfortable with my kind of songs.

What were you doing at the time you took a break?

At that time, I made two beautiful children; a daughter and a son.

Currently, are you fully into production only?

I am doing both acting and producing. I produce every movie I act in it too. If I do not fit in, I won't force it. I will let other people handle it.

Presently I have a job I am co-writing with someone. I have done a couple of songs in the past one year.

When you are not working, what do you do?

Because I am restless, I get bored easily when I am not working or when I am on location. Asides helping the children with their assignments, having family time and all that, in my spare time, I write scripts. When I am not, I try to pick up a bit of things that I put

up for sale. I just like to be positively productive.

Why did you relocate at the time you did?

I got married and my husband happens to live abroad and like I said, have kids too.

Why did you decide to return home?

There is no place like home. I can say life is easier there because they have a system that works. Their amenities work but the truth is, you work and put the money back. Back home in Nigeria, it is easy to fit in because I already had a career before I left.

It was easy coming back to what I know how to do; having to spend a longer time going back to school and trying to get a job. I had to take the former over the latter. I have my papers and I can travel whenever I want to. It is not easy breaking into the movie industry abroad. But because home is home, somehow you will get that break.

Why was it hard for you to make the break over there?

Nigeria is Nigeria, abroad is abroad. If it was that easy a whole lot of Nigerians will be working abroad. For rehearsals, the money they pay you is much more than the money you earn here for a lead role. It is not easy anywhere to break into the movie industry. So rather than just sit there and keep trying and trying, you just get frustrated.

Even if I do any other job, it will not be one I have passion for. I might be making money but there is a part of me that is not happy. But I will stick to my job, which is entertainment.

How did your husband take it when you informed him about relocating again?

That is a discussion that we had had over time. We looked at the option and what was going on. It was not as if I could not get a job, sometimes you cut some slack if it will make the other person happy. Even when I was there, I kept writing. I just had a baby and I was not working. The three scripts I have were written at that time. I am glad that happened because after a while, we just felt that we could do it and since we have access to going and coming back. It is working out.

Are you here now with your husband and kids?

The kids are here with me, but he is over there. He has a job there, so during holidays we can travel.

How are the kids coping with the change?

Before we relocated, we had been home like twice and I have a huge family as well. Once in a while everybody comes around to visit and I f I want to travel abroad for business, my mum comes to stay with my children. If they are on holiday, I take them to my parents while I do what I have to do.

How was coming back to the movie world after the break?

As at the time I came back finally, because I remember

39

that in between the time I shot like three movies, it was a different ball game. We had a whole lot of young actresses, which made it interesting because at some point, you have to give room to the younger ones to showcase their talents.

What beat me was that we had a whole lot of half-baked stories being tendered. Everyone was going into movie production and every young girl wanted to be a star at whatever cost. At one point we were losing direction, movies were being recycled.

What is different now?

Because there is fund and somebody is willing to bankroll, we shoot movies that promote negativity much more than positivity. For me I felt I would do a couple of good works. I did a work for Emem Isong, it was a beautiful story and I shot another one in Benin on Igbinedion's biography.

So I said to myself, since it is like this, why don't I do something on my own since I already wrote a couple of scripts? Why don't I give it a try and see how it goes?

Really, it was a good decision that I took. Not only was I able to show a story that will promote family, child education and finding love, I was able to be an employer of labour myself. I employed not less than 10 hands who have not tried their hands on acting or crew work before and we all worked like a family. They are all willing to go on location again. Somehow it is as a way of giving back to the society. Apart from the fact that I have an NGO called IFDEAS. When did you start the initiative?

It started in 2008, but was officially launched in 2010. We lend helping hands by giving money and food to the physically challenged on the street. We give to 500 people on the streets at the beginning and end of the year. We also go to the women's prison, pray with them and give them toiletries. We also go to the motherless baby homes and then we organise seminars and development programmes for youths. We have done that twice and we are planning another one this year. Slowly but surely you are giving back to the society whichever way you can.

How do you get your funds to keep the NGO moving?

I do not have any sponsors, so when I am working, I put aside some money if I have that project in mind. For instance, if I get a N500, 000 job, I know N50, 000 goes to that.

We have another youth development programme, I don't call it empowerment, because they expect you to share money.

But if you give money to a person with the wrong mind set, he will spend that money on frivolities. We need to educate ourselves on the need to be useful to ourselves, because we keep expecting the government to do everything. And if you are useful to yourself no body can influence you because you know what you want.

How have you been able to maintain your figure after child bearing?

I have to be very honest with you; I have been battling with my weight. There is nothing I do to it. It is just that when I see that it is getting out of hand, I cut down on my carbohydrate, and I begin to walk, and do a bit of exercise.

I stop eating after seven pm.

There is no place like home.

I can say life is easier there because they have a system that works. Their amenities work but the truth is, you work and put the money back. Back home in Nigeria, it is easy to fit in because I already had a career before I left

T is the first of its kind of partnership meant to combine broadcast content with skills transfer. Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Africa (formerly MTV Networks Africa) has signed a landmark partnership and training agreement with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

The deal is such that, from February 1, 2013, NTA will begin a daily broadcast of VIMN programming content, including youth-focused editorials under its MTV Base brand. Kids and family-oriented contents are expected to appear under the Nickelodeon banner.

Reports say Nickelodeon programming will air seven days a week, while MTV Base content will air five days a week in the early afternoon, with an additional late night slot on Fridays and Saturdays.

Under the deal, VIMN Africa is also expected to provide skills training and workshops in TV production for NTA member stations and personnel on local production expertise.

Also included in the programming, to air on NTA, are local and international programmes like MTV Base VJ Search - Nigeria followed by the Official Naija Top 10, Big Base Beats, The Big Friday Show, Cribs, Run's House and Pimp My Ride.

Zee World set to stage birthday concert

H

ALIDU Yahaya Abdul-Azeez, otherwise known as Zee World, will on Sunday, February 10, 2013 celebrate his birthday with a music concert.

The artiste added a year on January 24, 2013 but plans are in the pipeline to celebrate the birthday in two weeks’ time.

We also gathered that one of the reasons the celebration was postponed till February is the fact that the shindig is being organised by his close friends.

“I'm not the organiser of this event. I'm being hosted by my friends. But I guess why my friends shifted the date is to give room for effective planning. We all know how January is and I guess they shift the date so that it will be more comfortable for my fans and friends to partake in the celebration.”

According to him, frontline comedian Omo Jesu and eccentric dancehall artiste, Terry G, are expected to host the occasion.

The event will take place at Mozida, Bar and Lounge, situated at Toyin Street, Ikeja, Lagos. The Kano-born artiste is expected to perform live on stage with a band. He is to be supported by his motley of friends which include Skales, Adol, Terry G, O'Black, LKT, Artquake, Seriki, YQ, Reminisce, Drama and Fuji musician, Shanko Rasheed, among others.

•Zee World

THE NATION SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

PAGE 35

KESHI

I'm too old to wear suits!

...tips Super Eagles to shock Elephants

Elephants enlist sweet mothers against Ogude opens Super Eagles up about wife

36

37

NATION SPORT & STYLE SUNDAY, February 3, 2013

NATION SPORT & STYLE

NATION SPORT & STYLE

Innocent Amomoh

REPORTING FROM

SOUTH AFRICA

W

•Guinness largest football jersey on display at Teslim Balogun stadium, Lagos.

How Guinness' largest football jersey inspires Super Eagles I T is almost the size of a standard football pitch and is measured at approximately 249ft 9in by 275ft 58in. Guinness believes its recently unveiled world's largest football jersey will boost the Super Eagles' morale ahead of today's crucial quarter-final match against Elephants of Cote d'Ivoire at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg.

A standard football pitch is set at 394ft by 295ft but the giant replica Green and White Super Eagles jersey, measured by the quantity surveying firm, Billings Cost Associates, and vetted by the prominent audit firm, Alexander Forbes, has been confirmed to be the biggest ever unveiled and comfortably sits on top of others in the renowned Guinness World Record.

Before this historic jersey was unveiled on January 21, 2013 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, the biggest jersey in the world was set at 234ft 1in by 259ft 8in at Istanbul, Turkey in 2009.

Most importantly, this massive jersey reportedly took more than a million signatures and comments of soccer loving Nigerians to wish the Super Eagles good luck at the on-going Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.

According to the Lagos State Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Sports, Youth and Social Development, Dr. Abiola Awonuga, who represented Governor Raji Fashola at the unveiling event, the boost and encouragement that over one million signatures would give the Nigerian ambassadors cannot be exaggerated.

“This is support at its highest form, over one million signatures and encouraging words from Nigerians, you cannot beat that,” said Awonuga.

Also commenting, Deji Tinubu, Head, Marketing Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation, said: “We believe this support for the Super Eagles by their fans this period will spur the team on and encourage them to do more.”

Marketing and Innovation Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Austin Ufomba, said Guinness strongly believes that rallying support of millions of Nigerians would galvanise the Super Eagles to excellence.

“We are passionate about the Super Eagles and our greatest desire is to see them excel at

•Eagles fans signing the jersey

By Taiwo Alimi

AFCON 2013, that is why we have decided to galvanize the support of millions of Nigerian fans in this most unique way. We believe that with this level of encouragement and support, the team will go a long way,” Ufomba explained.

Interestingly, stimulating support for the Super Eagles did not start with the unveiling of the world's largest jersey; it kicked off late last year when Guinness unveiled the 'Fly with the Eagles' promo campaign.

The colourful ceremony saw ex-internationals and football administrators coming in their scores to show solidarity for the Super Eagles and their quest for success at AFCON. Guinness succeeded in attracting nearly all members of the brilliant Super Eagles Class of '94 and notable ex-players to the event.

Mathematical Segun Odegbami led the pack, amongst them, Austin Jay Jay Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Victor Ikpeba, Pastor Taribo West, Peter Rufai, Dosu Joseph, Dan Amokachie, Waidi Akanni, Yisa Sofoluwe, Ike Shorunmu, Tijani Babangida, Richard Akpoborie, Friday Elaho and Friday Ekpo. Top football administrators led by first vicepresident of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Chief Mike Umeh, Chris Omeruah, Marketing Consultant to NFF, Mike Itamuagbo, NFF scribe, Sam Amedu and Media Director; Demola Olajire, Lagos State Commissioner for Sports, Enitan Oshodi and President General of Nigeria Supporters Club, Rafiu Ladipo.

The massive support from the exinternationals and football administrators, Super Eagles assistant coach, Amokachie, informed would be a massive plus and encouragement for the team. “This is indeed an interesting gathering and to know that they are all here to support the Super Eagles is impressive. This, l tell you, will help our players and the coaching crew appreciate Nigerians more and know that they must give all they have to excel in South Africa.”

Perhaps in expectation of how Nigeria would dazzle in South Africa, Okocha was prompted by the crowd of guests and organisers to show some of the tricks that made him a world-class star and he quickly rose to the occasion.

With the crowd cheering him on, Okocha disposed his fitting blazer, stepped on the podium and dazzled all with his exemplary mastery of the ball. For about five minutes he held the lighted arena stupefied and calling for more with his ball joggling skill...just like old times.

In line with Guinness aggressive support for Super Eagles, the 'Guinness Fly With The Eagles' promo also ensured that about 200 fans made the trip to Africa's biggest soccer fiesta to cheer the team to victory. The company also embarked on a tour of ten cities of the country to create awareness for the Super Eagles ahead of the championship.

hile several coaches have been turning out in their well-trimmed suits at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations(AFCON) in South Africa, Stephen Keshi, the Head Coach of the Super Eagles, is well at home with the official national team's Addidas gear to prove the point that 'I'm proudly Nigerian.'

Affectionately referred to as the Big Boss during and after his playing career for his charismatic leadership style, Keshi stated that age has tempered his penchant for wearing suits and pants.

“I don't have anything against wearing suits,” Keshi, who clocked 50 on January 23, told our correspondent at the Olympia Park Stadium in Rustenburg in South Africa.

“I used to wear a lot of suits in those days when I was younger.

“As one grows, some of these things are no longer your priorities. I am just tired of wearing suits, instead I prefer our traditional attires that will make me look casual,” he opened up in a frank conversation with The Nation Sport & Style.

“How old am I? Am I up to 120 years?” Keshi asked rhetorically. “It does not necessarily have anything to do with my age; just that you get to a point in life when some of these things don't thrill you anymore.

“My wardrobe is flooded with all kinds of suits but I am no longer keen coming out that way. When I was playing, I wore suit practically every day, but now I prefer to look African.”

Despite reaching the Golden Jubilee milestone, Keshi still turns heads whether in casual wears or native Nigerian attires. On the margins of the 2010 GLO/CAF Awards gala in Accra, Keshi pointedly said that he remains boyish because of his open mindedness, reached after years of feeding from the table of foremost motivational speaker, Norman Vincent Pearle.

“Do I still maintain my good look?” Keshi asked when pressed about his cherubic look, insisting that he has a perfect understanding of the relationship between work and play. “Honestly, I don't take my job out of the pitch and that may have accounted for why I have an inner peace which radiates in my look. “My job stays on the field, which of course is my office. When I'm at home I don't want to think about football. I don't want to think about anything; I just want to think about what Keshi wants.

“And what does Keshi want? I just want peace of mind with my family. When I get back to the office I think about office job. I don't want to go crazy by mixing my home with coaching.

“There is so much pressure about coaching because you guys (media) put so much pressure on us, but I have long told myself that whatever happens on the field stays on the field and I don't bring that home. That is just the simple truth,” he explained.

Keshi is indeed a family's man through and through and he has sensationally revealed that apart from God, his family is his role model.

“God is my role model,” stated Keshi, who hoisted the AFCON trophy when Nigeria conquered the continent at Tunisia'94. “My wife is another and my children. Nobody else can give me the kind of inspirations these people give to me, so they are my role models.

“Of course, my children and my wife are my biggest motivators.

My life and achievements are my other major motivations.

“It has been tough since I took over as the national team coach of Nigeria. I miss my wife and children but I make sure we talk every day on phone.

They also watch me on TV and they always let me know that they are in support of what I do,” he revealed.

B a c k t o football matters, and specifically today's crunch AFCON quarterfinal duel between Super Eagles and •IK Uche tournament's

KESHI

OGUDE opens up about wife

I'm too old to wear suits!

favourites, Elephants of Cote d'Ivoire, Keshi was as bold as brass about his wards despite their tentative performance in their last preliminary Group C match against Ethiopia.

“Yes! The pressure in the team has subsided after the victory against Ethiopia,” he said.

“The Ethiopians were not out to win but to ensure we didn't advance. So the fear and anxiety that came with it brought lots of pressure on the players.

“But like I keep telling them, they need to relax and play their game and the results will come.

“I feel good, very good and I am happy for the players to have qualified for the quarter finals. The team has gone through so much but we have worked very hard to reach this stage.

“No case of indiscipline in the camp. I love the kids and want them to qualify for the next round, which is the semi-finals, and, of course, the finals.

“Our objective is to bring smiles on the faces of Nigerians because we failed to qualify for the last Nations Cup, but I want us to be happy again and see Nigerian football return to its past glory.

“If you must win a trophy you must beat the biggest and best teams, so why should we be afraid of any team? The bigger they come the bigger they will fall. Who told you that if it were to be the Hawks of Togo, it will be a walk-over? There is no small team anywhere and the Ivoirians know it. It's a classic and we will show why we are the Super Eagles on Sunday,” Keshi sounded off, as he spea ks on sundry issues. Excerpts...

How do you relax when you are not working?

I relax by listening to music, watching movies, having fun with my family and it includes taking them out to choice places.

What is your best food?

I eat any food that comes my

As one grows, some of these things are no longer your priorities. I am just tired of wearing suits.

Instead I prefer our traditional attires that will make me look casual

F

•Proudly Nigerian: Keshi (m) with Austin Eguavon and Shaibu Amodu way provided it is well cooked and tasty. Let me tell you, while I was still younger, I used to be selective, but now I just eat any quality food.

What is your preferred brand of car?

I am not crazy about cars; that should be when I was younger. When I started playing football years back, it was okay then to think about impressing with cars, but now I use any car that is available. You get to a point in life when some of these things are no longer a big deal.

Looking back at your playing days, you didn't don crazy hair styles, ear-rings like we have today. What was responsible for your ways of doing things?

Well, maybe upbringing. We were not crazy about donning flashy things, like colouring our hairs and putting on of ear-rings. They were not my style. Yes I used a couple of good cars, dressed very well and that was it.

What will you achieve in life and you'll feel fulfilled?

Every day I wake up and I am alive, I am fulfilled. Because it is not everybody that sleeps that wakes up and sees the sun rise. So if I wake up and witness the sun rise, then I say 'thank you, God' and I am fulfilled.

Are you still under any form of pressure after the win against Ethiopia?

Yes, the only pressure now is the Stephen Keshi pressure.

To achieve something with Nigeria at this AFCON.

ENGOR Ogude, Super Eagles' tough-tackling midfielder , is as cool as cucumber off the field and could be described as an introvert but nothing touches a chord in the heart of the Valerenga Oslo Nigerian midfielder than his family.

“My son, Tene, has brought luck to me because it was after he was born that I got invitation to play for the Super Eagles,” Ogude, who will be sorely missed in the heart of the Super Eagles' midfield in today's crunch 2013 AFCON quarter-final clash against Cote d'Ivoire, revealed in an interview with our correspondent when he made his debut last year. “My wife Memunat, who is a graduate, has been a pillar of support to my career.”

Here, the former captain of Warri Wolves speaks passionately about his wife, tattoo and being fashionable. Excerpts...

What is your definition of fashion?

I may not be able to define what fashion is, but all that I know is that being fashionable is good and nice.

Everybody wants to look good and nice. Being fashionable is the best thing in life because you cannot push aside the way you look if you want to be addressed properly.

Are you fashionable?

I am trying because I like looking good.

What do you think is the most-priced luxury item that you bought recently?

I think I like wrist watches so much. I bought one with so much money but I won't tell you the amount. I bought it for security reasons but it was very expensive and if I have the opportunity I will still buy something like that again.

Who is your best designer?

You know we have a lot of them, but Gucci is my favourite.

What kind of car do you drive?

I am using Infinity Jeep.

Do you like tattoo?

Yes. I like tattoo and I even did one for the sake of my family!

What won't you be caught wearing?

I don't want to be caught wearing jersey after a football game.

Who is your ideal woman?

I am a married man and my ideal woman naturally is my wife, she is good for me.

What are the qualities you look out for in a woman?

I love her because she is a very nice person. She is caring and very humble woman. She is always there for me even when I had nothing. She really loves me so much and I want to wish her good in life and pray everything goes well for both of us and my son so that we can keep on living a happy•Kanu life. with Onyewuchi Abia

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

PAGE 38

Terry, Toni enjoy a shopping date and dinner

Elephants enlist sweet mothers against Super Eagles “

Mother's love,” according to Marion Garretty, “is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.”

Indeed, some mothers do have them. You don't have to look further than the camp of the Elephants of Cote d'Ivoire at the on-going 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON)to test the genuineness of Garretty's as stated in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul.

While many mother- including that of several Super Eagles players- would be glued to the television sets this evening when Nigeria battle Cote d'Ivoire in the top of the drawer quarter final match at the 42,000 capacity Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, the Elephants have enlisted the services of their sweet mothers as they seek to win the continent's most-sought after trophy since 1992.

These dedicated moms, now in South Africa for the African Cup of Nations, are hoping their sons can end what's become an infamous Cup of Nations curse for a team of big-name Europe-based players which can't conquer Africa!

Here, mothers of the Ivorian national soccer team pose for a picture as they gather to support their sons for the African Cup of Nations.From left are Helene Kalou (mother of Salomon Kalou); Alphonsine Zokora(mother of Didier Zokora); Brigitte Domoraud(mother of Siryl Domoraud); Helene Boka( mother of Artur Boka); and Marie Ndri, (mother of Romaric Ndri).

Freddie Flintoff: Cricketer, pundit, boxer and fashion designer!

H

E has become a household name thanks to his sporting talents and down-to-earth personality. And now, fresh from his boxing ring success, it seems there is no stopping Freddie Flintoff as he unveils a second collection for menswear label Jacamo.

The 35-year-old former England cricketer is, unsurprisingly, extremely pleased with how it has turned out - because he wears every single item himself.

'While my stuff isn't depicting high fashion, it's the sort of stuff I'd wear. I wear things that I feel comfortable in to be honest, I don't follow what's in fashion or the latest trends I just like to go out feeling comfortable and my line reflects this,' he told Mail Online.

The 6ft 4in former Lancashire player embodies the Manchester-based brand's ethos, which aims to cater to men of all shapes and sizes and is well known for its Simply Be and High & Mighty plus-size brands.

When the label announced their collaboration with Freddie, Alan White, chief executive of N Brown, said: 'With his broad athletic build, [Freddie] will no doubt provide a strong point of identity for our customer base.'

Freddie is the perfect advocate for the brand and each item of the Flintoff by Jacamo spring/summer range is available in medium to 5XL and in a range of lengths to suit men of varying sizes.

Looking casual and cool, the burly blond tried his dab hand at modelling his latest offering in an East London studio shoot.

Speaking about the photographs, he said: 'It's weird looking at yourself. I don't think I will ever become a model. I once did a catwalk for a charity fashion show, it wasn't fun.

'Walking down there and back, I know it sounds so easy but I've never been so self conscious in my life.

'I didn't particularly get good feedback.'

So while he won't be following in fellow athlete David Beckham's modelling footsteps anytime soon, he does admire the footballer's style.

A

FTER Chelsea FC failed to secure two easy wins in their last two games, it looked like retail therapy and a dinner date was the medicine for John Terry to lift his spirits upon his return to the pitch.

The Blues captain and his wife Toni had spent the day shopping in Harrods as well as some other West London boutiques before heading to the Hakkasan restaurant for a bite to eat.

Toni, 29, opted for a fitted woollen, striped jacket over a black vest top and dark blues, finished off with some pointed black stilettos.

Her husband wore a black jumper over a white shirt, faded grey jeans and black shoes and a belt.

Neither thought it was necessary to wear a coat even in the cold temperatures, but John, 32, must be used to wearing minimal kit on not just the coldest but wettest match days being a footballer has to offer.

Although on Sunday's FA Cup match up against Brentford that was the first time the defender had stepped onto the football field since November.

Terry had spent the last 11 weeks nursing an injury prior to that a four-match ban for racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand - so his comeback at Stamford Bridge was expected to boost Chelsea's defence and put them through to the next round of the tournament.

But according to Bee's forward Clayton Donaldson, a lot of on-pitch tension between the Blues players contributed to their 2-2 draw... not what a captain would hope for on his first game back.

And the disappointment didn't end there for just two days later, Chelsea went from being 2-0 up against Reading, to ending in yet another 2-2 draw after conceding two late goals - one in the fourth minute of by super-sub Adam Le Fondre.

If 'Champions League football is a must next season' for Terry then his bitter comments following the FA Cup draw are apt: 'We need to liven up a bit and realise the importance to the fans and the club.'

So as captain it'll be his job to rally his troops and get them back in-sync if they are going to continue in the Cup - after their fourth-round replay with Brentford where Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspurs have failed.

PICTURE OF HAPPINESS

Frank Lampard, fiancé beam as they enjoy winter stroll

I

N 2011 as they holidayed in Los Angeles Frank Lampard asked Christine Bleakley is she would do him the honour of becoming his wife.

One 'yes' and 18 months later, the couple were seen looking as in love as ever as they ran errands in London.

Walking side by side, Christine, 33, and Frank, 34, made for picture of happiness as they shared a laugh enjoying each other's company.

Coordinating their winter wardrobes, the doting duo both wore mid-length black coats while journeying along the pavement.

Bleakley wore her dark hair up in bun as she wrapped a patterned scarf around her neck and accessorised with an oversized handbag.

Opting to keep things casual, in comparison to her Sunday evenings, the Dancing On Ice host wore jeans and black knee high leather boots.

And Lampard teamed his coat with a grey jumper, jeans and a pair of to hit Hollywood after telling friends distressed brogues. she will join fiancé Frank in his move to It's been reported that Bleakley is set Los Angeles.

The statuesque Irish TV presenter will look for work in the States if Chelsea soccer star Lampard signs a deal with LA Galaxy, as expected.

Lampard is due to chose between LA Galaxy - who have already offered him a $6.5 million deal - or an Italian club.

Christine, who currently hosts UK show Dancing on Ice alongside Phillip Schofield, is said to be keen to make the move.

The brunette signed up to ITV in June 2010 after leaving the BBC but her exclusive contract will expire this year.

Lampard has been offered the same money as David Beckham to join the MLS, and the deal is also said to include a potential $1 million in merchandise sale.

Despite being engaged for almost two years, Christine recently admitted their wedding plans were on hold as they decide their future.

She said: 'We'd love to do it this year... [but] no date as yet as we are kind of waiting to see what happens.’

40

Entertainment

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Ebuka ObiUchendu puts Toke Makinwa on the spot

I First six unveiled in Nigerian Idol's Idol's top 12

T

HE first six contestants have been revealed in the search for top 12, in this year's edition of Nigerian Idol. In a show filled with mixed feelings and surprises, the lucky six were picked by the viewers.

Namely: Sadeeat, Vicci, Debbie Rise, Oreoluwa Liyele, A.K.A Immaculate; Kome Amagada and Job Emmanuel Idoko, A.K.A Joe Emmal, the contestants were among the first 20 of the Top 30 contestants who slugged it out over the past two weeks. The others were not so lucky.

Obinna Michael (Mr. Byno) for instance, did not make it through this stage of the competition. Regrettably, he was widely regarded as a favourite. No doubt, Bryno wore a gloomy look when the result was announced. His case was no so different from those of Moses Obi-Adigwe and Okafor Angus Sunday (Dani Angus).

These three contestants may not have given up entirely, as another opportunity awaits them - the wild card segment; a prerogative of the judges and the audience to bring back to the show some of the evicted contestants. But that may be a long shot; they will have 20 others to contend with.

Interestingly, two of the judges, Yinka Davis and Jeffery Daniels, were as shocked as the audience with the voting results that have seen some of the contestants they regarded as promising talents being voted out.

According to Modupe Thani, Etisalat Nigeria's Head of Events and Sponsorship: “It is disappointing to see such

promising talents leave the competition when the show is about to enter its peak.”

She encouraged the audience and viewers at home to vote for their favourite contestants as many times as possible so that they can have more votes to make them stay in the competition,” she said.

The final group of 10 contestants had performed on Sunday, struggling to make it into the Top 12. Voting for the third and final 10 of the top 30 contestants continues until midnight on Wednesday, January 30.

D

A

•Toke

Desmond Ovbiagele debuts in Nollywood

ESMOND Ovbiagele, bankerturned movie producer and son of Vanguard celebrated columnist, Helen Ovbiagele, is leaving no stone unturned in his desire to make a stunning debut in Nollywood.

Having completed the shooting of his debut movie few months ago, “Render to Caesar”, a thriller that is bound to take Nollywood by storm, Desmond is poised to open a new chapter for the industry.

According to him, “my missio n in Nollywood is •Desmond Ovbiagele

Amstel Malta supports AMVCA

FTER its now rested sponsorship of the reality show called Amstel Malta Box Office, and a current bid with comedy artistes, Nigerian Breweries' (NBL) low sugar malt brand, Amstel Malta, is joining forces with Africa Magic to stage the first edition of the Africa Magic Viewer's Choice Awards (AMVCA) as headline sponsor.

The event which had artistes like Jide Kosoko, Saheed Balogun, Chidi Mokeme, Funlola Awofiyebi, Uti Nwachukwu and Genevieve Nnaji in attendance was a glamorous cocktail party at the Porsche Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Mr. Tokunbo Adodo, NBL's Marketing Manager - Non-alcoholic, said at the nominee unveiling ceremony, that the partnership was timely: “Amstel Malta is a brand that inspires individuals to be the best they possibly can at everything. What better opportunity to anchor that value than a gesture that is aimed at giving back to people who have indeed worked very hard in our very own continent.”

According to Adodo, the AMVCA is a

Winner of this season will take home N20 million worth of prizes, including N7.5 million in cash, a brand new SUV, and a recording contract with a record label. The first runnerup will receive N1.5 million and a saloon car to be presented by Etisalat.

T was a delightful session with TV/Radio host and blogger, Toke Makinwa, in the last episode of Rubbin' Minds, as host Ebuka ObiUchendu went close and personal on some issues with the celebrity blogger.

Makinwa, who was interviewed over writer, critic and winner of the Nigeria Prize for Literature, Chika Unigwe, also spoke about her career, her values, her accent, criticism and her controversies, including questions about her accent and complexion.

"I have those bad days when I think no one loves me and all I just want to do is stay back home and cry," she said." But on the other hand, I usually don't care what people feel about me," she said.

platform for rewarding talent, which aligns with one of Amstel Malta's core value of rewarding loyal consumers. “We constantly seek new ways to reward our loyal consumers. The AMVCA will not only reward talents, but also encourage the upcoming ones to strive to excel so they can be recognised and rewarded,” he added.

Speaking on the brand's sponsorship of the event, Mrs. Adedoyin Owotomo, Brand Manager Amstel Malta, said: “At the core of the Amstel Malta brand is the conviction that everyone has what it takes to be the best. The brand therefore believes in providing platforms that not only give opportunities to young talented individuals but also inspiration.

AMVCA is a platform that recognises and celebrates the best in the movie and TV industries; a platform of inspiration to encourage young talents in the industry to ensure they make smart choices that will show their originality and that they are unique and discerning individuals that deserve to be recognised and rewarded.

The Managing Director, M-Net Africa, Biola Alabi, said the partnership with Amstel Malta was commendable: “At M-Net, we look forward to walking this path with Nigerian Breweries and we believe that this marriage will go on for decades to come” she stated.

Some of the notable nominated Nigerian thespians include: Genevieve Nnaji, Funke Akindele, Osita Iheme and Kunle Bamtefa among others.

not only to raise the bar, but importantly to change the ways we do things in the industry.”

Render to Caesar, also known as R2C, which is due to premiere in the second quarter of the year, features a formidable array of Nigeria's foremost acting talents.

They include Gbenga Akinnagbe, international star of the popular HBO TV series 'The Wire', who played the lead character, famous Omoni Oboli, Wale Ojo and Lucky Ejim. Others are Bimbo

Manuel, Dede Mabiaku, Kalu Ikeagwu, Chris Iheuwa and Kehinde Bankole. Also featuring in cameo turns are Steve Onu (aka “Yaw” of Wazobia FM), MC Abbey, Yvonne “Vixen” Ekwere and Femi Jacobs.

Shot in Lagos, the movie revolves around two friends who return home from abroad to join a special programme in the Nigeria Police Force as detectives assigned to hunt and apprehend a notorious criminal whose nefarious activities are an embarrassment to the government.

2012 Jack Daniel's bartender training ends •Best student to win N100, 000

T

HE 2012 edition of Jack Daniel's Old No.7 Tennessee Whiskey's International Bartender Course (IBC) came to its conclusion last Friday as the top 10 bartenders completed their final theoretical and practical exams.

The 10 finalists emerged from an initial pool of 45 bartenders drawn from as many different outlets across the city of Lagos.

The initial candidates were all subjected to bartending boot camp, comprising an intensive course in Essential Bar Skills followed by a comprehensive Whiskey Masterclass. Their skills and knowledge were then thoroughly examined and the 10 finalists selected on merit.

The final ten bartenders were: Daniel Ogundele of E-Bar, Lekki; Danladi Istifanus of Auto Lounge, V.I; Ayodeji Odufuwa of Lounge 46, Surulere; Temitope Oshin of Moore Club, Festac; Adewale Aderinle of Mellow's Bar, Surulere; Helen Ochang of Michael's Bar, V.I; Stephen Itedo of Caliente, V.I; Samuel Joseph of Lydia's Place, V.I; Temidayo Sado of Shugar Reef, Lekki, and Joseph Salem of Morningside Suites, V.I, all in Lagos.

Courtesy of this formative and generous Jack Daniel's sponsorship initiative, they all earned their place on the highly regarded IBC International Bartender Course, facilitated and accredited by Shaker Bar School, one of UK's leading bar training academies. If successful, the candidates will be certified and will

receive their certificates at a grand-finale awards dinner. This is scheduled to hold in about 2 weeks' time as the exam scripts have been taken to the UK for independent marking and grading.

In keeping with its promise to provide only the very best for the trainees, the final week of training was conducted by 4-time National South African Flair Bartending Champion and Head of Training at Shaker Bar School, Johannesburg, Mr. Pieter Oosthuizen. He commended the finalists for their brilliance and also praised them for their ability to adapt and quickly assimilate new skills and techniques. “Jack Daniel's is fully committed to contributing meaningfully to the growth of Nigeria's hospitality sector, transfer of essential skills and the development of an appropriate culture of service. This collaboration with The Lagos Bar School and Shaker International is geared towards actualising this vision.”

This year's best student will also walk away with a cash prize of one hundred thousand naira (N100, 000), again courtesy of Jack Daniel's Old No.7 Tennessee Whiskey.

•Pieter Oosthuizen, Head of Training, Shaker Bar School Johannesburg

Entertainment

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

41

From Investment Banking to producing movies, Director Niyi Towolawi has seen it all. He recently came into the country to finalise plans for the premiere of his latest flick, Turning Point, a movie that stars both Nollywood and Hollywood acts. He talks to OVWE MEDEME about the idea behind the movie, life as an army brat, the daunting task of putting together a Hollywood/Nollywood cast and sundry issues.

窶｢Niyi Towolawi

A

FTER premiering Turning Point in London, did it go on to the cinemas?

It is nice for films to come out in a lot of places at the same time or around the same time. We are here to arrange all that. We can release in the UK at anytime. It is a Nigerian story so, naturally, a lot of the people will watch the film in the UK and everywhere else.

How soon do you hope to do the cinema release?

We are planning to premiere in Nigeria in March. Essentially, it is the distributors that will make that decision, but if we premiere in March, I am guessing that the earliest the film will come out will be April or there about. It is not my decision, unfortunately.

What exactly are your expectations bringing the movie to Nigeria?

I did the film Twisted in 2007. People now talk about a new Nigeria cinema and they reference that as being the first Diaspora movie because the film was made before there were cinemas in Nigeria. It was the first film to actually do a UK release and it was a very small, humble film, really, but that showed the possibility. Other people built on that platform. In terms of expectations, obviously I am hoping that everybody sees it and it makes lots of money so I can buy a Hummer.

How did you cope working with a starstudded cast?

It was very delightful. I would without a moment's notice actually work with all of them again. When I work with people I have not met before, I focus very much on the story and the character as opposed to the actors, but having worked with all of these people, they are the type of people now that with my experience, I can actually write characters for. The production style of Hollywood and Nollywood are very different. We had Hollywood days and we had Nollywood days and obviously the chemistry was different. There was a difference of culture.

What is the idea behind having a multicultural cast for the film?

Film generally is a mirror of reality. I lived here as a child so there is that comparison that I actually have. Something is very much prevalent in Europe and America now. It is like the plight of the black person in the Diaspora. Setting the

Lagos is a safe place to shoot movies 窶年iyi Towolawi It was difficult. I know very little of film in America gave us an extra Nollywood and I thought I did know a lot dimension because there is a disparity now because as of 2008, I thought there between Africans and other black people.

In America, Africans like education and we was a place called Nollywood. I went out looking for it and I ended up in Surulere. get rich from that, but a lot of AfricanMaking this one, the first character I tried Americans are apparently more likely to to cast was Jackie Appiah's character. I end up in prison than in college, so they described the type of character I am look down at Africans. They see Africans looking for and people mentioned Mercy as immigrants who are meant to be dirty Johnson. so there is that tension and that conflict. If I did a Google search of Mercy and I saw the film had been set in Europe, the tension pictures of Jackie Appiah and I thought it would be on a racial level. was Mercy Johnson. I then met up with a Do you consider it a gamble using an lady who had worked with Nollywood unpopular face as your lead character? people and she corrected me. Mama Gee I think every single person, myself character is the only Nigerian on inclusive, does agree that set that I had known before, definitely it was a gamble but I came into the so with that character there was obviously, it was one that Nigeria in 2006 no second choice. That was paid off. We had about five moulded around her. It was so with 30,000 press screenings in the UK more difficult because before the premiere and pounds and I much the Americans, for instance, people said Jim Iyke would didn't know a they all had agents and have played that character single person. managers and they all better and I would make more to very strong unions money from it.

From the airport, belonged and we had access to them.

That is true, but ultimately I took a taxi to Weren't you worried about it is about the stories, the Surulere in a the security implications? character and getting it done Ghana-must-go I wasn't in Nigeria at all in the way it needs to be done the 90s. I was an army brat as and these were the actors that bag full of well. I knew when the Buhari seem to be most qualified and money and coup happened, I knew when they were the most visual the Babangida coup happened. nothing depictions of the characters at school then. I can name that I dreamt of. happened to it. I Ia was lot of the barracks in Lagos Did you enter the movie have always felt for instance. Lagos for me, has for the upcoming AMAA? always been a safe haven. very safe in Sure I did. I entered the I came into Nigeria in 2006 Lagos movie and I am very hopeful with 30,000 pounds and I didn't that it will pick some awards. know a single person. From the What drew you to the script? airport, I took a taxi to Surulere with a I wrote it myself. Writing the script only Ghana-must-go bag full of money and took three weeks. Twisted took about six nothing happened to it. I have always felt months to write and they were done five very safe in Lagos. I have gone to a lot of years apart. There are millions of Africans countries and Lagos is actually a very safe. that live in Europe and America and they When they were getting their visas, they are extremely under-represented in the were told not to go. The CIA has a very media. If you Google Africa today, chances comprehensive website that talks about the are that you will find pictures of an risks in Nigeria. It says something like they Ethiopian child with kwashiorkor. That is were 70% more likely to be kidnapped and the image that is being created of Africa. there are tons of diseases and threats. It There are loads of people that are took me two months to convince these obviously not represented. guys that Nigeria is a safe country.

Was it difficult getting the Hollywood How did you finally convince them? crew to come to Nigeria?

One of the crew members knew

someone who came to shoot a commercial here and he said it is the best place he has ever been to. That convinced them a bit, but again, if the CIA told you that if you come to this country, you would die, you will have second thoughts. Besides that, the equipment that was brought into the country was worth $200,000.

They could not get insurance in the US to actually bring it into Nigeria and I could not get them in Nigeria as well. I had to convince them to bring them. They don't think I am Nigerian anyway. Eventually, they came and they loved it. They ate Suya every day, went to Kuramo Beach and they enjoyed eating Indomie and fried eggs.

What issues would you say the film addresses?

There is a lot of ethnic prejudice in the film. I can be Nigerian when I want to be, I can be British when I want to be. Also, the whole arranged marriage thing is becoming prevalent now in the West.

When you have parents who moved abroad and raised their kids there, they still want them to have some sort of identity back home and the easiest way to retain that is to make sure that they marry someone who is from there. I think that is the biggest issue in the film, but personally, it is not really my story.

Basically, every single person has it within them to be good and bad at the same time. For instance, Adolf Hitler killed over ten million people but he was a very loving father. I don't know how that is possible. I am drawn to that sort of thing.

As an investment banker, how did you handle the transition to movie director?

I am constantly writing. I have grown a lot as a writer. The thing that inspired me more than anything else was the opportunity. I have spent the last 10 years working in Investment Banking as a software person so I understand how traders and investors actually work. Our lead character is that.

How much of your culture is still in you?

My parents basically speak Yoruba.

Speaking English was banned in my house so I speak the language and I know a lot of proverbs and whatnots. My Yoruba is actually very clear.

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Entertainment

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

CINEMA GUIDE

BIG

LAGOS

PICTURE

Supported by: SILVERBIRD CINEMAS

d in m in r e d r u M : 2 e c Ra

The Hobbit : Unexpected Journey 3D Featured Actors Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 169min The Hobbit : Unexpected Journey Featured Actors Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 169min Here comes the Boom Featured Actors Kevin James, Salma Hayek and Henry Winkler Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 105min Wreck It Ralph Featured Actors John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch Genre Comedy and Sequel Running Time 101min A Thousand Words Featured Actors Eddie Murphy, Cliff Curtis and Kerry Washington Genre Comedy Running Time 91min Hotel Transylvania Featured Actors Adam

Sandler, Kevin James and Andy Samberg Genre Comedy ARGO Featured Actors Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston and John Goodman Genre Drama Running Time 120 min Twilight Saga 2 Featured Actors Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 115min Skyfall

PORT HARCOURT

I

N the sequel to 2008's Race, Saif Ali Khan returns as Ranveer; A sharp witted protagonist and antagonist whose ambitions are stuck for good in the con games and as formula prescribes, he's got murder in his mind.

After opening, with possibly the worst carexplosion special effects in history, Ranveer, off the radar since Race, appears at a Casino run by Vikram Thapar (Rajesh Khattar), a millionaire whose motivations for money-doubling are as philistine as his common sense.

Race 2 is a lot like every other sequel: it suffers from 'sequelitis' an epidemic that infects the genome of box-office breaking movies with spin-off potential. The virus is global and unbiased in its toxicity: it shares equal affection regardless of geographies, film industries or originality in plot pitching.

Ranveer, like any other heroic lead-villain of a heist movie, has a deceptive itinerary of money laundering, money nabbing and general hoodwinking pre-plotted.

His schema compromises: Amaan (John Abraham, leaner, as effective as possible with the material), a street fighter turned big-fish, his half-sultry sister (Deepika Padukone), his newly acquired girl-friend

(Jacqueline Fernandez), the returning lynchpin with a fruit fetish (Anil Kapoor) and his new stereotypical dumb-blonde (Ameesha Patel).

However, the viewer is treated to outmoded growls, car chases, fisticuffs and skimpy bikini beach-parties. Race 2 may sound like an imbecilic drag, built on pomp, glitzy showmanship and middling narrative pizzazz by directors Abbas-

Lincoln: Every politic has a stain

A

biopic of the 16th US president, Abraham Lincon, is a 150min flick directed by Steven Spielberg. Released in 2012, the film stars Daniel Day-Lewis, David Strathairn, Hal Holbrook, James Spader, John Hawkes, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lee Pace, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.

Daniel Day-Lewis plays the president in Lincoln.

The films indicates that politics was a dirty business even in the 19th century, and even when changing history for the better, as the best moments of Lincoln wittily and elegantly prove. But Steven Spielberg's new film has a title that suggests a sweeping portrait

of the great 16th American president; largely depicting Abraham Lincoln as an all-knowing icon, and even with Daniel Day-Lewis's beautifully measured (and surprisingly softspoken) performance, Lincoln often recedes to the background of the very uneven movie that bears his name.

The screenplay from Pulitzer prize-winner Tony Kushner focuses on just the last four months of Lincoln's life, as he works in Washington to end the civil war raging just south of him, but not before passing an amendment to officially outlaw slavery.

There are glimpses into Lincoln's personal life, including strained relationships with both his wife (Sally Field) and eldest son (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

These are intended to add a human dimension to the president, but they're never as effective as simply seeing the man at work; Gordon-Levitt has had a fantastic year in other films, but his character here is entirely superfluous, and Field brings tremendous overacting to a cast that's otherwise quite restrained.

The film did not pretend to show Lincoln as a canny politician willing to bend the law and make enormous compromises to accomplish a greater goal.

Pitch Perfect Featured Actors Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow and Rebel Wilson Genre Comedy Running Time 112 min A Thousand Words Featured Actors Eddie Murphy, Cliff Curtis and Kerry Washington Genre Comedy Running Time 91min Hotel Transylvania Featured Actors Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Andy Samberg Genre Comedy ARGO Featured Actors Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston and John Goodman Genre Drama Running Time 120 min Twilight Saga 2 Featured Actors Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 115min Skyfall Featured Actors Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem and Naomie Harris

Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 143 The Meeting Featured Actors Rita Dominic, Femi Jacobs, Linda Ejiofor, Jide Kosoko, Kate Henshaw & Nse Ikpe Etim Genre Drama Running Time 120Min Featured Actors: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans Genre: Action/Adventure

ABUJA Street Of Calabar Genre Action/Adventure Arinzo Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 124min Inside Story Featured Actors Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukerji Genre Action/Adventure A Wish Featured Actors Andy Lau, Nicholas Tse and Bingbing Fan Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 131min Here comes a boom Featured Actors Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Andy Samberg Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 91min Premium Rush Featured Actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon and Dania Ramirez Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 91 min Argo Featured Actors Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston and John Goodman Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 120 min

Sparkle Featured Actors Jordin Sparks, Carmen Ejogo and Whitney Houston Genre Drama Running Time 116 min Skyfall Genre Action/Adventure The Meeting Genre Drama Taken 2 Featured Actors Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace.

Genre Action/Adventure Running Time 91 min

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Glamour

43

u m e r A e k i M w o H e l e b E – e m s e r i p s in H

OW did you start in music? For me, it was from childhood that I started playing the flute at age 15.As a child growing up in Benin, it was a hobby and the hobby later became a passion. I found out that it was a gift in me and I took time to develop the skill. I have been playing in the choir in different churches and at the Daystar Christian Centre where I fellowship. I have also played in some concerts at the Muson Centre, Abuja Sheraton Hotel and at other events. So coming to Lagos, I decided to make it professional and make a career of it. This year I have been invited for s o m e

international concerts.I didn't study music, I read Accounting and I have been working as an accountant. I then tried to go into some technical skills to become better.

Some Philippinos came to Nigeria and I got trained, I also got some training and exposure from some of the churches that I worked with. Though I worked for a while, music has never really left me. It has always been a part of me all this while.

Is it something that runs in your

With a first degree in Accounting and a post graduate diploma in Business Administration, Ebelechukwu Ezeamaka dumped academics to pursue her passion, music.

She shared with YETUNDE OLADEINDE on her life as family? an accountant and how It is just me really. Nobody in my family is in music. When I was in secpopular saxophonist, ondary school, then I used to go for extra mural classes. Most times, I Mike Aremu, Inspired would escape from class to do my her. music thing. But my father, a businessman, was getting pissed off. He was beginning to feel that the music thing was getting too much. They just wanted me to go to school but I was singing everywhere; in the kitchen, bathroom and everywhere. So, they just had to encourage me. I am the second child and first girl in the family.

If you want to place your music, how would you describe it?

Well, I call my kind of music gospel contemporary. It means every other kind of music is like jazz, R and B or hip-hop. It is actually a combination. Some of my tracks are very unique and I play the instruments like jazz.

Who are some of the artists that you admire?

For my first single, I featured Mike Aremu, the saxophonist. He is someone that inspires me in different ways. I love the way he plays his sax. So I love to play my flute the way he plays his sax.

For singing, I love Cece Winans, Shirley Caesar. I also love Whitney Houston even though she did not play gospel. I really love the way she sang.

When you are not singing, what other things occupy your time?

First, I read Accounting and then I did a post graduate diploma in Business Administration. After that I have been working as an Accountant with an oil company, Masters Energy Oil and Gas. Can you tell us about people who have influenced your life?

The president of Master Energy Oil and gas, Uche Ogah has been very supportive and he has been sponsoring my videos. When the time came for me to go into music fully, attend shows and other pressing demands, I told him that I couldn't work full time anymore. Even at that, he still decided to support me.

That is why I am still acquainted with the company.

Do you have other passions apart from music?

What I also like to do when I am free is health and fitness. I do workout trainings from time to time and this is another potential business for me. I usually go further to talk about the right thing to eat. I also like looking good and this takes me to professional make-up. I like creating beauty, especially when I want to go on stage. For me, music is the main thing but there are other passions that are in me.

These are things I hope to expand in future. One thing about me is that I am a multipurpose person. I have a flair for talk shows and I am planning to inspire young people through a talk show soon. Empowerment would be the goal and it would centre on leadership, creativity and developing their talents.

Unfortunately, our ladies have a mindset that without a man you cannot

stand. I remember talking to one and I told her that I'd rather be alone than be with the wrong man around me. These interestingly are some of the issues that we would be discussing and finding solutions to.

Let's go back to early life; what dreams did you have as a child?

I wanted to be a newscaster, wanted to see myself on the television talking. As a matter of fact, I would take the newspapers and be reading and watching myself in the mirror. But my mother loved bankers and the way they wear suits. So she said, 'I want you to wear suits like these girls.' That diverted my attention and I went to school and studied Accounting. But all the same I never knew I was going to come back to do a talk show. So I would still come back to be that same person I have always wanted to be.

Are there some Nigerian women that you admire?

I love what Mo Abudu is doing on Moment with Mo.Though I don't know the details; how she's doing it. At least she is the only famous woman doing a good talkshow like Oprah in the US. We have a number of them in the US in different areas.

The late Pastor Bimbo Odukoya's Married and Single was also great and she affected lots of lives. That is exactly what I want to do, to touch and change lives. Not just talking for talking sake.

I am a fashion person and I like looking good. I am a casual person at the moment but events would determine what I wear. If I am going for events, I like to look really gorgeous so that even before you hear my music, you are already looking at me.

Most of our gospel artistes are doing well. Nigerian gospel music is coming up but I think we need to do more to have uniformity and bring up the standard. I don't think there should be any distinction about secular music or gospel music. We really need to buckle up and do more. What I am doing is something that is unique to every kind of person.

What would you describe as the greatest influence in your life?

My mum, though she is late. When she died in an accident, it was a turning point for me. It was a lesson to the family and we learnt a lot from it. She was a very spiritual person and it was that accident alone that she never saw. So, I became matured over night. And that was why I dedicated my second album, If you don't know, to her. She had a gift of dreams and if she dreamt about something you can be sure that it would happen. And so if there is a negative revelation we would all pray about it.

Most of our musicians also act. Are you also interested in acting?

I can act; I know I have the talent. But not for Nollywood, but if it is a Christian movie, why not? I think they are trying but my bit is that people act a role but still do and portray the same thing they are acting about. I think that acting should be a correction thing, and so if you play a role that didn't favour me, then I should not portray the same image again.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Glamour

Social

ADETUTU AUDU (E-mail: crownkool@yahoo.com, Tel: 08023849036)

Adeolu Adeboye adds another year

T Ify Nwakwesi still rocks

D

R. (Mrs.) Ify MadukaNwakwesi is a medical doctor with various business interests in oil & gas, shipping and health. She is a versatile and resultoriented business woman with extensive contacts in the oil & gas sector, married to Dr. Maduka Nwakwesi, chairman/chief Executive, Fymak Marine and Oil Services, who retired from the public service as director, Expenditure, Federal Ministry of Finance. Nothing suggests that the medical doctor turned businesswoman is in her 50s.

Dark-skinned and shapely, she still garners admiring glances wherever she goes. Despite her busy schedules, she still finds time to rock with people of like-minds.

HE CEO of upscale fashion boutique, Wisemen and Duchess, Adeolu Adeboye, celebrated his birthday last Tuesday.

The unassuming young man who is the first son of the revered pastor and general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Enoch Adeboye, did not really roll out drums to celebrate the milestone. But his elated father could not hide his joy as he broke the news on the social networking site, Facebook.

Pastor Adeboye's status on Tuesday read: “Happy birthday Adeolu Adeboye, my first son. May the Lord bless you, son, and keep you for many more years in Jesus name.�

T

HE General Overseer of Sure Word Assembly, Pastor Dennis Inyang, is 50. The jolly man of God will, however, not allow the day to slip by unnoticed. Come April 20 and 23, friends and family of the pastor will join him and his wife, popular gospel singer, Aity, in a grand ceremony.

Inyang who has been in the ministry for 14 years, sources disclosed, is also using the opportunity to express gratitude to his wife of 22 years for being a pillar of support.

Micheal Adeojo gets twins @75

T

HESE are definitely the best of times for Chief Michael Adeojo, the chairman of Elizade Motors. The father of internationally acclaimed fashion designer, Deola Sagoe, who is inching towards 75, we gathered, has welcomed a set of twins.

This time, they are not the grandchildren of the amiable philanthropist, but they were born by his young wife, Funmi, whom he married few y e a r s ago after the demise of his wife, Chief (Mrs.) Elizabeth Wuraola Ojo. Funmi, who was formerly the billionaire businessman's secretary, sources said, delivered at a London hospital.

Late Abuga's wife loses property to in-laws

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Dennis Inyang plots grand 50th birthday bash

IOLA Olatunji, the wife of late socialite, Lukman Alade Olatunji, aka Toto Abuga, who was dragged to court by her mother-in-law, Madam Kehinde Olatunji, has lost the battle over her late husband's property. Four years after the demise of the socialite and a prolonged legal issue between Biola and her mother-in-law over a three-storey marble building, one of the numerous properties the socialite left behind, the court has ordered her to vacate the property. Abuga was assassinated on the 8th of June, 2008 .More than one thousand people were said to have besiege d the burial that had ace musician Wasiu Ayinde described as chief mourner.

With a good number of choice properties and automobiles to his name home and abroad, he is survived by aged parents, siblings, three children, his wife, Biola (nee Oredein), and divorced mother of his son, Monisola.

The late Abuga was an amiable socialite and toast of musicians. He was said to be generous to a fault and conspicuous at social events. Biola, who now lives in Magodo, was a woman of means before she married the late Abuga.

Lanre Folawiyo now dotes more on son

L

ANRE Folawiyo, son of the late Baba Adinni of Nigeria, Chief Wahab Iyanda Folawiyo, is surely playing dependable daddy's role. Since he lost his wife, Fadeke, the bubbly guy did not allow the death to devastate him. He is now occupied with taking care of his son, Amil, and, we gathered, he is also not too keen to remarry.

The late Fadeke was a lawyer and one of the beautiful daughters of the late Otunba TOS Benson.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Glamour

45

Dimeji Bankole back on the beat J

UST when he appeared to have disappeared from the minds of many, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, who took a sabbatical from the political and social scenes after he left power, is staging a comeback.

Those who should know say Bankole is quietly putting structures in place to re-launch himself into political reckoning. They say he is still very close to the powers that be, especially in the House of Representatives.

According to an inside source, he now shuttles between Abuja and Abeokuta, Ogun State as he nurses a his ambition for 2015.

Not only this, we gathered that the former speaker retired to a life of luxury. Sources say he owns at least two houses in Abuja, having bought the former residence meant for Speakers of the House, and adding it to an earlier one he bought as a member of the House of Representatives during the monetisation policy of the Obasanjo administration, plus his gratuity as speaker.

The former speaker also plays polo regularly, a game that he cherishes with passion. His foundation, Bankole Foundation, featured in the just-concluded 2013 Niger/Delta Polo tournament in Port Harcourt. The one-week long tournament had in attendance polo aficionados.

Tunde Mark, the unassuming silver spoon kid

J

ONATHAN Tunde Mark is the first son of Senate President, David Mark. He was named after his father's long-standing friend, Senator Tunde Ogbeha.

Tee Mark, as he is fondly called, is a graduate of Bio-Chemistry from the Kings College, London, United Kingdom. After working for some years in the UK , in 2006 he returned to Nigeria and became the chief personal staff of the Senate President (his father, Senator David Mark), a post he still holds to date.

He also oversees his father's business interests.

The reserved silver spoon kid is happily married and has children.

About Maureen Ahize’s baby shower

A

S you are reading this, Maureen Emanalom is said to be expecting her first child with popular Lagos businessman, Charles Ahize. The Lagos big girl who married the businessman and club owner in September 2011 had her baby shower last weekend with friends and family in attendance. We gathered she is jetting out of the country to deliver.

The popular Lagos millionaire business man and the beautiful socialite got married in September 2011 after dating for a few years. And to seal the wedding, Maureen got a BMW X6 as a pre-wedding gift.

Maureen is a constant feature and companion at Trybeca, the home of leisure Ahize jointly owns and runs with night life factor, Ahmed Uhwubetine, after the Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Automobiles parted ways with his wife and mother of his children, Mercy.

A widely travelled businessman, Ahize, popularly called Charley Akpuruka, rides in some of the best cars and it is not unusual to see him driving around town in glittering automobiles that make him the centre of attraction.

Adiukwu Bakare cools off in London

S

OCIETY woman and politician, Chief Mrs. Remi Adiukwu Bakare, is currently outside the country. The wife of top businessman, Chief Stephen Bakare of the famed Oluwalogbon Motors, sources said, is cooling off in London.

Not only this, we gathered that the former commissioner in Lagos State and three time Lagos State g o v e r n o r s h i p candidate is also restrategising for 2015.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Glamour

Honour for Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi

&

OLUSEGUN RAPHEAL (08033572821) raphseg2003@yahoo.com

L-R: General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, Governor of Ondo State / Guest of Honour, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko and Author, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi

F

L-R: Lt Col G F Majekodunmi, Mrs . Nike Akande and Professor Jide Osuntokun

L-R: Professor George Obiozor and Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu

L-R: Jerome Okolo and Professor Wale Omole

ORMER External Affairs Minister, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, last week Thursday, presented his books to the public at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. The two Books titled: 'Perspectives on Nigeria's National and External Relations: Essays in Honour of Professor Bolaji Akinyemi' and 'Nigeria and the World, A. Bolaji Akinyemi Revisited. The event was chaired by former Nigeria President, Gen. Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida.

By: Olusegun Rapheal.

L-R: Major Gen Tunji Olurin, Alhaji Taiwo Alimi and Colonel Halilu Hakilu (rtd)

L-R: Former Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Musiliu Smith, Ambassador David Hart and Adimula of Ifewara, Oba Adebola Owolola

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

47

VOL 1 NO. 037

Outdoor advertising: Challenges and prospect C

ONTINUOUSLY, rationalizing advertising spend on media, taxes the various conventional media vehicles on the critical issue of relevance and value-addition. For advertising media products and services providers at times like this, value-focused marketing is imperative. To the extent that insight on intricacies peculiar to various media vehicles will help marketing efforts by media platform, it beneficial to learn from on experienced professionals. The following is an excerpt of a paper on the value of outdoor advert media, challenges and prospects for practitioners by the President of Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Mr. Charles Chijide, at a seminar. We at MC&A DIGEST see this is a good piece for our readers in the business of outdoor advertising. Happy reading: Characteristically, out of home advertising is focused on engaging the target audience when they are out of their homes (in other words, when they are on the move). The role outdoor advert media are challenged to play bestows on them so much responsibility which has necessitated a lot of aggression, creativity, persuasion and target audience engagement abilities.

It is also very obtrusive in nature, ranking the highest need for a measure of opportunity to see, among advert media vehicle options. For well over 50 years, dedicated practitioners have consistently deployed this unique media vehicle for the development of advertising in our local market. From a humble beginning when the conventional billboards and posters were all there was to date, a lot has happened to up the standard and quality of services delivered by this sub sector. We now have global standard digital display panels in Nigeria. Today, we can boast of well over 100 different outdoor media formats displaying across the country.

In all, the growth indices evidenced upon outdoor advertising business and practice are open to common perception.

As mentioned earlier, there is a clear manifestation of local presence of global and innovative outdoor advertising products in Nigeria and a huge upscale in the level of professionalism in the quality of service delivery within the industry today. Today, the business and service of outdoor advertising is handled by trained professionals and focused entrepreneurs.

Gone are the days when outdoor advertising service was delivered by the barely literate and artisans. The leadership of OAAN has invested so much in improving the image perception of outdoor advertising practice in Nigeria.

Our National association is now a registered member of the world outdoor advertising body, FEPE. Among our goals is enabling practitioners and personnel of our registered corporate members access to global practice standards, new learning and insight and the opportunity of interacting with global practitioners through international workshops and seminars. I can tell you outdoor advertising growth potentials in this market are enormous.

However, so much needs to bring to fore, as very essential learning for aspiring practitioners and the ordinary Nigerian, to enable a good appreciation of the challenges investors and practitioners face, in their quest for survival as practitioners and the optimization of returns on investment, for the entrepreneurs and investors in outdoor advertising practice. To put the revelations that will follow in perspective, let us look at the practice standard in developed economies.

Globally, outdoor advertising service delivery and business operations face similar constraints, as a result of its nature. And put briefly, the constraints are: (1) Space (2) Statutory regulations On space, for instance, at least 1,500 cities and communities prohibit the construction of new billboards. The States of Vermont, Hawaii, Maine and Alaska in the same US, prohibits all billboards. In Brazil, the City of Sao Paulo, in 2007, banned all billboards within the city. In South Africa, there is an operating manual known as South African Manual For Outdoor Advertising Control (SAMOAC), compiled and published by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Directorate in 1998. This document is a 124 page manual put together based on a painstaking research project – just for the definition of outdoor advertising, the extent and impact of outdoor advertising and its impact on environmental beautification and tourism. Nobody or group of people engage in any form of outdoor advertising in South Africa without express referral to the contents of this document. I like to read this quote from the forward from SAMOAC:

“Outdoor advertising and information transfer fulfills an essential function in modern society. It directs guides and informs as to locality, product, activity or service and contributes to economic growth in general. However, if outdoor advertising is not controlled properly it could have a very real impact on tourism resources and the human living environment, as was experienced in countries such as the United States of America.

Most advertisements are aimed at the road user and may therefore also impact on the road environment. Control measures are therefore needed to ensure that road environments will be conducive to safe and pleasant driving.”

The portion I just read captures the reasons for statutory regulations on outdoor advertising, world over. To a great extent, the need for environmental protection is a good reason for government intervention in billboards erection and outdoor advertising generally – such as is contained in SAMAOC. Take our local environment, for example, the landscape and skyline in major cities and busy towns across Nigeria suffered all sorts of “pollution” from billboard structures due to indiscriminate erection. Billboard cluster resulted in menace, such that outdoor

advertising made no since due to the abuse owing from indiscriminate erection of boards.

The other part of government control on outdoor advertising has to do with rates and levies due government agencies and department for the use of permitted outdoor space (also worldwide). Such payments are statutory and ordinarily come through as permits for display of advert messages and use of public space. In properly structured society such levies are collected directly by the municipal or local government councils with jurisdiction over the geographic space billboards are erected and the advert message displays.

World over, the two areas of government intervention stated above remain the key consideration for every outdoor service provider. So as investors or practitioners, managing the incidences of these key components will go a long way to determine the extent of any outdoor advertising business. However, if we add “…in Nigeria” to the topic of this paper, the theme of this forum changes dramatically, immediately because of the peculiarities of the Nigerian market. In other words, localizing the challenges facing outdoor advertising, throws up so many oddities that also require the attention of practitioners and entrepreneurs driven by success.

As we know, any business concern that does not yield adequate returns on investors' interest and compensate her human resource is not a successful business. So< return on investment will remain the most important measure of success. In the face of that, let us run through the peculiar challenges facing outdoor business in Nigeria, as follows: 1. Government policies/ regulation: in addition to global standards of statutory intervention, the local scenario is one of seeming confusion among governments and their agencies. For instance, state governments have technically usurped the local governments' right to outdoor advert levies through their agencies.

But because this arrangement is not harmonized properly in some quarters, outdoor advert agencies find themselves subjected to dual level payment – one to the state government agency and the

other to the local government who insists to be paid. This all add up to multiple taxation of some sort, and doubles the cost of such corporate bodies' operations.

2. Quality of human resource – outdoor advertising practice is still evolving from the days of old when it was lacking in adequately educated practitioners. But to mention, the industry will be better serviced by a continuous growth in the number of adequately educated practitioners. The good thing is that the trend is growing and the situation is looking better. We like to emphasize, from the standpoint of OAAN that our focus is on achieving high level of professionalism in the industry. We therefore encourage corporate bodies' consideration for staff training and retraining, and the engagement of highly educated personnel at entry level.

3. Corporate organizational structure – there is the need to cut cost of operation by considering the concept virtual office and outsourcing. The traditional office setting as we knew it in the 1960s through to the 80s is no longer practicable in today's business environment. Infusion of technology, sharper focus and competences on the basis of comparative advantage will make better meaning in cost-efficient business management today.

4. Financial discipline among business owners – business ownership and financial discipline is not one of our strong points in this environment.

A lot of small and medium size businesses in this economy are organized around “the owners” so much so that there is no clear distinction between the personal finances of the owner and that of the business. Such practice leads to financial impropriety, indebtedness and business failure.

5. Clients' commitment to payment terms and pattern – clearly, not all that glitter is gold in real sense.

You would be shocked to know how much is owed to outdoor advertising companies on account of these magnificent and spectacular displays you see in Lagos and Abuja, by the clients. As a result of clients' indebtedness, most of the agencies are reeling in crippling debt that are threatening their survival. Coupled with the huge investment on those hoardings, the impressive digital display panels, payment to government agencies and cost of operations, debt management is one of the major concerns for any investor in this market. We at OAAN are working towards an acceptable financial management system between our member-companies and their clients that will support healthy business relationship.

6. Industry practice – underhand dealings and compromises for selfish reasons. This is straightforward. We know of unwholesome practice by some service providers, especially those non-OAAN members. In order to make quick gains, the y compromise industry ethical and practice standard to get businesses. Their most potent tool is outdoor advert rates. They drop rates so badly the unsuspecting client shuns standard practitioners, not considering the dangers of unprofessional service delivery. What happens most times with such arrangement is substandard service delivery, abandoned hoardings and disappointment. So, we implore all those intending to practice in this market to uphold set industry standards.

7. Innovation, research and strategic planning – lastly, the outdoor advertising practice will do better with research and strategic planning. As in all professionally driven business venture, the need for deep market and consumer insights is the bedrock for success. We must at all times be able to tell what the trends are at the market place, gauge extent of efficiency and effectiveness, understand the target audience expectation, traits and habits.

Outdoor advertising businesses must begin to look at introducing more of strategic planning and research for greater effectiveness and ultimate market performance.

In rounding up, the ingredients for successful business management are globally same – diligence and commitment. As we say in business management thinking global and acting local is the only difference in the small details you find from market to market. Therefore, investors and practitioners must begin to widen their scope in quest for innovative business thinking. Outdoor advertising business is the fastest growing among the three conventional advert media options today. It is also the most resilient to change in the 'new media world' driven by digital media. In the new direction, practitioners and investors in outdoor advertising must be challenges by innovative thinking, training and retraining, exposure and new business ideas, to drive success.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

W

HEN a lady walks not take anything that is into your office for beneath the standard. If an interview, what have a brilliant idea, I do not canvass you are the first few things that do not let it be your service make her stand out from the delivery that will mess being too crowd? things up for you. flamboyant or I love people who have Another major thing is paid a bit of attention to their flashy because networking. Who are the communication skills. One you can talk to that sophistication is people of the major things that can quickly buy into your peaks my interest is how a simplicity, but idea and support you? lady speaks. Give yourself Once you have this you have to that cutting edge. Learn to covered, you are off to a pronounce your words package yourself good start. right, learn to string your There is a huge well so that sentences properly. Because challenge women face anywhere you go, the fact immediately while sourcing funds to that you speak well opens start or grow a business. people see you, doors.

What are the ways they they appreciate It is also expected that can break beyond this before you go for your barrier? you and feel that interview, you would have It is pretty difficult you have done a bit of research about getting start-up capital in the organisation. One of the something upstair Nigeria. There are not too things that endear you to the many banks, if there are minds of the interviewers is any, which are willing to the way you answer the lend money. Yes, there questions. The focus is not might be a few of them necessarily the depth but the springing up, but the truth pronunciation and construction. is that many will not want to lend out money, Your appearance is vital. I do not canvass which is why you would have to do most of for being too flamboyant or flashy because the financing yourself. sophistication is simplicity, but you have to We have the micro-finance banks. I also package yourself well so that immediately know that the Bank of Industry also has a soft people see you, they appreciate you and feel spot for women in business and there are that you have something upstairs. So that quite a number of non-governmental when you open your mouth, you convince organisations that are helping women get them that you have something in your brain. cash too.

As for research, everybody has access to But if you look at the population of women the internet right now. Find out about what entrepreneurs in the country, the fact they do, who is on their management team, remains that these organisations are too few what are their challenges, what they have and far between to help the large number of achieved in the past few years! Don't go to people who need these resources and want the company and they ask you basic to branch out on their own. questions and you say, 'I do not know'. Do What deficiency in the Nigerian business the bit that you can with the little sector propelled the formation of the information at your disposal. company you now head?

Let me share a personal example, someone About 13 years ago, we did not have a lot came for an interview and the person had of soft skills being put to good use in been waiting for about an hour at the business. The business sector was typically reception. One would think that he would seen as a place where you exhibit a lot of your have used those minutes to find out about hard academic or technical know-how. This the organisation, if he didn't know what we is why we decided to create a basic do. During the interview he was asked what important skill. he knew about my organisation and he said For years you have emphasised the we are into acting! How do you pardon that? importance of good manners, composure and That is obviously not a proactive person. character. What value does it add to the What upsets you about Nigerian development of an organisation? employers of labour?

It is an executive or personality thing, I am an employer now o (she laughs)! regardless of who you are especially if you I believe that I detest it when employers want to rise to the top. think their staff have to work for them round We agree that academic and professional the clock, 24-7, and that they have no skills are needed for you to get a job, but that personal lives. A lot of employers take undue which would keep you in that position and advantage of that. They feel their employees ensure continuity, many a times, are the little should work on weekends and not take things. Your ability to manage people and vacations and they do not even pay for the relate well with them, emotional intelligence extra service the staff renders because they and networking skills count. feel it is their right, which is really unfair.

If you had come into my office and not met Can you share some of the basic financial a certain standard, I am sure you would be skills the average market woman should disappointed, just because of the initial have in developing her business? notion. So comportment is key.

I would go beyond financial skills and say How do you balance work and home? that they should master the ability to sell The truth is, it has been very tough. My themselves and their ideas. Being the best salesman is the first thing you must know own personal mantra has always been God how to do, because if you cannot sell yourself first, family second and career third, but the or your idea, forget the other talents that you truth is the 'career' always has a nasty habit of trying to unseat the former two. have.

But over the years, I must say I have an After you have packaged yourself well, arranged your idea well and you have understanding husband. I cannot say that b e c o m e t h e w o r l d ' s my career has never encroached on my greatest sales person, then family life but one thing I know I do is that I you can start acquiring try not to take work home. If it is not utmost important, I will not do it in my house. I do a as ars other expertise.

-ye 13 ent the last not take my laptop home and the best that I Modupe Marc-Dawodu has sp Also there is service ltido is carry my iPad so that the job must wait mu jor ma for t an ult excellence.

The customer ns co d or I stay back and do it in the office. recruiter, trainer an service in Nigeria is r er of he fic Of e tiv ecu Ex I go on vacations every year no matter ief Ch the w improving because many national firms. No what happens. I have to. I am not the kind of y ke o r g a n i s a t i o n s a r e the of me so ot becoming really conscious person that will work until I drop. I try to organisation, she is quick to sp e Sh rs. eu en pr of how they treat their stay home for weekend because I am not a tre en ul attributes that make successf customers now. They do party person. If you find me at a party, it not talk to them any how must be that of a family member which I spoke with Rita Ohai. anymore. Excellence is cannot dodge, this way I can spend my free crucial and you should time at home.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I detest employers f f a t s t a e r t o h w unfairlyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3 , 2013

E

New WOMAN

Quit being rude!

VER been in a banking hall and the customer care representative just keeps you waiting for no reason? Or have you ever been caught in the usual Nigerian traffic and from nowhere you see a banana fly out the window?

If you have, then you know what this article is about.

One could write a giant-sized novel on the unhealthy mannerisms of the average Nigerian, and this is because many of the people who live in our society see nothing wrong with being rude.

Sharing her experience, Dr. Nkiru Okolo said, “It happens every time in Lagos. A man sees a lady trying to get into a bus, he can see that she is standing right in front of it, and then, out of nowhere, he pushes her away because he wants to get there first!

“He will not do it because there are no other buses at the bus stop, rather he just has that animalistic nature in him to fight for everything and it is just crazy, if you ask me.”

Also airing her opinion, Katherine Uphopho says, “The one that gets to me is when you go to church, a meeting or some other quiet place that is supposed to be reserved for adults, then, at that point where you are trying to concentrate, a child starts crying.

“Since you know you really want to attend, why should you carry your child to the venue? They will not take them to the kindergarten section like they should and then when you caution them they start to insult you. It's embarrassing.”

Defending the cause, beautician c u m n u r s e , O m o b o l a Ade sokun, said, “Classifying a person as rude is b a s e d o n p e r s o n a l criteria. It is almost like the beauty-is-inthe-eye-of-thebeholder case.

Something that a person might pick offense at might be a w a l k over for another person, s o w e really need to be flexible when tagging things as rude.”

Although opinions differ on attitudes many consider rude, there are a few we generally agree on.

Below are some of the bad things people do and avoid so you do not set yourself up as a bad example; Do not save spaces in line for your friends. This also

By Rita Ohai applies to not jumping in front of other people to get closer to the start of the line. Wait for your turn like everybody else!

Do not yell across the restaurant, store, mall, or any other public place to get the attention of someone else. We do not need to hear you making an ass of yourself, so talk softly!

When you are speaking to a sales clerk, a waiter, or someone else waiting on you, get off of your cell phone and give them the common courtesy of your attention!

Have your money ready when you are waiting in line.

Do not hold up the line by having to dig into your purse for change.

H a v e s o m e courtesy for the people behind you in line!

Do not freak out on a sales clerk, a waitress, or any other person helping you when you are shopping or eating.

Do not slap or yell loudly at your kid when you are in public. All this does is prove how weak you are as a parent Say 'Thank you' when someone either helps you or does something nice that they do not have to do Try to be a little friendlier.

Do not go out in a foul mood.

Nobody wants to talk to a mean person.

Do not complain to management about an employee unless it is warranted. This applies to most situations where just walking away is most appropriate. There is no need to get someone fired unless they truly deserve it! Think before you act.

Watch your mouth. There is absolutely no need to curse in public. If you can't go out without using curse words then don't go out! Have some respect for other people who might be offended by this or have young children nearby. To go along with this, make sure you are not saying anything discriminatory or politically incorrect too. This is a quick way to offend other people and should never be used!

49

with

YETUNDE OLADEINDE

molaralife@yahoo.com

A flutter of butterflies in the stomach

T

HE tears flowed endlessly. It was actually tears of joy. She almost lost someone she loved so much. A friend told her he was cheating on her and then the battle line was drawn. It was almost over but luckily the shadows cleared and she is back in the arms of the one she loved.

To ease out the tension, she put on the radio and the music affirmed that she was right on track.

I see trees of green Red roses too I see them, bloom For me and you And I think to myself What a wonderful world…

Butterflies bliss and Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a wonderful world' is something many would love to experience in their relationships. This can only happen when what you have is true, pure and unadulterated romance. It’s beautiful, memorable and takes you on a trip to Fantasy Island. Here you would always feel the flutter of butterflies in your stomach and on a daily basis the world feels beautiful.

It is only natural that you would want to be with your sweetheart all the time, and even when you're not together, you just can't help wanting to be together. There is actually a perfect balance and you're happy. Your sweetheart is happy, the world's happy for you and you're having the time of your life.

Is it love at first sight, unconditional love, platonic and the other kinds of love? Even when you experience a particular type, you can be sure that your experience would be different from others.

Interestingly, the unconditional type of love appears to be one of the best. Here you need to ask certain questions to be sure that you are on track. Do you love someone more than you love yourself? Do you care about your lover more than you care about anything else in the world?

Interestingly, unconditional love is the stuff fairy tales and romance novels are made of. If both of you care about each other and love each other selflessly, you’re in the middle of a special type of love that few ever experience, but spend all their lives looking for.

The first crush is a memorable experience; one that’s filled with confusing jolts in the stomach. It's a beautiful experience and most times it feels as if your life actually depended on it at that time.

And there are times when you like someone madly, but didn't just want to express your love for them. Sometimes, you may have an intense infatuation for someone, but yet you wouldn’t want to spoil the happy thoughts by doing anything about it.

Unrequited love is a love filled with heartbreaks and one that almost all of us have experienced. It’s the dreaded onesided love, where you like someone and you know that person will never like you back. They may be in a relationship, or they may just use you. You find yourself falling more in love with each passing day, even though you know you'll never get any happiness out of this type of love.

Obsessive lovers are scared, insecure, and obviously possessive about the relationship. Now you may have been one or may have dated someone like this. It's a stage all of us experience when we're afraid of losing someone we love.

But if you or your partner has security issues, really, there's no hope for a happy ending here.

On the extreme side, you will find selfish love. Even though it involves two people to create that relationship, selfish love also involves two people who are in love with one person. Your partner loves you. You love you. Selfish love is a love where you don't care about your partner or their happiness.

You only care about yourself. If you ever find yourself getting into a relationship just for the heck of it without really falling in love with the other person, chances are you're a selfish lover! Selfish lovers are clever, scheming foxes who only get into a relationship to see what they can get out of it.

Well, the truth is that no matter the situation, love is something that we all look forward to experiencing. Even the hardest of hearts melts on the love field. But if you can't find true love then you may just settle for Platonic love which is the simplest of all types. There are no strings attached and no sexual intentions either. It's pure, friendly and something we experience from a very young age.

Love, interestingly, comes in so many hues and ways that's almost impossible to predict what type you are in.

Sometimes, it can be happy, painful or somehow confusing.

As you search your mind, you'll definitely find that you must have passed through it and would have experienced some ‘refining’ moments. But if you haven't gone through this phase (s) then there is definitely no cause for alarm. It may just be around the corner, all you probably need is to tap into the next love opportunity.

50

Etcetera

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

SUNNY SIDE

Cartoons

By Olubanwo Fagbemi

POLITICKLE

deewalebf@yahoo.com 08060343214 (SMS only)

Soccer synopsis

CHEEK BY JOWL

OH, LIFE!

THE GReggs

SUPER Eagles. Foreign coach; no, local coach. Samson Siasia let-down. Stephen Keshi.

Standing home-based Eagles. 2013 Africa Nations Cup (Afcon) qualification. No banana peel for ‘Big Boss’: foreign contingent cull. Out with Osaze Odemwingie, Obafemi Martins, Taiye Taiwo et al. Muted public reaction. Odemwingie rants on Twitter. Martins simmers. Taiwo snorts.

Faroe, Portugal: Eagles prepare. 1-1 against indifferent Catalonia selection. Drab 00 with Cape Verde, hard-fighting debutants destined Afcon Cinderella. Pips Dutch club Rotterdam 1-0. Caps with 6-0 drubbing of Portuguese side, Farense. Expectations soar. Africa takes notice. No such thing as tame Eagles; Nigeria never underdogs, however hobbled.

Yes, Siasia tactically keen with foreign help, but Keshi more mature in handling.

Shortcomings highlighted by Cape Verdeans, still. Nigeria will do well, bluffs Eagles legend. “Nigerians don’t know how good this team is.”

Places faith on squad of six from domestic league declared ‘dead’ by former Eagles coach, Shuaibu Amodu, and 16 from the foreign legion. Tips erstwhile flop, Emmanuel Emenike, to inherit late goaleador Rashidi Yekini’s mantle and Sunshine Stars mainstay, Godfrey Oboabona, to shine through.

Coach must know something. Emenike turns savior with opening goal in spirited Group C opener against Burkina Faso. Oboabona becomes ‘Mr Reliable’ as opposed to ‘Calamity’ Yobo. Game changer: dubious referee performance with Efe Ambrose’s red card. Tactical response: Keshi dithers. Eagles concede. Cheap.

Next, strategy of midfield concentration works. Mobile Zambia choke. Again, referee, poor tactics and loss of concentration snatch defeat from the gloves of victory via scandalous penalty. Two matches, two draws in Mbombela. Quarter-final qualification fury. Permutation and combination ensue.

Usual suspects for underperformance thus far: poor officiating, frustrating goalposts and bad turf. Not tired legs of captain, Joseph Yobo? Not flawed analysis, skewed selection, haphazard substitution and late match miscue by Keshi?

Critics: coach would better conduct proceedings standing. I: pot belly impedes comportment. Not helped by placid bench of Sylvanus Okpala, Ike Shorunmu and TV pundit cum coach, Daniel Amokachi.

Attack-minded assault on Ethiopia follows in Rustenburg. But Wayla Antelopes unyielding, only doubling up from Victor Moses’ well-worked last quarter penalty blows. Ouch. Ouch. Quarter-final. But thanks to Keshi’s and players’ safety first approach, no matching goals difference of table-topping Burkinabes.The Stallions walloped Ethiopians 4-0 earlier. Last Eight clash with The Elephants of Ivory Coast, therefore. Potentially epic? Perhaps not. Far from the Eagles of old. And Didier Drogba-led Ivoriens the continent’s most gifted and mature side.

Two penalties to beat least ranked team in tournament hardly inspire hope. Lads flapped against obvious limitations, especially bench quality. None dreamed Barcelona-like formations across the pitch, to be sure, but convincing display of fluid passing and possession football anticipated. That would ensure continuity through Brazil 2014 World Cup. A bridge too far, that may be. Listen: Foreign coach it is! Sigh. That clamour. But pragmatic conclusion often compromised by fraudulent officials. Repercussions of former coaches Berti Vogts’ and Lars Lagerback’s loose attachment to team as allowed by flawed contracts resonate.

Besides, Nigerian sports at crossroads with serial bribery allegations. Keshi must know: same voices that commend bold moves in preparation yet muster against him. Must live down exertion of undue influence over star forward Emmanuel Adebayor on earlier stint with Togo as alleged. Must cultivate tactical nous.

And no better opportunity than Eagles. Victors in 1980 and 1994, second in 1984, 1988, 1990 and 2000, and third a remarkable seven times: 1976, 1978, 1992, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2010, Nigeria trail Egypt with seven titles and Ghana and Cameroon with four each. Clearly, a third trophy is due.

The Elephants may be formidable, but the battle must be fought; the war must be waged. Some of the fear a team once rated 5th best by FIFA induces is still perceptible, mind. Bet you smell it match day on the opponent.

Nonetheless, team must readdress discipline as last Tuesday’s avalanche of yellow cards is better not rehashed. More likely in the long run, penalty kick experts unlike Mikel Obi and dead ball specialists unlike Moses must also be determined.

Should the Eagles evade stampede today and surmount subsequent obstacle, Ghana’s Black Stars twinkle in the shadows. So, step up Vincent Enyeama, Mikel, Moses, Emenike and company to give the Eagles ultimate wings.

QUOTE The trouble with referees is that they just don’t care which side wins.

—Tom Canterbury

Jokes Humour A Wife’s Wishes A DESPONDENT woman was walking along the beach when she saw a bottle on the sand. She picked it up and pulled out the cork. Whoosh! A big puff of smoke appeared.

“You have released me from my prison,” the genie said to her. “To show my thanks, I grant you three wishes. But take care, for with each wish, your mate will receive double whatever you request.”

“Why?” the woman asked. “That bum left me for another woman.”

“That is how it is written,” said the genie.

The woman shrugged and then asked for a million dollars. There was a flash of light, and a million dollars appeared at her feet. At the same instant, in a far-off place, her wayward husband looked down to see twice that amount at his feet.

“And your second wish?”

“Genie, I want the world’s most expensive diamond necklace.” Another flash of light, and the woman was holding the precious treasure. And, in that distant

place, her husband was looking for a gem broker to buy his latest bonanza.

“Genie, is it really true that my husband has two million dollars and more jewels that I do, and that he gets double of whatever I wish for?”

The genie said it was indeed true.

“Okay, genie, I’m ready for my last wish,” the woman said. “Scare me half to death.”

The Smarter they Come WHEN Jimi found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a woman to enjoy it with.

So one evening he went to a singles bar where he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away.

“I may look like just an ordinary man,” he said as he walked up to her, “but in just a week or two, my father will die, and I’ll inherit 50 million naira.”

Impressed, the woman went home with him that evening and three days later became his stepmother.

•Adapted from the Internet

M

AINTAINING Writer ’s Fountain narrative pace: Have you ever yearned for a plus Action and/or Dialogue plus Reflection.

Here’s a demonstration of the formula in a simple tactic that could make your stories story: Exposition or Description: ‘It was a dark glow with hidden depth?

Here’s a formula for crafting a publishable and windy night’. Action and/or Dialogue: story that is basic and yet apparently unknown ‘“What was that?” Timi gasped. His hand to many writers. That is not to say that an trembled’. Reflection: ‘The big fool would author cannot ignore this device (and any jump at his own shadow, I thought. But I looked other) and not triumph regardless. Still, where he pointed. Of course, I saw nothing whenever you find yourself struggling with except the stars, tangled in the high branches your writing, this little plan will come to your of the leafless trees.’

Then repeat the cycle: Exposition or rescue.

The formula is: Exposition or Description Description plus Action and/or Dialogue plus Reflection without a special preference for Insect view: which element starts the story. The cycle rotates •A butterfly can look at you through 12,000 endlessly until you achieve your desired word eyes. length. And it’s not important if one element •A fly always jumps backwards for a quick temporarily dominates another, provided the getaway when you try to hit it. overall balance stays the same.

•A grasshopper needs a minimum What you must not do is write a story that’s temperature of 62 degrees Fahrenheit in all exposition as occurs in some classic order to be able to hop.

Victorian novel where everything is told, but •A dragonfly can fly 25 mph. And it has a not shown, so the modern reader falls asleep. life span of 24 hours.

Or a story that’s all dialogue; even a play script •A pound of grasshoppers is three times as will have copious stage directions (exposition). nutritious as a pound of beef.

Or a story that’s all reflection.

•A queen bee lays about 1,500 eggs on an A readable story needs a balance of all average day. three elements.

THE ARTS

51

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

•A scene in the play Isiburu.

I

SIBURU, a play written by Elechi Amadi, one of Nigeria’s greatest writers of his time, is predicated on Isiburu, a stubborn wrestler and a hero who brought so much honour, respect and attention to his community. The central theme of the play is to show how one man with his wrestling prowess, bravery and courage, can be the main focus of attention for his people. Deliberately anchored on the need for people to love and cherish what they have, Amadi went deep into his Ikwerre tradition and heritage to produce a play that has come to prove that a writer’s insight into the norms of his people helps to redefine the society.

However, the presentation of the play at the just concluded Festival of Nigerian Plays (FESTINA) as directed by Ebi Pre-Bai was far from depicting the total images and characteristics reminiscent of the play.

Although it opened with a coterie of dances to show where the play was coming from, the dramatisation itself later proved to be wobbly, weak and ineffectual.

By using amateur and kid actors and actresses to juxtapose the essence of the play, the director did not as much think about its implication in the importance of Isiburu as a work done to point the way forward.

Isiburu: A lesson in disobedience

Isiburu, a classical play written by Elechi Amadi was staged last week in Lagos as part of the Festival of Nigerian Plays (FESTINA). Edozie Udeze, who watched the play, takes a look at the issues the play raised concerning the socio-political problems that bedevil the people and the society In the first place, the artistes did not understand the names of the characters in the play. Where a name was Mgbeke, they rather preferred to pronounce it Ugbeke.

Mgbeke is a local name of a woman born on Eke market day. Incidentally, to those who were familiar with the local traditions replicated in the play, that pronunciation made total nonsense of not only the name, but the meaning it portrayed on stage.

Throughout the duration of the play, these errors were repeatedly done as if the director did not really bother to make amends. Even Uzo, one of the major characters was wrongly called Nzo. Even though kid artistes were used for the presentation, that couldn’t have been a justifiable reason for the murdering of the characters on

stage.

Besides all these, the movements on stage were drab, dry and dull. When Isiburu who was originally presented in the play as a firebrand, restless and courageous wrestler emerged on stage, he did not quite fit into that characterisation. The Isiburu we saw was rather too slow and out of character to make for what Amadi had in mind when he wrote the book.

The priest of Amadioha, the god of thunder and lightening in Igbo tradition, used to embellish the story, and to also show how powerful the god is in the cosmic realm of the people, did not bring out the forceful way the god usually acted. Supposedly played by an old priest, fully decked to demonstrate power and maturity, the

one used by Pre-Bai was full of youthful exuberance and dexterity. Even though he called himself an old man, his outing on stage showed that of a young man, full of life and energy.

In theatre, characters are meant to fit into the original context of the book. These characters are supposed to infuse life into what they represent so as to make the audience believe and follow the sequences on stage. That is why theatre is seen as a mimicry of life in all facets. Even though both Pre-Bai and Stephen Ogundele, the secretary of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) explained that they used the amateur artistes in order to help them grow, the nurturing should have been total.

But in a saner clime, you don’t

PHOTO: EDOZIE UDEZE use immature artistes to demonstrate works of great and established writers. You don’t even experiment with the work of an artiste whose name in the field has already been taken beyond the level of the mundane. Amadi is one of such writers and that was why a lot of the audience felt disappointed while watching the play.

Nonetheless, the lesson in Isiburu was not completely lost on the audience. After Isiburu had conquered all his enemies round and about and brought fame and peace to his people, he came home to face an opposition from his slave boy. The slave boy, Uzo, was in love with a fellow slave girl whom Isiburu had nurtured purposely to have as wife.

As Isiburu went out to wrestle to add more honour to himself and his people, Uzo went to his inner room to destroy his Ikenga (secret source of power). This weakened Isiburu on returning to his palace, but the gods quickly rallied to rescue him. Uzo could not survive it but the spirits supported Isiburu to be alive again.

His place in history couldn’t be subverted.

The interesting thing is that Isiburu is a replica of Nigeria where people want to grow bigger than their masters. This attitude has not helped in any way to nurture the youths into more purposeful leaders of tomorrow.

Unigwe befitting homecoming

I

•Unigwe

T was an interesting morning session with Chika Unigwe, winner of the prestigious Nigeria Prize for Literature for 2012. The venue of the session was Eko Hotel, Lagos where Unigwe formally had an interactive session with the press. It was an opportunity for her to answer a number of questions on how she writes, her educational background and more.

Smarting out in simple flowery dress and wearing disarming smiles, she looked more like a model than a novelist.

Unigwe’s simple mien and unassuming disposition was all that she needed to make the atmosphere friendly and relax-

By Edozie Udeze

ing. In the course of the interaction she answered questions with swiftness, measured accuracy, warmth and precision.

There was hardly any question she parried. For instance, not too many people knew that she is married. “Yes, I have four kids,” she said, smiling. “Both my husband and kids are in Antwerp, Belgium”.

But that was the much she could give out about her immediate family. “I am a private person and I want it to remain so,” she forewarned.

A native of Osumenyi, in Nnewi South Local Government of Anambra State,

Unigwe knew from the word go that she’d end up a writer. “As soon as I finished my last examination at the English Department of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, I jetted out to Europe” she said.

In Antwerp, Belgium, she quickly set about horning her writing skills. “Before then I had tried to write poetry while at the UNN. But today the muse has left me. No matter how hard I have tried I can’t write poetry anymore.”

Unigwe is in the country to receive her US100,000 award which was conferred on her during the week at the Princess Alexandra Hall, UNN.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Arts/Reviews

The writer as a protester

•Soyinka

•ANA members discussing role of authors in street protests.

D

URING the last monthly meeting of members of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Lagos State Chapter, held at the Little Theatre, Artistes Village, Iganmu, Lagos, the issue that dominated discussion was whether artistes should be physically involved in street protests in the society. If they should, to what extent must they go to ignite the society with their presence or even push for concerted changes in the system.

The argument was thrown open to mark the one year anniversary of the 2012 oil subsidy protest tagged Occupy Nigeria which was held at the Freedom Park, Ojota, Lagos.

The topic became poignant due to the role many Nigerian artistes played in that protest. But beyond the issues raised during the protest, Nigerian artistes were piqued mostly by past incidents where writers physically came out to fight for a noble cause and were either killed in the process or hounded in prison.

“T

HE Future: Six Drivers of Global Change,” the title of Al Gore’s ambitious, drily written new book, sounds like a snoozy think-tank talk. And while it’s about 30 times as long, that’s exactly what this volume is, a wonky overview of the forces that are remaking the world: economic globalization, the digital revolution, climate change, dwindling natural resources, shifts in the global balance of power and advances in the life sciences.

Because it bites off way more than it can plausibly digest, “The Future” lacks the cogency and focus of Mr. Gore’s previous two books, “An Inconvenient Truth,” his succinct, user-friendly assessment of the dangers of climate change (published in 2006 in conjunction with the movie of the same name), and “The Assault on Reason” (2007), his perspicacious analysis of America’s ailing condition as a participatory democracy.

Parts of “The Future” dealing with domestic politics,

PHOTO: EDOZIE UDEZE

Is it really precipitous for a writer to be physically involved in street protests? How far can he use his sharp pen to influence the thinking and direction of the society? These issues and more were raised by Nigerian writers in Lagos recently as Edozie Udeze reports This was why the troubling aspect of the discussion was essentially based on the limits to which a writer should go to show his disgust or disdain through public protests.

The preamble was done

by AJ Dagga Tolar, chairman of Lagos ANA who said: “Writers are known to possess certain powers that can influence the thinking of the people. Apart from writing and helping to shape the overall worldview and perception of people about issues and problems, writers also propound ideologies that can propel for a revolution. And so, beyond all these, does it still behove upon them to physically present themselves whenever there is crisis in the society?”

Tolar’s thought – provoking poser was all that the gath-

ering needed to tear the topic to pieces. According to Folu Agoi, a former chairman of ANA, and a seasoned poet and teacher, “Issues of the heart, matter so much to every committed writer. The writer, in the main, is the conscience of the society. He is the agent provocateur, if you like. He writes to give direction; to give vent to ideas and to let people be aware of issues that bother them. So what is his role in all these?” he asked, throwing the matter, more or less, back to the audience.

Agoi continued, “As restless persons, which is what most writers are, they cannot sit idly by and allow the society to remain redundant, moribund, meaningless and rudderless. When there is a protest and an artiste is seen ad-

dressing the protesters, what signal does it send to the general public?” he asked. He went on: “Picture Wole Soyinka, Niyi Osundare or Chinua Achebe at that Ojota protest. What would the general public have thought if they had seen any of them there physically present? Yes, we need to write and also hold the bull by the horns,” he said.

Even though most of the writers gave example of the Late Christopher Okigbo who perished during the Nigerian Civil war due to his participation in the war front, others saw that action as just one out of such few unfortunate situations. Okigbo was a world renowned poet and a maverick writer who did not only hate injustice but lived to say so in almost all his works. Part of

•Achebe

that hatred was his full participation in the Civil War when he was not properly prepared for it.

In his novel entitled, The Trials of Christopher Okigbo, Alli Mazrui, one of Africa’s greatest scholars and historians lampooned Okigbo for being in a haste to show his love for his people. “What did that recklessness amount to?” he asked in the book, but quickly cautioned, “in all situations, an artiste should be more careful.”

Yet that position by Mazrui, which has been criticised by many scholars across the globe, does not diminish Okigbo’s place in world literary circle. “Is it not better to die and be celebrated by the world than live and remain unsung?” asked Mature Okoduwa, an award winning writer and a core believer in

an artiste being the mirror of what he writes. “Yes, you need to be more careful with your physical presence when it comes to protests. However, if everyone becomes too cautious, who will then lead the way? Okigbo is dead and gone, but then is he not being recognised everywhere in the world? Are his works not being celebrated in literary circles all over the world today?

To me, the glory of a writer whether he chooses to die young or old, is to leave worthy legacies behind. This is what Okigbo has successfully done. Tell me, which other Nigerian or African poet, dead or alive, that is more celebrated and honoured than him?”

The consesus at the forum is that a writer’s role in making the society better and ensuring that bad leaders are told the truth should remain sacrosanct. A writer is like a sacred cow; someone whose words decide the mood of a people. And so, let those who have such guts and courage be part of a change when the need arises. But for those whose pens can only be sharp at night but their physique can fail them in the day time, let them also remain that way.

There was also the argument that essentially, these two categories of writers shouldn’t be told that their constant swipe at the status quo is what the society needs to move forward. Let them not be reminded also that a society like Nigeria shouldn’t be bereft of men of ideas; ideas anchored on deep-rooted sentiments to usher in a better era in the lives of the people.

A writer worth his salt should not wait to be told to hit the nail on the head; to bring out the ills in a society by dwelling on issues that bedevil both the leaders and the led. The consensus of opinion at the end of the day prodded writers to remain unwavering in their pursuit of what is right.

A few books, it was revealed, have been written based on the issues raised by the protesters. More writers were equally advised to do more to elevate the status of the common man. And so, the debate continues as to the role of a writer in street protests.

Up ahead: The world according to Gore

By Al Gore

foreign policy and economics retrace ground covered in more persuasive detail by Bill Clinton (“Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy”), Zbigniew Brzezinski (“Strategic Vision: America and the Crisis of Global Power”) and Joseph Stiglitz (“Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy”).

Other passages read like updates on Alvin Toffler’s 1970 classic “Future Shock,” which looked at how our culture was being rocked by an avalanche of social and technological changes. And some feel like textbook excerpts, piling one historical aside on top of another, which provides some useful context but more often bogs the book down in survey-course-like digressions.

(Remember our hunter-gatherer ancestors or denizens of the Stone and Bronze Ages?

They’re mentioned in these pages, as are historical events like the Paris Commune and the Industrial Revolution.)

The main theme in this volume has to do with Mr. Gore’s conviction that “American democracy has been hacked,” that Congress “is now incapable of passing laws without permission from the corporate lobbies and other special interests that control their campaign finances.” Both parties, he says, have become so dependent on business lobbies for “the large sums of money they must have to purchase television advertisements in order to be re-elected that special interest legislation pushed by the industries most active in purchasing influence — financial services, carbonbased energy companies, pharmaceutical companies and others — can count on large bipartisan majorities.”

The results, Mr. Gore goes on, can be seen in “the ever increasing inequalities of in-

come and growing concentrations of wealth, and the paralysis of any efforts at reform.”

Such paralysis is particularly dangerous, he says, given the challenges facing America today, like declining public education financing (at a time when schools need to adapt “to the tectonic shift in our relationship to the world of knowledge”) and continuing high unemployment (a byproduct not only of the 2008 crash, but also of globalization, outsourcing and automation).

The public’s ability to express its revulsion at this state of affairs, Mr. Gore argues, “is dampened by the structure of our dominant means of mass communication, television, which serves mainly to promote consumption of products and entertain the public, while offering no means for interactive dialogue and collaborative decision making.”

He also complains that “virtually every news and

political commentary program on television is sponsored in part by oil, coal and gas companies — not just during campaign seasons, but all the time, year in and year out — with messages designed to sooth and reassure the audience that everything is fine, the global environment is not threatened, and the carbon companies are working diligently to further develop renewable energy sources.”

Such remarks serve to remind the reader of a business deal Mr. Gore recently made that has ignited charges of hypocrisy and greed: selling Current TV (a channel he helped to found in 2005) for an estimated $500 million to Al Jazeera, the influential Arab news giant, which is financed by the government of oil- and gas-rich Qatar. Mr. Gore, who will reportedly make about $100 million from the deal, describes Al Jazeera in this book as “feisty and relatively independent.”

Mr. Gore is most convincing in “The Future” when he refrains from editorializing and sticks to analyzing how changes in technology, our political climate and the environment are going to affect the world, often creating domino or cascadelike effects.

•Culled from New York Times

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

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Snoring... a signal for brain and heart disease —PAGE 55

Murder of vigilantes tears community apart

•The house that sparked off the controversy PHOTOS: TAIWO ABIODUN

The murder of three men within two days by unknown persons has thrown the Abule Oke community, Iyana-Ilogbo in Ogun State into panic.

Taiwo Abiodun recently visited the community and reports

•The late Adegbite

•The late Alapomu

•Omoola still in the motuary

•Adebayo

•Azeez munity and the scene of the murder, some areas had been deserted and the silence of a graveyard ruled. Many had fled to avoid arrest by law- enforcement officers, while some spoke in hushed tones. Members of the community now sleep with one eye open and have de-

•Omotoso

T

WO days after Abiodun Adebesin Omoola, 52, a carpenter, died in a controversial circumstance, two private security guards Jimoh Adegbite, 51, and Lukmon Alapomu, 49, were shot dead by unknown gunmen in the dead of night. The three deaths have thrown fear into their neighbourhood.

Samsudeen Azeez and Kazeem Omotoso who both claimed to have narrowly escaped being murdered.

According to the duo, who spoke to The Nation from their hideouts, they are counting their days on earth and living everyday as a bonus because they believed those who killed their friends would do same to them. They have therefore vowed not to return to their places until they are sure of their safety.

“Since January 4, there has been tension within Abule- Oke in Iyana Ilogbo, Cele and Ilepa/ Ilupeju communities in Ifo Local Government,

Area of Ogun State. The tension has led to fear, making people go to bed as early as 7pm to avoid being molested by some suspected land speculators who are suspected to be behind the killings.

When The Nation visited the com-

cided to keep sealed lips to avoid being quoted over the fear that the suspected assassins could descend and snuff life out of them as they did to the two vigilante men whom they believed were tricked and killed to avoid exposing them.

Whodunit?

Now, the question on everybody’s lips is: Who killed the duo? Adegbite and Alapomu’s bodies were riddled with bullets and deep cuts when their corpses were discovered in the early morning of January 6th. It was alleged that some people raised alarm that the community was being attacked by robbers, and when Adegbite and Alapomu came out to face the bandits, the two of them were mowed down.

It is believed that the alarm was raised to lure the two to their death. So, who raised the false alarm and called the members of the Vigilante Group in Ifo Local Government ? Who could have masterminded their killings?

What connection did the killings have with the late carpenter, Omoola, who was killed two days earlier? These are some of the questions the Iyana Ilogbo and Ilepa Communities are begging the Inspector General of Police in Abuja to unravel for the past few weeks.

According to some of the community members , justice cannot be done unless the case is transferred from Ogun State Command to Abuja.

The residents expressed lack of confidence in the police, accusing the authorities of trying to cover up those who perpetrated this evil act, adding, “the police is trying to sweep the case under the carpet.”

Genesis of the killings According to Samsudeen Azeez, a driver by profession, he has been living in his one- room apartment at No 25, Oloungbebe Street, Iyana Celestial, Ilupeju-Ilepa (Abule Oke), Ifo Local Government since 1995 but his intention to take another room on January 1 was aborted. On that fateful •Continue on Page 54

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Life •Continue from Page 53

day, suspected land speculators turned his house into a war zone. They unleashed terror and gruesomely murdered the carpenter, Omoola , whom he contracted the job for, along with his colleagues Kazeem Omotoso who was wounded but escaped and Joseph Ogbonna who was wounded and taken away by the land speculators and has not been seen till date.

Narrating his ordeal, Azeez in tears, said: “I am a driver and have been living in a one -room with my family since 1995, and on January 1 , this year I wanted to cover another room with iron roofing sheets . As the work started some of the land speculators (Omo onile) came in batches on their okada and demanded ratification fee over the land while I pleaded with them that I would attend to them later. However, the boys who had already been under the influence of alcohol and drugs and over 30 in number, instead of listening to me ,they descended on the workers and beat the hell out of them, while Omotoso escaped , Ogbonna was wounded, Omoola was not lucky as he was beaten mercilessly.”

The land speculators, however, returned to Azeez’s residence. This time, they were fully armed , Azeez narrated further:“On the 4th of January the land speculators resurfaced and hell was let loose, They came with a Jeep, about 20 okada motorcycles with over 40 of them. They kidnapped three of the workers. Omotoso, Omoola and Ogbonna. Later I heard that the three were dragged along the road to their leader, the Baale of Abule Oke, Chief Adebayo Adekunle where they were tortured, which eventually led to the death of Omoola while Ogbonna was seriously wounded and had not been seen till today. I am hiding in the bush now because the Baale and his boys are after my life.”

Torture chamber Omotoso who has gone into hiding told The Nation that his life is not safe from the suspected assailants who have vowed to kill him. He said that he cannot easily forget how he escaped from being killed. According to him, “the land speculators kidnapped the three of us and after severe beatings, they took us to the palace of Baale Abule -Oke where we were chained. We were treated like common criminals; they used all kinds of weapons to beat us. It was painful, horrible and dehumanising. I was in agony for hours.They beat Omoola to the extent that he could not walk again.

In the process of beating him, they hit him in the eye and blood gushed out. Omoola later became blind. When they found that we had no strength again, the Baale said they should quickly take us to Sango Police Station so that we would not die in his domain. They then quickly rushed us in his Jeep and drove us to Sango Police Station but the policeman we met refused to let us in and said one of us was dying. We were already naked as they had removed our clothes. The police officer bluntly refused to detain us and scolded our captors and asked why they should put law into their hands.

We cried that we were dying. Ogbonna was already bleeding while Omoola could not walk again. On our way back to the palace, Omoola could not breathe or talk again until he slumped and gave up the ghost in the Jeep .When I saw this I jumped down from the vehicle and ran away without clothes on, for they had seized everything and they believed we would not have the effrontery to run away naked. I left Ogbonna with them because he was already weak and bleeding. When I escaped, I was still naked .When I saw a commercial Kombi bus I begged the conductor to give me a ride but he thought I was a mad man since I was naked. He did not allow me to enter his vehicle but gave me N100 instead.”

He continued: “It is painful we don’t know the whereabouts of Ogbonna. Later, I learnt that the suspected land speculators were after my life because I could give evidence against them,” Omotoso removed his clothes to show the bruises he received from his attackers.

Omoola’s corpse unsafe in mortuary Saheed Abesin, who is the older brother to the late Omoola, said the suspected assailants had been making frantic efforts to remove his brother’s corpse from Ifo General Hospital mortuary. He said that “we were told that some unknown people have been coming to the mortuary trying to claim the corpse. The late Omoola still has an aged father while his wife and children are at home waiting for what the court would say. He was the head of the family and their bread winner. His corpse should not be released without autopsy and should be handed over to the family but not just anybody.” He accused a commissioner in the police force of trying to tamper with the course of justice.

How Vigilantes were killed However, Omotoso revealed that in the dead of the night, the alleged assailants took the corpse of Omoola, whom they had allegedly killed and wanted to dump it in the house where he was working when they were accosted by one of the vigilante members , the late Adegbite. He challenged them and asked to see what they were conveying in the car they were driving. The suspects pleaded with him and even cajoled him to

A community living in fear

•Bose Adegbite (widow)

•Ogbonna (His whereabout unknown)

•Awawu Alapomu (widow) cooperate with them but he refused. This led to arguments, which awoke a police officer who lives within the vicinity. The officer came out to inquire from them what was happening. Again, they made effort to woo him to their side. He also refused and the case was eventually reported at the Ifo Police Station.

According to Azeez, the owner of the house which the late Omoola was roofing, “When we were informed that the land speculators were coming to attack us in the night we ran into the bush to hide. Around 2 am, about 30 land speculators came to my house with Omoola’s corpse, intending to dump it or to bury it in the uncompleted building, but unfortunately for them, they were sighted by the two vigilante men who quickly alerted me. It was because they saw them trying to dump Omoola’s corpse in my house that they later tricked them and killed them too. Now. I cannot sleep in Abule Oke again, I am in hiding because I am not safe. They may want to kill me too.”

According to one of the wives of the slain vigilante, Mrs Bose Adegbite, on January 8, at 12 :30 am, a distress call was sent to her husband by some unknown people, informing him on phone that some armed robbers were at the Iyana Ilogbo Junction, and that he should come to their rescue.

Adegbite who was employed by the community to be safeguarding their transformers, woke up, told his wife and children that he was going to arrest the robbers. He called his partner Alapomu and they went to the junction to see things for themselves.

Investigation revealed that when the assailants saw both men they pretended to be armed robbers and then rained bullets on them. However, unknown to them two other security guards saw them, killing the two vigilantes. One of the security guards, who saw them killing the vigilantes was shot in the leg. On the second day, the community were alerted by the security men that two of the vigilantes had been killed and the police later came to take the corpses away.

“We now live in fear, for we know the suspected assassins are the land speculators who have godfathers and have money to spend anywhere.

When it comes to land speculators they have the money to spend and they have been killing and

getting away with what they do,” said the man who begged for anonymity for fear of being killed.

When The Nation got to one of the family members of the vigilante killed, Mrs. Awawu Alapomu, she described the incident as a shock.

“We were already sleeping on the January 6 when my husband’s phone rang and he told me that he was being called to come and rescue the villagers from armed robbers that had come to terrorise them. I bade him goodbye not knowing that was the last time I would see him. Around 7am in the morning they came to tell us that he had been killed along with his partner. I was shocked to my bone marrow. I was later told that they had taken the corpse to the Ifo General Hospital. I was not allowed to see the corpse but I was told by my children how the body was riddled with bullets.”

She continued, “I have six children for him, the eldest is 20years and the youngest is a three year old girl. Who will help me to take care of the children?, she lamented.

Mrs .Bose Adegbite, wife of the second vigilante also confirmed that her husband was called on phone by his partner, Alapomu, to join him to go and fight the robbers. She lamented that her husband was a victim of a set up. “It was after his death that we heard a lot of things.” She believed that her husband was killed by the speculators because they thought he was going to expose their nefarious activities.

She added: “I relied on my husband who used to support me financially but now everything is gone! I sell pap and I make about N700 once in a while daily when the market is good. Now how will I take care of these six children? This is wicked.”

Alhaji Muraino Ayinde who was an uncle to the deceased said, “I am an old man, I remember that I was on my way to the toilet on that fateful day when Adegbite informed me that he had a distress call that he should come and rescue the community from armed robbers, it was later we started hearing strange stories.”

Sodiq Adegbite, son of the late Adegbite, described the death of his father as strange and gruesome. He said, “When I saw the mutilated body of my father I could not believe that human beings could be that wicked. They shot him in the heart, back, chest and buttocks. There were several holes in his body showing traces of knives used in stabbing him. Now we are left fatherless.”

Chief John Gbadegesin, who is the vice chairman of Abule Oke Central Community Development Association, described the killing of the security guards as shocking. He said “the victims were recruited four years ago to be safe guarding the electric cables and our transformers in this

area. They had been performing very well and were hardworking, but see how they dealt cruelly with them. The families demanded for their corpses and said they wanted to quickly bury them for they were Muslims and we organised and paid for the expenses of the burial .They had been buried in their respective houses.”

Also, Olu Ogundele, an ex officio said the manner and way the victims were killed was too gruesome. “We all saw their bodies , they really destroyed them to the extent that only God can judge. But we pray to the Federal Government to wade into the matter. This is too much,.” he said.

A stained stool?

The village head (Baale), Chief Adekunle Adefemi, who was accused of supporting the land speculators, denied any complicity in what happened. He said his community is peaceful. “I am still surprised that these people accused us of many things that never happened. It was the former President Olusegun Obasanjo who assisted us by giving us the land the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) once acquired. He released the acquired land to the community and said we should use the proceeds for our development.”

He continued: “ Where Azeez built his house falls into the acquisition land in our area and I was told that the land agents who are in charge asked him to come and see our agents to discuss about the ratification fee before he continued the roofing of his house, but instead of obeying them, his boys seized our representative’s okada. I learnt that the boy then went to call his colleagues and they fought. Azeez too is a land agent and does his business in Ilepa, but the Ilepa land had fallen into our own area released by the LUTH. We have documents like Certificate of Occupancy, Memorandum of Understanding(MOU), Survey and Agreement between Abule and LUTH they gave us on the acquisition. We went to our lawyer who gave us instruction to post awareness notice to the people and for them to come and pay certain amount for the ratification into WEMA Bank.”

The village head who confirmed that he was arrested in connection with the case, said, “Around 10:15 pm on January 4, some police officers came from Ifo Police Station to arrest me, saying that I knew about the death of a worker at the site. I spent six days in the police cell at Ifo where they tortured me and again was detained for three weeks at Eleweran Police Station, Abeokuta.”

On the late Omoola who is still in the mortuary, the Baale said, “he could not have been a carpenter. If he was then the Carpenters’ Society would have come to me to officially inform me as the head of the community. Those they claimed are missing are seen walking along the streets, it’s all tissues of lies. Azeez who started the crisis and wanted to roof his house was even begging me at Eleweran Police Headquarter, Abeokuta, saying he was, being misled and was begging for forgiveness.”

On the death of the vigilantes, the village head denied ever having hand in it , he said, “I had been in the cell since and I have just come out. I am not after anybody’s life. These men (vigilantes) were working for us without being paid, they were our own people, in fact, I am one of the chief mourners.”

Narrating his experience in the hands of the police, the Baale said, “I was detained for six days at Ifo where they hanged me on the ceiling. They beat the hell out of me for doing nothing. I have not seen where a traditional ruler is being treated like that. I was stripped naked. In fact, you need to see my body, it is full of wounds.”

On the death of Omoola, the traditional ruler said, “it, the corpse, was found in the house of Azeez. I don’t kill. On Wednesday, the Azeez’s group and the community called me for a settlement and for a peace meeting, saying they wanted to beg me, but I have contacted my lawyer who said investigation is on at the police station and I should not go. They cannot rubbish and lie against me in the public and now beg me in a corner. We shall meet in the law court.”

The question about who killed Omoola is still a puzzle, while Azeez claimed the land speculators brought the corpse from the police station to his house, the traditional ruler said the body was found in Azeez’s house.

The community has appealed to the Inspector General of Police to wade into the matter and investigate thoroughly since both parties are accusing each other of being responsible for the murder of the three men. When contacted, the Investigation Police Officer in charge of the case confirmed the story, adding that investigation was still in progress.

Your HEALTH

55

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

S

NORTING in your sleep and keeping every other person awake is not only annoying but it also worsen a heart condition and could lead to stroke or do some damage to the brain, say experts.

A study has found that “heavy snorers are six times more likely to suffer a heart attack while asleep”. It said the risk of heart disease could be increased by blood pressure, and nerve and hormonal changes caused by snoring, and that people who suffer from obstructive sleep or have bad sleeping habits are most at risk New research conducted by otolaryngologists at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit finds that snoring is a bigger risk factor for stroke and heart attack than smoking, being overweight, or high cholesterol.

Explaining this health condition, Dr. Moji Jolayemi stated, “Snoring is a common condition that can affect anyone, although it occurs more frequently in men and people who are overweight. It occurs when the flow of air through the mouth and nose is physically obstructed so that the wind pipe of the person breathing is squeezed. This makes it difficult for to take in air and so they tend to forcefully suck the air in.”

Habitual snorers can be at risk for serio us healt h prob lems. Thes e problems show themselves as: Long interr uptio ns of breath ing (more than 10 seconds) during sleep caused by partial or total obstruction or blockage of the airway.

Frequent waking from sleep, even though you may not realize it.

Light sleeping. People with obstructive sleep apnea sleep lightly to try to keep their throat muscles tense enough to maintain airflow.

Strain on the heart . Prolo nged suffering from obstructive sleep apnea often results in higher blood pressure and may cause enlargement of the heart, with higher risks of heart attack and stroke.

Poor night's sleep. This leads to drowsiness during the day and can interfere with your quality of life.

Snoring...a signal for brain and heart disease If you have a habit of snoring each time you fall asleep, chances are high that you have an increased risk of developing a heart disease. Rita Ohai writes.

A team from the University of Detroit looked at the blood vessels in many snorers and found increased thickening of the artery walls, indicating damage already setting in.

Some suggested that the damage could be due to the trauma and inflammation caused by the vibrations of snoring.

However, previous research on the connection between sleep disturbances, also known as apnea, and artery disease has found that the arterial damage comes first, lowering the amount of oxygen in the blood, leading to breathing interruptions.

Lead scientist in the sleep-related finding, Dr. Robert Deeb said in a statement. “Patients need to seek

treatment in the same way they would if they had sleep apnea, high blood pressure or other risk factors for cardiovascular disease as well as stroke.”

It is also key to point out that many patients who snore are likely to have a heart attack between midnight and 6.00am in the morning compared with patients without the condition.

They say that the data suggests that most heart attacks usually start in the early hours of the morning while patients sleep or the daylight hours, therefore making the attack unexpected.

Overall this study confirms and further defines the relationship between

obstructive sleep apnoea and heart attack. However, because of the small numbers of patients and the way that they were selected for the study, it is not possible to be completely confident that the strength of the association approaches a six-fold increase in risk.

While obstructive sleep apnea (which often develops from snoring) has long been known as an indicator of cardiovascular disease, there's been little evidence up to now to show the damage starts earlier with snoring.

Their research has serious practical applications because heart disease, particularly artery blockage, is so often detected only after significant permanent damage has been done.

Paying attention to your snoring habit could lead doctors to order tests sooner and help you get earlier diagnosis and treatment of heart or brain disease.

Air flow can be obstructed by a combination of factors, including: Distorted nasal airways: Some people snore only during allergy seasons or when they have a sinus infection. Deformities of the nose such as a deviated septum (a structural change in the wall that separates one nostril from the other) or nasal polyps can also cause obstruction.

Poor muscle tone in the throat and tongue: Throat and tongue muscles can be too relaxed, which allows them to collapse and fall back into the airway. This can result from deep sleep, alcohol

consumption, and use of some sleeping pills. Normal aging causes further relaxation of these muscles.

Bulky throat tissue: Being overweight can cause bulky throat tissue. Also, children with large tonsils and adenoids often snore.

Long soft palate or uvula: When the dangling tissue in back of the mouth is too long, it can narrow the opening from the nose to the throat. When these structures vibrate and bump against one another the airway becomes obstructed, causing snoring.

56

Your HEALTH

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3 , 2013

Jonathan promises money to clean up lead poisoning

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan promised this week to release $4 million to clean up villages where hundreds of children have died in the world's worst outbreak of lead poisoning.

Health activists applauded the move, saying it could save thousands of lives. More than 400 children have died from lead released by wildcat gold-mining in seven villages in Zamfara State, according to Doctors Without Borders, one of several agencies working there. An additional 1,500 children have high lead levels, which can cause brain damage and other problems.

Local gold-bearing rock is also high in lead, which gets into the air, soil and water

when villagers grind it and melt it. Many villagers took up mining as the price of gold soared to $1,800 an ounce last year, although

the government has banned home mining.

The cleanup money has been blocked since 2011; the decision to release it “could

be lifesaving for countless children,” Jane Cohen, a researcher from Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

•Did you know checking your blood pressure regularly can save you from diseases like a heartattack and stroke?

PHOTO: Google

Prostate cancer treatments have serious long-term side effects

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EW research strongly reinforces the notion that prostate cancer is vastly overtreated with often dire results.

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine focused on treatment side effects, following a group of 3,533 men for 15 years after they got either surgery (called prostatectomy) or radiation for cancer that had not spread beyond the prostate.

Radiation produced fewer side effects especially in the first years after treatments but both groups experienced huge impacts.

A rational argument is that such side effects are acceptable if the treatment is saving lives.

But the paper raises serious doubts.

“So many of these men have low-risk disease that probably doesn't need to be treated,” Penson said.

The findings prove that “a staggering percentage of men with totally inconsequential prostate cancer got treated and suffered the consequences,” says oncologist Dr. Marc Garnick.

Undoubtedly, prostate cancer can be deadly. Estimates are that it will kill almost 30,000 men in the United States this year, second only to lung disease as the major cause of cancer deaths in men. But the problem is, there are at least two kinds of prostate cancer.

The common form appears in the majority of men over age 50, grows slowly, and never

Caffeine linked to leaky bladder in men

T

T

HERE are a variety of reasons to drink plenty of water each day. Adequate water intake prevents dehydration, cleans out the body, and promotes healing processes. Follow the steps below to make sure you're getting enough of this most basic necessity.

For the meal, it will help you to prevent overeating and obesity. Eat slowly, drink water and you will get satisfied with less food.

But as with everything, be careful and don't overdo it. Drinking too much water can be toxic, so exercise moderation. Water is not a substitute for food, and you can indeed cause severe health issues if you drink too much water daily, including severe heart and endocrine system problems.

2.

Add lemons or limes to your water.

This makes it taste better and makes you want to drink more of it. Be careful not to make it too sour; just a splash of sourness should do the trick. Cucumber slices can also be added to a glass of water. Some mint leaves can be added to a pitcher of water which should be allowed to sit overnight. These are cheap alternatives to the bottled flavored water. If you do choose bottled flavored water, check the ingredients, as these are likely closer in form to lemon- or limeade than they are to water.

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HE amount of caffeine that's typically found in two cups of coffee may contribute to a man's incontinence, according to a new study.

"It's something to consider...

People who are having problems with urinary incontinence should modify their caffeine intake and I think that's part of clinical practice," said Dr. Alayne Markland, the study's senior author, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Though the report doesn't prove that caffeine causes blad-

Six ways to drink more water

1.

Measure your daily intake of water.

Do this for a few days. If you find that you're drinking less than the recommended quantity, keep a glass or cup of water next to you whenever you'll be sitting down for a long time, such as when you're at your desk at work. Drink from it regularly as you're working

Alcohol calories ‘too often ignored’ EOPLE watching their weight should pay closer attention to how much alcohol they drink since it is second only to fat in terms of calorie content, say experts.

According to the World Cancer Research Fund, alcohol makes up nearly 10% of total calorie intake among drinkers.

Having a large glass of wine will cost you the same 178 calories as eating two chocolate digestive biscuits. And it will take you more than a half hour's brisk walk to burn off. Unlike food, alcoholic drinks have very little or no nutritional value.

Kate Mendoza, head of health information at WCRF, said: "Recent reports have shown that people are unaware of calories in drinks and don't include them when calculating their daily consumption."

It can also reduce your risk of cancer, she said.

Alcohol has been linked with breast, bowel, mouth and liver cancer.

If you don't want to abstain entirely, there are ways that can help you cut down, including opting for smaller glass sizes, diluting alcohol with soda water or a low-calorie soft drink, alternating between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and keeping a few nights each week booze-free.

If you have had a heavy drinking session, you should avoid alcohol for at least 48 hours, experts advise.

HEALTH

der leakage, the men in the study who consumed the most caffeine were more likely to have the problem than those who took in the least.

"We wanted to see if caffeine had an impact on them as well," said Markland.

It's estimated that 85 percent of Americans consume caffeine regularly, both in beverages like coffee, tea and soft drinks, and in foods like candy, pastries and ice cream containing chocolate.

Estimates of urinary incontinence among U.S. adult men range from 5 percent to 21 per-

cent.

For the new study, published in The Journal of Urology, Markland's team used responses from about 4,000 men to a national health survey between 2005 and 2008. The researchers looked at how many had urinary incontinence and how much caffeine they ate or drank, as well as how much water they took in from both foods and beverages.

Overall, the men consumed an average of 169 milligrams of caffeine every day. That's a little more than the typical 125 milligrams found in a cup of coffee.

presents a health threat. The other form spreads rapidly and can lead to a horribly painful death, usually from malignant cells invading the bones.

Doctors cannot tell the difference between the dangerous and harmless cancers.

Researchers are looking for genetic markers that would make the critical distinction, but they have yet to find them.

Meanwhile, increasing numbers of prostate cancer specialists argue that the sensible path is for men with lower combined Gleason scores to undergo active surveillance (formerly called watchful waiting), come back for future tests and forgo treatment until it is indicated.

Often they will never need treatment.

That doesn't happen, however. Penson said recent surveys show that fewer than one in four men who are candidates get active surveillance. The majority get surgery or radiation.

One reason for the intervention is “incentives for the facility and for the providers” -- in other words, money for hospitals and doctors. “Also,” he adds, “patients don't like to hear 'I have cancer and I'm just going to watch it.'” But patients should demand and doctors should educate that “just watching it” is perfectly safe in many cases.

Learning that lesson could spare an enormous amount of misery and money.

3.

Eat water rich foods, such as fruits like watermelon, which is 92% water by weight. Blend up some seedless fresh watermelon flesh with some ice and place a few sprigs of mint (optional) - one of the most refreshing drinks, especially for the summertime. Cranberry juice is also another option, and has a bitter taste. Patients suffering from urinary infection caused by insufficient intake of water should drink cranberry juice and eat watermelon if not plain water every day. A tomato is 95% water.

An egg is about 74% water.

4.

Keep water cool if it tastes better for you. Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator at home. Add ice or freeze water in a sports bottle before taking it with you, it will eventually melt and stay cold. Bear in mind that cold water takes energy for your body to regulate the temperature, and does burn some calories. Room temperature water is better if you're dehydrated. Your body can absorb the room temperature water immediately, instead of the body having to raise the temperature of the water first in order to process it.

5.

Climate can drastically change how much water you need. On hot days that require you to be outside, you should drink more water to counteract the fluids you lose when you sweat. This not only keeps your body hydrated, it can prevent heat-related illness. Just as important is consuming enough fluids in cold & wet conditions.

Inadequate water intake affects the brain's function first, which can become very dangerous.

6.

Purchase a bottle the size of your water goal. Purchase a water bottle that holds the amount of water you wish to drink each day, or use a combination of 1-liter and halfliter bottles. Try to drink the water slowly throughout the day. This will allow you to easily see how much water you are consuming. However, cheating is not a helpful idea - if you don't drink all the water you intended to, don't try to chug it at the end of the day.

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WORSHIP THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

INTERVIEW

F

OR those of us who are not yet 50, how does it feel to be 50?

It feels good and great.

Like someone said, I have now joined the elders’ club and I can now say to young ones ‘sit down and listen to counsel’. So, I think it is good to be 50. I recognise that so many people who were born when I was have not lived to be 50. So, I recognise the grace of God and feel so grateful to Him for making me come this far.

Have people told you, you don’t look 50 at all?

Well, they have. One, we need to thank God for that.

It is Him that gives me this fresh, young look. Two, we have to thank my wife, Pastor Aity. It shows she is taking good care of me, giving me good food and peace of mind. That is it. People have said so but I say to them it is not really the look outside but the look inside that counts.

When people hit 50, they come up with radical decisions to move their lives forward. Have you sat down to do the same?

Well, I have not really sat down to do that but I feel I am already a man in a hurry.

If I have anything I want to do, I feel this is the time to do it. I don’t feel I should be on the drawing board any longer. I cannot be on the sidelines any more. I feel I have to sit up now. Whatever I want to do, this is the time to do it. I cannot afford to hold back any more at this stage again.

With the benefit of hindsight, are there things you should you feel have done by now that are yet to materialise?

Sure, there are many of such things. One, I wish I had moved faster than where I am today with my dream of taking the gospel to the outermost parts of the earth. I

‘Why I’m in a hurry at 50’ The Senior Pastor of Sure Word Assembly Okota Lagos, Dr Dennis Inyang, hit the golden age of 50 recently. He spoke with Sunday Oguntola on what will change and sundry issues. Excerpts: believe there are many souls I have not reached and many places I have not touched. So, in that sense, I feel I could have done more. But I am happy I am still alive today.

At least, I can get more done.

If I knew, I would have come earlier into full-time ministry. Imagine if I came into the ministry at 25, do you know where I would have been now?

What does the year hold in stock for the church?

The word that the Lord laid upon my heart for this year is in Genesis 17 verse 6.

God told Abraham, “I will make you exceedingly fruitful. Nations and kings shall come from you”. At that time, he was 99 years old and without a child. Yet, God said He would make him exceedingly fruitful. So, God is saying to us as a nation and people that He will make us great and exceedingly fruitful despite our situations and circumstances. It might not look so now but God will do it for us.

What new grounds is the church looking to break this year?

One, we want to feed people with God’s word and make everyone a champion in every area of life. We want to impact the nation and our society through every means possible. We want to move the gospel out of the four walls of our church to families, homes and the society.

We believe that this nation must be saturated with the gospel. We also want to

•Inyang

plant more churches in strategic locations. We want to do more work on The Megalife Centre and bring it to the point of completion.

Should we look forward to books from you?

As you know, I have published ten books already. I am surely working on a book to commemorate my 50th anniversary.

Is it like an autobiography?

I think I am still too young for that right now. I feel there are still so much more to do that I cannot be-

gin to capture right now. If I write an autobiography now, it means I will have to keep updating or publish a second edition. The things that are coming in the next few years will be worth capturing in my biography. So, what I will publish to mark my birthday will be a compilation of my writings. I publish a motivational article every month called A Word in Season and I want to select some of them for a book.

Looking at how you started and where you are

now, what point or factor would you consider the difference maker?

I will say it is God. God is the difference maker.

When I say that some may feel I am being escapist but the truth is that it is God who has helped me. I have come this far because of God. I believe that if I did not give my life to Jesus when I did, I probably would have ended up messed up. God picked me from nowhere and made me a channel of blessing. I am where I am today because of Him. What are the three main lessons life has taught you?

I have learnt that anybody can become anything in life by the grace of God. Yes, anybody can become anything in life. God can lift up anyone. Two, I have learnt that you have a role to play in what you become in life. And with your skills, combined with focus and determination, you can become anything in life. Three, I have realised that people are important to whatever you will become in life. The people that you meet today, those that you will help and those that will help you are keys to your future. Life is essentially about people. The more you have a healthy attitude and relationship with people, the easier it will be for you to become what God wants you to be in life. So, it is about God, you and people.

Are there regrets?

Well, nothing that I had

NEWS

IVF clinic, families appreciate God

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HE management and staff of The Bridge Clinic, an In vitro fertilisation (IVF) centre last Sunday took off time their busy schedules to appreciate God and commit 2013 into His hands.

The thanksgiving service, which held at St. John’s Anglican Church Ikoyi Lagos, also attracted families that have benefitted from the clinic’s services.

The Clinical and Managing Director of the clinic, Dr Richardson Ajayi, said the service was to acknowledge God for the giant strides and successes recorded 2012.

“Sometimes you get too busy and take God for granted.

So, we have realised we must never take God for granted.

“So, we come here to hand over our work to Him every year because we believe that God works through us,” he stated.

Ajayi said despite the stateof-the-art facilities in the centre, successful conception and

•The Vicar, Venerable Ezediano, with management, staff and friends of The Bridge Clinic after the service

Stories by Sunday Oguntola deliveries would not have been recorded without God. “Only God gives life. What I say is that the bridge clinic is playing an intercessory role.

God uses the clinic to bless families and parents,” he stressed.

He added that it was a huge joy to see kids conceived in the centre coming for the service.

According to him: “From year to year, we do our job and the families get away; we don’t see them. So, it is a joy to see

them.

“You know the treatment is a very private one and it is not one our patients want the whole world to hear how they got pregnant. So, we protect their identities except they make special requests.”

The clinic, which is about 14 years, has recorded over 1,500 babies after treatment.

He debunked the misconception that babies conceived through IVF never lead normal lives, saying “you can see the babies are living normal lives.

T

The President of Master’s Life Ministries International, Rev. Simeon Folorunsho, has advised gospel ministers to live above board and avoid acts capable of tarnishing their image.

He said they cannot lead souls to God the moment they are discredited and considered unfit.

Folorunsho spoke last week ahead of the annual International Ministers leadership conference slated for February 7-9 at Ajiroba Hall on Ijegun-Ikotun Road, Lagos.

Hundreds of ministers are expected at the conference with the theme “popularity or effectiveness in ministry?”

Folorunsho said gospel ministers must choose integrity and shun popularity to become effective agents of change.

According to him: “We have too many celebrity pastors today who do not

control over. But I regret that my mum died too early. She was the one that bought me up at great sacrifice and risks.

She did so much and when she should have seen the result of her labour, she died.

She died in 1991 when I was not even in the ministry. I think if she were to look back from where she is now and realise I am a pastor, she would be glad that her little boy turned out so well. I was her only child.

How can Nigerians make the best out of 2013 in the face of the growing pessimism?

I do not blame Nigerians for being pessimistic and cynical having been disappointed over the years. Nigerians tend to give up very easily but we must renew faith in our country. I believe that Nigeria is blessed by God in every facet of life. I believe that we will get it right one day. I expect the people in authority to have a change of heart and stop politics of self aggrandisement.

They should be more committed to the development of our country. I believe ultimately that those who have despised us will soon be rushing to come to us. But to get the best out of this country, Nigerians should learn to take advantage of every opportunity that comes their way. We must live as if there is no government.

We should do whatever we can for ourselves. A graduate should not wait for government to get employment. I believe people should begin to create value and make something out of their lives without waiting for government.

‘How to be effective ministers’

•Folorunsho talk about God but choose to talk only about themselves.

“They want to lord it

over people and are motivated by popularity and wealth.”

He said such ministers will never make headway or last in God’s hands.

Gospel ministers, he said, “should not be concerned about mundane things but the kingdom of God. God wants us to influence the lives of the people for Him.” He said the conference will address many other issues concerning ministerial integrity to usher in changes in the body of Christ.

“If pastors are not concerned about fame and money, Nigeria will change.

When a pastor changes, he can influence thousands,” he submitted.

Ministers expected at the conference include Dr Segun Oshinaga, Bishop Fred Kehinde from Germany, Bishop Taiwo Akinola and Rev Tony Akinyemi.

Worship

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

58

FEATURES

RCCG Lagos 10 opens parish at MMIA

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•Pastor Olagbadegun ministering at the service.

T was joy unspeakable as The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Lagos Province 10, took its church planting drive to the precincts of Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Sunday, January 27, 2013.

Ministering at the inaugural service, Pastor-in-Charge, RCCG Lagos Province 10, Pastor Joseph Olagbadegun, named the church ‘Joy of

Nations Parish’.

He challenged the pastors, ministers and workers of the new parish to strive to ensure that the church lived up to its name by being a gateway for the joy of Christ to spread to the nations of the world.

RCCG Joy of Nations Parish is an initiative of RCCG Mighty God Palace Zone, Lagos Province 10, headed by Pastor Sonny Osakwe.

•Olagbadegun with Pastor Okunola and Pastor-in-Charge, RCCG Mighty God Palace Zone, Lagos Province 10, Pastor Sonny Osakwe, right.

•The choir ministering at the inauguration service.

•Olagbadegun (fourth from left) with a group of ministers and senior pastors after the inauguration.

•Pastor-in-Charge, RCCG Lagos Province 10, Pastor Joseph Olagbadegun, flanked by his wife, and Assistant Pastor-in-Charge, RCCG Lagos Province 10, Pastor Soji Adegbite.

•Toyin and Festus Eriye.

NEWS

‘The gospel that will change Nigeria’

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IGERIA will become a developed nation with transformed citizens if the church takes her prophetic roles seriously.

This was the consensus last week at a two-day interdenominational transformation gospel conference in Lagos.

Organised by the Prophets and Apostles Global Commission, the conference with the theme “Equipping the church for national rebirth” attracted hundreds of church leaders.

The Coordinator of the body, Bishop Abraham Olaleye, pointed out there is something fundamentally wrong with the gospel preached in Nigeria.

“That is why despite the preponderance of churches, the nation keeps going down in every sector and facet of life. It appears the more we preach, the tougher things get,” he stated.

He said if Nigeria must change, the church must refocus the current gospel in the nation.

Corroborating, Rev. Ladi Thompson, said any gospel that does change a nation is a bad gospel.

By Sunday Oguntola He traced how the church changed ancient empires and societies, pointing out that the message of love and justice are powerful to influence societal changes.

Thompson, the general overseer of The Unlimited Waters Church, Maryland Lagos, said: “as long as we keep asking people to focus on themselves, things will keep deteriorating”.

He called on the church to become radical in effecting societal changes through sustained prayers and social actions.

A Church researcher and historian, Ayodeji Abodunde, recalled how the early Christians built Nigeria.

“Our fathers built this nation. Before the colonial leaders woke up, they built schools, institutions and people. What we are enjoying together are products of their sacrifices,” he stated.

He lamented that the present generation of Christians in the nation are too selfish and weakminded.

Effective Christianity, he argued, must preach Christ and leave the society a lot better through compassionate services.

Another speaker, Rev Toyin Kehinde, carpeted gospel ministers for being in the ministry for the wrong reasons.

He pointed out that only love should motivate ministerial works, pointing that anything other than this is unacceptable to God. Kehinde said Christians can change Nigeria with the word of God and the power of the Spirit.

“That is how Jesus changed the Roman Empire and the world. We can do the same if we follow the same strategy and pattern,” he assured.

For Apostle Tony Okose, believers must play prophetic roles by calling government officials to order and rebuking wrong practices in the church.

Olaleye ended the conference by insisting only the “transformation gospel without any dose of motivational speaking and selfcentred messages will deliver Nigeria”.

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HERE were diverse miracles and testimonies last week in Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, during the first leg of the annual vigil Manna Prayer Mountain, a ministry with branches in Nigeria, Zambia and other African countries.

The theme of the programme that attracted thousands within and outside was “I shall recover all”.

The founder of the ministry, Dr Chris Kwakpowe, advised Christians to be more dedicated and prayerful to obtain God’s favour.

Kwakpowe said people can only recover everything they have lost when they fully commit to God. According to him: “Re-

Testimonies galore at ministry’s annual vigil

By Akinola Ajibade

gardless of your problems, the only way to get solution is to contact God by giving your life to him in totality.

“Consistent prayer life is the key to open doors of miracles. Once you are with God, you must believe that your problem is over.”

He urged Nigerians to

consider the current socioeconomic challenges as a phase of life.

The cleric said God will restore Nigeria once the country is determined to rid itself of corruption, unwanted killings of innocent people among other vices.

There were testimonies of healings, deliverances, restoration of broken marriages, among others.

Depend on God, cleric charges politicians

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HE Presiding Bishop of Divine Soul For Christ, Bishop Joy Oberiko, has called on politicians to fear God and shun fetish practices.

Oberiko, in a chat at the church’s headquarters in Ahmaddiya Lagos, also advised Nigerians to turn to God to address the cycle

By Adeola Ogunlade

of poverty, corruption and unrest. God, she claimed, is ready to judge and expose politicians using occult power to remain relevant in the nation.

Many of them, she alleged, are shedding innocent blood for sacrifices. “God

is not done with Nigeria as He has promised to restore the lost glory of the people if they will come to him in true repentance,” she added. She called on Christians to continue to uplift the nation in prayers because “these are trying times and we need to live by faith”.

Worship

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

59

COLUMNS

Believe God for great things Bishop Wale-Oke

DIVINE MESSAGE HEN we talk about a great thing, we speak of that which is outstanding, eminent, important, large in size and cannot be hid. When God does a great thing for you, the heathen will take notice and talk about it. Then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad (Psalm 126:2b-3). Your adversaries will take notice of what God has done. The world will pay attention. A great thing cannot be hid. The Lord shall do great things for you (Luke 1:49).

When Lazarus was raised back to life, that was a complete turn-around. That was indeed a great thing. He was sick. While in the state of sickness, divine help did not come.

Jesus heard of this but did not intervene immediately. Yet He loved Lazarus. Then, Lazarus died and was buried.

After four days, when the dead man was already stinking, and degeneration and decomposition had gone very far, Jesus came to the scene. With three words only, He called the dead back to life. “... Lazarus, come forth” (John 11:43). The spirit

W

of Lazarus returned. The flesh came alive. The brain regained vibrancy. All degeneration was reversed. Lazarus came back from the grave. That, indeed was a great thing. If Jesus had intervened much earlier, he would have had a healing experience. Now, He ‘came late’ and he had a resurrection. Remember: whenever it seems that God is coming late, it is because He is coming big.

When Israel was brought out of their four hundred and thirty years of bondage in Egypt, that was a complete turnaround: that was a great thing.

They had gone into Egypt in search of a greener pasture. All conditions favoured them and they blossomed in the land until there arose another Pharaoh who knew not Joseph. Egypt then became their living hell.

They were abused and used.

They were deprived of every good thing and stripped of their dignity. They laboured relentlessly, only for others to reap the fruit of their labour. They were in tears and sorrow, day by day. God saw it, heard their cries and sent His prophet, Moses, to bring them out. And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved (Hosea 12:13). The whole nation was delivered in one night.

They became free from the hands of Pharaoh, and experienced a complete change of status. That was a great thing.

Dominion restored

When David the king regained his throne after the death of Absalom, his rebellious son, that was a complete turn-around. That was a great thing. All Israel knew that David was a mighty warrior, a great conqueror, the greatest king of his time. Many mighty kings had fallen under his relentless military campaigns, and he had expanded the borders of Israel beyond the ordinary. Yet, his own son led a very formidable rebellion against him and drove him from the throne. Many of David’s prominent men joined in the plot including Ahitophel, whose counsel was like the voice of God. The Bible says that the rebellion was strong (II Samuel 15:12). David had to flee the palace and trekked barefooted, weeping as he was going. Hope that he would ever regain his throne was very dim. However, God was merciful to David. Absalom was killed. The rebellion was crushed and David regained his throne. That was a great thing.

Whatever throne or position or privilege you have lost, God is going to restore them back to you.

Magnificent temple built When Solomon built that magnificent temple for God and dedicated it, that was a great thing indeed and the whole nation rejoiced. His hands laid the foundation of it, his hands finished it, and God was glorified. You will finish what you have started. God will help and see you through.

For further information, counseling and prayer, please contact me on telephone number: +234 816 308 7780, +234 816 363 6364 or send an email to bishopwaleoke@sotsm.com.

You may also write to P.M.B 60, Agodi Post Office, Ibadan.

NEWS

Cleric canvasses responsible, practical Christians

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HE Resident Pastor of Glory Christian Ministries Lagos, Ben Chiadika, has declared that Christianity without practical and responsible living is nothing but pure religion.

He said Christians must live through to their callings and demonstrate godliness in all their conducts and dealings.

Chiadika spoke last Sunday at the “Evening of Glory”, a music/ dance and comedy concert to kick-start activities for the annual Glory Summit of the church.

The concert attracted musicians, comedians and entertainers with soul-stirring performances spiced with free drinks and meats. According to him, Nigerians are tired of rhetorical and oratorical Christianity without commensurable lifestyles.

Churches offering comfort after Brazil nightclub fire Christians have been praying and offering support in the aftermath of a devastating nightclub fire in Brazil that left 231 people dead.

The blaze at Kiss nightclub, in Santa Maria, in the early hours of Sunday morning is believed to have been started by sparks from pyrotechnics. Most of the victims were students.

Vigils and services have been held across Brazil this

•As Glory Summit draws close

By Sunday Oguntola

•Chiadika He said: “Thank God for the orators among us. But people are tired of all that. They want real, practical living that confirms our allegiance to Christ.

“They want to see Christians living true to their profession and showing others the way to go in godliness and holiness”.

The cleric also denounced Christianity without responsible contributions to the society.

This, he said, informed the church’s regular rehabilitation of Odo-Olowu and Sijuade primary schools in Ijeshatedo.

The resident pastor of the church in Okota, Shola Famoye, also recalled that Indian doctors came last March to administer free medical treatment on indigent Nigerians.

Chiadika said this year’s Glory Summit will mark the dedication of the Glory Dome, the church’s ultra modern auditorium, which has just been completed.

Violent Faith: Key to the supernatural!

“We are not careful to answer you. Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us and even if He does not, we operate in an unyielding, unbending, assertive, never giving up realm of faith” (Daniel 3:16-18, 23-26). They conquered the fiery furnace!

No matter the heat of the battle, violent faith guarBy David Oyedepo antees victory. No matter the intensity of the opposition, VERY situation is reversible by faith. violent faith guarantees It is not just faith that works, it is violent faith that delivers maximally. So, breakthrough. When faith graduates into certain things that belong to you will never trust, it turns violent.

• Confidently Restful: One of reach you, without engaging the force of the characteristics of a lion is confidence. violent faith. The Word of God says: And Every animal runs away from a lion; a from the days of John the Baptist until now, the lion does not run away from any (Provkingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the erbs 30:29-30). A lion operates in the violent take it by force (Matthew 11:12). realm of absolute self-defence. They that Now, let’s look at what faith actually believe in this realm, have entered into is. Faith is not a principle, neither is it a their rest and have ceased from their strategy. Faith is a spiritual force struggles. Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of (1Corinthians 2:4-5). Faith is the key to the Judah was confidently restful. miraculous. However, faith is no cheap For instance, when there was a great work; faith is hard work. Faith is putting God’s Word to work. It is not quoting God’s storm, the Lion, Jesus woke up, rebuked Word. It is quoting God’s Word to earn His the storm and there was great calm (Mark 4:38-41). promise.

• Red Eyes: This connotes vioNote that spiritual violence is a proof lent look. There are people that look of faith. Certain things cannot be delivered, ‘cheatable’ and there are others you until they are contended for. Deuteronomy warn yourself against. Just by their look, 2:24 says: Rise ye up, take your journey, and you will tell yourself, “I better be carepass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given ful, this is an explosive!” into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of You are red-eyed against the devil and Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and his operations. Your eyes are flames of fire. contend with him in battle.

All children of God belong to the tribe You have that description of Christ in Revof Judah, because they are the seed of elation 2:18.

Your look must change; you mustn’t Abraham, and because Jesus is of the tribe of the Lion of Judah. So, children of God look ‘cheatable’ again. Till my time on earth belong to the tribe of Judah. That means, is up, nobody can mess around with me and they belong to the tribe of lions (Hebrews not feel it! I will make sure he or she feels it!

2:11-14).

Note that violent faith has no patience, Therefore, spiritually we are lions, but the lion in us has to be stirred to manifest (2 and God responds to it instantly.

• Violent Faith Roars: One of Timothy 1:6). Every child of God is a living the characteristics of violent faith is explosive, but that explosive gene in you roaring. You roar at intruders. If you has to be stirred. Faith is not a gentle stuff; don’t know when to roar, you can be faith is a violent force. Faith is an energizer! mistaken for a hairy dog. A lion natuMost of us are too gentle for the trirally roars. Lions don’t practise roarumph that we desire. We are too gentle for ing. It’s in the nature of the lion to roar. the breakthrough that we anticipate. That is As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey why, most of the time, we are robbed of me: the strangers shall submit themselves them by the schemes of the enemies. unto me…The strangers shall fade away, and The question now is: What kind of faith be afraid out of their close places (Psalm is it that provokes the miraculous or super18:44-45). natural? It is violent faith. An example of Note that the lion is the strongest among violent faith is the one displayed by the woman with the issue of blood. When she the beasts, and it does not run away from heard that Jesus was coming to the city, she other animals (Proverbs 30:30). When it pressed her way through the crowd and roars, every other animal trembles!

Friend, the power to provoke the sutouched the hem of Jesus’ garment. Immediately, the flow of blood stopped (Luke 8:40- pernatural via violent faith, is the preserve 48). She was healed instantly! Violent faith of those born again. You are born again by will always arrest God’s attention for prompt confessing your sins and accepting Jesus intervention. It is the master key to unlim- Christ as your Saviour and Lord. If you are ited breakthrough. Let me show you some set for it, please say this prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. I cannot help of the characteristics of violent faith. myself. Forgive me my sins. Cleanse me with Your The Characteristics Of Violent Faith • Spiritually Resolute: Violent faith precious Blood. From Today, I accept You as my is spiritually resolute. It is unbending, Lord and Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving unyielding, assertive and never giving me! Now I know I am born again! I will conup on any revealed truth. It is the kind tinue this teaching next week. Welcome on of faith of Shadrach, Meshach and board Double Portion Flight 2013!

I know this teaching has blessed you.

Abednego. These three Hebrew boys would not bend; they would not yield Write and share your testimony with us because they were operating on the fre- through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja Lagos, Nigeria or call quency of violent faith.

They told King Nebuchadnezzar, 7747546-8; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

Living Postscript, Unlimited!Faith

E

NEWS

Christianity across the globe week as the nation comes to terms with the scale of the tragedy.

Bishop Francisco de Assis da Silva, of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil, took to social networking sites after the tragedy to call people to a vigil at the local cathedral.

Silva noted that the families of the injured were also going through a difficult time.

He said the role of the church in times of tragedy was to make sure people felt sup-

ported in their faith and able to grieve “without losing hope”.

“We rely on the grace of God. Such tragedies reveal to us that the same pain which weakens us also brings us closer to God and to each other,” he said.

The President of the Methodist Bishops Conference of Brazil, Bishop Adonias Pereira do Lago, said in a message of support: “Our solidarity in Jesus allows us to feel the pain

that is in all those families and friends of the victims. Please count on our prayers and support.”

Bishop takes heat for unusual ceremony

A bishop in the US is facing criticism after a video appeared of him laying on top of two men as part of an unusual consecration ceremony.

Bishop Wayne T Jackson, of Impact Ministries, says the ritual has been taken out of

context and is nothing more than a covering of prayer.

The video appeared on YouTube and provoked accusations of sexual perversion, according to the Detroit News.

In it, Bishop Jackson appears dressed in red and white robes as lays face down on top of the two men, who are shrouded in robes on the floor.

The bishop says there was nothing sexual about the act and that people who think otherwise have “nasty minds”.

The father of nine said: “I have done nothing wrong.

This was done in front of a thousand people.”

The Reverend Horace Sheffield III, of New Destiny Baptist Church in Detroit, criticised the ritual during his radio show on WCHB-1200 AM. “If I were Wayne T Jackson, I would find another way to ordain bishops in the future,” he said.

Jackson is seeking legal advice about having the video removed from YouTube.

60

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

INSIGHT

â&#x20AC;˘ Food devastation at 40km from Warri

F

East-West: The road to nowhere

OLLOWING persistent complaints of marginalisation, near total neglect and militancy in the Niger Delta, the EastWest Road was conceived by the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo. The 338 kilometre road designed to open up the region, traverses Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta States as well as Ondo, Ogun and Lagos, the nation's economic capital.

The unique features of the road include an international dual carriage way, 42 bridges, 768 culverts and opening up of settlements and towns for commercial activities. By the Obasanjo administration's projection, the road should have been a major developmental breakthrough for Niger Delta.

The contract for the construction of the road was first awarded to the construction giant, Julius Berger, in 2006 but the prevalent militancy in the Niger Delta then hampered the project. Construction workers found themselves being abducted on regular basis.

The Umaru Yar'Adua government seized the respite offered by the amnesty in 2009 to re-award the contract to Setraco at an initial contract sum of over N138 billion. A source involved in the project gave details of the scope.

He said: "The road project was divided into four lots. The first lot of 110 kilometres from Warri to Mbiama Junction in Bayelsa State was awarded to Sectraco; the second Lot of 87 kilometres from Mbiama Junction to Eleme Junction was given to Julius Berger, but it later pulled out because of insecurity. Setraco has taken over this lot. The third lot of 99 Kilometres was awarded to Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) from Eleme Junction to Onna in Akwa Ibom. The fourth lot of 50 kilometres from Onna to Oron was secured by Gitto Construction.

"As for the extension of the road to Ondo, Ogun and Lagos States, the proposal was part of a Niger Delta coastal road network which is yet to be approved."

WHAT IS THE ACTUAL COST OF THE PROJECT? The file on the real cost of the project is as fluid and as mysterious the actual amount paid to contractors handling it. The figures range from N230 billion at conception in 2006 to the re-awarding of N138 billion to Setraco in 2009; or the N300 billion and N425 billion being

Long forgotten, the East-West Road became headline news following the dust-up between Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State. MANAGING EDITOR, NORTHERN OPERATION, YUSUF ALLI explores the intrigues and politics surrounding the project, and possibilities of its completion in the near future. bandied about.

A highly placed source in the team managing the project who spoke on condition of anonymity said: "So far, none of us know the actual cost of the project, only the ministers in charge can assist you."

The project suffers from arbitrary variation of cost and abandonment. This worrisome situation has attracted condemnation by the Senate and House of Representatives. In 2012, the Senate Committee on Public Accounts directed the Niger Delta Ministry and contractors handling the East-West Road to explain the N107bn variations in the contract.

The committee had observed that Sections 1 and 2 of the road, awarded to Setraco Nigeria Limited in 2006 at N138.7 billion had been jacked up to N245.7 billion. The third section of the road, which is 99 kilometres was awarded to RCC at N56 billion from the initial rate of N44 billion.

At a recent briefing, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe gave insight into what had been spent so far. He said: "Total payments made by Federal Ministry of Works from 2006 to 2009 are in the sum of N33.4 billion with a percentage completion of 10 per cent at the time the project was handed over to the MNDA. "To date, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has paid N122.6 billion and moved the average percentage completion to 51 per cent.

The ministry will require the sum of N193.8 billion to complete the East-West Road by the

new date of 2014. Going by these appropriations, it is not likely that these funds will be enough to complete the project by December 2014."

A NIGER DELTA LIFELINE OR A GOLDMINE? In the last one year, none of those in charge of the project have been able to say whether the East-West Road is a lifeline for the people of the region, or a goldmine for certain persons given that so much money had been sunk into the project with very little to show for it.

For instance, members of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts on December 12, 2012 queried why 87 kilometres of the road awarded to Setraco was costing N112 billion at a value of N1.3billion for one kilometre.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Ahmed Lawan, faulted 100 percent variation of one of the sections. "We would like to know why the contract is reviewed by about 100 per cent after the contract was awarded. Didn't contracting firm do its work well before bidding for the job? This is difficult to understand," Lawan said.

"We will need further explanations on this.

The Ministry of Niger Delta should come up with details of the designs to show what design was done to warrant such an upward review."

Technical Director of Setraco, Dr. R. Chaudhuri, attributed the increase to some redesigning. He said: "Section 1 of the road was initially awarded for N64 billion, but was

reviewed to N112 billion following redesigns and insufficient materials from the bill of quantity."

The House Committee on Niger Delta Affairs had also decried the slow-pace of construction work on the road. Committee chairman, Hon. Warman Ogoriba, said: "It is worrisome to see that these contractors are no longer on site even when you have paid 30 per cent of their liabilities. You should talk to them to see how they can return to site because it is very wrong when we drive across the East-West Road and do not see the contractors on site."

GENESIS OF THE ROW Apart from a section of the East-West Road being washed away around Okosi Bridge in Bayelsa State, the death toll along the road had been on the increase. In the last one year, more than 300 people had been killed with most of them roasted to death. During the burial of the late National Security Adviser, Gen. Owoye Azazi, the Catholic Bishop of Bomadi Vicarate, Bishop Hyacinth Egbebo, begged President Goodluck Jonathan to fix the road to curb rising spate of accidents and loss of human lives. He said: "Mr. President, save our lives, construct our roads. People are dying on the East-West Road every day."

The poor funding of the road project has also put the Presidency on edge. For his part, Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd), blames the slow pace of work on road on the poor release of funds by the Federal Government. It is a position corroborated by one of our sources: "The poor funding of the project made a contractor to collapse and die recently."

But the pronouncement credited to Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, that governors of Niger Delta might take over the East-West Road is at the root of the latest uproar. His comment was interpreted to mean that Jonathan had failed the region and the governors would come to the rescue.

Though the comment was expected to be a wake-up call, it did not add value to the President's political worth with his kinsmen.

The manner in which other stakeholders in the Niger Delta joined the fray messed up the Presidency.

That intervention provoked this response from Orubebe - whose has the primary Continued on page 61

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

INSIGHT

61

The road to nowhere From page 60

responsibility to deliver the completed road.

He retorted: "He (Amaechi) was saying that the governors of the Niger Delta want to take over the East-West Road. The resources of Rivers State are so enormous, but I can tell you that there are so many villages in Rivers State that have not been connected by road.

"Port Harcourt used to be the Garden City of this country. Today, Port Harcourt is a slum.

You cannot move in Port Harcourt. I think that he should concern himself with utilizing the resources that are in there to develop Rivers State and the people of Rivers State.

"I expect him (Amaechi) to talk, if he is performing like Akpabio (Godswill, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State). If today the Governor of Akwa Ibom State is talking about those things, I will tend to listen, sit down and reason with him, but not governor of Rivers State."

STATE OF COMPLETION To most stakeholders, the East -West Road is about 10 per cent completed. But Orubebe, who would not give a percentage, juggled with figures and left Nigerians to work out the details. He said: "So far, out of the total 338 kilometres dual carriageway road about 50 kilometres had been completed to asphaltic wearing course, 115 kilometres had been completed to asphaltic binder level while over 120 kilometres earthworks had been done.

"Also, out of the total of 42 bridges, 35 had been completed - including the second N850 million Imo River and Choba bridges.

Similarly, of the 768 culverts, 750 had been completed."

He also explained what the ministry had done since he came on board. "The road was awarded in 2006 by the Olusegun Obasanjo

administration. Technically, the design of a road of this magnitude should have taken about one-year, but was hurriedly done within two weeks.

"When the contract was awarded in 2006, only a paltry sum of N1.2 billion was paid as mobilisation fee to the contractors, and in 2009, when the project was handed over to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs by the Federal Ministry of Works, only 10 per cent of work had been done.

"In 2010 I sat down with my team and we did a feasibility study and re-designed the road and now you can see significant progress in terms of construction."

ANY HOPE FOR EAST-WEST ROAD? In spite of the brickbats on the project by stakeholders in Niger Delta, Orubebe is optimistic that the road will be completed in 2014. He said: "In order to complete the project by 2014, according to the programmes of work and cash flow projections for the four sections, the additional funds required in 2013 is in the total sum of N120.9 billion and funds finally required for 2014 is about N93 billion.

"From the budgetary allocation of 2013 for the East-west Road and the expected sum of N21.7 billion from the SURE-P budget, as well as the N50 billion loan from ADB through the Federal Ministry of Finance, the ministry would be able to raise the sum of N120 billion required for 2013.The balance will be sourced in like manner to ensure completion of the East-west Road in 2014."

To ensure the completion of the road in 2014, Orubebe says the ministry has been receiving the support of the Ministries of Finance, Justice, and the Debt Management Office, and is collaborating with financial institutions."

• Typical gridlock on the Patani - Yenagoa axis of the road

Warri to PortHarcourt: Ride on the rough side The East/West Road is the artery of communication in the Niger Delta region. SHOLA O'NEIL recently traversed the road and reports.

T

• Okoso bridge

• A dangerous spot near Okoso (Bayelsa State)

HE East/West highway is a festering sore that has defied all balms. It took forever for it to leave the drawing board after it was mooted in the early 1970s. Decades after there are concerns that it may take eternity for it to be completed.

The Warri-Port Harcourt axis of the strategic highway, links two of the nation's major oil hubs; and it is the only land route for transportation of heavy duty oil-field equipment, including coiltubing and wellheads, between the two cities. The only alternative is the Asaba-Onitsha-Owerri road, which is longer.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) first brought the project into national discourse in 2006 when it made its construction one of its key demands during negotiations with the then President Olusegun Obasanjo, whose government was almost brought to its knees by the groups unbridled attacks on oil installations in the region.

Since the Federal Government bowed to the demand, the road has been supervised first by the Federal Ministry of Works, and later the Niger Delta Development Commission, which drew up the Niger Delta Master Plan and marked the highway as an integral part for the region's transformation.

The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs assumed direct supervision of the project in November2010 after President Goodluck Jonathan took over from the late former President Umar Musa Yar'Adua.

Elder Godsday Orubebe was entrusted with the responsibility of satisfying the yearnings of about 20 million Niger Deltans afterwards.

Mr. Samuel Ebikeme, executive director of the Niger Delta Development Initiative (NDDI), posited that who controls the huge budget for the project, rather than desire to deliver the project, is the underlying scramble for the control of the project.

A SPANNER IN THE WORKS More controversy surfaced when Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, which got the contract for the KaiamaMbiama-Ahoada-Port Harcourt section of the road, threw in the towel in 2008. The company hinged its decision on insecurity and relentless kidnap of its workers. That was after two of its expatriate staff were killed and scores abducted until huge ransoms were paid.

After that debacle, there was a short delay before Setraco's contract was extended beyond the Warri to Kaiama to Warri-Kaiama-Port Harcourt. The company's performance in the past two years has

heightened concerns that the 2014 completion date touted by Orubebe is unrealistic.

Even before the dogfight between the minister and Amaechi, who is Chairman of Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), the road project is a sore spot for politicians, businessmen and every user alike, not least because of the huge cost it has extracted in human losses resulting from numerous fatal clashes and the notorious potholes and dangerous ditches.

The most infamous being the Okogbe petrol tanker disaster in Rivers on July 12 last year. The death toll from that incident exceeded 230 lives; dozen others would carry the scare of the deadly tanker explosion for the rest of their lives. The victims were burnt beyond recognition when people of the area swooped on a petrol tanker which upturned after crashing into a crater on the road.

Since that accident, the condemnation of the delay in completing the road has grown with traditional rulers, governors and lawmakers hurling criticisms at the Niger Delta Ministry and Orubebe.

Paul Bebenimibo, media aide to former Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, is among the doubters of the minister's ability to deliver on the 2014 promise. He accused the minister of being economical with the truth on his reports to President Goodluck Jonathan on the progress of work.

"I disagree with the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs that the road will be completed in 2014 because there is so much to do. Even if the contractor works day and night, they will not be able to complete it by 2014."

Our reporter who drove through the 170km stretch from Warri to Port Harcourt on Wednesday, January 23, said it was easy to empathise with those who fear that the December 2014 completion date may just be a pipedream.

Our investigation revealed that just 23km (from Effurun Roundabout to Ughelli) has been completed and opened to traffic. Within this span, only three of the six bridges (at kilometres five, 10.8, 15) were fully constructed - all on onward Port Harcourt lane.

It was not immediately clear if the contract term allowed the contractor to refurbish existing bridges or leave them as they are on the new road. Staff of Setraco refused to speak with our reporter during the fact-finding mission.

Our finding revealed that the existing bridges, especially the one at Agbarho, have become death Continued on page 66

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

BUSINESS

•People queuing for fuel at a filling station at Ojota, Lagos, recently.

PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

Deregulation by the back door B

Y virtue of its statutory obligations, the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, has, amongst other duties, the responsibility to ensure that prices are enforced and quantity of petroleum products dispensed are accurate.

But that seems not to be the case as indicated by the recent fuel scarcity that hit the nation. Filling stations, including major marketers, seized the opportunity to make extra money by increasing the pump price of the product.

Though the petrol stations didn’t change the price on their dispensing machines, they charged as much as N150 per litre of petrol and for consumers not willing to pay, no fuel is sold to them. This is apart from under dispensing the quantity of fuel bought by the consumer. Besides, fuel attendants have now imposed a N200 extra payment on intending buyer.

Those who spoke with The Nation lamented the extra charge being collected by the filling stations’ attendants. For instance, Segun Ajayi, who lives at Apapa, said” In almost all the filing statiosn in Lagos, the trend now is for the attendants to collect N200 before they sell fuel. They prefer to sell to those that bring kegs than to car owners. Some days ago, I sent my brother to the filling station to buy 25 litres of fuel. Could you believe that instead of selling the 25 litres to the boy, they sold 24 litres so that they could deduct the N200? I don’t know what this coun-

The artificial scarcity of petrol in recent times and arbitrary pump prices exposes the inability of the product regulators to enforce compliance. Bukola Afolabi reports try is turning to. We struggle to buy the commodity that the country is blessed with and we still pay through our nose to get it,” he lamented.

Similarly, Mrs Adeyemi, who lives at Fagba, Lagos, also lamented the extra charge. “Since the fuel scarcity started, I don’t always take my car to the filling stations to buy fuel because those attendants will not sell to car owners. They only sell to those with kegs because of the extra N200 they collect from them. Even if you buy 1 litre, they will still collect N200. To them, it is a good thing that there is fuel scarcity. I confronted the manager of one of the filing stations on why they are collecting the N200 and the man said that for them (filling station owners) to be able to get fuel supply, they have to pay more than the normal fee which is also affecting their expenses. So, for them to be able to recoup their money, they had to devise various means of getting money.”

The Nation found out that the trend has continued unabated because the perpetrators have realised a weak link - the DPR, which has not been able to monitor the process. Our findings revealed that the agency lacks the manpower to efficiently place surveillance on the filling stations.

A marketer, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said DPR officials should ordinarily visit the depots and enquire why the ex-depot price had continued to soar for months above the recommended N87.90 per litre. “There is the need for us to know why the DPR cannot make depot owners sell petrol for N87.90, considering the over 30-day product sufficiency the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, claims to have. This is a serious problem because some people are busy making good money at the expense of Nigerians as this anomaly continues,” the source said.

Though the DPR had threatened severally to shut down filling stations found to be under-dispensing petrol to consumers, its threats carry no weight since it is said that some of the enforcing officials may have been compromised, thus leaving the perpetrators to have a field day.

The Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, said it is a criminal offence for the petroleum marketers to sell the product above the official pump price of N97. Maku said this while fielding questions at Osisioma Depot, near Aba, Abia, during the Good Governance tour of the state recently. He

stated: “It is criminal for people to come and take fuel here at N97 when the government has already paid the balance between N97 and the market price.

You come and get government subsidy in this depot and all other depots in the country, then they move out and sell fuel at N150 per litre. This is highly criminal.

“That is the problem with Nigeria and that is why the President Goodluck Jonathan is insisting that with the subsidy, some people are stealing from national patrimony in subsidy. You can see now, you are confessing that people come to the depot and buy fuel at N97 which is what the president is saying, but unfortunately for us, our people are not honest. People talk about corruption, but there is nothing more than corruption when a citizen will come and take fuel here at N97 and sell at N150, which means he is taking N97 from government.”

Delema Osibodu, Assistant Director, Public Affairs, defends the DPR stoutly against any culpability, insisting that this accounts for why the public has been availed of some DPR telephone lines to enable them make reports when such cases occur.

“DPR officials go to the sta-

tions with our own meters, which are used to monitor the stations dispensing pumps at regular intervals in addition to checking the pumps whenever on surveillance exercises. We also do this when cases of under-dispensing are discovered or complaints are lodged with us,” Osibodu said.

However, some consumers argued that even when they call the agency, nothing is done. Ade Ogunseye, a resident of Akute, Ogun State told The Nation that on more than two occasions, he had called DPR to report the AP, NIPCO, and Oando filling stations along the Alagbole-Akute Road axis.

According to Ogunseye, these filling stations have been selling fuel at between N105 and N115 per litre since November till date. Besides, the filling stations, he said, have adjusted their machines such that their machines under dispense fuel to consumers. “When I threatened to report them to DPR, they simply laughed, claiming that DPR staff are also aware of the situation and can’t do them anything,” he said.

The Director General of the Consumer Protection Commission, CPC, Mrs Ify Umenyi, cited desperation

by Nigerians to buy fuel at all cost when there is a slight

disruption to fuel supply as the reason for such trend.

“Sometimes it is due to desperation. People do pay such money in the rush to buy fuel. We all know that some owners of these stations are not even aware of such demands by their attendants. Demanding for extra N200 before fuel is sold is wrong. If we (CPC) happen to be there and we catch them, we discipline them appropriately. Our consumers also have a responsibility. They should be on the queue whenever they want to buy fuel.

Those that pay that money are those who try to leave the line and get in front of others. I am using this opportunity to charge the Lagos office of the commission because I have not heard of this situation before now. They should carry out investigations and go with law enforcement officials because it is the only way they will know what is going on,” Umenyi charged.

Observers are generally of the opinion that the desperation to buy fuel should not be an excuse for filling stations to increase pump price illegally? This simply means that the attendants or the filling stations are making a kill on an already subsidised product. President Goodluck Jonathan had severally explained that subsidy on the product goes into wrong hands and benefits the wrong people in the society. Perhaps, this development provides government the moral right to remove subsidy completely.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

BUSINESS

Nigerians spend over $70 million on private jet maintenance

T

HE ownership of the state-of-the-art jets in Nigeria has grown to over 200 in 2012 from 50 in 2008. Nigeria has a long list of its citizens who have acquired private jets. Interestingly, the list which includes politicians, business moguls and ministers of the gospel continues to swell on a daily basis.

According to former Commandant Murtala Muhammed Airport, Group Captain John Ojikutu: “Their choice of aircraft is Gulfstream IV, which flies at 45,000 feet (10,000+ more than most commercial aircraft). When they fly into a foreign country, they do not go through the rigorous customs. Most times, they come to the aircraft.” Maintenance cost of these jets is estimated at over $40 million annually at a cost of $200, 000 per aircraft, according to an aircraft engineer who pleaded anonymity Apart from maintenance cost, operational cost of one

By Bukola Afolabi

of the jets, depending on the frequency of usage, is between $45, 000 and $60, 000 per month, which amounts to about $12 million, excluding crew allowances, fuel, accommodation of the crew in hotel.

These costs could even double if the owners operate the jets outside the country frequently. Monthly salaries for a pilot is between $6, 000 and $10, 000 a month.

For two pilots, the owner is expected to pay about $240, 000 annually. For a hundred pilots, another $12 million is expended in a year, excluding salaries of cabin crew and aircraft maintenance engineers.

For navigational charges, parking and landing, including fuelling, over $10 million is spent annually. Overall, the cost of maintaining these jets are enormous and the reason only the super rich can own them.

An airline chief, who

spoke on condition of anonymity said, in terms of the management of an airplane, “they spend between $45, 000 and $60,000 per month which will include the cost of paying the pilot.

“Whether they fly or not, you have to pay them. The fuel; the operating cost of each of these aircraft cannot be less than $6,000 an hour.

You now have to sit on where you will be getting this money from. You are talking of landing and parking fee depending on where you go to, pilots’ salaries and allowances, hotel accommodation. Except you have some ‘careless’ money, and unfortunately here, nobody cares to find out whether the guy gets the money from a particular source. That is whether the source of the money is genuine.”

“In a year, they may not spend more than $200, 000 each. Again, it depends on the type of airplane. There are some that buy airplanes that are new from the factory, and the maintenance cost

would have been built into the purchase of the aircraft by the manufacturers. We have a number of them around, and by the time you calculate all these, they might be spending a lot of money that goes into that area.

“These costs exclude the cost of hotels for the crew. All the running cost is not in that. The cost of your fuel, allowances also gulp money. If you are looking at allowances, it cost between $70 and $100 a day. Some are even more than that you pay when they operate. When they are not on duty, you provide them with feeding.

You know the cost of hotel in Nigeria.”

However, Boeing and Gulfstream are not the only choices for celebrities that want to fly privately. Some of them who like to fly in style do not like the inconvenience and cost of maintaining a private jet, so they choose to own a jet through fractional ownership.

•From left: The Chief Executive Officer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema; Executive Director, Business Development, NSE, Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri and Head, Product Management, NSE, Mr. Oladipo Omotoso at commencement of Retain Bond Trading and Fixed Income Market Making on The NSE in Lagos

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HE recent validation workshop on the midterm evaluation of Nigeria’s Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) Industry in Abuja afforded a unique opportunity to appraise the nation’s comatose but once vibrant cotton, textile and garment industry. The misfortune of the sector dates as far back as 1985, resulting in unprecedented job, investment and revenue losses, occasioned by massive influx of cheap products into the country, changing consumer tastes and habits, and poor infrastructure, among others.

The cheery news presently is that the industry is ‘on the march’ again, thanks to Bank of Industry’s (BoI) intervention fund. In 2009, the federal government introduced a N100 billion intervention fund to revitalise the CTG industry, which was domiciled with BoI. Approval and disbursement of the fund commenced effectively same year with a total of N7.195 billion disbursed to three firms. By June 2012, a total of N41.1 billion had been

BoI renews hope for textile industry disbursed to 56 successful applicants by BoI. Stakeholders at the workshop showered encomiums on BoI for the present revival efforts in the sector, which they said indicated that brighter days are just months - if not weeks - away. The minister of trade and investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, noted that the CTG sector was leading in the economy from the 1960s through to the 1970s and in the early 1980s when the industry had about 175 textile mills and employed over 600,000 workers, making it the second largest employer of labour next to government.

“Unfortunately, however, by 2008, the textile factories still in operation had reduced to 24 textile mills and 10 ginneries employing less than 25,000 people and with exports less than US 50million,” Aganga lamented.

He identified some of the factors that led to the decline

in the sector to massive influx of textiles and apparels from Asia, particularly after the Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA) expired in 2005, inadequate and epileptic energy supply and heavy reliance on self-generation of power, leading to high and uncompetitive production costs.

Others, he added, were global economic challenges, massive smuggling of cheaper textiles of lower quality, changing consumer tastes and habits and huge debt burden on producers in the value chain.

The minister noted that the sector holds strong potential due to its natural cotton endowments, large market size and legacy sector knowledge, adding that Nigeria’s population of over 167 million people represents a natural market for basic textiles and apparel related goods.

“Although, it is evident that the CTG Revival Fund Scheme has provided the in-

dustry players with a unique source of incentive-based long-term fund for the financing and refinancing of capital investments and revolving working capital, based on my interactions with some of you and my findings during my visits to your factories, I am not unaware of other challenges being faced by you.”

Aganga assured the stakeholders: “We are working through the Standards Organisation of Nigeria to reduce the dumping of substandard goods into the country. Some of these goods include textiles and apparels.

We are also exploring diplomatic channels through our Trade Ambassador at the World Trade Organisation.

To ensure increase in power supply, we are working with the Ministry of Power to ensure that 10 industrial cities in the country have at least 18 hours of uninterrupted power supply by first quarter of next year (2013).”

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Beyond Talent

By Adetayo Okusanya Email: adetayookusanya@hotmail.com

Stop “Monkey-ing” around: My top ten netiquette rules

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NE thing I love about Nigerians is that we appreciate the best things life has to offer and we are very quick to adopt new fads and trends. I recently heard someone fondly say “Naija no dey take last”. iphones, ipads, ipods, cars, clothes, electronics, etc, you name it; we got it… and plenty of it too. The challenge, though, is that many of us forget to enquire about and adopt the “etiquettes” that accompany the use of such technologies and innovations. This is one of the reasons why we have a lot of “monkeys” behind the wheels of cars that ply our highways… but let’s not get into that. It is a topic for another day.

Today is a day for talking about Electronic Mail (Email) Etiquette, a.k.a. “Netiquette” or Network Etiquette. Email has come to stay and it will be around for a long time; until a new technology disrupts and displaces it, much like what it did to postal or “snail” mail. Email has become fully entrenched in business and personal communication, and I cannot imagine life without it. I still remember the days when I “posted” letters to family members in “obodo oyinbo” and it took months to get a response. Now it takes only a few minutes. Kai! Thank God for “Tekinologi”.

E-mail is an extremely valuable communication channel for today’s professional, and like all good things it stands the risk of being abused. Indeed, it has been abused. When we think of abuse, we think of the “419” kingpins and people that send spam and junk mail. Many of us, “Professionals”, never really see ourselves as people who abuse electronic mail even though we often fail to observe email etiquette.

Wikipedia defines etiquette as “a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group”. Network Etiquette can, therefore, be described as the social conventions for using computer networks.

Your business and personal emails often get to places you have never been to, and reach people you have never met. Impressions, positive or negative, right or wrong, are often formed simply by observing and experiencing someone’s email etiquette. Emails are used as a gauge of your professionalism, competence, ethics, values and attitudes.

You cannot begin to imagine how many contracts, deals, promotions, jobs, relationships, businesses, reputations, opportunities, etc have been lost simply because of poor email etiquette. If you don’t want to give the recipients of your emails the impression that there is a “typing monkey” at the other end of the email channel, then read through my top ten netiquette rules and make some much needed change.

1. Know when it is appropriate to communicate by email. Email is not the only form of communication available to you, and may not be the best channel for communicating your message. Email can be impersonal, and in the absence of verbal and visual cues, it is easy for your tone and intent to be misconstrued by the recipient. Even though it is very convenient, email cannot replace voice or good old face-to-face communication. As someone who has a preference for introverted thinking, I default to email communication. However, I have learnt that many times a phone call or an in-person meeting can get the job done faster, and provide the added benefit of improving my relationship with stakeholders.

2. Try to respond to your emails within 24 hours. Electronic mail is not an interactive communication channel, therefore, messages are not usually expected to be answered immediately. Additionally, you have absolutely no control over the number and timing of emails you receive. It can be distracting, disruptive and unproductive to try to respond to every email as it arrives, so my advice is that you set a chunk of time aside (30 minutes) in the morning, afternoon and evening to process your emails. It is good practice to respond to emails within 24 hours. The sender will appreciate it and you will be perceived as a highly effective and responsive professional. If you are too busy to respond or act on the email, then simply acknowledge receipt. I often fall short of this standard.

3. Use the Courtesy Copy (Cc) and blind copy (Bcc) appropriately. Send emails only to recipients to whom the message is relevant and important and be clear on who should respond or take action. Use the To: Field for recipients from who you require an action or response, and the Cc: Field for those who should be kept directly informed of the content of your email. The Bcc: Field is appropriate when sending email to a large group of recipients who may be strangers and have no business seeing each others’ email addresses. This way you respect and protect their individual privacy and do not expose them to the risk of spam. I once received an email reminder asking me to redeem a financial pledge and my name was on the Bcc: field instead of the To: field I thought it was tacky. Such an email should have been personalized.

To be continued next week.

• Okusanya is CEO of ReadinessEdge

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BUSINESS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2013

ICAN appoints acting registrar/chief executive

Dell unveils tool to help increase sales

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HE Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN , has appointed Mr. Olusoji Olumide Odukoya as its Acting Registrar/Chief Executive following the retirement of Mr. Olutoyin Adeagbo Adepate on January 7, 2013. The appointment, which was approved by the Council of the Institute, took effect January, 14, 2013. Prior to his appointment, he was Deputy Registrar, Admin. Services.

An astute and experienced administrator, Mr. Olusoji Odukoya attended Yaba College of Technology and Ogun State University, Ago Iwoye where he obtained his HND in Accounting in 1983 and MBA (Accounting and Finance) in 1997 respectively. He is a Fellow of ICAN and Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, CIS; as well as a full member of the Nigerian Institute of Management, NIM. Before his new appointment, Mr. Odukoya has served in various capacities in the Institute. He joined ICAN as Director, Examinations on June 1, 2004 and made a lot of contributions to the Directorate which include the elimination of manually generated examination dockets; posting of the examination results on the ICAN website; introduction of online registration for professional examination; as well as the introduction and review of the credit system.

He was also Director, Financial Services.

Road construction responsible for fibre cuts in the East

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TN Nigeria has reported serious fibre cuts in the eastern part of the country which has led to service outage in the area. It is reported that the fibre cuts are as a result of ongoing road construction of various routes around Aba, Enugu, Owerri, PortHarcourt, Eket, IkotAbasi, Ete, Uyo and Calabar.

According to Akinwale Goodluck, MTN’s Corporate Services Executive, “In recent times, multiple cuts on our Eastern Fibre Network has impeded the delivery of consistently good quality of service in the east. These particular cuts are as a result of road construction activities, which have impacted many of our sites.

However, we suffer over 70 fibre cuts monthly nationwide due to vandalisation, sabotage and other criminal activities.”

He said that the company has doubled surveillance on the affected routes to track the activities of the construction companies. “In addition, our fibre maintenance engineers are working round the clock to repair the damage as soon as it is detected. We are working towards an improved experience on the network very soon.”

Goodluck said that as a customer-focused organisation, MTN is not unaware of the inconveniences that some of its customers in the east must be experiencing. “Please bear with us as we are doing everything in our control to restore good service.”

•From left: Managing Partner, Ideas House, Mr Kehinde Salami, Chief Executive Officer, Ropeways, Capt. Dapo Olumide, and Relation Manager, Ropeways, Archie Duke, during a Media Roundtable Presentation by CEO Ropeways Transport PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN Ltd., in Lagos at the weekend.

Adopt mitigation policy on desertification, FG told D

R. Newton Jibunoh has charged the federal government on adoption of mitigation policies for desertification, saying that if this is done it will go down in history as one of the best in the world.

Jibunoh stated this at the handing over of Fight Against Desert Encroachment of Africa FADE, to Nigeria Society of Engineers, NSE, in Abuja, stating that it is disappointing that Nigeria is still attending to issues responsible for desertification 50 years after.

The Trans West Africa Sahel Highway comprises Nigeria, starting from Kano, Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’voire, Mali, Guinea and Senegal.

Due to the fact that the route of Trans-African

From Franca Ochigbo, Abuja

Highway No. 5 passes through only five West African countries; Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal, Jibunoh said, “With what we are putting down here today, it will open the tunnel to start exploiting what we have. If the Sahara Desert is not termed, all this will be done in isolation, as we will not be able to build infrastructure in these areas in terms of power and water supply.”

The overall strategy of implementation of Trans West African Sahel Integrated Highway and Energy Progamme and Trans African Highway is to be driven by the private sector.

Governments of participating countries are patrons and key

stakeholders in the programme with short segments of the long highway allocated to ten countries.

Local manufacturing in West Africa of hydraulic equipment for water and gas transmission and distribution is expected to be a key success factor.

“Federation of African Organisations of Engineers and the regional East, West, Central, North and South organisations of Engineers are facilitators for the realisation of the nine Trans African Highways.

“With support to be drawn from the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, UNIDO, UNDP, Governing Council of Global Ministerial Environment Forum and other local and international environmental bodies, the partnership of AU,

NEPAD, ECOWAS and other regional economic communities in Africa are considered to be strong key success factors.”

The chairman of the occasion, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, said the collaboration of the two parties has attracted good record, adding that if the programme is to be realised all hands must be on deck.

According to Danjuma, “FADE Africa has been working of over 40years to reclaim the Sahara Desert, as the opening up of the Sahara will boost trading around African countries.

This will also provide potentials to provide clean water along the route for power generation and wind energy, for geological exploration, and its hidden treasure for fibre optics broadband across the continent too.”

Dabiri-Erewa, others for award A S part of the celebrations of the International Women’s Month, Vlisco Nigeria has nominated women achievers from different walks of life. Those recognised include the Chairperson, House of Representatives’ Committee on the Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Nigerian writer and winner of the CommonWealth Writers’ Prize and the Hurston/ Wright Legacy Award, Chimamanda Adichie, and ace broadcaster, Eugenia Abu. Also nominated for the award, which is usually celebrated worldwide on March 8, are Nollywood actress, Mrs. Joke Silva

Jacobs, and the founder/ CEO, Centre for Development Policy Solutions, Mrs. Amina Az- Zubair.

International designers and producers of colourful fabric, Vlisco, while announcing activities for the celebration of the World Women’s Day this year, stated that it plans to celebrate inspiring and successful women, throughout West and Central Africa who have made their dreams come true with an event themed, “The Vlisco Women’s Month - BE YOUR DREAM award for West and Central Africa’s most inspirational woman”.

Speaking on the event, the Channel Activation

Manager, Vlisco Nigeria, Adaeze Alilonu, noted that “Women are on International Women’s Day worldwide honoured and shown respect for their immense achievements, but Vlisco believes women should remain in the spotlight for longer than just a day. So, this year, we are going to celebrate inspiring women, throughout West and Central Africa, for one whole month.”

Voting, she noted, will start on February 18 and last through the whole month of March and everybody is invited to vote for the candidate that inspired them most at any Vlisco shop, or online at beyourdream.vlisco.com.

Voters also stand a chance of winning tickets to the award night and fashion show and a tailor-made dress of their choice, made in the latest Super-wax fabric.

Vlisco Nigeria will, also as part of the benefits from the celebration, support ambitious designers, tailors and stylists who have bigger dreams of success but need some support to achieving these dreams by sending in a business plan on their dream project and three persons will stand a chance to win the funding of this project by Vlisco with a fund of 10,000, 7,000 or 5,000 US dollars respectively.

ELL has announced a new tool to further enhance its online solutions configurator known as PartnerDirect, which will give partners the resources to close deals more easily and quickly than in the past by allowing them to price complex enterprise solutions. The Online Solutions Configurator is currently on trial in the UK and Ireland, and will be rolled out to the rest of the Europe, MiddleEast and Africa (EMEA) region in the coming months.

Speaking on the partner tool, Ahmed Mouldaia, EMEA Enterprise Sales Executive Director, Dell, said, “This will be the year of the Dell Online Solutions Configurator further easing business with Dell.”

The company also announced Laurent Binetti as General Manager EMEA Channel Sales. Most recently, he served as General Manager for the Dell Commercial Business in the Southern Europe Region.

Laurent Binetti joined Dell in 1996 and has since held senior roles in Eastern Europe and the emerging markets.

Binetti replaces Emmanuel Mouquet who will become General Manager of Dell France from 1st February 2013.

NSE co-opts four into council

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HE National Council of The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday said that it has coopted four eminent Nigerians into the membership of the council. The announcement was made at the end of the Council meeting held in Lagos. This brings the number of council members to thirteen (13).

According to the Secretary to the Council and Head, Legal and Regulation Division of The Exchange, Ms. Tinuade Awe, the four persons are Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Aigboje AigImoukhuede; Managing Director, Shell Nig. Closed Pension Fund Administrator Ltd. Mrs. Yemisi Ayeni; Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, Partner, Dikko and Mahmoud and Mr. Abimbola Ogunbanjo, Partner, Chris Ogunbanjo & Co., Barristers and Solicitors.

Ms. Awe noted that the management of NSE is very pleased to have them join the council and bring their wealth of experience to bear on The Exchange. “We look forward to working with them and other council members to further The Exchange’s transformation agenda.”

Mr. Aig-Imoukhuede is the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc. Mrs. Ayeni is the Managing Director, Shell Nig. Closed Pension Fund Administrator Ltd. Mr. Mahmoud SAN is the managing partner at Dikko and Mahmoud, a law firm while Mr. Ogunbanjo is the Managing Partner at Chris Ogunbanjo & Co. a leading international law firm.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

65

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

66

EBERE WABARA

WORDSWORTH 08055001948

ewabara@yahoo.com

‘Arrest over…’? Never!

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HE GUARDIAN of January 29 did not live up to expectation: “Physically challenged (Physicallychallenged) persons arrested over (for) illegal drugs” Now the Editorial: “…the decision by the government to deploy 900 troops to (in) Mali as part of….”

“Fontini Consulting Limited Training Calender (sic) for the Year” (Quarter-page Advertisement in THE GUARDIAN) “Empower Nigeria conference kicks-off (kicks off) in Enugu” Next is DAILY SUN of January 30: “CSR: FCMB dishes out post disaster (post-disaster) relief materials to flood victims” Last week’s edition of this medium lost its glamour thrice: “…why he did not join the bandwagon to float cosmetics line (a cosmetics line).” You either climb or jump on/ aboard the bandwagon— you do not join it! “…speaks volume (volumes) of the decadence in the system.” “…her life in a society largely comprising of ‘settled citizens’ should be applauded by all without ill-feelings.” Delete ‘of’. “…the nation is rent apart by all manners (manner) of rancour, acrimony and divisiveness, while the people have lost total confidence in the regime’s capacity to govern.”

“Leaving this lovely little girl with ‘uncle’ could result to (in) a rape of her innocence.”

“Generally, a country’s criminal law apply (applies) only to acts committed within its territory.”

“But now that the middle class has fizzled out, a good number of alms givers has (have) turned to beggars, particularly in the urban centres across the country.”

“Yet, the CBN mops up millions of Naira intermittently from the economy on the ground that there is liquidity in the system!” Beyond the realm of politics: on the grounds.

“This notwithstanding, some distinguished personalities, brilliant schoolars and astute politicians got elected into the National Assembly.” Not just an opinion: scholars.

“When an administration confronts them, they sometimes lie low, knowing fully well that they

outlive administrations.”

Get it right: knowing full well or knowing fully. “...he has a secret wife of Igbo origin whose offsprings (sic) prefer to bear their maternal grandfather’s name.” This way: offspring (non-count and one word).

“It was a siege on (to) the court…on (to) the judiciary.”

“New wave of arrest (arrests)” “…the least that should be done is for it to handover (hand over) power willingly to a civilian administration and depart in peace.”

“Because the Nigerian economy has been in the doldrums for quite sometime (some time)….”

“Usually, the word ‘rights’ appear (appears) to strike a chord of anger in parents.”

“But then, would the world have bothered if he never succeeds (succeeded)?”

“In the final of his fourth part (four-part) analysis on (of) the present political state in Nigeria.…”

“Holy Bible says that money is the root of all evils.…” No distortion: It is the love of money (and not money itself) that is the root of all evils.

“The Association must be commended for discharging its patriotic duty of alerting the authorities about (to) the security breach.”

“If for any reason, neither the state nor the police issues (issue) a statement.…”

“But first, the group must get its acts (act) together….”

“After a lull, violent crimes, particularly armed robbery, has (have) resurfaced.…”

“The Oputa-led panel investigating human rights violations in the country between the period of 1966 to 1999. For linguistic justice: between 1966 and 1999.

“We were of the opinion that the panel was setup (set up) to sooth frayed nerves.” Politics this week: soothe.

“Nigeria’s soccer house set to take the bull by the horn and change the face of the game.”

Sport Today: take the bull by the horns (not horn). This is a standard form.

“We could do nothing against such formidable odds giving (given) the worthless tools at our disposal.”

“A further review of

the performance of the major currencies of Nigeria’s trading partners also indicate (indicates) that the Euro....”

“The reasons range from power generation limitation to the use of overaged (overage), antiquated and archaic hydro-terminal plants and so many others too numerous to mention.”

“The Yorubas, Igbo and even Northern minorities have grudges….”

English with politics: the Yoruba, the Igbo (collective) and, of course, the northern minorities.

“The police has an image problem, too.”

Bound to correction: The police have.…

“I have persistently advocated, without much success, the need to align policy making (a hyphen) to (with) crime control….”

“The purchasing power in the hands of consumers have (has) been going down; it means that demand for goods and services are (is) reducing. “…the executive cannot acquiesce to a patently wrong situation and demur in a similar situation.” The legislature we deserve: acquiesce in (not to). “…anybody who happened to stumble unto (on) some millions of naira by fair or foul means dabbled into threat business.”

“Motorists deserve this relief after the anguish of yesteryears.”

Stock form: yesteryear.

“This is another scintillating edition for the matured (mature) mind.”

“Benue assures on abandoned projects” Just tell readers who the state assured.

“Before embarking on the strike action….” You can as well embark on strike inaction! Strike!

“It was as though both informants were mischievous people who had an affinity in (for) discrediting the preachers.”

“The vigilante group visited instant judgment on the thief and sent him to the great beyond.” In the name of lexical exactitude: vigilance group.

“Sixteen people were killed and two others seriously injured in a ghastly (fatal) accident which occurred along (on) the Bauchi-Auchi road on Saturday.” The fatality component is unnecessary as it is clearly implied.

The road to nowhere From page 61

traps leading to numerous accidents regularly.

Aaron, a commercial motorcyclist, told our reporter that because of the total absence of rail on the left hand side of the bridge, uninformed drivers easily plunge into the river.

"When you are not aware of the danger, it is easy to run into the river because the bridge has no rail and it is old. Recently, three persons were killed when an Audi 80 salon car crashed into the bridge at dawn." Aaron added.

Bridges are to be built on about 28 points on the road; this translates into 56 separate bridges, if all old bridges are to be replaced. Of this number though, only about 10 have been completed with beams.

Dozen others are merely marked out by struts poking out of the riverbeds or have not even been started at all.

"If it took over four years to construct 10 bridges, tar 23kms and build about 300 culverts from Port Harcourt to Warri, how many more years do you think it will take to complete the remaining 40 or more bridges, 300 culverts and cover 140km that is yet remaining?" a commercial bus driver retorted when our reporter asked his opinion on the December 2014 completion date.

BUMPY RIDE ALL THROUGH Mr. Fisayo Erewa, who was fixing a ball joint on his Mitsubishi Lancer car at Rumoji, Rivers State, blamed the car's fate on the condition of the road. "Anytime I go to Benin I spend a fortune fixing the arms of the car because of the bumpy ride."

He expressed concern that the construction firm seemed to be avoiding the major parts of the project. "The construction firm seems to be confused on how to go about the project. I do not know if you notice that only two of the four major bridges (Patani, Kaiama (1km long), Mbiama and Emohua/ Choba) have been partially done?

"It is unfortunate the kind of politics that took the project out of the hand of the first contractor and gave it to this one because big bridges have to be built. I do not have confidence in their ability to do the job at a fast pace. Worse still, they have not even started working on those roads," Erewa noted.

Our investigations further revealed that construction works are going on in the area that a journalist, Joe Ogbodu, termed the "easier sections of the road." These sections, especially the completed Warri - Ughelli axis, do not have as much bridges and culverts as the other parts that are yet untouched.

In fact, our reporter observed that from Ahoada to the Emohua Bridge where progress is visible has just three short bridges and a few dozen culverts within a distance of 45km.

Conversely, from Bomadi Junction (50km point) to Yenagoa is a very challenging terrain with a long stretch of swampy terrain requiring bigger

culverts and about 10 bridges, including the two longest bridges - Patani and Kaiama, as well as the Okoso and Zarama bridges.

Ogbodu who is sceptical about the capability of the contractor said, "Ordinarily, when you have a job to do, it is expected that you do the most difficult parts first and round up with the easier sections. That is not what we are seeing here."

In the same vein, various sources who spoke with our reporter hinted that manipulation of these juicy subcontracts, and not necessarily the contractor's competence, has hampered the progress of work on the 160km road.

A source close to the top management of Setraco said bigwigs of the company have severally complained of disturbing "directives from above" on those to benefit from supply contracts and provision of equipment like tippers and others.

Bebenimibo, also confirmed this when he said, "Sometime ago an insider from the company told me that some persons from the Presidency supplied equipment to the contractor and because of fear, the contractor had to spend additional money to go out and hire other equipment that were eventually used for that particular job."

In the mean time, users of the road have continued to suffer and spend long hours waiting in endless gridlocks on the road. The most deplorable part of the road is between Odi and Zarama junction, which is littered with several dangerous chasms.

One point in the road is so narrow that motorists spend several uncomfortable minutes clutching to the brink of an open river about 20

meters beneath while waiting for oncoming vehicles to pass.

This is because over half of the spot has been washed away and the leftover portion can only let through one vehicle at a time.

"That spot is just before the Okoso Bridge and it is so scary that when passing or waiting to pass I am never able to look down at the river because it makes me dizzy.

Any time I travel through the road, I always say extra prayers until I pass that spot," a University of Port Harcourt student, Lode Charles, told our reporter at the Agofure Transport Company park in Choba.

A Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) marshal told our reporter that that section of the road accounts for more accidents that any part of the potholes-riddled road.

"The most pathetic ones are those that occur at night.

Some vehicles just plunge into the river without anybody knowing what has happened.

This is because the place is open and the river very deep.

Unless someone sees an accident happening at the spot, every trace of it is completely obliterated within minutes," the FRSC official, who does not want his name in print said.

Expectedly, the narrow spot and the need for careful manoeuvre when passing through it, usually leads to gridlock running into several kilometres, especially on rainy days with heavy vehicular traffic.

As the rainy seasons starts early in the region this year, there are concerns that the situation may only get worse in the months ahead unless the construction firm and the ministry of Niger Delta manage to find the magic wand to deliver on the December 2014 date.

• Scene of Okogbe disaster where over 200 lives were lost

• Orubebe

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013 CHANGE OF NAME TOMOLOJU

67

CHANGE OF NAME EBHOEDO

TAIWO

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Enwere Nnenna Sandra, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs, ONUOHA NNENNA SANDRA. All former documents remain valid. Abia State Polytechnic and general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Olufunke Ebunoluwa Showunmi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Olufunke Ebunoluwa Oladapo. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Taiwo Bamidele Juliana, now wish to be known as Mrs. Issa Bamidele Juliana. All former documents remain valid. Nigerian Immigration Service and general public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Mafuru Eloho Oghenetega, now wish to be known and addressed as Eghagha Eloho Oghenetega. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Obaka Ojomo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Akpah Sandra Ojomo. All former documents remain valid. Kogi State University, Anyigba, NYSC HQTRS and general public should take note.

ARISE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ojo, Oluwayemisi Yetunde, now wish to be known as Mrs. Adeniran Oluwayemisi Y. All former documents remain valid.

First Bank of Nigeria Plc. and general public please take note.

NTAJI

OLOGUNORISA

OJO

ALUKO

ENWERE

MAFURU

ADETULA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ologunorisa, Mayomi Mercy, now wish to be known as Mrs. Abdullahi Mayomi Mercy. All former documents remain valid.

Nigeria Police Force and general public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Aluko, Bolanle Modupeore, now wish to be known as Mrs. Solarin Bolanle Modupeore. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Adetula, Olukemi Vera, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adeoye, Olukemi Vera. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

AFOLABI

ONYEMA I formerly known and addressed as Miss Onyema Precious Oluchi, now wish to be known as Mrs. Chukwurah Precious Oluchi. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Abimbola Ajoke Oshu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Abimbola Ajoke Onikoyi. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Afolabi Basiru Akanbi, now wish to be known as Afolabi Adebola Johnson. All former documents remain valid.Lagos State University PGD and general public please take note.

APENA

I formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Adefolakemi Apena, now wish to be known as Mrs. Adefolakemi Suoqrat ApenaDurowaiye. All former documents remain valid.Lagos State Local govt. Service Commission old Secretariat Ikeja, Lagos State SUPEB, Maryland, Ikeja and general public please take note.

OLOGUNORISA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ologunorisa, Mayomi Mercy, now wish to be known as Mrs. Abdullahi Mayomi Mercy. All former documents remain valid.

Nigeria Police Force and general public please take note.

IGHOMINA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ighomina, Onome Marian, now wish to be known as Mrs. Ighomina-Ojo, Onome Marian. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

BANSO

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Adefolake Abidemi Banso, now wish to be known as Mrs. Adefolake Abidemi WoleOkunrinla. All former documents remain valid. Ondo State Hospital Mangement Board, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria and general public please take note.

ODUWOLE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Oduwole, Motunrayo Ajoke, now wish to be known as Mrs. Adeloye, Motunrayo Ajoke. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

SANYA I formerly known and addressed as Lanre Ganiat Sanya, now wish to be known as Lanre Ganiat Butler. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

OLUBODE I formerly known and addressed as Miss Fatimah Adetoun Adetoro, now wish to be known as Mrs. Olubode Fatimah Adetoun. All former documents remain valid.

Federal Girls College, Oyo, Tai Solarin University of Education and general public please take note.

AKIGWE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Joy Chikaodi Akigwe, now wish to be known as Mrs. Joy Chikaodi Otuonye Silas Eletuo. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, Eze Hezekiah Uchenna is the same person as Eze Hezekiah Uchenna.

All documents bearing the above names remain valid. School Certificate/GCE, Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu, NYSC, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and general public please take note.

OKPAIRE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Omoh Oluwatobi Okpaire, now wish to be known as Mrs. Omoh Oluwatobi Pitan. All former documents remain valid. Bowen University, Iwo, Oyo State and general public please take note.

OJO

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ojo Abimbola Idiat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Dada Abimbola Idiat. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Ebhoedo Aihiegboria Stephen, now wish to be known as Ikhuehi Aihiegboria Stephen. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Agida Angela Ntaji, now wish to be known as Mrs. Agida Angela Chima. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public please take note.

DOMINIC

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Tochi Justina Dominic, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Tochi Justina Nwafor. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Tomoloju Funmilola, now wish to be known as Mrs. Funmilola Odeyemi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Arise Opeoluwa, now wish to be known as Mrs. Akinbimi Opeoluwa. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

THOMAS

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Thomas Gift Onyeyirichi, now wish to be known as Mrs. Uche, Gift Onyeyirichi. All former documents remain valid. Federal Polytechnic, Nekede and general public please take note.

SANI

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Idayat Margaret Sani, now wish to be known as Mrs. Idayat Alaka. All former documents remain valid. Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa, Dorben Polytechnic, Abuja and general public please take note.

ALABI-ISAMA

I formerly known and addressed as Dr. Iyabo Odegua Alabi-Isama, now wish to be known as Dr. (Mrs.) Iyabo Odegua Otekunrin. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

OTOBONG

I formerly known and addressed as Otobong John Titus, now wish to be known as Mrs. Esther Nseabasi King. All former documents remain valid. Uniuyo, Industrial Training Fund and general public please take note.

POROBUNU

I formerly known and addressed as Mr. Porobunu Sixtus Bulabari, now wish to be known as Mr. Sunday Sixtus Bulabari. All former documents remain valid. Federal Mortage Bank of Nigeria, All Nations For Christ Bible Institute International, University of Port Harcourt and general public please take note.

UDODIRI I, Mrs. Onyeanusi Juliet Udodiri, a teacher was in 2003 issued a National Certificate in Education (NCE) result with the name Onyeanusi Juliet U., The letter â&#x20AC;&#x153;Uâ&#x20AC;? represents my Igbo name Udodiri.

Henceforth, my names are Onyeanusi Juliet Udodiri. National Teachers Institute, Kaduna, NTI, Owerri and general public please take note.

OHAMAECHI

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ohamaechi Reginah, now wish to be known as Mrs. Emmanuel Light Ihechi. All former documents remain valid. School of Health, Abia State and general public please take note.

ETA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Eta Effiom Enyina, now wish to be known as Mrs. Eta Orok Inang Ironbar. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EKE-EKERE I formerly known and addressed as Miss Angela Nnedinso Eke-Ekere, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Angela Nnedinso Eya. All former documents remain valid general public should take note.

UDOKA I formerly known and addressed as Miss Mfon Joseph Udoka, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Mfon Friday Osaroeba. All former documents remain valid Universal Basic Education,The Ministry of Education River State,The University of Calabar and general public should take note.

OKOH

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Okoh Maria Ego, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Falade Maria Ego. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

OSHU

ADEJUMO

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Adejumo Foluke Susan, now wish to be known as Mrs. Oluseye Johnson Foluke Suzan. All former documents remain valid.

University of Jos, Jos Business School, NYSC and general public please take note.

ABIONA

I formerly known and addressed as Dr. (Miss) Abiona Abolanle Tawakalitu, now wish to be known as Dr.(Mrs.) Adesope, Abolanle Tawakalt. All former documents remain valid. Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, NYSC, Banks and general public please take note.

SHAPARA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Shapara, Aderonke Ibidunni, now wish to be known as Mrs. Billie Aderonke Ibidunni. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

SHOWUNMI

OBAKA

CHUKWU

I, formerly known and addressed as Chukwu Ogochukwu Esther,now wish to known and addressed as Okwuibe Esther Ogochukwu. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

AJIMOTI I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ajimoti Mercy Abimbola, now wish to known and addressed as Mrs. Amole Abimbola Ajimoti.

All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

AJAO I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ajao Folakemi Opeyemi, now wish to known and addressed as Mrs. Ige, Folakemi Opeyemi.

All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

ONI I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Oni, Oluranti Olunike, now wish to known and addressed as Mrs. Folorunso-Ayo Oluranti Olunike. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

CHIKERENMA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Oke Gift Agbinor, now wish to be known as Mrs. Oke Gift TEN HOOR. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Marvellous Chikezie Chikerenma, now wish to known and addressed as Mrs. Marvellous Ogbonna Okoro. All former documents remain valid. Swift Car Rentals Limited and general public should take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Osowade, Adeyemi Esther, now wish to be known as Mrs. Oshodi Adeyemi Esther. All former documents remain valid.

Obafemi Awolowo University, IleIfe, Osun State government and general public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Lillian Chinyere Opara, now wish to known and addressed as Mrs. Lilian Chinyere Ogbeide.

All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

AGBINOR

OSOWADE

SALAMI

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Salami Temitope Yeside, now wish to be known as Mrs. Babajide Temitope Yeside. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

MUNA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Muna Mayowa Mordiyah, now wish to be known as Mrs. Mordiyah Moyowa Badru. All former documents remain valid.

Education district IV (Lagos State) and general public please take note.

RUFAI

I formerly known and addressed as Rufai Babatunde Isiaka, now wish to be known as Shipe Babatunde Dayo. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ATTAH

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Blessing Attah, now wish to be known as Mrs. Blessing Daniel. All former documents remain valid. Nigeria Police Force and general public please take note.

QUDUS

I formerly known and addressed as Olusoga Qudus, now wish to be known as Korede Olusoga James.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OFOHA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ofoha Happiness Ogechi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Obasi Happiness Ogechi. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

EEBU I, formerly known and addressed MISS. LEKIA NEWLIFE EEBU now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. NEWLIFE LEKIA TORDEE. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EKWENCHI

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. IJEOMA NKIRUKA GENEVIEVE EKWENCHI now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. IJEOMA NKIRUKA GENEVIEVE EGBU. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OPARA

AMADI I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Peace Nkechi Amadi, now wish to known and addressed as Mrs. Peace Nkechi Kanu. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

ADEBAYO

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Adebayo Seun Titilope, now wish to known and addressed as Mrs. Adepoju Seun Titilope.

All former documents remain valid. Ekiti State Local government Service Commission, Ijero Local government and general public should take note.

AJAYI

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ajayi Oluwasola Selina, now wish to known and addressed as Mrs. Ige Oluwasola Selina. All former documents remain valid.

University of Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State and general public should take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I,Mr. Ezekiel Olubayo Idowu is the same and one person as Mr. Idowu Olubayo Ezekiel, now wish to known and addressed as Mr. Ezekiel Olubayo Idowu. All former documents remain valid.

Ekiti State Local government Service Commission, Ado-Ekiti and general public should take note.

OBAJU-FALADE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Obaju-Falade Joy Ayodeji, now wish to known and addressed as Mrs. Idehen Joy Ayodeji. All former documents remain valid. Zenith Bank Plc. and general public should take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME This confirms that the names Olayemi Adejoke Yemisi Dorcas refers to one person as Olayemi Ibijoke Yemisi Dorcas. All documents bearing the above names remain valid. Ondo State School of Nursing and general public should take note.

CHANGE OF NAME AWELEWA

CHANGE OF NAME JACOB

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Awelewa Idowu Oluwatayo, now wish to known and addressed as Mrs. Adeola Idowu Oluwatayo. All former documents remain valid.General public should take note.

I,formerly known and addressed JACOB DIWERINIPRE now wish to be known and addressed as AMARAN WERINIPRE . All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

CORRECTION OF NAME

I formerly known and addressed as MISS ORIADE ADEFOLAKE Now wish to be known and addressed as MRS ADEGOKE ADEDAYO ADEFOLAKE. All former document remain valid.

Federal Internal Revenue and General public take note.

Haruna Abdulazeez is my correct name not Haruna Abdulaziz that was mistakenly written in my WAEC result. now wish to known and addressed as Haruna Abdulazeez encefort. Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State and general public should take note

PETER-AKOR

I, formerly known and addressed as Peter-Akor, Okien, now wish to known and addressed as Peters Okien. All former documents remain valid. High Court and general public should take note.

OPOEGBO

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Chukwueze Juliana Opoegbo, now wish to known and addressed as Onen-Bassey Juliana. All former documents remain valid. First Bank Plc., Micheal Steven Consultancy Service and general public should take note.

OGUNTOYE I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Oguntoye Aminat Adesola, now wish to known and addressed as Mrs. Inuolaji Aminat Adesola. All former documents remain valid. Ogun SUBEB, Ijebu-Ode LGEA and general public should take note.

SHITTU I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Shittu Kuburat Ajoke, now wish to known and addressed as Mrs. Hassan Khadijat Ajoke.

All former documents remain valid. Ogun SUBEB, Ijebu-Ode LGEA and general public should take note.

ONWUCHEKWA

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Onwuchekwa Ogechi Esther, now wish to known and addressed as Mrs. Ogboro Ogechi Esther All former documents remain valid. ABSU, NYSC and general public should take note.

ADEFOLAKE

AKOMOLAFE I formerly known and addressed as MISS AKOMOLAFE BIDEMI VICTORIA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS AJISAFE BIDEMI VICTORIA, All former document remain valid. General public should take note.

OGUNRINDE

I formerly known and addressed as MISS OGUNRINDE GRACE TUNDE now wish to be known and addressed as MRS AYODEJI GRACE TUNDE. All former document remain valid. Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board(SUBEB) Oye local government Authority and general public take note.

ANYAEGBUNAM

I, formely known and addressed as MISS. ANITA ALAERE ANYAEGBUNAM, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. ANITA ALAERE EYEWANE. All former documents remain valid.

General Public should please take note.

OYEKUNLE

I formerly known and addressed as MISS OYEKUNLE AYOBAMI ABIMBOLA . Now wish to be known and addressed as MRS AFOLABI AYOBAMI ABIMBOLA. All former document remain valid. General public should please take note.

OKAFOR

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Okafor, Martina Onyinyechi. Now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nnawulesi Martina Onyinyechi.

All former document remain valid. General public should please take note.

GBODE

GBOR

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Gbode Kikelomo Abebi.

Now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Agbayi Kikelomo Olorunseun. All former document remain valid. IDIPR and general public should please take note.

OBIEKWE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Odeyemi, Oluwatosin Tolu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adebulujo, Oluwatosin Tolu. All former document remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Stephanie Shikura Gbor, now wish to known and addressed as Mrs. Stephanie Shikura Mhen Ityoikyaa. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

ODEYEMI

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Obiekwe Mary Chinasa, now wish to known and addressed as Mrs. Solomon Udofia Mary Chinasa. All former documents remain valid. ESUT, NYSC and general public should take note.

OYOR OBIORAH

I,formerly known and addressed MISS. JULIET NKECHI OBIORAH now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. JULIET NKECHI ANYIKA. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

PAUL

I,formerly known and addressed PAUL EKENDU UMEH now wish to be known and addressed as UMEH PAUL UMEH . All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

UKIWE

I,formerly known and addressed MISS. AUGUSTER NENE UKIWE now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. AUGUSTER NENE WARMATE. All former documents remain valid. UPTH and general public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I,ADEMOLA GBENGA BANKSALONGE and ADEMOLA GBENGA JOSEPH are one and the same person, now wish to be known and addressed as ADEMOLA GBENGA BANKSALONGE . All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

OSUAGWU

I,formerly known and addressed MISS. BERNADETTE EGONDU OSUAGWU now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. BERNADETTE EGONDU GREG NWACHUKWU. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ILEKA

I,formerly known and addressed MISS. STEPHANIE C. ILEKA now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. STEPHANIE C. OKONKWO. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Blessing Appolos Oyor, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Osarollor Blessing. All former document remain valid. General public should please take note.

ULOMA

I formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Uloma Lynda Annan, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Uloma Lynda Uzoaru. All former document remain valid.

Shell Petroleum Development Development Company, America Embassy and general public should please take note.

EKEDURU

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. AGNES IFUMANYA EKEDURU now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. UGOCHUKWU-OKAFOR AGNES IFUMANYA. All former documents remain valid.

American Embassy and general public please take note.

SHOWAMI

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Showami, Karimot Olabisi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Elias Karimot Olabisi. All former document remain valid. General public should please take note.

ADVERT: Simply produce your marriage certificate or sworn affidavit for a change of name publication, with just N4,500. The payment can be made through FIRST BANK of Nigeria Plc. Account number - 2017220392 Account Name - VINTAGE PRESS LIMITED Scan the details of your advert and teller to gbengaodejide @yahoo.com or thenation_advert @yahoo.com For enquiry please contact: Gbenga on 08052720421, 08161675390, Email- gbengaodejide @yahoo.com or our offices nationwide.

Note this! Change of name is now published every Sundays, all materials should reach us two days before publication.

68

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

News

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

Five killed in auto crash on Lokoja-Abuja road

T

HE Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has confirmed that five persons lost their lives in a ghastly motor accident that occurred on LokojaAbuja road on Saturday.

It also said that five others, who were seriously injured in the crash, were currently receiving treatment at the Ideal Hospital Koton Karfe.

The Kogi Sector Commander of the Corps, Mr Garba Mohammed, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja that the victims were all adults, four men and a woman.

He said that they were among the 13 passengers in two commercial vehicles that had a head-on collision at a spot in Achabo village near Gegu at about 12 noon.

Mohammed said that the two vehicles were a Volkswagen Sharon with registration number Lagos AKD 910 XD and a green Volkswagen Joker Wagon with registration number Lagos AGL568 AQ. According to him, they were coming from opposite directions when they had the crash.

He blamed the accident on wrong overtaking on the part of one of the drivers, saying that the accident could have been avoided.

He said the corpses of those who lost their lives had been deposited at the mortuary of the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja.

Orji praises lawmaker From Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

A

BIA State governor, Chief Theodore Orji, has commended a former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon Agwu Agwu, for impacting educationally on the lives of one hundred undergraduates in his constituency.

Speaking during the 3rd scholarship award ceremony of Agwu’s education foundation at his home town, Ozu Abam, Orji commended the kind disposition of the initiator of the foundation for catering for the educationally less privileged in his area.

The governor, who was represented by the commissioner for Physical Development and Urban Renewal, Donatus Okorie, said that government alone cannot provide the infrastructure in the education sector.

He called on public-spirited groups and individuals to help out and complement government’s efforts.

Orji said that this position made the government to return some schools to their original owners, adding that government believe that it will help to increase the quality of education in the state.

The governor urged the initiator not to relent in his efforts to empower the youths in his constituency educationally.

He advised the beneficiaries to make use of the opportunity accorded them by shunning all forms of criminality and cultism in their different schools.

Revolution is imminent, says Gaya T

HE Senator representing Kano South, Kabiru Gaya, has backed the stance of former President Olusegun Obasanjo that the country is gradually drifting towards anarchy and uncertainty.

Gaya, who spoke with reporters yesterday shortly after the bye-election in Garko and Gaya constituencies, said there might be revolution if the Federal Government does not wake up from its slumber.

The senator expressed bitterness over the conduct of the by-election and threatened to write a petition to the Inspector General of Police and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the election into the House of Assembly.

Gaya, who was yet to cast his vote, alleged that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has hijacked the House of Assembly bye-election in Garko and Gaya.

According to him: “It is unfortunate that corruption has eaten deep into our fabrics as corrupt officers celebrate their loots while those who venture to expose them become potential prisoners.”

On the remand of Hon. Farouk Lawan in prison, he challenged the logic behind putting the bribe receiver behind bars while the giver is busy organising party on Lagos Island.

Stating this can only happen

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

in Nigeria, Gaya said: “You dare expose corruption in Nigeria you are in trouble.

Farouk has been sent to jail by the power that-be, while Otedola, the friend of the family, is having a party on Lagos Island.

“This is unimaginable and it can only happen in Nigeria.

That is why today the nation is

ravaged by corrupt and corrupt officers.”

Gaya, who is the chairman Senate committee on Local Government, recalled his ordeals during the public hearing where the Pension Board boss refused to appear before the committee despite series of summons.

He lamented that the same man is moving about as a free man in the country.

According to him: “All these and many other problems bedevilling the country today have remained unsolved. It is now that I agree with President Obasanjo’s worry over such sensitive issues.

“What I thought is that Obasanjo might be angry with certain issues but today I think he is right by raising alarm and if care is not taken, the country is at the brink of collapsing.”

•Officials of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) watching as workers protest poor conditions of service in Lagos... yesterday PHOTO: NAN

Why North zone attracts more projects, by Plateau

P

LATEAU State has explained why it is concentrating more capital projects in Plateau North senatorial zone.

The commissioner for Information and Communication, Yiljap Abraham, said the zone deserves more attention for hosting the state headquarters.

From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

He also explained the administration moved developmental projects to the zone to decongest the city centre and open up satellite areas.

Abraham said: “Apart from efforts to decongest the city centre, most of the roads in the zone

were done for security reasons.

“One could recall the main challenges security agencies faced in their task to stop violence in the state was access roads to some satellite communities. ”It was obvious that due to the terrains, security agencies had difficulties in accessing

some communities at the satellite areas for instance the Dogo Nahawa, Maza roads.”

He added: “Jos is a metropolitan city hosting residents from within and outside the state. Any project in Jos is for every citizen of the state, which comprises those from other senatorial zones.”

Osun Civil Defence arrests four OUR men suspected to be involved in adulteration and diversion of petroleum products have been arrested by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Osun State.

Two of the suspects, Agboola Abiodun and Oyedeji Abiodun, were arrested at Omo West area of Osogbo, the state capital.

They were alleged to have adulterated kerosene, which they sell to unsuspecting members of the public.

Men of the Osun State Civil Defence apprehended them while siphoning the adulterated diesel into a truck marked with Lagos XW 321 EKY (LAGOS) after a tip off.

However, the driver of the truck escaped on sighting officials of the Civil Defence.

Twenty-eight kegs containing 1,000 litres of kerosene, twelve kegs of 300 litres of adulterated diesel, two pumping machines and a long hose were recovered from the scene of the

F

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo. crime.

The two other suspects, Tolawo Kehinde and Kareem Taju, were arrested at Oduduwa University junction in Ile-Ife with

a truck carrying 10, 000 litres of petroleum products suspected to be adulterated diesel.

The suspects, who were driving a truck with registration number XD 464 MAP (OYO), claimed to have loaded the pe-

troleum product from a private depot in Lagos.

They were suspected to have diverted the suspected adulterated product from Ibadan and were heading to Akure before nemesis caught up with them.

Group, Keke operators petition Elechi

A

HUMAN rights organisation based in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, Centre for the Prevention of Corruption and Human Rights Abuse Initiative (CPCHRAI) and the leadership of Ebonyi State Keke Multi Purpose Corporative Society have petitioned Governor Martin Elechi and the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mamman Sule, over alleged extortion of over N22 million by the Ministry of Works.

CPCHRAI’s National President, Comrade Okosisi Eburu and the Public Relations Officer of the co-operative society, Mr. Aliede Linus, also alleged that the Ministry of Works and Transport used men of the Ebonyi

From Ogbonnaya Obinna, Abakaliki

State command to harass, brutalise, intimidate and arrest more than 15 members of the society.

The petition read: “Before now, we had Keke Owners and Riders Association of Nigeria and Motorcycle Transport Union of Nigeria.

“Before they were merged, we were asked to pay a minimum of N26, 000 each for registration which we paid.

“Just recently, the Ministry of Works came up with a policy that every Keke operator in the state must change the paint of the Keke to the state colour.

“We had no problem with

the decision. Regrettably, we were asked to pay N2, 000 for the painting, N1, 500 for workmanship and N2, 000 registration, totalling N5, 500 each.

“When some of our members decided to paint their Keke with the ministry contractor, we realised that the quality of the paint is so bad and we had to make a formal complaint to the commissioner who insisted that the ministry must handle the painting”.

They urged the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to investigate the matter.

Efforts to get the Ebonyi Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Sylvester Igbo, proved abortive.

69

ACF not against states creation, says Waku From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

N

ATIONAL Vice Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Senator Joseph Waku, yesterday debunked rumours that the Forum is anti creation of additional states.

Waku, in a statement in Abuja, said the ACF did not hold a meeting in Kaduna on Friday nor issued any communiqué as falsely reported.

The statement reads: “I have received several telephone calls today drawing my attention to a story in which it was claimed that the pan northern socio-cultural organisation, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) is not favourably disposed to the creation of a new state from the South East geopolitical zone or any other part of the country for now.

“For the avoidance of doubt, I wish to make it abundantly clear that the Forum has not taken such a stand.

“In fact the Forum did not hold a meeting in Kaduna on Friday as claimed by the communique.

“The last meeting we held was on Tuesday last week and it had nothing to do with creation of additional states.

“As the National Vice Chairman and a member of the National Working Committee of the Forum, I can say categorically that the National Working Committee did not meet on Friday last week and therefore the question of issuing a communiqué on that day does not arise.

“I therefore call on the general public to ignore the misrepresentations contained in that communiqué which I suspect is the handiwork of detractors of the Forum.

“The Forum has no role in the creation of states which is a constitutional process, clearly spelt out in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic. The Forum has no business stopping Nigerians from making legitimate demands for creation of states if they feel they need such states.

“This is the stand of our forum on the issue of state creation.”

Perm Sec to FG: Release grains from reserves

T

HE Permanent Secretary, Benue Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Andy Uwouku, has urged the Federal Government to release more grains from its reserves to meet possible shortfall of food items in the country.

Uwouku told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Makurdi yesterday that the flood disaster in 2012 in the country was capable of affecting food supply to the populace.

He said in Benue alone, all the major rice producing local governments were affected, and that rice worth millions of naira was washed away by the floods.

70

THE NATION SPORT SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

SPORT EXTRA

BATTLE OF RUSTENBERG

Jonathan tasks Super Eagles against Elephants

... Reiterates desire to watch final match

Togo, Burkina Faso chase history

â&#x20AC;˘Nigeria's Victor Moses vies with Ethiopia's defender Biyadiglign Eliase during the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Group C match at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg.

AFP PHOTO

Maigari predicts tough duel against Cote d'Ivoire Paul Put plots Adebayor downfall

Enyeama ready to rumble with Elephants From Taofeek Babalola, Rustenburg

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THE NATION SPORT SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL. 7, NO. 2390

"If the president is the chief security officer of the country and there is a security problem, where do you go for the solution? And if that solution is not coming from the chief security officer, who has everybody and can mobilise everybody inside and outside to get a solution, then he has the responsibility to solve the problem.

And nobody else should be blamed but him."

— Former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

P

ANELS in Nigeria do not just help the government to distract, entomb or procrastinate; they also consume virtually everyone who has had the misfortune of heading them. The examples of Abdulrasheed Maina (Presidential Task Team on Pension Reform (PTTPR), Ndudi Elumelu (House of Representatives Committee on Power Sector Reforms), and Farouk Lawan (House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Monitoring of Fuel Subsidy Regime) are pointers to the contradictions that afflict the body politic.

There are a few less significant cases, and many more near misses. The recent Mallam Nuhu Ribadu panel (Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force), a red herring, escaped the fate of the first three panels by the skin of its teeth and probably by the combustible nature of the panel chairman’s personality.

After many months of controversial manoeuvrings, Maina was last week declared wanted by the police on the instigation of the Senate which had summoned him to shed light on missing pension funds totalling some N195bn. The Maina Presidential Task Team was constituted about two years ago to investigate pension funds mismanagement and to sanitise and modernise the procedure for pension administration in the military, police, Department of State Security (DSS), customs, immigration, prison and pension office (CIPPO) and the Head of Service Pension Offices. However, presenting the Senate’s case against Maina, Senator Kabiru Gaya said: “…N195 billion pension fund is unaccounted for.

In the head of service alone, N139 billion was released but N100 billion was paid out to pensioners. In the police service, N131 billion was paid in five years but only N88 billion was paid out, N44 billion is yet to be accounted for. This money belongs to the masses and it is expected that it should be accounted for.”

Why Maina avoided the summons has not been fully explained by any official in the Task Team. But he was quite enthusiastic in declaiming late last year that the team had discovered earth-shaking facts on pension maladministration. As he put it exuberantly and perhaps exaggeratedly: “I want to tell you that what we have uncovered will surprise Nigerians. We have found that pension fund up to N3.3 trillion was stolen by the cabal and we are going to recover all the money…we have recovered about N221 billion and deleted 71,135 ghost pensioners from the civil service list…In addition N74 billion of the N181 billion discovered has been mopped up for utilization in the 2012 budget…We have conducted biometrics for 170,000 pensioners, established e-pension management system, pioneered the payment of pensioners in the Diaspora and introduced smart cards to eliminate physical verification of pensioners.” By the time he began to lyricise his team’s achievements, he had become a hunted and haunted man.

But a national reputation is not secured upon the basis of one aberration. While the Senate was engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with Maina, with the latter still avoiding either arrest or imprisonment, Mr Ndudi Elumelu, a member of the House of Representatives, was left bewildered by how rapidly he transformed from hunter to hunted.

It began with the late President Umaru Yar’Adua suggesting that his predecessor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, had spent some $10bn dollars on power projects without result. Soon, the House of Representatives also declared alarmingly that the Obasanjo government actually spent $16bn on power projects with little to show for it. No one knew nor bothered to verify how the legislators did their calculations. But the sound of $16bn was enough to send the country, which was asphyxiating under a minuscule 3000MW generation of electricity, into a deafening uproar.

In 2008, Elumelu was put at the head of the national consensus to get its pound of flesh from the enraged power sector (not fuel subsidy) cabal, not minding the collateral

Maina, Elumelu, Lawan: The haunted hunters

•Maina

•Elumelu

damage. But before the panel was through with its assignment, an assignment that saw it stepping on giant toes and engaging in acerbic exchange with Obasanjo, stories alleging bribery and corruption against the panel and its chairman became rife. Words of encouragement from governors and sympathisers were sadly insufficient to exculpate Elumelu.

He was not even allowed to present his report, having barely managed to complete the assignment without being hounded into jail.

He eventually went to jail for about a month, and was tried for allegedly misappropriating some N5.2bn Rural Electrification Agency (REA) contracts. It was only last year that he was discharged and acquitted. As for the panel’s recommendations, a total of some 88, most were thrown out, and the surviving few inoculated against causing damage to anyone’s reputation. The shell-shocked Elumelu is today quietly chewing the cud in the legislature.

If Maina is scurrying animatedly from one rathole to another to evade what his pursu-

•Lawan

ers call capture, and Elumelu has become almost phlegmatic, swearing never again to be lured into any national assignment where he would step on toes, Farouk Lawan, another House of Representatives member, is dismayed by how quickly he has fallen and how numbed he has become.

If Maina is as clever as his words and visage indicate, he will humour the furious legislators probing the pension scam and get away with nothing but fierce censure.

Elumelu has become a safe ruminant and legislative wonk. He was badly beaten and bruised, but he is still perching on what looks like the moral high ground. This is not the case with Lawan. The petit legislator has been beaten insensate by sickening, short-range blows from the executive branch and one of its men Friday, the illustrious and undiscriminating Mr Femi Otedola.

Lawan’s story is probably the most dramatic and pathetic since Nigeria began its troubling experimentation with parliamen-

tary practices. Member of the House of Representatives since 1999, his star rising with + passing year, and his elocution, like each his rich voice, deliberate, endearing and near as oratorical as anyone who is not an orator can get, Lawan seemed made for parliamentary jousting and destined for parliamentary glory. Not only was he leader of the socalled Integrity Group in the Reps, a label he and others in his group acquired when they battled former Speaker Patricia Etteh over corruption allegations, he inspired confidence in many Nigerians about his bona fides, and evoked an unquenchable ability to strive for his country’s glory. In April 2012, according to the prosecutor, he solicited for a $3m bribe from businessman Femi Otedola, and only managed to collect $620,000 of the sum before his luck ran out.

The state will try to make the accusation stick; but Lawan will try his best to wriggle out of the net. There is little hope, however, that he will succeed.

But Lawan’s troubles began when he was named chairman of the panel on fuel subsidy payments. The panel did the job with such public daring and flourish that Nigerians were glued to what they dubbed the subsidy opera. In the din, Lawan’s mellifluous voice and characteristic surefootedness, both of which belied his size, could be heard and seen distinctly, soothing wounded hearts and lifting broken spirits. But with the Otedola accusation, the once confident Lawan voice has given way to a hoary, feeble baritone, slower than usual, and many of his statements contradictory and clearly illogical. A court has remanded him in prison until his bail application can be heard later this week. After stalling for many months Lawan now probably feels subdued, disconsolate and haunted, broken in spirit as he is in body, and perhaps with not the faintest idea of a way out.

Of the three gentlemen, Lawan is probably the worst hit. While the courts will be procedurally restrained by legal exigencies to assume his guilt, the public is less troubled by any consideration of conscience.

Once Otedola went public, they had concluded there was no conceivable way of escape for the petit PDP legislator from Kano.

More, the public sighs in frustration at the paradoxical jinx afflicting panels in these parts, and the seeming impossibility of finding one good man in government by whom we could swear, or failing that, one good man anywhere to probe the failure of government.

Boko Haram’s controversial ceasefire/peace offer

B

OTH the federal government and Borno State have reacted with tentative unease to the offer by Boko Haram to declare unilateral ceasefire and engage in dialogue for lasting peace. On the part of Borno State, they are desperate to have any kind of deal as long as it would lead to cessation of hostility, but are not sure whether the sect’s proposal will fly, especially in view of the federal government’s newfound bellicosity. Abuja on the other hand is exasperated by the sect’s obduracy and refusal in the past months to enter into dialogue without preconditions.

And in the face of the Mali campaign, which the government says may have disrupted Boko Haram’s command structure and safe haven, Abuja appears to think the sect is cornered and desperate. There is, therefore, brinkmanship on both sides.

There has never been a consensus on dialogue with the Islamist sect. There will never be. But it is also understandable why Borno State, which has borne the brunt of the sect’s activities, is desperate to secure peace in order for economic and social activities to be restored. For both federal and state governments, the issue of setting a sound and principled precedent for leaders to follow in the face of anarchical groups levying war against the state is not urgent at all. This was why they pussyfooted for a long time over whether to dia-

logue with the sect or not. But just when the vacillating Jonathan government had made up its mind to fight until victory was achieved, the sect threw a hard bone into the mix, which Borno State seems resolved to chew with its milk teeth.

In making up their minds on the sect’s proposal, especially the demand for N26bn compensation, it is important for both Borno and Abuja to know that the innocent dead, especially those whose lives were shattered for no reason other than either their religion or refusal to cooperate with the sect, cannot be part of that negotiation. The federal and state governments must also struggle with the deeply troubling irony of making a deal with the sect to reward its living and dead members for having levied war against the state and destroyed other people’s lives while purportedly fighting either social or economic injustice.

Boko Haram militants, some state governments in the Northeast, and many of the sect’s sympathisers argue that since the federal government could spend hundreds of billions of naira to end Niger Delta militancy, it should be prepared to spend a decent fraction of that to end militancy in the North. Such arguments deliberately fail to take cognisance of the striking dissimilarities between the two types of militancy. While the Niger Delta

campaigns were first and foremost directed at economic sabotage for years of indefensible neglect of the region, the Boko Haram campaigns were first and foremost an unconscionable human tragedy enacted wilfully by a misguided group that has now spawned more violently adventurous splinter groups. It is a disservice to intellectualism and to the country to excuse the destructions wreaked by the sect, or to monetise peace.

Boko Haram sympathisers should be advised to limit their campaigns to pleading for amnesty for the sect’s foot soldiers.

They should also limit themselves to suing the government for all the documented cases of extra-judicial killings carried out by security agents. Perhaps the courts may even compel the government to pay substantially more than the arbitrary N26bn the sect is asking for. But for the Republic to be saved and the law and constitution preserved, the sect’s leaders must be apprehended, tried and punished according to the laws of the land. In addition, security agents who engaged in extrajudicial killings should be brought to book, and the point made that Nigeria is not a lawless jungle filled with maniacal and uncontrollable killers in uniform. And then finally, the innocent dead and wounded must receive adequate compensation for peace to reign.

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ISSN: 115-5302 E-mail: sunday@thenationonlineng.net Editor: FESTUS ERIYE