The Nation February 11, 2012 by The Nation

The craziest thing a male Page fan did 23 to me actress,

Damilola’s killer sent back to jail 16 days after release Page

Union

leader slumps

in Ondo

Governor’s office Page 4

...dies few minutes after

Nollywoo

fah

Belinda Ef

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

VOL.05 N0. 20032

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

N150.00

INEC, SSS, JTF, others set for poll in Jonathan’s home state

Pages

3&6

We’ve Pg.2 forgiven bomb suspect but... -Madalla Church priest

South-East governors Pg.3 meet northern counterparts, emirs over attacks

Four killed in soldiers, Boko Haram shootout in Maiduguri Pg.5

Page

The suspect with armed policemen... yesterday: PHOTO: Abayomi FAYESE

How Boko Haram escapee Kabiru Sokoto was re-arrested Suspect nabbed with brother in Taraba State SSS traced him to Nasarawa and later Wukari-Jalingo Expressway

2 NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

CBN donates N100m to Boko Haram victims in Kano •Kwankwaso set to launch security trust fund Kolade ADEYEMI, Kano

ENTRAL Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has donated N100 million to the Kano State Government for onward delivery to victims of the recent BokoHaram bomb attacks in the state. CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, presented the N100 million cheque to the Kano State Deputy Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, during his condolence visit to the Kano Government House yesterday. Sanusi explained that the donation is part of its contribution to assist the state government to alleviate the suffering of direct victims of the violence and their families. “We are here to commiserate with the government and people of the state on the recent violent incident that claimed the lives and properties of victims and present the contribution of the bank to the state. “The incident, from all indications, has deeply shocked the country and the world at large. Our pray is that Almighty Allah will grant those who lost their lives mercy and comfort their families” he said. Responding, Ganduje expressed appreciation to the management of the apex bank for the gesture, pointing out that it would go a long way in assisting the victims. He said the incident had greatly affected the state in many respects, adding that “the state government requires the support of patriotic Nigerians to bring comfort to those affected”. “On behalf of his Excellency, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and the good people of the state, we wish to thank you for this contribution which is a demonstration of the bank`s concern over what has happened. “It is very unfortunate that the incident has resulted in the lost of lives and property. Since the attacks, our administration has been doing everything possible to assist the victims. “The donation from your bank would definitely go a long way in this regard. We are indeed happy that normalcy is gradually returning to the state. “As you are aware, Governor Kwankwaso has constituted a committee of elders to advise him on how to tackle the current security challenges confronting the state as well as the nation. “In order to enhance the security of lives and property throughout the state, the government has resolved to initiate a Security Trust Fund through which donations would be solicited for the purpose of security management”, Ganduje stated.

•Different faces of Kabiru yesterday

How Boko Haram escapee Kabiru Sokoto K was re-arrested ABIRU Sokoto,the Boko Haram strategist who cost the immediate past Inspector General of Police and six of his lieutenants their jobs and put the nation on edge, was re-arrested yesterday hiding behind a rack of drying clothes. He was caught with his elder brother in a hut at Mutum Biu village in Taraba State. He had been on the run for 25 days after escaping from a team of policemen who had taken him to Abaji, near Abuja, for a search of his residence. The policemen were attacked by some youths who freed Kabiru. The policemen and the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Zakari Biu, investigating the suspect are now under probe over the escape. The immediate past IGP, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, six of his lieutenants were sacked on account of Kabir Sokoto’s escape. He is believed to be the mastermind of the Christmas Day bombing of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla. Kabiru and his elder brother, in whose company he was arrested,were flown to Abuja at about 1pm yesterday from Jalingo in an Air Force Plane. The SSS immediately briefed the presidency and other security agencies accord-

•Suspect nabbed with brother in Taraba State • SSS traced him to Nasarawa and later Wukari - Jalingo Expressway Profile of a hitman KABIRU was born on May 9, 1983 to the family of Umaru Jabbi of Gagi , Sokoto South Local Government Area of Sokoto State. Following the death of his father, he was adopted by his paternal uncle, Abubakar Dikko, who renamed him after himself. He completed his primary education at the Model Primary School, Gagi in 1996. He enrolled for secondary education at Ahmadu Bello Academy in 1996 only to abscond soon afterward. He, however, applied for admission as a fresh JSS 1 student at Sultan Bello Secondary School, Sokoto South LGA, from where he eventually graduated in 2003. In 2005, he gained admission into the College of Nursing and Midwifery, Sokoto where he exhibited a high level of truancy and extremist tendencies, a situation which accounted for his poor academic performance. In mid 2007, he absconded again from the institution after refusing to re-take some papers he failed in his examination. Kabiru was instrumental in bringing the late national leader of the Boko Haram sect, Mohammed Yusuf, to Gagi in February, 2009 during which he was declared leader of the sect in Sokoto State. Yusuf ALLI and Gbade OGUNWALE ingly. The Nation yesterday reported that Kabiru Sokoto had not fled the country contrary

to speculations and that the SSS and military intelligence were hopeful that he would be arrested soon. It was gathered that the suspect was picked up from his hide-out between 5am and

•We said so! 6am. The SSS had to intervene in the hunt for the suspect following the inability of the Nigeria Police to re-arrest him. The source said: “After trailing him for about three weeks, we succeeded in re-arresting him at Mutum Biu village on Friday along Wukari-Jalingo Highway. “During the dawn raid, Kabiru Sokoto sandwiched himself in the clothes rack within the compound to evade arrest but our vigilant operatives located him. He was rearrested with his elder brother. “The SSS team took time to ascertain that it was Kabiru Sokoto that was really re-ar-

rested. Apart from his photograph and finger prints, a few security searches were also conducted. Thereafter, the SSS broke the news. “From the village, he was taken to Jalingo where the Air Force flew him and his elder brother to Abuja in a special flight. We are suspecting that his elder brother had been shielding him or might have been his guide in the escape bid. “A team has been raised to interrogate both of them. “Following SSS intervention, the suspect was initially located at Toto Village in Nasarawa State where he was constantly in touch with the detained spokesman of Boko Haram, Abu Qaqa. “He got to Toto from Abaji where he escaped from a police team that went to search his house. Throughout his stay in Toto, the call logs revealed how he strategised with the Boko Haram spokesman. “We suspect that he became frustrated and opted to relocate to Taraba from Nasarawa following the arrest of Abu Qaqa. “But security agencies were careful in invading Toto to avoid unnecessary loss of lives. Yet , Sokoto seized the opportunity to disguise with his elder brother, and relocated to Taraba State . •Continued on Page 61

...we've forgiven him but he must name his sponsors __St Theresa’s Church priest THE priest in charge of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, the Rev. Father Isaac Achi, yesterday said the congregation has forgiven the re-arrested Boko Haram member, Kabiru Sokoto, who is believed to be the mastermind of the Christmas Day bombing of the church. Forty-four people died in the blast. Reverend Achi, however, said the State Security Service should do its best to prevail on the suspect to name the sponsors of the serial bombings that have claimed many lives nationwide. He said the re-arrest of Kabiru Sokoto has vindicated Muslims and Christians who have been praying nationwide for an end to bomb explosions. Achi, who spoke exclusively with our correspondent last night, said the suspect must not be put in police custody.

Yusuf ALLI He said: “If it is true, the SSS needs to be commended for being vigilant. Whatever the police did put Nigeria in shame. The SSS should be commended for this breakthrough. “Left to me, Kabiru Sokoto should not be put in the police custody again; he should either be with the SSS or the Nigerian Army. “We have forgiven the suspect but it is left to the Federal Government to see what they can do to curtail the Boko Haram menace. As for justice, that is left to the Federal Government. But we have forgiven him. “But the suspect needs to be able to tell us those sponsoring them because he is not the only person behind the explosions. He should be able to tell the nation those behind these explosions that have claimed many innocent lives.” Responding to a question, Achi added: “I think the prayers

of Muslims and Christians have brought confusion to Boko Haram. With all the prayers of well-meaning Nigerians and sacrifices at the altar, there was no way Kabiru Sokoto would have escaped permanently. It shows that God answers prayers. “Really, the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church. And these people that died, their blood is crying and hurting those behind their death. “These people have brought sorrows to many families and there is no way the blood of those killed will not cry for justice. The re-arrest of Kabiru Sokoto shows how great God is and why we must always have faith in the Most High.”

NEWS 3

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

TENURE ELONGATION VERDICT

Igbo killings: South East governors launch peace initiative

•SSS spokeperson, Marlyn Ogar, briefing the press yesterPHOTOS: Abayomi FAYESE day

OUTH East governors are reaching out to their northern counterparts and emirs as part of the strategy to stop the current spate of killings in the North believed to be masterminded by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram. The governors, as gathered, have been working the phones and holding meetings on how to stem the killings and reduce tension across the country. Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State confirmed to The Nation in an interview in Awka that he and his fellow South East governors were working behind the scene to stop the blood shedding. He said:”We must accept that the country is witnessing unusual challenges today. While one should not be divorced from what the people are going through, statesmanship demands that we all seek solutions to what is happening today and not making careless statements that would exacerbate the already tense situation. “Now is not the time to

... meet northern counterparts, emirs Emeka ODOGWU, Chris ORJI, Bisi OLANIYI, Okungbowa AIWERIE, Ugochukwu EKE, Isaac OMBE, Emma MGBEAHURIKE make careless public statements, but a time to work underground with all the men of goodwill for the interest of one’s people and the country at large. And that is what the South-East governors are doing. “We are working hard round the clock for peace in the country, and once this is achieved, every other thing would take its shape. “The Federal Government is already working towards stopping the menace of Boko Haram. As for our people who are affected one way or the other , we assure them that we are always with them. We will always do our best to make things easier for them.” He gave no details of the peace initiative. Thousands of Igbo resid-

ing in the North have been fleeing, prompting an emergency meeting last weekend ,in Enugu,of the South East governors and other prominent Igbo leaders. The meeting was briefed by Igbo leaders in Adamawa, Borno, Bauchi and Yobe who, according to sources, debunked insinuations that Igbo were deliberately targetted in the northern attacks. “They told the meeting that while it is true that many Igbo were killed, it is wrong to say that the dead fell victim just because they were Igbo,” one source close to the meeting said. “They were of the view that so many Igbo died because of their large number in different parts of the country and not because anyone set out to kill them.” The meeting, after reviewing the situation, urged caution in dealing with the situation. It agreed that it would not be in the best interest of the

South East and the nation in general for the Igbo to retaliate on account of the killings. “The meeting felt that the huge investments of the Igbo in the North and their sheer number would not permit us to embark on reprisal against the northerners living in the South East, hence the decision to shun vegeance,” the source said. But prominent leaders in the zone and the South South also took positions on the Boko Haram menace. Professor Joshua Ogbonnaya, 77, the immediate past Chairman of the Governing Council of Abia State University said he was opposed to any reprisal against northerners living in the South East, stressing that Nigeria is for everyone and that people should be free to reside in any part of the country, “which is what the constitution says, but these incidents have happened several times that they make me weep.” •Continued on Page 61

Bayelsa: INEC, SSS, JTF, others set for poll • Hotels fully booked • Bayelsans move enmasse to communities to vote • Jonathan to vote at home town, Otuoke

LL is now set for the Bayelsa State governship election today. Bayelsans were all fired up yesterday for today’s governorship election after a Federal High Court,Abuja, gave the go ahead for the poll. Media reports had suggested that the court summoned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in respect of the poll. The report seemed to have dampened the enthusiasm of the people many of whom openly expressed shock. But once news filtered into Yenagoa,the state capital, yesterday that the election would proceed as scheduled, excitement returned among the electorate. President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to vote in his Otuoke hometown in Ogbia Local Government Area of the state. Sources at Otuoke told The Nation on Saturday that they were ready,as always , to welcome their son. Many residents of Yenagoa were seen travelling to their hometowns to exercise their

Bisi OLANIYI, Yenagoa franchise. Traffic on Yenagoa’s roads was also quite heavy yesterday, as election observers, security personnel and INEC officials began to move to their different duty stations. All the hotels in the town are fully booked for this weekend. About 15,000 security personnel are expected to be deployed for the election. Bayelsa’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Edwin Nwatarali; Commissioner of Police, Chris Olakpe; state Director of SSS, Andrew Iorkyar and the Spokesman of the JTF, Timothy Antigha, pledged that the election would be free, fair, credible. The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre on Azikoro Road, Yenagoa, is the INEC’s collation centre, with the Outside Broadcast (OB) vans of the Africa Independent Television (AIT) and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) on standby to beam it live.

•President Jonathan arriving Bayelsa yesterday

A Bayelsan, Preye Anthony, who was met at the newsstand in front of the NUJ press centre, Yenagoa, said he was happy that the election would

be held today as planned. A native of Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, who simply gave her name as Mrs. Nen-

gi, was seen at Ekeki Park in Yenagoa at 12:30 pm, as she was about boarding a vehicle to Bomadi waterfront in neighbouring Delta State,

with members of her family, to join a boat to Ekeremor. She hailed the position of the Federal High Court on the election.

...Abuja court denies summoning INEC

FEDERAL High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday denied summoning the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to explain why today’s Bayelsa governorship election should not be stopped. Justice Donatus Okorowo said he was misrepresented by the media as the “court made no order as to show cause”. “This court made no order to stop the election. This court made no order as regards restraining all the processes leading to the election”, he added. INEC itself confirmed that it received no such court summons and said it is set for the election. The court reportedly summoned the commission to appear in respect of a suit filed by Chief Kenneth Gbaliga Gbalikuma of the African Renaissance Party (ARP). In a motion exparte argued by his counsel, Kayode Ajulo, on Thursday, Gbalikuma had asked the Judge to stop the election on the grounds that INEC violated some provisions of the Electoral Act 2010. He claimed that the commission allowed the political parties contesting the Bayelsa governorship election only 12 days

•Commission: We ‘ll go ahead with poll Kamarudeen OGUNDELE and Augustine EHIKIOYA, Abuja instead of the mandatory 90 days stipulated by Section 30 of the Electoral Act. He stated that conducting the election by the INEC will amount to a breach of the Electoral Act. But Justice Okorowo stressed that he only directed the plaintiff to put the defendant on notice and not that he summoned them to come and show cause why he should not grant the prayers sought by the plaintiff. The commission, which a court bailiff accused of evading service, was represented yesterday by its Director, Legal Services, Ibrahim Bawa. Bawa, who denied evading service, said the bailiff came after the close of work and was asked to return this morning. Justice Okorowo joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

and its candidate, Henry Seriake Dickson, in the suit yesterday, as interested parties. Although Ajulo did not oppose their applications for joinder, he frowned at the INEC for not receiving the court bailiff. He said the regulations of the commission cannot override a legal statute as stated in the Sheriff and Bailiff Act. Following claims by the defendants that they had not been served, the court ordered the plaintiff to serve all the court processes on them before the next sitting on March 5. The ARP candidate in his motion exparte had asked the court to give order for status-quo to be maintained pending the time INEC would comply with all relevant laws and guidelines on the Bayelsa election. The plaintiff claimed that INEC would engage in illegality if allowed to go ahead with the election without giving the mandatory 90 days notice. He told the court that the election is null and void because it is inconsistent with Section 30 of the Electoral Act . •Continued on Page 61

4 NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2011

NAPTIP rescues 384 children in Ogun

HE Executive Secretary, Na tional Agency for the Prohibi tion of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) Mrs Beatrice Jedy - Agba, has expressed concern that Nigeria and Republic of Benin remain sources as well as transit and destination points for trafficked persons. A total of 384 children, according to her, were rescued from child - labour in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. Jedy - Agba added that since 2007, a total of 5,919 trafficked children were rescued and rehabilitated and are now receiving formal and vocational education at Zakpota in Benin while 60 others were enrolled in schools in Abeokuta. The NAPTIP Executive Secretary (Nigeria)who spoke yesterday while signing a Communique at the 9th Nigerian / Benin Joint Technical Committee on Trafficking in Persons, said the affected children were all discovered as child workers in quarries located in Abeokuta. The children, she added were later taken to Zakpota in Benin Republic for rehabilitation as they were all citizens of that country while their parents who originally gave the children

Ernest NWOKOLO, Abeokuta away are now being made look for alternative sources of livelihood instead of using their kids as items for sale to earn income. “The 384 children have been withdrawn from Abeokuta and taken to Zakpota. This programme also involves rehabilitation, repatration and reintegration. Sometimes when we go to Benin Republic, we find Nigerian children there involved in child labour. Even the parents of these chil-

dren are supported to find alternative means of livelihood instead of looking up to their children as sources of income. “Those who traffick children from Benin Republic down to Nigeria are often Beninoise themselves. As such, when they are captured, we hand them over to the Benin Republic authorities for prosecution. As such, we don’t have statistics at hand for the number of such arrests made,” she said. In the communique which was

equally signed by the Beninoise counterpart, Mr. Emile Ekpinse ( Deputy Secretary - General, Ministry of Family, Social Affairs, National Solidarity, Handicapped and old people, Republic of Benin), the two countries resolved to share information and intelligence to enable them arrest and prosecute human traffickers. They stressed the need to boost the activities of watch groups in border communities such as Seme, Owode, Idiroko, Igolo, Ilara, Alagbe by equipping them with minimum tools.

AGOS lawyer human rights ac tivist and former presidential candidate of the Nigeria Advance Party, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, will today at Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral, Ikeja deliver a lecture under the auspices of the cathedral’s elite society, The Torchbearers. This is in keeping with the society’s trail-blazing tradition of organizing a periodic interface between acknowledged Nigerian men and women of achievement and fame and parishioners of the church. The lecture is scheduled for 4pm. Dr. Braithwaite will speak on the subject: “God in my life.”

Osun nurses advise patients

Perform or be sacked, Ajimobi tells new council chairmen OVERNOR Abiola Ajimobi yesterday swore-in five newly-appointed local government transition committee chairmen, with a warning that any council chairman who fails to perform to expectation would be shown the way out. Speaking at the ceremony in his office, the governor said that the new council helmsmen should be diligent and work towards achieving the aims and objectives of the ruling party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). He said: “This government is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. We place the people first. You must, therefore, give your best to serve the people. “You should also note that your positions are not permanent. In fact, there is nothing like permanent position in Oyo State again. If you fail to perform to expectation, we will not hesitate to relieve you of your post.’’ Gov. Ajimobi charged them to be visionary and study the needs of the people with a view to meeting their yearnings and expectations. He urged the new council chairmen never to embark on projects that had no direct bearing to the needs of the people. “You must be faithful, honest and be guided by the oath of allegiance to the country and to your state. I am sure that you all have the ability, knowledge and skill to serve. You must, therefore, not disappoint the people. “Be bold and courageous, and you must not compromise. You must be ready and prepared to step on toes to be successful in your assignment. You must also put God first in whatever you do. Ensure that you have the fear of God and be fair to the people of your respective council areas,’’ the governor admonished. Gov. Ajimobi asked party leaders to cooperate with the government and stressed the need for them to be more united in the task of taking the state to greater height. The newly sworn-in council chairmen are a former Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs to the immediate past Governor of the state, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, Mr. Oladeji Alabi Olanrewaju (Ogbomoso North) and Mr. Adekunle Adegboye (Oyo East). The rest are: Mr. Adepoju Aderemi (Ogo Oluwa); Alhaji Mukaila Abiola Ambali (Akinyele) and Mr. Salawu Fatai Adesina (Ibarapa North).

Braithwaite delivers lecture today

From left: Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Ekiti State, Mr. Folorunso Olabode; Deputy Governor, Mrs. Funmi Olayinka; Governor Kayode Fayemi and his wife, Bisi, at the state Rehabilitation and Relief Centre when the governor paid a visit to the centre in commemoration of his 47th birthday in Ado-Ekiti... yesterday.

Fayemi marks 47th birthday with motherless babies

KITI State Governor Kayode Fayemi yesterday celebrated his 47th birthday with visits to motherless babies’ homes in the the state. He donated cash gifts and materials valued at millions of naira to the homes. He was accompanied by his deputy Mrs. Funmilayo Olayinka, his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi and other members of the cabinet. He said he decided to celebrate the birthday that way to show appreciation of the special category of people. He said that in directing public attention to plight of the under privileged, he directed that those willing to sponsor paid adverts either in print or electronic media should donate the money either to the homes of the motherless or to the Ekiti De-

velopment Foundation which would inturn channel the fund appropriately. Some of the homes visited by the Governor were The Rehabilitation Centre for the physically challenged, Dallimoore, Ado Ekiti; Delightsome Oaks Mission School /Orphanage, Adehun , Ado Ekiti, Erelu Angela Adebayo Children’s Home, Iyin Ekiti and Ben Folarin School, Ado Ekiti, where the EDF paid the School Fees and ancillary costs of 30 orphans and vulnerable children. Fayemi said: “ I know it is easier for me to celebrate my birthday in company of adult notables, wine and dine with them. But I chose instead to pay you a visit to enable you see that the Governor about whom you would have heard is a person in flesh

and blood. “Governance is not always about comfort and personal choices. It most times involves doing things to honour and favour the less privileged, “My coming will also enable you appreciate better what it takes to be a leader as some of you will emerge leaders tomorrow.” At the Ekiti State Rehabilitation Centre, Governor Fayemi donated a generator set and other gift items, saying “I consulted the officials and they told me that the need for light here is paramount.” At Delightsome Oaks Mission Schools/Orphanage, the Governor made a pledge of N150,000 monthly to offset half of the orphanage’s N300,000 monthly running cost requirement.

Union leader slumps in Ondo Governor’s office

HERE was confusion at the Ondo State Secretariat, Alagbaka, Akure, the state capital, Thursday following the sudden death of the chairman of the Nigeria Civil Service Union, Governor’s Office branch, Comrade Idowu Esho. The deceased slumped and consequently died at the state Specialist Hospital, Akure. Esho, a native of Akure, was said to have became unconcious around 8.30am shortly after returning from the toilet where he had gone to ease himself. Eyewitnesses told The Nation that immediately he got out of the toilet located at the Cocoa Conference Hall, he fell on the floor twice. Sources hinted that it was one of the cleaners working in the Governor’s Office who witnessed the incident that quickly raised the alarm which attracted the attention of some workers who hurriedly rushed into the hall. The workers, it was gathered, quickly moved into action by rushing Esho to the hospital.

...dies few minutes after Damisi OJO, Akure At the hospital, Esho was said to have regained consciousness after he was attended to by the doctors and nurses on duty. However, it was learnt that a few minutes after he woke up, the late union leader complained that something was moving around his body which could not be diagnosed by the medical team at the hospital. He started behaving funny as the strange object continuously moved around his body with his neck twisted. All efforts made by the medical team failed as he fell down and died. His body was later deposited at the mortuary of the hospital. Immediately the news of his death filtered to the government secretariat, many civil servants wept uncontrollably for several hours.

There were divergent opinions on what might have led to his untimely death. While some people believed that he might have died as a result of heart attack, some said his death might not be unconnected with his involvement in a land dispute A civil servant, who spoke with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, said the late union was attacked spiritually. According to her, Osho was involved in a land dispute which later became a legal battle. She noted that the Akure-born unionist had visited one of his disputed lands a day before he died. Meanwhile, burial arrangements for the union leader had been slated for next Tuesday in Akure. A top family source hinted that Osho would have been buried immediately after the incident, but for the intervention of the union that insisted that his burial should be shifted.

ATIONAL Association of Ni geria Nurses and Midwives, Osun State chapter, has called on patients in the state to patronize government hospitals and health centres. In a communiqué signed by the association’s chairperson, Mrs. Funmi Adenuga, at the end of a meeting of senior nurses in Osogbo, Osun State capital, the nurses and midwives said quality medical care and drugs are now available in abundance in all government hospitals. They commended Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, for the laudable health programmes of his administration. Pledging their loyalty and support for the administration, they called on the governor to include nurses in all health related policy making bodies in the state. The association assured the governor of their competence to hold professional offices in the health sector in the state.

Ogun to partner investors on rice, cashew production

GUN State government has re iterated its commitment to partner with genuine investors in rice, cashew, tomato and cassava production in order to enhance agricultural growth. Governor Ibikunle Amosun, stated this when a team of investors, led by the Group Managing Director of Odu’a Investment Company, paid him a courtesy call in his office in Abeokuta. Amosun said the state government would be ready to partner with genuine investors for the socio-economic development of the state. He described agriculture as the mainstay of the economy of the state, adding that the government was ready to support investors in areas of land and financial assistance towards making their projects realizable. He urged the investors to take advantage of the abundant mineral and human resources to develop the agricultural sector of the state. Speaking earlier, the Group Managing Director of Odu’a Investment Company, Mr. Adebayo Jimoh, said they were in the state to tap the natural resources at Imeko, especially in the area of tomato production.

Service for Arinola Vaughan

thanksgiving service in memory of the Senior Mother in Israel, late Pastor Elsie Arinola Vaughan will be conducted next Saturday by the Cherubim and Seraphim Church Movement Headquarters, Ayo ni o, Surulere, Lagos. She was 78 years old. The thanksgiving services will be directed by the church elders and Prophet Gabriel Fakeye, the leader in council. Pastor Vanghan was known for her love for people and devotion to God and kindness. He was God-fearing in her life time.

News 5

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Boko Haram: MASSOB evacuates 156 Igbo from Kano EADER of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Raph Uwazuruike, yesterday evacuated 156 Igbo sons and daughters from Kano State. The MASSOB leader sent three Ezenwata transport buses to bring Ndigbo back from the North. They arrived at about 5.30 a.m yesterday. As early as 7am, some of the returnees from both Imo and Abia states were seen being taken to their destinations. The National Director, Information and Communications of the MASSOB, Uchenna Madu, told The Nation yesterday that BokoHaram sect is a conspiracy by the Northern region against President Goodluck Jonathan’s administartion. He said Ndigbo in the North had been directed

Nwanosike ONU, Awka by the MASSOB to come back home to their region, adding that the essence of sending vehicles to them was to save their lives first, before their property. According to Madu, “we are still articulating and counting our loses on what happened at Onitsha on Thursday and when the time comes, MASSOB

would react”. There was angry protest in Onitsha on Thursday following the killing of an Igbo lorry driver by a policeman over N20. The residents of the commercial city including MASSOB members were among those who embarked on the protest, which forced the northerners to relocate to near by Asaba, capital of Delta state. Though, normalcy has re-

turned to the commercial city of Onitsha, where the state commissioner of Police, Muhtari Ibrahim and some senior members of his command had relocated since the incident, one could still feel the tension in the air. However, Anambra state Deputy Governor, Emeka Sibeudu has equally visited the commercial city of Onitsha where he addressed the residents and

enjoined them to remain calm. He said that the state government in conjunction with security agencies would make sure that such a situation doesn’t repeat itself again. There was panic among the Hausa group yesterday in Awka and Nnewi respectively as they fear for any reprisal attack. One of them who just mentioned his name as

Aminu told The Nation that if he had his way, he would slaughter all the so called members of the BokoHaram sect who he said had been causing confusion in the land. He said that the people have made them to continue to live in fear in an environment they have lived in for the past 30 years and prayed Allah to clip the wings of the so called sect members.

19-year-old mother strangles daughter to death in Akwa Ibom

HE Akwa Ibom State Police Command yesterday paraded a 19year-old mother, Nsidibe Effiong, who allegedly strangled her three-weekold baby girl to death. According to the command, Effiong was said to have strangled her daugh-

Kazeem IBRAHYM, Uyo ter to death with the use of a towel and dumped her into a latrine at Ikot Abasi Idem village in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area of the state. The State Commissioner of Police, Solomon Arase,

said the arrest of Effiong was made possible through the active working relationship between police and community recently introduced by the command. Arase was represented at the briefing by an Assistant Commissioner of Po-

lice in charge of the State CID, Don Awunah. Effiong, who looked perplexed before newsmen, blamed the situation of the the devil. She told reporters that she was forced to commit the datardly act because of pressure from the mother after the man who impregnated her ran away. Narrating her ordeal, Effiong explained that after her second child, her mother, who has been taking care of her first child, threatened to throw her out of the house, saying since there was no where to go to, she decided to eliminate the source of acrimony. Her words: “I am leaving at Ikot Abasi. The man that impregnated me ran away. People normally come to the house to have sex with me at home. I charge any amount for them to do so.” Also, arrested by the police are three member gang that normally disguised as

Marine Engineers and Contractors of Exxon Mobil, QIT terminal and using such in defrauding unsuspecting members of the public. The police boss named those arrested as David John, Ekpo Udo alias Engr. Kinsley, David Iwara and Godson Okedu. His words: “In one of their numerous phoney deals, the sum of N3,550,000.00 was obtained from one Felicia Onyeachulem under the guise of delivering ten truck load of premium motor spirit (PMS) to her. The sum of N1,000,000 part of the proceeds has been traced to one of the suspect’s Bank Account.” Speaking with newsmen, the suspects denied police’s allegation. They said they were framed up. The suspects explained that it was a case of dealing in oil bunkering but the police turned it to that of 419.

Four killed in soldiers, Boko Haram shootout in Maiduguri •Sect attacks another police station in Kano

•From left: Sir Emem Akpabio, Mr Sylvester Okonkwo, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State and Barrister Theophilous Oresanya at the reception held for the late Pastor Caleb Oresanya in Lagos... yesterday

Rivers guber: Omehia, Amaechi know fate February 15

EBRUARY 15, 2012 has been fixed for ruling on whether or not to strike out applications on criminal allegations in the election petition filed by the Rivers State governorship candidate of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Sir Celestine Omehia, against the victory of Governor Chibuike Amaechi at the April 2011 general polls. The three-man re-constituted Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Port Harcourt yesterday fixed the date. During the sitting of the tribunal yesterday, the lead counsel to the first (Amaechi) and second ( Deputy Governor, Engr. Tele Ikuru) respondents, Barr. Ifedayo Adedipe, SAN, urged the tribunal to strike out paragraphs containing criminal allegations against individuals mentioned in the petitioners’ application. Adedipe argued that in the interest of justice, it would be proper for persons allegedly mentioned on criminal

Clarice AZUATALAM, Port Harcourt grounds to appear before the tribunal for fair hearing. “When individuals are named in criminal matters, they must be made parties, or such paragraphs must be struck out,” Adedipe said. The counsel to the third respondent (PDP), Barr Nathaniel Oke, SAN, in his own submission, agreed with the counsel to the fourth respondent (INEC) Barr. Emmanuel Ukala, a SAN who had in his earlier claims said the petitioners also had case to answer.

But lead counsel to the petitioners (Omehia and co), Barr James Ezike, in his defence, said that counsels to the respondents in their separate statements did not ask for specific areas of the paragraphs in contention that they would like to be expunged. Ezike maintained that there was no way the persons mentioned in their applications could be rejoinders on the matter adding that they made the PDP party to the application as a principal entity while persons, as mentioned were mere agents who worked for

them. Continuing, Ezike said that the four respondents in the matter should have narrowed their claims on the criminal allegation even as he prayed the tribunal to strike out their applications to enable it conclude the pretrial stage and resume proper trial. Chairman of the three-man tribunal, Justice Abdullahi Liman later clarified that the issue on which the respondents were asking was on rejoinder, and not on specifics and then he adjourned the matter to February 15, 2011 when he would rule on the motion.

OUR persons, including two soldiers, died yesterday in a twin explosion and a gun battle between military men and Boko Haram members in Maiduguri. “I was in a taxi going home when the first bomb exploded... (Within) just two minutes, another one ahead of us went off,” said resident Babagana Ari, whose account was supported by other residents. The spokesman for a special military squad established to crack down on Boko Haram in the area confirmed the explosions. “We have deployed our field men to the scene of the blast, and I will have to wait for the briefing before I can say anything,” said Hassan Mohammed, spokesman for the Joint

Supreme Court upholds Lamido’s election

UPREME Court yesterday upheld the election of Jigawa governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, in the April 2011 governorship election. In a unanimous judgment, the apex court affirmed the judgement of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna that upheld

Kamarudeen OGUNDELE, Abuja the decision of the Jigawa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal. The lower court had dismissed the petition of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and its candidate,

Alhaji Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, for lacking in merit. The court held that Governor Lamido was qualified to contest the governorship election as the appellants failed to prove that the certificates the governor used for the election

were forged. According to the Justices, the appellants did not show any evidence to prove the allegation of the non compliance to the provisions of the Electoral Act which they alleged in their appeal. The apex court said it will give reasons for the judgement on February 24, 2012.

Task Force in Maiduguri. The explosions went off near a station where residents board Keke Napep located outside the customs building, witnesses said. “The first bomb was planted at the foot of the wall of the customs office when commuters were waiting for rickshaws,” said Halilu Adam. “The second one went off some metres away... The whole area has now been cordoned off by soldiers and it is very difficult to have an idea of casualties.” Suspected members of Boko Haram also last night in Kano engaged police in a gun duel in Shagari Quarters. The sect members had attacked the police station in the area.It was not immediately known if anyone died in the gun battle. Seven police stations in Kano have so far been attacked by Boko Haram in the last few weeks. Meanwhile, Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou said in Abidjan that west African nations must work to prevent a “synergy” between Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda, adding: “We have to work to stop this.”.

6 News

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Onitsha killer policeman dismissed, remanded in prison

HE Nigeria Police Force yesterday dismissed the police corporal, Samuel Ojana, who shot and killed a bus driver in the commercial city of Onitsha, for allegedly refusing to give him N20, which resulted in the violent protest in the city. This came on the heels of the insistence by prominent Igbo leaders on the removal of all police checkpoints in the South East. Following the crisis that almost assumed an ethnic coloration, the Commissioner of Police in charge of Anambra, Ibrahim Muktari, and other senior police officers in the command relocated to Onitsha to personally monitor the security situation and build confidence in the residents, especially the Hausa community. The suspect, who hails from Agila in Benue State, was attached to the Police Mobile Force, PMF 52, Onitsha, is currently standing trial for the shooting of one Mr. Edwin Eze from Nachi in Enugu State. He was arraigned before an Onitsha Magistrate Court, presided over by Ngozi Okoye who remanded him in prison custody on the ground that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case. According to Mr. Ibrahim, the action was necessitated to bring sanity into the force and convince the public that the police do not condone indiscipline and recklessness. “As you can see, the suspect has been dismissed and arraigned after an orderly room trial. This shows that the police do not shield anyone that goes contrary to the law. It was a mistake; it could

•Igbo leaders insist on removal of checkpoints Okodili NDIDI, Onitsha. happen to anybody but that is not enough reason to say that he should not be punished for the offence committed”, he said. The police boss also debunked the insinuation that the suspect was an Hausa Moslem, which actually infuriated the of youths in the area yesterday. He stated that “a policeman is a policeman no matter where he comes from or his religion. So it was all wrong information that sparked the anger of the natives”. He, however, maintained that peace had returned to the city, urging the residents and the Hausa community that fled to neighboring Asaba, the Delta State capital to return to their places of business, assuring that the police was on top the situation. Meanwhile, there was a renewed call by the leader of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazurike and other Igbo leaders for the immediate dismantling of all police checkpoints in the zone. Speaking through his second in command, Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka and MASSOB’s Director of Information, Uchenna Madu, the igbo leader, called on the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to remove all roadblocks and replace them with police surveillance and patrol teams. He lamented that in the last one year, a large number of

Ndigbo have been killed in cold blood by trigger happy policemen at checkpoints. “The ideas of police checkpoints are primitive and ineffective. Everyday we have reports of people shot be-

cause of money and the extortion. The embarrassment suffered by people in the hands of these policemen is killing the economy of the South East. A situation where you have over 30 check-

Soldiers storm MASSOB office

PPARENTLY on the pursuit of hoodlums after the crisis that rocked the commercial city of Onitsha yesterday, a combined team of soldiers and mobile policemen stormed the office of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra

...as ex-militants threaten disruption

Bisi OLANIYI and Isaac OMBE,Yenagoa tention of the local government chairman, Chief Tiwei Idowei. The detained chairman is a staunch supporter of Bayelsa’s sacked governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, while the council’s vice-chairman, Aya Felix Bourney, is a loyalist of PDP’s governorship candidate, Henry Seriake Dickson. Briefing reporters in Yenagoa yesterday on behalf of the family, Idowei’s younger brother, Paul Ebifaghe Orunimighe, alleged that the LG boss was being witch-hunted. Paul said: “My brother was on a visit to Ghana and was invited by Bayelsa Acting

ter of the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), called on the IG to ensure that the perpetrator of the heinous crime doest not escape but made to face the music to serve as deterrent to others.

•Some of the Igbo indigenes that were evacuated from Kano by MASSOB... yesterday

Okodili NDIDI, Onitsha. (MASSOB) after killing one of the members of the group at a checkpoint. According to an eyewitness account, the victim identified as Chukwuemeka Ezeakolam, was shot dead because he was wearing a

Security tightened ahead of Bayelsa election ECURITY has been tightened in Bayelsa State ahead of today’s governorship election. Some ex-militants have threatened to disrupt the poll. Only last weekend,some people claiming to be members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) blew up an Agip trunk line at Nembe in the state. Besides, two groups clashed last week at Oporoma which led to the death of two persons,one of them the Supervisory Councillor for Agriculture and Economic Planning in Southern Ijaw Local Government, Mr. Ebiseye Orumo. The development prompted the arrest and de-

points from Onitsha to Awka, the state capital, a distance of about 20 kilometers is unacceptable”, he opined. Condemning the killing of the driver by a police corporal, the Anambra State chap-

Governor, Chief Nestor Binabo, and Hon. Seriake Dickson to attend the Oporoma rally. “The invitation was based on the recognition of the two PDP bigwigs (Binabo and Dickson) of Tiwei Orunimighe as the local government chairman and a dependable party loyalist. “On arrival at the rally venue about 2:30pm, having flown into the country, Mr. Orunimighe found the former Vice-Chairman (Aya Felix Bourney) of the council already seated on the seat provided for the council chairman. “All entreaties to make the former vice-chairman vacate the seat for the chairman yielded no fruit. “It was in the process of

asking the former vice-chairman to vacate the seat that his aides started the commotion, with party members running for their lives, as policemen fired canisters of tear gas. “An ex-militant leader, accompanied by his aides, joined the aides to the former vice-chairman to attack the council chairman and a few bodyguards accompanying him.” Paul also described his elder brother’s arrest as unnecessary. The state was jolted yesterday by the unexpected resignation of the newly appointed Chief Staff to Government House ,Yenagoa, Mr. Austin Adigio, who was until lately Personal Assistant to former Governor Timipre Sylva. No reason was given for the resignation.

MASSOB identity tag, adding that after he was shot, his lifeless body was dragged into the patrol van and driven away. The source said that the manner in which the soldiers were manhandling okada riders after the Onitsha crisis suggested that they were out to vent their anger on members of MASSOB for the protest that rocked the city. Addressing newsmen, a visibly furious MASSOB chieftain, Chief Arinze Igbani, said that another of their member was stabbed to death by the same group of soldiers around the Central Mosque at Bida road for the same reason. He maintained that despite the role played by MASSOB members in quelling the crisis, the soldiers who he said were mainly Hausas stormed their office at Oba, Idemilli South Local Government of Anambra state and burnt over ten motorcycles belonging to the members of the Movement who were holding a meeting after their condolence visit to the home of late Odimegwu Ojukwu in Nnewi. “We are law abiding as a non violent group, but the

continued killing of our members by soldiers and policemen in Onitsha can no longer be tolerated. Even when it is clear that MASSOB was not involved in yesterday’s crisis they still stormed our office and set over N5 million worth of property belonging to our members ablaze. The army and police should stop coming to attack us in our offices because we have never attacked any of their stations”, he warned. Also speaking, the MASSOB Director of Information, Uchenna Madu, said that the clampdown on defenseless and law abiding MASSOB members by the soldiers in Onitsha, was an extension of the hostilities against Ndigbo by northerners. Madu stressed that the most annoying part of the killings is that the Army in its bid to cover the incidents often seize the bodies of the killed people, “enough is enough, the fact that we are law abiding does not men that we are cowards. We won’t continue to fold our hands and watch the soldiers while they slaughter our members without reason”, he insisted.

Damilola’s killer sent back to jail 16 days after release

NE of the killers of schoolboy Damilola Taylor has been recalled to jail just 16 days after being released. It is the second time Ricky Preddie has been sent back to prison. Preddie, who was jailed for eight years in 2006 for the manslaughter of the 10year-old, was originally released in September 2010 but was sent back to jail last March for breaking the conditions of his licence.

On that occasion, he was recalled after being seen in Southwark, South London, associating with gang members - both against the terms of his release. He was recalled last night for breaching the terms of his licence put in place when he was released from north London’s Pentonville Prison on January 25. Gary Trowsdale, managing director of the Damilola Taylor Trust, warned that

there was no evidence Preddie, 24, had been reformed when he was released last month. He said: “What can we do, though? The system is the system, and the system is flawed.” A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: “The decision to release recalled offenders from custody is made by the independent Parole Board - the body solely responsible in law for

determining whether or not prisoners should be released. “Serious offenders released on licence are subject to a strict set of conditions and controls. “Examples include a strict curfew and other restrictions on their movements, as well as frequent meetings with their offender manager. “If they fail to comply with their licence conditions, they are liable to be returned to custody.

“They will also be managed under the statutory MultiAgency Public Protection Arrangements (Mappa). “Within Mappa, the police, probation and prison services are required to work together to assess and manage the risks presented by the most dangerous offenders, in order to protect the public.” Anyone recalled to custody will have their case referred within 28 days to the Parole Board, which will consider

whether they can be released, a spokesman for the Parole Board said. Preddie’s sentence is due to end in May 2013. Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “At the request of the Ministry of Justice, police attended an address in London yesterday evening and arrested a man in his 20s for a recall to prison.” Damilola’s death in November 2000 shocked the nation.

THE NATION SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

FTER all said and done, on all the fine points of the law in the legal gymnastics of erudite lawyers in court cases, it is necessary to remind both lawyers and laymen alike that the law itself has a most simple and humble origin. The law or any body of laws in any society stem from the customs and traditions of that society. The essence of the law is the promotion and creation of law and order such that anarchy is relegated to the background. That is why the political system or government exists to use force according to the law to protect the lives and properties of those within its territorial borders. Recognition for such governments within territorial borders formed the basis of non - interference in the internal affairs of other nations and is the underlying principle of the concept of sovereignty. Which also applies to the independence of the nation state in the conduct of its affairs and its dealings with other nations called diplomacy or international relations. In the 20th century the world witnessed two world wars in 1914– 1918 and 1939–1945. These were conventional wars. However in n the 21st century precisely on September 2001, in the first year of the 43rd president of the USA, George Bush, Al Qada used planes to attack the Twin Towers of New York in what has now become known as 9/11 and the US declared the war on terrorism. As it turned out this was not a conventional war and 12 years on, the war is still on in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan and has to some extent opened fresh theaters of war in Somalia, Yemen and Nigeria according to authoritative sources. It is the fury and pace of the war on terror and its toll as well as cost on human lives and our collective humanity together with the futility of our laws as they exist today in terms of deterrence or punitive potential for law and order and indeed the rule of law, that prompt the discussion and the topic for today. From the UK to Egypt, N i g e r i a t h e US and Pakistan examples abound of how terrorists have made an ass of the law while killing innocent citizens and claiming the protection of the same laws of organized society. It is my considered view that no matter what drives terrorists, society must be prepared and ready not only to take on and defeat them, but must take a lead ahead of terrorists to protect innocent lives and property. I define a terrorist as any individual or organization that kills innocent human beings to create awareness or sympathy for its cause. I also acknowledge the existence of state terrorism which is the use of state

New laws on terror and humanity

power to suppress dissent and the use of that power to kill innocent citizens. Needless to say the despotic regimes that the street revolutions of N Africa have removed fall into the category of state terrorists while the Bashar Assad regime in Syria battling for its life, is the living example of state terrorism in the way it is killing and has vowed to kill more innocent lives to stay in power against the demonstrated resolve of the Syrian people. El -Shebab in Somalia and Kenya, Al Qada in Yemen and the Islamic Maghreb spanning Mali, Mauretania and Niger Republic and Boko Haram in Nigeria are terrorist groups given the mindless killings of innocent lives by these organizations in recent times. Starting with the UK where fighting terrorism has become a way of life one can start with the frustration expressed in Parliament last Wednesday by the UK Home Secretary, Theresa May over Britain’s apparent inability to deport a terrorist cleric Abu Qatada to his home state of Jordan to face prosecution there because the European Court on Human Rights had ruled that the terrorist would be tortured in Jordan and information obtained therein would be used to jail

him which is against his fundamental human right. The UK Minister, a lady said the British PM David Cameron is already seeking the reform of the European Court to make its law making role conform with the needs of modern life in Europe to cope with the menace of terrorism. To her any terrorist should be remanded in prison and the place for any foreign terrorist is in the prison of his home land. She therefore promised that Britain will do all it can to get the terrorist cleric deported to Jordan for trial and imprisonment. It is this sort of creative law making attitude of the British government that sets the tone for my other discussions today. In Egypt however we see the other side of the coin to the British approach of fashioning new and pragmatic laws to confront terrorism albeit in a quasi legal frame work or indeed a budding diarchy in denial in Egypt. Really the new military rulers of Egypt are being mischievous and are about to bite the finger that fed them. They have brought to trial those they have identified as foreign funded NGOs - 43 of them, 191 of which are said to be Americans - and they are

to be tried for working against the Egyptian state which would amount to treason punishable with death in any nation. Some US senators have threatened that US – Egyptian relation and friendship faces its sternest test yet in these trials. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has threatened to cut US aid to the Egyptian army and the economy running into billions of dollars. Indeed at the start of the revolution, huge debt write offs and forgiveness were given to the Egyptian military by the US government as it cooperated in removing the Mubarak regime and went soft in not shooting the protesters in Tahrir Square in Cairo. Now it seems the military in Egypt is backsliding in spite of the financial inducement it gladly received from the US to protect Egypt’s nascent democracy. It is putting on trial those very people that made the Egyptian revolution possible and it is pretending that it is following the rule of law in doing this because according to its Prime Minister Kamai Ganzouri the government can not interfere in what the courts are doing. Which really means that

some thing is rotten in the state of Egypt in the dispensation of justice and that something is state terrorism which only outside forces or pressure can stop. This is because it has the potential of getting innocent people killed for liberating an oppressed people from a long and callous despotism which the military in Egypt is trying to reinstate by the back door. I think the international community needs to act fast to save the so called foreign based NGOs in Egypt from predictable death and annihilation before the trials are concluded, as proof of their actions during the revolution are available to the Egyptian authorities. These are their receipts and computer gadgets which should have made them heroes of the revolution but which are now turned into potent proof of treason and villainy by the new, vengeful rulers of Egypt who are reaping where they did not sow. Coming home to Nigeria I was rudely shaken to acknowledge the arrival of Nigeria as a global terrorist haven by the information dished out by a think tank in the UK - Royal United Services Institute– RUSI warning of the emergence of what it termed ‘lone wolf terrorists ‘in Britain and the need to make the necessary laws to contain and disable them before they materialize .The think tank warned that the UK should prepare for the return of foreign based terrorists who have seen action in terrorist nations like Somalia, Yemen and our Nigeria and I could not believe my ears. But when I also read that our Information Minster on lamenting on the poor security situation in the North which has made progress in the area impossible, also ad-

mitted that terrorism and insecurity have become a way of life in the North, then I really could not fault the UK think tank - RUSI -categorization of Nigeria as a terrorist haven. Which then makes it imperative for us ALL and not only lawyers, judges, security, police and intelligence operatives, alone to make laws that are realistic and punitive enough to deter terrorists amongst us from achieving their objectives. We need laws that are intelligence - based, that track the movement of budding terrorists from their habits in getting materials to make bombs and their rendez vous with their mentors and advisers. We need laws like that in the business environment that punish business managers for insider information offences. Such security laws should bring to book those in the intelligence and security apparatus who benefit with new contracts when security challenges occur and are not taken on. Instead the state or government is beset with an avalanche of new and foreign contractors bringing in obsolete but expensive security equipment while the security situation worsens threatening state stability. We need laws that track collusion and connivance with terrorists by security operatives including the police and army such that there is no sacred cow in any terrorist investigation. Unless and until we have these laws in place and urgently enough , the security breaches we have been witnessing over escaped prisoners and light sentences for convicted terrorists will just be the tip of the ice berg in our present laughable hand wringing over our failure to contain terrorism in our country.

10 COMMENTARY

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Miserable strokes of evil decadence Knucklehead With T Yomi HE headline above, I believe, encapsulates an artistic impression of Nigeria. Those gifted in the art of painting will have no problem in churning out masterpieces, considering the endless array of motifs from which the human mind can draw inspiration. In Nigeria, the web of corruption has an endless pattern. Sometimes, you wonder if Nigeria is not one huge joke waiting to implode. How it survives by the day is a miracle. Many years after its fall was predicted, the country still trudges on even as its essence continues to wane. And what is a nation without its essence if not a walking corpse? Someday, when the shibboleth of official deceit is finally unmasked, maybe we will understand how the queer combination of a generational band of thieving elite and a conniving populace callously rip apart the soul of a nation, seemingly without effort. Today, hardly can anyone point to any sector of our economy that has not been despoiled and looted. Most, if not all, are bleeding to death even as I write this. Nigeria ails and no one seems to have the healing balm. Instead, every person entrusted with the healing balm takes advantage of that terminal ailment to inflict more pain on the festering sore. Pity. Let us start with a simple question. What is it with Nigeria that its prominent sons and daughters no longer find it fashionable to breathe their last here? I ask this question against the backdrop of the loss of three eminent Nigerians, during the week, to the cold hands of death. For clarity sake, this is not in any way questioning the right of the families of the deceased to fly their loved ones to the end of the universe to seek adequate medical attention. Yet it says a lot about the parlous state of our health institutions. In the past, it used to be the fad for influential and highly placed Nigerians to visit the best hospitals across the globe to treat toothache or mild fever. Then our high-class women developed the passion for liposuction, breast enlargement, tummy tucks and all manner of expensive beauty routine that requires going under the knife. Only God knows how many of such women have given up the ghost in an attempt to look younger than their age and remain relevant as women of style! Now, our aging statesmen prefer to die abroad. Or so it seems. This week alone, all the three notable Nigerians whose deaths were celebrated died outside the shores of this country. First was a former Minister in the First Republic, Ambassador Mathew Mbu (82). He died in a London hospital. Following closely was the renowned Professor of Economics and politician, Samuel Aluko (82), who also passed on in the United Kingdom. On the same day, the Kano State Government announced the passing on of popular businessman and philanthropist, Alhaji Abdullahi Sanusi Dantata, in a German hospital. Now, what does these offshore deaths say about the standard of our local medical facilities when the old and dying find it absolutely discomfiting to entrust their lives into the hands of the professionals here? Truth is: it speaks volumes of the petrifying decay in that sector. There is no point wasting more ink on how corruption continues to sink the ship of state. Anyone that cares to know should just take some time off to watch the melodrama going on in the House of Representatives in the name of fuel subsidy probe. In less than one hour of watching the thriller-like inquisition, such a person should be able to write a doctorate thesis on Nigeria’s perennial movement without motion. True,

the final report of the Hon. Farouk Lawan-led committee might suffer the fate of many others before it (i.e. unfathomable but routine consignment to the dustbin of history). Still, it cannot erase the fact that we now know that most of the big players in the oil sector are mere briefcase insider-traders who abuse all the known ethics of doing business. We now know that all it takes to be a beneficiary of the official honey pot called subsidy funds is to nurture a mutually beneficial close link with those disbursing the funds. We now know the manipulations and fraud that go on in that sector. We now know how the cabal became a powerful force with their over-pampered, inexperienced Chief Executive Officers carting away billions of dollars for practically lifting no weight heavier than trading papers! That is how the subsidy funds ballooned to N1.7tr and the figure keeps mounting by the hour. Talk about economic debauchery and the evil decadence in high places and you could not have come across a better example than this! As if that was not enough scandal for a nation to deal with, the on-going budget defence by Ministries, Departments and Agencies has shown that we are not anywhere close to putting a final stop to wastes. Institutionalised corruption remains part of the norms and ethos of official conduct. This is not just about the outrageous budgetary outlay that the Presidency deems fit to earmark for itself. It is also about the outright violation of all known ethics of fiscal responsibility and prudent spending by the MDAs. Take for example, the news item published in major national dailies that the House queried the N75m Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) budgetary proposal for the replacement of, wait for it, “old toilet doors, locks, repairs of fading walls and provision of directional sign posts to the Commission’s waiting room and canteen”. Talk about expensive shit! Apologies to late Afrobeat icon, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. The same NCC, it was alleged, had appropriated a N25m legal fee for a lawyer who drafted a bill, which was already before the House while another N30m was budgeted for the replacement of old furniture and an additional N10m for the replacement of airconditioners. In a nation where millions can hardly feed on one dollar or N160 in a day? House of Representatives members were shocked that such ‘appropriations’ find their way into the 2012

How did we end up with a ‘ porous system that recruits the mentally deranged and all sorts of shady characters in a sector that demands mental alertness and untainted integrity? Good enough, Abubakar has vowed to face the challenge headlong...

’

Odunuga E-mail:yomi.odunuga @thenationonlineng.net SMS only: 07028006913 national budgetary estimates, especially as the sum of N25m and N10m were approved for furniture and air conditioners respectively in the NCC’s 2011 budget. And to think that this is the same NCC that had a running battle with the lawmakers before its N6bn request for SIM card registration was approved last year can only be a further testimony to how we have refused to learn nothing from the sheer profligacy of the past. Yet, this is just another stroke of decadence that will, as usual, pass unnoticed or unattended to. The rapidity with which such evils evolve is such that it takes little time for one scandalous official misdeed to be overtaken by others in the public space. Now to a sector that touches the life of every Nigerian—the Nigeria Police. Speaking, during the week, on how the service can be reformed for effective policing, a former Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehindero, harped on the need to weed out those he called “some mentally deranged people in the Force.” He said these mentally unfit persons are at the heart of the ineffectiveness of the Force in tackling criminality and other social vices. The Acting IGP, Mohammed Dikko Abubakar, re-echoed Ehindero’s position when he met with the Police hierarchy on Tuesday. Nevertheless, the question remains: How did we end up with a porous system that recruits the mentally deranged and all sorts of shady characters in a sector that demands mental alertness and untainted integrity? Good enough, Abubakar has vowed to face the challenge headlong. Only time will tell how far he can go in changing the raging decadence in a notorious Force where all Nigerians got from his predecessors is rhetoric. You may remember an IGP who mounted an energetic campaign against the shady N20 police roadblock toll, only to be found to have pocketed a whooping N17 billion of official funds. However, Abubakar is not alone in this mess clearing business. His counterpart in the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), Alhaji Zakari Ohinoyi Ibrahim, recently made an astonishing revelation that over 50 prison officers were dismissed between 2007 and now, for being the brains behind various jail breaks and coordinated riots. In the programmed confusion that such unscrupulous prison officers facilitated, three quarters of hardened prisoners serving prison terms for various criminal offences, bolted out of various prisons, including the Kirikiri Maximum Prison, at various times. Judging from the abysmal way records are preserved here, it won’t surprise Knucklehead if these escapees find their way into the Police. Add that to Abubakar’s admission that his men were not any better as some bad eggs within the force had been linked with the escape of hardened criminals for monetary gains. Need I speak more about the deleterious effect of this harvest of socio-economic decadence to the well-being of this country? God bless Nigeria!

Airhiavbere’s tirade against Oshiomhole

S the people of Edo State prepare to appreciate their beloved governor, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole come July 4, 2012 with a re-election for his impressive performance over the past three years, charlatans and political neophytes are all around trying to seek recognition. One of such fellows, General Charles Airhiavbere, from the Peoples Democratic Party in Edo State went about deceiving himself, not Edo people on page 15 of Monday, February 6, 2012 edition of a national newspaper (not The Nation) making all kinds of empty promises and gave an impression that insulting our Comrade Governor would give him the PDP ticket. Writing on his behalf, three practically unknown persons, One Martins Osakwe, Col. David Imuse, an unfortunate Medical practitioner and Richard Ehimigbai, spent the entire full page advertisement marketing their ignorance to the reading public of the facts about the Comrade Governor of Edo State. First, the trio tried to sell a dummy that “the Governor of Edo State, Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole made a state broadcast, shortly after the role he played in the aftermath of the removal of petrol subsidy.” But good enough, Edo people are highly talented people who would not be swayed with such cheap blackmail because everyone knows that the removal of subsidy from petrol is a PDP-led Federal Government policy. What Airhiavbere and his cohorts want to tell Nigerians is that they are totally against fuel subsidy removal and that Oshiomhole supports subsidy removal. The implication is that General Airhiavbere is against President Goodluck Jonathan’s economic policy. One expects that if the President of the country who is a member of the PDP comes up with an economic policy, he deserves the sup-

BY DAN OWEGIE port of his party men to succeed. But Airhiavbere has demonstrated that he is antiPDP subsidy removal policy. He has proved that he is not a loyal party man with his advertorial. Why should the PDP godfather in the state be hell bent on imposing such a member of the party on all other aspirants as it is already being rumoured in PDP circles? It is a well known fact that while the fuel subsidy removal protests lasted, Nigerians said there was nothing wrong with the policy, including the 36 state governors, what Nigerians kicked against was essentially the timing because Nigerians believe that necessary steps or measures should have been put in place to cushion the effects of the policy before its introduction given the level of corruption around petrol importation by the PDP government. True or false? True! That was why the President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan decided to back-pedal and pegged the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) at the current N97 per litre. Responsible state governors, who included Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, decided in their wisdom to roll out palliative measures to cushion the effects of the new price regime in their states. Not all governors did that. But the ones close to their people, like Adams Oshiomhole did. This has elicited wide accolades from Edo people both at home and in the Diaspora and are appreciative of his leadership. Secondly, Airhiavbere said Oshiomhole increased school fees in Ambrose Alli University and other tertiary institutions in the state and as a result, “over 80% of the students had to withdraw from school…” This is a big, fat lie. When over 80% of students of AAU and

all tertiary institutions withdraw from school, the school or university will literally fold up as it will be under-enrolled. Is that the case of AAU or College of Education or Institute of Management and Technology, Usen? What kind of politics is Airhiavbere playing, when he tells white lies with figures? Thirdly, Airhiavbere’s mouthpieces recalled all the palliative measures announced by the governor and compared them with his promises when he assumed office three years ago. There is no law cast in stone anywhere in Edo State or in Nigeria that a promise made today must be fulfilled today. That is the foolishness in the comparison. Oshiomhole promised that he would abolish school fees in primary and secondary schools, which has happened. He only needs to be appreciated just as majority of Edo people have done, not for him to be derided. Funny enough, all what Oshiomhole announced as palliatives for which a retired General hauled diatribes at him, are the same items he has offered Edo people as his campaign promises. For instance, his first campaign promise is “free and compulsory education for all Edo children up to secondary school level.” He also promised free healthcare for children and the elderly above 70 years of age. He equally promises to “revive agriculture, create employment opportunity and eradicate crime in Edo State.” All of these but one Oshimhole is already implementing in Edo State, which means Airhiavbere has nothing novel to offer Edo people! There is, therefore no need to aspire to change a government that is already implementing all the policies he has promised. His promise to eradicate crime in Edo State is a ruse because it is unachievable. Even in

advanced democracies and technologically sophisticated societies with low unemployment rates such as USA, UK, Germany, Korea and so on, you still have high crime rates. They can’t even boast of eradicating crime as Airhiavbere is doing in Edo. The ACN administration in Edo is combating crime with a view to bringing it to low levels. Oshiomhole is doing that through heavy investments in the agricultural sector as well as encouraging the private sector to develop agro-allied industries to absorb most of our youths. Airhiavbere cannot eradicate crime. He is deceiving Edo people with such vague promises and Edo people have refused to be fooled or deceived by any desperate politician. When Oshiomhole came on board, he told Edo people that he was not going to implement seven-point agenda. He chose two key areas where Edo was prostrate-education and roads. That is how a wise man makes his priorities. Today, everybody in Edo is praying for Oshiomhole. While PDP is jumping about campaigning and spending huge sums of money on newspaper advertisements, Oshiomhole’s work is speaking for him and his party across the three senatorial zones of the state, even to the chagrin of PDP members, a good number of whom are still astonished as to the magic wand he uses. Fourthly, Airhiavbere and his cohorts say they want their estimated N500million accruable to Edo State from fuel subsidy to be used by the ACN government to “create wealth.” Good advice, but where was the PDP with wealth creation for 10 years when they were in power? How much wealth did they create? Where were the Airhiavberes, David Imuses, Martins Osakwes and Richard

Continued on Page 51

The wages of fame and celebrity worship

The craziest thing a male fan did to me tress, d ac

Nollywoo

fah

Belinda Ef

Screen/ 23

Thriller/ 19

Crime/ 12

‘How I was robbed and raped’

'It's better to burn out than to fade away’

Weekend

PEOPLE THE NATION, Saturday, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Relat io

The remains of the late Martha being laid to rest during the week

nship

The late Martha with her boyfriend when the going was good

th a e d f o e s u a c ls a e v e r Autopsy report is buried

d n ie fr y o b y b d le il k ly d e g ...as lady alle

See Story on Pages 14 & 15

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

‘How I was robbed and raped’ •We only duped her — Suspects

•From left: Sylvester, Joshua and Joseph

•Mercy

HERE was a drama at the Lagos State Police Command, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday as suspects and victims traded blame over a crime. The suspects claimed that they were fraudsters who trapped their victims, popularly called mungu, through deception. They also claimed that they didn’t use guns or rape in the course of their business. But the victims said the suspects pointed guns at them while robbing them and threatened to shoot them if they failed to do their wishes. The first victim, Mercy (surname withheld), an 18-year-old girl from Ohaukwu in Ebonyi State, claimed that she was defrauded of N57,000 and raped for five minutes by the gang leader, Rotimi, aka Chairman, at gunpoint. The second victim, Okoh Ozoemena, 23, a trader at Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos, alleged that he lost N465,000 to the fraudsters. Ozoemena also alleged that the gang members tortured him and inflicted wounds on his chest. The suspects admitted defrauding the two victims of N57,000 and N465,000 as they mentioned, but denied using guns. They also denied raping the female victim. Narrating her ordeal, Mercy said: “On June 29, 2011, I was at Ikotun Egbe, heading for my place of work

Ebele BONIFACE at Ejigbo at about 9.00am. As I was waiting for a bus, one car came shouting ‘Ejigbo.’ There was a lady already in the car. Two men also entered the car immediately after me. On getting at Ejigbo, the driver moved towards Ronik. When I told him I was not going towards that direction, he could not give me a satisfactory answer. I then begged him to let me get down. “Surprisingly, the man at my left side pulled up his shirt and showed me a pistol. He, therefore, ordered me to cooperate. The other man brought out a red piece of cloth and cleaned my face. Immediately, I started feeling dizzy. “When we got to a green building at Alhaji Olojo Street in Ejigbo, I saw nearly 400 people, including a man called Alhaji. The man, that is, Alhaji, and Rotimi collected my two ATM cards. They asked about my accounts. When I refused to answer, Rotimi slapped me. He ordered me to undress, but when I refused, he ordered his boys to remove my dress and he raped me. “Two of his boys later carried me on a motorcycle to a bank at Ejigbo where I withdrew N57,000 with my ATM card. I was later taken back to Rotimi, who brandished his pistol

•Okoh, a victim

the second time and ordered me to run away. “When I got outside, I phoned my brother, Boniface, who came with the Police. Alhaji was arrested and taken to Ikotun Police Station. He was later released on bail.” The second victim, Ozoemena, said: “On June 27, 2011, I was on my way to market with my customer’s N465,000.00. When I got to Igando bus stop, I entered a blue car going to Auto Parts. As we were going, one of the men I met in the car pointed a gun at me. The car turned to Alhaji Olojo Street where I met Rotimi and Alhaji. “Rotimi pointed a gun at me and took my bag. They tortured me and drove me out of the compound. When I phoned my brother, Okoro, he came with the RRS men. The hoodlums, except Alhaji who claimed to be the landlord of the house, had gone into hiding. When I petitioned the Commissioner of Police, Yakubu Alkali, the O/C SARS, SP Abba Kyari, paraded seven suspects from their cell and I was able to identify Rotimi. My

•Rotimi

brother, Okoro, confirmed bringing the RRS men to the scene and related how Alhaji was released unconditionally.” Rotimi said: “I am a businessman. I am a local 419er. Police had been hearing of me. They used this opportunity to track me down. I am a local champion. “I had boys who worked for me. I gave them money to operate. Early in the morning, they operated by going out to bus stops with one lady to search for mungu (innocent vic-

tims). The lady enticed victims by bringing up discussions about fake transactions involving her and one Alhaji. “I know Miss Nwabuzo and Mr. Michael, but I don’t know the name of other four members. I was arrested in my bedroom. I have four children and live in a two -bedroom flat. I am a landlord. My house is at 40, Ayoge Kunmi Street, Ejigbo. I am not an armed robber. I am a fraudster, a local 419 guy. “We collected N465,000 from the man and N57,000 from the lady. I did not rape her; I didn’t use gun. I cajoled them to part with the money. I got N15,000 from the first deal and N120,000 from the second one.” The second suspect, Orji Sylvester, 37, said: “I am a local fraudster. Other members are Agnes, Joshua and Joseph. We persuaded our victims. We didn’t use gun. Rotimi was the president of the groups. Each group was made up of three members. I used my share to feed and educate my children.” The third suspect, Joshua Adeyemi, 56, said: “I only gave them one room to operate. My share at a time was N50,000. Joshua was our chairman. I collected more money than him because I showed my face to the victims.” The forth suspect, Joseph Okoro, 43, said: “On November 14, 2011 at Ikotun, we collected N800,000 from somebody. That was my fourth outing. My role was to drive the car and join in persuading our victims. “We interviewed victims in the office and the interviewer was a woman of God called Madam Kogi. We didn’t use gun. We were not violent. If you were not greedy, you would not become a victim.“ When our correspondent contacted O/C SARS, Abba Kyari, on his two standing orders: one, that cases not armed robberies should be rejected, and two, that any innocent suspect should not be allowed to stay in the SARS custody beyond 48 hours, he said: “Rotimi and his colleagues’ case is a special one because the two victims said they used guns. We are still investigating.”

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

N armed robbery suspect, Salami Opeyemi, aged 27, from Ibadan, Oyo State, who was arrested by the operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Abeokuta, Ogun State, is claiming that he was deceived into joining a five-man armed robbery gang by one of his gang members named Niyi, an ex-convict. Opeyemi, while being paraded at the Command Headquarters by the Commissioner of Police, Nicholas Daru Nkemdeme, said: “I was deceived into joining this five-man gang by one of our gang members called Niyi. I don’t know his other names. He is a jail bird. He is always in police cell or prison yard for one offence or the other. “People in my neighbourhood hailed him as a big boy because he was always with a lot of money in naira and dollar. When I heard some people call him a criminal, I thought it was out of envy, especially whenever I saw him cruising in his sports cars with beautiful ladies. “My problem started when I was privileged to sit near him at a popular joint in Idiroko area one evening. That was a Wednesday. He started discussing with me, and, along the line, he asked me about my life, and I narrated everything to him. What interested him about me was my poor background. “He told me I would become a successful smuggler, if given the opportunity, telling me that he became rich the moment he joined the smuggling group in Idiroko area. I told him that I was interested. I asked to know how I would start since I didn’t have the capital to even smuggle a bag of rice. He promised to assist me financially, telling me what he needed from me was only loyalty. But one thing I did not understand till I was arrested was what he meant by the business being highly risky. “One day he called me for a meeting with others in a local hotel. Other members present were Olayinka, Jubril and Idowu. In my presence, they shared money and each of them got over N150,000. I was not given a kobo. I was only allowed to drink and smoke without paying a kobo. “Two of them had locally made short guns and bangles which they claimed rendered law enforcement agents powerless wherever they were smuggling motors out of the country. Unfortunately for me, I did not ask Niyi how he got the goods before exporting them to the Republic of Benin. After my first outing with them, I was given N80,000. “We used to do three types of operations. We could go to houses of wealthy people to rob them or wait for them while going to work or market. The second one was car snatching. We exported the snatched cars without wasting time. The third operation was to rob smugglers of their goods, but we didn’t kill or shoot them. We only frightened them to dispossess them of their goods. When we came back to base after the operation, people would think that we were genuine smugglers. We had special buyers for the quick disposal of the stolen goods. “We could operate for one hour without police surfacing, but when CP Nkemdeme came, everything changed. Police presence here every time and their quick responses to distress calls slowed down our operations because he is an operational officer and police officer with a passion for crime-fighting. In police cells, suspects discuss him a lot as a terror to criminals.” On why he was arrested, he said: “You know our business was firework, that was smuggling anything we could lay hand on. Passing security checkpoints was not a problem because we had a specific amount of money we paid at every checkpoints. They didn’t even ask us what we had in our motor. “That fateful day, we took a motorcycle to Aladagun area of Idiroko to buy fuel. We were three on the bike. As we were coming back, we saw a car being driven by a woman. Jubril and Olayinka were with me on the motorcycle. We moved close to the woman and Jubril pointed a gun at her. He ordered her to hand over the steering to Olayinka or have her head blown off with this gun (he pointed at the gun). The woman started shivering and begged us not to shoot her. The woman released the car. “When we got to Owode, the car developed a fault and we repaired it before heading for Iyanu area and parked, not knowing that the police were trailing us. Before police could strike, Jubril and Olayinka escaped and I was arrested alone. I was taken to the Police Headquarters in Abeokuta for interrogation. “When the Police asked me where the woman’s vehicle was being taken to, I said they would be planning to take the vehicle to the Republic of Benin, despite my arrest. They

An ex-convict lured me into joining an robbery gang — Suspect

‘

He told me I would become a successful smuggler, if given the opportunity, telling me that he became rich the moment he joined the smuggling group in Idiroko area. I told him that I was interested. I asked to know how I would start since I didn’t have the capital to even smuggle a bag of rice...

Ebele BONIFACE later took me to Ado Odo and asked me to call my colleagues on the phone, informing them of my escape from the Police. I also lied to them that I needed a dress because I had been stripped naked before my escape. Unknown to Jubril and Olayinka, I was with SARS operatives. When they came, they were immediately arrested.” The victim, Precious Uhunnangho, a businesswoman, said: “I was driving home at about something to 8.00pm when I saw somebody on okada, pointing a gun at me. He threatened to kill me, if I failed to stop and hand over the keys to him. In fact, they were about four. It was a big shock, but, because of the way the new CP Nkemdeme responds to distress calls, I made my complaint and they were arrested. That is how policing should be, I am very happy.” On the challenges facing his command since he assumed office, CP Nkemdeme said: “You know this is a gateway state, that is why a lot of trans-border crimes happen at any given time and we try to deal with the situation. “Well, as far as I am concerned, the Police cannot function without the community playing the important role of giving information to the Police. This is very paramount in policing because you have to operate from what you know and what you have heard. “So, the public has a duty to supply us with information. The government on their own part has to provide the logistics like the Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and other essential facilities. “We got information that the hoodlums wanted to cross the border and we responded immediately. People want results when they give correct information and that is what policing is.”

•Opeyemi

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

T was a contest of tears, outpouring of emotions and reign of invectives at the Atan Cemetery in Yaba, Lagos on last Saturday.There, the remains of 34-yearold Martha Farinmade, allegedly beaten to death by her jealous boyfriend, Adeola Agborin, on January 7,2012, were interred. Scores of sympathisers wept uncontrollably while the remains of the deceased were being lowered into the grave. It was a moment everyone at the graveside rained curses on the mastermind of Martha’s death with a dose of finality. The remains of the deceased were wrapped in a white robe with a bible placed on her body inside a brown casket. At the graveside, Evangelist David Olaleye of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), Ilupeju Circuit, asked God to give the family of the deceased the fortitude to bear her loss. Shortly after the brief prayer, church members took their turn to sprinkle ‘holy water’ on the casket before it was later lowered into the grave. Speaking with our correspondent, the deceased’s brother, Lanre, said Martha would be greatly missed by the family because she lived a life of dedication and hard work, adding that she was humble in nature. “She was such a dedicated, hard working and unassuming person and for her sterling virtues, her death will forever remain indelible in our mind. I pray and hope that justice will be achieved before too long.” Olaleye described Martha’s loss as sad.” I remember that she was such a quiet, very respectful and hard working lady. It was rather shocking and sad the gruesome manner which she died.” It was gathered that some family members of Adeola, had visited Martha’s family on January 8 to plead on behalf of Adeola, but they were rebuked by the family. Their visit, according to Lanre, was unreasonable considering the fact that they had come to plead with the bereaved family to forget about the case. He said:” Adeola’s relatives visited our residence on January 8 to plead on his behalf but we turned their pleas down because it was not reasonable considering Adeola’s complicity in the death of our sister. “Then, one month later, precisely on Monday February 6,they paid us another visit with another unreasonable offer of monetary compensation. Can money compensate for the killing of our sister by a man she wanted to marry? Even her spirit would not be happy with us if the family should accept such money. We later learnt from a source that they planned to give us N500,000 as a subtle ploy to discourage us from asking for justice.But we have told them in plain language that we are not ready to back down on the matter because all we want is nothing but justice.” It would be recalled that wehad published in our January 21, 2012 edition, how the deceased was allegedly gruesomely killed by Agborin for seeing her with another man on January 6, 2012. The deceased fashion designer hard hosted a man said to be her acquaintance in her shop located in front of her residence at No 30, Majolate Street, Mushin, Lagos. The 34-year-old deceased was said to have visited Agborin’s residence on No. 32, Awoyokun Street, Mushin, in order to reaffirm her faithfulness. A hot argument soon ensued between the duo and an apparently angry Agbonrin dealt several blows on the deceased. The battered Farinmade gave up the ghost shortly later. The suspect allegedly took her body in a wheel barrow in the wee hours of January 7, 2012 and dumped it in a gutter close to the residence of the deceased at No. 30 Majolate Street, Mushin. A highly placed source, who spoke in confidence, had recalled the deceased’s last moments before her untimely death. “We were together in her shop that very day when the man (her visitor) who was

N200 bribe saga

Outrage over killing of bizman •It’s still like a dream —Sister •Folashade, sister of the deceased

HE killing of Adekola Eniola, a busi nessman in Oyo State in January al legedly is causing ripples in Igboora, his home town. The businessman was alleged to have been killed by a policeman, simply identified as Ajayi, following a disagreement over N200 he allegedly offered as bribe. The late businessman, on January 24, 2012, was returning from a business trip to Cotonou, Republic of Benin, in his car, when he ran into a check point mounted by some policemen at a spot near the boundary between Igboora and Idere in Oyo State. The deceased, who did not have any inkling that death was lurking in the dark, was travelling with one of his sisters called Folasade. He allegedly got to the checkpoint at about noon when the policemen flagged his vehicle demanding for bribe. Eniola was said to have offered them N200, but the amount did not go down with the errant policemen. The deceased was said to have barely left the checkpoint when Ajayi hit his car with the butt of his rifle. His action then made the deceased to stop in order to plead with the po-

Stories by Kunle AKINRINADE

liceman. But before he could leap out of his car, Ajayi allegedly shot Eniola in anger. The trigger- happy policeman, realising his misdeed, wanted to dialogue with his feet but the deceased’s younger sister, Folasade, promptly held him by his uniform before some sympathisers and Ajayi’s colleagues took the late business man, who was still breathing then, to a private hospital. From there, he was referred to the state General Hospital, Igboora. Realising that Eniola may not survive the shooting, Ajayi was also dragged to the hospital by Folasade and a few sympathisers around. The news of the incident soon spread into the town and a crowd of sympathisers gathered at the hospital in the hope that the late businessman, who many described as unassuming and generous, would survive. At exactly 4pm, doctors broke the news of Eniola’s death. Hence, the sympathisers pounced on Ajayi beating him to stupor. Not done yet, the mob poured petrol on his body before setting him ablaze.

Our correspondent learned that Ajayi quickly removed his uniform to escape being burnt to death but he did not succeed. One of the eyewitnesses, who spoke in confidence, said:”As soon as the news of Eniola’s death was broken by doctors, sympathisers dragged Ajayi (the policeman) outside the hospital and started beating him with all kinds of items, but that did not have any effect on him. “Then the mob poured petrol on him and set him ablaze hoping that he would burn to ashes. To everyone’s surprise, the policeman pulled off his uniform in order to escape being hurt by the fire. When he removed his uniform, a fetish armlet was found on him and this further infuriated the mob who waited to see whether he would be roasted or not. “Then Ajayi started rolling on the floor to quench the fire on his trouser but it was too late for him, he died about 30 minutes later. Throughout his ordeal, the policeman pleaded with the mob to spare his life but his pleas fell on deaf ears.” Our correspondent further learnt that when the news got to Ajayi’s colleagues at the Igboora Police Division, they made attempt to rescue him but the mob wanted to attack them. It even took the intervention of an influential chief in the town before his body could be removed from where it was burnt by his colleagues who had to fire shots sporadically into the air to scare away the mob. Recalling the incident, Folasade explained

Tears as 34-year-old lady lover is buried passing by stopped to say hello to her. She wanted to order food for him but he declined. We were all chatting together inside the shop when Agbonrin who was passing by sighted us and became angry seeing another man with her, not knowing that her visitor was just an acquaintance. But Martha decided to ignore him because of her conviction that she had not wronged or engaged in promiscuity of any kind. “When Martha noticed that Agbonrin was becoming angrier while seeing off her visitor, she said she would make out time in the evening to explain to him. Shortly after, they both left her shop for Agbonrin’s home in the evening, not knowing that he was nursing a sinister agenda against her. “We learnt that on getting there, Martha was subjected to severe beating by Agbonrin, while the hapless tenants of the building could not do anything to rescue

Cause of death

A medical certificate of death signed by Dr.F.I Osuolale of the Forensic and Pathology Department, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) gives the cause of death as “Fractured cervical vertebrae and Asphyxia” (see bromide). According to Wikipedia, “A cervical fracture is commonly called a broken neck. There are seven cervical vertebrae (neck bones) in the human neck and the fracture of any can be catastrophic. Considerable force is needed to cause a cervical fracture. A severe, sudden twist to the neck or a severe blow to the head or neck area can cause a cervical fracture. Other causes are traffic accidents or diving

into shallow water” etc. As for Asphyxia, “It is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. This usually results into lack of blood flow to an organ and can eventually lead to death”. When our correspondent spoke with the Public Relations Officer of Lagos State Command, Mr. Joseph Jaiyeoba, a Deputy Superintendent of Police(DSP), on the telephone last Wednesday, he said the police had concluded investigations on the case, adding that the suspect would be charged to court the following day (last Thursday).

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

•The late Eniola

that the incident remains to her like a dream as she was yet to come to terms with it. “The incident still seems to me like a dream. My brother and I were returning from a trip to Cotonou when we ran into policemen who had mounted a checkpoint with logs of wood. My brother asked me to give N200 to one of them called Felix. But while we were about to move, Ajayi (the policeman that shot the deceased)said ‘Stop! Stop!’ And he hit our car with the butt of his rifle. His colleague told him to let go of us but he refused. “Then, my brother wanted to park the vehicle in order to explain to Ajayi that we had given his colleague the N200 requested. He had barely put off the ignition when I heard a gunshot and before I knew it, my brother had been hit on the head. I immediately rushed out and I queried why the policeman would shoot my brother after giving his colleagues the N200 demanded. Ajayi then wanted to feign ignorance that the bullets had actually hit my brother. “I dragged Ajayi to where my brother was lying in a pool of his blood and when we got there, he (my brother) was only muttering ‘Sade! Sade, where are you?’ I removed my scarf and used it to cover his head. Then one man called Mr. Segun who was passing by apprehended Ajayi as he was about to bolt away from the scene. We later took my brother to a nearby private hospital from

where we were referred to the state General Hospital. Ajayi’s colleagues also accompanied us to the hospital.” Folasade explained further how his late brother later died at the hospital and the loss of some money kept in the vehicle. “The doctors later asked me to go home and that my brother would be transferred to the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan. Unfortunately, he died shortly later. Even the N170, 000 that was inside my brother’s car was stolen.” At the family house of the deceased in Jagun’s Compound, Igboora, a horde of sympathisers were on hand to commiserate with his widow and family. The deceased’s wife, Oluwabunmi Eniola, said the killing of her husband by the cruel policeman would forever remain a wound that cannot be healed in her mind. “By killing my husband, the heartless policeman has rendered me empty. My husband was planning to build another house at the back of our home for commercial purposes but that dream has been terminated by the heartless policeman. Who will now play his role in my life? “My husband was an easy going person and people in this community can even attest to his humble nature. The vacuum his death has created is too enormous for me to fill. He lost his father two months ago and his aged mother is still alive; I have three kids for him.” The 42-year-old business man’s kids, namely Emmanuel (10), Olamilekan (8) and Marvelous (3), were said to be pupils of Mayflower School, Ikenne, Ogun State. A resident of the community, who simply identified himself as Agunloye, explained that the activities of the policemen at the checkpoint had become worrisome to the people of the community in recent times. “My brother, those policemen at the checkpoint have been playing god in our community for sometime now.They resume there everyday and demarcate the road with wood. They extort money unduly from transporters and private vehicle owners. “The killing of the innocent businessman is rather unfortunate because the deceased was a popular person in this community. Our correspondent gathered that the deceased was a Tokunboh automobile dealer and that he usually travelled to Cotonou, to purchase vehicles. He was returning from one of such trips to Igboora in his car when he met his untimely death in the hands of the policeman. When contacted on the telephone, Public Relations Officer of Oyo State Police Command, Mr. Femi Okanlawon, promised to get back to our correspondent, but he was yet to fulfill his promise at press time. However, he had told our Oyo State correspondent earlier that the case was a sensitive one, adding that the Police hierarchy was handling it.

•Officiating ministers performing funeral rite at the graveside. Inset: Bromide of the death certificate

killed by jealous in Lagos her from the grip of her boyfriend while she was being beaten and crying. We gathered that the tenants felt all was well when the noise from Agbonrin’s room suddenly went down, not knowing that she had given up the ghost.” Martha’s mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Farinmade, amid tears opened up on the incident. She said:” My daughter had been supporting my petty trading and it is so sad that she suffered such fate in the hands of cruel Adeola. What we want is nothing but justice and I know that God is not happy with perpetrators of injustice.” In one of the text messages sent to one of the deceased’s brother on December 21, 2011, Agborin had apologised for earlier

beating Martha, promising to turn a new leaf. The message reads:’To err is human and to forgive divine. I know I have offended you so much and nothing of such will never (sic) repeat itself again. I beg of you, please draw me nearer to you. I have realised my mistake and I promise to make amendment (sic)’. “Martha’s mother added: “He (Adeola) later invited my daughter to come and give him explanation not knowing that he would kill her. After beating her to death, he brought her corpse in a wheel barrow covered with refuse in the wee hours and he dropped her body in a gutter not knowing that some people sighted him. He hurriedly left without taking his wheel barrow along and for the first timer in their three year-old affair, he called me on the

•The brothers of the deceased: Bukola, Lanre and Samson telephone at about 6.30am asking after the whereabouts of my daughter and I told him that I knew how he had come to pick my daughter from her shop the previous night.” The suspect has since been arrested by police and he is now being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti Street, Yaba. Meanwhile, the result of the autopsy carried out at the Lagos State University

Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) has revealed that the late fashion designer might have been truly beaten to death. In a Certificate of Death based on the outcome of the autopsy, signed by one Dr.F.I Osuolale, of the Forensic and Pathology Department, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), it was stated that the deceased’s cervical vertebrae was fractured while she also suffered from Asphyxia till death (See box).

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Save us from senseless attacks, Ogun community’s displaced indigenes cry out T

•A building with bullet holes in Idoleyin village

HE violent clashes over land ownership in AdoOdo, Ogun State has not only lasted, it has been taking different dimensions. A phenomenon that allegedly began as a minor disagreement over the refusal of some inhabitants of Egun descent to pay tributes on the lands they occupy has snowballed into an orgy of violence. At the moment, Idoleyin and some surrounding villages, which were once peaceful communities, have become a hotbed of violent ethnic clashes impelled by disputes over land ownership. While the Ado-Odo people, the original settlers, have allegedly been chased out of their villages and farmsteads by Egun settlers, the Egun stock have also claimed that the Awori indigenes were trying to take their lands from them through ‘dubious’ means. Some of the villages where Awori people of Ado-Odo have been declared persona non grata include Inisa, Isanyin, Idoleyin, Ido-Ajaye, Idogalu, Idojana Fagbayi, Idojana-Dopemu, Idolana, Igemu, Lagbemu, Igboosa, Onilogbo, Asonkere, Aiyede, Obakobe, Agboku and Itire, among others. The foregoing villages were said to have been founded by the Awori people who were the original inhabitants of the present day Ado-Odo town. These aforementioned villages have their Awori overlords whose presence predated the coming of the Egun people. During the New Year celebration, some of the indigenous Awori land owners, who have been disposessed of their lands and had returned to the AdoOdo township, bemoaned their

Kunle AKINRINADE

fate in an encounter with our correspondent. Explaining the genesis of the crises, one of the victims of the crises, whose land and property were allegedly taken by Egun settlers, Elder Bashir Balogun, said: “Egun people are settlers in Ado-Odo and were accommodated by our forefathers as customary settlers. They paid a nominal annual rent of five shillings worth of palm oil or other farm produce, and each tenant paid his respective landlord. Their status had been validated through various landmark judgments and it is so unfortunate they could resort to violent means to rewrite history. “Trouble began in 1993 when some renegade Egun people decided to jettison the payment on the grounds that they could not maintain the status quo. We took the matter up with their elders and reported their untoward attitude to our elders. But when they did not yield ground, we

took the matter to court and we got a judgment against them. “Since the crises started, Egun people are yet to produce one single document to back up their claim of ownership over the lands rented to them by their Awori landowners. They have only been using threats to life as excuse to invite the police into this matter in order to frustrate us. “On a personal note, in 2009, after a court ruling in my favour at the Agbara High Court, I went to my village in Isanyin to take possession of my land, but I was chased away by gun-totting Egun youths. I reported the matter to the police and about seven of the youths were arrested. Still, the youths have prevented me from entering my land. “My farm has been destroyed and my crops sold by the unfeeling Egun youths who are being encouraged by their elders to violently annex our lands.” Rasaq Fagbohun, 40, recalled how he narrowly escaped death with machete wounds when Egun youths ambushed him

We had gone to work on our farm after the court had given us the right to possess our lands on December 21, 2011. Unfortunately, armed youths from the Egun section of the village stormed our farm and dealt with us with guns and matchete. In the process, I was shot at and I also sustained matchete wounds

‘

•Fagbohun displaying his blood-stained hand

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

•Alagbe

•Balogun

•Oyewole

•Oba Akanni

along with his siblings while working on their farms. He said: “We had gone to work on our farm after the court had given us the right to possess our lands on December 21, 2011. Unfortunately, armed youths from the Egun section of the village stormed our farm and dealt with us with guns and matchete. In the process, I was shot at and I also sustained matchete wounds. “My younger brother, Moruf, and one of his friends, Segun Oyewole, who accompanied us to the farm were not that lucky as the militant youths killed them. “As I speak with you, we are yet to recover their remains. Our farmland is more than 500 acres and our traducers have dispossessed us of our property, selling all our crops and part of the land to private developers.” In his own testimony, Rotimi Oyewole, whose brother, Segun, was allegedly killed in one of the

attacks, recalled his close shave with death when some youths pounced on him on a farm in Akasun village. He said: “I am a transporter and Segun Oyewole is my younger brother. On December 21, 2011, one of the youths of Akasun, who is an Egun by birth, contacted me to help transport some water melon from the farm to the market. But some Egun boys pounced on me and my assistants. They were armed with matchetes and all kinds of sharp objects. The person who hired me for the job spoke in Egun dialect to the boys, appealing to them to leave me alone. “At a point, they decided not to

listen to him, and they were bent on killing us because we are Yoruba of the Awori stock. Unknown to me, my younger brother, Segun, was also in the neigbourhood with some of his friends to work on their farm when they were attacked by the Egun youths. They killed him along with one of his friends while others sustained deep matchete cuts on different parts of their bodies. “To date, the corpses of my brother and his friend have not been released. We have information that they had been buried in a shallow grave. Please, help us tell the government to save us from the senseless violence being orchestrated by Egun people who are supposed to be our tenants.” Mrs. Muinat Alagbe said her family land had been violently taken over by armed Egun youths while crops and farm produce worth millions of naira were either sold or destroyed by the rampaging youths. “I have lost crops and produce worth millions of naira to the Egun youths who invaded my land and chased away people who were working on the farm.

They said they would no longer pay rent for using the lands given to them. My ancestors founded Idoleyin community and accommodated Egun immigrants to use the land with an agreement that they would be paying rent. But that was jettisoned by the present generation of Egun people some years ago, and all efforts to make them see reason have failed. They drove away all the Yoruba from their home in the villages they never founded. They have been killing our people and the police have been looking the other way. “Now, we are calling on government to rescue us from homelessness, violent attacks and penury because we can no longer farm on our lands having been driven away by the Egun people.” For 72-year-old poultry farmer, Musiliu Salami, a native of Idojana-Dopemu village, his plight was not too different from those of his other kinsmen. He said: “On December 25, 2011 at about 6 pm, some Egun youths invaded my poultry at the back of my house and forcibly carted away about 450 chickens. They came to my house through Idoleyin village on motorbikes and shot sporadically. I had to jump over the fence to escape their onslaught and reported the matter at the Ado-Odo Police Division because I saw one of those who attacked me in police uniform with Idoleyin Community boldly written at the back. “To date, nothing has been done by the police to contain incessant attacks by the Egun people against their Yoruba overlords.” However, a chieftain of the Egun youths, Chief Adeleke Kentonji-Jisu, dismissed the claims of the Yoruba indigenous land owners, accusing them of manipulating facts to draw sympathy. He said: “It is rather unfortunate that Ado-Odo people are still bandying the issue of rent payment, and that shows that they don’t know what they are doing. They have been getting dubious court judgments against us, and that is why we are not recognising these judgments because they came through foul

‘

Our people have also been killed in the past by Ado-Odo people, especially in Akasun. On a personal note, I was lucky to have escaped being killed by some Ado-Odo youths who ambushed me while I was returning home from a function not long ago

...one of the victims

means. “How can any court pronounce us strangers after settling in this place centuries ago? The purported judgment given over the land in Isanyin village is very wrong and cannot be recognised, because we never made any appearance in court. “Our people have also been killed in the past by Ado-Odo people, especially in Akasun. On a personal note, I was lucky to have escaped being killed by some Ado-Odo youths who ambushed me while I was returning home from a function not long ago.” On his part, the Olofin Adimula of Ado-Odo, Oba Lateef Adeniran Akanni, admonished his people to eschew violence while assuring that he would continue to explore a peaceful but lawful approach to seeking an end to the incessant harassment of his subjects and seizure of the lands in their ancestral villages. He said: “As a peace-loving traditional ruler, I have told my subjects not to take the law into their hands but to seek redress through lawful means. Therefore, I want to say that I would continue to approach this matter with a modicum of decency. “I am using this medium to once again call on the Ogun State government and members of the Ogun State House of Assembly to intervene in this matter. Those who are land owners and who were magnanimous enough to allow tenants to use their lands for certain agreed fees are being chased away, killed and are continually harassed by their tenants. This is not acceptable at all.” The spokesman of the Ogun State Police Command, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, advised aggrieved members of the community to channel their grievances to the Office of Ogun State Commissioner of Police. “I want to advise aggrieved residents of the community to feel free to report or express their plight to the Commissioner of Police, Ogun State either in writing or in person,” he said.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

‘

I have friends who are not happy that I moved that motion. But maybe that is part of the sacrifice we need to make to get things done properly... Definitely I know some people are not happy and they blame everything on ‘this Saraki motion’. But the interest of the greater number is being served...

•Saraki

I’ve lost friends for moving subsidy motion — Senator Bukola Saraki Senator Bukola Saraki, a two-term governor of Kwara State, opened the lid on the ongoing probe of fuel subsidy in the country. Although he is new in the Senate, his heroic motion has shown that he is also a pacesetter in legislative business. In this interview with select journalists, including Managing Editor, Northern Operation, YUSUF ALLI, the senator exwherever I find myself. I always want to plained the motive behind the motion. Excerpts: lence do what is right for my constituency and my OU seem to have hit the ground running in the Senate. What explains this and how has it been? It has been a very interesting and challenging experience. It is a new terrain for me and I am

enjoying it. It is a good time to be in the Senate because at a time when there is a transformation agenda in the country, we also need a National Assembly that is truly transformational. As a person, I always push for excel-

country. And this is the time to push for excellence and do what is right. That is how the transformation agenda can be achieved. Apart from my personal disposi-

tion, I also draw on my experience at the state level to see how we can improve the lot of our country. Those who know me know that I will never go to a place and sit back. It is not just me. How have you managed the transition from being a state chief executive to being one of 109 senators? It is definitely different. But the transition is not too difficult to manage if one is motivated by service. Yes, you move from a place where all the decisions center around you to an environment where you are one of so many, and you are also probably one of the lowest-ranking. Things do not move at your speed. You have to work with different people who sometimes have certain perceptions about you— don’t forget that this is also a place where there is always the issue of former governors. But I think it is all part of the journey of life to be able to fit into anywhere you find yourself and find ways to keep working towards a common agenda. I will say yes, it has been challenging because it is totally different. But I think making a success of it is paramount and shows one’s character and commitment. So I am determined to make it work and so far, it has been so. What has helped you in making this transition? I think first of all is the enthusiasm, the desire and the commitment to serve and work for my constituency and for my country. It is also about an attitude that appreciates that there are other colleagues that you must carry along; an attitude that acknowledges that there is a leadership that deserves its due respect; an attitude that appreciates the need to understand the rules and work within them; and an attitude that easily reconciles with the fact that one is no longer a governor. When the 7th Senate was inaugurated, you were touted as a possible candidate for the Senate Presidency. Would you have taken a shot at it if the rules did not exclude you? Not at all. I did say at that time that I was not interested. But I must also say that it was flattering that some people felt that one had the capacity to be considered or touted as a contender. It was never my own agenda. Within three months of being in the Senate, when some of your colleagues were still learning the ropes, you moved a landmark motion on the need to probe the management of petroleum subsidy. Why did you move that motion? Well, I must say that I am still learning the ropes myself. But you see, after being a governor for eight years and being chairman of the Governors’ Forum, I think I have developed a good understanding of the challenges facing the country. I think I owe it to myself and the country to be able to speak up when things are wrong, to be able to fight for things to be done properly, and within my own capacity, to try to move things in the right direction. The figures coming out on fuel subsidy were too alarming to ignore. It was either one kept quiet or spoke up, knowing full well that speaking up might be misread. My fear about the fuel subsidy was that it •Continued on Page 22

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Saturday

THRILLER

'It's better to burn out than to fade away’ The wages of fame and celebrity worship A glance behind the glitter usually reveals more than a colourful paradise. It validates veteran film maker, Andy Warhol's famous prediction of 1968. He said: “In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.” This is the future that Warhol talked about: where reality TV and tabloid journalism guarantees that virtually anyone can be famous, even with little or no obvious talent. It is the ascension to fame of ordinary folk. It is also what Saul Bellow likened to picking up “a dangerous wire fatal to ordinary folk” or “rattlesnakes handled by hillbillies in a state of religious exaltation,” in his novel, Humboldt's Gift. Many who grasped these super-charged wires and serpents have been found to incandesce in acclaim for a little while and then, they wink out. Which leads to a more profound suspicion of celebrity culture, writes OLATUNJI OLOLADE, Assistant Editor

LARION Chukwurah loves magic. So does Khabirah Kafidipe. To the duo, Michael Jackson was magic, thus their infinite fascination with the late pop icon. In their teens, the two actresses savoured bits and pieces of the artiste’s life in large chunks. And even in death, the late King of Pop commands their awe, remaining their “best ever celebrity crush.” Thus is the Jackson magic; like a traveller between two eternities, he excites the love thoughts of women from two different eras and cultures of womanhood long after he is gone, like varied pieces of a shared life. To Kafidipe, the majesty of his stardom persists in its ritual splendors, but to Chukwurah, his immortality subsists in the small things: the inexorable lift she receives every time she hears his songs, the upsurge of pent feelings every time she relieves the magic and tragedy of his charmed life until his death. That two notable actresses and celebrities in their own rights would play down their renown to exalt the repute of another is humbling, no doubt. Yet like their cult hero, Chukwurah and Kafidipe have suffered the bitter side of renown at one time or the other. Kafidipe had survived a malicious rumour claiming that she had a fictitious love-child. On the other hand, “I have had a perpetual negative reaction from the entertainment media who decided that it’s better to sell her as a scandalous figure than as a positive figure. I have had several of that. Whatever came up, to them, I had to be wrong. But I have learnt to develop a thick skin to such unfounded reports about me. I learnt to understand that for a public figure like me, any nasty gossip or rumour becomes news. It doesn’t matter if it is untrue,” lamented Chukwurah with the perception of someone who understands that stardom might be attained by the loss of certain worldly givens, like compassion. But some icons hardly seek the comfort of compassion to survive. Think Fela Kuti a.k.a. Abami eda (The weird one). Kuti was famous for his copious use of marijuana, his attitude towards women and his proclivity for appearing in briefs. Notwithstanding his eccentricities, Kuti was, and is still, many things to many people; an icon, activist, a philanthropist and risqué reverend to whom music served as a tool of evangelism and a fount of inspiration. He was a thorn in the flesh of the ruling class; outspoken, tough and uncompromising in his denunciation of the sleaze, larceny, violence and hypocrisy emblematic of the Nigerian government since the country’s independence from her British colonialists and which wins him the undying love of his fans, even in death. Very few celebrities command the type of following and cult-worship that Jackson and Kuti got to enjoy while they were alive, and even now that they are no more. Were it possible, Ademola Ayeni would use a selective memory wipe to erase all the misery Jackson endured and allegedly caused. The teacher and music enthusiast would “die” to once again enjoy untainted recollections of the enthralling performer who dominated ’80s music, created the all-time bestselling album of new songs (Thriller) and seemed the quintessential model of the cool superstar with the sensitive soul. Likewise, Sulaiman Bola Adele would not forget his memorable encounter with young and radical Fela Kuti back when he erected the charisma that marked him for perpetual stardom. In spite of the enormous plaudits they attract, most icons’ lives and legacies are never as easy as they seem. Oftentimes, memories about the girl or boy next-door get complicated, compromised, confused and tainted no sooner than they attain stardom. And in too many ways the decline is familiar: usually evocative of the star attraction whose star fades. ‘It’s better to burn out than to fade away’ Singer Kurt Cobain’s suicide note ended with the above words, which today have become synonymous with the rock singer. Cobain’s death in 1994 at the age of 27 is as controversial as his life and talent. He

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012 is one of several celebrities whose death at a young age has, ironically, become part of his iconic status. In the same vein, Oladapo Olaitan Olaonipekun a.k.a Dagrin, a fast-rising Nigerian rapper, penned and performed very sad lyrics premonitory of his sad end following a fatal car crash in Lagos. Till date, many of his fans and music enthusiasts imagine how many more hits Dagrin could have produced had he survived. Consequently, their love for the work he left behind has continued to wax stronger. His fatal end adds to the myth of celebrity, and makes his music even more meaningful. And even though Majek Fashek is still very much alive, the former reggae star is currently a shadow of the widely acclaimed superstar he became at the prime of his music career. Fashek’s highly promising music career reportedly suffered an abrupt end following his alleged indulgence in the use of hard drugs. Ayinla Omowura, Nigerian folk music maestro, reportedly met a sad end during a fracas involving him and a fan. Omowura allegedly died from a blow delivered to his head with a jug although various other conflicting accounts subsist. His assailant was reportedly sentenced to death. Omowura no doubt, also fell victim to the potential excesses of the celebrity lifestyle. His talent was never in doubt, and his music is still popular today. Scourge of the silver screen Richard Schickel refers to the famous as “Intimate Strangers” in his book of the same name. He blames much of this familiarity on the pervasive medium of television. According to him, a movie star in the 1930s and 40s was in no way in close relationship with his fans because there was no television. He stated: “They might make a personal appearance tour from stage to stage, you know. But television changes that whole balance because first of all the screen is small. We actually dominate the screen. Many people have the illusion that they have an intimate relationship with these people when they appear on the news.” Sometimes that confusion between the realms of illusion and reality can have deadly consequences. For instance, it was John Hinckley, Jr.’s obsession with actress Jodie Foster that led to his attempted assassination of President Reagan. His warped mind believed he could win the actress’ love through what he called an “historic deed.” Ironically, while it did not win her love, it did make Hinckley into a celebrity himself. It was also Nigerians’ – Lagosians to be precise – obsession with the Fadeyi Oloro character (played by Ojo Arowosafe) in Arelu, a popular Yoruba TV drama in the ‘80s that led many ardent fans of the drama to stone Arowosafe repeatedly whenever he ventured out in public glare. Death as a career move Another obsession with perhaps less harmful effects is the immortalising of dead celebrities; Fela Kuti, Dagrin, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and of course, Elvis Presley in whose honour rock music fans founded the Church of Elvis have been immortalized as mark of reverence. The fascination explained Schickel is “the cutting off untimely.” True, not a few celebrity pundits have argued that the death of a promising and established music, movie or political icon oftentimes manifest as a profitable career move which proceeds are usually enjoyed by the deceased celebrity’s friends, family, fans and business associates. More than 50 years after the death of Dean at 24, his iconic status is as powerful today as it was the day his Porsche 550 Spyder crashed on the then Route 466. The characters in the three films he made before his death were powerful and almost social miscasts - from the loner in “East of Eden” to the troubled title character in “Rebel Without a Cause” and the sullen farmer in “Giant”. Dean was the only actor to receive two posthumous Academy Award nominations. According to Forbes Magazine, Dean’s estate earns an annual income of $5 million, and his name is still a popular reference in books, films, music

•Majek Fashek a.k.a Prisoner of Conscience was undeniably one of Africa’s greatest music exports

The wages of fame and celebrity worship •Friends and family of Dagrin mourn his untimely death as he is borne to his final resting place

and television shows. Perhaps the celebrities whose deaths have come to signify the ultimate career move are Fela Kuti, Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe. Not only is their demise the subject of intense speculation about conspiracy theories and urban myth, it also showed the world that two of the world’s most famous entertainers were

actually human beings. The reality of the boy and girl behind the icon on stage and celluloid and so many posters has been discussed many times since their deaths. Their passions, insecurities and eccentricities are well documented. Her charisma, style and appeal ensure they remain veritable influences upon modern music and film culture.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

•Olu and Joke Jacobs present a rare exception to modern celebrity culture. The star couple ingeniously commands the applause of the gallery and celebrity factory

•Michael Jackson:Even in death the world acclaimed King of Pop music implores the passing tribute of never-ending sighs

The negativity of celebrity worship The effects celebrity worship can be as harmless as spotting a new hairdo or developing some new vocabulary. But along with replacing substance for image, some experts feel that celebrity affects us in other negative ways. The entertainment industry for instance, has been accused of brazenly eroding traditional family values, “and this is wreaking serious consequences on our kids and even more

recently, the parents.” “It’s crazy, today you see entire families going on TV to make a fool of themselves in the name of reality TV shows. What this constitutes is an unforgivable parodying and desecration of our core societal and cultural values,” claimed Olabisi Ajayi, a sociologist and educational psychologist. Corroborating her, Amarachi Okafor, an “independent media producer” stated

that audience of media content, particularly teenagers, tend to emulate their icons. “They imitate their conduct and speech mannerisms. They even try to dress up like their favourite celebrities…The real power of the celebrity culture subsist in its capacity to re-characterize normal. And it achieves this in a number of very destructive ways. Many parents are concerned about the extremities of the celebrity culture especially its corrosive mannerisms and language. Today, the message being passed across in Nigerian films, sitcoms and reality shows is that it is appropriate, even for little children, to use foul language. Such images and even worse get planted in the subconscious, and people change; as people change, the society changes. And from what we have seen so far, it’s a terrible change that we have to deal with,” noted Okafor. The folly of fame Some, however, seem to handle the change and the glory quite well, like Alist actors and celebrity couple, Olu and Joke Jacobs; others simply become narcissistic as indicative in the sad cases of many other Nigerian actors, musicians and politicians persistently forcing their claim to the celebrity status. For instance, not a few actresses have been found to lose their heads following prominent appearances in a movie or two. Likewise, Nollywood, Nigeria’s self-styled version of the American movie industry, Hollywood, is currently bursting at the seams with news of frequent squabbles by celebrity actresses desperate to lord it over each other in an abject and usually pointless lunge for superiority. It’s what Evander Holyfield, world boxing champion describes as the foolishness of fame. “The only thing that can be foolish is how you take it. You can take it and use it to your advantage to get over on people, then that is foolish. As long as you take it and use it the right way to help people, then it is not foolish. Holyfield’s boxing career earned him multi-millions of dollars and the title of Heavyweight Champion of the World yet it is impossible to associate him with any scandal. Celebrity mass production Although the Nigerian entertainment clime flourishes by the feats of talented artistes like Omotola Jolade-Ekeinde, Genevieve Nnaji, Kate Henshaw, Tuface Idibia to mention a few, there is a palpable shift from the elite to the ordinary in the perpetuation of the celebrity culture. Ordinary people, of course, have always been discovered, suddenly extracted from their everyday lives and processed for stardom; however, both the film and the music industry have incorporated such processes into their cultural mythologies as well as their industrial practice that the society currently groans under the weight of dramatic burst in the production of what Olumide Aina, a dramatist and teacher, described as “overnight celebrities.” Whole media formats have been devoted to it, and the contemporary media consumer has become increasingly accustomed to witnessing what happens to the ‘ordinary’ person who has been plucked from obscurity to enjoy a highly specified and circumscribed celebrity. Thus the modern celebrity oftentimes attains acclaim with scarcely any pretense to talent or achievement whatsoever. Much modern celebrity seems the result of careful promotion or great good luck or something besides talent and achievement; this much is verifiable from the scores of former Big Brother Nigeria, Gulder Ultimate Search and Next Movie Star housemates frequently loitering the venues of major entertainment events and jostling for a shot or two-minute interview on the red carpet. The explosion of reality TV, confessional talk formats, documentary-soaps and socalled reality-based game shows has significantly enhanced television’s demand for ordinary people desiring celebrity acclaim. Although the ‘reality’ of reality TV has been verified by both the academia and entertainment pundits as a deliberate construction, what has

become significant is the way these formats have exploited the reality effect of television to enhance the illusion that what is being watched is real or genuine, thus challenging the competing suspicion that it is only being staged and produced for the camera. Among the consequences of the trend, towards the ordinary celebrity and the success of reality TV formats, according to Aina, is an acceleration of the industrial cycle of use and disposal for the products of these trends. If performing on Big Brother can generate celebrity within a matter of days, it can disappear just as quickly, he claimed. The Big Brother celebrity culture, for instance, basically seek out individuals with no particular talents which might give them expectations of work in the entertainment industry, no specific career objectives beyond the achievement of media visibility, and an especially short lifecycle as a public figure The most important development however, “is the scale with which the media has begun to produce celebrity on its own,” according to Rosemary Nduka, a communications lecturer. Where once the media was more or less content to pick up celebrities produced through a range of sports, news and entertainment contexts, or to respond to approaches from publicists, promotions and public relations personnel, contemporary television in particular invents and markets the modern celebrity from scratch on a much larger scale than ever before. According to her, “Today, the society is subjected to an obscenely wrought and gratuitous display of celebrity. More bits of newspapers are devoted to celebrity lifestyles as more publications devoted entirely to celebrity gossip hit the newsstands.” This no doubt contradicts the oldfashioned celebrity culture that guaranteed that acclaim was earned as due reward for achievement and social status. If anything, celebrity was in short supply. It was beyond the arbitrary determination of royalty or show business and it was conferred with arbitrary meanness probably because the public, and certainly the media, had mental space for only one or two famous names per profession. Today, the celebrity A-list survives mostly unchanged. If you are the most brilliant comedian, playwright or novelist of your generation, fame will seek you out. But this perennial band of worthies has been joined by an immense troupe of people who are famous for three months or two weeks or half an hour: people who are famous for having survived disasters or hideous ordeals, people who are strikingly foolish or unlucky, people pretty and convincing enough to persuade some PR guru that they can make it as a model. Vastly expanded print and television channels have produced a gluttonous appetite for celebrity, and in this ferocious cramming binge, all concern for quality has been jettisoned. That is one striking change. In the past, celebrity followed achievement. But there has been another change, too, a more sinister one. Just as the media’s need to invent celebrities has exploded, so has their delight in tearing them down. This inescapable debasement of the currency of celebrity was predicted by Warhol in 1968. The sadistic gloating and exposure of every dirty little celebrity secret was the work of the alternative film maker, Kenneth Anger, through his Hollywood Babylon books. Both trends started in the depths of an alternative American culture. Today, that trivial culture has gone fully mainstream far from its American foster point; in Nigeria. Celebrity was always an ambiguous gift: long before the murder of John Lennon, the controversial deaths of Michael Jackson and Fela Kuti; there were psychopaths lurking among the legion of admirers. But now the demolition of celebrity is not entirely the result of bad character or atrocious luck; it follows as twilight succeeds sunrise that the reality show housemate who was initially treated to a cheer will not long after collapse amidst a din of jeers. It’s called Schadenfreude.

22 •Continued from Page 18 was likely to endanger the entire economy. If it was just about mismanagement or corruption in the petroleum sector or just a petroleum sector issue, maybe I might have even passed it on to others to say ‘look address this issue’. But as I researched my motion, I found out that it was going to make the budget not fully implementable, was going to increase budget deficit, and was suffocating the other sectors of the economy. Seeing those dangers, it was clear to me that we could not just leave this to the NNPC or the Ministry of Petroleum or that we should not talk about it because of some “untouchables.” It was clear to me that something had to be done. Why did the motion stay on the Order Paper for close to a month? Honestly, I don’t know why. The reason might be that it was a busy period. But when I thought it was staying for too long, I had to raise another Order on the floor. The Senate President graciously granted my request and directed that the matter be taken up the next legislative day. Some people believe that you moved the motion because you had issues with some people in the petroleum sector or in the executive. Far from it. I do not have issues with anyone. It was, and still is, about doing what is right for our country. I am a right-of-the-center person— so I have no problem with people doing their business legitimately. But we have to insist on doing things properly. I moved this motion because I believe the management of the subsidy programme was endangering the economy. It also had implications for legislative oversight, integrity of the budget, the practice of federalism, and the capacity of the executive to achieve the transformation agenda. In fact, that motion was meant to enhance the capacity of our party and Mr. President to successfully implement the transformation agenda. But for those who are a bit narrowminded, they might say it is because one agency didn’t settle him or because he wanted to embarrass someone. Don’t forget that it was not something that started now. It wasn’t President Jonathan that started the fuel subsidy payment. The abuses have been there all along, and nobody looked at it or raised the issue at the level it is being done at the moment. Now everyone, including the presidency, is looking at and talking about it. Did you ever imagine that things will come to this pass when you moved the motion? Honestly, no. No one could have foreseen the turns that things have taken. My intention was for the Senate to look into this issue and see how we can improve the management of the subsidy programme. But now it has gone viral, as they say, and everybody is talking about it in a way one never imagined. But I think there is a lesson to be learnt from that by all of us in government. The lesson is that Nigerians are now more interested in how their government is run at all levels. And when you have a populace with that kind of interest, then we all need to step up. It will be difficult to get away with what we used to get away with in the past. I also think it was a wake-up call for all of us. You could say it is because it is fuel subsidy, but I bet you if it were to be some other issue, Nigerians will show the same interest, even though it might not be as high as this. So the message out there is whether you are a councillor, a commissioner, a governor or a senator, we all need to ensure that we do things properly because the Nigeria of now is not the Nigeria of the past. It is to be expected that those who are likely to lose out or be embarrassed by the outcome of your motion might fight back. Are you ready for this? As I said before, it is something that

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

‘How I cope with the transition from Govt House to Senate’

•Saraki

needed to be done. I have lost some friends in the process. I have friends who are not happy that I moved that motion. But maybe that is part of the sacrifice we need to make to get things done properly. I believe that after this exercise, even for the period the subsidy will remain, it will be better managed. If we save billions of Naira and free up resources for development, that will be better for all of us. Definitely I know some people are not happy and they blame everything on ‘this Saraki motion’. But the interest of the greater number is being served. Are you bothered about possible political backlash? I know that those who are very petty will not see the bigger picture. But I also appreciate that the vast majority do not look at things that way. Many Nigerians are now ready

to insist that public interests should over-ride personal interests and they are ready to support those championing that. It is important for those who nurse thoughts of witch-hunt to see the bigger picture and read the mood of the country properly. This is not the time for witch-hunt. Has anyone told you that your motion was against the President? No. Are you worried that some people might be whispering that to the President and might urge him to come after you? I don’t think so. Also, I don’t think the President sees it in that manner. That is my thinking because I have had the opportunity to discuss with him since then. Getting things done properly will further help his transformation agenda. Besides, I do not think the President is against the

‘

I think it is all part of the journey of life to be able to fit into anywhere you find yourself and find ways to keep working towards a common agenda. I will say yes, it has been challenging because it is totally different. But I think making a success of it is paramount...

quest for transparency and better management of resources. We can see that from his actions. One of such actions is his directive that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) should investigate the management of fuel subsidy. That says a lot and definitely shows that we are on the same page on this matter. Even if they whisper it to the President, I don’t think he will listen to them. It is possible that some people will be dropping names here and there to cover their own shortcomings. Some people will even say some of the beneficiaries are PDP sympathisers, but the party and the President did not encourage or tell them to go and engage in fraudulent acts. So I don’t in any way believe that Mr. President sees it in that way. But as we all know, there are those who have done what they shouldn’t have done and will be whipping up sentiments to cover their tracks. What if those people have influence on the powers that be? As I said earlier, that is part of the sacrifice one has to make in the process of fighting for the right thing. I think a lot of people are watching, especially in civil society. Nigerians are clamouring for genuine change and they are ready to stand by those driving change. I think it will be a grave mistake to believe that the

answer to the call for doing things rightly is to shut out the person that has raised a motion or to make him a sacrificial lamb. I don’t think that is the way forward at a time of transformation. I do not think this is the style of the President. Away from the subsidy issue, you are the chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology. How has that been, bearing in mind that this is like an off-territory for you? Off-territory— I think that is the right word for it. But again it is a learning curve. I have tried to quickly get a good understanding of the field. I have come to appreciate the impact of the environment on the economy, on health, on poverty and human development in general. Before now, I didn’t take much interest in things like climate change. I used to look at it as mere talk. But more and more, I have come to realise that it is real and the challenges are real. You see environmental challenges all over the country— from floods in the South-West, to desert encroachment in the North, erosion in the East, oil pollution in the delta and changing weather patterns everywhere. These developments have real impact on people’s lives and livelihood and on the larger economy—and we need to take urgent actions on them. Some people are concerned that the recent oil spill in Bonga was not given the same kind of attention as the one that happened in the Gulf of Mexico in the US. First of all, I think one of the problems we have had in the past is that we have not taken some of these things seriously. We have shown extreme laxity in some of our guidelines and regulatory responsibilities. I have made it clear that it can’t be and won’t be business as usual in this sector. Whoever I have to take on in doing that, so be it. Nigeria as a country should always be amongst the top countries in the world because we have the people and the capacity. Our weakness has always been having standards that are consistently applied. So anything I find myself doing, I always ensure that there are standards. I resent it so much that these same companies would observe the standards elsewhere but not in our country. That is something that gets me very upset. But we cannot put all the blame on their doorsteps. They are business people and if you allow them to cut corners, they will. So we need to take regulations and oversight seriously. What else is on your legislative agenda? Well, as you know, I have interest in the agricultural sector. I will be working there to look at some of the laws we need to pass to support agricultural transformation and ensure that we become more self-sufficient in food production. From my experience in Kwara State, I know that it is important that we see agriculture as business not just as a social agenda. It is key that we have the right laws and policies that will give people the confidence to invest in that sector. As a member of the Committee on Finance, I am also interested in how to improve the revenue that accrues to the country and how to block loopholes and leakages. I am also interested in how to address unemployment. Despite the fact that our unemployment rate in Kwara State is below the national average, this is still a major issue in my constituency. One of the things I am looking at is how to create job opportunities and how to improve the skills of our youths to make them more employable.

LOCATION

BACKSTAGE

SNAPSHOT

REEL NEWS

MUSIC

SCREEN

Edited by: VICTOR AKANDE

Tel: 08077408676

E-mail: victor_akande@yahoo.com

ntertainment

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

t s e i z a r The c e l a m a thing d i d n a f to me ress, t c a d o o Nollyw

h a f f E a d n Beli

See page 28-37

STANDh BY! Wit

VICTOR AKANDE E-mail: victor_akande@yahoo.com Tel: 08077408676 (SMS only)

THINK

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

are embedded in Kung Fu, a curriculum which does not disturb S much as violence is is another food for thought here normal class room decried among the films and there is just a lot to learn work, but could that kids should be about life in this movie. Yu, is a enhance same exposed to, The Karate Kid, a 2010 Karate teacher who impacts into through the acts of martial art sequel of the 1984 film his students absolute violence. total concentration under the same title could be His slogan goes: “No Mercy”. and general sense of described as 'a strike without Such is the Karate tool in the blood spilling.' Perhaps this is hand of the devil's advocate, such discipline. Dre's mother could one of the conscious provisions that he obsessed with that could endear the filmmakers exterminating the enemies rather not be grateful enough to Chan when she to the viewers. But beyond this than giving them a second notices that the bloodless action-packed flick is a chance. Such tenets decry modest definition of Kung Fu as dialogue or peace talk in political American breed, who talks a lot, argues with her opposed to the erroneous discord; such feeling of bigotry and would often drop his impression of violence, power, and dictatorship. This movie jacket carelessly has oppression and perhaps vehicle warns against bad teachers and suddenly becomes more of intimidation that may have inhuman orientations for our reserved, matured, better been ascribed to the phenomenon children. organised, obedient and over time. To drive the point home, Dre, As the movie attempts a better who has been mercilessly bullied respectful. To further appreciates the definition for Kung Fu, the by a gang of schoolboy thugs led ingenuity of Kung Fu, the viewer with a discerning mind is by Cheng (the fight-to-kill Kung Microsoft Encarta Premium able to capture the essence with Fu antagonist) finds succour in 2009 describes Karate as the the simple understanding that Chan who agrees to teach him martial art of unarmed selfKung Fu is Martial Art. As an art, Kung Fu. Dre learns skills to defence; something more the viewer is able to appreciate defend himself, competes in a than a method of combat, the methodology and divorce the tournament against Cheng and but which emphasizes selfconcept of Kung Fu from violence his evil teacher (Yu), and of for violence sake. He sees it as a course, wins the friendship of the discipline, positive attitude, and high moral purpose. game, a skill for self defence, a girl for whom he's been so It may interest you to tool for making peace with the bullied. enemy, and perhaps the best Beyond the strength which the know that Karate schools form of exercise and mental Kung Fu lesson also teaches, Dre and classes can be found all over the world, particularly development. However, there is was able to defeat the more no doubt that this art could be experienced and muscular Cheng in the United States, where karate has become popular used by people of questionable using the skill of self-defence, as a sport and a method for selfcharacter for the wrong reasons. psychology of the game and protection. Karate has also been After all, have people not killed wisdom attached to the art. in the name of religion? Have There are other elements being incorporated into training programs for police, soldiers, people not been cheaply introduced in the movie that college athletes, and other defrauded because religion was transform the 12-year-old Dre groups. used as selling point? into a total person; these elements Serious martial arts students This film reminds one of My believe that the martial arts are name is Khan, a Hindi flick that Perhaps if this not about fighting, but about captures the right up-bringing for livingthat is, the principles a child. In My Name is Khan, there (martial art) is students learn in the martial arts is an attempt to correct the help provide guidance on how to inculcated into the erroneous impression that all act outside the training hall. In Muslims are terrorists. And it curriculum of the the end, martial arts schools aim only takes one man to preach this to produce students who practice National Youth gospel round the world; to better themselves, and not to changing the belief of erring dominate others. Studies have Service Scheme brothers while also helping to shown that many of those who (NYSC) we may be practice the martial arts differ correct the injustices done to innocent Muslims by the Western from the general public in that breeding future they have a lower level of world. This did not just happen; Khan was able to distinguish administrators with anxiety, an increased sense of responsibility, and a higher level himself as a true Muslim because sounder mind, of self-esteem. from childhood, his teacher had Perhaps if this is inculcated always fed him with the cliché: greater discipline into the curriculum of the “there is no religion in this world; National Youth Service Scheme than the crop of only good people and bad we may be breeding people.” corrupt politicians (NYSC) future administrators with Mr. Han, played by Jackie sounder mind, greater discipline Chan provides another angle to and fraudulent than the crop of corrupt this lesson of life when he said; business men that politicians and fraudulent “there are no bad students, there business men that litter our are only bad teachers.” The litter our polity polity. concept of 'teacher' and 'student'

WRITE TO US! Do you watch Nollywood movies? What do you think of the Nigerian motion picture industry? Send your review of any movie or short essay on any topic of your choice about the film industry in not more than 200 words. Send entries by e-mail to: victor_akande@yahoo.com or SMS your short comments to 08077408676

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

SNAPSHOTS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

RE ELNEW S

HE recently concluded eighth season of Gulder Ultimate Search bore the semblance to a well-scripted movie. The plot involved the search for a long lost treasure the Golden Helmet of General Maximillian. Ten carefully selected Champions were tasked to search for this treasure, hidden in Ososo Mountains, Akoko Edo, Edo State. Like an 'all is well that ends well' story, Christopher Okagbue found the treasure after a grueling three month search. He won for himself N7 million cash, a brand new SUV worth N10 million, N500, 000 wardrobe allowance and the bragging rights to be called the GUS 8 Ultimate Hero. The remaining nine Champions carted away cash prizes of various forms, depending on their performance. Okagbue and the fellow Champions can allude to the latin phrase veni vidi vici in describing their Ososo jungle conquest. The remaining Champions are: Anastasia Azike, Kevin Durst, Anthony Igwe, Fejiro Ejogbamu, Tony Horsfall, Promise Ojiegbe, Sunday Gyang, Alawoki Olanrewaju and Patience Ihongbe. For indeed, they came, they saw and they conquered the obstacles of the Ososo jungle; thereby giving the Nigerian and international audience a show to remember. But the GUS 8 chapter will not be hurriedly confined to the annals of Nigerian reality TV shows. With the GUS 8 Road Show set to commence in a few days, the Gulder brand certainly has something up its sleeves. While other reality TV shows literarily end with the emergence of a winner/ winners, GUS has since inception, always taken the concept a notch higher. So why GUS Road Show? Mr. Ita Bassey, Senior Brand Manager Gulder, Nigerian Breweries Plc lists some of the reasons. He said: “The GUS Road Show is meant to maintain, strengthen and establish excitement around the programme. The Road Show has been an integral part of the GUS since inception. It also serves as an avenue for recognition of the state of origin of the Champions. During the Road Show, we also aim for endorsement of the brand by the people of the states.” Bassey further explained that the Road Show exploits the popularity and exposure currently enjoyed by the Champions.

Gulder Ultimate Search 8

10 champions on roadshow

Ms Promise Ojiegbe, one of the Champions, mentioned in one of her interviews on the show, that the number of 'Friends' request on her Facebook page had skyrocketed. Not to mention the growing number of 'fans' she has accumulated. The Champions will hit the road on Monday, February 13, and the Road Show will take them through six states: Oyo, Edo, Delta, Anambra, Rivers and Lagos. These represent the states of origin of most of the Champions. The states' tour experience will be an unforgettable experience, just like the Gulder Ultimate Search 8 show proper. It will end on Saturday, March 3. While on the tour, the Champions are expected to pay courtesy visits to the state governors, traditional rulers and distinguished personalities. They will also be visiting sites of special interest. Two Ultimate Parties will also be thrown in honour of the Champions in Oyo and Lagos states. Furthermore special galas and in-bar activations will be held at various locations, during the Road Show. They will also be guests of various radio stations

which will afford viewers rare opportunities of interacting with them. To spice up the event, ace actor and GUS 8 show anchor, Bob Manuel Udokwu, will be leading the GUS 8 Champions 'delegation' to each of the six states. This time around, his role will not be that of Task Master and announcing evictions on the show. He will be the guide and sort of mouthpiece of the Champions during the courtesy visits and media appearances. Speaking on the choice of Bob Manuel, Bassey said: “Bob Manuel is very much used to this. He has successfully steered the affairs of the Gulder Ultimate Search Road Shows in times past. As you are well aware, Bob Manuel has been the show anchor of previous editions of Gulder Ultimate Search. He can be referred to as a veteran in this area. I am very confident that he will come through for the GUS 8 Road Show.” While GUS 8 lasted, the N17.5 million total prize value at stake for the first prize fuelled intense competition among the Champions. This was quite understandable. However, a spirit

of camaraderie has permeated the walls of rivalry. Friendships formed during the show will blossom and remain evergreen, as attested to by many of them. Jokes shared during the tour of the states are expected to elicit laughter. Contestants will stand the chance of visiting other states which they may never have visited and sites they may never have seen. They will meet state governors they may never have met. To refer to the GUS 8 Road Show as the 'tie that binds' will be apt. Tours that take participants to six states, visiting the seats of government and other interesting sites do not come often. But they are the perks that come with emerging as one of the Champions on Gulder Ultimate Search 8. Even this is enough to spur intending contestants to GUS 9 to make it to the 'Champions' stage. For now, the Champions should live for the GUS 8 moment. A 20day all expenses paid holiday, with a six state tour, does not come every day. Indeed, this bundle of fun, excitement, joy and adventure may never come the way of some of the Champions again.

Top celebrities storm launch of Shuga Reef

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

The kind of woman I want in my life —Buchi

if I was born with anything, it was probably chewing stick or kola nut. I grew up like the average Nigerian child. Growing up back then was not what it is like today. We were the last set of Nigerian youths that enjoyed Nigeria as a free country

•Buchi

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Slam seeks revival

W4, Davido,, Davido Collabo Collabo,, others for Shetade Val party

COVER COVER

Fast rising actress, Belinda Effah has really come a long way within a short period in her career as an actress and TV presenter. The graduate of Genetics and Biotechnology from the University of Calabar who once had a short stint with urban music channel, Soundcity, spoke with AHMED BOULOR about her fledgling career and other sundry issues

R COVER E V

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

R E V O C

I won't go naked just for the sake of it; I am actually against nudity in Nigerian movies because despite the fact that such things do happen in Nigeria, it is done in secret. Not the way it is been portrayed in Nigerian movies

OW has it been combining acting with TV presenting?

It is very difficult, and sooner or later, one has to give way for the other. For me, I had to give up TV job for my real passion, which is acting. Acting can be very tasking and it requires your time seriously. I take my work seriously and I'd rather be successful in one than be a jack of all trade and master of none. What's the focus of your TV show? The TV show "Tales of Eve' is centered around rape and its effect on women in the society. It speaks largely of stigmatization and gender inequality amongst other things. The TV show also aims to address the above mentioned problems and how the society can best tackle it by first admitting there is a problem. How were you able to secure a role in the soap 'Tales of Eve'? I got the role to play Simi through facebook; I usually post pictures of jobs I have done in the past on the social networking site. I learnt from the producer that he was going through my profile and he saw a picture that I took in a movie where I played the role of a village girl. According to him, I had the characteristics that he was looking for and so, he left a message for me on facebook. The rest is history like they say. How have viewers been reacting to the TV show? From my perspective, the audience reaction towards the show is amazing. Since the story is real and can easily be identified with by several Nigerians, it has attracted a lot of viewers. The storyline was also very well interpreted according to some fans that I have come across. I also get calls from well-wishers giving me good reviews about my interpretation of the character that I play and how impressed they are. It gives me great joy and it is also a huge honour. My facebook fans are so amazing and they never cease to let me know that I am well appreciated. The attention the show has received has also drawn corporate bodies and brands towards it. While auditioning for the soap, were you confident you would be selected for the role? I went for the casting of 'Tales of Eve' with a happy spirit; I went with a male friend in case it was foul play. I met with the producer, technical director and the production manager. I was asked to play out different roles which I did comfortably. I could only help but notice the smile on every ones face. I left the venue for the audition with the producer

other than to say it is where the heart leads which is my passion. I studied Genetics and Biotechnology, as a second option, my first option was to study medicine. As at the time it was just cool to say I want to study medicine and of course, it will make your parent proud so it came rather easy to go for the sciences, but at the end of the day it's what fate has in store for you. Medicine totally turned me down so I opted for what was closest to medicine that was available to me which was Genetics and Biotechnology; of course I later fell in love with the course as it exposed my mind to several things as to the functionality of the human being and the genetic composition of living things. But Genetics is field yet untapped in Nigeria, there are several things we could do with my course of study but several limitations, if I had to continue with what I studied then I will have to seek travelling out of Nigeria to do that and for me right now it's not a strong option. Do you also look forward to grabbing your first major award as an actress in time soon to come? I really look forward to winning an permits. award by God's grace. For me it's all Have you had any major setback as about audience satisfaction. If the an actress? viewers appreciate what I do then that is Well I don't know what you consider a an honour for me. If the producers and major or minor setback; a setback is a directors are satisfied with what I do setback. I have had several setbacks of then that is an award for me. If the body course and it's just the challenge that responsible for an award appreciates you mentioned earlier. But I am getting what I do and decides to give me an past that now, that's not to say that award, then that will be a great award challenges do not crop up every now for me. I give my best in any movie and then; but as humans, we should production that I am involved in and so always envision things like that and far, I am happy and enjoying come up with ways of managing them. everything I do. Are your parents in support of your Why did it take you so long to decision to become an actress? feature in a major TV production? My father always wanted his kids to It didn't take me so long to feature go to school so that no matter what in a major TV production as I am happens in the end you'll always have not in charge of the final something to fall back on. Going to production and or when it school was major and after completing eventually goes on air. I am only my education I automatically got the paid to do my job and after that ticket to plunge into whatever whatever the production team profession that I wanted with decides to do with the final supervision of course. My parents have material is their business. Most of 14 children so I guess one deviating to the jobs I mentioned have not been acting will not be really noticeable. released and I cannot force them to While in school, you were in the sciences, how come you took to acting? release them as they have their reasons for not doing so. I only hope You know I get that question all the time and I really have not come up with that in due time that it will be released so people know that I have been an answer that is good enough answer,

‘I can’t go naked on set’ telling me he will get back to me. Later in the week, I got a call confirming that I had been given the role. How challenging was the experience on set? It was really a major challenge for me as I have been out of the scene for a while, but deep down me, I knew I could do it. The role I played was so emotional that I had to be seen crying all the time. It was a challenge because I watch people cry on TV and I feel like it's a huge joke and I wanted a case whereby I will draw the emotions of audience watching because I wanted to build a huge fan base. I had to cry that much so people can feel my pain. I also had to go to that extent so people can understand what victims of rape go through. One of the major challenges of young actresses like you is that you do not usually get major movie roles; what do you think is responsible for this? That is a very interesting question. I believe the problem at hand is applicable to every industry in the world. If you were looking for a job as an accountant, you have to get some level of experience before you are taken seriously. No one wants to jeopardize

their business with a green horn. When you are able to prove what you have, people will acknowledge you. For instance, you go for a job interview as a fresh graduate and you are being asked for 10 years experience, where are you suppose to manufacture that from? For me, in as much as it is a challenge, I see it as a hurdle that I have to cross, it means there is something I am not doing right, but I have to say that when I first ventured into the industry, I had that experience, but not anymore. Everything will fall into place as time goes on as long as you are dedicated. The keyword is patience; a lot of young actors want to become super stars over night, forgetting they have to earn it. Have you ever been attracted to other forms of art like dancing or singing? Yes, I have been drawn to both singing an dancing. It's funny though because I once tried my hands on singing and dancing but it didn't turn out so well. I guess that is not where my strength lies. I intend to take proper dance lessons and perhaps singing lessons just in case I land a role that requires me to do just that. As a trendy TV presenter, what does style mean to you?

to town Rcomes COVERCOVERVETobi I

Style means everything to me. First of all, it's TV and it's all about what the people see. If you are not properly dressed, then it's a big minus. Secondly, it's not just about dressing well; it also entails wearing what suits you. For me, I take into consideration that I want to stand out; I also want to be seen as a style icon. That's why I pay attention to details ranging from colour selection to fittings and accessories. My hair style also has to fit the look. I always keep my make up simple and I like my style to be the topic of debate in any home that I am being viewed from; this will make my personality register in the minds of the viewer. You were once a presenter with Soundcity, and when you left some people thought you had left TV job for good. Soundcity was a good platform for me and I will have to give them the credit for unveiling my potential in TV presenting, prior to that I had never tried presenting. Well I have not stopped presenting on TV as I currently have a lunch break show on TV called Lunch Break with Belinda; it airs weekly on Tuesdays by 2.30pm. I love presentation and I will keep doing it as long as time

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

CO COVER

working. Do you have fond memories of your time growing up as a child? Of course I have several fond memories, starting with my dad. He is such a disciplinarian and any time he comes back from work my sisters and I would jump up and pick up our books and start reading. Besides my dad being a disciplinarian, he is also a mathematician and he expected all his children to be like him. He would teach us quantitative aptitude and he ensured that we fully understand it no matter what. The fear of not knowing and understanding what my dad was teaching was enough to make one pee in the pants. I miss my grandmother and our pet dog. My mum is such an angel such that she ensures everything is properly taken care of and each time she comes back home from work, we get so excited knowing things will get better. While you were growing up, were you drawn towards celebrities and celebrity shows? Growing up in the era of black and white television is not really a basis for having role models because you are limited to what you can watch. Back in the days when NEPA permits, I watch cartoons, but I was more attracted to fashionable people and as the years passed by and with the introduction of colour TV sets I could identify with a certain class of fashionable TV personalities and how they are able to set a trend for people to follow and I thought to myself I could be like them too. What really made you plunge into Nollywood; was it for the money or fame? I veered into Nollywood because of my passion and love for the job. I know the money will come along. How daring can you get on set? I am a professional and I get the job done. I won't go naked just for the sake of it; I am actually against nudity in Nigerian movies because despite the fact that such things do happen in Nigeria, it is done in secret. Not the way it is been portrayed in Nigerian movies. I can be daring but in a positive way; I interpret my character for it to be believable. I consider myself a method actor and the implication of it is becoming the character. I can be daring for a very good script. What is the craziest thing done to you by a male? I am yet to have that experience. When I do, I will let you know. All my male fans are always in their bes t behavior.

F the success recorded by films produced by Nigerians in the Diaspora is anything to go by, then, a new flick, entitled Tobi, may be another centre of discussion when it hits the Nigerian cinema this year. Produced by Emmanuel Ijeh and directed by Bethels Agomuoh, the film which features Mark Williams as Tobi; Chet Bashari Anekwe as Tobi's father; Chisom Oz-Lee as Tobi's mother; and Jimmy Allen as Tobi's brother, explores the consequences of what happens when 21-year-old Tobi bows to the dark side of gang pressure. In a flash, a seemingly morally upright young man gets caught in a web of violence, guns, bloodshed, drugs, parental expectations and conflicting voices in his head. Interestingly, the bond of brotherhood also stretches the thematic window of choices and sacrifice. The Director, Bethels Agomuoh further bridges the gap between the Nollywood and Hollywood by shooting a Nigerian picture in the United States with a healthy blend of American and Nigerian cast.

Stingomania, Mingle TV plan big for lovers

TINGOMANIA360 Entertainment and Mingle TV Show have partnered to give lovers, friends and family a wonderful moment in this Valentine's season, with an exclusive white gig. The collaborative effort by these two entertainment outfits is aimed at providing a platform for lovers, friends and the industry stakeholders who desire to celebrate Valentine's Day with entertainment top shots in an all-white-attire party. Tagged “Valentine All White Beach Party” the session holds at the Elegushi

Private Beach on February 18. Speaking about the event, a member of staff of Stingomania360 assured that “ the white gig on the beach promises much fun as lovers and friends will get the chance of mingling with the entertainment top shots and Nollywood superstars in an informal and relaxed atmosphere with loads of fun activities lined up for the day.”

A Niteshift moment for lovers

“

in-house band, The Shifters, EVERY February 14, for perform spectacular sounds so many years now, has always been memorable for lovers, guests and patrons. at the club, and this one is not Olumese who said prizes will also be won, added that the going to be an exception. In event is slated to begin at fact, if you ask me, I want to say that this one is going to be 10p.m. better than the previous ones. Fun will be unlimited and the experience will remain unforgettable to all those that will be there. So, we expect patrons, friends and guests to storm Niteshift Coliseum this Val with their loved ones and groove with us in an atmosphere of love and sharing." With this statement coming from Mr. Ken Calebs Olumese, the Guv'nor of The Niteshift Coliseum, there is no denying that a special moment awaits fun seekers who may desire a time-out during this year's Valentine celebration. In what he said promises to be an unforgettable all night experience, the popular celebrity hangout will have its •Ken Calebs

Aiyegbeni VILLA WANTS Ogbuke targets QUICK more goals returns for Taiwo COMEBACK for Schalke

Pg. 31

Pg. 32

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Nation PAGE 29

Saturday, February 11, 2012

VS Alex Ferguson

Kenny Dalglish

GIGGS KEEN TO STOP

Pg. 32

LIVERPOOL Giggs

THE NATION SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

NATION SPORT

E grew up in the eastern parts of Nigeria listening to a radio drama in Igbo language which literarily translates to ‘we hear new things at dawn’. Aired on the then Imo Broadcasting Corporation (IBC), it featured the late Lormaji Ugorji and a host of other characters and it was all about disturbing developments in the village which draws the villagers to the square to share latest gossips. The topsy-turvy existence of the Nigeria Football League (NFL) Board reminds one of the said radio drama only in this instance, the news comes faster than their match results. It will be interesting to sneak a glimpse of the Dominic Oneya report which is laid before the Minister of Sports and see what it recommended to be done with the league. Whereas all eyes have been on the perceived honey pot at the Glass House, the goose that lays the football eggs have for most periods been deliberately overlooked. Perhaps, we may equate the case of the League body to the school literature ‘One Week, One Trouble’ by Anezi Okoro. What is happening to the league board lends voice to advocates of institutional development as against building of authoritarian personality cults around individuals. Had past leaders at NFL approached the task of developing the league from a master plan devoid of ego tripping, we would surely not have been mired in this sorry pass. But more directly, the league body seems to have sworn to an oath of financial recklessness, one of the reasons a former sponsor, Globacom adduced for the foot-dragging in paying the rights fee for the last year

The many tales of Nigeria Premier League By Harry Iwuala of the sponsorship. It might interest the football public to know that in a bizarre out-of-court settlement in 2011, NFL officials accepted N350m as against the N922m judgment they secured at a Lagos High Court presided over by Justice Olateru Olagbegi. In a situation where clubs don’t receive royalties from television broadcast rights held by Total Promotions and sold to SuperSports for a yet to be disclosed amount, it is a mystery that the clubs’ share of the N350m is still being debated. The N350m was collected under the acting chairmanship of Alhaji Shehu Gusau who is now a Deputy Director in the National Sports Commission. Not quite long after the money was paid sprouted stories of a missing N30m and the ruckus that erupted from the discovery soon petered away. The stories of missing money tags along the instability in the Board since the exit of Chief Oyuki Obaseki which was followed by controversies that trailed the election of first, Davidson Owumi, and later on, Victor Rumson Baribote. Even in the face of the boardroom rift, it was obvious that the personal interests of the members were never put at rift. In the boom years of Globacom money, the NFL Leadership

invented a patronage distribution mechanism called ‘Match Assessment’ and which had all the Board members hitting the road every weekend at the end of which they collected handsome allowances. Yet, the clubs get nothing and the players and NFL workers are owed salary arrears. In all his lectures at the NFL seminars, Sir Dave Richards of the English Premier League never for once mentioned any practice known as independent match assessment. But this clever but fraudulent enrichment of members have not abated as Board members on a weekly basis pay themselves while reports of match fixing and corrupt officiating didn’t stop. Yet, this same Board members watch their staff go for months without salaries and when they sight money, they approve all manner of payments for themselves but will not pay Insurance premium for teams after collecting the monies from the clubs. Are the clubs aware that IGI a In the most recent development, N12m is said to have grown wings and flew off the bank vault at the former Intercontinental Bank where the NFL maintained a special account. In the wake of this scandal are disclosures of board members meeting regularly and earning fat sitting allowances. There are also reports that a former

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Chairman was the sole signatory to another account and you begin to wonder if the position is an executive one. As long as stories like this continue to come from the NFL office, the league can only attract N20m sponsors as we presently have at the moment. The bulk of the blame for the anomy lies with the Clubs at whose instance the Board runs the league business. To the uninitiated, it may sound strange that the clubs can be taken for a ride by those they elected. Clubs that ordinarily should be calling the shots turn jelly on the flimsy excuse that they will be victimized for speaking up and challenging the Board. W h a t t h e clubs are suffering is self-inflicted as they have a myopic view of what their responsibilities are. Most clubs think first of securing victory at home matches and yield little thoughts to real development of the club brand. This explains why the NFL Board is getting away with signing

•Mikel returns to face Anichebe •As Osaze eyes Albion survival •By Bimbo Adesina wich City and Swansea City, and last season's champions Manchester United. With Everton unbeaten in five matches in a run of form that includes a 1-0 victory against table-toppers Manchester City at Goodison Park, the result has given Victor Anichebe and the rest of the Everton camp confidence they can match it with the big boys in the league. Anichebe was Everton match winner last weekend when he came from the bench to equalizer against Wigan at The DW Stadium. Tomorrow at Molineux Stadium, Osaze Odemwingie will aim to lift West Brom from the relegation water as they faceWolverhampton Wanderers. Osaze was the toast of the Albion fans last season with 15 goals in his debut Premier League season, but has only score five goals this season after struggling for form and fitness, and was the subject of January enquiries from Fulham and West Ham. He

was then attacked by some Albion fans after blazing over an open goal 10 yards out in the defeat to Swansea on Saturday. But West Brom boss Roy Hodgson has backed the Nigerian international to shrug off his horror miss and rediscover his goal-scoring touch. Today’s trip to Molineux will be Hodgson’s fourth meeting with Wolves since slipping into the Albion hot-seat. And on his three previous derby days, Hodgson has experienced the full gamut of emotions.

•Anichebe

•Gbolahan Salami of Enyimba FC formerly of 3SC

Ogbuke targets more goals for Schalke

Aiyegbeni returns for Taiwo N FTER missing three matches through suspension, Nigerian international Yakubu Aiyegbeni return to face compatriot Taye Taiwo as Blackburn clashes with Queens Park Rangers (QPR) at Ewood Park. Aiyegbeni was handed a redcard on January 14 in Blackburn’s 3-1 defeat of Fulham after a high-footed challenge on the Fulham captain Danny Murphy. Blackburn were thrashed 71 last week by Arsenal and the result put Steve Kean-led squad second-bottom of the English Premier League with 18 points, three behind Mark Hughes' QPR - who were beaten 2-1 by Wolves on Saturday. With just three points separating the two sides, today's match takes on paramount importance. At the Goodison Park, Mikel Obi will make his return to Chelsea squad with almost two months absence due to groin injury sustained in December against Tottenham. Chelsea have not been beaten in seven matches, but their last three Premier League encounters have ended in draws against newly promoted Nor-

rubbish contracts that are yielding nothing by way of revenue for the clubs including a dubious broadcast rights deal that has become a source of personal aggrandizement for successive

boards. Why would the broadcast rights holder be advancing money in bits to the NFL to run the season? They must do so to justify the bigger pie coming from SuperSports. Who do these folks think we are….dumb fools? Today, the clubs are keeping mum in the face of the tyranny of Coach Stephen Keshi who is appropriating their choice players in the name of a home-based Super Eagles. Their silence is borne more out of a non-realization that club football in Nigeria is as much a business as it is in England where Arsene Wenger refused the inclusion of Arsenal’s Jack Wilshire in the England U20 squad for the European Championship. Keshi is carrying on as though professional football has a different definition in Africa after passing through the domestic league in Nigeria and Ivory Coast to Europe. It only requires one club to stand up and invoke FIFA Rules on the release of players for the charade to stop. Let us put Keshi on notice that he must field at least five of these players after depriving clubs of the services of their players and committing the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) to huge funds expended on the camping. H a r r y Iwuala is a renowned Journalist based in Lagos, Nigeria

IGERIA's Chinedu Ogbuke rescued a point for Schalke at home last weekeend against Mainz 05 last week, and the striker will be in form to secure another three points at stake against Moenchengladbach today at the Stadion im Borrussia-Park. The Schalke visit Moenchengladbach is a battle between third and fourth place respectively in the German Bundesliga table. Having debut for Espanyol last week, Kalu Uche will continue search for his first goal for Spanish club. Espanyol face bottomplaced Real Zaragoza at the Estadi Cornellà-El Pra as they aim out to extend their unbeaten league run to eight matches when they host bottom-placed Real Zaragoza. Odion Ighalo who has taken shine off Ikechukwu Uche in Granada will aim for more goals for the struggling team in La Liga. Ighalo was on target in the last two matches against Real Betis and Malaga will lead Granada onslaught against Villarreal tomorrow at Camp El Madrigal. In France, Onyekachi Apam will square up against King Osanga as Stade Rennes welcome

•As Apam, Osanga battle in Ligue 1 •Kalu Uche, Ighalo eye victory in Spain Sochaux to Stade de la Route de Lorient, while John Utaka will be in action for

Montpellier when they host Ajaccio at Stade de la Mosson.

•Ighalo

NATIONSPORT SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

NATION SPORT

VS A

Ronaldo

EAL MADRID hold a healthy seven-point lead atop La Liga ahead of Sunday's meeting with Levante, while Barcelona visit Osasuna. Despite speculation suggesting Jose Mourinho will depart the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the season, an 18th-minute winner from Sergio Ramos saw Real continue their fine form with a 1-0 victory at Getafe last time out. Mourinho has been linked with a return to the English Premier League, but Real forward Jose Callejon believes the Portuguese tactician will remain with the La Liga giants.

VELA EYEING SOCIEDAD STAY

ARLOS Vela has confirmed he is hoping to stay at Real Sociedad beyond this season rather than return to Arsenal at the end of his loan spell. The Mexico international has struggled to make an impact during his Arsenal career and has scored 11 goals in 64 appearances, the majority of which have been as a substitute. The striker has previously been out on loan at Salamanca, Osasuna and West Brom and is enjoying the current campaign with Sociedad. Vela is happy to be back in La Liga and the 22-yearold is keen for a deal to be agreed between the two clubs to allow him to stay with Sociedad . "I would stay at Real," Vela told El Diario Vella Vasco. "I am happy and the people support me.

Table

Spanish La liga league Table - Feb 6 Madrid Barcelona Valencia Levante Espanyol Bilbao Atletico Malaga Osasuna Getafe Sevilla Rayo Mallorca Granada Sociedad Real Betis Villarreal Racing Gijon Zaragoza

21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21

18 14 10 9 9 7 8 8 6 7 6 7 6 7 6 7 5 4 5 2

1 6 7 5 5 9 6 4 10 6 8 4 7 4 6 2 8 10 4 6

2 1 4 7 7 5 7 9 5 8 7 10 8 10 9 12 8 7 12 13

71 61 31 27 25 33 31 25 23 22 22 25 18 16 23 23 20 18 20 16

19 13 22 25 24 28 27 31 33 27 24 32 25 28 30 30 29 26 39 38

52 48 9 2 1 5 4 -6 -10 -5 -2 -7 -7 -12 -7 -7 -9 -8 -19 -22

55 48 37 32 32 30 30 28 28 27 26 25 25 25 24 23 23 22 19 12

Giggs

"I do not believe Mourinho will go at the end of the season, because he is happy here," Callejon said on Wednesday. "He really wants to work hard and to do things well. I think he is calm and really wants to win a lot of trophies." They host a Levante side clinging to fourth spot, winless in six outings after a stunning start to the campaign, which included a shock 1-0 win over Real in September. Meanwhile, Barca's chase of their rivals continues with a trip to ninth-placed Osasuna. Several players - including Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Pedro - are hopeful of recovering from injury in time for Saturday's encounter. Another slip-up from Barca could cost them any chance of retaining their title.

and United have secured twelve titles since then, bridging the gap between the clubs quiet spectacularly. Giggs has played a part in all of those title wins and is determined to ensure that United remain out in front - in the all time battle and this weekend. "They're a club similar to us with massive history. We're the two most successful teams in the country, so we know we've got to perform and play well to get anything from any game against them," the midfielder told Inside United.

ARCEL ONA attacker David Villa optimistic returning to season, after fractured leg

Villa

is about action this sustaining a in December. The Spain international sustained the injury during the Club World Cup late last year, and has since been in rehabilitation. It was initially thought that Villa's season could be over, but the forward is hopeful of making his comeback toward the end of the campaign with an eye on making Spain's Euro 2012 squad.

Ronaldo Messi Higuaín Garcia Soldado Llorente Benzema Cuesta Fábregas Barral Koné Sánchez

Madrid Barca Madrid Atlético Valencia Bilbao Madrid Rayo Barca Gijon Levante Barca

24 23 14 14 12 12 10 10 9 7 7 7

Saturday Racing vs Osasuna vs Real Betis vs Sunday Espanyol vs Malaga vs Rayo vs Valencia vs Villarreal vs Madrid vs Monday Sociedad vs

Atletico Barca Bilbao Zaragoza Mallorca Getafe Gijon Granada Levante Sevilla

Gerrard

LIVERPOOL ANCHESTER United clash with Liverpool tonight, but that's not the only battle with the old enemy that Ryan Giggs is interested in.In clinching last year's Premier League crown, Manchester United went one ahead of Liverpool in the list of all time League title wins. United have 19 to their name while Liverpool have 18. The Merseyside club last won the league in the 1989/90 season

DIN Dzeko's been a bit quiet of late - he tends to slip under the radar off the pitch, unlike some we could mention, Mario. But the big man's been talking, and people listen. His Bosnian interview is all over the interweb in various guises, and Edin brings glad tidings: with a bit of luck and a following wind, the title-chasing Blues are bound for glory. Goal.com sums it up with one of those marathon website headlines: "Edin Dzeko says that he is finally settled and happy at Mancheste r City, while also optimistic of sealing Premier League glory this season." Phew. In a way, you don't Dzeko even need to read on after that. But we did, and it was all good.

VERTON defender John Heitinga admits he is happy to be playing at centreback after covering in a number of positions. The Dutchman has helped out at full-back and in a

holding midfield role in the past two-and-ahalf years since joining the Toffees from Atletico Madrid. But with Heitinga back in the centre of defence the Toffees have conceded just 10 goals in their last 11

24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24

18 17 15 12 12 12 10 9 8 7 8 8 6 6 7 5 5 6 4 3

3 4 5 7 6 4 9 6 8 9 6 6 10 9 5 6 6 2 6 7

3 3 4 5 6 8 5 9 8 8 10 10 8 9 12 13 13 16 14 14

63 59 44 44 36 46 28 33 34 26 24 23 29 29 24 25 27 28 34 21

19 24 25 29 31 34 21 24 39 29 27 36 33 35 34 41 44 49 54 49

44 35 19 15 5 12 7 9 -5 -3 -3 -13 -4 -6 -10 -16 -17 -21 -20 -28

57 55 50 43 42 40 39 33 32 30 30 30 28 27 26 21 21 20 18 16

Vargas

matches, to leave confidence high ahead of the visit of Chelsea on Sunday. TOP SCORERS Van Persie Arsenal Ba Newcastle Rooney Man United Agüero Man City Aiyegbeni Blackburn Dzeko Man City Dempsey Fulham Bent Aston Villa Lampard Chelsea Adebayor Tottenham Fletcher Wolves Bale Tottenham Sturridge Chelsea Balotelli Man City Morison Norwich Fletcher Wolves

22 16 15 15 12 12 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 6 6

FIXTURES

Saturday Man Utd Blackburn Bolton Everton Fulham Sunderland Swansea Tottenham Sunday Wolves Aston Villa Arsenal

Udinese will be, so we have to be more careful.” The Serie A champion will also be without talismanic striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic as he sits out the first of his threegame ban for striking an opponent. Udinese has not lost a home game all Ibra season, winning 10 of its 11 matches at the Stadio Friuli and another victory would see it draw level with second-placed Milan. Juventus sits a point above Milan in the standings, having played aIbra game less.

Barclays Premier league Table - Feb 6 Man City Man United Tottenham Chelsea Newcastle Arsenal Liverpool Sunderland Norwich Swansea Everton Stoke City Aston Villa Fulham West Brom QPR Wolves Bolton Blackburn Wigan

C MILAN travels to Udinese tonight looking to get its season back on track, while Serie A leader Juventus visits Bologna a day later—if the weather permits. Milan has not won in its last three games and lost the first leg of its Italian Cup semifinal 2-1 at home to Juventus on Wednesday. “We’re not going through a good and lucky period at the moment,” Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said. “But we have to remain calm. We have to hope some of our injured players come back as soon as possible, also to give those who are playing all the time a bit of rest. “These are the players that we have available to us at the moment, they’re all doing good things, but we need to pay more attention to mistakes. We knew that Juventus would be dangerous on the counterattack, just like

vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs

Liverpool QPR Wigan Chelsea Stoke Arsenal Norwich Newcastle

vs vs vs

West Brom Man City Wolves

HILE international Eduardo Vargas admitted that he has not started his career at Napoli in a positive manner, but was adamant that he had the support of the entire club as he searches for his best form. Vargas arrived in southern Italy at the beginning of 2012 following a spectacular year with Universidad de Chile. The forward caught the attention of the football world as his skills helped the Chilean giants to back-to-back titles in 2011, as well as finishing top scorer in their winning Copa Sudamericana campaign. The 22-year-old has barely played since moving across the Atlantic Ocean, however, and in his rare appearances has looked a shadow of the player he was in Santiago. Vargas recognised that adapting to Italy had not come easily and trusted his companions to help him reach his best. "Here the football is very different, they do not

TOP SCORERS Di Natale Udinese Ibra Milan Klose Lazio Milito Inter Cavani Napoli Jovetic Fiorentina Denis Atalanta Palacio Genoa Miccoli Palermo Matri Juventus Giovinco Parma Calaiò Siena Di Michele Lecce Nocerino Milan

16 15 12 12 12 12 12 12 10 9 9 9 7 7

give you as much space and the biggest change is the extra physicality.

LESSANDRO Del Piero sees Juventus’ first leg victory over Milan in their Coppa Italia semi-final represents a significant progression by the Bianconeri. Antonio Conte’s side ran out 2-1 winners on the night at San Siro, which combined with the unbeaten start to the season that sees them top of the Serie A table, leaves them on course for a League and Cup double. Whilst not getting carried away, Del Piero posted a message on his site on Thursday that suggested Wednesday’s performance provides the self-belief to progress forward. “If we still needed confirmation that we believe in ourselves and are aiming for all available targets this season, then the night at San Siro must provide that increased awareness of our capabilities,” the 37-year-old began. “To win at San Siro against an opponent like Milan is never easy, to do it in a two-legged challenge is even more important, even if the very fact that it is a double-header makes us realise that we are only halfway. Del Piero

Juventus AC Milan Udinese Lazio Inter Roma Napoli Saturday Palermo Udinese vs Milan Genoa Cagliari vs Palermo Fiorentina Sunday Cagliari Atalanta vs Lecce Chievo Catania vs Genoa Parma Inter vs Novara Catania Parma vs Fiorentina Atalanta Bologna vs Juventus Bologna Monday Siena Napoli vs Chievo Lecce Siena vs Roma Cesena Novara

Italia Seria A Table - Feb 8 21 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 21 21 22 22 21 20 21 21 21 22 21 22

12 13 12 11 11 10 7 9 9 7 6 7 7 6 7 5 4 4 4 2

9 5 5 6 3 4 10 4 3 7 9 6 6 8 8 7 8 5 4 7

0 4 5 5 8 8 5 9 9 7 7 9 8 6 6 9 9 13 13 13

33 43 33 34 34 35 36 32 31 23 20 19 27 23 25 18 21 22 13 19

13 19 20 22 29 26 24 32 38 19 23 28 39 28 27 27 22 38 31 42

20 24 13 12 5 9 12 0 -7 4 -3 -9 -12 -5 -2 -9 -1 -16 -18 -23

45 44 41 39 36 34 31 31 30 28 27 27 27 26 23 22 20 17 16 13

THE NATION SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

NATION SPORT

VER the past few weeks, I have asked myself several questions, bordering on the nomenclature of the football-governing body in the country, which has suddenly become a big issue. I am aware of the court judgement, and this is to confirm that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has entered into processes of Motion-onNotice for Stay-of-Execution. All these mean that there is very little we can discuss on the matter. Be that as it may, it is important that I point out that we must all realise the importance of football in our dear country and therefore, do everything to protect it. As a young man growing up, I played football and enjoyed it to the fullest. Yes, I did not play to international level, but I enjoyed myself and till date, treasured those wonderful moments that I had on the pitch. Even now, if not for my injury, I would have still been playing, at recreational level. That is the power of football. When I see people playing on the field, I get nostalgic and I want to go in there and be part of it. At the risk of sounding like a broken pot, football is the biggest unifying factor in our dear country. Several highly-placed and not-so-highly-placed persons have confessed to this. And the biggest good we can do our country and the game is to do everything humanly possible to keep it alive. As a concerned party, there is no point raising issues of what could happen if one thing or the other happens. That is not the subject of this discourse. The point I want to make here is that this football is bigger than us all and we should not put the knife to it simply because of selfish interests. The present Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation won a valid election, conducted on August 26, 2010, and to which all relevant individuals, organisations and institutions were present. The election was televised all over the country and followed internationally. World football-governing body, FIFA, which has been at the receiving end of some unspeakable insults by some persons who felt they have better

Inside The Glass House WITH AMINU MAIGARI

This game is bigger than us all (1)

vocabulary than us all, sent a representative, who affirmed that everything went according to laid-down rules and regulations and in line with the Statutes governing the running of the game. There was a representative from CAF as well as other institutions that have one thing or the other to do with Nigerian football. Over the past couple of weeks, I have heard some incredible statements from some persons that are considered highly-respected statesmen. Despite knowing the universal rule and the way things are done across the length and breadth of FIFA’s family, they have gone on and on about what they wish to be done and that nothing would happen. It is not for me to start saying here that something would happen. That would be preposterous. The surprise is the way some individuals have bared their fangs and shown extreme anger with the game of football, not just the administrators. I admit that the last quarter of 2011 was not particularly rewarding for Nigerian football, despite the efforts of the Nigeria Football Federation. But even the Coaches and Players of those teams have come out to admit that the NFF did everything possible to prepare and motivate them for their various campaigns. The

•Kechi

NFF only came short of sending officials into the field to play the game. Other countries have witnessed such downturn before, and with painstaking planning, sincerity of purpose and enterprise, they have turned things around and are doing much better. When the poor results came one after the other, i was the first to admit that we would have to start doing things differently. The NFF got a new Head Coach for the Super Eagles, and insisted on a new line – get the home boys to have residential camping and make the foreign-based players the ones to fight for shirts when matches are around the corner. That is a new way of doing things. Last year, we signed agreement with a young, result-oriented Match Agent who has ensured that we do not miss any FIFA free day for international matches. With this, the Super Eagles are well prepared for competitive games anytime these arrive. Those who were at the National Stadium, Abuja on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 testified to the fact that the home based players’ experiment is an exciting option. The boys showed enthusiasm and desire and held the ‘A’ team of Angola, bound for the African Cup of Nations, to a 0-0 draw. There would certainly be more excitement on Wednesday next week when the team takes on the Lone Star of Liberia in another international friendly match in Liberia. That comes exactly a fortnight before the 2013 African Cup of Nations qualifying match against Rwanda in Kigali. While the present Executive Committee and Management of Nigeria Football Federation may not be the best persons in the land in their positions, the fact remains that they won election and are committed, passionate men and women who love the game and want to bring joy to Nigerians through the game. From 1949 when the UK Tourists dazzled crowds in England on a playing tour, Nigerians have always loved t h e i r National Teams. From UK Tourists to Red Devils, to Green Eagles and now Super Eagles, Nigerians followed their Senior Team with passion and deep love. Even when the Senior Team faltered in its first African Cup of Nations in Ghana in 1963, Nigerians kept faith with the

team. The team eventually excited the world at the 1968 Olympic Games by drawing 3-3 with Brazil, and then won gold medal at the 2nd All-Africa Games in Lagos in 1973. Bronze medals came from the African Cup of Nations in 1976 and 1978, and then the Cup and gold on home soil in 1980. Getting to the FIFA World Cup finals proved quite tough, as the ‘magicians’ of the 1970s and 1980s simply could not steer Nigeria to the global summit. Tunisia edged the Eagles in 1977 and Algeria did same in 1981, and again the Tunisians blocked us from the route in 1985. In 1989, we were so close, needing only a draw in Cameroon, but we lost by the odd goal and that was it. Stephen Keshi and company renewed their drive, energy and enterprise in 1993 and we earned a firstever ticket to the FIFA World Cup finals. That team brought Nigerians joy with an impressive performance in the United States of America that saw it come within two minutes of a place in the quarter finals, and an accolade as the Second Most Entertaining Team of the Tournament. Two years later, also on American soil, the U-23 squad, comprising a great number of the same senior team, left an everlasting impression, winning for Africa a first-ever GOLD MEDAL in football. The country’s number two citizen at that time, described the football gold as ‘the mother of all gold medals’. At the same Games, long jumper Chioma Ajunwa won Nigeria’s first individual Olympic gold medal! The importance of football is such that we should all strive to keep it above personal interest. Nomenclature has become a big issue, all of a sudden. Some persons who even contested the election, have now turned round to realize that the name NFF is not known to the laws of Nigeria! There are several questions they must answer, including whether if they had won seats on the Executive Committee or the Board of any of the Leagues, they would still have been of the same opinion? Certainly, this game is bigger than us all, and the interest of Nigeria is bigger than us all because the nation supercedes the man. NEXT WEEK: This Game Is Bigger Than Us All (2)

AKINLOYE AT LARGE 08050246155 atlarge84@yahoo.com

Okocha and his India return AUSTIN Jay Jay Okocha is coming out of retirement to play football and earn a princely fee of $500,000. The former Nigeria international has been out of football for seven years and he is in his forties. He is heading for India where he is billed to partake in the country's new football league, an attempt to popularise the game in the country known for cricket. Okocha is going to play under the tutelage of Samson Siasia who has also been billed to coach a team. There would have been no point in joining issues with the attacking midfielder if not for the fact that he is a Nigerian and had worn the colours of the country. There is no point in attempting to commit suicide on the altar of mammon. OKocha has played good football for both club and country. He has scored wonderful goals and put up superlative performances. He was younger and full of vitality. He played in Turkey, France and Germany and made his mark on the sands of time. He played for the national team of Nigeria and captained the team scoring scores of goals. He won awards and made good money that one would not attribute his return to hunger. No, he is not hungry and he is not pinching pennies. No one would convince me that Okocha is not returning because of the money. It is huge and worth thinking about. But Okocha has passed his prime and the beautiful touches would have left him. He may have to struggle to put himself together in India and one prays that his comeback is not an attempt at committing suicide. There was an attempt by the former captain of the Super Eagles to return for the national team several years back. He was dissuaded and he did not. This time around he does not need to be written out of it. He is a man of his own and he is doing it for himself and not for the country. He knows what is good for himself, but I ask him to think of his children and his beautiful wife before he committed himself to the India deal. Life is worth more than you can think of. Perhaps our former internationals need to be gotten more involved in the affairs of the country's football. Perhaps if Okocha is more involved in the activities of our football, the India offer would not have attracted a positive nod from him. Kalusha Bwalya is the president of the Zambia Football Federation. He is an ex international. If Zambia could do it, that is commit her football in his hands, Nigeria could do better. Our football will blossom as the Zambian version is under the leadership of Kalusha. Politics is for politicians and our football should be kept in the care of footballers. This is why I disagree with the move of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to make a foreigner the Technical Director of our football. I think and believe that the job should be given to an ex international who knows our football very well and the country as well. Chief Segun Odegbami would do a better job of it than any foreigner if he agrees to do the job. He is sound and has the wherewithal to function as technical director of our football. KESHI'S TOP TEN Super Eagles’ Coach Stephen Keshi compiled Africa's top ten last week and left out Nigeria. I believe that the compilation was based on the fact that Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2012 African Cup of Nations, but I beg to disagree. There is no way a top ten will be compiled in Africa that Nigeria would be left out whether she qualified for the Nations Cup or not. The Nations Cup should not be the only yardstick that should be used to pick the top ten in the continent. There should be other factors and previous performances should be put into consideration. This is why I agree with the FIFA in its rankings. Egypt may not have qualified for the Nations Cup, but one has to admit that the country is one of the top ten football playing nations on the continent. So is Nigeria. The country has played in the semi final of the Nations Cup more than any country on the continent and won the bronze on each occasion. Egypt has won more Nations Cup finals than any African team and that cannot be ruled out in picking Africa's top ten. So also is Cameroon. For the three to be missing from the top ten is not ideal and Keshi got it all wrong in his classification. The absence of the three teams was felt in this year's Nations Cup. Whoever said otherwise is only deceiving himself. ENYEAMA AND SUPER EAGLES I wonder how Super Eagles’ Coach, Stephen Keshi is going to iron out the issue of Vincent Enyeama. Keshi had told the world that only players who play regularly for their clubs will be invited to play for the Super Eagles. Now, Enyeama, Nigeria's number one , is warming the bench in Lille. Will Keshi eat his words and give the goal keeper a call up to the national team in the match against Rwanda at the end of this month.? Emmanuel Babayaro, a former goal keeper, believes the fact that Enyeama is warming the bench should not be used as yardstick to leave him out. I disagree with him. Enyeama should be left out of the Nations Cup qualifier against trhe Rwandans. The rule should be for all and not for just a few. Super Eagles can play football witrhout Enyeama who has played only once for his club this season.. He will not be fit to play for the national team having not played for his club since the beginning of the season. He should be left out and give opportunity to Austin Ejide and Dele Ayenugba to run the show this time around. There is a solution to the problem which Enyeama is faced with. He should seek a loan out to another club where he can play regularly. That is the solution Babayaro thought of and I agree with him.

NIGERIA PREMIER LEAGUE

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Golf...Golf...Golf...Golf...Golf...Golf...Golf...Golf...Golf DAN MAYUKU GOLFLINE

NTDC brings for

I get youths off the streets with golf

WITH

Tony Akhigbe

...Says Hon. Daniel Mayuku

T ALL times, Honourable Dan Mayuku, a member of the Delta State House of Assembly and a two-time Captain of the Ibori Golf and Country Club, Asaba, rushes in like a wind. He doesn’t walk, he merely springs like he’ll pounce on anyone at any moment. But that must be the hallmark of any gifted footballer. Mayuku was a star player when he was growing up. The whole thing goes beyond this. Wherever you see Mayuku, you will see a multitude following. Surely, there must be something about the man. In those years of football, Mayuku knew understood the game of golf like anyone would know his palm. He would never deceive himself about what people think about the game. All he would tell you is that the game of golf is elitist… and that you have to pack enough money in your pocket before you dare venture into the game. Even now when he is reeling in millions, he still holds the notion that golf as a game is elitist and that the game could drain your wallet to no end. At a point, you would think this man hates golf and he shouldn’t have come into it in the first place. It could be yes… it could be no. But like a whirlwind would blow you to any place, Mayuku did land in London for a short holiday. A pal he knew wondered about a befitting gift for the well known Delta lawmaker. He offered a golf set. It was the least gift Mayuku was looking forward to. Since it’s uncharitable to reject a gift, he took it all the same. On arriving Nigeria , he merely dumped the set in the darkest part of his garage. A fellow Honourable, Gabriel Okpuno, a confirmed golfer would see it and urge Mayuku to make good use of the golf set. The man agreed. It was the beginning of his long journey into golf. Six years on and the man now carries a respectable single Handicap. But he’s unperturbed that he could still not get his game to where he should given the fact that he trains with Professional golfers regularly. “Golf is a wonderful game”, he echoed. “Even when I was into football, I knew I would play golf, even when I had no love for the

golflineintl@yahoo.com 0 8 0 94863638 game at the time. Having been playing for some years now, I have come to really love the game. It doesn’t even bother me that I have to forgo several necessary things just to squeeze time to play. But I must quickly add that I play the game just for the fun of it. Besides, I totally fell in love with the game because it is the only game in the world where close to 80 percent of those who play it remain honest. You can’t hide your character on the golf course. Whoever you are, people will know after a round of golf. It’s all about your being. If you are a cheat, for instance, it will show in you before you finish a round. "Then I love the game because of the uncommon friendship that is involved. If a golfer is doing anything, fellow golfers want to get involved. It was like when I was celebrating my birthday last year, about everyone in golf was involved. The only person who couldn’t make it to Asaba was the Senate President, David Mark and yes he sent in a message. “You are right about the multitude you see around me. I know how I came up. It wasn’t easy. For this reason alone, I want to offer help when I can. For instance, I want to get the youths off the streets. If the youths are not engaged, they forment trouble. I have since discovered that golf is a game that could honestly engage the youths. And yes, we have so many of those youths who are talented in the game. I am always too happy to assist them so they could reach the pinnacle of their golf career. I am happy doing this”. There is this thing about golf. You simply get addicted. And once you get addicted, you don’t want to lose sight of the golf course, especially when you are a weekend hacker. It gets to that point you hardly have quality time for the family. Interestingly, this is the least of Mayuku’s problems. Hear him: “I love it on the golf course. My wife is very comfortable with this. At all times, she knows where I am. She keeps track of me. It’s like this with golf. If you are in it, you don’t wander to places you shouldn’t be. The golf course is the only place you will know. It’s your temple”. The Governor' Cup which is part of his many helps to the development of the game in Delta State has been running for years now. In fact, this year's edition worth some seven million Naira to both professional and amateur golfers from across the nation will be closing tomorrow. Surely Dan Mayuku must have a fond memory of this. He says: "I have been involved in many golf tournaments because I am when people from all over Nigeria converge in Delta just to play golf. This helps the social and economy of the State. But I must tell you I am fond of the Governor's Cup. This is a tourney where honor is given to a sitting Governor. And the Governor who is being honored gets to the course to perform this Tee-off ceremony and it's like all this people in this state just for this. That is the power of golf. This is reason the game keeps us all happy".

Caddies wait for Onwa

•Honourable Dan Mayuku

N the game of golf, Onwa Ngwa Sam Anyamele, is one of the nation's most prominent golfers. He could shoot an eye off a fly and this is reason he is such a wonderful amateur who could give any pro golfer a run if the stake is high enough. But these days Onwa is not a happy man. He hears things from China where he does his business and what he hears down there particularly haunts him. In China, about everyone who knows he is a Nigerian taunts him to no end just because the Super Eagles could not hit a soul. "Nigeria is huge and I could feel this through my stay in China", Anyamele said. "But it was disturbing that our football is now bad and that is what people in China love us for. My Chinese friends mock me to no end that we could not even make it to the Nations Cup. It is like we are too big to be put off the game so easily. "The whole thing boiled down to what I used to say. I mean we concentrate too much on football and this is wrong. Look at the massive fund expended on Samson Siasia and the march to the Natio and see the way the Eagles made a mess of the whole

thing. I tell myself... what happens if a fraction of what we spend on football is spent on golf? You know what, we could have produced a player bigger than Tiger Woods. Truth is we have so much young talents in the game of golf. "Ask those who play golf with me and they will tell you I put my money where my mouth is. I am now set to prove that we have great youths who can excel in Worl Golf. I am putting together a golf tourney that will involve youths not more than 18 years. It will be a massive event and it will show we have youths who can play golf at the world level. The government will take it up from there if they want. Mine is to bring out the talents and I will do that within my resources. All I can say is that Caddies should wait for my call. I will do this one thing just to prove to our government that all tax payers' money should not be dumped on the game of football alone. Our football could not even make it to the London Olympics. Meanwhile, golf will be in the 2016 Rio de janeiro Olympics. I will ensure i fish out caddies who will carry the nation's flag in Rio through the tournament I will sponsor".

Ezeji: No relegation worries for Sharks

ESPITE the unimpressive performance of Sharks in the Nigeria Premier League so far this season, striker Victor Ezeji has boasted that the team will not be relegated at the end of the campaign. Ezeji, who was one of the leading goal scorers in the league last season, believes that his side will rise beyond their present state. "I know we have not started very well and have played some disturbing draws at home, but all will be well as the season gets into the crucial stages,” Ezeji told Goal.com from his base in Port Harcourt. “What has happened is normal in football and we are determined to make sure that instead of crying over what is happening, we will try and make sure that we

battle to win a trophy this season. "It is not impossible to win a trophy because we have good players and they are ready to fight to make the supporters happy," Ezeji said. Sharks are presently placed 14th on the 20-team NPL log.

•Victor Ezeji

Warri Wolves seek 10 matches unbeaten run

ARRI WOLVES’ defender, Ike ThankGod has confirmed that the club has set a target of playing its first ten matches of the current NPL season without suffering any defeat. ThankGod who was part of the Warri based’s side that have chalked up three impressive away draws in Port Harcourt, Yenagoa and Enugu against Sharks, Ocean Boys and Rangers respectively said that with fair and just officiating the unbeaten run could be more than the ten matches projected. “We have set our target on winning the league this year after our third position of the last season. We are going to play ten matches without any defeat at least and then we shall negotiate the remaining matches to see how far we could go. We can

From Tunde Liadi, Owerri play more than ten matches without defeat if the referees do not place any team we are playing at a vantage position.” He said that the feat of the club thus far in the league could be attributed to the collaborative effort between the technical crew led by Paul Aigbogun and the players who are bent on improving more than they did last season. Wolves with three home wins over Lobi Stars, ABS FC and Jigawa Golden Stars under its belt is currently third on the log with 12 points from 6 matches behind Gombe United and Dolphins. The club travels to Ado Ekiti this weekend as guest of newly promoted Rising Stars in the Week 8 of the league season.

Gombe Utd duo get special roles

OMBE United goalkeepers, Uche Akubuike and Ahmed Yusuf, have been assigned special roles by technical adviser, Bernard Ogbe. SuperSport.com learnt that Akubuike has been assigned the goalkeeper's duties during road trips, while Yusuf takes his turn in front of home fans. The experienced Akubuike, who has played for several Nigerian teams and had a stint with Silver Stars (now Platinum Stars) in South Africa kept a clean slate at 3SC and Kaduna United, but

•Uche Akubuike

failed to stop his former teammate, Adamu Mohammed at Dolphins, last Sunday. His colleague, Yusuf, was in goal in three home matches against Lobi Stars, Niger Tornadoes and Sharks respectively. Tornadoes' forward, Azuka Ebinum is the only player who has put the ball behind Yusuf. "It's a strategy that has worked for the team. Both goalkeepers are doing well," Ogbe said to SuperSport.com. However, the coach was unhappy with his defence and Akubuike for the goals conceded at Dolphins. "Mohammed got a free header and utilized it," Ogbe stated. Despite the defeat at Dolphins, Gombe United remain on top of the 20-team log as they prepare another road trip at former champions, Enyimba. Ogbe is likely to retain Akubuike in goal for the Aba battle on Sunday.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

W L O H L Y OOD

Crane over Ghollywood

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11 , 2012 Valentine’s Day is around the corner and as always, I feel loved. When it comes to love, I have been blessed to be loved by almost everybody I have ever met. I’m loved by my neighbours, friends and my immediate family. I have a very loving and caring partner who is also my best friend and oh, how much I’m loved by you all… I love you all too. I wish I could share the Valentine cake and chocolates with as many of you as possible but as much as my heart can reach every single person reading this page, my hands cannot. For those in Abuja, please call: 08097666674 for your ticket for my private Valentines’ groove at Funflex park, Zone 6. For those who won’t be able come for that, I leave you with this poem Karl and Joanna Fuch. It speaks tons of the kind of love I have for a lot of you.

My timeless Valentine Happy Valentine’s Day darlings! As time goes by from year to year, One thing is surely true, my dear; Though decades come and decades go, Just seeing you sets me aglow. Time shifts my body; I start to sag, When I pass a mirror, it can make me gag. My joints all ache; I can hardly move; Still a smile from you, and I’m in the groove. Getting older can be a pain, But with you along, I can’t complain. Despite the things that we go through, I know I’ll never stop loving you. Your loving heart turns life to play, As we laugh at time from day to day. So I write this poem, and I’ll hang my sign, Saying, “Always Be My Valentine.”

With Adeola Agoro E-mail: libranadeola@yahoo.co.uk Tel: 08023162609

Some girls prefer to be beaten; how can one know such girls?

How do I let this girl know I’m beginning to like her too? I’m a student who is normally shy when it comes to girls, but there’s this particular girl in my department who has been disturbing me. At first, I thought she was joking but I later realized she was not. Recently, I realized I’m beginning to like her, but I can’t tell her and we’re almost through with school. Please advise me on what to do. You’re not alone my dear. A lot of people are out there who do not have a clue about how to express their affection to the people they love. Even couples who have been in a relationship for some time often feel that they have run out of ideas on how to express their love for each other. We all need to know how to set our passion on the right fire and for those of us already in a relationship; we should learn to bring the zing back into our love lives. I went to seek expert assistance on how to go about this and I found that there are more than a hundred and one ways to show your love. Here are a few of them: Begin by tucking an “I love you” note in her handbag. Really listen to your partner when he or she talks of an interest, even if it may not concern you. Mouth the words “I love you” to your partner, across a room full of people. Go for a movie which has an actor/actress, your partner is a fan of. Look at your partner when he or she is speaking to you. Whisk your lover away for a waltz, if a romantic number is playing on the radio. Compliment her on her new hairstyle (or him on his new haircut). Write a short poem expressing your love. Go to a place of worship and pray together. Pursue a hobby together over the weekend. Read out an interesting piece from the newspaper or magazine, to your partner. Ask his or her opinion on a matter that concerns the society at large. Laugh at your lover’s jokes, even if you have heard them a hundred times before. Smile at your partner when your eyes meet, even if you have nothing to say. Go out on an unplanned date. Watch an old, romantic, classic movie together. Rent a DVD or book from the library that you know is your partner’s favourite. Carry your lover’s photo in your wallet. Meet for lunch once in a while. Accompany your partner on a shopping trip, even when

you don’t have anything to buy for yourself. Play your lover’s favourite songs on a rainy day. Try out a new restaurant or a new dish together. Buy a present, however small, for your lover, even when there is no occasion. Praise your partner in front of others. Compile a list of romantic quotations from the internet and mail it to your lover. Find a quiet moment and tell your partner what you like about him or her. Call up your partner’s favourite radio show and dedicate a song to him or her. Ask your partner about his or her dreams. If your lover seems upset, hold his or her hand. Mail a joke or a funny video. Tell your lover that he or she looks more attractive with every passing day. Discuss your future together. Go through your old photos together. Watch home videos

that his or her family may have sent. Be a secret admirer and invite your lover to a mystery date. Politely agree to differ, on controversial topics. Send him or her a hand-written letter on scented paper. Watch your partner’s favourite TV show together. Come up with silly nicknames for each other and use them only when you are alone. Customize a mug or a mouse pad with your picture for his or her desk. Get your lover’s favourite painting or photo framed by a professional. Take your partner home to meet your family. Hold your lover close and let your hearts beat together. I’m sure that as the Valentine’s Day is here, we can begin to practice some of these things and make it a great day.

Some Valentine Jokes for you A very shy guy goes into a pub on Valentine’s Day night and sees a beautiful woman at the bar. After a long struggle with his shyness, he finally managed to walk over to her and asked her politely, “Um, would you mind if I give you company?” She made a furious face and yelled at the top of her lungs, “How dare you asked me to sleep with you tonight?” Everyone in the pub started staring at the man who was completely embarrassed. After a few minutes, woman walked over to him and apologized - “You see I am a student of psychology and studying how people respond to embarrassing situations. I am sorry but I was just doing my experiment!” The young man suddenly gave a loud yell, “What do you mean N20, 000?” …………………………………………………………………………………….. A young woman was taking an afternoon nap. After she woke up, she told her husband, “I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace for Valentine’s Day. What do you think it means?” “You’ll know tonight,” he said. That evening, the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it—only to find a book entitled “The meaning of dreams”.

I don’t know how to tell my boyfriend that I’m not always in the mood for sex My boyfriend always wants to have sex with me but I’m not always ready or in the mood and I don’t know how to tell him. Please help me! My dear, your body is your body, so simply let him know you’re not in the mood. Whether you kill yourself to satisfy a man’s insatiable libido, he will still go

Hearts

out to other girls if he will and whether you have days off sex, he will stay faithful if he will. When you’re not in the mood, then, your body is not likely to produce hormones that will get you wet, which means you’d be dry down there and sex not likely to be enjoyable. What that means is that you should do sex only when you’re awake to it. Sex is a two-way trip; it should be enjoyed by both of you.

Ma, thanks for the advice on ‘My girl is a bag of lies’. Ma, is it wrong for a guy to beat or nag at a woman, especially his woman? It seems some girls prefer the aforementioned. How can one know such girls? – De Senator. When I read your text message, I laughed because it reminded me of my grandmother. Whenever I erred then as a young child, she would look at me and tell me the story of some women in her country who would never believe that their husbands loved them except the men gave them some good spanking. So you want to know how to spot women who like being spanked? You

Why is sex important in a relationship? Adeola, I flipped through one of the dailies as old as October 2011 where you answered some love questions. I want to know why sex is important in a relationship. – From Mohammed, Jos. As far as I’m concerned, sex may be important in a serious relationship, but my religion does not permit sex before marriage. However, sex alone does not hold a relationship together. Other factors like compatibility, ability to have similar interests, good behaviour and the right environment are what really bind couples together. We have all seen the relationships of close friends and family fail time and again even when they have regular sex. That means that good, solid, long term relationships are not based on sex. One expert said, “When I’m asked about how to stay married for so long or even what the secret to a successful relationship is, my response is this: Put off having sex with the person you’ve met for a month. If it lasts that long, then there’s a good chance it’ll succeed in the future, because you’ll know that there are other things besides lust and hormones driving it.”

I’m scared; what will the future look like with my easily angered boyfriend? Hi Aunty, I really appreciate your column. Kudos. Please help me out of my distress. I’m into a relationship of 3 months old. My fiancé is this kind of person that easily gets angry and he always says that he loves me. I’m scared because I don’t know how he would turn out to be in future and I love him so, so much. Anger is perfectly normal is it does not lead to violence. The people we all get angry with are the ones we see every day either in the family or at work. Yes, you may feel that three months is rather too short for your guy to start showing his anger, but you should understand that this is a getting-to-know-you period in your

Defiled by my cousin; should I tell the man in my life about it?

• The Rector of Nigerian Telivision Authority (NTA) TV College, Jos, Dr. Ayo Fasan (left) presenting waste bins to Mr. Temitope Adebiyi during the commissioning of 30 waste bins by the college.

must be joking! No sane woman wants to be physically assaulted by her man. In fact, manhandling your woman is the worst form of insult and devastation for any woman. I once said on this page that more women are being killed these days because of the manner of assault they encounter in the hands of the men who are supposed to take care of them. If you have a girl or a woman who is so crazy as to push you to the wall, walk out of the relationship. Never be tempted to lay your hands on a woman. It makes you a beast and if you don’t watch it, a killer. It is WRONG to assault a woman. And for men who are being beaten by their women, dump such women fast.

Dear Aunty Adeola, an issue is bothering me. I was defiled by my cousin when I was living wuth them but that was a long time ago. Now I have a man I’m dating who has just proposed marriage to me. Do you think I should tell him about my past? Throughout most of our lives, we have experiences we wouldn’t want others to know – and they may never find out except we tell them. My dear, that your cousin defiled you is not something you’re happy about, so bury it in the past you never want to exhume again. It is a dark secret. We live in a wicked world where anything you tell people today and they seem emphatic would be used against you tomorrow. We’re Africans and it’s in us to link everything to the supernatural or to blame the past on our present. Your future husband may have problems later in life with his job (God forbid) and before you know it, he may blame you for sit saying it is because he’s married to a woman who had had sex with her cousin. There’s a way these things then begin to spread and you will forever regret it. Give yourself sometime to be cleaned emotionally and spiritually and go and enjoy your relationship. Let’s get invited to the wedding when it happens.

relationship and the period when you’re off guard. You’re both coming from different backgrounds and so, you both have different behavior and different ways of doing things. If you do something he does not approve of, the natural thing is for him to get angry and tell you. If for instance you’re dirty and sloppy, you won’t expect a hug from him; would you? Have a talk with him on the things both of you do not like. This way, you won’t be setting the sparks in the wrong direction. It’s too early to start having fears about the future. That is the problem with most people. Sort out the present first and the future would be taken care of. Good luck.

From you to me Adeola Agoro, Your understanding about life and men’s affairs is wonderful; keep it up. I single-handedly give you Ministry of Men’s Affairs. – Wole Olajire Esq, (08057321741). I’m very impressed with your articles and the advice you give to lots of people. I have come to realize that you’re a role model. I wish you a nice man in return. Unbeatable (Abuja, 08024015732). I normally read Steve Nwosu’s Wednesday column in The Sun and listen to CAN songs from Benue to comfort my life, but since I came into contact with your Hearts, I feel a sense of relief because of the way you treat people’s problems. Thanks for the wonderful job. God bless you. Ghagh Nyor (07086602221). You have a wonderful sense of humour. Your column makes me laugh heartily. Thank you! Mathew from Kaduna (07038788363).

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

O one wants to be part of an unhealthy relationship. The bad news is that it happens - some good relationships go south, some people seem to move from one hurtful relationship to another. The good news is there are ways to avoid falling into the usual traps that burden, threaten and ultimately break relationships. Be on the guard Tread with caution. Look back on your previous relationships and what made them crumble. Make a conscious effort to learn from your past mistakes. Also watch out for red

How to prevent bad relationships flags – any indication that something is not quite right. Be particularly wary of signs of abuse, violence or manipulation. Better yet, come up your own relationship deal breakers. Think of the traits or habits that, by your personal standards, are unacceptable in a partner. And when one of the nonnegotiables on your list becomes apparent, take it as your cue to bow out of the relationship. Be your own person

Do not lose yourself in a relationship. Some couples tend to think only in terms of “we” and forget “I”. Relationships should be anchored on the idea of two persons working as a team. That means each individual member must have a voice, get a say in making decisions. Mutual respect needs to exist. So always assert yourself. Set-ups where one is submissive and the other domineering are bound to fail. Control often translates to

Signs of cheating Why cheat? Is it for the thrills of being a part of something illicit? Or is it in reality a cry for help and attention? There are many reasons why a partner cheats but according to an online survey, a majority of the people (both men and women respondents) said they cheated because of relationship problems. What are the signs that a partner is cheating? Suspicious Behaviour A cheating partner will usually exhibit a strange or uncommon conduct. For instance, your spouse might have mood swings that you cannot attribute to anything specific, like their jobs or the problems in your family. He/she might suddenly get angry or defensive when talking about things that he/ she considers too “personal” or “intrusive.” According to a recent survey, the majority of cheating instances take place at work. If your partner suddenly works longer hours, is always on business meetings, or calls home that he/she will be late because of sudden changes in the work schedule, then he/she might be cheating on you. Lack of intimacy One of the things that make a spouse suspect that the other is having an affair is the lack of intimacy. Your partner’s sexual interest or behavior changes until it seems that he/she is becoming a different person and you start to wonder whether you know them at all. Sexual intercourse, physical contact, and expressions of love and commitment also tend to become less frequent. Time and money that is unaccounted for Money and time, which cannot be accounted for, are usually red flags of

cheating. A cheating partner may spend too much time on errands that usually do not take them a long time to accomplish, like going to the salon, getting the car washed, or going to the gym. You may also find receipts for purchases that you never see or big credit card bills that your spouse cannot explain. Positive changes in physical appearance If your partner suddenly takes special pains to look and dress better, it might be because he/she is trying to impress someone. That someone could be you or another person. Women usually start wearing new clothes or lingerie, which are sexier than what they normally wear. Men are also inclined to buy new clothes and take extra care when it comes to grooming. A cheating partner can spend too much time looking at the mirror to check his/her reflection that it becomes noticeable. Strange phone calls and messages A spouse who has something to hide, like an affair, will usually have his/her phone with him/her at all times. You might notice that he/she spends a huge amount of time having whispered conversations. Calls are made to and received from names or numbers that you do not recognize. If your partner takes his/ her phone everywhere but does not answer when you call or the phone is always turned off when he/she is out with friends, there is a big chance that your partner is cheating on you. Unless you caught your partner in the act, these signs are all circumstantial. Listen to your intuition but give your spouse the chance to explain. After all, you could be wrong and that can jeopardize the trust that you have for each other.

•Students of De Vickys College, Ebute Meta, Lagos, with Barrister Kehinde Fagbemi during the Career Day of the college

abuse. And somebody will end up feeling powerless, dismissed or fearfully dependent. Talk it out Keep the lines of communication open. Converse constantly. Discuss even the smallest of issues, so you can nip them in the bud. If you can sense that something is eating into the relationship, share your sentiments with your partner. Letting him or her know how you feel could help pinpoint the problem. For serious troubles, it’s best to have your talk when both parties are calm and receptive. Discussing matters when tempers are run-

ning high will do more damage than good. During the conversations, be honest, clear and open. Hear each other out and find a middle ground. You do not have to be on the same side. Agreeing to disagree is a form of compromise in itself. Enjoy the company Couples should be able to have a good time together, may it be fun and wild, or relaxing and comforting. If boredom seems to strike more often than normal or the chemistry is fading, this might be a sign that something is amiss. Find a way to identify and address the situation.

Work it out Every relationship hits a snag. But not all survive. If your find yourselves in a rough patch, do not give up. If the relationship is worth saving, fight for it. Resolve your issues. But if the bad undoubtedly outweighs the good, then the relationship is unhealthy. There’s no need to stick it out any longer. There are no hard-andfast rules to avoiding bad relationships. But it always helps to be vigilant. Be on the lookout for any red flags. Make sure there is mutual respect and trust. Communicate regularly, clearly and honestly. Know when to let go and when course-correcting is an option.

What men expect from women Women are often perplexed in their efforts to figure out what men really need to be happy and contented. At the end of the day, Eve’s daughters simply shake their heads, shrug their shoulders, and tell themselves that men will always be a complex mystery. This shouldn’t always be the case, however. Since the root of all misunderstandings between the opposite sexes is probably the fact that each party has their own misconceptions about each other, then it’s time to set the facts straight. Once and for all, let us examine what men really expect from women. •Men expect women to communicate their thoughts and feelings directly and honestly. Men don’t like it when women make them second-guess their actions. They expect their partner to express herself truthfully, and to verbalize her thoughts and feelings to help him understand her better. They don’t like playing emotional charades. If his lady has certain needs and wants that

he must fulfill, a man wants to know it straight from her. However, men prefer a gentle, kind and loving way of communication. It will never do to be demanding, whining, and critical of him. •Men expect women to be strong, independent, and self-sufficient. Men are attracted to confident women. Although a loving relationship is defined by sharing your life with your partner, it is still healthy to maintain a separate identity and not lose your own self. A woman should maintain her own interests, activities, and set of friends. The last thing that she should be is a clingy partner, who cannot function on her own if separated from her man. However, there should still be a balance to this, because men also want to feel needed. Being too independent may make a man fear that his partner is no longer truly committed to him.

more likely to commit infidelity in a relationship, so it often the women who are heard as saying that they wished their man would be more faithful and devoted. In reality, no man would want to be cheated and betrayed by his girl as well. When a man is in a relationship, he expects his partner to be committed and willing to make the relationship work out. •Men expect women to know how to treat them right. Treating them right means knowing how to make them feel good. Men have a need to be praised, appreciated, and supported in their opinions. Stroking his ego once in a while would do him good, as long as it’s done sincerely and not in a patronizing way.

•No matter how they resent being baffled by the riddle that is men, towards the end, women still try their best to understand and live in harmony with them. Af•Men expect women to ter all, the situation is fairly be faithful and devoted. mutual. Women also have Another common miscon- their own set of behaviors ception is that men are that puzzle men to no end. Source: wikihow.com/Appreciate-Your-Sweetheart

•Commissioner, Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission(LASIEC), Lekan Mabinuola and wife, Arinola during their wedding held at The Hall, Ikeja, Lagos

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THE NATION, Saturday, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

STYLE Gossip Interviews

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With KAYODE ALFRED

E-mail:kayflex2@yahoo.com TEL:08035733605

Paul Adefarasin builds multi-million naira temple

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Akala's son-in-law moves on

High society mourns Mbu, Dantata, Aluko, Randolph

Lola Abiola gets reward

SOCIETY

THE NATION SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Kwara commissioner finds love Kayode ALFRED

Kwara State Commissioner for Urban Development, Bode Olayemi,and Onyinye Ezekwe were in a festive mood penultimate Saturday in Lagos, as the duo were joined together as husband and wife. Governor Fatah Ahmed of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Rasak Atunwa, were special guests of honour at the reception flooded by friends and relatives.

Eminent socialites made the wedding their convergence point for the day. And they could not have had a better host than the groom who ensured that every invitee had a memorable time. The event, which took place at The Gradeur, Billingsway, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos, was in every respect a huge success and drew a perfect blend of Alisters, ranging from politicians and technocrats. The couple’s love story is indeed a lover’s delight. It was a thrilling story of friendship, commitment and true love.

•Bode Olayemi and Onyinye cutting their cake

Governor Fatah Ahmed of Kwara State and Senator Bukola Saraki (right)

•Chief Remi Sterling Fashola (left) and Chief Olusegun Omotunde

What & Where

•Mr Kunle Balogun (left) and Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq, Chairman, Kaiama LGA, Kwara State

Madam Ope-Ewe is dead

Madam Nusiratu Olaitan Ope-Ewe is dead. She died on December 15, 2011 at the ripe age of 120 years. She was a devoted Muslim. She is survived by children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, among who is Mrs Doyin Salako. Madam Ope-Ewe will be buried on Saturday, February 18, at Itun-Losi/Oja Ale, Iperu Remo, Ogun State.

•Mr Akin Eric-Garuba (left) and Alhaji Rahman Giwa

Photos: Gbenga Kutelu

Mrs Oni dies at 62 Mrs. Modupe Oni (nee Adeyeye) is dead. She died on January 26 during a brief illness. A retired teacher and a business woman, she was the wife of Barrister Adedefe Oni. She was a devoted Christian, lover of children and active member of The Apostolic Church, Ijoka, Akure, Ondo State. She is survived by four children, including Adeola Omotilewa, a Lagos based lawyer. Mrs. Oni will be laid to rest at St. Peters’ Anglican Church Cemetery, Odo-Oja, Ijare, Ondo State on Saturday February 17.

Managing Director, PANABIZ International Limited, Mr. Girish Sharma, Administrative Manager; Mr. Shoibu AlHassan and the Logistics Manager, Mr. Oseremeu Ijie, at the launch of Cannon range of products by PANABIZ in Lagos. PHOTO: Bola OMILABU

THE NATION SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

SOCIETY

When Oshunkeye Nestle chair, GlaxoSmithkline MD, other corporate moguls coalesced The place of professionalism in the development and success of corporate bodies was recently stressed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Poise Nigeria, Mrs Mavi Isibor. At a seminar organised recently for top executive officers of different multinational companies at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos, Isibor emphasised the place of professionalism, explaining that “it is a very vital part of corporate etiquette which has become the axis on which organisations revolve.” The seminar, which had Chief O. O. Osunkeye, OON (chairman, Nestle Nigeria) as the chairman, was titled “Professionalism Revolution in Nigeria- Series II” It was the second in the series of the annual executive seminars aimed at advocating and entrenching the culture of professionalism in the Nigerian corporate landscape. This year’s focus was on “Leading with Emotional Intelligence”. The choice of this theme, according to the organisers, was hinged on the premise that success in the current work environment greatly depends on one’s ability to understand and effectively manage emotions in themselves

Gbenga KUTELU as well as others. The knowledge, skill and ability, known as emotional intelligence, they affirm, influence every aspect of our working lives. Poise Nigeria, as a world-class soft skills training and consultancy firm, engages in the business of total personality development and projection. It has adopted as part of her corporate social responsibility, this annual executive seminar for top executives from various sectors of the economy to discuss and shed more light on certain issues affecting the 21st century organisation. “We believe that professionalism is the cornerstone on which any organization should thrive, as it projects a positive image to both the clients and the public at large,”Mrs. Isibor said. Other speakers at the seminar were Mr. Chidi Okoro (Managing Director, GlaxoSmithKline Nigeria); Mr. Ola Oresanya (Managing Director, Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) Nigeria); Dr. Lemmy Omoyinmi (African Regional Trainer, International Trade Centre, Geneva).

From left: Dr. Lemmy Omoyinmi, African Regional Trainer, International Trade Centre, Geneva; Mr. Ola Oresanya, Managing Director, Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA); Chief O. O Oshunkeye, OON, Chairman, Nestle Nigeria and Mrs Mavi Isibor, CEO, Poise Nigeria.

•Mr Chidi Okoro, Managing Director, GlaxoSmithKline Nigeria and Mrs Modupe MarcDawodu, General Manager, Poise Nigeria •From left: Tosin Awosika, MD, Healthcare International; Biyi Oladipo, Director, Poise Nigeria and Remi Olatunde

•From left: Debowale Sangosanya, CEO, ACT Marketing Limited; Ayodele Adenugba, Executive Director of the company and Adebisi Oyegbola, GM, Landover

From left: Bayo Adisa, MD, PHD Nigeria; Seun Okonma, HR Manager, GlaxoSmithkline and Fred Amebi, Finance Director, Lafarge Cement Nigeria

•From left: Onadiran Oluwakemi, Human Resources Manager, Allied Computer; Meseko Chris-Olumayowa, Legal Adviser of the company and Abayomi Olomolaiye, Human Resources Manager, FITC

•From left: Gboyega Olanbiwoninu, Senior Manager, SCIB Insurance Brokers; Abodunrin Roberts, Assistant General Manager of the company and Amaka Iheagwam, HR, CourierPlus.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY11, 2012

Ideal gifts for your

valentine L

OVE is in the air and things are getting romantic with Valentine’s Day just around the corner. Being in love can be quite overwhelming. Your aim this special day is to show the one you love how much you appreciate and care for him or her. Compared to women, buying a Valentine’s gift for a man can be easy. Simply identify his interest and zip in on. So, express your feelings and celebrate love, the most powerful emotion on earth, with chocolates, flowers, personalised Valentine’s gifts, backgrounds, romantic cards or just saying “I love you.” Valentine’s Day is chance for you to show the person in your life, acquaintances and loved ones just how much they mean to you. Why struggle every year to buy that perfect Valentine’s Day gift for the one you love most. Below are some ideal gifts to help you discover that perfect gift, earning you the maximum satisfaction. Especially with tech gifts, if you can personalise it, by all means do. Show her how much you love her as well as how well you know her. Whether it’s a custom-tailored design or a personalised engraving, a personalisation can make the gift all the more theirs. It shows that you took time and thought to make the gift the right one. Just don’t forget to make it one that will last.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Make-up tips on Val Day I

F love is signified with red, then the romance makeup is the ideal make-up for the day. We shall share a few beauty secrets (Valentine’s Day make-up tips) to help you sizzle on the special occasion. Before doing make-up for the D-Day, keep that make-up tips for Valentine’s Day in mind. You should know whether the occasion is formal or informal. For your eyes to look romantic and intense by the right eye shadow use mascara to thicken you eye lashes .You can also put the glitter over you eyelid, making the Valentine’s Day appearance more romantic and exciting. Another touchy make-up tips for Valentine’s Day is to have powder blush. This will make your cheeks rosy and more stunning. The flawless, clean and moisturised hands and feet with shinny nails are no doubt an eye-catching thing for men on this Valentine’s Day. So, have your pedicure and manicure done a day before. This is the most common, but important make-up tips for Valentine’s Day. You should envelope yourself in the perfume your man like. For smudgy eye effect to get the sexy look, all you need to do is highlight eyes with a liquid liner and smudge it a little to get the smoky effect. The cat eyes will easily mesmerise the people around. A lighter lip shade or a red gloss can make the look even classy. To feel more romantic, use naturally scented lip products. If you are hesitant to wear bright red lipstick, wear a soft red gloss instead.

Workshop for designers Da Viva, brand name for African fabrics, organised a one day workshop for designers on Warovskielements. The brand that is known for the production of exceptional fabrics made with the highest quality cotton and ready to wear garments, recently signed a business contract with swarovski Company. Da Viva took this bold step to introduce the use of Swarovski crystals to Nigerian designers and the populace at large. Warovskielements has been the ingredient of choice by leadin designers since 1895. Designers like Bulgari, Melinda Looi, Hugo Boss, D&G and host of them. The Crystals are available in the largest variety of shapes, sizes and colours; they can be applied on fabrics, garments, T-shirts, Shoes, Bags, Cushion covers, Earrings and Belts. They are transferred on materials through hand setting, Sieving and application by Heat. Items are currently available in most Da Viva shops.

Cabs sell beauty products During the week, 50 New York cabs were outfitted with technology to allow riders to purchase luxury beauty products by swiping their smart phones over special tags inside the cab.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

‘How I ward off temptations from women’

Kennedy Ejakpomewhe is the current District Governor, District 9110 Nigeria. A benefactor and major donor of the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, Kennedy in less than 12 years rose to his present status. In this interview with GBENGA ADERANTI, he talks about his service to humanity, women and his life. Excerpts:

ANY people feel that Rotary Club is for the rich few, how true is this? In my view, Rotary is not elitist because a club that goes to the grassroots to help the poor of the poorest cannot be said to be elitist. To become a Rotarian, you must have the capacity to think; you must be able to create time to serve humanity; you must have talent and you must have a vocation, the experience you can bring to bear in humanitarian service. You must have treasure; you must be able to commit part of your income into serving humanity. We live in a nation where people think just about themselves, why are you doing humanitarian job? Every Rotarian believes that humanity is one and that any society that cannot help the poor cannot be said to be rich and for Rotary, one of our goals is to create peace in the world, to create a better world for us to live in and you cannot have peace if you have people without shelter on their heads. When you have people that are thirsty for water and they don’t have water to drink and when you have people that are hungry and they don’t have food on their tables, you have people that want to send their children to school and they can not send their children to school, how can there be peace in such an environment? Why did you join Rotary Club? Was it because of past experience? Basically, what drew me to Rotary was first and foremost the Four Way Tests. I got to know when I was invited to become a Rotarian the object of Rotary and I got to know about the motto of Rotary, the guiding principles of Rotary. When you look at the Four Way Tests, it tells you the story of life. Because you are a product of thought and I’m a product of thought, things that have taken form are a product of thought and so the Four Way Tests tell us that what we think is what we do and it guides us that whatever we’re doing we should apply ethics. The highest ethical standards we can comprehend bring to bear on our service efforts. You grew up in a polygamous family, how was it like growing up in such an environment? To me, polygamy is not the best you want to be in. I don’t know how people do it. Polygamy is not the best because it takes somebody that has the heart of love to be able to live together with others. That is why you see that marriage itself is not easy because you need some level of tolerance and love; those virtues you need them to be able to stay with somebody you didn’t grow up with suddenly you are living with the person. A simple example is that if you are the type that probably gets to the dining table and in two minutes, you’ve left the dining table; but you now get a wife that will eat for one hour. You need to be tolerant, you need an understanding. We’re not the same, our make up could be different, but we’re the same humanity. There are bound to be temptations here and there, how do you cope?

•Mr. Ejakpomewhe

I tell you now that it is even difficult for people to get married, I don’t know why. The young ones are not getting married. I think the bible has something like a time will come when the women will say let me just answer your name. People don’t look at sex as something big again. During our time, if you wanted to go and chase a woman, you would prepare. Some would even start writing poems if they wanted to chase a woman but now, all you need do is to ask a woman for lunch or dinner and you have her. Those values have all gone down the drain. Internet

is not even making matters better because once you punch the internet and you want to watch porno film, it is there. It takes a mature mind to understand that there is no gain in going into the internet to go and look at people who are naked. We have to direct the footsteps of the children properly. You’re yet to answer the question You’re asking me how I cope with women? In Rotary for example, we have men and women. Me, I have a principle, I try not to flirt around with women generally because like my mother told me when I was young, you

never know when women are with you and it is an unnecessary venture in spending money. The moment you come out of it, you’re full of regrets, even your manhood will regret it; that is enough sign of regret. It is good to smile to people, it is good to embrace people but you must know where to draw the line. Like they say in my place, when a handshake goes beyond the elbow, it is no more a handshake, it is a fight. All the women in Rotary, we work together, because what could break an organisation is when the men and the women in such an organisation try to turn

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012 the organisation into ‘Sodom and Gomorrah’. Family value in Rotary is quite high. When we talk of the family of Rotary, we talk of widows of Rotary, widowers of rotary, the household and we must be able to respect one and other families and things like that. Family value is quite high. We believe that if you strengthen the family, you strengthen the community. If you strengthen the community, you strengthen the world. You appear to me to be a powerful dresser and I have seen a lot of Rotarians that dress well too. Is this part of the Rotary culture? Basically, it differs from place to place. In America you can see people coming in jeans and T- shirts to meetings. You know in America, jeans and shirts are part of their culture, it is a way of life, it is part of their dressing; but in Africa, when we talk about dressing properly, we say in the Rotary that you are either in full English or full African. A good sales man must be viable to market himself before he markets his products. I’m sure that if you see a man that is well dressed, the first thing that will come to your mind is that the man is clean inside as he is clean outside. But when you see a man that is dirty, you will say that is how his mind is likely to look like and somebody who is looking shabby, you may not likely have an association with him. In fact he puts you off. Looking good is part of the presentation that as a Rotarians, we must be good examples to the people we come in contact with. Which of the dresses do you prefer, ethnic or English wear? For me both are convenient. How often do you wear your ethic dresses? I probably wear more of the English dresses because they are more convenient than flowing agbada. What was your growing up like? My growing up was like that of every other human being. I grew up with my parents in the village. I got involved in their businesses which had to do with hospitality industry and I attended primary school at the right age, secondary school at the right age. My childhood friends, I still relate with them time to time. I wouldn’t say I had the best of time because we were not privileged to be carried to school with cars, we trekked to school. My parents could afford my books and uniform and other things, education was okay. My parents were able to look after my education. So, growing up was good. While growing up, I saw my friends who also came from the poorest of the poorest. What do you do when you see them now? Of course when there is an opportunity to assist friend, why not? You extend to them in whatever way you can. It could be in terms of come and eat with you at home and things like that. There is joy in sharing. We all have our low and high moments; tell me those low moments that you are not likely to forget in a hurry Let me tell you what I got as a kid. First and foremost, I’m from a polygamous family. One of the things that I saw and which I like was about my mother who then happened to be the breadwinner of the family. Growing up, he made no distinction between his children and other women’s children. That for me is a landmark experience and that I keep going back that humanity is one. Mankind is one, I exist because you exist. I cannot be an Island; I cannot say because I’m here, I don’t need you. We are one, what you have I may not have, what I have you may not have. If you bring your talent and I bring my talent and other person brings his talent, it cannot be one talent. From the way you have been talking, it seems you were closer to your mum than your dad. Why? I don’t know why it is like that, but in my own case, I watched both parents from a distance. You know what I did by watching them from the distance? I was watching their character because mind you, I’m a product of their gene, and my character is a product of that gene and what I picked from the environment; so now those genes are there, you want to see it come to play. For example, my father was very temperamental, my mother was very patient, but the question is I now know that these traits are in me and I need to work on myself to know what to do to become what I want to become. That was why when I addressed youths that we trained as leaders, I said don’t come and tell me that ‘…ooo, I took it from my father, ooo I took it from my mother.’ You are at the liberty to change those traits and how do you change them? It is constant reminder to yourself that you don’t want this, this thing I’m doing is not right and it flows from your thoughts to your action because what you think is what you are; as the man thinketh in his heart, so is he. What you think you are likely to say, what you say you are likely to do. What you do over time becomes your habit, when it becomes your habit,

•Mr. Ejakpomewhe

‘

I try not to flirt around with women generally because... the moment you come out of it, you’re full of regrets, even your manhood will regret it; that is enough sign of regret. It is good to smile to people, it is good to embrace people, but you must know where to draw the line...

it becomes your character. If you had the opportunity of changing something about yourself, what would you change? Changing something about myself? I want to confess something which many people may not confess. I will like to be more available to serving humanity. If three of us are here and we earn the same income, and there is a problem, I might decide to put N10, he may decide to put N50, I want to be more available serve humanity. If you look at the situation in the country right now, it seems we are toying with disintegration and if Rotary cuts across tribes and languages, I think members of the club are in the best position to arrest this trend. What is Rotary doing about it? I look at it as a temporary challenge. You know I said initially that one of the objectives of Rotary is building goodwill and peace in the world. In fact the fourth object of Rotary is the advancement of understanding, good will and peace, a world fellowship of business and professional persons, united in their ideal of service. I’m sure you know that our flagship project is polio eradication; we believe that until the world is free of polio, we will not rest on our oars; that is one. Rotary believes that if we are able to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich, conflict will be reduced. You will see, as they say, an idle mind is a devil’s workshop. Rotary supports education, basic literacy and education. You know that even in Lagos, we have a school for beggars’ children, we got them off the street and we sent them to school. That is one way of breaking poverty cycle because if you leave the children of the beggars to their parents, they too will eventually become beggars. If you give

’

the people the opportunity to have basic education and literacy, you give people the opportunity to have sound education and water. If you give people the opportunity to have good health care delivery, you will reduce the country to clean environment. So this kind of thing we have in this country has to do with things like that. The fact that some people are aggrieved, some people cannot have access to food, cannot have access to water and they are seeing people riding in luxurious cars and so give food to the hungry, give water to the thirsty. Bridge the gap between the rich and the poor, develop the environment, let people have access to education and be able to move from one place to the other. This will make the environment better for all of us to live in and probably we will reduce the level of conflict and probably talk more to our selves. We need to have more opportunity to dialogue. Even at the local level, our local government chairmen, what are they doing? At the ward levels, the councillors, what are they doing? To what extent do they relate with the people they are leading? There needs to be awareness. I want you to be particular, what is your district doing? At the moment, we have given one bipod limb factory that is artificial limb. People could lose their limbs through accident; it could even be through disease. We’ ve given one to Lagos State, we are currently building one in Ogun State. We’re re installing sanitation and water project in schools within Ogun and Lagos State. I just commissioned one in Shagamu Central last weekend. We are providing water for communities, we are doing vocational trainings. We’re doing adult and basic literacy programmes and in fact we also train people

on tie and dye, we train them on sewing and in the end empower them by giving them machines. If you take a man or woman from the street and he or she is able to do simple arithmetic; after that, you teach him a skill on tie and dye or bead making and after that you empower him by giving him money to set up his own business and probably give him the micro credit to do the business, that person’s life can never be the same. That way, you will be promoting peace. What distinguishes Rotary International from other humanitarian groups? What distinguishes Rotary from others is our spread. Rotary is in over 200 countries around the world. The object of the Rotary is such that if you look at the whole spectrum of your life, it covers them. Is it the fellowship you want to have? You can have fellowship in Rotary every week. As a matter of fact, as a Rotarian, when I miss one meeting, it is like an aspect of my body has been removed. When you leave your office after a hard day’s job and you go to a Rotary meeting, it is exciting, refreshing and you are meeting people. Don’t just look at it as networking for business, networking for business would come naturally. You are meeting people of like minds and you are sitting together saying how do we help people in our community? How do we contribute to improving the lives of the people in our community? That is the vision of Rotary. When you were growing up people lived communal life style, but these days, most of the children talk about just about themselves; what are you doing to your children to imbibe the culture of giving? What I have done so far for my children is to bring them up in accordance with the Rotary ideals. What are the Rotary ideals? You talk about the motto, and you talk about the Four Way Tests, you talk about the object of Rotary. What is your day like as a Rotary District governor? My day as a Rotary District governor is purely administrative attending to Rotarians, attending to mails from clubs, attending to mails from regional office and attending to mails from Rotary International itself and it comes with joy. People always ask me what your benefit is. There is a joy, there is a thrill that comes to you when you serve others, when you realise that you are contributing to the improvement of the lives of others. Somebody has no limb, you contribute to ensuring that he has a limb, he can walk from place to place. Somebody does not have water, you contribute in providing water for that person. Somebody is a school drop out, you call him and say, you could teach him to read and write, we can teach you to be sewing mistress, give you sewing machine. There is a joy that comes with it. My normal day in the office is filled with joy of serving humanity. Nigerians don’t joke about religion, how do you cope with religious diversity in Rotary? The thing is we are working hard to ensure we convince people that Rotary is not a religion. Rotary does not favour any my religious sect. we have Muslims, we have Christians in Rotary and in Rotary we do not swear any oath to say, do you believe in anything to be a Rotarian? All that is required is that you are a mature adult, you have a meaningful source of likelihood, time, talent, you can think and somebody whom we see as a responsible leader in the society, that is it. What is the relationship between the Rotary and government? We know that government cannot do everything for people. Government is supposed to provide infrastructure and look after the wellbeing of the people, but they cannot do everything so we partner with government to ensure that we support them in their efforts in contributing to the wellbeing of the citizens. But they cannot do everything. We partner with government anywhere we are. In Lagos and Ogun states, we have taken part in renovation of schools; we have taken part in providing school desks, chairs for students; we have taken part in providing school uniforms to the students; we have taken part in providing water for schools in Lagos and school in Lagos and Ogun states including building sanitation facilities for them. Those are the ways we support government, apart from the fact that we support students for scholarship. We give scholarship to people and we send people out for training. As a matter of fact we send people out for peace training, to study for six months for peace studies. We believe that when such people come back they can take part in the peace process. Peace is not fought with guns, we need people who can communicate the need for peace, we need people who can preach peace, we need people who can understand the variance from one community to the other to know what should be done to bring peace.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

•President Jonathan •Jega

The deciding factors as Bayelsa goes to poll today T

and mobilisations are over. And with every bit of uncertainty and other hiccups out of the way, the Bayelsa governorship poll will hold today. Out of the five states which went to court to contest the tenure of their governors since last year but lost at the Supreme Court two weeks ago, Bayelsa is the third to go to the poll to elect a new governor. The other two are Kogi and Adamawa states. The remaining two are Cross River and Sokoto states. What could have posed a serious impediment, the death of the Mega Progressive Peoples Party (MPPP) governorship candidate, Chief Ebakumo Oduduogwu Ogbetebe on January 23, has since been resolved with the withdrawal of the party

Augustine AVWODE Assistant Editor from the contest. In a letter dated February 1, 2012, addressed to the Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Bayelsa State office of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Ogbetebe’s running mate, Chief James Osian, who should have stood in for the election in the absence of the late Ogbetebe, said he was not interested in continuing with the contest and that he was withdrawing on personal grounds. According to him, “Due to the demise of my gubernatorial candidate, Chief

Ebakumo Ogbetebe, and the subsequent decision of my party not to field a candidate, I hereby voluntarily withdraw from the race as a running-mate (deputy guber candidate) in the February 11, gubernatorial election in the state.” But even before his letter, the party’s national secretary, Honourable Hamisu San Turaki, had also informed the INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, in a letter dated January 30 of the decision of the party. Part of his letter read: “We, the above named party, hereby wish to inform the commission about our non-interest in fielding another candidate for the governorship election coming up on February, 2012 in Bayelsa State Chapter.”

Also, the chairman of MPPP in Bayelsa State, Mr. Isaac Eze, had written a similar memo to INEC on January 31, intimating the electoral body of the decision taken by the national body of the party. The development thus put a final stop to moves by some politicians to exploit the death of Ogbetebe to push for a postponement of the election. The other thing that could have thrown spanners into the works was the suit involving former Governor Timipre Sylva and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the Supreme Court. But the apex court further made things simple for the electoral umpire as it has fixed April 20 for judgment in the tussle over who is the authentic can-

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012 didate of the PDP. Sylva is seeking to validate his nomination as the party’s candidate in place of Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson, who is flying the flag for today’s election. The coast is therefore clear for INEC to conduct today’s poll. The race, on paper, is seen as a one horse race for the PDP, the party which has ruled the state for almost 13 years now. The party has won all the three senatorial seats in the state since the return to civil rule in 1999. The same thing goes for the House of Representatives. In fact, if there is one state that can be correctly labelled as a having a dominant one party, Bayelsa is the state and the party is PDP. Beyond the fact that the party has over the years firmly established itself around the nooks and crannies of the state, it has the enviable status of being the only state in the South-South geo-political zone to have produced the president who is the incumbent on the platform of the PDP. It was an emotional thing for many Bayelsans as their son, the President, mounted the rostrum last Friday at the grand rally to drum support for the party’s candidate. Pundits are therefore wont to believe that it is a fait accompli for the party and its candidate in today’s poll. Though many people bought into this argument, yet it was with cautious optimism. They reason that the intra-party fighting that has dogged the PDP, which culminated in bitter exchanges between President Goodluck Jonathan and former Governor Sylva last weekend has the potential of doing a great deal of damage to the party’s reputation. The president had while campaigning for Hon. Dickson accused the former governor of nonperformance and urged the party’s candidate not to disappoint the people as he was sure that he would win. But the erstwhile governor fired back with so much intensity, insisting that on the contrary the president is the one guilty of non-performance. The hot exchanges apart, many chieftains of the party are said to have their sympathy for the former governor. Except for one or two individuals, all members of the executive that he led until the day the Supreme Court terminated his stay in Government House, all the local government chairmen, State House of Assembly members and federal lawmakers in the state are all said to be sympathetic to his plight. But then, the party had, in anticipation of the division that was likely to ensue within its ranks, set up an Elders Forum made up of eminent personalities from the state to principally douse the fire that could be generated. It was the creation of the state chapter of the party which met on December 2, 2011 at the PDP state secretariat and formally inaugurated the forum to strengthen and include all strata of PDP stakeholders in Bayelsa. It has as chairman, Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha, a former governor of the state who is popularly called ‘The Governor General of Ijaw Nation.’ Of the nine-point communiqué released at the end of its deliberation on the same day, the Bayelsa Elders Forum affirmed in the fourth and fifth decisions: “4. The forum has resolved to mobilise all and sundry in Bayelsa State to ensure the victory of the PDP at the February 2012 election, and, 5. The forum has resolved to reinvigorate, reorganise and strengthen the party structure in the state to ensure victory at the elections.” One can say, therefore, that the

•Dickson (PDP)

•Okara (ACN)

party certainly had done its home work to ensure that the fall out of the primary election of the party in the state does not do extensive damage to the fortunes of the party. Indeed, shortly after his public presentation last week in Yenagoa, the PDP flag bearer, Hon. Dickson, told newsmen in an interview that the crisis in the party was exaggerated. While admitting that there was misunderstanding in the party, he emphasised that those who matter in the party had actually been at the fringe and that only a small tendency held sway. In his words: “Most of what you see as crisis is exaggerated when you look at it from outside. And that accounts for why you saw the crowd. It is actually a pointer to the fact that the situation you referred to as crisis may not really be as frightening as in politics….I agree with you that there were some divisions. But politics is never devoid of division... “The real stakeholders of the party are now back. As I speak to you, the House of Assembly is fully integrated. We have fully integrated the chairman and some members and we are going forward; we hope to even get a few others who may not yet be part of us. Now, you see the Acting Governor, who presumably has been on the other side, being part of the flag off”. But while the ruling party is not prepared to relinquish power, other parties have been making frantic efforts to cash in on the in-

•Kubor (CAP) ternal wrangling within the PDP. Many people are not surprised that the seemingly ‘inconsequential’ opposition parties in the state, hitherto without much of a voice, are now talking and very loudly, too, of the possibility of being the next occupants of Creek Haven. If feelers from the state are anything to go by, today’s voting pattern may reflect ‘protest and dis-

agreement’. And the result could be a ‘gift’ to the opposition parties that have suddenly found an unusual energy and enthusiasm canvassing for the votes of the electorate in the nooks and crannies of the state ahead of today’s poll. The major concern today, however, will be whether the ruling PDP will be able to repeat the 999, 2003 and 2007 performances, given the circumstances with which it is going into today’s election. However, because politics, like football, is unpredictable, Bayelsans could once more, in deference to President Goodluck Jonathan, their own son and national leader of the PDP, support the party and return it to power. He did it before and the general expectation is that he would do it again. During the April 2011 election, the President successfully neutralised the burgeoning influence of the Labour Party in the state then led by Timi Alaibe when he declared that “I am a PDP member and I will not support a candidate that is not in PDP. Bayelsa is a PDP state and if opposition parties get votes in the state, people will not believe me.” That did it. However, if ‘protest voting’ should characterise today’s election, the two likely beneficiaries would be the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Change Advocacy Party (CAP). The ACN has been described as the potential game changer in the contest. The party’s governorship candidate, Barrister Kemela

Okara, an indigene of Boumadi in Gbarain/Ekpetiama clan in Yenagoa LGA, had focused his campaign on creating jobs and qualitative education for the teeming unemployed youths in the state. Apart from his name ringing a bell because of his popular family background of the Okara family, he had also flaunted the achievements of his party in the South West states and Edo State. He maintained that the progressive brand of politics is what the oil rich state needs to hit the path of development. Imoro Kubor, a retired permanent secretary is flying the flag of CAP. Kubor had maintained throughout his campaign, while it lasted, that “The two of us (with his running mate) are technocrats from the public service. We shall be bringing our wealth of experience into politics to ensure the transformation of Bayelsa State. We have been tested in a cultured civil service with a lot of discipline. What we are telling the people is to look at the individual candidate and forget the party. Since 1999, the PDP has claimed to be ruling, but they have negative effects on the governance of the state. It is our time to take Bayelsa to a new level.” Whatever the case is today, a new page is about to be opened in the history of the riverine state. And needless to say, all eyes are on Bayelsa, waiting to see who goes into Creek Haven to pilot the affairs of the state which prides itself as the Glory of All Land.

Airhiavbere’s tirade against Oshiomhole •Continued from Page 10 Ehimigbais? Have they suddenly returned from the moon? Who is fooling who? But good enough, the ACN government, ably led by Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, is already creating wealth. He is already laying the foundation, several people are quietly gaining jobs and more will get in the days ahead. Rome was not built in a day, neither were the ruins of any war- torn

nation restored overnight. The locust years of PDP in Edo are being regained. Oshiomhole is working. ACN is working and Edo State is working. That is why Edo people are united to return him. All over the state this dry season, massive construction works are going on with the contractors fully mobilized to site. Lastly, Airhiavbere in his conclusions ignorantly raised the issue of “his refusal to

conduct Local Government elections.” But election in any part of Nigeria today is a matter of law. Is he insinuating that Oshiomhole has breached the electoral law? If that is what he meant, why has he not gone to court to challenge it? Oshiomhole is a man who believes in the rule of law and cannot bend the law just to satisfy a yawning General and his ilk. Oshiomhole is neither the Head of EDSIEC neither is he the

House of Assembly nor the judiciary. In fact, the PDP dominated House of Assembly in Edo made the laws governing the EDSIEC and conduct of elections, and so what is Airhiavbere talking about? Airhiavbere should face his opponents in the PDP and leave our performing Governor alone. •Mr. Owegie is the Publicity Secretary of ACN, Edo State.

FAMIL Y HEAL TH AMILY HEALTH

THE NATION, SATURDAY,FEBRUARY 11, 2012

God's design for a successful family life (2)

EAR Reader, Last week, we saw the position of digging into the Word of God, to ascertain our desires for our families. When God’s Word is discovered and applied with wisdom, treasures are uncovered that make for fulfillment in family life. This week, we shall be looking at Marriage Covenant Realities. It is important for you to understand what marriage is all about. Many people, including Christians, have a delusion about marriage. Some consider it as just the coming together of a man and a woman, for the purpose of having children. Some others believe that it is just a kind of necessary friendship or rela-

tionship. Scripturally, marriage is a covenant! Until you have this understanding, you may NEVER enjoy fulfillment in your family. The covenant of marriage is between God and the couple, in the first instance, and then between the couple themselves. So, entering into a marriage relationship requires that you come to the understanding that you are entering into a covenant with God and with your spouse. God’s Word says: Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and … the wife of thy covenant (Malachi 2:14). What is a Covenant? It is an agreement between two people. It is a relationship that

must not be broken and if it is ever broken, a penalty follows suit. A covenant is also for a lifetime. I believe strongly that it is because of this that the Word of God says in Ecclesiastes 10:8: He that breaketh the edge, a serpent shall bite him. A successful family life is basically, a function of walking in the terms of the covenant, not a function of prayers. Prayer can never take the place of obedience to the terms of the covenant, though prayer is needed for divine grace to walk in line with the demands of the covenant. Therefore, settle down for the knowledge of your covenant responsibility and stay committed to its fulfillment thereof. It is in the doing of that covenant responsibility that your desire lies. The marriage covenant is best described as a triangle, with God on top or at the apex, and the man and his wife at the bottom or the base, everyone playing their part independently … As unto the Lord (Ephesians 5:22). As far as God is concerned in the marriage covenant, you have been given an individual responsibility and you must be

Fasting 'could help combat cancer and boost effectiveness of treatments' •Fasting slowed growth and spread of tumours •Cured some cancers if combined with chemotherapy •Human trials now under way

OING without food for short periods may help to combat cancer and boost the effectiveness of treatments, say scientists. A study found fasting slowed the growth and spread of tumours and cured some cancers when it was combined with chemotherapy. It is hoped that the discovery will prompt the development of more effective treatment plans and further research is now under way. Fasting may help to combat cancer and boost the effectiveness of treatment. The latest investigation, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, found that tumour cells responded differently to the stress of fasting compared to normal cells. Instead of entering a dormant state similar to hibernation, the cells kept growing and dividing, in the end destroying themselves. Lead researcher Professor Valter Longo, from the University of Southern California said: 'The cell is, in fact, committing cellular suicide. 'What we're seeing is that the cancer cell tries to compensate for the lack of all these things missing in the blood after fasting. It may be trying to replace them, but it can't.' Professor Longo and his team looked at the impact fasting had on breast, urinary tract and ovarian cancers in mice. Fasting without chemotherapy was shown to slow the growth of breast cancer, melanoma skin cancer, glioma brain cancer and neuroblastoma - a cancer that forms in the nerve tissue. Scientists found tumour cells responded differently to the stress of fasting compared to normal cells In every case, combining fasting with chemotherapy made the cancer treatment more effective.

Multiple cycles of fasting combined with chemotherapy cured 20 per cent of those with a highly aggressive form of cancer while 40 per cent with a limited spread of the same cancer were cured. None of the mice survived if they were treated with chemotherapy alone. Researchers are already investigating the effects of fasting on human patients, but only a clinical trial lasting several years will confirm if human cancer patients really can benefit from calorie restriction. However they highlight that fasting could be dangerous for patients who have already lost a lot of weight or are affected by other risk factors, such as diabetes. Results of a preliminary clinical trial will be presented at an annual meeting of the American Society of Cancer Oncologists (Asco) in Chicago this June. Prof Longo points out that the

study only tests if patients could tolerate short fasts of two days before and one day after chemotherapy. 'We don't know whether in humans it's effective,' he said. 'It should be off-limits to patients, but a patient should be able to go to their oncologist and say, 'what about fasting with chemotherapy?' or without if chemotherapy was not recommended or considered.' Previous research led by Prof Longo showed that fasting protected normal cells from the effects of chemotherapy but it did not look at cancer cells. It is now though fasting may be one way to make tumour cells weaker and more vulnerable. Prof Longo added: 'A way to beat cancer cells may not be to try to find drugs that kill them specifically but to confuse them by generating extreme environments, such as fasting, that only normal cells can quickly respond to.'

•Fasting could go a long way to save people from dying of cancer

accountable to Him for its fulfillment. Failure on the part of your spouse for the non-performance of his or her responsibility, is not a sufficient excuse for the nonperformance of yours. God’s Word says: The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will (Proverbs 21:1). That is, the turning of your spouse’s heart is but a light thing with the Lord for with Him nothing shall be impossible. Yours is to concentrate on pleasing Him by your obedience to His command and He will please you by the fulfillment of His part of the covenant. When your covenant relationship with God is in place, your covenant relationship with your spouse becomes a very easy thing to observe. If you get committed to obeying the Lord, by either loving your wife or submitting to your husband, you will find out that it becomes a delight. It is no longer mechanical but spontaneous, and all that could ever be desired in a home becomes cheaply yours. God is a God of covenant. The benefits of the covenant are only

available to those who have a covenant relationship with Him. He said in his Word: Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice Psalms 50:5. If you want to become a part of those in a covenant with Him, you can do that by praying this simple prayer, inviting Jesus Christ into your heart as your Lord and personal Saviour: Dear Lord, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Now I know I am born again! Congratulations! Till I come your way again next week, call or write, and share your testimonies with me through: E-mail: faithdavid@yahoo.com Tel. No: 234-1-7747546-8; 07026385437, 07094254102 For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all the Living Faith Churches, and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, and Building a Successful Family.

Patients with kidney failure have considerably increased - Expert Risikat Ramoni

R Bello Babawale, a consultant nephrologist in Lagos University Teach ing Hospital, has said that there is a rise in the prevalence of Kidney disease in Nigeria. According to him, "The rise in the prevalence of kidney disease cannot be completely explained. More people are having kidney diseases, today, partly because more people are coming to the hospital. In the past, a lot of people selfmedicate or take herbs. So, we are seeing more people coming to the hospital. In actual fact, the figures of those who are diagnosed with the disease are between 10 and 20 percent. The figure is increasing because there are more patient with hypertension and diabetes. Diabetes is one of the most commonest problem of kidney disease. If that is increasing, the chance of having kidney disease from them is also increasing." In his explanation, the nephrologist described renal or kidney failure as a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood. He said this recently during a lecture on renal related illnesses-causes and management at the Lagos State Univerisity College of medicine, LASUCOM, in Ikeja. During the lecture organized by Muslim Women in the Business and the Professions, The Criterion, Babawale noted that many rich people had become poor as a result of their kidney failure. This is due to the N150,000 to N200,000 they expend monthly on dialysis. "Dialysis does not cure kidney failure. But it saves lives. Some people have been on dialysis for 10 to 15 years but it has not been as effective as kidney transplant," said Babawale. He further said, Kidney transplant provides with long-term kidney function. The success rate of surgery in kidney transplant is very high. Over 90 percent of kidney transplant are successful. Subsequently, the kidney has to last. "However, the kidney may fail. Kidney failure is traumatic. Irrespective of what you do, the body is designed to reject aything foreign to it. So, it is an innate response to the body. Doctors would have loved to prevent the body from rejecting completely by just destroying the system that rejects. Unfortunately, that is the same system that protects against infections. So, the kidney can not be protected completely," he said. He reiterated that kidney transplant could survive for a long time. This can be achieved if the person can do quick follow-up and meticulous use of medication. The medicines are meant to protect the kidneys that have just been gotten. "Infact, for you to be eligible for transplant, a patient have to show evidence that he can comply with medication. So, if that person is told to take medicine by 9, it should not exceed that time even by a minute. Kidney problems sometimes lead to death when the person stops taking medications and become careless," the consultant said. He said that the survival rate of kidneys gotten from relatives was very high. Infact, 20 years after, the kidney is still functional. He noted that kidney from a non-relative can not last that long. While identifying the way out, the nephrologist said that kidney problem can be avoided and all that is needed is to live healthy. He highlighted the following as preventive measures to avoid having kidney disease: People MUST get a routine medical check-up at least once every year. Physical activity: There is the need for people to lose weight. Be more physically active by exercising more. Use the stairs considerably, do not always use the lift. Walk at least 30 minutes in a day. Eat healthy food and reduce salt intake Eat fruits and vegetables not pizzas and ice creams.. Drink at least 5 litres of water a day. With those who are certified diabetic and hypertensive, they should take their medicine everyday because both ailments are silent killers and need to be checked frequently by a doctor. Those who don't have hypertension, diabetes, anytime they're ill, their first point of call should be a doctor who will look at the person by examining him or her.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

FAMIL Y HEAL TH AMILY HEALTH

Issues on mosquitoes and other insects

OOD Day Dear John. I hope you are well. I read your article on unwanted animals and I was very much impressed. The name “club unwanted” as you used for the dangerous animals like mosquitoes, is so fitting that I could not imagine a better coinage. The article is very humorous and too convincing that I laughed as I read the article. Dear John, please could you mail me ALL YOUR ARTICLES for me to read. I am a microbiology lecturer in a university in Nigeria and such articles help improve my knowledge and lecture delivery pattern. Thanks and God bless. Mr Obi, Clifford. Good Day, First and foremost, let me introduce myself. I am Dr.Joseph S. Gbenda, lecturer in Religion & Philosophy, Benue State University Makurdi, Nigeria. My area of specialization in the study of Religion is African Traditional Religion & Culture. I am currently teaching Traditional Medicine and I found your article of August 13, 2011 very useful. I recommended it to my students. Sir, keep the flag of traditional medicine flying. Thanks and best wishes. Dr. Gbenda Joseph Sarwuan PLEASE SEND ALL YOUR WRITINGS TO ME BY EMAIL…..I want to acknowledge the fact that you’ve always impressed most of us that read The Nation’s newspaper. Keep on as some of us are willing to join you soon. Thanks. I am looking forward to get your reply mails…..I’ve my e mail box now to access all your write ups. I was challenged by your question to open one. Thanks. Please send your report published in The Nation newspaper on Sat urday to my mail. Indeed I appreciate your intellect. Toyin Rotimi Dr. I read your write up in The Nation newspaper on cockroaches minutes ago. I just want to know how true is the view that camphor tablets can keep cockroaches away. Text 2348034029426 Dear Reader, thank you for reading the Family Health Column and for your comment. Actually, camphor is commonly used in Nigeria and most readers would wonder why I did not include it in my article on cockroaches. One day, I went to visit some friends after many years of not seeing one another. The hosts eagerly served me an exquisite snack which I put my teeth into immediately. While still on the first bite, my chewing slowed down with a decline in my appetite and I became awkward, unable to spit out my mouthful. The food reeked of camphor. They guessed the problem and immediately introduced the topic of “ants” into our conversation. I figured out that they had a serious ants-infestation. Their hospitality was spoilt by the smell of

TAPHYLOCOCCAL infections can lead to erectile dysfunction in

men. Erectile dysfunction is the inability of a man to produce a consistent or maintain an erection of the penis sufficient to have a sexual intercourse. Erectile dysfunction is also referred to as sexual impotence. Sexual impotence is a serious health problem that has broken many marriages to-

camphor in the food because they used camphor to keep away ants. Camphor does drive away insects but the humans around too might breathe in a significant dose and if a person has a habit of always putting camphor in the house, then the people around are exposed to the chemical chronically. We have used camphor for decades in Nigeria and have not associated any health hazard with it. In some areas of the world camphor, in some form, is included in the flavoring for certain foods (amongst Indians and Arabs) and drinks (amongst Arabs). Camphor is included in many of the medicinal balms, antiitch ointments, and cooling gels that we use. It has been used as a cough suppressant and as an anti-microbial. The fumes of camphor have an antirust effect and camphor can be used in tool boxes to preserve metal tools. The United States of America Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, gives these potential symptoms of exposure to camphor: irritation of eyes, skin, mucous membrane; nausea, vomiting, diarrhea; headache, dizziness, excitement, epileptiform convulsions; cough, sore throat; burning sensation in throat and chest; gastrointestinal symptoms; confusion, seizures, unconsciousness; hepatotoxicity. There are recommended exposure limits but most people would not know what constitutes a limit in their home environment. Generally, in life, we are always solving problems but the solutions we choose are dependent on the nature of the problem and on weighing the costs against the benefits. For a chronic problem such as pest control, we need long-term, long lasting, or permanent solutions which means that if you want to use camphor, you would be using it for a long time or life-long. Then, you need to consider if the solution you choose may harm yourself or other persons. Any solution that can produce harmful side effects, victims, or casualties are best avoided. Though camphor is safe enough to use within non-toxic limits, I would suggest using it if you can limit your own exposure to it. So for example, if you are travelling and you want to make sure cockroaches would not eat up your certificates before you get back or form super colonies all over your house, then it would be helpful to put camphor in strategic places; If you have stored belongings that you hardly open, then it is OK to seal them up with camphor even if you are always at home, etc. The general rule with chemicals is: if you do not need to ingest them, avoid exposure to them or ingesting them, but we are free to take risks, especially if we know what is involved. Dear Readers, Thank you for all the mail full of thanks and giving blessings. Many have requested all the articles. I can’t publish all the requests and just use these few to thank you all. The easiest thing I can do for those who have asked and those who have not asked is to put all the articles in The Nation (Saturday) Family Health Column into a book. Then you don’t need to collect the articles. So hopefully by the end of this year, 2012, it should be available for your home book shelf.

Sound Health with Banji Filani 07089729930, 07034809006

Staph and erectile dysfunction day. Studies have revealed that apart from the need for couples to be rooted in God, sex is the next best tonic for

a strong relationship! Studies have shown that over 20% of men in our society today are either partially or totally impotent. Impotency is usually caused by two major factors; •The presence of serious ailments like diabetes and •STD (sexually transmitted diseases). In the days of our forefathers, excessive consumption of sugary foods and alcohol were not encouraged, that was why they were able to remain sexually potent till old age. Secondly, the presence of STD’s is another major causative factor. Most men suffer from STD’s which have ended up destroying their libidos. A sexual disease like staph.aureus is a known destroyer of the sexual organ. Apart from those that are born with sexual impotence, these two factors are usually responsible for the impotence in men these days. Normally, a healthy man with full potency should be able to have erection at least three times daily. If a man sleeps, an erec-

tion should be the first thing to wake him from sleep if truly he’s sexually potent, it is a natural phenomenon. If a man does not experience an erection even when a naked body of a woman is paraded before him, then there is a serious problem. Naturally, although age has a role to play in erection sustainability that is it takes a little stimulation for a youth of between ages 20 to 30 to gain an erection, he may climax quickly but he gains back his erection in a few minutes. An adult male of 40 years will need a more direct stimulation to attain an erection, while a 60 year old male may need an even more direct stimulation before an erection can be achieved. But these days it’s so amazing that even youths in their early twenties are having a problem of erectile dysfunction and almost all the cases involved are due to one infection or another most especially staph infection. This situation is so alarming that I begin to wonder what the situation will be like in the next 5 to 7 years. Even as an adult one’s sexual life should be very active especially among married adults because this will foster a serious relationship among such couples. Most men usually complain of having difficulty in retaining their erec To be continued

53 Coping with diseases with Prof. Dayo Oyekole

HIV/AIDS

HE term AIDS is an acronym that stands for “Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome”. It is acquired because the victims do not inherit the condition, but contract it. Immune deficiency means that the victim’s natural bodily defense mechanisms are unable to function properly, and “syndrome” refers to the combination of different abnormalities or diseases making up this condition. AIDS is a complex of diseases and symptoms resulting from unexplained immune deficiency; caused by a retrovirus, culminating in a “mixed-bag” of life-threatening opportunistic infections, which invariably results in death. The retrovirus that causes AIDS is known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) with types I, II, and III already isolated. Although there have been wide speculations and insinuations as to the origin of the virus (HIV), the fact still remains that the first cases of AIDS were diagnosed in North America, Europe and Central Africa about the same time in 1981. Since then, cases are being reported all over the world and most countries now have people with “full-blown” AIDS as well as carriers infected with the virus. It occurs in about 1 to 10% of the population and the incubation period is 4 to 10 years. The virus has been isolated mostly from semen, vaginal secretion and blood. It is generally believed to be contracted through sexual intercourse, transfusion of contaminated blood, use of un-sterile instruments such as needles, blades and catheters, transplacental infection, organ transplant, tattooing and circumcision as well as breast-feeding. The major characteristic feature of AIDS is weight loss of about 10kg within 1 month without a known cause. Other symptoms include chronic diarrhoea, persistent cough, skin infections, oropharyngeal candidiasis, swollen lymph glands and night sweating. Prevention Prevention of AIDS is achieved through avoidance of casual sex, and other factors that may predispose to HIV infection; as well as sterile procedures in clinico-surgical practices. Treatment and Control Before recommending our treatment and control packages for HIV/ AIDS, it is pertinent to ask the following questions: 1. Why do outbreaks of serious infectious diseases leave some people devastated and others free? 2. If some people are known to be carriers and could go around with the virus for up to 15 years before they physically breakdown, couldn’t there be ways of helping to cleanse the virus from the system before it manifests? 3. Are the sufferer’s thoughts, aspirations and living habits not affecting the disease cycle as well as response to treatment? If yes, then in Holistic Lifecare, we are committed to total cure of HIV/AIDS sufferers when they have just been tested and diagnosed positive, when they are still able to eat, drink and move around on their own, but not when they are expecting their funeral the next day! The Holistic Natural Remedy being suggested for restoring good health, vitality, and total cure in HIV/AIDS sufferers; is a combination of herbal, nutritional and psycho-social therapies at the appropriate time and in the right proportion. Notable among the useful herbs for HIV/AIDS are Aloe vera, Allium sativum, Harpagophytum zeyheri, Echinacea augustifolia and Zingiber officinale. For further information and consultation on Holistic Lifecare research and services, especially on Blood Infections, Infertility, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Chronic Debilitating Conditions as well as mental and social problems, please call on: 0803-330-3897 or visit: Mosebolatan Holistic Lifecare Centre, Adeyalo Layout, Ogbere-Tioya, Off Olorunsogo Express Bridge, Ibadan. Website: www.holisticlifecare.com. Distance is no barrier, we can send remedies by courier if need be. We also have facilities for accommodation, admission and hospitalization in a serene and homely environment.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Again, Chinese celebrate Year of Dragon

•Chinese in a festive mood at Sol, Madrid

HE world rose in unison on December 31, 2011 to usher in 2012. It was the beginning of a new year, according to the calculation of the Gregorian calendar introduced about 430 years ago. However, for the Chinese people, who have a far older dating system that predates the Gregorian calendar. It was not the beginning of a fresh year. This was to happen about 23 days later. And so on January 23, the Chinese new year was ushered in. It is the Year of the Dragon . The Chinese, all over the world, came out to celebrate the year. In Madrid, Spain, the Chinese community came in large number to put a show for the residents of Madrid and thousands of tourists that flocked around the Central Madrid, known as Sol. The event was on Sunday, January 22, on the eve to Chinese new year It was really spectacular watching them roll out the drums in festivity. Like everything China, it was a deep cultural spectacle spalshed with bright colours and brought the postive in the Chinese culture and tradition. The Chinese community in

Madrid, as early as 8am, had gathered at the Sol quadrangle . For those not familiar with Madrid, Sol, in the history of the Spanish capital, holds an important place. It is at the centre of the city. Any trip to Madrid will not be complete without a visit to Sol. As a result of this, tourists at every time of the day flock to the quadrangle around the tube station area. It is, therefore, no surprise that the Chinese people chose there to celebrate their new year. They were resplendent in beautiful Chinese attire. The women had beautiful hairdos to go with their brightly colours shining dresses. Different other aspects of the Chinese culture were also on display. Students from martial arts schools were also on parade. Images of the dragon in bright colours, of course, breathing fire and blood were available. They were carried high above the head, running and dancing with them round the Sol square. The women danced, beating small drums they clutched. The Chinese Year of the Dragon is 2012 as revealed by Chinese astrologers. Astrology is part of Chinese life. In Chinese astrology, dragon people excel. The dragon Chinese zodiac year is special.

The Chinese, all over the world, came out to celebrate the year. In Madrid, Spain, the Chinese community came in large number to put a show for the residents of Madrid and thousands of tourists that flocked around the Central Madrid, known as Sol Many people are looking forward to the year. In Chinese astrology, the dragon is the only animal of the Chinese zodiac year that is not real. The dragon is quite special

and very much revered and holds special significance for the Chinese people. This dates back to thousands of years. More than 4,000 years ago, there were two large tribes and many smaller tribes in China. The tribes had animals as emblems. The two large tribes unified and chose the dragon as their symbol. In fact, the Han Chinese still call themselves the descendants of the dragon. In Chinese astrology, the dragon is seen as a powerful almighty king because it is made up of different parts of animals such as tiger, fish, snake and eagle. The dragon is not seen as a threatening evil being, as we do in the west - rather a symbol of power, superiority and rule. Still today, the dragon is a revered symbol. You can see many sculptures and carvings of the dragon. Even today, the Chinese associate the dragon with power and wisdom. In Chinese astrology, a dragon person is special. Born in the Chinese Year of the Dragon, they usually stand out as befits a dragon. They are powerful and wise. In a group of people, “the Chinese Year of the Dragon person” stands out. There is a certain aura about them. They certainly are not shy –

they demand attention and respect.The dragon is a symbol of power. Therefore, in Chinese astrology, the dragon person born under this Chinese Zodiac sign tends to be a “doer” – they do things and achieve power by getting things done. A dragon can breathe out fire, so the person born in the Chinese Year of the Dragon can be a hothead. Watch out if you make them angry. However, the dragon has a soft underbelly, and so in Chinese astrology, the dragon person born in this Chinese Zodiac year has a “soft spot” for them. They may get angry at someone who annoys them, but they also show great compassion to people in need. A dragon has a long tongue which is often seen. So in Chinese astrology, the dragon person born in this Chinese Zodiac year has a sharp tongue – they will say things that can be quite sarcastic and biting. The person born in the Chinese Year of the Dragon can be quite a confronting person, but if you can reach their “soft heart”, they are Continued on Page 55

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Again,Chinesecelebrate Yearof Dragon Continued from Page 54

worthwhile allies. What does 2012 hold for a person born in the Chinese Year of the Dragon? According to Chinese atrology, such people double their efforts in whatever they do - work, education and other projects. Their natural abilities should stand out with great results.However, they have hot temper. Outside the year of the dragon, the Chinese have 11 other years. They are: Year of the Ox: They beleive the person born in the Year of the Ox is dependable and hardworking. Find out about the person born in the Year of the Ox. Year of the Tiger:The person born in the Chinese zodiac Year of the Tiger possesses beauty and power, but he can also be dangerous. Find out about the person born in the Year of the Tiger. Year of the Rabbit: The person born in the Year of the Rabbit is neat and tidy. Find out about the person born in the Year of the Rabbit. Year of the Snake:You should be wary of the per-

son born in the Year of the Snake. Find out about the person born in the Year of the Snake. Year of the Horse: The person born in the Year of the Horse has so much energy.

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More than 4,000 years ago, there were two large tribes and many smaller tribes in China. The tribes had animals as emblems. The two large tribes unified and chose the dragon as their symbol

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Find out about the person born in the Year of the Horse. Year of the Sheep: The person born in the Year of the Sheep is very fashionable. Find out about the person born in the Year of the Sheep. Year of the Monkey: The person born in the Chinese zodiac Year of the Monkey is mischievous and a prankster. Find out about the person born in the Year of the Monkey. Year of the Rooster: The person born in the Chinese zodiac Year of the Rooster is so cocky. Find out about the person born in the Year of the Rooster. Year of the Dog: The person born in the Year of the Dog is so loyal and forgiving. Find out about the person born in the Year of the Dog. Year of the Pig: The person born in the Year of the Pig is so lucky. Find out about the person born in the Year of the Pig. Year of the Rat: The person born in the Chinese zodiac Year of the Rat is very hardworking. Find out about the person born in the Year of the Rat.

•Above and below: Images from the celebration

Kehinde FALODE: 08023689894

French fries and chicken HealthandnutritionalbenefitsofIrishpotato Irish potato is one of the most nutritious vegetables on earth. While the idea that a person can live only on potatoes is not true, the potato can serve as an essential component of a weight loss diet or a healthy weight maintenance diet. A steady diet of fried potatoes as tater tots, French fries and potato chips will add pounds instead of subtracting them. It also has other benefits. Below are a few of them. Potato looks very big in size, but water accounts for about 70-80 per cent of the weight of a potato. So the belief that you become fat by eating potatoes is a misconception. Of course, if yourp o t a t o servings contain large quantities of butter, or if you can’t keep away from those high-in-fat-and-cholesterol French fries, you are bound to become overweight. Potatoes supply a large portion of our daily requirements for vitamin C, vitamin B6, copper, potassium, manganese

Foluke ADEMOLA Valentine’s Day is a day for romance.Whether you are married or single, spoil your loved one with this wonderful recipe.I am sure you will have a memorable day. Ingredients: · 6 large baking potatoes cut into strips (about 1/3 to 1/2inch thickness and width) · Oil for deep frying · Salt · Chicken · Spices · Seasoning · Onions Preparation: · Soak potatoes in ice cold

water for 1 hour at room temperature. Drain well; pat dry with paper towels. · Wash your chicken, put a pot on the stove, add water, salt, spice, onion and seasonings. Leave to boil for some minutes. · When the chicken is soft, remove and drain water. Preheat your oil when it is hot, add your chicken and leave to fry still .When is brown , leave to cool. · Heat oil in deep fryer to about 375°. Place potato strips in a single layer in deep fry skillet; fry in hot oil for about 4 minutes, or until golden brown and tender. Drain on paper towels. Then keep warm in the oven ,while frying remaining batches. · Place your chicken, fries and ketchup in a plate and serve with a nice drink.

Orange velvet Enjoy this tasteful drink after nice meals with your love one on valentine day. Ingredients: •2 oz Cream •2 oz Pineapple Juice •5 oz Orange Juice Method •Mix all the ingredients together with some cubed ice in a cocktail shaker and shake well. •Strain and pour into a cocktail glass.

and dietary f i b r e , according to The World’s Healthiest Foods website. Potatoes and their skins carry chemicals similar to those found in broccoli that protect against certain cancers, cardiovascular disease and respiratory problems. If you eat potatoes regularly, you will have a good supply of water and irons in your body. This is because potato is rich in potassium. The concentration being higher in the skin and just beneath it. So, eating the potato with its skin is always beneficial. Potato also contains calcium, iron and phosphorus. Potato contains about 17% starch, and it is one of the best natural sources of starch. Potato sprouting leads to conversion of starch into sugar. Hence you should avoid eating sprouted potatoes. Natural potatoes are known for the large amounts of Vitamin C present in them. Typically, 100 gm of potato will contain about 17 mg of Vitamin C. In addition to this, natural potato also contains Vitamin A, B and P.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBUARY 11, 2012 clare the doors of the well-designed carnival village open to tourists and participants before proceeding to relish artistic dance performances by Uturu based troupes. The entire Uturu, Isuikwuato and indeed Okigwe glowed with the grande finale of the carnival as a float consisting of the participating troupes from the seven states paraded the major streets of the area. It was a very impressive and colourful motorcade that literally brought traffic to a joyful halt as people parked vehicles, ran out from their homes and lined up the streets to behold the spectacle created by the itinerant performers. Indeed, it was the biggest cultural street party ever, as the spectators joined the procession all the way to the pavillion of Gregory University Uturu which housed the carnival village. The float was heralded into the carnival village by the symbolic Ikoro Sound that signalled the appearance of great masquerades. After a round robin procession round the carnival villages, the performers were welcomed to settle down momentarily in their well- designed huts built with locally available mats, while kolanuts were presented, blessed and distributed. One of

Uturu Carnival: Restoring cultural essence of Ndigbo

HEN in December 2008, a human re source expert and cultural enthusiast gathered likeminded people to initiate a traditional carnival that would project and celebrate aspects of the Igbo culture, little did they know that they were sowing a seed that would germinate and grow into a mighty Iroko tree. Today, four years after, that seed christened Igbo Uturu Cultural Carnival has matured into the greatest annual gathering of Ndigbo for the celebration of the cultural heritage of the Igbo people. The fourth edition of the now famous annual up-sound cultural dance fiesta which held as usual in the traditional home of the carnival, Amachara Amaokwe Uturu, in the Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State from December 24 to 31 , 2011. The memories of the event will definitely linger for a long

time. It was a carnival that saw the participation of fanciful cultural dance troupes, monarchs and dignitaries from the seven states of Anambra , Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Rivers and Abia. After months of preparation, the carnival was formally declared open by the Governor of Abia State represented by the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr Henry Balonwu, on Thursday December 29, 2011. In a goodwill message, the governor’s buttressed the effective role of culture in national development, stressing the need for the presentation and projection of the good aspects of the traditions and customs of Ndigbo. He pledged the support of the state government to Igbo Uturu Cultural Carnival, promising to collaborate with its organizers to achieve the desired objectives. The commissioner had earlier unveiled the carnival mascot, cut the tape to de-

Transcorp Hilton director wins Talent Manager of the Year Award

L-R: Managing Director/CEO, Transcorp Hilton, Valentine Ozigbo; General Manager, Transcorp Hilton, Andre Herrenschmidt; and Chairman/CEO, General Electric, Jeffrey R. Immelt, at a welcome reception for Immelt on arrival at Transcorp Hilton.

HE Human Resources Director of Transcorp Hilton Abuja, Yusufu Ishaya, has emerged the winner of the inaugural Hilton Worldwide prize of “Talent Manager of the Year Award 2011” for the Middle East & Africa Region. Yusufu emerged the winner of the coveted prize out of a field of seven distinguished Hilton Hotels & Resorts HR

HR professional who strongly drives the development of team members through coaching, personal development plans, projects, cross exposure and task forces assignments, amongst other criteria. It celebrates someone who proactively reviews the organizational talent needs and drives succession planning and effectively manages both high and low performers.

professionals who were shortlisted for the award. The award was announced and presented at the Hilton Worldwide Middle East & Africa HR Forum which took place in Cairo, Egypt. The award is presented to a HR/Training professional who has strongly influenced team members’ promotions, transfers and professional development. The award also recognises the

HE people of Epe in Lagos and their wellwishers are warming up for a double celebration of this year’s Eebi Epe Festival which will hold in March and April, even as a new firm, Abidev Consults, has been hired to market and reposition the cultural festival. His Royal Majesty, Oba Kamorudeen Ishola Animashaun, Arolugbade Elepe II, the Oba of Epe, who confirmed this, said Lagos State Government had given its nod for the hosting of the annual festival that is fast becoming a must attend by tourism practitioners from within and outside the state. Chairman of the festival Planning Committee, Otunba Teni Zacheaus, announced March19 to 22 and April 13 to 21, 2012 as official dates approved by the state government to celebrate the famous

festival. He listed the main events that will feature in this year’s festival to include Okosi Traditional Boat Regatta, Boat Racing, Iyonfonran Traditional Rites and Ita Ebi Rites. Others are football, swimming and fishing competitions as well as Epe Day celebrations. He appealed to corporate organizations and wellmeaning Nigerians to give their maximum support and co-operation towards the success of the festival, promising that this year’s outing would be glamorous and memorable. The chairman also announced the appointment of Abidev Consults Limited as the official marketing/ activation consultants of the festival, as part of efforts to rejig the cultural ensemble for posterity.

the distinguishing features of the 2011 edition of Igbo Uturu Cultural Carnival was the planting of a life palm tree in the middle of the carnival village. It was an innovation that saw the artistry of palm wine tapping in full display. In order to provide palm wine as accompaniment to the traditional kolanut, a palm wine tapper climbed the palm tree and tapped fresh wine for the consumption of guests. It was then time for the celebrated compare of events, Chief Chika Okpala aka Chief Zebrudaya Okorigwe Nwogbo of “The Masquerade” TV drama fame to formally welcome the large crowd of dignitaries.The initiator of Igbo Uturu Cultural Carnival, Chief Greg Ibe, traced the history of the carnival, emphasizing that he was motivated to situate the colourful event in Uturu by the preponderance of archeological findings from many notable scholars that confer on the ancient town the source of human evolution. In a goodwill message, the Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Cooperation (NTDC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, represented by Chief Vincent Arua, Zonal Director, East, commended Ndigbo for creating a platform to celebrate their culture and pledged the support of the Federal Government for the event.

•A war dancer in his attire

National Tourism Photo Competition holds May

Epe flags off Eebi Festival in March

•Some masquerades and one of the dancers during the carnival

Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National orientation which seeks to encourage people to capture for posterity the beauty of the various tourism attractions and locations scattered all over the country and boost the patronage of these destinations. Speaking of the upcoming event, Ms. Rosemary Okeke, Managing Director, Romarox Resources Limited, the company promoting the competition, said the aim of the national competition is to exploit the wealth of the tourism industry which is a non-oil sector that is a goldmine untapped and sensitize the public and also sustain their interest in the sector that has been neglected for years in Nigeria. “The focus is for all Nigerians to participate, whether amateur or professional, especially now that most mobile phones come with cameras. The competition focuses on people and their ways of life, places and environments, pleasure and icons.” She said the time had come for Nigerians to entrench leisure and relaxation as part of their value system and to improve health and productivity by appreciating the environment and its endowments. Ms Okeke, former Miss Nigeria, described the competition as her modest way of promoting and positioning tourism as leisure in the country with its attendant reward. She also explained that unlike other competitions, top winners would have various cash prizes and digital photo studios to •NTDC DG, Otunba Segun, presenting a gift to Mr. Ikechi empower the lucky ones and make them better citizens. Entries for the competition start on February 25 and end on Uko, project co-ordinator of the Nigerian Seven Wonders, when May 30, 2012 with six zonal draws and a grand finale. the team visited the DG to present the result of the search

N line with the desire of the government to boost tourism in Nigeria, plans are underway to hold the inaugural edition of the National Tourism Photo Competition. The event is a private sector initiative in partnership with the

THE NATION SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Oshiomhole’s continued strides in Edo

HE people in any nation or locality indeed are the real owners of government. At what ever level where it exists no matter who is at the helm of affairs governance at all times should be directed towards the people. This tells why government policies objectives and programmes are channelled towards them with a view to improving their general well being. It is imperative to point out that meeting the people’s heart desires by any responsible government does not require empty promises but real accomplishments with possibilities depending on how best such feats can adequately touch their lives. In Nigeria, that should be the essence of the provision of dividends of democracy and not many have the capacity to turn round the pains of the people to pleasure. But in Edo State, the story is better experienced than imagined. This has been the hallmark of governance since Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN-led administration wrestled the mantle of leadership from the People Democratic Party (PDP) which had ruled and ran the state aground for upward of ten years. ACN-controlled states across the country, as it were with the Unity Party of Nigeria UPN, in the old Bendel State – late Ambrose Alli of blessed memory was known for yielding to the desires of the people. While the other political parties in various regions at the time lamented the paucity of fund and inability to engage in pro-masses policies as the sole reason for failure to deliver on their electoral promises; UPN was busy providing free education to the people in their domain, creating enabling platforms for social and economic development. Even in this Fourth Republic virtually all the former PDP governors – Ayo Fayose, Gbenga Daniel, Oyinlola Olagusoye, Segun Oni, Rashid Ladoja, Alao Akala, Lucky Igbinedion and Osarheimen Osunbor hardly ever looked at the direction of the masses in terms of bringing good governance closer to the people. These PDP Governor laboured very hard to run with the progressive hares while hunting with the conservative hounds at the same time; barring the possibility of creating job for the people. The apostles and advocates of ‘main streaming politics’ – the ruling party at the centre – are essentially peopled by huskers and jobbers who have aggressed against the people that ought to be the primary reason why government exists in the first instance. PDP as a party has turned out to be the worst political party that has ever ruled this country since the First Republic, military inclusive. The party is an irksome gurgle of a directionless gathering of people with unconcealed agenda to corral the collective patrimony of the people for selfish ends. The effect of PDP failure in government has predictably rallied the masses’ sense of awareness like the sudden inhalation of smelling salts. We have been fed with the poisonous diet of ideological rot for too long. Nigerians have been so thoroughly indoctrinated with political dogma about the evils of opposition, the perfection of the central government and the need for compromise come hell or high water! Across the country, Nigerians are pledging to themselves never to be so used as footstools and be duped or dumped in the manner in which they have been exploited in the intervening phase of our democratic journey. It is however interesting that the decadent PDP is getting the message just now: its sympathizers will no longer be permitted to enjoy the sordid corruption that has permeated in the system and other pervasive patronages from government while the rest of Nigerians are asked to work the plank. This is tragedy, but like all tragedies, it must be faced, not denied. They may well have entrenched themselves in the polity so blatantly through rigging of elections, maiming of the innocents, assassination of perceived enemies and marketing falsehood to Nigerians. Faced by outright rejection lately, after mulling over all options, PDP has embarked on the employment of falsehood as the only potent means to assuage the mass of Edo people to its side in this year’s election. It is obvious that they have learned one or two things from Adolf Hitler School of Propaganda. Hitler was so confident on the point that he and his fellow Nazi openly told endless lies on the theory that a certain percentage of them would be believed, and that if one colossal lie were told often enough a sizable percentage of the population would eventually come to believe it. Just the same way that for centuries people were made very comfortable in their certainty that the earth was flat, that the sun went around the earth, that the sun and the moon were the same size, and that the sky was blue.

•Oshiomhole Erasmus IKHIDE They have been sermonising on what Governor Oshiomhole has not done right, in their judgment: his support for fuel subsidy removal; the building of roads and the costs, the building of schools and the costs, the building of hospital and the costs, creation of job and the costs, provision of electricity and the costs and the provision of pipe bore water for the people and the costs. The criticism of Governor Oshiomhole on the politics of fuel subsidy removal is the classical case of getting scorched by the pot and slapping the mortar aggressively. They could not have harmed themselves more than they have dipped their limbs in the lake of acid! Oshiomhole is just one person among the 36 state governors who supported PDP president’s decision to back off from subsidising petroleum product for Nigerians. He is not the chairman of ‘‘Governors Forum’’ who impressed the policy on President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who desecrate the sacredness of the people’s civil right to protest against unpopular policy in a sovereign nation. This clearly shows the attitude of a corrupt government in deficit of public trust that has exhausted its sovereignty bargain. Governor Oshiomhole merely dramatised his patriotism for national survival by lending his voice to an already taken decision by the PDP-led government. Edo people are comfortable with Governor Oshiomhole’s development strides and the pace at which quality projects have been speedily executed in the last thirty eight months, save for the jobless PDP and its sidekicks who have been denied the luxury of free access to public fund that they squandered for ten wasteful years. The governor’s tripod policies on HealthSchool-Road have seen through countless number of projects that have been totally transformed by the ACN-led government. Oshiomhole’s administration has completed Women and Children Hospital in Otuo, Owan East LGA, provided a state of the art Ophthalmology equipment for Eye Care, at the Stella Obasanjo Women and Children Hospital, Benin City, renovation of some Hospital buildings at the General Hospital, Agenebode, provision of hospital equipment for 33 Government-owned hospital. His government has renovated the main building and sink borehole with water reticulation at the Sickle Cell Centre, Benin City, completion of a storey building comprising classrooms, computer room, sick bay and library with provision of equipment and furnishing for the facility each at the Schools of Nursing Midwifery, Benin City, completion of a storey building comprising classrooms, computer room, sick bay and library with provision of equipment and furnishing for the facility each at the School of Health Technology, Benin City, completion of an 80 bed hostel block for School of Health Technology, Benin City, completion of three-bedroom and two-bedroom staff quarters complete with furniture at the General Hospital, Fugar, Igarra, Afuze, Ubiaja, Iruekpen, Igueben, Igbanke, Iguobazuwa, Central Hosiptal, Auchi, Ossiomo Leprosarium, and Stella Obasajo Women and Children Hospital, Benin City, and the on-go

Continued on Page 59

59 NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2011

Democracy and development

Oshiomhole’s continued strides in Edo Continued from Page 58 ing construction of a Five Star Complex at the Central Hospital, Sapele Road, Benin City just to mention a few. Some of the schools renovated by the governor across are follow: Idia College, Benin City, Niger College, Benin City, St. Maria Goretti Girl’s Grammar School, Benin City, St. John’s Model College, Fugar, Annunciation Catholic College, Irrua, St. John Bosco College, Ubiaja, Edo Boys High School, Benin City Igueben Grammar School, Igueben, St. Angela’s Grammar School, Uzairue, Our Lady of Fatima School, Auchi, Holy Trinity Grammar, Sabogidda-Ora, Iguobazuwa Grammara School, St. Paul’s Anglican Grammar School, Igarra, Urhonigbe Grammar School, Uokha Junior Secondary School, Uokha, Ososo Junior Secondary School, Ososo, Ewossa Junior Secondary School, Ewossa, Obieze Juinor Secondary School, Ubiaja. Renovation work has also been completed in Siluko Grammar School, Siluko, Aiwerioba-Ogiugo Grammar School, Ugoneki, Ekperi Grammar School, Ekperi, St. Peter’s Grammar School, Agenebode, Ehor Grammar School, Ehor, Western Boys High School, Benin City, Edeki Grammar School, Otuo, Our Lady of Lourdes Girl’s Grammar School, Uromi, Iyamho Community Secondary School, Iyamho, Elaho Grammar School, Egua-laiho. Apart from these, a total of 435 classrooms were transformed under the UBE scheme in the 18 Local Government Area of the state. About 18 schools have been completed in Edo South while 27 are near completion. Seven schools have been completed in Edo South while 13 are near completion. The same is true of Edo North with 5 Schools completed and 21 nearing completion. Adams Oshiomhole has successfully completed and commissioned 19 roads projects since he assumed office as the governor of the state. 31 of such other roads are near completion while a total number 10 has again been awarded. Governor Oshiomhole has been clear on issue of good governance from day one: he was committed from the outset to utilise his mandate to deliver the greatest good to the greatest number of Edo people in the shortest possible time, under God’s guidance. Three years down the road, Edo people can affirm with pride that their elected governor was able to harness the common goods, energy and resources and restore the state as a well-acknowledged positive reference point in good governance. •Khide wrote in from Benin, Edo State

Continued from Back Page chances. The Ivoriens will not lie down to be slaughtered. They will fight. They are aware of the historical sympathy that the Zambians have thrown up, yet, football is a game that defies sentiments. Give it to Zambia; no, Ivory Coast; no, may the better side win. African football deserves the best particularly after the epoch 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

My friend Samson Siasia Meeting Samson Siasia at the MTN Football Hub in Lagos on Sunday evening after the cracker between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge provided the platform for what many have tagged reconciliation. Need I bore you with the interaction I had with Siasia when he was the Super Eagles coach? Many felt strongly that I never wished him well and that I canvassed his removal. I wish I had such powers. I was doing my job just as he did his. Thankfully, Siasia accepted responsibility for the country’s ouster from the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations and admitted that if he had the chance

Continued from Back Page But how do we get out of this quagmire? How do we ensure that voters exhibit greater prudence, enlightened self interest and rationality at the polls? Until we find a way round this problem, the present ‘institutionalized kleptocracy’ that masquerades as democracy will continue to perpetuate underdevelopment in Nigeria.

Her Worshipful Majesty She first came forcefully into public consciousness when as Minister of Transportation in 2007 Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, publicly burst into tears at the sight of one of the dilapidated highways that constitute death traps all over the country. This impressive exhibition of compassion did not, most unfortunately, translate into any major achievement in that Ministry before the veritable Amazon was moved to the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development. Despite her relative anonymity and minimal impact in that capacity, President Goodluck Jonathan thought her fit to be part of his transformational team as Minister of Petroleum Resources. In the aftermath of the fuel subsidy strike and protests that virtually grounded the country for a week and resulted in huge financial losses, Mrs. Alison- Madueke has suddenly transformed into an activist Minister. With the ongoing investigations of fuel subsidy management by the House of Representatives exposing the shaky empirical basis on which the fuel subsidy removal policy was based, Her Worshipful Majesty has become hyper active. She has invited the EFCC to probe the fuel subsidy payments. She has hur-

Will Zambia be free? to coach the team again, his actions would be different. That is the spirit, SiaOne. But that is not the story of my encounter with Siasia. We sat apart by the arrangement inside the Football Hub but many fans wanted to see how we interacted. At full time, Siasia faced the fans. He answered questions thrown at him. Those who felt dissatisfied with some of his answers, such as Fela Bank Elemoh, got what they wanted to hear with further prodding. As the questions session rolled towards the end, a few fans walked up to me, insisting that I should ask my friend at least one question. I declined, preferring to listen and jot down news stories to fill The Nation and SportingLife’s pages for the next day. The session over, Siasia walked up to me for a hug. I didn’t regret doing my job, but I realised that he was now sober. Siasia earned my respect by attending Stephen Keshi’s unveiling in Abuja. I recognise his heart of gold. I wish him well in future assignments. Did I hear you ask if I would do what I did to him again? Yes, if he makes the same mistakes. He had no reason flexing

muscles with the players over disciplinary issues. There are better ways of doing that without rocking the boat. Thank you Siasia, it was good seeing you talk about the Eagles and your plans. Good luck, great friend.

Letter to Minister Abdullahi (2)

Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi wants to leave a mark in the industry. I’m told that Minister Abdullahi needs to shelve his plans to reduce the number of sports federations to 10. Nigeria’s sport is at the amateur level. Isn’t it part of the government’s civic responsibilities to provide the enabling environment for people to recreate? These fledgling sports can gain international audience only if they are engaged in local competitions under federations. Must everyone play football or the NSC’s chosen sports? Under prudent and articulate leaders, companies fell over themselves to bankroll table tennis, lawn tennis, cycling, boxing, volleyball, squash and swimming to mention a few of the sports that have been killed through NSC’s meddlesomeness in the federations’ elections. Cricket, golf and polo are the

Re: Oghiadomhe, don’t kill our soccer

Y attention has been drawn to the column of Mr. Ade Ojeikhere in TheNation newspaper edition of last Saturday with the title, “Oghiadomhe, don’t kill our soccer.” Reading through the said piece, it is sad that journalistic ethics have been thrown to the dogs with the reckless manner the person of the President’s Chief of Staff, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe, was attacked because of football. By his position, he would not descend so low to join issues with the reporter. He is my leader and I am a bonafide football stakeholder which is why I have decided to take the issues up and demand a rejoinder. Even if the columnist had been paid to do a hatchet’s job, methinks, he would have been able to do it with some great diplomacy rather than take on

the person and the office of the recipient of the dirty media smear. I am one of the avid believers that where Nigerian football is today is not where we are supposed to be. It is out of such convictions we have pursued our interests with the best of decorum, using all legal means open to us including the courts. While many of the people in the saddle of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) remains our personal and official friends and partners, no one, I repeat, no one will stupidly take on the personality of any member of the ‘opposition’ because beyond football we will have business and personal transactions. It is for this reason that we have taken utmost care and responsibility to be fair at all times in all our conducts and media outreaches. For a newspaper of the status and reach of

TheNation to be carelessly used to achieve pedestrian and divisive constructs like the piece in question is unfortunate. For the records and this is true, Chief Oghiadomhe has not and does interfere in issues of football. If he had done as is being speculated, the matters would have been long resolved. This name dropping should stop. Did Chief Oghiadomhe asked the NFF to swear to two varying affidavits? Was it his business for the NFF not to have been incorporated or complete the change of the appropriate legislations before rushing to bear another legal personality? Journalists are supposed to be fair minded and very objective professionals whose writings should point new vistas to social knotty issues unlike a situation where they conflagrate the system with their divisive writings.

elite games that don’t depend on government funding. How? Simple. Those who run the sports’ affairs are financially endowed, largely because of their positions and connections in the society. Table tennis was at its zenith when Cosmas Maduka headed the association. Till date, that is over 43 years, Chief Molade OkoyaThomas has singlehandedly bankrolled the oldest table tennis competition. Lawn Tennis enjoyed under Alhaji Raheem Adejumo. Squash was at it best when Dr. Kayode Roberts was in charge. Boxing competed favourably with football under the leadership of the late Brai Ayonote. Basketball lived up to its billing when the present Gwon Gwon Jos, Buba Gyan, was the boss. Cycling was the star attraction under Reverend Mose Iloh. These men, if contacted, have the template for the growth of the industry. But, will the minister seek audience with them for tips? Read my lips.

riedly set up task forces to monitor petroleum revenues and investigate our underperforming refineries. Are these not steps that ought to have been taken before the abrupt removal of the so-called fuel subsidy? Was this palpable negligence not a key contributory factor to the avoidable trauma, including loss of lives, of the fuel subsidy crisis? Mallam Nuhu Ribadu may well have been motivated by patriotic considerations in accepting his new job as Chairman of one of Mrs. Alison-

Madueke’s brain waves. But the former anti-corruption Czar should have given the immediate implementation of the KPMG audit report on NNPC as a precondition for accepting ‘to serve’. The report unveils massive fraud in the NNPC and particularly it exposes the cesspit of corruption that constitutes fuel subsidy. But Her Worshipful Majesty has decided to set up a committee in her office to audit the KPMG’s audit! Surely, the fear of this adorable woman is the beginning of wisdom.

THE NATION SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

News 61

THE NATION, SATURDAY 11, 2012

How Boko Haram escapee Kabiru Sokoto was re-arrested •Continued from Page 2 “Having located his whereabouts through GPS, the SSS team laid siege for him in Mutum Biu until they were able to arrest him between 5am and 6am on Friday.” The Christmas Day bombings at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church claimed 44 parishioners and others. Of the 44 victims, 26 were parishioners. The dead included :Anthony Okoronkwo; Comrade Dike A. Williams; Emmanuel Dike; Richard Dike; Lilian Dike; Lynda Chioma Ubiukwu; Uche Queen Obiukwu; Chidinma Cynthia Obiukwu; Linderlin Ifeoma Obiukwu; Ann-Chinedu Aigbadon; Chiemeri Nwachukwu; Cecilia Ebeku; Oluebube Faustina Pius; Chidera Sylvia Pius; Florence Nwachukwu and Eucharia Ewoh. Others were: Joseph Daniel; Inspector Titus Eze; Obasi Jonathan Onyebuchi; Ehiawaguan Peter; Uche Esiri; Sgt. Kadiri Danjuma; and five unidentified Persons. Twenty days after the explosions, Kabiru Sokoto was arrested at the Borno State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja on January 14, 2012. But barely 48 hours in custody, Sokoto escaped in Abaji in

the midst of the custody of policemen who went to search his home. The incident led to the querying and retirement of the former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim. The National Security Adviser, Gen. Owoye Azazi, also set up an investigative panel comprising senior officials from different arms of the security agencies as well as officials of the Ministry of Police Affairs. On Tuesday, the Force Disciplinary Committee began the trial of Zakari Biu and five others over the escape of Kabiru Sokoto. Despite the re-arrest of Kabiru Sokoto, the trial of Biu and five suspects continued yesterday. A top police source said: “The re-arrest of Kabiru Sokoto will not stop the trial of the six suspects by the FDC at all. They are standing trial for negligence, conspiracy and dereliction of duty. “In fact, the re-arrest of this wanted suspect will further enhance the trial as he will be brought face to face with Biu and other policemen on how he escaped. “We hope that by Monday or Tuesday, Kabiru Sokoto might be taken to the panel for his own side of the escape

South East governors meet northern counterparts, emirs over killings •Continued from Page 3 Chief Godwin Ogbetuo exChairman, Working Committee, Delta State Elders, Leaders and Stakeholders Forum, said the Boko Haram problem can best be tackled through dialogue and appealed to “their considerate conscience to stop this violence. If they stop this brutality there will be peace”. Former President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr Dozie Ikedife, said:” The basic thing is to first find out what these people (Boko Haram) are saying. What is the idea behind the movement? Are they making a genuine case? Do they have a genuine cause? Do they make genuine demands? Are these demands attainable? Are they within reach? What will be the import of yielding to their demands? It is not a thing you take very lightly. “To me, the first thing is to try and reach them. They are not totally faceless people or an unidentifiable group. They have spokes persons working on their behalf. I think that should be the first line of move, to reach them. “Then, since they are mainly coming from the North the government should talk to the leadership of the North like Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Sultan, the Kano Emirate and its people, the people of Benue, the people of Bornu and Kwara, the people of Benue Plateau and all the rest of them. They should all be consulted, the people that make up the North. It should be found out whether they are all speaking with one voice or there is a small group more vocal than active .What are they really saying? You cannot because of a small protest that is lasting about less than a year then take up a knife and cut up the country. Then it will be almost an irresponsible act.”

First Republic Minister of Aviation,Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, said: “The government has been unable or unwilling to identify and arrest the powers behind this organisation. Who does not know that it is not these little boys who carry bombs and guns or who carry out the suicide missions that really make up Boko Haram? “There are big people who finance them and highly qualified scientists and technicians who make the bombs and other explosives. Why have the barons and sponsors not been identified and apprehended or have the security organs of the government been so heavily penetrated and compromised that the government can no longer act? Chief Amaechi called for a national conference to resolve all the issues militating against unity in the country. His words: “A national conference! A conference where all parts of the country would converge to decide, determine and agree on way forward or otherwise, for the union called Nigeria.” Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, founder, Igbo Yoth Initiative (IYI), does not believe in any negotiation with Boko Haram ,because in his view, “ they have sworn to die according to the dictates of their sponsors and their leaders. The verdict is, either you are killed for refusing to carry out the assignment assigned you or die by suicide bombing.” But former Transport Minister, Dr. Abiye Sekibo, and the Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) in the South-South and South-East geo-political zones, Alhaji Musa Saidu, want the Federal Government to dialogue with Boko Haram. Dialogue,according to them, would put an end to the incessant and embarrassing suicide blasts carried out by the sect.

plot.” The FDC is expected to submit its report next week to the Police Service Commission for appropriate sanctions if necessary. Section 30 of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution says “the Police Service Commission shall have power to (a) appoint persons to offices (other than the Office of the Inspector-General of Police) in the Nigeria Police Force; and (b) dismiss and exercise disciplinary control over persons holding any office referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph.” Sokoto was paraded before newsmen at the SSS headquarters, Abuja soon after he was brought to Abuja.

Looking smart and trim in a green T-shirt over a pair of blue jeans trousers, Kabiru appeared defiant when he first appeared before newsmen at 4.18 pm and was swiftly taken away at 4.20 pm. But following the insistence of the journalists to speak with him, he was brought back at 4. 31 pm when he was only allowed to confirm his identity as Kabiru Sokoto. He was returned to his cell at 4. 32pm. He looked more defiant with a plastic stern look. Explaining why the journalists were denied enough time with the suspect, the spokesman for the SSS, Marilyn Ogar, said security personnel were yet to interrogate him and as such, he could not be given

much time with the press. Ogar gave a sketchy account of how the suspect escaped from the police on January 15 and how he took refuge at a village called Umaisha in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, saying:” On February 10, 2012 about 4.30 am, this Service and the Military effected the arrest of Kabiru Abubakar Dikko (a.k.a. Kabiru Sokoto) who escaped from lawful custody on January 15, 2012 at Abaji in the Federal Capital Territory. He was re-arrested at Mutum-Biu in Gassol local government area of Taraba State” “Kabiru Sokoto who has been linked with the Christmas Day bombings at Madalla, Suleja, Niger State, was picked up

from where he was hiding in the clothes rack, at the residence of an accomplice. “On his escape, he had taken refuge at Umaisha in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State before he fled to Taraba State where he was eventually re-arrested.” The SSS assured members of the public of the collective resolve by the security agencies to stamp terrorism out of the country, warning that sooner or later, the long arm of the law would catch up with those perpetrating evil in the land. “We hereby crave the maximum support and cooperation of all Nigerians as we strive to rid our society of terror. We are not terrorists. We are Nigerians”, the SSS maintained.

Abuja court denies summoning INEC •Continued from Page 3 He is asking for an order of interim injunction restraining the defendants their officers, servants and/or privies whomsoever and howsoever from conducting election into the vacant office of the Governor of Bayelsa State slated for 11th day of February, 2012 pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice dated 7th of the February, 2012. •An order of the court directing all parties to this suit to maintain status quo on any matter arising from the conduct of the election into the vacant office of the Governor of Bayelsa State slated for 11th day of February, 2012 pending the hearing and determina-

tion of the Motion on Notice dated 7th of the February, 2012. •And for such other orders as the Honourable Court may deem fit to make in furtherance of the above prayers and in the urgent circumstances of this case. And in a statement yesterday, INEC said the election would go on as scheduled. The commission’s Chief Press Secretary, Kayode Idowu, said INEC received no court order warranting any postponement. He said that the commission cannot act on a court order that has not been served on. He said : “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has become aware

of an apprehension in the public as to whether the Bayelsa State Governorship Election fixed for Saturday, February 11, 2012, will hold as scheduled. “This apprehension derives from certain court orders said to have been secured by some political parties, stopping the commission from going ahead with the election. “INEC wishes to make clear that as at today, Friday, September 10, 2012, it has not been served with the said orders. “By all means, the commission is law-abiding by character. But it cannot act on orders of the court that it has not been served. “It is hereby restated therefore that the governorship

election in Bayelsa State will hold as scheduled. The accreditation of registered voters will begin at 8a.m. in polling units across the state as planned, while all persons accredited are required to queue up at noon for the commencement of voting at 12.30 p.m. “All necessary preparations have been made to ensure smooth conduct of the election, and the commission is optimistic of a successful outing. It hereby solicits the maximum cooperation of all stakeholders to make this a reality. “Voters in particular are urged to turn out en masse to perform their civic duty, conducting themselves peacefully and orderly as they do so.”

•Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State (right), swearing in former Special Assistant to ex-Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, Mr. Oladeji Alabi Olanrewaju, as the Transition Committee Chairman of Ogbomosho North Local Government. With them is Mr. David Olatunde, Permanent Secretary, Cabinet and Special Services (middle)... on Friday. PHOTO: OYO STATE HOUSE

PENGASSAN issues seven-day ultimatum

HE Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has handed down a Seven-Day ultimatum to the Rivers State government and the management of Vam Onne Nigeria Limited, to either resolve the industrial relations crisis in Vam Onne or have all oil and gas operations shut down indefinitely. The oil workers on Friday disclosed that the company in collaboration with some politicians sponsored thugs numbering over 15 armed with dangerous weapons to harass, manhandle, assault the members and disrupted the peaceful protest organised by PENGASSAN Port Harcourt Zone against the Management of VAM Onne Nigeria Lim-

ited. In a petition addressed to Governor Rotimi Amaechi, dated February 8, 2012 and signed by the Assistant General Secretary, PENGASSAN Port Harcourt Zone, Comrade Sunday Onyemachi, the workers said: “As a result of this development, our National Secretariat has directed that, after seven days, with effect from February 9, 2012, there will be a complete shutdown of all oil and gas operations in Rivers State. “If thereafter, the matter is not resolved within the period, the entire 10 states in Port Harcourt Zone, including Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo and Rivers States will follow suit and

this will escalate the crisis.” The workers alleged that the Country Manager of VAM Onne, Mr. Eugene Fogli victimised 27 PENGASSAN members who have been locked out for over three months without salaries. The petition read in part: “It is pertinent to stress that the Country Manager of Vam Onne Nigeria Limited, Mr. Eugene Fogli, engages in antiunion activities ranging from intimidation, harassment, lockout, victimisation and enslavement of Nigerian workers, flagrant abuse of our extant labour laws, and release of Nigerians from employment without clearance from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and more importantly refusal to honour

agreement which was held at the instance of Prince of Onne Community, Prince Dr. Jime Osaronu and Mr. Sunday Dudu, at a meeting between the Association and the management which was held on November 15, 2011 at Novotel Hotel, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. “The harassment of our members by these thugs place in the presence of the policemen detailed to monitor our peaceful exercise which commenced on Tuesday, February 7, 2012. The State Security Services (SSS) Onne were also aware of this ugly development.” “They said that since the thugs were armed and had assaulted some of its members, they had to leave the scene to avoid any bloodshed.”

THE NATION SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Tomorrow in THE NATION PUNCHLINE

I am not a Sylva fan. But then, if all the president would pick as bad governance in the state is Sylva's noncompletion of a hotel, then we can dismiss the case as that of a kettle calling the pot black SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2012 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL.7, NO. 2032

HE history of the relationship between democracy and development in the Third World particularly Africa has been a chequered one. In the immediate postindependence era, serious scholars of the modernization persuasion assumed that the state in Africa had to take on the authoritarian character of Thomes Hobbes’ Leviathan in order to impose order on a terrain that all too often resembled the anarchic state of nature. Intellectual justification for the variety of one man, one party or military dictatorships across the continent was thus predicated on the perceived need to maintain order and stability as a precondition for rapid development. In the long run, however, Lord Acton’s dictum on the inevitably corrupting influence of absolute power proved the more enduring wisdom. Power without accountability not only stifled human rights and dignity; it bred unbridled corruption and undermined development. The ongoing democratic resurgence across Africa has, however, led to the current unhealthy fetishization of elections simply for the sake of elections. Seek ye first the kingdom of free and fair elections, the conventional wisdom goes, and everything including development shall be added unto you. Unfortunately, the structures and processes of transparent elections may be a necessary condition but it is obviously not a sufficient condition for democracy to translate into socio-economic transformation. For democracy to effectively serve as a vehicle for uplifting society from debilitating poverty, the political structures for free and fair elections must be supported by a political culture that places premium on accountability. Those who are privileged to wield political power at all levels must be responsible to the people and there must be adverse electoral consequences for the abuse or misuse of power including non-performance. The noted Africanist, Professor Richard Sklar, has identified two dimensions of accountability, which make democracy functional as an agent of development. The first, horizontal accountability is best exemplified by the principle of separation of powers, which is a key defining feature of the presidential system of government. Here the three arms of government promote accountability by checking and balancing their respective powers. It is this form of accountability, for instance, that helped ensure that various American Presidents did not get away lightly with such misdemeanours as the Watergate scandal, the Monica Lewinsky affair or the Iran-Contra affair to cite a few examples. Horizontal accountability can, however, be effective in promoting responsible, prudent and productive governance only if the

Democracy and development

•Jonathan

•Madueke

practice of politics is rooted in a firm ethical base. An amoral situation, for instance, in which flagrant political infractions are settled as intra-party ‘family affairs’ rather than in accordance with law and due process undermines intra-governmental accountability. In a similar vein, a rigid separation of the sphere of the legal from that of the moral is ultimately detrimental to democracy’s capacity to promote development. Thus, in scandalously dismissing the alleged corruption charges against the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, and his deputy, for instance, the Federal High Court in Abuja held that morally repugnant actions ruinous of the public

good were nevertheless legally unimpeachable. This kind of decision creates fertile ground for the culture of impunity so corrosive of the goal of development to bloom. The second critical anchor of the concept of accountability is that of the vertical relationship between the government and the governed. This form of accountability manifests principally during elections in which the people have an opportunity to give a verdict on the performance of candidates and parties. We have rightly paid a great deal of attention to this dimension of accountability by pressing for electoral reforms to guarantee that the votes of the people count in elections. But it is my view that free and fair elections may not necessarily help achieve

—Tunji Adegboyega the desired objective of promoting development without the necessary attitudinal correlates on the part of the people. Without the requisite political awareness and consciousness, a perfectly free and fair election may still lead to the electoral triumph of a mediocre, incompetent and corrupt government. In the context of mass poverty, pervasive illiteracy and dysfunctional ethno-cultural and religious primordialism, the power of the vote is often exercised in a self-destructive manner with negative implications for development. Is this not really the story of the PDP’s continued electoral triumphalism since the commencement of this dispensation despite its appalling record in office? Striving to make sense of the PDP’s recent triumphs in Kogi and Adamawa states, this newspaper’s clinically rigorous columnist, Hardball, comes to the troubling conclusion that “The victory says a lot about Nigerians and their hidden masochism, and the brutal indifference of our leaders. It is either we are truly inured to punishment, given the way we embrace our tormentors, or the government is more perceptive than we give it credit”. I insist that these electoral victories of the PDP cannot be explained by factors like rigging or monetary inducement alone. There is ever so often also a baffling absence of rationality in our voting pattern such that people freely, fairly and enthusiastically vote a glaringly non-performing party back into office. Nowhere is this disturbing lack of political rationality more glaring than in the unfolding politics of Bayelsa State. So dismal was the performance of former Governor Timpre Sylva, President Goodluck Jonathan insists, that the former deserved to be thoroughly stoned by Bayelsans. Yet, the same President Jonathan had endorsed Sylva to fly the party’s flag had the elections held last April. Despite this public admission of the abject failure of the PDP in Bayelsa, the President still believes that the people will reward demonstrated incompetence at the polls by voting his anointed candidate, Seriake Dickson of the same non-performing party! Of course such lackadaisical complacency and utter contempt for Nigerians by the PDP can be excused. After all, following a hardly distinguished performance as Bayelsa State Governor that deserved merciless electoral stoning and permanent retirement from public life, President Jonathan was rewarded with Nigeria’s vice presidency and ultimately the apex political authority he wields today. It is only natural for the beneficiary of such obviously undeserved political elevation devoid of merit to believe that Nigerians have embraced a life-long political matrimony with mediocrity. •Continued on Page 59

Ade Ojeikere on Saturday talk2adeojeikere@yahoo.com

Will Zambia be free? T

HE dream final game in most football com petitions never happens because it is al ways a sentimental choice. For the Zambians, Sunday’s final is a mixture of sadness and joy. It is holding in a city that brought grieve to the world on April 27, 1993. But history has an uncanny way of repeating itself; how do you explain that the final is between a free-scoring Cote d’Ivoire and Zambia as it was 18 years ago when Nigeria beat the Zambians by a nail-biting 2-1 victory. What better venue can the Zambians crave to lift the Nations Cup diadem than Libreville, capital of Gabon where a generation of Zambian senior team players died in a plane crash? The 1993 Zambia national team air disaster occurred late in the evening of 27 April, 1993 when a Zambian Air Force Buffalo DHC-5D (reg: AF-319) ditched into the Atlantic Ocean, about 500 metres (547 yards) offshore from near Libreville, Gabon. The flight was carrying most of the Zambian national football team to a FIFA World Cup

Qualifier against Senegal in Dakar. All 25 passengers and five crew members died. A Gabonese official investigation into the accident concluded that the pilot had shut down the wrong engine after a fire. The investigation found that pilot fatigue and an instrument error had contributed to the accident. It’s been close to 18 years that Zambia played in the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations against Nigeria in 1994 in Tunisia, despite the crash, eight months earlier in Gabon. Only Kalusha Bwalya, the country’s biggest star, was spared as he was due to meet up with the rest of the squad in West Africa after travelling separately from his club side in Europe. His teammates never arrived. With Bwalya at the heart, Zambia rebuilt its team - almost overnight - and reached the final of the African Cup one year later on a wave of emotion. But the team lost to Nigeria and has never been to a title game at the continental championship since. “It means a lot. Everybody’s so happy to be where we are. It’s the boys who have done it. I think when we go to Libreville that we will get

emotional. I think there will be a reconnect between the new team and the old team and, hopefully, we can end it well on Sunday,’’ said Bwalya, who is now president of the Zambian Football Federation. “This is the moment. This is the final. The tears will be dropping from the fans when they watch the final. When we step on the field, we have to do everything we can to get this cup,” Captain Christopher Katongo said. The Zambians have a target- win the trophy for our departed heroes. They visited the crash scene before the Ghanaian game on Wednesday and delivered the soccer punch. On the field, they have played as a unit. They work for one another. They may not have the Ivoriens’ reputation but they know how to take the few goal-scoring chances that they create. If they score first, then the Ivoriens would be in big trouble because they have shown resilience in keeping leads in significant matches. A few have described the Ivoriens as favourites; others feel that the team is a oneman army-Didier Drogba. No one is talking about the upsets that cup games hold. The Zam-

bians will be very dangerous. They are underrated and have no pressure on them. But their coach, Renard, has been through Africa and has the template of most countries. Renard holds the key to the Zambians’ surprise package and the Ivoiriens had better watch out, lest they fall prey like the Ghanaians did in the first semi-final game. “We are not the favourite one more time,’’ Renard said, “but it will be very difficult to beat us. ... We know we are playing against a very good team, a strong team, but sometimes football is psychology, the mental state, and our mental state is very high.’’ Ordinarily, this tie should be a no-contest, given the armada of stars in the Ivorien side. But names don’t play soccer. What counts in this high profile tie rests with the team that effectively utilises its goal-scoring chances. Pundits hinge their permutations on experience. For me, this is the reason why it never happens. Experiences in soccer are lessons from a failed past, hence they melt away like icecream in the sun when reality beckons. No two settings are the same. A Zambia win will be a soothing balm for the pain of April 27, 1993. But the players must work their socks wet by competing for the ball all through the 90 minutes and take their

•Continued on Page 59

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