The Nation January 07,2012

ENGLISH FA CUP THIRD ROUND

30 die in Kogi trailer crash

Aiyegbeni Pg battles Ameobi 26

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Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

VOL.05 N0. 1998

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

Jonathan, governors insist on subsidy removal 4

N150.00

Subsidy:

ACN governors meet today Page 2

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Reps hold emergency session tomorrow

...reel out palliatives

Boko Haram kills 35 in Adamawa, Gombe Eight shot dead at Deeper Life Church 3 Five felled in hotel, 22 at victim’s residence Page

Govt’s move against Labour backfires Hired youths shun anti-NLC protest Industrial Court stops Monday strike It’s black market injunction -NLC

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Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

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arely a week after the Federal Government declared a state of emergency in 15 of their enclaves, members of the militant Boko Haram sect struck on Thursday night and in the early hours of Friday in Mubi, Adamawa State, killing no fewer than 27 people.

Most of the victims, including a commercial bank manager, were said to have come from the southern part of the country.

According to investigation, the sect members invaded Godwill Hotel in Mubi with guns on Thursday night and shot most of its occupants, leaving five dead instantly.

See story on Page 3

2 NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

Subsidy: ACN governors meet today to take a position •Reps hold emergency session tomorrow Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

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•Nigerians in the United Kingdom protesting the removal of fuel subsidy in London... yesterday

Govt’s move against Labour backfires •Hired youths shun anti-NLC protest •Industrial Court stops Monday strike •It is black market injunction, says NLC

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HE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday condemned the invasion of its Secretariat, Labour House, Abuja by youths right under the noses of the police.

According to the Acting General Secretary of the Congress, Comrade Owei Lakemfa, “the youths numbering about 70, who were hired by government agents, later apologised for their action, claiming that they were not told they were being brought to the NLC. “They revealed that they were promised N1,000 each to carry out the invasion. Subsequently, they forced the agents that brought them to pay the N1,000 fee right in the presence of the cameras.”

NLC further noted that the aim of the invasion was to cause a fracas and claim that workers are divided over the issue of fuel price increase.

The statement reads in part: “It is instructive that while the invasion was on, the FCT Police Command ignored calls

by NLC officials to come and escort the thugs out of the Labour premises. Also, the heavily armed security men who had cordoned off part of the NTA Link Road where Labour House is situated, did nothing to stop the invaders.

“The NLC views this incident as another desperate attempt by the increasingly isolated and unpopular Jonathan administration to stop the mass movement against its insensitive and ridiculous fuel price increases of between 120220 per cent.

“As part of its desperate moves to abort the people’s mass protests and intimidate Nigerians, the Presidency this morning turned out heavily armed units of the Presidential guards. The troops blocked roads, cordoned off parts of the city, harrassed and frisked passersby.

“We condemn this “show of force” designed to intimidate peace-loving Nigerians. The NLC also condemns this misuse of the army and warn that the police and armed forces are citizens like the rest of us who are equally affected by the negative impacts of the fuel price hike, and should therefore not be taken for granted.

“The Labour Movement specifically asks Abuja resi-

John OFIKHENUA, Abuja and Dupe OLAOYEOSINKOLU From Kamarudeen OGUNDELE, Abuja dents to hold demonstrations in various parts of the city and its surburbs, and march to the city centre by 8 am from Monday 9th January, 2012.

“Fraudulent text messages were sent around this morning, claiming that government had reverted PMS (petrol) price to N65 and that on the strength of this, Labour had called off the general strike, rallies and mass protests which commence on Monday 9th January, 2012. Another text message claims that the strike and commencement dates have been shifted. There is no truth in these claims.

“The NLC informs Nigerians that on this issue of strikes and protests, only statements or messages from the Labour Movement should be taken as authentic.

“We reiterate that the right of Nigerians to peaceful assembly and protest is a fundamental one which no government can abridge. The NLC will work with the patriotic Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to bring those who brutalise Nigerians and their bosses who issue the orders to justice.”

The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, could not be immediately reached for comments.

The Assistant Director of Press in the ministry, Mr. Solomon Olowookere, who spoke to our reporter, said the ministry knew nothing about it. ‘’I know nothing about it. As you are speaking to me, I’m not even in Abuja,’’ he said on the telephone.

In a related development, the National Industrial Court (NIC) yesterday restrained the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) from embarking on the indefinite strike planned for Monday.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Muhammad Bello Adoke (SAN), had gone behind the labour unions to get the court injunction.

The three-member panel of Justices, chaired by the President of the NIC, Justice Babatunde Adejumo, granted the exparte application filed

by the minister and moved by Matthew Echo.

The motion was brought pursuant to Order 11 Rules 1& 2 of the National Industrial Court Rules 2007, Section 19 of the National Industrial Court Act 2006, Section 254C (1c) of the 1999 Constitution and under the inherent jurisdiction of the court.

The order was granted after the Minister undertook to indemnify NLC and TUC in the event that the motion exparte is later ascertained by the Court as one which ought not to have been granted.

Other members of the panel are Justices Benedict Kanyip and Maureen Esowe.

Ruling on the application, the panel said it was mindful of the decision of the Court of Appeal in Oshiomhole V. Federal Government delivered in 2007, which stated conditions under which industrial strike could be stopped.

Taking a cue from the above decision, the panel granted reliefs 1, 4 and 5 as follows: *An order restraining the Defendants from embarking or compelling other persons to embark on a strike action or general strikes, mass rallies and street protests across Nigeria pending the determination of the Motion on Notice. *An order restraining the Defendants from embarking and/or inciting the general public to embark on and/or incite the Nigerian citizenry and the general public to embark on general strike, street protests, mass rallies or any other action that would be inimical to the economic affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, pending the determination of the Motion on Notice.

•An order granting leave to the Claimant/Applicant to serve the NLC and TUC with the originating processes in this matter vide substituted means to-wit by publication in national dailies……

Justice Adejumo, however, struck out two reliefs sought by the AGF. They are: "An order restraining the Defendants from interfering with the exercise of the constitutional powers of the executive arm of the Federal Government of Nigeria in the allocation and use of the scarce resources of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including but not limited to the transfer

of resources previously allocated to the subsidy of premium motor spirit (PMS), among others, for the medium and long term socio-economic benefit of present and future generations of Nigerians.

"An order restraining the Defendants from interfering in any way with the executive implementation (in ways and means) of the 2012 Appropriation Act and other connected duties of the Executive Arm of the Federal Government of Nigeria in the management of the economic affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.’’

Justice Asejumo said the court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the issues raised by the claimant/applicant.

The case was adjourned till January 12 for hearing of the motion on notice.

In a 30-paragraph affidavit of urgency deposed to by Mr. Yusuf Mok, an assistant director, Civil Litigation in the Ministry of Justice, the AGF averred : *That the Defendants' call for general strike was made without any formal declaration of a dispute right relating to labour relations or employee rights.

•That prior to the Defendants' call for strike action or general strike, mass rallies and street protests across Nigeria, there was no reference of any dispite by the Defendants to Arbitration. *That the Defendants Joint Communique dated 4th January, 2012, calling for indefinite general strike, mass rallies and street protests be held across the country with effect from Monday 9th January, 2012 was made to the general Nigerian public over and beyond their respective members.

•That the Defendants, by their Joint Communique dated 4th January, 2012 threatened that from Monday, 9 January 2012, all offices, oil production centres, air and sea ports, fuel stations, markets, banks, amongst others will be shut down. *That the removal of subsidy is not a dispute of right of the defendants or their members adding that the defendants did not also raise any dispute arising from a collective and fundamental breach of contract employment on their part, among others.’’

Continued on Page 4

ESPITE President Goodluck Jonathan’s rescue invitation to all the 36 state governors to seek fresh support for the removal of fuel subsidy, the governors elected on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) may meet today to take a position.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that as part of their readiness to abide by the party’s position, some of the ACN governors boycotted an emergency session convened by President Goodluck Jonathan.

A source said: “Some of us are not going to the meeting at the Presidential Villa. We have our meeting in Lagos on Saturday.

“We will make our stand on the removal of subsidy known after the meeting.”

Although the Villa meeting was being held in House 7 as at the time of filing this report, the source claimed that the ACN governors may adopt the position of the party on fuel subsidy.

The party had in a position paper submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan, signed by its National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, demanded open public hearings on how fuel subsidy has been implemented.

It also called for the enactment of a law on safety net programmes which removed subsidy will be channelled into if the government has no alternative.

The ACN also asked the President to also come up with ideas on how to transform the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in discussing the oil subsidy with the public.

The ACN memo reads in part: “Perhaps the most sensitive issue confronting us presently is the planned fuel subsidy removal. The proposed removal apparently is aimed at checking corruption in the downstream sector. However, the subsidy is popular. Most Nigerians consider it an integral part of the social contract between government and the people. They sense government will remove the subsidy but fail to replace it with alternative relief. They sense greater darkness at the end of this tunnel.

“Prior to taking such a drastic step on a key issue, government should have engaged in broad and open dialogue with important political and civil society constituencies. This requires open public hearings providing complete and full disclosure of how the subsidy has been implemented and which will give the public a chance to offer solutions.

“If it becomes apparent that the subsidy has outlasted its usefulness, the government should further dialogue with the public to determine those alternatives, people oriented programmes to which the funds will be re-allocated.

“These programmes should be enacted into law prior to terminating the subsidy. Such programmes as public mass transportation, massive investment in tertiary educational institutions, agricultural reforms, school feeding programme, subsidised health care and national water project. Fast track the construction of the single gauge rail system for haulage of goods that will ease the wear on the roads. As part of the agricultural reforms, fertilizer importation should be prohibited and funds saved should be used to stimulate agricultural production, ensure minimum price guarantee and establish a school feeding programme.

“NNPC is too corrupt an organisation. In discussing the oil subsidy with the public, the President should also discuss transforming NNPC into a semi-public corporation. Brazil ’s Petrobas was once a corrupt, inefficient company. Once it became a publicly traded corporation, the company was transformed. It is now one of the largest, most productive energy companies in the world.”

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has summoned an emergency session for tomorrow in Abuja.

I stand by NBA’s position on Judicial Reform, says Akeredolu

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ORMER President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), has restated the reason why he failed to sign the report of the Judicial Reform Panel. According to him, his position is in line with that of the NBA. He expressed his view in a statement issued in Lagos. The statement reads: “I read the interview credited to Chief Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, in The Guardian newspaper of 3rd January, 2012, in which he claimed that I agreed with the decision of the Judicial Reform Panel. I disagree with his assertion and any interpretative nuance it suggests.

“I state without equivocation that I made myself clear at the Panel as regards my position when I stated that the two opposing views on the issue of the participation of a serving Judex on the National Judicial Council (NJC) be reflected in the report.

“I recollect that I went further to assert that neither the Panel nor the Chief Justice of Nigeria would have the final say on a matter which necessarily requires constitutional amendment.

I also stated that some of us who expressed strong views would have no option but to canvass our position at the National Assembly and lobby for support if that would at least ensure that our position was deliberated upon.

“This argument, I recollect, drew the ire of some members of the panel.

“The above being my position, I remain convinced that I would be wrong to append my signature to the report of the Judicial Reform Panel, having expressed strong opposition to the conclusion on the membership of NJC. “The President of the NBA, who presented the position of our Association withheld his signature for the same reason.

“I stand by the position of the Nigerian BarAssociation as stated by the President.”

NEWS 3

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

30 die in Kogi trailer crash

THE NATION, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011

Mohammed BASHIR, Lokoja

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•Governor Kayode Fayemi, of Ekiti State after test-running one of the newly commissioned mass transit buses as part of the state government's palliatives to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy in Ado-Ekiti... yesterday

Boko Haram strikes in Adamawa, kills 27 persons B

ARELY a week after the Federal Government declared a state of emergency in 15 of their enclaves, members of the militant Boko Haram sect struck on Thursday night and in the early hours of Friday in Mubi, Adamawa State, killing no fewer than 27 people.

Most of the victims, including a commercial bank manager, were said to have come from the southern part of the country.

According to investigation, the sect members invaded Godwill Hotel in Mubi with guns on Thursday night and shot most of its occupants, leaving five dead instantly.

The invasion, however, left many people injured, leading to pandemonium in the town.

It was learnt that the death toll increased the following day when the same gunmen, numbering more than 20, opened fire at sympathisers who had gathered at the home of one of the five people that were killed earlier.

The attack on the mourners was said to have left about 22 people dead and more than 40 injured.

A source said: “The serial attacks occurred in Mubi North Local Government Area, and most of those affected people were Southerners.

“The rampaging gunmen, who invaded Mubi, were suspected to be Boko Haram members from some local government areas in Borno and Yobe states.

“We suspect that they were fleeing Boko Haram members who had been affected by the emergency rule in their local governments.

Responding to a question, the source added: “There is no doubt that there has been exodus of Southerners from Mubi, following fears of reprisals.”

A member of the House of Representatives from Adamawa State, who spoke in confidence, said: “So far, about 16 people have been confirmed killed, but we are still taking stock of the situation.

But many people were seriously wounded.

“I will certainly keep you posted when the toll figure is clearer.

However, the Commissioner of Police in Adamawa State, Mr. Shinaba Adenrele, said only 12 people were

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Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

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killed in the attacks by people he suspected to be hired assassins, insisting that the massacre had nothing to do with the Boko Haram sect.

Of the 12 victims, he said, 11 were Igbo while the remaining one was a Yoruba.

The Police Commissioner, who spoke exclusively with The Nation from the mortuary in Mubi, also gave details of how the victims were killed.

He said: "From what we are seeing at the mortuary, it looks like a kind of assassination. I do not think it was an invasion by Boko Haram.

"What happened is that on Thursday night, an Igbo man and a Yoruba man were drinking in a hotel. These gun men came and killed the two friends.

"On Friday morning, some Igbo men were in the compound of the killed Igbo man to meet on the situation and burial plan.

Vincent EKHORAGBON, Gombe

cordance with His (God) words.

He said they were supposed to pay a courtesy visit on Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo today to pray with him and the success of his government when they were suddenly confronted with the shocking development.

Rev. Kalla remarked that everyone was in confusion and anything done in confusion would never be done well, noting that security operatives themselves, who are supposed to be protecting people are even under attack.

In the same vein, the Acting Grand Khadi of the state, Alhaji Usman Baba Liman, at the Friday's Jumma'at prayer, urged Muslims to pray that God would reveal the people behind the dastardly act.

He affirmed that Islam is a religion of peace which emphasise the need for adherents to leave peacefully with their neighbours, saying this should be the guiding principle of every Muslim The Grand Khadi therefore stated that those who perpetrated the act as well as all the others are not true Muslims.

Contacted for comment, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Ahmed Mohammed did not pick his call or respond to a text message that was sent to his phone.

When our correspondent visited the scene at about 8 am yesterday, security operatives were absent while empty shells littered the premises.

"As they were meeting, the gunmen came and opened fire on them. Of the 12 people killed, nine of them were from Adazino in Aniocha Local

Government Area Anambra State.”

of

Continued on Page 4

...sect claims responsibility for attacks Duku JOEL, Damaturu

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FG’ll spend N478bn on subsidy palliatives in 2012, says Okonjo-Iweala Nduka CHIEJINA (Assistant Editor)

... eight shot dead, 19 injured at Gombe Deeper Life Church ALPABLE tension in Gombe State gave way to bloodbath on Thursday evening as unidentified gunmen killed eight and injured 19 when they opened fire on worshippers at the BCGA Quarters branch of Deeper Life Bible Church in the Gombe metropolis.

According to sources, the gunmen numbering three approached the church at about 7:30 pm while unsuspecting worshippers were in an evening service session and opened fire from the windows.

It was gathered that five people later died at the Federal Medical Centre and three at the Specialist Hospital both in Gombe metropolis where they were receiving treatment.

Sources in the neighbourhood said the gunmen, after unleashing mayhem on the church, ran into the streets and their direction or whereabouts could not be ascertained.

Commenting, the Chairman of the state’s chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend Abare Kalla, expressed grief over the incident, which he described as unfortunate.

The saddest aspect of the entire episode, according to the CAN Chairman, is that the victims were in the house of God and in the course of a service to Him. "They were not in a bear parlour, a social gathering or in the midst of one act of irresponsibility or the other," he noted.

He nevertheless called on the Christian community to remain calm and continually prayerful while they leave vengeance to God in ac-

O fewer than 30 people who were travelling from the southern part of the country to the North yesterday lost their lives in Okene, Kogi State after a fully loaded trailer nose-dived into a deep gully.

It was gathered that many of the travellers also sustained serious injuries in the accident that was said to have occurred when the fully loaded trailer suffered break failure and the driver lost control of it.

An eyewitness said the accident occurred at about 9 am at a sharpe bend around Obangede junction, close to a police station at Ogaminana in Adavi Local Government Area.

The source added that the vehicle’s brakes failed as soon as it got to the junction and it flung its passengers into the gully.

Some policemen and members of the Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC) were on were on hand to take the injured passengers to the hospital in Okene while the dead ones were evacuated to the mortuary of the specialist hospital in Obangede.

It was gathered that the passengers had left Onitsha, Anambra State and were heading to the North as a result of security problems that is presently rocking the country.

The Kogi State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr. Sunday Maku, said he was yet to receive any report from the Ogori Unit Command.

HE BokoHaram sect has claimed responsibility for the the separate attacks on Thursday and Friday in Mubi and Gombe in Adamawa and Gombe states, during which about 35 people were killed and scores of others seriously injured.

The spokesman of the sect, Abul-Qaqa, who spoke with journalists on the phone from Maiduguri, said: “We are extending our frontiers to other places in order to show that the declaration of state of emergency by the Nigerian federal government will not deter us. The fact is that we can always change our tactics…we can really go to wherever we want to go.”

“For peace to return, the federal government must release all our brothers that have been incarcerated in various prisons.”

He stated further that the attack in Mubi, Adamawa State was part of the actualisation of the ultimatum earlier given to southerners to vacate Northern Nigeria.

“A group in the South threatened and started attacking northerners. The truth is that we would always confront whoever attacks our brothers,” Qaqa said.

ETERMINED to go ahead with the withdrawal of fuel subsidy, the federal government has disclosed that it will spend the sum of N478 billion this year to execute projects that will benefit from the fuel subsidy removal.

This was revealed by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, during a town hall meeting with staff of the ministry convened to discuss deregulation and the removal of petroleum subsidies.

The projects will be funded from the federal government portion of the savings from ending fuel subsidies, which is estimated to be about N478 billion in 2012.

She explained that "subsidy removal is, strictly speaking, not an accurate description, because what government is doing is subsidy reallocation into areas that will have the most impact on Nigerians and the future generations.

The federal government is considering such projects as "the construction, completion and rehabilitation of rail, refineries, key federal highways, hydro stations, information technology and water.

In addition, the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE) under which the projects will be executed will also provide for the implementation of short term social welfare programmes to alleviate the impact of subsidy removal on Nigerians.

The social welfare programmes, she disclosed, "will include mass transit, public works including training in artisanship for unskilled youth and social services to reduce high maternal and infant mortality rates."

The minister told the staff that she decided to speak to them because the ministry is ‘’a front line one and charity should begin at home."

Acknowledging the harsh impact of the removal of subsidy on Nigerians, especially on food and transport costs as well as school fees, she said: "Government feels the pain of Nigerians but sincerely believes that it is in the best interest of the country to take the decision."

She said the plan to introduce 1,600 buses into the country's transportation sector as well as other measures being taken on mass transit were designed to ameliorate the impact in the short term, while assuring that the current high prices will not endure.

Okonjo-Iweala added that the appointment of the Kolade Committee of eminent Nigerians to oversee the projects under the SURE programme was meant to boost public confidence in the process and assure Nigerians that "this will not be business as usual."

Police permit for protests unconstitutional -CD

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HE Campaign for Democracy (CD) has condemned the request for a police permit before holding a rally, saying it is illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.

Even the public order act which stipulates that a permit be obtained before holding any rally has been declared illegal to the extent that it violates the right of the people to freedom of association and assembly, the group noted in a release signed by its President, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin.

A similar provision, it noted, had been held to be unconstitutional even by the courts in Ghana.

The statement added: ‘’It is our contention that there cannot be democracy where freedom of assembly is being trampled upon. We therefore call on the Police to limit itself to its constitutionally prescribed role of maintaining peace, order and not allow itself to engage in wanton violations of the rights of millions of Nigerians. ‘’The Nigerian people have a right to protest against unpopular policies and such a right is not conditional upon obtaining any permit from any security agency, including the Police. ‘’We appeal to the people themselves to be more conscious and aware of their rights and begin to enforce them. ‘’It is time to drop the culture of passivity and indifference that has made rulers engage in impunity. ‘’Rulers on their own will not easily respect the rights of the people except the people themselves begin to insist on them. ‘’Finally, resulting to black market injunction to stop Labour from embarking on the just struggle of the oppressed people will fail.’’

4 NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

Jonathan, governors insist on subsidy removal

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan and governors rose from a meeting last night with an agreement to go ahead with the removal of fuel subsidy.

They, however, decided on some palliative measures to cushion the effects of the removal.

Such measures include engaging private transporters with infrastructure to run intra and inter state mass transit scheme.

They also agreed to focus on job

Vincent IKUOMOLA, Abuja

and wealth creation through revitalising and mechanising agriculture which will assist the country in food security.

The chairman of the Governors’ Forum, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, who briefed reporters after the meeting, said that the deregulation policy had come to stay, adding that they would collectively work to

...reel out palliatives cushion the effects and apply the proceeds in the interest of the people.

“The governors agreed with the President that we are going to carry on with the removal of subsidy. Yes, there are crises and we observe that people are demonstrating about it, but this is a sacrifice we have to make as a country to ensure that the

Continued from Page 3

oil industry is deregulated so that we can save money for other developments.

“If we need to create employment, then, you must be able to focus on agriculture, education and others. We are trying to save money in that regard. What we at the state level feel is that Nigeria should be able to ask the states and Federal Government what accrue and what they intend to do with the savings from fuel subsidy.

“Well, we looked at mass transit because that is the first place oil subsidy has affected tremendously because the cost of transportation has sky-rocketed and we are looking at the possibility of ensuring that both the federal and state governments get private operators to operate mass transit vehicles.

“Government intervenes with the cost but not in terms of subsidy but in terms of the fact that we can guarantee loans that th operators can take from the banks so they can provide transport for the people”, Amaechi explained.

Govt’s move against Labour backfires Continued from Page 2

•Matthew Ndik (centre) at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (Story on Page 59).

...CNPP, others join forces against President

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S the nation is set to witness a mass labour strike from January 9 to protest the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government, the Conference of NigeriaPolitical Parties (CNPP) is mobilizing all zonal executive members to liaise with other major stakeholders to support the call for the impeachment of President Goodluck Jonathan from office, if the federal government should refuse to reverse the pump price of fuel to N65.

Following the heat attending the removal of the fuel subsidy, the South West CNPP, in a statement in Lagos, called on all zonal executive members of the group to liase

with all opposition groups like civil society organizations, labour, professional bodies, NANS, formal and informal trade groups to form a Joint Action Council (JAC) to mobilize Nigerians to begin the process to recall PDP legislators from their zones, if they should refuse to heed the call for the impeachment of the President within seven days.

In a statement jointly signed by its Chairman, Alhaji Yinka Olona, and Secretary General, Oloye Gboyega Adeniji, the CNPP said its suggestion was a more democratic way of removing an insensitive government and its resolve to defend the institution of democracy

before it is dismantled by those it described as enemies of the people.

The CNPP described the increase in the price of petrol by about 120 per cent under the guise of subsidy removal as an insult on the injury of Nigerians which can only compound our security problems with serious economic hardships on the people.

The CNPP South West recalled that the zone did not vote for the PDP in the last election due to its conviction that the party can not take Nigeria to the Promised Land.

The CNPP called on all Nigerians to be law-abiding during the period of the strike.

...Amosun to ease transportation difficulties

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GUN State government has disclosed that it would in ject 110 buses into the transportation sector in the interest of the masses.

The state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, disclosed this in Abeokuta, while receiving the state Executive Council of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Ogun State chapter in his office.

Senator Amosun said the intervention, which should operate on the intra and inter basis, was aimed at cushioning transportation dif-

ficulties occasioned by the current removal of fuel subsidy.

He maintained that the present administration was sensitive to the plight of the masses and would do everything within its constitutional power to alleviate their sufferings.

While commending the labour movement for their maturity immediately the removal of fuel subsidy was announced, Senator Amosun charged them to be peaceful in their planned protests and avoid violence.

The governor urged them to

protect governmental property, stressing that they should not allow their protests to be hijacked by hoodlums.

He assured them that the security operatives would not molest or harass them during their protests but restated the need for everyone to work within the ambit of the law.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the NLC, Comrade Akeem Ambali, informed the governor that the proposed strike was not against the state government but Federal Government.

Police committee issues security alert to members

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S tension keeps mounting in the land, the Police Assis tance Committee (PAC) has called on all its states zonal and local government coordinators nationwide to evolve better strategies through which they can disseminate useful information that could assist the police, the SSS and other security agencies to douse security tension in the country.

In a statement issued in Lagos, the Director-General of the PAC, Prophet Martins Oni, stated that “what the nation and the entire

world are witnessing tension-wise at this period are signs of end time, and as such what could save the situation is for all of us to have the fear of God in all our undertakings.”

Adducing that God loves Nigeria, so much and would never allow the security tension to overwhelm us, Prophet Oni strongly appealed to the PAC coordinators to have the fear of God in their minds in the discharge of their functions to keep gathering useful information and intelligence to as-

sist security agencies in the country in their efforts to control the level of crime in the country.

While commending the effort of the inspector general of police, the director-general state security service (SSS) and other security chiefs for their ability to contain the security tension in the country, Prophet Oni re-assured them of the readiness of PAC members tokeep evolving fresh strategies and ideas to assist security operatives in theirbid to prevent and combat crime in the country.

Boko Haram strikes

Reacting to the restraining order of court yesterday, the NLC asked members of the public to ignore what it called a black market injunction.

The congress said in a statement signed by its Acting General Secretary, Owei Lakemfa: ‘’There are rumours circulating that the desperate Jonathan administration has purchased a black market injunction possibly from the National Industrial Court (NIC).

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is not aware of any such injunction. We were not served any paper of court appearance. We were not present in court nor were we represented in any capacity.

Also, the NLC was not served any court summons nor were we served any court order. ‘’The cretins in the Jonathan administration imagine that by seeking to drag the judiciary in the mud, they can avert the general strike, rallies and mass protests that will begin on Monday 9 th January, 2012. They cannot make the simple analysis that the whole populace is angry and that Nigerians do not need any group to ask them to protest an evil policy that seeks to impoverish them. ‘’The NLC asks Nigerians to ignore this childish ploy and rumour. There is no going back on next week’s protests and shutdown. ‘’The issue of the strikes and protests against an obnoxious policy is not an industrial relations one; it is not between an employer and an employee. Rather, it is one between the Nigerian people versus the Jonathan government. ‘’So, if the issue was taken before the National Industrial Court, then it is the wrong place to shop for a black market injunction. To obtain an injunction from a court that has no competent jurisdiction is to try playing ping pong with the judiciary. ‘’Labour reiterates that the constitutional and fundamental right of Nigerians to protest cannot be annulled. ‘’The NLC asks Nigerians to ignore such rumours. The strikes, mass rallies and protests will go on as scheduled. The NLC advises the Jonathan administration to listen to the people or face their justifiable wrath.’’

"We are looking at a possible theory of assassination. Definitely, it has nothing to do with Boko Haram.

The manner in which the gunmen took the battle further to the compound of the dead Igbo man made us to suspect assassination."

The Boko Haram sect yesterday issued a statement, claiming responsibility for the attacks as well as another one that was launched on a Deeper Life Church in Gombe, Gombe State, in which eight people were killed and 19 others were injured.

Governor swears in 20 perm secs

O

GUN State Governor, Sena tor Ibikunle Amosun, yester day swore in 20 permanent secretaries with a charge on them to redouble their efforts towards making the state great.

The governor also used the occasion to clarify why he endorsed the appointment of Mrs. Modupe Leshi as a Permanent Secretary, despite the fact that she would be bowing out of the employment of the state on Sunday.

He said he decided to give her "a parting gift" after he was reliably informed that "the woman is a diligent officer who never complains of spending long hours in the office."

"Honestly, I don't know her from anywhere, but I was told by many people that the woman is very diligent and a complete workaholic. Yes, she will be retiring on Sunday, but I think we should give it to her as a parting gift," Senator Amosun added.

Clerics, others condole with Lagos Chief Imam

M

UFTI of the Conference of Islamic Organisations (CIO) Sheikh Dhikrullahi Shafi’I; Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) Commissioner Hon Musbau Oyefeso; Chairman Lagos Island Local Government Prince Wasiu Eshinlokun; and Executive Director, Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation Imam Abdullahi Shuaib have condoled with the Chief Imam of Lagos, Sheikh Garuba Akinola Ibrahim, over the death of his wife, Alhaja Muhibat.

She died at the age of 63 during a brief illness.

Sheikh Shafi’I described Alhaja Ibrahim’s death as a great loss to the Muslim ummah in the country and Lagos in particular.

“Her role as the wife of the Muslim leader in Lagos, he said, would be missed.” Hon Oyefeso expressed surprise over the incident.

The electoral commissioner prayed Allah to forgive the deceased and give Sheikh Ibrahim the fortitude to bear the loss.

Pa Ogidi passes on

A

community leader and retired Senior Marine Engineer with the Federal Inland Waterways, Pa Edward C. Ogidi, 90, is dead.

He was a devoted member of the God’s Kingdom Society (GKS) where he served in several positions.

Pa. Ogidi hails from Ellu in the Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State.

He is survived by his wife, Charlottee, six children, 15 grandchildren, among whom are David, Joe, Yoleme, Ukureboh and Vereh Edo and Bro Emmanuel Ogidi, former Chairman, Delta State People Democratic Party, PDP, and former member representing Delta State on the board of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

More stories on Page 59

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7 2012

I

N modern Marketing, successful companies are those who anticipate the needs of their customers long before they are aware of it and make commercial capital out of it. Data mining consequently was a concept coined at the emergence of computer usage in marketing to reflect this.

This strategy ensures that companies make goods and services that consumers hanker after so that there is no need wasting money on storage or inventories and the company can with the limited resources at its disposal sell its products, increase profitability and laugh all the way to the bank.

Corporate leaders have gone therefore through the revolving doors of success and failure by the way they got their data right or wrong in anticipating consumer needs and preferences.

Today, I want to wonder aloud why politicians and leaders of the global political systems cannot adopt such a very easy and productive marketing strategy that has made such a huge marketing success of house hold companies like WalMart and Unilever and the reason for this should not be far fetched.

This is because the way the global financial melt down which began in 2008 and the much touted recovery from it have crippled governments all over the world especially in Europe, the US and Africa leaves one in no doubt that politicians and world leaders are running out of ideas in making ends meet in governance.

Subsequently they are creating more problems than they can solve for the electorate which in good faith, now with the benefit of hindsight turned sour and blind , have voted them into office to make their quality of life better. I say this with every sense of respect and responsibility because I do not believe that under any circumstances any electorate anywhere in the world will vote into office a government that has promised not to improve its quality of life but to make life a misery for the electorate on getting into office.

Which really seems to be the case in most of Europe nowadays and has led to the global demonstrations against bankers perceived to have brought economies to their knees with the connivance of politicians and world leaders. Which certainly and most unfortunately is the case in Nigeria where the government literally ambushed its own electorate by raising the price of fuel after promising negotiations and assuring last year through its spokesmen that it would not do any such thing till April this year.

And that can only mean that government and its agents are playing a game of revolving doors or abradacabra with the welfare and expectations of its people and in the process creating a veritable cesspool of mistrust and disbelief of its future utterances, intentions, policies and plans.

Which again is a potent recipe for a boiling polity and avoidable political stress and anarchy.

My intention today however is to adapt the data mining strategy for marketing that I mentioned earlier and

Leaders, economics and revolving doors

use it in an historical context to diagnose some of our nation’s problems and seek an innovative and pragmatic way out of the logjam that we created for ourselves, in full control of our senses, with successive governments since independence. The intention is to replicate the profitability attendant on the marketer’s innovative strategy of data mining which in political terms is meeting the promised expectation of the electorate rather than giving an unsuspecting electorate a kick in the ass.

I will illustrate with past issues in transportation, electricity, and last but not the least, the present fuel subsidy removal. Let me start by saying that Nigeria’s transportation history is one of bitter paradox and failure to realize a great potential.

Today, Nigeria has no airline or railways to be proud of, yet at the beginning it had both that were the pride of Africa. The story of the Nigeria Railway Corporation –NRC - will suffice here. To expand the NRC the government appointed a well respected businessman as its Chairman but the gentleman had other plans. He bought trailers to ply the routes and popular destinations of the NRC trains and made sure the trains were grounded. The trains in Nigeria have been grounded ever since and the trailers have taken over their routes and have pummeled our roads to a state of abject sub-

mission and disrepair.

Thus making road transportation the major means of mass transit in Nigeria and knocking the rails out of the competition to move people , goods and services nation wide .We have since invited the Indians, the Chinese–before they made it economically– to revive a comatose NRC but our rails remained clogged for transportation and mass movement or meaningful economic logistics .

The story and failure of electricity supply and the efforts to rectify the situation are another interesting saga in leadership and economic management in Nigeria . The Electricity Corporation of Nigeria – ECN – used to live up to its billing and mandate to the Nigerian masses. Indeed it was so popular and had a football club which had a large following.

The only snag the was that people expected some grudging blackout once the football team lost important matches such as the Challenge Cup in which ECN made an impact as a public utility company.

When the name was changed to NEPA and the blackout became more prominent fans started booing the team as Never Expect Power Always.

Now that the blackout is the order of the day and the name is PHCN I doubt if the Corporation can really field a soccer team without serious fear for the security of the team being

lynched by an irate public the corporation has left in total darkness through sheer non performance. Yet both the Nigerian masses and leaders know that without electricity our industries will die and unemployment will make life difficult for our people especially our youths.

One would therefore expect our leaders to put all hands on deck to ensure that we get electricity by all means. But two reactions from well placed Nigerians tell the attitude of politicians to this electricity malaise. A former Speaker in the National Assembly once asked his colleague what would happen to those selling generators if the nation’s electricity corporation got its acts right. The present Minister in charge of power was also reported to have said that getting sufficient power to run our cities and industries has nothing to do with those selling generators. Both reactions speak volumes about the mirage that constant supply of electricity has become in our society today.

Now to the vexed issue of fuel subsidy removal which is no more than a free market economy demand which has the mark of the World Bank written all over it and which is being consummated and executed in our midst by a former MD of an arm of the World Bank who has the absolute trust of the President of the republic. Nigerians have been asked to be ready to pay some

sacrifice and show understanding over the hardship of the subsidy. But our leaders could have shown some leadership by example by cutting their own salaries and fringe benefits which by all comparison are just out of this world in an environment like ours .

In Singapore it was reported that a committee appointed by government has recommended that the presidents salary be cut by 51% while that of the PM is reduced by 32% and the government has approved the recommendation to save costs.

To all the arguments that have been used to justify the fuel subsidy removal my retort is a simple analogy. Suppose a man who refuses to drive for several reasons buys a car to convey his children to school and hires a driver for that purpose. After some time the driver started taking taxi fares from the children and to add insult to injury even asked the father to give the taxi fare in advance as a form of subsidy. Compare that with our inability to refine crude and our unwillingness to make our refineries work and I bet you will struggle not to be annoyed.

Anyway, to me both the IMF and World Bank seem to have outlived their usefulness in terms of the high social costs and demands of their loans and that is very apparent in the nations where they have come to help as it were, with loans. Even if we forget the developing nations especially in Africa that have taken the IMF loans and have gone down the drain, what of the present riots and confusion in the eurozone over their loans and the attendant austerity measures leading to declining quality of life in those nations involved? Must we replicate that in Nigeria over this fuel subsidy conditionality?

Why can we not look elsewhere to get economic succor that will not entail high political instability and social tension costs, as seem inevitable from this IMF/World

Bank connection? Really our leaders should avoid the confusion of our traditional loan masters and be innovative for once by doing things differently in the interest of the welfare of the Nigeria masses that elected them and not that of cold market forces and statistics. Let me illustrate.

I read an article on the internet in which Dr Zhao Changui of the China Export Import Bank said gleefully that China has $3 trillion to be spent all over the world and even though China finds Latin America very attractive in this regard it is very ready to spend a lot in Asia and Africa. According to China’s EXIM statistics, in 2010 the World Bank agreed loans worth $11.4bn in 36 African nations while just one loan China’s Exim agreed with Ghana is worth $13bn. Their figures showed that while World Bank gave Cameroon $30m China gave $743m ; World Bank gave Republic of Congo $ 25.5m while China gave $75.8m; World Bank gave Ghana $313m while China gave $ 9.87 bn; World Bank gave Nigeria $890m while China gave $900m.

These figures are from the Chinese EXIM bank and that means that over all , Chinese exposure will be far more to Africa and the developing world . . But the Chinese don’t ask for crippling monitoring conditions like the IMF and World Bank. And even the prostrate and struggling economies of the eurozone which use to criticize China’s human rights record have gone a - begging to China to salvage their economies.

So why can’t Nigeria do the same before it is too late ? A stitch in time saves nine and it is better to have soft loans from the Chinese and put our heads above water than put all our eggs in one basket and sink like the PIGS of the eurozone reeling from socially debilitating austerity measures of the IMF and World Bank in the name of a free market economy.

10 COMMENTARY

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

Should we trust this President?

With

Vincent Akanmode 08077536312

vincentakanmode@yahoo.com

H

IS has been a classic instance of the instability of human dignity. After the love, the passion and the massive goodwill he enjoyed from the days preceding the 2001 general election into the early days of his administration as the elected president of Nigeria, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan would now only be as popular as the late Nigerian maximum ruler, General Sani Abacha. His undoing has been the lethargy with which he has handled the threat posed to the nation by the terrorist group that goes by the name of Boko Haram and lately, his decision to make good his threat to remove the subsidy on fuel in spite of public outcry against it.

In the days preceding his enthronement as the nation’s President, Jonathan had enjoyed fanatical support from the majority of Nigerians partly because of the circumstances that surrounded his emergence as President and partly because he hailed from the Niger Delta, the goose that lays the golden egg.

While his predecessor, Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, was in a coma in Saudi Arabia and Jonathan was engaged in a battle of his life by certain forces in government who were opposed to his being named the Acting President, many Nigerians saw him as the underdog and rooted for him until the National Assembly accorded him due recognition as Acting President. As fate would have it, Yar’Adua gave up the ghost and Jonathan naturally stepped into his shoes as the nation’s substantive President.

He completed Yar’Adua’s tenure and he was urged on by Nigerians who were still sympathetic to him to throw his hat in the ring when the contest for his party’s presidential candidate began. He did not only win the presidential primaries of the People’s Democratic Party by a landslide, he won the election proper with massive votes across the country. So fanatical did his supporters get that many of them began to rechristen their children Goodluck. Then came the Boko Haram and other threats to the nation’s security, but rather than rise to the occasion and act like the President in charge, he watched as the terrorists took control of one of the nation’s six geo-political zones, threatening on a daily bais to name their sponsors while the group embarked on a killing spree. Thousands of innocent lives have been dispatched into early graves since the group launched its first attack more than one year ago, with the United Nations building and the Force Headquarters in Abuja as well as police stations and churches in different parts of the country successfully bombed.

The latest in the series of bomb attacks occurred in Madalla, a vilage near Suleja, Niger State on the eve of Christmas when a Catholic church was bombed and scores of worshippers were dispatched into early graves. The nation was still mourning this great loss when the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) announced that government’s subsidy on fuel had been withdrawn. Given the mood that prevailed in the country, it was the last thing the people expected from a sensitive administration. Consequently, tempers have been flying across the nation as people protest against a policy that has shot the pump price of fuel from N65 to N140. Even before the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which is usually at the vanguard of such protests could take a decision, aggrieved Nigerians had taken to the streets, making bonfires and singing anti-Jonathan songs. Many who once

sang Jonathan’s praises have nothing now but curses. The man who enjoyed a massive goodwill in the build-up to last year’s presidential election has become the butt of public resentment.

The President and his loyalists in government have seized every opportunity to tell whoever would listen that the decision to withdraw government’s subsidy on premium motor spirit was well-intentioned.

The nation’s economy, they say, is sitting on a time bomb and we would only be postponing the doomsday, if the subsidy on fuel is not withdrawn now. And to prove that the withdrawal of subsidy is not intended to punish Nigerians, they have announced some palliative measures which they say are meant to cushion the harsh effects of the policy. One of such measures is the importation of 1,600 buses to augment the existing commercial buses and temper the astronomical rise in transport fares, which is bound to result from the new measure. The administration has also constituted a committee that would monitor the re-investment of the gains made from the withdrawal into the nation’s infrastructure.

Unfortunately, the people are not impressed. Once beaten, they say, twice shy.

Similar promises had been made by Jonathan’s predecessors, including Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo who increased the pump price of fuel a record 11 times while he held sway as President between 1999 and 2003, but they all ended up as empty promises.

Incidentally, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the arrow head of the new policy, was also the Minister of Finance during the Obasanjo administration. I suppose that the sum of $16 billion dollars the administration purportedly spent on electricity was a part of the money realised from increased fuel price.

But even the Aso Rock where the cheques were signed still has to depend on electricity.

The starting point should have been to identify the cabal in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other government agencies that has been feeding

How about a breath of fresh air?

R

EACTING to last Saturday’s piece titled ‘Our bloody Christmas of body bags’, an esteemed reader accused Knucklehead of a culture of crucifying President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan whenever things go awry in the system. He assumed that, out of perceived bias, this writer lacks the gut to say the truth and expose the antics of those making the country ungovernable for our amiable President. The reader, Kedi, writes: “It saddens me each time I read these articles of yours crucifying Mr. President for crimes perpetrated by evil minds. When 9/11 happened in America, the whole nation stood by their president because they have minds that are not biased; because they had guts to tell the truth when the need arose. Before the election, some persons promised this president the country would be ungovernable if he won and they have kept faith with that promise. Instead of exposing their antics, you have given them the opportunity to live their dream. I hope that, by the time the North produces the next president, the country will not boil. If all glory belongs to God, this is the beginning of the end of Nigeria.”

I really don’t know whether this is about the North/ South dichotomy debacle or the dismemberment of Nigeria. However, I am aware that the Constitution is very clear about what the Nigerian state owes its citizens. Among others, it is to ensure the security and general well-being of the people. The radical Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo, captures it thus: “In any given situation, the primary function of government is to protect the weak from the powerful; to protect the defenceless many from the powerful few, to protect the poor from the manipulative tendencies of the rich.” The buck, as they say, stops at the President’s table and he has all the constitutional powers needed to exercise his authority towards fulfilling the citizens’ expectations.

Besides, is he not the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? In thrusting himself forward to serve as the nation’s Number One Citizen, the onus lies with Jonathan to prove himself worthy of being trusted with such responsibilities. By the way, queuing behind the President on whatever issue is never expected to be by compulsion. Neither should he be expected to acquire the trust of the people merely because of the exalted office he holds. Trust, like respect, is earned. Now, the question is: has Jonathan done enough to earn the trust of the mass of the people? I really can’t say.

But I plead guilty to Kedi’s allegation of expending too much energy crucifying the President when some persons expect all well-meaning Nigerians to stand by him, no matter how bad things have become. It is called blind trust.

Somewhere in-between is the hidden truth. Today, the nation is in a quandary, buffeted with different kinds of crisis.

The crying reality is that most people are content with shying away from the real issues. What is killing us as a nation is our inability to confront and tell the truth to power. It is, in a sense, the worst kind of bias. Obviously, Knucklehead does not belong to that group.

Be that as it may, there is nothing wrong with inhaling

Jonathan’s breath of fresh air, which was one of his campaign slogans. In fact, we should all be reveling in its soothing balm after many years of callous despoliation of the collective wealth. Finally, after six months of fiddling with power and pondering what to do with it, the Jonathan persona is gradually unfolding. With the declaration of partial state of emergency in 15 local government areas spread across Borno, Yobe, Plateau and Niger states, we now know that someone has decided to take his job seriously. Of course, the decision might not be as far-reaching as one would have expected, but it is, nonetheless, a breath of fresh air from the benumbing paralysis of the past. It is also refreshing listening to the President justifying his seeming ‘slow’ approach in taking decisions. He said it was always a Herculean battle as he had to weigh all the options before arriving at the right decisions.

His words: “Leaders who bring pain on the people always end up badly. Leaders who think they are so powerful always end up badly and no leader will want to be reckoned with as one who brings pain to the people.”

Good talk. But can one really say that the President is applying this philosophy wisely in all matters of State)? Can one say that this principle played a major role in the haste with which his government announced the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit on January 1, 2012? Did the government put into proper perspective the pain and anguish the no-subsidy policy would inflict on the people? Was there an abuse of power in the manner the subsidy was removed or was the decision taken after due consultations with the people? These are the simple questions that come to mind as Nigerians groan under the yoke of yet another government’s policy that punishes them for the sins of a powerful few!

Sadly, when we take the government to task and challenge it to a robust debate in a democratic setting, some persons think we lack the gut to say it as it is. How else can one sensitize a government to get to grips with citizens’ realities and put its hands firmly on the plough? For the records, no one is under any illusion that transforming Nigeria would be a tea party. But of what benefit is a “transformation agenda” that leaves the assumed beneficiaries with shrunken cheeks and bloodied noses? In a situation where many Nigerians are still trying to make some sense out of an unending season of anomie, is it fair for the government to add more pains to their penury?

Like every other Nigerian, I crave for the breath of fresh air. I want to see an end to the carnage on our roads; the killings on the streets; the bombings and desecration of sacred altars of worship; the bitter squabbles for power and relevance; the blind looting of the treasury and the sheer impotence of governance. I want to see things done differently. I would love to see more firm and warm handshakes across the Niger; I would love to see more warm embraces that completely neutralise the demons of ethnic bigotry. And above all, I would love to nod my head with optimism when asked, like the filling station attendant did the other day, “Oga, how about a breath of fresh air?” I could only manage a wry smile as I was engaged in the harrowing process of

fat from the so-called subsidy at the expense of the larger society and make them to refund the ill-gotten sums. Only then would the government be perceived as sincere in its avowed mission to resuscitate the nation’s infrastructure. But I know that this will be difficult to do because it is either that many of the people that are taken decisions now are either members of the cabal or had enjoyed their financial support while they sought political offices. There is nothing as it were to guarantee that the new policy, like others before it, will not end up producing a few billionaires while the rest of the populace wallows in misery. We are faced with a situation where the cabal will continue to eat excess sugar while the hapless poor suffer dysentry.

If they are asking us to sacrifice additional N80 or more for a litre of petrol there are steps the government should have taken to convey their sincerity to the people. At the town hall debate on subsidy removal, the CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi, confessed that he could not remember the last time he dipped his hand in his pocket to pay for fuel.

“As government officials,” he said, “many of us just enter our vehicles and go.” The ideal thing the government should have done, if its claim of salvaging the economy must be taken seriously, is to announce a policy that would reduce the cost of governance by withdrawing most of the free luxury items enjoyed by senior government officials and public office holders. This way, charity would be seen to have begun from home and the people could think that perhaps for once, we have a government on a mission.

It is pretty difficult to understand the haste and desperation with which the new agenda is being pursued. While media reports indicated that the removal of subsidy on fuel would commence in April, Nigerians woke up to the news of its removal on January 1.

Workers, businessmen and employers of labour had thought that if the subsidy must

Continued on Page 56

Knucklehead With

Yomi Odunuga E-mail:yomi.odunuga @thenationonlineng.net SMS only: 07028006913 calculating how much more my fuel-economy car now guzzles.

It was at that point that a paragraph from Olusegun Adeniyi’s book, “Power, Politics and Death” made a sudden flash into my consciousness. In his introductory note to the book that captures the power play in the last days of the late President Yar’Adua, Adeniyi paints a vivid picture of the wastes that go on in the name of governance when he writes: “Engr. Hamman Tukur, Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, revealed that the total national wage bill for political office holders across the three tiers of government amounted to N1.3 trillion per annum, a sum more than twice the nation’s capital vote for any given year. That revelation threw up an immediate challenge: Can the president muster sufficient will and capacity to produce a winning formula for this hypothetical Nigerian rowing team?”

That question was meant for former president Umaru Yar’Adua in 2007. Five years on, Jonathan seems to have found a perfect answer. On the first day of a New Year, he decided to yank off a controversial N1.3 trillion fuel subsidy from the system. The market has gone haywire since then. Yet, this is about the same amount the few elites who constitute our political class disburse among themselves annually. No one is talking about cutting the cost of governance and downsizing the bloated system; no one is talking about bringing the corrupt elements in the oil industry to justice.

In case they don’t know how to go about it, Singapore, one of the world’s leading economies and the fifth least corrupt in the universe, just showed the way by making public its proposal to cut the salaries of all political appointees. Of course, the decision came after voters’ outcry against the outrageous paychecks being paid to these persons. In the new proposal, the President’s salary gets a 51 per cent cut to 1.54 million Singaporean dollars; Prime Minister’s annual salary by 36 per cent to 2.2 million Singaporean dollars;entry-level minister’s salary by 37 per cent to S$1.1 million, with a minister at the lower end of this entry-level grade starting with an annual pay of $935,000; Speaker’s annual salary by 53 per cent to S$550,000; the Deputy Speaker’s salary annual allowance by 15 per cent to S$82,500; MPs’ annual allowance by 3

Continued on Page 56

PEOPLE THE NATION, Saturday, JANUARY 7, 2012

Relat io

nship

11

‘We spy on people at banking halls to get their account numbers’

Soleminia Court without Cicero, 10 years after FEATURE/ 15

I can't remember the last time I visited hospital

-109-yr-old

Life & style 41

Crime/ 12

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12

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

Suspect who allegedly withdrew money from people’s accounts with fake cheques says

We spied on people at banking halls to get their account numbers Why is my case different when we have people at the top who collect billions of naira fraudulently and nobody is blinking an eye?

There are many of them. But I have collected only N2.1 million since I started this job.

What is the big deal about this small money? I intend to establish a workshop worth millions of naira

‘

‘

O

PERATIVES of the Special Fraud Unit (SFU), Ikoyi, Lagos, has arrested a 35year-old man, Rafiu Eniola, for allegedly going to many new generation banks in Lagos to withdraw money from other people’s accounts with fake cheques. Confessing his deeds while he was being paraded by the Commissioner of Police in charge of SFU, Eniola, who described himself as a bachelor and native of Ago Owu in Abeokuta, Ogun State, said he had dropped out of school during his first year in junior secondary and later learnt Computer Engineering at the Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos.

“I can repair any computer. I reside at No. 4, Adedoye Street, Gbogbo, Ikorodu, Lagos. I used to contact my clients on the phone. I used to charge between N2,000 and N4,000, depending on the type of computer I want to repair.

But I was not comfortable with N20,000 per week because I wanted real money to open a workshop at the Computer Village.

“If one is thinking of opening a workshop at the Computer Village, he or she must have at least N5,000,000. My dream was to get my own workshop, but all the efforts I made for my relations and friends to assist me failed. I was thinking of how to help myself when I met a friend called Agee at Idi-Araba, Lagos.

“My problem began when I met Agee. I narrated my problem to him and he told me that he would introduce me to a syndicate that would help me realise my dream.

He said I would be the one to choose the role I would play with the syndicate.

“My role was to present forged cheques to banks and withdraw money monthly from customers’ accounts. They used to give me N20 per cent of any sum I successfully withdrew.”

Eniola recalled that he used to operate with five different identity cards. “At the back of the cheque, they would write, ‘Pay with so and so identity card.’ I am not an armed robber and I did my work with two minds: if I succeed, I thanked God, if I am caught, I accept my fate. There is no work one does on earth without a risk.

“I have operated more than four times, and the highest money I withdrew was N130,000. I have withdrawn money from banks at Adeogun, Allen, Okota, Ilupeju and Agodi Ibadan.

“It is a game. I am not an armed robber. If I were an armed robber, I would have been with the state Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) Ikeja or at the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) Adeniji Adele, all in Lagos. I don’t carry a gun. Forged cheque is my gun.

“Why is my case different when we have people at the top who collect billions of naira fraudulently and nobody is blinking an eye?

There are many of them. But I have collected only N2.1 million since I started this job. What is the big deal about this small money?

Ebele BONIFACE I intend to establish a workshop worth millions of naira.

“As a Muslim, I pray five times a day. If anything happens to me, I will take it. But I won’t engage in armed robbery. I wanted to use the money to arrange my life.

“At the Computer Village, a shed costs millions of naira. I have to do something to make money.

Although it is not my main work, I have to do something to help myself. If I had one million naira, I will stop fraudulent acts. I know it is not a good job.”

Asked why he did not know where his chairman, Agee, was hiding, he said: “We used to see on the street at Idi-Araba, Lagos.

The chairman would not let me know where he resides for fear of going to his house with the police.

The man who used to give me the forged cheques is one Dayo.”

On how he got the account numbers of victims, he said: “My role is to go to the bank and present the cheque. How they get the account numbers is not my business. I had succeeded for four times, but I did not know how they got the account numbers.

“Even your wife or friend can

•Rafiu Eniola

disclose your account number to the syndicate. Some of us get account numbers from big bank customers when they go to the cashier to cash or deposit money. As they are filling the form, we peep through and record their account numbers in our brains.”

Explaining how he escaped from the State Criminal Investigation

Department (SCID), Panti, Lagos, after one of his arrests, Eniola said: “The Investigating Police Officer (IPO) asked me what I could do to free myself and my lawyer did the normal thing. It was a bailable offence. I was bailed and I continued the fraudulent job.

“I am not saying that using

forged cheques to withdraw money from the bank is legal, but I am bold to explain my role because I am not an armed robber. I was looking for money to help myself establish my own workshop at Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos. Shops are expensive there.”

The Public Relations Officer of the SFU, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Ngozi Isintume, said: “The Special Fraud Unit (SFU) at Milverton Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, arrested 35-year old male computer repairer, Rafiu Eniola, for fraudulent withdrawal of money from customers’ accounts at a new generation bank.

“Rafiu Eniola had on Thursday December 15, 2011, at the head office of the new generation bank at Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, attempted to withdraw the sum of N2.48 million from the account of Binte Worldwide International Limited, with a forged bank cheque No 61267882 dated December 14, 2011, using a driver’s licence with a false name, Semiu Adegoke.

Unknown to him, he had been placed on the watch list of the bank, following previous failed attempts.

“The Commissioner of Police in charge of SFU, CP Chinwike Asadu, who was alerted, promptly dispatched a team of detectives to the head office of the bank where Rafiu Eniola was picked up.”

Investigation revealed that Eniola had between July 2010 and September 2011, successfully withdrawn various sums of money totalling N423,000 from some customers’ accounts at the bank’s branches in Ilupeju, Allen, Okota and Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos before the bank placed him on the watch list.

He escaped arrest in September 2011 twice at Isolo and Okota, Lagos, where he attempted to cash cheques of N4.9 million and N385,000 respectively. Luck, however, ran out on him in October, 2011 when he was arrested at Agodi, Ibadan, while attempting to cash another forged cheque of N400, 000.

Eniola named one Dayo as the head of the syndicate and procurer of the forged bank cheques and drivers’ licences at Oluwole, Lagos. The driver’s licences had falsely borne such names as Semiu Adegoke, Sikiru Adesola and Azeez Adeniji. He claimed not to know Dayo’s house, saying that their meeting point was at IdiAraba, Lagos, where Dayo handed over the forged bank cheques and driver’s licences to him.

The Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit (SFU), CP Chinwike Asadu, called on account holders to cooperate with banks nationwide to secure their deposits against the activities of fraudsters like Eniola. He also enjoined other banks to place suspected persons on nationwide alert and promptly report them to the Police for arrest and prosecution.

13

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

A

Suspected leader of bank robbery gang hands self over to Police

•Says ‘I’m tired of life in hiding’

•Akintola Usman

Ebele BONIFACE banks in Old Oyo town. They came with seven long rifles, including police rifles, and Alhaji said I would join the gang. I agreed and followed the gang. They came with a bus and a Hilux car, which they had snatched to use for the robbery operation.

“At about 8.30 am, we drove to Old Oyo town.

Along Iwo Road, we snatched a car and moved to Old Oyo town proper and hid ourselves in the bush. We were in the bush around 9 am when our gang leader, Onyeugwu, sent four of us to the banks to survey the areas before we would strike. We came back and told them that we would strike around 10 am when the banks would open for business.

“At exactly 10 am, we entered the bank. Those with rifles fired in the air and the leader ordered everybody in the banking hall to lie down or be shot. Heavy shooting sent the members of staff and customers scampering for cover while my gang members were busy packing money.

They got more than N20million and returned to the bush. I was in one of the vehicles packed in the bush, the Hilux, when they came back.

We shared the money in the bush. Onyegwu our leader told me that he would send N200,000 into my account later. I followed them to escape from the bush. We drove to Ibafo and later to Mile 2, Lagos where we lodged in one hotel.

‘

“The following day, I went back to Ibadan. I later went to Ibadan North Local Government Council along Iwo Road to get a driver’s licence.

When I tendered my names and submitted my passport, they discovered that I was the one Police was looking for. The Police had described me as Deji, a small boy and an indigene of Ibadan who led the 21-man armed robbery gang that attacked two generation banks at Old Oyo town. Before they could alert the Police to arrest me, I ran away to Lagos and settled at the Road Network Trailer Company where I was working before I joined the gang to attack the two banks.

“Unfortunately, the Police used the address they found in the form I filled to procure a driver’s licence to trace me to the company.

When they came to the company, they saw me but decided to go and see the management before picking me up. I used the opportunity to run away before they could come to me. They did not see any sign that I would run away.

They miscalculated, to my advantage.

“From the company, I ran to Mile 2 and lodged in a hotel at Maza Maza (Lagos). One early morning, as I was listening to the news on radio, I heard that the Police were looking for one Oladimeji Akintola Usman, aged about 23, about five feet tall, black complexioned, speaks French, English and Yoruba fluently, and that anybody who saw him should help to apprehend him and get a handsome reward.

I then decided to go back to Nigeria and report myself to the Police. I said it was better for me to die in my country than to die in a foreign country. At least, my corpse will mix with the Nigerian soil whenever I die...

‘

SUSPECTED leader of a 21-man robbery gang, Oladimeji Akintola Usman, 23, declared wanted by the Police for allegedly leading a robbery operation in two of the new generation banks in Oyo town, Oyo State, has handed himself over to the police, saying he was tired of living in hiding.

Confessing his involvement in the robbery operation while he was being handed over to the officer in charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Lagos State Police Command, SP Abba Kyari, Oladimeji said: “I thank God I was brought here. I had been hearing of SARS. I am an armed robber. We were 21 in number who robbed two new generation banks in the old Oyo town in August 2010. It was a successful operation until the Police discovered that I was one of the gang members and declared me wanted. I went into hiding since 2010, though I heard that the Police in Lagos had arrested the gang’s leader and two other members.

“I was hiding from one town to the other until I got to Benin Republic. There in the Republic of Benin, life became worse for me as the International Police (INTERPOL) discovered that I was an armed robber who attacked banks.

They frustrated all my efforts to get work or do petty trading to sustain myself, because they saw me as a dangerous criminal.

“At a point, I found it difficult to feed. I could not get a permanent place to call my residence.

At times, I slept in front of a shop or any place I found convenient enough to rest my body till the following day.

“I decided to come back to Nigeria and hand myself over to the Police instead of allowing myself to rot away in the Republic of Benin. It is even better for me to die in my country than to die in a foreign country. I am so happy to return.”

On how the 21-man gang carried out their robbery operations, he said: “I will start from the genesis. I am the only son of my parents before they divorced. My father is Mr. Gbenga Akintola. My mother is Mrs. Adijat Akintola. I am their only son. My father sells tyres at Ketu Market in Lagos State.

“When my father remarried, he got four children from another wife, while my mother remarried and got three children for her new husband. I was on my own, with no parents to take care of me.

“With time, it affected my educational pursuit and I was forced to stop school at Senior Secondary Two due to financial problems. Nobody was talking about my feeding not to talk of paying my school fees. Hence, I dropped out at SS 2 to struggle on my own as my parents had abandoned me.

“That was the situation I found myself when one Alhaji, a trailer driver, approached me and told me to become his conductor. I accepted without knowing that he was an armed robber. His gang at times carried out bank robberies. Sometimes I would see him with some of his gang members discussing the success of some of their operations and how the gang used to cheat other members whenever he was sharing the loot.

“One day, the Alhaji said he would teach me how to drive without going to a driving school and even help me to get a driver’s licence if I remained loyal and trustworthy. He initiated me into the gang and warned me not to expose the activities of the gang to non-members. Each time they came back from an operation, Alhaji would give me between N30,000 and N50,000 to enjoy myself. I started sleeping with married women who gave me motherly care, which my divorcee mother could not give me.

“I left my school, Loyola College Ibadan, in 2008. The college is situated at Agodi Gate, Ibadan. It was my father who sent me to the Quranic school after divorcing my mother. It was my rapport with Alhaji as his motor boy that made me to drop out at SS II. Alhaji was living at Ojo area, while I lived at Gbagi area, both in Ibadan. He was also treating me like his son.

“Before I joined Alhaji, I had spent one year in the Quranic school in Ojo area where my father had sent me to learn Quran. I left the Quranic school when government closed the place and arrested the owner for using human parts to do rituals.

“In October 2010, the gang leader came from Lagos with other members of the gang to Ibadan to rob two new generation banks in the old Oyo town. I don’t know all their names, but I can remember about five of them, namely Alhaji (51), Onyengwu, who is the gang leader, (about 43), Obinna (about 33), Izuogu, very fat man of about 40 and Marvellous (35). Majority of them are Igbo.

“Alhaji and I were working in Road Network Trailer Company as driver and conductor respectively, but the criminal activities of the driver made us to concentrate more on crime.

“Some time in October 2010, Onyegwe came with his members from Lagos to Ibadan, for the purpose of robbing two new generation

They announced that the boy, Dimeji, was involved in bank robbery but ran away when they came after him at the company where he was working. The moment I heard that, I relocated to Seme border area same day, as people in Mile 2 had not known that I was the one.

“At Seme, I pretended to be a mobile shoemaker. One day, I got near a place that had a radio and listened. I heard again that the Magistrate was looking for me. I felt unsafe and crossed over to the Republic of Benin. There I met Nigerian policemen working under the INTERPOL and they recognised me as Deji, the bank robbery suspect declared wanted in Nigeria. They could not arrest me to deport me to Nigeria, as I did not pose serious problem. But they monitored me so much that I could not get a job, trade or accommodation.

“I was living on the streets, begging for food and sleeping on the ground. The Beninois were calling me names like Banfole (bank robber) enri pa travel (you are not working), Faci faci (go away). I became fed up with this insultive treatment.

“One day, I went straight to see the President of the Republic of Benin, Mr. Boniyayi, whose house is along the road. When I met his guards, I knelt down and told them that I wanted to see the President to tell him my problem. They drove me away, calling me banfole (Bank thief).

That was on Christmas Day, December 25, 2011.

“I then decided to go back to Nigeria and report myself to the Police. I said it was better for me to die in my country than to die in a foreign country. At least, my corpse will mix with the Nigerian soil whenever I die. That day was Sunday, and I slept at Sango in Benin Republic.

“On Monday December 26, I moved down to the border and entered the immigration office and explained my mission to go back to Nigeria and see the magistrate who was looking for me. I told the immigration officers that I was the robbery suspect declared wanted and I had come back to answer to my charges.

“They were surprised and excited. They contacted the Seme Police Division immediately.

Policemen from the division came and whisked me away. On Tuesday December 27, 2011, they transferred me to SARS.” Asked whether he contacted his father when he was declared wanted, he said: “Yes. My father was the first person I met. I went to his shop at Ketu where he is selling tyres and told him that the Police were looking for me. He became annoyed with me and told me to leave his shop before he poured his boiling anger on me. He told me that it was this same behaviour that made him to divorce my mother. He asked me to go to my mother because I had come to the wrong person.

“That was how I became a fugitive, running from Maza Maza to Seme border until I landed at the Republic of Benin.

“This made me to hate my father, bcause it is his blood that is running in my veins. I regret being his son because he abandoned me and could not show me the right path to the good life before I fell into this trouble. He abandoned me when I needed him most.”

On why he did not run to his mother, he said: “My mother had remarried and it would be difficult for her to receive me after rejecting my father. Seeing me would remind her of my father and she would not be happy to see me.

The only option I had was to run as far away from Nigeria as possible.”

On what he expected to gain by handing himself over to the Police, he said: “There are two things: either I am killed for the bank robbery or sent to jail if the magistrate tempers justice with mercy. I will help SARS to arrest the other gang members who are still at large.

“I will have a rest of mind being in Police custody than being a fugitive in a foreign country.

At least I would be able to know the way forward in my life. I won’t be too worried or restless, because the worst that would happen to me is a death sentence.

“If God saves my life and I regain my freedom, I can still become somebody in Nigeria.

The prison is not the end of life. The worst is to live in hiding. It makes one restless. I am tired of living in hiding abroad.”

14

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

Four years after this man’s wife was gruesomely killed in Gombe, he’ s still in search of justice •Oluwaseesin with his two kids... shortly after the incident

•Oluwaseesin, late Christiana’s husband

I

T WAS a mere New Year greeting that turned costly. “Mr. Oluwafemi Oluwaseesin, how did you enjoy the last Christmas and New Year celebrations without your beloved wife?” This reporter had asked innocently.

It was in the week. What was supposed to be his response was dramatic. He took a cursory but studied stare at the reporter. Already, his eyeballs had suddenly grown turgid and reddish. Yet he would not utter a word.

He drew a painful sigh, buried his swollen face in his quaking palms and by the time he unveiled the face again, he was like a baby in tears!

“Why won’t I weep at Christmas?

Why would I laugh on January 1 when the love of my life was killed and I’m yet to find justice? How would I eat my choice meal in the presence of my motherless kids?”

He asked repeatedly amid sobs, adding: “The only solace I had was that we were celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas.”

He is the aggrieved husband of Christiana Oluwatosin Oluwaseesin, a nursing mother, was helped into an early grave on Wednesday, March 21, 2007. Her extremist Islamic pupils at the Government Day Secondary School, Gandu, an Islamic school in Gombe, Gombe State, where she taught before the bad day, did the havoc.

Said to be a diligent and disciplined tutor, she was a typical Nigerian teacher who, quite sadly, got her reward here on earth the ruthless manner.

The woman of virtue was callously murdered by the same kids she was toiling to give a better tomorrow. It was on a day she was billed to finally join Oluwafemi, who had secured an appointment at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, Ogun State. The hapless woman had also got employed as the institution’s administrative secretary.

Dada ALADELOKUN, Assistant Editor How did she meet her gory death?

Sources had it that being a Christian, she had to supervise the Islamic Religious Knowledge papers for Senior Secondary 1 class.

Not long after the session began, she suspected a female student whose name was given as Fatsuma who was copying answers from a book concealed in a newspaper.

Mrs. Oluwafemi seized the materials. They later turned out to be slips of the Hadith and Qu’ran. But unknown to the late Christiana, she had stepped on a cobra’s tail.

Chants of Allahu Ahkbar! Allahu Ahkbar filled the scene and chaos went on the loose in the school.

Danger-struck, Christiana promptly reported the development to her principal, Mallam Sadiq Mohammed. She also reportedly called her husband.

The emergency response of her husband, which led to policemen storming the school to maintain order, fell flat. “Everything is under control,” the principal reportedly assured the law enforcement officials.

On the policemen’s departure, the Muslim students went irate and mobilised a huge crowd that sought Christiana’s head. He took refuge in the principal’s office but when the crowd threatened to touch his office, he buckled and dislodged the helpless woman to jungle justice.

The principal looked on in shock while the students tied Christiana’s neck and legs with a rope in a manner that would be deemed too wicked even for a criminal. She was already stripped naked.

Some of the heartless pupils went after her car. They burnt it. A 12year-old boy, whose conscience had obviously divorced him, cut Christiana’s throat with a knife.

Others took their turns in the dastardly act. At last, they burnt the

•The late Christiana

helpl e s s woman with the spare tyre of her own car!

Then, the pupils from hell took a step further to kill her then 10month-old baby where he was hidden. But he was saved. A Good Samaritan - a woman - hurriedly hid the baby under her flowing hijab.

The infant was smuggled to safety through the unsuspecting attackers.

The remains of the late Christiana were later interred on March 24, 2007 in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

The gruesome killing of the innocent patriot was to become an instant “baby” in the hands of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Gombe chapter, and Macedonian Initiative (MI), a world-renowned humanitarian group, among others.

At that point, bereaved Oluwafemi had a crippling burden to shoulder: Marrying his job with caring for their two children – then three-year-old Temilade, and 10-

month-old Emmanuel.

Beyond that, he has the trauma of losing his 31-year-old wife, whom he got married to, four years earlier, to grapple with.

Senior Pastor of Living Waters Unlimited and MI’s national coordinator, Ladi Thompson, became a voluntary consultant to the aggrieved family, all in a bid to seek justice for the family.

Thus, his group took the case to the law court. Mr. P.A Akubo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), whom MI hired through the Christian Lawyers’ Association of Nigeria (CLAN), was the lead counsel to the family. The case was assigned number: FHC/YL/CS5/4/008 at the Federal High Court, Yola.

Oluwaseesin and his two children were applicants while Gombe State Government, the state’s AttorneyGeneral and Commissioner of Police were respondents.

If not for the biases of the Gombe government, the case was supposed to have been filed in the state. As you read this, the matter has remained held up in a maze of contrived complications and manipulations.

Oluwaseesin has since been nursing his grief. And he has since remained indignant that justice had remained elusive in the case. As he once told The Nation: “I wept profusely when not long after the incident, an award was being presented to the Gombe State Governor, Mohammed Danjuma Goje, on the Nigerian Television Authority

‘

I have remained calm for security considerations because I have received series of threats over the matter. And importantly, I’m conscious of the security of my two kids. However, I will do all I can do to secure justice because someday, my kids will grow to ask me questions about what happened to their mother

,

(NTA) for governing a “peaceful” state. This is the same state where my beloved wife was murdered under his nose. It is painful that a state for which I single-handedly did eight community development projects could do that to me with impunity. The governor made unkept promises, but I am ready to fight this to the letter because the kind of madness that consumed my beloved wife must not be allowed to go on unchecked.”

Oluwaseesin said he agreed with his family’s consultant on the matter, Pastor Thompson, who through the court, demanded N250million compensation from the state government on behalf of the family.

Oluwaseesin too justified it: “Yes, I have to secure the future of my children; but most importantly, I want it to serve as a deterrent because if not, it will happen in other states and nothing will happen.”

Affirming that he had been under pressure to forget the matter and live with his pains, Oluwaseesin once hinted: “I have received calls from someone who threatened that if I did not want to lose my life and those of my children, I should hands off the case and forget it. I wondered how the man got my phone number. I reported the case to the men of the State Security Service (SSS) who asked me to be calm.”

Asked in the week if he had given up the struggle for justice, he replied sharply: “No, it is not that I have given up the struggle to get justice over the murder of my beloved wife. I have remained calm for security considerations because I have received series of threats over the matter. And importantly, I’m conscious of the security of my two kids. However, I will do all I can do to secure justice because someday, my kids will grow to ask me questions about what happened to their mother and what step I took to see to it that justice was done. That is why I must sustain this struggle.”

He was profuse in kind words for The Nation, among others, for keeping the struggle alive. Hear him: “I’m grateful to The Nation for keeping up the fight; I also appreciate the efforts of Macedonian Initiative (MI) led by Pastor Ladi Thompson and indeed, other non-governmental bodies that have stood by me. It is a fight we must sustain in order to let our so-called leaders realise that enough value must be attached to human lives.

Seething with fury, Oluwaseesin said he had an axe to grind with former Gombe State Governor, Mohammed Danjuma Goje, now a senator, under whose administration his wife was killed. “I was shocked to read Goje’s lies in a national daily where he claimed that he once visited me and gave me N10.5 million, whereas he did not give me 10 kobo. It’s a shameful lie,” he fumed.

On his dire expectation on the matter now, he said: “I think at this point, the National Assembly should wade into the matter to attenuate the trauma in my family, cushion the effect of the gory incident in the lives of the kids and ensure that justice is done at long last.

With that, it will be realised that human life is sacrosanct and that you cannot just kill your fellow man like a chick. I’m ready to appear before any committee if invited.”

Now, the ball is right in the court of the National Assembly, humanitarian organisations and, indeed, concerned Nigerians to see to it that the perpetrators of the heinous act do not go unpunished to serve as a deterrent to those who think it is “Godly” to kill innocent fellow men in cold blood.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

15

•Front view of the house

Soleminia Court without Cicero, 10 years after A

twin duplex painted in shining white colour with a low see-through fence sitting on a fairly sloppy plot of land bordered by a stream. Welcome to No. 8, Akinlabi Sanda Close, Adeyi Estate, Old Bodija, Ibadan, the home of former governor of old Oyo State and later Minister of Justice, Chief Ajibola Ige. Bola Ige, a uniquely outspoken politician who drew many enemies to himself by merely exhibiting his Godgiven talent, was gruesomely murdered in this house in the evening of December 23, 2001 while serving as the Attorney General and Minister of Justice. His security aides were said to have left the compound to buy food when the assassins crept into his house and shot him dead in his bedroom.

The glittering paint suggests that the house may have been recently repainted to reflect the mood of the 10th memorial anniversary of the late eru-

Bisi OLADELE, Ibadan

dite lawyer and astute politician.

With “Soleminia Court” inscribed on the fence, Ige’s house is not particularly different from others on the street and the area being one of the most elitist areas in Ibadan in his time.

The lack of special design to express affluence or power tells more about the simple life of the Esa-Oke born legal luminary who was believed to have been killed for the large followership he commanded and the great influence he wielded, particularly among the Yoruba at the time.

The close is made up of six houses each facing the other at the opposite side of the street. Apart from the security personnel who manned the main gate to the estate, no other sign exists to express affluence being exhibited by political office holders and the rich in this generation.

Adeyi has always being like that,

•The late Chief Ige

playing host to the truly educated and leading lights in the society but who place intellectualism above materialism. No wonder Ige was comfortable in Adeyi with his neighbours, among who were top shots as well as commoners but who lived peacefully and drew inspirations from the their rich neighbours.

Bola Ige’s house is today occupied by two families who are considered close to the Ige family. Investigations showed that they live there free. The house also serves as office for his son, Architect Muyiwa Ige, who is now a commissioner in their state of origin, Osun. The compound, which has a boys quarters, also has an abandoned Peugot 505 saloon car with a government registration number. The car is the only relic through which a visitor may guess that the landlord must have served as a public officer.

As expected, the environment is serene and quiet even with new generation of residents.

An old neighbour to the Ige family told The Nation that that it was interesting to have Chief Bola Ige as a neighbour. She recalled that Bola Ige used to stop in his car and asked

where they were going whenever he met them on the road.

According to the female neighbour, who disclosed that she and her family members have been living as neighbours for 25 years, said Bola Ige would pick them on the road and drop them off at a place convenient to get commercial transport.

“That was Chief for you. We really enjoyed him. We used to admire him.

He was a very good neighbour. We did not have any problem with him.

Whenever we saw, we smiled and greeted each other. We used to see him all the time. Though people used to visit him, there was never a crowd of visitors that would start begging or loiter around or constituting themselves as nuisance. They used to walk in quietly and leave the same way. The policemen around him also provided a sort of security for us. We were absolutely at peace as neighbours, “ said the woman who spoke in confidence.

Comparing the time Ige was alive and life after his death, she said: “There is a huge gap. Since chief died, the entire area has become so quiet.

We used to have better supply of electricity but that has changed since he died.”

INTERVIEW

16

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

I pity this generation, they’ve got to live with Boko Haram —Prof.Bolaji Akinyemi Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, who turned 70 on Wednesday, is one of the few Nigerians who believe the country has done so much for him. He spoke with GBENGA ADERANTI about his life experiences, his assessment of past Nigerian leaders and why he thinks the Boko Haram problem is knotty. Excerpts:

H

OW do you feel being 70?

I don’t feel any different from when I clocked 65. I think the problem about age is that unless there is a sudden change in the way one looks, it doesn’t really

strike you. Except for people who may not have seen you for 10 years, who then see you and say you’ve grown old. The person that saw you last week or today easily wouldn’t see any physical changes.

‘

If a man is ready to lose his life, as long as he takes with him sufficient number of people, how do you deal with a guy like that?

Tell me, how?...

Is Nigeria ready for shoot at sight on the suspicion that somebody is a terrorist? Is the press ready for that? Are the civil societies ready for that?

‘

•Prof. Akinyemi

with style you go win.

You have just said your vital parts are working perfectly at 70. What is the secret?

It is God’s grace. We don’t determine our looks, except you go for an operation. It’s a gift from God. You can decide to disbelieve me if you like. I don’t dye my hair. I have about seven strands of grey hair. I count them everyday to make sure that none of them is missing. The thing is bushy and it is still growing. Professor Soyinka’s own is three times, if not four times the size of my own. And these are due to the genes I inherited from my parents.

But then, who gave my parents the genes they passed on to me? Obviously God. Because the mixture of genes from your mum and dad are passed on to you.

Your parents don’t determine it. That is why I said God determines it.

The second is my lifestyle. I’m not a night person. By 6 o’ clock, unless it is absolutely necessary, I don’t leave my house, and I don’t receive visitors. That doesn’t mean that I sleep at 6 o’ clock. At times until midnight 1 am reading or watching a documentary on television. My favourite channels are Al Jazzera, Discovery Channel, and History Channel. I like to watch historical documentaries and I go to sleep and sleep soundly.

I spend most of my time in my library because basically, I regard myself as a scholar and I will die a scholar. I’m not just a scholar. A scholar searches out for facts, accumulates those facts, think about them and analyses them in order to draw some lessons. All those are reflective activities; they are nothing to indulge in while dashing from one party to another or while going from one club to another club. You need quietness; you need solitude for you to be indulging in this activity. That should be the second part of my lifestyle.

The third factor would be what I eat.

I love a lot of fresh vegetables and fresh fruits. I would say probably 60 per cent of my diet is made up of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Having said that, I I love meat. I eat a lot of meat. No compromise on that.

Whereas doctors would say someone at my age or even of your age should go easy on meat and eat a lot of fish, I’m sorry, that is my weakness. I eat a lot of meat. I love meat. I do eat fish as well. But if you give me a choice between fish and meat, I would take meat.

So, when you say how does it feel Though it is not a perfect lifestyle, I to be 70? I would say I don’t know. don’t get involved in so many social My vital parts which I treasure–my activities. Some people may even rebrains, my limps, my feet, my arms– gard me as a recluse. I’m a member they still function perfectly. If you of the Metropolitan Club. I go for the ask us to run 100 metres now, na weekly luncheon on Tuesdays. I’m a

member of the Country Club, Ikeja.

I’m a member of Lagos Lawn Tennis Club. I’m a member of the Island Club. I’m a member of the Ikoyi Club.

People of your age suffer from one ailment or the other, but you still look fresh and strong. Does that mean you have a very perfect health?

Yes. I’m shocked myself. But the ailments of age are there. They are not visible, but my bones are not as strong as they used to be. And over the years, this body has taken quite a bit of bashing. I’ve fallen off a horse before, and that almost broke my neck. I’ve played squash and broke my ankle. I’ve jogged until my knees started complaining. I used to play tennis until injury to my neck stopped me from playing.

Really, the injuries have been more skeletal. But again, by divine inter-

INTERVIEW

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012 me. I was too busy fighting the national battles, she kept the home front solid, going, protected from the vagaries the children of people in public service get exposed to. I have no personal regret.

You once served as a minister in a military government. If the need arises to serve again, would you do so?

This is highly speculative question, and it is no use I speculate. The assumptions are too many to be dealt with within the confine of this interview. The question you raised, I could write a-40 page intellectual article which will allow me and whosoever is reading the article to follow the development of my stream of thought and the assumption I’m making in dealing with a question like that. But this interview is too brief. And at the age of 70, I really need to be careful for posterity not to say ‘oh, at the twilight of his years, these were his ideas and we don’t know how he reached this idea.’

What was on your mind when you chose to serve the military while some of your contemporaries were interested in enthroning democracy?

You will be surprised at how many of the radicals that served the military regime or as to how many Nigerians of different views and political tendencies served the military.

I could give you a run down from 1966 onward. Aminu Kano served under General Gowon administration; Tarka did; Enahoro did; Chief Awolowo did; S.G. Ikoku did; the late Chief Bola Ige served the military as well. It was a national calling at that time. It was the belief universally held by Nigerians that the military was an agent of change and development. In some cases, they were right. In Latin America, for example, the military left behind solid basis of development, which has now allowed some of the Latin American countries to develop. Two weeks ago, Brazil overtook Britain in terms of economic ranking in the world. The foundation was laid during their military regime. Of course, they paid the high price. There were massive violation of human rights.

But the military decided that they must have development before democracy. That was the period when most Nigerians saw the military as an agent of development and probity.

Most credible Nigerians served the military. I may be wrong, I’m not aware of any Nigerian of note who was approached by the military who refused to serve the military regime between say Gowon up to Babangida. I think the concept of the military in government became discredited during the time Babangida was in office. Not that it was Babangida that was discredited, don’t get me wrong, it was the concept. By that time people were starting to come into conclusion that the price was not worth it, especially in probably half of the cases, there was no development. There were massive looting and mindless violation of human rights and there were no compensation. So, the international community, the theoreticians, the international institutions all started to revolt against the idea of military government.

But this was something that started in the 80s.

You once adv i s e d Babangida not to j o i n party politics.

What

‘

I’m scared myself. I’m not only scared, I’m sorry for your generation, because you’ve got to live with this problem.

I’ve bought my ticket on the plane; the 80s are on departure hall already, while the 90s are waiting for their flight to heaven to be called. My own, at least at the age of 70, you’ve bought your ticket. You guys are not even near reservation...

‘

vention, I’m not walking with any walking stick or crutches.

If you had a choice to change something about life, what would that be?

Nothing. I’m very comfortable with what I am and whom I am.

Let me put it differently: what are your regrets in life?

I think we have to separate the two things. I don’t think I can call them regrets but disappointment.

I am disappointed at where Nigeria is, compared to where Nigeria should be. I think most of my adult life, I had dreamt about a Nigeria that is peaceful and vibrant; a Nigeria that is great in terms of the achievements of its people; a Nigeria that plays a major role globally; a Nigeria that is the envy of the black race. All these were the constituents of my dream.

I don’t now need to expatiate on how disappointed I am at the turn of events. Nigeria is not peaceful.

Nigeria is not developed. Nigerians need to go abroad for their achievements to be recognised or have room to bloom. The security situation now is not what it was when I was growing up. In the 50s, I was a student at Igbobi College and my grandmother put me on a train in Ido, that time on LagosKaduna Express. Though there was nothing express about it; it stopped at every station along the way. I wanted to spend my holiday with my friend who was a son of one Rev Olafimihan in Kaduna. We were both in Igbobi. She handed me over to the guard of the train, to make sure that at every station I got off I returned into the train until we got to Kaduna. I went and I came back. I enjoyed the trip. There was no sense of fear; no sense of apprehension.

Will I go on that journey now? No, I wouldn’t. Would I put my son on that train under such circumstance?

No, I wouldn’t. Would I advise anybody to put his son on a train like that? No, I wouldn’t. Really, those are the areas of my disappointment; not about myself.

Nigeria has been good to me. I always tell people like that when they ask me why are you not abroad like a lot of Nigerian intellectuals? I always say Nigeria was good to me; very good to my generation. We added values that were obvious; that let you know the difference between good and evil; that let you see the reward of hard work; that let you appreciate there is reward for solid education. And educational opportunities were there. Scholarships were available.

Jobs were available when you left school.

Of course, I’m not being boastful, because I’m not a boastful person.

It is because I’m trying to make a point as regards the question you asked. I became the director-general of Nigerian Institute of International Affairs at the age of 32. I think there have been probably 10 or so directors of that institute. Out of 140 million, I was one of them.

Don’t I have cause to say that Nigeria has been good to me?

I was appointed a minister. From the time of the Nigerian independence up till now, I’m not sure we’ve had up to 500 ministers. I’ve been one of them. Don’t I have cause to say thank you to Nigeria?

Let me say 4,000 people have been given national honours and God in His infinite graciousness ensured that I was one of the 4,000. And if you decide to take the odd 30 who have been given Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFR), one out of 30, I was given the CFR in a country of 150 million. So, Nigeria has been good to me. I have no cause for regret on a personal level.

On the family level, there is none.

I have a wonderful wife. I have four children who are doing very well; well brought up by my wife. I should give her that credit. They were brought up by my wife, not

•Prof. Akinyemi

17 informed this?

I’ve not written my memoir simply because I value confidence, and confidences are very critical. It is very essential in diplomacy. I know so much that cannot be exposed. I have not had time to sieve between what should be exposed from what should not be exposed, and I think this also applies.

But let me say this: my advise to General Babangida not to run was not something I delivered to him privately. I gave a public lecture in his honour on his 65th birthday in Abuja. He was present with key confidants and so was the general public. It was there that I said Nigeria needs more statesmen and less politicians; that there should be a crop of Nigerians who can be called upon when things fall apart in this country. I did not even know that this Boko Haram thing was going to crop up, but I just know that in the life of a nation, there will always be a critical point when people will say send for X, send for Y, send for Z; they command respect and acceptability; this is the time their collective responsibility should come to bare on an issue. And I talked that former heads of state who performed creditably were

obvious candidates for such a crop of eminent Nigerians. But if all former military heads of state start running for office, then you are denying Nigerians that critical group which experience and age combined often make you eminently qualified to be a member. That was what I said.

You enjoyed so many things from the West. But when it comes to a clash of interest between Nigeria and the West, you always come hard on the West. How would you explain this?

I don’t remember the particular incident, but I understand your predicament. I’m first and foremost a nationalist; a firm believer in Nigeria and any country or anyone who seeks to run down Nigeria steps on my toes; it does not matter from what source that interference comes from. I will fight hard for Nigeria’s national interest. Let me give you an example: once at NIIA, I led a delegation of Nigerian foreign policy elite, that was what it used to be called, I coined it at that time.

It was made up of scholars, editors of newspapers, some people from the private sector who had interest in foreign affairs or whose activities impinged on foreign affairs. I had led a similar team to dialogue with Americans, the Brazilians the Russians, name it.

So, I led this team to China. It was obvious to me what the Chinese wanted when we met. The Chinese had as part of their foreign policy posture a set of positions which they expect you as a friendly nation to endorse as part of the deliberation of the dialogue. They were surprised, I objected. ‘What is the problem? X- Country had already signed this while they were here. Y country signed this when they were here.’ They started reading out the names of radical groups, radical countries in Africa which had come and endorsed what they prepared.

And I told them that Nigeria is very different. We are independentminded people; nobody formulates issues for us. You formulated your own issues, I grant you the right to do that. This Nigerian delegation will formulate its own issue and you must concede. We have the right to do so, and let us discuss and see whether there will be a meeting of minds.

The Chinese were offended that they had not seen this type of thing before. They were used to their comrades coming and bowing to their position. I said no, not in Nigeria; we don’t do that. For almost half of the day, we had this massive disagreement and I was prepared to call off the dialogue at that point so that the Nigerian delegation could return home. It was not a government delegation, it was an NIIA delegation.

But when the Chinese saw how determined I was and supported by my colleagues, although one or two of the usual comrades who felt anything China does is right were saying ‘no, why are we creating problem? There is nothing wrong with it?’ I said sorry, I’m the leader of this delegation. NIIA put together this delegation and you would abide by the ethos of NIIA. So, after lunch, one man, who was not even the leader of the delegation on the Chinese side, who just sat at the end of the table, was the most important man on that delegation. At the beginning of the afternoon session, he indicated that he wanted to speak, since it was a joint leadership, myself on the Nigerian side and Chinese leader on the other side. We looked at each other and we said, well we would allow him to speak.

Of course, the Chinese man knew the importance of the man that wanted to speak. I didn’t know. I just said another member of the Chinese delegation and he said well, in the true spirit of the equality of nations and this and that, the •Continued on Page 49

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012 18 Upon their visit to Nigeria for the first time, two British academics and researchers relive their amazing finds about Nigeria in an interaction with GBENGA ADERANTI, an Assistant Editor.

We probably would never have visited Nigeria if we depended on European media and embassy reports —British dons on first time visit to Nigeria A LTHOUGH they are different in terms of gender and biological make-up, Dr. Clare Rigg and Dr. Simon Warren have so many things in common. Recently, the two university lecturers were in Nigeria for five days to share ideas with Nigerian professionals, business executives and captains of industry on ways to enhance their professional and organisational practices through advanced learning. They came at the instance of Leadmode Resource Centre, a leading service provider of UK University Distance Learning Programmes.

Rigg teaches at the Institute of Technology Tralee, Ireland, while Warren is a lecturer at the University of Sheffield, England.

To them, their five-day stay in Nigeria was an eye opener. For instance, the first-time visitors to the largest black nation admitted that most of the stories they had read or heard about Nigeria were totally misleading. The two visitors said they had been fed with series of stories about Nigeria, which contradict their impression about the country during the few days they stayed. While it was their first time of visiting Nigeria, they said they had visited some parts of Africa earlier and had met Nigerians before coming to the country. An excited Rigg, who spoke about her experience in a chat with our correspondent, said she had done a little research about Nigeria before embarking on the trip to the country.

She said: “I have Nigerian students and friends at Leadmode Resource Centre who I have known for 20 years. That was one source of the useful information I had about Nigeria. If I didn’t have that and had to look at the official news or embassy reports, I would probably not set my foot on Nigeria. There are warnings from our embas-

sies about Nigeria that you don’t go to the country unless you have a house.

“The general public experience of Nigeria, I must say, is mostly through the scam. If we held on to that, we would just have only a narrow image of Nigeria. But because I have Nigerian friends and professional colleagues, I can get the true picture.”

It was not Warren’s first time of meeting Nigerians. But just like Rigg, the stories they told him about Nigeria were anything but good.

“You might pick up a negative perception of Nigerians and Nigeria from the European media, because there is generally a negative message being sold to people who might want to come. The real experience is that when you meet the people (Nigerians), what you will discover is that such stories are not true,” he said.

Appreciating the problems that confront Nigeria and its people, he said: “If I may share my experience about the people here, the energy is amazing.

Also, I’m aware of all the problems Nigeria is facing in developing. But their energy is really amazing. The thing that will always get a country out of trouble is the energy and the enterprise of the ordinary people.”

He observed that although multinational corporations cannot be ignored, he said: “For that to be balanced, ordinary people should be allowed to develop themselves and become innovative and enterprising. Education would play an important role in getting this done”.

Warren, who was fascinated by Abuja and

I was struck by the energy and dynamism that is an opportunity for business ideas and potential for the development of the country.

You cannot forget that from the number and nature of cars on the road, the wealth that is in this country is amazing. It brings me to conclusion that in Europe, we are underestimating Nigeria

‘

’

•Warren

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

‘Ordinary Nigerians are endowed with amazing energy’ Lagos, made a distinction between the two. “Well, they are very different,” he said. “Abuja is very new and obviously the administration has been moved to Abuja and it is probably growing and growing. It reminds of Ireland in the recent past. There were lots of constructions going on. Of course, there is a high traffic of people and there is energy.

“But Lagos has a different kind of energy. When you drive in the streets, it is like everybody is engaged in a kind of trade. Everybody is trying to make a living and not trying to depend on other people all the time. Maybe the condition they are living in could be better. It is a very exciting city.”

Rigg also did not fail to notice the difference between Lagos and Abuja. “Immediately you land in Abuja and you drive from the airport, the roads are being extended. But Lagos is already built.

I was struck by the energy and dynamism that is an opportunity for business ideas and potential for the development of the country. You cannot forget that from the number and nature of cars on the road, the wealth that is in this country is amazing. It brings me to conclusion that in Europe, we are underestimating Nigeria.”

The dons also noted that contrary to what they had been fed with, Nigeria is not all about scam. Nigeria and Nigerians, they say, are accommodating. Apart from the raw hospitality they experienced from their host, Leadmode Resource Centre, they were amazed at the way Nigerians accepted them. “The hospitality we’ve had on our way through, the welcome from Leadmode, the students and the place we stayed in Abuja, it has been an incredible hospitality. It is just a kind of real welcoming. That was nice,” Rigg said.

She also said she was not prepared for the kind of diversities she met in the country. And this, she said, she would never forget. She said: “I knew that Nigeria was mixed in terms of tribes, groups and regions. You see that within Abuja. You see that within Lagos. But I hadn’t quite anticipated some of the diversities, that there are Chinese, Indians, Europeans, Lebanese. Nigeria is an international country.”

Like Warren, Rigg also said the amount of energy found in Nigerians is amazing. “There is a huge amount of talent in Nigeria,” she said.

Many have wondered why most UK universities prefer to operate distance learning in Nigeria. About this, Rigg said the image of Nigeria as a whole is not good in Europe, especially in the UK. “We underestimate. We don’t understand that there is a kind of potential of Nigeria and the opportunity of Nigeria.

To me, I think that is the thing that lies behind the fact that UK goes to China and India and South America.”

Warren is fascinated by the interest of Nigerians in education. According to him, Nigerian students have invested their energy in education as against their European counterparts, who though want to learn, but there is always an excuse. “There is great hunger for education in Nigeria and the whole West Africa,” he said.

Asked what he would do if he were to be the education minister of Nigeria, he said he would make the education of girls a priority. “The education of girls and the social economic return of educating women are massive. So, to deny so many girls and women education is to inhibit the development of the whole nation. “

•Rigg

‘

If I may share my experience about the people here, the energy is amazing. Also, I’m aware of all the problems Nigeria is facing in developing. But their energy is really amazing. The thing that will always get a country out of trouble is the energy and the enterprise of the ordinary people

He also said efforts should be made to increase technical skill so that Nigerians can add value to the world and Nigeria.

According to him, “Instead of Total, Mobil or Shell and other companies extracting the raw materials of Nigeria and exporting them, for the massive profit they make elsewhere, they should use that in Nigeria by adding value to the product in Nigeria and that value will go back to Nigeria. That is an important thing,” he said.

Warren also harped on the need to have a sound educational foundation in the

’

country. “The issue again is in primary school and the foundation from primary, not junior secondary. You have to ensure that the level of literacy and in numeracy are there at the foundation, and then to ensure that everybody has access to education.” He stated further that the reason for more demand for private education could be because enough quality education is not being provided for the people.

“Having education that is free at the point of delivery is important to all countries.

There is another critical issue: the transi-

tion from junior secondary school to senior secondary school. A lot of people drop from education at that point. And we know why. Families want their children to earn money, but in the longer term, they are not educated. The enrichment of the country will be limited because if there is an increase in the number of people going for higher education, there will be more inclusion of different social categories,” he said.

After spending five days in Nigeria, Warren advised Europeans who come to Nigeria: “Ignore the vivid image you get from the media and come, because Nigeria is welcoming. Also, I would say come with an open mind and open heart and get outside the hotel lobby, because you won’t meet Nigerians if you stay in your room all the time.”

The story of the two visitors is that of grass to grace. Dr Simon Warren, who is today Director, Doctorate in Education (Dublin) Higher Education and Lifelong Learning at the University of Sheffield, started from a humble background. After a variety of manual jobs on leaving school, he found himself working in Community Arts and Education in Birmingham. He studied for his Bachelor in Education at Birmingham Polytechnic, followed by a period of teaching in primary school in Sunderland and Birmingham before he began his research career at Warwick University and studied for his doctoral degree on a part-time basis while he worked as a teacher and educational researcher.

He has subsequently worked in research posts at the University of London (Institute of Education), South Bank Birmingham. Throughout his career, he has been interested in issues of power, social equality and policy. He defines himself as a scholar of critical policy studies, interested in the relationship between the operation of power and the political formation of policy, and consequently in the role of policy in sustaining unequal or the realization of more equal social relations.

Critical policy scholarship draws on a range of theoretical and methodological approaches in order to understand the basis for education policy and its effects. Current research interests include critical race and policy studies; the politics of language policy, language learning and multicultural society and vocational transitions into higher education.

Warren is co-coordinator of the Research Integrity and Ethics module on the University of Sheffield Doctoral Development Programme and Co-convenor, ESREA (European society for Research in the Education of Adults) research Network migration, ethnicity, racism and xenophobia.

Dr. Clare Rigg grew up in one of the rural areas in the UK. She began her career in Economic Development and Urban Regeneration working with communities in Birmingham, UK. Her particular focus was the use of training and up-skilling as a means of empowerment and addressing social exclusion.

Prior to moving to Ireland in 2005, she spent 15 years at the universities of Birmingham and Birmingham City, designing and delivering management development and leadership courses to professionals and corporate clients from all sectors, as well as with full-time postgraduate and under-graduate students from across the world. She is particularly enthusiastic about pedagogical approaches, such as action inquiry/action learning, which enable transformational learning and link individual with organisation change.

This was the subject of her doctorate in 2001 and has been the focus of much of her subsequent research and publication.

20 •Continued from Page 11 T was that time of the year when joy and happiness envelope every commu nity. Joy that one had scaled the sundry hurdles of the year and happiness that one would soon be among those who would shout the traditional “Happy New Year!”.

But that was not to be for some in the Ezillo community in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

The cold morning dews of the early hours of Saturday, December 31, less than 22 hours to the New Year, literally turned to fire and brimstone for the people. No one in his wildest imagination ever anticipated the evil stalking them and which later ripped so ferociously through the community, killing, maiming and wreaking havoc on defenceless innocent women, children and aged men. It left in its wake 70 dead. It not only sent them to their untimely graves but also cruelly denied them the joy of seeing the New Year, which they had already counted themselves as part of.

Without premonitions, the dead had gone about, rather eagerly, the preparations for the New Year. But an attack by some assailants, armed with dangerous weapons put paid to all their plans.

When the day broke, those who were alive could not believe what had taken place under the cover of the night. There was spontaneous wailing and lamentation as grief and sorrow firmly replaced the joy and happiness of the day before they went to bed.

The people could not comprehend what had just happened to them having been going about their normal businesses oblivious that the unusual would happen at night. They had no problems with anybody except the people of Ezza-Ezillo. And even at that, a resolution, or so they thought, of a purported communal crisis between them had been reached and so there shouldn’t be any cause for alarm.

For the record, the people of Ezza-Ezillo and the Ezillo communities in October 2008 had a land dispute which led to the killing of more than 150 persons from both communities. They included innocent motorists and commuters who where continuously waylaid along the Ezillo axis of the Enugu-Abakaliki Express Road. Then, any motorist who was unfortunate to be caught in the cross-fire was either shot, macheted or burnt by some militants who operated in a gorilla way. Those killed while the crisis lasted, excluding indigenes of Ezillo community, included a top civil servant who hailed from Cross River State, indigenes of Mbaise in Imo State, among others.

The communal war led to the closure of the Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway for about two years until the Inspector General of Police and the then Commissioner of Police in Ebonyi State, Dipo Ayeni, approved the deployment of more than 1,000 mobile policemen who arrived the state and sacked the militants.

On its own part, the state government, in its effort to ensure a lasting peace in the troubled area, demarcated the land and gave the Ezza-Ezillo people another piece of land to inhabit. But while the state government made plans to electrify, create access roads to the new location, the EzzaEzillo people dragged the state government to court prompting the suspension of work in the area.

And for some time, there had been relative peace in the area, but that was described by some analysts as the peace of the grave yard. How exact they were. It was the presence of the mobile policemen in the area that sustained the peace. Many motorists, commuters and people doing other businesses went about their daily chores and routines believing, albeit wrongly, that lasting peace had been restored to the area.

The December 31, 2011, attack, therefore, left many wondering what could have been responsible for it. The early morning attack not only consumed civilians, numbering about 67, but a police Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) in charge of the police station in the area, also went with it. The dead included children between the ages of three

I

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

‘As we were running

•Some houses destroyed during the attack

•An injured victim in critical condition Ogbonnaya OBINNA, Abakaliki

and five, aged men and women and some youths as well as over 30 donkeys.

The Divisional Crime Officer whose name is yet to be ascertained was said to be on his way to the office. An eyewitness Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, said the gunmen invaded the community around 5am that day with an unidentified vehicle, divided themselves into groups and first opened fire on the Ezillo police station.

He added that those who stationed themselves at the Afor Ezillo market, opened fire on the people. Eze said they were still asleep when the gunmen attacked them.

He said on hearing the gunshots, most of them ran out from their homes to take refuge inside the bushes but to their surprise, some had stationed themselves in the nearby bushes, too, and promptly killed them.

Another eyewitness, who lost all the members of his family, Jacob Okoro, said when they heard the sporadic gunshots, they all ran out but as they were running out of their compound, the gunmen shot at them, killing all the members of the family.

According to him, “we were still sleeping when we heard gunshots and people running and yelling. I and my family members all ran out from the house to run into the bush but to the astonishment and surprise of many, as we were running out from the house, we were being shot.

“It was by the grace of God that I am alive because I cannot really say how I escaped death. As I’m talking with you, I have lost everything; our compound, which housed about 32 persons; only three persons out of the number escaped the bullets of the gunmen.

“When we ran out of the house, we saw some young men, we thought that they were also running for safety not knowing that they were the gunmen. As people were running towards them, they were just killing them.”

But those who tried to escape on foot were not the only unfortunate ones. A family, which tried to do a quick get away with their car, also ran into the gunmen and were set ablaze with their car. They all perished inside the car, burnt to ashes.

At Ezillo, hundreds of expended shells littered the Ezillo axis of the Enugu-

Abakaliki Expressway, while some youths of the community were still retrieving dead bodies killed in the nearby bushes. Apart from the attack on human beings, the assailants did not also spare donkeys that came their way. They equally torched the Afor Ezillo market, petrol filling stations and many houses.

Most of the youths, old men and women, including children who lost members of their families, could not hold back tears as they cried uncontrollably.

The Commissioner, Ebonyi State Police Command, Mr. Adeola Adeniyi, who led Governor Martin Elechi to the scene of the attack the same day, described the incident as regrettable and unfortunate, adding that the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, had approved the deployment of mobile policemen from Cross River, Rivers and Akwa Ibiom states to assist those in Ebonyi.

He said no arrest had been made. He said on arrival, the team would assist the youths in evacuating the dead bodies that are still in the bush. Governor Elechi was visibly moved on seeing the dead bodies as they littered the express road. The governor,

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

g into safety, we were being shot’

1 •Governor Elechi and his wife, Josephine (right) commiserating with one of the victims

2

3

•1-3: Vehicles burnt down by the attackers

shocked by the massacre, cancelled all scheduled activities associated with the New Year celebration.

In a press release issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Dr. Onyekachi Eni, Governor Elechi advised all groups and organisations which had planned to pay him celebration visits to shelve such visits for now.

The governor thereafter moved to forestall a reprisal attack by the Ezillo community, which could trigger another round of wanton destruction of lives and property, by making a special appeal to Ezillo people to be calm and not take the law into their hands.

Shortly after the incident, which nobody or group has claimed to be responsible for, the traditional rulers from Ebonyi Central Senatorial zone paid Governor Martin Elechi a condolence visit and intimated him with the steps so far taken in ensuring that the perpetrators of the act are arrested and prosecuted.

But the governor confounded many of them when he openly accused some traditional rulers, top ranking politicians and major stakeholders from Ezza-Ezillo extraction of not only having knowledge of the attack on the people of Ezillo but also masterminded the dastardly act.

According to him, “I know when I’m being deceived; let no one try to deceive me, I don’t like it. There are people within this hall who know the perpetrators of the crime in Ezillo. There are people within this hall who have a hand in that crime. That is why civil wars are more difficult to fight than was between nations because where ever you have the 12 apostles, one of them must be a Judas Iscariot.

“It is the Judases in our midst who are causing the mayhem in Ezillo, believing that what they can’t get through the ballot box, they can get it falsifying the state of our affairs. Regrettably for such people, the more they venture into evil deeds, the more we expose ourselves.

‘

It was by the grace of God that I am alive because I cannot really say how I escaped death. As I’m talking with you, I have lost everything; our compound, which housed about 32 persons; only three persons out of the number escaped the bullets of the gunmen

’

“I feel sad, indeed very sad and I made bold to say that there is so much insincerity in what we tell ourselves that is what makes me sad. The sentiments expressed here this afternoon are as they should be, (but) many people (are) here who know what is happening and would never reveal it, that is why I’m sad”, he said.

The crisis that engulfed Ezillo in 2008 led to the arrest and detention of many traditional rulers, politicians and stakeholders from Ezza extraction. The traditional rulers then took an oath and made some rituals which were meant to bring lasting peace to the war-torn area.

To some, the attack on the people of Ezillo was intended to wipe out the entire community. Those who hold this view point to the killings of children, old women and men which they say is not only brutal but callous. They claim that even in a true war situation, children, women, especially pregnant women, are spared, but that was not the case in Ezillo attack.

The state governor had insisted that Ebonyi State, being a composite state made up of people of different sub ethnic groups, cannot be held to ransom by any ethnic group. “We must live together and work together with the fullest knowledge that any ethnic group that attempts to destroy the other would fail. When Ezillo rocked and quacked, I thought we have seen the worst.

“Nowhere ever in my life have I ever seen anything near what I saw at Ezillo on the December 31, 2011. I was there with the Commissioner of Police and I personally counted 26 corpses lined up in a row on a federal highway, men and women and children, some less than six years old and within 10 minutes of our being there, more

corpses were brought and I asked one person in my team to go and count them at that point in time, he counted them, there were 35 dead bodies. We were told that more were at the Nigercem Nkalagu mortuary; more were still scattered in the bushes; others where burnt in their houses because they couldn’t come out”.

The governor nevertheless managed to thank the traditional rulers for coming to share his grief with him. But he insisted that what was paramount was to ensure that such a dastardly act never happens again by resolving to fight crime, fight evil and expose the perpetrators of the act. He noted that when the Ezza-Ezillo communal crisis first started in 2008, the state government spent about N70 million weekly to cater for the over 1,000 mobile personnel drafted to the crisis area.

Major stakeholders in the state have continued to condole with the families of the deceased. Among those who have expressed shock over the attack was the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) governorship candidate in the April general election, Senator Julius Ucha, who described the killings as senseless, unreasonable and barbaric.

Senator Sonny Ogbuoji, Hon. Peter Edeh and Hon. Innocent Ugo Chima had all condemned the act, urging security agents to commence full-scale investigation into the matter. As the condolences pour in, stakeholders have advocated the need for people to help alleviate the suffering of the Ezillo people who are in dear need of aid and care. Over 800 persons have been rendered homeless, while others are still in the hospital nursing machete cuts and gunshot injuries.

22

THE NATION SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2011

LOCATION

BACKSTAGE

SNAPSHOT

REEL NEWS

MUSIC

SCREEN

Edited by: VICTOR AKANDE

Tel: 08077408676

E-mail: victor_akande@yahoo.com

ntertainment

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

23

2012: Artistes and resolutions

•see 28-37

STAND BY!

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

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

26

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

Yah ooz ee w as no t m ean t to pr om ote int ern et fra ud

n i t a n a i M u — Ol

If I tell you that my mum is Nawti, you will think I am stupid. But my mum is NAWTI. She is a Natural African Woman Totally Inspired.

It is an acronym.

That was the same thing Yahoozee had.

Yahoozee was the name of a dance which was a street term

•Olu Maintain

27

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

Toolz braces up for charity

J Martins answers ‘I do’ •Toolz

US-based Nigerian rapper shot dead

MI, Zaaki Adzee thrill at Gboko Festival

Flowssickk videos Lowkey

Fizzy Mayur set for music scene •Late Frank Diggy

Teju Babyface is bereaved!

Ike Uche, Ighalo face Gattuso joy Bernabeu woes at comeback

Pg. 32

Pg. 36

Nation PAGE 29

Saturday, January 7, 2012

ENGLISH FA CUP THIRD ROUND

•Yakubu

Aiyegbeni battles Ameobi

•Mikel faces Kanu at Stamford Bridge •As Osaze, Anichebe, Etuhu eye win

By Bimbo Adesina

•Mikel

30

35

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2011

NATION SPORT

NATION SPORT

T

•Jay Jay Okocha in action

HE Nations Cup will be holding in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea few weeks from now.

Nigeria, Cameroon and Egypt are not going to be represented. How do you feel about this?

It is really disappointing.

Football fans in Morocco are more disappointed because these are big football nations and the realisation of the fact that they will not be available for African’s biggest football event is a different feeling entirely. These are countries that used to be in the final and semi final of the Nations Cup because we always expect them to be there, but this time around they won’t be participating. It is not a good feeling. In one or two years, I hope they will be back again because they have quality players. Its understandable because most of these countries are rebuilding. A new generation of footballers are being discovered, they need to build a new team, and need the right managers to help achieve these things and give confidence to the new players.

A lot of people have tipped Ghana and Ivory Coast to win the next Nations Cup? Ghana sure has a good chance because they have quality players that ply their trade for some of the biggest teams in Europe. Ivory Coast is not bad as well; you have Tunisia which is not a bad team too and my country Morocco can not be underestimated. You know that the Cup of Nations is not without its surprises. I don’t want to predict now, I just want to enjoy the competition. I just want to watch good football and see how improved African football has been.

Talking about surprises. Do you think we will witness any at the competition (Nations Cup)?

Like I said earlier, the fact that some popular teams are in the Nations Cup does not mean that other teams are minnows. If the big countries did not qualify, that means those that have qualified have good quality and shows that they may be better. For the fact that the countries that were not expected have qualified, it is definitely an assurance that there’s going to be big surprises.

The maiden U-23 championship was held in Morocco recently. If you watched the games, what do you think about the Nigerian team?

It was not as good as the Nigerian teams we used to see, but you still have quality players. I think your country just need enough time to build a team, if you have a new generation of players, then you need the time for them to blend. The skill is still there, the quality is still around and your national teams will come to that level again.

In 1998 you beat Jay Jay Okocha to the African Player of The Year award. Do you remember?

Yes I do remember. Jay Jay is a great player, skillful, and I must confess that I was one of his fans.

I used to watch him play and also played against him. For me he was a good example to see. When I won against him the African Player of the Year award in ’98 I felt he actually deserved it. He deserved it more than any one else because he represented African and all the African kids well. And he has been a big role model throughout his career. I am really happy for him today that he is being considered to be here today as one of the legends of African football.

How will you asses the performance of African footballers in Europe?

‘98 AFRICAN PLA YER OF THE YEAR PLAYER

Okocha was better than me –Mustapha Hadji Born 41 years ago in Ifrane, Morocco, he migrated with his family to France at a tender age where he grew into a man. Ex-Moroccan international, Mustapha Hadji revealed in this encounter with INNOCENT AMOMOH in Accra, Ghana how he felt that Nigeria’s Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okacha deserved the 1998 African Player of the Year award which he eventually won. He also lamented the absence of Nigeria, Cameroon and Egypt from the forth- coming African Cup of Nations slated to commence in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea from January 21. EXCERPTS.

•Okocha

I think I am proud of them because they have shown themselves to be good ambassadors of African football.

Week in week out I watch teams involving African players, they are my blood and part of me. It is my continent and I support any player from Africa. Most of them are doing well and in Africa we have good quality. It is just a shame that as much as we have good players and more still

coming up, we don’t have the right football leagues in Africa.

How in your view can football leagues in Africa improve?

First it has to be well packaged to attract the right sponsorship.

And in addition, the administrators of the game in Africa have to do more if they intend to take African Football to greater heights.

What is your advice for football administrators in Africa?

I think they should improve themselves first and foremost, and also try as much as possible to educate the players from the grassroot. It will start from when the players are young, say 13 years old. The administrators must stop there selfish tendencies and think about the kids who are the tomorrow stars. With Education the players will be informed and team spirit will return to African football.

You have once again been invited alongside Jay Jay Okocha for the Africa Football Legend award. Do you think both of you did enough to deserve this award?

Like I said there are lots of football legends in Africa, and I am really surprised to be selected as one of them. I am happy and proud to be here and also proud to be named a legend of my continent, because I love my continent. It is always special for me when I come to play in Africa.

I want to say that Jay Jay Okocha also deserves it definitely.

Since retirement, what has Mustapha Hadji been up to?

I used to live in Europe but have returned to my country to help the sports minister in helping the young kids to have the opportunity to play football in good condition. Not only in football, but other sports as well.

They will have the opportunity to build a career in their chosen sports. So that is my job for now in Morocco.

Last year at the World Cup in South Africa Ghana was the only African team to have qualified for the quarters. As we prepare for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, what is your expectation?

Ghana is a country that has always done well at the world Cup and represented Africa well.

At the last World Cup I think they got to the quarter finals. But this time they will have to do more.

They will need more team spirit and de-emphasise individuality to play together. Like three years ago, the Ivory Coast team was massive and doing well until the break. If African teams concentrate on team play and better cohesion, I think we will go very far in subsequent World Cups.

What do you think is responsible for the absence of Nigerian players at the top of African football?

Like I said before, using my country as an example, ten years back we had a great team and

•Mustapha Hadji

MUST APHA HADJI PR OFILE: MUSTAPHA PROFILE: Date of birth Place of birth Height Playing position Senior career*

November 16, 1971 (age 40) Ifrane, Souss-Massa-Draâ, Morocco 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Midfielder

YEARS 1991–1996 1996–1997 1997–1999 1999–2001 2001–2004 2004 2004–2005 2005–2007 2007–2010

TEAM Nancy Sporting CP Deportivo Coventry City Aston Villa Espanyol Al Ain 1. FC Saarbrücken Fola Esch

National team 2001–2005 Morocco

“I think they should improve themselves first and foremost, and also try as much as possible to educate the players from the grass root. It will start from when the players are young, say 13 years old. The administrators must stop there selfish tendencies and think about the kids who are the tomorrow stars.

With Education the players will be informed and team spirit will return to African football” immediately we left a vacuum was created. But we started building a new generation of players and a mew team. Players between 20 and 22 years’ olds and we started building for like ten years now.

Same for Nigeria, when the Okochas and Kanus left, you need time to build a new team, say three,

•Mikel Obi

four years more and your team will be great again. It is always like that, even in France, you can see that after the generation of the Zidane, France started building a new team, and to achieve this one needs to be patient. I think Nigerian players will soon return to top spot in African football top.

THE NATION SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2011

31

NATION SPORT

NPL must rethink league kick-off date I

will be surprised if the Nigeria Premier League season kicks off today as has been advertised and insisted on by the Chairman, Chief Victor Rumson Baribote.

There are certain institutions that I refrain from passing comments on through public platforms such as this newspaper and the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) is one of such for the simple reason that I have access to nearly all the decision makers who in turn respect my views.

However, on the issue of kickoff date, I have to break protocol because it was my contention at the Pre-season Seminar in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State where I delivered a paper on structuring the clubs for corporate and commercial partnerships, that the January 7, 2011 date is ill-timed and will not bode well for the clubs. Most of the club officials present including a prominent club chairman that called me on phone were agitated by the resolution to start the league even before the country gets going in the new year.

One of the vexed issues of the seminar was the state ownership structure of 99% clubs in the Premier League and which means the clubs depend on annual budgets of the states to manage their affairs. Now we have a situation where most of the states are either just signing appropriation bills into law or are still in the process of passing the budget proposals of the government. Given the speed of government business through the maze of bureaucracy, no club will be securing fund from the states any time before the end of January.

It will be an exercise in denial to ask the clubs to dig into their profits from last season as a stop gap for the financial and budgetary lacuna because we know that clubs live by the day. Monies are spent way ahead of time before it hits their accounts but that also raises the issue of sound business management by those saddled with the responsibility of running the clubs. If clubs that are funded to the tune of over N150m annually cannot convince their

By Harry Iwuala

bankers to raise overdrafts, then such persons have no business handling that huge amount of money. As a matter of fact, clubs should be beautiful brides of banks as their regular funding by government is one juicy pie bank managers within their domain will be counting on in chasing targets. Yet this si not sufficient to rush players who hardly had an off season to the field all in the name of aligning calendar with other parts of the world.

We can kick-off the season by early February and conclude

by September if not earlier.

This way, our clubs would be in competitive form going into continental and sub-regional competitions unlike the previous situation when clubs that qualified for such competitions lose most of the players that secured the ticket in off season transfer trading.

It was rather surprising that club managers who form the bulk of membership of the Congress allowed the decision to sail through given their openly expressed misgivings over the date. The argument for the alignment of the league season was mooted and carried through during the Chief Oyuki Obaseki regime at NPL and while it was prompted by default, it has been made to look like a thought out program. It was prompted by default arising from the dispute over sponsorship which delayed the league kick-off in 2005/ 2006 and when the dispute was eventually resolved in late 2005, an abridged season was played in early 2006 having almost lost the entire 2005 season that was to run as 2005/2006 in the reformed calendar.

The argument put forward then was that it would stem the incessant absconding of players to Europe for trials while the season here was on and Europe on break. It was a fallacious position that could not be sustained with facts as the issue of players’ AWOL had more to do with unscrupulous agents, the players’ bad behaviour and quest for improved equity to

earn invitation to national team. It had to do with Club owners who encourage the players to go on arranged trials to earn dollar fees and it had to do with the dwindling fortunes of the league here. Till date, Nigerian players from the domestic league still roam Europe and other parts of the world including South Africa and North Africa in search of clubs on and off seasons. To stand on that same presentation to press for a realignment of the season flies in the • Bartholomew Ibenegbu face of knowledge. of Heartland in action One had expected that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Congress in Kaduna would have taken a more mature view of the situation and nudged the NPL into a more accommodating startoff date but that body merely rubberstamped the NPL decisions on all issues. As w e speak, the NFF calendar has not been made public (assuming it has been fuel? drawn up concerning domestic D i d competitions it organizes) but we have t h e the NPL fixtures which as sure as budgets daylight will be disrupted along the way planned

by Federation Cup fixtures and such other a n d plans they will think up as the course of submitted the year. These are some of the issues one before had been raising with successive Executive the cost Secretaries (I hate that appellation) of the j erking NPL dating back to the era of Salihu petroleum Abubakar through to Alhassan Yakmut tax take and now Tunji Babalola. A harmonised i n t o football calendar will reduce the account wastage clubs go through in running this turn of camps throughout the calendar year events? As and it will also help sponsors plan has been their activation programs. Let us note asked in the that Enyimba International did not past, what win the CAF Champions League prize beyond playing the aligned Europe season the CAF and in the years when IICC Shooting Champions Stars, Rangers and BCC Lions won League and the Africa Winners Cup, we were C o n f e d e r a t i o ns playing the February to October tickets would the season. So on what plank is clubs be playing for as the argument of having a reward for their blended team stand on if all investment? Has the issue through the five or six years of television broadcast right of European calendar we accruing to the clubs been resolved have not as much as and how much of the SuperSports $5m will reached the finals except the clubs receive? It is also important that the once? schedule of live match broadcast be drawn ahead Finally, the fact of the of time and published to avoid the situation national economic and where it was found that in a particular season, security turmoil is one club enjoyed television presence at nearly sufficient ground to all its away games while there was only one rescind this decision. covrage of its home game. These are crucial Are the clubs issues the NPL Board must focus on in g u a r a n t e e d repositioning the League before going into the availability of fuel if season. It is only in Nigeria that clubs compete they raise the without monetary reward. additional fund to but

34

THE NATION SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2011

NATION SPORT

Inside The Glass House WITH AMINU MAIGARI

Referees and Refereeing SURELY, this is one topic that is close to my heart, and which I had so much wanted to treat before now, but for unending developments that needed to be talked about – the usual fare in football administration.

I happen to be one of those who believe in Nigerian referees, and who also believe that Nigerian refereeing is headed for the top. But I have gingered more than ever to talk about Nigerian referees and refereeing following the badging of Nigeria’s FIFA Referees for the Year 2012 (which took place in Abuja on Wednesday) and the reality of the start of the 2011/ 2012 season of the Nigeria Premier League, which is today.

Over the decades, Nigerian referees have contributed their part to the development of the Nigerian game. There is hardly a memorable football match (either domestic League, Cup or international) that was not made so by the centre referee. Even at FIFA World Cup level, names of some referees can never be forgotten. Such is the power and authority of the referee.

However, as I pointed out at the badging of the referees, in my speech that was read by the NFF General Secretary, power and authority also go with some responsbilities. And this is the crux. It is not enough to go in there realizing you have so much power, to make or mar a game. It is important to feel a sense of responsibility that this power and authority must be exercised to the full benefit of running a flawless game and according to the rules.

Names like Sunny Badru, Festus Bolaji Okubule, Linus Mba, Emmanuel Dada Obafemi, Iro Aliu Saulawa,

Babatunde Asagba, Olufunmi Olaniyan, Alex Mana, Edikin Imiere come easily to mind.

Whenever people talk of the 1972 FA Cup final, between Mighty Jets and Bendel Insurance, which had to be replayed, the name of Sunny Badru, who was centre referee for that game, also pops up.

In 1983, Festus Bolaji Okubule became the first Nigerian referee at a FIFA tournament, when he was picked for the FIFA World Youth Championship (now FIFA U20 World Cup) in Mexico. Incidentally, that was also the first FIFA tournament attended by a Nigerian National Team, when the Flying Eagles qualified after beating Guinea over two legs.

Okubule also refereed at the African Cup of Nations finals. But there has been a lull over the past decade, especially following the retirement of Mr. Linus Mba, who has today risen to become a FIFA Referees’ Advisor (no mean feat).

I wish to applaud Mr. Peter Edibe, the Nigerian Assistant Referee who will feature at the 2012 African Cup of Nations finals in Equatorial Guinea. Edibe has featured at the top level of African refereeing for the past five years, having not missed a major tournament. He was also on duty at the 2008 African Cup of Nations in Ghana and the 2010 African Cup of Nations finals in Angola.

It is a pity that we lost Auwalu Barau. Barau, who died on December 4, 2011 was due to be one of the men referees to be badged on Wednesday. But he fell to sickness and the nation’s pool is reduced as a result of his departure. May his gentle soul rest in peace.

Among the 27 referees who received FIFA badges on Wednesday were six men referees, six men assistant referees, three women referees, four women assistant referees, four Beach Soccer referees and four Futsal (Five-A-Side) referees.

Of the lot, a young Agatha Mimisen Iyorhe is the new name on the FIFA list, which goes to show that the leadership of the Nigeria Referees Association and the NFF Referees Committee are working very hard to inject new blood.

Come to think of it, the Nigeria Referees Association and the NFF Referees Committee have been working hard and in unison since the appointment of Alhaji Muazu Suleyman ( a member of NFF Executive Committee) as chairman of the NFF Referees Committee.

Alhaji Suleyman’s keen interest, invention and personal commitment to the cause has met with the passion and drive of Alhaji Ahmed Maude, the chairman of the Nigeria Referees Association.

Together, the two bodies have ensured activity after activity for Nigerian referees, with physical fitness (endurance) programmes, badging, seminars, workshops always at when due.

It is also worthy of note that only in September 2011, the two bodies worked together to realize the first-ever FIFA Associations’ Elite Referees Course in Nigeria. During that course, FIFA sent renowned former FIFA referees Sidi-Bekaye Magassa (Mali), Felix Tangawarima (Zimbabwe), Kalume Jumaa (Kenya) and Mademba Mbacke (Senegal) to Nigeria to conduct the course.

At the opening ceremony of the programme on 29th September, Tangawarima charged Nigerian referees to rise up and be counted because, according to him, there is nothing stopping a Nigerian from being picked to be Centre Referee for the FIFA World Cup final match.

And this is true. In 1998, an African, Mr. Said Belqola (of blessed memory) from Morocco refereed the final match of the FIFA World Cup in France, between France and Brazil.

The leader of that team, Sidi-Bekaye Magassa wrote to Alhaji Muazu Suleyman some days after returning to his country: “I wish to particularly single out your continued presence during the course as a pointer to your dedication, high level of commitment and concern you personally have for Nigerian football and most specifically for the Nigerian Referees Development agenda”.

In my address at that programme in September 2011, I had observed: “Refereeing is a very key aspect of

the game of football. The referee can make or mar a game. He can, through his actions, stimulate the crowd or infuriate them. But the modern game continues to demand proficiency, diligence, much better fitness and knowledge of the rules on the part of the referee and a highly professional attitude on the part of all practitioners”.

On Wednesday, the message was also clear: “There is no doubt that the Nigerian referee has proved himself time and again at international level in the past three decades. Yet, we just have to do more. Nigerian referees are not getting the kind of recognition that is deserving of the stature of Nigeria in international football.

“While the Nigeria Football Federation continues to make case for Nigerian referees to be assigned more international duties than they are presently considered for, it is also continent upon our referees to help this campaign with their conduct during the international games that they get.

“The referee is, no doubt, a powerful man in the game of football. He is a man with so much authority. But then, with power and authority comes responsibility. And the responsibility to make the game, rather than mar it, is such that the man/woman must always be very careful and above board in everything he/she does.

“My simple charge to you all, Nigerian referees who have been considered worthy of officiating FIFA matches for the Year 2012, is to adroitly manage this power and authority very well, and do so with the sense of responsibility that goes with it.

“I wish to once more, reiterate that on our part at the Nigeria Football Federation, we will continue to give all the necessary support to the Nigeria Referees Association, the NFF Referees Committee and the fraternity of Nigerian referees as a whole for our country to step up a gear to produce the best referees in the game in Africa and beyond.

“At every opportunity granted, Nigerian referees must ensure they comport themselves well and observe the rules of the game to the letter, which would in turn recommend them for higher responsibilities and also recommend other Nigerian referees for consideration for important assignments.

“This badge is sacrosanct. It is not to be defiled through improper conduct, graceless carriage, irresponsible behaviour and uncouth utterances. It is to be respected and treated with honour and deference”.

And as the Nigeria Premier League starts today, it is important that the referee, a very important man at the centre of every game, comports himself and play completely by the rules. If that happens, we would be someway to returning the domestic League back to its glory days.

Long live the Nigerian referee!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, DEAR READERS, AND MANY HAPPY, POSITIVE RETURNS FOR NIGERIA FOOTBALL IN GENERAL. NEXT WEEK: Our Expectations For Year 2012 (1)

AKINLOYE AT LARGE 08050246155 atlarge84@yahoo.com

Let's begin preparation for 2016

W

E are about to embark on another jamboree, this time to London. We are going to the British capital just to participate thereby fulfilling one of the tenets of the Olympic charter-- just participate. Member countries of the Olympic movement do not take that serious anymore. They go to the Olympic Games well prepared to win.

We won 16 years ago because we we were well prepared. The football team, the Dream Team, was sent to the United States of America (USA) to prepare well ahead of time. They prepared for months without money. The team was made up of the cream of Nigerian soccer stars. It was the national team on parade. So when we won the gold, we expected it. We beat Brazil and Argentina on the way to the gold medal and it was shinning that element of luck went to Atlanta-Georgia with us.

The Chioma Ajunwa's gold in LOng Jump was more romantic. She was kept in London for months in preparation for the Games. When she jumped to gold with her first jump, we were not epecting it but we rejoiced. It had the handwriting of Segun Odegbami on it and the imprint of coaching. Now we are missing from the soccer event so we cannot fight for even the silver we won four years ago and we did not start the Long JUmp revolution through Ajunwa. What they do in other climes is that they build on such successes for the future. We should have taken long jump to schools or grassroots as they say, producing jumpers using Ajunwa as point of contact. She is hidden away in an office when she should be on the pitch clowing her likes.

The 1996 success would have turned us to a country of jumpers, but we have blown it. We blew it 16 years ago when when we came back and no policy statement was made on our successes.

We were winning our first Olympic gold and it should have galvanise us. Rather, we went to sleep and the only jumper worth the name on the dash board just came from the blues. We bank on her for a medal in LOndon but OLympic medal does not come from the blues. You must have shown statement of intent at the World ChampionShip and other international competitions sequel to the OLympic Games.

We missed out of football not because Austin Eguavoen is a bad coach. NO. NOt really. We lost out because our preparation for the qualifiers was epileptic. We started with our players who play for professional clubs abroad when we knew that the qualifiers will come up when they would not be availabale.

The qualifier has been on the drawing board for years and we have always known that the qualifiers willl come up and will be fought by domestic players. When Eguavoen was lining up professional players for the qualifiers, we should have blown the whistle. When it became clear that Eguavoen would fail in the undertaking, the soccer ruling officials left him all alone to carry the can. And the can was an inglorious exit from the 2012 Olympic Games soccer event, an event which is very dear to our hearts.

The only way to success in sports is consistent preparation, scientific, sustained and supported. Ajunwa's preparation was supported by the corporate organisations in the country. We have to take sports back to the people. Sports belong to them.

We must strengthen the clubs and make companies make firm commitment to sports and our athletes.

Delta and Bayelsa state governements have made commitment to their athletes who would be going to London under the flag of the country. They have voted money for their preparation. IT is a good sign on a short run. If it is not coming too late, it will ensure that the athletes face training squarely in Europe or whereever they may be and leave double dealing.

Double dealing is when you have to take a job alongside your training. That is what most of our athletes who qualified for the Olympic Games do. They work and train as well while other countries' athletes concentrate hundered per cent on training.. If the money gets to them in time, it would assist in putting them in shape for the Games and they would not have to come last in their events.

Let the 2012 Olympic Games pass away like a bad dream. We have not done enough to merit a medal in any of the sports. Let us begin to prepare for 2016 edition. Let's begin the Long Jump revolution. It is better late than never.. Let Ajunwa be sent on a coaching course abroad and be brought back to concentrate on the training of jumpers for the country. It is better to be known for something than to be known for nothing.

We are showing a lot of promise in wrestling. Let us go to the grassroots and begin identification of talents for onward transmission to the national camp. It is not enough to have the support of a state government. Government come and go but the support may not last. Let's identify a corporate organisation to attach wrestling to.

Boxing is doing well in Lagos. Let's make the city our catchment area. Let us take the sport to the grassroots and support the talents that are produced. Let's find sponsors for the sport so that our athletes can be busy the year round. This would prepare them for international competitions.

Weightlifting can be given the same treatment because it has a bright future and the country can go far in the sport.

Ike Uche, Ighalo face Bernabeu woes •As Ighalo presents gift to kids in hospital SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

36

Golf...Golf...Golf...Golf...Golf...Golf...Golf...Golf...Golf

J

UST catch this drift. You are celebrating your daughter’s eight year’s birthday and someone is already presenting a box of Kleenex. How would you feel? Now, face it. You could feel like you want to puke… like you’ve just been squeezed in the centre while the minister of finance and Labour are flexing this ego muscle. Anyway, it’s still this feeling you get when you hear that a man of God is trudging the lush course, playing golf. How would the congregation take it?

How would fellow preachers feel about it? And Christ, whatever is happening to the Bible.

Golf course?

You will know Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo of the KICC. Well, he’s the gentleman preacher who is currently turning London around with the living word of Christ. But this is what you might not know.

Ashimolowo loves golf with a roaring passion, so much that he acquired a property near a golf course in London. It’s like if he’s not opportuned to play, he could as well savour the lush greens of the fairway from his vast balcony. All the same, the extremely loved pastor keeps his passion to himself… a secret… like a man nursing a cancer. But, why? The pastor believes most of his counterparts would not understand this passion he nurses for golf.

Months back, however, Ashimolowo visited Port Harcourt’s close to 10,000 member strong Royal House of Grace International Church on a crusade mission. After hours of preaching, he retreated to the office of his host, Apostle Zilly Aggrey.

Entering the office, the first thing Ashimolowo sighted was a silverware Aggrey

GOLFLINE

NTDC brings for

WITH

Tony Akhigbe golflineintl@yahoo.com 0 8 0 94863638

Golf only for the elite ...Says Apostle Zilly Aggrey won in a golf event. The pastor was dumbfounded.

“You play golf?”, he asked his host. Aggrey replied in the affirmative. Then, Ashimolowo lapsed into a feat of serious laughter. At least, he has met someone he can share his golf secrets with.

Apostle Aggrey did not come out to play golf. He didn’t have the time.

Overseeing churches in Port Harcourt and Yenagoa with close to 15,000 worshippers would not allow him such luxury as golf. But confidants were on his neck.

They believed he must have some form of recreation. In fact, one of these confidants, Basil Idahosa,former MD, NNPC Warri Refinery, felt golf would just be the right recreation for the Apostle.

Without informing him, he acquired a golf set worth close to N200,000. This costly set merely had a space in the garage of the Apostle.

Around this period, Apostle Aggrey had problems with his heart. He wasn’t breathing normally.

The physicians thought of a way out. They asked the Apostle to take to

swimming, at least three times in a week. “The first day I attempted to swim at the main club of the Port Harcourt Club”, Aggrey recalled, “I hated the idea altogether. I mean I can’t imagine a man of God in midst of skimpily dressed swimmers out there. I mean it won’t be proper. So I left for home. When I got home I saw this golf set a friend sent me. I was thinking this is costly and I’m not even making use of it. To satisfy my friend, at least, I decided to make use of it. This is how I came into golf. I was introduced to a pro, Bello Seibidor, who lined up lessons for me. I saw myself coming around to the course. The fun was getting into me”.

There is, however, something about golf. It is not about shooting swell scores. It is about living. The moment you start, you want to keep coming. It was like this with Aggrey. He became keen, very prised. His assistants at the church quickly saw this. They began to panic. They believed church work would go awry.

“I could see the fear in my congregation” Apostle Aggrey agreed. “They felt golf would be about everything. But I’m a practical person. I have a way of arranging things. I delegate duties. I catch up on things. I play my golf and things still move smooth in the church. You won’t believe it but when I was celebrating my birthday, the women section of the church presented me with a golf set”.

So, what’s this thing about golf? Some say it’s a game of secrets, of mysterious riddles wrapped in green.

To Apostle Agrrey, golf is even close to religion… a whole life on its own.

“There are mysteries on the golf course”, Aggrey beaming like a proud mother displaying her brilliant child said. “I had this heart problem. But within weeks on the golf course, I didn’t feel the problem again. Besides, golf teaches so many things you can find in the Bible. Like issue of cheating, you won’t hear of it on the golf course.

You see, you record your own score and nobody will doubt you. You can’t just cheat.

“And let me tell you this.

My first weeks in golf, I encountered a lot of prominent Nigerians, mainly Generals in the Armed forces. I was telling myself there should be something about this game… I mean something that could drag powerful people from their homes on a daily basis. Because of this, I did not for a moment hesitate to introduce the game to my friends. I have brought some pastors to the golf course. Prominent among them is Rev. Sonny Cookie of the Life Gate Power Church. Again, see another mystery in golf. I brought in Rev. Cookie. He has played a hole-in-one in the most difficult par 3 [8th hole] in PH Golf Club. This is a feat many people don’t just achieve”.

The talk is on everywhere.

That golf is elitist… that it’s a game for the super rich.

Many don’t believe this. But Aggrey, who presently plays off a double digit handicap believes it wholeheartedly. “We should not make any mistake about this” he disclosed, “Golf is not a game for people who are looking for what to eat. The equipment is costly and then, you have to see through several other expenses just to play a round. But the fun you get makes it up for you. You delight yourself with jokes with people. It’s like after a round, players in my set would jokingly tell the barman: ‘Give Pastor a beer’.

They know I don’t drink but I can still get the joke.

However, I don’t begrudge those of them who drink. You can’t impose your feeling on anyone. Salvation is an individual thing”.

I

T would be a dounting task today at the Santiago Bernabeu for Nigerian duo of Ike Uche and Odion Ighalo as they lead Granada against Spainish La Liga leader, Real Madrid.

Both players have both asiisted Granada to move from the bottom of the table to 13th position.

After a difficult couple of games including the loss at the Ciudad de Valencia to a brilliant Levante however, Real Madrid finally found some form.

Real has not looked back since, and despite losing to Barcelona again at what seems to be their home from home, the Santiago Bernabeu, Los Blancos went into the winter break top of the table having just thumped Sevilla 6-2.

Though, Madrid have question marks over the fitness of winger Angel di Maria and defender Sergio

By Bimbo Adesina Ramos ahead of their game at home as both missed Tuesday's comeback cup win over Malaga through injury.

The absence of Ramos, who has switched from right-back into central defence this season, was particularly obvious as the home side conceded twice from corners to fall two goals behind by halftime.

However, Ighalo was elated when he joined the club's president and vice president Enrique Pina and Juan Carlos Cordero alongside of his teammates to present gifts to kids in maternal and child hospital in Granada.

He showered the kids with gifts ranging from autograph balls, jersey and the toys collected in the campaign "a toy, an entry".

Blackburn turns to Onuoha

B

LACKBURN Rovers has join the race for Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha.

However, it is understood that Rovers boss Steve Kean will face competition from his Stoke City counterpart Tony Pulis. is moving for Manchester

•Onuoha

City defender Nedum Onuoha.

It is believed that Pulis views the versatile player as a full-back in the long term.

Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland are also said to be keen on the City youngster.

Nigeria Idol

39

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

I

T was the first of January, 2012, so it was normal for neighbours to be happy new ‘yearing’. For some of us that defied the Boko haram threats of bombing everywhere and still attended midnight services; it was not surprising that some of us were still asleep when the ‘drama’ began to unfold. Mabel! Mabel! Please leave my husband. First; I thought I had left my television on and the noise might have been from the Africa magic DSTV station. It was a woman screaming at the very top of her voice.

As I tried to adjust my pillow and turn my head to further enjoy my sleep, the voice came again, louder this time.

Mabel! Mabel!! Maabbbeell!!!, I am begging you on this new year’s day, please leave my husband alone! No. I told myself, reluctantly getting up from my bed.

This certainly was not a drama series from the Africa magic or any other station for that matter.

This voice that was disturbing my peace was from a life drama on my very quiet street playing out. Everybody on, or almost everybody on my street started to unlock their gates coming out, including myself, seeking to get a clearer knowledge of what could possibly be wrong on a day like this.

Behold, it was a very pretty lady with three even prettier presumed daughters of hers and a little boy of about two months old strapped on her back. At a first glance, ones initial thought would be that she could be losing her mind, of course it was not unusual to think that, she was looking out of place, her hair falling all over the place, she was barefooted. In fact if not that she was so pretty and had good

•Those days, when Nigerian economy was healthy, any type of wedding could go.

Between 1994 and 2011, personal, state and national economy had been tough,.

Under the present economic condition, after engagement, next is either the tradiational wedding which

Can a grown man be stolen? dictions, others could have mistaken her for a psychiatric case. (My apologies to her though). So here we were, all gathered in our tens and our twenties now fully awake as we asked her why she would first of all create a scene on a beautiful morning like this, when she should be home preparing for her place of worship or tending to her family. So she told her story…

“Tony is my husband. We have been married for over a decade. The first few years were rosy and by the eighth year of our marriage, Tony began to complain that I was only giving him female children (Ironical, right? As if it is not what he gave that he is getting. More ironical that this could be happening in this time and age) “It got really bad when Tony started sleeping outside our home using his job as an excuse. As an understanding wife, I believed his every word because I trusted him. Early last year God blessed us with a male child whom we named Tony Junior. I was thankful because I had thought that this would cement our threatened broken home. Unknown to me, is usually costlier because most relations must know as a matter of tradition or the registry which having atended twice in 2011, is my suggested choice - the simply organised and cheapest for all. Happy new year 2012 and thanks indeed for all the frankness with which you enlightened, educated and

•Abdullah Dosunmu and his wife Nafeesah during their wedding in Lagos

Mabel had decided to steal my man. Tony was staying out for a day or two before now. But after the birth of our male child, he got worse. He began to stay out for about five days or even a week, his excuse was that he had been promoted and that his new responsibility included going on tours. I thought to myself that the promotion was for our own good.

Not until Tony, my husband took another dimension. A route that was totally alien to him. Fine, my husband stays out for days or even more. But whenever he got home, the three things he would certainly not joke about with were; his kids, my food, and my body. These three things that once gladdened him, no matter how bad; began to detest and repulse him, overnight! So, I decided to find out what could be wrong with my man. Long story short, I found out it was Mabel that had stolen my man”. “Please neighbours, tell her to leave my man and look for her own”.

The duplex she is residing now, I gathered was even built by my husband “Help me o!

My husband has been stolen!

‘

Your man’s first impulse will be to protect her and this will not be favourable to your cause.

When you cheat, if you must cheat, must you hurt your home in the process?

’

Mabel! She shouted even louder, leave my husband alone! While the men tried to placate Mrs Tony, telling her to take the kids home and promising to talk to Tony, the women were a little cynical about the whole thing. Not to her knowledge though. While she was there crying profusely, with so much anguish in her voice, everybody appeared very sympathetic.

Eventually, she became calmer as the early morning sun became brighter. She was into a taxi with her innocent children just looking so lost.

If you ask me; it was the kids I had sympathy for. Of course as a lady; I felt a little pity for Mrs Tony, but I had my reservations about her drama that morning. My reservations are premised on the fact that a grown man with his full senses intact cannot be stolen.

I was not too happy that her anger was unleashed only on Mabel and not her husband.

Has it even crossed Mrs Tony’s mind that her husband might be a willing victim? That’s if he’s a victim at all, the women on my street, including my humble self decided to have a talk with Mabel. Truth is that the drama of that morning took us all unawares. Nobody knew Tony was a married man .As a matter of fact they appeared to resident of our street like Romeo and Juliet.

They would stroll hand in hand to buy items together morning and evening alike. People admired them together. They seemed well compatible if you like. How were we to know that he was a stolen man

Text messages Re: Are Nigerian men embracing registry weddings? cautioned all and sundry on various issues in 2011. More powers to your brain and grease to your elbows to en-

able you give us more in 2012, ameen.

Lanre Oseni •All marriages apart from

•Oluseyi Boroffice and his heartthrob, Joy after their solemnisation at the National Christian Centre (NCC), Abuja

traditional marriage are nonsense, imitation and deception. I wish you happy new year in advance Oloyede.

•Your write-up on registry weddings is very educating.

You realise also that under the marriage act, same sex is

or husband? Nothing in his carriage showed that he was.

Many had even thought that we would be hearing wedding bells soon.

So, we did talk to Mabel to fulfil all righteousness, what followed thereafter was as shocking as the morning Mrs Tony woke us all up with her cries. Tony and Mabel became even closer. I must spare you the details because telling it is almost annoying. My counsel to the women is this, if your man is having an affair, never even confront or fight the woman or lady involved.

Never.

You would only end up driving him further into her arms. Reason is because, when you fight or embarrass the lady your man is involved with you make her look like the victim. Your man’s first impulse will be to protect her and this will not be favourable to your cause. When you cheat, if you must cheat, must you hurt your home in the process? Why would you leave your home for not only hours, but days and then weeks? Modesty is the name of the game.

HAPPY NEW YEAR. illegal and unlawful. Vera, go ahead and on 'Divorce'.

Welcome to 2012!

Barr. Moronkeji •And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Chirst Jesus. Amen! Happy new year.

Prophet Amadi

•Anayo Christian Okpe and Immaculate Chiaka Agim during their wedding at the Ikoyi Registry

40

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

Parenting focus: Tackling the teenage years

S

OME days ago, I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and tossed on my bed and I told myself that I’ll survive. To comfort myself, I reached for the iced-cold ginger drink in the refrigerator and took mighty gulps as I sat down trying to tackle the problems before me - teenagers. I have great fears for our teenagers. They think they know it all... and they actually know a lot. But they don’t know it all and if they are not catered for, we’re going to be in trouble in the next few years. The things these young ones say to me when they call me on the phone get me on my feet and it’s beginning to give me sleepless nights. The way they talk freely about sex disturbs me. A thirteen -year-old boy called me last week and he was so confident about the way he went about his sexual exploits.

I wanted to puke. Of course, I didn’t tell him off. I had a duty to try to steer him back to the right path. Most of the mails and text messages

I get from teenagers are about sex - to do or not, when to do etc. Okay, I’m a bit old-fashioned, but I think it’s a little cool to be old-fashioned about sex when we’re talking about our young ones. I have my own children too and I must say I’m grateful that we are coping well with dealing with the problems of the teenage years. I must also confess that I’ve been able to keep a reign on it all because of all the games, educative magazines, spiritual (not religious) teachings and everything at my disposal to keep them on the right tract. Luckily also, they’re really so free with me that we discuss almost everything safe to discuss under the sun. And of course, that matronly-looking matron in their school seems to be doing a good job. As a parent, I can only pray that God should help us all. I’m dedicating the page this week to our teenagers and all parents of teenagers. I’m giving the whole contents of the ivillage piece on teenagers and some others that I got from other sources. As we grapple with how to take them to lands of opportunities, may the devil not introduce horrible thing to them through sex, music and so on.

Talking about future career

T

HINKING about a future ca reer can bring a lot of stress.

Figuring out what he is going to do with this ‘future’ is such a vast undertaking that wrapping his brain around it can seem too daunting. Parents need to learn to help their teen conquer this hefty question by dropping seeds of conversation as time goes by and watch them grow into ideas. This chops up the question into workable issues that you and your teen can enjoy dealing with throughout their teen years.

Time Required: Start as early as middle school.

Here’s How: In your child’s life there are times when they are given the opportunity to see and/or discuss a certain career. Schools have Career Day, an aunt or uncle talk about what they do for a living or your teen’s youth group goes on a trip to a hospital and talks to the staff there. Each of these times is an opportunity for you to ask your teen what he thought of those jobs or that field of work.

When your teen shows interest in a certain career, you should do some research. Then, you can of-

fer your teen some information on that job and related jobs. Help your teen weigh the pros and cons for his different career interests.

Encourage your teen to narrow the choices down to five at the most. He can always change his mind after he sees the specifics for these choices.

Figure out the path your teen would have to take in order to obtain the schooling for his career choices. This is a good time to begin ordering in college and technical school catalogs. Use the catalogs and any other information you have found as an ice breaker for more conversations with your teen.

The ultimate decision lies with your teenager, but you do have the right to have input.

Make this a clear message.

Teach your teen that part of being independent is knowing when and who to lean on, trust and respect.

Tips: Be sure not to push your teen in any specific direction that may be on your agenda. When you may need to push him forward; you

want to guide him towards his future, not the one you may be dreaming about.

Every time you talk to your teen about his future you will need to give him time to digest the conversation. Try not to pick his brain too much while he is doing this.

Simply ask if he is ready to talk more about it and abide by his answer.

Lost contact Please link me up with Aka Olasunkanmi Jr.who, we both met and served in Calabar as NYSC corpse member between September 2006 to August 2007.

From: Olu-Ibk .O. P.S: Really, I didn’t know before now that NYSC had corpse as members! We breed university graduates who honestly should go back to secondary school for serious tutelage. I got a letter last week from a young man who just finished from the Nigerian Law School and I used a red pen to underline his mistakes.

There was hardly any word I didn’t underline. He said: ‘I wrote to sick your assistant….’ . Graduates, please, let us hear you speak as graduates indeed.

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

Talking to them about sex

T

HE first sign of puberty for boys (usually occurring be tween ages 10 and 14) is an increase in the size of the testicles, also referred to as your balls. These sex glands, housed in a sac called the scrotum, wake up during early adolescence and start to pump out testosterone in response to chemical messages from your brain’s hypothalamus and pituitary glands. Without any warning, you may find yourself shifting from thinking about football to thinking about sex.

Testosterone is also responsible for your developing a beard and other body hair, your deepening voice, and your penis widening and lengthening. On the negative side, this hormone is the culprit behind a teen’s breaking out with spots at the most inopportune times. It can even make you do stupid things just to impress your latest love object.

However you bring up the topic of sex and relationships, listen to what your teenager has to say. You can then use this to let the conversation develop.

For example, if they mention condoms, check that they know why it’s important to use them, where to get them and how to use them.

Talking about sex and relationships with your teenager won’t make them want to start having sex, but it will help them to look after their sexual health when they do start.

Try to keep calm even if what they say surprises you, or you disagree. Let your child know your opinions but reassure them that you trust them to make their own decisions.

If you lose your temper or criticize them, they might feel that they can’t talk to you in the future.

Ask about their friends: Ask what your child’s friends think about the subject. This can be a way of talking about your child’s thoughts and fears indirectly. For example, if you see a pregnant woman, you could say, ‘When I was a teenager we were scared of getting pregnant. Do your friends ever worry about that?’

You could then talk about why it’s OK not to have sex, and where young people can get contraception and condoms if they’re planning to have sex.

Little and often: Don’t have one big talk about sex. Make it an open, ongoing topic. Have lots of little talks whenever the subject comes

up. Let your teen know that they can talk to you about anything that’s on their mind.

One of the easiest ways to turn the conversation to sex is during everyday activities like washing up or watching TV. This makes it less of an event. You can use the storyline in a programme, or a celebrity in the news. For example, you could say, ‘What do you think about the fact they’ve had sex?’

Listen to your child’s answer.

You could then talk about why it’s important to use a condom and contraception (to protect against STIs and pregnancy). Make sure that your child knows where they can get them. Don’t sound judgmental or critical.

Find out what they’re learning at school: Ask your teenager’s school what they are teaching your child about sex and relationships.

Ask your child what they think about this. Find out if there’s anything they don’t understand, and if their classes have raised any topics they’d like to discuss with you.

You could say, ‘What do you think of the sex and relationships lessons you’re getting at school?’

Listen to what your teen thinks: Ask your teenager how they feel about things, for example, waiting to have sex with someone they care about. You could say to them, ‘Do you think it’s worth waiting until you meet someone you really care about, and who cares about you, before you have sex?’

You can use this discussion to talk about the risk of pregnancy when a boy and a girl have sex, and about getting contraception ready before having sex. You can also discuss who your child thinks should be responsible for contraception. Make sure they understand that it’s up to both partners to think about using condoms and contraception.

Make sure you know the facts: Sex is a large topic. It covers how our bodies work, pregnancy, relationships and feelings, types of contraception and where to get them, STIs, tests, treatment and more.

If you’re confident in your knowledge of these topics, you’ll be able to answer your child’s questions more readily. If you don’t know something, say so. But let them know you’ll find out. Look up the information and share it with them. Or look it up together.

What are the things that make your teenagers happy?

•Hadassah Women Ministry of RCCG, Dominion Sanctuary recently donated a borehole to Agunbiade market in Agege, Lagos. The Chairman of Orile-Agege LCDA, Hon. Taofeek Adaranijo, taking the first sip at the official commissioning.

Finally, what are the things that make your teenagers happy?

Spending time with family. Spending time with friends and a good relationship with parents makes them happy. You might think money would be clearly tied to a general sense of happiness. But almost no one said “money” when asked what makes them happy, though people with the highest family incomes are generally happier with life. However, having highly educated parents is a stronger predictor of happiness than income. And sex? Being sexually active actually leads to less happiness among 13 to 17 year olds, according to the survey. If you’re 18 to 24, sex might lead to more happiness in the moment, but A lot of teens say religion and spirituality are very important. And more than half say they believe there is a higher power that has an influence over things that make them happy.

&

LIFE

Society Profile

THE NATION, Saturday, JANUARY 7, 2012

STYLE Gossip Interviews

I can't remember the last time I visited hospital

-109-yr-old

Continued on pages 44-44

41

44

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

‘Why I don't allow my children to celebrate my birthday’ •Continued from Page 41 In terms of dressing, it was decent in those days. There was consideration for other people’s lives as well. We would never abuse others. Wedding ceremonies were not too elaborate then. White weddings were not common as well. In terms of courtship, men were very shy to approach ladies. For example, if a man had interest in a woman, he would not walk up to her. Rather, he would use an intermediary to drive home his message.

In other cases, a lady might just be given out to a man even if this was against her wish. While this practice still exists in some remote areas like some parts of Kwara State, it is no longer as common as it used to be then. In my own case, my husband approached me through an intermediary.

What factors did parents consider to determine a man that would make a good husband?

Some of the factors parents considered in the choice of their daughters’ suitors then were the man’s virility, responsibility and commitment. These factors determined their willingness or otherwise to hand over their daughters to the man, knowing their minds would be at rest over her marriage with the man if he possessed them.

Another aspect of the cultural pattern then was the issue of virginity. The woman’s virginity was very important. If she lost it before marriage, she was partially dead. Virginity was like a valuable commodity then. But these days, no doubt, the world is going to the end. May God save us.

Why did you say so?

The girls of nowadays?

Well, you would see that some of them are deliberately wearing clothes that render them naked.

I ask, what is the purpose of clothing? Is it to cover the body or to expose it?

If you dressed like some girls dress now during our days, you would be taken to the psychiatric hospital even before you realised what you had done.

Some of them do not know the gravity of their actions. There is no more decency in manners and mode of dressing because of borrowed culture. Our children have turned themselves into something else. You see ladies wearing skimpy dresses that show vital

‘

•MadamFaderera Amoke

I feel happy. I only remember it and accept greetings. I don’t allow my children to celebrate it for me. I believe it is equivalent to funeral. I am still alive; the party should be suspended for now. I am still alive. I am happy I am alive

’

•Continued on Page 45

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

•MadamFaderera Amoke

•Continued from Page 44 parts of their bodies. Some men even punch their ears and wear earrings. It is total nonsense! These are capable of preventing prayers from being answered.

How was the issue of security in those days?

Security of lives and property was guaranteed then. You could walk about whenever you chose to. Although there were some challenges, it was not like now when that there is unrest everywhere. You could sleep with your two eyes closed. To support my point, night parties were more common than day parties, and they were always violence-free. We started experiencing insecurity during the reigns of the first set of armed robbers like Oyenusi, Babatunde Folorunso and later Anini and Shina Rambo. Those people really terrorised Nigeria. Another armed robber from the Republic of Benin was Seveho, who was killed at a party.

Their mode of operation was very daring. They could face soldiers with charms and escape unhurt.

Was there anything like bombing?

The bombing issue began in 1986 when Dele Giwa was killed with a letter bomb. That was during the

‘

The standard of living was very okay then. We spent pounds and shillings.

A shilling was the equivalent of 12 kobo. The common car then was the Volkswagen called Beatle, which sold for 30 pounds , while Peugeot 505 sold for about 45 pounds.

Babangida regime. I can’t say if there were some before then. But the one that was popular and known to me was that of 1986. Another bombing attack happened at the Casino Cinema in Yaba, Lagos State where several people died.

But generally speaking, life was treasured more, unlike now that bombing occurs every day. Our leaders should find a solution to this problem. I think it is because we have too many idle hands.

When did you come to Lagos from Abeokuta?

I cannot remember precisely. But I was young. I lived at Labinjo Street, Mushin before moving to Oshodi in 1972. By the

’

time I got to Oshodi, there were few houses. For example, in my Street at Daodu, there were only four houses belonging to Olukotun, a lawyer, Oladeinde and Onituwo. Everywhere was bushy and the roads were not that motorable. We used to board a vehicle known as Bolekaja.

What was your occupation then?

I was a trader. I traded in Ponmo.

How was social life then?

We used to have social clubs. There was this belief that whoever did not belong to a club here on earth would not have one in heaven. So, we cherished social clubs then. Among the

housewives, we used to have clubs. We would contribute money at every meeting we held and used it for endof-year parties. We also used such monies to help members when they were in need or when they needed to hold ceremonies.

Who were your close friends?

Ah! I was a very close to Funmilayo Kuti, the mother of Fela Ransome-Kuti.

Were you at any time involved in politics?

Yes, I was. Although I was not that educated, I did a lot of politics with Awolowo, Jakande and so on. This was made possible by my position as the Iyaloja (market head) of a market at Mushin then.

How was politics then different from what it is now?

In terms of election fraud, it started long ago. There used to be rigging during elections, but it was minimal. The likes of Awolowo were very strong politically. They could go to any length to achieve their political goals. However, it is necessary to note that the spate of political killings we have now did not exist then. The people’s welfare was uppermost in the minds of politicians then. They were also ready to be accountable.

In terms of dividends of democracy, politicians were bent on delivering on their promises as contained in their manifestoes. They would at all cost deliver on their campaign promises.

During the Awolowo era, the standard of education was very high and he made it free. I wonder why education is getting worse now. All these leaders, I want to tell you, enjoyed their education days even with free lunch.

What was the cost of living then?

The standard of living was very okay then. We spent pounds and shillings.

A shilling was the equivalent of 12 kobo. The common car then was the Volkswagen called Beatle, which sold for 30 pounds , while Peugeot 505 sold for about 45 pounds.

Although it was difficult to get money then, the little you got was very valuable. Nowadays, money has lost value like other things, such as trust. Our money started to encounter problems around the mid-80s when the Structural Adjustment Programme was introduced by Babangida. It was immediately after that, that we started having armed robbery and other social vices What is the secret of your long life?

It is God. Just God? Yes, God. I don’t have any other thing.

You mean you don’t have any special medical care?

I cannot remember when last I visited a hospital; and I gave birth to all my children at home without any medical assistance. I thank God for my health. He has been very great to me. I sleep a lot and enjoy sitting outside my house to see things.

What are your choice foods?

I eat any fried food. My meat and fish, they must be fried. I don’t like foods that are not fried. I don’t like soup but stew. I drink malt, milk, tea and use sugar as well.

How do you feel at each birthday?

I feel happy. I only remember it and accept greetings. I don’t allow my children to celebrate it for me. I believe it is equivalent to funeral. I am still alive; the party should be suspended for now.

I am still alive. I am happy I am alive.

Do you have a message for Nigerians?

Yes. I want to tell them to please embrace peace by all means. We know we have lots of problems, but violence is not the best option for now. To our leaders, they should try and bear the masses in mind. With that, I think we will go farther than this.

46

THE NATION, SATURDAY JANUARY 7, 2012 Mudi With over 15 years of experience in the fashion industry, Mudi is arguably the number one clothing line for male outfits with several years of experience in the fashion industry. With a vision to be ranked among the best 10 designers in the world and the very best in Africa, Mudi boasts a large number of celebrity figures in Nigeria and some other African countries-South Africa, Kenya and Ghana-as clients. Mudi has indeed come a long way.

W

E can not draw the curtain on 2011 fashion without mentioning fashion designers who set the pace. The fact remains that the story of the fast growing fashion industry is not complete without the contributions of these designers whose works are earning the respect and admiration of fashion stakeholders at home and abroad

Lanre Dasilva-Ajayi (LDA) LDA, as she is well known, is one of Nigeria’s foremost fashion innovators.

She is one of the designers that is rocking the fashion scene for some years now with glamorous regal outfits.

Young and highly talented, LDA woke us from our slumber a few years ago to the world of the classic, vintage and victorian inspired dresses. Though she plays with fewer colours, she always gets her cutting right. She started the Victorian style reawakening. An expert says her collections are distinguished by a diverse fusion of art and history with many nostalgic elements reminiscent of the 40s, 50s and 60s, yet simultaneously modern and appealing to the contemporary woman.

Jewel by Lisa Lisa Folawiyo broke into the fashion scene and took the fashion community by pleasant storm.She sparked a new revolution in ankara couture some years ago by embellishing the ankara fabric with sequins, swarovski crystals, beads and the like. She made a name by churning out fantastic designs. For years, Jewel by Lisa has collaborated with both local and international designers, milliners, jewellers and bead makers.

Lisa has sculpted quite a personal style for herself since appearing on the fashion scene several years ago. She is one the most-sought-after designers in Nigeria.

Kiki Kamanu Kiki Kamanu, according to a source, is the face of her eponymous label which was birthed when she began revitalizing her twin sister’s clothes at age eleven.

While with the Ford modelling agency in Boston, she had the honour of modelling for several designers, including Chanel and Gucci. That she draws inspiration from a myriad of sources is evident in her skilful blending of styles, textures and fabrics from around the globe. Her designs rocked on and off the fashion runway in 2011 both locally and internationally.

Folake Majin of Schon Afrique There is no denying the fact that Madam Folake is one of the talented fashion designers in Nigeria who rocks. She is one of those fashion designers who churn out amazing styles all year round since the 80s.

The Creative Director of Schon Afrique, popularly referred to as the designer to First Ladies, stepped on to the then very young fashion industry in Nigeria in the 1988 with pieces that instantly caught on with women because they were created to be visually stunning and distinctive with painstaking attention to detail. Her custom made designs for her clients and models are each one made to fit the wearer’s personality and body type.

She’s known for her bold designs and creating fashion items of timeless style attitude.

Ituen Bassey Imaginative designer Ituen knows the ABC of the fashion industry. This afrobohemian look designer has carved out a niche for herself at home and abroad.

Ituen worked mainly with high quality and exquisite fabrics, showcasing the beauty of ankara, voile, chiffon, satin and lace. She uses quality vibrant and cotton (ankara) fabric together with other mixtures of fabric and accessories to produce Afro-centric designs that are her signature. Almost all the women of calibre have two or more of her designs in their wardrobe. Item is one lady who’s changing the way we look at the African fashion.

47

THE NATION, SATURDAY JANUARY 7, 2012

Nikita Nkese Okon emerges Miss Niger Delta

T

HE 11th edition of the Miss Niger Delta Peace Cultural Pageant 2011/ 2012 was held on Friday, December 23, 2011 at the Gloryland Cultural Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, following camp activities by delegates from the nine states of the Niger Delta.

The delegates, who were chosen after the screening exercise held in Port Harcourt, Lagos and Uyo zones, went through various kinds of grooming and training while in the camp.

The main event (grand finale), which ended in a grand style, can best be described as colourful, entertaining, classy and magnificent. All 18 contestants from

the nine states of the Niger Delta displayed the rich cultural heritage of their state in music, fashion and dance.

They displayed intelligence, as they answered questions asked by judges and were accessed as they responded.

Then came the moment of truth and emergence of the winner ,contestant number three, Nikita Nkese Okon, from Cross Rivers State.She is a 22-year-old student of the Department of Sociology, University of Calabar. She is 5.8ft tall; she loves reading espionage and criminal novels, travelling and writing. She emerged the Miss Niger Delta, Ambassador for Peace and Develop-

ment 2011/2012.

Other winners were Miss Resident Opuyinebibo (1st runner-up /Pride of Niger Delta), Miss Judith Thompson Osumenya (2nd runner up/Symbol of Talent), Miss Okere Bianca Amarachi (3rd runner-up/Model for Change) and Boma Georgewill (4th runner up/Face of Beauty).

The president of the Miss Niger Delta Organisation, Prince A. Sodin, expressed satisfaction with the decision of the judges and the support from the peace-loving people of Bayelsa who stood behind the Cross Rivers State in-

Sylvia Nduka unveils hair line Miss Sylvia Nduka, the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria 2011 (MBGN), recently launched her range of beautiful hair extensions at the Raddison Blue Hotel, Victoria Island. This is the first queen in the history of the MBGN and Nigeria that has branched out like their foreign counterpacts to do stuff like this, And what makes her hair extensions unique is that they come in assorted hues.

During the launching, she said it was her own way of creating a launch pad for herself. I had to travel all the way to Spain to source for human hair and our target audience are the young people in the society. On the hair range, popular host of E Weekly on STV,Yvonne Ekwere, aka Vixen, said: “I like human hair, so I can tell you that this is top notch, and Slyvia has been able to pay attention to detail to bring back quality from Spain’’

digene to emerge the winner.

The newly crowned queen, Her Majesty Nikita Nkese Okon, expressed surprise on her emergence, since her colleagues were equally intelligent and beautiful.

She said she would not disappoint the Miss Niger Delta Organization and people of Niger Delta. She further joined the Miss Niger Delta Organisation in expressing trust in the newly constituted NDDC board, saying that she was optimistic, going by the competence of persons appointed into the new NDDC board.

British fashion folk included on Queen’s 2012 New Year honours’ list Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year honours’ list of 2012 has been announced, and it includes quite a few big names from the fashion industry. Lulu Kennedy, the founder of London Fashion Week’s Fashion East initiative, received an MBE (Member of the British Empire) title. Her work on the catwalk showcase, which is credited with crucial early support for rising British designers, including Gareth Pugh, Holly Fulton and Marios Schwab, has earned her the title of London’s fashion fairy godmother. One level up on the awards spectrum, OBEs (Order of the British Empire) went to Barbara Hulanicki, founding designer behind the iconic sixties label Biba, shoe designer Emma Hope and the British Fashion Council’s honorary treasurer Christopher Inman.

48

SOCIETY

THE NATION SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

‘Till death do us part’ Chinaka OKORO

T

HE families of Nze Raymond Ajukwaihemere and Rome Anyanwu of Imo State recently experienced a day of joy.

It was the day their children, former Miss Chinyere Ekeji, Manager ,Lone Star Guest House, Masha, Surulere, Lagos and Nnamdi Anyanwu,a businessman, vowed to live together forever as husband and wife.

The Ajukwaihemeres are from Umuolol Obodo, Amaimo in the Ikedure Local Government Area and the Anyanwus are from Umunachi in the Ezinhitte Local Government Area.

The wedding took place at Saint Barth’s Anglican Church, Aguda, Surulere, Lagos.

After the service,the event shifted to Le Real Hotels at Victoria Garden City (VGC), Lekki-Epe Express Road, Lagos.

The Banquet Hall on the first floor of the hotel was a marvel to behold as the interior decoration was aweinspiring. There were dangling theatrical lights of various colours.

The roomy hall painted in cream colour was lavishly embellished with purple and light yellow silky materials.

The tables and the chairs were beautifully adorned with white silky clothing material. At the centre of each table was a pot of ornamental flowers.

Exceptionally soul-lifting music ushered in the couple. While the groom wore a blue English suit, the bride decked a sleeveless, roundneck flowing white nuptial outfit with a hairdo packed backwards and fixed with a white decorative ornament.

The guests gave them a standing ovation as the emcee introduced the newest couple.

Among the dignitaries were Associate Dean, Faculty of Engineering ,Imo State University, Owerri, Dr Onyegbuchule George; his wife, Dr Cordelia; Mr and Mrs Lawrence Ekeji who represented the bride’s parents; Chief Akunne Frank Sokei and Mr and Mrs Taiwo Alabi, sponsors of the couple; Chief and Mrs E.P.C. Obimma Ichie Ezeokwelume; younger brother to Obi of Onitsha Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, Chief Akunne Achebe; MD/CEO, Hygitec Investment Nigeria Limited, Chief Hyginus Okoro, and his wife.

The wedding ceremony, which

•From left: Mrs Maria Ekeji (bride's aunt), the couple, Chinyere and Nnamdi, and Mrs Celina Anyanwu (groom's mother)

• Chief Okoro

•Chief Sokei (left) and Chief Achebe •Dr and Mrs George Onyegbuchule

displayed classic symptoms of affluence, was conducted by Reverend Innocent Molokwu.

Reverend Molokwu urged the couple to allow love, trust and care for each other to be the fundamental pillars of their home.

He enjoined them to cherish the qualities which attracted them to each other which culminated in their decision to live as husband and wife.

He reminded the groom of Adam’s reaction when he noticed Eve whom he recognised as “the bone of my

bone and the flesh of my flesh,” urging him to also recognise his wife as “the product of your rib who has become an integral part of your being.”

The cleric urged the bride to accord her husband the respect due to him.

“Love him, respect him, obey him at all times; see and take him as your special confidant. Build your home and confidence in God around him as the head of the family,” Reverend Molokwu advised.

He regretted that the society is witnessing the unbridled crumbling of homes as a result of lack of love which he described as the only antidote to societal disintegration.

“The best thing that can happen to any marriage is the recognition, on the part of couples, of the efficacy of the kind of love that transcends selfcentredness. I, therefore, urge that Nnamdi and Chinyere to make wholesome love the trivet of your home. The church also urges you to bring up your children when they come with love and the fear of God.

That way, we will experience a society that is crime-free,” he said.

The couple, while speaking with The Nation, disclosed that their union was ordained by God. “I am blessed with a good wife whose intelligence, confidence, mien and general world view depict love, care, obedience and fear of God. With her, a perfect home is assured,” Nnamdi said.

Chinyere described her husband as a friend, companion, special confidant, loving, caring and one whose presence exudes assurance and protection.

NIKAH CEREMONY BETWEEN MR MONSUR OLANREWAJU ALAUSA AND BILQIS ADENIKE IN LAGOS

•Mr and Mrs Olanrewaju

•From right: Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon Adeyemi Ikuforiji; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerc and Industry, Mr Wale Raji; and Lagos State Commissioner for Transport, Comrade Kayode Opeifa, at the event

INTERVIEW

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

49

‘At 70, I have only seven strands of grey hair’

•Prof. Akinyemi There are no longer intellectual involvements in foreign policy, even general issues of governance. Those are the things that have changed.

Of course, I said the style has changed. A government reflects the style and personality of whoever is leading the country. If he is an open person who himself relishes public debates and interactions with the instrument of public enlightenment like the press, he will encourage his ministers to also be engaged with the press so that the country is equally moved forward. But if you have the government where the leader wants to be the only one who must be seen and the only one who must be heard, then any minister who tries to show an independent streak of mind is promptly dealt with. Like the old Chinese saying that it is the nail that sticks out that is hammered. That is why I said the style has changed.

Obviously, at the time I served government, IBB was a very open person; somebody who relished intellectual debate. He was somebody who relished interactions with intellectuals, and the press, and he had no problems with his ministers also being involved.

You once described the late Gen Sani Abacha and Gen Mohammodu Buhari (rtd) as nationalists. Would you have served Buhari if you had the opportunity?

The problem with the question the way you phrased it is that I was only taking one strand of the qualities of Abacha and Buhari, which is their dealings with the West. That was one aspect. There were other aspects of their governance which I don’t

necessarily have to agree with. So I still believe that it is true that it is only Buhari and Abacha who somehow succeeded in not kowtowing to the West or any foreign power for that matter. They were nationalists in foreign policy, and that I admire. But for you to extrapolate that and transfer it to their general behavour in government, no.

If you are to advise President Goodluck Jonathan on how best to tackle Boko Haram, what are you likely to tell him?

I don’t know. I don’t know how to address the issue of Boko Haram.

And anybody who tells you that he knows how to address the issue of Boko Haram does not know what he is saying. The world has not been able to deal with the issue of terrorism manifesting itself in suicide bombers. President John Kennedy was once asked in an interview whether he felt secured with all the paraphernalia of the secret service, and he said anyone can kill an

American president provided that man is ready to lose his life, in the sense that an assassin always has one advantage: he knows his own identity but nobody else does. He knows where he is going to strike, nobody else does. Therefore he can get that first strike at everybody by surprise. If he is lucky and hits his target, that target is dead. The secret service will react a few seconds later and kill the assassin, but he has already achieved his aim.

If a man is ready to lose his life, as long as he takes with him sufficient number of people, how do you deal with a guy like that? Tell me, how?

One of the things people don’t realise was one of the three policemen, including an inspector, lost their lives in the Christmas Day bombing in church because the Police had the information that Boko Haram was going to strike on Christmas Day, but they didn’t know the specific church they were going to strike at. So, the police made its personnel to form a security cordon around several churches, and this inspector did see this car. He tried to stop him but he wouldn’t stop.

The civilian security guard of the church also tried to stop him, he wouldn’t stop until he detonated the bomb. The only way he could have stopped was when the inspector said stop, he didn’t stop and they fired at him. Supposing it turned out that it was the man’s break that was not functioning or he was late for mass and he just wanted to get in, everybody, the whole Nigeria will come down on the head of that inspector, for killing an innocent man. You are making a man to make a split second’s judgment. So, the inspector was trying to be cautious. He paid with his life and the lives of 34 others.

Is Nigeria ready for the shoot at sight on the suspicion that somebody is a terrorist? Is the press ready for that? Are the civil societies ready for that? That is the question you should ask yourself, not government. So, all I will say to the President if I have the chance is that he should summon a meeting of the political leaders. I’m not talking about governors now but the political leaders. He should sit down with them. Maybe in their deliberation, ideas can come up on how to deal with Boko Haram. The reason I said the President should talk to political leaders is to avoid security issues being turned into political ones.

Obviously the job of the opposition to criticise the government is legitimate. But there are issues that are beyond politics, and I think Boko Haram is one of them. And the only way you are sure that you are not going to get party officers and party agents attacking the government over the matter is to make sure you carry the leaders of the party along with you. That should be of process, not of substance. Because the substance of how to approach Boko Haram, I don’t know.

But I know the more difficult an issue is, the more you have many Nigerians telling you how to do it.

Never mind whether it can be done or not.

‘

We don’t determine our looks, except you go for an operation. It’s a gift from God. You can decide to disbelieve me if you like. I don’t dye my hair. I have about seven strands of grey hair. I count them everyday to make sure that none of them is missing. The thing is bushy and it is still growing. Professor Soyinka’s own is three times, if not four times the size of my own...

‘

•Continued from Page 17 Nigerian side is entitled to propose its own issue and we can discuss.

Every member of Chinese delegation said yes, that was the correct position.

I didn’t care whether China was a natural friend of anybody. Nobody was going to tell Nigerians what to say, the language to speak, the document to sign. That has always been my position. The West misunderstood this. They saw me as an unreconstructed radical; whatever it is. But it was the West we had a disagreement with over apartheid; we didn’t have a disagreement with Moscow over apartheid. It was Britain we had problems with over Rhodesia independence; it was not Moscow or China. Why should I be fighting with Chinese when we are not involved in an issue? Disagreements are always on policy not personality by the way, because the West took a different position from our own position.

Anybody holding public office in Nigeria, if he loves Nigeria, he will will be a nationalist. And that is why I have the highest admiration for the present Minister of Aviation for what she has done for Nigeria over that dispute with the British Airways and Virgin Nigeria. They were ripping us off. It is like this MTN and other GSM companies. They will say that conditions are so bad for investment and operation in Nigeria, and all these airlines, the highest profit is made on the Nigerian routes. The profit of MTN Nigeria to the MTN group of countries globally is a substantial one, yet they complain that their tariff must be very high because of the overhead they are carrying. Logically, if your tariff must be very high because of the overhead you are carrying, then your profit margin should be small.

How come it is so large? You tell us that landing rights, taxes imposed by the government, cost of aviation fuel, these are the things that make the prices of Lagos-London ticket higher than one on similar routes, how come you are making so much profit? They could not explain that, and this woman now stood up for Nigeria.

Several ministers had tried to stand up for Nigeria and lost their jobs in the process. So, I give kudos to the aviation minister. I am looking for an opportunity to meet her and say well done.

They misunderstood me. I was fighting for Nigeria the way they were fighting for their countries.

The officials of the third world that the West admire are the people who sell out their countries. Western governments will not sell out their countries, but they will expect your government in the third world country to sell out your country and defer to them. I tell them I’m a nationalist just the way you are a nationalist. That is how they misunderstand my position. It has nothing to do with ideology.

In 1980s and 1990s, we had a robust foreign policy and everybody knew the direction of the country’s foreign policy. Today, it is difficult to do same. What could have been responsible for this?

The time has changed. The environment has changed. The style has changed. The state of the economy in the 70s and in the 80s after the civil war was a very buoyant one; extremely buoyant. We had vibrant intellectuals, vibrant middle class who had more time to spend on intellectual and social activities. A university lecturer then didn’t have to worry about where he would get money to buy a spare tyre for his car. He didn’t need to worry about paying school fees for his or her children. But as the economy collapsed, the preoccupation of the middle class and the intellectual class has actually become economic survival.

There are more Taliban operatives in Afghanistan today than before the Americans went there. To say that you can defeat terrorism, I’m still waiting for somebody to come up with the strategy to defeat terrorism.

You scared me with your submission I’m scared myself. I’m not only scared, I’m sorry for your generation, because you’ve got to live with this problem. I’ve bought my ticket on the plane; the 80s are on departure hall already, while the 90s are waiting for their flight to heaven to be called. My own, at least at the age of 70, you’ve bought your ticket.

You guys are not even near reservation. This problem is not going to get better.

There has always been civil insurrection in Nigeria. Don’t let anybody tell you that civil insurrection is a new phenomenon. Low intensity resurrection has been in Nigeria. It started in the Tiv area in the Middle Belt, even when the British were here. Then there was Operation wet e in the West. Then there was civil war. You have always had this episode of what I will call rioting with the political objectives in the North. You had Maitasine.

You’ve always had fringe elements Islamic movement manifesting themselves in the act of insurrections over the past 50 years. It has been there. Each time it happens, it is worse than the last. And this is worse than the last time because the last time there were no international connections, this one has international connection. They are linked up with people who are better trained and who have more experience in act of terrorism, and so there are resources out there to empower a group like Boko Haram.

When many countries of the world were developing their nuclear capabilities, you advocated the black bomb for Nigeria.

Do you still think this is relevant?

Can Nigeria still achieve this?

It is not a question of whether it is possible or not. Probably it is a question of whether it is advisable. I’m sure if you ask me to pull in a thousand Nigerian nuclear scientists from all over the world, if you give me seven days, I can begin to have names and addresses. They are out there. If a country as poor as Pakistan can has nuclear bomb, I don’t see any inherent incapability on the part of Nigeria.

But having seen nuclear accidents in the United States, the Soviet Union and lately in Japan, if these countries with their level of sophistication could still have this mishap in nuclear technology, I think I would really have a rethink as to whether we can have a nuclear enclave that will be insulated from the vagaries of the Nigerian state or the Nigerian system. That was exactly what I said when you asked me about foreign policy, about circumstances changing. The circumstances under which I made that proposal in 1980 has inflicted on Nigeria. Terrorism in Nigeria is a dent on our profile abroad. Not only are we victims of terrorism, but because of the activities of people like Muttallab, we are now a state where they said there is terrorism. Internationally, that is a great psychological blow on the profile of Nigeria. You can’t get out there and start speaking with the kind of confidence that we spoke within in the 80s. It is no longer there because of this and because of other problems.

Nigerians believed and responded to the Babangida of the 1980s in a way that they responded to the Murtala of the 1970s the way they will never react to any other leader.

I think those two, Murtala Muhammed and IBB, had in their palms all they needed to launch Nigeria into consolation of global actors. Murtala was killed, the IBB ad-

50

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

M

•Gundiri

•Nyako

Adamawa 2012: A three-horse race Augustine AVWODE Assistant Editor Borno and Lagos states to stake claim to the Adamawa Government House.

He also enjoys the backing of Prof. Jubril Aminu. Aminu, is known to have been frustrated by the PDP leadership in the state last year in his bid to return to the Senate. He decided to work for the opposition as a way of also taking a pound of flesh and a gallon of blood.

The ACN has enjoyed a steady acceptance in Adamawa in the last five years. In 2007, the party gave Atiku Abubakar, a prominent son of the state, the presidential slot.

And even though he had since gone back to the PDP to contest the presidential election in 2007, the party again handed another son of the state, ex- boss of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the presidential ticket for 2011.

Also, the party has won some elections in the state. In 2007, it had two House of Representatives and even got more in the 2011 general elections by upping it to two House of Representatives seats and four House of Assembly seats while the PDP cleared 20 seats and the CPC failed to register any. Gundiri, a civil engineer and retired permanent secretary in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources in the month of December last year, barely a month to the election, received as many as 25,000 defectors

‘

•Marwa

from two major parties.

The defectors came from the PDP and the National Transformation Party (NTP), including its former

If it holds next Saturday, it would be an interesting electoral contest to watch as it has the potential of demystifying many political heavy- weights just as it could reaffirm their continued relevance

‘

ISSILES may not be launched from helicopter gun ships and artillery fires may not be heard on Saturday, January 14, yet the race to Dougirei Government House, Yola in Adamawa State has all the trappings of two generals going to battle in a bid to clinch an only available diadem. At least, that is the immediate picture one gets.

The incumbent, Governor Murtala Nyako, who will be flying the flag of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is a retired Admiral in the Navy, while his closest challenger, at least on paper is Mohammed Buba Marwa of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), a retired Brigadier General. The two front runners are sure to convert and deploy their military skills and strategies in a civil way in order to be the next occupant of Dougirei Government House.

But that is not to say that others, who might not have military background and training, are not in the race. Analysts hold that contrary to the notion of a two-horse race that is being bandied around, the presence of a dark horse in the person of Mr. Markus Gundiri of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) makes all projections narrowing the race to only Nyako and Marwa a risky venture. There are also Dr. Zainab Kwonchi of the Africa Democratic Congress (ADC); Salisu Butu of the KOWA Party and Alhaji Usman Ahmed of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

Analysts have said that many things would determine the outcome of the election on Saturday, if the Federal Government moves quickly enough to nip in the bud the planned nationwide strike by organized labour and other civil society groups. Apart from individual political clouts, the electoral success of their parties is being tipped as the one most important factor that could swing the electoral scale more than their backers and financials or influence of godfathers.

The incumbent, Nyako, is seeking a re-election. He won the party’s primaries in a landslide fashion securing 854 votes of the possible 863 delegates accredited for the exercise.

His challenger, Dr Umar Ardo, had no single vote, while others were voided. Nyako is touting his achievements in office as reason why he should be given another four years, but his critics are saying that he has rather failed than achieved anything. He also has the backing of former vice-president Atiku Abubakar and perhaps other stakeholders in the party, such as lawmakers, at both state and national levels.

Atiku’s support for Nyako is understandable. Since he is most likely to still pursue his presidential ambition in 2015, he would need a united and strong home base support, and, therefore, should he support Nyako and he wins, he could enjoy that support.

The same thing applies to the support Alhaji Bamagar Tukur has given Nyako. It is no longer news that Tukur is eyeing the chairmanship of the PDP and he will need the support of his state wholesale and undivided to make any headway.

Marwa, on the other hand, was handed the ticket of the CPC virtually on a platter of gold as he was returned by popular affirmation. He had clinched the ticket last year just three days after he dumped the PDP only for the courts to rule that governors of five states still had some time to spend in office.

Marwa is riding on his achievements as military administrator of

governorship candidate, Chief Maurice Vuno Bolki.

Gundiri has solemnly assured the people that the ACN would form the next government in the state, urging other parties to join him in the plan to develop Adamawa. At the reception ceremony, he urged the people to ensure that Adamawa joins the league of such progressive states like Lagos, Edo, Osun and Ekiti, saying that the party represents everything they are yarning for.

Bolki said he had to jettison his

ambition because he realized that the ACN candidate is bound for the Government House in Yola next year.

He said he was bringing such a high number of defectors into the ACN because of his belief that the party would form the next government in Adamawa State. Bolki donated about 35 NTP campaign vehicles to the ACN, promising more assistance until the ACN gets to power in the state next year.

These developments have made many people to say that the days of godfatherism in Adamawa politics, especially when such godfathers have suffered multiple electoral disgrace at the centre ,are gone.

Adamawa is one of those states that enjoy favourable tenure interpretion verdict by the court.

Others are Bayelsa, Sokoto, Cross River and Kogi states. Kogi has already had its election on December 3, 2011. The sixth state that would hold election this year is Edo, though it is not part of the five that went to court for tenure interpretation.

The terminal dates for the tenure of the governors in the six states which the INEC is set to focus its attention on in the next eight months are as follows: Kogi - April 4; Adamawa - April 30; Bayelsa – May 27; Sokoto – May 28; CrossRiver – August 27 and Edo – November 12.

According to the INEC, the exercise, which started in December 2011 in Kogi, would run to July, 2012. The election dates as announced by the INEC are: Kogi December 3, 2011; Adamawa – January 14; Bayelsa – February 11; Sokoto – March 10; Cross-River – April 14 and Edo – July 14.

If it holds next Saturday, it would be an interesting electoral contest to watch as it has the potential of demystifying many political heavyweights just as it could reaffirm their continued relevance.

51

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

R

EACTIONS to our story on the ordeal of some Nigerians students in the hands of the Malaysian Police have been testy and mixed. The story, published on Saturday, December 17, 2011, was headlined: “Our raw deal in the hands of Malaysian Police, by Nigerian students”.

While some readers condemned the attitude of the Malaysian security operatives to the Nigerian students in the Asian country, some others allied with the action of the Police.

Reacting to the incident, the Chairman of House Committee on Diaspora Affairs, House Representatives, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said what the Nigerian students went through in Malaysia was pathetic. She told The Nation that it would be difficult to do anything about the matter until the students make a formal complaint to the Nigerian authorities.

“We should get a formal complaint from these students, but in the meantime, you would see that in the story, they are not willing to really come out; even if they don’t want come out let, them send a formal complaint to the House Committee on Diaspora Affairs.

She said it was worrisome that Nigerians are being maltreated in other countries. “On my table now, we have five different cases of five different countries and continent.

This one is particularly pathetic because we are seeing students who are genuinely resident in that country, judging from your story. We need to actually find out from the embassy why they did not respond.”

Dabiri-Erewa promised to investigate the matter by contacting the Nigerian High Commission in Malaysia to know why they did not respond to the distressed students.

“The Committee will get in touch with the High Commission in Malaysia. Generally, what happened is pathetic; there are always two sides to a story. But sometimes, Nigerians don’t bother to contact the embassy because they assume they won’t respond.”

The Reps Committee chairman disclosed that many Nigerians are currently languishing in jails in different parts of the world. According to her, “About 400 Nigerians are in jail in Brazil; in Algeria, almost 500 are in jail. Sometimes, we don’t actually pay attention the way we should.”

Commenting online, a reader who identified himself as Gbenga, in his reaction wondered why the Nigerian High Commission refused to come to the aid of the distressed students. “We are so full of hatred for ourselves that we choose to back the rough and brutal treatment of these students at the hands of the Malaysia Police. The crux of the matter here is, are the Malaysian Police or any Police justified to maltreat anybody? If their action is not premeditated, how did the media get wind of the arrest? If the students were guilty, why release them after 10 days and not charge them to court?“ Another respondent, while not differing from the position of the above respondent, said:”There is racism all over the world, especially in the near and far east. These people think blacks are genetically inferior and are fit only to be hewers of wood and drawers of water. Their own dark skinned citizens are treated worse and are made to take the worst jobs.” He wondered why Nigerians are left at the mercies of foreigners.

“During Obasanjo’s regime, embassies were ordered to look after all Nigerians no matter what but they have now gone back to the status quo i.e do nothing, they are only there for the allowances. There may be criminals amongst the Nigerians but the onus is on the embassies to render help to the citizens. That is what they are there for.”

Botak Chin, a Malaysia who

Nigerian students’ ordeal in Malaysia

Let victims lodge a formal complaint to House of Reps — Abike Dabiri-Erewa

•Some Malaysian police officers in action

•Mrs Dabiri-Erewa

Gbenga ADERANTI, Assistant Editor claimed to live in the neighbourhood where Nigerians reside, said Nigerians are not bad people as some would make them believe. He observed that the hatred could be as a result of some of them seeing Nigerians for the first time.

He advised that “Just like any community of foreign students in any land, it will probably take a bit of both sides to reach out to each other in order to break pre-existing boundaries in a process that may take many student generations.”

Chin insisted that Nigerians are not the only people facing hardship in the hands of Malaysian security agents. “In Malaysia too, the predominantly ethnic Malay authority as well as some in government have been known to victimise Malaysians of other ethnicities in various other operations and in the way things are portrayed in the media too, regardless of darker or lighter skin. Similar to how a small minority of Nigerians may be damaging the reputation of a majority, the minority of racists in Malaysia has long been damaging the reputation of many other good Malays.”

A respondent, who preferred to be called James007Bond, said there are good and bad Nigerians but unfortunately, “Malaysia is a country where there is respect for law and order and they tackle crime seriously, unlike our country where everyone is a law unto himself.”

Another respondent, who calls himself simply as Legenda, condemned the arrest and lambasted the Nigerian High Commission for its lackadaisical attitude to the matter. “The arrest was conducted unlawfully. Students with valid passports were arrested and detained for more than two days. Nigerians, we don’t care about ourselves. The Nigerian high commissioner in Malaysia also did not support the affected Nigerians during their travails.”

Common Nigerian advised: “Let there be concerted efforts to make Nigeria and its system functional.... good leadership, economy, health facilities, education, security, and let there be abundant electricity, abundant job opportunities, and everything that is needed to make life meaningful in the country. I believe with the provision of these, Nigerians will stay at home, and our beloved and great country will even be another place that immigrants from Asia, Europe, America etc. would like to flood. What a shame, with all the abundant resources God has given us, Nigerians will end up migrating to other countries that under normal circumstances cannot measure up to Nigeria. “ Nat 5, while posting his argument, however, punctured the argument of the Nigerian students, said he had been living in Malaysia for the past five years studying and had not once been stopped or harassed by the Police here. “May be just one or two occasions and I was asked for my papers which I presented and was let go. The truth is that some Nigerians who do not deserve to be called Nigerians come here in the guise of studying, but they do drugs and scam and all sorts of rubbish and spoil the name of Nigeria here.

Even my girlfriend told me sometimes she doubts if I’m a Nigerian

because what she hears is way different from what I’m. I’m sorry to say but Nigerians are very bad people here and do not deserve any sympathy. I just feel sorry for the serious and innocent few who are really here to study.”

Little Bear, probably a Malaysian, said: “Honestly, whenever I see Africans on the streets, I would have a negative perception about them. I admit there are good Africans out there but generally, the bad ones are those that have tarnished the Africans’ image. Partying all night and causing disturbances among local residents, cheating, drugs and the list goes on. Remember, the police will not launch an operation if the scale of the vices and disturbances is not large.”

Peteabraham73 is not happy with the Nigerian High Commission in Malaysia. “I call on the main three arms of government in Nigeria to close down the embassies of Nigeria, especially in Malaysia and Thailand, in order to cut down expenditure on the part of the Federal Government since this kind of institutions are only meant for siphoning money in the name of diplomatic appointments,” Peteabraham73 said.

A Nigerian in Malaysia, Villalaurel, said: “When you have a problem and call the embassy, they will tell you they don’t know you or demand money before they can help you, what a mess to our government? Malaysians have killed many Nigerians for no reason; they would cover up the case and put some drugs on them and say they are drug dealers.”

Muhammed, who claimed to live in Malaysia, said non-Nigerians, while committing one crime or the other, claim to be Nigerians when they are not. Narrating his personal experience, he said: “I met a girl, who was a prostitute; when I asked where she came from she said Nigeria not knowing that I’m from Nigeria. I asked the city and she said Port Hort. When I asked her where in Port she was from, she got confused and said she was from Uganda!”

52

THE NATION, SATURDAY,JANUARY 7, 2012

How to improve on your marriage

D

Dear Reader, I strongly believe you enjoyed the Christmas celebration. I feel so delighted to say to you, "Happy New Year in advance!" Sounds of joy shall not cease from your habitation in Jesus' name.

I started this teaching by notifying you that marriage is a miracle. Also, I unveiled to you marriage covenant responsibilities. I also told you to beware of divorce. Today, as 2011 passes by, never to be observed again, I wish for you to Make Right the Wrongs of your Marriage Covenant!

Time never corrects an error!

An error yesterday remains an error today, except it is corrected.

You can make wrong right!

Y

OU cannot live without your immune system. It is your first line of defence against attack by micro-organisms.

The incredible complexity of the human body is probably most clearly illustrated by the immune system and how it operates.

It makes so much more sense to boost your immune system as a precautionary measure, rather than trying to do so once you have fallen ill.

Here are some important things the experts say you should do in order to stay healthy.

Antioxidants: It directly boost the performance of the immune system.

Increase your intake of the

Many people pass through a lot of difficulties in their marriage, today, because of a wrong foundation in their marriage. I have seen women being driven out of their homes at the death of their husbands, because their union was "illegal". The woman has no voice, because she has no legal backing. Wisdom is profitable to direct (Ecclesiastes 10:10).

I remember a woman I counselled sometime ago. She had been going through a tough time in her home, and was ready to call it quits. To top it up, she had no child. When I interviewed her closely, I discovered that there were a lot of loopholes in her marriage. Her dowry was not paid, and there was nothing legally binding herself and the

man together, as husband and wife. No court wedding, no church wedding! Both of them just started living together!

I counselled her to ensure that the dowry was paid, legal papers signed in the court of law, and their union is blessed by a minister of the gospel. The next time I saw her, she was over-joyous and full of testimonies. To the glory of God, today all is well with that marriage. To crown it all, she was also expecting a baby as at that time!

If the foundation of your marriage is not built on the instructions of the Word of God, there is no way you will have a fulfilled family life. It is important, therefore, that you go and pay the dowry, if it has not been paid.

This is scriptural!

Furthermore, parental blessing is very important in a marriage covenant, as read in Genesis 24:58-60. It is something you cannot rule out. There is something about the blessings your parents pronounce on you that stick on you, until all their good wishes be established in your life. From the above scripture, Abraham's servant did not just grab Rebekah and disappear

with her. Due procedures were properly followed, and the blessings of her parent became a practical reality in her life.

It is also very important in your marriage covenant to acknowledge the place of a holy Christian wedding. The Word of God says: And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man (Genesis 2:22). In this verse of scripture, we see God's practical involvement in the institution of marriage. He gave Eve out to Adam. It is therefore, unsafe for you to go into marriage without God. This will definitely attract the attacks of the devil. You shall not be a victim in Jesus' name!

Are you reading this article and have been living together with your partner without the payment of dowry, or having a formal engagement or public Christian wedding? Or you have been living together for years and have even had children, without a proper marriage.

This is not a holy union.

Instead of feeling or living in condemnation, you need to make things right, today, by paying the dowry. Go and legalize your

union. A proper legal documentation of your union is that point of contact to remind God that you have fulfilled all righteousness concerning your marriage, and therefore, the enemy must not have access into your family. You can do this simply by going to the court for a court wedding. Then look for a minister of the gospel to bless your union.

You need the grace of God to make every wrong right in your marriage. You can say this prayer and be born again: Dear Lord, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins.

Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Now I know I am born again!

Congratulations! Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through: E-mail: faithdavid@yahoo.com Tel. No: 234-1-7747546-8; 07026385437, 07094254102.

For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all the Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Making Marriage Work, Marriage Covenant and Building A Successful Family.

7 proven immune system boosters antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin A, beta and mixed carotenes, vitamin E and selenium. But rather eat the foods containing these antioxidants than going for supplements - studies have shown that these can be detrimental to your health.

Fruit and vegetable daily: Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and drink a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice every day (with 250mg of vitamin C per glass, it is enough for a child’s daily needs in winter, but an adult needs a little more).

De-stress: Control your stress levels with daily relaxation techniques. Ongoing stress places a tremendous strain on your immune system, and this makes you susceptible to viruses and bacteria that make you fall ill easily.

Unique Soya. Prebiotics, such as the oligosaccharides (which are fermented and not digested) in soya make the immunity-boosting organisms grow more rapidly and enhance their positive effect.

Drink lots of tea and water: Researchers in Boston found people who drank five to six cups of black tea each day seemed to get a boost in that part of the immune system that acts as a first line of defense against infection. Water has also been proven to help with the immune system.

Pre- and probiotics: Pre- and probiotics are powerful immunity boosters. Prebiotics are food components that improve the food supply of the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, so that the beneficial bacteria can grow and flourish. Probiotics are cultures of the beneficial bacteria that occur in

the intestinal tract of healthy human beings. Probiotics increase the uptake of important minerals from the GI tract thus preventing deficiencies, which lower immunity.

Essential nutrients: Micronutrients such as vitamin A, iron and zinc improve immunity in both old and young. Vitamin A reduces the risk of infection. Iron boosts immunity via a number of important enzymes and immunity factors. Zinc plays an important role in normal growth and increases antibody production.

Woman gives birth to twins… five years after sister was born

H

AVING twin babies can of ten be a handful – unless, as with Reuben Blake and his sister Floren, they arrive five years apart.

The siblings were born from the same batch of embryos created during their parents’ IVF treatment.

But while Reuben was successfully implanted in 2006, sevenweek-old Floren was kept on ice until last year.

Now their parents, Jody and Simon, delight in telling wellwishers all about the incredible age gap between their ‘twins’.

‘I tell everybody I can,’ said Mr Blake, a business lecturer.

‘People take an interest in a newborn baby and with Reuben around as well, I find it very difficult to resist the temptation to say “Oh and by the way, they are twins”.

‘It’s almost just to see people’s response. They are really amazed and surprised.’

His wife, a charity worker, added: ‘It does feel quite surreal.

‘I think people are really, really surprised and it almost takes them a few minutes to get their heads around it.

‘We obviously had nine months to get it straight and to think “Gosh, we’re having Reuben’s twin”, but it’s incredibly special.’

…Reuben and Floren were conceived at the same time but born five years apart

•You took your time! Reuben Blake, five, with his twin sister Floren (seven weeks). They were conceived from the same batch of embryos

Mrs Blake, 38, and her 45-yearold husband began fertility treatment in 2005.

During the medical process, five embryos were created and two implanted in Mrs Blake, which resulted in the birth of Reuben on December 9, 2006.

The remaining three embryos were frozen until the couple, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, decided to try for another child in March last year.

Only one of the embryos survived the defrosting process and 39 weeks later Floren arrived by Caesarean section.

Reuben is fascinated by his little sister. ‘He knows that she’s been in the freezer,’ said Mrs Blake.

‘He likes to say she has been in the freezer with the chips and the chicken, so he is sort of aware that she is his twin, but obviously he doesn’t really understand how it’s all worked.

‘They do look very similar.

Reuben was just a bigger version of Floren when he was born, so certainly there are similarities physically.’

Recalling their decision to try for a second child, Mr Blake said: ‘We wanted to complete the family. We were aware the odds were long.

‘You just can’t comprehend that a life could come from some material that’s been frozen for that length of time.’

Doctors who treated the Blakes at the Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine said the decision to freeze remaining IVF embryos was a safer way to have more than one child.

Lead clinician Dr Valentine Akande said: ‘We very often recommend storing surplus embryos so that they can be used at a later date.

‘Sadly, due to the chance work of nature, not everybody is able to have those surplus embryos and, of course, not everybody meets with success when they are used.’

Health quote To ensure good health: eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life.

—William Londen

53 Coping with diseases

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

Mice and rats: Keeping them out of our homes HY do we need to keep mice and rats out of our homes?

They carry diseases and they breed fast. Many scientists have studied them. For example, in a study published in 1995 about wild rats found on farms in England, Webster and MacDonald revealed that they carried worms such as pin worm, tape worm, and liver worm.

Five different disease causing bacteria and a virus that causes hemorrhagic (internal bleeding) fever were also found in them.

Living on their skin were fleas, lice, and mites that can transmit diseases such as typhus to humans. Rats also have mycoplasma that invade the breathing tubes and can be linked to lung infection and bad breath in humans. Rat fur often have many eggs of flies deposited there and fly maggots invade wounds on rats.

Rats can transmit pathogens to us when they invade our kitchens or walk over our clothing, carpets, and furniture. Rat feces can contaminate animal fed and diseases can be transmitted to humans through undercooked meats.

If a rat bites you , you may get rat bite fever from bacteria transmitted through their bite which a doctor can prescribe an antibiotic for. There are many other ways by

W

which rats and mice can transmit diseases.

Rats are difficult to eradicate. They seem to have been around on earth for about 3.5 million years.

They have come to love human environments because there they find free food and lack the kind of predators that exist in the wild. Because of their opportunistic relationship with humans, biologists call them commensals.

Rats breed prolifically.

An investigator called Calhoun discovered that from ten rats he started with in 1963, he obtained almost 200 rats within two years.

In the wild, rats are both polygamous (when one male is able to dominate many females) and polyandrous (when many competitive males are available and take turns on one ready female (having entered estrus)). Females in estrus are known to hide after a single copulation to avoid the stress imposed on them by many eager males. Male rats have large testicles compared to other mammals of same size.

The breeding capacity of rats produces a high infestation rate in human abodes. Mice are similar, statistics showing that they are pregnant for three weeks, deliver 3-14 young mice (about 7 on the aver-

with Prof. Dayo Oyekole

T age), a female can reproduce 5-10 times per year, and the babies reach sexual maturity in about 6-8 weeks. It seems that all that rats and mice do is to reproduce. In English, a group of rats is referred to as a pack or a mischief (I prefer the latter). Rats may live up to 22 months but this is very rare as they usually die from various causes before that age.

In order to successfully eradicate them, we must also know what attracts them.

Rats depend on their sense of smell which is very sharp.

Humans can smell a rat but we cannot smell many things that a rat can smell.

(For example, rats have been trained to help humans detect landmines by smell). Rats also have sensitive whiskers and a keen sense of hearing through which they hear things that humans cannot hear including ultrasonic emissions.

They do not see objects clearly as humans do but can sharply distinguish between light and darkness and have a more limited color vision.

Within our homes, they perceive the values of things according to their needs. If they

are hunting for food, they will seek to enter any compartment from which food smells.

If they are making a nest in their holes, then our papers and fabrics feel interesting for shredding and lining their nests. If they want to play, they see exciting structures to climb and twist and turn on.

They also exhibit keen exploratory behavior so that if an area feels quiet and safe enough, they will snoop all over it hiding here and there as they go. Interestingly, they leave tiny drops of urine as scent marks along their path.

A rat gets a lot of information from the scent mark of another rat such as the sex of the rat, the sexual maturity of the rat, and other information that are important to rats but humans may not understand. Although we can hear a rat squeak, rats can emit some sounds to one another that humans cannot hear.

Dr. ’Bola John is a biomedical scientist based in Nigeria and in the USA. For any comments or questions on this column, please E m a i l bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 07028338910

Staph and erectile dysfunction

S

TAPHYLOCOCCAL infections can lead to erectile dysfunction in men.

Erectile dysfunction is the inability of a man to produce a consistent or maintain an erection of the penis sufficient to have a sexual intercourse. Erectile dysfunction is also referred to as sexual impotence.

Sexual impotence is a serious health problem that has broken many marriages today. Studies have revealed that apart from the need for couples to be rooted in God, sex is the next best tonic for

a strong relationship! Studies have shown that over 20 percent 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. Sec-

ondly, the presence of STD’s is another major causative factor. Most men suffer from STD’s which have ended up destroying their libidos.

A sexual disease like staph.aureus is a known destroyer of the sexual organ.

Apart from those that are born with sexual impotence, these two factors are usually responsible for the impotence in men these days.

Normally, a healthy man with full potency should be able to have erection at least three times daily. If a man sleeps, an erection should be the first thing to wake him from sleep if truly he’s sexually potent, it is a natural phenomenon. If a man does not experience an erection even when a naked body of a woman is paraded before him, then there is a serious problem.

Naturally, although age has a role to play in erection sustainability that is it takes a little stimulation for a youth of between ages 20 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 es-

pecially staph infection. This situation is so alarming that I begin to wonder what the situation will be like in the next 5 – 7 years.

Even as an adult one’s sexual life should be very active especially among married adults because this will foster a serious relationship among such couples. Most men usually complain of having difficulty in retaining their erection after a round of sexual intercourse, and this has really caused a lot of problem between them and their hubby.

There have been many cases, that we have treated and God has used us to save homes from breaking apart.

If as a man you wake up in the morning without your manhood becoming turgid for more than 3 – 5 days then you should know that there is a cause for alarm. You really need to examine yourself before it becomes too late. My candid advice to all men is to avoid having any form of casual sex in order to prevent infection. They should also live a healthy life, eat good and well- balanced diet, exercise regularly and abstain from casual sex.

Whenever they notice any form of problem concerning their sexual life they should not hesitate to go for medical check up before the situation gets worse.

•Dr B. Filani is the Chief Consultant of Sound Health Centre, Lagos. You can contact him on 08023422010 or on facebook or email soundhealthcentre@yahoo.com.

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, trans-placental infection, organ transplant, tattooing and circumcision as well as breast-feeding.

The major characteristic feature of AIDS is weight loss of about 10kg within 1 month without a known cause. Other symptoms include chronic diarrhoea, persistent cough, skin infections, oro-pharyngeal candidiasis, swollen lymph glands and night sweating.

Prevention Prevention of AIDS is achieved through avoidance of casual sex, and other factors that may predispose to HIV infection; as well as sterile procedures in clinico-surgical practices.

Treatment and Control Before recommending our treatment and control packages for HIV/ AIDS, it is pertinent to ask the following questions: 1. Why do outbreaks of serious infectious diseases leave some people devastated and others free?

2. If some people are known to be carriers and could go around with the virus for up to 15 years before they physically breakdown, couldn’t there be ways of helping to cleanse the virus from the system before it manifests?

3. Are the sufferer’s thoughts, aspirations and living habits not affecting the disease cycle as well as response to treatment?

If yes, then in Holistic Lifecare, we are committed to total cure of HIV/AIDS sufferers when they have just been tested and diagnosed positive, when they are still able to eat, drink and move around on their own, but not when they are expecting their funeral the next day!

The Holistic Natural Remedy being suggested for restoring good health, vitality, and total cure in HIV/AIDS sufferers; is a combination of herbal, nutritional and 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, OgbereTioya, Off Olorunsogo Express Bridge, Ibadan. Website: www.holisticlifecare.com. Distance is no barrier, we can send remedies by courier if need be. We also have facilities for accommodation, admission and hospitalization in a serene and homely environment.

54

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

•A cultural troupe during the festival

Iwude: Promoting cultural values of Ijesa

T

HE Iwude Festival has over the years served as a rallying point to show case the culture of Ijesa and their grandeur and affluence . The tone is normally set by, Owa Obokun Adimula of Ijesaland, Oba Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran II, who normally rides to the venue in horse caravan.

In line with the tourism consciousness in Nigeria and the efforts of many communities to use culture to sell their tourism, Iwude , like the festival of its neigbours, the Osogbo people, is graduallly being remoulded from being purely a cultural event for the indigenes of Ijesaland to a package tourism event that is gradually entering into the annual tourism calendar of the nation.

The 2011 edition, many believe, was the beginning of better things for the people of the Ijesa. The organisers tried as much as possible to package it as a tourism product, hence the interest of top corporate organisations to identify with the event.

The participation of MTN Nigeria as the frontline corporate sponsor of the festival gave every aspect of the eight-day fi-

esta a torch of sophistication.

The event was held from December 17 to 24. There were different entertaining activities : the special carnival float across all the six council areas in Ijesaland, a unity soccer competition among various secondary schools in town, tradi-

tional game(ayo olopon) during which communities slug it out among themselves.

On the eve of the grand finale, the corporate sponsor staged a musical concert at the Elite club in Ilesa to the admiration of youths. Notable

•Performance at the Iwude Festival grand finale arena

and upcoming musicians and comedians entertained.

On the day of the grand finale, a procession was kicked off by Oba Aromolaran II during which he paid routine visits to traditional palaces of Yeyerise, Obaala, Sawe, Lejoka and Salotun to offer prayers .

For instance, at every appointed courtyard Oba Aromolaran visited, some groups of men dressed in a war regalia intermittently released gun shots into the air and the reaction of the indigenes attracted a long stare from visitors and tourists.

Some of the visitors, who could not hold it because of their level of curiosity quickly made enquiries and when they eventually got the rationale behind the snap of fingers over the head after every gunshot quickly joined the crowd.

Iwude is an annual platform for the Owa Obokun to remember his ancestors, pay homage to them, offer prayers to God for peace and prosperity in Ijesaland.

The MTN made sure its presence was felt with a raffle draw as an added attraction to the activities of the festival to draw spectators to the musical show at the Elite Club. Numerous winners were presented with prizes, such as solar lamps, DVD players, MTN branded souvenirs, standing fan and motorbike.

The star winner of the raffle draw, Mr Bisi adebayo, who was engrossed in the euphoria of the luck deep which won him a Continued on Page 55

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

Iwude: Promoting cultural values of Ijesa Continued from Page 54

brand new Jincheng motorbike said: “MTN has not only identified with the culture of the people.

It has also provided the tools to make them selfemployed.

According to Adebayo, “This is the happiest moment of my life. I never believed in the raffle draw, but this attempt has proved me wrong. I did not only witness it. I participated, and I am now an owner of new motorcycle. This is a precious gift.The MTN has given me hope in life.

“Iwude has not been celebrated like this before.

There are a lot of developments taking place since the previous event, and you could see from the participation and patronage of tourists and visitors that came to celebrate with us”.

Also for the second prize winner, Mr Rasheed Lawal, who went home with a giant Ox seven feet standing fan expressed gratitude to the organisers of the 2011 Iwude Festival for the MTN sponsorship bid which added colour and value to the

event and created an avenue for indigenes to gain directly from the festival’s sponsor.

“We are coming in term with the organisation of festival which in the past has not been properly organised. I know the sponsorship invitation will change the entire face of the festival,”he said.

The concert was just one of the innovations which was conceptualised by New Day Nigeria Limited to boost, encourage and grow talent among Ijesa youth as it gives an ample opportunity for upcoming artistes to showcase their talents, meet and stand side-by-side on stage with notable musicians and help them overcome stage fright.

The musical concert on the eve of Iwude was awesome as it did not only light up the mood of the celebration, but also treated the music-loving crowd at the venue to a night of melody and rhythm which ignited memory connecting the oldies with the latest trend of music.

Young Ade and his group, who could be mistaken for the king of juju, King Sunny Ade, because

of his style of music, voice and dance steps, attracted many to the venue.They cheered and applauded him for his perfect imitation.

Another artiste that stole the show at the concert was Alase Saint Bottles Cathedral, a female musician and entertainer, Saint Janet, who took the crowd to another realm of entertainment with her lewd lyrics and unique dance style.

Like the United Nations World Tourism Organisation would say, tourism activities like festivals have direct impact on the common people in the host community. This was the case during the Iwude Festival. Commercial drivers and okada riders were full of enthusiasm as they used the period of the festival to make more money for themselves.

On the festival, the MTN Marketing Activation Manager said: “ MTN involvement in the 2011 festival was to boost the activities of the event and celebrate the unique heritage of the Ijesa.

“We have closely watched with interest the way the Ijesa have passionately and jealously preserved the heritage of their lands, and to add more glamour and value to it, MTN decided to key into this year’s fiesta.”

•A musical perfromance at the festival

•Owa Obokun Adimula of Ijesaland, Oba Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran II

Kehinde FALODE: 08023689894

Chocolate peanut butter-banana muffins Nutritional benefits of banana chunky ·•2 large, ripe bananas – mashed Preparation •Pre-heat oven to 350 F, in large bowl combine flour, wheat germ, flax seeds, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and peanuts and mix well.

•In a smaller flat-bottomed bowl, mash bananas, add oil, peanut butter, water, sugar and eggs. Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are evenly distributed. · Pour the two ingredients together and stir until mixed thoroughly. After ward add the mixture into a greased loaf pan and bake in pre-heated oven for 40-50 min, or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean. · Allow to cool for 10 min in pan, and then remove from pan to cool on a wire rack.

Serve with a chilled drink!

Foluke ADEMOLA

Bananas are one the easiest foods to make a part of your regular diet. Because of their excellent nutrition, it is well worth it to find ways to consume the delicious fruit. Adding sliced bananas to your snacks or food is very good. With this wonderful delicious muffin, you can have all in one. It can be eaten by the family on picnic or weekend. It is very healthy and good for the body.

Ingredients •2 cups whole wheat flour •2 tbsp wheat germ •1 tbsp flax seeds •1/4 cup cocoa powder •2 tsp baking powder •1/2 tsp baking soda •3 tbsp brown sugar •1/3 cup shelled peanuts ( optional) •2 large eggs •1/2 cup water •1/4 cup peanut oil /vegetable oil •1/2 cup peanut butter – smooth or

Peanut butter-banana smoothie Bananas are also great for smoothies because of their creamy texture and sweet flavor. After having your muffin, you should try and top it with a banana drink to balance your diet. Try this peanut butter-banana smoothie and I am sure you will ask for more.

Ingredients •1 cup of milk •frozen banana, sliced into chunks •1 tbsp natural peanut butter •1 scoop protein powder (optional) •1 teaspoon vanilla extract •¼ cup old-fashioned oats •3 to 4 ice cubes Method •Toss the first five ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

•Add the oats and beat for a few times until the oats are broken down. Add your ice cube and blend until smooth.

•Pour into a large glass or travel mug and enjoy.

Bananas are the fruit of a plant of the genus Musa (family Musaceae), which are cultivated primarily for food, and secondarily for the production of fibres that are used, for example, in the textile industry.

They are also cultivated for ornamental purposes.

Banana also gives a lot of benefit to the entire body and is known for its sweet taste, good nutritional with their high content in potassium and fibers (and vitamins such as B6, C and A), and best of all their ease of use. Below are few tips •The nutrition in bananas protects and keeps healthy your most important organ - your heart.

Research has shown that a high fiber diet significantly reduces the risk of heart disease, which is the number one cause of death.

•Vitamins - it’s also contains some essential vitamins , Vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine, helps with brain function, your body’s ability to use energy conversion, and along with folate and B12, lower homocysteine levels which are connected with heart attack because of high levels of the amino acid. The vitamin C, which is found in bananas, helps the body fight against and heal infections. Its potassium content also has many other benefits.

•Bananas can help avoid morning sickness Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood-sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness. It also helps to prevent anemia - Bananas are relatively high in iron, which helps the body’s hemoglobin function. The most common cost of anemia is iron deficiency.

•Its help keep bones healthy - Eating bananas frequently can increase our body’s ability to absorb calcium. In addition, green bananas contain indigestible short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that are very nutrient to the cells that make up the linings of the intestines. When these cells are well-nourished and healthy, the body’s ability to absorb calcium becomes much more efficient.

•Helps reduce the risk of kidney cancer - Research studies published in the International Journal of Cancer show that frequent consumption of

fruits and vegetables, especially bananas, cabbage and root vegetables, may reduce risk of kidney cancer. This is because bananas and many root vegetables contain especially high amounts of antioxidant phenolic compounds.

•Bananas can help you stop smoking - Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. Banana nutrients such as vitamins B6 and B12, as well as potassium and magnesium help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

•Its help Constipation and Diarrhea - Due to their content in fiber, they help restore a normal bowel function. In addition, diarrhea usually depletes your body of important electrolytes, the most important of which is potassium contained in high amounts in bananas.

They also contain pectin, a soluble fiber (hydrocolloid) that can help normalize movement through the digestive tract.

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Argungu festival holds March

K

EBBI State Govern ment has an nounced plans for the hosting of the 2012 Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival(AFF) expected to attract local and foreign tourists to its domain early this year.

The Publicity Sub-Committee Chairman, Alhaji Sani Muhammad Kangiwa, who is also the Kebbi State Commissioner

for Information and Culture, disclosed that March 21 -24, 2012 has been fixed as the official dates of the famous festival.

The commissioner said the development was the outcome of the inaugural meeting of the festival’s main committee presided over by its Chairman, Deputy Governor Alhaji Ibrahim K. Aliyu, during which the date was chosen to enable event planners

and other interested groups buy into the time frame and aggregate their plans to attend the tourism festival.

He listed the main events that would feature in this year’s festival to include grand fishing, kabanci display, agricultural show and trade fair. Others are durbar, motor rally, cultural dances, archery, catapulting, traditional boxing and wrestling.

He further stated that activities such as sharo, camel and donkey race, horse race and bicycle race will also add colour to the festival, apart from entertainment and increased commercial activities.

He, therefore, called on all sponsors and festival partners to give their maximum support and co-operation to all the events so as to ensure the success of this edition.

Should we trust this President?

Continued from Page 10 be removed, they would spend the first quarter of this year to do the necessary readjustments. But the government has pulled the rug from under their feet and left them crestfallen and confused. Since fuel is an alternative source of power the barber, the welder and other artisans who constitute a critical part of the economy depend on for their operations, why didn’t the government deem it necessary to achieve a certain level of stability in electricity before jacking up the price of fuel to such heights?

It is good to know that the government has thought it wise to acquire about 1,600 buses to cushion the effects of the high fares that may result from the new price of fuel. But I ask: why put the cart before the horse? Why not allow the buses to arrive first and even test-run them before subsidy is removed? And how much impact would 1,600 buses make on a population of 150 million people, if we are not already more than that?

Above all, I think it smacks of foolhardiness that President Jonathan would open another war front with labour and the civil society when it is yet to find a clue to tackling the menace of the Boko Haram sect, particularly now that they are issuing orders that southerners in the north should return to their states. The current offensive against Nigerians would only make sense if the President and his cabinet have resolved that a disintegrated country is better than one with a collapsed economy.

•This column will return in few weeks

How about a breath of fresh air?

Continued from Page 10

•Argungu festival

Tourism tree of peace blossoms in Jos

“

Plateau for Peace, Jos for Joy”- These words formed the theme of the national peace week in Plateau State adequately capturing the intent and purpose of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation in collaboration with the Defence Headquarters towards entrenching lasting peace in a place whose mantra is “home of peace and tourism,” but, for some diabolical reasons, has not known peace a long while.

Plateau State has not always been in crisis. The state came into being in February 1976 and is said to be a miniature Nigeria principally because nearly all the ethnic groups of the country reside there as a result of its unique geographical configuration.

Expectedly, there has been a mosaic of socio-cultural activities and recently, the state became a minefield of bloody confrontations emanating from a complex mix of ethno-religious and socio-political colourations.

The search for lasting peace on the Plateau became imperative as the circle of violence seriously diminished the tourism potential of the state, thereby prompting the charge by the Federal Government on the Chief of Defence Staff, Oluseyi Petinrin, to find an enduring solution to the

volatile state.

Also concerned about returning sustainable peace to the once tranquil and tourism-friendly state was the Director General of the NTDC, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, who felt a holistic approach was the panacea in order to consolidate on gains made by the CDS in this direction.

Consequently, when the NTDC helmsman sold the idea of organizing a “Peace Week” in Jos to the CDS in his office, Abuja, the latter readily agreed admitting that the military was only trained to fight and so needed such brilliant ideas to enchant warring factions, thereby preaching the gospel of peace.

On December 18, 2011, the NTDC delegation alongside seasoned media practitioners and ‘Mr. Tourism’ himself, Otunba Runsewe, headed north with one thing in mind-Restore peace on the Plateau.

The weeklong activities commenced earnestly on Monday, December 19 with the governor of Plateau State, Jonah David Jang, playing host to Otunba Runsewe in his office, Jos. A delighted Governor Jang received the DG and members of his delegation, pledging total support and cooperation for the peace week initiative. He said the theme; “Plateau for Peace, Jos for Joy” was in consonance with efforts by his administration

at ensuring lasting peace in the state and was totally acceptable to him and the people of Plateau State.

Addressing the governor and other stakeholders at different fora during the campaign, Runsewe proposed to kick off a carnival in the state in 2012. This was apparently in view of the fact that the fiesta would engender peace, love, friendship and brotherliness in Plateau.

The entourage also visited the most notable traditional ruler in the state, Gbong Gwon Jos, his Majesty Da, Jacob Gyang Buba (CON), in his palace. In the course of the meeting, Runsewe stressed the need to explore such lofty ideas as the carnival to prove to the world that peace had finally returned to the plateau saying there were several potential foreign investors on the line all concerned about peace on the plateau before they can invest.

Responding, His Majesty thanked the delegation for the visit and the good intention of the Federal Government, the military, NTDC and other stakeholders in ensuring lasting peace in the beleaguered state lamenting that it was rather sad and embarrassing that Plateau has been in the news for the wrong reasons.

One cannot agree less.

The Gbong Gwon Jos further thanked the security

agencies in the state for their efforts, noting that security was everybody’s business. He emphasized the need for the citizenry to be in partnership with the government towards achieving lasting peace in Plateau.

The monarch seized the opportunity to call on the government to expedite action on the implementation of security reports by several panels setup by the government to address the root cause of skirmishes that had engulfed Plateau in order to avert recurrence.

This is obviously the way to go in ensuring sustainable peace in not only Plateau State, but other areas in Nigeria with security challenges Forming part of the peace week itinerary, Otunba Runsewe visited the commander of the State Task Force (STF), Major General O. O Oshinowo, alongside representative of the Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Dung Chung, and other top military officers at the office of the STF in Jos where he had a meeting with religious leaders in Plateau State drawn from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Muslim Group Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) aimed at foisting the spirit of mutual coexistence among adherents of both faiths in the state.

per cent to S$192,500; NCMPs’ and NMPs’ annual allowance by 4 per cent to S$28,900. The Singapore Salary Cut Committee also resolved to remove pension scheme from 21 May 2011 and keep the current medical benefits policy of ‘no hidden perks’. The committee decided to benchmark an entry-level minister’s salary to the median income of the top 1,000 earners, who are Singapore citizens, with a 40 per cent discount to signify the ethos and sacrifice of political service.

Here, where are those ethos and sacrifice expected from our political office holders? They are busy piling up the millions from spurious allowances, oversight functions and settlements that bother on graft. To them, it is just enough that the people would have to bear the brunt of Nigeria’s volatile markets, made worse by a deregulated economy.

They speak of rushing 1,600 diesel-powered mass transit buses; paying Federal civil servants’ January salary on the 20th, releasing N10bn transport loan; and many other intangibles they call palliatives. Do they think this is about the less than 10 per cent that constitutes the federal civil service? What palliatives do they have for millions of Nigerians out there on the streets, the real victims of this callous policy? So much for a breath of fresh air!

SUDOKU 1ST STEP IN SOLVING PUZZLE: Look at the 3 bottom horizontal (GHI) 3 x 3 boxes.

The left box has 3 in cell Gb, while the middle box has its 3 in cell Id. The right box must, therefore, have its own 3 in row H, where there is only 1 space, cell Hh. Reasoning along these lines, try and fill in all the other vacant cells.

SOLUTION PUZZLING!

TOMORROW.

HAPPY

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012

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Madalla bombing: Pressure on governor not to depose Emir of Suleja

T

HE Niger State Governor, Dr. Aliyu Babangida, is under pressure not to depose the Emir of Suleja, Alhaji Awwal Ibrahim, over the recent bombing of St.Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, in order not to compound the security situation in the emirate. It was also learnt that the emir ran into trouble because of his love for golf, which has preoccupied his time.

The emir was queried by the state government for his alleged lukewarm attitude to the bombing of the church, which left more than 43 dead, and over 70 hospitalised.

Investigation, however, revealed that since the emir was queried, there had been entreaties to the government not to depose him.

A highly-placed source said: “Some respected emirs and northerners have been interceding on behalf of the emir to avert his disposition. Those

•How golf landed monarch in trouble Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation prevailing on the governor also felt deposition might compound the security situation in the Emirate where there is presently an emergency rule, The Nation learnt.

A government source confirmed that there had been representations to the gover-

nor. He said: “I think the governor is a fair-minded person.

The emir has replied the query issued him and His Excellency will look at it dispassionately.”

The source was confident that the governor will rather reconcile all the groups in the Emirate than escalate the situation.

Fresh facts, however, emerged that the emir landed

in trouble because of his passion for golf, which he has placed above his traditional functions.

The source accused the emir of always going to Abuja to play or promote golf, being a respected member of the IBB Golf Club in Abuja .

“His passion for golf has affected the administration of Suleja Emirate. The essence of querying him is to make him

come to terms with the challenges in his domain.

“Although he received some emirs in Suleja, who came on sympathy visit over the bombing of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, it was an error of judgment not to have visited the site.

“The Niger State Government appreciates the fact that he was the first executive governor of the state and would not want to take action that will denigrate his office.”

... if it is my sin, God forgive me —Suleja monarch

‘’I

F it is my sin that is responsible for the various bomb explosions in my domain, I ask for God’s forgiveness,’’ were the prayers of the embattled Emir of Suleja, Mallam Awwal Ibrahim, on Friday.

The monarch spoke at St. Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla during the presentation of cash relief by Niger State government to the fami-

•Niger gives N1m to each victim

Jide ORINTUNSIN, Minna lies of the victims of the Christmas day bombing in Madalla. He said he had been praying for divine intervention since the incident in which 42 lives were lost.

The royal father was que-

ried by the state government on January 1, 2012 for his failure to visit or empathise with the church and the families of the victims of the blasts despite the retinue of personalities, including President Goodluck Jonathan, who visited them.

The emir, who was sober during the short ceremony,

was close to tears when he presented a cheque of N4 million from the state government to Mrs. Chioma Dike, who lost her husband and three children.

The emir said if the five bomb explosions in the emirate last year was as result of his sin, God should forgive and stop further attacks.

UBTH unveils patient of first stem cell transplant

T

HE University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) yesterday unveiled the first sickle cell patient to undergo stem cell transplant in West Africa.

He is seven-year-old Matthew Ndik. His brother, Emmanuel, donated the bone marrow for the stem cell transplant.

Dr. Nosakhare Bazuaye,

Osagie OTABOR and Joke KUYENJA, Benin who led other doctors to perform the transplant, said the unveiling marked 100 days since the successful stem cell transplant was carried out.

Dr. Bazuaye, who announced that Matthew’s haemoglobin was now AA, said more than 20 sickle cell pa-

tients were already lined up for stem cell transplant.

He, however, lamented that their facilities could only take one patient at a time and explained that the procedure required more than N6million to treat a patient.

His words: “The extent of our effort is to prove that stem cell is possible in Nigeria. The CMD ensured that

the generator has been on non-stop for 24 hours since mid September till today.”

Dr. Bazuaye urged the Federal Government to provide support for the stem cell transplant for it to take four patients in one year.

Vice Chancellor of UNIBEN, Prof. Osayuki Oshodin, who was represented by Prof Emmanuel

Oil subsidy: Senate to meet Labour tomorrow

I

N a bid to save the nation from the possible consequences of a nationwide industrial action planned for Monday by Labour, civil societies and other professionals against the Federal Government’s removal of oil subsidy, the Senate is to meet with Labour leaders tomorrow.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Labour and Productivity, Senator Wilson Ake, in a statement he signed in Abuja yesterday, said dialogue and further consultation are the only solution that can avert the

Augustine AVWODE looming crisis.

Ake warned that the national strike already called

by Labour should not be allowed to go on because it has the capacity of further crippling an already weak economy.

According to Ake, ‘’Senate as an institution of statesmen is concerned about the looming strike, which if allowed to commence, would further cripple the already ailing economy. ‘’We are talking with the

members of the executive arm of government and labour to follow the path of dialogue in order to arrive at a common position that would further serve the interest of all Nigerians”.

He urged all parties to exercise restraint, saying Nigerians are already suffering and it would not be proper for anybody to do anything that will exacerbate their suffering. ‘’Nigerians are already experiencing pains.

(Therefore), no party or anybody should do anything that would further aggravate

Hiding the fixers •Continued from Back Page tion-fairness?

The commissioner should explain how Victor Rumson Baribote, as NPL chairman, will influence professional league matches in his club’s favour when it is not in the professional rank? Is it the commissioner’s duty to enforce NPL’s or NFF’s rules? Does the commissioner not know that Baribote is the number three man at NFF? How can he remove such a person through NFF? Isn’t it laughable? Isn’t it also the case of the onlooker crying more than the bereaved?

The commissioner, as the representative of the Bayelsa State government has a right to make changes. But he shouldn’t hide under a law that does not exist. I wouldn’t blame him.

If the clubs had been run professionally, with chairmen emerging from electoral processes involving shareholders, he wouldn’t have had the temerity to embark on such a fruitless exercise. He just wants to heat up the polity. If he wants to be Bayelsa United’s chairman, he could be. But he must resign his appointment as sports commissioner. The National Sports Festival is scheduled for this year; he had better fashioned out strategies to make the state excel than this rudderless chase.

My appeal is to Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva to please call the sports commissioner to order. Time was when Bayelsa had two top-ranking clubs. But those days are gone because of diabolical manoeuvres like this?

When Chief Obaseki wanted to run in the penultimate elections, eligibility was raised?

But the Secretary to the government of Edo

State, Barrister Osaze Ize-Iyamu, said he was the club’s board of trustees’ chairman. Obaseki didn’t resign from that position, until he finished his tenure. Need I state Chief Obaseki’s monumental contributions to the development of the domestic league?

At the time Barribote ran for the NPL chairmanship position, he was Bayelsa United’s chairman.

Since he wasn’t declared NPL chairman, he didn’t resign but sought all lawful processes to reclaim his mandate.

Prof Ibidapo Obe’s arbitration report is clear on Barribote’s mandate. Indeed, Barribote is not the first NPL chairman whose club is not in the elite class. Chief Oyuiki Obaseki held a bigger position at Bendel Insurance. The Edo State Sports Commissioner didn’t| ask him to resign from the board.

Instead, the Edo State government supported Obaseki and rejected calls for his exit when some trouble-makers were crying.

Even the Edo State government didn’t raise eyebrows when Obaseki attempted to participate in the last elections. The State FA endorsed his form and he would have returned but he lost to Baribote for not being a chairman of a football league club.

Thank you FIFA I had a good laugh on Wednesday when I read about NFF President Aminu Maigari’s membership of FIFA’s Players’ Statutes Committee. My excitement stemmed from the fact that it was done when Maigari board’s legitimacy was on the front burner.

I hope that this appointment settles the issue. It is about time this NFF corrected its mistakes for the good of the game.

their pains”.

Acording to Ake, the Senate would come out with a reasonable position that would be in the best interest of all Nigerians. He admitted that Nigerians are already gripped with insecurity challenges and would not be ready to take on further pains on account of a national strike.

He urged all parties to, as a matter of patriotic duties, cooperate in the collective interest of the nation.

“Whether government or Labour, the ultimate goal is the welfare and service to the people”, Senator Ake stated.

Onibere, commended UBTH CMD, adding that the university will continue to support UBTH in the realisation of its objective.

He said it was now a great joy that stem cell transplant could now be done in Nigeria.

Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof. Michael Ibadin, said the cost of the transplant would be reduced if more patients are treated.

In a goodwill message, former NMA Chairman, Dr. Dominic Osaghae, called on the Federal Government to make special budgetary provision for the treatment of sickle cell.

Dr. Osaghae also called on the state government to treat one sickle cell sufferer every year.

Chairman of the occasion, HRH Gregory Akenzua, commended the CMD for overcoming the challenges in the successful treatment of sickle cell in the country.

“I am happy that UBTH is the first hospital to break through for sickle cell and cure for other diseases,” he said.

Appeal Court upholds Okorocha’s election

THE Court of Appeal siiting in Abuja yesterday dismissed the appeal brought by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the declaration of Owelle Rochas Okorocha as the winner of the supplementary governorship election conducted in Imo State on May 6, 2011.

The court held that the PDP appeal lacked merit and in a unanimous decision, dismissed the case.

Justice Tijani Abdulahi, who led four other Justices of the court, subsequently upheld the election of Okorocha of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Abdulahi said: “After a careful consideration of the preliminary objection filed by the appellants, we hold that it lacks merit and is hereby dismissed. The appeal also lacks merit and also dismissed with N50, 000 cost against the appellant”.

Abdualhi, however, said that the reasons for the decision would be given on a date to be communicated to counsel in the suit. Reacting to the court’s decision the APGA national chairman, Chief Victor Umeh, described the court’s decision as an affirmation of the will of the people.

Counsel to Governor Okorocha, Chief Niyi Akintola, SAN, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, also hailed the judgment and stated that the court had upheld the right of INEC to postpone an election where the final result had not been declared.

In his reaction, the Imo State Commissioner for Informataion, Dr. Obinna Duruji said: “Owelles’ victory at the Court of Appeal today in Abuja is a further manifestation of its divine origin and revalidation of Imo people’s mandate. The judgment has also rekindled our faith and confidence in the Nigerian judiciary”.

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Tomorrow in THE NATION PUNCHLINE

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2012 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL.7, NO. 1998

The truth is that President Jonathan got his mandate on a platter of gold, hence his being so contemptuous of Nigerians. And, really, there is the tendency to fall into such temptation, particularly for someone who lacks depth —Tunji Adegboyega

A

President who will not like to be cat egorized among such monstrous his torical figures like Nebuchadnezzar, Goliath or Pharaoh , had, on New Year’s eve, severely scourged his country men and women with the removal of the highly contentious fuel subsidy. The prime mover of this policy is none other than the former shoeless school boy from the hinterland of Ijaw land who now finds himself at the pinnacle of political power in Nigeria . Given his humble background and supposed affinity with the masses, it is surprising that President Jonathan, who had dithered on several critical national issues , can be so quick to impose a policy measure that may make it impossible for hard pressed parents and guardians to buy shoes and other necessary items for their children and wards. Is the Jonathan administration unwittingly drawing us back to that age when perpetually famished children had to trek to school without shoes? Time will tell.

The secretive manner the Jonathan administration went about implementing the fuel subsidy removal agenda is, to say the least, most suspicious. When the President presented the 2012 budget to the National Assembly, he made no reference whatsoever on fuel subsidy removal. Analysts were thus quick to conclude that since no provision for fuel subsidy was made in the budget, the subsidy was as good as gone. But it was no less a person than the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who came out to say that the subsidy was still intact . The President, the Finance Minister said, was still consulting and was yet to make up his mind.

Yet, in the same breadth, a top official of the NNPC stated publicly that the subsidy had technically gone since no provision was made for it in the 2012 budget.

All of these show an embarrassing lack of cohesion among members of the economic team as well as officials of the NNPC. But then, why the decision of the government to remove the fuel subsidy surreptitiously on the night of 31st December last year like a thief in the night? Have the President and members of the economic team realized that their peculiar logic as well as statistical data that evoke more heat than light could not persuade the majority of Nigerians to accept the justification for fuel subsidy removal?

Does this say something about the slippery, serpentine style of this administration? At what point did the President decide to act unilaterally rather than carrying the National Assembly along as he had been trying to do? Was there something the President knew

Fuel subsidy: Like a thief in the night

•Jonathan

when he asserted confidently during his last televised media chat that the National Assembly would ultimately go along with the policy?

Obviously obsessed with the IMF/World Bank orthodoxy on the inherent inefficiency and corruption that supposedly characterize state intervention in the economy, the Dr. Okonjo –Iweala led economic team has persuaded President Jonathan to go ahead with the fuel removal of subsidy even if the heavens would fall. It is simply unbelievable that a President on whose table the buck

stops; the man who has just declared a state of emergency in 15 local government areas across the north to contain the raging Boko Haram insurgency, would choose such a moment to add a punitive removal of fuel subsidy to the already highly combustible mix of dehumanizing mass poverty and festering religious fanaticism.

Indeed, the utter confusion and lack of direction of the Jonathan Administration would have been so laughable - if it did not have such tragic implications for the majority of Nigerians. To ensure transparent and efficient management of the savings accruing from subsidy removal, the government has set up a committee of credible Nigerians headed by Mr Christopher Kolade to over- see the utilization of the fund. It is instructive that the Jonathan government admits that it cannot manage the funds saved from fuel subsidy removal efficiently and honestly. If so, how can we expect the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies to judiciously expend the allocations to them in the 2012 budget? Does it not logically follow that the Christopher Kolade-type committees ought to be set up to supervise and monitor disbursement of funds in all Ministries, Departments and Agencies? In any case, how can the same government that has announced its inability to effectively protect our borders and prevent illegal smuggling of fuel to neighbouring countries now expect our security agencies to stop terrorists from infiltrating the country through the same porous borders?

For now, food prices and transport costs have soared and this may just be the beginning of the pains to come. Unfortunately,

the rich and mighty do not care at what price petrol is sold. They will fuel their fleet of cars easily no matter the cost. Yet, President Jonathan and his transformational team have shown no inclination whatsoever to deal decisively with the criminally subsidised life style of our public officers at all levels. Right now, there are no measures in place to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal for the majority of the people.

And no one can say categorically when new refineries will come on stream. It is certainly still a very long way to Uhuru.

Retirements are not for dying!

It was in the newspapers that I read the news about the recent retirement from active academic life of one of Nigeria’s brightest minds. His career as dramatist, playwright, Director, theatre manager, essayist, novelist, columnist, poet, literary critic, brilliant polemicist and much more has been astoundingly remarkable. I write of none other than the illustrious intellectual and humanist – Professor Babafemi Adeyemi Osofisan. As a first year student of Political Science at the University of Ibadan, I remember walking timidly one morning into Profs’ office at the Faculty of Arts. My mission was to submit some poems I had written for his perusal and advice. Looking up from his type writer, the obviously very busy Prof. collected the poems promising to look at them later. To my utter surprise at least two of the poems were published in the next edition of Prof’s literary magazine – Ópon Ifa! On another occasion when I went to his office again to submit some of my attempts at poetry, Prof asked casually if I would be watching his play titled ‘’Midnight Hotel” showing at the Arts Theatre that night. I nodded feebly in the affirmative even though I knew my pocket was too lean for such luxuries. To my utter amazement, when I got to the theatre that evening, Prof had left a message that I should be allowed free entrance to watch the play! That is Professor Osofisan for you: highly perceptive, kind and compassionate even though his students claim he is an uncompromising task master. Congratulations to you Prof.

Dear Oga, I wish you a very fulfilling life in retirement. But please sir, remember one of your memorable plays: ‘Birthdays are not for dying’. Retirements too are not for dying.

May your pen continue to flourish like a Palm Tree planted by the rivers of living water and bringing forth more abundant fruits of literary excellence. Surely, it is still cock crow at dawn.

Ade Ojeikere on Saturday talk2adeojeikere@yahoo.com

Hiding the fixers T

HE celebrated story where some refer ees were caught in the vehicle of one of the participating teams before a league appears to have melted away like ice-cream under the scorching sun. And it is a disgrace, to say the least, especially as the new season is expected to kick off today.

Various reasons have been advanced over the delay; yet, the simple poser is this- were the referees seen inside the vehicle of those assigned to the game? If yes, why is it taking eternity to bring the whip cracking down on the culprits?

The complainant didn’t ask for the details of the telephone discussions that the referee had with other clubs’ officials because the referee said that the pictures were taken under duress before the panel quizzed him.

The rigmarole by the committee constituted to investigate the matter is a distraction. The referee, who sang like a parrot during the investigation, showed that the incident wasn’t his first, considering the way he dragged others into the controversy.

Such a man’s views should never be taken seriously.

He gave everyone the impression that the pictures taken by the complaint were stagemanaged.

If the referees were seen inside a vehicle belonging to a club, it doesn’t mean that the club is culpable because that appears to be the reason for the delay. Those involved should face the law to deter others.

Delaying the matter over issues not stated in the complaint’s request tacitly amounts to supporting the criminal offence and it is rather sad.

It smacks of buck-passing for the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) to wash its hands off the issue on grounds that the NFF is handling it.

The NPL board should again raise the issue with the NFF and get it sorted out before the second game next week.

It would be a travesty of the principle of fairness, if those interrogated are included in the fixtures for this season. Allegations bothering on match fixing are not treated with levity. Once a panel starts its investigations, it must finish it and the culprits brought to justice Equally intriguing is the fact that the NRA president couldn’t produce any document to

illustrate how referees are assigned to games, when asked to by the panel members. What happened to the lists drawn monthly by the Referees Committee?

Is it not ridiculous that 46 referees assigned to officiate in one team’s 34 matches came from three states and Abuja? What happened to the referees from the other 33 states? How come the Referees Committee didn’t see this anomaly? Is this not the first point for the panelists to fix these match fixers?

It is true that the panelists must give those in the dock the opportunities to debunk allegations leveled against them. What I find disturbing is the revelation by one of them that a coach from another team called him to swing the game in favour of another?

Shouldn’t the referee have said this before facing the panel?

Did he not say that he didn’t know the people who gave him a ride after his vehicle broke down? Didn’t one of those in the vehicle belonging to one of the teams say that they took the implicating pictures under duress? How come they are implicating others?

If the referee in question knew that he had been contacted to compromise in the game,

why didn’t he opt out? Indeed, who did he inform about these discussions? With this background from the investigation, why is it taking eternity to nail the culprits?

Governor Sylva, stop this man When are we going to have government officials who won’t play politics with everything that concerns Nigerians? Who will give us leaders who won’t make us the laughing stock in the comity of nations? Why can’t people in exalted positions know their briefs? Isn’t it about time administrators learnt how to ask questions before making governmental pronouncements? Anyway, who do we blame? Let us blame the governors or presidents who put them on their seats. Otherwise, how would any administrator create problems where he should be contributing to the development of a body under his supervision?

The Bayelsa State Sports Commissioner ought to have known that it is not possible for a National League club’s chairman to be the boss of the Professional League cadre.

The commissioner ought to have known why no Professional League club board member is allowed to retain his club posi

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