January 25, 2015

Newspaper of the Year

PDP sponsoring attacks to shift Polls - APC

Buhari rally shuts down Ado-Ekiti –Pages 5&6

–Pages 5 & 6

US Secretary of State Kerry meets Jonathan, Buhari over violence fears

PDM directs members Tinubu: Buhari's age to vote for APC candidate represents wisdom

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

Vol.09, No. 3106

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

SUNDAY

N200.00

JANUARY 25, 2015

Jonathan, Amaechi in fresh war ...As soldiers seize stadium for PDP rally

–Page 4

APC rally venue bombed in First Lady’s hometown, Okirika

Polls: Tompolo, Dokubo, others threaten war if Jonathan loses –Page 5

Jonathan Buhari

Battleground Too close to call

JONATHAN VS BUHARI

How they stand nationwide –Pages 9-12

BOKO HARAM KILLS 15 IN BORNO AS PRESIDENT CAMPAIGNS IN MAIDUGURI

–Page 4

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015

PAGE 2

Arise TV join Multichoice

CAPTURED

M

ULTICHOICE has announced the launch of emerging global news and entertainment channel, ARISE NEWS on DStv and GOtv. ARISE NEWS will be on DStv channel 416 and GOtv channel 44,and will join other global news channels such as CNN,BBC,SKY News, CCTV, Al Jazeera, CNBC and Bloomberg on the MultiChoice platforms.

ARISE NEWS focuses on real time international news and entertainment to global audiences,24 hours a day, seven days a week across all platforms and celebrates diverse communities in all continents including all that is African and Afropolitan.

MultiChoice Managing Director, John Ugbe said the coming of ARISE NEWS is a further demonstration of the company’s support of ‘Africanness’.

Nduka Obaigbena, Chairman /Editor-in-Chief of ARISE NEWS said the it would be available in 80 countries and territories including the United Kingdom, West,East and Central Europe, Middle East, NorthAfrica and the United States telling the stories and experiences of underserved communities especially of the African continent.

The better halves Rather than take a back seat, the wives of the leading candidates in the February polls are increasingly stepping up to the plate. Wife of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aisha Muhammadu Buhari (middle), wife of the APC running mate, Oludolapo Osinbajo (right) and Lagos State Deputy Governor, Adejoke Adefulire are seen here during Photo: ABAYOMI FAYESE the inaugural meeting of the APC Women Presidential Campaign Initiative in Abuja yesterday .

BAROMETER sunday@thenationonlineng.net

Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly's unwise endorsement

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F it were reported that Edwin K. Clark imposed himself on the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly (SNPA) and muscled members into endorsing President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term, few would suggest that, given the presumptuous tone of the body's communiqué, the report was inaccurate.

But it would be insulting to the eminent gentlemen that gathered in Enugu last week for the SNPA's 5th General Conference that Chief Clark, a former federal minister and Ijaw leader and statesman, hooked a rudder to their eminent frames and led them by the nose, as tempting as that conclusion may be. Clearly, the main objective of the conference was to procure endorsement for the president. In attendance were Alex Ekwueme, a former vice president, and Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu who represented Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi, among other notable Nigerians from the Southwest, Southeast and South-South.

For such a distinguished and serious gathering, it is surprising that they word their

endorsement as follows: "(a) That the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly do hereby unanimously endorse President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan's quest for re-election as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the February14, 2015 presidential election. We therefore call on all discerning Nigerians to vote massively for President Jonathan, as that would ensure equity, fairness, and justice; and (b) That the decision to endorse President Jonathan is based on thorough assessment of his manifest strides and achievements in the past three and half years as the President and Commander-inChief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria."

What is even more surprising are the main planks upon which the endorsement is anchored. As the SNPA puts it, "(a) There has always been an orchestrated attack on Presidents/Heads of State of Southern Nigeria origin, leading to massive protests and destruction of life and property in the North simply because it is the thinking of the Northern oligarchy that power must continue to reside in the North; (b) The problems of Nigeria predated the emergence of President Jonathan's administration and he has demonstrated passion and commitment in addressing them through his transformation agenda; and (c) The convocation of the National Conference by President Jonathan in

response to our collective calls shows that he is a President with a listening ear who wants the good, betterment, stability and progress of the country."

First the endorsement. The SNPA suggests that voting for President Jonathan will ensure equity, fairness and justice. Presumably, they are saying that should the president get two terms, that would be equitable, fair and just. Their logic is perverse, puerile and provocative.

Should a second term in office not be dependent on performance and meeting the responsibilities of leadership with courage, wisdom and vision in such a way that the public would be left in no doubt as to the suit-

ability of the president for high office? What, indeed, in the last three years, as the SNPA argues, has President Jonathan done that qualifies as 'manifest strides and achievements,' not to say, makes him to deserve the title of 'Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic o f Nigeria,' as the SNPA garishly puts it?

Then the reasons for the endorsement. The eminent gentlemen of the SNPA are persuaded that presidents and heads of state of southern origin always attract protests and violence in the North because northerners want to dominate power. This is silly in the extreme. The election of former

president Olusegun Obasanjo, a southerner, did not elicit violence. And former president Shehu Shagari's re-election elicited violence in the South in the Second Republic. Protests and violence are a consequence of many factors, among them perception of poll fairness, poverty, etc.

Second, the SNPA says the president has brought passion and commitment to his job of tackling problems that predated his assumption of office. Nonsense. President Jonathan is criticised precisely for his lethargy and disinterestedness in tackling the country's social and economic problems, much of which he has apparently ceded unquestioningly to other less gifted members of his cabinet. And if one term is not enough to make a huge impact on the country's problems, rewarding him with another

four years would be madness.

Third, the SNPA describes the convocation of a national conference as a manifestation of the president's listening ear. If the president indeed had listening ears, they are deaf to the needs of the society, to the anguish of the Northeast, particularly Chibok people, and to the wailings of the unemployed. In more ways than he and the SNPA care to admit, the president has not exhibited passion or commitment to anything, let alone his presidential assignments.

However, the SNPA is at liberty to endorse whomsoever they wish. They have chosen President Jonathan; but they have done it selfishly, illogically and recklessly. They are not motivated by country, but by their private longings. The SNPA communiqué is nothing but a complete reflection of the schizoid attachment of Chief Clark to his fellow Ijaw man. It is bewildering that Dr Ekwueme and Archbishop Ladigbolu endorsed Chief Clark's boondoggle.

Agbaje and his godfathers Jimi Agbaje, is adamant he has no godfather to hamstring his performance if elected into office. Unsure his audience believe him, he appeals to Lagosians to trust him. "I don't have a godfather," he pleads. "I want the people to believe me that it won't happen."

With the apparitions of Bode George and Adeseye Ogunlewe hanging over him, Mr Agbaje is unlikely to convince anyone. If there HE Peoples Demo- is any distance between cratic Party (PDP) C h i e f s G e o r g e a n d candidate in the Ogunlewe on one hand and Lagos governorship poll,

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Candidate Agbaje on the other hand, Lagos voters are likely to believe it is contrived to deceive.

Lagosians remember the acrimonious PDP Lagos governorship primary in which Mr Agbaje defeated the more political and streetwise Musiliu Obanikoro, a former Minister of State for Defence. It was precisely Mr Obanikoro that didn't have a godfather. Every other person in Lagos knew the former minister fought against Chiefs George and

Ogunlewe, two formidable godfathers, and not the forlorn Mr Agbaje. Had the battle between the two been fair and not loaded against one of the combatants, Mr Agbaje would have come a cropper.

In fact, should Mr Agbaje win, his godfathers would immediately bare their fangs and put off their ghostly robes. No one in the PDP, at least not in prosperous Lagos, would let Mr Agbaje be his own man, in spite of his noisy asseveration to the contrary.

By ADEKUNLE ADE-ADELEYE

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015

COLUMN

The lineage of political failure A FTER sixteen years of unbroken and uninterrupted respite during which it operated the longest stretch of civil rule in the country, the Nigerian political class has reverted to its default crisis mode; its nation-threatening and polity-disabling habitus.

The fire this time is so huge in its prospects, so damning in its incendiary possibilities that care must be taken lest it consumes the entire nation.

Like the French "pompier pyromane", the Nigerian political class often take a perverted delight in setting fire to the house and then seeing to how best to put it out.

They arrange for fire and then organize a ceasefire. While donning the toga of statesmen, they propose anticipatory truces even when they are furtively complicit with the shameless status quo. But then there are certain conflagrations which surpass the expectations and modest talents of their originators.

Such fires tend to consume innocent victims as well as perverted pyromaniacs.

To be sure, crises and conflicts are the motors that power societies as humankind evolve away from the state of nature. Even if it is not a product of some profound crisis which fractured the old arrangement, a nation must encounter crises as it faces fresh and novel political possibilities. To overcome the crippling conflicts, it is then left to human ingenuity to adapt to novel situations and unforeseen circumstances.

But there are crises and there are crises. In many modern societies, periodic conflicts often erupt as a result of the inevitable struggle for power among factions of a political class whose worldview and notions of the nation are not essentially dissimilar. In such circumstances, an organic community requires only minor adjustments, minor compromises and elementary statecraft before such crises are resolved in the greater national interest.

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HE Fourth Republic, or what we have somewhere else proposed as the Obasanjo Settlement, was tailor-made for a military strongman in civilian garb. It ought to be remembered that the military was never really conquered or subjugated by the NADECO rebellion. But it was clear that that the military had also exhausted their political and historical possibilities.

Staying on would have been too costly and prohibitive and might have resulted in the eventual disintegration of the country.

In order to withdraw from the scene with some dignity and with a semblance of honour and integrity, the military needed one of their own who would not allow the profession to be disgraced and hounded out of power, just like that. Better still if such a person had the political and moral authority of personal suffering and was a pan-Nigerian nationalist who was not sold on the political whimsies of his ethnic constituency.

Obasanjo, the old Owu-born General who had been freshly sprung from Abacha's humiliating dungeon, fitted the bill perfectly. He was one of their own who was not one of their own. As for the military ploy of looking for a compliant Yoruba who could pass, it exploded in their face as the Yoruba people saw through the gambit and roundly rejected their own.

But to the extent that they also gave peace a chance and did not immediately commence another round of customary aluta or resort to their legendary war of legal nerves and attrition, the military gambit could be said to have suc-

•Sambo Dasuki

However in inorganic nations where disparate pre-colonial nationalities still habour and nurture fundamentally incompatible notions of the nation and indeed of the societies, crises of political succession often tend to degenerate into nation-threatening conflicts with the capacity to throw the entire nation back into a state of nature. In a situation such as obtains in contemporary Nigeria, a fundamental organogram of the nation which stringently stipulates national destiny and charter is imperative and inevitable. Something cannot be built on nothing.

The inability of Nigeria to evolve into an organic nation is at the root of the violent strug-

gles for political succession that we have witnessed since independence and even before it. Such has been the fate of the Nigerian state in its pre-military, military and neo-military incarnations. In the current conjuncture, the inability of the traditional hegemonic blocs to impose a solution -however transient--on the crisis such as has been the case in the first, second and military Third republic suggests the lurking presence of a third hegemonic force which is still inchoate and incoherent.

However that may be, what remains to be seen is whether this third force, a chaotic combination of the dominant, residual and emer-

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nooping around With

Tatalo Alamu gent tendencies, will come into rampart hegemony through elections, a future national conference, elite pacts or even revolutionary upheavals which may unfortunately eventuate in the chaotic dismemberment of the country. It is morning yet on creation day.

What is not in doubt is the fact that as the presidential election shapes up and enters the last four weeks, Nigeria itself has entered uncharted waters. Never in the recent history of the nation have we witnessed such a violent political distemper, such a foul, no-hold barred campaign, such volcanic presidential eruptions on the hustings and such apocalyptic muckraking. Even by the dismal standards of Nigerian electoral process, this is quite a new low.

To search for a passable comparison, we must reach back to the unedifying last days of the First and Second Republics. In the certificate controversy, the military have intervened in a way and manner that suggests a deep fracture in that surviving national institution. In raiding the offices of the opposition, the security services have also weighed in in such an unprofessional manner that suggests the thorough tarnishing of reputation reminiscent of the old NSO. The judiciary is probably waiting in the wing to deliver the coup de grace.

These unusual palpitations suggest that Nigeria is on the cusp of momentous change. Such changes are usually presaged by titanic eruptions of passions and by radical and revolutionary convulsions that obliterate old fault lines of ethnicity, religion and region even as they substitute new ones.

Old habits may die hard, but there is a fat lady already singing in the distance.

The Fourth Republic in Crisis ceeded in a circuitous manner. Whatever its worth, this was some elite pacting and consensus at work.

However that may be, there was still a major problem. What made an Obasanjo, with his autocratic temperament and authoritarian outlook, a brilliant and sure bet for the project of demilitarization also made him particularly unsuitable for deepening the democratization process, more so in a nation emerging from the trauma of military despotism. Whether he likes to acknowledge it or not, Obasanjo's self-succession and succession plots were a classic study in vengeance as statecraft. It has landed Nigeria in hot water.

The Fourth Republic has become a nightmare of lost opportunities.

Obasanjo's policy of vengeful exclusion and the narrow social base of leadership recruitment in the country have led to the denial of public space to vibrant and visionary people who could have made sterling contribution to the rapid development and transformation of Nigeria. The result is the dramatic decline in the quality of leadership and poor governance that we are witnessing at the federal level and in most states of the federation.

In order to sustain the illusion of order, ruling classes need an order of illusions. The disillusioned Nigerian populace appears to have seen through the grand chicanery, the illusionist fantasia, the buffooning pantomime, the mystifying fog of incompetence and brutish insensitivity. As a result of this, the government has come under severe pressure from the margins, from below and from the

aggrieved factions of the factionalized and fractured elite. Government has lost its magic.

Elites mediate between the state and direct mob control. In the traditional bastions of liberal democracy, elections are elite-driven mechanisms for effecting changes in leadership if and at when due. The elites retain the initiative to supervise the election and to superintend the outcome, based on elite consensus and cohesion. But where the angry multitude take direct charge of their destiny based on their perception of the moral and political collapse of the ruling class, the elite lose the power and capacity to superintend the outcome of elections.

Hence, the foul and nasty atmosphere of rancor and disaffection currently subsisting in the country as elections approach. Hence, the imminent unraveling of the Fourth Republic.

Hence, the looming apocalyptic meltdown of a nation that has consistently flirted with suicide ever since its emergence as a test tube baby of the colonial laboratory. The veil has been torn off and the aura of authority, power and prestige badly eroded. The Nigerian masses have sniffed blood.

The calls for a shift or postponement of the elections such as credited to Sambo Dasuki in faraway Chatham House in London will not do. It is nothing but an imaginary resolution of a concrete political conundrum.

Even if the elections are postponed for a year, the current foul atmosphere will still prevail as long as there is no demobilization of an already embedded and actively engaged mob. To do this, you need a degree of

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elite consensus and cohesion---- a circuitous no-brainer in the current circumstances.

When you are faced with an impossible political conundrum, you reach for a paradox as a way out. As conceived by its military progenitors, the Fourth Republic has reached the end of its tethers. Only a massive transfusion of fresh blood and an injection of a new vision of the nation such as can come from counter-hegemonic forces and bearers of an antagonistic logic fundamentally at variance with the current status quo can rescue the tottering republic.

Whether the ascendant faction of the Nigerian ruling class will allow constitutional change through peaceful election remains to be seen. The stiff and ever stiffening local body language and the stalling and stonewalling from Chatham House do not indicate a willingness to submit to the supreme will of the electorate.

Yet when all is said, it is clear that a drastic change in governance paradigm in this much abused country cannot be postponed for much longer.

It will be a typically Nigerian irony if the man who will clear the cobwebs and lay the foundation of genuine democracy, who will retrieve our lost girls and territory while institutionalizing accountable governance through devolution of power from the centre turns out to be another retired military strongman waiting in the wings for electoral clearance.

No sane man has been known to argue with an earthquake. With the benefit of hindsight and in the absence of a strong, united, unified and

We ought to remind ourselves that this national passion play is being enacted against a background of outlandish and unprecedented corruption, vile looting of the national treasury, political anomie, religious disorientation in which the nation has come under the spiritual hegemony of spiritually damaged people, and a virtual balkanization of the nation by an insurgency which eternally taunts and humiliates our once proud military machine.

This is where comparison might be dangerous. It was certainly not this bad during the First Republic. Nzeogwu's war cry was against ten-percenters. Now, we have ninety-percenters. But that was also a very different country.

There has been a huge demographic shift in favour of young people. The old population of Nigeria has been purged and culled both by natural adversity and by the man-made calamity of evil governance. Change is being driven by explosion in human consciousness and technological innovations which have revolutionized communication and the radical interface of the global community.

How did we then get into this sorry pass in which the aggregate consciousness of the political class seems to lag behind the aggregate consciousness of the national multitude in its seething resentment and sullen animosity waiting for a spark to explode in our collective face? In order to get out of the Byzantine maze of horror and the continuing wastage of our people on an industrial scale, we must go back to where the rains started beating us. To trace this lineage of political failure is to go back to the origins of the Fourth Republic and even farther beyond. countervailing nationalist political class which is the evil legacy colonial rule, the Fourth Republic is a military transition in progress from full military rule through some neo-military hybrid to a possible culmination in true civil rule, after the epoch of hybridization. This is the bane of all authoritarian societies in a state of traumatic transition to some form of modernity.

The nearest examples of this kind of transition that come to mind are the far eastern countries, particularly South Korea which for a period was also under the spell and scourge of retired generals. But then, South Korea is a racially, culturally and religiously homogeneous country. Its ancient ruling caste stoutly withstood the ravages of Japanese colonization.

Pity then the poor young man from Otuoke who was plucked as a callow apprentice by a deluded past master of political intrigues and thrown into a seething cauldron of ethnic, religious and regional animosities without a compass or a road map.

So far, Jonathan has shown neither the granite strength of character, the psychological stamina and the gaming cosmopolitanism to rein in the fierce centrifugal forces nor the stirring helmsmanship to navigate a turbulent ocean brimming with sharks and piranhas.

The events in his own imploding party show how far President Goodluck Jonathan has lost the plot.

What remains is for him to negotiate a safe passage out of power with some honour but certainly not through the postponement of election or some other constitutional and extra-constitutional mischief which may well backfire. The omens are dire indeed.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

NEWS

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HE oil city of Port Harcourt is on edge after armed soldiers were yesterday drafted to take over the Rivers State Government-owned Adokiye Amiesimaka Sports Complex in Igwuruta, Port Harcourt in readiness for Wednesday's rally of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Earlier yesterday, hoodlums lobbed explosives unto the sports field of National School, Okrika in the state, which the All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship candidate,Mr. Dakuku Peterside ,had planned to use later in the day for his campaign.

Okrika is the home town of First Lady Patience Jonathan.

The APC blamed the attack on the PDP. The soldiers sealed off the two main entrances of the uncompleted stadium near the Port Harcourt International Airport at about 2am yesterday.

They turned back construction workers and other 'unauthorised people' who went there at day break.

The Rivers State governorship candidate of the PDP, Nyesom Wike, accompanied by several party leaders, was however let in yesterday to inspect the facility at about 12.55pm.

Soldiers seize Rivers stadium for Jonathan's rally From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt/Bisi Oladele,Ibadan

About 20 soldiers and two Hilux vans were spotted at the complex.

The Rivers State government accused President Jonathan and Wike of engineering the soldiers' forceful seizure of the stadium and planning to create chaos in the state while the APC called the soldiers action a disgraceful show of force.

Former Petroleum Resources Minister,Professor David Tam-West asked that the soldiers leave immediately.

Information and Communications Commissioner, Ibim Semenitari, said President Jonathan and Police Inspector General Suleiman Abba should rein in their people.

Giving the state's side of the story, Semenitari said: "The matter of the Adokiye Amiesimaka Sports Complex is a simple one. The complex is still under construction. As a work site, it is an unsafe environment for use at this time.

• It's height of impunity, lawlessness, says Amaechi • PDP gov. candidate inspects facility • APC office bombed in Patience's home town • Don't dare us, Police warn

"The PDP makes reference to the fact that the APC had held its rally at the same venue.

What they failed to mention is that the contractor was moved out of site during the time the APC's rally held and remobilised to site right after that rally.

"With less than five months to the end of its tenure, the Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi's administration is working on ensuring the completion of all its projects before the handover date of May 29th. With that being the case, the River State Government cannot move its contractors out of site at this time.

"Unlike the PDP that has consistently refused the APC the use of stadia and other facilities in Abuja and other states where it is in control, the Rivers State Government has magnanimously offered the

PDP the use of the Liberation Stadium Elekahia, which is also a state facility."

The Rivers government said that the resolve of the PDP leaders to unlawfully break into the Adokiye Amiesimaka sports complex was to fulfill the threat issued by some members of the party (PDP) that they would burn it down.

The PDP chairman in the State Felix Obuah had earlier said that Governor Amaechi's refusal to allow the party to use the stadium smacked of impunity.

"We dare him, because it is not his personal property.

On January 28, we are going to use that place. We have made official reports to the police, the DSS (Department of State Services) and all the other law-enforcement agencies," Obuah said.

• President Goodluck Jonathan receiving a souvenir from the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubarka Ibn-Elkanemi during the visit of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation to the palace in Maiduguri…yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

Also reacting, the APC National Publicity Secretary,Alhaji Lai Mohammed condemned the stadium seizure and called for an end to impunity.

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Prof. Tam David-West, asked President Goodluck Jonathan to withdraw soldiers from the Adokiye Amasieamaka Stadium, immediately.

The former minister described occupation of the stadium as a worrisome and dangerous trend.

He said it is an impunity that can cause a lot of trouble, adding that it is a plot to cause crisis that will justify calls for shift of date for the next month election.

"I strongly advise President Jonathan to withdraw soldiers from the stadium immediately to avoid confrontation and problem. We need peace in Nigeria, not war.

"What PDP is doing is a plot to cause confusion to justify change of date of the election," David-West said.

Amaechi had on Tuesday asked the PDP to use the stateowned Liberation Stadium if it had no ulterior motive.

The Okrika bombing took place at about 3.45am while contractors were erecting canopies and podium for the now cancelled rally.

Two vehicles including a Toyota Highlander and Nissan Primera, were burnt by the hoodlums while a Ford cooling truck was also vandalised.

APC chairman in Okrika, Christian Asifamaka, said of the attack: "In the wee hours of the morning of Saturday 24, 2015 at about 3:45am some armed youth started shooting at the venue of the APC governorship rally National

school field Okrika.

"Those setting up the sound system and the podium were forced to flee for their lives. At about 4am they started shooting explosives into the arena and destroyed the podium, sound equipment and some canopies.

"Okrika is the home of Nigeria's First Lady Mrs. Patience Jonathan. She was present and held the PDP governorship rally at the same venue on Thursday January 22, 2015.

"The boys came in a white Hiace bus and allegedly came in from Igbiri a community that shares borders with Mrs. Jonathan's Oba Ama community."

Peterside's campaign organisation's director of communications said: "Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, the APC's governorship candidate, was expected to have unveiled his Roadmap to Prosperity, a revolutionary economic blue-print for the massive development of Rivers State to the Okrika electorate as well as highlight the choice space the area holds in the plan.

"The cancellation was necessitated by the massive Friday overnight and early Saturday gun violence unleashed on members and supporters of APC in Okrika by suspected thugs hired and commissioned by the opposition PDP. Heavily armed thugs had in the wee hours of the morning of Saturday 24, 2015 at about 3:45am, besieged the National School Field, Okrika, venue of the APC governorship rally and opened fire.

"Workers setting up equipment and canopies were forced to flee, as bullets poured down like rainfall. By divine intervention, nobody died in the attack. The injured were rushed to different hospitals in Port Harcourt."

Soldiers were later deployed to the scene.

An army officer said: "We are here to ensure that the situation does not escalate. Please, do not take any photograph for security reason."

The Rivers Police command confirmed the attack but vowed to enforce law and order and provide adequate security for all political parties and their members.

Jonathan in Maiduguri, says Chibok girls will soon be back FTER a long silence on the Chibok girls, President Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday that the students would be back home soon.

The president, speaking at a rally in Maiduguri for his reelection said: "Our Chibok girls too will soon return."

He did not elaborate.

For several months now, he had not commented publicly on the over 200 schoolgirls who remain missing since their abduction by Boko Haram in April last year, even when he visited Maiduguri on January 15 to address troops fighting the insurgents.

But yesterday he said: "We are going to fight hard to restore peace to all communities in Borno that are affected by the insurgents' attacks."

He expressed regret over the massive loss of human lives to the Boko Haram insurgency in the North.

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From Joel Duku, Maiduguri

He said the crisis would soon become history, the terrorists captured and the destroyed communities rebuilt.

The President said he would restore the glory of the state if he was re-elected.

Borno, according to him, has a rich history of commerce, which has now been adversely affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

He said: "We will surely defeat the terror group, Boko

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• Pledges to end insurgency • Hold me responsible if Shettima is re-elected, says Ali Modu Sherriff Haram, so that our peace loving people of the Northeast and other troubled states can go about their legitimate business without any molestation.

"I have told the Shehu of Borno that we must surely overcome these terror attacks. We are going to conquer Boko Haram. Borno people were peace loving people until the

coming of this common enemy called Boko Haram.

"We must all work hard to stop this fight and I promise you it is not going to be long before we achieve that."

On the rebuilding of the destroyed communities, Jonathan said: "I will continue to be working with you, until this insurgency is brought to an

end. Nigeria is not the only country facing this terrorism that has claimed many lives and property.

"What I can assure you today is that all the destroyed communities in Borno state will be rebuilt by government."

Hundreds of communities in Baga, Bama, Dikwa, Gwoza, Banki, Konduga, Mafa, Marte, Damboa, Chibok and Gambouru local government area of the states are now in ruins on account of the Boko Haram terror.

Boko Haram kills village leader, 14 others in Borno

OKO Haram gunmen killed 15 people including a village leader near Maiduguri yesterday just a few hours before President Goodluck Jonathan's arrival in the Borno State capital to canvass votes ahead of next month's elections.

"The terrorists attacked Kambari village which is less

than five kilometres to Maiduguri around 5:00 am.

They killed 15 people and set the entire hamlet ablaze," security sources said.

"After fruitless efforts to enter Maiduguri through Konduga without success, the terrorists took a different route and attacked Kambari," one of the sources said.

A woman from the village, who simply gave her name as Kyallu, said four of her children were among the dead.

"They killed four of my grown-up children when they attacked our village about the time for the morning prayers," Kyallu, who is now in Maiduguri, told AFP. "They shot my children

dead without any prompting.

I had to leave the village with my grandchildren because we have lost our houses," she said.

"The insurgents also killed our village head. In fact, I counted 15 dead bodies," she said.

Security in the city was beefed up ahead of yesterday's visit of the president.

Former governor of the state and PDP chieftain, Ali Modu Sheriff, vowed to stop Governor Kassim Shettima from being re-elected.

"Under a free and fair election, Mr. President, I assure you that I will deliver Borno state to the People's Democratic Party," he boasted and asked that he be held responsible "if the PDP fails in a free, fair and credible election in this state."

Also addressing the rally, the Minister of State for Power Mohammed Wakil, called on the people of Borno state to vote massively for the PDP considering the fact that the Jonathan administration has done well for them in the power sector.

Security in the city before and during the President's visit was tight.

Heavy military hardware and armed security personnel were deployed cross the city which is the epicentre of Boko Haram terror.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

NEWS

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Polls: Tompolo, Dokubo, others threaten war if N Jonathan loses IGER Delta militants have issued a fresh threat to go to war except President Goodluck Jonathan wins the February 14 presidential election.

The former warlords at a meeting at Government House,Yenagoa last Friday insisted that it is Jonathan on February 14 or war.

The said defeat for him at the polls would amount to dethronement, which they

described as unacceptable.

They vowed to unleash violence on the country and take back Niger Delta oil should the outcome be unfavourable.

At the meeting were Mujahid Asari Dokubo, leader, Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force; Victor Ben Ebikabowei, aka, Boy Loaf and Government Ekpudomenowei, aka Tompolo.

Also in attendance were the

Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs and chairman of Amnesty Implementation Committee, Kingsley Kuku; host governor, Seriake Dickson and President General, Ijaw Youth Council, Udengs Eradiri, among others.

Dokubo, at the meeting,

called for an end to what he termed intimidation of the Ijaw by other Nigerians.

"For every Goliath, God created a David. For every Pharaoh, there is a Moses. We are going to war. Everyone of you should go and fortify yourself,'' Premium Times

quoted him as saying.

He advised those at the meeting to be ready for the battle ahead and declared that President Jonathan would win reelection.

Also speaking, Boyloaf said that if the North succeeded in regaining power in the election the people of the Niger Delta region would take their oil back.

"Keep grudges and sentiments apart. We are ready

to match them bumper to bumper," Boyloaf said.

In his remark, Dickson thanked the former militant leaders for their resolve to back the re-election of President Jonathan with greater vigour and assured them that he would relate their position to the President.

He urged them to resist the temptation of being recruited by the opposition to destabilise the state.

Polls: PDM endorses Buhari

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HE Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) has

• Vice President Namadi Sambo being received in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia durimg a visit to pay condolences following the death of King Abdullah, who died early Friday at 90 years-old... yesterday PHOTO: AP

PDP sponsoring attacks to shift polls -APC

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HE attacks on President Goodluck Jonathan in Katsina and Bauchi were engineered by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to demonise the opposition and force postponement of next month's general elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC) alleged yesterday.

The "coordinated hysterical reactions to the attacks by the presidency, Senate President David Mark and the leadership of the Ijaw nation," the APC said clearly exposed the brains behind the violence.

The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said in a statement that "those who have gone into frenzy in condemning the attacks should direct their anger at the PDP, which hired the hoodlums who attacked the President in Katsina and Bauchi and gave them brooms to make them look like APC supporters. ''Information is now in the public domain that these attacks were self inflicted with the aim of demonising the APC and instigating retaliatory attacks in the southern states, thus precipitating chaos which the PDP and the Presidency will then use as an excuse for the postponement of the elections ''Apparently they did not

envisage that the information about their complicity over the attacks will leak to the public.

It is common knowledge that the security around the President is such that no hoodlum can come close enough to pelt him with stones."

And responding directly to claims by the Presidency on Friday that the APC should stop the 'nonsense' of attacks on the President, the party said the Presidency was wrong to accuse it of breaching the Abuja peace accord that was signed by the presidential candidates of the various political parties, saying "the PDP and its band of thugs did not allow the ink with which the agreement was signed to dry before they started breaching it. ''The second attack on our offices in Rivers took place after the pact was signed, just like the serial attacks on our supporters in Sokoto, organised by a PDP stalwart in the city and aided and abetted by the police.

"The death-wish-for-Buhari advert by the incautious Gov.Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State in the name of President Jonathan, which could have triggered unimaginable violence if not properly managed by the APC, also breached the agreement. ''Where was the Special

Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, when all these breaches were taking place? Not once did he issue a statement to say 'this nonsense must stop'. ''Where was the Senate President, David Mark, when these breaches were taking place? He was never on record as condemning the attacks on the APC offices and its supporters or the irresponsible and downright repugnant advert by Gov. Fayose. Are those in the opposition not Nigerians who also deserve the care and attention of the nation's number three citizen?'" ''Mr. Senate President, sir, if any party is guilty of 'despicable desperation' as you claimed, it is your party, the PDP. Which party has been using all the cheap tricks in the books to postpone the lections at all cost? Which party has been sponsoring attacks against itself to demonize the opposition and force a postponement of next month's election?

"Which party has deviated from issues and become fixated on the person of the APC Presidential Candidate, savaging and lying against him at every point? Mr. Senate President, remember the saying that he who must come to equity must come with clean hands.''

APC also slammed what it

called the self-serving, selfstyled leadership of the Ijaw nation for vowing retaliation over the sponsored attacks on the President in the north and threatening the very existence of Nigeria if President Jonathan is not elected into a second term.

It wondered where in the world threats have ever won an election. ''The last time we checked, elections are won and lost by the votes of the people, not by infantile threats. The last time we checked, no one is guiltier over attempts to undermine the oneness of Nigeria than some self-styled leaders of the Ijaw nation.

"Had they been duly prosecuted and punished in accordance with the laws of the land, they would not have dared to continue hreatening the nation's existence, even as those saddled with the responsibility of preventing suchthreats look on,'' the party said.

APC appealed to its members and supporters nationwide to continue to maintain peace in the face of the most egregious of provocations in order not to play into the hands of the PDP and the Jonathan Administration who are incredibly terrified of the forthcoming elections and will do anything to make sure they do not take place.

thrown its weight behind the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari in next month's elections.

The party's national executive committee in a communiqué at the end of a meeting in Abuja last week ,described General Buhari as one candidate equipped to save Nigeria "from imminent collapse and give it a new lease of life."

It asked Nigerians to "reject desperate politicians who have been given a chance to prove their worth but failed," pointing out that "Nigeria's democracy has come to stay and would not be undermined by the desperation of those who are afraid to lose election in February 2015."

It said: "NEC observed that of the available presidential candidates, two clearly stand out and the two represent a clear contrast and reference point for making a clear and informed choice.

"Of the five critical issues which NEC believes constitute the nation's top and urgent priority at this material time, namely, unity, security, job creation, fight against corruption

and the economy, it is the opinion of NEC that the incumbent who has been at the helm of affairs of the nation in the past six years had failed.

"In contrast, his opponent had a track record of achievement in these areas as a former Head of State and Executive Chairman of Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund. NEC believes it is time for Nigerians to give him a chance.

"In view of the foregoing, NEC unanimously resolved to support the candidature of General Muhammadu Buhari for President of Nigeria and called on all members and supporters of PDM across Nigeria to vote for him in the presidential election of February 14, 2015."

It condemned the call

by Governor Bala Ngilari of Adamawa State for the postponement of the forthcoming elections in his State and "wondered why it is the Governor of Adamawa, not Borno State, who is making such a call."

The communiqué was signed by the PDM National Chairman,Alhaji Bashir Ibrahim and the Secretary,Mr.Ifeanyi Igwe.

NBA: Postponement of polls will affect Nigeria adversely

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HE Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has warned that any attempt to postpone the February elections, as recently proposed by the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, will adversely affect Nigeria.

In a statement signed by its president, Augustine Alegeh, NBA said: "The Nigerian Bar Association is deeply concerned by the statement credited to the National Security Adviser [NSA], Colonel Sambo Dasuki, calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the forthcoming general elections for a period

of three months.

"The twin issues of the difficulties associated with the collection of Permanent Voter's Card [PVC] and the conduct of elections in the north eastern states of the country, upon which the alleged call for postponement of the elections was based, are not new issues that would justify the call for a postponement of the elections so late in the day.

"A postponement of the elections would give INEC little room to maneuver and may push the nation perilously close to a constitutional crisis, if any unforeseen event occasions a further shift of the election date."

Falana, NUJ chair for Laspotech discourse

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HE School of Communication and Liberal Studies of Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu will on Tuesday, January 27 hold its maiden inaugural public discourse.

Frontline lawyer and human rights activist, Femi Falana(SAN), is billed to deliver a keynote address with the "2015

elections: legal and ethical issues in media reportage."

The lecture takes place at the main auditorium of the School of Management and Business Studies by 12 pm.

Chairman of the Lagos State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Deji Elumoye, will also participate in the discourse.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

NEWS

F

OR several hours yesterday, Ado- Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, stood still for the All Progressives C o n g r e s s ( A P C ) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari as his campaign train hit the, town ahead of the February 14 election.

It was the party’s first major outing in the state since it lost the June governorship election to the PDP. Traffic stretched over several kilometres while hundreds of thousands of party faithful walked long distances to be part of the huge crowd at the Ekiti Parapo Square,venue of the rally.

Shouts of ‘Sai Buhari’ filled the air as the people weaved their way to the square where the Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in last year’s governorship election and House of Representatives member, Opeyemi Bamidele, and his political family, Ekiti Bibiire Coalition,formally returned to the APC. His entry to the square sparked a deafening ovation

Buhari’s rally shuts down Ado-Ekiti •His age means wisdom to rescue Nigeria, says Tinubu From Odunayo Ogunmola,Ado-Ekiti

from the crowd.

And so was the introduction of several PDP chieftains in the state who defected to the APC. They included former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr. Sola Ajigbolamu; former Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Otitoju and former House of Assembly member, Mr. Amogunniyi Fadare, all of whom were received by the party’s national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.

Security was tight, the weather cool and the atmosphere tension free despite earlier threat by Governor Ayo Fayose to hold a rally of his party,PDP, also yesterday.

The APC had warned him not to provoke violence by his plan.

With popular fuji musician, Saheed Osupa, supplying music, the crowd had fun dancing,

singing and waving.

They hailed the leaders as they found their way into the arena one after the other.

Gen. Buhari, Chief OdigieOyegun and other national leaders drove into the arena in a bus atop of which sat Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State and former Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

Other APC front liners at the rally were the National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; the Deputy National Chairman (South), Chief Segun Oni; former Interim National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande; former Ekiti State Governor, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo; Deputy Chairman of the party’s National Convention Committee, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje; Senate Minority Leader, Senator George Akume; Deputy Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora; former Ekiti Deputy Governor, Prof. Modupe

•L-R: Former governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi; a former presidential aspirant, All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr. Nda Isaiah; National Chairman, APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; national leader, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; vice-presidential candidate, APC, Mr. Yemi Osinbajo; and presidential candidate, APC, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari, during a rally held at the Ekiti Parapo Square, Ado-Ekiti... yesterday.

Polls: Threats of violence worry US Secretary of State Kerry to meet Jonathan, Buhari

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HE United States of America is worried by the drum of war being beaten in parts of the country ahead of next month’s elections.

The latest of such threats came yesterday from Yenagoa, Bayelsa State at a meeting of Niger Delta militants who vowed to go to war except President Goodluck Jonathan wins the election.

President Jonathan is from Bayelsa.

The threat of violence is expected to feature prominently in talks between the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, when he meets with President Goodluck Jonathan and the presidential candidate of the All

FROM: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

Progressives Congress( APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, on how to ensure a peaceful and credible process.

Kerry in due in the country today.

He is expected to hold meetings with the two presidential candidates coming up later today or tomorrow in Lagos.

A US state department spokesperson, Marie Harf, said: “Secretary Kerry will travel to Lagos, Nigeria, on January 25 to emphasise the importance of ensuring the upcoming elections are peaceful, non-violent, and credible.

“The Secretary will meet with candidates President Goodluck Jonathan and Major General (Retired) Muhammadu Buhari.”

The Nation gathered that the US was disturbed by reports of election-related violence capable of breaching the nation’s unity.

It was learnt that intelligence and field reports have shown that the non-violence accord reached about two weeks ago by presidential candidates was being breached with impunity.

It was gathered that apart from compounding the Boko Haram insurgency in the north, election violence could lead to disruption of the nation’s oil and gas sector in the Niger Delta.

Buhari cancels planned US trip

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HE planned trip to the United States of America (USA) by the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari has been called off.

General Buhari was scheduled to be in the USA tomorrow to honour an invitation from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to speak on Nigeria’s future.

President Goodluck Jonathan was also invited to the cancelled event.

The organisation’s Director

of African Programme, Jennifer Cooke, said the programme’s cancellation was on account of an unexpected change in Gen. Buhari’s schedule.

Initial media reports on Buhari’s invitation had suggested that he was travelling abroad for medical attention caused by ‘strain’ of his ongoing nation-wide campaign.

Ms. Cooke was quoted by the online outfit, Premium Times, as saying: “The CSIS Africa Programme issued almost identical invitations to both leading political candidates (President Jonathan and Gen.

Buhari) to share their perspectives on Nigeria’s forthcoming elections and Nigeria’s future more broadly.

“There is considerable interest among U.S. policymakers and the Nigerian Diaspora community in the February 14 elections and an interest in hearing from both candidates first hand their thoughts on how best to ensure that the elections will be free, fair, credible, and peaceful.

“The Africa Programme has no position on which candidate should or will be successful.”

Adelabu.

Fayemi said the huge crowd was a clear sign that Ekiti remains firmly in the progressive camp.

“The mystery of June 21 shall not stand on February 14, the day of the presidential poll,” he said and commended the people for trooping out in defiance of threats by the PDPled government in the state.

Buhari told the cheering crowd that their collective dream of a future where corruption, unemployment and insecurity would have no place would soon be realised.

The presidential flag bearer urged Nigerians to go to the polls on election day and vote APC to make the change possible.

“It is time to send PDP packing; we will make sure that unemployment is tackled. We will take care of our youth, majority of whom are unemployed,” he said.

“Insecurity and corruption will receive our attention, we will reposition the education sector by employing qualified teachers as well as prioritising mining and agriculture to generate more employment for our people.” National Leader Asiwaju Tinubu said Buhari’s election as President would change the fortunes of Nigeria.

Tinubu said the Buhari-led presidency means liberation for the youths, stressing that “the Nigerian youths cannot afford to continue with this government of fake policies and fake ideas.”

The former Lagos governor deplored the death-wish advert placed by Governor

Fayose against Buhari and declared that Nigeria is in dire need of someone with Buhari’s wisdom to manage the affairs of the country.

Tinubu recalled that when economic recession hit the United States, the country turned to an old man in the late Ronald R e a g a n , w h o deployed his wisdom and experience to take his country out of the doldrums.

He paid tributes to the 19 APC members of the Ekiti House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Dr. Adewale Omirin, for standing firm against the impunity of the Fayose administration The APC leader deplored a situation in which seven PDP lawmakers passed the 2015 Appropriation Bill into Law in Ekiti Assembly urging the people to reject the rascality being witnessed in the state.

Tinubu also explained that Buhari has come to rescue Nigeria from the abyss of economic recession, insecurity and political instability, which Jonathan has failed to address.

Tinubu said: “They (PDP) have no wisdom to lead Nigeria; this is common sense revolution, jobs, education and empowerment. Go and pick your voter cards and don’t sell your tomorrow.

“They cannot change the date (of the election); it is our right to vote.”

Tinubu also used the occasion to welcome Bamidele saying: “We have forgiven Opeyemi Bamidele; he is now back home. He is no longer in the party of, Labourers.”

Speaking in his capacity as

the APC Southwest Coordinator of the Presidential Campaign, Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, urged the people to “change President Goodluck Jonathan with their votes” and replace him with Buhari.

Aregbesola, who spoke in Yoruba, said Buhari represents the light that would drive the PDP darkness away.

He said: “The Yoruba race will not embark on an unprofitable venture and all the Yoruba cannot follow these evil people. We must liberate ourselves from this bad government and we must be part of the good government to be led by Buhari.

“The accursed one has been threatening that we will not come to Ekiti, who owns Ekiti?

We own Ekiti, the APC owns Ekiti.

“When we take over government from February, my friend knows that he will be sent parking. He is dancing the dance of shame all around; tell him that the game is up for him.”

Mamora, who represented the APC Presidential Campaign Director General, Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State, said Nigerians are going to enthrone righteousness on the ticket that will give them restoration. Vice presidential candidate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, urged Ekiti voters not to allow any “electoral magic” to repeat itself in the state. He promised that Buhari would stop corruption.

His words: “Gen. Buhari will stop corruption and that is why they are afraid of him. It’s time for change in Nigeria. On February 14, take your cards and go to voting centers and stay there until your votes are counted.”

Oyegun also deplored Fayose’s death wish advert.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

NEWS

16 governorship candidates, party chairmen sign peace accord in Kwara

Party flays deposition threats on Ondo monarchs From Damisi Ojo, Akure

S

IXTEEN governor-ship candidates and their party chairmen in Kwara State yesterday in Ilorin, signed a pact to maintain peace in the state before, during and after February general elections.

The signing of the Ilorin Accord tagged: 'Anti-violence Pact' took place at the state office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and presided over by the Resident Commissioner, Dr Emmanuel Onucheyo.

Onucheyo said, on the occasion,that Kwara was the first state in the country to take a cue from the Abuja Accord signed by the presidential candidates. The 16 governorship flag bearers who signed yesterday's accord were :Sen. Simeon Ajibola (PDP), Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed (APC), Mrs Oyewumi Felicia Ajibola, Action Alliance (AA) and Mrs Comfort Kayode, United Progressive Party (UPP).

Others were Musa Kolawole (AD), Alabi Morakinyo for Kowa Party, Oshin David (UDP), Alabi Kolawole for SDP, Babatunde Tayo (MPPP), Dr Mike Omotosho (LP) and Tiamiyu Kamarudeen (PPA). The rest were Adigun Adewale (PPN), Ayinla Oloruntoba, (NCP), Bamidele Omotosho (CPP) and Abraham Babatunde (ACPN).

All the 16 governorship candidates promised to run issue-based campaigns at the state and local government levels. They also promised to refrain from campaigns that would involve religious, ethnic or tribal sentiments. They pledged not to make any public statement, pronouncement, declaration or speeches that could incite violence, before, during and after the elections.

UCH loses N600m to strike, says CMD From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

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HE Chief Medical Director (CMD), University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Prof Temitope Alonge, has disclosed that the hospital has lost N600 million to the ongoing Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) strike.

Alonge disclosed this yesterday while addressing journalists shortly after a meeting with the members of the union in the hospital.

According to him, the current impasse has not only cost the hospital human losses but also financial damage, recalling that during the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA's) strike in July to August, the hospital also lost N400 million.

"We are appealing to JOHESU not to give up with the negotiation with the federal government. The Yayale Ahmed-led committee set up by the government has submitted their recommendation, and it includes 61 recommendations. Government meeting with the union leaders was postponed because the two ministers were absent. I appeal to government to also ensure rapid acceptance of their demands and should ensure that their dues are properly re-enumerated.”

7

T

• Lagos Central Senatorial candidate, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and Christian leaders at an event to endorse her for second term

Diaspora group mobilises support for Buhari/Osinbajo A

GROUP of young Nigerian professionals in the diaspora under the aegis of the Nigerian Diaspora Alliance For Good Governance (NIDAGG) has declared its support for the All Progressive Congress' (APC) Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates in the February 14 polls, General Muhamadu Buhari and Prof.

Yemi Osinbajo respectively.

Speaking at a recent event to mark the group's support for the APC flag bearers, NIDAGG's President, Abdul Ibiyeye, said the group plans to encourage violence-free polls as well as the emergence of credible and competent leaders.

He praised the calibre of candidates put forward by the APC and declared that NIDAGG's vision is encapsulated in the APC's quest for change.

"This walk for change is to

By Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor

express our ardent support from the USA as Nigerian Americans to raise awareness for the need to vote for good governance in Nigeria during the February general elections.

The objectives of the rally which is billed for Saturday, February 7th, 2015 at Daley Plaza, Chicago Downtown, United States of America (USA), are to beckon on world leaders to assist the Nigerian government to ensure we have a peaceful election and ensure that the Nigerian government conducts a free and fair election and to appeal to Nigerians to go out and vote and let their voices be heard.

“The upcoming presidential election is unarguably the most

significant in our nation's history. This contest is more than a choice between two major presidential candidates or political parties. It's a clear choice between two fundamentally different paths and visions for Nigeria. We want a visionary leader with the fortitude and will to restore our staggering unity and retrace our steps back to the path of progress. We yearn for a leader who can ensure that the future of our nation is not foreclosed by the political immaturity that has poisoned our polity for so long; a leader who can harness our traditional strength to address many of our greatest problems: security, corruption, energy, unemployment, education, healthcare, and economic competitiveness.

“We are convinced that the

unimpeachable profiles of both General Muhammad Buhari and Professor Osinbajo match these leadership requirements.

Their values and records clearly affirm what is best in us. In view of this, we want to openly declare our unwavering support for them," Ibiyeye said.

Justifying the group's support for the APC, Ibiyeye said the present administration under President Goodluck Jonathan has failed to get the much needed dividends of democracy across to the teeming populace. "Our hearts cry in anguish at the magnitude of unemployed young souls that ply the streets on a daily basis with no hope in sight. Our hearts yell with irritation as the nation's treasury is continuously subjected to relentless plunder and each day brings further evidence that the way we manage the nation strengthens our adversaries.”

Fayose led thugs to attack me, says Ekiti APC candidate

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Ekiti Central senatorial district, Mr. Gbenga Olofin, has accused Governor Ayo Fayose of personally leading thugs to attack him during a campaign rally in Igede-Ekiti in Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area on Friday.

Olofin, according to a statement by his media aide, Femi Awojobi, alleged that Fayose personally supervised the tearing and destruction of his posters and billboards in Igede and other towns in the local government area.

Fayose and Olofin hail from the same Irepodun/ Ifelodun Local Government Area. While the APC senatorial

From Odunayo Ogunmola, Ado-Ekiti

candidate is from Igede, Fayose is from Afao. Olofin alleged that thugs in the convoy of the governor were armed with dangerous weapons like axes, cutlasses and guns and were conveyed in Hilux vans which carried Ekiti registration numbers. According to him, the thugs wore masks; ransacked shops and homes at Igede and Iyin and attacked some residents with machetes in the daylight. Many shops, according to him, were looted by the hoodlums.

The APC senatorial flag bearer revealed that the attacks took place between 2.00 pm and

2.30 pm, saying several gunshots fired by the thugs sent residents scampering to safety.

Olofin said it was providence that saved him from being killed by the thugs and urged security agencies to be alive to their responsibilities to prevent loss of lives and property. He revealed that he had called the Commissioner of Police and the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) to inform them of the attack.

While urging his supporters to be steadfast, Olofin urged them not to be intimidated, saying the people of the state have made up their minds to vote APC at next

month's general elections. But the PDP State Secretary, Dr. Tope Aluko, accused Olofin of raising, false alarm to gain underserved attention. He described the claim of Olofin as "lies from the pit of hell coming from a candidate frustrated by his rejection by the electorate".

Aluko challenged Olofin to produce evidence to substantiate his claim, saying Fayose who hails from council area cannot be leading thugs to attack the people that voted him into office. The PDP scribe advised Olofin to look inwards and scrutinise his followers in search of the hoodlums that carried out the attack, saying members of the ruling party are law-abiding and would not be involved in any act of violence.

Forget primaries, vote APC, Lawmaker charges supporters

H

ON. Dayo BushAlebiosu, the federal lawmaker representing Kosofe federal constituency in the House of Representatives has directed his supporters to put the primaries behind them and work for the overall success of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at next month's general elections.

Bush- Alebiosu, a two-

By Adetutu Audu

term federal legislator who chairs the House Committee on Treaties & Agreements, said there is need to consolidate on the 16 years of progressive governance and sterling achievements which the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN, have bequeathed to Lagos State and

which Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode is willing to continue in the Centre of Excellence.

In his words: "only APC has the masterstroke to make Nigeria great again as it is profoundly obvious of what APC government in the centre is capable of doing as the giant stride in all the APC controlled-states are evidence for people to see. The APC national leader is a trailblazer, a visionary leader,

who envisioned and initiated the path of development that has become the lot of Lagos following Fashola's actualisation of the vision on succeeding Tinubu," he said .

He added that the APC is the party that can successfully tackle the serious challenges currently facing the country on the basis of the existing constitution and architecture of governance .

HE Media Campaign Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State has condemned the warning allegedly given by Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, to traditional rulers in Ondo State against receiving APC leaders in their respective domains during the ongoing electioneering campaigns.

A statement issued in Akure, by the Secretary of APC Media Campaign Committee in the state, Charles Titiloye, described as unacceptable, any attempt by Mimiko to blackmail, intimidate and threaten royal fathers in the state, who are supposed to be apolitical, into becoming partisan.

It notedxxx that monarchs should open their doors to all their subjects irrespective of their political affiliations . APC said it is wrong for royal fathers to be partisan. The statement noted that the political meeting held by Mimiko with Obas and Chiefs in Ondo State wherein he allegedly threatened to depose Obas who entertain the APC campaign train, was the highest level of intolerance by the present government to APC in the state.

Alimosho mayhem: xxxx Our candidates were targets, says lawmaker

By Oziegbe Okoeki

M

EMBER of Lagos state House of Assembly representing Alimosho 1 constituency, Hon. Bisi Yusuf has said that candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Alimosho for next month's general election were actually targeted in the mayhem unleashed by members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on APC members last Friday at Boys Town, in Mosan Okunola Local Council Development Area (LCDA).

Addressing a press conference at APC secretariat in Ipaja yesterday, Yusuf, who won a return ticket to the Assembly, said his car was riddled with bullets by the PDP urchins who thought he was inside the car. "The main target of the attack were the APC candidates in the forthcoming election, which include myself and the senatorial candidate, Adeola Olamilekan," he insisted.

Adding that should anything happen to them, Musiliu Obanikoro, Segun Adewale, PDP senatorial candidate, Lagos West, Lamidi Nejo, PDP House of Representatives candidate for Alimosho federal constituency and the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Jimi Agbaje, should be held responsible.

CHANGE OF NAME CLASSIFIED ADVERTS WILL APPEAR TOMORROW

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

9

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

•Jonathan

M

ORE than at any other period in the history of the Fourth Republic, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is on the edge. It is fighting tooth and nail to cling to power in a tight race. There's no one better qualified to confirm this than National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), who said in London on Thursday that "the emergence of a seemingly viable opposition, as well as the closeness of the race is a clear demonstration of our maturing democracy..."

Investigations by our reporters in various states of the federation indicate that the votes haul from three zones in the North as well as the outcome in the South-West could be pivotal determining the race. In the SouthSouth-South and South-East, the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan retains strong support. However, in-fighting in the PDP in Ebonyi, Imo, Akwa Ibom and even in the president's home state, Bayelsa, could lead to a significant drop in his share of votes cast.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd) is expectedly to perform markedly better in aforementioned two zones than he did in 2011 - benefitting from the bitter fallout of the PDP squabbles and the stronger platform on which he's running this time around.

If the elections were held today, these are the projected outcome as put together by our editorial team tracking the contest from state to state.

KEBBI The PDP has lost more ground to the opposition in the last three weeks. Just a few days ago, a member of the PDP Board of Trustees, Sen. Mohammed Magoro, defected to APC in looks like a political development that has broken the camel's back.

The tumultuous crowd which heralded Buhari's visit to Birnin Kebbi signposts an advantage for APC. With ex-Governor Adamu Aliero and other stalwarts of PDP now in APC, a 60-40 victory might be imminent for the opposition in Kebbi.

Verdict: Buhari NIGER In spite of the drafting of Senate President, David Mark, Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang and Federal Capital

•Buhari

PRESIDENCY 2015:

North still holds the ace In less than three weeks Nigerians will go to the polls to elect a new president. As the race becomes more intense a complex mix of factors in different states would shape the eventual outcome. In this piece, Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation, Sam Egburonu, Associate Editor, Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor and Sunday Oguntola, present a status report as the race enters the home stretch.

Territory Minister, Sen. Bala Mohammed to lend a helping hand to the embattled Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, things are falling apart for PDP in the state.

The climax of PDP's misfortunes was the defection of Deputy Governor Ahmed Musa Ibeto to APC with 300 others. The defection suggested an undertone of backing by some

kingmakers in the state because it came shortly after ex-President Ibrahim Babangida declared support for Buhari.

Apparently hitting back at one of the godfathers, an angry Governor Aliyu said: "They said I went to IBB over those who defected. I have passed the stage of begging anybody…" A 70-30 race advantage for APC is likely here.

Verdict: Buhari KWARA The situation of PDP in Kwara State has reached a pathetic stage that about N80million was allegedly budgeted to hire crowd to welcome Jonathan to the state.

Jolted by the substantial loss of grip by the party, the new financier of PDP in the state, Hajiya Bola Shagaya and the Minister of National Planning, Dr. Suleiman Olanrewaju Abubakar, had to relocate to Ilorin to start mobilizing the crowd.

Shagaya's politics and the poor choice of candidates at all levels by the party for the February poll has made it an easy ride for APC so far. In fact, some forces in the Presidency are already reaching out to Kwara's games master, ex-Governor Bukola Saraki to bend a bit and concede 25 per cent of the total votes in the state to PDP during the presidential election on February 14. It is 80-20 percent in favour of APC in Kwara.

Verdict: Buhari BAUCHI The booing and jeering at the PDP rally on Thursday in Bauchi State showed disenchantment with the ruling party in the state. The administration of Governor Isa Yuguda is said to be owing teachers and civil servants arrears of salaries leading to protest and stoning of the presidential convoy.

The cold war between PDP leaders in the state also led to the heckling of the FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed at the presidential rally. Since the PDP did not win the state in 2011, the political dynamics are yet to change - notwithstanding the fact that the national chairman of the ruling party, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, hails from the state. The odds point to an 80-20 per cent vote split in favour of APC. Verdict: Buhari SOKOTO The President and members of his campaign council needed no soothsayer during the week to read the handwriting on the wall that the defection of ex-Governor Attahiru Bafarawa had not added much electoral value to the chances of PDP. The likely protest votes by PDP members in the state who are still angry over the outcome of governorship primaries, points

•Contd. on page 10

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NEWS REVIEW •Contd. from page 9

to a solidified advantage for APC. Unless the Deputy Governor, Mukhtar Shagari and his faction are appeased, the contest could turn out to be 75-25 in favour of APC. Verdict: Buhari KOGI The alleged poor or slow performance of Governor Idris Wada (occasioned by the indebtedness of ex-Governor Ibrahim Idris administration) has created disenchantment with PDP in the state because of salary arrears. But the ruling party is relying on its usual winning formula of ethnic and religious politics, especially in Kogi East where the DirectorGeneral of Jonathan campaign council, Dr. Ahmadu Ali comes from.

The President realized Wada's challenges and he has decided to mobilize more forces and loyalists like Sen. Smart Adeyemi, Minister of Justice and AttorneyGeneral of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), oil magnate Jide Omokore among others to secure Kogi Central and Kogi West districts. A 55-45 per cent victory is likely for PDP in Kogi State.

Verdict: Jonathan TARABA The recent reconciliation of warring PDP leaders and the adoption of a powersharing formula which resulted in a novictor, no-vanquished resolution has foreclosed any significant inroad for APC presidential candidate, Buhari who has always lost in the state.

The larger-than-life profile of former Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd), the minority politics in the North, ethnic sentiments against the Hausa-Fulani and religious considerations have all combined to weigh against the APC. A 75-25 per cent race to the advantage of PDP is expected here.

Verdict: Jonathan KADUNA Unlike the case between 1999 and 2007, the PDP is battling for survival in Kaduna State to sustain the 'victory' it narrowly claimed in 2011 when it took advantage of post-election violence. The persistent insurgency in Southern Kaduna has made the ruling party lose the sympathy of minorities in the state.

Buhari's recent campaign here was a showstopper. Kaduna is also his base as well as home state of Vice-President Namadi Sambo. The state government is currently controlled by PDP. In 2011, Buhari polled 1, 334, 244 votes to narrowly defeat Jonathan who scored 1,190, 179 votes.

APC may win again with a slight margin.

Verdict: Battleground PLATEAU Plateau is one state to watch in the light of unfolding twists and turns by key political actors. A former Deputy Governor of the state, Paullen Tallen, Senator John Damboyi, defected to APC with some PDP stalwarts in protest against the outcome of the governorship primaries. Though APC's mileage might improve, the equation may still favour PDP because of ethnic and religious politics.

Being a core Middle Belt state, the people of Plateau State are unlikely to vote for an Hausa-Fulani man like Buhari. This is almost like hereditary political culture here. The success of the ongoing reconciliation of aggrieved PDP members is reuniting the ruling party in the state. A 70-30 percent split in favour of PDP is predicted.

Verdict: Jonathan ZAMFARA The failed bid of PDP for ex-Governor Sani Yerima has proved to be the party's albatross in Zamafara State where the opposition is still waxing stronger since 1999. Though PDP is trying to improve its electoral fortunes, the APC may retain the state in 80-20 per cent judging by response to the campaign trains of PDP and APC. The reduced involvement of the Minister of Defence, Gen. Aliyu Gusau (retd) in the politics of the state has sustained Yerima's political grip on Zamfara.

Verdict: Buhari ADAMAWA The emergence of a former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, as the party's governorship candidate has polarized and decimated

Presidency 2015: North

•2015 presidential poll outlook PDP in the state. To pave the way for Ribadu, the state PDP Executive Committee led by Joel Madaki was dissolved.

Other stakeholders have, however, ganged up to work against PDP. The impending loss of the state by PDP made Jonathan's godfather, Chief Edwin Clark, to openly attack the National Chairman of the party, Adamu Muazu, last Saturday.

Realizing that the political calculation was not adding up for PDP, the Jonathan has ordered the reinstatement of the suspended State Executive Committee to embark on a reconciliation programme. But it might be too late because most PDP heavyweights have either joined APC or the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM).

This was why Governor Bala Ngilari called for the postponement of the poll in Adamawa State to enable PDP put its house in order. If the ongoing reconciliation in succeeds, it might be 55-45 split in favour of APC. Otherwise, the PDP might not get up to 15 per cent of the votes because Adamawa people are really angry with the party.

Verdict: Battleground BENUE It is still too close a match in Benue State between the PDP and APC. For the second time since 1999, the ruling party is struggling to maintain its hold on the state. The defection of PDP bigwigs like ex-Minister Samuel Ortom and Chief Barnabas Gemade, the crisis between Governor Gabriel Suswam and workers, and opposition to imposition of the governorship candidate have made the task difficult for the President of the Senate, David Mark, who is the party's leader in the state. The race is certainly 50-50 because APC may clinch two senatorial tickets in the state.

Verdict: Too close to call GOMBE The incessant clampdown on key opposition figures and the plot to arrest them en masse before the February elections points to some panic on the part of the ruling PDP. The tense atmosphere got to a level that the APC National Chairman, Chief John OdigieOyegun petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan on how the state government was planning to implicate the state's political godfather, ex-Governor Danjuma Goje. The APC is certainly creating campaign waves in the state and may clinch the state in a 60-40 per cent split.

Verdict: Buhari

JIGAWA Going by his continuous lambasting of opposition leaders, Governor Sule Lamido still has his heart in PDP although he may not have faith in the presidential candidate of the party. Until the PDP campaign train hit the North-West, he had basically stood aloof as if he was oblivious of the stakes.

The scenario may be 80-20 in favour of APC during the presidential election because the APC candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has always won Jigawa with or without Lamido's political structure. But in other stanzas of the February poll, which are local affairs, PDP may win 70-30 per cent.

Verdict: Buhari KATSINA This is Buhari's home state and an APC stronghold. Were it not for disagreement among the leaders of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the PDP would have lost in 2011. With its house in order this time around, the opposition is very strong in the state because virtually all the leaders wielding political influence in the state are in support of the APC. Governor Ibrahim Shema is taking everything in his strides to manage the volatile political situation in the state which had been fueled by the PDP's mismanagement of Buhari's WASC results. The campaign so far has shown an 80-20 percent outlook in favour of the general.

Verdict: Buhari KANO The unprecedented crowd which welcomed the APC campaign council to Kano during the week was reminiscent of Second Republic politics. It sent jitters through the PDP and the Presidency which tried to make up with another rally to prove that it has earned some mileage too.

The defection of the Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, has added much value to the rating of PDP but it is insignificant to dislodge APC from the state. Shekarau appears to be a lone ranger.

A 70-30 per cent performance is expected to the credit of APC. So, the president may get the mandatory 25 per cent in Kano State if the party tries to close its divided ranks before the poll.

Verdict: Buhari BORNO This is a natural terrain of the opposition even though the Boko Haram insurgency has

not allowed parties to embark on aggressive campaigning. Since the First Republic, no ruling party including the PDP, has been able to win the state. This is rooted in cultural history and political belief not to play second fiddle to the Hausa-Fulani oligarchy.

The Boko Haram insurgency has forced the people of the state to yearn for change and oppose PDP. Though a former Governor of the state, Sen. Modu Ali Sheriff defected from APC to PDP, his new party surprisingly dropped him as one of its senatorial candidates.

The twist may cause more headaches for PDP in the state. The permutations point to an 80-20 percent APC victory. The decision of the military to launch a full-scale war in the North-East against Boko Haram any moment from now is seen as a ploy to destabilize Adamawa, Borno and Yobe making conditions for free and fair voting virtually impossible.

Verdict: Buhari YOBE Like Borno, the state remains largely a stronghold of the APC having been in opposition since 1999. A former governor of the state, Sen. Bukar Abba Ibrahim and other leaders have remained the backbone of the APC in the state and their structure in the last 16 years has proved hard to dismantle.

But the choice of a former Minister of Police Affairs, Adamu Maina Waziri (who is contesting for the office for the fourth time) as the PDP governorship candidate, may make it a walkover for APC. Barring any improvement by PDP on its past records, the contest can be 70-30 to the credit of APC. But APC leaders have to be circumspect because of the new initiative by the military to launch a massive campaign against Boko Haram insurgents which may displace many eligible voters.

Verdict: Buhari NASARAWA The internal crisis within the PDP over governorship primaries has led to the defection of ex-Minister Labaran Maku to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) which poses no threat to the ruling APC. The implication is that the votes of Eggon people, who are desperate to rule the state, will be split between PDP and APGA leaving other ethnic groups to queue behind the opposition coalition, APC which is doing well in the state.

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still holds the ace

The ill-fated impeachment plot against Governor Tanko Al-Makura by PDP/ presidency and the purported death of Baba Alakyo ( the spiritual leader of the Eggon), and the defection of a former Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, ex-Governor Abdullahi Adamu, have compounded the electoral woes of the PDP in the state. A 7030per cent rating in favour of APC is likely.

Verdict: Buhari FCT The PDP is presently engaged in marathon and hectic campaign to the nooks and crannies of the Federal Capital Territory.

The opposition needs to rev up its strategy instead of taking things for granted that people desire change. It is presently a 60-40 percent in favour of PDP in the FCT. APC can fill up the gap with aggressive outreach before the poll because the opposition used to be stronger in Kuje and Kwali Districts unlike the case now.

Verdict: Jonathan AKWA IBOM Akwa Ibom State has always been a stronghold of the PDP. But the state is no longer firmly in the hands of the ruling party.

The APC) has swelled its ranks with defectors from PDP. Its governorship candidate, Umana Umana, is the state's erstwhile Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

More and more people are attending his campaigns. There are also 22 aggrieved PDP governorship aspirants that have vowed to be fun spoilers for the party.

However, zonal solidarity with Jonathan as well as well as an incumbent governor with a heavy war chest would tilt the state in the president's favour.

Verdict: Jonathan CROSS RIVER Had things turned out the way the opposition wanted, there might have been slim hope of a Buhari upset in Cross River.

And really things were moving into that direction. The PDP congresses were strongly disputed. It took massive intervention from the Central Working Committee (CWC) of the party to calm frayed nerves.

The governorship primary was another bumpy ride. It pitched long-time allies such as Governor Liyel Imoke and his predecessor, Donald Duke, against themselves. The Senate Majority Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, was also on a collision course with the governor.

Leading aspirants like Mr. Jeddy Agba, were disqualified from the contest, leaving the emergence of Senator Ben Ayade, a mere formality. But the PDP has managed to put its house in order, or so it seems. Agba, who was expected to contest on an alternative platform, has dropped the ambition, vowing to support the PDP and Ayade. President Jonathan is expected to win well in the state.

Verdict: Jonathan RIVERS With 2,537,590 registered voters, Rivers State has the highest voting population in the South-South region. Under normal circumstances, Jonathan would have gone to bed fully assured he had those votes in his kitty. But not anymore. Things have changed drastically since Governor Rotimi Amaechi led supporters to join the APC. The choice of Dakuru Peterside as APC's governorship candidate has improved the party's fortunes in Rivers, eroding the massive support base of the President in his wife's home state.

But Jonathan's chances cannot be just written off yet in the state. He has foot soldiers such as PDP's governorship candidate, Nyesom Wike, on ground. His wife's kinsmen will also most certainly prefer him to a northerner, all things being equal.

The equations, however, seem to favour Buhari, who has wisely chosen Amaechi as Director General of his campaign. Amaechi has to deliver to justify the confidence reposed in him. This is why the state will be a battleground for the leading presidential hopefuls.

Verdict: Battleground BAYELSA Though things are not at ease with the PDP in Bayelsa State, it is almost taken that President Jonathan will carry his home state.

Even if every other states turn against the President, his kinsmen are certain to stick with him, come rain or sunshine.

Governor Seriake Dickson is reportedly uncomfortable with Jonathan who believed to be indisposed to the governor's reelection

bid in 2016. The governor has flushed out elements with ties to Jonathan and his wife from his cabinet. He has also moved against activities of the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), the umbrella organisation for Jonathan's reelection campaign in the state.

Relations between the governor and presidency are at the lowest ebb but they are not expected to have any direct bearing on the voting pattern next month. The voters will certainly pick the son of the soil, Jonathan, over every other person, performance or non-performance.

The only snag is that the President's home state only boasts 610,373 voters. Even if all of them get to vote, they are not likely to have significant impact in the general direction of the poll.

Verdict: Jonathan DELTA Ethnic and religious factors could work against any Buhari upset in the state but they also threaten to trim the margin of any PDP victory here. Jonathan will have to stave off mounting opposition against him in the state.

The Itsekiri, for exemaple, are angry that the inauguration of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) was unceremoniously abandoned by the president under pressure from former militant leader, Chief Government 'Tompolo' Ekpemupolo.

There is also the shoddy handling of the governorship primaries. Even though many believe Senator Ifeanyi Okowo won fair and square, his emergence came at the expense of entrenched interests in the state. The Urhobos are aggrieved the governorship slot was not ceded to them, but a delegation of the Urhobo Progressive Union (UPU) pledged support for Jonathan during a recent Aso Villa visit.

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan is also said not to be a happy man. He was forced to drop his senatorial ambition for the return of James Manger, an Ijaw man, said to have the backing of Jonathan. His preferred successor, John Obuh, also lost the governorship slot, coming a distant third.

Like Uduaghan, many PDP members in Delta are disgruntled. But many will still root for Jonathan but may play the spoilers in the gubernatorial poll. Buhari would benefit from some protest votes to secure the 25% he needs.

Verdict: Jonathan EDO With the APC firmly in control of the state, analysts are predicting its presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, might record an upset in Edo. This optimism is not out of place.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole has proven to be in control of the state apparatus. His infrastructural development of the state has won many hearts. The PDP in Edo is near comatose. It operates only in the fringes.

With the APC's structure waxing stronger in the state, it is expected that Buhari will pull many votes. A 60-40 percent votes split in the presidential poll in favour of APC is predicted.

Verdict: Buhari OSUN In Osun State, which is firmly under the control of the APC, Jonathan may find it difficult to get listening ears during his campaigns. Consequently, his performance at the polls will be abysmal, pundits say. The mammoth crowd that thronged the Osogbo City Sports Stadium to receive Buhari last week when he visited the state in continuation of his presidential campaign, according to observers, is a sign of things to come.

This will be no surprise in Osun where, in spite of his good showing in the region in 2011, the President still lost to the ACN by a wide margin. With Governor Rauf Aregbesola still in charge and the PDP declining in status by the day, Buhari is positioned to win massively in the state.

Aregbesola's convincing victory during last year's governorship election and the rancor that saw PDP losing two former Governors of the state, Isiaka Adeleke and Olagunsoye Oyinlola to the APC in quick succession will also work against Jonathan in the state. The defection of Adeleke significantly assisted Aregbesola to garner sufficient votes in Osun West Senatorial

•Contd. on page 12

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Foreign analyst predicts Buhari victory D

aMina Advisors, a leading provider of risk advisory services for emerging markets registered in five countries, with a focus on Africa, has predicted a victory for the APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, in the February 14th, 2015 presidential elections.

Using its VERITAS Frontier Markets Electoral Forecast Statistical Model, the firm predicted a close election, with an eventual victory for Buhari by 700,000 votes, with both candidates meeting the second constitutional requirement of getting at least 25% of the vote in 24 of the 36 states of the Federation.

The extent of voting possible in the North East is expected to play a key role in the outcome of the poll, with the firm citing a run-off as a possibility. Below is the report.

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NEWS REVIEW

Presidency 2015: North still holds the ace •Continued from Page 11

District during the last August 9 governorship election in the state, as the areas were the strongholds of the PDP. Most likely, it will be an 80-20 situation in favor of Buhari in the February election in this state.

Verdict: Buhari EKITI The likely outcome of the election in Ekiti is too close to call. This is because of the current political scenario in the state.

During the June 21, 2014 governorship election held in Ekiti State, the APC failed to retain the state, which it lost to PDP. The surprise emergence of Ayodele Fayose as governor of the state is no doubt a boost for President Jonathan and the PDP in the February election. If the preference of Fayose, an unrepentant Jonathan supporter is to count, then PDP will carry the day.

However, the APC is not likely to go down without a good fight in the state given the fact that it is in the majority in the House of Assembly as well as National Assembly members in the state. The fact that it was in charge of the state for four years barely months back, is also an advantage for Buhari. In addition, the reconciliation of Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party in the last election with the APC leadership will give PDP more troubles. Coupled with this is the belief in some quarters that the people of Ekiti will also vote for the progressive party alongside their counterparts in other South West states.

Verdict: Too close to call ONDO Here, the political drama that saw the massive decamping of major political actors from one political party to the other, which started in 2014 and continued into the New Year, will have serious impact on how the people will vote in February.

With the now ruling PDP torn into shreds and the Labour Party no longer in Governor Olusegn Mimiko's kitty, coupled with a fast growing opposition APC in the same state, pundits say though Jonathan may still do well in the state considering its proximity to his native Bayelsa State and the large presence of Ijaw speaking communities in the oil producing area of the state, he will definitely record a lesser percentage of votes this time.

But with Buhari running on the platform of the APC this time and the general feeling of marginalisation among the Yorubas, his performance in the mainland and other parts of the state are too early to predict. The situation in Ondo is a close race with an unpredictable outcome.

Verdict: Too close to call LAGOS President Goodluck Jonathan's decision to kick-off his campaign in Lagos, underlines the pivotal role the electorate in this state would play in determining who wins this election.

The most popular position is that Buhari will outshine Jonathan at the polls in Lagos State. The political base of APC's national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the state will naturally support its ruling party. This is because the APC image has continued to soar by the day.

Campaigns by the party so far across the state have witnessed huge crowds.

Although the PDP has tried to paper over the cracks that attended its governorship primaries, Buhari is in pole position to get the mandate of the people of the state on February 14 with a 75-25 vote split scenario.

Verdict: Buhari OGUN An array of PDP chieftains, including controversial Buruji Kashamu, former party boss, Joju Fadairo and Doyin Okupe, amongst others, are working round the clock to deliver the votes in the state to Goodluck Jonathan. They are no doubt determined to beat the APC to second place in the February election.

But matching the popularity and the wide acceptance of Governor Ibikunle Amosun is a huge task for Jonathan's men.

Consequently, Buhari's visit to Abeokuta few days back was a huge success that saw

•Amaechi

•Elechi •Their states could be pivotal the people of the Gateway State trooping out to see him.

An earlier visit by Jonathan also saw a mammoth crowd but the frenzy that greeted the APC rally gave indication of where the votes may go. Amosun's track record of achievements, especially in the area of urban renewal, which has seen the massive construction of roads and bridges across the state will be an added advantage for his party.

Also, the seeming 'siddon look' attitude of people like former Governor Gbenga Daniel, former Speaker Dimeji Bankole, Jubril Martins Kuye and a host of other aggrieved PDP leaders may work against Jonathan in the state unless something urgent is done.

The indisputable political place of exPresident Olusegun Obasanjo and his unhidden opposition to Jonathan's aspiration will also work in favor of Buhari and his party. Expect a 70-30 percent vote split on February 14.

Verdict: Buhari OYO In Oyo state, the tattered state of Jonathan's party may aid Buhari's victory.

He may likely do far better than Jonathan in the state given the fact that APC is in control of the state. Pundits also say apart from being an APC controlled state, Oyo is a core Yoruba state where the feeling of marginalisation is deep rooted.

Although the likes of Jumoke Akinjide, Jonathan's Minister from the state, and Senator Teslim Folarin, gubernatorial candidate, are of the opinion that the people will vote for the Presdient in February, indications that this may not be so are numerous. The daily defection of party leaders from the PDP, which started with the exit of former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala remains an issue.

With APC determined to hold on to the state, enjoying the support of all the first class monarchs including Alaafin of Oyo, Soun of Ogbomosho, Olubadan of Ibadan etc, Jonathan may find it difficult getting votes in Oyo. Verdict: Buhari ABIA Since 1999, Abia has remained a PDP stronghold, notwithstanding the brief period when the former governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, in protest against alleged marginalization,

•Kwankwaso

•Fashola

floated a rival party, PPA, to which he carried the state machinery to complete his second tenure.

Abia had since returned to PDP and the current governor, Chief Theodore Orji, is a passionate supporter of Jonathan and, as insiders say, a very close friend of the president.

This being the case, there is no doubt that the governor, who is also flying the party's senatorial flag for Abia Central Senatorial District, is poised to throw his weight behind Jonathan's re-election and PDP's victory in all the elections.

Aside utilising the governor's incumbency factor to win votes for Jonathan, the fact that the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan's mother hailed from the state, has been maximally utilised to mobilize support for Jonathan in the state.

Jonathan is likely to win the presidential election in Abia but not with 98 percent as was the case in 2011. In fact, most respondents to The Nation's questions are optimistic that Buhari may get above 20 percent votes here unlike the abysmal 0.31 percent he got in 2011. His reception during his recent campaigns says a lot about current political sensibilities here.

Verdict: Jonathan EBONYI Changing realities have made the political story of Ebonyi State very intriguing. Although a traditional PDP stronghold, which gave Jonathan 95.57 percent of its votes in 2011, Ebonyi State has become a major battle ground in the February 14 presidential election.

Under normal circumstances, Jonathan and his party, the PDP, would have easily cleared the votes here but for the ripple effects from the crisis in the party, which culminated in the political coup that dislodged control of the party from Governor Martin Elechi, the emergence of his deputy as the PDP flag bearer and the decision of Elechi's men to the Labour Party.

Considering assertions that Elechi had firm control of the PDP political machinery at the grassroots before the coup from Abuja, and that he allowed his men to carry everything to Labour Party, analysts are contending that Labour may not only win the governorship election in the state, but may, in order to prove a point, vote against Jonathan at the presidential race.

Added to this is the increasing strength of the rival All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, where Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu's influence has come to play.

Bookmakers say any of the two leading presidential candidates can take the prize at the February 14 election, given the depth of bitterness, betrayals, and resolve to pay back.

Verdict: Too close to call.

ENUGU Enugu State is another PDP stronghold where a Jonathan victory would have been seen as a given. But the rivalry between the outgoing governor, Sullivan Chime, and the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, just before the last primaries, dealt a major blow to the party in the state.

Insiders said the opposition political parties - especially the APC used that opportunity to make great incursion into the state at the grassroots.

However, following the dramatic reconciliation of the Ekweremadu-led faction of PDP in Enugu and that of Chime, Jonathan's supporters are optimistic he will still win in the state, where he got 98.54 percent votes against Buhari's 0.36 percent in 2011.

While it may not be out of place for PDP to be optimistic that Jonathan will win in Enugu, informed observers cannot deny that many interests have been hurt in the preelection politicking. This includes but not limited to the bitterness of the Senator Ayogu Eze's camp of the PDP, which some close associates insist is yet to be properly handled.

Added to this is the dynamic campaign of Okey Ezea-led APC, which is poised to serve as a major boost to Buhari's political fortunes in the state in February. With its Catholic dominated population, there is also the fear in the PDP camp that Father Ejike Mbaka's recent sermon, may sway some precious votes to Buhari's box. An 8020 percent split in Jonathan's favour is expected.

Verdict: Jonathan ANAMBRA Though an APGA-led state, Anambra has consistently voted for PDP at the presidential election. In 2011 Jonathan got 98.96 percent of all the votes cast at the presidential contest.

If not for the changing political sensibilities in the South-East zone, one would have predicted the same trend, since APGA, as it did in 2011, is not fielding its presidential candidate but has pledged to queue behind PDP's Jonathan.

Given that boost, Jonathan will do well in Anambra State. But as the prose master, Chinua Achebe, who hails from this state, wrote in one of his great novels, things are 'No longer at ease' here. The political atmosphere is likely to influence the voting pattern, meaning that the opposition will make great impact here during this election unlike what played out in 2011.

The factors that are poised to make the change in February include the Dr Alex Ekwueme factor, the Rev Father Mbaka's factor and Chris Ngige-led All Progressives Congress' growing influence in the state.

Jonathan is likely to win in Anambra State but Buhari is almost certain to get 25 percent votes here.

Verdict: Jonathan IMO Imo State, which used to be a People's Democratic Party's (PDP) stronghold, is currently an APC state under the Rochas Okorocha -led government. The state boasts of very strong and popular politicians in PDP, who have sworn to ensure a return of the state power to the party. But as former Vice President Ekwueme pointed out in his recent interview, Imo is not isolated in the crisis rocking PDP in the South-East. In fact, the elder statesman was quoted as lamenting that Imo PDP is "not serious."

Given this scenario and the fact that Okorocha, whose first term scorecard is widely rated very high, is flying the governorship flag of APC for the February elections, there is the likelihood that more than any other South-East state, APC presidential candidate, Buhari is poised to defeat his major opponent, Jonathan in this state.

Verdict: Buhari

Ropo Sekoni

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Femi Orebe Page 16

SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015

Jonathan for life!

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

It is baffling that Nigerians can't see the good in PDP’s own 'Mandela'

I

t is now I am beginning to understand that indeed, no one can please the world.

So, this is the way Nigerians want to reward our hardworking President Goodluck Jonathan, a man who has been trying to transform the country in the last 56 months? Many Nigerians say they are angry over the president's performance.

They say he has not given them light; he has not given the school leavers jobs; he has not delivered good roads and that virtually all sectors of the economy have worsened under his watch. The critics say education is in a shambles; they say our hospitals are far worse than the 'consulting clinics' that General Muhammadu Buhari and Co. met in 1983.

Not done, they say under the Jonathan presidency, corruption is emperor. They claim we thought we had proofs before that this was undeniable; but all these disappeared when the real proof emerged: General Ibrahim Babangida said given what he has been reading about corruption in the Jonathan presidency, then he and his team hitherto thought to be the most corrupt public officials Nigeria ever had were saints and angels. That was the end of discussion.

What other proof do we need, the critics asked?

Even Revd. Father Ejike Mbaka, founder of the Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Enugu State, who should have hidden under the canopy provided in the scriptures: "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people- 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness" (1 Tim. 2 verses 1 and 2) to drum up support for the president was unsparing in his criticism of his government. The man of God really threw spanners into the president's campaign because his scathing criticism of the government must have done incalculable damage to the speculated support the south east was thought to have for the president's reelection bid. Father Mbaka is, among others, unhappy at the rate at which blood is being shed in the country. Here, the Revd Father was talking about the blood that the Boko Haram people have been 'drinking'; but the way many Nigerians interpret it, it is as if it is the people in government that are blood-thirsty or that have an insatiable appetite for blood. Nobody in government has been able to reply the man of God, not even the most vociferous of President Jonathan's attack goons.

Mum’s the word from them all.

Many Nigerians even say the most annoying thing is that this is the first time the country would be having a doctorate degree holder as president, yet, things are this bad.

As if it is the president's fault that the country he is working so hard to transform has simply rebuffed every transformation agenda capsule he has been administering on it.

Not tired, the critics say the presidency is now employing all manner of subterfuge, seeing defeat staring it in the face.

Even when some concerned eminent Nigerians (some of them better eminently forgotten though) thought they were doing the country a good service by suggesting that we consider Interim Government, the critics saw the hands of the presidency in this otherwise patriotic suggestion. They say it was a road we travelled before which did not work. So, if it did not work before, that is enough evidence to conclude it would never work?

To show the depth of resentment the peo-

• Jonathan ple have for an otherwise performing government that will be sorely missed by the time the president leaves, the people even did not see any big deal in the issue of the certificate of General Buhari that the ruling party had thought was its joker to knock the general out of the presidential race. Nigerians say even a buffoon should know that was a non-issue given the general's antecedents. They are saying the matter is all about performance, integrity and corruption and the government people are here talking about cerfiticate. The people even went to the ridiculous extent of saying since this is how far a PhD holder can take us in about five years; maybe we now need a stark illiterate for a change. Now, Baba (Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the president’s political godfather) has said the PhD has K-leg, and some people are now saying, ‘no wonder’! Can you imagine? Is it not fit and proper for them to ask Baba to prove this beyond reasonable doubt since Baba is fond of detecting K-leg at critical junctures like this, before believing him? I guess that is why the president’s men are not dignifying him with a response.

Another laudable suggestion by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should postpone the elections by three months to allow it more time to get the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) across to more Nigerians has been made dead on arrival. Gibberish! The critics are asking if INEC is better prepared now than it was for the 2011 elections when the president was elected; that they did not call for postponement then because things were looking up for them. The critics say the INEC chair, Prof Attahiru Jega, should know that he is on the threshold of history and it would be tragic for him to allow himself to be dragged into the mud by those benefiting from the rot of a sinking government.

These critics, they think they are God or what? How do they know that this government is sinking, after all the blessings that the president has got from almost all the religious groups he had visited and that had visited him in Aso Rock? It is disheartening that the critics cannot see the magic that the president has not been able to do in almost five years that he is now set to do if the election is postponed by just three months that the NSA is seeking.

Well, it is not that President Jonathan has not been trying to make the people see reason or explain his own side of the story. The man has been talking through paid advertise-

But if President Jonathan has done well and therefore passed as his aides are trying to force us to believe, why then should he 'repeat'? He should go to the next level: that is join the league of the country's elder statesmen so that his immediate and subsequent successors would also be coming to him for advice whenever they are at the cross- roads

ments, but it seems the people have an obsession with selective perception: seeing only what they want to see in those adverts. They say the Jonathan government is not campaigning like an incumbent government; otherwise it should have its achievements speaking for it in the adverts.

The critics, in their warped reasoning, then concluded that this is because the government has little to showcase in about five years. I don't know where they got that impression from.

Just to show how difficult it is to satisfy human beings, even when President Jonathan, during his campaign rally in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, saw a train passing by and quickly pointed to it as one of his achievements, the critics, rather than applaud, countered that it was an ancient locomotive. I wonder what people in a rustic ancient town have to do with civilisation that modern fast moving trains that the critics had in mind represent. How does that fit into the government's transformation agenda? Can you transform a people beyond their level of civilisation?

But these critics, I never knew they were so daft. None of them deemed it fit to remind President Jonathan when he chose to start his campaign in Lagos that it was the same Lagos he had in the heat of the fuel subsidy crisis in January 2012 lampooned for their spoilt brats being the sole beneficiaries of the subsidy. If I may add, even at the risk of doing the critics' job for them, that was the time Nigerians should have been noticing the divisive tendencies that eventually killed the PDP, in the president.

Anyway, in all of these, it is the president's handlers that messed up his case by insisting that he did well. If they are honest enough to admit that their principal has failed, Nigerians will graciously allow him to 'repeat'. If the old time religion was good for Paul and Silas; and Chief Gabriel Igbinedion's joke that Lucky, his son, should be allowed to "repeat" if he failed as Governor of Edo State worked for the junior Igbinedion, then what says it would not work for President Jonathan? But, first things first; the president must admit he has failed and that he is now ready to take both the country and transformation agenda to the theatre for surgical operation and that, this time around, they definitely will respond to stimuli. Having spent about five years to lay a solid foundation for transformation, Nigerians should be rest assured that the president is now set to build on that solid foundation.

But if President Jonathan has done well and therefore passed as his aides are trying to force us to believe, why then should he 'repeat'? He should go to the next level: that is join the league of the country's elder statesmen so that his immediate and subsequent successors would also be coming to him for advice whenever they are at the cross- roads. And, if the president is afraid of his own shadow, having called a prominent member of that league a 'motor park tout', that should not be a problem. Baba as a Yoruba elder knows that no matter how a child knows how to eat cold pap, it must always soil his hand.

At any rate, why should the president bother about the ingrates called Nigerians that he has been labouring for in the last 56 months but who still do not appreciate that it is because of them that all manner of insults are being hauled at him by people, some of them not capable of unlacing his shoes? That is the way it has been since the days of Jesus Christ. A prophet is not without honour except in his own town.

As the president himself said before, it is long after he would have left office that Nigerians would begin to appreciate him.

The ingrates can't wait any longer for that longing, when they should be making a fetish of Jonathan for life!

Need we over celebrate? wrote this piece on Friday while trapped in traffic on my way to the University of Lagos to drop my son who was resuming his second year in the institution. Although we left home in Abule Egba on what I like to call the 'outland' of Lagos about 10.30 am and I had hoped to return to my office in Mushin by at most 1.00pm, we were still in the traffic within the campus by 3.30pm.

The cause of the gridlock was the matriculation for fresh students.

All roads leading to and out of the institution were jammed, no thanks to the students, parents and well wishers who thronged the campus for the celebration.

At a point, I had to park somewhere, while my son and his colleague took his luggage to the hostel.

Considering how though it is to get admission into high institutions in the country, especially UNILAG, reputed to be the University of first choice, I can understand the joy of new students and their parents. What I can't comprehend is the kind of elaborate celebrations to mark the occasion.

As I sat in the car feeling very frustrated by the 'owambe' celebration playing out on the campus to mark the matriculation, I could not but wonder why we love to over celebrate at the slightest opportunity.

Why should a matriculation which is just the beginning of the academic sojourn for new students turn out to be a nightmare for other road users in and around the campus? Why should not only few people, parents and immediate family members at most, come to wish the fresh students well and leave as soon as possible?

Matriculation should not be turned into yet another carnival, the kind I witnessed last Friday. I did not make it out of the campus until about 6.00pm. Maybe the “University should have made better parking and restricted guests like during convocation. But the truth is that the matriculation should not have resulted in the type of chaos it did last Friday.

I have no problem with celebrating major events, but more than ever before, we need to be more modest about them. The kind of elaborate celebrations one sees around these days does not indicate the economic reality of the times we live in.

Simple ceremonies that should not cost much have become very expensive with many trying hard to live up to unrealistic public expectations.

Money that should be utilised for more important needs are wasted in wild celebrations that leave the majority poorer.

In some cases, people have to borrow to pay for the celebration. Long after the events, they are stuck with debts which they should not have incurred in the first place but for our culture of 'over celebration'.

I don't understand why almost every occasion requires that one buys the celebration uniform the Yorubas call Asoebi , caps for men and headgears for ladies, which most times are not useful after the events.

When celebrants don't force asoebi on invited guests, they come up with colour codes for dresses to wear to such events.

We seem to have perfected the art of inflicting unnecessary financial burden on ourselves all in the name of celebrations. It is time to begin to take a second look at the things we do in the name of celebration and maximise our resources.

I

14

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

COMMENT

Not violence, just free and fair elections 2 Allowing millions of uncollected PVCs to be in limbo by the day of election is dangerous, as doing

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VERYONE has the right to take part in the government of his country directly or through freely chosen representatives‌ The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures. -- Article 21, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.

On this page last week, we promised to examine today advantages of free, fair, and credible election for a country, its citizens, its government, individuals engaged in electoral contest, and the international community, especially adjoining countries. But before we go to benefits of free and fair elections, let us briefly remind those in charge of conduct of elections of actions that can derogate from fairness and credibility of elections.

Reports and eye-witness accounts by eligible voters regarding increasing frustration of citizens in acquiring their PVCs suggest additional alertness and responsiveness on the part of INEC officials and even political party leaders. It is not enough for INEC chair to assure citizens that PVCs can be collected at the ward level or for party leaders to complain about the importance of PVCs. My own personal assistant had gone to his ward in Ojodu Local Development Council in Okeira in Ogba two times: Monday January 19 and Thursday, 22. On the first day, he did not meet anybody at the ward at 9:30 am and was told by passers-by to return at 11am. He did and nobody showed up on that day. He took time off work again on Thursday to go back to Okeira at 12 noon. He met some staff there but none of them was able to locate his PVC even after he had presented his temporary voter card with Vin: 90F5B2180A296384625 90F5 issued on January 30, 2011 and with which he voted in 2011. The most dispiriting part of the young man's experience is that the staff that attended to him told him they did not know of anything he could do to get a card before February 14.

A female cousin of mine who registered at Yaya Abatan ward experienced a similar frustration at Africa Church Primary School, Idiagbon under Ifako local authority. She went to Idiagbon on two

so can lead to fabrication, distortion, and manipulation of election results days to collect her PVC. After presenting her temporary card with PU: 24/10/03/42 and Vin: 90F5B167EA295617104, she was told that any card with PU that ends in 42 was not at the centre and nobody at the centre could tell her where else to go and what else to do, to be able to vote in February. In addition, a childhood friend of mine and an accomplished author of children's literature and a widow of a former general in the Nigerian Armed Forces is still experiencing frustrations similar to those of my non-graduate relations. She registered to vote in Bode Onifade and had been told by INEC to go and collect her permanent card at the ward where she registered. Upon getting there, she was told that the cards being given out at Bode Onifade were cards from Shogunle.

Nobody has been able to tell her and many of her neighbours, all of them upper middle-class Nigerians, where to go and collect their cards.

If a regular citizen like me can identify three family members with difficulty collecting their PVCs in the country's cultural and commercial capital less than four weeks to the first election in February, INEC and political party leaders should be worried about the threat of disenfranchisement of voters against which President Jonathan has warned sternly. The danger is that less educated and less materially endowed citizens in Yaya Abatan, Okeira, and many other remote areas of Lagos, who have to take rickety public transport to move from one ward to the other in search of PVCs than the average middle-class voter in Ewutuntun area of Ikeja, are likely to get angry faster than members of the elite class in Ikeja.

When citizens under social and economic pressure get angry over PVCs, this increases the danger of avoidable violence. INEC needs to get more serious about ensuring that right cards are sent to each ward or allow voters with permanent or temporary cards to vote on scheduled election days. Time is rather too short for inordinate release of PVCs, which is what the latest suggestion by the National Secruty Advisor implies: move the time for distribution of PVCs forward in order to justify disrupting the election calendar.

It may not be enough for citizens to assume that once the president had spoken and INEC

boss had given directives to his staff all problems regarding acquiring their PVCs are solvable. The experiences of the three persons mentioned in this piece is a clear illustration that there are still challenges that INEC has to address urgently and about which the commission needs to make public announcements about how citizens can obtain their PVCs before it is too late. In addition, political party leaders need to join more aggressively in political education of the masses.

Indeed, they need to provide assistance in terms of logistics to citizens who are being made to go from pillar to post in their efforts to obtain what belongs to them: permanent voter cards. In other countries, political parties facilitate collection of voter cards where electoral commissions are unable to mail them to registered voters.

Disenfranchisement, no matter the cause, is a recipe for de-legitimisation of any government arising from badly conducted elections, apart from being a cause of post-election violence.

With the mountain of PVCs that I saw at Idiagbon and Okeira, the chances that millions of voters are yet to collect their voter cards across the country are very high, thus putting INEC at risk of being seen as knowingly or unknowingly discouraging citizens from collecting the instrument for voting. Just as political parties have good reasons to meet with INEC on whether internally displaced persons should vote, so do they have the duty to discuss with INEC what should be done to PVCs which are not collected by the deadline for collection. Allowing millions of uncollected PVCs to be in limbo by the day of election is dangerous, as doing so can lead to fabrication, distortion, and manipulation of election results. Citizens need to be assured of the numbers of cards that cannot be presented at polling stations and the exact number of voters with PVCs in their possession. Such announcements by INEC can help to make a free and fair election also look so to citizens.

But the breaking news regarding the suggestion in London of the NSA about postponing the election is like trying to cure headache by cutting off the head that aches. His argument about INEC needing more time to

distribute PVCs does not answer the question: Why bother about getting additional one month to distribute PVCs that INEC has not been able to distribute effectively in the last three months?

The easiest way to ensure that no citizen is disenfranchised is to allow those with permanent cards to use them and those without to present their temporary voter cards at the polling station.

Fortunately, temporary cards also carry the pictures of owners. Postponing an election for which citizens have mobilised since INEC announced election dates about one year ago smacks of the lack of respect for citizens displayed by those who annulled the 1993 election and then encouraged citizens to prepare for another round of elections. The neatest way to ensure that no citizen is disenfranchised is to allow those without permanent cards to use their temporary cards on February 14 and 28. Once the election is postponed, the disruptions in election-related logistics may make it impossible to conduct re-scheduled election on time to avoid breaching provisions of the constitution and the electoral law.

There are ample benefits that can come to the country by way of free, fair, and credible elections.

Candidates in the election are more likely (than not) to feel satisfied with their victory or defeat, to the extent that they all can hold their heads up and push their chests out that they have contributed to consolidation of democracy in the country. Whatever government is in place after a free and fair election is bound to have legitimacy, without which any government cannot function properly. Similarly, governance is likely to be facilitated by citizens' trust in the government that results from a credible electoral process.

Nigeria's neighbours are also likely to be put at ease by free and fair elections to comfortable in seeking opinions of the country's leaders on similar matters in their countries. Finally, the international community is more likely to be at peace that Africa's most populous nation is not pushed into a post-election crisis that is capable of throwing the West African region into chaos and regional instability arising from displaced persons seeking asylum.. Like justice, election delayed is credibility compromised.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

COMMENT

15

Beyond pardon Fayose's nauseating advert on Muhammadu Buhari breaks all limits in reason, decency, Yoruba culture and even universal decorum

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ETER Ayodele Fayose, unfortunately the governor of Ekiti State, has since his assumption of office, plumbed the unthinkable in un-gubernatorial conduct. Though His Excellency seems assailed with verbal and allied thuggery, one would wish he always remembered he was still governor!

Governor Fayose it was, who presented his budget for 2015 to a phoney House of Assembly, a clear and impeachable constitutional crime. Fayose's assembly is phoney because it is made up of seven members; and seven is less than the quorum of nine, in an Assembly of 26. It is trite that the basis of a House sitting is a quorum. Otherwise, its sitting is null and void.

The same Fayose, as fundament of his political rascality, engineered the purported sacking of a majority by a near-hopeless minority -- or how do you describe seven members, claiming to be 10 (another forgery and clear constitutional crime), and purporting to sack 19, among them the Speaker, earlier elected by the 26-member House?

The audacity powering this brazen crime is, of course, conspiratorial cover by the Nigeria Police in Ekiti -- a cover now getting awkward, with the Ekiti State Police Command's late pitiful pretence to make peace between constitutional brigands and those who obey the law, instead of strictly enforcing the law as the Constitution commands of the police.

Even before his inauguration, Fayose's thuggish temper was clear, with the invasion of the Ado Ekiti High Court complex, with the in-coming governor reportedly superintending the mugging of judges, shredding of court records and general menace to the civilised and respectable community. It was a classic example of a dank morning foreshadowing a nasty gubernatorial day!

Still, with his latest misadventure into morbid and reckless political advertising, Fayose has crossed from mere political rascality to the nadir of infamy of the most soulless kind.

In a coarse and utterly offensive front page advert he placed in the January 19 issue of The Punch and Daily Sun newspapers, Fayose's logic of morbid lunacy argued that since the trio of Gen. Murtala

SAN South East Local Government in Edo State is witnessing a new trend of political dynamism especially with the emergence of two sons of Ugboha clinching the tickets from the two major parties of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Federal House of Representatives. Members of these parties are already on collision course and might be pitted against one another in next year's general election as partisan divide echoes in respective families in Ugboha community.

Ugboha has never had such a good reckoning in the politics of Nigeria producing two candidates for the same political office. Aside from being the tenth and a minority ward in Esan South East, it produced some prominent personalities who also have special places in the political arena of yesterday and today. The political history of Ugboha can never be complete without mentioning the names of Dr. Gbelokotor Okojie, a one-time Minster of Health and founder of Zuma Memorial Hospital Irrua, Major Oboh, Chief Odiboh Akhigbe and Zani Giwa, now PDP Senatorial Leader, Andrew Ojiemekele former Chairman of Esan South East and Thursday Ijeogbe current Vice Chairman. Within the local government, the political office holders and players include Senator Ugbesea former Minister of

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Muhammed, former military head of state, Gen. Sani Abacha, another military dictator and former head of state and President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, elected Fourth Republic president, all died in office and they were all natives of the North West political zone, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate in the February 14 election, would also die in office!

Fayose's proof? Buhari's age of 72! Did Murtala, Abacha and Yar'Adua die at 72? And President Shehu Shagari, Second Republic president, also from the North West: did he too die in office -- and at 89, is he not still alive, ageing gracefully? This xray, of course, exposes the illogic and fraud in Fayose's morbid deviousness.

The utter outrage and horror that greeted this advert would temper many -- but not Fayose! He not only bragged that he had no apologies for his reprehensible outburst, he followed it up with another front page advert in Daily Sun on January 22: "We all called OBJ [Olusegun Obasanjo] Baba at 62 in 1999. What do we call Buhari at 72 in 2015? Baba Baba (meaning grandpa)?" rang the Fayose infantile pitch. "Buhari is too old to govern Nigeria," he declared.

It is a disturbing peep into the gubernatorial mind as sick, troubled and callously callow! That may well be a clear and present danger to the polity, since, even with his dangerous mindset, Fayose is still in charge of his people.

But away from gubernatorial hearts of darkness!

That such a reckless advert could pass the scrutiny of any newspaper, not to talk of birthing on the TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

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

•Managing Director/ Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Adekunle Ade-Adeleye

front page of otherwise respected national newspaper brands, underscores the sorry state of institutions, public or private, in Nigeria. With the Fayose pseudoadvert, it is clear the media must work hard to strengthen its own institution -- lest the Fourth Estate itself become a huge joke!

On this score, newspaper proprietors should partner with the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) to ensure such outrageous adverts never blot newspaper spaces again -- no matter how high the temptation of the subversive cash attached to it.

The Jonathan Presidential Campaign also made a show of distancing itself from the Fayose disgrace, even if it strangely saw nothing disgraceful in the governor's misadventure. It is Fayose's opinion, Femi Fani-Kayode, the campaign's chief spokesperson, quipped, to which he is entitled.

How the president and his men run their campaign is strictly their business. But even the president must realise that nothing de-markets him more than the antics of the Fayoses and the FaniKayodes in his team. Still, everyone must carry their own cross!

It is also meet that the APC has lodged a formal complaint with the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) on the repulsive advert. No matter the provocation, we must insist on meeting even the most indecent of challenges with the most decent reproaches.

On every account, Fayose, in this disgusting advert, has crossed the bounds. Yoruba culture, to which the governor claims affinity, frowns at wishing even the direst of your foes dead. So, everything - culture, honour, good breeding, decency, decorum and universal common sense - rebukes him; and harshly too.

The governor would do well to change tack, and quit his perilous ways. Whereas it is indecorous for him to wish Gen. Buhari dead, following partisan bile from his infantile mind, it is certainly decent to warn the governor that should he persist in his current ways, he faces sure destruction.

So, to Fayose: choose life! That counsel is imperative, if the governor must save his persona, at grave risk of careening to willful self-destruction!

LETTER

Esan South East: A case of Ugboha polarised by politics Solid Minerals and two-time Senator of Edo Central, Victor Eboigbe, APC Senatorial Leader, Festus Ebea defected legislator of APC and now flagbearer of PDP to Edo State House of Assembly. Joseph Ikpea, Chairman of the local government, and Festus Edughele, flag-bearer of APC to Edo State House of Assembly.

For the duo of elected flag-bearers to the Federal House of Representatives, Comrade Irabor Onikoilaise (APC) and Barrister Segius Ogun (PDP), it's a political shift to Ugboha and is this is building up to a political orgasm for the people of Esan South East and North East constituencies.

Esan South East located in Edo Central Senatorial District of Edo State South-South Nigeria with its headquarters in the town of Ubiaja, is made up of 10 wards comprising constituency one that includes wards 1 and 2, Ewhohimhin, ward 3, Ewatto,ward 4, Ohordua, ward 5 Emu, while constituency two comprised of ward 6 and 7, Ubiaja, ward 8,

Oria, ward 9, Ozigono and ward 10, Ugboha known as a minority ward. The local government has an area of 1,306 km and a population of 167,721( 2006 census). While Esan North-East Local Government Area has its headquarters at Uromi town with an estimated population of 119,346 (2006 Census). Esan North East is divided into two constituencies. Constituency 1 comprises Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, while constituency 2 comprises Wards 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, making a total of 10 (ten) political wards.

Esan North-East has produced well-known individuals who are popular in both state and national politics. These include: Chief Anthony Enahoroone of Nigeria's foremost anticolonial and pro-democracy activists. High Chief Tony Anenih (Iyasele of Esanland) and a strong leader of the ruling PDP, Architect Mike Onolemhenmhen Minister of Works, Prince Joe Okojie APC leader and a recent Senatorial aspirant, Barrister Chris Ebare Commissioner for Energy and Water Resources and two time

aspirant to the federal house of representatives, Chief Friday Itulah two termed legislator at the house of representatives, John Yakubu erstwhile chairman both under PDP and Sam Oboh chairman of Esan North East under APC. Over the years, political dynasties had emerged from wards of these great politicians in Agbazilo now shared into Esan North and South East, these dynasties started from the First Republic, nurtured through the Second Republic and maintained during this dispensation.

In the concluded primaries of both parties held in December both Sergius Ogun and Onikoilase Irabor were voted by both delegates and executives of Apc and PDP as candidates for the Esan North East and Esan South Federal Constituency of the House of Representative.

Sergius Ogun from Otorkhinmhin Ugboha has been the Managing Director of Tubular Running Services Relentech Specialist Nigeria Limited.

Comrade Onikoilase Irabor from Ida-asun Ugboha known

as the labour man is the immediate past Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) former President General of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, former senatorial aspirant of the Action Congress of Nigeria in Edo Central and now Special Adviser on Environment in Edo State.

The political victory for Ugboha is a certainty that either of these Ugboha sons will emerge at the federal house of representatives come February 2015 and this is seeing some of the aspirants from other wards and local government who lost to them during the primaries shrugging their shoulders and watching the political arena from a distance seeing it more as an Ugboha affair believing they have been sidelined by the leaders of the parties. Others are distancing themselves from the activities of the parties and threatening to decamp just wondering how it all happen.

For the indigenes of Ugboha, all are elated, many are sentimental as soon as they have a belly full of stomach structure,

while others are staring through their microscopic lenses to access a credible candidate between the sons taking into cognisance the precedents of the PDP and APC in developments in Ugboha and wanting a better deal from this golden opportunity, it is seen as a time to take a critical evaluation of the two terms of Itulah Friday from Uromi Esan North East and eight years tenure of Senator Ugbesea of Esan South East both PDP. APC members believes it is their turn of representation at the federal levels if rotation is to be upheld and this will ensure Comrade Irabor 's victory come February 2015. PDP members believes they are meant to remain power irrespective of performance and will do all it takes. At Adava Market Ugboha, on the way to the stream, in bars, at cooperative meetings, at elders forum and social events in public transportation, the debate continues on who will be the preferred candidate to represent Ugboha and the constituencies at Abuja.

Many calls for non violence, many calls for unity, many calls for collaboration for the candidates to see themselves as brothers who needs to work together for the development of Ugboha.

•Louisa Ono Eikhomun is an indigene of Ugboha and Executive Director of Echoes of Women in Africa Initiatives.louisaono@yahoo.com.08023162297

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16

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015

COMMENT

2015: Railways 'transformation' as a mirror into President Jonathan's transformation agenda Whereas in places like China, high speed trains do about 300 kilometres per hour it takes Nigeria's modern railway two whole hours to arrive Agbado from Lagos -a journey of less than 50km INCE the campaign season started, Buhari has been PDP's perfidious recurring decimal. He is their daytime nightmare and night-time wrath. They have practically abandoned the marketing of their own candidate for the reactionary task of discrediting Buhari. Ask them what their manifesto is because you want to assess their plans for Nigeria, or inquire about the content of the "continuity" agenda they proclaim on roof tops, you can be sure they will go to sleep only for them to awaken to another Buhari chant". Abimbola Adelakun.

The over-hyped transformation of the Nigerian Railway Corporation meant nothing to me until I saw everybody that is anybody on the PDP Presidential campaign team, at every stop, touting the transformation they claim President Jonathan has chalked up in the sector. By the time I read Idowu Akinlotan, in Palladium, dismiss it, saying that the task before Nigeria next month is to put a man in office that best approximates the archetypal leader with character and not one who cites antediluvian projects like narrow gauge railway as trophy, I knew it was time to go read the eye witness account of The Nation's Adeyinka Aderibigbe, whose intended 3-day, eye witness trip from Lagos to Kano on the 'new' train, became a totally unexpected 5-day odyssey. It was after reading the well written piece I discovered that like the 'statistical agricultural revolution' Nigerians have been inundated with these past four years, the one in the railway sector is also nothing but a chimera. That the over-blown agricultural revolution is only a make-belief

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is indicated, not only by the high prices Nigerians still pay for food items or by the fact of licences still being given for rice importation, it is rather, much more poignantly, illustrated by the fact that the beneficiaries are so uncertain about the Jonathan rice project that they flagrantly overshot their approved limits. It must be mentioned too, that as has become routine with the Jonathan government, the import quota were allegedly skewed in favour of some people who have no demonstrable interest in rice production.

With that, there hardly needs be any further evidence of the emptiness of TAN's sundry claims of a Jonathan transformation; a transformation that leaves large swathes of the country in darkness with residents asking electricity companies to withdraw their services because of their ineffectiveness, as we saw in Benincity and Egbe-Idimu LCDA in Lagos, massive insecurity, not to talk of life itself becoming short and brutish.

Back then to Aderibigbe's narration of his hellish Lagos-Kano journey on NRC's 'new' trains.

After indicating that the take off was unfortunately delayed for hours as a result of an accident somewhere on the rail line which had to be fixed, he went into a description of the facilities: 'the entire space in the arrival/ departure hall was filled up with all manner of luggage, with people fighting for a leg room. What went for ticket was a small piece of letter press printed on cardboard indicating that the corporation is far behind in modern rail system comparable to what obtains the world over. Also baffling was that those tickets still bore

old rates despite the fact that fares have been revised twice since the arrival of the modern coaches'. You can only imagine how corrupt that would be giving the number of persons that will be out to take advantage of such lapses.

He then discussed a passable First Class compartment but the Second Class compartment should be of greater interest to readers. Wrote our reporter: "The more popular second class zone, already nicknamed 'Ajegunle Molue', is a 90-seater specified contraption with six overhead orbit fans and slit windows in each cabin. Here, there is no limit to the number of passengers.

Indeed, while the manufacturers specified 90 passengers, no trip has taken less than 180 passengers on the Lagos -Kano journey since the service started." The class, he said, was likened by an official of the corporation to a 'lizard sliding through an opening on the wall', and at many of the stations, you find passengers entering the coaches through windows when access through the doors proved impossible as a result of the sheer number of people fighting to enter". He actually had the great fortune of seeing a woman, a passenger, who had prepared a pot of stew for the long journey, empty it all on the heads of other passengers as she struggled to board to Kano.

He was not done on this otherwise good project which, if done right, could have been a blessing to Nigerians as it is much safer and cheaper than most other means of transport. He therefore continued: "Because the second class cabin windows are permanently open, it is usually heavily dusty. Here you find all manner of people - beggars, in different degrees of tattered clothes, with

their bowls, the poor, the aged, babies with different sizes of rotund stomachs, students, low income workers, frail looking males and females co-habiting etc. One thing associated with the second class is the putrid smell, oozing not only from the body odours, but as a result of the absence of functioning lavatories.

Ideally, he wrote, the coaches should have two toilets and two bathrooms at each wing. The toilets have, indeed, been converted to luggage rooms.

Pray, what manner of transformation, to be celebrated on political campaigns, is this?

The reporter was told that in the last 10 years, none of the drivers in the corporation has gone on leave nor are they paid leave bonus nor travel allowance. These are the people in charge of these trains to far flung places who, but for meals in the kitchen, and music blaring from what the reporter described as a creaky, speaker box juxtaposed with the din of all night long noise emanating from the train would have seen their workplace no better than a prison.

And what manner of transformation is this that PDP's exuberant campaigners must burst our ear drums just to listen to them rehash? As I read through the report, I couldn't help thanking God that the Liberian, Mr Sawyer, did not have to head straight to any of our train stations to make even the shortest journey during his ill-fated visit to Nigeria. May his soul and those of others we lost to Ebola, by the mercy of God, rest in perfect peace. Amen. Can Nigerians therefore be surprised at the level of panel beating our economy and over all well-being have been subjected to this

last six years, but which some jokers the keepers of whatever they call themselves - use as template to dress our president in borrowed robes, comparing him to world leaders?.

It becomes totally befuddling that billions of Sure-P funds have gone into a project which is beginning to look more like a sink hole. It is clearly indicative of the level of seriousness the PDP government attaches to this extremely important sector that it considered the corporation the equivalent of a political Siberia to banish a floundering party chairman to when he was yanked off his giddy seat. Whereas in places like China, high speed trains do about 300 kilometres per hour it takes Nigeria's modern railway two whole hours to arrive Agbado from Lagos -a journey of less than 50km.

I urge Nigerians to ponder all these as they vote on 14 February, 2015.

FEMI FANI -KAYODE SPEAKS The level of discontentment for this government of the PDP in this country is unprecedented. Not only do I know that, I also know that in terms of the quality of leadership …, if you compare the leadership of today's PDP to APC leadership, there is absolutely no comparison. It is time for change in this country … as far as I am concerned they present a far more credible leadership than we have in the PDP today. What Nigerians need now is to join hands with the APC leaders, Major General Muhammadu Buhari and Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu to move the nation forward Mr Femi Fani-Kayode, Director of Media and Publicity, PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation

The truth about political posts It is only in Nigeria that a politician can campaign for a position with the word ‘serve’ to mean ‘occupy’ the position or to serve the people up to the god of his palates

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NDEED, true is the aphorism that change is the only permanent thing in this life. I remember clearly that as recently as the 1970s, if you had a government job, you could not be considered to have been gainfully employed. You were there ‘just for the time being... until you could find your feet’. A job with any government agency was not expected to enrich anyone who had just graduated from school. So, job seekers preferred to direct their feet towards manufacturing companies all around the country. That was where the real work was then, and the realer money. Government jobs only taught people to push papers; for that, you did not need to be paid much. Did I mention that unemployment was also low?

Then something changed. From the eighties through to the nineties, I guess the government began to get so big it thought it could turn all powers to itself and still have a country. So, it broke the back of manufacturing companies, turned the job-seeking boys’ feet in the direction of the government agencies and parastatals, thinking to ... I don’t know. What was it thinking?

Alas! Many years down that lane of thoughtlessness, what do we have? We now have a people conditioned to believe that unless you are employed by the government, you do not have a job yet. This is why a fresh graduate employed in a privately funded school to nurture young minds does not

consider himself employed until he can struggle to be absorbed in some local government where he goes to push papers and be paid much. How times change. I remember Lyte’s song of 1847 — change and decay in all around I see.

Now, how many nurses are working in private hospitals? Few: most prefer to be paid by the government for sitting down and doing ... well, not much. How many certified teachers are not in local, state or national schools? Again, few.

Yes indeed o. Every Nigerian knows that government is the biggest employer now, and also the least fussy about making sure its job is done well.

As a matter of fact, many government workers do not have to report daily at work to be paid. Just look at your MGAs – they scream job abuse to the heavens.

Talking of job abusers, no group is guiltier than politicians. We have been told that the Nigerian assembly parades the highest paid group of politicians in the world. The Nigerian populace has screamed enough blue murder over that fact till we are all hoarse. Yet the group concerned has not flinched from continuing to collect their illicit gains.

But, it is even more illicit when we remember that many of the members are not regular at work and even less regular in the country. We now know where they go: they go to Dubai to read newspapers.

Government politics, like government jobs, obviously pays the

highest and no one asks you for results, except godfathers who only ask for returns. This is why it is possible for people to be desperate about government positions. Sadly, the many stories of politicians killing off their political rivals stem from no other cause but the excessively lucrative nature of those positions. Yet, we all look on.

In a small town somewhere in a foreign country, someone won an election into the mayoral seat. As he walked to his car on the road the next day, someone called out a congratulatory greeting to him, and hoped that he would have a good term.

He graciously accepted the greeting but took pains to point out that the mayoral seat of the town is not won so much as taken in turns to serve their little town.

Sadly again, that word ‘serve’ has been given various connotations in Nigerian politics. It is only in Nigeria that a politician can campaign for a position with the word ‘serve’ to mean ‘occupy’ the position or to serve the people up to the god of his palates.

Perhaps indeed, the said politicians mean to go and serve the public. Who is to say what someone’s real intention is? Perhaps, somewhere along the line, this plentiful government money becomes a distraction. Who is to say?

I have often asked myself this question: why are so many people struggling to get into politics, and be elected into some position or the other?

I have some answers but I seek a better one of you, dear reader, if you are

minded to give it. Basically, it appears to be on account of the ‘free money’ being doled out by the government as so-called allowances and emoluments.

Now, everybody wants their share.

But how did it come to this? I think one of the reasons appears to be the rather lazy disposition of the Nigerian mentality: as a people, they just love the line of least resistance – to wealthmaking, educational pursuit or keeping the law. Nigerians have been known to offer up as sacrifices their mothers, fathers, spouses, children or relatives (in short, their nearests and dearests) as sacrifices at the altar of wealth creation. The relatives are not only cheaper, they do not need to be searched for from far east, far west and far indies. They are ready made by the creator, sometimes just for that purpose, if you get what I mean. Worse, on account of this national malaise of slothfulness, it appears even the country’s earlier vaunted quality education is in great peril. And the law? The less said about the people’s attitude, the better. Let’s just say it’s easier for Nigerians to break the law than to keep it.

Anyway, quite another reason for how all these came to be is that the government has effectively killed private enterprise and made itself the only worthwhile venture for any serious mind in the land. Many factories are closed down; many are working at half or less capacity; many more are groaning under the weight of the costs of doing business in a hostile environment such as this. The only ones not groaning in the land are

the government-employed, and it’s theirs not to reason why. But then, some of them have begun to moan under salary failure. So, when you get a situation where a government pays higher emoluments than the private sector of a country, that country is effectively dead. Sooner than later, it is bound to come crashing down under the weight of its own excessive kindness: it finds itself too expensive to run.

Right now, the people have stopped struggling for themselves, only waiting to get into political posts.

Like someone said just today, a political jobber who sets out with nothing begins to construct gargantuan edifices within three months of assuming duty.

Only in Nigeria. Why should that be?

Naturally, people are ready to maim, gorge or kill anyone who gets in the way of their edifices. Can you blame them? I blame the conditions that breed their actions.

It is important to act now; we can begin by having a charter. The government must, as a matter of urgency, re-empower the private sector again. In a capitalist economy, the government can only act in a regulatory capacity, a sort of controller, not the one doling out, except in defence, internal affairs and education.

It is also important to find a way to truly discourage people from going into politics to rip the nation off. For a start, we can begin to insist that anyone seeking political office must be gainfully employed and must show it.

Let us chew the fat on these ones for a while.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015

COMMENT

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(100) Voting against one's interests: identity politics and the 70% in dire poverty (2)

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HE politics of identity will play a huge role in the forthcoming presidential elections in Nigeria. This is not unusual because identity politics is an important aspect of electoral politics in all the democracies in the world, especially in nations that are multiracial, multiethnic and multicultural. What is or will be unusual in the elections next month is that identity politics will operate in a way that is unprecedented in our country's political history. This is because there is a vast disparity in how the politics of identity will be used by the two main contending parties, the PDP and the APC. Because this is a very crucial matter that also happens to be a subject that easily lends itself to being manipulated and distorted, I wish to write about it here concretely and with as much clarity as I can muster in the hope that nothing I write will be misinterpreted or misunderstood.

Concerning the APC, this is the main implication of identity politics as it is expected to structure the 2015 presidential election: the Presidency will return to the North and the Vice Presidency will go to the Southwest whereas within the scheme of things within the "zoning" politics of the PDP, neither the Presidency nor the Vice Presidency was expected to come to the Southwest in the next one decade - at the very least. Of course identity politics is not the only factor in the coming elections. There is also the universally contemned reality of colossal corruption that is mostly supervened by the PDP's grip on power at the centre in the last sixteen years. Nigerians in general and the whole world as well is focused on corruption as a huge factor in the elections. And there is also the sublime mediocrity, the aimlessness and the mendacity of the ruling party's bosses and operatives, particularly Goodluck Jonathan himself. While these are also important factors, there is not the slightest doubt that the main driving force of APC's momentum and PDP's crippling fear of defeat rest on this basic expression of identity politics: the Presidency returns to the North and the Vice Presidency, a heartbeat from the top position, goes to a Yoruba man, to a man from the Southwest. We shall see in fact that consistent with the normative problems associated with identity politics, things are in actuality far more complex than this. But for now, let us turn to the subject of PDP's great disadvantage in identity politics as it

will play itself out come February 14, 2015.

The plain fact is that identity politics is in total confusion in the PDP. True, much has been made

by Jonathan's most determined and militant supporters that as an Ijaw man from the oil-rich Niger Delta he is entitled to two full terms in the presidency. But Jonathan is the hapless victim of the abuses and misuses of the ruling party's zoning politics. As the whole world knows, it was Obasanjo who first more or less rubbished the zoning principle of the PDP by reneging on his promise to be in office for only two terms and thereafter committing all the resources of the federal government to his third term bid.

After Obasanjo, the zoning wahala in the PDP took a bizarre turn when Hajia Turai, Yar' Adua's widow, sought to cling to power after her husband's death on the claim that the "North" had not yet finished the time in the presidency that her husband's mandate entitles to the zone. It took the extra-constitutional measure of the so-called "doctrine of necessity" to restore constitutional order and confirm Jonathan as President for the last two years of Yar' Adua's term.

And then, and then in his own fateful ensnarement by the twists and turns of the same zoning principle of the PDP, Jonathan

went back on his own promise to serve for only one term of four years as a condition for getting PDP's nomination for the 2011 presidential elections. So far, so good.

But what Jonathan and his supporters apparently did not know and seem incapable of appreciating is the fact that the North-South divide at the core of ruling class politics in our country is the heart and soul of the zoning principle in the PDP. Obasanjo rubbished it but could not quite overcome it; Turai mangled it but could not prevail in her bid to make it the basis of her unconstitutional hold on power; and then Jonathan tried to sidestep it altogether but it blew up in his face. It may well turn out that in the process he has also blown the ruling party into historical and political oblivion.

Could Jonathan have successfully sidestepped the zoning principle at the heart of PDP's identity politics if he was an inspiring Head of State and Commander-in-Chief? Would his opponents within and outside the PDP have been able to prevail against him if there was not so much suffering, so much insecurity, so much loss of respect and credibility for our rulers at home and abroad? Let us put these same questions in a more positive register. What if Jonathan

was a widely and deeply beloved President and not, according to Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, "the most abused and negatively profiled President in Nigerian history", would he not have prevailed against the zoning principle as the PDP's ultimate incarnation of identity politics?

For me, there is not the slightest doubt that the answer to all these questions is a resounding yes and yes again. Constitutionally, it is within Jonathan's right to seek a second term in office. But both in his move from Acting President to President and in his bid to get his party's nomination in 2011, he had benefitted from and irrevocably committed himself to extra-constitutional measures or instruments in which adherence to the zoning principle was a key element. Thus, the only way that he could have gotten around his dilemma and successfully actualized his constitutional right to a second term in office would have been through the achievement of a reputation for being a widely respected, high performing and beloved President. But as Nigerians know and the whole world concurs, Jonathan is the ultimate negation of such accomplishments. In other words, the collapse of identity politics around zoning within the PDP wouldn't have in the end mattered if Nigeria under Jonathan was a much better and totally different country than the hellish nightmare from which the great majority of our peoples are trying to wake. The lesson that we can or must glean from this observation, this claim is that identity politics is a necessary but vastly insufficient force with which to engage all the problems, crises and challenges of any and all the nations of the word in the 21st century.

This lesson also applies as well to the APC, even if this is so prospectively since the party has not yet become Nigeria's ruling party. There is absolutely no guarantee that the alliance of the mainstream politicians of the "core' North and the Southwest, two of the most populous zones in the country, will automatically transform our country into the functioning, just, respected and peaceful land for which we are all yearning. For now, all that an APC victory guarantees and signifies is that you need a workable system of identity politics to become and remain the ruling party in a diverse multiethnic and multicultural country like Nigeria. Beyond that, things are extremely volatile, especially given the yawning and widening

chasm between the haves and the have-nots in our country and the manner in which the present socio-economic environment sustains and even consistently expands that chasm. What does this portend for an APC victory next month that might very well launch us into a post-PDP political space?

All over the world, both in merely formal and institutionally substantial democracies, the history of electoral victories gained primarily through identity politics is rife with poor and marginalized people who end up voting against their own economic and political interests by voting only or primarily on the basis of thinking that once their "own son", their own "people" are in office things will be better than when they didn't have their own sons and daughters in power.

Although much of the support for the APC in the North and the Southwest, the zones in which the party is expected to do very well, is based on this thinking, it is necessary to point out that many supporters of the party in these two zones are also driven by expectations that the policies and acts of the APC in power will be fairer and more progressive than anything we ever experienced from the PDP. However, there is a danger of complacency here. For lack of space, I will indicate only two crucial areas in which this complacency manifests itself.

The first and perhaps the more important one is a pervasive thinking in the Southwest that the region brings an inherent and even natural progressivism to the alliance that gave birth to the party. This is too simple for in reality, progressivism in the Southwest, as in all other zones and regions in the country was always constantly and bitterly fought for and consolidated.

Things will not be different if the APC comes to power. Secondly, primitive accumulation through massive privatization is as much a driving force for leading figures within the APC as it was/is with the PDP. For me, the real sign that things will be different under the APC, that what we will get is not just a mere change in the cast of characters, is how curbing looting, waste and squandermania will be used as tools to mobilize the economy and our peoples for a Nigeria that is no longer under the heel of a barawo, agbero and "area boy" capitalist and capitalism.

Biodun Jeyifo bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015

COMMENT

sms only: 08116759748

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ANY years from now, students in Political Science departments in Nigerian universities would be studying the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2015 presidential campaign under the theme: 'How not to run a campaign.'

This is not to suggest that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has run a flawless campaign either. Fortunately for them, their rivals are gifting them with so many blunders and unforced errors it's almost like Christmas all over.

For all the ruling party would want to crow about as its achievements, its record regarding the economy, insecurity and corruption is the sort you run from - not run on.

The statistics about fadama fields, almajiri schools, federal universities created and Nigeria being the largest economy in Africa are not resonating because the administration's failing are even more graphic dwarfing President Goodluck Jonathan's modest achievements.

I speak in terms of an insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of Nigerians and, in the last two weeks, produced a gory first with claims that 2,000 people may have been killed in the assault on Baga. Over 200 schoolgirls snatched from their dormitory in Chibok remain in the hands of Boko Haram maniacs - symbols of the regime's helplessness.

The photograph of a stadium full of the desperate unemployed who gathered together last year for an ultimately fatal job interview with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) is reminiscent of the picture of a snaking line of the jobless used to devastating effect by the Tories against the British Labour government in 1979. The poster carried the simple legend: 'Labour isn't Working.'

A string of financial scandals - beginning with claims by the former Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, that billions of dollars that ought to have been remitted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the Federation Account were missing, to the Stella Oduah armoured cars saga, to the botched arms shopping run in Johannesburg, South Africa, left the government mired in a swamp of sleaze. Earnest explanations of its officials have done little to wash the administration clean.

All of these play into the agelong narrative that our public officials are serial bunglers only looking out for their pockets.

There's nothing the government has done in its time to make many think of it differently.

It is therefore not surprising that the PDP campaign seems to have lost its way. Put on the defensive from the outset, it has scrambled for a coherent argument for reelection. It was never going to convince anyone about its competence: the opposition had successfully

E-mail: festus.eriye@gmail.com Twitter: @EriyeFestus

Islamisation and other red herrings

• Buhari

defined it as incompetent long before the campaigns started.

Today, the ruling party isn't really making the case why it should be given another chance: it is desperately trying to stop the other side from winning. The strategy according to officials of the campaign team is to make APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, the issue.

If he's perceived as honest, make him look dishonest. If people think he's strongwilled and firm, make him look weak and beholden to entrenched interests. But more than anything play up the religious card and tell anyone who cares to listen that he's the ultimate Islamic fundamentalist.

But rather than get traction, the strategy has backfired spectacularly because the PDP overconfident and conceited - left it too late. Just as the image of Jonathan not being up to the job took years to create, Buhari's reputation was built over decades.

His actions over the years have only helped to concretise that perception. Little wonder they call him Mai Gaskiya meaning the truthful one. It is wishful thinking to believe that his image for uprightness will be so damaged by a contrived certificate controversy that his legion of followers would suddenly convert to Jonathan's cause two weeks to Election Day. The major plank of attack lined up against the APC and its candidate was that they were out to Islamise the country. The hope was that in the age of Boko Haram, Christian voters north and south of the Niger out of fear and sectarian hatred, will not touch the opposition party because of the religious smear.

Unfortunately, the attacks

soon collapsed under the weight of illogicality and scrutiny. First, pseudo-historians and rogue clerics banged on endlessly about how Turkey succumbed to Islam. What they don't tell us is how location and the historical forces at work then made this possible. We are now to assume that because it happened where East meets West, it must of necessity happen here too.

At this point Nigeria can only be Islamised in two ways. First one is legally through an amendment of the constitution.

That is a non-starter because it would require the Houses of Assembly of 24 states to concur and then the National Assembly to pass it.

The other way is by conquest - the route that Boko Haram is going by carving out its so-called caliphate in North Eastern Nigeria. Islamisation by conquest

is easier as it doesn't require national consensus or agreement.

However, as a nation it is within our power to decide to roll over and be overrun or to stand up and fight for a way of life that allows our people to worship God whichever way they choose.

Even without waiting for some central government in Abuja people will fight to remain free and maintain their cultur.

Unfortunately, the ruling party's strategists made a fatal mistake in trying to position Jonathan as a bulwark against Islamisation. His record doesn't support the borrowed robes he's been draped with.

It was under the nose of this great scourge of the Muslim hordes that hundreds of mostly Christian schoolgirls were snatched in Chibok. They have since been forcibly converted to Islam by Boko Haram. While this was happening, the president didn't even believe that the abductions happened. He preferred the fantasy that it was another gimmick by his enemies to make him look bad.

Up till today, the poor girls remain trapped in the middle of nowhere. Still, the great defender of the Christian faith has not been able to secure their release.

If we are to consider the fact that huge chunks of three NorthEastern states are in Boko Haram hands, then Islamisation may be happening faster under this administration given our inability to either keep the insurgents at bay, or defeat them militarily.

Despite the fact that this line of attack has clearly passed its sell-by date, PDP strategists like Kamikaze pilots embarked on a suicidal mission, plunge ahead oblivious of all warning signals.

They keep pushing the religion button hoping to win enough converts to prevail on February 14.

2015: More grandfathers needed

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EYOND his certificates and religious beliefs, the next big issue the PDP wants us to ponder before voting is the age of the candidates. One is 57 and the other 72.

The excitable Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, and others have referred to him as a doddering grandfather who should probably retire to a rocking chair in the anonymous precincts of Daura. But this ancient grandfather may just be what Nigeria needs at this point in her history.

If 54-year-old governors can be carrying on like adolescents, aren't we better off with gentle, wise and deliberate septuagenarians running our affairs? Fayose in his

infamous advertisement declaring that Buhari would die in office must have thought he was fighting Jonathan's corner. But he was actually hurting him by denigrating a zone whose votes the president badly needs. It may just be that this 54-year-old is too young to understand the implications of his actions.

Through the actions of intemperate politicians and other public figures, Nigeria finds herself more badly divided today than it has ever been in her history.

Whoever wins the presidential elections would need to lead national healing as an urgent task.

And who better to tackle that assignment than a grandfather with a calm temperament?

Joining them in banging their heads against the wall are a coterie of Pentecostal pastors who have inserted themselves in the middle of the political free-for-all.

They don't care that by making religion an issue in this campaign they are encouraging hate and dividing our people even further along sectarian lines.

This election will come and go and there will be a blowback for these clerics that will affect their standing in the larger society and even worse - with their own flock.

Luckily it is their standing that would be damaged and not the church because the God who has ordained that the gates of hell wouldn't prevail against His church is able to ensure it outlasts this season of political chicanery.

The fate of the church in Nigeria cannot be tied to the political ambitions or fate of any individual - no matter how eminent. These persons on whom many are now hanging their Christian future will only hold office for four years at a time. When they vacate office, assuming they are elected, will Nigeria be governed forever by Christians - so as to stop the greatly feared Islamisation?

Will Muslims never occupy the office of President after Jonathan? Just think about it.

On Dasuki's proposal

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F all the excuses so far advanced by those who would like to see the February general elections postponed, the most ludicrous has to be that offered by the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki. Speaking at a lecture in London during the week he suggested that the polls be moved to allow all eligible voters collect their PVCs. How considerate!

Let's stop postponing the day of reckoning. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will never be 100% ready for elections. Even if the polls are moved six months or one year from now, the commission will still be battling with one thing or the other. If it isn't PVCs, it would be card readers or ink pads.

Even if all registered voters collect their cards as Dasuki would like, there's no guarantee that there would be 100% turnout.

So what is the point in postponing the polls just because some people haven't collected their cards?

There's no excuse under the sun for postponing the polls.

Every election cycle when it looks like something momentous is in the offing all sorts of people spring up trying to move the goal posts.

It happened in the dying days of President Ibrahim Babangida's regime when he began having second thoughts about ceding power. No one should be surprised that a figure so close to the sanctum of power in Abuja is making this curious proposal at an even more suspicious hour.

LIFE

SUNDAY

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015

Phony recruitment agencies How they milk hapless job-seekers

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

20 SUNDAY LIFE With unsolicited SMS messages announcing employment opportunities flying around and colourfully designed as well as cheap fliers being trust in people's faces at every junction or street corner, Medinat Kanabe, who got curious took a trip into the jealously guarded world of recruitment agencies. You'd be amazed at what she found out.

Phony recuitment agencies:

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ith the growing rate of unemployment in Nigeria and the frustration that comes with it, many unemployed graduates will do anything to get a job, even if it takes paying through their noses to certain people who claim to be in the position to help them get the jobs.

For this reason, many dubious Nigerians who understand the desperation of these unemployed group of people, have created many phony platforms to catch in on the situation and extort money from them, under the pretext of helping them get professional jobs. But instead, they end up giving them unprofessional or menial jobs. In the process, they also make money for themselves.

The two main methods used in getting these graduates are via bulk SMS - to phone numbers sourced from NYSC brochures, or through randomly composed numbers, and via the distribution of flyers listing vacancies, with numbers to call; without detail office address or job details.

Now, because these graduates are desperate, they respond to these SMS messages inviting them for job interviews in places they never applied to, forgetting that the days of express job offers are long over.

On their lucky days, these outfits may get responses from as many as 40 to 50 jobseekers; but rather than carry out a proper interview, as this reporter found out, they simply ask them cheap questions and tell them to go and await a response. To a second category of job seekers, they proceed to lecture on how to become big business people if they register with a fee in the region of N15,000.

Mission One: Expelled for saying 'hi' This reporter first attended a supposed job interview after receiving an SMS stating that “You are invited for a chat at Boss Resources, 90, Awolowo Way, Ikeja, Opposite Man House by 9am prompt, for inquires call 07033167996.

Dressed in suit and carrying a file like a typical job seeker, she headed for the address. The office is located by the road along Awolowo Way, Ikeja and very easy to locate. It is an old, one-storey building that houses some other offices.

She got there at exactly 15 minutes past 9am and was made to show the SMS invite as a proof of invitation. Thereafter, the security officer at the entrance told her she was late, but could go in quietly and join the others.

On joining the others, she however discovered that this wasn't a normal interview process at all. They whoever they were - had started showing a video with many foreigners talking about direct selling and how they have made a lot of

•A copy of Boss Group Application form obtained by our reporter money from it. lecture. They tell anyone not willing to The video does not show any of the 12 comply with these rules that, “if you want to representatives in the interview hall or leave, the door is behind you.”

• Some theResources fire-fighting vehicles talk about of Boss or what the This reporter also witnessed how a lady company does. The representatives also seated next to her was harassed for merely did not tell you how they got your number; they just proceed to play on the saying 'hello' as she (the reporter) took her seat beside her. She was not just thumped on psychology of the job seekers. the back, she was ordered out of the hall after A lady who gave her name as Fatimah being thoroughly insulted by the owner of was the first to speak. She told the job the agency (Boss Resources), Mr. Dele Joy seekers that there is no need looking for Akinsunmola. jobs or working for anybody and that it After a while, this reporter was also was better to be an investor because asked to join the lady, since she was the cause investors make more money, while employees get used and in the end, either of her misfortune.

On demanding to know how the agency gets retrenched, resigns or retires without got her number, she was told to call the any thing to fall back on.

She also condemned government jobs, number on the text message.

Mission Two (Day One) citing disadvantages such as insecurity, This reporter didn't get another such time-consumption and the difficult nature of the jobs. She also listed examples of invitation until five months later. This time, government organisations that have it read thus: “After a careful consideration of sacked its staff without paying them their your application, you have been shortlisted for an interview with BG Nigeria at 16 dues.

Unfortunately this reporter was not Akinremi Street, Anifowose, Ikeja, Opposite able to complete this session, as she was New Garage on Thursday 7th January by sent out after about 15 minutes for talking. 2pm. Info, Mr. Chris 07037855775.

Determined to witness this session to the The 12 company representatives in the hall make sure you do not talk to anyone, end, this reporter made a deliberate effort to stand, receive or make any call during the comply with the rules. Curiously, one of the lady staff stood in front of the invitees;

ostensibly to make sure none of them spoke to each other. As it were, she was available at all times to take all questions and it was soon discovered that it was a strategy to keep the job invitees from asking questions about the organisation.

And if you are caught talking to anyone, you hear something like “Hey, what are you asking her? She is here like you and doesn't know more than you. Ask me if you have any questions.”

They also provided a book, where we wrote our names and the phone numbers that invited us. I was number 12. By 2pm, we were told to go upstairs to a room, where our interviews would be taken.

There, a lady who gave her name as Shola welcomed us and gave us a paper with five questions, to be answered in 10 minutes.

The questions were basically about job and opportunity. On the top of the paper was written, Boss Group Nigeria, followed by an instruction to answer all questions. When I saw Boss Group, I remembered Boss Resources and began to askFashola myself if both companies weren't the same. I however relaxed, seeing that the addresses were different.

One of the questions read thus: 'In your own words, differentiate between job and opportunity,' another read: Job and opportunity, which would you prefer?

Others read 'Where do you see yourself in five years, Describe yourself in one sentence and a last question that I cannot quite recollect now.

Thereafter, we were made to watch a video by Robert Kiyosaki on financial future after which a lady walked, who introduced herself as Fatimah, came up. I recognised her immediately as the lady at Boss Resources. This convinced me that I was with the same people and strengthened my determination to stay till the end. Fortunately, she did not recognise me.

She gave a rehash of everything she said five months earlier and added that at Boss Group, they do not give jobs but opportunities. “We build people to make

•Continued on Page 21

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

SUNDAY LIFE 21

How they milk hapless job-seekers ‘They got me a cleaner’s job’ F

or Adeyemi Adetola, who graduated with second class upper honours in Business Administration from the University of Lagos, UNILAG, it was indeed a painful experience.

“At Ojuelegba, close to Baba Ijebu Headquaters, I saw some people sharing flyers, so I collected one and sent my CV. I got a message after two days to come for an interview.

I was so excited because I wanted the job badly. I spiralbound my CV and packaged it colourfully. They welcomed me and actually put me through an interview, only to tell me that I would pay N3,000 to get fixed in an insurance company or bank. They said they needed the money to bribe an insider, so I gave them the money.

At the end of the day, they told me I'd been successful and gave me an envelop to a destination, warning me not to open it. On getting there, I found that it was a mallam's shop, so I became uneasy and called their number. The person that picked the call said I was at the right place and Fadipe that I should go inside. When I walked in, I met the mallam, who is the owner of the shop. I greeted him and asked for his oga, but he laughed and said “na woman they bring. I thank God, if to say na man I for curse them.” By this time, I had become perplexed but wanted to see the whole thing through.

I asked him if the building behind was an insurance company but he said no, that it was residential and they needed a house-help and would pay N30,000. He said my job included washing the oga's car, the family cloths,

sweeping the compound, washing plates, running errands and many other things.

I got angry cursed and went back to meet them. They told me that I was the first person to come to them after rejecting their offer, saying that others don't bother to come.

They said I should have stayed back in the house and that the owner might notice me one day and make me his PA. They said people who want to be relocated usually pay N3,000. In the end, they found another place for me, this time, a pure water factory.

There, the manager insulted me saying, so I could come to his factory to work. He said he doesn't like graduates or students of UNILAG because they were always full of themselves and behave as if they owned the world. He later told me that I would work from Monday to Sunday and be paid N5,000 every week. He said I would follow the pure water truck everywhere and take records and keep cash. He said he doesn't trust his boys; that they usually pack his truck somewhere and run away with his money.

I accepted the job but missed Saturday, so he gave me N3,000 instead of the N5,000. He said Saturday is his busiest day of the week and that I caused him to miss huge revenue.

I got angry and went back to the agency to lodge my complain, but this time, they told me to leave and that I was disturbing them. I made a report at the police station, but was told that they don't have the right to arrest or close down the place.

•Job seekers at the NIS recruitment in Abuja

money,” she said.

As employed persons, she said one depends on salaries and spend all his time working for his boss. As a selfemployed, she said you don't fare any better, as your shop could be locked or you could be made to pay for land use, pay taxes, and yet cannot have access to loans. Also, she said, you only sell during the season when your goods are needed.

Like an incurable pessimist, she also proceeded to reel out all her perceived downsides of the civil service, the medical profession, law and accountancy; adding that it is not about CV, but what you can do for yourself which is what they are about.

In conclusion, she said “We will give you the opportunity because we are big business owners. You don't

need a job with another man's company because you will work very hard and look older than your age.”

Then she called on the head of the organisation, a certain Mr. Dele Joy Akinsunmola to address the job seekers.

At that point, I began to hide my face, because I was seated in front and using a false name. Besides, I was sure he would recognise me because I left his office the last time furious.

He started by telling the job seekers that he understood their confusion as to what they were doing there, but assured us that we would not regret it. But this was already over an hour after our arrival. People were tired and thirsty; some had left after realising that the session was not a job interview session, while some had been sent out for answering phone-calls, talking or

because they slept off at some point.

After about 10 minutes, my worst fear came to pass. Mr. Dele recognised me and asked “Hello young lady, have I met you before. Do you know me?” But I said no, denying ever meeting him.

Not convinced, he looked at me again and asked if I was sure I had never met him.

And again I denied; and he continued with the session.

He regaled us with stories of how he has travelled the world and would be traveling again this month. Interestingly, he announced that he abandoned his residency in America just to talk to the job seekers.

“What is this nonsense I am talking about? It is just opportunity. It is crazy money. I spend money the way I like. I make over N300,000 a month, apart from other incomes I get from the business. We

will teach you how to make money here. I will show you everything tomorrow; but we will only show those who are chosen after this session. You will get an SMS inviting you tomorrow if you are selected.

Tomorrow you will know what we are into, you will know how to make money and you will become one of us if you are selected.” He finished.

The session came to an end after 2 hours, 45 minutes, yet not one of the audience could tell for what the company was into or what job to expect.

As if to shore up our doubts, Mr. Dele said, “I know when you get home you will meet PDP (People Deceiving People), who will tell you that we are deceiving you, that we are liars but they don't have anything to offer you.

On getting home, I received an SMS stating that I had passed the first phase and was invited for a second. It read: “After careful evaluation of your psychological test, you have been shortlisted for the final phase of the chat with Boss Group Nigeria tomorrow by 11am.”

Day Two Again, I set out and arrived 5 minutes ahead of time. Inside, the people were already seated and watching a video by Dr Mensa Otabil titled The Power of Vision.

About 26 minutes into watching the video, a lady, Mrs. Dewunmi Dada came in and turned it off. She congratulated us for making it to the second phase. She told us that she studied Physics from Olabisi Onabanjo University and implored us to bear with her as she went through everything we went through the previous day for the benefit of the people coming for the first time. However, I noticed that the new comers were not made to answer any questions, like we did.

Before requesting that the video by Robert Kiyosaki be played, she announced that if, in the course of the video anyone discovered that they were not interested, they could quietly leave, because it was not by force.

After watching the video, she asked those who were there the day before questions about a cash flow quadrant that we had seen the previous day. She wanted the older set to lecture the new comers, and proceeded to randomly call from amongst us. The lot fell on me, but being too tired, I apologised and requested that I was allowed to pass. She picked offence, said I was rude and ordered me to leave.

I pleaded, cried and told her that I couldn't leave because I needed the job.

She then pardoned me and told me that I was under probation.

She took us through everything we went through the previous day for another 2 and half hours.

When she was sure that the old and new comers were on the same page, she said the time had come for us to know what the company is into.

“We are into health maintenance, business development, human resources, leverage, fitness and wellness. So, no matter what you do, you can work with us.

You don't need a certificate to work here; you just need to know how to make people listen and agree to participate.

“What you need is to go to where people are gathered. It could be a mosque, a church, bus stop; and tell them about their health. Then book a day when you will go back to carry out their blood pressure, blood sugar, and do a full blood scan for them for N1, 500. After this, all the money made will be yours,” she said.

She said they work with the Centre for Disease Control, World Health Organisations, HPA, Health Professional Council, SAB. Testimony time It was time for testimony, and Mr. Dele was the first to give his testimony. After showing the bonuses he earned from the company, which he called Leadership Development Bonuses and which he said increased from about N130,000 a month to

• Continued on page 26

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

22 SUNDAY LIFE

Behold the latest •In Akwa Ibom attire

•Buhari wearing a local outfit in Jos

•Buhari in Port Harcourt, Osinbajo (right)

•Buhari (middle) with the Olu of Warri wearing local Delta outfit

Suddenly, there seems no better time to appreciate the beauty of Nigeria's diversity than this present season of political fever. What with the two top guns for the highest office in the land transforming into different ethnic attires as they criss-cross the vast Nigerian landscape! Joe Agbro Jr. captures a bit of it for your delight.

I

•Amaechi, Buhari and Rochas Okorocha in Imo

t's some weeks to elections and there is a flurry of activities by candidates of the various political parties to canvas last minute support and keep the tempo of their campaigns. Using different strategies has also been the norm. In addition, the incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former head of state Gen. Muhummadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the top contenders for the post of president have sought to woo the people, using the fashion and style peculiar to the

“Both candidates have thus tried to align with the people at various rallies and campaign grounds by embracing the local fashion of the host state”.

different zones and ethnic groups to advantage.

Both candidates have thus tried to align with the people at various rallies and campaign grounds by embracing the local fashion of the host state. The colour schemes have also been taken into account. On occasions when they wore the flowing Babariga or Agbada, the insignias of their parties have been emblazoned as designs on them, in a most creative manner.

Who would have imagined a Buhari in a Niger-Delta attire? Or the traditional ofong mbong and usobo (wrapper) attires of the Effik

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

SUNDAY LIFE

23

in political fashion •President Jonathan in Imo

•Acknowledging cheers in Owerri

•Jonathan, Sambo and Akpabio in Uyo

•Jonathan and Sambo

•Jonathan in Minna •Jonathan in Osun

and Ibibio people of the Akwa-Ibom and Cross River states?

Isn't it delightful to see a Goodluck Jonathan in classic house babarigas? Well you may say this is not his first time, being the incumbent president, but it kind of reminds one of the French policy of assimilation, and that there really isn't much difference in who we are, except that which we consciously place there to impede ourselves.

But this sort of flamboyancy is not a new thing.

In the first republic, Festus Okotie-Eboh, a politician and former finance minister from the then Mid-West state which became Bendel State and presently Delta and Edo states was a sight to

behold. Always turning out in his peculiar Urhobo style, Okotie-Eboh was famed for draping himself in very long wrappers which sometimes extended to about five metres. In order to ensure that the loose end of the wrapper didn't get unnecessarily smeared or impeded, the legendary politician reportedly usually tasked a little boy to hang the long lose end on his neck as he moved around.

The cap too has been another addition. By the time President Goodluck Jonathan emerged as the substantive president in 2010, the Niger Delta hat which was like a signature also began to enjoy national appeal, especially in the southern parts of the country. But while President Jonathan adopted the fashion side of campaigns even in his 2011

election campaign, General Buhari seems to be having his first go at it.

Interestingly, the usually staid General has injected vibrancy in his campaigns this time around. At various campaign grounds, Buhari can be seen relating with the people fashion-wise.

While campaigning in Igboland, the General from Daura, Katsina, appeared well at home, clad in Igbo traditional outfit with the cap to match. And in Warri, he was decked in the traditional outfit of the Itsekiris of shirt over a George wrapper. When he visited Tiv Land, he was also decked in the traditional hand-woven striped black and white clothing synonymous with that ethnic group.

Surely, a spectacle you might want to say.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

24 SUNDAY LIFE

F

ormer Lagos State deputy governor, Femi Pedro, has never made the list of celebrity revelers, although he remains a distinguished gentleman any day, always oozing that polished gentleman mien, reminiscent of his banking training and background.

Even though the lavish wedding of Bode, his son, to former Uche Eze, of the Bellanaija blog fame was much talked about and appeared to have broken the reserved family out of their shell, the Pedros nevertheless remain in their cocoon. But as the former banker turned politician prepares to hit the platinum age of 60, it appears the golden goose can no longer hide, as we sought a conversation with him.

Asked what it means to have lived over half a century, he responded that 'It is only by the special grace of God. I am indeed blessed. I thank God for keeping me alive and healthy to this age. I pray for many more healthy, glorious and eventful years ahead'.

Pedro, it will be recalled served in different capacities in the corporate sector before going into public service. It therefore seemed fair to ask for a comparison between the two worlds.

What were the experiences like and which was more challenging? We asked.

He narrated that the private sector experience was very pleasant, exciting and eventful. 'It was rewarding but challenging and very stressful as well. I was driven by a consuming ambition to excel and be successful. And by the grace of God, I was indeed successful. I was one of the fortunate few to rise from the base level after university to the peak of my career in the banking industry. I rose to the level of Managing Director/CEO (of the defunct First Atlantic Bank which later became FinBank) before I joined the public service.”

“During this period, I also invested wisely and built a fairly decent portfolio for

•Pedro

‘I am fulfilled at 60’

think the more appropriate phrase should be 'willingness to serve', because that is ultimately what public service is about. I have moved on from the gubernatorial election days, but my ultimate prayer is for good health and presence of mind as we continue to progress as a country. “ P e d r o e x p a n d e d .

• Young skaters at the National Stadium, Lagos Asked what the former deputy governor would like to change or undo in his lofty life experience at 60, he said 'Nothing at all.”

Continuing, he said “You are who you are based on everything you have experienced. Of course, there will be things you wish you could re-do, but it is always best to focus on the present and look towards the future.”

What then would be his fondest childhood memories, we prodded further.

Here, and with a nostalgic smile, he reminisced that they were the years he lived with his maternal and paternal grandmothers. “I had unfettered freedom to play football and indulge in many childhood pranks.”

No doubt a handsome and well-kempt man at 60, we also sought to know how he has been able to stay so cute and yet glued le, full of ups and downs, and can be to his wife. We pointed out the allure of his largely unrewarding.” banking career and how he waded through the bevies of beautiful women, According to Pedro, it is difficult to who must have been attracted to him like plan and work towards success in the bees to the pollen. public service, as it is generally determined by extraneous factors that are He however laughed this off, saying “I sometimes beyond your control. “You don't know about staying glued but I have may have ambition, set goals and action a very good, loving and understanding plans, but you may be unable to fulfill wife who has been very patient and them if other factors are not favourable to tolerant. So far, so good!” you. I have been very fortunate in the Asked what kind of family man he is, public service because, by the special seeing that he has had a busy career, both grace of God, I joined the public service at in the private and public sector, he said “I the highest level. I was also fortunate that have four grown-up boys. I have a very I joined when I was already fulfilled close and personal relationship with all of professionally. At this point, I have a them. We are like brothers and friends. better understanding of the public sector My work has never been a hindrance, and and I feel it can also be rewarding and I have devoted adequate time to raising fulfilling.” them properly. They have all turned out to be very responsible men.

Due largely to his rich financial and banking experience that he brought to On his childhood inspirations and bear; Femi Pedro is widely regarded as influences, Femi Pedro was quick to one of the bedrocks of the economic respond. “Actually my grandmothers revolution that Lagos enjoys today. It is influenced me. They taught me great on record that under his supervision, the values of humility, integrity, hard work, Lagos State Revenue Mobilization industry and character. I did not have Committee under which the Board of many close friends while growing up. I Inland Revenue, the Land Use Allocation grew up in a family compound of many Committee, and other revenue generating kids under the care of relatives. These agencies reported, performed creditably. people impacted great values in us, which We therefore sought to know what are still very relevant today. leadership style he employed that seemed On the lessons life has taught him at 60, to turn things around.

Pedro noted that he has come across many But Pedro is quick to say that the people and have learnt different things. achievement of that era was due 'The people I consider the most important largely to the leadership style of in my life are those that have brought out his former boss and political the best in me. There are rare and amazing mentor, Asiwaju Bola people who remind me why life is truly Tinubu, who set the pace.' worth it.”

Our incredible achievement And would he consider himself at that time was due to the fulfilled at 60? The father of four answered leadership of Asiwaju Bola in the affirmative. 'I am much fulfilled Tinubu, the then Governor of personally and professionally as a banker Lagos State, who set the pace and as a politician too. Of course, there is for the successes the state is always a feeling that you can always enjoying today. His leadership contribute more towards the progress and style was liberal, development of our country, so the prayer accommodating and is that God continues to grant me good progressive. The rest of us health to be able to accomplish many more took a cue from this. I think his things.” effective leadership style is Asked how he copes with the rigours manifested in the various of politicking and yet maintains a successful leaders he has balanced marital life, Pedro, who is developed over time.” married to Jumoke, a judge of the Lagos Pedro also attempted to State High Court, said his wife is a take his political career a thorough-bred professional who takes her step further, taking a huge job very seriously. “She does not get ambition to rule the state involved in politics, and I do not dabble in of aquatic splendor, as her judicial work because they are both he contested for the sensitive sectors. “ governor's seat on the Today, Femi Pedro remains a Labour Party platform. respected member of the Nigerian Although he did not political hierarchy. After his political win, he says it was an sojourn and upon his return to the All experience he Progressives Congress (APC), he was considered really appointed, Chairman of the All challenging. He however Progressives Congress Registration contended that 'ambition Exercise Committee, which held in to rule' is a strong phrase. “I February 2014 in Ondo State.

Former deputy governor of Lagos State Otunba Femi Pedro will be 60 come January 29.

The Lagos-born banker turned politician in this chat with Adetutu Audu, reminisces on his life experiences, politics and family life. myself,' he noted He pointed out that his public service experience has been slightly different, t h o u g hfulfilling too. 'It has been very fulfill ing for me, but it is also somewhat unpre

dic tab

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

SUNDAY LIFE 25

Rise in abuse of prescription drugs

Modern medicine has blazed on the practice of producing drugs to cure ailments and diseases.

However, people are subjecting some of these drugs to abuse and misuse, thereby creating another malady known as prescription drug abuse, writes Joe Agbro Jr.

O

n August 5, 1962, screen goddess Marilyn Monroe, was found dead in her bedroom in her Brentwood home in Los Angeles, California. At that time, many detectives believed she was murdered, stirring a trail of controversy. The coroner however ruled 'acute barbiturate poisoning' as cause of her death.

On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson also died in California after he suffered a cardiac arrest. Cause of death was related to acute consumption of potent medicines prescribed

by Conrad Murray, his personal physician, who was later convicted on involuntary manslaughter charge.

Depressants, anti-depressants, opioids, morphine derivatives, and stimulants are abused when used in a way not intended by a prescribing doctor. It could be either through self-medication for medical ailments or through ingesting prescription drugs to get high. Messing around with prescription drugs is not new. It is also not new that the drugs have messed people up.

In Nigeria, there have been cases of prescription drug abuse too. A case in point would that of Chairman, board of trustees of Actors Guild of Nigeria, Prince Ifeanyi Dike who recently recovered from a kidney ailment. He actually had to endure two kidney transplants, before fully recovering. In an interview Dike granted The Nation newspaper sometime last year, he revealed his suspicion that his unregulated use of analgesics might have caused his kidneys problems.

“I think that was what knocked my kidneys down,” he said in the interview. “I used to work very hard; and every time I came back home, I'd just swallow two tablets to quell the pains, without giving my body the chance to rest and reinvigorates itself.”

In Nigeria, the drug industry has become so liberalised that in some bustling city centres, people selling both Over-TheCounter (OTC) and prescription drugs can be seen spreading their cocktail of drugs on trays and wooden shelves. In a 2009 report, Dr Olusegun Fakoya wrote: “There is no medication that cannot be openly obtained in the open market in Nigeria. Drugs that ordinarily should not be sold over the counter are commonplace.” According to Dr Fakoya, drugs inducing ovulation, for managing diabetes, for treating migraine, epilepsy and so on can be easily obtained on cash and carry basis.

“No drug is deemed too sacred to be sold in Nigeria,” he lamented.

Somewhere at the popular Ojuwoye market in Mushin, Lagos, is Kemi, a lady who sets up a make-shift pharmacy point every evening. Despite not being trained in any medical field, she oversees a tray of assorted medications, both prescription and OTC. Stocking various brands of multivitamins,

“We discover that most ailments that are reported in the hospital are the effects of the drugs that are either abused or misused but many of them (patients) may not know.” painkillers and antibiotics, Kemi said she gets the drugs from her aunt who is a nurse. She would however not divulge how her aunt gets her supply though.

In reputable pharmacies, certain drugs cannot be purchased OTC. But that is not the across the country. For instance, clandestine sales of prescription drugs such as Rohypnol and Tramadol take place at the Abattoir at Agege, Lagos. Although strangers asking for such medications are met with suspicious looks and a denial, a careful observation of the area revealed youths exchanging and popping down the strictly prescription pills.

“These drugs are only sold to people that they (drug sellers) know,” said Azeez Olajumoke, a resident of Agege who frequents the place. “Although it is only once I have seen the police come to raid them in the past four years, they know that what they are doing is illegal.”

Rohypnol was first brought to the consciousness the Nigerian public in July last year, when traces of the drug was found in the late Osukogu's system and confirmed to have been used in subduing her, before she died in a Festac hotel in Lagos. Rohypnol, a brand of Flunitrazepam, is a prescription depressant of the Benzodiazepine family of drugs is enjoying recreational use in the country. Acting quickly on the body, within 20 minutes of using the drug, some common effects such as disinhibition and amnesia, decreased blood pressure, dizziness, visual disturbances and aggressive behaviours can be noticed. This effect could last for as long as between eight and 36 hours, depending on whether it is used with or without alcohol.

At the abattoir, the street name for Rohypnol is Roche or 'Baba Blue' because of the blue colour it leaves on the tongue of those who pop them.

Crossroads between using medicines The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is aware of the problem too.

According to the Head Public Affairs of NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju, the issue of drugs has been a challenge to the agency.

“Pharmaceutical drugs are not meant to be hawked,” said Ofoyeju. “There are instances where we conduct raid operations and arrest those who sell those pharmaceutical drugs on the streets.”

According to him, most drugs should be kept in a cool dry place but exposing them in the sun through hawking makes them lose their efficacy “due to the hot conditions they have been subjected to.”

He also said “Only pharmacists can sell such drugs.”

According to Ofoyeju, the most abused controlled drugs are the sleeping pills like diazepam. He also said potent pain relieving drugs are also abused. He revealed that Demoline is mostly abused in the northern parts of the country. “If you take five tablets of demoline, you won't feel tired if you are working because it kills pains in the body,” Ofoyeju said.

He also said “The implication is that one person can do the work of two people.”

Another group of people whom the NDLEA spokesman accused of abusing drugs are the long distance drivers. “They would tell you that if you take five tablets, you can drive from here (Lagos) to Sokoto and sleep would not come to your eyes.”

He also singled out commercial sex workers as offenders in this category, as they use drugs to withstand the demands of their clients. He however warned that the cumulative stress is paid for somewhere.

Ofoyeju said the prescription drug abuse pattern globally is of concern. “The abuse pattern varies,” he continued. “Some drugs may not be controlled now but may be controlled in the future.”

That is the case with cough syrups which contains codeine. But it is still widely available and can be bought over the counter and some Nigerians are basking in the consumption. Adebola, a 24 year old student of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, who uses Codeine recreationally says he likes the feeling he gets when he drinks it. For him, a session involves drinking a bottle of Benylin with codeine in a gulp. Asked to describe his feelings, he responds; “It is different from alcohol. This one is a slow and steady high.”

Many of his peers are also involved in taking codeine for pleasure. Such cravings have generated a huge demand for cough syrups, which contain codeine, a situation that in recent times has culminated in a rise in their prices.

According to a report, Abubakar Jimoh, Deputy Director of Public Relations and Protocols, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), is concerned about illicit drug abusers in the country. However, it believes that because of the huge rural population, selling such drugs by prescription only could limit access to a large number of people.

Abuse of prescription and OTC drugs has

also been a cause for concern for pharmacists.

The pill attraction “Any drug that is taken for the wrong indication is an abuse,” said Mrs. Rita Akonoghrere, a Pharmacist and lecturer in the department of Pharmacy, Delta State University, Abraka. “If you take above the dose, it is an abuse. If it is taken at a frequency not prescribed, it is abuse. If it is taken for the wrong indication, it is drug misuse.”

“OTC drugs are more prone to abuse than the prescription drugs because they are available without prescription and anybody can pick it,” she said.

Akonoghrere said that painkillers like paracetamol and Ibuprofen, a prescription drug, have been abused by Nigerians.

According to MedlinePlus, a website published by the US National Library of Medicine, 'People who take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (other than aspirin) such as ibuprofen may have a higher risk of having a heart attack or a stroke than people who do not take these medications.' The website also states that the risks may be higher for people who take NSAIDs for a long time.'

Akonoghrere also said that anti-malarial which should be prescription drugs have become OTC because of the prevalence of malaria in the country, making them to be highly abused. However, apart from antimalarial, a thin line blurs the sales and consumption between prescription and OTC drugs.

But self-medication has proved it could be dangerous. And Akonoghrere revealed that “We discover that most ailments that are reported in the hospital are the effects of the drugs that are either abused or misused but many of them (patients) may not know.”

A global problem According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the US, in 2010, approximately 16 million Americans reportedly use a prescription drug for nonmedical reasons in 2009.

Recently in the UK, the 2014 annual DrugScope survey of drug workers reported an increase in the use of the prescription drugs, pregabalin and gabapentin, especially amongst heroin addicts and within prisons. According to survey, the two drugs are used to treat epilepsy, neuropathic pain and anxiety. However, combined with depressants, they cause drowsiness, sedation, respiratory failure and even death.

Official statistics show the two drugs were cited on 41 death certificates in 2013.

With unregulated sales by these medicine sellers, the citizens stand the risk of using counterfeit medicines. According to the Force Public Relations Officer, Commissioner of police Emmanuel Ojukwu, “it is NAFDAC's responsibility to check the activity of drugs.” He however, said the police work in collaboration with associations of pharmacists' patent medicine sellers to carry out raids.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

26 SUNDAY LIFE •Continued from Page 20 about N600,000 a month, aside the money he gets from presentations. He added that he was also given incentives, which from time to time runs into N500,000.

He recalled that “I earned N45,000 with my Masters degree for years working in a tin tomato company and couldn't do anything tangible, until I resigned to join this business.

By this time, the audience had been caught in rapt attention, with some shouting “Jesus!” while others prayed to make as much money.

“You are not given targets,” he assured, “but you work three times a week and you are entitled to travel with a partner. We also help your personal development: you attend trainings, you are entitled to a company name registration and you have a leverage.”

Mr. Adela Alicia, who claimed to have worked with MTN as a project manager for 12 years, earning N220,000, but resigned to join Boss Group and now makes more than N220,000 almost every week, also shared his 'testimony.'

“I make over N600,000 in presentations because I use the contacts I made in MTN,” he said.

What however baffled this reporter was the cheap, old dirty clothing he was wearing. His skin didn't look well-cared for, and neither was his hair well-combed.

The next speaker was Chris Toba, who said he is a lawyer called to bar in 2012 after graduating from Imo State University.

“These days, lawyers are living a life of penury. I got frustrated and left to join BG and I have not regretted it since then,” he said.

Another man, Nurudeen, told us how he graduated with a third class and knew there was no hope for a job. He spoke of how his mum tried to dissuade him from joining the BG business but refused because he saw the opportunity.

“She didn't believe until I took her to South Africa during my travel which was sponsored by the company. We were lodged in one of the most expensive 5-star hotels in SA- Southamptom Hotel. Right now, my mum is begging join the business,” he confessed.

The final part By this time, we had spent almost five hours. Mr. Dele then announced that we had come to the final part of the selection criteria and explained that he had deliberately stretched the session to tire out the audience, so that those who were not destined to be a part of the business would leave.

He also cursed those who left relentlessly, calling them names and saying they will die poor.

He then announced that before we can be part of the company, we must be registered.

“This is the final selection process.

People usually leave when we come to this part but they forget that they are doing themselves. I will tell you why you need to be registered.

“You need to be registered to have the right back-up and support. You must be a registered partner; the company that will pay the Leadership Development Bonus must know you, and you need a company that will defend you in case of eventualities.

He announced that the fee was N11,500 and explained that at that rate, it is almost free. Breaking it down, he said: “Identity card is N500, the electronic identity card that you can use to enter the company when you visit is N1,000, and materials cost N6, 000, while N4, 000 is for real registration.”

He announced that anyone who registered first automatically becomes unit head. He also said they would begin their training immediately, do their induction the next day and start to train other people immediately.

He then asked all of us to stand up and announced that anyone who wants to be a unit head should come out with his or her N11,500 and collect a form. Six people stood up and went to him. He then gave them the

Phony recuitment agencies

•Minister of Labour, Turaki

“In what looked like a desperate move, he also asked that “If you don't have the N11,500 but have between N11,500 and N1, 000, come forward and collect the form”. form and they were taken out of the room.

In what looked like a desperate move, he also asked that “If you don't have the N11,500 but have between N11,500 and N1, 000, come forward and collect the form. You must however promise to come and complete the money later, so that you can start immediately.”

Many people went to him and paid between N11,500 to N1, 000, as he magnanimously permitted.

Like a man desperate to make the most of a situation, he also granted that “If you have between N1,000 to N100, come and take the form with a promise that you will come and pay the rest later.”

At this point, I went forward to

collect the form, promising to pay the balance later. He then encouraged us to borrow the money to pay, if need be, adding that many of them who are members did the same.

He didn't forget to add that a Point of Sale machine (POS) was available. “The money will go directly into the company's account and the receipt will be attached to your form,” he added.

Checkmated After filling the form, I pleaded that they let me take mine home to persuade my husband to give me the money, but they refused. I was therefore left with no alternative but to take quick shots of the form. By this, they prevented me or any other person from taking out the form as a probable evidence, thereby underlining the fact that indeed, the whole process was

a scam.

I later went into another room to make my part payment of N500.There I asked the lady if there was a bigger company other than Boss Group that gives the Leadership Development Bonus. She answered in the affirmative. But when I asked what the company was into, she said I would know during my induction, after I have paid the money. Literally, she appeared well-trained and prepared for such nosey questions.

We thus left the company for the second day running without any information about the bigger company or what they are into.

The next morning, I received an SMS stating that my training continues the next day by 11am.

The denial When the Nation tried to speak to the Boss Group through one of their phone numbers, 09099164586 denied that they are a recruitment agency and said it was probably a mix up. Following more prodding, he begged to attend to a client and that the reporter called back in two minutes. The phone never rang again, as the male voice on the other end apparently had put it off.

Another conversation with another of their numbers, 08091102759 went thus: The Nation: Hello, am I on to the Boss Group Voice: Yes? The Nation: Good, I'm talking about the recruitment agency; I'm trying to follow up on the job recruitment exercise we went through at your office…

Voice: Which recruitment agency?

Excuse me…hello The Nation: Yeah, I'm trying to follow up on the training we had at your office…

Voice: No this is not the recruitment office o (and then the phone went off and dead.)

This confirmed that they indeed had something to hide. Respondents on both end admitted being from Boss Group, but quickly started denying the moment this reporter started asking questions about job recruitment and reply to the job recruitment exercise.

Our experience in the hands of job scammers Titilope Ogunbiyi is a victim. She said she saw people distributing very attractive handbills and requested for one. “I went there after some days. We were interviewed. They asked us to tell them about ourselves and how much we would like to be paid. They then said we should wait for their madam (boss). On arriving, she told us stories of how we can go to Dubai, as many times as we want.

Asked to describe the place, Ogunbiyi said “The place is like a warehouse, Well Primax Consult, located at 9, Oremeji Street, Iyana Isolo, Lagos. The woman we met said we can make a lot of money from it, that we can also buy our own machine.

She brought out wads of naira, saying she made over N100,000 in a week. After talking for over one hour, they told us to register with N8,000 to get the GNLD ID card. I gave them N2,000 and promised to return with the remaining N6,000. But on getting home, I thought about it and decided not go back.

She recalled that they will not tell you anything at first. They will interview you, ask how much you'd like to be paid and then proceed to lecture you.”

Another interesting case was that of John (surname withheld) who said: “I paid a recruitment agency N15, 000 for a job after an interview. About two weeks after, I was sent a phone message to be at an address at Ojuelegba to resume work as a bank teller in Access bank; but when I got there I found that it was a shop. The shop was wooden and their business was sale of carpets.

“I was shocked and demanded to know if there was no mix-up in the address. I found that there was none and was utterly disappointed. But I couldn't do anything.”

27 THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015

Marrying Toyin Aimakhu affected my career 窶年IYI JOHNSON

Pages 56, 57

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

GLAMOUR

29

Bhaira Mcwizu came into limelight in 2007 when she won the Amstel Malta Box Office (AMBO), a reality television competition. This sultry and delectable actress has not looked back ever since. She tells ADETUTU AUDU her favourite things.

1

Favourite Wristwatch?

Cartier.

2

Favourite shoe designer?

Jessica Simpson 3

Favourite food?

Salad 4

Fashion designer?

Elie Saab 5

Favourite designer bag?

Victoria Beckham 6

Favourite Sunglasses?

Giorgio Armani 7

Mcwizu’s

top

0 1

Favourite jewellery?

Cartier

8

Favourite Make-up?

Black-Up 9

Favourite holiday spot?

Bora Bora 10

Favourite car?

Aston Martin

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015

30 GLAMOUR

ADETUTU AUDU

08023849036, 08112662587

crownkool@yahoo.com

Jide Fadairo bounces back

About Harold Demuren’s son superlative wedding

A

D

espite his unceremonious exit from office, Harold Demuren, the former Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCCA, the Ogun State-born aeronautical engineer, has been enjoying life to its fullest. Last weekend, one of his sons, Micheal, got married in Dubai. The event attracted different personalities, including top Nigerian artistes, OAP Toolz and her beau, Tunde.

Khairat Gwadabe finds new interest

Tope Edu notches higher T

F

or many who don't know, after her sterling performance at the National Assembly, Senator Khairat Gwadabe has found new interest aside politics. The beautiful mother of one has joined the fast food business chain.

Her venture, we gathered, is a franchise she brought from South Africa. Already, she also has her outlets in Maitama and Wuse in the federal capital territory. The business train, we gathered, also moved to The Palms, Lagos, Jos and Lokoja. The beautiful daughter of Chief Folorunsho Abdul-Rasaq is married to former military governor of Niger State, Colonel Lawan Gwadabe.

ope Edu is the younger sister of Senators Bukola Saraki and Gbemisola SarakiFowora, an interior architectural designer that specialises in creative and functional designs of spaces including residential and commercial. Driven by her desire to follow high standards, after her Masters in law, she decided to follow her passion for interior design and studied at the prestigious Chelsea College of Arts and Design. The founder of Topeedu Designs has no doubt made a good decision as she has been wowing her clients with corporate brand styling. Recently, Ermenegildo Zegna, an Italian menswear luxury brand, launched its first West African flagship store in Lagos. The store was designed by Studio Berreta and implemented by Tope Edu Designs who is also the franchise director of the brand.

Creative Tope and her team create a seamless journey from concept theory to completion.

Other projects with Tope's midas touch include Oando Marketing Plc head office, the renovation of The Moorhouse Hotel, among others.

few years ago, America returnee Jide Fadairo stormed the social scene in a grand way. Not only did he make his presence felt in the social space, he registered himself in the business terrain with his line of luxury car hire services aptly dubbed, Executive Coach. Fadairo's limos were the in-thing for celebs who wanted to arrive at red carpet events in style. It was also for top executives and visiting politicians and celebs who wanted to move around in style.

However, a few months down the line, events at the company took a downturn, as patronage plummeted, thus affecting operations. A much better Fadairo has bounced back, not only on the social scene, but in business as well. His Inagbe Grand Resorts, a luxury relaxation and holiday destination, which he opened for business, has been a Mecca of sorts where the rich and upwardly mobile have been rushing to.

Toyin Fajj hooks Poju Oyemade P

opular Lagos big girl and founder of film production company, StoryTeller Media, Toyin Fajusigbe, will be tying the nuptial knot with popular Lagos pastor, Poju Oyemade of the Covenant Christian Centre.

Toyin, a graduate of New York Film Academy, will be signing the dotted lines with the stylish pastor next month in a low-key celebration.

Fondly known on social media as Toyin Fajj, she has worked with reputable media houses such as Ndani TV. Her documentary film, Unbroken: The John Sumonu Story, which she directed and produced, w a s nominate d for best documen tary at the 2 0 1 4 A b u j a Internati onal Film Festival.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015

GLAMOUR 31

Tokunbo Edun proving her mettle O

latokunbo Edun is the administrator of Grace Schools and she has proved her mettle as a thoroughbred professional.

Tokunbo, who lost her beloved mother, Deaconess Grace Osinowo, the founder of the school years back, has since moved on to reposition the school. She leaves no one in doubt about her managerial prowess coupled with her rich background as a seasoned administrator.

A very sociable personality who avoids the klieg lights and paparazzi at social functions, Edun has been able to combine her roles well and has been a kind giver to several notable causes. She works round the clock to sustain the laudable legacy bequeathed by her mother. She is the mother of Anike Lawal, the brain behind Mamalette.com, the first ever online interactive parenting platform in Nige

Adenele Ogunsanya’s endearing heart

S

till looking dashing at her age, former Secretary to Lagos State Government, Princess Adenrele Adeniran-Ogunsanya, is still very dynamic in nature. Her carriage and poise stand far tall ahead many in the political and society circles in the state; little wonder her overwhelming popularity in Ikorodu town, especially among the political juggernauts. Princess Ogunsanya who is the Secretary General of Lagos State Women Forum in the last few months seems to have reaffirmed her leadership role in the political structure of Lagos East. Her family home in Oke Ota-Ona, Ikorodu, has become Mecca of a sort with political bigwigs in the senatorial district paying homage and holding strategic meetings with her. Her father, the late Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya, was a frontline politician in the First Republic and the princess no doubt inherited her endearing social and political traits from him.

Ngozi Nkoloenyi now babysits O

n e o f t h e matriarchs of high society, Lolo Ngozi Nkoloenyi, is in her best moments. The a c c o m p l i s h e d businesswoman cum fashion designer who is a prominent face on the social circuit and associates with big names in the society is now a proud grandmother. Nkoloenyi who runs Bloomingdale is in London for omugwo (babysitting) for her daughter who just gave birth.

Gloom set in for the owner of Bloomingdale, when she lost her husband, Chief Paul Nkoloenyi, a few years ago. Still smarting from his demise, she had reason to smile w h e n h e r children got married.

Debbie Oghene focuses on son D

ebbie Oghene is not new to limelight. Despite ageing gracefully, she is still in possession of most of the charms that made her no push over in the social circuit. Not only this, her deep pocket is a subject of discourse among her ilk. Often found in the company of a few selected friends, the celebrity lady's world now revolves around her only son who we gathered just completed his postgraduate degree in Business Administration.

Kinsmen rally round Bola Agbaje S

uccess, they say, has many offspring. Many who do not know the wife of People Democratic Party Lagos gubernatorial candidate, Barrister (Mrs.) Biola Jimi Agbaje, is from Ekiti State. Little wonder the Ekiti Unity Forum led by Otunba Dayo Olanrewaju has been drumming support for her.

Biola is noted for her passion for women's liberation and general wellbeing of the people and a committed activist since her days in the old Ondo State University.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

GLAMOUR/OUT & ABOUT

32

The Sun picks Aliyu Wamakko as Governor of The Year

D

IGNITARIES, politicians, business gurus and others gathered at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island for this year's Sun Award. Among the dignitaries that graced the event were Speaker House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, former Head of Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan who was the chairman of the day, Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko and wife of Benue State Governor, Mrs. Yemisi Suswam, among others.

PHOTOS: OLUSEGUN RAPHEAL

•Mrs. Yemisi Suswan and Speaker of Benue State House of Assembly, Emmanuel Ayua

•L-R: Speaker House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, Chief Ernest Shonekan, Mr. Femi Adesina, and Governor Aliyu Wamakko

•Olowu of Owu, Oba Adegboyega Dosumu, Tony Anenih (Jr) and Mr. Chike Ogeah

•Rev. Emeka Abonne and Alhaji Aliyu Attairu

•MD First Bank Plc, Bisi Onasanya, and his wife, Helen, receiving the Best Banker award from Mr. Leo Stan-Ekeh, MD Zinox Computer

•Chief C. J. Muonagolu, Chairman/CEO, Richbon Group and Miss Ebere

BIRTHDAY

•Mr. and Mrs. Charles Odunukwe

•Dr. Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi and Gen. Olukolade (rtd)

AWARD

•Lady Adetula being assisted by her husband, Sir Ademola Adetula, a veteran Journalist and Former Managing Director, Ondo State owned Newspapers "The Hope"to cut her 60th birthday cake at Akure •Dame Daisy Akagbosu receiving the posthumous award for meritorious service on behalf of her late husband, Sir Louis Akagbosu, from the management and board of Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the polytechnic in Auchi, recently.

•Dr. Phil. Ofulue and Alhaji Umaru Kwabo

33

SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

MUTIU ADEPOJU

My four-midable daughters are my jewels

34

47

NATIONS SPORT & STYLE SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015

PARTY TIME

T

hey said 'dad is a daughter's first love' and it was therefore not surprising to hear Mutiu Adepoju, former Super Eagles' star midfielder, describing his four daughters as formidable 'jewels of inestimable' value.

Married to Adebimpe soon after some heroic performance for the Super Eagles at the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations where he scored Nigeria's solitary goal in the 1-2 loss to Black Stars of Ghana in the semi-finals, the marriage has been blessed with four girls (Tinu, Lade, Abiola and Lola) who have now come of ages.

"I'm happily married and we have four girls," said Adepoju, called by admirers as Headmaster for scoring more goals with his 'hard as nail' head."My daughters are the best thing to have happened to me; they are my jewels and they are quite formidable."

As one of the decorated members of what is known as 'Nigeria's Golden Generation' after qualifying the country for her maiden World Cup appearance at USA'94 as well as winning the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia, it is only natural to think that Adepoju would brood over not having a 'boy-child' that would follow in his illustrious footsteps. But in an interview with The Nation's Sport & Style this sunny afternoon in Abuja, Adepoju was indeed in a cheery mood as he spoke eloquently about his admirable daughters.

“My daughters are grownups now and I'm so happy having them as my children,” he said. “They are my jewels and they give me so much joy. Sincerely, I don't miss anything not having a son and I'm happy with what God has given to me.

“Initially, I desired that my first kid to be a boy and was actually bragging I was going to have a boy, but there was nothing I could do when it didn't happen that way.

“After we had our second daughter, I just forgot thinking about it and then we had two additional daughters. I'm happy with them because that is what God has given to me.

“They are the gifts that God has given to me; so why should I be worried and they are doing very well now and are actively involved in sport - basketball to be precise?

“They are pretty good with basketball and are doing well with their clubs; one is even in the United States and doing well playing for her school. So what else can I ask for?”

Adepoju spent quality playing time in Spain between 1989 and 1997. He left Nigeria in 1989 to join Real Madrid where he featured for its B side. His first professional season was impressive as he netted 11 league goals to help Racing de Santander return to the top flight and continued to feature and score regularly for the Cantabrians in the next three seasons.

He left for Real Sociedad in the 19961997 season. In 2001/2002, he represented Saudi Arabia's Ittihad FC but quickly returned to Spain with second level side UD Salamanca. Hear his reminiscences about his eventful career in Spain as well as the Super Eagles. He spoke with Morakinyo Abodunrin. Excerpts...

Coping with life after football It was difficult and not easy to start a new life after spending a greater number of years playing football. You woke one day and found out that you were going to do another thing outside what you have been used to and it was never going to be easy to start life afresh. I don't know about other people but I felt so strange being at home doing nothing than playing football and that was a difficult thing for me to actually cope with initially. But after sometime, I started doing some other things and I really thank God for it. It was not actually easy for me to retire from football because I was still very active up till 2002. But I took the decision to finally disengage from football after the 2002 World Cup in Korea & Japan. Though I was part of the squad, I was not used at all; and that was a shock to me and I felt it was about time I quit given the fact that I was not getting younger again. It was at that point I decided not to play for the national team because it was obvious I was really getting close to my retirement age. I still played club football

Messi, Suarez party at Pique’s son birthday B

MUTIU ADEPOJU

My four-midable daughters are my jewels

for about three years and thereafter, I was not enjoying playing the game as I used to. So, I felt I was done with football but it was really a difficult decision to make.

2002 World Cup fiasco I don't think being picked had anything to do with my personal relationship with Coach Adegboye Onigbinde. The fact was every player picked for a competition as big as the World Cup would always want to play and the truth, of course, was that I was not just picked but I was selected because I performed creditably well during the training camp. It is unfortunate that some believed I was not good enough to have been picked, but if it had anything to do with my own personal relationship with him; he would have played me at the World Cup proper. He must have seen something in me before he picked me but, frankly, I was disappointed that I was not given the chance to play. But I accepted it that way knowing that was how God wanted it to be.

Being part of 'Nigeria's golden generation' You can't compare the Super Eagles that qualified Nigeria for the World Cup for the first time and won the 1994 African Cup of Nations

in Tunisia with this present team for instance. If you had taken time to look at that team, you would know that it was made up of some of the best players of that generation. The kind of players we had then were hungry for glory; were hungry to make names for themselves and were able to sacrifice so much for the glory of the country. That team was actually built from 1990 through 1992 and towards the tail end we had energetic players who brought in power and youthfulness into the team. Our priority then was to make history with the team; yes everybody wants to make money but we didn't allow that to be the main priority. We enjoyed what we were doing then and everybody was ready to contribute his own quota to the team and that was what made us tick. We had players that were committed to the country and the job that they did.

The Clemens Westerhof's factor The success of the Super Eagles in the 1990s was actually not down to Clemens Westerhof alone but so many other factors and people contributed to the success of the team. You can't take it away from Westerhof because he had a hold on the team; and he really knew what he

Lade Adepoju wanted and he went out to get it. He knew the kind of players he wanted and how to get the best out of the players as such, one needs to commend him. But we also have to commend the players who were ready to do their best for the country and I think that was a key factor. Everything just worked hand-in-hand and that was why we were able to achieve so much then.

There is a huge difference between the 1994 team and the 2014 team that failed to qualify the country for the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea. I think Nigerian football is actually suffering now as result of the many crises; internal rift and crises amongst the administrators and what have you. Nigerian football is suffering from lack of continuity and this has greatly affected the players too. It is when things are stable that the players can also give their best and when there is lack of continuity in the coaching staff and administrators, there would always be problems.

But at present, we are in stage where no one really knows what is happening or what is going to happen. There is no doubt that we still have abundance of talents in the country but as it is today, it is the youths that are suffering because when there is no stability, there won't be good programmes to nurture and harness their talents.

Managing Shooting Stars Sports Club It was a great experience for me because that was the first major job I did here when I became an administrator after my retirement. There was nothing to regret about my time at Shooting Stars because I gave it my best and I was able to achieve so much during my time with the team. I learnt so much and I'm happy and proud about what I did there. I was actually given a mandate to ensure that the team get promotion and return to the Premier League. My plan was actually to give Shooting Stars a new lease of life but there were forces against it. Yet I was able to achieve my mandate because I met them in the second division and was able to bring them to the Premier Division and maintained the team for four-five years; that was an achievement since the team was relegated after I left. There shouldn't be any problem or difficulty managing Shooting Stars but there are some people in the system who thinks they know more than you do. So no matter the calibre of the person managing the club, there would always be some others who think they know much better. But if the leadership or management of the team is given free hands, the club can go places. When I was appointed, I requested for free hands in

Adepoju and wife managing the club and I actually got so much cooperation in that regard. I worked without even a board in place and I ran the club to the best of my ability. We achieved our targets and everybody was happy; the first year we returned to the Premier League the way I had planned it.

My four-year plan was to ensure that Shooting Stars can stand on its own and we were really making progress in that direction, but by and large, some others were not comfortable with what we were doing. For anybody to succeed at Shooting Stars, he has to be independent minded and the people in the system must be ready to embrace changes and new ways of doing things.

Running Kwara Football Academy Running an academy is actually running a football club but I don't think I'm missing anything being out of Shooting Stars. With a football club, you are always under pressure and with a specific target in mind. But with an academy, it is a long time goal of seeing the youths under your guidance and management becoming something big in the future. You are working with the youths and being able to share your own past experience with them in order to mould their own career is something that gives one tremendous joy. Your target is to make them better footballers for the overall development of Nigerian football; the most important factor here is patience and I'm really happy that my bosses at Kwara Football Academy are thinking along the same line with me. I'm enjoying what I'm doing and I'm not missing anything at all after leaving Shooting Stars for KFA. Being smart and fit My rule of life is that I do everything in moderation; I eat intelligently and I don't want to say others don't do that intelligently. I eat everything except pork and, of course, I don't drink alcohol. I try as much as possible to work out and that basically is all I do in order to keep fit and trim. Why don't I drink? My answer to that is straight forward: I'm not used to drinking. Of course, I'm a Muslim and I don't think there is the need for me to drink. Even when I was young, it was something I felt I should not do and that has stayed with me since; I don't see any reason for me to drink alcohol. Apart from football, my other passion is squash; I love playing it.

Dress code I like to appear simple. I love jeans with a passion and same goes for T-Shirt which l wear to make me look trim and sharp. I like to appear smart at all times and jeans and T-Shirt give me that look. I cannot stand spending a lot of time in front of the mirror, l like something l can put on quickly and yet still look good.

ARCELONA lived up to their motto of 'more than a club' as their star-studded squad attended the birthday party of team-mate Gerard Pique and his girlfriend Shakira's child.

Key personnel at the Catalan side such as Lionel Messi, Dani Alves and Andres Iniesta were at the King Don Juan Carlos Hotel bash, in Barcelona, to celebrate the second birthday of the couple's son, Milan on Thursday.

Summer signings Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez also came to the event bearing gifts - as the 'family unity' that the Nou Camp outfit maintains as a core value - was evident to see.

The party itself could be seen as a double celebration for Pique and his Barcelona teammates following their narrow Copa del Rey quarter-final first leg triumph over rivals Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

Messi scored the only goal of the game late in the second half tapping home after his initial penalty was saved by goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

Barcelona's recent strong run is helping the club put a series of off-field problems behind them and suggests they may be starting to move up the gears at exactly the right stage of the season.

The Nou Camp success was Barca's fifth victory in a row since they fell 1-0 at Real Sociedad in La Liga on January 4.

In this period, they have beaten Atletico Madriod twice, once in the Copa del Rey and in La Liga, something they failed to achieve in six meetings between the two sides in all competitions last term.

They also thrashed Elche 9-0 on aggregate in the Copa del Rey and a winning run is the ideal way to counter swirling media speculation about a rift between club talisman Messi and coach Luis Enrique.

One reason why Barca may be gaining a head of steam is that Enrique finally appears to have settled on what is known in Spain as a 'gala 11' after rotating his regulars in and out of the side.

Messi, Neymar and Suarez are fixtures in the forward line, with Iniesta, Rakitic and Busquets in midfield and full-backs Alves and Alba either side of Pique and Javier Mascherano in defence.

'It was a very positive result but I never take future results for granted,' Luis Enrique told reporters ahead of Wednesday's return in Madrid.

'Our opponent still has a lot to say and it should be an attractive game with two teams going for victory.'

While Milan is unlikely to remember his special day, the pair's recent act of kindness

won't be forgotten by millions of people who are worse off than them.

The pair, who are expecting their second child, want to use their own personal joy to help povertystricken people around the world.

The couple are expanding their original World Baby Shower initiative to aid Unicef after they came up with the concept after the birth of Milan in 2013.

Explaining the thinking behind the campaign, 37-year-old singer Shakira explained earlier this month: 'Now that we are soon welcoming our second child we want to help other children around the world and also contribute to a longlasting solution for getting children living in extreme poverty the supplies they need to survive.

'With the explosion of social media, celebrities aren't the only ones who have platforms that can reach mass audiences, and we want this movement to keep going long after our baby shower has ended, so we want to invite them to host their own baby showers with Unicef as well.'

Cr7 pulls crowd at Mendes' new book launch

R

EAL Madrid stars Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez were both in attendance as super agent Jorge Mendes launched his new book 'The Key to Mendes' in Madrid on Thursday night.

The pair appeared in a relaxed mood at the event as they enjoyed an evening off ahead of their La Liga match against Cordoba on Friday.

Ronaldo and James were both represented by Mendes when they made their big-money moves from Manchester United and Monaco.

Ronaldo, who was crowned Ballon d'Or winner for the third time earlier this month, move to the Bernabeu for £80million in 2009, and James joined the club in the summer for £60m after starring in the World Cup in Brazil.

Mendes played a key role in both the deals and has represented players in many of the highest-profile transfers in recent years, including Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao last summer.

It was revealed in the book earlier this week that Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, who is also represented

by Mendes, was offered both Falcao and Di Maria last summer.

'Jorge [Mendes] told me Di Maria and Falcao are his players and he has to find solutions for them,' he said.

'But if Chelsea doesn't have the financial capacity to pay eight, nine, 10 million euros a year, because of Fair Play, of course Mendes has to think about his players.'

'I can't have a player earning €10m when others earn three, four or five. That would have caused an explosion.'

‘I’ll break second term jinx in Oyo State’

Buhari's scratch card magic

Is INEC ready?

Sunday POLITICS –Pages 40-41

JANUARY 25, 2015

•Dickson

–Page 39

–Page 42

INTERVIEWS | FEATURES | NEWS |VIEWS

•Dudafa

•Jonathan

PAGE 35

BAYELSA: What’s going on in Jonathan’s backyard?

36

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

POLITICS

Mike Odiegwu in Yenagoa reports on the current political twists in Bayelsa State and reports that even in his home state, Mr President's political fate seems to hang in the balance ahead it's February presidential

F

ROM 1999 to 2011, Bayelsa State was strapped in the armpit of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Though other parties existed in mushroomfashion, the PDP dominated the political landscape and singlehandedly decided who got what and when.

In fact, the mushroom opposition parties were pawns in the hands of the ruling party. They only became relevant whenever aggrieved and irreconcilable PDP members used them as platforms to seek elections only to return to the ruling party after winning or losing the elections. Such fate befell the Labour Party (LP), Progressive Party Alliance (PPA) and the KOWA party.

All the political affairs in the state were arrogantly referred to as a family business of PDP. In fact, the party paraded itself as a close-nit family where harmonization was an acceptable modus •Jonathan operandi of reconciling political scores and differences. Elections were hardly held in the state as the government reserved the whims and caprices to decide winners of party nominations and elected officials. Indeed, it was then said that election results were written at the Bayelsa State Government House.

Why President Goodluck Jonathan got bloc votes in 2011 Apart from the sympathy invoked by his shoeless campaign mantra, President Goodluck Jonathan got the bloc votes of his state in 2011 because of the perceived unity in the state chapter of the PDP. The, then governor of the state, Chief Timipre Sylva, ensured that all the votes went to his kinsman. The Jonathan's candidacy was the project of the entire state as Sylva deployed the machinery of the government to deliver the state to his brother.

Little wonder the state was made too hot for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and his defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) when they came to campaign in the state. Violence broke out at the campaign ground after some hired youths reportedly hurled stones at Buhari.

Expectedly after the election, Jonathan cleared the votes of his state.

Reversal of Jonathan's fortunes Pundits believe that Jonathan is the architect of his alleged collapsed image and dying goodwill in the state. They quickly recalled

•Jonathan

BAYELSA: What’s going on in Jonathan’s backyard?

his internecine war against Sylva and how he booted the former governor out of office. The President's revenge mission against Sylva tore the state apart and commenced the era of permanent division in the PDP. Eventually, Sylva pulled his political structure out of PDP to the main opposition All Progressive Congress (APC).

Apart from Jonathan's vendetta, there are also general misgivings among the people of the state against the President. Many people are disconnected from his government which is generally viewed as divisive and ethnicdriven. Observers believe that his administration is only beneficial to his kinsmen from his local government area in Ogbia.

They argued that other areas have nothing to show that the President is from the state. They feel abandoned, neglected and deliberately excluded from presi-

dential windfall. Even the people of Ogbia are complaining against the President style of leadership.

They conclude that most of the benefits are skewed to favour people from his community in Otuoke.

For instance, all the graduates in Otuoke are said to have been offered jobs by federal ministries, parastatals and departments based on directives from the Presidency while unemployment is ravaging other graduates from other parts of the state.

Apart from that, Ogbia has remained highly underdeveloped with narrow old location roads of oil companies and colonial bridges dotting the entire area.

The people are also angered that for about six years that Jonathan has occupied the Presidency, there are no tangible projects in t h e l o c a l c o u n c i l .

In fact, other core Ijaw local government areas are angry that they

have nothing to show for Jonathan's Presidency in terms of physical infrastructure and manpower development.

For instance, the people of Koluama in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area are livid with anger against the President over his handling of the Chevron's gas rig explosion that polluted their waterways and denied them their main source of livelihood, fishing.

They recalled the alleged ignominy in which President treated them over the matter and how he has turned deaf ears to their outcries for adequate compensation.

They have also accused the President of deception, saying that Jonathan through his Special Adviser on Niger Delta Matters, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, once visited them and promised a special training and empowerment programme for women and youths; a promise that has never

materialised.

Indeed, apart from the Federal University, which critics said, was selfishly tucked into Otuoke community, his critics said that the state has little to show for Jonathan's presidency Patience Jonathan's ambition It has become an open secret that Dame Patience, the wife of the President, has an ambition to oust Dickson and replace him with her loyalist, Dr. Weripamowei Dudafagh, who is the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Domestic Matters. Since the anti-Dickson's plot leaked to the public, the First Lady has been making moves that allegedly confirm it.

First, came a report that she was instrumental to the posting of the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Valentine Ntomchukwu, to the state with a Joseph-Mbu-like agenda. Another was her resigna-

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

tary from the state civil service; an appointment she so much desired and accepted despite public opprobrium. She was said to have tendered her resignation letter to enable her stand on a moral rostrum to fight the governor.

Recently, Mrs. Jonathan's relationship with the Transformation Agenda of Nigeria (TAN) has been in focus. It was reported that the state chapter of TAN, the main campaign group of Jonathan, has been hired by the First Lady to kick-start the Dicksonmust-go project.

It was observed that TAN immediately went through radical leadership overhaul. All the loyalists of Dickson in TAN were weeded off to allow the associates of Dame Patience have full control of the group.

The group, which was hitherto under the control of the Chairman, Bayelsa State Local Government Commission, Chief Talford Ongolo, was handed over to a former Deputy Governor and Patience's ally, Chief Werinipre Seibarugu. Key members of TAN in the state are past political office holders, especially persons who served under the former governor, Chief Timipre Sylva.

Without mincing words, since the ambition of the First Lady became public knowledge, there has been sharp division in the state chapter of the PDP. The party is now polarized into two camps - pro Dickson's camp and First Lady's bloc. Members of the two factions view one another as mutual enemies.

The two camps are separate and distinct as they try not to be found together in social and political gatherings. Persons found associating with loyalists of Patience are viewed as haters of Dickson and vice versa. Pundits believe that the discordant tunes in the party, allegedly orchestrated by Patience, may cost Jonathan the bloc votes of the state.

Analysts put the blames squarely on the doorsteps of the President and his wife. While they argue that Dickson is busy preaching peace and working for the reelection of Mr. President, the First Lady is preoccupied with an ambition to remove Dickson, a distracting aspiration that is clearly stalling the Jonathan's project. Moreover, pundits are confounded that the President has not called his wife to order.

Youths at war over Patience Already, the internal crisis is threatening the Presidential campaign of the PDP scheduled to hold in the state in February 5th.

Youths under the aegis of the Bayelsa Youth Vanguard (BYV) issued a statement recently barring the First Lady from accompanying her husband to the state on the proposed campaign date.

They further threatened to disrupt the rally if Mrs. Patience ignored the warning.

The youths accused her of causing crisis in the state, warning her to desist from her divisive conduct or face the consequences. They accused Mrs. Jonathan of planning to destabilise the state and fuel needless crisis and political tension in the state the same way she did in Rivers State.

The youngsters in a statement signed by their spokesperson said Patience would only be allowed to come to the state “if

POLITICS 37 she retraced her steps", adding, "or otherwise, we will mobilise against the President's rally.”

“We are constrained to issue this statement to bar the President's wife from accompanying President Goodluck Jonathan to Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, for the presidential rally on February 5.

But Dickson immediately rose to condemn the threat. He said the state would remain home to President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife, and every citizen of the country.

He said the government and the good people of the state will at all times, accord Jonathan, his wife, and other members of the first family their due honour, respect and reception in the state, "as we have always done".

In fact, the threat has continued to generate reactions in the state. Commenting on the devel-

opment, TAN in a statement signed by Egba, called on security agencies to probe the group's outburst.

Egba said: "We have noticed that since alleged cold war between the State Government and the First Lady became a topic for public discourse, more individuals and groups in the state have become emboldened to make statements that are clearly disrespectful to the office and person of the First Lady.

"Inspite of the foregoing, TAN would like to appeal to the First Lady to accept this indiscretion as part of the price for leadership and forgive all those who may be found culpable, as the Mother of Nigerians.”

Furthermore, No fewer than seven youth groups have rallied round Dame Patience and warned troublemakers to steer clear of the PDP Presidential

rally. The youths vowed to use "all means possible" to deal with anti-Patience elements.

The warning was issued in Yenagoa at a joint press briefing by the George Turner-led Jonathan Youth Vanguard (JOY 2015), Coalition of Bayelsa Youth Groups and Coalition of Bayelsa State Students.

JOY 2015 and the coalition of other youths said they had concluded plans to mobilise 10,000 youths to attend the rally and provide maximum security for the Dame Patience.

Speaking on behalf of the coalition, the state Coordinator, JOY 2015, Mr. Daniel Etai, said it would be suicidal for anybody to think of preventing the First Lady from coming to the state.

He said the "authentic youths" and students' leaders from the state were eagerly waiting to welcome the First Lady to

the state.

Another group rises against Patience Hardly had some youth groups assured the First Lady of her safety than creek warriors under the aegis of the the Mangrove Boys of Bayelsa (MBB) repeated the threat of the Bayelsa Youth Vanguard. The creek warriors insisted that the presence of Patience at the proposed rally would cause tension and security breaches in the state.

The group, in a statement signed by its President, Mr. Opuyo Engobara, and Secretary, Mr. Warrman Aderi, said the First Lady's actions and pronouncement in recent times were fueling crisis in the state.

The youths enumerated eight sins of Dame Patience and accused her of opening a new sec-

•Continued on Page 38

Dickson: A governor and his many troubles

T

HIS is certainly not the best of times for Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State. Observers of the politics of President Goodluck Jonathan's homestate fear that the former House of Representatives member may be denied a second term ticket by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) next year unless his relationship with some prominent chieftains of the party, especially Patience Jonathan, Nigeria's First Lady, improves.

The Nation learnt that there are fresh moves by loyalists of the first family to thwart the reelection bid of the governor following allegations that he may have resolved to rid his administration of loyalists of the First Lady. According to reliable sources, the move against Dickson may come in two folds.

"One, immediately after the February elections, efforts would be made to get him impeached before the expiration of his term. Secondly, should that fail, everything would be done to prevent him from getting a second term ticket," a source said.

Trouble, The Nation gathered, started again for Dickson after he sacked two of his aides, believed to be loyalists of Dame Patience Jonathan, and also pronounced a ban on the activities of TAN in Bayelsa State ahead of the 2015 general election.

As if to further estrange himself from the Jonathans, Dickson had last week sacked two of his aides, Mrs. Marie Ebikake and Chief Remi Kuku, the state commissioner for local government and special adviser on Federal Government Projects respectively, in controversial circumstances.

While the government said the sack of the duo has nothing to do with politics or disagreement between the governor and anybody, his critics insist the move was vindictive and politically motivated.

The two, The Nation learnt, were members of the Governor Dickson administration that participated in the reception to welcome Dame Patience Jonathan to Otuoke community ahead of the wedding cere-

Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, takes a look at Governor Seriake Dickson's challenges over President Goodluck Jonathan's re-election bid in February and his own re-election bid as governor next year

•Dickson mony of the president's foster daughter, Miss. Inebai Paul and Dr. Simeon Onyemaechi at Otuoke, Ogbia Local Government Area of the state.

"They participated in the reception in spite of a blanket order asking all political appointees to shun the Nigeria First Lady due to a similar rebuff earlier extended to the governor and his wife, Dr. Rachel Dickson by the First Lady. This is the reason for their dismissal from the government. With this action, the governor has shown that he is no longer loyal to the PDP," a

source said.

Since news broke that the governor may have fallen out of favor with the First Lady some months back, it has become a case of one week, one trouble for Dickson. And with these problems came a plethora of challenges, posing serious threats to his quest for a second term in 2016.

He has been accused of romancing the opposition party by fellow PDP chieftains. He has also been accused of not showing enough commitment to the reelection bid of President

Goodluck Jonathan. The governor has also been chided for being disrespectful to the President's wife amongst his many sins for which it appears there are no forgiveness.

Defending his decision to sack the two aides, Dickson accused the women and many other chieftains of the PDP in the state, including former state deputy governor, Hon. Werinipreye Seibarugu, of planning to discredit the state government and Bayelsa State chapter of the PDP's effort to ensure the reelection of Jonathan.

The governor accused Seibarugu and members of the pro-Jonathan group, the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) of fanning the embers of division in the state while pretending to be more committed to Jonathan's re-election campaign than Dickson and his loyalists.

According to Dickson, the immediate past deputy governor of the state, Seibarugu, Ebikake and Kuku and their supporters, while operating under the aegis of the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria, TAN, rallied senior members of the previous administration in the state to engage and promote the politics of subversion and needless divisions amongst the women and other groups, who were mobilised to attend and honour the President on the occasion of the traditional marriage of his niece.

Governor Seriake Dickson accused politicians of creating divisions among the women, mostly to serve their own selfish interest and personal aggrandizement other than that of TAN. “Mrs. Kuku did not only create division among the women, but displayed total disrespect for senior officials of the Bayelsa State Government by her actions and this can no longer be condoned in a disciplined set up like the Restoration Government”.

“It is important to state for the records, especially at this period of heightened political activities that, while politicians and groups are free to set up campaign structures to promote their personal, political aspirations and canvas for votes from the

•Continued on Page 38

38

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

POLITICS

What’s going on in Jonathan’s backyard?

•Continued from Page 37 leadership of TAN and aided her loyalists to hijack the campaign group.

The youths further lamented that Dame Patience used the occasion of sharing Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) items at the Samson Siasia Stadium to make inflammatory statements against the governor.

APC's incursion Strategists believe that the state chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) may eventually become the main beneficiary of the internal crisis rocking the PDP. However, signs that things are no longer as they were in 2011, became more visible recently during the Presidential campaign of the APC. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, who was booed and stoned in 2011 when he came to campaign in the state as the Presidential candidate of the defunct CPC, received a heroic welcome at the Samson Siasia Stadium recently.

Youths chanting "sai Buhari", trooped to the stadium to catch a glimpse of the APC presidential candidate. The campaign also received a boost following the •Dickson presence of Sylva and the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi. It was, indeed, south and north of this country and I bring Sylva's first homecoming since the PDP you goodnews. One assurance is that denied him reelection. The crowd paid Gen. Buhari has won already". rapt attention as Buhari articulated his The former governor whose speech plans for the state and the Niger Delta was interrupted by applauses from the region. crowd, asked the people to join the winIn fact, before the cheering crowd, ning train.

Sylva disowned Jonathan as his brother.

"Go and tell your sisters at home. Go to He said: "Bayelsa, you are known to lead the creeks of the state. In less than six the way against oppression, against inep- weeks we will have the opportunity of titude. Today, we must take that leader- exercising our fundamental human rights ship. Let us as Bayelsa people lead the rest of voting. That opportunity we must use of Nigeria to vote out the PDP. wisely.

“Today, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is “This time, you will use your hands to here in person and I want to assure you vote APC and Gen. Buhari into office and that I have gone to the east of this country, welcome prosperity into your home. You I have gone to the west. I have gone to the will welcome good governance into Nige-

•Sylva ria once again", he said.

Also addressing the crowd, Amaechi said the next election will be based on merit and challenged President Jonathan to show his scorecard in the region and the state. He said the Niger Delta, after years of clamouring for resource control, got an opportunity to control the entire country through the election of President Jonathan.

He, however, regretted that Jonathan who was also a product of the struggle has only succeeded in rewarding the region with poverty, hunger and lack of development.

He said: "They said President Jonathan refused to develop Rivers State because he

is quarreling with me. Why has he refused to develop Bayelsa or is he also quarreling with Governor Dickson? What has Bayelsa people benefitted from this government? Nothing.”

Sylva further lampooned Jonathan and gave reasons why he publicly denounced the President as his brother. He said the President failed to develop the Niger Delta region.

Besides, Sylva said Jonathan denied him all the love, care and protection expected from a brother. Insisting that the President betrayed the aspirations of the people of the region, he said that Jonathan by so doing rejected the brotherhood of his people.

Sylva said he was convinced that the candidature of Buhari would change the polity and the nation for good. He said the bond he shared with President Jonathan ended when he removed him from office and hatched series of plots to put him in jail without success.

The former governor, who is flying the flag of APC for the Bayelsa West Senatorial District, said he feels more comfortable working with his new political friends than Jonathan. He said Jonathan plotted his political downfall and serially failed to attract the expected development to the region.

He said: ”Please, go and ask my so-called brother. If he is really my brother. I don't think he is my brother. Who is your brother?

Your brother is who looks after you. He who looks after your back. This is a so-called brother who pushed you to the fox. As far as am concerned, my brother is the one I met on the street and took me into his home.

"And am sure you will agree with me that a brother who pushed me into the street for the fox to eat me up is not my brother. As far as am concerned, I don't see him as a brother anymore. Please, I don't think Bayelsa should make the mistake. His problem is that he only thinks about himself.

Dickson: A governor and his many troubles •Continued from Page 37 These should not in any way amount to destabilisation of the state. Security agencies in the state must be alive to their constitutional roles and duties to protect the security and stability of the state”.

Apart from his alleged face off with the First Lady, the governor is also in a running battle with chieftains of the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), a group supporting the reelection aspiration of the President. Supporters of the governor argue that the TAN leaders are being used by the First Lady to unsettle the governor and the state chapter of the PDP. Dickson had slammed the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria, TAN, saying the group has no business in the state which is a PDP stronghold and as such should move to states where the opposition holds sway to mobilise support for the PDP. The governor had accused TAN of promoting subversive activities and inciting crisis within the PDP in the state.

The governor, while mobilising Bayelsans from all the local government areas in the state to rally support for President Jonathan's re-election bid, called on groups such as TAN and others in Bayelsa State, putting up campaign structures for the President, other than the PDP, to take their activities to states where the opposition is presently enjoying greater control.

A statement signed by Daniel

Iwariso-Markson, Chief Press Secretary to the governor, claimed that the groups were only brewing crisis in Bayelsa.

“Those claiming to be campaigning for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan but are instead engaged in promoting subversive activities and inciting crisis and division within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state will have to move their activities elsewhere,” it said.

The governor, who enjoined all groups and individuals to queue behind him as the leader of the party in the state, alleged that TAN and some members of its top hierarchy have become tools of subversion, creating needless rancour, acrimony and division. He said the state government will no longer tolerate their actions.

Dickson added that “The activities of TAN and the other groups, if not checked, could be counter-productive, especially with the presidential and other elections, only a few weeks away, adding that he has the mandate of Bayelsans to protect the stability, peace and security of the state.”

But TAN, in a statement in Yenagoa, insisted that the governor has no constitutional right to ask any group to leave the state. The group, which only came short of accusing the governor of antiparty activities, said it will not be dictated for by anybody on how to carry out its activities in support of the Jonathan 2015 aspiration.

A statement issued in Yenagoa on Saturday and signed by Nathan Egba, TAN's director of publicity, the political

group said the governor's directive was regrettable. He insisted that Dickson lacked the constitutional powers to enforce the ban on TAN's activities in Bayelsa.”

TAN urged its members and supporters to remain resolute and focused in order to ensure President Jonathan's success in the presidential election scheduled for mid-February.

Responding to accusation of plot to unseat the governor, Egba said TAN is a socio-political organisation set up to inform and mobilise the people of Nigeria towards the re-election of the president, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in 2015 and therefore not out to unseat the state governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson.

According to him, “TAN has nothing whatsoever to do with any plot to unseat the Bayelsa governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson. The group was established to publicise the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan. There is no member of the Bayelsa TAN that is working against the administration of Governor Dickson in the state.”

Expressing concern over the situation in the state, a socio-political group, Bayelsa Youth for Peace Initiatives and Good Governance, recently warned political office seekers and their cronies within and outside the state against heating up the polity. The organisatio which specifically expressed dismay over the alleged 'frosty relationship' between Governor Seriake Dickson and the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan over 2015-16

elections, said it will start mobilizing youths against disgruntled politicians fanning the embers of discord.

A statement issued on Thursday in Abuja by the President of BYP, Charles Ebi, stated that there is a cordial relationship between President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife and Governor Dickson.

He said, “Governor Dickson is a notable member of the Green Movement; President Goodluck Jonathan campaign organization, then as governor. Also, as the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Justice, Hon. Dickson was one of the leading campaigners for the enthronement of President Jonathan as Acting President and his subsequent election as President.

'At different fora, the governor had made it known to the people, his love and support for President Jonathan and his family. Recently, Hon. Dickson as a leader of the ruling Peoples' Democratic Party, (PDP) in the state led other members of the party in the state in endorsing the President for the second term.

'As a true democrat, he has warned the people against politics of name dropping, blackmail and propaganda, arguing that it is against democratic norms. Leadership is about service delivery not name dropping, as we are currently experiencing in the state.”

In spite of efforts by both parties to shroud the crisis in secrecy perhaps to douse the effect on the forthcoming general elections, pundits say Dickson may be in for a tough time when he eventually rolls out his re-election bid next year.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

B

ARELY three weeks to the February elections there is growing concern over the preparedness of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct credible general election.

Nigerians became worried when it became apparent that few weeks to the election, majority of registered voters across the country were unable to collect their Permanent Voters Card (PVC); a document INEC insists must be used in the coming elections. Their apprehension deepened when some Nigerians, including the former Vice Presidential candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Pastor Tunde Bakare, and the Governor of Adamawa State, Bala James Ngilari, first called for postponement of the February polls. As would be expected, such suggestions were widely condemned. But beyond criticism, informed observers and stakeholders became even more concerned that the President Goodluck Jonatha's government and INEC may be contemplating postponement of the polls.

The fear peaked this week, when the National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), citing poor distribution of the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) and other issues, called for the postponement of the polls in a speech he made in London.

Both the main opposition political party, All Progressives Congress (APC) and prominent Nigerians did not waste time in rejecting this call, a development that led Dasuki to deny seeking postponement of the polls. To further soothe the frayed nerves of Nigerians over the matter, INEC, during the week, came out to say it would not shift the February polls. The commission's chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, also reassured Nigerians that there would be no malpractices during the polls.

Following this development, concerned observers are beaming searchlight on INEC, with the view to ascertaining its state of preparedness.

Many problems of PVC distribution There is confusion about the distribution of the Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) ahead of the next general elections scheduled to start next month. In many states of the federation, reports have it that hundreds of thousands of potential voters are yet to be issued with the cards without which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says no one will be eligible to vote.

Barely three weeks to the commencement of the elections, the situation is still very bad and it appears

•Jega

POLITICS 39

Is INEC ready for this year's polls?

Following widespread cries over poor distribution of Permanent Voters Card (PVC) and recent calls for postponement of February elections, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu , Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan; Fanen Ihyongo, Jalingo, Okodili Ndidi, Owerri and Rosemary Nwisi in Port Harcourt report on the state of preparedness of INEC the electoral commission has reached its wits end in handling the matter. In spite of its ongoing distribution exercise across the country, Nigerians say it remains difficult to get the PVC due to problems ranging from absence of INEC officials at the polling units, outright in-availability of the cards, mix-up in the names and numbers on the cards, omission of names and many other reasons.

Worried by what he feared may be applied by the commission to shortchange Nigerians ahead of the polls, National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu queried the readiness of INEC to conduct a free and fair election going by the shoddy manner it conducted the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) to eligible voters.

“INEC had four good years to prepare for the coming 2015 elections and there are laws, particularly constitutional and electoral act requiring certain actions to be taken. They gave us Temporary Voter Cards (TVC) to vote in 2011 and now decided that there will be Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) consistent with biometric verification devices to improve on

2011 and make 2015 verifiable and show an improvement over the past record consistent to the standards across the world.

“In some instances, we don't find INEC officials in some of the accredited booths, we don't find them arriving on time, the cards were not sorted, were inadequate, where are they? To me, this exercise has failed. It is not acceptable. We will consider it as a rigging exercise. INEC has colluded with the Presidency to rig this election from the data”, he said.

A shoddy job Many Nigerians have expressed disgust over the shoddy manner the distribution is being carried out, saying they have done everything possible, but have not been able to get their cards. Recently, the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa'ad Abubakar III, expressed fears he may not vote in next month's general elections as he was yet to collect his PVC. The monarch wondered what would happen to millions of helpless Nigerians who may not be able to get the cards before the February date of election.

Disturbed by the turn of events, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State recently called on the commission to do everything possible to ensure that millions of Lagosians are not disenfranchised. The governor, while underscoring the problems faced by residents of the state in getting the PVC, announced that he is yet to get his own after several trials.

The governor also said many eligible voters in the country were yet to get their PVCs while urging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure prompt distribution.

“I have tried many times but I have not been able to get my PVC. Even the Sultan of Sokoto is yet to collect his PVC. I have b e e n fighting t h e m because of the shoddy way the voters' registration went on in Lagos.

I know that many people have not been able to get theirs, but I urge people not to relent,” he said.

“Everyone should go to the wards where they registered to get their PVCs. Even if you don't get it on the first day, do not relent till you get it,” Fashola added.

Also, an international joint election observer mission in Nigeria under the auspices of the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to urgently complete the distribution of Permanent Voters Card (PVC) in their possession to ensure that majority of properly registered voters are not disenfranchised in the February elections.

They are also asking the INEC to accelerate decisive efforts to increase voting by Internally Displaced Persons across northern Nigeria. The observer mission said the February 2015 presidential race was likely to be Nigeria's most competitive since transition from military rule and that major lapses were needed to be addressed to ensure credibility of the process.

The observer mission also urged community leaders, religious, civil and trade groups to launch a collective national movement to sensitize Nigerians across communities to go all out, in spite of the difficulties, to get their PVC following INEC's insistence that voters without the card would not be allowed to vote.

Relocated/displaced voters Aside from those struggling to get the voters' card, Nigerians who have relocated from the location they got registered to new ones may not be able to vote in their new residence, even if they have the PVC. This is because it has become very difficult to get INEC to address the issue of transferring names from one place to another to accommodate relocated and displaced Nigerians in the February election.

Reports say an estimated 1.5 million Nigerians displaced by the insurgency in the North-East may not be able to vote in the forthcoming elections. It is not clear indeed whether elections will take place at all the states under emergency rule; in spite of assurances by the INEC that it is committed to organising elections in all parts of the country.

This is not inclusive of about one million others who had reasons to leave one location in the country for another within the last four years and were unable to get registered by INEC in their new location.

The President of the Nigeria Voters' Assembly, Mr. Mashood Erubami, said INEC is not ready to entertain the idea of transferring from one place of registration to another and as such has been ignoring persons requesting for such transfer. He said this is because the measures put in place for such transfer is not as easy and simplistic as INEC officials are making people to believe.

Trouble spots A coalition of accredited observer groups for the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) distribution and the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in Rivers State has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to extend the exercise in the state.

The group said the visible irregularities and the manner the exercise was abruptly staggered in the state are enough reasons for extension of the exercise. It revealed that there were various cases of missing names, cards and other human errors across the state and urged INEC to do a more thorough job to correct these errors.

"Rivers State is already politically tensed, therefore, any attempt by INEC, persons or group to compromise the exercise aimed at disenfranchising a section of the state from voting during the coming elections will rather worsen the already tensed political and security situation in the state and is capable of plunging the state into very serious security, political and ethnic crisis.

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POLITICS

Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, took time off from a packed campaign programme to speak with senior editors from The Nation. He addresses a tense contest involving two of his predecessors, his case for second term, allegations that his wife had an overbearing influence on government affairs and sundry issues. He spoke with Festus Eriye, Dele Adeosun, Lawal Ogienagbon and Bolaji Sanusi.

W

HY should Oyo State voters reelect you for another four years? I think first and foremost, when I came, I promised that I will do everything possible to improve the living standard of our people and to improve on the services that governance provides for people. Government is strictly to provide services to the people. The establishment of government was based on the provision of healthcare, provision of good road, provision of infrastructure. I promised that those services would be provided to the people.

Having now been elected; when you look at the record of our performance; when you look at the key performance indicators that you use to measure good governance, I believe that using our own period of 2011 to 2015, we have done a lot better than either of the two previous administration of 2003 2007; 2007 to 2011. And we have used those key performance indicators to measure and compare ourselves with them. We intend to come back to complete those good works that we have started. Not only that, we intend to bring in new projects that will help in improving the lives or our people.

What you have said is fine, but to get there, you need to deal with the politics.

There is this myth that in Oyo State governors don't get to do a second term. How do you hope to break this jinx?

First of all, there is no jinx. But even if there is, there is always a first time. This will be the first that it will be broken, and I will be the first person to break it. It's also the first time a governor will be doing so much comparatively speaking. I'm the first governor of a civilian administration to construct a flyover. It had never been done prior to our administration. I'm the first governor that provided free bus transport to th workers; I'm the first governor to pay 13 month salary for three years consecutively.

No government has ever done it. I'm the first governor to remove people from the streets and provide them with alternative accommodation, free of charge. I'm the first governor to bring in eight big new companies to Oyo State. I'm the fist governor to dualise all the major entries to all the major cities in the state; therefore I will be the first governor to do two terms.

The initial reaction to an 'intellectual' governor like yourself is… a l'akowe… 'we don't want all these 'book' people.' How have you been able to make the switch from your background in the corporate world to dealing with people demanding for 'stomach infrastructure'?

Politics is about providing services; management is providing services. In any system, you have objectives and you have strategies and you must ensure that you structure your strategies to meet your objectives. I'm an MAA person. By training, I'm a Modular person and I'm an Adaptive person and I'm an Assertive person. If you find yourself in any situation, you study it and adapt yourself to it. Politics is a science of human relations. It's a science of delivering services, and I've been in that all my life.

So politically, when I came into elective contest, I just decided 'what do people want, what do I have to offer them, what are they asking for?' And looking at them, I strive to meet their demands and expectations. Adaptability is very essential. I've been able to adapt in any situation I find myself and politics is no exception. Besides I was born into politics; my father was a politician, my grandfather was a politician; my uncle was the first Minister of Works and Transport in the old Western Region. My father was a

member of the House of Assembly. I have been a senator and now I'm a governor. So for me, adapting to it was easy because I grew up in it. Now when you look at the issue of stomach infrastructure, I believe it must be viewed holistically. Stomach infrastructure is about developmental infrastructure. It's not about just giving rice to people; it's about teaching people to fish.

And when you look at it, I've always structured it to mean human capital development. It's empowerment to be able to provide an enabling environment for people to be able to earn a living. And it starts with education. I've said it severally, education leads to skill acquisition. When you acquire skills, you have knowledge, when you have knowledge, you have capability, when you have capability, you have ability, when you have ability, you're empowered. So as far as we are concerned, stomach infrastructure is simply empowerment. And human beings must be in a position where they can earn a living, where they can survive; where we can minimize the cost of living for them. I'll give you an example: today in Oyo State, I have provided free buses to students and workers. Take a family of five: Husband, one wife, three children. Even on the Mass transit buses that we have provided, they are paying less than 50 per cent when they ride on our buses, compared to if they rode on commercial vehicle. So take it that for a family of five, we are saving an average of N100 a day per person. If you take N100 times five, you have five hundred naira. In one week, that amounts to N2,500; in one month, it is N10,000; in one year, it is N120,000. I am already giving out N120,000 to each family that uses the bus transport system to go on their daily business and activities. For me, that is stomach infrastructure because that money you could have expended on transportation, you now have in your pocket and are able to use it for other things.

Two, we've provided free shops for traders. Not only that, we're giving them money to trade. That is stomach infrastructure. There is no government that goes out on the street to distribute money to the people. But you must provide an environment for them to buy things cheaper, to earn a living and to contribute to society.

Three, there is no government that has provided welfare packages in terms of equipment, in terms of engines, fridges, freezers, for petty traders, for widows. We do empowerment for them every month, where we buy grinding machine, and all.

We have given money as business capital; such as 'Okay, you're selling drinks. Here is a freezer; here is N25,000' And we have done that for thousands.

In fact the exact figure, if I'm not mistaken would be running to more than 86,000 that w e h a v e empowered in what I call E m p o w e rment Scheme.

Interestingly, we were breaking fast with an average of 2,500 people every day. They would eat a n d w e would give

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

‘I’ll break second term jinx in Oyo State’ them t r a n sport money every day for thirty days. No government has ever done that.

Ibadan people are known to always vote for their own people in an election.

You are an Ibadan man, and we also have other Ibadan men like Chief Rasheed Ladoja and Senator Teslim Folarin contesting. Don't you see them as a threat, considering that their participation will lead to the splitting of votes amongst you?

It's not the first time Ibadan indigenes will be many in an election; the last time we had four Ibadan indigenes. I was one of them, Senator Ladoja was also there and we had other people, and I still won. Senator Ladoja came third; Akala came second. But I'll also get votes from other zones. I will get from Oke-Ogun, I will get from Ogbomosho, I will get from Oyo. So it's democracy and I have no fear over their participation.

There has been talk of a possible alliance between the APC and Labour Party. Is it really a possibility?

Anything is possible in politics. I don't rule our alliances with anybody. Tomorrow, we can have an alliance with Akala's SDP, even PDP! You never know. We've had some PDP governors coming to join us. If governors can join us, then the aspirants can also join us.

How are you coping at a time when states are having problems with vastly reduced federal revenue allocation?

I

put it on record that Oyo State is the only state that has never taken bond - even though we have applied. They may give us tomorrow or next week, but as I'm talking to you, we have never taken any bond.

I read in the papers that Oyo State is owing N68 billion.

It's a lie. I don't know why old people tell lies. If you talk of the normal banking transactions, yes, but to say that we have gone to a bank to take any loan, no.

When we came in, the salaries and wages bill was about N2.9 billion. At that time, the Federal Government was giving us about N4.5 billion monthly. Today, the Federal Government is giving

First of all, there is no jinx. But even if there is, there is always a first time. This will be the first that it will be broken, and I will be the first person to break it. It's also the first time a governor will be doing so much comparatively speaking. I'm the first governor of a civilian administration to construct a flyover.”

us about N2.8 or N2.9 billion. Our salaries and wages bill has increased to about N5 billion. So, ab initio, we have a shortfall of about N1.5 billion. What are we doing? Financial engineering.

You talk to your suppliers, you reschedule your payment arrangement, you look for PPP (Public Private Partnership); you also look for suppliers and contractors, who are financially buoyant and can finance some of these projects. And lastly, you look for grants.

You talk to the international community and those who are ready to partner; we call them development partners.

The combination of these has ensured that we are one of the few states not owing salaries. The only thing we have not paid as I'm talking to you is the bonus or th 13 month. We're talking to our people and letting them know that you don't talk of bonus when you don't have money.

What exactly is going on o v e r t h e c o ntrove rsy bet

POLITICS 41 ween you and Senator Ladoja regarding refund of monies to EFCC? The true state is that, when you are the boss in a place, if they say the place has done well, you take responsibility. If they say it has not done well, you also take responsibility. And I'm stating it categorically that the government headed by Ladoja himself and some of his people - be it his workers, himself and suppliers or contractors refunded N546 million. And I'm saying this with all sense of honesty. It's not politics. You can check with the EFCC if they indeed refunded money or not. And we wrote to the EFCC when we wanted to collect the money and they replied us. We have copies of the letters and we can publish them. I don't know why somebody will turn around and be lying that 'I did not refund money myself.' You don't have to refund it yourself. For all I care, you can refund it by proxy.

Has the EFCC given the money back to your government?

Yes they have given us the money and we opened an account with the money and we called it Ladoja's Repatriated Fund Account in Fidelity Bank. You can go and confirm. We used that money to start the model schools. We wanted to make sure that money is used for schools.

I was reading an interview that Chief Ladoja granted and he was talking about the model schools and wondering why you have to wait till the dying minutes of your tenure before you start building model schools? He also questioned your judgment in the way you managed the resources of the state. For example, he said despite the fact that Premier Hotel wasn't being fully maximized, you went and spent N1 billion naira to construct a fence around a new hotel project somewhere near Premier Hotel. How do you respond to that?

You see when politicians talk, I wonder whether they are just being mischievous or if they are misinformed. Let's start with the model schools. You said we are doing it at the twilight of my tenure. Even if I do it on May 28, what does it matter? The fact is that I am doing it. Or is there a particular time that I must do it? It's better than not doing it at all. There are things I will still have to do before May 29. Besides, I'm going to be there till 2019; so what is his business about when I do it? Why didn't he do it? During his own time, he did Millenium Goal Schools.

He did only one or two; we are doing six.

So what does it matter police with 122 vehicles. when we're doing it?

Akala bought six. Ladoja We are to work for did not buy any at all. I this first term till May People will always use think in all, we've bought 28. Is he saying we the name of somebody over 200 vehicles for the should fold our hands security agencies; we also in authority to get because time is going? bought ammunition, bulWe still have five favour. But I can tell let proof vests, baton, months! And like peoetc. We've supyou with my hand on handcuffs ple say, it is better late ported the security agents my heart that there than never. and discouraged the You also spoke of have been no contracts National Union of Road Transport Workers the hotel. And that is why I say, it is either that my wife came and (NURTW) and all the likes he is misinformed or said 'give these people to ensure that we don't violence. What I'm been mischievous. He contracts.' Of course have saying in essence is that has been a governor before. Premier Hotel once in a while, she can people saw our determiis owned by five say 'oh somebody came n a t i o n a n d n o n participation in violence states. It's not Oyo and keyed into it. Provito me, can we help State that owns it.

And the research we him?' And these people sion of peace and security to the people is the numhave done shows that complaining, would ber one function of the govOyo state needs at least 350 hotels. How you believe that I have ernment.

What about the story many do we have? given their wives that any contract that is We've done our own approved must have the research and found contracts? consent of the First Lady? out that we are 'under-hoteled'. So we (Cuts in) Then my wife need more hotels. In has become the State Exco fact, in the next two to (laughter again). Good three years, we need at least 20 to 30 new enough, some of our EXCO members are hotels - the same thing with housing. He's here present; you may take time out to ask asking me why I am building new houses; them. In fact there was a particular occasion must we just sit back on only Premier that when about twenty-two contracts had been we don't own; and that is run down? The awarded. I now asked the commissioner in fact remains that this is PPP. It's not the charge who referred each of these people. state government that is building it. The And they started reeling names of different state is only providing an enabling environstakeholders, party stalwarts etc. At that ment, in which the government would own point, my Deputy Governor responded 10 or 20 percent. That is the modern way of that 'these people are all wicked people o.' And I doing things. Even the one hotel, Lafia that asked why? And he said 'when I came to you the state owns has gone moribund. The to introduce someone who can do these jobs, you said oga brought all the names, and yet you have state owns one at Jericho, Ibadan called counted 18 names now and none of them has Trans Hotel. Where is it now? So Oyo State come from oga.' What I'm saying in essence is needs as many hotels as we can have, and that people will always use the name of our plan is to bring in as many investors to somebody in authority to get favour. But I come and help us build them. We are not can tell you with my hand on my heart that wasting resources. It's PPP and we're going there have been no contracts that my wife to continue with that arrangement. came and said 'give these people contracts.' Of Right from the First Republic politics in course once in a while, she can say 'oh somewhat is now Oyo State has been volatile body came to me, can we help him?' And these and full of mischief. How have you been people complaining, would you believe able to maintain the peace in this kind of that I have given their wives contracts? environment? Secondly, how do you th respond to insinuations that it is your wife Aside the 13 month, what have you - the First Lady who actually controls done in the area of welfare packages for the affairs in your government? workers?

Let me start with the peace sustenance. I As for welfare, we have done far more think that if you go anywhere, particularly than any other government in the state. We in the Nigerian environment, everywhere have increased the salary of teachers threeyou have violence, go and check it, the govfold since we came into government, and ernment has a hand in it. The violence we they're happy. We have also trained many had during Ladoja's time, during and given them promotion. We have Akala's time go and check; they removed the bar that was there when we were sponsored by those in govcame in, where they said that teachers canernment. I believe we did it not get beyond level 14. Now they can go as by coming in and telling far as level 17. We now gazette their promopeople that 'Hey, we tions and retirements. In fact, they have don't want violence; endorsed me overwhelmingly. The only we would not tolerarea where the primary school teachers ate it' and folhave a problem is in the area of pension, lowing it by because the Akala regime took their our actions money. and support, The Governor of Central Bank has said not just by that oil prices have crashed for good; we're w o r d o f not going to get back the days of high oil mouth, but by prices. So how do you intend to run your action.

We state in the next four years in an era of established a declining proceeds from Abuja? s e c u r i t y There is what is called development agency made economy. You see, once you have the right up of all the combination; you know there is what is security outcalled a pyramid of development or hierarfits. We have chy of development and you make your prithe army, ority peace and security. Once you have police, SSS etc, that, then you must provide infrastructure and we prothat people will be using; you must provide vided them recreational facilities; you must provide w i t h e q u i paccommodation. Once these three, four ment, with things are provided, you will attract investammunition. ment. And like I said, we have already We bought started attracting investment and I make three APCs bold to say that we have attracted eight of and repaired the largest companies, either in Nigeria or all the existing in Africa or in the world, they are establishAPCs and also ing factories here. For instance, the largest equipped the

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

POLITICS

Buhari's scratch card magic W

HEN in October last year, All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, then still an aspirant, launched his 2015 presidential campaign fund, targeting N7 billion, the strategy he unveiled to raise the funds was dismissed by some critics as both "ridiculous" and "unrealistic."

Today, that scheme, which includes a simple freewill donation through scratch cards for as low as N100 by commoners and all spectrum of society, has become the toast of both supporters and campaign funding experts who describe it as "convenient," "innovative," and "bright."

From onset, Buhari seemed convinced the scheme will be a huge success. So, while addressing members of the Buhari Support Organisation while launching the campaign fund, Buhari said: "What makes it worthy of praise is its in-built mechanism for ensuring acceptability that is also transparency-friendly. If we preach accountability, we should be able to practice it."

By early January, 2015, the scheme has, as he anticipated, become so popular that it not only yielded about N200million to the APC's presidential candidate's campaign kitty, but has also become so widely accepted that enthusiastic supporters across the country reportedly made unending requests for new supplies of the scratch cards.

Even before Buhari emerged the APC candidate, the scratch cards had attracted observers' attention. At the third national convention of the party in Lagos last year's December, The Nation observed that both the donation and registration scratch cards of the retired general flooded Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere venue. Reports confirmed that at that convention, the cards sold out notwithstanding that at that time, most Nigerians were yet to know how it works.

But by the second week of January, millions of Buhari supporters across the country were reportedly anxious to participate in the crowd funding scheme. As at that time, there were complaints of shortage of supply as supporters, especially in rural communities could not get enough supplies.

In Adamawa State for example, Alhaji Ibrahim Waziri, the Chairman of the Buhari Campaign Organisation in the state, told newsmen that the N3 million worth of Buhari Scratch Cards supplied to the state sold out within 24 hours.

Nkemdika Uzoma, a student in Mbaise, Imo State, who told The Nation on telephone that he has been searching for the cards to buy in his community, said, “I prefer to buy the N100 recharge card because it is affordable and easy to process, unlike the type of funding that will require going to a bank to deposit large sums of money. I am a student, so I consider an initiative like this as a sign of great things to come. I am proud to be a supporter of a mass initiative like this,” he said.

Explaining why the fund raising strategy has become such a success within such a short period, a public relations and branding expert, with wide experience in election campaign strategies and publicity, Jide Ologun, a lawyer who is also the immediate past Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Lagos State Chapter, told The Nation in an interview that “the scratch card initiative is a success so far because it

Barely two months after its launch and a month to the February Presidential Election, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, reports on General Muhammadu Buhari's scratch card election campaign fund scheme is a product of good thinking." Ologun added that “the scratch card initiative, which must have been a clever adoption of Barak Obama's initiative of giving the commoners, the grassroots supporters, the opportunity of funding presidential campaigns, encourages participatory democracy from the wider spectrum.”

He said, "In terms of branding, the scheme is selling Buhari and his party as the common people's candidate and party.

While President Goodluck Jonathan and the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) approached a handful of the very rich and the most powerful elements in our country and raised a whopping N21 billion at once, Buhari and his party, the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) have, through the N100 scratch card given the impression that they are for the common people, the poor electorates. This is a case of branding."

How and why the initiative was conceived Last year's November, shortly after the new fund raising scheme was launched and as the average Nigerian citizens were still making desperate efforts to understand why the scheme was conceived and how it works, Buhari posted in his Facebook a statement, saying: “As we have made it clear, our campaign is going to be funded, planned and run by ordinary Nigerian citizens like you.

This is in recognition of your role as biggest stakeholders capable of changing the course of history of this great, yet badly run nation.

“In this regard, we launch our crowd funding platform through which every Nigerian can contribute his token towards shaping the destiny of this country. Here are the details: Account Name: Buhari Support Organisations Account Number: 2026724405 Bank: First Bank Nigeria Sort Code: 011150000 “Dear friends, I know what it means to ask citizens, over 60 percent of whom live on less than $1 per day, to donate for this campaign. I know many of you are finding it difficult to pay your rents, school and medical bills, to buy the fuel to cook your food, light up your homes or power your vehicles. I know how it hurts and I know you have suffered enough.

“But that little contribution that little sacrifice you make is an investment in the future that come 2015 will usher in a new era for our country, one that promises jobs and opportunities for anyone willing to

work hard, and peace and prosperity for all.

“So, when you look at that little amount of money you are parting with, and the money our opponents are offering you for your votes, think not about the nominal value, think about the choice you are making, and that choice is very clear; either you put your money for a change you trust in, or for four more years of insecurity, corruption and bad leadership under President Jonathan.

“Our opponents have huge financial resources, I have only you and God, and I trust that our struggle will triumph. Our opponents have foreign bank accounts and possessions to run to when they destroy this country, me and you have only this Nigeria to live and die in. So, let's join our hands to make it better.

“Thank you and God bless. Buhari facebook” Since that historic post, many Nigerians, now aware of the intention, are still curious to know how the idea was conceived and how it works in practical terms.

How it works Dr Chidia Madueke, the Head of Media, Buhari Campaign Organisation, told The Nation in an interview that the concept was the brainchild of Buhari Support Organisation, led by Abdulkarim Ibrahim.

Describing it as a global template, Madueke explained that they have different types of cards or means of participation: “the change agent category, the donation category and the special category.”

According to him, for the change agent category, you will come as an organisation and get registered. Then, the leader of the organisation would be given an identification card peculiar to the group. Then the group would be given Form B to fill and from there the members become change agents working in the fields for the actualisation of the set objective.

An official of BSO had earlier offered a general explanation to newsmen on how the scratch card scheme works. He made the explanation during last year's APC convention in Lagos.

According to him, “it affords one the opportunity to be the campaign representative in his ward before, during and after the election, adding, “all you need to do is scratch the card and send Short Messages, SMS to the phone numbers behind the cards which are: 0811454 8404; Glo, 0802 965 5457; Airtel, 0818 652 6218; Etisalat and 0706 438 0921; MTN.” A statement from the Buhari Campaign Organisation on the crowd funding, made

available to The Nation during the week, explained further that "the Buhari Support Organisation (BSO) is currently the coordinating body for over 300 various support groups that are supporting the election of General Muhammadu Buhari. In October 16th, 2014 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, the group, learning from the Obama experience in 2008, who raised funding from ordinary Americans to fund his election, launched a crowd Funding Scheme to make Nigerians take ownership of General Buhari/Osinbajo's election.

General Buhari attended the launch event himself and he addressed a Press Conference in December 19th, 2014 to announce to Nigerians how much was realised and at that time, N54m had been contributed by Nigerians from the N100, to N10, 000 contributions.

“On January 7th, 2015, the Chief of Staff to General Buhari, Col Hamid Ali Rtd, announced N118m as the amount realised from the crowd funding as at that time.”

The statement added that “as a coordinating central body, BSO registers the groups and their leaders who are given unique ID. The groups are grouped according to their spread. Some groups are national, regional, state, zonal and local government spread. BSO working with the groups have across Nigeria over 500,000 field workers and over 8,000,000 members all working for the election of General Buhari/Osinbajo.”

THE BSO cards Information from BSO said Buhari has two types of scratch cards, registration cards and donation cards. It explained that the registration cards have two denominations of N100 and N500 while the donation cards have N1000 and N10, 000, adding that “Nigerians, the elites and middle class, who do not want to buy any of the cards can donate directly by paying into the BSO First Bank dedicated account or pay online via quickteller www.quickteller.com/ supportbuhari or d o n a t e o n l i n e v i a www.buharisupport2015.com. The registration cards allowed subscribers to become Change Agents.”

For the organisation, the card also has many benefits. As Dr Chidia Madueke puts it, the benefits include: “It delivers the spatial distribution of our change agents, spatial distribution of Buhari donors and pattern of acceptability across geo-political zones. It also provides platform for direct contact and engagements with potential voters and acts as a moving media and visibility materials for GMB.”

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

POLITICS 43

Lagos-West: A winning streak for Adeola T

HE race to win the 109 senatorial seats of the Senate is now in full gear in all parts of the country. Among contestants are incumbent Senate President, Senator David Mark, many sitting senators, sitting governors, House of Representatives members and a couple of former state government officials. It is a race for the “Big Boys” and “girls” of politics. Usually only opposition parties and a coterie of smaller parties in various states field neophytes to contest for positions at the pinnacle of national legislature.

One unique senatorial district in Nigeria, Lagos-West is going to decide between sending an experienced legislator and a neophyte to represent its interest at the Senate. However before one looks at the relative strength of the two candidates fielded by the ruling party, APC, in Lagos State and the minor and opposition party, PDP, it is well to dwell on the uniqueness of the senatorial district to see how the electorate may decide who represents them at the Senate. Lagos West is by far the largest in terms of population of all senatorial districts in Nigeria. Its population of over 13million in 2014, according to a Melburn Consulting projection, from National Population Census and World Bank figures is that of some two or three states of the federation. It is about 58% of the population of mega city of Lagos State. With 10 local government councils (or 28 LCDAs) hosting Nigerian foremost international airport as well as a critical industrial/ commercial hub of Nigeria, this district is special in all senses even while having only one vote in the Red Chamber of the National Assembly. Its uniqueness can also be gleamed from the fact that it is a mini Nigeria with possibly all tribes of the nation having a significant presence in the district.

This could be glimpsed from such urban centres in the district like Ikeja, Oshodi -Isolo, Badagry, Ajegunle, Mushin, Alimosho, Ifako- Ijaiye, Ajeromi-Ifelodun amongst others that are inhabited

by Nigerians from all tribal groups in proportion unlike any other parts of the country.

The two principal candidates contesting for this legislative position are from APC and PDP. Hon. Solomon Adeola, a fellow of ICAN, presently representing Alimosho Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives is of the APC. He is the chairman House Committee on Public Accounts, which is the only constitutional committee of the House. Before this position that he has held since 2011, Hon. Adeola was a two term member of the Lagos State House of Assembly where he was the chairman of the House Committee on Finance for eight years.

His private sector experience spanned 12 years at the Guardian Newspapers and subsequently running his private auditing firm.

Contesting this position w i t h H o n .

Adeola is the

By: Kayode Odunaro

PDP candidate, Mr. Segun Adewale, a businessman in travel agency sector of the economy.

From available records all his working life appears to have been spent in the private sector with emphasis on travels and tours business. His attempt to veer into the public sector through politicking has met with serial failure.

His first loss of electoral contest was in 2007 when he lost his ambition to be a state legislator representing Alimosho State Constituency 1. In 2011 his vaunting political ambition brought him to contest against Hon. Adeola for the seat of Alimosho Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives where he lost the election and the legal case he instituted to challenge Adeola's victory.

This political career flop of Adewale is contrasted from that of Hon Adeola's consecutive election and re- election leading to his present position in the Green Chamber of the National Assembly. He could only have had such winning streak through effective representation and delivering of democracy dividend. In Alimosho where he presently represents, Adeola fondly called Yayi, is noted for community development in the form of provision of social amenities like transformers, boreholes, classroom blocks, educational empowerment, free health care and other humanitarian cum philanthropic service. As a state legislator, it is on record that he was instrumental to the bill that reformed the Internal Revenue Service of Lagos State that saw its revenue catapulting from about N6billion monthly to between N15billion to N20billion per month. As the chairman of Finance Committee of Lagos State House of Assembly, he was part of the moving force behind the Fiscal Responsibilit y Act and Public Procurement Act, both of w h i c h forms t h e basis for

Wor l d Bank

consideration of Lagos State to loan facilities for infrastructural development.

Another factor that may count in favour of Adeola clinching the exalted senatorial seat includes his consistency as a politician. Since he joined partisan politics, Adeola has remained a progressive under the changing political party structure in Nigeria. From SDP to AD, AC, ACN and now APC, Adeola has not oscillated between political parties as is common with a lot of Nigerian politicians blinded by personal ambition. With Lagos State in general and Lagos West in particular consistently returning the progressives to power since 1999, the senatorial district does not appear to have any reason to change the progressive colouration of its voting patterns.

Indeed, with a tested and experienced legislator like Adeola contesting on the progressive platform, it is expected that the tradition of the state and district voting the progressives is not about to change in 2015.

The standing of the political parties presently and how they are perceived is also likely to attract votes for Adeola. With an ageing and crisis ridden PDP facing a very real challenge from the new kid on the block, APC and many Nigerians clamouring for change, PDP candidates however credible they may be will contend with the albatross of PDP representing all the things that are wrong with Nigeria while APC candidates will likely reap from a clamour for change that is pervasive in the air.

And since his landslide victory at the APC primaries, Adeola has hit the ground running with interaction and campaign for his parties to all relevant stakeholders and potential voters. He has received endorsement from Northerners in his district as well as the over 80,000member Computer and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria, CAPDAN who donated a bus for his campaign. During Adeola's town hall meeting with stakeholders at Badagry, the white cap chiefs, Baales and other stakeholders speaking through Chief Patrick Yedemu Mobee, the Mobee of Badagry Kingdom, endorsed Adeola for Senate based on his track record and consultation with them.

At present, in addition to the state's APC organized rallies, Adeola is engaged in town hall meetings of trade and professional groups and Community Development Associations to present his record and legislative agenda in solicitation.

As things stand, one cannot but see the political winning streak of Adeola that started in 2003 continuing in 2015 at the zenith of his legislative career of about 12 years now.

Odunaro, Public Affairs Analyst, wrote from, Ikeja.

•Adeola

Hurricane Buhari I

t is quite some time since last we had a real presidential time.

And, never had we experienced a contest where the incumbent holds the short end of the stick. But, truth is told, the election this year is for General Muhammadu Buhari to lose. All the odds are against incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. All attempts to manipulate the stakes for him have failed. First, only the President and his men believe he has posted stellar performance since he mounted the saddle in February 2010. Second, the bid to use religion to divide the electorate in order to have a fair share of the votes has failed. Third, the blows thrown at General Buhari were so feeble that they could not weaken him. It seems the time has come for the opposition to take charge.

All over the North-east, West, and Central, it is Sai Buhari. In the West, the outlook has never been better for the North West and South West to act in concert. Only in the South South and South East does the incumbent stand a good chance of having the larger percentage of the votes. And, at that, the margin is likely to be narrow.

In an attempt to dodge issues, the President’s campaign team has been making desperate efforts to discredit the All Progressives Congress’s presidential candidate. He was said to be an illiterate who failed the constitutional requirement of a minimum of School Certificate. This would have been laughable is it is not a sad commentary on the quality of those who have been running the affairs of the country.

Why would anyone, however desperate, suggest that a General of the Nigerian Army is an illiterate? Didn’t he attend courses at military academies at home and abroad? How did he come? The man was Minister of Petroleum Resources, he was a military Head of State and, after retirement, he was found so useful that he was drawn out to manage a super infrastructure intervention agency. Yet, PDP men say he is an illiterate who is not qualified to direct national affairs.

Then, he was also depicted as a haggled old man who is already going senile. The PDP team said Buhari could not remember his phone number. Yet, the people saw him campaign from town to town with the agility of a young man. Pray, where was Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode in the Second Republic when the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe solicited votes to occupy the highest office in the land? Were they rejected at the poll on account of their ages? In the Eastern states, Zik swept the polls in 1979 at 75; in the Western States, Awo performed the magic of raking up all the votes. Were they considered too old then?

Then, Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose led the battle from a different flank. As he alone could, Fayose likened voting for Buhari to voting for death. He suggested that a President Buhari would not last the distance. Because any leader from the North West is destined to die in office. He was complemented by the Fani-kayode crowd who flew the kite that the 72-year old had suddenly taken ill and flown out for medical care. Haba!

All the tricks have failed. Buhari is ahead. This probably led the desperate and pathetic National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, to start the campaign for poll shift on the ground that INEC had failed to produce the Permanent Voter Cards for all potential voters. True, there is no magic by which the electoral commission could achieve the impossible feat. This is why I do not agree with the APC that only the PVC be used for the elections. Neither do I think the deployment of card readers is the only way to secure the sanctity of the poll. At this juncture, I think it is more desirable that the election date be preserved than insisting on technical support. It is difficult to see the point in using card readers for the first time for a presidential election. It has never den tested, and if we go by the reputation of INEC at bungling such things, we should just expect that card readers may achieve the opposite of the intended. This is a country where the ATM fails at random.

The only means of ensuring that all registered voters cast their ballots is ensuring that the Temporary Voter Card be used for this election. The sanctity of votes does not depend on technology, but fidelity of men. Whether card readers are used or not if INEC men choose to pervert the course of justice, they would.

Buhari can now only be stopped by divine arrangement. It does not depend on the number of “men of God” who, like Balaam have been procured to railroad their members to impede the move of the man appointed for this moment. Use of PVCs as tickets to enter sanctuaries would not help anyone’s cause. At best, the “prophets”, are projecting themselves like Herod, attempting to share the glory of the Almighty.

Buhari is now a hurricane, whoever or whatever is deposited to impede his movement to the Aso Villa would be swept away. As Balaam, who had been blinded by filthy lucre said in his sober moment, no one can curse whoever is not cursed by the Almighty.

Those who claim to be speaking the mind of the Most High while being propelled by the flesh can only fail and fall. After all, one other prominent member of that clan who now campaigns for extension of term for Jonathan fell flat in 1999 when he made a false prophecy.

Whatever devices men may come up with, God remains on the throne. May His Will be done.

44

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

POLITICS

APC’s time out with victims of Kaduna crises N

OT less than 100 Christian and Muslim widows, as well as victims of the sectarian crises in Kaduna State, got a pleasant surprise last week.

It was from the campaign train of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by its presidential candidate, General Muhammad Buhari (Rtd.) and his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

The train had just ended a successful rally at the stadium with unprecedented crowd of supporters making entrance and exit from the venue tough.

As soon as the campaign vehicles managed to 'escape' from the adulating crowd, Buhari and Osinbajo headed to Hotel Seventeen in the GRA part of the metropolis where the victims were gathered.

Many of the victims had concluded they were gathered to receive only a handful of food items and possibly cash to cushion the effect of their suffering.

But the victims broke into frenzy when Buhari walked into the hall, accompanied by Osinbajo; National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Kaduna governorship candidate, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai; former National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande; former governors Segun Oni and Niyi Adebayo and others.

Other party chieftains in the train include: Senator Lawan Shuaibu; former Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (Rtd); Hon. Dino Melaye and Comrade Shehu Sani, among others.

For minutes, the widows

For less than 30 minutes last week, the presidential train of the All Progressives Congress (APC) met with widows and other victims of the various sectarian crises in Kaduna, much to the amazement of the beneficiaries, reports Sunday Oguntola

shouted “Baba Oyoyo', 'Sai Buhari' and 'Change Jonathan' to welcome the campaign train.

Osinbajo quickly took over proceedings, saying he decided to donate food items to the victims to support their reintegration.

Promising to do more for them, especially to prevent such crises that turned many of them to widows and orphans, if elected, Osinbajo said the APC is out to

effect positive change across the nooks and crannies of the nation.

He used the opportunity to dispel the notion that the APC was out to Islamise Nigeria, saying those peddling the rumour are the ones interested in using religion to becloud Nigerians.

When he sang “Winner oo, winner oo, Jesus you don win oo, pata pata you go win forever, winner,” the crowd responded with

ecstasy.

He later prayed for peace in Kaduna, taking authority over forces promoting destruction through violence across the state.

Buhari who took over from him, praised Osinbajo for coming up with the initiative under the auspices of Non Violence Approach for Development (NOVAD).

He said such innovative mea-

Amosun at 57: The price of liberty

By Soyombo Opeyemi

•Amosun

T

HE effervescent Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, turns 57 - in an election year in Nigeria.

I had long held the suspicion that the governorship election in Ogun might be a paradox of some sort because of the body language of certain politicians. It will be the simplest and the most difficult.

Simplest and straightforward because if the poll is conducted today, every Nigerian knows who will be the winner. In fact, it

is not just that Amosun will win but by what margin - landslide or 'moonslide'? But there are politicians whose political career, in their own estimation, is on the line, and so have become desperate they want the governorship seat by hook or by crook.

When a political party formed on the eve of a general election suddenly lays claim to membership strength of 400,000, 500,000 or 600,000, you are compelled to ask for the evidence. Such a bogus claim is nothing short of a throw-back to the 1965 Western Region. I recall Remi FaniKayode of the NNDP boasting that they would win whether the people voted or not, that angels would vote for them. In the end, it was demons that voted for them.

This led to operation wetie in the West, (and with other factors) a military putsch and ultimately the Civil War. As believers in the rule of law and free and fair elections, we must never permit any electoral heist in Ogun.

Politics, when it is merely a game devoid of rigging and violence, can be very interesting. A man who cannot win his ward will paste posters as a governorship aspirant while the one that cannot deliver a single local council out of 774 in Nigeria will call himself a presidential aspirant.

Indeed, if freedom of thought and expression ever finds an avenue

for ventilation, it is during the season of adult suffrage.

On the other hand, this invasion of public space by these paper-weight politicians is salutary, especially at a time like this.

At least, it provides some diversion for the average citizen who is traumatized by the economic downturn of the country. It provides an opportunity to unwind, to take your mind away from the Nigerian palaver or the 'penkelemes' of our time. The grandstanding, the high falutin rhetoric, satires and sarcasms are better than recourse to guns and machete.

I once expressed my amusement aloud a couple of weeks ago in the newspapers. Truly, I did wonder why an aspirant that is not sure of winning his local council and whose only manifesto is "It is the turn of my area" would issue a quit notice from Lagos (!) to the incumbent governor of Ogun State, who garnered three times the votes of this fictitious landlord in the same poll in 2011.

Wonders shall never end!

It is even more intriguing or should we say ridiculous when you recall that while the candidature of this aspirant was still in dispute, the current governor was already at Imeko Afon Local Government, moving from door to door, village to village, exchanging pleasantries and ban-

ter with the people who are truly his.

One elderly man spoke openly and loudly: "This man was part of the government that ruled this state for 8 years. They did not do one-tenth of what Amosun accomplished here in Ogun West in just three and a half years." Then turning to some of the people around and directing a question pointedly to a woman, "During their 8 years, did any of your children come home with a single textbook, let alone 7 or 12, as they now have? Did they provide free education for our children?"

"No," the woman responded.

She added, "We can now get our farm produce to the market easily because of the new road that links our villages. We are all for Amosun - men, women, children and adults!"

"We will vote for SIA because he has put an end to insecurity that menaced our souls before 2011," one other man interjected.

If the quit notice from the opposition candidate was a slip, how could we describe his latest offering - "My administration will complete Amosun's projects in Ogun” - as widely reported in the press? A blunder!

Mr. Opposition Candidate, how can you continue the projects you spent three solid years to discredit as a waste of resources? Is this not a brazen

sures have further convinced him of the suitability of Osinbajo as his r u n n i n g m a t e .

He urged his supporters to avoid violence, even in the face of provocation and remain committed to building peace in their communities.

When Tinubu mounted the podium, the victims welcomed him with shout of 'Jagaban of Africa', 'Asiwaju forever'.

Urging them to vote out incompetence and insecurity in February, Tinubu said only the APC will take them to the Promised Land.

Tinubu said: “Please vote for APC. Let's strike a deal. Are you ready to vote for APC and not PDP? Will you get your PVC to vote for change? Do you believe change is coming to Nigeria?

The thunderous yes bought a satisfactory smile to the face of the former Lagos State governor.

Tinubu made a personal donation of N10million to the widows and orphans to cushion the effect of their suffering much to their ecstatic jubilation.

Buhari and Osinbajo later presented the bags of rice and other food items to the victims with a promise to do much more come February 14 if they are elected.

Responding on behalf of the victims, Musa Idris thanked the APC's chieftains for deeming it fit to meet with them after a sapping rally.

This, he said, was an indication that the party will never overlook anybody if elected into power. Idris promised to mobilise other victims to ensure that the party is voted into power for the much desired change in the nation.

deception, a Machiavellian way to secure the votes of the unwary?

The Ogun electorates are wiser.

They say it makes economic sense for the man that began the socially-beneficial projects to complete them…

I have refused to refer to other parties in this short exercise because, just like in the 2011 poll when citizens could not have imagined that Amosun could perform these wonders as governor the total votes of all the opposition parties would still be far below that of the ruling party in the February 28 poll.

Finally, as we celebrate this Sunday with Senator Ibikunle Amosun, the governor of many firsts, who has written his name in gold not just in Ogun State but Nigeria - for having delivered democratic dividends of three terms in three years - let us remember the immortal words of John Curran: “The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he breaks, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime, and the punishment of his guilt.”

I'm under no illusion that the plot by some desperate politicians to rig the forthcoming governorship election in Ogun - by all means - is very real. We must therefore employ all lawful means available to us to scupper the plan of the robbery consortium. This is the price we have to pay in order not to return to Egypt. And we are destined to win!

Happy birthday to you sir, and I wish you all the pleasant returns of this day.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

H

OUSE of Assembly Candidate for Mushin Constituency 2 under the All Progressive Congress, APC Hon. Olayiwola Olawale, has said that the People's Democratic Party, PDP can only rig the 2015 elections in states where they are dominant.

In an interview he told The Nation that the APC will do all in its power to ensure that PDP is unable to rig election even in the South-South. He said: "Rigging thrives where the party is more popular. The north will vote for Buhari and we in the South-West will vote massively for him. We are also going to share the SouthSouth votes with Jonathan, so their rigging plans will fail because they are not popular. Let them try to rig however they can in the South-South, we know the population over there and we know the voting patterns, so it will be difficult for them to rig and win the election. Mind you, we will do all we can to prevent rigging even in South-South where Jonathan comes from as well as in the South-East."

Asked if his party is planning to rig election as its members were accused recently of duplicating voters' cards in Lagos and some people were arrested, he said he is sad that the State Security Service (SSS) can descend so low by attempting to deceive Nigerians and by dabbling into politics.

"They are taking sides with the ruling party, which is not part of the scope of their job. Do you know that those people they arrested were just employed to do APC membership cards and not voters' card? And they have been doing these things for years.

As time goes on, we will know the truth. Because they want to hang a dog, they first want to give it a bad name. That is what PDP is doing," he said.

On his plans are for Lagos if he is voted in as a House Member, the politician said he intends to initiate robust bills that will add value to the lives of the people.

According to him, one of the major bills they would pass is the health bill on air pollution. "You see most of the emissions from cars and factories are harmful to the body.

"We are going to put a bill in place that will discourage these emissions, as well as make sure necessary agents saddled with the responsibilities of making sure the public adhere to it are actively put on ground. When enforcement agents are put in place, this anomaly will definitely stop. That is how seat belt usage was enforced for drivers and passengers, and overtime, everyone keyed into it and its now part of our habits.

"Another major bill I will initiate is the physical disability bill.

Even though the government has done a lot for them, I believe much more can be done. We are specifically going to take care of them. We shall, with the help of the government, create job opportunities for them as well as encourage the government to give them leverage when it comes to employment. We will make sure they have a say in the government," he added.

On transportation, which he says is his core area, Olawale said they are going to put in place a policy through which all commercial buses would be monitored. He added that nobody has the right to stand at the back of a

POLITICS 45

Why PDP can't rig this year's elections

Medinat Kanabe, who interviewed APC candidate for House of Assembly Mushin Constituency 2 in Lagos, Hon Olayiwola Olawale reports on his views and how he emerged the candidate after a hotly contested primary election

moving bus or conductor standing at the door of a moving bus at the detriment of his live.

"A commercial bus conductor must have his own seat. Those who are hanging will have their buses confiscated so that it will serve as deterrent to others. This

will be to the benefit of everyone.

There are a lot of bills I hope to initiate," he noted.

Asked why he was chosen to fly the party's flag when the House of Assembly primaries was keenly contested by members of his party he said it is

because the delegates in his constituency know how passionate he is about their welfare as well as his selflessness.

Saying that he has always felt the pulse of his people to the extent of sharing his meagre resources with them many times,

•Olawale he said they know that when he ends up in a higher position, they will benefit even more. "That is why I was nicknamed Omititi. I would rather teach people how to catch fish than give them fish, hence I have empowered a lot of people.

Ebonyi: The Labour Party’s challenge

T

HE Labour Party is set to flag off her gubernatorial Following the intrigues in People's Democampaign in Ebonyi State cratic Party (PDP), the January 29, 2015 flagon Monday 29th, January 2015, in Abakaliki, the state capital. This off of Labour Party's gubernatorial campaign political activity promises to be in Ebonyi State is generating ripples in the resounding and earth-shaking given the pedigree of the Labour state. Ndubuisi Okpala writes on what the Party as the party to beat in candidacy of Edon Nkwegu and his deputy, Ebonyi State at the moment.

The party's gubernatorial Senator Igwe Paulinus Nwagu, represent in ticket is one of its selling points and a political master stroke of Ebonyi State politics outstanding proportion. The ticket has Edon Nkwegu, an South-East, but the nation at large. Their burning desire to take the The political wind of change state to the next level will surely Architect and successful businessman, as the gubernatorial can- blowing in Ebonyi State is sure change the face of the state. and steady and it cannot be Ebonyians will be in a position to didate.

His running mate, Senator wished away. The Edon/Nwagu access the duo in government than Igwe Paulinus Nwagu, has no less Government in Ebonyi State will others who are the products of lack of humility, respect and decointimidating credentials. He is the be the driver of the change.

The Labour Party governor- rum. politician's politician, a consumThe Labour party's manifesto mate politician, a man who has ship ticket has another political seen it all and paid his dues in the plus, which is the enviable humil- shows that the party is after the ity of the personalities involved. welfare of the poor masses, poor politics of Ebonyi State.

He is a grassroots politician who has been a key player and factor in Ebonyi State politics since the return of democratic republicanism in Nigeria in 1999. Nwagu has held many political offices such as a councilor, local governleadership in Ebonyi State. An ment chairman, member of the elder statesman, nationalist, ebulHouse of Representatives and a lient and consummate adminissenator of the Federal Republic of trator, he served as a commisNigeria where he is presently sioner in the defunct East Central holding sway as the chairman of State immediately after the Nigethe Senate Committee on Police rian civil war.

Affairs.

As one of the founding fathers Labour Party's gubernatorial of Ebonyi State, it was not a surticket presents Ebonyians with a wonderful combination of two prise when the task of steering the cerebral men who will steer the ship of the young state fell on him. ship of state to a safe anchor and Today, Elechi is being celetake the promising state to the pro- •Elechi brated across Ebonyi State and verbial next level. The rare combibeyond as a leader of repute and T is fitting to take stock of the immense substance, an achiever, nation of Nkwegu's experience in performance of political lead- an astute politician and a worthy business, which he has successers as they approach the end governor. fully managed, including big conglomerates and the running of their tenure. Everything that The lean resources available mate's political track record has a beginning must necessarily to Ebonyi State Government were which has literally taken him have an end. never a deterrent to a determined Political office holders, politi- Elechi who set out from the onset from the political cradle to the zenith, posit a bright future for cal leaders have had the rare to give his people great leaderEbonyi State in terms of good gov- opportunity to contribute to the ship. A man of peace and concord, ernance, progressive administra- improvement of their life of the it can be said that the greatest qualtion, provision of infrastructural people. In the case of Ebonyi ity of Governor Elechi is his love facilities, attraction of the state's State, the state governor, Chief for peace and unity. fair share of democratic divi- Martin Nwancho Elechi, will No wonder then that Ebonyi dends from the federal govern- wind up an eight-year proactive State has continued to enjoy ment and wonderful transforma- and profound administration in enduring peace under his watch. tion of the agricultural sector of the next couple of months.

This created the enabling envithe state which will return her Elechi was not new to politics ronment for the Elechi Adminispride of place as the great pearl before he took over the mantle of tration to unleash democratic diviand food basket of not only the

workers, the down trodden and the hewers of wood and drawers of water. These are the people to be represented by the Labour Party's governorship ticket.

The Edon/Nwagu Government will continue where the Elechi government stopped as it will build upon the foundation already laid and consolidate on the gains on ground. It will also continue with the provision of the other huge successes recorded by the Elechi government.

Besides, the Edom/Nwagu ticket has no moral issues or burden to contend with. It has no integrity issue and no baggage. It has no skeleton hanging over its neck as a sword.

More than ever before, Ebonyi State has the rare privilege and opportunity to make a giant leap forward. This is the only path to a greater, more prosperous and selfreliant Ebonyi State.

The Elechi legacy in Ebonyi

I

dend across the length and breadth of the state. Because Ebonyians are in a hurry to grow and place her where it ought to belong, Governor Elechi united and welded together all the various facets of the state.

As Ebonyians celebrate the Elechi Government for its wonderful and profound achievements, they also celebrate peace, unity and security as instituted by the administration.

There is no denying the fact that Ebonyi State remains the most peaceful, united and secured state east of the River Niger today. All the impediments which dogged the peace, progress, unity and transformation of the sister states in the East such as kidnapping, murder and division are alien to Ebonyi State, thanks to the ingenuity and sense of mission of Governor Elechi.

The Elechi administration took the education of the youths in Ebonyi State seriously. It tackled illiteracy and ignorance headon, education was made free and compulsory up to the Junior Secondary School level.

46

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

POLITICS

Will Daniel support political son, Isiaka?

•Aliyu

In Niger, Ibeto scares Aliyu N

A

FUNNY political drama is playing out very quickly in Ogun State and not a few persons are waiting eagerly to see how it will end. The scenario features former Governor Gbenga Daniel (OGD) and his erstwhile political son, Gboyega Nasir Isiaka (GNI), who is now the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), courtesy of Buruji Kashamu, while OGD remains an aggrieved chieftain of the same party after being denied a senatorial ticket by the same Kashamu.

GNI was part of the eight year rule of the former governor OGD. He was a very important part of the inner caucus of the government at that time which made him earn a very sensitive position as the head of the gateway holdings and later presented by OGD as the PDP gubernatorial aspirant.

Due to the internal wrangling within the then PDP, OGD took his political son, GNI, to a new party called the PPN, where GNI flew the party's gubernatorial flag in 2011 and lost woefully to Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

Now, with GNI in Kashamu's camp, many are eager to know how OGD will treat the governorship dream of his political son of many years. Will he continue with his current 'siddon look' or bury his anger and work with Kashamu to make GNI governor? These are the two questions currently on the minds of many observers of the ongoing drama in the Gateway State.

•Ibeto

•Daniel

•Isiaka

IGER State deputy governor, Ahmed Ibeto, is heating up the political firmament of his state following his defection to the All Progressives Congress, (APC) last week. Ripples gathered that the camp of his boss, Governor Babangida Aliyu, is worried by the political activities of the number two man.

Ibeto, who now goes everywhere expressing optimism that

by May 29, his new party, APC, will take over every strata of government in the state, may not be aware that he is giving some people sleepless nights with his actions and utterances.

Sources said efforts are in top gear to see if Ibeto, who is now leading the state's campaign team of APC governorship candidate, Abubakar Bello, to campaign across the state, can be prevailed upon to retrace his steps back to the ruling party before it is too late.

But as at the last time Ripples checked, the deputy governor was still insisting that because the APC's victory at the polls would be based on the goodwill it enjoys in the state, he has no plan of returning to the PDP before or after the next general elections.

Ibeto appears sure that APC would deliver the state to its standard bearer, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd), and subsequently win the governorship, three senatorial seats, 10 National Assembly slots, and 27 seats of the House of Assembly.

So for him, a return to the PDP is a foregone conclusion.

Abia: APGA sweats over Otti, Ufomba's rivalry T

•Otti

HE ongoing political battle between former Managing Director of Diamond Bank Plc and the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) recognized by INEC, in Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, and another chieftain of the party, Mr. Reagan Ufomba, who is laying claim to the same candidacy, rather than abating ahead of the February governorship contest, is getting tougher by the day.

While Otti continues to warn Ufomba to desist from parading himself as the candidate as such claims are confusing the electorates in the state and may affect the chances of APGA at the polls, Ufomba is insisting that he has been declared by a court of competent jurisdiction as the authentic candidate of the party in Abia.

The Nation learnt during the week that leaders of the party, both in Abia and at the national level have tried to end the rift with no success. It was even learnt that the duo of Otti and Ufomba have now turned the matter to personal rivalry as they now avoid themselves in public.

The development, worried party members warned, is capable of ending the dream of APGA to rule Abia State in 2015. So, with the two unwilling to mend fances, it is left to be seen how APGA's cock will crow in Abia State come February.

Akinlade on the march again

A

•Akinlade

FTER losing out to the intrigues that characterised the Ogun State governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party and the lure from other political parties in the state to offer him their platform, the leadership of the PDP in Ogun State resorted to dangle a House of Representatives ticket for Yewa South/Ipokia Constituency before Hon Abiodun Akinlade to keep him and his supporters in the

•Ufomba

party.

Already, Akinlade is on his third term at the National Assembly ‎and if re-elected in the February 14 election, he is going to have a record fourth term representing his constituency under his belt.

The House of Representative Committee Chairman on Science and Technology is expected to slug it out with the candidates of other political parties at the poll.

48

SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

Vietnam-based Nigerian goalkeeper, Bassey Akpan, made his mark for local club, Rangers, and the national team at the cadet level, before moving to HoĂ ng Anh Gia Lai in Vietnam. He speaks to TAIWO ALIMI about life in the tiny Asian country.

Bassey Akpan

Beginning

I

discovered my soccer talent when I was in secondary school. Whenever we went for games, while my classmates vied for striking role, defending role and all that, I stuck beside the post. In addition, as soon as they saw me there they would just leave me alone. When I started keeping for school, my family was aware and they encouraged me. My elder brother, who was also a goalkeeper, encouraged me more than others did. However, I must tell you that I suffered a lot from bullet shots.

Several times, I went home with injuries, but today I am not regretting anything.

World U-17 Championship The World U-17 Championship in 2001 was my first big tournament. It is a wonderful memory for me. That tournament gave me my career start and helped me to build on it. It gave me the opportunity to be recognised by the rest of the world. It is a good thing that cadet tournament, where budding talents are showcased, is there. I have gained a lot from that tournament and who I am today is a result of the 2001 U-17 Championship. It was the beginning of the best of my career.

It was a wonderful experience being my first at the national level. I got proper orientation from our coaches and that helped me to achieve success. It also boosted my confidence. When we got to semi final, I was really on top of my game but it was sad losing in the final. I was looking forward to lifting the U-17 trophy.

Moving to Vietnam I did not move to Vietnam because of money. In fact, few clubs in Vietnam pay big money. I am not saying it is not good to earn big pay cheque, most times players move because of money, because it is when you make big transfers that your story changes. It is not all the clubs in Vietnam that pay big money but if you have a smart manager, who can negotiate well for you, you will earn well.

In fact, players move to Vietnam because of facilities and playing time. I don't think it's because of money. That is a wrong impression.

However, moving to Vietnam was a good choice for me. It may not be as lucrative as England and Spain but I can tell you that it is highly competitive like every other leagues. African players are moving and doing well in the league. I moved to Vietnam for greener pasture as well as exposure outside the Nigerian league. At that point in time, I had other options to stay back in Nigeria but I wanted to move out to see what was happening in other leagues and to share what I have learnt over the years. Vietnam has a good league, good facilities, great feelings at the stadium and good supporters.

Life in Vietnam The truth of the matter is that there is no place like home; Nigeria is a great country with good people. I will not swap my country of birth for any other country. I will not join the category of people that tarnish the image of Nigerian league. I was made in the league, I got all my recognition in the Nigerian league. So, to me, there is no place like home; but in terms of league infrastructure and facilities, I think we are not there yet. Every good league comes with structure; I believe very soon Nigerian league will

From Eket to Vietnam!

match that standard. However, in Vietnam, you are paid as at when due, it is not easy to be playing and not be paid when you have families and other responsibilities.

That is what is killing Nigerian league and that is why good players move out to seek where they can get better pay, and regularly. Yes, when you pay players, they will be happy to play. Some players would have loved to stay back home because of their families but cannot because of poor and inconsistent salary. Another thing is bad officiating. It is a terrible thing.

Vietnam is a lovely country, the people are passionate about their league, and you can always feel their presence in their stadia. I am thrilled to see crowd whenever we are playing at home, such support always boost the morale of home team to win. The environment is conducive and because there are many African players around, I feel pretty much at home in Vietnam.

Super Eagles debut I was invited to the national team camp in 2010 for the WAFU Cup after making my mark at club level. For every tournament, I have represented Nigeria; I have always put up my best. During the WAFU Cup preparation, I fought hard in training and I gave my all just to have more opportunity in the national team. It was a wonderful tournament.

However, since then, I have not been that lucky again.

After my exploits in the national team in 2001 and at club level, I thought I had justified a consistent call up to the senior national team but that has not happened. I am still in great shape and have been consistent at my club and I know that I would have my opportunity at the national

team again very soon. When that time comes, I hope to build on my current achievement.

Super Eagles and Keshi Keshi is a great coach. He has done well for Nigeria; whether he stays or not, he has built an image that will last forever. As a player, he has won the Nations Cup, and he has won it again as a coach. To me, he has done well. I have no grudge against him, he is doing his job, I am focused on mine, and I believe the best time will come for me. I spoke with him some time ago and he said he was aware of my good performance in Vietnam. I believe I have a great future in the national team, I am hoping for a better opportunity to grab my chances.

Vincent Enyeama Vincent Enyeama is one of the great goalkeepers in Africa, one of the best in the history of Nigeria and indeed in the world. Enyeama's form in the national team is always being justified. Of course, I understand the fact that it will be difficult to bench Enyeama when it comes to national assignment. Nevertheless, like Enyeama, I am also equal to the task and need more opportunity to prove myself.

Hard work I believe in hard work. I work hard every day and seek God's face in prayer. God has given the mandate to excel, so it is left to me to be great. But so far so good, I am grateful. When you play in the Nigerian league and you experience a lot of good and bad, that means you can as well cope well in other countries. I can beat my chest that we have good players as well as good goalkeepers who can hold their own anywhere in the world.

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SUNDAY NATION

SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015

Betty Oluwasina My journey from law to banking

Page 54

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

New WOMAN Beauty

IN VOGUE

By Kehinde Oluleye

Tel: 08023689894 (sms) E-mail: kehinde.oluleye@thenationonlineng.net

Bagging it in 2015

Skin brightening body scrub Ingredients Baking Soda Lemon

S

queeze as much juice out of one lemon and mix with enough baking soda to create a paste, add water if needed, but make sure the paste is slightly loose.

Then work into underarm, knees and elbows and leave for 10 minutes. Then wash off in the shower. Repeat daily for optimal results!

B

AGS are as important as clothing,shoes or any other fashion items.They reflect your style and make you look unique.it is essential to be able to choose the piece that will flow with the trend rather than going overboard.Bags this year will be all about colour.so,go for vibrant hues to stand out of the crowd. *Cross-body bag-This will add glamour to your style *Totes and weekend bagsoversized bag like we experienced in previous years will not be very popular in the first two quarters in 2015 but average-sized totes and weekend bags will. *Chain handle-since chanel first introduced chain handles they have always been popular each year with fashionistas.

*foldover bag-they have been popular for a couple of season and will stay in fashion for the entire season in 2015 in small and big sizes.They come in a great variety of sizes and hues. * k i n t t e d b a g - l i k e clothes,bangle,shoes and some other fashion items cime knitted for the year,so do bags knitted fashion items always look remarkable stylish. *Large clutches-clutch purse and bag will be unusally big[large],and designers are offering us diverse designs to experiment with. *printed bag-we are normally rather pratical and choose bags which are versalite.But designers advise us to be bolder and invest in bags which are not ordinary-those which feature interesting patters.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

New WOMAN

51

Beauty

How to get super pouty lips H

Rocking

O

the jumpsuit

ne of the most iconic trends in 2015 is jumpsuit and it can be styled with flat forms or Heels.

It is originally referred to as the utilitarian one-piece garment used by parachuters/skydivers,but it as come to be used as a common term for any onepiece garment with slevees and legs. The original skydivers jumpsuit were simple garments designed to insulate the body from cold of high altitudes and minimize risk of covering important handles and grips,however today the garment has found other use and it is necessary to remove it entirely for bathroom use.

Jumpsuit as an unbroken line running from the neck to the feet and can flattering on anyone’s shapes.

In this season of the year you can wear the jumpsuit in a stylish way;you can wear a blazer or a boyfriend jacket on it to make it look stunning.

Looking for a jumpsuit that’s perfect for work? A cap-sleeve harem-draped jumpsuit could be just what you have been searching for. Features like a draped front, buttoned roll tabs at the cuffs and a surplice neckline lend added elegance to this distinctive fashion. Pair with pumps or wedges to dress up the

By Bukola Adeagbo

look even further.

Want casual style that is also super chic? A strapless black romper finished in faux leather is effortlessly laidback and stunning. Exposed zippers and a sweetheart neckline give a touch of edge to this otherwise understated look. Co-ordinate with a cardigan or blazer for cooler nights or if you want a more formal appearance.

A jumpsuit with pant legs you will find a variety of options to suit your needs. Jumpsuit with neckline and adjustable spaghetti straps work well with your daytime or beach look.

For a night on the town, nothing can match the chicness of a black zipper-front jumpsuit. Details like beautiful lace paneling at the upper back and a lace inset at the back of the shoulders exude natural charm—with a simple V-neckline to tie the entire look together! Match with your favorite heels and accessories.

Jumpsuit comes in a variety of styles,colours,print and fabrics; and it comes in long and short.

aving a hard time trying to achieve sexy super pouty lips? Here are a few steps in order to achieve this look that pairs perfectly with a dark smokey eye or a simple clean fresh look!

What you will need: lip balm; lip primer/lip erase/ foundation/concealer; lip pencil; lipstick and lip gloss.

First of all you want a clean canvas much like how you use foundation to achieve an even and clean look on your face as a whole; you want to do the same with your lips. Since most people do their lips last, start with applying a clear lip balm on your lips before applying the rest of your makeup so that your lips will be nice and moist and soft and ready to go once you get to this last step in your routine. You can use whatever lip balm treatment you would like for this step. You can also use MAC’s Lip Conditioner in a jar or tube.

Once you are ready to begin you will want to wipe the excess lip balm off your lips so that you can apply a lip primer/lip erase. You can skip this step if you want or you can even use your regular foundation/powder.

The point of this step is to even out the color and texture of your lips, and create an even base so that your lip color has something to stick to. Again if you don’t want to do this step you don’t have to. Some people find this step unnecessary or too drying on the lip.

Using the right lip pencil is crucial at this stage. Even if you are only applying lip gloss defining your lip can save you from the lip gloss or lipstick from bleeding outside of the lines and in the case of lip gloss it can save you from looking like you are drooling. Not a good look on anyone! If you are going for a super clean look you will want to choose a pencil that is a nude or light pink and for a darker look you may want to venture into a purple or even a black pencil (you can use a black eyeliner pencil if you are going for a black or dark wine colour).

Start by lining your top lip first. Use light feathering strokes to outline your lip. Begin with your cupids bow. You don’t need to go outside your natural lip line for this look. Instead of over-emphasizing the cupids bow try to make the lines more of a straight line or slightly curved line rather than a strict ‘V’ shape. This is more flattering on most people. Also at the corners you might want to slightly draw the line inwards to draw more attention to your bottom lip.

Next outline your bottom lip. This is where you can over-emphasize your natural lip line, but be careful to only do this in the center of the lip. Don’t forget to line the corners and then fill your lips in entirely. *note this is very important to do if you have not used some sort of primer or base Once you have finished lining your lips you can move onto the lipstick. You can use the tube or a brush for this step. All depends on your comfort level. Using a lip brush is sometimes easier to use when you are manipulating your lip line (e.g. exaggerating your natural lip line or making the lip line look smaller; which we are doing both for this look); but if you are comfortable just using the lipstick itself that is fine as well. You will want to use a darker lipstick than lipgloss, or use a clear lipgloss if you are going for a nude lip, or even a slightly lighter nude or pink gloss.

You will want to avoid glittery glosses. Also using a matte finished lipstick works best for this look.

Once you have the lipstick applied its time for the gloss. You don’t want to put this all over the lips, just in the center of the lip on both the top and bottom. Just purse your lips together a few times and do the finger trick in order to keep lipstick off your teeth.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

New WOMAN

52

H

ow did you get into the banking sector?

‘You can't give your best,if you don't enjoy the job’

I read law at the University of Benin and while I was in school, I discovered that most of my female lecturers were either divorcees or had never been married. I told myself that I didn't want to live my life that way. I like giving my best to whatever I do and I know that if I did that it would affect my marriage. I practiced at Kehinde Sofola's and Co for law internship. He was a great source of inspiration.

I graduated in law, had masters in law and did an MBA at the University of Lagos. I did my National Youth Service (NYSC) with the ministry of justice in Kano. As a practicing lawyer, it was interesting but you had to travel a lot.

I started with law and moved to the banking sector which was flexible enough, I got married and had all my children at the CBN; the working hours were good. At the Central Bank, they took me round and I started from Admin where I worked for a year, then moved to Trade and Exchange where I worked fourteen and half years and later I was at OFID (Other Financial Institutions Department ) before I retired.

I went through the different strategic departments in the organisation, acquiring and garnering invaluable experience in administration, international trade and foreign exchange management through policies formation. I also delivered a number of papers in international trade documentations, controls and foreign exchange guidelines in various financial institutions. I was also a bank examiner in OFID where I led various teams to community banks (now microfinance banks), primary mortgage institutions, finance companies and bureaux de change for examination and supervision.

That is the beauty of working with the Central Bank and by the time you are leaving you have the experience required to be a director or CEO. If you do not enjoy what you are doing, you won't give it your best.

What was it like setting up your Microfinance Bank?

I worked at the Central Bank for about 17 years before I retired to set this up. We have been in operation since September 2008 and I was the pioneer Managing Director. For a micro finance bank, you must have a stake. I am part owner, it is our baby and you must run it well.

How would you describe the sector?

Well, we used to say that it was new, but a baby that is more than eight years old is no longer a baby. It's a child and so we have grown out of that teething stage.

The first set of licences was issued in 2005. The sector is relatively younger than other micro finance services around the world. We are still learning; a lot of banks had their fingers burnt because they did not have experience to fall back on but we have experience to back on and we also operate as a family.

We also learn from the experience of other banks and a lot of the microfinance banks started after the merger of the commercial banks and those who could not make up the required capital then came to the micro finance sub sector. They used the old mentality to come in and that was a problem. It was a major problem because they were doing things the way they were doing it in the commercial banks and it was totally different from the people you were dealing with in the commercial banks. It is important to note that some of the people at the bottom of the pyramid have never opened an account before. They have never operated an account as well as those who are afraid and are afraid that these people may carry my money away.

Some had operated with community banks that had issues, and so you need to talk to them and sensitise them.

The regulation says that you give loans with collaterals except for small amounts like ten or twenty thousand naira. By the time you are giving out about 50,000 naira loan there must be collateral, not necessarily a property like a house because this group of people may not have such. So what they do is to form themselves into groups, which act as a form of pressure to pay back. We help to form some into groups and after a while they are encouraged to f o r m a

Betty Oluwasina studied law for her first degree from the University of Benin and later bagged a Masters degree in law (LL.M) from the University of Lagos, graduating with a distinction in International Economic Law in 1989. She later obtained a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Lagos.

Oluwasina, however, settled for banking and worked with the Central Bank of Nigeria for about seventeen years. At the moment, she is the Managing Director of Capstone microfinance bank. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, the seasoned banker talks about her career path, challenges in the sector and how she carved a niche for herself in spite of the many odds.

cooperative society. It is structured and you are assured that they would pay back the loan.

How do you sort out the problems?

It is better to work with people who have not had such experiences before than to work with those who have experienced it and have broken trust. Fortunately, we were able to win them over. Unfortunately, there were also some microfinance banks that came on ground and had issues and closed shop; this affected credibility again.

However over the years, we have been able to win the people over and shown credibility.

We have also learnt our lessons; one of the problems we have is easy mobility. There is usually no form of identification and a number of people would take loan here and then go and settle down in another place. This therefore makes taking loans without collateral very difficult.

How would you describe your management style?

You must have a passion for the industry; the passion would make you succeed in what you are doing. There is hardly anywhere I go and discuss microfinance, it is done with passion. I live in Ikoyi and pass through Sura Market most times and I interact with the women. One of them came to me to give her N50,000 and that she would give me N75,000. I told her that I do not borrow people money but gave her what I had.

Interestingly, her case motivated me later to do what I am doing now. There is another woman in Falomo whose life was also touched this way. She is a policeman's wife and she has been our customer for a while. Her son got admission after trying JAMB for so long. When he got the admission, there was no money to pay, she ran here saying she needed N150,000 and we gave her the money. That was about four years ago and that boy is in his final year now. She paid back and can never forget us. The micro finance bank is meant to serve the community. The trust is there and that is what it is meant to be. Even the older people around here that cannot pronounce Capstone call it Caprisone. We also have another woman who was selling pure water, who started saving N200 in 2008 and then at a point, she was not saving again. We went to find out what was wrong with her and we found that her deep freezer got spoilt and she needed N13,000 and we had just started. She had no collateral but we gave her the money. In less than two weeks, she paid back the money. She continued her savings and increased it from N200 to N500. Now she takes loans as high as N300,000.

Apart from being passionate, you must be hardworking; be ready to meet your customers and not just sit in the office. I go to the market, shops and offices of our customers from time to time.

What about the Central Bank's MSMEDF fund for women?

I cannot speak for our association on that. I understand from our angle here that we have not collected; the conditions for it are a bit stringent. CBN says you can collect but you must disburse within 48 hours. So who do you disburse to and how much are you going to get?

As a national trustee of the National Association of Micro finance Banks (NAMB), how has the organisation helped the sector?

The association has tried in pushing the industry to where it is today. A tree can never make a forest, so the association has been there. When they started, there were some issues but those issues have been resolved now. I belong to the Lagos State association and we have been able to assist w i t h experience s h a r i n g especially w h e n members have issues w i t h government agencies or CBN. In addition, t h e association has also tried for members in the issue of fund raising.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

New WOMAN

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PILLOWTALK Raising a voice for the Nigerian girl With Temilolu Okeowo temilolu@girlsclub.org.ng 07086620576 (sms only) Please visit my blog www.temiloluokeowo.wordpress.com for more inspiring articles. Twitter@temiloluokeowo

Wonderful Nigerians, I am happy to be in touch with you again today and so excited because someone whose life has been swimming in black pits of despair is about to be lifted out by God. Such a life is about to shine like the sun out of a clear azure sky. If you feel you are the one I am referring to, shout 7 halleluiahs and get ready for the best days of your beautiful life.

Congratulations! I welcome you all to school on Sunday.

Developing Spiritual Intelligence (Contd.)

L

ast week I gave Meditation of the word of God as the first key of developing spiritual intelligence.

The word of God is energetic, powerful and purifying. Your spiritual life flows from your mind and you have to renew your mind on a daily basis by meditating on scriptures. Once you start working the bible and living the bible, you will start working in the super-natural. And once the word of God is in control, the Holy Spirit will take charge, ignite your spirit man and open your eyes, ears and soul. It will be difficult for you to commit the grievous error of following the wrong path. Also, if you want to move in power and live a fulfilled life, let the word of God take charge of your being. Your life will generate power and the power of God will move over every hurdle you have to cross.

2. Fraternise your spirit with burning spirits

Let your friends be spiritual friends.

Large sums of people around you are waiting for your shame consciously or unconsciously because any mind devoid of the spirit of God can be easily controlled and manipulated by the devil to work against you. You can't be wiser than God who inspired the scripture that says evil communications corrupt good manners. Whatever will corrupt your goodness is certainly from the devil-the enemy of your destiny. And if you are surrounded by more sons of men than sons of God- your glory will be turned to shame. Now check out the following scriptures“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14 “O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame?

Psalms 4:2 3. Be a praying and fasting machine In a highly competitive and evil world as this, your number one confidant, friend and guide should be God. He is your source and knows better than anyone else. You can't be addicted to communicating with Him and get it wrong. He will control, regulate and direct your life to suit His divine purpose for you. Elisha was notorious for prayers such that when he died, his bones raised up a dead man because he was saturated in prayers.

Now shout this out loud in prayer- “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, breath on me.” 2 Kings 2:12 Fasting sharpens our spiritual senses so that we can tap into our spiritual source. Jesus Himself often fasted as part of His ongoing life of prayer. He told the devil- "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" Mathew 4:4.

Throughout history, men and women whose lives have displayed the power and provision of God made fasting part of their spiritual arsenal. And this is the reason we as believers continue to

C

molaralife@yahoo.com

Escaping from a dead heart

T

PURSUE YOUR DESTINY (XIII) Dear Temilolu, I read your article on Spiritual Intelligence. It's so thoughtful of you, insightful and most inspiring. I am a Muslim and I find it very useful after interpreting it in the Islamic way. May God increase your knowledge.

Lawal Obagun Dear Temilolu, I just read your piece on Spiritual Intelligence. I lost my wife to breast cancer 3 years ago and I haven't been myself since then. I have long decided not to remarry.

Anytime I come across writings of this nature, I feel a little bit better and relieved.

May God in His infinite mercies guard and protect you. Keep it up!

J.T.Kaan Aunty Temilolu, Your article on Spiritual Intelligence is exactly what was preached in church today.

Thank you for enlightening us always. May God bless you.

Adebola Adeyemi

YETUNDE OLADEINDE

engage in it: to tap into God. During a fast, you deliberately let go of that which binds you to this physical world-food--in order to receive all your sustenance from the spiritual world.

You determine that for a period of time you will deny your physical cravings to focus on your spiritual cravings.

4. Live a quiet life For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel …in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength:” Isaiah 30:15 Avoid a noisy environment, loud music, excessive gisting etc. It doesn't matter if you are going through pain and need people around you. You may not believe this but the best time to develop a strong sense of spirituality is in the time you groan in pain and loneliness. If you are standing right before God when you are in great pain, He will be so close to you and you will generate so much power which subdues your tortuous pain and if your eyes are spiritually open, you will find yourself surrounded by angels! May you receive angelic intervention this week in Jesus name. AMEN!

To be continued.

OR more inspiring articles and prayers against sexual perversion (masturbation, lesbianism, addiction to pornography and immoral thoughts etc.) please visit my blog www.temiloluokeowo.wordpres s.com

F

For our sisters in captivity

T

HE voice of God that shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh and discovereth the forests, roar at the enemies of Nigeria and release the captives of Sambisa forest in Jesus name. Amen.

FINAL WORD

HASTITY does not belong to the past. It saves you a lot of trouble, preserves your beautiful destiny and stands you out from the crowd.

You are better off not engaging in pre-marital sex. Stay chaste!

Miss Temilolu O.Okeowo is the founder of Girls Club of Nigeria, an NGO for girls of secondary school age aimed at influencing a positive change. She published her debut-book for girls - THE BEAUTY OF LIFE - as an undergraduate and has other books and publications. She was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2003 and is a Certified Forensics Examiner.

HE sea brings to mind lots of water, different species of fishes and other creatures. Naturally, the picture that comes to mind is an environment that is rich physically depicting all kinds of emotional gestures. Its natural environment is bound to be a booster for affection, attraction, infatuation and fondness.

However, if your affection is located on the Dead Sea you are not likely to go far. No matter what you do and the efforts you put in, you are not likely to find any fish (heart) not to talk of locating your dream fish (heart).

The Dead Sea historically has attracted visitors (hearts) from all over the world for thousands of years. It is known as the salt lake famous for incredibly high levels of salt. The deepest hypersaline lake in the world. This salinity makes for a harsh environment in which animals of any kind cannot flourish.

However, it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products like balms for Egyptian mummification, potash for fertilizers, cosmetics and herbal products.

The scarcity of aquatic life in the Dead Sea can be compared with relationships that have no future from the outset. The question here is how do you get into dead relationships? How do you determine who or what to avoid in the search for a befitting heart? A heart that would bring joy and not tales of sorrow, tears and blood; a loving heart and not a cheap sadist masquerading to be sweet and nice just because he or she is planning to rip you off someday.

32-year-old Josephine's heart is sinking miserably on the affectionate Dead Sea. She has actually given up all hope of finding love again after three cases of misplaced affection.

“The last relationship was the most painful. We had saved some resources together to rent a house and start a family.

We also travelled to see his parents and family members about three months before everything crashed like a pack of cards. It was at that point that I realised that he had been deceiving me all along.”

On his part, he did not wait to give this poor heart any explanation about the whole emotional mess. Instead, he got a ticket and travelled out of the country, far away from this dying or 'dead' heart.

Now she thinks that she has found love again but sadly her affection sadly is with the wrong heart. “I am in love with my sister's husband and I don't know what to do about the situation. The man keeps making flirtatious gestures towards me and I am so confused. Deep inside, something tells me to say yes because he is what I have been wishing for all my life.”

That is not all! “I think that my sister is very ungrateful and she treats him badly. Each time you pay them a visit, he is always complaining about how tired he has become of her.

It is sad that my sister does not appreciate him at all and she does not value what she has.”

Emotional traitor! There are so many of them around looking for hearts to be stolen and hijacked for themselves.

Sadly, a lot of people live, wine and dine with traitors. They entrust their lives and hearts to charlatans who end up plotting their betrayal in a very wicked way. Hearts that hide mischievously in the background planning how to steal what belongs to the other.

How can you continue to smile sheepishly at somebody, seduce him or her and not expect a reaction? Whether the reaction is positive or negative is another matter entirely.

“How can she smile cheaply at your man claiming that you do not appreciate what you've got?”

How on earth can someone stoop so low and lose her heart to a sister's boyfriend, fiancé or husband? Or even a friend's husband for that matter? What kind of friend could that be?

Here it would be better to hug the enemy instead of settling for this kind of friendship.

Besides, who made you the judge of whether or not she appreciates him or not? Are you the emotional spy, the forerunner who must step into her emotional shoes? As a good and loyal sister or friend, your only duty is not to be trusted, be loyal and stop looking for excuses to justify your lust for her man.

She continued: “I have been in four different relationships in the past six years but I have not succeeded in having any stable relationship. The relationships all start on a very bright note but when I think have gotten it right, things just begin to fall apart.”

However, she noticed that men who have a soft spot for her are usually already engaged. “When my best friend got married a few years ago, I met the best man and I really liked him. Then I began to pray that she would throw the bouquet in my direction. There and then he would begin to propose to me and marry me later.”

Was this a dream come true? No, it wasn't! “When I made enquiries from my friend, I realised that he was already married. To my utmost surprise, he also liked me so much and he wanted us to be friends. Unfortunately, we both knew that we weren't going to go far.”

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

New WOMAN

Making widows fruitful again

O

lori Yemisi Jaiyeola studied specialised education, career management and music. She put the knowledge and skill to work and did everything relating to music and the arts for some time. However, she had to stop acting when her husband became a priest and they had to take up the church leadership.

“Just before then, I was acting and performing everywhere. I have done some songs and voice over for adverts. I was supposed to be in the Third Eye TV programme at a point, but during the auditioning I started vomiting and found out that I was pregnant, “she recalls happily.

She put in everything into family life and it was a wonderful experience.

Sadly, she lost her husband about seven years ago and things fell apart. Instead of getting too worried about this loss, she decided to help other widows find a better direction in life. This afternoon you find her in the midst of fellow widows and they are having a wonderful fellowship.

Painting the picture of the trauma widows go through, a widow recollects an experience: “When the man died and we went to collect the corpse at the morgue. There was a reception room where people wait and those who came with us did not allow his widow to come in. “Somehow, nobody knew how she got into the place, she grabbed the coffin and started shaking the coffin and was shouting 'where are you going to? please come back so that we can fight and quarrel, who did you expect to carry this burden?'

“She shouted, cried and continued to ask a number of other pertinent questions and the people just did not know where she got the energy from.

We meet every third Saturday in the month while the executives meet every Tuesday to deliberate on issues affecting us and proffer solutions.

“Loneliness kills and, most times widows need someone to pour out their hearts to. Most of us are careless about our health. There are usually so many other issues and needs contending for our attention. We try to be our sisters' keepers and I have used my bus to carry people and used the money realised to pay bills for widows. I use my car for car hire as well as do services like house cleaning and whatever we made is sowed into the lives of these women.

There was a time I went to someone to ask for N25, 000 and I lied that I needed

By Yetunde Oladeinde

it desperately. A widow was going to kill herself, if she didn't get the money for her child's school fees.”

At this point, Jaiyeola recalls a recent incident with another widow. “A widow came to tell me that her child slapped her and the story was so bad. When there is no father figure in the house, the children rebel. Most times, the children

Dear Yetty

yetimo2012@gmail.com Can he still be trusted?

I have been in a relationship that I treasure for about four years. Unfortunately, I saw my letters that showed me that the man in my life is unfaithful. I was really devastated and I confronted him with the facts. To my utmost surprise, he did not deny anything, he also went ahead to tell me about the things I did not even know saying that he was lured into the other relationship. He wants me to forgive him and repair the trust that has been broken. Can he still be trusted?

Cecilia.

Response Yes, I think he can still be trusted. All you need to do is to give him another opportunity to prove himself. A strong, healthy relationship can be one of the best support in your life. Good relationships improve all aspects of your life, strengthening your health, your mind, and your connections with others.

On the other hand, if you put in so much into the relationship and it isn't working, then it can be a tremendous drain.

dream about their father and wake up wishing that they would find their father sitting in the parlour or reading newspaper. However, when they wake up, reality dawns on them. This frustration may come at the time the mother is complaining about something.

They have their own way of thinking and that is why some children end up killing their parents in frustration.”

She adds: “That is why some mothers

We fight all the time When I was looking for a partner, I had a list of the things that I wanted in my dream girl. I met a couple of ladies but they just did not fit in, then I finally met this lady in a supermarket and it was love at first sight. Everything went well, but after some months I realsied that I could not cope with her temperament. I tried to talk about it a number of times but she just would not change. A number of other couples like us talk things out quietly, but we always end up raising our voices and passionately disagree even when we ought to agree. Banjo.

Response This could be a phase in the relationship and you both need to address it if you want the relationship to work. The key to a strong relationship, though, is not to be afraid of conflict.

You need to be safe to express things that bother you without fear of retaliation, and be able to resolve conflict without humiliation or insisting on being right. Communication is a key part of any relationship. When both people feel comfortable expressing their needs, fears and desires, bonds are strengthened. In addition, you also need to make use of nonverbal cues with body language like eye contact,

die after the father is gone. Sometimes, you see these women radiating but you don't know what is really going on in their minds. There are a lot of embarrassments for widows; they are suffering in silence. If you cannot understand her, please show her love. I cook delicious food and I eat alone. I have a nice car and there are times, I need to talk to someone but there would be no one to talk to. Sometimes, you dress so well and look forward to a compliment from a loved one but there is usually none. There is nobody to share our love with and widows are usually misunderstood.”

God's Wives, Jaiyeola informs, is seven years this year and it started with the parent organisation, Serendipity House, which started in 1996. “I have been taking care of widows before I became a widow. I love taking care of the under privileged and neglected people. Over the years, we have done some projects like feeding widows and we have a food bank here that has been very useful. In addition, we have helped with the education of their children and visiting new widows and following up with new cases.”

She continues: 'There was a time that I went to a widow in Gbagada to console her but she said she was too young to be called a widow. She could not come to the reality of what had just happened to her. The most important thing for us is the God's Wives Widows' Home Project for Isheri, Lagos. We need support from well meaning Nigerians to make this dream a reality. During the tenure of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in Lagos, we got support for our widows but we did not get the same support from the current administration. We hope that the incoming governor would support us so that we can reach out to more widows.”

Ask Jaiyeola about her first reaction when her husband died, she replies this way: “Night turned day and I have not got out of it. I can't be out of it. That is my partner; someone who loved me truly, every other person is fake. We shared things like love, oneness, acceptance and we appreciated each other. I could never get that again. A widow has been split into two; a part that can never heal. When my husband died, they gave me injection but I did not sleep. I married a man who never put me in the second place; a man who made me the head of the home. A man who wanted me to take charge of the home.”

touching someone and other critical signs.

Dating an extrovert I am a very simple and easy-going lady, but the man I am dating is an extrovert. He makes friends with almost everybody that comes his way and I have tried to change this reckless attitude but he just would not listen. He believes that it is good to make friends because no one person can meet all of our needs and expecting too much from someone can put a lot of unhealthy pressure on a relationship. Tolu.

Response He must be talking from experience.

Please listen to his arguments and tell him also about your point of view in a nice way. Relationships are investment.

The more you put in, the more you can get back. However, you also discover that some relationships get stuck in peaceful coexistence, without truly relating to each other and working together. While it may seem stable on the surface, lack of involvement and communication increase distance.

When you need to talk about something important, the connection and understanding may no longer be there.

Seminar for domestic staff

T

HE practice of hiring house helps or domestic staff is a common trend especially for career women. Many opt for relatives who are brought from the village to fill in the gaps.

Unfortunately , the domestic help usually come in search of greener pastures and when their aspirations are not met they run away as well as get their employers in trouble.

To get a better bargain many have been advised to make use of a reliable agent but this also comes with new challenges that include petty theft, food poisoning, maiming the children as well as murder. There is therefore a need to be informed about the best way to go about this, if you must employ a domestic staff. A seminar for domestic staff holds on January 31, 2015 at Peninsula Resorts, Lekki, Lagos. Topics to be discussed at the one-day seminar organised by Mireya Educational Services, include bonding with the family, good housekeeping tips, personal/general hygiene, safety/security measures, character building/ etiquette, among others.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015

Telcos explore new frontiers Page 60, 61 •Nweze

‘Nigerians deserve better quality of life’ Page 62

Nigeria's economy to grow by 6 % in 20 years - Chidoka D ESPITE present difficulties, Nigeria holds great opportunities for her citizens with projections that its economy would continue to grow at the rate of over six per cent in the next 20 years.

The Minister of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka, made this known at the weekend when he delivered the 44th Convocation Lecture of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka titled: 'Rebuilding the Nigerian Dream: Mapping the Building Blocks.'

The minister said that Nigeria has highly skilled, hardworking people with huge natural resources and a large population that make the country a big market for goods and services which are key areas that would serve as stimulant to her economic

T

HE House of Representatives would repeal the Nigerian Railways Corporation Act of 1955, The Nation has learnt.

It is to be replaced by the Nigerian Railways Authority Act. The draft bill made provision for a 25-year development plan that would ensure the sustenance of the development programme.

According to the lawmakers, the extant law is a hindrance to the economic develolment rail transport could bring to bear on the Nigerian economy.

Speaking in Abuja at the opening of a two-day National conference on rail transportation organised by House Committee on Land Transportation, Chairman of the Committee, Musa Sarkin-Adar, said it is expedient for the country to

growth.

Chidoka said that Nigerians are fastidious and therefore have the tendency to criticise their country even when it is unnecessary, adding that although that attitude is seemingly wrong, it spurs the citizens and government to do things better.

"The most virulent critics of Nigeria are Nigerians.

When two or three Nigerians are gathered, their topic is usually Nigeria. Its missed opportunities, its poor outcomes and, particularly, the giant strides of other countries.

A few years ago Nigerians celebrated one year of no blackouts in Ghana. Even though no such celebration took place in Ghana.

"They talked about how the Ghana Cedi was equivalent to the US Dollar even though it was just a decimalisation. Now that the Cedi has turned out to be one of the world's worstperforming currencies, losing nearly 300 per cent of its value within a couple of months, and blackouts have become a common feature in Ghana as its budget deficit balloons, the Nigerian media has curiously kept silent. I don't see any media commentaries on the fact that Ghana has fallen back to the International Monetary Fund (Talley, 2014), and indeed to Nigeria, for assistance," Chidoka said.

He remarked that Nigeria has great opportunities that ensure a better future for its

citizens, noting that these opportunities should be harnessed by young Nigerians who should be creative and make use of any chance that comes their way, adding that the country has huge potential to be great.

"Nigeria has many things going in its favour. We are regarded as Africa's largest economy, with an annual growth rate of 6 to 8 per cent.

As Cosmo pointed out, we have one of the largest mobile phone markets on the continent. And nearly 40 per cent of our population has access to the internet. That is almost as much as South Africa at almost 47 per cent and far higher than Indonesia at only 16 per cent.

Even Brazil has only managed to connect 53 per cent of its population online (CIA, 2015)," the minister said.

Reps seek revival of railway From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja have a functional world class rail transport system capable of driving the economy.

He said: "Although the rail sector in recent times has attracted the federal government's attention but permit me to say that the current intervention in the sector is a far cry considering the level of infrastructural development in the rail transport system in Nigeria, a nation estimated to inhabit over 150 million people.

"Our rail development must never be considered a destination but rather a stepping stone for the actualisation of Nigeria of our dream with a world class

rail transport system."

The Committee opined that it is the legislation that would institutionalise the sustenance of the development plan of the rail sector.

Sarkin-Adar, who was represented by his Deputy, Sokonte Davies, assured that work would be expedited on the bill as soon as it is transmitted to the National Assembly.

However, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Adeseyi Sijuwade, said it is the private sector that can take the rail system to the next level.

He said it is impossible for the government to provide the required fund to actualise the transformation of the once moribund sector.

According to him, the corporation has embarked on a number of rehabilitation and modernisation agreements with some foreign companies.

This, he said, has resulted in the achievement so far recorded in the rehabilitation and construction of narrow and standard rails across the country, in addition to a number of coaches, wagons and locomotives.

He, however, warned that the sector may not be able to go further without an active private secret participation.

Akin Fatunke, Manager, Public and Government Affairs, Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc, assured NRC of support from major oil companies and the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN).

•From left: President and Chief Executive, MasterCard, Ajay Banga and President, African Development Bank, Donald Kaberuka, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, at the weekend.

PHOTO: Michael Buholzer

59

-- Page 53

‘Our human capital comes first’ •Fijabi

Page 63

AfDB, MasterCard boost financial inclusion in Africa

T

HE African Development Bank (AfDB) and MasterCard has entered into an agreement aimed at expanding financial inclusion across the African continent. The collaboration seeks to develop solutions that drive inclusive growth in Africa by broadening access and usage of digital financial services.

MasterCard brings proven expertise to design and scale inclusive financial services solutions and infrastructure. The AfDB actively promotes sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction in Africa. Together they will work with African governments and local private sector companies to develop and deliver affordable services that meet the needs of a wide consumer base, especially the traditionally unbanked.

Specifically, the collaboration will seek to build cohesive African financial systems that drive inclusion at a country level and enable service delivery to traditionally excluded populations, invest in a curated set of innovative financial services companies and solutions targeted at addressing barriers that hinder financial inclusion and share knowledge across academic, policy and commercial sectors to create thought leadership on financial inclusion and economic development.

Donald Kaberuka, President of the AfDB, commented: "Despite the phenomenal economic growth in Africa, this has not translated into shared prosperity and better livelihoods for the majority. Growth has to be inclusive to be socially and politically sustainable. One key component of inclusive development is financial inclusion, an area in which Africa has been lagging behind other continents. Broadening access to financial services will mobilize greater household savings, marshal capital for investment, expand the class of entrepreneurs, and enable more people to invest in themselves and their families."

Ajay Banga, President and CEO at MasterCard, said: "Less than one adult out of four in Africa has access to an account at a formal financial institution. While many of our industry partners have been active in this space, we believe that through our payments expertise, and the AfDB's 50 years of experience in financing Africa's economic transformation, we can achieve scaled impact and lasting transformation. This can only be accomplished when the public and private sectors combine resources and act together."

Firm signs MoU with govt to boost cotton, textile, fashion sector

T

HE Dutch textile and design company, Vlisco Group, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Government of Nigeria, creating a platform for significant expansion in Africa's largest economy.

It would be recalled that the federal government had late last year approved a major revitalisation and reform of its Cotton, Textiles and Garment (CTG) sector to catalyse growth and jobs in Nigeria across the entire value-chain from cotton to fashion.

The MoU by Vlisco Group and the Nigerian government details wide-ranging collaboration and support. Vlisco Group intends to offer Nigeria's 188m consumers its four brands (Woodin, Vlisco, Uniwax and GTP).

The Group will participate across the sector value chain from sourcing of cotton, textile printing, wholesale, retail and e-commerce distribution, garment manufacturing and supporting and promoting Nigerian fashion designers.

The MoU is expected to yield benefits for the Nigerian economy in terms of economic diversification and job creation in line with the Government's Industrial Revolution strategy. Vlisco Group's activities are expected to generate more than 10,000 jobs in Nigeria in the medium term.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, commenting on the MoU, stated: "The Government of Nigeria is delighted to welcome this investment and partnership from the Vlisco Group into Nigeria. We are determined to rebuild this historically important sector with its job creation impact across the entire value chain from cotton fields to fashion. We are looking forward to implementing this strategic partnership with the Vlisco Group."

60

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

BUSINESS

Telcos explore new frontiers S

HORTLY after the deregulation of the telecoms industry and the award of digital telephone licences to offer service through the global system for mobile communication (GSM) to the two early birds in 2001, the Chief Executive Officer, SO4 Engineering Limited, Soji Oluwasuyi, approached one of the service providers to acquire a telephone line. He was not subjected to the rigours of filling forms and waiting on a long queue. He paid N25,000 for his subscriber identity module (SIM) card and N35,000 for his Nokia 3310, a feature phone.

Oluwasuyi went home elated. "At least, this is better than trying to apply for a NITEL line for which you will not only wait for months after paying about N200,000 but also have to grease the palms of all manners of characters in the organisation before you will eventually get a line. I will no longer invade the privacy of my neighbour to make or receive calls," he mused to himself.

Like a dammed river suddenly losing its fetters, telephonehungry Nigerians took advantage of the new vistas opened by the telcos and started talking. It began with N50 per minute regardless of whether the line cut off within the first two seconds.

Then the airtime too had the very provocative validity period. A myth was created around service by the first two players that per second billing could only be done through rocket science. Then came Globacom and the story changed. Today, calls could be made for between N10 and N9 per minute while the caller could pay less depending on the number of seconds used. Some of the operators even give one free minute for every minute spent on their network to their customers.

Speaking on the phenomenal growth in the industry, Executive Vice Chairman, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr, Eugene Juwah, said: "Over $32 billion investment has been recorded in the sector as at June 2014 from $50 million in year 2001. The investment stood at $18 billion in 2010 and $25 billion in 2012."

He said this represents giant strides, adding that the commission will continue to regulate the industry in a way to continuously make it more attractive to global investment community.

Over the past 14 years, the telcos have been able to deploy some 68,124-kilometre optic fibre cable (OFC). Last year, an additional 38, 000 kilometre OFC were laid. Experts say this represents an increase of about 44.2 per cent investment in OFC by the telcos last year alone.

Services cannot be rendered without base transmission stations (BTS). The telcos have invested massively in building BTS across the country. According to the NCC, the telcos have built over 27, 000 BTS. But more still needs to be done in this area as there is still a deficit of some 53,000 BTS to assure seamless service delivery.

In line with the focus of the telcos on the provision of data and digital services, the BTS are gradually being upgraded from 2G to 2.75G and 3G. Some of the operators even say they have done trial of 4G or long term evolution (LTE). Currently, there is

Last Monday marked the 14th anniversary of the liberalisation of the telecoms industry. While subscribers' figures are approaching the 140 million mark from 450,000 analogue lines before the liberalisation, foreign direct investment (FDI) has gone up from $50million in 2001 to about $35 billion. With the achievement of these milestones, carriers and regulator are exploring data and digital services as new frontiers to redefine customers' experience earn revenue. Lucas Ajanaku reports that there is still a long way to go

•

•Telecom towers

about 11 terabyte of bandwidth capacity brought into the country firms such as MainOne, Glo1, West African Cable Systems (WACS), among others, that have landing points in the country. .

The Ministry of Communication Technology said in the last two years, 2G-enabled sites have increased from 22, 578 to 28,289 while 3G-enabled sites have increased from less than 10,000 to 15,048 during the same period. It added that a backbone infrastructure project, started by the NCC, through the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), has also continued to bridge the gap between the underserved and unserved areas in the country, especially areas not considered commercially viable by the telcos.

Funded through the Universal Access Provision Fund of the NCC, subsidy is provided for the project which is designed to facilitate the bridging of the digital divide. It is expected to cover all the 774 local government areas of Nigeria. Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson, said about 1, 200 kilometres of OFC has also been run so far, adding that over 27,000

BTS had been deployed through the fund. She said the sector now contributes about 10 per cent to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Tariff has relatively been friendly. The NCC adopted a progressive reduction in interconnect rates whereby new entrants and small operators had termination rates for voice services pegged at N4.90 in April 2013, N4.40 in April 2014 and by April this year it will drop to N3.90 for all networks.

Mobile Number Portability (MNP) was introduced into the market to deepen competition.

Though not many subscribers have yet taken advantage of the service, Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Tony Ojobo, said the fact that it was introduced into the market will make the operators to sit up and improve service quality since they know they might lose their customers without losing their numbers. "So, for us, it is not about total number of subscribers that have used the service but the freedom it has brought to the subscribers and the fact that it has deepened competition and consequently service quality," he said.

With the revolution also came the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) which was established by the NCC to produce the requisite manpower needs of the industry.

DBI began in Abuja but now has campuses in Lagos, Enugu, Asaba, Yola, Oturkpo and Kano to represent the six geo-political zones of the country.

Juwah said the sector has also served as an enabler to other sectors of the economy as it is the only sector that runs 24 hours daily for the whole year. This may not be far from the truth as the sector has nipped in the bud, the billions of naira usually siphoned through fertiliser distribution by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Through the Growth Enhancement Scheme, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, was able to block the conduit pipe known as fertiliser and other inputs to the farmer directly through their cell phones using an e-wallet.

Chief Operating Officer, Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), Mr. James Agada, agrees no less.

According to him, the sector has created jobs and fostered the emergence of e-commerce platforms

such as Konga, Jumia and a host of others that have contributed enormously to the GDP. He said: "Apart from multiple job creation and the multiplier effect on other sectors of the economy, telecoms sector is driving the growth of e-commerce with the likes of Jumia.com, Konga.com, Dealday.com, Kaymu.com, wakanow.com as major players."

Chief Executive Officer and Executive Secretary, E-Payment Providers Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN), Mrs Regha Onajite, said the increasing volumes of ebanking transactions, being driven by the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), "are all resting on the shoulder of the telecoms industry."

Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr Gbenga Adebayo, said the telecoms sector has performed well as an enabler of most of the ICT-driven activities that have brought about efficiency in the country.

He said: "Today, we bank with ease, we do online cash transfers, we use Automated Teller Machines (ATM), mobile money op-

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

BUSINESS 61 How manufacturers are driving local content in consumer goods

T

HE quest for local content among manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods is highly intense as many have continued to raise the bar as far as meeting international standard specification using local raw materials.

One of such is DUFIL Prima Foods Plc, a major player in the Nigeria culinary landscape, which has embarked on strategic backward integration to ensure 100 per cent local content in most of the products being produced by the company.

According to the organisation, the recent move has led to investments worth billions of naira in the Nigerian economy in the last 10 years which include the establishment of a seasoning plant, flourmills company, oil refinery and the establishment of a palm tree plantation under the Edo State Government Agribusiness revolution scheme.

DUFIL has acquired and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Edo State government for 60,000 hectares of land for cultivation of palm trees which will help in the boosting the

•Johnson

local production for palm oil, thereby increasing the supply of palm oil within the country.

In justifying its investment in palm oil sector, Nigeria used to be dominant in palm oil production in the 60s , but has lost its dominant position in the international trade after 1980s and is currently the fifth largest producer, far behind Indonesia and Malaysia (51per cent and 34 per cent of the world production in 2013/14) (USDA, 2014). Its output indeed represented only 1.57 per cent of the world production in 2013/ 14 (USDA, 2014). As regards to palm oil production in Africa, however, Nigeria's production is estimated at 55 per cent of the African output making it the largest producer of palm oil in Africa.

"While Malaysia and Indonesia productions have drastically increased over the 1990-2010 period, it has barely been the case for Nigeria, mainly because of its reliance on traditional production methods coupled with major infrastructural challenges being

faced in the country, out-dated technology and out-dated production knowledge."

Dufil said due to the constant shortage of palm oil for both domestic consumption and industrial usage, major companies like DUFIL and PZ Wilmar are investing heavily in the cultivation of palm tree plantations that will revolutionise the palm oil industry in Nigeria.

A combination of these and the efforts being made by Dufil will help Federal Government transformation agenda to achieve its 300,000 hectares for Agribusiness in palm oil sector."

Dufil stated that its entrant into the vegetable oil market is to reduce the supply shortage in the country with world-class quality at affordable prices for millions of Nigerians to benefit.

"DUFIL has invested billions of naira with a world-class facility and committed itself to the development of the palm oil industry and lifts the base of the pyramid by directly aiding the lifestyle improvement of Nigerians," Dufil said.

Firm launches new website for affordable goods •Juwah

erators, e-wallet in agriculture, telemedicine, among others, but we forget that all of these activities, in addition to their traditional duty of providing voice and internet service, run on the networks of telecoms companies. Yet, cashless transactions are on the rise every day.

"So, rather than criticise the sector for its little shortcomings, we should commend the players for helping the country to manage all these loads. I can imagine what will happen if telecoms companies decide not to carry any traffic (voice and data) in a day the way we witness it in the oil sector, where companies suddenly stop petrol distribution, thereby creating scarcity.

"There have been sanctions on erring operators especially on the issue of QoS and related issues in the last four years. But the commission wants to go beyond sanctions by ensuring that it helps in addressing the obstacles to smooth operations by the telcos collaboratively," Juwah said in an interview.

The NCC said it has put in place adequate compliance, monitoring and enforcement activities which it said have worked very well.

As the telcos shift attention to the provision of data and digital services to their customers, the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) said the industry is still bedevilled with myriad of challenges which needed to be addressed with vigour.

Its President, Mr. Lanre Ajayi, identified the drawbacks to include vandalism of telecoms infrastructure, bottlenecks in securing approval to build infrastructure, multiple taxation/regulation, and others.

He said: "A number of challenges are affecting the spread of infrastructure and they include multiple taxation by different levels of government; environmental hostilities such as bringing down BTS, especially in parts of the north

by terror groups and some government agencies; grant of permits challenge as well as vandalism and theft of telecoms equipment from sites."

Ajayi said more still needed to be done by the regulator and players in order to continue the auspicious march towards fully transforming Nigeria into a truly knowledge economy and a major player on the global ICT development map.

The policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will have a far reaching effect on how far the telcos can go in their quest to chart a new revenue course from data and digital services provision. Two major 'hostile' policies have already been put in place by CBN. One is the devaluation of the naira which will increase the cost of importing telecoms equipment. The other is contained in a circular the apex bank issued to all authorised dealers late last month which directed that importation of ICT equipment shall be through the interbank market only. Endorsed by its Director, Trade & Exchange Department, O.I. Gbadamosi, he decreed: "The importation of electronics, finished products, information technology, generators, telecommunication equipment and invisible transactions importations shall henceforth be limited to the interbank market only."

Justifying the directive, Gbadamosi told stakeholders that the policy was to maintain the existing stability in the foreign market and strengthen the various policy measures already initiated by the CBN. Analysts have wondered the stability the CBN is referring to when the naira has kept falling against the dollar. "Which stability in the foreign exchange market is the CBN trying to maintain?

These policies will do more harm than good to the economy. The impact of these policies will begin to manifest in the coming months, especially in an election year," a sector analyst said.

A

N international procurement and logistics company, Mannastores, has launched a new website www.mannastores.ng to sell original and quality goods at affordable prices for wholesale and retail traders across Nigeria.

The Chief Executive Officer, MannaStores, Ayo Benson, made this known in a release made available to The Nation.

According to him, Nigeria has never had it so good in terms of competitiveness of the market, especially in the retails arena which explains the company's

By Adeola Ogunlade

determination to give Nigerians world class products at affordable prices.

He said the firm has been helping Nigerian businesses and individuals purchase original goods from the United Kingdom and United States for the past four years. "We are launching the new website to scale up our activities in the sale of original and quality goods at affordable prices- ladies bags, perfumes, shoes household items, and accessories."

He noted that his partnership

with international reputable companies gives his company an edge, in terms of sourcing quality products at much reduced cost. He opined that the key factors for their low prices are their expertise in logistics, partnership with international companies and economy of scale.

Benson advises that companies should put service before profit as this is the philosophy that has worked very well for his company.

"We have a company policy of free delivery within Lagos as well as payment on delivery for customers' peace of mind," he said.

Group trains youth on agribusiness

S

MARTING from the success of its training in Ogbomosho, Oyo State, a group, Youth in Agribusiness Development and Innovation (YABDI), has concluded plans for another session in Ogun State.

The training holds at Natural Nutrient Limited training farm, 8/ 10 Moringa Close, KLM 18 Lagos/ Abeokuta Expressway Lala Town, Ogun State on January 31, 2015.

The lead facilitator, Mr. Adeniyi Sola, said the group will teach intending farmers on advanced techniques of planting cucumber, watermelon, plantain and tomatoes.

The sessions, he added, will be conducted in all states of the federation. Sola said the group is passionate about raising practical young farmers who believe in giving back to the society.

Agriculture, according to him,

"remains a key segment of the economy, accounting for about 22 percent of the GDP and about 51 percent of job creation.

"Today, Nigeria is a net importer of agricultural produce in excess of USD 4.2 billion, having lost its dominant position in exports of key crops such as cocoa, groundnuts, ground nut oil and palm oil, with less than five percent share of global exports."

•Conference participants throng the Shell Nigeria Mobile Health Stand for free medical examination, treatment and drugs at the ongoing 2015 Offshore West Africa Conference and Exhibition in Lagos... recently

BUSINESS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

LTHOUGH Nigeria is blessed with enormous human and natural resources, the populace has continued to pine under the yoke of poverty, no thanks to the managers of the common wealth, who have chosen to appropriate the national patrimony as their personal estate. The result is that not so many people are able to actualise their dreams no matter how they try.

The foregoing anecdote summarily captures the travails faced by the Nigerian masses.

Thankfully, one individual who is worried by the parlous state of the nation's economy and by extension the poor fortunes of his fellow kinsmen in his home state, Ebonyi, is Dr. Austin Nweze, a political economist at the Pan Atlantic University.

Commenting on the current budget which seeks to benefit the ruling class, Nweze raises some posers: "The pertinent question regarding the austerity measure the government plans to adopt is whether they do not affect the presidency? Is the budget not to the detriment of the masses considering the fact that it would further squeeze out life out of the average Nigerians?

Why is the presidency not ready to make the needed sacrifices if it truly wants to send the message that we are experiencing austere times?"

While faulting the budgeting process in the country, Nweze attempted a prognosis of the crisis inherent in the fiscal policy development.

In the 2015 spending plan, the federal government, Nweze said, has undertaken a drastic cut on capital expenditure as the vote has slumped to N633.53 billion from the N1.552 trillion in the 2014 approved budget.

The recurrent vote proposal, however, is raised to N2.616 trillion from the N2.468 trillion in the approved 2014 plan.

"This is clearly laughable. If you say you're addressing austerity measures, you're supposed to cut down on recurrent expenditure and not capital expenditure. But in Nigeria's case, it is the reverse. If last year, refreshment for presidency was over N300million and you now increase that to over N500million in 2015, what sort of austerity measures are you adopting? •xxx There is no austerity measures anywhere, except of course, elsewhere among the masses.

Austerity is for the masses and not for the rest of them."

According to him, at the centre of the problem concerning budgeting is the issue of corruption.

"The government is just playing lipservice to the whole idea of austerity and belt-tightening measures. As part of the austerity measures, the federal government did ask the MDAs to close down their individual accounts in the banks...But I can tell you the civil servants know how to move around these things. With a few exception, almost everybody has a price he can be bought.

"The nation's budgeting process is one that aids corruption one way or the other.

"Corruption is to blame largely for the problems with our budgets. A situation where we have to undertake fiscal planning on a yearly basis where most MDAs end up sharing unspent monies among themselves and lining pockets of their conniving ministers and public officers; this is corruption at the highest level.

"If you say you're cutting N5m from the allowances of House of Reps' members, it won't solve the problem. The only solution is to cut down the cost of governance. Our government is over bloated."

In the view of Nweze, one better way to ensure the system works is by addressing the leakages.

"I recall at a committee put up by the Nigeria Institute of Management at the National Conference, in which myself and Henry Boyo were asked to write a policy brief for a model governance structure. What we proposed at the time was a collegiate system.

With a collegiate system, you practically cut down on the huge cost of governance as we have presently.

"We proposed a system whereby we would have just 36 senators one each from state. You don't need more than six people to make laws in the state. That way you crash the cost to a very minimum level so that these monies can be used to invest in other relevant things. The problem is the system...The system has made it so. Correct the system

empowerment, industries and education.

We shall accomplish these through fairness, justice, mercy, faith, consultation, honesty, strong work ethic, dedication to serving the people and the nation, and by focusing on enlightened development."

Nweze who adopted the nomenclature, 'Doctor Do Good' as his political catch phrase, is convinced that if given the mandate he can turnaround the fortunes of his people for good.

"Ebonyi is surrounded by five other states such as Enugu, Cross River, Imo, Abia and Benue. We hope to build industrial clusters in the 13 local government areas of the state that to drive commerce and industry.

"Besides, we will build a rail track to encourage haulage transport from the different adjoining states."

Citing a current World Bank Report which stated that over 73.6 per cent of Ebonyans live below poverty level, Nweze promised that all that would change.

"Over 60 per cent of the youths live outside Ebonyi State. Hawking or doing one menial jobs or the other. We're going to encourage these sets of youths to come to Ebonyi and begin to do stuff. Rather than run away from Ebonyi State, they can come to be inspired to develop their capacity, be it manufacturing, production and so on. We're going to become original equipment manufacturers (OEM) because until we become OEM, you can really grow any economy. So whatever you want to produce anywhere in the world, just bring a sample and we will produce it for you in Ebonyi State."

To ensure all-round economic development, he said, efforts would be geared towards reviving the moribund sectors like the Nkalagu Cement, invest heavily in the hospitality sub-sector, among others.

"Why I think that Ebonyi people should give me their mandate and make me their governor is because I'm committed to serving them. I will be the first and only person committed to the welfare of the people. I care for them. I'm doctor do good. God, through me, will do Ebonyi people a lot of good.

"So, I need their mandate and it's only through my administration that Ebonyi people would be so proud to come from where they come from. Right now they are not proud.

That's a challenge that we have. I will give them self-confidence to be proud to say that they are from Ebonyi State. If you ask all these boys hawking on the streets where are you from? They say I'm from the East, I'm an Igboman. And when you probe further to find out exactly what part of the East they are from, they won't say. They hardly reveal their identities if they are from Ebonyi State.

"I will give them that confidence to be proud of where they come from and I will put Ebonyi State in the political map of Nigeria. I will put Ebonyi State on the economic map of Nigeria. I will put Ebonyi State on the social map of Nigeria. I will put Ebonyi State on the industrial map of Nigeria.

I will put Ebonyi State on the education map of Nigeria.

"We're going to improve the health sector by equipping the hospitals. The first hospital in Nigeria, the Presbyterian Church Hospital, in Uburu, Ohaozara local government area, a mission hospital by the Presbyterian Church of Scotland and Holland, is over 100 years old. They still get technical and financial assistance from their home country - the Ebonyi State government just gives a paltry sum yearly to them. We hope to upgrade it to become one of the teaching hospitals in Ebonyi State. And we will focus on research, especially researching on solutions to diseases.

"In 2003, a commissioner had an eye problem and was preparing to go to India for operation and somebody told him, why not go to the Presbyterian Church Hospital?

He went there and within two hours they did the surgery and there was no need for him to travel to India. And the commissioner said what can I do for you, and the medical director said give us a nursing school and it was established. We're going to work and make sure that you can come for medical tourism in Ebonyi State. Instead of going to India, you come to Ebonyi State. We're going to take care of the widows, the aged. In as much as we take care of the youths, we're going to make sure they that are widows and the elderly live well. Government will have a programme of social security. It is a passion that I have nursed and developed overtime and it will continue even when I assume office as the governor of the state."

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A

'Nigerians deserve better quality of life' Dr. Austin Nweze, a political economist at the Pan Atlantic University, is also the gubernatorial flag bearer of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Ebonyi State. In this interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf, he unveils his socio-economic blueprint for Ebonyi State and Nigeria at

•Nweze and everything will be in order."

Nigeria's democracy, Nweze stressed, "Didn't take cognisance of our heritage and that's why we have the issues we have now.

If we don't address the system, no matter what you do, we will continue to have problems.

We can experiment with it even this year. The high cost of governance is really killing this country slowly. We just have to apply the brake, and urgently too."

Having watched the goings on these past years, he has decided to throw his hat into the ring and see how best to change the fortunes of his people for the better by seeking political office.

Nweze, who is the gubernatorial flag bearer of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Ebonyi State, holds the view and very strongly too that with him as the governor, a lot of things would give.

While unveiling his programme for the

state, he said he envisions a new Ebonyi as "City of inspiration."

The internationally acclaimed speaker, who recalled that he did seek the mandate of his people to govern the state in 2011, said the experience of 2011 has further embolden him to find means and ways of liberating his people from the low they have sunk thus far.

"Ebonyi State stopped working after Dr. Sam Egwu left," he lamented.

The new Ebonyi State, he insisted, would be a place where dreams blossom.

"To quote john Maxwell, if you keep doing what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten. Something needs to be done differently in Ebonyi State to release the abundant wealth in the midst of a people living in poverty," he said.

"My topmost priorities shall be factor endowment-based development strategy focusing on agriculture, youth

“

My topmost priorities shall be factor endowmentbased development strategy focusing on agriculture, youth empowerment, industries and education. We shall accomplish these through fairness, justice, mercy, faith, consultation, honesty, strong work ethic, dedication to serving the people and the nation, and by focusing on enlightened development

’’

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

IVE us a summary of your career portraiture Before now, I have worked in the PR sector for awhile, ran a couple of businesses and small startups. I also worked with one of Nigeria's biggest beverage companies, Guinness Nigeria Plc, before setting up shop known as Brooks + Blakes with a colleague.

My background is PR, and I do really love PR, especially perception management.

What's your own assessment of the integrated marketing communications (IMC) sector in the country currently and what are your expectations for the sector this year?

Like you know, the IMC is built around creativity and without that, no marketing communications agency would thrive. And I would say in Nigeria, we have started stepping up our game. You see shops owned by African companies actually doing even better than the other shops coming from outside this country. And we're beginning to see more of that. And that bit that we're playing, we're one of those shops.

For the past four to five years, we have latched on the opportunities within the industry and we're bringing different game-changing ideas to clients who are discerning. I would say in 2015 and beyond, it's going to be an exciting year. For the industry, the microeconomic indices, I believe, are looking great and after February, we start seeing the results.

The industry is growing and PR as a subsector of the economy is growing as well. And the beautiful thing is that clients are beginning to appreciate PR all the more and what it adds to their business and then for every other agency that knows what they want, they tap into the vast opportunities therein.

Perception is what PR companies market‌ (Cuts in) Yes, perception is everything.

Though it's intangible, some people hold the view that perception is something they should be able to own and take hold of. How is that possible?

Perception is not something you can touch but something you can feel. When it comes to perception management, you cannot sell a lie; you can only package the truth and tell it whichever way you want to. Brands on the other hand are tangible. The budget of some brands and the clout of some brands are bigger than many nations, just one brand. If you take a brand like Google, Coca Cola, Guinness, these brands have, over the years, grown really big. You have a case where the brand grows beyond the product and in managing it too, you have to manage it in the space of managing perception.

You have to be able to understand what the people really think about the brand. And that involves constant management because people are changing, taste is changing, and preferences are changing. And you have to adapt without necessarily changing the brand value and identity ultimately. I guess that's when perception comes in.

As a manager of men and resources, what's your management style?

My management style, I would say, first, I believe, when it comes to management, you have to put the business first. In all honesty, some businesses would rather put the top management first before the business itself. But if I go by what they taught us in school, we were told the business must be separated from the rest.

So, my take is that let's leave the business as an entity on its own and let it run. And if you're fortunate like us in Brooks + Blakes, to have fantastic managers to work with, you give them the necessary environment to work with, teach them; let them run, allow for mistakes and also have a good reward system.

But, most importantly, let each person within the system see a future for him or herself and they will bring everything they have on the table. And that's been working for us at Brooks + Blakes. Someone can sit down and say in the next five years, I want to sit where Sola is sitting, and the system has been designed to make it fair and pair out that way. And so far, it has worked for us. And I believe it is what a lot of small and medium scale enterprises should emulate because it's that little bit that is missing in Nigeria. A lot of multinationals have gotten it right, what stops us from getting it right and doing the same thing?

For me, I believe the most critical part of an organisation is the human capital. And you need to treat the human capital well. Let me say this, human capital must understand that there is a long vision. If the human capital understands the long-term goal and vision of the company, about what you want done, you

G

BUSINESS

'Our human capital comes first' Sola Fijabi, an integrated marketing communications expert, is the Principal Partner, Brooks + Blake Nigeria Limited, a team of consultants with experience in PR, Media, Advertising, Brand Management, Procurement of Marketing Services, to mention just a few.

Fijabi who is an alumnus of Leeds University Business School, UK, as well as a member of national and international professional bodies including the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, E-Marketing Association and AMBA UK, was part of the team that helped in establishing Nigeria as the fastest growing market for Guinness in the world. In this interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf, he shares his experience managing men and resources over the years.

Excerpts:

•Fijabi now have to manage that human capital within the space to be able to achieve that long-term goal bearing in mind that this human capital have their own aspirations, they have their goals.

And if it is not within that company, they would

move on. What's the essence of getting someone employed at the end of the day, after training the person, two or three years, he is gone.

We have a very low turnover in Brooks + Blakes.

And one of the reasons is that we've got a fan-

63

tastic environment to work; fantastic team.

And so, you want to get out of your bed in the morning and look forward to work for fantastic clients, work for fantastic people, add your own value and you're appreciated for it.

So, to summarise, I would say human capital comes first. For us, managing human capital is very key. And when I look across businesses, sometimes, we overlook this one thing and focus more on the building and other things.

Human capital is very important.

Now, how do you cope with erring staff, especially those who renege on their assignments?

I think for me first, for everything that happens, I want to look at it as a positive; I usually look at the good side of everything, no matter how negative it might seem. One of the challenges, but I want to call it opportunities of leading people, is that you have to build trust. Trust in what you say and in what you do. And sometimes, due to experiences or stories that some employees have heard, it's very difficult sometimes to key in to that trust.

Ordinarily, what would take you say may be one month to build, would take you six months. You tend to ask yourself, are you sure everybody is coming into this business with a broad mind or is it all about the bosses, the money and so on?

I would say one of my biggest challenges was that and that was at the earlier part of the company. Because when you sit someone down and you're saying, ok, we're a small company, we're going to grow. But you have to stay with us. You have to convince a very good talent, who says, why should I pitch tent with you?

So, then, that was one of the biggest challenges I had when it comes to HR and also as an African business; to convince some clients, to say, ok, give us a chance, we can add value to your business. Luckily, some of our clients, especially the discerning ones, gave us that opportunity and I'm happy to say, we've not failed them. We've not betrayed their trust in us. We're happy with them and they are happy with us. But I must emphasise that the journey has not been all smooth.

With the benefit of hindsight, what has been the most difficult decision you have had to take as the CEO? You see, in the CEO's lives, there are very many difficult decisions he takes. Be it HR, be it movement of office, even picking a job from a client or going for a pitch. I won't call them problems; I would call them everyday challenges. To be honest, I'm struggling to pick one because I enjoy what I do. As I said, I don't look at the negative or the downside of things.

But I'm not stupidly positive too. It's just the plain truth. The way you look at a cup is whether it's half full or empty. I always look at the cup half full. So, the everyday challenges we face, I cope with them. Now, operating business in Nigeria is not sometimes the easiest thing to do because you have the ethical part of the business you have to contend with.

You have to state your values, and pushing those values have helped us. But I would say instilling the values have been one of the best things we've done, one of the challenging things we've faced as a business.

Within the marketing communication segment industry, you find that a majority of the players are foreigners, especially when you consider the fact that some multinationals here would rather package their television viewing commercials and other project using foreign models and all of that. That, to me, doesn't place any premium on government's drive for local content. What's your take on this?

I think there is always room for improvement. But it's working. There are principles and laws in place to take care of that. And sometimes when the client goes out with one ad, you might see the same ads running in other places.

If you go to Kenya, to Mali, you see the same ads and that's because instead of doing 10 different ads, they do one and make it kind of pan African.

For us, we're not solely into advertising, we don't shoot ads. We're more involved in perception management. But our work has even made such impression on some of our clients that they have even asked us to put up something for them outside the country. And that has spurred us to expand our frontiers. As we speak, we have an office in Central Africa Republic, as well as in Douala. So, the development has many positives in it.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015

C

HINEDU loves his Coca-Cola but he will prefer the Coca-Cola to bear his name. But he is a frustrated man.

With N500 in his hand, he deployed people to search for a PET bottle that bore his name but failed; not once, not twice.

But Chinedu is not alone. He is one of the several people scrabbling to own a Coke Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottle that bears their name.

Precisely on the 12th, I went to Ikeja Shopping Mall to honour an appointment.

Fortunately, the guy I was supposed to meet was still on his way so I had ample time to window shop.

As I made my way into the Shoprite super market, I noticed a group on the left side close to the exit and entrance doors. Incidentally, they were shoppers as they had shopping baskets and trolleys with them.

Inquisitively watching them, I noticed they circled something huge and were talking excitedly as they stretched their hands into the middle pulling out Coca-Cola 50cl PET bottles and dropping into their baskets.

Again, and again they moved in circle, searching, scrutinising the PET containing the drink and dropping them in their baskets.

What exactly is going on here? I asked no one in particular as I approached the crowd. It was then I noticed the stacks of Coca-Cola pallets surrounded by the shoppers. "Ah," I mused, "Nigerians like freebies."

Without paying attention to me, the shoppers, giggling and engrossed in their search kept calling out to each other, "please if you see a PET bottle with the name Jide hand it over to me as that is my son's name."

Another shopper appealed to others that she was looking for the containers with the names Ifeoma and Chinyere.

"I know my name will not be here as it is not a common name. I have searched for the Coke PET with the name Banke for over 30 minutes now," lamented another man.

"I have seen Samson, thank God; that is my husband's name. I now need to find the names of my twins," exclaimed a lady excitedly Watching them, it looked bizzare, intriguing. What is it about finding names on coke PET containers that will reduce adults to children. They were all shrieking and laughing. I mean, free drinks will not even elicit such excitement in adults.

Gently nudging one of the men engaged in the search who already had several bottles in his basket, I asked what happens if one finds a bottle that bears the name of her choice and he replied that the person pays for it if she wants to take it.

Before long, I was caught in the frenzy and forgetting completely what brought me to the shop, I started searching for the Coke PET bottles bearing the names of my loved ones and also appealing that anyone that sees some names should pass them over to me.

However, the journalistic instinct in me was aroused when a man of about 40-something years held up a N500 note and announced that it was for anyone who could help him find the name 'Chinedu' as he needed to get back to his office and had already spent about 20mins in the search.

That announcement provoked more excitement and frenzy amongst children and teenagers who wanted to win the prize money but must find the Coke plastic bearing Chinedu.

Approaching the man that made the announcement, I introduced myself and asked him why he wanted the plastic coke that badly as to make an offer of N500.

"That is my name and I have been in this shop and others to search for it to no avail." Why is it so important to you? I persisted. "I just like the innovation and will like to buy the ones with my name," quipped the man in response

What is special about personalised drink?

•Coca-Cola product at Shoprite

Crestfallen, he left without seeing it.

Coca-Cola the soft beverage giant has transformed the global Coca-Cola brand into a special personal experience for consumers by swapping the iconic Coca-Cola logo with personal names. Though the campaign 'Share a Coke' started in Australia, in 2011, it has been successfully activated in over 50 countries and was launched in Nigeria on January 7th, 2015.

In Nigeria, 400 local names were chosen and branded on Coke 50cl PET, while 163 names were printed upon bottle crowns and 53 names printed on Coke cans.

The 1litre Coke PET are branded with words like, Cousins, Joy, Happiness, Dinner, etcetera, encouraging consumers to share the drink with people that matter most to them.

Wondering if the excitement of finding one's names on Coke PET bottle was restricted to just Ikeja, last week Saturday, I took a trip to the popular Surulere Shopping Mall on Adeniran Ogunsanya and on entering the Shoprite super market I found that it was the same thing all over: CocaCola succeeding in bringing out the childlike tendencies still in us.

Miss Roqibah could not find her name.

Checking virtually through the over 1,000 coke PET bottles with her friend who was

more lucky, "I am just looking and hoping that I will find my name or even my second name,'' she lamented.

What names are you searching for?

"Roqibah or Wura," she replied. Before I could respond to that, other shoppers laughed and told her that she would never be able to see any PET bearing such names as they were not popular names.

But what does seeing your name on a Coke plastic mean to you? "It's the first time am seeing something like this and seeing my name will make it more cool," enthused Roqibah.

As I was still talking to her, I heard shrieks of laughter from two young ladies on another end of the Coke stacks. Walking up to them, I saw one of them clutching three PET while excitedly saying "my name is Nnenna and I found three bearing my names. I will buy all the coke with my names." Why? I queried, and she responded that it was fun seeing her name. "I feel as if Coca-Cola is directly addressing me."

"If anyone can help me find a PET with Susan on it, I will pay for a bottle for her."

Looking at the elderly woman beside me, I tried to find out from her why she wanted to buy that one. Explaining with laughter, she said Susan was her granddaughter who will appreciate that more than any other thing.

For Margaret whose birthday was on the 20th, nothing would thrill her colleagues more than offering them plastic Coke with their names on it. So she started the search for 21 Coke PET with various names. Fortunately before I left the shop, which was about one hour later, she had 20 plastic Coke with names she wanted except the name David.

"Coca-Cola has given me serious assignment as I just have to find my name 'Okwudili'," lamented a man who claimed to be a coke lover. But does finding your name on it make any difference to the taste of the drink? "No, but it gives the opportunity of acquiring an affordable personalised product."

The 'Share a Coke' campaign which features a variety of indigenous and other names that are popular among Nigeria's diverse cultural groups has come to stay as is being sold now in almost all the retail outlets across the country with no price increase.

For Chinedu, Roqibah and other consumers like me who are unable to find their names in store, you will have the chance to create your own personalised coke during the nationwide activation which commences next week.

Everyone loves something that is personal or unique to him even if it is just a drink.

Procter & Gamble to launch, Fairy, dish washing liquid

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HE popular dish washing liquid, Fairy, will soon be available in Nigeria. Fairy is a product of Procter & Gamble (P&G), a leading consumer goods company behind other household names such as Ariel, Vicks, Pampers, Always, etcetera.

The Fairy brand was first launched in the United Kingdom over 50 years ago. It is touted to be one of the favourite dish care brands globally.

"Nigerian consumers will be the first in sub-Sahara Africa to experience the Fairy quality, the same top performing product trusted by consumers in the UK and in over

80 other countries word wide," said George Nassar, General Manager of P&G Nigeria.

Furthermore, said Mr. George Nassar, "Fairy dish washing liquid boasts over 50 years of scientific innovation in each bottle and is proven to last two times longer than the current best selling brands in this category in Nigeria.

"Each powerful drop of Fairy is 100% effective on oily grease, making it easier to get dishes squeaky clean and pots shining."

The company has also revealed Iretiola Doyle, a well known actress and TV personality, as the face of the brand.

Jeanne du Plessis, P&G's Fabric and

Home Care Communications Specialist for sub-Sahara Africa, said that the choice of Iretiola as Fairy's celebrity ambassador was based on her unprecedented track record of success and shared values. "We are confident that Fairy is in the right company with the choice of Iretiola, a winner at home and on the job."

Iretiola, a mother of six children, says, "it is easy to connect with a brand that helps me achieve squeaky clean dishes always, whether I am preparing our home meals or catering at a dinner party."

Fairy liquid will be available from leading retailers in the original and lemon variants.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JANUARY 25, 2015

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QUOTABLE “Non-possession of educational qualification up to school certificate level or its equivalent alleged against General Buhari is a non-issue for the 2015 elections, as the allegation is incorrect, not sufficiently constitutionally informed.”

SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL. 9, NO. 3106

—Prof. Bayo Adekanye, Emeritus Professor of Political Science and Civil-Military Relations, on why Nigerians should discountenance insinuations that General Muhammadu Buhari is not qualified to run for the presidency.

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AST week, Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State authored perhaps the most offensive newspaper front page advert ever, wherein he asserted with all the sham religiosity his dark heart could muster that Muhammadu Buhari, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), would die in office if elected. Three former Nigerian leaders, all from the Northwest, had died in office, he wrote ominously. And because Gen Buhari is from the same Northwest, and is 72 years old, he could not avoid the same fate, reasoned Mr Fayose in the advert published by two newspapers. Nigerians were tired of state burials, he indicated with feigned altruism. Though the uproar the advert generated was intense, Mr Fayose has predictably stuck to his guns, insisting he would never apologise for his hysteria.

Given the kind of leadership the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been saddled with in the past few years, the party is unlikely to show any serious remorse over the advert. In fact, President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign organisation spokesman, the capricious Femi FaniKayode, merely distanced the PDP presidential candidate from the advert, suggesting that the content was strictly Mr Fayose’s, and that neither the PDP nor Dr Jonathan was responsible for the advert.

The Ekiti governor, he volunteered, was a man he and the PDP had great regard for, lest anyone should think Mr Fayose had become hated in the party for his strident views.

If the PDP, Jonathan Campaign Organisation and Dr Jonathan himself refuse to clearly and openly denounce the advert, and have in many ways produced tonnes of equally distasteful adverts against their main opponent in the February presidential poll, what of Ekiti itself? Are they not embarrassed by Mr Fayose’s sulphuric language and odious logic? They voted him into office, and have consistently resisted any suggestion, especially by the APC, that they acknowledge their mistake.

But are they still sure they acted sensibly?

They were almost of one accord in last June’s governorship poll when they wilfully threw away the baby with the bathwater, in effect asking for the biblical Barabbas to be released unto them and Jesus to be crucified. Are they sure they got their theology right? They wanted to punish former governor Kayode Fayemi for errors they could not forgive, even though their copious education should have led them to

Is Ekiti not embarrassed by Fayose? the Spartan forbearance necessary to withstand the blandishments and the engaging rusticity, populism and s u p e r f i c i a l egalitarianism that a Fayose governorship d e c e p t i v e l y foreshadows. Do Ekiti voters still trust their sociology principles?

No one knows how Ekiti people now feel about their governor, his provincial appeal, brashness, foul language, errant logic and wholesale subversion of the law and constitution.

Perhaps, having taken the spontaneous decision to enthrone a man so opposed to civilized living and so crudely enamoured of tyrannical politics, Ekiti feels compelled to live with their choice. Perhaps they resent being told ‘We told you so,’ or being ridiculed for marching backwards on a bad road. Until they come out in large numbers to denounce the dangerous atavism of their governor, we may never know exactly what they think of their governor as a person, and what they think of his statements and policies. But as for the rest of Nigeria, and in particular, the Southwest, everyone is embarrassed on behalf of Ekiti.

Ekiti, it must be reiterated, reserves the right to elect any party and any man of their choice into any elective office available. They have the right to cavort among a wide range of political parties, and to even denounce progressivism and embrace conservatism. The choice may seem disagreeable to many people, but the beauty of democracy is the right to be serious or sentimental, wise or foolish, and

rash or temperate, as long as the choices are made lawfully.

Pursuant to the freedom to choose, perhaps, is also the right of a people to build and elevate their civilization in faithfulness to their history, or to destroy their civilization because of one provocation or the other and in contempt of their proud history. One choice, sometimes, is all it takes for a people to perish — one careless war; one careless policy; one careless turn down the road. A society has a responsibility to keep its wits, for the decisions of today must take cognisance of the past, the present and the future. It is not clear that last June Ekiti made its choice carefully. The reasons are many.

Apart from the distasteful advert wishing a President Buhari dead, Mr Fayose had right from inauguration exposed himself to the rest of Nigeria as lawless and foolish. Ekiti may have resented many of Dr Fayemi’s policies and style, but they at least squirmed and groaned under a sensible governor they could introduce to the rest of Nigeria and the world.

Under Mr Fayose, they are living their fantasies of frolicking in Government House swimming pool, resting momentarily and dreamily on exotic government beds, and savouring Fayose’s gourmet handouts. But whether style or substance, only the hardiest of Ekiti proletariat would proudly introduce Mr Fayose as his governor, let alone his leader and embodiment of Ekiti values and worldview.

Ekiti has no excuse not to understand

Buhari momentum surges towards coronation

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HERE is not one unbiased analyst who does not expect that as things stand in the 2015 electioneering, the APC candidate, Gen Buhari, would be crowned on February 14. The tide began to turn in favour of the general when the opposition managed a flawless presidential primary last December; and the tide became a mighty wave when, against all expectations, they again managed to select as running mate Prof Osinbajo, a law teacher of great repute, in a political masterstroke seldom seen in these parts. In rally after rally, the APC presidential candidate has attracted waves and waves of crowds on fire for a ticket that has somehow inexplicably become chic and sexy. Few people, except perhaps elitist critics, are interested in what Buhari and his running mate have to say, whether their programmes and manifestos promise the right things, or whether what they promise even angels would not struggle to implement.

But the phenomenon is not quite as inscrutable as circumstances make it. The PDP has tried to sully Gen Buhari’s reputation by alleging perjury against him, suggesting he did not have a school certificate as he claimed. It has attempted to whip up emotions against him using some of his policies and actions as head of state in the 1980s. And it has tried to draw a wedge

•Jonathan

•Buhari

between him and the Yoruba using the animosities, prejudices and bigotries of the past, and projecting upon his idiosyncrasies a dismal future for Nigerians under his presidency. None has worked for the simple reason that the PDP misjudges the mood of the moment, the spirit of the time.

First, the PDP and Jonathan sympathisers are unable to appreciate that the leitmotif of this election is the incompetence of Dr Jonathan, his failure as a leader, his weakness in tackling the grave security challenges facing the country. The election is thus not really about Buhari, what he can do or won’t do, what certificates he brandishes or does not hold, what acts of cruelty he performed in the past or acts of kindness . The election is strictly speaking about Dr Jonathan, by what

margin to repudiate him, and about how to punish him for the humiliation and disgrace he has brought upon the country locally and internationally.

The PDP is already distressed. The more they abuse Gen Buhari and paint him as a monster, the more the crowds at his rallies swell. Though unfortunately the northern yokels have begun to stone Dr Jonathan, perhaps in anger, it is obvious that the president will be extremely lucky to get any sizable vote anywhere in the North, notwithstanding Governor Sule Lamido’s wailing last week that the president’s northern supporters were being stigmatised and intimidated. Nor is it likely that the even more discerning Southwest would leave a ticket on which their erudite son, Prof Osinbajo, is perched to vote for a president who in fact and by his own admission is a woeful failure. Increasingly too, parts of the South-South, a significantly larger part of the North-Central, and parts of the Southeast have begun to swing towards the Buhari column.

It is doubtful whether there is any magic by which the coronation of Buhari could be avoided next month. It will happen not because the voters happily trust Gen Buhari, but because they heartily distrust and loath Dr Jonathan.

The elections, I think, are already lost and won.

It would indeed be risky to try to procure a different outcome by the shenanigans the ruling party is accustomed to.

whom they were voting for in last year’s poll. He never hid his ribaldries, nor tried even faintly to disguise his caustic tongue.

His language is coarse and offensive, and his manners, which hark back to the Stone Age, underscore his indulgent medieval theology that constantly seeks to justify and explain his every action in divine terms. Thus the muscling of the judiciary, which he exposed to a systematic and orchestrated brutalisation and intimidation shortly after his inauguration, was justifiable because he feared the APC wanted to subvert the people’s will. He was not uncomfortable with getting seven lawmakers to approve his cabinet list, pass state budget, and give hasty assent to halfbaked and disingenuous bills.

Many analysts have suggested that Mr Fayose is keener than anyone else, including Dr Jonathan’s most ardent aides, in getting the president re-elected since his stay in Ekiti Government House, which still rests on shaky judicial ground, could become even more tenuous under a Buhari presidency. The analysts are right. But what fully explains Mr Fayose’s lack of restraint and effortless resort to inanities is his natural and abiding inclination to wallow in the cesspool. His style is his life, and his life is not the modern kind Nigerians and Ekiti are used to. There is no reflection in him, and in him all the vices often on display in beer parlours and street fights cohere exquisitely. Such a man does not need reasons to be offensive; he is naturally and instinctively offensive.

If Ekiti is embarrassed by their governor’s atrocious behaviour, they have not quite shown it. The rest of Nigeria, except diehard PDP supporters, groan in pain at his excessive and constant execrableness. Ekiti, it seems to the judicious, will vote Gen Buhari, for they, like their kinsmen in the Southwest, are tired of PDP’s tomfooleries in Aso Villa. It is indeed inconceivable that any scaremongering could stop them from repudiating Dr Jonathan, or dissuade them from voting their kinsman, Yemi Osinbajo, who is on the Buhari ticket. Mr Fayose’s desperation is thus unlikely to bear any fruit. But his excesses will continue until they reach a crescendo, where the quietly mortified Ekiti, hitherto anxious to justify their rash electoral behaviour of last June, will rise in fiery indignation, damn the consequences of being ridiculed by their regional and national compatriots, and throw out a man whose political monstrosities all of literature is incapable of depicting even in fiction.

Postponing Poll 2015?

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HERE are indications elements within the Goodluck Jonathan government might be disposed to the postponement of next month’s polls . They fear that given the current momentum in favour of the opposition, the president could lose. That indication is now lent spurious weight by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, a retired army colonel, who has suggested that in view of the delay in issuing permanent voter cards, a threemonth postponement would be advisable and even constitutional. The electoral body, INEC, which had nearly four years to produce and distribute the cards, has happily not asked for a postponement.

Both Dr Jonathan and his party should be advised to perish the thought. If everyone cannot receive his PVC, the use of temporary voter cards should be sanctioned.

Postponement in the circumstances some are campaigning for it would be risky, unconstitutional, crisis-ridden, and perhaps be interpreted as an attempt to shift the goal post in favour of Dr Jonathan, a political chicanery whose consequences may be difficult to manage.

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