The Nation July 03, 2013

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

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VOL. 8, NO. 2535 WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

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Boko Haram: Tears as bodies arrive in Ibadan Govt consoles families

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

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HE grim import of the murder of 10 Ibadan traders by the Boko Haram sect was felt yesterday in the Oyo State capital.

Women were crying as the bodies were offloaded from a truck. Men were shaking their heads in deep dejection as the caskets were lined up in a row at the Bodija market.

The traders, who were beans sellers, went to Borno State — the heart of the sect’s insurgency— to buy beans for sale in Ibadan when they ran into an ambush by the deadly sect members. They were killed in a most gruesome manner.

A survivor of the attack, Taoheed Adewuyi, 32, recounted the chilling moments of the attack, in the early hours of Friday in Munguno, Borno State. They left Ibadan on Thursday.

He said: “God saved me from the attack. They stopped us along the way and asked us to come down from the vehicle and lie down. They thereafter started shooting us one after the other as we lay on the ground. I was the third on the row. I was shot but the bullet did not hit me very well. I was gone. It was after an hour that I discovered that I was still alive.”

Continued on page 2

•Relatives receiving the remains of the victims…yesterday.

MORE PICTURES ON PAGES 2 & 3

Amaechi threatens to stop funding police

THE DEAD •Seye Adegboyega •Jelili Popoola •Ojo Mosobalaje •Fatai Kareem •Femi Oyetunde •Ninalowo Saheed •Saburu Lanlehin •Lekan Oladokun •Sola Adeoye •Nurudeen Lawal

•’Police chief must go’ From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

•Relatives of the victims crying on the scene…yesterday.

unhappy to read that Mrs. OkonjoIweala said the inaction of the National Assembly on the 2013 amendment budget will cripple the economy.

He said that the Senate does not expect any minister or an appointee of the President to make comments Continued on page 4

Continued on page 4

PHOTOS: FEMI ILESANMI

Budget 2013 faces bleak future •Jonathan, lawmakers row deepens •Okonjo-Iweala summoned

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ENATORS will not consider the 2013 amendment budget until October, it was learnt yesterday.

The upper chamber also warned Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Mrs. Nogozi Okonjo-Iweala against making unguarded comments.

From Onyedi Ojiabor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala was reported to have warned that the economy would shut down in September, if the National Assembly fails to approve the 2013 amendment budget.

The chairman, Senate Committee

on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said at a press conference in Abuja that the Senate would only consider the proposed amendment budget after its annual vacation, which begins on August 2, and ends on September 31.

Abaribe said that Senators were

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O stem the gradual return to insecurity in Rivers State, Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi yesterday restated his demand for Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Abubakar to redeploy Commissioner of Police Mbu Joseph Mbu. Amaechi spoke when he received a delegation of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Governing Board, led by its chair, Chief Gordon Bozimo, at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

He also threatened to stop funding the police,

•MORSI CLINGS TO POWER IN EGYPT P61 •EKITI TEACHERS TO GET 16 % P8

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

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NEWS

Tears as Ibadan Continued from page 1

•Chairman, Heirs Holdings Tony Elumelu discussing Africa's power sector transformation with President Barack Obama during a tour of the Ubungo power plant near Dar es Salaam, Tanzania...yesterday. With them are U.S. and Tanzanian officials.

• Group Managing Director, BGL Mr. Albert Okumagba (left) greeting the Minister of Power Prof Chinedu Ositadinma Nebo during the 2nd Chartered Institute of StockBrokers (CISB) National Workshop in Abuja. With them is President/Chairman of Council, CISB Mr. Muritala Olushekun.

•Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dangote Group of Companies Mr Joseph Makoju exchanging a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments Dr .

Olusegun Aganga after the signing of an MoU on refineries in Abuja...yesterday.

Asked how he was so sure that the attackers were Boko Haram members, he said: “When they discovered that one of the victims was still breathing, one of the attackers went into their car pulled a knife with which he ‘slaughtered’ him. I almost cried out at that time but I could not do so. Our man who was slaughtered was Ninalowo (a.k.a AY).

“I’m sure they were Boko Haram members”.

The bodies were received at the Ibadan/Egbeda toll gate, amidst tight security, by a delegation of over 1000 traders and sympathisers, led by the Babaloja of Oyo State, Chief Dauda Adisa Oladapo. The dead are: Seye Adegboyega, Jelili Popoola, Ojo Mosobalaje, Fatai Kareem and Femi Oyetunde.

Others are: Ninalowo Saheed, Saburi Lanlehin , Lekan Oladokun, Sola Adeoye and Nurudeen Lawal.

Bodija Market Union spokesman, Akeem Emiola released the list of victims.

Security was tight as the bodies were brought into the ancient city at 3.30pm in two white Fiat buses marked Lagos GGE 96 XD and Abuja AA317 RBC. There were 12 police patrol vans, one Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) and police trucks were deployed to forestall crisis.

It was gathered that majority of the victims were mainly apprentices.

Two of the traders, Ibrahim Ademola and Taoheed Azeez Adewuyi, escaped narrowly.

Emiola said he could not confirm that 25 people were killed as being speculated in some quarters. “We cannot confirm that. What we know is that 10 of our people were killed; may be it’s true that 25 people were killed, we don’t know.”

As the brown caskets were being brought out of the vehicles, the traders, families and sympathisers who had waited hours wept uncontrollably. They lamented the havoc Boko Haram had created for the bereaved families.

Four other traders were allegedly killed by the sect on May 5.

Shops and stalls were shut at the market yesterday.

The market and its environs wore gloomy mood.

Oladapo urged the Federal Government, which has declared a state of emergency in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa, to take drastic measures against the Boko Haram insurgency.

“Is it after they have killed all of us that the government will act?

•Relatives of the victims crying... yesterday

• From left: Chairman, Oyo State Advisory Council on Marketing Alhaji Dauda Oladipo, Kareem and Special Adviser to the Oyo State Governor on Special Duty Mr. Ogunrin Muili ...yesterday.

Many of us have been killed,” he lamented.

Oladapo said the death of the traders would lead to scarcity of beans in the market, adding that most of the traders are no longer willing to travel to the North.

At the scene, Oyo State Commissioner for Trade and Investment Mr Adebayo Olagbenro Kareem condemned the killings, saying the government would address the crisis.

He prayed for the repose of the souls of the deceased, urging their families to take it as the will of God. Fatai Kareem, a brother to one of the victims, said they were calling his younger brother’s phone num-

Boko Haram victims protest in Anambra From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

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•From left: World Bank Country Director Mr Michael Wong; Representative of the Canadian High Commissioner Mr Joseph Sebhatu; Minister of Solid Minerals Development Mr Musa Sada and Australian Ambassador to Nigeria Mr Jonathan Richardson, at a stakeholders workshop on the Australian and Canadian Externally Financed Output Programme for Mining Sector Development in Nigeria...yesterday.

ICTIMS of Boko Haram insurgency in the North, who were resettled in Okpoko, near Onitsha, Anambra State, yesterday protested what they called “forceful ejection from their petty trading points— kiosks”.

The over 500 protesters lamented that the make-shift structures between the plastic market and Okpoko junction where they traded were demolished by the government.

They said they relocated to private compounds only for their goods to be destroyed by the government again without providing them alternatives.

The traders in a petition to the Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha, Rev Val Okeke, urged him to prevail on the government to give them an alternative place.

They added that the government instead of assisting them as victims of Boko Haram, was worsening their condition.

Their spokesman, Charles Orji, said: “We constructed make-shift structures between the plastic market and Okpoko junction but that joy was short lived as the government stormed the market and demolished the structures, saying that we blocked the expressway with our wares.

“We were forced to move into compounds within the private site. But on June 24, we were forced out of the private sites and all our goods worth thousands of naira destroyed, mostly perishables.

“Our temporary stalls were pulled down with bulldozers without an alternative place.”

The Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Okonkwo Robert, could not be reached for comments.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

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NEWS

receives bodies of Boko Haram victims

•People milling around the vehicle that brought the remains of the victims from Maiduguri at Egbeda Toll-Gate, Ibadan...yesterday.

•A survivor, Azeez... yesterday.

ber but he did not pick it up while on the trip. Unknown to them, he had been killed. “ Our mother died just last year and we are still mourning her. Now it is our brother. He was the youngest of the six children of our parents. We cannot tell the members of our family about his death because it is going to be very devastating.

“I did not know that the day he was travelling to buy beans will be the last day I would see him. Boko Haram men have done their worst and I know God will judge them accordingly.”

Abiala Emmanuel, a friend to one

of the victims, said the late Sola Adeoye was preparing for his brother’s marriage next week.

“We were friends for over three years. He was a cool person who could not hurt a fly. He was kind and generous towards his parents.

I learnt they used machete to cut him and that his body was not found,” Emmanuel said.

Emmanuel, who was wailing, recalled that it was the second time the deadly sect has killed traders from the market.

The head of the Hausa community in Bodija market Alhaji Isiyaka Hassan, called on the government to provide adequate security in the

• A relative of one of the victims, Mr. Isiaka Kareem... yesterday.

community.

The community gathered to mourn the slain traders.

The Sarkin Hausawa, who spoke in Yoruba, said what happened to the traders was disheartening.

He said: “It is disturbing because it is beyond our powers and disheartening because of the innocent souls that were killed without any just cause.”

He called for adequate security in the market for fear of reprisal against Northerners.

Hassan prayed God to rescue Nigerian from the hands of evil men who kill under the guise of religion.

He recalled that the traders were

• A relative of one of the victims crying ...yesterday

• A relative of a victim, Mr. Babatunde Emmanuel...yesterday. PHOTOS: FEMI ILESANMI,

brothers and sisters, who have been living in peaceful for decades, irrespective of tribe or religion.

“We are brothers and sisters here without any quarrel. We share things together and we don’t have any cause to disagree. It is the evil people who are planning a division among us, but Insha Allah they shall not succeed,“ Hassan said.

Those in the neighbourhood expressed fear that the traders could become violent.

A banker, who simply gave her name as Tonia, said: “We expect the security agencies to be on standby to curtail violent reaction from the traders who are in a tense mood

because of the tragic news.”

A woman trader, Mrs. Titi Odejayi, urged the government to ensure protection of lives and property.

She said: “We warned our people to stop going to the place (North) until peace is restored. How can you risk being killed because of means of survival?

“The government should seek a lasting solution to the issue of Boko Haram.”

Another trader, Mutiu Jamiu, said: “The situation in the North demands urgent attention before it spreads to other parts. Already, we are experiencing the pain of the trouble.”

Why insecurity thrives in the North, by Islamic scholars

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USLIM leaders in the North yesterday blamed the insecurity in the region on lack of sound knowledge, effective leadership and social irresponsibility.

They appealed to members of the Boko Haram sect to accept the amnesty offer.

In a communiqué at the end of a conference on the role of Muslim scholars in fostering unity, peace and security organised by the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), they blamed government for not prosecuting those found to have perpetrated violence in the country.

The communiqué, signed by the Chairman of the Communique Drafting Committee, Prof. S. Junaidu and the Secretary-General of JNI, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, condemned the increasing cases of corruption in the country, urging the government to address the issues.

The communiqué reads: “The prevailing security challenges are partly as a result of the individual

•Beg insurgents to accept amnesty From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

and collective inability of the Ulama to stand up to their responsibility in terms of teaching and disseminating sound knowledge and giving effective leadership.

“That government’s refusal to institute judicial process of inquiry or prosecution as the case may be, against people arrested and are accused of perpetrating violence is an abdication of cardinal leadership responsibility that smacks of insensitivity in governance.

“That since unity of Muslims is a cardinal obligation, the Conference implored the scholars to uphold, foster and promote it and that scholars must stand up to their rightful position as heirs of the Prophet to shun vices and tread the path of piety and righteousness in order to discharge their obligation of guiding the Ummah duly and

effectively, especially as it pertains to the issue of unity.”

It added that Muslim scholars must uphold the principle of mutual fairness, clemency, tolerance, love and respect towards one another to promote unity.

It said since national security was a necessity for all and sundry, every Nigerian must take the sustenance of peace and tranquility as a duty.

The leaders observed that Muslim scholars should buckle up in their efforts at educating the general public on the tenets of Islam, inculcating moral uprightness, and in providing effective community-based leadership and social responsibility.

They added: “That the lessons of the life and times of the Sokoto Caliphate leaders and the rich intellectual legacy they left behind pertaining to unity, peace and security must be studied explored and

utilized for the purpose of engendering and promoting harmonious co-existence in the country.

“That leaders should stop patronising rapacious and pseudo scholars, if at all they have sincerity of purpose in governance.

“That as evidence of good governance, government at all levels should lead in fighting the endemic corruption in the country by strictly upholding the rule of law against the perpetrators and promoters of that national scourge.

“That the three tiers of governments in the country should be alive to their responsibilities by facilitating conducive economic atmosphere for youth employment and by providing social amenities and infrastructural facilities as a guarantee for people’s welfare and comfort.

“That government should protect the rights of its people with a great sense of equity and justice to

all for the purpose of entrenching peaceful coexistence and inter-religious harmony in the country according to Nigerian law. In any case, the rule of law must be upheld and respected.

“That the government can curtail youthful restiveness only by addressing the problems of unemployment, drug abuse, sexual perversion, indiscipline and undue radicalization of any type.”

They called for the trial of anybody found culpable of perpetrating violence and aggression against peace loving Nigerians .

It urged the insurgents to tread the path of peace and accept the dialogue as offered by the Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of the Security Challenges in the North.

“That to promote sound knowledge and moral and character training among the youth, the government must make religious education compulsory in the education system, especially at the primary and secondary levels,” it said.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

NEWS Anambra Catholics, Anglicans clash over school premises

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HERE is tension in Onitsha, Anambra State’s commercial capital, following the boiling over of the rivalry between the Catholics and the Anglican Churches in the state.

There was a clash by their faithful over a school premises being used for worship during last Sunday service.

The incident took place between St Michael Catholic Church and St Faith Anglican Church both in Onitsha, during a church service at Lafiaji Primary school in Fegge.

Though there was no record of casualty, it was gathered that the crisis started when worshipers of St. Faith Anglican Church, Fegge were allegedly at-

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

tacked by the members of Men of Order (MOD) from St. Michael’s Catholic Church.

The Priest of St Faith Anglican Church, Rev Canon Obiora Uzochukwu, told reporters yesterday that the cause of the incident was not unconnected to the lingering crisis over the ownership of the land where the school was built.

According to him, the Lafiaji primary school saga started when the state government gave the Anglican Church the space to be conducting their church service.

He alleged that the presence of the Anglican Church Continued on page 60

Okonjo-Iweala summoned

•Pupils of the Sunshine School, Ibadan, casting their votes during the Voters Education programme in the school…yesterday PHOTO: NAN

From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

Amaechi threatens to stop funding police Continued from page 1

should the IG fail to remove the commissioner.

Bozimo was worried about last week’s kidnap of three Youth Corps members in the state.

He said: “Three days ago, three of our ‘corpers’ were kidnapped. I feel very worried because, if Port Harcourt is not safe, I don’t know where people will run to. So, we are imploring Your Excellency to look at the problems critically and fashion out what we can do to nip the problem in the bud. If not, ‘corpers’ may begin to avoid Rivers State the way they did to Borno, Yobe and other trouble-ridden states in the North. I have the intention of discussing it with the Inspector General of Police when I get to Abuja.”

Amaechi said the call for Mbu’s transfer became necessary because the commissioner had derailed from his legitimate function of protect-

ing lives and property.

Said the governor: “We used to have a wonderful security system with commissioners of police who understood their functions and knew what to do.

“But since the Police in Abuja suddenly posted the person called Mbu Joseph Mbu, nothing has been working again.

“Mbu has been sitting with politicians for political reasons and the security system is down and out. Since he came, we have never had peace. We have held Security Council meetings two or three times. But before Mbu came, we used to hold security meetings two or three times every month. We knew where our Youth Corps were and we know the level of security arrangement we put in place to protect them. We also sent the SSS to watch over them. We have equipment that monitors what happens there. The only way they will not kidnap youth

corps members is to send Joseph Mbu back to where he came from and post us a commissioner of police that will serve the interest of this state.”

He urged the NYSC Board to unravel the issues surrounding the kidnap of the three Youth Corps members to the Federal Government and the implications it would have on the state, pointing out that his administration would soon stop funding the police for its inability to protect the lives and property of citizens.

Said Amaechi: “I don’t want a commissioner of police that will work for me. I want a commissioner of police that will work for the interest of the state; that will work for Rivers people. So, it is not only me that you should complain to; talk to Inspector-General of Police and those who transferred the commissioner of Police that was working in the interest of Rivers people.

“Port Harcourt is becoming unsafe and more NYSC members may be kidnapped, except they remove Joseph Mbu. It will worsen when we (the state government) stop funding the Police, because we will soon stop funding them.”

Amaechi warned that Mbu’s continued stay in the state would jeopardise the conducive business climate of Port Harcourt and the fast growing economy.

“The Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu is a politician, because he attends political meetings with those who brought him to our state and there is no way you can stop that. The only way you can stop that is to ask the politicians in Abuja to withdraw their Commissioner of Police and allow us to secure Rivers State. My fear is that his stay in Rivers State is intended to kill the conducive business climate in Port Harcourt and the fast growing economy of Continued on page 60

•Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala

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OMMENTS on the National Assembly over the 2013 amended budget by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has earned her a summon by the House of Representatives.

Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala is to appear before the lawmakers over her assertion that the economy will collapse in September if the National Assembly refuses to approve the 2013 Budget amendment bill President Goodluck Jonathan sent to it.

The decision of the House followed the adoption of the prayers of a motion by a member, Samson Osagie, under matters of national importance, The House of Representatives recently rejected a bill by

President Goodluck Jonathan amending the 2013 budget of N4.987 trillion passed by the National Assembly on the premise that Jonathan was not specific on areas of amendment.

But the President quickly sent another amendment highlighting areas of critical interest meant for amendment.

A newspaper yesterday quoted Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala as saying on a radio programme that the Federal Government may be handicapped in paying workers’ salaries should the budget amendment bill not be passed expeditiously.

She said: “We have been Continued on page 60

NUPENG calls of e offf strik strike NUPENG last night called off its three-day warning strike after a meeting with the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Budget 2013 faces bleak future over amendment Continued from page 1

which could set the Executive and the Legislature on collision path.

President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to send the 2014 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly in September.

If the 2013 amendment budget, which Abaribe described as “humongous”, is not considered before the end of September, it means that the National Assembly will have two sets of budgets to consider and approve.

Abaribe said: “Let me say that we were very perplexed when we read comments allegedly made by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy with respect to the budget.

“First of all, the Senate does not view the comments made kindly.

“The feeling of the Senate and indeed the National Assembly is that we do not expect ministers of the Federal Republic and appointees of Mr. President to make comments that tend to give the impression of a collision course between the Execu-

Jonathan to National Assembly: restore N72.4b budget cut

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has said that the reduction of budgetary allocations by the National Assembly will undermine the implementation of the 2013 budget.

Dr. Jonathan, in a statement titled “Re:2013 amendment budget”, urged the lawmakers to restore the deductions to promote national development.

He warned that failure to restore the deductions would exacerbate the unemployment situation as well as make it difficult for the government to meet its obligations to its workers.

Though Jonathan did not say where the National Assembly put N72.4 billion it reduced from the budget, some observers noted that some of the cuts made by the lawmakers were uncalled for.

The observers said that the National Assembly should not have tampered with allocations made for construction of roads, amount voted for creation of jobs, health facilities and power

tive and the Legislature because we are all working towards the same purpose and our purpose is to make sure that we take care of the welfare of Nigerians.

“Therefore we find it not to our liking when a comment is made that tends to say that government will shut down

From Onyedi Ojiabor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

projects.

The President recalled that he had transmitted the 2013 amendment budget proposal to the National Assembly on March 14.

He noted that following further consultations, he had sent a new version of the categorised 2013 amendment budget proposal indicating changes proposed across the expenditure categories.

He said: “The capital projects have now been designated as follows: “critical” is designated as (I); “important” is designated as (ii) and “others” designated as (iii).

“Some Capital Projects, the allocations of which were reduced and which we seek your cooperation in restoring so as to promote national development, include the following:

if the National Assembly doesn’t do anything and we do not agree with that.

“What we got from the President, which is actually a third amendment, is a set of documents amending the budget.

“Now we find that these documents are even larger

“Ministry of Works: Abuja- Lokoja Road reduced by N4 billion; KanoMaiduguri Road reduced by N3.5billion; Dualisation of Ibadan-Ilorin Section 2 reduced by N5.5billion; rehabilitation of Jebba Bridge reduced by N1.25billion; rehabilitation of burnt Marine Bridge and Iddo Bridge reduced

by N1billion; Special Intervention Funds for Emergency Roads and Bridges washed out across the country reduced by N6.28billion; Dualisation of Obajana Junction to Benin reduced by N4billion etc.

“Ministry of Health: MDG HIV/AIDS ARV drugs allocation reduced by N1billion; Routine Immunisation Vaccines reduced by N1.75billion; Malaria Programme procurement and distribution of insecticides reduced by N0.8billion; payment of pledge for Onchocerciasis Recertification cut by N0.12billion; National Trauma Centre,

than the budget itself and there is no way that the Senate and, indeed, the National Assembly can consider these amendments until we come back from our vacation this year.

“There is absolutely no way amendments of this nature would be considered

Continued on page 60

with the short time we have until we go on our annual vacation.

“The point really is that we thought that if there are differences - and this was discussed with the Presidency that we take those few differences and deal with them.

Coming to now bring up a

•Dr. Jonathan

whole list of amendments that are even much more than the original documents, we do not expect that the Continued on page 60

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY JULY 3, 2013

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NEWS NJC urges court not to intervene in probe of ex-Abuja CJ From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

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HE National Judicial Council (NJC) has told the Federal High Court, Abuja not to intervene in its ongoing probe of allegations of misconduct against the immediate past Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Justice Lawal Hassan Gunmi.

The NJC claimed that under Section 158 of the Constitution, the court is not allowed to interfere in its investigative activities.

The council’s position is contained in its notice of preliminary objection to a suit

by Gunmi seeking to restrain the NJC from probing allegations of miscarriage of justice contained in a petition written against him by a firm, Nestello Gateway Group Limited and its official, Mike Mbanefo.

NJC argued that since Gunmi had not, in his suit, complained that any of its administrative decisions affected his civil rights, but only complained of being investigated, the court can not intervene.

It argued that by virtue of Section 158 (1) of the Constitution, its (NJC’s) power to exercise disciplinary control over judicial officers and persons could not be subjected to the direction or control of any authority or person.

The council contented that Gunmi could only invoke the court’s jurisdiction under Section 251(1)(r) of the Constitution if he could establish that an administrative decision of the council has affected his civil rights and obligation.

Section 158(1) of the Constitution provides that “in exercising its power to make appointments or exercise disciplinary control over persons, the Code of Conduct Bureau, the NJC, shall not be subject to direction or control of any authority or person.”

NJC, therefore, argued that by virtue of the constitutional provision, it is empowered to investigate allegations against Gunmi for his conduct while in office.

It urged the court to decline jurisdiction.

Gunmi, now the Emir of Gunmi, Zamfara State, sued NJC and six others, challenging the competence of the (NJC) to probe him even when he has ceased to be a serving judicial officer by reason of his letter of voluntary retirement dated May 13, 2013 and the payment of three months salary in lieu of notice.

He also queried the probe by the NJC when cases relating to issues which formed the subject of his investigation were subject of pending cases before the Federal High Court and the FCT High Court.

The former FCT CJ is urging the court to declare that the NJC lacked the power or jurisdiction to probe him since the subject matter of the case was pending before an Abuja High Court.

He also urged the court to set aside anything done or purported to be done by the NJC and the probe panel on the ground that he was no longer a judicial officer.

Southsouth, Southeast monarchs unite for Jonathan RADITIONAL rulers from the Southsouth and Southeast yesterday backed the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The monarchs also said they would support the President’s second term ambition in 2015.

They spoke at the Ijaw House, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, during the inauguration of the Southsouth and Southeast Traditional Rulers Forum.

According to them, Jonathan had provided effective leadership, despite the challenges confronting the country.

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade and Gbong Gwom, Jos, Da Buba Gyang, described Jonathan as one of the best leaders to have ruled the country.

Oba Sijuwade, who was represented by the GeneralSecretary of the Council of Yoruba Monarchs, Oba Aderemi Adedapo. said: “Dr. Jonathan’s emergence as President was a fulfilment of Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s prediction that an Ijaw man would rule this country some day in the future.

“We thank God today that we have an Ijaw son as a good

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• Rulers forum inaugurated in Yenagoa From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

and great leader of this country. If you were there on May 29, 2013 in Abuja where I was representing the Southwest, you will agree with me that this man (Jonathan) has surpassed many leaders we have ever had in this country.

“I am not a politician, I’m a traditional ruler. We thank God for giving us this President at this point in this country.”

A business mogul and politician, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu called on Nigerians to give Jonathan a second chance.

He claimed that there was no time the President pledged to serve a single term.

Iwuanyanwu said: “Today, I have gone round everywhere in this country and I feel a sense of joy and happiness that Jonathan has not disappointed us. He has done well.

“However, I am surprised to hear some people in some circles talking about four years’ tenure when our Constitution allows him to run

for eight years, if he wishes to do so.

“Some people even say there is an agreement to that effect, but I am telling you royal fathers, that there was no such agreement”.

But Gyang urged political class to give constitutional role to traditional rulers to enable them contribute to decision-making.

He said: “Let me say with humility that the traditional institution in Nigeria is not asking for any executive powers that will bring us at loggerheads with constituted and elected democratic rulers.

“We are asking for recognition for the obvious reason that governance itself today requires the role and input of the traditional institution.

Besides, the Chairman, Southeast Council of Traditional Rulers, Cletus Ilomuanya, noted that the two geopolitical zones share common heritage.

“Historically, we are one people of the same lineage but for political expediency and administrative convenience, we now pretend to be

people from two different zones of Southsouth and Southeast.

“Therefore, it is one of the aims of the Southsouth and Southeast Traditional rulers to re-orientate and galvanise our people to begin to think and act as people of one cultural and traditional identity.

At the meeting were the Sultan of Sokoto, represented by the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar El-Kanemi, President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Nnachi Enwo-Igariwey and former Governors of Bayelsa and Imo states, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and Ikedi Ohakim.

They all expressed delight at the formation of the Forum, stressing that it would cement the bond of unity between the zones and promote stability in the country.

Addressing the forum, Jonathan lauded traditional rulers across the country for complementing government’s efforts, especially in the maintenance of peace and order in their respective domains.

Jonathan, who was repre-

sented by Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson, urged them to partner stakeholders in the ongoing effort to build an egalitarian and prosperous Nigeria.

He said:“Traditional rulers occupy a special place in our system. It was so before in the days of our forefathers and it is so up till now and will continue to be.

“You are the critical link between our cherished history and past. You have a duty which of course, you are doing well to maintain our values, traditions and cultures.

“And hopefully, working together with other stakeholders, we believe that you will also successfully transfer these same values to the future generation of our people.

“I thank you all for the support that you have been giving to those of us, who are in secular leadership because you cannot talk of mobilising and influencing our people positively and even maintain law and order without the role of traditional rulers.

However, Dickson advocated the need for the political class to support traditional rulers to enable them perform their duties effectively.”

Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu(middle); National Chairman, Jamaa-tu Izalatil Bidah Wa IqamatisSunnah,Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau(fourth left) and members when they visited Tinubu to condole with him on the death of his mother, Alhaja Abibat Mogaji in his Ikoyi, Lagos home...yesterday

2015: Middle Belt won’t back President yet, says Jang

P

LATEAU State Governor Jonah Jang yesterday said the Middle Belt, under the aegis of Middle Belt Forum (MBF) will not support President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term ambition until he decides to run.

Some elders of the Southsouth and Middle Belt under the aegis of Congress for Equality and Change (CEC) led by Elderstatesman, Chief Edwin Clark and former Senate President, Ameh Ebute last month backed Jonathan’s ambition to retain his seat in 2015.

Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of a closed door meeting with Jonathan yesterday, Jang said the Middlebelt will take a stand after the President makes his intentions known.

•’Victims of 2011 post-election violence to get their dues’ From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

He said: “Southsouth forum is the zone of the President, so if they have started making the noise, it is good because he is their President, ours is to support. But you don’t start shouting before the man says this is where I am going.”

“So, when he talks, supposing he says he doesn’t want to go, so allow the man to talk .

When he talks, if people are supporting, we shall come out to support him,” the Plateau governor said.

On the visit, the former Information Minister, Prof.

Jerry Ghana said: “This ses-

sion was designed for exchange of ideas in an interactive manner with Mr President. We brought leaders from 14 states in the Middle Belt.”

“We are very delighted and honored that the delegation was led by the former Governor of Plateau State, Chief Solomon Lar. Essentially, we came to see Mr. President to appreciate what he has been able to do so far as contained in his mid- term report.”

“We appreciated the area of achievement and we also pointed out areas that needed further attention so that their completion will give tremendous credibility to this government and also help those

of us who are supporting the government from the part of the Middle Belt the credibility to speak about government.”

Also yesterday, the President promised that the Federal Government will monitor the disbursement of the N5.7 billion which was recently approved for victims of the 2011 post-election violence in nine states, a statement by the president’s spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati said.

Replying to concrns raised by the middle belters, led by Chief Lar, Prof. Jerry Gana and Jang, Jonathan said the Federal Government will do all within its powers to ensure

that the money goes to genuine victims.

“The Middle Belt has a key role to play in Nigeria. You have played a crucial role in keeping us united. I urge you to continue in that spirit,” Jonathan added.

Other members of the Middle Belt Forum included General Zamani Lekwot, Gen Joshua Dogonyaro, Gen Atom Kpera, Chief Fidelis Tapgun, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, Senator Jonathan Zwingina, Senator Ameh Ebute, Senator Joshua Dariye, Rev. Jolly Nyame, Gen Ishaya Bamaiyi, Dr. Bala Takaya, Ambassador Dan Suleiman, Hon. Margaret Ichei and Joe Gadzama.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

NEWS Falana: Obama hasn’t added value to Africa

Osoba, Fasehun, Sani, others seek Yoruba’s unity

By Seun Akioye

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S

TUDENTS, politicians, academics and captains of industry yesterday extolled the virtues of the late Senator Abraham Adesanya, who died on April 27, 2008.

He was 85.

At a memorial lecture, organised by the University of Lagos (UNILAG) chapter of the National Association of Ogun State Students, at the Afe Babalola Auditorium of the institution, the elder statesman received encomiums for fighting the cause of the Yoruba and democracy.

Present on the occasion were: Dr. Tokunbo AwolowoDosumu and Chief Jimi Agbaje, Senator Iyiola Omisore; Mrs Bola Obasanjo, who represented her husband, former President Olusegun Obasanjo; Rear Admiral Tayo Sode (rtd), Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora; Ambassador Aminu Shosanya, Mr. Segun Adesanya, Mr.

•Osoba... yesterday.

By Musa Odoshimokhe

Gboyega Oyewole, who represented former Ekiti State Governor Segun Oni, among others.

In a lecture titled: The Place of the Yoruba in Nigerian Politics and Development, the guest lecturer, Prof. Alade Fawole, of the Department of International Relations, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, said Adesanya was one of the few eminent

•Adesegun... yesterday. citizens, who shared the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s ideology.

He noted that like the late Western Nigeria’s Premier, Adesanya was among patriotic Nigerians, who did not believe that one had to deny his primordial origin to be a good Nigerian.

Prof Fawole said: “Like Awolowo, he (Adesanya) believed that a Yoruba man or woman cannot be a good Ni-

•Fasehun... yesterday.

PHOTOS: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

gerian unless he or she is a good Yoruba first. There is no contradiction in this as far as he was concerned.”

The academic recalled that when other Nigerians sought refuge overseas or abandoned the struggle to enthrone democracy, Adesanya stood resolutely to pursue his belief.

“Pa Adesanya stayed behind in Nigeria and led Nigerians in the pro-democracy struggle from the trenches at

great personal costs,” he said.

The don stressed that Nigerians owed immense gratitude to the late Senator for enthroning democracy, which the nation enjoys presently.

He said: “For his temerity and activism, he was targeted for callous execution by the late General Sani Abacha’s murder squad. Only God saved him from what could have become a most gruesome, officially-sanctioned assassination.”

Senate intervenes as ASUU strike paralyses varsities

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HE Senate yesterday intervened in the dispute between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government over conditions of service.

A source said the Minister of Education, Prof. Rukayyatu Rufa’i and her Labour counterpart, Emeka Wogu, met with the Senate Committee on Education yesterday over the strike.

It was learnt that the meeting resolved to set up a task force to work out the modalities for addressing the issues at stake.

The source added that the resuscitation of Visitation Panels and appointment of governing boards of polytechnics featured at the meeting.

The implementation of Consolidated Tertiary Salary Structure (CONTISS) was also said to have been discussed.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Education, Uche Chukwumerije, report-

By Our Reporters

edly expressed concerns about unending strikes in tertiary institutions.

The source said Prof Rufa’i briefed the Senate on how ASUU declared its indefinite strike to compel the Federal Government to implement the agreement reached with the union in October 2009.

Academic activities were paralysed yesterday in most universities as ASUU began its strike.

Academic activities were grounded yesterday at the University of Ibadan (UI).

Most students, who were on campus for early morning lectures, were surprised that none of their lecturers showed up.

Although all lecture rooms were open, but no academic activities took place in any of them.

The disappointed students retired to their residential halls after waiting in vain for lec-

tures.

When our reporter visited the campus yesterday, nothing was happening there.

Addressing reporters yesterday, ASUU’s National Treasurer Dr Ademola Aremu said the strike order was fully complied with at UI. The university community, he said, was carried along in the effort to reposition the nation’s education sector from collapse.

According to him, the UI Vice Chancellor was aware of the strike.

The branch’s ASUU Secretary, Dr Ayodeji Omole said: “We had thought that with someone like Dr Goodluck Jonathan, education would be better off. But we are worse off.”

A letter by Dr Omole to the Vice Chancellor, reads: “In view of the unsatisfactory state of the implementation of the 2009 agreement, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), after ex-

N

to work until their demands, stipulated in the 2009 agreement, were met.

The strike, to the students and lecturers of the RSUST, was a continuation of the past action.

They noted that ASUU members at the university had been on strike since August 13, last year, to protest the reappointment of Prof. Barineme Fakae as the Vice-Chancellor.

When ASUU Chairman at UNIPORT, Prof. Antonia Okerengwo, was contacted at 5.24 pm for an assessment of the compliance with the strike at the federal university, his MTN line kept ringing without an answer.

Lecturers of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) yesterday abandoned classes in compliance with the ASUU strike.

At an emergency meeting of the university’s ASUU chapter at its secretariat, members were said to have reviewed the situation and aligned with the decision of its national body.

‘Nigeria’s democracy is work-in-progress’

‘Nigeria should watch its population growth’ IGERIA’s population is growing too fast and failure to check the rate may be disastrous, Nigeria’s first woman professor of Mathematics, Prof Olabisi Ugbebor, has said.

Prof Ugbebor, who was 25 when she got her PhD from the University of London in 1976, was recently promoted Professor of Mathematics by the University of Ibadan (UI).

The Ilesa-born woman said she is researching into Nigeria’s population growth rate, adding that this is a cause of concern in international circles.

Prof Ugbebor noted that though population issue is a controversial area of research, she felt duty-bound to do it because Nigerians may one day be unable to get enough water to drink, if the growth is unchecked.

The don, who teaches at

haustive deliberations, asked various branches to resume the suspended indefinite strike from July 1. You are hereby duly informed that all our members in the University of Ibadan have, effective from today, July 1, complied accordingly and withdrawn from all academic activities, including teaching, supervision and all statutory and ad-hoc meetings.”

The strike paralysed activities at the three universities in Rivers State.

The lecturers at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Port Harcourt, and the Ignatius Ajuru (formerly Rivers State) University of Education, Port Harcourt, participated in the action.

Some of the lecturers, who spoke in confidence, told The Nation that the Federal Government should be blamed for the strike.

They vowed not to return

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

By Nneka Nwaneri

the Department of Mathematics in U.I, explained that a similar warning was issued to India decades ago and the Asian country swung into action.

With Nigeria’s poor infrastructure and inequitable distribution of resources, Prof Ugbebor warned that the nation, especially its women and children, would suffer, if nothing is done to make the system work.

She said: “If a European should come and say, look your population is rising, we will say they don’t want us to be many. The thing is sensitive; many people have run away from this research but I feel I should do it as a mother because when problems come, it is the mother who is left with the children at the end of the day.

PROFESSOR of International Law and Jurisprudence, University of Lagos, Prof Akin Oyebode, yesterday said despite the euphoria that the nation was witnessing the longest, unbroken democratic governance, Nigeria’s democracy is still a work in progress.

He said: “Hardly is it in doubt that the country is still very far from democratic rule, since the present dispensation is more of a civil rule than the enthronement of democratic governance in the country. We are yet to have fully imbibed democratic ethos and should, therefore, do all we can to ensure the success of the current experiment.”

The academic debunked the notion that the legislature was supreme than the Judiciary.

“I know that the Judiciary plays an overarching role in any system of government operating under the rule of law, due process and separation of powers,” he said.

Prof Oyebode spoke as a discussant after House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal delivered a lecture at the annual management lecture of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos.

The theme of the lecture was: The Role of the Legislature in the Economic, Infrastructural and Ethical Revolution in Nigeria.

Tambuwal, who was represented by a member of the House, Opeyemi Bamidele, urged the three arms of government to work together in the interest of democracy and good governance...”

A

Prof Ugbebor

“We have to look at this thing and let me tell you, if we don’t do anything about growth rate, a time will come when there will not be enough water in this country to drink. Are we going to annex Chad and drink their water? India was told many decades ago that their population will so boom that they would all start eating one another. They went into science and technology; that is what saved them...”

AGOS lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has said American President Barack Obama’s current tour of three African countries has not added value to the continent.

Obama is on tour of three African countries - Tanzania, Senegal and South Africa - to promote trade and development as well as deepen democracy on the continent.

The US President also met with some young African leaders, entrepreneurs and activists at various Town Hall meetings in Dakar and Cape Town, where he motivated the future African leaders to take their destiny in their hands.

But Falana noted that the Obama administration has not added anything to the policies he inherited from the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. The frontline lawyer criticised the American President for lacking commitment to arrest capital flight from African countries to the West and other parts of the world.

He noted that this would have guaranteed the development of Africa.

Falana described Obama’s African perspective as reactionary.

He said the protests, which greeted him in South Africa, were justified.

Falana added: “It is symbolic that the first African American President is being challenged in Africa for not fulfilling his promise to stop the United States’ Government from violating the human rights of oppressed people all over the world.”

We need grassroots police, says Rep From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

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HOUSE of Representatives member, Rasaq Bello-Osagie, has said the three tiers of government need their police, instead of the present unitary police system.

The lawmaker said this would make it easier for the nation to have what he called a collaborative police.

The member representing Oredo, Edo State, at the National Assembly spoke at a lecture organised by the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) in honour of a former Secretary-General of the school’s SUG, William Ubong.

The students’ leader was killed by unidentified gunmen 20 years ago during a students’ leadership meeting on the school premises.

The lawmaker expressed concern that the police have not concluded the investigation into the student’s killing and several others involving Nigerians.

He said the first step to take to reposition the police for effective security operations is a “radical review” of the present structure.

Bello-Osagie said: “I am inclined to support a three-tier police system. As practised in other federations, Nigeria should have not only a federal police but a state and local police system as well with different operational focus and domains.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

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NEWS

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Fed Govt earned N805b in April, says CBN

HE Federal Government earned N805.91 billion last April, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Economic Report for the month released yesterday has revealed.

The report said the earning was below the provisional monthly budget estimate by 14.7 per cent, but exceeded the receipt in the preceding month by two per cent.

At N620.97 billion, oil receipts (gross), which constituted 77.1 per cent of the total revenue was below the provisional monthly budget estimate by 3.7 per cent, but surpassed the level in the preceding month by 4.3 per cent. It said the decline relative to budget estimate was attributed largely, to the fall in receipts from crude oil and gas exports in the review period.

•Incurs N50.47b deficit

By Collins Nweze

The CBN said gross nonoil receipts stood at N184.94 billion, but was lower than

both the monthly budget estimate and the level in the preceding month by 38.5 and five per cent, respec-

tively.

The decline relative to the monthly budget estimate it said reflected largely, the low receipts from Corporate Tax, Customs and Excise Duties

and Independent Revenue of the Federal Government.

Federal Government estimated retained revenue was N323.96 billion, while total estimated expenditure was N374.43 billion. It said the

fiscal operations of the Federal Government resulted in an estimated deficit of N50.47 billion, compared with the estimated monthly budget deficit of N73.92 billion.

BPE promises improved power by Sept.

T

HE Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has assured “drastic improvement” in power supply

by September this year.

It also said that power would be stable by the first and second quarter of next year.

These disclosures by the BPE DG, Benjamin Dikki in Abuja at the Second annual national workshop of the Chartered Institute of StockBrokers (CIS), came hours after the Minister of Power, Prof.

From Nduka Chiejina, Assistant Editor

Chinedu Nebo said that a plethora of investments would be required to achieve the 40,000 megawatts target mentioned in the Vision 2020.

The BPE boss said the improvement and stability of power would be possible after the final takeover of the PHCN successor firms by private investors in the power sector.

He however, assured inves-

tors in the sector of the safety of their investments and increased rate of returns on their investments.

Speaking on the workforce that would be engaged by the investors in the power sector, the minister said the federal government would not lay off the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) workers but instead disengage them from public service employment so that they can migrate to the private sector.

Nebo explained that the current PHCN workers would be retrained and would be part of the new energy market or be engaged in other critical sectors of the economy.

On the pending severance

benefits of the PHCN workers, the Minister stated that outstanding benefits to the workers would be paid to them by the end of July, as ”all bottlenecks to the current privatisation exercise were being resolved.”.

SPDC frets over rising crude oil theft spills

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THE Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) operated Joint Venture recorded eight crude oil theft and sabotage related spill incidents in Adibawa field in Eastern Niger Delta between January and June this year.

The Corporate Media Relations Manager, Tony Okonedo, in a statement, said nearly 500 barrels of oil were spilled into the envi-

ronment from these incidents. The Adibawa field straddles Biseni, Edagberi and Ikarama communities, and majority of the spills were caused when unknown persons inflicted extensive hacksaw cuts on pipelines. A joint team comprising regulators, government ministries, SPDC and communities investigated each of the spills and confirmed their findings in signed-off reports, he said.

Backward integration in sugar industry begins

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HREE major sugar refineries in the country yesterday, commenced as revolution with the official signing off of the Federal Government’s Backward Integration Policy (BIP).

The Federal Executive Council had last October, approved the Nigerian National Sugar Masterplan.

The NSMP is expected to generate about 170,000 new jobs across the country, ensure self sufficiency in sugar production, and conserve about $350million annually in foreign exchange.

According to the plan, the sugar industry is also expected to produce about 1,797,000 tons of the commodities annually, while about 161.2 million litres of ethanol to be produced will generate 400 MW of electric-

From Franca Odigbo, Abuja

ity, among others.

The event, which was chaired by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, was attended by representatives of Dangote Sugar Refinery, BUA Group, Golden Sugar Refinery, the Ministries of Health, National Planning and the Nigerian Customs Service, among others.

Speaking during the signing off ceremony in Abuja, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga,w said tho chaired the event, said it marked the beginning of the nation’s journey towards sound industrialisation, in line with the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan.

Fire guts Visafone’s sales office

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WILD inferno yesterday gutted the national sales office of Visafone Communications Limited, the only thriving operator in the code division multiple access (CDMA) subsector of the telecoms sector.

The fire, The Nation gathered, destroyed recharge cards, mobile phones, internet dongles and other valuables valued at several hundreds of millions of naira.

The office is located at Saka

From Lucas Ajanaku

Tinubu on the Lagos Island and it is used by the telco for its warehouse and its national sales office.

Sources said the fire, which started about 12.20 pm at the company’s office was allegedly caused by electric spark.

An eye witness said the fire was successfully put out by fire fighters who responded to distress call from Onikan Fire Station and Eti-Osa Fire Station, all of Lagos Fire Service.

Forbes, Aganga praise Imoke on C’River’s rising status

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HE Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Forbes, Mr Steve Forbes and Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga have commended Cross River State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke for creating the environment that has seen the state become the preferred destination for investment in the country.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Cross River last year alone stands at over $2 Billion.

About two weeks, General Electric (GE), the third biggest company in the world, performed a groundbreaking for its manufacturing and assembly facility in Calabar as part of a $1Billion investment in the Nigerian economy.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

8

NEWS

Ekiti teachers accept 16 per cent

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•From left: Special Assistant to Ekiti State Governor on Labour, Comrade Arogundade Joseph; Chief Whip, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Mr. Ade Ajayi; Commissioner for Labour Productivity and Human Capital Development, Mr. Oluwole Ariyo; Deputy Governor, Prof. Modupe Adelabu; and Commissioner for Education Science and Technology, Mr. Kehinde Ojo, during a media briefing after the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) called off the four-week strike, in AdoEkiti...yesterday.

Man ‘beats wife to death’ A

45-year-old man, Mr. Adewale Daramola, on Monday allegedly beat his wife to death at Igbemo-Ekiti in Gbonyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State.

A source said the deceased, Iyabo, 38, had three children for her husband.

Daramola, popularly called Wasco, reportedly buried his wife in a shallow grave in a nearby bush after killing her.

The source said his action enraged the people of the

•Dumps her in shallow grave From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado Ekiti

community and the deceased’s relations.

The Nation learnt that the wife was not well-fed and was malnourished because of the uncaring attitude of the husband. On the day of the incident, she appealed to him to give her money to buy food for their children.

The source further said rather than give her the mon-

ey or go out as he usually does, Daramola “dealt his frail wife blows as though he was fighting another man.

“At a point, the woman ran out of the home, she kept running. However, she later fell down as she could not run too well. Daramola continued to beat her, hitting her with his feet.

“The woman later died.

When he realised that he had killed her, he escaped into the bush, abandoning their mat-

rimonial home on Ijan Road.”

Daramola is said to be a motorcycle mechanic and often engages in farming. He is also said to be fond of going out with friends to drinking bars, neglecting his wife and children.

Detectives from the Iworoko Police Station are said to be on the trail of Daramola, who is on the run.

Police spokesman Mr. Victor Olu-Babayemi, who confirmed the incident, said investigation was on to get to the root of the matter.

EACHERS in Ekiti State yesterday called off their four-week strike and accepted 16 per cent of the 27.5 Teachers Peculiar Allowance. According to findings, the teachers would resume today.

The decision to end the strike was the outcome of a meeting of Governor Kayode Fayemi represented by the Commissioner for Education, Mr. Kehinde Ojo with the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT).

The teachers joined their colleagues in other states to press home demands for their Peculiar Allowance approved for them by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum in 2008.

The state NUT Chairman, Mr. Kayode Akosile, in a statement read shortly after the meeting, said the teachers consented with the 16 per cent “in the interest of the public.”

The NUT chairman said it would be unreasonable to continue with the strike when notable indigenes of the state had intervened, adding that “government should see the gesture as an act of patriotism.”

The governor hailed the teachers for their understanding and maturity. He said he praised them for not disrupting the scheduled public examinations, which was held in the state during the strike.

Governor Fayemi assured that no teacher would be penalised on account of participating in the strike, noting that the education of the state’s future leaders depended on them.

He urged them to redouble their commitment to their

Ekiti’s community-based programmes get boost Ekiti State Governor Dr. Kayode Fayemi will today give N300 million cheques to 82 communities in the 16 local governments. SULAIMAN SALAWUDEEN previews the event and other issues

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ODAY in Oye-Ekiti, Governor Kayode Fayemi will disburse N300 million in cheques to 82 communities for the completion (not initiation) of their community- based, self-help projects.

Some of the projects, which include rehabilitation of the kings’ palaces, renovation of town halls, completion of blocks of primary schools’ classrooms, equipping of some secondary schools’ science laboratories, among others, must have been on for quite sometime.

Expected at the event are monarchs and heads of community development associations, who will collect the cheques and monitor the projects. The decision of the government to intervene by footing the bills of the projects, according to the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Yemi Adaramodu, is “to encourage the communities and support them to drive their self- help projects to completion.”

Adaramodu, who spoke recently at a media briefing, said: “Genuine community development could happen when the communities were allowed to identify their preferences for government support.”

The Fayemi administration

in 2011 pioneered state-wide town hall/village square meetings. Attended by monarchs, chiefs, community leaders and youth/trade groups, the meetings gave the communities the opportunity to state their needs, which mostly centred on roads, water, electricity, hospitals, bridges, job creation, renovation/reconstruction of schools and palaces.

At the meetings, which were held at council headquarters across the three senatorial districts of the state, the governor insisted that “development cannot be genuine and people oriented until and unless it is borne out of actual needs of the communities.”

Fayemi explained that the traditional and much more familiar pattern of top-down budgeting had been the sole reason development was not happening in the country.

He insisted that “only a bottom-up approach in which the budget principally factors peoples’ needs could reverse such a picture as has been the bane of the country’s progress for ages.”

He said: “In doing this, I have mandated the Finance Ministry to recast the budgeting process from the old exponential/futuristic method in which projects are guessed

for the people and kept being rolled over year after year to zero-based pattern in which the budget will be the outcome of what people say they need rather than what government thought people need.

“This is revolutionary. It will eliminate fraud. It is a difficult budgeting process as it will impose a new task on the responsible ministry and its officers. No government had used it before. But, it is equally a task, which is worth every seriousness and commitment as it holds key to our development dreams.

“We don’t want to stay in Ado-Ekiti putting together a budget that bears little link to the people. Most of what our people are requesting could be accommodated in the budget, while some have been mentioned, which have nothing to do with budget.

The plan of the administration is to ensure that the budget is the genuine product of the people and not the sole business of the people in AdoEkiti, the state capital.”

On how to ensure timely completion of the projects and eliminate the possibility of terms of execution by the contractors, the Commissioner for Rural Development and Community Empowerment, Mr. Folorunsho Olabode, ex-

plained that “there is not a single one of the 82 projects, which emanated from or imposed by this administration, either overtly or indirectly.

The communities themselves who initiated them (the projects) would monitor and follow them through.

“The projects are their own, they know the contractors and all those who would work on the projects to ensure desirable completion of the projects.

The government had just decided to support them by giving them the funds. Simple.”

Some monarchs of the beneficiary towns and communities disclosed their readiness to assume supervision of the projects. The Alara of Aramoko Ekiti in Ekiti West Local Government Area, Oba Olu Adeyemi, said: “It is my palace the fence of which would be completed. I will handle the supervision myself alongside the community development association.”

The Onigbemo of Igbemo Ekiti, Oba Daramola Oyinyosaye, whose palace would also enjoy a lift, assured that every effort would be made to ensure judicious use of the fund, adding that “the layers of authorities in the town would be there at every stage to ensure things are done properly.

Recalling what he described as “consistent empow-

•Dr Fayemi

erment drives of the governor, the Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mr. Tayo Ekundayo, said: “The plan of the administration was to level the fields sufficiently that no one would feel shortchanged, whether you are a career worker in the state or a political office holder.”

According to him, it was in satisfying this end that the governor last week made good his promise to past political office holders in the state by paying their entitlements to the tune of nearly N250 million. Again, in what many saw as unprecedented, government has also paid over N1 billion as pension to retired civil servants including teachers in the state and across the 16 councils.

“The administration has further sustained for nearly two years now the payment of N5,000 to a minimum of 20,000 elderly individuals as social security stipend, while it has been paying N10,000 to another set of 5,000 graduates employed under the Ekiti State Volunteer Aids Corps.”

•To resume today From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

profession.

The statement reads: “With the calling off of the strike, primary and secondary schools in the state are to resume classes immediately.

We are glad to note that throughout the period, teachers conducted themselves responsibly and with maturity.

“Ekiti State Governor is hereby expressing his gratitude and that of his government to all the good people of the state both at home and in the diaspora, who intervened when the action lasted.

“With the call off of this strike, the government hopes to enjoy a harmonious relationship with teachers at all levels. It anticipates better performance in the discharge of their responsibilities.”

Olubadan, others urge development of Ibadan master plan From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

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HE Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade and prominent indigenes of the city yesterday urged a holistic implementation of the Ibadan master plan to foster development.

They said they believed that only through the development of the Ibadan master plan would the city witness progress.

They spoke at the 2013 Adegoke Adelabu Memorial Lecture, entitled: ‘Master plan for Ibadan’. It was organised by the Ibadan Foundation.

The guest lecturer, Prof.

Tunde Agbola, noted that despite its status as the largest city in the country, Ibadan has witnessed socio-economic setback due to poor planning.

Agbola, who described Ibadan as an artefact with human imprint, said: “For any city, the master plan serves as a source of information, a programme for correction, an indicator of goals and a technique for coordination.

“Ibadan has sore points, hot spots and many blighted areas.

The survey stage would have identified these.

“It seems the whole of Ibadan is one huge slum that deserves a programme of attention. All the local government areas of the city were surveyed and the results were stunning.

“While the five urban council areas have a concentration of slums, the six rural councils have decaying and deteriorating neighbourhoods.”

Guest of honour, Seyi Makinde, enjoined the Planning Committee to inaugurate a panel to brainstorm on the issues raised at the forum to create a platform for the master plan.

He said: “A city can be a playing ground of the rich or the battle ground of the poor. It is only when we plan that the poor can be happy and the rich can safely sleep with two eyes closed. We, therefore, need to plan the city. This calls for the development of a master plan.”

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NEWS Give us justice in Ondo, CPC urges CJN, NJC

Why we must fight on, by Akeredolu’s running mate

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

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HE Ondo State chapter of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) yesterday demanded justice in the petition of its governorship candidate in last year’s governorship election, Prince Olusoji Ehinlanwo.

At its emergency meeting attended by the state executive members and other stakeholders from the 18 local governments, the party ratified the position of Prince Ehinlanwo in respect of his petition to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and the National Judicial Commission (NJC).

A communiqué signed by the party’s state Chairman, Olalekan Obolo and the Secretary, Fisayo Falarungbon, said: “We implore these two judicial institutions to as a matter of urgency consider the recent petition written by our governorship candidate with a view to ensuring that the door of justice is not shut against us.

“Furthermore, there is need to review the conduct of the lower tribunal to ensure that judicial officers saddled with the duty of justice delivery do not compromise or desecrate the temple of justice without sanctions.

“We also urge the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) not to be deterred by the ruling of the Court of Appeal by taking the matter a step further to the Supreme Court.

“This is to keep hope alive for the good people of Ondo State, who are groaning, following the unprecedented deprivation and ravaging poverty occasioned by the self-serving and clueless Mimiko administration.”

Amosun makes case for regional integration

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GUN State Governor Senator Ibikunle Amosun has made a case for regional integration, describing it as a way of raising the development bar in view of the nation’s current challenges.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a three-day Southwest Heads of Service Forum, tagged: ‘Re-engineering the Public Service for Regional Integration’, which began in Abeokuta yesterday, the governor said it would re-awaken the sense of history of the people.

According to him, “some might not understand the recent agitation for the regional integration agenda. “To all intent and purposes, it is timely, particularly in the face of the current challenges facing the Nigerian nation. It is also a necessary approach to reawaken the sense of history of our people; recalling the socioeconomic development we shared as the Yoruba based in the Southwest, Nigeria.

“This is with a view to re-inventing the pre-eminence and achievements of our region in the Nigerian Federation, particularly, the greatness we achieved as a people when we shared a regional government before the advent of military rule in our body politic. “If you recall, those laudable feats made us the envy of other regions in the country.”

The governor, who applauded the strides recorded in the Southwest between 1957 and 1967 under the leadership of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, however, regretted that the creation of states has caused artificial boundaries among the people.

He said: “The creation of states has created artificial boundaries and division among our people. To further worsen the situation, a vast majority of the elite and political class continue to harp on the artificial geographical boundaries created for their selfish ends.”

The governor regretted that “the consequence (of the state creation) is that the concept of state’s citizenship begins to take forefront among the people.”

“They begin to see themselves as people of one state or the other, rather than as sub-units of the entity called the Yoruba nation. This comes with the challenges of intra and inter-state boundary disputes, which often lead to arson, loss of lives, displacement and attendant negative consequences for socio-economic development on the people and region as a whole,” he said.

Amosun, however, expressed delight that states in the Southwest belong to the same Oodua family, adding: “We have a long history of relationships and we are traditional kinsmen and women. This means that we share the same idiosyncrasy, orientation and strategies of development. We are also geographically contiguous. This makes co-operation very easy and possible. The governments of the six states should therefore come together and create a united front for the development of the people and the entire region.”

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ACN lawyer: it’s an unfortunate dimension in justice

T •Akeredolu

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CTION Congress of Nigeria’s (ACN’s) candidate in last year’s governorship poll in Ondo State Rotimi Akeredolu’s running mate, Dr. Paul Akintelure, spoke yesterday about the party’s loss at the Court of Appeal. He said if it was not challenged, rigging would thrive.

The Appeal Court’s judgment upheld the victory of Governor Olusegun Mimiko.

The ACN chieftain, who spoke on the phone with The Nation, said: “It is no longer news that the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, just like the Election Petition Tribunal, has again awarded the governorship election to Mimiko of the Labour Party (LP). In a unanimous decision, the court held that the appeal ‘is lacking in merit.’

“First, the learned justices ironically agreed with all the grounds upon which Akeredolu came before the court. They agreed that the issue of the voter register was not a pre-election matter and so the tribunal was wrong in declining jurisdiction.

“Two, based on the admis-

HE ACN counsel, Charles Titiloye, yesterday said: “The Court of Appeal’s judgment has added another unfortunate dimension to the electoral justice in Nigeria.

“While the Court of Appeal agreed that the issue of voter register can never be a pre-election matter and it has jurisdiction to entertain same, it imposed another criterion of substantiality of the allegation of the injection of fresh names.

“It is very unimaginable that a petitioner will be required to prove substantiality of a void and compromised Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) document, which the Court of Appeal agreed, fell short of the requirement From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

sion of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that over 100,000 voters were injected into the voter register and without the required publication of the voter register, the court held that INEC lacked the capacity to create its own rules in this case as there was a definitive position provided by the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

“The court equally agreed that the election was conducted, based on the illegal, fraudulent and invalid voter register. To me, those were the crux of our case at the Appeal Court. For a court of law, which had hitherto agreed with the position that the election, albeit the aforementioned, did not satisfy the provisions of the Electoral Act, to turn around and talk about substantially, is talking law from the two sides of the mouth.

“I wonder what can be more substantial when an issue like

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

of the Electoral Act in its preparation by INEC. “If a document is void as a product of noncompliance with Electoral Act in its preparation, no valid election can stand on it.

“ACN will approach the Supreme Court to sanitise the electoral process and ensure justice for Ondo State indigenes.

“Election in 2015 is a foregone conclusion if INEC’s manipulation of the Ondo State voter register was found to be true by the courts but allowed to stand for whatever reason. We must not erode people’s confidence for justice in the judiciary.”

illegal injection was made to the electoral register, which had been held by the appellate court to be the foundation of any election. It is not only absurd, but also totally unsupportable either in law or common sense.

“My take on the word, substantial, is that it is a clever way of dodging the issue and looking for a window of escape from the real issue. Equally, I would think that the issue had been taken away from the hand of the court to politics.”

Akintelure urged ACN members to remain steadfast, adding that truth shall prevail.

ACN chieftain Mr. Saka YusufOgunleye, yesterday said the verdicts of the lower Tribunal and Appeal Court were at variance.

In a statement in Akure, the state capital, he quoted the Justice Andova Kaka’n-led tribunal as saying that the matter is a preelection issue; therefore it has no jurisdiction.

Yusuf-Ogunleye, the state Chairman of the Sunshine Coalition (SC), said the Appeal Court

disagreed, assumed jurisdiction and confirmed that there were injections, but that the petitioners had not proved their cases beyond reasonable doubt how it affected the outcome of the election.

“The funny thing is that the judgment was read by two judges. One read the submission of the parties and the other dismissed the petition.

The presiding judge said the judgment has a typographical error.

“What this means is that there is contradiction in the two judgments. The Appeal Court’s judgment was done in a hurry and did not touch any issue raised for determination in the appeal, but just wrapped up into conclusion.

“Since you cannot put something on nothing, the Supreme Court will determine whether a compromised voter register can produce a credible election,” he said.

•The ProChancellor and Council Chairman, University of Ilorin, Prof Chukwuka Okonjo (left) and the ViceChancellor, Prof.

AbdulGaniyu Ambali, during the Council’s inaugural meeting in Ilorin on Monday

Africans have suffered identity crisis, says don at conference

SCHOLAR at the Department of Language, Linguistic and Philosophy, University of West Indies, Jamaica, Prof. Ishola Ayotunde Bewaji, has said Africans have suffered an identity crisis.

He said this is responsible for their problems.

Bewaji spoke yesterday when he delivered a lecture at the Third Toyin Falola International Conference on Africa and the African Diaspora (TOFAC 2013). It was held at the Lead City University (LCU), Ibadan, Oyo State.

The don noted that identity is critical to every human being, adding that a lot has

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

changed in the last 100 years, which is responsible for the identity crisis.

Bewaji said human beings, societies, cultures and civilisation are shaped by the past and the present. Said he: “Religion has been used to replace our notion of God. It has left us with the ancestors of Jews. How can the ancestors of Jews leave the Jews to favour us?

“We are so blessed; this is why we are foolish. A civilised society must have a sense of belonging. There is a sense in which sameness may apply to

one. Africans are in awe of the whites in terms of religion.”

Bewaji, who centred his lecture on identity, memory, memorials and development, noted that memory for human beings is critical, adding that it is to an individual what memorials are to societies.

He said: “Our sense of memory is now problematic.”

Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi, who was represented by the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Princess Adetutu Ahigbe-Adeyemi, stressed the need for Africans to show commitment to the promotion of the African culture.

He said the rich African culture faced extinction if stakeholders did not promote African values.

The governor urged TOFAC to set an agenda for the promotion of the Yoruba culture.

He said: “I am happy about the idea and the personalities behind this programme.

“I am expectant that the conference will offer recommendations and suggestions that will be beneficial to Oyo State and the nation.”

The convener of TOFAC 2013, Prof. Ademola Dasylva, said the forum engaged the minds in matters of concern

on Africa and Africans in the diaspora.

He added: “The objectives are promotion of excellence in Africa and the African diaspora cultural studies. We create awareness and proffer a solution on matters concerning Africa.

“TOFAC is designed to go round African countries to engender a network of budding scholars and facilitate effective mentorship, global exposure and visibility.”

The Chancellor, Lead City University, Prof. Gabriel Ogunmola, said the conference was named in honour of Prof. Toyin Falola under the

auspices of the Ibadan Cultural Group, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan (UI), in recognition of his contributions to the promotion of African values.

The high point of the occasion was the formal transfer of the TOFAC plaque to LCU by the state Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Princess Ahigbe-Adeyemi.

Those honoured with the TOFAC award were Dr. Doyin Aguoru from the University of Ilorin; Dr. Ayo Owolabi, LCU; Dr. Abimbola Asojo, University of Minnesota; and Dr. Olufadekemi Adagbada, Olabisi Onabanjo University.

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Email: news_extra@yahoo.com

Taraba community relishes peace

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NE clear sign that peace has returned to the community is the resumption of its market. Traders at Ibi, one of the crises-torn local government councils in southern Taraba State, were happy to display their fish and other articles once again, their clients equally delighted to patronise them.

Such activity was seriously hampered when residents often engaged one another in

From Fanen Ihyongo, Jalingo

conflicts which claimed several of them as well as their homes and businesses.

Things have changed. Old griefs have been brushed aside, the people happy to live together again.

They have the new administrator, Alhaji Bello Yero to thank for that. In him the people of Ibi have built an absolute trust and have shown that they are really

tired of war.

Before Yero’s coming, there were constant conflicts which claimed lives and property valued at millions of naira. The latest crisis was in November last year, reportedly between Christians and Muslims. Ten people were reported killed, and worship centres, commercial and residential buildings were torched in the conflict.

Yero came on board on December 3 to replace Ibi Local Government chairman Alhaji Isiaku

Adamu.

The State House of Assembly, after an investigation of the crisis, found the former chairman culpable. He was removed with all the councilors.

Acting Governor Alhaji Garba Umar had only a few words for the new council chief: “Go and stabilise Ibi,” he told Yero at his inauguration. Since then, Yero has been very committed to the assignment.

When Newsextra visited Ibi, Yero was holding a security meet-

ing which lasted almost a whole day. In the meeting were government functionaries, youth leaders and traditional rulers, including the Sarki Ibi, His Royal Majesty Alhaji Abubakar Salihu.

Ibi used to be a popular market hub, where fish dealers and connoiseurs were sure of the best supplies. But when war erupted, there was no fish, and no sellers or buyers in sight.

The Ibi market, located strate•Continued on Page 18

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OY coursed through Ajegunle, a sprawling Lagos suburb, as 230 residents of Delta State origin got soft loans to boost their small-scale businesses. The facility was provided by the Delta State Micro-Credit Programme (DMCP), the loan certificates handed out at a Navy base located in the area.

The service enlivened the beneficiaries called clients operating in 23 cluster-groups. In songs and dance, they expressed their joy. Firewood sellers hailed Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and the DMCP, coordinated by the state Ministry for Poverty Alleviation. Kerosene marketers spoke of an anticipated boost in their business.

The soft drinks group thanked the governor and the Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation, Dr Antonia Ashiedu who presented the loan certificates to the clients.

The credit facility is not like the regular bank loan. Accessed through micro-finance banks, it has no interest rate, which removes the usual repayment difficulties which attend other loans. Yet, perhaps the greatest thing about the DMCP credit lifeline is that it helps to open up the clients’ business opportunities and boost their profit profile.

It has revolutionised small businesses in the state, some going on to become cottage industries.

The Ajegunle loan disbursement has expanded and extended the jobs scheme beyond borders.

Presenting the loan certificates, Dr Ashiedu said Governor Uduaghan is showing the true meaning of democracy by caring for Deltans living in other states of the federation.

The commissioner also emphasised the need for every Deltan, irrespective of where they live, to be good ambassadors of Delta State.

“My happiness is that the governor of Delta State Dr. Emmanuel Ewetan Uduaghan is

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•Commissioner, Ministry of Poverty Alleviation, Delta State Dr Antonia Ashiedu appreciating firewood sellers group in Ajegunle, Lagos State

Micro-credit scheme thrills Deltans in Lagos 230 Ajegunle residents get soft loans

By Ogochukwu Ikeje

leading by example and that is how it should be – anywhere you are, your government should care for you especially if you are a good ambassador of the state; that is what we’ve come to do in Ajegunle,

Lagos State today”.

Comrade Joseph Evah, a leader in the Niger Delta, who facilitated the event, also commended Governor Uduaghan for showing love and care for his people in Ajegunle. He pointed out that Lagos State has the highest number

of Deltans living outside Delta State, and that consequently there are some who are also economically weak.

He called on other state governors to emulate Dr Uduaghan and empower their people living outside their states of origin as that is

a sign of good leadership.

He said: “For Governor Uduaghan to do this for us, it shows that he loves his people living outside Delta State. By the time every governor will do the same to their people, Nigeria will be a better place. It shows we love ourselves in Niger Delta.

The Managing Director, Bank of Industry Microfinance Bank Ltd where the money will be accessed, Mr. Kelvin Iyamu thanked the state government for finding the bank worthy, saying that the award-winning programme aimed at improving the living standard of the economically weak persons in the society •Continued on Page 18

Sokoto spends N950m on tractors

HE Sokoto State Commissioner forAgriculture and Natural Resources,Alhaji Arzika Tureta, has said that government spent N950 million to buy 150 tractors in 2012.

Tureta told journalists in Sokoto that all the tractors had since been distributed to both large and small scale farmers on loan basis.

He said this was done to ensure a massive production of food in the state.

The commissioner said that the exercise was aimed at modernising farming methods through the employment of modern agriculture technology.

He said government would continue to use the available land at its disposal to boost dry

season farming in the state.

Tureta said the establishment of the College of Agriculture, Wurno, was also aimed at preparing youths for modern farming techniques.

He said it was also aimed at training highly skilled manpower for the state’s agricultural sector.

“We are blessed with vast land

needed to produce various crops and we will use all the available technologies in the farming sector to meet the set objectives,” he said.

Tureta also called on farmers not to hesitate to report any outbreak of epidemics during and after the rainy season for necessary action.

•Governor Wamakko

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•The commissioner and the clients at the event •Continued from Page 17

is a grassroots-oriented programme.

“The Delta State government is improving the living standard of Deltans in Nigeria and I believe it is a nice and good way to show democratic leadership”.

The DMCP clients, who could not hide their joy, appreciated

Micro-credit scheme thrills Deltans in Lagos Governor Uduaghan for remembering them in Ajegunle and promised to pay back the loan on time to access bigger loans.

The clients thronged the venue with their various products, happy to be associated with the micro-credit scheme.

A firewood seller, Helen, thanked the governor for coming to their aid.

“Ah!” she exclaimed, “we thank our governor so much.

Now me and my group, we will order for more firewood and supply to others; you see that

means more money for us”.

Another client, Omonigho, a kerosene seller, said: “My governor has demonstrated why he is the best in empowerment programmes. Look at us in Ajegunle, being empowered outside Delta State. He came to us oh! It is a

dream come true for us; for my group we can now buy a tanker of kerosene. God bless you for us”.

The clients are involved in three categories of business such as trading, services and cottage industry.

are tired of fighting. I meet with them regularly and I know their pulse. They are tired of violence, just that some few people who are not Godfearing like fomenting trouble, and when there is a problem in the land they run away. The insecurity here was so worrisome that the Acting Governor Garba Umar and the state legislature had to step in to do

what they did.”

Yero’s success, however, did not come all that easy, even as the council chief knows how to speed off and when to apply the brakes.

He said: “When I assumed duty initially, we were having local government security meetings daily. It is one of the directives given to me by the state government. The state ex-

ecutive and the legislative arms said I should hold security meetings and be in constant touch with them. And I have been doing it since assumption of office.

“We started with daily meetings, then thrice and later twice in a week. Now, we hold security meetings weekly–every Wednesday, because the security situation has remarkably improved. So, I thank God”.

With this unprecedented feat, Yero has attracted the accolades from a visionary leader and achiever, who sees the council chief as a man of the masses.

After stabilising Ibi, he has gone a step further to improve the infrastructure to transform the face of the area. Acting Governor Garba Umar now sees him as a dependable force in good governance.

Taraba community relishes peace •Continued from Page 17

gically on the bank of River Benue, separating the area from Nasarawa and Plateau states, was deserted. As peace eluded the area, businessmen and women left the town.

But normalcy has returned. The traders are also back, and there is much fish to buy even though, Newsextra’s survey of the market showed a low turnout.

After roving the town and ascertaining the level of security, the reporter sought to meet with Yero. He spoke frankly.

“I have been up and doing,” he said. “I have been very proactive in my approach to the assignment given to me. I came down from Jalingo [the state capital] and met with all the stakeholders, the chiefs, various communities, the leaderships of Christians and Muslims and several other groups and associations. I told them my mission; that I am a career civil servant and a neutral party. That is why the state government decided to pick me to come and restore peace in Ibi.” He continued: “I don’t belong to any of the factions in Ibi. For the records, I don’t have any faction here; I don’t care about your religion, I don’t care about your political divide, I don’t belong to any of the socio-political spectrums.

“I don’t belong to any of the ethnic groupings here. I am in Ibi for a special assignment. As a career officer, I have to protect my job as well. So, I am very seriously committed to this assignment, and more so, internal security management is not a strange task for me. It has been a familiar job.

“All I did, after taking the oath of office was firstly to pray to God to guide and lead me to be fair and just. So, as far as this assignment and law and order are concerned, I don’t tolerate any nonsense from anybody. Though I listen to wise counsel, I do the job

•Ibi market reopens as peace returns

according to what I consider as appropriate. I made a lot of consultations including the leadership of the state House of Assembly and that is why peace has returned to Ibi”.

Yet, Yero is not carried away.

He extols God for giving him the wisdom.

“I must say I am very grateful to God for making [my assignment] a solid success so far. I feel humbled and I am grateful to the entire populace of Ibi local government area for all the appreciation and good remarks they are according me.

At the same time I am being strengthened by their commendations and I have promised I will not let anybody down. But to be honest, the people of Ibi are tired of fighting. I have been in their midst for about six months, and I know their psyche and how they feel; they

All I did after taking the oath of office was firstly to pray to God to guide and lead me to be fair and just. So, as far as this assignment and law and order are concerned, I don’t tolerate any nonsense from anybody

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COMMENTARY EDITORIALS

FROM OTHER LANDS

Military Ultimatum in Egypt

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Not yet there •Amnesty has not lived up to its promise as integration programme

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HE recent announcement by the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, that the much-touted scheme has produced 9,912 graduates in a variety of fields may seem to be a success on the surface, but when it is considered in greater detail, it is clear that the programme has clearly failed to live up to its ambitious aims.

Those aims include the introduction of a comprehensive training programme for exmilitants who laid down their arms, and their integration into the larger society. The integration was to be based on their employment in decent, well-paying jobs which would simultaneously eliminate the joblessness that served to motivate militancy, as well as give them a greater stake in ensuring that their communities re-

‘Four years into the Amnesty Programme, it is obvious that there is the pressing need to review it, with a view to enhancing its strengths and minimising its weaknesses.

Its greatest advantage is the achievement of relative peace in the Niger Delta, and the concomitant increase in the nation’s oil export receipts.

This should be built upon by ensuring that the programme is run economically in order to accommodate as many exmilitants as possible’

mained peaceful and stable.

It is obvious that, regardless of Kuku’s explanations, the Amnesty Programme has been reduced to a vocational and degree-acquisition scheme instead of a comprehensive reintegration programme. The graduates emerged in fields like medicine, law, agriculture, welding and electrical installation. Others have become licensed pilots, while many have been trained for careers in the oil service sector.

Laudable as these achievements are, they only amount to the production of individuals whose training is, in many cases, yet to be matched with jobs. In other words, the Amnesty Programme’s main achievement has been to contribute even more young Nigerians to the millions of unemployed school-leavers and graduates currently roaming the streets.

The inability of the programme to include a comprehensive job-placement programme as an inherent part of the policy is a pointer to the very flawed nature of the Amnesty Programme itself. In spite of the laudable aims of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, it is clear that far too much money was thrown at the programme than was desirable. While they were in various forms of training, thousands of ex-militants received handsome stipends that rivalled the salaries of many full-time workers. Unnecessary expense was incurred by sending many of them abroad for courses that could have been more profitably done at home.

Some of the courses, especially those related to the aviation industry, did not take the doldrums of the local aviation industry into consideration. Many ex-militants simply took the cash and returned to ille-

gal activities like petroleum theft and oil bunkering. In some tertiary institutions, such as the College of Education, Akoka, Lagos, militants have clashed with other students.

To make matters worse, the Amnesty Programme appears to have entrenched a social apartheid that does nothing to solve the underlying problems of the Niger Delta. Those who are in the programme are widely seen as the pampered favourites of the Federal Government, for whom no expense is too much. Those who are not in it complain of being shut out of their entitlements and are furiously agitating to get in. This division has also taken an ethnic tone as some groups believe that it is their entitlements while others feel shut out. Thus, the divisions which the resource control campaign caused remain unsolved, and have indeed been worsened by new grievances.

Four years into the Amnesty Programme, it is obvious that there is the pressing need to review it, with a view to enhancing its strengths and minimising its weaknesses.

Its greatest advantage is the achievement of relative peace in the Niger Delta, and the concomitant increase in the nation’s oil export receipts. This should be built upon by ensuring that the programme is run economically in order to accommodate as many ex-militants as possible.

Every effort should be made to reduce cost by ensuring that they are trained in local institutions. Their training should be incorporated into established job-placement schemes which could be gradually enlarged to include youths who are non-militants. Nigeria gains little if Peter is robbed to pay Paul.

Owambe abroad •We welcome FG’s Riot Act because public officials have always been barred from holding it

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LD habits die hard, but top officials of the Federal Government will have to grapple with the challenge of reformation, in the light of the news that President Goodluck Jonathan is concerned about ostentation among them. Specifically, President Jonathan has reportedly barred ministers and high-profile public officers from throwing extravagant parties, especially abroad, citing the Code of Conduct and Civil Service Rules and Regulations, which are evidently flouted by such unrestrained display of wealth. Interestingly, this development, which came unexpectedly during a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja, has resulted in presidential orders to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, directing him to write to permanent secretaries, directors and civil servants to act within official bounds.

It is worrying that such directive had to be given in the first place, for this suggests a deplorable degeneration not only in thinking, but also in morals, in the country’s highest structures of political power. The incident, in addition, betrays a disturbing disconnect between the members of government and the people they are elected to serve. The sheer indecency of the insensitivity of the pleasure-loving public officers in the face of widespread poverty and harsh living conditions in the country belongs to the realm of imagination; it is simply mindboggling.

President Jonathan’s apparent hard line on the matter was reportedly triggered by security information exposing how some ministers and public officers had been flying guests abroad for parties connected with birthdays, weddings, chieftaincy installations, house warming celebrations and

even funerals. Such expensive parties were said to have been held in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, South Africa, Ghana and the Gambia. Furthermore, as if exporting the home-grown practice of showering cash gifts on dancers during a celebration, known as “spraying “ in local parlance, some cabinet members were also alleged to have scandalously used American dollars for such purpose at these parties. The image of wanton partying known locally as ‘Owambe’ is unmistakable here.

To go by events, it is noteworthy that Jonathan’s newly projected strictness had apparently claimed a victim before the formal expression in the FEC meeting, with the recent removal of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Abdulazeez Musa, for allegedly having a showy wedding party for his daughter in Dubai. However, it is worth mentioning that reckless spending of the kind targeted by the new posture is, sadly, not unusual in government circles. Indeed, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua reportedly expressed his disapproval in a FEC meeting in 2009, following information that a minister allegedly spent about N125 million to mark his 25th wedding anniversary.

It is worrying that such frivolous and wasteful pleasures are in fashion among the ruling elite, especially because the bad example sends wrong signals not only to the citizens, but to the international community as well. The whole affair makes it necessary to ponder on the priorities of the country’s public officers; and accompanying such contemplation is the puzzle as to the source of the riches so crudely flaunted

by this class.

Obviously, in a country where high official corruption remains a hot issue on the front burner, with its negative consequences for socio-economic development, the security agencies and anti-corruption bodies need to be more vigilant and operate with greater effectiveness to check possible abuses by government officers.

While there are positive elements in Jonathan’s move against profligacy by government officials, it is important to point out the narrowness of his vision. Apart from partying abroad, what about ostentation in such areas as the kind and number of houses the officers own, the class and number of cars they possess, among other measures of affluence?

Above all, however, the President needs to lead by example. For instance, he has been criticised, with good reason, for expensive junkets to foreign countries, usually with an unjustifiably high number of state officials. There is no room for double standard on this issue.

‘While there are positive elements in Jonathan’s move against profligacy by government officials, it is important to point out the narrowness of his vision. Apart from partying abroad, what about ostentation in such areas as the kind and number of houses the officers own, the class and number of cars they possess, among other measures of affluence?’

ORE than two years after Egyptians overthrew an authoritarian, military-backed leader and later in-

stalled their first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, the country is facing the possibility of more forcible change — from the military. It is a dangerous moment with no guarantee that another transition will be any more successful than the last.

On Monday, the military responded to a wave of increasingly violent anti-government protests by threatening to impose its own unspecified “road map” if the government and opposition forces did not resolve the political crisis in 48 hours.

The military played a role in Egyptian politics for decades but withdrew 10 months ago under pressure from Mr. Morsi. Although many opposition groups applauded the military’s willingness to again intervene in politics now, that would be a major setback for Egyptian democracy. It would effectively give the military an opening to reinsert itself whenever there is a political crisis — and it is certain there will be more if Egypt wants to be on the road to real democracy. An adviser to Mr. Morsi said, “We understand it as a military coup.”

The ultimatum seemed to leave Mr. Morsi with few options: cut short his presidency and hold early elections; share power with a political opponent in the role of prime minister or — the worst outcome — fight for power in the streets. For the sake of all Egyptians, the government and the opposition need to finally work together.

The chaos, anger and violence that led the military to issue its ultimatum was testimony to the way all sides have failed to move Egypt to a better place after the dark days of Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in 2011.

The primary blame falls on Mr. Morsi and his backers in the Muslim Brotherhood. Persecuted and excluded from political life for decades, they refused to grasp what was required to lead the world’s largest Arab country. They used elections to monopolize power, denigrate adversaries and solidify ties with Islamist hard-liners.

They failed to make any real progress toward the economic and social goals for which Egyptians are desperate — security, jobs, education, a check on inflation. Like so many other embattled leaders in the region, Mr. Morsi sometimes blamed the ferment on some undefined sinister conspiracy instead of the yearning of all Egyptians, not just Islamists, to be part of the political process.

Opposition groups, meanwhile, have proved hugely successful at harnessing discontent and bringing people into the streets but not at articulating a coherent message, winning elections and projecting themselves as an effective alternative political force. There is no excuse for the violence on both sides, including the killing of seven people and the ransacking of offices of the Muslim Brotherhood. No one wins if Egypt remains an economic basket case at war with itself.

– New York Times

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

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CARTOON & LETTERS

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IR: I read the commentary by Mr Femi Falana, SAN in The Nation of Friday June 28, in which, in his usual manner, he enunciated important features of the Judicial Reform Bill 2012 and strategies to be adopted in ensuring speedy passage of the Bill. That commentary ignited this piece.

The learned silk rightly harped on the need for the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to embark on a powerful enlightenment and mobilisation of judges and lawyers on the essence of the Bill and to support its speedy passage into law. The view of Mr. Falana on this point cannot be faulted at all; the NBA leadership is therefore urged to do all it legitimately can to ensure that the Bill is passed into law by the National Assembly.

The provision in that Bill seeking to abolish the need to apply for the leave of the Court of Appeal before an appeal could be filed against its decision to the Supreme Court is commendable and should be extended to other courts. In other words, the practice by which the leave of a court is to be sought before an appeal could lie against its decision is most laughable and should be abolished. I have tried to find a justification for the practice and have been unable to find one.

The only conclusion that I have been able to reach is that it is superfluous and time-wasting.

The situation becomes more ludicrous in that where such leave is refused by the trial court, the applicant has more time to approach the Court of Appeal with the same application- see Order 7 Rule 3 of the

EDITOR’S MAIL BAG SEND TYPEWRITTEN, DOUBLE SPACED AND SIGNED CONTRIBUTIONS, LETTERS AND REJOINDERS OF NOT MORE THAN 1000 WORDS TO THE EDITOR, THE NATION, 27B, FATAI ATERE ROAD, MATORI, LAGOS. E-mail: views@thenationonlineng.com

In support of Judicial Reform Bill 2012 Court of Appeal Rules 2011.This is a most unproductive practice which may unnecessarily delay and hinder the dispensation of justice especially where the appeal is a frivolous one aimed only at depriving the winning party from enjoying the fruits of his judgment.

The question is, if an appellate court can grant leave to an aggrieved party to file an appeal against the decision of a lower court, why on earth then is the leave

of the lower court necessary? Why not file the application for leave directly to the higher court? If truly a court becomes functous officio when it delivers judgment on a matter, I think such a court should not even have the power to grant a party leave to appeal against the decision.

Where there is need to seek leave to appeal against a decision, it is proposed that such leave should be sought from only the court to which the appeal is to lie. This is more

time-compliant and cost effective on the part of the litigant who would have to bear the financial brunt in case the application for leave is refused by the lower court.

It is also important to cater comprehensively for the financial welfare of the judiciary in this Bill.

There should be expressly indicated therein a certain percentage of the annual budget that should be allocated to the judiciary. The current practice where the executive arm

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• Vincent Adodo, Esq. Ilorin, Kwara State.

Re: Obi’s presumptuous search for successor IR: Hard ball, an opinion column of The Nation of Friday May 17, took a swipe on Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State over alleged comments on succession to the office of the governor of the state. The governor was said to have communicated his aversion to being succeeded by a professional politician to a group of religious leaders when they paid him a visit at the Governor’s Lodge at Amawbia. His words: “He (the next governor) must not be a professional politician that sees politics not as a vocation to advance the progress of civilization, but as an avenue to steal the people’s money”.

The piece was prefaced with a review of past presumptuous talk on

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succession and its negative impacts on the practice of democracy. It expressed concern over the fate of democracy should voters cede the right of king-making to an individual. But more than that, the paper seemed scandalized by the governor’s unpretentious acknowledgement of a search for his successor. It wrote inter alia “…he still owed his state and the country as a whole the obligation to talk diplomatically, disguise his intentions, or pretend he thought it objectionable for the electorate to have such unpalatable view of the Nigerian electoral process”.

The fear expressed over Governor Obi’s alleged choice of a successor is understandable given that his choice may turn out to be wrong. But again

he should have a choice. Obi’s choice and or its expression should not be caused to assume the toga of imposition. As the chief executive of the state for two terms, he is in a position to understand first-hand the varied shades of interest of those eager to succeed him. Lest we forget, he is still answerable to the people of Anambra, whichever way the cookie crumbles. It will be wrong to impute imposition over a mere expression of an opinion. Except perhaps Hardball is saying, because of his status, he should flinch from expressing a choice, or become deaf mute.

By its own account, the paper admitted that only about three or four out of more than 20 of such imposi-

Appeal to Uduaghan on Olota/Alagbabri road IR: I wish to appeal to the Delta State government and other stake holders like NDDC DESOPADEC and SPDC to help fix the Olota/Alagbabri Road.

I have written several letters of appeal to the government and the various agencies named above to no avail.

allocates a paltry percent of the annual budget to the NJC while allocating even a greater percent to some of its parastatals is unacceptable and inimical to the sustenance of our democracy. The much desired judicial reforms can only yield fruits when the judiciary is financially independent and would not have to go cap in hand to politicians for funds.

Finally, the Bill should make a provision clothing every legal practitioner with locus standi to challenge its violation by any individual or group of persons or government. It is only by this that any serious headway could be made in the quest for judicial reforms.

These are two oil-rich communities have passed through hell over the years, under the PDP controlled government in Delta State.

They are both in Ughelli South Local Government Area.

The only government presence in these two communities are the two primary schools constructed

and furnished by NNPC/SPDC joint venture years ago and which were badly damaged as a result of communal fighting between Olota community in Ughelli South LGA and Oboro Community in Burutu LGA which also affected Alagbabri community.

I am pleading with the state gov-

ernment to come to our aid by constructing this 11km road, that links Bomadi.

We are sure Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan will give us a listening ear this time around so as to alleviate our plight.

• Denis Tuedor Ughelli Delta State.

tions in Nigeria turned out right. It is common knowledge that five governors out of the six Yoruba states were aided to power by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Today Tinubu is celebrated as an icon of democracy even by the paper. He may have been spared the Hardball treatment because, unlike Obi, he was discreet about those impositions.

The paper was right to observe that it took the effort of Ngige to free the state from the claws of Chris Ubah, and that of Obi to prise her loose from the jaws of Andy, whom it erroneously referred to as the younger of the Ubah brothers. Beyond this, Obi has successfully tucked the state away from further despoliation. To suggest he will be returning the state whence he labored hard alongside Ngige to extricate from the jaws of profiteers is hard to believe. Worst scenario, he will only attempt the Tinubu magic in just one state – four still short of Asiwaju’s feat.

Hardball should spare itself the splitting of hair on the issue of succession to the governorship of the state. At the appointed time the flock will search out the shepherd.

• Louis Ejikeme Lagos.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

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COMMENTS

NIPSS Politicians; Fashola: Builder; ‘Fasholaites’ Legacy Projects, not adverts; Bail; INEC; Solar

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OW many billionaires in Nigeria are secretive billionaires and not on the Forbes rich list?

Why? Corrupt money!

NIPSS has at long last Tony initiated a course for Marinho politicians. Education is a key to development. For years we have suggested that politicians, their aides and special advisors, instead of setting up the ‘Associations of Special Advisors to President and Governors and Ministers’ aka ‘ASATPAGAM’, should ‘get an education in delivering political agendas’ through 1-3 month diplomas in ‘Budgeting for beginners’, MDGs et cetera to reduce ‘delivery of democracy’ time.

In Nigeria the more you look the less you see. Look at the billions put into ‘power failure’. We now know that the money went to terrorist activities against power supply.

As someone said, one Japanese airport has 6,000Mw, more than Nigeria after trillions of naira ‘went up’ in ‘the darkness powered by PHCN’. Now see headlines like ‘Nigerian government to ban generators’. Ban whose generators- Government offices and employees’ homes? Or from the common man suffering no power after 1999-2013 i.e.

14 years of one-party rule? Is powerlessness a Nigerian ‘dividend of democracy’?

Congratulations to Governor BRFashola@50 for showing that Nigeria is not bereft of good leaders and that with the right leadership a ‘Normal Nigeria’ is possible. He is a governor who has shown that governance is more than delivering the barest minimum and that delivering exercise books to school children is a child right and not a misguided dividend of democracy. In addition he has built bridges as his legacy!

I hate birthday newspaper advertisements as a waste of millions in public and private funds, totally 10,000 adverts@ N500,000/ annual or N10,000,000,000 or N10b/ annum for sucking up to the person in power –soon to be forgotten after a political power cut. Remember that each advert gives a finder’s fee of 10-20% totally N1-2b/year.

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HE news was like a bolt from the blue. It was shocking, surprising and amusing as well. I mean the proposed £3,000 deposit by immigrants intending to enter Britain as from November this year. Immigrants of five countries – Nigeria, Ghana, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh – have been singled out for this unfriendly treatment. Yet, these are members of the so-called Commonwealth countries that the British is so proud to sing about.

In history, we learnt that the Commonwealth was an empire where the sun never set, a figurative expression to describe an empire that was adjudged to be the biggest in the universe, stretching North, East, West and South of the pole. Today, though the spirit of the Commonwealth is still very much alive, the principles behind it have been tinkered with again and again to the point that it has almost completely been obliterated.

Now, it will cost a new immigrant from Nigeria a fortune, at least, more than a million naira to venture to England. I remember in the ’70s when Nigeria’s currency was at par with the dollar, it cost just a few naira to get on board an aircraft and jet to England and back. If I am not mistaken, it was about N180. With your Basic Travelling Allowance, BTA, and others, you might only need less than N1000 to get to UK and back for holidays. Today, the story is different. You probably

‘The world has become a global village where all impediments to free movements should be done away with.

Certainly, erecting new barriers to free movement is certainly out of the issue for now’

Who listened to State of Osun’s Ogbeni and indeed Fashola’s own request that all adverts should instead be monetised for charities. However in the special case of Governor Fashola@50, I want, in spite of that massive advertorial ‘incumbency-only’ waste, to say how proud we Lagosians are of Governor Fashola. The 50 odd adverts in one paper would have been N25m in a Fashola Legacy Project. I would have preferred to see 50 or so N500,000 endowments for events, scholarships, competitions, prizes, a play in Fashola’s name in education, business, law and creative arts to raise the next generation of ‘Fasholaites’. It will take money –that advertising money would have been useful! You never hear of newspapers doing much CSR with their profits! I won a prize of a huge green Stedman’s Medical Dictionary in the USIS J. F. Kennedy Essay Competition from St Gregory’s College in 1965 or so. A Fashola Essay Prize for leadership among students or prefects is not too much to establish for a man who is so politically savvy and modest as not to name the Principals’ Cup and other major rejuvenated and new initiatives and events after his person. That takes guts, leadership, vision and a resistance to sycophants.

As ‘Class Captain’ we hope he is spreading his philosophy among the Progressive Governors Forum. Nigeria has a sprinkling of visionary governors. There are a lot of ‘if only’ regrets in Nigeria. What if Obasanjo had ‘allowed’ Asiwaju Tinubu’s power dreams for Lagos in 1999 or had not withheld the N10b or if the civilian government had corrected the military induced 20 LGAs for Lagos versus the 77 for Kano State? Where would Lagos State be now without these anomalies?

Celebrate ‘Fashola: The Builder’ or ‘Fashola: The Bridge Builder!’ I was on the beautiful architectural masterpiece Lekki-Ikoyi Suspension bridge. That is what government is about –executing the visionary solution and employing Nigerians. Government is supposed to pay attention to masterpieces beyond the ability of others. Jonathan agreed to allow the bridge but would Obasanjo or Buhari have? Why is there only that bridge when the Seine and the Thames have many bridges? Are the next bridges planned? Those still building the second and third Niger

Bridge should be ashamed. The bridge is about shortening distances and the toll should be cheaper. Happy Birthday: Fashola the Builder’.

A student who allegedly kidnapped, beat and raped an undergraduate was bailed with three sureties of N250,000 each. That is not a deterrent but an encouragement to violence against women.

Readers of this column will know that it has promoted Addresses on State of the Nation, State, LGAs, Professional Bodies and Associations throughout Nigeria to highlight problems, encourage performance and development. Hurray, the Oyo State Governor Ajimobi gave a State of Oyo State Address just last week. So should the Presidency and NASS. Senate wants new recruitment into the military but how many of the senators will put their children and relations forward?

So INEC says ‘no’ to e-voting, ‘No’ to Diaspora voting, perhaps ‘no’ to APC registration. What next? The CBN announced that N22b is repatriated home annually by the Diaspora Nigerian community. Does that not qualify them to vote?

It is a pity that the Governors’ Forum does not have as a priority the prevention of further violence against farmers on the murderous North-South Cattle ‘Blood Meat’ corridor.

So the World Bank supports a Nigerian university to produce solar panels. Who is afraid of a ‘Solar Powered Nigeria’? Government and its cronies in ‘Nigeria’s Great Petroleum Scam’? Meanwhile JAMB cut-off points cut off merit and youths lives.

‘It is a pity that the Governors’ Forum does not have as a priority the prevention of further violence against farmers on the murderous North-South Cattle ‘Blood Meat’ corridor’

This British ‘pay as you go’ need to sell your child into slavery before you can raise the required money to undertake a trip to either Britain or the United States, the preferred destinations for most Nigerians.

This is why one is not amazed at the flurry of criticism and resentment that has greeted this proposal.

Olugbenga Ashiru, Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, has been at the forefront of this groundswell of opposition to a policy considered discriminatory and obnoxious.

Ashiru, who has proved to be a round peg in a round hole ever since he came on board a few years ago, has been doing everything to convey the message of the Nigerian government and the Nigerian people to the British government. He has been prompt and decisive.

The other day, Ashiru summoned Andrew Pocock, the British High Commissioner in the country, to acquaint him with the government’s indignation and exasperation against a policy which is considered highly inimical to the interest of Nigeria. While this was going on, notable leaders of the National Assembly have been spitting fire and brimstone to the effect that Nigeria will reciprocate in a similar gesture if the British should go ahead to implement the unfriendly policy.

That, in itself, will be a recourse to the Mosaic law, which says “a tooth for a tooth” or tit for tat, whichever is appropriate.

On the day the news made headlines in the Nigerian Press, a group of well-meaning Nigerians were almost cut off in the hullabaloo that followed. The Entrepreneurs’ Organisation, EO, Chapter in Nigeria, was to have a three-day training programme for both the old and new members who were recently successful in the interview conducted for them about a fortnight ago in Lagos. The three-day training was for the new intakes who

would undergo what is called Forum Training, which is a cardinal operational part of the EO. As a new member, you are expected to belong to a “Forum”, which is the core of EO. That training took place at Protea Hotel, GRA, Lagos, on Thursday, June 27, from 8:00am till 5:00pm. The following day was Moderator Training, which is meant for those who intend to be moderators at various forums. While the third day, Saturday, June 29, was reserved for Strategy Training for the Board members. All with the same time duration, that is, 8a.m till 5p.m on each day.

Julia Lankraehr, a globally-certified trainer by EO Global, was to fly in from London on Wednesday, June 26, to undertake the series of training. When she applied for entry visa, she put business as her reason for travelling to Nigeria. Then the Nigerian High Commission requested her to get a work permit to enable it to grant her a visa even though she was going to be in the country for only five days. It took a sleepless night on Monday, June 24, with officials in Nigeria making frantic calls to the High Commission in London before the matter was resolved on Tuesday, June 25.

Who knows what would have happened if this crude policy had been in operation?

The EO is a global organization that has its headquarters in Virginia, United States of America. It was founded in 1987 by some group of entrepreneurs who thought they needed a common ground and platform to discuss intimate issues concerning their businesses, family lives and other personal issues that could keep individuals endlessly awake at night. Today, the EO parades well over 9,300 members scattered all over 146 chapters in 46 countries of the world. They are everywhere. The Nigeria chapter was inaugurated in Lagos on Octo-

ber 4, 2012.

Last year, the Nigeria Chapter of the EO was to attend an event hosted

by EO, Cape Town, but all the delegates were denied visas in spite of the fact that all their papers, including hotel bookings, were intact. It was at the height of the diplomatic row between South Africa and Nigeria early last year. The humiliation suffered at the embassy was so much and time-wasting that I vowed never to submit any application for South African visa anymore in my life. Though I had several multiple entry visas to many countries on my passport, I paraded the place with others for more than three months before our empty passports were grudgingly returned to us without any convincing explanation. The most annoying thing there was that one could see some people whose means of livelihood or reason for travelling to South Africa could not be easily ascertained coming in and taking the visa. It was a terrible experience that I don’t find funny to relate to anyone. Even if you go to the embassy, you could be kept there for hours before you are asked to return another day. All for nothing in the end.

I am sure if the proposal of £3,000 was still being debated in Britain, by now, David Cameron and his people should know that dire consequences await them if they go ahead with this discriminatory policy which is capable of destroying the umbilical cord of the Commonwealth family. I am not saying that Britain should throw its doors open to every Dick and Harry, but then imposing such a draconian policy will only paint the country in a bad light as far as civilisation, decency and decorum are concerned. It is the inalienable right of man that all individuals should be treated with some modicum of dignity, the colour pigmentation notwithstanding.

Dele Agekameh It is apparent that the Britons alone cannot live in Britain. Other races must come and go. Forget that some citizens of other countries come into Britain and do menial jobs, if and when available. Britons also go to other countries to do jobs that the indigenous people could have done.

After all, why do other citizens travel to other countries? Even the five countries mentioned in the new policy, you have Britons there. Why do they go there to do business rather than stay back in their country and get rotten? I have been to practically all the affected countries and there is no one where there are no Britons in their large numbers in spite of some of the atrocities these colonialists committed against the people in the past.

The world has become a global village where all impediments to free movement should be done away with. Certainly, erecting new barriers to free movement is certainly out of the issue for now.

Therefore, I will suggest that Britain should find a better and decent way to deal with her perceived immigration problems rather than stir up a hornets’ nest.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

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COMMENTS ‘David Cameron has done the best thing for his country as a good leader. Nigeria’s government is fighting a lost battle. I believe the British government is trying to protect its citizens and the country just as the Nigerian president is protecting the interest of 16 instead of 19. The government should cover its face in shame rather than crying like a hungry lion. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa, Lagos’

•Labaran Maku

For Olatunji Dare Labaran Maku is displaying the inefficiency of his boss and his party. If Maku is blind, I believe he can hear. He is not in a position to tell Lagosians that Fashola is not working.

He should seek people’s opinion first before the assessment. Maku should realise that there is no need to destroy others to make him popular. I believe Labaran is learning because a learner is a novice wherever he goes. He is not in the position to assess Fashola because he has indicted himself by saying the media is not showing Federal Governments projects.

If what he said about the Federal Government is true, there is no need for the media to be compelled to show it. Labaran, stop jetting around if you want to know the truth. Next time, board a bus. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa Lagos “Haba Labaran” is quite interesting. I salute the courage of governors Oshiomole and Fashola in refusing Maku’s road show cum circus. His NGGT circus will not serve any useful purpose, and it cannot improve the lives of the people. In all the states he toured, what is the level of completion of projects there? To me, the NGGT is a waste of time and the tax payers money. From Ojo A. Ayodele, Emure Ekiti Re: “Haba, Labaran.” This is a masterpiece, I have been expecting something on the socalled NGGT by Aso Rock megaphone. From Saheed Ottun I like your piece “Haba, Labaran.” It is only in Nigeria that people like him are made to represent the goverment. In China, he would have been in the gaol. Anonymous .

It is not so upsetting for the blind to lead the blind, more jarring is the blind trying to lead the sighted. Labaran Maku should have limited his trivial tours to states controlled by his political party. Are we not operating a federal constitution? The most disturbing feature about today’s politicians, particularly those in the PDP, is not the issues they raise nor even some of the things they do, but the spirit in which it is done - the mood of uncritical self-righteousness and unbriddled anger towards those who oppose them or who do not share their point of views. Will they ever change for the better? From Adegoke O. O., Ikhin, Edo State Thanks for the PDP’s new mathematical fomular “19 is less than 16”. It is only but the beginning of their calamity. Men of honour are very scarce. From Peter, Enugu State “Haba, Labaran”. NGGT/Maku, all the controversies or whatever are between monopoly of power and sentiment. However, Maku’s statement remains partisan prone, baseless, absurd, flacid and obnoxious. From Comrade Johnson Kotin, Ajara Vetho, Badagry Lagos State It was not the spokesperson of Maku that said Fashola did not do anything in Lagos as claimed in your article of today but Maku himself. I watched him live saying it. I am not proud as a Nigerian that Maku is our Minister of Information. Thanks for the beautiful article. Anonymous The man Labaran Maku is a full-time PDP man, who goes about giving false information to the public about their Transformation Agenda! Haba, Labaran, indeed! Anonymous Maku came to Aba, noted it as the dirtiest city with the worst road network in Nigeria and went back to score Orji very high in development. From Jones Why waste your time on Labaran. Ask my

13- year-old son to tell you who Labaran Maku is and he will simply tell you “Minister for noise making”. Empty barrels make the loudest noise. From Comrade O. O. Ezekiel, Ilorin Mr Labaran Maku is an unserious character.

Anybody who claims that “At the moment there is an average of about 18 hours per day of constant power supply to different parts of the country......” is a liar. Having touted this nonsense for such a long time in the newspapers, it takes an idiot to take his view on Lagos State seriously. He is like Wamba in Ivanhoe. Anonymous Maku is working hard to save his job. l did not see why he should criticize the government of Fashola. From Gordon Chika Nnorom Labaran Maku tells lies like the wind. He is just another aberation in this country. From Hon. Bankole Alex What a good piece on Abuja propaganda! If the media failed to report projects did the eyes of the users fail to see them, also. Anonymous Maku is an opportunist who misinforms to satisfy the whims and caprices of his Abuja paymasters. The Federal Government should learn the art of good governance from Fashola instead of dancing naked in the market square.

From Comrade Daniel Sati Tanko, Jos “Haba, Labaran!” is a story of a man gullibly named ‘Maku’, which means ‘do not die’ in Yoruba language. Who will not die? Why are Nigerian ministers loyal to the president but disloyal to Nigeria and Nigerians? Problem of what to eat? May God save us. From Alhaji Hon. ADEYCorsim, Oshodi, Lagos Labaran is another federal appointee. Nigerians are watching the melodrama of the information minister. Anonymous I thank you for observing well the deceit in that NGGT by Maku. We were rejoicing in Abia State, particularly Aba, that that tour will expose the lies of the governor on environmental sanitation and the condition of the roads and other infrastructure, but to our greatest disappointment, Maku never set his foot inside Aba Township let alone driving through the roads to see things himsel. He ended up dinning and winning with the Governor and their collaborators. Enough of this infrastructural propaganda. We are not fools.

From Joseph, Aba “Haba, Labaran” is a nice piece. I passed through Lokoja-Abuja Road the other day. I was ashamed with the level of work. EnuguAwka Road is the worst; in fact, the expressway is now less than one lane. To continue calling that road expressway is the biggest lie of the century. I feel insulted as a Nigerian whenever I see people like Labaran deceiving fellow Nigerians. Anonymous For Gbenga Omotoso Having read “Let’s watch the amber lights,, I am reminded of how our leaders play the ostrich.The other day, the governor of the Central Bank justified the increment in petrol pump price without knowing the cost of a litre. This insulation from reality is what makes being in government juicy. It is unfortunate that the president allows himself to be decieved by the lot. Having been without shoes before, all he needs to do is go back to his root, check the feet of children and count how many have shoes on. That explains reality.

I am beginning to realise that one does not have to be a rocket scientist to understand the dynamics of poverty and how to solve the problem. Too much learning is making our egg head administartors deny reality. From Aiyanyo S. It is very unfortunate that our leaders see the truth but refuse to tell the truth. When Abacha was alive, somebody went to his office and complained to him about power outage in Nigeria and he made the man understand that, there was light in Aso Rock.

Adesina presented an award to the president for reducing hunger in Nigeria and he was happy doing that. How many homes has he visited since he was appointed a minister? I will rather call the award given to the president a sycophant award because, it is Nigerians that should say, yes, our president has done well; let us give him an award notthe minister appointed by the president. The president and the minister should not play politics with the lives of Nigerians because of selfish interest. The minister should walk from street to street, interview people, and see how they live. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa Lagos Who will save us from the hands of our leaders who want to suck our blood to live? A minister gave an award to the president for reducing poverty in Nigeria and the so-called reducer of poverty collected it and said ‘yes, I have done well.’ What a leader! If the president pretends not to know the level of poverty in the country, I will call him an incompassionate president. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa Lagos Please, tell our shouting ministers that Nigerians are neither deaf nor blind. However, what we hear do not describe what we see.

From Dr. C. Y. Nwanodi, Port Harcourt Is it only now that you know how Nigerians live in self-deception or what you call clash of figures and reality? What about the Yoruba calling themselves majority with only 20 per cent of the population in the 1963 census? Why not write to condemn that? From A. E. O., Uyo “Let’s watch the amber lights”. Whenever I read your column, I wonder if I can meet you.

Anyway, I cannot wait to lay my hands on any of your compilation. Thanks! Anonymous Due to insecurity in some parts of the North, the price of beans has soared. This is an indication that all parts of Nigeria are indispensable - a big lesson for pro-secession. From Esan Ayegbaju, Ekiti Indeed, the amber lights are on. Lifting the people urgently out of poverty is essential.

The clock is ticking. From Ayodele A. Ojo The judicial reform bill is a mere kangaroo bill to deceive Nigerians which will not see the light of the day. The government in power will never allow it unless, it suits its interest.

The institution has been monetised by the class, a problem which will be very difficult to reform. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa Lagos If not for people like you who know the truth and are able to say it, where would we have been? Your exposition is faultless. From Idongesit Inyang For Tunji Adegboyega Re: “Visa bond: before casting the first stone” There is no first stone for anyone to cast. Thank you for your verdict. I do not see how the UK-proposed 3,000 pounds visa bond should bother any non-corrupt Nigerian. Fix your own country and get pounds sterling, dollars, yen Lira, Deutsche mark and others. from visits and tourism. Perhaps if we fail to revolutionise and develop at all cost, let UK’s drastic measure of restriction of wastage develop us by blocking our wastage of foreign exchange and leakages. Haba, what is our headache? Consumption always, no baking!

UK, thanks. From Lanre Oseni.

The boxed quote in your column is apt. We should fix our country instead of thinking about 2015, 2019, 2023 and the voodoo mathematics that makes 16 greater than 19. Long live, Britain and its national interest-inspired immigration law. From Amanze.

Whatever the British does with their migration laws would not be our headache if we put our house in order. If we utilise our resources well and half as well as Malaysia or Singapore, the Brits will be angling for patronage in their tourism industry; in which case the visa will be free. But, right now, they

•Jonathan

know most of us will give an arm and a leg to escape the hell hole that Nigeria has become.

They have their own challenges and have identified Nigerian immigrants as part of their problems that should be solved. At the height of petrol dollars/oil boom in Nigeria, the Nigerian immigration staff were busy collecting bribes at the land borders and letting illegal immigrants have unfettered access into the country. We all saw the results. Nigeria is nothing but a nation of ignorant fools where people think with their stomachs and of personal gains before anything else. Anonymous.

The piece is interesting. The problem is that many Nigerians know not that Nigeria is a pariah state and that only the disinherited can change the situation. What it means is that whores become members of the workforce when the time for change is ripe.

Thanks. From Amos Ejimonye, Kaduna.

David Cameron has done the best thing for his country as a good leader. Nigeria’s government is fighting a lost battle. I believe the British government is trying to protect its citizens and the country just as the Nigerian president is protecting the interest of 16 instead of 19. The government should cover its face in shame rather than crying like a hungry lion.

From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa, Lagos.

The proposed visa bond of 3,000 pounds is another avenue through which the UK wants to tell Nigerians and other nationals that their services are no longer needed in the UK. They want everybody to stay in their country. I believe that the bond is targeted at stopping Nigerians from going to the UK. It is now left to our leaders to sit up and deliver good governance to make Nigerians stop travelling; after all, we have what it takes to make Nigeria a better place to live in if not for bad governance and bad and self-centred leaders who think only of enriching themselves. What is in London that we cannot develop in Nigeria if we have sincere leaders at the three tiers of government? Now that the UK has introduced visa bond to checkmate Nigerians, our government should also bring out a policy against the British government too. After all, no nation is an island unto itself. Britain must need something from Nigeria or those other nations. From Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia State.

It is good to tell it to our leaders the way it is. What a country! We ought to cover our faces in shame at the level of degeneration.

Britain has the right to say no to those who want to pollute the way we have polluted our own country. Anonymous.

Your article on the British visa bond is another masterpiece; a message to them to keep quiet and start doing the right thing. May God open their ears to listen to wise sayings. From Festus.

Your article “Doing it gay or straight” in The Nation on Sunday of June 23 refers: Please while you took on a very serious topical issue with catalystic effects on humanity generally, you, however, handled it with such levity! The Holy Scripture is very clear on what they claim is a fundamental human right; or, have you forgotten Sodom and Gomorrah?

Cameron and Obama and their cohorts are running out of time. When Third World countries are literally struggling to feed their growing populations, Mr Cameron is idly mouthing gay rights! The world, as we know it today, is headed to eternal destruction. From Gagara Nehemiah, Kwablang, Jos.

Life

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Text only: 08023058761

•Wolford, Hawkins and wife, Annie, Onobrakpeya (right) and exhibiting artists

Night out with an art connoiseur The arts community gathered last week in the Ikoyi, Lagos home of United States Consul General Jeff Hawkins to celebrate founder of Mbari Institute for Contemporary African Art Mimi Wolford . – SEE STORY ON PAGE 26 Muson’s ‘romantic classics’ piano recital

The secret of my life, by ex-Wema Bank GMD

– Page 27

– Page 28

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It was an evening of wine and encomiums for creativity as the arts community celebrated the founder of the Mbari Institute for Contemporary African Art, Mimi Wolford at the Ikoyi, Lagos residence of United States (US) Consul-General Jeff Hawkins OZOLUA UHAKHEME and EVELYN OSAGIE report.

Night out with an art connoiseur

H

ER dressing gave her away as an artist. The colour of her hair, a symbol of wisdom, stood her out.

American artist Mimi Wolford, displayed a lavishly snow-white hairstyle atop African attire that evening. It was an evening of solemnity. The cool breeze from the sea close to the United States Consul-General, Jeff Hawkins’s house blew guests.

The ambience was right for wining and dining within a natural setting and the celebration of the arts. And what a better way to celebrate the arts than an evening of tribute to Mimi, who is from a long tradition of promoters of African art; and artists staging an exhibition, featuring works of winners of the Young Artist Salon Audition organised by the United States Consulate General, Society for Nigerian Artists (SNA) and Art House.

The event drew top-notch artists from several art schools and movements. For some, their visit to the US Consul General’s house was the first time but not for Mimi. It was actually a moment of homecoming for the artist. As daughter of a diplomat, her visit to the house or Nigeria was not her first.

In the 60s, her parents, Richard Wolford and Jean Kennedy, promoted and showcased African arts and artists, especially Nigerians, from an early age. The US Envoy led the rain of tributes for Mimi. Having his house as art salon and hosting Mimi as guest of honour and the arts community was a thrilling experience, Hawkins said. According to him, Mimi has got art in her DNA and an incredible love for Nigeria. He praised her unique family history of the supporting arts and artist, particularly Nigeria’s art and artist is commendable.

“It may interest you to know that Mimi comes from a well-established tradition of artists. Her parents were of the arts. Because of their long history with Osogbo and Mbari Art and a desire to promote international exchanges, Mimi and her mother co-founded Mbari Art in 1970, an organisation that promoted international cultural exchanges. Mimi, thank you for carrying on the longstanding collaboration with Nigerian artists.

“Her father, Richard Wolford, had an honourable profession; he was American diplomat, who served in Italy, Indonesia, Ethopia before he was transferred to Nigeria in 1961, where the Wolford family lived for seven years. It is no surprise really that this is not Mimi’s first visit to this house. She remembers this residency and Ikoyi when it was very different,” he said.

Over 40 years after her last visit, Mimi was brought back under the US Visiting Travelling Artist/Speaker programme to inspire artists and, by extension, impact the art. She has spent the last few days giving talks and conducting workshops in Abuja, Osogbo and at the Department of Creative Arts at the University of Lagos. The programme involved her meeting members of the Society Nigerian Arts (SNA) and other artists and school children, encouraging and developing their talents. According the US envoy, the whole programme is meant to foster the development of arts in the community.

He praised the artists, whose works were on display, for giving their dream a boost. He urged up and coming artists to work at developing their talents.

For artists like Chidinma Uche and Adedayo Dada who had their works on display, it was “great experience”. I feel so honoured being one of those picked.

On her part, Mimi said the whole experience was one of homecoming. “It is a pleasure to be back. I don’t recognise some places any more. I love Nigeria. They had so many fond memories. There are so many talents here in Nigeria.

It was like being home again and meeting those I consider family like Nike Davies-Okundaye, my dear sister, and Bruce Onobrakpeya. We

•Wolford and Onobrakpeya

M

IMI Wolford is founder of the Mbari Institute for Contemporary African Art, Washington DC, United States. Both parents, Richard Wolford and Jean Kennedy, were involved in the world of art from an early age, having graduated from the Cleveland School of Art. They both apprenticed with renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright and went on to build their own Wright-inspired house in southern California. It is now a historic location in Highland Park, Los Angeles. After working in Los Angeles for four years, Richard joined the U.S. Department of State.

Following his foreign service in Italy and Indonesia, he was assigned to Ethiopia for eighteen months.

Then, in 1961, Richard was transferred to Nigeria where the Wolford family lived for seven years. Living in Lagos, the Wolfords became deeply involved with the artists of the country, opening their home every Thursday afternoon to exhibit the works of Oshogbo artists.

Richard and Jean continued to produce their own artwork, as Richard worked closely with, among others, the gifted artist Bruce Onobrakpeya—with whom he devel-

VISUAL ART were young people in the 60s, growing up, working hard and look where they have reached today.

“Nike now has a palace of gallery; a woman who is a force of nature with galleries in so many cities (Abuja, Lagos, Osogbo) and I’m sure there is more to follow. She gave me a royal welcome in Osogbo. I was in tears. I hope you know you have a living icon here. Bruce is the most incredible and humble artist I have ever met and I really praise him as a dear friend.

Thank you American Embassy…Thank you…Thank you…thank you that you brought me here! I can’t tell you how enriched I feel being here,” she said.

And to all the artists, she said: “It was a pleasure working with you. I hope you would keep going and go.”

During her parents stay in Nigeria, they worked closely with the late Ulli Beier, opening their home every Thursday afternoon to

‘It may interest you to know that Mimi comes from a wellestablished tradition of artists.

Her parents, Richard Wolford and Jean Kennedy, were involved in the world of art from an early age’ –Hawkins

Mimi’s Profile oped a deep-etching technique. Richard’s works form part of the collection housed in the University of Lagos Library. Jean died in November 1991.

However, her long association with African artists, museums, patrons, and scholars culminated in her posthumously published book, New Currents, Ancient Rivers: Contemporary African Art in a Generation of Change, (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992), renowned by many as the authoritative survey of post-independence artists in sub-Saharan Africa.

In 1970, Jean and Mimi co-founded Mbari Art, an organisation promoting international cultural exchange. Works of artists from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, & the United States were presented in prominent museums and institutions in the United States and abroad, including three simultaneous exhibitions at the Corcoran, Renwick and National Museum of African Art. Over the years, Mbari has arranged over 100 exhibitions. In 1995, Mimi founded the not-forexhibit the works of artists, particularly the Osogbo artists like the Onobrakpeya, who joined his voice to the accolades in Mimi and her parents’ honour. “Mimi,” the artists said, “is one of us.” Onobrakpeya recounted her parents’ impact on the development of his art and art in general, saying: “what I am today actually began from that time.”

He said: “I want to welcome Mimi home. She is the daughter of Richard Wolford and Jean Kennedy. They played very important role to the development of art in Lagos and Nigeria as a whole. Mimi was just past teenager at the time that her parents opened up their parlour at Macabre Street in Ikoyi to host artists. Mimi is here to witness and to take the thanks and credit of their legacy. She represents patronage, mentorship; and for the artist, she represents hope. And for the generality of those who came to celebrate her, she represents a way forward because many would want to do what she has done in order to help the society grow in the arts.

“Her parents were part of the ferment of the 60s – a group of art and artists who at that time

‘Her parents played very important role in the development of art in Lagos and Nigeria as a whole. Mimi was just past teenager at the time that her parents opened up their parlour at Macabre Street in Ikoyi to host artists’ - Onobrakpeya

profit Mbari Institute for Contemporary African Art (MICAA), a multidisciplinary organisation dedicated to the collection, preservation, identification, documentation, and exhibition of works pertaining to the art, craft, and culture of Africa. Its goals are to educate the public, give visibility to African artists, promote and publish research, and act as a permanent repository for the works of contemporary African artists, books, publications and related materials.

Mimi and MICAA have arranged over forty solo and group shows, offering opportunities to emerging African artists, especially those who have not had exposure in the United States. Recently featured artists include Hamid Kachmar of Morocco, Sane Wadu of Kenya, Rackie Dianka and Abdoulaye Ndoye of Senegal; Isaac Ojo, Peju Layiwola, Yinka Adeyemi and Wole Lagunju of Nigeria, Sanaa Gateja of Uganda and Bethel Aniaku of Togo.

Other better-known international artists from Africa such as Valente Malangatana of Mozambique, as well as Twins Seven Seven, Jimoh Buraimoh and Onobrakpeya have also been exhibited in MICAA. were young people – Wole Soyinka, Achebe.

JP Clark, Demas Nwoko, Uche Okeke – they were all bubbling with the new Independence.

That was the time Jean Kennedy and her husband were interested at developing the arts.

They were friends to other people who were art patrons who were very interested in the art development in the country, like Michael Crowther and the late Ulli Beier, who introduced the workshops and instituted the Mbari Mbayo Gallery.

“People would walk into their parlour on Thursdays pick things and pay for them and on Fridays; we go there collect the money and go away. And that was when I knew that art could actually bring money to practitioners of art. I was only a small teacher at the time, the money I collected on Fridays made me very rich and swore that I would continue the arts. And what I am today actually began from that time. And I am not alone in this success story.”

According to him, their support inspired his setting up of his art workshop titled: the Harmattan Workshop that in Agbarha Otor in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State. He praised Mimi for keeping alive his parents legacy. “Mimi’s parents did not stop at promoting art in Nigeria alone. When they relocated to Washington D.C. after their diplomatic service here and opened up the Mbari Gallery and it was that Gallery that Mimi has developed into the Mbari Institute today. And she has brought in other artists - this time, not only from Nigeria but from other parts of the world. The Wolford have a wonderful collec•Continued on page 28

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Alaafin urges African leaders to protect heritage

T

HE Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, has described the dissemination of information through exhibitions, publication of journals and dailies as an indispensable complement in the training of youths on heritage preservation.

Oba Adeyemi, who spoke in Oyo town during the commemoration of World Music Day, noted that despite reforms experienced since independence, the continent is still far from harmonious integration of their cultural heritage. ‘’One, therefore, observes a tendency in African countries to be ambiguous in the reassessment of the values of their cultures, and the need to preserve them from extinction. ‘’Oral traditions, for instance, have been operationally defined to include formal historical accounts recited by professionals or those handed down from one generation to another, as informal narratives of past events within orally-literate societies.

Within the contrast of the rapid changes in techniques and methods of African historiography, oral traditions are increasingly no longer mere adjuncts to written documents. They are no longer looked upon as mere enrichment or complements to archival materials,’’ he said.

The paramount ruler noted that although Africans have realised the rich potentials of oral traditions in the reconstruction of African history, many historians are yet to realise the fact that oral traditions are themselves of diverse types.

“Such historians are hardly aware that the richest reconstruction of oral history also results in from the full utilisation of the diverse types to oral sources. One of these is literature. Within that broad categorisation, poetry remains a very fruitful historical source,’’ he added.

Continuing, he said: ‘’What do we have today, our children take solace in Westernoriented cultures and music to the detriment, if not near extinction of our rich and incomparable praise poetry and other delightful traditional music. Hip hop and other meaningless foreign music are now order of the day in the name of globalisation. Rarely will you find Yoruba sons and daughters appreciating praise poetry of their ancestral lineages.’’ ‘’It will interest the world to know that here in Oyo, the pacesetter and custodian of Yoruba culture we have a Yoruba lady who has mastery of a talking drum. Her prowess and dexterity in the playing of talking drum is second to none not only in Yoruba nation, Nigeria, West Africa, Africa as a continent, but the entire world as a universe. She had exhibited her mastery skill and entertained important personalities, foreign diplomats, including the Consular-General of the United States Embassy, during his courtesy visits to the palace.

“They openly acknowledged and appre-

‘Oral traditions, for instance, have been operationally defined to include formal historical accounts recited by professionals or those handed down from one generation to another, as informal narratives of past events within orally-literate societies’

‘Life without art bereft of beauty’

T

•Oba Adeyemi

ciated this wonderful talent. This is what should inspire our younger ones, and not going crazy about our foreign imported cultures that have no roots.

“Good dance steps, proper understanding and thorough analysis of musical beats are attributes of Yoruba culture. Unfortunately, in modern times, if a Yoruba child of even thirty years is asked to come and analyse our talking drums, he or she will find it difficult to cope. What then makes such a child a typical Yoruba person, and where also lies his or her cultural identity.’’

Alaafin, however, called for thorough review to decipher the basic reasons for defaults in the protection of cultural heritage in Africa. ‘’I conveniently place the blame on leaders in contemporary African societies, who in principle, have the duty of defending and enriching communal heritage, and the dictates of our ancestors thus encouraging her development according to the recommendations of the elders,’’ he added.

HE Chairman, House Committee on Culture, Ben Nwankwo, has said life without art is like living without beauty.

He spoke at the opening of the maiden Art Teachers’ exhibition organised by the National Gallery of Art, (NGA) at theTranscorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

Represented by Ajiboye Robinson, he said the exhibition was timely as it charts a course for teachers to rub shoulders with core professional artists, who enjoy various avenues of patronage, such as wall space display, art marketing, art dealing, art auction and web based art market, among others.

According to the lawmaker, the event is not only very important and reflective of the practical side of the Art teachers, who are generally known for their theoretical competence, but a laudable initiative and a capacity building event that deserves every one’s commendation.

“It is my hope that this show will expose the Art teachers to the real world of mainstream art market while simultaneously sustaining the virility of the art profession to the admiration of their students and the public at large,” he said.

The three-day event featured 57 works of various genres from art teachers in nursery, primary and secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT).

Present at the opening ceremony were the Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke represented by the Director, Tourism, Johnson Odekina, the Director- General (DG), NGA, Abdullahi Muku, management and staff of NGA, teachers and students.

The exhibition was anchored by the Director, Curatorial Services, Titus Akusu.

Muson’s ‘romantic classics’ piano recital

P

IANIST Babatunde Sosan made an impression at his piano recital Romantic Classics at the Muson Centre, Lagos. In an attempt to relive the memories of his mentor and instructor Raymond Banning who died last year, Sosan displayed an impeccable artistry with the white and black keys of the piano. Playing pieces from Schumann, Chopin, Debussy, Rachmaninoff and other celebrated romantic composers, Sosan proved his keyboard prowess to his audience.

Opening with the exquisite melody line of Schumann’s ‘May, Charming May, Sosan set the mood for a night of provocative relish in romantic classics. Like an adventurous sailor, Sosan led his audience on a romantic voyage by playing pieces of Mendelssohn, Chopin’s formidable No. 1 G minor ballade, Poulene’s Novelette.

At the rendition of his own piece,’ Precious Jewel’ Sosan displayed a subtle approach that reflects the romantic influence in his personality. Closing the first section before an interval with a Concertino for trumpet and piano with Michael Oladugba as the trumpeter, the pianist whetted his audience appetites who were already seated before the second section.

Sosan opened with a brooding Rachmaninoff Prelude in C sharp minor, which was followed by Evans’ ‘Peace Piece’, the most romantic ballad of the night. With his skillful fingers, Sosan lured his audience into a flirtatious tempo, adding embellishment to the notes, stretching the romantic ambience with his textures.

In a special dedication to Raymond banning, a song he claims was his late mentor’s favourite, ‘La cathedral egloutie’, Sosan once again drew inspiration from its inner being with the ascension of the

notes into a melodious harmony.

Adding flavour to the recital was the performance of the MTN Project Fame’s vocal coach, Dupe Ige Kachi, popularly known as Ige. She gave a very powerful rendition of the popular Benjamin Britten’s ‘Johnny’ with choreography by Zoe Chinaka who played the bride and Obinna Ifediora who played Johnny.

The choreography provoked laughter from the audience who were amused by the way Johnny kept leaving his lovely bride heartbroken despite her ambitious ways of getting him to propose to her. He was always lovely in the beginning of their dating but suddenly became overwhelmed by an inexplicable aura; he jilts his lover over and over again.

While the audience might have shed a tear or two for heartbroken Chinaka, she came back on stage to sing the award winning “I will always love you” by the late Whitney Houston with Perpetual Atife on the saxophone, Nelson Taiwo on the bass guitar and Sunday Oruoghor on the drums. With a soulful voice, Johnny couldn’t help but did what she had always wanted him to do: he came back on stage going down on one knee, he finally proposed to her. This definitely brought

•Mbanefo and Kanitz on stage

the love drama to a satisfactory end as the audience applauded the characters.

Perhaps the duet with the German based pianist Dapo Dina was the peak of the concert. It brought the house down with an outstanding performance by the two pianists. Performing the classical theme from love story composed by Francis Lai, the pianists stamped their foot on this brilliant music. At a point, they were both lost in a trance of the music that they conjured impeccable melody and

‘The choreography provoked laughter from the audience who were amused by the way Johnny kept leaving his lovely bride heartbroken despite her ambitious ways of getting him to propose to her. He was always lovely in the beginning of their dating but suddenly became overwhelmed by an inexplicable aura; he jilts his lover over and over again’

harmony that got the audience screaming for an encore. It was so brilliantly performed that one could see the satisfactory grins from the audience as they tapped their foot and sway their heads sideways in melody. It was the most successful of all the performance of the night.

Sosan is the Acting Director of the Muson School of Music and also the Resident pianist. He is the great grandson of the music legend Dr. T.K.E. Philips.

His musical career was influenced by his grandmother Arinola Sosan and his church organist and master of music, Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos, Mrs. Tolu Obajimi.

Though he graduated from the Lagos University Teaching College of Medicine as physiotherapist, he proceeded to Trinity College of Music Greenwich, England, where he was privileged to be tutored by the late renowned pianist and teacher at the college, Raymond Banning.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Piano and Organ performance.

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The secret of my life, by ex-Wema Bank GMD Former Group Managing Director of Wema Bank Plc Jeremiah Adebisi Omoyeni bowed out of office in 2006 after a stint in politics. In this encounter with Assistant Editor DADA ALADELOKUN, he reveals the driving force of his life, among other things.

W

HO is Adebisi Omoyeni? Not a few would gleefully say: “He is the former Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank Plc.” A mere five-minute encounter with him at his Ikoyi, Lagos office would convince any one that he is implacably entrenched in a “cult” under God’s supreme headship!

For the 47 minutes that his session with this reporter lasted, the soft-spoken banker interspersed his words with biblical quotes. “I now know the cult to which this man belongs,” the reporter said.

Fifty-five-year-old Omoyeni, an indigene of Ikere, an ancient Ekiti community, spent the 21 years of his career in Wema Bank after his National Youth Service in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He was offered a job at NNPC which he turned down.

Why? This, reporter wanted to know before attempting to find out the template of his unalloyed rapport with God. “My appointment letter came directly from its headquarters, and, importantly, I didn’t want to jump from one place to the other,” he said.

However, it was not easy turning down the offer. “In NNPC, I had a Rivers-born boss, Mr Andrews Jaja, who insisted I must work there,” he recalled, saying: “He was processing my application when I went to the Federal Polytechnic, Ibadan, to lecture. When I returned to Lagos to find out how far he had gone, he said he had been tying to reach me without success.

He asked me not to go back to Ibadan; he called Hogg Robinson, who employed me without any interview. I didn’t spend three months there when Continental Loss Adjusters invited me to start its new company for my sound first degree in Insurance.

After over a year there, I went to Wema Bank. And from 1987, when I joined, I was there until I left the industry in 2008.

“But quite many in your shoes would have jumped at the NNPC for bigger pay then …,” the reporter cut in. He confessed: “It was a great confusion. Truly, the temptation came because in those days, if you worked in NNPC, people knew you were already in money. It became confusion for me. I prayed over it and God took absolute control and sorted things out His own way. I joined Wema Bank as the Head, Insurance and Pensions Department. And it is a fact that you cannot occupy a leadership position unless you know what you are doing and you are doing it very well. Three months into joining the bank, they saw the traits in me and that was part of why I did not go to the NNPC.” The banker, who said in the history of the bank, no human being has ever had the type of promotion he had, explained: “I had promotion each year for the first 13 years! I spent one year as Assistant General Manager (AGM) in a year and got double promotion to GMD within one year!”

He further recalled: “I was in Ekiti as deputy to former Governor Ayodele Fayose and when the bank had consolidation challenges, they came to beg me. They wrote letters; begged

•Omoyeni

INTERVIEW my governor to appeal to me. Eventually, I returned to recapitalise the bank within 18 days! If I did not go back, the bank would have been liquidated. But it was by God’s grace.”

Omoyeni recalled how he finally left the bank: “I left the bank because some people wanted to hijack it. They sought my connivance and I refused because I could not compromise my integrity. I fought them and I overcame. I was later asked to come back because my hands are clean. That is how an Ekiti person should be.”

‘I left the bank because some people wanted to hijack it. They sought my connivance and I refused because I could not compromise my integrity. I fought them and I overcame.

I was later asked to come back because my hands are clean. That is how an Ekiti person should be’

Then, the reporter got curious about his upbringing. He went down memory lane: “I spent the whole of my youthful days in Ikere-Ekiti. I attended Holy Trinity Primary School. And I have always been doing well by God’s grace. From there, I went to St Benedict because my father believed you must attend a Modern School for you to be mature before going for higher education. I got into Amoye Grammar School in 1971 and left in 1975. I later became a teacher at Ise, a neighbouring town, because that time, the job you could easily get was teaching. I was at St Mary’s College, Owo, for one-year training.”

He later became a teacher at Ilawe-Ekiti in 1977. He gained admission into the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in 1979. “I spent one year as a student of Demography and Social Statistics. However, I always made ‘A’ in quantitative courses. Thus, I wanted to change to Accounting, either at Ife or the University of Lagos (UNILAG). I got to UNILAG where I wanted to study accounting, but an uncle advised me to study Insurance, saying it is a life course, which was then the fashion, even abroad.”

“I heeded the advice, but nursed the ambition to change to Accounting after one year.As I was tried in my first year, a Federal government scholarship was announced. Then, I was my class’ best in Insurance & Actuarial Sciences. I got a merit award which would elude me if I changed my course. So, I stuck to Insurance.

“After completing my first degree with First Class honours, I returned to UNILAG for Masters in International Law and Diplomacy and later, Masters in Banking and Finance, Executive Cadre; I also came out in flying colours. In 2005 and 2007, I bagged the Achievers Award and Distinguished Alumnus Award,” Omoyeni said.

Stating his father’s contribution to his life, he recalled: “My father - Chief Gabriel Omoyeni, the Baba Ijo of Holy Trinity was a disciplinarian and a good Christian. He was kind-hearted.

He was a Licensed Buying Agent (LBA) for cocoa. With my father, you couldn’t do anything wrong. He would always tell you that a good name is better than riches.”

His mother, Bosede, he said, would support anything my father said or did. “They always cooperated on any issue, especially as regards our upbringing,” he said.

“Then, how easy was it meeting your wife … and who is she?” This reporter cut in. He replied: “I met my wife, Owoborn Princess Mercy Ayoade (nee Olateru-Olagbegi), by divine grace. It was while doing vacation jobs together at the Ministry of Finance, Akure, Ondo State capital. It was after my first year in the university. She came from OSCAS, Ikare-Akoko, Ondo State, where she was doing her ‘A’ Levels course then.

We met and somehow became attracted to each other; the rest is history (laughs). After OSCAS, she went to University of Ife too where she graduated in 1985. She bagged a Masters Degree from Unilag in 1989. She is currently in the Law School.”

Night out with an art connoiseur •Continued from page 26

tion: you do not only see the works of up and coming artists but old works that was produced by me and people who came from Nigeria like Twin Seven Seven, Jimoh Buraimoh and so on.”

He urged Nigerians, particularly politicians and the elite to borrow a leaf from the Wolfords. Onobrakpeya said: “Many of us own homes and institution. We should accommodate and take in young artists and display their works like they did for us in the old days because that would help them grow. That I emerged from the work that the parents did, is a sense of joy to her and a sense of joy to me.”

Layiwola may not belong to Bruce’s generation but has also benefited from the kind gesture of the Mbari Institute at the US. “I have known Mimi for over 10 years and had my first exhibition in the US at her place. She placed my work at an exhibition in South Africa and in New England in the US among others. And ever since it has been wonderful having exhibitions through Mimi. She has opened her house to many artists from Nigerian, African and other parts of the world.”

On Thursday, it was a home-coming of a sort for the American artist when she was a guest of the master artist, Dr. Bruce Onobrakpeya, who took her on tour of his home/studio in Mushin, Lagos. Forty-four years after, Mimi made her first return visit to Nigeria, where she got nurtured in the ap-

•Some guests at the event

preciation of African art. She recalled that in the 1960s, Lagos art community provided a fertile platform for the understanding and appreciation of African art.

She noted that though she has been away for over four decades, she has always being feeling she was still in Nigeria. “All the while I was away in the US, I was feeling as if I was still in Nigeria because often time, Nigerian artists do visit me in Washington DC. The likes of Bruce Onobrakpeya and Peju Layiwola have visited me and held art exhibitions at the Mbari Institute, which I run,” she said.

Mimi said she sustained the Mbari Institute from her pocket, noting that it is tough keeping the institute running, especially with the huge size of collection the parents (Richard Wolford and Jean Kennedy), left behind.

The proprietor of Mbari Institute for Contemporary African Art, Washington DC, U.S. expressed delight at the quality of art works she saw and the increased number of galleries that sprung up in Lagos.

Mimi, an art teacher at George Town Day School, Washington DC, was in Nigeria on cultural exchange programmes designed to encourage young artists. Her love

for Nigerian art knows no bound as the name Mbari means much to her.

“To me, it means much and it is a continuity of creativity. When my parents were in Lagos, they opened the door of their house to all artists. Looking back I am so proud because my parents did their best. My mother wrote a book before she died in 1991. The book is New Currents, Ancient Rivers: Contemporary African Art in a Generation of Change, (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992)” she added.

Dr. Onobrakpeya presented her with a portfolio of paintings and many art books.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

29

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

NLNG is one of the biggest success stories in our country. From what I am told, the company has invested $13 billion so far since inception, and has become a pacesetter in terms of revenue generation for the government.

-Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga

Forecasts Niger Insurance Gross Premium - N2.73b Profit after tax - N212.95m Mutual Benefits Gross Premium - N2b Profit - N885.633m Regency Alliance Gross Premium – N812.596m Profit after tax – N256.437m Learn Africa Turnover - N1.06b Profit after tax - N58.336m Total Nigeria Turnover - N46.676 b Profit after tax - N942.1m MRS Oil Nigeria Turnover - N51.20b Profit after tax - N712 m Eterna Turnover - N27.64b Profit after tax - N563.834m Okomu Oil Palm Turnover - N2.667b Profit after tax - N1.044b Stanbic/IBTC Bank Net operating income N16.805b Profit after tax - N2.737b ASL Turnover - N1.084b Profit after tax - N101.355m GT Assurance Gross Premium - N3.892b Profit after tax - N710.62m Cornerstone Insurance Gross Premium - N1.223b Profit after tax - N80.01m Oasis Insurance Gross Premium N562.500m Profit after tax - N79.868m African Alliance INS Gross Premium - N1.215b Profit after tax - N107.213m Berger Paints Turnover - N976.303m Profit after tax - N88.258m SCOA Nigeria Turnover - N835.0m Profit after tax - N18.200m Dangote Sugar Refinery Turnover - N38.251b Profit after tax - N3.49b Studio Press Nig. Turnover - N3.375b Profit after tax - N20.422m Julius Berger Nig. Turnover - N80.125b Profit after tax - N2.55b Intercontinental Wapic Ins Gross Premium - N1.41b Profit after tax - N250.450m Equity Assurance Gross Premium - N2.45b Profit after tax - N287.283m Standard Alliance Insurance Gross Premium - N2.142b Profit after tax - N475.964m Continental Reinsurance Gross Premium - N6.917b Profit after tax - N805m PRESCO Turnover - N2.60b Profit after tax - N800.9m RT Briscoe Turnover - N4.553b

•From left: Executive Director, Market Operations and Technology, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Ade Bajomo; Managing Director, FSDH (Fund Manager), Mrs. Mayowa Ogunwemimo; Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema and Managing Director, UPDC, Mr Hakeem Ogunniran at the listing of UPDC REIT shares on the Daily Official List of the Exchange in Lagos ... on Monday.

Nigeria, Ghana emerging markets top global equities returns E MERGING markets dominated the global equities returns chart for the first half with Nigeria, Ghana, Venezuela and Pakistan posting some of the biggest returns during the six-month period.

Global stock market indices showed a healthy recovery across the markets in the first half. Emerging markets showed higher returns in double-digits compared with single-digit return by advanced markets of America and Europe.

Nigerian stock market recorded a six-month average return of about 28.8 per cent, indicating approximately N2.45 trillion in capital gains during the period. In value terms, the increase of N2.45 trillion in the first half has already surpassed

T

By Taofik Salako

total gains of N2.44 trillion recorded for the entire 2012.

However, the real benchmark return of 28.80 per cent is some 6.65 percentage points below the average full-year return of 35.45 per cent recorded in 2012.

A comparative review of major advanced and emerging markets showed that Ghana recorded the highest return in Africa with the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) All Share Index (ASI) opening the last trading day of the first half with a return of 57.3 per cent. South Africa’s stock market was almost flat. The ASI of JSE

Stock Exchange of South Africa indicated a marginal return of 0.8 per cent, according to data tracked by the Wall Street Journal.

Egypt’s stock market reflected the challenged political transition in the country with its CASE 30 Index posting a negative return of 14.2 per cent.

Venezuela recorded an exceptional three-digit return of 144 per cent, as measured by the Caracas General.

Japan’s Nikkei 30 followed with a return of 32.6 per cent while Pakistan’s KSE 100 recorded a yield of 24.3 per cent.

The Global Dow Index and DJ Global Index, two key in-

dices that measure global market performance, closed the first half with returns of 5.7 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively.

In Europe, Stoxx Europe 600 indicated average return of 1.9 per cent, reflecting the troubles with some struggling European economies. The London stock market showed brighter prospects than average European return. The FTSE 250 and FTSE 100, two broad measures of the United Kingdom market, recorded average returns of 11.5 per cent and 5.4 per cent respectively. Germany’s DAX indicated a return of 4.6 per cent while France’s CAC 40

returned 2.7 per cent over the period.

Meanwhile, Russia posted one of the worst returns during the period with the RTS Index indicating a return of -16.5 per cent.

Global equity recovery was driven by economic data indicating improvements in manufacturing, employment and retail positions in the USA amidst other positive global economic reports.

The stock market performance was boosted significantly by inflows of foreign portfolio investors and renewed domestic investors’ confidence, which drove the market to fivemonth capital gains of N3.10 trillion by May. It was however moderated by declines towards the end of the last month.

10,000 jobs coming in Niger Delta

HE Forum of SouthSouth Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (FOSSCCIMA) is set to create about 10,000 jobs yearly for youths in the Niger Delta region.

President, FOSSCCIMA, who is also the Vice President, Nigeria Chamber of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) Prince Billy Harry, disclosed this to The Nation.

He said there is an on-going project, which the cham-

By Toba Agboola

ber is putting together to reduce the rate of unemployment in the region, adding that the forum’s goal was to ensure that the economy of the oil-rich region is set on the right track, with the potentials available within it being harnessed and maximised.

Harry said the chamber had taken it as its upon itself to see to the development of the region. This, he said, would be achieved through

the creation of jobs, support for the Small Medium Enterprises’ (SMEs) training and empowering the youths, among others.

He said FOSSCCIMA is set to provide the platform and the private sector partnership for the South-South states to realise the needed investments that would spiral into economic development of the oil-rich region.

He added that the potentials had hitherto not manifested for the well-being of the people.

Banks adopt new IT solution ‘CBN’s projected drop in for cash-less inflation ’ll boost economy’ - P 30 - P31

On the British government’s proposed demand for a £3,;000 bond as prerequisite for the issuance of a sixmonth visa for visitors from Nigeria, he said this is unacceptable to the Organised Private Sector (OPS).

Harry added that it will jeopardise the relationship between the two countries.

“And as for the diplomatic relationship between Nigeria and the UK, that is the issue at hand.

The Nigerian government should take it up amicably with the British government because of their

cordial relationship. The British also do business in Nigeria; hence it is a twosided coin.

“I don’t think the British government would intentionally jeopardise this cordial relationship. It would spoil the cordial relationship between the two countries. The airlines will suffer because passengers will be few, the economy in Britain will suffer because tourists will become few and money wouldn’t be made in hotels and other places,” he said.

NASD to trade in private placements, others

- P32

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

30

MONEY HALF YEAR REVIEW The naira came under intense pressure during the second quarter of the year. COLLINS NWEZE writes that the currency may not fully recover unless issues relating to huge oil imports, declining oil production and rising dollar demand are addressed.

Turbulent time for naira

agencies (MDAs) of the federal and some state governments, was N1.2 trillion. This, it said, is a marked change from its composition in 2004 when the Act kicked off.

FBN Capital said the increase to N3.4 trillion as at the end of May, this year was largely due to the filing in of 12 states into the contributory pension scheme, although only six states had collected and remitted contributions in compliance with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004.

Religious bodies account

The Naira

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HREE factors put the naira at a crossroads during the second quarter of the year: increased oil importation, reduced sales of crude oil at the international market and exit of foreign investors repatriating their profit in the capital market.

These dynamics bolstered the demand for the dollar and weakened the naira. On June 17, the naira was at 18-month low, dropping 0.8 per cent to N162.60 a dollar, culminating in a weekly decline of 1.8 per cent. It was the worst performance since December 23, 2011.

The naira’s decline steepened last month after the CBN broke its rule of only selling dollars at its bi-weekly auction within a three per cent band around N150 to the dollar, a system designed to stabilise forex trading.

But analysts see the naira fluctuations as temporary, given the position of the reserves, which currently stands at $48.3 billion, which means the apex bank can defend the naira.That defence occurs regularly at critical points.

Jide Solanke, an analyst at Lagos-based FSDH Merchant Bank Ltd told Bloomberg, that there’s was high demand for dollars as people are taking profits and their money out of the country. He noted that the reserve position is robust, which means the CBN can defend the naira.

Currencies Analyst at Ecobank Nigeria, Olakunle Ezun, said though the naira has breached CBN’s three per cent above N155 to a dollar target, the banking watchdog is positioned to stabilise the local currency in the short term.

During the last week of the quarter in a bid to tame the naira from further depreciation, the CBN increased the weekly offer at Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS) market, offering $800 million from the usual $600 million, weekly. The marginal rate at both auctions remained N155.75 to a dollar. The Naira depreciated further last week losing 212 kobo week-on-week to close at N161.57 to a dollar from N159.45 the previous week.

KYC The CBN also extended Know Your Customer (KYC) deadline for Designated NonFinancial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) from April 30 to December 31, this year.

CBN Acting Director, Financial Policy and Regulation, A.O. Ikem advised DNFBPs that have not registered with Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML) to do same before the deadline ends, failing which they would not be allowed to operate such

• Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

•CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido

accounts. The CBN said the extension was meant to address some of the challenges encountered by SCUML as a result of the number of persons seeking to enjoy late compliance.

The CBN had earlier issued a circular, mandating DNFBPs on the need to provide additional KYC requirements to their banks and Other Financial Institutions (OFIs). It said compliance is in line with international best practice against adverse developments resulting from money laundering and financing of terrorism globally.

capacity to the economy.

He disclosed that the AfDB will also be extending $200 million facility to the NigeriaExport-import (NEXIM) Bank, adding that part of the delay in securing the loan was because the lender (AfDB) was awaiting Federal Government’s sovereign guarantee. “We have already secured the needed approvals for the loan aside getting a sovereign guarantee,” he said.

He said rates for such loans are always at small margin above the Nigeria Interbank Offered Rate (NIBOR), adding that it will be a moving rate, rotating around NIBOR, and will be at single digit.

World Bank hammer The World Bank Group announced the banning of the Nigerian firm, Scientific Energy and Environmental Management Systems Limited (SEEMS) for two years for fraudulent practices under the Second Lagos Urban Transport Project financed by the banks.

It said the ban was part of a Negotiated Resolution Agreement, which includes satisfactory compliance with its Integrity standards, including corporate ethics training for all its employees within three months.

SEEMS, however, agreed to fully cooperate with the World Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency (INT), the unit mandated to investigate fraud and corruption in Bank-financed activities. The INT is responsible for preventing, deterring and investigating allegations of fraud, collusion and corruption in World Bank projects, capitalising on the experience of a multilingual and highly specialised team of investigators and forensic accountants.

BoI’s credit To safeguard its loanable funds, the Bank of Industry (BoI) now demands 10 per cent equity contribution from prospective borrowers to enhance their commitment to the loans, the bank’s General Manager, Operations, Joseph Babatunde, has said.

He spoke during the media workshop in Lekki, Lagos. He explained that the development finance institution is nearing conclusion in securing $500 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB), which would enable it expand its lending

Vision 20: 2020 The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) also said the vision of Nigeria being among the top 20 economies in the world providing efficient e-payment services by 2020 will be achieved.

NIBSS Executive Director, Business Development, Chritabel Onyejekwe disclosed this at during the 13th Card, ATM & Mobile Expo in Lagos. She said the cash-less banking initiative has recorded huge success and had drastically reduced banks’ operational costs.

She said NIBSS in collaboration with the CBN, banks and other international partners are committed to the journey of transformation for the e-payment industry via cash-less economy. He said all the parties agree that a lot of work needs to be done at the grassroots.

Private sector pension The private sector is well ahead of the public sector in pension fund contributions, FBN Capital, had shown. The report indicated that the private sector now contributes about 60 per cent of the N3.4 trillion pension assets under the management of Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).

The research firm said data released by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) showed that as at end of March 2013 (when pension assets were N3 trillion), the private sector contributed N1.8 trillion to the scheme. Also, the public sector’s contribution from ministries, departments and

The CBN refuted reports that it had ordered the freezing of the accounts of some religious organisations, citing alleged suspicion of links with terrorist groups. In a statement posted on its website, the banking watchdog said it had not ordered the closure or freezing of the bank account of any religious body or any institution.

It explained that prior to 2006, Nigeria was on the list of the Non-Cooperating Countries and Territories (NCCTs) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global watchdog on financial crimes.

The country was removed from the list on account of stringent actions taken by the Federal Government. However, by 2007, as a result of loopholes in Nigeria’s legal and regulatory system, the country was included in the ‘grey list’ of countries that had not made appreciable progress in their AntiMoney Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime by FATF. “It was, therefore, incumbent on Nigerian authorities to ensure that her financial processes and procedures as well as the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act (MLPA) of 2011 and the Prevention of Terrorism (PTA) Act of 2011, were in conformity with FATF recommendations and international best practice,” it explained.

Mobile money transactions The cumulative transactions by the Mobile Payments Operators in the last one year were worth over N64 billion, more than 60 per cent of which were done in the last three months, CBN Deputy Governor, Operations, Tunde Lemo has said.

Speaking at the conference on cash-less policy held in Lagos, with the theme: Transiting to a cash-less society - Charting the way forward, he said the CBN had licensed about 18 mobile payment operators to offer payment services via the mobile phone that over 100 million Nigerian are using. This, he said, will help promote financial inclusion and by extension, make the nation a cash-less one.

Lemo said the CBN has released the guidelines on agent banking to guide banks and other financial service companies who may wish to offer financial products and services, on how to appoint and manage the agents.

He said central banks all over the world are usually at the centre of the development of the banking and payments system. This, he said, was imperative, given that they perform the role of facilitating the exchange of goods and services among the economic agents.

SMEs bemoan lack of access to credit facility

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HE Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) and businessmen under the umbrella of Market Leaders Association of Nigeria have urged banks to assist them in growing their businesses.

In a statement after a meeting in Lagos, the group said the sector had been neglected despite all the noise about availability of funds to assist them.

The association’s President, Deacon C.F.C. Obih, said over the years, SMEs had been catalysts for economic growth and national development.

SMEs, according to him, also play critical roles in employment gen-

eration, facilitates economic recovery and national development.

He explained that the sector had been experiencing retarded growth because of poor access to funding/ credit as banks are always reluctant to lend to the sector.

The banks’ reluctance is informed by inadequate documentation of business proposals, lack of appropriate and adequate collateral, high cost of administration and management of small loans and high interest rates.

He said: “We have approached banks individually and collectively to assist us with loans but most of us are usually disqualified

due to lack of knowledge of the process. Moreover, banks do not have enough personnel to train all SMEs on the rudiments. That is why we have come together to be educated on how we can access loans to improve on our businesses.”

The Managing Director of Mayakorp Nigeria Limited, Mr Martins Ndigwe, said the sector had the most need for financial loans to boost businesses. He emphasised that they also need to be educated on the process of obtaining such loans.

Unfortunately, the banks are not helping much to enlighten the sector on how to grow their businesses

perhaps due to inadequate human capacity.

He said the Annual Business Empowerment Summit holding tomorrow at the Sports Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos was designed to bridge the gap.

This inaugural edition will bring together over 5,000 SMEs and dealers on automobile, telecommunications, information technology, agriculture, food and beverages, building materials and household wares sectors in an interactive business forum with their product and service providers. He said the conference will assist the subsector overcome its challenges.

•Ndigwe

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

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MONEY

Experts: CBN’s projected drop in inflation rate will boost economy

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HE ability of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to reduce inflation rate to seven per cent by September will augur well for the economy, experts have said.

Such a drop in inflation rate from nine per cent to seven per cent will result in a growth of the treasury bills, bonds, equities and other traded financial instruments, they said.

In line with its sound macroeconomic stance, CBN projected that inflation would fall from nine per cent to seven per cent in September.

The development, which came on the heels, of the achievement of a single digit inflationary rate early in the year, according to experts, portends a good omen for the country.

The Managing Director, BGL Securities Limited, Mr Sunday Adebola, said there would be positive real returns on investments once inflation falls to seven per cent in September. He said when investors made nominal returns and deflated them by inflationary rates; they achieved positive real returns on investments.

He said: “Simply put a situation whereby inflationary rate is unable to affect the gains recorded from investing in tradable instruments could be described as positive real returns on investments.

“When inflation falls to seven per

Stories by Akinola Ajibade

cent in the third quarter of the year as projected by the CBN, real returns on investments in tradable instruments will increase. A further decline in inflation means an increase in the prices of instruments. This is a good development for investors and the market in particular. This will lead to a corresponding increase in the aggregate turnover of instruments traded in the market.”

Besides, he said the functionality of one rate is dependent on the other. “The moment the inflationary rate comes down, the interest rate moves in the same direction.

When interest rate goes up, the prices of instruments will rise. If there is a decline in interest rate, investors would be able to move funds into the market. When this happens, the prices of tradable instruments would increase. The market operators are going to be happy because they would make good returns on investments,” he explained.

According to him, CBN has consistently been meeting its projections to encourage the growth of the economy.

“If by September end, the rate of inflation falls to seven per cent, we should automatically expect a decline in interest rate. The Monetary Policy Committee would be

compelled to adjust the benchmark interest rate, which has remained at 12 per cent in the past 12 months. I think this is a sign of good things in the nation’s financial market. What this means is that investors are going to get better returns. Whether it is headline or core inflation that experiences a decline, operators are bound to get positive real returns,” he said.

Also, the General Manager, Treasury Department, Consolidated Discount House, Mr Bolanle Okunubi, said a fall interest rate would boost the bond and other financial market instruments.

Okunubi said inflation and interest rate function together for the growth of the financial market. He said when there is a convergence of the two rates, the market is better for it.

He said an average investor wants inflationary and interest rate to fall because that is the only way he or she can achieve growth.

Noting that there are upside and downside effects in financial markets, Okunubi said the latter can be minimised when the market rates are favourable.

He said high interest rates, inflationary rates, inconsistent economic policies, political crises; among other variables, affect the operations of the financial market, adding that they are growth inhibitors.

MfBs’ new deadline MICROFINANCE banks (MfBs) will try to meet the December recapitalisation deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Chairman, National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMBs), Mr Olufemi Babajide, has said.

The MfBs were initially given up to December last year, to recapitalise but failed to do so. Their inability to get the required capital base of N50million (unit operators), N200 million (state operators) and N2 billion for (national operators) made CBN to fix a new date.

In a statement, Babajide said operators were making efforts to meet the new deadline.

He said the operators know that they cannot ask for another extension, hence their resolve to get the required capital before the expiration of the deadline.

Babajide said the operators were trying to maximise their output, in spite of the challenging economic operating environment the country is facing.

He said: “I think operators are well aware of the challenges before them. They know that CBN will not like to change the deadline again, hence their resolve to improve on their performance by making more profit. We still have six months to get the money for recapitalisation, and have the believe that we can make it. We are introducing new products to get more customers and increase our profitability. Many have introduced cost-cutting measures to survive and stay afloat of the competition.”

He urged the CBN to release the necessary funds approved for the development of microfinance institutions, stressing that the funds would go a long way in improving the sector.

FRC advises banks on infrastructure THE Chief Executive Officer, Financial Reporting Council (FRC), Mr Jim Obazee, has advised banks to provide enough infrastructure for growth.

He said problems, such as poor accounting ideas and planning would reduce, when banks put in place necessary infrastructure.

Speaking during a stakeholders forum in Lagos, Obazee said technology is vital to the operations of financial institutions globally, adding that it has helped in minimising accounting errors.

He said poor infrastructure was one of the problems that caused crisis in the industry in 2009, adding that many banks gave out loans to their directors without putting in place measures to ascertain their credit history.

He said: “We do not collect adequate information on burrowers.

That is why banks have problems when customers defaulted. Once there is good infrastructure, banks would be able to monitor their burrowers, know their companies, their capacity to pay back among other information. Based on these, banks would be able to know the credit rating of their customers. The moment they know that the credit rating of some companies is poor, they would not give loans to such companies.”

The banks would provide faultless accounting policies, when they have the necessary facilities in place.

Obazee said fighting inflation should not be the job of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) alone, advising stakeholders to make data in their sectors available as at when due.

ANAN tasks members on professionalism

• From left: Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Heritage Bank, Mr Ifie Sekibo; Executive Director, Mr Robert Mbonu and Chairman, Zenith Bank Plc, Sir Steve Omojafor, during a luncheon to welcome directors of newly licensed banks to the Bank Directors Association of Nigeria (BDAN) in Lagos.

Banks adopt new IT solution for cash-less

T

O enhance cash-less banking, banks are striving to become Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) certified and further secure their payment channels, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said.

Last year, CBN directed banks to comply with the standards to improve electronic payment channels and operate in line with best global practices. Financial institutions including Sterling Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Stanbic/IBTC Bank Plc, among several others, have been certified.

Head, Shared Office Department, CBN, Mr Chidi Umeano, said banks were showing interest in complying with the standards, adding that many have complied with the standards.

He said: “A lot of banks have

complied with the directive on PCI-DSS. There has been appreciable progress on this issue. Those that have not complied with the standards have expressed commitment to enhancing the securities of their payment channels. They are at various stages of compliance.”

Also, the Enterprise Solutions Director, Microsoft Nigeria,Mr Ade Famoti, said many banks were working or leveraging components of Microsoft products to meet PCI-DSS compliance.

He said many banks found out that the time, resource and process cost associated with PCI-DSS compliance have limited their ability to comply with the standards, hence their decision to leverage on the expertise of Microsoft.

“Many organisations discovered that the time, resource and process costs associated with PCI DSS compliance limit their ability to implement a secure development process.

“This is where we come in – helping businesses address PCI DSS security requirements when creating software or systems, while speeding adoption of the security development lifecycle in their organisations,” he added.

The CBN’s spokesman, Mr Ugochukwu Okoroafor, said the issue of PDI-DSS compliant is very important to CBN, adding that it is part of effort to ensure the success of the cashless project.

Okoroafor, however, said he needs to confirm the level of compliance of banks to the standards because the issue is sensitive.

THE Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) will ensure professionalism among its members, the Chairman of its Ikeja Branch, Mr Oladimeji Solomon, has said.

He said the country would produce half-baked and incompetent workforce, once professionalism is relegated to the background.

Speaking during a seminar with the theme: The role of professional association in economic development and sustainability in the midst of unsecure and corrupt environment and organised by the body in Lagos, Solomon said accountants play an important role in the fight against corruption in the country.

He said the need to have well trained and non-corrupt accounting professionals cannot be under-emphasised, if the country is to tackle corruption among other crimes.

He said the association’s main goal is to produce highly qualified accountants, and save the country from corruption. He said accounting is a delicate and specialised area that requires integrity, discipline, sound knowledge and commitment of its practitioners, adding that the field is not for everybody.

“Once you cannot show that you are a man of integrity, discipline, methodical, and hardworking, then accounting is not for you. This is what we emphasise on daily basis, and we would not relent it. We need to safeguard to promote ethical standards to contribute to the socio-economic development of the country,” he added.

Firm to assist banks, others on CSR RYTEDEALS Nigeria Limited has introduced a product to help banks, microfinance banks (MfBs), mortgage institutions and manufacturing companies to improve on their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Tagged ‘Dial-a-Deal programme, the idea, according to a statement, will help companies to make maximum use of their CSR’s budget.

The Chief Executive Officer, RyteDeals, Mr Victor Alaofin, said the firm was committed to helping institutions get a fair deal or value for their CSR’s materials.

He said the development was aimed at helping companies spend less on CSR, while at the same time getting more values for their efforts.

The RyteDeals boss said the firm would help institutions to get discount on CSR’s items such as gadgets, food, electronics, clothing’s, medical services, trainings, events, accessories, cars among others.

He said: ‘The company is value-driven, has a wide range of ideas and is structured to serve its customers better. One of these ideas is “diala-deal”, through which customers can dial a phone number to get ‘enhanced, convenience service’. Also, business owners equally have opportunity to get the “Ryte customers, market recognition and reach for their products and services.”

He said the firm carries out deals online by asking clients to subscribe to its products, adding that the company has wider reach, as evident by its long list of individuals and companies that have requested for CSR-induced services.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

THE NATION INVESTORS

NASD to trade in private placements, T delisted securities HE NASD - the over-thecounter (OTC) trading platform for unquoted securities such as equities and bonds, whichstarted trading yesterday, would trade in all securities including shares that were issued through private placements and unlisted public offerings.

The NASD would also offer trading platform for shares of companies who voluntarily delisted their shares or were compulsorily delisted by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The Nation gathered that the OTC said it would create a liquid and transparent secondary market for shares in private limited liability companies and public limited liabilities companies which had balked at listing on the NSE after initial promises of listing.

During the 2005-2008 market boom, several private limited liability companies had converted to public limited liability companies, and floated IPOs to raise funds from the capital market with assurances that they would list their shares after the conclusion of the offer. While some have listed, many companies that floated IPOs have backed down from listing their shares.

Retail investors have said the non-listing of the shares of the companies, which had undertaken IPOs during the stock market boom have locked down their funds without any verifiable means of accessing such funds.

Stories by Taofik Salako

Shareholders said the non-listing of the shares was a breach of agreement, noting that this has not only denied them the opportunity of knowing the current worth of their investments but they have also been unable to retrieve their funds.

National President, Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA), Chief Timothy Adesiyan, noted that several shareholders were lured into buying the IPOs due to the promise of public listing and resultant opportunity to trade on their investments.

According to him, it was unbecoming of the companies to raise funds from investors and refuse to subject themselves to public scrutiny by listing their shares.

Investors also have some N300 billion stuck in several delisted companies. The NSE had delisted not less than 44 companies since 2009 largely due to failure to meet listing requirements for the main board. Many companies had however opted for voluntary delisting including Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC).

The NSE had in several batches invoked compulsory delisting to clear what it considered as irredeemably inactive companies.

Some of the delisted companies in-

New earnings reports will drive equities, say experts

S

ECOND quarter earnings reports would enliven equities and trigger a new level of bullish rally at the stock market, analysts have said.

Against the downtrend that has pervaded the market in recent weeks, market pundits said the release of interim reports for the second quarter and first half of the year would spur the performance of the market.

Analysts at Sterling Capital Markets and FSDH Merchant Bank said they expected the new earnings reports to moderate the bearishness and create new impetus for continuing market recovery.

Post-listing rules at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) require that quoted companies should submit their reports, not later than three months after the expiration of the period. However, the NSE provides that where a filing due date falls on a weekend or holiday, the filing will fall due on the next business day.

Economist and investment advisor, Sterling Capital Markets Limited, Sewa Wusu said the market could witness a rebound this quarter on the strength of earnings reports for the second quartear.

According to him, half-year interim results of companies would be major catalysts for the market this quarter as investors seek to optimize their returns through bargain hunting.

He also noted the lessening tension in the global economic outlook with recent improvement in the United States of America (USA)’s economy and positive signs that it may not drastically cut the stimulus that had supported liquidity.

He however cautioned that Nigeria’s weakening macroeconomic indices may moderate performance of the market pointing out that declines in crude oil production and foreign reserves might tighten government’s revenue and hamper its role as provider of liquidity to the financial system.

Analysts at FSDH said the unau-

dited results of quoted companies should drive equities performance noting that there are buy opportunities in the banking sub-sector of the equities market due to the fact that the sector is undervalued.

In the first half, the Nigerian stock market recorded a six-month average return of about 28.8 per cent in the first half of this year, leaving investors with approximately N2.45 trillion in capital gains during the period.

Notwithstanding the downtrend that characterized June, significant successive bullish rallies in previous months still left Nigerian equities as one of the best-performing market during the period.

In value terms, the increase of N2.45 trillion in the first half has already surpassed total gains of N2.44 trillion recorded for the entire 2012. However, the real benchmark return of 28.80 per cent is some 6.65 percentage points below the average full-year return of 35.45 per cent recorded in 2012.

Aggregate market value of all equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed the first half at N11.426 trillion as against its valueon-board of N8.974 trillion that started the year, representing an increase of 27.3 per cent. The All Share Index (ASI), which doubles as benchmark index for all equities on the NSE and country index for Nigeria, rose from 2013’s opening index of 28,078.81 points to close the first half at 36,164.31 points.

The first half performance was moderated by the downtrend in the latter half of June, which saw the month closing as the most bearish month with a loss of N649 billion.

Equities had shown brighter performance in the first five months with whooping capital gains of N3.10 trillion. Aggregate market capitalisation of all equities had closed May at N12.075 trillion while the ASI had indicated a five-month average return of 34.6 per cent.

NSE’s data showed that the industrial goods stocks remained the best-performing subgroup during the first half.

cluded Okitipupa Oil Palm, Grommac Industries, Incar Nigeria, Intra Motor, Rietzcot Nigeria, Albarka Air, Aviation Development Company, Ceramic Manufacturers Nigeria, Wiggins Teape Nigeria, Onwuka Hi-Tek, Beverages West Africa, Ferdinand Oil, Foremost Diaries, Tate Industries, Footwear and Accessories Manufacturers, Aboseldehyde Laboratories, BCN, Christlieb and Maureen Laboratories.

Others included Epic Dynamics, Liz-Olofin and Company, Nigerian Lamps Industries, Niyamco, Oluwa Glass Company, West Africa Glass Industtry, Aba Textile Mills, Asaba Textile Mill, Enpee Industries, Flexible packaging, Krabo, NewPak, Nigercem and Tropical Petroleum.

Most of the companies had attracted substantial secondary market values in spite of absence of fundamental figures to back their operations.

Formerly known as the National Association of Securities Dealers, NASD Plc is a registered over-thecounter (OTC) trading platform for unquoted securities including equities and bonds. NASD is owned by several investment and financial institutions as well as strategic investors. NASD is registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an organised trading

platform for unlisted securities.

Speaking on the immense potential of the OTC market, managing director, NASD Plc, Mr. Bola Ajomale, said the emergence of NASD would give investors the opportunity to buy and sell unquoted securities in an organised and transparent market, which will enhance the liquidity of shares not listed on the NSE. According to him, investment instruments approved by SEC could be traded on its platform including shares of unlisted multinational companies.

“We will open up with equities and bonds many of which are currently being traded on the black or grey market in the first phase,” Ajomale said.

He added after the initial formative period, the NASD will move to trading on commercial papers and then other complex instruments like derivatives and options.

He pointed out that as an OTC market, the NASD would not have a trading floor like the traditional exchange but rather trading will be done through the internet and a hosted platform leased from the NSE.” He added that the company had developed an integrated market system made up of the Central Se-

curities Clearing System, six settlement banks and some registrars to ensure smooth operations while 40 brokers have been registered to trade on the market.

“Our vision is to create a market that is accessible throughout West Africa. We intend to become the hub of first call for capital formation in West Africa and we are guided by the principles of Integrity, Performance and transparency in all our dealings with every point of contact- be they investors, issuers, regulators business partners and especially your good selves,” Ajomale said.

He enthused that NASD would fuel economic growth in the West African sub-region by developing and operating active markets that adhere to the highest standards of performance and principles of integrity while also creating value for its stakeholders and the investing public.

According to him, by offering more liquidity in investment instruments to the Nigerian capital market, NASD will play a crucial role in the ability of Nigeria to sustain a real growth rate of above seven per cent per annum and ensure that desired capital intensive projects can get cheaper and faster access to funding.

On the modus operandi or trading, Ajomale said that there would no circuit breaker on pricing of equities as they would be priced based on performance and available information in the market.

•From left: Chairman, NASD Plc, Mr Olutola Mobolurin, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr Suleyman Ndanusa and Director-General, Ms Arunma Oteh, at the launch of the NASD Plc Over-the-Counter (OTC) market in Lagos ... on Monday.

C

Why we made lower profit, by Japaul

HAIRMAN, Japaul Oil & Maritime Services Plc, Major General Omosebi (rtd), has explained that adjustments for depreciation and newly introduced policies for preparations of statutory financial reports were responsible for the drastic decline in the profit of the company in 2012.

According to him, while the turnover had increased and raised hopes of improved bottom-line in 2012, the company’s net profit was adversely affected by higher-than-expected depreciation and financing expenses.

He said the companies acquired some new vessels towards the end of the year and decided to charge depreciation on them in order to readjust the company’s depreciation to a more ideal position, a situation that increased depreciation on profit to about N2.1 billion, N1.56 billion above the rate for previous year.

“Some of the new vessels that we bought are financed with loans from the bank, hence the high amount of interest that we paid during the

year. Moreover, the bad debt that was written off against our profit for the year is N600 million because one of our major debtors, NAFTOGAS, got liquidated.

Though we believe that we will get some money back from the appointed liquidator, we decided to write off the amount right now,” Omosebi said.

He noted that the need to comply with the requirements of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) necessitated several adjustments in the accounts of the company, which were written off against the company’s profits and reserves and eventually threw the reserves to negative from N2.9 billion.

He, however, reassured shareholders on the prospects of the company noting that it has garnered huge demand and contracts that would propel its growth in the years ahead.

He said the company plans to acquire six more vessels between now and 2014 with combined income

earning capability of $150,000 per day, which would boost the existing income stream.

“The operating environment is so good that if we have 50 vessels today, the market will absorb them because the Nigeria Local Content Policy has created an enabling environment for all local maritime companies to do well. It is evident therefore that there is no limit to our growth despite all the challenges we have been facing,” Omosebi said.

Audited report and accounts of Japaul for the year ended December 31, 2012 showed that turnover increased from N10.25 billion in 2011 to N12.28 billion in 2012. Gross profit rose from N4.72 billion to N4.999 billion. Profit before tax however dropped from N1.45 billion to N532.71 million. Profit after tax declined from N980.44 million to N283.73 million. Earnings per share dropped from 15.66 kobo to 4.53 kobo. With these, the company’s shareholders’ funds dropped from N22.56 billion to N17.08 billion.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

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THE NATION INVESTORS After the divestments by banks from non-core banking businesses, the financial and investment services market is being reshaped by mergers and acquisitions as firms seek to build scale, capacity and distinct niche. TAOFIK SALAKO reports that several acquisitions by Investment One, erstwhile subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), may make the firm the new face of the emerging phase of all-inclusive investment solutions providers

Investment One eyes one-stop investment services T HE regulatory regime of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that redirected Nigerian deposit money banks to core banking activities created challenges and opportunities.

CBN’s Scope of Banking Activities and Ancillary Matters No 3, 2010 requires banks to fully concentrate on core banking functions. It requires banks to either sell non-core banking businesses or form a holding company to hold such non-core banking businesses including activities such as insurance, asset management and capital market operations.

Most banks, including Access Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Plc, Skye Bank Plc, Sterling Bank, Zenith Bank, Unity Bank and Wema Bank chose to divest from non-banking subsidiaries. Five banks including First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc, First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc have adopted the holding company structure, which separates core banking entity from other entities as subsidiaries under a single holding company.

Altogether, restructuring banks have had to divest from about 80 subsidiaries. The challenges of such massive restructuring included divestments, spin-offs, changes in boards and shareholdings, delisting, listing, relisting, new strategic business plan, rebranding and several other anxious concerns that come with divestment, acquisitions and mergers. The new regime meanwhile created several opportunities too including new investments, prospects of improved professionalism, improved corporate governance and more importantly, financial sectors’ stability.

However, the main challenge is ironically the main opportunity for the newly divested entities-standing alone after several years of group structure and comfort. For thriving erstwhile subsidiaries, the divestment was an opportunity to scale up and ‘live their visions’. But for others, it was a change too hard to muster.

Investment One Financial Services Limited, the emergent company from the sale of erstwhile GTB Asset Management Limited (GTBAM), knows the challenges but rather sees opportunities in the changing landscape of investment services. With eyes on gains and the future of the new entity, GTBank had opted for management buy out (MBO) as divestment vehicle for GTBAM. Investment One is now owned by management and staff of the company and few select investors that share the philosophies of excellence and service that form the core values of GTBank and its former subsidiaries, the pedigree upon which Investment One is building on.

With three acquisitions, three high-profile approvals for new functions and many awards in the past 12 months, Investment

One is arguably the fastest growing investment company. In the latest acquisition, regulatory filing showed Investment One has acquired 99.9 per cent equity stake in Kakawa Asset Management Ltd (KAML), a former subsidiary of Kakawa Discount House Limited. The new acquisition brought with it complementary investment management expertise and products. Established in June 2004, KAML is registered by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a corporate investment adviser and fund manager and it is also dealing member and stockbroking firm at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Over the years, it has established a niche as a bespoke provider of investment solutions and shared a common pedigree with Investment One through its affiliation to GTBank.

The acquisition of KAML brought its Kakawa Guaranteed Income Fund (KGIF) into the portfolio of bespoke investment products under Investment One. KGIF is a premium unit trust scheme that delivers minimum return indexed to CBN’s Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), currently 12 per cent, and it makes dividend payment twice a year.

Besides, a potential investor can earn additional return of 35 per cent of the net income of the fund.

Investors can also use their funds in KGIF as collateral to borrow loans, finance children education and bequeath assets to children. The combined assets of Investment One and KAML amount to more than N50 billion in funds under management.

Earlier, Investment One had acquired fund and management rights the Nigerian International Growth Fund (NIGFUND), a mutual fund of over N3billion, from Fidelity Bank Plc. Last month, it added Royal Trust Pension Fund Administrators Limited (RTPFA) as one of its subsidiaries following acquisition of 99.9 per cent shareholdings in the pension fund administrator. RTPFA already looks forward tom lever-

aging on the scale and expertise to enhance its profile in the pension industry. Managing Director, Royal Trust Pension Fund Administrators Limited (RTPFA), Mr Charles Sanni being a part of Investment One would enable the company to offer world-class products and services to its clients.

According to him, RTPFA would leverage on Investment One’s core values of market insight, innovation and service excellence to achieve its vision of being Nigeria’s foremost pension manager.

Besides the many acquisitions, Investment One’s stockbroking subsidiary, Investment one Stockbrokers International Limited has secured three high-profile additional functions at the stock market. It was appointed as one of the six Fixed Income Market Makers (FIMMs), companies that will provide two-way quotes for the sale and purchase of government and corporate bonds on the NSE to retail investors who do not meet the N100 million per transaction volume requirements of Primary Dealers-Market Makers (PDMMs). PDMMs deal mostly with banks and discount houses. It was also appointed as one of the 12 Supplementary Equity Market Makers (SMMs).

Investment One Stockbrokers will provide two-way quotes and regular liquidity to a basket of 10 stocks including United Bank for Africa (UBA), Access Bank, Zenith Bank, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Mansard Insurance, Julius Berger, May and Baker Nigeria, CAP Plc, Total Nigeria and Red Star Express Plc. Investment One Stockbrokers was also recently appointed as one of the 14 Designated Advisers (DAs) for emerging stocks at the stock market. With this appointment, the company will act as advisers to companies listed on the Alternative Securities Market (ASeM) of the NSE. ASeM is primarily a vehicle to provide amenable access to capital for small and medium enterprises with good prospects, but still immature for the more rig-

•Investment One: Growth in fund under management

orous requirements of the main board at the NSE. Investment One Stockbrokers’ arrays of new functions further confirmed its profile as one of the main market-driving stockbroking firms. It had emerged as one of the top 10 stockbroking firms by volume and value on the NSE in 2012.

Besides immediate strategic positioning, Investment One recognises the importance of growing Nigeria’s investors’ base. It has launched a SEC-approved online investment education platform, Virtual Investment Simulator, which encouraged participants to learn about how to make informed investment decisions as well as enhance knowledge of the financial market. It allows investors to form exclusive investment clubs within the portal whereby participants can invite friends and colleagues to join, compete with one another as well as share ideas and post comments on the portal’s blog page. It had recently presented N500, 000 as star prize to the pioneer winner of the simulated investment game.

With all these, Investment One was recently recognized as one of top 50 Fast Growing Companies in Nigeria. It was one of the three financial Sector companies recognised in the award category, which took into consideration the awardees’ growth rate of not less than 100 per cent per annum, employment of more than 6,500 people, business spread and business incubation records.

The acquisitions and new functions, coupled with aggressive corporate development initiatives, have broadened Investment One’s one-stop investment services vision. Primarily licenced by the NSE and SEC to provide a wide portfolio of capital market services including investment management, trusteeship, issuing house, financial advisory and securities brokerage, additional functions and subsidiaries would enable Investment One to provide individual and institutional investors a holistic investment experience.

Speaking recently, managing director, Investment One, Mr. Nicholas Nyamali, said the name ‘Investment One’ mirrors the company’s desire to be a onestop shop for comprehensive investment services and the first point of call for insightful and innovative financial solutions.

According to him, the name also reflects the firms’ strategic positioning as a service-oriented firm that is responsive to the investment needs of its customers while its payoff-forward thinking investment solutions, underscores its commitment to delivering financial services solutions backed by its long-standing core values of service excellence, innovation and market insight to individual and institutional investors.

“The company is uniquely positioned to provide comprehensive services to meet our customers’ investment requirements.

Whether to advise, execute, manage or transfer wealth to future generations, our customers will find the full compliments of investment solutions in our oneshop location – we call this the 360° Investment Partnership,” Nyamali said.

According to him, the company is reputed for its ability to discover and generate new ideas to meet the diverse needs of its clients with a wide array of products and services including local and offshore equities and fixed income securities as well as alternative investment such as real estate securities, commodities and derivatives.

“Our primary objective in meeting clients’ expectations is built upon three service benchmarksexecution, performance and efficient reporting. We execute clients’ mandates speedily and generate regular market reports that serve to update our clients about the status of their transactions,” Nyamali noted.

With all these, Investment One appears to be well-positioned in the competition-driven realignments of operators and products and services in the Nigerian capital market.

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INTERVIEW Prince Alex Mbata, the Chairman of ABM Group of Companies, an outfit which has interest in oil and gas, real estate and manufacturing, says he is out to solve the problem of unemployment in the Southeast.

In this interview with Okodili Ndidi, he says the government should come up with policies that will help Nigerian industries grow and provide power to reduce cost of accessing finance.

Excerpts:

M

Banks’ high interest rate caused by cost of power generation

OST industrialists complain of funding and infrastructure. How are you coping with these chal-

lenges?

Well, God has been wonderful to me in this direction. I am a Christian and once God’s hands are in your business, things will fall in place. But I must tell you funding is not the biggest problem in Nigeria for the businessman. The biggest problem is that of power supply. That is one problem we must fight headlong. That is what is killing industries in the country. Even the banks are suffering the problem of electricity and they shift this extra cost to the businessman. If the banks run without diesel and generator, they will reduce their interest rate by one or two digits. Right now, the interest rate is about 21 per cent and that is too much. If we solve electricity problem, we would have solved 50 per cent of the problem being faced by industries. The government should assist us by giving us power. Nigerians will clap for the government if they can give us steady light. With electricity, industries will run and people can produce different things as the Chinese do from very small business premises. Once we solve the problem of electricity, more jobs will be created. China is an industrial giant because they don’t have any electricity challenge.

What motivated you to invest in industries rather than buying and selling?

Thank you very much. The answer is unemployment. If you look at what is happening in Nigeria, you will see there is no security anywhere and the basic reason is because there is no job for the teeming youths. And the only way we can get out of this problem is to create job for the youths.

And these youths we are talking about are my brothers, yours brothers, my sisters, your sisters. Most of them are out of the university and, unfortunately, they are roaming the streets.

So, instead of buying houses overseas, or keeping money in the bank, I have decided to invest at home. We need to see how we can give our people hope. God willing in the next few weeks the industry ABM is building in Owerri will start production.

What will the ABM factory produce?

ABM means Associated Basic Materials. It is a group that is into oil and gas, manufacturing, hospitality and real estate. In manufacturing, what we are doing in Owerri is four industries in one. We are going to produce aluminium, plastic, tissue paper, table water and juice. For now, that is just the first phase. Ultimately, we are going to build the largest industry in Imo State, but for now, the first phase is ready to begin production. All the machinery have been installed, the raw materials are there and the workers are there; so we are about to light up the factory.

You are the concessionaire of the popular Imo State Government’s Concorde Hotel. What moved you to invest in it?

Talking about what moved ABM to invest in Imo Concorde, I will tell you straight away that it is the love I have for the late former governor of Imo State, Chief Sam Mbakwe. Mbakwe was

•Mbata

the man of the people and he gave Imo selfless service. And one of the legacies Mbakwe left for Imo people is the Imo Concorde Hotel. Imo Concorde at a time became shadow of itself and was in a state of disrepair. Since the government can’t revive it, ABM decided to show interest to make sure the place is up and running. Our desire is to bring the hotel back to its old glory, and that is one way of saying we love what Mbakwe did as the people’s governor.

So, how far have you gone in turning around the hotel?

We inherited a lot of problems. A lot of fraud was going on there and the place was in a state of decay. The place was over staffed. The hotel has 220 rooms, but only about 45 rooms were functioning. Nothing was working. The generators there were not functioning. The lifts were not working. But today, in less than three months, we have two brand new lifts, and 180 rooms available. We have replaced the generators with a 1000 kva generator. We are changing the face of the place and bringing it back to its former glory. And we are enjoying good support from Governor Rochas Okorocha who also wants to do for Imo what Mbakwe did in his time. By the end of July, Imo Concorde will fully bounce back as a five star hotel.

What are you doing about the staff?

We are discussing with the government to pay them off, so that we can recruit professionals.

For how many years will ABM run the place?

We got the place on lease for 20 years with a five-year renewal. Our drive is to bring the hotel back to life.

Will the people of Imo benefit from this arrangement?

Certainly yes. Don’t forget there is an annual renewal fee that we will be paying to the government. Don’t forget that beyond the money the government will make, the place will remain the pride of Imo State and attract tourists.

When do you intend to inaugurtae the factory in Owerri?

As I said earlier, everything is ready, in another few weeks, we will start production. But the inauguration proper will be later in the year during the dry season. We can’t open it during this rainy season. We are looking at October or November.

What gave you the confidence to invest in Owerri even with the mirage of problems in

the state, including insecurity?

I must tell you that I am not afraid of the problems you highlighted. We need to solve security problem by creating jobs for the youths.

In fact, it is the youths that will come and protect you once they know you are working to help them. The kidnappers will even protect you once they know you are helping in the area of job creation.

Do you have any foreign partnership?

ABM is a group that has an office in South Africa and Aberdeen in the United Kingdom (UK), to be precise. We also have Indian and Chinese partners. Kabra plastic manufacturing company is the largest in India and they are our partners. We have our partners from UK, who are already on ground running the Imo Concorde Hotel. The group from UK also runs some of the best five star hotels in UK and we have the same vision with them.

Do you have any political ambition?

This is the question Nigerians always ask once one is doing well. When I gave my people at home water, they beckoned on me to go to the House of Assembly. They renewed the call when I gave them electricity. I told them no. Honestly, I do not have any ambition to run for any elective post. The only ambition I have is to see how I can help the poor. If that can be contested in any election, I think I will run. My ambition is how to put food on the table of the poor, to help the less privileged. If anyone wants us to run for that, I think I will. I will put my money in that race but for any political post, no way.

But I am ready to support any government that is ready to serve the people.

Talking about supporting good governance, do you think the government in Imo State is doing well?

If you look at what happened two, three years ago, one would say yes, that things are better today in Imo State. I am not saying this because I want to support party A or party B but because of what is on ground today. I am saying this because even the blind can see what the government is doing not only in Owerri, but in other zones of the state. I come from Owerri North, and before now, leaving Owerri to my town was like passing the head of a camel through the eyes of a needle. But today, one can drive home with ease. The road to Naze has been dualised, thus easing the traffic in the Emmanuel College end of Owerri town.

‘The biggest problem is that of power supply. That is what is killing industries in the country. Even the banks are suffering the problem of electricity and they shift this extra cost to the businessman’

Owelle Rochas Okorocha’s free education project is laudable. One can see what the government is doing to make Imo better and I will support any government that is doing that. I am not saying this because I am a government contractor. I am not a government contractor. The government of Okorocha has not given me any contract and I am not looking or begging for one. But in my own assessment, I think Rochas has done well, even the blind can attest to the fact that his rescue mission is on course.

What is your take on the low presence of industries in the Southeast?

The problem has to do with the fact that our people - south easterners - are not investing at home. This to me is a big mistake. We just need to think home and see how we can develop the south east industrially. Our teeming youths, who are coming out of the university, must find a place to work if they must not take to kidnapping, armed robbery and other vices. We must give our people hope.

Where do you think ABM Group will be in another five years?

By His grace, my vision is to see ABM Group become one of the leading corporate outfits in the country in the next couple of years. We hope to become one of the major players in oil and gas in real estate, in the hospitality industry and other areas where we have business interest. The druve of somebody like Chief Chukwuma of Innoson Group is motivating us. I support him even in my prayers and I hope our government will support indigenous companies to grow. Ordinarily, Innoson motors should be the only company the government should be patronising when it comes to the buying of vehicles, that way the company will grow. Take a look at Indians they use TATA vehicles wherever they are. Koreans use Rio vehicles as a way of supporting their own. We must also help our companies grow. We must think Nigeria first. If we think Nigeria, this country will be better.

Government must ensure the full implementation of the local content law just like we have it in oil and gas.

Despite your busy schedule as a businessman, do you find time to relax?

Of course, I do. However, different people have different ways of relaxing. I relax by staying at home with my kids during the weekend. I try to be home during the weekend so that I can play with the kids. I don’t go to clubs and I do my gym work at home. God has blessed me with four lovely kids and a wonderful and Godfearing wife. She is Mrs. Uchenna Favour Mbata.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENUERSHIP A Lagos-based entrepreneur, Mr Francis Osezele has weathered economic challenges to succeed in the soap making business, writes DANIEL ESSIET.

‘Soap making is profitable business’

T

HE liquid soap business has grown from nothing to something , becoming one of the biggest in the manufacturing industry.

The domination of the market by multinationals did not deter a micro entrepreneur, Mr Francis Osezele, who is the Managing Director, Freedom Aluminium Company,from trying his hand in the business.

He believes value lies in transforming simple commodities into highly profitable brands.

This is why he has found liquid soap making an area to invest in.

He said every household need soap for laundry.

Although he faced financial challenges at the beginning, his ability to persist despite the challenges by adapting to the

circumstances of the market was a big part of his success.

He started with N20,000, after training at the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO), Lagos. Today, the business is worth about N1 million.

He has gradually transformed it into a profitable venture.

Having understood the art of making a good soap that can meet people’s needs as well as the requisite marketing skills, he decided to raise some capital to start his own business.

Today, he is doing well. Besides, he has registered the product with the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

But access to loan remains a big challenge to him.

In the beginning, he did not start as a soap manufacturer.

Initially, he sold aluminum products. But because the business was not growing, he began to search for a more suitable and affordable alternative. He experimented and created a soap that works well. Since then, many doors have opened to him since he started the soap making venture.

His goal is to provide high quality products that are used by almost anyone and expects the business to grow at a steady pace. Besides, he intends to focus on developing new products and anticipates the business to grow to a level that would require him to hire several full time employees. He said new varieties of soap are being explored.

Osezele believes success in business is in producing high quality products that either solve a problem or create fun.

The producer of Kleentex liquid soap has reason not to regret his decision. He said the key issues in the business have to do with one’s ability to produce qualitative soaps and market them in an efficient way.

There are three types of soaps, namely: detergent, bar and liquid. But he chose to make liquid soaps.

Many micro entrepreneurs in the business started small in their kitchen. A local welder can help to produce a mould by using a cutting machine and a stamp, through which the soap’s name can be engraved on the soap bar.

Supplies needed for the busi-

N

•From left: Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Steven Evans; Nigerian Writer and Patron of Etisalat Prize for Literature 2013, Prof Kole Omotosho; Head, High Value Events & Sponsorship Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Ebi Atawodi and Nigerian Writer, Hadiza El-Rufai, during the cocktail dinner for writers, judges, patrons and guests of the Etisalat Prize for Literature, at the Lagos Yacht Club.

SMEDAN chief pledges support for NGO

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HE Small and Medium Development Enterprises Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has pledged to support the Students Advancement for Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) Nigeria to train youths in entrepreneurship and financial skills.

Its Managing Director, Mr Bature Masari, made the pledge when Mr Agwu Amogu, the President of SAGE, visited him in Abuja.

Amogu led a delegation of the Local Organising Committee on SAGE international competition, to be hosted by Nigeria next month, to seek the support of SMEDAN. Masari said SMEDAN would incorporate the vision of SAGE in its programme to complement the agency’s efforts in promoting entrepreneurship skill among youths.

“We will incorporate your vision in our programme and give it the necessary awareness and encouragement. We want to ensure that business development starts from the scratch.

“We will give the programme the widest publicity it needs as it will provide opportunities for young Nigerians to key into entrepreneurship programmes.

“I want to tell you that SMEDAN will give you all the necessary

support to train teachers who will be serving as SAGE coordinators nationwide.’’

The director general, who said there were many misinformations about the security situation in Nigeria, urged SAGE to interface with foreign missions and enlighten them on the issue.

“You should interface with the foreign missions that Nigeria is safe for them and that the security agency is winning the war against terrorism.

“Though they are aware, we should still encourage them that Nigeria is a safe haven for investors.’’

He said Nigeria, like any other nation, had its own challenges, including security, poverty and others that needed the interface of everybody to adequately address them.

Masari said SMEDAN would do its best to ensure that the competition succeeded.

Earlier, Amogu said the security situation in the country almost affected the competition.

He said over 20 countries indicated interest in the competition that would feature 300 students worldwide.

The countries, he said, included South Africa, Zambia, Uganda,

South Korea, Brazil, Tanzania, Rwanda, Philippine, Russia, Kenya and Germany.

He said SAGE is a non-profit organisation initiated at the California State University, United States.

“SAGE is operating in continents with a mission to create the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders whose innovations and social enterprise aim to address the major needs of our global community,” he said.

He added that one of the purpose of hosting the competition was to attract investors to the country, adding that South Africa would be coming with 15 business delegates.

Amogu said the programme was aimed at helping to make future dreams come true for youths by teaching them entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills needed to be successful.

“SAGE Nigeria targets to create a dynamic network of proactive young social-entrepreneurs who are taking actions and volunteering for the pursuit of the attainment of the MDGs. “SAGE has been a tool for job creation among the youths which is in line with the agenda of the present administration.”

• Osezele

ness include colorants, meltand-pour soap, premade bases, containers, colouring, packaging supplies, fragrances, and essential oils.

600 acquire skills

O fewer than 600 people in Ikorodu, Lagos have benefited from a free skill acquisition programme organised by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

At the graduation of the beneficiaries, the Deputy Governor, Mrs Adejoke OrelopeAdefulire, said the government would continue to provide opportunities for people to be selfreliant.

Mrs Orelope-Adefulire said the government intentionally created the ‘short-term‘ programme to complement the regular skill acquisition programmes in designated centres.

“As a crash programme, we intend to assist more of our citizens and equip them, within a short period of time with skills in diverse vocations.

“This initiative is in line with belief that entrepreneurship and self employment remain

the best way to kick out poverty and combat joblessness.

“We believe that more people will be empowered to create wealth for themselves, their families and others, which then becomes shared prosperity for the good of all,” Mrs OrelopeAdefulire said.

The deputy governor urged more residents of the state to take advantage of the various skill acquisition centres in their areas.

A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Sanai Agunbiade, representing Ikorodu 1 Constituency, hailed the government’s efforts in empowering the citizens.

He said all the wards in the constituency were represented at the programme.

Participants were trained in various trades, including balloon decoration, hair weaving and pomade production for a period of four weeks.

Business women urged to mentor cubs

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RESIDENT, Women in Business, Management and Public Service (WIMBIZ), Mrs Adeola Azeez, has called on established businesswomen to mentor younger ones.

Azeez said in Lagos that mentoring was vital for economic growth through the involvement of more women in business.

“Mentoring is key for anyone intending to go into a venture, particularly business.Without mentoring, it is inevitable for one to fail in an enterprise, “Some of the businesses han-

dled by women that have failed could have been strengthened if the owners had good mentors around them.

“More so, young female undergraduates and Corps members should make themselves available for mentoring in any line of business they would like to go into after school.

“If all these can be put in place, the worrisome state of unemployment would be reduced.

“More youths would become independent and that spells an improvement in the nation’s development,” she added.

IFAD trains 54 on bee farming

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HE International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-assisted agricultural development programme has trained 54 rural farmers in bee farming skills in Jigawa State.

The Programme Officer, Alhaji Umar Abubakar, said in Dutse, the state capital that the beneficiaries were drawn from nine ] local government areas where IFAD operates.

IFAD is a United Nation(UN) agency charged with enhancing rural agriculture, especially in

developing countries.

Abubakar said the local government areas include Dutse, Buji, Kiyawa, Garki, Gwiwa, Auyo, Birniwa, Taura and Guri.

He said the bee farmers were taught new skills on bee-keeping and beehive construction and setting.

Abubakar said the new skills imparted on the farmers would stimulate socio-economic wellbeing of the beneficiaries as well as generate revenue for the state.

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The Midweek Magazine

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

House decries rot in National Theatre

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HE consultant to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation on the concession of landed areas of the National Theatre, the BGL, has disclosed that the various projects earmarked for development by private investors would be completed between 36 and 48 months as soon as the right bidders complete all necessary procedures.

The facilities that will be executed under the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT), option include a leisure park, recreation centre, shopping mall, a three-storey car park and a five star hotel. The concession will be on public-private-partnership (PPP) arrangement that would last for 30 years.

The consultant told the Ben Nwankwo ledHouse Committee on Culture last week in Lagos that the landed areas that would be allocated for concession are 140 hectares, but that not all would be built up by the developers.

In a presentation before the committee, the consultant who highlighted the project concept, its feasibility and economic viability explained that ‘the National Theatre would remain the government entity and would not be concessioned. The upgrade of the National Theatre will be carried on during the construction phase to match-up with international standard. The National Theatre will continue to be run and maintained from a fund set aside out from the proceeds of the concession,” according to the reports.’

Nwankwo said the concern of the House on the concession project include its goals, implementation policies and transparency, adding that the present state of the theatre complex craves for urgent attention. “The renovation or rehabilitation of the theatre complex craves for attention. Unfortunately, government does not have the resources to do it alone, hence the PPP arrangement. In fact, culture and tourism should play key roles in national development. The theatre, which is a cultural monument, is susceptible to

•Nwankwo (centre), Duke (far right), GM National Theatre, Kabir Yusuf (standing) and other members of the committee.

By Ozolua Uhakheme Assistant Editor (Arts)

MONUMENT encroachment. But the government is desirous of developing it into an income earning project,” he said.

On the lingering crises over the relocation of

other culture agencies, he asked how amicably the culture ministry has handled it. “Why was the National Troupe of Nigeria sent packing from the theatre? Has the act establishing the two bodies as one management been reviewed?” Nwankwo asked.

The chairman also noted that though the committee was not at the theatre on oversight per se, but that the present administration owes it as a duty to be bond its obligation of

‘The renovation or rehabilitation of the theatre complex craves for attention. Unfortunately, government does not have the resources to do it alone, hence the PPP arrangement. In fact, culture and tourism should play key roles in national development. The theatre, which is a cultural monument, is susceptible to encroachment. But government is desirous of developing it into an income earning project’

Out of the box holds at Terra Kulture

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N exhibition of drawings, paintings and mixed media by Tunde Olaifa will open on Saturday at the Terra Kulture Gallery, Victoria Island, Lagos. The exhibition tagged:Out of the box will feature about 40 art works.

The exhibition, which will run till July 11 is his third solo show since his last outing in 2008.

When asked why the gap, he said: “I cannot exhibit every year because of my job as an art educator at Whitesands School, so it’s a long plan, having to on my painting gradually in order to maintain good quality standard.”

He said a discussion with his friends while going through a trying period prompted him into this visual statement out of the box.

“He was blaming people around him for the problems he was going through, not wanting to be responsible for his own actions. I advised him using different illustrations, after this the idea of staging an exhibition based on suggesting to people to press forward came telling them to get of the box, think more to solve problems as there is a seed deposited in everyone to be successful in life,” he said. Some of his works include Out of the box 1&2, Vanity, Its in you, Iwogbe(mirror), Boko boko.

One of his works, Out of the box was illustrated with a pool, shallow and deep area. He likened the shallow area to the popular area in which no one wants to dare nor cross. He said he realised that it took God the whole space to be able to create a beautiful earth. He also likened the pool to the entire world that a lot of people just want to sit down at their comfort zone which is clustered. To him, the deep area may be dangerous, as there is a line in the pool that tells you not to cross. Some use the shal-

•Iwogbe(Mirror)

By Seun Adeyemo

VISUAL ART low area to train themselves to cross, while some never bothered. The line in the art work is designed with various colours such as red, green, purple, white. Some of these colours sig-

nify that if you cross you’ll have peace. But the red signifies that it could be dangerous because you have to remain afloat.

The painting depicts the essence of hard work. “If you’re doing well and you dont want to go down and to remain afloat, you really have to keep working hard”. He also

implementing budget hundred percent.

Other members of the House present at the theatre included Abdulmalik Usman, Emeyese Akpodiogaga, Badamasiyu Abdulrahaman, El Sudi Tukur, Muniru Hakeem, Abbas Machika and Toby Okechukwu.

Culture minister, Chief Edem Duke, said the National Theatre project is at its conceptualisation stage and that all would be carried along including the National Assembly.

“We must find the will to ensure the property benefits from new investment that will grow its potentials ... For us, it is a legacy thing and must pull through a transparency process,” he said.

On the protest by some artistes at the Artistes Village, Duke said: “If they are artistes, they will not dwell in such a place. That is not what I see of artists in Ghana or South Africa. Your environment should radiate the creativity in you.” gave an insight on Iwogbe, which is a mixed media painting in segments. The meaning of Iwogbe is mirror and the painting is asking the question Who are You? At the middle of the painting there is a mirror which signifies an appeal to your conscience when you look at it. The eye signifies that a lot of people are looking at you so also God is looking at you.

The hand prints in different colours (red&blue) signify the work of one’s hand. The human faces in different colours illustrates that there are various ways in people would look at you.

The foot prints illustrates where you go.

Vanity is a painting in segment put in blocks illustrating that everything about us are in stages starting from the conception period where you have no clue about what is going to happen. The colours used explain the art work. The purple colour in this painting explains that ‘we are all hopeful human beings and as time goes on, we face various problems’. The green illustrates prosperity that though some make it but somewhere along the line, we face dangerous situations, there are also happy moments. There’s also human figures droppings and some things on the fall; this signifies that at the end of the day, we are going to drop it all. White here signifies vanity.

Another of his works, Its In You, is a mixed media work with the human head showing objects such as padlock, key, buckle etc. It’s a work that will help one get motivated, sit down, buckle up, unlock the brain and think wise.

According to him, works produced for this exhibition is tagged motivational art. ‘Artists usually claim that they are influenced by the environment, aside from the physical environment and people.’ What about those very close to us? How do we motivate them? There are lot of people living close to us that are facing various problems. “Out of the box is to motivate people to keep pressing forward, and for people not to blame people around them for their predicament” he added. “I am out to ameliorate people’s predicament in visual forms.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

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The Midweek Magazine

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

Eight years ago, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, as Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, was guest speaker at the Newsray annual lecture in Damaturu, Yobe State. He spoke on Unequal Nigeria - Environment and development: The semi deserts and the Nigeria Delta in Perspective. This year, the Newsray lecture was held in President Jonathan’s home state of Bayelsa where the transformation agenda was examined by various speakers who focused on the importance of the media, reports Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME.

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HE Banquet Hall, Government House in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, was literarily ‘invaded’ by top traditional rulers from Northeast and Southsouth zones, politicians, media executives and government functionaries. They converged for the fifth Annual Newsray Public Lecture and leadership awards which has as theme: The reformation agenda and the Nigerian media.

The Emir of Machina, Alhaji Bashir Bukar Machinama, Emir of Talata Mafara, Alhaji Bello Muhammed Barmo, Emir Damaturu Emirate Council, Ibn. Umar Alamin Elkanemi Shehu Hashimi II, Mr. Frederick Agbedi, Mr. Tarinfo Akono, Mr Furoebi Akene, Mr. Godson Ordu and Cheif Gabriel Oguno were among those who received awards of excellence for their contributions.

The event was chaired by the former majority leader in the House of Representatives, Sir Tunde Akogun.

Governor Seriake Dickson urged the media to adhere to its professional ethics and be good managers of information in order to promote the transformation and restoration agenda of government. He said the media should help citizens in building bridges across the different ethnic groups rather than fanning the embers of wars.

Governor Dickson, who was represented by the Secretary to State Government, Prof. Alison Ogutu, described media as key in the development of every nation.

He charged the recipients of the awards to be galvanised by the award for greater contributions as well as bridge the gap between the different ethnic groups.

“We are happy to host the lecture and award ceremony because the new Bayelsa and Nigeria that are emerging are those that believe in unity in diversity...I observed that the awardees are credible and distinguished Nigerians who help in bridge building,” Dickson said.

The Royal father of the day, Emir Machina Emirate Council, Yobe State, Alhaji Bashir Albashir Bukar Machinama, who spoke on behaldf othe awardees, said what matters in the award are not the quantity and quality of the materials of the award but the spirit behind it, adding that Newwsray magazine is a child of Yobe State. “Mr. Campbell is a good ambassador in Yobe ...We should consider ourselves as one and think of Nigeria first in all that we do,” he stressed.

But, there could not have been a more auspicious time than now to examine the imperatives of media in President Jonathan’s transformation agenda, especially in a function held at a government house once occupied by President Jonathan.

Expectedly, the Executive Secretary, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Dr. Barclays Ayakoroma wondered why Nigeria is still lagging behind in development when many advanced countries are making trips to the moon and strategising on the tourism potentials of such trips.

“Yet, Nigeria, with all its abundant resources, is still trying to get basic infrastructure development right, because of the many years of utter neglect. Why all these challenges? Why the political instability? Why the catastrophic rumour mill?

Why the arrant corruption? Why the unmitigated violence?

Why the high level of insecurity? When can we really say: “Proudly Nigerian!” and mean it with all our hearts?” he asked.

With that poser, Dr. Ayakoroma set the tone for the day’s discussion that featured Executive Programme Director of the Culture Advocates Caucus (CAC) and former editor Guardian On Sunday, Mr Jahman Anikulapo, and Chairman, Bayelsa State chapter of Nigerian Union of Journalists, Mr Akono Solomon Tarinyo.

Dr. Ayakoroma, who spoke on Rethinking the transformation agenda from a cultural perspective: The imperatives of the media, described the creative industry, which the media is part of, as having a direct bearing on national economic development, wealth creation, poverty alleviation, social stability, as well as international relevance and respect.

He noted that it is, therefore, necessary that players in the media should understand their strategic role in image-making, national development, as well as being cultural ambassadors. “Thus, a clarion call is more than overdue for the media to be objective, given to research and ensure deep sense of fair-play, patriotism and respect for truth, since they

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•From left: Alhaji Bashir Bukar Machinama, Ibn. Umar Alamin Elkanemi and Alhaji Bello Muhammed Barmo at the award ceremony in Yenagoa

Imperatives of media in transformation agenda AWARD

are at the forefront of moulding opinions and shaping lives.

They play a vital role in opinion moulding and shaping the behavioural pattern of the people, because they are the eyes, ears and mouth-pieces of the society, given to dissemination of information and ideas to the people; they can create and monitor both friendly and hostile environments in any society.

“The perception, mindset and view of a given society, which, in most cases, translate into negative or positive actions, are very often the products of media information. The media contribute to national development by promoting the projects and achievements of government. In disseminating information, the media ensure that such information is authentic and balanced,” he added. He identified funding, equipment, remuneration, capacity building, programme planning, conducive environment, inter-sectoral collaborations, facility visits, and media briefs as imperatives for the optimal performance of the media.

According to him, antagonising government at all times is not a true test of courageous journalism, noting that despite media ownership issue, there is need for media professionals to practice developmental journalism.

Continuing, he said: “With the transformation agenda, it could be argued that Nigeria is like a moving train, on the way to the “Promised Land,” and nation-building is a jointtask that requires the support of all, including the media. It is high time the Nigerian media started promoting the nation through enlightenment and sensitisation on government programmes and policies.”

He stressed that the media should see its role in the promotion of the transformation agenda as a challenge to the noble profession, adding that media houses that are known for accurate, factual and investigative reportage often com-

mand a height, both in professionalism and integrity.

Anikulapo said the media would function effectively when the government in power is successful, and not distracted from the performance of its duty by unnecessary tension in the polity, instigated overtly or covertly by our journalistic activities. He noted that the fortune and fate of the media as an institution are tied to the fortune and fate of the political administration in power, which through its policies and actions shape the fate and fortune of the nation at that particular in time.

In his paper, Patriotism, just like communication, Is a two-way traffic, Anikulapo gave some posers, which included, ‘What if the system in place in the country is inimical to the overall wellbeing of the people? What if the policies and actions of the government in power are inimical to the goodness of the society; or betterment of the citizens’ welfare? What if the establishment through its policies and actions has mounted various odds in the way of progress of the nation and its people? What if the political power holders are irresponsible in their actions, or are adept at always behaving like vagabonds in power?’

He, specifically, asked what if the agenda set by the government or the political powers that be are not patriotically informed, or are not properly thought through but cobbled together to achieve selfish political gains, increase the possibility to economically exploit the nation and its people? Or what if the agenda of the powers that such that — given the extant conditions in the polity or system – are futile and unrealisable?

“Should the media play dumb to the happenings in its environment, and continue to abide by the set principle of supporting the establishment knowing full well that its survival also depends on the survival of the system; and that its fate and fortune are inextricably tied to the fate and fortune of the nation at that material point in time?”

Sterling Bank rewards children of staff

FTER a keenly contested maiden edition of the Sterling Bank staff children art competition, Princess Nworah, daughter of Mary Nworah of the bank’s University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) branch, carted home the first prize in the four to eight years category.

In the nine to 12 years category, Kehinde Olatunji, daughter of Sweetie Olatunji of the bank’s Trade Services group clinched the first prize while Agboola Samuel, son of Comfort Agboola, also of the bank’s Trade Services group led the 13-17 years category.

The competition is an initiative aimed at celebrating the creativity of the children of staff of the bank and providing an opportunity for expression of the latent talents of the future artists.

The competition required the children of staff to express

their creativity in painting with the theme, My Beautiful World.

It was held in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Onitsha and Kano.

The judges which were drawn from the best in the creative industry included founder of Niger Delta Cultural Centre, Agbarha-Ottor, Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya, Mr Segun Adejumo and Mrs Ifeoma Fafunwa. All entries were judged on simplicity, form and depth of expression of the theme.

Chimamanda L. Melifonwu, David Edoho and Unoma Okoye Aghadinuno, all got the second prizes in the four to eight nine and 12, and 13-17 years’ categories while Sheu Aroworowon, Ibukun Fashogbon and Aina Oladipupo took home the third prizes per category.

The judges noted that the banks competition was a worthy initiative. They added that it was commendable that a bank was recognising and celebrating the creativity of the children of their staff. “It is worthy of emulation as the bank is adding

value to the families of their staff and leaving an indelible positive mark in the lives of the children”, Prof Bruce added.

Speaking at the event, the Group Head, Strategy & Communications of Sterling Bank, Shina Atilola, noted that the Sterling children art competition was one of the many initiatives the bank was embarking upon to make it a great place to

work.

“We believe in promoting the ingenuity of the children of our staff and providing an enabling environment for staff to feel appreciated by the bank. It shows that Sterling Bank is thinking about the families of her staff and is willing to celebrate their children’s talents and help discover their talents for their future careers, he said”. He added that all the finalists were given consolation prizes in recognition of their talent and to further encourage them.

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The Midweek Magazine The travails, triumphs of a U S A L V I missionary politician (4)

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S he could not cut corners or bend the rules, not to talk of engaging in outright stealing or embezzlement, because of his moral principles and Christian ethics, he had to wait for God’s time. God’s time came through “a government wage policy [that] reverberated in the private sector and gave me a lump sum in salary arrears.” This was how the author started the building of his house, which he completed several years later.

The narration about the building project does not end without an account of the fortuitous circumstances that gave the author the “building site in a choice area” of Ilara. The prime land, which later became Ajayi Street, was left undeveloped and overgrown by weeds because people, rooted in superstition, believed “it was the forest of ghosts, the abode of fairies, which no human being could share or, in fact, visit at night, as, according to general belief, fairies would snuff life out of such mortals!”

As the author, despite being an irredeemable traditionalist, by his own admission, lived above silly superstition, he built and inhabited his house without any interference from fairies. He records having welcomed six other houses to Ajayi Street with several occupants, none of whom ever saw any fairy or had any unusual experience.

The autobiography also vividly captures the circumstances that pressed the author into community service, development activism and ultimately partisan politics. The remote cause is of course the ancestry of the author as “his forbears, left and right, maternal and paternal, were politicians, warriors and servers of the people.” Another motivating factor highlighted in the book was the fascination of the author by “the exploits and struggles of Nigerian nationalists who were agitating for independence”.

Notwithstanding this, the book pin-points the actual trigger of his entry into politics as “the dehumanising practice of paramountcy”, which was a logical consequence of the system of Indirect Rule imposed on Nigeria by the colonial British administration. Ilara, according to the passionate account of the author, felt the full and brutal weight of “the repulsive practices of paramountcy” which peaked with the banishment of the then Alara of Ilara-mokin, Oba Adamu Arojojoye, for re-crowning himself and wearing a beaded

crown in defiance of the colonially-selected paramount ruler, Oba Afunbiowo, the then Deji of Akure. This, the author stated, “sets the stage, no doubt, for a liberation struggle since slavery is not the legitimate state of man, and must be overthrown.”

If any was needed, this provocation was a clarion call to arms for the autobiographer.

Being a man of valour by lineage, by nature and by nurture, he took up the gauntlet to play “Moses” of not just Ilara town but the entire community of Ilara, Ijare and IgbaraOke, later christened Ifedore. The rest as they say is history.

The book further documents the pioneering role of the author, along with other patriots, to mid-wife Ifedore community, which later transmuted into Ifedore District Council, and much later to Ifedore Local Government. Ifedore was the unified umbrella for collective and effective resistance to the oppression and enslavement of Ifedore people by the rapacious and evil agents of paramount mis-government. The book also chronicles the titanic efforts of the author and other community leaders to resolve the divisive tripartite battles that later ensued for the hosting of the Local Government Headquarters of Ifedore.

Aside from “passion for service to humanity” that is a common denominator of all the actions and activities during his life and time, one unmistakable tendency is the missionary zeal and messianic streak of the author.

This led him to spearhead several liberation struggles and freedom-fighting initiatives which inevitably brought him into confrontation and face-offs with external political oppressors like the Deji of Akure, social suppressors like the local Ogboni confraternity and tyrannical traditional leaders like Oba Ojoopagogo. The autobiographer’s abhorrence for “arrogance of power and despotism or tyranny” and “misrule” or “reign of terror” saw him fight to finish several monarchs, including Oba Ojoopagogo, though the author was largely instrumental to drafting him from the police force for royal tutelage and subsequent crowning as an Oba. Thus the king-maker easily and unrepentantly turned to a king-fighter because of his moral outrage against oppression and injustice against the people.

The author’s fight for freedom was also extended to social vices like silly and anachronistic superstitions and obnoxious cul-

Work your dream to real

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NLIKE many publications that prescribe the A-Z of success in business or relationship, The Mind’s Game by Tokunbo Alabi is a book meant to encourage those who are bold enough to act out their dreams. The 134-page book is offering its readers some of the author’s practical knowledge and lessons learnt in the course of building his Superflux Group.

Considering the busy nature of most Nigerians these days, especially those in cities, Alabi presents the seven chapters of the book in a short format accompanied with quotes and bullet points of lessons, which serve as nuggets for those who cannot read the book line by line.

Chapters One and Two deal with how the state of mind of every individual determines how we relate with one another, how the minds have been molded, and how flexible the minds are to the extent of learning new things. They also threat examples of transformational experience that became the turning point in peoples’ life. The author demonstrates the reality of such experience with is personal experience he described as accidental. He recalls how he got interested in the MBA degree programme after his graduation from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) as a physiotherapist. He says he was able to complete the

BOOK REVIEW Title: Author: Reviewer: Publisher:

The mind’s game Tokunbo Alabi Ozolua Uhakheme Storyteller Services

Pagination: 134 programme because he went into it with faith, as he was unsure of source of fund for the programme. His lessons from the

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

political activism.”

Perhaps because the Akure-styled “wizard of Ilara”could not be assassinated, his political enemies decided to raze down his family home. The book narrates the circumstances that surrounded the attempted burning down of his family house and the heroic efforts of Ilara indigenes to rescue the house after the endless wait for the summoned firemen to arrive from Akure. The author testified that the villagers successfully put out the fire before the coming of the firemen, adding: “My whole house remained standing but with my own apartment reduced to outright charcoal. “ The fact that the arson preceded the third coming of the author into politics after his earlier “indefinite withdrawal from community service” is a clear testimony that the author was indeed a fanatical and incurable community servant, who is passionate about service to his community even at the risk of losing his freedom.

BOOK REVIEW Title:

Adventures in Courage

Author:

John Ayanfe Ajayi

Reviewer:

Femi Ajayi

Pagination: 561

Teaching by example, the author has through his autobiography made a good case for selfless service to mankind as the raison d’etre for continued existence and relevance. As one of the converts and disciples of the autobiographer, let me in concluding this review leave you with my own thoughts on service: To serve is to live, And to live is to serve, A life devoid of service is a life bereft of essence.

Pa Ajayi’s career and life were uniquely driven by the irresistible passion and altruistic desire to right societal wrongs as well as promote fair-play and justice. He was a development missionary and veritable changeagent with undeniable dedication to value addition and positive social transformation.

Though William Shakespare said “the evil that men do lives after them and the good often interred with their bones”, Pa John Ajayi will be remembered and his memory cherished anywhere selfless service is valued because he lived for service and fought for justice.

At this stage, permit me to express my appreciation and enduring love to the noble family of Pa John Ayanfe Ajayi. I feel quite honoured that I was given the rare privilege to review this exceptional autobiography of a quintessential personality and outstanding community leader whose life of selfless service positively changed the course of history of his people and community. I thank you all for your presence and attention.

tural practices. The book gleeful reports the battle that the author singlehandedly fought and won against the retrogressive cultural taboo attached to selling of pounded yam in Ilara Mokin. Now, thanks to the daring and revolutionary Pa John Ajayi, Ilara people don’t have to leave Ilara and go to ‘bukateria’ in Ijare, Igbara-Oke or Akure to buy and eat good Iyan-gbona (hot pounded yam)!

For all his zeal for selfless service and passion for people’s welfare, the many intrigues and the pervasive pathologies of politics forced the autobiographer to leave politics on two different occasions which is responsible for the chapters on to his second coming and third coming into politics in this book. The author was detained several times on trumped up charges by the native authority police and he narrowly escaped assassination several times by either the Ogboni confraternity or Oba Ojoopagogo, who he helped to install but, he stated, “who was in mortal fear of my

•Concluded

MBA programme were endurance, prudency, simplicity, humble and perseverance. However, the author shows that vision, drive and discipline are essential for succeeding in business and life generally.

Understanding the power of relationships is the thrust of Chapter Three and is considered as critical in every business. According to the author, every entrepreneur must understand human nature and deploys such understanding to build relationships and partnerships that will help him and his business succeed.

“Understanding people, is about understanding what makes them tick and how emotions play out in different types of people. For instance, some people are high on emotions while some others are not. Not understanding the dynamics of relationships well enough has put me in trouble a few times, and those experiences have helped me in no small way to become wiser in relating with people,” the author recalls.

He also considers expectation in a relationship as very key be it business or social.

Chapters Four and Five dwell on how people prepare their minds for the challenges ahead. They also provide that like in sports, entrepreneurship requires having a winning mindset or mentality. Readiness to sacrifice, dissatisfaction with the status quo, passion for action, and thirst for knowledge are among ingredients for a successful entrepreneur who also must be inquisitive. Other traits include knack for planning, credibility, respect for mentors and competitors, commitment to principles, focused, knack for risk taking, simplicity,

and costing intelligence.

As a follow-up to earlier chapter, the author in Chapter Six presents many lessons from both small and big business outfits, which include exposure, learning and experience garnering.

Talabi dedicates Chapter Seven to the relevance of collegiate arrangement in the success of any business. He says that in such arrangement, everyone must bring something to the table. This system, according to him is not new in business. Specifically, he considers home front support as the most ideal. “Your spouse is potentially the one able to provide you with the most powerful partnership or master mind support you can ever get as an entrepreneur,” the author reveals adding that ‘one thing can turn out to be a big advantage for you as an entrepreneur is when your spouse is not only supportive but also entrepreneurial.’

The Mind’s Game, an inspiring guide for entrepreneurial success, is written in a simple and direct style readable by all especially the young entrepreneurs in search of nuggets for fulfilling their dreams. It is almost error-free in terms of typos and grammar. The layout and design of the book make it attractive and pleasant to the eyes as well as for easy read.

But one common character in the book is that the summary and quotation pages of the book are without paginations.

Also, there is a typo in second paragraph (Line 6) of first page of Chapter Two, which uses capital letter to start (If) in a statement that commences with ‘However’.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

The Midweek Magazine

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

•Young ones at the Lagos State University (LASU) 2013 annual lecture held on Tuesday last week.

PHOTO: MOSES OMOSEHIN

•From left: Evru, Prof Oni, Kareem and Odutayo

A

FTER hosting the Geoffrey Axworthy lecture on March 8, the University of Ibadan Theatre Art Department will hold its 50th anniversary international conference and a grand homecoming dinner for all its alumni from across Africa and the Diaspora.

The event, which will hold between August 28 and 31 at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, is expected to attract prominent alumni, such as Prof.

Geoffrey Axworthy, Prof. JA Adedeji, Prof.

Wole Soyinka, Prof. Dexter Lyndersay, Prof.

Ebun Clark, Demas Nwoko, Prof. Dapo Adelugba, Prof. Femi Osofisan, Prof. Duro Oni and Prof. Esohe Molokwu.

According to the Chairman, Organising Committee, Prof. Duro Oni, the conference will feature scholars and practitioners who will investigate 50 years of theatre in the African academy.

He said the conference will also interrogate issues around themes such as theatre in

UI Theatre celebrates golden jubilee

By Ozolua Uhakheme Assistant Editor (Arts)

ANNIVERSARY Africa and African theatre, methods theories and frameworks, Afircan theatre in Diaspora, regional studies, theatre, gender and identity studies, theatre and cultural orientation, theatre and the African film industry.

He said the alumni would decide the project to be undertaken as part of giving back to the department. The project, he said, could be the refurbishment of the department, the renovation of the theatre art hall.

“We shall decide the modus operandi.

Also the money raised will decide the project.

However, we are looking inward to fund the activities of the 50th Anniversary. We have some partners that are being contacted especially the departments and agencies in the ministry of culture,” he added.

Oni noted that to make the celebration an all encompassing one, the alumni association is building a database of all alumni of the department of theatre arts which will serve as a platform to disseminate information about the conference and dinner.

Alumini are expected to send in information on their qualification, years of graduation, email address, phone number and lo-

cation to databaseuithadept@gmail.com Head of Department of theatre, University of Ibadan, Dr. Chuks Okoye, disclosed that the department has concluded plans to rename the art theatre at the department after the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka.

Others alumni are Lanre Bamidele, Matthew Umukoro, Saint Gbilekaa, Charity Angya, Mabel Ojewuyi, Sunday Ododo, Reuben Abati, Chuks Okoye, Tunde Awosanmi, Wasee Kareem, Longley Evru, Jahmana Anikulapo, Sola Balogun Greg Odutayo, Femi Jarrett, Taiwo Oladokun and Pamela Udoka. Already, over 400 alumni of the department have plugged into database.

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

THE NATION

POLITICS

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is embroiled in multi-faceted crises, which are connected with the 2015 elections. Unless the party puts its house in order, its fortunes may continue to nosedive. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN writes.

PDP: An elusive reconciliation I

S the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) actually ready for reconciliation? Can it broker peace between President Goodluck Jonathan and Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi on one hand and the National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, and the governors on the other hand? The prospect of reconciliation was seen in Abuja last week by Akwa Ibom State Governor Chief Godswill Akpabio, after a meeting of the PDP National Convention Planning Committee.

Akpabio said the PDP was not ready to lose its governors to the opposition political parties. He disclosed that both the PDP Governors Forum and the party were committed to reconciliation in the troubled party.This statement coming from Akpabio who was blowing hot and cold on the suspension of Amaechi, with threats to sanction his supporters among the PDP governors, has proved that there is a limit to arbitrariness and show of power.

Other governors at loggerheads with the party over its suspension of the Rivers State governor are Aliyu Babangida (Niger); Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); Rabiu Kwakwanso (Kano); Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara). They had been in the forefront of moves for the removal of the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, over his alleged interference in the running of the Adamawa State chapter. They also fell out with the party after it suspended Amaechi on May 27, 2013, for seeking a second term as the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), despite the warning from the PDP leadership.

But the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) said Amaechi was suspended for his “refusal to obey the lawful directive of the Rivers PDP Executive Committee to rescind his decision dissolving the elected executive council of Obiokpor Local Government Area of Rivers State”.

The grounds on which the party suspended Amaehi were flimsy they include, that he sought for reelection as the NGF chairman. He is also said to have been respended over the Obi/Akpor Local Government crisis. Amaechi insists that the House of Assembly suspended the council for alleged fraud, not the governor. NGF is a club of governors elected on various political platforms. NGF is not a PDP organ.

It has a constitution that regulates its operation. It is not the PDP Governors Forum that the party could dictate to or meddle in its affairs.

There is no logic in the second allegation. The Rivers State House of Assembly dissolved Obiokpor Local Government not the governor.

There is separation of powers. The executive can’t interfere or usurp the powers of the legislative and vice versa. Is it proper for the party state executive to issue directive to state governor on matters that border on governance? The party can only advice which is not binding.

There are ‘classified offences’ committed by Amaechi that incurred him the wrath of the Presidency. It was widely reported how the First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan, snatched the microphone from Governor Amaechi at a public function when she felt dissatisfied with the governor’s explanation. That

was the beginning of his problem with Aso Rock. The rumoured ambition to be running mate to Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State as presidential candidate of PDP in 2015. Despite Amaechi’s denial, the presidency still perceives him as a traitor who should be dealt with ruthlessly. Perhaps, the reason why President Jonathan would not forgive Amaechi was the NGF opposition to Sovereign Wealth Fund. The matter was decided in favour of the Governors Forum by the Supreme Court.

On June 5, 2013, Wamakko was suspended by the PDP National Working Committee for allegedly ignoring party directives. However, his suspension was believed to have been orchestrated by some party leaders over his support for Amaechi at the NGF election on June 24.

Oil wells dispute The disputed oil wells between Rivers and Bayelsa states is a major issue that must be resolved for any meaningful reconciliation to take place. According to the Rivers State government, the oil wells are located in Soku, a community in Akuku Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State. It said Bayelsa State is claiming the ownership because the land belongs to the Kalabari people, not minding which state they belong. The revenues from the disputed oil wells were originally fixed in an escrow account to await the resolution of the boundary dispute. This was the situation until recently the Federal Government decided to release the monies from the disputed wells to Bayelsa State, a move which the Rivers State described as unfair and unjust decision? Which made it to file a suit at the Supreme Court. The state further posited that Bayelsa made reference to facts without addressing them but instead, choose to instigate the Presidency against the government and people of Rivers. The apex court according to the Rivers state, decided that it would be appropriate to await the final delineation of the boundary by the National Boundary Commission.

But Bayelsa justified the ownership of the disputed oil wells on the fact that the Rivers State government had filed two suits against Bayelsa at the Federal and the Supreme Courts respectively in order to assert its ownership of the oil wells, but all the suits were struck out by the courts. Besides, Bayelsa claimed that the name, Soku Oil. Wells, was wrongly given by Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd because Soku, a village in Rivers State, was their operational base at that time, while the oil wells and the flow station are located in the Oluasiri clan in Nembe Local Council of Bayelsa.

Being the aggrieved party in this matter, Rivers State government has raised a number of questions: Why would the accruals from the disputed oil wells which have been kept in escrow all these years to await the final resolution of the matter be suddenly paid to Bayelsa state just recently? “Why place reliance and give effect to an administrative map whose authors have acknowledged its inaccuracy and promised to remedy? Is it not unjust, even highly immoral to allow

trailed the ceding of 76 oil wells from Cross River to its sister state, Akwa Ibom. Their relationship dates back to many years before they became separate states when additional states were created. Because of the inherent financial implications, the authorities in Cross River are still concerned about the circumstances surrounding the 76 oil wells that are bound to further boost the revenue capacity of Akwa Ibom State.

Regional crises

• Dr Jonathan

PDP has always taken pride in its avowed ability to manage its crises and resolve them through the family affair approach. At the inception of democracy in 1999, it was a very large political formation bringing under its umbrella the decision makers from different parts of the country. PDP controls 23 out of 36 states. It has comfortable majority in the Senate and House of Representatives ditto and many state Houses of Assembly. In spite of this the party is wobbling from one crisis to the other across the six geopolitical zones. The crises are so daunting that some members of PDP are skeptical about its possible resolution before the 2015 general elections.

The crises are the potent threats to the party’s electoral fortune in 2015, if not well managed.

North and 2015

• Obasanjo

The disclosure by the Chairman of Northern Governors Forum, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, that President Jonathan signed an agreement with the northern governors before the 2011 Presidential election that he would serve for one term has sparked crisis. This is so, given the ongoing moves by the north to reclaim Presidency. Even though, the president’s camp came out to deny signing any agreement with the north, Governor Aliyu promised to make it the agreement public at the appropriate time. Since then, the governors have drawn a battle line with the Presidency while insisting that Presidency must move up north in 2015. How well the party handles this problem is critical to its survival as the 2015 polls gather momentum.

PDP governors versus Tukur

• Amaechi

a party to a disputed and in the face of an erroneous map to the detriment of the Kalabari communities of Rivers State?”

Analysts say the oil wells dispute gave Dr Jonathan an opportunity to wield big stick on Governor Amaechi, who was considered a stumbling block to the 2015 re-election plan. According to the analysts, the decision to pay the accruals from the oil revenue to Bayelsa through the back door was a game plan to cede the disputed oil wells to Bayelsa and an attempt to reduce Rivers State status among the oil producing states.

The war between Rivers and Bayelsa states is akin to the one that

The relationship between the PDP governors and the national chairman is anything but cordial. The governors have accused the chairman of running the party in an autocratic manner. Among the reasons why they want Tukur removed were holding party’s meeting in his personal house, refusal to convene the National Executive meeting since he assumed office last year and his role in the Adamawa State congresses that produced two party executives. Tukur, in a letter cosigned by the former Acting National Secretary recognised a faction allegedly loyal to him. It was also alleged that Tukur’s rejection of the faction loyal to the state governor was to ensure that the governorship ambition of his son in 2015 sail through.

The crisis festered further when

most of the northern governors boycotted the zonal reconciliation tour of the National Working Committee (NWC) led by Tukur. Despite holding the reconciliation meeting in the three zones- Northeast, North-central and Northwest on different days, many of the PDP governors declined to show up at the meetings. The reconciliatory tour further exposed the underbelly of the party crisis. The governors insisted that Tukur must go for peace to reign in the party. But President Jonathan sees no reason in their demand. Hence, Tukur remains the chairman against all odds.

Obasanjo/Jonathan face off Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had a good time with President Jonathan at the early stage of his administration, given Obasanjo’s frequent visits to Aso Rock then. All of a sudden, they turned strange bed fellows. This has affected the PDP fortunes in the Southwest. In Ogun State, Obasanjo’s home state, the party is factionalised, a development that was clearly manifested in the 2011 general elections. The party lost woefully to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).There is a faction loyal to Obasanjo. The Buruji Kashamu group is allegedly working for Jonathan. The crisis eventually consumed the erstwhile PDP National Auditor Chief Bode Mustapha, who was sponsored by the Obasanjo group. He was replaced by Olawale from the Buruji group.

The Southwest Zonal chapter headed by former Ekiti State Governor Olusegun, Oni was sacked by the former NWC following a court order. Oni fought tooth and nail to regain his office, but all is now history with the turn of events. Similarly, the fomer Osun State Governor Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, was removed as national secretary.

His removal was a fall out of Ogun State crisis. The Kashamu group approached the court to void the congress that nominated Oyinlola for the post as illegal, the court granted the prayer and ordered Oyinlola’s removal. Both Oni and Oyinlola belong to the Obasanjo group.

In Oyo, Ondo, Lagos and Osun, similar scenario is playing out. Infighting has destabilised the party with factions trying to lord it over themselves. Former Oyo State Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala is embroiled in a battle of supremacy with other leaders of PDP in the state. He is contemplating leaving the party to team up with his former boss, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, in Accord Party to realise his senatorial ambition, In Lagos State the party is polarised into Olabode George and Adeseye Ogunlewe groups. Though both of them came out recently to admit reconciliation, but it is still a game of wait and see. The Ondo State chapter is yet to get over the last year’s governorship election result. The party’s candidate Chief Olusola Oke was allegedly sabotaged by the party elders. They were alleged to have shifted allegiance to Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Labour Party, who was also favoured by the Presi•Continued on page 44

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

POLITICS

APC will provide better leadership, says Igbokwe

Rivers State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry Chuma Chinye spoke with CLARICE AZUATALAM in Port Harcourt on why President Goodluck Jonathan and Chief Nyesom Wike, the Minister of State for Education, are fighting Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

By Musa Odoshimokhe

T

2015 behind Rivers crisis, says commissioner

M

ANY people have expressed disappointment over the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) election of May 24. What is your reaction?

My first take is that there is hope for Nigeria, that we will be able to conduct free and fair elections. But, that hope wavers in the face of the rather disappointing reaction of the other 16 governors, who participated in that election. It is worrisome because it is reflective of the general tendency of the Nigerian politician not to accept the outcome of election results.

I watched with amazement Governor Godswill Akpabio saying that Governor Amaechi practically forced them to hold the election. If you look at their sizes, Amaechi doesn’t quite look like the biggest or strongest. He is certainly by no means the oldest. He is younger than most of them.

They went there and in spite of the mischief they had in mind, they blundered by allowing the election to hold in the first place. Once the election held, the minimum they should have shown by way of integrity as leaders in Nigeria was to accept the outcome and congratulate the winner. Therefore, it was shameful that in spite of the fact that they participated in the election, the results were clear, the election was free and fair, they turned round and began to manipulate and turn things around in a way that is not good for the future of Nigerian politics.

What do you think is the cause of the crisis in the state?

It is simple. Those who think that they mean well for the President, but are actually selfish and ambitious individuals, are busy stoking the fire of another civil war in Rivers State simply because they think or they accuse Governor Amaechi of having the ambition to be the Vice President to somebody.

In my study of the history of the world, I have not seen or heard or read where somebody was running for the office of Vice President before the Presidential nominations have taken place.

I think that it is idiotic and I say this with all sense of responsibility, it is idiotic for anybody to begin to fight a man because he is perceived to have a vice - presidential ambition, when in fact, all you need to do is to tackle the man that you think has the presidential ambition. Because, if you tackle the man that has the vice-presidential ambition, he can only become a vice-president if only there is a president.

Has it always been like this?

No. I have the privilege of working as the Director of Finance and Administration in the PDP campaign office in Rivers State in the 2011 elections and I know the charge that the Governor gave to myself and the then DG, the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, to deliver PDP and ensure that the votes that we garner for President Jonathan will be the one that will surpass everyone in every part of Nigeria and we delivered.

If the governor did not love his President, he would not go the extent that we went to ensure that the highest votes that the President had came from the Southsouth. It is on account of the number of votes that we delivered to the President that he conceded a second ministerial slot to Rivers State. That second slot is the one occupied by Wike. If this was a governor that hated the President or did not want him, he wouldn’t go to the extent he went.

Therefore, if I may go back to what I was saying earlier on, if you begin to

destroy Rivers State because Amaechi is perceived to have a vice presidential ambition, are we saying that we prefer the offices we want to occupy to the people of Rivers State?

Are we saying that, because of 2015, we should first destroy all the good works that Governor Amaechi has done in Rivers State? If you want to occupy a house, do you set it on fire first? Those who want to be governors in 2015 should wait. When the time comes they can seek office. But it is the highest form of disservice to Rivers people, to any person whosoever, to begin to damage Rivers State simply because they want to take it over.

Is there a plot to remove the governor?

It is quite clear that there is a plot to remove Governor Amaechi from office now. For those who are behind this plot, have they asked themselves some questions, the voice that comes from heaven, have you examined yourself? Are they saying that the works that Amaechi is doing is not good enough for him to complete his second tenure?

I read Chief E.K. Clark saying that the President is entitled to run for office, but he turned round to say that Amaechi is not entitled to aspire to be the Vice President because the Southsouth only deserves a President.

Now, this President is not a President of the Southsouth; he is the President of Nigeria. Amaechi is the Governor of Rivers State. If the President has a right, so does Amaechi.

Interestingly, neither the President nor Amaechi has said that they want to run for anything. But now, Rivers people are returning to the days of carrying their hands up to walk simply because people around the President think that Amaechi must be stopped at all costs. Stopped from being what?

Critics have said that, if he is really as good as he is saying, he shouldn’t be in PDP. How do you react to that?

My answer to them is that the right place for this kind of futuristic leader to be is in PDP. Because, if you look back, look at your Bible, the world got so bad, God Himself got so worried and wondered what He should do about the world. He decided to come and be part of the world. To see what we see, to feel what we feel, faced the temptations and the challenges that we face and in spite of those chal-

‘I read Chief E.K. Clark saying that the President is entitled to run for office but he turned round to say that Amaechi is not entitled to aspire to be the vice-president because the Southsouth only deserves a President. Now this President is not a President of the Southsouth, he is the President of Nigeria.

Amaechi is the Governor of Rivers State. If the President has a right, so does Amaechi’

• Chinye

lenges, to stand firm and make a change. The changes that Amaechi is making in PDP are there for all to see.

It didn’t start today. To become governor he effected changes which led to constitutional amendments. Before the constitutional amendments, his stand led to the historical Supreme Court judgment. Today, he is still standing by these virtues, by these truths. My fear for him is that he is probably ahead of his time.

The governor has expressed fear for his safety. Do you share his anxiety, too?

In 2007, on AIT programme, Focus Nigeria, on the issue of whether they were right to substitute Amaechi or not, I told the coordinator that they had the chance. And that what they needed to have done was to have killed him. But because they could not and change his name, once the 66 days elapsed, there was nothing they could do. Today, I also say that the mistake they have made is that they have failed to take him out.

But since they haven’t done so and the man is alive, if they try to kill him now, Nigerians will rise. They are trying to remove him from office. It will not work because Nigerians and Rivers people will rise. But like I said, I have my fears and these fears are that leaders like him usually are ahead of their time and when you are ahead of your time they try to extinguish your candle.

There is a man in Cross River State who was governor, Donald Duke. He came ahead of his time, stood for what is right. Where is he? They have pushed him aside. Nigeria has a habit of extinguishing its lights. Those persons who are most outstanding are usually pushed aside. Governor Amaechi has something to add to the national leadership of Nigeria, whether he is vice president, whether he is President, whether he is senator, whatever it is, he has served Rivers State and Nigeria for close to 16 years.

The experiences and the candour and the integrity he has brought into public office should not be allowed to waste because some persons are ambitious. His fate should not become like that of Nasir El’Rufai. Nasir El’Rufai has something to add to Nigeria, whether you like him or you don’t like him.

I lived in Abuja when he was the minister and I go to Abuja. I still have a property in Abuja and I see the difference. I am not criticising the present minister. But quite frankly, there is a difference. I have met El’Rufai; he has something to add.

Nuhu Ribadu has something to add to Nigeria. Where is he? These men are on the sidelines why? Because they are like Governor Amaechi.

I must say that if Amaechi has any ambition to move from the state level to the federal level into any office, I will stand by him. And I will stand by him not because I am his Commissioner but because having worked with him, I know that he means well.

I have never met a public officer who means better for his people like Governor Amaechi and I have related with quite a number of them. In my lifetime I have served as Special Assistant to all kinds of people, including ministers and I have never seen one like Governor Amaechi.

HE Publicity Secretary of the Lagos State Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN), Joe Igbokwe, has said that the new mega party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), will provide effective leadership for the country.

In a statement in Lagos, Igbokwe noted that Nigerians have been asking sundry questions about what impact the APC would make, when it is registered. He assured that the country will certainly make progress under the party.

He said: “Some Nigerians are asking what the new party can do to restore the dignity of Nigeria. As we move close to 2015 Presidential elections, political watchers are asking to know the difference between APC and PDP. A lot of questions are coming to the political desks of APC throughout the country: is this party different from PDP? Are the progenitors not the same Nigerians we know? What does this party have in store for 150 million Nigerians? Can this new party make a difference? Can it fill in the gap in Nigeria’s political landscape? Can APC have the courage and the political will to fight the dreaded monster in Nigeria called corruption?

“Nigerians want change and APC is ready to provide the long-awaited change. But the change is not going to come easy knowing the antics of the ruling party and their criminal disposition when it comes to electoral issues. To them, every presidential election is a do or die affair, a fight to finish, and the mother of all battles.

Igbokwe asked Nigerians reclaim the country from the hand of pretenders.

He added: “It is left for Nigerians to fight to reclaim their God-given country from pretenders and to all intents and purposes this is not going to be easy. This is a struggle for the soul of Nigeria, a struggle for economic, social and political freedom, a struggle to reclaim our rights to life. It is now or never. Yes, we can!

“Well, APC may not have all the answers to these very strong questions posed above, but the truth of the matter remains that things will never be the same again. One thing is clear: Nigeria is not making progress in the midst of plenty. Nigeria is not making progress in the age of success. APC believes that investment funds must be retrieved from the pockets of few corrupt Nigerians and the money ploughed back to the economy to create jobs”.

Igbokwe hinted that the party would invest massively in education as a panacea to poverty.

He stressed: “APC leaders know that the only way to fight poverty is through massive investment in qualitative education.

I can go on and on but APC cannot do everything in one fell swoop. Please take notice that this is not the manifesto of APC. After the formal registration, the party will sell its manifesto to Nigerians, and I know that it may not be too far from what I have said above.

“Nigeria’s problems are well known for a long time in this country, dating back to the early 90s.

For over 20 years we have been dancing around our problems without addressing them frontally and today we have gone full circle. The problems have magni• Igbokwe fied to become an octopus.

PDP reconciliation: How feasible?

•Continued from page 43

dency to win the keenly contested election. In Ekiti, the return of former governor Ayo Fayose has renewed the popularity contest with Oni, the immediate past governor. The PDP Governors Forum made futile attempts to resolve the crises in the southwest. The governors withdrew because all attempts to make the aggrieved parties to embrace peace failed.

Special convention The party has scheduled a special convention for July 20 to elect new members of the NWC because the elections that brought them office were not acceptable to the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC). From all indications, there may be no changes in the new NWC that is likely to emerge from the convention. The results are predictable; most of the former members of NWC would return, so far their loyalty to President Jonathan is not in doubt. The devil that you know is better than the unknown. The President cannot afford to shop for new faces now because of 2015. So, the tendency that the party will come out of the convention more divided is very likely, given the magnitude of animosity that various stakeholder may carry to the convention.

The pattern is the same in the Southeast Zone. The case of Anambra is as worrisome. There is no recognisable party executive. There are several factions of PDP in Anambra loyal to different godfathers.

The fight over which zone should produce the governorship candidate in Enugu state in the next election has polarised the party. The Nsukka zone says it is their turn since the incumbent Governor Sullivan Chime who hails from Awgu zone would be serving out eight years in office. The Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu also from Awgu is preparing to succeed Chime in office. Hence, the Nsukka zone is crying of being marginalised.

With the threat of disintegration posed by the crises, analysts say the PDP stakeholders should evolve political strategies that would unite the party to counter the divide and rule tactics of the presidency that has ruined the party in the last two years. The special convention offers a rare opportunity for the party leadership to redress the crises through with aggrieved members for peace to reign. In the alternative the party would go to the polls in 2015 as a divided family as it happened in 2011 in some states hitherto controlled by the PDP. The consequence is still being felt.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

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EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 2- 07-13

Equities rally back with N67b gain

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IGERIAN equities danced back to the positive side as increased demand for non-financial stocks and widespread resurgence by most equities snapped the end-ofquarter downtrend and restarted equities on the uptrend.

All key indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed modest gains with three in every five stocks closing on the upside. Aggregate market value of all equities grew marginally by N67 billion from its opening value of N11.348 trillion to close at N11.415 trillion.

The All Share Index (ASI), the main value-based index that tracks all equities on the NSE, inched up to 36,043.48 points as against its opening index of 35,832.16 points.

Nestle Nigeria led the market rally with a gain of N14 to close at N950. Total Nigeria fol-

Stories by Taofik Salako

lowed with a gain of N7.90 to close at N158. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria added N5 to close at N67. Forte Oil rose by N1.48 to close at N18.50. Beta Glass and Guaranty Trust Bank gathered N1 each to close at N11 and N25 respectively. Zenith Bank chalked up 54 kobo to close at N20.25. Nigerian Breweries gained 50 kobo to close at N157. Portland Paints and Products added 45 kobo to close at N4.95 while Dangote Sugar Refinery rose by 30 kobo to close at N11.75 per share.

On the other hand, CAP led the losers’ list with a drop of N4.82 to close at N43.70. International Breweries followed with a loss of N2 to close at N24. Berger Paints dropped by N1.13 to close at N10.25. Arbico lost 69 kobo to close at N6.22. Union Bank of Nigeria dropped by 44 kobo to close at N12. National

Salt Company of Nigeria declined by 29 kobo to close at N12.36. University Press lost 20 kobo to close at N5.30. Cement Company of Northern Nigeria dropped 16 kobo to close at N10.50. RT Briscoe lost 15 kobo to close at N1.40 while Presco dropped by 13 kobo to close at N37.87 per share.

Total turnover stood at 463.01 million shares valued at N2.95 billion in 5,188 deals.

Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) was the main driver of turnover with exchange of 245.66 million shares of the conglomerate valued at N327.4 million in 155 deals. With this, conglomerates sector emerged the most active with a turnover of 246.19 million shares valued at N347.74 million in 210 deals. Banking subsector accounted for 96.46 million shares valued at N1.2 billion in 1,909 deals.

UACN acquires majority stake in Portland Paints

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AC of Nigeria (UACN) Plc yesterday confirmed acquisition of majority equity stake in Portland Paints and Products Nigeria Plc, adding another quoted paints and allied products company into the portfolio of the conglomerate.

UACN already holds controlling equity stake in CAP Plc, the paints and allied products’ sectoral leader.

The confirmation followed final approvals by the regulatory authorities. The Nation had recently reported exclusively the imminent approval and completion of the deal.

With the conclusion of the deal, UACN now holds majority stake in Portland Paints and Products, which manufactures and markets an impressive array of decorative paints, industrial and marine coatings under the Sandtex, and Hempel brand names. Portland Paints and Products Nigeria also holds the Armitage and Ideal Standard sanitary ware dealerships in Nigeria.

In a statement made available to The Nation, group managing director, UAC of Nigeria Mr.

Larry Ettah said the acquisition was driven by potential synergies between the two companies and was in line with UACN’s strategy of building a portfolio of brands and businesses with exposure to the growth segments of the Nigerian economy, and partnerships that deliver long-term value to the company and its stakeholders.

According to him, with a strengthened position in paints and enhanced supply chain and distribution efficiencies, UACN will engage stakeholders to grow the market sustainably and deliver value to shareholders in the enlarged UACN Group. ‘’We are delighted to have acquired a majority stake in Portland Paints. This strategic acquisition provides UACN with the opportunity to diversify its paints revenues by gaining entry into the mid-tier decorative and marine paints market where Portland Paints has a leading position,” Ettah said.

Although UACN did not disclose the actual percentage equity holding, reliable source put it at 51 per cent.

This latest acquisition came

on the heels of acquisition of 51 per cent majority stake in Livestock Feeds Plc. UACN had acquired 51 per cent equity stake in Livestock Feeds at N1.3 billion. The deal was consummated through acquisition of 11 per cent shareholdings valued at N400 million through the secondary market and 40 per cent equity stake through a private placement valued at N904 million.

The newspaper had earlier last week noted the huge voluminous transactions on Portland Paints, in line with earlier UACN acquisition strategy.

With a large group of several active companies spreading through manufacturing, services, logistics and real estate sectors of the Nigerian economy, the addition of Portland Paints would further enlarge the UACN Group.

The UACN Group now includes four quoted subsidiariesCAP Plc, Livestock Feeds, UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) Plc and Portland Paints. These in addition to several other companies including UAC Foods Limited, MDS Logistics Limited, Warm Spring Waters Nigeria Limited, Grand Cereals Limited, and Unico CPFA Limited. UACN, owned by more than 187,000 shareholders, has been divesting from some businesses as it refocuses on good-margin businesses.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 2- 07-13

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

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MONEY LINK

Charges on cash-less begins in Abuja, others in Oct. B

ANK customers that fail to meet the deposit or withdrawal limits under phase two of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cash-less policy will not pay default charges for the next three months.

This is because the CBN has placed a three-month moratorium on all bank charges for customers in the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), Abia, Anambra, Kano, Ogun and Rivers states, which fall within the phase two of the policy.

Confirming this development, CBN Director of Communications, Ugochukwu Okoroafor told The Nation that the apex bank took the decision to defer the charges until October 1, 2013 because it wants the policy to succeed.

He said the apex bank considered the need to give people time to migrate to electronic channels and ex-

in Kano, who engage in bulk cash transactions, have been buying vaults to secure their cash instead of depositing it in banks to avoid charges.

Market survey carried out at the popular Kantin Kwari market in Kano showed that majority of the traders are illiterates, who do not understand what the policy is all about.

One of the traders, who pleaded anonymity, said that the limit of cash deposit and withdrawal would adversely affect his type of business, adding that he deals with traders from all parts of the country who prefer to pay with cash.

He explained: ”I would want to deposit the cash in the bank, which would involve a stringent process, whereby every excess cash that we want to deposit would attract five per

•Kano records low deposits

By Collins Nweze and Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

perience the infrastructure put in place by banks.

The implementation of the policy began in six states last Monday.

The policy entails that charges on cash transactions will apply when daily withdrawals and deposits for individual account holders are in excess of N500,000 while for corporate account holders, charges will apply when daily withdrawals and deposits are in excess of N3 million. It is the account to which withdrawal and lodgment is made that bears the pro-

cessing charges and not the individual that receives or deposits the cash.

According to the CBN, individual account holders will pay two per cent default charges on deposit above the limit, three per cent charges on withdrawal above the limit. Corporate account holders will pay three per cent default charges on deposit above the limit and five per cent charges on withdrawal above the limit.

Meanwhile, investigations conducted

by The Nation showed that in Kano State, banks are beginning to experience low cash deposits as their customers now prefer to use vaults to save cash.

It was observed that most traders

T

Nduka Chiejina (Assistant Editor) and Briget Adah Agiounim

Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) to support federal government.

NIRSAL he added was introduced to stimulate agricultural development in Nigeria through value chain financing and adopts a value chain approach to guaranteeing lending

D

ELOITTE Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) has announced its partnership with the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) to launch the ICGN Deloitte scholarship programme.

In a statement, Deloitte said the collaboration will support the development of five corporate governance leaders from Indonesia, Nigeria, the Netherlands, Pakistan and Peru.

The objective of the programme

while banks will be free to choose which part of the chain they are interested in lending to.

The intervention programmes he said, builds the capacity of banks to engage and deliver loans, reduce counter-part risk through an innovative crop insurance scheme, and rewards performance in agricultural lending.

BoI, Niger Delta Ministry sign MoU

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HE Minister, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe has commended the Bank of Industry (BoI) for developing people-oriented projects.

He gave this commendation during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of fish industrial

Delta People, which is fishery, the establishment of Fish Industrial Park programme will not only create wealth but generate employment opportunities for the youth,” he said.

“The project will be established in all the nine Niger Delta states using two states as pilot for the programme.

From: Franca Ochigbo, Abuja

park between the ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and BoI. “Oil is a fragment of the natural resources found in the Niger Delta region. The region is well endowed with other Natural Resources, aside the main occupation of the Niger

FGN BONDS Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year 5-Year

35m 35m 35m

11.039 12.23 13.19

19-05-2014 18-05-2016 19-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount Amount Offered ($) Demanded ($) 350m 150m 350m 138m 350m 113m

MANAGED FUNDS

NIDF NESF

Price Loss 2754.67 447.80

INTERBANK RATES 7.9-10% 10-11%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day 1-Year

Amount 30m 46.7m 50m

Rate % 10.96 9.62 12.34

Date 28-04-2012 “ 14-04-2012

GAINERS AS AT 2-07-13

SYMBOL

O/PRICE

C/PRICE

CHANGE

PORTPAINT BETAGLAS ABCTRANS EVANSMED FO CUTIX GLAXOSMITH MANSARD ETERNA TOTAL

4.50 10.00 1.11 2.68 17.02 1.85 62.00 2.03 3.40 150.10

4.95 11.00 1.22 2.94 18.50 2.00 67.00 2.15 3.59 158.00

0.45 1.00 0.11 0.26 1.48 0.15 5.00 0.12 0.19 7.90

ARBICO CAP BERGER THOMASWY RTBRISCOE INTBREW UBCAP UPL UBN NASCON

O/PRICE 6.91 48.52 11.38 1.32 1.55 26.00 1.25 5.50 12.44 12.65

C/PRICE 6.22 43.70 10.25 1.19 1.40 24.00 1.18 5.30 12.00 12.36

NGN USD NGN GBP NGN EUR NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N) (S/N) Bureau de Change (S/N) Parallel Market

Current Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

147.6000 239.4810 212.4997

149.7100 244.0123 207.9023

150.7100 245.6422 209.2910

-2.11 -2.57 -1.51

149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

152.0000

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

153.0000

154.0000

156.0000

-1.96

DISCOUNT WINDOW Feb. ’11

July ’11

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

12%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate Inflation Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00% 12.10%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00% 12.10%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00% 11.8%

July ’12

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days 150 Days

NSE CAP Index

27-10-11 N6.5236tr 20,607.37

Date 2-7-12 27-6-12 22-6-12

Rate (Previous) 4 Mar, 2012 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917 12.1250

Rate (Currency) 6, Mar, 2012 10.17% 11.46% 11.96% 12.54%

Movement

28-10-11 N6.617tr 20,903.16

% Change -1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

CHANGE 0.69 4.82 1.13 0.13 0.15 2.00 0.07 0.20 0.44 0.29

Exchange Rate (N) 155.2 155.8 155.7

CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Year Start Offer

LOSERS AS AT 2-07-13

SYMBOL

Amount Sold ($) 150m 138m 113m

EXHANGE RATE 6-03-12 Currency

OBB Rate Call Rate

it said, is to provide support to individuals working predominantly in difficult or emerging market environments so they can globalise local corporate governance practices; aligning with the international progression of business.

Dan Konigsburg, Managing Director, DTTL’s Global Center for Corporate Governance said effective corporate governance is fundamental to strong and functioning capital markets, and a bed-rock of transparency and audit quality.

He said: Good governance comes down to individuals and what they do, which is why is proud to support the ongoing development of professionals who have a strong track record in contributing to corporate governance. The programme will also help enable the propagation of good governance practices across the globe, which serves the twin goals of market confidence and financial stability.”

DATA BANK

Tenor

Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33 N1000.00 N552.20

cent, while excess withdrawal would attract three per cent.

“I think I would not want to be drawn into such long process because my business does not involve the issuance of cheques for the purchase of goods.”

Deloitte partners global firm

CBN disburses N199b to farmers HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disbursed a total of N199.25 billion to 270 projects under its Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme. The total fund available to the scheme is N200 billion.

CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi disclosed this at a one-day workshop on tomato value chain development in Nigeria in Abuja.

He said the amount covers 30 state government projects.

Sanusi, who was represented by CBN Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Mrs Sarah Alade said “the SME restructuring fund (SMERRF) has disbursed N235.00 billion to 535 projects.”

The CBN governor noted that the apex bank intervened with programmes such as the N200 billion Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme and Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for

• CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido

Offer Price

Bid Price

ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH 9.17 9.08 KAKAWA GUARANTEED 1.00 1.00 STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE INVE 139.16 139.16 AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND 165.11 163.93 LOTUS CAPITAL HALAL 0.80 0.78 BGL SAPPHIRE FUND 1.17 1.17 BGL NUBIAN FUND 1.12 1.11 FBN MONEY MARKET FUND 100.00 100.00 FBN FIXED INCOME FUND 1,000.00 1,000.00 NIGERIA INTERNATIONAL DEB. 1,817.23 1,808.06 PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND 13.66 12.99 CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST 1.39 1.33 CENTRE-POINT UNIT TRUST 1.87 1.80 STANBIC IBTC NIG EQUITY 12,214.81 11,854.08 • ARM AGGRESSIVE • KAKAWA GUARANTEED • STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE • AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUNDARM AGGRESSIVE • OPEN BUY BACK

Bank P/Court

Previous 04 July, 2012

Current 07, Aug, 2012

8.5000 8.0833

8.5000 8.0833

Movement

56

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

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NEWS Aliyu berates rights groups for supporting man with 86 wives

Kwara to punish 25 teachers From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

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HE Kwara State Government has said it would penalise 25 teachers for absenteeism.

The Executive Chairman of the state Universal Education Board (KWSUBEB), Mr. Lanre Daibu, spoke during an unscheduled visit to primary and junior secondary schools in Ifelodun and Ilorin East Local Government Areas.

He directed the affected teachers to report at the board’s headquarters for interrogation.

The chairman, who was angry sighting pupils of some schools roaming about during lesson period, expressed disappointment with the nonchalance of the teachers to work.

He warned that the government would not condone indolence, promising to deal appropriately with anyone found wanting.

•Swears in first woman CJ From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

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IGER State Governor yesterday swore in the first woman Chief Judge (CJ) and the second in the North, Justice Lami Fati Abubakar.

The new CJ is the wife of former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar.

Aliyu conducted the ceremony in his Minna office.

He berated rights activists and some civil society organisations for defending the Bida Islamic scholar, Mohammed Masaba, who reportedly married more than 86 wives.

Aliyu said their defence of Masaba was morally wrong and unjustified because the cleric was believed to have been engaged in what the society perceived as an illegal behaviour.

The governor argued that the groups should have defended the women Masaba might have lured into marriage instead of pitching their support with the cleric, who has allegedly vowed not to stop marrying more wives.

Aliyu said: “We can deceive ourselves but we cannot deceive God.” The governor said investigations showed that some top public officers in the state had surpassed religious stipulations and married between five and seven wives.

He noted that harmful practices against the girlchild was thriving in parts of the state and called for the implementation of the law to stop the perpetrators of such practices.

Aliyu described Justice Abubakar as “a paragon of empathy and welfare”.

Suntai will soon return, says Suswam From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

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ENUE State Governor Gabriel Suswam said his Taraba State counterpart, Suntai Danbaba, who was involved in a plane crash last year, will soon return home.

Addressing reporters in Makurdi after his return from an overseas working trip, the governor said Suntai was recuperating speedily and doing everything himself.

Suswam said Suntai would have returned home but the doctors wanted to ensure that he is fit to resume his official duty because of the pressure of running the Governor’s Office.

“When I visited him in the hospital, he invited me to join him and eat. He was doing everything himself. But some people here in Nigeria are playing politics with his health,” Suswam said.

He noted that while Suntia was in Germany he had visited and now that he was transferred to USA his condition has greatly improve and advised people to stop playing politics with his health and pray for his quick recover.

• Aliyu (second left) presenting the key to an 18-seater bus for the Niger State Justice Sector Reform Committee to Justice Abubakar, after she was sworn in at the Government House, Minna... yesterday.

AshakaCem engages 160 youths From Vincent Ohonbamu, Gombe

DPO missing as Langtang toll hits 70 A

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HE ethnic clash between Tarock and Fulani ethnic groups in Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State entered the fourth day yesterday.

At least 70 people are said to have been killed in the communal violence.

It was learnt that clashes were still raging in Borga, Karkashi and Magama villages, all in the local government.

A Divisional Police Officer (DPO), who led his men to restore peace to the area, has been missing for three days.

Some suspected armed Fulani militia invaded the three villag-

From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

es last week. They burnt down several homes and killed the residents before escaping.

Over 70 bodies have been recovered while over 1,000 others have been displaced.

Many of the displaced are taking refuge in public schools in the areas.

Most of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) were said to be taking refuge at the LGEA Pilot Central Primary School, Mabudi in the local government area.

Addressing the IDPs yesterday, a member of House of

‘Epileptic power supply forces 400 firms to shut down in Kano’

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HE Kano State chapter of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has said unstable power supply has led to the sack of 400,000 factory workers.

MAN, which decried the situation at a media briefing in Kano yesterday through its National Vice President, North-West Zone, Alhaji Ali S. Madugu, said the unemployment rate in the state was alarming.

It noted that if the government continued to exhibit nonchalance towards the power sector, the country may be doomed economically.

Madugu said the closure of 400 manufacturing companies in Kano followed the inability

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

of the sector to access the required volume of power.

He also decried the lack of transparency in the allocation of power to the city, adding that this had made it unbearable for manufacturers in the zone.

Madugu said the data on market activities report in May indicated that Kano zone, which comprises Kano, Jigawa, Niger and Niger Republic, was given 77,047,790 KW/HR. He said this was about 100 megawatts (MW), representing 3.6 per cent of the total allocation nationwide.

Yuguda: I’m back at North’s Governors’ Form From Austine Tsenzughul, Bauchi

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AUCHI State Governor Isa Yuguda yesterday said he has returned the Northern States’Governors’ Forum (NSGF) in the interest of peace and development.

Yuguda spoke through his confidant and Chief of Staff to the Government House, Alhaji Musa Yusuf Gumli, at a media briefing.

He said his return to the forum was also because “some serious progressive northern elders prevailed on him”.

The governor, two weeks ago, in the heat of the NSGF crisis, boycotted the forum’s meetings, for what he called “a breach of agreement by some Northern Governors’’.

The Chief of Staff said: ‘’Boycotting a meeting of an organisation is not the same as withdrawal or resignation from same organisation.’’

He, however, noted that Yuguda did not make extensive consultations before boycotting the forum’s meetings, chaired by Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu.

Representatives, representing Langtang North and Langtang, Beni Lar said besides the over 70 people who were killed, several others were still missing.

The lawmaker described the attack as barbaric.

He said the Fulani herdsmen, who allegedly invaded the three villages, intended to wipe out the villagers.

She said: “From what I gathered, the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) is still missing; 7,000 people displaced, while 70 people lost their lives.

“The intention of the attackers was to wipe out the entire inhabitants of the villages for just no reason.”

Lar urged the Federal Government to complete its roads in the area to open up the locality.

T least 160 youths are to benefit from AshakaCem Plc’s ‘Project Employability Apprenticeship’ programme.

They will be trained in various trades as part of the efforts to build the capacity of its host communities and reduce unemployment in the country.

Managing Director Mr. Neeraj Akhoury, on Monday, presented the 69 graduates of the first batch and 90 fresh intakes to the public.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

58

NEWS Senate funeral committee for Ewherido From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

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HE Senate yesterday set up a nine-man burial committee for the late Senator Pius Akpor Ewherido.

Senate President David Mark constituted the committee shortly before the Senate adjourned plenary in honour of the late Senator.

The Committee, to be headed by Senate Services Committee Chairman, Suleiman Adokwe has Senators James Manager, Ifeanyi Okowa, Olusola Adeyeye, Enyinnaya Abaribe, Ita Enang, Esther Nenadi Usman, Gyang Pwajok and Joshua Lidani as members.

Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba moved a motion that the Senate adjourned plenary “in honour of our fallen colleague.”

Minority Leader George Akume seconded the motion.

Ndoma-Egba also moved a motion to postpone the debate on constitution review till next Tuesday.

All the motions were unanimously adopted.

Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Health Margery Chuba Okadigbo and Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters Senator Joy Emodi regretted the sudden death of the Delta Central Senatorial District lawmaker.

Suspected kidnappers of Rhodes-Vivour's wife paraded

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HREE members of a gang which allegedly kidnapped the wife, daughter and driver of Supreme Court’s Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, were among seven suspects paraded by the State Security Services (SSS) in Benin City, the Edo State capital, yesterday.

The others were three suspected extortionists, who reportedly threatened to kill their victim if he didn't pay them and a musician, who was paraded for alleged trafficking in persons.

The SSS State Director, Bello Bakori, who paraded the suspects before Governor Adams Oshiomhole, said they had reportedly confessed to the crime and that three members of the kidnap gang are still at large.

Bakori said Mrs. RhodesVivour and her daughter, who were kidnapped in May, were kept in a house at Upper Sakponba in Benin City from where the kidnap suspects were arrested.

He went on: "All the kidnap suspects were from Delta State while the suspected trafficker is from Edo State.

"The three suspects were arrested at 77, Norouwa Street, off 3 House, Upper Sakponba road, Benin.

•The suspects...yesterday. INSET Oshiomhole (middle) listening to Bakori (right). With them is Henry Idahagbon From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

"The other members of the gang, who are on the run, are Kelly, Koto, Shaggy, Maxwell and Afoke."

One of the suspects, Austin Umukoro, said they were members of a six-man gang.

He said: “Our first victim was a man who parted with N1.2 million; the Supreme Court judge's wife, daughter and driver were our second victims.

"For the days we kept them, they were fed with rice, which we bought from eateries.

Mattresses were provided for them to sleep in the tworoom apartment where they were kept."

Another suspect, Wisdom Ovwigho, said he was assigned to feed victims.

"The first man we kidnapped, we collected N1.2 million from, and I was given N100,000 before they brought this woman and her daughter."

The governor said the buildings used by the kidnap suspects to hold the judge's wife, daughter and driver will be demolished.

He said: "For the landlords, we have already made the decision that anyone who aids and abets kidnapping will have his structure demolished.

Any hotelier who does not follow the instruction of documenting who stays in the hotel and such is used for kidnapping or human trafficking

we will demolish it. Nobody has the right to make money out of the pains of Nigerians.

"This is a major breakthrough. What is important is for criminals to know that there is no more immunity.

It is a matter of when, not whether they would be caught and that the officers and men are determined to do their best and those involved in crime would be brought to justice.

Oshiomhole continued: "Most of these criminals are from Delta State. It shows in this business of crime, criminals are very mobile. No state can find a solution as they keep moving from one state to the other. When their colleagues hear that they have

Eight killed, dozens missing in Delta attacks

T •Senator Ewherido

PUBLIC NOTICE IHEJIRIKA I, formerly known and addressed as MISS. IHEJIRIKA IMMACULATE CHINASA now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. AMECHI IMMACULATE CHINASA. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

OPARA I, formerly known and addressed as MISS. OPARA CHIZOBA EMEKA now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. ENWERUZOAMAEFULE CHIZOBA. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

DOIFIE BUOKORIBO: I, formerly known and addressed as DOIFIE BUOKORIBO OLA, now wish to be known and addressed as DOIFIE BUOKORIBO. All documents bearing my former name(s) remain valid. General public please take note.

CORRECTION OF NAME I ADEJUMO OYETOLA JOHN my name was erroneously written as ADEJOMO OYEKOLA JOHN by NECO June 2004 with the candidate no. 42096341DA, Amota Community High School, Ororuwu 024062. Not OYEKOLA but is OYETOLA. All former documents remain valid; Ogun State Polytechnic, Iree, NYSC and general public take note

GENERATOR FOR SALE Pekis_Mikano KVA in excellent working condition.

Asking price: 2.2m Contact for inspection 08182173364, 08033507948, 08037216776

HERE is tension in riverside communities in Warri, Delta State, yesterday when armed youths suspected to be Ijaw warlords attacked their Itsekiri neighbours.

At least eight persons were confirmed dead and over 40 houses razed when dozens of armed youths stormed Gbokoda and Ajamita in several speedboats yesterday morning.

The death toll is expected to rise as over 30 persons from the affected communities remain unaccounted for.

The marauders were said to be armed with Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) and launchers, submachine guns, AK-47s, GPMG (Gen-

C

From Shola O’Neil, S/south Regional Editor

eral Purpose Machine Guns) and explosives.

It was gathered that a man was abducted from Ajamita by the gunmen, who tied him and made him watch as his house with at least one child inside was set ablaze.

The ancient town of Ebrohimi, home of the famous Nana Olomu, and Eghoro were also attacked as were Tisun and Obaghoro.

Sources in Koko, headquarters of the local government, told our reporter that the attacks were reminiscent of the Warri crisis when armed invaders overran the town and set

several houses ablaze.

It was gathered that two bodies were deposited at a hospital, while several injured men, women and children were ferried to Warri, Sapele and other neighbouring towns.

“The river is on fire again; the Ijaw are on the rampage.

Several Itsekiri towns are on fire as I speak with you now.

They are killing and maiming. The soldiers are helpless because the weapons with the warlords are more sophisticated than those in the hands of federal troops,” one of those who fled the trouble scene told our reporter.

A mass exodus has hit Itsekiri communities in the area. A source said the State Transport Company garage

in the town was overflowing with passengers.

The Itsekiri urged the government and security agents to rein in the militants.

A former Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) leader, Ezekiel Akpasibowei (aka General Egbema 1), said the Ijaw have no problem with their Itsekiri neighbours.

The media coordinator of the Joint Task Force, Lt Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu, said the Commander in charge of 19 Battalion, Lt. Colonel Etim, has led an operation to restore sanity in the area.

He said the attacks were carried out by a group of six to eight renegades, adding that it is not a tribal war.

been put on trial, they would look elsewhere.

"The lesson from this effort is that when we report to law enforcement agents, they can be arrested, but when we pay ransom, then we are providing additional incentives for the criminals to remain in business. Every ransom we pay is an opportunity for them to do more. For me, the message is clear; we must resist paying ransom. We must take law enforcement agencies into confidence. We must trust them.

"Let me use this opportunity to appeal to our parents that we must watch over our children, particularly our daughters."

DANA begins Uyo, Calabar flights

By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

S

EVEN months after it recommenced operations after the crash of June 3, 2012, DANA Air announced yesterday that it would begin flights to Uyo and Calabar.

The flights expected to begin in the coming weeks bring to five the number of destinations served by the airline, which includeAbuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt.

The airline’s Head of Corporate Communications, Tony Usidamen spoke with aviation correspondents in Lagos.

According to Usidamen, the decision to re-launch operations to Uyo and Calabar is based on requests from customers to extend its services to the oil-producing states.

Controversy trails detention of IYC aspirant

ONTROVERSY has continued to trail the police detention of a presidential aspirant in the elections of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Nenghi Ikiba.

Commissioner of Police Tonye Ebitibituwa said in Yenagoa that Ikiba confessed to being a leader and founder of a notorious cult group, Icelander.

But Ikiba, who was paraded before reporters, insisted that he was forced by the police to admit the claim.

The suspect also maintained that he was being held by the police for his refusal to step down from the IYC race to pave the way for a perceived government candidate.

Ebitibituwa, said the grav-

•He confessed, says police • Suspect: I was under duress• ’Arrest has nothing to do with ambition’ From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

ity of the offence committed

by Ikiba was the reason the police failed to obey the order of the Federal High Court.

Justice Lambo Akanbi ordered the police to either arraign the suspect within 48 hours or release him unconditionally. The order expired last Thursday.

Following the expiration of the directive, the suspect’s lawyer, Ayei Okpa, filed a contempt charge against the respondents, including the police.

But Ebitibituwa said: “It is not in our character in the Bayelsa State Police Command to flout any court order.

“The police and the judiciary have a robust relationship which cannot be broken.

“In compliance with the court directive, the police initiated the process for his arraignment in court by filing information which has been served on the suspect since June 27.

“The nature and gravity of the alleged crime by the suspect is such that he cannot be arraigned within the time

frame, except going through the process of first filing information, which has been done.

“The suspect, Nengi Ikhiba, confessed to be a notorious cult leader/founder of Icelander with Ateke Tom, the late Soboma George and Julius Benson.

“The police should not be dragged unnecessarily into any face-off with the judiciary.”

The police boss, however, admitted that Ikiba had renounced cultism but said he failed to follow the procedure laid down by the law.

But Ikhiba said: “I am not a cultist. It is because of the IYC election that I’m being held.

They asked me to come and step down for their candidate.

“I was invited to come to the police and I came. They mounted pressure on me. I was asked to make the statements at gun point and out of fear and pressure I made the statement. They even threatened to kill me.”

Governor Seriake Dickson commended the police for arresting Ikiba.

He said his arrest and detention had nothing to do with his IYC aspiration.

Dickson said his declaration of war against cultism and other related vices had begun to yield dividend.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3 2013

59

NEWS

T

Chime set to reshuffle exco

HERE is tension among commissioners in Enugu State, following an impending reshuffle.

The House of Assembly has cleared five names submitted to it for verification and clearance by Governor Sullivan Chime.

The governor did not dissolve the executive council before submitting names to the House, thus fuelling speculations.

A Government House

•Fear grips Enugu commissioners •House clears five names From Chris Oji, Enugu

source said only the governor knows those to be dropped in what he called “Exco reshuffle”.

Many of the commissioners, particularly those who were unsure of their performance, have started lobbying for retention.

They reportedly approached some traditional

rulers and the governor’s relatives.

The source said: “The governor had made up his mind on those to drop; no lobbying can stop the exercise.”

The impending cabinet reshuffle, it was learnt, is not unconnected with the roles some of the commissioners played while the governor was away on a health-related vacation.

Bishop, ‘quack doctor’ arrested for alleged rape, abortion

The source added: “The governor is not used to sacking his aides but in this situation, he is being compelled to drop some of them due to poor performance.”

It was also gathered that those affected would be formally informed during today’s executive council meeting.

To be affected in a similar exercise later would be some special advisers and assistants, the source further hinted.

•I was framed, says cleric

O

SUN State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has approved N1.7 billion to upgrade the nine state hospitals in Ile-Ife, Ipetu-Ijesa, Ede, Iwo, Osogbo, Ila, Ikire, Ilesa and Ikirun.

The Commissioner for Finance, Economic Planning and Budget Planning, Dr. Wale Bolorunduro, broke the news when he received the report of a monitoring team of the ministry assessing the level of work at the hospital sites.

He said the governor made a provision for the upgrade of the hospitals to fast-track his administration’s free health care services.

The commissioner urged contractors handling the rehabilitation and renovation of the hospitals to ensure they meet the stipulated deadline, adding that the governor was determined to patronise the best in-

M

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•Bishop Nwabueze

He invited me for a programme in his church, which I honoured. But after the programme he set me up, because of what we are dragging. We are contesting the chairmanship of peace ambassador.

“I am a prophetic grace minister and I have been a pastor for over 20 years. I am a deliverance minister after I had concluded my ministration in that church that evening; I had a revelation that a family that attended the programme had some problems that they needed to be prayed for.

“By the unction of the spirit of God I identified and assembled them together, including the victim, after pray-

•Abimbola

ing for them in the open church, I told the father of the girl that I will still need to pray for them again and he accepted.

“When I came the following day to conduct the prayers, other family members did not come. The father asked her to come with me for the prayers; after the prayers the girl hypnotised me, pulled her clothes off and I had canal knowledge of her.

“One month later, the father called me to say his daughter was pregnant, I advised that she keep the baby, but the father insisted that the girl should return to school. They took her for the abortion which I paid for.”

AGOS State Government yesterday said the state’s Co-operative Society’s asset base has hit N60 billion.

Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, spoke when he briefed reporters as part of The Divisional Officer, the activities to celebrate the Samuel Okaula, advised fami- 2013 International Day of Colies to be mindful of where operative. their wards go to worship.

He said government would “The man has been parad- soon begin the production of ing himself as the chairman 60 million eggs annually of bishops in Rivers State and through its Agric-Yes initiative. it is unfortunate that a man, The commissioner said govwho calls himself a man of ernment has set plans in moGod, could descend to the tion to achieve the target of one level of defiling a 15-year-old million tons of fish production girl. and 25 per cent increase of food “Not only that, he procured production by 2015. an illegal abortion which Lawal, who said more could have terminated the life communities would also be of that innocent girl. empowered to achieve the “We want the whole world objectives, added that the to know that this kind of crime needed modern implement cannot go unpunished. We to achieve the objectives had have concluded our investiga- been provided. tions and we are ready to go The commissioner said to court.” government has plans to produce 10,000 chickens weekly through the commercial farm.

“We have supported sevJustice Abang refused the request for an adjournment for “report of settlement”.

According to him, the conHE Catholic Bishop of tempt charge was criminal in Ahiara diocese, Rev. nature and could not be Peter Okpaleke, yes“settled.”

The judge asked: “How can terday spoke on the crisis you slap the court in the face and rocking the diocese, following expect the court to listen to you?” his appointment by the Pope.

Imoh withdrew his applicaHe said the situation was tion seeking to transfer the case cordial and peaceful, adding to another judge, adding that he that the elders and youths of would pursue his appeal the community had began to against Abang’s ruling. appreciate the fact that the Ogunba also withdrew his response to the defendants’ application to transfer the case.

AMCON begins fresh contempt proceedings against Ogboru

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HE Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria ((AMCON) yesterday urged a Federal High Court in Lagos to commit former Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) governorship candidate in Delta State, Great Ogboru, to prison for allegedly violating a court order.

This is coming eight days after Justice Okon Abang cited him for contempt.

The judge said the defendant and his company, Fiogret Limited, flouted an order he made on January 30.

J

By Joseph Jibueze He could not issue a bench warrant for Ogboru’s arrest because the plaintiff did not strictly comply with the law in prosecuting the contempt proceedings.

But AMCON has initiated fresh contempt proceedings against Ogboru.

The corporation’s lawyer, Kunle Ogunba (SAN), said he had filed and served Form 48 – notice of disobedience of court order – and Form 49 – notice of consequence of dis-

obedience of court order – on both Ogboru and Fiogret.

The Form 48 is dated June 25, while Form 49 is dated July 1.

But Ogboru’s lawyer Nelson Imoh urged the court to adjourn the case to enable his clients settle with AMCON. He said: “Our position is that all hostilities in every form and manner should stop. We are pleading with Your Lordship to adjourn for parties to settle, regardless of what might have happened. We want peace to reign.”

digenous contractors, who execute good quality jobs.

He decried the state of facilities, including the labour rooms, kitchens, mortuaries, x-ray departments, wards and other equipment in the hospitals before the current administration’s intervention.

He said the governor’s resolve to improve the facilities was informed by the distressed call of the people on the poor state of hospitals, especially lack of drug supply.

The commissioner assured that the ongoing renovation would also create jobs for artisans, traders and food vendors in the state.

However, reports of the team revealed that work has started in seven of the hospitals, except the ones at Iwo and Ede.

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

out a prima facie case against him.

He also claimed that all evidence led by the prosecution did not link him to the charges preferred against him His lawyer, Nureini Sulaiman prayed the court to set his client free.

The judge upheld the prosecution’s counter argument that it has led sufficient evidence establishing a prima

facie case against the accused .

The judge called on him to open his defence.

Umar, a suspected Boko Haram member, is charged with terrorism related offences over the explosion which partly damaged the building -SOJ Plaza .

The building on Kontagora Road, Kaduna, is occupied

by Thisday, the Sun and the Moment newspapers.

Following the judge’s ruling, Umar testified yesterday as the only defence witness.

By Miriam Ekene-Okoro

eral communities in the past and this year, we are supporting additional 10 communities in Badagry and Ojo zones with the production of outboard engines, fishing net refrigerators and other inputs that will boost their fish production. These are the measures we have put in place to assist our farmers with the subsidisation of their inputs,” he added.

According to him, innovations have been made to develop and strategise on the production of foods in the state, adding that the state’s poultries have in the last one year recorded improvement.

He said: “By November we are going to produce 60 million eggs annually from the Agric-Yes, our commercial farm initiative in Araga.

So, we are putting in our best to improve our production.

We are looking at the production of 10,000 chickens weekly coming from the commercial farm. With these plans I am optimistic that we are going to meet out targets.”

Bishop: there’s peace in our diocese

T

Suspected media houses bomber has case to answer, USTICE Adeniyi He denied the allegations says court Ademola of the Federal against him.

High Court, Abuja yesterday held that Mustapha Umar, being tried for allegedly attempting to bomb a building occupied in Kaduna by three media houses has a case to answer.

The judge, in a ruling, dismissed the no-case submission made by the accused after the prosecution closed its case.

Umar, had in his no-case submission, argued that the prosecution failed to make

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

Lagos Cooperative Society’s asset base hits N60b

From Rosemary Nwisi, Port Harcourt

EN of the State Criminal Investigative Department (SCID) in the Rivers State Police Command have paraded a Port Harcourt Pentecostal Bishop, Chibuike Nwabueze, for allegedly impregnating a 15year-old church member.

Also paraded was a fake doctor, Kazeem Abimbola, who was held for allegedly conducting an abortion on the victim, on the directives of the bishop.

Bishop Nwabueze admitted committing the crime, but alleged a set up.

The self-acclaimed chairman of Communion of Bishops alleged that he was framed by another bishop over their tussle for the chairmanship seat of the Nigerian Peace Ambassador.

He said: “Of the various bishop groups we have, I chair the Communion of Bishops.

What has happened is a set up by my enemies.

“This bishop is my enemy; he is the person who framed me.

Aregbesola approves N1.7b for nine hospitals

He denied the confessional statement he made in a video evidence tendered by the prosecution.

Umar said the video, where he admitted the charge, was doctored by his interrogators, who he accused of excluding where he was tortured and compelled to confessing to the crime.

Justice Ademola has adjourned to September 30 for parties to adopt their final written submissions.

From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

mother Church has a lot of respect for due process.

“We thank God that now there are believers who are ready to obey the will of God, especially through the Roman Pontiff. Once, I take the Canonical possession I will settle down and start to work.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

60

NEWS Jonathan to National Assembly: restore N72.4b budget cut Continued from page 4

Abuja reduced by N0.1billion, etc.

“Ministry of Power: A total of N16.3billion was cut from power projects, including the 215 Mega Watts Kaduna Dual Fired Power Plant, which was reduced by N2.25billion; 2nd KadunaKano 33KV DC Lines reduced by N1.5billion; Gombe-Yola- Jalingo 330KV SC Line reduced by N0.6billion; Maiduguri 330/132KV Substation reduced by N0.3billion; Kaduna-Jos 330KV DC Line reduced by N0.5billion; Omotosho-EpeAjah 330KV DC Line reduced by N0.8billion, etc.

“Ministry of Transport: Construction of Abuja-Kaduna Rail was reduced by N1.4billion; Jebba- Kano Rail Line Rehabilitation reduced by N0.5billion; Procurement and rehabilitation of Wagons/Locomotives reduced by N1billion; Insurance of Locomotives reduced

by N0.2billion, etc.

“Ministry of Education: Allocations to various projects were reduced to the tune of N5.64billion, including the National Library Project which was cut by N2billion.

“SURE-P: We all appreciate the fact that unemployment is our major concern in this country today.

“Considering the gravity of the situation, I would like to

bring up the issue of the budgetary allocation to the Community Services, Women and Youth Employment Programme under the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).

“Against our proposal of N27billion, the National Assembly allocated N9billion.

“This cut will have the adverse effect of severely undermining our capacity to create the jobs needed for our teeming unemployed youths, women and physically-challenged citizens.

“In this regard, I crave your cooperation to restore the SURE-P budget.

“You will further recall that the personnel cost was cut across all Ministry Departments and Agencies which will make it difficult to meet government’s obligations to its workers.

“I, therefore, seek your kind understanding for the restoration of the said cuts in order to maintain industrial harmony.”

Chairman, Senate Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, however, insisted that the National Assembly has the power to alter the Appropriation Bill.

Abaribe noted that it would be improper for the National Assembly to return the budget the way it was presented by the President.

Anambra Catholics, Anglicans clash over school premises man Catholic Church alone.

“The members of St. Faith Anglican Church, Fegge, Onitsha, observed some men who are taking measurement at our church premises being the Lafiaji Primary school, Fegge, and Onitsha.

“On enquiry, they claimed that they were contracted by a government agency to execute an MDGs project. It will be recalled that the same agency had earlier given us the approval to build a church at the said school before it was viciously opposed by unscrupulous individuals” But the Parish Priest in charge of St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Rev Fr. Celestine

Aniofor, denied the allegations.

He described it as devillish on the grounds that the school in contention does not belong to either of the denominations, but it is a government school.

According to him, “Lafiaji Primary school belongs to the state government. What happened that day was that the members of MOD, a para military body in the church got approval from the Headmistress of the school to do their camping programme in the school from Friday to Sunday. “ When they came to report to me that the Anglican people had used canopies to

block the field where they were doing parade, I quickly pleaded with them to give peace a chance but when the Anglicans were trying to use force on them, they resisted it as a para military group.

That was the only thing that happened “The government agency had earlier barred all churches from having service there.

“So when the MOD men came, the Anglican people came to make trouble and went as far as inviting the soldiers to arrest the MOD commander, it took us several efforts to get him on bail. On Sunday again, they came with the police.

“This is pure madness because nobody is dragging anything with them” Rev. Aniofor said.

Continued from page 4

raising a false alarm to incite the public against the National Assembly.

“Assertion is intended not only to blackmail the National Assembly in the performance of its constitutional mandate, but also to incite Nigerian workers against a legitimate and most important institution of government - the National Assembly.”

He reminded the House that there is a subsisting and valid appropriation Act duly signed into law by the President, which is the operating budget for Nigeria for the financial year 2013.

He expressed worry “that the Minister of Finance had consistently insulted the sen-

sibilities of the institution of the National Assembly through her constant umbrage and blackmail of this institution”.

Osagie said rather than diverting the attention of the public from its failings, the executive must implement the budget passed into law and not stop.

Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha, who presided at the session, mandated the committees on Finance , Appropriation and Legislative Compliance to invite the minister and investigate if she really made such comments.

The joint committee is to report back to the House within a week.

Continued from page 4

did not go down well with the Catholic Church whose members began moves to unleash mayhem on their members.

Obiora said “the Anglican Communion has been worshipping at the Primary school, Lafiaji, for more than 40 years now and the recent attack by the Roman Catholics who were apparently acting scripts written by unknown persons was to intimidate us because the governor is a member of their church” “They came to the open space where we normally have our weekly church activities, but what broke the Carmel ’s back was the Sunday incident where the MOD members swooped on our members and destroyed two canopies we set for our Sunday service.

“They attacked us with daggers and other dangerous weapons and it took the intervention of the security agents to save the situation” Rev. Obiora said The Priest further alleged that despite the pending court case over the ownership of the school premises, the Roman Catholic faithful refused to abide by the court injunction that ordered a return to status quo ante.

This, according to him, was for the Anglican Communion to go ahead and have their service in the field since it does not belong to the Ro-

Okonjo-Iweala summoned

able to implement the budget to a state that we now discovered that there has to be some amendment. So, Mr President sent the amendments to the National Assembly. I think we can continue for a little while longer; we need the amendment to pass because come September or October we may not be able to pay salaries.

“One important part of the amendment is the salary that was moved out of that category to other subheads, which has to be restored. We need to restore N36billion for salary that was carried out so that the country will not shut down.”

Osagie said the minister was

Amaechi threatens to stop funding police Continued from page 4

our state.”

Amaechi accused Mbu of disrespect, insubordination to constituted authority, arrogance and gross misconduct to the government and people.

He said: “The Federal Government should post a new Commissioner of Police. I have no control over the present Commissioner of Police Mbu, even though the constitution says so. He called a press conference, where he said, he does not report to the governor of the state, who is the Chief Security Officer of the State. So, how do I (Amaechi) protect our citizens?”

Police Spokesperson Angela Agabe, a Deputy Superintendent of Police defended

her boss, saying Mbu is not a politician, but a professional police officer.

She maintained that the CP had been doing everything possible to reduce the crime rate.

When asked to react to Amaechi’s declaration that the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, should as a matter of urgency transfer Mbu out of the state, Mrs Agabe said: “No comment. Rt. Hon. Amaechi is the governor of the state.”

She reiterated that no society is crime free, noting that officers and men of the command are putting in their best to ensure the protection of life and property.

The police spokesperson said: “It is not true that since CP Mbu was transferred

•Amaechi

(from Oyo State in March this year) to Rivers State, there has been an upsurge in insecurity and criminal activities, including kidnapping.”

Mrs. Agabe urged the public to give information about criminals to the police, promising that their identities would be well protected.

Budget 2013 faces bleak future Continued from page 4

Presidency will not expect us to take time to look through it.

“In addition to all these, we already have other things that we have to deal with.

“So what we want to appeal is that effort should not be made to put us on a collision course. We are not on a collision course.

“We are all interested in making sure that the budget as passed would be implemented and implemented in such a way that everybody in this country will get the benefit of why the budget was passed in the first place.

“We know that in Septem-

ber as the President has promised there is going to be a new budget.

“So when you bring these humongous documents and you are also going to in this same September bring us another document, what do you expect us to do?”

Asked whether the Senate will throw out the amendment budget to face the 2014 budget, Abaribe said the Senate will consider what was sent to it.

“We are just saying that they are so big that we have to take time to consider it,” he said.

On the court ruling on Service Chiefs, he said the Na-

tional Assembly was not a party to the suit.

He added that it is up to the Presidency to obey the judgment.

“Let me state very clearly that the National Assembly and, indeed the legislature, was not a party to that suit.

It is a suit between an individual and the Presidency and the government, as it were.

“So it is up to the Presidency or the government to obey the court judgment.

“When that is done, the National Assembly, of course, will be alive to its constitutional responsibilities.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

61

FOREIGN NEWS

Morsi defiantly clings to power

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PPONENTS and supporters of Egypt’s president have gathered in the capital, Cairo, as the deadline set by a protest group for him to leave power passed.

Tamarod (Rebel) had given Mohammed Morsi until 17:00 (15:00 GMT) to resign or face a civil disobedience campaign. The ultimatum was issued on Monday, hours before the military itself warned it would intervene unless he reached an agreement with the opposition.

Mr Morsi criticised the statement, saying it “might cause confusion”.

The president met the head of the armed forces, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, for the second day in a row on Tuesday. They did not give any details of the talks, which also included Prime Minister Hisham Qandil.

Mr Morsi was put under further pressure by the resignation of six ministers from his government on Monday, including Foreign Minister Kamel Amr. On Tuesday, the spokesmen for the presidency and the cabinet were also reported to have quit. As the Tamarod deadline approached, thousands of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square And the UN high commissioner for human rights called on the president to engage in a “serious national dialogue” to end the political crisis, and said nothing should be done to undermine the democratic process.

Egypt’s top appeals court also upheld the dismissal of the prosecutor general appointed by Mr Morsi, who had been criticised by the opposition.

As the Tamarod deadline

•Protesters calling for the ouster of Morsi gather in Cairo’s landmark Tahrir Square ... yesterday.

approached, thousands of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square in central Cairo on Tuesday afternoon to demand Mr Morsi step down.

Waving flags, the crowds chanted slogans including: “The people have brought down the regime.” When several military helicopters flew ahead, they erupted in cheers.

Egypt has been through hard times, and it might be that harder times are coming.

The military’s intervention is a play for high stakes.

The generals insist they are not planning a coup, but if they remove an elected president, or take his power, their actions will match most definitions of one. They risk on one side a backlash by Egypt’s jihadists, which could be bloody.

On their other flank are the Americans, who fund the Egyptian army. The sight of armed forces funded by US taxpayers removing an elected president will not go down well in Washington.

•Egypt rivals on the street of Cairo ... yesterday

UN’s Mali peace force begins operations

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HE United Nations has begun its military mission in Mali by bringing about 6,000 West African troops already in the country under its command.

By December it will reach full strength with 12,640 uniformed personnel.

The UN will take over security duties from the French forces which led an operation to oust Islamist militants from the north in January.

Its first mission will be to secure the north so that Mali can hold a presidential election on 28 July.

Taking advantage of a coup in March 2012, an al-Qaeda group and its allies took control of the north of Mali, including major cities such as Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu where they imposed a strict form of Islamic law.

France decided to intervene after the militants threatened to march on the capital, Bamako.

Since January, about 4,500 French troops, with the help of Malian and West African

soldiers, have gained control of the vast desert region’s main towns and cities, but some Islamist militants have been leading guerrilla-style attacks. This is not an antiterrorist operation but of course the mandate has an element of real robustness” The BBC’s Alex Duval Smith in Bamako attended the “re-hatting ceremony” for the 6,300 West African troops.

At the roll of a drum, a

detachment of soldiers from different African countries removed their headgear, reached for their left pockets and then pulled out their corn-blue UN berets and put them on, she says. The UN force, under the command of Rwandan Maj Gen Jean Bosco Kazura, will be known by its French acronym Minusma, and will need to impress, our reporter says.

The French intervention has been popular and backed

by considerable firepower, she says But the rebels have gone to ground and many Malians fear the UN force will not have the same deterrent effect, she reports.

“This is not an anti-terrorist operation but of course the mandate has an element of real robustness in it and of course we are in a position to use all necessary means to defend ourselves and of course to defend the

Taliban hit NATO supply compound in Kabul, kill seven

T

ALIBAN suicide attackers blew up a truck bomb early yesterday at the gates of a NATO supplier’s compound in Kabul and sprayed gunfire at security personnel, killing five guards and two civilians, Afghan officials said.

The morning attack was the latest in a series targeting high-profile locations in the Afghan capital. The attacks

PHOTO: AFP

have made clear the Taliban have no intention of ending the violence, even as they say they are willing to enter peace negotiations.

The U.N. deputy chief, Jan Eliasson, who was in Kabul wrapping up a five-day trip to Afghanistan when the attack took place, said continued violence could only harm the Taliban’s own cause.

But the Taliban showed no

signs of backing off, telling The Associated Press by phone that Tuesday’s attack was part of its offensive started in the spring to target military and diplomatic sites with suicide bombers.

“This has no link to the peace process,” the militants’ spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said. “It will continue all over the country occupied by the foreigners.”

PHOTO: REUTERS

UAE : 68 Islamists convicted for coup plotting charges

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IXTY-eight Islamists in the United Arab Emirates have been jailed over allegations of a plot to overthrow the government.

Many of those convicted were imprisoned for at least seven years. Another 26, including 13 women, were acquitted.

The 94 defendants were accused of trying to seize power in the Emirates.

The verdict ended a trial criticised by human rights groups, which said the judge failed to investigate “credible” allegations of torture of defendants.

The defendants included human rights lawyers, university lecturers and students.

A majority of those convicted were given jail sentences between seven and 10 years, reports said.

Eight defendants no longer in the country were sentenced to 15 years.

The convictions were condemned by Human Rights

Watch. Nick McGeehan, the organisation’s Gulf researcher, said they represented “another low point for the UAE’s worsening human rights record”.

The UAE government, along with other Gulf Cooperation Council states, is fighting an ongoing battle with dissidents and human rights activists. But the battle is not in the streets - it is happening online.

The Gulf royal families face a rising tide of criticism from young Arabs who are using social networks to challenge their governments.

In the short term, arbitrary arrests and harsh sentences may have a limited effect but in the longer term the effort to stem the tide will likely end in failure. As a young Saudi blogger told me: “They can’t put all of us in jail.”

“These verdicts cement the UAE’s reputation as a serious abuser of basic human rights,” Mr McGeehan added.

62

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013

63

SPORT EXTRA Galatasaray in talks with Mikel, reveals president

FIFA U20 WORLD CUP

10-man Nigeria falls to Uruguay G U RUGUAY beat Nigeria U-20 team in the round of 16 to end the dream of the African lads to reach the last eight of the competition.

A Nicholas Lopez brace was all the South Americans needed to defeat their Nigeria counterparts.

Lopez opened the scoring in the 65th minute when he fired in from close range after goalkeeper Samuel Okani spilled a free-kick.

The turning point of the game was the red card given to Nigeria right back Abdulahi Shehu in the 41st minute for a second bookable offence in interval

of two minutes.

Despite playing one man down for the entire second half, Nigeria gave a good account of themselves and fought back with Kayode Olanrewaju getting an equalizer in the 69th minute

with a solo effort.

Lopez completed his brace in the 84th minute when he converted a penalty after Ndidi brought down an Uruguayan player inside the penalty area.

Nigeria came close twice

towards the end of the game when Ndidi's long range effort was saved by Uruguay keeper in 91st minute before Madu's shot missed by a whisker.

Uruguay will now meet Spain in the quarter final.

LMC rescinds decision on NPL staff

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EAGUE Management Company, main Organizers of the Nigeria Professional League has reneged on their promise to settle about three months’ salaries of the staff of the Nigeria Premier League.

NationSport scooped in Abuja yesterday that the LMC officials have told members of staff of the

•Vows not to pay their salaries •NPL staff bank on NFF for rescue

From Segun Ogunjimi, Abuja Nigeria Premier League as it was called then before it was rechristened Globacom Premier

•Jose Gimenez of Uruguay shoot at goal during Under-20 FIFA World cup, yesterday, Turkey.

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

League, to look elsewhere for respite as regards their unpaid three months salaries since they were not in charge of the league when the said salaries were owed.

A prominent member of staff of the NPL who does not want his name in print, told NationSport that they were now banking on the parent body, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to come to their rescue as regards the outstanding remunerations.

“My brother we are currently facing the battle of our lives and we are only hoping the NFF intervenes in this matter before we die of hunger.

Most of us are finding it very difficult to feed, pay our house rents as well as pay our children’s school fees. Its as bad as that.

“We were told that our salaries were captured in the Globacom money for the League’s sponsorship only for the leadership of the LMC to backtrack and refuse to pay the outstanding salaries. They claimed that they are not the one to pay us since they had not taken over the saddle of the League when the sum was owed. But the fact remains that even we have been working and we are still working under their (LMC) regime”, the source disclosed.

ALATASARAY are in discussions with Chelsea regarding a possible move for John Obi Mikel, the Turkish club's president has confirmed.

The Nigeria international has made over 277 appearances for Chelsea since arriving at the club back in 2006 in a protracted transfer saga involving Norwegian side Lyn Oslo and Manchester United.

However, speculation has mounted in recent weeks that the 26-year-old could be allowed to leave Stamford Bridge as Jose Mourinho sets about reshaping his squad in his

second spell as manager.

"We are interested in Mikel, and negotiations are under way," Aysal told Sabah.

Mikel is on an extended break after competing in the Confederations Cup but was non-committal when questioned about his Stamford Bridge future earlier on Tuesday.

Chelsea have also been linked with other midfielders that could replace the Nigerian at Stamford Bridge, with Roma midfielder Daniele de Rossi and Vitesse youngster Marco van Ginkel both on the west London club's radar.

As Glo premier League resumes, Clubs advised to shun violence

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IGERIAN clubs participating in the Glo Premier League have been advised to shun violence and promote healthy competition as the league resumes officially for the second round on Wednesday.

Official sponsor of Glo Premier League and major partner of the League Management Company, Globacom, made this call in a statement released in Lagos on Tuesday. The company urged all stakeholders to keep the league alive and make all matches violent free.

The leading telecommunications operator noted in the statement that the interest of Nigerians in the local league had increased since the beginning of the 2012/2013 season.

Globacom commended the League Management Company for outstanding organisation and proper monitoring of the league which has so far yielded positive result.

Meanwhile, fixtures for week 20

matches have been released. ABS of Ilorin will entertain Kaduna United at the Ilorin Township Stadium while 3Sc will host Kwara United at Adamasingba Stadium in Ibadan.

Akwa United will host Gombe United in Uyo while Wikki Tourists will be home to Lobi Stars of Makurdi.

In other fixtures, Nasarawa United will be guests of continental campaigners, Rangers in Enugu while Sunshine Stars will slug it out with Warri Wolves in Akure.

In Owerri, Heartland will host Enyimba in what is expected to be a crowd-pulling Oriental Derby.

Another match will take place in Port Harcourt between Sharks and its Niger Delta neighbours, Nembe City while Northern rivalry will be rekindled in Maiduguri, where El Kanemi hosts Kano Pillars.

Bayelsa United of Yenagoa also hosts Dolphins of Port Harcourt in another Niger Delta duel.

TODAY IN THE NATION

WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2013 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

‘It is a pity that the Governors’ Forum does not have as a priority the prevention of further violence against farmers on the murderous North-South Cattle ‘Blood Meat’ corridor’ VOL.8 NO.2,535

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

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AST Thursday, June 27, a Kano based public relations company, Direct Contact Promotional Communications Ltd., made a public presentation of Kwankwasiyya, its newly published illustrated children’s bilingual biography of Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the Kano State governor. It had invited me to speak as guest of honour on the topic of leadership. The notice was short but I accepted the invitation because it provided me an opportunity to present a paper I had prepared on the topic two years ago for another occasion but which I never published. After rereading it I thought it was even more relevant today than it was two years ago, considering the shameful spectacle of squabbling governors over the simple election of the chair of their forum alone with which they have been entertaining the public.

In the end I could not present the paper in person because the publishers suddenly shifted the venue from Abuja to Kano. However my friend and professional colleague, Ujudud Sheriff, who was spending the week in Kano, his home state, accepted my request to stand in for me. The following is the first part of the paper: What is Ethics? One definition by the ENCARTA CONCISE ENGLISH DICTIONARY is that it is “the system of moral principles governing the appropriate conduct for an individual or group”. Another dictionary, the WEBSTER NEW TWENTIETH CENTURY DICTIONARY, defines it as “the system or code of morals of a particular philosopher, religion, group, profession, etc.”

Ethics, in other words, is simply a set of rules about the dos and don’ts, virtues or vices, in a society. By universal consent, behaviours or actions like honesty, patience, loyalty, modesty, equity, justice, faith, etc, are virtues.

Among vices are of course the opposite of all these.

Probably the most concise articulation of these universal virtues are those famous Biblical Ten Commandments to mankind never to do certain things i.e. that Man should not kill, steal or lie, etc.

Obviously any society in which vices outweigh virtues will not make progress. Instead it will degenerate and eventually collapse. This is pretty much obvious in the rise and fall of empires since Adam and Eve. Historically empires have collapsed more from internal decay than from external attack.

Every society has custodians of its virtues.

These, by definition, are its leaders. ENCARTA defines a leader variously as “somebody whom people follow” and as “somebody in charge of others”. WEBSTER defines a leader simply as “a person or thing that leads”.

People acquire leadership status by virtue of their knowledge, experience, wealth or sheer personality or a combination of these. They may become leaders through the ballot box or the barrel of the gun.

Logically any society that has a preponderance of good leaders would prosper and that which does not, won’t.

Africa, it would seem, has had a preponderance of bad leaders at least since a little after the departure in the ‘60s of the Europeans that had colonised it for about a century. As Africa celebrated 50 years of its independence from colonial rule this year it remained the poorest region in the world and falling even further

RIPPLES FED GOVT APPROVES N6.7B FOR BLUE POLICE UNIFORM–News

BLUE UNIFORM? WOULD THAT CHANGE THEIR ATTITUDE?

People and Politics By MOHAMMED H ARUNA ndajika@yahoo.com

On ethics and leadership in Africa (I)

•Gen. Babangida behind all the other regions.

According to Martin Meredith, a British journalist who has written extensively on Africa, in his 2005 book The State of Africa, the continent’s average per capita income is one-third lower than that of the world’s second poorest region, South Asia. The per capital incomes of most of its countries, he says, has halved from those of 1980, or in some cases, from those of 1960. Half of its nearly 1 billion people live on less than a dollar a day. Its entire economic output is about $420 billion, which is 1.3% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product, “less than (that of) a country like Mexico,” which itself is among the poorest in the world.

Africa, continues Meredith, is the only region where school enrolment and life expectancy are falling.

The most glaring contrast in the development trajectory of Africa and Asia can be seen in the post-colonial histories of Nigeria, the continent’s most promising at independence, and Singapore, a tiny island state, which started out as part of Malaysia.

With a population of at least 150 million, Nigeria is the most populous on the continent and the 10th largest in the world. It produces about 2 million barrels of oil a day, making it the fourth biggest producer in OPEC. Its arable

land is one of the largest on the continent and it is also well-endowed with solid minerals that are in great demand world-wide.

By contrast, Singapore has a population of 5 million and has no mineral resources. Its only natural endowment is its deep seaport. Fifty years ago Singapore, as part of Malaysia, was poorer than Nigeria. Its prospects looked bleak as it was forced to leave Malaysia due to ethnic and religious differences with the mainland.

Today, Nigeria, with a Human Development Index of 46.6, according to a recent The Economist Pocket World in Figures, remains among the poorest in the world. In sharp contrast, Singapore, with an HDI of 90.2, has moved from its status as a poor Third World country to the rich First.

The difference, it seems, has been in the leadership of the two countries. No one has put this better than Chinua Achebe, Africa’s finest novelist and essayist.

“The trouble with Nigeria,” he said in a pamphlet of the same title he wrote over 27 years ago, “is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership”.

In a lecture to the Nigerian chapter of Oxbridge Club he delivered at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs on March 17, 1989, former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, arguably Nigeria’s most influential leader since independence, seemed to agree completely with Achebe.

At the time of his lecture he was already four years in office out of a tenure that even-

HARDBALL

I

F there was any doubt that football is fast taking over from religion as the new opium of the masses, the just ended Confederation Cup in Brazil should dispel such.

It was as if glorious World Cup football tournament was here again but with fewer countries participating. Just eight countries, the best from each continent; call it mini world cup if you would but it was only a dress rehearsal for the main show coming up also in Brazil next year. The world has just reveled in a fiesta of enthralling football nonetheless.

On display was the best of Europe as represented by Spain and Italy, the best of the Americas with Uruguay and Brazil, the best of Asia, Japan; the best of North America, Mexico; Tahiti stood in for the Oceania while Nigeria, the African champion hoisted the continent’s flag. It was boon for lovers of the round leather game with Tahiti seeming to provide the comic relief having been suffused with goals garnering 24 in only three matches. But the tiny island country of 178,000 people was too happy to be at the world stage under global klieg lights for the first time to give a damn.

The team made up of physical education teachers and artisans was obviously having a good time, hearty and happy even as it amassed baskets full of goals. Such was the spectacle that when they got the goal against the Super

Well done gallant Eagles Eagles, their only goal of the tournament, they jubilated as if they won the cup. It could well have been a trophy for running around with giants and putting one behind the mighty Super Eagles which paraded illustrious football superstars is a feat by itself.

But of course, not Tahiti, but Brazil that staged the show also lifted the cup in a grand style. In an anticlimax of a finale Brazil switched on a beautiful performance against European and world champions, Spain to snatch the diadem.

Brazil’s young team completely subdued and exposed the seemingly indomitable Spanish armada, exponents of the exotic tiki-taka brand of football. This must be a foretaste of what to expect next year when the world converge once again in that football grove known as Brazil for the real thing: the World Cup. You must have noticed especially, a new star in the galaxy called Neymar!

But our gallant Super Eagles was there, played three matches, won one and lost two.

Though we did not scale the first round, it was

TONY MARINHO

tually lasted eight years. In those eight years he changed the face of Nigeria’s political-economy, for better or worse, more than any leader before him or after.

“I venture to suggest”, he said in the Oxbridge lecture, one of his most controversial, “that it is the nature of the competition among us, the socalled elite... which have been at the root of our national problem.”

“Who are the elite in our national context?”, he asked rhetorically and quickly answered himself. These, he said, are “a few of us, numbering a few thousands out of a population of more than 100 million (who) find ourselves in positions of leadership and influence in the professions and academic, the armed forces, the bureaucracy, industry, agriculture and commerce, in the media houses, in the courts and councils of our traditional and political associates,” “You will perhaps agree,” he said, “that the worst attitude of the Nigerian elite over the last three decades or more have included factionalism, disruptive competition, extreme greed and selfishness, indolence and abandonment of the pursuit of excellence.” These vices, he said, also included indecisiveness and inconsistency in policy making occasioned by selfinterest.

Having diagnosed the crisis of leadership he said the country was suffering from, he proceeded to offer a solution which he said was indeed THE only solution.

The Structural Adjustment Programme his administration had introduced in 1987, he said, was “the only possible answer” which should be embraced in all its ramifications by anyone who considered himself a patriot. It had its pains, he admitted, but its liberalisation and the deregulation of the economy unleashed the spirit of enterprise among Nigerians. The “good results” of SAP, he predicted, should be evident “from the middle of the next decade onwards,” i.e. 1995.

Four years after Babangida’s prediction, The Economist published a survey on Nigeria entitled “Anybody seen a giant?” The survey, in the magazine’s edition of August 21, 1993, entered a verdict that contradicted Babangida’s prediction.

“Nigerians” said, the survey’s author, Sophie Pedder, “are forever being told, and forever telling visitors, that they are the giants of Africa. If Africa is ever going to produce a South Korea, they say, it will happen in Nigeria. Yet each time the country has the chance to turn itself into a prosperous model for still poor Africa, it blows it.” Babangida, the author concluded in not so many words, was yet another disappointment. And whoever succeeds him from August 27 1993, she said, was unlikely to be any different.

•For comments, send SMS to 08059100107

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above a good outing for the national team with the added advantage of encountering quality teams like Uruguay and Spain. While the team drubbed Tahiti six to one after a troubled transit to the tournament (no thanks to the shoddy ways of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF), they lost to Uruguay and Spain but to keeneyed footballers, they played good football, they played like African champions. As Coach Stephen Keshi said, they were defeated but not disgraced.

They were plagued by poor administrative support and injury: key players like Victor Moses, Emmanuel Emenike, Ogenyi Onazi and Kenneth Omeruo (in the last match). Had we these regulars, so much would have been different. What Nigerians must take away from the Confederation Cup is that Keshi’s team is taking shape quite well. Positions are beginning to solidify. Not in the last few years could Nigerians see a clear picture of their national team. The ‘technocrats’ at the Glass House must allow Keshi to complete the work he has started. Talk of vetting his selection now would amount to throwing spanner in the works; they want to impose players on the coach. Have you ever heard that a bunch of people sit somewhere and vet the team list of a Scolari, Del Bosque, etc? It is unthinkable. Coaches are employed to swim or sink. This Eagles will fly yet.

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Editor Daily:01-8962807, Marketing: 01-8155547 . Abuja Office: Plot 5, Nanka Close AMAC Commercial Complex, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja. Tel: 07028105302. Port Harcourt Office: 12/14, Njemanze Street, Mile 1, Diobu, PH. 08023595790. WEBSITE: www.thenationonlineng.net E-mail: info@thenationonlineng.net ISSN: 115-5302 Editor: GBENGA OMOTOSO