July 18, 2014

Newspaper of the Year

Dangote’s wealth hits $20billion NEWS

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•Mogul among world’s top 25

News Lagos approves paternity leave Sports FIFA ranks Nigeria world’s 34th Business Ovia is Zenith Bank’s chair

•Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

VOL. 9, NO. 2911 FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

P14 P55

•www.thenationonlineng.net

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

OSUN 2014

P7

N150.00

•Aregbesola to Sambo: winning is wishful thinking AND MORE •Candidates, stakeholders agree to free, fair poll •ON PAGE 8 •36 APC chairmen for Osogbo•Youths to resist rigging

Nigerians take their country for granted, says Danjuma •Honour for Dare at 70

By Leke Salaudeen and Joseph Jibueze

I

T could well have been a gathering of the academia – many professors were there – or newspapermen – they came in their numbers.

The colourful ceremony at the prestigious MUSON Centre on Lagos Island was predictable. Prof. Olatunji Dare, eminent teacher, distinguished newspaperman, pro-democracy activist and respected columnist, was 70 yesterday.

Continued on page 10

•Dr. Fayemi...yesterday

•Prof. Dare...yesterday

•Prof. Karikari...yesterday

•Gen. Danjuma...yesterday •SEE ALSO PAGE 11

I’m ready to defend N6bn debt allegation, says Nyako Three die as youths protest plot to sack Nasarawa governor From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

F

ORMER Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako remained defiant yesterday, saying he is ready to defend his integri-

ty.

Security agencies and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are after Nyako, who was impeached in hazy circumstances on Tuesday, but he remains in high spirits, according to an aide.

Nyako is accused by Acting Governor Umaru Fintiri of plunging the state into a N6billion debt.

He said the loans he took, including the controversial N6billion, were approved by the House of Assembly.

Also yesterday, The Nation learnt that former Deputy Governor Bala James Ngillari was un-

?

WHERE ARE THE CHIBOK GIRLS KIDNAPPED ON APRIL 15?

der pressure to go to court to seek his reinstatement as acting governor “because he was forced to resign”.

Nyako, who spoke through his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Ahmad Sajoh, said he had nothing to hide on his tenContinued on page 4

•The wreckage of the Malaysian airliner after it crashed, near the town of Shaktarsk, in rebel-held east Ukraine…yesterday.

Malaysian plane crash kills 295

•SEE ST OR Y STOR ORY AND MORE PICTURES ON P AGES 2-4 PA

•SPORTS P13 •POLITICS P17 •BRAND P26 •AGRIC P38 •SOCIETY P43 •FOREIGN P60

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

2

NEWS MALAYSIAN PLANE CRASH

Concerns over w M •CEO/MD, Bank of Industry BoI; Mr. Rasheed Adejare Olaoluwa (second left), Deputy President, South, Nigerian Association of Small & Medium Enterprises, (NASME), Sir. Orimadegun Agboade (third left), Deputy President, Finance and Admnistration, Dr. Lizzy Okereke (left) and Chairman, NASME, Ogun State Chapter, Chief Oladipo Bankole during a visit of the officers of PHOTO: ISAAC JIMOH AYODELE NASME to BoI in Lagos...yesterday.

•From left: General Manager, External Relations, Nigeria LNG (NLNG), Kudo Eresia-Eke, Dr Jerry Agada, Prof Femi Osofisan, Prof Ayo Banjo, Prof J.P. Clark and MD/CEO, NLNG, Babs Omotowa at an "An Evening with Ayo Banjo", hosted by NLNG to mark of Prof Banjo’s 80th birthday in Lagos…yesterday.

•Chairman, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Mr. Felix Ohiewerei (second left), speaking at the company’s 15th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos... yesterday. With him are Managing Director, Dr. Fidelis Ayebae, Director, Mr. Abayomi PHOTO: ABIODUN WILLIAMS Adebanjo and Company Secretary, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Ayebae.

•From left: Director-General, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mrs. Dupe Atoki; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Abdulkadir Musa; and Chairman, Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Solomon Nyagba, during the presentation of the Draft Competition and Consumer Protection Policy to ministries, extra-ministerial agencies in Abuja ... yesterday.

ALAYSIAN Airlines flight MH17 appeared to have been flying through ordinary and open airspace before it was ‘shot down’, according to an airline industry group.

The International Transport Association said that an initial assessment revealed that the airspace the aircraft was travelling through was ‘not subject to restrictions’.

The Malaysian Airlines flight lost contact with aircraft control when it was flying over eastern Ukraine.

The Geneva-based group said in a statement: ‘Based on the information currently available, it is believed that the airspace that the aircraft was traversing was not subject to restrictions.’

Earlier yesterday, air accident investigators were planning to inspect the proposed flight plan lodged by pilots on board Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 to see if they flew over a warzone to save fuel.

The 17-year-old jet was shot down over eastern Ukraine despite British, European and US commercial aircraft being warned against using the airspace since April.

One of the major questions is whether the Malaysian flight crew received the warning from flight safety officials about the risk to safety.

One aviation expert revealed: ‘Malaysia Airlines, like a number of other carriers, have been continuing to use it because it is a shorter route, which means less fuel and therefore less money.’

The jet was travelling at 33,000 feet at 490 knots when it disappeared from radar screens while approaching the Russian border.

It is believed that the Malaysian Airlines pilots ignored several warnings to avoid the airspace over Ukraine. It is understood the Malaysian Airline jet used the Ukrainian route to save fuel as diverting north or south would have taken longer.

In April, the European Aviation and Safety Agency warned: ‘Taking into consideration the recent publication by the Russian Federation of a series of notices to airmen (NOTAMs) modifying the Simferopol FIR which is under the responsibility of Ukraine, and their intent to provide air traffic services (ATS) within this airspace, the Agency draws the aviation communities’ attention to the possible existence of serious risks to the safety of international civil flights.

‘Due to the unsafe situation where more than one ATS provider may be controlling flights within the same airspace from 3 April 2014, 0600 UTC onwards, consideration should be given to measures to avoid the airspace and circumnavigate the Simferopol FIR with alternative routings. ‘ On July 8, the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine closed its airspace to civilian aircraft after rebels shot a military transport aircraft that was flying over 20,000 feet.

The restriction warned commercial aircraft against using Ukranian airspace.

A Notice to Airmen, seen by Mail Online warned: ‘Due to the potential for conflicting air traffic control (ATC) instructions from Ukrainian and Russian authorities and for the related potential for misidentification of civil aircraft, UK aircraft operators are strongly advised to avoid, until further notice, the airspace over Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.’

The EASA supplied airlines with a list of alternative routes avoiding the conflict zone.

The US Federal Aviation Authority had also banned its aircraft from the Crimea region.

The suspected shooting down of a

•The ill-fated plane taking off in Amsterdam

•Victims’ personal effects

•The wreckage of the plane still smouldering

large passenger plane while flying at altitude presents airlines and their passengers with an extremely serious new development in air travel, according to aviation experts.

Norman Shanks, the former head of group security at airports group BAA, and professor of aviation security at Coventry University, said there had been suggestions airlines had been warned to avoid the route because of the violence below.

But many carriers continued to use it because it was shorter and therefore cheaper.

He said: ‘It is a busy aviation route and there have been suggestions that a notice was given to aviators telling

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

3

MALAYSIAN PLANE CRASH

ver why ill-fated aircraft flew over war zone

•A solider inspecting the wreckage of the plane

•Victims’ international passports

•The wreckage of the plane being expected by a soldier and some civilians

airlines to avoid that particular area.

‘But Malaysia Airlines, like a number of other carriers, have been continuing to use it because it is a shorter route, which means less fuel and therefore less money.

‘I expect the area will be declared a no fly zone and aircraft will have no choice but to take a different, longer route.’

Prof Shanks said it was ‘extremely unusual’ for political disputes to spill over and endanger the lives of civilians travelling in commercial flights in the skies above.

And he suggested those behind the shooting ‘deliberately’ targeted a passenger plane as it would have been

obvious from its appearance that it was a commercial aircraft and posed no military threat.

He said: ‘This is probably the first time this has happened in recent history. The aircraft was flying at such a height that it is unlikely to have been a military aircraft.

‘You would be able to tell it was a civilian aircraft not a military aircraft with the naked eye because of the jet plumes behind it.

‘This would almost certainly have to be a deliberate act, for whatever reason - we can only speculate.

‘It should have been quite visible to people on the ground that it was a civilian aircraft, by the size of it and the

shape of it. Anyone who has looked at a civilian aircraft or large military aircraft will know the difference.’

He said the plane’s black box could contain vital clues to help piece together what the pilots knew during their final moments in the cockpit.

But he warned that tracing the flight recorders could be very tricky as they are probably ‘now in a war zone’ somewhere in the Ukraine.

He added: ‘The pilots and passengers could well have been totally unaware that this missile was heading for them.’

If yesterday’s incident is confirmed as a deliberate act then

Ukraine airspace could well be closed down, meaning diversions for UK carriers who currently fly to and over the area.

‘This could be a very serious development,’ said David Kaminski-Morrow, air transport editor of Flightglobal magazine.

He went on: ‘If reports are true, we are not talking about small-arm fire but serious weaponry. Normally even if planes fly over a war zone they can go high enough for the conflict not to be a worry.

‘Any decision about the opening or closing of Ukranian airspace will be a matter for the Ukrainians. It could well be that part or all of that airspace

PHOT

PHOTOS: AFP

will now be closed.

‘Also, individual airlines, including UK carriers, could decide to detour around Ukraine.’

Mr Kaminski-Morrow continued: ‘It’s really quite incredible that it should be Malaysia Airlines involved in this, after what happened earlier in the year.

‘This is not a small airline on a faraway route. This was a major airline flying from a European destination to a capital in the Far East. There must be serious concerns about how the airline can recover from this.

‘There will obviously be political as well as aviation concerns from all this.

This will run and run.’

4

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

NSCIA warns against misuse of soldiers, aviation facilities

T

•Site of a building under construction that collapsed in Mushin, Lagos...yesterday

PHOTO: SOLOMON ADEOLA

295 die in Malaysian plane crash

A

MALAYSIAN airliner crashed over eastern Ukraine yesterday, killing all 295 people aboard and sharply raising stakes in a conflict between Kiev and pro-Moscow rebels in which Russia and the West back opposing sides.

The total number of dead in the crash near the Russian border includes 23 United States citizens, a Ukrainian interior ministry aide said.

No other independent confirmation of the total was available.

U.S. President Barack Obama said the crash was a “terrible tragedy” and the United States would offer any assistance necessary to help determine what happened and why.

Ukraine accused “terrorists” — militants fighting to unite eastern Ukraine with Russia — of shooting down the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with a heavy, Soviet-era ground-to-air missile as it flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Leaders of rebels in the Do-

netsk People’s Republic denied any involvement, although around the same time their military commander said his forces had downed a much smaller Ukrainian transport plane - their third such attack this week Reuters journalists saw burning and charred wreckage bearing the red and blue Malaysia insignia and dozens of bodies strewn in fields near the village of Grabovo, 25 miles from the Russian border near the rebel-held regional capital of Donetsk.

Malaysia Airlines said air traffic controllers lost contact with flight MH-17 at 10:15 a.m. Central time as it flew over eastern Ukraine towards the Russian border, bound for Asia with 280 passengers and 15 crew aboard. Flight tracking data indicated it was at its cruising altitude of 33,000 feet when it disappeared.

“I was working in the field on my tractor when I heard the sound of a plane and then a bang,” one local man at Continued on page 59

Dangote is Africa’s first $20billion man

N

IGERIAN billionaire and Africa’s richest

man Aliko Dangote has become the first African entrepreneur to lay claim to a $20 billion fortune as the stock value of his largest holding,Dangote Cement, leaped just about threefourths since March when Forbes released its

annualranking of the world’s richest people.

Aliko Dangote’s 93 per cent stake in the cement company is now worth $19.5 billion. Add this to his controlling stakes in other publicly-listed companies like Dangote Sugar and National Salt Company of Nigeria and his significant shareholdings in other blue-

chips like Zenith Bank, UBA Group and Dangote Flour; his extensive real estate portfolio, jets, yachts and current cash position, which includes more than $300 million in recently awarded Dangote Cement dividends, Dangote is now worth more than $20 billion.

Put into context, the Nigerian billionaire is now

among the top 25 richest people in the world, richer than Russia’s richest man, Alisher Usmanov, richer than India’s Lakshmi Mittal and running neck and neck with India’s Mukesh Ambani. He is catching up to such Americans as Google’s billionaire founders Larry Page and Continued on page 59

HE Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) yesterday warned the Federal Government against misuse of military and aviation facilities.

It faulted the reopening of Maiduguri Airport for a prominent politician to the detriment of Muslim pilgrims who wanted to use the facility for Umrah (lesser Hajj).

To the council, it is dangerous to deploy security establishments to persecute Nigerians.

It asked the military authorities to protect the credibility of their profession by not being partisan.

The NSCIA made its position known in a statement signed by its Acting Director of Publicity, Muhammad K. Qasim.

The statement said: “The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) is shocked to the marrow by media reports that the Maiduguri International Airport was made available for the use of a prominent politician yesterday.

“This is against the back-

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

drop of the fact that it was the same airport that was suddenly shut against Muslims recently. Despite the earlier clearance to use the airport, the Muslim pilgrims were denied flight at the eleventh hour.

“Apart from denying the pilgrims the use of the facility, the Muslims were subjected to physical and psychological trauma as a result of their grilling by the Nigerian security apparatus.

The pilgrims were subsequently forced to embark on a tortuous and agonising travel by road to Kano at odd hours.

“That a public facility denied Muslims on pilgrimage was granted to a top politician is a proof of bad faith.

It is unfortunate as it is a confirmation of the impression in some quarters that our insecurity is politicised.”

The council cautioned the government against the deployment of military to persecute Nigeria.

Continued on page 59

Three die as Nasarawa youths clash over impeachment threat

E

THNIC clashes erupted yesterday in in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, over the impeachment notice filed again Governor Tanko AlMakura by the House of Assembly.

Youths of Eggon and Gwandara ethnic tribes engaged in a fight on the streets. Many were injured.

Channels television reported last night that no fewer than three people were killed during the protest.

According to the report, two bodies were seen in a security van, their legs hanging. Some arrests were

also made. Military men were drafted to keep the peace as the protesters demanded that the House of Assembly should leave Governor Al Makura alone.

Channels quoted police spokesperson Numan Umar as saying that he was yet to confirm the casualty figure but referred reporters to the B division of the Police which was under heavy military presence yesterday.

Governor Al-Makura is from Gwandara. Information Minister Labaran Maku is an Eggon.

It was gathered that some armed Gwandara youths Continued on page 59

I’m ready to defend N6b debt allegation, says Nyako Speaker defends Nyako’s impeachment

Continued from page 1

ure.

He said: “Admiral Murtala Nyako is ready to defend himself on any allegation in an open court and under a fair system.

“But he said in a system where impunity is the order of the day, he cannot get a fair hearing. How do you expect a goat to get fair hearing in a court presided over by wolves?”

On the alleged N6billion debt left behind by Nyako administration, Nyako’s spokesman said: “The Acting Governor has not even settled down; he has not been briefed by those in charge and he is declaring debts of about N6billion.

“This shows that the Acting Governor is acting a script. We knew the script was written long ago; they will release sleaze materials to vilify Nyako. That is why they have sent security agents and EFCC operatives after him to cast aspersion on Admiral Nyako.

“If Nyako left N6billion debt, all the loans or debts were approved by the House of Assembly, which was presided over by the Acting Gov-

A

CTING Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly Kwamoti Laori justified yesterday the impeachment of Admiral Murtala Nyako as governor.

He said the House followed the constitution.

Laori spoke when the state Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Joel Hammanjoda Madaki, led the executive members on a visit to him.

Laori, who represents Numan Constituency, said: ‘’ I have been hearing people say that the whole process was executed in haste and the Nigerian ernor in his capacity as the Speaker. So, you can see that they are acting a script.

“The whole thing borders on what Nyako said about how President Goodluck Jonathan is tackling the insurgency in the country. They were not happy and they decided to remove him from office. But is he not being vindicated now?”

Ngillari’s plan to go to court is believed to have the backing of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief, including some National Assembly members.

The plot will lead to Fintiri’s removal.

From Barnabas Manyam, Yola

constitution was flouted, but I want to tell anybody who wants to listen that the Adamawa State Assembly will do anything possible and go to any extend to defend the impeachment of former Governor Nyako. It was done legally and according to the tenets of the law.

“What people are saying is not defensible in law, but we will do everything to prove that the House lawfully impeached the governor according to the relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution as amended’’

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that some stakeholders were unhappy that Ngilari was forced to resign without following the provision of the 1999 Constitution. A source said: “Ngillari was either forced or frightened to write the resignation letter by members of the House of Assembly.

“But they shot themselves in the foot when they asked him to write the resignation letter to the Speaker, instead of the governor.

“What happened was that Ngillari, on Tuesday, wrote the governor on his resignation

He promised that the House would cooperate with the PDP leadership to shape the affairs of the state.

Madaki said the party had come to congratulate the House for wiping the tears on the faces of the people of Adamawa especially PDP members, with Nyako’s removal. “ We are here to thank you and also congratulate you for a job well done because the mandate was stolen from us but today, we can enter the Government House freely unlike before when sternlooking security men prevented us from having access.’’

from office.

“But in their desperation to remove the former governor, the House of Assembly asked Ngilari to write the Speaker directly because Nyako was in Abuja and it would take time for him to communicate Ngillari’s decision to the Assembly.

“Ngilari withdrew the resignation letter he sent to the governor and wrote a fresh one to the Speaker, which was a violation of Section 306(5) of 1999 Constitution.”

Sajoh had in a statement said: “We wish to state categorically that Section 306 (5) of

the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended requires that the deputy resign not to the House of Assembly but to the Governor. As at the time the supposed resignation was said to have been tendered in the House, Murtala H. Nyako was the governor of Adamawa State.

“No such was written to him, none was received by him and none was approved by him. It should, therefore, be known that in the eyes of the law, the deputy governor has not resigned. Barrister Bala James Ngillari is still the Dep-

•Nyako

uty Governor of Adamawa State.

“This clarification is necessary to avert another subversion of the constitution, since the order processes relating to the impeachment saga have all been in contravention of the constitution and the law. We wish to observe that the continued abuse of the constitution and the law of the land will spell doom for our democracy.”

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THE NATION FRIDAY JULY 18, 2014

NEWS Reps may subpoena Health Minister over NMA strike •‘NMA’s demands justifiable’

T

•Commandant, Botswana Command and Staff College, Brig.-Gen. Shedrack Moloi, receiving a souvenir from House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal during a visit of the participants of the college to the House in Abuja...yesterday.

With them are House Deputy Minority Whip Garba Mohammed (left) and House Leader Mulikat Akande-Adeola.

PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE

APC: Jonathan embarrassed Nigeria over Chibok girls T HE All Progressives Congress (APC) has said it was a compound embarrassment that it took 17-year-old Pakistani girl-child education campaigner, Malala Yousafzai, to visit and convince President Goodluck Jonathan to agree to a meeting with representatives of the parents of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls.

The party faulted the Presidency for blaming the opposition for the failure of Jonathan’s planned parley with the abducted girls’ parents.

In a statement yesterday in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, APC said: “President Jonathan, who has already embarrassed himself and the people of Nigeria by his inexplicable failure to visit Chibok since the girls were abducted over 90 days ago, has compounded the embarrassment and insulted Nigerians by waiting for Malala to goad him to meet with the girls’ parents, not in Chibok but in Abuja.”

It said after the meeting failed, because the parents were not properly informed and invited, the Presidency blamed the opposition and patriotic Nigerians, who have been campaigning daily under the #BringBackOurGirls group.

APC said: “Fortunately, and to the eternal discomfiture of the Presidency, the Chibok community has said the decision not to meet with President Jonathan in Abuja was theirs and theirs alone.

The parents said they took that decision because their sole reason for coming to Abuja was to meet with Malala, and not the President, who did not invite them anyway.

“With this explanation, one would have expected a Presidency that has regard for the truth to immediately retract its earlier panic statement, which it issued to save face, after what was nothing but a Public Relations (PR) gimmick, blew up in its face, and apologise to the opposition and the #BringBackOur-

Onaiyekan to Presidency: stop linking opposition with Boko Haram

T

HE Catholic Bishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has urged the Presidency to stop labelling critics of his administration, particularly opposition politicians, as enemies and supporters of the Boko Haram sect.

Speaking on a radio programme “Face the Nation”, on Rockcity 101.9 FM Abeokuta, Ogun State, the frontline cleric advised those in positions of authority to be tolerant of the opposition.

He said: “The issue of the politicisation is very serious and dangerous, where the party in government sees anybody who doesn’t agree with them as the Boko Haramist that are out to destroy the nation. What this means is that, if you do not agree with me, or if you are not in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), you don’t love Nigeria... That we disagree in politics doesn’t mean we don’t love our nation. And until we get that out of our heads, not much will move forward.

“By the way, before I’m misquoted, it’s the same thing from the part of the opposition, who think they are the only ones who love Nigeria and those in the party in government

don’t like this country and are destroying our nation. That kind of attitude cannot help us.”

The former Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) president also said the insecurity in the land is disturbing.

The cleric expressed disappointment at the Presidency’s information managers.

He said: “When things are not going well, and if there is anything on which Nigerians are agreed, irrespective of political parties, it is that things are not going well. The only time I’ve heard that everything is perfect was recently on television, on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), when Okupe was telling HARDTALK that ‘everything in Nigeria is perfect’.

“He is the only one I’ve heard saying that kind of thing, that the government has done everything perfectly. When he was asked about the girls in the bush, he said: ‘Oh, don’t worry, they will soon come back.’ Who is he deceiving? We all agree that things must change. I’m hoping that the more and more Nigerians will realise that we can’t just sit down and wait for things to change. Worse still, we don’t sit down and say, ‘Only God will save Nigeria’.”

•President goaded by Malala to meet girls’ parents’

By Olamilekan Andu

Girls group that were unjustly pilloried by them.

“Instead, the Presidency has persisted in its distortion of the truth, for which it has now become infamous, even as a new date has been agreed for the meeting. This is unfortunate, condemnable and irresponsible.

“If indeed, as the Presidency claimed earlier, that the opposition was behind the refusal by the parents and escaped girls not to see the President, what has then happened to make them change their minds? Has the opposition now asked them to meet with the President?”

The party told Nigerians that the reason Jonathan, whose wife bullied and harangued the girls’ parents that they were lying and that no girl was missing, agreed to meet with the parents was to use the meeting as a photo-op, after Malala

pushed for it and the President’s United States-based image laundering firm acceded to it.

APC added: “Mr. President, your frantic effort to meet with the Chibok parents now is too little too late, and no amount of photo-op will change that. If your handlers had been sincere, they would have told you that the best venue of the meeting is Chibok, not Abuja where your people tried, but failed, to waylay the parents who came for a meeting with Malala.

“Mr. President, you have ceaselessly compared yourself to the great leaders of our time, including U.S President Barack Obama. But do you think Obama would have refused to visit the parents of these abducted schoolgirls, if the abduction had occurred in the U.S? Do you think Obama, as commander-inchief, would have refused to

visit his troops in the front line of the anti-terror fight, as you have done?

“Do you think, Mr. President, that a band of rogue elements, like Boko Haram, would have restricted Obama’s movement within his own country, as they have done to you? No true and caring President will ever fail to visit the sites of disasters and offer solace to his compatriots.”

The party reminded Jonathan that neither in Nigeria’s culture nor in any other cultures are those hit by tragedy invited to be offered solace.

It added that the practice is to visit those to be offered solace “in situ”.

APC reiterated its earlier call that the President should shake off his lethargy and bring the abducted schoolgirls home safely, instead of playing politics with the lives of over 200 human beings.

HERE were indications yesterday that the House of Representatives may subpoena Health Minister, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, to appear before it.

It was learnt that the minister had been absent from a meeting for the resolution of the crisis in the Health sector, particularly the indefinite nationwide strike of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

Speaker Aminu Tambuwal yesterday warned the minister over his uncompromising stance on the efforts to end the nationwide strike of the NMA. The Speaker, who spoke at plenary, expressed disappointment that Chukwu refused to appear before the House Committee on Health, which was mandated to end to the doctors’ strike.

Tambuwal’s warning followed his meeting with the Chairman of the Health Committee, Ndudi Elemelu.

The chairman had addressed the House on the challenges the committee was facing in its assignment, including the minister’s absence at peace meetings with the Health sector’s stakeholders.

The minister, Elemelu said, represented President Goodluck Jonathan at an undisclosed event and location.

“The information they (the committee members) are giving us on the Minister of Health is not encouraging. I urge that the minister should attend to the invitations of the committee or we will resort to the provisions of the constitution,” Tambuwal said.

The committee’s efforts to resolve the crisis in the Health sector have been unsuccessful as the Ministries of Health and Finance did not attend the peace meeting.

The committee, at a meeting earlier in the week, summoned the Ministry of Finance, the Budget Office and the Head of Service of the Federation to be present at yesterday’s meeting to ensure speedy action on NMA’s demand, especially on the controversial Skipping and Relativity.

From Victor Oluwasegun, Abuja and Oziegbe Okoeki

Though Labour Minister Emeka Wogu; Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission and a representative of the Head of Service attended yesterday’s parley, the meeting could not continue because of the minister’s and Finance Ministry’s absence.

“They are not serious,” Elemelu said. “I want to let Nigerians know that the Ministry of Heath is truly not serious in the effort to solve the problem in the Health sector.”

The committee chairman said it was important for the Health and Finance Ministries and the Budget Office to attend the peace meeting because it would have enabled aspects of funds to be sorted out.

The NMA said the strike would continue.

“Of course, it takes two to tango,” NMA President Kayode Obembe said. “There’s no way we can move forward, if the Ministry of Health is not doing its part.

“All I can say is that as soon as possible, as soon as we get the Ministry to accede to, not even all the demands, but some of the basic minimum of the demands, the strike would be called off. But not until they respond.”

Lagos State House of Assembly’s Majority Leader Ajibayo Adeyeye has said the demands of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) members, which led to the nationwide strike, are justified.

Adeyeye, who is a doctor with over 20 years of practice before joining politics, spoke at a weekly programme, organised by the House of Assembly’s correspondents in Alausa, Ikeja.

He said: “It is very unfortunate that Nigerian doctors are on strike. I am never happy when hospitals are closed in our environment, where an average person cannot afford private health care.” The lawmaker expressed displeasure over what he called “unhealthy rivalry in the Health sector”.

Mark: ASUP’s demands are genuine

S

ENATE President David Mark has said the Federal Government is committed to addressing the challenges in the Education sector.

Mark spoke yesterday in Abuja when executives of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), led by its President, Dr. Chibuzo Asomuogha, visited him in his office.

The Senate president noted that ASUP’s demands are genuine.

He said the biggest investment any government could give its citizens is effective education at all levels.

A statement by his Chief Press Secretary Paul Mumeh on the visit, quoted Mark as saying the union had a genuine case.

Mark said: “ASUP’s demands indicate that the union is not selfish. They are requesting for not only their welfare but infrastructural development that would promote learning in the polytechnics.

“I was delighted when I heard that the union gave room for the new Minister of

From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

Education to settle down and look into the demands of the union. This shows some level of understanding.

“We must continue to dialogue. What we need is to resolve all the issues raised and bring back our students to the class. Polytechnic education is a unique form of education no nation desirous of development can ignore.”

He said the Senate under his leadership would ensure that normalcy returns to the polytechnics.

Mark said: “The Senate will continue to do the needful to bring back our students to classes and ensure normalcy returns to the sector.”

Asomuogha hailed the National Assembly for taking decisive steps to resolve the ASUP strike and return the lecturers to the classroom.

The union leader urged Mark and the Senate to prevail on the Federal Government to accede to the demands of the union before the expiration of the three-month suspension of the strike.

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THE NATION FRIDAY JULY 18, 2014

NEWS ECOWAS to abolish residence permit

Jonathan pledges $3.5m to stop Ebola spread in West Africa P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has promTHE Economic Community of ised $3.5 million to West African States (ECOWAS) support governments of West Heads of State have approved African countries ravaged by the abolition of residence the dreaded Ebola virus. permit and the introduction of The move is to contain the biometric identity card. spread of the virus.

They also adopted the The Coordinating Minister ECOWAS Common External for the Economy (CME) and Tariff (CET), which begins on Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi January 1, 2015, to promote Okonjo-Iweala spoke on the trade exchange and investfinancial assistance yesterday ments within the region. in Abuja at the opening sesThe move is expected to sion of 34th meeting of the form the pillars of the subconvergence Council of Minregion’s single currency. isters of Finance and GoverThe commission will work nors of Central banks of West with other stakeholders to African Monetary Zone realise its vision for the people (WAMZ). rather than an ECOWAS of The minister said Jonathan, states and a single economic at a recent ECOWAS meeting space by 2020. in Accra, Ghana, “pledged $3.5 This was contained in a statement yesterday in Abuja by the President, ECOWAS Commission, Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, at the 34th meeting of the convergence Council of Ministers and Governors of Central Banks of the West African Monetary Zone.

From Grace Obike, Abuja

From Nduka Chiejina, (Assistant Editor), Abuja

million to support the governments of the region to contain the spread of the Ebola virus”.

The prevalence of the dreaded virus in some West African countries, especially Guinea, had forced the rescheduling of the meeting from Guinea to Nigeria.

Okonjo-Iweala said the Federal Government was of the “belief and prayer that, given the collaborative efforts of the health authorities and the support of the zone’s political leaders, the Ebola outbreak, which led to the rescheduling

of the meetings, will be contained and eliminated very soon”.

The minister said Nigeria’s commitment to the realisation of the goal of a strong monetary and economic union was what swayed the country to host the meeting.

She warned that Nigeria, as the largest economy in the sub-region, was likely to bear the brunt of any union or lunch that is not based on solid ground.

Okonjo-Iweala cautioned ECOWAS member-states of the dire consequences of rushing to achieve economic integration.

The minister advised them “to resist the stampede in the attempt to adhere to a set deadline capable of putting the economies on edge”.

She said: “Our tax to GDP ratio has fallen below the WAMZ level. After the rebasing, our tax to GDP ratio which was about 20 per cent at the WAMZ level is now 12 per cent. We are already working in order to improve on this particular criterion.”

Okonjo-Iweala stressed that January 1, 2015 deadline for ECOWAS currency union was not sacrosanct.

The minister urged member-countries to be guided by the lessons from the European countries, which were hit by the Euro zone crisis.

She said: “Look at the chal-

From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

Terrorism: Ekweremadu urges Nigerians to be courageous From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

DEPUTY Senate President Senator Ike Ekweremadu yesterday urged Nigerians to be courageous in facing up to the realities of Boko Haram insurgency and other security challenges confronting the country.

Ekweremadu spoke in Abuja in the maiden lecture/ award dinner organised by the Senate Press Corps.

Speaking on a topic, titled: Courage in the Times of Extreme Danger, the senator noted that “although individuals, groups, and nations face one form of danger or the other once in a while, it becomes most worrisome when it turns extreme or becomes a pattern of life”.

He regretted that Nigerians are in peculiar times in which terrorism, violent crimes, moral decadence, corruption and impunity in high places were taking their tolls on the nation.

•From left: Outgoing Serbian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Rifat Rondic; President Goodluck Jonathan and Minister of Foreign PHOTO:NAN Affairs, Amb. Aminu Wali, during the ambassador’s visit to the Presidential Villa in Abuja…yesterday.

Insecurity: Why Fed Govt needs $1b loan, by Omeri

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HE Coordinator of the National Information Centre (NIC), Mr Mike Omeri, has said the proposed $1 billion loan the Federal Government is seeking will not be handed down to the government in cash.

Omeri said the loan is an arrangement involving governments.

He said the arrangement was common among world powers.

Omeri said: “The loan request is not for the government of Nigeria to go and collect cash. It is a long-term arrangement which most super powers are involve in.

“This long-term process be-

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

ing put together by the government is to ensure that there is transparency in it. It is used for the purpose it is meant for.”

The NIC chief allayed the fear that the loan would be misused.

He said: “It is not just to fight Boko Haram, it is aimed at supporting the Armed Forces for surveillance and training, among others.

“It is a long-term facility that could involve government to government processes. I am not sure that any government will give out money to another government so that they could misdirect its usage.”

Omeri explained that following the successful extradition of the suspected co-mastermind of the April 14 Nyanya, Abuja bomb blast, Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, to Nigeria, another suspect, Rufai Tsiga, is on Interpol’s watch list.

The agency chief said the security forces were on the trail of Tsiga and other personalities aiding terrorism in the country.

“The chief mastermind of Nyanya bomb blast, popularly known as Dr. Tsiga, is still on our watch list. The security forces are on his trail.

Whenever we succeed in arresting him, we will make it public, like that of Ogwuche.

For now, he remains a wanted person,” he said.

Responding to questions on when Ogwuche’s trial is likely to begin, Omeri said the suspect would be tried on Nigeria’s laws.

According to him, where the need arises, other legal processes, which demand international standard, could be applied.

On the Wednesday’s kidnap of a German national in Adamawa State, Omeri said the act was criminal, distasteful and must be rejected by Nigerians.

He said the government would investigate the matter and take necessary actions to protect its citizens.

‘NDLEA seized N3.4b illicit drugs in 2013’

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ATIONAL Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Chairman/ Chief Executive Ahmadu Giade has expressed concern over the danger increased drug trafficking and abuse pose to the nation.

He said the agency in 2013 alone seized 339,968 kilogrammes of illicit drugs valued at N3.4 billion.

The NDLEA chairman said the agency also closed down six methamphetamine production laboratories and arrested 13 suspects in connection with the laboratories.

This is even as the 2014

2015: Afe Babalola calls for abolition of bad practices against women From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

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Army pensioners seek probe of unpaid dues A COALITION of aggrieved military pensioners yesterday urged the Senate to investigate the state of their pension, as approved in this year’s budget.

In a statement yesterday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, by its branch Chairman, Comrade Gabriel Oaikhena, the pensioners explained that, following their protest to the National Assembly on June 25, the Senate leadership, which attended to the protesting military veterans, was adequately briefed of their plight on the nonpayment of their pension since 2010.

The pensioners said the Senate team confirmed that “they approved the payment of military pensioners in the 2014 budget”.

lenges (Euro zone) faced when some members were not quite ready but still went into the union, when it was apparent that not all of them were in a very solid platform. Consequently, you have seen that when the financial crises came, they were not able to withstand it. So, before you go in, it is very important to get some basic things right. This is because there is nobody chasing us.”

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

World Drug report reveals that about 243 million people between the ages of 15 and 64 used illicit drug in 2012.

The report also puts the figure of problem drug users at 27 million, with about 12.7 million individuals who injected drugs. Of the number, 1.7 million are said to be living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

Giade spoke yesterday in Abuja at the dissemination of the 2014 World Drug Report and the 2013 International

Narcotics Control Board (INCB) report.

In his key note address, Giade said drug production, trafficking and abuse were among the biggest security challenges confronting humanity.

The agency chief called for urgent attention to combat them.

He stressed that most criminal acts are perpetrated under the influence of drugs.

Giade said: “Drug production, trafficking and abuse represent one of the biggest security challenges confronting humanity today. The

situation is so frightening that an urgent intervention is needed for a guaranteed global peace and development.

“Drug is a catalyst for crime. Most criminal acts are perpetrated under the influence of drugs.

“The public need to know that globally an estimated 200,000 people die yearly due to drug abuse. Most of these preventable deaths occur among the youths. It is important to know also that those who die of substance abuse also cut across age, sex, religion and social status.”

EGAL icon, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), has called for the abolition and criminalisation of practices that hinder effective participation of women in politics.

Babalola spoke in Ibadan, Oyo State, at the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Week 2014 and “FIDA Nigeria at 50”.

He said steps should be taken to facilitate the increased participation of women in Nigerian politics.

Among such steps is a quota system or proportional representation.

Babalola said: “Contrary to some views, this will not amount to discrimination against men. It must be noted that such quota systems already exist in various aspects of our national life.

Alternatively, political parties can be encouraged or statutorily required to make representation by women specified proportions of their candidates at elections into certain offices.

“If the option of encouragement is chosen, such parties may be rewarded with specialised funding to aid some aspects of their activities, including women empowerment.”

COEASU suspends strike for three months From Gbenga Omokhunu and Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

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HE Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) yesterday suspended its sevenmonth old strike for three months to allow the Federal Government examine its grievances.

The union said it was suspending the strike from July 21 to give room for negotiation with the government.

COEASU President Dr. Emmanuel Asagha addressed reporters yestetrday in Abuja at the end of a meeting with the Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau.

He said: “There are so many factors involved. We have fought a good fight and we have brought ourselves this far. The new minister has exhibited sincere commitment towards the resolution of the lingering issues. We believe that the way he has spoken, with utmost commitment with the fear of God, having emphasised that so seriously in his various speeches, we believe that the issues will be resolved in no time...”

7

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

NEWS

Fashola approves six-month leave for nursing mothers L AGOS State Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has reviewed nursing mothers’ maternity leave from three months to six months.

The governor also approved 10 days paternity leave for fathers.

Head of Service, Mrs. Oluseyi Williams, who spoke with reporters in Alausa yesterday, said the maternity leave would be with full pay in the case of first two deliveries.

She said government was concerned about the trend that parents spend more time at work at the expense of the home front.

She said: “Medical science has also proved that the first few months of a child’s life has a great deal to play in the latter development of that child

Dangote Cement to distributors: expect quality service, bonus From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

•Fathers to go on 10-day break

By Miriam Ekene-Okoro

physically, mentally and emotionally.

“However, at six months, that is 24 weeks, a baby is considered strong enough to be left in a decent crèche for proper care having gone through close affection and nurturing by the mother for those important and delicate first few months of his or her life”.

The Head of Service expressed optimism that the new leave policy expected to take effect immediately would advance a balanced family-work life, “with the ultimate intent of having future leader who, as neonates, had enjoyed parental

care and affection”.

Outlining the health benefit of the new policy, Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Health, Dr. Yewande Adeshina, said aside the opportunity it presents for mother and child to enjoy emotional and social bond, the advocacy for six months exclusive breastfeeding can now be achieved without any hindrance.

He said: “Mothers will also have no excuse not to take their children for the regular immunisation within the period and also monitor the health of their babies adequately.

“It would allow the mothers stay with their children so

D •Fashola

they can sense when they are having a fever, when they are feeding well and seek intervention early, this will go a long way to check the cases of maternal and child mortality.

With the policy, both the babies and mothers are winners”.

Nigeria is frustrating, says Fayemi

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KITI State Governor Kayode Fayemi has said the turn of events in the country are frustrating Nigerians.

He spoke at the maiden Lecture/Award Dinner organised by the Senate Press Corps in Abuja.

The governor came to the lecture to honour one of the awardees, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi, who represents Ekiti North Senatorial District.

He said commitment to service and sterling performance are no longer the yard stick to measure success.

Fayemi said genuine poli-

From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

ticians have had cause to ask themselves whether the sacrifice they make is worth the while.

The Senate and the House of Representatives, he said, may well be the last hope of democracy if they did not chicken out in speaking the truth.

He said: “There is so much about our country that is very frustrating. There are times that you have to ask yourself, if you

are a politician, whether it is worth all the trouble at all. I am here primarily, singularly to pay homage to service, intellect and activism.

“Although I came for my friend but looking at the array of people being honoured this evening, I happen to know many of them and they are people I respect a lot beyond partisanship, they have demonstrated what it is to be committed to humanity.

“I know that intellect is not supposed to be popular in our country right now. What

‘Hold APC responsible if anything happens HE Ayo Fayose Camto Ekiti INEC office’ paign Organisation

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(AFCO) has urged Nigerians, including the security agencies, to hold the All Progressives Congress (APC) responsible should any havoc be done to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices in Ekiti State and the materials used during the June 21 governorship election.

Reacting to allegation of plan to burn the INEC office made by the APC AFCO, while said in a statement by its Director General, Chief Dipo Anisulowo,said: “APC people should not be allowed to burn the INEC office in Ado-Ekiti the way they burn down the INEC office in Ido-/Osi Local Government during the 2009 rerun governorship election.”

Anisulowo said the security agencies must not treat

such allegation with levity.

“If they are saying that plans are being hatched to have ‘strange fire’ occurrence at the INEC office in Ado Ekiti and all the materials relating to the just concluded governorship election will get burnt, security agencies must ask questions.

“This is more so that the APC Spokesperson, Mr Segun Dipe, who issued the statement yesterday, also knew that the fire incidence would be blamed on some faulty power surge, he (Segun Dipe) must be made to give further details on the alleged plot,” Anisulowo said.

While saying that there could actually be plans by the APC to burn the INEC office, the AFCO Director General said: “The modus operandi of the APC and its devilish

‘SOSCAN not a terrorist group’

By Precious Igbonwelundu

T

THE National Coordinator, South-South Community Association of Nigeria (SOSCAN), Reverend David Idabor has said the group was neither a terrorist organisation nor militant movement.

Idabor, in a statement issued by the group’s media director, Sulaiman Soyombo stated that the group, which at the weekend inaugurated its Osun State chapter, was geared towards unifying the people of the South-South region.

“SOSCAN is a body for all indigenes of south-south, integrating political, economic and religion interests to help promote Niger-Delta interest; nd her people.

“The mission is to plan south-south community and produce one global identity for the Niger Delta people and make them role models of society.

“The body is not a militant movement nor a terrorist organisation and does not belong to any political party,” he said, urging south-south people to join the crusade for the unification of the region.

members is to accuse others of planning to do what they have already set machinery in motion to do.

“Most importantly that it is obvious that the APC as a party has tried unsuccessfully to discredit the June 21 governorship election by inventing various ridiculous arguments, including claim that the election was ‘photocromically rigged.’

“If the party is now coming up with allegation of plan to burn the INEC office, it could be a pointer to a sinister plot by the APC people to burn the INEC office so as to be able to sustain their argument that the election was rigged and that they would have succeeded in upturning the election results at the tribunal if INEC office had not been burnt.

Ogun commissioner urges youths to emulate Soyinka

By Adebisi Onanuga

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GUN State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism Mrs. Yewande Amusan has urged the youth to emulate the Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka.

Mrs. Amusan described Soyinka as an epitome of tradition, cultural values , an icon and a global citizen of remarkable attributes worthy of emulation.

The commissioner stated this during an interactive session with reporters yesterday at Prof. Wole Soyinka’s residence in Abeokuta on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

counts to be popularity is what I hear is grassroots. If you are an intellectual, you are an elite and an elite is what should be thrown to be thrown into the dustbin not to be associated with.

“Even as a very keen and detached interested observer of the Senate, I always stand very tall every time I listen to my own senator, my own representative in the Senate speak, and I also, always notice that the Senate is always, really silent, every time Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi is on his feet because he never speaks from the partisan point of view.

ANGOTE Cement Plc yesterday promised its distributors in the Southwest quality service delivery and an increased bonus in appreciation of their patronage.

Its Executive Director, Sales and Marketing, Knut Ulvmoen, spoke at a Distributor Forum held in Ibadan.

He said Dangote Cement is producing 19.25 million metric tonnes from its three plants in Obajana, Gboko and Ibese, adding that by the end of this year, additional 9 million would have been added from the 6 million Mtpa new lines in Ibese and 3 million Mtpa new line in Obajana.

Ulvmoen said the company decided to be holding the Forum regularly so as to interface with the distributors and other customers.

The Regional Director in charge of Southwest 1, Mrs Funmi Sanni, thanked the distributors for believing in Dangote Cement and assured them that the company would continue to give them superior product and better delivery services.

She said N1.2 billion was given out early this year as sales bonus to distributors, adding that the company would increase the bonus in line with increase in sales.

Lagos to pay teachers’ allowance

By Miriam Ekene-Okoro

AGOS State Government has promised to pay the balance of the 27.5 per cent Teachers Salary Scale (TSS).

State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, told reporters at a news conference yesterday that teachers were not angry with Governor Babatunde Fashola over unpaid allowances.

She said with the implementation of the Eko Project, teachers had been trained to give the best to the pupils and students.

Mrs Oladunjoye said: “We are not unmindful of the need to fully pay the 27.5 percent special teacher allowance to its teachers; hence government is working assiduously with a view to paying the balance on TSS soonest. Government therefore craves the understanding of its teachers on this bearing in mind that it will not hesitate to pay the balance of their allowance as soon as possible.

“Teachers are not angry with Fashola, they are happy with us. We are working hand in hand to meet their demands,” she said.

Oladunjoye added: “Government is not unmindful of the critical roles and importance of teachers in the scheme of things.

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THE NATION FRIDAY JULY 18, 2014

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NEWS OSUN 2014 PDP plans to ‘win with cash, rice,’ APC alleges

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•Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun (left on a bus) and Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola acknowledging cheers from the crowd during Aregbesola’s re-election campaign in Ilesa.

AP: politicians should stop using indecent language From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

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SUN State Accord Party’s (AP) governorship candidate Niyi Owolade has urged politicians to desist from using indecent language during their campaigns for the August 9 poll.

Owolade, who spoke at a media briefing in Osogbo, said no amount of character assassination could make the electorate vote against a good candidate.

He warned the electorate to look out for those calling themselves Awoists, but do not exhibit the late sage’s principles, urging the people to vote against such people.

Owolade, who was Commissioner for Health in the Bisi Akande administration, said there were no first class Awoists in any political party, but half-baked. He added that original Awoists were no more.

He said the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who some politicians professed that they were following, would not use fowl language at political rallies.

“He would address issues rather than attack personalities.

The All Progressives Congress political philosophy and democratic process are not in the same wave length with that of Awolowo’s political doctrinal principles which are peopleoriented and respected humanity,” Owolade added.

He appealed to the people to vote for him as the governorship candidate of the Accord Party in the August 9 election, promising that there would be qualitative education for students if voted in as governor.

He also promised an effective and robust agricultural scheme that will employ 18,000 graduates within 12 months of being in power, saying his administration would construct good road network.

Candidates, stakeholders agree to free, fair poll C ANDIDATES of the 20 parties contesting the August 9 Osun State governorship election and other stakeholders have agreed to ensure free and fair poll devoid of violence.

They made the pledge at a sensitisation workshop organised for political parties and stakeholders by the office of the Special Adviser to the President on InterParty Affairs in Osogbo, the state capital.

The parties in attendance include the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP), the National Conscience Party (NCP) and Action Alliance (AA).

Others are All Progressives

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

Grand Alliance (APGA), Alliance for Democracy (AD), Accord Party (AP) and Democratic Peoples Movement (DPM).

Issues bordering on the smooth conduct of the election were discussed at the meeting held at the Leisure Spring Hotel, Osogbo.

Some of the governorship candidates, who could not attend the programme, sent their representatives.

While the APC candidate, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, sent the party’s state chairman, Elder Adebiyi Adelowo

to the event, the PDP’s candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, was represented by his running-mate, Adejare Bello.

The Special Adviser to the President on Inter Party-Affairs, Senator Ben Obi, while opening the workshop, stressed the need for all the political parties and their candidates to shun violence during the election.

Obi said free and fair election is a panacea to peaceful co-existence in any society and pledged that the governorship election would be conducted in a fair atmosphere.

He also urged the Indepen-

dent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to create a level-play ground for all political parties before and during the governorship election.

He said: “Most of our political parties have negated a lot of their duties and concentrated mainly on elections and attaining political power at the expense of an entrenched democracy.”

“I am calling on all the stakeholders in the Osun State governorship election to embrace peace. All the political parties contesting the election should have equal access to the media.

And we want all political parties to have the freedom to publicise their programmes and agenda.”

Aregbesola to Sambo: winning Osun is wishful thinking

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SUN State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has described the remark by Vice President Namadi Sambo that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would win the August 9 governorship poll as mere wishful thinking.

Aregbesola alleged that Sambo had impugned on the integrity of the judiciary by referring to the Election Petition Appeal Tribunal’s judgment that restored the mandate of Aregbesola after the 2007 governorship poll as verdict through “the back door.”

The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, who spoke through his Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy Semiu Okanlawon, said Sambo could not have been referring to the Osun where the people have demonstrated their total rejection of anything that has any traits of PDP. Sambo’s statement, Okanlawon said, “aptly cap-

•Governor says state rejected PDP long ago tures the depth of self-delusion and deceit to which PDP leadership indulges in.”

He said the development should be blamed for the total failure of the PDP-led Federal Government in all facets of the Nigerian life.

“Sambo’s statement did not come to us as a surprise.

It is the character of the PDP and its leadership to live in a different world far away from the stark realities that daily confronts our people.

“For the umpteenth time, we wish to remind Sambo and the entire PDP structure and its candidate for the August 9 poll that Osun has remained different for so many reasons and this is why the macabre dance PDP and its agents of electoral fraud organised in Ekiti cannot be replayed here in Osun.

“Has Sambo forgotten so soon that while PDP reaped from its electoral fraud in all parts of Nigeria in the 2011

election, it was only in Osun that PDP recorded most humiliating defeat.

“In case Sambo has not thought about it, that was less than six months of the Aregbesola administration when not much had been put on ground in form of sterling performance and massive transformation of Osun.

“More than three years down the line, Osun people have witnessed unprecedented development in various ways. Peace has returned. Wealth has been created. Lives have been saved and improved. Aregbesola has touched lives in the education, food production, youth employment, and other sectors. This state has been rescued from the morass it was plunged in almost eight years of the PDP rule.

What then does Sambo expect his party to woo the people of Osun with in an election that is less than one month?” he added.

On Sambo’s alleged derogatory comment on the judiciary, the statement said the verdict of the tribunal confirmed that PDP robbed in the 2007 poll.

“In some saner climes, PDP and its leaders ought to apologise to the entire country and the people of Osun in particular for the trauma they were subjected to due to the robbery of the Aregbesola’s mandate. But the culture of impunity, which PDP promotes, won’t give room for such decency.

It must however be noted that never will our people embrace the rule of terror and cluelessness which PDP represents,” the statement said.

It added that the entire Nigeria and the international community have been monitoring the shenanigans in the build up to the election, saying the PDP candidate has lost the contest before the August 9 date.

SUN State All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of vowing to use money and bags of rice to “win” the governorship election on August 9, as it allegedly did in Ekiti State.

Its Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Kunle Oyatomi, in a statement yesterday, said sources quoted a PDP national official of revealing the plan to a monarch in Ile-Ife. “We are in power and we have the cash. At best, Osun voters would not be worth more than N10,000 and a bag of rice each. That is what we gave them in Ekiti. We will repeat it in Osun and win,” the PDP chieftain was quoted as saying.

The party accused the party stalwart of assuring the old man that he had nothing to worry about the election, as the Federal Government has the power and the money to make him win.

“We did it in Ekiti and we are prepared to do it in Osun again,” the PDP chieftain was reported by eye-witnesses to have said.

But the APC vowed that the PDP will meet its waterloo in Osun because the people “do not suffer fools and do not sell their birthrights.”

“The insinuation that the total value of an Osun voter is a bag of rice and N10, 000 constitutes an abominable insult on the Yoruba nation and for that alone, the people of Osun will show the PDP that we are neither hungry nor ready to be slaves.

“Sooner or later, the PDP leadership will be held to account for its misuse and abuse of political power, the reign of criminal impunity and the squandering of Nigeria’s wealth through massive corruption unprecedented in the political history of Nigeria,” the statement read.

36 APC chairmen for Osogbo rally From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

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HE 36 state chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have resolved to storm Osun State in solidarity with Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s re-election bid.

Delta State APC Chairman Jones Erue, who is also coordinating the party chairmen, spoke yesterday in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

Erue, represented by State Publicity Secretary, Isaac Adakpo, said the move was part of resolutions reached at the just-concluded summit of APC chairmen in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

He said the group will seek legal redress should the law enforcement agents prevent them from entering Osun State to offer solidarity support to Aregbesola.

Erue said rift among members of the State Working Committee (SWC) has been resolved, adding that the 16 member committee is poised to give leadership to the party and “fight 15 years of PDP barrenness and sinister umbrella politics.”

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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CITYBEATS Native doctor, nurses held for ‘selling’ baby A

CITYBEATS LINE: 08023247888

DOCTOR and his nurse have been arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Lagos State Police Command for allegedly killing and selling a one-day-old baby.

They were arrested at Ikeoluwa Trado-Medical Clinic on 31, Kayode Olaniyan Street, AIT Road, Ayetobi, Alagbado, a Lagos suburb.

The suspects are: Bola Fagbemi (38); Yinka Lasisi (30); Alhaji Surajudeen Farounbi (50); Taofeek Abidakun (49) and Akindele Majiagbe (50).

The alleged buyer of the dead baby, Rilwan Saula (39), a Muslim cleric, was also arrested.

Commissioner of Police Umar Manko was said to have ordered their arrest following a tip-off.

Officer-in-Charge of SARS, Abba Kyarri, a Superintendent of Police (SP) led his team to arrest the nurses.

Saula, who allegedly liaised with the nurses, was used as a bait to arrest the native doctor and two other suspects.

A police source said: “A woman delivered in the traditional home and the baby

“W

By Jude Isiguzo

allegedly died within 24 hours. One of the nurses named Bola was said to have carried the dead baby and handed it over to Saula. Information was received by the police and Saula was ar-

By Fredrick Adegboye

HIV cannot access the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) services as “there are charges attached to them,” and as a result “they go through traditional birth attendants (TBA) which invariably leads to the infection of some babies.”

She also claimed that most of the expectant women had to resort to the services of TBAs for lack of sustainable means of livelihood due to their compromised health status and the attendant stigma.

Morris declared: “If you are not infected with HIV, you are affected by it; so, it is not positive to live in denial.”

Meanwhile, the new leadership of Rotary Club has pledged to improve its support for the non-governmental organisation.

Women and Children of Inspiration is non-governmental organisation that is into women and children living with and affected by HIV, and partners government, organisations and groups to engage in outreaches, provide educational support, empowerment and other services on HIV and AIDS in the Ipaja, Alimosho and environs.

Residents condemn demolition of property

By Musa Odoshimokhe

R

NNPC vandalised pipeline in Epe. I was desperate to make money and so, I forgot to confirm the source of the product.”

The supplier, Adetoro, admitted that the products were illegal, saying: “I am quite aware of the source of the product, but the man who linked me up with the vandals said that they had got all the necessary documents. He gave a Wage Bill which was supposed to serve as proof of ownership. I did not study the documents very well, if not, I would have noticed that the date on the bill showed that the documents were issued last year. I am sorry; I beg for a second chance,” Adetoro pleaded.

The Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), in charge of the Task Force, Mr Friday Ibadin, said detectives acted on an intelligence report that suspected vandals were on their way

to discharging Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) stolen from NNPC pipeline in Epe. He said that detectives led by Lagos Sector Commander, Samson Olawoyin, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) tracked down the suspects while discharging the product.

He said they were still on the trail of Badewa who has since been on the run, adding that both petrol stations had been sealed up.

“I wish to use this opportunity to warn all petrol station operators that it is no longer business as usual. We will clamp down on anyone found to be patronising vandals. The fact remains that if there is no market, pipeline vandalisation will stop.

We sincerely appreciate the efforts of the community,” he said.

•The suspects ... yesterday

Rotary Club empowers group HEN all levels of government, community development associations, churches, mosques and the private sector come in a concerted effort to support women and children living with and affected by HIV and AIDS, instead of burdening the government with everything, it will go a long way to soften the challenges being faced by them.”

These were the words of Eno Morris, Project Director of Women and Children of Inspiration, at the presentation of certificates on various skills acquisition (bead making, make-ups, manicure and pedicure, etc.) to 10 members of the organisation by the Rotary Club of Gowon Estate, Ipaja, a Lagos suburb, at the estate.

Morris said that “Enhancing Nigeria’s Response to HIV (ENR) initially trained and empowered a few of our women, but we are now taking it up where ENR stopped, and that’s how Rotary Club of Gowon Estate has been of tremendous help in the past two years.”

She lamented that many pregnant women living with

mit any crime, adding that she only wanted to give the dead baby a befitting Muslim burial.

She said: “I started working in the hospital on February 6. I’m an apprentice in the hospital, learning to become a traditional nurse. I was given the baby to throw away - a baby girl. I gave it to Saula. I know him as an Alfa and he used to treat me sometimes. I gave him the baby to bury because she was a Muslim baby. He did not offer me any money.”

Taofeek, who described himself as a spiritualist, said: “I’ve been transacting busi-

ness with Saula, but not on human parts. Our transaction was usually on buying and selling of chameleons, vultures, other birds and snakes. He had never sold human parts to me.”

Farounbi said: “I’m a herbalist. Saula was my customer. I used to patronise him for my healing herbs.

About nine years ago, I had a patient with an incurable wound. Saula brought some human parts to me. I used it to cure the sickness. I bought them from him between N4,500 and N5,000. I bought the parts only twice from him.”

Lasisi, a trado-medical nurse, said: “Police arrested me because a woman delivered in our clinic and the baby died. I called the father of the baby but he said I should call his wife’s father.

When I called the woman’s father, he said that he did not know any cemetery where he could bury the baby. The man begged Bola to assist him dispose of the corpse.

“When our boss came to the clinic, he told us that he did not allow his staff to throw away babies in his hospital. Our boss handed over the baby to a lady from the family of the deceased and Bola joined her. Later, Bola collected the baby’s corpse, promising to help her throw it away. I was surprised when I saw policemen around 10pm with Bola.

They came and arrested everyone.”

ESIDENTS of Dolphin Estate in Ikoyi/Obalende Local Council Development Area of Lagos State are angry over the demolition of their property, especially shops, by council officials.

Representatives of the landlords in the estate, Mr Ademola Arikawe, said structures worth millions of naira were destroyed in the exercise.

He lamented that the council demolished the property despite the fact that the matter was before a court.

Arikawe explained: “When this matter was initially raised, we told the council officials that constructing the health centre proposed for the site where the demolition was carried out would amount to a breach of the lay-out plan of Lagos State Development Property Corporation (LSDPC).

“The site serves as an open space where residents use for recreation. If the project is allowed to go on, all of that will be lost. We shouldn’t be singled out to bear the brunt of the impact of the proposed project since it will be of benefit to Dolphin Estate residents and neighbours.”

An official of the council, who spoke under anonymity, denied claims that it acted with impunity, since according to him, the shops were erected illegally.

rested in possession of the dead day-old baby. Saula led the police to where the baby was delivered and the doctor and the two nurses were arrested. Further investigations revealed that the hospital has only three staff - the doctor and two nurses. One of the suspects, Farounbi had bought three heads from Saula. It was through Farounbi’s confession that the police arrested Taofeek, also an Alfa. Another suspect, Majiagbe, also bought human hands from Saula.”

Narrating his arrests, Saula said: “I sell herbs at the Ijaiye Ojokoro main market; but I have stopped selling

herbs since 2005. It was when I was selling herbs that I dealt in human parts. Last month, two men came to me and said they needed human heads. I told them I was not in the business anymore. But they insisted and even gave me N20,000 and started disturbing me.

“This nurse (Bola) called me that a baby died and that the mother gave the corpse to them to throw away for her. I asked her to bring the baby so that I could give those who paid me. I did not know that the buyers were police informants.”

Mrs Fagbemi, a mother of four, said she did not com-

Police seal off filling stations •Two managers held

By Jude Isiguzo

T

WO petrol stations in Ikorodu on the outskirts of Lagos have been sealed off by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Special Task Force on Anti-Pipeline Vandalism.

Their managers and other staff were whisked away by the operatives, who acted on a tip-off.

The stations were alleged to have bought products allegedly scooped from vandalised Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipelines in Epe, near Lekki.

The managers are Tope Olaniyi, Alabi Olagunla and Adeleke Adetoro, the supplier of the petroleum product.

Residents of the community informed the IGP squad that a truck loaded with siphoned petroleum products emerged from the bush close to an NNPC pipeline in Epe. “Some policemen trailed them to Ikorodu where they were discharging the product. The managers and others who participated in the transaction were arrested while the stations were put under lock and key,” said a source.

Olaniyi, who said the product was sold to them at the price of N90.00 per litre, said: “On July 13, Mr Badewa (his boss) informed

•The suspects ... yesterday

me that a truck was heading for our station. He told me to ensure that they were paid immediately the product was discharged. It was during the process I realised it was an illegal product. I asked to find out if they did the necessary documentation in case of any problem and they said “yes.” It was while discharging the product that policemen stormed the station and arrested us. I am only an errand boy; my boss is the guilty.”

Olagunla denied knowing that the product was illegal, saying: “The supplier, Adeleke, came to my office that they had petrol for sale at N90.00 per litre. We are here to make gains; so, I quickly accepted the offer.

My only mistake was that I did not ask for the Wage Bill. I was shocked when police officers stormed my office with Adeleke in handcuffs, alleging that the product we bought was from

THE NATION MONDAY JULY 18, 2014

10

NEWS DR. OLATUNJI DARE @ 70

Nigerians take their country for granted, says Danjuma Continued from page 1 HE downpour failed to dampen the spirit of the ceremony.

A public lecture and book presentation were held to celebrate the revered journalism teacher, who is described as “a master satirist”, “stylistic exemplar” and “magisterial editorialist and columnist”.

The book: Public intellectuals, the public sphere and the public spirit, is a collection of essays in Dare’s honour. It was edited by Prof. Wale Adebanwi, with contributions from 26 media, literary and civil society scholars, media managers and social activists.

A former Defence Minister, Gen. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, who chaired the event, spoke of the need for Nigerians to value their homeland.

He has high regard for those who have achieved success abroad, the likes of Dare.

Dare, who studied Mass Communication at the University of Lagos, (UNILAG), graduating with First Class Honours, earned a Master’s degree in journalism at the famous Columbia University in New York, and a doctorate in Communication Research from Indiana University, Bloomington, with specialisation in international communication and public policy analysis.

He taught at (UNILAG), before he was appointed a columnist and editorial page editor at The Guardian. He subsequently took up a teaching appointment at Bradley University, illions, United States.

He is The Nation’s Editorial Adviser, running the popular column, At Home Abroad.

Danjuma believes Nigerians must not take their country for granted despite the chances of succeeding abroad.

“One of the things that most Nigerians, especially the elite, take for granted is our citizenship, the fact that we are Nigerians and this is our country. We take this for granted.

“Until events happen and we have cause to flee the country in order to stay alive, suddenly, we become strangers in a foreign country.

“At the point of entry, when they ask you: ‘Where are you from?’, and you say: ‘I’m from Nigeria.”

Tthey will ask you: ‘When are you leaving?’ That is the time you will know that you’re nowhere.”

“I have the highest respect for those who have had to leave their homeland, stay abroad and prosper Dare has gone through all that in his life.

“He has had to transform from a reporter and writer to a teacher and doing so successfully. He excelled in all this,” Gen. Danjuma said.

Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi, attending his first public event since the June 21 election, said he regarded Dare “as one of our very best in the industry.”

He said he considered it a duty “to pay homage to intellect and to someone who has taught us importance of public intellectuals in the development and the deepening of democracy.” “That is why I didn’t want to send someone here,” he said.

T

Prof. Dare (left), Dr Abiola Gen. Danjuma, Fayemi & Prof Karikari... yesterday PHOTO: DAYO ADEWUNMI

•Fayemi, Oshiomhole, Fashola, Amosun, others honour Olatunji Dare at 70

By Leke Salaudeen and Joseph Jibueze

The governor, who walked into the hall quietly and without a retinue of aides, noted that Gen. Dajuma praise his modesty, something that should be a way of life among public officials.

“The very things that the chairman was congratulating me and commending me for are supposed to be the things that are no longer in demand or popular in this country.

“Intellect, elitism, decency, progressive commitment to people are not supposed to be in great demand, at least if we go by what we read – because it is not ‘grassroots’ (general laughter, applause); it is not ‘stomach infrastructure’ (more applause),” he said.

According to him, the alternative would have been for him to walk in with gun-totting security aides, a siren-blaring convoy and “goons disturbing the peace of the hall”.

“That way, I will be the people’s governor. I really worry about that,” Fayemi said.

Chief of Staff to Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Mr. Patrick Obahiagbon, described Dare as a “mentor.”

“Prof Dare is a man who can look at any demagogue and say it as it is, no matter whose ox is gored. The very acerbic, very aspericious, very dialectic and very coruscating words from Prof Dare are enough to explode the holes of power mongers which is a parallel of the sordidness that gnaw the outside of them. I wish him happy birthday at 70,” he said.

Obahiagbon said the governor regretted “viscerally” his inability to attend the event.

The guest speaker, Prof Kwame Karikari of the University of Ghana, Lagon, who met Dare at the Colombia University’s School of Journalism where they were foreign students, along with Dan Agbese, recalled that Dare was the best editorial writer in their class.

Speaking on the topic: Memories of censorship: Defending and promoting

‘

Intellect, elitism, decency, progressive commitment to people are not supposed to be in great demand, at least if we go by what we read – because it is not ‘grassroots’ (general laughter, applause); it is not ‘stomach infrastructure’

‘

freedom of expression in West-Africa , 1997-2013", karikari recounted the difficulties faced by the media in the face of autocratic rule in Africa.

Urging the media to explore legal remedies in defence of their freedom, he said they must also look inwards and ensure they are above board.

“In my Akan language, there is a saying that, as you caution the cat, you must also advise the stinking fish. The media profession is not all that glorious. It should be acknowledged that the media profession around the continent is full of lapses, unethical behavior and plain corrupt practices that grant enemies of media freedom the excuse or pretext to constrain or repress media rights.

“In many countries, the fast growing involvement of politicians and parties in media (especially radio and broadcast) ownership, for the principal object of political propaganda and fomenting of tensions during elections, is a trend worth our

concern,” he said.

Karikari believes there is a strong basis to be optimistic about the future progress of media development, media freedom and freedom of expression in Africa.

“There will continue to be reversals, disappointments, relapses into tendencies toward violent and reprehensible forms of restrictions and repression. As long, however, that there continues to be citizens or professionals committed to pursuing progress – even at any cost – progress will always be in sight,” he said.

An emotional Dare said his wife was absent because she had to attend to their autistic son.

“My wife is not here today because our child is autistic,” he said, adding that he would devote his retirement to helping improve the lives of autistic children.

“Autism is far more widespread than I realised. I’ve resolved to work towards creating awareness about autism and to bring those who suffer from autism some succour,” he said.

Chairman, Board of Directors of Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation, Mr Wale Edun, represented by the Managing Director/ Editor-in-Chief Mr Victor Ifijeh, wished Dare success in his voluntary work.

“On behalf of myself and indeed everyone at Vintage Press Ltd (The Nation), I most heartily wish you a happy birthday and many more years of health and happiness. In particular, I wish you much success in your desire to devote your retirement to voluntary work in the important field of autism, among other areas.

“I have personally enjoyed, admired and learned a great deal from your writing in The Guardian in the 1980s and 1990s and now in your Tuesday column for The Nation, currently the widest circulating newspaper in Nigeria – a feat which is in no small part attributable to the enviable quality of our columnists, such as yourself.

“Your readiness to sacrifice your

livelihood on the altar of principle in the dark days of Abacha dictatorship is a rare case of a man willing to lead by example. It forever stands you out among men and will forever elevate you in the eyes of the silent majority; the seeming lack of public recognition and acknowledgement not withstanding.

“It is for these reasons that I am honoured, proud and indeed deem it most pleasant duty to present this book; and to commend it to studentscholars, researchers, patriots and indeed the general public,” Edun said.

The book reviewer, Prof Adigun Agbaje of the University of Ibadan, represented by Mr Muyiwa Adekeye, said Dare does not hide from matching public rhetoric with action. He described the octogenarian as a “master satirist”.

The book, edited by Prof. Wale Adebanwi, is divided into five parts, with contributions from Prof Adebayo Williams, Prof Lai Oso, Odia Ofeimun and Dr Doyin Abiola, among others.

At the event were Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment Mr Tunji Bello, who represented Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN); Dr Adeleke Ipaye, who represented Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola; Yusuf Olaniyonu, who represented Ogun State Governor Senator Ibikunle Amosun; Mr Segun Babatope, who represented Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; a member of the House of Representatives Abike DabiriErewa; The Guardian Publisher Lady Maiden Ibru; Chief Ayo Adebanjo; Prof Niyi Osundare; Prof Femi Osofisan; Prof Ropo Sekoni; Prof Ralph Akinfeleye; Ambassador Olatokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu; Hon. Olawale Oshun; Mr Clem Baye; The Nation Editorial Board Chairman Mr Sam Omatseye; The Guardian Managing Director Emeka Izeze and Editorial consultant Lade Bonuola; The Nation Editor Gbenga Omotoso; The Nation Executive Director Finance and Administration Mr Ade Odunewu

Senate moves financial intelligence unit from EFCC to CBN

T

HE Senate yesterday moved the Financial Intelligence Centre from the Economic and Financial Commission (EFCC) to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This followed the unanimous adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Finan-

From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

cial Crimes which recommended for the creation of an autonomous unit to be domiciled in the CBN. Presenting the report, Committee Chairman, Senator Victor Lar, said the stan-

dard practice all over the world is for the unit to be autonomous and domiciled in the CBN or the Ministry of Finance.

The centre according to the bill will be a body in Nigeria responsible for receiving, requesting, analysing, and disseminating financial intelligence reports and other infor-

mation to law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies and other relevant supervisory authorities and for related matters.

The EFCC had consistently opposed the move to relocate the unit, arguing that it will weaken the commission as it is critical to its opera-

tions and the fight against economic and financial crimes in the country.

EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde had told the lawmakers during public hearings on the bill that without the unit, the EFCC will be rendered ineffective.

Also, some Senators has

argued that the establishment of the Financial Intelligence Centre will amount to duplication of duties already being handled by the EFCC. The bill will have to receive concurrence by the House of Representatives before it is forwarded to the president for assent.

11

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

NEWS DR. OLATUNJI DARE @ 70

•Dr. Adeleke Ipaye (representative of Osun State Governor)

•Edo State Commissioner for Information Patrick Obahiagbon (who represented Governor Adams Oshiomhole)

•From left: Editorial Adviser, The Nation, Prof Olatunji Dare, Chairman, Guardian Press Limited,Mrs. Maiden Ibru and Gen. Theophilus Danjuma at a book presentation in honour of Prof Dare in Lagos ...yesterday

•Dr Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosunmu and Prof Ropo Sekoni

•Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment, Mr Tunji Bello(left) and Mr Tokunbo Ajasin

•Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s representative, Pastor Segun Babatope

•Prof Yemi Osinbajo

•Editor-in-Chief, The News magazine, Mr Bayo Onanuga(left) and Director, Finance and Administration, Vintage Press Limited, Mr Ade Odunewu

•Prof Ralph Akinfeleye of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos(left); , Mr Sully Abu (right) and Alhaji Salihu Ehimeakhe

•Prof Femi Osofisan (right) and Prof Niyi Osundare

•Dr. Doyin Abiola

•Chairman, Editorial Board, The Nation,Mr Sam Omatseye and Managing Director, The Guardian, Mr Emeka Izeze

•Edo State Commissioner for Information, Louis Odion (left) and his Ogun State counterpart, and Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu

•Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora, Hon Abike Dabiri Erewa & Scholar, Prof PHOTOS: DAYO ADEWUNMI Adebayo Williams

12

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

NEWS Group hails govt From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

A

GROUP, Omo Ibile Igbomina, has hailed the Kwara State government for ending the frequent communal clashes in Ganmo, Ifelodun Local Government Area.

The group urged the government to assist in rehabilitation and pay compensation to the victims A communiqué by the group’s National President, Samuel Atolagbe, appealed to indigenes at home and in the Diaspora to address women and youth empowerment.

Commander, 330 Nigeria Air Force, Air Commodore, Emmanuel Ozoemena presenting an Award to the best student, Umaru Farouk, during the 29th Air Force Military School passing out parade in Jos...yesterday PHOTO: NAN

Kaduna Speaker swears in new member From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

K

ADUNA State House of Assembly Speaker Usman Tahir yesterday swore in Timothy Chindo as the member representing Kauru/Chaiwai.

Chindo was elected on July 5 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), following the death of Shaibu Tukura on March 21.

According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Chindo polled 36,152 votes; Isaac Auta Zakai of the All Progressives Congress (APC) got 16,451 votes in the by-election.

Chindo was born on February 15, 1971. He was the PDP Chairman in Kauru Local Government before his election.

Suswam to run for Senate From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

B

ENUE State Governor Gabriel Suswam has formally declared his intention to challenge Senator Barnabas Gemade for the Benue North East senatorial seat.

The governor led his political associates to Adikpo, Kwande Local Government Area for consultations.

The people of Kwande, going by the sharing formula, are to produce the next senator in Zone A. But Suswam wants the people to cede the seat to him .

In the Tiv spirit of “Ya, Na Angbian” ( eat and give your brother ), the governor pleaded with the people to allow him take the seat.

Reps okay Board of Internal Revenue From Victor Oluwasegun, Abuja

T

HE House of Representatives approved yesterday the establishment of a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Board of Internal Revenue.

The report on the proposed establishment was favourably received by majority of the lawmakers, during the consideration in the Committee of the Whole.

When established, the board would handle all taxes due to the territory for purposes of development and administration.

A report on the 85-clause bill which was brought by Emmanuel Jime (APC-Benue) was approved.

Jime, who chairs the Committee on Federal Capital Territory Administration, said the board would guarantee a more robust economy for the FCT. His words: “This revenue board would ensure a steady stream of revenue for the Federal Capital Territory Administration and help it generate more funds for purposes of development.”

15 ‘thugs’ held for street brawl in Kwara

T

HERE was a free-forall in parts of Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, yesterday among street urchins, following a disagreement on noodles.

The fracas started in OjaIaya/Eruda, spreading to other parts of the capital.

The police have arrested 15 persons.

Ajayi

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

Okasanmi, speaking for the police, said the hoodlums vandalised property during the fracas.

Okasanmi added that the command had deployed officers in the affected areas and would begin investigation soon.

A source said violence broke out, following the failure of a youth from Eruda to offset his loan to a lady from whom he had allegedly bought noodles.

He said: “The lady demanded her money but he refused and that was why the lady went to report him to her people.

“They mobilised and went to ‘deal’ with the man on Wednesday night. The victim also mobilised his own people to launch a counter- attack yesterday.

“They were said to have fired sporadically on Wednesday night, keeping many residents indoors.”

Gunmen attack former FCT minister’s home

G

UNMEN have attacked the home of former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Gen Jeremiah Useni (rtd), in Langtang, Langtang North local Government Area of Plateau State.

The neighbours of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) chairman said the gunmen surrounded the residence and opened fire on the building.

They said: “We saw over 48 bullet holes on the wall but the general was not in the village during the attack.

“From the nature of the attack, Gen Useni was the tar-

From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

get because most of the bullets were directed at his bedroom. The shooting lasted for about 20 minutes. We learnt officers of the Special Task Force on the Jos Crisis came to disperse them.”

A resident, Bitrus Bingel, said: “The gunshots we heard during the attack sounded exactly like the ones used by the STF. I suspect the attackers are STF soldiers.

“The story that the soldiers came to repel the gunmen without arresting any of them has exposed their involve-

ment.

“There are checkpoints everywhere. How did the gunmen disappear when they were repelled by the STF? I think they are responsible.”

Another villager, Mrs. Racheal Bako, said: “Thank God, no life was lost but security agencies must investigate this attack; there is more to it.

Residents of Langtang called on the Federal Government to investigate the attack.

Police spokesman Abu Emmanuel said the command would investigate the attack.

•Gen. Useni

Gen. Useni said: “I am not in Langtang but I got a call from my people telling me there was an attack on my home.”

NSCDC sets up panel on JAMB office attack

T

HE Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Kogi State, Clement Adesuyi, has set up a panel to investigate the fracas between NSCDC officials and Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) workers.

Addressing reporters at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Lokoja, the commandant said those involved in the “show of shame” have been suspended.

He added that a JAMB official, who reportedly struck an NSCDC official with a charmed ring, has apologised.

Some armed NSCDC officials stormed the JAMB office on Wednesday and took away some guards on the allegation that JAMB refused to engage their services.

The NSCDC claimed that

•Group: probe invasion From James Azania, Lokoja and John Ofikhenua, Abuja

SPITEC, the security outfit contracted by JAMB to guard its office, was not registered with the organisation.

Adesuyi said the command received information about Boko Haram’s attempts to infiltrate the state.

He said aside ordering the treatment of one of the injured JAMB workers; JAMB’s damaged gate would be repaired.

“Based on the intelligence report, my men went around private guard companies.

They visited JAMB office, where the guard was told to present identification. It was in the process that an argument ensued, leading to the incidence.”

The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), JAMB Chapter, yes-

‘We demand that those who participated in this unholy act should be arrested.

Furthermore, we demand that our workers who were injured during the raid be compensated.

Enough is Enough!’ terday asked President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly to probe the attack.

In a statement, titled “Shame to Civil Defence,” by the Chairman, Samuel Azaba

and the Secretary, Stephen Ignatius, the workers urged the President to arrest the perpetrators.

They said: “We condemn this ungodly act and ask President Goodluck Jonathan, the National Assembly and the Defence Ministry to probe this incident.

“We also demand that those who participated in this unholy act should be arrested.

“Furthermore, we demand that our workers who were injured during the raid be compensated. Enough is Enough!

"Indeed no one is safe again in the country if security agents could attack defenceless civil servants in their offices.

"No wonder Nigerians rose against the proposal to arm NSCDC officials. We can now see why.

“Our colleagues should be thanking their stars that there was no ‘accidental discharge’."

51

FIFA BAN: Nigeria beats

DEADLINE

•Aminu Maigari reinstated

NIGERIA climbs to 34th on FIFA ranking

•Now 3rd in Africa

By Akeem Lawal

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

15

16

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

17

FRIDAY JULY 18, 2014

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura has been having a cat and mouse game with the House of Assembly for three and half years. Now, the plot to remove him has thickened, following the resolve of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to emasculate the opposition, ahead of next year’s elections, writes Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI.

Travails of Al-Makura I

MPEACHMENTS threats are not new to Governor Tanko AlMakura. He has received quite a number of such threats in the three and half years he has been occupying the Government House in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.

But, following the impeachment of former Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, a colleague from the All Progressives Congress (APC), Al-Makura knows the threat is real this time.

Twenty out the 24 members of the House of Assembly want him impeached. The 20 lawmakers are card-carrying members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The House reached a resolution on Monday to serve Al-Makura with an impeachment notice. The resolution followed a motion of public interest raised by the deputy majority leader, Yahaya Usman (Umaisha/Ugya) Consti-tuency.

According to the Clerk of the House, Mr. Ego Maikeffi and AlMakura is being impeached for gross misconduct and the violation of the constitution. The clerk on Tuesday that the governor is frustrating efforts to serve him the impeachment notice, saying attempts by him to reach the governor has

been unsuccessful as he was denied entry into the Government House by the security personnel at the gate.

But, the governor has responded through his Special Adviser on Public Affairs, Abdulhamid Kwara, saying he was ready to answer the allegations leveled against him appropriately when served the notice. Thousands of protesters loyal to Al-Makura took over the Abuja-Keffi highway early on Wednesday threatening to shut down the state in the event of his impeachment. The protesters caused a traffic gridlock on the expressway, the gateway between Abuja and nine northern states.

Following the latest development, he left Lafia on Tuesday evening for Abuja for an undisclosed reason. The governor, who is facing impeachment threat from the House left; shortly after holding series of meetings with his commissioners and other stakeholders in the state.

From the time Al-Makura sent the PDP government led by former Governor Akwe Doma packing at the 2011 general elections, he has not had any respite. The PDP had been at the helm of affairs in

Nasarawa State since the restoration of democracy in 1999. The tide turned when Al-Makura, who contested the election under the platform of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), pulled a surprise victory at the poll.

The emergence of Al-Makura was made possible by the widespread disaffection with the PDP’s inability to provide a level playing field for its aspirants vying for tickets for various elective offices, including the governorship. In fact, the emergence of Doma as the governorship candidate never went down well with many stakeholders. These factors prepared the ground for the massive defection of Al-Makura and scores of his supporters into the CPC, one of the parties that later came together to form the APC. Al-Makura’s travails started from day one. He came to power with a lot of commitments, determination and plans to rescue the state from its socio-economic woes. But, the first challenge that hit the administration was the state’s poor financial standing; no thanks to intimidating debt profile inherited from the immediate past administration. His adminis-

• Al-Makura

tration inherited close to N40 billion in debts. The challenges had become so daunting that the state was said to be borrowing not less than N850 million monthly to pay salaries.

Thus, one of his immediate challenges was to identify additional sources of income to enable him meet the expectations of the people, in line with his campaign promises. In doing this, he required the co-operation of the House which is dominated by the PDP. But, this was not forthcoming. As a result,

the administration has been having a running battle wi th the legislature. The House also rejected most of his appointments, policies and programmes. The lawmakers’ opposition to his policies and programmes, according to observers, was politically motivated and has nothing to do with the interest of the state.

This cat and mouse game between the governor and the lawmakers resulted into many impeachment threats against Al-Makura at the slightest opportunity. It is believed that the threats are being instigated by the PDP which is yet to recover from the shocking defeat of their benefactor in 2011. The PDP leadership is very critical of the government, accusing it of high handedness, incompetence and insensitivity to the people’s plight.

To compound the situation, the people of Nasarawa State woke up to the resurgence of communal clashes in the Southern senatorial district, leading to loss lives and property. Despite government’s efforts to nip the crises in the bud, the crises keep escalating and spreading like wildfire. The most recent was the murder of no fewer than 70 security personnel drawn from the police, Directorate of State Security Service (DSSS), civil defence corps among others which has come to be known as the Ombatse massacre.

Dr. Theodore Ekechi is the Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Imo State. In this interview with MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE, he speaks on the activities of the Okorocha Administration, the Community Government Council (CGC) and other issues.

‘Okorocha has revolutionised governance in Imo’

I

MO State has set up the Community Government Council (CGC), which is more or less the fourth tier of government. Can you tell us what this is all about?

The Community Government Council, as the name implies, is one way by which governance is taken to the grassroots in the real sense of the word. It epitomises the republican nature of the Igbo political process and in our own circumstance; it is a system of government that fully harnesses democratic principles in the essence of connecting the government with the people. It is the government of the last resolve. It is not really a new invention but in terms of structure and definition, it becomes an innovation by the governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha. Before now, you know that there exists in most of Ibo community, traditional rulership which we call the Eze. The Ezeship is not a creation of Rochas Okorocha; the Ezeship represents the traditional headship of autonomous communities in Igboland and there are many of such communities. The truth of the matter is that this situation has been existing without any form of authority. You give someone responsibility without authority. Certainly you don’t expect such person to achieve result. Over time, traditional rulers have been asked to maintain security in their communities and have been held responsible for any criminal activity in their area. Yet, these traditional rulers do not have any power in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that authorises them to take decisions that will help their communities. What Governor Okorocha has done is to give them teeth; so that they could not just bark but could also bite. In addition to the traditional rulers, we have what we call presidents-general which are rec-

ognised in most communities in Igboland. They are responsible for developments in most Igbo communities. That is why during almost every festive period, you see communities, through their presidents-general, organising launchings and taking levies from their community members and their associates. Most of the times, it is these monies are used to drive development in these communities. But there have always been acrimonies and people losing their morale of continuous help because these monies have not been put into proper use and there is also the problem of holding anyone accountable because there is no law that defines their roles, their conducts and how they can be accountable. What this law setting up the CGC has also done is to give them some guidelines on how accountable they can be under which conditions they can operate. And often times, most of these presidentsgeneral operate parallel to the Eze; therefore you have conflicts of interest. Therefore, the government of Imo State, through the House of Assembly, decided to bring all the features of our traditional community under one control.

Is this CGC backed by law?

Yes, it is. It is this law that makes the Eze the official head of any autonomous community; both traditional and administrative; not just traditional head. The law then makes the presidents-general the secretary of that autonomous community. In addition to these two officers, the community now appoints someone to represent

• Ekechi

the interests of the youths and women because these are specialised interests of every community. The four of them now form the ‘government’. To help them administratively and to keep records and put things in order, the government posts a serving officer of government to each autonomous community to serve as the executive secretary but without voting powers. That is what the CGC is all about.

Now, the executive secretaries you mentioned, will they be resident in the communities they are posted to?

That is the ideal situation. But since we don’t claim perfection. That is not the situation now. The government pays the executive secretaries, but the

CGC takes care of the Eze, the president-general, the youth and women representatives; not by earning salaries but sitting allowances whenever they sit.

Can you give some of the areas where they could take decisions? I mean the extent of their powers.

Basically, they are given powers to make, I don’t want to say bye-laws, but rules and regulations that can govern life and relationships within the autonomous communities including movements, works, rights to raise levies or charges within levels that can allow them embark on specific projects. More importantly, the government depends on the CGC for most of its grassroots developments. One of the major benefits of the CGC is that development and communication now start from the communities to government and not the other way round again. Now, if government wants to embark on anything in a community, it already has an advisory mechanism that tells government what the priority of the community is. If it is a job that is beyond the budgetary control of the CGC, they are empowered to monitor the contract because they are involved in the award of the contract. Besides this, they also have the powers of intelligence gathering and as you can see, that is one of the major reasons behind security successes recorded by the government of Imo State. Don’t forget, before this government came into office, the state was so notorious for armed robbery and kidnapping.

The secret behind this success was the

‘One of the major benefits of the Community Government Council is that development and communication now start from the communities to government and not the other way round again. Now, if government wants to embark on anything in a community, it already has an advisory mechanism that tells government what the priority of the community is’

CGC because within this CGC, they know almost everybody within the community. They know those who were hitherto poor but are now rich; who have no bicycle but now riding Lexus. They monitor these acquisitions.

They may not know their sources but have the right to raise questions and the relevant authorities will follow up and this has led to the arrest and prosecution of many robbery and kidnapping kingpins. So, the intelligence being provided by the CGCs has been helpful in fighting crimes in the state.

How do you get their decisions implemented or enforced without the involvement of the police?

No problems with that. When the state makes a law that is within its powers, the only way whereby that law is implemented is by contacting the police. The same thing is applicable to local governments. They have their own laws: from the federal government to state government or ones they make themselves called bye-laws. So the police should be there to implement these laws. When someone is in breach of the law, the police come in to enforce that law. Therefore, when the local government wants to implement their bye-laws, they contact the police.

So the Community Government Council, as a recognised tier of government in Imo State, must be helped to implement their decisions. Beyond that, anyway, we have what is called the Imo Community Watch, which is our own version of the vigilante group, and well trained by security forces and who are under the control of the Eze and are used in providing intelligence and keeping watch over the community both night and day. We also have the Imo Security Network; which is a high level of security which can be called upon by the Ezes. However, the power of prosecution and arrest rests with the police.

18

THE NATION FRIDAY JULY 18, 2014

POLITICS Prof. John Ayoade, a political scientist from the University of Ibadan, is the Secretary of the Rauf Aregbesola Campaign Organisation.

He spoke on the preparations for the August 9 governorship election in Osun State. ADESOJI ADENIYI met him.

‘Why Aregbesola ‘ll win Osun poll convincingly’

W

HAT are the selling points of the Governor Rauf Aregbesola in Osun State’s governorship election?

The selling point is that Governor Aregbesola is a man of ideas and has put the ideas into practical use in Osun. He has implemented many important projects that are firsts in the history of the State of Osun, Firstly, when you look at our cities, there is urban renewal that is going on in the state. New roads are being constructed. They are rehabilitating the existing roads. The governor is systematically building education, not only in terms of infrastructural development, but also in terms of curriculum and quality of teaching, which has brought a lot of improvements. It is also important to look at the programmes put in place in schools, the attention of the children have been shifted to feeding, clothing. These mean a lot to the children because, if the school children especially those at the elementary level are not well fed, it is most likely not to perform as expected and might not be able to learn properly. If the children are hungry, under-fed, they are equally prone to health challenges.

Looking at the totality of the education not just the teachers, student but the learning environment and the multiplier effects on economy, I think there is a lot going for Aregbesola in the August election.

Despite the massive funding of the education sector, a high percentage of students still fail the SSCE. What is responsible for that?

Well, you are judging by the end result and when you look at the end result, we are using the education system of 6-3-3-4 and when you critically look at that, you are judging with the people who started six years ago, our candidate got to office three and half years ago. Definitely, the poor background some of the students might have had some years ago are just coming to show now. For you to be able to access properly, you have to look at the children who are now in JSS 3. Those are the ones you

can use to judge our performance and that will be in the next three years.

Some of those you are talking about are the people we inherited from the old system and the fact that you have the result as better as it is, was the result the reform and changes that have taken place in the system. Otherwise, the result would have been much more woeful than what you are talking about. But, I assure that, in the next three years, you would have seen the result of the changes Aregbesola has made in the educational sector The grouse of the opposition against your administration is that it has incurred debts and inflated contracts.

What is your reaction?

First, let me remind you that the Debt Management Office under the watch of the Presidency has just put an end to that spurious lie that Osun has not borrowed beyond its capacity. Those peddling that rumour of heavy debt are just not being honest and mischievous. It is not true that the state has been plunged into debt as claimed by the opposition. They are just bandying figures as they like.

The fact is that Aregbesola borrowed and has not borrowed beyond the capacity of the state and we are convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the borrowings are justified. There will not be infrastructural development you are witnessing if Aregbesola has not taken that bold step to rescue the state from the previous stagnancy and the absence of social amenities, which had before his coming derailed the economy of the state. Even the developed nation borrow to develop their country. The question they should be asking is the capacity of the state and what the government is using such fund for. The simple answer is that the government is using it for massive infrastructure development and transformation of

• Aregbesola

the state. Those who are alleging contract inflation could not make distinction between the quality of job Aregbesola is doing, and their own time when they were constructing roads that could not last six months.

There is no road that Aregbesola is constructing that will not last for 20 years. These are clear issues they fail to address.

The governor has urged voters to arm themselves with traditional weapons when they are going to vote.

Is he inciting them into violence?

I’m not sure that such incitement exist. Is it a crime for a candidate in an election to tell his supporters not to go to election with guns, cutlasses and any dangerous weapon, but should go there armed with the potency of their faiths? If you are a Muslim, Christian, or traditional religion worshippers, don’t you leave your house everyday calling on some-

thing? That was what he said and only mischievous minds would read other meanings into that. What the governor is simply saying is that people should be vigilant, as Yoruba people usually say, Oju la lakan fi sori.

Everybody is already aware of this and any body telling people to protect their vote is not inciting anybody.

He is just telling them to be alive to their responsibilities. I believe that it is only a fool that will take an advice that is not favorable to him and in this circumstance; we are talking about adults and reasonable people.

Nobody that is able to vote is below 18 years and anybody above 18 should be able to decide on what is good for him. So, there is no argument of incitement. Another area we are not talking about is the fact that there is poverty in the land. With poverty, people are easily called into action and that is what we are campaigning against for people to reject monetary inducement to cause violence. Our governor is peaceful. Our party is peaceful and all we are going to continuously ask for is peaceful election and one man one vote.

Your candidate is a beneficiary of the judiciary. But, he has also attacked the judiciary on the unresolved murder of Chief Bola Ige. Ditto Senator Adeyeye, the Chairman of your committee. Have they lost faith in the judiciary?

I don’t believe that speaking on the unresolved murder of Chief Bola Ige is an indictment on the judiciary.

Rather, what that reminds us is the need to grow a just society because many of the problems facing us as a country arose from injustice. It is just to sound a note of warning that the public is watching the judiciary.

Even, the Chief Justice of Nigeria agreed and accepted that there are bad eggs in the judiciary. I don’t

‘Governor Aregbesola is a man of ideas and has put the ideas into practical use in Osun. He has implemented many important projects that are firsts in the history of the State of Osun, Firstly, when you look at our cities, there is urban renewal that is going on in the state. New roads are being constructed. They are rehabilitating the existing roads’

think we should give a clean bill of health to all judges. Otherwise, the National Judiciary Council (NJC) will have no reason to be monitoring the behaviors of the judges. Recently, some judges were sent away by the NJC. Therefore, such statements are not an indictment; we are just trying to build the system and not presume that those people are innocents so as to let other people know that they are being watched in order to be fear and just. I don’t think talking about the unresolved issue is an indictment on the judiciary, but to put judiciary on their toes and understand that they sworn to an oath as the last resort for the common man.

Some parents protested against the school uniform, demanding the decentralisation of its sale...

First, we have established the fact that no genuine parent was among those who protested. They were just hired people from outside Osun, who stagemanaged a protest for you journalists to take their photos and make it look like Osun people are against what Aregbesola is doing. It is all propaganda. On what you called monopoly, those who criticize the single uniform policy do not even look at the industrialization aspect of it. That factory making uniforms has provided jobs for about 3,000 people. Let me say that when you start a system, you study the system because there is no perfect system and you can improve on the system. At one time or the other, every system will have to be looked at again.

If there are problems with the school uniform, the government will look into it. You are aware that before, no one was asked to pay for this school uniforms and when it was the time to pay for it, it was not more than what a committed parent should do for his child who is also enjoying free meal in school and other benefits including now being taught under ultra-modern classrooms. I must correct one impression, I don’t know where they got their own figure, some people are so mischievous on this school uniform issue that they carry about wrong figures.

The Minority Whip of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Adebola, in this interview with JAMES AZANIA, speaks on the quest for power shift in the Northcentral state.

‘APC has prospect in Kogi’

H

OW vibrant is the All Progres-sives Party (APC) in Kogi State?

It’s not as if there are is no vibrant opposition, but the structure of politics itself is against the emergence of the kind of vibrant opposition you are talking about. And, really, you don’t need a party to build an opposition. Every man on the street is an opposition; once their right and their welfare are not attended to. We are all opposition as long as our interest, our right, our welfare are at stake. The whole country is looking up to us as an alternative, but the nature of politicians we have here, they only respect democracy to the extent that it will satisfy their interest. Once it goes outside their interest or their view of what is on ground, the next thing is that they bring in all these sort of tendencies that are not democratic. It’s not that there are no opposition members here, but the party has been structured and totally hijacked by forces that are not truly democratic. You can’t deceive yourself. You can’t deceive people outside. People see us when we are practising real democracy he people know when we are agents of change. So, until we have

people that are serious minded, genuine in their attendance of democracy, that is when opposition can emerge. Not the way we are going about it.

What does the loss of Ekiti in the recent election portend for the future of APC? I think it is an eye opener, that we need to understand the people that we govern better. But, in a larger sense, if the APC gets itself together I don’t see it as a setback. It’s a challenge. It is something we can overcome, but that still depends on how well we are able to see it as a challenge. A lot of things has to change; fundamentally, structurally and we don’t have a lot of time to do that.

More transparency, more democratic culture, and I am sure we will triumph. It’s unfortunate for the party what happened in Ekiti.

If the people of Ekiti have made their decision, that means there are one or two lessons we must learn as a party and I think we have what it takes, if there is the will.

How can the party regain its composure?

One, people-friendly culture. Two, the party must clearly differentiate itself from the practice of existing

• Adebola

political parties, in excellence per se.

We cannot afford to do things the way other political parties are doing it. In most cases, we keep saying we are opposition and what other parties are doing we do it; imposition, by-cutting the electoral laws, even internally. So, if we can place ourselves above board, I think it will go a long way for our system Are you saying there is no internal democracy in the APC? There is, but it’s not enough to the extent to which we think it should be. We think we can do better than what we are doing now. There have been some challenges, especially in some states. We have to create a platform within the system with which

we can reappraise ourselves; we can challenge ourselves, we can oppose ourselves, all for the better, not just a one directional thing, or group thing, or a caucus thing or a leaders’ thing. It has to be something that looks up to a new generation, built in transparency and in progress.

There are crises in some APC chapters. How can they be resolved?

It’s what I told you. It’s a problem which we have created for ourselves.

If we had allowed the democratic process to play its way, even if there is going to be crisis, the crisis is going to be minimal. When you feel aggrieved, when you feel you have been cheated, when you feel you have not been consulted, that is what brings political crisis. But, if we institutionalise the process, if there is a loss it won’t be a bitter thing, you will know it’s the system that has defeated you and you will go and restrategize, but often times most people are angry because it is not the institution that has defeated them, it is the people there. So, let us build the democratic culture round the institutional process and all these challenges will reduce naturally. That is my view.

We still have a lot of chances to make a lot of positive difference.

Now, we have an exco, which should reach out, soothing nerves, making sure everybody come to the table, examine various interests, then see how we can parley it together, make it work together for the good. I think the APC has a lot of future. But, it has a lot of issues to address within itself.

Do you believe the APC is an alternative to the Peoples Democratic Party in 2015?

Yes. With the precedents, with what is happening now, APC is an alternative to PDP any day.

What does the APC possess that can make the party dethrone the PDP, especially at the federal level?

Naturally, and with the mood of the country, they are suited as an alternative, with the lots of challenges which the country has gone through since 1999. I think people will want change and see something different.

Remember that PDP has been in power since 1999 and of course, nothing has changed; is it poverty? Is it insecurity? Is it provision of basic facilities? Is it inflation? Mention it, all factors are not improving significantly. So, I think the APC in that regards has a chance, because people will want to see something different.

That is the number one chance they have. And, number two, I think they have been able to pull themselves together from different areas of the country, this is also an advantage.

Then, number three, I think Nigeria is a youthful country, which is why we have to be careful in all the decisions we make as a party. If the APC can position itself as the party of the youths, I mean, about 70 per cent Nigerians are less than 35 or 40, If APC can start from the ideals which we have been talking about, if it can position itself as a party of the youths, I think it will also have an advantage well over other parties.

19

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

COMMENTARY FROM OTHER LANDS

EDITORIAL

Malala and Jonathan

Palestinians need a state of their own

• Israel cannot remain oasis of

•It took the presence of Malala for the president to want to meet with the Chibok families peace in a region on fire

M

ALALA Yousafzai is a teenager, and it took her presence to wake a presidency of grownups from its isolation to a simple truth. She is the girl that survived a shooting for insisting on the education of the girl child in her home in Pakistan, and she has become a towering emblem of hope and courage for the high ideals of women liberation without the tincture of vainglorious vanity or cant.

She arrived Nigeria to enlist her credentials in support of the campaign to free the Chibok girls, who were whisked away in a brutal night from the serene air of school to a pious captivity. In the process she met with some of the girls who managed to escape their ordeal. In spite of their fortuitous peace, the presidency has shunned any opportunity to host them and their parents in the country’s hallowed house.

This has earned him a slew of criticisms, growing especially from his attitude since the girls were abducted. The presidency, in words spoken and unspoken, had tried to cast doubts in the minds of Nigerians that the girls were actually missing. A political motive was imputed and some members of the administration that undermined the veracity of the story were never checked for insensitivity. This attitude was emphasized by the abrupt about-face by the presidency on a promised trip to Chibok to visit the melancholy community as a show of symbolic support and succour for the people.

This led to the emergence of the #Bringbackthegirls movement. The Jonathan administration tarred the group with a partisan brush, and simplified an

essentially emotional matter into the brickbat of political gamesmanship.

It was in that context that Malala visited Nigeria, and her coming also signposts the frustration of the international community over the impotence and naivety of the Jonathan administration to decide on any concrete steps to free these girls.

But her coming suddenly woke up the Jonathan administration to the prudence of meeting with the families of the girls as well as the free ones. Was the move of the presidency a photo opportunity, or a cynical attempt to win a redeeming attention from the outside world that has grown impotent and weary of its distance from the agonies of the families involved?

That was the thinking of those women and girls who decided to pooh-pooh the president’s move as opportunistic and cynically self-serving. But how come the president who had the girls with us all these days did not know it had to meet with them until a teenager from another land spoke about their plight. Yet, the president with some of his aides enjoyed the limelight of a photo-op with the famous heroine of human and girls’ rights.

“Out of the mouths of babes and infants, thou has ordained strength…” said the Bible.

We find it quite objectionable that rather than admit its moral wrong, the presidency passed the buck and blamed the Bringbackthegirls movement for the action of the Chibok citizens. Hear the words of Doyin Okupe, the president’s spokesman: “It is obvious that the Bringbackthegirls (campaigners) are interested in showmanship, not genuinely

concerned about the plight of the children and their parents.”

That does not address the essential fact that the president and his associates have, from the beginning, perceived any expression of distaste over the fate of the girls as an act of ambushing the government. It is a bunker mentality and an expression of failure of imagination and surrender to witch-hunting.

The presidency has also implied on a number of occasions that the Bringbackthegirls movement is the brainchild of the opposition and therefore has created for itself a cosy morality of believing that the narrative of the abducted girls has moved from a genuine search to a victimizing of the federal government. That only happens in a government run without a high and noble principle.

‘But how come the president who had the girls with us all these days did not know it had to meet with them until a teenager from another land spoke about their plight. Yet, the president with some of his aides enjoyed the limelight of a photo-op with the famous heroine of human and girls’ rights. “Out of the mouths of babes and infants, thou has ordained strength…” said the Bible’

Professor Obey •His appointment should be encouraged as endorsement of experience in our universities

A

T 72, the entertainment celebrity and Juju music maestro, Ebenezer Obey-Fabiyi, who is perhaps more popularly known by his stage signature, Chief Commander, is certain to experience new vistas following his appointment as Professor Emeritus at the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago Iwoye, Ogun State. Obey is expected to work as a visiting artiste in the university’s Department of English and Performing Arts. At his age, and given his stature as a seasoned and successful musician, it is reasonable to believe that he would have something of value to offer students.

Remarkably, Obey’s appointment represents a unique and significant enrichment of the department as well as the educational institution, with its promise of fresh perspectives. However, it is hoped

‘Essentially, perhaps the beauty of Obey’s position is that it is evidently informed more by his recognition for practical skill than for any claim to a theoretical foundation. While he is obviously not coming to the job from an academic background, there is no doubt about his hands-on expertise, which has brought him fame and money. It is commendable that the university authorities have, in this respect, been influenced by the practice in more developed countries’

that his elevated academic title is not just an expression of the culture of exaggeration so familiar in the country. This means that the import of his designation should be reflected not only in role expectation and the nature of the space available for him to function, but also in the quantifiable contribution to the advancement of knowledge.

Essentially, perhaps the beauty of Obey’s position is that it is evidently informed more by his recognition for practical skill than for any claim to a theoretical foundation.

While he is obviously not coming to the job from an academic background, there is no doubt about his hands-on expertise, which has brought him fame and money. It is commendable that the university authorities have, in this respect, been influenced by the practice in more developed countries, particularly in the western world, where in exceptional cases the value of experience is considered more useful than theoretical knowledge.

As a rich evidence of Obey’s indisputable suitability, it is noteworthy that his musical career dates back to his tutelage years in the 1950s, before he formed a band called The International Brothers in 1964, which played a fusion of Highlife and Juju. By the time the band became Inter-Reformers in the 1970s, Obey had mastered his own brand of Juju music, known as Miliki, a Yoruba word that suggested superlative enjoyment; and he rose to prominence with a long string of Juju album hits on the West African Decca musical label. He achieved the status of a living legend, especially with his creative experimentation with drums, guitars and talking drums, and his reputation for melodious dance-floor composi-

tions liberally spiced with Yoruba wise sayings and Christian philosophy.

It is a testimony to the height he attained in the music circle that even after he retired from playing Juju music in the 1990s and became an evangelist promoting gospel music, his numerous fans continued to pressurise him to rethink his retirement. Interestingly, in recent times, the celebrated artiste has performed at special shows organised to project his musical achievement in the realm of Juju music, especially the widely promoted Evergreen Series, sponsored by the mobile network Glo. It is worth mentioning that Obey was quoted as saying, in response to news of the job, “I regard this as a great honour that I will hold dear to my heart as a development. I humbly accept the offer and assure the university authorities that as one of the legendary custodians of music in Africa and beyond, I promise to bring to bear my age-long experience in this industry for the maximum benefits of the students in particular and the university in general.”

All things being equal, Obey’s involvement should also help in providing a useful African content in an academic environment that is predictably western in orientation. Although there have been instances of non-academic achievers in the arts who were invited to teach in academic institutions in the country, it must be admitted that such cases have been regrettably few and far between. The country’s education system will, no doubt, benefit from having more of such individuals bless the younger generation with the gems of their experience.

T

HE tragic scenario rarely varies much. Makeshift Palestinian rockets fly out of Gaza and Israel’s guided missiles and artillery shells rain

in. The Israeli government vows to eradicate Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the teeming Gaza Strip. Hamas and its allies beat their breasts and vow eternal resistance. Hundreds of Palestinians, mainly civilians, die, until an international outcry calls a halt to the killing. Mediators manage to tweak the rules of engagement, and both sides reload for the next time.

It is a desolate picture.

Reaction to this conflict, the third in the past five years, has been muted. Syria’s savage civil war, the springboard for the lightning seizure by jihadis of swaths of Iraq, eclipses what for many looks like a new episode in a wearisomely familiar feud. That is short-sighted.

The current conflict follows the kidnap and killing last month of three Jewish seminary students from a settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and the subsequent revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s premier, instantly blamed Hamas for the kidnapping, although it looks to have been perpetrated by the Qawasmeh clan in Hebron, which has a record as spoilers of previous ceasefires.

What they spoiled in this instance was the unity agreement between Hamas and Fatah, its nationalist rivals in the Palestinian Authority that governs part of the West Bank. That deal afforded Mr Netanyahu the excuse to break off US-brokered talks on a twostates solution that had in any case collapsed, mainly as a result of the intransigence of his rightwing coalition, which has accelerated the colonisation of the land on which the Palestinians hope to build their state.

Yet neither side sought to renew hostilities. Hamas, in particular, is hemmed in and incapable of offering anything but more despair and destruction. The Islamist movement fell out with Iran by refusing to side with Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian conflict, and lost its Muslim Brotherhood ally in neighbouring Egypt after Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s military coup last summer. Mr Sisi, Egypt’s new president, regards Hamas – the Palestinian chapter of the Brotherhood – as an enemy fuelling the growing jihadi menace in the Sinai peninsula.

That is one reason Hamas dismissed Egypt’s ceasefire formula, which has no provision for Cairo to reopen the Rafah crossing to Egypt in southern Gaza, much less lift Israel’s blockade of Gaza’s northern border and seaport. Hamas continued firing after Tuesday’s ceasefire was supposed to take hold, presumably intending to show its supporters its infrastructure has hardly been dented and that it can break the siege. That is a delusion. What is more likely is that Israel, in tacit alliance with Egypt, will try to break Hamas, at a cost of many more lives.

Yet beyond Hamas lies the spectre of the unbridled jihadism seen in Syria and Iraq – which already has bridgeheads in Palestinian refugee camps across the region as well as in Gaza. In this particular conflict, international actors need to mobilise countries such as Turkey and Qatar that have leverage with Hamas, and may persuade them of the ruinous futility of their rocket attacks. Ultimately, that should mean engagement with a Fatah-Hamas coalition government, conditional on an end to violence and a meaningful negotiating framework. That is unlikely.

Israeli policy has left the Palestinian Authority toothless and discredited, its land eaten away by the continuing occupation of the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem. But Israel’s reputation in the world is also eroding, and it is an illusion to think it can remain an oasis of peace and prosperity in a region on fire, so long as the Palestinians have no prospect of a viable state of their own.

– Financial Times

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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CARTOON & LETTERS

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IR: There is doubt in the assertion that Wole Soyinka is an irreplaceable gem and a literary treasure to the generation of black race. There is no atom of hyperbole if we say our Kongi is unrivalled blessing to the present generation of African literature and orature.

A literary pathfinder and avid reader, veteran poet and indefatigable activist, public critic and seasoned playwright, respected director, skillful raconteur, essayist, translator and filmmaker, actor and musician, connoisseur, hunter, and a typical African man - Kongi is indeed an herald of peace, an harbinger of hope, waver of consciousness and an all-rounder hero who has braved many roads and sailed through many hazard-laden seas.

Taking dimensional look and personal in-depth evaluation of Wole Soyinka as a cerebral Renaissance man and curator of African traditional heritage, there is no scintilla of doubt that our dear Kongi has exercised this both intellectual and pragmatic. Soyinka is a hunter who loves going for hunting especially on his birthday; he is a great aficionado of Ogun- Yoruba’s god of Iron. And unarguably, his adaptional translation of D. O Fagunwa’s books from indigenous language to English shows his high level of literary prowess and second-to-none passion for African cultural legacies.

Considering his enviable impacts as a political trailblazer and activist, coupled with his physical activeness, his valour and unparalleled bravura, Soyinka, just like his cousin Fela Anikulapo Kuti and Black American poet and playwright of The Dutchman Amiri Imamu Baraka, can be described as a great revolutionary fellow and a skillful political analyst and architect, whose inimitable resilience against the tyranny of the then Nigerian military rule and its draconian decree, and zero tolerance against the present power-thirstiness of Nigerian civilian post-bearers have immensely helped the country cast away the chronic bane and bile, problems and plight daily plaguing Nigeria as a nation with ethnic diversities and political point of differences; and a state paddled and ridden by political cynics and bigots, religious zealots and

EDITOR’S MAIL BAG SEND TYPEWRITTEN, DOUBLE SPACED AND SIGNED CONTRIBUTIONS, LETTERS AND REJOINDERS OF NOT MORE THAN 800 WORDS TO THE EDITOR, THE NATION, 27B, FATAI ATERE ROAD, MATORI, LAGOS. E-mail: views@thenationonlineng.net

Humble bow for Kongi @ 80 ethnic gladiators, without excluding our conscience-deprieved intellectual confussionists and paranoids.

Hence, Prof. Wole Oyinka once said that “the greatest threat to freedom is absence of criticism.”

As one of the notable and reknowned pioneers of African literature and respected admirers of primitive cultural values and socioreligious heritage, the oratory greyhaired professor of Comparative Literature has imprinted his footprints on the sand of time. Soyinka can be described as victorious hero who has left the dents of his foot on the shore never imprinted by feet of man, having being the first African man to be awarded the prestigious prize of Nobel Laurel for Literature

(1986). And one won’t be jawdropped that writers like Akeem Lasisi, a prolific tradition-inclined African bard, author of a nuptial poetry collection Night of my Flight, and a seasoned journalist made a single release of a Yoruba chanting album Ori Agbe in celebration of Soyinka’s inestimable greatness, having being his (Lasisi’s) mentor and colleague hunter so to speak.

As a politically inclined individual who has been rekindling political cognizance in many Nigerians, Kongi has never allowed political interest to befoul his moral consciousness and conscience. His constructive criticism against Nigerian political goliaths is enough to affirm his political neutrality and

compassionate sympathy for downtrodden hoi polloi. He has never associated himself with the nation killjoys, fortunes reapers and plunderers. He has been a protagonist in the cause of anticipation for just and purely democratic government. And despite the sizzling of battle-front, Kongi has never given room for political opportunism, intellectual robbotism, syconphacy and personal share and siphoning of national cake usually given to public critics by power-driven political tyrants, to silence him into moribund mute. Corresponding to this is his frank rejection of recent centenary award which he regarded as ‘national shame.’

When asked onceif he sees him-

self as omniscient writer, he quickly rejoined “. . .that the best learning process of any kind of craft is just to look at the work of others.” With this afore quoted statement, Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka can be said to have been greatly influenced by writers like William Shakespeare, George Benard Shaw, Oscar Wild and the likes. And in 2011 the African Heritage Research Library and Cultural Centre built a writers’ enclave in his honour, because of his enthusiastic outlook towards developing African literature and building writers of the same kindred spirits.

The celebration of Soyinka as an octogenarian, Kongi at 80 is a celebration of national hero. It is a celebration that calls for libation in honour of our literary deity. May the sun rise, may thousand flowers blossom. May Soyinka grow old to see his enormous grey hair becoming scanty and dust. May he grow old to munch many kola nuts with old-age gingiva.

• Rahaman Abiola Toheeb, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife

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Letter to the President

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IR: I am compelled to write given the recent spate of attacks and spurious statements by your media aides and security operatives alleging the hijack of the BringBackOurGirls movement - a citizens collective effort to stay vigilant on the kidnapped girls. I belong to this movement in my capacity as a citizen of Nigeria, and I feel deeply insulted that some of your aides have either acted in their own capacity or succeeded in misleading you through deliberate misinformation about the movement.

Last week, Ms Marilyn Ogar, in her characteristic manner, called this movement a franchise; a statement which I consider highly derogatory and unsavoury. Unfortunately, she cast serious aspersions on the integrity of those who constitute the movement in Nigeria and worldwide. The leadership of the Abuja chapter of the movement has clearly disproved these allegations

but I keep wondering why you allow such untold misrepresentation to go on under your watch.

Only recently, precisely 15th July, 2014; one of your senior media aides Dr. Doyin Okupe alleged that Ms Obiageli Ezekwesili instigated the families of the kidnapped girls from attending the meeting you scheduled, whom you had only recently deemed fit to meet after 92 days. I am quite sure Ms Ezekwesili, who remains one Nigerian with incorruptible integrity and who desperately wants these girls rescued, will never resort to such act as portrayed by Dr Okupe. Moreover Mr President, history bears witness that it took you 3 weeks before you acknowledged these atrocious kidnap; and all of us are aware of the arrest that befell members of the movement after the scheduled meeting they had with your wife, the First Lady of Nigeria, Mrs Patience Jonathan. Personally, it is not farfetched why they will ignore your meeting: the precedence of denial, intimation and arrests of members

of the movement is telling.

I find it utterly disrespectful that consistently, Dr. Okupe’s characteristic name-calling, character assassination and pedestrian outbursts keep mocking the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The letter, which was widely distributed in the media, was attributed to have been written by you; but I am certain the person of the President of Nigeria will never write such. Whatever the grievances Dr. Okupe has with Ms Ezekwesili, the office of the President should not be reduced to such dance of shame in the media. Honestly, I keep wondering how you will allow yourself and your noble office to be such ridiculed by such dramatis personae as aides.

Regardless of the constant attack and publicity strategy of the establishment to frustrate, derail and divide us; we stay strong and committed to demanding that the girls be brought back alive. I am aware of the complexities that may be involved in securing the release of these girls, which consequently may

have prevented an open and transparent citizens interaction. However, the fact that we disagree with the secrecy involved in the attempts at rescuing these girls that does not give any of your aides the right to castigate us and demean our persons using all of the channels of manipulations it has.

Mr. President, you swore an oath to the security and welfare of the Nigerian people. Not only have you consistently failed in this regard, but Nigeria’s security incompetence during these trying times have occurred despite appropriating the highest resource in the budget to security (about N3tn in three years). Mr. President, based on the sustained captivity of the past three months following these girls kidnap, based on the insecurity challenges of the past years under your watch; no other institution of government has terrorized Nigerians psychologically than the Federal Government of Nigeria.

• ‘Seun Fakuade, Lagos

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014 16

21

COMMENTS

This dark time Email: tunji_ololade@yahoo.co.uk 08038551123, 08111845040

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ODAY, the Nigerian youth becomes fleeting fracture of the towering immensity he ought to represent. More worrisomely, many of the nation’s youth seem to develop mental arteriosclerosis 40 years before they get the physical kind from chain smoking, binge drinking, gluttony and mental indolence. Who cares though?

It’s every man for himself; the ruling class and Nigeria’s senior citizenry will not bat an eyelid even if our youth is wasted beyond redemption, as long as their children inherit their stash of the country’s looted wealth.

The ordinary youth however, continues to perpetuate that sly, sharp instinct for self-preservation that passes as “wisdom” among the rich but arrant foolishness of the masses. Hence the successful doctor, banker, journalist, engineer, accountant to mention a few, amongst

‘These are dark days for the Nigerian youth.

We are going through a particularly unpleasant form of hell but it’s a hell that we have made for ourselves by our ghastly greed, laziness and inarticulateness. But we have still got youth on our side and thus the possibility of change’

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us, do not care about anything and anybody else.

Yet we pine for positive social change and environment in which we could thrive. The few that claim to be intellectually endowed and progressive in thought amongst us seek to acquire knowledge and skills necessary to actualize their dreams of bliss but even this few have no taste at all for the vagaries of honest industry.

We live and thrive on a perversion hence when we cry for a historic revolution and youth-friendly society, our thoughts pander to a more permissive and corrupt society that will aid our mad, desperate dash for unearned wealth or what we deem our share of the Nigerian dream.

This is our Nigerian dream: a lush, breathtaking future that deemphasizes honest toil and accords our vanities a caressing glance. We dream of strings of bank accounts at home and abroad; we hope to drive the best cars, live in palatial mansions in highbrow areas and enjoy the most lucrative contracts and job offers even when we do too little to deserve these.

Our lust for the fleeting banishes reality. And this depravity is pervasive. Decades ago, it manifested as worrisome and inordinate selflove; today, we re-establish it as the language of the socially inspired and politically correct. Hence the frenzy with which we seek out and worship industry titans, political messiahs, entertainment superstars and other celebrity icons. It’s all part of our desperate ploy to substantiate our vanities by seeking ourselves in those we worship and

ECENTLY the media has been awash with comments and write ups by some doctors who in a bid to justify the current strike of the Nigeria Medical Association are putting forward arguments that are capable of misinforming the public about the Nigerian health sector. Part of such arguments is that doctors are all in all and that they can effectively do the work of other health professionals while others cannot do the doctor’s work. They claim that the physician of old merely delegated some of his duties to people who are now called pharmacists, physiotherapists, nurses, laboratory technologists etc. just for convenience and he can take it back any time he so wishes.

Some doctors also claim that other health workers having been trained by them to merely assist them do their work, should not now start to demand to hold any leadership position in the health sector because it should naturally be the birthright of the doctor. So, doctors see absolutely no reason for other health workers to seek to attain the post of consultants in their own field or directors in the hospitals, as according to them, it will just create crisis in the hospitals and other health facilities. Another claim is that most of the other health professionals found themselves in their respective fields because they were either unable to meet up with the requirements for medicine or were withdrawn from medical schools because they could not cope with the rigours. Thus many of these ‘failures’ now begrudge doctors and strive to become one through the back door.

I believe that if things are not put in proper perspective, these comments may successfully create an impression in the general public that other health workers are begrudging doctors or seeking to become doctors through the backdoor when it is indeed the doctors that are illegally encroaching into the constitutionally recognised roles of non- doctors.

While it is true in ages past, that physicians were a Jack of all trades as far as treatment of the patient was concerned, the practice in the wisdom of practitioners was later broken down into different disciplines for better efficiency and specialisation. It was not to make any health worker a servant or slave to the other. Every discipline is important and all are expected to work together and collaborate to achieve a better patient outcome. Therefore, the claim that the doctor can do the work of every member of the health team is therefore a very big fallacy because he was never trained to do so.

The multidisciplinary approach to treating patients which many Nigerian doctors are trying so hard to downplay today is firmly established, promoted and appreciated in developed countries like the United Kingdom, United States and Canada. There, no one feels superior to another. No one brandishes irrelevant ego. All that matter is the patient’s wellbeing and everyone will go to any extent to put their heads together in order to achieve the best outcome for the patient.

Nigerian doctors when they travel abroad to practice fol-

establishing a false intimacy with them.

If modern gospel of prosperity and motivational literature won’t make us celebrities, then celebrity idols, reality television and sheer violence will. We impatiently wait for our cue to walk on stage inside our theatre of the absurd to be admired, feared or envied. Our vanities cramp the growth of our human spirit: they restrict the resuscitation and positive engagement of our productive faculties. Thus we find it hard to subscribe to such faith, simple decencies, honesty and values that demand that we enthusiastically dedicate ourselves to progressive personal growth and realistic rejuvenation of the Nigerian enterprise.

That is why we have youth threatening to destroy Nigeria and perpetuate ethnic genocide if President Goodluck Jonathan retains his seat or is booted from office come 2015.

It is unforgivable idiocy and utter insanity for any youth to lend himself to such pitiful causes despite glaring political and socio-economic constraints that the incumbent administration foist upon us.

This is not to absolve preceding governments of culpability but it is simply too repulsive in thought and action for the contemporary Nigerian youth to root for leadership that has done too little to improve standard of living in the country even as it gorges on resources meant for the sustenance of the collective.

A societal madness has begun to occur: bigoted, unemployed youth and bigoted, employed youth; lost souls wandering the streets of Nigeria’s major cities, day and night, like loose molecules in an unstable social fluid have begun to ignite.

Thus our cities have become covens of immense cruelty where youth, fired by angst, a lingering sense of hurt and revolt, take alarming steps from threatening violence to perpetrating it. Traditional ne-

glect of the youth as negligible integers of growth has evolved to dangerous generalizations and the demonization of peaceful majorities.

Today, economic forces create an overriding sense of disenchantment and futility among the youth. Additionally, the tyranny and insensitivity of the ruling class accentuates reactionary attitude and selfaggrandizing pursuits amongst the youth. The prominence of social justice and equality movements has dissipated as we become more concerned with identity politics than the greater good. Ironically, the ruling class, their close associates and scions are the only beneficiaries from this splintering of Nigeria into racist and more selfish associations.

A prevalent crisis of confidence has occurred in reaction to the social turmoil. More youths are feeling empty and without purpose yet we continue to moot revolution like the next best thing we could orchestrate after our last follies have fallen silent. We forget, still, that there is a time to speak and time to act; time to scream and silently orchestrate the inestimable violence of uprightness.

Our much vaunted “Occupy Nigeria” movement failed because the Nigerian youth is innately lacking in grit, honesty and ideal; that is why we remain perpetually exploitable – victims of what George Bernard Shaw, terms “the stupid system of violence and robbery which we call Law and Industry.”

Despite our romanticized wish to abolish the status quo as the protests dragged, the eventual result was as usual, an opportunistic contract between the exploiters (the government) and a part of the exploited (labour leadership), at the expense of the rest of the exploited (you, me and everyone) – something Noel Ignatin would call “the original sweetheart agreement.”

Eventually, the Nigerian youth is written off and our grievances dismissed as the crazed rant of a pathetic mass of revolutionary impostors. President Jonathan and company couldn’t be wrong for eventually dismissing us as essentially hopeless and misdirected, I reiterate.

Here, then, is the crucial temptation facing us; either we acquire at least a provisional and concrete ideology and the ability to commit ourselves to more progressive enterprise, or we expose ourselves to greater exploitation and disillusionment. More often than not, we are tempted to give up and retreat, in search of some comfortable, greener pasture where we can luxuriate and “survive” according to the idiosyncrasies and social conditioning our host nation deem worthy of us; this is always the resort of cowards and the feeble-minded.

The alternative is to drastically overhaul our values to become more progressively inclined and concerned with the political, the economic and social; to acquire the competencies and the skills necessary for the tasking work that must be done if the social structure of Nigeria is to be even slightly modified. Solutions can never be discovered without profound understanding of law, governance methods and the economics and social organization of humane statehood.

It’s about time we cultivated progressive interest in such realms and practicable goals and norms for their actualization; without these, we will continue to flounder in the sea of often ‘well-meaning’ but ineffective good intentions.

These are dark days for the Nigerian youth. We are going through a particularly unpleasant form of hell but it’s a hell that we have made for ourselves by our ghastly greed, laziness and inarticulateness. But we have still got youth on our side and thus the possibility of change.

Doctors and health sector crisis

By Odedeyi Adekunle low these laid down principles and do their utmost to collaborate with other health professionals in the interest of the patient. However, in Nigeria, doctors have thrown global best practices to the wind and see other health professionals as servants who should receive orders rather than collaborate with them. They would rather have a less than desirable patient outcome than having to ‘descend so low’ as to seek the opinion of other health workers in the management of the patient. Even though some of them do, majority who do not, view them with derision and would want them blacklisted if they had their way.

Rather than putting their heads together to discuss ways of tackling the problems bedeviling the Nigerian health sector, the Nigerian doctors have preoccupied themselves with means of continuing the culture of suppression and intimidation of other health care professionals in the health sector.

For instance, why will the doctors go on strike because another health professional will be appointed a consultant in his own field having acquired the required knowledge and qualification?

Why will the doctor negotiate for and accept to be paid 160% of his basic salary as call duty allowance but would insist that the radiologist must settle for less than 80% rather than the 100% he is clamouring for?

Why will Nigerian doctors threaten to go on strike if anyone but them is made the health minister knowing full well that the post is purely administrative and is not an exclusive preserve of health experts in most nations of the world? Why does the doctor have a phobia for a non-doctor becoming a permanent secretary in the ministry of health? Why are doctors being imposed on laboratory technologists and scientists to become Heads of Department in many hospital laboratories? Several other acts of repression are perpetrated by doctors in the health sector.

I expect some of the commentators in the media to mention specific instances where other health care providers have encroached into the practice of doctors in the hospitals, which could have warranted such a high level of mistrust. Rather, all they did was base their arguments solely on vague assumptions.

The law does not permit the doctor to be in charge of drug procurement as is being practiced in many Nigerian hospitals today. The law forbids a non-pharmacist to dispense ethical drugs even in private hospitals but today quacks and auxiliary nurses are recruited by doctors in private practice to dispense steroids and the most delicate of controlled drugs.

Framers of the laws regulating pharmacy practice discourage the setting up of privately owned pharmacies in government hospitals. Today, many Chief Medical Directors have either unilaterally or in connivance with commissioners or minister of health (who are doctors) established private pharmacies in government hospitals. Most of them enjoy controlling shares in these profit maximizing outlets through their fronts and cronies. Who then is trying to become what through the backdoor?

The law permits a first degree holder to rise up to Grade Level 17 in the civil service as long as he passes the required examinations and meets every other requirement, but doctors, through Chief Medical Directors in the federal government hospitals do everything within their means to frustrate promotion of non-doctors above Grade Level 15. In fact, doctors do not disguise their phobia for seeing non- doctors in the directorate cadre.

When some of these illegalities are successfully contested in competent courts of law and judgments obtained, ‘the powers that be’ have devised means of circumventing such judgments, just like they are doing with the current contemptuous strike.

That most doctors speak about the military era with nostalgia cannot surprise anyone that has been following events in the health sector in the last three decades. It was during the Babangida regime that the leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association used their closeness to the military to get Decree 10 promulgated which essentially amended the laws that prescribe fairness and harmony in the health sector to ones that make the doctor a demigod, and accords to him salaries and emoluments that were skies above his other contemporaries in the health sector. It was indeed during this era that doctors were able to corner every position that matters in the health sector. Administrative posts that were hitherto held by professional administrators and social scientists were hijacked by medical doctors. In any gathering of decision makers in the health ministry today, more than 75% of the roll call will be medical doctors.

It is advisable that Nigerian doctors accept the team work approach to medical practice as is the norm in civilized societies. The current scenario that makes the doctor sees himself as god and other health workers as lesser beings can only portend doom for medical practice in Nigeria. The current practice that assigns the doctor to almost all administrative posts in the health sector and makes him feed fat while others settle for crumbs is no longer sustainable and will only make the health sector crisis a recurring decimal.

• Adekunle, a pharmacist, writes from Matogun, Ogun State

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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COMMENTS ‘No form of society can be reasonably stable in which the majority of the people are not fairly content. People cannot be content if they feel the foundation of their lives are wholly unstable’---- James Truslow Adams

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HE presidency’s desperation to annihilate the opposition and clutch onto power come 2015 is causing staid trepidation in the polity. Just last Tuesday, Governor Murtala Nyako was impeached by the Adamawa state House of Assembly. Nyako was one of the governors that defected to All Progressives Congress (APC) at the apogee of the ruling People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) internal predicament.

To the politically discerning, President Goodluck Jonathan could not, in all conscience, deny being the mastermind of the plot. The frightful thing at the moment is that he has moved his goons to another opposition APC controlled territory-Nassarawa where its governor, Umar Tanko Al-Makura, is facing another concocted impeachment threat. This is also orchestrated because of Jonathan’s presidential ambition in next year’s general election.

If the country’s system was to be effective, Jonathan himself would have been impeached long time ago because all alleged offences against Nyako that led to his impeachment had been committed by Jonathan. More importantly, the alleged impeachment offences were committed when Nyako was a member of PDP and nothing was done to him. Does it mean PDP members in government are immune against prosecution and only become vulnerable to legal sanctions once they dared leave the party?

This week, yours sincerely has decided to reproduce a column he wrote in 2006 in Vanguard newspaper where he described former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Nigeria as a banana republic because of the man’s proclivity for political persecution and perpetuation of sundry illegalities. Today, nothing has changed! While Obasanjo ended his reign in shame, it is pertinent to ponder how Jonathan is going to end his reign? If the current trend of political tyranny continues, something must give way and that is why this reproduced column, with slight modifications, is instructive to those with ears.

Virtually all those in charge of governance in the country are fast losing their sense of reasoning, civility and decorum. What is happening in the country defies scientifically proven political antidote. It will be a delusion to pretend not to know those responsible for these legal and political absurdities. From Bayelsa, Ekiti, and now Adamawa and Nassarawa states, the hand writing of disregard for constitution-

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F all the celebrities and notable figures, who identify with Nigerian people on the abduction of 276 girls by Boko Haram fighters in Chibok, a hitherto sleepy neighbourhood in Borno State, last April, only Malala Yousafzai – the celebrated victim of Taliban’s anti-education aggression in Pakistan – has given some practical sympathy by visiting Nigeria.

The girl-child education rights activist flew into the country, last weekend, to identify with the abducted Chibok girls and their parents.

She met with the escapees privately, perhaps to get first-hand information on how the abduction was executed by the criminals.

Malala’s visit is understandably conceived in good faith, having shared similar fate with the abducted girls. Although on her own case, she almost kissed death after several bullets were fired at her by Taliban militants.

However, Malala’s mission to Nigeria has its intended and unintended messages. First, it taught us some lessons on why we need to promote education despite untenable opinions of misguided zealots, who believe education should only be restricted to the four walls of madrasah (Arabic schools).

Malala, a teen who hails from a predominantly Muslim society, has become a role model for children for holding the belief that, education must not be restricted to Arabic schools alone. This is the intended message of Malala’s visit and we must strive to ensure the message is not lost.

The unintended message is its exposure of the hypocrisy of President Goodluck Jonathan and his coven of political jobbers camouflaging as Ministers and also, the overzealousness of the security agencies.

Had the Pakistani teen visited Nigeria before the committee set up by the President to investigate whether or not the Chibok girls were truly abducted by the Boko Haram, what would have been the discourse at the meeting between Jonathan and the Pakistani girl?

Would the president have denied there was abduction Chibok schoolgirls and perhaps respectfully told the young girl to go back to wherever she came from?

It is instructive to note that, months after the

08110000117

Nigeria’s banana republic

• Jonathan

• Nyako

alism, judicial pronouncements and peace by the topmost hierarchy of ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is legendary.

From the Presidency to almost all states’ legislatures, contempt for reason and thoughtlessness is prevalent. People talk about system but one doubts if there is any in place. Most people talk about leadership but I cannot see any in Abuja and many of the PDP controlled stateseven beyond. Others see vision in what Obasanjo (now Jonathan) is doing but I see hopelessness in all existing reforms. Do I hear someone talk about legacies, for I see despondency from the people? The nation pretends to have a democracy when in actual fact we have totalitarianism. There is tension everywhere as Obasanjo (now Jonathan) and his PDP members are deliberately over heating the polity.

Some say the intention is to create a semblance of instability that would guarantee tenure elongation but one thing is clear, the chaotic situation in the country has official backing with an ulterior motive.

One of the quotes I cherished in my undergraduate days is that of the United States’ Supreme Court’s Justice Marshal’s in the land-

mark Supremacy of Constitution’s case of Marbury V. Madison to wit; “’Let the end be legitimate: Let it be within the scope of the constitution and all means which are appropriate and plainly adapted to that end: that which are not prohibited but consistent with the letters and spirit of the law are constitutional.’” Several years after, this quotation is still relevant in view of the numerous constitutional abuses in the country.

Based on one’s legal academic training, it is my belief that no constitutional government can ignore the significant import of Justice Marshal’s statement. During my undergraduate days when the military was in the saddle, military decrees and the military’s totalitarian ways of doing things were obviously frustrating. We were told by our radical lecturers who taught us elective courses in Sociology and Political Science then that the military ways of doing things were an aberration. They inculcated in us the belief that under a democracy, such high handedness is not possible.

We believed them. Because we really cherished and desired a government which Abraham Lincoln in Gettysburg described as ‘government of the people, by the people and for the people.’ We dreamt, slept and anticipated the birth of democracy in Africa's most populated black nation. Our university days fantasy did not materialise until 1999 when on May 29 of that year, a democratically elected government with President Obasanjo in the saddle for almost eight years came on board.

We looked forward to seeing all the things we were told about democratic government in our constitutional law and political science classes. I looked out for observance and respect for the rule of law; for a respectable and truly independent judiciary. I craved for a vibrant legislature; for a true operation of the principle of separation of power and the doctrine of checks and balances. I desired seeing a genuinely democratic executive arm of government.

Malala and a President’s hypocrisy

By Wale Ajetunmobi schoolgirls were herded into Sambisa Forest by the terrorists, President Jonathan lived in denial of the incident. Sycophants around him made efforts to make us believe that the abduction was the creation of government’s opponents, hence, existing in figment of their imagination.

Despite the moving stories of the girls’ parents, and their cries, the president maintained a stone-walled countenance and dismissed the abduction, thereby insulting the emotion and psychology of the hapless parents.

Even the gripping clip released by Boko Haram showing the girls in groups, clad in Hijab (Muslim veil) never convinced Jonathan that Boko Haram terrorists are in possession of the schoolgirls. The presidency, we were told, was studying the clip to “identify” if the teenagers in the video were actually Chibok girls.

Rather than spreading intelligence to ascertain the whereabouts of the girls, President Jonathan and his coterie of advisers launched a cold-blooded offensive against patriotic citizens protesting the girls’ abduction. The presidency released a false security reports, claiming the #BringBackOurGirls campaigners were being sponsored by opposition politicians to discredit the Jonathan government and bring it down.

The protesters would come under police attack for speaking for the helpless girls in Boko Haram’s den and for carrying placards with the inscription: #BringBackOurGirls.

Enter Mbu Joseph Mbu. Remember him? The hyperactive and highly partisan cop, who almost turned Rivers State to Siberia, was the ‘capable’ Rottweiler deployed by the federal government to hound the patriotic citizens that left their home to speak for the girls. The #BringBackOurGirls protesters were arrested and hurled to police cells for peaceful demonstration – the most civilised fashion of venting anger in a participatory democracy.

There have been several attempts to discredit

the #BringBackOurGirls campaigners, which resulted in court cases on whether the protesters have rights to hold sitting at a public place and demand certain things from the government.

On twice or thrice occasions within 90 days since the girls were taken away, the #BringBackOurGirls protesters have marched on the Presidential Villa to seek audience with President Jonathan. They were never allowed to the president’s office or residence on each occasion; in fact, battle ready gendarmes were deployed to ‘repel’ the civilised demonstrators whose only weapon remains #BringBackOurGirls placards.

We were never told Oby Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education, or Maryam Uwais, a lawyer, or Dino Melaye, a former member of the House of Representatives or Hadiza Bala Usman, or even Japheth Omojuwa, a celebrated young entrepreneur and blogger, hung riffles around on their shoulders while they led the #BringBackOurGirls campaign to Aso Rock.

Yet, these are respected Nigerians who should have had the privilege of president’s welcome to air their grievances.

Alas, Malala – a 17-year-old Pakistani girl – with the same #BringBackOurGirls campaign the Ezekwesilis, Melayes and Uwais of this country have been pushing was in Nigeria for three days and President Jonathan threw his doors ajar for her. The next thing: ministers, presidential aides and security officers, who attacked Nigerian protesters, started falling over themselves in photo ops with the Pakistani teenager. This is hypocrisy at its best and the presidency insulted the sensibility of every rational Nigerian, who had expected Jonathan would give audience to the aggrieved citizens clamouring for the release of the abducted teens.

The most insulting of Malala affairs is the promise Jonathan made to the teenager. “I promise to meet with the girls’ parents,” the president reportedly told Malala. But anyone who understands Borno State Governor

For me, these are unassailable ingredients of a democratic society that the military’s incursion into governance in our clime had denied us.

Yours sincerely is disappointed in this democratic system and those operating it at the moment. This column is yet to see traces of the democratic features my lecturers taught me to be indivisible characteristics of a constitutional government. Without cutting my nose to hurt my face, the Obasanjo (now Jonathan) led PDP government is worse than the military. Constitutional pervasions that are better imagined are daily occurrences in the country today.

What is operating in most states at the moment is gun-point democracy, not constitutional democracy that the 1999 constitution (as amended) stipulates to be in practice.

There is no true federalism in place; no genuine separation of power while the doctrine of checks and balances is gone with the wind. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) manifests wanton signs of partisanship without checks.

Those in power who are jettisoning the rule of law for the rule of man and who has beastly tendency should hearken to the wisdom in Akinrogun Segun Osoba, former governor of Ogun State, in one of his interviews to wit; “When you break the house of the bees, the stinging goes round as the bees will go after anybody.’’ The lesson in this statement is what Jonathan is doing in the country at the moment in his bid to get compulsorily re-elected. The consequences might far be beyond what he can handle. If anyone desires to know a banana republic, Nigeria is a model of it today in view of the gun-point democracy administered on her

by Obasanjo and now the Jonathan presidency.

This article was first published on Friday, November 17, 2006.

Akinrogun Osoba @ 75 In the circles of ‘Who is Who’ in today’s Nigeria, one accomplished Nigerian that needs little or no introduction is Akinrogun Olusegun Osoba, CFR. He left indelible marks on the turf of journalism and in the murky waters of Ogun state, where he served as governor and Nigeria’s politics in general.

From being a nosy reporter, the respected Akinrogun of Egba land has grown to become a true elderstatesman. He is in truth and facts, a ‘journalism generalissimo’ of our time and a factor /leader that cannot be easily ignored in contemporary Ogun state progressive politics.

Congratulations sir. I will find time to come and eat my portion of your birthday cake soonest after having not seen you in over a year and a half despite the fact that we both live in Lagos. Once again, happy birthday sir!

Kashim Shettima’s grievance with the president would, by now, know that the Jonathan’s promise to the teenager indicated a sheer presidential contempt for people of different political standpoint.

Governor Shettima’s pleas to the president to visit Chibok and meet with parents of the abducted girls met a brick wall. Rather, the governor was turned the object of tirade by the presidential aides, who threw vitriolic innuendos at Shettima and his political party. Why didn’t the president or his aides upbraid Malala for lending her voice to the #BringBackOurGirls campaign?

We must praise this Pakistani teen for lending the Nigerian presidency some wisdom, which can be succinctly put this way: “If you can’t pick wisdom from your people, we will not hesitate to come from outside to deliver the wise message.”

We know the president is only concerned about his re-election in 2015 and nothing more.

This is what he lives for, not minding whether people were abducted or killed by terrorists on daily basis. Whether it is Malala or Obama that visits, we don’t care. What we demand from Jonathan is to strip his presidency of hypocrisy and summon courage to free the girls from their captors and re-unite them alive (not in body bags) with their parents.

• Ajetunmobi is a reporter with The Nation

‘Malala – a 17-year-old Pakistani girl – with the same #BringBackOurGirls campaign the Ezekwesilis, Melayes and Uwais of this country have been pushing was in Nigeria for three days and President Jonathan threw his doors ajar for her. The next thing: ministers, presidential aides and security officers, who attacked Nigerian protesters, started falling over themselves in photo ops with the Pakistani teenager’

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

NEWS

‘Jonathan is destroying Nigeria’ Text of a news conference by National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun on July 16, 2014, in Abuja.

Protocols Good morning, gentlemen of the press.

Please permit me to start off this press conference with a quote by Chilean writer Isabel Allende, which goes thus: ‘’What I fear most is power with impunity. I fear abuse of power, and the power to abuse.’’

Isabel, a victim of the Pinochet military dictatorship, is not alone.

All Nigerians must be worried about power with impunity, which is what President Goodluck Jonathan and his party, the PDP, have resorted to in their desperation to crush the opposition and destroy Nigeria in the process.

I have called this Press Conference to address the grave dangers facing Nigerians as a people, our country as a nation and our democracy as our hope, at this very critical time.

Events in Nigeria in the past few weeks point to a return to the dark old days of state dictatorship, lawlessness, impunity and repression.

Our freedoms are being emasculated, our economy being run to the ground, and our only hope of bringing about change - our democratic expression is being smothered before our very eyes all because President Goodluck Jonathan is so obsessed with reelection in 2015 at all cost that he is destroying not just all our key institutions but indeed the entire country.

At this critical juncture of our history and despite our desire for restraint and mature engagement with President Goodluck Jonathan and the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) it is evident that inaction is no longer an option and we must resist.

Indeed keeping quiet in the face of the ceaseless and unrelenting reckless violations of all known laws of the land and the Constitution will amount to complicity in the lawlessness and impunity that has become the norm under President Goodluck Jonathan.

We know it has been the dream of the ruling PDP to rule for 60 unbroken years, not minding if Nigeria becomes a desert land in the process.

Their evil machination has manifested in Ekiti. It has manifested yesterday in Adamawa, They have carried it to Nasarawa, and they have Edo, Osun and Rivers in their sights.

In the states mentioned, all of them opposition strongholds, Presi-

dent Jonathan and his party have abused national institutions, resorted to a crude use of force and engaged in unprecedented financial inducements to achieve their objectives.

All these anti-democratic tactics come under the umbrella of power with impunity!

But there is a bigger problem.

President Jonathan is obsessed with his re-election in 2015, and he does not mind if Nigeria is destroyed in the process. He does not care whether every institution of state, be it the military, the courts, INEC or any other one, is destroyed. All that matters now is his re-election.

This explains why he has embarked on this war against the opposition, this war against all of Nigeria.

Having bastardized the army, the police, the courts, aviation and the electoral commission, he has now moved to the next level: Impeachment.

Every impeachment or threat of it in recent times has the imprint of President Jonathan.

As we speak, the Governor of Adamawa, Murtala Nyako, has been impeached at the instance of the President and his party, they have moved to Nasarawa, their next stop, while Rivers, Edo and Borno, all APC states, are not being spared the destabilisation that precedes their new-found weapon.

What was Nyako impeached for?

Offences he allegedly committed five years ago. Those offences were not impeachable when he was in the PDP. But the moment he decamped to the APC, they became impeachable.

The entire “impeachment” of Governor Nyako is so fraught with irregularities, bias, judicial contradictions and in violation of every procedural and constitutional provisions that it is the worst manifestation of impunity. We intend to mount an immediate and rigorous challenge to this gross injustice to the party and people of Adamawa State.

What is Gov. Al-Makura of Nasarawa being threatened with impeachment for?

Allegations of extra-budgetary expenditure, the same offence that President Jonathan has committed many times. In fact, on only on the 10th of July 2014, the Senate passed a resolution asking President Goodluck Jonathan to prepare and submit

to the National Assembly supplementary budget to cover the over expenditure in the sum of N90.693 billion (US$585 billion) for PMS subsidy 2012 and the sum of N685.910 billion (US$4.430 billion) for Kerosene (DPK) subsidy expended without appropriation by the National Assembly in 2012 and 2013!

In Adamawa, each member of the State House of Assembly was allegedly given US $300,000 as part payment to impeach Gov. Nyako; some 500 million Naira has allegedly been moved to Nasarawa to induce the state’s lawmakers to impeach Gov. Al-Makura, and in Edo, each lawmaker has allegedly been offered 75 million Naira to impeach Gov. Adams Oshiomhole.

Now, who is more guilty of gross misconduct than a President who is frittering away our commonwealth to induce perfidious legislators to impeach their state Governors? Who is more guilty of gross misconduct than a President who deploys troops to harass, intimidate and arrest the opposition during an election? Who deserves to be impeached for gross misconduct more than a President who uses national institutions against the opposition, and shuts airports arbitrarily?

President Jonathan’s desperation knows no bounds, and he is willing to set a record of presiding over the greatest number of impeachments under his tenure. Before Nyako’s impeachment on Tuesday, a total of five impeachments have been carried out in all of the 15 years of the Fourth Republic. But between now and 2015, President Jonathan is championing five impeachments, in Adamawa, Nasarawa, Edo, Rivers and Borno.

In doing so, he is subverting hitherto respected national institutions.

The army has been so compromised that it can no longer be trusted by anyone to be neutral. The army has been so abused that it now carries out police duties. Soldiers were deployed to guard the residence of the Chief Judge of Adamawa while the impeachment proceedings were on. Soldiers were deployed to guard each member of the impeachment panel. Soldiers were also deployed to guard the venue where the panel sat.

In Ekiti, soldiers were deployed to hunt down the opposition and prevent them from moving around freely, in contravention of the nation’s constitution. In Osun, soldiers are

•Chairman, Yaba Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Mr Jide Jimoh (middle); Oba Gbobi Sabe, Oba Owolabi Adeyemi (second left); Supervisor for Works, Yaba LCDA, Alhaji Alade Grillo (left) and Vice Chair Mrs Bola Lawal Olumegbon, at an awareness walk by the Prevention of Building Collapse Prevention Guild BCPG) in partnership with Yaba LCDA in Lagos.

PHOTO: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

•Oyegun

“It is up to the police to protect our nascent democracy and not the military, otherwise the democracy might be wittingly or unwittingly militarised.

This is not what the citizenry bargained for after 1999. again to be deployed to shut down the state and go after the opposition.

By using the military for election duties, President Jonathan is clearly disobeying a court order as the Court of Appeal had ruled as far back as 2005 that the involvement of the military in the conduct of elections is an aberration and therefore unconstitutional. Indeed in the words of Salami, JCA on page 176 in the case of Yusuf v Obasanjo (2005) 18 NWLR (Pt. 956 96@174-5).

“It is up to the police to protect our nascent democracy and not the military, otherwise the democracy might be wittingly or unwittingly militarised. This is not what the citizenry bargained for after 1999.

Conscious step or steps should be taken to civilianise the polity and thereby ensure survival and sustenance of democracy.”

The Akure airport was suddenly slammed shut just to punish opposition leaders who had converged in

Ekiti for Gov. Kayode Fayemi’s campaign rally.

They had to travel all night by road to Lagos.

In Borno, under the guise of ensuring security, the Maiduguri Airport has been closed for several weeks, hence the Borno Governor and the people of the state, including the pilgrims heading to lesser Hajj, have been forced to travel by road to Kano to board their flights.

However, the reason for shutting the airport has suddenly vanished as the private plane bearing former Governor Ali Modu Sheriff was allowed to land at the airport on Monday, the same day the Governor had to travel by road to Kano to see his brother who was involved in an accident on the same road!

Obviously, President Jonathan is fast turning Nigeria into George Orwell’s Animal Farm, where some animals are more equal than the others.

Welcome to Nigeria of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, where the only people who are deemed to be true Nigerians are those under the umbrella of the PDP, where the only people worth protecting are PDP members!

Conclusion We have raised the alarm several times that President Jonathan’s obsession with his re-election is a clear and present danger to our democracy. Today, we say this President’s obsession with re-election is threatening the very existence of our nation.

Never in the history of our dear nation has any President waged war on the country the way this President is doing. Never in the history of our country has any President desecrated national institutions like this President is doing to the very institutions that sustain democracy.

Never in the history of our country has our people been so divided along ethnic, religious, political and social lines, with poverty rising astronomically in the backdrop of a claimed rapid growth in the nation’s GDP. We warn that excessive political greed will always have its consequences.

Any student of Nigeria’s contemporary history will realize what acts of impunity and desperation to win elections at all cost did to the country in 1965, 1983 and 1993, just to mention a few.

We call on all friends of Nigeria to prevail on President Jonathan to apply the brakes in his obsessive quest for power, because every action has consequences.

It is time for those who can still get the ears of this President to remind him that his ambition is not worth the destruction of a whole country. All those who can must act now before it is too late!

I thank you all for listening.

•L-R: Chairman, Membership Committee The Institute of Business Development, Sir George Amadi Regisrar/CEO Mr Paul Ikele, Deputy Vice President Mr Adewale Talabi, General Manager, Training and Development Mr Soji Omotunde and Editor-,Online Mr Lekan Otufodunrin when members of the Institute visited The Nation in Lagos.

PHOTO: DAYO ADEWUNMI.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net Stories by Taofik Salako

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

Ericsson sees dominance of LTE

Fed Govt votes N300m for TCN

By Lucas Ajanaku

T

HE Ericsson Mobility Report has shown that 85 per cent of North American mobile subscriptions will be long term evolution (LTE) by 2019. This high penetration of LTE indicates that North America could be one of the first regions to adopt fifth generation (5G). At the same time, Japan and South Korea are also likely to benefit from early 5G availability with trials already announced by both NTT DOCOMO and SK Telecom. A regional appendix of Ericsson Mobility Report shows LTE subscription penetration had already reached over 30 per cent in Japan and over 50 per cent in South Korea - the highest in the world.

Speaking on the report, Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer at NTT DOCOMO, Seizo Onoe said: "5G promises significant performance enhancements to support future new applications that will impact both users and industry. To proceed with our joint project on 5G field trial further, we are very glad about Ericsson's success in demonstrating the real potential of 5G radio access technologies at this early stage."

The Mobility Report provides a comprehensive snapshot of the pre-5G mobile world and foreshadows the demand drivers for 5G. The report forecasts a 10-time growth in mobile data traffic between last year and 2019 and highlights three to four times growth in the number of active cellular machine to machine (M2M) devices by 2019.

Executive Vice President and Head of ICT R&D Division at SK Telecom, Alex Jinsung Choi, said: "SK Telecom plans to take the lead in 5G wireless services so we are pleased to see the progress that Ericsson has already made with their live demonstration of 5G performance. 5G will build upon the investment that we have made in LTE and expand our service offering to all of our customers."

Research Manager Wireless Network Infrastructure at IDC, Sathya Atreyam, said: "Though the standard is not yet defined, 5G has already evolved from a technology vision to a network and business planning consideration for operators. It is important for network equipment vendors -- like Ericsson -- to demonstrate the potential of 5G as a means to begin creating a demand in the communications ecosystem.

Head, Business Unit Networks, Johan Wibergh, said: "5G will impact both the access and core of mobile networks so we are working closely with leading operators, including NTT DOCOMO and SK Telecom, to ensure a practical and proactive evolution. The development of advanced radio technologies is one of the first critical steps in the realization of a 5G future."

The live demo employs an innovative new radio interface concept and advanced MultipleInput Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology to achieve the recordbreaking results. Ericsson 5G network development activity includes new antenna technologies with wider bandwidths, higher frequencies and shorter transmission time intervals.

By Emeka Ugwuanyi HE Federal Government has given N300 million to Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to reinforce the transmission network, Director-General of Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Benjamin Dikki, has said.

Dikki disclosed this during BPE's post-monitoring exercise to Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) in Lagos. He assured that power supply challenges will soon be a thing of the past, adding that the Federal Government’s gesture to TCN is from the one billion Euro-bond to improve infrastructure. He also noted that there is a loan from African Development Bank (ADB) He said currently, funding is not the major challenge of TCN but the process of identifying the most important project to be executed with the fund. He said: He said: "The money they have is sufficient to complete the rehabilitation but all they need now is to use the fund provided to them for effective projects rehabilitation before being provided additional fund.

"TCN has advertised some of the projects to be rehabilitated, which will ensure effective evacuation of energy to distributions companies. Government has also indentified other projects that require financing such as the independent power projects (IPPs), which will also boost distribution. Quite a number of IPPs have been completed and will improve power supply to the national grid."

He added that TCN is working towards wheeling all the capacity into the national grid.

Dikki said the post-privatisation monitoring exercise is to identify areas, which government can be of assistance to the distribution companies and reassured of government's support on postprivatisation. He said: "Government still has 40 per cent stake in the business. This is to ascertain where the sector is today, ensure adequate provision to enhancing the operation. Mr. President has been at the vanguard of ensuring that the private sector strives in the country to become the engine of the economy.

"We are happy with what we are seeing in Ikeja Disco. This is a clear example of the privatisation process. Ikeja has shown good initiative towards effective customer service delivery and prompt response to complaints, which was obtainable in the past when the Discos were in the hands of the government."

He urged management of IKEDC to embark on sensitisation programme that will educate customers on power sector value chain and energy distribution process adding it will go a long way in educating them on the role of Discos.

The Chief Executive Officer, IKEDC, Mr Abiodun Ajifowobaje, said energy supply has been a major challenge to the company adding that the company has spent over N1 billion on various projects since the new investors took over. He said: "We have installed and completed all rehabilitated transformers and pending projects within the company.”

T

•From left: Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Jibril Aku; Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) and Country Head, Personal Banking Ecobank Nigeria, Mrs. Olukorede 'Demola-Adeniyi, at the launch of Ecobank Premier Banking Services in Lagos.

‘AMCON selling bad-debt shares’

T

HE Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) might have started selling underlying quoted shares it took over from its bad-loan purchase deals.

Reliable market sources said many voluminous transactions in recent period were traceable to the shares sale by the bad-asset resolution company.

AMCON is reported to be the second largest holder of quoted equities after the pension industry, although specific shareholdings in several companies are not known.

The bad-asset resolution company had invested more than N3 trillion in the purchase of non-performing loans and recapitalisation of banks, which yielded direct and indirect shareholdings in the banks and non-financial companies.

With quoted and unquoted shares as collaterals for several bad loans taken over by AMCON, the company has shares in nearly all banks

Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

and several quoted companies.

The benchmark index at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the All Share Index (ASI), has surpassed the 40,000 points that AMCON's chief executive, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, had predicted as a good recovery point in 2012. While the NSE's ASI was 26,011.64 points by the end of September 2012, Chike-Obi had predicted that the market's index could rise to 40,000 points. He had ruled out the possibility of selling the corporation's shares until they attained optimum values.

According to him, the corporation would hold on to its assets to realise the intrinsic values of the assets in the foreseeable future because it believes that it could optimize the values of the assets.

"We believe the assets will appreciate, it will be premature to sell now," Chike-Obi had then told the annual con-

ference of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) in Lagos.

The NSE's ASI closed on Wednesday at 43,030.27 points.

Market sources said AMCON might have started selling the quoted shares that were used as collaterals and underlying assets for margin loans.

An investment advisor in a leading investment banking company stated that there could be further sale of shares by AMCON in the second half.

The Nation had earlier reported that AMCON owns large equity stakes in many information and communication technology (ICT) firms listed on the NSE. A document obtained by The Nation had shown that AMCON had the majority equity stake of 10.54 per cent in a high-profile technology innovation company. Besides, the corporation also has joint interest in another 7.51 per cent equity stake in

the same firm, bringing its direct and indirect equity interest to some 18.05 per cent.

The Nation had also reported that AMCON had become the second largest shareholder of FTN Cocoa Processors Plc following indirect acquisition of equity stakes in the agro-allied company.

Impeccable source in the know of the acquisition indicated that AMCON became the second largest shareholder of the company after it acquired provisionally bad loans related to the shares of the company.

At the last count, AMCON owns about 307.23 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each of FTN Cocoa Processors, which places the bad loans management special purpose vehicle within the few shareholders that control the direction of the company.

AMCON is also known to have significant equity stakes in Wema Bank, Union Bank of Nigeria, Sterling Bank, Access Bank, Unity Bank and FCMB Group.

CBN raises capital base for agric scheme to N3b

T

HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the capital base for the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund ( ACGSF) from N100 million initial capital base to N3 billion.

A CBN report on the ACGSF showed that the scheme started operation in 1978 with an initial capital base of N100 million shared in a ratio of 60 to 40 between Federal Government of and the apex bank.

It said the ACGSF is meant to share the risks of banks in agricultural lending and hence encourage the lenders to continue to

By Collins Nweze

extend credit to the agricultural sector.

The apex bank is equally considering an intensive performance rating for all commercial banks to determine their effectiveness of lending to agriculture. To achieve this, the apex bank has set aside N1.5 billion, out of the N75 billion allocated for the full implementation of the Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) project.

The CBN said rating of the banks is one of the strategic measures it is taking to

stimulate lending to the sector. The NIRSAL’s objective is to de-risk agriculture finance value chain, build long term capacity and instituionalise incentives for agricultural lending.

It said the potential lenders include traditional banks, microfinance institutions, trade finance providers, asset managers, and private equity funds. Credit to the sector could also come as a loan portfolio, a loan, a bond or in some cases, a specific commitment letter.

It said NIRSAL Credit Risk Guarantee range from 30 per cent to 75 per cent and could be loan principal, or

loan principal and interest payments. The funds are targeted at farmer groups, large corporate farmers, processing companies, agricultural service providers, logistic companies, wholesale distributors among others. It can also be targeted at whole agribusiness value chain covered across all crops and livestock activities.

It added that NIRSAL was a public/private initiative designed by the apex bank and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture in 2011 to disburse such grants to financial institutions for easy access by farmers nationwide.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

THE NATION

BUSINESS BRANDS & MARKETING

e-mail: adedejiademigbuji@yahoo.com /mobile line: 08131075667

Setting agenda for political advertising As the 2015 elections draw near, stakeholders in marketing communication are joining hands with relevant electoral groups to ensure that communication experts are engaged to handle their political advertising campaigns to align with best global practices. ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI reports.

I

T was a meeting of eggheads in the advertising and public relations industry. With the thrust of the forum centered around ensuring that the quality of political advertising campaign materials conform with certain codes of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and that of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), it was, therefore, not surprising that politicians also thronged the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua International Centre, Abuja, venue of the forum.

The forum, an initiative of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), was aimed at enhancing a free and fair election in 2015.

With the dirty practices that characterise the nation’s politics, experts want communication professionals to handle electioneering campaigns’ project to build the right perception for the polity in line with best global practices.

With self-regulation almost impossible among broadcasting and news organisations in the heat of electioneering campaigns, coupled with the desperation syndrome by parties, their candidates and political campaign communication managers, INEC, is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that a collaboration between AAAN, BON and NBC change the game.

INEC said during the international seminar with the theme, Political advertising, perception building and voters education, that it has reviewed the regulations contained in its code of conduct governing political advertisements and campaigns with a view to ensuring strict compliance by political parties and their candidates.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said: “All expertise should be put to good use for the purposes of organising clean and positive campaigns that will help them win elections, rather than the kind of uncivil campaigns that take place in our country. It is important that we regulate and sanitise our campaigns.”

He said the electoral body has revised the regulations governing campaigns and already shared a draft of those guidelines to political parties. We hope to finalise it and very soon, we will put it into effect so that political parties will know clearly where to draw the lines and the sanctions that would apply if they do not act according to the rules and regulations.

He expressed satisfaction that the semi-

nar has shown that we can learn good practice from other countries and factor it into your own preparations. “It is very important that we sanitise the electoral process and political campaigns. They should be research-based, well informed and expertise should be brought to bear in the preparation and conduct of political campaigns.”

Also, the National Chairman, All Progressives Grand Alliance, Chief Victor Umeh, said political advertising remained a very important aspect of electioneering process.

“I urge advertising practitioners to go to INEC and collect the code of conduct already signed by political parties. The code of conduct is in a position to regulate what advertising practitioners will do. If you know that what somebody is telling you to project for him is offending the law and the rules, you will drop such

materials and it is very critical that advert practitioners partner with INEC because they are very important stakeholders in this process,” he affirmed.

While advertisements influence decisions of the electorate in deciding whom to buy into, he stated that the absence of mechanism to regulate what political parties and their candidates are permitted to showcase to the electorate often lead them into making wrong choice.

“Political parties have a code of conduct they have signed with INEC and keeping strictly to it. Political parties should refrain from messages that are offensive and in conflict with normal acceptable norms in the society. It is very important that as we prepare for the 2015 general elections, what the political parties and their candidates should be taking to the electorate will be very critical in deciding who the people will choose ahead of others in a

particular contest. So, it is very good that at this time, political parties are enjoined to keep by the rules. Mudslinging and propaganda politics should be avoided.

“You can’t decide to disparage people because they are your opponents. It is good that we have this seminar so that people will be told what to do. It is also very important that advertising practitioners would also be aware of all these things so that when people approach them to project certain messages to the Nigerian public, they will be properly guided. Billboards are raised containing certain messages, Newspaper advertorials are placed. All stakeholders are enjoined to vet and edit the content of materials coming to them from politicians before they go to print”.

Meanwhile, the Political Director of the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign, Craig Smith, said to ensure best global practice, Nigerian politicians and their communication experts should ensure that in creating their campaign messages, they must start with research. He said research will reveal the popularity of the candidates, the need of the people, how to engage them, the best medium that will drive the campaign message to the right target so that electorate will make the right decision.

Craig also said globally, political candidates and their parties use communication professionals in line with best global practice. He cited Clinton-Gore campaign as an example which followed principles of advertising campaigns process and delivered electoral victories and governance impact in the USA. However, Craig urged experts to desist from the use of attack communication strategy to attract voters’ sympathy; rather, politicians, he advised, should engage in activities such as community development projects that impact on the electorate, saying only this would attract their votes.

Meanwhile, the outgoing President of AAAN, Mrs Bunmi Oke, said the association will ensure that government and politicians engage professionals in political advertising. She said the recognition of the association by the Federal Government is an icing on the cake. “The icing on the cake is that we got Federal Government recognition that we are invited to be a member of the national Confab. That tells me that in this business we need to work as team with all stakeholders in the marketing communication.”

AAAN gets new president

T

HERE is a change of guards at the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN).

A new president, Kelechi Nwosu, takes over as president of the 41year-old body. Nwosu is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TBWA/ Concepts Nigeria.

His emergence, it is believed, would on the achievements of the body and push Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) reforms and deepen the association’s relationship with government.

With a campaign slogan, RVP, which means Reputation, Value and Professionalism, Kelechi is poised to deepen the drive to ensure that advertising professionals are engaged in governance and politics in line with best global busi-

By Adedeji Ademigbuji

ness practice and current reform by APCON. “My campaign was run on three letters, and those letters are RVP. Those letters refer to building a lot of respect so that we can use that respect to consolidate and push the APCON reforms and stand on that respect to get much more value. One of the strong things my administration has promised to do and I hope to accomplish it is to embark on a strong campaign for the government.

“If we want to build reputation you have to show some skills and you have to prove that you have the capability. These will open doors to pursue the reforms. We will lobby people to let them know

about the reforms and they should abide by them. We have to talk to our people to believe in the reforms, we can’t wait for APCON to push it for us. R is about pushing the reforms. V is about helping get value.

Professionalism- I am going to work hard to energise the committees we have in AAAN. The idea is particularly for the training and development committee,” he said.

Kelechi, who was the vice president in the last administration, said he would “lobby people to let them know about the reforms and they should abide by them. We have to talk to our people to believe in the reforms as we can’t wait for APCON to push it for us”.

Kelechi contested against Lanre Adisa, the CEO of Noah’s Ark. Over the years, election into the office of

the president of the association has followed an unwritten order of allowing vice president to become president but some people within the association believe in altering the order this time.

Celey Okogun of Novel Potta was defeated by Kayode Oluwalana to clinch the vice president position of the association.

The immediate past president Bunmi Oke praised her good relationship with marketing and brand journalists and described her tenure as historic.

She said: “It was a period when so many changes were going on in the industry which include APCON reforms, 40th anniversary of AAAN, stepping up LAIF awards and the emergence of female president after a long time.”

HOW THEY WERE VOTED FOR President - Kelechi Nwosu defeated Lanre Adisa by 37 Votes to 13.

Vice President - Kayode Oluwasona who defeated Dr Celey Okogun with 35 to 15 votes.

Honourary Treasurer - Shola Adegborioye (unopposed).

Publicity Secretary - Ikechi Odigbo DDB (unopposed).

Assistant Pub Secretary Victor Otabo of Rosabel also unopposed.

Others are Mrs Bisi Afolabi, Sam Osunsoko, & Demola Oluriande and the immediate past President Bunmi Oke, (All ex-Officio).

27

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

Brandnews

Workers vital to firm’s survival, says Sobanjo Chairman of Troyka Group Mr. Biodun Sobanjo started from a humble beginning to become a colossus in advertising. In this interview with ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI, he shares his principles on what can make or mar an organisation.

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ECENTLY, you donated a building to the Mass Communication Department of the University of Lagos (UNLAG).

What informed the donation?

We are happy to have done that but it is not in our place to go to town with the news of it because, I don’t know of any group that is as represented in the area of marketing communications, on the support side as we do. We have about five or six companies offering marketing communication support and, to the extent that you are going to consistently draw your manpower from the universities and polytechnics. It is only proper for us to align with that kind of initiative so that was why I agreed but I told them that we have to move at my pace because I am not a moneybag; everybody signed up to that and we went to work. Really, it was something that we felt we needed to do and I am very pleased that we did it.

What principles have shaped your life?

In terms of principles, I don’t think there are any principles that are different from the ones that all successful entrepreneurs use. If you have a profession the first thing you need to understand is that the raw materials that you need for the sustainability of that profession is people. You need people, not just picking people from the street; they have to contribute knowledge and skills to the party. The knowledge you acquire from school if you went to a good school. Then you also need skills; skills you probably will not acquire until you get to work. What do we do? We do a combination of both because we recognise that we work in a knowledge environment. A man who is a marketing director of a multi-billion business project and needs to sell the things that he is churning out everyday needs the help of people who know how to connect the brand to the consumer.

You may not have necessarily got that knowledge from school. It is our responsibility to teach you how you connect the consumer to the brand so from day one 20 years ago we identify that there is a gap so we must create a school, we must create an opportunity to teach. This was why we started the management training program. The programme is for fresh university graduates who go through it for one year for training. Literally, we are giving you money for that one year because you are in school. We are training them and by the time this boys and girls graduate they become management executives, account executives. If you went to the department of mass communication in any university, I doubt whether the students actually see the inside of Advertising agencies by the time they graduate not to talk of working in those agencies.

Hardly can you go to any company in marketing where you do not find members of our alumni either those who came here as marketing trainees or those who joined us at

Chivita Premium is Chivita 100%

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HI Limited has changed its name from Chivita Premium to Chivita 100 per cent. It has elegant packaging redesigned.

The renaming of the product is to reflect the idea of the brand, which is the 100 per cent pure fruit juice that has no sugar, preservative and colours.

Written on the pack is ‘100 per cent Fruit Juice’ while ‘No Added Sugar’ is built into the design and written in clear language to give the information prominence.

To get the consumer’s attraction to Chivita 100 per cent, the variant name appears as ‘Real Orange’ or ‘Real Apple’ on the pack instead of Orange or Apple. The interactive design features “shake well” symbol and “variant wheel”.

The firm’s Managing Director Mr. Roy Deepanjan said the new packaging is the company’s way of injecting fresh energy into the brand so that it can take its pride of place on market shelves and in households.

Ranona committed to customer satisfaction

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FOOD and beverage manufacturer Ranona Nigeria Limited has restated its commitment to customer satisfaction.

Speaking at the firm’s Distributors’ Forum, its Managing Director Premender Sethi said since its inception two years ago, the firm has continued to produce products that meet consumers’expectation, noting that consumers are key to the business’survival.

He said businesses must take the interest of consumers into consideration, maintaining that consumers deserve quality products.

“This is just the start; we will continue to hold distributors meet on an annual basis because this is one of the ways we want to appreciate you for your unwavering support,” he said.

“We are partners in success and we believe our distributors are the back bone of our company. We will move faster if we continue to collaborate in this manner.”

He advised distributors not to undermine their capabilities, stressing that the event would provide a platform for both parties to discuss challenges and opportunities.

According to him, the company’s parent company Olam Nigeria Limited is the largest single earner of foreign exchange for Nigeria courtesy of its export of cashew nuts, cocoa.

He said the company will organise trade promos for retailers, adding that this will help the company’s product in terms of development and patronage.

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was to recognise exemplary achievement by organisations or institutions.

“It recognises industry leaders with an indisputable track record of success in turning strategy into action and continuously improving their organisation’s performance,” it said.

Executive Director of Mansard Insurance Mr. Kunle Ahmed thanked the institute for the honour, promising that the firm would not rest on its oars in delivering value added services to Nigerians.

He urged the institute to challenge organisations to deliver high quality products and services.

Mansard wins award

• Sobanjo

the executive ladder and rose within the ranks. In any case, there is an association of social agencies in our profession and today, three alumnus of Insight have headed the association and there is no agency that has that record. This shows the kind of impact that we are making in our industry.

How has the founders helped to manage growth in Insight Communications?

I think you have to understand the reason for Insight. Many years ago, I said if people can’t understand the dream they cannot have the dream. The company is 34 years old, it is no longer a small company; it went on a journey, a journey to establish itself as the most sought after marketing company in Nigeria. If you have to be the most-sought-after, that means you have to have inherent capabilities and if you the drivers of the business were to find that those inherent capabilities are beginning to wane, it is now your responsibility to build those inherent capabilities as quickly as you can. Quote me, there is nobody from anywhere who interacts with the people (at Insight Communications) and not sees a difference. Only yesterday, a foreign top practitioner was in that

office.

The thing is, it is not difficult but it is also not easy; from day one there were values that were implanted there and whoever would takes over the company must consistently follow through those processes.

One of it is that I cannot influence who is employed at Insight. We hire the best and it has to be competitive. It is possible that once in a while somebody may bend the rules but we pick it up because everything at the place is competitive; to progress is competitive. Even when that is done, the system will spot it along the line; so when you begin to come across as a laggard, somebody will ask, how did this person get in here. That is how we run our businesses, no exception this. So, it is ingrained in the system, it is part of our DNA. That explains the little success that we’ve had. It starts with the rules that you have set and then ensure that nobody will abuse the rules. We have set incredible standards for ourselves. The funny thing is we can do the same thing with this country; it just requires good leadership.

Thirty-five years ago, I was the only management person and we ensured that we followed the rules. It is possible to run Nigeria like that.

‘If you have a profession the first thing you need to understand is that the raw materials that you need for the sustainability of that profession is people. You need people, not just picking people from the street; they have to contribute knowledge and skills to the party’

ANSARD Insurance Plc has won the Most Trusted Insurance Company in Nigeria by National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN).

At a Award Night/ Dinner, which held as part of the institute’s International Annual Marketing Conference at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, the institute said the award was in appreciation of Mansard for giving a new face to insurance by building trust, reliability and introducing innovative products in the insurance industry.

The institute further said the award

Goldberg is official beer of Osun Osogbo festival

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OLDBERG Lager Beer by Nigerian Breweries has been adopted as the official beer of the Osun Osogbo Festival.

This was made known at the Osun Osogbo Festival Programme Unveiling and Corporate Forum in Lagos.

The Ataoja of Oshogboland, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji, Olanipekun II, praised the firm for its commitment to the festival and the Yoruba culture.

“It goes without saying that the Osun Osogbo Festival is regarded as a very important festival, not only in Yoruba land and Nigeria, but also in the world. The event is a huge tourist attraction that lures the global community to Osogbo in Osun State. Goldberg’s identification with the celebrations shows the brand’s commitment to the customs and values of the Yoruba people, and we are happy about it,” he said.

According to the paramount ruler, Goldberg’s participation in the event will make the celebrations more memorable than previous editions.

He added: “As organisers, we always try our best to make sure that everyone who participates in the festivities takes away a unique experience. With Goldberg’s involvement in this year’s edition, we are sure that it will be even bigger and better than what we had in the past.”

Similarly, Osun State Governor, who was represented by the Special

Adviser on Home Affairs, Tourism and Culture, Oladipo Soyode, also praised Goldberg for its sponsorship.

He noted that Goldberg’s efforts would not only bring more glamour and excitement to the festivities, but will also contribute to the economy of Osun State.

“We are always grateful when corporate organisations contribute their quota to an important cause like this.

Goldberg’s involvement, no doubt, will bring more glamour to the event and contribute to the local economy of the people of Osun State, which will consequently increase their disposable income,” he said.

The Brand Manager, Goldberg, Mr. Mfon Bassey, said the product was happy to be associated with this old festival that is dear to Osogbo people and other Yoruba.

According to him, as Nigeria’s premier and largest brewing firm with a portfolio of high quality brands, Nigerian Breweries has partnered with this festival for the second year, noting that Goldberg was proud to be part of the festival as its beer.

He said the brand has continued to keep its consumers through promotion of people’s traditions, adding that the festival is one celebration that everyone looks forward.

Explaining Goldberg’s participation at this year’s festival, he said, among others, the brand will be holing the 21-day Goldberg Beer fiesta where Osogbo people and visitors will be exposed to music, comedy, giftsand drinks.

FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

28

THE NATION

BUSINESS SHOPPING

E-mail: toniaitose@gmail.com

Sms : 07035302326 Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.net

Efficient delivery system key to SME growth’

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•Shoprite Surulere, Lagos

Shoprite’s winning edge Riding on the back of innovation and unbeatable promotional strategies, Shoprite, South Africa’s largest grocery retailer in terms of overall market share, has continued to expand its footprint in Africa. It has established a strong presence in Nigeria where the retail chain is revolutionalising the way Nigerians shop. TONIA ‘DIYAN reports.

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INCE December 2005 when Shoprite, South Africa’s largest grocery retailer in terms of overall market share, entered Nigeria’s Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector, it has never looked back. The retail giant’s capacity to replicate in Nigeria the same innovation and promotional strategies, which saw it calling the shots in South Africa and other countries in Africa and Asia where it has presence, has put it on the driving seat of Nigeria’s FMCG sector. With its price competitiveness and excellent quality products on shelf, the grocery retailer has been able to build a strong brand awareness with the Nigerian customer, which is why the retail firm has continued to expand its store network throughout the country.

Interestingly, as Shoprite expands its store network across Nigeria, it has continued to maintain its brand integrity by ensuring that its product offering (taking different local brands into account) remains the same Irrespective of where people shop, either in Lagos, (Nigeria), Mumbai (India) or Cape Town (South Africa). The retail chain constantly tries to find ways of improving its supply chain with its employment of local suppliers and farmers. It has local Nigerian suppliers and farmers supplying their stores and it has seen tremendous support from not only the Nigerian government and the general public, but also from local suppliers who have appreciated its efforts of promoting their locally produced products.

In recent times, the retail sector’s competitiveness is intensifying immensely with additional players entering the food segment, competing for local food expenditure. Consequently, participants in the same category have been stepping up their advertising and promotion campaigns, increasing their number of brand lines as well as manufacturing capacity, with a view to capturing the rising demand. Considering the fact that the local market is approaching relative maturity, investors in the mould of Shoprite understand that growth here will be closely linked to the ability to create sustainable

employment for the masses of unemployed youth. This will be a significant driver of sales and profitability growth.

Shoprite says that in the past, its growth strategy has been acquisitive in nature, but organic expansion is now its primary growth driver. With three core supermarket brands each with a unique positioning in the market, its brand has been repositioned and caters to more upmarket consumers, with market share being won from competitors in the same segment.

Though, the formal retail sector in Nigeria is extremely small, three percent to be precise, Shoprite has said that with its stores rollout, it will change this mindset by ensuring it remains price competitive whilst offering excellent quality goods and customer service. Shoprite has also found out that the Nigerian FMCG market is mainly geared towards supplying the informal sector, with very little formal retail sector involvement.

Shoprite is extremely positive about Nigeria and the potential here. It is aware that Nigeria has developed into one of the largest economies in the world with the Federal Government setting a goal for the country to

‘Though, the formal retail sector in Nigeria is extremely small, three percent to be precise, Shoprite has said that with its stores roll-out, it will change this mindset by ensuring it remains price competitive whilst offering excellent quality goods and customer service’

become one of the world’s twenty largest economies by the year 2020. According to Shoprite Chief Executive Officer, Whitey Basson, “Nigerians are generally very accommodating to foreign investors and are eager to see their country develop into one of the top twenty economies over the next decade.”

Basson added that, “The federal government of Nigeria has a clear policy of supporting legitimate foreign investors and as such, there are agencies like the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) that provide the necessary assistance and advice in setting up one’s business here.” This must be why Shoprite has since given its commitment to some developers to open stores in major cities across Nigeria such as Abuja, Calabar, Kano, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Ibadan, Kwara, Lagos, and Delta, among others.

With a growing youthful population estimated at about half of Nigeria’s entire population, Nigeria presents one of the best opportunities for FMCG business. Shoprite recognises this much, which was why the retail chain says it is delighted to see that most of its customers are Nigerians. To show its commitment, Shoprite has fully supported locally made products and have since its inception made use of its self designed ‘Product of Nigeria’ labels to create in-store awareness with the Nigerian customers, indicating that it totally supports Nigeria and its efforts at developing the economy.

Perhaps, as part of its demonstration of support for Nigeria’s development, Shoprite, sources say, does not get involved in corrupt practices, which was why it approached the federal government and its regulatory agencies prior to its launch to ensure it complied with every regulation and law. With this commitment, it was not surprising that the chain was very well received by the government and people of Nigeria.

While government assisted and supported Shoprite’s efforts in setting up its first supermarket, the response of Nigerians, particularly shoppers, on the other hand, has been positive by way of increased patronage of its stores.

LECTRONIC commerce (e-commerce) has become a significant tool in unlocking job creation and innovation for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria, the Deputy Managing Director of Kaymu.com.ng, Nigeria’s online marketplace, Evangeline Wiles, has said. Wiles, in a statement, said e-commerce and mobile commerce have dramatically changed the way small businesses reach customers, making it faster and easier for consumers to make purchases on the go while avoiding the hassles of going to the store.

Wiles said the online marketplace provides a springboard for SMEs, transcending local and regional boundaries to attain a global reach. She said many SMEs are already taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by e-commerce to tap into a bigger clientele, new market and increase their revenue. “We’re now living in a time when competition is driving brands to innovate, giving their customers better products, customisable options, efficient delivery and more purchasing channels to choose from,” she said.

She noted that large retailers have set the bar high for SMEs who are just looking to break into the e-commerce market, and that for small retailers one of the most pressing challenges is poor delivery and tracking system. According to her, the proliferation of SMEs into e-commerce present new challenges for the sector that do not have the capacity to overcome them unassisted.

According to Wiles, “One of the major challenges faced by SMEs remains inefficient delivery system. For an online marketplace such as Kaymu that provides a platform for buyers and sellers to conduct business, we have seen cases whereby the seller has a good product offering, great image quality and the most competitive price, but does not have the capacity to deliver.”

To address the challenges, she said ecommerce platforms have to provide technical assistance to sellers on their platforms by providing SMEs market intelligence, spotting opportunities and developing specific delivery solutions for SMEs to effectively work in the online marketplace.

“This is a call for delivery companies and systems to operate a functional delivery process that facilitates prompt and efficient delivery and tracking system as this is pertinent to SME growth”, Wiles concluded.

‘We ‘ll overtake Shoprite,’ says Massmart CEO

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HE decision by Massmart to go into food retailing by leveraging on the expertise and extensive experience of its largest shareholder, Walmart, may have started paying off. Already, the move has put its creation, Value Mart, in direct competition with Shoprite, South Africa’s retail giant. “Shoprite is first and we’re second, but with the power of Walmart we hope to overtake them,” says Grant Pattison, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Massmart.

Massmart, which is known to operate GAME stores in West Africa, says that the success of the creation of its Value Mart store will lead to the creation of many more stores across Lagos.

Massmart presence in African countries outside of South Africa, including West Africa has typically been through Game stores. The retailer says it will expand its food retail market in West Africa, through its creation of Value Mart for low income earners.

Massmart is determined to put consumer needs into consideration by observing the peculiarities of the West African region.

Nigeria’s retail market, based on the different economic pointers has shown to be a great recipe for success among the rising income and the middle class population.

Overtaking a retail giant like Shoprite is another business only time would reveal.

Newspaper of the Year

AN EIGHT-PAGE PULLOUT ON THE SOUTHSOUTH STATES

•Ogunsakin

FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

PAGE 29

KIDN APPING KIDNAPPING

DARING

DUMPSITE BO Y BOY

Rivers State Commissioner of Police Tunde Ogunsakin assumed office on February 12. What has he done since then? Kidnapping, according to him, is a menace he has drastically reduced almost by 50 per cent.

Once upon a time, Bassey Albert Akpan was one of Governor Godswill Akpabio’s ‘boys’ . That changed when he was shown the way out of office as Commissioner for Finance, a position he held for some seven years. What does he have up his sleeves?

After days of living at a dumpsite where he was dumped by a relative who cared not about what became of him there, Danjuma got reprieve through a good Samaritan. His mother is late, but the question that is agitating many is: where is his father?

•PAGE 34

•Akpan

•PAGE 32

•Danjuma

•PAGE 31

Dumped in prison for eight years •How Akwa Ibom, Cross River indigenes were rescued

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The only evidence of robbery before this court was the taking of N700 from the second defendant (Saturday) by men of the Nigeria Police who are usually armed when going on patrols or raiding... in the course of the defendants' incarceration at the police stations, they suffered gunshot wounds and the first defendant was further tortured •Saturday (left) and Daniel after they regained their freedom.

PHOTO: PRECIOUS IGBONWELUNDU

STORY ON 30 & 35

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––Justice Adebajo

• YOU HAVE STORIES FOR US? PLEASE CONTACT US ON 07066954441 OR 08123521990

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

NIGER DELTA REPORT COVER

NIGER DELTA REPORT NEWSMAKER

Akpan...Audacity to dare

How Akwa Ibom, Cross River indigenes were rescued from jail T They were arrested separately. But, the police came up with a theory to lump them together as partners in crime. Friday Saturday and Amen Daniel spent eight years in jail awaiting trial before they were rescued, reports PRECIOUS IGBONWELUNDU

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HEY came to Lagos to eke out a living. They are from two neigbouring states in the Southsouth, which used to be one.

Amen Daniel is from Ikon village in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.

Friday Saturday hails from Calabar in Cross River State.

But, to hang them, the police said they were both from Akwa Ibom.

Saturday was arrested at Oyingbo Market in 2006. He was selling puffpuff. Because he could not afford the alleged N5,000 “bribe” demanded by the police to secure his freedom, the only N700 he had was taken by his oppressors.

He was taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba where he was tortured, wounded with electric iron and shot in his legs twice— just to coerce him to admit he was an armed robber. He was not offered medical care; other suspects held in detention with Saturday poured candle wax into the gunshot wounds as first aid.

After several weeks in police detention without being able to provide the N100, 000 allegedly demanded for his bail, Saturday was charged alongside Daniel, 30, whom he only knew on the day of their arraignment at a Yaba Magistrates’ Court.

Like Saturday, Daniel, who had his share of police brutality, was arrested in broad daylight on Lekki-Epe Expressway on his way to his mechanic’s workshop after assisting a client whose car broke down.

He, and three others had assisted the client push his car into a filling station and on his way back to his shop at about 12pm, he was stopped by a plain-clothed officer who forced him into a vehicle.

Unable to provide the N30,000 demanded by the policemen in Ajah, Daniel said he was threatened with being framed for armed robbery and would rot in prison.

Daniel was transferred from Ajah Police Station to SCID, Panti.

Other suspects, who were arrested almost the same time as he, were released after their relatives paid “ransoms”.

Knowing that armed robbery is a capital offence which can only be tried at the High Court, the police took the victims to a Magistrates’ Court, secured remand order and dumped them in Ikoyi Prisons.

Like several other awaiting trial inmates, the victims were forgotten in custody. They prayed day and night, hoping that fate would smile on them since they had no money to hire the services of a lawyer.

Fortunately, luck shone on them after a lawyer, Charles Okungbowa, visited the prison and probed into the cause of their incarceration.

Their trial was conducted before Justice Adeniyi Adebajo (rtd), and it took about four years before conclusion— no thanks to several adjournments at the instance of the prosecution.

After about four years of litigation, Justice Adebajo dismissed the charge of conspiracy and armed robbery against Daniel and Saturday.

Narrating his ordeal before Justice Adebajo, Saturday said: “I was selling puff puff at Oyingbo Market around 12pm and police came there at a point I was about to sell to a customer. As I put down my show glass to sell to a customer inside a vehicle, they drove close and arrested me.

“They searched me and saw the N700 in my pocket and a newspaper I folded in my back pocket.

There was nothing more and so they collected the N700 and told me to enter the car.

“I was asking them what I have done and that they should wait for me to carry my show glass but they dragged me inside the car and told me to give them N5000 before they will free me.

“I told them I do not have any other money except the N700 they have taken from me and they said I will see myself at the station.

When we got to the station, they asked me to write my statement and I told them I am not educated and do not even know what to write since they arrested me while I was doing my business.

“I did not write any statement.

They wrote it themselves and they accused me of armed robbery at Ajah. Meanwhile, I have never been to Ajah. They told me to call my people to bring N100, 000 to bail me. My brother came with N30, 000; they collected it and said the money was small that he should bring more.

“He told them he does not have money and they were beating me everyday to accept I am an armed robber. They even shot me on my leg and it was the other suspects in the cell that used candle wax to treat the injuries they inflicted on me.

“They told me that is how they treat any wound inflicted on them by the police. That they light candle and put the wax inside the injury to kill the germs. I was tortured on daily basis while at Panti until they finally took me to Yaba Magistrates’ Court for arraignment.

“I never knew Amen Daniel until the morning of our arraignment. It was the police who brought him and told me that he was my co-suspect, that we committed the armed robbery together. I told them I do not know him and have never seen him but they told me to shut up and took us to court.

“I just thank God that eight years after, I am alive and have regained my freedom. I am begging the government to investigate the police. The way they treat poor people is not good. I was 19 years when I was arrested, now I am 26 years and I have spent eight years in prison, for committing no offence.

“If not for this lawyer who came to the prison and asked us what happened, after we explained to him and told him we do not have

•Saturday

•Daniel

•Okungbowa

‘

The unprofessional, illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional manner they were arrested and the circumstances/torture of beating, hanging, burnt with hot pressing iron and being shot with gun on their legs that they were subjected to by the officers and men of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba in their detention cell propelled me as a lawyer and activist to take up their case pro bono and defend them successfully •Ikoyi Prisons where Daniel and Saturday were dumped for eight years

money, he promised to help us and since then, he has been the one helping us. I pray that God will bless him for the good thing he did for me,” said Saturday.

Delivering judgment, the judge berated the police. He said it was spurious that the police did not provide any evidence whatsoever linking the defendants to their purported crimes.

Justice Ebenezer Adebajo held that “the only evidence of robbery before this court was the taking of N700 from the second defendant (Saturday) by men of the Nigeria Police who are usually armed when going on patrols or raiding…

“I am of the opinion that in the course of the defendants’ incar-

ceration at the police stations, they suffered gunshot wounds and the first defendant was further tortured. No statement that purports to be confessional would stand in the light of police brutality… I find the defendants not guilty of the charge. The charge is hereby dismissed and the defendants discharged and acquitted.”

Although the defendants have been released by the court, the pain inflicted on them through torture, loss of loved ones and wasted years have not been wiped away.

Even the filing of Fundamental Human Rights (FHR) infringement charges against their oppressors, which is the only available option, may not hold water, especially be-

cause the police have flagrantly disobeyed such orders from court without being held for contempt.

A lawyer, Ahmed AdetolaKazeem, said lawyers are frustrated in pursuing and ensuring the victims get their money as a result of the solidarity between the judges and the law enforcement agencies.

He noted that the agencies also file appeals, which they do not pursue, as tactic to avoid paying judgment debt, just as he insisted that the laws are accurate but not enforced.

He said: “Most times the sums awarded as damages or compensation by the courts, especially the state high courts, are very meager and hardly worth pursuing giving

the rigours involved. The meagre award is largely in my opinion due to the solidarity between the judges and the government.

The judges who do this are mostly those who were formally in the ministries of justice.

“Where the judges were also bold to award damages, they are unwilling to enforce the judgments, for the fear of been victimised by their various state governments or the law enforcement agencies.

“Another reason why it is difficult to recover the damages is that, the agencies will most times not pay the damages in their volition or on receipt of demand letter from counsel to the

‘

victims. They instead rush to file appeal, which is rarely pursued, but filed as a tactic to frustrate the judgment creditor.

“They equally file application for stay of execution at the high court, which is often granted. All these adds to the frustration of the indigent victim, who doesn’t have the financial muscle to go all the way to recover the damages.

“In my case, I have had to do the cases pro bono from inception and it becomes discouraging after a while because of the delay and frustration tactics employed by the judgment debtors, the situation is worsened when you realise the paltry sum awarded by the court.

“We have the garnishee proceed-

ings where the judgment creditor urged the court to order the garnishee( most times, the bank(s) keeping the money of the judgment debtor) to pay him the judgment debt.

“Where the garnishee, who has the debtors money in its possession, refuses to pay the money, a contempt proceeding can be instituted against the responsible officer of the bank. Contempt proceeding can also be brought against the Judgment debtors where they brazenly disobey the orders of the court.

“So, in summary, the problem is not in the laws, but in the willingness of the courts to ensure its orders are obeyed.”

Okungbowa said he decided to help the duo because he felt they were denied justice and fairness by the police, the Magistrates’ Court and the Ministry of Justice since their arrests on December 6 for Daniel and December 14 for Saturday, both in 2006.

“I met the defendants in Ikoyi Prisons sometime in 2010 during a visit to see some of my clients. My clients were the ones who introduced the duo and asked me to see how I could help them since they had suffered hopelessness to access justice and regain their freedom of liberty being deprived them by the long prison remand, which ordinarily should not have been more than one or two months as the case may be.

“When I came in contact with them, they were still awaiting trial and neither the police nor the state Ministry of Justice had filed a charge against them at the appropriate courts of competent jurisdiction.

“The unprofessional, illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional manner they were arrested and the circumstances/torture of beating, hanging, burnt with hot pressing iron and being shot with gun on their legs that they were subjected to by the officers and men of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba in their detention cell propelled me as a lawyer and activist to take up their case pro bono and defend them successfully.”

Okungbowa said he felt bad that the police still go about arresting and detaining innocent people.

“I feel very bad and concerned. It is condemnable, reprehensible and a stop must be put to it. Everybody in the society must come together in fighting it to a standstill and not offering lip services in public, only to go behind and use the police to harass or intimidate others.

“Also prompt investigation of any allegation of misused powers by the police should be carried out with appropriate punishment meted on any defaulter. Another measure is to hold their superiors, departments or formation, accountable and responsible too, who do not properly supervise them and take any of their wrong doings seriously.

“Finally, the human rights units in the police force are not working as it should be and is manned by the same police officers and men.

This should stop and if we are serious with the unit, it should be headed by a lawyer and comprise other members of the civil society.

“Also seminars and workshops on civil and constitutional right lectures, topics or courses should be organised as refresher and retraining for the police,” he said.

HE immediate past finance commissioner of Akwa Ibom State, Bassey Albert Akpan, is said to be gearing up towards realising his ambition of succeeding his erstwhile boss, Governor GodswillAkpabio in 2015. Although the controversial zoning of the governorship position to the Eket Senatorial District does not favourAkpan, who hails from the Uyo Senatorial District, the audacious young man appears set to give a shot at clinching the ticket of the ruling People Democratic Party (PDP) when it comes up for grabs at the primary scheduled for October this year.

Although the 41-year old is yet to declare his ambition, there are tell-tale signs of his aspiration to join the governorship race on the platform of the PDP. Speculations are rife that before his removal in April 2014, Akpan, who had been finance commissioner since the inception of the Akpabio administration in 2007, had only been at technical peace with his principal over alleged attempts by Akpabio to get members of his cabinet to endorse the governor’s plan of anoint a consensus candidate. Many believe that Akpan was sacked for the audacity to have organised a golf tournament in honour of Senate President David Mark during his last birthday celebrations.Whatever the reason was, the young ex-banker must have been startled to have been woken up with the news of his ouster at about 2am on April 27.

However, by 7am of the same day, Akpan’shome in Uyo was filled to the brim with people of various ages and social statuses who gathered to show solidarity and encourage him to declare his quest for the governorship seat. The visitation would continue from dawn till dusk for the next three days, after which he was said to have traveled out of town to get some rest.

Before his appointment into the AkwaIbom State cabinet in 2007, Akpan was Zonal Head of the First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plcfor AkwaIbom and Cross River states since 2005, where he was in charge of daily supervision of 15 branches (and the attendant responsibilities)of the first private bank in Nigeria.

Prior to his stint with FCMB, he was Branch Manager for the defunct First Inland Bank in Uyo as well as Manager, Corporate Banking Group at the head office of the defunct Continental Trust Bank in Lagos between 1999 and 2003.

An accomplished manager of men and resources, Akpan’s tenure as finance commissioner in AkwaIbom State is said to have brought tremendous changes to the generation and management of the resources of the oil-rich state.

As a pointer to his shrewdness, the internally generated revenue of the state was said to have shot up dramatically from 350 million naira in 2007 to an average of 2 billion naira currently. He is also credited with the full digitalisation and real time, online administration of the finances of the state. Other achievements of the Bassey Akpan-led finance ministry in the Akpabio administration include the opening of 16 sub treasuries for seamless management of the revenue of the state, prompt payment of workers’salaries, which contributed to increased work efficiency as well as the completion of the office of the Accountant-General of the State through direct labour.Akpan is also credited with the efficient implementation of the state finance policy and maintaining the 20-80 percent recurrent and capital budgeting ratio all through his tenure.

As chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Direct Labour Coordinating Committee, his tenure as Finance Commissioner is said to have produced over 6,000 people-oriented projects which include classrooms,

•Akpan

‘ Although the 41-year-old is yet to declare his ambition, there are telltale signs of his aspiration to join the governorship race on the platform of the PDP ‘

‘

By Uyoatta Eshiet

rural electrification, civic centre, and skill acquisition centre projects all over the state.

Akpan also at various times served as chairman of the State/Local Government Joint Derivation Committee and the State Micro Credit Committee. He was also a member of the Finance and General Purpose Committee.

Born on October 28, 1972, to the family of Chief Albert Robert Akpan ofIdidepUsukinIbionoIbom Local Government of the State, Albert BasseyAkpan graduated from the University of Uyoin 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in Economic in the Second Class Upper Division.

Thereafter, he proceeded to study for a Master’s degreein Business Administration at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, graduating in 2000.

A grassroots mobiliser and respected leader of youths, Akpan has the chieftaincy title of IberdemIdidep(Pillar of Ididep).He was also honoured with the award of “Omeroha(Philantropist)ofAkokwa

by Obi of Akokwa, HRH Eze(Sir) IkennaOkoli(V) KSC, Agbakweruibe (111) He is married with children.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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NIGER DELTA REPORT FEATURE

How Citizen Danjuma survived 35 days on dumpsite

F

OR over 30 days, 25-yearold Danjuma was atop a refuse heap. He was fed secretly by a 14-year-old girl, Sarah Okoro and sympathetic neighbours. Danjuma’s story, said sources, is that of rejection and struggle.

Officials of Edo State Ministry of Women and Social Development did nothing to get him out of the dumpsite.

Danjuma was born a paraphelgic. His father, according to him, is a native of Ndoma, Benue State. His late mother, Kate, was an official of the moribund Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) . The father’s whereabout is unknown.

It was gathered that Danjuma’s predicament began when his mother died in 2007 and his care fell on the late mother’s relatives.

Sources said Danjuma was taken in by his aunt. A neighbour said Danjuma’s mother left some substantial amount in her account for the upkeep of her son.

A life of rejection and torture began for Danjuma after the money left by his mother was said to have been spent. Danjuma’s aunt living at Ugbiyoko was said to taken him to his uncle who lives at their family residence on Oza Street, off Sakponba Road.

A tenant at the family’s residence told our reporter that the uncle known as Arase was peeved that Danjuma was brought to his residence after all the money left for his upkeep has been spent.

The tenant said the uncle took Danjuma to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) and abandoned him there. The university management was said to have returned Danjuma to the uncle after many months.

According to the tenant, “The uncle threw him out and left him in the backyard. Danjuma was inside the rain and sun. The place is flooded. Whenever it rained , Danjuma would be inside. If any of us wanted to take Danjuma out, the uncle would threaten to beat us.”

It was further learnt that the uncle threw Danjuma on top the refuse heap to prevent people from caring for him.

Neighbour were aware of Danjuma’s plight but did nothing to rescue him.

Pastor Infeanyi Anyanli said they used to give Danjuma bread and food secretly to avoid being caught by the uncle.

Miss Okoro took pity on Danjuma and bravely provided meals for him despite repeated beatings by the uncle.

The wheel chair used by

•Miss Okoro

•Danjuma on hospital bed

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

Danjuma was destroyed by the uncle at the refuse heap.

The Coordinator of Forum of Women in Politics (FONWIP) Mrs. Florence Igbinigie, told reporters that the uncle was annoyed that family members who collected the N6m left by Danjuma’s mother brought him to his house without any money.

According to her, “Danjuma would be inside the flood and sun. The wheel chair he used was thrown away. The man threatens to deal with anybody who gives him food.”

“I have reported to the Woman Affairs Ministry and they are yet to take action. The boy needs medical care and rehabilitation. He can still do something.”

Mrs. Igbinigie lamented the slow rescue efforts by the National Human Rights Commission, the Nigerian Police and the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

She said the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the zone said it was not within their re-

•Eghosa

sponsibility to rescue Danjuma from the heap.

The letter she wrote to these organisations reads: “I wish to draw your urgent attention to a 25-year-old physically challenged who was thrown into a dustbin behind their house at number 12 Oza Street, off Sakponba Road by his uncle, Mr. Arase.

“As we tried to approach the house, the said uncle paid a deaf ear to us and was almost attacking us; so, we had to run for our dear lives. Due to that kind of attitude, we suspect more harm can be done to the boy if urgent step is not taken. Hence we write you to please intervene to protect the life of this boy and seek justice for this inhuman treatment meted to him.

“Please use your office to help rehabilitate the boy. We have been caring for him since we learnt about the incident.

Rescue came for Danjuma last Thursday when he was taken to the Faith Mediplex on Airport Road in Benin City.”

He is being treated for malaria, sepsis, urinary tract infection and cholera. Doctors said Danjuma’s survival on the refuse

heap was an act of God. On the hospital bed, Danjuma’s first words were: “My uncle put me for dustbin.”

He said he was yet to comprehend why his mother’s relatives mistreated him when the mother cared for them when she was alive.

Danjuma, who said he stopped at primary five, said he suffered more when he was staying with his aunt.

He disclosed that his mother’s properties were at Ibadan and that the relatives would collect them if they knew the location.

He tried to spell his father’s name but could not.

“My mummy sister beat me very well. She put me outside and I slept outside in cold for many days. She took me to my uncle and my uncle returned me to her. She called two soldiers who took me back to my uncle.

“I feel better and I am eating well now. I asked my mother: ‘where is my father?’ She said he went to Port Harcourt. My father is an Ndoma. I schooled at Ibadan. I ended my education in primary five. My mummy said I should stop because we were going back to Benin.

“My mummy had money.

She cared for her people. My mummy’s sister lives at Ugbiyoko. She kept me in the cold. I was outside for many days in the cold. My uncle beat me. He threw me on the ground. If I show you my back, it is peeled.

My uncle took me back to my aunt’s place. She called two soldiers who carried me to my uncle place. I can read when it is written down.”

Miss Okoro, who was at the hospital looking after Danjuma, was all tears when she was informed that she was too young to care for him.

“Why did they say I should leave Danjuma? I am from Delta State. They kept him at the back of our house. I cannot be at home and see him not eating. I used to hear him shouting: ‘I am hungry, I am hungry’. I then took food to him. The uncle stopped us from feeding him.

My brother and I fed him. The uncle used stone to hit my brother but my mother told us not to give up. The uncle beat me one day.”

There was a drama on who was responsible for the rescue of Danjuma as two NGOs, Face

to Face Empowerment Initiative and FONWIP clashed over who was responsible for the rescue of Danjuma.

Mr. Curtis Ugbo Eghosa of Face to Face said he was taken aback when he heard a voice from atop the refuse heap, saying: ‘I am here’. He was almost dying when we saw him. He talked faintly and I felt we should take him immediately.

“I was called that somebody was on a refuse heap. I was really surprised to see man’s inhumanity to man in this age. I felt we cannot leave the man there. The wheel chair was destroyed. We took him to Central hospital but they were on strike.

I took him to another hospital and there was no space; so, we brought him here.

“The hospital asked Mrs. Igbinigie why she waited for so long before the rescue on the day I went there. That boy would have died the next day. Her only quarrel was that I did not mention her name when I spoke to the press.”

But, Mrs. Igbinigie said she was responsible for the rescue of Danjuma.

She said: “The hospital management was shocked when I brought out the receipt for deposit payment. I have never seen this kind of thing in my life. My NGO has been on for a long time. People want to be in NGO to claim other people’s credit.”

She vowed to take on the Commissioner of Police and the National Human Rights Commission for the delay in the arrest of Danjuma’s uncle.

Police spokesman DSP Uwoh Noble said he was yet to be properly briefed about the incident.

A Director in the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed that they were aware of Danjuma’s case but said the state government had no place to keep him.

The Director said they were discussing with an NGO, Project Charilove but that the NGO was making things difficult for the government.

“Please meet our commissioner to hear from her on why we have not gone there. The Permanent Secretary is also aware of the situation,” the director said.

The administrator of the hospital, Prof. Doreen Babog, promised that the hospital would do its best to ensure that Danjuma got good health care.

End of the road for ‘one chance’ operators in Calabar

T

HEY pose as commercial motorists and rob unsuspecting people who enter their vehicles of their money.

The activities of these people popularly referred to as ‘one chance’ is a menace that has long faced residents of Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

However, the men of the Cross River State command of the Nigeria Police scored a point in the fight to check the menace, when it clamped down on 19 people who chose this dubious lifestyle as their source of livelihood.

From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

Four vehicles were also seized from them. The suspects included 11 men and eight women.

They were from Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Abia, Anambra and Delta states.

The vehicles seized were a Volkswagen Vento, a Volkswagen Golf, a Volkswagen Wagon and a Mazda 626 sports car with registration numbers FGG463ME (Anambra), NKE965AA (Ebonyi), FGG451ME (Anambra) and BR151AGL (Lagos).

The suspects confessed to the crime.

Parading the suspects at the State Po-

lice Quarters, Diamond Hill, Calabar, the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Criminal Investigation, Ganiyu Salami, said they were arrested in two different hotels in Calabar following a tip off.

He said: "We got them through sustained intelligence monitoring. We gathered that they had come into town and we were able to get them after their operation in two hotels in Calabar."

He said bundles of papers which they had cut to resemble money were recovered from their hotels.

The paper, he said, were used to re-

place the money they stole.

He said the suspects, who confessed to the crime, divide themselves into four groups and carry out their operation in various parts of town.

He said they lived out of town and only came in from time to time to carry out their operations, adding that they would be charged to court immediately.

He urged residents, especially those who have just withdrawn huge sums of money from the bank to be wary of the vehicles they enter. He also warned residents from entering vehicles without registration numbers.

•Sodipo

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

NIGER DELTA REPORT FEATURE

NIGER DELTA REPORT FEATURE

As doctors’ strike bites, NDDC’s health mission rescues the sick

War against oil thieves begins in Nembe

As doctors’ strike continues to bite, residents of communities in the Niger Delta are being rescued by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from dire health challenges, writes WALE AJETUNMOBI

A

S the nation-wide strike embarked upon by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) casts an ominous shadow over a sick medical delivery system, one woman was writhing in labour pains in a health facility deep in the heartland of the Ibibios. The travails of Mrs. Iniobong Fidelix, who hails from Ikono Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, would have ended in death, were it not for a providential free health mission in a nearby local government area.

Iniobong’s pregnancy was at its turbulent peak and she was taken to the hospital in Ikono. Unfortunately, there was no doctor at the hospital to attend to her because they were on strike. The nurses could not do much as Iniobong was having complications and needed to be operated upon. The saving grace for this poor woman and her unborn baby was the Free Health Care Medical Programme organised by the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, in conjunction with Global Hands Medicare Foundation, at the Ekpene Obo Cottage Hospital in Esit Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

It was a happy and proud Dr. Katherine Ntekim, the director of the foundation running the NDDC-sponsored free medical programme that told the story of the Ikono woman who was saved at the nick of time. According to her, Iniobong was lucky to have been rushed to the venue of the medical intervention in time to save her live and that of her baby. “She was rushed in for an emergency caesarian section from a general hospital where doctors’ strike had paralyzed healthcare delivery to this place where we saved her and her new-born baby.”

She gave kudos to the NDDC for making it possible for her organisation to assemble medical experts in various specialisations to attend to the needs of people who may not have had access to such highly qualified medical personnel.

According to the medical director, the week-long programme covered various aspects of medicare.

The popular Free Health Care Medical Programme, which covers different communities in the Niger Delta region, as part of NDDC’s commitment to bring qualitative healthcare delivery service to the door-steps of the people of the region, was flagged off simultaneously in Abia and Akwa Ibom states on July 9.

Speaking at the Ekpene Obo Cottage Hospital, the NDDC Managing Director, Bassey Dan-Abia, said the programme was meant to bring healthcare to the door-steps of rural dwellers. The NDDC boss, who was represented by Etim Inyang Jnr, the Akwa Ibom State representative on the board of the commission, said that no less than 900,000 people have benefited from its free medical services since the programme started 14 years ago. He stated that the commission was determined to make a difference in the health sector through the engagement of relevant partners such as Global Hand Medicare Foundation, Goldspin Healthcare, Total Health-Minders Foundation and others.

He said: “It is our belief that after this programme, the people of Esit Eket will say farewell to all the endemic health problems that have long plagued them. It is expedient to mention here that the health partners are expected to hand over substantial quantities of efficacious drugs to the hospital management for the treat-

•Shell flotation at Nembe

I

Mrs. Fidelix who was delivered of a baby girl through a caesarian section at the Ekpene Obo Cottage Hospital.

•NDDC chief Dan-Abia

‘

This effort is very well appreciated as can be seen from the huge number of people that have come to benefit from the free health care. The high demand for the health care services is understandable, especially as doctors in our public hospitals are on strike Doctors operating one of the patients during the free health programme.

ment of those who had some major operations.”

The NDDC Deputy Director for Education, Health and Social Services, Dr. Solomon Ita, said the goal of the commission was to make medical services accessible to the people of the Niger Delta, especially those who live in the rural areas. He noted that the commission had always placed a high premium on healthcare delivery, adding that it had extended health facilities and services to many communities across the region.

According to Dr Ita, of all the development programmes which the NDDC had undertaken in the Niger Delta, the one that brought tremendous relief and made immediate impact on the lives of the rural people was the free health care programme.

“The free health missions have gone round virtually all corners of the Niger Delta, healing the sick and giving hope to the medically challenged,” he said.

The NDDC director explained that the free health care programme was a combination of many activities, which

included carrying out of HIV/AIDS awareness campaign, healthcare promotion and malaria roll-back campaign.

“The comprehensive health missions provide all forms of medical services, ranging from general consultation, laboratory services, general and gynaecological surgeries, as well as eye and dental services. Apart from the free medical missions, the NDDC has committed substantial resources to providing physical infrastructure in the health sector across the Niger

Delta,” he said.

The Chairman of Esit Eket Local Government Area, Ibanga Itang, praised the NDDC for bringing the free medical programme to his locality, noting that the council was always ready to collaborate with agencies and organisations that provide needed services to the rural areas. He said that the mobile health care delivery system was a practical way of reaching the sick in the rural communities.

“This effort is very well appreciated as can be seen from the huge number

‘

of people that have come to benefit from the free health care. The high demand for the health care services is understandable, especially as doctors in our public hospitals are on strike,” he said.

Mr. Anieffiok Gabriel, who brought a relative for treatment, said he was delighted that the free healthcare programme came to Ekpene Obo at a time he was almost giving up hope on how to save his aunty who was very sick but could not find money to go for medical treatment. “We are glad the

NDDC has come to our rescue,” he said.

Anieffiok is one out of many poor people in the remote communities of the Niger Delta who have been rescued through the intervention of the NDDC’s free medical missions. For one week, the Ekpene Obo Cottage Hospital was a beehive of activities as the sick and their caring relatives thronged the place for medical attention.

The free health programme is still moving from one community to the other in all the 9 states covered by the NDDC.

T is oil and gas everywhere. In fact, the ancient kingdom of Nembe is the home of the black

gold. Almost every community in Nembe, one of the eight local government areas, in Bayelsa State, produces the mainstay of the country’s economy.

Nembe is the host to two major oil multinationals - Shell Producing Development Company (SPDC) and the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC). The rich oil block famously known as Oil Mining Licence (OML) 29 operated by Shell is domiciled in Nembe.

OML 29 is believed to be the most lucrative asset. Its output is said to have increased to 62,000 bpd of oil and 40 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscf/d). It also holds reserves of 2.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe). Shell’s Santa Barbara Flow Station, Tora Manifold and Odema Flow Station are located within the council. Agip also boasts other oil producing platforms in the council.

Indeed, Nembe is said to have the largest oil field in Africa. But, the Ijaw-speaking Nembe, just like Ogoni in Rivers State, appears to have the largest share of oil curse.

Its development belies its wealth and its environment is ravaged and devastated by oil exploration and exploitation. Gas is still flared almost everywhere in the ancient city.

Apart from anti-environmental activities of oil companies, Nembe is suffering the diabolic and criminal menaces of pipeline vandals, oil thieves and illegal bunkerers. Niger Delta Report learnt that many communities have taken to the illegal business of setting up illicit refineries and breaking pipelines as their major sources of livelihood.

In a decisive move, however, the new administration of the council led by Mr. Eminah Bioghoemi, has declared war on economic sabotage prevalent in the council. Bioghoemi in a rare display of courage and patriotism has evolved strategies to combat the menace.

Niger Delta Report found that the council chairman has already established a task force consisting of notorious oil theft converts and opened discussion with the the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for partnership.

It was learnt that the chairman held discussions with the state Commandant of the NSCDC, Mr. Desmond Agu, to fine-tune the tactics and logistics required to flush economic saboteurs out of the council. He believes that if each council

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

should deal with the problem, oil theft would soon be history in the state.

Bioghoemi said his council decided to partner with NSCDC in recognition of the corps’ mandate as provided by the Act of 2007. He said: “We have already set up the task force and what we are looking at is for the operational arm of the civil defence to also come and back up the task force.

“Facing criminals in the creeks will not be mere surveillance affair. We need to confront people who are seriously in that bunkering activity.

You can’t fight drug without arming yourselves the way it happened in Colombia.

“That is why we are partnering with the civil defence. We are happy that the state commandant and the whole of the service in Bayelsa State have promised to give us the needed support by following us to the creeks.”

He confirmed that former oil thieves and operators of illegal refineries gave up their criminal ways to help the task force realise it’s mandate. He said the former vandals repented because of government interests.

“They have listened to the government and have also agreed to work with civil defence to ensure that this menace is arrested,” he said.

To begin the operation, he said the council has acquired two boats of 250 horse power each, gunboats against light ammunition and other facilities. He is optimistic that the arrangement will end the problems of oil thieves.

“We held a meeting with the civil defence and we were impressed with what we heard from them. With the cooperation of most of these men who have declined to be involved in that business and volunteered to come back and support the government, we are going to get results”, he insisted.

Apart from the warfare, the task force will engage in widespread sensitisation of communities on the negative effects of oil theft. The chairmen of community development committees, youth leaders and community leaders will be persuaded to support the war against illegal bunkering.

The chairman said: “Youth leaders, the CDC chairmen and the community heads will be engaged. The arrangement is for them to concede to government and see reasons why this notorious activities must stop”.

•Bioghoemi

He added: “These things are not done in the moon, they are done in communities. We are aware before now that these criminals were even paying community leaders pretending to love them while they come to sabotage their economy.

“We want to take the message to the communities that if anything like that happen in your area, the first clamping will be on you the community leaders for abetting the criminality. It is conspiracy in crime. We want them to see reasons why security must start from them.

“They need to give us vital and security information to enable the government act. The task force will also go from community to community for an awareness campaign. Youths are mainly involved in this criminality.

They will engage them and tell them the reason why vandals will not be allowed to operate in the local government area.”

Confirming the partnership, Agu said the chairman was motivated by a similar intervention in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area. Agu disclosed that the task force in Southern Ijaw lead by civil defence operatives has so far destroyed 225 illegal refineries operated in 17 communities, discovered and clamped 70 spill points.

Describing the exercise as successful, he said persons arrested had been arraigned by the corps. “Having studied the ongoing successful operation at Southern Ijaw, the Chairman of Nembe became interested and we have finalised to begin the operation.”

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

NIGER DELTA REPORT FEATURE

BRIEFLY

We've reduced kidnappings by 49 per cent, says Rivers CP Ogunsakin Rivers State Commissioner of Police Tunde Ogunsakin assumed office on February 12. What has he done since then? Here they are in his words:

T

HE attention and projection that we have received since our resumption in February is overwhelming. The command in its mandatory duty of protecting lives and property has discharged various duties. We understand that assessment of function and duties is necessary to let us tighten some loose ends and be on the front seat of protecting lives and property as enshrined in the constitution of Nigeria.

We began our assessment with the tour of duty at the Ahoada Area Command. Ahoada was before then, consisting of seventeen (17) divisional police stations we identified the need to create an additional station Egi Police station was created, expanding Ahoada to 18 Division in totality. In our effort to rebuild the command, we have created Egi division to strategically bring policing to the door steps of the people, especially, the yearning people of Egi. During our inspections of Ahoada, we have been able to see the daily needs our officers at Ahoada. I have mapped out strategies to confront those challenges that I think require urgent attention. The tour will soon be extended to Port Harcourt area command.

Forum of Traditional Rulers Rivers State Council of Traditional Ruler constitutes the major bloc of opinion models of the state. The command in its bid to identify and sustain relationship with the people, met with the royal fathers, who opined that issue of security, can be best tackled, when there is a synergy of relevant parties involved. The issue of cult groups who torment the citizenry on daily bases was discussed. The Rivers State Police Command is open to any advice or useful information that can help eradicate this ugly development.

Stakeholders forum In our bid to push development to another level within the command, I have created a stake-holders' forum who will serve as agents of development. The group consists of corporate organisations who liaise with the Police. The group will serve as a connecting rod to development in most areas that can help the command to grow. We are aware of the challenges posed by the question of who constitutes this group and will thus address them.

Joint Task Force In our assessment of the command before resumption, the command used to have a robust relationship with other sister organisation. In the same vein, we have revitalised the JTF patrol the team was deemed necessary as a result of the challenges of sophisticated crimes, especially in the area of kidnapping the team, since its resuscitation has performed overtly beyond expectation in nipping crime in the bud at every corner.

The command under my leadership has recorded huge success. In the area of Infrastructural development, we have created a new life for people of Omoku with the upgrading of Egi Police post to a division. My goals on assumption of duty here is to bring succour to the people of Rivers State, especially in the area of security. We are also working on the development in Ahoada command by building two additional divisions to make our goal of community policing a reality to the people. Community policing is an in -thing among security networks. We the officers of River State Police Command will not depart from this, God willing.

Information and Communications Technology

In modern day security, information technology plays a vital role in intelligence gathering and sharing. The command in its effort has caught up with this globalisation by creating an ultra-modern facility to enable our cops especially in the intelligent department catch up with reality. We have set up a structure for human capital development in ensuring officers access to the world through 24 hours access to the internet. This will not only help in their work but also help in both social and economic development.

Operational achievements Upon my resumption of office as the Commissioner of Police, there have been astronomical achievements in the area of operations. Criminals can no longer consider Rivers State a safe haven as dedicated and wellmotivated officers of the Command have demonstrated strong commitment to combating crime in all its manifestations Within this period, a large number of suspects have been arrested with 1115 ammunitions and firearms recovered by the different divisions and units. Over 35 victims of kidnap have been rescued in this time also.

In February, 181 cases were recorded of which 257 suspects were arrested. 98 cases were charged to court alongside 175 suspects, out of which 33 suspects were convicted, 78 are awaiting trial, while 36 were discharged and acquitted.

In March, of 171 cases were recorded of which 213 suspects were arrested. Of these, 99 cases were charged to court alongside 166 suspects out of which 36 suspects were convicted, 72 are awaiting trial, while 16 were discharged and acquitted.

In April, 198 cases were recorded of which 344 suspects were arrested.

Of these, 128 cases were charged to

•Ogunsakin

court alongside 243 suspects, out of which 84 suspects were convicted, 135 are awaiting trial, while 24 were discharged and acquitted.

Crime rate The Police have recorded success in the reduction of crime rate occasioned by the increase in apprehension of criminals. As a matter of fact, in the area of kidnapping overseen by the AntiKidnapping Unit, we have recorded a reduction of the incidence by about 49 per cent in the past three months with a total of 31 cases as against the 21 cases recorded in January alone.

In other areas such as armed robbery, the assiduous efforts of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad have seen a commendable rise in the arrest of robbers. Statistically speaking, a rise in apprehension to the measure of 250 per cent has been recorded with 27 armed robbers apprehended from February 2014 as against only two arrests made in January.

Calabar residents seek NNDC’s help RESIDENTS of Road ‘7’ and members of the Federal Low Cost Housing Residents Association, Calabar, have appealed to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for assistance following perennial floods in their areas.

The Chairman of the Residents’ Association, Dr Vincent Ogbeche, in a letter obtained by NAN correspondent in Calabar, said the residents suffered from flooding during rainy seasons, especially in July and October.

Ogbeche said this was because the road was not tarred and had a poor drainage system.

He said: “As new buildings are springing up rapidly, draining water into the same gutter, the volume of water and intensity of flood also increases.”

Ogbeche said the flood had been causing havoc to houses and impaired movement to work and school by parents and children living along the basin or the lowest lying area.

“Each time we experience this, we run to NTA, NAN, CRBC, Cross River Radio and the Ministry of Works for help to no avail. “ We have heard that contract for this project had been awarded by government several years ago but nothing has been done.

“Sir, your esteemed Commission is presently rehabilitating the Federal Housing Estate Police Station road through the Estate Nursery and Primary Schools up to the Customs’ Quarters.

“We wish to seize the opportunity of your presence and humbly request you to kindly extend this ongoing project from the Estate Nursery/ Primary School to Mangel Hotel, a distance of half a kilometre,” the letter stated.

Encomiums as Delta CP Aduba retires in style I

KECHUKWU Aduba has bowed out of the Nigeria Police Force upon attaining the retirement age of 60. His last posting was Delta State Police Commissioner.

At an elaborate send forth ceremony at the Delta Police Command, Asaba, Aduba inspected a guard of honour , an event which signposted the end of a career spanning 33 years.

At a valedictory session, two books co-authored by Ikechukwu and Oscar Aduba titled Aspects of Onitsha and Culture up To 2000 and Dynamics of the NPF in the New Millennium and Other Appraisals (19662010) were unveiled.

Guests, who sat in large tents festooned with gold and green satin materials, were treated to melodious music, sumptuous meals accompanied by choice wines and an assortment of drinks.

Present at the event were Delta State Commissioner of Justice and Attorney-General Charles Adjuya (SAN),Navy Captain Rotimi Oderemi, ex-Officer NMS Delta, Lt Col I.O Bassey, Commandant 3 Battalion,Warri, Air Commodore Ayodele Dudusola, Commandant, NAF Detachment, Warri, Director DSS, Delta Command, Florence

From Okungbowa Aiwerie,Asaba

Ikakone, Rt Rev Justus Mogekwu,Bishop, Anglican Communion, Asaba Diocese.

Other include Asagba of Asaba, Prof Chike Edozien and Onihe of Asaba, Chief Uba Attoh, among other.

It was a carnival atmosphere as gaily-dressed women in yellow headgears and green wrappers added colour to the event. Another group was dressed in red and blue aso ebi. The highpoint of the occasion was the handing over of the keys to a 14 –Seater Hiace bus to the Police Secondary, Asaba. Aduba said the bus was donated by a business mogul, Chief Ayiri Emami of the A & E Petrol Nigeria Ltd. He handed over the keys to the headmistress of the school, Mrs. Chizor Aduba, who represented the Directorate of Education, Force Headquarters.

Assistant Inspector General of Police (A.I.G) Zone 5, Benin-City, Edo State, Hashimu Argungu, described the outgoing cop as “an officer among officers”, adding that the police “will put to use the knowledge impacted by Aduba”.

Deputy Commissioner, State

•Aduba and his wife Chizor during a special service at the Anglican communion, Asaba.

PHOTO: OKUNGBOWA AIWERIE

Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Emmanuel Inyang, said the outgoing CP reduced crime during his tenure, assuring that the prevailing peace would be sustained.

Aduba served at various divisions in Imo, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states, serving as Commander PMF 18, 1, 19. He was Commissioner of Police Bauchi.

The books reviewer, CSP Imeh Udofia said the book Dynamics of the NPF in the New Millennium and Other Appraisala (1966-2010) deals with the Aduba’s family history, his humble beginning and love for education.

Section two of the book deals with Aduba’s influence within the family. Aduba is likened to a light in

his family.

The final section reveals his academic progression culminating in his enlistment into the NPF. Earlier at a church service at the Diocese of Asaba, Anglican Communion, Rt Rev Justus Mogekwu said the church decided to honour Aduba because he is a man of integrity, adding that the church must cultivate the habit of promoting people of integrity in society.

His words: “When I heard of the CP’s retirement, my heart sank. I asked why is it that a good thing never last. For his exemplary efforts at curbing crime and service to his fatherland, the church has decided to honour him with a special service. The church knows what is right, so when we see any person doing well, it is the duty of the church to honour such person. God is a God of peace and whosoever does peace, the church is ready to support”.

Aduba said the church service “is the highest honour I have ever gotten in my service year”, adding that his time in the NPF has taken him across the six geo-political zones.

He said the secret of his success lies in his firm belief in connecting with the grassroots.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

36

NIGER DELTA REPORT COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

D

EAR Brother J, On St Valentine’s Day, I wrote my first letter to you over your appointment as the Rivers State Commissioner of Police by the InspectorGeneral of Police (IGP), MD Abubakar. Three months after, there was an article which appeared in a Port Harcourt-based weekly, National Network, titled ‘A Word for Brother Johnson’. In it, the author, Manson Tordee (JP), who was described as a social commentator and public affairs analyst, attempted to tear me into pieces. From the first line of the error-riddled and badly proofread piece, the Justice of Peace (JP) accused me of bias and ascribed meanings I never intended to parts of the piece. He was bitter that Yoruba like me, Prof Wole Soyinka, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and others were dabbling into the affairs of Rivers, which, he said, was not a ‘free town’ where nonindigenes could take up appointments.

For instance, he said: “According to the bias (sic) analysis of Olukorede Yishau in his article “Brother Johnson” published under his usual column “Above Whispers” of The Nation on Friday, February 14, 2014, under comment and debate, page 36, I strongly condemn in totally the entire body of the article, especially the words “you are tomorrow, live above board by cleaning Mbu’s mess and if in the process you have to bow out of the force, do it”. Mr. Olukorede Yishau has failed to realise that every profession is guided by certain code of conduct, decorum and ethics which are based on the principle of discipline, obedience and absolute loyalty in line with hierarchical order of superiority.”

He added: “As a journalist and media practitioner, he is at liberty of accessing and bringing or disseminating to the public whatever information at his disposal without fear or favour, and most importantly, without been bias (sic) or dictated for (sic) by a third party.”

He had questions for me: “What MESS did Mbu left behind in Rivers State? How would he substantiate his claim that Mbu was selective in his operations with regards to his dealing with political activities in the State?

Is it in strict adherence and compliance with the laid down rules and regulations or orders according to the police’s professional terms or in flouting deviant and complete disobedience to the police orders and laws?”

My answers: under Mbu, rallies by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were allowed to hold without trouble. The opposition did not have that luxury. We were told they never got permission. The Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, was cock sure Mbu would not disturb his rallies that he boasted no policeman could

OLUKOREDE YISHAU

ABOVE WHISPERS

•A weekly intervention on Southsouth people

olukoredeyishau@gmail.com

Another letter to Brother J

‘ I leave Brother Johnson to decide if Mbu’s path is worth threading. For no reason will it ever be okay for you to pander to the whims and caprices of Amaechi. It will also be bad for any other top shot from Rivers to dictate how you do your job.

Policing has set rules about how things should be done in line with the Constitution. So, be guided always by this •CP Ogunsakin

stop his rallies and no one did. This was at a time an orientation programme for newly recruited teachers was stopped by Mbu on the pretext that no permission was received before it was staged.

Brother J, I am glad neither of these has

LAST WORD

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

‘

Facing criminals in the creeks will not be mere surveillance affair. We need to confront people who are seriously in that bunkering activity...

That is why we are partnering with the civil defence. The state commandant and the whole of the service in Bayelsa State have promised to give us the needed support by following us to the creeks __

‘

Nember Counci chief Eminah Bioghoemi

‘

happened under you. Yes, you have banned youth rallies or demonstrations which many of them have complained against. But, it was a blanket ban and not that you allowed PDP youths and disallowed APC youths.

The JP said Governor Rotimi Amaechi is

more Yoruba than Ikwerre. He needs to prove that. The only thing, to the best of my knowledge, that is Yoruba about the governor is his first name. But there are several people who bear names from other tribes for various reasons.

Brother J, in case you never read the piece, the JP also had humble words for “Brother Johnson” – Mr. Johnson Tunde Ogunsakin, the new CP of Rivers State: “You are a qualified, experienced police professional just like Mbu and judging by your rich credentials, you have gone round the whole facets of the police force where the witty gritty (sic) of it are all on your finger tips. Perform your duty in accordance with all you know that goes with your sworn-oath of allegiance and office. You can never be dictated for (sic) by any Chief Security Officer or allies.

Remember that every good policy or action of public officers must always step on the toes of powers bounded in oppressive tendency.”

He did not stop there Brother J. He added: “Continue in the shoe (sic) of Mr. Mbu. Remember that you must be careful of the praises of men as too, many cook (sic) always spoil (sic) the soup. Mbu’s criticism is an eloquent testimony of his excellence performance. It is biblically stated that one should rejoice when been (sic) criticised over a job welldone for rewards are high up beyond the sky.

“Mr. Ogunsakin you should endeavour to shun tribadistic (sic) ideology. Every citizen of this country comes from a state and no state is an infidel or dishonourable. For you to come from Ekiti State does not make you more honourable than every other person as presumed by Olukerede (sic) in his article.

After all, CP Ogunsakin you are a public servant earning from tax-payers’ money which must be justified by a complementary services (sic). Tread (sic) the part (sic) of justice like your predecessor and God will bless your stay in Rivers State.”

Need I say any more? Well, my final take: I leave you, Brother Johnson, to decide if Mbu’s path is worth threading. For no reason will it ever be okay for you to pander to the whims and caprices of Amaechi. It will also be bad for any other top shot from Rivers to dictate how you do your job. Policing has set rules about how things should be done in line with the Constitution. So, be guided always by this.

I will never advise you to be pro-anybody.

Just be pro-God, pro-constitution and proyour-conscience. So far, Rivers has been peaceful and the tempo should be sustained.

Now that we are daily getting closer to 2015, the pressure on you will mount and this really is the time to show you are different. From the little I know about you, you know how to handle pressure no matter the angle it is from.

Bye for now sir.

By Mike Odiegwu

Traders’ rage against Bayelsa govt

“G

O away. We don’t want to talk to you again. The last time you came we spoke to you but since then till now, nothing has happened. It is either that this government doesn’t read papers or they are insensitive to our plight,” an angry trader at the popular Imgbi Road, Amarata, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State screamed at this reporter.

The young man identified simply as James had reason to be angry. He was not the only aggrieved person. Other traders along the area were indignant at the negligence and alleged insensitivity of the Bayelsa State government.

They were annoyed that two months after an articulated vehicle lost control and rammed into their business premises, the government has failed to remove the truck popularly called tipper.

The truck marked XA 419 KTD was involved in a lone accident on May 21st at the Imgbi Road junction of Amarata Road, Yenagoa. The truck crashed into pavements and decked roofs of buildings located in the area. The accident reportedly occurred in the early hours before the resumption of business.

Indeed, passers-by had no kind words for the Governor Seriake Dickson-led administration.

One of them who simply identified himself as Jonathan accused the government of running an elite government.

“This government pays lip service to the plight of the masses. If this truck had rammed

into premises belonging to a prominent person in this state or relations of the governor and governor’s aides, they would have removed it a long time ago.”

Another woman who said her name is Preye Thomas flayed the government for abandoning the suspended truck at the city centre. He, however, said persons working in some agencies of the government should be blamed for the negligence.

Besides, a young man who identified himself as Billy was more concerned about what he called the hypocrisy in government.

“Is this not the government who said they are promoting tourism? The Peace Park at the city centre directly opposite the government house is decaying. Now a truck with this kind of environmental hazard has been abandoned here for a long time and nobody is doing anything about it.

“They have been bringing foreigners to the state for many international events. This truck was like this when they hosted the international fashion show and other events.

“Now they are planning economic summit and most beautiful girl in Nigeria show and we know that this thing will remain this way. These foreigners will only come and see how irresponsible we are”, he said.

James and other traders and shop owners close to the site of the disaster are in dilemma.

Their lives are in danger and their business en-

vironment is under threat.

The articulated vehicle popularly called tipper is blocking their business premises, their only sources of making a living. The truck is dangerously suspended on pavements threatening to collapse on them and their shops.

James and his colleagues have tried in vain to get the authorities to remove the truck, including writing a letter to the Environmental Sanitation Authority.

Speaking on the same matter, Blessing Ohoach, a petty trader said a responsible government should have removed the truck immediately after the accident.

Despite their plights, the traders are constantly harassed by officials of the Environmental Sanitation Authority to pay levies. Recently, some of the officials stormed the area to seize goods of the traders demanding N4000 unknown levy from them.

When one of the officials was asked why his office had done nothing about the abandoned truck, he said: “It is not our business to remove things like this. It is the job of the Ministry of Environment and FRSC. But if the government gives us the order, we will definitely remove it.”

What is there to say again other than to amplify what these people are saying: government should remove the truck. Failure to do this will amount to insensitivity. There are no two ways about it. Chikena!

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

37

SHOPPING

e-Payment summit ends

T

HE third edition of e-payment for Government Summit 2014 held at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, Abuja, has ended. The event, organised by the e-Payment Providers Association of Nigeria, held from July 8th-9th.

It was an annual gathering of different stakeholders from the federal government, state governments and other government agencies, which came together to design a roadmap for the e-payments sector in Nigeria.

This years’ event was themed ’Increasing Government Revenue Generation Using E—Payment Services’ and issues discussed ranged from ways to drive the adoption of mobile money, enabling e-payments for the National Housing Fund, to the payments side to the national identity card scheme, the role of government in payments, etc.

In attendance to contribute to the conversation and showcase some of its numerous products specially created to cater to the needs of the government, was eTranzact International Plc, Nigeria’s first award winning multi-application and

multi-channel electronic transaction switching and payment processing system,. Also in attendance were other e-payment providers like Interswitch, Citiserve, Unified payments, Nibbs, NimC, etc.

Giving a keynote at the event, Mr Sullivan Akala, Executive Director (Business development) of eTranzact, who represented Mr Valentine Obi, CEO of eTranzact International PLC said; “This is a summit we particularly look forward to every year. Since its inception, it has provided an avenue for key stakeholders to come together and set agenda that would truly move e-payment in Nigeria to the next level.

“Every year at this summit, eTranzact has had several things to celebrate and even more this year as we have been working hard on different projects that will truly help achieve the different epayment goals we have as a nation”. eTranzact International PLC provides e-payment services for the Nigerian Police Force, PHCN and several other government

• From left: Head of Mobile Payments, Uwa Uzebu; Senior PR Manager, Mr Ifeanyi Abraham; Akala; NHF Team, Mrs Chinwe Odili and Head, Brand & Media, Mr Yemi Opene at eTranzact team at E-Pan Summit.

agencies, and also powers e-payment for the National Housing Fund.

Other keynotes and presenta-

tions were given by Chris Oyemenam, DG/CEO,National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mr. Macauley Atasie,

MD/CEO of Nextzon, Mr. I. Kemabonta, Director Standards, Guidelines and Regulations, NITDA and other top dignitaries.

Mouka unveils ‘Instant Win’ promo

I

N line with its objective of promoting wellness, a healthy sleep life, and appreciating its loyal consumers, Mouka Limited, a foam and bedding manufacturing company, has announced the commencement of its Mouka ‘Instant Win’ promo where consumers will win instant prizes inserted in the mattress.

The promo, which kicked off yesterday, will run for weeks and consumers who purchase the Mouka Flora, Legend, Mondeo, Fantasia, Regal, Regina and Royal brand of products within the promo period, will be rewarded.

The National Business Manager, Mouka Limited, Mr. Olufemi Asa said that the promo is in line with the company’s objective of delivering on its brand promise, which is to add comfort to the lives of Nigerians.

Asa further stated “at Mouka, we are dedicated to providing quality mattresses that help our consumers have a good night rest after a hard day’s work. It is only fair that we reward our devoted consumers and also people who are interested in purchasing our

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha top range of mattresses to enhance their sleep experience.”

Explaining the modalities of the promo, Marketing Manager, Mouka Limited, Mr. Olusegun Ajala stated that mattress sizes of 6X4.5 and above in the comfort or luxury range has a free gift inside He added that choice of mattress purchased will determine the instant prize, which ranges from neck rest, mosquito nets, towels, to shopping bags.

Ajala stated that prizes will be redeemed immediately at the purchase centres. Customers are advised to visit http:// www.mouka.com for more information on participation.

Mouka is majority owned by an international private equity firm ActisLLP. Actis acquired a majority stake from the founders, the Moukarim Family in 2007.

Mouka Limited is Nigeria’s leading manufacturer of polyurethane-based products. Mouka has a leading market share in the household and industrial foam market in Nigeria and the ECOWAS sub-region.

Winners emerge in Viju consumer promo

W

INNERS have emerged in this year’s annual Viju Milk promo. The raffle draw was computerised last Saturday and winners were contacted via telephone to be informed of their victory.

The draw, which was witnessed by students of about seven primary schools, journalists and staff of Viju had 10 people bagging the mega price of 32 inches flat screen TVs. Among the star winners are Anoke Christiana. Okorie Chidiebere, Vincent Obioma and 98 others who got Startime decoders. 300 others won bags of rice.

Managing Director of Viju, Mr Tom Hod said because everyone likes Viju, the promo serves as a way of compensating and appreciating its loyal customers. “Viju is the best milk drink in Nigeria, with the best quality of drinks consumers can utilise,” he said. Hod also mentioned that work is underway for the company’s water and biscuit brand, which will be out in the coming month.

Marketing Manager of the company, Mr Aliyu Sulieman added that the promo is a deviation from the old style of giving scholarships to celebrate those who have been with

By Nneka Nwaneri

them over the years. “We will go bigger and higher in the next edition, because we are the first and second to none in the milk drink category in Nigeria. We have been here in the last 10 years for a reason and we have come to stay,” he said.

The manager said the company’s factory is among the top ultra modern companies in the country that can be compared with the top brands like Nestle, Unilever, PZ and others in the category. He was optimistic that if the brand stays longer in the country, it will surpass the record of other industries.

Mr Ozobia Olisa of the Lagos Zonal office of the National Lottery Commission described the draw as transparent and as good as any draw should be. He also added that Viju has been partners with the Commission and one of the few companies that have been meeting up with standards during its promotional draws.

“This is where we come in to avoid apathy and professionalise the draws. We are here to put credibility in the promo and assure consumers that it is real and also to ensure that prizes won are genuinely given to the winners,” Olisa said.

• From left: Chief Commercial Officer, Mark Russell; Naijatechguide Executive, Pascal Okafor; Online Marketing Manager, Yeside Asekun and Head of Marketing, Gabriel Gab-Umoden at the event.

First Konga affiliate millionaire emerges

K

ONGA.COM has announced the emergence of its first affiliate to make one million naira. He is Mr. Paschal Okafor, owner of the Naija Tech Guide website, a website focused on technology news, reviews, specs and prices of gadgets. It serves as a guide for making the right purchase decisions in the technology market.

Mr. Okafor has been promoting products featured on Konga.com site for many months now and has cornered a commission of up to N1 million. He was recently hosted to a warm reception at the Konga Headquaters.

Speaking about the emergence of the new Konga affiliate millionaire, Gabriel Gab-Umoden, Head of Marketing, said: “We are quite pleased with this new development. At Konga, we are always on the lookout for ways to reward our promoters and customers alike.

And we are grateful for the support we have gotten from all our affiliates. We hope to make more people millionaires through this program.”

The Konga affiliate initiative was initiated last year and tagged the ‘Konga Associate Program’. This was done in a bid to reward promoters of the Konga brand and to enable them earn some commission for every sale made through their media channels.

Currently, the program has over 2,500 partners who are driving new users and sales to Konga.com. The partners use different media channels to promote Konga products websites, search engines, social media networks, postings in fo-

—Konga celebrates 2, opens anniversary store— rums, or email. They also get paid when a visitor sent to Konga.com via an affiliate link actually makes a purchase on the site.

The Associate Program is open to anyone anywhere who is willing to promote Konga products for a commission.

Also, as Konga celebrates two years of its existence, the online store has promised to appreciate its numerous customers by rewarding them with mouth-watering prizes for making the konga journey a successful one. Therefore, this week, customers stand the chance of winning N25, 000 when they shop using the Konga Android App. At the same time,

the Konga anniversary sale has kicked off, featuring discounts of up to a whopping 70 per cent across all categories.

Speaking at the anniversary, Sim Shagaya, Chief Executive Officer, Konga.com, said: “As Konga turns two, we wish to express our gratitude to all our customers. In just two years, Konga has been able to revolutionize the way Nigerians buy and sell online. The transition from being just a retailer to a marketplace that provides economic opportunity has also been a successful one as Konga now features thousands of merchants selling products on the site. It has been a great two years, and for this, we say ‘thank you’ “

Jumia empowers SMEs

A

S part of its innovative approach towards transforming the Nigerian retail space, Jumia has introduced an online marketplace platform to serve as a veritable model that will shape the future of retail in Nigeria. The Jumia marketplace offers Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) opportunities to showcase their products online thereby reaching a larger and more targeted audience.

The platform is not limited to businesses; it also brings on board individuals who run small businesses on the side and are looking to increase visibility. “I run a homebased business and I must say joining the Jumia marketplace has really been helpful especially with increasing my sales. Jumia has offered

my business more visibility,” said Kenneth Ubogu, a Jumia Market place seller.

Some of Jumia’s marketplace sellers include home-based business owners and mobile sellers. “Jumia helped my business a lot with the marketplace platform. It is the best thing that has happened to my business. I have tripled my revenue in six months since I started selling on the marketplace,” stated Ayodeji of Odej, a home-based seller.

Another seller from the marketplace, Eileen Gold mentioned that she was amongst the first people to join the marketplace and she is glad to have the opportunity to be on Jumia’s marketplace because she has more access to people and it has helped to increase her sales.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

38

THE NATION

BUSINESS

AGRICBUSINESS

e-mail: agrobusiness@thenationonlineng.net

To ensure a food-secured future, the government is adopting innovations that are capable of improving the lives of farmers. One of these is the Warehouse Receipt System. It is meant to help farmers gain access to loans from banks and prevent hasty sale of agricultural commodities at a loss. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

Push for warehouse receipt system F

ARMERS, whether corporate or individuals, face a lot of risks. Not only are they prone to input and output price volatility, but they also face high financial risks resulting from the production cycles.

Agric producers also have to deal with risks associated with negative outcomes mainly deriving from extreme weather shocks, such as drought, floods or cold waves. The change is significant, as temperatures rise, rainfall patterns change and pests and diseases find new ranges, posing new risks to food and farming.

Added to this, is the challenge of struggling with storage at post harvest levels. Those who have debts to repay sell the produce when harvest season begins. They cannot hold onto their crops until the lean season, when the price and potential for profits are at their highest. This lead them to sell off their produce immediately after harvest, when the price and potential for profits are at their lowest.

However, a financing solution has been introduced, which seeks to cushion the producers against such eventualities, known as Warehouse Receipt System.The process starts with gathering produce among small producers into bulking centres where quality are affirmed. The produce is then moved into certified warehouses where it is handled professionally to guarantee quality while in storage.

With warehouse receipt finance, a farmer or trader delivers his produce to a warehouse that has been approved by a bank, or other lender. The warehouse, or collateral management company in charge of it, then issues a receipt vouching for the quantity and quality of produce being stored.

The bank then takes the receipt and provides financing to the farmer or trader – typically up to 70 per cent of its current market value – against it. The receipt acts as collateral for the bank, giving it the right to take ownership of the stored produce if the loan is not repaid.

The credit advance, which is secured by the warehoused commodity, is then recovered a few months later when the depositors choose to sell their produce.

The Team Leader, Agric Extension, Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), Prof Tunji Arokoyo, said the warehouse receipt system (WRS) is gaining momentum due to its potential in boosting agricultural growth.

Its existence, he explained, protects farmers from seasonal price change by giving them the opportunity to store their product and sell it during favourable price periods.

Beyond this, he said the project helps rural farmers to access bank loans in return for storage of their produce in a community- based warehouse. Once the harvest is stockpiled in the warehouse, the producer organisation obtains a loan from a microfinance institution and distributes it to its members on the basis of their share of the total stored commodity.

According to him, a well developed WRS can provide a platform for the

development of the entire commodity chain, providing incentives for a range of different parties, including farmers, financiers, traders, processors, public sector buyers, food aid managers and investors in storage capacity.

Warehouse receipt finance is spreading fast, giving smaller traders and bigger farmers, or cooperatives the chance to tap finance immediately while they protect their produce and hopefully negotiate better prices for it.

There remains huge challenges though.

According to him, if not properly managed, warehouses remain vulnerable to everything from theft, fraud to insect infestation. And although using a collateral manager provides more comfort to banks extending the credit, there still are not enough active WRFs outlets in Africa.

The President, National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Tola Faseru, said warehouse receipting is part of a package of innovations designed to modernise and enhance the efficiency of agricultural marketing systems.

Faseru said improper preservation or drying techniques, coupled with inadequate storage facilities, can force small farmers to let commercial or foreign traders reap the rewards of seasonal price swings.

With warehouse receipt, howver, he said a whole series of problems are resolved. Apart from protecting the crop where an estimated 40 per cent of harvests rot before reaching market, it also frees up financing for the farmer. Without warehouse receipt finance, many commercial traders would not have enough collateral to meet banks’ requirements, given the huge quantities of grain that they are dealing with.

Warehouse receipt finance is especially helpful for smaller traders who might struggle to borrow otherwise.

With the use of warehouse receipt financing, also known as inventory credit, he said small farmers will gain an advantage on the playing field.

Expectedly, the warehouse receipts are administered to producer groups, instead of individuals, which helps the flow of market information. It will create price transparency which empowers farmers to make informed sales decisions rather than waiting for “farm gate” buyers who often offer below- market prices.

Negotiable warehouse receipts allow transfer of ownership of that commodity stored in a warehouse without having to deliver the physical commodity. These receipts are issued in negotiable form, making them eligible as collateral for loans.

Banks have more faith in such negotiable warehouse receipts and farmers would be able to seek loans easily against these receipts.

It also enhance banks’ interest in lending in respect of farm goods deposited by farmers in the registered warehouses.

For watchers, there is need for an

•Warehouse staff ascertaining the quality of a produce

•Oteh

•Santuraki

•Faseru

enabling policy environment that recognises and supports a free market – willing buyer willing seller and with minimal distortions is necessary.

To make it work, the government needs to certify warehouses with higher tonnes capacities nationwide, where produce can be deposited nationwide.

More financial institutions have to join the warehouse receipt systems process to enable them advance credits to farmers on warehouse receipt financing using the deposited commodity.

Managing Director, Bank of Agriculture, (BoA), Dr Mohammed Santuraki, share the same thought about the project.

He said the launch of the Electronic Warehouse Receipt System, e-WRS for farm produce would bring farmers closer to the market.

Speaking during the launch of the system in Abuja, Santuraki listed the commodities to be traded to include, cocoa, sesame seeds, maize, sorghum and cashew.

According to Santuraki, post-harvest loss is a very big challenge for the Nigeria farmern as it forces farmers to sell their produce at very low prices.

“But with this system, the farmers will get better value for their products and it will increase the margin farmers get for their produce.

Director-General, Securities and

Exchange Commission, SEC, Ms Arunma Oteh, described the implementation of the e-WRS for farm produce as a game-changer for Nigeria’s agriculture.

Oteh said it was a significant milestone for the Nigerian economy and the backbone of any commodities exchange.

“It is bound to have transformative impact on agriculture, food security, poverty alleviation, economic inclusion and ultimately on the socio-economic advancement of Nigeria as encapsulated in the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.

“Agriculture employs over 65 per cent of Nigerians and this scheme will help address the persistent problems our farmers face in terms of limited access to markets and credit,” she said.

According to Oteh, commodities exchange helps in creating efficiencies in the production and distribution of essential raw materials across countries.

“They provide a centralised marketplace where commodity producers can sell their products to those who wish to use them for manufacturing, export or consumption.

“They also facilitate price discovery, reduce risk and costs, while improving the allocative efficiency of the economy.’’

Oteh said the federal government’s

agricultural transformation agenda; ATA had already brought remarkable dividends for over 10 million farmers, making it easier to access inputs and agricultural extension services.

“This warehouse initiative will go a long way in consolidating the gains of ATA and improving the livelihood of millions of smallholder farmers in our country,” she said.

President, Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations of Nigeria, FACAN, Dr Victopr Iyama said the implementation of the system would lead to sustainability along the value chain.

“It will lead to remuneration gain for farmers as over 25 per cent of farmers’ products are lost due to lack of storage facilities.

“A lot of sensitisation is on but we need to do more after this launch in the pilot states because no farmer will see the advantages and not jump at it.’’

In his remark, the Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr. Yinka Sanni, noted that agriculture contributes 22 per cent of the country’s GDP and affects a significant number of the people.

He pledged the bank’s commitment to the scheme, adding that it would stand as a middleman to give confidence to participants of the programme.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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AGRICBUSINESS

Group laments decline in How to boost food production U food manufacturing T

HE Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN) has decried the decline in food manufacturing, urging the government to reverse the situation.

Its President, Prince Saviour Iche, said Nigeria used to be attractive to multinational companies seeking to reduce production costs, but because of poor infrastructure, costs have gone up.

According to him, food manufacturers are grappling with some problems. He listed these as increased wages, cost of doing business and a weak currency, noted that these have forced multinational companies to rethink their strategy to remain competitive.

For firms that are not in a posi-

Stories by Daniel Essiet

tion to move up the cost/quality curve, an attractive option, he suggested, is to shift their operations to other parts of West Africa where production costs are still a fraction of what obtains in the country.

He said beacause local and multinationals were facing competition, some of them had to relocate.

He said the government should create a high value-adding manufacturing industry, as opposed to its traditional low-cost, low valueadded ecosystem.

In doing so, he said, the focus had been on indigenous innovation – creative production that is less reliant on foreign capabilities.

He called on the government to create an industrial corridor by

investing in vital support infrastructure, such as power plants, water facilities and transport infrastructure.

“This means that local manufacturers need to be prepared for increasing competition in higher value manufacturing and consider some options when looking to offshore operations,” he added.

He noted that the economy needs to expand its industry base to cover new products and transform relationships between research, skills, training and industry.

At the micro level, he said companies were creating a workforce, which needs to begin through schools, universities and even into organisations.

NLESS urgent efforts are made to raise crop yields, the country will fail to reach its development goals and the rural people will reap only meagre harvests, an expert has said.

Prof Daniel Gwary of the Department of Crop Protection, University of Maidugari said replenishing the nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and other minerals absorbed by plants is vital to keep crop yields from declining.

Part of the answer lies in better farming methods, including expandingthe range of crops grown, improving soil conservation practices and usingimproved seeds and technology.

Gwary said breeding crops for resistance against diseases is essential in the quest to secure food production.This is because despite efforts to control them, crop dis-

Farmers asked to sow seeds for pollinator revival

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• Project Leader from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture on Cassava Weed Management Project, Dr Alfred Dixon (third from right), handing over assets including Toyota Hilux to Prof. Segun Lagoke of the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB) (fourth from right). FUNAAB is one of the collaborating institutions on the project Sustainable Weed Management Technologies for Cassava Systems in Nigeria. With them are project staff.

Govt urged to examine packaging materials

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DON, Dr. Ademola Adeyemo has called on the government to enforce the policy on the examination of packaging materials to avoid contamination.

Adeyemo,who is Deputy Director, Directorate of General Administration, Agricultural and Rural Management Institute (ARMTI), said the migration of chemicals from packaging materials into food has highlighted a gap in the nation’s food safety regulation.

He said authorities should focus on

the regulation on packaging, with particular attention to the migration of chemicals from packaging and food contact materials, adding that there are possibilities of contaminated chemicals in plastics used in food and food packaging affecting consumers.

Adeyemo said there should be advice on how to use materials that are in contact with foods.

Specifically, Adeyemo said the government should spelt out standards on new packaging and recycled

ones, adding that companies should step up technologies that they are using and demonstrate their readiness to ensure safe of production process.

He said regulatory agencies should explore avenues to address the issue, ranging from the provisions that are in place under the food standards code, to regulatory, co-regulatory and self-regulatory options.

According to him, the firms should demonstrate to consumers that they can be trusted.

‘High cocoa price could boost investments’

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IGH cocoa prices reported at the global market may encourage farmers to increase investments, the Chief Executive, Centre for Cocoa Initiative Mr Robo Adhuze has said.

He said to break even farmers need to invest to improve productivity, adding that a lot is required in terms of husbandry to control diseases through insecticide and fungicide.

According to him, there is no high profit with the prices of insecticides and fungicide rising across the industry.

He said the farmers will be more inclined to buy input with the prices of cocoa rising but the costs of fertiliser, pesticides and fungicides should be considerate with increased demand.

The International Cocoa Organisation forecast a global cocoa defi-

cit of 75,000 tonnes in 2013/14.

Officials have suggested next season will also finish with a shortfall.

The deficit should translate next season to an increase of the farmgate price, which was fixed at 750 CFA francs ($1.55) per kg at the beginning of the 2013/14 season.

Meanwhile, fairtrade cocoa farmers in West Africa are investing in their farms, crop infrastructure and communities – but they need deeper, long-term partnerships to drive change. Thus concludes a new report ‘Fairtrade Cocoa in West Africa’ released by Fairtrade International and Fairtrade Africa.

The report reveals Fairtrade certified cocoa farmer organisations chose to spend 36 per cent of their Fairtrade Premium on projects to increase the productivity of mem-

bers’ farms and the quality of their cocoa – far above Fairtrade International’s suggested 25 per cent minimum. Fairtrade provides defined premiums of $200 per tonne paid directly to farmers’ organisations and managed at the sole discretion of farmers via their general assembly.

Approximately 140,000 cocoa farmers in West Africa areFairtrade certified.

Fairtrade is working with some of the smallest and most disadvantaged cocoa farmers in the region.

Their averageplot size is 2.6 hectares. On average, Fairtrade farmers inGhana farm the smallest plots.

Nine out of 10 West African Fairtrade cocoa farmers arein Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The rest are in Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Togo, and Sâo Tomé and Príncipe.

eases still account for fifteen percent of the losses in the food production.

Farmers spray their crops with fungicides to control these plant diseases, but their effectiveness is limited as diseases mutate to become insensitive to the fungicides.

Gwary said there was need for research to breed crop plants for resistance against disease.

As traditional methods of controlling crop disease become less effective, he said there was a need to breed new strains of crops with an inbuilt resistance to the disease increases.

He said resistant crops increases farming efficiency and greater returns on investment.

He canvassed collaboration among research institutions to explore options for producing crops of the future.

NITED Kingdom (UK) arable farmers now have a great opportunity to kickstart the creation of essential new food resources for pollinating insects.

The Syngenta Operation Pollinator offer, in partnership with the Campaign for the Farmed Environment (CFE) and seed suppliers, Kings, will provide 350 seed packs of a purpose-designed annual wildflower mix and the full agronomic support to help farmers establish the valuable new ecological habitat – at a cost of just £35 per pack.

Each seed pack will create up to one hectare of prolific wildflowers, producing 350 hectares of new habitat on UK farms.

That would equate to every household in a city the size of Leeds sowing a four x two meter wildflower border at home.

This joint venture paves the way for a wider industry initiative in 2015 to address some of the challenges laid down by the National Pollinator Strategy.

Annual wildflowers are easy to establish alongside conventional cropped farmland, using the same techniques, timing and equipment as establishing winter oilseed rape crops, according to Syngenta Environmental Initiatives Manager, Belinda Bailey. “In the first year they can provide a huge boost in the food resources for pollinating insects that crucially lasts right through the season.

“It is a quick and simple way for farmers to get involved and make a positive contribution to helping bumblebees, solitary bees and other pollinating insects – along with wider farm biodiversity,” she advised. “Annual wildflowers can

play an incredibly important role in feeding pollinators, alongside other ecological features – such as perennial pollen and nectar mixes, hedgerows and grass margins – where farmers have hitherto been so successful in providing pollinator friendly habitats for food and overwinter nest sites.”

Speaking at the launch of Sow the Seeds for Pollinator Revival at a CFE farm walk and open day in Worcestershire, CFE Worcestershire Coordinator, Bob Slater, said: “Many farmers have made great strides to provide new habitats for pollinating insects – to the point where the populations of some bee species have been increasing in recent years.

“This joint initiative with CFE and Operation Pollinator fully supports our efforts to encourage even more farmers to get involved, and helping to create a more diverse range of habitats on farmland across the UK. It is an extremely powerful demonstration that productive commercial farming and positive ecological management can co-exist in the same field.”

Richard Barnes of Kings added: “The Operation Pollinator Annual Wildflower mix we have put together has been carefully selected to provide a prolonged flowering period and a sustained supply of food for pollinating insects.

“It is based on sound ecological research of pollinator activity and has been extensively trialled on farms as part of a Syngenta project to enhance growers’ oilseed rape yields. The growers involved have found it relatively easy to establish and manage the margins, with extremely positive results in pollinator activity and crop performance.”

World Wildlife Fund condemns illegal fishing

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HE Marine Conservation at the World Wildlife Fund, based in the United States, said the global economy loses about $23 billion per year to illegal fishing.

Vice President of the fund, Michele Kuruc, said in the latest livescience, a science website, that the losses were due to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the world’s oceans. “Illegal fish products, which infiltrate the market as seafood moves among multiple fishers, processors, importers and exporters,” Kuruc said.

She noted that it was difficult to differentiate legal from illegal fish products by regulators. “As seafood is combined, shipped, processed and shipped again without consistent documentation, regulators, retailers and consumers lose the ability to differentiate legal from illegal products.

“While the challenge before law enforcement is immense, the tide

is beginning to turn against those profiting from illegal fishing,” Kuruc said.

She said there was a growing synergy between leaders in government and stakeholders in the fishing industry to arrest the situation.

Kuruc said these efforts were brought to the front burner at the just-concluded ocean conference which witnessed the attendance of 80 world leaders, including US President, Barack Obama.

She said Obama announced a new initiative designed to coordinate efforts among all federal agencies to close US markets to illegally caught seafood.

Kuruc called on the US govt to bring together the public and stakeholders to design regulations to check the threat of illegal fishing. She advocated the issuance of proof of legality to importers as a condition for importing fish.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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BUSINESS Bank of America reports 43% drop in quarterly profits

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ANK of America has reported a 43 percent drop in its secondquarter profits after a fall in mortgage revenue and a rise in legal costs.

The bank, the US’s second largest, said net income of $2.3bn (£1.34bn) was down from $3.4bn (£1.99bn) a year earlier.

Its finances have been hit recently by huge payments to the authorities to fend off accusations of wrong-doing.

In the past year, its shares have fallen from 32 cents (19p) to 19 cents (11p) per share.

In April the bank agreed to pay $9.5bn for misleading US mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the financial crisis in 2008.

It then agreed separately to pay $783m (£470m) in fines and refunds, for mis-selling payment and identity theft insurance to nearly three million credit card customers.

The bank’s chief financial officer, Bruce Thompson, acknowledged the rise in litigation costs and praised the bank for doing “a good job managing expenses”.

He also said that during the quarter the bank’s credit losses remained “near historical lows.”

The bank’s results come as analysts have noted a split in the US lenders’ quarterly results between banks that cater mainly to U.S customers and those with a more prominent global presence.

Domestic-orientated banks have been helped by a pick-up in the U.S economy.

International traders have not fared so well, with Citigroup seeing an almost 10 percent fall in its share price and GoldmanSachs’s shares dropping seven percent.

Wells Fargo, which is responsible for one out of six US home loans, saw its share price rise three percent on Friday.

Time warner rejects Fox take over bid U S media giant Time Warner has rejected an initial takeover approach from rival 21st Century Fox estimated at $80bn (£46.6bn).

The takeover approach by the Rupert Murdoch owned company was made last month, it was revealed.

Twenty-first Century Fox confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that its offer for Time Warner had been rejected.

It added it was not currently in talks with Time Warner about pursuing the deal further.

“21st Century Fox can confirm that

we made a formal proposal to Time Warner last month to combine the two companies,” the company said.

“The Time Warner board of directors declined to pursue our proposal. We are not currently in any discussions with Time Warner.”

Twenty-first Century Fox, owns movie studio 20th Century Fox and cable news channel Fox News.

According to the New York Times, Fox offered to sell Time

Warner-owned CNN as part of the takeover deal proposal for its rival in order to clear any objections US regulators might have had to the deal.

A statement released by Time Warner said after lengthy discussions it had decided it was not in its best interest or those of its shareholders to accept the proposal or to pursue any further discussions with Fox. Time Warner’s share price jumped some 16.35 percent higher in the first 20 minutes of trade on the New Stock Exchange to $82.62 per share.

Rector faults NIMASA, master mariners over stattus of maritime institute HE Rector, Stars Maritime Academy (SMA), Dr. Reuben Ovai, has said both the Nigeria Maritime Adminsitration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and master mariners are incompetent to comment on the legitimacy or otherwise of the operations of private maritime schools in the country because they are not the regulatory authorities saddled with the responsibility of approving operations of technical education.

Ovai spoke at the school premises in Itele, Ogun State in response to allegations levelled against private maritime schools in the country as illegitimate recently by the NIMASA and some master mariners in the country. He said though a few of the schools may be operating illegally, it is wrong for any agency of government or anybody to make a blanket statement because some of the

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By Uyoatta Eshiet

schools like STARS Maritime Academy were duly registered and accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the Federal Ministry of Education.

He said for a government agency that suppose to know better to be accredited with such a published story that private maritime schools in the country are illegitimate sends a wrong information to the general public.

The rector said the Act that established NIMASA did not give them any right to accredit any maritime institution in the country, adding that the agency under its present management is taking too many responsibilities that are not for them. Master mariners are misinformed about private maritime schools, he added.

Huawei launches new products

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UAWEI launched four new products for the Australian market at Huawei’s Better Connected information and communications technology (ICT) roadshow in Sydney on Tuesday.

The four new flagship products are the Huawei High-End Storage 18000 Series, Huawei eLTE Broadband Access Solution, ICT Convergence Micro Data Center, and Agile Network and Agile Switch S12700.

Peter Rossi, chief technology officer at Huawei Australia, said in a statement that the expansion of the company’s product range across Australia is designed to help local businesses. “We want to give Australian businesses choice. More importantly give them the ability to efficiently run and service their business needs through our end-toend solutions,”he said.

Rossi said Huawei has invested globally US$24 billion in research and development in the past 10 years, and “these leading-edge products are the result of this investment.”

Huawei said it is a leading ICT solutions provider serving 45 of the world’s top 50 telecom operators.

In Australia, Huawei employs more than 600 workers, 80 percent of which are locals, and works with all major Australian operators. Half of the Australian population already use some sort of Huawei product for their telecommunications needs, the company said in a statement.

Huawei’s products and solutions have been deployed in over 170 countries and support the communications needs of one third of the world’s population, the company said.

UK unemployment falls to 2.12m

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K Unemployment fell by 121,000 to 2.12 million in the three months to May, official figures show.

The figure is the lowest level in nearly six years, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The rate of unemployment also fell again, to 6.5per cent from 6.6 percent in the three months to April.

The number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance last month fell by 36,300 to 1.04 million, the ONS added.

The latest figures also show that more than 78 percent of men and 68 percent of women are in work, giving an employment rate of 73.1 per cent.

Prime Minister David Cameron said this was now equal to the record rate of employment set in 2005.

“Today’s figures show more people have the security of a job than ever before. Full employment is a key aim of our long-term economic plan,” he said.

The latest figures show that wage rises including bonuses are at their lowest since 2009, while excluding bonuses average wage increases are their lowest since 2001.

Average wages in March to May including bonuses were just 0.3per cent higher than a year ago.

Average wage rises excluding bonuses rose in that time by 0.7%.

•From right: President and Chairman, Council of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), Dr Nelson Uwaga; Deputy Managing Director, Skye Bank Plc Mrs Amaka Onwughalu; NIM Registrar Mohammed Sulaiman and Executive Director, South South/South East, Skye Bank Ibiye Ekong during NIM'S courtesy visit to the bank in Lagos.

PHOTO: NNEKA NWANERI

BRICS nations to create $100b development bank

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HE leaders of the five Brics countries have signed a deal to create a new $100bn (£58.3bn) development bank and emergency reserve fund.

The Brics group is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The capital for the bank will be split equally among the five participating countries.

The bank will have a headquarters in Shanghai, China and the first president for the bank will come from India.

Brazil’s President, Dilma Rousseff, announced the creation of the bank at a Brics summit meeting in Fortaleza, Brazil on Tuesday.

The halls of Fortaleza’s conference centre were full of whispers about

whether or not these Brics nations - which often see one another more as rivals than friends - could agree a deal on the development bank.

But challenges were overcome and the announcements were made. Despite their political and economic differences, the one thing these countries do agree upon is that rich countries have too much power in institutions like the World Bank and the IMF. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s comments made that feeling crystal clear - the Brics countries, she said, have the power to introduce positive changes - ones that they think are more equal and fair.

At first, the bank will start off

with $50bn in initial capital.

The emergency reserve fund which was announced as a “Contingency Reserve Arrangement” will also have $100bn, and will help developing nations avoid “shortterm liquidity pressures, promote further Brics cooperation, strengthen the global financial safety net and complement existing international arrangements”.

The creation of the Brics bank will almost surely create competition for both the World Bank and other similar regional funds.

Brics nations have criticised the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for not giving developing nations enough voting rights.

LG unveils HomeChat tech

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OREA electronics giant, LG Electronics, has said the launch of its HomeChat interface will help bring great expectations into a simpler focus, adding that the tech allows users to give commands to their machines through their smartphones.

In a statement, the firm said the tech also unlocks the ability to hold twoway conversations with appliances by using the popular LINE messaging applications (app) to receive recommendations and feedback from devices as per their current status.

The premise of home appliances have remained virtually unchanged since entering everyday lives decades ago: Make the home simpler.

Previously this has seen a boom in the size, shape and overall selection of hardware items which are geared at easing convenience and saving time across a host of household tasks.

With pick-up-and-go appliances now ubiquitous, the latest innovation battleground has been to give these items a brain. The resulting trend of the ‘Internet of Things’ is to ‘digitally empower’ previously inanimate products such as fridges, ovens and dishwashers with the ability to be

By Alvin Afadama

smart and interact with their owners.

“The smart TV is one of the last devices that even tech-savvy consumers have trouble fully exploiting. While there are many Smart TVs on the market, LG’s built in webOS is designed to streamline the process and bring the full power of the Smart TV to the consumer. LG’s webOS allows for users to search the internet or their own personal media library to find exactly what they want to watch,” the firm said.

The simplicity of webOS puts viewers firmly in control of their television screen. Enter webOS, LG’s newest Smart TV platform. that has been used to offer users an intuitive interface for an experience that is both seamless and refreshingly uncomplicated. In optimising the webOs system for LG Smart TV, many industry watchers have lauded the emergence of an interface which finally marries the superior picture quality of the latest generation of

TV’s with an operating system that allows truly smart navigation around and connectivity with a rich ecosystem of online content.

The ability of LG’s appliances to read and implement commands via text message marks a core simplification of human-machine interaction. HomeChat uses natural language, not buttons or commands that require memorising, making the learning curve extremely short for users.

HomeChat employs Natural Language Processing (NLP) and LINE, the popular mobile messenger app with over 300 million users, to let homeowners communicate, control, monitor and share content with LG’s latest smart appliances.

Introducing a whole new level of convenience, the company’s premium smart appliance lineup includes a camera-equipped refrigerator, a washing machine that allows users to start and download washing cycles remotely via HomeChat and a Lightwave oven that supports NFC and WiFi for convenient control from any location.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

TRIBUTE

Reflections on Bamidele Aturu – a pure spirit

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was at the Abuja Airport on my way to Gombe for a matter when a journalist from AIT called to find out whether anything was wrong with BamideleAturu as he needed to verify the information he had just received from Abuja that the fire brand lawyer may have passed on. I was too frightened to contemplate my next move as I preferred to see the news as a dream far from possible reality. But I also know that considering the enormous respect I have for the person of Aturu and the personal relationship we had shared, I needed to verify the information quickly especially having assured the journalist that I will get back if I found any useful information concerning this extraordinary Nigerian. I quickly put a call through to my contacts that were in a position to know and the response was not quite helpful. With trembling fingers I summoned courage to call Aturu’s private line to make enquiries about the safety of my friend.

The unfamiliar voice on the other end simply informed me that BamideleAturu had been rushed to the hospital and that he was asked

by Aturu’s wife to retain the mobile phone pending further developments.

I was left with no other alternative than to wait in prayers that it should turn out that the journalist who earlier called for verification may have been misinformed afterall.

My worst fears were confirmed when credible sources later confirmed to me that indeed our own BamideleAturu had passed on. I was devastated, shocked and traumatised by this unpleasant news the reason being that BamideleAturu was one of the finest spirits of my generation.

The rest of my journey to Gombe was a disaster as I nursed throughout the journey a very heavy burden in my heart.

Further investigations revealed his last moments. A day previously, BamideleAturu was said to have worked up till 7 p.m. in his chambers putting finishing touches to a Notice of Appeal which he personally drafted. Billed to travel the next day for an assignment at Uyo, Akwa Ibom State he had suddenly complained of body weakness and was promptly rushed to LASUTH for urgent attention. Our Aturu died within 20 minutes of arrival at the hospital. What a life! Very tragic!

Very sad!

The sadness occasioned by Aturu’s sudden passing is not however without some consolations and worthy legacies which definitely will endure forever.

Aturu was a man of finest virtues, very unique, genuine and different and indeed a reference point in this clime where a life of commitment to principles, integrity, service delivery quality and professionalism is sadly in short supply. In this climate of corruption, uncertainty and moral degradation, Aturustood out from

By Wahab Shittu

the crowd like a million stars and was uniquely different in terms of exemplary character and moral rectitude.

Aturu was a visionary who had a mission to fulfill and set out to accomplish same both by a life of personal example and in the manner he organised and structured his legal practice.BamideleAturu& Co, the law firm he founded has as its motto:”Serving the people by promoting justice”.

The vision/mission of the law firm are as follows: •To serve the Almighty God in all ways but in particular by defending the poor.

•To serve the cause of social justice by effectively and competently using the law inspite of its limitations.

•To defend the under privileged, the dispossessed, the oppressed and the abused against the rich and the powerful.

•To be a leading voice in the struggle against all forms of discrimination and undue privileges.

•To participate in all forms of actions aimed at social reform and change.

Aturu said “In pursuit of this vision/mission, we will not accept a brief simply on account that it is lucrative or reject a poor prospective client simply on account of inability to pay if we are convinced that he or she is truly unable to pay our fee”.

Clearly from the foregoing, Aturu was a forthright individual who decided early in life to build his professional practice on altruistic considerations and empathy for the poor and under privileged segment of the society. Not given to materialism, he had set out to embrace pro bono services as an integral part of his practice. This is salutary and a reflection of the degree of humanity and compassion that he had for his fellow human beings and the rest of the society.

Aturu also led a life of personal example worthy of emulation. He was adjudged the best corps member during his NYSC programme in Niger State. However, when it was time to honour him with accolades he bluntly refused to accept the NYSC award at a time when it was not fashionable to dare any military regime in this part of the world. In rejecting the award he wrote: “I saw the award as an attempt to co-opt me into the bestial capitalist power structure…I cannot feel honoured by this award or any award for that matter due to the general and specific differences between the present government and myself”.

This may have revealed Aturu as a sterling example in moral courage.

I have a personal experience on Aturu to attest to this trait in moral rectitude. I recall a time I was briefed to handle a drug related matter for a client who later approached me for a related segment of the brief that I

‘In pursuit of this vision/ mission, we will not accept a brief simply on account that it is lucrative or reject a poor prospective client simply on account of inability to pay if we are convinced that he or she is truly unable to pay our fee’ could not handle for conflict of interests. The client was ready to pay the sum of Two Million Naira and requested me to recommend a good lawyer since I could not handle the brief. I had no difficulty in zeroing in on the choice of BamideleAturu. I called BamideleAturu ahead and informed him that a prospective client was on his way to brief him armed with a princely sum of Two Million Naira. Aturu said he was waiting.

However to my shock and utter surprise when Aturu got the details of the brief he turned the brief down together with the sum of Two Million Naira on the ground that his conscience will not permit him to accept the brief in the circumstances.

He called to apologize to me while insisting that his decision was final.

What a Nigerian!

At his death I was forced to reflect on the significance of the name BamideleAturu and how the meaning of his first name and the interpretation of each of the surname may have defined the life and times of this extraordinary Nigerian. Bamidele simply means ‘Come home with me’ little wonder why this Nigerian threw his doors open to all Nigerians who desire his assistance as a reflection of his innate generosity and empathy. The okada riders in Lagos and Baba Suwe who benefited from Aturu’s generosity would attest to this trait.

On this score as a friend of the poor, Aturu wrote: “Lagos State should review the way it treats the poor”.

Each of the alphabets in the surname of Aturu is significant.

A: Stands for Amiable/Astuteness/Activism T: Stands for Trustworthy U: Stands for untiring R: Stands for reliability U: Utility driven.

Aturu combined all of these attributes and more – a factor responsible for his greatness and uniqueness.

Aturu was also a scholar of immense stature. He wrote standard text books on Labour Law and Election Matters which remain reference materials for scholarship. His latest work is on the Law & Practice of Industrial Courts, a work that constitutes imperishable guide to legal practitioners and other users of In-

•Lagos State Commissioner for Education Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye addressing a news conference on the healthy relationship between the state government and teachers at the Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja...yesterday. With her are Special Adviser to the governor on Media Mr Hakeem Bello (middle) and Director, Training, Ministry of Establishment, Training and Pensions Mr Odeyemi Sina PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

dustrial Courts nationwide.

Aturu’s scholarship was consistent with his pedigree. He read Physics at the University of Ife graduating with first class honours. In 1996 he graduated on top of his LL.M class at the University of Lagos with distinction, a feat which confirmed Aturu’s rating as a first class brain indeed.

Aturu was also a philosopher in the mould of the philosophical king with power of ideas and power of action. Beyond these, however, was the ability of Aturu to galvanize the elements of ideas and positive action into concrete crusade for policies and laws capable of transforming society. As a result, a fitting tribute to Aturu would be a reelection on the views he expressed on diverse issues affecting the well-being, growth and development of the country and its citizens.

Aturu for example, was vehemently opposed to deregulation of the down-stream sector of the petroleum industry and wrote scathing articles in leading newspapers exposing the evils of deregulation and why our government ought to jettison the policy.

Aturu’s views on politics are also instructive. He wrote: “The trouble with Nigerian politics contrary to the dominant public view is not the absence of issues based politics or lack of ideological commitment by the existing political parties but the fact that the dominant political parties are committed to the same ideology or world – view and therefore essentially not different one from the other…all the dominant parties in Nigeria are committed to privatization of public utilities and assert that the state’s only role in the economy is as regulator of the competing interests of the various factions of the ruling class”.

Aturu may have made the point that the existing political parties owing to lack of ideological clarity may have left the Nigerian electorate with little or no choice. The difference between all of them is between 12 and half a dozen. I doubt whether anyone can fault Aturu’s thesis in this regard.

Aturu will be remembered for his dogged pursuit of egalitarian society and his crusade against oppression and marginalisation of Nigerians. He was an activist whose struggle had a strong spiritual foundation. He was a Pastor of the Redeemed Church of God who believed in social justice and equal opportunity for all and sundry because that is the wish of Almighty God. Throughout his life, Aturu fought for democracy, rule of law, constitutionalism, due process, transparency and accountability, free, fair and credible electoral process, zero tolerance for corruption, respect for fundamental rights and good governance. Whenever he granted interviews on print and electronic media, Aturu deployed his creative talents and energy in pur-

•The late Aturu

suit of these fundamentals of the democratic tradition.

Aturu was humility personified, Integrity personified, cerebral, Courageous, principled, intellectual, nonmaterialistic, contented, good natured, caring, kind, supportive, friendly, accessible, business-like, seriousminded, genuine, revolutionary, radical, luminous, passionate, conscientious, selfless, intelligent, brilliant, analytical, current, relevant and deeply spiritual. What a human being!

I must also add that Aturu was controversial and this was in a positive sense. In the words of an American Psychologist: “Historydoes not record the achievements of any great man of vision and dynamism without some comments of controversy”.Aturu was a great man.

Aturu was also a great advocate. I recall our separate and joint appearances for the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Chairman of the EFCC and EFCC in a case involving the Delta State Government at the Federal High Court Benin at the inception of President Yar’Adua’s Administration. Aturu in his elements was on his feet for nearly two hours marshaling forensic arguments in well thought out English and eloquence to the admiration of all.

At the end of the proceedings, I was one of those permanently converted by the sheer advocacy skills of this wonderful Nigerian. We shared this friendship borne out of mutual admiration until he breathed his last.

I recall our last encounter three weeks ago on a flight from Lagos to Abuja and how characteristically Aturu expressed to me his wish for a better Nigeria and how he will not rest until that objective was achieved.

Aturu loved Nigeria and Nigerians. He loved humanity. He was prepared to sacrifice all he had for a better Nigeria. A fitting tribute for this illustrious Nigerian would be for all of us to ensure that his sacrifices and struggles for a better society are not in vain.

Adieu BamideleAturu! A rare breed, a pure spirit, a courageous attorney, the hero of Nigerian masses and a real human being.

•Shittu is a lecturer at the Univesity of Lagos.

•Managing Director, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Dr Dayo Mobereola (middle) receiving an award from Mr Ademuyiwa Obasa at the seventh yearly praise and worship concept tagged: Berachah 2014 organised by the Counselling Ambassadors Organisation at the Ruby Garden Event Centre, Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lekki, Lagos.

With them is CEO, Counselling Ambassadors Organisation and Permenent Secretary, MinPHOTO: DAYO ADEWUNMI istry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mrs Iyabo Obasa.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18 2014

COMMENTARY

I

T is rather ironic that today’s world takes Muslims for the mirror through which Islam is perceived when the opposite is actually the case.

Just as it is wrong to measure knowledge in an institution of learning by the quantity or quality of structures available therein so it is wrong to use Muslims as the mirror through which to see Islam in its naked and avowed nature.

On the contrary, Islam is the mirror through which Muslims are supposed to be seen. Not the other way round. No reasonable person will blame Nigerian constitution for the gross misconduct of some maleficent Nigerians abroad. Nigerian constitution is one thing the misconduct of Nigerians is another. The one is not and cannot be a corollary of the other.

When this sacred religion was revealed to mankind through Prophet Muhammad (SAW) almost 1,500 years ago, it was with certain fundamental norms meant to guide humanity towards all that is virtuous. One of the most valuable embodiments of Islam is the month of Ramadan. With it, all genuine Muslims rein themselves against satanic recklessness.

FEMI ABBAS ON femabbas756@gmail.com 08115708536

Abuse of Ramadan

Qur’anic revelations Here is the sacred month in which the revelation of the Qur’an began in 610 C.E. It was in this divine month that the last divine constitution with which to liberate humanity from the shackles of Satan was revealed. The real spiritual essence of Ramadan is to show mankind the right path to Paradise by guiding them through the transit called the world.

This symbolic month is like a school in which Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was both the pioneer student and the pioneer teacher. All other students who went through this school or are still going through it are heirs to the forerunners.

The duty of those heirs is to serve as shepherds for the wandering flock of the universe. This duty confirms man as Allah’s vicegerent on earth. Anyone who is in a position to serve as a shepherd but does otherwise has surely kicked against the rules of his creator.

Ironically, most of those we perceive as shepherd in our society are worse than the lost sheep they are supposed to guide. For those who know and appreciate it the opportunity of rebirth provided by this sacred month has no duplicate. It is like a ‘once in a while’ train which everyone should endeavour not to miss. Missing it is like missing a lifelong destiny. But will the recalcitrant ones heed the warning?

Season of jamboree With the arrival of Ramadan this year a scene of jamboree took over most radio and television stations as usual especially in the Southwest of Nigeria.

Many pseudo Alfas who had become redundant dusted their gowns and turbans for the purpose of sharing from the annual largess which the sacred month came with. Such pseudo Alfas who might have taken advantage of some ignorant Muslim money bags in the society by asking them to sponsor Ramadan preaching will begin to swarm on the airwaves like bees on a hive. With little or no knowledge at all, those pretenders will pose as learned scholars and start dishing out rubbish by arrogating to themselves the knowledge they do not possess.

Clerics or charlatans One of the characteristics of such ‘Alfas’ is to spend the first 10 minutes or thereabout singing the praises of their sponsors and chanting some irrelevant slogans even as they tell primordial stories which have neither roots nor bearing with Islam. Their trade in stock is to seek relevance by showing their faces on television or by airing their voices on radio just to be recognised as Alfas.

Such are people who have no knowledge and do not seek it. Rather than guiding ignorant Muslims, which is the primary duty of genuine Muslim clerics, they further mislead them.

With this category of Alfas, all that matters is the money they want to make through deception as well as the cheap fame they want to gain.

Controversy

•The National Mosque, Abuja

Thus, year in and out, this is their deed in the month of Ramadan. The impression they give is that Ramadan is an annual religion celebrated with fanfare only in the sacred month.

The most embarrassing aspect of their action is the faulty recitation of the Qur’an and the shameless misinterpretation they give it. This on its own is not just an abuse of Ramadan but also a flagrant abuse of the Qur’an. Thus, they turn the sacred month into one of gross abuse of Islamic religion. What they do not understand is that the Qur’an in its original form is not just any book which any charlatan can dust up once in a year in order to fetch money for self.

For the learned, reading any book at all has a purpose and a method.

No good reader will ever read a book without taking note of its author, its publisher and its date of publication. And to read any new book, the very first point of call is its contents which tell you the topics and the subjects you will read about in it. Then, to have an idea of the entire book in its summary form, before reading it, a good reader goes straight not only to the introduction or preface to such a book but also to the foreword written on it. The combination of both will surely give the reader a pretty idea of what the book is all about. This is the shortest means of familiarising oneself with a new book before going through its chapters.

Language of the Qur’an Most Muslim clerics read the Qur’an in its original language (Arabic) without understanding what they are reading because they do not speak that language.

Some read it as a means of solving their imaginary problems thus taking the Qur’an for a charm which must yield re-

then readily available. It was only much later, after the demise of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), that those writings were brought together and rendered into a book form. And one of the wonders of recording the Qur’an in writing is the classification of those revelations into chapters and verses by the Prophet himself despite his illiteracy.

The manner of presenting the Qur’anic revelations is simple and direct. It employs neither artifice nor conventional poses. Its main appeal is to man’s intellect, feelings and imagination. It does not only touch the anecdotes of the past Prophets in different ages and nations as well as the accounts of earlier revelations, it also covers the period from the beginning of creation to the very last Day of Judgment and beyond.

Not only that, Al-Qur’an also gives insight into some natural phenomena like sphericity and revolution of the earth (Q. 39:5) the formation of rain (Q. 30:48); the fertilisation of the wind (Q. 15:22); the revolution of the sun, the moon and the planets in their fixed orbits (Q. 36:29-38); the aquatic origin of all creatures (Q. 21:30); the duality of the sex of plants and other creatures (Q. 36:35); the collective life of animals (Q.6:38); the mode of life of the bees (Q. 16:69) and the successive phases of the child in the mother’s womb (Q. 22:5 & 23:14). Yet, the purpose of this Book is not to teach history, astronomy, philosophy or sciences. The details of these will be spelt out fully after Ramadan under a theme to be called ‘ANATOMY OF THE QUR’AN’ in sha’Allah.

sult if manipulated towards their whims.

The Qur’an is not meant for that purpose.

It is rather the manual of life for man by which he lives his daily life and conducts his daily affairs.

The word Qur’an means continuous recitation and understanding. It is so called because of its inimitable origin which makes it a compelling daily reading throughout the world, across nations and ages. It is the unsurpassed word of Allah not only in the grandeur of its diction and splendour of its rendition but also in the depth of its meaning, substance and profundity.

Profile of the Qur’an The revelation of this Book to mankind through an unlettered desert Arab, Muhammad son of Abdullah and Aminah, began in the month of Ramadan in year 610 CE. It lasted about 22 years (10 years in Makkah and12 years plus a few months in Madinah). The book contains 114 chapters and 6,246 verses (not 6,666 verses often announced by most Imams and Alfas). Any individual can verify this by checking the number of verses in each chapter and adding them together. It does not take more than one hour to do this.

Of the 114 chapters contained in the Qur’an, 86 were revealed in Makkah and 28 in Madinah. But the 28 chapters revealed in Madinah constitute two thirds of the entire Book. And this is because the Makkah chapters are short and rhythmic while those of Madinah are long and prose-like.

Although the Qur’an was revealed orally, its writing began almost immediately the revelations started. The writing was however done on primitive materials like wood, animal hides, back of trees and others of the like which were

‘The Qur’an is rather the manual of life for man by which he lives his daily life and conducts his daily affairs. The word Qur’an means continuous recitation and understanding. It is so called because of its inimitable origin which makes it a compelling daily reading throughout the world, across nations and ages’

Meanwhile, there is a raging controversy among Muslim scholars over the first and last revelations in the Qur’an.

Much as this controversy is unwarranted, it may be necessary to clear the coast here (without laying any claim to authority) if only for the purpose of authenticating history.

It is almost a consensus that the first revealed chapter in the Qur’an is Suratul ‘Alaq (Chapter of the Clot). But the very first revelation reaching Prophet Muhammad (SAW) through Angel Jibril is ‘BASMALAH’ (In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful) which precedes every chapter in the Qur’an except one (SuratutTawah) .

As a Messenger of Allah to another Messenger of Allah, Angel Jubril couldn’t have commanded Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to read anything without doing so in the name of Allah who sent him with the message.

Thus, Suratul ‘Alaq, as preceded by ‘BASMALAH’, could only have been the first revealed chapter but not the first revelation. And that is logical.

As for the last revelation in the Qur’an majority of Nigerian Muslim scholars believe that it is chapter 5, verse 3 of the Qur’an which says: ‘’Today, I have perfected your religion for you and completed my favour on you. And, I am pleased with Islam for you as religion’’.

That verse of the Qur’an that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) at ‘Arafah while performing his farewell Hajj couldn’t have been the last revelation. It came 81 days before the demise of the Prophet (SAW). And there was another revelation, thereafter, which came about nine days before the Prophet fell sick and died. This can be found in Qur’an 2: 281 which says: “And fear the day when you shall all return to Allah; the day when every soul shall be requited according to its desert and none shall be wronged”.

Clarification The earlier verse was an accentuation of Hajj as the last pillar of Islam. And that was why it came on Arafah Day. The latter is a reminder of man’s final destination and the account of his worldly activities. These and many more are what readers of the Qur’an should know inside out. But the big question is this: who will teach them when the supposed teachers have sold out to money and ignorance? To Muslims who are conscious of their spiritual affinity and retain their conscience for the day they will meet their Creator and account for their deeds on earth ‘The Message’ says RAMADAN KARIM!

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

43

PEOPLE THE NATION

A FIVE -PAGE SECTION ON SOCIETY

The remains of the former Deputy National Chairman of Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria and father of the Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Dr Mufutau Olatinwo, Alhaji Tiamiyu Adebisi Olatinwo, have been buried in Offa, Kwara State, IBRAHIM ADAM reports.

• Alhaji Okunnu (SAN) (left) presenting condolence letter to Dr Olatinwo

Farewell to a good father “W

HEN beggars die, there are no comets seen; the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes”. Those were the words of famous poet Williams Shakespeare.

The phrase aptly captured what happened at Olatinwo Estate in Offa during the special prayers for the repose of the soul of Alhaji Tiamiyu Olatinwo, a renowned business tycoon.

The late Olatinwo was the father of the Rector, Federal Polytechnic Offa, Dr Mufutau Olatinwo.

The funeral attracted government officials, religious, traditional and community leaders.

Also, in attendance were businessmen, captains of industry, notable politicians, and staff of the Federal Polytechnic, Offa and the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH).

The seven-day activities were capped with a two-day Fidau, each anchored by the Offa Muslim Community and the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria.

Earlier, the Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdul Fatah Ahmed, described Alhaji Olatinwo as a foremost community leader who contributed to the education, social and economic development of Kwara State. He

prayed Allah to grant the late businessman a peaceful rest.

Chief Imam of Offa, Alhaji Muideen Hassan, in his sermon, said the late Alhaji Olatinwo was one of the big factors in the economic and physical development of Offa Community and environs.

Chief Imam of the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Alhaji AbdulWaheed Adeyemi Alata and other Islamic scholars who spoke at the occasion, described the late Alahaji Olatinwo as an epitome of justice and righteousness.

Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria Chief Missioner, Sheikh AbdurRahman Ahmad described the late Alhaji Olatinwo as a committed Islamic leader who has contributed immensely to the development of the society. He said the deceased lived a just life.

Another notable Islamic preacher, Sheikh Muyideen Ajani Bello, urged the children of the deceased to emulate the exemplary life of their father.

He urged them to ensure the smooth takeoff of Summit University, owned by AnsarUd-Deen, an establishment which is being championed by their late father.

National President, National Union of Road Transport Workers Union (NURTW), Alhaji

Najimdeen Yasin, said Offa community and nation at large has lost a “great touch bearer, a hardworking and committed community leader of worthy causes.”

He urged the bereaved children to take solace in the fact that their father led an exemplary.

At the final Fidau programme, there was a recitation from the holy Quran and exhortation by Islamic leaders.

Guests in turn gave testimonies of the great qualities exhibited by the late Alahaji Olatinwo during his life time.

Among dignitaries present at the ceremony were: National President of Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Alhaji Femi Okunnu (SAN); pioneer Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Justice Mustapha Akanbi (Rtd); former Minister of Internal Affairs, Ambassador Tunji Olagunju; Chairman Federal Character Commission and former Vice Chancellor University of Ilorin Prof AbdurRaheem Oba; Kwara State Commissioner for Youth and Sport, Alhaji Saheed Popoola as well as other state commissioners; Chairman, Governing Council of Federal Polytechnic Offa Chief Okey Ezenwa who led members of the council

•Governor Ahmed

and the institution’s principal officers; The late Alhaji Olatinwo, aside being a Fellow of the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, he was the Chairman of the Local Task Force set up to midwife the establishment of the Federal Polytechnic Offa in 1992 and worked assiduously to ensure the institution had a strong footing.

Among other of his philanthropic gestures was his donation of buildings and other items for smooth take-off of the Offa Poly in 1992.

•More pictures on page 16

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

44

SOCIETY FAREWELL TO A GOOD MAN

• Justice Akanbi

• Chief Ezenwa

•Sheikh Ahmad (left) and Sheikh Bello

•Cross-section of clerics

•Ambassador Olagunju (right) and Alhaji Yasin

WEDDING

• From left: The grooms father, Mr Micheal Ajibola; bride’s mum, Mrs Bamidele Basola; the Couple, Mark and Afolake; bride’s father Mr Olusoga Basola and groom’s mum Mrs Cecelia Ajibola at a wedding in Faith Tabernacle Canaan Land, Ota, Ogun State

• Chairman Idees Communication Mr Yemi Akeju PHOTO: SOLOMON ADEOLA

ANWAR-UL-ISLAM COLLEGE AGEGE OLD STUDENTS ASSOCIATION (ACAOSA) RAMADAN LECTURE

•From left: Bola Anifowoshe, Ademola Akintoye and Lateef Adams

•From left: Tajudeen Busari; TADECO Chief Executive Officer Tajudeen Adekoya and Mufutau Ottun

THE

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

45

SOCIETY The 10th yearly Justice Muritala Okunola Memorial Ramadan Lecture organised by Radio Lagos and Lagos Television (LTV) has been held in Lagos, reports AMIDU ARIJE.

•From left: Widow of the deceased, Alhaja Ramdat Okunola; Governor Fashola; Senator Ashafa and Justice Ibrahim Olorunnimbe

•Former Lagos State Attorney-General Alhaja Muyibat Wonuola Folami

A jurist’s legacy T HE cream of the society led by Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola gathered last Sunday in Lagos for the 10th Justice Muritala Okunola Ramadan Lecture.

It was an avenue for guests to tap from the knowledge of the guest speakers, Alhaja Monsurah AlliOluwafuyi, former National Amirah of The Criterion, (an Association of Muslim women in business and professions) and Alhaji Abdul Hakeem Kosoko. The guests listened attentively when Alhaja Alli-Oluwafuyi spoke on Parenting in the 21st centuries: Realities and Islamic disposition.

Alhaji Kosoko dwelt on sustaining peace in a multi-religious society.

All stood tall and listened with rapt attention when the programme eventually started.

Alhaja Alli-Oluwafuyi called on parents to give adequate attention to their children.

“Every parent is a shepherd and you shall be accountable on how you shepherd it, so your children are your flock, you must shepherd them well; parenting is a divine responsibility that if well discharged, attracts reward,” she said.

She urged the parents to under-

stand the psychology of their children and support them in their career choices.

“Understand the psychology of your children; don’t discourage them in their career choices, rather you should help them shape it; instill in them discipline and Allah’s consciousness,” she said.

Alhaja Alli-Oluwafuyi lamented that technology has exposed youths to crimes and spread false information about Islam based on the influx of uncontrolled internet services.

She said seeking knowledge and practising Islam in its entirety is the only solution to the world’s problems.

Kosoko said to sustain peace in a multi religious society, all must avoid suspicion.

“Avoid the use of annoying words, Christians should stop producing films that will derogate Islam and Muslims too should not do what will derogate the Christian religion. The various religious groups must respect their differences,” he said.

Kosoko urged the children of the late Okunola to build on the legacies their father left behind and ensure they do not die prematurely.

BIRTHDAY

•From left: Son of the late Justice Okunola, Alhaji Hakeem Muri-Okunola; Alhaji Sinari Adaranijo and a guest PHOTOS: NIYI ADENIRAN

Fashola Whose arrival elicited chants of Sheu! Sheu!! urged parents to take care of their children, saying they are the future of tomorrow.

“We should take good care of our children, lets avoid the use of nanny in taking care of the children, if will

do this, the children may turn out to be of no use to the society,” he said.

The government, he said, is working on a bill to increase to six months period of leave for breast feeding women to enable them pay

attention to their children.

“We are planning to increase the number of months of leave for mothers to enable them breast feed their children because it is a child that is well breast feed will be responsible and God-fearing,” he said.

WEDDING •From left: Chairman, Caritas Communication Ltd and father of the groom, Mr John Ehi Addeh; bride’s mother, Mrs Kayte Ikhinmwin; the couple, Odalo and Osatohanmwen; groom’s mother, Mrs Ann Addeh and bride’s father, Mr Edwin Ikhinmwin, during a wedding at the Good News Baptist Church, Surulere, Lagos.

BIRTHDAY •From left: Founder, Ninos Children Foundation Mr Samuel Kolajo, his wife Olubukola; Mr John Ajala and Mrs Titilayo Akintemi during Mrs Kolajo 50th birthday at All Seasons Plaza, Agindingbi, Ikeja, Lagos •The Nation Head of Health Desk, Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha assisted by her husband, Pastor Olugbenga to cut her 40th birthday cake in Lagos

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

SOCIETY

A great grand son of the Alaafin of Oyo Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, Prince Damilola Ibrahim Babalola, has married Princess Adetoun Salamot, the daughter of the Olu of Mushin, Oba Fatai Ayileru. The traditional rites and Nikkah took place last Sunday at the palace in Mushin, the Public popular Lagos suburb, reports NNEKA NWANERI.

Speaking Icon (5) Cont.

A royal affair

W

W

HEN two years ago, Covenant University Accounting graduate Prince Ibrahim Babalola met Lagos State University Law graduate Princess Adetoun Salamot Ayileru at a child christening, little did they know that they would become husband and wife They tied the nuptial knot in Mushin, the popular Lagos suburb last Sunday.

Ibrahim led a delegation from the ancient Oyo Kingdom for the customary and traditional rites to his in-laws in Lagos. He came with an Oyo royal troupe.

Itinerant drummers were there with their large calabashes decorated with beads and cowries. They entertained guests together with the traditional drummers that accompanied the groom.

The ongoing Ramadan did not affect attendance.

Those from Oyo looked regal in their native attires and Abeti-Aja (double-winged) caps. Many other guests were in the uniform cap and headgear chosen for the occasion.

The event began with the recitation of Suratul Fatiah from the Quran. The traditional ruler came out in his full regalia and sat on one of the tables with his wife. His sons, the princes sat around them.

The couple made a dramatic entry. The groom entered the venue first. The handsome young prince was dressed in a sky blue agbada and same coloured cap which rested well on his head. His sun glasses made him look all the more boyish and glamorous.

As soon as he got to the arena, he went straight for his in-laws, Oba Ayileru and prostrated. The bride too danced out, accompanied by some of her friends and sisters. She also wore same coloured cloth as the groom and joined her beau at the centre of the arena, where a double settee was decorated for them.

The ceremony was officiated by the Chief Imam of Mushinland, Lukman Aganran. After one of the Imam’s followers Ahmed Albasura read a portion from the Quran, Ustadh Yusuf Abdulmoliq (Al-Adabiy), gave a very brief sermon.

He urged the bride to do all her husband asks of her for them to have a happy home and attract the blessings of God. Just before Imam Aganran pronounced the couple man and wife, he prayed that God would make the bride like Aisha, Maymuna and Fatimah and other virtuous women of Islam.

After the Nikkah, the traditional rites continued. There were gifts such as tubers of yams, travel boxes, baskets of fruits and other items neatly

•The couple Prince Babalola and Princess Adetoun

•Bride’s parents: Oba Ayileru and his wife, Olori Safiat

•Groom’s father, High Prince Leye Babalola

wrapped in packages.

The couple cut the white cake, made in form of two layers of a royal couch with silver stones used to design it.

Prince Babalola told The Nation of how wonderful their relationship has been which

•Imam Aganran (left) and Alhaji Hayemowaje Hammed

led him to make her his own.

Having finished schooling in 2008, he became the Chief Executive Officer of Macified Marine Services Limited in Lagos.

Salamot, who is the sixth child of her mother and 10th

in rank in the royal household, said it’s been good and memorable all the while, though with a few challenges.

She showed no indifference on marrying a prince, this she said, is because she was also born into royalty.

ELCOME back.

Last week we started an interview with a public speaker, Dr. Olumuyiwa Oludayo, the Registrar of Covenant University. Here is the concluding part of that interview, do enjoy it.

Dr. Olumuyiwa Oludayo AMODU LANRE OLAOLU Career in Speaking For me, I never thought of (Ph.D) sospeak2lanre@yahoo.com. having a career in public 07034737394 speaking until I started get@lanreamodu ting invitations to come and speak on various topics. If I must counsel anyone who wants to pursue a career in public speaking, I will say start first with a message. What exactly are you going to be talking about? You are not a speaker simply because someone calls you to speak. For me, I speak around six issues and I capture them in what I call PEARLS; P-Personal Development, E-Entrepreneurship, A-Administration, R-Relationship, L-Leadership and S-Success. Whatever invitation I will accept must be within this scope. I call them my scope with scope meaning for me: Significant Circle Of Professional Engagement.

So, if anyone wants to build a career in public speaking, I will ask, “What is your scope?” What message do you have?

You can’t afford to talk about everything and anything. Stay in your area of expertise.

Making Money through Public Speaking That is another subject entirely. I have a product that I worked on recently that is called The Entrepreneurial Speaker.

I tried to see how a speaker can be an entrepreneur. We know that most of the highest paid speakers are celebrity speakers.

Bill Clinton takes $500, 000 for an hour. Recently, I was privileged to bring Ben Carson to Covenant University. The engagement fee for Ben Cason per day was $75, 000. The University also recently brought some Nobel laureates to just speak for about 20 minutes and we paid a lot of money. They are celebrity speakers because they are famous. Secondly, they are experts in their fields. So, should you want to start earning money as a speaker, you have to first develop your expertise. You have to manifest value, because you will only get more money in exchange for the value you offer in your messages and in your presentations.

Next, we have branding. You must be able to sell yourself.

There is a way a person speaks about a subject in five minutes that, because of the way he packages it, it makes more meaning than another person who has not packaged it well, but speaks for 50 minutes. You also need to know about negotiation. If you want to make money speaking, you must have what I call derivatives. Derivates, here, may include a book; I’ve published a book so if you invite me to speak and you ask me, “How much will you charge us?” I’ll tell you, there is no fixed price, but can you assure me that a certain number of people will buy my books? Can you assure me that a certain number of people will buy my audio tapes, CDs and DVDs? I will charge you based on all of these. So, if there are audio CDs or DVDs that I can sell, I’ll reduce my charges.

I may also charge you based on the number of people you are expecting to attend your event. If you are expecting five hundred people, I can put a premium on each of them.

The person who will make money from public speaking must be a good negotiator. However, if you are new to the business, I suggest you do a few of your speaking pro bono (for public good and not for compensation) just to develop enough confidence in yourself and to be able to build your brand. Nevertheless, speaking pro bono does not mean that you speak on every subject; speak within your scope.

Captivating Your Audience You must understand the language of your audience and you must be humourous. You don’t need to be a professional comedian; you only need to know the right thing to say to amuse your audience. You must know how to engage the audience, pause for effect and interject stories- people love to listen to stories. The more stories you have in your presentation the better. The stories should also be personal. If you tell other people’s stories, people will assume that you have edited or lost some facts. However, if you tell your own story and it relates to the subject matter, your audience will want to listen to you.

As for me, most of the time, I make jokes by making fun of myself; I tell my story in relation to the subject matter I’m speaking on. Also, I speak the language of the audience. I give illustrations that they can easily identify with. Younger people love it when you to talk about music and fashion. If you talk about Ukrainian issues and world politics issues, they may not readily identify with it. On the other hand, youths follow the latest songs, artists and gossip about celebrities. So, the moment you are able to identify with what they are currently passionate about, tell jokes and stories about yourself, and keep to your script, you will captivate your audience.

Dr. Amodu teaches at the Department of Mass Communication, Covenant University, Ogun State.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

SOCIETY A non-governmental organisation, Support Bridges Initiative (SBI), has celebrated its ninth anniversary in Lagos, reports OLATUNDE ODEBIYI .

Lending others a hand

I

T was a day full of fun for pupils, who converged on Isale Eko Senior Grammar School in Lagos Island last Thursday. The day began with an essay competition in which the winner got an HP laptop. The first runner-up, an iPad and the runner-up, a smart phone.

It was at the 9th anniversary of a non-governmental organisation, Support Bridges Initiative (SBI) which inspires and empowers young people to discover their potential and life goals.

Its Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Folasade Adetiba, while welcoming guests sang praises to God, saying He made everything possible, A SBI member, Mr Kunle Taiwo introduced items on the programme. and Mrs Omolara Eucer-Ajayi said the opening prayers.

Second Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Taiwo Taiwo, who chaired the event, stressed the need for effective use of English which he said, is crucial to whatever one wants to do in life.

He urged the pupils to take their education with all seriousness and start pursuing their desire to take their education to the highest level.

In a good will message, the Tutor General and Permanent Secretary, Education District III, Mr Gbemi Olaniyi, represented by the Deputy Director, Schools Admin Department Mrs Odunsi –Titus Aderonke, expressed happiness to support the initiative which helps students.

Hon Commissioner for Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye represented by Mr Hakeem Lamidi said the initiative was one that is committed to impacting lives and she described the nine years journey as a successful one.

•Mrs Adetiba presenting a plaque to Mr Taiwo. With them is Mr Lamidi who represented Lagos State Commissioner for Education

COMMUNICATE YOUR IDEAS •From left: Mrs Regina Osunde; Mrs Odunsi-Titus; and Mrs Akinjogbin Dyatro

•Mrs Eucer-Ajayi (left) and Mrs Yinka Baju

The ceremony continued with the cutting of the anniversary cake. Mrs Adetiba, her team members, students and other well wishers joined her on the cake stand. She coordinated it.

Presentation of awards and prizes put smiles on the faces of the students and some guests.

dealt with.

“We are here to build the character and culture of students. Over the nine years, we called experts to talk, mentor and inspire the students. I and my team put in all it required to achieve our goals in the life of the students. We put in a lot of efforts

Mr Taiwo was presented with appreciation award in recognition of his notable contributions towards the success of the initiative.

Mrs Adetiba described the nine years journey as interesting because the initiative is doing something which the state ought to have

PHOTOS: RAHMAN SANUSI

but the joy we put in the face of the students makes me happy.

“We also ensured that the students were not dropped out of school and remained relevant to their society. We are giving them good quality gift to motivate them,” she said.

WEDDING

•Bride’s father and Retired CAC President Pastor Elijah Olusheye and his wife, Eunice

•Ololade Omosehin and his wife Abosede

•Groom’s parents: Pastor Akinbowale Ojih Omosehin and his wife, Pastor Mrs Elizabeth PHOTOS: OMOSEHIN MOSES

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

49

NEWS TREE PLANTING IN LAGOS

•From left: Olu of Agege, Oba Kamila Isiba; Chairman Agege Local Government Alhaji Jubreel AbdulKareem; APC chieftain Alhaji Safari Adaranijo and Representative of Commissioner for the Environment Mr Sherif Salvage during a tree planting exercise in Agege.

•Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Dr Idiat Oluranti Adebule, assisted by the chairman, Ojokoro Local Council Development Area, Benjamin Olabinjo to plant a tree at Becley Estate in Ojokoro, Lagos.

••Chairman, Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Idris Muse-Ariyoh planting a tree

•Mosan-Okunola Local Council Development Area chairman Abiodun Mafe(right) assisted by representative of Lagos Commissioner for the Environment Mr Samuel Adeleke to plant a tree at Abesan Estate, Lagos

•CONFERENCE 57 chairman, Akeem Sulaiman assisted by Bariga Local Council Development Area officials to plant a tree

•From left: Representative of Commissioner for the Environment Mr Ade Popoola (second right) assisted by Chairman, Orile Agege LCDA Taofeek Adaranijo (second left) to plant a tree.

With them are (from left) Deacon Funsho Akindeyin; Sunday Ajayi and Alhaji Yusuf Agboola

•From right: Head, Admin, Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK) Mrs Ololade Haruna; Chairman, Amuwo Odofin Local Government, Comrade Ayodele Adewale and his Vice, Alhaja Qudrat Dada planting a tree in Festac Town, Lagos.

•Member, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon Olanrewaju Ogunyemi (left); Chairman, Oto-Awori LCDA Bolaji Robert (second left), his wife Ganiyat and Mr Fafowora Oluwole planting a tree at Oto-Awori Grammar School in Lagos.

•Iru-Victoria Island vice-chairman Olusegun Ajiboye and the council Head of Environmental Services and Waste Management Department Mrs Tawakalitu Onikoyi planting a tree in Victoria Island, Lagos

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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PREMIERSHIP ...PREMIERSHIP ...

NATION SPORT

Sturridge: Time to step up D

ANIEL Sturridge believes new stars can emerge for Liverpool following the departure of Luis Suarez and has backed Raheem Sterling to carry on improving.

Suarez's move to Barcelona will leave a massive void at Anfield, after he topped the scoring charts and was named PFA Player of the Year as Liverpool finished second in the Premier League last season.

Sturridge insists there is enough talent in the Liverpool squad to cope with the Uruguayan's absence, but feels it is most important to pull together as a team.

He said: "People have to step up. When stars leave, a new star can be born, as they say.

"There are a lot of players that

Terry impressed by Costa

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can take that mantle, but it is a team game, regardless of whether there are star players within that team. It’s not about one person, it’s about the team."

Sturridge thinks Sterling is one of those players who can continue to go from strength to strength, having become a key player under Brendan Rodgers last term.

As well as being his friend and team-mate, Sturridge feels a sense of responsibility to try and guide Sterling during the early part of his career.

"Me and Raheem are very close," he told Jamaica's Nationwide Radio. "To me, he's my little brother and I look after him and try to help him as a footballer and as a person.

"I didn't have anyone take me under their wing when I was his age, so it is important now that I understand my role, which is the big brother role. I guide him where I can, and that's as important as being his friend and his team-mate.

"It's going to be great. Raheem is a great player. He's young, but he's got a lot of talent, and talent that sometimes people don't get to see as well.

"He's young and he is still improving. He's already improved so much, which I am happy about, and he will continue to do that."

OHN Terry has backed Diego Costa to shine at Chelsea, after being impressed when coming up against the Spain striker last season.

Costa completed his move from Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, two weeks after a deal was agreed to bring the 25-year-old to the Premier League.

The Brazil-born forward played against Chelsea last term, scoring in the second leg of a UEFA Champions League semi-final as Atleti triumphed 3-1 on aggregate.

And Costa's efforts over the two legs were enough to convince Terry that he has what it takes to make an impact in the Premier League.

"First of all, his movement and his strength are really good – I was really surprised by it," Terry told Chelsea's official website.

"I think everyone remembers the square-up we had in the first 10 minutes of the first leg of our semi-final game against Atletico Madrid last season, after which I thought, 'fair play'.

•Sterling

•Diego Costa

"He holds the ball up very well, he has got great movement and he is really physical, but he is very clever with his strength and the way he uses his body.

"I think he could be a very good signing for us."

Koeman pleased with Southampton progress

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ONALD Koeman has been pleased with the attitude shown by his Southampton players after his first month in charge at St Mary's Stadium.

The Dutchman oversaw his first game since arriving at the Premier League club in June as Southampton beat EHC Hoensbroek 4-0 in Netherlands on Tuesday.

•Oviedo

Koeman was delighted with the way his squad approached the match against the Dutch amateur side as they scored twice in either half to get his reign off to a winning start.

"You can see the group is growing up in a physical way and playing in the way we like to," he told the club's official website.

"It's always a tough week

Oviedo vows to come back stronger for Everton

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RYAN Oviedo has vowed to come back stronger for Everton next season after missing the last six months with a broken leg.

Oviedo sustained the injury during Everton's fourth-round FA Cup tie at Stevenage in January, and was subsequently sidelined for Costa Rica's run to the World Cup quarter-finals.

"I want to come back strong and better than last season," Oviedo told the club's official website. "I am very happy.

"I am prepared to come back as quickly as possible and as strong as possible, this is my dream."

Oviedo was deployed in midfield by Everton boss Roberto Martinez as Leighton

Baines is firmly established as the club's first-choice left-back.

And although playing at the back is preferable to Oviedo, he is happy to line-up wherever Martinez wants him.

"I prefer to play left-back," he added. "I have more to attack [from there] and I think it is my natural position, but I can play left or right midfield [as well]."

when you have a lot of training sessions and play two friendly matches, but we are very happy with how the players are acting.

"They are doing a professional job, and I am very happy about that.

"Now we are looking forward to Thursday, when we play our second game (against KSK Hasselt). We will finish this week well – and if we get back to Southampton without injuries, then that's even better."

Following the KSK Hasselt clash, Southampton return to England for friendlies against Swindon Town, Bournemouth and Brighton and Hove Albion.

•Darren Bent

Okore backs returning Bent to shine at Villa

Senderos gets Lambert backing

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STON Villa boss Paul Lambert insists new signing Philippe Senderos can add some valuable experience to his squad next term.

Senderos secured a move to Villa Park on a free transfer earlier this summer after spending the second half of last year on loan with La Liga side Valencia.

The 29-year-old has previ-

•Senderos

ously played for Arsenal, AC Milan, Everton and Fulham as well as turning out at three World Cups for Switzerland.

Lambert expects that his experience of playing at the highest level can help his young squad, which battled against relegation last season.

Lambert said: "Philippe is a big-time player, he knows the game and exactly what it entails.

"He's played at three World Cups and there are not many players that can turn round and say that.

"I think he will be another brilliant acquisition for us, with the problems we did have at the back last year, then he's certainly going to add that experience in abundance.

"No two ways about it, he's another one who I think will do well for us."

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•Koeman

ORES Okore has backed returning striker Darren Bent to find his goalscoring form and be a lethal asset to Aston Villa next season.

Bent has only scored six Premier League goals in the last two campaigns, marking a significant downturn in form from his 24-goal season at Sunderland, which came just before his big-money move to Villa Park in 2011.

The 13-cap England international was loaned to Fulham last season after falling out of favour with manager Paul Lambert, but managed just three league goals as the London club were relegated.

The 30-year-old is now back with Villa and team-mate Okore has seen enough in pre-

season training to believe Bent can be an important part of Lambert's squad.

"Darren is a great player," he told the club's official website.

"He's an attacker, he knows how to score goals.

"You can see that in training – he scores a lot of goals.

"Of course, he's back now and he will sharpen the attackers. I think last season we were a bit unlucky in that we had a lot of injuries in that forward position.

"So when they come back, we will have quality in the team and quality on the bench. That's what I am looking forward to."

Okore missed a large chunk of last season with a knee injury and will be looking to improve on a stuttering start to his Villa career.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

53

BUSINESS EXTRA

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Fed Govt to check unfair business practices, monopolies

HE Federal Government is taking steps to tackle unfair business practices and provide a fair and competitive environment for industry, trade and investment.

In this regard, a new Competition and Consumer Protection Policy designed to address the various trade concerns and provide a level playing ground for businesses in the interest of consumers, is expected to commence soon.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, who made this known in Abuja yesterday, said the new policy would forestall the emergence of private monopolies, cartels as well engender fairtrade and ensure that consumers have value for their

• New competition, consumer protection policy coming

By Simeon Ebulu

money.

Aganga, who spoke at the formal presentation of the Draft Competition and Consumer Protection Policy to Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Agencies, Organised Business Communities and state governments in the northern part of Nigeria, said: “In line with the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, and with the ongoing reforms in critical sectors of the Nigerian economy, the Federal Government saw the urgent

need, as is consistent with global trends, for a robust legal and regulatory framework to govern consumer protection and competition that would underpin the reforms.

“This will in turn, forestall and minimise the emergence of private monopolies that would replace the public monopolies that the government was moving away from. The government of President Goodluck Jonathan, in realisation of this vital missing link, has in the past two years, worked assiduously to provide a new

legal and regulatory framework for competition and consumer protection.

“The needs and benefits of a national policy for competition and consumer protection are many. These include encouraging enterprise, innovation, efficiency and widening of choice.

“This will in turn address cartel-like entities, anti-competition tendencies, protect the investing public and consumers; enable consumers to buy the goods and services they want at the best possible price; thus contributing to the country’s national.”

Aganga who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Abdulkadir Musa said there is currently a draft Federal Executive

Competition and Consumer Protection Bill being considered by the Federal Executive Council for onward transmission to the National Assembly for passage into law.

“The draft bill delineates the institutions, laws, regulations, orders, rulings and other implementation and enforcement tools that will allow competition and consumer protection matters to be dealt with,” he noted.

Aganga said it was the urgent need to spell out a policy framework to regulate consumer protection and competition issues that compelled the Federal Government to come up with the new Competition and Consumer Protection Policy.

In her remarks, the Director-General, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mrs. Dupe Atoki, said the new policy would act as a deterrent against anti-competitiveness practices and ensure that consumers got value for their money.

She said: “The absence of

• Aganga

Competition and Consumer Protection Policy in Nigeria over the years has set us back as a country but the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment is set to reverse the trend so that Nigeria can join the comity of nations where there is a Competition and Consumer Protection Policy to guide the manufacturers and service providers.

“This will ensure that consumers get value for their money because the consumer is the king. The policy will also provide appropriate sanctions for anti-competitive practices by business organisations.”

Huawei joins 5G infrastructure EADING global infor association’s board mation and communi

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• Group Managing Director/CEO, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, Mr. Ladi Balogun (left)discussing with the International Resource Director, The Asian Banker, Mr. Gordian Gaeta. With them is the Chairman of The Asian Banker, Mr. Emmanuel Daniel (middle), at the West Africa International Retail Banking Dialogue held in Lagos…yesterday.

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Union Bank avails online travel firms N1b facility

NION Bank of Nigeria L i m i t e d (UBN), yesterday unveiled a N1billion credit facility with an online travel management company: Wakanow Online Travel Limited.

The facility is expected to boost air travel business for travel agents guaranteed by the firm.

The travel agents are those that qualify as independent affiliates that handle travel transactions on behalf of air-

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

lines , hotel and other players in the travel and allied sector .

Union Bank’s Executive Director, Adekunle Adeosun, who made this known yesterday, during the launching of the Wakanow affiliate network in Lagos, said the credit facility would help Wakanow affiliate partners to access credit facilities to boost their travel business.

Adeosun said travel agencies working with Wakanow.com, would be able to access credit to the tune of N1million and above, stating that this is one of the ways of helping small scale travel agencies in Nigeria. ”Wakanow is doing great and we want to make what they are doing greater and because of this, we want to help their affiliate travel agencies in order to make them grow in their travel businesses,” he said.

GE, govt partner on power supply

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ENERAL Electric (GE) is expanding its in vestments in the country with a view to helping government achieve the dream of proving uninterrupted power supply, its President/CEO, Dr Lazarus Angbazo has said.

Angbazo who spoke in Lagos, yesterday, said the critical issue is that more Nigerians were without power supply, adding that estimates of available power supply range from 40 gigawatts to 80 gigawatts for a country of 170 million people growing at 7-8 per cent.

By Daniel Essiet

He however noted that all the essential elements for improving the power sector are available. He admitted that power outages remain a major challenge, adding that a lot of that has to do with poor transmission infrastructure.

He maintained that there are challenges when it comes to addressing power issues.

There’s so much on the financial side still to be done, and there’s human capital development that is required to make these investments sustainable, he said.

He called for understaning, saying Nigerians should bear with the government and the private operators, to allow for the various efforts to come to fruition.

He said there is a better understanding of what the constraints are and what investments are going to be needed to build the required capacity.

He assured that once there is steady power supply, it would naturally lead to job creation, adding that GE is bringing in their global vendors to partner with Nigerian suppliers as part-providers across their own value chain.

cations technology (ICT) solutions provider, Huawei, has announced that it has been elected to join the board of the fifth generation (5G) Infrastructure Association in Europe. The firm joined the board at its General Assembly held in Bologna last month.

In a statement, the firm said Huawei will be represented on the Board by Dr. David Soldani of Huawei European Research Centre. The 5G Infrastructure Association represents the private party of the 5G Public and Private Partnership (5G-PPP),a •1.4 billion joint initiative between the European ICT industry and the European Commission (EU), aiming at materialising the next generation of communication networks that will deliver ubiquitous super-fast con-

By Lucas Ajanaku

nectivity for Europe and globally.

Huawei will place significant effort in driving 5G foundational technology research, tests and large scale trials in collaboration with partners to assess the technical feasibility and business viability of new 5G technologies. It will also help to formulate and implement a 5G communications plan with partners and to disseminate results at a global level. The company will play an important advisory role for the 5G Infrastructure Association contributing to shaping EU priorities in 5G research and extending the dialogue to a wider group of stakeholders.

Huawei will work with the European Commission and industry partners to align the

work of the 5G Infrastructure Association, the 5G-PPP, the NetWorld2020 European Technology Platform (ETP) and various related working groups with stakeholders’ expectations.

The 5G Infrastructure Association is as an international non-profit association based in Gent, Belgium.

The association conducts research on 5G communication systems and networks, the preparation of global standards related to 5G as well as regulatory discussions on topics including future frequency bands.

The association promotes R&D in the EU networks industry and works to increase the competitiveness of the industry by providing new tools and capabilities for manufacturing in Europe.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 17-07-14

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 17-07-14

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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EQUITIES

Berger Paints pays N203m dividends

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ERGER Paints Nigeria Plc has started utilizing the net proceeds of its recent rights issue as it has place an order for a fully automated paint manufacturing plant, which will make the company the first to own such plant in Africa. Berger Paints had raised N543 million through a rights issue.

Addressing shareholders at the annual general meeting of the company in Lagos, chairman, Berger Paints Nigeria Plc, Mr. Clement Olowokande, said the company would soon become the first paint manufacturing company to automate its production facility in West Africa.

He said the automated plant, which would be complemented by a network of colour world centres to be located in major Nigerian cities, would not only revolutionize production and distribution processes, it would have major positive on costs, product quality, turn –around time and profitability.

According to him, in a bid to prepare the company for the future, which the automation represents, the board of directors of the company has also embarked on a major upgrade and re-engineering of

Stories by Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

the company’s organisation and human resource management infrastructure.

He said efforts are on-going to boost the company’s managerial capacity and make the company more nimble and adaptable to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the economy.

He added that the implementation of the local content policy in the oil and gas sector holds great prospect for the company, given the strategic alliances and partnership it has formed with some of the largest manufacturers of paints in the world.

He noted that the company is also embarking on total overhaul of its sales, marketing and distribution systems and infrastructure with a view to regaining its leadership position in the paints industry in the near future.

“With the steps already taken and others in the pipeline, the future of our company is indeed very bright. The strong interest shown in our stock in the capital market in the last couple of months would suggest that perceptive investors

are already noting some of these positive developments and responding accordingly,” Olowokande said.

Meanwhile, shareholders of the company approved distribution of N202.9 million as cash dividends for the 2013 business year, representing a dividend per share of 70 kobo. Audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2013 showed that profit after tax increased by 30.9 per cent to N251 million as against N192 million recorded in 2012. Profit before tax rose to N356 million in 2013, showing an increase of 25 per cent compared with N284 million in 2012.Turnover rose to N2.7 billion in 2013 compared with a turnover N2.5 billion recorded in 2012.

Managing Director, Berger Paints Nigeria Plc, Mr. Tor Nygard, said the report was indicative of continuing improvements in the company’s operations, characterised by huge investments in product innovation.

He noted that in spite of the local infrastructure challenges affecting real sector performance, especially power, the company was able to record growth of 7.75 per cent and 30.9 per cent in revenues

and profitability respectively.

Meanwhile, Olowokande has retired from the board of directors of the company after 45 years stint with the company while a new Chairman, Dr. Oladimeji Alo, a non-executive director has been appointed to replace him.

Olowokande, a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) of United Kingdom and also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) joined the company as a young accountant in 1969 and rose through the ranks to become Managing Director in 1991 and Chairman of the board in 2001.

The chairman along three other directors, having attained the age of 70 after the last meeting, retired from the board of the company after the 55th yearly general meeting yesterday.

The board has also appointed Mr. Wole Abegunde to the board of the company. Abegunde who is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers of Nigeria and authorized dealer of the Nigerian stock Exchange is presently the managing director of Meristem Securities Limited.

Ovia is Zenith Bank’s chair

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OUNDING managing director and largest shareholder of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Jim Ovia, has been appointed as the new chairman of the board of directors of the bank.

Regulatory filing obtained yesterday indicated that Jim Ovia has taken over as chairman from Sir Steve Omojafor, who resigned as the chairman of the board with effect from June 16, 2014.

The report indicated that Jim Ovia was appointed at the board’s meeting held on April 2, 2014, but the effective date was shifted to June 16, 2014. The board also appointed Mr Olusola Oladipo as an executive director of the bank.

Jim Ovia founded and managed Zenith Bank from a small private limited liability company to become one of Nigeria’s two most capitalised banks and one of Nigeria’s top five most capitalised companies. Zenith Bank closed yesterday with a market worth of N791 billion.

•Ovia

Asue Ighodalo chairs Sterling Bank

M GTBank mulls interim dividend as directors meet

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HE board of directors of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc would meet next week to consider the quantum of interim dividend to be distributed to shareholders.

Regulatory filing obtained yesterday indicated that the interim dividend would be declared on the audited accounts of the bank for the six-month period ended June 30, 2014.

The board of the bank is expected to deliberate on the operational reports and financial statements for the six-month period, after which the accounts would be forwarded to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the apex bank’s review

and approval. The accounts would then be sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

GTBank had paid an interim dividend of N7.36 billion, implying a dividend per share of 25 kobo in 2013. It later followed this with final dividend of N42.67 billion, representing a dividend per share of N1.45. The total dividend for 2013 thus stood at N50 billion, representing N1.70 per share.

There are credible indications that the bank might not go below the interim level in 2013. While the market awaits the second quarter earnings, the bank had recorded modest growth in gross earnings in the first quarter, though its bot-

tom-line was suppressed by relatively higher interest and operating expenses.

First quarter report of GTBank for the period ended March 31, 2014 showed that while gross earnings rose by 6.0 per cent, profit before tax slipped marginally by 2.0 per cent. Net profit after tax however inched up by 2.0 per cent.

The performance of the bank across the profit and loss accounts and the balance sheet was tight with slight increases in key balance sheet items. Deposits rose by 3.0 per cent while loans and advances inched up by one per cent. Net assets rose by 6.0 per cent.

Gross earnings stood at N67.58 billion in first quarter 2014 as against N63.86 billion in comparable period of 2013. Profit before tax dipped from N28.49 billion to N28.01 billion. Profit after tax inched up from N22.56 billion to N23.11 billion. Earnings per share thus increased by similar ratio from 80 kobo to 81 kobo.

Customer deposits rose from N1.44 trillion in first quarter 2013 to N1.49 trillion in first quarter 2014. Loans and advances increased marginally from N1.01 trillion to N1.02 trillion. Net assets rose by 6.0 per cent from N332.35 billion to N352.89 billion.

Capital Bancorp launches online stockbroking portal

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APITAL Bancorp Plc yesterday formally launched its online stockbroking portal at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The portal, known as Bancorp eTrade, provides on-line, real time access to investors to personally execute their orders on the NSE. With as low as N1,000, retail investors can open stockbroking accounts and trade on these accounts.

Speaking at the formal launch, chairman, Capital Bancorp Plc, Mr. Olutola Mobolurin, said the new retail trading platform would increase investors’ participation in the capital market.

He said the company was poised to leverage on existing technology to make trading in shares and bond more transparent and inclusive in order to attract more retail segment of the market.

“Because investors want transactions done quickly as possible, the platform will make trading in shares and bond closer to everyone and it would also reduce the implicit costs of trading in shares and bonds. You can see what is happening in the market real time and it also provides opportunity for investors to monitor the implementation and follow up investment dealing at any time,” Mobolurin said.

Managing director, Capital Bancorp Plc, Mr. Higo Aigboje, said the portal would provide investors with round-the-clock access to their portfolio and cash statements while investors can also place their orders within and outside the trading hours of the NSE. He said Bancorp e-Trade was designed as a convenient and transparent means to ensure investors

are in control of their investments at any time.

According to him, the new portal would lead to significant reduction in cost of investment with the removal of such costs as travelling and opportunity costs.

He added that with the userfriendly nature of the portal, investors would be able to optimize their investments by avoiding errors and lack of clarity of orders or signature forgery and theft of shares.

“Bancorp e-Trade is carefully crafted to provide access to stockbroking services for the busy executives and upwardly mobile young adults and would assist in the realization of the financial inclusion agenda of the government,” Higo stated.

He outlined that his firm has simplified the account opening process for new investors as they

only need to fill account opening form and upload scanned passport photo, scanned utility bill that is not later than three months, scanned specimen signature, scanned mode of identification and their bank details.

The features of Bancorp e-Trade, which sits on the infoware e-business suite platform, included display of balance in any currency of choice, online mandate, ability to specify expiry dates on orders, display of portfolio balance and portfolio analysis, statement of account, ability to view and download contract note in different formats, ability to view certificates and verification status, live streaming of stock market prices, live portfolio valuation, amendments or cancellation to undone transactions, graphs and charts and online real-time client information.

R Asue Ighodalo has been appointed as the chairman of board of directors of Sterling Bank Plc. Ighodalo’s appointment followed the retirement of Alhaji Suleiman Adegunwa, who has completed his terms according to the corporate governance rules for banks stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The Nation learnt that Ighodalo was appointed at the bank’s board meeting held on July 8, 2014. Two other directors- Alhaji Bashir Borodo and Mr. Yemi Idowu, also retired.

Ighodalo, a leading commercial lawyer, is a founding and managing partner of Banwo & Ighodalo, a multidisciplinary firm which provides legal advice on all aspects of corporate and commercial law in Nigeria.

He obtained his first degree in Economics from the University of Ibadan, a Law degree from the London School of Economics; and was called to the bar in Nigeria in July 1985. His areas of practice included corporate finance, capital markets, energy & natural resources, mergers & acquisitions, banking & securitization and project finance.

Firm holds investment workshop

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NVESTDATA Consulting Limited will tomorrow hold its regular equities’ investment workshop featuring the industry’s top technical analysts, traders and professionals According to the organisers, various experts will share their proven techniques and strategies to assist investors navigate the investment waters successfully.

The workshop, with the theme: “Trading strategies for wealth creation and cash flow in the Nigerian stock market,” would enhance understanding and knowledge on how to deploy the same tools the foreign investors are using.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

MONEYLINK PayPal accepts Union Bank’s cards

AfDB inaugurates N5.6b public financial mgt project

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HE African Development Bank (AfDB) has launched a $35 million (N5.66 billion) public financial and macroeconomic management capacity-building project approved by the bank’s board last December.

The inauguration came at a workshop held in Khartoum, Sudan, presided over by the State Minister of Finance and National Economy, Magdi Yasin, and attended by high government officials from the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, Central Bank of Sudan, Taxation Chamber, Khartoum Stock Exchange, and Customs Authorities.

The AfDB was represented by the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Sudan Field Office, Suwareh Darbo, who presented a speech at the opening ceremony on behalf of the Resident Representative.

In a statement, the bank said that

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Stories by Collins Nweze

the workshop was also attended by its staff, including the Project Task Manager, Camille Karamaga, Financial Analyst, Tadesse Melaku and the Head, Procurement, Asaye Adal Fasil.

The project’s overarching objective is to build and enhance transparency, accountability and efficiency in the use of public resources, macroeconomic policy and debt management through institutional strengthening and capacity building.

In his opening remarks at the workshop, the State Minister, commended the Bank’s continuous support for Sudan and promised to provide the utmost support to the project’s team to effectively implement, what he termed, “this important project.”

The State Minister further under-

•AfDB President Donald Kaberuka

scored that this project is essential for better management of public resources in the overall context of the government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. For his side, the OIC of the Sudan Field Office, underscored the fact that the realisation of the project bears is a concrete testimony to both the bank’s and the Government’s commitment to financial governance, which is critical for the country to realise its development aspirations.

Fidelity Bank inaugurates Save-for-Scholarship promo

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IDELITY Bank Plc inaugurated a save for scholarship promo targeted at seeing underprivileged Nigerians acquire education to enhance their lives.

The Managing Director/CEO, Nnamdi Okonkwo, who made this known at a briefing in Lagos, said, the Save-for-Scholarship promo will enable 200 winners emerge overall, while 33 persons will get scholarship on monthly basis till January 2015.

He said 16 persons are expected to get scholarship of N2 million each, while 46 others will get N1 million each in a monthly draw to be held across the branches.

The scholarship is payable over

five years, but can be converted to cash as it is open to both new and existing customers of the bank.

Okonkwo said the need to get more Nigerians educated triggered the initiative adding that all facets of education is involved, from creche, primary, secondary, university and skills acquisition programmes are involved. He said the exercise also encourages savings culture among citizenry.

Commenting on the promo, the executive director, shared services, Mrs Chijioke Ugochukwu, said the promo became necessary as more people become interested in acquiring quality education and skills that will enhance their status in the soci-

ety.

Ugochukwu said the bank has made necessary arrangements to ensure that the promo becomes a success adding that it will also help in addressing the notion that education is for the elite because of the high cost of acquiring quality education.

On the eligibility to partake in the promo, the head, savings group and promo manager, Mrs Janet Nnabuko, said old customers should top up their accounts with N10,000 per month while new customers can participate by opening a savings account with N20,000 and maintaining that amount throughout the month.

NION Bank of Nigeria Plc yesterday announced that its card offerings – Visa and MasterCard are now accepted on the PayPal platform. PayPal is an international e-commerce platform that facilitates online payments and money transfers to over 190 countries.

The bank in a statement, described PayPal as one of the fastest and safest ways of paying and getting paid online. It said the platform, also allows users send money and make payments without sharing financial information, now includes the flexibility to pay using Union Bank Visa and MasterCard.

Head of e-Business, Union Bank, Fatai Baruwa said: “We are glad that PayPal has extended its services to Nigeria. With the push towards a more cashless society in Nigeria, and the growth and increased

Fashola lauds Ecobank on Premier Banking

L

AGOS State Governor, Babatunde Fashola has described Ecobank as one that has done well in its contribution and support to the development of the state.

In his remark at the unveiling of Premier Banking by Ecobank in Lagos, he said banks and other businesses have contributed immensely towards making the state a Center of Excellence and West Africa’s commercial capital.

“Ecobank and other banks continue to find our land and our state a place where they can call home, a place where entrepreneurship can take place, a place where commercial and mercantile exchange can take place, a place where those exchanges can bring jobs, dignity of labor and

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

Offer Price

AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH BGL NUBIAN FUND BGL SAPPHIRE FUND CANARY GROWTH FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CORAL INCOME FUND FBN FIXED INCOME FUND FBN HERITAGET FUND FBN MONEY MARKET FUND • UBA BALANCED FUND • UBA BOND FUND • UBA EQUITY FUND • UBA MONEY MARKET FUND

168.45 9.17 1.12 1.19 0.69 1.39 1,663.89 1,663.89 1,05.92 1,087.30 1.3451 1.3635 1.0178 1.1855

167.01 9.08 1.12 1.19 0.69 1.33 1,663.89 1,663.89 119.71 1,087.00

GAINERS AS AT 17-07-14

SYMBOL

O/PRICE

C/PRICE

put food on people’s table,” he said.

He commended the bank for introducing the new product, stating that “this milestone represents a major statement in innovation indicates the direction in which the bank is headed.”

Also speaking at the event, Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Jibril Aku, said the initiative gives customers the privilege of having a variety of exclusive lifestyle benefits, including preferential airline and hotel rates and rewards from luxury brand retailers across the world. He said the high net worth customers would also have the added assurance of purchase protection, safe custody and private services.

DATA BANK

Bid Price

1.3361 1.3635 0.9999 1.1855

awareness of online shopping on local and international sites, Union Bank customers now have another safe and secure payment option to enable them concludes their online transactions.”

The Union Bank MasterCard is accepted worldwide and can be used to pay for goods and services at 32.7million merchant locations worldwide. The Union Bank Visa Card, issued in both Naira and US Dollars is also accepted worldwide.

Union Bank has been upgrading its use of technology across all banking platforms. The Bank earlier announced that it will be rolling out its Bank of the Future branches, which will rely on technology and innovation to simplify the banking experience for customers. The bank is also doubling its ATM footprint and enhancing its mobile banking platforms.

RETAIL DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM (RDAS) Transaction Dates 7/14/14 7/9/14 7/7/14

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Amount Offered in ($) 350M 300m 350m

Amount Sold in ($) 305.4m 279.08m 342.8m

CBN EXCHANGE RATES July 16, 2014

Inflation: June

8.2%

Monetary Policy Rate

12.0%

Currency

Buying (N)

Selling (N)

154.73

155.73

CHANGE

Foreign Reserves

$38.3bn

US Dollar

$110.44

Pounds Sterling

264.9442

266.6565

PZ

36.00

37.99

1.99

Oil Price (Bonny Light/b)

NNFM

18.77

19.79

1.02

Money Supply (M2)

N15.9 trillion.

MOBIL

147.15

154.50

7.35

Euro

209.4116

210.765

1.05

1.10

0.05

Credit to private Sector (CPS)

N16.76 trillion

Swiss Franc

172.2668

173.3801

Yen

1.5201

1.5299

CFA

0.3021

0.3221

238.3011

239.8412

24.9375

25.0995

Riyal

41.258

41.5247

SDR

238.5318

240.0734

NPFMCRFBK WEMABANK

0.97

1.01

0.04

NEM

0.79

0.82

0.03

COSTAIN

1.19

1.23

0.04

ACCESS

9.68

9.95

0.27

CCNN

11.00

11.26

0.26

FIDSON

2.95

3.01

0.06

LOSERS AS AT 17-07-14

SYMBOL

O/PRICE

C/PRICE

CHANGE

Primary Lending Rate (PLR)

16.5%

NIGERIAN INTER-BANK OFFERED RATES (NIBOR)

Tenor

Rate (%)

Rate (%)

Overnight (O/N)

10.500

10.500

1M

12.175

12.101

3M

13.328

13.225

6M

14.296

14.-85

TRIPPLEG

1.97

1.88

-0.09

IKEJAHOTEL

0.78

0.75

-0.03

11.00

10.59

-0.41

4.85

4.67

-0.16

OANDO

26.57

25.65

-0.92

GUARANTY

31.00

30.00

-1.00

R-DAS ($/N)

157.29

157.29

UAC-PROP

18.30

17.90

-0.40

Interbank ($/N)

162.75

162.75

VITAFOAM

4.38

4.30

-0.08

Parallel ($/N)

167.50

167.50

JAPAULOIL

0.59

0.58

-0.01

38.06

37.50

-0.56

NASCON REDSTAREX

PRESCO

WAUA Yuan/Renminbi

GOVT. SECURITIES YIELD – SECONDARY MARKET

Tenor

July 4, 2014

July 7, 2014

T-bills - 91

9.98

10.00

T-bills - 182

10.00

10.07

T-bills - 364

10.22

10.22

Bond - 3yrs

11.26

11.37

Bond - 5yrs

11.36

11.41

Bond - 7yrs

11.77

11.86

FOREX RATES

57

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

NEWS

NSCDC parades suspects caught with minor’s body

T

HE Abia State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence

Corps (NSCDC) has arrested two men caught with the body of a twoyear-old girl.

They were caught while trying to bury the girl in an abandoned pit.

The two middle-aged men were apprehended at the Enyimba Filling Station, near Ariaria International Market, at Osisioma, near Aba, when trying to bury the girl put in a sack.

Speaking in Umuahia while parading the suspects, the Commandant, Andy Dateer, said his officers were shocked when they caught two men trying to bury a two-year-old girl.

He said they were attracted to the scene when the men quarrelled with a man who brought them there in his car.

“As people gathered, the owner of the car zoomed off

From Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

and my men arrested the two suspects.”

Dateer said they would be handed over to the police.

The NSCDC boss said his men went to Chineye Hospital where one of the suspects claimed the girl died and met a nurse, who denied that the girl died there.

One of the suspects, who gave his name as Chibuike Anubuife from Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State, said he saw the other suspect for the first time that day and asked him to help him bury the girl.

He said he was discussing the logistics for the burial of the girl, when men of the NSCDC swooped on them and arrested them, adding that he is a trader selling textile materials in Aba. The second suspect, Jonathan Nwogu from Mgboko Umuola

•The suspects, Anubuife and Nwogu.

in Obingwa Local Government, said the first suspect approached him to help him bury the girl.

He said the first suspect

claimed she died in a private hospital, adding that he attempted to run away when the NSCDC men wanted to arrest them.

Man arrested for ‘defiling’ minor

E

BONYI State Police Command said yesterday that it has arrested a 30-yearold man, Mr. Ama Inya Okoro, for allegedly defiling a two-yearold girl at Unwana in Afikpo North Local Government.

The command spokesman Chris Anyanwu briefed reporters yesterday in Abakaliki.

He decried increase in rape in the state.

Anyanwu said the suspect allegedly committed the crime when the victim was asleep, adding that he would be prosecuted.

He urged parents to monitor their children.

The police spokesman also said yesterday that a kidnap suspect, 27-year-old Kingsley Sunday, a teacher, who was arrested by the command for allegedly kidnapping two of his pupils, Dolapo Kosoko and the sister, Tolu, has been transferred to the Ogun State Police Com-

•Police arrest teachers in Ebonyi for abducting pupils in Ijebu-Ode From Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki and Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

mand for investigation.

Anyanwu said the victims have re-united with their family in Ogun State where they live.

He said: “We have concluded investigation on the alleged kidnap of the children by their teacher and this morning (Thursday), police officers from our command escorted the suspects to Ogun State for the continuation of investigation.

“The victims have re-united with their parents. They have gone back to Ogun State where they live.

“With the success recorded by our command and the confessional statement of the suspects, we are optimistic that the

Ogun State Police Command will further investigate the matter and prosecute the suspects.”

Anyanwu said the teacher, who works with Imperial International School, Ijebo-Ode in Ogun State, was arrested in his home town, Obieze, Effuim in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, following a tip-off.

The suspect, it was learnt, capitalised on his closeness to the family and took the victims to his village, only to demand a ransom from the parents before releasing the children.

The police spokesman said the suspect demanded N250,000 ransom, out of which the victims’ parents paid N150, 000, begging him to give them time to complete the payment.

He added: “The teacher, from our investigation, had a relationship with the victims’ parents.

He convinced them that they should allow him take their children to his village and they agreed.

“The teacher later demanded a ransom from them.”

Anyanwu said another teacher from Ugwulangwu in Ohaozara Local Government, whom the suspect arranged with for the payment of the ransom into his account, has also been arrested.

The Ogun State Police Command yesterday paraded Sunday and the other teacher, Augustus Johnson, for allegedly kidnapping the pupils.

Police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who paraded the suspects at Eleweran, Abeokuta, the command's headquarters, said they would be charged to court upon completion of investigation.

Bloodbath averted as police, soldiers clash in Anambra

B

LOODBATH was averted yesterday in Awka, the Anambra State capital, following a fight between policemen and soldiers.

A source said trouble began at the Aroma junction where the policemen posted to the roundabout to control traffic, stopped motorcyclists and demanded N1,000 each from those who did not wear helmet.

The source said a soldier, riding a motorcycle, later got to the point.

Said he: “They told him to park.

When he was about doing that,

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

one policeman hit him, thinking he wanted to run.

“The young military officer (name withheld) parked the motorcycle and told them he is a soldier (although he was not wearing uniform). The policeman slapped him and he retaliated.

Then other policemen supported their colleague.

“They ordered the soldier to kneel down, but he refused and contacted his superior officers.

“Sensing danger, the policeman, who first slapped him, ran

away before other soldiers arrived.”

The leader of the police squad stationed at Aroma, (name withheld), allegedly molested the reporters, who witnessed the incident.

Commercial motorcyclists later stormed the area, protesting the fee demanded from them everyday. They alleged that the policemen harassed them.

When police spokesman Emeka Chukwuemeka was contacted, he informed the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in charge of operations, Olafimi-

terday reserved judgment in an appeal brought against the ruling of the Anambra State Tribunal by Senator Chris Nwabueze Ngige, and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

It prayed the higher court to overturn the final judgment of the tribunal and nullify the governorship elections of November 16, 2013, later extended to November 17 and November 30 of the same year.

“Judgment is hereby reserved till a date that will be communicated to learned senior counsel and other counsel,” said Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, who

presided over the five-man panel that adjudicated on the appeal yesterday, even as a nationwide strike of judicial workers is on.

Ngige and APC argued on the basis of a brief based on 17 grounds of appeal through the lead counsel, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), who submitted that the constitutional provision that the display of a voter register must be done within 60 days to the election, and the publication of the corrected register to be used for the election must be done before 30 days to the election.

Joined in the matter are the Resident Electoral Commission-

APC chief hails Okorocha’s free education

By Muyiwa Omobulejo

Ngige: Appeal Court reserves HE ENUGU Division of judgment the Court of Appeal yes-

T

hen Adoye, who immediately contacted the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of B Division, Maikudi Shehu (CSP).

When the DPO arrived, he made peace with the soldiers.

A commercial motorcyclist from Kogi State, who preferred anonymity, alleged that the extortion by the police was unbearable.

A

•Ngige

er for Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and APGA itself.

CHIEFTAIN of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State and the founder of Rimax Institute, Lagos, Chief Livinus Opara, has hailed the transformation agenda of Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha in the education sector.

Opara, an indigene of Imo State and a supporter of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s defunct Unity Party of (UPN), said yesterday that the free education programme of Okorocha has impacted positively on the state, as youths have access to free education.

He described the governor as the ‘new Awolowo’ because of his love for education and his progressive thinking.

Nwogu said Anubuife later took them to Chineye Hospital at Umule in Aba where the girl was alleged to have died.

He said the man, who brought

the girl, gave him N2,000 so that he would bury her, adding that he had not met him before that day and could not trace him.

Suspected robbers ‘kill’ vigilance group member SUSPECTED armed robbers have allegedly killed a member of a vigilance group in Aba South Local Government Area of Abia State.

The victim, identified as Sunday Okorie Awa, was said to have died before he could be rescued, as he bled to death.

The Nation learnt that the incident occurred on Tuesday at 23, Peter Uche Street, Ndiegoro on the outskirts of Aba. A source, who lives in the area, told our correspondent that the suspected robbers attacked residents and dispossessed them of their belongings and money.

The source said: “I was not around when the robbery took place. I went to Port Harcourt to supply goods to my customers, but I was told that 10 robbers invaded our area and attacked

From Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

families. They stole valuables and money.

“I was informed that when the hoodlums were operating, a resident, who escaped, shouted for help, which attracted vigilance group members.

“They raced to the scene, unaware that the robbers had positioned themselves in strategic places. The hoodlums attacked the vigilance group members, killing one of them.”

Police spokesman Geoffrey Ogbonna said men of the Aba Area Command were intensifying efforts to apprehend the suspected robbers.

He urged the public to supply the police information about the whereabouts of the suspected robbers.

Obiano brings back VIOs From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

ANAMBRA State Governor Willie Obiano has brought back the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) after 10 years of non-existence.

They were seen yesterday in their immaculate white uniform, sensitising the residents of Awka, Onitsha and environs.

Briefing reporters after the sensitisation tour, the Commissioner for Transport, Chuma Mbonu, said the return of the VIOs was part of Obiano’s plans to sanitise the system and reduce accidents on the roads.

He said the state hired three retired VIOs on contract to assist in implementing effective motoring.

Mbonu said each of the hired officers would man a senatorial zone, adding that they are Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi.

He said the exercise was to create awareness that the officers would begin work on all roads next Monday.

Mbonu warned those whose vehicles are in a bad condition to steer clear of the roads or risk impoundment.

PUBLIC NOTICE CHANGE OF NAME ONYEBUCHI I, formerly known and addressed as MISS ONYINYECHI MERCY ONYEBUCHI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. ONYINYECHI MERCY ORJI. All documents bearing my former name remain valid. Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Abia State Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Centre, take note.

58

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

NEWS Gunmen kill three in Port Harcourt From Clarice Azuatalam, Port Harcourt

T

HREE men were killed in Amadi-Ama village in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on Wednesday night.

The gunmen were said to have walked into a compound known as Heavens Gate, at 9.40pm and shot at the victims.

Eyewitness said two of the three victims died immediately; the third died in the hospital.

The suspected assassins walked away unchallenged.

It was gathered that one of the victims, identified as Iyowuna, was to contest in a youth group election tomorrow.

Another victim was identified as Abiye; the identity of the third could not be established.

It was gathered that Abiye and the third victim were Iyowuna’s friends who visited him that night.

Police spokesman Ahmad Mohammad said “details of the incident were still sketchy”.

Shun stomach politics, says Oshiomhole

E

DO State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has urged women to shun politicians who preach politics of “stomach infrastructure”, saying they do not mean well for the state and the nation.

Addressing women at the Edo Women Conference held in Benin City, Oshiomhole said: “Edo women have the right to question politicians on their credibility because it is no longer the business of rice, salt, beans, or money.

“It is knowing what happened in the past and comparing with the present. Women, you have the right qualifications because intelligence is not determined by possessions of certificates.

He urged the women to have confidence in themselves, saying, “You are not powerless as women but have confidence that as women, you are not inferior to any other group and it’s not about competition between you and the men but rather organise yourselves, mobilise and show determination to change a situation that has deprived, victimized and oppressed.

“The day you make up your mind to do that, you would have come out of your woes and lamentations,” he said.

In a paper presentation entitled “Edo Women Society, Our Issues our Voices”, the Guest Speaker, Dr. Mrs. Esohe Aighatise, stated some issues facing Edo Women in contemporary times.

She said, “Education is one of the problems that face women in our contemporary Edo Society.

“When there is a choice of who to send to school, the girl child stands at a disadvantage as against the male child.

When you train a woman, you train a nation”.

She stated other issues to include cultural barriers, such as female genital mutilation, political inequalities, societal values, amongst others.

•Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi (middle) greeting his supporters during his ‘meet the people’ tour of Isiokpo Community in Ikwerre Local Government Area.

‘Edo Assembly crisis not fuelled by defection’

M

AJORITY Leader of the Edo State House of Assembly Philip Shaibu has said the crisis in the Assembly was not fuelled by the defection of four All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers.

Shaibu told reporters yesterday in Benin that what happened was contrary to the claims making the rounds.

“The crisis was rather fuelled by the refusal of the four lawmakers who defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to obey a court order,’’ he said.

From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

The lawmaker said the APC, whose members are in the majority, had no problem with the defection.

He said the four PDP lawmakers, before their defection, went to court to prevent the Assembly from declaring their seats vacant or suspending them.

“We (the House) obeyed the first prayer. But the court did not grant them the second prayer, which was meant to stop us from

suspending them.

“The House of Assembly has its rules and it allows for the suspension of erring members and members who are disobedient.

“It was on this basis that the four erring members were suspended. They refused to obey the court order suspending them and even disregarded the court order, which forbids them from coming into the Assembly. We cannot be lawmakers and lawbreakers at the same time.”

The House condemned reports referring to it as

APC House of Assembly.

The Chairman, Committee on Information, Kabiru Adjoto, said the House was referred to as Edo APC House of Assembly.

This, according to the lawmaker, amounted to a deliberate attempt to misinform the public.

He emphasised that though they were elected under the APC platform, they should not be addressed as “APC House of Assembly or APC lawmakers”, adding that as lawmakers, they are representatives of the people.

Ijaw youths: we’re ready for dissolution

T

HE Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) said yesterday that it was prepared for the dissolution of Nigeria.

The youths noted that Nigeria was long overdue for division, insisting that oil wealth was the only cord binding the country together.

The statement followed calls from northern youths that Nigeria should be dissolved peacefully.

The Ijaw youths said their

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa and Bolaji Ogundele, Warri

northern counterparts spoke when they visited the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II. But IYC, in a statement by its spokesman, Eric Omare, said: “To the IYC, this call by northern youths has vindicated our age long position that the only thing holding Nigeria together is

the petrodollars from the Niger Delta.

“By this call, it is now clear that the moment the oil wells in the Niger Delta dry up, Nigeria would cease to exist.

“We also welcome the call by northern youths for northerners in the South to return home within two weeks,” he said.

The IYC statement called on Niger Deltans and southerners living in the

North to return home.

“The IYC wish to strongly call and warn Niger Deltans and southerners in the North to take this call very serious.

“The IYC calls on Niger Delta governors and other southern governors to accommodate and take care of southerners who would return home. We call on Niger Deltans to be vigilant in the coming days,” the statement said.

Jonathan to Bayelsa: diversify your economy

P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has urged the Bayelsa State government to diversify its economy, instead of depending on oil and gas alone.

The President, who was represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo spoke at the first Bayelsa State Investment Forum at the Banquet Hall, Yenagoa.

The forum with the theme “Unlocking Bayelsa’s economic potential: Opportunities and Challenges”, attracted investors from Europe, Asia, Africa.

Also in attendance were the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani AlisonMadueke; Chairman, Nigerian Railway Corporation, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur; Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga and others.

Jonathan said: “Bayelsa must diversify its economic base. It should not focus on oil wealth. It must pay atten-

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

tion to agriculture, coastal landscape for tourism, maritime industry and new housing estates.

“The desire by the government for development will be supported by the Federal Government.”

To realise the economic potential, he said there was a need for the people to place unity above partisanship.

He insisted that peace was required to ensure the state’s development, adding that the Federal Government was determined to maintain peaceful co-existence in the country.

“Bayelsa should place unity above partisanship and internal division in its planning and development,” he said.

The President recommended agriculture as a sector waiting for development in the state.

He said: “The government itself should place the business of agriculture and education on high priority; focus should also be given to infrastructure; these are the major keys for development.

“I will also like to urge the government to redouble efforts in securing peace and security in Bayelsa and in the Niger Delta.”

Governor Seriake Dickson said the state would promote investment in the state.

He said the forum was organised to present the opportunities available to the world.

“Bayelsa is a virgin bride waiting for a groom; our land and sea are very ripe for business.

“I welcome all investors and I must assure you that we have a conducive environment for a growing economy.”

The Chief Judge, Justice

•Jonathan

Kate Abiri, said quick dispensation of justice would provide an enabling environment for investment.

She said: "Bayelsa will not allow any corrupt investors in the state. We will do all we can to allow justice and your business must be in line with the much desired economic growth of the state government."

Youths block Benin/Lokoja road From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

Y

OUTHS from Ehor in Uhunmwonde Local Government Area of Edo State blocked the Benin/ Okene Road yesterday.

They were protesting the over four-month blackout in the community.

Their spokesman, Osaghae Mark, said they had made several complaints to both Benin and Ekpoma branches of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).

He said: “The problem is that for the past five months now we have not had light. Some areas have light; other areas don’t.

“We have been asking BEDC why. They said our transformer is bad. Four months ago, they brought new transformer to us.

They refused to fix the transformer; yet they still bring bills.”

BEDC spokesperson Curtis Nwade said he was not aware of the protest.

Abe empowers 7,900 women

M

ORE than 7,900 women, particularly widows in Rivers South-East, consisting of Andoni, Eleme, Gokana, Khana, Opobo/Nkoro, Oyigbo and Tai local governments, have gained from the Senator Magnus Abe wrapper scheme.

Wrappers were presented to 1,000 women drawn from the 10 wards of Oyigbo Local Government.

All Progressives Congress (APC) ward chairmen, spokesmen, women and youth leaders in the area got a motorcycle each.

Speaking at the ceremony in Afam, Oyigbo Local Government Area, Abe said the gesture was to thank the women for their support to the Amaechi administration.

He said: “What I am doing here is not constituency project, it is between my people and me.

“My constituency projects are schools being built here in Oyigbo and Sogho, in Khana Local Government. Others are Anatomy Block in the University of Port Harcourt (Uniport) and a project at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology.”

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

59

NEWS Dangote is Africa’s first $20billion man

NSCIA warns against misuse of soldiers, aviation facilities Continued from page 4

The statement added: “NSCIA warns the Federal Government that it is dangerous to use the security establishment to persecute Nigerians.

“A situation in which religious profiling is camouflaged as part of security measures does not bode well for the country. This is a dangerous path because it has the capacity to undermine and demystify the military.

“We urge the Federal Government to exercise caution in the discriminatory use of military and aviation facilities in order to protect the political neutrality of national establishment.

“It is our belief that the

Federal Government has enough powers, constitutionally guaranteed, to tackle its perceived enemies rather than deny tax-paying Nigerians the use of public facilities under the guise of fighting insecurity.

“We also call on the military authorities to protect and safeguard the credibility of the profession by not being partisan. The military establishment remains the bulwark of the country as the epitome of sacrifice and agent of national unity.”

“Under no condition should they trade their professionalism for political expediency, the type of which Nigerians have worryingly begun to observe with openmouthed amazement.”

Malaysian plane crash kills 295 Continued from page 4

Grabovo told Reuters. “Then I saw the plane hit the ground and break in two. There was thick black smoke.”

An emergency worker said at least 100 bodies had been found so far and that debris was spread over nine miles.

Workers were scouring the area for the black box flight recorders.

“MH-17 is not an incident or catastrophe, it is a terrorist attack,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko tweeted. He has stepped up his military campaign against the rebels since a ceasefire late last month failed to produce any negotiations.

Russia, which Western powers accuse of trying to destabilise Ukraine to maintain influence over its old Soviet empire, has accused Kiev’s leaders of mounting a fascist coup. It says it is holding troops in readiness to protect Russian-speakers in the east — the same rationale it used for taking over Crimea.

Ukrainian Interior Ministry official Anton Gerashchenko said on Facebook: “Just now, over Torez, terrorists using a Buk anti-aircraft system kindly given to them by Putin have shot down a civilian airliner flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.”

“There is no limit to the cynicism of Putin and his terrorists!” he wrote on the social media site. “Europe, USA, Canada, the civilized world, open your eyes! Help us in any way you can! This is a war of good against evil!”

A rebel leader said Ukrainian forces shot the airliner down and that rebel forces did not have weaponry capable of hitting a plane flying 6 miles up. Ukrainian officials said their military was not involved in the incident.

The military commander of the rebels, a Russian named Igor Strelkov, had written on his social media page at 10:37 Central time, half an hour before the last reported contact with MH-17, that his forces had brought down an Antonov An-26 in the same area. It is a turboprop transport plane of a type used by Ukraine’s forces.

There was no comment on that from the Ukrainian military.

Several Ukrainian planes and helicopters have been shot down in four months of fighting in the area. Ukraine had said an An-26 was shot

down on Monday and one of its Sukhoi Su-25 fighters was downed on Wednesday by an air-to-air missile — Kiev’s strongest accusation yet of direct Russian involvement, since the rebels do not appear to have access to aircraft.

Moscow has denied its forces are involved in any way.

The loss of MH-17 is the second disaster for Malaysia Airlines this year, following the mysterious loss of flight MH-370. It disappeared in March with 239 passengers and crew on board on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

In 2001, Ukraine admitted its military was probably responsible for shooting down a Russian airliner that crashed into the Black Sea, killing all 78 people on board.

A senior Ukrainian official said it had most likely been downed by an accidental hit from an S-200 rocket fired during exercises.

In 1983, a Soviet jet fighter shot down a South Korean airliner after it veered off course into Russian air space and failed to respond to attempts to make contact. All 269 passengers and crew were killed.

In 1988, the U.S. warship Vincennes shot down an Iranian airliner over the Gulf, killing all 290 passengers and crew, in what the United States said was an accident after crew mistook the plane for a fighter. Tehran called it a deliberate attack.

The scale of the disaster affecting scores of foreigners could prove a turning point for international pressure to resolve a crisis that has claimed hundreds of lives in Ukraine since pro-Western protests toppled the Moscow-backed president in Kiev in February and Russia annexed Crimea a month later.

As word came in of what Ukraine’s Western-backed president called a “terrorist attack”, the Russian and U.S. leaders, Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama, were discussing a new round of economic sanctions that Washington and its EU partners imposed on Moscow Wednesday to try to force Putin to do more to curb the revolt against the Western-backed government in Kiev.

They noted the early reports during their telephone call, the White House said, adding that Obama warned of further sanctions if Moscow did not change course in Ukraine.

•Dangote Continued from page 4

Sergey Brin.

The unprecedented surge in Dangote Cement’s share price is largely a market response to the company’s impressive 2013 Q1 results.

The cement manufacturer’s unaudited results for the three months ending March 31 showed that the company’s pre-tax profit rose to $339 million, representing an 80.6% increase from last year and a strong indicator of the company’s future earning potential. The results also indicate a 79.5 % rise in its earnings per share over the corresponding period last year.

Explaining the company’s share price boost in an email to Forbes, Carl Franklin,

Dangote Cement’s Head of Investor Relations in the U.K said that in the first quarter of 2013, the company had a huge increase in demand across Nigeria, gas supply improved considerably and the capacity was much more ramped up.

“So Q1 was the first sign of just how profitable we can be in Nigeria. The amazing thing is that 66% of our gas-fired production in Q1 was done at 84% gas.

Imagine what would happen to margins if we did the same amount at 95%.

This has given investors a good sense of what we can really do when everything goes in the right direction,” Franklin said.

With a current market cap of $20.5 billion, Dangote Cement becomes the first Nigerian company to achieve a market capitalization of over $20 billion.

“It’s certainly a landmark for a Nigerian company and we’re proud to be the first to achieve it. Obviously we are focusing on building long-term and sustainable value for shareholders through our investments in Nigeria and Africa. Nigeria is a very entrepreneurial country and I can assure you that other companies will follow us in achieving this.”

Other companies might eventually achieve this, but it’s going to take a bit of time. Dangote Cement currently accounts for more than a quarter of the total market capitalization of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The second largest company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is currently Nigerian Breweries, West Africa’s largest manufacturer of Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The company has a market cap of $8.5 billion.

Dangote debuted on the FORBES billionaires list in 2008 with a fortune we pegged at $3.3 billion. His fortune dropped to $2.5 billion in 2009 and plunged further to $2.1 billion in 2010. His fortune surged 557% in 2011 to $13.8 billion after he took Dangote Cement public. He dropped to $11.2 billion in last year’s rankings, but rebounded at $16.1 billion this year. Since March, his fortune has jumped another 30%.

Dangote was destined to shine in business. At age 8, he apparently gave packets of sweets he had made to the house servants to sell for him. His father Mohammed Dangote was a successful businessman and an associate of his maternal uncle Alhaji Sanusi Dantata.

Dantata and his brother

controlled the trade in kola nuts and livestock conducted by 200 agents.

Dangote started building his fortune over three decades ago after taking a loan from Sanusi Dantata.

He started trading in commodities like flour, sugar and cement.

He became a billionaire by later manufacturing these items. He started making pasta, salt, sugar and flour in 1997. But he found his gold mine in cement, when he was awarded a government’s state owned cement business in 2000 and began building his own plant in 2003. He listed Dangote Cement in 2010.

Today, it is Africa’s largest cement company providing cement to Nigeria and other African countries that otherwise would likely have to pay to import much of the materials.

Dangote still likely has bigger ambitions. He told Forbes Wealth Editor Luisa Kroll at Davos in 2011 that he expected his firm to have a market cap of $60 billion within five years. At $20.5 billion, Dangote Cement still has a long way to go to live up to that dream, and while it is quite unlikely that Dangote Cement could hit a $60 billion Market Cap by 2016, don’t write it off as ‘impossible’. With Dangote, you never know.

Three die as Nasarawa youths clash over impeachment threat Continued from page 4

set ablaze a house belonging to an Eggon man at old Al’mis market. They also burnt his car. The house bore Maku’s governorship campaign posters.

Nasarawa police spokesman Ismaila Numaan confirmed the development, saying the house was burnt early yesterday but he could not however confirm who was responsible.

A youth with a deep machete cut in his arm, with blood all over him, was seen being taken to the hospital.

At the scene of the clash, there were burnt commercial tricycles. Shops and other business premises

were hurriedly closed for fear of being looted.

Some of the youths who dressed in black chased their rivals around.

A police team inside a patrol van was seen trying to maintain the peace.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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FOREIGN NEWS Tunisian soldiers killed in attack near Algerian border

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UNISIA’S military launched an operation to flush out militants from the Mount Chaambi region last year At least 14 Tunisian soldiers have been killed in a militant attack near the Algerian border with at least 20 others wounded, the defence ministry says.

They say gunmen, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and rifles, raided two checkpoints near Mount Chaambi.

It is reportedly the heaviest death toll registered by the army since independence in 1956.

The Tunisian army has been waging a crackdown on militants operating in the mountainous region over the past year.

Islamist militants, including fighters linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb (AQIM), are believed to be hiding out in the border region.

Tunisians are in shock after what is being described as the deadliest attack on its armed forces since independence. The public is calling into question the strategy of the government, with renewed criticism being directed at Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou.

Following the attack, Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa set up a “crisis cell” to come up with a coordinated government strategy. Details of exactly which militant group carried out the attack remain opaque - more information is expected later in the day.

Tunisia’s security forces are under pressure to secure not only the western border with Algeria, but also the border to the east with Libya.

Russian jets shoot down Ukrainian warplane

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Russian jets shot down a Ukrainian SU-25 fighter plane that was on military operations over the east of Ukraine, where government forces are fighting to quell a pro-Russian separatist rebellion, the Ukrainian military said on Thursday.

It was the first time Ukraine had directly accused Russia of using air power in the war. In a previous attack on a military transporter, which it said was launched from Russia, Kiev was unable to specify whether it came from landbased missiles or airborne.

Russia's defence ministry declined to comment on Thursday's accusation by Kiev.

The Ukrainian Defence Ministry said the plane was brought down on Wednesday night near Amvrosiyivka, about 15 km (about 9 milles) from the border with Russia, by rockets which hit it in the tail as it wheeled away from the border.

"It is likely that this was carried out by air-to-air rockets from

the Russian airforce which were patrolling the border in a pair," the ministry said in a statement on its website.

The pilot safely ejected, Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the National Defence and Security Council, told journalists.

The downing of the SU-25 came against a background of increasingly strident charges of direct Russian involvement in the three and a half month conflict in which the pro-Western government in Kiev is fighting to put down a rebellion by separatists who want a future in Russia.

Moscow denies orchestrating the rebellion. But Western governments accuse it of failing to do enough to help curb the violence. U.S. President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Wednesday on some of Russia's biggest companies, limiting their access to funding.

"The situation on the border in the zone of the 'anti-terrorist operation' is still very tough. Grad missile systems, heavy artillery and mortar is continually being

used. The firing on the border posts and (government) forces is often coming from the territory of the Russian Federation," Lysenko said.

Five Ukrainian servicemen had been killed in the past 24 hours, he said. This would bring to more than 270 the number killed since the government launched an "anti-terrorist" operation in April to crush the rebels.

Hundreds of civilians and rebels have also been killed.

Ukrainian positions had come under fire from artillery from the Russian border settlement of Kuybyshevo, Lysenko said, adding that more and more Russian units were coming up to the border with Ukraine.

A Ukrainian paratroop tactical group deployed at Dmytrivka in particular had come under heavy fire from the Russian side, he said.

In the past 24 hours, the separatists had carried out 27 attacks on army checkpoints and positions of government forces, Lysenko said.

Attack planes are one of the Ukrainian military's most effective weapons for inflicting heavy losses on concentrations of rebels and military equipment which Kiev says is being brought in from Russia to fortify rebel positions.

The shooting down of the SU25 was the third reported incident this week in which a Ukrainian plane has been hit by a missile.

Kiev has said that an An-26 military transporter was brought down last Monday probably by a missile fired from Russia, either from the air or from the ground. Two out of the eight people on board that plane were killed, the Ukrainian military said.

On Wednesday, another SU25 was hit by a rebel missile but the pilot landed the plane successfully with relatively slight damage. Kiev did not allege Russian involvement in that case.

The rebellions erupted in Ukraine's Russian-speaking eastern regions after months of

Ukraine crisis: U.S. and EU eye-catching. boost sanctions on Russia allies,” he told reporters.

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HE U.S. and EU have bolstered sanctions against Russia over its alleged support for separatists fighting in Ukraine.

The U.S. has targeted major banks including Gazprombank, defence firms and energy companies including Rosneft.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying sanctions would take US-Russia relations to a “dead end”.

Saying it would give sanction details by the end of July, the EU said it would ask its EIB investment bank no longer to fund Russian projects.

The new round of US sanctions announced by the US treasury

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significantly expands previous penalties by Washington, which were limited to individuals in Russia and Ukraine and a number of companies.

President Obama: “The Russian leadership will see once again that its actions in Ukraine have consequences” As well as major banks and energy firms, the weapons manufacturer Kalashnikov Concern is also on the list.

Two self-proclaimed rebel entities in eastern Ukraine - the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic - are also targeted.

The White House says these new sanctions are broad, flexible and potent. The inclusion of Russia’s largest oil firm Rosneft, which signed a $1.5bn (£875m) deal with BP, is perhaps the most

The question is will they make the desired impact - hitting President Putin where it hurts, and getting him to “de-escalate” his actions in Ukraine.

This latest set of economic sanctions follows a round imposed earlier this year which the White House says have hurt Russia’s economy. But they haven’t tempered Russia, or President Putin’s resolve.

Speaking in Washington, US President Barack Obama said the sanctions were imposed because Russia had failed to fulfil its promises to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine.

“These sanctions are significant, but they are also targeted, designed to have the maximum impact on Russia while limiting any spill-over impact on American companies or those of our

Mr Obama also stressed US support for Ukraine, saying that “Ukrainians deserve to forge their own destiny”.

The US penalties stop short of a complete disengagement with sectors of the Russian economy a step that US officials said was being held in reserve in case Moscow launches a military invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Putin, on a visit to Brazil, told reporters: “Sanctions have a boomerang effect and without any doubt they will push U.S.Russian relations into a dead end, and cause very serious damage.”

In Brussels, the EU leaders agreed to beef up their own sanctions against Russia. They said the list of “entities and persons” affected would be announced by the end of July.

India: Six-year-old ‘raped in school’ by teachers

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SIX-YEAR-OLD schoolgirl has allegedly been raped by two staff members at a prominent school in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, police say.

The alleged assault happened on 2 July but her parents discovered it only a few days ago after she complained of stomach ache and was taken to hospital.

Meanwhile, hundreds of parents have protested outside the school, pulling down its gates and shouting slogans.

Police have registered a case, but they are yet to make any arrests.

The BBC’s Andrew North in Delhi says it’s the latest in a series of sexual assault cases that have made headlines in India.

Figures show more rapes are being reported in general, which is a sign that the crime is being taken more seriously, our correspondent reports. But India’s sluggish judicial system means it can take

years for victims to get justice.

New Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised a zero tolerance approach on crimes against women, but violence and discrimination against women remain deeply entrenched in society.

The girl was allegedly raped by a security guard and a gym teacher, but as there are multiple guards and gym instructors in the school, police say they are trying to identify the guilty, BBC Hindi’s Imran Qureshi reports from Bangalore.

As news of the incident became public, hundreds of parents gathered outside the school, protesting against the alleged insensitivity of the school management.

“They have handled it very shoddily,” said Vivek Sharma, parent of a boy studying in the school.

On Thursday, school chairman Rustom Kerawala addressed a meeting of the parents where he offered his “sincere apologies” and promised “full co-operation” with the police investigation.

Israel launches ground offensive in Gaza

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SRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the country’s military to launch a ground offensive in Gaza, his office said in an official statement “Following ten days of Hamas attacks by land, air and sea, and after repeated rejections of offers to deescalate the situation, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) PUBLIC NOTICE

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has initiated a ground operation within the Gaza Strip,” the IDF said in a statement.

Reuters witnesses and Gaza residents reported heavy artillery and naval shelling and helicopter fire along the Gaza border.

“The prime minister and defence minister have instructed the IDF to begin a ground operation tonight in order to hit the terror tunnels from Gaza into Israel,” the statement said.

Israel and Palestinian militants in the densely populated enclave have been fighting a cross border war for the ten days.

The Israeli military says Gaza militants have fired more than 1,300 rockets into Israel, and Palestinian health officials say 233 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air and naval strikes. One Israeli civilian has been killed by fire from Gaza.

A statement from the Israeli military said the operation will

include “infantry, armored corps, engineer corps, artillery and intelligence combined with aerial and naval support.”

Before dawn on Thursday, about a dozen Palestinian fighters tunneled under the border, emerging near an Israeli community. At least one was killed when Israeli aircraft bombed the group, the military said.

The news unsettled stock markets already reeling from the shooting down of a Malaysian Airlines plane over Ukraine earlier in the day. The Dow Jones industrial average was down more than 160 points near the end of the trading session.

The Gaza offensive is not aimed at toppling Hamas rule, according to army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner.

“We are now continuing with the ground forces to strike terrorist infrastructure, Hamas infrastructure, in multiple areas throughout the Gaza Strip,” Lerner told reporters.

Putin

pro-Europe protests drove out a Moscow-backed president. Russia subsequently annexed Ukraine's Crimea, sparking the biggest Russia-West crisis since the end of the Cold War. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko refused to renew a 10day unilateral ceasefire by government forces on June 30, saying it had been repeatedly breached by the separatists and had cost Ukrainian lives. Efforts to forge another more effective truce have failed.

Nelson Mandela memorabilia to be auctioned

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COLLECTION of unusual items signed by South Africa’s antiapartheid icon Nelson Mandela is to be auctioned later in Johannesburg.

The lots include a chess set, of figures from either side of the apartheid battle, and salt and pepper shakers of Mr Mandela and FW de Klerk.

The sale items is expected to raise around $450,000 (£260,000) for charity.

Mr Mandela, who died in December aged 95, was revered around the world for fighting minority rule in South Africa.

He spent 27 years in prison, before being released in 1990 by Mr De Klerk, South Africa’s last white ruler.

Mr Mandela suffered from a recurring lung infection Mr Mandela became the country’s first black president in 1994 and stepped down in 1999.

The auction of 202 lots is being held on the eve of what would have been his 96th birthday.

“Nelson Mandela signed many, many, many things. And that’s what I like about it [the auction],” said Savo Tufegdzic of Stephan Welz & Co, the firm that will put the items under the hammer.

“People always look for autographs, but there are only a handful of items signed by those celebrities. In the case of Nelson Mandela, every person can own a piece of him.”

This signed photo of Mr Mandela meeting Michael Jackson is also going under the hammer A total of 202 lots are up for auction The chess set has pieces depicting Mr Mandela, his former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu facing off against apartheid leaders. The set, which has some pieces missing, is thought to be worth between $950 and $1,400, the South African Press Association (Sapa) news agency reports.

“Our estimates are not high,” Mr Tufegdzic is quoted as saying.

“It is not about making money on this auction. It is actually to encourage collecting. I don’t want to go and encourage people to sell Mandela items. I want to encourage them to keep them.”

Some of the money raised would go to the Foundation for Rural Development run by Mr Mandela’s grand-daughter Ndileka Mandela, Sapa reports.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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NEWS (SHOWBIZ) Yemisi Afolabi set to release E o la la Fiwe

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LMOST two years after she dropped her debut album, Awari Ogo, to critical acclaim, Yemisi Afolabi is set to follow it up with a second album titled E o la la Fiwe, which will be released in August.

Known for Ewi chant, the gospel singer cum hotelier, who revealed that Ewi gives her joy, said her sophomore would hit the market next month. According to her, music is more than just dancing. “Music, to me, is more than just dancing. It is a message. Music should carry a reasonable message. And that is what E o la la Fiwe signifies to me.

It will win souls by the time it comes into the market.

By Mercy Michael

“Singing, for me, is a passion and talent I received from God. I didn’t go to acquire any formal training in music. God just manifested Himself in me.

Realising that I’ve got the talent, I worked hard to improve myself.”

The Ogbomoso, Oyo State-born singer further said: “I’m lucky I have my husband’s support. He wants me to praise God all the time.

I’m also a homely person, so I spend time a lot with my family. He has no reason to stop me,” she said.

Wizkid to drop duet with Rihanna

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Engees weds Ifeoma Umeokeke

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N what may be described as a prayer answered, Jude Okoye, elder brother of singing duo, Psquare, on Thursday, July 17, tied the knot traditionally with his heartthrob, Ifeoma Umeokeke, at Nnewi, Anambra State.

Jude, aka Engees, is the manager of the music duo, while his bride is the MBGN Tourism 2012.

According to reports, friends and family members, including the groom’s brother, Paul Okoye (one half of P-Square), J Martins, Phyno, Tunde Ednut, Powede Lawrence, Flavour, Gloria Onuoha and Julius Agwu, among

•Peter Okoye absent others, witnessed the colourful ceremony.

However, the other half of P-Square, Peter Okoye, was reportedly in a studio in Lagos while the ceremony held. The artiste posted a photo of himself and an unidentified male captioned: “Shhhhhh” on his Instagram page, which further confirmed that he was not at the venue of the wedding.

Against this backdrop, many of their fans are wondering if Peter’s absence from his brother’s wedding was borne out of any intention to hurt him in return.

It will be recalled that Jude,

who was absent at Peter’s wedding, posted a photo of himself and Wizkid at the Mavin Studio, indicating that he was nowhere near his brother’s wedding.

ENSATIONAL singer,Wizkid, has revealed that he will be releasing a song he did with America-based singer, Rihanna, very soon. He announced this on Tuesday while on Midday Show programme on Beat FM 99.9 hosted by Toolz.

The singer was in Los Angeles, USA, last month, where he hooked up with American stars, Chris Brown, Akon and few others. He also announced on the Internet that Rihanna described him as ‘amazing’ during a studio session.

Already, Wizkid’s fans are happy about this development and are anticipating the release of the single, which they said would be a hit.

Half of a Yellow Sun sells big worldwide

Bimbo Akintola returns with Las Gidi Cops

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OLLYWOOD Star Bimbo Akintola, who has been missing in action on movie scenes for a while, is finally making a huge comeback through a new TV series called Las Gidi Cops. It will soon be aired on TV stations.

Other Nollywood acts featuring in the TV series are Joke Silva, Wole Ojo, Keppy Bassey Ekpenyong, Adesuwa Etomi, Kelechi Udegbe, Olumide Oworu and Kenny Bankole.

Las Gidi Cops is filled with a drama to uncover crimes and ultimately topple the government. The series is full of suspense and twisted plots.

Award-winning pro-

ducer, Ola Naresh and award-winning director, Ani Ekins have formed an exquisite fictional team to make Las Gidi Cops the next big TV series to hit Nigeria.

This television series is set to be broadcast across Africa, Europe, Canada and North America alongside online and mobile platforms, with a recording format of 2k resolution.

It has 13 episodes for its first season p r e miere.

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OLLOWING its worldwide release a few months back, producers of Nollywood movie, Half of a Yellow Sun, have said that the movie generated Two Hundred and Eighty Million Naira (N280,000,000) from cinema release, TV sales rights, online viewing and in-flight viewing.

The movie, which was recently approved for viewing in Nigerian cinemas by the Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) in April, will be released across 17 Nigerian cinemas

By Victor Akande come Friday, August 1.

The movie, which had been released in the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand, has so far generated over N280 million. The movie is expected to set a new box office record in Nigeria, since the producer, author and director are all from Nigeria.

Keen watchers are interested to see if HOAYS will beat the Box office

record of over N100 million set by Avengers.

‘Half of a Yellow Sun’, is set in the time of the Biafra War and is the story of love, hate, lust, greed, jealousy and forgiveness. The movie features British-Nigerian BAFTA award winner and Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor, BAFTA award winner Thandie Newton and other A-list actors Genevieve Nnaji.

The movie will be distributed in Nigeria by FilmOne Distribution.

The Films That Made Me returns to DIFF 2014

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OR the second time running, The Films That Made Me section, a programme of five films selected by a prominent South African director, will be showing at the Durban International Film Festival.

The section, according to the organisers, aims to bear testament to the films that have shaped his or her directorial voice.

This year, DIFF has invited acclaimed South African filmmaker, Khalo Matabane (director of State of Violence and Nelson Mandela: The Myth and Me), to curate a selection of films he considers influential in his cinematic career to festival audiences.

The films will screen every day from July 18 to 22. Explaining his selection, Matabane said Do the Right Thing directed by Spike Lee (1989) is a

film that made a huge impact on him, thereby making him a filmmaker.

Other movies on the line up include A Short Film About Killing directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski (1988); Raging Bull directed by Martin Scorsese (1980); Rear Window directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1954) as well as Empire by Denys Arcand (1986).

Khalo Matabane was born on June 18, 1974 in Ga Mphahlele, a

village in Limpopo, South Africa.

He has directed numerous documentaries, drama series, campaigns, commercials and taught cinema and politics at schools. Along with his work as a filmmaker, Khalo Matabane also occasionally writes about cinema and politics. His first feature film, State of Violence (2010), was screened to critical acclaim at Toronto and the Berlinale.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

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NEWS Ramadan 21, 1435AH

RAMADAN KAREEM

Do more for Islam, says scholar

By Fatimah Abdul

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•From right: Agege Local Government Area chairman Alhaji Jubreel AbdulKareem; his Oshodi-Isolo counterpart Idris Muse-Ariyoh; Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria Missioner in Kano State Sheikh Muhydeen Ajani Bello and another cleric during Ramadan lecture organised by Oshodi-Isolo LGA at its secretariat in Bolade, Oshodi, Lagos.

‘Stop identifying Boko Haram with Islam’

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HE Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria (MMWG) said the continuous attacks and killings of people by Boko Haram in the holy month of Ramadan has further confirmed to the whole world that the insurgents are not Muslims but agent of destruction, carnage and destabilisation.

The group appealed to the media to desist from referring Boko Haram as Islamic sect “because killers of innocent human beings could never be regarded as Muslims as Islam abhors killing of people in whatever form except those found guilty

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

and condemned to death according to the law.”

MMWG Coordinator, Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim called on the insurgent to ‘sheath their sword,’ embrace peace by releasing the abducted girls and open arena for dialogue to restore peace in the land.

Ibrahim enjoined Federal Government and security agents to provide adequate security in all schools and villages especially at night to save innocent lives and properties.

While appreciating the effort of government, he said, practical strategies be evolved

RAMADAN GUIDE WITH FEMI ABBAS e-mail: femabbas@yahoo.com Tel: 08122697498

Self Assessment

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ITHOUT waiting to be asked, a good Muslim must be able to sincerely ask him or herself in this sacred month the vital question? Who am I now? There are many reasons for this. Ramadan has become a transit period for most Muslims especially in Nigerian society.

When Ramadan comes, such Muslims dust up their instruments of worship and pretend to be genuine Muslims.

At least for the first few days in the sacred month Mosques are full of worshippers, regular and irregular. They come from all strata of the society to join other Muslims in observing congregational prayers in the Mosques. They endeavour to do away with drinking alcohol openly even as they discard fornication or adultery and other crimes temporarily in the month.

Even when some of these pseudo Muslims do not find fasting in the month of Ramadan interesting, they pretentiously play along. Such people are easily recognizable by their uncultured attitudes in the sacred month. For instance, most of them do not wake up for ‘Sahur’ in the night. Neither do they involve their mental and physical beings in fasting.

To them, abstaining from eating and drinking should be enough as fasting. Thus, as long as they go about with empty stomach, fasting is on course.

Such people are like self-deceptive students who believe in marking their own scripts after writing examinations. The question is: can they award themselves the needed certificates? If they can, who will recognise such certificates? Thus, sincere self assessment in the month of Ramadan.

to save more lives.

Ibrahim said: “President Goodluck Jonathan should as a matter of urgency pay a ‘solidarity visit’ to Chibok, Borno State to see the parents of the abducted girls in addition to the good promises he has made on their education and welfare. The Presidential visit will convince not only the parents but Nigerians where

ever they are that the Presidency cares for them.

This is in line with our valued culture as empathy and sincere concern is manifested through such act.

“We commend the media for their wonderful roles in publicizsing the whole matter including several efforts made to unravel the unpleasant sce-

nario playing out in the North east, Abuja, Kano and other areas affected.

“This development has further open the hazardous nature of journalism which calls for urgent attention of the government to approve and implement the Media Salary Scale being agitated for several years back.”

U.S Muslims snub Obama’s Iftar over Gaza

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MID calls to boycott the annual event, United States President Barack Obama, has hosted a White House Iftar to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan, using the dinner to discuss the crises unfolding in the Mideast and stress US support to Israel.

Muslims across the country have expressed grievances on social media, using the hashtag #WhiteHouseIftar.

A petition to boycott the event was also widely circulated.

“We are a group of scholars, advocates, activists and grassroots organisers who are outraged and deeply concerned by the violence that the United States has committed under the guise of national security,” the petition reads.

“We are outraged that human and civil rights of Muslims and non-Muslims alike are so callously rejected in favour of a national security state that purports to be a democracy and the leader of the free world, while furthering undemocratic policies and ideals. We are outraged that so many individuals have suffered from profiling, detention, torture, and murder by virtue of specifically being Muslim or looking Muslim.”

Ramah Kudaimi, an activist who organised the protest against the White House Iftar, expressed concerns over US

policy regarding Gaza in Palestine and NSA spying on American Muslim leaders.

“The White House coming out and endorsing wholeheartedly Israel’s assault, saying Israel has a right to defend itself, is very shameful when Palestinian children are being killed,” he said in an interview with The Huffington Post.

Kudaimi added that the protest is about a wide range of issues, including Guantanamo bay prison, the Obama administration’s drone policy and surveillance that disproportionately targets Muslims.

“The last straw was the NSA spying scandal and the fact that those being spied on ranged from officials with (the Council on American-Islamic Relations), as well as Americans whom you would describe as ‘patriotic,’ and who have served their government,” Kudaimi said.

“Yet that does not mean that they have escaped government surveillance. … I think this whole mixture of things got to a point of making the boycott calls louder and louder,” he stated.

Obama at the Iftar that included diplomats from the Arab and Muslim world said: “Even as we celebrate all that we have in common, we know that in too many corners of the

•Obama

world, we see violence and terror, and those who would destroy rather than build.

He explained that US goal continued to be peace and security for Israelis as well as Palestinians.

OUNDER, Purpose of life Foundation, United States, Shaykh Khalid Yasin has urged Muslims to support and contribute immensely to Allah’s works, saying that Allah’s blessings awaits them.

He spoke during monthly lecture of the Islamic Platform Society at the Skye Pavillon in Ikeja, Lagos.

Shaykh Yasin, who spoke on “The power of giving,” encouraged Muslims to have a giving psyche, adding that money is essential in the propagation of Islam.

He said: “Even the Quran emphasised that we should strive in the course of Allah with our money, Allah stressed that in Quran 51.

“In Christianity, there is something they call Tithe, it is a percentage of their income which is brought to Church as their own contribution. If they fail to take it to their Churches, they feel they are disloyal to the God they are serving. Tithe is given so much priority and they make it a must all in the name of propagating their religion.”

He enjoined Muslims to propagate Islam through their wealth, health and intellectual.

He described the month of Ramadan as the best month to spend in Allah’s course.

“It has become a part of Muslims because Allah has promised that if anyone gives out in Ramadan, he will be forgiven, it will earn Allah’s blessings and be free from hell fire,” he said.

The second speaker, Director of Zaitun Dawah Institute Seatle in United States, Sheikh Mohammed Awal who spoke on “The scientific miracles of the Quran,” said scientists have high regard for the information in the Quran.

“Science is not meant to be compared with the Quran, the Quran is a book that is supreme and it is beyond doubt.

Muslim leader enjoins gifts sharing

By Ibrahim Adam

T

HE Asiwaju Muslim of Yoruba land, Asiwaju Khamis Olatunde Badmus, has urged Muslims to share whatever they have with others, especially the less privilege in the society.

He said this in a statement by his Senior Special Assistance Alhaji Adetoyese Olayanju.

This, Asiwaju Badmus said, will aid acceptance of their supplications.

He also said the gesture will make the world will a better place to live for all. He enjoined Muslims to use the period of Ramadan to spread the virtues of love, peace and tolerance as exhibited in the life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad.

Asiwaju Badmus distributed foodstuffs, grains, beverages and cash to some Muslim communities to cushion the effects of fasting among them.

“This is my own small way of giving back to the society and thanking God. Also, to alleviate the sufferings of the less privileged in our society,” he said.

He enjoined Muslims to pray for peace and unity.

“Make Osun State a focal prayer point so that the state will have free, fair, credible and peaceful election,” he said.

RAMADAN DIET "O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is wellacquainted with all that ye do."

- Quran 4:35 ,

SPONSORED BY CHAIRMAN, AGEGE LOCAL GOVT AREA, LAGOS ALHAJI JUBREEL ABDULKAREEM AND WIFE, ALHAJA SHERIFAT

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

63

FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

T

HE way of Philistines: We are all caught up in the iniquitous whirl of Nigeria’s daily minutiae: Boko Haram, Chibok girls, PDP, APC, 2015, INEC elections, power outages, contrived impeachments and all such. These banalities have so much taken up our lives that we never seem to stop and reflect any more or better still we do not have the capacity for deep reflection in this age. Nigeria seems to have been boiled down (or dumbed down if you like) to money and power. We are so engrossed in our inanities that we do not seem to realise that our Nigerian universe is sitting on its head. We, all of us, are caught in the vortex of this raging monster and it seems we cannot help ourselves.

I was going to do a pot-pourri of the fallout of the Malala visit, the $1 billion loan to fight Boko Haram, the yanking of Nyako from his seat and the Federal Government’s Victim Support Fund. But the Tolani Ajayi case kept tugging at my subconscious. Last week I had re-run an old piece about another young man who butchered his father in cold blood but the matter refused to grow cold in my mind. And the more I dwell on it, the more I came to the realisation that we are daily troubled (or would you prefer consumed) by symptoms and outcomes while incognizant of the origins of our troubles.

One would expect the pathetic story of Tolani Ajayi to give us some sort of national heartburn and stop us short in our mired tracks, but no, it’s just another story in our sad saga. But Tolani’s is not another ordinary story. The 21-year-old 300 level student of Redeemers’ University early in July stabbed his father with a knife and not done, reached for a machete and hacked him to pieces. He packed the body and hauled it to a nearby dumpsite. He returned to the house and coolly went about other chores as if nothing happened, but for the trail he left that led back to the scene of the crime.

How to kill a good father: Why would a young man, an undergraduate commit such atrocity against one that sired him, a lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN)?

Tolani said: “He was a good father and actually took care of us very well. I was just angry that day.” But what this matter has thrown up are the issues of family and parenting, religion and delinquent behaviours. In other words, it is calling to question the state of our overall human and social milieu. Family units around here have been in distress largely as a result of

STEVE OSUJI

EXPRESSO

steve.osuji@yahoo.com

Wanted: a university for parenting

‘

“He was a good father and actually took care of us very well. I was just angry that day.”

But what this matter has thrown up are the issues of family and parenting, religion and delinquent behaviours

•Ajayi sustained grinding poverty inflicted on the people by our various governments. By pocketing our commonwealth, our leaders constrict our economic space, shrinking opportunities for many and causing fault lines in families.

There is the adjunct issue of parenting. Besides the fact that many parents are distraught by the sheer quest for survival, quite a large number of men and women who come together in matrimony have no clue about parenting and child rearing. The mindset is that children are gifts from God and only He can take care of them. This is why one wishes there was a school where couples may be certificated on the art and science of childrearing before they begin to procreate. While many do not even know the rudimentary, especially about the early stage management of children, in this digital age, at merely 10,

RIPPLES DON’T SELL YOUR VOTES-Olunloyo advises Osun Residents

SHINE YOUR EYES...A bag of RICE won’t last 4 YEARS

VOL.9 NO.2,911

TODAY IN THE NATION ‘These are dark days for the Nigerian youth. We are going through a particularly unpleasant form of hell but it’s a hell that we have made for ourselves by our ghastly greed, laziness and inarticulateness. But we have still got youth on our side and thus the possibility of change’ OLA TUNJI OL OLADE OLATUNJI OLOLADE

’

most children have become far more exposed and smarter than their parents. And at this stage, parents and children hardly speak the same ‘language’ anymore. The other day at a crowded airport lounge, a little boy of about two or three years, restless and seemingly unrestrained, simply set the entire place afire.

His poor young mother was helpless, adding to the bedlam by screaming herself hoarse. If a child is uncontrollable as a toddler, at 12 he would probably be out of hand or even the house.

God will do it? Many simply hide under the shadow of religion, drag their children under its nebulous cover and assume all is well. Religion is okay if children are properly oriented into it and if parents have true understanding and are pious; but it becomes dangerous if it is a mere placebo, a cure-all pill. In the Tolani example, the young man suggested that he was angered by his father waking him at 1am for a prayer and forcing him to respond “amen”. Because he would

HARDBALL

I

T is double cause for concern that over 200 schoolgirls abducted by the Islamist terror group Boko Haram in Chibok, Borno State, have remained in captivity since April 15; and more importantly, the Jonathan presidency is yet to address the grave issue with reassuring decisiveness. It is noteworthy that Abubakar Shekau, the militia’s notorious leader, has spelt out conditions for the release of the kidnapped pupils of the Girls Senior Secondary School, Chibok.

He said : “All I’m saying is, if you want us to release your girls that we kidnapped, you must release our brethren that are held in Borno, Yobe, Kano, Kaduna, Enugu and Lagos states, as well as Abuja. We know that you have incarcerated our brethren all over this country…We will never release them until our brethren are released.”

Shekau’s words were unambiguous enough, which is why it is puzzling that the Federal Government’s response presents a picture of unhelpful ambiguity.

The nearest to an official reaction by the government came through a third party, namely, British Africa Minister Mark Simmonds who gave a clue to President Goodluck Jonathan’s thinking after a meeting in Abuja to discuss an

not respond, his father hit him and even bit his shoulder, the story goes. If this be the case, there is something anomalous about compelling a 21-year-old man to pray. At 21, to pray or not ought to be a personal choice.

Lastly, it has been suggested that the young man Tolani may have been on drugs and may have exhibited some extreme deviant behaviours; he is under a panel in his school.

The lesson here is that parents must respond quickly and seek professional help immediately they notice their children may be into drugs or exhibit any psychotic tendencies. Prayers are good, but they must be deployed hand-in-hand with professional help.

Living in a prayer house, hiding the fact that a child is into drug use or having a mental trouble will only compound the problem.

There is also the matter of absentee parents who can only afford what they term ‘quality’ time for their children and we ask: what happens to the rest of the ‘quantity’ time? Parenting is so complex, so dynamic and so crucial to our very existence, yet it is hardly treated at all anywhere, not even with levity. Again, why aren’t there schools where parents could take refresher courses.

LAST MUG: To the master, Dr. Dare, at 70 Just the way you begin to feel that everything has been written about our genius of all times, Wole Soyinka, who turned 80 last week, one is bound to seek new words to qualify Dr. Olatunji Dare who hit the landmark age, 70, yesterday. But if you knew Dare at all, you will never be in want of what to say about him. For instance, in 1985 as an undergraduate at the University of Lagos, he published my first article in the op-ed page of The Guardian. I will never forget the headline: “Re: Those stunted stalactites”. It was a little biting rejoinder to his article of same title and I had sent it in prospectively not knowing whether he would publish it.

But to my elation, he did not only publish it, he also published many more from me and the experience was like walking in the moon around the campus those days. And I never needed to meet him. He is not only among the best minds that held a pen in Nigeria in this age; he is the kind of human that may have become extinct in this part of the world these days: urbane, humane, civil and so unprepossessing. He is so prim and proper one begins to think it would be interesting to know what blemishes dot his pristine linen. In more civilised climes he would be a much sought after national asset; he would be among the comity of ‘saints’, guiding the soul of the state. But unfortunately, not here.

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above

Bluffing will not bring back our girls international rescue mission linked with the kidnap, which has attracted worldwide outrage and condemnation.

The BBC quoted Simmonds as saying in respect of Jonathan, “He made it clear that there will be no negotiation with Boko Haram that involves a swap of abducted schoolgirls for prisoners.”

There has been no contradiction from official quarters, which is not only food for thought but also raises a logical question as to the government’s plan, if any, to get the girls back alive. Perhaps the administration needs to be reminded that it is battling with a murderous group, which has again and again proved to be unpredictable.

The inescapable implication is that the government may be running out of time to secure the girls’ freedom, and would need to act expeditiously to prevent the group from possibly having a rethink that might not favour releasing them.

Understandably, Jonathan is most likely anxious to avoid being perceived as vulnerable to bullying tactics, particularly against the background that

he has often been criticised by the country’s political opposition for alleged weak leadership. However, this is a wrong occasion for him to attempt to change that perception, which may indeed be valid.

Moreover, given that the concept and practice of prisoner exchange or prisoner swap are not strange, yielding to the idea may not be a bad idea. Of relevance to the country’s situation is the model of Humanitarian Exchange or Humanitarian Accord popularised by the experience of Colombia in which the government reached an agreement with guerillas to swap prisoners for hostages, an idea that was pushed by the families of the captives. It is easy to imagine that in the Chibok case the affected families, if not the empathetic public, would readily endorse such arrangement.

In case Jonathan does not understand, it would be a demonstration of strength to ensure that the girls are brought back alive, no matter the cost. This is not the time for bluffing.

•This article was first published on May 21

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