July 19, 2014 by The Nation

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THE NATION,

2 NEWS

SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

22 anti-impeachment protesters arrested in Nassarawa

HE Nasarawa State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, yesterday confirmed the arrest of 22 suspects and a fake policeman in connection with anti-impeachment riot in Lafia, the state capital, on Thursday. He said the police and other security agencies had launched a manhunt for four suspects, who were said to be the masterminds of the protest. Although he said nobody was killed during the protest, he admitted that two people sustained injuries. He said those wounded were treated at Agu hospital and had

•I’ve not received impeachment notice - Governor •Assembly members may face probe over roles in N30b bond •CP denies death of three

Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation been discharged. He said while five shops and a residential apartment were vandalised, a vehicle was burnt by the rioters. He, however, confirmed the recovery of a locally-made pistol, some ammunition, knives and dangerous weapons from some of the suspects. Idris, who made the disclo-

sures at a briefing after a Joint Security Meeting, asked those fleeing the state to return. He said: “We have been getting information that people in and around Lafia have started to flee their homes based on media reports “I wish to appeal to the media to verify their information before going public. Any misinformation can cause panic and escalate the crisis.” As at press time, preliminary investigation revealed that the

protest culminated in a bloody clash between Eggon and Gwandara youths at Tundun Gwandara part of LafiaHE Governor of Nasarawa State, Meanwhile, the state governor, Alhaji Umaru Tanko AlMakura, yesterday said he had not been served an impeachment notice by the State House of Assembly. The governor, who had a three-minute interview with our correspondent before leaving Abuja for Lafia, said he was

•From Left: Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Rahaman Bello, Chairman, Governing Council, University of Lagos, Prof. Jerry Gana and Representative, South West Board of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Tetfund), Dr Hannah Kolawole, at the 2014 Tetfund Interactive Workshop in Lagos yesterday

Scores killed in fresh Boko Haram attack on Borno community

AIDUGURI— Boko Haram gunmen returned to Damboa, Borno State, before dawn yesterday, killing scores of residents and setting homes ablaze in a fresh assault on the town. They threw explosives into residential homes and shot dead civilians who tried to surrender. Residents said yesterday they were ‘piling up corpses.’ Half the town ,about 85 kilometers from the state capital, Maiduguri,was up in flames, according to spokesman for the Nigerian Vigilante Group otherwise called Civilian JTF, Abbas Gava. The town’s main market, the home of the local government chairman and the

area’s top cleric were similarly set ablaze. Well-armed terrorists extremists attacked as residents as they were preparing for the Fajr dawn prayers and the civilian defence fighters could only resist with clubs and homemade shotguns, he said. “They killed many people. Women and children fled into the bush,” said an official with the Damboa Local Government, who requested anonymity. “Those who could not flee surrendered and were killed by the insurgents,” he added. ”Most houses in the town have been burnt. Only a few still remain,” said resident Ahmed Buba. “The destruction is mas-

sive… This is the worst attack by Boko Haram on Damboa.” “We were defenceless because all the security personnel, including soldiers and policemen, have withdrawn,” Buba told AFP. He could not say how many people were killed. ”We have to go through the rubble to see how many people died.” Those who escaped from the overnight raid fled to the state capital Maiduguri and sought shelter in the palace of the area’s top cleric, Umar Garbai ElKanemi, also known as the Shehu of Borno. The survivors “lodged a complaint with the Shehu because there are no security forces in Damboa,” the official said.

Damboa has been besieged for two weeks, since the July 4 attack by Boko Haram terrorists on the new tank battalion base set up on outskirts of the town. The Defence Headquarters said that attack was repelled with 50 insurgents killed. Six soldiers including a colonel also died in the July 4 attack. But locals said the soldiers were driven from the base and that terrorists twice have ambushed military convoys trying to reach it in the past week. The militants had cut off access to the town from the south on Monday when they blew up a bridge further south. Damboa is on the main road south from Maiduguri.

not a corrupt leader as being insinuated by the State House of Assembly. He said: “As I am talking to you, I have not been served the impeachment notice by the House of Assembly as required by the 1999 Constitution and the law of the land. “So, it is not true at all to assume or claim that I had received the impeachment notice. Some people are just insinuating that I had been served. “The House of Assembly can also not lay claim to substituted service on me because to do so, it must seek the leave of a court of competent jurisdiction. “There is no record that the Assembly has secured any order from a court of competent jurisdiction for substituted service.” On the 16 offences leveled against him by the House of Assembly, Al-Makura said: “I am not corrupt; I have not mismanaged the funds of the state, not to talk of diverting any allocation. “I have served the people of Nasarawa to the best of my ability. The fact that they are overwhelmingly against the impeachment proceedings initiated by the Assembly confirmed that the people of the state are pleased with me.” Asked of his next step, the governor said: “I have been consulting with different groups, the consultation is still ongoing.”

Governor Al-Makura’s clarifications came against the backdrop of revelations that some stakeholders are pushing for the probe of some members of the Assembly over their roles in the N30 billion bond obtained by the state. It was gathered that the stakeholders are seeking the intervention of anti-graft agencies, following indications that the disagreement between the governor and some of the lawmakers had to do with the alleged desire for more “perks” from the N30billion bond. A reliable source said: “There is more to the impeachment proceedings against AlMakura than meet the eye. The governor had sharp disagreement with the lawmakers on conditions the Assembly gave him before the state could go for N30billion bond. “This is why stakeholders have agreed to call on antigraft agencies to probe the lawmakers’ roles on how the bond was approved. There were a lot of dirty undercurrents and demands on the governor. “There were allegations that some of the lawmakers asked for five to 10 per cent cut of the N30billion bond before they could approve it. “The stakeholders may also ask Al-Makura to open up on what transpired between him and the Assembly when the state was seeking the N30billion bond.” .

States can sue Senate for council enlistment, says LASIEC chair

Tajudeen ADEBANJO HE Chairman of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), Justice Abdul-Fatai Adeyinka, has said that state governments can go to court to compel the Senate to list the new councils created. Justice Adeyinka stated this while welcoming members of the Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) who were at LASIEC for an interactive meeting on the conduct of referendum for the creation of additional local governments. He reiterated the constitutionality of the state governments to create new local governments, stressing that the provision was affirmed by a Supreme Court ruling in a case between the Attorney-General of Lagos State and the Attorney-General of the Federation. LASIEC Permanent Secretary, Yinka Jeje emphasised the need to conduct a referendum for the creation of additional councils in order to make the exercise credible and acceptable to the generality of the people. He also noted that it was imperative that the exercise was carried out in conjunction with state Physical Planning authorities to ensure proper delineation and demarcation of boundaries, with a view to avoiding incidence of boundary disputes among the various councils. OGSIEC Chairman, Alhaja Risikat Ogunfemi, said as neighbour to Lagos, Ogun State is experiencing the spill over effects of the splendour and challenges of Lagos. This, she said informed the decision of OGSIEC to be proactive and prepare itself for the challenges ahead.

Nyako’s impeachment:Nigeria is descending into fascism, says Tinubu

ATIONAL leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday lashed out at President Goodluck Jonathan for encouraging fascism in the polity. Reviewing the events culminating in this week’s impeachment of Alhaji Murtala Nyako as governor of Adamawa State by the State Assembly, Tinubu said the development is a setback for Nigeria’s democracy. “Under the constitution, a governor can only be im-

peached for ‘gross misconduct.’ For the PDP, Nyako’s crime was not the false allegations contained in the articles of impeachment. To them, his gross misconduct was leaving the reactionary PDP to join the progressive APC. His misdeed was to exercise his constitutional right of freedom of association and political expression by leaving their corrupt assemblage and joining the party that just may represent the best hope of rescuing Nigeria from its present descent into authoritarian dark-

ness,” he said in a statement in Lagos. Continuing, Tinubu said: “Perhaps, Governor Nyako’s greatest sin is his temerity to speak truth to power albeit in a courageous way. On two different occasions, he gave an unvarnished insight into the Boko Haram menace and the insecurity engulfing Northern Nigeria. “At the Institute of Peace in Washington DC, this year when he visited with other Northern governors, he placed the blame for the Boko Haran insurgency on

the Jonathan presidency. He then followed this up with a detailed letter to the forum of the Northern governors, in which he accused the Jonathan-led government of genocide against the North. “This rattled and unsettled the government. Repeated attempts to have Gov. Nyako withdraw his letter and apologize to the President failed. From the moment he wrote that letter, he became a marked man. The government savaged the governor through the media.

“This kangaroo impeachment is government’s way of punishing Nyako. The plan is to use the contents of the letter he wrote to the Northern Governors as a basis to try him for treasonable felony and eventually sentence him to life imprisonment. Nyako’s frank, if rough-edged, letter concerning the security situation apparently infuriated the monarch of Aso Villa who has become so arrogant as to believe no opposition against him is justified, thus he has the liberty to impose his brand of injustice to crush those who

oppose him. “Before our eyes and under Jonathan’s watch, Nigeria gradually descends into fascism. We must all act now before it consumes us al” Tinubu said. The former Lagos State governor also deplored the President’s handling of the abduction of the Chibok girls by Boko Haram, especially his refusal to see the parents of the girls until the recent visit to Nigeria of the Pakistani pupil activist, Malala. •See full text on Page 56

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SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

Adamawa Acting Gov visits PDP’s secretariat, says ‘I have delivered’

DAMAWA State Acting Governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, yesterday stormed the Abuja National Secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), telling party leaders that “I have delivered”. Fintiri went ahead to tell the party chiefs that he had recovered and delivered the mandate stolen by ousted Governor Murtala Nyako to the ruling party. Speaking with reporters shortly after he had a closed door meeting with some of the national officials of the party, Fintiri said his emergency as governor had restored the state back to the PDP. The four-day-old Acting

Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

Governor said: “As a loyal and obedient party member, I came on a courtesy call to my party and the National Working Committee as my first assignment after the battle to remove Governor Nyako who had stolen the mandate of the PDP under which he was elected. “I came here to bring back the mandate and I have handed over to them (party leaders) the mandate. I promise that I will work together with the party, its leadership and the people of Adamawa to

Mutailatu Church celebrates

UTAILATU Church Cherubim and Sera phim Worldwide will clock 50 years at the end of this month. And to mark the historic golden jubilee with pomp and pageantry, a long list of activities has been drawn, according to the anniversary committee. The theme of the anniversary is:”Prayer is the keyAdura Ni Koko”. The celebration day has

been fixed for August 17, at the church International Sub-Headquarters, Sanctuary Auditorium, besides Lead City University, LekkiEpe Expressway, Ajah, Lekki, Lagos. His Most Eminence, Baba Aladura (Dr) Motailatu Akinadewo,primate, prophet and supreme head, Motailatu Organization Worldwide, founded the church in the year 1964.

RAMADAN GUIDE WITH FEMI ABBAS

e-mail: femabbas756@gmail.com Tel: 08115708536

Knowing the Qur’an

EADING any book 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 a pre-idea of the entire book in its summary form, a good reader must read the introduction to such a book as well as 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 familiarizing oneself with a new book before going through its chapters. The word Qur’an means continuous recitation. 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 unsurpassable 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. The revelation of this Book to mankind through an unlettered desert Arab, Muhammad son of Abdullah and Aminah, began in 610 CE. It lasted 22 years (10 years in Makkah and12 years in Madinah). The book contains 114 chapters and 6236 verses (not 6666 verses often taught by most Imams and Alfas). Of these 114 chapters, 86 were revealed in Makkah and 28 in Madinah. But the 28 chapters revealed in Madinah constitute two thirds of the 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 other materials of the like which were then readily available. It was only much later, after the demise of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), that those writings were rendered into a book form. And one of the wonders of recording the Qur’an 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 Prophets of 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 fertilization of the wind (Q. 15:22); the revolution of the sun, the moon and the planets in their fixed orbit (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. That is the Qur’an for you, an incomparable divine book of all ages and times.

ensure that our party is restored to the people”. The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, stated that Fintiri would restore dignity to

the party as well as address the rot and the damage caused the party by former Governor Nyako. He promised the Acting Governor the support and

encouragement of the party’s leadership. The party’s National Deputy chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, who received Fintiri and his team

said that the removal of Nyako and the emergence of the Acting Governor would help address the rot the people of the state had experienced.

Nigerians reject $1bn insurgency loan

OLLOWING the recent request by the President for approval to ask for a loan of $1billion to fight insurgency in the country, prominent Nigerians have opposed the request, indicating that it may be an insensitive issue at this time. Olubunmi Cardinal Okogie said: “How would the people trust the government on the sending of such a loan. Things are tough in the country now, and I am not sure that the people will trust the government on such a loan.” On his part, activist lawyer Mr. Fred Agbaje said: “It is provocative and unreasonable. Has the president accounted for the previous security votes, more so, when the previous security votes were never judiciously spent. Hence the rise in Boko Haram activities and subsequent superiority in the Boko Haram fire power. “The National Assembly would massively be letting Nigerians down, if they accede to the president’s request. Such money should be channelled towards addressing our ill-equipped hospitals, universities and similar institutions.” The president’s request was also opposed by Barrister

NASU calls off strike

HE Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) of Edu cational and Associated Institutions in Colleges of Education yesterday called off its four-month-old strike. The General Secretary of the union, Mr Peter Adeyemi, announced the suspension at the end of an emergency meeting of the union in Abuja. Adeyemi said the suspension “takes effect from midnight on Sunday. The strike would be suspended for three months. “This is in order to enable the Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, to look into the union’s demands with the aim of resolving them.’’ Colleges of education and other trade group councils of NASU participated in the emergency meeting to discuss the strike which began in March. At the end, the council resolved that arising from the positive disposition of the Minister of Education, Malam Shekarau, “the ongoing industrial action is hereby suspended for three months.’’ It will be recalled that the union’s grievances include the non-release of modalities for CONTISS 15 arrears. Others are non-release of White Paper, amendment of laws, infrastructure decay, security, demonstration primary schools and inadequate funding.

Paul UKPABIO Festus Keyamo who issued a statement which reads thus: “I am totally opposed to the grant by the National Assembly of the request by the president for the approval of a $1billion loan to upgrade equipment and ‘reenergise’ the military to fight insurgency. “The simple reason is that billions of naira have been made available in our budgets in the last few years for the same purpose, yet the insurgents continue to grow from strength to strength. “This, therefore, raises the question of the prudence that has been employed in the past in spending the funds. In this regard, it is important that a thorough audit of previous allocations to that sector is carried out before further approval like is made. “Granted that the audit may not be made before the public because of security implications, but a comprehensive audit before critical institutions and stakeholders is important to instill accountability and probity in the security sector. The military is

not above the law.” Chief Ebenezer Babatope praised the president for the request and called on Nigerians to give him a chance to fight the insurgence by yielding to his request. He said: “The President is the head of the country. He is the one in the vantage position to know what the country needs. So if he comes

out and says that this is what the country needs, I want to believe that he must have taken time to study the situation. “I will want the people of this country to support the president in taking such a loan and allow him to fight the insurgents in order to put an end to the threat that Boko Haram has become.”

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SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

‘Aturu ‘ll be remembered for extraordinary things he did’

s the shock of the death of legal luminary and rights activist, Bamidele Aturu, permeates the nooks and crannies of the country, Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, said Aturu would be remembered for all the extraordinary things he did. Ikuforiji stated this when he paid a condolence visit to the home of the late lawyer at Agege yesterday. He said Aturu’s death is reverberating across the country

because of “who he was, how he lived his short life and his accomplishments during that short sojourn on earth”. Describing the late Aturu as one of the rare gems that the country is blessed with, Ikuforiji said looking at the accolades the late rights activist received all over, “at the end of the day you will say he accomplished himself to a large extent. Signing on the condolence register, Ikuforiji said, “We just lost a gem, friend of the masses, a great patriot, rest in peace”.

States can sue Senate over council enlistment, says LASIEC chair

Tajudeen ADEBANJO

HAIRMAN of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), Justice Abdul-Fatai Adeyinka, said the state government could go to court to compel the Senate to list the new councils created, if the Senate fails to enlist them. Justice Adeyinka stated this while welcoming members of the Ogun State Independent Electoral commission (OGSIEC) who were on a visit to the LASIEC for an interactive meeting on the conduct of referendum for the creation of additional local governments. He reiterated the constitutionality of the state governments to create new local governments, stressing that the provision was affirmed by the Supreme Court ruling in a case between the Attorney-General of Lagos State and the Attorney-General of the Federation. LASIEC Permanent Secretary, Yinka Jeje, emphasised the need to be apolitical in carrying out a referendum for the creation of additional councils, so as to make the exercise credible and acceptable to the generality of the people.

Buildmacex holds September

UILDMACEX Nigeria, the popular exhibition fair for building materials and machinery, is set to take place at Eko Convention Centre in Lagos. The exhibition, scheduled to take place between September 9 and 11 between the hours of 10am and 18pm, will showcase the best of materials in building construction and machinery. Speaking to newsmen in Lagos, Mr. Ayodeji Olugbade, the Managing Director of Meridyen International Fair Organization, stated that,

Paul UKPABIO Buildmacex, which is in its third edition, will provide an outstanding platform for the sales and promotion of products and services in the building construction and machinery sector of the Nigerian economy and the West African market at large. “Our last edition was held in Eko Hotel & Suites. It was a successful one with 84 exhibitors from various parts of the world,” he said.

Don stresses need for soil preservation

lecturer at the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, College of Agriculture, Landmark University, OmuAran, Kwara State, Prof . Olusola Omosofe Agbede, has said that Nigeria could face food crisis, if urgent action is not taken to preserve the soil that has been overstretched. Speaking during a public lecture titled: ‘Assessment, development and conservation of soil fertility key to national food security’, at the university, he said man was created from the soil and from creation depended on soil for prosperity, adding that any departure from this divine arrangement usually incurs unpleasant consequences. According to him, “with man’s carelessness and misuse of soil resources over time, soil productivity has declined. If soil is not adequately managed, many countries of the world, including Nigeria could face food crisis.”

Victory schools hold graduation

ICTORY College, Victory High School and Victory Grammar School, Ikeja will hold their valedictory graduation ceremony in honour of 20th and 41st set of the schools. According to the Managing Proprietor of the schools, Chief Christian I. Olaniyan, the ceremony comes up Tuesday, July 22 at Victory Hall. Mr. Paimo, Chairman of the Graduation Planning Committee, said prominent Nigerians from different walks of life would attend the ceremony.

Pa Okubanjo for burial July 26

HE final burial of Pa Joel Olaitan Okubanjo comes up Sat urday July 26 at his residence at Oke-Moyin, Oke-lejo, Isiwo, Ogun State. According to the family, the ceremony will start on Thursday, July 24 with a Service of Song at Olanser Nursery and Primary School, owned by the deceased, at Omowunmi Street, Mushin, Lagos. This will be followed by a Christian wake on Friday evening. The interment will take place on Saturday after a funeral service at the Christ Anglican Parish Church, Ijebu Anglican Diocese, Isiwo, Ogun State. Pa Okubanjo died on February 28 at the age 80.

Ekiti SIEC adopts Option A4 for today's referendum on new councils

HE State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) has said it will use Option A4 for the referendum which would hold today in 137 wards across twelve benefiting councils. Addressing newsmen in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, SIEC’s Chairperson, Mrs Cecilia Adelusi, clarified that the commission had no legal hindrances against the councils' creation, contrary to reports. According to her, the results collated in each LGCA would be sent to the state House of Assembly for normal legislative approval before the final assent by the governor. It would be recalled that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Pastor Kola Oluwawole, sought to dissuade the people from participating in the referendum, arguing it was an illegality. The PDP had maintained that the SIEC as currently headed by Mrs Adelusi was an illegal organisation arising from the composition of the electoral body until the Supreme Court disposed contrarily. Adelusi said what the state government would create were LCDAs which would later be subjected to the ratification of the National Assembly to become fullfledged local governments to be officially listed alongside other councils in the country in the constitution. She added that the claims by

Sulaiman SALAWUDEEN, Ado-Ekiti

the PDP that the SIEC would be acting illegally in view of a subsisting suit in court against its composition were baseless in view of the Appeal Court judgment of March 26, 2013 which had ruled that the matter be tried de novo (anew). Adelusi added that the SIEC had not been notified that any appeal was pending at the Supreme Court, challenging the Appeal Court verdict.

Her words: “We are empowered by Section 8(3) of the 1999 constitution to carry out this assignment. And as we speak now, no notice before us in the SIEC that the case has been re-assigned at the High Court after the Appeal Court judgment or any appeal pending at the Supreme Court. “The order that the matter be retried superseded the High Court judgment of February 3, 2012 that declared our commission illegal because the

appeal court said the trial judge misdirected himself . So, the commission has no legal encumbrance to carry out this exercise. “But we want to say that the LGCAs will not be operating their full course because the process is inchoate until it is passed at the National Assembly. Whatever the Assembly arrives at will be subjected to National Assembly before they can become full-fledged local governments”.

•Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, exchanging pleasantries with members of the Hausa community during an Iftar (breaking of fast) at the Government House, Oke-Igbein, Abeokuta...Thursday

Another 1,000-pupil capacity mega school commissioned in Osun

HE Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has commissioned the L.A Elementary School, Obada, Ede amidst pump and fanfare as parents, guardians and students thronged the venue in their thousands. The elated parents defied the heavy rain to witness the epoch-making commissioning event of the new school which has the capacity to accommodate 1,000 pupils with 25 classrooms, one large exam hall, 16 toilets, one audio visual room, recreation facilities among others. Addressing the gathering, Governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola de-

scribed the commissioning as a celebration of good things to come to the state in the education sector. He expressed happiness that God has used his administration to impact positively in the state education sector despite not being the first Governor of the state, describing the rebuilding of public school buildings in the state as a vision from God. The Governor noted that parents and kids alike in the state should be rest assured of a positive future because the present administration is determined to continue to lay a solid foundation for the generation yet unborn. He then congratulated the people of Ede and environs,

saying the new schools and more to come will serve as a catalyst for development for the people of Ede and surrounding towns. He said: "This commissioning is capable of marking a positive turnaround for education in our state, and we shall continue to strive for things to get better for our children? "I am delighted for the students that will use this facility now and those that will use it in future because we now have a very good education facility that can stand the test of time. "I am happy that God has used our administration to achieve this despite the fact

Outgoing Lagos CJ thanks workers for their support

HE Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Ayotunde Phillips, has commended workers of the state judiciary for their support to her administration. Justice Phillips gave the commendation yesterday after receiving an award presented to her by the Lagos State branch of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN). The chief judge would be retiring from office on July 26 when she would have attained the statutory retirement age of 65. She said the successes recorded under her tenure were due to the support and cooperation of the judiciary workers. “I am grateful for the sup-

Adebisi ONANUGA port you have given to me. I am humbled and my heart is swelling with pride,” Phillips said. The chief judge urged them to remain dedicated to their duties,adding that it was only through hard work that they could reap the fruits of their labour. She also advised her successors to continue to give priority to the welfare of the workers. Also speaking, the incoming chief judge of the state, Justice Funmilayo Atilade, assured the workers that she would improve on their welfare. Atilade, who is currently the Head Judge of Lagos State, said

she would work hard to surpass the enviable record set by Phillips, her immediate elder sister. “The outgoing chief judge has done a wonderful job of taking care of all of us. She has set us on the right path and shown us the way to go. “I promise all of you that I will try to emulate her and surpass her efforts in the area of workers’ welfare,” she said. On his part, the JUSUN Chairman of Lagos State, Mr Emmanuel Abioye, said Phillips was being honoured for her outstanding contribution to the welfare of workers. Abioye said:”We are honouring you because you have transformed the face of Lagos State Judiciary in terms of welfarism.

that our administration is not the first in the state." Speaking earlier, the Deputy Governor of the state, who also doubles as the state Commissioner for Education, Mrs Grace Titi Laoye Tomori, stated that education is the bedrock to development which is why the present administration is investing so much in education. She said the the commissioning portrays the joint and collective effort of the people and the government in bid to creating a total human being which in turn take the state to greater heights. She stressed that the present administration remains unflinchingly committed to giving the children which are the future of the state the best it can offer. "Our education policy is to ensure that every student that graduates from any Osun school is the best anywhere in the world. "Education is the bedrock of development which is why the present administration is committed to producing a total human being," she said. In a goodwill message, the first civilian Governor of the state, Alhaji Isiaka Adeleke, expressed appreciation to the present administration in the state for providing an enabling environment for the students in the state. He noted that it is worthy of mentioning that it is the first in the history of the state despite not being the first governor of the state as it is the first of its kind in Osun.

THE NATION

NEWS 5

SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

Ajimobi in Oyo, promises to complete road dualization October

•Governor Aregbesola (middle); his Deputy, Mrs Laoye-Tomori; Special Adviser to the Governor on Lands, Dr Ayo Owaade (right); Mr Bade Adesina (3rd left); Special Adviser to the Governor on Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Dr. Olalekan Yinusa (2nd right); and others during the commissioning of the buses tagged O-School Buses at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo, Osun State...yesterday

Aregbesola provides 30 buses for public schools

day after the landmark commissioning of 100 units of Handheld Ultrasound Scanners, four units of 3D Colour Doppler Scan machines and splashed N370 million welfare scheme on women empowerment, the Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, added another feat in the chain of welfare programmes yesterday as he launched 30 new civilian buses for students of public schools in the state. Tagged “Omoluabi Scholar Bus”, the newly purchased civilian buses are meant to con-

vey students from their respective homes to schools and back every school day. Aregbesola said if the government's quest for enduring socio-economic progress is to be achieved, government's commitment to education and the future of the children cannot be superficial. The governor said his administration embarked on this laudable programme because it’s dangerous to play politics with the education of children. He said that the realisation of the importance of education and development of human

capacity building prompted his government to create the best possible environment for the development of the total person. He described the provision of buses for transporting the students as another proof of government's focused attention to education. "The buses we are rolling out today for the use of our high school students are another solid proofs of the importance and undivided attention our government genuinely accords education. "With the O’Scholar Buses, the culture of punctuality will

2015: Stop dropping Jonathan’s, Mu’azu’s names, Ogun PDP tells Bankole

HEAD of the 2015 gen eral elections, the Fo rum of Local Government Chairmen in the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned aspirants and their backers against name-dropping. The forum spoke against the backdrop of the outbursts of Chief Alani Bankole, the father of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dimeji Bankole, who stormed a recent meeting of the forum where he boasted that President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Chairman of our great party, Alhaji Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu, asked his son to join the governorship race, adding that they had promised to give him an automatic ticket. In a statement issued yesterday and signed by the Chairman of the PDP in the Abeokuta South Local Government Area and Chairman of the forum, Hon. Kehinde Sofenwa, the group said, “The elder Bankole’s conduct is unbecoming of an elder and a democrat. We urge him and his son to follow the due process and not seek to usurp constituted authority.” The statement reads in part: “We recall that some months ago, they were going about to say that the President and the National Chairman had assured them that the authentic and legally constituted state exco of our party would be dissolved. But till date, nothing of such has happened. Rather, the party, under the leadership of our able Chairman, Engr. Adebayo Dayo, is waxing stronger. “Much as we shudder to

think if it is the younger Bankole that is in the race or the father, we wish to state without mincing words that all these are unfounded. They have no basis in fact and in reality. “If anything, his comments showed clearly that he has not been in touch with the party in the state. Otherwise, he would have known that the party has been restructured from the ward, local government and state levels, such that its structures are in the firm control of the respective leaders and elders. “The days when one powerful man sits in the comfort of his bedroom to determine what happens elsewhere are gone for good. That was what was ably demonstrated with the primary election in Ekiti State. “On the purported assurances they claimed to have got from the President and National Chairman, our simple reaction is that we are not deceived. We do not need anyone to tell us that our amiable President and the cool-headed National Chairman are sticklers for due process and respecters of the rule of law. “They have shown time and again that they would never lend themselves to lawlessness and illegalities. Having seen the gains of a free and transparent primary, as exemplified in the Ekiti election, they cannot afford to reverse the gains. We wager that a thousand Bankoles cannot change that. “We advise the Bankoles to come down from their high horses of living in the past and face the reality on ground. This is even more so that his four years’ reign as Speaker had no positive bearing on the lives of the people of Ogun State. If they

are intent on salvaging whatever is left of their political careers, they should join hands with other leaders, elders and members of the party and work for it. They should know that when they literally decided to play Nero while Rome burnt, some people stayed back and worked to keep the party together. The question is: if everybody had abandoned the party like they did, would there be a platform that they now seek to impose themselves on? “We recall with nostalgia his membership of the infamous cabal which frustrated the then Acting President Goodluck Jonathan from assuming office as the substantive President. We also recall that upon his losing his re-election bid (he could not win one local government area which makes up his Abeokuta South Federal Constituency), he colluded with the opposition to deny the South West the Speakership of the House of Representatives that was zoned to it. At press time, Chief Bankole could not be reached for comment.

Iloro Grammar School old students meet Old students of Iloro Grammar School, Agege, Lagos State will today converge on the school premises for their monthly meeting. The spokesman of the association, Mr Tijani Rasheed, in a statement said: “The meeting is in continuation of our resolve to assist in the development of our alma mater. The meeting will start by 12pm.”

be further deepened in our students. They will be encouraged to get ready in time for the bus and in so doing get to school on time. "And while on the bus to or from school, or travelling to and from school events, they will have the time to further bond together, reflect on their work and exchange useful ideas. "One of the unique characteristics of our administration’s programmes is that they ensure the empowerment of the people. This explains why no single household in all of the state is without positive testimonies of the impacts of our programmes on them," Aregbesola said. He added that the buses will provide comfort and ease for students and parents and create employment for those who will be driving the buses. In her remark, the Deputy Governor, who is also the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Grace Titi Laoye-Tomorri, noted that the provision of the buses is another demonstration of government's commitment to providing quality and qualitative education for the children. She charged the students to make the best use of the buses and maximise the opportunities the buses afford them. The Managing Director of Sterling Bank PLC, represented by Mr. Ademola Adeyemi, Regional Business Executive, South-West (2), said the bank finds it profitable to partner government in providing the buses. Adeyemi noted that Sterling Bank will continue to partner government in realising its noble programmes. He enjoined all the stakeholders to make judicious use of the scholar buses to benefit all. One of the beneficiaries, a student of St. Mark Anglican School, Osogbo, Miss Olatunji Oluwakemi, commended the governor for making education one of his administration’s top priorities. Oluwakemi said Aregbesola's government has made a lot of impact such as the provision of Opon Imo, free school feeding, free uniforms, building of ultra-modern schools as well as construction of roads. She implored the people of the state to vote wisely by returning Aregbesola to continue his laudable programmes in the state.

OVERNOR Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has assured that the Iseyin-Owode-Palace Road currently being dualized will be completed by October, even as he promised to construct a befitting palace for the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III. The governor gave the assurance while addressing the people of the state at the arcade of the Alaafin in Oyo town yesterday. Governor Ajimobi had earlier joined Oba Adeyemi, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mrs. Monsurat Sunmonu, members of the State Executive Council and other dignitaries to observe the Jumat Service at the Ansar-Ud-Deen Central Mosque in the town where he admonished the worshippers to continue to support and pray for the success of his administration. He told the mammoth crowd who had thronged the palace to welcome him to the ancient town that work on the dualization of the Oyo township road was a bit delayed due to variations in the projects and some other logistics. Although he said the road

Six killed in Osun bank robbery

IX persons were killed on Thursday evening by a gang of armed robbers in an attack on Wema Bank in Modakeke, the headquarters of the Ife East Area Office in Osun State. Investigation revealed that a cleaner of the bank located at the Iraye area of the town who was among those killed by the robbers was said to have been mistaken for a policeman because of the black dress he was wearing. The robbers numbering five were said to have escaped from the robbery scene before the policemen and soldiers in the Swift Action Squad (SAS), who responded to a distress from the bank, arrived. The robbers were also said to have killed five other passers-by with dynamite which they threw at them as

project was initially billed to be completed by August, he, however, assured that it would be completed latest by October. The governor also disclosed that the contract for the radio station being proposed for Oyo town named Atiba FM would be formally awarded next week, adding that government had concluded negotiations with some Chinese partners that would handle the project. He promised that the radio station, when it eventually comes on stream, would have the latest broadcasting equipment that would make it a reference point in broadcasting in Nigeria. Governor Ajimobi also promised that the popular Atiba Hall, rehabilitated by the immediate past administration, but which is currently in a state of disrepair, would be rehabilitated and made befitting, while rehabilitation work had already reached an advanced state at the Durbar Stadium. He said the two waterworks in Oyo town were currently being expanded, adding that when completed, they would be working at 95 per cent capacity and that the whole of the town would have regular water supply.

Adesoji ADENIYI, Osogbo they were being pursued. An eyewitness, who preferred not to be named, said the robbers exchanged gun fire with the police while they charted an escape route out of the town. According to him, the robbers abandoned their vehicle and escaped with the gun wounds into the bush near Modakeke High School. The Public Relations Officer for the Osun State Police Command, Mrs. Folashade Odoro, confirmed that six persons were killed by the robbers. Odoro, who disclosed that no arrest had been made as at the time of filing this report, said the policemen were combing the bush in order to apprehend the hoodlums.

Ikeja gets regent

OLLOWING the passing on of Oba Rauf Adeniyi Matemi Amore, the Olu of Ikejaland in Lagos State, the Council of Ikeja Traditional Chiefs yesterday announced the appointment of Prince Adekunle Isiaka Apena as Regent. The announcement was contained in the minutes of the meeting by the council to ratify the appointment of the new Regent. The Minutes was signed by the Chairman of the council, High Chief Lateef Yussuf Apena, and Secretary of the council, High Chief O. TitiThomas. Prince Apena, who is a lawyer, was selected after the council had completed the required traditional rites for the late Oba Amore. The Minutes read in part: “Deliberations exhausted on the next line of action and

way forward by the surviving traditional chiefs present and welcomed nomination from amongst the royal chieftaincy family within and outside the council to enhance a suitable candidature for the stool and a quicker and smoother transition. “Having deliberated on modalities and qualifications of those intending and considerable nominees from the Amore Royal House to the coveted stool of the Regent as previously agreed upon that such position be zoned and preserved for the deceased royal family as decreed traditionally in 1998. “The Council of Ikeja Traditional Chiefs deliberated and resolved that: Prince (Barrister) Adekunle Isiaka Apena be the Regent to the vacant stool of Ikejaland and with immediate effect from yesterday (July 18) and without any hindrance whatsoever and from any quatres.”

6 NEWS

HE Northern sociocultural group, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has warned that the ongoing controversy over the issuance identity cards to Nigerians of northern extraction in in the Eastern part of the country could endanger the multi-billion naira investments of Igbo businessmen living in the north. It will be recalled that Northerners doing business in Imo State were allegedly being registered by the state government in preparation for issuing them identity cards, following the Boko Haram insurgency. The ACF also expressed the fear that the country may be envloped in crisis along ethnic lines if it decides to carry out a similar action against the Igbo who are resident in the north. While the forum maintained that there was nothing wrong with issuing identity cards, it condemned the plan to target a section of the country for the registration, stressing that everybody deserved the identity cards if it is

THE NATION,

SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

Issuing ID card to Northerners in East, threat to Igbo investment in North —ACF

Abdulgafar ALABELEWE, Kaduna

done in good faith to achieve a goal. Addressing members of the South-South/SouthEast Arewa Coalition who paid a courtesy call on the ACF yesterday, the Deputy Secretary-General of the forum, Engineer Abubakar Umar said statistics available to the forum indicated that Igbos’ investments in Kaduna, Kano, and Jos alone amounted to N45 trillion. Umar said with such huge investments in just three states of the north, Easterners have no reason to maltreat northerners doing businesses in the east. He said: “If the table turns round, it could be disastrous, as these investments may suffer for it. But we are praying for understanding among Nigerians, for us to accept ourselves wherever we live to earn legitimate

means of livehood.” He explained that Yoruba and Igbo people in Jos, capital of Plateau State, lost N480 billion and N410 billion investments respectively to the 2011 post election violence, adding that the South-South also lost N970 billion in the same crisis. “We know these statistics; we have these statistics, so we expect the Igbos to treat our kinsmen, our brothers and sisters in the East as kings and queens, in view of the fact that they (Igbos) have more invest-

ments in the north than in the East. “Take Abuja, the Federal capital territory, for example, Igbos occupy over 73 percent of the land, so these are some of the reasons why they should be everybody’s keepers in their place,”Umar said. Earlier, the leader of the Coalition, Mallam Awwal Yusuf, told the ACF that northerners were doing business in fear in the east, and called on the ACF to intervene, because, according to him, “every trader or Muslims from the north is

considered a Boko Haram”. Yusuf said the Arewa Coalition has gone to court on the issue of identity card in order to seek justice and be freed from undue molestation in the hands of the people in the area. “We are so embarrassed with this issue of identity cards. Why should it be only traders or Muslims from the north that should be identified. We have taken the case to a court in Enugu and we are that the state governor, Sulivan Chime, is ready to help us by sending his lawyer to stand for us,” Yusuf

said. In his closing remarks, the ACF Secretary-General, Col. John Ubah (rtd) reminded the visitors that the ACF was established to protect the north and its people, saying that whatever happened to any northerner anywhere was always considered a serious issue. Col. Ubah said, “It is very sad to brand our people as Boko Haram in the East. But we want to tell you that we have not been sleeping; we will go through the northern governors to address the issue.

Infrastructure Bank 2013 profit before tax hits N875m

HE Infrastructure Bank Plc, recorded a profit before tax (PBT) of N875 million in 2013 compared with N82 million achieved in 2012. This is an increase of N793 million, according to the Chairman of the bank, Alhaji Lamis Dikko. Speaking at the bank’s 3rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, Dikko said that the bank’s total expenses in 2013 stood at N757million as against the N586 million recorded in 2012. He attributed the growth to the bank’s strength of transaction advisory offering; ‘one-off capital cost’ and well-managed operational cost. According to him, the bank remained optimistic on the economic outlook, adding that all the indicators projected continuous growth trend of the past decade. Dikko also said that Nigeria had continued to attract high level of foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in spite of the nation’s security challenges. He was optimistic that the Federal Government’s reforms and investment in the energy, agriculture and manufacturing sector would lead to significant job crea-

tion in the country. He also added that the key enabler for the growth was the provision of improved and increased infrastructure. Dikko said that the mandate to act as an advisor and fund arranger to the Federal Government showcased the bank’s potential in serving as a partner of choice for both the public and private sectors. Also speaking, the bank’s Managing Director, Mr. Adekunle Oyinloye, said its profit impacted positively in its current earnings per share of 54 kobo in 2013, compared with 20 kobo recorded in 2012. Oyinloye said that a key highlight of the year under review was the increase momentum in the transaction advisory and fund arranging business that represented tangible evidence of the bank competitive advantages. He also said that the continued demand for infrastructure assets nationwide and the need for the delivery though alternative financing method through its project opportunities, supports the belief that the current trend was sustainable. “The micro economy environment remains stable and promising.”

Senator Tinubu greets Dare at 70

ENATOR Oluremi Tinubu, representing Lagos Central Senatorial District, has congratulated prominent newspaper columnist and journalism teacher Prof. Olarunji Dare at 70, saying the birthday is a landmark worth celebrating. “Your sterling achievement in the fields of academics and journalism will continue to inspire many towards aspiring excellence,” Mrs. Tinubu wrote in a birthday felicitation letter she per-

sonally signed. ”As a newspaper columnist, you have contributed in no small measure towards enlightenment and understanding of social and developmental issues in our society,” she said. Wishing Prof. Dare many more years of good health and fulfilment, Senator Tinubu noted that attaining “the septuagenarian age is a testament of God’s abiding grace” towards the celebrator.

•From Left: Acting Company Secretary, Infrastructure Bank, Mrs Jumoke Delano; Chairman, Board of Directors, Alhaji Lamis Dikko and Director of Finance and Administration, Mr Taiwo Dauda, at the 3rd Annual General Meeting of the bank in Lagos yesterday

SSANU-LASU threatens to shut down varsity over members outstanding promotions

HE Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, Lagos State University (SSANU) Lagos State University chapter, has threatened to shut down the university if the management fails to resolve the lingering outstanding promotion of its members. The union, which is seeking promotion of its members for the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 sessions respectively, is alleging double standard by the Governing Council in its approach to the union’s ongoing strike action. The Nation gathered that discussions between SSANU-LASU and management have been rosy until ASUU-LASU suspended the strike on Monday, with SSANU now hinging its fate on the Council meeting, which was supposed to hold last week Tuesday. The Chairman, SSANU-LASU Com-

•Alleges double standard •Council has taken a decision…Mgt. Adegunle OLUGBAMILA

rade Saheed Oseni, had earlier told our reporter that the Council’s decision would determinate the union’s next line of action. Prior to that, the members had been involved in skeletal services. However, the matter took a turn for the worse following the cancellation of the Council meeting. Our reporter gathered that neither the Vice Chancellor, Prof John Obafunwa, nor the Registrar, Akin Lewis, attended the meeting. They were said to have sent representatives, a decision, which The Nation gathered further infuriated the Chairman of Council, Mr Olabode Augusto. With the development, SSANU-LASU called a congress where the Regis-

CORRECTION

The Chief of Staff to Edo State Government House, Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon, was wrongly referred to as Commissioner of Information in a photo caption in yesterday’s edition. The error is regretted — Editor

trar, who is also a SSANU member, reportedly addressed the gathering, saying Council could not address the issues because the Congress representatives of SSANU were not in attendance. Oseni said the union smelled a rat, adding that their members, whom the Registrar claimed were not in attendance, called him on phone to intimate him of the VC and Registrar’s absence. ”We felt bad and cheated,” Oseni said. Speaking further, he said: “We believe that if there are similar issues affecting every union on campus, all should be treated equally. If the Council attended to ASUU issues, then it behoves on them to attend to SSANU too. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. “We suspect the Council is trying to use divide and rule tactics here. But we are giving them till Thursday next week to address our issues; otherwise we will shut down this university. It is going to be a full blown battle. Nobody should

marginalize us, because we are as important as ASUU. We are also going to draw the attention of all stakeholders to our cause.” LASU PRO, Kayode Sutton, said: “It is true that some members of SSANU scored over 65 (benchmark for promotion) in the 2011/2012 promotional exercise; but Council looked into it and realised the university did not have enough vacancies to fill them in. Besides, Council observed it had no financial muscle to cater for them. So they have been advised to sit for the 2012/ 2013 exercise. “Unfortunately, many of the members did not sit for the exam based on advice from the union leadership, which claimed the 2011/ 12 promotion was yet to be treated. Those who went and passed have been promoted accordingly. Therefore, Council advised that those who did not make it should sit for the 2013/ 2014 promotional exercise. Nonetheless, we are urging SSSANU members to resume to work in the interest of all.”

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

COMMENTARY

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President Hollande at our Centenary Celebration promised to help Nigeria fight terrorism but he has not gone to sleep over it. If anything the French have decided to take the bull by the horn and not go to sleep while there is obvious fire on their thatched roof in the region and that is why their president is on site to see things for himself

Impeachment, credibility and security N Nigeria this week the big news was the swift impeachment of Adamawa state Governor Murtala Nyako, his disappearance into hiding and the impending impeachment of Governor Tanko Al – Makura, in Nasarawa state where the legislators in that state have adopted the route taken by the Adamawa state house of Assembly in routing Nyako from office with brazen impunity. Of course the charges against Nyako were corruption charges and in the declared war by the federal government against corruption this would seem a step in the right direction in the anti corruption drive of the Federal government. But the there is infinitely more to the impeachment drive and charges than meets the eye as a cloud of credibility ominously darkens the horizon in this regard. First, the governors of both Adamawa and Nasarawa namely Murtala Nyako and Tanko Al Makura were allies of the Nigerian president and leader of the ruling PDP before they defected to the newly founded opposition APC which for now is the major headache of the PDP as it prepares for the 2015 elections in which the incumbent President is expected to declare his candidature any time from now. The impeachment drive would therefore seem like a good weapon for now to kill two birds with one stone for the ruling party. The first objective is to maim the opposition by crippling its number of state governors using impeachment as a weapon of power acquisition at and intimidation state level and political control nationally. The second is to assert at the federal level like the late Murtala Muhammed usually said in the anti corruption rhetoric that characterised his purge of the civil service then, ‘this administration will not tolerate indiscipline, this administration will not condone abuse of office. ‘ So in effect then for Nigerian governors in the opposition the fear of impeachment is the beginning of wisdom as we head towards the 2015 presidential, state and gubernatorial elections. But then the PDP or the Federal government has forgotten that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones and that in the two pronged strategy it had adopted in winning the 2015 elections, namely military policing of elections and impeachment of opposition governors, it is behaving like the proverbial ostrich that buried its head in the sand thinking that nobody can see its body. Which is such silly folly which I will illustrate vividly here today with some events that happened just this week. These events were first the reaction of the international community to the Nigerian president’s $Ibn request to the National Assembly to approve for the upgrade of the equipment of the Nigerian Army to fight the menace of terrorism plaguing Nigeria called Boko Haram. The second was the reaction of former Minister of Defence retired General Theophilus Danjuma to the setting up of another massive fund namely Victims Support Fund to take care of the victims of the Boko Haram horror and their dependants. The third was the visit of the French President Francois Hollande

to West Africa, first to Ivory Coast, and Nigeria’s north easterly neighbours Niger Republic and Chad. Definitely I intend to use these events to illustrate the title of the day and show that the world at large is not deceived by the dubious fight against corruption in Nigeria and that that people can see through the veiled, kid’s glove being used to fight terrorism and are ready to counter this approach rather than sink with it. Let us start with the $ 1bn request for military equipment by first admitting that the expenditure is indeed very much required and needed. But what of the time and manner of its presentation? That certainly was in bad taste and a danger to our collective security. This was a request that should have been made confidentially to a closed joint session of the National Assembly and not on the public domain as was done Now the contents of the expenditure and the stated need of them can only gladden the stony and bloody hearts of Boko Haram as an admission by the government that the terrorist have really vanquished the Nigerian military such that it is now scavenging for funds to fight terrorism both at home and abroad. The public presentation can also dampen the morale of our military who are risking their lives to protect all of us as they would be wondering what to expect of them between now when they are ill equipped and the time the equipment would arrive for their use. To me this was like telling the terrorists to wait till our military is ready for confrontation with them which smirks of benign, avoidable negligence and a form of surrender which was not intended in the making of the public request for expenditure. Unfortunately as I was typing this piece I got the news that that National Assembly has gone on its usual two month vacation and is due to resume in September without considering the president’s urgent request for the $ 1bn to fight Boko Haram ,and this raises further questions. Do the Federal legislators not believe the urgency in the request? or do they not believe that the money will be used for the purposes stated? or again, is it the case that they not take the issue of Boko Haram serious enough that they can leave their approval hanging till September by which time the Chibok girls may still be missing because the military is not equipped to fight Boko Haram or find the 200 abducted Chibok girls? A sickening stench of levity and nonchalance reverberates around this urgent and unattended $Ibn request of the president and the legislators certainly owe the Nigerian public and electorate an explanation if and when they resume in September. For now one needs to compare this apparent legislative neglect with the pungency and urgency in the speech credited to retired General Theophilus Danjuma before the Nigerian president at the setting up of the Victims Support Fund Committee to get funds for Boko Haram victims. General Danjuma reportedly said that the war against Boko Haram was taking too long and that he called it a civil war before but people thought he did not know what he was saying and the they called it insurgency. Danjuma said the committe will not go to the Sambisa forest where the terrorists are operating except the President is ready to lead them

‘

there a Commander in Chief. Danjuma said the war should be won immediately as Boko Haram seem to be having the upper hand for now. Obviously, Danjuma a Nigerian Civil war hero knows what he has seen and heard on the handling of the Boko Haram crisis and if he had his way, given his utterances before the president, he would not be seen dead with the present approach in high places to contain this bloody terrorism destroying Nigeria so brazenly before our very eyes, like Wole Soyinka would have said. This Danjuma warning can also be compared with the views of our American friends especially in their Congressional hearings where US legislators are treated to information that the Nigeria military is so corrupt that the huge $6bn budget for defence has been diverted for non military purposes by the the top brass such that not enough money gets to the battle front to buy arms and ammunition for fighting terrorism. The authorities in Nigeria should debunk such information publicly and urgently if they are not true instead of keeping mute and thinking that such stories will just go away. Definitely they will spread like a virus on the internet instead. Next the visit of French President Francois Hollande to Ivory Coast, Niger and Chad on security matters has a story on Nigeria’s strategy on fighting security and terrorism in the region. President Hollande at our Centenary Celebration promised to help Nigeria fight terrorism but he has not gone to sleep over it. If anything the French have decided to take the bull by the horn and not go to sleep while there is obvious fire on their thatched roof in the region and that is why their president is on site to see things for himself. The French certainly have serious concern on terrorism in the Sahel and that is why their president will visit Niger and Chad our neighbours in the NE of Nigeria. Given the latest vacillation and delay in approving expenditure to equip our military there is every likelihood that France will give equipment and military aid to Niger and Chad such that Boko Haram will flee those nations and intensify its death grip on our NE states. Before, our military usually pursued terrorists on our borders in the North East far into Chad and Niger with impunity that put the fear of God into such terrorists such that they never return. Nowadays the reverse is the case as our borders have become porous such that Boko Haram, like Danjuma lamented, now choose where and when to strike in our entire North East of six states with three under a state of Emergency. Obvously the French are not forgetting their former colonies because of deep economic and historical ties. Their president is in our backyard in the region to show the Francophone nations that they are not alone in fighting terrorism especially as the giant they usually relied on to take the lead has for now developed feet of clay. Definitely the French policy on fighting terrorism in the three nations their president is visiting is that a stitch in time saves nine which is infinitely far superior for regional security than delayed expenditure on urgent military equipment and legislative vacation in the middle of a civil war that we still call insurgency.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

COMMENTARY

Malala’s ‘bulala’ and a President’s ‘koboko’ T is really amusing that the two-day visit of the Pakistani girl child education advocate, Malala Yousafzai, to Nigeria has suddenly reawakened the dead conscience of those who have, for over three months, remain so insensitive and utterly indifferent about the fate of more than 200 girls that were abducted from a secondary school dormitory in Chibok, Borno State. For so long, these innocent girls were left to their agonising fate in the hands of heartless abductors. I had watched, in utter stupefaction, how our ever-busy Very Important Personalities were grovelling to share the moment with the 17-year-old strong-willed girl who has given a whole new meaning to hope amid the suffocating misery in our country. No doubt, Malala’s inspiring story and her presence in Nigeria on her 17th birthday to push for a more humane interest in the plight of the Chibok girls couldn’t have come at a better time. Her outspokenness, candour, courage and determination to soldier on despite a failed attempt to cut short her life should rekindle hope in a society that has almost sacrificed the abduction saga on the altar of political shenanigans. Perhaps if the members of the Bring Back Our Girls Movement had not persevered in spite of the intimidation, subtle blackmails and direct assaults by agents of government, Malala wouldn’t have been here to question our humanity as a people. Not that she said anything different from what some concerned Nigerians and the much vilified Chibok girls’ protesters have been saying. Just that, unlike the crying Nigerian citizens whose voices always irritate the powers-that-be and who rarely get audience, Malala had direct access to The Presidency and she truly seized the opportunity to pump some hot truth into some dead ears. Interestingly, her host giggled as the soul-searching words kept pounding. It was one body-piercing whiplash that the presidency absorbed with shocking equanimity. Just picture a scenario where a toddler was chastising adults for failing to live up to the expectations of a doddering infant! When Malala spoke about her mixed feelings of hope and heartbreak, we perfectly understand where that is coming from. The only problem here is that we’ve spent too much time in the theatre of heartbreak to ever imagine the possibility of hope for a new dawn. Yet, for a girl of her age, she did ask the right questions and did not hesitate to press the right buttons no matter the discomfort that may have caused some people. Listen to her: “One important thing about today was my meeting with the President, Mr Goodluck Jonathan. I met him today and I told him that I hear the voices of my sisters. I’m representing my sisters and their parents today and if you are the elected President, you need to fulfil your responsibilities and your responsibility is to listen to your people, who are saying bring back our girls. Luckily the President assured me of two things. He promised that the government will chose the best option to bring back the girls alive and safe. And the second promise he made, which is very important, is that he will meet with the parents of those girls that are abducted and I’m hoping that he will fulfil it. I’m hopeful that the President will meet you soon because he made the promise to me and to you Nigerians.” Thankfully, no one ordered that Malala should be arrested for calling the abducted girls her sisters. No one asked her to justify how she could have heard the ‘voices’ of girls whose parents had not seen in over 90 days. No one questioned why she flew all the way to Nigeria to dabble into an issue that does not concern her. No one accused her foundation of being a ‘franchise’ for demanding that a President walk his

Knucklehead With

Yomi Odunuga E-mail:yomi.odunuga @thenationonlineng.net SMS only: 07028006913

talk. Of course, it was obvious she did not come alone to Nigeria. She came with the backing of the international community. So, there was no need to ask her if she had evidence of the abduction. By the way, that’s on a lighter note. Question is: did Malala say anything that is fundamentally different from what the Bring Back Our Girls Movement has been asking for? No! Yet, in less than 24 hours after making a request, Aso Rock's Protocol Unit was able to fix a hush-hush presidential meeting with the 12 parents of the abducted girls that graced the Malala parley and five out of the 57 girls that escaped from the abductors on the night of April 15, 2014. Now, that was a record-breaking speed for an entity with snail-speed protocol for common citizens. What could not be done in more than 90 days was achieved in hours just because Malala made her request in the full glare of the international media! You can’t help but ask if these were the same parents whose integrity was once questioned by powerful forces that fell short of accusing them of conniving with the Borno State Government to manufacture an abduction saga that never took place. And when the Boko Haram sect decided to taunt us with the traumatic video of the abducted girls following which some of the parents identified their wards, didn’t some presidential apologists accuse them of wailing crocodile tears on national television to attract international attention? Did The Presidency not botch a scheduled visit to Chibok, ostensibly to share the grief of the parents and assure them of a safe return of their children? In those 90 days of anguish, terror, fear and hopelessness, what did these persons do to assuage the parents that they are not alone in that tortious mental journey? I am truly tickled by the fire Malala’s words has ignited in Mr. Jonathan’s soul. I’m also dumbfounded by the speed with which he has swung into action even before Malala boarded the plane back home. While not taking his eyes off the orchestrated gale of impeachment in some states in addition to the second term endorsement visits to the seat of power, Jonathan has equally managed to focus attention on the Boko Haram challenge. He has rescheduled a meeting with an enlarged gathering of the Chibok parents sometimes next week, we were told. He has set up a 26-man Victims Support Fund Committee headed by Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd) which would raise money from wellmeaning donor agencies and Nigerians with the aim of bringing succour to victims of terror in whatever way possible. He has also promised victory against terror. Those who believe a persistent bashing of the Bring Back Our Girls movement would do the magic have upped the ante. Leaders of the protesters have been maligned, abused and demeaned all in a bid to douse the cry for a return of the girls. Interesting development, isn't it? Most importantly, our President has issued an impending whiplash for the insurgents should they persist with the harvest of killings, maiming and bloodletting. He promised them hell.

Hey, does that sound familiar? With the speed of light, he had dispatched a letter to the National Assembly asking for approval of an external borrowing of $1billion dollars (about N160 billion) to equip our Armed Forces and sundry security agencies. The $1 billion, it must be stated, is different from the almost trillion Naira appropriated for the security agencies in the 2014 budget. If approved, it means money wouldn’t be a problem in this seemingly endless battle against a sect with nerve-wracking fire power. The only problem is the persistence with which our leaders throw money at problems, only to benefit a few contractors and fronts within an opaque system. The President’s brutally frank letter titled “Tackling ongoing security challenges: Need for urgent action" read: "You are no doubt cognizant of the ongoing and serious security challenges which the nation is facing, as typified by the Boko Haram terrorist threat. This is an issue that we have discussed at various times. “I would like to bring to your attention the urgent need to upgrade the equipment, training and logistics of our Armed Forces and security services to enable them more forcefully confront this serious threat. For this reason, I seek the concurrence of the National Assembly for external borrowing of not more than $1 billion including Government to Government arrangements for this upgrade." I know some people have already rolled out the drums to felicitate with Mr. Jonathan on this smart move to raise money with which to fight terror. But can we pause for a while to ask what the security agencies did with the billions appropriated in the past for the same purpose. Has there been any forensic audit of the Armed Forces to determine if they have judiciously utilised resources for the benefit of the state? Was the Borno State Governor right when he said the insurgents are better equipped than our military and could that be the reason for this urgent need to borrow billions of naira for “equipment, training and logistics to forcefully confront this serious threat” as espoused by the President? What is the mode of payment for this loan and at what percentage? How are we sure that the money would not be diverted for other use as 2015 inches near? And what is the government doing to block the route through which funds get to the insurgents? In a country where laws are obeyed in the breach and where billions of subsidy cash ‘evaporate and condense’ into private pockets, it is not impossible to imagine that a meagre $1 billion could as well suffer the same fate. With Armed Forces that could not be said to have forcefully distinguished itself as the bastion of integrity and sheer professionalism, it would be foolhardy for anyone to sign off a billion dollar loan to a government which has a record of flip-flopping even on the basic issues of taking responsibility for defending helpless citizens or empathising with them. Whatever it is, it is intriguing that Malala's biting questions have led to a rush of fire brigade strategies. We can only hope for the best as the Commander-In-Chief wields his ‘koboko’ to tackle a clear and present danger. For now, Danjuma’s rude joke about the committee’s terms of reference not extending to a visit to Sambissa Forest without the Commander-In-Chief leading the troop is not on us. The joke is on those who allow terror to overwhelm an entire nation. Clearly, we are not laughing on this side until we see how far the presidential ‘koboko’ can go to rein in terror.

Estate residents spend N1m to fix roads OWON Estate Community Development Association, Lagos on Friday said that it had spent about one million naira to fix roads in the

estate. The estate is located at Ipaja, near Lagos. The Chairman of the association, Mr Nathaniel Okoro, told journalists in Lagos that the amount was expended in the first quarter of this year. He noted that the deplorable condition of roads in the estate, prompted residents to put resources together to repair the roads. Okoro said that the roads had become an eye-sore and death-trap for residents. ``All the roads in the Gowon Estate have collapsed. There is hardly any motorable road in the estate. ``The situation is getting worse every raining season; it gets worse than the year before and the problem of the residents increase every year. ``We buy gravel, laterite and do manual labour by ourselves to fix the roads and that is the only reason why we can go out and come in. ``We have raised about one million naira in June to fix some roads and that is the trend over the years.’’ According to him, the estate, built during FESTAC 77, has not witnessed any maintenance. He said that if government should delay further, it would take a caterpillar to drive through the roads because of erosion on the roads.

The chairman lamented that efforts made annually to seek help from the Mosan Okunola Local Council Development Area and the Lagos State Government had yielded no result. He said that the council and the government had been dodging the maintenance of the estate on the ground that the estate was a Federal Government property. Okoro, however, argued that both the local and State Governments had no excuse for not fixing the roads because civil servants in the estate paid taxes to the state. According to him, the situation has been affecting the socio-economic activities of residents. He said that the deplorable state of the roads had also been increasing maintenance cost of vehicles. Also speaking, Mr Abayomi Abaniwonda, a bar owner in the estate, said that half of the entire road network in the estate had been washed away by flood. Abaniwonda said that the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) had failed in its duties. `` The estate’s roads are of serious concern to taxpaying residents, when it rains you can’t move unless with a-four-wheel vehicle,’’ Mr Nicholas Ohabuenyi, a spare parts dealer added. Meanwhile, the Chairman of Mosan Okunola Council, Mr Abiodun Mafe, said that the council did not neglect the estate deliberately.

He said that most residents of the estate were paying tenement rates to the FHA, instead of paying to the Lagos State Government. ``There are perceptions in the mind of the people that the fund in the Local Government is too enormous, they have the mindset that we deliberately abandon them, which is not true. ``The estate is being controlled by FHA which collects rates, the only rate that we collect in the estate is trade permit and we maintain their entire environment and keep it tidy. ``We have not shied away from our responsibility we are doing what the laws permit us to do with available resources. ``We do not have enough resources to maintain entire roads and FHA is the architect of the dilapidation of the estate because all revenues go to them,’’ the chairman said. Mafe appealed to the residents to pay tenement rates to the state by virtue of the Land Use Act, which he said, gave the state the custodian of the land. The LG boss also urged the FHA to release revenues generated from the estate to maintain infrastructure and make it habitable for people. ``The trade permit rate payable to the council is used to maintain some roads, clean the environment and cart away refuse.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

COMMENTARY 9

Bigger threat to humanity S we watch man threaten its very existence with its inhumanity to itself, our focus is very dangerously taken off a bigger peril. While we plant bombs and launch arsenals in a bid to win unwarranted wars, a silent war against the human race is being declared by an even bigger threat to humanity. An ongoing epidemic of the Ebola virus is spreading throughout West Africa. The world’s deadliest Ebola epidemic is currently ravaging many communities in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, among others. So far, the World Health Organization has reported a total of 888 Ebola cases, including 539 deaths since February this year. In a statement, the organization expressed how dire the situation has become by labeling it a ‘precarious’ one which had surged at an unprecedented rate. Figures released by WHO in April indicate that there have been 157 suspected cases, including 101 deaths. Essentially, what we are witnessing is the slippery slope that has the potential of leading to the most severe outbreak of Ebola ever recorded in recorded history, both in the number of cases and fatalities. In Liberia, there have already been 21 cases, including 10 fatalities, of which five have been confirmed as Ebola. Mali has seen nine suspected cases with tests showing that two of them did not have the virus. Also, one death has been recorded in Ghana since the outbreak started. Various organizations, including the US Center for Disease Control, European Commission and ECOWAS, have been donating funds and have mobilized personnel to help counter the outbreak. Heads of West African governments have met under WHO auspices and have agreed on a coordinated regional strategy. However, much more is needed in terms of effort, cooperation and funds and much more is required from every single person living in the West African region, in terms of awareness. Ebola was first discovered in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). The virus is named after the Ebola River where one of the first recorded outbreaks occurred. Bats are believed to be largely responsible for the Ebola virus. Studies have shown that the virus was originally transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission, with fruit bats of the ‘Pteropodidae’ family considered to be the natural host. The largest-ever outbreak was in 2000-01 in Uganda, with 425 cases, about half of whom died, according to WHO estimates. From the time the virus was identified in humans, pharmaceutical researchers have been unable to develop an effective drug or vaccine to combat the disease. The treat of Ebola cannot be underestimated by any of us or by the governments within the region of West Africa. It is a ruthless killer; one of the world's deadliest viruses, killing up to 90 percent of those infected. Much like so many other incurable and harsh diseases before it, the public seems to be somewhat carefree about learning the facts of it at a time when it can be controlled. Granted, at this very point, the Ebola virus is a huge threat to all of humanity but, at this time, it is also a threat that can be brought under control because the epidemic is still in the early stages. We must protect ourselves from Ebola. And we can do so by first knowing the facts about the virus and doing everything possible to prevent its spread. We

must empower ourselves with knowledge of the symptoms to look for and our government must immediately start a nation-wide awareness scheme. The disease itself is contracted through contact with infected blood or through the exchange of body fluids from an infected person or animal. Early symptoms of the disease include, fever, headache, chills, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, sore throat, backache, and joint pains. Later symptoms include bleeding from the eyes, ears and nose, bleeding from the mouth and rectum, eye swelling, swelling of the genitals and rashes all over the body that often contain blood. It could progress to coma, shock and eventually death. Presently, there is no vaccine or specific treatment for the Ebola virus but anyone infected must be admitted into hospital as soon as possible if they are to have any chance of survival. The view of Ebola from Nigeria is extremely disturbing. The news that the virus has reached Ghana, where a single US citizen was reported to have been infected, is one that Nigerians and the government needs to take very seriously. Presently, there has only been that single case reported in Ghana, but that one case is all the warning we need! The question now is; exactly how prepared is Nigeria to prevent and combat this scourge, in the event it needs to? Is the Federal Government equipped enough to forestall or limit the Ebola plague if indeed it needed to do so? The fact that the Federal Government is currently inundated with a profound level of insecurity in the nation, primarily by murdering, blood thirsty, evil and crazy insurgents; does it have the wherewithal to preempt such a potential plague? Proactively, other countries across West Africa have already begun bracing themselves against the spread of the epidemic, with countries like Senegal closing the border it shares with Guinea. Liberia and Guinea are

‘

The view of Ebola from Nigeria is extremely disturbing. The news that the virus has reached Ghana, where a single US citizen was reported to have been infected, is one that Nigerians and the government needs to take very seriously

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now currently doing all they can to try and control the virus from spreading further. While Nigeria has not reported a case of Ebola, the Federal Government through the Minister of Health, Oyebuchi Chukwu, recently admitted that there is a real threat to Nigeria judging by the rate at which the virus has been moving. The Minister said, despite the threat, preemptive measures, such as the production of information leaflets, have been taken by the Federal Government. If so, that measure is just not adequate enough in preventing the entry of the deadly virus into the nation’s borders. It is outrageous to think that the mere sharing of leaflets is adequate enough to fight an uncompromising killer like Ebola. The problem of our porous borders must be addressed, not only to combat security but monitor the influx of disease as well. A ferocious awareness and sensitization campaign, giving the public information on the risk factors and protective measures of Ebola, through mainstream media, social media, in hospitals, schools, markets, industries and government offices must be launched with immediate effect. The awareness campaign has got to be educative and shocking, particularly in pointing out that the virus is highly infectious and has no known cure or vaccine. Furthermore, the government should ensure that health workers and practitioners have all the information they need in addition to providing them with extra protective gear such as gloves. While we ponder on the sub-regional scourge of the Ebola virus, its fatal effects, the current threat to Nigeria and the realization that there is no known cure for the disease, halting the spread of the virus must involve every Nigerian. Everyone should be alert, involved and be on the lookout for any signs of the disease. Everyone should do their bit by learning more about Ebola, protecting themselves, ensuring that their environments are cleanly maintained and also improving on personal hygiene, like washing hands often. We must all maintain methods and practices of disinfection, cleanliness, observation of contacts, rodent control and precaution in any interaction that requires the exchange of bodily fluids. Infection can occur through eating fruits that have been contaminated with by bats with the virus. As a result, it is vital to wash every fruit before eating. Likewise, the creative manner in which some Nigerians devour bush-meat has to be carried out with utmost caution, because if we have learnt anything from these kinds of diseases, it is that their natural reservoir is usually wild animals, especially wild monkeys and wild rodents. For now the Ebola virus is yet to visit Nigeria; one hopes it stays that way. One also hopes the spread of the virus in other West African countries can be brought to a complete halt. As individuals, we each have a responsibility and duty of care in disease control. Let us invest our time into learning about the Ebola virus, let us each make an effort to stop its spread. So while man-kind faces the threat to its very existence through the self-inflicted bombs, missiles and wars it imposes on the human race, it would be worth our while to unite and battle the bigger threat currently to humanity… the threat of the Ebola disease.

7,318 Nigerian students studying in U.S. —Official HE United States Embassy in Abuja says 7,318 Nigerian students are studying in more than 700 universities and colleges in that country. Mrs Jennifer Onyeukwu, Head, EducationUSA Advising Centre (EAC), said this in Abuja on yesterday during the pre-departure ceremony for those leaving for studies in the U.S. Onyeukwu said no fewer than 150 students were preparing to leave for studies in the U.S by August. She added that 80 per cent of them were given full or partial scholarships by the schools. ``The total, right now, of Nigerian students studying in the U.S is 7,318 at undergraduate and graduate programmes. ``This fall, which is Aug. 2014, we are sending more than a hundred students to study in the U.S., over 80 per cent had some form of scholarship or financial aid from schools in the U.S.” The official also said there were 22 scholarships under U.S Achievers’ Programme, ``which recognises academically stellar students who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. ``We give them the opportunity to compete for the few slots available. ``With the USAP programme, we help the students identify U.S colleges and universities that would offer them admission with full funding.

``Fifteen of them have got admission with full funding”, she said. Onyeukwu added that six students out of those given full scholarship funds had scholarships from the MasterCard Foundation. ``MasterCard Scholarship is a separate kind of scholarship that is given by the MasterCard Foundation in partnership with U.S colleges and some of the universities around the world. ``The six students under the MasterCard Scholarship received 311,140 dollars annually for four years." She said the foundation had earmarked 500 million dollars for ``economically disadvantaged young people” in sub-Sahara Africa desiring to further their studies. She said the scholarship was for a 10-year period and targeted students with academic talent, commitment to giving back and leadership potentials. Onyeukwu also said the EAC, the education advisory arm of the embassy, sought to use its platforms to appropriately advice Nigerian students who desired to study in the U.S. She added that the embassy and its consulate in Lagos organised free orientation sessions in their communities and outreaches in schools and universities in

the country to sensitise students on available study opportunities. A few students who were granted full scholarships to the U.S spoke to reporters . Hannatu Sadiq, who participated in the USAP, was one of the beneficiaries of the MasterCard Scholarship. ``The ECA officials came to our school n 2010 and I picked the courage from there to work hard and give them what they required and I got into USAP in 2013. `Ì’m on MasterCard Scholarship to Michigan State University to study Chemical Engineering and I’m grateful for this opportunity because now my parents don’t have to pay anything for my tertiary education.” Also, Moses Onyeabor, another MasterCard Scholarship beneficiary going to study biochemistry, expressed his gratitude in an interview . `Ì got to know about the USAP while I was in the School for the Gifted and I decided to give it a try. `Ì applied to seven schools and finally got admission into three universities but Arizona State University gave me a MasterCard Scholarship which covers everything including a living stipend.” Nigeria is the largest sender of students to the U.S from sub-Sahara Africa and students in 2013 received 2.9 million dollars’ worth of scholarship funds from top notch institutions.

THE NATION

SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

THE NATION

SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

Society

OLATUNJI DARE @ 70

• Prof. Olatunji Dare (middle) being assisted by Afenifere chieftain Chief Ayo Adebanjo (left) and Chairman of the occasion, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma to cut his 70th birthday cake at the MUSON centre, Lagos on... Thursday

General Editor, The Nation, Mr. Adekunle Ade-Adeleye(left) and a member, Editorial Board, The Nation, Mr. Segun Ayobolu

• Online Editor, The Nation, Mr. Lekan Otufodunrin(left) and Executive Editor, Tell Magazine and Master of Ceremony, Mr. Ademola Oyinlola

•Member, Editorial Board, The Nation, Mr. Kunle Abimbola ( second left), Prof. Dare and Abimbola’s daughters

• Chief Executive Officer Tom Associates, ,Mr. Abiodun Toki(left) and Editorial Consultant, The Guardian, Mr. Lade Bonuola

• Prof. Dare and Ms Ayo Obe

• Hon. Wale Oshun (left) and Dr. Femi Orebe

• Mr. and Mrs. Gab Owope Photos by Dayo ADEWUNMI

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

CRIME & OTHER STORIES

olukunle87@yahoo.com

Blame our parents for our woes —Suspect

•The suspects

20-year-old robbery suspect, Oladumoye Yemi, has blamed his woes on his parents and government.

Yemi and one Olamide Kolawole (24), a native of Okitipupa, Ondo State, were arrested by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of Lagos State, for robbing a

n Ebele BONIFACE n woman (name withheld) of N16 million. Recalling their involvement in the alleged crime for which they were arrested, Yemi said: “I am a Baba Ijebu (lottery) agent and I have my kiosk in Ikorodu, a suburb of Lagos.

“It is not my fault that I am arrested for armed robbery. Although we are robbers, we don’t use gun. We snatch handbags, wallets and phones from people. “We were not given basic education by our poor parents and government too did not provide work for us. Life was becoming unbearable for us. We could not eat well and we slept under the bridge because we did not have money to secure better accommodation, hence we took to robbery. His accomplice, Kolawole, narrated how they carried out the last operation before they were arrested. He said: “We are an eleven-man gang. We were only armed with cutlass. We went to rob a house somewhere in Makoko, a suburb of Lagos State. We went there at about 11 pm on a particular Sunday. “When we got to the house on that fateful day, three of us stayed outside while the remaining members entered the compound. They saw the woman and collected her N16 million and came out. They did not beat her. They gave me N3, 000 and gave Yemi N5, 000. “When we protested, they told us that it was their own work and that they gave us small money because we merely assisted them to carry out the operation. “Well, it was not our work. It was a combined work. One Rasaki and his friend, Ayo, came from Ajah. They were going to rob before they saw us coming back from a party that day and asked us to join them. “They were the ones that had cutlasses and gun, not me or my friend, Yemi. We are street boys and we are always involved in street fights. Our parents did not sponsor our education and we do not have jobs, but we are not armed robbers.”

Lagos may reopen murder charge against monarch

NDICATIONS emerged during the week that the murder and torture case filed against a Lagos monarch and five others may be reopened soon. The accused persons include the Oba of Ayobo, Idowu Arole Ojo Ijo; Chief Nojimu Tiamiyu; Mujideen Anisere; Tajudeen Balogun; Yusuf Adeyinka and Dayo Akinrinade. The accused persons allegedly caused the n Kunle AKINRINADE n abduction of about 12 people who were taken to the Oba’s palace on July 10, 2008. careful review of the available facts in the duThose abducted were allegedly beaten plicate file, this office is of the considered opinand tortured on the orders of the Oba right ion that a prima facie case of conspiracy to in his palace. Two of the victims, commit murder and Abiodun Oyejobi a.k.a Ololo and contrary to Muritala Jinadu, were said to Those abducted were murder section 324 and have lost their lives as a result of allegedly beaten and 319(1) respectively of the torture. tortured on the orders the criminal code The matter was reported to the C17 Vol. 2 Laws police and a suit was filed of the Oba of Ayobo Cap of Lagos State 2 003 against the accused persons at an right in his palace. Two are disclosed against Ebute Metta Magistrate Court. pages B1-B6 of case While the case was going on, of the men, named file namely: Oba the police sought the advice of Abiodun Oyejobi (a.k.a Arole Idowu the Lagos State Department of Chief Public Prosecution (DPP) in a Ololo), Muritala Jinadu Ojoio(B1), Nojimu Tiamiyu letter with reference number were said to have lost (B2), Mojudeen B.3514/X/FHO/ABJ/VOL.2/61, (B3), dated January 18, 2010. their lives as a result of Anisere Tajudeen Balogun The DPP in its reply with refer(B4), Yusuf the torture ence number Adeyinka (B5) LJP/HOM/2010/13/59, dated and Dayo Akinrinade (B6). July 1, 2010 recommended that ”upon a

In a twist, the case was allegedly withdrawn by the Deputy Director, Public Prosecution, Mr O.O Eboda on January 11,2011. The family members of the victims however forwarded a petition to the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, asking for a revisit. The petition, signed by a member for the family, Chief Moroof Owonla, includes the footage of the scene of the torture. A source who spoke in confidence with our correspondent said: ”The issue is very sensitive and that is why we are taking our time on it. The video footage

and photographs of the alleged torture are bizarre. As a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, our governor has zero tolerance for injustice.” Responding to our reporter’s enquiries on Thursday, the Director of Public Prosecution, Mrs. Olabisi Ogungbesan, said: “It is not wise for me to give out the details of the case on the telephone, given the sensitive nature of my position . “The case you mentioned was filed during the regime of the former Attorney-General and there is need for me to check the file in order to be able to update you properly.”

ʻ I was arrested because my friend was found with a gun—Robbery suspect

Ogun customs seizes N.5b goods from smugglers n Kunle AKINRINADE n HE Ogun Area Customs Command has intercepted about 314 smuggled goods estimated at N 507,427,909. The Area Controller of Customs in Ogun State, Comptroller Haruna Mamudu, ascribed the seizure to the diligence of his men during operations. “The success recorded in the anti-smuggling operations is attributable to more commitment to duty and due diligence adopted by officers in the field and the right leadership provided by the management of the command.” “The result is the huge number of seizures being recorded on a daily basis. For the second quarter of 2014, 314 seizures with Duty Paid Value(DPV) of N507,427,909 were made compared to 194 seizures with DPV of N205,227,728 recorded in the same period in 2013. “These seizures include vehicles, frozen poultry products, rice, shoes and other sundry products. It is noteworthy that the Economic Community of West Africa(ECOWAS) Protocol Transit Trade on imported vehicles which was officially flagged off a couple of months ago has been applauded by stakeholders. “Also, there has been astronomical increase in the number of vehicles handed over by the Beninnoise customs. This also affected the revenue collection on imported vehicles. •Some bags of rice seized “To this end I want to send a note of warning to smugfrom smugglers glers in Ogun State to drop their illicit trade and look another trade other than smuggling.” vehicles. Indeed, for the appraisal of our second quarter for Mamudu also disclosed that a total of N1.6 billion was rethis year, the revenue realized stood at N1, 653, 505,168 as alised as revenue in the second quarter of 2014. against N1, 361,727,788 recorded within the same period in He said the revenue was largely generated from excise 2013.This shows a progressive revenue collection difference duty and vehicle registration. of N291,, 777,380. “The revenue was largely realised from excise duty particularly from the free esidents of Meiran and Abule Egba, two trade zone in Igbesa and registration of Lagos suburbs, are currently living in fear

•Some of the victims

as a result of incessant attacks by robbers. A cross section of residents who spoke with our correspondent called on law enforcement agents to save the two communities from the grip of the hoodlums. A resident of Moshood Bello Street, Meiran, who asked not to be named, said: “Last Thursday, a four-man gang raided houses in this area from midnight till the wee hours. They dispos-

Ogun revokes community’s registration certificate HE Ogun State Ministry of Community Development and Cooperatives has revoked the certificate of registration of Ejigun-Agbede Community Development Association of Itele, near Ota, citing unwholesome activities of its leadership. The revocation is contained in a letter signed by one S.A Tanimowo on behalf of the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, dated July 1, 2014. A copy of the letter addressed to the chairman of the association, Mr. Sunday

•The suspects

robbery suspect, Akeem Takulu (20), has claimed that he was arrested by the police because they found a gun in his friend’s pocket, Azees Moshood, during a raid on an Indian hemp joint at Ikotun, a suburb of Lagos. He said: “I am a welder. We went to smoke Indian hemp at Panipaja area of Ikotun, not knowing that operatives of the Special AntiRobbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command would carry out a raid on the area. “When we sighted the police, we scaled the fence. Unfortunately, we jumped into the waiting hands of policemen at the back of the perimetre fence. Akeem explained further how he and his accomplice were searched by the vigilant minions of law. “The policemen said we looked like one of those criminals they were looking for and they asked us to identify ourselves. We told them that we were innocent boys going home after playing football at a nearby open field. We also lied to them that we were not hemp smokers. “They initially asked us to go, only for

“Therefore, I make bold to say that since I assumed office as Ogun State Controller in December 2013, the command has witnessed meaningful progress, improved revenue collection, trade facilitation and high number of seizures.

Robbers terrorise Lagos community n Kunle AKINRINADE n

sessed innocent residents of cash and GSM phones among other valuables.” Another resident, who identified himself simply as Adetoye, explained that some parts of the community had been under the siege of hoodlums for about three months now. “For the past three months, the hoodlums have

been raiding some streets in Olota and Captain areas, and we are currently living in fear. Most times, the hoodlums would have gone before the arrival of the police.” The spokesperson of Lagos State Police Command, Ms Ngozi Braide, could not be reached for comments at press time as her cell phone was switched off.

n Ebele BONIFACE n them to change their mind and subjected us to rigorous search. They searched me from head to toe but nothing incriminating was found on me. “Our trouble started when they searched Azeez and found one locally made pistol on him and they arrested us. I did not know that Azeez had a gun on him. “I am not an armed robber. If I knew that Azeez was carrying a dangerous weapon about, I would not have had the courage to follow him to the joint. “I am not a robber; I only went to smoke Indian hemp at the joint. Please tell them to release me.” In his own defence, Azeez said: “I am a bus conductor. I went there to smoke. The gun they found in my pocket belongs to one of our gang members called Gbenga. He gave it to Akeem who in turn asked me to keep it. “He is a bad liar. The truth is that we have not robbed with it. It belongs to our friend, Gbenga. It was the influence of the marijuana we smoked that made us to accept to keep the gun for Gbenga.”

n Kunle AKINRINADE n Arowomole, and obtained by our correspondent, reads in part: ”Based on your uncooperative and unwholesome attitude towards the community development associations in your area, notice is hereby given that the above named certificate of registration issued on 5th October, 2005 is hereby withdrawn. “In view of the above, I am directed to inform you that you and your cohorts are hereby warned to desist from parading yourself as chairman and members of Ejigun –Agbede Community Development Association.” “Stringent measures will be taken against you or any pther person flouting this directive, the strength of this, you and your association are hereby ostracized from Ogun State Community Development Council.” In a telephone conversation with our correspondent, Arowomole, however, denied the revocation of the association. “I am not aware that the association has been proscribed by Ogun State government. However, I am no longer the chairman of the association.”

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

There wouldn’t have been Boko Haram if MKO had been president —Jamiu Abiola Jamiu Abiola is Bashorun M.K. O Abiola's fifth son. An accomplished entrepreneur, Jamiu is the third son of late Hajia Kudirat Abiola. He holds the revered title of Shetima Rasheed of Borno Empire, a title his father held for 15 years before his death. Jamiu recently took time off his tight schedule to write a book, entitled Realistic Hope. In this interview with PAUL UKPABIO, Jamiu speaks about his passion for writing, his father and other issues. Excerpts: OU’VE just written a book, entitled Realistic Hopes. What inspired the book and why ‘Realistic Hopes’ published in Arabic and English language? Well, for a long time, I have been doing research, a lot of reading in languages like Arabic, Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese and French. And one day, I just thought about writing a book, and I liked the idea. I have been into language study since I was nine years old when I learnt Arabic. Back then, I would go to the Saudi Arabian Embassy on Awolowo road, Ikoyi, Lagos, and I would discuss with the ambassador. While in primary school, I started reading their newspapers and magazines. So, this is something I have been doing for about three decades now, reading and studying. That was how I decided to write a book. Realistic Hopes is a book that is primarily political, romantic and full of drama. It is a book about greed; about carrying the youths along. It is a book about political stability. It is a book about different development policies. It is not a book that tells people ‘do this, don’t do that’. If you read about the characters, you will know who you want to be like in life and you will choose any of the characters you want to emulate. So, I give the reader the choice to choose who he or she wants as a hero or heroine. The book gives the reader a lot of flexibility. But the reader will eventually know who is right and who is wrong, and which side of history he or she wants to be. When did you realize that you have the talent to write? If you want to write, the first thing you have to do is to do is to read. The reason why a lot of people fail as writers is because they failed as readers. So, I spend a lot of time reading. That is what I do at my bed time and as a hobby. Business is to earn a living, but my leisure, recreation and hobby is languages and writing. This is the second part of me and it has always been. I didn’t want to jump the gun or put the cart before the horse. So, the first thing I did was to read, something I have done consistently for years. I started writing the book in September of last year, during the month of Ramadan and I finished it in less than forty-five days. The Arabic version has 340 pages, which was the first one I wrote before I translated it into English. And the English version has 304 pages. What is the next thing the people should expect from you? I am working on a second book, entitled The Prisoner of Conscience. It is going to be out in the next one and a half months. I would also be discussing similar issues, social issues. I am not criticizing anybody or abusing anybody. All I want is for us to get it right socially. And I always choose countries that have similar problems with Nigeria. The first book, Realistic Hopes, is about class struggle; the poor and the rich. The poor boy wanted to marry a rich girl. Though he is very bright with lots of potentials and promising qualities, but because of the social values and social challenges, he met with obstacles. The second book, Prisoner of Conscience, is related. There are serious issues that actually stop people from progressing. These are the issues which are addressed in these books, and I hope that the reader gets something out of it, so that we can use it to make the society better. It is when the society becomes better that we can have good politics. If the society is bad, then the politics can never be right. The plots and characters in the book are majorly Arabs, particularly Egypt. Why did you choose to write the book from an Arabian point of view? All along, we have been

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My father was very passionate about turning around the predicament of the majority into fortunes. My father had the manual, and he knew what he was going to do because he himself was a very poor man who ascended to the position of success through the charity of other people

hearing that the world is a global village. So, I thought instead of hearing it, it is time for us to start acting it. The fact is that I am multi-lingua; I am somebody that is very vast in different languages and cultures. So, it is important for me to take this step and write about a country that is similar to the country I come from. I did not want write about Nigeria and let the people say that ‘he is writing because of this experience or that experience’. I don’t want the people to look at the personalities involved in the book or the writer. I want them to look at the issues, which I believe Egypt and Nigeria have a lot in common. Both countries are highly populated. Egypt’s population is almost as much as the one we have here. And the problem that Egypt is facing is also similar to the one we are facing. Of course, Egypt is going through a lot of political tension; it is the same with Nigeria. We have tribal and ethnic tension as well. So, I chose a country that has a

•Jamiu Abiola

lot to do with Nigeria in terms of similar problems. And I think this book can be helpful to Nigerians if the people can read and absorb it well. 21 years after June 12, Nigeria is still battling with the problem of corruption, leadership and insecurity. Do you think thing may have been different if your father had ruled Nigeria? One is not God, but I believe to a large extent that Nigeria would have been better than what it is now. What happened was that when MKO was not allowed to become president, a lot of things that were already on course to happen did not happen. And unfortunately, the person that became president was Abacha. Shonekan was only there for a couple of days and I don’t even think he was in control. So, Abacha now became president, and knowing his antecedents, he wasn't one to be put in charge of money, talk less Nigeria! He didn't know the workings of the Ministry of Finance, about the CBN or all the complex economic challenges. So, at the end of the day, the whole country went down. So, definitely the crop of leaders who ruled in place of my father messed up the economic profile of the country. When Abdusalami came, you know how the foreign reserve dropped from eleven to two billion dollars. So, definitely there couldn’t have been a better brand than MKO. But thank God, his legacy is there for all to see. He is a hero.

What would you say is responsible for the Boko Haram problem? It is quite unfortunate that we have Boko Haram with us today. But again, that was one of the major areas MKO was going to invest in. My father was a lover of charity and he did that across Nigeria. The testimony is still there for the whole world to see. My father believed that with political power, he could change the fortunes of the common man and he was so passionate about doing exactly that. He was going to make food the simplest commodity for everyone; he was going to create large scale farming for the nation to feed, he was going to make education very cheap for all Nigerians. My father’s philosophy was that education shouldn’t be a privilege, but a birthright of all. If you are born in Nigeria, just like America, you should be able to earn yourself the best education in the world at the cheapest rate, as government was to subsidize education. My father was very passionate about turning around the predicament of the majority into fortunes. My father had the manual, and he knew what he was going to do because he himself was a very poor man who ascended to the position of success through the charity of other people. Maybe today, we won’t have Boko Haram bombing people, we won’t have Boko Haram kidnapping poor innocent children and keeping them for weeks and still counting. The country missed an opportunity with MKO and that is the sad fact. How do you feel losing your parents to the struggle? Well, what pains me the most is the thing that I have just said. Another painful part is how some people go about using Chief MKO’s name to score political points. These people have not even come to this family house in the last ten years, yet they go about bragging and blabbing that they are representing Chief MKO Abiola. And these were people, that when Chief MKO Abiola was alive, all they cared for was to use his name to make deals. They went to Abacha and revealed the secrets of Chief MKO to him, then when things did not work with Abacha, they started fighting him. They are opportunists and that is what surprises me the most. What does June 12 mean to you? It means a lot to me. But it is unfortunate that at times some people make some stupid comments which make me to start wondering if it was worth it. But again, that is the stupid side of man that is showing up. But definitely, I thank God that there is more commendation than condemnation. I was very upset when some people were making trouble over the renaming of UNILAG two years ago. But now I have come to terms with the fact that June 12 is a beautiful thing. Today, we are celebrating it, these people would go and hide somewhere, they resurface again after the whole celebration has gone down. But I wish them luck. It is quite surprising how your family has kept on the relationship with civil rights groups and political activists over the years… Cuts in… Yes, the civil right activists have been quite supportive. I was here in this house and they came to celebrate Chief MKO Abiola the other day. They were here to celebrate my mother too. Some of these people have not taken any political position or positions in government. Some of them don’t even have any money to their names. Their worth is more than a lot of people who talk about Chief MKO Abiola or use his name to score points. They are the real people that really struggled for democracy, they are not opportunists. I feel very comfortable with them and I believe that

•Jamiu and children

as time goes on, people like that would be recognized and given opportunities to serve. Do you have more friends in the political space now than when your dad was around? I won’t really say I have so many friends in the political arena. But there are few ones whom I admire and appreciate for their genuine act of support and sincerity. People that are not opportunists, it might interest you to know that people like Senator Bode Olajumoke has a lot of love for Chief MKO Abiola. It might interest you to know that people like Chief Bode Olajumoke fought hard to get Chief MKO Abiola released. These are the kind of people that I respect, because they did all that in the background, not to score any political point. He did so much and I pray that God would continue to bless him. Are you saying it was only Chief Bode Olajumoke that did that much for MKO? I am not saying he is the only one that fought for him to be released. But I am only saying he is one of those people who are very courageous, yet discreet in their actions. They didn’t do it so that people can see them and praise them. Chief Bode Olajumoke is of the ruling party. Are there no people in the opposition that helped the family for the sake of your father? Of course there are people like that in the opposition. When you say ‘help’ I am not looking at it that way. I am looking at people that lived and stood for what Chief MKO Abiola died for. A classical example is Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola. The way he is working is definitely reflecting the ideals and beliefs of Chief MKO Abiola. What he is doing is actually what Chief MKO Abiola would have done. If you say the APC has the majority in the south west, it is as a result of what Fashola is doing in Lagos. How does the declaration of June 12 as a public holiday in the south west make you feel? I am very happy about that. The only thing I am a little bit upset about was the UNILAG thing. I would have loved it if all the APC governors had come together and tell the students that this man you are talking about fought for democracy and gave you the right to even go out on the street. If they have a problem with the President, they should have said for now, because of what he has done for Chief MKO Abiola, we are not going to take him on. But that did not happen. Everyone kept a sealed lip and it was not funny at all. But I am happy with the honour done to MKO with a special holiday. Musa, the lead character in your book was from a poor and wretched home, but he rose to become a minister. How did you come about this character considering your own background? Musa in the book is similar to the character of Chief MKO Abiola. Musa was somebody that was hard working and he was hopeful, honest and very kindhearted. So, he just tried his best and he left the rest to God. And when God decided to help him, He helped him through divine intervention. So, in other words, when you read the character of Musa, and you follow him very well, the closest you are to him, the more chances you have to be successful. That is what I want Nigerians to get out of him; that at end of the day, light will always overcome darkness. Is there a correlation between your dad’s “Hope 93” and “Realistic Hopes?” Yes, as a matter of fact, the interesting thing about hope is that hope is something like a medicine. Hope

can also be a poison. Hope becomes a poison when it is not realistic, because apparently, that is when we say somebody is living in a fool’s paradise. But when hope is realistic, then it becomes a medicine. But if it is not realistic, it becomes a form of poison. That is why Realistic Hopes is telling people that whatever your hopes are, make them realistic. It says if you are a Muslim and you go to Mosque and pray to God to help you, you can’t say ‘God, I want to jump off a sky scrapper, help me to fly’. You would first of all check if you have the strength, then pray to God that ‘this is what I have been doing, this is where I have gotten, please help me, I can’t carry on’. That is when your hopes become realistic. And by the grace of God, your prayers will be answered. A lot of people have given up hope. Most people, I call them DPWDead People Walking, you see them with smiles on their faces, but deep down, their heart is broken because all the heroes they look up to didn’t amount to anything. That is why you see that some people may be drug barons, they come back, go into politics and grow to the higher side of the street. You also have the good people that we used to look up to when we were young; they are the ones that ended up on the lower side of the street. So, at the end of the day, people need to be encouraged, they need to see dynamic transformation. They need to have their hopes realized. And that is why I chose that word “Hope” and I choose the word “Realistic”. Who is your publisher? The publisher of the book is called Arab Scientific Publishers (ASP); they are the biggest publishers in the entire Middle East. When Barrack Obama wrote his book in Arabic, he wrote it through them. Even George Bush and some of the elite statesmen of America use them. So, this book was first launched in the Arab world and the storyline and setting was taken from Egypt and published in Arabic with an English edition. So, right now, I am about to sign an agreement with one of the biggest publishing houses in West Africa and I am going to give them the right to publish the book here in West Africa.

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A classical example is Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola. The way he is working is definitely reflecting the ideals and beliefs of Chief MKO Abiola. What he is doing is actually what Chief MKO Abiola would have done

•Jamiu and wife

THE NATION SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

Ebolah hemorhagic viral Health Matters disease - quick facts F With DR MIKE OYAKHIRE 08170268670

email: drmikeoyakhire@yahoo.com

irst cases of Ebola appeared in 1976 in Sudan and in a village near the Ebola River, Democratic Republic of Congo, from which the disease takes its name. By June 2014, Guinea recorded 390 patients including 270 fatal cases and 260 laboratory confirmed cases, Sierra Leone reported a cumulative total of 158 clinical cases of Ebola hemorrhagic disease (including 147 laboratory confirmations, 34 of these being fatal cases, and Liberia had reported 51 overall clinical cases of Ebola hemorrhagic viral disease , including 34 laboratory confirmations, and 34 fatal cases. It is probably the most deadly and mysterious viral disease, to appear on earth either from outer space or from silos where it is stored probably with the small pox virus, Marburg virus and others for use later as a biological weapon of mass destruction. No one knows if the Human immune deficiency virus has been similarly weaponized. Mysterious because it kills it's victim, quickly and anyone involved in trying to save the victim and all persons involved in the burial of a victim are also killed .It is similar to the Marburg viral disease but different antigen and genetic properties It belongs to the Filoviridae family of multishaped non segmented , negative sense , threadlike single stranded RNA viruses Genus Ebolavirus is 1 of 3 members of the Filoviridae family (filovirus), along with genus Marburgvirus and genus Cuevavirus. The Genus Ebolavirus comprises 5 species: Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV) Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV) Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV) Tai Forest ebolavirus (TAFV). Reston ebolavirus (RESTV) Case fatality rate (number dying out of all confirmed cases) is very high 80-90% Like most viruses inactivated by household bleach(hypochlorite) It has no known vaccine and drug treatment is

hopeless once bleeding phase sets in Outbreaks occur commonly in the rain forest regions of villages in West and central Africa. During outbreaks, nearly all the animals in the forest are likely to have their blood, and body fluids teeming with the virus The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-tohuman transmission.- sexual intercourse, kissing, hand to mouth through contaminated food, drinks, vomitus etc SOURCE OF INFECTION Do animals act as reservoir ? this again has not been settled and so the reservoir for Ebola virus remains a mystery; animals are now believed to be accidental hosts .The natural host of the Ebola virus- Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family. In Africa, fruit bats, particularly species of the genera Hypsignathus monstrosus, Epomops franqueti and Myonycteris torquata, are considered possible natural hosts for Ebola virus. The following associations have also been documented .- Chimpanzees and Gorillas.- EBOV and TAFV species and Macaque Monkeys( Macaca Fascicularis )- RESTV TRANSMISSION Close contact with blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals. Handling and preparing infected and dead Antelopes , Porcupines Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Fruit Bats And Monkeys, Human transmission, Direct .- with the blood, secretions, tissues, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, Indirect .- contact with environments contaminated with such fluids. Contact with body or bath water of a person killed by the virus Persons recovering from the disease , through sperm, semen, vagina fluids, menstrual blood for up to 7 weeks after recovery from illness. Who are the People at risk? Veterinary Doctors

Bioterrorism research scientists Biochemical warfare scientists Hospital staff Pig farmers Those who keep pests Hunters , buyers and sellers of bush meat particularly Monkeys, Antelope, Deer, Chimpanzees etc Mortuary attendants Embalmment technicians pathologists , birth attendants ,etc SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS symptoms The incubation period; the time interval from infection with the virus to onset of symptoms, is 2 to 21 days, median being 21 days. Unlike what is found in Lassa fever, symptoms of EVD usually begin suddenly and commonly those travelling for business to places where outbreaks have been recorded should please take note. Two phases have been recognized, based on presence or absence of bleeding Phase one.- mild fever, severe headache, body rash, weakness, muscle pain, pain in the joints, diarrhea, vomiting, pain in the abdomen, with or without swelling, soreness in the throat, with difficulty in swallowing even of water. Phase two,- high grade fever , redness covering the white of both eyes, bleeding into the gums, bleeding from the vagina, nose(epistaxis), melena(frank blood in stools) , dark stools vomiting of blood, also of altered blood( vomit Bourn vita like fluid), internal bleeding blood stained urine(hematuria), yellow-green discoloration of the eyes and the inability to make urine despite adequate fluid intake appear when the liver and kidneys are affected. â&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;Ś. to be continued

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

Oil companies operating in Nigeria have total disrespect for the environment of the local communities —Chairman, NOSDRA, Lancelot Anyanya

•Anyanya

N a recent interview on the CNN, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was taken up on the issues of oil theft and spillage in the country. Somehow, these issues have become a sort of national embarrassment. What is your agency doing to tackle these problems? Oil spillage has been for over fifty years, during which Nigeria has been involved in the commercial exploitation and exploration of oil. It will seem, however, that awareness about the problem of oil spill and the impact on public health, public safety and the wellbeing of our community has only just begun to come to the fore a few years ago. As it were, the impact is because of the agitations of elements in our communities within the Niger Delta who have borne, with equanimity, the devastating effects and impacts of oil spill for many years. So, it is to be expected that, not just the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, but indeed any top ranking Nigerian official, would be taken to task on the issue of oil spill. But I would like to note that beyond the financial impact on revenue from oil theft, there is a more devastating, more inherent impact on the public health and public safety, because every time oil thieves operate, due to the nature of their activities, they have very little, indeed, no regard for the environment, and this often results in oil spill. Now the challenge we have is there are scenarios in which some of the operators in the industry try to escape their responsibility and obligation to the Nigerian state, to their host communities and to humanity. Here, I speak of their responsibility to execute their business in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner, which they try to avoid by attributing oil spills to oil theft. I think that we cannot argue the fact that not every case of oil spill is the product of oil theft. On account of that, I find it rather escapist and disingenuous that every time oil companies are taken to task on the issue of oil spill, they try to attribute it to third party causes. What we do as an agency and NOSDRA, as I understand it is that, regardless of the cause of oil spill, NOSDRA’s mission, commitment and mandate is to ensure that we create an environment in which there is zero tolerance for oil spill. This is in recognition of the impact on public health and public safety and other dimensions of our national lives, including the security issue that oil spills pose. Since coming on board, we have worked closely with the management within the limits of the resources available to try to reengineer and reposition the agency. One of the things we have done, for instance, is to try and make the agency activities more known to the public. I hold the opinion that part of the reasons it will appear that the agency has not gotten the right pride of place that it should have is because of the minimal public awareness as to its existence and the criticality of its task to our overall way of life and survival as a people. How would you react to the general belief that NOSDRA can only do as much as the powers that be allows it, especially with the duplication of agencies carrying out same responsibilities? First, let me define that NOSDRA is a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Environment. We recognize the fact that the responsibility for the environment, particularly for the oil environment, is one that we are quite happy that we share with other agencies. That explains why the board of NOS-

Before his appointment as the Chairman of the Board of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Major Lancelot Anyanya (rtd.) had long been one of Nigeria's leading voices in security matters and intelligence. In this interview with YOMI ODUNUGA and FRANK IKPEFAN, Anyanya looks at the dynamics of oil spillage, its crushing effect on the local community and national security. He also hints at a likely foray into politics and why he believes President Goodluck Jonathan deserves a second shot at the presidential slot. Excerpts: DRA is one of the very large boards in government, because we have representations from all segments of the stakeholders, both from within and outside the government. For instance, you have the representatives from the ministries of Petroleum, Aviation, Transport and Defence on our board. The reason is because, in managing the challenges of oil spill and responding to the crisis that oil spillage can create, you need to draw resources from across the broad segment of government and society. So you have representation from even non-government entities sitting on the board of NOSDRA, including the organised private sector, represented by the oil producers’ trade section, which is supposed to provide industry perspective to what we do as a board. At the end of the day, I want to worry less about who does what vis a vis what gets done. I will be more interested in the fact that the job gets

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Those things that happen here do not happen anywhere else in the world, not even in the least developed country in the world. There is nowhere you will see the abysmal disregard, total disrespect for the environment that goes on here in the world

done rather than worry about who takes the credit for the job getting done, because when we discuss the issue of oil spill, it is not about agencies jumping to claim credit. Is NOSDRA fully empowered to discharge its mandate? Yes and no. We do recognise that there are limitations. One of them is the very nature of the law that sets up NOSDRA as it is now. It is in recognition of that that the law is undergoing an amendment process that has gone through the second reading in the National Assembly. As I have often done, I will still use this opportunity to appeal to our distinguished and honourable members of the National Assembly, the Senate and the House of Representatives Committees on environment, to speedily conclude the very fine work they have done in amending the NOSDRA Act, and to bring it in line with contemporary realities. Because as you would appreciate, what goes on in the oil environment here, in terms of oil spillage and pollution, I have argued, happens only in Nigeria. And this is where I want our brothers in the oil industry to start, because some of them go across the world on cross postings, and as Nigerians, they understand that those things that happen here do not happen anywhere else in the world, not even in the least developed country in the world. There is nowhere you will see the abysmal disregard, total disrespect for the environment that goes on here in the world. So this is the real challenge. And the appeal that we have always put out to the industry is to look beyond the economics of it and to understand that there is life beyond money. The government has so far refused to honour the $1b compensation for Ogoni by the UNEP report , don’t you think this can encourage oil firms to disregard NOSDRA's directives on compensations and other matters? There are two issues here. One is the issue of compensation regime in cases of oil spill, which I think belongs to the realm of the legal framework that governs such relationships. Like I told you, we believe there are flaws in the NOSDRA Act as it is. And that is why appropriate organs of government are working to give effect to the amendment that will bring that Act into conformity with the current challenges and global best practices. The other issue is the issue of the UNEP report on Ogoni. The UNEP report on Ogoni has generated a lot of interest, and understandably so. It might interest you to know that the UNEP report does not refer only to the Ogoni territory. It refers to other areas that are adjoining the Ogoni territo-

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014 ry, because as you know, the rivers are interconnected and the impact went beyond Ogoni. My community is grievously affected, greatly impacted, and it is also mentioned in the UNEP report. I know that there has been specific pronouncement regarding government’s commitment to, not just address the implementation of the UNEP report, but to address the wider issues of oil spills across the region. President Goodluck Jonathan is committed to implementing, not just the UNEP report, but to also ensure that the people of the Niger Delta and all other oil producing communities do so in a manner that does not force them or compel them to sacrifice their very existence. I think that is why we are getting the kind of leadership, vision, and guidance from the president and this administration. Having said that, I want to state it here that the specifics of the UNEP report are not as people often portray them in the public domain. I think that we have to recognise that the issues are complex. So there are strong sentiments that underpin this issue. It is therefore understandable that the implementation of the UNEP report requires delicate planning, because it is not just about going in to clean the place. There are issues relating to the dynamics of community relationship, such as how are you going to engage them and where are you going to start from? I know, for instance, that in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) a special project has been created to address that issue. How much of politics is involved in the efforts to resolve oil spill disputes among the various stakeholders, including the communities, oil firms and NOSDRA? I don’t think it is so much of politics. You have to understand that the stakeholders have distinct interests. For us in NOSDRA, we see ourselves as an impartial arbiter and broker of relationships. We work for the community, we work for the industry, and we work for the government. So, we work for everybody. Our mission is to build solid relationships among these stakeholders with a view to ensuring that we can access these God-given resources, but not at the expense of the lives and survival of •Anyanya the people in those communities. The people in those communities do not have to view the production of oil as a curse to them. That is our mission at NOSDRA. There are the dynamics of inter-communal relationships. So whenever you want to take a government or non-governmental intervention to communities that have a history like that, you need to be properly prepared. Except you do that, you might miss out on the softer issues that don’t often present themselves forcefully at the beginning of the problem. So, planning is key, because even the process of trying to recover the environment through the use of appropriate technology requires interface with the community. You need to engage robustly with those communities. You need to communicate with them. Besides, oil spill issues are not only in the Niger Delta. They occur across the length and breadth of Nigeria, as has been reported in the media. For example, the pipeline infrastructure conveying oil from areas where they are produced to the refinery in Kaduna and other areas across the country also create their own challenge of oil spills. For instance, around Lokoja and Abaji, you have issues resulting from oil spill. We have oil spill in Ogun and Lagos states. Oil spills occur everywhere and NOSDRA’s mandate is nationwide. I find it necessary to make that clarification. Our mandate is not restricted to the Niger Delta. It just so happens that the Niger Delta is the epicenter of oil and gas production and understandably they have the biggest chunk of oil spill. Corruption is at the bedrock of most of the problems in Nigeria. For an institution like NOSDRA, would you say the officials are adequately empowered such that they can ignore financial inducements and discharge their responsibilities without fear or favour? First, let me say that we cannot hide from the fact that there are challenges in the execution of our mandate, just the same way every institution of government or society faces challenges. One of the challenges is that NOSDRA is a relatively young institution created in 2006. I know that the workforce only just increased not too long ago, shortly before I was appointed as the chairman of board. Do we have sufficient manpower to execute our mandate optimally? The answer is clearly no. Can we afford the size of the manpower that we need? We have to match that against the availability of resources on the part of a government that has to cater to several other things in the society. I believe that the current workforce in NOSDRA is professional, very patriotic, and passionate to do its work. I have met them a couple of times and I am proud of the quality of the people who are there. I am extremely proud of the work that they do and continue to do in very difficult circumstances. I have no reason to believe that they are not sufficiently sensitized to the professional and moral imperatives of their assignments. The protocol put in place for the work that NOSDRA does makes it difficult for you to be compromised. A typical scenario from what I understand is that if an oil spill occurs, there will be a joint investigation visit undertaken by NOSDRA personnel, personnel of the oil company whose facility is closest or most affected, the state ministry of environment, the local government, and the community. In that context, you will need to compromise all these people to hide the truth. That will mean that those who represented the community will be complicit. We have never had such incidence. While I remain chairman of this board, if it comes to our knowledge as a board that anyone of our personnel or staff is involved in any unwholesome practice by

either being complicit or being negligent in the exercise of their responsibilities to the extent that it is our responsibility as a board to do so, we will apply the fullest weight of the law as provided for to ensure that such misdemeanor does not occur. As chairman of board, I can speak of my director-general, a very fine man who is committed, very passionate and who happens to understand the science of it. His understanding drives the passion in him because he believes and knows that we are sitting on a very dangerous situation. I do not think that, at the level of leadership, that we will condone even the slightest iota of compromise on the part of our personnel. Do you have any instance in which compensation was paid through NOSDRA? I became chairman few months ago and I am still learning. I know that NOSDRA has done a lot to resolve issues between communities and operators. In terms of payment of compensation made, I know that I may not speak to such specifics with strict accuracy. However, I do know that there is a feeling that the oil companies have not done too well in terms of payment of compensation. And like I often say, the issues often bother on allegations of who is culpable and arguing that if it is the third party that is culpable, maybe they should not pay compensation. Again these are issues that reside within the premise of the legal framework, because as government institution and people in a lawful society, we must operate within the premise of the law. And where the law is inadequate for exigencies that we meet as we go on, then we go back to the appropriate remedies available to us, and that is

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So, we work for everybody. Our mission is to build solid relationships among these stakeholders with a view to ensuring that we can access these God-given resources, but not at the expense of the lives and survival of the people in those communities

what we are doing by pursuing the amendment of the NOSDRA Act. Can you recall any event in which NOSDRA sanctioned an oil company that failed to pay compensations to a community affected by oil spill? I have said that NOSDRA cannot act outside the law that empowers it to act. So there are issues with our laws. My summary of it; I am not a lawyer and I am not an environmentalist per se, I am a fan of the environment, is that I am passionate about the environment. But I respect my limit of expertise in the domains of law and particularly, regarding the subject matter in question. My personal summation of the legal framework is that it is grossly inadequate to address the current challenge of oil spills as our experience has shown in Nigeria. I have done everything within my power as an individual and within the remit of my office as chairman of board to leverage whatever we can leverage to see that we encourage, support, applaud and do whatever is necessary to urge our members of the National Assembly to expedite work on the amendment of the NOSDRA Act, bearing in mind that doing that is not doing anyone of us a favour. It is doing all of us as Nigerians and humanity a favour. You have been variously described as a friend of the environment, a professional, security consultant and public affairs analyst. Are you also a politician? Are we not all politicians? I am the chairman of NOSDRA board, so you will expect me to do some politics. Are you a card carrying member of the PDP? Yes I am. Tell us about the crisis in Rivers State PDP. Is there a crisis in Rivers state PDP? Well, my political activities, like you rightly stated, are being fully expressed within the framework of what our constitution and law provide for. I am a card-carrying member of my party, I am involved in the activities of the party through my ward and the appropriate organs of the party. We are committed party men and we understand that there has been some shift within our state in terms of the movement of the current governor from our party to the All Progressives Congress (APC). That is a matter that we are quite happy to address at another occasion. Our laws provide and guarantee the freedom of individuals to associate as they chose. Having said that, my comment will be as follows: Rivers State is inherently, fundamentally and irrevocably PDP and will remain so as far as I can see for the future. Whatever semblance of conflict that may be manifesting or seeming to manifest is not unexpected, because in a big party and a big state like Rivers State, that is as significant in the configuration of Nigeria, you do expect that whatever happens in Rivers State catches national attention and we are proud of our national position in Rivers state. We are proud of our political history as the only state that can boast that throughout the political history of Nigeria, we have consistently accounted for the highest vote count to anybody that has emerged the president in Nigeria. We are committed that we will repeat that feat in 2015 for President Goodluck Jonathan should he decide, as we expect that he would, to present himself for election as president. We will work assiduously, we will bury our differences and reconcile our positions. Whatever needs to be done would be done to ensure that Rivers State delivers, as is our tradition, the highest votes of any state for Mr. President in 2015. With regards to issues of our own local politics, we have established frameworks within our state. There are well established frameworks of understanding within our communities on how to resolve these issues. If there are individuals or entities who, because of their own interest, want to disrespect those well-established and time-honoured traditions of our people, which our forebears left for us as a legacy, I am sure that we have enough leadership at various levels of our party to provide the necessary guidance to ensure the resolutions of those issues. I do not see how any semblance of crisis can speak to any kind of weakness on the part of the PDP in Rivers State. Even those who say they have left the party, I can assure you that they have not left the party because they know that anybody who has a political future in Rivers State knows and understands that the PDP is the platform to be on. I know that there are so many intrigues going on in the Rivers State PDP concerning where the governorship candidate should come from. What's your take on this? I already spoke to the fact that within Rivers State, our elders and our forebears have left us an excellent template in terms of how we have built understanding among and within our communities. This tradition, custom, and understanding are time -honoured from the days of the old Rivers State. We still have some of those elders and leaders around. They are providing and will continue to provide us guidance as to how these things can and should be managed. What I want to assure you is that all of us in Rivers PDP agree on one thing; our state needs to restore itself back to its glorious days. Rivers State used to be the leading state in Nigeria in several respects and that we need to recapture what it means to be Rivers, to be truly great as to be the leader among states in Nigeria. That for me is something we are passionate about, and we are all committed to working towards. There may be several persons who have come out to say their interest is to be in leadership position at the level of governor, members of House of Assembly, Senate or House of Representatives. I believe that every Rivers man who is driven by the same sense of passion and zeal understands that first; we need to work and strengthen the party as a platform to enable us execute leadership in a manner that is beneficial to our people and restore our state to its true greatness.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

Jonathan’s unbridled ambition will destroy Nigeria’s democracy —Tinubu HE Presidency and the ruling PDP forcefully had their way in Adamawa. Governor Nyako has been impeached. Nigeria’s constitution suffers violence. Democracy has been setback. Under the constitution, a governor can only be impeached for “gross misconduct.” For the PDP, Nyako’s crime was not the false allegations contained in the articles of impeachment. To them, his gross misconduct was leaving the reactionary PDP to join the progressive APC. His misdeed was to exercise his constitutional right of freedom of association and political expression by leaving their corrupt assemblage and joining the party that just may represent the best hope of rescuing Nigeria from its present descent into authoritarian darkness. Perhaps, Governor Nyako’s greatest sin is his temerity to speak truth to power albeit in a courageous way. On two different occasions, he gave an unvarnished insight into the Boko Haram menace and the insecurity engulfing Northern Nigeria. At the Institute of Peace in Washington DC this year when he visited with other Northern governors, he placed the blame for the Boko Haran insurgency on the Jonathan presidency. He then followed this up with a detailed letter to the forum of the Northern governors in which he accused the Jonathan led government of genocide against the North. This rattled and unsettled the government.Repeated attempts to have Gov. Nyako withdraw his letter and apologize to the President failed. From the moment he wrote that letter, he became a marked man. The government savaged the governor through the media. This kangaroo impeachment is government’s way of punishing Nyako. The plan is to use the contents of the letter he wrote to the Northern Governors as a basis to try him for treasonable felony and eventually sentence him to life imprisonment. Nyako’s frank, if rough-edged, letter concerning the security situation apparently infuriated the monarch of Aso Villa who has become so arrogant as to believe no opposition against him is justified, thus he has the liberty to impose his brand of injustice to crush those who oppose him. Before our eyes and under Jonathan’s watch, Nigeria gradually descends into fascism. We must all act now before it consumes us all. In impeaching the Governor Nyako, the PDP used the constitution to abuse the constitution and the democracy it is supposed to enshrine. Governor Nyako’s impeachment must be seen completely as political move to punish him and deter others from leaving the PDP. It was a sanction imposed against political freedom and freedom of expression. It had little to do with alleged financial or other wrongdoing. A view of the alleged charges against him reveals that his purported wrongdoings revert to when he was still in the PDP, some dating back three years. His actions were known to the House of Assembly then. While he still adhered to the PDP, there was no talk of mis-

•Tinubu

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Nyako’s frank, if rough-edged, letter concerning the security situation apparently infuriated the monarch of Aso Villa who has become so arrogant as to believe no opposition against him is justified, thus he has the liberty to impose his brand of injustice to crush those who oppose him

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conduct. Upon leaving the PDP, his actions suddenly became the meat for impeachment. There is only one thing new which was not then present. The governor’s political party affiliation changed. In the PDP mind, his party change transmitted him from the list of those to be praised to the list of those to be persecuted. He gave green light to this move and winked approvingly as his minions poured cash into the pockets of the pliable Adamawa State Assembly members who would do their bidding. That the impeachment came on the same day that PDP governors and National Assembly members scurried to Aso Villa to endorse another term for their king is no accident. This was orchestrated to appear that all the wind is at

the PDP sails and that the APC has been stalled by PDP strong-arm tactics. They want to create the impression that all is well and that the president rides high on popular acclaim. But there is a large crack in their wall. Because they profit from and love the wreckage they have done to us, the president and his subordinates delude themselves into believing the average Nigerian also loves them for the damage they have caused. After over three months of avoiding the parents of the Chibok victims, Jonathan was shamed by the visit of a heroic teenager from another land, Pakistan’s Malala, into agreeing to meet them. However, after being shunned for months by the President’s cold indifference to their plight, the aggrieved parents refused to be party to the President’s slick public relations game. The parents shunned the man who would not meet with them when they wanted to meet him. He only decided to meet them to gain publicity. The parents saw through his uncaring charade. They decided not to add themselves to the farce. In the universe of his political hacks and courtiers, President Jonathan can do no wrong because his pockets are deep and seem never to run dry. For him, this is popularity and legitimacy. But if he truly wants to gauge how the people of Nigeria truly feel about him, he would seriously consider why the parents boycotted his meeting. These parents more accurately represent the mood of the nation than do all the processions of politicians who come to the Villa to lay themselves at the feet of their monarch. He and the PDP contrived the removal of Governor Nyako from office. This is a temporary and costly victory for it reveals more and more the undemocratic heart of the man who rules over the nation. He now justifies his illegal and immoral acts by claiming that any show of dissent or opposition to him is the product of partisanship and thus not to be seriously considered. This is what all dictators tell themselves and he has become one. As such, he believes he can turn his back on the will and welfare of the people in order to attain his personal ambitions. Yet, while he may ignore the people, even he cannot make them disappear nor can he keep them for seeing him for what he is. If he truly believes the false acclaim of his coterie and party dregs are genuine, let him stop these contrived attacks against opposition politicians. If he believes so much in himself, let the people decide things at the polls. He will not do this because he rightly fears Nigerians will do unto him what he has done unto them. When he calls unto the people, they will turn their backs to him in just reward for his sad and indifference misrule of this precious nation. Impeaching duly elected opposition politicians will not increase his popularity. These acts only undermine our democracy. The one party state and quasi-monarchy the PDP seeks are relics of the past and will not again stand in Nigeria.

Harnessing Nigeria’s internet .ng domain for economic development XPERTS in the communications and internet industry say that Nigeria, and indeed many African countries are yet to tap into the potential of the internet for the overall development of their countries. They say that the United States generates 600 million dollars annually from its domain name industry, which is part of the potential of the internet. According to Google's annual income statement, it generated 23.6 billion dollars in 2009, which translated to 1.9 billion dollars a month. Similarly, the .com, .uk, .us, and many other domain names in the western world have made huge profits from their domain names; while some domain names have been sold as high as 13 million dollars. Mrs Omobola Johnson, Nigeria’s Minister of Communication Technology, said African countries must harness the potential of the internet in order to fast-track development on the continent. The minister who spoke recently in Abuja at a conference said that ``Internet can contribute up to 300 billion dollars to Africa’s GDP by 2025; and this is from an estimated 18 billion dollars in 2013.’’ She stressed that the internet is more important for Africa than the rest of the world, as the continent ``lags behind in almost every economic indicator. ``The internet, and the connectivity network present opportunities for improving the social welfare of Africa and Africans,” she said. Aware of the potential of the internet, the Federal Government, in collaboration with UNESCO introduced the first internet link in Nigeria at the Obafemi Awolowo University in 1995, using Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT). In 1996, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) licensed 38 internet service providers to sell internet services in Nigeria; and Linkserve Limited immediately began commercial operations in the country. Though advancement was recorded in internet connec-

Ifeanyi NWOKO

tivity with the use of mobile networks, fiber optics and even satellites, yet ``Nigeria is yet to tap into the potential of cyberspace,” experts say. In 2010, Nelson Mattos, Vice President (Technology) of Google said at a briefing in Lagos, that Nigeria had an IT infrastructure problem in terms of availability and accessibility. He said that the entire African continent could never become market potential for internet-broadband access due to poor internet infrastructure and penetration. Mrs Mary Uduma, the President of the Nigerian Internet Registration Association (NIRA), said the nation still loses billions to the internet economy. `Òver $600million was made by the U.S. through the domain name industry, internet businesses have been growing so much and other countries have been taking advantage of it. `Òur internet economy and e-commerce have not started, our Domain Name System (DNS) industry is till at the lowest ebb. `Ìnternet access is a challenge, so for that reason we are losing a lot of money which we would have retained,” she said. In spite of achievements recorded in the payroll system on the internet, e-government platforms as well as creating the.ng domain name, Uduma insists that a lot still need to be done. She said that Nigerians, especially the private sector operators need to connect to the .ng domain to stem capital flight to other countries whose domain names we patronise and pay huge sums. Uduma defined domain name as a `ùnique name that identifies an internet resource, such as a website, it is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control on the internet. ``Let me give you a statistics; if there are 1,000 regis-

tered domain names in Nigeria, only 10 will be on .ng, 990 will be on .com and if they all pay N1,000 that is one million naira. ``So while 990,000 naira will go abroad, only 10,000 naira will be in Nigeria, so we are losing money because people are not taking the .ng as their domain name. ``What we are doing is that we are sensitising Nigerians that just as naira is our currency, .ng is our currency on the cyberspace; we should take .ng as our string on the cyberspace instead of using .com or .uk. ``We are working with National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to make sure there is intervention for people to be online as soon as they take the .ng domain name,” she said. Uduma said that there were 17,000,000 Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria that could take advantage of the mutual benefit of the .ng domain to do their businesses online with ease and speed. Uduma, at a conference organised by NIRA ( a regulating body and mangers of the .ng national resource) to popularise .ng domain name, said that the domain is even safer than other domains, adding ``with .ng, fraud is made more difficult as it is traceable. ``Even to scam with .ng is very difficult because we would be able to know the person that registered the domain name. ``Others do proxy, but we don’t do proxy in Nigeria. We know who is registering what; the registry is here with us. ``We are hoping that by 2020 we would have hit one million users of the .ng domain name,” she said. Stakeholders want Nigerians to connect to the .ng domain name in order to avoid capital flight as well as promote the nation’s economic development. They also want the relevant authorities to sustain enlightenment campaigns on the .ng domain. •Nwoko writes for News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

THE NATION SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

EQUITIES

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 18-07-14

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 18-07-14

Oil, manufacturing stocks dampen equitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; market

IGERIAN equities closed the week with a tinge of bearishness as investors sustained cautious outlook. While there were more gainers than losers, losses suffered by highly capitalised oil and gas and manufacturing stocks depressed the overall market situation. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities slipped by N9 billion from its opening value of N14.172 trillion to close at N14.163 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI), the benchmark index that tracks all quoted equities, declined slightly by 0.06 per cent from 42,918.52 points to 42,891.82 points. The decline depressed the average year-todate return to 3.78 per cent. Petroleum-marketing stocks dominated the bearish market with three oil stocks among the top 10 losers. Conoil led 20 other stocks on the losersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; list with a drop of N3.28 to close at N62.32. Julius Berger Nige-

Taofik SALAKO Capital Market Editor

ria followed with a loss of N2 to close at N63. Oando lost 65 kobo to close at N25. Nigerian Breweries dropped by 61 kobo to N175.61. UACN Property Development Company declined by 44 kobo to close at N17.46. UAC of Nigeria and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated dropped by 38 kobo each to close at N62.12 and N16.85. Union Bank of Nigeria dwindled by 31 kobo to close at N9.23. Unilever Nigeria lost 23 kobo to close at N52.77 while Total Nigeria dropped by 20 kobo to close at N180 per share. On the upside, Mobil Oil Nigeria led 34-gainer list with a gain of N7.72 to close at N162.22. Guinness Nigeria followed with addition of 92 kobo to close at N198.02. Northern Nigeria Flour Mills rose by 71 kobo to close at N20.50. Cement Company of Northern Nigeria gained 54 kobo to close at N11.80.

PZ Cussons Nigeria rose by 51 kobo to close at N38.50. Presco gathered 50 kobo to close at N38. Dangote Sugar Refinery and Red Star Express chalked up 22 kobo each to close at N9.30 and N4.89 respectively. Fidson Healthcare rose by 15 kobo to N3.16 while National Salt Company of Nigeria garnered 13 kobo to close at N10.72 per share. Total turnover stood at 374.30 million shares valued at N3.21 billion in 4,782 deals. Financial services sector accounted for 293.97 million shares valued at N1.55 billion in 2,229 deals. Fidelity Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 139.2 million shares worth N264.7 million in 122 deals. Transnational Corporation of Nigeria followed with a turnover of 24.44 million shares valued at N143.5 million in 278 deals. FCMB Group placed third with a turnover of 23.55 million shares worth N99.58 million in 62 deals.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

58 â&#x20AC;˘From left: The canoe operator, Avleffi, Tosse, Jerrad and Adeola

Makoko: A strange kind of saviour

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I believe so much in literacy and that is why I am teaching them French, Maths, measurement and morals. I have graduated 43 tailors who at least are confident of themselves and are able to communicate with their clients, which gives me so much joy

40-year-old tailor takes it upon himself to rescue the future of endangered school dropouts in Lagos community Makoko, a riverine community in Lagos State, began as a fishing village. And while many of the residents have embraced other forms of occupation, it remains primarily a fish market bedeviled by environmental and infrastructural problems. The community, one of the poorest in the state, suffers from high rate of maternal mortality, youth restiveness, child abuse and insecurity. Most worrisome, however, is the fact that the community boasts a lot of young

n Adeola OGUNLADE n women who have dropped out of school and roam the streets without any hope of a brighter future. But seeking to redeem the rather hopeless situation is a 40-yearold tailor, Jerrad Avleffi, an indigene of Badagry, who has saddled himself with the onerous task of helping about 20 young women, many of whom dropped out of school as a result of early pregnancy, to have a feel of education. Although he trained as a tailor, Avleffi, does not only teach them tailoring, he organises evening classes for them, teaching them French and Arithmetic with the

local Egun language as the medium of expression. Ironically, his desire to impact knowledge on the young women was impelled by his own lack of opportunity of early education because his parents were too poor and too ignorant to appreciate the value of education. Not willing to see the young women suffer the same fate that befell him as an uneducated child, he decided to do something to help them improve their literacy level. His background In a chat with our correspondent, Avleffi said he was born in Badagry about 40

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

•Some students at vocational centre

•Gerrald (left), teaching students at the centre

•Some students of fashion designing at work years ago but was taken to Cotonou, Benin Republic at an early age because his father could not afford his fees in high school. His mother hit on the idea of taking him to Cotonou so that he could learn tailoring. “There, my boss taught me Egun language, which became an invaluable asset for me to trade among the Egun and French communities here in Nigeria,” he recalled. I do not understand Yoruba or English language, but my boss made sure I learnt the language, art and culture of Egun people as well as French language. “I was an apprentice for 12 years because my father could not send me to school. Even paying the fee for my graduation after my tailoring apprenticeship was a bit difficult. Instead of seven years, I ended up spending 12.” Asked why he chose to settle in Makoko when he returned from Benin Republic, Avleffi said that after his apprenticeship as a tailor in Cotonou, he returned to Badagry about 10 years ago only to find that he could not easily communicate with the people because he could not speak their language. “My father then advised me to come to Makoko where I would see people who understand my language and trade with them,” he said. Given that Makoko community is built on water, his journey was a bit of an adventure. “I had an inkling of the people’s living condition, but in spite of their deprivation, the residents are warm and friendly to visitors,” he said. “In Cotonou, fishermen also live in riverine areas where it is easy to practice their profession. So, I was not moved by the people’s living condition. What was uppermost in my heart was how I could make a difference in their lives. Avleffi, who spoke with our reporter through an interpreter, noted that teaching the young women Egun and French language had been a big relief for them because they could not read or write before then. “I am just trying to help them in my own little way,” he said. He observed that most of the youths in Makoko are exposed to early sexual relationships, restiveness and other forms of undesirable acts because of illiteracy and lack of exposure. But he feels a bit of satisfaction that

and early twenties, he has been able to and many of them had empower them and dropped out of school they now have some between Primary Four basic knowledge in I dropped out of school and Junior Secondary. French and even Arithmetic and genin JSS 1 and all the efforts I The lessons start at 5 and end at 6:30 eral knowledge. made to go back to school pm pm. As soon as it is He is, however, pained that his efforts proved abortive. Recently, I 5pm, the apprentices whatever they to get a teacher who made an attempt to go for leave are doing and rush to would be willing to teach them English evening classes, but that too the classroom. The begins with a had not yielded rewas not possible because I class prayer by Avleffi, folsults. He said: “Some of was asked to pay N10, 000 lowed by a song in Egun, which literally my apprentices now per session. But coming means ‘our language understand a bit of must keep moving French and Egun, to this tailor has added forever,’ is sung at inand would be better value to my life. I am tervals throughout the off with English lanone and a half hour guage. If I am able to now skillful in tailoring lecture. get somebody to and have learnt a lot The evening class complement my efbegins lessons in fort in educating about Egun and French spellings and pronunthem in English lanlanguages from our ciation. On this particguage, I will really ular day, Avleffi appreciate it. evening classes started by teaching the “There are lots of pupils how to protailors around nounce letter G in Makoko who only French. He then told teach the children them to bring out their how to sew but do not understand the essence of literacy, which is notebooks for a brief exercise. After the spelling and pronunciation seskey to success in any business or profession. I sions, he taught them Arithmetic. It was believe so much in literacy and that is why I highly interactive session as the pupils asked am teaching them French, Maths, measurequestions and the teacher responded. The class ment and morals. I have graduated 43 tailors ended with the song says ‘We must to learn who at least are confident of themselves and our language for it would remain relevant in are able to communicate with their clients, the society. We have to know and understand which gives me so much joy.” this language anywhere we find ourselves.’ Avleffi says he sees the possibility that a After that, the pupils exchanged pleasnumber of them could even further their eduantries, saying “PIFA wawu ton”, meaning the cation and learn more. “What I am only doing peace of the Lord. is to ignite their interest in education,” he said.

The class The lessons, which are taught in French and Egun, include spelling, arithmetic and general knowledge. Each student comes into the class with a chalk, a 4-inch chalk board, a ruler and a notebook. They are mostly in their late teens

Challenges Asked the Challenges he had faced in teaching Egun Language, Avleffi said the literature materials on Egun language were gradually fading away. “To get the books on this language is difficult. There are no enough materi-

als for learning. I am only using the material given to me by my master about 10 years ago. I try to get up to date materials but it has been a hard nut to chew.” He added: “I have trained a lot of out-ofschool teenagers in Makoko, but because of their inability to communicate, some have dropped out and some could not finish the four-year training because their families had to relocate. Speaking with our reporter, one of the apprentices, 20-year-old Avlessi Philips, said: “I was contemplating working at the plank factory in Ebutte, a riverine community in Yaba, Local Government Area, Lagos State, until before I met this tailor whose gesture has contributed immensely to my life. “I dropped out of school in JSS 1 and all the efforts I made to go back to school proved abortive. Recently, I made an attempt to go for evening classes, but that too was not possible because I was asked to pay N10, 000 per session. But coming to this tailor has added value to my life. I am now skillful in tailoring and have learnt a lot about Egun and French languages from our evening classes. “I can now write my name and alphabets in Egun and French languages and also design clothes. I have decided that after my freedom, I will further my education and help other youths here in Makoko.” Another apprentice, 18-year-old Christiana Tosse, could not further her basic education for financial reasons. But learning spelling and Arithmetic in the tailoring trade with Avleffi has given her a lot of courage. She said: “My tailoring apprenticeship and literacy class has helped me a lot. The first time I came here and indicated interest in apprenticeship, I had no money to register. But Mr. Avleffi told me to start and forget about money for now. “I can now sew gown, shirt, blouse and other female dresses. I can also write 1 to 20 in Egun language.” Twenty-year-old Kelvin dropped out at Primary Four but says the literacy class has changed his life dramatically. “I appreciate our boss for the literacy class. I only desire that we have an English teacher who would complement his effort,” he said.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

60 FOREIGN

World calls for Ukraine cease-fire after crash W ORLD leaders yesterday called for an immediate cease-fire in eastern Ukraine and demanded speedy access for international investigators to the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines jetliner shot down over the country's battlefields. The strong words came amid the contrasting images of emergency workers

and off-duty coal miners fanning out across picturesque sunflower fields searching for charred pieces of wreckage from the Boeing 777. About 181 bodies had been found at press time. Pro-Russia rebels were said to have blocked access to parts of the crash site as evidence against them grows.

The attack Thursday afternoon killed 298 people from nearly a dozen nations — including vacationers,80 children, students and a large contingent of scientists heading to an AIDS conference in Australia. President Barack Obama called for an immediate cease-fire between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russia sepa-

• Crash scene

80 children killed in MH17 crash IGHTY children of diverse nationalities, about 100 Aids experts a young family on a journey back to Indonesia and tourists looking forward to holidays in the sun were among those who perished when MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on Thursday. Here are some of their stories. Cor Pan joked on Facebook about his plane disappearing shortly before it took off. The Dutch man was off on holiday with his girlfriend Neeljte Tol when he put up a picture of his plane on Facebook - a moment of black humour - with the caption: "If my flight to Malaysia disappears, this is what it looks like" His friends responded by wishing him happy holidays but as news broke of the plane crash their communications on his Facebook page betrayed increasing concern which turned to immense sadness. Yuli Hastini and John Paulisen and their two young children were on their way to pay their respects at Yuli's mother's grave. Ms Hastini, 44, her Dutch husband, John Paulisen, 47, and their two children: a little boy, Arjuna, 5 and a girl, Sri, 3 would visit her family in her hometown of Solo in Central Java every two years during the Eid holiday. Her brother-in-law told BBC Indonesian that she worked for a pharmaceutical company in the Netherlands. But she had been heartbroken that she could not attend her mother's funeral late last year so during this trip the entire family was planning to visit her mother's grave. Australian teacher Francesca Davison and her husband Liam were returning home from a holiday in Europe Known as Frankie, the 54-year-old teacher is described by the head of the college she taught at as "an inspiration to all who came in contact with her". She taught literature and humanities at Toorak College in Victoria and is described as a "dear friend; warm generous and kind". A Malaysia Airlines steward swapped shifts to fly on the illfated jet that crashed in rebel-held territory in Ukraine on Thursday. It was an extraordinary twist of fate, as his wife, also a flight attendant, had switched from Malaysian jet MH370 which vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on 8 March with 239 passengers on board, according to a report in The Malaysian Insider. Sanjid Singh lived with his wife and their seven-year-old son in Kuala Lumpur. "He was last here [in Penang] about a month ago. He told us recently that he swapped with a colleague for the return Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur flight," his father Jijar Singh told the newspaper. Mr Singh said his son had been expected to visit them after his return from Amsterdam. "His mother had prepared all his favourite dishes," he said. Joep Lange was among the most eminent of up to 100 Aids researchers and activists travelling to a conference on the plane.

•Passengers on ill-fated plane The 20th International Aids Society conference was set to kick off in Melbourne, Australia. Aboard MH17, reports suggest, were up to 100 scientists, communications officers and activists making their way there. Among them was Joep Lange, one of the previous presidents of IAS, described as one of the most brilliant minds in research. The IAS put a statement out saying that if reports that such numbers were on board were true "this is truly a sad day" and if Joep Lange's death was confirmed "the movement has truly lost a giant". Glenn Thomas, a former journalist and WHO media relations coordinator, was travelling to the Aids conference. He was a media officer for the World Health Organisation in Geneva. Originally from the UK, the 49-year old was one of nine Britons who died in the crash. He was also a former BBC journalist. Colleagues and friends have paid tribute to Mr Thomas on Twitter describing their horror and devastation. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Confirmed death toll so far • Netherlands: 189 • Malaysia: 44 (including 15 crew) • Australian: 27 • Indonesia: 12 • UK: 10 • Germany: 4 • Belgium: 4 • Philippines: 3 • Canada: 1 • New Zealand: 1 • American: 1 • Unverified: 2 Total: 298

ratists. He also called for a credible investigation. "The eyes of the world are on eastern Ukraine, and we are going to make sure that the truth is out," Obama said at the White House. U.S. intelligence authorities said a surface-to-air missile brought down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 as it traveled from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told the U.N. Security Council in New York on Friday the missile was likely fired from a rebel-held area near the Russian border. The Ukrainian government in Kiev, the separatist pro-Russia rebels they are fighting and the Russia government that Ukraine accuses of supporting the rebels all denied shooting the plane down. Moscow also denies backing the rebels. After holding an emergency session, the U.N. Security Council called for "a full, thorough and independent international investigation" into the downing of the plane. Russian President Vladimir Putin said both sides in the Ukrainian conflict should put down their weapons and hold peace talks. On Thursday, Putin blamed Ukraine for the crash, saying Kiev was responsible for the unrest in its Russian-speaking eastern regions. But he didn't accuse Ukraine of shooting the plane down and didn't address the key question of whether Russia gave the rebels such a powerful missile. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry released a video purporting to show a truck carrying the Buk missile launcher it said was used to fire on the plane with one of its four missiles apparently missing. The ministry said the footage was filmed by a police surveillance squad at dawn Friday as the truck was heading to the city of Krasnodon toward the Russian border. There was no way to independently verify the video. Ukraine's state aviation service closed the airspace Friday over two border regions gripped by separatist fighting — Donetsk and Luhansk — and Russian airlines suspended all flights over Ukraine. Access to the sprawling crash site remained difficult and dangerous. The road into it from Donetsk, the largest city in the region, was marked by five rebel checkpoints, with document checks at each. A commission of around 30 people, mostly officials representing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, travelled to the crash site yesterday afternoon in the first such visit there by an international delegation. "No black boxes have been found ... we hope that experts will track them down and create a picture of what has happened," Donetsk separatist leader Aleksandr Borodai said. Yet earlier yesterday, an aide to the military leader of Borodai's group said authorities had recovered eight out of 12 recording devices. Since planes usually have two black boxes — one for recording flight data and the other for recording cockpit voices — it was not clear what the aide was referring to. It was possible he was referring to a variety of computer systems. Andrei Purgin, a leader of the proRussian separatists, told The Associated Press that after consultations with international diplomats and a former Ukrainian president, a decision has been reached for bodies to be taken to the government-controlled Black Sea city of Mariupol. Smashed watches and mobile phones, charred boarding passes and passports were among the debris. Large chunks of the plane, which bore the airline's red, white and blue markings, lay strewn over one field. The cockpit and one turbine lay a kilometer apart, and the tail landed 10 kilometers away. One rebel militiaman in Rozsypne told the AP the plane's fuselage showed signs of being struck by a projectile. The area has seen heavy fighting between government troops and proRussia separatists, and rebels had bragged about shooting down two Ukrainian military jets Wednesday in the region.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

FOREIGN

Israel warns of bigger Gaza assault AZA'S night skies were illuminated Friday by clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas militants throughout the 27mile-long Palestinian territory. With fighting reported all along Gaza, casualties poured into Gaza City's Shifaa Hospital, including children, after Israeli artillery shelled east of the city, physicians told the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV. With Israel's airborne flares hanging over Gaza's darkness, the conflict raged for a second night and came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned earlier in the day that ground troops are prepared to expand an offensive against Hamas militants. As Israeli tanks and soldiers plunged deeper into Gaza, the fighting against Hamas led to a high toll of casualties and a doubling of displaced Palestinians, to 40,000, prompting a U.N. relief agency to seek $60 million, authorities said. Heavy clashes occurred in an abandoned area along the buffer zone in northern Gaza, AlAqsa TV said. President Barack Obama said Friday he spoke with Netanyahu and restated U.S. support for Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas rockets being fired from Gaza. "In fact, while I was having the conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, sirens went off in Tel Aviv," Obama said. Those sirens apparently sounded in response to a possible Hamas rocket attack on the coastal Israeli city. But Obama also said he hoped Israel's ground assault on Gaza would continue to take an approach that "minimizes civilian casualties." "I also made clear that the United States and our friends and allies are deeply concerned about the risks of further escalation and the loss of more innocent life," Obama said. The Israel Defense Forces sent a large force into Gaza on Thursday -- infantry, tanks, artillery, combat engineers and intelligence units backed by aerial and naval support. Their primary target: Tunnels used by Hamas fighters and others to slip into Israel and to smuggle in weaponry and supplies. Netanyahu did not explain what would spark a wider offensive or what it would entail. But he said Israel had no choice but to take the fight to Gaza to protect its own people. "We chose to commence this operation after we had exhausted the other possibilities," he said, "and with the understanding that without action, the price that we would pay would be much greater." Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zhuri condemned the Prime Minister. "Netanyahu is killing our children, and he will pay the price. The ground invasion is not scaring us. We pledge to drown the occupation army in Gaza's mud," Abu Zhuri said. The Israeli military conducted at least four ground incursions into Gaza and about 90 airstrikes, said Jeffrey Feltman, the U.N. undersecretary general for political affairs, in a briefing Friday to the U.N. Security Council. Israel also fired 91 missiles, 357 tank shells and 150 shells from warships, Feltman said. Hamas militants fired 127 rockets and 29 mortar shells at Israel since Thursday, Feltman said. The casualties The violence between Israeli forces and Hamas militants has made for high casualties. The Palestinian Health Ministry said that at least 271 Gaza residents have died and more than 2,000 have been injured in the territory since Israel began its military campaign against Hamas last week. At least 24 of the deaths

•Obama cautions on 'civilian casualties'

•Smoke rises from an explosion after an attack by Israeli aircraft in the east of Gaza City occurred since the ground offensive started late Thursday, the ministry said. Most of the casualties have been civilians, according to the United Nations. Among the deaths Friday were five members of the same family -- two men, two children and a woman -- in Gaza, said Dr. Ashraf al-Qidra, the spokesman of the Gaza Health Ministry. The Abu Jurad family members were killed when Israeli artillery fire landed on their home in northern Gaza, he said. At one point, about 20 Palestinian houses were hit in the fighting when the death toll stood at 26, Feltman said. The IDF said early Friday that one Israeli soldier was killed overnight in northern Gaza, the second Israeli fatality of the conflict. The IDF said its troops had killed at least 17 fighters and captured 13, in addition to uncovering 13 tunnels. Within Gaza, the number of displaced people grew Friday to 40,000 from 22,000, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency was operating 34 shelters, a spokesman said. The agency launched an appeal for $60 million to assist the displaced for a month and then provide provisions for the next six months, the spokesman said. The fighting Early Friday, artillery fire pounded Beit Hanoun in Gaza. The area was shrouded in smoke. A CNN crew near Sderot, Israel, spotted a substantial increase in armor and tanks on Friday. Hamas' military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, planted a bomb that exploded in the path of an Israeli tank east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, Al-Aqsa TV reported. The energy authority warned late Friday it might cut electricity to most areas later in the night, Al-Aqsa TV reported. Roads leading into Gaza were crowded with military traffic and buses carrying soldiers. Palestinian security sources said Israeli tanks had reached Abu Holeh by Friday, located roughly in the center of Gaza, and that Israeli troops were clashing with Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters along the Kissufim Road. If Israeli forces go from there to the Mediterranean Sea, they could split Gaza as they did during their 2009 ground operation in the territory. The incursion Thursday followed 10 days of Israeli airstrikes.

The protests The Israeli operation set off some protests around the world, including in Turkey, where violent demonstrations outside the Israeli Embassy prompted Israel's Foreign Ministry to send diplomats' families home and reduce staffing to a minimum. Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Friday that Israel is "terrorizing the region" and "committing genocide." "I would like to pronounce one more time that the attacks that started last night have come to a very dangerous phase and I am warning Israel one more time, if they don't stop attacks on Gaza, the consequences might be heavier and the outcome will be massive," Gul said. In Jerusalem, police arrested 12 people Friday after what spokesman Micky Rosenfeld described on Twitter as "masked Arab rioters" threw stones at police officers on the Temple Mount, a disputed holy site. No injuries were reported, Rosenfeld said. Jordan called for an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council, expected Friday. And Hamas condemned the incursion. "The beginning of the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza is a dangerous step with unknown consequences. Israel will pay a heavy price for it," spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told CNN. Barhoum said Hamas military forces are "far stronger" than during previous conflicts with Israel in 2009 and 2012. Militants are prepared to capture Israel soldiers and use them to trade for some of the 5,000 prisoners in Israeli jails, Barhoum said. 'Where are we supposed to go?' Al-Aqsa TV reported Friday that Israel had sent text messages to many Palestinians telling them of safe corridors to reach central Gaza. Before the incursion, the IDF dropped leaflets in 14 areas of Gaza, urging residents to temporarily leave their homes. "The IDF is a moral army, and it does not aspire to harm even one single innocent person," Netanyahu said Friday. "Not a single one. We are only operating against terrorist targets." But many residents of Gaza have said they have nowhere to go in the small, impoverished strip of land. Border crossings with Israel and Egypt are closed. "Since the Israelis started this 11 days ago, they have been telling us to leave. Where our we supposed to go -- to the Gaza Sheraton? Or take a hike in the forest?" said Al Madhoun, the

resident of northern Gaza. Ramez al Madhoun, a resident of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, told CNN by phone that people were streaming past his house Thursday night to flee the Israeli offensive. As blasts from airstrikes and artillery barrages went off in the background, Al Madhoun said that he and his family of about 20 people were staying put. "My father is 78 years old -where am I supposed to go?" he asked. "We are a sitting duck." Officials call for restraint and precision Israeli officials said they were focused on destroying tunnels used by Hamas and other groups in Gaza to smuggle supplies in and out of the territory. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Netanyahu after the offensive began, expressing the view that it "should be a precise operation to target tunnels," the State Department said in a statement. Kerry "emphasized the need to avoid further escalation" and reiterated "the importance of doing everything possible to prevent civilian casualties," the statement said. Chris Gunness, spokesman for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, said the group was asking for restraint "so that civilians who have suffered enough in this appalling conflict do not suffer further." The U.N. agency said it is sheltering about 22,000 people in Gaza City and northern Gaza. Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, said Israeli bombs hit Wafa Hospital in Gaza while four patients were inside. Seventeen others had evacuated, he said. Some 300,000 of Gaza's approximately 1.8 million residents have been cut off from medical care because of Israeli military operations, Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Ashraf alQidra said Friday. Neighboring nations involved in peace efforts It's unclear what effects the incursion will have on efforts to broker a cease-fire in the conflict. Egypt, Turkey, Qatar and the Arab League have all been involved in efforts to find a solution. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met Thursday with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Al-Arabi. An Israeli delegation also attended, leaving after several hours, the state-run al-Ahram news agency reported. Negotiators were focusing on stopping bloodshed above all else, Palestinian official Nabil Shaath said at the time. He said they would later discuss Hamas demands, including opening Gaza border crossings and freeing some Palestinian prisoners. Hamas leaders had rejected an earlier Egyptian cease-fire proposal, saying they had not been consulted on the deal and complaining that it did not address their broader demands. Abbas was scheduled to be in Turkey on Friday for further talks. •Source: CNN

Asari Dokubo spits fire as North kicks against resource control EADER of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, (NDPVF), Mujahid Asari Dokubo, has declared as unacceptable to the Niger Delta the refusal by Northern delegates at the National Conference to support the proposal by regions to control their resources. An online medium, Starconnect, reported him as saying that the Niger Delta would rather return to the creeks than “allow for the wealth of our people be used to develop” what he called the arrogant North. Dokubo in a statement through Comrade Rex Emojite Anighoro, said gone is the era in which the Niger Delta sustained the North. He expressed disappointment that the support of the Niger Delta for a Sovereign National Conference to “discuss our collective terms of our existence at the table of brotherhood has thoroughly enjoyed the contempt and abuse of a people irrevocably determined to suffocate and confiscate our commonwealth and non-extinguished sovereignty.” He added:"Let us state very emphatically that irrespec-

•Dokunbo

tive of the final determination of the National Conference, our minimum expectation and demand as a people is and remains 100 percent control of our resources or nothing. "Yes, the National Conference can go on and propose

even one hundred states, agree to rehabilitate and develop areas ravaged by insurgency and internal conflicts, agree to develop solid minerals resources and whatever, but let it be known that not a dime of the resources of the people of the Niger Delta should be factored into this oddious compromise. "We are fully ready to mobilise our people from across the Niger Delta and even in diaspora to stand up for definite showdowns and direct actions. "Our God given resources belong to us and not Nigeria.” Dokubo dismissed the amalgamation of North and South by Lord Lugard in 1914 as nothing but ‘a luciferian contraption’ He warned representatives of the Niger Delta at the National Conference and the National Assembly who “continually compromise the interest of the Niger-Delta region that they would be declared persona non grata in the region and their sins visited on them in their own life time. They would be treated as enemies of the region as the profanity of Esau can no longer be tolerated."

THE NATION SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

SPORT EXTRA

Disband

Super Eagles now •Continued from back page

FIFA lifts suspension

•Blatter

on Nigeria

ORLD football – governing body, FIFA on Friday lifted the suspension clamped on Nigeria on July 9 as a result of a court order barring the Aminu Maigari –led NFF Executive Committee and the NFF Congress from controlling and managing the affairs of Nigeria football. In a letter signed by FIFA Secretary General, Jerome Valcke, and addressed to the

NFF President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, the world body, in the letter captioned ‘Lifting of the suspension of the Nigeria Football Federation,’ stated clearly that they received the correspondence of Thursday, July 17 from the NFF and were satisfied that Nigeria has complied with their demands for reinstatement into international football. “Since the conditions set by the FIFA Emergency

HE Executive Board of the Nigeria Football Federation bounced back to action yesterday as the Board held their first official meeting after the FIFA suspension of Nigeria which was caused by a Jos High Court that initially sacked the NFF Board.

The much anticipated impeachment of the NFF President did not happen as instead all aggrieved parties sheathed their swords and reconciled in the interest of Nigerian Football according to NFF spokesman, High Chief Emeka Inyama. Inyama, A Board member and Chairman of the Nigeria National League revealed what transpired during the meeting. “I am happy to announce to you the full resumption of the Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation. The Management and indeed the Congress is back to the business of the Nigerian football. The 12 members of the Executive Board of the Nigeria Football Federation have been

•As NFF promises reconciliations •Wants FG to probe the football house •Ready to unbanned Ogunjobi, Baribote deliberating because one of us travelled abroad and we have resolved to move Nigerian football forward. All issues that are likely to cause any conflicts is discussed and we have agreed that we have to make sacrifices to move the game forward in the country. “We are indeed appreciative to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for his quick intervention and also the Minister of Sports for his fatherly role in ensuring the vacation of the (Court) order that have returned the Executive Committee and all other bodies concerned in the court order. The Board will be paying a visit to the Honourable Minister.

DSTV PREMIER BASKETBALL LEAGUE PLAYOFF

Kano Pillars battle Mark Mentors in today’s final

ANO PILLARS will be hoping to retain their NBBF/DSTV Premier Basketball League crown today when they face Mark Mentors in the playoff’s final billed to hold at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos . 2014 All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP), Abubakar Usman scored 14 points with four assists to lead Pillars to a 76-45 points victory over Gombe Bulls in the first semifinal match decided yesterday. The one sided encounter saw the Coach Sani Ahmed tutored Pillars dominate the all the four quarters 16-13, 35-33, 53-39, 76-45 points. In the second semi-final, Mark

With this decision, the NFF has stepped up arrangements to ensure that the U-20 Women National Team, Falconets, travel to Moncton, Canada next week for a final training camp ahead of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup taking place in the same country, and for the U-17 boys to fly to Democratic Republic of Congo for a 2015 African U-17 Championship qualifier on Sunday, July 27.

Maigari survives impeachment From Segun Ogunjimi, Abuja

•Maigari

Committee on 9 July, 2014 have been met, the suspension of the Nigeria Football Federation is lifted with immediate effect. The lifting of the suspension means that all of NFF’s membership rights have been reinstated, as defined in art. 12 of FIFA Statutes. “The NFF is therefore entitled to take part again in international competitions and to benefit from all programs which were suspended.”

By Akeem Lawal Mentors defeated Dodan Warriors by 72-63points to set up all Savannah Conference final with the defending champion Kano Pillars. In a chat with NationSport, President of Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, Tijani Umar said it is difficult to predict who will eventually win the crown out of the two teams. “The beauty of this game is that you cannot predict who will be the winner of the championship. It’s a very keen competition and that is good for the game. Kano Pillars and Mark Mentors have proved their quality and I expect to see an explosive and entertaining game on Saturday and I want to urge basketball fans

to come to the stadium and see the best of Nigerian basketball.” This season, the semi final pairing saw three team (Kano Pillar, Mark Mentors and Gombe Bull) qualified from the Savanah Conference while Atlantic Conference was represented by Dodan Warriors, and Umar believes the achievement has to do with the investment in the game of basketball in that area. “That means the other conference is not sleeping. They are on top of their game, they are playing well and managing their teams well. It’s a big surprise that three of them are in the semifinal but it shows you that there is serious commitment; there is investment from that side of the country,” he noted.

“There will be an official Board meeting come Thursday next week which is 24th July, 2014. Today’s meeting is just an interactive meeting where he had frank talk, heart to heart discussions. “We read so much in the social media that there is division in the NFF and that people are going to fight and that one body would be impeached and another body will be suspended. But there is not such thing. We are one full body for the good of Nigerian football and for the good of the youths of this country all sacrifices must be made. “We also want to appeal to all aggrieved parties to sheath swords and make positive contributions to Nigerian football. The election will soon be here and it will be thrown open. Nobody will be shut out of the election. It is opened to all qualified Nigerians to take part in. Inyama also asked for probe of the finances of the NFF. “Finally, the Board as a responsible organization has also heard about money issue and we have resolved to encourage the Federal Government to set up a probe into the finances of the Nigeria Football Federation so that the issue will be put to rest once and for all. The body is ready to account for all monies given to it. We also feel it is only fair to hear the other side of the party be fore finally concluding. So we want this probe so that the credibility of Nigeria will be restored”, he clarified.

proved by former Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi and ask the players, coaches and supporting staff to either fill them or sit at home. The nuisance in the Super Eagles exists because the players and the coaches feel that the NFF and sometimes, the sport minister don’t wield in government the influence that they have. Nigeria will not cease being a sovereign nation if we don’t participate in the World Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations. Super Eagles is a football team, not a union for protesters. If they feel dissatisfied, they can opt out of the Eagles, like Carlos Tevez did with Argentina and Samir Nasri did with France than hold us to ransome before matches. In Brazil, we saw nations crash out of the competition and how their players shed tears, knowing that they had lost the platform to showcase their skills and possibly earn more cash from their European clubs. These players were inconsolable. But Super Eagles players and officials cared less after our loss to France. Will you blame them? After all, they shared the $3.850million which the government brought up until 3am before the game against France. How could such players win matches? Impossible, even if the whole country knelt down to God for His favour. We can only develop our game when we get FIFA’s official instrument called the “Statutes” to run the game here. The “Statutes” opens the operations of the game to all Nigerians. The FIFA Statutes gives the 209 football federations the power to decide how it should be run, independent of government. Those who argue that the government funds the NFF and so should oversee, must tell us how many times PHCN, NNPC, aviation and other key parastatals render their accounts to the government? FIFA’s Statutes is a rulebook guiding how the body’s affairs should be run. It is has extant laws that ensure that no federation misappropriates FIFA’s cash for frivolous things. It gives the soccer bodies the autonomy they require to run as a business, independent of the government. To ensure continuity, FIFA’s Statutes ensures that federations are not destroy at the whims and caprices of overbearing government officials by inserting the section where there is zero-tolerance for government interference. This section is the reason why most African football federations can run their four-year term unhindered. When such four-year tenures end, it is fight-to-the-finish for everyone, with most African governments seeking to nominate their stooges into the soccer federations. Nigeria’s football is regrettably being run by the draconian Decree. Indeed, it is only in football that the operative instrument is a decree. Previous governments have cast an indulgent eye on repealing the decree because a certain section of the obnoxious instrument gives the supervisory minister to intervene without any thought for the implications of such intervention. Most times, these minister enforce this section to fight the battles of some aggrieved National Sports Commission (NSC) technocrats or disgruntled stakeholders, who have their ears. For this show-of-shame to stop, we need to fast-track the process of repealing Decree 101 and ensure that FIFA Statutes are used to run the game. Football is serious business. Cash from FIFA’s operations is more than what the Nigerian government budgets annually (no hyperbole). FIFA’s events are billion dollars operations, hence blue-chip companies outbid themselves to sponsor the various marketing windows the body has open to source for cash. Money from television rights and merchandising alone has adequately reshaped the game in countries where the Statutes operate. What this simply means is that such countries’ governments don’t fund their operations and cannot ask them to render their accounts. Now that the case has been removed from the courts, can we get the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) to inaugurate the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS) where aggrieved people in sports can seek redress, instead of facing committees inaugurated by those who the complainants have issues with? It is a case of being the judge and the jury in your own matter. Again, “FIFA Statutes” provides the framework for rich Nigerians with passion for the game to seek elective positions in the NFF. Those who heat up the polity in the period before NFF’s elections are either jobbers or government’s lickspittles waiting to eat from the national cake. If the government feels strongly about the present NFF board, the elections offer the best platform for democratic changes. Our football is in the doldrums because of frequent changes in the leadership of the NFF. Such changes don’t encourage other soccer bodies do business with Nigeria. Being members of the NFF, for instance, qualifies many of them into elective offices in CAF and FIFA. Interpersonal relationships with other countries’ FA chiefs help a great deal in sealing quality matches for our national teams, especially the Super Eagles. Such games open new vista for our players since most of them may secure better deals in Europe the next season. Eagles need to play top class friendly games in Nigeria, for us to truly appreciate the benefits of generating more cash for the NFF from gate-takings, merchandising and other marketing windows such games would attract. Is anybody listening? Oba Khato Okpere, Ise!

THE NATION SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014

SPORT EXTRA FEDERATION CUP

Gateway United book quarter final ticket

•Beat Bayelsa United 3-1 on penalties •To play Prime FC next week

ATEWAY United have set a date with fellow National League campaigners, Prime FC after the Ogun State reps defeated Bayelsa United 3-1 on penalties after regulation time had ended 1-1 at Abuja in the Round of 16 of the Federation Cup. The Restoration Boys would be blaming themselves for the loss having scored first through Sheriff Bashir and were coasting home to victory before allowing Gateway United into the game in the dying minutes of the match. Gateway United capitalised on an infringement very close to the Bayelsa United’s vital area and Francis Olanrewaju never hesitated to net home the leveler from the ensuing free kick in the added on time after the 90 minutes. During the penalties, Bayelsa United could only convert onethrough Femi Oladapo but Gateway United scored all their three kicks to zoom into

From Tunde Liadi, Owerri the quarter final. Speaking with NationSport shortly after the tie, Gateway United’s head coach, Henry Nwosu dedicated the win to God and reiterated the desire of the Abeokuta side to go as far as possible in the Federation Cup this year. “We are thrilled with this win and are more than grateful to God. He gave us the win when many wrote us off. We were already on our way to Lokoja and we would continue our journey from there,” Nwosu told NationSport. Prime FC had earlier beaten First Bank on penalties too in Benin City on Thursday and whoever triumph between both sides, is assured of a ticket to the semi final. Others through to the last eight are Enyimba, Sharks, Crown, Dolphins, Lobi Stars and Giwa FC.

Chinese clubs target Shola Ameobi

IGERIA international striker Shola Ameobi is being linked with a move to the cash-rich Chinese Super League. According to reports in the Daily Mail, Ameobi is the latest Premier League player to be courted by clubs in China. The 32-year-old, who was part of Nigeria’s squad at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in

Brazil, is currently a free agent after he was released by Newcastle United at the end of last season. Ameobi has also been linked with a move to clubs like Hull City, Crystal Palace and Australia’s Sydney FC. It will be recalled that in February, Guangzhou R and F tried unsuccessfully to sign Ameobi as a replacement for Yakubu Aiyegbeni.

WEST BROM

sign Ideye for club record £9m fee

EST BROM have signed Nigeria international striker Brown Ideye from Dynamo Kiev for a club-record transfer fee. The 25-year-old has put pen to paper on a three-year contract, plus a further year’s option in the club’s favour, after agreeing personal terms and passing a Hawthorns medical. Ideye will wear the No.9 shirt and becomes the Baggies’ fifth summer signing.

His undisclosed transfer fee surpasses the amount Albion agreed with Sunderland for Stephane Sessegnon last summer. The marksman, who boasts Champions League experience, arrives with a proven record having notched 74 goals in 182 career league appearances. Head coach Alan Irvine said: “Brown is a quality striker and I’m looking forward to working with him.

“He’s a strong, quick, powerful player who likes to get in behind defences and has plenty of Champions League and international experience.” Ideye will meet his new team-mates when they return from the club’s pre-season training camp in Sacramento, California. Technical director Terry Burton added: “When I arrived at Albion the recruitment department flagged Brown up as the man at the top of their

from burn out as the season progresses. “It is normal because it is not the first time,” said Ambrose speaking at the club’s Lennoxtown training complex he added. “I am a professional and I am used to it. It has been part of me.” Ambrose moved from playing before thousands of fans at the World cup in Brasilia to playing in Iceland with just 1500 fans, but to him the focus remains the same despite the difference in atmosphere and opposition.

“It was difficult but as the same time you have to respect everyone you play against in football these days,” said the defender, whose side will play the second leg next Tuesday at Murrayfield. “You have to give your opponent due respect because [there are] no minor teams or minor countries in football these days. “It would have been a story if we had got beaten. So it doesn’t matter who we play against, the most

wish list. “It is a fantastic signing because of the quality and the potential of the player. “I can see that he really wants to be here and that he really wants to be playing in the Premier League. “He’s a dynamic player who likes to get in behind defenders and he has the pace to do so. “He gets himself into good scoring positions in the box and if there are opportunities then he will get on the end of them. “We’re looking forward to seeing him play for the club and scoring goals.” The 5ft11in forward started his career in Nigeria with Ocean Boys before moving to Swiss outfit Neuchâtel Xamax after impressing at the 2007 Fifa World Youth Championship. He fired 23 goals in just 55 appearances for Xamax before moving on to Sochaux in France, where he helped his new club achieve a fifth-place Ligue 1 finish, scoring 15 goals. During his time with Sochaux, he made his international debut for Nigeria in a 2-1 defeat against South Korea in August 2010. After being snapped up by Dynamo Kiev in July 2011, he netted 12 goals in his first season with the Ukrainian giants, as they finished as runners-up to Shakhtar Donetsk. He netted 34 goals in 74 league appearances during his three seasons in Kiev. In 2013 Ideye helped Nigeria clinch their third Africa Cup of Nations title, scoring in the 4-1 semi-final victory over Mali. In total he has five goals for the Super Eagles, having been capped on 24 occasions.

Ambrose unfazed by lack of holiday

LASGOW Celtic defender, Efe Ambrose, says cutting short his break to help Celtic out in the Champions League qualifier against KR Reykjavik on Tuesday, won’t have an adverse effect on him and his season. Ambrose had just two weeks of holiday from last season’s campaign after playing at the World Cup up to round of 16 with Nigeria before crashing out to France 2-0, but the ex-Kaduna United skipper insist he won’t suffer

important thing is to go out and represent Celtic and play as a Celtic player and to win every game we play. So that is the mentality.”

•Ambrose

Mum claims she tried to abort Ronaldo

•Ameobi

Warri Wolves’ coach Temile dead!

ARRI Wolves have announced with heavy heart one of their long serving coaches, Francis Temile who until his death in the early hours of yesterday was in charge of the Seasiders’ feeders team. The Media Officer of Warri Wolves, Moses Etu disclosed to NationSport that Temile had been sick for quite some time and had been on admission at an hospital before he was discharged recently having been certified alright. He later died at his home last Thursday. He had been with the club before the formation of Warri Wolves and was in the

From Tunde Liadi, Owerri main team for many years before he was redeployed to the feeders team at the beginning of last season. Temile, who was the former Chairman of Coaches Association in Delta State left behind his wife and a set of twins. “Coach Temile will be forever mourned in our hearts. He was so nice to the club and was very selfless. He used his youth to serve the club. We pray that God give his family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss,” Etu told NationSport.

OTHER of the current world footballer of the year Cristiano Ronaldo says she tried to abort him when she was pregnant. Dolores Aveiro made the stunning admission in a wartsand-all biography released on Thursday in Portugal. In the book ‘Mother Courage’, she said her doctor refused to have anything to do with the pregnancy termination. A desperate Dolores then turned to home remedies of drinking warm beer and heavy exercise. ‘I wanted to abort but the doctor didn’t support my decision,’ she was quoted as saying by the Daily Star of London. After Ronaldo found out about the incident she said: ‘He told me when he found out, “Look mum, you wanted to abort and now I’m the one who’s pulling the purse-strings in the house.”’ Ronaldo, who plays for Real

Madrid after a spell with Manchester United, suffered

World Cup heartbreak this summer as Portugal was

knocked out at the group stage.

TOMORROWPUNCHLINE IN THE NATION

I cannot but think that Gordimer made this “concession” because this question was one that she personally and heroically had settled for herself decades ago, early in her career —Biodun Jeyifo

SATURDAY, JULU 19, 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL.9, NO. 2907

EADING Segun Ayobolu’s piece on Sat urday is always a welcomed delight. How ever, the edition of 10th May 2014 depicted the abyss to which Nigeria as a country is heading to if the mass of followers in Nigeria decide to keep frolicking in the status quo ante. Presently, the attention of the international community is focused on how to “bring back our girls” abducted in Chibok by the Boko Haram insurgents while writing an examination in their school. The Federal Government is seemingly overwhelmed or overrun by the increasing brutish and bestial antics of the Boko Haram insurgents. This is further compounded with overt lack of tact in command, control and compliance within the rank and file of the nation’s armed forces especially with the widely publicized mutiny resulting in the apparently premeditated attack on the General Officer Commanding (GOC) the 7th Division of Nigeria’s army. What is happening in 21st century Nigeria? Nigeria Army known to win laurels in Regional and United Nations Missions over the years has now been reduced to lilylivered mass of people taking flight at the hearing of Boko Haram as a child will be scared at the sight of a ragamuffin bogeyman! What Went Wrong? It is high time followers in Nigeria began to ask pertinent, salient and succinct questions if we are to see and savour the effective and exemplary leadership practice that would usher in the real change that most of us desire. This change must not just be a cliché hanging in the air a la transformation agenda of the present government at the centre that most people cannot see, feel, touch or embrace! It is against this backdrop, I am concurring and chorusing same “Bring Back Our Country” stance of Segun Ayobolu before it will be difficult to salvage Nigeria from failing even as some do not want to hear or read that Nigeria is a failed state. If Nigeria must not be overtly seen as failed, then, we need a gargantuan number of unique class of followers in Nigeria to leverage the change from clueless to credible and competent leadership that will steer the ship of the state to an envisaged haven. According to Robert Kelly, a professor of leadership and researcher in followership studies, there are five types of followers in organizations and polities. These are: Alienated, Passive, Conformist, Pragmatist and Exemplary. Kelly, in his research studies on followership, distinguishes followership typology by utilizing the lens of engagement and independent thinking. The former trait ensures followers participate while the latter engender a challenge of the system by speaking truth to power when the need arises. To him, the worst type in ranking is Alienated and the best for organizational performance and effectiveness is Exemplary. Who are Exemplary Followers? Exemplary followers exercise independent, critical thinking, separate from the leaders or group-making them to challenge or question the status quo ante, and they also actively engage the system while Alienated Followers think freely and critically; but they do not participate in the groups and organizations of which they are members. They score high in independent thinking and low in active engagement. It is my stand and stake that Kelly rightly describes the domi-

OPEN OPEN FOR FORUM UM Re: Bring back our country:

Courageous followers to the rescue nant traits inherent in majority of followers within Nigeria’s polity. Most Nigerians like to talk, argue with less number coming out to criticize; worse still, very few engage or participate in the system. If you doubt this assertion, pause and ponder on these for few minutes: how many enlightened citizens partake in the political process of becoming eligible voters. Going forward from there, how many would come out to vote on election days? Are most elites not leaving voting on election day for the likes of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) or Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) members, Market Men/Women, Petty Traders, Artisans, Okada Riders, etc? No wonder politicians are habituated to curry the favour of these classes of people as election approaches while simultaneously jettisoning the elites! Is anyone still amazed that the worst of us is ruling the best of us in the words Pastor Tunde Bakare? Catalogues of Issues Exemplary Followers Need To Concentrate on: The list presented here is not exhaustive but few cases of exhibition of seeming corruption and impunity necessitating courageous followers’ persistent, painstaking and proactive engagement: -Alleged 20 billion dollars oil money missing! What steps are few exemplary courageous followers taking to ensure this is not swept under the carpet? We need to keep asking questions. The forensic auditing must be published as our image is daily going down in the comity of nations. Hilary Clinton, America’s erstwhile Secretary of State lately opined concerning our country: “Nigeria has made bad choices, not hard choices...they have squandered their oil wealth, they have allowed corruption to fester and now they are losing control of parts of their territory because they wouldn’t make hard choices.” -Alleged Aircraft Lease costing a whopping 10 billion Naira by Minister of Petroleum Resources. It is appalling that even the Committee in the House Representatives probing this indecorum has been halted by the Honourable Speaker of the House of Representative. Where is Nigeria heading to? -Pension scam perpetrators running to billions of Naira forgotten, forgone or forgiven?: Are Nigerians asking where is Abdulrasheed Maina,

Chairman, Pension Reform Task Force (PRTF) and his heinous acolytes under whose nose 400 billion Naira took flight and disappeared leaving myriads of pensioners languishing in undue impecuniosities? -Immigration Job Recruitment Scandal with attendant 16 lives of precious and promising Nigerians lost: there is now criminal silence! Has this been thrown into the shredding machine of history to forgotten as others before it? As at now, no one has been officially indicted or sanctioned. It is business as usual. Some of us are waiting, watching and following this government as February 2015 beckons when Nigerians will throng the polls again to express their preference for who they long and yearn for in the saddle at the centre. -The power sector stinks with epileptic service pervading Nigeria’s landscape even with billions of Naira exchanging hands between inept private investors and the government at the centre. The investors apparently are acolytes and sycophants of people in the corridor of power. These investors now need a bail out as virtually all of them do not have the financial wherewithal and the competency required to lighten the seemingly incurable darkness pervaded Nigeria! -Is our defence spending justified when viewed against epileptic and clueless performance of our ill-equipped armed forces in the faceoff with the Boko Haram insurgents? At least an exemplary courageous follower, Sam Omatseye, in his column on Monday, May 19, lamentably declared: “…about N2.7 trillion of security budget has gone unaccounted for since 2011. The U.S. Congress lashed the Nigerian military as ill-equipped and ill-trained. ..Foreign powers are now giving us technology that we could have acquired with the princely security budget allocations.” Hogwash! Yet, many Nigerians are not asking questions even when in the Boko Haram’s latest video, there was the display of Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) at the background. Has it been the norm to see in any Al-Qaeda video anything of such? Hopefully, another courageous exemplary follower, Femi Falana, the cerebral and sagacious legal icon and civil right leader urged leaders at the National Confab to probe the gargantuan bud-

getary allocation to the security agencies in the country which runs to three trillion Naira, a fraction away from Omatseye’s. It was his postulation that this would shed light on how the security vote has been expended. Who will bell the cat? As we are approaching the season of another electioneering campaign, it is my opinion that Nigeria needs more of not just Kelly’s Exemplary Followers, as depicted earlier, but what I will refer to as Exemplary-Courageous Followers. In Nigeria’s context, this is the unique typology of followers that can usher this country into the glorious future the mass of followers hope, long and yearn for. In the write-up of Segun Ayobolu he stated inter alia: “But how do we bring back our country? No one can do it for us. The responsibility is ours. We must be determined to hold our governments accountable and ensure that our votes count in free and fair polls.” Well stated. Who will bell the cat? Presently, in Nigeria, there is the palpable and pervading atmosphere of fear of kidnapping, assassination, ritual killing, armed robbery, insurgency, militancy, terrorism, etc. This is worrisome for democracy to thrive as in orderly, decent and developed climes. This is the precious moment for ExemplaryCourageous Followers within the polity in all the six geo-political zones; 36 states and federal capital territory; and 776 local government areas to step up their ante and find ways and means of procreating themselves. In essence, it is high time; this class of followers were mass reproduced, indoctrinated or mentored through education, enlightenment, empowerment and encouragement. The Civil Societies have a big role to play in this direction. We need more Civil and Human Rights leaders to do more of community organizing in all the nooks and cranny of Nigeria especially zeroing on the need to fully partake in the electoral process thus ensuring the followers’ vote count and that ultimately it is One Man, One Vote! Why are we not asking questions in Nigeria? Why are many followers in Nigeria alienated? Why are many followers not courageous enough to talk truth to power at local, state and federal level? The fear of being sanctioned, stigmatized, or severed permanently? It is high time followers arose and shove aside all kinds of fear including that of death to ensure our country is governed by competent, credible, capable and cerebral minds. Barbara Kellerman, a professor of public leadership at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government christened this category of followers as “Diehard”; according to her, these followers are ready to lose “lives and limbs” to usher in the needed change as we have seen in Ukraine, Thailand, Tunisia, etc. I think we need this typology of followers, albeit in few numbers, to embolden and encourage mass of Exemplary-Courageous Followers to initiate passionate, proactive, progressive and peaceful change in our polity. We shall get there by the grace of the Almighty God, not far from now! -Dr Ekundayo, John M. O, author and researcher in Followership studies, lives in Lagos

ILLUMINATIONS RETURNS NEXT WEEK

Ade Ojeikere on Saturday talk2adeojeikere@yahoo.com

Disband Super Eagles now

HE price we pay for this bunch of Su per Eagles to flourish is outrageous. We make them look like tin gods simply because they unite us when they win matches. Everything stops in Nigeria when the Eagles play. They are infallible. They can do no wrong. When things go awry with our football, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) eggheads get the butt. This trend must stop if we hope to attain the height of others. What we should do to stop the rot is to disband the Super Eagles. We can then ask those who truly want to play for Nigeria at our terms to come and fill the Code of Conduct forms which will tell them the dos and don’ts of playing for us. Code of Conduct exists in clubs where these players ply their trade. It is the absence of this rulebook in the

(My World Cup diary, 14) national teams that the players have exploited to pour odium on us like they did in Windhoek before the 2013 Confederations Cup tournament held in Brazil and at the Brazil 2014 World Cup. For winning the Brazil 2014 World Cup, Germany rewarded her players with 300.000 Euros. Before this feat was achieved, the German soccer body graduated what the players would earn from the qualifiers till the glorious moment at the famous Maracana Stadium in Brazil on July 13. The German government had nothing to do with the team’s operations in Brazil, even when the President watched all the games. No player misbehaved because they knew

who called the shots. Germany’s coach’s decisions were obeyed. The coach didn’t disregard his employers. The coach knew he couldn’t walk up to the President to grumble. The President was only seen celebrating at the stands. The World Cup winning team was not burdened by the nuances of influence peddling officials nor were they suffocated by the overflowing attires of government officials. The Germans celebrated alone. No intruders. If it had been the Super Eagles, there would have been more intruders than the players. If the Eagles had won the World Cup, each player would have got $2 million; an estate in any city of his choice and a national

honour, streets would have been named after them in the 36 states of the federation and Abuja and, they would have been paid salaries for life in their states of origin. Governors would have splashed the equivalent, if not more, of what the president would provide. The two chambers of the National Assembly and their states’ counterparts would have joined in the cash splash. The madness arising from the struggle to host the Eagles gives the players and coaches unfettered access to those in the corridors of power to wield powers that they dare not seek with their European clubs’ presidents. I hope that these players don’t come back in the future to tell us that they have been abandoned. The wise ones must save money for the rainy day now. If we want the Eagles to change their ways, we must disband the team, task the NFF to print out copies of the Code of Conduct ap Continued from Page 62

Published and printed by Vintage Press Limited. Corporate Office: 27B Fatai Atere Way, Matori, Lagos. P.M.B. 1025, Oshodi, Lagos. •Continued on Page 62 Telephone: Switch Board: 01-8168361. Marketing: 01-8155547, Abuja Office: Plot 5, Nanka Close AMAC Commercial Complex, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja, Tel/08099650602. Port Harcourt Office: 12/14, Njemanze Street, Mile 1, Diobu, PH. 08023595790 ` Website: www.thenationonlineng.net E-mail: saturday@thenationonlineng.net ISSN: 115-5302 Ag. Editor: VINCENT AKANMODE