The Nation July 2, 2014

Newspaper of the Year

Doctors’ strike paralyses hospitals NEWS

Page 5

•Nurses take over as patients groan

•www.thenationonlineng.net

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

OSUN 2014

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By Seun Akioye and Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

Jonathan.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, broke the news on his Twitter (social media page), saying the upward review will provide additional benefits to workers Retirement Savings Accounts, thereby en-

N150.00

•Jega: Osun election ‘ll be better than Ekiti’s •Coalition warns against military deployment AND MORE •APC seeks probe of suspected thugs •ON PAGE 8

Second Republic minister Umaru Dikko dies at 78

Pension contribution now 18% of pay

ENSION contributions have gone up to 18 per cent of monthly emolument – up from 15 per cent.

Employers are to contribute 10 per cent. The remaining eight per cent will come from the employee, according to the Pension Reform Act 2014, which was signed into law yesterday by President Goodluck

•Keshi clears air on ‘resignation’ •Mikel: we were not disgraced •Maradona slams French player Matuidi’s tackle on Onazi •We made a mark, says Osaze •Argentina 1 Switzerland 0 •Belgium 2 USA 1

•Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

VOL. 9, NO. 2895 WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

PAGES 24,41&63

hancing their monthly benefits at retirement.

Pension contribution is shared equally at 7.5 per cent by employers and employees.

The law, which repeals the Pension Reform Act, N0 2 of 2004, also created new offences, providing for stiffer penalties against diversion of pension funds assets. According to the Act, “operators Continued on page 4

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From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

ECOND Republic Minister of Transport Umaru Dikko died yesterday in London. He was 78.

The influential minister in President Shehu Shagari’s cabinet between 1979-1983, escaped to London after the government was dethroned by the military on December 31, 1983.

An attempt to ship him back home in a crate to answer corruption charges failed.

•The late Dr. Dikko

Continued on page 4

•INSIDE: ARIBISALA’S UNPROFESSIONAL DIATRIBES ON TINUBU, BY SEGUN AYOBOLU P10

EXPLOSION IN OSUN •P11 •DISASTER: A crowd gathers at the scene of the explosion...yesterday. MORE PICTURES ON PAGE 4

PHOTO: AFP

35 die in market bombing

AGE •PA 68 injured Doctors’ strike takes toll N1m for victims’ families •P 4

‘

When about 20 of the Civilian JTF men approached the vehicle, it exploded, leaving about 16 of them dead. Over 30 others were killed in the blast that shook the city to its foundation

’

•BUREAUX DE CHANGE OPERATORS DENY SPONSORING TERRORISM PAGE 11

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

2

NEWS

•From left: Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Dr Masa’udu Kazaure, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Dr MacJohn Nwaobiala and Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Dibu Ojerinde at the fifth JAMB combined policy meeting on admissions to degree, NCE and ND awarding institutions in Abuja…yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

•From left: Group Company Secretary, UBA Plc, Mr Bili Odum, Country Director, Empretec Nigeria Foundation(ENF), Mrs Onari Duke,Guest speaker, Mr. Lim Hong Siewand Group Chief International Officer , Chellarams Plc, Dr.Harbhajan Batth during the Global Roundtable on Supply Chain Management in Lagos... yesterday. PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

•From left: President,Energy Globe Foundation,Prof.

Edward Ayensu, former Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs,Ian Bowles and former President of Poland,Lech Walesa at the Energy Environment and Investment Forum in Port Harcourt...yesterday.

•From left: Partner, Management Consulting, KPMG, Mr Segun Sowande, Partner and Head of Audit Service, Mr Tola Adeyemi and Partner, Tax Regulation and People Services, Mr Ajibola Olomola at a news conference on KPMG Chief Financial Officers (CFOS) Survey Report in Lagos...yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

N9.9b fund..

To cut about N625 billion annual spending on wheat importation, the Bank of Industry (BoI) and Bank of Agriculture (BoI) floated a N9.9billion fund (CBDF). But one year after, stakeholders say the dream is far from realised-- with the BoI and BoA dodging enquiries, reports Assistant Editor (Investigations) SINA FADARE

I

N the beginning, the idea was woven round the peasant farmers. As things stand now though, this initiative built around the promotion of cassava bread seems headed for the rocks and farmers will have nothing to gain in the long run.

And the thousands of jobs it was planned to create will remain a mirage.

It all started during the reign of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The administration initiated the idea of cassava bread to promote the cassava value-chain. Demands were to be created and job opportunities too for thousands of youths roaming the streets.

Obasanjo approved and pursued the policy of 10 per cent cassava flour inclusion in bread baking and challenged flour mills and bread bakers to cue into the idea. However, the effort could not yield the desirable result before Obasanjo's exit. The Goodluck Jonathan administration saw the idea and liked it and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr. Akinwumi Adesina took a bold step and began work on attaining a 40 per cent cassava input in bread. He set by next year as the deadline for attaining this goal.

Part of Adesina's ambition was to cut the country's annual spending of about N625b on wheat importation by 30 per cent, which would save the country close to N200 billion annually. To achieve this, the government imposed a levy of 15 per cent on wheat grain imports, which increased the duty from 5 to 20 per cent. The gain from the levy was used to establish the Cassava Bread Development Fund.

This led the Federal Government to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bank of Industry (Bol) and the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) are disbursing the N9.9billion cassava bread fund released by Jonathan to support small and medium enterprises, master bakers and large industrial cassava flour mills.

Of this amount, N4.3 billion was given to the BoI to support Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) involved in cassava processing. The BoA is to manage N2.4 billion of the fund in collaboration with 13 key private stakeholders.

Adesinsa said the fund would be 50 per cent grant, 50 per cent loan,

•Jonathan receiving a bread made from cassava from Adewunmi

adding that "it is a huge step forward in terms of supporting our farmers to produce more cassava."

The Nation's investigation shows that the policy was as good as other government policy on papers but without any tenacious effort to make it a reality. Some of the master bakers, cassava processors and farmers are at a crossroad on how to access the fund.

Almost a year after the initiative was heralded with fanfare, it remains an illusion. The Nation's investigation in the Southwest in the last two months confirms that cassava farmers, processors and master bakers have been unable to access the fund.

A cassava farmer in Owiwi village in Abeokuta North Local Government Area of Ogun State, Alhaji Eniola Gabriel, said it is high time the Federal Government stopped using farmers to enrich some of their cronies under the disguise of incentives to farmers.

Gabriel said: "It is almost a year now that the issue of grants to cassava farmers has been on. We were compelled to form cooperative societies based on what you are producing in order to have access to some of this grants, but nothing came out of this apart from the hype in the media, whereas the planting season is almost gone.

"The same government two years ago went on the air that cotton farmers would benefit from a N54 billion grants and as l am talking to you today, cotton farmers in the state got nothing. How long will the government continue to exploit the farmers under one grant or the other and at the end of the day, the rural farmers have nothing to show for it? By the time you get to the allotted banks, it was another story entirely the money has gone to the cassava farmers. They should stop all these deceits to the farmers."

Speaking in the same vein, a farmer in Ido-Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State, who has been a cassava farmer in the last 20 years, Pa Joseph Ayanniyi, added: "Whenever l heard that people are talking about grants to farmers, it makes me laugh because it was the same old story and the funny aspect of this grant is that we hear it in the media every time, yet the farmers did not get anything."

Ayanniyi went down the memory lane:"In the old Western region, all what qualifies a farmer for a loan is

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

3

...Still a long walk to cassava bread

•A farmer with cassava tubers

to register with the Agric Extension officers who are working in the Ministry of Agriculture; they knew your house, farm and all you required to turn a new yield in your farm. This would be given to each of the farmer at their respective villages and fertilisers were collected on market days when all the farmers would be present. All these incentives, though little then, were given before the planting season. Those were the good old days of government given incentives to farmers, not today that pen farmers have replaced the authentic ones in the rural areas."

T was a story of lamentation when The Nation spoke to a group of farmers in Igboho in Orelope Local Government Area of Oke-Ogun in Oyo State. Mr. Alani Adewuni said he decided to venture into tobacco farming when there was no help from government, adding: "despite that this area is noted as the food basket of Oyo State, cassava farmers have not benefited anything from the government, be it state or federal. All what we are hearing in the media everyday is that a huge amount of money has been allocated to either cassava farmers or cotton farmers, but we did not see it. That is why some of the youths decided to embrace the British America Tobacco grants to plant tobacco."

Another farmer, Pa Jacob Olakitan, shared Alani's view, saying that it takes extra energy and time to tender tobacco which he ventured into when he had no money to plant large scale cassava.

"There is nobody who did not know me as a cassava farmer in this town, but today l only plant the little needed by my family since none of the government incentives to cassava farmers ever gets to us here."

However, the National President of the Nigeria Cassava Growth Association (NCGA), Pastor Segun Adewumi, said his members cassava have benefitted from the grant. But why has the effect not been felt? He said: "It is yet to materialise because some of the tractors were imported" He said his members were targeting about 29,500 hectares of land for the cultivation of cassava. Adewumi denied that the grants have been hijacked by politicians.

He said: "As far as l am concerned , the process is the most simplified process since Nigeria was birthed. All you need to do is be a registered

I

member. So, we can have your profile, we don't want a farmer that we cannot have his profile, a situation whereby we go to his farm to make sure he actually has a farm. Global Positioning System (GPS) will be used to measure the farm. All you need to do is open an account with the bank and some of the things you are to get are in kind. So, you don't divert the money. There is cash, there is kind."

He said about 10,000 cassava farmers would benefit from the grants.

"You can get the statistics from the cassava growers association. They have the statistics, they have their offices in all the states nationwide," he added.

But Adewunmi's enthusiasm was not shared the Master Bakers and Caterer Association of Nigeria. The National President of Master Baker and Caterer Association of Nigeria (MBCAN), Mr. Simeon Abanuwulor.

He said the association is disappointed over "numerous bottlenecks' that were militating against access to the Cassava Bread Development Fund (CBDF).

Abanuwulor explained that the cassava bread policy when fully implemented would provide jobs for hundreds of thousands of Nigerians and it would ensure food security for the country and increase profit for local farmers and bakers. He, however, regretted that the situation on ground does not suggest that the Federal is serious about the project.

According to him, about 80 per cent of bakers in Nigeria are still using outdated machines, which cannot effectively process the cassava to meet the demands of Nigerians.

A Lagos baker of about 18 years' experience, Lamidi Owoseeni, said if no baker has accessed the N2.2billion promised by the Federal Government, "it is a sign that the policy has hit the rock like any other government policies of the past".

Owoseeni said: "The major problem as regards cassava bread is the issue of cassava flour which is not yet available in the market. Therefore, the flour mills cannot supply even Lagos Master Bakers, not to talk of all our members in the whole country."

A retired civil servant- turned farmer in Ile-Oluji, Ondo State, Mr. Ilori Adepegba, said though cassava farmers were told that some grants would be available this year to plant mechanised cassava, as at June, nothing was forth coming.

"The implication of this is that this year has gone. If there is no cassava explosion that can accommodate the need of Flour Mill industries, where will the Master Bakers get cassava flour to produce cassava bread as envisaged?" he queried He went on: "From my finding here in Ondo State, l have not seen any farmer benefiting from CBDF, despite all the troubles majority went through each time they raised our hopes."

The Chairman of MBCAN, Lagos State branch, Prince Jacob Adejonrin, noted that despite the fact that some master bakers were trained when the programme started, 20 people were picked from each of the six states in the Southwest, but nothing came after this.

Adejonrin said that if the Federal Government releases the grant promised MBCAN, Lagos alone would generate nothing less than 120,000 new employments for youths roaming the streets.

Commissioners of Agriculture in some of the Southwest states confirm to The Nation that the benefits of the grants were yet to be felt in their states.

Ekiti State Commissioner for Agriculture Babajide Arowosafe noted that most of the grants and loans from the Federal Government to farmers were decided in Abuja, adding: "Therefore, we are not in the loop of beneficiaries."

Arowosafe added that most of the laudable agricultural policy from the Federal Government is killed by wrong approach at the point of execution.

His counterpart in Ogun State, Mrs Ronke Sokefun, shared the same sentiment, noting that the state ministries were not always involved in Federal Government's grants to farmers because ''they administer all directly''.

According to her "the grants for cassava growers and master bakers is not popular in Ogun State, we are yet to see those that benefitted."

What should be done

T

HE Director of Grants Man agement at the Federal Uni versity of Agriculture (FUNAB) and the Project Manager of the Cassava Adding Value for Africa, Dr. Kolawole Adebayo, while speaking to The Nation in his office in Abeokuta, noted that poor execution is always the bane of the Federal

•Loaves of bread

Government's grants disbursement.

Adebayo said:"In Nigeria, the bread story was tied to government policy, but cassava flour could be used for other end uses apart from cassava bread. It could be used for biscuit, cake and other products. Unfortunately, it was cassava bread that overrides other usages of cassava. In Ghana, it was used as a glue extender in making plywood, but the cassavas bread overshadows all other potentials of cassava in Nigeria."

Adebayo argues that the major threat to cassava bread could be traced to the politicisation of the policy.

He said: "Government policies works around political timelines and that's a major issue; if we could get our policy to work outside political timelines, I think that will help us a lot so that once we start a policy for good or for bad, let it out leave a timeline before revision."

He regretted that "the fund is sometime tag to political patronage like who are you? Which Local Government do you come from? Which party do you come from? All these sometimes influence how people's access grant that is supposed to go to those who actually needed them irrespective of where you come from. Therefore, many of our small scale farmers won't have time for this, and over the years, experience has taught many of them not to trust government."

Adebayo said all hope was not lost yet.

"In the implementation of some of these policies, I will prefer that we actually regionise the planning for our agriculture. Nigeria is such a diverse country both agro-ecologically, socially, culturally, historically, even in terms of farming practices, the way we do things in various sectors of this country are different," he said.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research (FIRRO), Oshodi, Dr. Oluwatoyin Oluwole, at a recent stakeholder meeting, argued that "the project could be of immense benefit to the nation if the necessary loose-ends are tightened, especially in the areas of ensuring closely monitoring, ensuring that the funds are not misappropriated, curbing smuggling, reduction of official bureaucracy that could bar the real beneficiaries - millers, small scale farmers, bakers and entrepreneurs - from accessing the funds and to make the desired impact. It is when this happens that I believe cassava bread can really add value to the

economy."

Speaking to The Nation on condition of anonymity, a researcher and expert in cassava production at FIRRO, said the project may not achieve the desired goal because it has been ''coated in political garment''.

He said: "There is no miracle about it; the project has failed immediately it was hijacked for political consideration. Aside this, massive increase in cassava production is not feasible at the moment. Most of the nation's irrigation systems which can provide some measure of controlled water supply have broken down. For instance, the Goronyo Fadama dam in Sokoto State which collapsed two years ago is still not functioning; the Bakolori dam project in Zamfara State is also in a state of disrepair, Kanji dam is suffering from water shortage, how can the farmer feed the industries?"

He urged the Federal Government to borrow a leaf from the Cassava Adding Value for Africa (CAVA) 1&11 grants and learn the best way to deal with cassava farmers and processors of cassava.

BoI, BoA keep mum

W

HEN The Nation visited the BoI and BoA to get their own sides of the story, it met a brick wall as those in charge kept a zealed lip. However, a top Agric-Economist in BoI, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said official bottleneck was the bane of the policy.

Yet, a consultant to the Federal Government, Resources and Trust Company (RTC), in a recent report signed by its CEO, Mr Opeyemi Agbaje, said the Federal Government Agricultural Transformation Agenda has made positive outcomes, noting that "the ongoing efforts to establish large scale cassava processing plant is yielding a positive result. The Federal Government, through the BoI and BoA has distributed about N8.8 billion to about 30,000 cassava farmers."

If it is true that the money for cassava bread has been disbursed as claimed by Agbaje, Mr Fijabi Olorode, an agronomist, said: "It is very obvious that the dooms day in terms of food crisis is nearby."

A source said Akinwunmi is not involved in the disbursement since the policy cedes that function to the BoI and BoA, which refused to answer this reporter's enquiries. But the big question is: where is the cassava bread? It is several distance away, stakeholders claim.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

NEWS

35 die in market bombing

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AIDUGURI, the beleaguered Borno State capital, was in pain again yesterday. A bomb went off, killing no fewer than 35 – according to a National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) source.

The source said he got the figure after bodies had been counted at the hospital. He declined to be quoted, because he is not authorised to speak officially.

Among the dead were members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) – the vigilante group that has been complementing the military in tackling Boko Haram, the insurgency group which has killed thousands. The Civilian JTF lost no fewer than 16 members.

Another 68 people were injured. Rescue operation at the hospital was affected by the doctors’ strike.

Red Cross officials and nurses were attending to the injured. Those who required urgent surgery could not be attended to.

A Peugeot 505 saloon car carrying charcoal but loaded with laden explosive devices exploded around the busy ElKanemi Round-about, Monday Market and about 40 metres from the office of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) at about 7am.

•Shettima with victims of the blast...yesterday From Yusuf Alli, Abuja and Duku Joel, Maiduguri

No organisation has claimed responsibility, but it is believed that the Boko Haram insurgents did it.

The chairman of the Civilian JTF attached to Sector 3, Mallam Iliya Saidu, told Governor Kashim Shettima, who visited the injured in the hospital, that his men identified nine members who died in the blast.

Chairman of the Monday Market Traders Association Alhaji Bukar Jere insisted that 16 Civilian JTF members were among the “dozens” of people killed.

He told Governor Shettima at the scene of the blast: “Sixteen civilian JTF men were among those killed in the blast. 68 people sustained serious injuries”.

He said four vehicles and four tricycles were burnt in

the blast, adding that the incident also affected 49 shops and wares displayed by petty traders on the road side.

Mallam Umaru Jubrin, a wheel barrow pusher in the market who had a minor injury on his face said: “The Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were concealed under bags of charcoal in a Peugeot 505 saloon car, which was stationed by a suspected Boko Haram detonator in the busy area.

“After noticing the parked vehicle, some men of the Civilian JTF were alerted. Unfortunately, when about 20 of the Civilian JTF men approached the vehicle, it exploded leaving about 16 of them dead. Over 30 others were killed in the blast that shook the city of its foundation.

“Also, over 68 people, including Civilian JTF members were seriously injured in

the blast. They were all rushed to various hospitals in Maiduguri.”

A trader, Mallam Hussaini Sani, said: “We usually come here very early as there is nothing to do at home; so, we come around to wait until the market is open. As we were chatting, we heard ‘boom!’ A sound of bomb blast. We ran towards the smoke area and saw many people on the ground before the security came. Many people were killed.”

Police spokesman DSP Gideon Jibril said: “Our officers and men are already at the scene of the explosion as evacuation of bodies is ongoing.”

Shettima left the scene for the State Specialist Hospital, Umaru Shehu General Hospital in Bulumkutu, where he sympathised with the victims.

He prayed for the repose of

the souls of the dead.

He said the government would foot the medical bills of the victims. Families of those who lost their loved ones or relatives, particularly the Civilian JTF, will get N1 million each, he added.

Shettima condemned the perpetrators of the bombing as” anti- Islam”, “barbaric” and “wicked”.

He wondered why some miscreants were using the period of Ramadan to cause havoc.

A military source said about 24 people were killed and 50 others seriously injured.

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has ordered heavy surveillance of Maiduguri and its environs.

According to the DHQ, the insurgents used a truck loaded with charcoal and firewood for the bombing.

A military source, who

Pension contribution now 18% of pay

Continued from page 1

who mismanage pension fund will be liable on conviction to not less than 10 years imprisonment or fine of an amount equal to three times the amount misappropriated or both imprisonment and fine”.

The Act empowers the National Pension Commission (PenCom), subject to the fiat of the Attorney General of the Federation, to institute criminal proceedings against employers who persistently fail to deduct/remit pension contributions of their employees within the stipulated time.

Also, as a departure from the provisions of the Pension Bill 2004, the law empowers PenCom to take proactive corrective measures on licensed operators whose ac-

tions or inaction jeopardize the safety of pension assets.

Instructively, the new law has also reduced the waiting period for accessing benefits in the event of loss of job by employees from six months to four months. This was done to identify with the yearnings of contributors and labour.

Other changes in the law include provisions for the repositioning of the Pension Transition Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) to ensure greater efficiency and accountability in the administration of the Defined Benefits Scheme. This will ensure that pension benefits are paid directly into pensioners’ bank accounts - in line with the current policy of the Federal Government.

The Pension Reform Act

will also enable the creation of additional permissible investment instruments to accommodate initiatives for national development. Such investments, according to the new law, will be in real sector, including infrastructure and real estate development.

However, there are provisions that will ensure such investments do not compromise the paramount principle of ensuring the safety of pension fund assets.

Under the law, the coverage of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) has been expanded to three employees, which is in line with the drive towards informal sector participation. An employer can also be compelled to open a Temporary Retirement Savings Account (TRSA) on behalf of an employee who fails

to open a Retirement Savings Account (RSA) within three months of assumption of duty.

The Pension Reform Act 2014 also consolidated earlier amendments to the 2004 Act. Among these are the Pension Reform (Amendment) Act 2011, which exempts the personnel of the Military and the Security Agencies from the CPS. It also includes the Universities (Miscellaneous) Provisions Act 2012, which reviewed the retirement age and benefits of university professors. It incorporated the Third Alteration Act, which amended the 1999 Constitution by vesting jurisdiction in pension matters in the National Industrial Court (NIC).

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From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

ten to me because I do not have the same ideology they have. We must look for a way to end the Boko Haram menace,” he said.

He said he was not against dialogue with Boko Haram members, adding: “In the last one year, Boko Haram has been killing Muslims who are giving information on their activities to either the security or the community. A village was wiped out because they gave vital information about them.

“If we want to end the Boko Haram insurgency, we as Nigerians must speak the truth.

That is the major factor. Boko

Haram has an ideology, Muslim leaders should engage them and tell them the truth.

“I am not against dialogue, but the people that must dialogue are the Muslims religious leaders, traditional leaders and Muslim political leaders. They must come together and speak the truth to Boko Haram members. The Boko Haram members still believe in some Muslim leaders. They should use this means to tell them the truth.”

Pastor Oritsejafor had a word for traditional rulers, who he urged “to come together and work together”.

“You cannot even imagine the difference you will make especially in the North and also for the minority tribe

across the north and even from the South.

“You should do everything to come together, you must come together. Nigeria must hear your voice. CAN must partner with NOSEF to achieve peace in the North and in the country.

“Many things are wrong in this country. We look at Boko Haram and we see a terrible satanic, demonic force troubling the entire Nigeria. You know what I am talking about. Even when you are in school, there are some courses you are not allowed to take because you are a Christian.

The world does not know this all what many people outside the country know is the word Boko Haram. As we speak,

Continued on page 63

Dikko dies at 78 Continued from page 1

His younger brother, Alhaji Lamido Dikko, confirmed his death.

He survived an attempt by the military government to abduct and bring him back to Nigeria to face trial for corruption. British police intercepted the crate inside which he was placed at the airport.

One of the early callers at his Kaduna residence was former Head of State and Umaru Dikko’s classmate at Barewa College, Gen. Yaku-

A

bu Gowon, who described the late Dikko as a ‘good man’.

He said Dikko was an efficient minister. He described his death as a great loss to the country, “no matter what anyone will say.”

“I have known him since our school days in 1950. He was part of the Zaria Boys Association. I was the Chairman and he was my deputy.

So you can see how long we have known each other and we have interrelated ever Continued on page 63

Explosion in Kaduna

BOMB exploded last night in Kaduna.

The explosion shattered plate glass windows of some of the business premises surrounding Asikolaya/ Bakin Ruwa area along the Kaduna Western bypass, where it occurred. Two people were reported injured.

Why Boko Haram is still bombing and killing, by CAN President

IGERIA cannot end Boko Haram insurgency if people, especially leaders of the North are not saying the truth, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor said yesterday.

Pastor Oritsejafor said what Boko Haram was after is to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria.

He spoke in Abuja at the 2014 National Conference on Voices against violence, organised by Christian Elders Forum of Northern States (NOSCEF).

Pastor Oritsejafor said he would have loved to dialogue with Boko Haram members but, “The Boko Haram members will not lis-

spoke in confidence, said: “Preliminary investigation indicated that 24 people were killed and 50 injured during the blast at the Monday market.

“Going by the information available to the military, a truck conveying firewood and charcoal was used by the insurgents this time around.

“The truck was neatly parked at the market as if it wanted to discharge its contents but the IED, which was neatly tucked inside the truck, exploded. The truck was deliberately put at a spot where many buyers and sellers usually converge.

“Obviously when the bomb exploded, it affected many people who came early to the market.”

Another military source said: “What we have been able to establish so far is that a truck was used for the ex-

any relationship that will blossom and be strong. Nigeria will not be strong until we speak the truth and use the truth to deal with issues. I heard someone saying that we do not know what Boko Haram wants. I do not know

how many people all over the world know that 99 per cent of the kidnapped Chibok girls are Christians? How many people are aware that most of the people they kill in Adamawa and Taraba Continued on page 63 states and other northern ADVERT HOTLINES states are Christians? I believe that Christians and 08023006969, Muslims can work together.

08052592524 “Truth is the foundation for RETRACTION

In a story titled “Why Nigeria still crawls, by Oyebode” which was published in our June 25 edition, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode of Aluko & Oyebode was erroneously quoted to have ascribed the country’s staunted growth to the halfhearted implementation of its laws.

He neither made the said statement at the 8th Annual Business Law of the Nigeria Bar Association (SBL/NBA) recently held in Lagos nor at any other time. The misrepresentation is regretted.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

5

NEWS DOCTORS’ STRIKE (DAY ONE

Edo hospitals discharge patients

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OSPITALS in Edo State yesterday dis charged some of their patients as the indefinite strike of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) began.

The strike grounded medical services at most hospitals our correspondent visited.

At the Benin Central Hospital, located on Sapele Road, patients brought to the Emergency Unit were rejected.

Expectant mothers on antenatal care left hours later when they were not attended to.

Relatives of sick patients were seen making efforts to relocate their loved ones to private hospitals.

The state Chairman of the Association of Resident Doctors

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

at the Central Hospital, Dr. Eighemhelrio Paul, told our reporter on phone that some patients were stabilised and asked to go.

He said the doctors withdrew their services in line with the directive from their national leadership.

Dr. Paul said new patients were not admitted.

Sources at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital said skeletal services were provided by doctors but that no patients were admitted.

The source said patients at the hospital were asked to seek medical care at private clinics.

Operation halted in Ondo hospitals

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edical officers in public hospitals in Ondo State yesterday joined their colleagues for the indefinite strike of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), which began yesterday.

The strike almost paralysed activities in government health facilities.

It was learnt that patients with serious ailments had been discharged before the strike started.

The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the State Specialist Hospital in Akure, Dr

Nurses take over running of Abuja hospitals

A

CTIVITIES at the government hospitals in Abuja were crippled yesterday following the beginning of the indefinite strike of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

Nurses took over the duties of doctors in most government hospitals to save the lives of patients, especially those in critical conditions.

Doctors in government hospitals refused to attend to patients.

Many patients were stranded and others were quickly discharged to avoid complications.

From Vincent Ikuomola and Faith Yahaya, Abuja

Several patients, who were hurriedly discharged, complained that the strike took them by surprise.

The nurses were seen attending to patients at the government hospitals our correspondents visited in Abuja.

At Wuse General Hospital, the situation, the nurses were seen attending to patients. Some of the doctors who reported for duty only offered skeletal services.

The hospital, which used to be swarming with in-pa-

tients and out-patients, was deserted, except for the nurses.

At the National Hospital, most of the patients said they were not aware that there would be a doctors’ strike.

They expressed confusion over the development.

Many resigned to fate, saying they were not prepared for the strike.

Patients with the financial muscles were seen preparing to move to private hospitals.

Also, the National Hospital Management, according to its spokesperson, Tayo Haastrup, will take care of patients until the dispute

between the doctors and the Federal Government are resolved.

Haastrup assured that patients with less challenging health issues would be discharged while those under critical conditions would continue to receive attention.

He said: “What the management of the hospital has put in place is to make sure that those in the wards are well taken care of and those due for discharge will actually be discharged.

“But those in critical conditions can’t be discharged.

A patient in Intensive Care Unit (ICV) can’t be discharg-

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

Adeniran Ikuomola, explained that the management took the decision to reduce the suffering of the patients.

He said those retained on admission were those with minor cases that nurses could handle.

Our reporter noticed that nurses were seen attending to patients; the doctors complied with the NMA leadership’s directive.

Some nurses, who spoke in confidence, told our reporter that they were only doing the job expected of them.

Activities paralysed at Uyo Teaching Hospital

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EDICAL activities were paralysed yesterday at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.

Doctors at the hospital complied with the nationwide indefinite strike of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

Doctors refused to attend to patients.

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

were seen unattended to by medical doctors during the visit of The Nation to UUTH in Akwa Ibom State.

Some of the patients, who spoke with our correspondent, pleaded with the Federal Government to honour the 2009 agreement it willingly signed with the medical doctors.

FMC Makurdi workers down tools From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

MEDICAL services at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, were at the lowest ebb yesterday as the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) started its indefinite strike.

When our reporter visited the centre, no medical services were being rendered.

Patients on admission left for private hospitals and clinics for treatment.

The main gate to the centre was locked.

Visitors were turned back by union officials who ensured compliance with the NMA national directive.

• A patient waiting at the Outpatient Department of THE General Hospital at Igando, Lagos...yesterday.

Patients groan as UCH renders skeletal services

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ATIENTS groaned yesterday at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, as the strike by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) started.

Except those at the Accident and Emergency Unit of the hospital, other patients were unattended to by the striking doctors.

New patients were turned back to seek medical services elsewhere; only nurses and other junior medical workers attended to those on admission.

Services grounded at ATBUTH Bauchi

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edical SERVICES at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH) in Bauchi were partially grounded yesterday.

Most of the doctors at the teaching hospital deserted their duty posts as the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) began its indefinite strike.

Patients with critical cases were attended to by pharmacists and nurses and other auxiliary workers when our reporter visited the hospital twice yesterday – in the morning and afternoon.

Those with minor ailments had been discharged before the strike began.

Critical cases were referred to the Bauchi General Hospital at Tarshan Babiye, in the Bauchi metropolis. Others checked into private clinics, where charges were said to have been increased.

A resident, Atiku Lawal Maigishiri, whose wife and son were hospitalised five days ago, was seen moving them to MaiJama’a Clinic on Wunti Street.

Maigishiri said he deposited N30,000 at the private clinic for the admission of his two family members.

At the male surgical ward, a patient, Husseini Audu, said he was receiving treatment for a broken thigh in a road accident.

Over 200 other patients and their relatives were seen leaving the Bauchi General Hospital as the strike began yesterday.

ATBUTH’s Acting Chief Medical Director, Dr. Yusuf Jibril, said the workers were attending to patients with critical conditions.

PHOTO: NAN

From Bisi Oladele and Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

The state chapter of the NMA expressed dissatisfaction with Federal Government’s lopsided policies on medical practice.

The union noted that such policies threaten efficient health care delivery.

Addressing reporters yesterday in Ibadan, the state capital, the association said it was notifying the public of the beginning of an indefinite strike.

Its chairman, Dr. Malomo

Adefolarin, explained that the strike was not meant to cause hardship on Nigerians but to protect the ethics of the medical profession and improve health care standard.

The union leader was accompanied by the Chairman of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) at the UCH, Dr. Franklin Anor, and other executive members of the association.

Adefolarin said the lack of respect for doctors, which the Federal Government was exhibiting by giving out unnec-

essary titles, authorities and influence, was dangerous to effective health care delivery.

The union leader said the excellence of other health care workers outstripped the mere need to mimic doctors.

He said: “The government has remained quiet on policies that have driven two regulatory bodies to exchange words on the pages of newspapers. It has retained titles and arrangements that belie substance and asked the people, whose entry point is first degree, to direct those whose entry point is postgraduate degrees.

Patients in Lagos agonise over strike

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ATIENTS seeking treatment at various public hospitals in Lagos State were turned down yesterday as members of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) started their indefinite strike.

At the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igboi and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ebute Metta, among others, doctors did not attend to patients.

The out-patient units and clinics were shut in the hospitals while in-patients were not unable to see doctors.

This also made other health workers in the hospitals, such as pharmacists, nurses and medical laboratory scientists to play truancy as went on sorts of holiday.

Many patients who came to hospitals on referrals and

By Oyeyemi GbengaMustapha and Wale Adepoju

new patients went away disappointed as security officials re-echo “there is strike” to their ears.

They were told to seek medical services in private hospitals.

Some patients were also discharged from the hospitals.

The Accident and Emer-

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gency (A and E) units were shut at LUTH but that of LASUTH was opened only that new patients were not admitted.

The Paediatric Ward, OutPatient Department (OPD) and Oncology Unit were deserted by doctors. Some nurses were seen at the Labour Ward attending to some expectants mothers.

Doctors at the National

Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, also complied joined the strike as they shunned their duty posts. The A and E, orthopaedic ward and other Wards were shut at new patients while nurses remained with patients in critical condition.

The story is the same at FMC, Ebute Metta, only that other health workers were on ground but patients were asking for the doctors.

Patients moved out of Delta hospitals

OCTORS in public hospitals in Delta State yesterday joined the nationwide strike of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA).

Those at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Asaba, the state capital, temporarily withdrew their services. They only attended to in-patients preparatory to be moved to private

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

clinics.

The state NMA Chairman, Dr. Uyi Osarenkhoe said outpatients were being turned back because there were no doctors to attend to them.

He said: “We are not taking new emergencies, except those cases who were admitted before now. We are attending to

them in preparation for them to be taken away by their relatives, maybe to private clinics.”

It was learnt that other health workers at the institution were at their duty posts, since the strike did not concern them.

The strike follwed the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum the NMA national leadership gave the Federal Government to address its demands.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

6

NEWS We’ve reabsorbed many aggrieved PDP members, says Mu’azu

‘Evidence suppression’: Oyinlola loses bid to prosecute MTN

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

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HE National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, has said the party has brought back some aggrieved members.

Mu’azu spoke in Igbokoda, the headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, when he received a former Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) commissioner in the state, Dr. Benson Enikuomehin, and some other chieftains of the ruling Labour Party (LP) into the PDP. Mu’azu said the PDP would do everything to reclaim its lost glory.

Represented by the PDP National Vice-Chairman in the Southwest, Chief Dapo Filani, the National Chairman said the party would make the welfare of the people its priority in 2015, if voted into power.

Mu’azu assured that the party would give the new members the same rights and opportunities older members have in the scheme of things.

He said the party’s victory in the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State was an indication that the party had regained its feet in the Southwest.

The party chairman described the former NDDC commissioner as a politician of repute with an enviable political disposition.

Group sues Jonathan, Adoke over gainst Abacha’s son’s case

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group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has sued the Federal over its withdrawal of the N446.3 billion corruption charges/suit against Mohammed Abacha, son of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha.

Joined in the suit are: President Goodluck Jonathan and the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke (SAN).

In the suit, filed yesterday before the Federal High Court, Lagos, by Adetokunbo Mumuni and Oyindamola Musa, SERAP argued that “Section 15 (5) of the 1999 Constitution provides that “the State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power”.

The group said the defendants were expected “to prevent the exploitation of Nigeria’s human and natural resources for any reasons other than for the good of the community”.

SERAP added: “It also means that in cases of corruption, the defendants will ensure diligent and effective prosecution of suspected perpetrators.

“The philosophical foundation for the inclusion of the fundamental objectives in the Constitution is that government’s powers are not exercised to disregard the very institution and citizens they ought to protect.”

•President Goodluck Jonathan (middle) signing the 2014 Pension Reform Bill into law at the State House in Abuja...yesterday.

With him are: Vice-President Namadi Sambo (second left); Director-General, National Pension Commission, Ms Chinelo Anohu-Amazu (left); Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke (second right) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu.

PHOTO: NAN

Conference scraps May 29 as Democracy Day

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ELEGATES to the onNational Conference yesterday took a major decision to abolish May 29 as Democracy Day. In its stead, the delegates resolved that October 1 should be the country’s Democracy Day. The Conference resolved that all elected political office holders be sworn in on October 1.

Since the return to democratic rule on May 29, 1999, the day has been celebrated as Democracy Day. October 1 is the anniversary of the returns independence.

These decisions followed the adoption of amendments and recommendations of the Con-

From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor and Dele Anofi, Abuja

ference Committee report on Political Parties and Electoral Matters.

It was also recommended that electronic voting system be introduced after the 2015 General elections, with INEC mandated to automatically transmit election results at ward level electronically as well as display the results at the ward level.

The delegates overwhelmingly voted against the continued existence of the State Independent Electoral Commission (SEIC) .

The function of the SEIC was recommended for transfer to the

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

While the delegates also aligned with the recommendation of the Justice Uwais report on the appointment of INEC Chairman. It was recommended that Secretary to INEC should hold office for four years and renewable for another four years only.

It was also recommended that Section 180 of the constitution be amended to give INEC powers to approach the Supreme Court for interpretation on fundamental constitutional matters.

Besides, it was recommended that where a candidate, who wins a primary election and whose name was submit-

ted to the commission dies or withdraws from an election, the party which nominates the candidate should submit to the commission the name of an aspirant who scored the second highest number of votes at primaries.

Also, relevant constitutional amendments wererecommended to be undertaken to ensure that no elected official is sworn in until all litigations are concluded.

The delegates voted for the conclusion of all election litigations be concluded before elected officials are sworn in. It was also adopted that the Evidence Act be amended to shift the burden of proof in election matters to INEC.

Senate probes ‘imminent ceding’ of parts of Nigeria to Cameroon T HE Senate yesterday set up a high-powered delegation to probe alleged imminent ceding of parts of Cross River State to Cameroon.

This followed a motion, titled: Impending Border Crises between Nigeria and Cameroun in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State, sponsored

by Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba.

The Senate suspended debate and set up the committee to investigate the matter, with a directive to tender the facts to enable it make informed decision.

It did not take the prayers on the motion.

In his lead debate, NdomaEgba urged the Senate to be

T

From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

wary of the recent activities of the Joint Technical Team, a sub-body of the NigeriaCameroon Mixed Commission. It was mandated to trace, ascertain and reinforce the boundary points between the two countries.

The senator regretted that the team went to the villages of Danare and Biajua, in Boki Local Government Area in the Central Senatorial District of Cross River State. They were allegedly aided by Nigerian soldiers to arbitrarily enforce the demarcation of the boundary between the two coun-

tries.

He stressed that on the two occasions the exercise was attempted in the area, there was no representation from Cross River State in the United Nations (UN) team, led by a Zimbabwean, Mr. Paul Mbaya.

Ndoma-Egba said: “Cameroonian security forces are guarding their border communities but there is no security presence on the Nigerian side.”

The senator representing Cross River Central recalled that on October 10, 2002, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), to which Nigeria had subjected itself, gave judg-

ment in the matter of the land and maritime boundary dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon.

He said the ICJ awarded ownership of Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, despite the strong historical, cultural and legal arguments put forward

by Nigeria.

According to him, it was “a decision that has been trailed by much controversy till this day”.

Ndoma-Egba explained that based on the ICJ ruling, the Nigeria-Cameroon Mixed Commission was set up under the auspices of the UN to implement the judgment and carry out detailed demarcation of the boundary between the two countries, from Lake Chad to the Atlantic Ocean.

FORMER Osun State G o v e r n o r Olagunsoye Oyinlola lost yesterday the bid to prosecute a private telecommunication service provider, MTN, for allegedly suppressing evidence.

A Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed his suit.

Oyinlola, last year, filed an application for the judicial review for an order of mandamus to compel the Minister of Justice and AttorneyGeneral of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke (SAN), to initiate criminal prosecution against MTN for allegedly suppressing evidence.

In a judgment yesterday, Justice Adeniyi Ademola held that although Section 174 of the Constitution provides the granting of order of mandamus against a public officer to compel him/her to perform his public responsibility, the section equally provides the Attorney-General with the discretion to initiate public prosecution.

The judge held that granting order of mandamus under Section 174 of the Constitution, which Oyinlola relied on in his application, was discretionary in nature and that the court had the discretion to grant or refuse it.

Professionals urge Conference to re-consider motion

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ELEGATES representing professional bodies at the Constitutional Conference in Abuja have lobbied for the passage of the motion on the ‘Removal of Land Use Act from the Constitution’ when it is presented again on the floor of the conference.

One of the delegates and a former President of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Mr. Emeka Eleh said the motion was rejected when it was earlier introduced because of lack of understanding of what it was all about.

Eleh said some of the committees of the Conference had proposed a similar position.

He added that the removal of the Act from the constitution and having it on the concurrent list as a Federal Law would remove the impediments that made the Act, established in 1978, not to yield desired results and benefits.

$6b investments: Firm seeks repair of Onne Port road

HE Executive Director of Orlean Invest West Africa Limited, the concessionaire in charge of Onne Port, Mr. Damir Miskovic, yesterday called for steady power supply and rehabilitation of the roads to the port.

He noted that without infrastructure in place, about $6 billion worth of investments at the port might be hampered.

The company chief said if the port was underutilised, it

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

might also affect 28, 000 jobs.

Miskovic, in a statement by his firm, said Onne Port is one of the fastest growing oil and gas hubs in Africa.

He said it was being hampered by the collapse of critical amenities, such as power supply and roads.

Onne Port is one of the three ports concessioned to Orlean Invest by the Federal Government. Others are: Calabar Port, Warri and Lagos.

Miskovic said: “The government is doing its best but we want it to do more for us to boost economic activities at this port which has multiplier effects.

“Onne Port has economic significance for Nigeria. This is a modern oil and gas port that serves the entire Gulf of Guinea with an investment by over 170 leading companies.

“Onne Port should naturally be in the heart of the Nigerian authorities, considering what the port represents

to the world.

“With its two terminals, Onne Port is the heart of the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone.

The free zone has become “the largest in the world, measured by physical area, number of client or volume of investments.

“But in spite of its economic significance, does not enjoy power supply from the National Grid. Its 20 megawatt power requirement is provided by generators at huge costs to the companies.

“Secondly, the access roads

from Port Harcourt are virtually not motorable in some areas. Today, a journey of less than 50 kilometers takes more than two hours. This can lead to safety challenge, a waste of invaluable man-hours and limiting the urge of investors and customers alike to reach the professional sieves and economic opportunities at Onne.

“Over the years, the Onne Port companies have created no less than 28,000 jobs, with Orlean Invest alone currently providing over 4,000.

7

THE NATION WEDNESDAY JULY 2, 2014

NEWS

UMARU DIKKO (1936- 2014)

Death of a power baron H ‘Dikko was ‘a PDP elder.

IS last partisan assignment was as controversial as his entire political career. The crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had reached the peak. The party was not looking for a crisis manager, but an enforcer of discipline.

The lot to chair the party’s National Disciplinary Committee fell on Dr. Umaru Dikko in the twilight of his life. It was a very difficult task for the foremost conservative politician. The committee never accomplished its objective.

When it was inaugurated in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, reality dawned on the ruling party that the Second Republic Minister of Transport was the wrong choice for the job. He was not hale and hearty. On his seat, he looked frail, pale and pensive. When he tried to muster the strength of his defunct robust youthful years, his energy failed him. Few weeks after the inauguration, he was said to have travelled abroad for medical attention.

Dikko had been around for long. Controvery trails his interventions in national life. In the seventies, he served as a commissioner in the old Kaduna State. He was a founding member of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), the notorious party that brought him into prominence.

In 1979, his ambition was to represent Kaduna State in the Senate. But, luck did not smile on him.During the presidential campaigns, he

But, unlike in the Second Republic, he could not exert his peculiar influence. He will be remembered for his Second Republic pomposity and arrogance of power’

By Emmanuel Oladesu, Group Political Editor

was the boisterous campaign manager for the NPN standard bearer, Alhaji Shehu Shagari. After the poll, President Shagari appointed Dikko as the Transport Minister. Besides, he emerged as a member of the Shagari kitchen cabinet and the powerful NPN caucus.

Other members of the powerful political cult included the late NPN National Chairman, the late Chief Adisa Akinloye, former Senate President Joseph Wayas, Senator Uba Ahmed and Senator Olusola Saraki.

As the transport minister, Dikko acted as the defacto Vice President. The Minister of Agriculture complained that he was hijacking his responsibilities.

But, the mandate of that ministry was actually transferred to him when Shagari appointed him as the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Rice

’

Importation, following the collapse of the Green Revolution and eruption of food crisis in the early eighties.

In 1982, Dikko grew wings. The power baron issued a warning to potential NPN presidential aspirants, saying that rivalry was prohibited.He said that there was no vacancy in in the State House, Ribadu Road, Lagos. He also told the late multi-millionaire businessman, Chief Moshood Abiola, who was warming up for the race that the presidency was not for sale to the highest bidder. In fact, the doors of the NPN secretariat was shut to prevent Abiola from obtaining the nomination form.

During the electioneering campaigns, Dikko, declared that Shagari, who won by landslide in 1979, will win by moonslide in 1983. The opposition alleged that the poll was massively rigged.

Atiku, Mark: a man of courage is gone

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ORMER Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Senate President David Mark yesterday mourned Dr Umaru Dikko.

Atiku described Dikko, former minister of Transport in the Second Republic, as a courageous advocate of the rule of law, constitutionality and democracy.

In a condolence statement issued by his media office in Abuja, the former Vice President said, despite the public hostility to the late Umaru Dikko, the man had other virtues that Nigerians didn’t seem to appreciate.

According to him, Dikko was a fierce opponent of unconstitutional seizure of power by soldiers.

He said the late Dikko was the loudest critic of military rule, a role for which, he said, the former minister was singled out for special punishment.

The former Vice-President said although Dikko had his own shortcomings as every other person, he was a passionate democrat that vigorously opposed the take-over of government by unconstitutional means.

He said the late Dikko was a lawyer, mathematician and colourful politician whose sense of logic was

From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

outstanding.

Atiku condoled with the people and government of Kaduna State, the Zazzau Emirate Council and the family of the deceased.

Mark yesterday described the late Second Republic Transport minister as a political strategist who contributed to the political evolution of Nigeria.

Mark said the country has lost an elder statesman whose experience would have been handy at this moment of the nation’s political history.

The Senate President, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh in Abuja, said the late Dikko was a great political leader in his own right and would be remembered for his meritorious services to the nation.

He recalled the exploits of Umaru Dikko during the Second Republic and even of late when he was made chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reconciliation committee. He added that in all the assignments he handled, Mark noted that the late Dikko distinguished himself as a hard working and diligent public officer.

He condoled with the

government and people of Kaduna State, especially the bereaved family over the exit of the elder statesman and asked them to take solace in the fact that he left indelible marks on the sands of time.

K

•Dikko

Shagari’s second term was short-lived. It was cut short by the military coup of December 31, 1983. The military interlopers made some allegations against the administration. They included corruption, ineptitude and mismanagement of the economy.

Dikko, like many key functionaries of the fallen regime,managed to escape abroad, following the army putsch. But, he was on the wanted list of the Buhari/ Idiagbon regime, wich had hounded many of his colleagues into detention. In fact, the military government was desperate to extradict him. When that option failed, a plot was hatched to put him in a crate in London. But, the plot was foiled in London by vigilant security agents at the airport.

For many years, Dikko was in exile. When he returned queitely, he became a spectator from the sideline. Gone were his ebbulience, fork tongue, power and influence. However, he tried to bounce back when the maximum military ruler, the late Gen. Sani Abacha, nominated him as a delegate to the ill-fated 1994 National Conference.

Dikko was a PDP elder.

But, unlike in the Second Republic, he could not exert his peculiar influence. He will be remembered for his Second Republic pomposity and arrogance of power.

Yero, ACF mourn

ADUNA State Governor Mukthar Ramalan Yero yesterday said the death of Second Republic Minister of Transport Umaro Dikko has created a huge gap in the country's march to a stable democracy.

In a statement by the Director-General, Media and Publicity, Ahmed Maiyaki, Yero said the late Dikko died at a time his experience and guidance were needed.

The governor expressed sadness on the death of the renowned politician at the age of 78 in London, adding that the death of Dikko was a great loss not only to Kaduna State but to the entire country.

He described the late Dikko as a dogged patriot "one who dedicated most part of his lifetime fighting for democracy and civil justice in Nigeria. Future generations of Nigerians will not forget the role played by the late Dikko in stabilising the nation especially in the trying period after the first military coup in 1966."

He condoled with the immediate family and urged it to take solace in the fact that he left enduring legacies.

Continuing, the governor said "at this trying moment, our hearts and

From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

prayers are with the immediate family of our departed elder statesman, who has left us in a state of shock and deep sorrow."

Also, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) described the late Dikko as a principled and colorful politician of repute, a nationalist and an elder statesman.

In a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Mohammed Ibrahim, the ACF said it learnt “with total submission to the will of Allah the passing away of Umaru Dikko”.

According to the Forum, the late Dikko was a nationalist, an elder statesman, a veteran broadcaster and bridge builder.

The statement said: "ACF, the North and, indeed, Nigeria have lost an illustrious citizen who stood for the indivisibility and corporate existence of the country.

"We mourn Alhaji Umaru Dikko and pray that the Almighty Allah grants him eternal rest in Aljannah Firdaus. ACF extends its condolence to the immediate family of Alhaji Dikko, the people and Government of Kaduna state and Nigerians over this irreparable loss".

Ex-minister's death a great loss, ORMER Head of State says Gowon Gen. Yakubu Gowon

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has described the death of Alhaji Umaru Dikko as a great loss to the country.

Gen. Gowon said the late Dikko was a good man and an effective leader.

Recalling that their relationship dated back to 1950, Gen. Gowon said: "I have known him since our school days in 1950. He was part of the Zaria Boys Old Students Association.

While I was the president of the association, he was my deputy. You can see how long we have known

From Tajudeen Adebanjo, Kaduna

eachother and how close we have been relating. He has been a very good person, very effective minister... I was particularly sorry for what happened to him but we thank God for regaining his dignity. The statement credited to him was unfortunate because he was a caring person. I think it is a great lost to the country. No matter what anyone will say, I have known him to be a good man."

•Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (middle) inspecting the Agege Abbatoir...yesterday. With him are Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives Gbolahan Lawal (left) and Managing Director, Harmony Abbatoir, Moshood Bello (right).

PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

8

NEWS OSUN 2014

1,000 Accord Party members defect to SDP

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BOUT 1,000 members of Accord Party (AP) reportedly decamped to the Osun State Social Democratic Party (SDP) yesterday in Ejigbo Local Government Area.

The AP members, led by their chairman, Alhaji Saka Salam said at a brief ceremony that they decided to dump their old party due to alleged attitude of its leaders at the state and the national levels.

On their choice of AP, Salam explained: “Many political parties came around. We have the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) here. They met us, but we decided to go with SDP, which has a welfarist agenda.”

The AP former chairman promised to mobilise people in his local government and neighbouring councils for SDP and its governorship candidate, Mr. Olusegun Akinwusi.

Receiving the members, Akinwusi said the state of Osun’s economy and his interest for the youth led him to join the governorship race.

The former Head of Service (HOS) stated that all decamping to the party will be treated equally.

But he urged them to work assiduously for SDP, assuring that the party will be victorious in the August 9 polls.

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•A crowd of supporters during the rally for the re-election of Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola in Ibokun...yesterday. Inset: Aregbesola (speaking); first civilian Governor of Osun State, Senator Isiaka Adeleke (second right); Deputy Governor Mrs. Grace Laoye-Tomori (second left); Aregbesola’s wife, Sherifat (right) and Senator Babajide Omoworare.

Jega: Osun’s election ’ll be better than Ekiti’s

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HE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is working hard to ensure that the August 9 Osun State governorship election is more transparent, free and fair.

Its chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said no effort would be

Award for Aregbesola

HE National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has accepted to grace the investiture of the Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, as the National Chronicle Man of the Year for 2013.

The event, which holds in Osogbo, Osun State capital, according to the Publisher/ Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper, Mr. Timothy Okojie Ave, will be graced by other important dignitaries, including the APC governors.

An industrialist, Samson Makinwa, will chair the event.

Other award recipients are Senator Gbenga Kaka as the Best Senator for 2013, the Director- General of the Federal Institute for Industrial Research (FIIRO), Oshodi, Dr. Gloria Elemo, will receive the

best Director-General Award and the President of Kensington Adebukola Foundation (KAE), Sir Kensington Adebukunla Adebutu, will be bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The past winners of the Man of the Year Award included the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua; former Kogi State Governor Alhaji Ibrahim Idris; former Edo State Governor Osareheimen Osunbor and Delta State Governor Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan.

rity and transparency of the electoral process. We have cleaned up the Register of Voters, and we have been doing our best to address the challenge of logistics of deployment, which has been a major obstacle to our conduct of good elections.

“I am pleased to say there has been progressive improvement in the series of governorship elections that we have conducted since 2011, culminating in the Ekiti election that we conducted two weeks ago, and which has been generally acknowledged as perhaps the best election that we have conducted so far. On the 9th of August, we have another election in Osun State and we are doing everything possible to ensure that the Osun election is better than Ekiti.”

Jega restated INEC readiness to conduct the 2015 general election in all states of the fed-

eration, despite security threats in some areas.

He said: “We know that both nationally and internationally, there are concerns about the 2015 general election, partly because of the challenges of security in some states. On our part, we have been doing our best to ensure that we are able to conduct elections in those areas; and we have been working very closely with security agencies to ensure that there is adequate security for the conduct of election in those states.”

The commission, he added, has improved its engagement with stakeholders, including political parties, security agencies and civil society organisations, among others, to deepen the political process.

“We have periodic meetings with these stakeholders, where we explain what we are doing

and we receive suggestions for improvement; and we take these suggestions on board as we continue to improve the process,” he said.

The INEC Chairman also acknowledged the support of the international community for Nigeria’s electoral process.

“Our development partners and friends have been very helpful. They have encouraged us and shown understanding, and that also has gone a long way to contribute to our continuous improvement of the electoral process.”

Chinese envoy, in his remarks, said there is much that his country and Nigeria could mutually learn from each other’s electoral experience.

He added that Nigeria, being an important country in Africa, global attention is on the country as it prepares to conduct the 2015 general election.

APC seeks probe of suspected thugs for alleged threat to peace

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC), Osun State chapter, has alerted security agents to an alleged threat to peace by some suspected thugs who were destroying

New roads for Ifedayo, Ila

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spared to make the election more credible than the June 21 Ekiti State poll, which received wide acclaims as the best so far by the commission.

The INEC chairman, according to his Chief Press Secretary, Kayode Robert Idowu, spoke yesterday when the Ambassador of the Peoples Republic of China, Gu Xiaojie, visited him.

He said the commission had, since 2010 when it came on board, been improving on the electoral process “to make it more participatory and ensure that it is more transparent.

According to him, the commission is also committed in ensuring that “elections are conducted consistent with international best standards and in accordance” with Nigeria’s electoral laws.

He added: “Since 2011, we have been doing our best to keep on improving the integ-

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

SUN State Government has approved the construction of Oke-Ila-Ayegunle-Ikoro-Asaba roads in Ifedayo and Ila Local Government Areas.

The Chairman, Re-election Campaign Committee of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, Sunday Akere, who revealed this during a campaign tour of the communities, said the roads would bring succour to farmers in the rural areas when completed.

Akere told the people at Ajebamidele, Oyi-Ayegunle, Obasikin, Adion, Asa-Oye and Aba Legemo that their welfare was upper most in the mind of the governor.

According to Akere, apart from these roads, the governor has approved another three kilometres for lawmakers in the State House of Assembly for their constituencies.

He added that roads in Ifedayo Local Government are scheduled to cover Ayegunle through Obasikin to Ajebamidele.

The commissioner said the state government understood the plight of rural dwellers, which he noted are predominant farmers, in getting their farm produce to markets.

He added that good roads enhance the price value of farm produce and reduce waste since farmers will get their produce to the market early.

Akere told the people that the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Temitope Ilori, who was also on his entourage, was taking note of some communities in the area that need maternity centres. He promised that the facilities would be provided.

According to committee chairman, the rural areas are important to the governor because of his drive to develop the state’s economy through massive agricultural programme.

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

posters and billboards of its governorship candidate, Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

It said the thugs were increasingly becoming a threat to peace as the August 9 governorship poll approaches.

According to a statement by its Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Kunle Oyatomi, information at the

party’s disposal from Ilesha showed “senseless act of vandalism by the thugs, who were on rampage, ripping posters and destroying billboards of the incumbent Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

“We like to believe that these vandals are acting purely out of criminal disposition; which is why we are bringing this incident to the notice of all security apparatus in the state, so that

something should be done quickly before a wrong message permeates society that the vandals are protected.

“Pulling down billboards and ripping off posters of political opponents are not part of democracy or law and orders. The people are now wondering what kind of security cover these thugs have to operate as they do.

“These thugs endanger law

and order and give the impression of a reign of lawlessness in spite of security agencies. This is a potential tragedy that law enforcement agencies should not tolerate. The thugs must be called to order; but if they persist in their crime, then they must be brought to justice.”

The party, therefore, appealed to the security agencies to act fast before there is break down of law and order.

“His Excellency is a noble and patriotic Nigerian who has shown genuine commitment against insurgency in every part of this country. He also believes in the indivisibility of Nigeria.

“While His Excellency is receiving commendation from the masses in the state because of his huge achievements, he is receiving condemnation from political elite who only believe in sharing the resources among themselves to the detriment of the masses.

“This His Excellency has vehemently stopped, hence the allegations against his personality and administration as a way of painting him black before his loving and cheering

supporters.

“The allegations were from some frustrated politicians that have rigmaroled the state in the past in the name of governance, now looking for ways of reconciling with the people by engaging in unwarranted utterances and negative criticisms against the governor as a way of scoring cheap points.”

They added that Aregbesola “remains a visionary leader who is reliable, responsible and responsive to the aspiration of the common man.”

Mohammed and Ikem said: “But we want to remind these political rumour-mongers that performance is the determinant factor for the roadmap to the governorship seat.”

Coalition warns against military deployment

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COALITION, the International Network Against Corruption and Coalition for Civil Society Groups, yesterday cautioned the Federal Government against deploying Army in Osun State for the August 9 governorship election.

The National Coordinator, International Network Against Corruption, Alhaji Musa Mohammed and the Chairman, Coalition for Civil Society Groups, Mr. David Ikem, at a media briefing in Abuja yesterday, said: “Nigeria Army should rather dissipate their energy in the fight against terrorism and ensuring the release of our kidnapped Chibok girls that have

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

remained in the terrorist den for over 75 days.”

They urged the Minister of Defence, Gen. Aliyu Gusau, to warn his men to stay clear from the affairs of Osun State, especially against harassing the people.

Mohammed and Ikem critisised those linking Governor Rauf Aregbesola with Boko Haram, saying that “the allegation is untrue and should be disregarded.”

According to the groups, “the allegation is an outright expression of hatred and malign envy by the state’s enemies.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY JULY 2, 2014

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

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DISCOURSE

Femi Aribisala’s unprofessorial diatribes

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EMI Aribisala is suppossed to be a distinguished social science professor, presumably an international relations scholar. This should ordinarily imply clarity of thinking, rigour of logic, emotional detachment and a scrupulous adherence to truth in speech and writing.

Unfortunately, week after week, in his Tuesday column in the Vanguard newspaper, Femi Aribisala demonstrates that his thoughts have been perverted, his reasoning jaundiced and his analytic prowess alarmingly enfeebled by an unhealthy, obsessive, maniacal, almost Luciferian hatred for the person of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the foremost opposition leader in Nigeria today. Of course, this is neither new nor strange. The late Professor SanyaOnabamiro, an otherwise distinguished academic and scientist similarly devalued his role and place in history by a morbid hatred of Chief ObafemiAwolowo.

Many of the baseless insinuations, and careless generalisations characteristic of Aribisala’s newspaper columns would never be permitted in any learned academic journal which would require the strictest verification of facts, attribution of sources and rational, internally consistent justification of claims.

Given the abysmally pedestrian level of his reasoning as revealed in his column, it is disturbing to imagine the quality of education he must have imparted to those students unfortunate to pass through his tutelage.

Femi Aribisala’s column of Tuesday, July 1, titled ‘The beginning of the end of the Bola Tinubu dynasty’, made interesting reading. For one, he has unwittingly lionised Tinubu by concocting the existence of a Tinubu dynasty. He invests Tinubu with the title of ‘Asiwaju of Yorubaland’. The latter is the ‘Asiwaju of Lagos’ even though no one can doubt that he is the foremost ‘Asiwaju’ of opposition political forces in contemporary Nigeria.

He begins the article by seeking to compare Tinubu with King Nebuchadnezzar of the Bible. Yet this is the same Aribisala who once insinuated that the Bible is a book of fables and lies by claiming that the Biblical account of David and Goliath is completely fictional. By the way, the retired professor doubles as some kind of pastor. Is this not evidence of a confused and disturbed mind? He finds fault with Tinubu’s assertion of his right to pursue any political ambition of his choice under the aegis of the United Nations Human Rights Charter. A supposedly eminent professor does not recognise the elementary fact that the freedom to pursue political ambitions by eligible persons is a key feature of liberal democracy?

This is truly tragic. In his view, “The voice of the electorate in the SouthWest has answered Tinubu. His personally ambition is certainly not in the interest of the people”. Our beloved professor should kindly tell us which election Tinubu has contested with the South West giving such a verdict. Or should we swallow this kind of illogical garbage

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By Segun Ayobolu

simply because he is a professor?

According to Professor/Pastor Aribisala, “Tinubu’s claim to fame lies in the strength of his ACN party in the South West”. Aribisala was probably on planet Mars when Tinubu was at the forefront of the struggle for the validation of the June 12, 1993, mandate of Chief MKO Abiola and the liberation of Nigerian politics from the stranglehold of military dictatorship. In any case, where was Aribisala at this crucial phase in the protracted battle for democratic restoration in Nigeria?

This was long before the advent of civilian rule in 1999 and the evolution from the ACN from the AD. Mercifully, Aribisala is intellectually honest enough for once to admit that when the PDP under Obasanjo executed its electoral Tsunami in the South West in 2003, “The brilliant South West answer to this PDP treachery was Tinubu”. He continues, “Tinubu drew a line in the battle in the sand, held on to Lagos, and struck back from this stronghold to win back all the lost South West states in 2007”. Now, if Tinubu is as self- serving, unprincipled and power hungry as depicted by Aribisala, would he not have capitulated and joined the mainstream PDP at that critical moment in 2003 rather than remain the last man standing in opposition? How many Nigerian politicians can Aribisala name that would prefer to be in opposition on principle rather than join the all- powerful centre with its limitless power of patronage if he were to be in Tinubu’s situation in 2003?

Even more alarmingly for a supposed intellectual,Aribisala gets the reason for the progressive resurgence in the South West following the 2003 debacle absolutely wrong.

In his words, “He won because the people of the South- West refused to mortgage their future to the political interests of Obasanjo and his allies in the North”. If the PDP had used its years in power in the South West to promote development and prosperity, the progressives could never have bounced back in the South-West the way they did. On the contrary, it was the Tinubu administration in Lagos that became a model of good and productive governance that caught the imagination of the South-West and made the progressives electorally viable once more.

Contrary to his insinuations, the Yoruba have no political animosity against the North. Aribisala claims that “Anybody who thinks Tinubu’s APC will succeed in the South-West does not understand South-West politics. The Yorubas are too proud and fiercely independent to agree to play second fiddle to anyone because of a man called Tinubu. S.L. Akintola tried the same gambit in the 1960s, and the South-West rejected him. The same rejection has befallen Bola Tinubu”. This kind of infantile analysis must be embarrassing to Nigeria’s professorial elite. By 1983, Awolowo himself had realised the need to build

‘Aribisala’s weekly diatribe against Tinubu can only succeed in lionising the latter just as those who similarly hated Awolowo insanely did throughout the sage’s political career. They set up the vindictive Coker Commission of Enquiry which alleged that Awo was using state power and resources to build a political empire around himself in the Southwest. This is the same allegation retrogressive elements like Aribisala are making against Tinubu...Femi Aribisala’s worthless diatribes against Tinubu in his column will end up in the refuse heap of forgotten history’ bridges across the country to win elections in a large, diverse country like Nigeria. His Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) thus went into an alliance with a faction of the Northern elite which backed him and even nominated Alhaji Mohammed Kura to be his running mate. It was as a result of the massive rigging of that election by the NPN that the military intervened in 1983. Beyond this, MKO Abiola’s landslide victory in the historic June 12, 1993, presidential election was attained largely because he had built a network of friendships and relationships across the length and breadth of Nigeria especially in the North. A Professor who does not understand the electoral dynamics of his own country and does not appreciate that no single region or nationality can produce the President without widespread support from other groups deserves not only pity but his academic title ought to be withdrawn.

Chief Awolowo himself characteristically once predicted in one of his books that “One day the best of the progressives and the best of the conservatives will come together to rule Nigeria”. The sage must be terribly embarrassed in his grave as regards Aribisala’s infantile reasoning that the South-West must remain in political isolation.

It is very embarrassing to Nigeria’s intellectual class when one of their supposed leading lights, Aribisala, claims that following the consensus in 1999 that, because of the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, a Yoruba should be President, “Northerners decided they would determine who the Yoruba should be. Obasanjo was fished out of prison and anointed as PDP presidential candidate”. So should the presidential election of 1999 have been limited to the South-West alone? Should northerners have been compelled to vote for the preference of the South-West in an election being contested by two illustrious Yoruba sons? This reasoning is most jejune and sterile.

Aribisala makes several unsubstantiated assertions in his column, which every Nigerian academic should find embarrassing. He claims that under Fayemi, “Ekiti money was routinely shipped to Lagos”. There is not a scintilla of evidence to back this grievous falsehood. Fayemi is a far more honourable man than a pastor who

recklessly peddles falsehood. He would never permit such an alleged rape of Ekiti. He argues that the finances of Lagos “are tied to Alpha Beta”. Our Professor does not substantiate this nor the crime involved. If he is so confident, why doesn’t he petition the EFCC on these issues? He alleges that Tinubu described all Yoruba Obas as useless and pretends not to have read Tinubu’s clarification of the misleading reports in the media on the issue. The truth of the matter is that Aribisala can never have or cultivate the kind of close relationship Tinubu has with most Yoruba Obas.

Aribisala invests Tinubu with such magical powers that he allegedly “went up North to Kwakwanso to engineer the installation of a ‘useful’ Emir of Kano”. Professor Sir, where is your evidence? This kind of careless effusion is a disgrace to scholarship or has the word lost its meaning? An academic of Aribisala’s stature cannot even see the link between the massive infrastructure renewal being undertaken across the South-West under the APC and meaningful development.

He thus eulogises and thereby insults the Ekiti “electorate’s cynical preference for pounded yam over tarred roads”. What a tragedy. He asserts that Tinubu “has even gone ahead to anoint AkinwumiAmbode as the next governor of the state without the benefit of any election”.

Can this strange academic quote Tinubu on this? Has Tinubu uttered a word on the matter? Is he aware that the APC primaries are yet to be held and several aspirants are still jostling for the party’s ticket?

As a citizen and party member, is Aribisala saying that Tinubu has no right to back an aspirant of his choice in the final analysis?

In Aribisala’s simplistic reasoning, Fayemi lost the Ekiti election because of Tinubu. It does not matter to him that neither Fayose nor Fayemi mentioned Tinubu even once in their intense campaigns. Our supposedly distinguished academic cannot undertake an objective assessment of the pertinent factors in the Ekiti elections including the heavy militarisation of the process and the detention and harassment of opposition leaders while PDP leaders including federal Ministers and legislators were allowed to run rampage all over Ekiti. When a Professor cannot appreciate that an election is a process and not just

•Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

the casting and counting of ballots on Election Day, we are all in serious trouble. This is why Aribisala is incapable of understanding the basis of APC’s legal challenge of the election, which is that a flawed process cannot result in an untainted outcome. In any case, why should a social science professor see a party’s loss in an election as a ‘disgraceful trouncing’ the way a motor park tout would? If the electoral outcome was actually the will of the people, is that not the beauty of democracy? Again, does this mean that because of Tinubu’s success in politics, members of his family should forfeit their right to pursue their own political careers? If they have the advantage of riding on Tinubu’s goodwill, what is the crime in that? The late Chief Oluwole Awolowo, Awo’s son, was elected as a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly in the second republic. His daughter, Dr Tokunboh AwolowoDosumu was a leading governorship aspirant of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Lagos State in the aborted Third Republic. Has our professor heard of the Kennedy, Bush or Clinton political families in the US? Our distinguished professor sees Afenifere chieftain, Reuben Fasoranti’s, endorsement of Governor OlusegunMimiko’s re-election as a rejection of Tinubu’s influence in Yoruba politics. So, if he were teaching students in class, he would be unable to pinpoint to them the intricacies of the contradictions between a vanishing political elite and an emergent new leadership in Yoruba politics? This is a great pity. Aribisala’s weekly diatribe against Tinubu can only succeed in lionising the latter just as those who similarly hated Awolowo insanely did throughout the sage’s political career. They set up the vindictive Coker Commission of Enquiry which alleged that Awo was using state power and resources to build a political empire around himself in the Southwest.

This is the same allegation retrogressive elements like Aribisala are making against Tinubu. That iniquitous Coker Commission report has since been discredited just as Femi Aribisala’s worthless diatribes against Tinubu in his column will end up in the refuse heap of forgotten history.

Anti-APC plot: PDP in rowdy session as Fayose takes on Bode George

MEETING by some leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on how to dislodge the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Southwest turned rowdy yesterday when Ekiti State Governor-elect of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, joined issues with former Deputy National Chairman Chief Olabode George.

With his election, Fayose insisted that he, not George, should be the natural leader of PDP in the Southwest.

According to sources, the meeting was convened by George to strategise APC from the Southwest between now and 2015.

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

The session, which started at about 10pm on Monday, went on till 1am yesterday, with PDP leaders reeling out ideas on how to “conquer Osun, Oyo, Ogun and Lagos states”.

Some of the leaders recommended the adoption of what they described as Fayose’s “strategy” (stomach infrastructure) in Ekiti to enable the PDP overrun APC in the Southwest.

The party leaders also opted to focus on trade unions, student leaders, and teachers, because “these groups can influence people to turn against APC”, with adequate propaganda.

But the situation degenerated over the claim to the leadership of the party when Fayose challenged George.

A highly-placed source said: “To the consternation of a few and cheering applause from many witnesses, amidst shouts of Oshokomole, an alias name for the Ekiti latest gladiator, Fayose said he should be the rallying point of PDP in the Southwest till other governors join him.

The source quoted Fayose as saying: “Being the only governor of the party in the Southwest, the leadership of the PDP in the Zone automatically

belongs to me.

“I have won elections twice and I make bold for anyone to contest that.”

A party elder reportedly cautioned Fayose to eschew arrogance and respect George, who was not only the convener of the meeting but a much older person than Fayose.

“Ayo, you can’t come to an elder’s house to insult him.” the elder cautioned Fayose.

On the motive of the meeting, the source said: “The PDP leaders at the session designed a plot tagged: ‘Operation Total Conquest of SouthWest’. They said with the defeat of

APC, the “Ekiti startegy” could work in any state in the Southwest.

“They drew up a number of options which would be tabled before the PDP leadership and the Presidency.

“They also decided to support Prof.

Wale Oladipo as the National Secretary of PDP instead of the return of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.”

At the session were a former Minister of Works Adeseye Ogunlewe, Osun PDP governorship candidate Senator Iyiola Omisore, party chief Kashamu Buruji and many others.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

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NEWS

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Explosion in Osun

HE ancient city of Ile-Ife in Osun State witnessed an explosion suspected to be bomb yesterday.

It was gathered that one of two explosive devices planted in two strategic locations at Agbedegbede area of the town exploded in the early hours of the day.

But no casualty was reported, but property worth millions of naira was destroyed.

Investigation revealed that the residents woke up around 5.00a.m to the deafening sound of the explosion.

A house near where one of the explosive devices detonated was badly damaged.

Police from the State Police Command’s anti-bomb unit were said to have detonated the second device.

Confirming the incident in a telephone call, the Police Commissioner Mr. Ibrahim Maishanu said the explosion was minor.

According to him, his command would reinforce security in

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

all parts of the state, assuring all residents to go about their activities peacefully.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Sunday Akere, condemned the explosion.

Akere, who described the explosion as unfortunate, urged the people to remain calm, saying that the government would not allow any threat to the state’s peace.

Later in the day, Maishanu visited the explosion’s scene.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Sunday Akere has condemned the explosion on behalf of the state government.

Akere, who described the explosion as unfortunate, urged the people to remain calm, saying that the government would not allow any threat to the state’s peace.

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Southwest PDP leaders back Oladipo as National Secretary

HE Southwest zonal leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have thrown their weight behind the party’s incumbent National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo.

It was gathered that the decision was taken at a meeting convened by the party’s former Deputy National Chairman (Southwest), Chief Olabode George, in Abuja last Monday night.

The position is being contested

by Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who occupied it before he was removed from office in January 2013, on the orders of a high court.

Oyinlola had challenged his removal in the Court of Appeal and the appellate court on November 11, 2013 ordered his reinstatement.

The order was rebuffed by the national leadership of the PDP. But Oyinlola has vowed to pursue the case to the Supreme Court.

Going the decision of the South-

RAMADAN KAREEM Envoy donates N60m rice to party members Ramadan 5TH, 1437AH

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BOUT 6,300 bags of rice worth N60 million have been distributed to members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Sokoto State by Nigeria’s Ambassador to Morocco, Senator Abdallah Wali.

The bags of rice for PDP members in the state’s 23 local governments were handed over to the executive of each ward.

Each of the wards got 20

Muslims warned against insurgency From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

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MEMBER of the Federal House of Representatives Segun Dokun Odebunmi and the Caretaker Chairman of Ibadan North East Local Government, Mr. Ladi Oluokun have urged Muslim faithful to use the Ramadan period to seek God’s intervention in the nation’s security situation.

Odebunmi and Oluokun, in separate statements in Ibadan, congratulated Muslims for witnessing the holy month and prayed to God to answer the faithful’s prayers.

The lawmaker: “A period such as this calls for sober reflection on the situation in which we found ourselves and all we can do is continue to pray to Almighty God to help the country.”

Oluokun said the Ramadan was a good opportunity for Muslims to seek Allah’s help in solving Nigeria’s problems.

“Prayer is one of the few things that can stop the various bombings being carried out by the Boko Haram members. Muslims and everyone should pray for divine protection toward the sustenance of democracy in our country,’’ he said.

The council boss also urged Muslims to assist the less-privileged during the season, adding that Muslims should see this period as a special time for spiritual rebirth, demonstrate righteousness, love and charity.

From Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto

bags.

At a brief flag-off ceremony, Wali said the party’s state executive members were given 100 bags while 960 bags went to elders.

The envoy, who is also a

governorship aspirant, said the gesture was aimed at assisting the beneficiaries to fast with ease.

Speaking, the state party chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Milgoma, warned against diverting the commodity.

“Anyone who is found wanting in this direction will be duly punished,” Milgoma warned.

RAMADAN GUIDE WITH FEMI ABBAS

e-mail: femabbas@yahoo.com Tel: 08122697498

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Origin of Tafsir

ROM the beginning of Ramadan, every year, Muslims congregate in various Mosques or Learning Centres where Tafsir (exposition of the Qur’an) is rendered by learned scholars. This is in accordance with the Prophetic tradition which encourages better understanding of the Qur’an.

Linguistically, Tafsir means exposition. But technically, it means the comprehensive analysis of the Qur’an. In other words, Tafsir is the exposition of the contents of the Qur’an, as usually done comprehensively by Muslim scholars especially during the month of Ramadan throughout the Muslim world.

Because of the coded language of the Qur’anic revelation, it became necessary for the verses of that sacred book to be decoded for the purpose of thorough understanding of the Muslim Ummah. And this was thoroughly by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to the great delight of his companions and disciples.

From the explanation above it becomes clear that the revelations of the Qur’an were the immediate cause of intellectual research in Islam.

For instance, Arabic the original language of the Qur’an had no grammar prior to the revelations of the divine message. The grammar of that language evolved only from the contents of the Qur’an.

The challenge which the Qur’an threw to humanity in all spheres of life led to competition among the scholars. Thus, each time a revelation came, the Companions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) were always eager to know why and how of every what. And this led to their very close association with the Prophet who paved the way towards that intellectual research.

Although the formal study of Tafsir as an independent discipline did not begin until many years after the death of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), he (the Prophet) nevertheless started its process. He did not only give the exoteric and esoteric meanings of revealed verses of the Qur’an, he also explained their application and to the daily life of man as well as the implications of same.

It was the prophet who decoded most of the coded areas of the Qur’an for proper understanding of the ordinary Muslims. Through his utterances and actions which were later to be known as Hadith and Sunnah, the contents of the Qur’an became more and more understandable to the Muslims even as further research continues today.

Thus, after the prophet’s demise, Hadith and Sunnah together became an independent subject of research paving man’s way to higher firmaments in civilization. And this has helped, in no small measure, in expanding the scope of Tafsir. It is from this that, all new discoveries and new frontiers in knowledge became adapted to the study of Tafsir until Tafsir itself became an estuary through which every stream of knowledge was passed to mankind.

Ever since Tafsir has become a field of study, research into all spheres of knowledge has increasingly advanced with resultant development of man. It is through such research that man zoomed into the firmament of science which brought about the current gargantuan civilization.

If there are such famous universities like Al-Azhar of Cairo, in Egypt; Qarawiyyin of Fez, in Morocco and Zaytuniyyah of Tunis, Tunisia, (the three oldest Universities in the world) it is as a result of the research developed to advance the course of Tafsir. But what problems does Tafsir face? Read on tomorrow.

•Oyinlola meets Jonathan, says ‘I’m authentic scribe’ From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor and Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

west PDP leaders, it was gathered that Oladipo’s position is expected to be ratified in the party’s proposed national convention, which date is yet be fixed.

At the meeting, George was reported to have pleaded for the understanding of other zonal leaders to forge a common ground by giving Oladipo their unflinching support.

According to sources close to the meeting, other stakeholders at the meeting agreed with George, with a view to fight the August 9 governorship election in Osun State on a united front.

The choice of Oladipo as Oyinlola’s replacement had ruffled some feathers among some key stakeholders in the party, particularly Chief Ebenezer Babatope and Prof. Tunde Adeniran, who contested the position with Oyinlola at the party’s March 24, 2012 national convention.

Babatope and Adeniran, who were also at the meeting, reportedly renounced their interest in the

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position, to give Oladipo the needed support.

The two politicians were however said to have voiced their reservations about the way and manner Oladipo was foisted on the zone by the camp of the PDP governorship candidate in the Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, without consulting other interested parties.

Oladipo was quoted to have expressed his appreciation to the party’s zonal leaders at the meeting, saying that he was humbled by their collective decision to accord him recognition.

He was said to have promised to be fair to all in the discharged of his duties as the party’s National Secretary.

Those at the meeting were Ekiti State Governor-elect Mr. Ayo Fayose; former Oyo State Governor Adebayo Alao Akala; Chief Kola Balogun, Elder Wole Oyelese; Mrs. Olusola Obada; Senator Adefemi Kila and Prince Dayo Adeyeye.

Others include Mrs. Titi Oseni, Chief Ade Fadahunsi, Mr. Dave Salako, Chief Ade Otegbola, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, Mr. De-

meji Bankole, Chief Kashamu Buruji, Mrs. Mulikat Akande and Chief Adeseye Ogunlewe.

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday held a closeddoor meeting with Oyinlola and the PDP National Chairman Adamu Mu’azu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The meeting started around 11a.m.

Discussions at the meeting might have focused on the Osun governorship election.

Oyinlola affirmed yesterday that he was PDP’s authentic National Secretary.

While he was replaced by Oladipo in the Bamanga Tukur-led PDP, Oyinlola occupied the office of the National Secretary of the Kawu Baraje-led faction, called the New PDP. Oyinlola, addressing State House correspondents after the meeting with Jonathan and Muazu, described the occupier of the office as a pretender.

He said: “I was taken to the Villa by the chairman of the party, and we had some discussions as to how to move the fortunes of the party forward. That is all I can say.

“All I am telling you is that Oyinlola in the face of the law remains the authentic Secretary of the PDP, anybody in that office for now, is a pretender.”

Community protests siting of Ekiti local council headquarters

OMMUNITY leaders in Erinmope-Ekiti, Ekiti State, have opposed the citing of council headquarters of the proposed Ero Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in IgogoEkiti by the administration of Governor Kayode Fayemi.

Addressing journalists in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, a delegation from the monarch of the town, Oba James Aina, said: “Igogo is lesser in hierarchy

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

to Erinmope. We will not agree with this arrangement”.

The delegation said the committee set up by the state government headed by Justice Akin Ajakaye (rtd) had noted the fact that “it is not proper to place a senior traditional ruler under his lower counterpart.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

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CITYBEATS

Three-storey building collapses in police barracks

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•30 families rescued

THREE-STOREY building collapsed at the Pedro Police Barracks in Somolu, a popular Lagos suburb, on Monday night, trapping many of its occupants.

Those trapped were mostly children and women.

The building, which comprised about 27 official flats and 10 attachments, collapsed about 9pm.

Block 9 is said to be one of the busiest in the barracks and a beehive of commercial activities.

Those trapped were said to have just finished watching the World Cup match between Nigeria and France.

They were discussing the country’s fate when the building caved in.

Although no life was lost, eyewitnesses said the number of those injured had not been ascertained.

Sources said the injured were rushed to an undisclosed hospital, adding that they were treated and discharged.

As at noon yesterday, about 30 families rescued from the rubble had been evacuated by a combined team of officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA).

Sources attributed the cause of the incident to structural defects which the occupants had been trying to manage for long.

Properties of victims littered the scene when The Nation visited yesterday. Some of the victims have started relocating to their relations’ homes; others hanged around helplessly as most of their properties were soaked by yesterday’s rain.

A victim, who simply identified

By Jude Isiguzo

himself as Inspector Francis, alleged that those affected contributed N15,000 each for repairs last year when all efforts to get the attention of authorities failed.

“The huge cracks on the walls exposed the crime perpetrated by the builders because the building has no single iron rod. After we gathered the money, we realised about N300,000.

We carried out the first major repair since the barracks was built many years ago” he added.

The officer went on: “Our valuables have been destroyed by the rain which started around 3am yesterday. Some of those affected have started relocating with whatever they were able to salvage. Those who have no place to go are those still hanging around the area”.

Another victim, who refused to identify herself, vowed to remain at the barracks with her children until the police found solution to her problem.

“Is this how to treat someone who have pledged to put his or her life on the line in the interest of the nation?

The police authorities deduct N14,000 every month from my salary as an Inspector, but what do they do with the money? I occupy a room-andparlour apartment with my three children. Where do I go to now that the house has caved in on me?” She asked, fighting back tears.

The NEMA spokesman in the South West, Ibrahim Farinloye, told The Nation, that no life was lost, adding that nobody sustained any injury, contrary to claims by some victims.

He said they got information about

• The scene ... yesterday

the incident around 9.30pm on Monday, adding that they deployed emergency crew there promptly.

Lagos Police Command spokesper-

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PHOTO: ADEOLA SOLOMON

son Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said the police deployed men from its engineering department in the scene.

She, said only the staircase of the building was affected and not the entire block.

‘Separate us before my husband kills me’

BUSINESSWOMAN, Omobolanle Shadiyah, broke down in tears before the Customary Court in Oshodi, a populer Lagos suburb, as she sought the dissolution of her 29-year-old marriage to Bisiriyu Olagunju. She alleged that Olagunju is “uncaring and irresponsible”.

Although they were not married under the native and customary laws, their union is blessed with three children: Mutiat Olagunju (24), Deji Olagunju (22) and Kafilat Olagunju (17).

“He calls me his mother but he often beats me mercilessly. I left our home because he threatened to kill me.

My husband prefers to sit outside and play with neighbouring children since he does nothing for a living. I am the “man” in the house and still, he does not

By Basirat Braimah

appreciate my efforts. I usually work late for us to make ends meet but I don’t get the care and love a husband should show his wife. I sleep under different roofs because my husband’s attitude is unpredictable.” Shadiyah said However, Olagunju told the court he didn’t want dissolution because of the children. “Whenever there is an unwelcome situation in our home, I am being accused. I was beaten by my wife and children after they stripped me naked. I hurriedly took to my heels to a comfort zone. My son suggested I should be detained by policemen because he says I shirk my responsibilities. I don’t want dissolution, but we may live separately.”

The Court President, Mrs Remi Ekundayo, adjourned the matter till August 27 for judgment.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY JULY 2, 2014

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY JULY 2, 2014

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

Life

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The Midweek Magazine E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

Text only: 08023058761

Experiencing Nigeria in Brazil – Page 49

Three Nigerian writers shine as WS prize finalists – Page 50

•The bronze objects returned

Samba, Soccer and Brazil – Page 50

Briton returns looted Benin bronze works – SEE STORY ON PAGE 16

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

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The Midweek Magazine E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

After 117 . . years, . two. bronze . . works carted away by the British Army during the British invasion of Benin Kingdom were recently returned to the Benin monarch, reports OSAGIE OTABOR

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N 2004, when the Richard Lander Society led an expedition to Nigeria to celebrate 200 years of the Lander Brothers expedition, a villager handed a letter to the founder of the society, Chief Steve Dunstone, at Asaba in Delta State, with an appeal to help recover looted Bini bronze works carted away during the 1897 Benin massacre.

Ten years later, two bronze works, the Ahianmwen-Oro and Egogo also known as the Ibis and the Bell were returned to the palace of the Benin monarch by Dr. Adrian Walker, a great grand- son of Captain Hubert Walker.

The Ahianmwen-Oro effigy was first cast during the reign of Oba Esigie after his victory against the people of Idah. It is said that Oba Esigie while in pursuit of Idah rested under an Iroko tree along with his fighters. He heard the bird cry ‘oya-o, oya-o,’ which sounded like ‘Oya’ in Edo language meaning suffering and pains.

Oba Esigie believed the bird was predicting doom for his army. He ordered the bird killed and proceeded to battle and was victorious. He returned to Benin and ordered the Guild of Bronze casters to cast an effigy of the bird in bronze and introduced the Ugie Oro in which a participating chief holds a replica of the bird.The ‘Egogo’ is used on altars of shrine and is used to summon spirits to receive offerings. It is also worn by Benin warriors to keep them safe.

Captain Walker, according to his grandson, was not a British fighter but a spy attached to the Nigeria Coastal Protection Force to discover strains in enemy camps and was on the expedition that destroyed Benin Kingdom.Dr. Walker said he learnt about Benin bronzes on the internet and contacted the Richard Lander Society on his desire to return the artifacts from where his forebears took them from.

Speaking at a reception held in Benin City Edo State capital to celebrate the returned of the artefacts, Dr Walker said he learnt much about the British punitive expedition to Benin through a diary that chronicled the event written by his grandfather. Walker lamented that much of the diary has been destroyed and revealed that his late mother would not have allowed him return the bronze works because she was materialistic.

Guests at the reception listened as Dr Walker read some lines from the diary made by his great grandfather, about the Benin massacre and declared that his great grand father was not a racist. “The diary is in disrepair and I could not bring it. Other accounts by white men used derogatory terms to describe the people of Benin but he did not. He described them as gentlemen. My grandfather seemed to be ahead of his time.

“We need to persuade the British public and the international community that it is unacceptable to use war as a cover for theft. I am pleased to say that I am here to return two bronzes taken away from Benin. Before my mother died I took the precaution of asking her if I could take care of them. I knew she would not consent my returning them at that time. She was materialist. My children on the other hand have no such materialist ambition.

It is morally wrong and unethical for holding onto works that do not belong to one legally. I was pleased to be in possession of them because they reminded me of my grandparents. I knew I had to do something to protect my children’s future and these artifacts. I search for the Benin bronzes on the internet. I saw a brief history of the Benin expedition on the Richard Lander website. I contacted them on the return of the bronzes. They arranged for a visit to the Nigeria High Commis-

•Dr. Walker, former Police Service Commission chairman, Parry Osayande and Chief Sam Igbe, the Iyase of Benin Kingdom?????????????????????

Briton returns looted Benin bronze works •Great grandson redeems family’s image HERITAGE

‘It is morally wrong and unethical for holding onto works that do not belong to one legally. I was pleased to be in possession of them because they reminded me of my grand parents. I knew I had to do something to protect my children’s future and these artifacts’ sion in London and we are here to return them to a place where they would be of great cultural and historical significance.”

Dr Walker pledged his commitment towards fighting for the return of over 4500 Benin bronze works scattered over the world and expressed surprise to be presented with modern examples of Benin

bronze work.

An elated Benin monarch, Oba Erediauwa said the return of the artefacts was the best “birthday gift” as the event coincided with his birthday celebration.Oba Erediauwa praised the effort of Dr. Walker in returning the works to a great grandson of Oba Ovoranmen and urged the British Government and families to return other Bini bronze works in their possession.Founder Richard Lander Society, Chief Steve Dunstone, said the 48 bronze works on display at the British Museum were magnificent and that others in boxes at the museum basement remained a mystery. He noted that facts contained in the diary of Captain would help to return more of Benin bronzes and called for more funding to finance serious attempts at changing the perception of public opinion about the story of Benin Bronzes as well as persuade British Museum to release other bronzes.

According to him, “Mark Walker’s symbolic gesture of goodwill should act as an inspiration to us . The unique historical culture of all countries should be embraced, cherished and protected as it provides the foundation for a sense of belonging which in turned promote peace and happiness.”

No delegation was sent to the event by the Federal Government or the National Commission for Museum and Monuments, an indication that the fracas over reception for the return of the works was not resolved.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole said it was a glorious thing for the looted works to be returned during his administration and praised the Benin monarch’s doggedness in fighting for the return of Benin

artefacts.Hon Jim Adun, representing Ikpoba-Okha/Egor at the House of Representatives said the Binis were grateful that the items were not destroyed.”I am happy to be part of history. I read about it and I am seeing it happen that some of the stolen artefacts are being returned. This is why it is good to have historians. Our history was distorted. We used to have story telling but nobody believed it. Children yet unborn will be grateful about this especially to those that made it possible. It is only proper for other artefacts to be returned. It is our property. We are grateful to them for not destroying them. These are what our artisans were able to produced years back.”

Guest at the event included Dr Pius Odubu, Hon Jim Adun, Hon Razaq Bello Osagie, Prof. Union Edebiri, top palace chiefs amongst others.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY JULY 2, 2014

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY JULY 2, 2014

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

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COMMENTARY EDITORIALS

FROM OTHER LANDS

Review the automobile policy now •The new tariffs on used and new imported vehicles without fixing infrastructure will hurt the economy

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INALLY, the Federal Government has given effect to the new automotive policy announced last year, purportedly to encourage local production of motor vehicles of all types. By the policy, the import duties slammed on imported new vehicles have jumped to 35 per cent, with a matching punitive import levy of 35 per cent. Experts had warned that the move could hurt the local economy, while giving reasons why the fledgling automobile industry may derive a mere salutary benefit.

Yet, the government started its enforcement yesterday. Following trenchant criticism of the move last year, the government had put it on hold, apparently to attend to the recurring decimal in the criticisms- poor power supply. At the time, the Jonathan administration said the planned privatisation of the power sector would fix the problem within six months.

It is obvious that the problem persists.

Power supply from the distribution companies is still epileptic and industries are complaining. The local automotive companies are almost non-existent as new and used vehicles dominate the market.

The roads, too, remain in poor condition and would take more than lip service to fix.

In any case, it is a road we had travelled before when we had the likes of Volkswagen of Nigeria and Leyland locally assembling their products in Nigeria. Poor infrastructure frustrated the

efforts. Although, there is no indication that another attempt could lead to the same result if all the loopholes had been plugged, the fact is that the gaping holes are even wider now.

The Nigeria Customs Service has continually cried out that it lacked the capacity to man all the entry points to the country. Even the ones manned still give enough room to smugglers to perpetrate their deeds, thus hurting the economy. It has been suggested by economists that Benin Republic is usually the beneficiary of such policies. Demand would always spur efforts by desperate importers to force in their goods. The jump in price by about 70 per cent would be far above the cost of smuggling.

As we argued in an earlier editorial when the idea was first mooted last year, Nigeria is not ripe for such a policy and it should be deferred until the infrastructure deficit had been fixed and the people mobilised behind the policy.

The Nigerian people deserve the best.

The experience with the experiment with ban on importation of rice should serve as adequate warning as to the fate that would befall the new policy. The minister for agriculture, Mr. Akinwumi Adesina, had eloquently argued for the ban ostensibly to save the nation foreign exchange. He got the Federal Executive Council to approve it and it came into force. However, the local production lines had not been sufficiently activated and grown, in quantity and quality. The re-

sult is that there is enough imported rice to satisfy the demands and yearnings of Nigerians.

We call on the Federal Government to halt this move. Nigerians must be mobilised to approve the move and the needed support lines must be put in place before attempting to impose undue hardship on already sapped people in a country where poverty continues to ravage the land and unemployment rages like fire in the desert in the harmattan.

We see the take-off of the policy more as a way to earn revenue for the government than for its capacity to enhance the local vehicle assembly plants.

‘We call on the Federal Government to halt this move. Nigerians must be mobilised to approve the move and the needed support lines must be put in place before attempting to impose undue hardship on already sapped people in a country where poverty continues to ravage the land and unemployment rages like fire in the desert in the harmattan’

Adieu, Brazil 2014 •After five attempts at the Mundial, Nigeria’s best is equalling its debut record of hitting the round of 16, achieved at USA ‘94

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OR the Super Eagles, the Nigerian national football team, the World Cup in Brazil, the land of Samba and football, is over. But not for millions of footballloving Nigerians, who want to enjoy good football. How well have the Eagles fared?

Not so well, both from Nigeria’s cumulative history of participating at the World Cup and from the team’s achievements in Brazil 2014.

In 1994 at the USA, Nigeria took the football world by storm. Qualifying back then as African champions, Nigeria played such fast and furious attacking football that it was rated the second most entertaining side, next only to Brazil; and ranked fifth in then newly established FIFA ranking.

This year, it has repeated Round of 16 feat, though with far less global acclaim as it did in 1994. So, after five World Cups (USA 94, France 98, Korea-Japan 2002, South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014), Nigeria has hit the second round thrice (1994, 1998 and 2014).

It was ousted after the first round of matches in 2002 and 2010; and has never hit the quarter-finals, that acclaim belonging to Senegal, at their very debut in 2002 and Ghana in 2010. Indeed, but for a penalty miss, Ghana was seconds away from being the first African side to reach the semi-final of the FIFA World Cup. So, in comparison to Senegal (with a sole appearance) and Ghana (with three), but with more appearances, Nigeria has logged less record of performance. Is our football improving at all?

The answer is not that straight-forward, but it would appear Nigerian football has not improved much more than the 1994 set, though individual players would appear to have had much more exposure on the global stage via club football. Even then, even

as reigning African champions, the current Eagles would still appear a work-inprogress, with no noticeable superstars, the bulk of the team being average players.

Now, if we sport average players, what was all the talk of winning the World Cup or even reaching the semi-final? With all due respect to the perennial optimists, it was all part of the Nigerian penchant to both dream without work and live in denial. With all the talk about being football world beaters, Nigeria is only an average football playing nation. The realisation of this would go a long way for right attitude, mentality and preparation for future competitions.

Will all our players’ technical capacity in raw talents, Nigeria needs to transform those capacities to precise and efficient capabilities. Watching sides like Germany and most European sides play, it is clear that they rely less on impulse and much on precise deliberation, with limits to human imperfection, of course. It is the opposite for Nigerian teams, and that explains the loose balls, aimless passes, unreasonable shots at goals and near-total incompetence at converting set pieces.

That calls for more coaching efficiency.

Coach Stephen Keshi has tried to build a strong team out of average players. But that team can be formidable only if it becomes more technically efficient and more tactically disciplined.

At Brazil, Nigeria tried its best though the team, beyond raising its game to suit the big occasion, seldom sparkled. But it is a young team that may yet grow into a formidable side. So, though Nigeria has crashed out of the competition, there are a lot of positives to be taken from the decent performance.

At Brazil, the team was competitive, losing to two former World Champions, Argentina and France. But it also gained from a favourable draw at the group stages, facing Iran, Bosnia, aside from Argentina at the group stages. That was a luxury Ghana did not have, though it also proved itself in a near-disastrous campaign.

For Nigeria to reach global standards, where it can easily beat world beaters — and be beaten — without being on the back foot, it needs to improve its football administration. The Maigari-led Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has been clearly the best in recent times. Still, it was a shame that players still boycotted training as threat to get their due before the crucial France match.

Such ugly and costly distractions must be done away with, if Nigeria will ever secure the bragging right it so clearly covets, over the football-playing world.

‘At Brazil, Nigeria tried its best though the team, beyond raising its game to suit the big occasion, seldom sparkled. But it is a young team that may yet grow into a formidable side.

So, though Nigeria has crashed out of the competition, there are a lot of positives to be taken from the decent performance’

West Africa can’t manage the Ebola outbreak

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N alarming report released last week by Doctors Without Borders said that West Africa’s current Ebola outbreak is “out of control.” That should shock the governments of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia into action.

It marks a frightening moment for a disease that has been contained numerous times before.

The outbreak, already the deadliest in history, had killed almost 400 people as of Thursday. It began in March but then slowed, causing the Guinean president to declare to the World Health Organization (WHO) in April that “the situation is well in hand.” But all was not well, and complacency led to relaxed measures and a second surge. More than 600 cases have now been reported, with the patients experiencing headache, fever and internal and external bleeding. The virus kills up to 90 percent of the people it infects, but it leaps from person to person only through contact with bodily fluids.

Unlike some viruses — including the one causing Middle East respiratory syndrome — Ebola is not new. It was discovered in 1976, and small outbreaks have been recorded occasionally since then. No cure exists, but medical teams have always effectively segregated infected areas and stopped the virus’s spread. The method is understood: treat the patients, trace their contacts and isolate those people.

But West Africa had not seen a major Ebola outbreak and was unprepared. Its public-health infrastructure is weak. There was no quick incident response system with a command-andcontrol structure, and no comprehensive public health plan for a mobile population. In the early stages of the crisis, Guinea buckled under economic and political pressure. To this day, the health ministries of the three countries lack effective ways to build public awareness.

Among the biggest challenges is the public’s reluctance to cooperate. A stigma attaches to those who are infected, and so families hide the sick, making it more difficult to trace contacts. Some run away and in so doing spread the disease. A death can lead to a dozen more infections among those who clean and prepare the body for the funeral.

International groups sometimes have difficulty discouraging these behaviors. In April, an angry crowd attacked a Doctors Without Borders clinic in a town in Guinea.

The locals charged that the health workers were bringing Ebola to the villages. Mobs not infrequently have thrown rocks at medical workers.

The WHO is convening an 11-country meeting this week to coordinate a regional response. It plans to recruit more village heads and local chiefs to participate in the public awareness campaign.

This meeting is promising. But there is a real risk that Ebola will spread. Other West African countries must heed the lesson of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Deaths can be prevented if their leaders face the danger and implement complete, proven methods of control.

– Washington Post

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh • Editor Gbenga Omotoso •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Adekunle Ade-Adeleye •Editor, Online Lekan Otufodunrin •Managing Editor Northern Operation Yusuf Alli •Managing Editor Waheed Odusile

• Executive Director (Finance & Administration) Ade Odunewu

•Deputy Editor Lawal Ogienagbon

•Advert Manager Robinson Osirike

•Deputy Editor (News) Adeniyi Adesina

• Gen. Manager (Training and Development) Soji Omotunde •General Manager (Abuja Press) Kehinde Olowu •AGM (PH Press) Tunde Olasogba

•IT Manager Bolarinwa Meekness •Deputy Editor (Nation’s Capital) •Press Manager Yomi Odunuga Udensi Chikaodi •Group Political Editor Emmanuel Oladesu •Legal Counsel John Unachukwu •Group Business Editor Simeon Ebulu • Manager (Admin) Folake Adeoye •Group Sports Editor Ade Ojeikere •Acting Manager (sales) •Editorial Page Editor Olaribigbe Bello Sanya Oni

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

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CARTOON & LETTERS

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IR: Every responsible organization seeks maximum satisfaction of their customers to enhance larger share of the market. However, the operations of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBDEC) are antithetical to this. Sadly, many of the new owners of electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) are only interested in making illicit and ungodly profit at the expense of their poor customers. IBDEC is a major culprit in this regard.

The company has the penchant for distributing predatory bills to their customers, billing them on spurious estimation for the electricity they did not consume. It is unethical for IBDEC to be playing on people’s intelligence with sheer fabrication and manipulation, basking in the euphoria that people don’t know their rights and will not react to their antics.

Recently, special adviser to Minister of Power, Jonathan Ogbonna, informed the nation about the drop in electricity supply to the nation.

He attributed it to the maintenance works going on at Utorogu and Ughelli east gas plants, which necessitated the shutting down of the two stations all of which affected power generation, with supply falling drastically from over 4,000mw to 2900mw.

Minister of Power Prof. Nebo also confirmed that the federal government had closed down the

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

Ibadan Disco: Taking consumers for granted two gas plants since June 2, and that re-commissioning was in progress. He said the closure, which was carried out by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Corporation affected Egbin and Omotosho stations.

Ironically, IBDEC decided to prey on the people of Ogbomoso by increasing their bills by over 200%.

The bill served on this writer for

May, was N1,291 for 100 units at the rate of N12.91 per unit, and N500 compulsory monthly fixed maintenance fee totaling N1,791 But in their June bill, the bill was doubled to 200 units which is N2,582 plus N500 fixed maintenance fee totaling N3,082 – despite the total blackout. My only offence is being hooked on estimated billing. Considering that I actually use

less than 20 units monthly if on pre-paid meters, I could not have paid more than N758.20. No wonder they hoard and refuse to make pre-paid meters available.

The same scenario is playing out in Oke Ogun area of Oyo State; Shaki, Kishi, Igboho etc are currently having a bust-up with the company on same poor electricity supply and outrageous bills given

S

• Pastor Mark Debo Taiwo, Takie, Ogbomoso.

Re: Fashola’s take away on Ekiti poll

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IR: I have always been an admirer of Governor Babatunde Fashola far across political and geographical boundaries, not because he has actually satisfied my ‘wantings’ of the image of good leadership but because I can appreciate his efforts beyond the definitions of mediocrity. Maybe even more because he has over the years portrayed himself as a focused and committed person. But his opinion as regards his perceived nutrients or should I

say valuables which he terms as ‘take away’ on Ekiti poll, I think he might have narrowed down his line of vision and viewed issues only from a one-dimensional perspective, hence a one-directional varnishing point!

He complains that a good governor in Fayemi as referenced by some public commentators he qualifies as eminent did not win in his own ward forgetting the common axiom that even the real and true “prophet is not recognized in

his own home,” how much more the mediocre ones?

He talks also about logical human behaviour refusing to remember that the ruling and elite class in our country in which he belongs has stripped most of us bare of any logic nor logical juxtapositions of any kind by their greedy megalomaniac attributes, offering us only crumbs of the whole we entrust to the. Or, how can you match the poverty in Lagos with the high profile eco-

Where have the books gone?

IR: There’s a popular saying that readers are leaders.

Well, if this saying is anything to go by, Africa will be out of leaders in a few years. One might want to argue, I mean, people read a lot, thanks to the internet. This may true, but how exactly are we reading? According to a research study done by Dr Fayaz Ahmad Loan in his paper, ‘Impact of the Internet surfing on reading practices and choices’, he explains that the internet has encouraged interactive reading and superficial reading but is also responsible for de-

to them monthly without improvement on the quality of service.

The protests going on almost daily against the notorious estimated bills should be enough reason for IBEDC to discard the controversial estimated billing system and make the electricity consumers pay for the actual points they consume. The rate charged per point is still the same throughout the nation. IBEDC should make pre-paid meters available for their teeming customers, repair their damaged and obsolete equipment, and make electricity more stable and regular in the community.

Enough is enough.

creasing concentrated and in-depth reading. Superficial reading doesn’t allow the reader to be impacted by the material he or she is reading, unlike in-depth reading.

The benefits of in-depth reading cannot be over-emphasized. An avid reader myself, the impact of reading on my vocabulary, perspective and personality is evident.

Our foremost need in Africa is not more money, more jobs, etc, but more readers. Reading broadens our horizons and allows us think outside that box we ever so often place ourselves in. This is what we

need in Africa; broader horizons.

Of course, there have been several campaigns aimed at revitalizing the reading culture in Africa, but even these campaigns have gradually slowed down due to many reasons, such as little or no financial support, public apathy or even lack of motivation to complete these projects. An example of this would be the Bring Back the Book campaign that was launched by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010, a project that started with so much drive and zest but is now nearly comatose. What hope does

this give our leaders of tomorrow?

The likes of Chimamanda Adichie, Wole Soyinka and late Chinua Achebe who we so much celebrate today were definitely book readers now turned successful book writers. It doesn’t matter your background, age or status, reading can make a huge difference in your life. In the words of Gustave Flaubert, a French novelist, ‘Read in order to live’.

• Olafisoye Oluwademilade, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State

nomic status that is known of the state?

On different and now crystalizing (so to say) political ideologies, I wonder what Fashola is driving at her. Is he attributing the distribution of rice and money only to PDP simply because PDP won the elections? Or was he not informed that Fayemi also distributed same to the electorate? On his reference to infrastructure, I am amused because I have seen several PDP governors develop far more infrastructure in their states than Fayemi would have ever done. Has he been to Cross River State? I hold still that our political platforms are short on ideological directions and thrive only on the ideologies of the individuals that form the party.

Governor Fashola should desist from insulting (or seemingly so) the electorate of Ekiti State; their choice is made and is clear! The incumbent Governor Fayemi himself halfway through the elections upheld the transparency with which the election was conducted and APC shouldn’t now, after the loss, attempt to discredit the process.

• Arc. Eric Williams Itembanye Akpo, Lugbe Abuja.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

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COMMENTS

Our Girls; National Conference: Demand automatic dismissal and 21 years for election cheating! ‘

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UR Girls’ from Chibok are still missing since April 15. Still no news and Chibok area has been attacked again. We pray.

Happily the Non Tony Sovereign National Marinho Conference has endorsed Diaspora voting, something very easy to organise in developed countries. Perhaps INEC and the political leadership fear the disgrace of the results, both in ease of getting the results and the possible swing effect of the vote.

Corruption is about who gets what office, installing persons and particularly undeserving relations in posts they have no moral right to occupy, thuggery with maiming and murder, inflicting Grievous Bodily Harm for whatever reason, enacting immorally punishing laws to cripple the citizenry while squandering the funds so generated, the non-supply of libraries and textbooks and novels and science equipment and sanitation and quality teachers to schools, the unleashing of unsupervised agencies on the masses for traffic or tax controls.

Will the real Nigerians please make themselves seen and heard? You, no doubt, have your own list of true Nigerians.

Nigeria’s graves are full of rotting flesh and dried bones of true Nigerians. It is a pity we cannot say the same for the corridors of power where Salaries and Perks leave little for Nigeria while those who actually die, gain next to nothing for the very questionable privilege of dying for Nigeria.

When exactly did politics become synonymous with or part of the definition of stealing? The issue of party funding must be spelt out clearly to protect the budget. What is the method of party funding in and out of government? The lack of clarity and transparency in party funding is a national corruption calamity which costs the citizens dearly and will bring down the country if not made transparent and public. Parties must be forced to stop stealing [from] the budget. Nobody is open about party funding. Should it be a percentage of the salaries

I

T is basically a war of attrition: “you kick us, we kick you”. This is how best to describe the current situation in the country. These days, the Boko Haram terrorists seem to have broken loose - targeting schools, isolated villages and security officials, ambushing, killing and capturing people, using weapons and tactics that have shaken the country’s defence and intelligence establishments. Already, there are fears that the terrorists may even resort to using chemical and biological weapons, especially as Governor Gabriel Suswan of Benue State recently cried out on the activities of the bandits operating in the Benue-Nasarawa states axis. With the spate of bombings and attempted bombings now rampant all over the place, we must pray fervently against some more devastating weapons falling into the hands of these terrorists. It may sound impossible or even incredible to believe but, looking back, would anybody have thought that this rag-tag hoodlums could go this far?

Although there is no definite research literature on causal factors and diverse goals that drive people to resort to carrying out terrorist acts, multiple reasons are listed, some of which seem to be more applicable than others while some others tend to go together for identification of more or less convincing causal factors. Probably the most contested justification for terrorism is given by those who see terrorists as an aggrieved group resorting to violence over poverty and economic disadvantage, to make a statement. A more important factor may be the social stratification and inequalities in the distribution of scarce resources. In simple terms, this is the poverty argument. When a group is absolutely or relatively deprived, they rebel. However, in

of party appointees? If the country thinks political parties are entitled to 1%, 0.5% and 0.1% of the budget for 1st, 2nd, 3rd at the polls, then let the Non-Sovereign National Conference say so, OK? Let it say so and allocate it through National Assembly (NASS). But stop stealing, legally and illegally, for the sake of the children. Parties must stop stealing from the budget or they are no different from any other thief or a policeman who takes bribes at checkpoint and then arrests a thief for stealing in the market.

Let the Non-Sovereign National Conference protect Nigerians from Protocol in Nigeria by approving the insertion of ‘All Protocol Assumed to Be Observed’ as acceptable introduction in our constitution to protect all Masters of Ceremony. Let us insist that Nigerian time is dead and lectures, conferences and meetings can start promptly and not wait for political dignitaries.

We have trivialised the violence of politics and made it part and parcel and accepted. ‘Vote rigging’ which is stealing the mandate of the people, ‘political murder’, political thugs, political thuggery and political violence all should simply be named according to the criminal code. Stealing with intent to defraud, premeditated murder, thuggery, causing Grievous Bodily Harm etc. The dark cloak of politics does not make a murder less deadly, or a beating less bloody or an election less evil than stealing from a bank after killing the staff or the security police! Until the punishments are the same as for out-of-politics crimes, political cheating will continue.

Politics must learn from sportsmanship and have a radical rethink. We, through the Non-Sovereign National Conference, should demand dismissal for cheating in elections, never a rerun. A rerun is not for a cheat but for a genuine mistake like a false-start and now you can even get dismissed for a false start. Armstrong, the cheating cyclist and hundreds of other athletes even in Nigeria have been dismissed, and suspended, not offered a rerun. When a politician cheats in a political contest, he should be dismissed and prosecuted and jailed for the very serious crime of ‘attempting to steal the people’s mandate through fraud and deception’ and the financial crime of ‘attempting to extort salaries and perks through falsifying the facts by illegitimate

and illegal means’. The second in the race should automatically take his place and so on until there is a candidate who is found without stain. Cheating is not a legitimate political tool just because most do it. It is criminal and must lead to dismissal and banning from political office for up to life. The political party also has a supporting role in this and should also be punished for similar offences as it often seizes power with cheating and sometimes inflicts even more violence than a military coup. The accepted name of ‘election malpractice’ trivialises a serious criminal offence which is worse than ‘examination malpractice’ for which the same politicians voted to jail youth culprits for 21 years. What is good for the bad youth is better for the bad adult politician who should know and do better. Both party and candidate should be separately severely punished for criminal activities committed by either or both. Such punishment can be monetary but must include a ban of the party for a time in proportion to the damage to the nation. Nigerians must demand that their phone cameras are legitimate weapons against checkpoint and election malpractice and be authorised to use them unhindered by uniformed authority.

‘The accepted name of ‘election malpractice’ trivialises a serious criminal offence which is worse than ‘examination malpractice’ for which the same politicians voted to jail youth culprits for 21 years. What is good for the bad youth is better for the bad adult politician who should know and do better. Both party and candidate should be separately severely punished for criminal activities committed by either or both’

This Frankenstein Monster an attempt to solve the Boko Haram menace, we need to examine, critically, the real motive why the terrorists are up in arms.

Several suggestions have come up in the past. The terrorists themselves came up with an initial propaganda that they were out to enthrone Islam and Sharia law all over the country. Some other people have argued that the Boko Haram thing is a political weapon by a section of the country to wrestle power from other parts of the country. While the religious dimension may no longer be tenable in the face of indiscriminate attacks that have consumed both Christians and Muslims alike, the political angle may subsist in view of the constant attacks on state institutions, especially the concentration of attacks on targets within the nation’s capital, Abuja. The point is that among the multitude of causes that may lead a person or a group of people to resort to terrorism, there is none that conclusively links a sole cause to the act. Ethnicity, tribalism, poverty, economic disadvantage, lack of true democracy, extraneous interests, dehumanisation and religion all have arguments confirming a possible existing link, as well as reservations against a causal relation.

We must try to find out why a group would suddenly decide to bear arms against the country. From my own findings, it is almost clear that the Boko Haram terrorists are engaged in a violent revolt against the perceived injustice of the political class and the aristocracy in that part of the country. This is evident from the selective annihilation of notable political figures as well as the undeclared war against the aris-

‘In essence, the Boko Haram crisis, which escalated in July 2009, has continued to grow into the Frankenstein monster it is today because some entrenched interests are busy stoking the fire’

tocracy as manifested in the killings of traditional rulers and village heads. The thinking among the terrorists is that some of their people, especially those earlier mentioned, are directly or indirectly responsible for their backwardness and woes. Why is this so?

For many decades, the aristocracy in that part of the country has enjoyed certain privileges which are denied the majority of the population who have been sentenced to mere subsistent existence. While the children of the aristocrats are born into wealth, with good education within and outside the country, the rest of the population wallows in abject poverty, deprivation and want. Their children are deprived of the basic necessities of life, including access to good education as they are easily dumped in Quranic schools where they form the bulk of Almajiris or homeless youths, roaming the streets and scavenging the refuse dumps. At the end of the day, the children with aristocratic background acquire all the education that is available under the sun and come back to be lords and masters over these deprived children and their subsequent generations.

It is probably this obnoxious, retrogressive and debilitating scenario that the poor, who forms the bulk of Boko Haram foot soldiers, are out to correct willy-nilly.

Another causal factor is seen in the political dimension which may have gone awry. Prior to the 2011 general elections, events in the country had pointed to the fact that a section of the country was desperate to monopolise state power. The prelude to this was the ‘internecine’ war that engulfed Aso Rock Villa in the wake of the death of former President Umaru Yar’Adua, who passed on, on May 5, 2010. The choice of a successor to Yar’Adua almost led the country to a great constitutional crisis as hawks within the corridors of power mapped out strategies on how to side-track the constitution to deny the then Vice-President,

Goodluck Jonathan, the right to assume the mantle of leadership as enshrined in the country’s constitution. As a result of this, the whole country was driven into the precipice. This was later resolved by the “doctrine of necessity” enacted by the National Assembly.

This constitutional breakthrough notwithstanding, some elements in a section of the country would not be pacified. The electioneering that followed provided a good platform for these disgruntled elements to ventilate their anger and resentment for losing power so easily. It got to a stage when some of the dramatis personae openly threatened to make the nation ungovernable if any of their own did not emerge as President of Nigeria. In any case, what they were trying to say was that Jonathan should only spend the remaining one year to complete his principal’s (Yar’Adua’s) first term of four years in office and vamoose from the scene. Constitutionally, it was wrong, and Jonathan refused to be cowed. He also had the support of quite a large spectrum of Nigerians who believe that the Presidency of Nigeria was nobody or group’s birthright. Nevertheless, the animosity persists. The results of the Presidential election in 2011 drew blood in certain parts of the country. Many lives were lost in the carnage. Surprisingly, those perceived as brains behind the violence were never apprehended.

They are still going about with their baggage of anger and another election is around the corner.

Truly, the ongoing terrorists’ war has greatly impacted negatively on our collective endeavour to build an economically strong, politically stable and militarily formidable nation that would have been the cynosure of all the nations of the world. That is why all of us, irrespective of ethnic, tribal, religious, political and other primordial differences, must play a major role in helping to put an end to this senseless carnage that is threatening to

Dele Agekameh obfuscate and obliterate our country from existence. This, we can achieve by reconstructing our polity and reviving the country’s economy, apart from restoring the cultural and political relationships among all the ethnic cum tribal groups, which had been based on secular principles. This is necessary because there are reports of the involvement of ‘well-trained terrorists’, who are out to create communal discord in the country to achieve their selfish end. The methods they use and the inhuman tactics they employ are trademarks of a trained terrorist organisation bent on creating discord and disharmony in a country where Christians and Muslims have always lived in peace with mutual respect for each other.

In essence, the Boko Haram crisis, which escalated in July 2009, has continued to grow into the Frankenstein monster it is today because some entrenched interests are busy stoking the fire. Our leaders should stop playing the ostrich, thinking that, suddenly, one day, the problem of Boko Haram will be over. This is not possible. Since the causative agents are a combination of factors, only a holistic approach would solve the problem. Certainly, not finger-pointing; not the heaviest military armaments!

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

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COMMENTS ‘Don’t worry, it is a matter of time; someday he will leave office and face his people of the state over his ugly acts against ex-governor Isiaka Adeleke. If it was true that Omisore and Adesiyan beat up the former governor, he (Adesiyan) must have been power-drunk … The president should call him to order. If he believes he is a good boxer, we need him for the next Olympics. Meanwhile, NLNG’s gesture to six Nigerian universities is a welcome development. Other companies should emulate the good gesture. From Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia State’

•Fayemi

For Olatunji Dare Sir the Ekiti experience has once again proved that there is an invisible hand that rocks the cradle. the election was peaceful,free,fair and credible, typifying what would happen come 2015. From Bayo Ogunsanya Prof. I was one of those who got carried away by your analysis before the election. Honestly Governor Fayemi is too academic when it comes to governance. Fayose is a grass root politician who’ll rather dance in the street with the downtrodden than going tango in a secluded five star hotel. Fayemi distanced himself from the real voters and I think the APC should go back to the drawing board. From F. B. Tope, Osun Prof, I respectfully disagree with what you called The only problem in paragraph 7 of The Morning After. The main problem is that APC governors pamper after the whims of Tinubu rather than caring for the poor in society. We are certainly more than the elite and will trounce them in every election now that our votes have started counting. Since I do not want Jonathan back in 2015, my counsel to APC us to stop burying their heads under the sand. So sorry for Ajimobi and Aregbe.

From Bode Elemide.

I read with interest your today’s column in The Nation. It only confirms the problem of political analysis in Nigeria part of which you already mentioned. Analysts should learn how to detach themselves from issues that they are directly affected. The best political response is what Dr Fayemi has provided. Any other option will earn him more problems.

Afterall, democracy is about people’s will. His case confirms the difference between skill and strategy and the fact that radicalism requires indepth knowledge of situational circumstances to flourish. Dr Fayemi, no doubt has the skills, he however lacks the strategy. I only hope that the APC camp will learn from the Ekiti experience. Every actor is important during any election. All hopes are not lost yet. From Dr Adebayo Salami, Political Science Dept, OOU, Ago Iwoye.

Your Editorials of today is neither here nor there nobody told you that an incumbent president can not be defeated not Jonathan nor P.D.P. Two lessons I learned from the election are that: (1) election is not won in the newspaper and noise making (2) the people know the best and what is good for them.

Anonymous Ayo Fayose’s victory is an indication of being man of the people,who carries everybody along irrespective of what they are. How l wish this would happen in Abia State, where people choice will prevail in 20l5, rather than imposing someone on Abians.Fayose,congratulations. From Gordon Chika Nnorom,Umukabia,Abia State.

Good day. There is no need to be apologetic about the Ekiti pre-analyses. They were all well informed and credible based on verifiable facts on ground. Ekiti is undergoing modernisation that ‘ll lead her into prosperity in the nearest future. Also, that Ekiti have a huge tribe of ‘sophisticated and discerning men and women is an undeniable fact. But, if in spite of these, they decided to vote for their stomach rather than their future, then, all we can say is ‘goodluck’ to them. Regards. From Olu. Fayose’s triumphal re-emergence will for long remain a great mystery of Ekiti politics.

When he disappeared from the scene in shame in 2006, many believed he would fade into obscurity and faintly remembered as one who blew up the unprecedented opportunity,brought so much pain and instability to Ekiti and, a huge reminder of the

danger of uncultivated mind and undistinguished character in position of critical authority. How wrong we were! From J O Omotosho.

Professor, do you really mean there was a proper election in Ekiti on June 21? Whatever happened there, I strongly believe a new generation of real leaders are being raised in the likes of Governors Fashola and Fayemi.

No matter the darkness light will shine.

Thanks. From Owen Browne Re-Ekiti: the morning after. Fayemi’s lost was caused by his policies of sanitation and moral standard which Ekiti people did not understand as a core value of democracy. From Wale Adedokun.

Re Ekiti: The morning after. The sum total of what happened in Ekiti is only to confirm that we all now know that the people have been over-premiumed as per articulation.

They are okay paperwise. To me, they are not as witty as assumed. Fayemi has made a statement and will everly walk tall. From Akinlayo.

A . State of Osun.

Dear Dare,do not be weary,you are not a failed analyst but a victim of reality. Remember that you cannot read a man’s mind from the constitution of his face. What is important thing is that the people have spoken through their votes, and the next important that Fayose should not disappoint their confidence. The rest is for time a history to vindicate. From Mmayienwata,Ekwulobia,Anambra State Mr Olatunji you have played your part well only God will reward you. You are my man any day. Governor Fayemi should continue to thank Allah for protecting him to date if he had been killed during the rally, people will cry for sometime and forget him. Please let him read Papa Awolowo’s book Voice of reason where he wrote that whatever happens to man in life happens to him for his own good. Thank you and God bless. Anonymous.

For Gbenga Omotoso All of you should be ready to chase President Jonathan away now. President Jonathan is now a civilian dictator. Stopping sitting governors from moving freely in their states.This is unacceptable to us. More than two months now he couldn’t bring back our Chiboks girls. But is busy harassing and intimidating our performing governors in APC. President Jonathan is running the most fraudulent govt in the whole world. From Tayo Tola Agbaje, Garki, Abuja.

Whoever said President Jonathan is a weak leader must be living in a fool paradise. When minister of State Defence was interviewed in Akure last week of his mission in the state, he simply said he was only there to carry out the president’s agenda. The agenda of the president has been accomplished by the minister.

The president does not know the impilication of using mllitary to haunt a perceived opponent in democracy. From Hamza Ozi Momoh Apapa Lagos.

Good talk Gbenga, very soon the chicken will come home to roost. Ekiti will soon realise their choice of “stomach infrastucture above genuine development. Anonymous Sir, you ought to write something on Sanusi Lamido Sanusi,who has now taken refuge in the Kano Emirate palace to perhaps escape justice,encouraged by some elements of the bench.When will Sanusi be arraigned? From Don Akagbusi, Ibadan.

It is sad and unfortunate to state the least, that those who did not join in the struggle for the cause of democracy are today benefiting from its fruits. They did not experience the pains and yet they are enjoying its benefit, they’ll do any-thing to hold grib to power and they’ll use every dirty tool to achieve their aims. The PDP and its administration is more than ever before becoming desperately rude, the only option open to them is to adopt the strategy of might and force i.e the use of soldiers, police etc under the control of some undeserable elemends.it is of-course not surprising that the son of late Gen. Sani Abacha

is freed of coruption charges, it is with a price,he is under bound to deliver Kano to President Jonathan in 2015. How he carry out this assignment is what we wait to see.

From Peter Y. Oganto.

Reading your satirical article captioned ‘The President’s men at work” and the political drama going on in Ekiti makes me want to cry for my beloved country and my question is ‘how did we get to this sorry state? For those who fought for the return of democracy, is this not a wasted sacrifice afteral? From fry-pan we finally find ourself in the real fire.

Those ruling us as democrats are bunch of rogues and corrupt people headed by an equally inept leader. I am sad for Nigeria.

Anonymous.

Gbenga your -the president men at work, was an interesting piece. Whether you were being sarcastic or not is definitely a matter for another day. From gbenga Hello, Mr. Gbenga, l’m afraid, the situation that is beckoning to us now will be devastating and hazardous to this nation. It is like the President is looking for a way to split this nation. 26,000 policemen and 1,500 dogs in Ekiti. Truly a free and fair elections. Anonymous.

Good day. Just read your yesterday’s stuff.

Would this be the same Adesiyan who was said to have cried like a baby when confronted with the Bola Ige saga during his clearance in the Senate? As for Obanikoro, I think we should beg the United States to assist us with information on people who have had issues with the law in that country and are now holding public offices in Nigeria, because there are plenty of them. It is not as if one is surprised by the quality of people that populate the PDP. As they say: ‘birds of a feather flock together. That our country has fallen victim of this tribe of vampires is what we have to do something about. Enjoy your day.

Regards.From Olu. The Ekiti election,its voting pattern and the election result all look so mysterious to me.Do we call it high scientific rigging,or was Fayemi just systematically schemed out of office with the election only employed as a cover? It is quite inexplicable. Or, are they trying to tell us that Ekiti people have got a standard base or quality requirements needed for a political leader to merit their votes other than the leader being a pragmatic and performing one? Somebody somewhere should be able to tell Nigerians what actually happend in that election, that is if it was truly free and fair as commonly believed in various quarters. Many Nigerians, of truth, are simply confused. God have mercy. From Emmanuel Egwu.

Gbenga your The Presidents men at work in, The Nation June 26 is most interesting to read, a superb satire. However the president’s men should do positive things to help him not negative things that hurt him at all levels.

From Prof Tam David-West.

For Tunji Adegboyega Show me your friend, as they say, and I will show you who you are. If President Jonathan truly wants to leave Nigeria better than he met it, the signs could have reflected in the type of appointments he makes as well as the quality of advice he takes and implements. I keep saying that he is a thorough-bred politician who knows how to ‘capture’ power but does not know what to do with it, apart from fighting the media, governors, lawmakers, protesters. It is regrettable that in a country like ours, the like of Jelili is a minister. From Ifeanyi O. Ifeanyichukwu, Abuja.

Tunji, you are too much; ‘WAEC’ score 100%Jelili will fail before it is nightfall (Amen).

May your pen never run dry. Keep it up.

Anonymous.

Don’t rest your case; continue resting wallowing in the ignorance of your paid writing job. Go and ask, the best police IG was Adewusi and you made a good observation but you veered off the point by generalising him with many others in GEJ cabinet. All the

•Fayose

same, which is better, Serubawon or Jelili?

Anonymous Hello, Tunji in the spirit of Ramadan I comment on your article, “ Jelili’s metamorphosis”. You know when a less handsome man meets a beautiful lady, he promises heavenly but vague promises. We all saw Jelili weep at the ministerial screening at the senate and our conclusion then was that this man (Jelili) would be humble. The opposite is what we are seeing today. The other time he joined others in lambasting the Kano State governor over the emirship issue in the state, gagging the press these days is becoming worse than in the military era. Well done, Tunji. From Abubakar Musa, Abuja.

Good day, my brother. Your article in today’s (Sunday) paper focusing on Adesiyan was interesting as usual. Hoping that the publication of my earlier article will create more enlightenment on the dangerous characters the PDP has now unleashed on us in southwest Nigeria in the name of politics. From Engr Shoyebo.

Don’t worry, it is a matter of time; someday he will leave office and face his people of the state over his ugly acts against ex-governor Isiaka Adeleke. If it was true that Omisore and Adesiyan beat up the former governor, he (Adesiyan) must have been power-drunk … The president should call him to order. If he believes he is a good boxer, we need him for the next Olympics. Meanwhile, NLNG’s gesture to six Nigerian universities is a welcome development. Other companies should emulate the good gesture. From Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia State.

Jelili Adesiyan is like a man who pretended to be a good man when ‘toasting’ a lady only to turn to something else after he has succeeded. .Those who accused him of having a hand in Bola Ige’s death would now say they were vindicated. A Ministry of Thuggery should be created for a’professional’ like him.

Anonymous.

You are being biased as regards your article on Adesiyan. In fact, one easily knew that you are in support of a particular party. Why on earth will you refer to a respectable Adewusi as having problem due to the 1979 elections? Articles like this only destabilise; try and be modest and not biased in your articles. Anonymous.

‘Jelili’s metamorphosis”, great piece. Anonymous.

Nice one my powerful journalist. More grease to your elbow. The likes of Adesiyan should not be a leader not to talk of being a minister in this country. Anonymous Re: Jelili’s metamorphosis.Talonje ode aperin niwaju ode apaayan (who is an elephant hunter in the presence of a hunter who kills human beings) is too weighty a proverb, most especially when a dangerous event that was devastating occurred on December 23, 2101.

Tongue is dangerous and also offers useful rewards. Happy Jelili is a pure Yoruba man and is advised to be cautious in his acts, deed and talks! And, on Re: Engineering: NLNG to the rescue. One hopes that all the specialised organisations would always, in good time, rally round all the needy institutions of learning, beginning with the primary through tertiary. NLNG is appreciated even though it contributed to the universities based on specialisation and on merit. I am happy my alma mater, Unilorin, was among, based on merit!

Others in food, confectioneries, medicine/ pharmacy and business management, among others, should follow suit. That is nothing more than corporate social responsibility which is exhibited worldwide. Again, kudos to the NLNG. From Lanre Oseni.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

25

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net Stories by Taofik Salako

Firms partner for efficient mail delivery

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UPERFLUX International Limited, a provider of print solutions is giving back to its partners with a donation of 20 KVA generator to Bulkpost Venture, a subsidiary of Nigerian Postal Services for bulk mail services.

Such mails include among others: dividend warrants, share certificates, notice of Annual General Meetings, exam slips, bill, religious tracts and correspondences.

While handing over the generator to bulkpost on behalf of Speedyprints one of its subsidiaries, the Head, Corporate Affairs of Superflux Group Ms. Folake Akindele said the generator will help Bulkpost run its operations seamlessly and further enhance demands from clientele. She said the donation will further cement the excellent working relationship between the two organisations.

She explained that the donation is in tandem with the high premium Superflux Group places on Corporate Social Responsibility and the corporate objective of adding value to customers and partners.

The General Manager of Bulkpost, Mike Umo expressed appreciation to Superflux Group on behalf of staff and management of Bulkpost. He said the gesture will encourage Bulkpost to deliver excellent service and delight its customers.

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

-Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga

Shareholders seek probe of firms S to be delisted

HAREHOLDERS have called for extensive probe of companies earmarked for delisting by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), arguing that capital market regulators should unravel the management of the companies’ resources.

Shareholders, who spoke to The Nation, said capital market regulators should probe the utilisation of the funds earlier raised by those companies and the previous projections made by the companies. Many shareholders were against the delisting of the companies, noting that delisting would worsen shareholders’ fate.

The NSE recently said it has decided to delist 21 companies that have failed continuously to meet the corporate governance standards at the stock market. In a notice of delisting obtained by The Nation, the NSE said it decided on the delisting to protect investors from trading on securities with serious corporate governance failures.

The affected companies included Investment and Allied Insurance Plc, Goldlink Insurance, Pinnacle Point Group, Adswitch, Afroil, Rokana Industry, IPWA, West African

By Taofik Salako

Glass Industry, Nigeria Wire and Cable, Starcomms, Daar Communication, Mtech, Big Treat, G.Cappa, FTN Cocoa Processing and UTC Nigeria.

Others included Stockvis, Nigeria Sewing Machine, Jos International Breweries, Capital Oil and Golden Guinea.

However, Adswitch had earlier filed for voluntary delisting while Pinnacle Point Group is in the process of being wound up.

According to the Exchange, while the five of Stockvis, Nigeria Sewing Machine, Jos International Breweries, Capital Oil and Golden Guinea were being delisted because they failed to regularise their listing status, other companies were being delisted because they have failed to submit requisite financial and operational statements.

Chairman, Ibadan Zone Shareholders Association (IBZA), Chief Sola Abodunrin, said the companies could discourage investors from future participation in new issues as most of them only

came to the market to raise funds without returns to shareholders.

According to him, the companies did not follow through with their purposes of the fund raising and mismanaged investors’ funds.

Abodunrin, a member of the board of trustees of the Investors Protection Fund (IPF) of the NSE, said delisting would be worse for the investors in the companies as they won’t be able to retrieve their investments.

He said the companies would not adhere to any iota of corporate governance after delisting and shareholders would not have any hope of holding the companies to account.

National coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu, also said the NSE and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should go beyond the delisting to determine the extent of management’s culpability in the

companies’ misfortunes.

Another shareholders’ leader, Alhaji Gbadebo Olatokunbo, called for a thorough investigation of the management of the companies.

According to him, the regulators should be able to extricate failures that were due to environmental constraints from those due to managerial failures.

The NSE had stated that the delisting was necessary to protect investing public from trading in the securities of entities with no current information regarding their financial status.

The NSE stated that the delisting of the companies would take effect in September, in line with three-month notice required for such action.

All the companies slated for delisting had been dormant and mostly at their nominal values. Companies such as Big Treat, Starcomms, Capital Oil and Afroil have been subjects of regulatory investigations.

Since listing on the NSE, Starcomms has struggled with mounting debts and operational losses, leaving shareholders with losses on two fronts as negative bottom-line impacts on share price.

DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$117.4/barrel Cocoa -$2,686.35/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢95.17pound Gold -$1,396.9/troy Sugar -$163/lb MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE -N11.4 trillion JSE -Z5.112trillion NYSE -$10.84 trillion LSE -£61.67 trillion RATES Inflation -8% Treasury Bills -10.58%(91d) Maximum lending -30% Prime lending -15.87% Savings rate -1% 91-day NTB -15% Time Deposit -5.49% MPR -12% Foreign Reserve $45b FOREX CFA EUR £ $ ¥ SDR RIYAL 40.472

-0.2958 -206.9 -242.1 -156 -1.9179 -238 -

•From right: Group Managing Director, UAC of Nigeria (UACN) Plc, Mr Larry Ettah; Chairman, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu; Company Secretary, UACN, Mr Godwin Samuel during UACN's Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Golden Tulip, FESTAC, Lagos.

OPEC’s June output rises as members fill in for Iraq loss

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RGANISATION of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) crude production climbed for a second month in June as gains in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria made up for the loss of Iraqi barrels, a Bloomberg survey showed.

Production by the 12-member OPEC rose by 278,000 barrels a day to 30.223 million, according to the survey of oil companies, producers and analysts.

Last month’s total was revised 43,000 barrels a day lower to 29.945 million because of

Customers file 4,142 fraud petitions against banks - P 26

changes to the Kuwaiti, Libyan and Ecuadorian estimates.

Violence flared in Iraq, OPEC’s second-biggest producer, this month as a militant group seized Mosul, the country’s biggest northern city, and advanced south toward Baghdad. Fears that the upsurge may ignite a civil war sent prices higher.

“There was panic when the first headlines came from Iraq,” said Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA Inc. in New York. “There may have been an overreaction elsewhere. Things have stabilised and it doesn’t appear that all of

those additional barrels will be needed.”

Brent crude for August settlement dropped 94 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to close at $112.36 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Brent, the benchmark for more than half the world’s oil, reached $115.71 on June 19, the highest level since September 9. West Texas Intermediate oil fell 37 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to settle at $105.37 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Iraqi production tumbled 400,000 barrels a day to 2.9 million this month, according to the

30 months after, cash-less banking yet to fly - P27

survey. It was the biggest drop in June and left the country pumping the least oil since September.

The fighting hasn’t spread to southern Iraq, home to about three-quarters of the nation’s oil output.

The production cuts occurred in the north, where the pipeline from Kirkuk to Ceyhan on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast has been shut since March because of sabotage. The missing output would have supplied Iraqi needs. The 310,000-barrel-a-day Baiji refinery, Iraq’s biggest, has been closed since militants first attacked it on June 15.

‘High unemployment in aviation unhealthy’

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

T

HE Managing Director, Finum Aviation Services, Sheri Kyari, has expressed worry over the high rate of unemployment in the aviation industry.

He warned that if urgent steps were not taken to address the problem, it might spell doom for the sector.

Speaking in Lagos in an interview, Kyari appealed to the government to save the sector by attracting more investments to it.

While suggesting to the government how to rescue the sector from collapse that may have arisen because of unemployment, he lamented how several technical personnel, including cabin crew, cockpit crew, engineers and others are roaming the streets in search of jobs in the sector.

According to him, joblessness in the industry has been a source of concern to the professionals in the sector, urging the government to reverse the situation.

He emphasised that several technical personnel has been trained in various aviation schools in the country, but needed to be type-rated on a particular aircraft before they could be employed .

Kyari cited how former Aviation minister Stella Oduah opened up a lot of job opportunities in the system with the refurbishing of 22 terminals, construction of five cargo terminals and creation of aviation development masterplan, noting that these have stopped in the sector for over two decades.

His words: “Oduah came and opened up lots of areas that can produce employment and we hope the current minister of aviation will continue in this direction. Many technical personnel have been trained both in the country and abroad, but they need type rating on a particular aircraft, which is the second leg of their training.

“There are several opportunities opened up in the perishable cargo terminal business.

We hope people will shift their attention in that area as there are several opportunities there.”

On the award given to Oduah, Kyari argued that the award became necessary following the several developmental programmes the former minister embarked upon during her time.

He argued that for over 30 years, no development took place in the industry despite the accelerated growth in the population of the country from about 100 million to over 160 million.

Kyari commended her for convincing the Federal Government for releasing funds for developmental projects in the sector, stressing that without her doggedness, the industry would have remained in comatose.

Plantain farming as money spinner - P39

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

26

THE NATION

BUSINESS MONEY

e-mail: money@thenationonlineng.net

Customers file 4,142 fraud petitions against banks

D

EPOSITORS filed 4,142 fraud related petitions against banks between March 2010 and last May, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said.

Director, Consumer Protection Department (CPD), CBN, Umma Dutse, said the petitions bordered on excess charges, unauthorised deductions, dishonoured cheques, cheque conversion, foreign remittances andAutomated Teller Machine (ATM) frauds.

He was delivering a paper on

• CBN: depositors’ right to fair treatment breached Stories by Collins Nweze

“Banker/customer relationship: Expectations and Realities,” at a summit organised by the Banks Customers’ Association of Nigeria (BCAN) in Lagos.

The theme was Value based banking: Banks and their customers.

Dutse said the petitions were received from inception of the office when it was known as the Fi-

nancial Policy and Regulation Department in March 2010 to May, this year.

He said excess charges constituted over 50 per cent of cumulative petitions it received last month.

Greed, poor service delivery and failure to adhere to the provisions of extant guidelines and agreements, he noted, were some of the factors that led to the

petititons.

Dutse said: “We have received many petitions where banks charged Commission on Turnover in excess of the provisions of the CBN guidelines, or where banks introduced fees that were not initially in the agreement between them and their customers.

In these, and similar cases, the banks involved invariably breached the customer’s right to fair treatment.”

BCAN President Uju Ogbunika said there was the need for banking to be conducted based on values and best practices. He ex-

plained that banking should go beyond promoting products and services, to taking steps that will boost the economy.

Head, Consumer Protection Council, Lagos Office Tam Tamunokonbia regretted that customers often became victims of excess charges because they could not read the conditions attached to contracts. He advised lenders to respect customer’s rights to disclosure, provide written terms and conditions in simple language and legible words, adding that charges and fees should be made known to customers before opening their accounts.

Nigeria gets GIABA’s nod to join FATF

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• From left: FATF Secretary Ms Alexandra Eckert; President Mr Vladimir Nechaev; Chairman Presidential Committee on FATF Mr Stephen Oronsaye; GIABA Director-General Mr. Adama Coulibaly and Deputy DirectorGeneral, Mr Brian Sapati at the FATF Plenary in Paris.

Analysts back new capital for BDCs

F

INANCIAL market analysts have endorsed the central bank’s new capital requirements for bureaux de change (BDCs).

According to them, the policy would help in bridging the gap between the official market and other segments of the foreign exchange (forex) market, especially the BDCs. It is also expected to strengthen the naira and halt the seeming dollarisation of the economy.

Last week, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced a minimum capital requirement of N35 million for BDCs, up from N10 million. It also reviewed the mandatory cautionary deposit for BDCs upward to N35 million.

The money shall be deposited in a non-interest yielding account in the CBN after the grant of approval-in-principle.

But, the House of Representatives kicked against the policy, and invited the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, to appear before its Banking and Currency Committee to provide a “full brief on the policy somersault”.

To the Head of Research at Sterling Capital Limited, Sewa Wusu, the policy would help in sanitising the BDC sub-sector.

“What the CBN is trying to do is to monitor and ascertain the legitimate demand in the BDC segment so that they will not be spending so much in defending the naira. The premium between the BDC and official rate is still very wide and the CBN wants to bridge the gap and curtail the excesses of operators. Also, the CBN is being proactive in monitoring money laundering ahead of the 2015 elections,” Wusu explained.

He noted that the move by the regulator clearly shows its resolve to defend the naira at all cost, saying the depletion of the forex reserves called for serious concern by all stakeholders.

“If our forex reserves continue to come down, the international rating agencies may downgrade Nigeria’s rating which may affect us negatively,” he added.

The Head of Investment Research at Afrinvest Securities Limited, Ayodeji Ebo, said the policy was long over due, describing it as a welcome development. To him, the move by the CBN will help in curbing infractions at the BDC segment. “In view of the capital requirement, it will reduce the number of BDCs. When you look at how the spread between the BDC and interbank has narrowed down, with the policy it is going to reduce further,” he said.

MfBs seek ways to deepen operation

M

ICROFINANCE Banks (MfBs) are looking at ways of improving their fortunes, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Global Initiative Microfinance Bank Valentine Whensu has said.

He spoke during the Nigeria Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB) Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos where he was elected the group’s president. He said capacity building, advocacy and self regulation were some of the issues to focus on during his tenure.

The MfB chief said the group would focus on building relationships with organisations that have

the capacity to either assist in ensuring proper funding or directly fund the subsector with the aim of mitigating the risk exposures.

He said: “We will be proactive in our responses to our regulators.

Our coming on board at this time also will witness the end of the delayed release of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprise fund made available to MfBs by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Our task will be to lay down the needed structure on which the funds can be accessed by any MfBs in Nigeria.”

Director, Other Financial Institutions Department (OFID), CBN, Olufemi Fabanwo challenged the

new executive to ensure that it work in the interest of its members.

He advised the association to ensure that it worked based on its constitution as well as improve on capacity building for its members.

Immediate past president of NAMB, Jethro Akun expressed satisfaction with the choice of his successor.

Fabanwo said: “The first challenge for him is to build on what we have done, by doing more than us. Also, there is a liquidity problem that he has to face up to and overcome. He has to build on the existing relationship with our regulators.”

HE Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) has recommended Nigeria for membership of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The Ad Hoc Group on Membership (AHGM), in its report presented to the FATF Plenary for this year in Paris, recommended Nigeria, Israel, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia for membership.

Nigeria, the only candidate from Africa, was recommended based on the size of its economy, extent of implementation of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) measures, involvement in GIABA work and high political commitment to advancing the implementation of AML/CFT regime of acceptable international standard.

GIABA Director-General Adama Coulibaly expressed appreciation to the AHGM for recommending Nigeria. He said the country plays a major role in the affairs of GIABA and has been one of the regional champions mentoring other member states in the development of their AML/ CFT systems.

According to him, Nigeria is the largest contributor to the budget of Economic Community of West

African States (ECOWAS), the parent body from which GIABA derives its budget, thus facilitating the effective operation of GIABA. He said: “GIABA is fully convinced that Nigeria’s membership of the FATF will definitely assist in advancing the frontiers of robust AML/CFT measures in West Africa. GIABA has been in constant engagement with Nigeria and the country has demonstrated commitment at all levels (political, operational/technical) to ensure that its AML/CFT regime is in line with acceptable international standards.”

In a statement endorsed by Stephen Oronsaye, Chairman, Nigeria Presidential Committee on FATF on behalf of the Honourable Minister of Justice/Attorney General of the Federation of Nigeria, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, Nigeria pledged its political commitment towards the ideals of FATF and the continued involvement of Nigeria in the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

The FATF will engage with Nigeria to ensure its admission.

FATF is the global body that sets standard for AML/CFT efforts.

PayPal accepts Fidelity Bank’s cards

F

IDELITY Bank Plc has announced the acceptance of its payment cards on the PayPal platform. With this development, the lender’s cardholders can now shop from the world’s major international retailers with more flexibility and convenience.

PayPal is a global payment firm that recently entered the Nigerian market.

Coming on the heels of the proposed nationwide adoption of the CBN’s cash-less initiative, this move is seen as part of the bank’s efforts to boost electronic payments and foster ease of transactions.

PayPal, a global player in the ecommerce industry, offers a faster and effective means of conducting transactions over the internet and is being used by millions of customers across the world.

Divisional Head, Electronic Banking, Adedeji Olowe who spoke on behalf of the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo said the introduction of PayPal is a

deliberate attempt by the bank to make financial services easy and accessible to its customers.

Olowe said that the development is in line with the bank’s commitment to consistently deploy innovative strategies to make life easier for its Customers. “We believe that our Customers will benefit immensely from this innovation, and the registration process is straightforward.

He, however, explained that the bank would adopt a phased approach to deployment “Only shopping on international websites is available at this time, other services will be introduced in the coming months.

While the surge in e-commerce has given rise to concerns about online security, the bank has allayed the fears of its Customers by confirming that its Cards are protected with top-notch security tools.

In addition to the in-built security mechanism, Fidelity Bank’s MasterCard and VISA Cards are protected with the MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by VISA features.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

27

MONEY It came with a lot of promise, but two-and-a-half years after, cash-less banking is yet to fly. It is faced with erratic Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of Sale (PoS) and internet banking downtime challenges.

These, among others, have eroded customers’ confidence in the scheme, writes COLLINS NWEZE.

30 months after, cash-less banking yet to fly C

ASH-LESS banking is twoand-a-half years old today, but the challenges confronting it are still there. The policy was meant to change the cashdriven economy and reduce operational costs usually passed on to customers through other means.

The policy’s implementation began nationwide yesterday.

The policy is designed to promote financial intermediation, financial inclusion, minimise revenue leakages, eliminate robbery and high cash payment and encourage electronic payment. However, feedback from customers shows that these objectives are far from being met.

From non-working Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), debiting of customers’ accounts without payment, and poor network in the use of Point of Sale (PoS) terminals, customers have stories to tell.

Analysts said aside campaigning for the use of alternative channels, such as the PoS and ATMs, in settling bills, the banks and CBN need to get the platforms in good working condition.

They said Nigerians were being denied the convenience and efficiency experienced by other countries in bills payment using alternative banking channels.

• ATM machine

• PoS machine

Interswitch said the direct cost of handling, processing and managing cash across the nation as at 2009, stood at N114 billion and could have increased if the cashless policy had not been introduced.

“The good thing we have also done as stakeholders in the e-payment industry are to also introduce solutions that would drive adoption of the cash-less policy. These solutions have been designed to address the specific needs of the ordinary Nigerian towards the adoption of e-payment,” it said.

Banks react In an emailed statement to its customers, GTBank said the policy would drive the development and modernisation of Nigeria’s payments system. It said all individuals and corporate outfits will be encouraged to adopt electronic payment and other banking options.

The policy, it added, is aimed at promoting the use of electronicbased transactions instead of cash for payments for goods, services, transfers, among other services.

Skye Bank Plc has underscored the importance of deploying innovative technology to provide a secured and more convenient direct banking solution to its customers.

In a statement, the bank said such action is to promote the cash-less policy.

The lender has also unveiled its ‘SkyePLus’ to support the initiative.

Speaking at the unveiling of the product, the Chairman, Skye Bank Plc, Olatunde Ayeni, said the bank had remained ahead in the area of deploying the right technology to engender seamless and flexible banking transactions for Nigerians.

His words:“We deploy technology as best as we can as available, because we believe that banking today and tomorrow will continue to be dependent on technology. It is our belief that we need to deploy technology to be able to grow our economy as part of member of Information and Communication Technology-driven global economy.

Also, Heritage Bank introduced the first transparent MasterCard in Nigeria to demonstrate its commitment to offering innovative e-payment services to its customers.

Its Managing Director/Chief Executive, Ifie Sekibo said the Heritage Bank transparent MasterCard was borne out of the bank’s commitment to offering innovative banking services in a more convenient and efficient manner to customers.

Sekibo said: “This is the philosophy behind our e-payment services. There is more to e-payment

Default charges on deposits • GTB Managing Director Segun Agbaje

• Skye Bank CEO Timothy Oguntayo

than Nigerians are currently enjoying. We are determined to take Nigerians to new heights of e-payment services that deliver unparalleled convenience and security.

That is why we introduced the first transparent MasterCard in Nigeria.”

Group Head, e-Bank, Heritage Bank, Mr. Tobe Nnadozie, said the MasterCard is available to new and existing customers of the bank. “To own a Heritage Bank Transparent MasterCard is easy,” he said, adding that the card comes with no additional cost beyond the cost of applying for the average MasterCard.

be here to support the progress Visa has made in driving financial inclusion and making electronic payments more accessible to everyone everywhere,” he said.

He said Visa is dedicated to increasing financial literacy among the unbanked through strategic partnerships and educational programmes.

“This was the motivation behind the recent highly successful Financial Literacy Challenge with the Co-Creation Hub. It was geared at stimulating the development of innovative web and mobile applications to teach money management skills and support the advancement of financial literacy in Nigeria,” he said.

He noted that another of Visa’s focus areas in Nigeria and the West African region is to continue to boost tourism and cross border spend. Nigeria enjoyed a 25 per cent increase in spending by international travellers using their Visa cards in 2012.

Also, international Visa cardholders increased tourism spending from $95.2 million in 2011 to $119.5 million in 2012. Total transactions rose 31.1 per cent from 553 747 to 727 113.

e-payment operators’ position Visa’s Group Executive, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Kamran Siddiqi, said the cash-less banking initiative is modernising the payment system and creating economic development for the country. He was in Nigeria last year to support Visa’s financial literacy and cashless payments drive.

“Nigeria is a very important market for us. It is exciting for me to

The CBN has ended the charges on excess deposits imposed by the cash-less policy. CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele said many bank customers device means to avoid the charges, such as opening multiple accounts, a move he described as detrimental to the cashless policy.

Consequently, he had directed that all charges on excess deposits be stopped with immediate effect, while charges on withdrawals in view of their elimination will remain sustained at the current three per cent for individual transactions exceeding N500,000 and five per cent for corporate transactions exceeding N3 million.

Stakeholders’ stand The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has said the removal of three percent charge on cash deposits above N500,000 for individuals and N3 million for corporate customers will boost depositors’ confidence on the banking sector.

ABCON President, Aminu Gwadabe, said the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele did the right thing by abolishing the charges during the World Press Conference on his Agenda last week.

“The cancelation of the charges

‘The CBN has ended the charges on excess deposits imposed by the cash-less policy. CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele said many bank customers device means to avoid the charges, such as opening multiple accounts, a move he described as detrimental to the cashless policy’

is good for the economy, will boost customers’ confidence and also enhance the achievement of the objectives of the cashless policy,” Gwadabe said.

Under the cashless policy, the CBN imposed three percent charge on cash deposits above N500,000 for individuals and cash deposit above N3 million for corporate customers. However, Governor Emefiele on Thursday ordered the stoppage of the charges.

“We have become aware of complaints by customers particularly regarding the charges being imposed for cash deposits. This has resulted in customers devising various means to avoid the charges through opening of multiplicity of accounts and other disingenuous behavior all aimed at undermining the objective of this policy.

Given these outcomes and to better reflect our goal of having more cash under our control, all charges on deposits are hereby stopped with immediate effect,” Emefiele said.

Also, banks and the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) have urged Nigerians to embrace e-payment platform as the best option for settlement of business transactions.

The NIBSS said the e-payment platforms – PoS and Instant Payment platforms have benefits of convenience safety and receipt of instant value to enable people make payments for their transactions.

It said such transactions can be carried out using the ATMs, mobile phones, Laptops, desktops, notebooks, I-Pads, among others.

The banks and NIBSS have also commenced a communication awareness campaign to enlighten Nigerians on the benefits of these e-payment platforms, encourage usage and adoption of these payment options.

“Nigerians are enjoined to embrace the e-payment platforms due to their safety, reliability and efficiency. This is also coupled with the attendant security issues with making payments through cash transactions. These e-payment platforms have become globally acceptable means for financial transactions and encouraged Nigerians to adopt same for their transactions,” it said.

28

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

THE NATION INVESTORS

Nigerian stocks record N802b gain in first half N NIGERIAN investors recorded capital gains of N802 billion in the first half of this year, indicating a modest average return of 2.79 per cent over the six-month period.

Riding on the back of sustained gains in May and June, the stock market erased the losses in the previous four months and left the investors with some N802 billion in capital gains.

A six-month analysis of the first half showed that the market benefited from increasing positioning and portfolio rebalancing as investors sought to strengthen their portfolios across sectors.

The main value-based indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed modest performance. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities closed the first half at a high of N14.028 trillion as against its 2014 opening value of N13.226 trillion.

The All Share Index (ASI), the benchmark index that tracks prices of all quoted equities and serves as Nigeria’s country index, rose from the year’s opening index of 41,329.19 points to close first half at 42,482.48 points, representing average return of 2.79 per cent.

Nigerian equities in June built on strong gain made in May to add additional capital gains of N333 billion. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities closed June at N14.028 trillion as against the opening value for the month at N13.695 trillion. This represented additional gain of N333 billion. The ASI rose from index on board for the month of 41,474.40 points to close June at 42,482.48 points, indicating month-on-month average return of 2.43 per cent.

In May, equities had broken away from a year-long bearish streak

Stories by Taofik Salako

with a gain of N1.02 trillion. While the market had closed April with a four-month average loss of -6.88 per cent, the average gain of 7.77 per cent recorded in May turned the average year-to-date return positive at 0.35 per cent. Though modest, the five-month average gain of 0.35 per cent represents a significant breakeven for the equities market. It also underlined the overtly bullish overall market situation during the month.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities closed May at N13.695 trillion as against its opening value of N12.672 trillion, indicating a whooping gain of N1.02 trillion. The ASI also rallied by 7.77 per cent to close May at a high of 41,474.40 points compared with its index-on-board of 38,485.48 points.

The market had seen strong rally last week with the ASI recording a week-on-week gain of 4.12 per cent.

Quoted equities had wriggled all through the first four months with negative month-on-month return.

The stock market recorded a negative return of -0.68 per cent in April, building on the bearish trend that had characterized the stock market in the first quarter. In January, February and March, the market consistently recorded losses of 1.8 per cent, 2.5 per cent and 2.0 per cent respectively.

The negative return in April further depressed the overall market performance, increasing the fourmonth average loss to 6.88 per cent.

This implied that an average investor had lost 6.88 per cent of its portfolio over the four-month period.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities closed April at N12.672 trillion as against its opening value of N13.226 trillion for the year. The ASI closed April at

38,485.48 points as against its opening index of 38,748.01 points for the month.

The performance of the stock market in the first four months of the year underlined the cautious investors’ appetite. This was in sharp contrast to the corresponding period of 2013 when the market returned about 17.7 per cent in the first three months. In terms of activities, the average daily volume of transactions of 380 million units for the first quarter of 2014 was also lower than 512 million units in the corresponding period of 2013.

The ASI closed the first quarter of 2014 with a drop of 6.25 per cent to close at 38,748 points while market capitalization dropped by 5.89 per cent to close at N12.45 Trillion. Total market volume for the quarter also fell by 26 per cent at 22.83 billion while total market value rose marginally by 6.3 per cent to close at N269.4 billion.

However, the performance of the stock market in the first half of 2014 was significantly below the market position in the comparable period of 2013. In the first half of 2013, the Nigerian stock market recorded a six-month average return of about 28.8 per cent, leaving investors with approximately N2.45 trillion in capital gains during the period.

In value terms, the increase of N2.45 trillion in the first half had surpassed total gains of N2.44 trillion recorded for the entire 2012.

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

Aggregate market value of all equities on the NSE closed the first half of 2013 at N11.426 trillion as against its value-on-board of

N8.974 trillion that started the year, representing an increase of 27.3 per cent. The ASI rose from 2013’s opening index of 28,078.81 points to close the first half at 36,164.31 points.

The market had subsequently built on this momentum to close 2013 with a capital gain of more than N4.25 trillion. The 2013 business year set the stock market on a new high with average full-year return of 47.19 per cent, its best performance since 2007.

Aggregate market capitalization of all quoted equities on the NSE closed 2013 at N13.226 trillion as against its opening value of N8.974 trillion for the year. This represented a whooping increase of N4.252 trillion. The ASI recorded full-year return of 47.19 per cent rising from its opening index for the year of 28,078.81 points to close the year at 41,329.19 points.

The performance in 2013 significantly surpassed the much applauded return in 2012 when equities posted average return of 35.45 per cent, equivalent to capital gains of N2.44 trillion. The stock market had closed the first half of 2013 with average return of about 28.8 per cent, equivalent to N2.45 trillion in capital gains. Aggregate market value of all equities on the NSE had closed the first half at N11.426 trillion while the ASI had closed the first half at 36,164.31 points.

Major investment firms and analysts had said Nigerian capital market would be characterised by restrained bargain-hunting amidst evident lull in investors’ appetite in the second quarter of 2014 as the market oscillates between external pressures and domestic regulatory transition.

Leading market pundits and analysts said they expected the market to

be somehow tepid in the remaining months of the first half, although there could be some modest resurgence.

Investment experts at BGL Plc, GTI Capital, FSDH Securities, Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) and CBO Capital said they did not expect an overtly bullish market in the second quarter, although there were several bargain stocks that could enliven the market.

Group Deputy Managing Director, BGL Plc, Mr. Chibundu Edozie, said the capital market would remain cautious and undecided, although it may not witness a major decline.

According to him, the outlook for the market is unclear as the market has so far failed to respond to a number of impressive corporate financial announcements of listed companies.

“The cautious mode of the market is likely to be sustained through the first half of the year until the new CBN Governor resumes in June and monetary policy direction becomes clearer especially in relation to exchange rates. We however do not foresee a further precipitous decline given that the market currently presents significant bargain opportunities to investors,” Edozie had said.

On stock by stock basis, Forte Oil, which recorded the highest return in 2013, continued to lead the stock market with a five-month return of 118.80 per cent by end of May. Other top gainers during the period included Transnationwide Express, 88.03 per cent; Custodian and Allied, 56.25 per cent; Berger paints, 25 per cent; IHS, 40.74 per cent; NPF Microfinance Bank, 40 per cent; Cadbury Nigeria, 27.62 per cent; Union Dicon Salt, 35.02 per cent and Seven-Up Bottling Company, which recorded a five-month return of 20.17 per cent.

Berger Paints grows net profit by 31% ERGER Paints Nigeria Plc recorded appreciable growth in the bottom-line in 2013 as the paints company’s net profit rose by 31 per cent to N251 million.

Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of Berger Paints Nigeria for the year ended December 31, 2013 showed that the company’s pre-tax profit grew by 25 per cent to N356 million compared with N284 million recorded in 2012. Profit after tax rose to N251 million in 2013 from N192 million in 2012. Total revenue rose by 7.75 per cent to N2.7 billion as against the N2. 5billion recorded in the previous year.

Commenting on the result, managing director, Berger Paints Nigeria Plc, Tor Nygard, said the result was indicative of continuing improvements in the company’s operations, in line with its huge investments in product innovation and a state of art paints and coatings manufacturing machinery.

According to him, in spite of the local infrastructure challenges affecting real sector performance, especially power, the company grew shareholders’ funds remarkably by 37.29 per cent to N2.43 billion in 2013 as against N1.77billion in 2012.

“This performance is as a result of our continued commitment to providing customers with high value brand of paints and coatings for homes, auto refinishes, and wood care as well as marine and protective coatings at very competitive rates,” Nygard said.

He noted that as the company continue to push forward to-

B

wards best-in-class products by investing in ultra modern machinery which will be installed soon, it is also boosting its distribution and sales footprint across the country to bring its high value brands within the reach of customers across segments by opening up more distribution channels as it had done with the opening of the Lekki Colour World recently.

“This is because we can only achieve our corporate goal of becoming the leading paints and coatings manufacturing company in Nigeria by providing total customer satisfaction,” Nygard said.

According to him, for more than five decades, Berger Paints Nigeria has been playing a lead role in the development of Nigeria’s construction industry by supplying high value paints and coatings brands for decorative and industrial uses. Leveraging its 2012 partnership with KCC South Korea’s biggest paint manufacturing company - to jointly serve the Nigerian paint and coating market, Berger Paints’ market dominance agenda is extending into the Marine and Protective coatings segment in which KCC is one of the global innovation and market leaders.

Founded 1969, Berger Paints Nigeria Plc is one of the leading manufacturer and distributor of paints and coatings in Nigeria.

The company manufactures decorative, industrial, auto refinishes, wood preservers and finishes as well as marine and protective coatings to meet the need of its industrial, commercial and retail end users in the Nigerian market.

•From left: Executive Commissioner Operations, Securities Exchange Commission Alh Mounir Gwarzo, Director General, Ms Arunma Oteh, President, Nigerian Institute of Management Dr Nelson Uwaga and Executive Commissioner, Legal and Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission Mrs Sa’adatu Bello during a Meeting between SEC and NIM in Abuja.

Oduoza stresses importance of self-regulation

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ROUP managing director, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Phillips Oduoza, has stressed the importance of selfregulation and ethics in the development of a vibrant online media industry in Nigeria.

Oduoza made the call at the Abuja edition of “The Summit on Functional Social Networking for Journalists” sponsored by UBA and organised by the Everything Journalism Group.

Represented by divisional head, marketing and corporate relations, the Charles Aigbe, Oduoza noted that there is a rising trend of online pirates whose only agenda in the online media space

is to blackmail and spread false information about credible brands.

According to him, it is critical that these online pirates are brought into check through selfregulation so that the government is not forced to introduce statutory regulations that may impact negatively on press freedom.

He said UBA sponsored the media engagement programme with the hope that the discussions will provide a clear path way for the Nigerian media industry in the fast evolving digital media space.

The summit, the second, after a highly successful first edition hosted at the UBA Plc Head Office in Lagos February 2014, brought

together top level media practitioners including senior journalists, bloggers, students of journalism and mass communication as well as media executives and government officials to discuss the future of journalism in Nigeria in the age of the internet.

The summit, which aims at boosting the capacity of Nigerian journalists to maximize the use of social media for news gathering, building online communities, and investigations, discussed topics like online editing, crowdsourcing for investigative journalists, multimedia journalism, banking on the internet, and social media guidelines for broadcast managers.

Newspaper of the Year

AN EIGHT-PAGE PULLOUT ON THE SOUTHWEST STATES

Felled by Boko Haram: A soldier’s family’s agony

WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

A progressive military career; promising education and a chance of the good life, - Private Sheriff Tijani had it all going for him until Boko Haram bullets stopped his dreams. Now his family is fighting to have Army authorities pay his dues.

SEUN AKIOYE reports •Continued from Page 30

INSIDE

•Sheriff

How police traumatised three minors, violated mother’s rights •PAGE 32

Ibadan comes alive with mega stores, high rise buildings •PAGE 35

PAGE 29

Joy as UCH reopens N500m comprehensive health centre •PAGE 36

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

30

SOUTHWEST REPORT

Felled by Boko Haram: I

T took Saubana Tijani and his wife, Musili the whole of three months to stop crying, but that was even temporarily. At their 94, Jibowu Street, Abule-Egba residence, the surge of sympathisers and mourners is yet to abate.

Neighbours took turns to visit and stay with the family to console and share in the loneliness, which tragedy had forced on once happy family.

“They just killed my son, Sheriff, who was my hope; they killed him.

Nothing can bring him back now,” Musili wailed, putting both hands on her head while biting her lips.

A neighbour admonished her to take courage and leave everything to fate. He implied that, the tragedy was destined and whether she liked it or not she must accept her fate.

This is exactly what is difficult for the Tijani family. On the night of February 11, 2014, their world seems to have come crashing into several pieces. Saubana had received a telephone call from someone who claimed to be calling from a Nigerian Army base in Borno State, where his son Sheriff was serving as a private. The caller had bad news; Sheriff Tijani of the 301 Artillery Regiment posted to Borno State to combat the Islamic insurgents Boko Haram had “paid the ultimate price for the defense of his fatherland.” It was a brief telephone call, but it was enough to change Tijani’s life, maybe forever.

“I would not have allowed him join the army” Everybody had nice words to say about 27-year-old Private Sheriff Tijani. Prior to 2011, when he joined the Nigerian Army, he had been a role model for many youths in his neighbourhood. Though, born to poor and impoverished family, Sheriff had a strong determination to

break out of poverty. As soon as he completed his secondary education he began to do all manner of work to keep body and soul together.

“He was a very humble and hardworking boy; there was no job he could not do. The last job he did before going to the Army was a pure water van driver. He was very determined and courageous,” a neighbour said.

Everyone attested to his good character, neighbours everywhere the family had lived came to mourn with them. They said he was unassuming and did not have a wicked heart. He was loved by everyone as he was always willing to help even when he was in need himself. Then in 2011, Sheriff took a decision that shocked not a few. He joined the Nigerian Army.

Sheriff’s decision to join the Army was a secret he revealed to very few members of his family, it was not certain what the motivation was but the military seemed a perfect choice.

Standing at almost six feet tall with broad shoulders and a square face, it was easy for the Army authorities to enlist him.

“He didn’t tell me he was going to join the Army until he was leaving for the Basic Training. He told me to let him follow his destiny so I had no choice than to let him. I would have allowed him, anyway because the Army is a respectable Force,” Saubana said.

But a neighbour said he would have discouraged him from going into the military if he knew. “He didn’t tell anybody, if I knew when he wanted to join the Army, I would have discouraged him. He was such a lovely boy, nobody could believe he would have a heart for the military,” the neighbour said.

Sheriff’s reputation for hard work and diligence followed him to the military; he successfully completed the 66 Regular Recruits Intake on

•Chief of Army Staff, L

•Private Tijani February 3, 2012 and the Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency Centre, Quick Response Force Training, Batch 3, 2012. He was thereafter posted to the 301 Artillery Regiment General Support Gombe, from where he was drafted to Borno to fight Boko Haram.

Perhaps not wanting to cause un-

necessary panic in his family, Sheriff did not tell his parents the full danger in his new posting. “I used to call him at least three times everyday but when he was moved to Borno, he said I would not be able to get him as network is disabled in the place he was serving,” the father said.

In spite of his work as a soldier,

Sheriff did not lose touch of his dream to get education. According to his younger brother, Idris, he had obtained a form for a part-time course in one of the universities. “He was determined to go to school, no matter what it will cost,” Idris said.

All his parents have now is memories, of the things he had promised

‘Government alone can’t tackle insurgency’ T

•Lions Club District Governor, Tokunbo Jegede (in cream attire) decorating the new Lion Charter President, Engr. Moses Otuaga

HE District Governor, Lions Club International District 404A Nigeria, Tokunbo Jegede has said the security challenges facing the country may persist unless Nigerians agree that it is not the duty of government alone to protect lives and property.

He noted that a situation whereby people would only blame government alone each time there was a security challenge without contributing their quota in curbing the menace may make it so difficult for such country to tackle the problem.

Jegede spoke at the Charter Presentation and Installation of the Royal Lions Club in Owo local government area of Ondo State. At the event, the club successfully elected a new executive led by Mr. Moses Philips Otuaga (an engineer).

The District Governor said those nations which had at one time or the other faced the problem of insecurity were able to tackle the challenges due to the maximum cooperation given to them by their citizens.

From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

The District Governor explained that the Lions Club has not been able to do more for victims of the insurgency currently ravaging some parts of northern Nigeria because the club had not expanded yet to that region.

His words, “One of the principal things we do, is to rise to the occasion when there are challenges like natural disaster in a community. Of course Nigeria has been facing such issues in some part of the country.

We are still making plan to open up the club in the northern part of Nigeria. Apart from Abuja and Benue we do not have any Lions Club at all in the northern region.

We are trying to form the club there as soon as possible.

“There is no way we can assist if Lions Club is not functioning in such areas. For instance, the Club in Ondo State, there is no way we can gather relief materials to the areas where we have challenges in

the north. We must be very careful.

You can’t say because you want to give service, you kill yourself in the course of that, but you render service when you know the resources are there. Due to this, we are always with them in prayers and condemning the bombing and killing acts.”

The new Owo Charter President, Otuaga described the association as a service club that is committed to adding value to our communities.

Otuaga, whose tenure would end in 2015, said, his administration intends to conduct free eye screening exercise, donate to the physically challenged schools and hospitals as well as beautify Owo community.

Six eminent Nigerians, who have one way or the other rendered services to their fatherland were honoured at the event. They include the Rector of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun, wife of the Lion District Governor, Mrs. Kofo Jegede and Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council, Achievers University, Owo, Dr. Bode Ayorinde.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

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SOUTHWEST REPORT

A soldier’s family’s agony ‘ He was a very humble and hardworking boy; there was no job he could not do.

The last job he did before going to the Army was a pure water van driver.

He was very determined and courageous

‘

aff, Lt-Gen. Kenneth Minimah and what he could have been. “He surprised us with gifts all the time; he had bought a land where he wanted to build a house for us so we can leave this place. We didn’t know that until he died, he also was going to send me on Hajj,” Saubana said.

He remembered his son’s last words to him. “When he was leav-

ing on February 3, he gave me N5,000 and said ‘Daddy don’t think about anything, all will be well,’ I didn’t know that would be the last time I would see him.”

This recollection brought fresh oppression to Musili. She hissed several times and folded her hands across her breast. Sheriff was her passport

to get out of poverty, all which has crashed, at least for now. Recently, she returned to her trade of selling oranges and whatever fruit is in season on a small table in front of her house.

Now, she has added boiled corn to her business. It didn’t bring in much but kept her busy from the oppressing thoughts of her dead son. Her husband too has returned to his business of electronic repairs. His shop is filled with disused television and radio sets which has been abandoned by customers. Sheriff had planned that he would stop the business but his death meant Saubana would be stuck in the same business for a while.

Failed promises “When we went to Gombe, after his death, the military authorities

promised us a lot of things including funding the burial expenses, paying his gratuity, paying us his three months’ salary and giving us some compensation. We have not received any thing from the military since then,” Saubana said.

But it was not that the military never cared when Sheriff was cut down by the bullets from Boko Haram. The military called and sent a condolence delegation to the family while promising the “military is a family” and would not forsake them.

The military promised to pay the family after three months, but the family is still waiting; so are the neighbours too. “It’s not like we are after the money or whatever compensation, but the Army must fulfill the promise it made,” a neighbour said.

Musili was not as impressed as

L

AGOS State government’s strides at boosting the capacity of its officials have been further proven as hundreds of personnel under the Neighbourhood Watch scheme recently concluded a two-week capacity training exercise.

The Neighbourhood Watch is the third agency of law enforcement officers to be trained as part of the ongoing Career Evaluation Training Programme for Law Enforcement Officers in Lagos State. The officers comprise of registered officers and volunteers spread across the various Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas in the state.

The training programme was to ensure that the personnel are more proficient and deliver more ethically and professionally sound service to the people of the state.

While addressing participants at the training held at the NYSC Orientation Camp at Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Transport Education, Dr. Mariam Masha said the training was primarily to train the full time registered officers of the Neighbourhood Watch all over the state and avail them with skills to serve and operate seamlessly.

Dr. Masha remarked that government is obligated as a matter of responsibility, to ensure that Neigbourhood Watchers have the prerequisite skill to perform their assigned tasks of law enforcement within the local communities.

She added that the necessity for the officers to be abreast of new devel-

Raising bar of capacity for neighbourhood watchers As part of ongoing career evaluation training programme for law enforcement officers in Lagos State, Neighbourhood Watch officers were taken though basic skill enhancement training aimed at improving their efficiency. ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE reports opments in their assignments, increased proficiency, skills and professional service delivery to the public whom they serve are other deriv-

able benefits from the training programme.

“The training is being designed to equip the officers with appropriate

re-orientation and professionalism in the discharge of their assigned tasks and responsibilities,” She empha-sised.

the neighbour. Again, she threw her head sideways and asked: “How many millions can bring my child back?” It was a rhetorical question, it needed no answer.

Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade expressed suprise that the family had not been compensated. He said when all the processes had been followed after the death of a serviceman, the family should receive the entitlement.

He said: “Has the family gone through all the processes? if they have done that, they should have received the entitlement.”

How does the Tijani family see the fight against Boko Haram?

Musili wants God to stop the insurgency. “God should stop Boko Haram. After my son died, so many people have died. You heard about the school children that were kidnapped, this is not good,” she said and for a moment forgetting her own sorrows while concerning herself with the misfortune of others.

With the tragedy, would the family allow any other member to join the military? “Never, unless they want to give my son another job but not as a soldier,” Musili said.

But the father was more flexible, he would allow his son to join the military if he would not be a combatant.

“I can allow my son to join the Army but not as a combatant. If I am not too old I would like to join the Army too because it is a prestigious career,” he said.

While the family waits on the military authorities to fulfill their promise, youths in the neighbourhood organised a candle light session for the departed. Over a hundred young people turned up to mourn his death. “He was loved by everybody, if you were here during the candle light, you will see that he will be missed not only by his family but everyone in this neighbourhood,” a sympathiser said.

The officers were exposed to courses in community relations and law enforcement, health and lifestyle, people’s leadership, emotional intelligence and team building exercises The training, which was divided into two phases saw the volunteer officers engaged in capacity building exercises led by staff while the second phase of the training saw the officers worked with members of the community through the various Local Government Areas (LGA) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) on their roles and responsibilities as community members in safety and security within their environment, as well as the basic principles of being vigilant and on disaster preparedness and management in the event such an occurrence happens.

As part of their field assignments, the officers engaged several local communities and people of Ikotun, Badagry, Ikorodu, Maternity Centre in Agege, Epe and Campos Stadium in Lagos Island, Oke-Odo in Yaba LCDA and many other communities in the entire length and breadth of Lagos State spanning the five divisions and the three senatorial districts of the state.

Not a few of the participants commended the training initiative saying it has exposed them to critical guides that will assist them in carrying out their responsibilities in their various domains while seeking for more of such programmes towards boosting their capacity and preparedness for emerging challenges in the society.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

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SOUTHWEST REPORT The case of three boys, who are detained by the police in Osogbo, Osun State on suspicion of stealing a gold necklace is causing anger in the human rights community. ADESOJI ADESINA reports that the boys had a sad story to tell at the end of their traumatic experience.

‘

T

HE police in Osun State are under fire from the human rights community over the detention of three minors for their alleged involvement in the case of a missing golden necklace valued at N58,400.

The kids, all boys, aged 12, 13 and 14, were arrested last week by policemen from the Ataoja Police Station in Osogbo, the state capital, following complaint by one Mistura Munirudeen, a boutique owner that her gold chain was missing.

And for two days the boys were in police detention first at the Ataoja Police Station, before they were later transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID). The mother of one of the boys Mrs. Funke Ademola, a satchet-water selling street hawker was even locked up in the cell by the police for daring to say her son was not a thief.

The case which has drawn the ire of a Human Rights activists Comrade Amitolu Shittu, has left the boys traumatised and .Ademola wondering what she had done wrong to warrant being locked up with criminals by the police.

Amitolu, who was at SCID headquarters last Friday to secure the release of the boys before being told they had been transferred to the Remand Home at Testing Ground Area of Osogbo is calling on police authorities to make the Divisional Police Officer at Ataoja Police Station to answer for all what the boys have gone through in the hands of the police.

The case of the boys, the missing gold chain and their journey to police custody began penultimate Friday in a manner that looked rather normal.

According Mistura, who operates a makeshift boutique along Gbogan road in Osogbo, she had called two of the boys on that fateful Friday to run errands for her.

She said: “I asked Tosin to go and get money for me from my house.

He was playing with Gbenga when I wanted to send him so I said he should allow Gbenga to go with him. They came back and brought N35,000 which I asked them to bring to me. But three days after, precisely Monday, I discovered my gold chain was missing and I called Tosin to ask if he or Gbenga did take it, (which they obviously denied). It took me three days to know because it was a chain that I don’t wear every, I only use it with some particular dresses.”

Mistura, who admitted that was not the first time she would send Tosin to bring something for her from her home, said when another boy, Naheem told her that Gbenga said he wanted to sell a chain for N1,000 she gave Tosin N1,000 to buy the chain back from Gbenga, but he (Gbenga) later told Tosin he had no chain to sell.

This must have left her confused and so when all efforts to make the kids own up to stealing the missing necklace had failed even after what Naheem had told Mistura the case was brought Monday last week to the Ataoja Police Station, about a kilometer away from where the alleged offence was committed, still no breakthrough.

How could someone give some boys keys to her apartment if she did not have trust in them?

The rights activist said the police had not handled the case properly, thereby, making the suspects and the mother of one them to suffer untold hardship

‘

•Ademola

•Maishanu, Commissioner of Police, Osun State

How police traumatised three minors, violated mother’s rights in Osun ‘

And when the kids were again dragged to the police station for the second time in one week last Thursday, all three were detained till the following day and the mother of Gbenga, Mrs. Ademola was put in the cell.

Around 6.00pm, on Friday, their case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department by the Divisional Police Officer of the Ataoja Police Station after he had ordered that the money (N6,000) allegedly collected as bail by his men from the poor parents of the three be returned to them. According to Tosin’s grandfather, Pa Usman Adetoye, a cobbler, whose makeshift container-shop on the set back of the 7-Up area of OgoOluwa had been demolished about two years ago, the police returned the “N2,000 bail” he paid before his child was transferred to SCID. Also, Gbenga’s father, Tajudeen Ademola, a panel beater, said he paid N4,000 for bail but got it back on the order of the DPO. Narrating her ordeal, Gbenga’s mother, an illiterate poor woman,

said the police was very hostile to her and the kids. She said: “They (the police) were shouting at me, abusing and calling Iya Ole (Thief’s mother.) When they

wanted to put me in the cell one of them followed me with a gun to where I kept my loads and money which I asked my relations to take home for me. I was

I feel bad about the situation because I feel the Ataoja Police Station should have the capacity to investigate and handle the matter and should not be a case that would be transferred to the criminal investigation department that further exposed the little boys to more danger. It was not an organised crime requiring an expertise of the CID

‘

just crying. My son could not eat, at a stage inside the cell I knelt down and was praying to God to help us. A woman I met in the cell knelt down too to pray along with me. It was a harrowing experience.”

At the SCID, Gbenga’s mother regained her freedom and Naheem, who testified that Gbenga told him he wanted to sell the chain, was released to his parents. Gbenga and Tosin were transferred to the Remand Home at Testing Ground Area of Osogbo on Friday evening to continue their detention till late afternoon on Saturday.

Commenting on the case, Amitolu, queried why the boys’ case was being treated as if they are adults. First, he said the boys did not break into Mistura’s apartment but were sent by her, possibly because she trusted them. “How could the boys, not duly investigated by the police be put in the Remand, a correctional facility? How could someone give some boys keys to her apartment if she did not have trust in them?” he queried. The rights

activist said the police had not handled the case properly, thereby, making the suspects and the mother of one them to suffer untold hardship.

The woman police officer in charge of Family Unit at SCID, saddled with the responsibility of children and the family, could not be reached for comments but it was gathered that she either never bothered to be involved in the case or was not aware of the movement of the kids to the Remand Home.

The boys, on return from Remand, said they had developed hatred and fear for the police because of what they had gone through. Gbenga, a JSS2 student of the Christ African Middle School, Osogbo, and Tosin, JSS3 student of the Salvation Army Middle School, Osogbo, said they were kept with boys older than them, who had committed various offences, at the Home. One of the boys, they said stole a DJ’s laptop and another impregnated a girl. For two days they had missed school because of their detention. Gbenga’s dad said his son missed a test last Friday.

Also, the boys were asked to report with their parents to the SCID at 10.00am last Monday, meaning that they would not be in school that day.

Commenting on the boys’ case, a psychologist, Dr. Kunle Oyeyemi, Director, Counseling Centre of the Covenant University, said the kids might need an intervention to get them out of their traumatic experience in the hands of the police. According to him: “Based on the submission of the boys that they hate police and would not want to work as policemen when they grow up, it shows that they have been traumatised and terrified. And it was established that there was high possibility that the boys might develop hostility and an-

ger to the police. No doubt, they had been put through psychological experience that can make them shut down. I feel bad about the situation because I feel the Ataoja Police Station should have the capacity to investigate and handle the matter and should not be a case that would be transferred to the criminal investigation department that further exposed the little boys to more danger. It was not an organised crime requiring an expertise of the CID. The society and the police should rather protect these young ones, not exposing them to trauma. For the lady that sent them on an errand, I think she did that based on the trust she had reposed in them. And the boys thought they were obeying the cultural norms that they should obey their elders, that was why they ran the errand that eventually put them in trouble. Next time, they may be disobedient and not care to value this cultural norm because the lady that benefitted from this norm had not provided any protection for them. If she had paid them to run the errand it could have been a different case all together because that would mean there was a contractual agreement, verbal or non-verbal between them.”

Oyeyemi concluded that the boys might need rehabilitation to correct how they look at cultural issues.

For Amitolu, the DPO of Ataoja should be made to answer why he had allowed the boys to be treated the way the police did. He also said the state Ministry of Women Affairs and that of Youths, Sport and Special Needs should intervene in the boys’ case to make sure the police stop harassing their parents and not to make the boys miss going to school with the “useless appointment at the state CID” that the police asked them to keep at different intervals.

Lawmaker tenders report card •Ikorodu Assembly woman empowers constituents

F

OR the lawmaker representing Ikorodu 2 constituency, at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. (Mrs.) Adebimpe Akinsola, it was time last week to do three things for her constituency. First, to tell the constituents thank you for giving her the mandate to represent them at the Assembly, second, to give account of her stewardship as their representative in the last three years and third, to empower them in various ways to be able to take care of their needs and that of members of their families.

The three-in-one event tagged, ‘Town Hall Meeting/Empowerment Programme’ put together by the lawmaker for his constituents took place at Igbogbo, Ikorodu.

At the event, over 300 constituents went home with various items ranging from hair dryers, sewing machines, generators, rechargeable fans, bags of rice and other foodstuffs, provisions, drinks, footwear and cash gifts.

Akinsola said though her main duty as a lawmaker is making laws for the betterment of the state, she is, however, motivated by her passion and love for her constituents to not only sensitise them on the laws that are passed by the Assembly but also to empower them from time to time.

“My motivation is my passion, our main duty is lawmaking but this is just my initiative, my passion for my people, I just feel I need to make them happy, I love my people and they love me, that is why I am doing it, I just want to impact on them, that has been my passion.

“I organise stakeholders meeting where I sensitise my constituents on the laws we have passed in the House, all geared towards making them understand what governance in Lagos State is all about in. I also do empowerment from time to time, though not always as big as this, sometimes at ward or local government level,” she said.

She maintained that her gesture has nothing to do with her desire to go back to the Assembly for a second term in 2015. “This has nothing to do with my desire to go for a

By Oziegbe Okoeki

second term because ever since 2011 when I became a lawmaker I have been doing this, I have been doing it for my people, it is my passion, it is my area of interest that I want to make people happy.

“This is to empower them, some of them will start on a new scale and if they are prudent with it they can go higher; for those of them that are selling, already, it is to boost their business and to improve on their life. When you are empowered and independent, you will be able to take care of your family needs,” the lawmaker said.

Giving account of her stewardship in the last three years, Akinsola said she has participated actively in the passage of so many bills into law by the House and also moved several motions which has impacted positively on the lives of Lagosians.

On the constituency level, she has facilitated the provision of new classroom blocks in AUD Primary School and Zumuratul Islamiyah Junior Grammar School both at Igbogbo and she has also done same at Community Secondary School, Bayeku and Rerri Secondary School, Oreta/Offin. “I have also facilitated the rehabilitation of some roads and streets in Imota and Igbogbo and also the Asphalt plant and rice factory at Igbogbo,” she said.

Through her efforts also electricity transformers have been installed in about seven communities in Ijede, Imota and Igbogbo. “I have provided three 400W High Metal street light with 3.5 KVA generator to Igbogbo Central night market and two high quality public address system to Obada market Imota.”

Akinsola has also made her impact felt in the area of education by giving cash award, Laptop and free JAMB forms to the best students in the constituency in the 2011 and 2012 West African School Certificate Examinations and has given free medical check up to over 2,000 constituents as well as distributed free drugs. And apart from helping quite a number of youths to secure

employment in government agencies, she has also empowered a number of youths, women, men and elderly citizens either by sponsoring them through vocational training or agricultural programmes or cash gifts.

And for all efforts she has been given several leadership awards by different bodies or organisations like NANS, MAAN, VROAN, WORLDLINK, COLID and Redeemers’ University.

She appealed to her constituents to remain steadfast, “they should not get carried away, they should not be sentimental about people that want to bamboozle them with money, APC is the party that will bring about the necessary change we want in Nigeria. They have been supportive, I want them to continue to trust in me, I want them to continue to see me as their true representative and I want them come 2015 to unanimously return me so that I will represent them more and better,” she said.

Speaking on behalf of the Speaker of the Lagos Assembly, Hon. Abiodun Tobun (Epe 1), she appreciated the community for giving Lagos Assembly a reliable and dependable member. “The person you sent to the House is very capable and sound, full of wisdom and intelligent.” Tobun urged them to vote again for her for a second term “to continue her good.”

Both the chairman of the occasion, Former Head of Service (HoS) of Lagos State, Prince Adesegun Ogunlewe and mother of the day, Yeye Fausat Gbadebo praised Akinsola for her performance and the good work she is doing.

Ogunlewe said, “let us appreciate by giving her our mandate for a second term. If all the on-going projects are completed it would change the face of the constituency.”

One of the recipients who spoke on behalf of the other beneficiaries, Wale Obayomi thanked the lawmaker saying, “she has been helping the community a lot even before she was elected as a lawmaker and this is what the community saw in her that made us chose her to represent us at the Assembly,” he said.

•A beneficiary (right) receiving item from Hon. Akinsola (middle). With them is Ogunlewe (left)

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

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SOUTHWEST REPORT

‘Probe Ondo financial accounts’ From Damisi Ojo,Akure

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•From left: Mr. Deji Komolafe; Ven. Akeredolu Osho; Mr. Funsho Odedere, Chairman, Organising Committee; Ven. Taiwo Arowolo, Vicar/ Arcdeacon of Idimu Archdeaconry; the Rt. Rev. James Olusola Odedeji, Bishop, Diocese of Lagos West and his wife, Lydia, with Joseph Babatunde Aina Balogun, Baba Ijo of the Church, at the event

St. Peter’s Anglican Church looks back on 100 years of service After 100 years of fellowship and soul winning, the St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Idimu celebrates with thanksgiving, for a Church which started from the ‘Forest of Demons.’ SEUN AKIOYE reports

A

MULTI-MILLION naira building, impressive architecture, filled-up car park, hundreds of worshippers, glitz and glamour. That was the scene at St. Peters Anglican Church, Idimu, Archdeaconry as it celebrated its 100 years of existence.

But behind the glamour and the success of the Church is a very interesting story, one which evokes courage and humility at the same time. It is a story which resonated many times as parishioners, fondly referred to as centenarians, gathered to give thanks to God for a challenging but spiritually rewarding centenary celebration.

The hunter who became a preacher The history of St. Peter’s Archdeaconry is closely linked to two unlikely personalities; a hunter and a shoe-maker. Without them the history of the Church would never be completed - or perhaps would never have been written. According to written history, a hunter, Tako Sanbelalu, a native of Idimu, introduced Christianity to the town in 1913.

No one can say how Sanbelalu himself became a Christian but it was suggested he must have been converted by the missionaries in Lagos, as he was a friend of Bishop James Campbell (1876-1945), a journalist who founded the West African Episcopal Church (WAEC) in 1903.

But, it was not a tea party for Sanbelalu trying to convert a largely pagan community, with the help of his friend, Abraham Ojetade, a shoe-maker turned teacher and later preacher. They laboured to erect the first building in Idimu town, in 1914. The church

they established was called the African Church but owing to incessant communal clashes between the Idimu and Isheri people, the church was forced to move location a number of times.

Four years later, the fruit of the labour of Sanbelalu was reaped when Bishop Campbell came to the church and baptised 22 converts, including 15 adults and seven children whom Sanbelalu had won.

Shortly after, Sanbelalu went to Ikorodu, where he died and in 1924, teacher Ojetade took over the leadership of the church.

He introduced innovations which also captured the attention of the pagans in Idimu. To win souls for Christ, he organised open air crusades preceding it with high velocity publicity and musical concert.

An expert player of the Gumbe drum, Ojetade would organise dances around the town while playing his drum. His talent at music drew many non-Christians to the concerts and subsequently to the church.

The church was not without its challenges, due to bad leadership at the helm of the African Church; the status of the church was changed to the Anglican Church in 1930.

Also, the church endured untold persecutions from the pagans necessitating another movement.

This time the only available space was the inhabitable forest called Igbo Oro or the Forest of the Demons.

But, the church cleared a path and moved into the forbidden forest.

The pagans expected them to die one after the other but that was not to be. Around 1942, soldier ants began to attack the church building leading to its collapse four times. The pagan finally had some-

thing to jeer about, “God ran away from the Idimu Church to Agege,” they said.

Help came to the Idimu Christians in 1948, when Bishop Adelakun Howells led what was known as the Touch Bearers mission to Idimu who brought the resources and built another building which was dedicated on of July 6, 1963. This time, the church stood.

‘Here we are, 100 years after’ On June 29, 2014, 100 years after it was founded and 84 years after it was condemned to the forest of demons, descendants of the original Christians and hundreds of other converts met inside a new auditorium, situated on the same spot inside the ‘forest of demon’ to celebrate. The atmosphere was lively and devoid of fear and intimidation which characterised the founding church. Members of the church had sewn a uniform Ankara bearing the picture of the cathedral.

The Rt. Revd. Olusola Odedeji, Bishop Diocese of Lagos West mounted the pulpit and spoke to the congregation. Taking his message from 1 Samuel, chapter 7, verse 12, he said the members cannot afford to relax. He enjoined the centenarians to work harder and build on what the martyrs left.

He reflected on the town’s dark past and the church’s troubled beginning. “This used to be the den of cultists in those days but the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. The church has triumphed,” he declared.

The current vicar of the Archdeaconry, Venerable Taiwo Arowolo is a jovial and well disposed person. Easily exited, he has a mannerism of saying ‘Do some-

thing for the Lord’ which is his way of asking his members to clap.

Arowolo extolled the virtues of the founding fathers describing them as fathers of faith. “They laboured for us and handed down to us a good thing. They had faith in Christ and converted many unbelievers, spreading the gospel,” he said.

There have been many challenges and according to Arowolo, “100 years is not 100 days” but the church has evolved a principle which allowed it to weather the storm.

“Many members want a biblebased church where you can pray and have testimony. I usually tell my members that God is here and they already have their testimonies.

Also, we are not a one man church, we render account, the leadership is very transparent,” Arowolo said.

Among those who graced the occasion was 85-year-old, Mrs. Janet Bamigbaiye, whose husband was the first vicar of the church. She remembered his time at the head of the church. “It was a small house then even the membership was not up to a hundred people, but look at what God has done now,” she said.

The church has tried to continue on the path of the founding fathers. It has also been able to retain its youthful congregation by engaging them positively in handicrafts and skill acquisition. Arowolo said the youth were given the freedom to be creative and to find their path in the church.

So, 100 years after, the church has a message not significantly different from that preached by Sanbelalu.

“We are thanking God for the victory, this place was Igbo Oro, now a church is here. We have won many souls and evangelising. But the work is not done as there are still many souls out there,” Arowolo reinforced.

HE main opposition party in Ondo State, All Progressives Congress (APC), is uncomfortable with the financial situation of the state.

It has therefore, urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe into the finances of the state government under the ruling Labour Party (LP).

APC expressed displeasure over the manner the state is being run without recourse to due process and transparency.

Besides, the party accused the State House Assembly of abandoning its responsibility of checking the excesses of the executive, stressing that the law makers have remained stooges of the state government.

According to a statement by APC Publicity Secretary, Prince Aderemi Adesanya “Even though, we have many infrastructural deficiencies, among other problems that are begging for government attention across the state, the resources in the state are being expended on misplaced projects.

“Our roads are in death traps, schools are dilapidated, health services and delivery are moribund, except the much advertise glorified clinic - Mother and Child that are available in few places.

The party noted that most of the government owned industries in the state have become moribund: “Oluwa Glass factory, Igbokoda, has been overgrown with weeds, Okitipupa Oil Palm Plantation has been abandoned, Ifon ceramics is now a thing of the past, the forests reserve is gradually turning into a desert, as this government is not planting new trees as replacement.

“The visible traffic lights along Oba Adesida road, Akure the state capital, which illuminated Akure streets during the 2012 gubernatorial election in the state had disappeared,” the statement said.

It noted that the ecological problems facing major towns and cities like Okitipupa, Ore, Ikare, Igbokoda, Ijebu-Owo, Irele, Araromi-Obu, Oke-Agbe, and Akure have been neglected by the government.

“In spite of our pleadings to know about the finances of the state, the government had refused to give account of stewardship on how much was accrued to the state purse, 18 local government areas of the state and the 13 percent oil derivation funds from the federation account since February 2009 till date.

“And we implore the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Federal Ministry of Finance, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission to make public the amount that has accrued to the state since Mimiko took over the reins of government 2009, over five years ago, all to no avail,” the statement stressed.

The party alleged that the governor had borrowed a huge loan since he assumed office but nothing is to show for it, stressing that the state government should not wait till the people troop out to the streets to demand for the state financial records.

However, a top government official who preferred anonymity accused APC of being mischievous with its unfounded allegations, stressing that Mimiko’s administration is prudent in the management of state’s resources.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

35

SOUTHWEST REPORT

I

F you have not been to Ibadan in the last couple of years you may be pardoned for thinking you are in a wrong place when you get to the Oyo State capital now as the architectural face of the ancient city is fast giving way to modernity The largest city in West Africa, has in the last few years, especially since the coming of the present administration in Oyo State, witnessed an increase in the number of high rise/ multi-storey buildings and modern shopping malls, a development that has equally impacted on the economy of the city as well as the way the people do their shopping.

For decades the only imposing structure in Ibadan was the 25-storey Cocoa House situated at Dugbe, the city’s Central Business District, with a few lesser high rise buildings in the same area while shopping was largely restricted to a few super markets and stores also in the CBD. But, that is now changing, no thanks to private investors that have pumped billions of Naira into real estate business in the city, taking advantage of the massive infrastructural development being carried out by the state government in the capital city and elsewhere in Oyo State.

The Cocoa Mall recently sprang up in the centre of the city from the premises of the defunct Daily Sketch newspapers, bringing along with it mega stores and the likes. And just when people thought probably that was enough, the Ibadan Mall, penultimate Thursday opened opposite the High Court premises along the ever busy Ring Road.

The imposing mall which housed other stores including the popular Shoprite became the second after the commissioning of the Cocoa Mall, where Shoprite made its first debut in the capital city.

The business climate was set for what was arguably the biggest event in town. There was massive turnout of people who have been waiting anxiously to have a taste of the assorted goods on display.

An elated customer, one of many who came to patronise the big stores, Alade Okediran a civil servant described the Ibadan Mall as an evidence of economic growth and good things coming into the city.

He noted that apart from affordable prices, Shoprite would offer the people multiple alternatives.

Okediran said, ”I loved it as one of the first people to visit here and see for myself what Shoprite has to offer and now that I have seen and purchased some of the products I have this extraordinary feeling that truly Ibadan is witnessing an unusual growth. And it is nice for the people.

We need to move forward and join

Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, is enjoying a boom of sort in real estate business as shopping malls and multi-storey buildings spring up in the ancient city. OSEHEYE OKWUOFU reports.

Ibadan comes alive with mega stores, high rise buildings •High rise building other countries of the world. What I see here is great.”

It was gathered that the magnificent edifice which stood on the former Ibadan refuse dumpsite was constructed by Broll Nigeria Limited, owners of the Ibadan Mall.

With finest floor tiles and colourful interior decorations, the Mall enjoys the patronage of other store owners aside from the big Shoprite store that has almost 70 percent of the shop space inside the Mall.

Shoprite being the first to open its store with fun-fare parades choicest West Bakery, seafood, barbeque, butchery, dairy, hot foods, liquor, and toy world sections among others.

Mr. Fatai Oshungboye, Ibadan Mall Shoprite Branch Manager, who spoke with The Nation expressed confidence on the Shoprite brand, adding that it was the brand that actually drives the crowd to patronise the Mall. He described the patronage at the Mall as very wonderful when contrasting it with what obtains in other stores.

Apart from the Shoprite stores that had opened for business, the multi million naira mall still has some sections under construction with electrical fittings, painting, laying of floor and wall tiles and installation of cooling system yet to be completed. According to the Shoprite branch Manager, the unoccupied

R

ELIEF and joy were thick in the air when a member of House of Representatives, Hon. Bamidele Faparusi took bold steps at helping poor members of his constituency say bye to deprivations and want.

It was at Ode-Ekiti, headquarters of Gbonyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State when the All Progressives Congress (APC) empowered some of his constituents with vehicles, motorcycles, tricycles and other materials estimated at over N20 million.

Most of the beneficiaries are from Gbonyin/Ekiti East/Emure Federal constituency, where Faparusi currently represents at the lower chamber of the National Assembly.

He lamented that the long years of neglect caused the people by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led administrations had caused a lot of damage to the economy of the state, Faparusi said that the gesture, which is in tandem with Governor Kayode Fayemi-led administration’s eight-point agenda on human capital development, was a sincere effort geared towards alleviating poverty among the people that had

stores would in a couple of weeks come on board.

Not too far away from the Ibadan Mall is the Cocoa building premises inside which is located the Cocoa Heritage Mall which consists of no fewer than 140 different stores and big super markets including the Shoprite stores which had continued to thrill the inhabitants of the ancient city.

Other areas like Challenge, Mokola, Sango, Sabo, Oremeji, Agodi, Eleyele, Oke-Ado and Ojoo have seen the emergence of high rise buildings and big stores with increased economic activities in different places. The imposing magnificent buildings with assorted offices in some places were up for let with sign-boards containing names and addresses of property agents in-

scribed boldly. In other parts of the city, it was observed that developers have bought over many old properties and redeveloped them to modern architectural designs and thereafter put them on lease.

A renowned property developer in the city, Chief Olajide Idowu, described the inflow of investments in real estate as a welcome development. He said the growth in real sectors of the economy is in conformity with the sermon on sustainable economic development currently being preached all over the world.

“Many advanced countries of the world started through the involvement of core private investors that brought about much sought after economic growth and development.

Don’t forget the role played by property developers, it is a critical sector

‘

Ibadan is witnessing an unusual growth. And it is nice for the people. We need to move forward and join other countries of the world. What I see here is great

‘

•Hon. Faparusi (second left) shaking hands with one of the beneficiaries

Lawmaker empowers the needy in Ekiti

By Dada Aladelokun

hitherto been neglected by previous administrations in the state.

He said the programme would

further complement infrastructural facilities like ICT centres, libraries and town halls that the governor had built in major towns like Omuo, Ilasa, Emure, Ode and other

communities in the federal constituency.

Faparusi explained that the beneficiaries were carefully selected in a manner that was bereft of politi-

of the economy that must not be overlooked in any given economy. With more interest in this sector, the sky is the limit”, he said.

An industrialist, Mr Moses Adeleke, who spoke on the accelerated economic growth being witnessed in Ibadan noted that the growth would not have been possible without an enabling and conducive environment in the state.

Adeleke, however, called on the government to invest more in the power sector to assist manufacturers in their effort to grow the economy, lamenting that many investors could not survive on diesel to run their generators in the face of poor public electricity supply, a situation, he said stifles production and economic growth.

Despite the challenges, Adeleke alluded to the ongoing transformation in the physical infrastructure and economic growth in the city and ascribed the development to the provision of enabling environment by the state government, which has made urban renewal and massive road construction a major plank of its development programme.

Analysts are also pointing at the atmosphere of peace that now pervades the city and the entire state since the coming on board of the Abiola Ajimobi administration in Oyo State as another factor responsible for the rise of the real estate sector. cal considerations, saying they include artisans, technicians, non-indigenes, community associations, vulnerable groups, students and other critical stakeholders in this constituency.”

The lawmaker said APC is the only party that has a well-structured blueprint for human capital development.

“Governor Fayemi has done creditably well through the implementation of social security for the elderly, urban renewal programme, huge investment on Ikogosi Warm Spring, renovation of all schools, laptop per student and teacher in schools and gender empowerment, among others.

One of the beneficiaries, Mr Samuel Adeyemi, lauded Hon Faparusi for having offered effective representation since 2011 when he was elected.

Adeyemi said: “The APC has robust rural development and intervention programmes. It is the only party that will make promises and stand by them. It has people-oriented programmes that can make lives better for the common men.”

‘

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

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SOUTHWEST REPORT

Residents of communities in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State, heaved a sigh of relief last week when the University College Hospital (UCH) reopened a N500 million comprehensive healthcare facility in Sepeteri to end years of agony of travelling to Ibadan, particularly for tertiary healthcare services, BISI OLADELE reports

Joy as UCH reopens N500m comprehensive health centre •UCH Comprehensive Health Centre

I

NDIGENES of Sepeteri and other communities in Oke-Ogun, the northern part of Oyo State, last week rolled out the drums to celebrate the reopening of a healthcare facility by the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

The Sepeteri Comprehensive Health Centre was a dream come true for the UCH, the communities as well as the senator representing Oyo North Senatorial District, Hosea Ayoola Agboola.

Sen. Agboola, who is the Deputy Chief Whip, had adopted the hospital as his constituency project for last year.

The facility will bring great relief to residents of the 10 local governments who had always endured a long journey to Ibadan, the state capital, where the UCH is located for tertiary health services.

For an area the size of some smaller states in Nigeria and mainly comprising of several agrarian communities, the reopening of the hospital was an answer to their prayer, hence the celebration that marked the commissioning of the project.

The hospital was first opened for use in 1987, by the then Minister of Health, Prof. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti. But, it soon went moribund due to funding challenges. The facilities deteriorated and workers were redeployed to the main hospital in Ibadan, leaving the mass of residents labouring on a long journey to the state capital to access tertiary healthcare.

Oke-Ogun communities have primary and secondary healthcare centres controlled by the state government. But a tertiary health institution is needed to complement the services rendered by those hospitals.

An elated Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the UCH, Prof. Temitope Alonge, could not hide his joy for the realisation of what he described as his dream.

According to him, he developed the dream since participating in the National Youth Service in Benue State in 1985. He added that the dream was fired in him while serving on the Telemedicine Committee at the UCH some years ago. Telemedicine is used to deliver medical services to distant communities using the instrument of television technology.

Alonge expressed joy that the dream of resuscitating the health centre became a reality due to the commitment of Sen. Agboola, the Oyo State government and Sepeteri indigenes, among other stakeholders. He lauded the Oyo State government for its cooperation on the project, stressing that its cooperation and that of notable indigenes helped a great deal in making the project a reality.

He noted that the centre would greatly improve access to quality healthcare for residents in the entire Oke-Ogun area, thereby improving the quality of life for them.

He called on indigenes and other

stakeholders to sustain their commitment to the project for continued success.

The Chairman, Board of Management of UCH, Col. Austin Akobundu (rtd), recalled that the establishment of rural comprehensive health centres was the brain child of the Federal Government in the 1980s. He disclosed that the one in Sepeteri was one of the two centres allocated to be run by the UCH, adding that it was commissioned on March 24, 1987. The second centre, according to him, was cited in Okuku, in the present Osun State.

Akobundu said that the centres were, however, abandoned due to poor financing but that “the appeals of the management of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, for support to reopen and resuscitate delivery of healthcare in these centres caught the attention of the distinguished Senator Hosea Agboola, senator representing OkeOgun area of Oyo State.”

He said that the senator allocated his 2013 Constituency Appropriation to the remodeling, renovation and equipping of the main hospital complex at Sepeteri, construction of a model primary health centre and construction of the first stand-alone Snake Bite Centre in the Southwest.

He added: “The project included the procurement of a standard ambulance, utility vehicles, various laboratory and medical equipment as well as a standard X-ray machine.”

The UCH Board Chairman also acknowledged the tremendous support given to the project by illustrious indigenes of the town including a former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Otunba Bamidele Dada and another notable indigene of Oke-Ogun, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde. While Dada endowed an Ophthalmic Unit in the hospital, Ojerinde procured furniture, mistresses, pillows and beddings for the entire hospital.

Akobundu explained that by such supports, the facility was upgraded from a health centre to a general hospital.

The Deputy Governor of the state, Otunba Moses Alake Adeyemo, who also hails from Oke-Ogun, also expressed happiness on the project.

He disclosed that discussions on the project started in his office, hence his joy in seeing it accomplished.

Adeyemo said the facility would open more access to residents of the area, stressing that the idea was in line with the Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s transformation, restoration and repositioning agenda.

According to him, the Oyo State government has distributed equipment worth N600 million to all hospitals across the state. That, he said, was in addition to the Free Health Mission programme which saw hundreds of thousands of urban and rural residents benefit from free treat-

ment and drugs.

The Deputy Governor also disclosed that the current administration was tackling the scourge of malaria head-on by deploring facilities and free treated mosquito nets to the majority of families in the state.

Overall, Adeyemo said the state government geared its efforts towards making life better for the citizenry.

He pledged that the state government would support joint management of the hospital for effectiveness.

Sen. Agboola said he decided to adopt the centre as his constituency project for the year 2013 after assessing the huge impact it would make on residents of the entire Oke-Ogun area.

The lawmaker pointed out that he succeeded in inputting the project in the last year appropriation because it was the most important project he believed he could deliver to his constituency at this time.

Agboola also lauded the management of the UCH for supervising the project as well as indigenes and other stakeholders.

The centre has many units including those dedicated to common ailments in the area such as the Snake Bite Unit, Primary Health Care Centre and Ophthalmic Unit. It also has an X-ray Unit and staff Quarters.

At the commissioning were traditional rulers in the area, politicians and notable indigenes.

Agency, firm, battle child labour in Oyo community

“O

KE-OGUN is a border town through which children come into Nigeria from neighbouring countries like Togo and Benin Republic. These traffickers give these children Nigerian names and sell them for child labour.”

Those were the words of Mr. Ayodele Olaniyi, State Controller of Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity.

He spoke at this year’s World Day against Child Labour organised by Oyo State Steering Committee on Child Labour of which he was chairman.

He spoke on the grounds that Oyo State, in 2012, rescued 23 children who were under 16 years of age from one of the villages in Oke-Ogun area of the state.

The development informed the decision of the committee to hold the programme tagged “Extend Social Protection: Combat Child Labour; it is Evil” in Oke-Ogun area in order to tame the rising incidence of child labour in the society. It was organised in collaboration with British American Tobacco Company, Nigeria.

Olaniyi revealed that when they met with parents of some of the rescued children, they confessed they deliberately sold their children out because they didn’t know the negative consequences.

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

He, therefore, informed them that those children who are not educated take to criminal activities and terrorise the country, adding that such children could be members of Boko Haram that is currently terrorising Nigeria.

In the circumstances, he urged parents to train their children to enable them become better citizens and contribute positively to nation-building, even as he reminded them of the fact that education in the state is free. He urged them to desist from using their children to earn money.

He further stated that many of these children are under five years and at most under 15 years of age who are subjected to rape, rituals and other immoral conditions.

“They are doing hazardous work by operating dangerous tools and machinery. We have found many of these children in this community. They are exposed to harsh work conditions and consequently abused, he said.

Continuing, he said: “We took pictures of children who are victims of this undue hardship. I, therefore, take a swipe against women who allow their children to go through this hardship and even members of law enforcement

•Chairman, Itesiwaju Local Government, Hon. Adejirire Adeniji addressing the gathering at the event agencies who are perpetrators of this dastardly act.”

Corroborating Olaniyi’s view, the Deputy Director, Rural Development, Oyo Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Ramoni Afeez said more than 200 million children in the world are subjected to child labour. He reasoned that parents of most of these children are not educated. He accused the parents of being aware of the menace of this evil act, warning that they should desist from it.

He noted that study has confirmed that children who carry heavy loads are prone to mental retardation, as he urged the parents to enroll in adult education established by the state gov-

ernment so that they can be better informed.

Secretary to the agency, Pastor Marcus Williams said the agency has been fighting child labour as far back as 1996. He said many must have been surprised at seeing the pictures of children that have been subjected to child labour, adding that they are not far from the community.

He said: “We even find the children this morning undertaking strenuous task far away from their parents. Many of these children sell groundnut to you.

But, do you one day deem it fit to ask them ‘where are your parents?’

“They are doing hazardous work by operating dangerous tools and ma-

chines. We have found many of these children in this community. They are exposed to harsh work conditions and consequently abused.

He said it was because of this that the agency, in collaboration with BAT, is committed to taming the repulsive trend in order to enhance their wellbeing, saying they are achieving this by working with security operatives to fight the menace.

In his message, Head of Leaf BAT, Iseyin Agronomy Limited, Mr. Thomas Omofoye said the event was taking place for the first time in Itesiwaju Local Government Area, even as he urged the parents to take the opportunity to end child labour.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

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THE NATION INVESTORS

SEC sets to sanction unregistered public companies

S

ECURITIES and Exchange Commission (SEC) might start sanctioning public companies which shares are not registered with the apex capital market regulator following the expiration of the June 30, 2014 deadline for all the affected companies to redress their status.

In a circular, the Commission had noted that some companies which had converted from private limited liability to public limited liability (Plc) have since not registered their securities with the Commission as required by the extant laws.

Section 54, subsection one of the Investments and Securities Act No. 27, 2007 and Rule 279 (1) (a) of the SEC Rules and Regulations require that all securities of public companies shall be registered with the Commission. Under these rules, companies that have more than 50 shareholders or who have registered as a Plc with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) must

register shares they issue to investors.

“All public companies in Nigeria are expected to register their securities with the Commission upon incorporation or conversion from a private company. The Securities and Exchange Commission has however observed that some public companies in Nigeria are yet to comply with the above stated provisions,” SEC stated.

The Commission had advised all affected companies to comply with the provisions of the law by registering the Commission before June 30, 2014.

“At the expiration of this date, all public companies whose securities are not registered with the Commission will be sanctioned appropriately,” SEC stated.

A source in the know of operations at the Commission, said the apex capital market regulator would consider appropriate sanctions for defaulting companies and

could commence enforcement action against the companies within the third quarter.

The source indicated that some companies have made overtures to the Commission to extend the June deadline in order to allow them perfect their documentation and register their shares.

The source noted that the enforcement of registration is part of efforts to eradicate informal trading in shares and other securities and bring all tradable instruments under the regulatory purview of the relevant regulators.

The Nation had reported that the Commission was concluding arrangements to proscribe underhand trading in the shares of unlisted public limited liability companies (Plcs).

Anyone or institution that henceforth facilitates or engages in underhand trading on securities of unlisted public limited liability company shall be liable to mon-

etary fine and sanction by SEC, according to a new regulation being reviewed by the apex capital market regulator.

A management source at SEC had told The Nation that the new rule was meant to protect investors and enhance the integrity of the overthe-counter market.

According to the new rule, all securities of public unlisted companies shall be bought, sold or transferred only by means of a system approved by SEC and under such terms and conditions as the Commission may prescribe from time to time.

The new rule prohibits anyone from buying, selling or engaging in transfer of securities of a public unlisted company except through the platform of a registered a securities exchange established for the purpose of facilitating over-thecounter (OTC) trading of securities.

“Any public unlisted company, director, company secretary, regis-

trar, broker, dealer or such other persons who facilitate the buying, selling or transfers of the securities of a public unlisted company otherwise than through the platform of a duly registered securities exchange, shall be liable to a penalty of not less than N100, 000 in the first instance and not more than N5, 000 for every day of default,” the rule stated.

The rule effectively concentrates trading on the shares and other securities of unlisted Plcs unto the only registered OTC platform, the NASD Plc. For-, merly known as the National Association of Securities Dealers, NASD Plc is a registered OTC trading platform for unquoted securities including equities and bonds. NASD is owned by several investment and financial institutions as well as strategic investors. It is registered by SEC as an organized trading platform for unlisted securities.

World’s biggest debt load lures distressed funds to China

D

ISTRESSED debt funds are raising cash to seek greater opportunities in China, where Standard & Poor’s says corporate borrowing topped the United Staes last year.

Planned commitments to funds investing in Chinese and other Asian troubled assets are set to surpass $2 billion this year, up from $303 million in 2013, data from researcher Preqin Ltd. show. Morningside Group Holdings Ltd. in Hong Kong plans a $103 million vehicle, Preqin said. Guangzhou-based Shoreline Capital Management Ltd. is seeking $500 million for its third distresseddebt fund, according to co-founder Ben Fanger.

China’s economic growth has slowed to the least in more than a decade even as companies increased debt to $14.2 trillion as of December 31, surpassing the $13.1 trillion in the U.S., according to a June 15 S&P report.

Non-performing loans jumped the most since 2005 in the first quarter and state-owned asset management companies are raising funds to help clean up lenders’ balance sheets.

“Now that China is facing slowing growth and the banks are selling bad loans, distressed opportunities have multiplied,” said Fanger at Shoreline, which manages about $650 million of assets. “We have begun investing in NPLs again, as well as rescue and bridge financings.”

Bad Loans A person, who answered the main line for Morningside and wouldn’t give her name declined to comment, and there was no immediate reply to a question submitted through the firm’s website.

Distressed debt funds operating in China face a market dominated by four so-called bad banks that enjoy state backing.

The government set up China Cinda Asset Management Co., China Orient Asset Management Corp., Huarong Asset Management Co. and Great Wall Asset Management Corp. in 1999 to help rid the banking industry of 1.4 trillion yuan ($225 billion) of non-performing loans.

Shareholders in Cinda include UBS AG, Credit Suisse Group AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co. The company had 229 billion yuan of distressed assets at the end of 2013, up from 140 billion yuan in 2012, according to its bond prospectus. Some 8.3 billion yuan, or 71 percent, of pretax profit in 2013 was generated from loan restructuring and asset recovery, as well as from debt-to-equity workouts.

•From Left: Director, Mr. Michael Alexandrer, chairman, Dr. Ambrosie Orjiako and chief executive officer, Austin Avuru, all of Seplat Petroleum Development Company at the company’s annual general meeting in Lagos on Monday

Tantalizers mulls core investors, sale of assets to stay afloat After 86 per cent increase in net loss to N564.8 million in 2013, Tantalizers Plc is seeking institutional investors that could inject new equity funds into its operations.

The company also plans to undertake a sale-and-lease back arrangement on some of its unencumbered assets this quarter with a view to raising about N1 billion new working capital.

Chairman, Tantalizers Plc, Dr. Jaiye Oyedotun, who outlined the strategic focus of the company in 2014, said the board and management were working on repositioning the ailing fast food companies.

According to him, the board and management has critically ap-

praised the situation of the company and have come up with a turnaround strategy which is now being executed and is expected to gradually return the business back to profitability.

Audited report and accounts of Tantalizers for the year ended December 31, 2013 showed that the company’s turnover dropped from N41.20 billion in 2012 to N3.48 billion in 2013. Gross profit declined from N1.9 billion to N1.56 billion while operating loss worsened from N243.4 million to N395.54 million.

Loss before tax doubled from N263.18 million to N598.45 million while loss after tax rose from N303.47 million to N564.82 million.

Oyedotun said the directors of the company were working on repositioning the brand towards the establishment of a new Tantalizer that has its outlets as the preferred destination of choice.

According to him, as part of efforts to improve profitability, the company will continue to analyse, identify and shut down stores and institutions that continuously make losses at contribution level.

“Our quarter one 2014 unaudited result showed a better performance as the loss trend has reduced from N124 million to N109 million when compared with the same period of 2013. We expect the performance improvement to

continue as we execute the strategic turnaround program, this will get the company back to profitability in 2015,” Oyedotun said.

He added that the a small-sized bakery has been commissioned, which improved the supply of fresh bread to various outlets, noting that the capacity of the bakery will be increased in line with the development of their open channels and working capacity.

“The benefits of these investments are already being experienced this year in the area of inventory control, reduction in staff numbers and general administrative expenses,” Oyedotun said.

Power firms apply for generation licence

N

IGERIA Bulk Electriciy Trading Plc (NBET) has received the names of some power firms which have applied for licences.

They include Proton Energy, which has set up a 500-megawat (MW) gas plant in Sapele, Delta State This is part of the processes for the award of licence and operation in the power sector for generating companies (gencos).

Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Sam Amadi, who hinted this, noted that the commission ex-

pects the company to complete the requirements for a licence.

“We expect that the company will expedite actions to ensure that all mandatory requirements is met and we expect correspondences from other bodies involved to confirm that Proton have met every requirements,” he said.

To get the licence, Proton will have to show evidence of satisfying the requirements of bodies such as Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and NBET. Managing Director, NBET, Rumundanka Wonodi, confirmed the development. He said: “We

got a list from NERC about those that have applied for licence and who we can consider for PPA. Proton Energy is on the list.”

He said the next stage for firms like Proton is to send a PPA draft to the prospectors to which responses are expected. “We have sent a PPA draft and the first schedule to Proton to get it to understand the process and what is required of it. What we expect from the company now, are list of issues and those that it had complied with,”he said.

Proton Energy’s plant has an installed capacity of 150 MW, but

this will be expanded to 500 megawatts. It will use Siemen technologies and other gas turbine technology.

Its Executive Vice Chairman, Oti Ikomi, said the plant initial capacity is projected to cost $200 million and to be funded on a Project Finance structure on a 70 per cent debt and 30 per cent equity. This, however, is expected to go up when the power plant is expanded to 500 megawatts.

Proton Energy is partnering with IL&FS Energy, leading infrastructure development and finance company in India.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

38

THE NATION

BUSINESS PENSION

PHCN pensioners urge pension manager on payment Following the Federal Government’s directive that defunct PHCN Pensioners (Electricity Sector) be transferred to Pension Transition Arrangement Department (PTAD), the pensioners are asking Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Ltd/Gte (NELMCO) to expedite action on the payment of their four months pension arrears, and other benefits, reports OMOBOLA TOLU-KUSIMO.

I

T was mixed reactions for the defunct PHCN electricity sector pensioners when the Federal Government informed them that from July 1, 2014, they would be transferred from their present pension manager, Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Ltd/Gte (NELMCO) to the Pension Transition Arrangement Department (PTAD) established under the Pension Reform Act, 2004.

While some are afraid of what the future holds for them with PTAD, others take respite in the fact that PTAD has been managing and paying pension benefits to five Federal Government parastatals promptly.

The pensioners numbering about 15,000 under the umbrella body of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (Electricity sector) are owedmonthly pensions of N4.5 billion since March this year, while some were not paid since February. They are also owed gratuity, death benefits, monetization, year 2000 restructured employees’ pension arrears, among others.

Before now, they have been locked in a battle with the Ministry of Finance over non-payment of their benefits. They protested severally and even declared a week of prayer and fasting nationwide.

NELMCO was set by the Federal Government under the ministry of finance to aggregate all non-core assets of PHCN and dispose of them and use proceeds to pay liabilities. They are to aggregate all PHCN liabilities, verify and pay, manage PHCN pensioners in the interim and situate them in the appropriate special purpose vehicle among others.

In one of their numerous letters to the Ministry, the pensioners called on the Minister of Finance/Coordinating Minister of the Economy (CME), Dr. (Mrs) NgoziOkonjo-Iweala, to intervene and ameliorate the sufferings of PHCN retirees and the next of kin of dead staff.

The NUP Chairman, Comrade Temple Ubani informed Dr. Okonjo-Iwaela who is also the Chairman Board of NELMCO, that payment of monthly pensions to their members has been irregular; that it has been inconsistent with the promise of the Federal Government as endorsed in the agreement signed by the Government and Labour prior to the privatisation of PHCN in 2012.

According to him, few months after take-over

by NELMCO, payment of monthly pension has been seamless but the present situation is orchestrated by government’s failure to appropriately classify NELMCO Pension Fund under the Service Wide Vote (SWV) instead of the Capital Supplementation where it has been wrongly [domiciled.

The abnormal situation, he said, has always given rise to insufficient funding of NELMCO and delayed release of quarterly allocations.

He said: “As we write, only a segment of PHCN Pensioners have received March pensions while we were informed that NELMCO is yet to be funded for the outstanding March payment as well as April 2014.

“On withheld gratuities, death benefits, pension arrears, the BPE confirmed that funds for payment of a total number of 2,912 verified and cleared retirees and next of kin of deceased staff have been transferred to the Office of Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) for payment to the beneficiaries. About a month after, no one has been paid a kobo. There is anxiety and apprehension among the people that such funds may have been deployed for purposes other than they are meant for, not minding whose ox is gored.

“There is also the issue of non-implementation of signed agreements. Government has failed to implement all the pensioners issues negotiated and agreed to at the Alhaji Hassan Sunmonu Conciliation Committee between FGN and Labour Unions in the Power Sector in 2012. It is regrettable that such critical and fundamental issues as monetization, year 2000 restructured employees, among others have remained unaddressed.

“If we must be transferred to PTAD, the BPE must be prevailed on to conclude the Verification and Biometric capture exercises, which it commenced since 2012. Similarly NELMCO/ PHCN must be encouraged to tidy up all out-

•Dr Okonjo-Iweala

•Agbogun

• Ubani

•Former Chairman, NUP, Electricity sector, Michael Olotu

‘Our fears is for them to pay us our pension. Our members are hungry and are always coming to our houses to say whether we have collected bribes from the government and are sharing money. We are pleading to the government to pay us our four months pension and ensure that moving us to PTAD will further better our lives’ standing issues of the Pensioners, collaborating with our union. PTAD is a huge project hence all non-civil service pensioners must be properly documented before transiting to it”.

Ubani added that consequent upon the aforementioned grievances, the union Central Working Committee (CWC)-in-Session at Abuja on Thursday 1st of May, 2014 resolved and directed that all PHCN retirees, widows, widowers and orphans should embark on seven days fasting and prayer for God to intervene and judge all those who are undermining their wellbeing and welfare with effect from Wednesday 7th of May, 2014.

Following the protest, the Ministry of Finance directed the immediate migration of the pensioners to PTAD. To ensure that the pensioners understand the new development and the effects on them, NELMCO and PTAD organised a meeting for the pensioners’ executive members including their zonal and State head to prepare them for the management and administration of PHCN pensioners.

NELMCO’s Managing Director,Dr Sam Agbogun said he is excited that the pensioners are being moved to PTAD. In his explanation to the pensioners he said that following the reoccurring challenge that has led to inability to promptly pay the PHCN pensioners, the Board of NELMCO in its last board meeting resolved anddirected that their payment andmanagement obligations be transferred to(PTAD) within three months.

Speaking further, Abogun said NELMCO will complete the harmonization of Pre-June 2003 Retirees, complete the monitisation of Post-June 2004 Retirees and address resolution of Year 2000 retirees Issues.

He said NEMLCO will also engage PTAD with a view to finalising the transfer, hold in-

ter-agencies meeting with Budget Office of the Federation, Office of Accountant General of Federation; NELMCO Board; engage Leadership of NUP (Electricity Sector); effect transfer to PTAD in July; manage residual house-keeping issues like arrears, among others.

PTAD Director-General, Ms Nellie Meshack on her part assured the pensioners of prompt payment of their benefits and affirmed that transition process will begin in July and end in three months.

She said the policy directions on the part of government have changed and to achieve this it requires the support of stakeholders.

She asks the pensioners to apply the synergy and collaboration they gave to NELMCO to them.

She said: “We have been working to receive the pensioners from NELMCO. The Federal Government gave us three months to complete the process.

“It is imperative to allay the fears and apprehension of pensioners on the establishment of PTAD as expressed by some group of people. PTAD is aimed at providing significant “value-add” by sanitizing and stabilizing the pension administration in line with the Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government.

Other key strategic focus of PTAD is to institutionalize a viable, virile and transparent pension system devoid of corruption and other abuses prevalent in the current system such as ghost pensioners, irregular payment of pension and non-payment of pensions to eligible pensioners.

“Prior to the establishment of PTAD, pension administration in Nigeria has been characterized by irregularities and misconducts, which resulted to several problems that have subjected our senior citizens who have ably and meritoriously served this country into untold hardship.

The above scenario has indeed created mistrust and bad impression within the system “PTAD as an agency of the Federal Government was established in August 2013 in compliance with the provisions of Section 30 sub-section (2) (a) of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) of 2004 which stipulated the establishment of an independent pension department for the Public Service of the Federation, for the management of pensions under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) for pensioners not transiting to the defined contributory scheme.

Hitherto, this mandate was carried out by PenCom until the establishment of PTAD in 2013”.

She stressed that the PRA 2004 provided for the PTAD to consolidate the Civil Service Pension Department, Police Pension Department, Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pension Department, Pension Departments/Boards of Trustees of all Treasury Funded Parastatals.

“In line with PRA 2004, PTAD is mandated to make its pensions budgetary estimates, receive budgetary allocations directly from the Federal Government, and make direct payment to its pensioners as and when due.

“It is also noteworthy that Section 99 (1-2) of the PRA, 2004 succinctly provides for the dissolution of all the Pension Boards of Trustees (PBOTs) of the Treasury Funded Federal Parastatals and accordingly mandated PTAD to equally take control of their asset and liabilities. Towards implementing the provisions of the Act in August 2013, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF) issued a circular to all concerned for compliance. More importantly, PTAD is obligated by law to consolidate activities of all Pension Board of trustees PBOTs) under the various Parastatals, centralize and harmonize the database under a single but robust IT platform”.

Comrade Ubani however, said that the National Executive Council of the union resolved in a communiqué issued at the end of their meeting with all stakeholders that the persistent nonpayment of pension be reviewed.

He said: “The NEC-in-Session re-affirmed its objection to the classification of their pension to the classification of our pension under capital expenses instead of recurring expenses.

“We also condemned the non-payment of monthly pension to members for four months as at June, 2014 and therefore urged NELMCO to expedite actions towards payment of the arrears”.

Deputy President, North Central, Abuja, Reverend Patrick Udong said his zone has suffered the non-payment of their pension and other benefits the most.

He said many of them have died because of hunger, some live by borrowing while some live by farming.

He appealed to the Government to be sincere and ameliorate the sufferings of pensioners.

Another pensioner, Elder OlaAbodunrin who said he retired from the electricity sector about nine years ago.

He hopes their transfer to PTAD will end delayed pensions and urged NELMCO to pay the four months pension arrears it owed them.

“Our fears is for them to pay us our pension.

Our people are hungry and are always coming to our houses to say whether we have collected bribe from Government and are sharing money.

We are pleading to Government to pay us our four months pension and ensure that moving us to PTAD will further better our lives”.

General Secretary; South East Zone, George Njoma spent 35 years and retired in 1997.

He said they have no option than to migrate to PTAD. He said: “Frankly speaking, we have no option, the federal government has already given the directive and there is no way we can go out of it. That is what they did when they put us under NELMCO and now they say it is time to move to another establishment. What we are expecting is that wherever they take us to, let our monthly pension be paid.

When asked if he fears his monthly pension might be less than his income, he said he has no fears, adding that as a former administrative officer, he understands how things work.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

39

SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP Plantain farming should be an avenue for the government to get Nigerians, especially the youth, out of poverty. This is because plantain is a staple food that commands high price. The business is attractive due to low labour cost requirement for its cultivation, compared to others such as rice, yam and other grains. Modern breeding has produced high-yielding varieties. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

Plantain farming as money spinner T

WO entrepreneurs are promoting plantain farming as a money spinner and inspiring others to replicate it.

They are Sanmi Akindipe, Chief Executive, Set Group,Lagos and Olufemi Adetifa, an Ogunbased agro entrepreneur.

To Akindipe, plantain farming should be an avenue for the various arms of the government to get Nigerians, especially the youth, out of poverty.

This is because plantain is a staple food item and its prices are on the rise. The business is attractive due to low labour cost requirement for production compared to maize, rice and yam.

Modern breeding has produced high yielding varieties. However, not many Nigerians grow it, in spite of its high demand and ready market. In most markets, a small bunch of plantain costs about N1200. And yet, growing this delicacy across the country is not as widespread as any money spinner should be.

Many farmers spend money on plantain, yet they could grow it themselves. It is just a few who are earning from it.

Akindipe said one can start with an hectare and expand. The types of planting materials used are peepers, sword suckers and maiden suckers. Peepers are young suckers appearing above the ground with large scale eaves only.

Sword suckers are formed from buds or eyes and bear narrow leaves. Maiden suckers are taller,

•Akindipe

•Adetifa

with broader leaves. The recommended spacing is 10ft (3m) x 10ft (3m) and a depth of 0.2m at the onset of the rainy season.

About 400 suckers can be planted on an acre.

Akindipe has worked to acquire more than 50hectares of farming plots to be made available for plantain farming. Under an arrangement, his organisation provide would-be farmers with farmland and sucker sourcing.

Adetifa, who owns a plantain farm off Papa Lanto (on Ilaro/ Sagamu road) off the old LagosIbadan Expressway, said plantain farming is lucrative. He plants

plantain and makes good cash from it yearly.

By divine guidance, Adetifa started plantain farming on trial.

This was the beginning of his rise.

Gradually with the profit realised from his farm, he has got more acres of land to grow different varieties on rent. From cultivation on each acre, he is getting at least 40 per cent return from his initial investment. Inspired by his success, more farmers have taken to plantain cultivation.

In Lagos and Ogun states, he has got more entrepreneurs and more plantain have been grown.

The success has transformed the

lives of many farmers with children studying in private schools and their houses having some amenities.

As a strategy, he identifies breeds that are more productive high-yielding and pest-resistant varieties.

At the beginning of the planting season, he bought 1,000 suckers at N120 each, which adds up to N120,000. When he harvested, he got 1,000 bunches of plantain which sold for at least N1400 each. So, he made about N1.4 million. He said after expenses, one could still make 400 per cent profit.

To improve the quality of his yield, Adetifa receives improved suckers from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan. Prospective investors need to have at least N350,000. This will cover lease on the land, purchase of suckers, labour and other costs.

He said with an investment of N350, 000, one can make more than N1 million in turnover and more than 400 per cent in profit.

The profit depends on the quantity of bunches that can be harvested per acre/hectare multiplied by the selling price per bunch of plantain. Adetifa said plantain growing has changed the livelihoods of many.

He helps the entrepreneurs secure a land, prepare it and get good suckers. The market for plantain is all-year-round. It provides monthly income.

He said prospective investors can start with an acre of land, which can contain about 1000 suckers. The market is guaranteed.

There is also a market to process raw plantains into the ever-popular plantain chips for sale in schools and markets. This has proved to be a lucrative enterprise that is raising incomes of entrepreneurs as they improve the market value of their plantains.

Plantain plantation can last for a very long time if it is well maintained. According to him, constant weeding is the key to reaping big harvest and good quality crops. He received instructions on new planting techniques, pest control, and improved post-harvest practices.

The impact on production is remarkable. Though these production improvements have been impressive, one must compete in the N1300 to marketplace to sell the produce.

Adetifa is an agricultural entrepreneur looking to the future with enthusiasm and optimism. He aims to increase access to sustainable livelihood pathways for targeted youth through plantain farming.

He noted that for the farmer to make more profit more acres of farmland is required. At the time of writing, the “high” selling price of a good plantain bunch is N1500 in Lagos and environ. Bigger bunches cost a lot more.

For him, plantain has a ready market. “Buyers look for you. One gets customers from a far, who have been directed here by other people.

Six lessons Hakeem Belo-Osagie has learnt in business H AKEEM Belo-Osagie recited these lines from a poem by Robert Frost while addressing a recent conference at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School.

Belo-Osagie is regarded as one of Nigeria’s richest businessmen, having made his money in industries, such as banking and telecoms. He is the Chairman of mobile network operator, Etisalat Nigeria.

Belo-Osagie shared with the audience some of the lessons he has learnt in business.

•Have a healthy scepticism of data Belo-Osagie says much of the market data and information about Africa he has come across in his career had been incorrect.

One of his biggest mistakes in business was when he was part of a losing bid for the first mobile network licences in Nigeria. At the time, some of the world’s most well-known consultancy firms advised that the Nigerian mobile phone market could not exceed 20m subscribers.

Based on this figure, BeloOsagie’s partners decided not to bid more than $265million. The winning bids came in at $285m.

Today Nigeria has more than 100m mobile phone subscribers, and in hindsight, Belo-Osagie says the value of the licence was probably closer to $800m.

He did not make the mistake of relying too much on expert data when he bought United Bank for Africa (UBA) in the late 90s. The Nigerian lender was for sale for $15m. Many advised him that buying the bank was a bad idea, but

• Relationships need to be nurtured

By Jaco Maritz

Belo-Osagie felt it was an undervalued asset and stuck to his guns.

He approached a large South African bank to put in $8m for a 51% stake in UBA, but this was deemed too risky an investment. BeloOsagie however went through with the transaction. A few years later the same South African bank made him an offer that valued UBA at $300m. “So when I tell you to have a healthy scepticism [or] disrespect for data, I mean what I say.”

•Don’t exaggerate political risk in Africa Many foreign investors are scared to invest in Africa due to the perceived political risks. BeloOsagie says companies however need to look beyond only political risk, and take into account all the other risks that could be a threat to a business.

While there may be greater political risk in some African countries, firms in the west have higher “technological risk” with their business models constantly under threat from new disruptive technologies being introduced by companies like Google.

“The risks that you face in a lot of other countries are far higher than you imagine, and they often, in my view, outweigh the lower political risks that you have in the western world. Therefore, success in Africa needs a correct appreciation of political risk, not exagger-

ating it and not unduly worrying about it.”

• The right team is essential

Belo-Osagie says winning teams are critical to the success of any business. “Teams are crucial because they combine the differing talents of different individuals, and they make the whole better than the part.”

He notes large companies operating in Africa today typically have a mix of expat and local employees.

In terms of expat workers, BeloOsagie says those with a need for structure, certainty and clear procedure often don’t do well in Africa. It is therefore important to appoint someone with “a spirit of adventure, a hunger for new things”.

“When the light packs up or the washing machine stops working, he or she doesn’t throw their hands up and head for the airport… That eagerness and desire to experience something new, is more important than functional intelligence.”

When it comes to local staff, there are broadly two kinds of people: the foreign educated MBA with an understanding of “what life could be”, and those who have lived in a country like Nigeria all their lives.

He says a winning team is a combination of those with international experience and streetwise locals who know how to work the system.

Weaker institutions and legal systems make personal relationships more important when doing business in emerging markets such as Africa. Belo-Osagie says these relationships need to be nurtured.

“You may not want to go [to] the CEO’s daughter’s naming ceremony. You may not want to go [to] his daughter’s wedding, but I’ll strongly advise you to go, in your own interest. These relationships are fundamental and they do not stop at five o’clock in the afternoon… they go round the clock,” he explains.

•Be bold despite uncertainty Drawing from The Fog of War, a 2003 documentary film on the life of former US Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara, Belo-Osagie compares the uncertainty of business with warfare.

“When you go into war, it is like walking into fog, you cannot see very clearly precisely what there is on the other side. I love that analogy because I think that one of the key factors for success in business is you must have that mental attitude to walk boldly through the fog of uncertainty that is an inevitable part of business,” he says.

“There are some individuals who cannot make a decision until every fact is in, who cannot live with uncertainty. By the time every single fact is in, you are inevitably too late for the opportunity.”

• Don’t sacrifice your personal life for business success Belo-Osagie urged the audience

•Belo-Osagie

not to neglect their personal lives in the pursuit of business success.

“Your relationship with another human being, whether that be a wife or a partner or with your parents or with your family, is very important. I know many businessmen that are on the pages of newspapers and on the front pages of magazines, who return to their lives and their houses, who are deeply unhappy. In your desire to be great successes, I want to urge you not to lose yourself. It is far easier to change a job, to change an industry and to improve a business, than it is to change an unhappy life.”

•Culled from www.howwemadeitinafrica.com

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

40

EMPOWERMENT CLINIC with

101 ways to market your business BOOK REVIEW Author: Andrew Griffiths Publisher: Diamond Publishing Reviewer: Goke Ilesanmi

GOKE ILESANMI

F

OR any business to survive and achieve profitability, it needs customers. To get enough customers, effective marketing is very important. Let us therefore examine this text with the title 101 Ways to Market Your Business written by Andrew Griffiths. Griffiths is a 101 Series expert because he has written many books under the series.

The author is a professional marketing consultant, as well as a director of an Australian company called The Marketing Professionals.

Griffiths is an accomplished trainer and reputable public speaker.

According to him, this book will show you how to take the hard work out of marketing your business. He says it will show you how to achieve dramatic improvement in your business without investing a lot of time and money. This trainer assures you that these 101 practical marketing strategies will offer you guide on how to realise the full potential of your business.

According to Griffiths, these 101 innovative ideas are simple, affordable and quick to implement. He stresses that many of them take less than 30 minutes to implement and will bring results fast. Choose and apply a new idea each week or use this book as a source of inspiration for new ways to market your services, your products and your business itself, he advises. Griffiths stresses that there are ideas to help you find new customers and make your business stand out from the competing crowd.

This book has 13 basic sections of 101 strategies. There are 20 bonus ideas added to the major 101 strategies. Section one is titled: Getting started. According to him here, people generally start a small business or buy a small business for different reasons. Griffiths adds that sometimes, it is because they are good at their chosen profession and feel that they can make a better living working for themselves; sometimes it is a lifestyle change and sometimes it is simply a lifelong dream.

This author says running a business requires many skills that take time to develop.

He educates that though marketing ideas are important for success in your business, he also believes that having the right attitude is essential.

Section two is interrogatively titled: Does your business stand out from the crowd? and contains the first nine strategies of marketing your business. These strategies are how to promote your business from the outside in; how to put your message on the company car; turning your invoice into a sales tool; selling yourself even when you are not there and using the internet in such a way as to be noticed. Griffiths advises you not underestimate the importance of a business card, asking you if your business has a memorable name.

Section three is based on making the most of the customers you already have, and contains six of the strategies, that is, strategies 10 to 15. This author stresses importance of sending out reminder notices; stay in touch with your customers; remember important dates; ask your customers for referrals; say thank you to generate more business; and use a loyalty programme to your advantage.

In section four containing four of the strategies, that is, strategies 16 to 19, Griffiths teaches you how to write press releases,

stressing that everybody loves a winner. He says you should call the local radio station and ask your customers to tell their friends about you. Section five is interrogatively titled: Are you willing to try a few unusual ideas? and covers 15 of the strategies, that is, strategies 20 to 34. In this section, Griffiths tells you to get behind a wacky promotion; enjoy the benefits of brainstorming; offer prizes in competitions, etc.

This author also advises you to use the local pizza company to generate business; take ownership of an event; think differently about marketing your business; use industry publications to collect ideas; start a marketing-idea box; take your message on the road with a mobile billboard, etc.

Section six is based on the need to encourage your staff, and contains four of the 101 strategies, that is, strategies 35 to 38. According to Griffiths here, “Good staff are the backbone of any successful business. Unfortunately, most of the time all I ever hear are people complaining about problems with their staff, not their good points.

From my experience staff are as good as the training and encouragement they receive.”

According to Griffiths in section seven that is based on how to make it easy for people to buy from you, and contains strategies 39 to 42, “I can never understand why some businesses seem to make it hard to buy things from them.” This author also discusses how to make it easy for people to give you money, etc.

Section eight is based on the need for you to have smart and hard-hitting promotional material and contains strategies 43 to 50. In this section, Griffiths discusses the concepts of making your first brochure and making up an information booklet to give customers. He says you should always be prepared to hand out a brochure; build credibility with testimonials from happy customers; start your own newsletter; deploy clever promotional materials that cost no more, etc.

In sections nine to 12, Griffiths X-rays how to daily make advertising work for your business; building credibility into your business;

going out to chase business; and thinking like a customer. These four sections cover strategies 51 to 97. He says you should always try to sell to the decision-maker; make a follow-up call after the sale; ask your customers how they heard about your business; offer free delivery, etc.

Section 13, the last section is titled: Is your business promoted in as many places as possible? and contains the remaining four strategies, that is, strategies 98 to 101. In addition to these basic 101 strategies, this trainer also offers you 20 bonus ideas.

On style, Griffiths’ efforts are commendable in this book. He presents the ideas in a simple language. By segmenting the 101 strategies into 13 sections, he makes the study of this text easy. However, some strategies are repetitive in the book. It is better to make necessary adjustments and avoid the attendant conceptual redundancy.

If you aspire to grow your business through unique and effective marketing strategies, this text is highly recommended to you.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

More on communication strategies in mergers and acquisitions Last week, we said communication does not come easily to many managers who throughout most their careers have dealt almost entirely with hard facts and figures, not the soft people issues. We added that these managers may not be good enough as leaders. We stressed that many managers are uncomfortable about giving tough messages to their staff, and being honest with them about bad news of job cuts or site closures.

We said mergers involve many technical and complex issues required by law, the stock exchange and other regulatory bodies. We explained that communication is not legally required and so it is an easy area to drop down the priority list.

We stressed that the communication function is not always represented at a sufficiently high level within the organisation, and even then the head of the function may not be strategically-minded. We expatiated that lack of information flow from the upper level of management will cause problems for the first-line managers and supervisors who need to deal with the frontline employees every day, as they will not have enough information to satisfy the day-to-day needs of their staff. We said this creates the dreaded communication vacuum – filled by the grapevine – that will undermine the positive aspects of the merger.

We added that after a merger has taken effect, strategic communication is central to the integration of the two organisations into a more effective single entity. We said by definition, this requires change communication and stressed that effective communication during the post-merger phase is required to ensure a common understanding of the business case for the merger and the vision for the future.

We said it is also required to help people understand and internalise change; keep the organisation focused on customers and productivity; reinforce desired behaviour; promote cultural alignment; help with retention and motivation of key talent; and control the rumour mill.

Pre-deal planning

P

LANNING mergers and acquisitions communication may be a communication team’s most confidential assignment—much more so than quarterly earnings—and their most important one, too, since a mergers and acquisitions deal is a great opportunity to reposition the company. Ideally, senior management will invite you to the table as part of a cross-functional team that could include general counsel, investor relations (for public companies) and human resource as soon as the deal looks real.

One of the initial challenges faced by the communication team is to create and final-

By Goke Ilesanmi

ise the merger plan and documentation within a short time frame, and without a lot of information, since details change during each negotiation session.

Addition As with any announcement, you need to define the deal. Who is doing the acquisition? Is your company acquiring or being acquired? If your company is doing the acquisition, you will have more control over the process—and more work to do. What is being acquired? Is it the entire company or a business unit? How much is the deal worth?

If the deal involves two small, private com-

panies, you may not want to disclose the actual figure, since the media’s interest heightens when a lot of money is at stake.

However, reporters may be more interested in a smaller deal involving a “hot” company or sector than a larger deal involving two decent but unexciting companies.

What is the strategy behind the deal? Is it to gain access to new markets, new technology or services, or to provide improved customer service by combining complementary offerings for one-stop shopping? In other words, why does this deal make sense, and why are you doing it now? Communicating the strategy effectively can help you sell the deal—which is especially important when shareholders of public companies are involved—but it is important, too, to sell the deal to the marketplace.

Defining the announcement Harrison says if the deal involves a public company and it is material, you have to announce it as soon as the contracts have been executed. Otherwise, you may have some discretion as to when to announce. What are the goals of the announcement? The initial goals for the acquiring and target companies may be very different—especially if what is being acquired is only a division—but the communication teams from both have to get together and finalise consistent messages. Who are the main audiences for the deal? Stakeholders may include shareholders, current customers, local community leaders and employees. Determine each audience’s needs and interests and develop appropriate communication.

Logistics The chief executive officer (CEO) of the ac-

quiring company needs to travel to the headquarters of the target company to welcome new employees. But if the target company has multiple offices across countries and time zones, reaching all employees at the same time will be an issue. What is changing? Is the new entity changing its name, management team, stock ticker, logo or headquarters? Who is writing the press release? If the acquisition involves an entire company, you need only one release. If a business unit is being acquired, the company selling the unit may want to issue its own release to explain why the sale makes sense.

For public companies in particular, communication departments must keep information confidential before the announcement. Norman Birnbach, president of Birnbach Communications, a Boston-based PR agency says, “A lot of companies use code names for the deal itself and for the other company involved. Otherwise, you have a crisis, as was the case when the Wall Street Journal broke the news that U.S-based Federated Department Stores was discussing a possible acquisition of United States (U.S.)based May Company—setting off a month of rumours that had to be handled concurrently with negotiations.”

PS: For those making inquiries about our Public Speaking, Business Presentation and Professional Writing Skills programme, please visit the website indicated on this page for details.

GOKE ILESANMI, Managing Consultant/CEO of Gokmar Communication Consulting, is an International Platinum Columnist, Certified Public Speaker/MC, Communication Specialist, Motivational Speaker and Career Management Coach. He is also a Book Reviewer, Biographer and Editorial Consultant.

Tel: 08055068773; 08187499425 Email: gokeiles2010@gmail.com Website: www.gokeilesanmi.com

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The Midweek Magazine

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

Experiencing Nigeria in Brazil The ongoing FIFA World Cup in Brazil offers a veritable platform for the promotion of Nigerian tourism at the Naija Fans Village exhibition in Sao Paulo, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.

F

OR several days at two different top flight hotels (Braston Hotel and Majester Hotel) in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Nigeria’s cultural heritage were toasts of tourists, football fans, Nigerians and Africans in Diaspora.

The exhibition, which was held at the Nigeria Fans Village featured textile, handmade shoes, table mats, national flag, branded tee-shirts, wooden sculptures, key holders among other arts and crafts. It was organised by the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) as part of activities celebrating Nigeria tourism at the on-going 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brasil. NTDC also used the event to mobilise Brazilians, tourists and Nigerian communities in Brasil to create awareness about Nigeria while experiencing Nigerian culture in the home of Samba.

At the opening of the first leg of the exhibition at Braston Hotel, Sao Paulo, Brazil the Director-General of NTDC, Mrs Sally Mbanefo, described sports especially football as a major unifying factor in Nigeria, which like tourism, cannot be separated from the youth. She said Nigeria has recorded many success stories in the areas of business tourism, religious tourism and entertainment tourism that are part of domestic tourism in commercial cities such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Warri.

“Domestic tourism assets in the country include Argungu fishing festival, Durbar, Osun Osogbo, Olokun festival and Eyo festival. Others are Igue festival in Edo State where the Benin Monarch appears in public in his royal regalia once a year, the amazing Calabar carnival that draws tourists from across the globe,” she said.

She noted that there is much to celebrate as African music, textile and cuisine are fast becoming the toasts of many people across the globe while Nigeria is emerging the destination of choice. She however observed that foreign media reports are skewed towards negative reportage saying, ‘it is sad to note that foreign media do not promote the positive aspects of Nigeria, but report bad news out of context.’

Continuing, she said: “Other thing we need to celebrate in the long term is the economy which has been growing steadily.

And the impact our rebased economy may not show immediate impact, but will certainly manifest in nearest future.”

On the incessant bombings by the Boko Haram sect, she noted that President Goodluck Jonathan met Boko Haram on ground and has committed billions of naira to tackle the insurgencies while troops have been deployed to the troubled zone.

“In President Jonathan’s speech at the recently concluded World Economic Forum,

•Mrs Mbanefo at the opening ceremony

•Fans at the exhibition ground

TOURISM he confirmed that terrorism is new to Nigeria compared to other nations. And he has been proactive in capacity building of the security personnel to ensure that they have the right skill to deal with the insurgence. Terrorism is not peculiar to Nigeria as it being experienced everywhere.

“In spite of the sophisticated technol-

ogy of developed nations, they continue to deal with terrorism daily. For instance, Israel has been dealing with terrorism since 1946 when King David Hotel was bombed and 91 people killed. The UK has been dealing with Irish Resistance Army (IRA) for over 25 years in addition to the 2005 train bombing.”

Mrs Mbanefo called on all Nigerians to cooperate with the government and be on the alert at all times in the battle

against terrorism especially in heeding warnings to avoid large public gatherings. She assured that government will continue to drive the battle against terrorism, noting however that security situation in Nigeria is being blown out of proportion. “The government and President Jonathan are fully on top of the situation and will soon have all things under control if Nigerians collaborate,” she added.

Ogun praised on tourism development

O

GUN State government has been praised for its effort at developing and projecting the rich cultural potentials of the state to attract global tourists and investors.

The Advisory Software Engineer to International Business Machine Corporation and Voluntary Service Overseas (IBM&VSO), Mr. Nilesh Atal, gave the commendation while addressing newsmen at the Mountain of Salvation, Otapele.

By Adebisi Onanuga

The promotion of the rich cultural heritage of the state under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is in line with the “mission to rebuild” agenda of the government.

Atal, who is also a tourist, remarked that his team’s adventurous visit to Olumo Tourist Centre, Abeokuta and Mountain of Salvation Tourist Centre at Otapele was of great significance in their visit to Nigeria.

He noted that the history related by a tour guide in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Toyin Mustapha, reflected that great men like “Lisabi”, a warrior that fought to liberate his people from the clutches of Oyo Kingdom.

He described Dr. Frederick Adeoye, a prophet and founder of Mountain of Salvation in Otapele, as a spiritual legend with indelible record worth of tourist attraction.

Mr. Atal further noted that of all the states visited in the country, the tourist sites in Ogun

State were best rated in cultural and traditional values by the expatriates who visited the state for the training of the civil servants in the state on data collection and issues related to their various ministries and agencies.

In her contribution, the Compliance Analyst to the IBM and VSO, Mr. Alexandra Deborah, admitted that the state had symbolic tourist centres and indigenous products worthy of promotion to the outside world.

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The Midweek Magazine

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

The protests that trailed the opening of the ongoing FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil turned into wild jublation on the streets of Sao Paulo when the country took on Mexico in the group stage of the tournament, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME, who was in Sao Paulo, reports.

Samba, soccer and Brazil E

MPTY buses, empty roads, closed shops and some rowdy drinking spots contrasted the atmosphere on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Hours before the start of the Brazil versus Mexico match played at the Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza on Tuesday June 17, Brazilians mainly youths were already in festive mood. It was a holiday of a sort for the people.

In a carnival like mood, they all dressed in green and yellow Brazil national colours waving flags and blowing their horns as they moved along the major streets of Sao Paulo.

For those who could not go to stadium to watch the match live drinking and coffee shops were their destinations. The gathering at every drinking and coffee shop is populated by soccer fans who sang at intervals amid shout of 'Brazil, Brazil, Brazil, champion.'

Most members of each group numbering about 50 people wore colourful masks, and the Brazil's jersey. They also waved the Brazil national flag. The celebration train was not restricted to drinking spots as some moving cars also hung the flag while driving

SPORTS round the city. On most buildings especially the high rise, there were the Brazil national flag.

Mary Fereira, an IT specialist at Sao Paulo said that despite the protests that greeted the hosting of the world cup, Brazilians are crazy about football and can do anything to enjoy it.

"The people literarily worship football in Brazil. Despite the protests on the streets of Brazil before the start of the competition, Brazilians cannot shun celebrating football, especially if their national team is involved. That's what you are witnessing on the streets of Sao Paulo.

In fact, it is the same in all other cities of the country," she said. However, the Braziland Mexico match ended goalless.

Paulo Ito, a street artist in Sao Paulo, however mirrored the realities of the Brazilian society-poverty, inequality and unemployment- through its paintings on stones and walls.

According to Ito the massive construction of stadiums in Brazilis not very healthy for the economy of Brazil as such funds could be channeled into job creation and other infra-

•Brazilian fans at Sao Paulo.

structures.

In 2007, the former president of Brazil, Lula da Silva said at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland during the announcement of Brazilas host of 2014 World Cup that 'soccer is not only a sport for us. It's more than that: Soccer for us is a passion, a national passion.'

According to report, when Brazilwas awarded the hosting right of 2014 World Cup seven years ago, the country's soccer fanatics

PHOTO: OZOLUA UHAKHEME

were elated. "But none more so than Brazil's political class, which understood that the tournament would mean a rash of federal spending all over the country," the report said.

For over a year, many middle-class Brazilians have been complaining bitterly about the government's decision to host the tournament.

If the host country which has qualified for the quarter final wins the cup, will that victory fix the perceived wrong in the economy? We wait and see.

Three Nigerian writers shine as WS prize finalists

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HE literary spotlight is currently on Othuke Ominiabohs, Akin Bello and Toyin Abiodun.

The three playwrights are finalists for the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa.

On Saturday at the grand finale in Lagos, one of them will cart home the ultimate prize of the $20,000 and a trophy made up of a matchet handle with a pen as its blade, resting on a scroll, meant for the award winner. And although one of the nominees will emerge eventual winner, each said the nomination has brought them and their works lots of recognition and attention. "My cell phone has not stopped ringing since the nomination and I have been getting so much love from family and friends," Ominibohs said.

On his part former chairman, Association of Nigeria Authors (ANA), Oyo State Branch, Bello said: "People's reception towards my book has truly changed. Everyone I meet wants to see the book." And this, Bello said, is a good sign and welcome development. "It's heartening that people are noticing and talking about the book again.

I only hope that it actually translate to sales."

Besides other mouthwatering prizes for the runners-up, Bello may have his wish fulfilled at the prize grand finale, because, according to the organisers, the books would be on display there along with those of others on the long-list and past winners.

Guests would have the opportunity of ac-

•From left: Dr Ogochukwu, Globacom Head, Dealers’ Incentives, Titi Ebinisi, Mrs Emanuel and Mr Shonibare

By Evelyn Osagie

AWARD cessing and buying the books at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island.

The finalists' works, Lumina Foundation founder, Dr Ogochukwu Promise said, beat 163 other dramas from 17 African countries,

which is the focus of this edition. The judges are drawn from Uganda, South Africa, Mali, Nigeria and Algeria.

Established and administered by the Lumina Foundation since 2005, the prize seeks to celebrate excellence, patriotism, integrity, heroism, intellectualism and selfless service epitomised by the Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, according to the organisers.

The biennial prize, which is in its fifth edition, has produced five winners in the last four editions. Nigerian novelist Sefi Attah's Everything Good will Come won the debut the prize in 2006; while third edition was won jointly in 2010 by South African novelist Kopalno Maltwa (Coconut) and his Nigerian counterpart, Wale Okediran (Tenants of the House).

The Chairperson, Lumina Foundation Board of Trustees, Mrs Francesca Emanuel said: "As a biennial award for the best literary work produced by an African, the prize is intended to serve as an African equivalent of the Nobel Prize, particularly in recognising and encouraging professional and personal excellence."

According to Globacom, the prize's major partner, Prof Wole Soyinka's immense contribution to the development of Literature in the continent is its inspiration for sponsoring the prize. Globacom Head of Corporate Sales, Kamaldeen Shonibare, said: "Our deeply cherished Nobel laureate is a huge inspiration to literature in Africa. He symbolises excellence, which is what Globacom stands for. Our management decided to throw its weight behind this prize as a mark of honour for Prof Soyinka, one of the world's biggest literary giants."

Other sponsors of the prize include Macmillan Nigeria Publishers Limited, SAPETRO, EcoBank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, Oracle Books and Tanus Communications Limited.

Soyinka’s A Dance of the Forests goes to the forest HERE is no better time than now to restage Prof Wole Soyinka’s A Dance of the Forests, especially when there are different ‘dances’ taking place at the Sambisa forest in Borno State, where over 200 school girls have been held captive since April 14.

A Dance of the Forests, a play written, directed and preformed by Wole Soyinka in 1960 when the playwright was 26, will be restaged on July 14 in a forest, at a location which the organisers of Project Wole Soyinka (WS), International Cultural Exchange (ICE), refused to disclose for reasons best known to them.

During an interaction with journalists at the amphitheater in Soyinka’s house, Ijegba Housing Estate, Kenta, Abeokuta, Ogun State, the organisers said Aside Dance of the Forest, and other Soyinka’s play will also be performed at different locations in Nigeria as part of the activities to marking the 80th birthday of the Noble Laureate on July 13.

T

By Udemma Chukwuma

DRAMA One of the reasons for the choice of A Dance of the Forests for the closing ceremony, according to him, is to remind Nigerians and their leaders of who they are, where they are coming from and where they are going. Other reason is because it’s one of the most recognised of Soyinka’s plays, which he created in his early years and which can be referred to as one that contributed to the history of Nigeria’s postcolonial theatre.

“I am eager lead a would-be audience on an expedition into the skull of Soyinka at 26 – to explore his thinking patterns, perception of humanity, understanding of society, project of crisis and conflict as well as conceptualisation of resolution at age 26.

This then, would be an exercise in amateur psychoanalysis,” said Tunde Awosanmi, who will di-

rect the play.

Project Wole Soyinka is a programme initiated five years ago and it has been successful since its inception. But this year’s edition tagged: Open Door Series, is special to the organisers of WS, the Government and people of Ogun State, including Nigerians. The 5th edition took off in April with an art exhibition tour, hosted by the Ogun State Government at the Hall of Fame, Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, Ogun State. The tour is still running, and will close on September 17 in the Republic of Benin.

The Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Ogun State, Mrs Yewande Amusan, who represented Ogun State Governor Ibukun Amosun, said the importance of the celebration is not just to mark the icon’s 80th birthday but also to celebrate his achievements, contribution to literature and his patriotic spirit.

Other activities include workshop, summit,

essay writing competition for 80 secondary schools students across the country with a theme Education: Path to Freedom and the Future.

Audience will also enjoy Soyinka’s Alapata of Apata on next week Monday at •Prof Soyinka Abeokuta; Death and the King’s Horseman at UNILAG, Lagos on July 10; Lanke Omu,Oba Koso and Spoken Word on July 11 at the Cultural Center, Abeokuta and Mad Men and Specialist in Jos, July 19.

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WEDNESDAY JULY 2, 2014

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E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

GOMBE POLITICS The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are locked in a battle of supremacy in Gombe State. Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo is interested in a second term. But, the opposition is pushing for power shift. Correspondent VINCENT OHONBAMU examines the struggle for power in the Northeast state.

2015: Can Dankwambo get second term?

G

OMBE State is warming up for the next general elections. The contest is between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC). Leading the PDP is Governor Ibrahm Dankwambo. The APC is led by his predecessor, Senator Danjuma Goje.

Until last year, Dankwambo and Goje were in the PDP. Both parted ways at the rancorous PDP national convention held in Abuja. Since then, their camps have been at loggerheads. Goje has declared that the days of the PDP were numbered in the Northeast state. But, the governor has vowed to resist power shift, saying that the PDP is more popular.

Goje, a grassroots politician, was instrumental to the victory of Dankwambo in 2011 elections. In 2003, the former Minister of State for Power and Steel defeated former GovernorAbubakar Hashidu of the defunct All Peoples Party of Nigeria (ANPP). From 2003 and last year, Gombe was more or less a one party state. Indeed, the PDP has loomed large in the state, owing to the internal crises that seized the opposition parties. Distracted by the internal strife, they could not pose a threat to the PDP. However, the ruling party became a divided fold, following its protracted crises. The crises have affected its dominace in the state. With the advent of the APC, a formidable and vibrant opposition emerged in Gombe, making the PDP to fret.

The two parties are strong. So are their leaders. In Gombe, there is a sort of ego war. It is a moment of emotional wrenching for both Goje and Dankwambo, who will have to work at cross-purposes next year, thereby betraying their antecedents as partners in progress. In their antagonistic camps, there is anxiety, which may not fizzle out, until the next year’s polls.

Goje is seen as a better politician, having fought many political battles and triumphed. His support for Dankwambo in 2011 was legendary. In Gombe, he is seen as a father figure. However, the governor is also a dynamic figure. In the saddle, he is effective. Like Goje, he is also a performer. Thus, while the APC is confident that Goje will lead it to victory next year, those who believe in the governor’s ability said that the former Accountant-General of the Federation can spring a surprise by pulling the rug off the senator’s feet.

With the 2003 feat as a reference point, many people, especially those in his camp believe Goje could get whatever he wanted anytime. The feat has equally given him a huge confidence that history could repeat itself as the APC steps up efforts to wrest power from the PDP. That was why Goje said at the state congress of the APC earlier this year that “we are used to removing governments, we could still do it again.”

His dogged approach to issues earned him the reputation of the man with a sledge hammer.

Goje listens and acts swiftly on anything that affects his person and political machinery. He does not procrastinates.

As the Minister of State for Power and governor for eight years, Goje was busy building bridges and networks. He also built a solid political structure.

He is a shrewd politician, organiser, mobiliser and defender of his camp. He understands the grammer of politics.

• Dankwambo

• Goje

This explains why the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representaives, Hon Usman Bayero Nafada, former Minister of State for Power, Murtala Aliyu, and his Commissioner of Finance for eight years, Inuwa Yahaya, are now working with him in the plan to unseat the governor.

Goje is not eligible to contest for governorship having served for two terms. But, he is spearheading the course of a change.

This decision has been given impetus by those who see him as a political demigod with the might to install and effect change.

The popular saying in Gombe is that “you have to be like Goje to beat Goje.”

But, the governor, is not a street-wise politician. That may be the reason why some people have erroneously described him as a weak actor. However, a source said: “Dankwambo is a serious person and he is committed to lofty goals. People see Governor Dankwambo as a self-absorbed character with an exaggerated impression of his intellectual superiority. They brand him as acting like there is a no politician and one who has nothing at stake. But, this may not be an accurate assessment”.

The pervading fear in Gombe PDP is that Dankwambo is preparing for a tough battle against Goje. His fighting spirit, sources said, would be tested on the slippery field at the next year’s poll. “Up to now, Dankwambo has not evolved a separate structure. He is still relying on those politicians who worked with his predecessor. His strategies are not concealed.

His top secrets are as bare to the opposition as the palm of a man’s hand”, said

another source..

The governor, according to a PDP source, believes in retaining power by redeeming his campaign promises to the people. However, his slogan of “all work, work and work for the people and posterity” is so strange and hugely opposed to the people’s addiction to the idea of sharing the money. Thus, in Gombe, people are interested not only in social infrastructure, but also in “stomach infrastructure”.

The source added: “It is easy to hear a lot of people saying things like: “is it roads we will eat?” “Goje worked and money was still in circulation. Why is Dankwambo’s case different?”

Dankwambo has come under attack for courting the members of the opposition.

Critics berate him for a shortfall in political strategy. For instance, it has been alleged that some members of his cabinet, his aides, principal officers of the ruling party, elected party chieftains, and top government officials of his administration still owe their allegiance to Goje, whom they had worked with for almost two decades.

A PDP chieftain, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “The governor is in a quagmire because laying-off anyone for whatever reason at this point is a political suicide. But, it is also counterproductive to entrust campaign funds to aides who have been left to go hungry for over three years.”

He added: This situation brings to mind what the reasons why Hashidu failed to secure a second term. A lot of people betrayed him at the dying minute by carting away campaign funds.”

‘The two parties are glued to the drawing board. Mobilisation has been intensifies across the local governments. A tough contest has been predicted by pundits.

It will not be a walk over for any party. A victory for the ruling party will further cement its legacy as the dominant party. But, the APC is not sleeping on guard. Who wins the governorship in Gombe?’

Exuding confidence, the PDP secretary, Alhaji Buba Shanu, said that the party will retain Gombe in 2015 because he has many achievements to his credit. To the APC, this is bravado.

The PDP is relying on the incumbency factor. It is believed that, with the incumbency power, Dankwambo can weather the storm. Although a green horn, the governor is said to habve a heart of steel and stone.

Besides, Dankwambo enjoys the backing of some stakeholders who cannot be ignored. These leaders are said to be happy with him because of the way he has handled the security challenge in the state. He has successfully mobilised security agencies to flush out the dreadful ‘Yan Kalare’, which has terrorised the state for long.

The governor has renovated, reconstructed and built over 30 primary and post-primary schools. He has established five institutions of higher learning–the School of Legal and Islamic Studies, the School of Basic and Remedial Studies, State College of Education, the Gombe State Polytechnicand the State School of Nursing and Midwifery.

The governor has empowerd the youths through job creation. He has embarked on massive infrastructural development. No fewer than 60 urban, sub-urban, rural and regional roads have been constructed.

Also, he has created wealth through soft or revolving loans to market traders.

Dankwambo has health facilities. He has also employed thousands of teachers for schools.

A commissioner, Alhaji Bakura Bajoga, who applauded the governor, said: “We have something on ground under Governor Dankwambo to show to the public.

Weigh and compare these things with the bunch of promises and manifestos that will come your way from the opposition.

You will see that he is the man to beat.”

But, Hon. Bayero Nafada, cautioned against over-confidence. When Goje was in the saddle, he had said that “achievements do not count, if certain things are not in place.”

The legislator recalled that Kwakwanso, who performed excellently in Kano State during his first term, was defeated by Shekarau.

He added: “Besides, Gombe itself had a classic example in 2003 when Goje on a PDP ticket pushed out Habu Hashidu.”, he had added.

However, observers contend that, despite Senator Goje’s intimidating profile, he will only be restricted to the role of a catalyst for the APC in its push for power shift. Who emerges as the APC governorship bearer is also important.

In recent times, Dankwambo has penetrated the grassroots. His empowerment programmes targetted at the rural poor has jerked up his popularity in the rural areas. Since the rural areas constitute the larger population of voters, this may be an advantage ot the PDP, if the governor sustains the tempo of achievements.

Now, the two parties are glued to the drawing board. Mobilisation has been intensifies across the local governments.

A tough contest has been predicted by pundits. It will not be a walk over for any party. A victory for the ruling party will further cement its legacy as the dominant party. But, the APC is not sleeping on guard.

Who wins the governorship in Gombe?

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BUSINESS EXTRA

American firm threatens to sue AMCON over Mainstreet Bank

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N American financial and investment company, Intangis Holdings, is threatening to sue the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), over what it termed actions that are detrimental to global business practices.

Intangris Holdings said it invested in the defunct Afribank, which gave birth to Mainstreet Bank Limited, one of the bridged banks. It accused the bad debt manager, of inadvertently broadening its mandate, in its words, “ to the detriment of transparency and governance requirements that are essential in a global business world.”

In a release by African Media Agency, the firm said AMCON’s wholesome acquisition of Afribank, was harmful and detrimental to shareholders including Intangis Holdings.

It said: “After taking participation interests in the share capital of Afribank in 2010, AMCON organised the liquidation of the banking group and subsequently transferred all its assets to a new structure, Mainstreet Bank, which it wholly owns.

“This liquidation concluded between 5th and 8th August 2011 with total disregard to the rules of law, harmed all Afribank’s shareholders and creditors, including Intangis Holdings.”

The firm explained that it referred the matter to the International Court of Arbitration, on the 29th of April, 2011, “which issued a preliminary decision in its favour in Sep-

Nigeria, China trade volume hits $210b

•’We are not party to agreement’

By Simeon Ebulu, Group Business Editor

tember, 2013 and took the view that Mainstreet Bank was party to the contract between Intangis Holdings and Afribank.”

However, the firm said since that decision, AMCON has taken steps to divest from Mainstreet Bank, “while omitting to make provision as required by the international accounting rules (IFRS) for certain liabilities of the bank, estimated by Intangis Holdings at $1.4 billion.”

Intangis Holdings, which did not indicate whether the $1.4billion is equivalent of its investment in Afribank, is insisting that AMCON complies with the international accounting rules enshrined in the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), pointing out that it reserves the right to commence legal proceedings to assert its rights.

It said: “AMCON has broadened its mandate to the detriment of transparency and governance requirements that are essential in a global business world. Having referred the Mainstreet Bank (formerly Afribank) case to the International Court of Arbitration (ICC) in Paris, Intangis Holdings is contemplating legal action against AMCON.” The firm noted that AMCON has set a September 15th date for the sale of Mainstreet Bank, warning that, “if AMCON manages to sell Mainstreet

Bank after having organised such a transaction and without ensuring proper reporting of the bank’s books, we would be dealing with a huge scandal. The banking group would be jeopardised, its customers endangered and its historic shareholders and creditors would suffer irreversible damages.”

The Senior Partner of Intangis Holdings, Jean Missinhoun, said the firm “cannot believe that the Nigerian authorities would tolerate such actions in contradiction to the requirement for transparency and good governance.”

Contacted on Intangis Holdings claims, AMCON, denied any wrong doing, saying its investment in Mainstreet Bank, has no linkage with Afribank.

In a memo from Project DOS Advisers draft response to Intangis, AMCON explained that Intangis Holdings Limited recently wrote to AMCON’s advisers on the ongoing divestment by AMCON of its equity in Mainstreet Bank Limited, stating that AMCON is procuring a breach of Intangis’ rights under a Confidentiality and Non Circumvention Agreement (CNCA) dated 2 November, 2009 between Afribank Plc and Intangis.

In its defence, AMCON said it is not a party to any agreement with Intangis and that Mainstreet did not even exist at the time Intangis signed the CNCA with Afribank. It added

T •AMCON MD, Chike-Obi

that Mainstreet Bank was established following a special’ audit of the banking sector in which Afribank was found to be “in a grave situation” along with nine other banks.

It said Afribank’s Board and Management was then replaced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with a view to cleaning up the bank and repositioning it. “However when it became apparent that Afribank lacked the capacity and ability to recapitalise before the September 2011 deadline, CBN revoked Afribank’s license. Consequently, pursuant to Section 39 of the NDIC Act, the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) in consultation with CBN organised and incorporated three “bridge banks” including Mainstreet. A Purchase and Assumption Agreement was executed by NDIC (as the statutory transferor of Afribank) and Mainstreet, who purchased assets and assumed certain liabilities of Afribank. AMCON subsequently subscribed for shares of Mainstreet in 2011.

HE Nigerian, Chinese bilateral cooperation has boosted trade between the two countries leading to remarkable increase in volume of transactions last year, the Consul-General of the Peoples Republic of China to Nigeria, Mr. Liu Khan, has said.

Khan who spoke yesterday at the ongoing three-day Energy, Environment and Investment Forum in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on “Sustainable Energy, the Key to Africa’s World Integration” in Port Harcourt, organised by the Rivers State Government, said exports and import trade volume of the two countries stood at $210 billion last year, which represents about 5.9 per cent.

He said the bilateral relationship between the two countries has resulted in foreign direct investments (FDIs) in various sectors of the economy by Chinese adding that he would encourage more Chinese enterprises to expand investment in the manufacturing sector.

He also pledged to encourage Chinese entrepreneurs to transfer technologies and train personnel to increase local job opportunities.

He said: “Both countries have entered into mutually beneficial trade agreements, which have created rapid development of the Nigerian economy. `There are currently more than 40 Chinese companies that have been playing positive roles in the satisfaction of demand and creation of jobs in Nigeria.

“We have been actively involved in the manufacturing,

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

retail and agricultural sectors of the economy.”

Khan commended the Federal Government for creating enabling environment for foreign businesses to thrive, and called for the protection of Chinese entrepreneurs’ safety in the country.

He said:“Chinese enterprises invest in Nigeria’s seed cultivation and have become the Nigerian government’s seed providers, which helps boost local self-support in grain.

“Chinese and Nigerian enterprises have joined hands in operating satellite networks, with digital television signals covering 84 per cent of the African country, which promoted cultural exchanges of both countries.’’

He said Nigeria has become China’s seventh largest export market adding that Chinese enterprises have repaired a total of 4,500 km of railway since 1995, and are currently building modern railways and metropolitan light rails too.

“Chinese enterprises and Nigerian telecommunication operators have cooperated closely to raise Nigeria’s mobile phone subscription rate to 91 per cent in 2013 from less than one percent in 2001.

“Chinese enterprises have also actively embarked on cooperation in the construction of power plants, highways, and airport terminals, among others, in Nigeria.” he added.

54

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 01-07-14

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 01-07-14

Nigerian equities open second half with modest gain

Q

UOTED equities started the second half with a positive outlook as widespread bullish sentiments nudged share prices of most companies to higher levels.

On the first trading session of the second half, investors sustained the optimism that permeated the latter days of the first half.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) increased

by N42 billion to N14.070 trillion as against its opening value of N14.028 trillion.

The All Share Index (ASI), which tracks prices of all quoted companies, trended upward by 0.30 per cent to close at a new high of 42,611.30 points compared with its opening index of 42,482.48 points. The bullish rally nudged the average year-to-date return to 3.10 per cent.

Stories by Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

Seven-Up Bottling Company, which released its full-year audited results, led 27 other stocks on the gainers’ list with a gain of N9.53 to close at N102.53.

UAC of Nigeria followed with a gain of N3.10 to close at N65.10. International Breweries rallied N1.30 to close at N28.

Presco rose by N1.09 to close at N36.10. Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria gathered N1.01 to close at N112.01. Ashaka Cement added 49 kobo to close at N29.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings and Zenith Bank rose by 45 kobo each to close at N26.45 and N25.50 while United Bank for Africa and FBN Holdings added 35 kobo each to close at N8.05 and N15.95 respectively.

Petroleum-marketing companies, which had been atop the

best-return stocks, came under sell pressure as investors sought to monetize their capital gains.

Petroleum-marketing stocks dominated the top losers’ list with MRS Oil and Gas leading the decliners with a loss of N6.82 to close at N63.18. Forte Oil followed with a drop of N6.30 to close at N200. Guinness Nigeria placed third with a drop of N2 to close at N198. Oando dropped by 75 kobo to N28.50.

Caverton Offshore Services Group lost 60 kobo to close at N5.64. Mobil Oil Nigeria declined by 55 kobo to N137.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) lost 40 kobo to close at N16.49. Eterna slipped by 22 kobo to N4.33. Guaranty Trust Bank dropped by 19 kobo to N28.76 while Livestock Feeds lost 12 kobo to close at N3.07 per share.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

55

MONEYLINK

How we’re handling fraudulent accountants, by ICAN chief

T

HE newly appointed President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Chidi Onyeukwu Ajaegbu, has said the institute takes exception to members violating codes of professional practice of the body, stating that such offenders are being punished accordingly.

He said the accounting body has disciplinary processes that investigates and punishes corrupt accountants.

The ICAN Chief however advised the public to always report corrupt accountants to the institute so that the institute can take up such cases.

“You need to report a chartered accountant of having committed some form of infraction before we can set up what we call, an investigative panel. If for example the accountant in your of-

Stories by Collins Nweze

fice commits fraud and you report him or her to the institute; the Registrar will direct the investigative panel to investigate the allegations.

When the allegations are investigated and there is a report and the committee finds that person ‘culpable,’ the next level is to take that investigation and the accountant to the tribunal. The tribunal is an equivalent of a High court, meaning that whatever decision we take at the tribunal’s level, can only be challenged at the Court of Appeal,” he said.

Ajaegbu said although offenders are not made public, their names are always published in the institute’s websites, journals and financial statements.

Diamond Bank inaugurates product for women

D

IAMOND Bank Plc has launched Diamond Woman, a proposition specifically designed to cater for the needs of women by providing lifestyle and business advisory services.

In a statement, the bank’s Divisional Head, Corporate Communications, Mrs. AyonaTrimnell, said, “Diamond Woman” is a unique proposition put together by the lender to highlight and discuss real issues that matter to women, including lifestyle, domestic abuse, marriage and financial advisory services amongst others.

“The decision to provide a suite of valueadding services specifically targeted at women was not a difficult one for us at Diamond Bank as our service delivery approach takes into cognizance the unique

features of our customers and thus seeks to provide tailored services to them. With the Diamond Woman proposition, women worldwide now have an avenue to be empowered to achieve their goals,” she said.

She said the product’s website allows women within and outside Nigeria to start and contribute to conversations on issues that are important to them. “By signing up to the Diamond Woman proposition, women have an opportunity to access unique and preferential benefits including three months free banking on DiamondXclusive or Diamond Aspire accounts. This means that they pay zero charges on their accounts for the first three months,” she said.

“You will get the names, what they were tried for, what happened and the outcome of the cases. They are all there in the institute’s websites, journals and financial statements. But what we don’t do is to go to the media and advertise it. There have been a lot of discussions and arguments around that, but we haven’t come to the conclusion that, that is the best way. At one point, during one of the past presidents, our proceedings were being televised. But we did a policy impact

Union Bank’s website ranked best in aesthetics

U • Ajaegbu

assessment and the feedback we got didn’t add much to the brand and we needed to rethink it and to find other ways of doing it,” he said.

CFOs optimistic on economy

C

HIEF Finance Officers (CFOs) of 43 major companies across major sectors are optimistic about the economy, but consider infrastructure as a key area of concern, says as KPMG survey.

The findings are based on samplings of CFOs carried outby foremost management consultancy, KPMG across sectors, such as telecommunications, oil and energy and the manufacturing sectors.

In the survey, about 93 per cent of the CFOs expressed cautious optimism premised on the fact that the economy still presents tremendous opportunities to patient investors, as the nation remains one of a vibrant, dynamic economy.

Presenting the result of the survey, the Partner and Head of Audit, Mr Tola Adeyemi, said the CFOs hinged their optimism on the fact that the political environment has been stable, that revenue will either increase or remain the same this year, that

By Daniel Essiet

profit margins will either grow, or remain same this year and that cash flow will increase or remain the same.

While GDP growth, rising employment and high interest rate have contributed to the shift in economic outlook, caution clearly prevailed as the survey this economic optimism has not translated into an aggressive spending agenda.

According to survey, CFOs, plan to tightly control spending as they anticipate modest expansion taking place over the next six months.

The survey indentified how the economic climate has reshaped the finance functions within companies, changing its role from financial expert to that of strategic business advisor.

However, the survey revealed that significant risks will compromise the economy’s competitiveness as much of its physical and institutional infrastructure lags behind the rest of the world.

DATA BANK

FGN BONDS Tenor

Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year

35m 35m

11.039 12.23

19-05-2014 18-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount Amount Offered ($) Demanded ($) 400m 400m 400m 400m 400m 400m

MANAGED FUNDS Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33

NIDF

OBB Rate

Price Loss 2754.67

INTERBANK RATES 7.9-10%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day

Amount 30m 46.7m

Rate % 10.96 9.62

Date 28-04-2012 “

GAINERS AS AT 01-07-14

SYMBOL 7UP UACN INTBREW NEIMETH AIRSERVICE UBA NEM PRESCO AFRIPRUD TRANSCORP

O/PRICE 93.00 62.00 26.70 1.26 2.34 7.70 0.85 35.01 3.25 5.05

C/PRICE

CHANGE

102.53 65.10 28.00 1.32 2.45 8.05 0.88 36.10 3.35 5.20

9.53 3.10 1.30 0.06 0.11 0.35 0.03 1.09 0.10 0.15

EXHANGE RATE 6-03-12 Currency

Year Start Offer

Current Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

NGN USD NGN GBP

147.6000 239.4810

149.7100 244.0123

150.7100 245.6422

-2.11 -2.57

NGN EUR 212.4997 NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N) 149.7450 (S/N) Bureau de Change 152.0000 (S/N)

207.9023

209.2910

-1.51

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

DISCOUNT WINDOWx Feb. ’11

July ’11

July ’12

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

12%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00%

SYMBOL

O/PRICE 70.00 6.24 0.60 0.81 4.55 1.37 0.99 0.52 0.53` 3.19

C/PRICE 63.18 5.64 0.57 0.77 4.33 1.31 0.95 0.50 0.51 3.7

CHANGE -6.82 -0.60 -0.03 -0.04 -0.22 -0.06 -0.04 -0.02 -0.02 -0.12

Amount Sold ($) 399.9m 399.9m 399.9m

Exchange Rate (N) 155.75 155.8 155.7

Date 2-5-14 2-3-14 1-29-14

CAPITAL MARKET INDEX

NSE

6-2-14

28-10-11

% Change

CAP Index

N13.07tr 40,766.16

N6.617tr 20,903.16

-1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH BGL NUBIAN FUND BGL SAPPHIRE FUND CANARY GROWTH FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CORAL INCOME FUND FBN FIXED INCOME FUND FBN HERITAGET FUND FBN MONEY MARKET FUND FIDELITY NIGFUND INTERCONTINENTAL INTEGRITY FUND KAKAWA GUARANTEED INCOME FUND

Offer Price Bid Price 157.99 157.07 9.17 9.08 1.09 1.08 1.18 1.18 0.68 0.68 1.39 1.33 1,664.78 1,661.81 1,087.24 1,086.78 119.02 118.19 1,087.30 1,087.00 1.67 1.62 1.05 1.03

LEGACY FUND NIGERIA INTER DEBIT FUND PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND STANBIC IBTC ETHICAL FUND • UBA BALANCED FUND • UBA BOND FUND • UBA EQUITY FUND • UBA MONEY MARKET FUND

LOSERS AS AT 01-07-14

MRS CAVERTON JAPAULOIL NPFMCRFBK ETERNA AGLEVENT WEMABANK OASISINS ROYALEX LIVESTOCK

NION Bank of Nigeria’s website has been ranked best for aesthetics and rated second in customer experience by Web Jurist v12.

In the firm’s recently concluded ratings of banking industry websites, the lender ’s website was rated third overall in the industry.

The websites of all Nigerian banks were rated according to aesthetics, technical aspects, website content, eFinancial services, customer experience and performance.

In a statement, the bank’s Head, Corporate Affairs & Corporate Communication, Mrs. Ogochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem said the bank’s impressive showing in this year’s ratings is another signal that its transformation is on the right course.

“One of our critical focus areas as a bank is to significantly improve our customer experience at all touch points, and the first phase of improvements to our website have clearly yielded the desired results.

As we have done with the website, Union Bank will continue to work to provide quality banking services and improved customer experience to all our customers across all our touch points,” she concluded.

In 2013, Union Bank’s website was ranked 16th in aesthetics and 12th in both customer experience and overall assessment.

The Web-Jurist ratings conducted by e-Business experts at Phillips Consulting was established in 2001 to critically and objectively evaluate the effectiveness of websites in Nigeria, focusing initially on the financial services industry and taking into account what the customer wants.

143.11

142.62

0.78 1,944.64 13.62 1.07

0.76 1,936.31 13.28 1.05

1.3379 1.3544 1.0146 1.1770

1.3271 1.3544 0.9967 1.1770

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days

Rate (Previous) 4 Mar, 2012 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917

Rate (Currency) 6, Mar, 2012 10.17% 11.46% 11.96%

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK

Bank

Previous 04 July, 2012

Current 07, Aug, 2012

8.5000

8.5000

Movement

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

56

NEWS Enugu appeals judgment From Chris Oji, Enugu

E

NUGU State government has appealed the judgment in the case involving the government and the dismissed Chairman of the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB), Mrs. Ethel Nebo-Ezeabasili.

The appeal followed the June 18 judgment by Justice C.I. Nwobodo of the Enugu State High Court, which declared the removal of Mrs. Nebo-Ezeabasili for alleged fraud, as illegal and unconstitutional.

The appeal, filed at the Court of Appeal, Enugu by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Anthony I. Ani (SAN), faulted the judgment.

The former ENSUBEB boss was removed in November 2012 for alleged gross misconduct, including alleged theft of N230,245,000 belonging to ENSUBEB. Although Mrs. Nebo-Ezeabasili evaded being served the notice of trial, her surety, who bailed her from the police, was served the papers to bring the defendant to court.

One of the grounds of the appeal filed on June 30 by Ani was that the judge erred in law by failing to resolve the issue of jurisdiction before going into the substantive case.

The Attorney-General said the first and second defendants, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo as Chief of Staff to Governor Sullivan Chime and Amaechi Okolo, Secretary to the State Government, sued in their official capacities by Mrs. Nebo-Ezeabasili before the High Court, were entitled to three months preaction notice, which was not given them before the action.

Commuters stranded as flood takes over Ibadan

T

HE flood, which led to the death of not fewer than three people and 18 missing in some parts of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, last weekend, took another dimension yesterday, as commuters in the metropolis found it difficult to get to their homes.

Most areas were flooded, causing panic, as residents became apprehensive over the whereabouts of their relations.

The commuters were stranded due to the heavy rain experienced in parts of the city, which caused overflow of some bridges and resulted in heavy traffic.

For those who live around Sango, Ojoo, Moniya, Agbowo, Apete and Eleyele, it was hell for them due to the scarcity of buses and motorcycles at the popular roundabout.

The inadequate buses and the increasing number of the

T

From: Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

demand forced transporters to increase to as high as 50 per cent.

One of the commuters who lives at Apete said: “I am still on the road, the road has been flooded since 5 pm, and the time is 7:20 pm. The Ajibode bridge is overflowed, commuters are stranded at round-about, Sango, UI, Ojoo among others as a result of heavy traffic on the major roads, caused by the bad roads and the overflowed bridges”.

Another commuter said motorists increased transport fares.

At the UI junction, commuters who live around Moniya, Ojoo and other areas along the Ibadan-Oyo, Ibadan-Iseyin road were seen struggling to board vehicles.

Ekiti lawmaker loses wife

HE wife of Ade Ajayi, a member in Ekiti State House of Assembly, Mrs. Ajayi, died yesterday in an accident at Ayegbaju-Ekiti in Oye Local Government.

Although details of her death were sketchy at press time, The Nation learnt that the accident occurred about 4 pm when her Toyotal Sienna car which she drove collided with a truck coming in the opposite direction. She was said to have died imme-

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

diately.

Police spokesman Victor Babayemi confirmed the accident. He said the body had been deposited at the mortuary of the Federal Medical Centre in Ido Ekiti.

Babayemi added that investigations has begun.

Ajayi represents Oye Constituency I.

Anambra community cries out

R

ESIDENTS of Umunze community in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State have appealed to the Inspector- General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar and Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano over the alleged insecurity and kidnapping ravaging their area.

The community, under the

A

By Jude Isiguzo

aegis of Umunze Stakeholders for Peace and Development (USPAD), said the town was peaceful until 2007/ 2008 when it experienced kidnapping and armed robbery.

The president of USPAD, Mr. Angus Nkah, said three commercial banks were attacked, as robbers operated in the day and at night.

Baptists’ praise conference

CHOIR and praise conference will be held on July 4 and 5 at Odo-Oru Baptist Church, Ogbomoso in Oyo State.

The programme, which will be attended by gospel musicians, choristers and music lovers, will be coordinated by gospel music acts, Pastor Philip Adika and his wife, Lola.

The duo will also minister to the audience through melodious music.

•Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi (second left) with the Director-General of Inter-party Advisory Council (IPAC), Dr. Sadip Umar Abubakar (right), National Publicity Secretary, Chief Sam Eke (second right), Mr. Tunde Kelani (left) and other members of the council, during their visit to the governor at the Government House, Ibadan.

Fashola: we’re working to reform red meat value chain A

N furtherance of the reforms of the red meat value chain in Lagos State, Governor Babatunde Fashola yesterday undertook an inspection of the different sections of the Lagos State Abattoir and Lairage in Oko Oba, Agege, saying government is keen on improving the capacity of the facility to keep the existing jobs and create more.

The governor, who spoke with State House correspondents who accompanied him after an extensive inspection of the various sections of the abattoir to see the gradual reforms being carried out with the involvement of various stakeholders, explained that with proper organisation, the place would keep the jobs and

employ more people.

He added that the initiative at the abattoir is not an off the cuff one, but a well thought out initiative from the focus of the administration on Power, Agriculture, Transportation and Housing which made up P.A.T.H. “When you look at the number of people here, nobody here is here on a frolic.

All these people earn their living here. This abattoir employs many people on a daily basis and it may seem a little bit difficult to understand how it works.

“There are trailers that represent the transport section of the business, there is feed-

ing that represents the feed lot section of the business, there is animal sales that represent the distributive line of the business and of course there is the abattoir itself where the killing is done and then there is sales and you would see a lot of women in the inner section where they sort out the inner, the tripe, the intestine, there is a value chain here”, the Governor said.

He explained that it was observed that over the years a lot of equipment at the abattoir were not being put to use and the government thought there must be a reason for that. This led to the

administration sponsoring about 39 of the abattoir stakeholders especially the leadership to go to Kenya and Botswana to see what is happening and the visit turned out very revealing.

Fashola stated that the operators came back from the trip asking for change and reforms and that what the State Government has done is to allow them to lead the reforms they themselves want, which explains some of the developments he observed during the inspection.

he can be produced to take his plea,” he added.

Okorodudu’s counsel, Chief Robert Clarke (SAN), however, objected to the request of the commission.

He said his client was absent because of an appeal filed against the court’s ruling on May 26.

Clarke told the court that the notice of appeal was before the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division and that the record of proceedings had been transferred to the appellate court.

He said the defence believed that Okorodu’s presence could be dispensed with in the hearing of the application.

Counsel to Car Link and Cross Country Chief Ladi Williams (SAN) supported Clarke’s submission.

He urged the court not to issue the warrant on the same grounds.

The judge, who refused Clarke’s request to adjourn the matter indefinitely, held

that there was no reason given for Okorodudu’s absence.

Justice Lawal-Akapo noted that the evidence before the court showed that Okorodudu was at the registry of the Ikeja High Court in the morning.

“The first defendant appeared before the commissioner of oaths this morning (Tuesday) to depose to two affidavits in support of his applications, but did not deem it fit to appear before this court.

“It is clear that he is taking the court for a ride. The law is not a respecter of any person,” he held.

The judge said the practice directive issued by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, made it mandatory for courts to give accelerated hearing to criminal matters.

“This matter is adjourned till July 8 and a bench warrant is issued on the defendant.

“He is to be arrested and produced to take his plea,” Justice Lawal-Akapo added.

Court issues bench warrant on Cross Country boss

A

LAGOS High Court sitting in Ikeja has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the Chairman of Cross Country Nigeria Ltd, Chief Bube Okorodudu, over an alleged N82.8 million theft.

The court, presided over by Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, issued the order when ruling in an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Lawal-Akapo ordered the police to produce Chief Okorodudu on July 8.

The EFFC requested the court to issue a warrant of arrest on the Cross Country boss, following his absence.

The anti-graft commission alleged that Chief Okorodudu stole the money through the sale of 17 units of the Volkswagen transporter buses belonging to AG Moeller Ltd and Mr. Adeloye Olukemi.

Charged with the Cross Country boss are his two companies, Cross Country

By Adebisi Onanuga and Toyosi Babatunde

Ltd and Car Link Ltd. They are facing an eightcount of conspiracy, stealing, forgery and uttering.

The court, on May 26, dismissed an application by Okorodudu seeking to quash the theft charges brought against them by the EFCC on the grounds that the court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the suit.

Justice Lawal-Akapo ordered the defendants to appear on July 1 for arraignment.

But at the resumed hearing yesterday, the defendants again failed to appear.

EFCC counsel Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo reminded the court of its order, noting that the refusal of the defendants to appear amounted to a disobedience of the court order.

“My Lord, the reason adduced for the absence of the first defendant (Okorodudu) is not cogent.

“We ask the court to issue a bench warrant on him so that

‘APC not worried by Oranusi’s defection to APGA’

T

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State said yesterday that it was not worried by the defection of Chief Ben Oranusi to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

Oranusi, who contested the chairmanship of the party and lost to Mr. Emeka Ibe, alleged that Ndigbo were marginalised in APC. But the party’s leader in the

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

Southeast and the lawmaker representing Anambra Central, Senator Chris Ngige, said he was not worried by the development.

In a statement yesterday in Awka by Ngige’s Media Assistant, Mr. Igboeli Arinze, he described Oranusi’s defection as a plus for the APC. The statement said: “Let me assure you that all is well in

the APC in Anambra State, despite Oranusi’s claims. We remain unfazed and determined to justify ourselves as a party to trust in the state.

“However, let us ask Oranusi, when did he realise that the Igbo have been relegated to the background or that we have no future in APC? “Is it not surprising that such a statement should be coming from someone who aspired to become the chairman of the

party, but lost to another candidate?

“Would Oranusi have made such a statement if members had elected him as the chairman?

“Today the Igbo are occupying key positions in the APC. We shall take part in the run off to the presidential primaries.

“So, for Oranusi to make such distasteful comments is sad.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

57

NEWS Activists satisfied with awareness

By Adeyinka Aderibigbe

T

•A blind man and his wife sitting in front of their house burnt by unknown gunmen who attacked Nahuta Village in Dandanko District in Bauchi... on Monday

WO human rights groups- Option Without Borders (OWB) and Citizens Rights Campaign (CRC)-have conducted an opinion poll among Taraba residents to determine their level of awareness about next year’s election.

In a campaign aimed at testing electorate’s knowledge of the five aspirants contesting for the governorship seat from Southern Taraba next year, the two groups expressed satisfaction at the level of political enlightenment at the grassroots.

In a statement by OWB Director Onome Richard and CRC Director Kehinde Balogun, the groups expressed happiness that market women, artisans, students, farmers, civil servants and the unemployed across the state showed that the people knew their rights and obligations at the polls.

According to the statement, in a sample poll carried out among 520,000 respondents in Southern Taraba, which asked respondents to pick a name among the five leading politicians vying for the office, the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Darius Ishaku, polled 81,000 votes, the senator representing the zone, Emmanuel Bwatcha, got 75,000 votes.

The chairman of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) ,Lt-Gen. Agbu Kefas (rtd), got 7,000 votes; the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Danladi Kifasi got 112,000 votes and the former Director of Finance and Administration in the National Assembly, David Sabo Kente polled 221,000 votes.

The Jukun Development Association (JDA) said in another poll carried out on its Facebook page, which sampled 256,000 respondents, 135,000 voted for Kente, with 42,000 voting for Danladi Kifasi, 28,000 goes to Ishaku, while LtGen. Kefas and SBwatcha got 25,510 and 12, 226 votes respectively.

Exco reshuffle in Gombe

G

•Villagers inspecting houses burnt in Dandanko District in Bauchi... on Monday.

PHOTOS: NAN

Senate congratulates Kano Emir

T

HE Senate congratulated yesterday the Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammadu Sanusi II. Senate President David Mark hailed the Emir while contributing to a motion informing the Senate of the death of the former Emir, Alhaji Ado Bayero.

The motion titled: “The demise of Alhaji Ado Bayero, the Emir of Kano (1963 2014)”, was sponsored by the three senators representing Kano- Hayatu Gwarzo (Kano North), Basheer Garba Mohammed (Kano Central) and Kabiru Gaya (Kano South).

Mark noted that the late emir was not only strict, but disciplined, frank and candid.

He said the late emir preached against the activities of Boko Haram.

The Senate President said: “Very few Nigerians have the

B

•To screen Shekarau, three others today From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

qualities of leadership that Ado Bayero had. I think he was gifted and he would not do or say anything, if he did not believe in it.

“He believed in the unity of this country. As soon as the Boko Haram crisis started, I visited him in Kano and he was very clear in his comment about Boko Haram and about the fact that Boko Haram would not do this country any good.

“It is also an opportunity for us, irrespective of our leanings, to congratulate the new Emir and pray that God gives him the wisdom and the courage to emulate the late Ado Bayero.”

Gwarzo said the late Bayero, upon his turbaning in 1963,

established himself as a wise manager of human affairs in a cosmopolitan city like Kano.

“His astuteness earned him the name “Damo sark in Hakuri” by his subjects and the respect and appreciation of virtually every segment of his vast domain and beyond,” he said.

Gaya and Mohammed described the late monarch, who was a former Ambassador to Senegal, as a wise manager of human affairs.

Other senators also paid tributes to the late Bayero.

The Senate adopted the motion and observed a minute silence.

It named a delegation to commiserate with the family, people and government.

The Senate has said it

would debate a policy by the Imo State government, which requires all northerners in the state to wear identity cards for free movement within the state.

It took the decision after the point of order by the Deputy Senate Leader, Abdul Ningi.

Ningi insisted that the decision was unconstitutional and should be condemned.

Mark said the issue would be debated today.

The Senate president announced that the ministerial nominees sent by President Goodluck Jonathan would be screened today.

Jonathan, last month, nominated former Kano State Governor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, Prince Adedayo Adeyeye (Ekiti), Dr. Stephen Oru (Delta) and Dr. Abdul Bulama (Yobe).

From Vincent Ohonbamu, Gombe

OMBE State Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo has sacked the Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Tha’anda Jason Rubainu.

Rubainu, who is the deputy governor, was replaced by Shehu Durbi in an executive council shake-up.

Fatima Abubakar was redeployed from the Ministry of Women Affairs to the Ministry of Metropolitan and Urban Development. Babagoro Abdulkadir Yahaya formerly of the Ministry of Science and Solid Minerals Development was moved to the Ministry of Animal Husbandry.

A statement by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Abubakar Sulei Bage, said the postings took effect from Monday.

No explanation was offered for the removal of the deputy governor, who was appointed with 19 others two and a half years ago.

Govt blasts Niger APC

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From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

HE Niger State government has denied underfunding the local governments, as alleged by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Commissioner for Information Danladi Ndayebo, in a statement yesterday, cautioned the people not to take the opposition’s accusations seriously, alleging that the party was out to mislead and deceive.

Ndayebo said: “These accusations are mere tales by moonlight. These accusations are not only false, baseless and unfounded; they should be dismissed by the people.”

The APC through its Publicity Secretary, Jonathan Vatsa, had alleged that the government was under funding the councils and “tampering” with their allowances.

APC challenged government to publish what is being released to each of the local government monthly from 2007 to date.

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Community calls for security

OUTHERN Kaduna residents have called on the Federal Government to strengthen security in the area.

The Numana Community Development Organisation (NCDO) said if the gov-

Bureaux de Change operators deny sponsoring terrorism

UREAUX de Change (BDC) operators have denied sponsoring terrorism.

Acting President of the Association of Bureaux De Change of Nigeria (ABCON) Aminu Gwadabe said this when he led members of the association to meet the Committees on Finance of both chambers of the National Assembly in Abuja.

Gwadabde urged the National Assembly to intervene in the N35million capital base for BDCs imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

•Seek National Assembly’s intervention

From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

He said: “Money laundering and terrorism are aspects of specialised relevant agencies.

“The National Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the police and Customs will checkmate the activities of money launderers and terrorism financiers and bring the culprits to book.

“It should not be the CBN’s primary concern. Our members too have been trained by the relevant agencies and are

helping them understand the consequences and implications of money laundering and terrorism financing.

“It was stated in the policy that the share capital of N10 million will now be increased to N35 million representing a 250 per cent increase. The one that baffles us most is the mandatory caution deposit from $20,000 (N3.5 million).

“There was a newspaper report that BDC operators are sponsoring terrorism.

“The publication said the CBN claimed that some

BDC members are involved in terrorism financing.

“But the CBN denied it; we told them it was carried in the newspapers. This kind of statement if allowed will not only affect the BDC operators, even the regulators are also going to suffer the bad image.

“That is why we should be careful in making this kind of policy statements.”

Gwadabe said the association had met Emefiele on the issue.

He told the Senate Com-

mittee, led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, that the policy would lead to the closure of many BDCs and worsen the unemployment situation in the country. “”We appeal for the total reversal of the policy because it will force many of our members out of the market.

“The 100 per cent increase in the mandatory cautionary deposit will boost the black market segment of the economy and the return of exclusive Group ‘A’ BDCs.” Makarfi urged the operators to go about their agitation peacefully.

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

ernment doesn’t improve security, the people may become extinct.

Speaking at a briefing in Abuja, the National President, Sunday Audu, sought for urgent measures to resettle the displaced persons, who fled to other states.

“With heavy and bleeding hearts, we are concerned that Numana chiefdom and its indigenes are not being given adequate protection by government.

“Even though the security agencies are doing their best in the circumstances, but more needs to be done to increase presence and booster confidence as the Fulani gunmen still hold sway.”

He appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan, the Inspector General of Police and Governor Ramalan Yero to stop the massacre.

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FOREIGN NEWS Hamas member killed by Israel

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ENSIONS have soared since the bodies were found, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blaming Hamas and warning it “will pay,” while militants in Hamas-controlled Gaza have stepped up rocket attacks, drawing Israeli retaliatory airstrikes and risking a wider conflict.

Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, a 16year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship, were abducted on June 12 while hitchhiking home from the Jewish seminaries where they were studying near the West Bank city of Hebron. The teens’ bodies were found Monday evening after 18 days of intense searches.

A Defense official said based on the investigation that the teens were shot soon after they were

abducted. He spoke anonymously in line with protocol as the investigation is still ongoing.

Hamas, which has kidnapped Israelis in the past, has praised the abduction of the teenagers but not taken responsibility for it.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri warned Israel against any broad offensive against the group, saying it would “open the gates of hell” on Israel.

Palestinians gather around the body of Yosuf abu Zaghah, 20, who was killed by Israeli troops in the …

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon issued a statement Tuesday vowing to find those behind the killings. “We see Hamas responsible for the kidnappings and murders..

•A Palestinian from the militant group Hamas was shot dead when he threw a grenade at forces carrying out an arrest raid in the West Bank hours after the discovery of the bodies of three Israeli teenagers who were abducted over two weeks ago.

Zimbabwe: Mugabe’s deer killed

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IMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe’s neighbour has been fined for letting his dogs hunt on the leader’s property, a state-owned newspaper reports.

A court ordered Michael Pazarangu to pay $50 (£30) or spend 30 days in jail, The Herald newspaper reports.

He was accused of letting his “unmuzzled ferocious dogs roam freely” on the president’s private property in the capital, Harare.

Mr Mugabe, 90, has been in power since Zimbabwe became independent in 1980.

He was re-elected president last year, defeating his longstanding rival Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mr Pazarangu changed his initial plea of not guilty and admitted the offence, The Herald reports.

“This matter has attracted a lot of publicity and has negatively affected me and my family,” Mr Pazarangu is quoted as saying.

The court heard that his dogs had killed a deer in May 2013 on Mr Mugabe’s property in Harare’s upmarket Borrowdale suburb.

The dogs were said to have entered through an opening in the fence separating the two properties.

ISIL leader vows revenge for wrongs committed against Muslims

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HE leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, vowed rePUBLIC NOTICE

OSHO I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Osho Adejoke Oluwatoyin, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Adeyemi Adejoke Oluwatoyin. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

This is to inform the general public that sodeinde patience iroghama bazuaye is the same as one person as patience bazuaye.all formal document remain the same. General public Take Note.

LOSS OF DOCUMENT This is to inform the general public of a conveyance title registered no 35 on page 35 volume 839 of the property at 11 Adeolu Street Papa Ajao Mushin.

All effort to trace proved abortive.

General public take note.

LOSS OF DOCUMENT This is to inform the general public of lost of C. of O no 11849 dated 31/ 08/1984 of the property at 35 new road sabongarri Kano belonging to Supreme Colour Laboratory of Nigeria.

All effort to trace proved abortive. General public take note.

venge for what he said were wrongs committed against Muslims, calling on fighters to avenge them.

Baghdadi, who was speaking for the first time since his group renamed itself the Islamic State and its leader the caliph of the Muslim world, also called on Muslims to immigrate to the “Islamic State”, saying it was a duty.

Iraq: Sunnis, Kurds shun parliament

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HE United States, United Nations, Iran and Iraq’s own Shi’ite clergy have pushed hard for politicians to come up with an inclusive government to hold the fragmenting country together as Sunni insurgents bear down on Baghdad.

The leader of the al Qaeda offshoot spearheading the insurgency, the Islamic State, has declared a “caliphate” in the lands it has seized in Iraq and Syria.

Its leader vowed on Tuesday to avenge what he said were wrongs committed against Muslims worldwide.

Despite the urgency, the Iraqi parliament’s first session since its election in April collapsed when Sunnis and Kurds refused to return from a recess to the parliamentary chamber after Shi’ites failed to name a prime minister.

Parliament is not likely to meet again for at least a week, leaving Iraq in political limbo and Maliki clinging to power as a caretaker, rejected by Sunnis and Kurds.

Under a governing system put in place after the removal of Saddam Hussein, the prime minister has always been a member of the Shi’ite majority, the speaker of parliament a Sunni and the largely ceremonial president a Kurd.

LOSS OF DOCUMENT The general public is hereby informed that the Original Certificate of Occupancy issued by Federal Government of Nigeria to Mr. CLAUDIUS OLUFEMI OLOJEDE in respect of Plot 30, Block LXVIII Federal Government Layout Isheri-Olofin, Alimosho, Lagos State. No. 41/41/ 47 registered at Ikoyi and dated 3rd Day of March, 1999 is missing. All efforts to trace the missing document proved abortive. The publication is for record purpose. Federal Land Registry and general Public take note.

Signed: CLAUDIUS OLUFEMI OLOJEDE

PUBLIC NOTICE ASSOCIATION OF FEMALE ARTISTS IN ACADEMICS

This is to inform the general public that the above named association has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under the companies and Allied Matters Act No. 1 of 1990 Part C. THE TRUSTEES: 1. Dr. Mrs. Bojor Enamhe President 2. Mrs. Umnana Nnochiri Secretary 3. Mrs. Emekpa Omon Treasurer 4. Dr. Mrs. Julie Umukoro PRO 5. Dr. Mrs. Gloria Worugji Provost 6. Mr. Eno Ema Israel Welfare Officer AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To create a platform to bring together female artists in the academics to know each other and interact constantly.

2. To promote intellectual discourse and activities among female artists in the academics.

3. To serve as an information agency for disseminating new information and developments in the arts and academics, researches and findings, especially as it pertains to the improvement of the female artists in the academics.

4. To facilitate conferences, the reading of academic papers, mounting of curetted and catalogued exhibitions, conducting workshops for the training and development of artistic skills for talented females, delivery of lectures especially bordering on issues of gender sensitivity issues in the arts.

5. To promote economic and social positions of the female artist, defending her moral rights.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 565, Ndola Square Wuse, Zone 5, Abuja.

Signed Contact

Barr. Enamhe Emmanuel Enamhe Esq BEWAM Investment Development Limited Plot 45 Chris Nyong Crescent P.O. Box 2954. Esuk-Utan, Calabar, CRS. Tel: 08037019604

The Shi’ite bloc known as the National Alliance, in which Maliki’s State of Law coalition is the biggest group, has met repeatedly in recent days to bargain over the premiership but has so far been unable either to endorse Maliki for a third term or to name an alternative.

Fewer than a third of lawmakers returned from the recess. Sunni parties said they would not put forward their candidate for speaker until the Shi’ites pick a premier. The Kurds have also yet to nominate a president.

Osama al-Nujaifi, a leading Sunni politician, former speaker and strong foe of Maliki, warned that “without a political solution, the sound of weapons will be loud, and the country will enter a black tunnel”.

He said his bloc did not have a candidate for a speaker so far

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and was waiting to see who the National Alliance would nominate for prime minister.

“If there is a new policy with a new prime minister, we will deal with them positively. Otherwise the country will go from bad to worse,” Nujaifi said.

Shi’ite lawmakers sought to shift blame to the Sunni and Kurdish blocs, saying the premiership was the last position to be named in the constitutionally-defined process.

Mehdi al-Hafidh, parliament’s oldest member who is tasked by the constitution with chairing the legislature’s meetings until a speaker is named, said the next session would be held in a week, if agreement was possible after discussions.

Baghdad can ill-afford further delays. Government troops have been battling for three weeks

against fighters led by the group formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). This week it shortened its name to the Islamic State and declared its leader “caliph” - historic title of successors of the Prophet Mohammad who ruled the whole Muslim world.

Speaking for the first time since then, the group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi vowed revenge for what he said were wrongs committed against Muslims, calling on fighters to avenge them “Your brothers, on every piece of this earth, are waiting for your rescue,” Baghdadi purportedly said in an audio message that was posted online, naming a string of countries from Central African Republic to Burma where he said violations were being committed against Muslims.

Putin’s limitation in Ukraine

EGRETTABLY, President Poroshenko took a decision to resume combat operations, and we – I mean myself and my colleagues in Europe – have failed to persuade him that a path to lasting, sustainable peace cannot be through war. Until now, [Poroshenko] had nothing to do with orders to begin military actions, but now he has taken full responsibility upon himself – not only military but also political responsibility, which by far is more important,” President Putin told a meeting of Russia’s top diplomats in Moscow Tuesday.

Putin said that he had reached agreement on the need to extend the ceasefire and press forward with peace talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande in a late night telephone conversation that also included Mr. Poroshenko.

Recommended: Sochi, Sovi-

ets, and tsars: How much do you know about Russia?

“We need some kind of insurance net around all of Europe so that the Iraqi, Libyan, Syrian – and unfortunately we have to mention the Ukrainian – scenarios do not become a contagious disease,” he added.

Putin has not always been on the same page with his European colleagues about Ukraine, and it’s only been a few days since the official Russian media was seething furiously over Kiev’s decision to sign an economic association agreement with the European Union.

But the Kremlin has made conciliatory gestures, especially over the past week, that suggest it might be interested in a negotiating process that could lead to peace. A week ago Putin had the Russian parliament cancel a resolution granting him special powers to use military force in Ukraine, and he did give

Moscow’s backing to Poroshenko’s ceasefire and tentative talks between Kiev and the rebels.

While Kiev, backed by Washington, has maintained that Russian interference is the main cause of east Ukraine’s rebellion, Russia has insisted that it has nothing to do with it. Neither narrative can be completely true.

A Gallup poll released in early June illustrates how deeply Ukrainians remain divided, with majorities in the east expressing distrust of the US, opposition to integrating economically with the EU and unwillingness to make sacrifices for the sake of economic reform. Earlier polls showed that large majorities in east Ukraine regard the interim government in Kiev as “illegitimate.”

“In the last eight, nine years when we collect data in Ukraine, we see it all the time on most of the aspects of life actually.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014

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NEWS

You failed Edo people, Oshiomhole tells Ize-Iyamu

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DO State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has challenged a former Secretary to the State Government, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, to render an account of his stewardship.

Oshiomhole spoke when over 2,000 market women from across the 18 local governments visited him at the

Government House, Benin City.

He said: “I defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in all the wards and local governments in the last election and that was because of your massive support.

“After the defeat, a man who claims to be a pastor, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, insisted on

being imposed on the people.

I refused because I said, as a former SSG, what did you do?

“What effort did you make in bringing development to our people? Did you give them electricity? Did you give them water? Did you give them good roads?

“How did you influence the government in bringing

development to your constituencies? Did you bring hospitals to the people?

“Everywhere I go, people ask me, why did you always allow this man to go with you? Like you have said, in the morning, you see some of them as PDP; at night they become All Progressives Congress (APC)

members and how can you commit state resources to such people?”

The governor said some are in politics and parade themselves as servants of God to deceive people.

Oshiomhole assured the people that he would not allow those who looted the

Oil and gas poly coming

Obadan: PDP can’t replicate Ekiti in Edo From Osagie Otabor, Benin

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From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan approved yes-

terday the establishment of a Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas in Bonny, Rivers State with a take off grant of N1billion.

Jonathan also approved the appointment of Prof Elijah Tamuno Iyagba as Rector; Willabo A. Gilbert is to serve as Registrar.

A statement by the Special Assistant (Media) to the Supervising Minister of Education, Simeon Nwakaudu, said the President also approved the appointment of Akpomeyoma Gabriel as Bursar and Ata John Woke Ajala as Librarian.

The minister described the establishment of the polytechnic as a practical expression of the President’s commitment to improving access to tertiary education, creation of employment and youth empowerment.

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•Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan (left) and the State Commissioner in the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Chief Emmanuel Ebimami, when the commissioner visited the Government House, Asaba.

Student gets 14 years for kidnapping

DELTA State High Court convicted yesterday a 22-year-old Engineering student, Ndudi Ogwu and one other to 14 years imprisonment for kidnapping a nurse.

Ogwu, an Mechanical Engineering student of the State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku, was sentenced with Chukwudi Ifemeni, a 22-year-old businessman to 10 years imprisonment for kidnapping and four years for conspiracy.

The court held that the prosecution proved its case convincingly.

The prosecution told the court that Ogwu and Ifemeni

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

with two others now at large kidnapped Mrs. Kate Okogu in front of her house.

The incident occurred on September 13, 2012 at Ughelli within the Ughelli Judicial Division.

The kidnappers took their victim to a forest on IsokoPatani Road, where she was held.

She was, however, rescued unhurt by security operatives led by Sergeant Austin Osudibia, the following day.

Ogwu was arrested by a Joint Task Force (JTF) patrol team at the scene . The second

accused was arrested through the confessional statement of the first accused.

They both admitted in their confessional statements to have committed the offence upon their arrest but later denied the charges during trial.

Another high court has discharged and acquitted Aghogho Oghenekoko and David Akwele, who were arraigned on charges of conspiracy and the kidnapping of the 70-year-old mother of the member representing Ethiope Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Akpodiegaga

Emeyese.

Madam Imoniunu Emeyese was kidnapped on November 14, 2011 at Okerekpo-Eku within the Warri Judicial Division and held her for 12 days. Her captors were said to have placed a demand of N30million as a ransom for her release.

It was not however clear if any ransom was paid before she was released.

Discharging the accused on the ground of insufficient evidence, the court held that it cannot rely on their confessional statements alone without corroborations.

Why I dumped PDP, by Abe

HE Senator representing Rivers South East Senatorial District, Magnus Abe, has said President Goodluck Jonathan’s refusal to implement the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoni land made him drop the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said his decision to join the All Progressives Congress (APC) was based on the belief that unlike the PDP, the APC, when elected in 2015, will implement the recommendations of the UNEP report.

Senator Abe, who spoke in Port Harcourt, during a dinner in honour of Ogoni

state to take over the helm of affairs, saying Edo people will decide who leads them when the time comes.

He assured the women of his administration’s support for them, stressing that his relationship with them can be likened to a Catholic marriage that can never be broken.

‘About two years ago, Shell told us during its Annual General Meeting in London, that the $1 billion for the clean-up of Ogoni environment was ready and now left for the government to move into action’ Young Professionals, said the delay in the implementation of the report was not the fault of oil giant, Shell, but that of the Federal Government.

“About two years ago, Shell told us during its Annual General Meeting in London, that the $1 billion for the cleanup of Ogoni environment was

ready and now left for the government to move into action.

“I have met with the minister several times over the issue and Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who carried same to President Jonathan, but nothing happened.

“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who initiated the remediation move is not from the Niger Delta; the late President Musa Yar’Adua, who signed Federal Government’s resolve to implement whatever the outcome of the investigation is not from the Niger Delta, but someone, who is from the region has refused to implement the UNEP report.

“I cannot continue to be-

ORMER Edo State DepuAPC is firmly rootty Governor Peter ed in Edo State and Obadan has described as “wishful thinking” talks by the people apprecithe Peoples Democratic Party ate Oshiomhole. You (PDP) that the victory recordneed to consider the ed by the party in Ekiti State would be replicated in Edo. rot when Lucky IgObadan, who served under binedion and Osagie Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said he was yet to accept the Ize-Iyamu were in result of the Ekiti election beoffice’ cause “we know what people can do with technology”.

He said: “There is nothing impossible with technology. You can technologically be replicated into three persons or more.

That is why I said we have to lift the veil and see if the results can be authenticated or not.”

PDP State Chairman Dan Orbih boasted that the PDP would repeat Ekiti in Edo because the actions of Governor Adams Oshiomhole were same as what led to the defeat of Governor Kayode Fayemi.

The PDP chairman said the party would probe the Oshiomhole-led administration if it wins in 2016.

But the former deputy governor said the APC would not suffer any loss in the next governorship election.

“APC is firmly rooted in Edo State and the people appreciate Oshiomhole. You need to consider the rot when Lucky Igbinedion and Osagie Ize-Iyamu were in office.

“You know the PDP likes sharing money; once they have no money to share, the situation becomes sad. Oshiomhole is a good manager of resources and he has no money to share to people.”

“Oshiomhole does not like to see people suffering. He is considerate. He is not a man who will starve his people. Those of us complaining are the leaders and not the masses.”

Protest in Akwa Ibom over oil spill From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

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OUTHS from Eket, Esit Eket, Onna and Ibeno Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State yesterday protested the oil spill from Mobil Producing Nigeria, operator of Qua Iboe Terminal, which affected their communities.

The oil spill affected Nkpana; Inua Eyet Ikot and Esuk Ikim communities in Ibeno Local Government Area.

The youths during the protest carried placards with various inscriptions.

They marched on major streets in Eket, asking the Federal Government to come to their rescue.

The protesters tabled two demands before the oil giant: that a cleanup of the affected areas should be done without delay and compensation paid.

Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: “Oil spill is killing our aquatics life; Federal Government should come to our rescue; Mobil is killing us; enough of this oil spillage.”

One of the protesters, Godwin Peter, said the spill had devastated aquatic life and destroyed fishing equipment.

Peter blamed the oil giant for being nonchalant with its host communities.

He urged the oil giant to begin the process of clean up of the environment without delay.

Also, some of the youths threatened to disrupt the activities of the oil giant if their demands are not met.

Dredging of five seaports approved

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From Clarice Azuatalam, Port Harcourt

HE Federal Government has approved the dredging of the channels of five seaports in the country, including Bonny, to enable them accommodate bigger ves-

•Abe

long to the PDP when those who are in charge of the party have refused to attend to the needs of my people. I decided to leave because of their refusal to implement the UNEP report on Ogoni.”

sels.

The Transport Minister, Senator Idris Umar, said this at the inaugural ceremony to mark the arrival of one of Maersk Lines’ biggest vessels, which berthed at Onne port.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Nebolisa Emodi, the minister said the five seaports are Calabar; Lekki; Badagry; Ege; Olokola and Ibaka.

He said a dredged Bonny Channel will enable international ships with the capacity to carry 4,500 containers anchor at the Onne Port, to boost economic activities in the area.

The Onne Port would receive ships from Europe and Asia.

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SPORT EXTRA

Keshi clears air on resignation rumour

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AIRTEL RISING STAR 4

Zonal championships kick off in Abuja

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FTER weeks of successful nationwide registration for participation in the season four of the annual Airtel Rising Stars U-17 male and female Tournament, the zonal championships got off to a fine start on Monday in Abuja and Ilorin with thousands of talented youngsters participating in the preliminary screening exercises.

The championships will run concurrently from June 30 to July 5 in Abuja at the Area 10 Sports Complex and Ilorin at the Kwara Football Academy Soccer Pitch.

The trio of Enugu, Port Harcourt and Lagos will host the last lap between July 7 and 12 at the UNEC Sports Complex, Enugu, Number 1 Field, PH and NIS Pitch National Stadium, Surulere respectively.

The zonal championships phase is a significant stage in the ARS circle as it offers equal opportunities

•Eagles back home on Friday

UPER Eagles’ Coach, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, has said his widely reported resignation from the job may have been a case of misunderstood statement he made to the players in the dressing room after the 0-2 loss to France in the second round of the ongoing World Cup in Brazil.

“What I said to my players was that this maybe my last match at the helm of affairs in the national team, because my contract terminates with the World Cup and I have not been offered a new one. I was a bit shocked that the global media went to town to say I have called it quits with the national team. Resignations are not done on the pages of newspapers but formally”, he said.

He, however, did not deny that some countries have showed interest in him which he believes

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is good for Nigerian football and coaches but assured that he will not abandon ship without a formal notice.

Similarly, the national team is expected to return to Nigeria on Friday this week after their ouster from the Mundial. However, not all the 23 players will return with the team to the country as some of them have already gone to join their clubsides for pre-season preparations. Team Administrator, Dayo Enebi Achor, said all logistics have been put in place for those who will not travel with the team to Nigeria and those who are returning home for a hitch-free trip.

•Onazi

WORLD CUP RESULTS

Chelsea confirms £32m Diego Costa deal

Argentina 1 - 0 Switzerland Belgium 2 : 1 United States

HELSEA have reached an agreement to sign Atletico Madrid forward Diego Costa.

The 25-year-old Spain international is heading to Stamford Bridge after the Blues met the 40 million euros (£32m) buy-out clause in his contract with Atletico.

The Premier League club announced the news on their official website in a short statement.

The statement read: "Chelsea Football Club can confirm an agreement has been reached with Atletico Madrid for the transfer of Diego Costa, with Chelsea meeting the buy-out clause for the Spanish

Onazi seeks FIFA action over Matuidi tackle

ARD-WORKING Super Eagles’ midfield General, Eddy Ogenyi Onazi, says he was shocked that despite the protestations of Argentine legend, Diego Armando Maradona, that French midfielder, Blaise Matuidi has not been sanctioned for the hard tackle on him that tore his left leg tendon, by world soccer governing body; FIFA. Speaking in Brasilia after undergoing surgery on the injured left leg, Onazi said what

•Osaze queries no penalty call FIFA has done is not to respect the rules that they themselves have set. “The French side will announce to the world before a game that we are very physical so that they can come and commit murder and get away with it, yet FIFA will fold its arms and do nothing. I am totally in tune with Maradona, who believes that the tackle on me was the worst kind compared to what Luis Suarez did to Italian Chellini.”

the General Coordinator for the game between Nigeria and France, Walter Sieber of Canada came to preach to the Super Eagles in Campinas, the Nigerian team base camp.

“I recall that when the Canadian came to us he showed us a film of a defender holding down a striker in the vital area in the course of a game and he was very clear that it should be a penalty.

“I will please beg that FIFA should go back and watch the tape of the game and apply necessary sanctions for the good of the game, otherwise it’s Nigeria today, it could be another big country tomorrow. Justice must be done”, he declared.

Also an angry Osaze Odenwingie has queried the officiating of American referee, Mark Geiger, describing it as not only appalling but against what

NEWS

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Jonathan mourns Dikko

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday expressed sadness over the death of Alhaji Umaru Dikko.

The President, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, commiserated with the family, friends and political associates of the former Minister of Transport during the Second Republic.

He noted that Dikko also

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

played a leading role in the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) which controlled the Federal Government in that dispensation.

In spite of his advanced age, Jonathan said that he continued to actively contribute to the nurturing and strengthening of democracy in Nigeria until the end of his life.

It reads: “President

plosion by the insurgents.

“We are working on another clue that a Keke NAPEP hit the IED laden truck, leading to a huge explosion, which overwhelmed the Monday market.

“The casualty figure was high because most residents of Maiduguri are doing early morning shopping because of

Jonathan firmly believes that Alhaji Umaru Dikko’s significant contributions, especially his life-long advocacy for stronger political parties, greater discipline within political parties and the supremacy of political parties have assured him of a place in the annals of Nigeria’s political development.”

“He prayed that God Almighty will receive Alhaji Umaru Dikko’s soul and grant him eternal rest.”

Continued from page 4

•Dr. Jonathan

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the security situation in the town.

“Apart from cordoning off the area, the security agencies and the military have started investigation into the incident.”

The thinking in security circles is that because security has been tightened, the insurgents have devised a new method by disguising with vehicles which

do not usually undergo intensive search.

“How do you ask a truck driver carrying logs of firewood and charcoal to offload these items?

“This is purely a guerilla tactics being adopted by the insurgents because Maiduguri has virtually become unsafe for them. These methods are always being used by the Tal-

iban and Al-Qaeda,” the source said.

The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, has ordered “heavy surveillance and combing” of Maiduguri and its environs.

“If it now means asking truck drivers to offload the items in their vehicles, we will get to that level,” the source said, pleading not to be named.

By Collins Nweze

related interests.

The CBN director said that any institution that contravenes the directive shall be slammed with the existing regulatory sanctions that may apply.

Martins said the regulator had also noted with concern, the impunity with which some borrowers default on their loans in some institutions and yet are availed further credit facilities by other institutions under the same, or sometimes different identity.

She said such practice could have the effect of triggering serial defaults and a buildup of

non-performing loans which could negatively impact liquidity in the financial sector and ultimately hamper its stability.

She explained that henceforth, all institutions shall ensure that all returns on credit facilities granted, together with their performance status are rendered on Credit Risk Management System (CRMS) and reported to two credit bureaux.

Martins advised lenders to always perform credit checks on a potential borrower on CRMS and from at least two credit bureaux, as part of credit appraisal process.

CBN stops AMCON debtors from taking loans

HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday banned debtors with delinquent facility taken over by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) from taking fresh loans.

CBN Director, Banking Supervision, Mrs Tokunbo Martins, said in a letter to banks, Development Finance Institutions and AMCON, that any fresh loans to bad debtors must be approved by the apex bank.

She said, the CBN has ordered that no institution, shall without its prior written approval, grant a facility to a potential borrower who is in de-

fault of any existing facility to the tune of N500 million and above in the case of deposit money banks; and N250 million in the case of development banks and banks in liquidation.

She said the prohibition threshold may be reviewed by the CBN from time to time with the aim of inculcating responsible and appropriate credit culture in borrowers.

The policy, which takes immediate effect, applies, in case of defaulting corporate obligors, to their directors and or

C

international."

Costa has long been linked with a move to Chelsea as manager Jose Mourinho looks to strengthen his attacking options for next season.

He spearheaded Atletico’s attack in a memorable 2013/14 campaign in which they won La Liga and reached the Champions League final under Argentine manager Diego Simeone.

Costa scored 36 goals in all competitions before heading to his native Brazil for the World Cup with Spain, although he failed to make an impact as the defending champions made an early exit from the tournament.

Dikko dies at 78

35 die in market bombing Continued from page 4

to all registered participants to showcase their skills under the watchful eyes of Tournament’s technical advisers, leading grassroots coaches, YSFON officials and media partners.

Beginning with age and eligibility verification for all participants, proceedings at the two venues are to progress with all screened players featuring in the elimination matches. Individual participants who do not have teams will be grouped to participate in the zonal championship while teams with valid registration details are also allowed to participate as a teams.

The five zonal screening camps will produce a male and female team of 16 players each for the national championship slated for Lagos late July.

since.

“And I can assure, he had been a very good person. He was a very effective minister, it was not his character to be what newspapers made him to be and I am sorry for what happened to him when he was to be forcibly returned to Nigeria from London, but thank God that that it was foiled.

“His death is a great loss to the country no matter what anyone will say, he has been a good man from the beginning.”

Second republic governor of Old Kaduna state, Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa expressed sadness over the death of Dikko. He described him as a patriotic citizen and an elder statesman.

Musa said, “Umaru Dikko was a patriotic Nigerian and

a member of the Kaduna Mafia which collaborated with its Southern Counterpart to keep the Federal Government accountable to Nigerians in the 70s, he will certainly be missed”.

Spokesman of the northern delegates to the National Conference, Anthony Sani, said they received with heavy heart the news about the death of Alhaji Umaru Dikko who was one of the moving forces of the ruling party ib the second republic.

Dikko who was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appointed Chairman of the PDP disciplinary committee by the Bamanga Tukur-led Executive.

Family sources said yesterday that since 2013, the late Dikko was in and out of hospital, saying: “he has been flown to London on several occasion since last year”.

Why Boko Haram is still bombing Continued from page 4

what people mean by that.

They are out to establish an Islamic state. Most of these bad groups around the world want to establish Islamic states.

“I do not hate the Muslims but the truth must be told. So many Muslim leaders should take time and visit Christians who are victims of Boko Haram like we Christian leaders do. For the first two, three years, Boko Haram were concentrating on the Christians before they started killing the Muslims. At a

point, they even said all Christians should leave the North.”

NOSCEF Chairman Olaiya Phillips, said this year alone, more than 2,000 northern Christians have been killed.

Phillips said: “We join the world in saying, Boko Haram Bring back our daughters and mothers. On an almost daily basis, we have been both shocked and appalled to learn of yet more callous acts of violence committed against innocent members of our community and against our innocent Moslem neighbours and friends.”

TODAY IN THE NATION

WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

I

N any civilian regime, which is what we’ve had since May 29, 1999, and certainly in a democracy, which our governments claim to be, the military, along with other security agencies, should be subordinate to the civilian authorities. The opposite, apparently, has increasingly become the case in our country; the military tail, it seems, has been the one wagging the civilian dog.

Appearances can, of course, be deceptive.

For the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, it seems, this appearance of the military dog wagging the civilian tail is deceptive. Welcoming members of the House on June 25 to the opening of its last legislative year before the next elections in 2015, he deplored what he referred to as the abuse of the military by the federal authorities to cow their perceived enemies in and out of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“When,” he said in his remarks, “the military becomes the preferred agency for clamping down on the media, for grounding aircraft and closure of airports and for forcibly restricting the freedoms of citizens, including elected officials...then there is a need for us to return to the drawing board of democratic governance.”

Tambuwal has every reason to worry about this apparent abuse of the military – and, by extension, the other security services – by the federal authorities. Only two Monday’s ago he was, himself, a victim of such abuse when soldiers at a venue in Kaduna of a seminar on the conflict between Fulani herdsmen and farmers throughout the country, wantonly humiliated him by insisting on searching his convoy, including his vehicle, for arms! As speaker, Tambuwal has hardly endeared himself to the Executive arm for his independent mindedness.

The speaker, as the country’s Number Four Citizen, may be the most prominent victim of this apparent use of the military by the authorities to harass and intimidate their enemies, real or perceived, but he is far from the only victim.

Before him, as he observed in his remarks referred to, airports have been shut, aircraft grounded and governors’ movements curtailed by soldiers, “on orders from oga at the top,” in blatant and crude show of power against opposition elements.

For sheer crudity in recent times, however, it’s difficult to tell among four episodes in the last two months and a fifth one last year, which would take the gold. The first was the recent crude attempt by the Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu, to stop the “Bring back our Chibok girls” campaigners from their rallies in Abuja, citing the usual security concerns. In any decent society, his extra-judicial, if not downright illegal and unconstitutional ways at his previous command in Rivers State would have since earned him an ignominious sack, or at least a serious reprimand. Instead, he seems to enjoy the confidence of those in authority.

To his eternal credit, his boss, InspectorGeneral of Police (IGP) Mohammed Abubakar quickly and bravely countermanded him through a press statement on June 3, which

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DELE AGEKAMEH

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

People and Politics By

MOHAMMED HARUNA ndajika@yahoo.com

The danger of the military tail wagging the civilian dog

•Tambuwal

said the police never “issued any order banning peaceful assembly/protests anywhere in Nigeria.” It’s a miracle the IGP has not been sacked – yet. And, not surprisingly in a nation where officials know no shame from exposure for wrongdoing, the man is yet to resign over his well-deserved open rebuke by his boss.

Early last month the soldiers exceeded themselves by taking on the press, making this the second candidate for the top prize for crude use of power. First on the night of June 5, they threw a cordon around the headquarters of Daily Trust in Jabi, Abuja. The following day they embarked on a nationwide seizure of newspapers, notably Trust itself, Leadership and The Nation, all three seen by the authorities as mouthpieces of enemies.

As usual, the excuse again was national security. In a statement which read like your typical politician’s meaningless waffle, the army spokesman, Major-General Chris Olukolade, justified the raid and seizure of newspapers on the grounds that there had been “intelligence indicating movement of materials with grave implications across the country, using the channels of newsprint-related consignments.”

In a more meaningful, but no more sensible, phraseology, Dr. Doyin Okupe, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, said the security situation in the country demanded the soldiers did what they did. “If,” he told reporters in his office on June 7, “the collective security of a country is a risk, those charged with this responsibility have an onerous job of discharging it even if it is painful to some of us.”

The government, he said in an act of living in

blatant self-dial, would never engage or encourage any act “that will constitute an assault on any media organisation or infringe on Freedom of the Press.”

From the look of things, what may have led to the attack on the press was the Daily Trust’s exclusive lead story of June 4, which exposed how the army shared some choice army land in Abuja among several of its top serving and retired top brass, their families and companies.

Thirdly, last Saturday the soldiers barred 278 pilgrims for Umrah, the lesser Hajj, from boarding a chartered flight at the Maiduguri airport to Saudi Arabia. And in a separate incident on the same day, they also stopped Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume from taking a flight out of the airport.

Both were for no apparent reason than a crude show of force. Not even the explanation of the charter company that it had proper prior authorisation, nor even the intervention of the Borno State Governor, Ibrahim Kashim Shettima, would make the soldiers budge from their instructions that the planes take off empty because they were, they said, acting on orders from above based on – no prize for guessing right – security reasons.

The fourth episode this year was the arrest, late last month, of 486 Northerners in Abia State, reportedly on their way to Rivers State, by soldiers over suspicion that they were Boko Haram insurgents. The men, and a few women among them, were said to have been travelling in a convoy of over 30 buses.

A convoy of even a dozen vehicles would be a scary sight even in peaceful times, let alone over 30 vehicles travelling at night in these perilous times. But we only have the army’s word that they were travelling in a convoy that long. This is an army whose leadership has, unfortunately, built itself a record of ethnic and religious profiling.

Anyone who thinks it is unreasonable to be sceptical of this story should remember that hundreds of thousands of Nigerians travel in mini convoys daily across the North/South divide and it is not that difficult to detain enough of them at a spot over a short period to make it look like they are travelling in longer convoys. In any case, how does it make any sense that a group intent on invading a

HARDBALL F course, there are times when life imitates art, contrary to the thinking that it is only art that imitates life; and it was perhaps fitting that an entertainer provided entertainment by behaviour closer to art than life. Whatever Mr. Charles Oputa, aka Charly Boy, intended to achieve by dramatically snatching the microphone from Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha at the funeral service for his father, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, all he succeeded in doing was to score cheap publicity points. The setting was the Sacred Heart Church, Oguta, Imo State.

Funnily enough, Charly Boy reportedly accused the governor of wanting to score “cheap political points” at the event. It is not clear what he meant by his allegation, particularly given the remarks by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, which provided illumination.

Onwuemeodo said: “The Imo State gover-

‘In essence, the Boko Haram crisis, which escalated in July 2009, has continued to grow into the Frankenstein monster it is today because some entrenched interests are busy stoking the fire’

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•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above

Charly Boy Show goes to church nor had worked together with Charly Boy both when the late Justice was ill, until the time he died and the preparation for the burial which also encouraged the governor to make substantial financial input and also organised a special day of tribute at the expense of the state government with Charly Boy also present with other members of the family.”

He continued: “This is why the sudden change of character of Charly Boy at the church service, in which case, he insisted that the governor would not talk as protocol demanded could not be understood, except that he was acting the script handed over to him by some of the governorship aspirants from the state who might have been rattled by the thunderous ovation that greeted the governor by the crowd when he was first introduced.”

region would be so foolish to travel in a way that was bound to attract attention?

At any rate, not a weapon was found in any of the vehicles and over 400 of the detainees have had to be released after nearly two weeks in detention following outcries from authorities in their states of origin.

The last, but by no means the least, candidate in recent times for the top prize in the abuse of military power by the authorities was last September’s killings of civilians living in an uncompleted building in Apo, Abuja, by soldiers on the pretext that they were members of Boko Haram. A report last month by government’s own National Human Rights Commission, chaired by Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, following its public hearings on the case, has concluded that the eight civilians killed and the 11 injured were victims of extra-judicial murder and should be compensated.

This appears to have overruled the earlier decision of the Senate investigation, which had absolved the army of extra-judicial killings even though the rather mealy-mouthed report of its joint National Security and Intelligence/ Judicial, Human Rights and Legal Committee, upon which the Senate’s decision was based, described the dead and the injured as “victims of an hastily executed operation necessary to save Abuja from terrible attacks.”

The joint committee was co-chaired by Senators Muhammadu Magoro and Umaru Dahiru.

The army had claimed that it had only gone to the uncompleted building where the killings occurred to search and arrest a suspected Boko Haram kingpin who knew where in Apo cemetery arms to be used to attack some landmark places in Abuja had been buried. Unfortunately, it said, its troops were suddenly fired upon from the building and they had to return fire. Subsequent investigations belied this claim.

Here it is instructive that the joint Senate committee did not table its report before the Senate weeks after it had completed its assignment. Speculations then were rife that it had failed to do so because of intense pressure from the presidency and the leadership of the Senate to absolve the army of any blame in order not to demoralise the troops.

It is also instructive that the uncompleted building in question said to be the property of Mrs. Aduni Oluwole, the younger sister of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, was never destroyed, in keeping with the security agencies’ tradition of the wanton destruction of properties occupied by suspected terrorists, even when the owners have no idea who the occupants are or what they do.

Nigerians should be worried, like the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, is, that the federal authorities seem too keen to use the military – and, by extension, other security forces – to harass and intimidate perceived enemies.

We should all remember that it was such abuse about 50 years ago by politicians of the First Republic, which sucked the military into politics and a few years later made the tail stronger than the torso, with all the attendant dire consequences that we are still trying to overcome.

It was no surprise that following Charly Boy’s breach of reasonable and responsible conduct, a rattled Okorocha had to leave the venue and several other guests reportedly left the church in anticipation of further trouble, which thankfully did not happen.

Providing background to the ugly development, reports said a day earlier, Charly Boy walked out of the venue of a tribute session for his late father organised in Owerri by the state government, based on the same allegation of politicisation.

For the avoidance of doubt, it ought to be said and stressed that the late Justice Oputa, alias Socrates, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, recognised for his role as the chairman of the Federal Government’s Human Rights Investigations Commission set up by

the Obasanjo presidency, popularly called the Oputa panel, was a respected public figure deserving of state attention in death, regardless of the colouration of the government in power.

This important consideration should have guided Charly Boy, whatever his misgivings about Okorocha’s administration. The ceremonies were intended to honour his father, which was the ultimate; and it was insignificant whether the governor allegedly chose to bask in his father’s reflected glory and gain political mileage from his burial. Furthermore, he should have been civil enough to give the office of the governor the right and proper respect.

By his misconduct, he ironically succeeded in turning his father’s funeral into nothing less than a silly show, despite his reported initial remark that burying the man should not be seen as a Charly Boy Show, referring to his hot TV show where anything could happen.

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