The Nation July 30, 2011

Nigeria’s truly national newspaper

Federal government to OAS helicopter inaugurate committee crashes, yet to on Boko Haram be found Page 7 2

VOL.05 N0. 1836

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

N150.00

Dreadful world Page of ritualists where human parts are called recharge cards

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REVEALED!

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How I became okada rider after playing football in Portugal

The 28 Nigerians 14 behind Jonathan’s one tenure proposal Page

BRAINS BEHIND THE AGENDA Chekwas Okorie Abubakar Baraje AVM Anthony Okpere Yinka Omilani Khaleel Bolaji Abubakar Magaji Kunle Ogunade

Emma Omokwe Baba Adi A.A. Ibrahim G.U. Ake J. Okongor Benji Duru Paul Wampana

Remi Adiukwu-Bakare ANC Akanegbu Fidelis Ozichukwu Mariam Ibrahim Baba Samson Akiga Abubakar Galadima Bello Umar

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Security: FG restates faith in military

Full text of NJC panel report on CJN, Salami, others

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Ahmadu Ali Edwin Ume-Ezeoke Chief Clement Ebri Vincent Ogbulafor Bello Mohammed Danladi Sankara Mohammed Aruwa

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

FG to inaugurate committee on S part of efforts to address Boko Haram the spate of insecurity in

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•First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan receiving an invitation from Mr Antonio Pere-Casama, SA to President Bakai Sanya of Guinea Bissau in Abuja ... Friday PHOTO: NAN

the country, the Federal Government has concluded plans to inaugurate a Presidential Committee on Security Challenges in the north eastern part of the country.

According to a statement from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Pius Anyim Pius, the 7-man committee will be headed

by Ambassador Usman Gaji Galtimari while the Secretary is Abdullahi B. Shehu from the office of the SGF. The letter, which was signed by Mr. Dominic Ojeme stated that the members were appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan “to look into the security challenges in the zone, following a meeting with key leaders of the Arewa Consultative Forum(ACF) and Elders from Borno State on 20th July, 2011 on the matter.”

Other members include Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, Mr. Joe Kyari Gadzama, Col. Musa Shehu (Rtd.), Sen. Bala Mohammed (Minister of FCT), Dr. Bello H. Mohammed (Minister of Defence) and Barr. Emeka Wogu

Olugbenga ADANIKIN, Abuja (Minister of Labour and Productivity).

The Committee, which will be inaugurated on Tuesday, August 2, 2011 has a 5-point terms of reference.

They are: To review all the issues of security challenges in the zone and proffer solutions/recommendations, which would bring a speedy resolution of the crisis; to serve as a liason between the Federal Government (State Government where necessary) and Boko Haram and to initiate negotiations with the sect; to liaise with the National Security Adviser (NSA) to ensure that the security Services discharge their respective assignments with optimal professionalism; to consult with stakeholders from time to time for suggestions and to ascertain the true state of affairs; and to consider any other initiative that will serve to engender enduring peace and security in the area.

The 28 Nigerians behind Jonathan’s I one tenure proposal

NDICATIONS have emerged that four parties and 28 Nigerians were behind President Goodluck Jonathan’s single term proposal.

This discovery is coming barely 24 hours after the President claimed that the proposal was not his idea.

It was also learnt that Jonathan was only the face of the innovation as the Chairman of Inter-Party Consultative Committee, which was one of the four committees that raised the electoral reform by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

These facts were contained in the Report of the Inter-Party Consultative Committee on Electoral Reform which was obtained by The Nation in Abuja yesterday.

The parties involved in the collation of the report, which recommended single tenure for President and governors, were the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA).

Apart from the President, the report contained the list of members of the 29-man committee which made the recommendation.

They were a former National Chairman of ANPP, Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, Senator Mohammed Aruwa(ANPP North-West), Chief Kunle Ogunade (ANPP South-West), Chief Ugo Sam Okpara (ANPP, South-East), Khaleel Bolaji (ANPP North-Central), Senator A.A. Ibrahim (ANPP NorthEast) and Mr. J. Okongor (ANPP South- South).

The delegates from APGA included a former National Chairman of the party, Chief Chekwas Okorie; Abdullahi Mohammed; Barrister Abubakar Galadima; Barrister Bello Umar; Prince ANC Akanegbu; Chief Benji I. Duru and Benson Agada.

Those from the PDP were a former Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Ahmadu Ali, who initially led the PDP delegation before he was replaced by his successor, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor.

After the exit of Ali, other members of the PDP in the team were Dr. Danladi Sankara; the acting National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje; Senator Paul Wampana; Senator Yinka Omilani; ex-Act-

Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation. ing National Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Bello Mohammed; Abubakar Magaji; Nze Fidelis Ochichukwu, and Chief G.U. Ake. On its part, the PPA was represented by its former National Chairman, Chief Clement Ebri; Chief Emma Omokwe; Hajiya Mariam Ibrahim Baba; Baba Adi; Chief Samson Akiga; Chief Mrs. Remi AdiukwuBakare and AVM Anthony Okpere (rtd).

According to the report, Yar’Adua had established the Inter-Party Consultative Committee following the interactive session on Electoral Reform he convened on January 16, 2008.

The document claimed that the session was attended by governors, leaders of political parties, leadership of the National Assembly, security chiefs, traditional rulers and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The report said in part: “The interactive session was held in order to address the issues that arose from crises, which bedeviled the conduct of Local Government elections in many states.

“In the meeting, the President (the late Yar’Adua) directed the setting up of four committees viz: Governors, National Assembly, Security Chiefs and Inter-Party.

“The Vice-President (Jonathan) was directed to coordinate the Inter-Party Consultative Committee. Principally, the committee is to identify factors that militate against the conduct of free, fair and acceptable elections, as well as proffer practical solutions to these.

“Five leading political parties (parties that control at least one state government) were invited to nominate seven members each, including their respective national chairmen.

All but the Action Congress (now ACN) positively responded and participated in the work of the committee.

“The Committee’s terms of reference were to: (i) Examine the factors militating against the conduct of free, fair and acceptable elections in Nigeria;

(ii) Make appropriate recommendations that can ensure credible and acceptable electoral process; and (iii) Advise on any other relevant issue or proposal that is likely to improve the country’s electoral system.

“The Inter-Party Consultative Committee is therefore in a nutshell charged with the responsibility of collating and synthesising the aggregate views of the key players in Nigeria’s electoral processes.

It was as such mandated to put forward what may be seen as the position of the leading elements among Nigeria’s ‘political class’ on electoral reform.”

According to the Report, the Inter-party Consultative Committee came up with a 21-page findings and recommendations.

The Report, signed by both President Goodluck Jonathan and the then Senior Special Assistant(Political) in the Office of the Vice-President, Dr. Akilu Sani Indabawa identified 24 factors militating against free and acceptable elections.

It also made nine recommendations, including a single tenure for the President, governors and Local Government chairmen.

The Report added: “The Committee exhaustively discussed terms of reference number 1. Members unanimously identified the following as the key factors that militate against the conduct of free and acceptable elections in Nigeria.

“These are incumbency factor; independence of electoral bodies; imposition of candidates by political parties; bodies that can disqualify candidates; thuggery; influence of money in politics, and selfish interest of politicians; role of security agencies; state electoral bodies; the phenomenon and practice of godfatherism; tenure of political office holders; operation role of electoral bodies; complete review of electoral laws; and role of media and civil society organisations.

“Others are mode of elections; compilation of results; election tribunal matter; reg-

istration of voters; funding of political parties; qualification of candidates; rotation of Executive offices; proportional representations in Executive appointments; and Gender-balancing in elective positions.”

In its nine-point recommendations, the Inter-Party Committee said in part as follows: “Adopting a single tenure system of seven (7) years for the President; six(6) years for governors and three (3) years for Local Government chairmen.

“Rotation of political offices should go beyond individual party arrangements and be included in Nigeria’s statute books. Presidency should rotate North-South and across the six geopolitical zones, governors among the three Senatorial zones.

“Adoption of Open Ballot System for all elections in the country to minimise election rigging and manipulation of results.

“Political parties that fail to win at least 2.5% of the seats in the National Assembly should be deregistered.

“The composition of Electoral Bodies must be such that as to ensure confidentiality, and should carry along all recognised political parties. The electoral bodies should be headed by retired or serving Supreme Court judges or Presidents of the Court of Appeal. Funding of the electoral bodies should be on first-line charge basis.

“A period of six months should be provided between dates of election and inauguration of elected officials to allow for disposal of all petitions and appeals arising from the election including re-run and/or runoff elections.”

A top source in the Presidency, who spoke in confidence, said: “The truth is that the single term tenure is not the making of the President. The InterParty Consultative Committee recommended it.

“And 70 per cent of the recommendations of the Inter-Party were accepted by the Electoral Reform Committee of Justice Muhammadu Uwais.

“The recommendation on single tenure was shelved because the health of the late President Yar’Adua did not allow him to undertake the needed

consultations ahead of the completion of work by the Uwais Panel.

“So, the single tenure idea predated Jonathan’s emergence as the President. The decision to tinker with tenure of office of governors and the President starting from 2015 therefore has a long history,”

•Jonathan

...North vows to kill agenda like third term •I’ll speak only when proposal is tabled __Atiku

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ESPITE the assurance of President Goodluck Jonathan to leave power in 2015, there were strong indications that the North may back the opposition to reject his proposal for a single tenure for post-2015 President and governors.

Also, a former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar said he will not comment on the proposal until Jonathan has put it on the table.

Investigation revealed that some Northern leaders have been consulting in the last 72 hours on how to kill the bill on delivery at the National Assembly.

It was gathered that the affected northern leaders have been liaising with opposition parties on how to give the single tenure bill the same treatment like the Third Term agenda of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.

A highly-placed source said: “The fact that the bill is coming up barely two months into the administration of the President makes it more suspicious.

“We are suspecting that the bill may be more than meet the eye. Although the President has clarified his intent, it is better not to allow it to sail through. Such a risk may be dangerous.”

A prominent member of the Northern Political Leaders Forum, who spoke in confidence, said: “We are waiting for him at the National Assembly. But it is a joke in the making. Nigerians are yearning for good roads, employment, decent healthcare but the government is giving priority to tenure reform for office holders.

“What political circumstance warranted this curious proposal now? This is what the government should try to explain to Nigerians.

“We are already liaising with the opposition and civil society groups to send back the proposal to the sender. It is commendable that the Nigeria Labour Congress has rejected the single tenure thing. We will keep a tab on the government on this proposal .’’

A Senator from the North said: “Our leaders have been talking to us never to allow such a proposal to sail through because it may be a booby trap.

“And with the National Assembly setting where we have reasonable members of the opposition and independentminded lawmakers, the proposal is dead on arrival.

“In the next few weeks, the North will take more than a passing interest in the proposal.”

A female member of the House of Representatives simply said: “You can now appreciate that the revolution in the House which led to the emergence of Speaker Aminu Tambuwal is justified.

“That is why the North will look forward to Tambuwal and his members to serve as checks to the Executive and reject this single tenure infection.”

Contacted, ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who made his views known through his Media Organisation, said: “We have no comments to make in the absence of a proposal being put on the table by anyone.

“In the given circumstance, we are reserving our comments until such a time when the matter is put on the table.”

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

Obasanjo never interfered with 2006 Census, says NPC chief Gbenga OMOKHUNU, Abuja

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HE National Population Commission (NPC) yesterday said the 2006 population and housing exercise attracted the confidence of the citizenry because former President Olusegun Obasanjo never interfered with the census methodology.

Chairman of the NPC, Chief Samu’ila Danko Makama, said this at the presentation and national workshop on 2006 Population and Housing Census Priority Tables volume 3-12, in Abuja.

According to him, “I want to seize this opportunity to specifically say that former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s commitment to the 2006 population and housing census was total. His administration set the date for the census and mobilized not only the stakeholders, but also the entire citizenry for the exercise to the extent that there was a “census buzz”.

“Furthermore, Chief Obasanjo responded to all our requests expeditiously. He was always ready and willing to support us in funding and logistics. It must be noted that Chief Obasanjo never interfered with the census methodology. He gave the commission the free hand to operate. His neutrality gave a lot of credibility to the census exercise”, he said.

Amosun seeks lawmakers’ approval to increase budget

•Executive Director of Negris Engineering Nigeria Limited, Engr. Femi Oladunjoye (right), conducting the Minister of Power, Dr. Barth Nnaji (left), the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (second right) and others round the Lagos Island Power Plant during an inspection of the facility on Wednesday.

Security: FG restates faith in military

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HE Federal Government has restated its belief in the Nigerian Armed Forces to protect the country against external forces and internal crises, even as President Goodluck Jonathan approves the promotion of two air force senior officers.

The government, however, said the military must be transformed in conformity with the acceptable civil interface.

While decorating the promoted group captains with the rank of air commodore as approved by President Jonathan, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS),

Gbenga OMOKHUNU, Abuja Air Marshal Mohammed Umar, assured Nigerians that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) would cope successfully with the many challenges facing it.

Also speaking when the Governor of Kebbi State, Alhaji Saidu Dakingari, paid him a visit in his Ship Biulding office, Abuja, Minister of Defence, Dr. Bello Mohammed, said the agenda of the government was to ensure a prepared military for the country.

“Our agenda is to ensure a

well-prepared military that can protect the sovereignty of the country against external threat and one that can assist in maintaining internal peace and order”, Mohammed said.

He added that the government was determined to have a military that could protect lives and property of the citizens, irrespective of ethnic or religious affiliations, as well as one that would relate well with our neighbours and the global community.

On the ongoing transformation in the military, Mohammed said the govern-

ment would not compromise the programme, saying, “the military must be gentle in its relationships with the people, but firm to criminal elements and those that seek to destabilize the country”.

He said the country was set to justify its seat on the Security Council of the United Nations (UN).

The CAS, however, enjoined other junior officers to emulate the new air commodores, Emmanuel Ihebinandie and Hashim Kolo, adding that hard work and diligence have their rewards at the end of the day.

How to stop ethno-religious violence — Makarfi

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ORMER Kaduna State, governor, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, yesterday gave an insight into how to stop the spate of ethno-religious violence that has engulfed parts of the country in recent time, saying government at all levels must constantly be on guard and monitor activities of its people.

Makarfi, whose tenure as governor of Kaduna State witnessed three violent crises, was giving an insight, for the first time, into how his government was able to prevent further ethno-religious crises during his eight-year rule in the state.

Makarfi said his government employed the rule of engagement in deciding what the people of the state wanted and took decisive steps in meeting the needs, rather than deciding on its own what the people wanted.

Speaking at the public presentation of a book entitled “Clash of Identities: State,

Tony AKOWE, Kaduna Society and Ethno-religious Conflicts in Northern Nigeria”, the former governor said his government never made promises it could not keep and was constantly anticipating and monitoring events in other not to be caught unguarded.

He said: “We realized the expectations of the people and quickly launched ourselves into meeting them. We not only made sure that we provided social services and infrastructure, but we did it with the active participation of the people by developing our modules of development through interactions with them.

“We just didn’t carry on as rulers who decided what the people wanted. We prioritized on the basis of their yearnings.

We also tried our best to ensure that accessibility to the people was not compromised.

“That way, you had no reason to want to go to the trenches when you knew there was a leadership you could easily rush to with whatever grievances and be attended to. We attended to grievances as honestly as practically possible.

“We also tried to be honest in our dealings with them by being careful not to make promises we could not fulfil.

We were also constantly monitoring usual flashpoints and anticipating.

“This is because however good the measures taken, if you don’t constantly anticipate and monitor, chances are that you could be caught napping, and however fast you move to contain violence that erupts, some level of damage would have been done before the containment. So we worked on the maxim of prevention being better than cure”.

The former governor noted that “most of the literature of

the book deals with, particularly, the Kaduna State experience with the ‘ethno-religious’ conflicts, some of which happened during my eight-year stewardship as the governor of the state, from 1999 to 2007.

“It is an experience, which even though not pleasant, but one that put us through very tasking challenges that further opened our eyes to the realities (some of them grim) of our situation not only in the state, but beyond it, which culminated in our coming up with bold and revolutionary measures that healed many of the wounds that always served as flashpoints”.

Makarfi stressed that to properly understand the nature of the conflicts in the North, Nigerians must appreciate the nature of the region demographically and otherwise so that “we don’t fall for the cheap trap of reaching shallow and more often faulty conclusions”.

Osun monarch’s rape case adjourned

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The rape case involving the Alowa of IlowaIjesha in the Obokun Local Government Area of Osun State, Oba Adebukola Alli, has been adjourned till August 12.

When the case came up for mention yesterday, neither the defence counsel, Victor Opara, nor the monarch alleged of raping a 23-year old corps member came to court.

While no reason was given for the accused person’s absence, the defence counsel sent a message to the court that he was ill.

Meanwhile, the people of Ilowa have written the Osun State governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, to prevail on the

•Community urges governor to intervene court administrators to ensure justice on the matter.

In a letter dated July 22 and sent through the Office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), the family also called on the governor to ensure that the court attend to the rape case promptly with fairness.

The deputy governor, the SSG, governor’s Chief of Staff and the Speaker and the state House of Assembly were copied the letter jointly signed by Prince Seun Alli for the Ilowa community and Mr. Ganiyu Babalola for youths of the town.

The community cried out to

Governor Aregbesola to “ save us from forces who have resolved to make Osun State uncomfortable.”

For more than a month, the accused has been in Ilesa Prison from where is being brought to court to stand trial on the alleged rape case.

Ahead of yesterday’s mentioning of the case in court, the Ilowa community called for the speedy hearing of the case, lamenting the poor health condition of the monarch.

“By inference, our kabiyesi is being treated as guilty and a convicted person even though he has not been tried. This is

contrary to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“It is on record that he was chained to the hospital bed, both at Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa and Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife during his incarceration in prison.

“Your Excellency, we know that our kabiyesi is a victim of an issue beyond the substantial rape charge preferred against him. The entire Ilowa community, the family and staffers of Kabiyesi have testified publicly and severally that the rape complainant actually is known to them as a wife-to-be of kabiyesi before the incident.” the letter read in part

Ernest NWOKOLO, Abeokuta

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OVERNOR Ibikunle Amosun yesterday sought the approval of the Ogun State Assembly to jack up 2011 Appropriation Bill from the initial N105.5 billion to N124.6billion, that is, an increase of N19.1billion.

The request was contained in a letter addressed to the lawmakers and which was read at the floor of the Assembly Chamber yesterday by the Speaker, Hon. Suraj Adekunbi.

The governor had on Tuesday tentatively forwarded the 2011 Appropriation Bill of N105.5 billion to the Assembly for consideration.

The sixth Assembly, under Speaker Tunji Egbetokun, had in its last sitting, set aside 2011 Budget prepared by former Governor Gbenga Daniel and asked the new administration to prepare a fresh budget proposal.

It should be recalled that eight minority lawmakers of the sixth Assembly, headed by Soyemi Coker, had last March 1, passed 2011 Appropriation Bill of N105.5billion which was submitted by Daniel.

Corps members assured of security

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HE NYSC National Governing Board Chairman, Chief Linus E. Okom, has assured corps members of adequate security.

Speaking during the board’s official visit to the corps members at the NYSC Orientation Camp, Obubra, Cross Rivers State, Okom said the NYSC was not unmindful of the security problems that the country had been confronted with. He said the scheme had met with security organisations to ensure adequate protection of corps members during the service year.

Okom encouraged the corps members to study the security tips given to them. He also advised them to make use of the security phone numbers provided by the Director State Security Service and the Commissioner of Police.

He disclosed that the NYSC had employed additional staff to enhance closeness to corps members and more and to enhance efficiency of the NYSC management at the grass roots.

Meanwhile, the the Special Assistant to Mr President on Amnesty Programme and Obubra Amnesty Camp Officials have effectively collaborated with the Cross River State NYSC in achieving a very successful 2011 Batch B Orientation Camp that is ending soon.

Ashaka declares N4.39bn profit

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HE Chairman, Ashaka Cement PLC, Brigadier Emmanuel Ikwue (rtd), disclosed that the company made a profit before tax of N4.39billion in 2010 as against N2.37billion in 2009, which represents an increase of 85.23%.

Ikwue disclosed this at the 36th annual general meeting of the company (AGM) in Abuja, stating that the gross turnover of the company increased to N19.15billion in 2010 compared to N17.19billion in 2009, an increase of 11.40.

He said, “The company’s production volumes had increased to 700 Kilogram per tones in the year under review as against 649Ktones in 2009, while the sales volumes also had increased from 647Kt in the previous year to 684Kt. “The unsteady power supply and the poor quality from PHCN has continued to adversely impact on our production costs.

However as we continue with our efforts to make further progress on the coal project, it will help in reducing our manufacturing costs despite the continued increase in prices of low pour fuel oil (LPFO) and Automobile General Oil (AGO) which is used in running our power plant”, Ikwue said.

Commissioners: Group lauds Aregbesola

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non- governmental organisation, Bola Ige Initiative Forum, an organisation promoting the political ideologies and leadership styles of the late Chief Bola Ige, has lauded Osun State governor,Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on the calibre of commissioner nominees he sent to the state assembly.

The group commended the governor for taking his time to carefully select the crop of resourceful, energetic, tested and trusted men and women who can move the state forward as his cabinet members.

In a statement signed by the coordinator of the group, Mr. Lekan Odediran, the group said the governor had demonstrated to the people of the state that the era of hurriedly putting low quality men together as non- performing commissioners had gone, stressing that the pedigrees of these nominees had indicated that they would move the state to the next level at the same speed with their boss.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

State governments are violating UBE law — Falana

Bank urges court to declare Dokpesi bankrupt over alleged indebtedness C •Case is an abuse of court process –– Dokpesi F IDELITY Bank Plc has asked a Federal High Court in Lagos to declare media mogul and Chairman, Daar Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Dokpesi bankrupt over his alleged inability to repay a debt estimated at about N7.524 billion.

The bank’s request is contained in a bankruptcy proceedings which it recently initiated against Dokpesi before the court. It stated that the debt arose from some credit facilities extended to his company and which he personally guaranteed.

However, Dokpesi has described the bank’s action as an abuse of court process. He said a court in Abuja has granted an order, restraining Fidelity from taking further steps in the case.

The bank had urged the court to direct that all assets, interests and holdings of Dokpesi, either held personally by him or through third parties and privies, be liquidated and the proceeds be applied towards offsetting the debt.

The bank also urged the court to divest Dokpesi of all his shares, interests and holdings in all public and private companies. It further sought the court’s order, restraining Dokpesi from being appointed as a director in any public or private company in Nigeria henceforth.

The bank filed two separate suits. The first sought to declare Dokpesi bankrupt over his alleged failure to fulfill pledge to repay a facility granted his company to the tune of N3.270 billion in the event that the company failed to liquidate the debt.

The other sought an order that Daar Communications be wound up under the

Eric IKHILAE

Companies and Allied Matters Act, Cap C20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

Fidelity averred in its petition that sometime in May 2008 and June 2009, Daar Communications applied for and was granted several credit facilities which were meant to part finance its daily operation and to enable it broadcast the FIFA under 17 World Cup hosted by the country.

It added that the facilities were secured by a legal mortgage over a property located at 34, Creek Road, Apapa belonging to Baldok Shipping Limited; all assets debenture on the fixed and

floating assets of Daar Communications valued at N21.3 billion and Dokpesi’s personal guaranty.

Fidelity further averred that the defendant accepted the terms and conditions of the overdraft facilities and executed the acceptance column of the offer letters dated May 26, 2008; September 26, 2008; October 23, 2008; November 25, 2008; February 16, 2009 and June 30, 2009.

Upon accepting the attached conditions, it stated that Daar Communications fully drew down and utilized the facilities which tenure ranged from 30 days to 2 years. It added that tenure has since lapsed, but that Daar has allegedly refused to

repay its outstanding indebtedness arising from the facilities.

In the petition filed by its lawyer, Joseph Nwobike (SAN), Fidelity averred that Daar Communications could not pay the debt because it was weak, comatose and in a state of bankruptcy, and that it would be just and equitable for the company to be wound up.

The bank further alleged that in other to defeat and delay the realisation of the claims, Dokpesi had departed Nigeria and remained out of reach.

When the case came up for hearing yesterday, Dokpesi appeared in court with some of his lieutenant. Hearing

was however stalled before Justice Mohammed Idris owing to the petitioner’s inability to serve court processes on the defendants.

Dokpesi’s lawyer, Chris Uche (SAN), who spoke with journalists at the end of proceedings, insisted that the procedure adopted by the petitioner amounted to an abuse of court process.

Uche said his client has secured an injunction from an Abuja High Court, restraining the bank from taking further steps on the case. He wondered why the bank rushed to Lagos to commence other proceedings, despite the fact that a similar suit was pending in Abuja on the same subject matter.

Ex-taxi drivers boss sent to jail Kunle AKINRINADE •L-R: Former Governor of Ekiti State, Engr Segun Oni; Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Capt Caleb Olubolade (rtd) and Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi during the funeral service for Oni's late mother at the Methodist Church, Ifaki- Ekiti...

Yesterday.

SAN: CJN, AGF, others query court’s power to hear suit

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HE Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloisuis Katsina-Alu; the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke (SAN) and four others have challenged the jurisdiction of a Federal High Court in Lagos to hear a case seeking the abolition of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) title.

Eric IKHILAE They queried the court’s jurisdiction in a motion of preliminary objection filed on their behalf by their lawyer, Dele Adesina (SAN). The motion halted the court’s scheduled ruling yesterday on a motion for interlocutory injunction

argued last week Friday by plaintiffs’ lawyer, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite.

The plaintiffs had in the motion urged the court to, among others, reverse the recent award of the rank of SAN to some legal practitioners in the country pending the determination of the substantive suit.

Plaintiffs in the case in-

clude octogenarian lawyer, Tunji Gomez, Peter Okoye, Foluso Fayokun, E. O. Otokhina and Seth Amaefule.

The defendants include the CJN, as the Chair, Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC); the committee; the AGF; Lagos State’s Attorney General; Lagos State Judicial Service

Commission and Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos branch.

Yesterday, Adesina, who led a team of lawyers for the defendants, urged the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, to refrain from delivering the ruling because his court lacked the territorial jurisdiction to entertain the case.

Bamanga Tukur, Akpabio for Osalor’s book launch Tuesday

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LL is now set for the launch of five books written by renowned chartered accountant and tax administrator, Mr Peter Osalor.

The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Chief (Dr) Godswill Akpabio has confirmed attendance as chief launcher for the event slated for Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja at 11am prompt.

Tagged a “Harvest of Books”, the launch also has Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Chairman of African Business Roundtable as chairman, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) as father of the day, while Dr

ONSTITUTIONAL lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, has berated state governments in Nigeria for violating the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act enacted to provide free and compulsory education for every Nigerian child.

He said: ”By virtue of Section 2 of the Act, every government in Nigeria shall provide “free, compulsory and universal basic education for every Nigerian child of primary and junior secondary school age.”

Accordingly, any parent who fails to ensure that his child receives full-time education suitable to his age is deemed to have committed an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N10,000 or imprisonment for a term of three months or both. So far, no parent or guardian has been brought to trial under the law. ‘’To finance the scheme, the Federal Government is required to make a block grant of not less than 2 per cent of its Consolidated Revenue Fund to the UBE Fund. For states to qualify for the Federal Government block grant, they shall contribute not less than 50 per cent of the total cost of projects as their commitment in the execution of the project.”

He blamed state governments for encouraging influx of schoolage children on the streets.

Emmanuel Uduaghan, the Delta State Governor is the Chief Host.

The five books include, “Entrepreneurial Revolution - A Solution for Poverty Eradication”, “Why and How to Start Your Business”, “How to Identify and Fund Your Business”,

“How to Write a Business Plan” and “Success in Your Business - How to become a Successful Entrepreneur”.

Keynote Speaker is the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella OduahOgiemwonyi, while the immediate past Chief Economic Adviser to the

Nigerian President, Prof.

Kesse Garba is the book reviewer.

A statement signed by Mr Jeffery Mosadomi on behalf of the Strategic Committee for the event urged invited guests, the academia and members of the public to turn up en masse and give

it a befitting support.

He further explained that the books and timing of the launch were meant to reinforce the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, which demands the support and participation of all Nigerians.

Inquest on sweeper’s death stalled as DPO allegedly ignores invitation

A

CTIVIST-lawyer Mr Femi Falana has accused the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Alausa Police Station, Lagos of refusing invitation to appear at a coroner’s inquest on the death of a sweeper with the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA), Mrs Martha Kpemepa (62).

Joseph JIBUEZE Falana, represented by Mr. Adedotun Isola-Osobu, told the Ikeja District Coroner, Mr Tajudeen Elias, that the DPO, who was required to testify, refused to be served with the Summons to Witness.

The officer was said to have claimed that he ought to be

served through the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Lagos, and not by just any lawyer.

However, two officers of the Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA), Arowoshegbe Olushola and Abiola Sheriff, alleged to have caused Kpemepa’s death, were in

court, but were not accompanied by the agency’s lawyers.

The Coroner’s Inquest followed a petition by Falana & Falana Chambers, asking the Lagos State Chief Coroner, Justice Yetunde Idowu, to order an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Kpemeka’s death.

A

N Ebute-Metta Chief Magistrate’s Court, Oyingbo, Lagos, Southwest, Nigeria, has sentenced the former president of Lagos State Taxi Drivers and Cabs Operators Association to six months imprisonment without option of fine.

The former taxi drivers’ president, Mr. Thomas Olatunji Oladipupo, of 14, Olorunsogo Street, Mushin, Lagos, has been standing trial before the court since 2010, on four count charges of unlawful seizure of taxi drivers association’s corporate registration certificate, forgery, illegal possession of the association’s official documents, conducts likely to cause breach of peace.

The offences according to Prosecuting Police Officer, Mr. Ishaku Babaji, a police corporal, are punishable under Section 440, 479, 249 and 88A (1)(B) of the Criminal Code Cap. C. 17, Vol. 2, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2003.

He had earlier pleaded not guilty to all the charges and was granted bail by the court.

Mrs. Joy Ugbomoiko, the presiding magistrate of the court delivering the judgement found him guilty of two of the charges and sentenced him to six months in prison without option of fine. She also sentenced him to three months in prison with option of N20,000 on count four.

While the offences for count one and three were struck out.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

6 NEWS

Police deny Boko Haram’s presence in Kano

T

HE Police in the northern Nigerian state of Kano have again debunked reports in a section of the media that members of the Boko Haram sect had threatened to attack the state.

The reports said the dreaded Islamic sect was relocating its operations to Kano State, following the reinforcement of security in Borno State by officers and men of the Nigerian military.

The Public Relations Officer of the Kano State Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Majia Magajia in a telephone chat with newsmen in Kano, said the police were not aware of any threat issued by Boko Haram members.

ASP Magajia also said the police had not arrested any member of Boko Haram in Kano as speculated by the media reports.

“I am not aware of any letter of warning issued by members of the Boko Haram on their plans to attack Kano State, and no arrest of Boko Haram members has been made,” Magajia

Kolade ADEYEMI, Kano

said.

While denying the presence of Boko Haram in Kano State, the police spokesman assured residents of the

ancient commercial city that the police would guarantee their security.

He said adequate security measures had been taken to forestall any breakdown.

7

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

A

gang of kidnappers has invaded Anambra State, abducting about four persons in Onitsha and Nnewi.

And in the process, a member of the Umudim Nnewi Vigilante Group was killed by the abductors, including a motorcycle operator, otherwise known as okada rider.

The kidnappers abducted an international businessman from Nnewi, Emmanuel Uba, at the gate of his building in the commercial city around 5.30pm on Tuesday.

Three others were said to have been kidnapped at the Onitsha Sports Cluband taken to an unknown an un-

Kidnappers invade Anambra •Four abducted in Onitsha, Nnewi •Police arrest two, rescue 70-yr-old woman in Okija Nwanosike ONU, Awka known place. Their identities were not disclosed.

According to an eyewitness, a gun battle ensued between the members of the vigilance group and the kidnappers dressed in casual attire with bullet-proof jackets after abducting the businessman.

The eyewitness said: “When the battle was on, the policemen around ran

for safety after quickly removing their uniforms.

They all hid in buch, leaving the battle for the vigilance group.”

As a result of the incident, the state Commissioner of Police, Muhtari Ibrahim, paid an unscheduled visit to the area while on the routine tour of all the police formations in the state.

Meanwhile, The Nation gathered yesterday in Awka that two of the suspects had

been arrested by the state police command and were being interrogated.

In another development, the command rescued a 70year old woman, Adaobi Ihezue, from Okija from kidnappers.

The woman’s son based in the United Kingdom was asked by the kidnappers to pay a ransom of N10m to secure his mother’s release.

On a tip-off, members of the State Anti-Robbery

Squad (SARS) arrested two of the kidnappers, while the names of other criminals were given to the police.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Emeka Chukwuemeka, confirmed the arrest of the kidnappers, but denied that any body was killed in the saga.

He said more men of the command had been deployed in all the strategic places in the state.

Chukwuemeka said: “We can not fold our hands to allow these miscreants to invade this state again. This nonsense must stop.

Enough is enough”.

L-R: Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State, Senator Chris Ngige and Senator Umaru Dahiru after receiving the Senate’s delegation on a condolence visit to Enugu on the death of Justice Anthony Aniagolu ... yesterday.

Edo teachers dare Oshiomhole, shun work

S

TRIKING teachers in Edo State public primary and secondary schools yesterday dared Governor Adams Oshiomhole by refusing to report at their duty posts as directed.

The state government directed the teachers to report for work yesterday or risk being sacked.

The teachers had embarked

Osagie OTABOR, Benin on an indefinite strike over the failure of the government to include them in the new minimum wage package it signed with labour leaders.

But state Commissioner for Education, Mr. Ekpenisi Omorotiomwan, in an interview, said it was wrong for the

teachers to embark on strike without negotiation.

His words, “Government cannot be hoodwinked to do what is not justifiable. The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), instead of coming for negotiation, hastily went on strike. They cannot go on strike before negotiation. This is an act of irresponsibility.

They have not come to tell us

what they want.

“We have decided to invoke the no-work-no-pay rule for all the teachers for the period they stayed away from work.

We cannot treat teachers on the basis of what they said to the press. We cannot be blackmailed. Things must be done according to the law.”

The NUT, Edo State chapter

OAS helicopters crashes, yet to be found

A

N OAS helicopter, which departed its base in Maryland, Lagos to Ilorin in Kwara State, has crashed with three passengers and the captain on board.

Information gathered by The Nation indicated that the Eurocopter helicopter, which departed at noon yesterday, was expected to return to base by 4pm, but was yet to return at the time of filing in this report.

The company operating the aircraft said it had since been making frantic effort to locate the exact crash site of the helicopter, adding the organization had dispatched a search and rescue team to the scene.

The company said a woman who claimed to have heard the crash noise was helping the team to locate the crash site, stressing that they were yet to locate the helicopter.

Besides, the Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren, confirmed the accident and said the

agency had sent a search and rescue team accompanied by the woman who claimed to have heard the crash noise around Ogbomosho, Oyo State.

He said: “A helicopter left its Lagos, Maryland terminal to Ilorin with three souls in addition to the captain and has not been seen since. We have sent a search and rescue team with the woman who claimed to have heard the crash noise to the area and we are holding vigil in our office.”

One of the passengers was said to be a businessman who recently bought a company in Kwara State.

However an unconfirmed report said the helicopter crashed in Ikonifin community near Bode-Osi in Ola-Oluwa Local Government Area of Osun State.

It added that some Fulani herdsmen residing in the community between Bode-Osi and Iwo claimed to have heard a deafening sound of the

crashed helicopter around 9am.

The herdsmen said the early morning fog might have been responsible for helicopter crashing into the mass rock in the area.

Both the Osun State

Commissioner of Police, Mr. Solomon Olusegun, and Head of Operations of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps in Osun State, Mr. Babalola Olaniyi, said they would dispatch their men to the spot to locate the helicopter.

Islamic banking: Cleric calls for caution

T

HE Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Imo State Chapter, Bishop Maxwell Korie, has called on the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Lamido Sanusi, to take note that Nigeria is a secular state.

According to him, Nigeria is not a mistake, but a divine project in the hands of God. Bishop Korie said they had reservation for the introduction of Islamic banking into the country, adding that the introduction of the banking system was a ploy by the CBN governor to Islamize the country.

His words: “The introduc-

tion of Islamic banking into the country is an attempt to Islamize the country and he should realize that Nigeria is a secular state which calls for consultation of the groups that make up the entity before any decision on major issues are taken”.

Bishop Korie made this comment while addressing reporters in Owerri, the capital of Imo State.

Bishop Korie, who is also the presiding Bishop of the Life Line Assembly, questioned the reason behind the inscription of the Arabic language on the nation’s currency and asked if this would reduce inflation in the country.

said it was disappointed at the announcement of the state government over the strike by teachers in the state, adding that they should remain at home until their demands were met.

Meanwhile, the NLC, TUC and JNC have vowed to call out all workers in the state to embark on sympathy strike with the teachers from Monday when the seven-day ultimatum it gave the state government expires.

FERMA vows to rehabilitate Abia roads

T

HE field engineer of the Federal Emergency Road Maintenance Agency [FERMA] in Abia state, Engr Alexander Mazoya, has pledged the readiness of the agency to tackle all the deplorable portions of the federal government roads in the state.

Speaking while conducting journalist round the erosion site along Bende-OhafiaArochukwu-Akwa-Ibom State Road, Mazoya said the site had been worked upon earlier by a construction firm, but that it collapsed thereafter.

Mazoya said: “The road was washed away and it has become a reoccurring decimal which has eaten more than half of that major road leading from Umuahia to Akwa-Ibom State and we are determined to arrest the situation fast”.

He recalled that the erosion has claimed over 20 houses along its route and, “We have started work on the site like dropping of boulder otherwise called large stones of granite nature which will be taken to a certain level, after that we will pour laterite and lastly stone pitching will be done”.

The Abia FERMA boss blamed the erosion on the people who have specialized in building on water ways, stressing that water must find its level and the only thing left for it will be to move through another way, which is why the road is being eroded.

He said that the reclaiming of the bad portion of the road is costing his firm the sum of N200 million, “and we expect the job to be finished around October-November because of the rainy season, as earth work are not done during that time”.

Earlier while inspecting work on the failed portion of the Aba- Port-Harcourt express road, the General Manager Mechanical at the FERMA head office in Abuja, Engr.

Kevin Onuoha said that all bad parts of federal road in the state will be worked upon with the time rains allows them.

Onuoha said that the FERMA authority has bought 7 number FP5 pot-hole patchers and some asphalt cutters and other light equipment for the patching of roads, stressing that their concern is to repair all deplorable portions of the federal roads in the state.

PUBLIC NOTICE ISINYI NANDO COMMUNITY Hereby notifies the entire public that they are opposed to the proposed AMANASAA New Layout Planning Scheme for the area within the so called Idemili Planning Zone.

The Isinyi Nando Community are the original owners of some portions and/or parcels of the land purported to be surrendered to the Igbariam community. The said portion and/or parcels forming part of the large area of land had and is still the bonafide property of the Isinyi Nando Community and the members of the community have for time immemorial been farming on the same portion and/ or parcel of land.

The Isinyi Nando Community shall be opposing and are protesting the proposed scheme since the establishment of the layout on the entire land will cause great injustice to them because the portion and/or parcel in questions forms part of their land, they farm on to earn a living.

TAKE NOTICE therefore and notice is hereby given that the portion of land forming part of the large area of land described and shown in the Government Plan NO. ANE/D2 deposited with the Anambra State Urban Development Board (ASUDEB) is not that of Igbariam Community but that of Isinyi Nando, Agbudu Nando, Ikem Nando and Abube-uno Nando.

Signed: Chief Mike Ogbue Chairman Isinyi Progressive Union

Ernest Nwakamma Secretary I.P.U.

8

NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

Will UN recognition plan lead to an independent Palestine?

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has told the PLO’s central committee that he will go ahead with plans to seek UN recognition for an independent state.

Without a credible political path forward, accompanied by more farreaching steps on the ground, the viability of the Palestinian Authority and its state-building agenda — and, I fear, of the twostate solution itself — cannot be taken for granted

T

HE Palestinians will approach the UN Security Council in September to seek full membership in the global body, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on Wednesday. ”We are going to the Security Council through a request to the secretary general of the United Nations to seek full membership in the UN and recognition of Palestine on the 1967 borders,” he said.

Abbas made the remarks in an address to the PLO Central Council, which is meeting in Ramallah to endorse the United Nations membership bid.

He told the council that 122 nations had already recognised a Palestinian state on the lines that existed before the 1967 Six Day War, which would include the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.

Abbas insisted that seeking UN membership did not contradict a commitment to negotiations, adding that the international community, including the Middle East Quartet of peacemakers, had proved incapable of pressuring Israel to halt settlement construction and accept the 1967 lines as a basis for peace talks. ”The choice of peace is our choice,” he said. “Our first, second and third choice is peace-

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas gestures as he delivers a speech in which he said the Palestinians will in September approach the UN Security Council to seek full membership in the global body at a meeting of the Central Council in the West Bank city of Ramallah . ful negotiations.” ”But after the failure of the Quartet to lay out foundations for the negotiations, which are a halt to settlement building and using the 1967 borders as a basis for the Palestinian state, it is now too late

for negotiations,” he said. ”It is too late, there is no time — we are going to the UN.” The meeting of the PLO Central Council comes five days after Abbas convened a gathering of Palestinian dip-

lomats in Istanbul to finalise the strategy for the membership bid.

The Central Council is the PLO’s most important decision-making body in the absence of the Palestinian National Council, the parlia-

Who killed this rebel commander?

The assassination of General Abdel Fatah Younas, Libya’s former interior minister and number two in Kadhafi’s regime prior to his defection in February, has fuelled widespread rumours amid unconfirmed reports that the rebels themselves arrested and killed him for treason.

T

HE death of General Abdel Fatah Younes, commander of forces fighting to oust Moamer Kadhafi, was cloaked in mystery Friday, as rebels pointed the finger of blame at the Libyan leader.

Younes was shot dead by an armed gang after he was summoned from the front by the rebel National Transitional Council “for questioning over military issues,” NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil said late on Thursday.

His killing, and that of two military officers with him, deals military and political blows to the rebels that could indicate divisions within their ranks, even as they make fresh advances in a pre-Ramadan push to drive Kadhafi out.

“With all sadness, I inform you of the passing of Abdel Fatah Younes, the commander-in-chief of our rebel forces,” Abdel Jalil said in a carefully worded statement at a press conference in Benghazi, the rebels’ eastern capital.

“The person who carried out the assassination was captured,” a somber looking Abdel Jalil said without elaborating. He added there would be three days of mourning in Younes’s honour.

Around 200 mourners paid their respects to Younes at a wake early on Friday in the premises of the general’s villa in Benghazi, a witnesss said.

A senior opposition figure in Benghazi on Friday accused Kadhafi of playing a role in the killing. The early reports from

•Younas Tripoli that Younes had been killed suggested Kadhafi wanted it in a bid to get rebels to withdraw from the strategic eastern oil town of Brega.

“All these are signs Kadhafi was behind it,” the official told AFP, asking not to be named. He downplayed the risk of any divisions in the ranks of the rebels or score-settling by tribes.

“I think this problem will pass with no big consequences because people know it is to Kadhafi’s benefit and people are against Kadhafi. Even his tribes were reasonable knowing it is trap by Kadhafi to make problems.”

Two of the leaders of the Al-Obeidi tribe, to which Younes belongs, were alongside when Abdel Jalil announced the assassination.

The scenario that the rebels may be fighting among themselves could pose awkward problems for the many Western powers who have recognised the NTC as the sole legitimate authority in Libya. Rebel leaders tried to damp down the spec-

ment-in-exile which rarely meets.

Palestinian officials say they are not planning on unilaterally proclaiming a state as they did in Algiers in 1988, nor will they seek recognition from the UN as a whole.

Instead, they will continue to work for endorsement on a state-by-state basis, while applying for membership in the global body.

Approaching the Security Council would be the only way for the Palestinians to gain full membership in the UN. But officials in Ramallah have indicated that they might also consider seeking General Assembly backing for an upgrade from their current observer status to that of a non-member state.

Such an upgrade would allow the Palestinians to join all the UN agencies, including the World Health Organisation, the child welfare agency UNICEF and the world heritage body UNESCO. It could also provide an

alternative for the Palestinians if the United States vetoes its bid for membership in the Security Council, as Washington has already threatened to do.

Ahead of Abbas’s speech, Israeli public radio said an internal meeting of Israeli foreign ministry officials had concluded that the Palestinians would seek recognition in the General Assembly and not risk a veto in the Security Council. ”They are going to take this path ... They are going to play on the General Assembly,” Israel’s UN ambassador Ron Prosor told the radio, adding that the Palestinians were still reluctant “to reveal their hand.” ”They can take this step in the last 48 hours before a vote,” he said. ”The United States for its part has restated its willingness to impose a veto at the Security Council,” Prosor added. ”We can only note that the Palestinians have yet to commence steps to submit a motion to the Security Council and that some Palestinian leaders, including (prime minister) Salam Fayyad object to a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state,” a foreign ministry official told AFP. On Tuesday, the UN’s special envoy for the peace process told the Security Council the Palestinians were “ready to assume the responsibilities of statehood at any point in the near future.”

Robert Serry called on Israel “to do more to empower its moderate, committed and peaceful Palestinian partner,” and warned that the deadlock in peace talks could have grave consequences.

“Without a credible political path forward, accompanied by more far-reaching steps on the ground, the viability of the Palestinian Authority and its statebuilding agenda — and, I fear, of the two-state solution itself — cannot be taken for granted,” he said.

Source:AFP

ulation.

“I ask you to refrain from paying attention to the rumours that Kadhafi’s forces are trying to spread within our ranks,” Abdel Jalil told journalists after a lengthy closed door meeting with NTC members.

Moments after the announcement, two vehicles loaded with an anti-aircraft gun and at least a dozen armed men shooting in the air arrived at Tibesti hotel, where the announcement was made.

A witness said that they later managed to enter the hotel with their weapons but security forces calmed them down and convinced them to leave. “They shouted ‘You killed (Younes)’,” in reference to the NTC, he added.

At least three loud explosions shook the centre of Tripoli late Thursday, as Libyan television reported that planes were flying over the Libyan capital, which has been the target of NATO air raids.

Al-Jamahiriya television reported that several “civilian sites” had been bombed by NATO on Thursday. Libyan rebels seized two localities near the Tunisian border earlier in the day as part of their offensive ahead of the start early next week of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, an AFP correspondent said.

The first was the town of Al-Ghazaya, some 12 kilometres (eight miles) from the frontier and the second was Umm AlFar, a hamlet of a few hundred inhabitants 10 kilometres northeast of there.

The Nafusa mountains have seen some of the fiercest fighting between loyalist troops and rebel forces. The two sides had fought their way into a stalemate five months after the start of a popular uprising that quickly turned into a civil war.

The Libyan leader controls much of the west and his Tripoli stronghold, while the opposition holds the east from its bastion in Benghazi.

In Brussels, a NATO official told AFP that Norway will fly its last combat mission in Libya on Saturday, two days before the official end of its role in the air war.

Norway, one of eight NATO members that have conducted air strikes in the four-month-old operation, was the first to set an end-date for its participation when it decided last month to withdraw on August 1.

A Norwegian military spokesman, Colonel Petter Lindqvist, refused to confirm that Saturday would be the last flight.

Source:AFP

9

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

T

HE cold blooded murder of Norwegian youths by a deranged manAnders Behring Breivik - and the spectacle of him being driven away by the police like a state visitor to that nation , illustrates vividly in my mind the arrogance of a democratic modern state with respect for the rule of law at the expense of its security . Similarly the statement by the President of the Supreme Council for Sharia Dr Datti Ahmed that Muslims will go to war if Islamic banking is not brought into being as planned by the Central Bank of Nigeria illustrate the arrogance of religion in a democratic system of government in Nigeria .

In Afghanistan, definitely the most dangerous place to live in the world right now, a suicide bomber who hid his bomb in his turban killed the Mayor of Kandahar city Ghulam Hamid in the corridor of his office and the Taliban has claimed responsibility These three issues and the ways they have reverberated around global events last week influence my chain of thought today .

The reaction of the Norwegian society led by its government and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg to the horror of the cold blooded murder of hundreds of the flower of Norway’s youth has been most guarded and controlled and in my own view almost too cold bloodedly sane . I doubt if that sort of reaction would have obtained in any other nation in even Western Europe except perhaps the Low nations which anyway are Norway’s neighbors like Denmark or Sweden .

In Britain or France I am certain the mass hysteria will still be on by now and in Nigeria or indeed any African nation the murderer Anders Behring Breivik will certainly not be brought in alive not to talk of his being taken to court in a luxurious jeep as the police did in Norway .Conversely in any nation that values its security and the secularity of its constitution which allows freedom of worship the Sharia Council boss will certainly be arraigned by now for treason and acts and utterances of incitement injurious to the peace and stability of the Nigerian nation.

As for Afghanistan which is a democracy and where there is no love lost between the Taliban- who are religious leaders deposed by the Americans after 9/11 and replaced in elections by an elected government - and President Karzai whose half brother was assassinated by the same Taliban a few weeks ago , the orgy of violence and retaliations continue as the Americans prepare to leave the Afghan people to their fate in the hands of the Taliban as from the end of next year .

However while the motive of the Taliban is clear

The arrogance of democracy and religion

but bloody in wanting to wrest control of the Afganistan state from its democracy and return it to an Islamic state , that of the lunatic in Norway and the Chairman of the Sharia Council in Nigeria are simply traits , actions and intentions which ought to be nipped in the bud in a democratic state . Beivic in Norway published his motive on the internet before setting out on his murderous mission .

He felt that the Labor Party in power in Norway was allowing the Islamisation of Norway and he felt that he would send a potent message to end that by killing the next generation of Norwegian youths mainly between the ages of 19 and 23 at the party’s youth retreat ; and he killed 76 innocent youths in Utoeya Island and blew a hole in the Prime Minister’s office in Stockholm killing 8 people . Breivik saw himself as a Knight Templar modeled after the Christian military group that protected pilgrims to the Holy Land during the Middle Ages. The Knight Templars were called ‘Poor Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon’ and a legend was

created about them for acts of valor and charity. I once watched an historical documentary about them which stressed that they became quite rich and were later accused of corruption by the Church and a French King wanted to seize their fortune which they cleverly siphoned away and some were later found buried under huge mountains in Scotland in later years . Indeed that documentary credited the Templars with having started modern banking and money transfers during the Middle Ages .

I forgot their name after the documentary only to be violently reminded by the horrible crime by the mass murderer of Utoeya Island claiming to be acting on behalf of the Knight Templars of Norway.

Already Beivik has failed in his motive as the Leader

of the Labor Party in Norway has stressed that Beivik used weapons but the people of Norway have their rights which he can never take away from them in the open and democratic society they so much value .

But then as someone said so ruefully after the disaster , may be the open society needs to be more vigilant in spotting quickly enough the lone dangerous wolf like Beivik , stalking and planning murder and mayhem ; and I add ,unfortunately literally lost in plain sight , right in the midst of the free and open society .

Really I think rights must be respected but Beivik has surely used his rights to the detriment of the larger society and should not be given the same right of fair or prolonged trial since his published manifesto and the killings are sufficiently

grim and acceptable evidence enough to secure his conviction. Even a psychiatrist is not necessary to prove he is insane as he definitely is not as his actions are well spelt out and premeditated on the internet . His trial makes a mockery of the rule of law as well as an ass of the law in a democratic and free society.

Two reactions to Dr. Datti Ahmed’s call to arms tailor my thoughts on his utterances . The first is that of Dr Lateef Adegbite the well known Secretary of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs headed by the Sultan of Sokoto.

The second is a news report saying that a CBN official said to be a Special Adviser to the CBN governor on non – interest [Islamic ]Banking Dr Bashir Umar said that 28.45m Muslims in Nigeria are excluded from banking and the establishment of Islamic banking would ensure their inclusion . First let me say that I find both statements mischievous and controversial . First Dr Adegbite has little clout in terms of credibility on a matter that someone like Datti pronounces on on Islam in the nation . The only counter to that can be the Sultan of Sokoto as Head of the Muslims in this country . The present

The present Sultan is well placed to do this having established a reputation as a nation bridge builder across the country given his background as a former military officer .So if the Sultan talks people will listen on the matter and the heated political system will calm down

Sultan is well placed to do this having established a reputation as a nation bridge builder across the country given his background as a former military officer .So if the Sultan talks people will listen on the matter and the heated political system will calm down .

But CBN’s Dr Bashir Umar has definitely heated up the polity with his utterances . Anyway when did the CBN start having Special Adviser to the CBN governor on non interest [ Islamic] Banking ? Does a CBN governor with a Master’s degree in Islamic studies need such an adviser? Where did the Special Adviser get his statistics and who told him that the 28m Muslims he identified would opt for Islamic banking as their choice in a free democracy .?

Like I said sometime on this page , the CBN has politicized the issue of Islamic banking into a divisive issue in this nation and the CBN governor should be told to watch his utterances and that of his aides on the matter . I have written before that non interest banking has existed here in this nation before and the issue should be handled objectively . As I said sometime and still repeat it is neither an issue for a jihad or a crusade .

The events in Norway , Afgahnistan and Boko Haram in Borno State illustrate vividly the grave and deleterious danger of allowing religion to mix with politics unchecked in the running of any democratic dispensation . A word certainly should be enough for the wise .

10

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

When violent clash breached Jos’ fragile peace T

•Riot policemen on patrol

Yusufu AMINU Idegu, Jos

•Jang

‘

I didn’t expect this one because we have been spending sleepless night with all the security agencies in the state to ensure the prevailing peace is sustained

‘

HE fragile peace of Jos, the Plateau State capital, suffered yet another breach last Saturday when armed Christian and Muslim youths clashed at Angwa Rukuba part of the beleaguered city, leaving five people dead and 12 others seriously injured.

It was a major setback for the reconciliation efforts that were being championed by the Plateau State Government and some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the state. Angwa Rukubain Jos North Local Government Area is reputed as a major flash point in the state capital, which has virtually been grounded by continual sectarian violence in the past decade.

Since 2001 when major religious crises broke out in Jos, Angwa Rukuba has become prominent for all sorts of violence, to the extent that a mere rumour that a Christian has been attacked by Muslims anywhere in any part of Jos was enough reason for an outbreak of sectarian violence at Angwa Rukuba, the home of most of the native Christian population in Jos. Because of the violent nature of the area, it is more or less a ‘no-go-area’ for Hausa Muslims in Jos. In the same vein, Angwa Rukuba youths hardly go near parts of the city dominated by Hausa Muslim residents. This explains the polarisation of Jos city along religious divides; a settlement pattern that began shortly after the 2001 crises.

At the height of the Jos crises in 2010, it was common to find Christian motorcyclists lured to a Muslim zone and killed, just as it was also common to find Muslim motorcyclists lured to Christian areas and executed. The Special Task Force (STF), the security outfit constituted by the government to maintain peace in the state, had a list of death zones in the city where such killings take place.

But the incident that transformed the once peaceful Angwa Rukuba into a militant zone was the multiple bomb blasts that occurred in the area on the eve of Christmas on December 24, 2010. The bombs went off in three different locations in the area, with beer parlours where the native tribes relaxed after each day job as particular targets.

The bomb blasts at Angwa Rukuba left hundreds of the native youths dead while many others were maimed. It was strongly believed that the bomb must have been planted

by Muslim youths, and it has been difficult to persuade the predominantly Christian population of the area to think otherwise.

This state of affairs has accounted for the worsening of

relationship between the adherents of both religions.

But with the new resolve among the citizens of the state

to caution their youths against violent acts towards one another, the violent clash that left

five people dead in Angwa Rukuba last week came as a surprise to many. But for the timely intervention of the STF whose men stormed the area in their hundreds, the violence would have once again engulfed the entire city.

The militancy of Angwa Rukuba youths is such that they have the capacity to attack the soldiers in the STF, who they have repeatedly accused of failing to protect them from attacks. At a time after the December 2010 bomb blasts, the youths gave the soldiers a quit notice, and the soldiers left without hesitation. The youths had insisted they would be better off with the Mobile Police for the protection of their lives.

In the recent clash, according to the spokesman of the STF, Captain Charles Ekeocha, “One Dahiru Musa was reported to have been invited by an unidentified Christian to repair his door at Angwa Rukuba, a predominantly Christian area.

When Musa was not seen after he was invited for the job, it was presumed that he had been killed. Muslim youths became furious and mobilised themselves to the place where Musa was allegedly invited to work.

Their visit to Angwa Rukuba with arms scared the Christian youths in the area who promptly reached into their arsenal for a showdown with the

intruders. Before the intervention of the STF, five youths had died in the clash while about 12 others were seriously injured.

The plateau state government as well as the STF were surprised and disappointed over the clash, which came after several months of peaceful co-existence in the city.

The state governor, Jonah David Jang, said, “I didn’t expect this one because we have been spending sleepless night with all the security agencies in the state to ensure the prevailing peace is sustained.”

A statement signed by the Director of Press Affairs to Governor Jang, Mr. James Manok, reads: “The Plateau State Government condemns the latest violent clash that is coming against all efforts by government and security agencies to sustain the peace so far achieved in the state.

“This will not, however, deter the government in its quest to protect lives and property in the state and restore permanent peace.

“The governor hereby directs the security agencies to do all they can to fish out the perpetrators of the latest violence, no matter who they may be.”

Ekeocha, STF spokesman, is of the opinion that “in spite of the prevailing atmosphere of peace in the state, there will still be pockets of incidents here and there. But this will also be over.

Restoring peace is a gradual process, but it will be achieved in the long run no matter how long it takes.”

‘I consider myself lucky to have escaped tribal marks’

11

Saturday

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

SPECIAL

Ghost of Lagos floods haunts

Port Harcourt, Calabar residents

Social Scene 39

Where body parts are called credit cards

r/19 Thrille

CRIME/ 16

‘I want the mystery of my wife’s and children’s death unravelled’

Continued on Page 12

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

Port Harcourt, Calabar in the

•Collapsed buildings during recent flood disaster in Calabar

•Flood victims wading through water

B

ARELY two weeks after flood visited its fury on Lagos, sweeping no fewer than 10 people into early graves and destroying property worth millions of naira, Calabar and Port Harcourt residents are living in perpetual fear of being visited by the fate that befell the nation’s commercial nerve centre. And they have every reason to be jittery after the heavy downpours that have greeted the two cities lately.In Calabar last Sunday, for instance, it was only divine intervention that saved 15-year-old Maureen, from being swept into her early grave by the flood that resulted from an early morning downpour in the city. Maureen was rescued by vigilant neighbours at Etito Street in Calabar South when her parents’ rented apartment collapsed into the flood that took over most parts of the city.

Maureen was said to have run into the house on sighting the fearful flood that overwhelmed their entire compound.

Unknown to her, the water had already dealt a deadly blow to the foundation of the house in which she sought refuge. The house collapsed into a large channel beside the house, leaving Maureen to flow helplessly with the tide. Fortunately for her, vigilant and courageous neighbours abandoned the battle for their property to frantically comb the water in search of her.

When she was eventually found after about 20 minutes of intensive search, she was unconscious and had to be rushed to the hospital where she was resuscitated. A 65year-old man, Chukwudi, also suffered the same fate when the fence of his house along Nelson Mandela collapsed on him. At press time, he was still recuperating in the hospital.

About three houses in the area, including a storey building, were substantially washed away, leaving the remaining parts vulnerable to collapse.

Altogether, no fewer than 50 structures collapsed while about 500 others were flooded during the disaster in the metropolis, following the 45-minute downpour.

•Mr. Odili Chukwu narrating his ordeal to journalists

‘

•Victims of flood crying out for help

Kunle JOHNSON, Calabar and Bisi OLANIYI, Port Harcourt Although the rain lasted for less than one one hour, but the devastation was phenomenal, even though no one was reported dead at the end of the day.

Assessing the disaster alongside the Chairman of Calabar Municipal Council, Hon. Etta Mbora and that of Calabar South, Hon. Ekeng Henshaw, the Director-General, Cross River State Emergency Management Agency, (SEMA), Mr. Vincent Aquah, MON described the disaster as unprecedented.

He advised the occupants of the collapsed buildings to relocate immediately to avoid further calamity, assuring that both the state government and the councils of affected local government areas would make appropriate arrangements for their welfare.According to him, more than 500 houses were affected by the flood that also displaced about 6,000 persons; a situation he said was disheartening and needed urgent intervention. Aquah expressed confidence that other stakeholders in disaster management, particularly the Ministry of Works, Housing and Environment, would assess the technical needs and address the problem accordingly. The Director-General appealed to the affected persons to exercise patience while government sorts out the modalities for relief. He commended the neighbours and relations of victims for accommodating them.

The Chairman of the Calabar South Local Government Council, Hon. Ekeng Henshaw, said the council was disturbed at the turn of events, which he said was a challenge to the humanitarian spirit of his government.

According to him, efforts would be made to grant affected persons temporary reliefs.

One of the victims whose houses collapsed into the channel, Mr. Moses Archibong, said more than 50 persons, including women and children, were displaced in the area, while property worth about N60 million were washed away by the raging flood in his

Maureen was said to have run into the house on sighting the fearful flood that overwhelmed their entire compound.

Unknown to her, the water had already dealt a deadly blow to the foundation of the house in which she sought refuge. The house collapsed into a large channel beside the house, leaving Maureen to flow helplessly with the tide

estate. He larmented that the people were helpless and had nowhere to go, while the rain has not given them any respite. He attributed the effect of the flood to shallow and poor quality of the channels, urging the state government to expand and deepen them, using quality materials. Areas mostly affected were IBB Way by Akim Police Station; Target

by Goldie; Nelson Mandela by Ebito; Ebito and Murray streets as well as Big Qua town.

It will be recalled that based on NIMET (Nigerian Institute of Meterology) prediction of heavy rains this year, the Director-General, Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr. Vincent Aquah sensitised the public on the need to prepare for possible flooding and its effects, asking them to fortify their structures, clear their drainages and remove structures that were built along waterways. Similar warning had gone to farmers to be wary of the dangers of flooding and to avoid cultivating crops in areas considered vulnerable to flooding, particularly the low lands.

Flooding has been recorded in about 11 of the 18 Local Government Areas of the state, destroying houses and farmlands worth more than N600 million this year. Meanwhile,the

’

South-South Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Mr. Umesi Emenike, has sympathised with victims of the flood disaster in the Calabar metropolis. Mr. Umesi, who expressed the feelings of the national humanitarian agency, said the disaster which affected thousands of people was colossal and required urgent attention.

The South-South Zonal Coordinator observed that the victims were living below human dignity on account of the disaster, assuring that NEMA would in the shortest possible time render humanitarian assistance to them. He called for immediate evacuation of occupants of buildings that had become vulnerable to collapse, to avoid further calamity. Mr. Umesi seized the opportunity to commend the Cross River State Government, which through SEMA had been proactive and committed to helping disaster victims in the state.

The Zonal Coordinator, who was conducted round the affected areas in the metropolis by Aquah, appealed to the state government to endeavour to avert further flood disasters by ensuring improved channelization in the city. The DirectorGeneral of SEMA told the NEMA official that

13

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

he shadow of flood disaster

‘

•SEMA, NEMA officials assessing flood disaster in Calabar prone areas in parts of Calabar to enable the government to undertake remedial measures to tackle the menace.

The governor, who acknowledged the plight of the people whose homes and other property were devastated by the flood, directed the environment and works ministries as well as the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to take immediate action to address the problem.

He assured that the collapsed walls of the water channel and the affected roads would be promptly attended to, to enable inhabitants of the affected areas go about their normal businesses, adding that he appreciated the fact that some losses had been recorded and that people were traumatised by the natural disaster.

The areas he inspected included Target/ Goldie Junction, Ebito Street, and Nelson Mandela Avenue and the damaged portions of Channel One, among others.

Many parts of Port Harcourt have also been sharing the plight of Lagos and Calabar since the rains began. Particularly affected are the magnitude of the disaster was enormous Ikwerre Road and the ever-busy Port and required assistance from the national Harcourt-Aba Expressway, particularly the body. He said the displaced persons were section around Rumuola flyover. either squatting or living in very Ikwerre Road, recently dualised by the dehumanising conditions.

Amaechi administration, is flooded each time On its part, the state government assured it rains, particularly the section in front of the residents of Murray and Ebito streets of the Divisional Police Headquarters, Mile emergency intervention to save the area from One, Diobu. continued flooding.

At the section around the Rumuola flyover, The Commissioner for Environment, Mr. it is a Herculean task for motorists and Edward Ogon, assured during an on-the-spot pedestrians to pass the area each time it rains, assessment of the disaster caused by flooding because it is usually flooded. in the area that the state would immediately Construction activities embarked upon by reconstruct the channels which, according to the Amaechi administration are partly him, were more than 25 years old, to alleviate responsible for the recurrent flooding, the suffering usually experienced by particularly because some of the roads have residents of the area. He noted that the area no drainage. was prone to flood. He maintained that in a Worst hit by the construction-induced bid to ensure that the state remained floods is the Rumuokwuta-Choba axis of the environment friendly, the state government state capital, off the East-West Road and near was constructing many channels to enhance the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT). free movement of run-off water.

Residents of Rumuokwachi, off the The commissioner added that after the Rumuokwuta-Choba road, are not happy reconstruction of collapsed channels and the with the Rivers State Government over the construction of new ones, the issue of incessant flooding of the area, blaming flooding, though a natural occurrence, would Homan Engineering Company Limited, an be put under maximum control to avoid the indigenous firm dualising the road, for their recent experience in Lagos. While thanking plight.

God that no life was lost in the flooding that Owing to the difficulty of channeling the caused the collapse of the Brotherhood of the drainage to a natural waterway or canal, Cross and Star (Ebito Bethel) and other whenever it rains, the flood from Ozuoba, adjoining buildings, Ogon sympathised with Choba, Rumuomasi and Rumuoparali, all in residents for the loss of their valuables. He, Port Harcourt, empty into Rumuookwachi however, warned against erecting structures and result in flooding. at unauthorised places or dumping waste into Landlords in flooded areas are finding it channels, saying this always results in extremely difficult to drive vehicles into their flooding. Residents of the affected area houses. Many tenants in the affected areas appealed for the diversion of water from the are already seeking alternative area, adding that the area was a victim of accommodation in other parts of the city. run-off water from Federal Housing, Murtala The contract for dualisation of the 13.58km Mohammed Highway and Ika-Ika Oqua Rumuokwuta-Choba Road was awarded by areas. the Amaechi government for N8.8 billion on The Commissioner was accompanied by December 10, 2007, with 18-month the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, completion period. But at press time, there Elder Edward Gekpe, engineers from the was still a lot of work to be done.

Erosion and Flood Control Department and The immediate past Commissioner for other management staff of the ministry.

Works in the state, Dakuku Peterside, who is On Monday, Governor Liyel Imoke visited now a member of the House of affected areas and directed relevant Representatives, had described the ministries, departments and agencies Rumuokwuta-Choba Road as a priority (MDAs) to carry out an appraisal of the flood- project. But he admitted that the construction

•Flooded Holy Trinity Catholic Church & environs

Flooding has been recorded in about 11 of the 18 Local Government Areas of the state, destroying houses and farmlands worth more than N600 million this year

’

•DG SEMA (right) explaining flood disaster profile of Calabar metropolis to Governor Imoke

•NEMA South-South Zonal Coordinator, Mr. Umesi Emenike (right) & DG SEMA inspecting collapsed struture in Calabar firm ran into an engineering challenge on where to channel the drainage, since many houses would have to be demolished.

The newly-inaugurated Commissioner for Works, Chief Victor Tombari Giadom, while inspecting ongoing capital projects in Port Harcourt and other parts of the state, urged the people to cooperate with the government in it bid to do things that would make the roads to last longer.

Giadom said Governor Amaechi is aware of the plight of the people, especially in areas where construction activities were going on.

He said everything possible would be done to quickly put an end to the people’s suffering.

He pleaded for their continued support.

But a major cause of floods in Port Harcourt is the attitude of some residents who are in the habit of emptying their refuse in the drains. This, the Chairman of the Rivers State Environmental Sanitation Authority, Mr.

Isobo Jack, described as a major challenge.

Jack asked those who do so to desist forthwith or be ready to face the full wrath of the law, declaring that the authority would not condone indiscipline and lawlessness.

The Amaechi administration has been proactive in tackling flood in Port Harcourt and its environs by setting up a Committee on Flood Control, headed by Mr. Godstime Oluku and another Inter-Ministerial Committee on Flood Control, chaired by Prof. Winston Bellgam of UNIPORT. Bellgam’s committee was set up about two months ago, in response to professional advice on the likelihood of downpour and flooding in Rivers State and other parts of the Niger Delta this year.

It was also discovered that some landlords in Port Harcourt opt to build houses on natural waterways, making flooding inevitable.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

‘My manager’s greed turned me from soccer star into okada rider’ E

VER wondered how it feels to stay at the threshold of fame and prosperity only to crash into the abyss of obscurity and misery? That is the story of Ola Shehu, a soccer star whose rise to international acclaim was only a matter of time, but who by a stroke of ill luck now rides okada (commercial motorcycle) to eke out a living.

The first time our correspondent met Ola Shehu, whose real name is Shehu Babatunde Disu, there was nothing about him to distinguish him from the pack of other okada riders who waited for patronage at Abule Egba Bus Stop in Lagos. It was not until they had begun to discuss as they rode together that our correspondent discovered the victim of ill luck the okada rider had been.

Rather than daring the risk of riding okada in the midst of numerous vehicles on Lagos roads, Disu ought to have been somewhere in England, France, Germany or Spain like some of his contemporaries, rolling in dollars and wiring some across the seas. He had stunned our correspondent with his in-depth analysis of the final match of the COPA America tournament won by Uruguay last week, prompting him to ask Disu how he came about his sound knowledge of soccer. That was when the okada rider opened up on his exploits in the spot and the circumstances that forced him into the dangerous terrain of okada business.

According to him, his football career had begun on a brilliant note in 1985 as a school boy. He said: “I started my soccer career in my school days at the Ansar Ud-Deeen College, Isolo, Lagos State as a defensive midfielder. I eventually featured for my team in the finals of the Principal Cup against St. Gregory’s College, but we lost to St. Gregory’s on penalties. Ike Shorunmu (former Nigerian goalkeeper and now an assistant coach with the national team) was St. Gregory’s goalkeeper then.

“Based on my brilliant performance during the tournament, I was signed on by Henkel FC of Isolo. I played for the team as a central defender and became the team captain even though I was still a student.”

After he left school, his career got a boost.

He became a regular player for notable Nigerian football clubs and won laurels, which he displayed on a shelf at his oneroom apartment.

He said: “When I left school in 1985, I joined the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Football Club, Festac, Lagos. I played there for two seasons. I was a member of the squad that won the Ministry Cup for the team.

“Thereafter, I moved to Prime FC of Abeokuta. From there, I was invited by the then coach of the Under-21national football team, Coach Tunde Disu, in preparation for the U-21 World Youth Championship held in Chile in 1987. But my name was dropped just a few days to the team’s departure for the championship.

“When Prime FC was disbanded, I signed for the Kwara Bombers (now Kwara United) and played in the finals of the FA Cup. After a management crisis, I left Kwara Bombers to join the Obanta FC, Ijebu Ode in 1991, where I played alongside notable footballers like Godwin Opara, Taribo West and Sunday Elebare. I was in the team for five years before I left to play for Concord Football Club of Abeokuta, owned by the late Bashorun M.K.O Abiola.”

Like many of his contemporaries, Disu tried to play professional soccer in Europe, and he was elated when a top Portuguese club, Sporting Lisbon showed keen interest in him. That, however, marked the beginning of his problems.

First, his manager insisted on having a large commission on his contract fees. It did not go down well with him, but like a beggar left without a choice, he agreed and went with his manager to Portugal. Unfortunately the alleged greed of his manager again marred negotiations with Sporting

•Shehu... doing his Okada business

•Shehu the footballer

•Shehu

Kunle AKINRINADE Lisbon in Portugal and both of them ended up returning to Nigeria without a deal. Unfortunately for Disu, by the time he returned to Nigeria, he found himself without a club.

His words: “The management of Sporting Lisbon offered me a contract worth about $1.5 million as a player for their feeder team, but my manager vehemently turned down the offer on the grounds that the amount was too small. I pleaded with him to consider the offer, but he refused.

At a point before the negotiation reached a deadlock, the club even offered to give me out on loan to another Spanish club, but my manager just won’t agree.

“So, after playing for about two months in Portugal, I was forced to return with him to Nigeria. I would have stayed back in Portugal, but he (manager) had seized all my travelling documents.”

Disu also alleged that when he returned to Nigeria, his manager abandoned him and life became miserable for him. First, he could not secure a shirt to play for any top club in Nigeria and his domestic responsibility was weighing him down with no respite in sight. He therefore decided to keep body and soul together as a commercial motorcyclist.

He said: “It was almost a hopeless situation. I could not go back to my former club, Concord FC, because the club owed us more than it could pay, even before I left for Portugal. And some of the top clubs I would have loved to play for were not willing to secure my services. So, with the little money left on me, I bought a motorbike to start okada business, and that is what has been putting food on my table.

“I have children and siblings to take care of, and I cannot afford to turn myself into a public nuisance. Even some of my friends like Nduka Ugbade and Taiwo Oloyede tried to help me but things just didn’t work out.”

Asked why he did not deem it fit to take up a coaching job like some of his colleagues, Disu said he would never think of doing such a thing in Nigeria, because a coach could be messed up over a little mistake.

Be it as it may, Disu pushes on with his bike, as, according to him, “life must continue, no matter the circumstances.”

15

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

New militant group rises in Kaduna A

KHWAT Akwop in Kagoro dialect is believe to mean local police. But this is the name given to an emerging group that is threatening the peace of Kaduna State and environs.

The emergence of the group constitutes an addition to the worries of concerned Nigerians about the nation’s security situation in recent times. Residents of the northern states like Borno, Bauchi, Kaduna, Niger and the Federal Capital Territory have lately been sleeping with one eye open because of the menace of Boko Haram, the violent Islamic sect that has been throwing bombs around the aforementioned parts of the country. Already, there are growing calls for the declaration of a state of emergency in Borno State, regarded as the operational base of Boko Haram.

But while Nigerians are yet to come to terms with the activities of Boko Haram, another group is emerging from Kaduna, claiming to be “an unapologetic Christian socio-political and cultural movement drafted into existence by the prevailing realities in northern Nigeria and Nigeria in general.”

The group, which claims to have been in existence since 2001, claim that “all sons and daughters of southern Kaduna are automatic members either passively or actively.” It also claims that “all sons and daughters of all tribes and ethnic groups indigenous to the far north and/ or in the Middle Belt region are also affiliate members of Akhwat Akwop. Hausa/Fulanis who are Christians are also members of Akhwat Akwop”.

Their mission, according to their mission statement obtained by The Nation on Saturday includes “to stand firm on our religion and defend Christian ideals and way of life; to stop encroachment in whatever guise or form into our farmland; to end marginalisation and demand for equity, fairness and justice; to enhance awareness and pride of p[lace in the dignity of the Southern Kaduna people and northern minorities as well as its culture and tradition; to fight vigorously for the economic, social and political emancipation of all our people and to create enabling social, economic, political and cultural conditions for the wellbeing of our people.”

Their objectives also include “to foster unconditional unity and sense of purpose amongst our people; to reach out to our Christian brothers in southern Nigeria for help, support and prayers; demand loudly and clearly, using all means for a southern Kaduna Christian to emerge the next governor of Kaduna State; to insist on a northern Christian or Middle Belter to emerge the next president of Nigeria, if not, the position should go to the old Eastern Nigeria; and to pursue and fight for these ideals using all avenues at our disposal and stating categorically that nothing and no one is inviolate in the pursuit of our aims.”

The emergence of this group has no doubt added another dimension to the terror activities of militant groups in Nigeria. While the nation was smarting from the activities of Niger Delta militants, the Boko Haram Islamic group emerged.

Now, as security agencies are still wondering how to curtail Boko Haram, another militant group comprising Christian youths is rearing its head. They have threatened to unleash their venom on Muslims whenever Boko Haram attacks or kill a Christian in any part of the north. According to them, they “will ever be in the fore front of the struggle for the emancipation of northern minorities (Christians and Muslims) from continued oppression and inhuman savageries perpetrated by Hausa-Fulani terrorists.”

They raised seven pertinent ques-

•Vows to checkmate Boko Haram

•Aerial view of Kaduna

Tony AKOWE, Kaduna tions agitating their minds about what they described as recent happenings in the nation’s body politic. The unsigned leaflets issued by the group asked “Is it a crime for Goodluck Jonathan to be President?

Is it a crime for Patrick Yakowa to be governor of Kaduna State? Is it a crime for the Sayawa people of Tafawa Balewa to be landlords in their ancestral lands? Why have the innocent people of Plateau State been made to pay so much in tears and blood? Why are innocent farmers in Benue, Kogi, and Taraba continually being attacked and killed by blood thirsty Fulani terrorists?

Why are Christians being killed every day in Bauchi, Yobe, and Borno states? Is it a crime for northern minorities to say enough is enough to Hausa/Fulani oppressors?”

According to them, “majority of Nigerians know that it is the Hausa/Fulani and their misguided allies who always plan and execute mayhem. Akhwat Akwop says enough is enough. We also know than not all Hausa/Fulani are guilty, but we say to whom so ever shall come to equity should do so with clean hands. We shall try to avoid innocent casualties in our operations.” The group claimed to be partly responsible for the post-election violence in parts of Kaduna, saying “our trained commandos recently carried out actions as a defensive measure at different locations in Kaduna State during the post-election crisis. The results are there for all to see.”

They declared that even though they prefer peace to war, they are ever ready for war any time the war drum sounds. In their words: “We prefer peace but ever ready for war.

Boko Haram is hereby warned that if it carries out any further attacks on Christians anywhere in the north, our commandoes will unleash deliberate attacks on selected targets in cities with majority Muslims populations in the far north.

Your people will see and experience what you have been doing to others first hand.

“Akwhat Akwop has never targeted women and children, and we do not intend to ever do so. However, if the fatwa placed on our daughter, Nyeri Debby Yakowa by Boko Haram is not immediately called off, and indeed if anything happens to her or any Christian lady anywhere in the north, we shall unleash a storm of wastage on female Hausa/Fulanis anywhere we get them. Boko Haram must not involve itself in the internal politics of Kaduna State. Kaduna State and

•Yakowa the Middle Belt is a no-go area for Boko Haram. Go back to the desert where you come from.

Hausa/Fulani Muslim men, who wear jeans and T-shirts, sneak into our areas to drink alcohol, cavort with and deceive some of our gullible and irresponsible females should know that their days are numbered. Our commandos have instructions to take you out. You are strongly advised to stay in your Sharia-compliant areas. A warning to our irresponsible ladies and girls who move with these men: when we come for them and you happen to be there, you will have yourselves to blame. Be warned!

“On the issue of unrealistic compensation of Muslims refugees in Kaduna State, Akhwat Akwop reaffirms that indeed innocent Christians were the victims. Christians defended themselves where they were attacked by Hausa/Fulani fanatics who had earlier planned and executed gruesome attacks on their host communities. We have thousands of Christian refugees who are squatting in churches, villages and homes of their relatives. Do the Muslim refugees have no mosques or relatives? Akhwat Akwop states and demands that Christians being the victims must first be compensated in full measure before consideration, in the name of humanity, is extended to Hausa/Fulani aggressors.”

More leaflets from the group obtained by The Nation indicates that the group might have been in ex-

istence long before the dreaded Boko Haram came to limelight.

In 2003, the group had issued a leaflet entitled ,”One North, One People?” where they warned that the “sleeping lion” should be allowed to be. In that leaflet, they said: “Present trend points towards a cataclysmic confrontation… We of Akhwat Akwop categorically state that no more shall our people be killed, robbed and disposed. The final battle line has been drawn and we are now in an eye for an eye mode.”

While recounting series of attack on Christians in the past, they claimed that Christians have always been at the receiving end, but rise to defend themselves, adding that “the response of our brethren in Zangon Kataf (1992) was a wakeup call. Since then, till date, Christians have always had the upper hand in all crisis… The reprisal action at Yelwa Shendam is the first time Christians would launch an attack instead of waiting for the attack to come first. “We have said it again and again, let the sleeping lion be”.

Even though the leaflet was dated 2003 without a particular day or month, it was not immediately clear when it was issued when considered against the backdrop of the fact that the Yelwa Shendam crisis took place during the second tenure of the Joshua Dariye government in Plateau State. Specifically, the reprisal attack which the group spoke about took place on May 3, 2004, after an earlier attack in February of the same year.It was, however, not clear why the group dated the leaflet 2003 while speaking on an event that took place in 2004.

However, spokesman of the Boko Haram Islamic group, Mallam Ali Teshako dismissed the Akhwat Akwop as another “group of vultures” which wants to feast on the misfortunes of the apex government. An online publication, TheWill, quotes Mallam Teshako as saying: “This is another group of thieves who want to seek relevance from the government”.

In another leaflet, which was not dated, the group spoke of several attacks on Christian students at the Federal College of Education, Zaria in 2002, the attack on Christians and the burning of Churches in Makarfi Local Government in April 2004, the attack on a Christian woman at the Kano Central Market in 2003, the seizure of Christian land in Kebbi State, the fact that there are no churches at the Bayero University, Kano and Uthman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto and the attack on Christian students at the Abubakar Tafawa

Belewa University, Bauchi on December 9, 2004. It declared that there must be reprisal attacks.

Security agents had kept sealed lips over the leaflets. But there are reports that the security agencies are currently battling to unravel those behind the group and their sponsors.

But Joseph Hayab, the Special Adviser to the Kaduna State Governor on Religious Affairs, Christian Matters told The Nation that forming rival groups and returning fire for fire could not be the solution to the crises currently facing the nation.

Hayab, who said he was not aware of the existence of the group, said: “This is why we are talking about Nigerians appreciating our togetherness, appreciating our differences and using our differences to promote better understanding. All these groups are coming out as a result of happenings around us. But are they going to help in changing things?

They will only be adding insult to injury.

“I am a Christian, a pastor. I have served in the leadership of a church for quite a long time. I don’t know about this group. I believe they are not fighting for me. They will be fighting for themselves. I believe the best option to attain peace is to dialogue or create avenues for dialogue between Muslims and Christians.

“Well, the country’s constitution provides for freedom of association.

But any association that will endanger the society where you live, we should think twice. People should do what is right. So, I don’t know about the group.”

The government, Hayab said, is worried about the emergence of such a group at a time it is doing everything possible to bring about peace in the state. He argued that “any sensible government will be worried about the emergence of a group whose activities it is not sure of. He said what the government needs to do is to find a way of getting to know who they are, and finding a way to let them understand that the peace of the state is more paramount than returning fire for fire.

“So, if they exist at all, I am using this medium to call on them that that is not the solution to the situation we have now. The situation we have now is how to build this country. If we destroy this country, we will all suffer together. And if suffering comes, it will not affect Muslims and leave Christians or affect Christians and leave Muslims. When we talk about peace, we are not talking about peace for government alone, we are talking about peace for the people in general, so that the common man will have his peace to look for his daily bread, and that will reduce poverty”.

16

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

I want the mystery of my wife’s and children’s death unravelled — PHCN official whose six family members died after dinner •Police detain landlord, son over incident R

•The house where they died

•The late Uchenna •The late Modesta

‘

Adimike GEORGE, Onitsha “In fact, according to the girl, no one in the neighbourhood seemed to have seen any of member of the family throughout the day and it was getting to evening,” Umunna recalled.

Umunna, who resisted our correspondent’s attempt to take his photograph, said he became agitated after speaking with the landlord and he confirmed that he had not seen any member of the family. He said he became even more agitated when he was told that the door to the house was locked from inside. This, he said, was at about 9 pm and it was raining heavily in Awka, where he resides. Hence, he could not return home that night. He said he stayed awake throughout as he anxiously waited for the day to break.

As soon as the day broke, he headed for Uli with two of his children, namely Chidinma, an undergraduate of Anambra State University and Chibuike a secondary school student, who were spending holidays with him in Awka, having finished their ex-

•Mr. Umunna's mother in-law

•The late Caroline

aminations.

Before leaving Awka, he contacted his first son, Desmond, a computer science student at Federal Polytechnic Oko on the phone and told to join him (Umunna) at Uli. Before he to Uli, however, the po-

I spoke with my mother on Thursday evening and she asked me how I was doing in school. I also asked her about the family and, in her usual way, we chatted and laughed.

I never knew it was going to be the last time I would see or speak with my mother

‘

ESIDENTS of Uli community in Ihiala Local Government Area, Anambra State are struggling to come to terms with the reality of the death of six members of a family after a meal of eba.

The incident has not only sent jitters down the spines of the villagers, it has also posed a big challenge to the Nigeria Police Force to unravel the mystery behind the tragic incident in the Umunna family.

When our correspondent met with the head of the family, Mr. Charles Umunna on Tuesday sorrow was palpable in his face. Indeed, he could not help breaking into a fresh round of fatherly tears on sighting the photographs of his departed wife and children.

While they tried to fight back tears over the incident that occurred penultimate Thursday, there was no hiding the anguish that hung on the faces Umunna and his first son, Desmond; his first daughter, Chidimma and his last child, Chibuike, all of who seemed to have handed everything over to God. The bereaved family was taking refuge at the rectory of St. Gregory’s Catholic Church, Uli in the Orlu Catholic Diocese when our correspondent visited.

Umunna, an official of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), was married to Caroline, who until her untimely death was a teacher at Eziama Community School. Other members of the family that were snatched by the cold hands of death included their two daughters, Uchenna, a first year student of Public Administration at the Anambra State University and her younger sister who had just finished her School Certificate Examination.

Others were the mother-in-law of the family, Mrs. Lucy Obodoeke, who had come for medical treatment about three weeks before the incident; a cousin of the family and grandson to the late Mrs. Obodoeke, Master Chisom Okorie as well as the family maid, Miss Ozioma Marcel, who was said to have joined the family only about three weeks earlier.

According to neighbours, the victims had retired to bed after the meal of eba they had for dinner penultimate Thursday only to be found dead in the evening of the following day.

Eerie silence hung over the community when our correspondent on Tuesday as residents smarted from the ugly incident. Although they were not hostile, residents in mournful mien watched the movements of visitors.

Among those who had already signed the condolence register was the Director General of Consumer Protection Council (CPC), represented by the agency’s Zonal Director. It was gathered also that the Council had taken remnants of the food they ate for test in order to ascertain the immediate cause of the deaths.

Narrating his harrowing experience, Umunna said it was in the afternoon of Friday last week that his wife’s cousin called him that he came to their house but there was nobody there. Umunna asked the visitor to check his wife’s shop, but she did and they were also not at the shop.

lice had forced the door open and the corpses of the members of his family had been put in an ambulance to be deposited in the mortuary.

Devastated Umunna said for the past 25 years, he had left his family in Eziama Uli as he moved on

transfer from one state to another.

He said he only moved to his present accommodation in Awka about three months ago.

He said for the 25 years his family had lived in the community, they had never picked a quarrel with any member of the community. In fact, the late wife was a teacher in Eziama Uli Community Primary School, and that accounted for the decision that the family should remain in that community.

He said his late wife had completed her Nigerian Certificate of Education (NCE) programme and was about to complete her degree programme in September.

“I would not know whether it was food poisoning or the handiwork of an enemy,” he said tearfully, adding that all he desired is that the source of the death of his family members was unravelled.

Desmond, a Computer Engineering student at the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, said the last time he spoke with his late mother was on Thursday evening, adding that he had no premonition that anything sinister was about to happen.

According to Desmond, his mother, in her usual humorous manner, had asked him how he was faring in school. He said their discussion lasted a few minutes without he knowing that it was the last time he would speak with his mother and three of his siblings.

“I spoke with my mother on Thursday evening and she asked me how I was doing in school. I also asked her about the family and, in her usual way, we chatted and laughed. I never knew it was going to be the last time I would see or speak with my mother,” he said.

Desmond said the burden of taking care of the family would be enormous.

He recalled that when his father called him very early on Saturday to come home, he suspected that somebody had died in the family.

But he said he never contemplated meeting six members of the family dead.

Meanwhile the Anambra State Police Command has taken over the investigation into the matter.

The Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO), Anambra State Police Command, Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka, said the homicide section of the Command was investigating the matter.

He said the Command is widening its investigation to find out the circumstances that led to the death of six members of the Umunna family. Chukwuemeka said the police were interrogating some people to get possible clues. He advised everybody to remain calm and the family to take heart.

Already, Desmond has made a statement on behalf of the family at Awka, while the landlord and his son who were in the compound during the incident have also made statements and were being detained as at the time of this report.

While the police were about conducting an autopsy on the corpses, it was speculated that the members of the family would bear the cost.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

17

20-year-old allegedly sets father’s shop ablaze •Goods worth millions destroyed W

•The burnt shops and materials

•Adamu

Johnny DANJUMA All the money they made after sales was said to have been kept in the shop.

But while Ugo was Chigozie’s target for the attack, many other families have been affected by the ugly incident. One of the traders whose

•Chioma

•Sunday

shops were razed, Umejanma Sunday told our correspondent at the scene of the fire incident that Ugo had a problem with his son, which he said had lingered till the night the fire outbreak occurred.

Corroborating the theory that Chigozie must have been responsible for the act, Sunday said the news of the fire outbreak got to him around

‘

HAT kind of disagreement would make a young man raze his father’s shop with goods worth millions of naira? This is the question some residents as and other shop owners opposite Parade Ground in Lafia, Nassarawa State who were caught in the web of a battle between a father and his son are finding difficult to answer. The building that housed seven shops of motorcycle spare parts was razed to the ground before dawn on July 24.

The fire, which was said to have started at about 4 am, did not only burn down the building completely, it also destroyed all the wares in it, leaving in its wake only burnt tyres and other motorcycle spare parts.

The owner of the biggest shop in the building, Emmanuel Ugo, was said to have fainted when the reality of the incident dawned on him.

At press time, he was said to still remain in a coma at an unnamed hospital in Lafia. The night guard who gave his name as Abdullahi Adamu, who told our correspondent how the incident occurred, said Ugo had locked his shop and departed home at the end of the day’s business. But not long after, Ugo’s son, Chigozie, aged between 20 and 22 years, returned to the shop with a key he used to open the door and went in.

Adamu said since he knew Chigozie, he decided not to ask him any question. Instead, he called Chigozie’s father, Ugo, who also hurried back to the shop. Surprisingly, immediately Chigozie saw his father, he ran away.

He further explained that Ugo hid a nylon bag, which he suspected contained money, somewhere in the shop, locked up the shop again and left. But Adamu said at about 3 am when calls for prayers were being made, Chigozie appeared again at the shop, this time in shorts a T-shirt, holding a gallon, which he suspected must have contained the fuel he used in setting the place ablaze.

“When I saw that it was fire, I started pouring sand on it, but it was getting out of hand. I removed my shirt and started using it to put out the fire but I could not. I decided to call his father on the phone once again.

“When he (Ugo) came and saw what was happening, he immediately drove to the fire service. Fire men later came with their vehicle but their water soon ran out. One of our neighbours ran to the Water Board to beg for water for the fire men, but they (officials of Water Board) were fast asleep. It took some time before they attended to them.

Before they came, neighbours came out and started helping to put out the fire with water from their homes until the fire eventually went out.

“But the truth is that it was the man’s child (Chigozie) who set the place ablaze. He has since run away and has not been seen.”

Sources close to the family revealed that there had been a disagreement between father and son since Ugo turned down Chigozie’s request for a motorcycle. Since he could not get what he asked for, he decided to set the whole shop containing a number of motorcycles and other spare parts ablaze as a way of getting at his father for declining his request.

6 am. He said when he arrived the scene of the incident, all he saw was smoke. He said the whole building had been razed and he could not save a pin from his shop. He said at the time of the incident, he had four motorcycles in the shop as well as assorted spare parts, both new and fairly used. He reckoned that he must have lost up to N10 million

There had been a disagreement between father and son since Ugo turned down Chigozie’s request for a motorcycle. Since he could not get what he asked for, he decided to set the whole shop containing a number of motorcycles

‘

as a result of the fire.

Sunday, who was almost in tears while narrating his misfortune, said it was too much for him to bear because as a father of eight, he could not tell where he would start from.

“I am nowhere. I am finished. I don’t know where to start from,” he said.

A female victim, who gave her name as Chioma, is equally in a fix on what to do over the fire that engulfed the shop which she was managing with her husband. She said when the news got to them and they arrived at their shop, everything had gone up in flames, including their fridge, stabilizers, DVD players along with their spare parts and motorcycles, as well as connecting rods they had just received from China, leaving them with nothing.

The woman, who said she had surrendered her problem to God to handle, said with three children, a house help and three other people from her husband’s family to carter for, their hope was now gone because the shop was their only source of livelihood.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Richard Akoji, said the police actually got the report but the man alleged to have committed the act was nowhere to be seen. He said Chigozie’s father was still at the hospital and had not recovered enough to give a comprehensive statement.

He, however, said as soon as the father recovered and gave them enough and useful information, they would take it up from there.

18

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

H

ISTORICALLY, the place originally called Ado Ekiti covered the present day Ado and Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Areas. In the words of octogenarian indigene of Ado-Ekiti, Chief Alex Olu-Ajayi, the Odoba of Ado-Ekiti and Head of Ereguru Quartres, “Ado-Ekiti is a very flexible city. The community is quite receptive to non-indigenes. Its traditions are such that are quite amenable to relationships, accommodating all manner of people from all over the world.”

The receptive and cosmopolitan nature of the town, Olu-Ajayi said, is the reason why it has experienced remarkable progress over the years.

“It received visitors, missionaries, public servants and traders from everywhere. And it is at a crossroads as we have about eight roads emanating from the city,” he said.

With a population of about half a million people, Ado-Ekiti enjoys the privilege of being at once the capital of Ekiti State and the seat of Ado Local Government, which is one of the 16 local government areas in the state. This, in more ways than one, has enhanced fortune of the town, because it receives the needed attention from the two tiers of administration.

Dating back to a very long time, Ado-Ekiti has been the centre of gravity for Ekiti indigenes around the world. And as the capital, it offers ready attraction for businessoriented individuals and corporate bodies, as well as other people from other towns in the state who seek opportunities for growth.

A ride through the town would easily reveal its steady strides into modernity. Ultra-modern structures in places like Basiri, Ajilosun, Housing, GRA, Old Ikere Road (now Bank Road) and compete for space and attention in a town that still spots its section of so-called urban slum, especially in areas around Okesa, spreading down to Irona.

Again, old and rickety vehicles once used for commercial transport in the state capital have been sufficiently replaced by new brands of green coated buses and cars, as may be found in other state capitals, courtesy of the current administration in the state, which purchased for the drivers’ cooperatives and unions the new vehicles through cooperative loans the unions are redeeming with relaxed conditions.

However, with growing presence of banks, insurance companies, construction outfits and first grade eateries around the town, there is an explosion in the population of middle class workers from state and federal establishments like the civil/ public service, educational institutions and media houses, who now cruise around the well-paved roads in posh cars and favour shopping malls more than local markets or street shops for their daily needs.

But the modernisation of AdoEkiti is not without its own challenges. The rise in the number of indigenes, corporate individuals and peasants attracted to the capital to share the gains of modernity and development have resulted in pressure on available land and infrastructure, particularly roads.

Major streets in Ado-Ekiti, as in most other state capitals, are now witnessing an upsurge of kiosks, shops, counter of various modes and makes, positioned most of the time without regards to official approval. Now just a bit better than a plague as they obstruct views and access, the so-called business outfits are taking a heavy toll on health and environmental beauty.

There are lock-up shops at a section of Ojaba Market, but they are not enjoying the expected patronage from the community. Traders who cannot pay for stalls at Ojaba Market or whose stalls are a bit recessed to enjoy significant patronage from buyers, also compound the problems, especially in the area between the Central Post Office and Ojaba Market where traders convert

•Fajuyi Roundabout

Ado-Ekiti: Ancient town striving to catch up with modernity

•Government House

Sulaiman SALAWUDEEN parking space and roadsides to shops. They display their wares in wheelbarrows and wooden carts, which they push up and down, compounding both pedestrian and vehicular density and creating artificial gridlocks around the area.

According to the Ekiti State Commissioner for Physical, Urban and Regional Planning, Hon Olaosebikan Kayode Francis, the indiscriminate location of shops derives from an age-long penchant for disregarding the master plan for the town.

According to Olaosebikan, “All the temporary structures made of wood, iron or brick along major roads, including containers placed haphazardly, must be removed as

directed by the state government.

And this will be enforced before long, no matter whose ox is gored.

“Owners of the structures located at setbacks have been given 30 days to vacate the spots to enable the commencement of road expansion or reconstruction work or other types of development efforts, failing which the government would be forced to remove the structures and surcharge their unyielding owners.”

The rise in population and the consequent increase in vehicular density have aided constant traffic snarls across major streets in Ado-Ekiti.

And in recognising the urgent needs to reverse this, the state is planning to construct more access roads.

According to the Olaosebikan, top on the priority is the dualisation of Fajuyi-Ojumose-Okeyinmi- Ijigbo

‘

roads, to decongest Ojaba road.

Upon completion, he noted, commuters would not have to go through Ojumose-Ojaba to link Ijigbo-Ajilosun way. He also said there were plans to expand the Basiri-Nova-Adebayo road, so that if someone does not have a need for Adebayo-Fajuyi Road, it would be possible to by-pass it and come out on Igede-Iyin Road.

He added that the state government is also planning other ambitious road projects, including the construction of a ring road around Ado-Ekiti to further decongest the inner city of traffic and create easy links to the various adjoining towns and settlements as befits a modern setting.

The commissioner, who noted that the construction of new roads

The rise in population and the consequent increase in vehicular density have aided constant traffic snarls across major streets in Ado-Ekiti. And in recognising the urgent needs to reverse this, the state is planning to construct more access roads

,

might involve demolishing private structures, added that the overall and intention of the government would not be to de-empower or deny anyone his or her legitimate means of income, but to sanitise the urban space to agree with modern standards.

Olaosebikan explained: “The real urban renewal the state is embarking on will start from Police Headquartres through BasiriFajuyi-Ojumose Road and link Ajilosun-Asumpta Road while another would involve FajuyiOpopogbooro-Adebayo Road.

According to the commissioner, the administration of Governor Fayemi recognises a critical need to institute all-round and wholesale changes in urban architecture by first working on a well laid-out master plan for the entire Ado-Ekiti, which would be matched with a base map, after which a piece-by-piece implementation of both would follow.

He explained: “The state government is now starting a base map and will launch its implementation when completed. Does it not surprise one that in this modern age, there are still so many structures across Ado-Ekiti without surveys or building plans, not to talk of ‘C of O? “People need to have all the documents for proper monitoring by government, for landscaping, for reasonable designs and implementation of various crucial projects arising from the setbacks, and so on. The state government also want to resettle the present occupants of Ojaba Market to Agric-Olope, off Ajilosun Road, and then rebuild the market into lock-up stalls graced with all necessary conveniences.

“These developments will not be limited to Ado alone. Other towns round our local governments will also benefit, as it is an all round renewal the government is planning.

Nor would the implementation be partial. People, irrespective of religion, ancestry or political leaning, will be affected once they fall within the category mentioned. The coming weeks and months will reveal Fayemi’s commitment in this regard,” he said.

19

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

Saturday

THRILLER

Where body parts are called credit cards An insight into the world of grave robbers, body snatchers and ritual killers

S

hadows shift in the moonlit distance.

They seem to drift from the purity of darkness. They converge around the chrome-fitted rear of a Mitsubishi Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV). Then slowly, each shadow methodically detaches from the stark anonymity of the pack into separate cars, two to be precise. As they depart, their fading rear lights cast some gloominess evocative of dwindling daylight in the vein of dusk. It is unclear what their mission is.

“What do you think?

Iya nla iya credit card ni won nwa (They are seeking the mother of all credit cards),” revealed Dotun a.k.a Owoblow as he taps dreamily against the spare tyre hanging at the back of his car. “You can call me Dotman if you like,” he drawled arrogantly, taking a rummy swill from a silver flask.

Time is 11.36 p.m. on a Monday night. But while the city retires to bed, Owoblow starts to the bustle of an endless deluge, in an open bar

Olatunji OLOLADE, Assistant Editor in Ogba-Aguda, Lagos.

The 28-year-old self-confessed “Yahoo boy (Internet advance-fee fraudster,” “businessman” and “landlord of Lagos city” maintain a colourful clientele. Gangly young boys in their late teens, young adults and undergraduates, market women, politicians and top-flight technocrats, to mention a few, “harass” him with phone calls by day and seek his audience at night; “Na credit card dem dey find,” he claimed.

Unlike most orthodox banks and dealers in credit cards, Owoblow hardly contracts his business by day, and that is due to the rarity of his “credit cards.” Owoblow's brands of credit card are hardly what anyone could find in legitimate, open financial markets. Usually, they consist of singed pubic and armpit hair, dried and fresh human skull, tonsil, genitals and other vital parts of the human body.

Continued on Pages 20-21

20

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

•A typical Lagos cemetery: an attraction for desperate local grave robbers

•Continued from Page 19 “I no dey do wet job (That is, he doesn’t kidnap to kill and supply live humans meaning he sources his merchandise from corpses: …I no fit…Ose ni…ose buruku ni. O man fi ose yi yan ni (it’s dangerous; it puts one in peril),” he said.

There is a pattern to how he operates. The podgy young man, wary of “police trouble” never supplies “credit cards” to his clientele personally. He would never entertain any order by phone or give audience to potential clients unless they are referred to him by trusted friends or associates. Yet when he receives a call from a potential client, he exhibits utmost hostility and then ends the call. No sooner than he ends the call, albeit rudely, he calls that associate of his who recommended the client, chiding him for exposing him to unnecessary risk.

It’s all a ruse; an intricate part of a predictable and time-tested script. Owoblow calls the client back to indicate a rendezvous of his choosing. It is the first meeting that sets the tone for the transaction. He sends a proxy to meet with the client while he watches from a vantage point. The logic being that if the potential client recognises that it isn’t Owoblow that has come out to meet him, he is one to be wary of. He could be an undercover detective, an aggrieved client or an investigative journalist as it was in the case of the reporter.

In spite of his cautiousness, there are people – that is, clients and associates – whose calls he never hesitates to pick.

Owoblow started out as an advance fee fraudster on the internet but following a severe slump in “activity” which he attributes to the incursion of “very small boys” into the “business,” he decided to diversify.

He started offering very rare services linking up fellow fraudsters desperate enough to indulge in money-making rituals with fetish priests in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State and Benin City, Edo State at N55, 000.

Owoblow claims N50, 000 goes to the priests while the extra N5, 000 goes to him as consultation fee even though The Nation findings revealed that two-thirds of the money actually goes to him. Now he has

"The mother

further diversified, offering clandestine supply services for a growing clientele in need of human body parts mostly for moneymaking rituals.

“Bros (brother) abeg bone opata (pay no heed to false impression), any Yahoo boy wey tell you say he hammer (made) $50 ,000 he just dey scope you. Oso lo se.Oso ni everybody nse. (He is definitely into money-making ritual.

Everybody is into money making ritual),” disclosed Owoblow.

It’s a lucrative business that Owoblow runs.

Although he refused to divulge the actual figures at which he acquires and sells various “credit cards (body parts),” the native of Ibadan, Oyo State reveals that he earns as much as N160, 000 from a single transaction, “on a dry day,” he claimed. “On a good day,” Owoblow makes as much as N250, 000 and he smiles to the bank three days a week – Monday, Wednesday and Sunday nights to be precise.

The Nation findings reveal that an entire industry has grown out of the killing of babies, adolescents and adults and their subsequent decapitation and sale of their body parts in Nigeria’s organ black market.

A complete human head, for instance is more expensive than a skull. Then a very fresh human head, particularly one still dripping with blood, attracts greater price than one preserved over time. Thus a fresh head could sell for as much as N500, 000 to N1.5 million depending on the urgency placed on its acquisition by the client.

The price of a dry human skull fluctuates and it is usually more negotiable than a fresh human head. The price ranges from N20, 000 to N100, 000, depending on the reputation of both the headhunter and the client. Not a few headhunters and bodysnatchers, according to a source, prefer to deal with politicians and top-flight

‘

Although dried adult and babe’s tongues sell at N12, 000 and N18, 000 respectively, freshly cut tongue of an adult sells at N20, 000 while that of a babe is obtainable at N50, 000 or more.

The tarsus costs N50, 000 while the toes and fingers cost N10, 000

executives.

“That is because they usually don’t haggle over price. Both their brokers or middlemen and the body-snatchers reap a fortune from such clients,” she explained. Fresh internal organs, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, are obtainable at N150, 000 or thereabouts, depending on the bargaining power and desperation of the client. The penis, vagina and breasts cost N50, 000 four years ago, but they are currently obtainable at N100, 000 or more. Although a dried adult and babe’s tongue sells at N12, 000 and N18, 000 respectively, freshly cut tongue of an adult sells at N50, 000 while that of a babe is obtainable at N80, 000 or more. The tarsus costs N50, 000 while the toes and fingers cost N10, 000. But even though a full body frame, particularly that of a corpse sold at N500, 000 early last year, the price has since fallen to N350, 000 or thereabout due to the influx of desperate youths into the burgeoning industry.

Some even accept ridiculous prices as low as N50, 000 for a live girl or boy even though

’

the ‘tarmac’ (street) price should be N150, 000 upwards, lamented a source. The current street price for a live adult ranges from N500, 000 to N1 million according to The Nation findings.

Not only body-snatchers cum butchers are making a fortune from this burgeoning industry, body-parts wholesalers, mortuary attendants and kidnappers are also harvesting and selling body parts from aborted babies, murdered adults, accident casualties and other cadavers. There are also the reputable dealers who specialise in buying and reselling body parts personally, and others who simply employ a killer or hunt-squad that kidnaps, kills and beheads victims and exhume corpses from cemeteries and mortuaries for dismemberment as the clientele pleases.

Just recently, a contractor at a Lagos teaching hospitalwas arrested by the police at Agbowa, on the outskirts of Lagos, with five ‘Ghana-must-go’ bags containing the bodies of 66 dead babies, which he was supposed to have buried at the Atan

21

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

•Hospital mortuaries like this remain guaranteed cash-cows for grave robbers and head hunters.

of all credit cards" Cemetery, Yaba.

The suspect allegedly paid N50, 000 to the hospital’s Chief Mortician and another N20, 000 to his underlings before he was allowed to evacuate dead babies from the mortuary.

During interrogation, he told the police that he was a contractor with the teaching hospital, whose assignment was to evacuate dead bodies, including dead babies. The policemen, who intercepted his Volvo car were said to have contacted the management of the hospital, which confirmed that he was given the contract to bury the dead bodies at Atan cemetery, Yaba. The hospital, however, questioned his decision to take the dead babies to Ikorodu, many kilometers away from Atan cemetery and it’s premises.

Passersby who witnessed his arrest had peddled rumours that the dead bodies were meant to be sold to ritualists, but the suspect quickly denied the allegation, alleging that it was because the Chief Mortician and his boys fleeced him of almost half of the money the hospital paid him, that he decided to bury the dead kids in a forest at Ikorodu.

However, the hospital’s mortician denied the suspect’s claims, stating that it was the defence of a drowning man.

This was barely one month after police officers on patrol at Ojo, Lagos, apprehended a man with a smelly black polythene bag strapped to his motorcycle. The offensive odour emanating from the bag prompted the police officers to stop him for questioning.

On further prodding, it was discovered that the bag allegedly contained decomposing human parts - a severed female head, two hands, two legs, intestines, and other unidentified human parts. It was gathered that the suspect worked in a cemetery, from where he made away with the human parts.

And still fresh in the heart of most Nigerians was the incident that recently threw the tiny border town of Kankon, Badagry into confusion. The otherwise peaceful community experienced a dark pall as a police patrol team intercepted a commercial vehicle carrying 17 human skulls and other vital human body organs.

Other items discovered in the bus include dried human tongues, teeth, finger nails and human hairs. According to the Police, some of the items had been dried, and were somehow difficult to identify. The officers claimed that they initially thought the driver and the only passenger in the vehicle and owner of the merchandise were smugglers and that the big four “Ghana must go bags” cleverly concealed under the seats of the vehicle, contained used cloths or some other contrabands.

In a desperate bid to get rich quickly, a desperate youth wrapped a human head and took off to Gombe State for its sale, some 350km from Garba Chede, Taraba State.

Unfortunately for him, the commercial bus conveying him was stopped at Mutum-Biu by policemen manning a roadblock who demanded a N20 bribe from the driver. The driver was asked to park for a check when he refused to comply with the police officers’ demand. At this juncture, the impatient youth reached into his pocket and threw a N100 note at the police officers. But the latter rather than release them insisted on searching the passengers. The suspect was caught with the head alleged to be that of his own mother. Some of the passengers who had attended the burial identified it was the head of his late mother whom they buried the previous day. Consequently, the culprit was arrested and taken to the Jalingo Police

Command.

Faces behind the vice There is much speculation regarding the main perpetrators of the incessant ritual murders. “Many youngsters are doing it now, particularly those desperate Yahoo boys, businessmen and politicians,” states Idowu Akintunde, a gifts store owner.

However, Gloria Lemokhu, a teacher and evangelist argues that both the wealthy elites and the poor, ignorant peasants indiscriminately indulge and profit from these practices.

According to Lemokhu, ritual murder and organ trafficking should not be associated with a single particular group. She explains that ritual killings are perpetrated mainly by “native doctors who have been involved in this since time immemorial, mostly through traditional cultic practices.

Further findings reveal that traditional healers use body parts to strengthen the power of charms used to cure ailments or protect their clients from misfortune. A traditional witchdoctor based in Ijoko, Ota, Ogun State explains that there are those who actually enact such gory killings and subsequent decapitation of victims in a desperate attempt acquire more wealth or power. It’s basically part of an income generation scheme, people reportedly commit murder in order to sell victims’ body parts to witchdoctors and traditional healers.

Some clinics and mortuaries also double as slaughterhouses. It is not neither uncommon for corpses to disappear from mortuaries, cemeteries, hospital beds and funeral homes. Severed parts from such corpses, including the liver, tongue, brain tissues, the kidneys, lungs, and the eyes are

much wanted commodities on the street, according to Babakunle Marinwo, a guard at a Lagos cemetery.

Marinwo explained that the most sought parts are the breasts, genitals, skull and the heart, all of which can be purchased the same way groceries are sought and purchased in the open market “if you really know your way,” he claimed.

Towards a safer society “If we consider the experience of other forms of trafficking, an emphasis focusing purely on more punitive measures against ritual murderers, grave robbers, body parts snatchers and head hunters may serve as a mere pinprick. Whilst it is important for the harshest laws against such trafficking to be enacted and enforced against all who participate in the illicit trade, that would simply amount to only one way of addressing the problem. We need to be more decisive and realistic about the inefficiencies of our crime control system. We need to evolve a more drastic, humane and secure way to prevent such crimes and guarantee the safety of every citizen in the country,” advised Ruth Pele-Sewada, a clinical psychiatrist.

Biola Gbadamosi, an hotelier and ritual murder survivor, suggested that people move closer to God. According to her, it remains the surest guard against the machinations of “evil minded people on the persistently on the prowl for potential victims.”

These may probably work for helpless citizenry and potential victims on the street.

For protection against body-snatchers and “Lagos landlords” like Owoblow, Nigeria may just have to do better than that.

22

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

Life, to me, is about giving —Adelusi-Adeluyi, ex-Health Minister

•Adelusi-Adeluyi

I

T was 9 am on Monday, a time eminent persons in his ilk were still resting their nerves in the warm embrace of their wives. The workaholic instinct of 71-yearold Chief Executive of Juli Pharamacy and Chairman, Igbimo Ure Ekiti (IUE), an umbrella body of Ekiti indigenes, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, would not brook idleness.

He was already in his Ikeja, Lagos office on Monday.

With his accomplishments, he should deserves adequate rest, but diligence has become his middle name. Widely-travelled and multilingual with extensive experiance in public service, he is the founder of Juli Plc, the first indigenously promoted company to be quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Formerly Juli Pharmacy Ltd, the company gives prizes to best students in the Faculty of Pharmacy in Nigerian universities.

Adeluyi is a former Federal Minister of Health and Social Services; former National President of the Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce; National President, National Council for Population and Environmental Activities; former Group Chairman of Odu‘a Investment Conglomerate and past National President of the Alumni Association of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS). Today, his veritable legacies are bold in many constituencies, including pharmacy, rotary, chambers of commerce, the church, policy and strategy organisations and law.

Spritely looking on that Monday, he was neatly dressed in snow-white buba and trousers, complemented with his trademark cap. He had barely walked into the pharmacy section of his office when the shrewd businessman in him came to the fore. He

DADA ALADELOKUN, Assistant Editor made a snappy exchange of pleasantries with a client who was already being attended to by his staff. He was all-smiles, and the client, a man, beamed with obvious satisfaction. Shortly after came the moment to attend to a few meetings and files that had ‘anxiously competed’ for his attention.

It took no time afterwards for The Nation on Saturday to discover that the spirit of Ekiti, his home, flows in his veins. Even if he does not know you from Adam, speak Ekiti dialect near the eardrums of the Ado-Ekitiborn prince and you become his instant friend. His brief moment with this reporter centred on the sought genuine oneness and welfare of Ekiti people with unalloyed integrity as key word.

“Igbimo Ure Ekiti (IUE) is an organisation bringing together Ekiti indigenes of goodwill with transparent integrity and demonstrable love for Ekiti to pool their resources of goodwill, talents, treasures and intellect to re-establish respectability, political stability, love and affection, peace and progress among the people of our homogeneous state,” he declared with passion almost touchable in his voice.

He would not entertain any distraction as he continued, disclosing the rationale behind the initiative: “The inspiration to form IUE came nearly 10 years ago after wide and deep consultations within and outside Ekiti. We took our time and studied the temperature of the environment. At last, the first meeting was held on September 23, 2010 in Lagos . Present were prominent Ekiti indigenes including Bishops, Imams, royal fathers, captains of industry, professors and diplomats.

From his lips flowed names of a few of members of the group who graced the occasion with others: Sir Remi Omotoso, Chairman, DN Meyer; former President, Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN); Dele Adesina (SAN); Anglican Bishop of Lagos West Diocese; former vice-chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Professor Peter Adeniyi; an executive of Vitafoam Plc., Chief Sam Bolarinde; a former Military Administrator, Admiral Dehinde Joseph; Ambassador Bayo Ayeni and Dr. Mrs. Funke Adebajo, a distinguished medical practitioner.

Though the IUE, according to Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi (OFR, MNI), recognises the existence of various extant indigenous groups pursuing the prosperity of Ekiti in one form or the other within and outside Ekiti, he affirmed that IUE would fully complement their efforts to further entrench the rightful place for Ekiti in the scheme of affairs in Yoruba-land and the nation.

Membership of the IUE, he explained, is based on invitation, adding: “It is open to all qualified Ekiti indigenes who imbibe the core values of the Ekiti people, including dignity, reliability and integrity; who are committed to the wholesome socioeconomic development of the state; who understand the psyche of Ekiti people and the need for reason, accommodation and patience in handling matters of mutual interest; who are passionate for results, pursuing actions rather than words; who are not in active partisan politics; who are proven leaders in their chosen professions, businesses, vocations or community and who are socio-economically stable.”

“The IUE works through three committees namely: Conflict Prevention and Resolution

Committee; Research and Development Committee and Networking Committee.

There is an advisory committee comprising senior and respectable persons of Ekiti origin within and outside Nigeria . Members of the Advisory Body will be consulted and briefed jointly or severally as the need arises,” he added.

He further emphasised: “As a homogenous state, we are out to pursue a common agenda for the good of all, which is devoid of partisan politics, religion or any other form of sectional interest. We want Ekiti that will be a solid state and a major player in our national affairs.”

Obviously moved by the plight of his people in the current worrisome dispensation, he rose to his feet, fuming: “How do we begin to re-discover those economic traits that galvanised and enabled the poorest of our parents to send their wards through college? How do we begin to seriously contend with the multi-faceted problems that today confront all of us in Ekiti, but more so our young, educated population who, in their hundreds of thousands, are pacing up and down the streets of Abuja, Lagos and elsewhere, searching for non-existent jobs? How come otherwise qualified Ekiti indigenes are short-changed when it comes to appointments and promotions? How do we take Ekiti back into the main economic artery of our nation? How do we get our respectability and honour back? How do we network effectively to use what we have to get what we want? How do we make knowledge from the fountain of knowledge functional? These are part of our urgent concerns.”

“Ekiti State, he contended, “is powerfully •Continued on Page 39

23

Edited by: VICTOR AKANDE

Tel: 08077408676

E-mail: victor_akande@yahoo.com

ntertainment

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

t c a n I ca e d u n . . . d e d i v o r p SEE PAGE 28 -37

LOCATION

BACKSTAGE

SNAPSHOT

REEL NEWS

MUSIC

SCREEN

, r o t c a n a i —Ghana h o t t A s i r h C

From Hollywood's Angelina Julie to Bollywood's Salman Khan and Nollywood's Genevieve Nnaji, actors have their seasons, when they are hot and spicy. It is then that producers fall over one another to get them to feature in their movies.

Movie buffs too would buy any movie with their faces on its jacket just to have a glimpse of their star actor. Ghanaian actor, Chris Attoh, in recent times, remains that face to beat in the Ghanaian movie industry known as Ghollywood. Very picky in his roles, Chris, who also stars in M-Net-sponsored TV soap, Tinsel, in this interview with MERCY MICHAEL, talks up-close-and-personal.

24

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

Wit

VICTOR AKANDE

Afro Hollywood Best Entertainment Writer 2009

E-mail: victor_akande@yahoo.com Tel: 08077408676 (SMS only)

G

SNAPSHOTS

nt part of An importa s of any the succes is its civilisation late the mu ability to e t led to the a factors th f other success o s.—Eric civilisation rt Reine

STANDh BY!

UGU Michael, the director of Dangerous Men, it was who came crying to me that his film had been banned by the National Film and Video Censors Board. About six months after, the movie began showing at the Silverbird Cinemas. That incubation period as it seems has definitely fulfilled some terms of resolution. Be that as it may, I dare say that a film that would not be accepted by the government would not be, no matter how much the filmmaker chooses to bend.

Bending brings us to the issue of principle upon which an art work is based. It is not all films that are that flexible, because of a truth, there is no midway between good and bad. But let's just say we are all political animals as the saying goes, and in such belief is where you find filmmakers who are artistically commercial. Gugu sure falls in this category as you will soon find out and this is not a fault.

The principle of art in the real sense of the word is not the decorative arts and crafts that it used to be solely before the renaissance of the 14th and 16th centuries. This has even grown with time and I see it as a revolution of life ignited by activism; I see it as divinelyinspired creativity and in certain cases, an artist's work became the object or subject of special pilgrimage and reverence. Without mincing word, Gugu had merely made a commercial movie with a political theme making his art more sensational than critical.

But I find two recent examples of filmmakers most interesting to relay to us. They are none-Nigerians whose works have been banned by the government of their countries based on political thematic expressions that bite like the truth.

THINK

Funke Akindele acquires multimillion naira mansion?

Film in exile!

The principle of art in the real sense of the word is not the decorative arts and crafts that it used to be solely before the renaissance of the 14th and 16th centuries. I see it as a revolution of life ignited by activism; I see it as divinely-inspired creativity and in certain cases, an artist's work became the object or subject of special pilgrimage and reverence nd

Here at the 32 Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), Indian filmmaker, Leena Manimekelai, brings her film to exile. Entitled The Dead Sea, the flick is a haunting film about the lives of Tamil fishermen and the difficulties they faced during the Sri Lankan war, had its World Premiere. This blend of fiction and documentary is a protest against the injustices and ethnic cleansing, which is considered a prodigal film by the Indian government and thus was banned. And although there is a prolonged court case on the issue, the movie has continued to find expression at film festivals such as the DIFF. I find a particular line most captivating in the movie and I thought I should share it with you; it reads: “I have always advocated that the people be armed, but now, I am convinced that not only the people, but the government should be disarmed.”

It is only at film festivals like this that movies that do not find freedom in their country of origin get hearing. This way, the filmmaker's vision of expression is assuaged.

Where are the activist filmmakers in Nollywood? If you remember the story of Hubert Ogunde who had his own share of film activism as his play Yoruba Ronu, a satirical account of the strife that plagued the Yoruba in the 1960s was banned in western Nigeria but was produced with great success in other parts of the country

I recall that Iranian filmmaker; Jafar Panahi, even suffered a worse fate. Not only was his film banned by the government of his country, he was committed to six years in prison and was banned for 20 years from filmmaking by the Iranian government for attempting to explore the social situation in his homeland through a movie that appeared to the Iranian government as state offence.

Although convicted, Panahi has been celebrated world over for what he stands for.

This included being invited earlier in the year to the International Jury of the Berlin Film Festival as a way of celebrating the artiste and protesting his incarceration.

Where are the activist filmmakers in Nollywood? If you remember the story of the first Doyen in Traditional Nigerian Drama, late Hubert Ogunde, who had his own share of film activism, you will agree there is need for us to do more. His play Yoruba Ronu, a satirical account of the strife that plagued the Yoruba in the 1960s, was banned in western Nigeria for some time but was produced with great success in other parts of the country.

The political terrain requires filmmakers who rather than grumbling should bring to filmic expressions the numerous ills that plague us as a nation, the latest being Boko Haram and other politically motivated bombings around the country.

Just like Hubert Ogunde's Yoruba Ronu (Yoruba Think), it's right about time for Nollywood to think.

WRITE TO US! Do you watch Nollywood movies? What do you think of the Nigerian motion picture industry? Send your review of any movie or short essay on any topic of your choice about the film industry in not more than 200 words. Send entries by e-mail to: victor_akande@yahoo.com or SMS your short comments to 08077408676

I

F rumours reaching us are anything to go by, then star actress Funke Akindele has just joined the league of landlords with the recent purchase of a Lagos home.

The newly acquired edifice is said to be located within Agbalajobi Estate, off Wempco road Ikeja Lagos.

Sources revealed that her reason for keeping the good news secret is because she's trying not to be loud about her recent acquisition in order to maintain a modest outlook among friends and fans.

•Funke Akindele

Amaka Igwe to hold first audition after seven years

R

ESPECTED filmmaker Amaka Igwe is set to hold auditions across the nation, starting with Lagos on August 5, 2011.

Over the years, auditions held

by Amaka Igwe have led to many breakthrough careers in Nollywood and beyond.

The famous creator of Nigerian television classics such as Checkmate and Fuji House of Commotion, and director of some of Nollywood's most respected films such as Rattlesnake, Violated and Forever says holding these auditions is in line with her tradition of discovering new talents.

“We have always held auditions every one or two years. We haven't held one in a while and we have decided to hold one now, especially as we are gearing up for new productions and completion of some that we started last year.”

According to the Chief Operating Officer of Amaka Igwe Studios, Chris Ihidero, those who have auditioned at AIS at any point in the past and have filled the Artiste Form are not expected to attend these auditions as the studio already has their profile and pictures.

“We are looking for fresh talents, hoping to give opportunities to a new set of actors. Those we have auditioned in the past we already know about. We are holding these auditions around the country because we have new projects,

including a major film to be directed by Amaka Igwe in September 2011. This will be her first film since 2004, although she has continued to work on television dramas and comedies.

This film will be a blockbuster so we are looking for the best fresh talents Nigeria can offer.”Actors are expected to come and pick up free audition forms from Monday August 1, 2011, attach two 5'7 pictures (Bust and Full body) and submit before the day of the audition.

The Lagos auditions will hold from 10a.m. at Amaka Igwe Studios, 44A, Palm Avenue, MKO Abiola Gardens, Alausa - Ikeja.

The dates of the auditions in other parts of the country will be announced on a later date.

•Amaka Igwe

25

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

RE ELNEW S Christy Essien Igbokwe will be given a befitting burial

P

LANS are underway to ensure that the first and only female president of PMAN, Christy Essien Igbokwe, th who died in Lagos on the 30 of June, is given a burial akin to that of a head of state.

That much was revealed by the Chairman of the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Chief Tony Okoroji, while speaking to a group of musicians at the COSON premises in Ikeja last week.

He further called on all artistes across the country to prepare themselves to participate in an unprecedented funeral for the Lady of Songs.

“Nothing is being left to chance. We are working round the clock. Christy Essien-Igbokwe will be buried like a queen … indeed. Her burial will be like that of a Head of State,” he asserted.

Chief Okoroji, who heads both the Ceremonial and Publicity sub committees for the burial of the musical icon, said, “In celebrating Christy Essien-Igbokwe, we celebrate every creative person in Nigeria, we celebrate every Nigerian woman who has sought to actualize herself from humble beginnings. We want to inspire women. We wish to inspire young people who seek careers in the arts and assure them that they can themselves become great and be celebrated. We are inspired by the outpouring of emotions since her death and we are organizing a series of events that will have something for every fan of Christy EssienIgbokwe.”

According to Chief Okoroji, the burial plans for the Lady of Songs will be unfolded at a major press conference planned for the Igbokwe family residence on the

Uche’s Damage movies premiere tomorrow

•Late Christy Essien Igbokwe

2nd of August in Ikeja.

The burial committee consists of high powered individuals such as Dr. Austin Izagbo ( Chairman Grand Burial Committee), Ken Calebs Olumese, Onyeka Onwenu, Tee Mac Itseli, Fred Agbaje, Clarion Chukwura, Yeni Kuti, Laolu Akins , Daniel Wilson, Nonye Ben Nwankwo and Alozie Uzoukwu among others.

Mirror Boy up for 12 nominations

•Uche

GOMAN plans two-day music fiesta …set to inaugurate new exco Ahmed BOULOR

•Genevieve Nnaji and Osita Iheme

Supermom Season 2: Teacher, Widow slug it out

• Ekpeyong Okon Bassey

26

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

It is , g n i s i r surp s a w I t bu d e r e v o c s di by 2face k c a h s e M — based act, ir r a W c ti e g r e En rneyed to u jo y tl n e c e r , k Meshac to promote his t s e u q is h in s Lago entitled m u lb a t u b e d k 16-trac ’. He hopes to e u r T e m o C m ‘Drea urgeoning b f o d n a r b a build terview with in is th In . r e e car e artiste, th , R O L U O B AHMED taken for is m e b ld u o c whose voice ce Idibia, fa 2 , r to n e m is that of h journey from is h t u o b a e k spo is quest to h in s o g a L to Warri imself, among h r fo e h ic n a carve other issues.

It was an exciting feeling performing 2face's song at the Touch of Genius Series.

2face is my mentor, he discovered me, he structured my songs and he actually requested I came to Lagos to polish my career in music. It was an unexplainable feeling performing his songs most especially because he was part of the crowd on the night of the performance and he was hailing my performance on stage.

I was practically over the moon…

27

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

Kidz Star:

Set to unearth more talents

Darey croons for Lagos ladies

I Go Save seals deal with Canadian firm

…Drops new single ‘Sisi Eko’

Ahmed BOULOR

•I Go Save

Here comes Gulder Ultimate Search 8

MTV to bring fireworks to Friday night TV •Ice Prince

•Sound Sultan

28

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

SMALLS C REE N

•Karen

•Lomwe

•Hanni

Who emerges winner of Big Brother Amplified?

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

COVER COVER

37

COVER COVER

‘Why I don’t feature in too many movies’ •Kate Henshaw

Chris Attoh with friend

•Attoh

I don't smoke.

I've quit smoking.

It's one of the hardest things I had to do

•Sharon

•Luclay

•Vina

ALLOY AGU’S CAREER DIARY

I wept after Moscow ‘85 loss to Brazil

Pg. 32,33

Bewarang raises alarm over corruption in football

Pg. 36

Nation PAGE 29

Saturday, July 30, 2011

•Okagbare •Chukwumerije

•Toriola

TOP 50 OLYMPIC 2012 CONTENDERS

Okagbare, Chukwumerije, Toriiola, others fail to make list Pg. 34

30

NATION SPORT

•Dauda

A

T what stage is handball development in Nigeria today?

There is an annual handball championship in Sweden called the Batiley Cup. This is not the first time we are coming second in this championship. Last year, Ondo State boys under 15 went there and came second in the tournament. This year, Niger Boys came second. The other two teams that came with them from the Niger Delta lost out in the quarter finals, and I think that is a good development.

The handball Federation of Nigeria seems to be concentrating more on youth championship. What do you intend to achieve with this strategy?

Why we concentrate more on youth championship is that as far as we are concerned the youth constitute the cornerstone of handball development. We believe in youth development and I believe we need to strategise handball development in the country, and the only way we could do this is to lay a solid foundation. And the foundation for every sport is laid on the youth. That is why we are concentrating more on youth development.

The game of handball suffered a series of setbacks in the country in the last couple of decades. What would you say is responsible for this development?

You could recollect that in the years before now, Nigeria used to be the leading team in Handball games in Africa. We were the first African country to play in the world cup in handball. But over 20 years now, that has not happened again, and that is because of the gap created between the senior national team and the junior team. We are trying to bring back those good old days and the past glories by way of ensuring that we have a very solid youth development programme for handball.

What is the situation like now under your leadership at the Federation?

We are already witnessing some improvement within the last two years of our leadership at the Nigerian Handball Federation. The boys are equally giving us results. We were in Cameroon with the Under-17 boys and girls during the Commonwealth Championship. The boys came second, while the girls came first. So you see that our efforts in terms of catching them young is already yielding good fruits, and we are hoping that in the next few years, Nigeria would bounce back as a leading handball nation in the world.

By what means is the Federation discovering new talents in handball?

The National Sports Festival is aimed at discovering young talents at the grassroots level. During the last festival in Port Harcourt, we were able to discover some good talents, both boys and girls, whom we hope to put together to form our new junior national team, with the view of replacing the old players in our National team with the newly discovered young talents. These are the

35

SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

NATION SPORT

I'll make handball a household name—Dauda —Dauda

things we are putting together to reposition handball for better performance, and we appreciate the support from government and from Nigerians. We cannot say that we have arrived, but we are on the good path, but we can’t say we have arrived yet.

The all African Games is around the corner, we would like to know the level of prepration of Nigerian handball players for the fiesta?

Our boys and girls are in camp in Kaduna, and from what I saw, they are doing tremendously well. I want to express our appreciation to the National Sports Commission for the wonderful contributions they have made. Actually, the DG has shown a lot of commitment. I met him recently, and we arrived at a far reaching decisions, which I believe would be of immense help to the team in camp.

We quite appreciate what they have been able to put on ground. We are hoping that if this continues, then the sky would be the limit. The boys are in high spirit, the girls are also in high spirit, and every one of them is ready to do Nigeria proud. By the grace of God, we shall go with empty hands but come back with something around our necks after the All African Games. So these are thing we have been able to do. But like Oliver Twist, we want to ask for more support.

What is the Federation doing to assist states like Kano, where handball is lagging behind, to pick up interest in handball development?

Let me seize this opportunity to thank the Kano State Government for all it has been doing in the promotion in handball. Kano used to be one the teams to beat in handball, but over the years, I don’t know something went wrong. As it affects the national team, it also affects Kano State, but now I want everything to bounce back. I, as the President of the Board, would give Kano State all the necessary support and assistance to ensure that the state becomes a household name as far as handball is concerned.

The role of the press is crucial in sports development. What is the level of support have you received from the press?

We want to appreciate the press for the wonderful coverage you have given to us, particularly in the friendly match with Cameroon. We equally solicit that the existing cooperation between the press and the handball federation should continue so that together, we can take handball to the next level in the country.

Has the Federation mapped out incentives that would encourage youths to embrase handball?

Thank you for this important question. It is good that you asked this question. We have packaged incentives for handball players, both boys and girls in the country. We have a plan to introduce scholarship for those doing very well in handball, but cannot go to school because their parents are very poor. We are evolving ways by which we can support such indigent but excellent handball players, so that while they are playing handball, they can equally go to

Handball is a game that is relatively unpopular among Nigerians today. But in this interview with KOLADE ADEYEMI in Kano, the President of the Handball Federation of Nigeria, Alhaji Yusuf Dauda promised to rejuvenate handball in Nigeria and make it a household name. Dauda, who started his handball career in 1975 as a player and retired id 1983, officiated alongside Shina Sanya, as first Nigerians in the 2004 World Championship in Qatar. Excerpts:

•Ondo State handball team in yellow against Akwa Ibom team during the male handball tournament school, especially those who have taken handball more or less like a career. The idea is that as you are playing handball, you can equally go to school, and not play handball alone.

So, both can be combined. This would enable players to become fullfledged handball players and at the same time well educated citizens. In addition to that, if they get injured, they can fall back on their certificate.

Cuts in: What about international exposure?

We have a plan for that too. Again, our efforts to participate in international tournaments is to ensure that the handball players are exposed to the international arena at very tender age, so that they can become very

good players, and when that happens, some of them can earn their living from that as professional handball players. So this is the kind of things we intend to do. Those who are playing handball should have some arrangement by which they can go to school. When I was a player, that was what I did, and today, I am a master degree holder, and a Deputy Director of National Examination Council. If I had not gone to school, I wouldn’t have been where I am today. We would encourage these boys and girls to go to school.

With the current trend in handball in the country today, would you say there is a future for handball in Nigeria?

Yes of course, handball has a future in Nigeria. But first, let me talk about the issue of support. The truth of the matter is that during the days of General Ishola Williams, who was the then the Chairman, Handball Association of Nigeria, and the eventual emergence of Dr. Lanre Glover, as President, Handball Federation of Nigeria. During their reins, we discovered that handball became a household name, very popular, and there were national and international handball championships, which the country participated actively. But after that, there was a gap that was created, what people called ‘the dearth of handball’.

What sre you doing to reverse 'the

dearth of handball'?

When I was elected, our hope was rekindled. We now have hope in the handball business because we have our own vision. Before now, people were thinking that handball was down to the second level, but today, what is happening in handball has vindicated me and indicated that we mean well for this country, and we mean well for handball. And what we are now trying to do is to rejuvenate handball. It is not a day’s job for you to revive it over night. We are doing what we ought to do now to ensure that we would be able to get back as soon as possible, to where we rightly belong. So as far as I am concerned, in Nigeria, handball is go-

ing to be the most accepted game after football, and that is what we are already achieving.

To what extent is the international community assisting Nigeria to advance the course of handball in the country?

I have gone round the world, and the international federation saw the vision and plans to rejuvenate handball in Nigeria, and they are ready to give us the necessary support. Myself and the Director of Technical just came back from Sweden, and we had a fruitful discussion. Many handball stakeholders are coming to Nigeria to assist in the development of handball.

Handball coaches would equally assist in the training. I just spoke with Rafiu Salami in Sweden. He is a Nigerian. We played in the same team with him before. He is now a professional coach in France, and he is coming to Nigeria to assist the team in camp for the All African Games.

Cuts in: Talking about the players in camp, tell us what the mood is?

If you go to the camp now, you would see enough boys and girls, and they are in high spirit, but there are no enough balls, because these balls are a bit too expensive. I just came back from Sweden, and I bought about 100 balls, besides the ones they gave to Niger boys in terms of support for handball development in Nigeria. Before, handball was completely at the lowest ebb, but now you can see some improvement. We are looking forward to other countries, like France to come in and support us in the area of technical assistance and equipment. It is not a day’s job.

We would continue to move gradually until we get there.

Today, there's virtually no sponsorship for handball league. So what is the Federation doing to bring back sponsors?

Let me seize this opportunity and appeal to corporate sponsors. You see you have a lot of things to benefit by sponsoring handball tournaments, because it is one of the most interesting games in the world. If you sow in handball, you are going to get a 1000 fold more than what you put in football. So I am using this opportunity to invite them to come on board, because this is the right time for them to key in and come in and give us a little thing, and whatever you are going us, has tax rebate. This implies that you are using one stone to kill some many birds. Anything you give to us would be deducted from your annual tax. I want to appeal to them to come on board and partner with us to develop handball, and when handball history would be written, such corporate organizations would not be forgotten.

What is the fate of the Niger boys who came second in the Swedish Batiley Cup? The Niger boys, who won the silver medal in Sweden, would be received by the government. I don’t know what the government intends to do for them, but there would be a reception for them.

The local government council that sponsored them has given a lady machine to each of them, and that in a

way, is an incentive. I am sure the state government would equally do something. If we had not gone to Sweden, the boys would not have the opportunity of getting these incentives. These are young men under fifteen, who have gone to Sweden this year. If they continue to go to Sweden every year, imagine what they would become in the next five years, when they would be twenty years old. That is our own plan, that is our own target, it is not just going there, but going there to make a difference. Last year, the Kogi girls, who went there to play the under-fifteen championship, won the under 18 championship here in Nigeria. The more you go over there, the more you have the opportunity to see things for yourself and enable you to develop fast.

You will agree with me that the lack of succession plan conspired to weaken and slow the growth of handball in the country.So we would like to know if you have a succession plan in place?.

By the time I would be leaving handball, I would be leaving it better than I met it. So I would be leaving a bigger shoe there. So whoever is stepping in as President, knows that he is going to wear a bigger shoe, and therefore have no choice than to perform. But when there is nothing to compare with, to start is a big problem. But now, we have a basis, and we are already looking ahead to see where we can take handball to in the next four years, and we know where we want to take handball to. In the next four to five years, we want to be in the world cup. It is something we can do, I mean it is possible.

I know it would take some time, but we would get there.

What led to the withdrawal of sponsorship of handball league by Malta Guiness?

I happened to be a player, a coach and a referee and a lot of international exposure… after that I retired. So I knew what really happened. The Malta Guiness came in with N600,000, and it grew up to about N6 million. Unfortunately, those I took over from, thought that the N6 million was a chicken money and doesn’t worth it, so they had a problem with Guiness, and because of that, Guiness withdrew their sponsorship, and they could not bring one kobo to replace what we lost in handball. It is quite unfortunate that what happened happened, but we are doing everything possible to ensure that we bring back Guiness. We are already having some discussions with them, and we hope we would be able to reach a better concession and agreement.

For now, what major event does the Federation have on its table?

We are trying to host the African Club Championship, which is a very prestigious tournament. We are going to host it in Kaduna. For many years now, Nigeria has not hosted any tournament. So we are here again appealing to corporate organizations to come in and support us to host this major tournament. The club championship is the highest league level in Africa. In all, we know that we have a huge task ahead of us to package and promote handball and Nigeria.

AKINLOYE AT LARGE 08050246155 atlarge84@yahoo.com

Nigeria can beat Ghana GHANA are tipped to win the international friendly against Nigeria on current form in London on August 9.

A win for the Super Eagles will be considered that the Nigerians tore the form book. Thee Black Stars are beatable with the right selection by any right thinking coach. They are the strongest team in Africa at the moment. They are the eighth best team in the world based on how they finished in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. They are doing well at the moment in the African Cup of Nations, playing to strength. They are tipped to win the next Nations Cup based on their advancement in the last ten years. But the Ghanaians are beatable with the right selection by our dear coach Samson Siasia. The central defense will still be problematic. Joseph Yobo, who cannot play two games in a week because of his weather beaten right leg, is still in need of a pair to solidify the centre of the defense. Yobo is doing well at the moment. The loan move to Fenebahce has done his game a lot of good. It is what his game needed to rebound from the journey to the grave. The Turks gave him a responsibility of leading the defense and he never failed in marshalling it to the league title.

Efe Ambrose is not the ideal partner for the Everton central defender. And it is high time he is shown the way out of the national team while Danny Shittu is brought back. Siasia must be made to understand that the national team is for every Nigerian footballer who is in form no matter where he is residing. The national team is not only or those that they considered as Siasia’s boys.

Nigeria lost to Ghana some years back because the defence misfired. The defence that Siasia is parading for the friendly is not encouraging. They do not look like a bunch that can stop the rampaging Ghanaians from scoring goals. There is no steel in the defense. It has no depth and there is no strength.

The midfield performed badly in the 1999 friendly which Our West African rivals won hands down. It is porous and without vision. The new one led by Mikel Obi gives much hope, but Joel Obi still needs to prove himself that he is the right an for the attacking midfield role. This match will be his toughest for the Super Eagles. He will have to carry the attack of the team and spray passes that will make the forwards make hay. I do not see him in that light as of yet. He is yet to bring out that aspect of his game if he has it.

I still believe that Mikel is still the attacking midfielder that Eagles need. His responsibility has to change from defensive to attacking. He was given the role in Angola and he played it to the best of his ability. Siasia will have to get Dickson Etuhu of Fulham back to the team. He is the best defensive midfielder in Nigerian football. He played the role in Angola very well and needed to play more games to get to perfection after the World Cup. Being shut out of the team will not do the Super Eagles any good. It won’t do his confidence any good either. We have left one of our best players out of the team and it is not good for Nigerian football at the international level.

Kalu Uche has no peer in the national team. In fact, he is the ideal captain for the national team. Super Eagles will blossom if he is made the skipper of the national team. For it is high time Siasia named his captain in the best interest of the team?

Yobo belongs to the old order and it does not mean that the assistant captain will automatically becomes the captain of the side. If Kalu is made skipper, Eagles will qualify for the Nations Cup and goes on to win the title for the third time.

Every one knows that Emmanuel Ekpo has no place in the modern Eagles. He is old and does not play attractive football. He does not have a place in the midfield of the national team. He is too slow for a midfielder and does not have enough vision to play as an attacking midfielder in the Super Eagles. Solomon Okoronkwo needs to get to his old form. He is a good winger alright but we have not see him for over three years so it is difficult to assess him. Super Eagles may be sentenced to playing without the wings. With the absence of Musa, Okoronkwo will just be a fish out of the water if he is given his first senior shirt against Ghana.

But I am convinced that Siasia will risk it by playing Okoronkwo from the beginning.

The attack should be hoisted on the shoulders of Ikechukwu Uche and Osaze Odemwingie. They are the hottest pair in town and most effective in the national team at the moment. Emmanuel Emenike should come in as a substitute as well as Victor Anichebe. Anichebe is a promising youngster. He needs to apply himself the more in the attack to earn a regular shirt in the national team. He needs to score goals as well. He is too goal dry to justify his continual invitation to the national team and I won’t be surprised if he is given the big chop.

Player-for-player, Nigeria has an edge and it may be the time Super Eagles will stop the Ghanaian dominance once and for all. Siasia should not complain of anything. He has been given every support he needs to triumph over the Black Stars. His team list was not tampered with as is the case with former coaches of the national team. No player was imposed on him or removed from his wish-list.

The players are not giving excuses to miss the match. They all want to play. The jerseys are in place. The training pitch is also ready. The camp allowances are ready to be earned for the number of days the players stay in camp. IT is now his responsibility to go out there and win the game against the Ghanaians in London.

SULEIMAN AND FOOTBALL SPONSORSHIP Will somebody somewhere tell Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman that he is talking too much?

The new Sports Minister needs to bury himself the more in reading the files instead of getting involved in something he knows so little about. Alhaji Suleiman wants football sponsors to sponsor other sports along with their sponsorship of football. Does he think corporate bodies who want to sponsor sports are two for ten kobo as they used to say? Globacom has just shelled out N2billion to sponsor football and the minister wants them to sponsor other sports as well. It is like buying Panadol and the seller asks you to buy milk along with it. Alhaji Suleiman should write a letter to the company thanking them for sponsoring football and not encumber them with the request that they should sponsor other sports along with it.

The minister should forget his decision to reject the sponsorship if he does not want to be accused of interfering with football administration in the country and subsequently earn us a ban. Other sports federations should go to work and shop for their sponsors instead of hiding behind football.

THE NATION SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

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Insider troubles of successive Sports Ministers I

T is not unusual at times like this for memos to fly into the offices and briefcases of Ministerial appointees. Most of these documents come from selfappointed consultants who will inundate the Ministers with tales of their contributions to sector improvement but which were ignored by erstwhile Ministers. The thrust of the campaign has always been to join the groovy train of the new dispensation and to position their names as influence wielders.

This piece is about such characters lurking in the precincts of the Sports industry to ambush every new Sports Minister who this time is Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman. In an earlier comment posted on facebook, the Minister’s attention was drawn to the mines littering the paths to his tenure. It is worth restating here.

Over the years, it can be safely argued that the biggest clog to the growth of the sports industry has been the top hierarchy of civil servants in the National Sports Commission. This position is supported by the fact that we have had Ministers, both Military and Civilian but the results have remained almost the same in terms of real growth of the sector. A check will show that these ‘failed’ Ministers have always had to rely on the same set of technocrats in the Ministry represented by certain civil servants who have remained the recurring decimal in every administration.

These persons have occupied positions ranging from Director General, Director of Sports Development, Director of Facilities, Director of Research and Statistics and Special Assistant to the Minister. The only change in personnel most of these years have remained the Ministers themselves.

The question then is, how have we fared in the sports industry? Are we within reach of the millennium development goals set for sports? Most Nigerians are wont to respond in the negative to the above posers and that challenges us to examine what is, or are the reasons for the limp in our match to attaining greatness in sports.

One of the key requirements for attaining growth is that we must express dissatisfaction with where and what we are. When we are comfortable with what we have achieved, there will be no motivation for improvement. This is why it baffles me when some self acclaimed experts in sports management suggest that the problem of football in Nigeria presently is in the Glass House. That is a half truth because the Glass House alone cannot constitute the problem for if it were so, then we are on good grounds. To any

By Harry Iwuala

discerning government which is represented by the Sports Minister, the solution to a problem posed by the Glass House lies in the political will to take the right decisions that may certainly hurt vested interests. But such decision cannot be taken when there are compromised persons at the helm of affairs at the Sports Ministry/Commission.

Back to the mined paths of a Ministerial tenure and it is crucial to warn Suleiman to stay away from gifts even if clothed in the garb of official entitlement. I have heard that some former Ministers enjoyed a wardrobe makeover and thereafter sank into the mire of compromise.

Recently, it has been said that the present Minister will be presented a new set of cars.

If the Minister is going to sign for the purchase of the cars, then he should remember the Dimeji Bankole saga. Shine your eyes before signing documents.

Just around the corner is the All African Games in Mozambique and the list of athletes, officials and government delegation will soon be presented to the Minister for his input, consideration and approval.

Without holding brief for Chief Jim Nwobodo, a former Sports Minister, the inclusion of the names of his toddler, nanny and some family friends was an albatross he never really surmounted.

Who encouraged him to include those names? Who leaked the list to the media? Our honourable Minister should circumvent this trap if he has to stay true to the oath of office he swore to before Nigerians.

More importantly, it is an entrapment because it will be pointed out to the Minister that he has violated the codes of conduct and a leader under blackmail is the best example of a leader that cannot perform well. This list also usually contains names of political associates of the Minister, party leaders, Legislators etc who are usually alerted ahead of time that their names have been submitted for approval. The trick here is that they will be the ones to pressure the Minister into committing an administrative faux pas that will become a weapon of blackmail in the hands of those who are plotting to retain control of the machinery of sports administration.

A friend who commented on the facebook post said it will amount to chasing shadows if the Minister focused on the above rather than on the All Africa Games, the Olympic Games and the Super Eagles Nations Cup qualifiers. This response was more like putting the cart before the horse because what is in consideration is not success at Games but

building and entrenching opportunities for sports to thrive beyond the tenure of the Minister. The friend was obviously looking at a short sprint and not the long distance race that administrations should be concerned with. It is this obsession for results at games that has brought us to the present pass.

Moreover, it is inconceivable that a Minister will come into office without recourse to the files, environment/industry mapping to determine the direction to chart. However, there are issues that must be tackled to clear the coast for clear thinking that will evolve into a workable blue-print.

The initial wrong-footing is like rushing into a battle headlong without gauging the opposition. The opposition to every Minister is the top civil servants there and most of the past occupants of the office are still around to speak on this if approached discreetly.

Another mine field awaiting the Minister is the media, especially, the very senior members of the profession who on one hand are Sports Journalists and on the other hand, are Marketing Consultants.

As the Journalist, they set the agenda for promoting personal business interests that must be accepted by the Minister or he will be made to face the wrath of their platform. The Sports Journalists today have been pulverized with huge Naira chest that today; each writes based on who the pay master is. A caveat here is that there are still in the profession many Journalists whose integrity is intact. But the majority has been recruited to represent different tendencies so much that they will never put ink to any criticism of even the most obvious of wrong-

headed policies. Their columns are predictable as their reports which will always be seen for what they are- Public Relations outing by their masters.

Unfortunately for successive Ministers, it is either they were roped into the cartel or the media was used against them by the same civil servants who are answerable to them.

There has even been a time the officials of the Nigeria Football Federation waged media war against a serving Minister. It is a case of using government money to fight and pull down a government official. The point therefore is that it is only a Minister who steers clear of the corrupt traps that will survive the media missiles that will be deployed against him.

While the Minister is navigating the murky press waters, the Marketers are also training their armory in the direction of his office especially when there are committees to be constituted.

Anyone whose name is omitted returns to the trenches to fire bazookas.

They are also the promoters of all manners of interim committees to dislodge duly elected officers because they can never emerge from such processes of election.

The biggest achievement Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman will record in his tenure will be to distance the institution and name of government from unpopular policies that certain officials promote as government position on issues.

There must be a way to put a stop to name dropping which has been used to wreck havoc on sports and sports development over the years.

Harry Iwuala is a renowned Journalist based in Lagos, Nigeria

•Yusuf Suleiman

VOICE OF SPORTS

With Clement Nwankpa Jnr. sportswar@yahoo.com

BETTER EAGLES SERIES

Siasia’s creative midfield options IN the first two editions of this series, I had listed the defensive midfielders available for selection. I must restate the need for Samson Siasia to have a natural defensive midfielder shield his defenders and give the offensive midfielders more room to move forward. Siasia’s insistence on fielding a twinmidfield combo of Mikel Obi and Joel Obi without a defensive shield is dangerous. He is sitting on a time bomb. I hope the team doesn’t lose a match with a margin as high as 7-0 before he notices the shortcoming in that midfield.

But give it to Siasia. He has unearthed an unsung Joel who seems to have wiped our playmaking tears. Playing beside Mikel, Joel has made the team play with some fluidity.

The essence of this series is, however, to x-ray the players that have become regulars under Siasia vis-à-vis those in the wilderness. I have listed these players as offensive midfielders because they have offered little or nothing to the team defensively. At best, Mikel has been more of a deep-lying playmaker a la Andrea Pirlo and Xabi Alonso. Siasia has stuck to this duo but there are other in-form creative midfielders who could provide him with options.

If I may ask; why hasn’t Siasia invited Dynamo Kiev’s Haruna Lukman yet? Lukman was one of the few positives we took away from that shambolic 2010 World Cup outing. The national team was supposed to reap from the experience he garnered at the Mundial but one year after, he hasn’t featured for the Super Eagles. Lukman brings a new dimension to the midfield. Outside Taye Taiwo, he is the only player who could be a threat from 35 yards. He doesn’t baulk at letting fly those canons packed in his legs from whatever distance.

As a two-way midfielder, Lukman could be a direct replacement for Mikel just as he could play a little ahead of the latter if the coach decides to field both of them. At the U-17 World Cup in 2007, Lukman filed out beside Yakubu Alfa in a twin defensive midfield formation leaving Rabiu Ibrahim in a free role but whenever Ibrahim wasn’t on the pitch, Lukman shouldered the playmaking responsibility. At the last World Cup, much of Eagles’ creativity in the Midfield was heaped on his young shoulders. This guy would surely be an asset to Siasia’s team and if players are invited strictly on footballing reasons, he should be the second or third midfielder always on the list but I think his poor disciplinary records have been obstacles to his earning a call-up under Siasia.

If indiscipline has been responsible for Siasia shunning Lukman, why hasn’t he given Lillestrom’s Nosa Igiebor a full international debut yet? Igiebor doesn’t just spread the passes and help the team keep balance, he scores goals, loads of them. Siasia should ask Austin Eguavoen. Though a midfielder, Igiebor is the U-23 team’s joint leading scorer with six goals. Igiebor could take Joel’s place on a day Siasia needs more of brawn. He is such a threat playing in a hole behind the strikers. When they fail, he pops up.

Talking about popping up, from where did Emmanuel Ekpo pop up and make Siasia’s list? When was the last time a player from MLS made Super Eagles list? I have known Ekpo from his days at Enyimba when Siasia took him to Beijing 2008 where he deputized for Femi Ajilore in the central midfield. I have also watched him post some scintillating performances at Columbus Crew but if he wanted more relevance internationally, he should have taken his stock to Europe all this while. He is now in his third season in the MLS. I have no issues with Ekpo’s quality but this is not the land of the blind where the one eyed man is king.

Now that the MLS players are being invited to the national team, why wouldn’t a Solomon Owello, who stars for IK Start in Norway, earn some mention? Start’s number 10 does not have the power and physical presence of the likes of Lukman and Igiebor but he is an incisive and visionary playmaker in the mould of Joel and Ekpo. For the past two seasons, he has enjoyed rave reviews in the Norwegian League but is yet to be called up to the national team.

What of Rabiu Ibrahim, arguably the most underachieving player of his generation? Having linked up with PSV Endhoven, one thought his career was on the rise but injuries have continued to plague him. Now that Joel has burst unto the scene, Ibrahim could recline further into oblivion. These are two very similar players, with educated left feet, but one is younger, fitter, less injury prone and, most importantly, a regular in the national team. But there is a Nigerian left foot that thrills the crowd in Sweden; that of BK Hacken’s leftsided midfielder John Chibuike, a power player who enjoys bursting wide from deep. I don’t know if Siasia is aware that for the past four weeks, Fengor Ogude who is listed as a defensive midfielder in the national team has been playing from the right side of the midfield at Velaranga. And he has been excellent in that position. This extra knowledge about Ogude should help Siasia in tactically juggling his players.

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ALLOY AGU’S CAREER DIARY

I wept after Moscow ’85 loss to Brazil • Alloy Agu

S

IR, I want you to take us back, where did football begin for you?

A long time ago when I was very young because one of my uncles, Higenus Agu. He was a goalkeeper I followed him when he was playing, so it runs in the family. It was not a surprise that I took (after him). Also I started keeping from my primary school, (then continued in) my secondary school (and) my University. I played with ITT to NEPA of Lagos from NEPA to ACB of Lagos from ACB to BCC Lions of Gboko and we won the Winners Cup for BBC. From ITT I broke into the Flying Eagles. Flying Eagles qualified for the junior World Cup in Russia 1985 and brought back bronze medal from the junior World Cup from 1985. From there we graduated to the then Green Eagles of which I became captain in 1989.

We went to the Nations Cup in Algiers in 1990. We lost our first game 5-1 but came back to qualify for the final from there Green Eagles became Super Eagles. And from there we started grooming a team that qualified for the 1994 World Cup. I was also part of the team that won the African-Asian championship (Afro-Asian Cup). At the moment (I have) finished the work with the Super Eagles team, I am with the Olympic team.

What enticed you to football?

Was it your uncle or just football because we have different reasons for doing different things?

Yeah, football itself and him because he was part of football, he was playing he was famous.

I want you to compare the two experiences you had in Imo and Lagos which had the greater impact on you that made you say ‘I want to keep?

It was in Imo, in my primary school. I was playing, all of a sudden the goalkeeper got injured and the Games Master then said ‘okay go in’. I then went in. a shot was taken, somebody deflected it and I quickly reacted to it. And at that moment, something was birthed in me. Something was

birthed in me. I knew that I was going to be a very good goalkeeper despite the fact that I was a very good player.

Did you start as a goalkeeper or an (outfield) player?

As a player and at that moment when the goalkeeper was injured and that action happened and I reacted to it. I still played (afterwards) in some tournaments I will play and some I will keep. I could remember a time I played for NEPA of Lagos. Everybody said ‘NEPA has dressed three goalkeepers. It was at Onikan Stadium and we had the likes of Macaulay, Patrick Udoh and so on.

I think it should be around ’85, ’86.

I played that game and I scored.

What position did you play from?

Seven After the Imo incident did your coach make any comment?

Yes he did. He said ‘oh, you must continue’. I knew something has happened and I knew there was something great about it.

Was there any moment that you doubted the conviction you had about becoming a goalkeeper after you decided to pursue that dream?

No, no because goalkeeping is part of my life and it is inbuilt. You might go around, go around a lot of stuff, eventually you’ll find your destiny, what God has destined for you. So eventually when I found

that there was no going back and there were no regrets, there were no regrets, even when we lost five goals to one to Algeria. We lost our tactical discipline, it can happen and after that we got our acts together. If not for Diramba (the center referee) we would have been the first group to lift the trophy outside Nigeria. But there was no time (that I regretted), I enjoyed doing what I do because I was good at it, very good at it.

Seeing goalkeepers perform today, doing exploits do you at times wish you were back to your heydays?

Every good player feels that way always and I’m not an exception.

Occasionally it comes through your mind ‘oh, how I wish I could wind back the clock, could turn back the hand of the clock and could still play.

Everybody that has played so well, everybody that has done so well when he is ageing always feels that way. I’m not an exception, so I feel that way sometimes. There’s nothing you can do about it, the only thing is that you can pass that wisdom to the growing and the upcoming ones and that’s what we’re doing now.

Back in the days there were big teams. You played for NEPA, BCC, ACB, was there a particular team you’d wished you played in before you departed for Europe?

Yes, Abiola Babes when they were still on may his soul rest in peace, the maestro himself. When I was keeping for ITT and was doing so well, I could remember he sent his driver to come and pick me and Issa Shofoluwe to his house. We went down to his house and he spoke to me and said ‘I want you and Issa Shofoluwe to play for Abiola Babes.’

Then I was just finishing school.

Ogedegbe (Best) was there. But one way or the other I loved to stay in Lagos. Everything about me is in Lagos. So at that point I made a decision to play for NEPA of Lagos and while playing for NEPA of Lagos a lot of big, big teams (came) but I didn’t move until ACB came of Lagos also. I went to ACB. As I was playing, a lot and lots of teams like Stationery Stores, Rangers, Iwuanyanwu and so on came but I didn’t make that move. I eventually moved to BCC Lions of Gboko. They qualified for the continent and I see it as an opportunity to go continental. So I moved to BCC Lions of Gboko and eventually it turned out to be good. We won the Winners Cup eventually prior to that I left for Holland.

I want us to talk about the Under 20. At Moscow ’85, we played Russia in the group stages. Can you

Alloy Agu made his African Nations Cup debut at Algiers 1990 in Algeria and the first game proved to be a baptism of fire for the former ACB F.C. shot stopper as the Super Eagles were walloped 5-1 by hosts, Algeria. The team got to the final of that contest despite that early set back. In this interview with OLUSOJI OLUKAYODE the former international tells his football story from start. Excerpts than anyone of us that the success of anyone of us is a success of Nigeria. So I was prepared but at that point I did not know that David was going to be injured. But every time I was always prepared for the game whether on the bench or playing and when I was called on I just have to do the routine work that I know how to do. And on that day there were four teams waiting for me to sign me in Cameroon after the game and I made money that I never made before in Nigerian league.

They said: ‘do you have this kind of goalkeeper (in Nigeria)? Where have you kept him,’ and so on and so forth? It was the intervention of the late Abiola, his soul rest in peace again, that made me to follow the team back to Nigeria. He said, ‘Alloy no, no no. I told him this is what is going on and he said no and he gave me some money and I came back to Nigeria that was why I didn’t come back to Nigeria that was why I didn’t play in Cameroon. Cannon Sportive Yaounde, this and that they were all over me.

Do you think it could have been a mistake if you had gone ahead to sign? Would you say you were rescued in a way because eventually you had to go to Holland (to pursue your career)?

Yes, I will say that to you that I was very, very happy that I didn’t take that decision because that would have jeopardize a lot of things. So at that point in time he (Abiola) was available to give me

the advice that I need. In life you need people to give you advice at a particular point that would help to propel your career. I think at that point in time if I had stayed back I wouldn’t have been given the captainship, I wouldn’t have been on the ground to build with Westerhof for the new Super Eagles. So after that game we came back and everybody went to Ota to Obasanjo’s farm for months, preparing, reshuffling, So if I had stayed back with one of those teams we wouldn’t have gotten that kind of opportunity to be on ground to be the captain and get the players to get Nigeria back on track after we have lost out of the ticket to the 1990 World Cup. And we have to start rebuilding. At that point in time I think it was a right decision, it was a right decision.

As we would have it before even the end of that year I got an opportunity to go for trial in Holland.

What club did you go then?

MVV Maastrich and I also signed for them but it took a while, Holland. It took a while because when I signed I thought I could go back and play. But they have a players’ union, a foreigner can’t just come in and play. So I think I am the first African to have come in from Africa without (a Belgian or European passport) others had European passports but has to go to court. The players’ union said they have a lot of goalkeepers around and why do you now want this goalkeeper? My club has to appeal and said, ‘we have but this goalkeeper is a quality goalkeeper and with the amount we are looking to get him with is nothing and he can deliver. My club failed first and they had to appeal. It was on the appeal they eventually got the approval. I could remember vividly that I waited for almost three months after I’ve signed.

That was after the Nations Cup? Yeah, after the Nations Cup and by 15th of March I got the nod to play (1990). I played my first game on the 15th of March.

Do you remember the opponents?

Roda JSC What was the score line?

1-0, but it was wonderful.

Everybody knows that there is a goalkeeper in Holland.

Your team won?

We lost 1-0 but it was wonderful to watch.

• Alloy Agu and his Super Eagles colleagues still remember the score line?

It was 2-1 against Nigeria First, crossing from the quarter final to the semi final, what was the camp like with an African team through to that stage for the first time in any world football competition?

Yeah, the quarter final was a very interesting game and prior to that it was dramatic and that was against Australia. Everybody (thought) we’re going to run through them but

“When we lost to Brazil we knew that we could have beaten Brazil. But sometimes if it doesn’t want to go your way there’s nothing you can do about it. Despite the fact that they got those two goals we had series of chances and even missed a penalty. When we lost out it was really sad.

I was crying throughout the night and the late Ikhazubor came to me, he was truly loving. He started talking to me, ‘you’ve been so good, you’ve been so wonderful don’t worry it’s one of those things. “

they scored us first and had two goals. We came back to the dressing room. The late Ikhazubor may his soul rest in peace and Okpomo spoke and spoke and spoke and (said) no Nigerian team has ever gone out at the group stage. We went back there and we defeated Australia 3-2 and I was the man of the match. From there we went to Baku to play against Mexico, unbelievable! And it was an awesome game. We played almost extra 10 minutes but we won and I was also the Man of The Match.

From there went to the semi-final and the semi-final was against Brazil and I have the likes of Silva and so on. Taffarel was in the other goal. The game was going well and we missed a penalty and I sustained a fracture. At that point I needed to be substituted but because of the trust and confidence the team has upon me, I was managing the leg but at that point in time we conceded two goals, immediately, we went for the recess, they did the Xray and discovered that it was a fracture. I was on P.O.P. in the second half and Christian Obi took over. At that point we lost

the match. We played the third place which was an awesome one against Russia again beating them and we brought the first gold medal to Nigeria.

How was it celebrated among you players, what was the mood like and was any value placed on the bronze going into the third place match?

When we lost to Brazil we knew that we could have beaten Brazil.

But sometimes if it doesn’t want to go your way there’s nothing you can do about it. Despite the fact that they got those two goals we had series of chances and even missed a penalty. When we lost out it was really sad. I was crying throughout the night and the late Ikhazubor came to me, he was truly loving. He started talking to me, ‘you’ve been so good, you’ve been so wonderful don’t worry it’s one of those things.

We put it aside and went to the third place and said to ourselves ‘men we’ve lost (but) we are not going to lose this bronze medal.’ So we went there despite the fact that we played 10 against 11 against the Russians we still came out with a draw (and) after the shootout we came out

victorious.

Can you recall some of your team mates from that squad?

I can remember Mba Titus, I can remember Kingsley Onye, I can remember Waidi Akanni, Wasiu Ipaye, Monday Odiaka, Samson Siasia, Andrew Uwe, Mike Anunubi, Friday Elaho, Ndubuisi Okosieme, Niyi Adeleye, the late Uche Ukougwu and Christian Obi (and) Osaro Obabaifor! The late Osaro Obabaifor, he was also there, Mike Odu was also there.

What happened to you between 1985 and your first call up to the senior national team?

When we came back from Russia the whole team was moved to the Green Eagles and the first appearance was in Monrovia, we went to play an invitational. I was on and off the Green Eagles, a lot of other goalkeepers were there so I was on and off the Green Eagles’ team (until) 1989.

Can you remember your first Green Eagles’ match?

There were lots of games I played for them but I want to start from the match against Cameroon in Yaounde. Ngodiga (David) was in

goal and I was on the bench. And there was a collision. Ngodiga was out and I came in and that was it.

That was a very crucial match and we had a new coach. What went through your mind as you went to the field looking at the magnitude of that game? Would you say you were caught unawares?

I was not caught unawares because throughout 86, 87, 88 I was really on top of my game, the newspapers can attest to that.

Wherever I go I was always the Man of The Match, I was on top of my game so I was confident, I was comfortable, I was confident to play.

I played against Cameroon, the junior team (and) most of them graduated to the senior team, Oman Biyik and Kana Biyik and the rest of them from the junior team. We lost to them 3-0 in Yaounde but we beat them 5-1 to qualify for the next round of the World Cup qualification (Moscow ’85). So I was prepared, you know we have to be one another’s keeper. Whoever is playing you give support. Whoever that is keeping I always give my colleagues the necessary support.

We know that Nigeria is greater

• Right , Alloy Agu with Nnamdi Oduamadi at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, in Benin after Dream Team defeated Tanzania in a 2012 Olympic Qualifier

34

THE NATION SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

NATION SPORT

Inside The Glass House WITH AMINU MAIGARI

Houseparty in the Andes T

HE U-20 National Team, Flying Eagles, is on the march again as the FIFA U-20 World Cup finals began in the South American nation of Colombia last night with four big games, including the clash between Brazil and Egypt in Barranquilla, and that epic between six-time champions Argentina and Mexico in Medellin.

A lot of questions have been asked over the past two weeks concerning the ‘motivational package’ that the Nigeria Football Federation has for the Flying Eagles. Surely, there is ‘motivational package’, and this will be unveiled as the team starts to win its matches at the tournament, which is what we expect.

However, I must state here that the prime motivation at this level should be for a player below the age of 20 to be playing at a FIFA World Cup. While the FIFA U-20 World Cup is actually FIFA’s second biggest tournament, it is the biggest for every U-20 footballer, who has not broken into his country’s senior team to be able to play at the quadrennial senior tournament.

Everyday, the media is awash with stories of Nigerian, nay African players going on ‘trials’ abroad to attract interest of foreign clubs and possibly earn a contract. But this is not the appropriate way, for the club in question is unlikely to offer a player, who has only come to ‘offer’ himself, a commensurate contract.

It is time that African players realize that the biggest platform for ‘trials’ is the FIFA tournament, whether the U-17 World Cup or the U-20 World Cup. Therefore, the biggest motivation for our players in Colombia should be the fact that they are on the biggest stage, with the very rare opportunity to showcase their wares before a global audience watching with rapt attention.

That global audience includes, of course, the international scouts, who serve the interest of the big and not-so-big clubs, and who are usually at the venues of these major competitions to ‘scoop’ the most promising talents for their clients.

Which was why one could not really understand the step taken by three members of the Flying Eagles’ African Youth Championship squad to give their international passports to their agents till such a time that they were effectively unable to be granted visas to Portugal for the training camp in Faro, Portugal ahead of the competition in Colombia.

Although one of the players eventually made the team, the two others will perhaps, regret their action and wish their would be a second chance.

Another big motivation for the Flying Eagles’ squad is the pedigree of our dear country at the FIFA U-20 World Cup finals.

I recall that the first-ever FIFA tournament that Nigeria qualified for was the then FIFA/ Coca-Cola World Youth Championship, which was the

previous nomenclature of the FIFA U-20 World Cup. That was in 1983, when the Flying Eagles defeated Guinea on aggregate to reach the finals in Mexico. The team then defeated Cote d’Ivoire over two legs to lift the African title.

I also remember vividly that in Mexico, the Flying Eagles won their first match (Nigeria’s firstever FIFA finals match) 1-0 against the then Soviet Union, in a match played in the city of Monterrey. The goal-scorer was Tarila Okorowanta.

In 1985, the team that had the likes of goalkeeper Alloy Agu, Samson Siasia, Monday Odiaka, Mark Anunobi, Andrew Uwe and Michael Odu defeated Tunisia over two legs for the African title, and then won its first match at the World Cup in the former Soviet Union, 2-0 against Canada, on the way to winning the bronze medal at the expense of the host nation, with goalkeeper Christian Obi so marvelous in the penalty shoot-out after a scoreless affair over 120 minutes.

Two years later, it was not to be a glorious opening match, as a combination of indiscipline and arrogance wrecked Nigeria’s boat. Playmaker and talisman Etim Esin was shot in the leg during an authorized night-out and it reflected in his game in Chile, with the Flying Eagles dazed 4-0 by Brazil and limping out of the competition at group stage.

In 1989, there were no such mistakes in the team coached by Olatunde Disu and we even witnessed a miracle, which happened in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. After beating the host nation so gorgeously in the opening match, the Nigerian boys came from four goals down to draw level within the final 15 minutes against Soviet Union (again!) in the quarter finals, hold out in the extra time and then achieve victory in the penalty shoot-out. History books still capture this feat in glorious terms.

It was to be 10 years later before the Flying Eagles would return to the global finals. Ejected from the qualifying for the 1991 competition (so pompously retained by hosts and holders Portugal) as a result of a FIFA ban, the Flying Eagles limped out at group stage of the 1993 African Youth Championship, failing to make the ‘worlds’. In 1995, we hosted the African Youth Championship and came third, but when FIFA took away the World Championship that we were to host in the 11th hour, we boycotted the finals in Qatar.

As hosts in 1999, the Flying Eagles failed to sparkle, losing out in the quarter finals to Mali in Enugu. It could have been better. We were not even at the African Championship in 2001 and in 2003, lost out at the continental event in Ethiopia.

Two years later, Samson Siasia’s boys won the African title and reached the final of the World Championship in The Netherlands, losing to Argentina.

That was to be the last ‘FIFA World Youth Championship’. In 2007 in Canada, it became the

FIFA U-20 World Cup. But our Flying Eagles crashed out in the quarter finals in Montreal and returned home to prepare for 2009.

Samson Siasia returned to the helm after a relatively poor outing at the African Championship in Rwanda, but the time was too short for him to make impact at the World Cup in Egypt and his players were simply not up to it.

Germany eliminated the Flying Eagles in the Round of 16 in Suez.

Fittingly, the NFF has allowed the man who took the U-17 team to the final of the World Cup two years ago to ‘graduate’ to the next step, and he has done well by winning the African Youth Championship. When the Flying Eagles start against Guatemala in Armenia at the FIFA U-20 World Cup tomorrow, they would not be playing as strange bed-fellows.

Cohesion and coordination are values not lacking in this team, and certainly, there is discipline.

In our participation at FIFA’s second biggest competition in the past 28 years, there have been lessons learnt and knowledge has come in quantum about the kind of mistakes to avoid.

After winning their first match in Mexico against Soviet Union, the leading lights of the Flying Eagles broke camp and were nowhere to be found until the day of the second match against Brazil. Goal-scorer Tarila Okorowanta’s distaste for strict rules are well-documented, but he went off with two other players. Against Brazil, they were all a shadow of themselves in the first 45 minutes, by which time the Brazilians were 3-0 up. It ended that way. A 0-0 draw with The Netherlands and the Nigerian team was eliminated.

The Etim Esin saga also resonates. Discipline is important in every human endeavour, and the fact that such things have not occurred again means we have learnt well.

I am also enamoured by the resolve of Head Coach John Obuh (the Kabukabu man!) that his team will take it one-match-at-atime in Colombia. This principle is very key to success in football.

Obuh adopted the same principle in South Africa and despite all the odds (prosecuting the tournament with only 18 players, several injuries, inability of some ‘star players’ to live up to billing, et cetera), he conquered.

Several times in the past, when our teams had under-rated the opposition and instead looked ahead to the next match, we had ended up with a black eye and a bloodied nose.

I particularly remember the Senior National Team, Super Eagles’ encounter against Denmark at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. It was reported that while the Danes were preparing hard and plotting strategies to win the game, our players were looking ahead to a quarter final match with Brazil (the Nigeria U-23 team having beaten Brazil in the semi finals of the Olympic Games two years earlier) and locked in a robust debate with FA officials over why they should be paid win-bonus upfront and how

much (before the match is played)!

At the end, it ended 4-1 against the Super Eagles, and at the postmatch conference, Brian Laudrup, who led Denmark’s orchestra on the day, said: “A football match is never won until it is played.

Nigeria should learn to count one before four”!

There is a spirit within this Flying Eagles’ team that elicits confidence. Our first match is against Guatemala, which we must take serious, and taking one match at a time, we should be able to deal with. It would not be easy, and I am happy Obuh and the players realize this. Two years ago, Samson Siasia’s boys felt they were ‘too much’ for a Venezuela team that had no pedigree at this level. But we lost that match and were condemned to beating Tahiti by a wide margin to make it into the Round of 16.

The houseparty in this South American nation will be something to savour. There are also countries like Egypt, Mali and Cameroon from Africa; host Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador and Argentina from South America; France, Spain, Croatia, Portugal, Austria and England from Europe; New Zealand from Oceania; Mexico, Panama, Guatemala and Costa Rica from Central America and; Saudi Arabia, Australia, Korea Republic and North Korea from Asia.

Argentina are the kings at this level, but their Group D is a tough proposition, with the everefficient Mexicans, the hardrunning North Koreans and the lively English to deal with.

The Nigeria Football Federation has spared no resources in preparing the Nigeria team for this competition. May the Flying Eagles do our country proud.

Wishing Enyimba, Kaduna United, Sunshine Stars the very best...

The group stage of the 2011 CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup competitions will hot up this weekend with our representatives in full flow.

Enyimba FC will clash with Cotonsport Garoua in Cameroon (today) in the CAF Champions League, while in the Confederation Cup, Sunshine Stars play veteran African campaigners JSK in Algeria (that match was played yesterday) and Kaduna United take on Club Africain in Tunis (Sunday) in a match that kicks off at 10pm!

I am wishing the three teams the very best in their encounters.

Enyimba, having slipped to a 2-2 draw with Al Hilal of Sudan on the opening day, must go for the three points that will boost their chances as they head to the halfway mark. A win in Garoua – an ambience they are familiar with – would prepare them for another three points at home to Raja Casablanca before the start of the second half of the campaign.

Sunshine Stars should not rest on their oars following victory over DC Motema Pembe on the opening day of the Confederation Cup group stage. They must enter the pitch in Algeria with total determination, to take no prisoners. That is the only mentality for any team to come away with something from North Africa.

Kaduna United, having drawn 1-1 with Inter Clube of Angola in Kaduna on the opening day, are condemned to a good outing in Tunis.

Club Africain are certainly much more experienced campaigners in Africa and would be no sitting ducks.

TOP 50 OLYMPIC 2012 CONTENDERS

Okagbare, Chukwumerije, Toriola, others fail to make list • AFN not surprised at Nigeria’s rating • Team Nigeria is on track for a good outing—NOC

By Stella Bamawo IGERIAN athletes were conspicuously missing in the latest BBC sports analysis of fifty aspiring Olympians from around the world with their sights on a place of podium at the London 2012 Olympics slated for London.

Unfortunately, the performances of Nigeria’s medal prospects in various events, like Blessing Okagbare(Track and field), Chika Chukwumerije (Taekwondo), and Segun Toriola (Table Tennis), at the last Olympics could not earn them a place in the rating.

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), however, dismissed this with the hope that the country still has three months to thwart the rating.

In a chat with NationSports, the Technical Director of AFN, Sunday Bada opined that the country had not made an impact at the Beijing 2008 Olympics and as such it was indeed expected.

Bada said: “We are not surprise at the present rating. Our best performances at the Beijing Olympics were bronze medals. You can imagine, out of the forty-four events, forty five gold medals, Non can be attributed to any Nigerian, so what do you expect?

Well we are not allowing that to distract us. We have gone into camping for the All Africa Games, World Athletics Championships. In three months time we should be able to know our chances at the Games.

To this end, we have told our athletes to keep their head low, we have started our countdown to the event. It is a year away.”

However, the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) has insisted that Team Nigeria was going into a fierce competition with other countries in the world.

President of Taekwando Federation, Jonathan Nnaji who represented NOC President, Engr Sani Ndanusa submitted: “Team Nigeria is on track for a good outing”, Nnaji , however, did not engage in any medal predictions. “The qualifiers are still on but from the standpoint of our willingness and our effort to compete, we will do well in London”, he said.

Meanwhile, listed below are some of the BBC Sport's top 50 athletes.

Athletics Usain Bolt (Jamaica): The peerless Jamaican has redefined sprinting since breaking the 100m world record in only his fifth competitive race over the distance.

Other leading athletes: Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia), Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia), Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia), Caster Semenya (South Africa) Basketball LeBron James (United States): James is arguably the biggest name in the world of basketball and the natural heir to his idol Michael Jordan.

Boxing Artur Beterbiev (Russia): Beterbiev was named as the International Boxing Association's best amateur boxer of 2010 after successfully defending his European light-heavyweight title.

Katie Taylor (Ireland): Earned her third successive world title in 2010, and the win over China's Cheng Dong in the final was her 100th victory from 106 bouts.

Football Marta (Brazil): Won both the Golden Ball for best player and the Golden Boot as the top scorer at the 2007 Women's World Cup, and scored four goals in as many games in the 2011 tournament.

Neymar (Brazil): Yet another player to be burdened with the tag of the 'new Pele', his early performances have made the football world sit up and take notice.

Judo Wang Ki-Chun (South Korea): Entered the Beijing Olympics as favourite to win the under 73kg category but suffered a fractured rib in his quarter-final.

Sarah Menezes (Brazil): Brazil's female sports personality of the year in 2009 is one of the country's leading hopes for a gold medal in 2012.

Taekwondo Steven Lopez (United States): Two-time Olympic champion has enjoyed over a decade of dominance and has been described as the "Muhammad Ali of taekwondo".

Table tennis Timo Boll (Germany): Became world number one at the start of 2011 for the first time since 2003, ending China's 88-month monopoly.

Weightlifting Behdad Salimikordasiabi (Iran): The super heavyweight has emerged as an unstoppable force in weightlifting. He won the world title at his first attempt in 2010 - easily overcoming Olympic champion Matthias Steiner by lifting a total of 453kg.

Wrestling Saori Yoshida (Japan): Freestyle wrestler Yoshida is arguably the most dominant athlete in any sport - incredibly, she has only lost once since 2001 and is unbeaten at the Olympics, World and Asian Championships.

N

•Usain Bolt

Olubanwo Fagbemi

On Sport Sport On SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

36

Obuh: A rendezvous with fate

Bewarang raises alarm over corruption in football P

LATEAU United is one team that probably has played good football in the 2010/2011 season of the Nigeria Premier League, but unfortunately also has not really had much to show for it, especially when it comes to position on the league table where they became regular customers at the bottom which led to the suspension of the club's coaching crew at a point.

But currently, the club seems determined to escape the tough grip on it by the wicked relegation waters which held it down for six years at the National Division one before it managed to crawl back last season as it has began to put up a serious fight; and who knows? Having gone four matches unbeaten and on the 18th position with 35points, luck may smile on them.

In this interview with the Chairman turned coach of the club, Bitrus Bewarang tells FLORENCE NKEM ISRAEL of NationSport that he is much more interested in the standard of the game than who wins the league.

After four matches unbeaten, does it mean that Plateau United is set to remain in the Premier League next season?

Thank you very much. That is our desire and that of the lovers of football in Plateau State. It is quite unthinkable that after gaining promotion to the Premiership after six years in the lower division and then, suddenly we are dropping back, that is one of my major considerations why I threw in my suit of administration to wear my track suit to the pitch again.

With what you have achieved thus far, is there any hope for continued better performance for Plateau Utd? Actually, what is happening in the football arena is very disgraceful as far as I’m concerned. It has gone as bad that even the players and the coaches know that their management will buy matches for them and so they are not ready to play and that is the more reason why the quality of our players continue to decrease.

And that is also the reason why fans are lacking in our stadia, the supporters havenothing to cheer about talk about Enyimba, talk about 3SC, talk about Plateau Utd and every other club in this country, it is the same thing and no body cares.No body wants to do anything about it either.

Football administrators buy matches, it does not help the game, it does not make it interesting to watch.

Everybody is supposed to enjoy football. Those who imbued with tension should watch it, enjoy it and be happy because their tension will be relieved and that is why I say: if we leave this game, it will just go like that.

But what about my children, our children who wants to take football as a career?

Where will they display their talents? In this kind of atmosphere?

So I told my players and the crew, I am not going to buy any matches for you. Go there and play well.

I have a salary scheme that is good for my players, and other motivational packages too, so go there and play well and that is why we are getting the results that are now coming.

And so, you took over the club to restore sanity?

Yes, I told them that I want them to play good football and that I want them to be able to make any of the teams by merit and not by begging any of the coaches to call them to national team camp.

I want good players that are well trained and that should be able to fit into the national teams by merit and even get good clubs abroad. So I don't care what the referees will be doing. All I want to do is to produce a good generation of players, that is my earnest desire.

Yes, especially in the Nigeria Premier league, what do you think is the problem?

One reason I don't like talking to journalists is that they don't say it the way I say it. They will edit out the side that the people in charge should read and be able to learn and correct themselves.

I don't like that. If you as the journalist don't say it the way it should be, things will continue to go wrong.

[Then wait until you read this one] When I want to say certain things so that the ills of football will be corrected and

e-mail: deewalebf@yahoo.com

J

•Solomon Bilius (r) of Plateau United in the end in the end, you are not hearing[reading] those things, its not right. Am a professional. Am not the type that will try to do anything to bring the game to disrepute.

For instance, by now I expect that all the outstanding matches be played before we continue the remaining league matches to avoid ills like match fixing which is not helping in bringing out the best in both the players and the game.

I try to speak things which will help us move the game forward. Where are we going to with all these bribery here and there?

And on this, look at how FIFA is struggling to wriggle out of the shame of all these things and our people continue the same way and do not care whether one day the shame will come out. They are doing everything as if football can

“Actually, what is happening in the football arena is very disgraceful as far as I’m concerned.

It has gone as bad that even the players and the coaches know that their management will buy matches for them and so they are not ready to play and that is the more reason why the quality of our players continue to decrease”

die tomorrow and they don't care. Its very unfortunate.

Am just calling on those in authority but unfortunately, those in authority are the ones who allow these things to go on. But they should stop it now or one day, nemesis will catch up with them.

Let those administering football stop all these corruption or one day, nemesis will catch up with them. [Please say it the way it is].

Solution?

Am happy that David Owumi is reinstated and I pray that he know what he started earlier, he will be able to complete it because he is the only one that has shown that he can and I also believe that being a stakeholder, he will be able to handle this prevailing situation.

Because if we don't clear it, how would our generation manage? Its because people don't think about generations, that is why Nigeria is in this condition. The saying if you cant beat them you join them is what is killing Nigeria today.

No body is ready to stand up and correct the ills. Its really unfortunate. Its hi time we stopped that saying and let's face the realities of life.

That is the only way we can move football forward. Thank you.

OHN OBUH’s reputation is on the line. With the Flying Eagles, he is expected to replicate the wonder touch honed with domestic league side Kwara United and national Under-17 team at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup finals that kicked off yesterday in Colombia.

It is a big ask because the coach’s Under-20 wards managed a single goal in one match drawn and two lost at the Copa de la Replubica preparatory tournament concluded last week in Panama.

As supporters will note, the Flying Eagles’ ambitions are tentatively propped by the 2011 African Youth Championship (AYC) triumph, yet even that precious honour was procured at exerting expense as the boys’ struggle to cope with the challenge of playing at a notch higher than the Under-17 level from where they moved up nearly en masse was not lost on followers. Overcame by trademark rapid counterattack of Obuh’s team early on, Cameroon emerged the physically stronger side of the final encounter.

Despite also finishing as runners-up at the 2009 FIFA World Under17 Championship held in Nigeria, Obuh’s Golden Eaglets managed to live down the controversy of age-cheating that enveloped the squad following mass failure of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) test administered on the team during preparations. Although one or two players that survived the cull featured with question marks over their eligibility, the team staged an amazing recovery and sealed enduring mention with Obuh’s managerial skills enhanced in no small measure.

The coach does not command a similar benefit of the doubt now.

After working with nearly the same lot for about two years, he is expected to demonstrate enough insight on the players’ capabilities and team tactics to be deployed.

If the Under-17 tourney was testing ground for the Super Eagles’ emergent feeder team, the ongoing Under-20 competition offers confirmation of prospect. While none of the boys, despite Obuh’s prompting, has translated sensational form at the Nigeria 2009 finals to regular senior team appearance yet, certain names are regularly touted.

Cited in the same breath as erstwhile cadet super-sub Sani Emmanuel, Abduljaleel Ajagun and Terry Envoh is Nigeria 2009 third best player, Ramon Azeez. All, thankfully, made the plane to Colombia. Whether they, helped by flyboy Ahmed Musa’s trickery on the wings and Uche Nwofor’s and Olanrewaju Kayode’s consistent forays up front, will replicate the Under-17 performance remains to be seen.

With last week’s 4-1 humiliation by Mexico at the Copa de la Republica tournament in Panama City resonating, the modest preliminary Group D opposition of Croatia, Saudi Arabia and Guatemala suddenly appears daunting. Contrary to an earlier view, I now find the opener against South American representatives, Guatemala, rather testy.

Since pre-tournament form is not an exact gauge of actual performance in finals, however, I willingly stake my modest analytical reputation on Obuh’s boys going a meaningful distance – injuries and tactical errors permitting, of course.

Pugilist ethos AFTER Samuel Okon Peter’s dreadful submission to one-half of the famous Klitschko clan, Wladimir, on September 11, 2010 in Frankfurt, Germany, I judged that the heavyweight division of world boxing was in danger of a pedestrian turn considering the rather colourless disposition of campaigners, including the other Klitschko, Vitali, who Peter lost to two years earlier. For redemptive measure, I added that imminent challenge by Britain’s WBA title holder David Haye was the nearest hope of an exciting unification bout with either of WBC champion Vitali and IBF, IBO, and WBO champion Wladimir.

Well, now I concede to mistaken identity. ‘The Hayemaker’ proved a legion of boxing supporters wrong on a rainy July 2 night at Hamburg’s Imtech Arena. He subsequently put his defeat by unanimous decision down to a broken toe sustained earlier in training, but critics scoffed.

The trash-talking Brit was not up to scratch, they concurred. Lips quivering , the 30 year-old Londoner admitted he sullied the refined art of pugilism with a limp display and inappropriate excuse.

“Listen,” rued the subdued fighter. “Will he (Wladimir) want to give me a rematch when I’m 100 per cent fit? I don’t know. If not, then I don’t know.”

“I’m not making any decisions yet on retirement,” he added.

While Haye didn’t particularly foreclose the prospect of a rematch, or an earlier vow to retire in October after one more fight, his 35 year-old Germany-based victor deemphasised frolic with mundane opposition.

After Haye’s routine dismissal by Wladimir, the prospect of the Brit disarming Vitali who once relinquished the WBC belt after dominating the division remains boxing fans’ hope of an immediate revival. Knowing the brothers would have to be challenged for any or all of the five major titles in world heavyweight boxing in their grasp sometime, Vitali expressed the wish to take on ‘The Hayemaker’ if only to put the brash challenger’s back on the haystack.

He said: "I was the happiest man in the world that my brother beat him but I'm unhappy that Wladimir (was not able) to send him to the floor."

In dismissing the awkward scenario of the siblings turning on themselves for ultimate unification of the titles, I embrace the more plausible consequence of successful opposition emerging from yet unproven circles. As acknowledged by Wladimir, the stiffest test of the siblings’ dominance could come from Dereck Chisora and Tyson Fury – two fighters who haven't lost and “have all their ambitions”.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

BACK ST AGE The screenings Sobukwe: A Great Soul •Directed by Mickey Madoda Dube •English and Zulu with English subtitles, 104 min OBERT Sobukwe was destined to change people’s lives. He lit the fire for protests like that at Sharpeville, a historic moment that led to his arrest and subsequent nine-year long detainment under a special amendment that became known as the Sobukwe Clause. Founder of the Pan Africanist Congress, he started a movement that crippled the apartheid economy and led to South Africa’s expulsion from the Commonwealth and the UN. It was the ripple created by the stone Sobukwe cast that became the tidal wave which finally sank the apartheid ship. This film is a journey through the life of one of the country’s most unsung heroes.

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Durban’s fiesta of films and filmmakers In 32 years, Durban has maintained a motion picture tradition that promotes Africa and outlived others as the longest South African Film Festival. VICTOR AKANDE, Entertainment Editor, who is attending the Durban International Film Festival, reports that the event takes lead in African Cinema

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ITH this year's edition of South Africa's longestrunning film festival, Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), there is a clear motive for Africa's renaissance for a motion picture tradition that intends, not only to penetrate Europe and perhaps, Asia, but also to affect the cinema appetite of the world with the continent's delicacies.

DIFF's alliance with Berlin Film Festival of Germany through the Talent Campus initiative is a strong networking platform and window to Europe's world of filmmaking. This is outside Germany's visibility with Tom Tykwer's Three, Pia Marais' At Ellen's

•Participants at Talent Campus Durban 2011

Age, Ulrich Kohler's Sleeping Sickness and the documentary El Bulli Cooking In Progress by Gereon Wetzel.

The Talent Campus Durban is an intensive five-day seminar and workshop programme bringing together about 40 African filmmakers from 16 countries on the continent; out of which two are Nigerians with only one, Peter Omewiri-Pius, being able to make it to the festival.

As the festival wraps up tonight with Woody Allen's Midnight In Paris, the 12-day event marks the latest fiesta of films and filmmakers with over 250 screenings of current movies from around the world, giving strong focus to South African and African cinema.

The entire city had in the last 11 days shot up with exciting pilgrims who flocked the Nu Metro Cinecentre Suncoast, Ster Kinekor Musgrave, Cinema Nouveau Gateway, the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, Ekhaya KwaMashu, The Royal Hotel, Luthuli Museum (Groutville) and other venues for screenings taking place throughout Durban, including township areas where cinemas are non-existent.

Supported by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (principal funder), National Film and Video Foundation, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Tourism and other valued funders and partners, DIFF which kicked off on July 21 with the World Premiere of the South African film, Otelo Burning; a Sara Blecher's film set during the last days of apartheid, was also a

•Nigerian filmmaker, Andrew Dosumu

celebration of other great films from around the world, including Skoonheid, the Oliver Hermanus's groundbreaking film that caused a stir at the recent Cannes Film Festival. Others are; Charlie Vundla's noir film How To Steal 2 Million, John Barker's thrilling heist flick 31 Million Reasons, Faith Isiakpere's crime drama The Algiers Murders, Eldorado by new talents Shaldon Ferris and Lorreal Ferris, the hilarious comedy Taka Takata by Damir Radonic, and The Dream by Zuko Nodada.

With African cinemas being represented by Djo Tunda Wa Munga's Viva Riva!, Nigerian director Andrew Donsunmu's visually inclined Restless City, Justin Chadwick's uplifting Kenya-set film The First Grader, and Ebrahim El Batout's Hawi among others, there was never a dull moment for creative ingenuity of filmmakers present at the event.

Another exciting moment was the outdoor screening on the beachfront of Jack McCoy's film, A Deeper Shade of Blue, on 24th July at the opening of Wavescapes Surf Film Festival for the 7th consecutive year a six-day blast of red-hot wave action, surf stories and groundbreaking cinematography.

There is no gain saying that the festival has become a valued meeting point for filmmakers and industry professionals, local and international, and the seminar and workshop programme is populated with leading experts offering insight and debate on a range of relevant issues.

•L-R, Monica Hemming, Asst Mangr DIFF, Dorothy Wenner of Berlin Film Festival,Djo Munga, Director of Viva Riva and MatthijsWouter

The Algiers Murders •Directed by Faith Isiakpere •English, 120 min

T

HIS dark narcotics thriller is set against the violent background of the amphetamine and cocaine trade. Based on a series of policeinstigated killings that took place in New Orleans in 1980, The Algiers Murders is a relentless narrative of power, manipulation, murder, corruption and degradation.

In a world turned sour and sordid by tarnished ideals, one man is on a quest for redemption and justice. With a strong local and international cast, this highly entertaining crime drama is set in a city of many nationalities and accents, driving home the point that it could be anywhere.

The Dead Sea •Directed by Leena Manimekalai •Tamil with English subtitles, 102 min ROM Indian director Leena Manimekali comes this engaging and haunting film about the lives of Tamil fishermen and the difficulties they faced during the Sri Lankan war.

The Dead Sea tells the stories of real victims on both sides of the conflict, highlighting the human right violations which occurred and documenting the fishermen’s rage against the violent atrocities perpetrated by both the Sri Lankan and Indian governments. The resulting blend of fiction and documentary is a powerful protest against the injustices and ethnic cleansing which continue to take place around the world.

F

Nader and Simin: A Separation •Directed by Asghar Farhadi •Persian with English subtitles, 123 min This beautifully made film traces the break up of an Iranian family set against the political tensions of life in contemporary Tehran. Nader and Simin have decided to get divorced, ostensibly because Simin wants to emigrate overseas to ensure a better future for their daughter. This, however, may not be the real reason. While not overtly political, Nader and Simin, A Separation is starkly critical of life in Iran, particularly the massive class divide. The finest film yet from the talented Ashgar Farhadi, this remarkable drama won the Golden Bear at Berlin this year.

39

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

Why corruption thrives in the power sector What are the plans of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) towards abundant provision of pre-paid meters?

The commission knows that without pre-paid meters, it is impossible to control the pricing of electricity.

We have, therefore, made its provision a priority. Last month, we had a meeting with all CEOs, where they discussed the role of metering. First, we disbursed the sum of N2.9 billion. But that sum is small compared to what the industry needs. Nevertheless, we have signed an agreement with them on how to procure pre-paid meters transparently. On the arrival of the meters, they have two to three weeks to deploy them.

What we are going to do is that once the meters arrive, we will go and check how they are distributed to consumers. We don’t want a situation where meters are kept in their stores and not distributed. This time around, we are going to effectively implement that undertaking because they signed it. We will ensure that the N2.9 billion is used for meters and meters alone. It is not part of any maintenance cost for the utility.

Secondly, if they achieve privatisation, the first commitment of the would-be takers of these companies will be a firm guarantee and a timeline for them to effectively deploy metering to cover all the consumers. We will have a timeline and the time will be enforced strictly.

We know that in the past, about 75 per cent of electricity consumers were not metered so revenue collection has been very low. I have received a report from the ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission) on corruption on metering with some of the DISCOs. We are going to enforce it and we are going to take it up to ensure that any CEO who is involved is actually removed.

How much has government lost to estimate billing?

Well, I don’t have the data. Don’t forget that we are not very good at keeping data. But it is a huge loss not only to the government but also to the consumers. Without pre-paid meters or any form of metering, it is difficult to accurately bill consumers. So, it is possible that some consumers are paying excessively and it is possible that some are not paying enough. What you see here is that the federal government is losing money and the consumers are also losing money. I cannot put a figure to it. But from what I have heard, it is a substantial loss. That is why some of the distribution companies cannot maintain their networks and substations. It is a huge financial and technical loss because of lack of meters for consumers and at the distribution and transmission side of the market.

As at June 30, 2010, government had spent N3.50K per kilowatt, but the problem is that government failed to deliver that N3.50K on time. In the past one year or so, government may have paid only three times. That is the problem: government’s failure to pay its own share of the subsidy

— Electricity regulation Chairman, Sam Amadi

There has been a public outcry against the hike in the tariff payable by electricity consumers. But justifying the new tariff regime in this interview with JOHN OFIKHENUA, the Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi says it was done in public interest. He also explains the plans of the commission towards improved electricity supply in the near fut

•Amadi

on time starves the industry of revenue. So, the debate now is how do we ensure that government’s commitment to revenue or subsidy or whatever it is to pay is paid on time, so that utilities can use such funds to improve services? Right now, government owes about N109 billion. So, government owes its share of the subsidy. With the new charge, which came into effect on July 1, government is also going to commit to paying the subsidy tariff on time until there is a revision of the situation. But right now, what government pays is N3.50k.

Following the new electricity tariff, what assurance are you giving Nigerians that there will be sufficient power supply?

This is just a partnership. People write to us and complain about failure of service. We also write to the distribution companies.

Sometimes, we quickly instruct them on the constraints. And at times, the consumers write back and express satisfaction. I like their spirit. I want Nigerians to be involved in reporting such services to us. So, we can assure you that within our

executive framework, we will ensure that utilities deal with these constraints. Some of them are actually in the short term beyond their capacity. If you have the feeder sections that have not been repaired for years, when electricity comes, there will be fluctuation. And it takes more than issuing commands. It takes systematic investment. And it is part of our responsibilities to see that the owners are committed to their part on investment to rehabilitate the facilities and ensure that in the long run, the system is okay.

What we do is that whenever we have these reported cases, we put pressure on the companies to improve service delivery and we use our regulatory sanctions. We use all the things we have to convince and to persuade utilities to improve.

There is something we have started doing: we have regular meetings with them. We identify problem areas and we give them the mandate and the time frame to resolve the problems. But in the long run, the system has to be properly financed and accountability framework installed. These are some of the things

we are doing. We want to ensure that we create a system so that these failures can be dealt with even with the available resources and technical know -how.

So, essentially, we will continue to enforce these standards and, if possible, have a bigger picture to ensure that the industry is well positioned to be able to deal with these constraints on long-term basis.

How many companies has the commission licensed, and how many of them are in operation?

We have licensed about 41 utilities, mostly in the generation side of it.

Many of them are operational apart from the legacy utilities, the PHCN distribution companies and oil and gas companies. We also have many off-grid licenses, that is those who don’t contribute to the grid. We have licenses for Dangote, Wimco, and many of them are operational. The problem is that the new IPPs have not started contributing power to the grid because they need to sign gas agreement. They need to sign power purchase agreement with the bulk trader whereas the bulk trader is not yet operational. They also need two to three years to mobilise to their sites, and they do their stockpiling and sign all necessary agreements before they can give power. So, a substantial part of them are not yet positioned on the grid.

What plans do you have for the Niger Delta Power Holding Company to increase power generation?

Most of the mixed supply does not come from the market; it comes from the NIPP. But recently, I had a meeting with their CEOs. They asked us to determine their rates, because a few of their power stations are coming on board. We had meetings with them so that we could issue licences to them quickly. But they were government companies.

They would not seek license on time.

But now that they are about to commission their plants, they are seeking licences. We are fast-tracking their licences because licence will give us the regulatory capacity to force them to comply with schedule note. They have missed their schedules several times because of absence of management process, corruption and other issues. But we are putting the NIPPs under stricter framework. And to do that, we must license them. Right now, they are not licensed. On that note, we held a meeting recently and we agreed on what they have to do to have substantial compliance licence framework. We will give them a licence and that will bring them under the ambit of our regulatory framework.

So, we will ensure that the capacities are installed in the next three

months and we will ensure we deliver them on time. That is what we are doing with them. So, that is our concern, so that once we are able to have their supply, the market can have over 2,000 mega watts, and that is significant. And because they are also on the side of transmission, their work of transmission will help to evacuate the work of the excess capacity that is stranded in the eastern part of the country. So, that is our major concern right now.

I learnt that you are working on a tariff for solar power in Nigeria.

What is the update?

Yes, we are doing feasible pricing for renewable solar, bio fuel, small hydro wind energy and all that. We have been modelling. The methodology is ready, but our consultants are working on the financial modelling. I believe that when we will announce the new MYTO, the feeding price for renewable, including solar, will be part of that framework.

What is your message to anxious Nigerians now?

My message to Nigerians is that I am not angry that the NERC is being misunderstood. Electricity is important and basic. People are reacting well. The people have the right to complain. We are going to be patient. We are going to work with them and we will show them full disclosure. The work of a regulator is to tell them the truth all the time. The central value of the regulator is transparency. Our job is to protect their rights to ensure that no utility charges them more than what they ought to pay, so that whatever money the utilities put in are used to expand the network.

So, my message is that we should trust NERC, because we realised that our job is not only to make it good for the utilities; our job is to protect consumers, and right pricing is key to availability. So, when we say “cost reflective”, we do not mean making money for the utilities; we mean that we will have the cost that will be attractive to cover the investment and a cost that will be affordable to the consumers and help them to become more energy sufficient.

When I leave my room, I put off my light because I want to pay less. So, pricing helps consumers adopt specific behaviours and also helps them to minimise their expenditure on energy. So, my message is simple: if they can trust us, we know their problems. We know their deprivation. Decades of corruption and mismanagement cannot be solved with any magic wand. So, we believe we are together in this and very soon we will get out of the darkness.

‘Life, to me, is about giving’

•Continued from Page 22 endowed and larger than several members of the United Nations, including Namibia, Botswana, The Gambia, Cyprus and Luxembourg among others, but seriously challenged.”

He emphasised that it was time for everyone to participate and proactively address the challenges confronting Ekiti through the establishment of truthfulness, fairness and goodwill. “It is time to start the

healing process and build bridges of friendship and understanding across political, economic, social and religious divides. There is no problem confronting Ekiti that we in Ekiti working together cannot resolve. We shall work without counting costs or returns, without sounding gongs, cymbals, horns or trumpets as we pursue our sole aim of making Ekiti regain its rightful place within and outside its shores,” he said, adding: “We are out to recreate Ekiti by promoting

sustainable accelerated socioeconomic growth and development of the state in a prosperous political atmosphere.

Our main concern is to give back to our roots for the future of our children.” The template, he assured, had been laid to ensure that the project does not end as a nine days’ wonder.

The curtain was being drawn on the session when his smart secretary, a girl, walked into his commodious office at his behest.

She had come to deliver to her boss, a pamphlet of the devotional service that the IUE held for Ekiti people in October last year.

With other documents, the Prince handed it over to the reporter, saying: “I’m sure you will feel our pulse if you peruse these materials.

Ours is a project to which we are committing everything.”

Beaming with satisfaction rooted in keen sense of patriotism, Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi, who affirmed

his total love for Ekiti, hinted that the body would at the end of August, empower 300 Ekiti youths at a forum billed to hold at Ado, the Ekiti State capital.

He explained his marriage to the project thus: “For me, life is about positively affecting your world; it is about selfless service to your fellowmen the best way you can; it is about giving in any way; it is far beyond narrow self interest!”

40

F

EMALE breast comes in various sizes, shapes; depending on how nature has endowed each person. It is a very important part of the female body. Ideally, it should not matter how big or small a lady’s breast is.

What should matter is how we care for it. Looking closely at a lady’s dress sense; if the breast is not well packaged and the right kind of brassier is not worn, it could completely destroy a lady’s entire look.

As a teenager, naturally it is firmer, more up there’ if you get my drift? It is nature.

As you grow older, it begins to sag a little especially if you are married, with kids. Naturally, babies will suck for at least six months. At that time when you are a nursing mother, the breasts will be filled with milk. So it goes up and then down.

This is when utmost care and attention should be given to it. I repeat, the right

With reference to your cousin, Nneka, that you mentioned in the past edition, I think the guy she was dating was the right. It was the tribal sentiment that hindered her from getting the truth. So let people keep their minds open in to love.

Vince, Yenagoa Every woman has the right to live her life the way she wants it, but they should know that God forbids the act, sex! Like the Bible says is mainly for married people.

Benyman, Warri Kudos for being objective at all times. But at times, some men too over show love to women who refuse to reciprocate such gesture. Only God can deliver us.

You are always saying the truth, but I am happy to tell you that, this does not relate to ladies alone, but is vice versa.

Keep it up Babalola Iyiola, Ilorin Well-done but I disagree with your idea of keeping extra- boyfriend, no servant can serve two masters (ada to ba loju meji ti di ida) Oloyede Gabriel What I think is that, it is rare to have 100 per cent love reciprocated, but ladies should pray and work hard on what they feel it is ideal, think and discuss together with their men rather than double date anyway.

Kpamor Atoza, Benue State I think you are right, one needs a spare tyre. Imagine myself dating a lady for the

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

Our breasts, our assets kind of bra. During pregnancy, the breasts will grow larger. I will advice that you wear your bra to sleep during pregnancy and nursing period. If not, the breast will completely go flatter after nursing or it will sag. Don’t blame nature when your breasts completely sag; it could be your fault.

Some women will tie wrapper tightly on their chest areas when doing house chores, this is wrong.

Our breasts are our asset.

It serves multiple purposes in our lives, in the lives of our husbands. In the lives of our children. We must not underestimate its purpose.

If yours is already completely sagged; not to worry, there is still hope but henceforth, no more wrappers on the chest. Do buy bras that has foams inside i..e padpast two years only for her to quit. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

Moses You are fantastic, fantabulous with your write ups. Some ladies use soccer ideology by having main striker and supporting striker. Because main striker may fumble. But ladies are not to be blame because they are trying to get the best out of the good ones. But if they do it out of covetousness, it will boomerang.

Alfred Omidiji, Ilorin I am a 62 year- old- man.

Your article on whether a lady should keep an extra boyfriend was timely, appropriate and a masterpiece. In the African setting, ladies are chosen instruments of God and once they are hooked to a man of their choice, any other flimsy excuse is nothing but infidelity and promiscuity which are alien to our culture. Ladies are expected to exhibit decent traits at all times and at the early stage of their relationships, they should be very close to the family of her heartthrobs.

This will militate against sudden disappointment from male partners. Above all, ladies should consistently pray to God. SOJ, Ado Ekiti

ded bras, so you can appear full-chested.

You must put on bras with iron under; this pushes yours up and you look and feel very firm.

Whether we admit it or not, it is the first thing our men will notice. Remember they are wired by sight? Of course they will pretend not to notice it, but I assure you, they are looking. If you are the meticulous type, watch them closely. Though it is a ‘flying glance’ they don’t concentrate too much so you don’t think they are starring at you. Or, it is all that matters to them. It is not; but it is an added advantage.

I know of a guy that turned down the lady he was match made with just because he felt her breasts were on the downward slope.

I have not said that we should push them up so much that it will be falling off our dresses. No, that will be too obvious. It can put our men off. They will know it is artificially packed.

In the western world, I know how much money women spend to enhance their breasts. That could be very expensive. I don’t really encourage that because I am sure it has its disadvantages as well.

Even if yours is small; just walk tall and chest out a little.

No more slack bras. No more taking these assets for granted. No more allowing the men to squeeze it too hard. It should be tenderly touched. If you allow your man squeeze it too hard and it becomes too sagged; he will be the first to look else-

Text messages

where, looking for firmer assets. For our suckling infants, ensure that you use cotton wool at intervals; dip it into warm water and clean the nipples thoroughly before feeding the baby. At those times, the bras you use should be strictly nursing bras.

Those bras that have zips in front, or clips in front.

Feed the baby and neatly tuck it back in.

Remember, every lady must walk tall, tummy in and chest out.

To walk tall, you must walk like a model, that is, walk as if you are carrying a book on your head. I assure you, with your ‘assets’ well packaged, you can’t go wrong; your man will stay home more. The only two times you put on a bra to sleep should be when you are nursing a baby and dur-

Re: ‘Until murder did them part’ out and keep girls to keep their soul together as third party To start with, let me greet you welcome back from Helsinki. Well, to the matter of the day, a lady does not need an extra boyfriend in a relationship because a lady will definitely see the traces to know if a man or a guy is not sincere in a relationship.

But these days, most girls just shy away from the truth, may be because of the goodies that are attached to such relationship. Hence, they start shouting wolf, where there is none.

Adebayo Oladimeji, Ibadan Ladies are not a trustworthy partners and that keeping an extra boy friend is a reflection of what Sigmund Freud, a sociologist, in the Theory of “I and Me” referred to “Yourself is a Mirror to the Society”, and should therefore be condemned in totality.

Ike Ekong, Thompson, Akwa

Reading your column, but do you know I’m facing the same problem with a girl (my best friend) that I can’t live without? But you sound like it’s a male thing.

Arthur

Love is a gift of nature, man has no monopoly of it. Any love outside this could lead to destructions. Avoid those pampers that based on earthly things to convince you. Don’t rush into love.

Always ask God to help you.

Definitely you will find one who to keep you up to date.

Keep extra friend is the tricks that will turn to affect you, don’t do it.

I will like if you can write something on this topic “Is there true love” when after marriage vow, men still go

Re: Should a lady keep an extra boyfriend? I want to confirm that only the bornagain Muslims and Chris-

tians keep to one partner that most possibly result to marriage. Aside, just 10 per cent of non-born again adhere strictly to one .

Congratulations on your birthday last .

Lanre, Oseni There is no basis for a lady double date, no reasons to justify it, morally, spiritually or money wise. Extracts stated in your piece reveal that a lady should be wise up.

Segun Makinde It is a good thing that one plan so one doesn’t end being a failure but as far as relationship is concerned, caution is the word. I don’t really have anything against a

lady having a “spare tyre” in case the “front one” bursts as long as the acquisition is not borne out of greed and covetousness, picking up the pieces could be very daunting and this is why a lady must take her time to study her man before a no retreat, no surrender philosophy to a relationship is adopted. It is advisable for a lady to be mindful of giving in so often to the sex demands of a man, ladies should remember that the pudding tastes tasteless after one might have had ones fill.

Remi Adesina, Ibadan As a matter of fact, we live in a world where perfection doesn’t exist, but our imper-

ing the second trimester of your pregnancy.

Age of course plays a prominent role in its maintenance.

The breast is the feeding machine. It feeds the entire world. Imagine a world without breasts and see how dry the world would become! The divine nectar for sustenance is hidden inside these treasure domes for mankind to feed sweetly and deliciously with the innocence and tranquility of a child.

There are some women who do not properly take care of their breasts. It is due to the fact that they are not so much aware of the greatness of their most valuable assets and so, they neglect any chance of beautifying their breasts.

They have seriously and sincerely nurtured it without any wear and tear happening to them.

The uniqueness of the female is its peculiar curve with its high degree of sensitivity to tangibility.

In conclusion, do not worry about the size, shape, colour, expensiveness of the areola, or the thickness of the nipple, flashiness of the protuberance or the overall look and beauty of the entire asset. The most important thing is that you take care of it and be aware that this is the greatest gift you have been endowed with and that a nonchalant attitude towards it, could lead to utter tragedy. fect ladies want ‘perfect’ men.

In their fantasies, they say – ‘he must be educated, handsome, macho, romantic, ride posh cars, live in VGC and be omnipotent. All these make them find and keep extra boyfriends. They have forgotten that an average man can’t be a custodian of all interesting qualities. A lady once said, there’s need for an extra or Plan B in any affair, I told her ‘extra tyres set dey burst. Why not help your guy to sustain his virtues and make him Mr. Universe, even if he is a starry-eyed midget.

Seun Osinkolu, Ogbomoso Disciplined, you can keep more than one male friend, to make a choice life partner.

The problem is when you start sleeping around you will always feel been used.

Elder Osy, Ota

•L-R: Owa of Oke-Oro, Ekiti State, HRM, Oba Afolabi Idowu Babade, with the wife of the CEO, Unity Hospitals Group, Lagos, Lady Gloria Williams and a retired principal, University of Lagos International School, Akoka, Lagos, Mrs. Sola Peters at the reception in honour of her husband, the medical director, Unity Hospitals Group, Ikeja, Lagos, Dr. Peters at the Ikeja Golf Club Lagos.

Saturday

Profile Partying Happenstances Style

SOCIAL SCENE

SPECIAL

THE NATION SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

41

‘I consider myself lucky to have escaped tribal marks’ Continued on Pages 44-45

44

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

‘Gunmen shot my wife in her official car and she lost both eyes’ Kamarudeen Abiola Shittu is one of the few Nigerians to have been the chairman of a local government for four times. In this interview with GBENGA ADERANTI, he speaks about the secrets behind his electoral success at this level of administration, his lifestyle, family life and future plans.

•Shittu

M

‘

OST Oyo indigenes of your age have tribal marks. How come you have none?

(Laughs) Well, my father is late. He had two tribal marks like those of the Alaafin of Oyo, because my paternal grandmother was from the royal family. My mother also has tribal marks. But not everybody in Oyo has tribal marks. There are princes who can become the king in the future, but they have no tribal marks. Maybe at the time we were born, the interest in tribal marks had waned. Hence, my parents did not give me tribal marks when I was born. I think I’m lucky.

In fact, I learnt that the first born of my father who died young had tribal marks. I am the fourth born of my father and the first born of my mother. None of my siblings has tribal marks. I consider tribal marks a kind of punishment. The pain they undergo is enormous.

Are you a prince?

No, I am not. It was my paternal grandmother who was a princess. In those days, if you were‘ a prince, they could give you tribal marks.

You have everything a woman would desire: money influence and looks. How do you ward off female advances?

Well, I’m not a womaniser. I have two wives and I am okay with the two of them.

I keep to myself. My religion permits you to have a maximum of four wives, but I am okay with the two I have. Definitely, you will have advances. But your brain tells you what to do. I always stylishly shun them. If they want anything I can afford, I

It is only my younger wife who complains. She would say, ‘Daddy, you look nice in trousers, please put it on. I will be buying them for you.’ I will say okay, I will dress to impress you.’ But my senior wife does not bother herself about it

give it to them. But I don’t get myself enticed to women. It is all about self discipline.

How did your first wife react to the arrival of the second?

Definitely, she was not happy. That is natural. But I talked to her and we amicably resolved the matter. My first wife resolved that they should live together.

Both of them were under my roof until a sad incident occurred in 2008.

What was the incident?

On December 24, 2008, my wife travelled to Ibadan with her official car as the First Lady. She was attacked by some gunmen who shot her in the head and she lost her two eyes. It was a terrible experience. She was taken to the United Kingdom for treatment, but she could not

’

recover the two eyes.

How would you describe your wardrobe?

I am a Yoruba man. I have a lot of of aso ebi (ceremonial uniform). Well, personally, I don’t like wearing western dresses. You would hardly see me wear them. Although I bought some suits in London, maybe they will be used by my children. I am an Oyo man to the core. You will always see me in buba and sokoto. Each time I put on trousers and shirts, people say I look younger and good in it. Some even say I look like a student and that they love it. But to buttonup a shirt and wear a belt, I don’t like it much. Maybe it is because I am an Oyo man. I am used to wearing agbada. If you go to my wardrobe, you will see all those suits I bought. But as I said, I have, four

boys and two girls, but you hardly see my children with what I’m wearing.

Don’t your wives complain about your buba and sokoto?

It is only my younger wife who complains. She would say, ‘Daddy, you look nice in trousers, please put it on. I will be buying them for you.’ I will say okay, I will dress to impress you.’ But my senior wife does not bother herself about it.

You have had the rare opportunity of serving as the council chairman for so long. How did you get into politics?

I got into politics by providence. I just found myself as a politician after the prompting by the late Alhaji Liadi Adekunle Elewi, the former Minister of State for Communication. He was the one who inspired me to be a practical politician after my university education.

We saw him then as one of the economic pillars in Oyo. We didn’t know him to be a politician. He ventured into politics when people called him to serve. This was a man we all knew to be an industrialist. He came to Oyo to establish the then Elewi Biscuit Industry. He was asked by the people to go into politics. He was asked to lead us as the chairman of the then Oyo Local Government, which has now been split into the present Oyo East, Oyo West, Atiba, Afijo and Orire local government areas.

The man ruled Oyo Local Government.

That was when I had just left the university. I finished my first degree in 1985 and I went for National Youth Service between 1985 and 1986. I came at the time the preparation of Alhaji Elewi to be the chairman of the then Oyo Local

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011 Government was in top gear. We joined to make that dream come true. The man became the chairman, we saw the way he was doing it and it inspired those of us who were young then. That was how my interest in politics started.

As I said, it was by providence, because I didn’t expect it. I read Botany in the university. So, how come I am in politics? I was concentrating on how to be a teacher or work in any agric or plant-based establishment. Like I said, I was lured into politics.

That was how we started.

I was in the employ of the Oyo State Teaching Service. That was in 1992. But immediately after that, I was called to serve as a member of the caretaker government in the then Oyo Local Government. Then I was made the supervisor for agric under the leadership of a young brilliant chap, Engineer Waheed Adeleke.

I finished that in 1996. In 1997, people called me to contest election into the House of Assembly. I won the election as the representative of Oyo East and West Constituency. But because of the political situation then, the House was never inaugurated.

The following year, another opportunity came and people thought this person we voted for into the House of Assembly, let us make him the (local government) Chairman. In the election of 1998, I participated again and won the election on the platform of the PDP as the Chairman of Oyo East Local Government.

We were inaugurated in May 1999. That government ran successfully until 2002. That was my first time as the chairman of the Oyo East Local Government. By then, it was difficult for any PDP candidate in Oyo State to win, but God did it for me. That was when our papa, Lam Adeshina, who was an Alliance for Democracy (AD) man, was the governor.

I was the only person in the whole Oyo area who won an election as a PDP man. We served under the AD government. We had nine PDP chairmen, six APP chairmen while there were about 15 for AD. The immediate past governor of Oyo State, Alao Akala, was also a chairman in Ogbomosho North Local Government. Immediately after that, I was at home. Then by providence again, that was in 2007, Ladoja was removed. Akala became the governor of Oyo State for 11 months. And within those eleven months, he saw me as a very good colleague. He appointed me as one of the members of the governing council of Ladoke Akintola University College of Technology, Ogbomosho. And when Akala was sent packing as governor and Ladoja returned, we were removed. But Akala contested the next governorship election and won. That was in 2007. I was also elected the chairman of the Oyo East Local Government again.

Before the election that brought him back as governor, I was appointed the caretaker chairman of the Oyo East Local Government. By the time election came again in 2007, I was given the opportunity to contest. As the substantive chairman, I came back again as the chairman of the Oyo East Local Government. That was how we administered it till 2010.

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45

In fact, I learnt that the first born of my father who died young had tribal marks. I am the fourth born of my father and the first born of my mother. None of my siblings has tribal marks. I consider tribal marks a kind of punishment

•Shittu Then when the opportunity came again, the governor appointed me as the Caretaker Chairman of Oyo East Local Government. That was the fourth time of being the chairman. And

that came to an end recently.

What was the magic that was bringing you back to government, especially when it was the same position throughout?

Well it was not magic. I think they had tested me and discovered that I was capable. I won the election in 1998 as the chairman of the local government because people knew me as a cool-headed guy and they loved me. They had tested me as the supervisor for Agric. They saw the way I behaved and then they developed interest in me. With the help of the Almighty God, they felt I was willing to serve the people. When I first served as the local government chairman, people were saying: “This boy, why can’t he buy a car? Even your house, you cannot complete it.’ And I told them that if anybody did something more than what I was able to achieve personally, that person must be a thief; that person is not a good servant; he must have gone there to steal. Because what we were getting as allocation and internally generated revenue (IGR) was little. Maybe people saw that seriousness in me. They saw the commitment in me; the ability to serve the people, and they said I should continue. I want to thank the almighty God for that. I think it was the wish of the almighty God. Since you studied Plants and Forestry, what did you do as the Chairman of Oyo Local Government to develop agriculture?

As the Supervisor for Agric between 1994 and 1996, honestly, I put everything I could as an agric man into Oyo East Local Government. I remember I was the one who advised the then chairman, Engr. Waheed Gbolagade Adeniji, that we should have a fish pond in Oyo East Local Government then.

Honestly, we had a very big fish pond. But today, the location of the fish pond has fallen into Atiba Local Government. The fish pond is no more there. The heavy rain that fell one year washed everything away. I don’t know if the present Atiba Local Government has a fish pond or not. I was instrumental to our having maize and cassava farms.

We encouraged people.

But by the time I became chairman in 1999, it was wonderful. We established a cashew plantation.

We established poultry at the Local Government Secretariat. We established maize and cashew farms. I bought tractors, which were hired to farmers at sunsidised rates. By the time I left government in 2002, I thought my successors would continue. But by the time I came back in 2007, everything was grounded. So, when I came as chairman again, I first of all re-established the cashew plantation.

We

’

refurbished the poultry farm and bought more tractors. I just made sure that the Agric Department became functional again. We established fish pond again within the local government secretariat. Everything is there again. Those were the things I was able to do.

Oyo East was not FADAMA local government that time. But by the time I came back as chairman in 2007, I made sure that Oyo East became one of the FADAMA local governments.

There were 10 local governments that enjoyed the initiative, but when I came in, I made sure Oyo East was one of the local governments that were enjoying FADAMA initiative.

You functioned at the grassroots. How come Nigeria still imports food when agriculture is the major occupation of the people?

Everybody in the world eats to keep body and soul together. But I have noticed that people who produce food are very few in Nigeria. I am sorry, I would say we are very lazy. I have been to many parts of the world. I was in Germany, the UK, the US and Canada. Honestly, they don’t play with food production. The richest people in America are farmers. The same applies in the UK. In Germany, you cannot see land lying fallow. But go to everywhere in this country; our people are lazy. They don’t want to farm. They don’t have the fund to farm. I have gone into farming now, I know that a lot of money goes into it, and if you don’t give it what it needs, you won’t reap anything. Nigeria is naturally endowed. We have land, but people are not utilising them.

There is nowhere you drop a seed and it will not grow. Plant maize or cassava anywhere, it will grow. It does not speak well of our country that Nigeria is still importing food.

Where next are you going?

I don’t want to be a local government chairman again. It was only God that saved me. I didn’t know that the Yoruba wanted a change. That was why I was gunning for Oyo State House of Assembly in the last election. But as God would have it, the party said I should not vie for it again. Although I had worked for it seriously, I accepted the verdict of the party.

What will you do if you become the governor of Oyo State?

I will pray that God should give me all the logistics to perform better than the previous governors of the state. You need to garner experience from the local government to rule the state.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

Dazzling outfits at Abuja fashion show

•Rima Fashion

BUJA. the nation’s capital city, held its first major fashion show recently, where DaViva, a leading brand in Ankara fabrics, collaborated with NobleAfrik. Tagged Glitz ‘n’ Glamour DaViva Fashion Show, the event took place at the popular Nicon Luxury Hotel. The event was aimed at creating a platform for both young and reputable designers to showcase their creativity.

A

•Noble Afrik

•Modoc Fashion

The show involved 12 talented designers who praised DaViva for supporting local designers and for their high quality prints.

Among the 12 designers who showcased their products was Big and Beautiful, which showcased only handbags. Others were Ruba Couture, De Scissors Designs, Clarion Michaels, Jennifer Michaels, Fareeque Couture and Bendtmark. Peaceusin, Modac, House of Marie, Rima Fashion and Nobelafrik.

“DaViva is proud to be able to support young Nigerian designers in the early years of their careers, which he hoped would become successful,” said the GM DaViva , Mr. Keith Barratt.

The designs on parade were a fusion of indigenous fabrics and western styles.

•Ruba Couture

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

Wristwatches men must have Foluke ADEMOLA

T

HESE days, men love to look good and make a statement with their outfit. But what is fashion without the necessary accessory to tone it up?

The wristwatch is one of the most important accessories a man can own. It is an essential style element men can’t afford to miss, since it is widely believed that the number of accessories men are exposd to are limited.

Various wristwatches can be used for various occasions to complement a man’s outfit. But to detrmine the kinds of wristwatches to be worn to different occasions, certain factors must be considered.

Mind your lifestyle: I do suggest that you have different wristwatches for work and play if your lifestyle requires it or you have a knack for variety.

However, when buying a watch for the purpose of enhancing your dress, you should choose something that is classic or more lasting, such as those made by Nike, Suunto, Gucci and Polar. They are stylish and creative.

Consider stainless-steel bracelet: Stainless steel is more practical than leather and certainly more durable.

It is dressy enough to be worn with a business suit and casual enough for other occasions.

Go for water resistant wristwatches: This kind of wristwatch is good because no matter the season, it is useful and durable. Even when you are caught in the rain or your watch accidentally gets wet, you don’t have to worry.

Be mindful of the face and strap: They come in different exciting colours of dials and straps. I have seen it from cheap to expensive watches. When building a classic wardrobe, stick to the tried and true colours you know will blend and look appropriate in a business or formal setting. Save the trendy colours for a second or third watch if you must.

Know your taste: Most importantly, you have to know your taste for watches. Is it leather, gold or silver?

What kind of shape do you really like for a more satisfactory and stunning look you’ve always wanted.

•Citizen Blue Angels skyhawk: Mens stainless steel watch

•Kunle Adeyemi

•Superdry watches for men

•Fareeque Couture

•Wrist watches series 2, by Crispin Jones

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SOCIETY

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

Son of Oasis Group chair, Adegoke Adegbite, finds love

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HERE was an air of affluence as the son of Chief Samuel Igbayilola Adegbite,the exManaging Director of Wema Bank PLC and Chairman of Oasis Group, Adegoke Adegbite, got married to Oluwakemi

Olayinka Aleshinloye-Williams.

It was a high society wedding that drew people from all walks of life.

The solemnization of the wedding took place at the Cathedral of the Church of Christ, Marina, Lagos.The

Okorie UGURU

presiding priest urged the couple to love each other drawing from the Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians 13: 1-13 where Apostle Paul admonished Christians to love one another.

After the service, the reception took place at Lekki, Lagos.

The chairman of the day Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas advised the couple to love each other and be conscious of the good families they come from.

He told them the importance of listening to each other in order to make a good home.

The wedding had top government functionaries and captains of industries in attendance.

Among those who graced the occasion were

the wife of Oyo State Governor, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi; Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas; Chief Razaq Akanni Okoya; Chief John Odeyemi; Chief(Mrs.) Nike Akande; Mr. Tunde Lemo; Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa and many other dignitatries.

•From left: Mrs. Margaret Onyesoh; Mrs. Dupe Aleshinloye-Williams, bride’s mother and Mrs. Olayinka Adegbite, groom’s mother

•The couple cutting their cake

•Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa (left) ,MD, Neimeith, and Chief John Odeyemi ,former chairman, EcoBank PLC

•Groom’s father, Chief Samuel Adegbite, and his sister, Mrs. Bolanle Durodola

What and Where?

T

Award

HE president of the Security Award Foundation, Dr. Ebikabowe Victor-Ben, is set to institute the Nigeria Security Achievers Awards. It is intended to appreciate all those who have made meaningful contributions towards the improvement of security in Nigeria, as well as encourage them to do more and for others to take issues of security seriously.

Victor-Ben, an ex-militant leader in the Niger Delta, and a Fellow of the World Peace Institute, is expected to be at the ceremony.

According to the Director General of the Security Achievers Foundation, Ambassador Kenule Nwiya, the nation will soon witness the biggest Security Achievers Awards in the history of West Africa.

• Egnr. Sylvester Oyewole with his wife, Grace, during the 20th anniversary of the Light Bearers, Wesley Cathedral, Olowogbowo, Lagos.

•Hon. Adeyinka Ajayi (middle), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Representative from the Odo-Otin/Ifelodun/Boripe Constituency in Osun State, discussing with Deborah Oyeniyi during his “Meet the Constituency Tour”With them are Special Adviser to the Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Funmi Ajayi, and Director, Finance and Administration, Millennium Development Goals ,Osun State, Diran Fashesin.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

•Dolphin Dome at the Ushaka Marine World

It’s much fun being in Durban T HE windows of the air plane shining in the re flected rays of the sun when I landed at the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) International Airport showed that the weather here was more friendly than the one experienced in Johannesburg.

The South Africans that I later met described the weather as one of the city's worst winters in recent years.

I was in South Africa with a group of journalists for Durban July , 2011-an annual horseracing and fashion show sponsored by the South African Airways and Tourism, KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN).

As we travelled from the KZN airport through the city, later to Quarters Hotel on Florida Road, the roads are well paved and the journey smooth. With the warm reception we were accorded, we didn’t need a soothsayer to tell us that we were in for days of fun.

I knew that Durban, KwaZuluNatal with her rich heritage, natural beauty and ever- smiling people had a great deal to offer.

We also were introduced to Biltong, a delicacy like South African beef suya, but with a distinct flavour. It’s sold all over South Africa and we ate a lot of it.

Durban was quite an experience. I started getting to know the city the same day that we arrived.

We were moved to Ninos, where we had our breakfast, and Umlazi Township, in the south of Durban, where we were drawn to the cultural side of city. We

Kehinde FALODE

spent time travelling through Mangosuthu Highway, King Zwelethini Stadium, and the University of Technology (which is the only university in KZN) , stopping at intervals to watch and listen to history of Umlazi referred to as the one of the biggest towns in Africa.

The first hotel in Umlasi is now being used as a hostel by the university.

Umlazi is the only town in the world having street names with letters A-Z alphabets on both sides.

Durban is located on the east coast of South Africa on the Indian Ocean. It has a tropical climate .

It is safer than Johannesburg as there are no razor wires, no electric fences and no high fencing. The city has some of the best beaches in the world and it is a place that millions of people visit every year for swimming and surfing. Running from one end of the coastline to the other are beautiful restaurants, lodges and land adventure parks.

On our second day, we drove inland to Sun Coast Casino to join a Rickshaw Bus Tour to learn about Zulu Kingdom and its late founder,Bold King Shaka.

Apart from the Zulus, Durban has Indian and white populations.

Among these people are many wealthy merchants and business owners. As we passed through the long stretch of beaches, we were much excited.

As we drove by, we saw people running up and down, scooping some things from the water. It was the 'sardine run fever'. We were told

that during the months of May, June and July, millions of shimmering silver sardines migrate northwards from the oceans off the Cape, all the way up to the coastal waters of KwaZuluNatal. The things being thrown up were sardines.

Our next point of call was the neat and radiant Moses Mabhida Stadium which hosted one of the final matches of the 2010 World Cup. It was purposely built for the World Cup and it is the most beautiful stadium I have ever visited.

Our guide told us that after the World Cup, it became a destination for tourists from all over the world. At the stadium, we had a wonderful Sky Car (cable car) experience and we had a full professional tour of the facility. The stadium's main feature is an enormous arch that sails over the top of it. We rode a sky car to the top for some great views of the city and the waterfront.

An interesting thing was that despite the fact that no event was taking place at the stadium , it was still making money because of the arch. The sky car operator said thousands of people a day paid to get the sky car to the top. We later had dinner and went to Wilson’s Wharf and boarded a yacht for a boat cruise and three course dinners. Wilson’s Wharf is Durban’s waterfront marina with attractions such as floating restaurants, specialty

shops, pubs and the Cataline Theatre.

We went to the fun-filled event centre-Ushaka Marine World- to watch different 10,000 amazing sea creatures in their natural habitat as they dove, dip, splash, crawl, swim and scamper. It was an undersea experience. It was awesome! To crown it all, you can rent protective wear at a token and dive with the shark in

•Leopard Rock

an encased aquarium.

We later had lunch at the Cargo Hold where we had an unusual dinning experience with the various species of sharks in a sea world restaurant.

It was only a glass that separated us from the kings of the sea (sharks). The Cargo Hold, acContinued on Page 50

50 Continued from Page 49

cording to the Sales and Marketing Manager, Bongani Mthiyane, is a fivestoreyed structure constructed from five old ships with three floors under the ocean and a direct link to the sea. We later headed for the Seal and Dolphin dome where we had fun frolicking with dolphins. Durban offers the ultimate beach holiday destination in the world with all-year beachfriendly weather, even during the winter months. Almost all their beaches offer a safe swimming environment with shark nets which are serviced regularly by the Natal Sharks Board personnel. They make sure that there are no sharks’ attacks at Durban beaches.

In the past, there were frequent shark attacks with many being fatal and in the ’40-50s, the board started to put nets a few hundred metres off shore to deter the sharks. Since then, there has not been an attack on a netted beach. The 26-minute long shark audio-visual shark programme at the Sharks Board was really interesting, although it is designed to entertain; it is also educational with information on the sensory biology of sharks and their roles as top predators in the marine food chain.

Durban is one of those cities that seem to have it all:

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

It’s much fun being in Durban gorgeous beachfront, historic buildings and a cosmopolitan mix of people.

Normally I used to be afraid of oceans, but my wonderful water world experience aboard The Spellbound Gambler 11 on the Umtamvuna River put paid to that. The river is wide and unpolluted with a lagoon and mangrove swamps at its mouth. The Spellbound cruised up the river under Mitchell Bridge and higher up the river is the Umtamvuna Nature Reserve where very rare trees and indigenous bush grow.

Next we were taken to the Oribi Gorge. The Gorge is not for the faint-hearted. It offers a range of adrenalininducing activities that are guaranteed to get your blood pumping. Of all the places we went to, this was the place where I refused to participate in any of the activities: the suspended bridge, the Leopard Rock and the wild swing which is also the highest gorge swing in the world is 55storeyed building tall. From there, one could see the gaping abyss of the Oribi Gorge below. I stayed away, but I promised my friends that when next I visit, I will surely swing at the world highest gorge.

We ate delicious food and good fruits and drank wine.

Whether you are looking for a gourmet experience, a quick meal or take-away, the Durban coast has restaurants and pubs to satisfy all appetites and all occasions.

Although we had a world -class shopping experience at Hemisphere and another shopping arcade, we intended to go to the Victoria Street Market, but we could not make it. If I go back, I will like to visit the market, swing at Oribi Gorge and cross the suspension bridge.

Overall, we had a great time in Durban, the weather was nice and the city had much to offer round the clock. It was even better because Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN) provided us with different tour guides and a travel operator –Lyn Govender of Malule Safariwho took us around. Lyn, is a dedicated and warm woman who made our stay memorable. It is a place I would like to return to at some point in the future. I now understand why Durban in KwaZulu Natal (KZN) is now the new favourite holiday and tourist destination for most Nigerians. It was quite a beautiful experience.

•Mitchell Bridge above the Umtamvuna River

Kehinde FALODE: 08023689894

Classic jam doughnuts Foluke ADEMOLA

These wonderful flour snacks is enrich with lot of nutrient for children and old, it is a quick meals eaten before and after meals with tea, drinks and any other beverages. It's Fast and reliable after a long day work.

Ingredient 1 teaspoon sugar ½ packet of dried yeast 75ml (3 fl oz) milk, warmed to hand-heat 225g (8 oz) flour ½ teaspoon salt 10g (½ oz) butter, melted 1 egg, beaten Jam Vegetable oil 75g (3 oz) caster sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon Preparation •Place the sugar, yeast and milk in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside in a warm place for about 20 minutes or until the mixture is frothy.

•Meanwhile sift the flour and salt together in a warmed bowl. Stir in the butter, egg and yeast mixture.

Mix to a soft dough and knead until smooth and elastic.

•Set aside, covered, in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size. Depending on how warm the area is this will take 45 minutes or

more.

•Knead well and divide the dough into 12 pieces. Roll into balls. Make a little indentation using an apple corer if you have one or knife with your hand reversely, cut out the holes from the centre in each and pop in some Jam. Press the dough together to completely enclose. Set aside again, covered, in a warm place until the balls have doubled in size.

• Heat some vegetable oil in a large deep pan until hot, it should take about 1 minute for a cube of bread dropped in to turn goldenbrown. Add the doughnuts a few at a time and cook until golden-brown all over (about 4 minutes).

•Remove from the pan with

•Oribi Gorge

a slotted spoon and drain well before rolling in the sugar and cinnamon that you've mixed together on a sheet of greaseproof paper.

Doughnut Toppings •Sieve 1 cup icing sugar into a bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon golden syrup and 1 tablespoon hot water. Mix well.

Add food colouring if desired.

•Dip the doughnuts in the topping and decorate with hundreds and thousands or chocolate sprinkles before the icing sets.

•Sieve 225g (8 oz) icing sugar into a bowl. Add 2-3 tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla essence. Beat well. Drizzle over the doughnuts.

Health and nutritional value of egg Egg is known to be a very nutrition and health benefit to human life. Research has been stated that 6 intake of egg per week is very good for health.

Below are few tips to follow: •Eggs are a nutritional powerhouse providing 11 different vitamins and minerals, high quality protein, healthy fats (including omega-3) and important antioxidants. Along with their nutritional value, eggs are tasty, convenient, versatile and good value for money making them an excellent inclusion in a well-balanced, healthy eating pattern.

•In a healthy Western population, there is insufficient evidence to excessively

restrict egg intake as part of a healthy diet. Eggs should be considered in a similar way as other protein-rich foods and included as part of a varied diet that's low in saturated fat and contains a variety of cardio-protec-

Pineapple fruit Pineapple juice can make for a tasty treat for any day!

It is a natural fruit juice good for the general body intake for both young and old. Drink before and after meals sure you we always ask for more.

Ingredients •Pineapple chunks •4 or 5 saffron seeds •3 teaspoons of sugar •1 1/2 cups of water •Blender •Strainer

Method •Cut the cover off from the pineapple.

•Cut the pineapple into small pieces (the size of sugar cubes.) and Put the small pieces of pineapple into the juicer.

•Add 2 teaspoon of sugar, Blend together for about 1-3 minutes (depending on how chunky you want it to be).

•Pour it in the glass or cup.

Serve and enjoy.

tive foods (such as fish, wholegrain, fruit, vegetables, legumes and nuts).

• Eggs are kept at their freshest when stored in their cartons, in the fridge. It is suggested that eating eggs may help treat acne, as they lower the glycaemic load of the diet.

• While eggs are a great source of protein, they also provide other health benefits. Because egg yolks contain the antioxidant lutein, you get a built-in safeguard against damage to your retina. Lutein in eggs stops any inflammation of the macular pigment, which is what protects your retina from harmful light rays.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

T

HE Olofa of Ofa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi ,Okikiola 11, is putting in place a plan to expand the celebration of the town’s festival,the Ijakadi, and the cultural week.

The oba said the idea was aimed at exploring the cultural potential of the kingdom. Top among the events to repackage the festival is wrestling, amongst others.

According to the oba, who is marking his 48th bithday, it is one project which has the potential of preserving the culture of the people, enhancing unity and also boosting commerce and industry for the people of Ofa. He said it also fell in line with his ideals as a man who had deep commitment to his people.

He said as an informed, well-travelled and succeessful businessman, it was necessary for him to channel his wealth of experience towards impacting on his people posetively.

The oba used the opportunity to talk about his ascension to the throne of his forefathers, saying it was more of the will of God since he was not really prepared as at the time he was made the oba.

“I wasn’t really prepared for it. I was just doing my own business. All I knew was that I came from a royal family, but I know my uncle used to call

Olofa to promote culture through Ijakadi festival me Obalola (future king) when I was a child. My uncle used to tell me that even if it was the only thing I achieved in life, he would be a fulfilled man, but I didn’t take him seriously. After he died, there was no disturbance from anyone concerning the stool. When the last oba died, I was already established and used to my Lagos life. I had no inkling I would be the next oba. All I thought was that either his brother or son would just take over until my father asked me to come home,”the oba said.

He said as God had deemed him fit to ascend the throne, his immdediate goal was how to empower the people.

“The thing is that if you have the royal blood, God will give you what to say and whatever it is you say will become acceptable to the people. I was not used to settling disputes or addressing the public, but I’m doing it right now. The kingmakers have also been very helpful. Some people will come and bring a land case that happened 100 years ago and sometimes you don’t know who is telling the truth and who is lying, but when I ask the elders, they put me through.”

His stand is that there is

need to provide for constitutional roles for monarchs in the country, saying this had a sure way of promoting peace and security in the country.

He said a constitutional provision for traditional rulers was necessary for good governance, being that traditional rulers as grassroots people,would understand their people better.

Gbadamosi said because the rulers were closer to the people, they would understand their fears and aspira-

•Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi

tions better. This, he said, could propel such traditional rulers to work for the best interest of the society.

According to him, the rulers are symbol of authority and the various governments always capitalize on it to seek their intervention when there is crisis in a community.

“The way the ruler resolves such issues goes a long way to illustrate that the rulers should be given roles” he said.

The Olofa advised industrialists to site industries in remote areas in the country to fast-track development across the board.

He called on the government to create a good road network in remote areas to fast track development and give tax rebates to industries established in remote areas.

He said such incentives would go a long way to create wealth.

On efforts to develop Ofa, he said the Ofa citizens had been developing the community through building of schools and hospitals.

He urged the state and federal governments to register their presence in the community to enable the people enjoy the dividends of democracy.

Arigidi community seeks foreign attention

A

RIGIDI-Akoko, Ondo State means different things to people.

To some, it is the home of culture, others see it is as a community in dire need of transformation, while it is also regarded as a tourist destination of international standard, if it is well harnessed.

Beyond what it means, Arigidi community evokes historical documentation.

Given the Okota Festival 2011 hosted in the ancient town last weekend, the influx of people from different parts of the country ,especially, the southwest testifies that it is a community on the path of cultural advancement.

The festival which drew its background from the Okota River in Akoko, is to highlight the people’s treasured values.

Otunba Gani Adams, chief promoter, Olokun Festival Foundation, in his remark ,drew the attention of the international community to the socio-cultural gains in Arigidi, if they must make wise investment of promoting Africa’s landmarks.

“Although not without a peaceful atmosphere, Arigidi people must ensure that the tranquillity it is known for subsists.

This would ensure the enlistment of the great works of art that abound in Arigidi at the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO),”he said.

He said: “The purpose of this festival is hinged on our common interest to bring our tourist sites to the international attention. And, of course, it will help improve the quality of our existence as a people of great culture.”

Tracing the origin of the festival, he said: “Okota is a river in Ondo State which must be given its prominence like other rivers in the world. Okota River cannot afford to take the back seat in the water culture which is the bedrock of world civilisation.

51 10 British Airways tips on holiday

A

S the summer holiday period goes into full swing and holiday-makers are preparing to set off, British Airways’ cabin crew has given top tips to travellers to make their travel easier. The following are the advice for travellers duirng this summer holiday: •Travel like a celeb and pack a pashmina. They are particularly good if you’re moving between different climates and always useful to have on board. Fold away shoes like ‘redfoots’ are also a great item to have in your hand luggage if you want to ditch the heels for flat and use up minimal space.

• Always carry a pen in your hand luggage for forms that need to be filled in prior to arrival.

•Leave a bit of space at the top of any toiletry bottles - it will prevent them leaking as the aircraft becomes pressurised at altitude.Also make sure you only bring 100ml liquids in your hand luggage andn that they fit in a plastic bag that’s no more than 20cm x 20cm (sandwich bags are a good option).

•Take your own teabags if you’re fussy about your morning cuppa.

• Join the British Airways Executive Club – it’s free and has plenty of benefits. If you’re a member you will also be considered first if the airline is looking for people to upgrade.

• Take baby wipes – they’re great for refreshing fullgrown adults as well as little people.

• Load the BA app on to your phone. It will let you check in for your BA flight and issue you with your boarding pass from the comfort of your sun lounger.

• If you’re off on a beach holiday, pack your swim wear in your hand luggage so you can slip into it and head straight to the sea or the pool when you arrive.

Also pack a sarong if your beach towel is taking up precious space.

• Choose to fly with an airline like BA that allows holidaymakers to check-in one 23kg bag for free as well as allowing them to carry two bags in the cabin. That’s a lot of outfits and is particularly generous when you think some no frills airlines only allow one cabin bag, charge you for every bag you check in and only allow you a 15kg weight limit for your checked luggage.

• So you don’t have that terrifying moment at the airport when you realise you’ve left your passport in the safe, put one of the shoes you’re wearing home in there with it. Sounds ridiculous but it works.

Pilgrimage: NCPC inaugurates medical committee

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HE Executive Secretmary, Nigeria Christian Pilgrimage Commission (NCPC), Mr. John Kennedy Opara, has inaugurated the medical team for the 2011 pilgrimage.

Inaugurating the 15-man medical committee at the NCPC corporate headquarters, Abuja recently, he charged them to put in their best in the discharge of their assignment.

In his words: “When you are given an assignment, make sure you do your best.” He further advised, “All you need to do is to do your job in tandem with the rules and regulations governing operations.”

Mr. Opara stressed that most of the medical committee members were reappointed based on their past track records and should be able to live up to expectations and add value to the entire medical operations for 2011 pilgrimage.

•Ondo State OPC cultural troupe

•R-L: Zaki of Arigidi, Oba Olanipekun; Otunba Gani Adams and his wife

Musa ODOSHIMOKHE Making reference to the festival of the River and Pow Wow culture in the United States, York Festival of the Rivers, Mayor’s Thames Festival in the US, the one in Arigidi and others in Africa are greater than those mentioned, but because the desired impact was not placed on them, they were almost consigned as cultural garbage.

In like manner, the Zaki of Arigidi, Oba Yisa Olanipekun, while extolling the rich heritage of the people, went down the memory lane and cited an instance where their culture had

stood at cross-purposes with foreign culture, but was defended to the letter.

He said: “The people of Arigidi found it extremely difficult to abandon their cherished traditional religion to Christianity. The British administration reacted to the development and set up a panel of enquiry to look into the matter. Two people were nabbed and tried at the Kaba Court. They were pronounced guilty and fined 25 pounds each.”

Given the hostile disposition of Arigidi people to the whites and the administrative convenience, the Arigidi community

was merged with people of Ogbagi in present Ondo State as a punishment for what happened.

Although the infraction was settled, the blending of both cultures led to a renaissance which tourists can take advantage of in the community.

The climax of the event was the presentation of the star-prize of a car to the winner of Miss Okota 2011, Miss Idowu Blessing, 300 Level Accounting student of theLadoke Akintola University, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, while the audience responded to the music of Sir Shina Peters who thrilled the gathering.

He cited a Bible reference in Isaiah 38 verses 1-5 where Hezekiah was told by Prophet Isaiah to set his house in order, for he shall die not live.” Hezekiah prayed to God to remember the service he had rendered to him and God added another 15 years to his life.

Consequently, he said to the committee members: “Let you at every point in time remind God of your service to him just like Hezekiah did in Isaiah chapter 38 versus 1 -5’’ The NCPC boss further stated that the medical committee was responsible for organizing the entire medical operations for the pilgrimage exercise. He charged them to strive and work in synergy with other medical teams so as to achieve the expected results at the end of the pilgrimage exercise.

Mr. Opara also commended them for the zero mortality recorded during the last year’s pilgrimage exercise. He solicited their advice and suggestions that would move the commission forward. To this end ,he said: “Make sure you bring something to show that you really took part as a member of this committee.”

He charged them to ensure that they leave a legacy behind at the end of their committee assignment.

On the selection of medical doctors , nurses and other medical personnel for this year’s pilgrimage, he said it should be done without prejudice. He stressed that due process must be followed so that the best candidates would emerge irrespective of their state of origin. He affirmed that the commission would not compromise transparency and integrity as all the candidates would be subjected to both written and oral interviews.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

Training: A vital key for raising Godly children (IV)

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EAR Reader, You are welcome back to this exciting column on Family Forum. Last week, I discussed the two essential tools to be effectively engaged in training your children to become the best among others, which I callED Love and Control.

This week, I will be speaking on The Place of Discipline In Training, because training involves administering discipline.

Discipline means training, especially of the mind and character, aimed at producing self-control, obedience, etc. A necessary part of child training is discipline; it’s what completes and makes it effective. There is a

way to train up a child, and discipline is a part of that way.

Susana Wesley, who lived two centuries ago and turned out two of that generation’s most dedicated ministers – Charles and John Wesley (as well as nine other children), had an interesting philosophy on rearing children: The child who refuses to go to bed at night is the same that refuses to learn scriptures and follow the Lord. And just as surely as I’d see that child go to bed, I’d see that child come to God. To refuse to discipline your child is to prepare him for destruction. That was how Phinehas and Hophni, the two sons of Eli were destroyed. Their father refused to discipline them.

He knew about their immorality, yet he was complacent (I Samuel 3:13).

Eventually, Eli was also destroyed. So, child training is a responsibility of parents (both father and mother), and discipline is an integral part of the training.

How does God expect us to discipline our children? He expects us to do it with the “rod”.

The rod is the tool of discipline; it must be used to mould the character and give shape to the life of our children. Scripturally, there are two types of “rod” – the spiritual and the physical.

The Spiritual Rod! Isaiah 11:1 has this to say: And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The rod being referred to here is clearly Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is also the Word of God. Again Revelation 19:13 says: And he [Jesus] was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. The spiritual rod is the Word of God. It is the strongest rod you can use in disciplining your child.

It has the inbuilt capability to change and transform the life of

your child more than any physical cane can. Only the Word of God can reach into the soul and spirit of a man, penetrating deep into places where a physical rod cannot go. What a tool for discipline!

I want to challenge you to use more of the spiritual rod than the physical, it has a more lasting effect.

The Physical Rod! The physical rod is the cane.

There’s an adage that says, “Spare the rod, and spoil the child.” This has some truth to it, particularly when you understand the rod to mean both the Word of God and the physical rod. Never form a habit of ALWAYS beating your child with a cane, or else the child becomes hardened. It may, however, become necessary to reprove a child with a cane, once in a while.

If you have to beat your children, make sure you explain to him the reasons for your actions. Make sure he/she knows love is behind it, otherwise they mistake your action to be hatred.

Above all, we can never

underestimate the life-changing effect of prayer. In prayer, you wield control over the physical realm. On the other hand, praying for your children will help them walk in God’s plan for their lives.

It takes being a child of God to truly comprehend and understand the place of discipline in training. If you are not yet born again and you would like to, please pray this simple prayer: Dear Lord, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins.

Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Now I know I am born again!

Congratulations! Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through: E-mail: faithdavid@yahoo.com Tel. No: 2341-7747546-8; 07026385437.

For more insight, these books authored by Pastor Faith Oyedepo are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all the Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Understanding Motherhood, Raising Godly Children, and Marriage Covenant.

Drinking too much water ‘can be bad for your health’: benefits are a myth A report describes the danger of dehydration as a ‘myth’ and says there is no evidence behind claims that water prevents multiple health problems It is said to help us prevent kidney damage, lose weight and increase concentration levels.

But experts now warn that drinking eight glasses of water a day is not good for you after all – and could be harmful.

They say that scientific claims behind long-standing government guidelines are worse than ‘nonsense’.

The NHS – along with leading doctors and nutritionists – advises the public to drink about 1.2 litres (or two-and-a-half pints) of water per day.

However, a report describes the danger of dehydration as a ‘myth’ and says there is no evidence behind claims that water prevents multiple health problems.

Glasgow-based GP Margaret McCartney says the NHS Choices website’s advice that people should drink six to eight glasses a day is ‘not only

nonsense, but thoroughly debunked nonsense’. She adds that the benefits of the drink are often exaggerated by ‘organisations with vested interests’ such as bottled water brands.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, Dr McCartney also points out that research shows drinking when not thirsty can impair concentration, rather than boost it, and separate evidence suggests that chemicals used for disinfection found in bottled water could be bad for your health.

Drinking excessive amounts can also lead to loss of sleep as people have to get up in the night to go to the toilet, and other studies show it can even cause kidney damage, instead of preventing it.

Worryingly, Dr McCartney also warns that taking on too much water can lead to a rare but potentially fatal condition called hyponatraemia, which sees the body’s salt levels drop and can lead to swelling of the brain.

In 2003 actor Anthony Andrews, who starred in the ITV

adaptation of Brideshead Revisited, was hit by the illness after drinking too much water during rehearsals for a West End role.

Another doctor quoted in the article adds there is no basis for claims that water helps people to lose weight by suppressing

their appetite. Professor Stanley Goldfarb, a metabolism expert from the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S., says: ‘The current evidence is that there really is no evidence.

‘If children drank more water rather than getting extra calories from soda, that’s good . .

. [but] there is no evidence that drinking water before meals reduces appetite during a meal.’

About 2.06billion litres of bottled water was drunk in Britain last year, compared with 1.42billion litres in 2000. Despite this increase we still drink three times as much tea, and five times as much beer.

Group solves puzzle to leukemia problem Lady Pauline was weighing 94kg some 13 years ago. All of a sudden, her weight started dropping till she was weighing 48kg. Many thought she had a non-curable disease since she was too old to be on diet. After many years of suffering, she was diagnosed of Cancer of the blood, known as leukemia.

Leukemia is a fairly common cancer that can be cured if detected on time, but if delayed, can lead to imminent death.

During an enlightenment campaign by an organization founded in her name, Pauline Cancer Awareness Foundation in the Primary Health Care centre in Ifako Ijaiye, Lagos, the masses were made to understand that the disease is no respecter of age, race, status or gender. The 150 people, who were there, were sensitized on the dangers of the disease through awareness lecture, video documentary and expert counseling. They were screened, their blood samples was taken and their blood will be analyzed later to detect those with the disease and those who are free.

Anyone diagnosed to have traces of leukemia will be contacted by the organizers and will be treated in due time.

According to Prof. Charles Okany, a consultant hematologist, leukemia is a disease which may not be avoidable. He said many things makes people to be pre-disposed to the disease such as heavy radiation, genetics, that is, from parents to their children and viruses. Other pre-disposing

Risikat RAMONI factors are some chemicals, especially petroleum products and Immune-suppression such as HIV which can cause haematological malignancies.

He said it is possible one avoids all those things and still have leukemia. Avoidance of the causes might reduce the cause.

Be it acute or chronic leukemia, there are some symptoms that individuals need to watch out for on a regular basis to check if he or she has leukemia. Some of which are; shortness of blood (anemia), bone pain and abnormal swelling of the large intestines which later cause swelling on the side of the stomach.

Other ways of knowing an individual is suffering from leukemia is; infection, fever and bleeding in the gums and patches of blood in the skin.

The founder of the group, Godwin Agu said that their awareness was done to ensure they raise the consciousness in people on the importance of curing the disease early by being screened.

Agu said that the foundation is partnering with a United Statebased organization, Max Foundation, who are bringing in leukemia drugs at no fee. The partnership is aimed at ensuring that anybody diagnosed of the disease pays little or no money to get cured.

Asides drugs, the other way of curing leukemia is through bone marrow transplant. This may be difficult if the patient does not

find a match for his or her bone marrow.

The foundation, which is basically in Africa and Asia is planning to assist leukemia patients who may need bone marrow transplant.

The Chairman of the board of trustees, Revd Morounfolu EulerAjayi said the way leukemia worked was that, slowly, the blood count of the individual will be going down and the person will be depreciating. If detected on time, it could be nipped in the bud.

He said the foundation started about three months ago and Ifako Ijaiye was the first point of call and in no time, the screening exercise will be done all over Lagos.

Health tip Keep a sparkling smile You know that sugary drinks and foods are bad for your teeth.

But what most people tend to forget is that many other foods and beverages, such as “sticky” carbohydrates (e.g. fruit, porridge, bread, cakes) and the natural sugar and acid in fruit juices, also cause tooth decay. Sticky foods remain in the mouth for long periods of time and acid erodes tooth enamel.

Take action: To prevent tooth decay, it’s important to rinse your mouth or brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste after eating – no matter what you eat. Using sugar with meals (i.e. on porridge, as jam on bread, or in tea and coffee), and not snacking on sugar between meals, also reduces exposure to tooth enamel and helps to prevent decay.

Avoiding childlessness:

53 Coping with diseases

Family health issues

Candidiasis

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

Dear Dr., Is it necessary to have sex during pregnancy?

If yes, what would happen when the man discharged into my vagina? Will it not lead to another fetus?

Dear Reader, Normally, you are pregnant for nine months and usually, you own your spouse for life. In some women, sex during pregnancy can lead to serious pregnancy complications, high-risk for premature labor, or a ruptured uterus. Some women do have sex safely during pregnancy. I do not know of animal species that practice sex during pregnancy.

I think naturally, the condition of pregnancy tends to direct a male’s attention from pleasure to caring. But we humans are intelligent and know how to take risks.

Besides, we live in a culture of sexual liberation and we may want to have sex anytime and anyhow. Some women experience heightened pleasure with sex during (early) pregnancy.

The choice is therefore yours.

You cannot develop another fetus after sex during a pregnancy because you do not ovulate (release an egg) during pregnancy. Your body knows you are pregnant and normally there is ovulation shutdown. Whatever you decide, just remember that the new life your body cradles may be much more precious than the few minutes of (necessary?) pleasure to satisfy your or your spouse’s passions, so please do be

P

ID Causes We have been treating issues regarding PID for the past three weeks and today we want to see the causes.

Pelvic inflammatory disease is caused by germs that are transmitted through sexual contact and other bodily secretions. Bacteria that cause gonorrhea and chlamydia cause more than half of cases.

Other organisms found in the vagina can also cause PID but are much less common.

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease Symptoms •If you have PID, you may have any of these symptoms: (

with Prof. Dayo Oyekole

Am married for the past 18 years now. No child. Am 41 years, live in Ogun State.

Please help me.

Dear Reader, With no detail, this kind of problem is difficult for anyone who could help you. You need to go to a good fertility clinic to begin with. Fertility clinics in Nigeria are listed on the web pages http:// ivfnigeria.blogspot.com/ 2008/02/ivf-clinics-innigeria-contact-info.html and http:// invitrofertilisation.blogspot.com/ 2007/12/ivf-in-nigeria.html or type “fertility clinics Nigeria” into Google to receive links to search. You can see their physical addresses, phone numbers and email and website addresses, as well as the names of their medical directors. Please take time to read through their websites and make a careful choice of which clinic you wish to visit. Spend the time necessary to study their information.

Fertility matters, from diagnosis to treatments, can be time consuming, emotionally draining, and pricey, so do not be in a hurry to go to any clinic, make a careful and peaceful choice. I hope your effort bears fruit.

HELP. Good evening, Ma. I thank you for your time spared. My name is M…, a

male. I want to complain on masturbation. It is causing me problem. Please is there a way to stop it?

Dear Reader, thank you for your question which is of a common interest to many people. I do not know your details and reasons for masturbating and the resulting problems so I hope this answer would lead you to a solution or to some peace. A sexual health problem and a sexual habit are different dimensions of life. Generally, we choose our habits; we do not choose ill health. If you masturbate, it is most likely your choice. If you have erectile dysfunction or priapism it is not your choice and commonly, it takes more than your will to change it. In some countries, sex toys are sold widely and are accessible to those who want them. There are people who use them routinely rather than having a partner for sex or who use them if they cannot have a partner for sex. The use of a means to sexual relief, sexual satisfaction, sexual pleasure, or sexual reward is a question of personal choice which I do not think your doctor would spend time on but your pastor or Imam or other moral authorities might be interested

in it. All pleasures may be misused or overused to the point of addiction. You could watch movies all the time, you could eat all the time, you could play music all the time, you could be on the Internet all the time, you could daydream all the time, you could be counting money all the time, you could be spying on somebody all the time, you could also be at your club or socialization spot all the time, etc. How do you stop overindulgence or any bad indulgence? Life is beautiful but short and if you have a proper vision of life and a good sense of mission, you would not waste time fruitlessly. This is important for you to note and choose habits that are good for you and get rid of habits that are bad for you. Some people consider masturbation as a psychological disorder, but it is not necessarily so. If you suffer from compulsive masturbation beyond a physiologic basis, then check if you have a non-bodily problem such as emotional void, relationship lack, or social frustration. This may be more important for you to deal with. Ask more about this from your faith group and I wish you peace and good life.

Pelvic inflammatory disease Abdominal pain (especially lower abdominal pain) or tenderness ( Back pain ( Abnormal uterine bleeding ( Unusual or heavy vaginal discharge ( Painful urination ( Painful sexual intercourse • Symptoms not related to the female reproductive organs include fever, nausea, and vomiting.

•Your symptoms may be worse at the end of your menstrual period and during the first several days following a period.

If you are experiencing the

ANDIDIASIS is an infection caused by a genus of yeast-like fungi (formerly known as Monilia ), often harmlessly present in the mouth of healthy people. In some circumstances, however the micro-organisms may proliferate to produce a symptomatic infection of the mouth, intestines, vagina, skin or (rarely) the entire body. The species most often involved is Candida albicans.

When the infection involves the mouth or the vagina, the condition is commonly referred to as “thrush”. Thrush occurs particularly in babies, but it may also occur in debilitated adult or those with dentures. It usually forms a white curdlike deposit on the tongue, cheeks and palate which may cause severe discomfort.

The symptoms of candidiasis include moodiness, extreme food sensitivities with gas and bloating after meals, depression and general weakness of the body.

Generally this condition is caused by the suppression of acute diseases such as colds, fevers, and other inflammatory diseases with excessive use of antibiotics. In fact, even taking so-called natural anti-inflammatory such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in high doses can predispose one to this condition.

Patients with reduced immune defenses (for example, those with any severe illness like HIV/AIDS and those on drugs that suppress immunity) may get generalized, life-threatening candida infection, involving most organs.

Vaginal candidiasis is one of the most common causes of inflammation and itching of the vagina ad vulva, typically producing a white, curd like discharge. Vaginal candidiasis is becoming increasingly common, perhaps partly because of changes in vaginal acidity brought about by oral contraceptives. It is often seen in pregnant women and diabetics.

Candida albicans may occasionally infect the entire intestinal tract, causing anal itching and forming a reservoir for repeated accidental infection of the vagina.

One of the most serious causes is an unbalanced diet. The liver and pancreas regulate the smooth flow of important digestive enzymes which, if lacking, will cause gas and bloating. Specifically, the accumulation of abdominal fluid and gas will put pressure on the sensitive nerves and meridians in the gastrointestinal tract, giving rise to a number of paradoxical emotional reactions ranging from anger and anxiety to depression. Thus there is a strong connection with hypoglycaemic reactions in such individuals.

One who indulges in cold, raw foods, and lacks in proper protein balance can give rise to the candida overgrowth condition. Another cause is eating too many rich or denatured foods like cakes and pastries.

In Holistic Lifecare, it is strongly advocated that the best prospect of control and total cure of candidiasis is to turn to nature in terms of personal hygiene, diet, exercise and judicious use of chemical antibiotics. Some of the natural remedies being advanced for the treatment and total cure of candidiasis include the extracts of local herbs such as Allium cepa, Senna alata, Plumbago zeylanica and Jatropha curcas.

C

careful. Have good and safe sex.

following symptoms, you should see your health care provider: •Abdominal pain that does not go away.

•Irregular vaginal bleeding.

• Foul-smelling vaginal discharge.

•Unusual vaginal discharge.

•Fever, nausea, vomiting Given the long-term complications PID can cause, such as infertility and ectopic pregnancy, it is recommended that you seek immediate medical attention if you have any of these symptoms: •Lower abdominal pain or tenderness •Fever greater than 101°F (38.3°C) •Abnormal or foul-smelling vaginal discharge Adult women with PID are either closely monitored or admitted to the hospital. More aggressive treatment may take place in the hospital for adolescents, who are at a much higher risk of not following treatment plans and of having complications.

You may be admitted to the hospital if any of the following are true: The diagnosis is unclear.

Ectopic pregnancy or appendicitis cannot be ruled out.

You are pregnant.

An abscess (an infection) is suspected.

You are acutely ill or cannot manage your illness at home.

Exams and Tests Physical exam findings include the following: A temperature greater than

101°F (38.3°C) Abnormal vaginal discharge Lower abdominal tenderness when felt Tenderness when your cervix is moved Tenderness in your female organs Laboratory tests may include the following: A urine pregnancy test if you are of childbearing age.

Urinalysis to check for bladder and kidney infection.

A complete blood count (although fewer than half of women with acute PID have a high white blood cell count indicating an infection.)

Cervical cultures for gonorrhea and chlamydia.

Testing for other sexually transmitted diseases, including syphilis and HIV. Additional tests if you have more severe symptoms Imaging: A pelvic ultrasound, although not routinely done, can be an important tool in diagnosing complications such as tuboovarian abscesses, ovarian cysts, and ectopic pregnancy.

Although unlikely to occur in pregnancy, PID is the most commonly missed diagnosis in ectopic pregnancies and can occur during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

•Dr B. Filani is the Chief Consultant of Sound Health Centre, Lagos. You can contact him on 08023422010 or on facebook or email soundhealthcentre@yahoo.com.

For further information and consultation on Holistic Lifecare research and services, especially on Blood Infections, Infertility, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Chronic Debilitating Conditions as well as mental and social problems, please call on: 0803-3303897 or visit: Mosebolatan Holistic Lifecare Centre, Adeyalo Layout, Ogbere-Tioya, Off Olorunsogo Express Bridge, Ibadan. Website: www.holisticlifecare.com. Distance is no barrier, we can send remedies by courier if need be. We also have facilities for accommodation, admission and hospitalization in a serene and homely environment.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

•David Mark

•Dimeji Bankole

Curbing future legislative tyranny T

HE recent pronouncement by two courts in the country declaring certain aspects of the Electoral Act 2010 null and void has brought to the fore the issue of legislative tyranny. And the question is whether it is ethical for lawmakers to use their priviledged position to make laws that would protect their interests alone and those of a select few and not the majority of the populace?

Analysts believed that the defunct sixth National Assembly, in a manner of speaking, indulged in legislative tyranny, especially in the process of amending the 1999 Constitution.

When in 2010 and the first two months of this year there was a flurry of activities at the National Assembly regarding the amendment of the 1999 Constitution, Nigerians were happy and hopeful that at last some of the knotty provisions in the document making the deepening of democratic culture difficult would give way.

It even brought more excitement when attention was focused on the provisions associated with electoral laws in the land.

After all, the April general election was just behind the corner then and every adult Nigerian was looking forward to fairly free and acceptable elections unlike what had

Augustine AVWODE, Assistant Editor been the case in the past.

Provisions such as making the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the country’s electoral umpire, free from the arrogance and whims of the executive by placing it on a first line charge brought joy to them.

There were also other alterations that excited them like the National Assembly which also gained financial autonomy, except states’ Houses of Assemblies which were muzzled by their governors and at the end of the day could not return the two third majority number of states needed to pass the bill. Many political analysts blamed the all powerful Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) for the failure of the bill to scale the constitutional hurdle.

And so, not unexpectedly, even the lawmakers themselves, randomly at different fora, thumbed their chests and blew their own trumpets that at last, after about a decade, what had proved almost impossible was finally achieved.

Controversial clauses

But while the atmosphere of “hurray, we are doing the seemingly impossible” pervaded the country, some controversial clauses found their ways into the bill. They were variously described as ‘smuggled clauses; tokunbo clauses; desperado clauses and, or, tyrannical clauses’ by critics.

In no particular order, there was the clause that made provision for all the lawmakers to be contacted first and their consents sought to determine the “availability” of their seats or not before elections could be conducted in such constituencies. The clause was unabashedly titled the “Right of First Refusal”. But following public outcry against the clause that it was not only tyrannical, but selfishly motivated, it was dropped. Critics alleged then that it was deliberately crafted to rob Nigerians of their constitutionally guaranteed right to seek election once they are 18 and above and was designed to give lawmakers an advantage by proposing they should have the first right to their seats, and those seats should only be declared vacant if they are not interested in running again. It was such a clause that tried to make all federal lawmakers members of the National Executive Committees of their various parties.

The clause described as “primarily selfish

and unhealthy” was roundly attacked and condemned. It must be stated that some lawmakers, especially, those of the opposition, rose against these “smuggled clauses.”

If the right of first refusal elicited resentment, the attempt to make members of the National Assembly automatic NEC members of their various political parties simply provoked angry reactions.

Political parties in the country rose against the National Assembly over the proposed bill with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), even though it was not the major opposition party then, taking the lead in charging at the clause. It threatened legal action and made it clear that it would not be part of a grand plan to subvert the democratic process.

The parties alleged that the plan to amend section 87 of the Electoral Act 2010 to bring in the federal lawmakers into their NECs was not only an affront to their own constitution, but that it was a desperate agenda by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to force the provision on other parties.

The bills which were introduced as private member bills in the Senate and the House of Representatives were brought by Hon. Cyril Maduabum (PDP, Anambra) in the House and it sought to introduce subsection 12 to

55

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

‘ Can the National

work.”

On the other hand, Bankole, who spoke at the PDP presidential rally in Akure, the Ondo State capital, told the crowd of PDP supporters that attended the rally that a new law had been passed by the National Assembly : “that has made what happened in Ondo State after the last election impossibility again in Nigeria.”

Continuing, Bankole said: “We have passed a law, and in the new Electoral Act, the court has no power to send a sitting governor away because of irregularities in an election that brought him to office.

The worst that could happen is a rerun. And PDP will win again and again.” Such was the confidence that Bankole exuded in the ability of his party to win elections but ironically, he could not make it beyond the primaries in his bid for re-election.

Assembly escape the harsh judgment of history that we desecrated our privileged status as parliamentarians by embarking on avacuous trajectory of power mongering?

Criticism galore

‘

section 87 of the Act to admit all 360 members of the lower chamber to their respective parties, while the one in the Senate was sponsored by the then and, of course, current deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu, and 24 others wanted only the chairmen and vicechairmen of all standing committees as well as all principal officers of the upper house in their parties’ NECs. Interestingly both bills managed to go through the second readings in both chambers and had even been committed to relevant standing committees for further legislative action before the attention of the public was drawn to them.

The ACN made it clear then that because it was an unconstitutional intrusion into the private and internal affairs of the party, it would not allow it and vowed to sue the National Assembly on the matter.

The party’s national publicity secretary, Lai Mohammed, made it clear that each party has its constitution drafted and adopted based on the peculiarities of the parties.

He said:“It is not the legislators who should determine who should be a member of a party’s NEC. It is undemocratic for you to prescribe the same set of rules for all parties.

You can’t be prescribing the same constitution for all the parties. That amounts to prescribing the same medicine for all sicknesses. What is the essence of democracy after all?”

The ACN spokesman argued that because the bill never took into consideration parties that had no federal lawmakers, its intent and objectives were at best selfpreservation.

“It is self-serving. They should be ashamed of themselves. That is how they fix salaries for themselves,” he said, The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) reaction then was an expression of surprise and wonder.

It wondered why the PDPdominated legislature would force other parties to adopt provisions that are foreign to their constitution.

“Every party is supposed to have its constitution and we have our own constitution. Why should they foist on us what is not in our constitution,” the party queried through its national publicity secretary, Emma Eneukwu.

A more blunt Congress for Positive Change (CPC) blamed President Goodluck Jonathan’s ambition for the attempt to make lawmakers members of their parties‘ NECs. “The current attempt by the NASS to amend the Electoral Act the second time in favour of President Goodluck Jonathan’s desire to include members of the NASS as NEC members of political parties is a desperate attempt on his part to achieve his political ambition to the detriment of the gains of the first amendment. With the first amendment, internal democracy was guaranteed in political parties,” was the way Dennis Aghanya, the CPC spokesman, put it then.

The national publicity secretary of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), Osita Okechukwu , was even more blunt.

He said : “The insertion is selfserving and a total subversion of the Electoral Act and the constitution. They have turned the National Assembly to a trade centre where self-service takes precedence over public good.”

At the end of the day, common sense prevailed and the controversial clause was dropped.

But the art of legislative tyranny continued even as the process of the constitutional amendment progressed. If the others considered inimical to healthy democratic growth were aborted, the provision which flew in the face of the doctrine of separation of powers and flagrantly sought to undermine extant provisions of the 1999

constitution in respect of adjudication on election disputes was pushed through to the dismay of legal experts, political analysts and public commentators.

Of particular interest to all were the provisions in Section 140 (2) and 141 of the Electoral Act 2010.

Sections 140(2) of the Electoral Act provides that: “Where an election tribunal or court nullifies an election on the ground that the person who obtained the highest votes at the election was not qualified to contest the election, the election tribunal or court shall not declare the person with the second highest votes as elected, but shall order a fresh election.”

While Section 141 of the Act further provides that: “An election tribunal or court shall not under any circumstance declare any person a winner at an election in which such a person has not fully participated in all the stages of the said elections.”

The intention of this piece of law was to effectively render the court unable to declare a candidate in an election deemed to have won the election, all things considered. It was to at best simply order a re-run of the election.

As usual, it was greeted by heavy protest by those who feel strongly that this was one example of legislative tyranny and it must be stopped. But once it had gone beyond anything one could do within the confines of the assembly complex, the focus was on the court and the battle shifted promptly to the law courts.

Making illegality

a

boast

•Katsina-Alu

•Lai Mohammed

of

Curiously, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dimeji Bankole, found it all very convenient to make a boast of the provision which ousted the powers of the law court or the tribunal to declare anyone as the dully elected individual of any electoral contest.

And in doing so, the then speaker not only displayed a sense of victory over perceived political enemies, he openly flaunted what his party, the PDP, was capable of doing to win any election without naming the particular thing.

Coincidentally, the Senate President, David Mark, also said the same thing albeit at a different fora. But while Senator Mark was more mature, diplomatic and chose elevated language in his disclosure, Bankole took the opposite direction.

While speaking at the opening of a two-day National Summit on Free and Fair Elections organised by The Nation in collaboration with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in February in Abuja, Mark urged the judiciary to rise to the challenge of dispensing with electoral cases before a supposed winner is declared. This, he said, would prevent a situation whereby almost three months into

From that moment in February, that section of the Electoral Act became a target for critics. Eminent lawyers, Prof Itse Sagay and Femi Falana, were among those who condemned it as an affront to the constitution of the country and so cannot stand.

Sagay declared then that the provisions of the constitution were very clear on what the courts can do.

“You cannot go for re-election where clearly there is a winner.

Sections 134 and 179 of the Constitution are very clear,” he said.

“The loophole which they cannot block, however, with the amendment is the Constitution.

There is a constitutional provision which allows the court to declare the winner of the election in spite of Electoral Act because the Constitution is superior,” he said.

Falana, who made his feelings known through a statement, said: “It is crystal clear that the powers of a tribunal or court to declare as elected the candidate who scored the highest number of valid votes cast at an election has not been removed. Therefore, Messrs David Mark and Dimeji Bankole ought to withdraw their misguided statement and apologise to Nigerians without any delay.”

However, no apology came.

Even one of the lawmakers, Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon, from Edo State, tackled his colleagues for attempting to “poison” the new amendment process with a “parliamentary ego-trip”.

He declared that his colleagues then were abusing a sacred priviledge. “Can the National Assembly escape the harsh judgment of history that we desecrated our privileged status as parliamentarians by embarking on a vacuous trajectory of power mongering?

“Is this not an atavistic throwback to the past when military dictators wrote the manifestoes for the political parties in the garrison days?” were his questions.

Lame explanations

•Itse Sagay a four-year tenure, somebody is still losing his seat.

He then revealed that it was in response to that kind of anomaly that the National Assembly decided to amend the Electoral Act to remove the power of the court to declare a winner because, “we believe that for someone to be declared a winner of an election, he/she must seek the mandate of the people, unlike what we had before when people who did not participate in elections got into office through the court pronouncement. It would no longer

In all these instances, officers of the National Assembly made frantic efforts to explain the rationale behind each move. The then spokesman for the House of Representatives, Eseme Eyiboh, said the aim of the membersponsored bill was to contribute to the growth of democracy.

“The aim is to expand the composition of the NEC so that nobody will have monopoly over any issue, not only in the election, but other programmes of the party, including its manifestoes,” Then Deputy Leader of the Senate, Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), said Section 140 (2) was not smuggled into the 2010 Electoral Act. According to him, while the bill which sought to include federal lawmakers in their parties’ NECs, was rejected by the National Assembly following a public outcry

against the provision, Section 140 was debated and every detail was considered.

“At that time, people did not consider this aspect as important.

They focused on other controversial areas. No bill can be passed without the clause-by-clause consideration and that is what happened”,Ndoma-Egba said.

Another member of the House who also defended their action then was Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Mr. Ita Enang. He stated then that the inclusion of Section 140 (2) would give all candidates a level-playing field for the re-run election.

Enang claimed that experiences had shown that some contestants were not prepared for the elections, but merely wanted to be listed as contestants.

In his words: “So, while their opponents worked so hard to win, their interest was to allege that there were irregularities and to seek the disqualification of the winner.

“That is not fair; we have said that the way out is for all of them to go to the poll again and test their popularity,”

The courts to the rescue But the end of the road for the odd provisions was not far in coming. Less than six months of coming into force, the two controversial sections have been declared null and void by two different law courts in the land.

A federal high court sitting in Abuja declared that the National Assembly has no powers to make laws that would limit the powers of the court to adjudicate disputes between two parties in an election petition.

Presiding judge, Gabriel Kolawole, in his judgment, said that the provisions of the Electoral Act, sections 140 (2) and 141 of the Electoral Act 2010, would offend and in fact on the provisions of section 285 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Adding that if the sections were allowed or affirmed by the court, election petition tribunals would have limited declarative powers to the extent that they (election tribunals) can only order re-run elections rather than declare a clear winner, even when there is need to do so.

He, therefore, nullified sections 140 (2) and 141 of the Electoral Act 2010 which denies election petition tribunals the powers to declare any body winner in an election.

His words: “National Assembly has no competence to enact sections 140 (2) and 141 of the Electoral Act 2010 because when it does, it delimits the power of the court to adjudicate dispute between two parties in election petition. Sections 140 (2) and I41 derogate the powers enshrined by sections 4 (8) and 6 (1) of the constitution.

“It is true that some electoral disputes extended to some few months to the end of the tenure or term of the last elected officials. But are these sections 140 (2) and 141 of the Electoral Act, 2010, out to correct the time required to determine electoral dispute?

Section 4 of the constitution empowers court on what to decide in any case.

“Once an election tribunal sits over election petition, no legislation can curtail its inherent powers on what to decide. It just does not fit.

The grund norm of the nation is the constitution which spells powers of the three tiers of government,” Justice Kolawole ruled.

With talks of amending the constitution once again in the air, it is hoped that sufficient lessons have been learnt from the previous exercise such that lawmakers would not make legislative tyranny part of their briefs. The reasons are simple. The polpulace is getting increasingly sophisticated and politicalyy conscious everyday and of course, the law courts are always there to serve as the last hope of the common man.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

Lagos Assembly: Striving for international best practices in legislation

•Ikuforiji

The Lagos State House of Assembly recently held a five-day parliamentary tour and study programme for lawmakers and staff in London, United Kingdom. OZIEGBE OKOEKI, who was part of He said, “Our choice to have the the team, reports on the workshop

R

ECENTLY, the leadership of the Lagos State House of Assembly organised a 5-day parliamentary tour and training programme for members and staff in its desire to build a parliament in Lagos State that will compare favourably with any other parliament in the world.

It was designed for them to have a firsthand feel of how parliament work in the oldest living democracy, learn and come back home to apply the knowledge gathered. The programme was conceived to acquaint members and staff with best legislative practices through shared experience and building of parliamentary network.

The workshop, which is the first major international workshop organised by the Assembly, was designed and packaged with incisive and inspiring lectures. It was highly interactive, inspiring and educative, focusing on vital areas such as budgeting, oversight, parliamentary procedure, including a guided tour to the British parliament to observe their lawmaking process. In addition, the team had an interactive session with members on a wide range of issues.

The programme held at Greycoat Place, Victoria, London and was facilitated by Good Governance Consortium led by FM and T Con-

sulting.

In his remarks at the opening of the proramme, Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji stressed the need to buld a parliament in the state that would compare favourably with any parliament in the world, adding that though the Lagos Assembly was the number one in Nigeria, it was, however, still far from its destination.

“And the 5-day training is part of the journey to that destination. UK is the oldest democracy among the living ones from which Nigeria has borrowed so much and thus remains a place we will always go for further exposure”, Ikuforiji said.

He expressed the belief that the Assembly remains one to be beaten by any other Assembly.

The choice of London, according to the Clerk/Permanent Secretary of the Assembly, Taiwo Olatunji, is because it is unique to Nigerians in a number of ways.

programme in London is premised upon our ardent quest for knowledge and legislative excellence as well as the side attractions.

The UK has a long and admirable history from which we have a lot to learn and ours being a knowledge-based legislature, we have continued to invest in capacity building to sharpen our transformative skills and equip members with knowledge and skills required to position them to be in good stead to contribute maximally to efficient service delivery”, he said.

Olatunji stressed the need for legislators to remain relevant, vibrant, efficient and effective in the discharge of their duties to the people through continuous learning and exposure to right values and shared experience.

The first visit to the British Parliament was for a session with a member of the House of Commons, Diane Abbot, the first black woman

‘

MP who is spending 23 years in the Commons and was only reelected in January. She represents Hackney North and Stoke Newington and has been a shadow Minister for Public Health since 2010.

She went into details explaining how legislative business is conducted in the Commons. The interactive session with her was on a wide range of issues. According to her, out of the 650MPs, 100 are women. She praised Lagos government for all the good work it is doing, saying Britain would like to see more of such governments in place in Nigeria, adding that Nigeria was a hot cake in the investment world. Described as an MP with a lot of passion for blacks and minority, she said there were two Nigerian (Ibos) MPs in the Commons from Newcastle and Maidstone.

The team also was in attendance at the meeting of the Energy and Climate Change Committee of the Commons with Charles Hendry, MP, Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, discussing foreign policy in relation to energy demands for Britain. The unique thing every participant took away from that meeting was that though we are in 2011 they were discussing energy needs, sources and funding for UK in 2015, 2040 and 2050. One thing you cannot fail to notice at the parliament complex was the tight security arrangement.

The team also watched the House of Lords in plenary. The House is made up of senior citizens who have made their mark in major sectors of the country’s economy. One of its major tasks is to examine and pass legislation. It also plays a key role in revising legislation sent from the Commons; it initiates legislation also and so shares the burden of the legislative load. It also acts as a check on government by scrutinising its activities which it does by asking questions, debating policy and through its select committees, taking evidence from ministers and others.

There were lectures and interactive sessions with Mrs. Roni Ajao, a Nigerian born and bred in the UK. She was one of the coordinators and works with MRL Public Sector Consultant Ltd; Mark Ashton, a councillor representing Cherry Hinton in Cambridge and a renowned and foremost professor of leadership, Prof. John Adair. Lectures and issues discussed included: Comparative Legislative Practices, The Parliamentary Leadeship Question, The Parliament and Promotion of Good Governance and Development, Code of Ethics and Parliamentary Privilege, Legislative Oversight: A Comparative Review of Best Practices and the Challenges of a Transformative Legislature and the Executive-Legislative Relations.

According to the world’s first professor of leadership, Lagos needs to set standard for the rest of Africa because it is the best in democratic development and good governance.

To the lawmakers, Adair said, “Remember that as a leader your position does not give you the right

We are all excited with the experience we have gained here. The session with the councillor was an eye opener; you will agree with me that at the end of the day, some of the deficiencies we have in our local councils were sort of made clearer to us which, of course, will help the House when it comes to updating ourselves and improving on the laws on local government administration

,

to command others. It only lays on you the duty of living your own life that others may receive your orders or directions without any sense of being humiliated. The value of the leader is seen in his followers”.

Ashton spoke on local council administration and how it can impact on the people’s welfare and development of the community.

In the communiqué issued at the end of the programme, among other things, members were told to endeavor to continuously acquire and seek knowledge for better service delivery to their constituents and state at large.

The lawmakers also resolved to engage consultants and experts when necessary to critically analyse bills and other documents in order to enrich members’ knowledge and understanding; to involve the media and civil organisation in the House activities in the consideration of bills when necessary and that the standing committee of the House should as a matter of urgency ensure that the MDAs adhere strictly to the provision of the appropriation laws through adequate monitoring.

Commenting on the programme, Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji said, “We are all excited with the experience we have gained here. The session with the councillor was an eye opener; you will agree with me that at the end of the day, some of the deficiencies we have in our local councils were sort of made clearer to us which, of course, will help the House when it comes to updating ourselves and improving on the laws on local government administration. The programme has been worth it and my colleagues have confessed that they enjoyed it”.

Deputy speaker, Hon. Kolawole Taiwo, said, “The resource persons have been wonderful and I can assure you that we have gained a lot which we are going to implement back home because that is the essence of the whole programme. This will further enhance our ranking as the best legislature in Africa.”.

The Chief Whip, Hon. Razaq Balogun, said, “The programme has been very rewarding. It has opened our eyes to comparative legislature even though we practise a different system, but we saw how the British system operates. And the key for us is to implement the things we heard and learnt here. I think we should also be able to assess ourselves if we have been able to impact on the society we come from” Hon. Ipoola Omisore (Ifako Ijaiye 1) said, “ It is one of the best we ever had in terms of human development, leadership quality building and we never had it so good. It has been power- packed both in theory and practice. With this, none of us will be the same again”.

Hon. Wahab Alawiye King (Lagos Island 11) said, “No doubt it has been very exciting and rewarding and I know it will go a long way to improve our performance as lawmakers for betterment of Lagosians.

The experience has been worth it.”

Hon. Saka Fafunmi (Ifako Ijaiye 11) said, “It has been so insightful.

It gives us a new insight into how legislative practices should be done and we have been shown every area that we need to improve on. We have been able to grab as much as we can to improve our legislative skills.”

Hon. Mudashiru Obasa (Agege 1) said, “It is something new and I can tell you that we have acquired more knowledge than we have done in the past. There are new things we saw in their committee work which I believe we are going to introduce in our system to make us work harder”.

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NATION SPORT

NIGERIA/ARGENTINA REMATCH

Private jet to fly Eagles N

IGERIA has finally agreed a rematch with Argentina in September after organisers agreed to fly the Eagles by private jet from Madagascar.

Nigeria has been dillydallying over an Argentina rematch after they trounced the South Americans 4-1 in Abuja in June, but Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia, has now told MTNFootball.com that the match organisers have sorted out the logistics nightmare of getting his team to Bangladesh in comfort ahead of the friendly.

“The complaints from players concerning the travel arrangements have been taken care of since we are going to storm the venue in a private jet. It is going to be very comfortable and when they get there, it is just to stretch their legs and shake up,” said Siasia.

“They will get a private jet to fly us from Madagascar and that way it will only take several hours to storm Bangladesh, where the match will be played.”

Nigeria were liable to pay a fine of a million US dollars had to pulled out of an agreement for this rematch but Siasia insisted that the Eagles never contemplated pulling out of the rematch, but has instead not been comfortable with the earlier arrangement to get to

Bangladesh by regular flights.

“Honestly, we need those games because that is the only way we can put our team in order and give the players the opportunity to understand themselves.

Win or lose, the qualification for the Nations Cup and eventually in the World

Cup should be our major concern,” he said.

“The truth is that we need those games and we cannot run away from them. We need them to build our team and have good result in future.”

On the suggestion that the encounter will be a revenge game, particularly with the recent dismissal of Sergio

Batista, Siasia noted: “I’m not the one responsible for his sack. Nobody wants any coach to lose his job. It is just unfortunate that things did not go well for him as Argentina coach, but life must continue.

“I don’t really care who coaches them. All I need is to get a good team to play against them and win.”

• Enyeama

N

SUDOKU Welcome to SUDOKU, the captivating and engrossing numbers logic puzzle popularised by the Japanese.

The idea of the puzzle is to fill the grid of 81 cells divided into nine 3 x 3 boxes, such that every box, every row, and every column contains the numbers 1-9, each number appearing only once in each box, row and column.

1ST STEP IN SOLVING PUZZLE 321: Look at the 3 top horizontal (DEF) 3x3 boxes. The left box has 5 in cell Df, while the middle box has its 5 in cell Eb. The right box must, therefore, have its own 5 in row F, where all 3 cells are vacant. But, since column h already has a 5-in cellCh, and column i a 5 in cell Gi, the only available space to accommodate 5 in the right box is cell Fg. Reasoning along these lines, try and fill in all the other vacant cells.

SOLUTION TOMORROW. HAPPY PUZZLING!

•Looks forward to new start this month but released without charge Nigerian forward Emmanuel Emenike has left Turkey’s Fenerbahce to join Spartak Moscow in Russia.

The 24-year-old leaves Fenerbahce without playing a match for them after only joining from Karabukspor at the end of the season in May. He was questioned by Turkish police earlier this month over match-fixing allegations but released without charge. ‘’To be honest, it’s been a mental torture,” he told BBC Sport.

“I love Turkey, Fenerbahce and fans in the country but it hasn’t been easy to handle all that is going on in my head and around me. ‘’My head has been troubled and physically it was getting to me. Somehow I know our paths will cross again in a positive way. ‘’I came to Turkey as a young man but I’m leaving as a grown up in all ramifications. I do appreciate all the support accorded to me by officials, fans and media.”

He says he is now looking to make a fresh start. ‘’Russia should give me a route to get away from all the distractions, mental and emotional torture,” he added. ‘’Now I can look to the next step in my career, which is in the Russian league - I want to give my best like I always do.

On Thursday, Fenerbahce had said it was considering offers from foreign clubs for the Super Eagle.

The club notified the Istanbul

N

IGERIA coach John Obuh has insisted he will treat Guatemala in an U-20 World Cup game Sunday as if he were battling a top team like Brazil.

African champions Nigeria will be the big favourites to win this Group D match at the refurbished Estadio Centenario in Armenia, but Obuh has insisted there was nothing lightweight about Guatemala, who are making their debut in the tournament.

“We will play Guatemala as if we are playing Brazil or Argentina,” said Obuh.

“It no longer works about who is a known football nation. For them to qualify for the World Cup they must be good enough.

“We expect a tough match against them even though some will tell us that they are not a top football nation.

Panama opened our eyes to the fact that football has grown across the world.

“We believe we have learnt a few things about Guatemala after we played against Panama recently. So we have a fair idea of what they are about.

“We need to put more effort to make sure we come out of our group. It’s not about a

• Obuh

football-playing nation or not.

We just have to work.”

Nine players from his team to the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup hosted by Nigeria made the final squad to Colombia and he reminded them in training Wednesday that another “non-football playing nation” Honduras gave them a very tough match two years ago.

“The match against Honduras was one of our most difficult at the 2009 U17 World Cup even though we eventually won it. It showed that you take any team for granted at your own peril,” Obuh warned.

SUPER MIDDLE WEIGHT BOXING TOURNAMENT

Emenike explains Spartak switch IGERIA’S Emmanuel Emenike Emmanuel Emenike was questioned during police probes into Turkey’s recent match-fixing scandal earlier

John Obuh warns, Guatemala will be tough

stock market, with the club’s shares having recently plummeted because of Turkey’s match-fixing scandal.

“Our player has stated that he did not want to stay in Turkey further and our management reached an agreement with Spartak Moscow,” Fenerbahce said in a statement.

Fenerbahce also faces the threat of losing its 2011 league title and possible relegation.

This week, the Turkish league was postponed by a month as the probe continues - with the new start of the season scheduled for 9 September.

Spartak Moscow currently lie fifth in the table, trailing city rivals CSKA by 13 points with the championship midway through.

Aregbesola, Fashola, others SUN State Governor to watch Engineer Rauf

O

Aregbesola will lead his counterparts from Lagos State, Raji Fashola, Senator Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and Senator Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State to watch tomorrow’s National Super Middle Weights Boxing tournament at Sir Olubi Hall, Okota Road, Isolo, Lagos State between Osun State born Monjeed Okedara and Rasaq Gbadebo of Kwara State.

Governor Aregbesola assured Okedara of his presence when the boxer met him during the week and he has also concluded all necessary arrangement to foot the bills of Okedara’s World Boxing title tournament.

Meanwhile, the general manager of Osun State Sports Council Apostle Peter Adediji has charged Monjeed Okedara to go all

out as he fights his challenger in defense of the National Super Middle Weight Boxing.

Agbarapo, as the Sports Council boss is fondly called made this call in Oshogbo while speaking with journalists on the chances of Champion Monjeed Okedara in the 10 rounds boxing bout that pairs him with his challenger Boxer Rasaq Gbadebo.

The former National Volleyball captain Apostle Adediji said the call became necessary because the National Boxing Title he wants to defend his qualification fight for the Universal Boxing Council title he intends to compete for later this year. He also appealed to Sports enthusiast in the state and the nation as a whole to pray for the victory of Monjeed Okedara who is also the current African Boxing Union Champion.

Where is Nigeria?

• Continued from back page if those who run our sports have done so.

Indeed, the minister should also decree that those states whose athletes form the nucleus of any team to the Maputo Games should be trained by their coaches. National team coaches have been jobless and will destroy these new talents with their archaic training methods that have not been tested since after the last All Africa Games in 2007.

They are quick to tell you that their job is that of a clearing house, with the states producing the athletes. Yet, budget is drawn yearly for sports development in spite of the fact that sports infrastructure has collapsed.

The truth is that those in government are not ready to cede the responsibilities of running sports to the private sector because government money is cheap.

The problem with other sports in Nigeria is the National Sports Commission (NSC).

Those at the secretariat only know how to bully the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) whereas the rot in other sports is monumental.

If we had thinkers at the NSC, the facilities in Rivers State, Lagos State etc would have been used to challenge the sporting federations to organise competitions. After all they boasted in their inauguration speeches that they would source for funds to run the sport without government subvention.

Shouldn’t these federation chiefs be asked to show what they have done instead of listing them in the country’s delegation to the Maputo Games? I think they should be- today!

Tomorrow in THE NATION PUNCHLINE

SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL.5, NO. 1836

Rather than arising out of a Moslem exceptionalism, Boko Haram and the post election crises, in his view, are clearly reactions to perceived or real loss of power by an elite stratum that is predominantly “Northern” and also “Moslem” —Femi Orebe

T

HERE seems to have been some com munication gap between President Goodluck Jonathan and his highly cerebral spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, on the contentious issue of the proposed one term of six years for the President and Governors. In his emphatic and unequivocal statement on Tuesday, Dr. Abati credited Dr. Jonathan with the initiative. Asserting that “the envisaged Bill is part of the Jonathan Administration’s transformation agenda aimed at transforming the nation’s politics”, Abati stressed that the President’s commitment to the idea “is borne out of a patriotic zeal, after a painstaking study…” Yet, while addressing the 56th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of his party in Abuja on Thursday, President Jonathan stated clearly that the idea was not his after all.

Rather, he explained, it was the recommendation of an inter-party committee set up by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. The President claimed that he is still consulting different individuals and groups on the proposal thus suggesting that it is not a matter he has given deep thought to or on which he has reached a firm decision. Perhaps it would have been wiser for the presidency to have exhausted its consultations and arrived at a definite position before issuing a statement.

It would appear that most of the vehement criticisms of the single tenure proposal have not been based on a careful appraisal of its merits and demerits but have rather been spurred by the fear that there is a hidden tenure elongation agenda behind it all. Of course, the reasons for such apprehensions are understandable. The ill-fated third term gambit of the Obasanjo presidency, one of the most heinous acts of political and economic corruption in this dispensation, is still fresh in many minds. Despite the emphatic declaration that President Jonathan will not be a beneficiary of the single six-year tenure, if it becomes law, not many Nigerians believe that the President will be able to resist the seductive mistress of power at the critical moment. He lost the moral high ground when he could not take a principled stand in abiding by his party’s zoning policy with the demise of President Yar’Adua. If he opportunistically insisted on his constitutional right to contest the 2011 elections, who can guarantee that Jonathan will not similarly insist on his right to contest in 2015 thus surreptitiously achieving tenure elongation? These fears are indicative of a huge deficit of trust between the Jonathan presidency and substantial segments of the Nigerian polity.

But then, even if we accept that President Jonathan’s word will be his bond and that he

Needless distraction

‘

•Jonathan has no tenure elongation designs, will that make the proposed single term tenure of six years for the executive arm of government tenable and advisable? I do not think so. Yes, the presidency is right in diagnosing the intensity and viciousness of the struggle for elective office both within and among political parties as a serious threat to democratic sustainability in Nigeria. Elections in such a context are different to distinguish from warfare. The end of occupying political office justifies any means no matter how foul. President Obasanjo’s depiction of electoral contests as “do or die” battles best encapsulates this phenomenon. But the prescription of one term of six years can certainly not be the cure for the identified political malaise. Indeed, the proposed solution will most likely worsen the problem in addition to fur-

The proposed single term of six years is a needless distraction at a time when so many challenges are exposing the fragility and vulnerability of the Nigerian State.

From the vehemence of public reactions to the idea, the President ought to have realized by now its capacity to over heat the polity and cause widespread disaffection. This experiment is a luxury we can ill afford

’

ther devaluing the quality of governance.

In the first place, the single term, six-year presidency assumes that the problem of unhealthy and dysfunctional competition for power occurs only at the level of first term incumbents who are seeking re-election. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even in cases where incumbents have completed two terms in office, they still retain a fierce interest in who succeeds them in power. For instance, OBJ was not a candidate in the 2007 elections.

Yet, he was not a disinterested party in the elections as would be assumed. He deployed all the powers of the presidency in collusion with

Professor Maurice Iwu’s INEC to ensure the victory of his preferred candidates at all costs.

This scenario was repeated at the state level, where outgoing governors did everything possible to ensure that their preferred candidates succeeded them. What this means, therefore, is that the President or Governor who spends just one term of six years in office as proposed will still be keenly interested in who succeeds him in office. He will still have a vested interest in ensuring that his party triumphs at the polls.

Meanwhile, since those with political ambition will have to wait for six rather than four years to have an opportunity, the desperation to win by all means will be higher. This proposal will, therefore, most likely increase the prospects of violent competition for power and even more reckless financial investment in the political process.

The single six-year term proposal also assumes wrongly that, with more time on their hands, the President and governors will be in a better position to deliver dividends of development to the people under this arrangement.

In reality, any Chief Executive at the centre or in the states who is unable to make an appreciable developmental impact in four years is unlikely to achieve much with two additional years. Indeed, a political office holder who believes he has too little time is likely to optimize his performance than one who will most likely be lulled into complacency by the illusion that he has ample time on his hands. Furthermore, as has been rightly argued, the prospects of seeking the electorate mandate for a second term is a powerful incentive for motivating office holders to put in their best efforts under the presidential system of government.

We should be wary of undertaking superficial constitutional and political changes simply for the fun of it. When the first republic collapsed, for instance, we blamed the parliamentary system for the debacle rather than our collective failings as a people. The presidential system, which we opted for in the second republic, collapsed after four years under the weight of our structural and attitudinal contradictions. Rather than continue to deepen the practice of our current presidential constitution, we are seeking to effect changes that add little or no value to the political process. The proposed single term of six years is a needless distraction at a time when so many challenges are exposing the fragility and vulnerability of the Nigerian State. From the vehemence of public reactions to the idea, the President ought to have realized by now its capacity to over heat the polity and cause widespread disaffection. This experiment is a luxury we can ill afford.

Ade Ojeikere on Saturday

Where is Nigeria?

S

ome interesting scenarios have emerged at the ongoing World Swim ming Championship in Shanghai, China. Swimmers from China, Hong Kong etc hit the finishing line before Americans.

What does this show? Simple- taking the 2008 Olympic Games to Beijing was a rewarding exercise.

Did Nigeria present any team? How well did they perform? Can we see clips of their events to know if what we saw in Port Harcourt during the National Sports Festival could be harnessed for a better performance next time? I won’t be surprised, if they return unheralded. Why do we make Nigeria the laughing stock in the comity of sporting countries, with woeful outings? The minister must find out what happened to our swimmers in China? Those found to have embarrassed the country, despite the fact that the dates of the swimming competition had been known in the last two years, should be given the boot.

On the face value, Nigerian swimmers’ China trip looks like a jamboree, but the thought of having them watch world beaters splash the pool to glory could challenge them to strive to do better at the next edition.

But, wait a minute, aren’t there rumours that the Nigerian contingent, comprising three swimmers, three technical hands and a board member, departed the country three days after the World Swimming Championship began.

Surprised? Don’t be. Theirs is better; Nigeria’s female basketball squad couldn’t attend the FIBA World U-19 female championship in July in Chile. We also couldn’t attend the U-16 male and female championships in Egypt.

Basketball in Europe, Asia and America is a mega-bucks business where rookies are awarded scholarships to study in Ivy League Schools and universities whilst playing the game.

Not attending continental championship is a subtle way of telling the Zenith Bank management that they are wasting their funds, even though they consider the financial support as another way of providing the platform for Nigerian youths to stay off vices.

Had our boys and girls attended the two competitions, a few of them would have been picked by foreign scouts.

Perhaps in the coming years, one or two of them would be taking part in the money-spinning NBA in the US. They would have told the world that they got into America having excelled in the Zenith Bank Female Championship in Nigeria.

I’m sure that this won’t happen in football, perhaps because of its massive followership.

Yet, we expect corporate sponsorships for sports in Nigeria.

Zenith Bank Ltd ensures that our girls play the dunking game. But the essence of such championships is lost, if the good girls do not exhibit their talents in continental competitions where European, Asian and American scouts attend to fish out good talents.

If we had people who are passionate about the sport that they administer, they would have found a way of getting DSTV, the South African firm that bankrolls male basketball, to showcase their competitions on television the way it is done in America, Asia and other European countries.

This connection would ensure that followers of the game come to the hall to watch the players. The presence of fans in the hall will lure the corporate world to use that platform to leverage on their goods and services which, most times, are targeted at the masses. This will increase the amount of cash that goes into the running of the sport and, of course, compel some of these firms to own basketball clubs.

Ownership of basketball clubs by bluechip companies, for instance, would open a new vista for the sport since those employed would be paid. They would be more committed towards giving their best since they know it is no longer a luxury to play the game but to earn a living.

This tardy arrangement has been the hallmark of most of the sporting federations, such

that nobody knows Nigeria’s ranking in most sports except football, cricket and athletics.

Lagos State’s investment in grassroots boxing competition has yielded dividends, with the boxers ready to compete in the country’s colours at the All Africa Games. These boxers would have been hidden had they not been nurtured and exposed to quality tournaments, including the visit by amateur boxers from England last year.

Yet, the Nigeria Amateur Boxing Federation (NABA) board members gloated in Port Harcourt as if these boxers emerged from their system. If we excel in Maputo, docile NABA board members will take the credit and the principals in the ministry will stand before President Goodluck Jonathan to celebrate the boxers’ feats.

Lagos boxing body’s initiative, which was likened to placing ice-cream in the sun, has become the cornerstone of the new face of the fistic trade here. Nobody should give credit to the sports ministry or NABA chiefs, if our boxers excel at the All Africa Games.

The Sports Minister may wish to direct his men to allow the Lagos State boxing body to prepare our boxers for the Maputo Games.

The talk of having national team coaches groom them is laughable because they are yet to produce winners as pugilists in the last decade.

In other spheres, the Lagos State template for boxing would have been adopted and those behind the laudable project persuaded to render a helping hand. I will be shocked,

•Continued on Page 63

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A1

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

Lessons in Olanipekun’s celebration

W

HEN he decided to mark the 20th year anniversary of his call to the inner Bar, Chief Wole Olanipekun, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) probably did not think about the vicarious lessons that the celebration may offer to the younger generation. He may not also have imagined that the celebration could yield the kind of preponderance of felicitation trailing the carnival-like occasion, otherwise planned to be modest.

Chief Olanipekun who was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1976 was decorated as SAN in 1991, having met the requirements to be so honoured. With 35 eventful years at the bar, 20 of which he has been practising as an “elder” in the legal profession, the soft spoken Olanipekun felt he needed to give glory to God for amazing successes he has recorded so far, hence the commemoration of the 20th year anniversary of taking silk with a presentation of his book entitled ‘The voice of Law and social changes: speeches and thoughts of Wole Olanipekun.’

But brief and modest as he planned to mark the occasion, Olanipekun’s friends and well-wishers would not want a low-key affair. From the University of Ibadan (UI), where Chief Olanipekun is the Pro-chancellor and Chairman of council to Adamawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Abia, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo among others, where he has used his legal erudition to retrieve stolen political mandates, the beneficiaries of his revolutionary legal battles united to pay homage to the icon of the bar.

University of Ibadan ViceChancellor, Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole was the first to appeal that the ceremony which was hitherto planned for Lagos must be shared into two: Lagos and Ibadan. But why? Prof.

Adewole argued that Chief Olanipekun had done so much for UI that the institution must use the occasion to pay back some of the debts of gratitude.

According to Prof. Adewole, “Since Olanipekun’s appointment as UI ProChancellor, the chairman has never taken a dime from the institution, rather, he has directed that all his due allowances be used as scholarship for the bright but indigent students in Law, Medicine and Computer Engineering” Besides, the VC said, Chief Olanipekun used his contact at the Presidency to get money for the Ajibode project (UI phase 2) which is now in progress.

Consequently, Prof. Adewole pleaded that the University be allowed to organize a public lecture to honour the selfless patriot. Granted. The UI lecture entitled the Bench, The Bar and the Challenges of Democratic consolidation in Nigeria : Issues and Prospects “delivered by Prof. Ademola Popoola of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Faculty of Law opened the floodgate of accolades and goodwill messages for Chief Olanipekun. The lecture which attracted important dignitaries across traditional institution, legal profession, academia, business community, civil society was indeed a celebration of an uncommon achiever.

According to the guest lecturer, Prof.

Popoola, “We gather here to honour one of the brightest stars in Nigeria’s rich legal firmament, Chief Olanipekun, who is a veritable symbol of juristic excellence, a man distinguished by his robust intellect, strength of character, lucidity of mind, power of elocution and the profundity of his forensic ability”. Prof Popoola had barely concluded this statement before the capacity-filled audience roared into deafening jubilation.

If the Ibadan ceremony was as dramatic as it was instructive, Lagos second leg was as colourful as it was befitting. Indeed, Chief Olanipekun could not have wished for a better honour. The Lagos ceremony, in honour

•Chief Olanipekun, Lagos Governor Babatunde Fashola and Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi at the book launch

Sunday SAANU of the highly respected Olanipekun was a riveting study in hard-work induced success. With one-time Head of state, Chief Ernest Sonekan as chairman of the occasion, five sitting governors in attendance, including Babatunde Raji Fasola of Lagos, Theodore Orji (Abia), Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo) as well as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tanbuwal, representatives of various interest groups and association, gracing the occasion, it could be said that the world indeed celebrated Olanipekun. Former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as well as his predecessor, Buba Marwa among others were equally there.

However, there are some useful lessons that could be gleaned from the life of the man of the moment and what he represents. Several speakers at the Ibadan and Lagos ceremonies were unanimous in extolling the virtues of the celebrant. The refrains from their views and verdicts include the fact that Chief Olanipekun is an embodiment of hard work.

With the dint of hard work, hinged on humility and predicated on integrity, Chief Olanipekun has created

a magnetic personality that attracts the mighty and the lowly. Here is a lawyer that has handled cases for two successive presidents of Nigeria!

Certainly, in the Nigerian contemporary jurisprudence, he is a voice that is highly respected and listened to, as a result of his hard-work.

Coupled with his humility, Olanipekun who is very skillful in verbal artistry believed so much in the principle of delayed gratification upon a painstaking labour. This attitude is in itself a great lesson for this generation of ‘’microwave life style’’. Many youths of this age don’t want to crawl before walking. They want instant reward.

They want billion of naira even before graduation from school. This one-time Nigerian Bar Association President disagrees. He says “success is not an overnight creation.”

Another useful lesson highlighted by some of Olanipekun’s admirers is that the Ekiti born legal luminary is generous. This is evident in the manner with which he commits his resources to philanthropy. Unlike some solipsistic bourgeoisie who would lay up treasures for themselves and their family members alone, Olanipekun epitomizes a good Samarian; assisting the needy to stabilize, giving hope to the hopeless with his money.

At UI ceremony, 15 students got a

When Mahatma Gandhi said many years ago that “happiness depends on what you can give, not what you can get,” he was indeed encouraging the like of Olanipekun to continue to be happy with their generous attitude. Olanipekun believes that kindness is a language understood by the dumb, spoken by the deaf. He has therefore touched many lives with his magnanimity

scholarship worth N150,000 each while he made donations to both Ilorin and Lagos chapters of NBA for assistance to the junior lawyers. Before now, thousands of students had benefitted from various scholarship awards he instituted in Ekiti state.

When Mahatma Gandhi said many years ago that “happiness depends on what you can give, not what you can get,” he was indeed encouraging the like of Olanipekun to continue to be happy with their generous attitude.

Olanipekun believes that kindness is a language understood by the dumd, spoken by the deaf. He has therefore touched many lives with his magnanimity.

Again, he is a man of impeccable integrity. His legal practice is replete with many attempts by some people to compromise him with money which he usually rejects. He says he has never bribed or taken bribe from any body. In his 35 years of legal voyage.

How many people can lay claim to this?

Above all, chief Olanipekun today stands as a compass to which many others measure themselves. He coordinates his private and public life in a disciplined symmetry that produces many masterpieces. He is steadfast with the truth and he is getting an integrity prize for that. His unblemished public record of rectitude and unassailable decorum is amazingly enviable. A great man is known by three signs: generosity in the design, humanity in the execution and moderation in success. All these are what Olanipekun evinces. As the book reviewer, Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo of University of Lagos says, “Olanipekun has spoken to us as a nation, will we heed his advice?”

Sunday Saanu is of the University of Ibadan

A2 COMMENTARY

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

A proposal for multiple presidents

S

EVEN days after President Goodluck Jonathan was declared the winner of the last presidential election, I wrote an instalment of this column, predicting that the single four-year term the President’s supporters touted that he would spend in office was nothing more than a political gimmick.

The Northern Political Leaders Forum, led by Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, had championed the cause of aggrieved northern politicians who believed the region was being short-changed with the decision of Jonathan to throw his hat in the ring for the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party in violation of the rotational arrangement within the party.

Perhaps realising that the North would feel cheated that a southern candidate would fill the seat left behind by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua only two years into his supposed eight-year tenure, former President Olusegun Obasanjo was particularly vocal in campaigning that Jonathan would spend only one term of four years, after which the North could have another shot at the Presidency. But realising how highly we regard political power in this part of the world, I wrote that it was most unlikely that Jonathan would quit after four years.

I said so not only because Jonathan is constitutionally empowered to spend two terms of four years in office, but also because I realised that Jonathan would not be the only beneficiary of his electoral victory. Indeed, I am certain that there are individuals in

Jonathan’s government who would profit from Jonathan’s presidency more than Jonathan himself. Even if Jonathan is willing to adopt the Mandela option and quit after four years, what about the hangers-on and other political jobbers in his government?

These are the individuals who will sponsor all manner of amorphous groups to mount pressure on the President to continue in office.

They will tell him what an achiever he has been, how dearly Nigerians love him and the great disservice his failure to run for a second term would constitute to his fatherland My position drew the ire of some readers.

They accused me of belonging to the class of journalists who create the nation’s problems rather than solve them. Now, less than two months into his four-year tenure, President Jonathan is enmeshed in tenure elongation saga. Political observers believe his proposed bill for a six-year tenure for the President is aimed at securing for himself an eight-year tenure through the backdoor.

Although the President has said the new arrangement would take effect from 2015 when he must have served out his term, not a few concerned citizens believe that at a time our roads have become totally impassable and the Power Holding Company of Nigeria is supplying darkness instead of light, a review of the President’s tenure should be the least of our problems. They believe that a fouryear term is enough for any serious-minded administration to make an impact even without a chance for second term. The former President of South Africa, Dr. Nelson Mandela, spent a single term of five years in office, yet he made an impact that could last South Africa a life time. Within his first four years in office, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State made an impact many of his counterparts in other states could not make in eight years.

And if Jonathan succeeds in securing sixyear tenure for the President, what is the guarantee that he would not seek to be the first to enjoy it? Even if he is not

contemplating it now, what is the assurance that he will not buckle under pressure from political jobbers who will earnestly ask for Jonathan’s continuation in office in 2015?

That will certainly set the tone for another constitutional crisis and bring the North into a fresh round of political confrontation with the South. The nation is still smarting from the violence that trailed the result of the last presidential election in parts of the North. No fewer than 14 youth corps members were brutally murdered by violent youths who felt disappointed that their preferred candidates did not win the election.

Since independence, every election year has been an invitation to tribal or regional acrimony. Every tribe, ethnic group or region wants their kinsman to lead the country or at least occupy a very influential position in government. That, they believe, is the only way they can remain relevant in the scheme of things and enjoy the fruits of democracy.

This state of affairs has set me thinking about the possibility of finding a solution to some of our fundamental political problems in the kind of political system that obtains in Switzerland. If the Swiss system is adopted here, then we have the possibility of the six geo-political zones in the country being in power at the same time.

I will explain. Like Nigeria, Switzerland is a heterogenous society. It has a population of Germans, French, Dutch and other racial groups. But its system of government accords adequate recognition to the heterogenous nature of the society. The country is governed by a body called the Federal Council which is made up of seven elected individuals known as federal chancellors. It is a council on which each member represents a part of the country.

The council has a seven-year tenure during which each of the seven member will function as the President of the country for one year.

This way, no part of the country feels marginalised or neglected because they are all in power at every given time. According to

Of Nigeria, patriotism and the crying truth

I

F there is anything that fascinates one about the popular social network site, Facebook, it is the divergent views that greet one’s occasional posting on national issues. It is interesting reading the comments posted by ‘friends’ including the logic and illogic. Sometimes, one gets fireworks where contributors attempt to puncture one another’s postings. Sometimes, one’s page gets plastered with empty bombast and meaningless patter. And, at other times, one gets inspired by the distillation of ideas and free thoughts that the various contributors bring to bear on a particular subject. Last week, this writer attempted to reawaken that spirit by sharing some thoughts on the personal encounters with some folks in London. If one must confess, the postings were meant to ignite a discourse that would, as expected, form a fulcrum of today’s piece——away from the sickening repetitiveness of the senseless bombings, callous killings and the crying incompetence on display by the authorities back home in Nigeria.

The first posting on July 17 relates to the moaning of an Asian cab driver on the failure of governance in his country. It read thus: “A cab driver, an Asian, who drove me from Debenhams to Oxford Circus in Central London, lambasted his country’s leadership for being corrupt and inept! He said roads back at home are death traps unlike the glitzy roads in United Kingdom. He spoke of bitter politics and crying poverty. As he went on whining, I kept a straight face murmuring ‘oohs and aahs’ and silently thinking: Could this man be talking about Nigeria?

I just wonder.”

The second posting, meant to aggregate opinion on another germane issue of national importance, has to do with the plight of our citizens who are, for one reason or the other, stranded in Europe and are daily toying with the unlikely idea of packing it all up and coming back home. But, for some reason or the other, most of them have not been able to do just that. The posting read: “Everybody wants to go to Heaven, nobody wants to die.

Practically all the Nigerians I have met talk about coming back home because things are getting tougher and tougher by the day here. Yet, none is thinking of taking that leap of fate soon.

Why?” You may say these are unserious postings at a time when Nigeria is enmeshed in deep crisis. But, after going through the engaging discourse and revelations made by those tagged on the page, this writer came to the painful reality that, to move up, the country needs to shake off the lethargy that has led to its stunted growth. The truth does hurt but one can hardly fault Achilleus Ucheagbu’s contribution that the Asian cab driver could as well be talking about Africa’s crying giant where the Benin-Ore road has taken more lives than the dreaded HIV/ AIDS pandemic; where the Lagos-Ibadan road is sucking innocent blood daily and many other major roads are begging for attention as the authorities ‘corner’ the funds appropriated for renovation yearly. The Asian driver could as well be talking of Nigeria where politicians enrich themselves when poverty walks on four legs and the few lucky citizens run to the end of the world, in search of the proverbial Golden Fleece. Their stories have a striking resemblance with that of the Asian man who ran to Europe to eke a living while, at the same time, cursing the day he was born among the community of thieving

leaders. Or is that not the Nigerian story?

Perhaps, no one could have succinctly answered the question better than Edward Otokhine, who wrote that the picture painted by the Asian “is a perfect picture of Nigeria, our dear country. I have this strange feeling that the country he spoke so gravely of might still be better off than our dear Nigeria. As it stands today, our dear country is bedeviled by multiplicity of problems like Boko Haram up north, struggle for resource control in the SouthSouth and minimum wage palaver, bad roads, moribund energy sector; and the list is endless. Any hope in sight?

Now, who will answer that question? How do you place hope in a governance system which appears to be failing by the day?

This is not just about the distraction that has been recently introduced into the polity with President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s latest fantasy called single term bill. It could as well be called tenure elongation bill. In any case, that’s what you get when you have leaders who believe in ruling by the whim and pandering to the occasional power surge in their brain wave. Jonathan’s latest fancy is nothing but a poisoned chalice. Even if one concedes to him the decision not to benefit from the proposed law of a longer tenure for the president and governors, can one vouch that some serving governors who would be rounding off their second tenure in 2015 will not take advantage of the new law to perpetuate themselves in office? Is the president’s proposition the best way of curbing corruption and the despicable dirty politicking during party primaries? What gives Jonathan the assurance that his successor will not influence the National Assembly to change the law to two terms of six years to suit his or her whim?

But then, that is a digression. In spite of the ‘tougher’ conditions that our citizens in the UK and elsewhere are being made to live with, coming home is not such a tantalising option after all. As one contributor puts it, home is not any better. The sad part is that those that ought to make the difference do travel to these countries to luxuriate with their stolen wealth. Hardly did it ever occur to them that, with a little commitment, they could transform their community and halt the brutish living that has become commonplace. Contrary to the thinking of President Jonathan, it shouldn’t take eternity to discover highly focused Nigerians who are determined to leave their footprints in the sands of time. How many years did it take Lagosians to realise that Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola meant business? How did former Governor Danjuma Goje come into public consciousness as the man that transformed Gombe State? Why is it easy to condemn the politics of Governor Godswill Akpabio but not his groundbreaking achievements in Akwa Ibom State? Where there is a will, there is always a way.

The tragedy of our story today lies in the fact that our public institutions are in the firm grip of persons who are bereft of ideas about how to make them work and have maximum effect. Examples of these failed public institutions are too numerous to mention on this page. It is an open secret.

And so, rather than dissipate energy on elongating the tenure of the president, governors and lawmakers, Jonathan should focus on his electoral promises to provide jobs, improve the economy, ensure the generation of electricity, curb leakages and reduce corruption to the bearest minimum. He should find another means of wiping out the charlatans and deadwoods in the corridors of power without opening another window of opportu-

Wikipeadia (the online version of the encyclopaedia), “Federal Councillors are much more accessible than their equivalents in most countries. The Swiss are used to seeing them travelling around by tram or in the train just like anyone else - much to the amazement of many foreign security officials accompanying leaders on state visits. People can talk to them without being hustled away by security guards.”

The import of the foregoing is that we can have a government that truly represents the six geo-political zones in the country at every point in time. In other words, our own federal council will be made up of six chancellors (or whatever name we choose to call them), one each from the six geo-political zones. The council will enjoy a six-year tenure during which the presidency of the country will be rotated among the six council members.

I see this arrangement significantly solving many of the problems we have had as a multiethnic society. First, it could provide an answer to the strident calls in some quarters for true federalism. All we will need to do is to get the constitution to recognise the nation’s six geo-political zones, so that each zone can more or less have an individual they can more effectively relate with as their leader. It will be a complete departure from the current platonic arrangement in which a man from the Niger Delta who may never have been to Sokoto, Maiduguri or Ibadan stays in Abuja and pretend to know the needs of the people in those parts.

With a presidential council in place, I believe we can even do away with a bicameral legislature and significantly reduce the crippling cost of governance. We can make do with the House of Representatives while the presidential council does the job of the Senate. Of course, there will be questions arising from this arrangement, but something tells me that we need to examine it if we must get rid of the easily divisible entity we currently advertise as a nation.

Knucklehead With

Yomi Odunuga E-mail:yomi.odunuga @thenationonlineng.net SMS only: 07028006913 nity for them to continue with the crying incompetence more than necessary. In any case, if elections are truly free and fair, the power to remove a non-performing president, governor or lawmaker should solely lie with the electorate. Six or seven-year tenure, in one’s candid opinion, is just too long to accommodate the shenanigans and taunts of an incompetent leader. It is as simple as that!

It is quite easy to challenge Nigerians struggling to survive in other countries to come home and contribute their quota to nationhood. But wouldn’t that be tantamount to jumping from the frying pan into a blazing ball of coal fire? Is the pasture greener here for many of us? Is Nigeria today worth calling a home where there is equity, justice and peace?

Justifying why Nigerians suffering abroad should think twice before boarding the plane home, Oluwasegun Simeon Osho, a returnee, posted these thought-provoking message: “A HOME is a ‘geographical’ location where a man/woman could have a mental or emotional refuge or comfort. A HOME is where the heart is. To be honest with ourselves, can anyone call this present Nigeria of Boko Haram a HOME? Where over 70% able-bodied youths are unemployed? Where you spend N1, 000 a day to buy fuel for your generator? Where N18, 000 monthly minimum wage is demanding for a national strike? Where the better part of your day is being spent in traffic? Is the present Nigeria worthy of a place to seek for refuge or comfort? I advise anyone thinking of returning to Nigeria to do a serious thinking o!”

One needs not go into the vexatious bashing that Osho’s comment has attracted by ‘patriotic’ home-grown Nigerians. But it is just as well to note that no one has faulted him on the frightening statistics he reeled out to buttress his point. No one has tabled any convincing argument to shut him up; no one has given the leadership a pat on the back for their efforts at setting Nigeria on the right path; no one has been able to explain why we keep nursing the same ailment many years after other countries have moved on to tackle more difficult challenges; no one has been able to justify why, after over 50 years as an independent nation, Nigeria continues to slide in infrastructural decay; and no one has been able to explain why Nigeria is trapped in this morass of movement without motion! All we do is look up to tomorrow and with fervent prayer, hope that another bungler will not take over the mantle of leadership. Hope, that’s all that we cling unto in this season of hopelessness. Wither Nigeria?

A3

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 2011

How Oyinlola, Oni lost at NJC panel •Continued from yesterday

O

PINION which he offered. That the discussion came up casually. He added that a few days to the date fixed for the judgement, a letter was served on him as Presiding Justice signed by the Chairman, National Judicial Council and Chief Justice of Nigeria to abate further action on the appeal in view of petitions addressed to him as Chairman of the Council, the petitions were against him and other Justices who sat on the Panel and the PCA. The issue of putting the judgment on hold was addressed in open Court by all Counsel to the parties. The Panel ruled that since their integrity was on the line, they should hold on pending the determination of the petitions against them. As a result of that, the judgment was not delivered but keep on hold. He said that, he never disclosed the outcome of their decision to anyone. He denied the contents of the affidavit sworn to by Usman Muhammadu Buhari. He also did not release a copy of the judgement to anyone. He added that the matter on the motion was not also disclosed off; because his understanding of the letter is to put everything on hold including the motion.

4.03.12. At this juncture, it will be appropriate to consider a presentation made before the Panel by some very distinguished Jurists namely; Hon. Justice B.O Babalakin, Hon. Justice Anthony I. Iguh and Hon. Justice M.M.A Akanbi. The three of them sat together and Hon. Justice Babalakin made the presentation on their behalf.

In his oral testimony, he recalled that he was a Member of the National Judicial Council and his 10 year tenure ended on 30/06/2010. He also recalled that when he was a Member of the NJC there were allegations and counter allegations against the NJC and the PCA. The allegations relate to Sokoto Governorship election dispute. It became a volatile matter. When the matter came before the NJC, it decided that the elders Committee from members of the NJC be set up to look into the matter and then brief Council.

The members of the Committee comprised retired Justices of the Supreme Court and retired President of the Court of Appeal.

The following were selected as members of the Committee:i) Hon. Justice B. O. Babalakin, CON; ii) Hon. Justice A. B. Wali, CON; iii) Hon. Justice Anthony I. Iguh, CON; iv) Hon. Justice E. O. Ayoola, CON; and v) Hon. Justice M. M. A. Akanbi, CFR. The members chose Hon. Justice B.O. Babalakin as the Chairman. He said, the Committee approached the matter with the seriousness it deserved. They got all the papers filed in respect of the matter and they sat from 12 noon to 6pm same day. The Committee deliberated on the matter and reached conclusion in respect of the two parties concerned. The witness maintained that the purpose of setting up the Committee was to reconcile the parties on the issue which tended to damage the integrity of the Judiciary.

The conclusions the Committee came out with were as follows:“1. We found no misconduct made against the President, Court of Appeal.

2) The Hon. CJN as Chairman of NJC has no power to interfere with any proceeding in any Court as was done in this case.

3) That the PCA put many matter in his reply to the petition and since those matters did not fall under any issue of the complaint, we need not go into them.

4) With regard to petition by the DPP, the Committee found that on the face of it, there was no misconduct established against the CJN”.

All members of the Committee signed the document on 08/03/2010. The document was admitted in evidence as Exhibit K. He further explained that before reporting to the NJC, the Committee called the two, parties, the CJN and the PCA in the CJN’s Chambers and intimated them of the findings made by the Committee. They both took it calmly. The witness, as the Chairman, said he admonished them to take things easy and relate with each other well since the matter concerns the whole Judiciary. Both parties appeared satisfied with what the Committee of elders did in the dis-

Justice Katsina Alu

Justice Salami

charge of their mandate. When the Committee went to CJN’s Chambers, Hon. Justice Ayoola had sent his apologies and went to attend to other official engagement at ICPC of which he was then the Chairman.

He further stated that the Committee then went and reported to NJC and the Council was happy that the Committee poured water on the boiling oil. The settlement Committee however later heard of new developments.

The witness at this juncture, tried to introduce some issues that were not part of their assignment as a reconciliation Committee that is the issue of the appointment of the PCA to the Supreme Court after the Reconciliation Committee had ceased to exist.

Under cross-examination, the witness indicated that their Committee was both a fact- finding and reconciliation -Committee but the mandate given to the Committee was to reconcile the parties. He said, he did not know that after the work of their Committee, there was a deluge of petitions filed before the NJC. He stated that their Committee did not take any evidence from anyone.

The evidence of the Chairman of the Committee could have provided the case as sufficient presentation of the team, but it was not to be.

A member of the team of the three jurists, Hon. Justice M.M.A. Akanbi out of his character, took over the arena and made many uncomplimentary remarks on a member of the Panel, just because the member served as a member of the reconciliatory Committee. He maintained that the present Panel was a waste of time and would not come up with any valuable result as their Committee had already dealt with the issues under investigation.

The embarrassment actually started from the first day of the sitting of this Panel, when a Senior Counsel on the team of Lawyers representing the Hon. PCA raised objection to the participation of the Member, giving the same reason raised

by Hon. Justice Akanbi. The Panel after consultations overruled the objection. The Panel believed that the reconciliation Committee of elders was entirely different both in contents and purpose. The present Panel has a much wider and more numerous issues to deal with, most of which were complaints and petitions filed before the NJC after the reconciliation Committee had misled its one day assignment.

The Panel thought that this would have satisfied the contenders of the member’s participation on the Panel, but alas Hon. Justice Akanbi did not see it that way.

Maturity prevailed, and the member attacked took the insults and the provoca-

tions calmly and that took care of the bad situation.

4.04 DE LIBERA TIONS AND FINDINGS 4.04.1 PART A-DPP COMPLALNT As mentioned earlier in this Report, the fulcrum of the DPP complaint against the -CJN is captured in the following paragaphs: “The present instance where the CJN in complete negation and violation of his powers under the Constitution has written to the President of the Court of Appeal ordering him to stop the delivery of judgment of Sokoto State Governorship Election Appeal already slated for 24th February, 2010 is another blatant incident of selfish individual or sectional interests being used to subvert the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, the fons et origo of our legal system.” a) Two allegations emerge from this complaint:i.) The CJN in complete negation and violation of his powers under the Constitution has written a letter stopping the delivery of judgment of Sokoto State Governorship Election. ii) It is another blatant incident of selfish individual or sectional interests being used to subvert the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, the fons et origo of our legal system. b) In the course of hearing evidence from both the Chairman of the Party and the Gubernatorial- candidate, the Panel observed how passionate they were in presenting their case e.g. when General Magashi, the Chairman of the Party was giving evidence, he emphasized with passion in the following words:“When a person has expectations and those expectations were put on hold without any Constitutional backup, one would feel disappointed, particularly when the Court of Appeal is the final Court on election matters”. c) In the same vein, Alhaji Dingyadi in his evidence stated that:“The issue of CJN’s involvement in the matter for ignoring provision of the Constitution to put on hold the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Sokoto that was ready for delivery by a letter he sent to the Justices pending the disposal of serious allegations against them.

There -was no serious allegations to warrant the stay of the judgment, because no evidence of leakage was shown in Yahaya Mahmood’s and Agu’s petitions. That even if there was a leakage, it was not our fault. That there were occasions when judgment leaked but they were never buried”. d) The Panel having seriously considered the complaint and the evidence from the two witnesses could not help having a feeling that the Parties are still pursuing the mandate of their Gubernatorial candidate. e) The Panel however is well aware that,

that mandate has been permanently foreclosed by the decision of the Supreme Court on the matter. f) However, the Panel was not unmindful of the complaint relating to the putting on hold of the Sokoto Division of the Court of Appeal judgment slated for delivery on 24/02/2010. The Panel considered all the surrounding circumstances that led to the issuance of that letter by the CJN, particularly the intention behind it. g) It is important to consider the reasons given by the CJN that prompted him to. write that letter. The CJN in his affidavit evidence deposed in paragraphs 7(i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii) and (vii) states as follows:i) “That I did not at any time whatsoever interfere in any form or manner with the Sokoto State Gubernatorial Election Petition Appeal. ii) That at some stage, while the appeal was pending at the Court ·of Appeal, in my capacity as the Chairman of the National Judicial Council, I received written Petitions addressed to ·me pertaining the said appeal. iii) That one of the complaints in the petitions was that the judgment about to be delivered by the Court of Appeal in respect of the Sokoto State Gubernatorial Election Petition Appeal had leaked. iv) That I called Honorable Justice Dahiru Musdapher, the next most senior Justice of the Supreme Court and Deputy Chairman, National Judicial Council to my Chambers and showed him the petitions and sought for his advice on how the matter could be handled. v) That Honourable Justice Dahiru Musdapher suggested that we call the Hon. President of the Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Ayo Isa Salami to inform him of the petitions. vi) That therefore, called the Hon. President of the Court of Appeal by telephone to come to my Chambers. vii) That when the Hon. President of the Court of Appeal came to my Chambers, in the presence of Hon. Justice Dahiru Musdapher, I told him I had received a complaint that the judgment to be delivered in respect of the Sokoto State Gubernatorial Election Petition Appeal had leaked. viii) That the Hon. President of the .Court of Appeal, Justice I. A. Salami, OFR, admitted that the judgment had leaked”. h) Another area that deserves consideration is the piece of evidence given by Hon. Justice M.D. Muhammad, the Presiding Justice of Sokoto Division. It goes like this:. “However, on 24/02/2010, after hearing submissions of Counsel for the Parties as to whether or not to put the judgment on hold the Justices ruled that we would in the interest of our reputation which was at stake put the judgment on hold pending the investigation of allegations against us”. i) It is also worthy to note that the PCA did not comply with the letter written to him with regard to putting on hold the judgment. This is reflected in a paragraph of the reply written to the CJN by the PCA dated 22/02/2010. The paragraph reads as fol1ows:“In view of all the above, I do not think I am in a position to carry out Your Lordship’s order to stop the appeal pending the determination of the investigation of “serious allegations” made against me and the Justices in the two petitions. No responsible tribunal will consider the contents of the two documents to amount to serious indictment. In any case, Your Lordship In an unprecedented manner have taken over the manning of the Court of Appeal. You have unilaterally made the order, which I respectfully consider unlawful to stop the judgment”. j) All of these things having taken place, what emerged in the view of the Panel is that the letter of the CJN was not accorded the obedience it was perceived to have done. k. Be that as it may, the Panel had no difficulty in holding the view that under the Constitution and the laws of the land, no apparent power has been bestowed on the NJC of which the CJN is the Chairman to interfere in any proceedings of the legally constituted Court.

1) The Panel however finds no semblance of ill-motive, selfishness of an in-

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How Oyinlola, Oni lost at NJC panel dividual or sectional interest being used to subvert the Constitution in the steps taken by the CJN, Chairman of the NJC. m) In view of the surrounding circumstances, the Panel finds that the CJN was motivated by an apparent urge to protect the administration of justice and avoid breach of peace. The Panel finds that the CJN acted in good faith to have taken the steps he took. n) The Panel finds that absence of statutory guidelines to assist the CJN as Chairman of the NJC in dealing with such a situation as has arisen, in this case is a serious gap that needs to be addressed.

4.04.2 PART B - COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE CJN BY THE PCA a) Arising from the petitions received from Yahaya Mahmood, Esq and Alfred Agu, Esq, the CJN held discussions with Hon. Justice Dahiru Musdapher, which led to invitation extended to the PCA in the CJN’s Chambers, further discussions were held among the three of them about the petitions. The issue was not solved and the CJN wrote a letter to the PCA on 18/ 02/2010, attaching copies of the two petitions and the PCA was asked to ensure that further action on the judgment of the Sokoto State Governorship Appeal be put on hold pending the determination of the petitions. Similar letter was forwarded to the Justices who sat on the Panel with a similar request on 19/02/2010. b) On 22/02/2010, the PCA replied the letter where he raised many weighty issues. The issues can be summarized as follows:i) CJN was accused of interference with Court proceedings. ii) CJN may wittingly or unwittingly bring the Judiciary into gross disrepute. iii) CJN was accused of inviting the PCA to his Chambers on 08/02/2010 to request him to instruct the Justices to dismiss the appeal. That Dahiru Musdapher, JSC was present. The request was rejected. ii) On a second invitation to the CJN’s Chambers on 16/02/2010, the PCA alleged that he was given petition to read, after which the PCA was asked by the CJN if he would not disband the Panel for which the PCA said he would discuss the matter with the Panel. The CJN insisted that he the PCA should disband the Panel and report back to him, which he never did to date. The PCA restated his resolve not to carry out the order of the CJN to stop the judgment pending the determination of the investigations of serious allegations made against the PCA and the Justices in the-two petitions. v) The CJN was accused of taking over the running of the Court of Appeal in an unprecedented manner. c). These are the discernible accusations levelled against the CJN by the PCA in his reply to the CJN’s letter dated 18/02/2010. d.) In his reply to these accusations, the CJN in his affidavit denied interfering at any time in any form or manner with Sokoto State Governorship Election Petition Appeal. He contended that while the said appeal was pending, in his capacity as the Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), he received petitions addressed to him pertaining the said appeal. e) That one of the complaint in the petition was that the judgment to be delivered by the Court of Appeal had leaked, and he invited Hon. Justice Dahiru Musdapher, the Deputy Chairman of the NJC to his Chambers and served him the petitions and asked for his advice on how to handle the matter. Hon. Justice Musdapher suggested that the PCA be invited to be informed of the petitions. He, the CJN invited the PCA to his Chambers to discuss the matter. The cm alerted the PCA about the petitions and the leakage of the judgment. That the PCA was said to admit the leakage and the CJN informed him that the only way to maintain the integrity of the Court was to re-constitute the Panel as the proper cause of action to take. f) That after that advice, the PCA left them with the impression that he would disband the Panel, that when the PCA did not get back to him on the matter, the CJN decided to forward the petitions for his comment

•Aregbesola

•Oyinlola

and that of the Justices on the Panel. g) That the CJN pointed out that he had at no time whatsoever met with the PCA alone, privately or officially to discuss the Sakata State Governorship Petition Appeal, that he was at all material times in the company of Hon. Justice Dahiru Musdapher. That at no time whatsoever did he request the PCA to instruct the Sokoto Panel to dismiss the appeal. h) The CJN contended that he only took steps in the matter in his capacity as the Chairman, National Judicial Council when he wrote to the Panel on 19/02/ 2010 to put on hold the judgment pending the investigations of the petitions against them. That he did not in his letter direct the Panel not to deliver judgment. i) In a further affidavit deposed to by the PCA, he highlighted some issues raised in the CJN’s affidavit. He confirmed that Hon. Justice Dahiru Musdapher was present when the CJN invited him on 08/ 02/2010 in respect of the Sokoto matter.

He asserted that there was no judgment leakage and none was shown to him. He denied admitting that there was leakage.

He repeated the accusation that the CJN had directed him to inform the Sokoto Panel to dismiss the appeal, which he informed him, he could not. He said no advice was offered to him by Justice Musdapher, but the CJN gave him instruction to disband the Sokoto Panel. The PCA asserted that on the issue of leakage of judgment, it was on 08/02/2010 that the CJN invited him to his Chambers and then wrote to him a query on 18/02/2010. He maintained that as at 08/02/2010 there was no petition against him on any issue. j) The Panel found it necessary to dwell extensively on the affidavit evidence of both the CJN and the PCA, because none of them gave oral evidence before the Panel but other people did. Hon. Justice Dahiru Musdapher who happened to be a key figure mentioned by both Parties gave oral evidence and also submitted a written statement, the contents of which in fact are similar to the oral evidence he gave. k) Hon. Justice Dahiru Musdapher gave evidence to say that he went to the Chambers of the CJN, who informed him that the judgment in Sokoto Appeal had leaked. He however did not see the petitions. He and the CJN agreed that the judgment having leaked would lose its credibility and when the PCA arrived in the CJN’s Chambers, they suggested to him that the Panel be disbanded and a new one constituted. At the end of their discussions, the PCA gave them the impression that he was going to discuss with the members of the Panel. He affirmed that the issue of the CJN asking the PCA to dismiss the appeal was not discussed in his presence.

1) Under cross-examination by the PCA,

Justice Musdapher said he remembered the day the PCA met him and the CJN. He stated that the CJN said there was going to be a security breach if the judgment was read. He emphatically denied that the CJN had told the PCA to deliver the judgment in favour of the respondent. m) The other relevant piece of evidence is the evidence of Hon. Justice M.D. Mohammed, who presided over the Sokoto Panel. He confirmed receiving the CJN’s letter dated 19/02/2010. He mentioned that on 24/02/2010 after hearing submissions of Counsel for the parties as to whether or not to put the judgment on hold as indicated in the CJN’s letter, the Justices ruled that they would in the interest of their reputation which was at stake put the judgment on hold pending the investigation of allegations against them. On the issue of leakage of the judgment, he denied ever discussing the judgment with Usman Buhari or anyone. He added that the pending motion· was not disposed off; because his understanding of the letter is to put everything on hold including the motion. n) Having regard to the conflicting affidavit evidence of both the CJN and the PCA, the Panel is of the view that the evidence of these two independent witnesses will provide the true situation.

0) Here again, there are two contending issues:i) The issue of whether the letter of the CJN to put on hold the delivery of the judgment, amounted to interference in the Sokoto State election appeal. The evidence of Hon. Justice M.D. Mohammad touched on that. The Panel believed that this issue had been sufficiently addressed in our earlier finding when we considered the DPP complaint on the same accusation of unlawful interference in this matter. We adopt those findings here as well.

-ii) The issue of instructions allegedly given by the CJN to the PCA in the presence of Hon. Justice Dahiru Musdapher to dismiss the appellant’s appeal. The CJN emphatically denied this allegation and the clear evidence of Hon. Justice Musdapher confirmed the CJN’s position.

The matter needs no further discussion. p) There is however still the issue of another direction to disband the Panel and constitute another one. q) In his evidence, Justice Musdapher said this was given as an advice believing on the assumption that the judgment leaked. He further stated that after the discussion, the PCA left them with the impression that he was going to discuss the matter with the Panel. There is no gainsaying the fact that the PCA no matter what impression he gave to both Justice Musdapher and the CJN, he had no intention of doing what he was advised to do.

He said so in clear terms in his letter to the CJN where he said:“On 16th February, 2010 you invited me to your chambers and gave me -to read the petition written by Mr. Yahaya Mahmood. After reading you asked if I would not disband the panel. I told Your Lordship I would discuss it with the Panel, a suggestion Your Lordship did not appreciate, and you made it clear, and asked me to just disband them and report back to you. I have not reported back to you to date.” r) The Panel believes that somewhere along the line there is clear break down of communication and trust between the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the President of the Court of Appeal. s) There is evidence to show that an advice was given to the PCA to disband the Panel and constitute another one based on the belief that the judgment was leaked.

However, as shown earlier, the PCA was not willing to carry out this advice, no matter what impression he gave the CJN and Hon. Justice Musdapher. t) From all the circumstances there is available evidence that the CJN did not give instructions to the PCA to direct the Panel to dismiss the appeal. u) The Panel is of the view that the issue of leakage of the judgment for now remains like an early morning fog that never endured after the rising of the sun. v) The Panel finds no evidence that the CJN wittingly or unwittingly brought the Judiciary into disrepute. w) The Panel finds the allegation that the CJN had taken over the running of the Court of Appeal in an unprecedented manner as unfounded.

4.04.3 PART C - COMPLAINTS BY MR. YAHAYA MAHMOOD, AND MR. ALFRED .N. AGU This relates to two petitions forwarded to the CJN on 15/02/2010 by Mr. Yahaya Mahmood and Mr. Alfred N. Agu against the PCA. a) It is important to point out, there are two segments:i). The first segment relates to petitions of Yahaya Mahmood, Esq and Alfred N. Agu, Esq. ii) The second segment relates to the affidavit of Senator Umaru Dahiru dated 09/ 03/2010, even though it clearly hinged on the petition of Yahaya Marhmood, Esq. Be that as it may, it required a separate treatment because it raised fresh issues to which the PCA responded to. The affidavit evidence of both Mr. Yahaya Mahmood and Mr. Alfred Agu were set out earlier.

However, Yahaya Mahmood, Esq gave oral evidence. b) The evidence of Yahaya Mahmood, Esq, gave historical facts of a long time association with the PCA and how eventually Yahaya Mahmood, Senator Umaru Dahiru and the PCA met, particularly during the time of the confirmation of the PCA in the Senate. The evidence gave account of the role played by Senator Umaru Dahiru and others like Ahmed Bola Tinubu in the process of the confirmation.

One thing leading to another, the issue of Sokoto State Appeal Panel surfaced, and in the course of that both Yahaya Mahmood and Senator Umaru Dahiru visited the PCA twice, in his guest house and his office. Their discussion both in the house and the office centred on the constitution of panel to take up the Sokoto governorship appeal. There was a disagreement as to the need to set up the panel at the time the panel was set up. This brought about serious disagreement between Yahaya Mahmood and Senator Umaru Dahiru on one hand and the PCA on the other hand. c) On his part, the PCA in an affidavit made some allegations that the duo of Yahaya Mahmood and Senator Umaru Dahiru attempted to persuade him to interfere with the work of the Panel he set up to hear the Sokoto appeal or to persuade the Panel to dismiss the appeal. d) Both Yahaya Mahmood and Senator Umaru Dahiru believed that the PCA had a mind set to remove the Governor of Sokoto State and give the seat to the DPP candidate. The duo accused the PCA of

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How Oyinlola, Oni lost at NJC panel nursing a view, which they claimed he voiced out that the judgment of the Court of Appeal Kaduna Division was wrong and it must be reviewed. e) Eventually, the appeal was taken and conference of the Panel which began in Sokoto, shifted to Abuja . This also raised another perception of indication of bias by the PCA. f) Yahaya Mahmood and Senator Umaru Dahiru maintained the perception of bias against the PCA because he ignored the administrative action taken by his predecessor in office and also ignored a pending appeal at the Supreme Court even after they have been served with notice of hearing. g) Issuance of notice to the parties for the delivery of the Sokoto Appeal judgment sparked off another round of protest and a motion was filed seeking for referral to the Supreme Court on the issue of whether one Division of the Court of Appeal can review the decision of another Division of the same Court. h) Somewhere the issue of leakage of the Sokoto judgment was- brought in to compound matters. This led to the petition written by Yahaya Mahmood, Esq to the CJN, which in turn brought about the meeting between the CJN, Justice Dahiru Musdapher and the PCA, which ended in a deadlock and later on the CJN wrote the two letters to both the PCA and the Justices on the Panel. So far this represents the evidence in the first segment. i) The second segment relates to the evidence of Senator Umaru Dahiru in support of his affidavit which he deposed to. j) In his evidence, the incidence of his meeting with the PCA and the role he played as Chairman of Senate Committee on Judiciary in the confirmation of the PCA before the Senate was highlighted. He also related the two meetings with the PCA in his guest house and his office and arguments and the disagreements that later emerged. In the course of his evidence, he produced a document which is a sworn affidavit of one Muhammad Buhari who deposed to the fact that a Member of the Appeal Panel, who was his friend disclosed to him the outcome of the appeal.

This person did -not appear before the Panel to give evidence. k) Also in the course of his evidence, the Senator disclosed another source of the leakage of the judgment from a Senator colleague, who claimed to get the information of leakage from one of the Justices on the Panel. l) This Senator appeared before the Panel and gave evidence denying that he ever gave that information of leakage to Senator Umaru Dahiru. This also represents a fair situation in the second segment. m) Of course there is the piece of evidence coming from Hon. Justice M.D. Mohammad; who denied ever disclosing the outcome of the case with anyone, he maintained that the judgment was still with him, that even his colleagues did not see it. n) Hon. Justice Galinje in his written response to the letter written to them by the CJN, contended that the assertion that the withdrawal of the appeal before the Supreme Court by the appellants gave the impression that they had fore knowledge of the judgment to be hurriedly delivered on 24/02/2010 was speculative and unfounded. He added that after the appeal was taken and after the conference in Sokoto and Abuja , the Presiding Justice, Justice M.D. Muhammad undertook to write the lead judgment. He maintained that during the conference, he circulated his opinion in writing to all the Justices in the Panel as a basis for further discussion. o) On 15/03/2010, they travelled to Sokoto for the purpose of taking the motion for reference to the Supreme Court and to go through the judgment written by the Presiding Justice. When they assembled in the Presiding Justice’s Chambers, they were told that the Supreme Court had issued an injunction restraining them from taking any further steps in the appeal. He said that the Presiding Justice gave them copies of what he said was the judgment.

He perused the document and discovered that the Panel of Justices listed as those

assured whoever cared to listen that before the month of October 2010 was over, Dr. Kayode- Fayemi would have been swornin as Governor of Ekiti .

5.01.9 At the end .of the day the major issue of fact relating to alleged unethical communications would turn on the value that can be placed on “call logs” tendered in evidence for the purpose of making of a finding of fact whether or not there was such communication as alleged in the petition.

5.01.10 As the same issue has arisen in the petition of PDP Osun State Chapter, presented by Otunba Ojo-Williams, relating to the Osun State “Governorship election it is expedient, therefore, to deal with that issue together with the consideration of the Osun petitions.

•Fayemi •Oni who took the appeal were the Presiding Sen. Bola Tinubu persistently assured whoJustice himself, Justice Ahmed O. Belgore ever cared to listen that before the month of and Justice M.A. Oredola. He did not October 2010 was over, Dr. Kayode Fayemi know any judgment that was leaked with would have been sworn-in as Governor of respect to Sokoto Appeals.

Ekiti. He emphasized in his oral evidence p) He contended further that the judg- that the “very basis” of his petitions which ment mentioned here was not the judg- are three but can be reduced to one is that ment of their Panel as he did not make any he believed “that the relationship between contribution to it. Justice Galinje did not Justice Salami and Tinubu was substanoffer ‘any oral evidence even though he tial enough not to allow the Justice to apwas present at the sitting of the Panel. point himself in a Panel to sit on his case”. q) The Panel took a calm view of all the (ii) What he claimed to be “some extreme affidavit as well as the oral evidence given findings and pronouncements in the judgby the witnesses. ment which are not merely .perverse and r) The Panel is of the view that the wide can only be indicative of a premeditated ranging accusations and counter accusa- and carefully executed to remove me from tions are products of emotions and suspi- office at the risk of standing the law on its cions. The Panel is not able to put its fin- head.” In this regard he enumerated sevgers on any tangible basis of the suspi- eral alleged errors and perverse findings. cion.

5.01.5 At the end of the day his prayers to Council are as follows: 5.0 SECTION II - THE EKITI AND a. That the Council “should set up a OSUN STATES GOVERNORSHIP IS- panel to review the judgments of the Ekiti SUES Appeal tribunals to correct the perverted 5.01 Petitions submitted by Chief justice and re-establish the well known Olusegun Adcbayo Oni (“Chief Segun principles of electoral jurisprudence” and, Oni”) against: 1. Justice Isa Ayo Salami; b. That the Council “should also investi2. Justice Clara Bata Ogunbiyi; 3.- Hon. gate through the EFCC and ICPC or other Justice Ariwoola; 4. Hon Justice Chima means the allegations that the judgments Centus Nweze and Hon. Justice Adamu were induced financially by the leadership Jauro. of the AC or other persons. The properties 5.01.1 Chief Segun Oni was re-elected and accounts of the Appeal Tribunal Governor of Ekiti State in a re-run election judges and their families should be scrutiheld in April, 2009 and was subsequently nized. “ sworn-in as Governor of the State.

5.01.6 By a letter dated 14th February 5.01.2 His election was challenged by the 2011, he forwarded copies of Call Data candidate of the Action Congress of Ni- Records also called “call logs” as a further geria (“ACN”) party Dr. Kayode Fayemi step in the process of investigation. He aland his party. By a majority judgment the leges that it could be observed from the call Election tribunal confirmed his election. logs that throughout the month of SeptemOn appeal to the Court of Appeal, a panel ber up to October 2010 when the judges of the Court consisting of the respondents wrote and delivered the judgment in Ekiti, to this petition on 15 October, 2010 set and up till January this year, Justice Saaside his election and removed him from lami, Justice Adamu Jauro and the person office. he claimed to be Justice Salami’s “said 5.01.3 By his petition dated January 13, agent”, Tunji Ijaya, were in close telephone 2011 addressed to the Chairman, National contact by voice or SMS with the counsel to Judicial Council, Chief Segun Oni com- AC candidate and official of the party. He plained that the Court of Appeal so con- believed that “the unethical communicastituted had meted injustice to him tions were directed at the invidious act to “through their injudicious and deliber- pervert the course of justice, and to achieve ately perverted judgment of October 15, 20 the pre-determined purpose for removing to.” me from office.”

5.01.4 The two planks on which he rested 5.01.7 Since this fact finding Panel has his complaint that the decision of the Court neither power nor mandate to review any of Appeal was deliberately perverted are: judgment, the Panel indicated early in the (i). Statements allegedly made by his oppo- proceedings and the party accepted that nents before the appeal and before the judg- the Panel would not deal with the contenment was delivered. Thus, he alleges: that tion that the judgment of the Court of Apeven before the matter proceeded on appeal peal was perverse. from the election petition Tribunal, there 5.01:8 It is expedient also to observe that was general knowledge that the leader of there was no evidence produced in supthe Action Congress of Nigeria, Sen. Bola port of the allegations of fact that there was Tinubu persistently stated that he is in com- general knowledge that the leader of the plete control of the Court of Appeal; that Action Congress of Nigeria Sen. Bola the ACN in several newspapers persist- Tinubu persistently stated that he is in comently alerted the public that he wanted to plete control of the Court of Appeal, or that use the Sokoto option; that at several pub- at several public functions, both Dr. Kayode lic functions, both Dr. Kayode Fayemi and Fayemi and Sen. Bola Tinubu persistently

5.02 Petitions by Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, former Governor of Osun State against the President of the Court of Appeal and against Justice Clara Bata Ogunbiyi and others and Petition by the PDP Osun State against Hon. Justice Ogunbiyi and Ors. 5.02.1 Prince Oyinlola by his petition dated 2 December 2010, complained about the judgment of the Court of Appeal which removed him as Governor: on 26 November, 2010 on two grounds, namely: first, that the judgment may have leaked; and, second, that the judgment was wrong in several respects.

5.02.2 There was no direct evidence as to the first; and, any consideration of the second would involve a review of the judgment of the Court of Appeal which is outside the mandate of this Panel.

5.02.3 In a second petition dated 7 February 2010, he complained about a press interview granted by the President of the Court of Appeal (“PCA”) wherein the PCA was reported to have stated that he had been using judges he could trust for governorship election appeal cases and ‘ his statement concerning the cancellation of votes in some local governments.

5.02.4 The publication containing a report of the press interview being hearsay has no testimonial effect. Beyond a finding that these statements were reported in the publication and allegedly in the course of a press interview, the Panel cannot see any need to make further findings in regard thereto at this stage.

5.02.5 By a letter dated, 16 February 201 1, the Peoples Democratic Party Osun State Chapter’ forwarded to the Chairman, NJC, what was described as further evidence against Justice Ayo Salami of miscarriage of justice in the Osun State Governorship appeal.

5.02.6 The allegations in the letter are “that the President of the Court of Appeal was, has been, and continues to be in regular telephone contact (at least) with the following Action Congress of Nigeria chieftains and institutions: Lai Mohammed, Olatunji Kayode Olowolafe, Hakeem- Muri Okunola; Lagos State government; Lagos State Government (CSO).” [Tel. Nos deleted] It was further stated in the letter that: “Even more damning is the fact that Justice Ayo Salami was regularly communicating with the following legal practitioners, who represented the Action Congress of Nigeria at Election Appeal Tribunals at various times: Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Akintola Adeniyi, SAN, Nnaemeka Ngige, SAN, Rickey Tarfa SAN, Ibrahim Abdullahi, SAN. (Tel. nos deleted); “the invidious plan to snatch victory by fraud was hatched in the course of those illicit interactions”; a “certain Tunji Ijaya… obviously the go between in many of Justice Salami’s judicial deals, deserves to be probed further, owing to the sheer volume and frequency of voice calls and text messages between him and Justice Salami on the one hand and Action Congress personages on the other”; “a detailed transcript of the text messages and voice calls between the numbers we have provided and many others on the call logs will complete the picture of how the course of justice was perverted in the Osun Governorship Appeal judgment.”; “the Osun Appeal judgment was financially induced and we believe that a transcript of the communication among the parties concerned should confirm the veracity of our claims.”

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EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 29-07-11 2ND-TIER SECURITIES

Company Name FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC PRESCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 4 13 19

Quotation(N) 0.50 0.50 7.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 45,000 22,500.00 67,000 33,500.00 290,095 2,179,702.50 402,095 2,235,702.50

Quotation(N) 2.50 7.00

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 22,380 54,464.40 729,166 5,111,999.16 751,546 5,166,463.56

Quotation(N) 0.50 1.86

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 71,671 35,835.50 141,129 264,254.36 212,800 300,089.86

Quotation(N) 6.65 0.73 4.75 2.90 6.20 2.12 12.44 0.50 14.40 9.20 0.86 0.96 0.58 6.36 0.87 1.53 5.15 2.28 0.77 0.89 14.80

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 8,515,348 56,629,491.28 381,393 278,416.89 2,037,577 9,974,883.93 189,692 525,492.89 2,486,246 15,422,259.11 5,980,212 12,750,995.82 11,388,639 138,341,206.09 1,442,000 721,000.00 18,256,000 264,652,114.60 2,704,945 24,834,683.22 4,950,562 4,257,723.32 10,205,057 10,023,649.72 1,996,984 1,164,189.57 1,663,170 10,606,669.28 16,433 13,639.39 3,137,395 4,672,099.00 11,000,777 58,749,492.04 3,126,071 7,309,654.14 120,500 89,385.00 2,293,818 2,008,876.32 45,492,693 673,464,282.95 137,385,512 1,296,490,204.56

Quotation(N) 230.85 6.20 90.20

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 64,017 14,448,123.23 225,615 1,364,611.60 1,411,235 127,399,957.56 1,700,867 143,212,692.39

Quotation(N) 21.12 8.00 120.00 43.71

Quantity Traded Value 439,974 361,303 237,343 710,073 1,748,693

Quotation(N) 8.80 28.90 1.38 1.29 5.11

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 172,013 1,466,882.11 57,760 1,612,096.46 1,000 1,320.00 800,000 1,032,000.00 226 1,098.36 1,030,999 4,113,396.93

AIR SERVICES Company Name AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 8 50 58

AUTOMOBILE & TYRE Company Name DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC R. T. BRISCOE (NIGERIA) PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 15 16 BANKING

Company Name ACCESS BANK PLC AFRIBANK NIGERIA PLC DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK NIGERIA PLC FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC FIDELITY BANK PLC FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA PLC FINBANK PLC GTBANK PLC STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC INTERCONTINENTAL BANK PLC. OCEANIC BANK INTERNATIONAL PLC BANK PHB PLC SKYE BANK PLC. SPRING BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC. UNION BANK OF NIGERIA PLC UNITYBANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC ZENITH BANK PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 173 18 79 18 39 84 586 17 536 36 37 119 45 131 6 26 260 111 6 41 631 2,999 BREWERIES

Company Name GUINNESS NIGERIA PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 45 17 186 248

SEC moves to secure refunds for All States’ investors

T

HE Securities and Ex change Commission (SEC) has begun talks with relevant regulatory agencies to ensure that investors in the public offer by the defunct All States Trust Bank are refunded their money.

Addressing some of the aggrieved shareholders of the bank at the SEC’s forum tagged investors/Issuer education outreach programme in Rivers State, SEC’s Commissioner for Operations, Ms Daisy Ekinne said the Commission was working to secure refunds for the investors.

According to her, discussions are ongoing with the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) with regards to the refunds and there is every likelihood the investors will get their money back.

Ekinne recalled that the bank sent its public offer ap-

No of Deals 40 18 32 42 132

No of Deals 12 28 1 3 1 45

COMMERCIAL/SERVICES Company Name COURTVILLE INVESTMENTS PLC Secure Electronic Technology PLC RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 1 61 64

Quotation(N) 0.50 0.92 3.49

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,100 550.00 550 484.00 5,212,949 18,230,098.08 5,214,599 18,231,132.08

COMPUTER & OFFICE EQUIPMENT Company Name TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1

Quotation(N) 3.25

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,300 4,017.00 1,300 4,017.00

Quotation(N) 2.09 42.00 1.07 39.30 28.00

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,000 1,990.00 127,505 5,355,210.00 64,606,548 66,827,460.92 194,099 7,601,392.68 131,201 3,653,067.50 65,060,353 83,439,121.10

CONGLOMERATES Company Name A. G. LEVENTIS (NIGERIA) PLC PZ CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC UAC OF NIGERIA PLC UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 19 360 28 39 447 CONSTRUCTION

Company Name COSTAIN (WA) PLC JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC MULTIVERSE PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 11 11 4 26

Quotation(N) 2.66 50.82 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 69,329 176,294.66 24,438 1,180,249.24 94,000 47,000.00 187,767 1,403,543.90

ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY Company Name NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE PLC. Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1

Quotation(N) 0.54

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1,000 540.00 1,000 540.00

AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 1 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 208 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 21 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE CO. PLC. 1 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INSURANCE PLC 26 EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC 2 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 4 GUARANTY TRUST ASSURANCE PLC 5 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 2 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 1 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 1 LAW UNION AND ROCK INSURANCE PLC. 7 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 2 N.E.M. INSURANCE CO. (NIG.) PLC. 40 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. 23 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC. 17 REGENCY ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 4 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 21 STACO INSURANCE PLC 1 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 1 UNIC INSURANCE PLC. 1 UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 1 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 3 INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 2 Sector Totals 395

No of Deals 11 73 24 74 49 11 1 15 14 36 3 2 313

Quotation(N) 45.00 19.95 16.00 10.85 85.00 4.00 1.78 5.10 43.25 402.00 0.50 0.68

No of Deals 1 1 18 4 7 2 2 35

Quotation(N) 5.31 1.05 1.90 25.09 3.88 3.87 0.50

of Shares (N) 680,779.96 33,275,353.71 885,312.00 33,509,564.20 10,042,470.37 3,720,880.00 1,700.00 616,676.50 1,698,797.50 13,734,775.49 15,750.00 455.00 98,182,514.73

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 100 505.00 1,000 1,000.00 283,410 504,148.20 97,437 2,378,104.30 44,477 170,209.67 20,000 73,600.00 1,538 769.00 447,962 3,128,336.17

HOTEL & TOURISM Company Name CAPITAL HOTEL PLC IKEJA HOTEL PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 4 7 11

Quotation(N) 6.51 1.46

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 68,001 442,686.51 72,856 106,369.76 140,857 549,056.27

INDUSTRIAL/DOMESTIC PRODUCTS Company Name VITAFOAM NIGERIA PLC VONO PRODUCTS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 9 1 10

Quotation(N) 6.00 2.88

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 67,900 404,615.00 1,000 2,880.00 68,900 407,495.00

INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY Company Name CHAMS PLC MASS TELECOM INNOVATION NIGERIA PLC STARCOMMS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 1 14 18

Quotation(N) 0.50 0.50 0.61

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 12,500 6,250.00 500 250.00 294,768 179,808.48 307,768 186,308.48

Quotation(N)

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N)

INSURANCE Company Name

No of Deals

2,000 1,994,172 9,856,000 2,000 1,366,284 53,513 49,999 212,500 252,000 15,556 50,000 705,910 12,000 12,531,053 795,027 120,406 2,592,400 3,042,850 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 509,700 17,000 34,188,370

1,000.00 1,374,187.74 10,027,290.00 1,000.00 3,783,410.90 26,756.50 25,039.50 312,750.00 126,000.00 7,778.00 25,000.00 352,957.00 6,000.00 6,500,345.74 424,085.30 205,586.14 1,296,200.00 1,521,665.00 1,000.00 1,000.00 1,000.00 1,000.00 254,850.00 8,670.00 26,284,571.82

No of Deals 4 4

Quotation(N) 0.95

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 115,000 109,250.00 115,000 109,250.00

Quotation(N) 1.05

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 6,157,945 6,241,720.68 6,157,945 6,241,720.68

Quotation(N) 0.51 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 217,000 110,670.00 2,500 1,250.00 219,500 111,920.00

MARITIME Company Name JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 100 100

Company Name AFROMEDIA PLC DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 6 2 8

MEDIA

MORTGAGE COMPANIES Company Name ABBEY BUILDING SOCIETY PLC ASO SAVINGS AND LOAND PLC RESORT SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1 2 6 10

Quotation(N) 1.38 0.50 0.50 0.53

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 500 715.00 500 250.00 1,420 710.00 105,515 55,367.80 107,935 57,042.80

OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Quantity Traded Value 14,643 1,690,274 55,332 3,069,094 117,710 930,220 1,000 122,450 40,570 34,234 31,500 700 6,107,727

HEALTHCARE Company Name EKOCORP PLC EVANS MEDICALPLC. FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXOSMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. PHARMA-DEKO PLC UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC Sector Totals

0.50 0.69 1.10 0.50 2.77 0.50 0.50 1.44 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.53 0.54 1.67 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.53

LEASING Company Name C&I LEASING PLC Sector Totals

FOOD/BEVERAGES & TOBACCO Company Name 7-UP BOTTLING CO. PLC CADBURY NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIGERIA PLC HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC NATIONAL SALT COMPANY NIGERIA PLC NIGERIAN BOTTLING COMPANY PLC NESTLE NIGERIA PLC TANTALIZERS PLC UTC NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

.We have been in discussion with NDIC so that investors who subscribed to the offer would have their funds back.

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 29-07-11 of Shares (N) 9,311,942.48 2,915,368.02 28,322,847.40 32,433,149.48 72,983,307.38

CHEMICAL & PAINTS Company Name BERGER PAINTS NIGERIA PLC CHEMICAL AND ALLIED PRODUCTS PLC DN MEYER PLC PAINTS AND COATINGS MANUFACTURES PLC PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

plication to the SEC for approval before allotment of its shares to the investors that subscribed for the shares, and it was while the process was in progress that the insolvency of the bank was announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which subsequently led to the bank’s liquidation.

She noted that in order to recover investors’ money in the bank, SEC had waded in immediately the announce-

ment was made by the CBN by getting in touch with the receiving banks, but was frustrated in the process as the issuing bank itself was a major receiving bank in the offer.

“We have been in discussion with NDIC so that investors who subscribed to the offer would have their funds back, however the discussion is still ongoing.

SEC is working seriously in trying to resolve that problem. It is an issue we need to resolve and we are going to resolve it,” Ekinne said.

Prior to the explanation and assurance by the SEC, River State Director of Commerce, Mr Nelson Dagogo Brown had questioned the capacity of the market regulators to protect investors from the swindlers in the market, when companies that are used to defraud investors are usually certified by the regulators.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE

BUILDING MATERIALS Company Name ASHAKA CEMENT PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTHERN NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC Sector Totals

Tonia Osundolire

Company Name CRUSADER NIGERIA PLC. DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT AND TRUST PLC ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 2 9 14

Quotation(N) 0.50 2.02 0.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 485,000 242,500.00 1,395,250 2,818,405.00 186,638 93,319.00 2,066,888 3,154,224.00

Quotation(N) 2.35

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 4,925,309 11,535,317.28 4,925,309 11,535,317.28

PACKAGING Company Name NIGERIAN BAG MANUFACTURING COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 77 77

PETROLEUM(MARKETING) Company Name BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC CONOIL PLC ETERNA OIL & GAS PLC. FORTE OIL PLC MOBIL OIL NIGERIA PLC. OANDO PLC TOTAL NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 13 17 20 5 21 123 12 212

Quotation(N) 0.50 67.22 36.01 4.08 19.28 157.50 40.50 195.50

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 20,000 10,000.00 4,457 290,730.05 24,868 858,448.62 176,250 683,850.00 3,000 57,840.00 94,042 14,930,326.40 939,897 38,240,386.51 39,931 7,971,825.20 1,302,445 63,043,406.78

PRINTING & PUBLISHING Company Name LONGMAN NIGERIA PLC UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 10 13

Quotation(N) 5.35 4.70

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2,101 11,240.35 64,779 289,570.13 66,880 300,810.48

Quotation(N) 18.41

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 52,422 937,810.60 52,422 937,810.60

Quotation(N) 0.59

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 310,239 183,041.01 310,239 183,041.01

REAL ESTATE Company Name UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 17 17 TEXTILES

Company Name UNITED NIGERIA TEXTILES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 4 4

THE FOREIGN LISTINGS Company Name ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED Sector Totals Overall Totals

No of Deals 16 16

Quotation(N) 14.98

Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 288,509 4,304,341.18 288,509 4,304,341.18

5,313

270,572,187

1,846,297,378.54