July 3, 2014

Newspaper of the Year

Tinubu: PDP, Obanikoro, aiding Boko Haram NEWS Page 4

QUARTER FINALS FIXTURES Friday 4th July Saturday 5th July •France vs Germany 5pm •Argentina vs Belgium 5pm •Brazil vs Colombia 9pm •Netherlands vs Cost Rica 9pm

•‘Explain why Chibok girls remain in captivity’ •Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

VOL. 9, NO. 2896 THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

35% levy on imported vehicles to wait till Jan.

EHICLE importers are set to breathe a sigh of relief – the Federal Government has shifted the implementation of the 35 per cent levy on vehicles till January

The levy regime, a key component of the new automotive policy, would have begun on Tuesday.

Minister of Trade and Investment Dr. Olusegun Aganga briefed the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its weekly Continued on page 4

•Dr. Aganga

N150.00

•The problem with Omisore, by lawmaker •Labour candidate promises industries •We’ll conduct local govt election, says SDP

• AND MORE ON PAGE 8

House okays 42.5mpa cement grade

A

By Oluwakemi Dauda and Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

V

•www.thenationonlineng.net

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

OSUN 2014

1.

•Keshi: NFF plotted against me •Minister wants coach to stay •No sanction for Matuidi PAGES 24&49

DVOCATES of an unregulated cement market lost a major battle yesterday, with lawmakers recommending the 42.5mpa grade cement for construction.

The House of Representatives said it adopted the 42.5mpa grade because there is no building code and 90 per cent of construction is under-

From Victor Oluwasegun, Abuja

taken by non-professionals.

“It will serve the national interest better to adopt a particular cement grade, which is less susceptible to misapplication as the standard cement in the country,” the lawmakers said, adding that “most stakeholders will prefer it, if given the chance to

choose between 32.5mpa and 42.5mpa”.

The recommendation followed the adoption of the report of the Hon. Yakubu Dogara-led Ad-hoc Committee on Composition and Pigmentation of Cement (Cement Quality), which investigated the incidence of collapsed buildings.

•Details on page 55

•INSIDE: DOCTORS’ STRIKE PAINS GROW P5 ABUJA AIRPORT RUNWAY SHUT P11

2015: Jonathan’s men open bid near Chibok protesters President gets set to say ‘I’m running again’

S

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

OME customised vehicles and giant electronic billboards mounted on wheels appeared yesterday in a strategic part of Abuja – the seat of power.

Engraved on the boards are President Goodluck Jonathan’s achievements and his photograph as well as Vice President Namadi Sambo’s — beaming.

The customised vehicles and electronic boards appeared at the Unity Fountain where the BringBackOurGirls campaigners were meeting in solidarity with the abducted Chibok girls. Over 200 girls were snatched off their dormitory by Boko Haram on April 15 in Chibok, Borno State. They are yet to be found — 80 days after.

The boards and the vehicles were rolled out by a group, GEJITES (Goodluck Ebelo Jonathanites). It is, The Nation learnt, all in preparation for Dr. Jonathan’s announcement of his plan to run again.

The new volunteer group is similar to

?

Neighbour2Neigbour, one of the organisations that led the President’s campaign in 2011.

The edges of the Unity WHERE ARE Fountain were littered with THE CHIBOK the “expensive” boards — apparently to cast a shadow GIRLS KIDNAPPED on the protest.

ON APRIL 15?

Continued on page 4

•TW O CAMP AIGNS TWO CAMPAIGNS AIGNS,, ONE VENUE: Former Minister of Education Oby Ezekwesili (third left) and former Chief Justice Mohammed Uwais’ wife Mariam and others during a press briefing on the 80 days of abduction of the Chibok girls in Abuja...yesterday.

Left: The vehicle and the billboards mounted by the pro-Jonathan campaigners near the Chibok girls protesters ...yesterday.

PHOTOS: ABAYOMI FAYESE

•ARISEKOLA’S WIDOW DIES IN ROAD CRASH P7 •SHEKARAU, ADEYEYE, OTHERS CLEARED P6

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

2

NEWS

When doctors fig

• Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun (middle), Commissioner for Agriculture Mrs. Ronke Sokefun (left) with representatives of Marditech Corporation, Malaysia, Faizal Ramli, Head, Technology Commercialisation Unit (2nd left), Mohd Khairol Ariff the Economist, (2nd right) and Abdul Rahman Haro, the Agronomist (right) during a visit to the Governor's Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta ...yesterday.

Today marks the third day of the doctors’ strike over a 24-point demand. The strike has pitched doctors against the Federal Government and other professionals in the sector who see them as overbearing.

OYEYEMI GBENGAMUSTAPHA and WALE ADEPOJU examine the issues at stake.

T

•From left: Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, Executive Vice-Chairman, Proton Energy - Mr. Oti Ikomi, General Manager, Siemens - Mr. Nasir Giwa and Partner, Paul Usoro & Co - Ms Tola Ibironke at a meeting on the development of a 500MW Power Plant in Asaba.

•From left: MD/CEO, Dufil Prima Food Plc,Mr Deepak Singhal(3rd left) , One-Day Lagos Deputy Governor,Miss Azeez Blesing (4th left),One-Day Governor, Master Edun Olabanji of Army Children Secondary School,Onigbongbo (4th right)and the PR/Event Manager Dufil Prima Food, Mr Tope Asiwaju(3rd right) when Olabanji and his deputy visited Dufil’s head office in Lagos.

•From left: Prof. K Bhaskar Readdy of the Sri Venkateswara College, India; Mr.Ajetak Singh of the Sharda Univeristy, India; Director, Training, Edusoft Associates, Mr Varrier Devesh and Mr. Vijay Anand of the SRM University, India at the two-day universities expo organised by Edusoft Associates in Lagos.

HE hallways, in the last two days, have seen less feet walking through them into the wards. The Accident and Emergency (A and E) units are shut. The Paediatric Ward, Out-Patient Department (OPD) and Oncology Unit are deserted. In droves, relatives have come to take their patients away from government hospitals, either to private hospitals or traditional healers.

Nurses are trying their best to mitigate the situation. But dog is dog and man is man. So, many do not trust them enough to care for their sick relations.

From Lagos to Abuja and every nook and cranny of the country, the strike is biting. The best way to put the situation is this: there is fire on the mountain. Ask Pa and Ma Taiwo Igbalode who are Septuagenarians and retirees. As senior citizens, they attend the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja for their routine medical checkups.

While Pa Igbalode was contending with arthritis, his wife has some complaints about her teeth. They were on their way to LASUTH, when they were informed that doctors have declared an indefinite strike. They could not understand why doctors are on strike. While Ma Igbalode ponders on next course of action, she stayed back at home, in pains, awaiting the doctors to call off the strike. At the same time, her husband wonders why a state-employed medics also embarked on the strike like their federal colleagues.

What the doctors want The doctors' grievances are 24. Kay among them are: the appointment of four Deputy Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (DCMAC) for teaching hospitals and three for the Federal Medical Centres; grade level 12 (CONMESS 2) in the health sector must be skipped for medical doctors; the title consultant must only be used by doctors in the health sector; immediate implementation of the January 3 circular; immediate adjustment of the doctors' salary to maintain the relativity; the passage of the National Health Bill (NHB); immediate appointment of Surgeon General of the Federation; the entry point of the House Officer should be corrected to CONMESS 1 step 4; Clinical duty allowance for Honorary Consultants should be increased by 90 per cent of CONMESS ; hazard allowance must be at least N100, 000 per month for doctors; immediate release of the circular on rural posting, teaching and other allowances which must include house officers; and others (See box).

The Chairman of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Dr. Roger Makanjuola, believes the action of the doctors is unethical. , like other professionals in the health sec-

•Patients waiting at the outpatients department of the General Hospital, Igando…on Tuesday

tor, has pooh-poohed most, if not all of these demands.

For example, the doctors demand that laboratory technicians should not regulate some of the kits they use. But the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a circular authorising the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigerian (MLSCN) to approve licences for the importation of in-vitro diagnostics (IVDS). The law mandates the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria to ensure that fake and substandard in-vitro diagnostics are eliminated from the healthcare sector.

Sections 4e and 19d of the Medical laboratory Science Council law Act 11, 2003 (Cap M25, LFN 2014) specifically mandates the Council to regulate the production, importation, sales and stocking of diagnostic reagents and chemicals and make rules for the maintenance of good standard of medical laboratory practice and services with respect to regulation and control of private practice including statutory inspection, approval and monitoring of all medical laboratories including those adjoined to clinics, private and public health institutions.

What laboratory scientists think The National President, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Dr. Godswill Okara, said he really wonders what the NMA is out to achieve in its "baseless outburst and attack on the CBN for doing her official duties. Rather than castigating the apex bank, NMA should actually be commending the CBN for its foresight and publicspiritedness in aligning itself with the legitimate efforts of the MLSCN to bequeath to our citizens a medical laboratory service sector that is driven by quality in-vitro diagnostics. Nigerians deserve no less."

Okara went on: "CBN is a responsible and pivotal national institution that will not just wake up and issue circulars without recourse to the law or proper understanding of the framework, implementation and other parameters and ramifications of a project before issuing a supportive circular. The CBN circular, unlike the chauvinistic undertones of everything done by the NMA, is not about the MLSCN or any other professional group, but about the citizens of this country who spend a whopping sum of $1.7 billion annually seeking quality diagnosis and treatment abroad and who have continued to clamor for reliable medical diagnosis.

"If the NMA leadership had bothered to first seek knowledge before needlessly upbraiding a more patriotic organisation such as the CBN, it would have been better educated about the background to the CBN cir-

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

3

rs fight govt, health worker, patients suffer

‘

If any doctor goes on strike and it is reported to the Council, we will investigate and if found culpable, sanctions would be imposed. It is also expected that hospitals' managements would want to take advantage of this directive

‘

•Jonathan

The 24 commandments, according to doctors

T

HE post of Deputy Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (DCMAC) has been circularised and operational. Rather than abolish it, the NMA hereby demands that four (4) DCMACs for teaching hospitals and three (3) for the Federal Medical Centres be appointed forthwith to assist the CMACs whose statutory responsibilities are too heavy for any single individual to handle. Directors in other government agencies are supported by several Deputy Directors, why not the CMAC who is also a Director? Such a DCMAC must have same qualifications as the CMAC. 2. The NMA is opposed to the appointment of Directors in the Hospitals. This position distorts the chain of command in the hospital, induces anarchy and exposes the patient to conflicting treatment and management directives with attendant negative consequences.

3. The NMA demands that grade level 12 (CONMESS 2) in the health sector MUST be SKIPPED for medical doctors. Consequently no medical/dental practitioners should be on that grade level anymore.

4. The title “CONSULTANT” in a hospital setting describes the relationship between the Specialist Medical Doctor and his patient. It will be a source of confusion if the title is applied to any other health worker who statutorily does not own patient. NMA, therefore, declares with unmitigated emphasis that if “non-doctor consultants” are appointed, it will lead to chaos and anarchy in the health sector. This should not happen.

5. Relativity in health sector is sacrosanct. The cular. For the records, Mr. President, His Excellency, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, pursuant to his Transformation Agenda in the health sector, commissioned the MLSCN Public Health In-Vitro Diagnostics Control Laboratory in Lagos on September 5, 2013. The quality assurance facility is the first of its kind in the entire West African sub-region."

Pharmacists’ position The National President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Olumide Akintayo, said the NMA and its hierarchy should familiarise with global best practices, especially as preached in the World Medical Association ethics manuals.

He urged government to keep faith with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and agreements at its recent parley of June 5, 2014, "which the NMA is apparently reacting to.

We insist that government has only restored relativity in the CONHESS and CONMESS scale in perfect tandem with the 2009 collective bargaining agreements by adjusting equivalent scales on the CONHESS scale like it was done with the CONMESS scale on January 2, 2014. Any insinuation that suggests a violation in the light

NMA hereby demands for immediate implementation of the January 3rd, 2014 circular. The NMA also demands the immediate payment of the arrears of the corrected relativity for 22 years during which her members were short changed.

Much as we are not against salary increase for any category of workers, either in health or elsewhere, the NMA demands for immediate adjustment of the doctors’ salary to maintain the relativity as agreed and documented once CONHESS is adjusted.

6. That Government should expedite the passage of the National Health Bill (NHB), and extend Universal Health Coverage to cover 100% of Nigerians and not 30% as currently prescribed by National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

7. Surgeon General of the Federation MUST be appointed with immediate effect.

8. The entry point of the House Officer should be corrected to CONMESS 1 step 4 as originally contained in MSS/MSSS while the Registrar/ Medical Officer is moved to CONMESS 3 step 3.

9. Clinical duty allowance for Honorary Consultants should be increased by 90% of CONMESS 10. Adjust the specialist allowance as contained in the 2009 collective bargaining agreement. Additionally, ALL doctors on CONMESS 3 and above MUST be paid specialist allowance or its equivalent that is not less than 50% higher than what is paid to other health work-

of this development is a misnomer which we shall resist and refuse to condone.

But Lagos NMA chairman Dr Francis Faduyile said the Federal Government must address the 24-count demands of the striking doctors.

Faduyile said: "The government is making things difficult and complicating issues with its decisions. The definition of a 'consultant' in medical profession is different to what they called consultant. A consultant in a hospital setting acts as a bond between a doctor and his patient. If anything happens to the patient, it is the consultant who takes responsibility because he supervises the treatment of the patient as such assume full responsibility. So, how would their kind of consultant which they were agitationg improve the lives of the patients? It will only create chaos in the sector."

Former NMA chairman, Lagos State branch, Prof Edamisan Temiye said the cause of the strike is the deliberate violation of lay down ethnics and ethos in medical practice by the Federal Government and the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU).

He said: "Among the JOHESU are

ers.

11. Hazard allowance MUST be at least N100, 000 per month for Medical Doctors.

12. Immediate release of the circular on rural posting, teaching and other allowances which MUST include house officers.

13. Immediate withdrawal of the CBN circular authorizing the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) to approve licenses for the importation of In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVDs).

14. Immediate Release of Circular on retirement age for Medical Doctors as agreed with the Federal Government (FG) 15. The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Health should formalise and implement the report of the interagency committee on residency training as well as release the uniform template on appointment of Resident Doctors in line with earlier agreements.

Moreover, a concrete Funding framework for residency training must be established. The Overseas clinical attachment must be fully restored and properly funded in the interest of the nation.

16. That in the interest of harmony in Federal Medical Centre, Owerri the government should pay the salaries of our members in the centre as agreed on 21st October, 2013.

17. Immediate concrete steps must be put in place for the reintegration of our members back into the IPPIS platform.

18. All attempts to coerce house officers not to join NARD must stop.

accountants and cleaners who because they work in the health sector said they are health workers. But they have no direct thing to do with the patients. They are fighting against the doctors to upstage the medical and dental doctors from their position in the sector to the detriment of the doctors and the patients."

History of doctors' strike Temiye said: "At independence, say up to 1975 the doctors didn't go on strike because the British system was adopted. The doctors were placed where they truly belong; so, there was no reason for them to go on strike. But Udoji Commission came and merged everybody into the usual civil service system. This distorted the system till today. And as it has affected the system; it never worked again.

He said the Udoji Commission destroyed a system that has been working for the sector adding that at that point strikes started. He explained further that doctors were moved to civil service like other workers and as such were demoted.

"But they were still expected to work for 24 hours; then they said fine if the government moved us to that

19. The orchestrated intimidation, harassment and physical assault of our members in departments of Pathology (Laboratory Medicine) by Laboratory Scientists which is being tolerated by the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) must stop.

20. The Endless circle of incomplete salary payment to our members in many hospitals in the name of shortfalls in personnel cost must stop.

21. Universal applicability of all establishment circulars on the remuneration and conditions of service for doctors at all levels of Government must be guaranteed.

22. Government should as a matter of urgency set up a health trust fund that will enhance the upgrading of all hospitals in Nigeria.

23. The position of Chief Medical Director/ Medical Director must continue to be occupied by a Medical Doctor as contained in the Act establishing the tertiary Hospitals. This position remains sacrosanct and untouchable.

24. The NMA henceforth shall not accept the continued violation of any of the terms of the 2009 Collective Bargaining Agreement. This is exemplified by the payment of Medical Physicists and Optometrists with OD (who are on CONHESS) call duty allowance using the CONMESS Circular. Similarly, the phrase “Ministries, Departments and Agencies” (MDA) in the said agreement should replace “Federal Ministry of Health and other Federal Health Institutions” as contained in the 2009 CONMESS Circular.

level then we work for only eight hours like other workers. That was the first strike that occurred. It was a 'work to rule'.

"This strike was on and doctors were disgraced from their place of work. They were also expelled from their quarters. That happened during the Gowon Administration," he said.

He went on: "Another crisis occurred which involved the NMA and the government in 1984 during the Buhari/Idiagbon regime, they were the one who actually caused the distortion. In dealing with that, they removed the head of all the hospitals.

They were the provosts of the teaching hospitals, college of medicines, because each teaching hospital bore the names of the hospitals they served."

Medical Council threatens fire The Chairman of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Dr. Roger Makanjuola, believes the action of the doctors is unethical.

He said: "It is unethical for doctors to go on strike. Practitioners must respect the provisions of the Code of Medical Ethics in Nigeria as prescribed by the MDCN. Medical doctors and dentists can no longer em-

bark on industrial actions in Nigeria.

It is only in extreme cases that doctors would hence forth be allowed to embark on strike.

"Notwithstanding, even in such extreme cases, certain measures must be put in place before doctors can abandon their duty posts. When such industrial actions occur, the care of our patients is protected. The Code stipulates that no patient can be abandoned in the midst of his or her treatment. A striking doctor must make arrangements to hand over the continued care of his patients before he leaves his post. Also, provision must be made for the continued provision of services for accident and emergencies and the care of those with serious illnesses and lifethreatening conditions."

Dr Makanjuola added: "If any doctor goes on strike and it is reported to the Council, we will investigate and if found culpable, sanctions would be imposed. It is also expected that hospitals' managements would want to take advantage of this directive. It could be challenging really, this is because, if the doctors have o tool to work with, coupled with an environment unsuitable for job, naturally they would explore all options first, then if everything fails to achieve redress, then the last option would be to down tool."

4

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

NEWS Obanikoro, PDP aiding Boko Haram, says Tinubu

N

ATIONAL leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has accused Minister of State for Defence Musiliu Obanikoro and the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) of aiding Boko Haram.

In a statement last night by his Special Adviser on Media Sunday Dare, Tinubu said: “the PDP government should step forward and explain to Nigerians why the over 200 girls kidnapped in Chibok are yet to be rescued. They should ex-

plain why the Boko Haram insurgency continues unabated despite billions of naira that is being voted for security.

“The defence budget to fight Boko Haram and terrorism has become a conduit pipe for the ruling party PDP just as the likes of Obanikoro continue to use Boko Haram as a tool of blackmail against the opposition. This time , just like it failed in the past, it will not stick. It will not stand. It is the PDP-led government in Continued on page 70

Chibok: Lack of result from govt’s action worries us, says Ezekwesili

•Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola (right) receiving an Award as the Most Innovative Governor Supporting Education in Nigeria from Initiator, Dream up; Speak up & Stand up Project/International Ambassador on Child Education Development, Miss Zuriel Oduwole (middle) and her Mother, Mrs Patricia Oduwole, at the Government House Banquet Hall, Osogbo...yesterday.

Jonathan’s men open 2015 bid near Chibok protesters Continued from page 1

Many condemned the proJonathan campaign as “insensitive”.

It was gathered that the GEJITES platform will be used to rally Nigerians for Jonathan, who is likely o announce his political future this month of next month.

A highly-placed source said: “I think the organisation is one of the pulse-feeling mechanisms put in place by Jonathan’s strategists.

“They want to see how far they can go with the volunteer group before the President makes a declaration to run for second term in office.”

Consultations are on and a committee headed by Vice President Namadi Sambo is working round the clock, a source said yesterday.

“You should appreciate that the President and his team have to be strategic on the timing. The truth is that the desire for second term is taken for granted. The President is also bidding his time.

“I think every other thing

•Dr. Jonathan

being equal, the President may declare either later this month or next month to lay all speculations to rest. This is the most practicable period because there will be primaries in October.”

On the formation of Gejites, the source said: “It is a volunteer group and non-governmental organisation. It has nothing to do with the Presidency or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“You should go to the vol-

unteers to tell you why they believe in Jonathan’s administration.”

According to the 2015 poll guidelines released by INEC, all political parties are expected to hold primaries between October 2 and 11, 2014.

A top INEC official said: “There is no timeline for the expression of interest or declaration of intent for any office.

“This is purely internal affairs of political parties and we are not expected to dabble in this.”

But the Gejites Volunteer group, which released its mission statement yesterday, said it was only taking after Chavistas and Obama Volunteers.

The mission statement said: “We are a volunteer organisation set out to popularise the work and activities of government under President Gooodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ), thus our derived name Gejites.

“The philosophy and ideas behind Gejites is mirrored after the Chavistas, the highly successful campaign by the former President of Venezue-

la, Hugo Chavez and the victorious Obama Volunteers.

“The brain behind the Gejites volunteers is Chief Anthony Tosan Prest, a scion of the late Chief Arthur Prest, Nigeria’s first Federal Minister of Communications and one-time Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Court Of Saint James.”

Some of the inscriptions on the wheel boards are “Goodluck Sambo” , “Goodluck Ebelo Jonathan will be the best loved President of Nigeria ever,” “Volunteer to be a GEJITE”, “Our administration has successfully rehabilitated and reopened the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation depot at Aba. The depot was closed for over 10 years,” “and Kaduna Refinery rehabilitated after 15 years.”

Others are “No more police checkpoints all over the country,” “No more harassment from these checkpoints and blatant bribery by these officers,” and “We’ve commenced the implementation of the National Industrial Revolution Plan(NIRP).

L

ACK of result from the government’s efforts to rescue the Chibok girls is worrisome, former Minister of Education Dr. Oby Ezekwesili said yesterday.

She said since the Chibok girls are alive, it is important that every effort towards their rescue should be seen not to have been ignored by the government.

Dr. Ezekwesili added that without doubt, some efforts were being made, but efforts need to deliver results.

She said the #BringBack-

meeting on the policy. He also explained it during his interaction with reporters at the State House.

Aganga’s aides would not confirm the extension of the levy collection when contacted last night. They said the minister planned to speak on the policy today.

But sources said the extension was as a result of intense lobby against it by various interest groups.

Government was also said to have considered the political implication of the policy which will increase car prices.

Besides, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) also reportedly advised against it at this time, because it had not been able to certify the made-in-Nigeria cars fit for use.

The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANCLA) and the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), it was gathered, directed their members

to monitor the implementation of the project.

SON, it was learnt, had called the attention of the government to the failure of the assembly plants that promised to roll out the made-in-Nigeria vehicles to approach the agency for standardisation of their products.

The agency, it was learnt, insisted that any vehicle coming out of the assembly plants must meet the Nigerian standard before the policy could be implemented.

Nigeria Customs Service, Tin-Can Island Command spokesman Chris Osunkwo confirmed the shift in date.

ANLCA National President Alhaji Olayiwola Shittu, said the shift showed that President Goodluck Jonathan has a listening ear.

Aganga said on the automotive policy yesterday: “the duty on the used cars is not 70 per cent. That is incorrect.

It is 35 per cent.

“For all those in the auto policy programme, all those assembly cars in the programme, the policy is that they would be able to import

cars to meet the gap when you look at production and the demands in the country.

They would be able to import those cars at 35 per cent, so it is not 70 per cent.

“It is only for those who are putting strain on our foreign reserves who have no intention to create jobs who want to continue to remain traders that the 70 per cent applies to and this is to discourage trading. It is to encourage local assembly and job creation and unnecessary pressure on our foreign reserves.

“So, it is an economic issue and it is very deliberate. And we don’t expect that at all because there is no point. Why would you import cars at 70 per cent while others are importing at 35 per cent ? So we do not expect to see anyone importing cars at 70 per cent.

It was just a measure to encourage people to go within the policy group.

“When you look at the blended rate of those in the auto programme for the CKDs SKD 1 and SKD 2 they bring to the country, they only pay duty of zero per

cent, five per cent and 10 per cent. So when you look at the blended rate of what they produce locally and what they import, it is just above 20 per cent. That is the policy and that is why all the manufacturers, assemblers of cars, which include some of the major distributors of cars and importers of cars before, companies like Sterling, even Cocharis, they have given an undertaken they will not increase their prices at all. Anyone who wants to buy cars from anyone of them, will find out that none of them plans to or has increased prices at all.”

Aganga added: “On our own part, because we are sensitive to price increases - that has always been part of the policy - that is why we brought this policy in place.

We will continue to monitor prices of cars every week. The policy, as it is, should not lead to any price increase, if they are being fair to Nigerian consumers that are critical to us.”

Aganga noted that Nigeria is the only country imple-

OurGirls campaigners were concerned about the inconsistency in the form of different parts of government as to what is the genuine demand from citizens for the government, to act and to act decisively in achieving the result of brining back the girls.

She spoke yesterday in Abuja, at a news conference to mark the 80th day of the abduction of the Chibok girls.

Continued on page 70

Nyako: Adamawa House directs CJ to raise panel

T

HE Adamawa State House of Assembly yesterday directed the Acting Chief Judge to, within seven days, constitute a seven-man panel to investigate the alleagtions of misconduct levelled against Governor Murtala Nyako and Deputy Governor James Ngilari.

Speaker Ahmadu Umar Fintiri announced the decision on the floor of the House after its sitting.

According to him, the decision followed the impeachment notice and alle-

35% levy on imported vehicles to wait till Jan.

Continued from page 1

From Grace Obike, Abuja

menting such a policy without banning importation of used cars.

He said: “In every country when you have an auto policy, used cars are banned.

Even when there was a meeting of the auto manufacturers last week, they pushed for banning of used cars. This government under this President bearing in mind the socio-political environment we operate today and that most people import used cars, so this government decided not to ban used cars.

“It will be the first country out of all the countries that have implemented an auto programme that has refused to ban used cars at the time of implementation because of the interest of the Nigerian people.

“The second thing which we did was to say we will emphasise and work on two things to encourage our manufacturers to prioritise the assembly of affordable cars because that is important even for them, if they are going to get the market share of the used car market.”

gations of misconduct leveled against the governor and his deputy, signed by 20 out of the 25 members of the House.

Deputy Speaker Kwamoti Laori moved the motion which was seconded by Umar Abdullkareem.

Quoting Section 188 Sub Section 3 and 4 of the Constitution, Laori said a notice of impeachment stating the allegations against the duo were sent and the constitutional 14 days had elapsed without any feedback from Continued on page 70

CORRECTION

This is the photograph of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah. A wrong photograph was used on page 31 yesterday.

ADVERT HOTLINES 08023006969, 08052592524

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

5

NEWS UMAR DIKKO (1936-2014)

Tambuwal mourns Dikko OUSE of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal has expressed sadness over the death of Second Republic Transport Minister, Alhaji Umaru Dikko.

In a statement yesterday in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam, the Speaker described the late Dikko as a committed democrat who rendered selfless service to his country.

Tambuwal noted that despite the seemingly negative public perception about him, Dikko remained committed

H

•Police officers and other residents at the scene of Tuesday night’s bomb blast at Asikolaiye area of Nnamdi Azikwe Bye-pass in Kaduna...yesterday. The photograph on the front page of yesterday’s edition was of the bombing in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, and not the explosion in Kaduna as it was misrepresented by some people

DOCTORS’ STRIKE (DAY TWO)

A

Patients feel pains of action

CTIVITIES at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) and their General Hospitals, both in Calabar, were at the lowest ebb yesterday.

The nationwide strike of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) affected services at both hospitals as the action entered its second day.

When our reporter visited the hospitals yesterday,

From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

nurses and other health workers were attending to patients.

But those in critical conditions were being moved to private hospitals.

“Most of the doctors have left. A few of them are still around but would not attend to anybody. Anyone who wants to get a doctor’s atten-

tion should go to a private hospital or wait till the doctors call off their strike,” a nurse, who spoke in confidence, told our reporter yesterday.

But our reporter observed that doctors in naval and police hospitals were working.

The Chairman of the state NMA Dr Callistus Enyuma said doctors in such hospitals were allowed to offer ser-

vices.

The union leader added that some serious health cases were referred to such hospitals to save lives.

But he said if their demands were not considered and “push got to shove”, the striking doctors would close down the other hospitals.

Enyuma urged the Federal Government to quickly meet the doctors’ demands to avoid unnecessary loss of lives.

Doctors abandon hospitals in Abia

A

S the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) strike entered the second day yesterday, many patients were left unattended to at Federal Government hospitals in Abia State.

The Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Umuahia, the state capital, patients begged reporter for treatment, thinking he was a doctor.

Many of the patients were writhing in pains.

One of them, Sir Fynecountry Ogbonna, said: “I came to see my doctor, ac-

From Ugochukwu UgojiEke, Umuahia

cording to the appointment he gave me three weeks ago.

Incidentally, the nurses told me that doctors are on strike.

“I’ll have to go to a chemist to buy the drugs that will keep me for another seven days, when I hope they (doctors) will be in their offices.

In fact, I don’t know what to say. Someone is sick, the doctor gives him an appointment but when he comes, they say the doctor is on strike. That is very disappointing.”

Another patient, who had surgery last Friday, was abandoned at the FMC in Umuahia.

She was said to be in pains because the surgical point had loosened and was oozing fluid to her legs.

Relatives of the patient told our reporter that they were asked to take her home, despite the freshness of the wound.

But at the Abia State Specialist and Diagnostic Hospital on Aba Road in Umuahia, house doctors were seen attending to patients.

Senior doctors and consultants were not on duty.

The situation was the same at the General Hospital in Amachara.

The state’s NMA Chairman Dr. Dan Uzoaga said the unions in the hospitals had been fighting to be at par with the doctors in the past three years.

He said: “Other medical workers have been making things difficult by asking for things that do not belong to them. And the government has been dancing to the tune they have been playing...”

Patients stranded in Anambra as NAUTH is shut

T

HE strike by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) grounded treatment yesterday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) in Nnewi, Anambra State.

Doctors in Federal medical

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

establishments started the action on Tuesday to demand the implementation of the agreement the NMA reached with the Federal Government in 2009 for improved services in the Health sector.

Several patients in the teach-

ing hospital were discharged on Tuesday at noon.

But the situation was different at the Anambra State University Teaching Hospital (ANSUTH), where the doctors were seen attending to patients.

At the Onitsha General Hospital, a patient, Mrs. Obianuju Igbo, expressed worry over the strike.

It was learnt that the doctors at the Anambra General Hospital in Awka were not part of the strike.

They were said to be nonmembers of the NMA and NARD. When our reporter visited Nnewi yesterday, the wards, including the paediatrics, medical, surgical and labour, had few patients.

Health workers’ unions condemn action

H

EALTH workers, under the aegis of the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) and the Allied Health Practitioners Association (AHPA), have condemned the nationwide strike of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and its allies.

In a statement yesterday by the President of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Mr. Olumide Akintayo, the union blamed

By Toba Agboola

the government for the doctors’ attitude and frequent strikes.

PSN said the doctors’ demands were illegal because the NMA and the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) with similar unions, were professional groups that cannot legitimately assume the responsibilities of trade unions.

The pharmacists said the NMA and the NARD could not engage the government in labour disputes.

The statement said: “The PSN puts on record once again that it is government at all levels that create undisguised incentives to the NMA and its allies to continue to serve strike notices.

“Rather than the government tackling this aberration frontally once and for all, it

continues to legitimise the illegality of these medical groups through unlawful dialogues and negotiations.

“This has strengthened successive leaderships of these groups to exploit the gaffes in the system to infringe on the rights of lawful stakeholders in Nigeria. The PSN, therefore, urges government to ignore the threats of the NMA and advise it to pursue any legitimate demand in line with due process.”

From Victor Oluwasegun, Abuja

to the ideals of good governance, peaceful co-existence and mutual respect for all persons.

“Until he died in London, Dikko believed in Nigeria and its ability to attain greatness. In his life, there are lessons for today’s politicians to learn from. He was a team player who promoted inclusiveness in decision-making.

“As we mourn his passage, may Almighty Allah give his family, friends and associates the fortitude to bear the loss,” Tambuwal said.

FEC approves N5.6b for Mangu water supply scheme HE Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday approved the reaward of the contract for the completion of Mangu Dam in Plateau State at N5.6 billion.

The Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe, addressed State House correspondents at the end of FEC meeting, presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan.

She was accompanied by Ministers of Information, Labaran Maku; Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga and Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson.

Ochekpe said the contract for the Mangu dam, which is a component of the Mangu regional water supply scheme, was first awarded in 2002 but was terminated because of the contractor’s alleged non-performance.

The scheme, the minister noted, will produce 17.2 million metric metres of water per day, generate 1.5 megawatts of electricity and be used for irrigation.

She said: “The project, upon completion, will serve about 10 communities. An estimated population of about 700,000 people will benefit from the project and it will generate employment for about 12,000 people within the catchment areas of Mangu, Gindiri, Mangu Hale, Kudunu, Vodni, Payam, Pushit, Ampier, Mangun and Lagai.

“A budgetary provision of N5.4 billion has been made available to the ministry by the President from the Hudraulic Infrastructure and National Security Fund and N100 million is appropriated for the project in the 2014 budget. The balance of N101,309,351.75 will be provided in the 2015 budget to com-

T

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

plete the project.

“After deliberation, Council approved the award of the contract in favour of Messrs Infiouest Limited for N5,601,309,351.75 with a completion period of 36 months.”

During the FEC meeting, Maku tabled a memorandum to seek the Council’s approval for the ratification of the instruments (Revised Acts) of the Pan-African Postal Union (PAPU), which is a specialised agency of the African Union (AU), charged with the regulation of postal affairs in Africa.

Mrs Johnson said: “The document, when ratified, will strengthen PAPU’s operations, commitment and, by extension, will enable other countries to transit their mails through Nigeria to other West African countries. This will translate to additional revenue for Nigeria and an improved standing in the Universal Postal Union (UPU), which will facilitate future election into strategic and important positions in the union.”

In another memorandum, the Ministry of Communication Technology sought FEC’s approval for the ratification of the decisions of the 24th Congress of the Universal Postal Union (2008).

She said: “The reason for the amendments of the UPU Acts is to enable Nigeria, as a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), to benefit from the various provisions that will strengthen our postal service to compete favourably with private operators locally and globally, increase revenue and provide better universal postal services.”

Rivers partners private sector for free treatment

T

HE Rivers State Government has partnered eight private hospitals, including the Professor Kelsey Harrison Hospital, to give free medical care to patients who registered under the Free Medical Care Programme of the state, despite the doctors’ nationwide strike.

Health Commissioner, Dr. Sampson Parker, spoke on the partnership at Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

He said the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by the state government with the private hospitals was a crisis management strategy to alleviate and ameliorate

the effects of the nationwide strike on Rivers residents.

Parker said: “The eight private hospitals involved in the (MoU) include Riverside Hospital, Harbour Road, Port Harcourt; Princess Medical Centre, TransAmadi, Prime medical Consultants, Rumuogba; Sonabel Medical Centre, Orazi and Sterling Specialist Hospital, King Jaja Street, Port Harcourt.

“Others are: Military Hospital Aba Road; First Gate Dental Centre, Harley Street, Old GRA; Atinu Critical Care and Professor Kelsey Harrison Hospital on Emenike Street in Port Harcourt...”

6

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

NEWS ‘Over 3,600 rights’ abuses recorded in 2013’

By Precious Igbonwelundu

A

GROUP, the Human Rights Agenda Network (HRAN), has alleged that Nigeria recorded over 3,600 human rights’ violations last year.

HRAN, in its 2013 situation report on human rights in the country, said cases of extra-judicial and summary executions increased while law enforcers tortured suspects.

It urged government at all levels to respect, protect and promote human rights, adding that violators should be investigated and prosecuted.

HRAN’s Steering Committee Chairman, Chino Obiagwu, recalled that in 2013, there were forced evictions of poor urban communities and widespread gender-based violence, sex crimes, most of which were unprosecuted.

He said: “Denial of educational rights with students of public universities at home for more than half of the year and those in the polytechnics at home into 2014; increased cases of corruption and apparent lack of commitment of government to punish corrupt public officials.

Senate clears Shekarau, three others for minister From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

T

HE Senate yesterday confirmed former Kano State Governor Ibrahim Shekarau as minister.

It also confirmed Dr. Abdu Bulama, Dr. Stephen Orise Oru and Prince Adedayo Adeyeye as ministers representing Yobe, Detla and Ekiti states.

President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to assign portfolios to the four men.

Answering questions from the lawmakers before his nomination was approved, Shekarau explained that his defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was not for personal interest.

On how to evolve a strong party ideology to discourage elected politicians’ incessant defection from one party to another, he said: “On ideology, I don’t want to say that comparing us with America is a little bit outrageous, but we have to be a little careful. I believe we are in a learning process. Again, with all due respect, if we had been allowed from 1960 to have gone through all the processes without the genuine intervention genuine in quote - I am sure we would have had some inconsistencies in the polity.

“The issue of changing from one place to the other - I am not a student of history but if you read the history of the Americans too, they did so badly worse than what we are doing now, when you take them to where we are today where they were then. They did worse...”

Adeyeye called for the retention and strengthening of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) to make it a more effective vehicle for national integration.

He said the scheme has contributed to Nigeria’s unity.

Senate President David Mark urged the new ministers to make the country their constituency, irrespective of their states and political parties.

Fani-Kayode lied about our comments on Boko Haram proscription, APC insists

T

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) has insisted that former Aviation Minister Femi FaniKayode, not only lied to reach a prepossessed conclusion on the party’s comments on the Federal Government’s proscription of Boko Haram.

In a statement yesterday in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said Fani-Kayode’s emotional response to an earlier statement by the party failed to wash off the thick mud he splashed on himself when he repudiated everything he ever said he stood for and made himself available to be used to castigate the opposition.

It said, however, that in the true spirit of the party’s belief in dwelling on issues rather than pettiness, it had decided not to engage Fani-Kayode in brickbats but to simply set the record straight.

APC said the action was meant to expose Fani-Kayode for who he truly is: “a Janusfaced, brassy personality who stands for nothing and will fall for anything”.

The statement said: “On June 9, 2013, the ACN issued a statement in which it said in the opening paragraph: ‘The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has said that the recent proscription order against Boko Haram and Ansaru, desirable as it may be in tackling

By Olamilekan Andu

the terrorist organisations, violates the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by stifling the press and tampering with the fundamental human rights of Nigerians.’

“Any person, especially one who supposedly had the benefit of a sound education, who interprets this statement as a condemnation of the proscription itself is either acting out of deliberate mischief or has failed to take advantage of his good education, perhaps in a desperation to escape justice at all cost.

“What the statement means is that in as much as the Federal Government may have done a desirable thing in proscribing the terrorist groups, a section of the proscription Order violates the constitution by stifling the press and tampering with the fundamental human rights of Nigerians.

“We then quoted that offensive section of the Proscription Order as Section 5 (1), which prescribes a term of imprisonment of not less than 20 years ‘for any person who knowingly, in any manner, directly or indirectly, solicits or renders support for the commission of an act of terrorism or to a terrorist group’.

“We said: ‘Support, as defined by the Order, includes “incitement to commit a terrorist act through the Internet,

or any electronic means OR THROUGH THE USE OF PRINTED MATERIALS OR THROUGH THE DISSEMINATION OF TERRORIST INFORMATION” (emphasis ours). We said this section is in conflict with Chapter II Section 22 of the Nigeria constitution, which says: ‘The press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media, shall AT ALL TIMES BE FREE (emphasis ours) to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this chapter and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people.’

“We said by stifling the press, the Order is abridging a part of the fundamental human rights guaranteed every citizen under Chapter Four of the Nigerian Constitution in Section 39 (1), which states thus: ‘Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information WITHOUT INTERFERENCE?’ (emphasis ours), and warned that this section could be used against journalists and the opposition,” APC said.

In order not to be misunderstood or to have our stand distorted by mischief makers seeking to feather their own nest at the expense of the truth, we then said: “Against the background of insinuations in government circles, let us be clear that we do not condone the activities of these sects that

have killed and maimed innocent Nigerians and turned a section of the country into a battle field.

“Terrorism, in all its ramifications, is condemnable, and no responsible government will allow any group, no matter its name, grievances or ideology, to carry out terrorist acts unchecked.”

The party said its intervention was deemed sufficiently weighty enough to warrant instant clarifications from the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

It quoted a Presidency’s statement as saying: “For the avoidance of doubt, the Order is not meant to stop journalists from carrying out their duties or the function of news gathering or reporting, as they differ from terrorist activities.

Rather, the Order is out to criminalise acts of incitement by anyone, group of persons or institutions to commit terrorist acts through dissemination of terrorist information.”

APC also quoted the PDP’s statement: “For the avoidance of doubt, no section of the Order stifled the press; violated or seeks to violate any provision of the constitution. Instead, the Order reinforced the provisions of the constitution guaranteeing the security and welfare of all Nigerians.”

The party said it was baffling that “anyone would still take this statement to

mean that APC is against the proscription of Boko Haram”.

It said Fani-Kayode’s attempt to back away from his earlier statement that Boko Haram is the armed wing of the APC would not excuse him from tendering whatever evidence he has to support his irresponsible, malicious and libellous claim in court.

“In line with his shifty and deceitful style, Mr. FaniKayode, in his rambling response, tried to tone down his earlier statement by saying: ‘I believe strongly that the APC comprises at least a handful of Boko Haram sympathisers and questionable individuals who have, at various times, expressed a certain degree of support for Boko Haram.’

“But our response to this toned-down version of what he said on television is that it is too late in the day for him to back away from his earlier statement, for which he must apologise or face a court action,” it said.

APC reminded FaniKayode, “who prides himself as a man of good breeding”, that there is no better indication of good breeding than for a man to have integrity and principles that cannot be mortgaged, even with the dangling of a dangerous carrot that could pervert the course of justice to his benefit.”

Stakeholders reject bill to streamline funds from donor From Victor Oluwasegun, Abuja

T

•Pic.15. From Left: Ministerial Nominees, Dr Abdul Bulama; Prince Adedayo Adeyeye; Alhaji Ibrahim Shekarau; and Dr Steve PHOTO: NAN Oru, before their screening by the Senate in Abuja...yesterday.

O

EFCC probes three firms for N892m fertiliser ‘scam’

PERATIVES of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are set to uncover a suspected fertiliser racketeering in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.

A source in the anti-graft agency said three agro-allied companies, one of them owned by a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Borno State, were allegedly found in the scam.

The companies, it was learnt, obtained a N892 million loans from banks to buy fertiliser from the ministry at highly subsidised prices.

One of them obtained N353 million. The other two got N308 million and N231

By Segun Ajiboye

million.

The source alleged that the fertiliser was diverted to Cameroon, where it was sold at exorbitant prices, denying local farmer access to the commodity.

“These people got the fertiliser from the ministry at highly-subsidised price, with the promise that the product would be sold to local farmers. But the fertiliser was diverted to Cameroon where it was sold at huge prices.

“The sad aspect of the case is that these people have also

refused to pay back the loans they obtained from the banks. Rather than respond to efforts by the banks to recover their money, they’ve been going round town, telling everybody that they are above the law,” the source said.

Another source in the EFCC told The Nation that the lid was blown open when the banks petitioned the commission after their unsuccessful attempt to recover the loans.

It was learnt that EFFC’s efforts to get to the root of the scam was being hampered by bureaucracy.

“We have done everything possible to invite two permanent secretaries from the Agriculture Ministry.

They are the ones that can throw more light on how this racket operates. But the ministry’s top guns are refusing the commission access to them. It is indeed very frustrating,” the source said.

In a telephone chat with our reporter, EFCC spokesman Wilson Uwujaren said he was not aware of the case.

But he said there were several similar cases with the commission.

He said: “I am not aware of the case you just mentioned and I have not been notified of such petition.”

HE House of Representatives’ move to streamline the collection/ utilisation of grants and donations from foreign donors was rejected by stakeholders yesterday.

The stakeholders, including the National Planning Commission and Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room - a coalition of about 100 civil society and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) - faulted the bill.

Their grouse about the legislation was made at a public hearing on: “A bill for an act to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of financial/material contribution of donor agencies to Voluntary Organisation and for matters connected therewith.”

The public hearing was organised by the House Committee on Civil Society and Donor Agencies, headed

by Ini Udoka (PDP, Akwa Ibom) The bill states, among other requirements, as follows: “No voluntary organisation shall accept any foreign financial/material contribution except with the permission of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).”

Clem Nwankwo, PLAC’s executive director said the stakeholders were rejecting the bill because it “proceeds from an exceedingly faulty basis and should have been titled: Foreign Contributions (Prohibition) Bill”.

7

THE NATION THURSDAY JULY 3, 2014

NEWS

Advice for enterpreneurs

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

T

HE Chief Executive Officer, GS 1 Nigeria, Mr. Tunde Odunlami, has urged entrepreneurs to see one another as collaborators.

Odunlami spoke to The Nation at the 40th anniversary of GS1 barcode in Lagos yesterday.

H e sa i d G S 1 N i g e r i a aims to boost standards in the industrial retail business chain and also bring entrepreneurs together.

He said: “What we have achieved globally is to bring members of businesses together with a need to serve a common entity – the consumer. We do this by removing the barrier of language and communication in trade.

“From warehouse loading docks to small retail shops, workers engaged in the global supply chain and shoppers worldwide will hear the familiar beep of the GS1 barcode as many as five billion times today. It’s likely, though, that none of them will realise that each of those beeps marks a historic milestone in the life of the first tracking and traceability solution in the GS1 System of Standards.”

The GS1 barcoding, according to Odunlami, helps consumers to trace a particular product from the shelve to the manufacturer.

The move was initiated in Nigeria by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and the National Supermarkets Operators of Nigeria with technical support from POS Shop Limited.

He said: “We are trying to bring the solution of standard to Nigerian businesses and have so far registered over 800 businesses with over 4000 global trade identification numbers issued here in the country. These will allow businesses and goods to move freely within and outside the country.”

GS1 Nigeria Solutions Architect & Manager, Industry Engagement and Training, Mr. Kunle OyeIgbemo, said barcoding would help made-in-Nigeria goods to be more acceptable worldwide.

He said empirical studies have shown that consumer markets would in the future shift to the developing world with the rate of Internet penetration around the world increasing.

The result, he said, will be a “digital consumer” whose habits will overturn traditional business models.

S

No terrorism in Osun, say security chiefs

F

EARS of terrorism in Osun State were dismissed yesterday by the Security Council.

Speaking with reporters on behalf of the council, Police Commissioner Ibrahim Maishanu said Boko Haram had not made incursion into the Southwest.

Other security chiefs at the briefing include the Director of the Department of State Security (DSS), Commandant, Nigerian Army Engineering Construction Regiment, Ede, Brig-Gen. Gbenga Adeyemo and the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Muhammed Hussein.

Maishanu said the detachment of police that went to the spot of the alleged explosion found a banger and not a deadly explosive or bomb.

The police boss said the banger went off in an area predominated by miscreants and hoodlums, who

•Fed. Govt.: Carbide caused explosion From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

used to scare people before dispossessing them of their belongings.

He said there was no threat to lives and property, adding that the state remains one of the most peaceful.

He enjoined residents to go about their lawful activities without let or hindrance.

He said:”Our attention has been drawn to screaming headlines in a section of the media, alleging bomb blast in Ile-Ife and surreptitiously mingling it with other reports of bomb blasts in Borno and Kaduna States, indicating acts of terrorism and the handiwork of Boko Haram. This is false and misleading.

“In the early hours of Tuesday, just before dawn, my command received re-

port of an explosion in IleIfe and we quickly raced to the scene with a detachment of the bomb disposal unit.

“We discovered that the explosion was caused by a big banger or knockout. No life was lost, no injury was recorded and no property was lost, beyond the scorching of the earth where it impacted. A second piece that had not gotten off was immediately detonated by my men.

“This incident occurred in an area of the city frequented by miscreants, hooligans and layabouts and they use such means to frighten their victims. We are investigating and will get to the root of the matter. The perpetrators or whoever is behind this will be brought to book.

“There is no threat to life and property and the peace

•Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (second left), Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Aliyu Mohammed Manko (second right), Director of State Security Services, Mr. Ben Achu Olayi (right) and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Culture, Mrs. Tayo Olabenjo during Fashola’s meeting with clerics and other religious leaders on the need for vigilance and security consciousness among the faithful and general citizenry in Lagos...yesterday.

Religious leaders to Lagosians: be vigilant

R

ELIGIOUS leaders in Lagos State have urged Lagosians to be security-conscious.

The religious leaders include the former Prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence Dr. Sunday Ola Makinde, National Chief Missioner of NASFAT, Alhaji Abdullahi Akinbode, the Bishop of Lagos West and Dean Emeritus of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Most Reverend Adebola Ephraim Ademowo and Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence Dr. Samuel Uche.

By Adeyinka Aderibigbe

They converged at Oyingbo Market yesterday for an outreach programme organised by the Lagos State Law Enforcement Training Institute (LETI).

The programme was organised by the Lagos State Government to stimulate seamless relationship between law enforcement agents and communities where they serve.

Most Reverend Ademowo said: “I want to urge you all to be God-fearing. If you are God-fearing, you will obey the laws. If you fear God,

you will obey the traffic rules. The governor and his deputy are leading by examples. They have been showing good examples for us.

When the red light is on, they will stop, even when they are on official duties.

“Some people when the red light is on, they still move on. Even if the vehicle in the front stops, they urged him or her to move on. They shout at him to disobey the traffic light. This is not ideal.

We are lucky in Lagos State for having a God-fearing governor, someone who will not do things at the expense

‘Vulnerable groups excluded from Ekiti election’

TATE Accountability and Voice Initiative (SAVI), the Disability Policy and Advocacy Initiative (DPAI) and the Lagos State Civil Society Partnership (LACSOP) yesterday said vulnerable people were excluded from the Ekiti State governorship election.

They said the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) failed to take steps

and tranquillity in the state. Osun is one of the most peaceful states in the country and we have one of the lowest crime rates.

There is no confusion or panic anywhere. There is no threat to public peace or threat of terrorist attack anywhere in the state.

“We want to assure all the residents in the state of their protection – the safety of their lives and property – and ask them to go about their duties without any fear whatsoever.”

Also yesterday, the Federal Government said the blast was caused by carbide as neither the ground where the explosion occurred nor the buildings within the vicinity were affected.

The Coordinator of the National Briefing Centre, Mike Omeri, who spoke on security situation across the country, said the explosion

By Uyoatta Eshiet

that would have enabled the vulnerable groups to exercise their voting rights and urged it to avoid a repeat in the Osun State governorship polls.

They cited the vulnerable groups to include the blind, the deaf and dumb, the physically challenged, the elderly and expectant and nursing

women.

The groups said polling booths were not accessible to the vulnerable groups and that electoral materials did not meet the needs of the vulnerable groups.

The Coordinator, DPAI/ LACSOP Electoral Process Engagement, Abimbola Junaid, said despite efforts of the groups to ensure these vul-

nerable people were not denied their right of choosing their leader in the Ekiti election, they could not perform their civic responsibility because of the electoral body’s failures to take care of their peculiar requirements.

Abimbola said the heavy presence of armed security operatives in the state was not in favour of the vulnerable groups.

of the people.”

Akinbode enjoined the people to always obey the traffic rules.

He said: “If you obey God and you obey the laws, it will be well with you but if you refuse, you have committed an offence at three levels. You have committed an offence against God, you have committed an offence against the state and you have committed an offence against yourself.

“In that wise, you are your own enemy. It is possible for you be your own enemy.

When we see Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) and Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) officials, we should see them as government because they are not there on their own authority, they are there to represent the government and they stand on the authority of the state government.”

Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Transport Education, Dr. Mariam Masha, urged men of God to help propagate obedience to law and order at major markets and parks.

was neither a bomb nor dynamite.

Omeri said: “There was a report of a non-lethal explosion from an object, which was investigated by security agencies at Agbedegbede Street, Ile-Ife, Osun State, the outcome of the investigation indicates that the explosion was neither a bomb nor dynamite, but carbide as neither the ground where the explosion occurred nor the building within the vicinity were affected by the explosion just as no human life was lost neither was plantain shrubs near it destroyed.”

Omeri condemned the Tuesday’s blast at Maiduguri market.

He said: “We roundly condemn Tuesday’s acts of terrorism in Maiduguri and to commend the prompt action of our security forces that rapidly secured the area in an effort to prevent further attacks on onlookers, particularly, the Fire service that displayed heroism by putting out the fire caused by the explosion, thereby preventing it from spreading into the market.

“Furthermore, Nigeria’s security forces have continued to make significant progress with active presence on the ground to combat the highly challenging and complex terrorists threats.”

He urged the public to continue supporting security agencies to end activities of insurgents.

Omeri added that members of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) have promised to continue treatment of bomb blast victims despite the on-going nationwide strike.

Arisekola-Alao’s widow dies in road crash From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

W

IFE of the late Deputy President of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (SCIA) and Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji AbdulAzeez Arisekola-Alao, Jelilat, yesterday in a road accident.

She was 63. Her remains were buried yesterday afternoon at her Apata home.

The rear tyre of her car burst and skipped off the road in Ibadan. It ended in a ditch. She was returning to Ibadan Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

After the accident, she was rushed to the hospital where she was later pronounced dead.

Until her death, the deceased was dealing in textile materials.

The sad event occurred fifteen days after the death of her husband.

The Arisekola-Alao family house was thrown into mourning all through yesterday.

Symphatisers trooped into the Oluwo Kekere Bashorun, Ibadan home of the deceased on hearing of the tragedy.

Her death coincided with preparations for the 40th day Fidau to round off the burial rite for the late philanthropist.

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

8

NEWS OSUN 2014

LP promises industrialisation

O

SUN State Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade, has promised to place a premium on industrialisation and mechanised agriculture if he wins the August election.

Akinbade, in a statement by his Director of Media, Mr. Kayode Oladeji, said the industrialisation of Osun State would lead to creation of enduring jobs for thousands of job-seekers.

He assured the people that during his tenure, the state would witness an unprecedented turnaround through industrialisation and massive agricultural development.

“We shall use industrialisation and agriculture as the planks to turn around the fortunes of our state. The economy of this state that has clearly gone down will be rejuvenated. These two major programmes will lead to the provision of infrastructural facilities in our rural and urban centres.

“On our quest to industrialise the state if given the mantle, I want to assure that I have done a thorough research on it and we already have what to take off with. There would be steady power supply for all related investors. By the grace of God, many will be surprised how we shall do

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

it.”

Akinbade promised to execute programmes that would improve the people’s living standard, adding that if voted in, he would prioritise infrastructural and rural development.

He said: “These in turn, will have multiplier effect on education, health and civil service and other sectors. This is because there will be a synergy and nexus in our programmes, which will be human-centred and peoplebased.”

The aspirant assured local entrepreneurs of support to expand their businesses to further create job opportunities for the young graduates through the private sector.

“All this will lead to the reintroduction of middle class.

Besides, our programmes will curb capital flight currently being witnessed in the state, a development that has left many living from hands to mouth,” he said.

Akinbade, who expressed optimism that he would win the August 9 governorship election, pointed out that having served in different capacities in government and party levels, he was ready for the coming assignment.

The problem with Omisore, by lawmaker

A

MEMBER of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Ipoola Omisore, has said the Osun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Otunba Iyiola Omisore, is not as bad as being painted in the public.

The lawmaker, who spoke yesterday at the weekly “Time out with the press” organised by the House of Assembly Correspondents in Alausa, Ikeja, alleged that the governorship candidate lost his bearing because of his ambition to be a governor.

Ipoola Omisore, who claimed to be an uncle to the PDP candidate, said the Omisore family had always been of the progressive genre.

By Oziegbe Okoeki

According to him, the patriarch of the family, who was his grandfather, co-founded the Egbe Omo Oduduwa in the 40s.

He said the Egbe Omo Oduduwa later transformed to Action Group.

Iyiola, he added, was also a deputy governor under the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the party’s financier.

“But because of his ambition to be governor and because he was not patient enough, he left for a conservative party.

“Omisore family is a very large family and is a political family of the progressive genre and Iyiola himself was also in the progressive camp.

But his ambition took him to the conservative camp,” he said.

The lawmaker added: “Iyiola is displaying the attributes of the political party he belongs to while I display the attributes of my party.

“He is my brother. I am not saying he cannot be governor, but he should wait and come back to his family party, the progressive party, where our father belonged. He has strayed away to a strange land.

He should come to the party where he can be governor and not a party that does not care about the people.”

On the Osun governorship election, the lawmaker said: “We know that PDP is not more popular than us in Ekiti.

There were so many lapses in that election, like the overmilitarisation of the entire process, the permanent voters card issue, which INEC skewed in favour of PDP and other tricks of Fayose and, of course, we played into their hands.

“But we have learnt our lessons. We can go to court to stop soldiers from being part of the electoral process henceforth.

In Osun, we have to block all observed loopholes.

“But Aregbesola is closer to the grassroots, he is more grassroots than Omisore. All this latter day Okada road shows cannot help him. I pray that one day, Iyiola will come to my party and I will support him to get whatever he wants.”

SDP: we ‘ll conduct local council poll

T

HE Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate in Osun State, Mr. Olusegun Akinwusi, has pledged to put in place arrangements to conduct local government election if voted as governor in the August 9 poll.

The SDP candidate spoke yesterday at an interactive session with Concerned Ijesa Forum which visited him in Osogbo, the state capital.

Akinwusi said the appointment of caretaker committees by governors was anti-democratic and against the spirit of the nation’s constitution.

He regretted that the incumbent administration of Mr. Rauf Aregbesola has failed to conduct local government elections since 2010, describing it as unfair to people at the grassroots.

“This is a bad precedence. This is democracy and not a military regime. We have not suspended our constitution, which stipulates that each local government area be administered by a local government council consisting of a chairman, who is the chief executive and other elected members who are referred to as councillors.

“Our administration will follow the law and we will restore full functions of local governments to the elected representatives of the people. We won’t foist unelected caretaker committees on the people,” he said.

The former head of Service (HOS) noted that governors who appointed caretakers committees for councils were not only denying the people the right of choice. “But they are enemies of democracy and good governance,” he added.

He promised that the SDP government would totally depart from this style while also assuring those interested in running for offices in any of the state’s 30 local governments of speedy polls.

Leaders of the group, Elder Olajide Awe, assured Akinwusi that the forum, which has members across the six Ijesa local government areas, would give him their support.

•Two of the campaign billboards of Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola on Ilesa Road damaged by suspected opposition thugs.

Oyo APC criticises FCT Minister for comment on bridge

T

HE Oyo State All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Jumoke Akinjide, to desist from playing politics with the lives and wellbeing of the people.

Its chairman, Chief Akin Oke, spoke while reacting to a statement credited to the minister on the flood situation.

Akinjide was quoted to have asked the state government to spend the Federal Government’s N400 million intervention fund on the Apete Bridge in Ibadan, which was flooded a few

•Party welcomes 500 defecting PDP members From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

days ago and reportedly took the lives of some passers-by.

But the APC chairman accused the minister of merely playing to the gallery and seeking to hoodwink the people for the purpose of gaining political advantage.

“The honourable minister was merely playing to the gallery. She is aware that the said money from the Federal Government cannot even construct the slabs on the

three bridges of Apete, which together with the road network, is costing the state government about N6 billion. It is such politicking with the lives of our people that Oyo State had been grappling with under the Peoples Democratic Party,” the APC said.

According to the party, the APC-led government was the unfortunate beneficiary of the long years of decadence of the PDP in the state.

“During the August 2011 flood that ravaged Oyo State, 26 bridges collapsed

and several roads were destroyed. The cost of reconstructing them runs into several billions. Save for the N400 million federal intervention that came when we had almost attended to the destruction the flood caused, we got no PDP or federal intervention.

“In a state that spends almost all its earnings on payment of workers, we deserve commendation and not condemnation from the minister and her allies,” the party said.

PDP members in Akinyele

Local Government area of Oyo State defected yesterday to APC. The defectors from the council’s 11 wards cited Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s equitable distribution of dividends of democracy to the people without recourse to party affiliation or religious persuasion as reasons for their decision to leave the PDP. The state’s APC Deputy Chairman, Alhaji Isiaka Alimi received the new members with the secretary, Hon Mojeed Olaoya and the Caretaker Chairman of Akinyele Local Govt, Ope Salami.

Alimi said there was a

wind of progress and development blowing across the state which required the support of all citizens to sustain.

He described the over 500 new members as partners in progress, adding that they decided to defect to the APC after seeing it as the only party that is progressive.

According to him, “the laudable achievements of Governor Abiola Ajimobi has attracted majority of the opposition party members.”

He urged members of the APC in the local government area to demonstrate love and spirit of accommodation to the new five hundred members.

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

9

NEWS RAMADAN KAREEM

Ramadan 6TH, 1435AH

•President Goodluck Jonathan (second left), breaking Ramadan fast in Abuja with Vice President Namadi Sambo (left); Head of Service Alhaji Goni Aji (second right) and People’s Democratic PHOTO: NAN Party (PDP) National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, in Abuja...yesterday

Jonathan’s aide seeks peace SENIOR Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Youths and Students Affairs Jude Imagwe yesterday urged Muslims to pray for the country against the present security challenges.

Imagwe said continuous spate of insurgency may threaten youths’ future unless urgent measures are put in place to curb the situation.

Speaking in Abuja, Imagwe urged youths to stand up with one voice to fight the menace of

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

Boko Haram.

While assuring the youths of a better tomorrow despite the challenges facing the country, Imagwe claimed that “the President is working hard to ensure Nigeria comes out of the present security challenges.

“We will continue to work with security agencies until the nation achieves its full potential of a transformed and progressive nation.”

RAMADAN GUIDE WITH FEMI ABBAS

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

I

Challenge of Tafsir

T is understandable that most of the Tafsir books available in the world today are in Arabic language. The language of the revelation of the Qur'an is Arabic. Most of the disciples of Prophet Muhammad (PBOH) who interacted closely with him and were privileged to deeply understand, through him, the interpretation of the Qur'an were Arabs.

Arabic itself is exceptionally rich linguistically and literarily. And for centuries after the revelation of the Qur'an it was mostly the Arabs who assumed authority on its interpretation. Others, like the Persians (Iranians), the Indians and the Turks who tried to compete with the Arabs in that field, could only do so in Arabic language which they first had to learn as a second language.

Thus, from the very beginning, Arabic had been the authoritative language of Tafsir. Whoever wanted to attain scholarship in the field of Tafsir ought to master Arabic. But the anomaly in that becomes very conspicuous when one remembers that over four fifth of the world's Muslims today are non-Arabic speakers.

This anomaly seems to be creating some hurdles for humanity in understanding the practical meaning of the Qur'an and in appreciating its real essence.

There is nothing like being literate in one's mother tongue. The Arabs have demonstrated this abundantly through Tafsir. But since Tafsir of the Qur'an is not meant for the Arabs alone, shouldn't there be a means of making it available to majority of Muslims in the languages understandable to them?

That is one major question which the global Muslim leadership was not able to answer for centuries but which technology has come to answer succinctly in the name of internet. Any Muslim scholar who is not computer literate today is therefore and illiterate who is not qualified to be called a scholar.

In this computer age, the world needs the Qur'an more than ever before. And it is only Tafsir that can justify that need. Muslims and non-Muslims alike should be able to read the interpretations of the Qur'an in languages other than Arabic. More on Tafsir tomorrow.

‘Release Chibok girls in the spirit of Ramadan’

A

N Islamic scholar has called on members of Boko Haram to release the over 200 female students abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State in the spirit of Ramadan.

The Chairman, League of Imam and Alfa, Eti-Osa Branch in Ajah, Lagos, Alhaji AbdulBari Yoosuph Afinni, said Boko Haram should allow the girls to go home in this holy month if the sect members are truly Muslims as they claimed and parade themselves.

Afinni, who condemned the abduction of the schoolgirls, said Islam accords women and female girls special care and attention than what the sect did with the continued incarceration of innocent girls for over two months.

He said: “We are very sure that the nation’s numerous challenges will be surmount-

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

ed. It is expected that the group will not take up arms against anyone in the spirit of Ramadan. That is if they are true Muslims. Besides, Islamic does not allow anyone to kidnap, kill or maim innocent citizens.

“We don’t know them, but as they claim to be Muslims, we believe they would respect the holy month and release the girls.

“You don’t maltreat women or wage war against them.

You must exonerate them from violence or psychological trauma that they are being subjected to. The girls are not feeling fine and no matter how much care they receive from the sect; they won’t be mentally balanced.

“We appealed to the sect to release them for the sake of the holy month.”

Another cleric, Sheikh

‘Islamic does not allow anyone to kidnap, kill or maim innocent citizens. We don’t know them, but as they claim to be Muslims, we believe they would respect the holy month and release the girls’ Mas’ud Mudasir, called on Nigerians to seek forgiveness for their sins, saying many challenges confronting the nations are products of sins.

Let’s pray against blood letting, says Olubadan

T

HE Olubadan of Ibadan land, Oba Samuel Odulana, has enjoined Muslims to pray against “ceaseless bloodletting” being witnessed daily from the destructive activities of religious extremists.

The monarch, in a statement in Ibadan yesterday, congratulated all Muslims for

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

witnessing another month of fasting “at a trying time the country is passing through serious security challenges.”

Oba Odulana enjoined Muslims to pray for peace.

The monarch admonished the faithful “to radiate the virtues of love, compassion, self-discipline, obedience,

peaceful co-existence and religious tolerance during and after the Ramadan period as enjoined by the Qur’an and teachings of Prophet Muhammad.”

He also urged all Nigerians to pray for unity of the country and refrain from acts that could lead to break down of law and order.

Yobe earmarks N425m for Ramadan’s grains

Y

OBE State Governor Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam has directed the state’s 17 local government councils to procure grains and distribute to the people at affordable prices.

Gaidam, in a statement by his Special Adviser, Abdullahi Bego, explained that the local councils would distribute about 42, 500 bags of millet and corn to the people at the grassroots.

The gesture, he said, is part of government’s

From Duku JOEL, Damaturu

effort to relief poverty during the Ramadan.

According to him, each of the local councils will procure 2,500 bags of millet and corn at the cost of N10, 000 each and sell same to the public at the cost of N3, 000 per bag.

The governor said N425 million has been earmarked for the procurement with each local council area putting in N25 million.

The statement added that sales will commence within the next 10 days.

“All our problems are man-made and products of our sins from the leaders and the led. We have to repent and seek forgiveness from God. That’s the only way out. Prayer is the solution. We all know our sins.

We must go back to God and repent,” he said.

Amir (President) of Nigeria Muslim Students of Nigeria, Eti-Osa Branch, Yusuf Lawal, said the sect's activities are un-Islamic, wondering why its members attack women and other innocent Nigerians.

"The Boko Haram don't represent Islam. That is why we are praying for the release of the Chibok girls and other abductees," he added.

Fayose: Rededicate yourselves to Godliness From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

EKITI State Governor-elect Ayo Fayose, has congratulated Muslims on the Ramadan fasting.

Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, the governor-elect urged the Muslims to use the period to pray for continued peace and an end to senseless killings by insurgents, terrorists and other criminals in the country.

Fayose urged Muslims to use the opportunity of the holy month to move closer to God and re-dedicate themselves to devotion to Almighty Allah and show sympathy for the lesspriviledged in accordance with Islamic injunctions.

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

10

NEWS Benue to partner Kenya From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

B

•Newly appointed Local Government Caretaker Committee Chairmen taking their oaths of office during their inauguration in Bauchi...yesterday.

Man arrested for impregnating two girls From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

THE police in Kano State have arrested a 27-year-old man, Bashir Haruna, for allegedly impregnating two girls at Tudun Muritala quarters in Kano metropolis.

The police apprehended the accused, following complaints by the girls’ parents.

Haruna, who appeared before a senior magistrate, Hanif Sunusi Chiroma, denied the two-count charge of adultery and illegal procreation.

His counsel, I G. Umar, urged the court to release the accused on bail, adding that, an accused is presumed innocent, until proven otherwise.

Chiroma said the offences were not ordinarily bail able but ruled that on the adultery charge, the accused should be released on bail of N200.000, with two sureties.

Ruling on the second count allegation, the court ordered that the accused be released on bail of N200,000 with two sureties, adding that one of sureties must be a civil servant and the other a relative.

‘Fraudster’ held in Kano From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

THE police in Kano State have smashed a syndicate that allegedly specialises in defrauding residents.

Police sources said the suspects with their operational base at Badawa quarters, Kano, are renowned tricksters, who lure their victims into “money doubling”.

The syndicate was arraigned before a Kano Senior Magistrate’s Court on a two-count charge of criminal conspiracy and cheating.

The accused pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor, S O. Ekwe, said the police opposed the release of the accused on bail.

Ekwe told the court that if the accused were released, they might abscond.

The presiding judge, Hassan Ahmed Fagge, adjourned till July 10 and ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody.

J

Apo killings: Court stops payment of N135m to victims

USTICE Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has stopped the orders and awards contained in the report of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC’s) investigation into the September 20, last year, killing of eight squatters in an uncompleted building in Apo, Abuja.

The commission, in its report released in April, faulted the claim by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Army that the 19 victims were affected during the exchange of fire between security agents and suspected Boko Haram members.

Troops, comprising DSS operatives and the army, undertook an unsuccessful bid to arrest an alleged Boko Haram

•Grants SSS permission to challenge NHRC’s report From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

leader – Suleiman R Kelly – said to be the leader of a group of Boko Haram members, who allegedly buried arms in the Apo cemetery.

The NHRC established in its report that the joint troops killed the defenceless squatters as the security agencies had “no credible evidence” to tag those killed and others as agents of Boko Haram.

The commission described the killings as unlawful violation of the right to life of the deceased. It said the security agents did not only violate the right to life of the victims, but that the

survivors suffered non-lethal violations of right to life, physical integrity and livelihood.

The Commission, among others, ordered the Federal Government to pay N135million as compensation to the victims, comprising N10million for each of those killed and N5million to each of the 11 injured survivors.

Justice Kolawole, in an exparte ruling on June 27, granted leave to the DSS to apply for an order of certiorari to quash the decisions and awards contained in the NHRC’s report.

The judge ordered that the leave granted should apply as

Tackle UniAbuja issues, council urges VC

Dangote donates 11 health centres

A

FRICA’s richest man Aliko Dangote has said the Dangote Foundation will build 11 health centres in eight local governments in Kano State.

A statement by the governor’s Director of Press, Haliru Baba Ibrahim Dantiyye, said Dangote made the pledge in a video conferencing with Governor Rabi’u Kwankwaso and the co-chair, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates.

Dantiyye said the trio carried out the mid–year review

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

of the government, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Dangote Foundation Tripartite Partnership on routine immunisation, coordinated from the Government House.

Dangote said he was encouraged to undertake the project, due to the level of commitment by the government towards making life better for the people.

He advised the government to step up efforts to an-

From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

V

•Dangote

nihilate the bottlenecks impeding the smooth execution of routine immunisation.

‘N78m fraud’ in Kogi AIDS agency

T

HE Kogi State House of Assembly is investigating the activities of the State Agency for the Control of AIDS (KOSACA), over alleged mishandling of N78 million donated by the World Bank.

An activist, Idris Miliki, accused KOSACA of buying N5 million women condoms and awarding contracts to non-existing NGOs, including one of N17 million to KOWEN, an organisation run by the governor’s wife, Hajia Halima Wada.

The House has set up a committee to investigate the matter.

The activist said he stood

From James Azania, Lokoja

by the issues raised, saying they were matters of public interest.

He alleged that fund disbursed to KOSACA by the World Bank was diverted, while Persons Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) suffer in silence.

A source said of the over 160 NGOs in the state, only 18 were deemed successful for the disbursement, of which only three were owned by genuine civil society organisations.

KOSACA’s Executive Secretary Hajia Rahinatu Bala denied the allegations,

a stay of execution of the orders and awards in the report “so that the proceedings in this matter are not subverted by any step that may be taken to seek to enforce or enforce the decision” contained in the report.

Justice Kolawole directed the applicant to file its motion on notice and serve it on the respondents.

He ordered the respondents to respond within eight days and fixed July 9 as the return date.

The DSS is seeking to quash the NHRC report on the grounds that the commission was biased against it throughout the proceedings of the public inquiry.

saying that the agency followed due process in the disbursement of fund.

Speaking through the Project Manager, Dr Gabriel Musa, she said: “We have not been served any petition and if I follow due process I will not attend to you, but I will.

“Money does not come to us; it goes directly to Project Financial Monitoring Unit (PFMU).

“The N17 million KOWEN got was even small compared to other states.

Let me tell you why it has that money, it is into buying rice, beans and other nutritional food stuffs. That is what it has been doing.”

ICE Chancellor of the University of Abuja Prof Michael Adikwu has been enjoined to tackle all the administrative issues confronting the university.

Pro Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia urged the university community to support the vice chancellor.

Adikwu was appointed out of the three persons nominated by the joint council and the senate selection committee, which received 123 applications.

The pro chancellor, in a statement by Prof Anthony Adegbulugbe, said: “One hundred and twenty three professors from within and outside the university and also from outside the country, applied for the job.

“It took a painstaking process lasting over three months, to shortlist the number to 21, then to 10 and eventually to three which the selected board forwarded to the council.

“The Council of the University of Abuja held its 36th extra ordinary meeting on June 30 and appointed Prof Michael Adikwu as the Vice Chancellor.”

ENUE State Governor Gabriel Suswam has called for the removal of logistic challenges hindering profitable trade and partnership among African countries.

He said a good interface between the legislature and executive in Africa needs to be strengthened to enable legislations and policies that will support infrastructural development.

Suswam spoke in Nairobi when he visited the Governor of Nairobi County, Dr. Evans Odhiambo Kidero, as part of the government technical team’s visit to Strathmore University.

The governor said building trust and confidence were the necessary ingredients for an enduring Africa partnership to enhance trade and general socio-economic development.

Niger to complete 250km roads From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

T

HE Niger State government has said it will deliver 250 kilometres road project in the 25 local government areas.

Commissioner for Local Government, Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs Isah Liman Kantigi said contractors have been mobilised to site and are working to meet the December deadline.

Kantigi said the government has disbursed N12 billion to the contractors.

He admitted that the project which ought to have been completed was delayed by contractors.

On the allegation by the opposition that Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu misappropriated local government fund, the commissioner said the governor never interfered in the way funds are disbursed to councils.

He said: “It is a lie. Governor Aliyu has never interfered with local government funds nor has he dictated to council chairmen what project to embark on.”

NSCDC apprehends ‘vandal’ From Johnny Danjuma, Lafia

A

WORKER in Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Yahaya Ahmadu, has been arrested by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for allegedly vandalising an electric armoured cable.

NSCDC spokesperson Amos Andekin said the suspect sold the cable for N10,000 , but was given N1,000 as advance payment.

He said the buyer has also been arrested. Andekin said investigation was still on to ascertain if they have other collaborators. “The suspects would be charged to court soon.”

BUSINESS

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

Africa ‘ll not achieve MDGs, says Kufuor

F

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

ORMER Ghanaian President John Kufuor has said many African countries may not meet the 2015 deadline set by the United Nations (UN) for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Kufour, who spoke in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital at the ongoing three-day 2014 Energy, Environment, and Investment Forum (EEIF), with the theme ‘Sustainable energy, the key to Africa’s World Integration,’ said despite the 2015 dateline set by the UN for the actualisation of the MDGs, in the sub-Saharan Africa only four of the about 30 countries in the region were on course in the provision of electricity and other aspects of the MDGs, which would increase to about 25 per cent by 2015.

In view of the development, Kufour urged African countries under the auspices of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) to team up assist one another.

He urged African countries to dwell on renewable energy sources, such as hydro, wind power, geo thermal, solar and bio energy and also apply technologies that support energy efficiency. He explained that Africa abounds with renewable energy sources; therefore, the continent should seek to ensure that the provision of sustainable energy will be the underpinning of Africa’s development.

He said: “Africa has tremendous water and river systems, each which should be considered as a candidate for hydro electric power development.

Let African countries undertake a comprehensive programme of winning a micro hydro electric dam development to provide clean and renewable energy services to its people especially local communities.”

11 ‘The June deadline is by the corner; Mr. President’s word is a bond. We must generate more power; we are prepared to assist all our agencies in making sure that the ball keeps rolling. We can’t afford to fail in our duties.’

•Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo

Fuel scarcity looms as subsidy debts hit N300b

M

ARKETERS are being owed N300 billion in fuel subsidy, according to documents obtained by The Nation.

The debt is fueling fear of another fuel scarcity.

The document showed that there are about 11 batches of fuel supplies yet to be paid for by the Ministry of Finance since November last year.

They include the backlog of payments for Batch R/13 to V/13 pertaining to product discharged last year amounting to over N100 billion.

There are other six batches of arrears from ‘A/14 to F/ 14’ amounting to over N150 billion for January toApril.

Some marketers have expressed worries over the backlog, which they said is affecting fuel supply.

Sources at the ministry said some marketers have rejected their offer for thirdquarter allocation for fuel import because of lack of fund and increase in interest.

FAAN to close Abuja runway for rehabilitation

•’We have paid N45b to marketers’

By Daniel Essiet

Also, banks are unwilling to give marketers loans because of their failure to pay back when due.

The delay in the settlement of subsidy debt is affecting the payment of equilisation fund of transporters at the Petroleum Equilisation Fund (PEF).

Most of these payments were said to have been processed by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and forwarded to the Ministry for payment.

In a statement, Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Mr Paul O. Nwabuikwu, said payment of N45 billion to marketers with verified claims is ongoing.

He said: “Only marketers whose claims have been cleared after they have gone through the verification processes are paid. This is to

ensure that the unpleasant experiences of the recent past with regard to wrong and irregular payments are not repeated.”

He explained that the process for the latest batch of payments totalling N45 billion is ongoing and the Office of the AccountantGeneral of the Federation (OAGF) has confirmed that some marketers that submitted letters of indemnity to it have already been paid.

Other claims are being attended to, he added.

The letters of indemnity is an additional requirement for payment because banks that financed imports by some marketers had written to the OAGF through their lawyers to complain that their clients (the marketers) are making interest payments through other banks contrary to the terms of the agreements reached. The banks in question are insisting that the interest pay-

By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

T •Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Dr

ments be made through them since they granted the facilities that attracted the interest.

To ensure that the Federal Government is not held liable in the event of any litigation between these banks and their marketer-customers, he said the OAGF has instituted the new procedure, stressing that it was important the subsidy payments are made retroactively because claims must go through all the necessary processes before they are approved and paid.

He reiterated government’s commitment to continue to discharge its obligations to marketers whose claims are approved.

Odumodu canvasses Africa Free Trade Area

P

DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$117.4/ barrel Cocoa -$2,686.35/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢95.17pound Gold -$1,396.9/troy Sugar -$163/lb MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE -N11.4 trillion JSE -Z5.112trillion NYSE -$10.84 trillion LSE -£61.67 trillion RATES Inflation -8% Treasury Bills 10.58%(91d) Maximum lending -30% Prime lending -15.87% Savings rate -1% 91-day NTB -15% Time Deposit -5.49% MPR -12% Foreign Reserve $45b FOREX CFA -0.2958 EUR -206.9 £ -242.1 $ -156 ¥ -1.9179 SDR -238 RIYAL -40.472

HE Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria( FAAN), said yesterday that the runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja will be closed for two days to enable its engineers carry out maintenance.

In a statement, its General Manager, Corporate Communications, Mr Yakubu Dati, said a notice to airmen for the closure of the runway has been issued.

The closure of the runway, he said will commence July 5, and be re- opened on July 7.

Dati said airlines, other aviation agencies and stakeholders have been notified about the runway closure.

He said: “The Management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria wishes to inform the public, especially aviation stakeholders and intending passengers that the runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja will be closed to traffic for maintenance from Saturday, July 5 to Monday, July 7, 2014.”

•From left: Chairman, PAN Nigeria Alhaji Munir Jafaru; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Dr. Olusegun Aganga; former Head of State and Peugeot Grand Patron Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd); Kaduna State Governor Dr. Ramalan Yero and Managing Director, PAN Nigeria Limited Ibrahim Boyi, during the kick-off of the production of Peugeot 301 in Nigeria at PAN’s Kaduna factory.

Govt invites Chinese investors for national carrier

N

IGERIA has sought China’s partnership in creating a national carrier for the country.

Nigeria being the largest economy in Africa should have a national carrier, supervising Minister of Aviation, Dr Samuel Ortom, told a delegation from China.

The delegation was led by the Director-General of China Development Bank, Wang Wensong. It was accompanied by experts from China Academy of Civil Aviation, Science and Technology.

From Faith Yahaya, Abuja

The delegation said it would be willing to partner with Nigeria.

The minister noted that there is need for Nigeria to have a national carrier which he admitted is presently lacking.

Ortom said: “There are so many opportunities in the aviation sector, I would not mind suggesting to you that we can go into partnership to float a national carrier which we don’t have currently and any other area,

federal government will be handy to give support and encourage to stabilise the aviation industry.

“You will agree with me that we need a national carrier as a country. The most populous country on the soil of Africa and of course based on our recently rebased figure, we are the richest country on the soil of Africa, there is no reason we should not have a carrier and today, we are seeking partnership where we can get good partners who are ready to work with us to es-

tablish a national carrier and there is nothing wrong with that.

He added: “So, what we are doing today is exploring the opportunities that we have around and that is what the aviation experts from China are here for and also the China Development Bank is here and at the end, they are going to make their own recommendation.”

The Minister explained that experts in the aviation sector will go into a technical session with the Chinese investors.

By Toba Agboola

RESIDENT of African Region Standards Organisation (ARSO) and Director General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Joseph Odumodu has canvassed for the establishment of African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) by the year 2017.

In a statement, he made this call in his closing remarks at the African Day of Standardisation celebrated in Kigali, Rwanda .

Dr. Odumodu urged African leaders particularly those in charge of providing quality infrastructure to work towards the realisation of the target.

He said fast tracking the setting up of CFTA, which leaders at the 2012 African Union Summit had endorsed, would create a single market for goods and services in the continent.

African standardisation day is desinged to raise awareness among African regulators, the industry, academia, consumers and the entire African citizens on the benefits of standardisation to Africa’s economy.

According to Odumodu, economic development derives from adding value to resources stressing that this is where standardisation plays a role, not merely exporting crude.

12

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

13

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

14

THE NATION

BUSINESS INDUSTRY

industry@thenationaonlineng.net

Despite being seen in the global business community as one of the last remaining frontiers for proper growth, leadership deficit, weak institutions, inadequate infrastructure and, most recently, insecurity, among others, have continued to hold Nigeria’s progress down. But, at a seminar, experts from the private and public sectors suggest ways of removing the clogs in the wheel of growth and development, reports Asst. Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA

Reviving Nigeria’s engine of growth T

HE rebasing of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which earned Nigeria an enviable spot as Africa’s biggest economy, surpassing South Africa, did not surprise economic experts and finance analysts.

With a growth rate hovering between 6.8 and seven per cent, the prospects for Nigeria are bright, which is why the country is seen as one of the last remaining frontiers for growth in Africa.

The President of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Alhaji Aliko Dangote, recognised this much when he disclosed that Nigeria is the world’s best kept secret in investment terms.

“Nigeria is really the best place to invest. It is one of the best places to make money. You know all over the world; it is the best kept secret actually in terms of investment,” the billionaire businessman said, at a recent live programme on CNN. Although Dangote’s position echoes the views of other investors and experts, most of who see Nigeria as a honey pot in terms of investment opportunities, the consensus, however, is that, despite the intimidating credential, which the rebasing of the GDP only served to authenticate, the country still lags behind its peers in tangible development. According to experts, most of the tangible benefits that ought to accrue to Nigerians on account of her latest ranking have so far eluded them.

Some of the factors identified by experts as constituting clogs in the wheel of progress over the years include inadequate investment in infrastructure, lack of an enabling and supporting environment, failure to build strong institutions, unbridled corruption and leadership deficit.

Others are failure to invest in human capacity development, ethnic and religious violence, political upheaval, and insecurity, especially the Boko Haram insurgents.

Bad as the situation is, experts say there is light at the end of the tunnel. At a recent forum with the theme, “Partnering for nation building” in honour of the founding Managing Partner of Arthur Andersen (KPMG Professional Services and Accenture Nigeria), Richard Kramer, in Lagos, the experts, drawn from the private and public sectors, came up with a number of far-reaching suggestions, which if implemented would help turn things around.

And going by the intellectual depth of the speakers and the robustness of their submissions, participants at the ‘Breakfast Seminar’ came out with hopes that the future is, indeed, very bright, despite the challenges.

For Mr. Andrew Alli, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), one sure way to go is aggressive investment in physical infrastructure. Noting that no nation can be termed developed without iadequate infrastructure, he said “infrastructure provides the means for people to operate optimally, and it reduces the cost of doing business.”

He listed some of the impediments to infrastructure development to include lack of political will, inadequate policies and institutional framework, and low execution capacity in government. He, therefore, made a case for a change in government mindset, change in public attitude, and stable macroeconomic environment, among others.

Alli scored the bull’s eye. Existing and prospective investors in virtually all the sectors have for long been lamenting the lack of supporting physical infrastructure for their

•Alli

‘

We need a straightforward system that will convince foreign investors that there is no shortcut in doing business in Nigeria, that it is straightforward in black and white. We need people with the right values to be in the right position and bring the change we desire

‘

businesses. Worst hit are Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) most of who have disappeared from the industrial landscape on account of the country’s acute infrastructure shortage particularly poor electricity supply.

Other challenges such as lack of good roads, portable water, as well as lack of health infrastructure, among others, have combined to decimate the SMEs who constitute the real sector, acknowledged globally as the engine of economic growth because of their capacity to create jobs.

The AFC boss insists that the development of infrastructure formed a vital part of an enabling environment that would reduce cost of investment and create more wealth and jobs.

Mr. Peter Bamkole, Director, Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University, aligned with Alli. Speaking on ‘Creating an enabling and supporting environment for Entrepreneurial activities,’ he observed that despite the privatisation of the power sector, electricity supply had not improved.

While noting that no country achieves greatness without power, he said, “I have no doubt in my mind that Nigeria is not lacking in entrepreneurship, what I think that is lacking is the enabling environment to make them perform well.”

If an enabling environment is complimented by emphasis on investment on education, healthcare, social welfare, and economic empowerment, Head, Resource Management and Administration and Director, ProStart Consultants, Maryam Lemu, believes that Nigeria would be on her way out of the woods.

While emphasising that 21st century education was beyond academic excellence, Lemu said creativity and innovation must be encouraged in students. “Education involves creativity and should inspire innovation. We need to empower people with devotional and social

‘

•Akabueze

•Kramer

intelligence, leadership skills and citizenship,” she said.

Lemu said education should build competence, knowledge, character, ethics and values. “We need to institutionalise values and put in place ethical systems that promote accountability and transparency,” she said, pointing out that to encourage foreign investment, “We need a straightforward system that will convince foreign investors that there is no shortcut in doing business in Nigeria, that it is straightforward in black and white.

We need people with the right values to be in the right position and bring the change we desire.”

While also stressing that Nigerians should emulate best practises of countries with similar socio-economic background who were empowering women with credit facilities, she noted that policies that bridge inequality gaps and protect the vulnerable are essential.

Senator Udo Udo Udoma argues that for these to happen, there was need to build strong and sustainable institutions “More importantly for Nigerians are institutions in the public sector.

Government institutions are important in building a nation,” he said. Citing US President Barack Obama, who, in his speech during a state visit to Ghana said, “Africa does not need strong men, we need good men in strong institutions,” Senator Udoma noted that Nigeria need enough resources to build her institutions and in capacity building.

“Leadership matters, but we should have gone beyond that and tried to build those institutions so that if there is a change in leadership, the institution will continue to do well,” he said.

Building strong institutions, in the opinion of the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Lagos State, Ben Akabueze, might held mould quality leadership, which, according to him, Nigeria yearns for.

Speaking on leadership, the commissioner lamented that there is a consensus that leadership has suffered serious deficit in Nigeria.

“Political leadership is most impactful especially when it concerns nation building.

But there is leadership deficit in this country.

Some of the key areas of leadership failure include lack of vision, incompetence, and corruption, among others,” he observed, pointing out that credentials of potential leaders should be based on accountability, integrity, and a passion to fight corruption.

He therefore, insisted that laws to fight corruption must be strengthened to check an unregulated access to the public funds. While noting that the national campaign to promote and enforce tax payment promotes accountability, Akabueze urged the private sector to participate in electoral processes. He

also insisted on issue-based campaigns.

Earlier in his keynote address titled, ‘Nigeria: A nation poised for greatness’, Ambassador Princeton Lyman, Senior Advisor to the President, US Institute of Peace, said Nigeria is indeed, poised for greatness. He, however, said whether the country realises the opportunity remained uncertain. “I spent a lot of time thinking about that title. So many problems have plagued Nigeria over the years, so many opportunities gained and then squandered. So many proclamations of a new beginning, only to see them fade into oblivion,” he noted, arguing that diversification of Nigeria’s economy can never be more urgent considering recent developments in the global economy.

His word: “Let me say a few words about the world around us and how it impacts Nigeria’s future. Our world is changing rapidly and nowhere more than in economic opportunities and challenges. The technological revolution, in communications, manufacturing, agriculture, health, and transportation is upending older modes of operation. It is changing historic sources of comparative advantage. India is now a leader in Information Technology (IT), China in manufacturing and the leading importer of natural resources, Bangladesh is a leader in textiles production, South Korea is a leader in shipbuilding and electronics.

“The energy sector is changing worldwide with far-reaching implications for Nigeria.”

Lyman, who was a former Director for US Agency for International Development (USAID), said oil production in sub-Saharan Africa is on the path to doubling by 2020. He however, noted that as more of the production comes from offshore sources, higher costs will reduce the return per barrel by half, requiring painful adjustments in contractual relations to attract sufficient investment. “With steadily lower revenue, diversification of the economy will become ever more urgent.

On the positive side, genetically modified organisms and other advances could make Africa a principal source of agricultural supply for the world as well as overcoming deepseated problems of hunger and malnutrition on the continent,” he told participants.

While noting that there have been some significant accomplishments in the economy, Lyman however, observed that “Poverty in Nigeria is shockingly high, particularly for a country that parades such rich human, natural, and economic resources. He said people living on less than $1 a day is estimated by the Nigerian government at 61 per cent, more than 100 million people living on less than $1 a day. “In the North it is even higher. Unemployment and underemployment are endemic and in some parts of the country reach 80 per cent. The ramifications of poverty reach into every aspect of Nigerian society, its politics, economics, stability, and security. It is the greatest obstacle to greatness. And yet, this vast human resource, so underutilised, is a potential source for greatness,” he said.

Ambassador Lyman also identified insecurity, particularly raising insurgency by the dreaded Boko Haram group as another major hurdle on Nigeria’s road to greatness.

I have no doubt in my mind that Nigeria is not lacking in entrepreneurship, what I think that is lacking is the enabling environment to make them perform well

‘

15

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

INDUSTRY

commitment NACCIMA: rebased GDP Firmtorestates product quality figure understated L T

HE nation’s rebased Gross Domestic Product (GPD) figure released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is understated. This is because about 60 per cent of transactions in the informal sector of the economy were not captured, the National President, the Nigerian Association Of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has said.

At a forum organised by NACCIMA in Ogun State, Abubakar said given the enormity of economic activities in the country, Nigeria ought to have become the 15th largest economy in the world if transactions in the informal sector were well captured and reflected.

He regretted that, despite the reforms to improve economic conditions and business competiveness in the country, Nigeria still trailed smaller African countries, such as Ghana, Cameroun and Kenya, in global competiveness.

Abubakar said: “The Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) Index 2012-2013 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF), indicated thatNigeria ranked 115th out of 144 countries assessed - behind Ghana, Kenya and Cameroun, which ranked higher at 103rd, 106th and 112th positions, respectively.

“Only Benin Republic trailed Nigeria with a ranking of 119th, while South Africa ranked 52nd globally, making it the most competitive in Africa. One of the hurdles Nigeria needs to scale to achieve better ranking is the poor perception of the country by Nigerians.”

Abubakar, who spoke on the topic, “Improving Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global market: Panacea for growth and development of the non-oil export,” noted that achieving growth in the nonoil sector will result in the estab-

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie Asst. Editor

lishment of border markets at some strategic locations, adequate funding of non-oil commodities, development of infrastructure, and provision of logistics to support supply value added chain.

He listed other fallouts from the growth in the non oil sector to include increase in dominance of primary commodities and high productive capacity, empowerment of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) through entrepreneurship, development of agro-allied industries, and packaging and labelling standards of made-in Nigeria products. It will also enhance Nigeria’s comparative and competitive advantages.

Abubakar noted that for Nigeria to remain competitive in the global market, it must keep investing in capacity building. “What is needed is new job creation with high-tech, high-value, innovative, non-commodity items, which can be made a reality through the joint efforts of governments and private sector operators in a manner that would stimulate non-oil sector activities, enhance prosperity of businesses/citizens and improve balance of payments position of the economy,” he pointed out.

While commending the Federal Government on the successful handing over of the unbundled companies of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to private sector investors, he appealed to the government to accelerate the privatisation of the four government-owned refineries with a view to moving nearer the completion of all social infrastructures that the private sector is best placed to operate as witnessed in other countries.

He also advised that appropriate policy framework be fashioned out to provide new operators of

privatised entities a businessfriendly environment to operate.

Also speaking on the challenges of the nation’s non-oil export competitiveness, the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Olusegun Awolowo, listed infrastructural deficiency, weak logistics to supply chain, poor standardisation of products, poor labelling/packaging, inability to meet export orders, as well as high cost of production as some of the challenges affecting the nation’s competitiveness in this regard.

Others are restricted access to credit, unwholesome trade practices such as document falsification, trade mark encroachments and counterfeiting.

Awolowo, however, said the NEPC has had to intervene to boost the competitiveness of Nigeria’s non-oil sector through several programmes. He disclosed, for instance, that the agency regularly assists companies’ participation in trade shows/fairs, business match-making, product identification, as well as organised development programs and capacity building for exporters. Besides, NEPC, he said, have collaborated with relevant local and international agencies on product quality upgrade on sesame, butter processing, cashew processing and dry fish projects.

The NEPC boss said the agency is going ahead to activate the Export Development Fund with a view to addressing the pre-shipment incentives to SMEs, facilitate increased access to export financing and designate export terminal at the sea ports to ease congestion. He also disclosed that the agency would review the Export Expansion Scheme (EEG), identify international benchmarks and improve on product standardisation.

•Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun (middle); 2nd Deputy National President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Iyalode Alaba Lawson (1st left); National President Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar (2nd left); 1st Deputy National President Chief Bassey Edem (2nd right) and Deputy President (ex-officio) Alhaji Remi Bello during the chamber’s visit to Amosun in Abeokuta as part of activities to mark its 54th Annual General Meeting/Conference.

T

EO Group of Companies, makers of Leo Smart ball pens and other products, has restated its commitment to the quality of its products.

Speaking in Lagos at this year’s Distributors’ Forum, organised by the company for major dealers of the ball pens and other products, the Managing Director of Rasa Industries Limited, a subsidiary of Leo Group of Companies, Mr. Manoj Dadlani, said the purpose of the distributors’ forum was to discuss quality assurance, fakery, promotion and other marketing options as well as fresh reward system, among other issues.

Also, the forum, he said, was aimed at keeping pace with the group’s growth rate in terms of being customer-oriented and focused.

Said Dadlani: “After sending our team to the field to know what the distributors are experiencing, feedback we got was not too cheery in terms of the distribution network.

We decided to call them together to let them know that we want to help them, we want to collaborate with them in achieving their market targets. We also want to hear from them and react the best way we can. The company is resolved to improve the relationship between it and the customers.”

He also said the company is making efforts to reposition its brands.

“The repositioning effort is on brand basis. We reposition based on product line, even though we take into account the fact that all the group’s products should be consumer-friendly because all that we

By Chinaka Okoro

push to the end users must be of high quality. We take every complaint and issue concerning quality very seriously,” he said, reassuring the distributors of his company’s determination to improve the cordial relationship existing between them and the group.

Pledging the firm’s commitment to ensuring that distributors are accorded a high priority in the scheme of things, especially while evolving policies and programmes, he clarified that Leo Group comprises Leoplast, which is the group’s original company that manufactures furniture and other home products, while Rasa is a relatively new company that is into beverage production. It has three brands namely C’est Bon, Smarty and 2Cool fruit drinks. Leo Smart Company, on the other hand, manufactures ball pens.

Also speaking, the School Products Promotional Manager, Mr. Fadairo Afolabi, said Leo Group of Companies thought it wise to bring the key distributors together to rub minds on how to guarantee the leading position of the company’s products and how to deal with some challenges dealers may be experiencing.

He noted that Leo Group of Companies is a major player in the education sector, maintaining that as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility, it has remained committed to giving support to education not only in Lagos and Ogun states, but also in other states.

Mixed reactions trail release of N200b capital votes

T

HE Federal Government’s re lease of N200 billion capital votes has attracted mixed reactions.

Port Consultative Council (PCC) Chairman Chief Kunle Folarin said the delay in the release of capital votes would adversely affect capital projects.

“We all know the challenges of building funds in Nigeria today, our release from oil and gas, Customs and other areas of fund generation have been affected,” he said.

The immediate past President, Association of Stock Broking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Alhaji Rasheed Yusuf, agrees with Folarin, noting that the release of the capital votes, coming towards the end of the first half of the year, was unhealthy for the economy.

He said that the delay in the release of the funds would adversely affect the execution of projects earmarked for completion in the second quarter.

He also said the delayed release could cause inflationary pressures if used for the payment of salaries of workers in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Similarly, the Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Lagos Chapter, Mr. Asimiyu Bashir, lauded the Federal Government for the release of the fund.

He said it would increase liquidity in the economy and engender confidence in the nation’s polity.

Same for the former Director of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Chris Nemedia, who said the release of the capital votes in June was still in good time. He urged the Federal Government to allocate the funds solely for the implementation of government projects earmarked for the year.

However, for the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Association of Small Scale Enterprises (NASME), Mr. Eke Ubiji, the time the fund was released was not as important as how it would be utilised.

He urged the Federal Government to pay attention to the implementation of the projects outlined for the second quarter.

He also urged the government to build durable infrastructure, including electricity, which had notbeen in favour of business ventures in the country.

‘Fed Govt committed to ensuring quality products’

HE Federal Government is com mitted to ensuring quality products for consumers, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, has said.

The minister spoke at the inauguration of “Check the Best Before”, organised by the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) in Abuja.

He said ‘Best Before (BB) date’ also known as a durable life date, is a valuable source of information for consumers.

According to Aganga, the Federal Government is committed to ensuring quality products for consumer’s satisfaction and safety. As a result, the labelling of minimum durability has

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

been made an important component of the standard requirements for relevant products in the country. One of the major pillars of the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) is to instil the patronage of the made in Nigeria culture in Nigerians.’

Aganga was represented by a director in the ministry, Mr. Jonathan Juma. He said since the inauguration of NIRP, the ministry has demonstrated unwavering commitment towards the growth and development of local industries.

He said the programme was yielding results “as Nigeria is a net ex-

porter of cement, producing about 28.5 metric tonnes annually. This made it possible for non-issuance of import licence in the sector in 2013.”

“While the patronage of made in Nigeria products continues to enhance capacity utilisation and the country’s Gross Domestic Product, the ministry will not relent in working closely with industries. This is with a view to improve productivity and quality. We will also ensure that we significantly reduce the importation of substandard products into the country,’’ he said.

The Minister explained that concerted efforts must be made by industries to embrace measures put in place

to ensure product quality as well as protect Nigerian consumers. “For the consumer, it is an indication of the anticipated time that an unused product, when stored under appropriate conditions will retain its durability, potency or efficacy. It also helps the manufacturers, distributors and retailers to maintain product quality and safety,’’ he said.

Aganga commended the efforts of CPC for embarking on the campaign as it would get industries to adhere to best practises and provide additional protection for vulnerable consumers in Nigeria. “It is observed that some industries engage in the sale of expired products with improper date markings.

Others have been implicated in the alteration of Best Before dates just to maximise profit. The ministry will give every support to CPC in its ongoing efforts to step up its inspection and enforcement activities. This is with a view to detecting, exposing and prosecuting dubious businesses that profiteer at the expense of consumers,’’ he said.

According to the Minister, an informed consumer is an empowered consumer to make a choice, assert him to get a fair deal and seek redress when not satisfied. He said that the ministry was in full support of CPC in its campaign as it was in line with President Goodluck Jonathan transformation agenda.

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

16

THE NATION

BUSINESS LABOUR

Erratic power: PENGASSAN urges revocation of firms’ licences L ABOUR has urged new investors in the electricity sector to provide light to Nigerians or have their licences revoked.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the fourth Triennial National Delegates Conference of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), in Abuja, the National President, Comrade Babatunde Ogun, lamented the abysmal state of electricity supply since the sector was privatised in November last year.

He said: “All the distribution and generating companies have not shown enough readiness to invest in improving electricity supply in the country.”

It would be recalled that the nation’s electricity supply which stood

Stories by Toba Agboola

at over 4,000 mega watts (Mw) before privatisation, was recently reported to have dropped to below 2,000 megawatts.

Ogun said the companies have continued with their dubious regime of billing customers for electricity not consumed.

Although he commended the efforts of the regime in improving power supply in the country, the labour leader said it was high time the new power firms started work and live up to the expectations of Nigerians.

He said: “This nation can never have any meaningful development

‘Confab’s position on budget may lead to job loss’

T

HE recommendation of delegates at the on-going National Conference that the government should be shut in case of a delay in signing the budget by the President, may result in massive lay-off of workers, the Executive Director, African Heritage Institution (AfriHeritage), Dr. Ifediora Amobi, has warned.

He said a such shut is similar to a government strike, where provision of social services cease over a period of time, adding that the result is that payment of salaries will be delayed, government programmes and projects will be disrupted (particularly in health, education and power) with dire consequences for people who are dependent on these programmes. Also, financing gaps are created in critical sectors such as Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), small scale farm projects, and others.

The economist lamented that it is wrong to make the average Nigerians pay for the inadequacies, and to a large extent, the incompetence of those in the legislative and executive arms of government who have refused to do their work efficiently.

Amobi explained that the government shutdown is a situation created where the executive and the legislative arms of government cannot reach a compromise when it comes to signing the nation’s annual budget, thus creating a ‘funding gap’.

“During the funding gap period, the government shuts down because there is no money to pay workers, to provide services, and so on,” he said.

On the economic implications of the action, the AfriHeritage boss noted that the economic cost could be in billions of naira depending on the duration of the shutdown, reduction in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by up to two per cent or more, job losses/layoffs as well as sharp

cutbacks in hiring practices, lost mandays nationwide, with very high productivity losses, significant drop in consumer, business and investor confidence and negative image for Nigeria because it will affect visa issuing and passport services.

He urged the delegates not to copy verbatim the situation in the United States (US) where it happened recently, saying the US constitution provides for an Anti-deficiency Act that requires the Federal Government to begin a shutdown of the affected activities if an interim or full-year appropriation is not enacted into law.

“My recommendation is that we should not copy the US in toto as their practice also has profound economic consequences. “The 2013 shutdown cost the US government over $24 billion (averaging $160 million a day).

With our present monitored system, Nigeria losses an average of $10.9 billion a year to oil theft.

“Just imagine the grand loss during a shutdown period where the oil sector will no longer be monitored.

“My overall position Is that the National Conference revisit their earlier rejected amendment to Section 59 (3) of the 1999 Constitution which stated that In the event that the budget is not approved by the 2nd of January, government should operate on the basis of 75 per cent of previous year’s budget as an interim measure to avoid a shut down,” he said.

Delegates at the National Conference had agreed that to go forward, Appropriation Bills must be presented to the National Assembly on or before September 30 of every year, while the National Assembly must pass the bill within two months for Presidential Assent in December.

The rationale is to stop any expenditure by the government in the event of a delay in the passage of the budget.

without power. Nigerians are getting impatient with excuses: please give us efficient and regular power to drive the economy.”

Ogun, who condemned Federal Government’s lackadaisical approach at fighting corruption, noted that the scourge was responsible for most of the systemic failure in the country.

He said corruption is endemic in the country and has equally eaten into every fabric of the society.

“Corruption has not only impinged on the nation’s economy but also battered our image among committee of nations. The actions of the Federal Government do not appear to engender confidence from the

U

NITED Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on governments to invest more in youth employment initiatives, stressing that youth unemployment is an epidemic that will present the world its greatest test of time.

Ki-moon made the call during a visit to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland.

He said: “In countries rich and poor, unemployment rates for young people are many times those of adults – and of course joblessness is the tip of the iceberg. Many are stuck in low wage work with no

Nigerian people on the sincerity of the government in the fight against corruption,” he said.

Ogun criticised the government for its inability to create tangible jobs in the country.

He said the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) has failed to make any meaningful impact due to poor funding.

In his address, the Minister of Labour and Productivity , Chief Emeka Wogu said the Federal Government is sensitive to the plight of all Nigerians, including workers.

He explained that the government transformation agenda is aimed at restructuring and re-

modelling Nigeria as a giant economy ranking at least the 20th Economy by 2020.

Wogu said the funds that have accrued to the country from the 2012 subsidy removal have been marshaled into the SURE-P. He said the programme has empowered 119, 000 women and youth by creating 3,000 jobs, per state, and the FCT. He said the programme was building eight skills development centres, public works, agriculture, tourism, and ICT programmes that will add value to the lives of the youths in the country.

The two-day conference, which has as its theme: “Repositioning the Nigeria oil and gas industry: Possibilities and realities,” will climax with the election of new executives of the association.

Youth unemployment greatest test of our time, says UN protection in the informal economy.

Many others find that their schooling has not equipped them with the tools for today’s job market.“ He said that the private sector was a key driver of job creation.

He urged trade unions, employers’ organisations and businesses to empower more youth in your own structures and engage with youthled organisations, adding that, trade unions have a fundamental role in

promoting and protecting young workers’ rights.

He said: “We need strong and innovative strategies, reaching out to specific groups, such as youth with disability and young women, and supporting youth to be job creators.”

In his welcome address, ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, thanked the Secretary-General for coming to the ILO despite the turbulent times.

Labour, others to tackle HIV, AIDS pandemic

T

HE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Canadian Labour Congress, International Confederation of Trade Union/Africa, and the Federal Government have signed an agreement to reduce the HIV/ AIDS pandemic in the workplace.

He trade deal, a recommendation 200 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which has a tripartite process for determining the scope and terms of reference of the national assessment, would support framework for complying with the only global standard on HIV and AIDS in the workplace.

Addressing newsmen on the

importance of the agreement to trade unions in Nigeria, Acting General Secretary, NLC, Comrade Chris Uyot, welcomed it, saying it is one that could have lasting impact on the lives of Nigerian workers and their families.

He said: “Discussions are now underway with funding agencies to support the initiative, which will identify gaps in making the country’s workplaces stronger instruments of change for addressing the pandemic through joint union/employer actions”.

According to Uyot, the Ministry of Labour and Productivity will drive the tripartite process

with the involvement of the Federal Ministry of Health with support from the ILO, ILOAIDS and UNAIDS. “Employers will be represented by the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) and the Nigerian Business Coalition against AIDS (NIBUCA). The process was also welcomed by the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA).

“R200 promotes inclusive dialogue between the three Nigerian players and deals also with the underpinnings of HIV and AIDS, including human rights, stigma and discrimination, inequality and gender issues,” he said.

ITF seeks support for skills development

T

HE Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has called on governments at all levels and the Organised Private Sector (OPS) to rev up their support for the development of skills to aid the nation’s industrialisation process.

As part of the moves to achieve this, the Fund sought for patronage for its training programmes, including prompt remittance of training contributions.

Its Director-General,Dr Juliet Chukkas-Onaeko, who spoke during the opening ceremony of the sixth management retreat of the

agency in Asaba, the Delta State capital, said ITF will not relent in providing need based intervention in the polity.

The workshop, with theme, “Mastering the art of leading change” was organised by the ITF to come up with strategies that could be used in achieving its mandates.

She said: ”We appeal to both the private and public sectors to support the ITF. On our part, we shall not relent in providing appropriate need based performance improvement intervention of all our clients and stakeholders.”

• From left: General Manager, Lagos Country Club, Mr. Aderemi Adejumobi; Senior Manager, Operation, Lagos Country Club, Mr. Lanre Fagbemi and Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mrs. Dominga Odebunmi during the DG Visit to the Club on on-going sensitisation and enlighten social club members of the hazards inherent at social clubs.

PHOTO: OLUSEGUN RAPHEAL

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

17

COMMENTARY EDITORIALS

FROM OTHER LANDS

Hope from IPMAN •Private concerns, rather than the Federal Government, seem to take the initiative on refineries ILL we soon be seeing a ray of light and hope at the end of the dark tunnel of Nigeria’s grossly inefficient oil and gas sector characterised by import dependency and massive corruption? If the proposed plan by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to build two ultra-modern refineries in Bayelsa and Kogi states comes to fruition, this may well be so and there is the strong possibility of our getting out of the woods in this beleaguered sector that has become a burden on the economy.

According to Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo, IPMAN’s National President, the proposed project is a venture with foreign investors who will inject $3 billion into the economy to achieve the objective. Of course, the benefits of increased domestic refining capacity through functional local refineries are obvious. These include availability of petroleum products to IPMAN members, reduced scarcity of petroleum products, enhanced job creation, reduction in capital flight and the attendant growth in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

This is graphically portrayed by Elder Okoronkwo when he said that “Where Nigerians are spending $60 million in exporting crude oil and bringing in refined products, the proposed refinery will reduce the cost and stress of exporting crude to bring in the refined products”.

It is regrettable that despite the billions of Naira spent on the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of the country’s three existing refineries, they continue to operate abysmally below installed capacity. The consequence is that the Nigerian National

W

Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) receives 445,000 barrels of crude oil per day but refines only a fraction locally. Thus, the NNPC engages in a swap deal which involves its selling unrefined crude and importing refined petroleum products.

This has provided an avenue for massive corruption to the detriment of the economy through the purported fuel subsidy attendant on importation of petroleum products.

A probe by the House of Representatives into purported fuel subsidy payments between 2010 and 2012 revealed that the country had been defrauded to the tune of $6 billion. Fifteen fuel importers were discovered to have collected more than $300 million within the period without importing any fuel. Others dubiously collected double payments on several occasions. Similarly, about N700 million is allegedly being spent daily on illegal kerosene subsidies while kerosene is generally sold at N150 per litre across the country.

Regrettably, the government has made no move to either issue a white paper on or implement the recommendations of the Dr Kalu Idika Kalu National Refineries Special Task Force Committee, which was set up following the 2012 fuel subsidy removal crisis. The committee had proposed an offshore refining scheme as an interim measure to bridge the gap between the current production level of NNPC and the balance refined abroad. It also recommended changes in the current ownership structure and business model of the existing refineries in order to turn them around, with the aim of privatising them within 18 months and ultimately achieving full deregulation of

the oil and gas sector after necessary palliatives had been put in place.

For some inexplicable reason, the three Green field refineries planned by the NNPC Greenfield Projects Division Group since 2005 remain unrealised while no progress has been made as regards the 18 licences issued by government for private refineries since 2002.

That is why it is in the national interest that the initiatives by IPMAN and the $9 billion refinery and petrochemical complex being planned by the Dangote Group should be given every encouragement to succeed. It is also of utmost importance that the long and unjustifiably delayed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) be urgently passed into law to sanitise the oil and gas sector and encourage the much needed private investment to maximise its potentials.

‘For some inexplicable reason, the three Green field refineries planned by the NNPC Greenfield Projects Division Group since 2005 remain unrealised while no progress has been made as regards the 18 licences issued by government for private refineries since 2002. ... It is in the national interest that the initiatives by IPMAN and the $9 billion refinery and petrochemical complex being planned by the Dangote Group should be given every encouragement to succeed’

Uninsured vehicles • It is alarming that about 80 percent of motorists are culprits

W

E are startled by the revelation that out of the more than 12.5 million registered vehicles in Nigeria, a paltry 2.5 million of them have genuine insurance cover. The information on the record of insured vehicles is reportedly sourced from the Nigerian Insurance Industry Database’s (NIID) data bank, and released to the public by Remi Olowude, Chairman, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) during its annual general meeting in Lagos. The NIID, an arm of NIA, is saddled with the duty of providing information on the details of vehicles available on Nigerian roads, as well as helping to identify fake insurance certificates.

Olowude over-simplified the issue at stake when he held the trend responsible for why the reportedly registered 60

‘We also call on insurance companies in the country to do more than their current efforts to try and win public confidence in the discharge of their responsibilities. The waning confidence of the public in their services might be injurious to their growth revenue wise, but it has more hurtful impact on safety of commuters and motorists’

insurance companies operating in the country could not attain their collective target of N1trillion premium income since 2012.

We consider the revelation as scandalous as it portrays Nigerian motorists as lawless in view of the explicit provision of the Insurance Act 2003. The Act, in section 68, unambiguously provides: “No person shall use or cause or permit any other person to use a motor vehicle on the road unless a liability, which he may thereby incur in respect of damage to the property of third parties, is insured with an insurer registered under this Act.” We ask: Why would 80 percent of vehicles driven on the nation’s roads not be insured in flagrant violation of the above provision of extant insurance law? Could the NIA revelation be a clear case of inaccurate data capturing of total vehicle insurance holders by NIID? Does it mean that most vehicle owners in the country are lawless and are contemptuous of the law? Or, more importantly, could this unacceptably doubtful trend be a reflection of the passing of a vote-ofno-confidence in insurance companies generally by vehicle owners?

We seem to attune to this last point as we have always known that there is widespread popular cynicism/scepticism about insurance companies’ sincerity when it comes to payment of compensation in the event of any accident. There have been several reported and mostly unreported cases of procedural hiccups used by most insurance companies as a ploy to escape payment of compensations to the insured.

Because of this general public perception

of the insurance companies over time, most Nigerians, not only car owners, have lost confidence in seeking insurance policy. Sadly, most motorists plying the nation’s roads have criminally embraced fake and cheap vehicle insurance policy that is antithetical to the whole essence of having such global motor insurance policy in place.

We call on motorists to henceforth ensure that they endeavour to get at least the minimum mandatory genuine third party motor insurance certificates before ever venturing to put their vehicles on the road, as the habit of procuring fake insurance policy is a detrimental practice. More importantly, there is the need for the police, as a law enforcement institution, to intensify efforts capable of boosting compliance with genuine vehicle insurance policy. This should be complemented by a vigorous enlightenment campaign geared towards sensitising vehicle owners to their insurance rights, the available cause of legal action in case of insurance abridgments, and the compelling need to always obtain genuine insurance policy before putting vehicles on the road.

We also call on insurance companies in the country to do more than their current efforts to try and win public confidence in the discharge of their responsibilities. The waning confidence of the public in their services might be injurious to their growth revenue wise, but it has more hurtful impact on safety of commuters and motorists. To the insurance firms, we say, in unequivocal terms: do everything possible to restore the people’s trust.

Facebook’s lab rats, a.k.a. users

F

ACEBOOK is an extraordinary tool, but its pitfalls have become increasingly apparent. Users’ personal information, interests and habits are all fair game for the company, which has little compunction about analyzing the data and selling them to advertisers. Now Facebook has gone beyond capitalism and into creepy. For a week in 2012, it seems, the company manipulated users’ news feeds as part of a psychology experiment to see whether happier or sadder content led users to write happier or sadder posts. The result? Facebook appears to have altered people’s emotional states without their awareness.

It was inappropriate and unethical for Facebook to conduct a psychological experiment without users’ informed consent.

This was wrong on multiple levels. It was unethical for Facebook to conduct a psychological experiment without users’ informed consent. And it was especially wrong to do so in a way that played with the emotions of its users. That’s dangerous territory.

Facebook, which employs a secret algorithm to determine what users see on their news feeds, conducted its research by altering the feeds of some 700,000 users, increasing or decreasing the number of “positive” and “negative” messages they saw to study the “emotional contagion” of social networking.

The company, together with two academic researchers, published the results this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In the study, Facebook asserted that users had given informed consent, which is standard protocol in psychological research, when they agreed to the company’s terms of service, which caution that users’ data can be mined for analysis and research. But that’s disingenuous. It’s hard to believe that users who took the time to read Facebook’s 13,000-word service agreements would have understood they were signing on to be lab rats.

In response to the outrage, the Facebook researcher who designed the study apologized for “any anxiety it caused.” He added that the company will seek to improve its internal review practices for future research. Certainly Facebook needs to revisit its policies to ensure that its users are not unwilling participants in psychological research. If this research is so valuable, the company should seek true informed consent.

But Facebook also needs to address its cavalier attitude toward its users. The company has come under fire repeatedly for pushing the boundaries of privacy expectations only to be surprised by ferocious blowback. This latest controversy sends a troubling message to users that their personal information, their online activities and now even their feelings are all data points to be analyzed and manipulated according to the whims of a giant corporate machine.

Los Angeles Times

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

• Executive Director (Finance & Administration) Ade Odunewu

•Deputy Editor Lawal Ogienagbon

•Advert Manager Robinson Osirike

•Deputy Editor (News) Adeniyi Adesina

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

•IT Manager Bolarinwa Meekness

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

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

18

CARTOON & LETTERS

S

IR: With due respect to my teachers, senior colleagues and colleagues, the call for downing of tool by doctors is needless having read the ratio on which the strike was called. Having worked within and outside Nigeria both in Clinical and Public Health domain, I am strongly obliged to state that the nation’s health drawbacks are essentially caused by doctors who are meant to be the leaders of the health team. It suffices to state that while it is true that the leadership of the health team is like a birthright, their roles and responsibility must equally be so. Only when these are aligned can we claim the leadership of the health team. As for the request placed before the federal government, it is sad to note that the issues are quite petty and trivial to culminate in the decision that will

S

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

Another needless doctors’ strike result to irreversible consequences and loss of lives.

As a medical doctor with over 14 years experience, I have never had to face the question of whether or not I am the head of any health team where I found myself as the most senior doctor or the only doctor in a collection of health practitioners in a health mission. The simple reason is that I know my bound and appreciate that even the weakest link in my team count. The

posture and activities of my colleagues both at the public and private sectors is appalling, such that it has left some of us who have seen our shortfalls and have made or shown some resentment to it are seen as deviants.

I am not surprised at the backlash we receive from other team mates in the hospital. Looking critically at their opposition to us, you will naturally find that something is wrong with us as doctors, if not,

how could we have lost the confidence of all our team mates including non medics such as the ward attendants, administration staff etc?

Now my question is, of what value is the appointment of a Deputy Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (DCMAC) to the already Chief Medical Director (CMD) and Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) that

Suarez: When talent is not enough

IR: Uruguayan born football whiz kid, Louis Suarez is, no doubt, a talented footballer.

Last season, before he finally agreed to stay with his club, Liverpool FC of England, he was a subject of fierce transfer speculations as major clubs in Europe jostled to snap him from the service of Liverpool FC. Though he started the 2013/14 English Premier League (EPL) season late, having earlier been suspended for nine matches, Suarez still emerged the highest goal scorer with 31 goals.

Not only that, for his amazing exploits on the field of play, he was overwhelmingly voted the EPL Player of the Season. Such is the unbelievable strength of Suarez talent.

As he does for his club, so also he does for his Uruguay national team.

At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Suarez was partially part of the reason Uruguay got to the semifinal, breaking the hearts of many Ghanaians, and indeed, Africans, in the process. He has equally repeated his heroic acts for his country at the on- going World Cup in Brazil when he single handedly took England to the cleaners, scoring two great goals in their Group D second match.

It is, however, unfortunate that Suarez has not been able to prop-

erly leverage on his mercurial footballing talent with some of his disgusting on-field acts. Rather than being remembered for his footballing exploits, the sheer mention of Suarez’s name, ironically, now evokes bad memories as a result of his numerous shameful acts of biting fellow players on the field. At Holland, Suarez was involved in a brawl involving players from his erstwhile team, Ajax Amsterdam and PSV Eindhoven in a Dutch league match during which he bit a PSV player, Bakkal, on the neck. Also, in the closing stages of a 2012/2013 EPL game between his team, Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC, Ivanovic and Suarez jostled for the ball in the penalty area, to which Suarez responded by biting the Serbian defender on the arm.

As if he has not done enough havoc to the game, Suarez recently made a hat-trick of biting during a Brazil 2014 World Cup game against Italy when he bit Italian defender, Giorgio Chiellini, on the shoulder during a penalty area scuffle.

Football is, without doubt, a contact sport that involves physical struggles. There are, however, boundaries that players should not cross. Suarez has flouted the rules of the game on numerous occasions.

His inability to turn a new leaf in spite of numerous sanctions in the past is simply an indication that his talent is not enough to make him a legend of the game.

The Suarez case has clearly brought to fore the limitations of talent in man’s quest for excellence in life’s pursuit. There have been numerous cases of highly talented people, in diverse spheres of life, who still failed to achieve optimal success in life. The late Whitney Houston was blessed with amazing singing talent but ended up a failure in spite of her endowment.

Former World Heavy Weight Boxing Champion, ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson, became a multimillionaire before he clocked age 20. He, however, through his riotous lifestyle, squandered all the fortune amassed from boxing and today remains heavily indebted. In our clime, the name Etim Esin rings a ball, at least for football lovers. At the height of his footballing glory, Etim was compared to Argentine Soccer prodigy, Maradona. Such was the depth of his talent. Unfortunately, Etim blew it with his unruly style of life.

Music genius, Majek Fashek, is today a shadow of his former self because he couldn’t properly manage his God given music talent.

Talent is God-given. Talent, how-

ever, is not enough in the path to success. According to American author, H. Jackson Brown Jr., best known for his inspirational book, ‘Life’s Little Instruction Book’, ”talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There is plenty of movement, but you never know if it is going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.” How apt!

• Tayo Ogunbiyi Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

has been exclusively for doctors?

How is the work of a doctor affected by the appointment of the most senior health practitioner to direct the activities of his other colleagues as a director; or how is doctor’s work affected if a health practitioner has reached a level of expertise in his field and he is referred to as a consultant?

It is quite worrisome to hear my colleagues down tools for the simple reason that the post of a Surgeon General is yet to be filled even when the two ministerial slots are occupied by doctors. I believe that the hazards’ allowance needs to be reviewed, but doctors especially our consultants must justify the little that has been paid by actively availing themselves in the daily routines of the hospital instead of turning attainment of consultant in the hospital as a gateway to truancy; my colleagues know what I mean.

We are already fast losing our respect from the government and the general public, and in recent time even from our colleagues whose disposition is for the good of man.

This piece is a wakeup call to my colleagues to look within and appreciate the rot and imbroglio our actions and in-actions have brought to this noble profession and the health sector in general.

• Dr Abdullahi Baba Abdul, Former UN Medical Doctor to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

Re: President’s men at work

S

IR: Gbenga Omotoso’s, your ‘President at work’ is first class. He is a good historian and expert at putting ‘high flyers’ in positions of authority which he called round pegs in round holes.

He made a mistake though.

Appropriately, Abacha should be allocated the Ministry of Finance where he would display his unprecedented talent at managing and applying national resources. Please reconsider the composition of your cabinet! I can assure you, at the end of the year you will top the list of editors with specialised skills for discovering talents. Pray, where were you in 1963 to 1966? Still very

young? We had a formidable political leader, an elegant jurist and adventurer whose office was at Mokola Round-about in Ibadan and who was affectionately called Fani-Power. His party, the NCNC got married to SL Akintola’s breakaway party from the Action Group to form the concoction that snatched the election of 1964, that led to the coups of 1966, that led to the civil war of 1967, that led to the interminable military forays into the administration of the country.

Good luck to us all.

• Deji Fasuan, Senior Citizen, Ekiti.

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

19

COMMENTS

Reflections on Essays in Honour of Wole Soyinka at 80

W

E cannot heap enough words of praise on Ivor Agyeman-Duah and Ogochukwu Promise for initiating Crucible of the Ages: Essays in Honor of Wole Soyinka at 80, and also for bringing the project to a successful completion. At a time when Africans worship the wrong gods, with deluded and demented congregations, who praise those who are neither historical figures nor human beings, these two co-editors have done what is both essential and right by honoring the right person and worshiping the right god! For it must be said that the gods that this new generation of Lilliputian Africans worship must be first and foremost, inhuman with profound capacity for callousness and emptiness; second, arrogant cannibals whose stomachs are never full yet forever constipated with greed and lucre; third, selfabsorbed juveniles who validate the distasteful characterization of primitivism as depicted in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness; and fourth, righteous Jezebels who give Satan (the devil himself) a good name in order to continue to idolize it. Shockingly, I have even come across praise for terrorists, coldblooded and ruthless murderers, comrades of deceit, wolves in sheep’s clothing, infantile inventors of hoax literature, and intellectual lightweights and pirates who adorn their clumsy signatures with viperous abbreviated numerals and viperish alphabets. Another layer of generation that comes after us will as well see the imprint of these demonic hagiographers, yet we refrain from casting the first stones because we want to claim a higher moral ground.

In over 200 pages, a variety of opinions, views, reflections and interpretations on the indomitable Wole Soyinka have been given by a cast of talents in diverse fields, from notable literary figures to credible politicians, both from the older as well as newer generation of men and women. There are even new poems that will lead to new essays, and new essays that will lead to new critical appraisals, and new appraisals that will generate new dialogue. I do not want, at least for now, to expand on these spaces of engagement on Soyinka, other than to add, inter alia, two additional paragraphs: One can hold the view that human beings are fundamentally evil, and that the best way to conquer them is to be fundamentally good. In Soyinka’s engagement with many African leaders, the reality that we are daily confronted with evil means that life, if we are overwhelmed by those characters, loses its meaning. To restore that meaning, I think that we have to be fundamentally so good that we purify ourselves of any evil thinking—it is the very purity of our own

For, in the final analysis, our most common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future.

And we are all mortal. - John F. Kennedy.

WOULD have titled this article The Mama Boko Haram job or What Mama Boko can do, but neither of these titles would suffice for you. Many Nigerians did not know you until President Goodluck Jonathan raised a peace panel to talk with Boko Haram.

Even at that, we still did not know you because all we saw of you was a photograph in which you were dressed in an Islamic attire. You were covered from head to toe, leaving two tiny slits in the cloth for your eyes.

Till today, none of those who saw that photograph in April, last year, can see you on the street and identify you because you left no room for such identification. It has been over one year since the inauguration of the Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North, yet nothing has changed in that part of the country. The worst hit is the Northeast, where Boko Haram has been on the rampage in the last four years.

My dear Hajia Aisha Wakil, your

I

80 DAYS AFTER

?

WHERE ARE THE ABDUCTED CHIBOK GIRLS?

By Toyin Falola minds that sustains us and emboldens us to speak the truth.

We can be angry at those men who have destroyed millions of men and women, but Soyinka refuses to translate that anger into that what can be defined as evil, as I sincerely believe that by doing so we complicate all lives, both innocent and non-innocent, making life itself irrelevant.

Art, as we know, is life, and its essence must capture all that is good and not so good about life itself. The subject of this tome, Professor Wole Soyinka, is a spiritual wanderer in the land of the living as well as an expert hunter and of the ghosts.

That wandering, on the one hand, does say that we are all products of history, whether we are proud of it or not. In this inter-subjectivity of being a “product,” the artist may be assumed to be offering subjective art and narratives. But that subjectivity can be representational of something fundamental as in the defense of poor people. Intellectual inquiries, even in the paradigm of autobiographical subjective narrative, can frame the objectivity of a place, a person, and, in the end, of a race. In Soyinka’s case, the subjectivity of the permanent state of transition from one chaos to the next becomes the art of liberation, manifested from one text to another.

Life, when viewed objectively, is art, insofar as it has to be represented in content and form, in reality and drama, in words and body language. Even when the representation is fake, it speaks to that which is real.That, obviously, is why art converts us into dreamers, speculators, and interlocutors. We become migrants, even when we are fixated on a point or occupying an immoveable chair. We are converted into something, as while watching Soyinka’s drama, but that “something” in all its coloration and individualistic expression, is a form of mobility that is mental but also physical. We locate and relocate, mentally and emotionally, creating a spiritual restlessness.

My own spiritual restlessness is to wander back to this book, as I read it for the purpose of this commentary. The co-editors are themselves distinguished. For example, Promise is an award-winning poet, a scholar, and a painter. Ivor is a famous writer, a cosmopolitan gentleman, and a consummate diplomat. The skills and competence of the two of them reflect clearly in their choice of authors and in their careful attention to detail. A tremendous accomplishment, the book provides an accessible set of ideas to understand Wole Soyinka, allowing a new generation of Africans that seek role models to reject the mythology that we are doomed to

failure, the deepening counter-narrative of pessimists that we have no hope now and forever more.

The celebration of Wole Soyinka at the ripe and seasoned age of 80 is much deserved. The unquestionable hero in the condemnation of the post-colonial state, sometimes as a lone ranger and other times as a member of the collective whole, is Wole Soyinka, who has been the continent’s foremost writer and critic for over half a century. Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s title “The Conscience of Africa” for his piece in the book, captures a long history of battles. The most multitalented of them all, the preeminent public intellectual, all his writings, irrespective of the genre, carry a compelling universal message, applicable not only to Nigeria but to all countries where similar conditions exist. A crusader with uncommon skill and talent, his prolific energy has been used to oppose injustice, cruelty, and corruption. He can be emulated but not imitated, and this genius cannot be intimidated—not even by the most evil of rulers!

This publication, in its totality, is a majestic master stroke, which has been nurtured to become a major scholarly enterprise, rather than merely an ordinary adulatory exercise. It illustrates in brilliant chapters the useful connections between art and politics, and between individuals and society.

It is emblematic in showing how one person can be a force of change, putting literature and performance in the context of larger politics.

Most certainly, the book is crackling great; a well-packaged agglomeration of views on a great man. It shows how a commitment to a just culture of politics can expose poor governance and political graft. We are not slaves of power, prisoners of crooks, passive victims of murderers, but agents of change. Full of positive words and passion, the arguments, built on elevated ground, are compelling in showing the relevance of intellectual work.

Above all, this commemorative volume represents the struggle for our dignity, for the Africa we want, and for the type of person we want to become, both as individuals and, indeed, as a race. Celebrating Wole Soyinka through this serious publication is a most worthy undertaking, as it honours one of the intellectual giants, an octogenarian of stunning repute, who conducted the interception between the 20th and 21st centuries. This book, in the final analysis, is not just another literary festschrift but, most certainly, a notable testament in the annals of modern social and intellectual history! It is a publication that will certainly stand the test of time and human history for its subject— Professor Wole Soyinka— to be acclaimed forever more!

• Falola is the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities and Distinguished University Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

• Prof. Osuntokun returns next week

Profile in courage membership of the panel was informed by your closeness to the sect. You were expected to leverage on this special relationship to get the ‘boys’, if I may use that word, to cease fire. I know that you would have put in your best to get these ‘boys’ to see reason, but then for their own safety they would require some assurance that they will come to no harm if they drop their weapons. They may not see you as being in the position to give them such assurance. This, I believe, is your dilemma. I feel for you madam.

As they say, a lot of water has passed under the bridge since the inauguration of the panel and the submission of its report. Your panel recommended amnesty for members of the sect, who are willing to renounce violence. I strongly believe that the sect can still renounce violence, if properly handled. It is not going to be an easy task, but I know that it can be done. And Hajia, you are the one to do it. You are the woman for the job because you are their ‘mother’.

You may not be their biological mother, but you wield a motherly influence over them. They will listen to you because they trust you even more than they trust their own mothers. Hajia, so far, you have shown that you are a courageous woman. I salute your courage. As a mother yourself, I am certain that you cannot be happy with what is happening in the three Northeast states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. As a resident of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, you are aware of the atrocities committed

by Boko Hram. No day passes without the sect wreaking havoc on one village or the other. How long will this continue?

I am pained that 80 days after the Chibok schoolgirls were abducted, they are yet to be released by your ‘children’, who have claimed responsibility for the act. The government says it is working covertly to get back the girls, but to me, nothing seems to be moving, even with the intervention of the so-called super powers. Hajia, our destiny lies in our hands in this matter and people like you have a vital role to play if we must get back these girls safe and sound. I am appealing to you to do all you can to bring back these girls, who as it were, will be going through psychological trauma wherever they are.

Their parents too will be psychologically troubled. We do not know what these people are going through because we are not the ones wearing the shoe. We can only feel their pains but cannot suffer the same psychological trauma they have been going through in the past two-and-a-half months. Let us imagine that our own children are forcefully taken away from us just as these schoolgirls were abducted, how will we feel? If these girls were to be the children of those in power will they be treating this matter like this?

I want us to bypass even the government in this matter, if possible, because it has not done enough in getting back these girls. It did not act promptly when the news of their abduction broke, rather, it was waiting for proof that ‘’over 200 girls can be abducted like that?’’

Now that it has the proof from its panel on the Chibok girls abduction, has the government become convinced? It is the politicisation of the girls’ abduction that brought us to this pass. If we had not delayed the rescue effort, the girls would

have been back home by now.

Hajia, you can still do something to redeem the situation.

The government keeps on saying that it is working covertly to get them back, but there are no signs that we will see them soon , if people like you do not intervene. Last week, our President was the butt of a scathing editorial by the New York Post following his letter carried by The Washington Post in which he wrote about his secret plans to get back the girls and how he will get the United Nations to establish and coordinate a system to share intelligence . To the New York Post, the government’s secret plan to get the girls back- which the President says he has to ‘’remain quiet about’’ – isn’t much impressing Boko Haram.

Of course, it has not because the sect has not ceased killing, maiming and looting since the April 14 abduction of those children.

AJIA, your interview with Al Jazeera, shows that you can prevail on Boko Haram to release these girls in this holy month of Ramadan, in which Prophet Mohammad told us that no true Muslim should fight. I know that you are also worried by what is going on and have been doing all that you can quietly to help.

Now, is the time to step up that effort and Allah will crown your effort with successs. In the Al Jazeera interview, you recalled how you

H

Lawal Ogienagbon lawal.ogienagbon@thenationonlineng.net SMS ONLY: 08099400204, 08112661612

got to know the late Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf , and also spoke of how he and members of his group enjoyed your cooking. ‘’He(Yusuf) prayed that Almighty Allah would reward me because so many were eating from my pot, and that was how we established a close relationship. The boys called me ‘mum’. Many of them didn’t have mothers’’. Hajia, you have become the mother that they do not have.

What these ‘boys’ need is motherly love and care , which you have been providing them in the past five years. Please, talk to them like a mother to her sons and let them see reason why they should let the girls go. Hajia, you can do it. May Allah grant you the wisdom to handle this national assignment.

‘The government says it is working covertly to get back the girls, but to me, nothing seems to be moving, even with the intervention of the so-called super powers. Hajia, our destiny lies in our hands in this matter and people like you have a major role to play in it’

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

20

COMMENTS

N

IGERIANS may have misgivings about President Jonathan’s strategy for fighting Boko Haram insurgency and other forms of terrorism in our land, but not even the most virulent critics of his administration will fail to acknowledge his success in his war against electoral violence and other electoral malpractices in Nigeria. He has been very consistent in this endeavour and his commitment has paid off. This is why I think in spite of the gloom that has enveloped our nation, following the continued incarceration of about 200 girls by Boko Haram insurgents, their mindless violence and the atrocities perpetrated by those described as Fulani herdsmen against innocent Nigerians, we can still spare a moment to join the president, his vice and other PDP heavy weights who have been clinking glasses in Abuja to celebrate this great feat. I think we should not allow the election of Ayo Fayose, one time impeached governor of Ekiti who still have criminal cases to answer in court, to diminish the president’s achievement. I think we owe our nation a duty to let the president know that those of us who share his passion for free and fair elections are more than those against him.

It is however ironic that the president’s victory has been achieved through the efforts of our security forces who in spite of their great sacrifices have come under intense criticism for their prosecution of the Boko Haram insurgency. But their celebrated success in Ekiti which followed earlier ones in Ondo and Edo, has clearly shown that with sufficient motivation, our security forces can also deliver on their primary mandate which is security of lives and property of Nigerians. Success, they say, have many fathers. Even the Inspector General of Police (IGP) whose voice has been subdued for some time by Boko Haram insurgents, who freely kill his ill-equipped men and routinely

‘Having made the president and the nation proud, Adesiyan and Obanikoro, who are yet to visit any part of the north-east in their capacities as ministers of defence and police affairs will wipe away our tears if they are directed to lead their 35,000-strong security team to Chibok without delay’

A

Replicate Ekiti template in Borno sack their police stations without resistance, is now celebrating. As if the police have suddenly become INEC, he now says the police was in Ekiti “to showcase that it is possible for Nigerian security agencies to conduct a peaceful, free, fair and credible election”.

The Ekiti success was the result of meticulous planning by the presidency, the Minister of State for Defence, Musliu Obanikoro, and the Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan, the 35,000-strong security team which according to The Punch report was made up of “officers of the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Security and the National Security and Civil Defence Corps,” was properly kitted and well motivated. Giving credence to this was no other officer than the Ekiti Police Commissioner, Felix Uyana who confirmed that besides “200 counter-terrorist officers, two DIGs, AIGs, sniffer dogs, horses and two aircrafts, that were hovering to monitor, there were no fewer than 12,000 police men”. The welfare of the team was also a priority of those who put them together. Punch also confirmed this when it told us that “the security men had occupied most of the hotels in the state a few days to the election.” Except those drafted for election, police hardly have enough to transport themselves to follow up investigations.

Besides motivation, the strategy was unassailable. First, the 35,000 security team shut down the state for three days. Apparently taking a cue from Senator Arise’s boast on Channel Television programme a few days to the election about his party’s readiness to match APC ‘rice for rice and money for money’, the special team supervised distribution of PDP

NAMBRA is a state that has produced great writers.

If Chinua Achebe and Flora Nwapa and Chukwuemeka Ike had not written the books they did, when they did, and how they did, I would perhaps not have had the emotional courage to write my own books.

Today I honour them and all the other writers who came before me. I stand respectfully in their shadow. I also stand with great pride in the shadow of so many other daughters and sons of Anambra State.

But the truth is that I have not always been proud of Anambra. I was ashamed when Anambra became a metaphor for poor governance, when our political culture was about malevolent shrines and kidnappings and burnt buildings, when our teachers were forced to become petty traders and our school children stayed at home, when Anambra was in such disarray that one of the world’s greatest storytellers, Chinua Achebe, raised the proverbial alarm by rejecting a national award.

But Anambra rallied. And, for me, that redemption, which is still an ongoing process, is personified in our former governor Peter Obi. I remember the first time I met him years ago, how struck I was, how impressed, that in a country noted for empty ostentation, our former governor travelled so simply and so noiselessly. And perhaps he is proof that you can in fact perform public service in Nigeria without destroying the eardrums of your fellow citizens and without scratching their cars with the whips of your escorts.

I was struck by other things – how he once arrived early to church, because according to him, he tried not to be late – in a society that excuses late coming by public officials – because he wanted young people to see that governors came to church on time. How he visited one of the schools handed over to the missions and gave the school prefect his direct phone number. How Government House here in Awka was often empty of hangers-on, because he had a reputation for what our people call ‘being stingy,’ which in other parts of the world would be called ‘prudently refusing to waste the people’s resources.’

Anambra was and is certainly one of the better-governed states in Nigeria. We measure good governance in terms of accountability, security, health, education, jobs, businesses.

All of these, of course, are important. But there are other values that are important for a successful society. Two of those in particular are relevant to ndi Anambra and ndi Igbo in general: the values of community and consensus.

Some years ago, I met an academic in the US. An Igbo man.

He wrote articles about Igbo culture, organized conferences about Igbo history. We had an interesting conversation during which he bemoaned the behaviour of Igbo people in

rice, Okada and other items as well as APC’s last minute distribution of its own rice.

Precisely because of the value the president attached to the Ekiti battle, the highly motivated security team was more than enthusiastic in executing their well scripted brief. They harassed and threatened Governor Fayemi.

They disallowed Oshiomhole’s helicopter from taking off from Benin. Amaechi’s chartered aircraft managed to land in Akure but he was stopped on his way to Ekiti by gun-wielding security men who advised him to go back and face his own demons in Port Harcourt.

And to ensure the president’s brief was carried out to the letter, his PDP point man for the election Chris Uba, the Minister for Police Affairs, Adesiyan and his counterpart in defence, Musliu Obanikoro were on ground to supervise their men who went around with their sniffer dogs arresting APC members who, as Showumi, a PDP mobiliser from Ogun State alleged on a channel Television program, ‘carried millions in their pockets’ to induce voters. The Ekiti experiment was such a success that the IG has now said its template will be adopted for the Osun governorship election in August.

This is where I disagree with the IG. I think instead of rendering the 35,000-strong winning team idle until August, it can be put into a more productive use now. The Ekiti template can be replicated in Borno State today. We must not forget our abducted Chibok girls have been in captivity for almost 80 days. Neither the government nor the Americans we had hoped would help have an idea of where the girls are or their travails that some experts say may lead to loss of memory or permanent

anger against themselves and the society that has let them down.

Besides we all share a collective sense of guilt, of pains, and shame, for letting our children and their grieving parents down for so long.

We also know the president is no less troubled. If we needed any evidence, the president provided that when last Friday in an Op Ed article in Washington Post told the American audience and their lawmakers that his “government and our security and intelligence services have spared no resources, have not stopped and will not stop until the girls are returned home and the thugs who took them are brought to justice.”

I think the president who added that he was however “deeply concerned that his silence as he works to accomplish the task at hand is being misunderstood by partisan critics” now has a joker in the 35,000-strong winning team to shame his virulent critics who never see anything good in his administration.. Having made the president and the nation proud, Adesiyan and Obanikoro, who are yet to visit any part of the north-east in their capacities as ministers of defence and police affairs will wipe away our tears if they are directed to lead their 35,000-strong security team to Chibok without delay. They will put an end to weekly harvest of deaths in Chibok local government which has experienced no peace since April 14.

Only last Sunday, Kautikari, Kwada and Nguragila villages near Chibok were sacked while scores of security men as well worshippers who were locked up in their churches before being sprayed with bullets, lost their lives.

At a press briefing on Monday, the irrepressible Doyin Okupe, was a subdued man. Unable to look up, he kept on talking to himself: “we don’t know what they want...these people killing innocent people…” Two days ago, Chris Olukolade, Director of Defence Information revealed that one Babuji Ya’ari a member of Youth Vigilante Group also known as civilian JTF has been arrested for being the coordinator of deadly attacks in Maiduguri since 2011 along with a woman. Hafsat Bako another member who was said to have admitted they paid N10, 000 to their members.

I am sure Okupe as a successful PDP stalwart may not comprehend why educated men mortgage their future or a Borno woman risk her life for tN10, 000. But his brief is brief. Prevail on his principal who understands the politics of stomach infrastructure. With N18b (the figure credited to PDP strong man in the west), in two months pacification of Borno will be completed. It took less than that in Ekiti where teacher as stomach warriors got only N10, 000.

Community and Consensus My hope for Anambra

By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie America.

This condition is sadly not limited to the Diaspora. I once ran into a woman here in Nigeria, an old friend of my family’s, and her little son. I said kedu to the boy. His mother quickly said no, no, no, he doesn’t speak Igbo. He speaks only English.

I deeply love both English and Igbo. English is the language of literature for me. But Igbo has a greater emotional weight. It is the enduring link to my past. It is the language in which my great grandmothers sang.

Igbo is not perfect, no people have a perfect culture, but there are Igbo values that we can retrieve and renew. The values of community. Of consensus.

Conscience and integrity are central to Igbo culture, and to any culture that has strong communitarian principles. Conscience means that we cannot think only of ourselves, that we think of a greater good, that we remain aware of ourselves as part of a larger whole.

Some years ago, my cousin from Eziowelle told me a story that his grandfather had told him, about ISA ILE, where people in a dispute would go to a god and swear that they had not lied, with the understanding that whoever had lied would die. My cousin said, ‘thank God we no longer do that.’

Have we become, I wondered, a people now overly familiar with falsehood? Are we now allergic to truth? Should we not continue to have a metaphorical isa ile as a guiding principle? Should we not have a society where wilfully telling lies that cause harm to others will have real consequences?

The Igbo are famed for their entrepreneurial spirit. But at what point did we decide that we will no longer sell goods and services, but instead sell the safety of our sisters and brothers? How did we come to a place where people no longer sleep in their ancestral homes because they are afraid they will be kidnapped for ransom by their own relatives?

Igboland was once a place where people were concerned about WHERE your money came from. Now that is no longer the case. Now, it matters only that one has money. As for where the money came from, we look away.

In Chinua Achebe’s classic, Things Fall Apart, Unoka consults Agbala about his poor yam harvests.

Every year, he said sadly (to the priestess), ‘before I put any crop in the earth, I sacrifice a cock to AnË, the owner of all land. It is the law of our fathers. I also kill a cock at the shrine of the god of yams. I clear the bush and set fire to it when it is dry. I sow the yams when the first rain has fallen, and stake them when the young tendrils appear. I weed...’

‘Hold your peace!’ screamed the priestess, her voice terrible as it echoed through the dark void. ’You have offended neither the gods nor your fathers. And when a man is at peace with his gods and his ancestors, his harvest will be good or bad according to the strength of his arm.’

So while we, ndi Anambra, till our fertile soil with strength, let us also be sure that we have not offended our fathers or our mothers. Let us retrieve and renew the values that once were ours. The values of conscience and integrity. Of community and consensus.

Let us disagree and agree to disagree but let us do so NOT as separate fractious groups fighting against each other constantly, but as people who ultimately have the same goal: a better community for everyone, a better Anambra State.

• Excerpts from speech delivered by Adichie during the celebration of Obiano’s first 100 days in office in Awka, Anambra State

‘The Igbo are famed for their entrepreneurial spirit. But at what point did we decide that we will no longer sell goods and services, but instead sell the safety of our sisters and brothers?

How did we come to a place where people no longer sleep in their ancestral homes because they are afraid they will be kidnapped for ransom by their own relatives?’

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

21

COMMENTS

S

OME statements which I made in this column last week now make it necessary for me to explain certain things more fully. I refer to the followings statements: “We cannot be producing streams of educated citizens from year to year without putting forth the kinds of programmes that can create opportunities for their education and skills…

After turning ourselves into a very educated people, what we have needed for decades and have not been doing is to consciously turn ourselves into modern business folks”.

We Yoruba have succeeded greatly in educating ourselves. We are universally recognized as Africa’s most literate people. We owe the success to our national tendency to seek education and enlightenment, and the very heroic efforts of our leaders in the 1950s to make education available to all our children.

Today, most Yoruba families can boast of university graduates.

But the intention of our leaders of the 1950s was not to stop with educational development, but to use education as the foundation for wider fields of development. In this regard, I remember some things that Chief Awolowo said in a conversation with a small group, including me, in December 1978. He said that, after providing access to education for all our children in the 1950s, the next step intended by our leaders was to provide opportunities for our increasingly educated people to use their education to serve themselves, their families and their society. That, he said, meant that the government of the Western Region needed to embark on programmes that could turn our educated people into modern skilled workers, modern entrepreneurs, modern businesspeople, modern farmers, etc.

Unfortunately, the Western Region crisis started at that point in 1962, and it stopped our progress. As a result, in the years that followed, even the most patriotic of our leaders have tended to concentrate only on education – leaving the wider fields of development unattended to. It is this failure that is responsible today for the very high rate of

The right path for the Yoruba today unemployment among our educated youths, and for terrible poverty in our South-west.

The governments of our states must return to the things we have not been doing - or that we have been doing sufficiently. We must consciously nurture a modern business culture among our people. The way to do that is very well known in the world today. Many countries in East Asia have done it successfully and in short periods of time. Japan started it all. Then some other countries of the region – like Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, and others – followed Japan’s example. China is doing it. Israel is doing it very successfully in the Middle East. The basic ways to do it are as follows: First, emphasize a culture of work among our people. For us the Yoruba nation, with our great history of work, enterprise and achievements, and with our well-known love of the beautiful life, this ought not to be difficult at all. Our state governments must find ways to do it, and to discourage the typical Nigerian dependence on hand-outs, hustling and begging.

Second, improve the work skills of our people – through emphasis on technical skills in our whole educational system, through wellestablished apprenticeship systems, and through technical schools and colleges of technology. Some of our existing schools and universities can, with the help of our state authorities, be easily modified for these purposes. We must also nurture good work ethics among our workers. For modern farming skills, we will need to have farm centres and institutes.

Third, establish various kinds of institutions (schools, institutes and colleges, university

‘We will have to nurture a culture of political discipline in our region – including cautious politicking, free, fair and peaceful elections, and respectful surrender to the will and voice of the people as expressed through their votes. Since our six states are likely to be controlled by different political parties, we must establish institutions that bring our governors together responsibly for the good of our whole region’

T

HE Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Thursday, June 26, mandated its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to investigate comments allegedly made by Senator Oluremi Tinubu (Lagos Central) which was said to have disparaged members of the Senate. She was said to have accused leaders of the Senate of providing uninspiring leadership and always pandering to the whims and caprices of the executive arm of government. The committee, headed by Senator Ayo Akinyelure (Ondo Central) was given two weeks to conclude their assignment and report back to the Senate.

Specifically, Mrs. Tinubu, the quiet and easy-going wife of the former governor of Lagos State Senator Bola Tinubu, a leader of the opposition All Progressive Congress (A.P.C) was accused of saying, “The Senate is not a place I really want to go back to except APC becomes the majority. But if it is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government, I don’t think it is the environment I want to be again. I have had my fill”. She then allegedly said that the Senate had failed Nigerians.

There have been insinuations that the swiftness with which the matter was tabled before the Senate by the Majority Leader Senator Ndoma-Egba a member of the PDP before the presiding officer, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu also of the (PDP) has a political coloration. It has been suggested by some women activists that the action is driven by male chauvinism. Others are of the view that the whole probe is targeted not at embarrassing Mrs. Tinubu herself, but her husband, a frontline leader of the APC, Asiwaju Tinubu.

This writer is not interested in the above insinuations but is greatly disturbed that the Senate of the Federal Republic of Ni-

programmes, short-term training centres, etc) for developing entrepreneurship, business management, etc.

Fourth, and very importantly, a rich variety of ways to provide financial helping hands to businesses – well-managed micro-credit loans systems, business loans guarantee systems, etc, for business starters, capital interventions. These must be professionally structured and managed and must be free from the influence of partisan politics. In short, our states must invest in our people.

Fifth, we must set up a conscious programme for encouraging and assisting exports. This will include encouraging all our producers to emphasize high quality in their products, so that the products may be acceptable in markets worldwide. Achieving a great and growing amount of exports must be central to our whole economic objectives.

Sixth, we must encourage a culture of research and development – through financial assistance to research, inventions and product development; and through laws that protect inventors.

Seventh, we must create various means of attracting investments to our region from the outside world. The volume of investment capital seeking places to invest in the world is very large and is constantly growing. We must set out consciously to attract much of it to our region. Being part of Nigeria, we are not totally free to do all we might want to do in this matter, but we must find creative ways to achieve our purpose.

Above all, we must ensure political peace and stability in our region. Investors want predictable peace, stability, protection, etc, for their investments – and they want these to be so for long in the future. Without this, we cannot achieve much. The Eastern Asian countries recognized this early and seriously controlled the nature of their politics, and their political stability is one of the principal reasons why they are able to attract most of the investments coming from the developed world to the developing world. Unfortunately, Nigeria is already too notorious worldwide as a country forever disturbed by rigged elections, violent electoral and politi-

Gbogun gboro cal conflicts, ethnic and religious conflicts and terrorism, etc. In spite of this, we can still get most of what we want if we control the quality of politics in our region.

We will have to nurture a culture of political discipline in our region – including cautious politicking, free, fair and peaceful elections, and respectful surrender to the will and voice of the people as expressed through their votes. Since our six states are likely to be controlled by different political parties, we must establish institutions that bring our governors together responsibly for the good of our whole region. In recent times, some of our governors have promoted the idea of integrated regional development for our region.

We must now try and develop this – or even better still, we might unite as one region (plus, of course the Yoruba in Kwara, Kogi, and our Itsekiri people). In our elections, we must reject the cantankerous and overly noisy kind of politician – because our prosperity depends on our political peace and stability.

In summary, I write all this on the assumption, and the faith, that we Yoruba can develop and become as prosperous as we wish even in the context of Nigeria – and that any other Nigerian nationality can do the same.

Of course, our having a separate country of our own would be much better; but, while we are still in Nigeria, it is wrong for us Yoruba as a nation to continue to operate on the debilitating belief that Nigeria necessarily limits out progress and prosperity. It does not. Everything depends on our own choices, our discipline, and our seriousness.

Senate versus Tinubu

By Aham Njoku geria sitting in Abuja which should be addressing serious national issues including the debilitating insurgency threatening to destroy the fabric of the Nigerian nation, crude oil theft, mass unemployment, kidnappings, armed robbery, crisis in the education sector to mention but a few, should busy itself with a comment made in faraway Lagos by a politician which should have attracted little or no attention if they were actually busy addressing critical issues affecting the common man.

In the first place, the probe is a gross violation of Mrs. Tinubu’s right to freedom of expression as enshrined in Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution. Section 39(1) provides, “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression including freedom to hold opinion and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference”. The point to note here is that the constitution being the supreme law of the land is far and above any other law including the Rules of the Senate.

Secondly, since the allegation against Mrs. Tinubu is coming from the Senate itself, is it right for the Senate to sit in trial against her? One of the cardinal rules of natural justice is expressed in the Latin Maxim “Nemo judex incausa sua”. In other words, one cannot be a judge in his own case. Here, apart from the constitutional violation of abridging Mrs. Tinubu’s right to freedom of expression, the Senate is the accuser, the prosecutor and the judge. It is doubtful if the committee can turn in a fair and impartial verdict under the circumstance.

Further, the Senate should be aware that

Nigerians have overtime been worried about the parliament, including the House of Representatives and how they have been using their time to serve Nigerians. Budgets have never been passed on time for several years. Important Bills like the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) have been in limbo for many years without receiving due attention, while they focus on unimportant issues. It is like the proverbial adage of a man chasing rats while his house is on fire. A classical case of misplaced priority.

Is it any wonder that there have been calls that the parliament should be made a parttime institution and that their salaries and emoluments should be slashed considerably relative to the national minimum wage? Some have even suggested that the number of the people in the parliament should be reduced or be made unicameral instead of bicameral to reduce wastages.

In other words, many people do not think the parliament deserves the wages they earn due to this attitude to work and insensitivity to national issues.

In the United States of America that practices the presidential system of government just like Nigeria, the issue of freedom of expression is taken so seriously that it is

enshrined in their constitution. In the first Amendment to the Bills of Rights, it provides, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the exercise of speech or of the press or the right of the people to peaceable assembly and to petition the government for a relief of grievances”.

In England, the Prime Minister normally comes under attack from the opposition whenever he makes his weekly appearance on the floor of the House of Commons. Just last week David Cameron was verbally attacked and heckled by the opposition members for hiring the jailed Editor of News of the World. The point here is that it serves no useful purpose to loose valuable man hours investigating a speech made by a member of the parliament, outside the parliament to her constituents when critical national issues are begging for urgent attention.

Indeed, Mrs. Tinubu’s probe by the Senate is nothing more than what the English playwright; William Shakespeare would refer to as much ado about nothing. It is a storm in a tea cup and does not portray the Senate in good light.

• Njoku is a Lawyer.

‘Since the allegation against Mrs. Tinubu is coming from the Senate itself, is it right for the Senate to sit in trial against her? One of the cardinal rules of natural justice is expressed in the Latin Maxim “Nemo judex incausa sua”.

In other words, one cannot be a judge in his own case.

Here, apart from the constitutional violation of abridging Mrs. Tinubu’s right to freedom of expression, the Senate is the accuser, the prosecutor and the judge’

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

22

DISCOURSE

Re: A Muslim/Muslim presidential disaster for the APC, by Femi Aribisala

O

NE of the beauties of democracy is the latitude it provides the citizens to freely express their views on any subject under the sun. Such opinions are however, expected to be factual, informative, rich and robust to raise the stake on political re-engineering. They should be thought-provoking; to ask the right questions and make valuable suggestions in order to proffer likely solutions to current social and economic challenges. That, combined with the active participation of the citizenry as the main stakeholder in governance would serve to deepen the democratic culture.

But when opinions are taken to ridiculous heights of over fixation on pull-them-down syndrome, especially those whose patriotic efforts have brought to bear the fruits of such democracy, it calls for urgent concern. In the light of this, therefore, one cannot but question both the motive and morale of one Mr.Femi Aribsala who has chosen to cast aspersions and castigate every patriotic move Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has made to salvage the hole-riddled ship of state from sinking under. The other day, it was Aribisala and his tactless tirade over: What does Bola Tinubu really want?

Now, it is another self-serving vituperation over the unduly orchestrated Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket for the All Progressives Congress, APC. So sad, Aribisala and those behind beating the drums for him, think as if the people’s wishes and electoral value count for nothing.

Let us consider this, from Aribisala’s jaundiced viewpoint.

“The prospect of a ticket with Tinubu as vice-president is already ensuring that the APC is badly in need of aspirin. An APC vice-president that is not Tinubu poses grave political danger to Tinubu. It means Tinubu has been sowing for somebody else to reap. If that person happens to be Yoruba, he or she could quickly become a contender for Tinubu’s much-vaunted position as the Asiwaju of South-West politics in Nigeria.”

If for anything else, by this statement alone Aribisala has exposed his vain and vacuous understanding of the political ideology, motivation and persona of the famed tactician and political strategist called Ahmed Tinubu. For the records, he was the last progressive politician standing, when the rigging machinery of the PDP bulldozed its way through the South-West geo-political zone, claiming in its dusty wake the states of Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti during the heady days of the Chief

By Sunday Dare

Olusegun Obasanjo-led PDP. Back then, when Tinubu and his allies met at the residence of late Pa Adesanya in Apapa, Lagos to review the rather crude onslaught of the anti-democratic PDP, only Tinubu stood his ground; maintaining that it was not in the best interest of the Alliance for Democracy, AD or Nigeria not to contest the outcome of the fraudulent elections.

The PDP-led government had ensured that the governorship elections were the first to be conducted, with the obnoxious aim to use it ostensibly to influence the outcome of subsequent elections. And of course, to whip the so called ‘dissidents’ into line. Asiwaju it was who saw through the smokescreen and stood his ground, against the formidable reactionary forces.

With his unwavering moral support, candidates on the platform of AD who contested for the posts in the Senate, House of Representatives and various state House of Assembly in the South-West were able to clinch the desired victory and returned to the hallowed chambers to discharge their duty to their people. Furthermore, Tinubu served again as the catalyst who galvanised the progressives to reclaim the lost states, such as Osun and Ekiti, even including Ondo that was saved from the clutches of the PDP and went to the Labour Party.

If Tinubu was a selfish politician, as Aribisala imputes in his highly opinionated essay he would not have embarked on that messianic mission. All he wanted, and still pursues with unrelenting vigour is to ensure that indeed, the people’s votes count. That their wishes hold sway. That their choices are validated on the veritable platform of credible elections, as against foisting the wishes of a few greedy and self-serving politicians on the majority.

It therefore, amounts to a grave insult to insinuate that Tinubu does not want another person to reap from where he has sowed. He knows he is not God, who has the power to determine who benefits from what.

That is pettiness from a warped mindset. Perhaps, if Aribisala has an inkling of those whose lives God has used theAsiwaju to touch outside of politics he would not descend to the low level of thinking that all there is to life is money; or sowing and reaping. Until Nigerians stop thinking of politics as an avenue for selfaggrandizement instead of selfless service to the state we would not make meaningful progress.

‘What the citizens need at this critical moment of our troubled history are men and women who would frontally tackle the monsters of corruption, mass youth unemployment, insecurity, and the insidious culture of impunity to deliver the dividends of democracy at their doorstep’ And that also underscores the penchant of progressive parties for identifying the best of candidates not just from the South-West geopolitical zone but across the Nigerian political spectrum for public service. Unknown to the likes of Aribisala, that clearly explains why Tinubu threw his weight behind the candidature of Aminu Tambuwal for the exalted position of Speaker, House of Representatives as against Mulikat Akande. Tinubu saw in Tambuwal what was missing in Akande, who would be a quisling in the hand of PDP. That they share the same geo-political heritage was immaterial and mere base sentiment. The Yoruba race, well-known for political sophistication would always project their best of brains to the limelight.

Now, Aribisala should ask himself in good conscience what he would have done if he was in Asiwaju’s shoes and there is an open threat to democratic norms and values. Especially with Dimeji Bankole, then the Speaker House of Assembly promising Ekiti people that the military would be used to win election in that state during the controversial re-run governorship election in 2009.Would he have stood aloof, arms folded to allow the monster of impunity to plunder the land?

The answer is his’ .

And that brings us to Aribisala’s gross misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the well-acclaimed victory of John Oyegun as against his man, Tom Ikimi. Said he: “ Tinubu needed to ensure that the APC chairman is not his new arch-enemy, Tom Ikimi, a known Atiku Abubakar man. So he shopped for a more malleable alternative. He finally settled on John

Odigie-Oyegun, former governor of Edo State. But when the permutations were done, Odigie-Oyegun could not be assured of victory in a democratic poll. The answer, therefore, in typical Asiwaju fashion, was to truncate democracy in APC.” Reading through this cheap assessment of a credible election that had even the PDP congratulating the APC makes mockery of Aribisala’s perception of political issues.

Firstly, he has insulted the collective intelligence of other APC stalwarts by claiming they are dummies who could not choose between two candidates with clearly well-defined antecedents and opposite character traits. Secondly, and this is instructive, he has inadvertently given Tinubu the power of a demi-god before who others could never say “no”. That scenario cannot play itself out under a democratic dispensation, more so that of Nigeri’s vibrant polity in the 21st Century.

May we remind Aribisala that Tom Ikimi was never a democrat and even as an adept political chameleon cannot metamorphose into one overnight. What role did he play during the dark days of the NADECO struggle to emancipate the Nigerian nation and its good people from the iron grip of military despotism? That of an ignoble anti-democrat who chose to turn his back on the people and became deaf to their cries of anguish by dining with Abacha.

He, Ikimi it was again who practiced bolekaja diplomacy in the face of a clear injustice that triggered global outrage, when he openly supported Abacha’s death sentence on Ken Saro-Wiwa, acclaimed human rights activist and internationally recognized environmentalist, and the Ogoni-Four. No democrat would have justified and defend that type of brutal, barbaric and bestial murder of his people’s conscience and voice. For Ikimi to have assumed that Nigerians have so short a memory and would embrace his foray into party politics without questions betrays his understanding of the word, ‘democracy. And even Aribisala has the moral burden of acting as a megaphone to such a person. ‘Show me your friend and I would tell you who you are.’

Perhaps, Kami’s people understand him far more than Aribisala does. For that reason they elected Chief Odigie-Oyegun, as against Ikimi’s candidate, Lucky Igbinedion, as their first-ever democratically chosen state governor. And why not? Oyegun has over the years re-

•Buhari

mained a consistent and committed democrat unlike Ikimi who, more like an unprincipled politician pitches his tent wherever he feels the grass is greener and romances any government in power? Such a person does not have any moral authority to put himself forward for any elective post in the first instance.

Leadership goes far beyond that.

It is mix milieu of one who has vision in quantum; one with the capacity to feel the pulse and the pains of his people; one who has the courage to do right and the boldness to say ‘no’ to evil in all its shade; one with the compassion to right the wrongs bedeviling his people. Fortunately, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is blessed with all these character traits. And as amply demonstrated during his struggles for democracy, his eight years qualitative leadership as the Lagos State governor, against all odds he is eminently qualified to lead this nation to greater heights. That he is from the South-West or a Muslim should not matter, should it? Of course not.

What the citizens need at this critical moment of our troubled history are men and women who would frontally tackle the monsters of corruption, mass youth unemployment, insecurity, and the insidious culture of impunity to deliver the dividends of democracy at their doorstep.

As George Kalu rightly admonished:” Let Aribisala stop wasting his precious wisdom in producing such acidic and derogatory articles.

We already know why he hates Tinubu with such passion and why he derides APC”.

What should matter most to Nigerians now is quality leadership that understands their pains; that has a sense of direction and would salvage them from the clouds of cluelessness and storms of selfishness to the habour of our collective hope, for a better Nigeria.

- Dare is the Special Adviser on Media to Bola Tinubu

Ekiti election not free, says APC chieftain Onu From Onyedi Ojiabor, Abuja

•Chief Onu

A

NATIONAL leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has said the June 21st governorship election in Ekiti State was far from being free and fair.

Onu, who is also a former National Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), said he and another national leader of the

party, Mr Audu Ogbe, were forced to travel by road from Ekiti to Abuja in the dead of the night two days to the election.

He told our correspondent in Abuja that an election could not be credible and transparent without being free.

He insisted that harassment and intimidation of APC leaders and supporters that preceded the Ekiti election questioned whether the poll could be considered free.

The APC chieftain, who described actions that preceded the June 21 election as barbaric, said the party would not allow what happened in Ekiti to affect its chances in future elections.

He said: “As a party, we will be meeting to look at what happened in Ekiti State. We will draw some lessons that we will learn from Ekiti. I think the nation, including the ruling party has some lessons to learn from Ekiti.

“We will not allow what happened in Ekiti to affect the party in future elections. I’m sure you know that even though that election was said to be transparent and credible but certain actions that took place before and during the election question whether that election was truly free.

“For example, the final campaign which took place two days to the election, I was a victim. We travelled by air from Abuja to Ekiti through Akure (Ondo State).

We landed and went to Ado-Ekiti.

When we wanted to come back to Abuja, we couldn’t. The plane was there at Akure airport. We had to go back to Ado-Ekiti and travel all through the night by road to Abuja.

“Even the governor of Imo State, Chief Rochas Okorocha, had to travel by road to Owerri (Imo State).

“You know a situation where a serving governor was not even al-

lowed to enter Ekiti; he was stopped at the boundary of Ondo and Ekiti.

“These are acts of harassment which you can also classify as intimidation. Certain actions like that question whether an election under such an environment can truly be called free.

“When at the eve of an election and also on the day of election you start arresting leaders of a major political party like APC, arresting and detaining them, you wonder whether such election can be considered free.

“An election can be credible, an election can be transparent but an election that is credible and transparent may also not be free.

Onu went on: “People should not be intimidated, people should not be harassed because a situation where serving governors cannot move freely in any part of the country is a very serious problem.

“I think it should be high-

lighted in the country. Nigerians, it really doesn’t matter who you are, are not free to use an airport that was built with tax payers money is really a very serious matter that should not take place at this time.

“We see it as being barbaric and being crude.

“So also the ruling party, I believe ought to learn a lesson from what happened in Ekiti because in 2011 there were serving governors who ran for re-election like in Imo, in Nasarawa, in Zamfara , in Oyo. “They were defeated but they didn’t concede defeat. They didn’t congratulate those who won and these were all of the ruling party.

“But look at what the APC has done now, the Ekiti State governor has already congratulated the man who won and told him, ‘look, we will work together for the good of the state, to bring peace and remove violence’.

Pg 49

WINDOW IN BRAZIL with

25

THE NATION

EDUCATION

THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has been on strike for 11 months. Students are lamenting the long stay at home. Lecturers are urging them to endure for their own good, reports KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE.

•Students protest the strike in Lagos.

11-month teachers’ strike keeps polytechnics grounded O ‘ ’ CAMPUS N Tuesday, vice chancellors, rectors, provosts and registrars of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education met with the Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Dibu Ojerinde, in Abuja, to determine the cut-off marks for the 2014 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) written in April/May. The meeting signified the start of the admission process for the 2014/2015 academic session. However, polytechnics are in a dilemma.

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics

(ASUP) has been on strike for the past 11 months.

The strike which began in April 2013, was suspended in July, and resumed on October 4, 2013.

It is still on.

Many polytechnics have lost a session. Mr

Adeyemi Adejolu, Deputy Registrar, Information and Protocol at the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State, said a set of National Diploma (ND) I students admitted for the 2013/ 2014 session had been unable to resume because of the strike.

At the time ASUP went on break last July, we rounded up the session and screened new students for admission.

But the students admitted have not been able to resume for lectures. We can say we have lost a year

INSIDE

Foundation’s $10,000 for LASU’s best

-Page 28

A PROFESSOR of Early Childhood Education, University of Lagos Osanyin Ajike, has attributed poor parenting in the 21st Century to political, social and technological -Page 47 developments.

Modernisation, is bane of parenting, says don

LIFE

•Asomugha

"It has affected normal academic activities.

Students admitted for the 2013/2014 session cannot resume. At the time ASUP went on break last July, we rounded up the session and screened new students for admission. But the students admitted have not been able to resume for lectures. We can say we have lost a year. The dilemma we are in right now is that JAMB stakeholders' committee is meeting today (Tuesday) in Abuja to fix national cutoff.

That means we will have another set waiting to come in," he said.

• Continued on Page 26

•A 10-page section on campus news, people etc

The world of student-traders -Page 29

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

26

EDUCATION

CU valedictorian eyes future with confidence

F

ROM childhood, Alma Jamechi Oputa had earned the sobriquet “Alma the great” from her parents because of her friendliness and ability to learn fast.

The name stuck and she has continued to top her class.

Her parents wanted her to study Medicine, like her father, Reginald Oputa, who retired as a colonel in the Army, Alma preferred Computer Science.

Though he would have loved to have a doctor daughter, Oputa has no regrets. Alma was the best graduating student at the Covenant University convocation tagged: 'Release of eagles 2014' held at the university premises in Ota Ogun State, Friday last week.

She finished with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.98.

"She had always shown signs of brilliance from the time she was a child," said Alma's father. "We also realised that from childhood, she had a knack for mathematics. She also liked drawing was fond of playing with colours.

"Although we had wanted her to become a medical doctor like me but she chose to study Computer Science instead. We didn't have a choice than let her study whatever was her desire. Her victory today is a pointer to the fact that parents must not force a career on their wards," he said.

Alma's achievement earned her the Covenant University's Alumni Association's Prize for Best Graduating Student in the School of Natu• Continued from Page 25

Deputy Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, Dr Don Muo, has expressed similar concerns.

Urging ASUP to call off the strike, he said the lengthy impasse has stagnated students' progress and denied them lectures for the required length of time.

Polytechnic students are also lamenting the strike. Emeka Onwudinjo, National Diploma II student of Mass Communication at the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, said the long stay at home was unexpected and has led to some students getting into trouble.

"The strike has had a terrible effect on students. Students have been involving themselves in criminal acts.

A few days ago, one was caught involved in kidnapping. He was paraded in Awka. There is a popular saying that an ideal mind is the devil's workshop. Assuming the Federal Government negotiated with ASUP and they call off the strike, I don't think the boy would have found himself in this situation. We did not expect that the strike would be this long," he said.

Suliat Abodunrin, a National Diploma (ND) I student of the Federal Polytechnic Offa (FEDPOFFA), told The Nation that but for the fourmonth Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) that she is currently undergoing, she would have been at home like most of her peers. By now, she said she should have completed her ND programme, like many of her peers in state-owned polytechnics that did not join the strike, but she has been slowed down by the industrial action.

"I believe they have wasted our time. They (lecturers) should reach a compromise with the government so we can return to school. We don't want to seem ungrateful because some of their demands will benefit us but they should also think of us," she said.

But the ASUP leaders argue that they are indeed thinking of the students in some of their demands. The union, which has tabled 13 demands before the Federal Government, is unsatisfied with the way the negotiations have been handled.

At a congress at the Yaba College

By Adegunle Olugbamila

ral and Applied Sciences, with a N50.000 cash reward; and the Yomi Adedeji prize for Best Graduating Student in Computer Science, a Samsung Galaxy tab, among others.

As her name was announced by the Registrar, Dr Olumuyiwa Oludayo, the Oputas were the first to leap to their feet, hugging each other. Then Alma stepped out from among the graduands and made the long journey to the podium. Flashes from a thousand cameras bathed her in a glow until she reached her destination. For a moment, she seemed terrified by the thunderous but regained her composure fast enough to read her valedictory speech clearly.

She thanked the Chancellor for finding time to counsel the students.

She also thanked her parents - her Dad, whom she described as her mentor and second bishop; and her mum, who she called her Proverbs Chapter 31 woman - "for teaching her all she knows."

Speaking of her success with The Nation, Alma said she was not the bookworm type, kept lots of friends, yet managed to score nearly 100 percent in all her courses.

"I am not the bookworm type. That does not mean I don't read my books.

I am an average reader but I must say I have lots of friends. I am the type who keeps lots of them. I believe being sociable has little or nothing to do your with ones performance in class."

Asked to describe her undergraduate experience in CU, Alma admitted it was full of ups and downs.

"It is difficult for me to remember my happiest or saddest moments," She recalled.

"I remember there were times when I felt happy having scored so high in my exams. There were also times I would not describe as saddest but very challenging moments where I had to contend with lectures, class assignment and other academic activities."

With her grade, Alma is confident she can excel anywhere in the world she goes for further studies.

"I believe I can be the best I can even if I'd attended a public university. I'm not afraid to study anywhere whether within or outside the country. I can hold my head up anywhere.

"The grooming we received in Covenant is enough to arm us all. In this university, we have very dedicated lecturers. You don't earn marks through the backdoor. You get what you worked for. There is no shortcut anywhere, she added.

As a child, Alma mother Mrs Oputa described her daughter as a cry baby who grew up to do things intelligently.

"She is also the type that loves inspiring others. When she was making 5.00 points and some of her friends were not dong same, she began to inspire them to do better," Mrs Oputa said.

Though an automatic employment awaits her from her alma mater; nevertheless, Alma seems to be eyeing other things.

"Loving children and taking care of them has always been my passion," she said. "I also wish to set up a clothing line, that's also my hobby."

•Miss Oputa delivering her valedictory speech.

Strike keeps polytechnics grounded The strike has had a terrible effect on students. Students have been involving themselves in criminal acts. A few days ago, one was caught involved in kidnapping. He was paraded in Awka. There is a popular saying that an ideal mind is the devil's workshop –Student of Technology (YABATECH) last Thursday, the National ASUP President, Dr Chibuzor Asomugha, said the strike would continue until the government addressed the issues.

He said: "As a union, we are constrained to say that unless urgent steps are taken by President Goodluck Jonathan to address the decadent conditions of Nigeria's polytechnics today, the nation shall surely be headed for jeopardy. We shall remain resolute and continue with the strike until all the issues put before Government by our union are satisfactorily addressed."

The 13 demands of the union include the following: HND/BSc dichotomy; non release of the White Paper on the Visitations to Federal Polytechnics; the refusal of government to fund the implementation of CONTISS 15 migration for the Lower cadres and its arrears as from 2009; non-establishment of a National Polytechnics Commission (NPC) and the continued recognition of the National Board for Technical Education

As a union, we are constrained to say that unless urgent steps are taken by President Goodluck Jonathan to address the decadent conditions of Nigeria's polytechnics today, the nation shall surely be headed for jeopardy –ASUP (NBTE) as a regulatory body for Polytechnics; and the snail pace of the review of the Polytechnic Act by the National Assembly.

Others are: Under funding of the Polytechnic sub-sector and the discrimination in disbursements of TETfund grants; non re-negotiation of the FGN/ASUP agreement; implementation of Integrated Personnel Payment System (IPPIS) in polytechnics only; poor state of most state owned polytechnics; appointment of unqualified persons as Rectors and Provosts of Polytechnics, Monotechnics and Colleges of Technologies by some state governments; non implementation of the approved salary package (CONPCASS) and 65year retirement age for their Polytechnics, Monotechnics and College of Technologies; and the Needs Assessment of polytechnics.

In an interview, Asomugha said the Federal Government has not demonstrated the readiness to end the strike.

He complained that the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom

Wike, rather than resolving the issues, has been complicating matters by contracting himself.

He said: "We are particularly worried about the disposition and posture of the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, who appears not to have grasped the intricacies of the workings of tertiary education. By his utterances and actions, The Minister has tended to frustrate the resolution process contradicting himself on most pronouncements concerning reasons for the strike.

"Perplexingly, when the House of Representatives Committee on education convened a stake holders meeting aimed at resolving the strike, the Hon Minister of Education had informed the stakeholders that the CONTISS 15 Migration had been queried by the Salaries Income & Wages Commission and an Inter-Ministerial Committee set up by Government to look into the matter. The Hon minister promised the inclusion of the unions in the Committee which was to submit its report in one week. Surprising the union has not been invited for any of that committee's meetings.

"Again when the Senate Committee on Education called for a stakeholders' meeting on the matter on 24th June, 2014, neither the Minister nor any of the other government agencies honoured the Senate's invitation. The same Hon Supervising Minister had gone ahead to make arbitrarily appointment of university professors as rectors of polytechnics in wanton breach of extant laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria."

Asomugha also said the union was dissatisfied with the way the committee set up to address the HND/BSc dichotomy handled the case.

"A committee was set up but we were not satisfied with their work.

We are waiting for them to submit their report so we will raise our own objections," he said.

On the appointment of rectors from outside the polytechnic system, Asomugha said many polytechnic lecturers have the requisite qualifications to be made rectors instead of

imposing professors from the university system.

"Don't we have Ph.D holders in polytechnics? There is no academic qualification called professor. The highest qualification is the PhD and there are many that have it in the polytechnic system," he said.

In an interview, Mr Tunji Owoeye, chairman of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti ASUP, claimed that Wike was employing tactics to frustrate the union's negotiations. He therefore called for Wike's removal.

"There is a deadlock now because it seems the minister is using setback tactics. This same minister who said the CONTISS 16 would be paid twice has now gone to the ministry of wages to say that CONTISS 16 is illegal. So, instead of paying arrears now, those who were promoted to CONTISS 15 will be de-migrated," he said.

Defending the strike, Owoeye said though students may be affected now, they would be the beneficiaries of one of the key demands, the abolishment of the HND/BSc dichotomy.

"The strike may be adversely affecting students but we are doing it for their sake. Look at the disparity between HND and BSc Accounting holders. Are you saying they are different from each other? We are urging the Federal Government to do the harmonization and allow polytechnics to offer BTECH degrees," he said.

Explaining why the union is against the IPPIS, Owoeye said it would deny them of payment that is rightfully theirs.

"We don't want the IPPIS because it centralises the payment system. For instance, if you are on sabbatical in another institution, your salary continues to run. How do they recognize that at the centre? It also affects other contributions like our cooperative etc. We are not civil servants but they want to turn us into civil servants," he said.

When contacted, Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant (Media) to the Supervising Minister of Education refused to comment on the crisis.

27

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

EDUCATION

13-year old wins Cowbell Maths contest again

'Unserious' teachers may go in Kano From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

T

U

NTIL last Thursday, no one pupil had won both the junior and senior categories of the Cowbell National Secondary School Mathematics Competition (NASSMAC), which started in 1998.

But Akintokun Adegboyega of Ota Total Academy, Ota in Ogun State now holds that record.

On that day, at the Ibom Le Meridien Hotel and Resort, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the 13-year old was crowned the winner of the senior secondary category of the competition after scoring 96 per cent in the second stage examination. He had won the junior category of the competition two years earlier as a JSS3 pupil.

He attributes his success to hard work and a deliberate training programme by his school.

“Our school has been training students for this competition right from JSS1. My school sets aside brilliant students who are good in mathematics. The best three among them are chosen to enter for the competition,” he said.

Adegboyega did not achieve the feat without his mathematics teacher, Mr Ganiyu Fatai, who encouraged by his first win, put in efforts to prepare him to win again as an SS2 pupil.

“We did not relent on our efforts because we know that nobody has that record in the history of the competition. The school worked hard to make that record. We thank God for crowning our effort with success,” he said.

To prepare pupils for the examination each year, Fatai said the grooming starts from JSS1.

He said: “We normally have cowbell students in all the classes.

When they are in SS1, they would have covered the WAEC syllabus.

Then we start with further mathematics and advanced mathematics to widen their scope. Then for those in junior school by the time they are in JSS2, they would have completed the JSS syllabus. In JSS3 we start them with SS1 syllabus. So our JSS3 students can write WAEC and pass.

•Chief Keith Richards, Chairman, Promasidor (left) and Mr Thiry with the winners, Adegboyega (second right) and Deborah.

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

So there is no question that will come around that will be strange.

“We solve a lot of questions. About 70 percent of Cowbell NASSMAC questions are word problem. We teach the students various ways the questions can come.”

Adegboyega won a star prize of N300,000, a laptop computer, trophy, plaque and a bag of branded products from the stables of Promasidor, makers of Cowbell milk and organisers of the programme.

His teacher was rewarded with N50,000, while the school got five desktop computers and a printer.

The duo will also get an all-expense paid trip to Ghana later in the year.

And, if Adegboyega decides to study Mathematics in the University, the National Mathematical Centre (NMC) will sponsor him to any university anywhere in the world.

Adegboyega was followed in the second position by 15-year old Fiyinfoluwa Abioye of the Nigerian

Turkish International College (NTIC CO-ED), Wuse 2, Abuja with 85 per cent; and Babalola David Oluwasayo of Oritameta Baptist Model School, Ibadan, Oyo State who came third with 83. They got N250,000 and N200,000 as cash prizes, plaques, and products. Their teachers got N30,000 and N20,000, while the schools got three and two computers each.

In the junior category, 13-year old Deborah Adesina of Graceland International School, Port Harcourt, Rivers State won with 81 per cent.

Atolagbe Yusuf Olayinka of Nigerian Turkish International College, Isheri, Ogun State and Johnson Stella Doris of Reality High School, Ilesha, Osun State were the first and second runners-up in the junior category.

They were rewarded with between N150,000 and N250,000 and other gift prizes.

The remaining 14 contestants in the top 10 of both category got N15,000 as consolation prize. Those in the senior category also got mini

‘Our school has been training students for this competition right from JSS1.

My school sets aside brilliant students who are good in mathematics. The best three among them are chosen to enter for the competition’

laptops.

In his speech at the event, Mr. Olivier Thiry, Managing Director of Promasidor Nigeria Limited, noted that for Nigeria to compete with the world in this digital age, its human capital must be well trained in the sciences.

“Transformational development will come from the quality of human capital Nigeria has and this can only be developed through education especially the learning of mathematics and science,” he said.

Thiry said that Promasidor believes in Nigeria and would continue to invest not only in its business but also in its host communities.

He said: “We have demonstrated this faith in the Nigerian society by investing millions of naira in the conduct of the NASSMAC competition and we promise to sustain our support of mathematics as best as we can.”

In his address, the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, who was represented by Mrs Chioma Philips, Director, Federal Inspectorate Service, Federal Ministry of Education, the Minister commended Promasidor for getting actively involved in the drive towards developing the standard of education in Nigeria.

Also speaking, Governor Godswill Obot Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State implored other corporate organisations to emulate Promasidor, as education holds the key to the future of the nation.

Foundation opens child centre in Calabar

I

N its bid to promote the early educational development of children, the Oando Foundation (OF) has launched an Early Childhood Care Development Centre at St. Patrick's Primary School in Adiabo, Calabar, Cross River State.

Director of the foundation, Ms Tokunboh Durosaro, said the programme includes upgrading of the classrooms, training of Early Child Care Development Education (ECCDE) teachers and caregivers by providing them with the necessary skills to work with young children effectively.

"In addition, OF provides on-site support to teachers in the use of ECCDE equipment and provides educational equipment and furniture such as kiddies' furniture, white board, children mats, and various children's teaching aids and toys," she said.

She said the centre was established to meet the needs of children based on the approved curriculum which

• From left: Mrs Imoke, wife of the Deputy Governor, Mrs Glory Cobham, and Ms Durosaro at the launch.

From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

stipulates physical development, affective/psychosocial development, cognitive development, food and nutrition, health, water and environmental sanitation, safety measures and child protection.

She said, "The programme has

been designed to stimulate interest in schooling at a tender age by providing an environment that is childfriendly and age appropriate; ensure the fullest development of personality, talents, and mental and physical abilities; strengthen knowledge on current trends and ap-

proaches in ECCDE capacity building for teachers and caregivers; and encourage pupil enrolment and retention in schools.

"As we know, there is growing scientific evidence that what happens - or doesn't happen - to a child in the first 1,000 days of life has

HE Kano State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) has threatened to sack unserious primary school teachers.

The Chairman of the board, Alhaji Wada Zakari, issued the threat when he paid an unscheduled visit to Kofar Naisa Primary school in Kano yesterday.

He said the board would not fold its arms and allow ``some unserious'' teachers sabotage the State Government's effort toward improving the quality of education in the state.

Zakari, who frowned at the attitude of some truant teachers, directed the Education Secretary of Gwale Local Government Education Authority to query 55 teachers of Kofar Naisa and Yan'awaki Primary Schools who were absent during the visit.

He warned that any teacher, who failed to give satisfactory reasons for his or her absence, would face disciplinary action. Zakari enjoined school inspectors to rise up to their responsibilities by ensuring that teachers come to work regularly and close at the scheduled time.

UNIJOS seeks funds for new courses From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

V

ICE Chancellor of the University of Jos (UNIJOS), Prof Hayward Babale Mafuyai, says that the university has to raise funds to be able to run the new courses it recently introduced.

Mafuyai who disclosed this at a pre-fund raising media briefing on Tuesday, solicited for support for the programmes.

"For the university to run these new courses effectively, it needs to rely on its friends and well wishers to raise funds with which to run the new course. The new programmes are in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Engineering, Agriculture and others.

Apart from the three new Faculties mentioned above, there are several other new programs being introduced by the University in a number of existing Faculties which include, Music in the Faculty of Arts, Dentistry in the Faculty of Medicine, Physical and Health Education as well as Integrated Science in the Faculty of Education, among others.” immediate effects on his or her wellbeing and future. Early Childhood care and education services help build cognitive and non-cognitive skills at a time when children's brains are developing, with long term benefits, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds."

Speaking at the event, wife of the Cross River State governor, Mrs Obioma Liyel Imoke, said education is the best gift for every child and should be made available and assessable to every child.

She lauded Oando for the effort at early childhood educational development.

Commissioner for Education, Prof Offiong Offiong, expressed gratitude to the foundation for their commitment to the programme and called for other corporate bodies to emulate same.

He promised to work with the foundation to ensure all their programmes succeeded.

Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mr Joseph Ebam, lauded the foundation for their sense of responsibility in developing education in the state.

The Obong of Calabar who was represented by the Village Head of Adiabo, Apostle Edet Okon, also expressed gratitude for the gesture and promised to always work with the foundation for the sustainability of their programmes.

28

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

EDUCATION

Foundation’s $10,000 for LASU’s best

•50th remembrance for Lagos monarch Adeniji Adele

T

HE Oba Adeniji Adele Foundation is set to unfold a scholar grant, an intervention of not less than $10,000 that will be given annually to the Best Graduating Student of the Lagos State University (LASU) to pursue a post graduate course in any institution of the beneficiary’s choice.

The announcement was made

By Olatunde Odebiyi

during a briefing in Lagos to unfold the grant in commemoration of the 50th remembrance anniversary of the of Lagos monarch Oba Adeniji Adele. Oba Musendiq AdenijiAdele was the 19 th monarch of Lagos who reigned between 1949 to July 1964.

Daughter to the late monarch

Foundation donates bus to UNILAG

Princess Kudirat Adele-Sanyaolu, who spoke in Lagos described the grant as epochal and reflective of the person of Oba Adele who in his lifetime was a disciplinarian and visionary traditional ruler, and whose works and deeds cherished the pursuit of academic excellence. Adele-Sanyaolu said her father did everything to propagate the gospel of well

rounded education not only within his family but also in the larger Lagos Isale Eko community.

She said the grant will be launched on Saturday July 12th of July and be managed by the foundation.

The general secretary of the foundation, Prince Sanmi Babatunde Adele, said the grant is to encourage students who are performing well and inspires others towards attaining excellence.

T

HE Founder/Chief Promoter of Omo Ilu Foundation, Prince Kashamu Buruji, has donated a brand new 18-seater bus to the Department of English, University of Lagos.

The 2014 model bus, which has been officially presented to the university, was received by the ViceChancellor, Prof. Rahamon A. Bello, along with principal and top officials of the university, such as: Deputy Vice-Chancellor DVC (Academic & Research), Prof. Babajide Alo; DVC (Management Service), Prof. Duro Oni; Registrar, Dr. Taiwo Folasade Ipaye; Bursar, Mr. Lateef Odekunle and Librarian, Dr. Olukemi Fadehan.

Others who witnessed the presentation were the Provost, College of Medicine, Prof.

Folashade Ogunsola; Director, Academic Planning, Prof.

Oluwatoyin Ogundipe; Director, Quality Assurance & Servicom, Prof. Wale Okunuga and Director, Works and Physical Planning, Dr. Adelere Adeniran.

Speaking at the presentation, the

• Austin Oniyokor, Media Adviser to Prince Kashamu (right) presenting the keys to the bus and documents to Prof Bello.

With them is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Research), Prof Babajide Alo (left).

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

general/media adviser to the Kashamu, Mr. Austin Oniyokor, said the donation is borne out of Kashamu's strong desire to give back to his alma mater and contribute to Nigeria's education sector. He

•It's a big plus for us, says provost

M

College gets Registrar THE Governing Council of the College has approved the appointment of Mr. Charles Olumuyiwa Coker as the substantive Registrar. Coker's appointment with take effect from 20th July this year.

The Council's approval followed the recommendation of the College Special Appointments and Promotions Committee/Interview Panel at its second regular meeting held on Wednesday, last week.

Born on December 9, 1961, Mr. Coker joined the services of the College on August 1, 1990 as an Administrative Officer II. He rose through the ranks and was promoted Deputy Registrar in 2005.

A graduate of Bayero University, Kano in 1988, Coker is also an Associate, Institutes of Chartered Secretaries, UK, (ACIS), an alumnus of DayStar Leadership Academy.

He holds a Master degree in Public Administration. He is a member of several professional bodies among which are: Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, Institute of Management Consultant, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, among others. He is happily married with children.

NUC gives degree programme 100%

thanked authorities of the university for providing the opportunity for the foundation to support it.

Prof Bello expressed gratitude to Prince Kashamu for the gesture, describing it as the kind of support needed to keep the university as a

MOCPED produces First Class ISS Adeniji Taiwo Morufat has emerged the only first class student among 94 graduating students in the degree sandwich programmes of the Micheal Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED), Noforija-Epe,Lagos State.

The programmes are the initiative of the Ekiti State University (EKSU) which MOCPED got the franchise and began running since 2006.

A statement signed by the college Public Relations Officer Mr Ilori Abiodun Idowu, said among MOCPED first fruits are 20 students with Second Class (Upper Division), 57 with Second Class (Lower Division) and 16 with Third Class.

AOCOED FILE

By Adegunle Olugbamila

According to the results as compiled by the management of EKSU, Adeniji 36, who studied Agricultural Science Education with Matriculation No: UNAD/EPE/06/ 01753 got a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.57.

Reacting on the development, Provost MOCPED Prof Olu Akeusola, described Adeniji's feat as a result of dedicated and committed workforce and the high benchmarks the college sets.

"We are happy about the development. This is simply to show that here, we have standard which we don't compromise. We have a

crop of dedicated staff passionate towards delivering excellence.

Once a student chooses to be committed, we can assure you he or she will come out in flying colours."

Adeniji's achievement, Akeusola further explained, is a testimony for doubting Thomases who believe they can only get the kind of quality teaching and research from mother universities rather than affiliate ones.

"Whether you are in EKSU or MOCPED, the standards are the same. I believe this is enough to convince doubting Thomases that you can receive as much quality education as is obtained in EKSU. We have the facilities here, and we can deliver," Akeusola said.

• From left: Mr Supo Adigun of FirstBank; Manager, Ecobank, University of Lagos (UNILAG) branch, Tunji Jayeola; Emmanuel Olanrewaju Adigun First Class Computer Engineering graduate, UNILAG and his mother Mrs Toyin Adigun at his convocation.

first-class tertiary institution.

While urging other alumni of the university to emulate Kashamu, Bello reiterated his administration's commitment to sustaining the reputation of the institution as a centre for excellence in teaching, learning and research.

Salem varsity gets full accreditation

I

By Robert Uwem Okon

T was another landmark in the history of a young Salem University Lokoja as it played host to the National Universities Commission in the accreditation visit on April, 2014.

The visit of the NUC to the University was to access and inspect the physical facilities/structures as well as the academic content of the programmes (Criminology & Penology, Economics, International Relation & Diplomacy and Peace & Development Studies) offered in the Department of Social Sciences and (Public Administration) Department of Management Sciences.

The team w a s ‘The team impressed at h e was impressed t acceleration at the of physical acceleration of and man physical and p o w e r man power development recorded by h e development t niversity recorded by U within the the University last six years within the last of its take off.

T h e six years of its programmes take off’ received 100 per cent (full) accreditation from NUC. Salem University has recorded several milestones and has continued to offer the best in improving the standard of education in Nigeria.

Prior to this, Salem University got 100 per cent (full) accreditation in Accounting and Business Administration Programmes.

THE National Universities Commission has released the result of the accreditation exercise conducted on all the 16 degree programmes run by the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED) Otto/Ijanikin. The programmes are run in affiliation with the Ekiti State University. The letter was signed by NUC deputy executive secretary Prof. A.S Agbaoye.The programmes all in the field of education are: Accounting, Agricultural Science, Biology, Chemistry, Christian Religious Studies, Computer Science, Educational Management, English Language, Guidance & Counseling, Health Education, History, Human Kinetics, Integrated Science, Mathematics, Primary Education and Social Studies.

It will be recalled that a 10member accreditation team led by Professors Elizabeth Okeke and Paul Eniayeju were in the college from 5th - 8th May, this year to accredit the aforementioned programmes.

COEASU elects new executives THE College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), AOCOED Chapter has elected new executives on Tuesday last week.

The new executive members were sworn in by the National Vice President of the COEASU, Comrade Smart Olugbeko the following day.

The new members are: Micheal Avosetinyen (Chairman), Mr. Akanmu Oladayo Samuel (Vice), Mr. Okesanya Adeyemi (Secretary), Dr. Daodu Adedayo (Treasurer), Mrs Adekoya Elizabeth (Financial Secretary), Mr. Hakeem Ishola (Auditor), Mr. Ajayi Noah (P.R.O) and Mr. Okutade Japhet (Social Director).

Muslim holds Ramadan lecture FOLLOWING the commencement of Ramadan fasting which began at the weekend, the leadership of the Muslim community in the college is putting together a Ramadan Lecture for all Muslim faithful and all those in search of knowledge, schedule for Monday, 10th at the college Mosque.

The guest speaker is Sheik Yasir Abu Nabeelah of the University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia. The topic is: ''Child Upbringing in Islam.”

29

All work and no play...

A governor’s visit that never was

Page 30

Page 42

*CAMPUSES *NEWS *PEOPLE *KUDOS& KNOCKS *GRANTS

CAMPUS LIFE

THE NATION

0805-450-3104 email: campusbeat@yahoo.com THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.net

email:- campuslife@thenationonlineng.net

Some students work to pay their way through school. It is either their parents are poor or they are schooling at old age. There are such students at the Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Osun State. KEMI BUSARI (Political Science) reports.

The world of student-traders

F

OR Toyosi Kolade, shoe-making is not the exclusive preserve of men. She acquired the skill to make a living and pay her way through school. A visit to her room in Ladoke Akintola Hall of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, showed how passionate she is about the vocation.

Shoes of various sizes are scattered all over the place.

Toyosi, 22, has just finished from the Political Science Department, but in her last two years, she paid her fees from the money she made as a cobbler. Toyosi ventured into shoe-making to assist her parents.

She said: “I started shoe-making when I resumed for my third year on campus. A skill acquisition programme came up in my church for youths to learn any trade that would make them independent. I opted for something unique from what others are doing. I chose to make and repair shoes; this fed me throughout my stay on campus.”

When she started, she was mocked by people who felt she was in a wrong vocation. Toyosi said: “People made me to feel ashamed of myself by mocking me whenever they heard that a female student is doing such work. But I never let that discourage me. In the end, some of the people who taunted me ended up being my customers.”

Toyosi never allowed the trade to affect her academic pursuit. The Ekiti State-born cobbler said she devoted ample time to her studies and entrepreneurial skill.

“The reason I ventured into shoe making and repairing is for me to support my parents’ expenses on me. I have always liked to be independent but there was no means.

But when I learned the trade, I was able to pay up to 40 per cent of my fees in school.”

She is not alone in this kind of business.

Her colleague, Adeniyi Taiwo, who graduated from the Department of Geography, sells moin-moin (bean cake) at Awolowo Hall. He prepares the garnished moin-moin in thick leaves for sells and each between N25 and N30.

Adeniyi, who hawks the moin-moin himself, said: “I was motivated to start this because of the meagre resources I got from home. I needed to have my own source of

income to be able to pay some little expenses in school. It is not everything that you ask from your parents.”

To him, the trade is not for women alone.

Adeniyi said: “The only business you can tag as women’s trade is the one only a female can handle. In the case of selling moinmoin, everybody can do it, in so far the aim is to make money.”

Adeniyi moves from one room to the other, hawking.

In Imo State, Ellen Sunday made her mark, combining business, academics and spiritual life. Ellen, who started from a few wraps of groundnut and sugar in 2012, now manages a full scale business, selling pepper, tomato and kerosene in large quantities.

“I really want to be independent,” she said, when asked why she dabbled into the business. She added: “I was tired of asking for money from my parents all the time. I started when I was in 300-Level, but when I resumed for final year, I increased my stock and sold to students in large quantities.”

Of all the wares, Ellen said it is tomato that is most profitable. “I started the trade with about N2,000 but I can’t really determine how much it has grown into. My trade has multiplied even beyond my expectations,” she added.

Ellen said she is proud to be a studenttrader, saying she paid 95 per cent of expenses on campus from the business. “Although my parents used to send money to me but, most times, I won’t touch it. The business paid up to 95 per cent of my expenses on campus,” she said.

“If I choose to sleep conveniently on my bed, hunger will wake me up. This was why I found it better to discomfort myself so that hunger would not eventually discomfort me,” Bamidele Adeleke, a graduate of Sociology and Anthropology, who eked out a living selling bread, said.

Instead of sleeping on his bed, Bamidele stockpiles bread on his mattress and squats with his friends.

He started the business early this year because of what he called “economic meltdown in the family”, which reduced his

•Continued on page 30

•‘Nigeria needs industrial revolution’ -P32

•Toyosi repairing some shoes

•Corps members rally against sickle cell-P41

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

30

CAMPUS LIFE The dearth of historical consciousness in Nigeria (III)

A

FTER the publication of the first part of this article, I received calls from two sets of readers. The first set - the optimists – are of the opinion that we need to be historically conscious if indeed we are serious about Nigeria “moving forward.”

They wondered why any serious nation will neglect the teaching of history which often brings with it a sense of national identity and consciousness. The second set – the pessimists – believe that Nigeria, as a “contraption” is already unravelling and we only have to wait for this to eventually happens.

To them, the Boko Haram (BH) insurgency is the beginning of the end.

While I don’t share in their pessimism, I’m also not blind to the fact that we are at a crossroad as a nation with many Nigerians lacking the understanding of what being a Nigerian is or what Nigeria as a nation actually stands for. A colleague told me last week that after reading a simplified, but comprehensive history of America written for children and teenagers, he wasn’t surprised that Americans are the way they are; patriotic about their country.

So we may ask ourselves why study history, and what does history have to do with all that is happening now? The answer – in my opinion - is because we virtually must, to gain access to the “laboratory” of human experience. When we study it reasonably well, and so acquire some usable habits of mind, as well as some basic data about the forces that affect our own lives, we emerge with relevant skills and an enhanced capacity for informed citizenship, critical thinking, and simple awareness. We need to study it in order to make progress, even though this progress may take years in materialising.

I’m aware that any subject of study needs justification; its advocates must explain why it is worth attention. In a society that quite correctly expects education to serve “useful” purposes, the functions of history can seem more difficult to define than those of say architecture, engineering or medicine. History is in fact very useful, actually indispensable, but the products of historical study are less tangible, sometimes less immediate, than those that stem from some other disciplines.

History should be studied because it is essen-

Pushing Out

tial to individuals and to society as it helps us to understand people and sowith cieties. In the first place, it offers a storehouse of information about how people and societies behave. How, for instance, 08116759750 can we evaluate war if the nation is at peace. We can however do this with (SMS only) historical materials.

•aagboa@gmail.com Take the BH crisis as a case study.

Terrorism - in the scale we have it today - is totally strange to us that is we try to know why something happened—like why our military were not effectively trained in counter-insurgency warfare; the BH crisis or religious/ethnic conflicts—we rather the effort has been on conventional war- have to look for factors that took shape earlier. fare where you are trained to know your enSometimes fairly recent history will suffice emy who is expected to play by certain inter- to explain a major development, but often we national rules and norms governing combats need to look further back to identify the causes and the treatment of prisoners of war etc. of change. Only through studying history can Today’s enemy only puts on uniform as a de- we grasp how things change; only through coy; otherwise he remains elusive or acts as a history can we begin to comprehend the facsuicide bomber with scant regard to the sanc- tors that cause change; and only through histity of human life or decent societal norms. tory can we understand what elements of an So what is a historian expected to do in this institution or a society persist despite change. instance? He will sift through historical docuSo how do we start to put the right foot ments; study how similar scenarios played forward? Realising the importance of history, out elsewhere, what was done there and how Lagos State Government started the process it was countered. He will also strive to under- of teaching the subject from the basic level stand the role that belief systems play in shap- two years ago, if handled well it may be the ing individual and family lives. By studying pedestal for grooming generations of Nigeseveral societies where similar situations sub- rians who would understand what being citisist, a conclusion can be drawn with solutions zens of this potentially great nation really provided on how to address the situation. means despite our current challenges. I urge Some social scientists attempt to formulate the state government to explore other avlaws or theories about human behaviour, but enues beyond the four walls of schools to eneven these depend on historical information, able its citizens have a positive and progresexcept for in limited, often artificial cases in sive sense of history. which experiments can be devised to deterFor those who may not know, history also mine how people act. Consequently, history serves as a platform for moral contemplation. must serve, however imperfectly, as our Studying the stories of individuals and situa“laboratory”, and data from the past must tions in the past allows a student of history to serve as our most vital evidence in the un- test his or her own moral sense, to hone it avoidable quest to figure out why our com- against some of the real complexities individuplex society behaves the way it does. This, als have faced in difficult settings. People who fundamentally, is why we cannot stay away have weathered adversity, not just in some from history: it offers the only extensive evi- work of fiction, but in real historical circumdential base for the contemplation and analy- stances can provide inspiration that can galvasis of how societies function, and people need nize an entire nation. The late Nelson Mandela to have some sense of how societies function and South Africa is a classic example that most simply to run their own lives. people can easily recollect. Sir Winston History also helps us to understand change and Churchill, former Prime Minister of Great how the society we live in came to be. The past Britain’s singular role in rallying his people to causes the present, and so the future. Any time confront Nazi Germany during the Second

Agbo Agbo

World War also readily comes to mind.

In galvanizing a nation, - we all agree that Nigeria, as it stands today, need leaders that can galvanize her - no singular attitude is necessary than having a sense of identity; history provides this, which is unquestionably why all modern nations encourage its teaching in varied forms. Historical data include evidence about how families, groups, institutions and whole countries were formed and about how they have evolved while retaining cohesion.

In my study of American history, I discovered that for most Americans, studying the history of their family amount to the most obvious use of history, for it provides facts about genealogy and a basis for understanding how the family has interacted with larger historical change. Histories that tell the national story, emphasising distinctive features of the national experience, are meant to drive home an understanding of national values and a commitment to national loyalty.

Perhaps a key area we need to have a positive sense of the subject is in the area of good citizenship. Most Nigerians will agree that we have a citizenship crisis in the country today. This is the most common justification for the place of history in school curricula.

Sometimes advocates of citizenship history hope merely to promote national identity and loyalty through a history spiced by vivid stories and lessons in individual success and morality. But the importance of history for citizenship goes beyond this narrow prism.

History that lays the foundation for genuine citizenship returns, in one sense, to the essential uses of the study of the past. It provides data about the emergence of national institutions, problems, and values which offers evidence about how nations have interacted with other societies, providing international and comparative perspectives essential for responsible citizenship.

One salient feature of an advanced country is the ability to see the importance of nearly every discipline in the development process.

While we see the study of history in Nigeria as “irrelevant”, an advanced country will tap into the mind of the historian and use his analytic mindset for progress, for instance in the business world. In the United States, Britain and France, there are historians that undertake historical research for businesses or public agencies, or participate in the growing number of historical consultancies. These categories are important to keep the basic enterprise of history going.

Earning degree the hard way •Continued from page 29 pocket money from home.

He said: “I started the business with N1,600 and six packs of bread. Today, I sell about 10 packs a day, which is more than N4,000. The business paid up to 85 per cent of my expenses on campus.”

Now that they have graduated, does that the death of their business?

Bamidele, who is currently taking the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) courses, said nothing would

•Bamidele with his ware

separate him from bread business, even as a graduate.

After her National Youth Service, Toyosi said she would start a shoe-making business on a large scale, urging her colleagues to acquire vocational skills in addition to their academic degrees.

Adeniyi would like to be his own boss by going into entrepreneurship. Ellen said she would continue the business after school but on a large scale. “I have a dream to have a supermarket of my own,” she said.

‘My First Class is to appreciate my parents’ Joy Onyemaechi was the best graduating student of the Delta State University (DELSU) in Abraka during the 2012 and 2013 academic session. She is the first student to bag a First Class in the Department of Economics with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.67. She told PHILIP OKORODUDU (Graduating student of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering) how she achieved the feat.

H

OW do you feel becoming the valedictorian?

The feeling is overwhelming and unexplainable because it really beats my imaginations. I was aware I had the best Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) in my faculty but I was surprised when I was called out as the overall best graduating student for two sets. I give all the glory to God. Did you have the dream to graduate with a First Class when you were admitted?

Yes. I made a promise after I left secondary school that I would graduate from the university with a result that would impress my parents. Also because no students had graduated with a First Class in my department, I told myself I would be the first and God helped me to achieve this despite challenges and discouragement from different quarters.

Tell us about how you spent your day as a student

I wake up early whether I have classes or not and I always started my day with prayers. After bath, I would go to class if there was lecture or library if I had none. By 3pm, I would be back to have my lunch and then went to church.

After having my dinner, I went to bed so that I would be able to wake up in midnight to read.

What drove you to work hard in achieving your desire?

It was the thought of my parents’ efforts to send us to school. They worked hard so that I could go to the university and I vowed to do something that would make them proud that they did not work in vain. Each time I took my result home, the joy they expressed made me to be more determined and focus.

What is the secret of your success?

It is God and of course hard work. Without the glory of God, my hard work would not have been able to achieve anything.

What is aspiration?

After my Master’s degree and PhD, I want to be a top-rated development economist whose idea would contribute to the economic wellbeing of Nigeria. I also like to be a teacher in church, teaching word of God to the youth.

What were the challenges you faced as a student?

I had a challenge to maintain not just a good CGPA but to also remain in First Class. It is very easy to get to the top but it is challenging staying at the top. And in a school like DELSU, where every course from 100-Level to final year counts, one cannot afford to be slack because a poor score can destroy result forever. I prayed and worked hard to surpass the challenge.

How would you describe your social life?

I am not a social person, even as an undergraduate. I barely had time for mundane things except my studies.

What is your advice to students?

•Joy

They must hold on to God because He never fails. They must allow God to take the lead in whatever they do, He would guide them aright and make them achieve their aims. Also there should be balance between academic, social and spiritual life. One should not outweigh the other. They must make friends with those who would inspire them towards achieving their goals and not those who would drag them backward. Students must believe in their ability and give in their best in anything. Even if it does not work out the way we want, there would never be regrets knowing that we have done our best.

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

31

CAMPUS LIFE Pharmacy students of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) suspended academics to participate in the Dean’s Cup, a sporting event organised by the Director of Sport of the Pharmaceutical Association of Nigeria Students (PANS).

EZEKIEL EFEOBHOKHAN (300-Level Pharmacy) reports.

•Female students displaying their medals and trophy

I

N a few weeks, they will be writing exam but students of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) are not bothered. They suspended academic activities to participate in the faculty’s annual sport fiesta.

The event featured variety of sports, ranging from football to sprint relay and long distance races that stretched to 1,500 metres both in male and female categories. The five-day event was held in the university’s Sport Complex.

In his short message to kick off the event, the Deputy Dean, Students’ Affairs, Dr Tony Waka, urged the participants to promote the spirit of sportsmanship in all the sporting activities, saying: “Sports are for fun and for exercise; as pharmacy students, you all know the benefits of exercising the body. This and many more reasons made the faculty board to be in support of this event.”

The first four days saw various classes to battle one another to qualify from the group stage. Stu-

•Winner of the soccer contest with their lecturers

All work and no play... dents of 300-Level and 600-Level qualified, having beaten their 400Level and 500-Level counterparts in the male category. In female category, 300-Level and 200-Level qualified for the final round.

Emmanuel Osakpolor and Kelvin Enoghase, both of the 400-Level class, won the 100 and 400 metres relay while Jude Usman, a 300-Level student, won 1500 meter race in the male category.

Rita Ihaza clinched prizes for the 100 and 400 meters race in the female category.

There were tension and apprehension on the pitch at the grand finale of the soccer contest, where 300Level and 200-Level female students battled for the trophy. The match was fun as the students displayed their soccer skills to entertain the boys.

However, a shot by Faith

Okhemsimi assisted by the captain Faith Ogbena gave the 300-Level class a lead over their junior colleagues in 39 minute of the game.

The match ended 1-0 in the favour of the 300-Level class.

Faith Okhemesimi was adjudged Best Female Player of the contest.

The grand finale of the male contest between 600-Level and 300Level classes started at 4:15pm. Fourteen minutes into the match, a controversy broke out when the referee ruled out a goal scored by the 600Level class. The 300-Level players, led by Benjamin Idiakhoa, defended its side until 64th minute when Festus Esiegbe of the contending team broke the defence and scored a goal.

One of the players, Marvellous Eromosele, was taken out of the field, having sustained an injury on the mouth, which had its tooth re-

moved. The injured player was given a first-aid treatment by a paramedical team led by Ogah Ibadin, a student. Afterwards, Marvellous was referred to the UNIBEN Teaching Hospital (UBTH) for treatment.

Another controversy broke out when Prince Okooboh, a 300-Level class player, was knocked down in the goal area. The referee, who initially decided a penalty kick, ruled offside after he consulted one of the officials. This caused a stir as fans went wild, disrupting the game for a moment. They situation was later brought under control but match ended 1-0 in favour of the 600-Level class.

Coach of the 300-Level class, Ifeanyi Ajudeonu, was not happy about the outcome of the game. He praised his players for putting up a good performance. He said: “The referee’s decision was against my team as we had opportunity to score

goal but we were denied. Too two of our key players were taken out because of injury.”

The 600-Level captain, Meshach Chu, said the game was tough for his side but thanked God for the win.

“This is the third time we are winning the Dean’s cup but this particular one is dedicated to Hulera Momoh, our colleague that died last year.”

The Director of Sport, Chinedu Dimnoyeka, said he was happy about the success of the fiesta.

Some of the players, who put up brilliant performance, were honoured. The Highest Goal Scorer went to Uyi Igbinadolor, a 600-Level student, while Best Midfielder went to Christian Ezeokoye, a 400-Level student.

Others are Osmond Ezeagu (Best Defender), Lawrence Ameh (Best Keeper) and Best Player of the tournament, Festus Esiegbe, a 600Leevel student. The 500-Level class won the Best Behaved Team.

Dr Waka congratulated the students and told them to go read for their examination.

A historic election The National Association of Students of English and Literary Studies (NASELS), Imo State University (IMSU) chapter, has held its election, which was described by students as the most competitive in its history.

CHIDIEBERE ENYIA (400-Level English and Literary Studies) and MERCY OPARANOZIE (200-Level English and Literary Studies) report.

A

LL activities were suspended at the Department of English and Literary Studies of the Imo State University (IMSU) in Owerri for election of the National Association of Students of English and Literary Studies (NASELS) last week. The exercise, it was observed, was the most competitive in the history of their association.

Some three weeks before the poll, the department came alive with campaign in which students saw the good, the bad and the worst. Excitement filled the air. The electioneering was characterised by political intrigues, tension and propaganda.

Chukwuebuka Ogoeke, a 400Level student, headed the sevenman electoral committee set up by the outgoing president Johnpaul Nwadike, while Nneoma Okoro, also in 400-Level, was the secretary.

The committee was composed of students from each level.

No sooner had the electoral com-

mittee lifted the ban on political campaign and released the timetable than the sale of nomination forms began. Nineteen students were screened for the executive positions by the association’s Staff Adviser and security personnel.

The election began with the manifesto, where the candidates presented their programmes to the students.

The presentation was greeted with applause and glee. When it was the turn of the presidential contenders, there was a pin-drop silence. Students were attentive and recorded every word said by the two candidates.

Ikenna Dikeocha, outgoing Treasurer, who contested for the top job, said he had a dream to transform the association to a vibrant one. He unveiled a two-point agenda to “revive the literary life of the students” and to enhance “students’ relationship with lecturers”.

His opponent and outgoing General Secretary, Sixtus Agbaegbu,

•One of the candidates speaking on the manifesto

said: “I have the experience to pilot the affairs of the association to a greater height. If I am elected, the department would publish journals and other literary materials to enhance knowledge and welfare of the members.”

At noon, the election started and ended at 3:45pm. Mr Solomon Ihedigbo, a lecturer, and Dr Psalm Chinaka, who represented the Staff Advisers, monitored the process.

“The election was successfully conducted without hitches,” Chinaka said.

Johnpaul, after vesting his vote, said he was happy the process was acceptable to students. He urged winners and losers to accept the result in good faith. He said: “We have succeeded in organising a free and fair election; I would implore both the winners and losers to accept the

results and work together for the overall development of the association.”

Chukwuebuka, who was elated about the hitch-free exercise, said there were rumours that the election would be rigged in favour of a candidate, praising the Staff Adviser for his quick intervention by appointing four-man independent monitoring committee to oversee the process. “The election was free and fair and most of the candidates’ agents were satisfied with the outcome,” he said.

When the election results were announced, there were mixed feelings among the candidates. Sixtus won the presidential contest after he garnered 127 votes to defeat Ikenna, who polled 118 votes.

Nwachineke Onyedikachi beat Chidera Nwosu with 25 votes to

become the Financial Secretary.

Others elected are Adanna Iheka, Vice President, Ignatius Okorie, General Secretary, Precious Mgbudemobi, Assistant General Secretary, Bright Emeagi , Treasurer, Onyedikachi Nwachineke, Financial Secretary, Frank Iheagwaram, Director of Socials, Arthur Anunonso, Director of Information, Precious Njoku, Liberian, Gideon Nneoma, Editor-in-Chief, James Chinonso Edson, Director of Sports, Caleb Ezinwoke, Provost and Jennifer Umeodinka, Director of Literary Development.

After he was announced as president-elect, Sixtus became emotional, shedding tears and unable to express himself. “I thank God for making it possible,” he muttered. Onyedikachi thanked the students for finding him worthy to serve them.

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

32

CAMPUS LIFE

Union leaders inspect projects M

EMBERS of the Students’ Union Government at the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti (ADO POLY), have conducted an inspection on various students-centred projects in the institution.

The team, led by the union president, Olaide Ajibola, comprised the Vice President, Micheal Akinfolarin, Senate President, Akintunde Olawoye, General Secretary, Ifeoluwa Filani, Welfare Director, Samuel Ajitaramu and Public Relations Officer, Temitope Yakubu.

They inspected the on-going renovation of the Students’ Union Central Common Room, construction work at Lagos Female Hall, renova-

T

From Temitope Yakubu ADO POLY

tion of toilets, Students’ Union Arcade and fumigationof hostels.

The contractor told union leaders were told that the Central Common Room would soon be completed. At the Madam Tinubu Block, Olaide praised the management for assenting to the demands of the union, urging students to imbibe maintenance culture.

Ajitaramu said students’ welfare remained the union’s priority.

He said: “We now have two good buses that can travel to any part of the country. The management just donated a new bus to us and had equally refurbished the old one.”

•The union leaders inspecting a drainage

Faculty holds 15th Herbert Macaulay Lecture

HE Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, has held her 15th Herbert Macaulay Memorial Lecture. The event was held at Princess Alexandria Auditorium with the theme: ”Revitalising an effective power system for sustainable development in Nigeria.”

The event was graced by the Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu

From Kelechukwu Iruoma UNN Nebo; Vice-Chancellor, Prof Benjamin Ozumba, Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration, Engr John Chukwu; Chairman of the occasion, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu; Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Prof T. C. Madueme and students of the

university.

In his address, John Okafor, an alumnus of the university, said: “The topic for the lecture is informed by both technological and natural needs and the need for engineering education in Nigeria to rise to the challenge of imparting significantly on the students and engineers.”

He urged the students not to be overtaken by the scramble for

certificates, but to equip themselves with relevant skills.

Prof Nebo said the Federal Government was doing everything possible to improve energy generation, transmission and distribution to meet the economic and educational development projections of the nation.

He urged stakeholders to work together to deliver clean, afford-

A

•Ajayi talking to the students

able energy to Nigerians, adding that with adequate support, there would be increase in generation of short, medium and long terms projections.

Iwuanyanwu lauded the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan for its efforts in the power sector, calling on the Minister of Power to focus his attention on the development of coal in Nigeria.

Enactus holds workshop

S part of efforts to make entrepreneurship attractive to undergraduates, Enactus Nigeria, a non-for-profit organisation in conjunction with Verve Nigeria, had held a workshop at the University of Ilorin.

The workshop, which took place at the institution’s auditorium, was attended by students of the university and those of Kwara State University (KWASU).

Mike Ajayi, Programme Manager, spoke to the students on the objective of the group in breeding tomorrow’s leaders through entrepreneurship.

He noted that the only way to alleviate the rate of unemployment in the country was through

the introduction of entrepreneurship courses into the university curriculum.

Verve Nigeria presented their new product, my cashless campus.

The firm said the initiative was motivated by the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Present at the workshop were the Dean of Students’ Affairs, Prof O.A. Omotesho; Sub Dean, Dr A. Yusuf; Director of Centre for Research Development and inHouse Training (Credit) Prof A.T. Oladiji and other principal officers of the university.

recommendations of the lecture and revitalise the state of industries in the country. Obetta Emmanuel, 300-Level Metallurgical Engineering, said steel was the king of all material and government should understand the importance of the nation’s resource base and utilise them to achieve development.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ben-

jamin Ozumba, who was represented by the VC (Academics), Prof Polycarp Chigbu, thanked participants for turning out en masse for the lecture.

Highlight of the event was the presentation of award of excellence to Prof Obikwelu by the National Association of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Students (NAMMES), UNN chapter.

From Ibrahim Alamu UNILORIN

‘Nigeria needs industrial revolution’

A

lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Prof Daniel Nnamdi Obikwelu, has described as counter-productive Nigeria’s methods for acquiring technology.

Speaking while delivering the 79th inaugural lecture at the institution, Obikwelu, said government should learn from the industrial revolution of the Great Britain.

He said: “Drafting from the stone to modern age where man’s activities were technologically-driven, industrial revolution is a phase in human history when the predominant agrarian rural societies in Great Britain, Europe and America became industrial and civilised.”

Obikwelu, who spoke on the theme: Metallic materials: challenges in the 21st century Nigeria and didactic lessons from the 18th century industrial revolution, said metallic material especially steel, stood out as man’s major resource that fostered industrialisation in the 18th century industrial revolution.

He added that metallic material played vital role in the life of man and every technologically-driven

From Divine Nwoye UNN nation, explaining that metallic materials have become invaluable resources for improving the standard of living and developing indigenous technologies.

He noted that growth in the nation’s industrial sector was hampered by foreign assistance without proper development of available resource.

He noted: “Nigeria doesn’t have the wherewithal to develop her resources, the resources can only be carried overseas and developed and sold back to us.”

He added that some regions of the country were backward in industrial revolution because of high level of negligence of their natural resources.

He called for partnership approach among the government, private sector and research institutes to develop indigenous technologies for sustainable development. “Nigeria governments are urged to learn the lessons of the industrial revolution of the 18th

•Academics at the lecture

century in Great Britain by providing conducive political and industrial atmosphere to promote the avalanche of industrial inventions that would eventually lead to the much needed revolution in Nigeria’s industrial sector,” he stated.

A participant, Chris Egwuatu, said the Federal Government should implement the

Newspaper of the Year

AN 8-PAGE PULLOUT ON SOUTHEAST STATES THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

Tributes as Justice Oputa goes home

PAGE 33

Orji calls for action against pipeline vandals •PAGE 39

A kind gesture •PAGE 36

•PAGE 34

The arrest last month of 486 persons suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect has altered the security equation in Aba, Abia State’s commercial hub, with security agencies stepping up surveillance as residents tread softly.

SUNNY NWANKWO reports

•CAUTION: Part of Aba, home of business

Aba after Boko Haram suspects’ arrest

M

OST of the 486 suspects have been freed, but that has brought little relief to residents of Aba, the economic nerve of Abia State. One of the remaining suspects still in detention is said to be on the wanted list of the military. That is cause for concern, even though nothing is proved yet. Even the release of most of the suspects has been criticised, especially in the Southeast, with some arguing that it was hasty.

Residents of the commercial city have become jumpy and are looking out for themselves. Security agencies have also scaled up their surveillance in order to prevent any push down south by violent elements wreaking havoc in the North.

The military arrested the suspects along Aba-Port Harcourt expressway last month, triggering

wide media reportage.

Since the Director of Defence Information, Gen. Chris Olukolade issued a statement alleging that a “terror kingpin on the list of wanted terrorist of security forces in Nigeria has been detected in the ongoing screening of the 486 suspects nabbed while travelling in over 33 buses at night on the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway” on June 15, residents of Aba have been living apprehensively, a throwback to the days of kidnapping in the state.

Though the said Boko Haram kingpin who was identified among the suspects has been relocated out of Abia, residents of the state, especially Aba, including security agencies in the state, have been vigilant since the arrest.

This situation has caused security and para-military organisations in the state to engage in one form of counter security measures or the

‘This situation has caused security and para-military organisations in the state to engage in one form of counter security measures or the other to ensure that the people’s agitations are dealt with’ other to ensure that the people’s agitations are dealt with.

At the gate of Aba South Local Government Area, security personnel including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) security personnel mounted a stopand-search operation on vehicles going into the council’s offices.

A military source, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said they were in-

structed to stop and search vehicles in order to avert any possible security breach in the Area.

Though the personnel refused to comment further when quizzed by the reporter, he however attributed their actions and presence at the council’s gate to the outcome of a security meeting after the army arrested 486 suspected members of Boko Haram insurgents in the state.

Efforts to speak with the Divi-

sional Officer of NSCDC, Aba South Paul Nze failed, but the Public Relations Officer of the agency, Mr. Victor Ogbonna said that the officers would not have been carrying out the stop and search operation at the Aba South gate without any operational manual.

According to Ogbonna, “Aba South itself can have an operational manual given to them. So, what you need to do is to go and find out where the operational manual is coming from. It can be done. If the local government authority demand that, I think it is suppose be done. Find out if they are given that mandate. We cannot do without mandate. Before it is done (stop and search) we must get an operational manual. You must tell us what to do. If they tell us what to do, we might decide to •Continued on page 35

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

34

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

Tributes as Justice Oputa goes home T

HE sleepy community of Oguta in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State, hometown of late eminent jurist, Justice Chukwudifu Akunne Oputa hosted an unprecedented crowd of mourners. The crowd was as large as it was made up of the crème de la crème of Nigeria who turned up to pay their last respects to the late Justice of the Supreme Court.

Judging by the glamour and fanfare, one could easily mistake the funeral for a cultural festival. The young and old came out in large numbers to celebrate the man that brought them fame and honour.

Traditional funeral rites befitting such a titled man were secretly done probably to escape the wrath of the church, while traditionalists added colour to the event with their bright costumes and traditional dances.

Justice Oputa meant a lot to everybody.

One elder, Udoka Okafor said Oputa was a titled man who should be given a befitting burial in line with the traditions of the land but for the fear of possible sanctions by the church, which was officially allowed to perform the burial rites.

This caused the traditional aspect of the ceremony to be played down.

At the church which is just a few poles away from the Oputas' home, security men had a hectic time controlling the surging crowd.

The Presiding Priest and Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Reverend Matthew Hassan Kukah, in his sermon, urged Nigerians to rise up in the defence of Justice and Equity, stressing that the late Oputa, during his life time was obsessed with the concept of Justice and Equity.

From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

He stated that the late Supreme Court Judge lived a life of patriotism and service and left legacies that are beyond his immediate family, adding that members of the Supreme Court should be taken more seriously, given their contributions to the development and stability of the nation.

Kukah said that Oputa's ability and capacity to manage people, is something that his people should be proud of, adding that for a man that held his kind of position to tolerate a son like Charly Boy, was a measure of his greatness.

The cleric noted that Nigerians will remember the late Oputa in the temple of Justice this was where he excelled. "Our leaders should work for justice, equity and fairness. I believe that the history of human rights cannot be complete without mentioning the late Justice Oputa".

Opening the flood of tributes, President Goodluck Jonathan, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, described the late Oputa as a respected public servant, patriot and internationally acclaimed jurist.

He said: "It is on record that in his long service to our country, he distinguished himself and left behind an enviable legacy which the entire Oputa family can be rightly proud of. He was not only an outstanding legal icon, he also readily gave of himself in the service of our fatherland in the demonstration of his faith in the emergence of a strong, united and prosperous Nigeria".

•Governor Rochas Okorocha (left) with Charles Oputa, son of the late jurist at the event

In his condolence massage, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said Oputa served the country efficiently in various capacities throughout a distinguished career as the Judge of the High Court of the then Eastern Nigeria, from where he rose, steadily, to seat as a Justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court. Justice Oputa will be remembered as one of the pillars of the noble profession in this country.

"Personally, I deeply value the way he handled the affairs of the Oputa Panel which I instituted in 2001 to investigate human rights abuses in Nigeria from 1979-1999.

He gave it all, with commitment and •Continued on page 36

‘The late Supreme Court Judge lived a life of patriotism and service and left legacies that are beyond his immediate family, adding that members of the Supreme Court should be taken more seriously, given their contributions to the development and stability of the country...Our leaders should work for justice, equity and fairness. I believe that the history of human rights cannot be complete without mentioning the late Justice Oputa’

Ihejirika praises Jonathan at youth council inauguration

O

HANAEZE Youth Council, the youth wing of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has been inaugurated with Mazi Ikechukwu Isiguzo as its chairman.

Isiguzo is the first elected chairman of the group since the previous leaders were selected.

The ceremony attracted prominent Igbo leaders, youth organisations from the Southwest, Southsouth and North of the country. The occasion was co-chaired by former Chief of Army Staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika and the publisher of Champion Newspaper, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu.

Abia State Governor and Chairman, Southeast Governors Forum, Chief Theodore Orji was also there as well as the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo led by Enwo Gary-Igariwey.

Traditional rulers and politicians were equally there.

Ihejirika in his remarks urged Nigerian youths to fight insurgency and insecurity that is fast spreading in Nigeria. Making his case, he said that the Nigerian youths should understand the enormity of President Goodluck Jonathan's effort in combating insurgency.

The retired general urged the Igbo youths to liaise with the youths of other nationalities across the country to complement government's fight against insecurity. He equally urged the youths to help inform the larger society so they could vote wisely when it comes to election time.

Ihejirika said: "President Goodluck Jonathan is performing very well.

There is so much we can do in this

•Governor Orji (left) addressing the youth at the inauguration. With him are the retired Lt. Gen. Ihejirika (middle) and Chief Gari Igariweya From Chris Oji, Enugu

country but without security we cannot do much.

"When you empower the youths, you fight insecurity, youths must not go to sleep. I therefore call on youths both within and outside the south east to wake up and help government quell insecurity in the country. Anybody who loves youths loves this country."

Governor Orji in his own speech stated that since his government embarked on laudable youth empowerment projects, kidnapping has reduced in his state.

President Goodluck Jonathan is performing very well. There is so much we can do in this country but without security, we cannot do much...When you empower the youth, you fight insecurity, youths must not go to sleep. I therefore call on youths both within and outside the Southeast geopolitical zone to wake up and help government quell insecurity in the country. Anybody who loves youths loves this country He noted that when it comes to war, it was always the youths that are used to fight wars and cited the instance of

Biafra war which was fought mostly by the youths.

Orji said: "If you have not taken care

of the youths, then you have not done anything. We don't want war again but the unity of this country because Igbos lost all for the unity of this country."

Governor Orji urged the Igbo youths to be proud of their heritage, the values and the culture, while reminding them not to be intimidated by anybody since the country belongs to all Nigerians.

The chairman of the Ohanaeze Youths Council, Mazi Isiguzoro vowed that the council under his leadership "shall fight insecurity in Igboland, both South East and beyond to standstill." He noted that kidnapping, armed robbery and other criminal activities were being perpetrated by mainly Igbo youths.

He added: "We have what it takes to go after these miscreants who give Igbo youths a bad name. With the collaboration of our governors as chief security officers of their various states and in partnership with security agencies, insecurity in Igbo land shall be reduced to to the barest minimum within one year."

Isiguzoro said his second point in his agenda is youth empowerment which he said is a panacea to insecurity. The Youth Council in that regard launched the Igbo Youth Development/Skill Acquisition Centre. Governor Orji of Abia State granted the centre N1.5million for take off. The centre shal have sections on ICT, entrepreneurship training, skill acquisition etc.

The youth leader also hinted that he planned to embark on a re-orientation of Igbo youths. "One of the basic problem facing today's Igbo youth is that of internalizing Igbo cosmology as seposed by Igbo ethos such as igwebuike, onye aghala nwanneya, ezi aha ka ego etc," he stressed.

There were goodwill messages from the Ijaw Youth Council, IjawNational Congress led by Charles Ambiowei, Yoruba Youth congress and others.

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

35

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

Succour for the needy in Imo

R

EPRIEVE came the way of indigent widows of police officers who lost their lives in active service and other less-privileged people in Imo State when the Police Officers’ Wives Association (POWA), gave out items worth millions of naira to them.

The gifts were household items like electricity generating sets, clothes and other materials, a gesture which aimed at improving the well-being of the widows.

The widows, 14 of them, received one generator and bundles of wrapper each.

Speaking at the event which held at the Police Officers’ Mess, the Chairperson of the Imo State chapter of POWA, Hajia Idiat Ali, who was represented by Dr. Fatima Kura, said POWA is committed to improving the welfare of indigent women and other vulnerable people in the society through its various welfare strategies and packages.

She said: “But for paucity of fund, POWA has the passion to touch more lives through its empowerment programme.”

According to her, the beneficiaries were randomly selected from all the zones across the state with emphasis on the families of dead police officers.

Responding, the Commissioner of Police, Abdulmajid Ali, represented by Rotimi Adelesi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), commended the association for remembering the indigent widows and other vulnerable members of the society.

He said such gesture will go a long way in reducing their suffering and give them a sense of belonging.

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Bridget Mgbemena, expressed their gratitude to the association for alleviating the plight of

•The rep of POWA Chairperson, Dr Kura and ACP Adelesi with other members of POWA

•Members of POWA presenting a generating set to a beneficiary From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

the widows and other indigent people, adding that the singular act of care has consoled them that they were still part of the police family.

She said: “Since I lost my husband five years ago, I felt I have been forgotten but today, I feel once more like the wife of a police officer. The gesture will certainly go a long way in keeping us together as one happy

family.”

She, however, appealed to the Federal Government and the Police Service Commission to assist POWA in its responsibility of caring for the less-privileged people, adding that if properly funded, the association, which she said she was proud to belong, will adequately address the challenges of poverty and illiteracy confronting the people, especially within the Nige-

ria Police Force.

Another beneficiary, Mrs. Vero Okorie, who broke down in tears as she recounted how her husband was shot down by armed robbers two years ago, thanked POWA for the intervention, stating that she is convinced that her husband’s death was not in vain.

“I am glad to know that we are still remembered two years after my husband was killed. I thank the

‘Since I lost my husband five years ago, I felt I have been forgotten but today, I feel once more like the wife of a police officer.

The gesture will certainly go a long way in keeping us together as one happy family... I am glad to know that we are still remembered two years after my husband was killed. I thank the leadership of POWA for what they have done.

It is not all about the items but the care they have shown us. We are all grateful’ leadership of POWA for what they have done. It is not all about the items but the care they have shown us. We are all grateful.”

The beneficiaries were Mrs. Ngozi Omenazu, Deborah Emmanuel, Comfort Ojobe, Uzoma Bridget, Mary Otu, Ngozi Malaky, Eze Blessing, La Kemi and Ngozi Onurah.

Others were Mgbemena Bridget, Blessing Augustine, Vero Okorie and Ngozi Ejimofor.

•Continued from page 33 put it down on paper as evidence, which is how we work. We cannot just come out like that and begin to work. There must be an operational manual given to us; there must be an agreement A check around churches, police station and other corporate offices show that security has been tightened in such places.

Parishioner in some of the worship centers in the commercial city told our correspondent that after the news of the suspected Boko Haram members’ arrest, their churches have made moves to install Close Circuit Cameras (CCTV) within their church compound.

Another source however disclosed that security officials in their church now use metal detector to search even parishioners thoroughly before they could gain entrance into the church premises.

This development the source said though they were not comfortable with, they have to accept in good fate because it was for their own security as “no one prays to die while coming to receive salvation from God.” Checks by our reporter around police stations in Aba, Enyimba City has it that security has equally been improved as station guards

•Traders at Ariaria Market are concerned about the security situation

•Business amid fear at Aba-Owerri Road

Aba after Boko Haram suspects’ arrest quizzes and thoroughly scrutinize any person whose movement in and around police stations look suspicious.

It was also gathered that because of the economic importance of Aba to Abia, State, south east and indeed, the Igbo nation, virtually all the security agencies in the state have deployed more intelligence personnel out in the streets of Aba, including markets for prompt security and intelligence gathering reports.

The Aba Area Commander, Ni-

gerian Police, ACP Peter Wagbara had assured residents of the commercial city and its environs of their safety.

Wagbara who was reacting over the tension and fear being expressed by some residents after soldiers intercepted the said suspected members of Boko Haram disclosed that the command has increased its intelligence gathering and patrol within and outside Aba. According to the Area Commander, the command has equally

redesigned its operational strategies in crime fighting and to further beef up security of lives and property in the densely populated business community.

“We don’t want to take chances, not with the reported escape of two buses in the convoy of the travellers intercepted by soldiers somewhere close to Aba. We have deployed our officers and men to some flash points in and around the city to fish out criminals and strange elections.”

He added that police was intensifying its stop and search operation especially among the tricycle operators which according to him had in recent times become the major operational means of criminals particularly kidnappers.

He said that in addition to the already taken measures, in order to strengthen security inside the area command, that all illegal structures within the premises had been demolished.

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

36

37

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT Why insecurity persists, by ex-Speaker From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

T

HE former Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Chief Kelechi Nwagwu has blamed the mounting insecurity and other criminal activities like armed robbery and kidnapping in the country on poverty and unemployment.

Chief Nwagwu argued that if the youth were meaningfully engaged, they would no longer be used to perpetrate insurgency or political crisis in any part of the country, adding that the high rate of crime in the society is driven by hunger and frustration.

The former Speaker, who stated this at his private residence in Owerri, the Imo state capital, during an interactive section with journalists, disclosed that he had decided to join the Senatorial race to influence legislations that will address poverty, unemployment and hunger, stressing that “if hunger and poverty are squarely addressed, only the greedy ones will be involved in crime.”

Blaming members of the National Assembly from Southeast for the marginalisation and under-development of the zone, the former Speaker assured that if elected to represent Owerri Senatorial zone, he would attract adequate attention to the challenges of infrastructure and youth unemployment in the zone.

Making reference to the ecological problems in Imo State, Nwagwu, who is aspiring on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), promised that if elected, he would go beyond the legislative circle to explore other means of tackling the menace.

Chief Nwagwu also assured that if elected a Senator, he would deploy all the contacts and connections he has even beyond the legislative circles such as non- governmental organisations (NGOs) and relevant national and international organisations to tackle ecological degradation which is ravaging some communities.

“I have been in and out of government, so I can appreciate and appraise situations and act accordingly with humility and human face. My status as a former Speaker will give me an edge over others because I will be a ranking member of the Senate if elected by the people and that will be a plus to my Senatorial zone,” he said.

A kind gesture

Group protests release of Boko Haram suspects

A

T

HEY recognised a kind gesture when they saw one. They talked about it, jumped and danced.

That was the impact of the visit of Anamabra State governor’s wife, Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano to pupils living with disability in the state. She went to their schools with various items and a promise to bring their suffering to an end. She took with her bags of rice, beans, cartons of tomatoes, noodles, sugar. There were bales of wrappers, shirts and live cows, among others.

The people loved it, some saying it was the first time the wife of a governor will visit the area.

Not only that, the Anambra First lady commissioned a water borehole project which she initiated and completed herself for the students.

She also gave out N50,000 to each of the centres for the meantime for the upkeep of the children.

Besides, she frowned at the abandonment of the blind, deaf and dumb children by successive administrations, adding that the fact that they are handicapped does not make them less human beings.

The schools the governor’s wife visited were Basden Memorial Special Education Centre, Isulo in Orumba South local government area and Special Education Centre, Umuchu in Aguata Local Government Area.

Mrs. Obiano also took time to visit Zion Hospital and Maternity home in Enugu-Ukwu in Njikoka local government area where she promised to adopt an abandoned baby boy by unknown person if nobody comes for his adoption.

The site of dilapidated and collapsed buildings in the centre made the Anambra first lady to weep, while appealing to the philanthropists and good spirited Anambra citizens to come to the aid of the pupils.

She reminded the people that the children were not the cause of their problems, rather, the way God wanted them to be.

Furthermore, she lamented on the abandonment of construction work by contractors and those who claim to be representing donor agencies, accusing them of not doing the job.

•The blind students receiving Mrs Obiano

•One of the cows given to the pupils

•The visitors and the items donated From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

“Those people only rushed to the schools this morning to pretend doing some work on hearing about my visit, we cannot continue in this manner in this state, this is not acceptable to the present government”.

Twelve-year-old visually impaired Master Nnaemeka Unegbu, who radiated joy as if he was seeing the items or what the governor’s wife had done, said God had used their mummy to remember the needy.

Also, 10-year-old Uju Okonkwo commended Mrs. Obiano for the gifts, adding that before now, they

•Mrs Obiano drinks water from the borehole she inaugurated at Isulo

were forgotten citizens of Anambra State because of their plight.

“God has used our mother to bring joy and happiness to us; we appreciate your good work and God will equally remember you in a special way one day” The Administrative Secretary of Basden Memorial Special Education Centre in Isulo, Mrs. Ebere Ichoku regretted that former Governors in the state never visited the school since its inception 18 years ago.

However, she appealed for more assistance in the area of funding, arguing that subvention of 580.00 naira monthly to the school is very poor.

She sought for the upgrading of

feeding allowance of 50,000 monthly, saying that the current daily feeding allowance of N33 a day per pupil or N11 per meal is not encouraging.

Furthermore, she lamented that roofs of the school library, refectory, workshop and staff quarters among others are all leaking, while they need urgent attention.

At the Special Education Centre, Umuchu, Mrs. Obiano assured the management that whatever is due to them will be given, adding that it was her own way of improving the lives of the children and the yet unborn.

Again, she promised to explore possibility of recruiting a computer

instructor and to make good of the bus and not for somebody to convert it into personal use.

The school principal, Mr. Sunday S. Nwafor told the Nation that their needs are many since the foundation was established in 1997.

These, according to him range from teaching equipment, funds, electricity to run the school effectively among others, while commending the Governor’s wife for her magnanimity.

According to Nwafor, “We are in dire need of water, electricity, clinic, renovation of classrooms, teachers and additional care giver to help cater for the pupils because of the na-

Tributes as Justice Oputa goes home

T

•Wife of the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, Margaret Oputa and her son Charles Oputa aka Charly Boy during the memorial service

every individual is the legacy left behind and not the date of birth," Okorocha said. "The quality of a man's life cannot be measured by the amount of wealth he acquired while alive, but by the legacies he left behind".

Naming the State Judiciary complex under construction after the late

Jurist, Okorocha, called on Nigerians to emulate the lives of men like Oputa, Ojukwu and Mbakwe, among others.

The State Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere, said that Oputa lived a life that is worthy of celebration, priding that his contributions to the development of the judiciary and

ise to the centre when she visited the place early in the year.

According to her, “I realised that some of their greatest challenges were lack of portable water where they travelled over two kilometers in search of water, poor feeding and infrastructure, even the condition of the school is highly deplorable” “For the fact that they are handicapped, does not warrant such abandonment, they are human beings and must be attended to by all of us” “Those with sight challenges can be trained through Braille reading, the dumb, through sound education” she told the Nation.

‘In a situation like the one affecting the security of the country, it still beats our imagination why about 486 selfacclaimed job seekers led by confirmed Boko Haram kingpins who are on the wanted list of security agents should be travelling on a convoy under the cover of darkness...More annoying is the reported celebration of suspected terrorists by a state government and we think that the action of Jigawa State government tends to suggest that the so-called job seekers or travellers were on a state assignment’ Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

Nnanta maintained that security agents should be allowed to handle all security issues in the country professionally without undue interference by individuals or groups with vested interests, “if Nigeria is serious about ending terrorism”.

He warned the political class, religious and ethnic interest groups to stop politicising security issues as such attribute rather than bring solution only helps to worsen the already precarious security situation in the country.

Nnanta also expressed support for the position of Southeast Governors on the war against terror, while calling on Ndigbo in particular, and Nigerians in general to remain vigilant and more security conscious in the face of daunting security challenges.

Community rejects institute’s director

•Continued from page 34 a very high sense of duty, despite his short tenure as Chairman of the Panel", he wrote.

In her letter of condolence, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, said that Oputa was a respected member of the Supreme Court bench who contributed his very best to the Court and the development of law.

Earlier, the Imo State Government has organized a Special Day of Tribut in honour of the late jurist who was described as a pillar of justice, fairness and equity by prominent indigenes of the State who showered encomiums on him.

Speaking at the event which held at the International Conference Centre, the state governor, Rochas Okorocha said the late legal giant was a source of pride and honour to not only Ndigbo but the entire nation.

He observed that the famous Oputa Panel report would have helped the nation a lot if it had been implemented, adding that Nigerians should know when to play politics and when to unite for a common goal.

"What is important in the life of

ture and condition of their appearance”.

When Obiano’s wife got to the maternity home in Engwu Ukwu, she was shocked in seeing an abandoned baby boy where she took up the hospital bills.

The Medical Doctor of the hospital, Oliver Onwughalu told the Nation that the baby weighed 28 kilometers and thanked Mrs. Obiano for her Care and benevolence.

After the Commissioning of the borehole at Isulo, Mrs Obiano told the Nation that what she decided to do was to make the conditions of the pupils more conducive and also in fulfillment of her earlier prom-

GROUP known as Igbo World Union (IWU) has expressed its resentment over the alleged release of 114 of the 486 detained Boko Haram suspects arrested penultimate Sunday in Abia en route to Port Harcourt.

Speaking with news men in Umuahia, the President-General of the group, Chief Mishak Nnanta, said alleged release of the suspects was a bad omen, adding that their release posed a great danger to the Southeast geo-political zone.

Nnanta who spoke against the alleged gradual release of the suspects said: “Nigeria is playing with fire if indeed some people among those 486 suspects and their release posed grave danger to our lives and national unity since they would have been freed in haste.”

Recall that some of the suspected insurgents totalling 114 mostly from Jigawa State were among the suspects who were released last Friday and handed over to the state government amid rousing welcome and grand reception.

Nnanta said it was not opposed to freeing of any innocent ones found among the suspects but cautioned that proper steps should be taken when handling a sensitive issue like terrorist groups that have been ravaging the country for years now.

He said: “In a situation like the one affecting the security of the country, it still beats our imagination why about 486 self-acclaimed job seekers led by confirmed Boko Haram kingpins who are on the wanted list of security agents should be travelling on a convoy under the cover of darkness.

More annoying is the reported celebration of suspected terrorists by a state government and we think that the action of Jigawa State government tends to suggest that the so-called job seekers or travellers were on a state assignment.”

Nnanta further said his group frowned at the furore that greeted the arrest and detention of the suspects, especially from groups with Northern interests, stressing that instead of synergising on how to end insurgency ravaging the region, “Northern governments and groups were busy campaigning and lobbying for the release of terror suspects”.

•Family members of the late Oputa

landmark judgments will continue to speak volume about him.

The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Uwajumogu described the late Oputa as a colossus and an eminent jurist, who died while upholding the integrity and sanctity of the legal profession.

The Speaker stated further that Justice Oputa remained one of the greatest and celebrated jurists Imo State and Nigeria ever produced, maintaining that his eloquence in the delivery of landmark judgments, as well as his good mastery of the Law earned him the title, 'Socrates' of the Supreme Court of

Nigeria.

He said that the late legal Icon, who was versed in the art of philosophy, letters and oratory, was also a devout Christian and regretted that Justice Oputa passed on at a time when the state and the Country were ready to tap from his enormous wealth of experience.

HE people of Umuokahia Autonomous Community in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State have praised President Goodluck Jonathan, the Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike and other key stakeholders who played significant roles in restoring the autonomous status of National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN), Aba allegedly proscribed four years ago by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.

They also called on both President Jonathan and the Supervising Minister of Education to resist attempts by “highly placed individuals” who they alleged were working assiduously to ensure that a former Director of the NINLAN under University of Nigeria, Nsukka Campus Prof. Clara Ikekeonwu was appointed a substantive director now that the institute has regained its autonomy.

While addressing the management board of NINLAN Demonstration Nursery, Primary and Secondary school at his palace, the traditional ruler of Umuokahia community (a community that hosts NINLAN Demonstration Nursery,

‘We are, however, urging the Supervising Minister of Education to distance himself from some persons who are campaigning for the re-appointment of Prof. Clara Ikekeonwu as the institute’s director now that the institute is autonomous. Before Clara was appointed NINLAN director, we had good relationship with the institute, but things changed when she assumed office as the director’ From Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

Primary and Secondary schools as well as NINLAN’s temporary campus), His Royal Highness (HRH) Eze Okey Ananaba called on the Supervising Minister of Education to distance himself from those championing the return of Prof.

Ikekeonwu as the substantive director of the institute.

Eze Ananaba recalled a stale relationship between the host community and the former director of

the institute while it was merged with the University of Nigeria, Nsukka Campus. He alleged that the former director was running the institute as a personal business without even considering the interest of the host community.

He said: “We the people of Umuokahia in Obingwa Local Government Area are happy with President Goodluck Jonathan, Nyesom Wike (education minister), Senators Nkechi Nwaogu, Enyinnaya Abaribe and Uche

•Dr. Jonathan

Chukwumerije, among others who played key roles in ensuring that NINLAN was demerged from UNN Nsukka Campus.

“We are, however, urging the Supervising Minister of Education to distance himself from some persons who are campaigning for the re-appointment of Prof. Clara Ikekeonwu as the institute’s director now that the institute is autonomous.

•Continued on page 38

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

36

37

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT Why insecurity persists, by ex-Speaker From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

T

HE former Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Chief Kelechi Nwagwu has blamed the mounting insecurity and other criminal activities like armed robbery and kidnapping in the country on poverty and unemployment.

Chief Nwagwu argued that if the youth were meaningfully engaged, they would no longer be used to perpetrate insurgency or political crisis in any part of the country, adding that the high rate of crime in the society is driven by hunger and frustration.

The former Speaker, who stated this at his private residence in Owerri, the Imo state capital, during an interactive section with journalists, disclosed that he had decided to join the Senatorial race to influence legislations that will address poverty, unemployment and hunger, stressing that “if hunger and poverty are squarely addressed, only the greedy ones will be involved in crime.”

Blaming members of the National Assembly from Southeast for the marginalisation and under-development of the zone, the former Speaker assured that if elected to represent Owerri Senatorial zone, he would attract adequate attention to the challenges of infrastructure and youth unemployment in the zone.

Making reference to the ecological problems in Imo State, Nwagwu, who is aspiring on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), promised that if elected, he would go beyond the legislative circle to explore other means of tackling the menace.

Chief Nwagwu also assured that if elected a Senator, he would deploy all the contacts and connections he has even beyond the legislative circles such as non- governmental organisations (NGOs) and relevant national and international organisations to tackle ecological degradation which is ravaging some communities.

“I have been in and out of government, so I can appreciate and appraise situations and act accordingly with humility and human face. My status as a former Speaker will give me an edge over others because I will be a ranking member of the Senate if elected by the people and that will be a plus to my Senatorial zone,” he said.

A kind gesture

Group protests release of Boko Haram suspects

A

T

HEY recognised a kind gesture when they saw one. They talked about it, jumped and danced.

That was the impact of the visit of Anamabra State governor’s wife, Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano to pupils living with disability in the state. She went to their schools with various items and a promise to bring their suffering to an end. She took with her bags of rice, beans, cartons of tomatoes, noodles, sugar. There were bales of wrappers, shirts and live cows, among others.

The people loved it, some saying it was the first time the wife of a governor will visit the area.

Not only that, the Anambra First lady commissioned a water borehole project which she initiated and completed herself for the students.

She also gave out N50,000 to each of the centres for the meantime for the upkeep of the children.

Besides, she frowned at the abandonment of the blind, deaf and dumb children by successive administrations, adding that the fact that they are handicapped does not make them less human beings.

The schools the governor’s wife visited were Basden Memorial Special Education Centre, Isulo in Orumba South local government area and Special Education Centre, Umuchu in Aguata Local Government Area.

Mrs. Obiano also took time to visit Zion Hospital and Maternity home in Enugu-Ukwu in Njikoka local government area where she promised to adopt an abandoned baby boy by unknown person if nobody comes for his adoption.

The site of dilapidated and collapsed buildings in the centre made the Anambra first lady to weep, while appealing to the philanthropists and good spirited Anambra citizens to come to the aid of the pupils.

She reminded the people that the children were not the cause of their problems, rather, the way God wanted them to be.

Furthermore, she lamented on the abandonment of construction work by contractors and those who claim to be representing donor agencies, accusing them of not doing the job.

•The blind students receiving Mrs Obiano

•One of the cows given to the pupils

•The visitors and the items donated From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

“Those people only rushed to the schools this morning to pretend doing some work on hearing about my visit, we cannot continue in this manner in this state, this is not acceptable to the present government”.

Twelve-year-old visually impaired Master Nnaemeka Unegbu, who radiated joy as if he was seeing the items or what the governor’s wife had done, said God had used their mummy to remember the needy.

Also, 10-year-old Uju Okonkwo commended Mrs. Obiano for the gifts, adding that before now, they

•Mrs Obiano drinks water from the borehole she inaugurated at Isulo

were forgotten citizens of Anambra State because of their plight.

“God has used our mother to bring joy and happiness to us; we appreciate your good work and God will equally remember you in a special way one day” The Administrative Secretary of Basden Memorial Special Education Centre in Isulo, Mrs. Ebere Ichoku regretted that former Governors in the state never visited the school since its inception 18 years ago.

However, she appealed for more assistance in the area of funding, arguing that subvention of 580.00 naira monthly to the school is very poor.

She sought for the upgrading of

feeding allowance of 50,000 monthly, saying that the current daily feeding allowance of N33 a day per pupil or N11 per meal is not encouraging.

Furthermore, she lamented that roofs of the school library, refectory, workshop and staff quarters among others are all leaking, while they need urgent attention.

At the Special Education Centre, Umuchu, Mrs. Obiano assured the management that whatever is due to them will be given, adding that it was her own way of improving the lives of the children and the yet unborn.

Again, she promised to explore possibility of recruiting a computer

instructor and to make good of the bus and not for somebody to convert it into personal use.

The school principal, Mr. Sunday S. Nwafor told the Nation that their needs are many since the foundation was established in 1997.

These, according to him range from teaching equipment, funds, electricity to run the school effectively among others, while commending the Governor’s wife for her magnanimity.

According to Nwafor, “We are in dire need of water, electricity, clinic, renovation of classrooms, teachers and additional care giver to help cater for the pupils because of the na-

Tributes as Justice Oputa goes home

T

•Wife of the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, Margaret Oputa and her son Charles Oputa aka Charly Boy during the memorial service

every individual is the legacy left behind and not the date of birth," Okorocha said. "The quality of a man's life cannot be measured by the amount of wealth he acquired while alive, but by the legacies he left behind".

Naming the State Judiciary complex under construction after the late

Jurist, Okorocha, called on Nigerians to emulate the lives of men like Oputa, Ojukwu and Mbakwe, among others.

The State Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere, said that Oputa lived a life that is worthy of celebration, priding that his contributions to the development of the judiciary and

ise to the centre when she visited the place early in the year.

According to her, “I realised that some of their greatest challenges were lack of portable water where they travelled over two kilometers in search of water, poor feeding and infrastructure, even the condition of the school is highly deplorable” “For the fact that they are handicapped, does not warrant such abandonment, they are human beings and must be attended to by all of us” “Those with sight challenges can be trained through Braille reading, the dumb, through sound education” she told the Nation.

‘In a situation like the one affecting the security of the country, it still beats our imagination why about 486 selfacclaimed job seekers led by confirmed Boko Haram kingpins who are on the wanted list of security agents should be travelling on a convoy under the cover of darkness...More annoying is the reported celebration of suspected terrorists by a state government and we think that the action of Jigawa State government tends to suggest that the so-called job seekers or travellers were on a state assignment’ Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

Nnanta maintained that security agents should be allowed to handle all security issues in the country professionally without undue interference by individuals or groups with vested interests, “if Nigeria is serious about ending terrorism”.

He warned the political class, religious and ethnic interest groups to stop politicising security issues as such attribute rather than bring solution only helps to worsen the already precarious security situation in the country.

Nnanta also expressed support for the position of Southeast Governors on the war against terror, while calling on Ndigbo in particular, and Nigerians in general to remain vigilant and more security conscious in the face of daunting security challenges.

Community rejects institute’s director

•Continued from page 34 a very high sense of duty, despite his short tenure as Chairman of the Panel", he wrote.

In her letter of condolence, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, said that Oputa was a respected member of the Supreme Court bench who contributed his very best to the Court and the development of law.

Earlier, the Imo State Government has organized a Special Day of Tribut in honour of the late jurist who was described as a pillar of justice, fairness and equity by prominent indigenes of the State who showered encomiums on him.

Speaking at the event which held at the International Conference Centre, the state governor, Rochas Okorocha said the late legal giant was a source of pride and honour to not only Ndigbo but the entire nation.

He observed that the famous Oputa Panel report would have helped the nation a lot if it had been implemented, adding that Nigerians should know when to play politics and when to unite for a common goal.

"What is important in the life of

ture and condition of their appearance”.

When Obiano’s wife got to the maternity home in Engwu Ukwu, she was shocked in seeing an abandoned baby boy where she took up the hospital bills.

The Medical Doctor of the hospital, Oliver Onwughalu told the Nation that the baby weighed 28 kilometers and thanked Mrs. Obiano for her Care and benevolence.

After the Commissioning of the borehole at Isulo, Mrs Obiano told the Nation that what she decided to do was to make the conditions of the pupils more conducive and also in fulfillment of her earlier prom-

GROUP known as Igbo World Union (IWU) has expressed its resentment over the alleged release of 114 of the 486 detained Boko Haram suspects arrested penultimate Sunday in Abia en route to Port Harcourt.

Speaking with news men in Umuahia, the President-General of the group, Chief Mishak Nnanta, said alleged release of the suspects was a bad omen, adding that their release posed a great danger to the Southeast geo-political zone.

Nnanta who spoke against the alleged gradual release of the suspects said: “Nigeria is playing with fire if indeed some people among those 486 suspects and their release posed grave danger to our lives and national unity since they would have been freed in haste.”

Recall that some of the suspected insurgents totalling 114 mostly from Jigawa State were among the suspects who were released last Friday and handed over to the state government amid rousing welcome and grand reception.

Nnanta said it was not opposed to freeing of any innocent ones found among the suspects but cautioned that proper steps should be taken when handling a sensitive issue like terrorist groups that have been ravaging the country for years now.

He said: “In a situation like the one affecting the security of the country, it still beats our imagination why about 486 self-acclaimed job seekers led by confirmed Boko Haram kingpins who are on the wanted list of security agents should be travelling on a convoy under the cover of darkness.

More annoying is the reported celebration of suspected terrorists by a state government and we think that the action of Jigawa State government tends to suggest that the so-called job seekers or travellers were on a state assignment.”

Nnanta further said his group frowned at the furore that greeted the arrest and detention of the suspects, especially from groups with Northern interests, stressing that instead of synergising on how to end insurgency ravaging the region, “Northern governments and groups were busy campaigning and lobbying for the release of terror suspects”.

•Family members of the late Oputa

landmark judgments will continue to speak volume about him.

The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Uwajumogu described the late Oputa as a colossus and an eminent jurist, who died while upholding the integrity and sanctity of the legal profession.

The Speaker stated further that Justice Oputa remained one of the greatest and celebrated jurists Imo State and Nigeria ever produced, maintaining that his eloquence in the delivery of landmark judgments, as well as his good mastery of the Law earned him the title, 'Socrates' of the Supreme Court of

Nigeria.

He said that the late legal Icon, who was versed in the art of philosophy, letters and oratory, was also a devout Christian and regretted that Justice Oputa passed on at a time when the state and the Country were ready to tap from his enormous wealth of experience.

HE people of Umuokahia Autonomous Community in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State have praised President Goodluck Jonathan, the Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike and other key stakeholders who played significant roles in restoring the autonomous status of National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN), Aba allegedly proscribed four years ago by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.

They also called on both President Jonathan and the Supervising Minister of Education to resist attempts by “highly placed individuals” who they alleged were working assiduously to ensure that a former Director of the NINLAN under University of Nigeria, Nsukka Campus Prof. Clara Ikekeonwu was appointed a substantive director now that the institute has regained its autonomy.

While addressing the management board of NINLAN Demonstration Nursery, Primary and Secondary school at his palace, the traditional ruler of Umuokahia community (a community that hosts NINLAN Demonstration Nursery,

‘We are, however, urging the Supervising Minister of Education to distance himself from some persons who are campaigning for the re-appointment of Prof. Clara Ikekeonwu as the institute’s director now that the institute is autonomous. Before Clara was appointed NINLAN director, we had good relationship with the institute, but things changed when she assumed office as the director’ From Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

Primary and Secondary schools as well as NINLAN’s temporary campus), His Royal Highness (HRH) Eze Okey Ananaba called on the Supervising Minister of Education to distance himself from those championing the return of Prof.

Ikekeonwu as the substantive director of the institute.

Eze Ananaba recalled a stale relationship between the host community and the former director of

the institute while it was merged with the University of Nigeria, Nsukka Campus. He alleged that the former director was running the institute as a personal business without even considering the interest of the host community.

He said: “We the people of Umuokahia in Obingwa Local Government Area are happy with President Goodluck Jonathan, Nyesom Wike (education minister), Senators Nkechi Nwaogu, Enyinnaya Abaribe and Uche

•Dr. Jonathan

Chukwumerije, among others who played key roles in ensuring that NINLAN was demerged from UNN Nsukka Campus.

“We are, however, urging the Supervising Minister of Education to distance himself from some persons who are campaigning for the re-appointment of Prof. Clara Ikekeonwu as the institute’s director now that the institute is autonomous.

•Continued on page 38

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

38

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT Community rejects institute’s director •Continued from page 37 “Before Clara was appointed NINLAN director, we had good relationship with the institute, but things changed when she assumed office as the director. During her tenure as the executive director, she never visited this palace for one day.

“Her relationship with this community until she left was nothing to write home about and so, we are opposed to any move by any person to appoint Prof. Clara the executive director of NINLAN now that the institute has regained its autonomy. Any move to re-appoint her outside the judgment of the Umuahia Federal High Court means that we will head back to court to ensure that the decision of the court is implemented,” the traditional said.

While calling for the setting up of an audit panel of inquiry to investigate the activities of the former director, Eze Okey Ananaba appealed for the re-instatement of disengaged workers that were not paid their entitlement since 2007, appointment of a substantive director that will carry the community along in the scheme of things, employment opportunities for citizens of the area and full implementation of Umuahia Federal High Court judgment on suit No. FHC/UM/CS/ 84/2007.

Earlier in an address, Dr. Patricia Ijioma who visited the palace in company of other members of staff revealed that they were on the familiarisation tour to introduce the newly members of the constituted governing board of the school to the royal father and to inform him that NINLAN has regained its autonomy from the UNN. Mrs. Ijioma, soliciting the co-operation of the royal father with the management of the school, expressed hope that their visit would further strengthen the institution’s relationship with its host community.

Recall that the Federal Government, in a bid to promote the teaching and learning of Nigerian local Languages, in 1993 through the Ministry of Education headed by Prof. Babatunde Aliyu Fafunwa, had established Nigerian French Language Village (NFLV), Badagry Lagos State, Nigerian Arabic Village (NAV), Ngala Local Government Area of Borno State and National Institute for Nigerian Languages, along Ogbor Hill New Umuahia Road, Umuokahia Autonomous Community Abia State respectively, with only NINLAN out of the lot being backed by Decree 117, now Act 117) that empowers it to fulfill the objectives for which it was set up.

•Udenwe receiving his ward from Governor Elechi

Award for young author

E

BONYI State Governor Martin Nwancho Elechi, in his inaugural address in 2007, declared that one of the cardinal measures of ensuring material and human development of his people would be entrenchment of attitudinal change.

He explained that change of behaviour would need to be effected by all strata of the society, including the civil service, the private and public sectors.

While being sworn in for a second term in office and during the 2011 Democracy Day held at the Abakaliki Township Stadium on May 29, 2011, Elechi said: “Let us also work assiduously towards the enthronement of a disciplined society where work ethics, especially dedication to duty, becomes our known attribute. Attitudinal change is not just time consciousness and punctuality, it calls for selfremoulding and self-orientation to catch up with the best global practices envisaged in our Millennium Development Goal Number 8.”

To guarantee the actualisation of the attitudinal change policy, the governor had established the Office of the Directorate of Attitudinal Change with Mr. Ken Uhuo as the Special Adviser to the Governor on Attitudinal Change.

The Directorate has sustained collaborative relationship with the State Ministry of Information and State Orientation in key areas of information dissemination and re-orientation of the Ebonyi people in various spheres even in the remote

‘In spite of the national aspirations for accelerated development, a climate of unbridled materialism has accentuated the virtual collapse of the core values, accounting for the country’s stunted growth...Under the prevailing situation, it does not take a prophet or a rocket scientist to apprehend the trajectory of ethical rebirth to nationbuilding...As a philosophy of governance and a model for social relations, the doctrine of attitudinal change rests on an integrated tripod: advocacy, sanction and reward’ From Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki

areas of the state.

The Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Chief Emmanuel Chike Onwe has provided a platform for the appreciable collaborations.

Invisible as the success or failure of the policy of change is, various people have scored the policy either high or low.

While some people say the success is half measure, some others see it as a policy thrust that has positively impacted on the affairs of the state in its material and human development efforts, especially in the area of crime

reduction in the area.

To encourage whatever the governor might have perceived to be the success stories of that policy, he recently set up an Executive Council Standing Committee on State Honours Award.

To underscore how much the award means to the governor, the Deputy Governor, David Umahi was appointed to lead the assessment team while the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief Fidelis Mbam serves as secretary of the committee.

Others in the team were the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr. Ben Igwenyi, Chief Chike Onwe, Mr. Ken Uhuo; the Personal

•Permanent Secretaries taking their oath of office before being sworn in by Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha in Government House, Owerri

Assistant to the Governor on Higher Education, Prof. Mike Otuma Special Assistant to the Deputy Governor, Mr. Chinyere Aloke and the Personal Assistant to the Governor on Special Duties, Mrs. Augustina Nwaiboko.

While setting up the committee, Governor Elechi had his strokes on attitudinal change stating that, “in spite of the national aspirations for accelerated development, a climate of unbridled materialism has accentuated the virtual collapse of the core values, accounting for the country’s stunted growth.

“Under the prevailing situation, it does not take a prophet or a rocket scientist to apprehend the trajectory of ethical rebirth to nation-building.

“As a philosophy of governance and a model for social relations, the doctrine of attitudinal change rests on an integrated tripod: advocacy, sanction and reward.

“Advocacy underpins public enlightenment on citizenship rights and obligations; sanction involves the application and enforcement of extant provisions against breaches of acceptable conduct; while reward involves the reinforcement of excellence and diligence, through special benefits, awards or recognitions to deserving persons and institutions.”

Continuing, he said: “I am not under any illusion that there are many people who will find change either too difficult or even impossible. To such people, the promise I make is that, while we shall always strive to lead by the force of personal example, neither the recourse to expediency nor the threat of blackmail shall deter us from applying the sanctions that go with crooked actions.

“At the same time, we shall not fail to give special rewards to those who make uncommon contributions to the growth of the commonwealth through hard work, honesty and discipline. To this end, we shall introduce awards and prizes for honesty, discipline, high productivity and environmental cleanliness.”

That was Elechi’s eloquent mandate for the Executive Standing Committee on State Honours Awards. The committee set out to do the selection from among three million Ebonyi people and residents and on Thursday, May 29, 2014 made public their findings at a splendid ceremony at the Governor’s Lodge, Government House Abakaliki.

That day, 103 recipient of the award comprising individuals and institutions were decorated by the governor and were given various prizes.

Some of them went home with N500, 000 while others got N50, 000.

The high flying recipients included Princess Mary Adaeze Ekuma (MON), currently, the Chief Instructor, Catering Services, Government House, Abakaliki. Her award is for dedication and diligence in service delivery, Comrade Chinedu Ogah (OON), 38-year-old youth leader of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was given an award for responsible youth organisation and leadership.

Dr. Ngozi Obichukwu, Focal Person, Ebonyi State Millennium Development Goals/Conditional Grants Scheme received the award for outstanding performance in public service delivery.

Three organisations, Ebonyi Youth Assembly, Mater Misericodae Hospital, Abakaliki; Rural Improvement Mission Hospital (Presbyterian Church) Hospital Ikwo were given awards for excellence.

This year’s Attitudinal Change Policy Awards by Ebonyi State Government threw up many youths award recipients.

But one person whose award was most celebrated is Obinna Udenwe, a rising literary giant and author of two books which have received international acclaim.

He was honoured for his literary creativity having authored a book, Dancing Bird which has received wide acclaim globally and in the social media.

When the writer started writing in •Continued on page 40

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

39

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

Orji calls for action against pipeline vandals A

BIA State Governor Theodore Orji has urged all stakeholders in the oil industry to unite and synergise in order to bring pipeline vandalism to an end and save the youths from untimely deaths.

Orji said pipeline vandalism should not be left for the state government to handle, as it needs the efforts of everyone including organisations like the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Pipeline Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and pipeline host communities.

Speaking at the NNPC depot at Osisioma, Aba during an awareness campaign against pipeline vandalism, Orji who was represented by his commissioner for petroleum, Chief Don Ubani said that the pipeline vandalism must be stopped at all cost as it is detrimental to both human and economic activities in the state and country.

Orji described those who engage in pipeline vandalism as oil thieves and must be so treated, adding that government has directed the security men along the pipeline right of way to shoot at sight anyone found tampering with pipelines.

He advised parents to caution their children.

The governor wondered how any right thinking man should engage in oil pipeline vandalism, “Since every Nigerian is a direct beneficiary of the petroleum in-

•Don Ubani, representative of Governor Theodore Orji flanked by Depot Manager, Osisioma, Abia State, Emma Mgbakiri (right) and an official of the depot From Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

dustry, as there is oil subsidy in all the products which is not so in other countries that produce oil”.

He warned that government has never looked the other way since the reactivation of the Aba depot, as it has always been at the vanguard of ensuring that all those who have been found to be involved in the tampering of the pipeline despite their position in the system have been transferred out of the state.

Orji said, “Since the state government with the help of the federal government reactivated the Aba depot of the NNPC, we have never left them to be on their own. Our eyes are there always and those who have been found to be involved or intending to be involved have always been transferred out through the instrumentality of the state gov-

‘Since the state government with the help of the federal government reactivated the Aba depot of the NNPC, we have never left them to be on their own. Our eyes are there always and those who have been found to be involved or intending to be involved have always been transferred out through the instrumentality of the state government’ ernment”.

The governor however urged the marketers to stop buying products from those who engage in the acts of pipeline vandalism and that the tanker drivers should also stop

hauling such products for the vandals because when they cannot find buyers they will stop the evil act.

He said, “If the marketers stop buying such illegal products and the tanker drivers stop lifting such

illegal products, it is one of the ways to stop the issue of pipeline vandalism, since if they do not get buyers they will stop vandalising the pipelines”.

Earlier in his address, the depot manager Engr Emma Mgbakiri said that the pipeline is the only sure way to transport petroleum products from the refinery in Port Harcourt to any part of the country, adding that it is a shame that people are vandalising the pipeline for their selfish gains.

Mgbakiri said that the vandalising of the pipeline has caused many youths to die in the process, while many farm lands and their produce have been destroyed because of the acts of the evil men, adding that food scarcity is as a result of pipeline vandals which cause environmental degradation.

He said that the issue of pipeline vandalism should be taken seriously as those who break the pipes only take a little while the larger quantities are allowed to waste away to the detriment of the larger society and the host community.

The NNPC Aba depot manager said, “The act of breaking the pipeline could be likened to a man taken a little from the pipe after which he will leave the pipe open and the larger quantity will flow into the farms, destroying farm produce, water and the soil which will take over 20 years to repair.

He urged the youths to try and engage in other ventures apart from pipeline vandalism, stressing that farming which is more lucrative than stealing oil will help them to engage other people instead breaking pipeline which could lead to their early death.

In his speech the Public Relations Officer of Aba Independent Petroleum Markets Association of Nigeria, [IPMAN] Simple Nwankpa urged NNPC to provide welfare packages for the youths who have been protecting the pipeline before the coming of the military.

Nwankpa said that it is one of the ways to keep the youths away from the pipeline, “You cannot take away the source of livelihood of the youths from them without providing them an alternative else they will go after the pipeline.”

Computers for 13 Anambra schools

N

O fewer than 13 secondary schools in Anambra State have been equipped with computer sets. A group, Anambra Family Association of Memphis (AFAM) provided the computers.

Their teachers and pupils were happy and danced in appreciation of the group’s efforts. The state Commissioner for Education, Prof Kate Omenugha was all smiles.

The 13 beneficiaries were Mater Amabilis Secondary School Umuoji in Idemili South Local Government Area, Abbot Boys Secondary School and Abbot Girls both in Ihiala council. Others were Government Technical College (GTC), Merchant of Light, Oba, Our Lady’s Comprehensive Secondary School, Nkpor, Nteje Girls Secondary School, Nri Boys Secondary School and Agulu Boys Secondary School. Also among them were Nnewi High School, Saint John of God Secondary School, Awka, Obosi Community Secondary School and Oraifite Boys Secondary School.

The donation of the 25 computers was made at the Post Primary Schools Service Commission (PPSSC) headquarters in Awka.

Speaking with the Nation, one of the students, Miss Stella Maris Obichigha expressed happiness that good things are coming to the education sector in the state to help the students in their academic work. The 14-year-old assured

‘This is a good example of Private Public Partnership whereby people contribute their quota instead of leaving government to do everything’ From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

that the facilities would boost their skills in Information Communication Technology (ICT).

The leader of the group, Dr Peter Azogini told the Nation that the gesture was a practical demonstration of their support for the education of Children in (ICT) and computer literacy. This, according to Azogini would enable them compete favourably with their counterparts throughout Nigeria and world over.

He expressed his happiness in what he called the all round development witnessed in the state, adding that Education had received tremendous improvement and infrastructure.

Azogini further told the Nation

•Azogini (second left); Prof Omenugha (second right), and Lady Ulasi applauding the computer donation in Awka

that the group was planning other bigger things to help the state Governor, Chief Willie Obiano in getting it right in the state.

The Chairman of (PPSSC) Lady Joy Ulasi commended (AFAM) for remembering the school children in the state. She told the Nation that the computers would assist the state government in (ICT) training in different schools in the state.

Anambra State commissioner for Education Prof Omenugha told the Nation that the donation by (AFAM) is an indicative of their commitment to the advancement of Education in their home state.

Omenugha said: “This is a good example of Private Public Partnership whereby people contribute their quota instead of leaving government to do everything”.

The association has taken the lead among those contributing to the uplift of education in the state”.

However, she has a word for the principals of the benefitting schools “make sure that these computers are put into proper use”.

Omenugha further told the Nation that by 2015, the students would face external examinations that would be computer-based.

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

40

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

Community rejects institute’s director •Continued from page 38 2005, little did he know that he has begun a journey that will bring him such recognition and afford him the opportunity to dine and wine with top echelons of the society.

Presenting him with the award, Ebonyi State Governor Martin Elechi noted that “Obinna Udenwe’s impressively meticulous documentation of his literary achievements places him ahead of his contemporaries. His enduring popularity has been ensured by the breath and perceptiveness of his work, both locally and internationally.

“With effervescent and bubbling initiative, Obinna Udenwe, at the sacrifice of the rest, (apart from the mental strain), has furnished the world with much to remember through a melange of literary works, with the marvellous capacity of audience manipulation.

“With his uncommon intellectual graciosity, he explores in rich vocabulary and cold-blooded details, African values in his anthologies, and in so doing, has etched Ebonyi State on world map. Obinna Udenwe’s panAfrican bent and youth capacity-building initiatives find expression in entrepreneurship development, leadership and governance skills.

“The social media is awash with his works which dwell extensively on global challenges and Africa’s economic and socio-cultural development. Obinna has travelled extensively for symposia, workshops and conferences, during which he interfaced with notable literary icons.

“He has been on delegations, sometimes representing Nigeria and West Africa, to the United Nations during which he interacted with world leaders one on one.”

His new book Satans and Shaitans slated for publication in London is expected to be on the shelf in September this year.

Apart from the individual award, Udenwe’s foundation, Ugreen Foundation also got another award for its human capacity development programmes. He is currently a nominee of the African Literary Icon project for using Ugreen platform to transform and build the African literary tradition”, the governor added.

“Through his organisation, Obinna Udenwe has encouraged the development of young and budding writers; to give vent to their creative talents.

Ugreen Foundation organises talk shops in which young Ebonyians are encouraged to proffer solutions on how to move the state forward,”, Elechi stated.

The recipient expressed surprise at the honour bestowed on him and his organisation by the state government.

“I feel honoured because it shows that whatever you are doing, even if you are doing it in your room, you will be noticed and rewarded in due course. I started writing in 2005, and I never knew that a day like this will come when I will be rewarded by the state government.

“We were also surprised that my organisation received an award for promoting literature in the state.

Ugreen Foundation promotes knowledge building and is also interested in getting the young people to be interested in democracy and leadership.

“I started Ugreen Foundation in 2008 and since then, we have continued to partner with other young people to ensure that young people are trained in leadership in order to ensure that they get to know what democracy is all about and also in knowledge building.

“We have the creativity class where we bring in budding writers and train them on writing and oratory. We didn’t know that the state government was monitoring all that and felt that we should receive a pat at the back.”

He noted that he went into promotion of literature and writing because of the poor reading culture among the youth of the country today.

NDLEA arrests 187 drug trafficking T suspects in Imo HE Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said its officers arrested 187 suspected drug traffickers in Imo State between June 2013 and June 2014.

The Imo State Acting Commander of the Agency, Assiana Nimbang, who disclosed this to Newsmen in Owerri, the state capital, during a press briefing to mark this year’s United Nation’s Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, said that 170 males and 17 females were arrested within the time under review.

She also revealed that the Command made a seizure of 54gms of cocaine, 226gms of heroin and 868.4kg of Indian Hemp, while 17

T

‘We are worried that people don’t come forward with credible information that can help us fight drug abuse. It is everybody’s responsibility and we should all be involved. The people should come up with information to help the NDLEA because the attitude presently is not encouraging’ From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

convictions were secured at the Federal High Court and another 112 Drug dependent persons were rehabilitated to handed over to their

families.

The NDLEA boss further expressed worry over the involvement of pregnant women and nursing mothers in the illicit, adding that, “it is really worrisome that the

men now use pregnant women and nursing mothers to sell hard drugs in Owerri and it is difficult to arrest and detain a nursing mother or pregnant woman”.

She also lamented the poor level of cooperation from the public, stressing that the war against drug trafficking should not be left for the Agency alone but should be a collective responsibility of everyone.

In her words, “we are worried that people don’t come forward with credible information that can help us fight drug abuse. It is everybody’s responsibility and we should all be involved. The people should come up with information to help the NDLEA because the attitude presently is not encouraging”.

Rotary holds works for nurses, midwives ceived medical equipment and consumables from the club.

The workshop which held at Ofuobi Africa Centre, Independent Layut Enugu Friday last week, attracted distinguished personalities. They include former Head of

versity of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, the outgoing president of Rotary Club of TransEkulu, Dr. Johnny Egbonu, The Chairman of the Maternal and Child Health Committee of the Club, chief Eric Igweshi, among others.

In his opening remark, Chief Igweshi said that the review meeting was to look at the issues that millitate against safe delivery and how they are being handled in those hospitals and to situate. It will help them find out if the reason why some medical equipments were donated to those hospitals by his committee in collaboration with some clubs in Germany and Austria is justified.

In his words, “we want to X-ray all efforts being made in your hospitals to ensure safe delivery. We want to see how all transactions that lead to maternal and child health mortality are being handled in your hospitals, how issues like human, environmental, structural, equipment, drugs and other factors contribute to ineffective or effective handling of safe delivery.”

According to him, “we invited nurses and midwives and other supporting staff from the five hospitals we selected as a pilot project, to brainstorm with the medical consultant and other project officers on how the equipment we supplied are being utilised and to also know other areas we can be of help”. He pointed out that indications are that the purpose of donating those •Former governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi (left) being presented by the President of Ohaneze, Chief G. equipment has been met.

Nnachi Enwo-Igariweya (right) with the exemplary leadership award In his lecture, the medical consultant Dr. George Ugwu, declared that issues concerning maternal and child health is very sensitive and must be handled with utmost care by the medical personnel concerned as any negligence could prove fatal.

According to him, the issue of monitoring pregnant women from the point of booking in for antinatal to delivery is very important.

“The issue of monitoring is very important from the day the woman booked in to delivery as any negligence could cause the dead of the mother or the child or both”, he warned.

He said that for adequate attention to the given to maternal and child health issues, few critical points must be noted. “Doctors and other medical personnel must live near the hospitals, there should be adequate monitoring of the woman, there must be timely refferal before the case gets bad, awareness must be created for mothers to understand their roles for safe delivery, hospitals or health centres must be well equipped and personnel to handle such equipment must be properly trained”, he said pointing out that if there is need for CS, doctors •His Excellency, Deputy Governor of Imo State flanked by Attorney General of Imo State, Chukwuma should not waste time in recomMachukwu(SAN) and the Chris Uche (SAN) during a discussion after a valedictory session in honour of late Justice mending for that as “a few delay Chukwudifu Akunne Oputa at the Supreme Court of Nigeria recently. could be fatal”.

HE Maternal and Child Health Committee of the Rotary Club of Trans-Ekulu in Enugu Urban, has held a one-day sensitisation and review workshop for selected nurses and midwives from the five hospitals that re-

Service and Secretary to the State Government, Chief Clement Okwor who is also one of the contact persons for the project. Others are the medical consultant to the project, Dr. George Ugwu, a consultant gynaecologist from the Uni-

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

41

CAMPUS LIFE

•Corps members at the rally

•Volunteers carrying out test on residents

Corps members rally against sickle cell T

O educate people and rid Akure South Local Government Area of sickle cell anaemia, Corps members serving in the local government have held a sensitisation campaign on the disorder as part of their Community Development Service (CDS).

Ifeoluwa Osundare led the corps member to Oja Oba Market, Akure.

The rally featured donation of free drugs to residents and medical tests, including free HIV screening, diabetes, blood sugar level test and dental check-up.

Dr Osho Patrick, a consultant and haematologist at the Ondo State Specialist Hospital, dismissed the notion that sickle cell patients die prematurely.

“Sickle cell can only be transferred through heredity. The haemoglobin in the blood of a sickle cell victim is weak; that is why we always advise them to go for medical check-up

From Kemi Busari OAU frequently. Drugs which contain folic acid should be taken more by patients,” he stated.

Dr Patrick said Nigeria had one of the highest rates of sickle cell occurrence in the world.

Mrs Soetan Abimbola, Assistant Chief Nursing Officer, Federal Medical Centre in Owo, said all a sickle cell patient needed to live healthy was support from the people around them.

“You need to be watchful as parents if you have a child suffering from sickle cell. Dehydration is a factor that aggravates it, so you need to give them water from time to time. They should not be left to excessive exercise, mosquitoes should be prevented around them, they should be kept warm always and more importantly, the environment where they dwell should be kept

RE: RAPISTS, CULTISTS LAY SIEGE TO BENUE VARSITY The attention of the Benue State University Management has been drawn to a publication in the Campus Life pull out of The Nation Newspaper of Thursday June 19, 2014.

In the said report, one Msonter Anzaa, whom we discovered is a medical student of the university, spuriously alleged that rapists and cultists have laid siege on the university.

For the avoidance of doubt and in order to put the records straight, management wishes to once again state in unequivocal terms that: • When this false and malicious report was first published in the Nigerian Tribune Newspaper of May 28, 2014, authorities of the University carried out a thorough and incisive investigation but found no iota of truth in the report.

• Similarly, the Benue State Police Command through the State Commissioner, Mr. Adams Audu, also corroborated the position of management on the said report in a widely published press statement on the same day it was published in The Tribune.

• That the rumour was put to rest but the author found it a topic for his contribution to The Nation almost one month after it first appeared, speaks volumes about his real motive.

• It is also noteworthy to point out that some of the alleged incidents in the report, according to the reporter, occurred out of the University Campus hence we view attempts to link such to the University Management or its security personnel as either mischievous or even libelous.

•The author splashed a picture of a roofless structure in the story with a caption: “The Technical Hostel which was hit.” Management wishes to state in clear terms that the said building is not of the University as its students are not kept in roofless hostels.

• Ordinarily, management wouldn’t want to join issues with the author, but this clarification has become necessary so as to allay the fears of many and reinforce the confidence of all relevant stakeholders in the University.

• We appreciate the innovative idea by The Nation and other print media which have availed students the space and opportunity to express themselves on happenings on the campuses. However, it is our candid view that operators of these media should take some of these reports with a pinch of salt as some of the contributors may be swimming in unfamiliar waters by the nature of their disciplines of studies.

• Finally, we hope that our position as well as that of the Police Command, earlier stated, will serve as a caution against speculative journalism. More so that journalism, unlike law, is not an ass “everybody can ride.”

Signed T. Tser Vanger, JP SAR/Information Officer For: Registrar

clean. The more the attention, the less the crises and the more the chances of living a longer life.” She said.

A beneficiary of the free check up, Azizat Gbadebo, a 400-Level History and International Studies student of the University of Jos (UNIJOS), said: “All the tests we did here today were great. As carriers of the SS genotype, we need to get

tested often so as to keep ourselves in good shape at all times. We should know our HIV status, blood sugar level and many others.”

The convener, Ifeoluwa, expressed happiness at the high turnout of residents.

“Today is one of my community development programmes in line with the NYSC directive which says that we must help our community.

And of course, I chose this initiative because of my passion for sickle cell patients. We just want them to know that they are normal people like us, just that they have a peculiarity they need to address.”

A 94-year old woman, Mrs Longe Eunice, said she was surprised that all the tests were free, urging government at all levels to support such effort at all times.

•Prof Mimiko (middle) with staff and contractors posing before the building

AAUA’s five-storey Senate Building opened

S

TUDENTS and staff of the Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) were excited when the management took delivery of its new four-wing and fivestorey Senate Building from Charvet Nigeria Limited, the contractor that built the edifice.

The building, which occupies an area of 10,000 square metres, has over 250 offices, three elevators with seven stair halls, two large conference halls, senate chamber, council chamber, an open piazza with capacity of 2,500, among others.

Vice-Chancellor, Prof Femi Mimiko,

Union welcomes freshers

From Damilola Olisa AAUA who received the keys and photo album of the building, described the edifice as “imposing”, saying it would serve as an enduring legacy of his administration.

Prof Mimiko noted that the problem of infrastructure which had confronted the varsity had been finally resolved.

He said: “When we came on board in 2010, we did promise to build a 21st century university and one of the challenges we had to confront was the

acute deficit of infrastructure in the university and four years down the line, we are witnesses to the rapid infrastructural development the university has witnessed. We can now confidently say that AAUA is on the march to greatness indeed and we can compare with many other universities in terms of infrastructure.”

He thanked the Governor Olusegun Mimiko; the immediate past Governing Council of the university and individuals who made the project a reality. The consultant, Architect Akin Olusola, described the building as the biggest in Nigeria.

From Olawale Bamgbopa OOU

T

HE Students’ Union Government of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, has held orientation for freshers at the Adebola Adegunwa Hall of the institution.

In his address, the union president, Olusegun Ifade , praised the new students for turning out early for the programme, warning them to be security conscious.

Dr Yomi Akindele-Oscar, Director of the university’s Counselling Centre, charged the new students to use the union as a tool to get their voices heard.

Another speaker, Dr Omoniyi, en-

•Freshers at the event

couraged the new students to be worthy ambassadors of the school wherever they find themselves.

The Students Affairs Officer, Mr Thomas, who was represented by Mr Abiodun Ajayi, spoke on the roles

of the various management staff of the university.

The event also witnessed exciting sessions anchored by MC Aboki, musical performances and award of prizes to winners of the quiz competition

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

42

CAMPUS LIFE The absence of Governor Theodore Orji at the swearing-in of the leadership of the National Association of Abia State Students (NAASS) jolted students, who came from various campuses to thank him for paying them N50,000 bursary. EMMANUEL AHANONU (Political Science, University of Calabar) reports.

S

A governor’s visit that never was

TUDENTS of Abia State origin in higher institutions nationwide converged on Okpara Auditorium in Abia State Government House, last week, for the swearingin of the leadership of the National Association of Abia State Students (NAASS). Governor Theodore Orji, was invited as special guest because the students wanted to thank him specially for paying them N50,000 bursary.

The event became boring when the governor did not show up. Students, who were at the venue with various “thank you” placards, felt disappointed by the governor’s absence.

The angry students said Governor Orji, who is the grand patron of the association, should have given them the opportunity to show appreciation for his kind gesture. The governor was represented by Hon. Emeka Apugo.

The event billed to start at noon kicked off at 2pm, with MC Imbecile entertaining the angry students with jokes. Several students’ bodies mobilised their members for the occasion.

The ceremony was graced by the ViceChancellor of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture in Umudike, Prof Hilary Edeoga, represented the Dean of Students’ Affairs, Dr Sam Ogbonnaya, who served as the chairman of the occasion. Other guests were Mr Chidiebere Kalu, President of South East Youth Assembly, Comrade Jude Imagwe, Special Adviser to the President on Students and Youth Matters, represented by Sherrif Emeka, former students’ leaders, Ezekiel Nwakwo and Chidiebere Kingsley.

The outgoing president, Jude Ezeibe, in his speech, urged all students to support his successor in building the association, saying: “It is time for us to build a noble mansion for a

•Abia students at the ceremony

better association, where we all may promote good leadership values and enduring legacies for students coming after us.”

Jude used the occasion to unveil a magazine, Student Google, which he said was a compendium of his administration’s achievement. The magazine also showcased the governor’s achievement in education.

Jude said his leadership made impact on members, listing his achievements among others to include establishing and re-incorporating over 192 chapters of NAASS across the nation, reintroducing bursary which had students to be paid N50,000 each, the highest in the country.

In his acceptance speech, the incoming president, Uchenna Ihedigbo, a Political Science student of Abia State University (ABSU) in Uturu, promised to consolidate on the

•Uchenna

achievement of his predecessor. He promised to run an open administration that would consider opinion of all members.

Prof Edeoga, who spoke through Dr Ogbonnaya, urged students to be ambassador of peace in their various institutions, advising the NAASS executive to offer exemplary leadership in programmes and conducts.

While administering the oath on the executive members, Price Iroabueke, who headed the electoral committee, urged the incoming executive to work for the best interest of members. He said: “The foundation has been laid for you to work on; it is just for you to consolidate on the effort of your predecessors.

We believe in you and we hope you will work in line with the government agenda.”

The General Secretary of campus Ezes,

Emmanuel Maduekwe, said all the campus Ezes graced the occasion to identify with the association He urged new leaders to have the interest of students at heart and desist from any form of corrupt practices that could be detrimental to the interest of all students.

Imagwe was honoured for his leadership qualities and his peace programmes to reorientate the youth about dialogue as best means of conflict resolution.

Students, who spoke with CAMPUSLIFE, said the event would have been colourful were the governor to be in attendance.

They said the ceremony signalled a new dawn in the association, urging the opponents of the new executive to support the leadership. The students urged their leaders to resolve their differences and chart a new course for the general wellbeing of all members.

Yoruba culture on display Members of the Yoruba Students Association (YOSA), University of Calabar (UNICAL) chapter, have held their annual cultural day, showcasing the beauty of Yoruba tradition and values.

STANLEY UCHEGBU (Accounting) reports.

T

HE downpour in the city of Calabar, the Cross River State capital, could not stop them.

Yoruba students of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) left their hostels, clad in Aso Ofi, Agbada and abeti aja cap, and moved to the Malabor Square - the venue of their annual cultural day.

The event, which was organised by Yoruba Students’ Association (YOSA) to showcase the cultural heritage of the Yoruba, was graced by members of Yoruba community in Calabar among who were: Evang. Michael Odugbemi, who was the spiritual father of day, Prof Olu Lawal, chairman of the occasion, represented by Kazeem Lawal, Alhaji Mustapha Hassan and Alhaji Abdulganiu Abdulsalam, among others.

The cultural day, according to the president of the association, Gbenga Joseph, was to re-awake the cultural consciousness of the students, some who have lost touch

•The coronation of Oba of Malabor Kingdom

with their background. He stressed that since he was elected to lead the association, his leadership had not had it smooth administering the affairs of the group but for the courage, determination and support from the elders.

He advised members to remain focused on their academic pursuits and embrace the culture of hard work for which the Yoruba are known.

Prof Lawal emphasised the need for students to unite and promote their language and cultural heritage wherever they may be. According to him, Yoruba culture remained one of the richest and respected in Nigeria, adding that the culture had devised easy way of transmission from parents to children.

He urged lecturers and guardians not to fail in their responsibility to inculcate moral and good values in the youth and to show them the rich Yoruba heritage, saying such would discourage their engagement in social vices.

The country, the don said, would

•Yoruba students displaying their cultural dance

develop if elders exercise their responsibility to teach the youth the indigenous language, rather than communicating with them through alien language.

Mike Abolade, who spoke on Yoruba culture worthy of emulation, described Yoruba culture as progressive, noting that the culture had re-

spect for the elders, authority and people’s heritage. Abolade made an appeal to students and staff to respect the tradition of the Yoruba tribe and its culture.

The association’s cultural troupe entertained guests with its choreographed Bata dance. Some members rendered ewi (poem) to the surprise

of the guests.

Joel Awolabi, a 300-Level Physics student and an indigene of Ogun State, said the ewi and bata dance were used to send message and prick the conscience of the people in the medieval Yoruba society.

The highpoint included the presentation of awards to some of the guests, and the honouring of the UNICAL’s best graduating student, Kareem Adeyinka, who had a First Class in Medical Laboratory Science.

Mr Adeoye Olajide, Managing Director of Microvert Nigeria Limited, unveiled the association’s almanac. The occasion also featured coronation of Mr and Miss YOSA, who named Oba (king) and Olori (queen) of the association. The outgoing king, Ademuyiwa Temitayo, performed the rite.

“I never knew my culture was so rich; it is used to look archaic to me, but henceforth, I will learn and cherish it,” said Esther Adeyemi, a 100Level Computer Science student.

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

43

CAMPUS LIFE

Mandela and the Rainbow Nation

I

N his effort to end the Apartheid regime in South Africa in the early 1990s, the late Nelson Mandela was admirably tough on his struggle to free his countrymen from the ruinous regime that turned them into slaves in their fatherland.

In the end, South African gained free in politics but economically, the people still depended on their tormentors, who did not leave the country after the Apartheid regime crumbled.

The South African economy remained the largest in Africa but the country has distinction as world’s most economically-skewed nation since 2009.

This lopsidedness is not new. It grasped the attention of critics as far back as 1998 when the then Deputy President, Thabo Mbeki, stated before the parliament that South Africa was not a nation of a homogeneous people. He added that it was merely two nations rolled into one.

To Mbeki, the country could be seen as a superficial society of “small” affluent white men whose lifestyles rivalled the super-rich anywhere in the world. The other people in South Africa, according to Mbeki, are black citizens who seemingly have a permanent date with poverty.

Mbeki’s statement, which came to be known as “Two-Nations Speech”, is

now regarded as a candid refutation of racial-economic harmony around the world.

Besides, was Mbeki foretelling a racial confrontation by his speech?

Did he have knowledge of impeding Marikana massacre of August 2012 when 34 striking miners were gunned down by police in broad daylight?

In analysing South Africa’s economic inequality, social critics agree from the outset that colonialism and Apartheid had much to do with it.

But in the post-apartheid era, a small undercurrent of thought emerged suggesting that the country’s socioeconomic woes were aggravated and perpetuated by “compromised negotiations” that were spearheaded by the liberation icon, Nelson Mandela.

After all, he was the beloved, the ultimate victim of apartheid struggle. Post-Mandela era, the ghost of the “compromised negotiation” hunts the country.

Indeed, Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah had addressed the same question of what domain should African anti-colonialism target first: politics or economy? Nkrumah responded in his capacity as the elder statesman in African nationalism, asserting: “Seek ye first the political kingdom and all things shall be added unto you.”

During the negotiations to abolish Apartheid, was Mandela aware of Nkrumah’s political kingdom dictum? He would be forgiven if he was not aware. After all, he was already in prison when African nationalism became popular.

In addition to his well-known photographic memory, Mandela was well read. Prof Ali Mazrui told how he was once in a conference and, accidentally, bumped into Mandela in the hallway. Startled, Mazrui greeted the global icon and introduced himself as Ali Mazrui. Mandela responded: “Oh, Professor Ali Mazrui, nice to meet you! I used to read your publications when I was in prison!”

If Mandela remembered Mazrui’s name and he had read his publications while in prison, he certainly knew of the economic-political kingdoms debate prior to African decolonisation.

Indeed Nkrumah’s dictum on this issue is one of his three most cited statements and Mazrui has published extensively on Nkrumah. In deemphasising the economic front in the negotiations to abolish apartheid, was Mandela acting under the spell of Nkrumah?

In all likelihood, Mandela was preoccupied less with ideologies than the practical circumstances that surrounded him. For the survival of his

country, he had chosen to enlist the political kingdom first of reconciliation and nation-building.

This attempt to build a Rainbow Nation was indeed the only viable alternative that was open to discussions. In this sense, Mandela was not alone. He was in the mould of Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta, who also came out of a colonial jail and wrote a book clearly aimed at ‘coddling’ his former British detractors. Hence, the unsurprising title of his 1968 book: Suffering without bitterness.

The mood of doom that hung over South Africa deteriorated immensely from the 1980s and was profoundly unattractive to foreign investor. International economic sanctions had become universal and were now biting deeply. Suddenly, these forces were boosted by the 1986 passage of the US Congressional Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act. The movement was also gaining momentum in the US and contributed further to Apartheid’s economic woes.

Mandela did play his historical part in terminating political apartheid and bringing democracy to the South Africa peacefully. For that he won the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. But the task of fusing socio-economic equality into the political kingdom turned out to be arduous undertaking.

This year marks two decades of

By Segun Balogun democracy in South Africa. Yet, the de facto economic apartheid remains intact. South African blacks remain pathetically poor. In 2009, South Africa surpassed Brazil as the most skewed society in the world.

In Mbeki’s opinion, South Africa is yet to be a nation; it remains two nations in one. How to narrow the gap between the white and black, and how to construct genuine fundamentals of a Rainbow Nation eluded Mandela. Unlike Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Mandela’s South Africa is an incomplete revolution, a work in progress.

Segun, 300-Level, Public Administration, LASU

We must unite against terror

By Ezekiel Efeobhokhan

Q

UITE often, we behold flames diffusing into the skies; the heat from the furnace melts the human alloy we have in this place. Terrified eyewitnesses and displaced victims cry and murmur. Dead bodies and body parts litter the landscape. Souls of men are shattered beyond the hori-

zon. These are products of bomb blast ravaging the nation like a plague.

Lives of hundreds of people have been sacrificed. The Boko Haram phenomenon has now perforated our once peaceful coexistence.

Located in a serene environment and beautiful and peaceful part of the world, peace is supposed to live in Nigeria. Beyond its shores of responsibility, Nigeria consoles sobbing hearts of its sister nations and helping them in their troubled times. We never had a premonition of perilous times here. If we had known, we would have taken our time to build bulwark against the wind of terrorism that was about to hit the nation.

Terrorism was far ahead of us. We watched movies and read news about most of the troubling times of other sovereign nations; we read about suicide bombers in the Middle East, we thought it could not happen here. We were baffled beyond comprehension when it happened. Why would someone decide to embark

on a suicide mission to deprive others of their lives? Was it for psychological, religious, political or personal reasons? Was it a metaphysical force or something borne out of a fanatical belief? These and many more questions are in the lips of every citizen.

From the outset, we thought the terrorists’ attempts had a political appendage but when one could not bear the possible error of that thought, it was claimed to be religious. Here we are, yet to discover the purpose of the series of attacks.

Islamic leaders have dismissed people linking Islam with terrorism.

We are mystified, groping in the dark. Abubakar Shekau, who claims to be Muslim (surely, he is not one), has brought terrorism to our door step, killing, maiming and bombing innocent people.

Nigerians, what has gone wrong?

Are we going to let this continue?

Should we allow the Nigerian community, once known for its superb

hospitality, into hostility? What has happened to the peaceful and friendly people of the North? What has happened to the ever populous community? Have they been taken over by merciless criminals? Peace has deserted the land known for its simplicity?

The government has failed us.

They have raped us of our academic and financial grandeur and have given us a very wide margin of the impression that we are fools. No power supply, no water and free education. Schools are now for those who can afford them. The cost of living has increased but the standard has declined. Let us not to talk about ever cunning oil subsidy thieves.

This crass maladministration may have fuelled the embers of national disunity and terrorism we are witnessing. Must we then fail our conscience because of these? No! Our sanity is hedged on that.

Martin Amis once said: “Bullets cannot be recalled, they cannot be

un-invented but they can be taken out of the gun.” We say no to violence and terrorism. Rise up my fellow compatriots; we must build a nation where peace and justice shall reign.

Alexander the Great said: “Upon the conduct of each part depends the fate of all.” Our conducts should signal that: “There is no to division between us”. Let us reason together and not to dominate. Let us not seek our way but let us find a common way.

The labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain. Long live Nigeria.

Come 2015, we shall witness a nation with greater wings to fly above terrorism and insecurity. Our girls will be brought back and our political leaders, with constructive patriotism, will paint the Nigerian flag more greenish. Let us pledge to defend our country’s unity and uphold her honor and glory. Together we can end terrorism and sustain unity.

Ezekiel, 300-Level Pharmacy, UNIBEN

Open letter to Jonathan on state of education

T

O begin with, I appreciate and praise, with open heart, some strides your administration is making especially with your transformation agenda. It will amount to developmental blindness and one will also be needlessly uncharitable to disparage the tremendous progress your administration and, ultimately above all, the country are making presently. At the same time, it will be a generational betrayal, genocide to the popular realities on ground, and a deceptive sycophancy to say your administration, thus far, is impeccable. There are many areas we expect you to do more or even have done better. The most important of them all, to me and many of my colleagues in the tertiary institutions, is the state of our education.

With due respect, the education system in the country has not been productive as it should be. And if your Transformation Agenda, in my opinion, is to be completely successful, the nation’s human resources must be enriched. Of course, one of the factors responsible for this is the inadequate productivity of our tertiary institutions. There is partially no existence of real research in our tertiary institutions as plagiarism is

the order of the day. This, inter alia, is because of the inadequacy of grants from the Federal Government. People now talk about basic learning facilities with delight only during the reminiscence of the heyday of Nigerian tertiary education.

Incessant and protracted industrial actions that are avoidable are now considered normal in the system.

Also pathetic is the astronomic increment in school fees, especially in Federal tertiary institutions.

Besides, it saddens one’s heart when one realises that education is now being commercialised. It saddens one’s heart the more when one sees that school fees are increased at the expense of the poor which make up a large percentage of our population. One looks into the nation’s future and that of Africa with trepidation when one discovers that the poor people, who form parts of the building blocks of the ship that will navigate our dear nation and continent through the turbulent and unstable oceans, are consequently denied tertiary education.

Moreover, a case that refuses to go out of my consciousness anytime the issue of increment is mentioned is the case of Obafemi Awolowo

University, Ile-Ife. I am a student of this great citadel of learning. It was to our dismay and consternation to discover that our poor parents will be made to pay some astronomical amounts of money. It was even more surprising to know that some increments were about 320 per cent. The fresh students’ fees were increased from N17,000 and N22,000 to about N100,000 without acceptance and accommodation fees. Some stale students who pay below 10,000 naira will now be made to pay close to N35,000. The post graduate students who pay N80,000 are now made to pay out of their coffers is the unjustified amount of N250,000.

The management’s only justification is that the government is under-funding education. Although everyone knows your administration is making great strides in the education sector, there is still a need to allot 26 per cent of our budget to education for proper and adequate funding as directed by the United Nations and also to ensure the proper and efficient use of these funds. Despite that, I think it is of equal importance for me to say that the school has other sources of funds that can sustain it effectively over a considerable period of time.

According to the comprehensive appraisal done by our Students’ Union leadership, some other sources of funds the school has, in addition to grants and donations from the Federal Government, the alumni association and other nongovernmental bodies with which the school has been efficiently administered pre-2004, are the payments of about 40,000 students’ fees for registration and result checking for the post-UTME, the N15,000 registration fees for the pre-degree programme, of which close to 3000 students eventually admitted then paid close to N17,5000 each. Just a few months ago, the World Bank voted $8 million to finance projects in the school for being the 1st in Nigeria and the 8th in Africa.

In addition, the school had already increased the acceptance fee before this from N2,000 to N20,000, which they have collected for three years and that is running into N300 million . There are also investments run by the school via its bread making and water factories. Then, about N7 billion has been allotted to the school as proceeds of the six-month ASUU strike. The list is just endless.

Mr President, although we urge the government to go in line with the

By Temitayo Lawal UN standard for education financing in the budget, we still do not see the need for an increment in our fees.

Needless to say, we should not bear the burden of the underfunding because education is a right, not a privilege. I hope my colleagues and I will not be victimised for saying the truth and voicing out our sincere concerns.

I’m writing this because I believe your administration is always concerned about the poor and will consequently lookinto this serious issue.

Temitayo, 400-Level Psychology, OAU

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

44

CAMPUS LIFE

Pharmacists take oath

T

HE University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) has inducted pharmacy graduates in an event held at the El-kanemi Hall of the university.

The ceremony was graced by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ibrahim Njodi, who led body of principal officers to the event. Also, members of the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) witnessed the induction.

Prof Njodi said there was a critical shortage of pharmacists in the nation’s health sector, adding that the university was committed to maintaining good health in the region. He announced automatic employments for the best two graduating students.

M

From Taiwo Isola UNIMAID The Acting Registrar of PCN, Gloria Abumere, said the induction of the students would boost the number of qualified pharmacists in Nigeria. She encouraged them to do the best for the profession and to upgrade their knowledge to be relevant in the profession.

One of the inductees, Ibukun Odukale, said: “I am happy to finally do my induction today. The past seven years in Maiduguri have been challenging but God was faithful and saw me through. Today, I am a certified pharmacist. I will do my help for the pharmacy profession.”

•Some of the inductees after the ceremony

Enactus hits community with empowerment seminar

EMBERS of the Entrepreneurship Action in Us (ENACTUS) Club at the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State, have organised free empowerment seminar for residents of Emure community.

The seminar was held at Community Grammar School, Emure Ile, Ondo State.

No fewer than 40 members of the community were trained on how to produce detergents and allied products, including strategies to market the products.

Residents were taught how to make liquid dish wash, disinfectant and toilet wash.

Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, Joseph Adebowale, the group leader, said: “We discover a passion that if unleashed can inspire others to fulfil their dreams. We discover innovations that will make people live a healthier life, which can also be a source of income if properly harnessed. We discovered a problem at Emure-Ile community and decided to provide solutions. We targeted the people of this community

From Dayo Ojerinde AKURE that live below one dollar per day and we decided that the best way to empower their men and women is to train them on what will help the community and boost their income,” he stated.

Its Faculty Advisor at the institu-

tion, Mr Akintan Akinyemi, said: “Considering the relevant economic, social and environmental factors, the seminar is bound to improve the quality and standard of living of the participants. We empower people in need by applying business and economic concepts and and entrepreneurial approach to improve their quality of life and standard of living.”

T

UNIMAID gets VC

HE Governing Council of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) has announced the appointment of Prof Ibrahim Njodi as new Vice Chancellor of the institution for a five-year term.

The announcement was made following the approval of his appointment by the Federal Government.

The valedictory ceremony for the former VC, Prof Mala Daura, was held at El Kanemi Hall of the university.

In his remark, Prof Daura lamented that the Boko Haram insurgency had taken a huge toll on the institution as some of members of staffs and students had been killed while others left the university.

Daura said he had implemented 80 per cent of the recommendations in the white paper of the visitation panel to the university.

Njodi praised members of staff

From Taiwo Isola UNIMAID

of the institution for their support to the out-going VC, urging them to stand by the university at all times. He assured them that he would do his best to move the university forward.

Speaking on the tenure of the out-going VC, a student, Idris Suleiman, said: “The former Vice Chancellor did his best especially in the areas of security and infrastructural development. We now have new faculties at the faculties of Education and Pharmacy and a new College of Medical Sciences, new lecture theatres and many others. Electricity and water supply in the university are now stable. We are optimistic and hopeful that the new Vice-Chancellor will work hard to surpass his achievements.”

‘YABATECH is still on strike’

•Members with the participants after the seminar

On and Off Campus By Solomon Izekor 08061522600

Dean urges students to pay their fees From Inya Agha and Oma Ekwueme UNN

A

CADEMIC Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) of the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) has denied the rumour that the institution has pulled out of the on-going nationwide strike embark on by the union.

ASUP chapter chairman, Adeyemi Aromolaran, said the institution reamined shut, adding that the chapter was committed to joining hands with other polytechnics in the country to demand better education system for students.

Shola Orisalade, HND II Civil

From Mark Orgu YABATECH Engineering, said: “Its nine months now since the whole crisis began and government seems not to be concerned. ASUP is committed to finding lasting solution to the mess created by the government. I will be very happy if the college could decide to pull out of the strike.”

The Speaker of the Students’ Union legislative arm, Joshua Akinjayeju, said the strike had paralysed the educational pursuits of many students.

T

HE Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof Augustine Ubachukwu, has urged postgraduate students who have not paid their school fees in the 2013/2014 session to do so or forfeit their admission.

The advice came following discovery that students deliberately allowed their fees to accumulate with the intention of evading payment at the end of their programme.

“We have written to Heads of departments to ensure that students who have not paid their fees are not allowed to take examinations and present seminars. We would not invite external examiners for students who are owing or approve their synopsis”, he said.

The Dean said his vision for the School was to promote academic excellence through research, adding that his administration would ensure that all hindrances that prevented students from completing their programmes in record time would be addressed.

Speaking on measures taken to fast track collection of postgraduate certificates and transcripts, Prof Ubachukwu said he had instructed staff of the school to ensure that issues involving collection of certificates and transcripts were handled within 24 hours.

•From left: Zainab Shobulo, Emmanuel Shonowo and Toibat Bamigboye after their matriculation at the University of Ibadan...last week

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

45

CAMPUS LIFE

T

Varsities should look beyond govt funding, says IBBU VC

HE Vice Chancellor of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBU) Lapai, Niger State, Prof Ibrahim Kolo has warned that public universities may not achieve their mandate of academic excellence if they continue to depend on government for funds.

He advised management of universities to look beyond government subventions by establishing strategic fund raising activities for the development of critical areas of their institutions.

Kolo spoke at a retreat on strategies for successful fund raising organised by the institution for its council members and senior members of staff last Sunday.

The Vice Chancellor said world renowned universities in the United

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

States and Europe are not funded by government, but depend on donations from their alumni, public spirited individuals and institutions.

He suggested that the management of various universities should come up with strategic plans for donors to key into.

The retreat, which was used to appraise the university’s five-year strategic development plan put in place in 2010, also provided a platform to fashion plans, programmes and projects to attract philanthropists and donors in funding the university.

Prof Kolo disclosed that the university attained 75 per cent implementation of plan strategic

within four years. He underscored the management’s commitment towards transforming the university to compete with the best in the world.

“Our appraisal of our strategic plan in the past four years has shown that we attained 75 per cent. The plan has helped us to lay the foundation for a word class citadel of learning at IBBU. We have seen the critical role the raising of funds plays in the development of universities around the world,” he said.

Kolo praised former military head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, for his contribution as a member of the board of the university’s Endowment Fund board and assured that funds given to the university would be used transparently and prudently.

AAUA FILE

VC counsels 3,634 freshers

•Prof Kolo

He said the university has made contact with former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida based on his pledge to complete the senate building and the administrative block.

Firm helps with Indian admission

• Devesh, and Mr Ajetak Singh of Sharda Univeristy presenting Obinna Obasi Torti with an admission letter to study Computer Science and Engineering at Sharda University, India,

E

DUSOFT Associates Limited has facilitated on-the-spot admissions for some Nigerians into some of the best universities in India.

The students met with representatives of the universities at the Universities Education Expo organised by the firm in Lagos.

Among participating schools were: Sharda University, Delhi NCR; Bapuji College of Nursing and Pharmacy; SS Institute of Medical Sciences; Krupanidhi College, Bangalore; SRM University; Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences; Acharya Bangalore B School & Institute of Health Sciences and Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering and Technology.

Mr Varrier Devesh, Director of Training, EduSoft Associates Limited, said the expo will hold annually.

Mr Badri Prasad, Director of Operations, added that Nigeria and India have a lot in common and closer association between the two countries could only lead to more opportunities for citizens of both

countries.

"Since the beginning of this year we have facilitated the admission of more than 400 Nigerians into the best universities in India, studying courses in the medical sciences,

Monarch praises VC

Philippines plans varsity in Kwara

F

OR maintaining a cordial relationship with the Umudike Uku autonomous community, inspiring and employing its youth, the Vice Chancellor of Michael Opara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU), Prof Hilary Edeoga, has won the heart of the trandtional ruler, Eze Ben Ogichi Oriaku.

Describing Edeoga as God-sent, the monarch told The Nation that his good work has resonated beyond the institution to touch the host community.

"In most universities, we hear things like riots and demonstrations, but we have never heard such in MOUAU because of the managerial dexterity of Prof Edeoga," he said.

The Eze added that the university has positively affected the psyche of the youths in the community "to the extent that all the youths are now interested in attending the university."

The traditional ruler of the university host community added that the university has witnessed unprecedented growth under Edeoga, whose five-year tenure ends in 20

engineering, and humanities, among others. Nigerians studying in India find the country as a second home since the two countries are very close and share a lot in common," he said.

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

T •Eze Oriaku From Ugochukwu Ugoji-Ekie, Umuahia

months’ time.

He praised the vice chancellor for ending the practice of 'sorting' giving money for grades; and checked cultism.

"The issue of sorting in MOUAU has been put to a stop, as students are seen in the midnight studying hard to pass their examinations unlike before when students bank on giving money to lecturers to pass their examination. We now have brilliant graduates from the university in our community.

‘But right now the situation is different as Prof Edeoga has remembered our people and that is the kind of thing that makes host communities happy’

•Prof Edeoga

"I took time out to go round the university and noticed 10 new hostels, many lecture halls, tarred roads, and shuttle vehicles for students at subsidised rates; Prof Edeoga should live long," he said.

Unlike previous administrations, Eze Oriaku said the university had never considered members of the community for employment.

"But right now the situation is different as Prof Edeoga has remembered our people and that is the kind of thing that makes host communities happy," he said.

The monarch, however, urged the Vice Chancellor to employ members of the community, who are qualified into senior positions in the university.

On his part, the President-General of Umudike Ukwu Improvement Union, Chief Philip Ukonu, urged youths from the community to study hard to sieze employment opportunities in the university when they come.

HE Kwara State government has struck a deal with the government of the Philippines to establish a university in the state.

The Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Alhaji Saka Onimago told reporters that the proposed university, which will be called AMA University, would have its temporary site at the old Ilorin Teachers’ College, Lagos Road, Ilorin which, has seven hectares of land.

Onimago said the university would be owned and funded by the Philippines government while the the state government would only provide the land for its temporary site.

He also announced the government’s resolve of gradually ease out primary and post primary school teachers with no qualifications in education from the system. The Head of Service, Alhaji abarako Muhammed, Onimago said, has been asked to work out modalities for absorbing the teachers who would be affected by the exercise into the mainstream civil service. He said the government’s decision to disengage unqualified teachers from the teaching job is informed by the need to improve on effectiveness of education received in the schools.

He said teachers among the 21, 000 NCE holders without specialisation in primary education would be encouraged to go for a sandwich course for the specialisation to enable them fit in at the level they teach.

THE Vice Chancellor, Adekunle Ajasin University, AkungbaAkoko (AAUA), Prof. Femi Mimiko, on Tuesday last week, advised the 3,634 fresh students admitted for the 2013/2014 academic session to shun vices capable of jeopardising their scholarship.

Mimiko, who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof. Rotimi Ajayi, said they should take the matriculation oath seriously.

"Let me make it abundantly clear that AAUA has zero tolerance for social vices. I urge you to respect and observe the oath by eschewing all social vices such as cultism, examination misconduct, truancy, drug addiction, indiscipline, rape, murder, prostitution, indecent dressing, kidnapping and any form of violence," he said.

He congratulated the freshers for making it out of the 18,019 candidates that applied to the university.

Staff School fetes head teacher AS Mrs Dorcas Akinduro bowed out as Head-teacher of the AAUA Staff Primary School, members of staff, Parent-Teacher Association, (PTA), and pupils of the school organised a befitting sendoff party for her last Wednesday.

Those who spoke at the event described Mrs. Akinduro as an exemplary teacher, mother, Godfearing and administrator par excellence.

The Acting Head-teacher, Mr. J.O. Ehineni, said her huge contributions to the development of the school would remain indelible.

Mrs. Akinduro joined the then Ondo State University Staff School, Ado-Ekiti, in 1985 as a teacher.

She acted as Head Teacher from 2000 to 2008 when she was confirmed as the substantive head.

She retired at 60 July last year after 28 years of meritorious service.

In her response, Mrs. Akinduro, thanked God for seeing her through her service years. She appreciated the university management for giving her the necessary support.

Admission cutoff pegged at 180, 150

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

THE least mark for admission into universities in Nigeria for the 2014/2015 academic session has been pegged at 180; and 150 for polytechnics and colleges of education.

The Policy Committee, made up of vice chancellors, rectors, provosts and registrars of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education arrived at the benchmarks at the 5th Combined Policy meeting on admissions to tertiary institutions held at the National Universities Commission on Tuesday.

At the meeting, chaired by the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB), Prof Dibu Ojerinde said 1,584,348 (97.07 per cent) candidates who sat for the 2014 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) applied to degree awarding institutions or universities; while 25,767 (1.57 per cent) and 22,072 (1.34 per cent) applied to study at the colleges of education and polytechnics. Only 46 representing 0.003 percent applied to study in the innovation and vocational enterprise institutions where they would earn the National Innovations Diploma (NID).

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

46

CAMPUS LIFE SCHOLARSHIPS

ACE FILE

Board praises outgone provost THE Academic Board of Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, Ondo State has held a special academic board session in honor of the immediate past Provost, Prof Adeyemi Idowu.

The session, held at the S.K. Babalola Conference Centre, according to the Registrar of the College, Mr. Felix Aderinboye, has the council’s mandate to hold the session dedicated to the outgone provost.

The acting Provost, Dr. Olufemi Olajuyigbe described the event as a privilege from God. He thanked God for keeping the outgone Provost for the eight-year period of his tenure.

Speaking on behalf of the deans, the Dean, School of Education, Dr. Mrs. Oyenike Oyinloye, described the Provost as someone, who has impacted the college in all areas including improvement in academic programmes, infrastructural development with excellent human relations.

In his tribute, the Head of Department, English Language, Mr. Gbenga Dare said Prof Idowu came at a time when the college was getting out of its troubles.

…PTA shows appreciation too THE Chairman, Adeyemi College of Education Demonstration Secondary School Parent Teacher Association(PTA), Mr. Omoliki Zacheus, has described Prof Idowu as the architect of modern school.

Zacheous made this disclosure during the send off party organised in Idowu’s honour.

According to him, the school established 20 years ago, had witnessed monumental development in the last eight years of Idowu in the saddle.

Mr. Omoliki praised Idowu for turning the school into one of the best in Ondo town with modern facilities in place.

This, he said, had resulted into improved performance of pupils in external examinations such as the Senior Secondary School Examination (SSCE) and National Examination Council (NECO) with the school recording over 90 per cent.

APPROACHING DEADLINES PhD Scholarships in Politics and International Relations at Cardiff University, 2014 CARDIFF University is inviting application for five partial PhD scholarships in Politics and International Relations. This scholarship is open to UK/EU and Overseas nationals without further restrictions. These studentships consist of £3,996 to be provided in the first year of the PhD programme. The application deadline is 1st August 2014.

Study Subject(s): Scholarships are awarded in the area of Politics and International Relations within the School of Modern Languages at

Cardiff University.

Course Level: Scholarships are available for pursuing PhD degree level at Cardiff University.

Scholarship Provider: Cardiff University, UK Scholarship can be taken at: UK Accreditation: Cardiff University is an accredited university. Cardiff University is accredited by the Russell Group and EUA Universities UK. Eligibility: This scholarship is open to UK/EU and Overseas nationals without further restrictions.

Scholarship Open for International Students: UK/EU and international students can apply for these PhD scholarships.

W

Duration of award(s): These PhD scholarships will be paid as a onetime disbursement in the first year of the PhD. What does it cover? Each studentship consists of £3,996 to be provided in the first year of the PhD programme.

Selection Criteria: These scholarships will be awarded on a competitive basis.

Notification: Not Known How to Apply: If you wish to be considered, please send an email expressing your interest to: europpg-admissions-at-cardiff.ac.uk.

Scholarship Application Deadline: The application deadline is 1st August 2014.

Community receives NOUN study centre

A

S part of its mission to take education to everyone’s doorstep, the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), has formally inaugurated the Emevor Community Study Centre, Emevor Kingdom, Isoko North Local Council of Delta State.

The ceremony, which included the formal handing over of the keys and assets of the centre by the Odion of Emevor Kingdom, HRM Francis Onovughakpor Ekama, to the ViceChancellor, Prof. Vincent Ado Tenebe, featured the unveiling of the commemorative plaque.

Addressing guests at the event, Prof. Tenebe noted that the centre was the first to receive the entire governing council members of the university at its commissioning.

Tenebe thanked the monarch and people of Emevor Kingdom for their generosity, steadfastness and support in establishing the centre.

According to Tenebe, the event was part of NOUN's mission to take education to the people and help the Federal Government meet its goal of providing adequate ter-

• From left: Member of the Governing Council of NOUN, Prof Solo; Prof Tenebe and Chairman of the Governing Council, Senator Ameh Ebute, at the commissioning.

From Bolaji Ogundele, Warri

tiary institutions.

"NOUN is the only way we can prove to you that we can demystify education and democratise learning.

We are also helping the Federal Government actualise its goal to provide higher learning for students," he said.

The coordinator of the centre’s planning committee, Deacon Patrick Emerhana, recalled the race

Oyedepo is an asset to the world, says don

ITH the successful completion of the ninth convocation of Covenant University(CU), Ota, Ogun State, last Friday, the Vice-Chancellor(VC), Littoral University (Institute Littoral Des Etudes Professionnelles Superieures (ILEPS), Porto-Novo, Republic of Benin, Prof. Reuben Oyebode Ayeni, has described the Chancellor and Chairman, Board of Regents (CU) Bishop David Oyedepo as an asset to mankind.

“Bishop Oyedepo is a gift to the world and everyone needs to tap into it. I visit the university often to see what God is doing and everyday miracle in the university gives me joy and inspiration. It simply shows God is really working in Covenant University. I also try to learn, so that I can replicate what I see there in Littoral University. On behalf of my family and ILEPS, I want to congratulate Bishop Oyedepo for the success.

This is also why I am here today with some of our students to celebrate this great achiever," he said.

Ayeni urged other institutions to take a cue from CU's giant strides.

"No wonder products from this great university are never stranded in the labour market or found looking for placements. This is a pointer that these new graduands, like their mates in the past, will surely make it in life. ILEPS will get there too," he said.

Scholarship Description: School of Politics and International Relations at Cardiff University invites applications for five partial PhD Scholarships for Home, EU and International students.

These scholarships will be awarded on a competitive basis. The scholarships will be awarded to students undertaking a PhD within the School of Modern Languages and will each provide £3,996 as a onetime disbursement in the first year of the PhD. Number of award(s): The School of Politics and International Relations at Cardiff University invites applications for five partial PhD Scholarships.

Secondary School and Emewha Primary School respectively.

The VC while thanking the Governing Council for approving the establishment of NOUN in Emevor, urged it to start construction work on the land given by the community as the permanent site soonest.

The highpoint of the event was giving the monarch a scholarship with Prof Tenebe arguing that there is no age limit to education.

Varsity research Foundation gives grants to groups

T

By Adegunle Olugbamila

Speaking to The Nation shortly after delivering ILEPS' goodwill message to CU, Ayeni, who came in company of some the university's students and top management, expressed his happiness on the planned signing of an MoU between the two universities scheduled for July 9 at the CU premises.

"It's (MoU) a rare privilege given to us. Papa (Oyedepo) has been like a father to us, and has always encouraged us. We are happy about the collaboration. When a young university like ours has the privilege of standing on the shoulder of a worldclass university like Covenant University, it gives us a wider window to see further into academic horizons, while opening us up to wider opportunities beyond Africa.

“Above all, it will open a new chapter in the history of both universities particularly, ILEPS in her quest to attaining excellence. That makes our journey to the top a lot easier,” he said.

He said the university has been going through some trying times, contending with some elements, who want to throw spanners in the university's good works.

"Yes! There are challenges, but they are meant to make one become

for the centre's establishment in October last year.

According to him, the centre, having met NOUN’s requirements gained the approval of the state Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education pending when it will move to its permanent site. The commissioner in charge of the ministry gave the institution the approval to use the science laboratory, a block of six classrooms and operational office at Emevor Mixed

•Prof Ayeni

champions. We have lots of sycophants who are not sensitive to real issues. Some parents are not patient enough and are getting swayed by hearsay. There are some bad eggs who want to reap where they did not sow.

"Littoral University is not a warehouse where you just come and dump your child. We are building future leaders here. The Republic of Benin education system has its modus operandi, which we must follow. We are appealing to parents and students to exercise patience because we are on course," Prof. Ayeni said.

ILEPS, he said, is speeding up plans at the permanent site located in Banigbe Idi-Iroko, so that the university can move there soonest.

HE University of Ibadan Research Foundation (UI-RF), has awarded a collaborative research grant of N10 million to be disbursed over three years to seven research groups within the university.

The groups will focus on four thematic areas- agriculture, energy, health and water resources.

The leaders of the groups are: Dr. Omolade Oladele; Prof. James Olopade; Prof. E.O Agbedana; Prof.

A.A Aiyelari; Prof. Adeboye Olatunbosun; Dr. Abiodun Claudius-Cole and Prof. Moshood Tijani.

In his opening remarks, the ViceChancellor, University of Ibadan (UI), Prof. Isaac Adewole, said the UI-RF marks an important chapter in the evolution of the university as a research intensive institution, adding that it highlights the dedicated effort at providing support for research as a platform to realise the university's vision.

The university, he said, has created UI-RF with an important overarching objective, which is to provide unique opportunities for the staff to participate in interdisciplinary, leading-edge research funded by the university as well as international funding agencies.

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

Prof. Adewole said: "The expectation is that efforts of the UI-RF in meeting these objectives will enable individual staff member to be more responsive to states and national needs that could be met through the research programmes, training and services. More importantly, it will enhance the ability of UI to continue to succeed in effort to deliver the best education and training for students."

He urged benefactors to be frugal on how they spend the money, as they all would be accountable.

He enjoined them to work as a team and justify the purpose of the grant.

Also the Chairman of UI-RF board, Chevalier Itsueli, said the board will task itself to make UI achieve more firsts by producing the first post-doctoral research positions at the institution within the next 12 months.

"We must commercialise at least, one research finding from this portfolio within the same 12 months.

We must create a Think-Tank to define and direct our national ethos, in that same time frame. We must provide our home within the next 24 months," he assured

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

47

EDUCATION

A

Modernisation is bane of parenting, says don

PROFESSOR of Early Childhood Education, University of Lagos Osanyin Ajike, has attributed poor parenting in the 21st Century to political, social and technological developments.

Other factors according to her, include: early marriage, unemployment, economic hardship, rapid urbanisation, modernisation, and rural-urban drift amongst others.

Osanyin, who is the Founder and President of Early Childhood Association of Nigeria (ECAN), made the submission in an address delivered at this year’s ECAN’s national conference. She founded ECAN in 1994.

At the flag off of the event held at the National Post Graduate Medical College, Ijanikin last week, Osanyin called for parents’ commitment, urging them to make great sacrifice with respect to a lot of things that comes with nurturing children as they remain priorities.

Her words: "Parenting is the

By Mojisola Clement

fulfilment of Gods commandment, but if not properly monitored, may become a problem not only to the family, but to the community and the society at large. If you have no intentions of nurturing children, then life is much better without them," she said.

She, however, advised parents not to put their career ahead of the well being of their children. She noted that careers can be resumed after the children are shown.

Aside parents abandoning their responsibilities to nannies, relatives or outsiders, Osanyin said

investments on ill trained children will not yield any bountiful harvest.

"During Pregnancy stage and age five, a child picks 60 per cent of his character, from age five to seven, he picks another 20 per cent and he is left to fill the vacant 20 per cent by himself when he grows up.

"Now come to think of it, you allow your child pick 80 per cent of his traits from nannies, distant and elderly relatives and when this traits begin to manifest, you realise the kind of monster you have raised called a child," Osanyin said.

Former Provost of Adeniran

‘Now come to think of it, you allow your child pick 80 per cent of his traits from nannies, distant and elderly relatives and when this traits begin to manifest, you realise the kind of monster you have raised called a child’

Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCED) Prof Adewale Olumide Noah, who gave the second address suggested that parents become knowledge workers who will identify new devices for tracking their children.

Prof. Noah challenged parents to take on greater roles as children of nowadays are demanding and therefore, need tactics to groom.

He added that educational technologists and science educators must be ready to design new learning protocols in early child education and the government must also be ready to do more in terms of inspection, inclusion and quality enhancement of the subject.

"21st Century children as children, who are more educated than their parents and who understand the various functions of the computer more than their teachers," he said.

Noah divided the 21st Century parents into four: ‘Strollers’ meaning parents, who have children but

A

• From left: The MD/CEO, Dufil Prima Food PLC, Mr Deepak Singhal with 15-year old One Day Governor, Master Edun Olabanji of Army Children Secondary School, (middle), and the PR/Event Manager Dufil Prima Food, Mr Tope Asiwaju when Olabanji visited Dufil Prima Food Head office in Lagos.

W

do not know the particular way to raise them; 'tourists' are parents who have all the money needed in raising a child, but are incapable of raising them; 'travellers' are the business-minded parents with little attention for their wards; as well as 'vagabonds', who only care for today, but are unconcerned about in what the future holds.

He cautioned parents against the habit of overprotecting their wards by buying them examination questions before the examinations are written or by securing special centres for them, because it contributes to raising misfits.

Secretary to Lagos State Government, Dr Oluranti Adebule, who was represented by Special Adviser on Education, Otunba Fatai Olukoga, the situation of parenting in Nigeria is catastrophic, hinging her argument on parentrs who can deploy enormous resources on planning for marriage, but cannot extend such privileges to parenthood.

Medical doctor decries child sex abuse

CONSULTANT at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, (LUTH) Dr Chidinma Ajayi, has decried child sex abuse, saying children are more vulnerable to abuse in the society.

She said it has become a social norm, which is underreported as the affected ones are not ready to expose the culprit as a result of social stigma.

Dr Ajayi, spoke at the African Child Day celebration organised by the National Council of Child Right Advocates of Nigeria,(NACCRAN) Lagos State.

The event held at the media centre, National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos was themed: 'Sexual abuse and the community'.

Child sexual abuse, Ajayi said, could either have a long or short term effect on the child as they psychologically live a traumatised life.

She added that victims are most

By Jane Chijioke

times violated by someone close to them. She, therefore, advised pupils to be more self conscious and report any abnormal actions from people, who disguise themselves as neighbours, elders, relations or family friends.

She admonished parents to desist from all forms of child abuse and teach their children sex education.

State coordinator, NACCRAN, Mrs Olaitan Oshodi, said the society’s greatest asset is the children, which without, is doomed for destruction "A child-friendly quality, free and compulsory education should be given to every African child.

Education to the child should not be treated as a privilege that the society grants, but a duty that the society fulfils towards all her children," she said.

Outstanding principal receives lawmaker ‘s award, cash

HEN the Principal of Ojodu Junior Grammar School, Ojodu, Mrs. Victoria Adebola Kolawole was using her personal resources to create a conducive learning environment for her students little did she know that her activities were being noted and that she would be rewarded for her commitment to excellence one day.

That day came last week Friday, when important personalities in the state gathered to honour her for the good work she has done over the years.

The recognition award was courtesy of Lola Akande, a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly (LSHOA) representing Ikeja II Constituency.

Kolawole was given the award for 'Dedication to duty, outstanding performance and excellence in management and administration'. Aside the plaque, Akande gave her cash award of N200,000, while other personalities gave donations amounting to N500,000. Kolawole described the award as an encouragement to her and others to do more.

Reflecting on her action, Kolawole

By Oziegbe Okoeki

said all she had in mind was to change the situation in the school with whatever resources she has "because I knew the environment wasn't conducive for learning and teaching, so I first had to change the environment.”

"People were saying I was spending my money on a government school and I told them it is a legacy I am leaving behind, in 10 years’ time when I pass through that school I will remember that I did something.

"My motivation is to have a conducive and high standard learning environment for the school. I decided to do it as a legacy and for posterity not necessarily for reward, but now God is rewarding me; in fact, this reward came to me as a surprise; just look at the calibre of people here," she said.

Praising Kolawole, Akande said: “I have attended many of her programmes and I have seen so many awards she has received like the best JSS School in the federation awarded by Federal Ministry of Education, best JSS Principal 2014

‘My motivation is to have a conducive and high standard learning environment for the school. I decided to do it as a legacy and for posterity not necessarily for reward, but now God is rewarding me’

and so many others.

"She is worth celebrating and she is excelling because she puts in everything she has into whatever she does. We are recognising her that she is doing well, that she is a woman of excellence, a woman of passion and I am trying through this gesture to inspire others, especially, teachers like her to emulate her," Akande said.

Wife of Lagos State governor,

Dame Abimbola Fashola described Kolawole as an achiever.

"You laboured for what you are being given today, it is your vision. We thank God that you did not join the bandwagon to do whatever you like as a civil servant. You put your spirit into it and it is commendable. You have done well and you are a total woman; continue to do more and you will achieve greater height," she said.

Dignitaries in attendance included Dame Fashola; Senator Oluremi Tinubu; wife of Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker, Mrs. Mayowa Ikuforiji; Deputy Speaker, Kolawole Taiwo, who was chairman of the occasion; a member of House of Assembly, Sanai Agunbiade; former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Sarah Sosan and Head of Service, Oluseyi Williams.

• Student rally at Oregun Junior High School, Oregun during the milestone celebration marking '30 Days to Go' to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

48

EDUCATION EDUTALK Low mfee paying schools will grade well Broken P RESIDENT of the Association for Formidable Education Development (AFED), Mrs Dada Ifejola is optimistic that schools under the group would excel in the grading programme planned by the Lagos State Ministry of Education.

AFED is an umbrella group for schools for mostly low-income communities.

The ministry is in the process of grading private schools into categories that would allow parents to determine the quality of schools their wards attend.

In her address at the congress to mark the group's national annual week at the A.S Badeh Youth Centre, Nigerian Army Resettlement Centre (NAFRAC), Lagos, Mrs Ifejola said: "The Lagos State government has decided to undertake a grading exercise to check, evaluate and, measure the level of activities going on in various schools in the

By Sampson Unamka

state thereby categorising them into different Grade levels A-D. I assure you that all AFED schools would pass this test."

The state Commissioner for Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, who was represented by Director, Private Education, Mrs Sewanu Amosu, said the government and AFED must work together to achieve the millennium development goal.

She urged school owners to embrace the grading exercise.

The day's lecture was delivered by Dr Virgy Onyene, an associate professor of education at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

Dr. Onyene praised AFED for serving the less privileged children in the society. She urged school own-

ers to regard their foray into education as a service to humanity and not to make excessive profits from their businesses.

"AFED is addressing vulnerable groups in the society. Though they use shoes, they are the Jonathan of our time. Education is something you are giving back and cannot be quantified.

So, private schools of the low cost level (AFED) is not something you can say that you're making profit, because in business you count your profit, but education is a service that is not measurable," she said.

Dr Onyene urged the government and society not to look down on the group because it plays a crucial role in education.

"That person that puts a cardboard there and says 'this is Go School and I am doing admission', is as important as the person, who built Atlantic Hall, but they are addressing different cases and some cases are more critical," she said.

• Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye (middle) with the winner of Essay category of the ANCOPSS Secondary School Competition, Blessing Agundonu of Ilupeju Senior Secondary School, Ilupeju.

With them is Mr Albert Philips, President, All Nigeria Confederation of Principal of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) who presented the winner to the commissioner.

S

School heads retool at summit

CHOOL Heads, who attended the National Head of Schools Summit (NAHOSS) organised by the Standard Mandate International (SMI) in Lagos, left the threeday summit re-energized to overcome challenges in their schools.

Thanks to an array of topics that addressed pertinent issues in school management delivered by experts, who addressed the school heads at the Mainland Hotel, Oyingbo, Lagos. They now know how to be alive to their responsibilities.

Mr Nelson Ayodele, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), SMI, in his remarks, said it is important for administrators to benchmark their schools against others they desire to be like and adopt practices that help to give them a corporate outlook.

He counseled them to regularly leave the comfort of their offices to know what is happening in the class-

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

rooms, playgrounds, dining halls and toilets.

"At no point in time does a head of school sit for hours in her office without going out to check what is happening; and you will be shocked. Go to the toilets twice a day and you will see how inefficient the cleaners are. Go to the kitchen and you will see how unhygienic the food is. You need to look at what your prospective customer that you desire to have look like. You have got to move up to the next level," he said.

Speaking on ‘Developing Clear Instructional Goals and Common Vision of Effective Instruction’, the Principal, Noble House College, Abeokuta in Ogun State, Mr William Pope, said to run a school effectively, administrators have to determine goals they must work towards.

To achieve their goals, he urged them to create a disciplined environment, entrench teaching strategies, and get workers to be passionate about their jobs.

He also said parents should be encouraged to get actively involved in the education of their children.

Other topics treated at the summit included: Cultivating Leadership in others by Maj-Gen S. A Adebayo of the Nigerian Army Education Corps & Schools; ‘Organisation Culture; Shaping a Culture Hospitable to Learning’ by Mr Lere Baale of Business School, Netherlands; ‘Nigeria: Improving Leadership Effectiveness: Lessons from Successful Schools’ by Mrs Adun Akinyemiju, Director, Dansol Educational Organisation; and ‘Managing People, Data and Process to foster School Improvement’

by Otunba Yomi Otubela, Chairman, Lagooz Schools.

Childhood cancer is real, Foundation says

P

UPILS from eight schools in Lagos State sang at a childhood cancer awareness programme organised by the Children Living With Cancer Foundation (CLWCF) last Saturday.

CLWCF’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mrs Nneka Nwaobi, said the event, which held at the Avicenna Schools, Ikeja, was organised to teach the pupils about cancer in order for them to spread the news to others.

Mrs Nwaobi said teaching young ones about the disease is more effective than talking to the adults, who she noted tend to spiritualise things.

She said the rate of the illness is becoming alarming and some parents are not bold enough to talk about it.

"We are creating awareness to get children to understand that children

By Jane Chijioke

do have cancer. We are using the children because most adults in Nigeria are just ignorant to learn about childhood cancer or any bad thing at all.

So, because of that we decided to go through the children believing that when they are informed they would communicate it with their parents.

"I know a parent who has not told his relatives that his child has cancer and most parents that we deal with think that it is spiritual; something that they need church or native doctor's assistance to tell them who is behind it," she said.

By enlightening the pupils, Mrs Nwaobi said she hopes they would learn to be charitable rather than stigmatise children with the illness.

She said the prevalent type of can-

cers in children include leukemia; cancer of the kidney; neuroblastoma; cancer of the bone, while cancer of the ovary is rare.

She said early diagnosis makes managing the disease easier.

"Unfortunately, it is not like adult cancer where you would say that there are pre-diposing factors such as drinking or smoking and some other things. In children, the youngest I have seen is six weeks old, so how do you tell the parents to prevent that. The most important thing is the screening and coming in early and then knowing that there is a cure at the end. Most of the ones we have cured came in early while those we have lost came in late and a few of them had mixed diagnosis," she said.

with

youths

T

HE trip from Mosalasi to Iyana-Isolo bus-stop in Mushin, Lagos State is not a long one. If the road is free, it can be covered in about five minutes.

But there is usually traffic, especially at Idi-Oro, Olosa and Iyana LUTH. Even with that, on the average, the trip can extend by 15 or 20 Kofoworola minutes.

On Monday, the traffic was unusual, occasioned by a trailer which fell into a ditch. The vehicle I Kofosagie@yahoo.com boarded took a detour into Martins 08054503077 (SMS only) Street to use short cuts that would take us close to the last bus stop. As we meandered through winding back streets I was lost in thought about life in the area. We passed dusty roads with patches of asphalts here and there - reminders that they had once been tarred - crowded houses, some spacious ones, and people going about the general activities of everyday living. Given its accessibility, I thought life there would not have been so bad but for the volatility of the area. Clashes among rival street gangs are common in Mushin.

We soon ran into traffic. I was not surprised that it was caused by touts, young men, extorting money from motorists for diverting from the highway to 'worsen' the state of their roads. When our vehicle was to pass, the driver decided to use bravado to avoid paying the N50 toll. I understood his plight. There were only three of us, and the fare was N50 each. Giving the touts N50 meant parting with a third of his income. No one would be happy to give his hard earned money to self-appointed taxmen who would likely squander the money on booze, women and drugs.

But his audacity did not work. One of them stood brazenly in from the vehicle. The other, and by far the rougher fellow, came to the driver's side and threatened to deal with him. Holding up a bleeding finger, he said, "One of your kinds did this to me." As he made further threats, he waved the finger about, allowing his blood to splatter on the driver, the dash board, windscreen, floor and seats of the vehicle. "I will deal with you if you are not careful," he added menacingly in Yoruba.

We passengers could not stomach it anymore. "Was it him that injured you," I asked. "Why are you threatening him?" another woman queried.

We could as well not have spoken. The fellow did not as much as humour us with an eye contact. After he walked away, his colleague collected the money, regardless of what we thought of them.

All this while, a boy on a bicycle had paused, watching the encounter.

He was close enough for me to tell him not to follow in the footsteps of the touts but struggle for a bright future for himself. He listened and nodded attentively. I hoped he would not grow up to be like them. Given the large number of unemployed youths in the area, I was not sure he had many role models.

I thought of the touts too. What must have led them to that way of life?

What kind of childhood did they have? One of the other passengers remarked that they likely belong to large families that did not care about their upbringing.

The incident reminded me of where I was coming from. It was a seminar for student teachers of the University of Lagos who are training to care for very young children. They were told to take their roles seriously as they would be laying the foundation on which the young lives would be built.

The convener, Mrs Funso Chikezie, made a vital point about starting early to entrench the right values, morals and attitudes into young children so they grow up to be responsible adults. This responsibility starts from the home, then the school. The environment also has its influences.

But strong efforts by the home and the school to guide young people aright can help them withstand the pressures from their surroundings.

We failed our youths of today by not providing them with the right foundation from the start. Limited opportunities, corruption and financial hardship make the situation worse. Returning them to the straight and narrow is no easy task. It is a long term process that will require resources, campaigns and a lot of determination. We must be ready to do this for them if we hope to enjoy our senior years. As for the young ones joining us every day, we must not fail them.

Belo-Osagie

‘This responsibility starts from the home, then the school. The environment also has its influences. But strong efforts by the home and the school to guide young people aright can help them withstand the pressures from their surroundings’ • First published May 01, 2014

From my Inbox Re: Late registration palaver (published Thursday, June 26, 2014) Kofo, I beg to differ with you on late registration using portals. Yes, internet is a wonderful revolution but not fail proof. Have you not heard of network failure? Sometimes, it is very slow and students spend days at cyber-café. In some universities, you cannot access their portal except through their computer centre. Computer literacy and internet capability is an issue. Most students may have laptops with internet but you need N500 browsing time to use the facility. (There is also the problem of) incessant power failure. Queuing up at the bank is better. After all, you must first pay to the bank before the portal. Hon Abel Dozie, Enugu.

OTHER SPORT...OTHER SPORT...OTHER SPORT...

51

THURSDAY JULY 3, 2014

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

Professor Larry Diamond, director at the Centre on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Stanford University, United States of America, is concerned about the survival of Nigeria’s democracy. Diamond, who delivered the inaugural Freedom House Democracy Lecture Series in Lagos on Monday, believes that the forthcoming elections represent a historically crucial test of the electoral process in Nigeria, reports Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI.

2015: A crucial test for Nigeria W

ITH several political parties successfully coming to gether to form the All Progressives Congress (APC), the 2015 general elections promises to be the most competitive so far in Nigeria. This was the submission of Professor Larry Diamond, director, Centre on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Stanford University, United States. Diamond spoke on Monday in Lagos, as guest speaker at the inaugural Freedom House Democracy Lecture Series, which took place under the theme, “Nigeria’s Governance Predicament: Poverty, Terrorism and Democracy”.

The Guest Lecturer, who was a Fulbright scholar at the Bayero University in Kano in the 1970s and early 1980s, has written extensively on democracy in Nigeria, . He said the forthcoming elections represent a historically crucial test of the electoral process in Nigeria and that it is vitally important to political stability in the country. For that reason, he pointed out that it is imperative for the 2015 election to be credible, free and fair.

Diamond faulted the process that led to the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State, saying it does not inspire confidence about the seriousness of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to organise free and fair elections in 2015. His words: “You cannot have the police and the military blocking the supporters (not to mention fellow governors) of one party from moving about a state and campaigning, and call that a fully free and fair election.”

Diamond’s logic is that democratic elections require a level playing field and that every step in the electoral process must be monitored to ensure transparency. He is worried about the future of constitutional government in the country, like most Nigerians. The political scientist should know; he has written extensively on democracy in Nigeria. He is the author of the book, Class, Ethnicity and Democracy in Nigeria: The Failure of the First Republic (Syracuse University Press, 1988), as well as Nigeria in Search of Democracy (1984). His latest book is titled, The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies throughout the World (Times Books, 2008). It explores the sources of global democratic progress and stresses the prospects for future democratic expansion.

To the scholar, Nigeria’s problems are products of deficient institutions and a culture that has grown up around them. He added however that hope is not lost for Nigeria because it is people that make institutions and can still change them. His words: “There is a chronic tendency in Nigeria and abroad to see the country’s prospect as nearly hopeless. But Nigeria is not condemned to suffer endemic corruption, waste, ineptitude, and insecurity. Think of how different Nigeria’s modern history would have been if it could simply have held free and fair elections.

Compare Nigeria for a moment with another former British colony that is also a complex agglomeration of peoples, cultures, and languages: India.

“India has a huge number of problems, and it has seen a disturbing acceleration of corruption over the last decade. There is no question that cor-

• From left: Oyo State Deputy Governor, Mr Moses Adeyemo; Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi; Former Lagos State Governor,Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Prof Larry Diamond, Gen Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau and Bishop Kukah; at the Lecture in Lagos.

PHOTO: NIYI ADENIRAN

ruption and inefficiency have retarded economic growth and human development in India. But India has a serious state, and it has constructed a formidably honest and efficient apparatus for administering elections.”

Diamond said at this time of growing disaffection with the performance of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, it is important for all Nigerians—even young Nigerians who have no memory of those days of dread and depravity—to appreciate the lesson of their own history, and that of other countries. He said however troubled the national situation may become, however scandalous or inept may be the performance of elected government, civilian rule remains the best option for the country.

He added that the core problem of Nigeria today is the chronic deficit of honest and effective governance. “We have learned in Nigeria, and in Pakistan, and in Thailand, and in so many other countries around the world: There is no military shortcut to governance reform. The challenge lies with the civilian institutions and actors of democracy: parties, politicians, legislators, judges, civil servants, and civil society,” he stressed.

The scholar noted that though he had been asked to speak about the challenge posed to democracy by poverty and terrorism in Nigeria, the core problem in the country is not one of poverty. “Neither is it one of terrorism. These are manifestations of a deeper and more diffuse malignancy: bad governance. Governance that is not addressing the central policy challenges of the country,” he added.

Nigeria’s huge oil reserves, he noted, has largely been a curse, because it distorted the structure of production and discouraged agriculture.

• Prof. Diamond

“Corruption booms, because the money is there for the taking— unimaginable amounts of it — and it is not really anyone’s money anyway, it is just spewing up from the ground,” he added. It is a different ballgame, he said, when compared to countries like India, which relied primarily on taxes.

Diamond also compared Nigeria and Ghana in a number of areas and concluded that Nigeria faces a challenge of leadership. For instance, he looked at the mortality rates for children under five years in both countries. His words: “Ghana has reduced this grim statistic since 1980 by 57 per cent; Nigeria by only 42 per cent.

Today about 7.2 per cent of Ghanaian children under age five die each year—a horrible statistic, but much better than the Nigerian rate, which is 12.4 per cent. Nigeria has the ninth

worst child death rate in the world, of the 196 countries for which UNICEF presents data.” The difference between Nigeria and Ghana in that regard, he noted, is the difference between one out of 14 kids dying a year versus one of out eight.

Diamond suggested reforms in six key areas, beginning with electoral reforms. He said the two crucial requirements for clean elections are effective and neutral administration, and comprehensive transparency. He said some progress has been made on the first, but that there are still serious concerns about whether the country’s electoral administration is up to the coming challenge in 2015.

Borrowing from the experience of India, he said the key thing here is making INEC truly independent, by ensuring that the chairman of the commission is not nominated by the President, but by an independent body, as recommended by the Justice Mohammed Uwais Commission.

The second is for Nigeria to adhere to international standards for monitoring elections. “Neutral monitors in civil society must have the freedom and resources to conduct parallel vote tabulation (PVT),” he said adding that the technology for this is well established, and that Nigerian civil society organizations do not have to reinvent the wheel.

He continues: “Third, there is a need to advance internal democracy within Nigerian political parties… Fourth is the need to reform and modernize the state security apparatus. The military, police, and intelligence must be trained and equipped to wage the security response with the proper tools and strategy, and to target the use of force carefully and effectively.

They must also be instructed and monitored to avoid needless civilian

‘Prof. Diamond faulted the process that led to the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State, saying it does not inspire confidence about the seriousness of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to organise free and fair elections in 2015’

casualties, and they must be held accountable for violations of law and procedure.” He said recent confrontations between Nigerian security forces and Boko Haram suggest that the former have often been significantly outgunned and outmanoeuvred.

“Fifth, the laws on paper against bribery, corruption, and conflict of interest are reasonably good in principle, but they have huge weaknesses in enforcement that must be repaired.

Corruption is like water seeping into the ground; it will find any crack or crevice and make use of it. The only way to fight it is with a system of horizontal accountability that is vigorous, comprehensive, independent, and interlocking,” he observed.

Finally, he appealed the United States, Europe and Nigerian leaders themselves to take steps to bring back whatever amount of money —probably well over $100 billion— that successive generations of Nigerian politicians have looted and stashed away outside Nigeria in identifiable liquid and fixed assets: bank accounts, stocks, property, and other investments and luxury wealth. He added that this can only be done when the time is right; “when Nigeria has a government that is serious about controlling corruption”. The scholar said Western governments can work with Nigerian government officials and civil society groups to help build the systems of accountability to minimize such hemorrhage of public resources in the future.

In his opening remarks, former Governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu expressed the hope to see the Freedom House democratic lecture series become a permanent feature of Nigeria’s democratic landscape. He said Nigerians do not understand enough about democratic governance and practice. “What we practice often is not democracy. How this nation is governed is a hybrid process where democracy is often the junior partner and minority attribute.

As such the system of governance we •Continued on page 52

52

THE NATION THURSDAY JULY 3, 2014

POLITICS In this piece, Erasmus Ikhide writes on the implications of former Governor Isiaka Adeleke’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Adeleke’s exit deflates Osun PDP

T

• National Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Muhammed (right) and Deputy National Chairman (Southwest) Chief Segun Oni at the lecture.

PHOTO: NIYI ADENIRAN

2015: A crucial test for Nigeria •Continued from page 51

practice has not yielded the desired results – the dividends of democracy have been painfully elusive,” he noted.

Tinubu lamented the fact that the Federal Government has arbitrarily reduced the revenues flowing to states in the opposition party, in order to punish them. “In effect, the Federal Government has imposed economic sanctions simply because some political leaders have the temerity to belong to another party. What an abuse of power,” he added.

The debate became more animated when a panel of discussants joined in the discourse. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Governor of Rivers State, initially said he was tired of talking and that he had nothing to add to the lecture Prof.

Diamond had just delivered. He went ahead however to chide Nigerians for being too accommodating of their leaders, saying the followership is as guilty as the leadership.

Governor Amaechi said if Nigerians are waiting for people in public office to fight corruption, it would never happen. “I wonder why Nigerians are not on the streets. Nothing would change until you take your power back, by trooping to the streets,” he observed.

He said Nigeria is today ruled by a diarchy because the central government is tending towards a civilian-military dictatorship. The governor said when he was recently prevented from travelling to Ekiti on the last day of the electioneering campaign, it a military officer, rather than the officials of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), that informed him that the airport was closed, and that it was an order from above.

In his contribution, Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, said the title of the lecture should have been, “Education, Poverty, Terrorism and Democracy”. The reason why I added education, he said, “is because often times education has a correlation with poverty, which in turn has a correlation with terrorism.” He added that both the Koran and the Bible made several references about the importance of education.

Gbajabiamila said what “we need to do now is to start thinking outside the box”. He said this occurred to him when he read a newspaper report that INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, went to visit the President at the Aso Rock Villa. He added: “It is innocuous when you look at it on face value, but when you look at it deeply, you will begin to wonder why the INEC chairman, an umpire in an election, would go and see somebody who is one of the parties to the election alone.”

He said lawmakers should begin to make regulations to curtail the conduct of the INEC chairman. He said if there is need for the INEC chairman to visit the Presidential Villa, he must go along with the chairmen of all the political parties.

In furtherance of Prof. Diamond’s statement that Nigerian leaders are liable in the death of millions of Nigerian children who die under the age of five, Gbajabiamila said perhaps a case of manslaughter should be instituted against them for their role in the death of those children.

On Prof. Diamond’s recommendation that Nigeria’s political parties should embrace internal democracy; the Minority Leader wondered whether Nigeria is ready for internal democracy. He said in a country where moneybags often dominate nominations for elective positions that it might be difficult for serious aspirants with good ideas to emerge. He said Nigeria’s peculiar circumstances may have made it practically untenable.

However, when the Catholic Archbishop of Sokoto, Reverend Matthew Hassan Kukah mounted the podium, he disagreed with the gloomy picture painted by Prof. Diamond that the situation in Nigeria could be compared to that in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He also took exceptions to Nigeria being compared to Ghana, saying the contexts differ.

“It depends on how we measure. I agree we could have done better, but I don’t agree that we are living in the most rotten part of God’s forsaken earth,”’ he added. He said the frustration is because Nigerians are impatient,” he said.

The outspoken Reverend said there is a difference between leadership and office. He said one can be in office and not be in power. “We are confusing those in public office as having powers of being leaders; you can hold a public office without being a leader. That is why when you see some of our governors, ministers and presidents when they leave power, you may not recognize them,” he argued.

Reverend Hassan Kukah said Nigerians should not have the notion that one day they would have a leader that would come and solve all their problems.

“Leaders have to lead based on certain beliefs and principles. It is difficult to lead Nigeria because the followership is far more educated, better equipped than those who are holding public offices.

He said a few Americans like Dr. Diamond understand Nigeria’s problems, far more than Nigerians themselves. “Ask yourself, when last did you read a book by a Nigerian political scientist, which is not just a collection of proceedings of conferences,” he asked. Reverend Hassan Kukah said the answer to the problem is not replacing the PDP with APC, but that politicians must face the challenge of making politics noble. He added that the benefits of democracy are largely intangible.

The inaugural lecture was chaired by Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Dambazau (retired), former chief of army staff. Dambazau said the theme of the lecture is very apt, considering the situation the country currently finds itself.

HE exit of Senator Isiaka Adeleke from the Osun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dealt an unimaginable blow to the party’s bid to reclaim the state from the ruling APC, after nearly four years. From the outset, this has been an uphill task for the PDP, owning largely to its earlier anti-people policies that brought the people in direct collusion with excruciating poverty and looting of the state treasury.

The first civilian governor, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, defected at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, in Osogbo, the state capital. He implored the electorate not to cast their votes for the PDP candidate on August 9.

In the face of mounting rejection, the PDP is seems hauntingly lost in its braggart pastime to undone the electorate, feigns electability and hosts preeminently the banner of deserved victory. This is overt in several comments made by some of the oppositions’ media minders in response to Senator Isiaka Adeleke’s defection some days ago. They won’t concede that a major depletion has forlorn their rank. Adeleke is the most eminent in the PDP in his countryside as the first civilian governor of the state, but the oppositions would not have any of it, and preferred to cast shadows in the dial.

Senator Akinlabi Olasunkanmi and Oluwole Oke saw the defection of Adeleke, a governorship aspirant, as a development that would not affect the winning streak and the electoral victory of their party. The PDP chairman, Alhaji Gani Olaoluwa, ruses Adeleke’s and PDP members defection as “those whose political relevance has waned and have been huge liabilities to the party.”

Describing the decision of Adeleke as unfortunate, taking into recognition the quantum of benefits that had accrued to him since he joined the party, they contended that it was laughable and amounted to ingratitude on his part to dump the party that made him politically. In separate press statements issued by their media aides, Mr Ayo Aluko-Olokun and Mr.Yemi Giwa respectively, Olasunkanmi and Oke assured that the former governor’s exit cannot have any negative effect on the chances of the party at the election.

Olasunkanmi, who is a former Minister for Youths, said: “We believe in that tenet of democracy, which guarantees every individual the right of association. The defector has taken a decision which he believes would best serve his interest best under this dispensation and we cannot condemn, abuse or commend him for it. It is his right.”

“But, we wish to assure you that his exit would not diminish the chance of the PDP winning the August 9, governorship election. We shall strengthen our hold on Osun West Senatorial District, where he comes from. It is, however, unfortunate that a person that has benefitted so much, using the PDP platform, would jump ship despite all his repeated promises and pledges to vote and mobilise support for President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP”, he added.

Reacting, Oke remarked: “He is a pillar in PDP. I wish he stays and fight within the party. There is no party that is crisis free. I still hope that he would change his mind. If he doesn’t, I wish him well. It is a free world”. A check on the political intrigues that led to the exit of Senator Adeleke from the PDP and the thousands of followers that left with him defect the claims of Sena-

• Senator Adeleke

tor Rasheed Akinlabi Olasunkanmi and Hon Oluwole Oke. Adeleke attested to that when he affirmed that he was asked by leaders of the PDP to contest the governorship in Osun, but was thereafter betrayed and hounded. The first civilian governor described the PDP as a platform that breeds and supports thuggery and violence.

Adeleke, also a former senator, spoke in Osogbo, the Osun state capital, while leading thousands of his supporters and former members of the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Adeleke noted that with the alleged assault on him by the Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan, and the candidate of the PDP for the forthcoming governorship election in the state, Iyiola Omisore?, he and his followers were no longer safe in the PDP. The former governor claimed he was called upon by the leaders of the PDP to contest the governorship seat in Osun having realised that Mr. Omisore stood no chance against Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

He said he was thereafter betrayed and hounded.

“I am happy to be in the progressives,” Adeleke said. “I was a governor under the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which was a progressive party, I was fully involved in the struggle for June I2.

“I was asked to come and vie for governorship that Omisore is not capable, I accepted, but a day to the congress I got to the hotel in Osogbo. The people I sent there were on the floor with guns pointed at their heads and I told the police that they are members of our party? from Ede. “I then moved towards the room where I met Sogo Agboola, Jelili Adesiyan, Iyiola Omisore, Gani Olaoluwa and others. As I was about explaining what happened outside to the Minister, he descended on me with blows. So also was Omisore and others.”

He said he had nothing against

‘He said he had nothing against the PDP, which once offered him a senatorial slot, but that he believed that if he should remain in the party, he would have to work for Mr. Omisore, saying working for Omisore would amount to working for a criminal’

the PDP, which once offered him a senatorial slot, but that he believed that if he should remain in the party, he would have to work for Mr. Omisore, saying working for Omisore would amount to working for a criminal.

“They are a party breeding thugs,” he said. “How can a whole minister of the Federal Republic be boxing, I have nothing against PDP. I can’t support a violent person to go to the Government House.”

Adeleke commended Aregbesola for what he termed enviable achievements recorded so far, said “I am here today to tell the world that I am making a U-turn from PDP to APC to prove that I am capable of advancing my political career and joining forces with people of like minds, who believe in peace, progress and prosperity for our people and generations yet unborn.”

The Vice Chairman of the PDP in Osun, who spoke on behalf of other decampees, Bashir Salam, said he and his colleagues were leaving the PDP because security is lacking in the party. “We are leaving the PDP because their is no security of lifes and property. In a party where the first civilian governor was assaulted without anything coming out of it, what do you expect to befall people like us”? “We have to look for change which we got in APC. Since the day I saw blood coming out from the mouth of one of our leaders we became unsafe and we have to leave,” Salam said.

Aregbesola described the defection of Adeleke to the APC as someone who had chosen to come back to his rightful home, stressing that “I have told Adeleke long before now that his father, who was the Balogun of Ede did not join the conservatives while alive and that his people in Ede do not belong to the PDP”. “He has come back home”, he stated.

In Yorubaland, we do not belong to the PDP. Their reign had failed to better the lots of the masses. I don’t want to talk much about the failures of the party. This is because some of them are still talking to us and they are coming”. “They (PDP) did not allow former Governor Oyinlola to perform when he was in government for almost eight years. No man of virtues would identify himself with the PDP, considering the misery, bad governance and failure they have caused Nigerians. We celebrated our democracy some days ago, what have we got to show for it”, Aregbesola queried.

Aregbesola attributed all his Administration’s feats in the state to God without which his personal strives would have amounted to nothing. He admonished the people of the state against fighting the PDP, saying violence had become their stock in trade. The governor said, “What will Adeleke want to gain from saying they want to kill him. He has been in the party for long. If we are not home with that, have we forgotten about the people killed in Ife? As the electioneering gain tractions, there is absolute certainty that the people of Osun have already made up their minds on the direction they aspire the governance of the state to follow. In less than three months from now, that aspiration will give way to reality when they cast their voters for continuous development, instead of returning the state to long forgotten era of political thuggery and bloodletting. That is what a vote for the PDP can offer the people.

53

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

NATURAL HEALTH THE NATION

E-mail:- health@thenationonlineng.net

CLINIC DAY Chairman, Bioresource Development Group (BDG) Prof Maurice Iwu answers the question from his Enugu base.

B

CLINIC DAYhealth benefits Bitter kola’s many

ITTER Kola, Garcinia kola, used extensively in West Africa as a social beverage and offered to guests as ‘Kola’ in many of Nigeria’s cultural settings, is valued also for its medicinal properties. It is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of Laryngitis, general inflammation, bronchitis, viral infections and diabetes as well as a rejuvenating agent, adaptogen and general antidote. Scientists at our laboratories have performed extensive research and written many books on this wonder plant called ‘Garcinia’. Researchers have identified bitter kola as a potential antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and a potential detoxifying agent.

Bitter kola is a food supplement and anti-infective agent in the management of cold, bronchitis, and it reduces congestion of the upper respiratory tract.

Because some people do not like to chew Bitter kola, yet want to experience its potency in some of the above, at Bioresource Development Group (BDG) has come up with a formulation, called Garcinia-IHP. Garcinia-IHP is a scientifically processed garcinia kola which retains all the goodness of bitter kola in capsules, with the potency and effectiveness guaranteed.

Major indications Cold remedy Very effective in managing symptoms of cold and sore throat, pains, cough, nasal congestion and helps coagulate phlegm.

Antimicrobial It is used in many tropical countries to fight infectious diseases.

It is effective for managing pains, bacteria and viruses.

Detoxification Garcinia has a cleansing effect on the liver, gall bladder and the entire body system. It reduces the absorption of poison.

Anti-inflammatory activity Kolaviron is a deflated ethanol extract from the seeds of garcinia kola, which studies have shown to have analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties.

Other health benefits Immunity: The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant property makes the body resistant to infections. It is used to prevent infections especially in people with immune system.

Libido enhancement: Impotence is restored by increasing blood supply to the core area in men who have hardening of the arteries. Bitter kola is the number one sexual performance medicine for men. Few natural products can match the sexual benefits of bitter kola.

Hangover: It prevents the alcoholic induced hangover and improving lung function.

Improving lung function: Garcinia kola has been used for centuries to treat chest colds in traditional medicine, but research has taken a look and found out why it is effective. A study in the 2008 issue of The Internet Journal of Pulmonary Medicine, performed on mice, reports that Garcinia Kola works by dilating the alveolar duct

Question: My spouse is fond of eating bitter kola, and he is encouraging me to as well, claiming that it has some health benefits. What health benefits are inherent in it and can you tell me if there is a processed one because I don’t like its bitterness?

Mrs Faith Ihesie, 22 year old house wife, Victoria Garden City (VGC), Lagos. and sacs in the lungs by improving the strength of the fibres in the lungs tissue. Garcinia Kola’s beneficial attributed to its high antioxidant content.

Reduction of eye pressure: An increase in eye pressure can lead to glaucoma, according to a report from The New York Times Health Guide. Researchers at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, Lagos, tested the effectiveness of eye drops that contained 0.5 percent extract of Garcinia Kola. The results of their study, published in the January 2010 issue of Middle East African Journal of the Opthamology showed that the opthamolic solution that contained the Garcinia significantly reduced eye pressure when used twice a day.

Relieve arthritis: Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, characterised by pain, inflammation and limited movement in the joints, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Causes of osteoarthritis can include joint injury, obesity and aging. Since many arthritis sufferers prefer natural herbal medicines to other pain relievers and medications, researchers at Obafemo Awolowo University in Nigeria tested the effects of Garcinia kola against arthritis symptoms. The result of the study, written by The Protein Type Diet

I

N general or simplistic terms, if you are a protein type it means one of two things — either your cells tend to burn carbohydrates too quickly (meaning you are a fast oxidizer), or the parasympathetic branch of your autonomic nervous system is stronger and more dominant than the sympathetic branch. This means you need a high-protein intake in order to strengthen your sympathetic system, and in turn acidify your too-alkaline metabolism. Or you need protein to slow down your overly rapid cellular oxidation rate, thereby alkalinizing your too-acid metabolism.

Protein types do very well on a diet that includes plenty of high-density, high-fat proteins known as “high-purine” proteins.

These include foods like red meat, dark meat chicken and turkey, and various kinds of seafood such as salmon, tuna, herring, sardines, mussels, caviar and ancho-

•Iwu

Olayinka O. Adegbehingbe and published in the July 2008 issue of the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research, conclude that Garcinia kola significantly reduced inflammation and pain and increased joint movement in subjects that had osteoarthritis symptoms. It is believed that Garcinia Kola works well as a result of its antioxidant properties. What the study termed as the “side effects” of Garcinia Kola were “weight loss”, “increase in sex drive” and “extended sleep” which many considered helpful to meet their individual and marital demands.

Medical significance: Garcinia kola is used to fight infectious diseases. It has shown to possess antiinflammatory, antimicrobial and antiviral properties.

Blood glucose lowering: The folk use of bitter kola in the management of elevated blood sugar has been validated by several laboratory studies. Garcinia-IHP is beneficial as a food supplement for diabetics.

•Bitter kola

Weight loss: Bitter kola has been shown to be a natural hunger suppressant and also increases the urge to drink more water.

How to use bitter kola: It should be eaten by removing outer brown coated skin. As the name implies it is very bitter to eat, hence, Garcinia-IHP is encapsulated Garcinia kola, so if you cannot handle the bitter taste of the raw seeds, you can still enjoy the benefits that it offers to your health.

Antioxidant property: Bitter kola contains kolaviron, mixture of bioflavonoids, benzophenones and chromanols which are responsible for its strong antioxidant activities. An evaluation of the antioxidant properties of garcinoic acid (structurally similar to vitamin E)

Eat according to your type vies. Most protein types can also eat freely of whole fat foods in the form of cheese, eggs, cream and milk. It’s especially important for protein types to include a significant amount of protein at every meal, and to moderate their intake of carbohydrates (grains, vegetables and fruits), especially the carbohydrates that are high in sugar and starch.

The Carbo Type Diet Generally speaking, if you’re a carbo type you need a higher percentage of carbohydrates in your diet in order to strengthen the parasympathetic branch of your nervous system, which is weaker than your sympathetic system, and thereby alkalinize your too-acid metabolism. Or you need more carbohydrates to speed up your naturally slow cellular oxidation rate, thereby bringing it into balance by acidifying your too-alkaline metabolism.

Carbo types typically do well on a low-fat, relatively low-protein diet — one that includes liberal amounts of carbohydrates in the form of vegetables, fruits and whole grains. However, carbo types need to remember that a “low-protein” diet does not mean a “no-protein” diet. In fact, most carbo types will find that they need to include protein at most meals, but they need to focus on leaner, lighter meats, seafood and poultry than protein types. They should restrict their consumption of red meat in favor of light meat chicken and turkey and lighter seafood such as haddock, cod, perch, sole, catfish and flounder.

If you’re a carbo type you should stick to low-fat dairy products, but you can eat a very wide selection of vegetables, fruits, and grains.

However, many carbo types, like protein types, do best by focusing on vegetables that contain low or moderate levels of sugar and starch.

and its congeners showed that it has a stronger antioxidant activity than vitamin E. Bitter kola as an adaptogen: It is intriguing that bioflavonoids of Garcina kola are capable of modulating almost any physiological anomaly. The answer perhaps lies in the role of flavonoids in the evolutionary course of human beings.

Humans, over many millennia, have adapted to a diet, which is favourable for the survival and the flavonoid-like structures, were part of that primordialphysiological scheme.

If you take Garcinoa-IHP and experience diarrhea, hives, irregular heartbeat other signs of allergic reaction, discontinue use immediately and seek medical attention.

The Mixed Type Diet If you’re a mixed type, it means you’re somewhere in the middle of the other two types, which have more pronounced or clear-cut metabolic imbalances. You actually need to eat a mixture of protein type foods and carbo type foods. This will accomplish two things: 1) it will support both sides of your autonomic nervous system — both the sympathetic branch and the parasympathetic branch; and 2) it will keep your cellular oxidation rate, which is neither too fast or too slow, in balance.

Mixed types need to consume relatively equal ratios of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. They also need to eat a mixture of high-fat, high-purine proteins and low-fat, low-purine proteins. The same applies to all of the other foods contained on the protein type and carbo type diets — including grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits.

•Source:www.metabolictypingdiet.com

54

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

NATURAL HEALTH

Ramadan: A lifeline for spiritual motion, body’s health (1)

M

ERCIFULLY and thankfully, another Ramadan is here again. I say mercifully, because this month of fasting is a great gift, and thankfully, because my mother taught me to express gratitude for every gift I am given or any good turn done me.

Prophet Mohammed received and instituted the Ramadan, one Islamic calendar month of fasting, and prayers to sanitise irreverent life in a bloodletting Arabia where he lived and worked in the service of the Most High. This pillar of Islam is an addition to others which includes a call to prayers five times in one day. Before these prayers are said, the ablution is made. Just as I wear a white dress for worship, to remind me to keep my thoughts and deeds pure, the ablution, the cleansing of hands and certain parts of the body with water, advises soul cleansing, so that the human spirit at worship approaches its Maker, Allah, in the highest degree of cleanliness, chastity, the human spirit can attain. Every new Ramadan is expected to make a completely new and better person of the adherent than he or she was the previous Ramadan, so that, every year, step by step, he or she discards as many human foibles or faults as possible, and begins a sure spiritual ascent homewards to Paradise.

Christians need not keep aloof during the Ramadan. They should follow the fast. Prophet Mohammed did not in any way contradict the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ . In fact, he conceded to Christians the right to their chosen mode of worship. He had not come to fight them or to take their religion away. In fact, the Koran describes Jesus as “the Spirit of God” and the Prophet acknowledges Christianity in the three conditions he said everyone must fulfill to earn a place in Paradise. These conditions were set out in Chapter 2, verse 62 which says under the title of UNITY OF ALL SUBMITTERS AND MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR SALVATION: “Surely, those Who believe, those who are Christians, the converts, the Jews, anyone who (1) believes in God (2) believes in the Hereafter and (3) leads a righteous life will receive their recompense from their Lord; they have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.

So important must this clarification have been for converts to Islam that it appears again, wholesale, in Chapter 5, verse 69.

Thus, I strive to follow the Ramadan every year, in spirit and as far as the ageing flesh can go without food during work hours.

Every Ramadan, my Moslem friends who fast all the way ask me if there are nutritional food supplements they can add to the fast diet. Of course, there are many. To understand them requires that one understands what goes on in a fast, especially fast of this nature. In a fast, deprivations of the flesh of food, water and negative and base emotions provide it with physiological rest. This means that, as food is not eaten, the body is saved the workload of digestion and elimination of wastes from food breakdown. This gives it time and energy to eliminate all the toxins which had been stored in the cells, sometimes for years, to the detriment of the body, because engagement of three square meals everyday did not permit. As this elimination of toxins is going on, in a fast, the body becomes lighter, relaxes its hold on the soul. The loosened bond makes the soul more sensitive to ethereal currents which may uplift it spiritually. As for the body, deprivation of food from sunrise to sunset may deprive it of vital nutrients and energy which need to be recouped in breakfast and dinner. The trouble, however, is that the appetite is not ready for breakfast before sunrise, and food overload at this time must be counterproductive. What about dinner? A fast is not broken with

a heavy meal either, otherwise it would be counterproductive. Light meals densely packed with nutrients are called for. Additionally, thought should be given to food supplements which provide energy, support the elimination organs i.e. the lungs, the liver, the kidneys the bowels and the skin. As these organs support optimal elimination of poisonous wastes in the cells into the blood stream, antioxidants which knock out these toxins will be needed. My suggestions, which are by no means exhaustive and which will be re-visited during the fast, are as follows: BREAKFAST 1) Clean alkaline water is suggested. The blood, loaded with toxins is acidic in a fast. Drinking acidic water during a fast is, therefore, not healthful. The acidity will extract alkaline minerals from the cells to dilute the acid and protect the blood from unleashing acid “bath” on weak tissue or organs. People who engage in long fasts often notice a thickening of oral thrush (gray tongue). They may also suffer from mild to severe headaches or delirium as the toxin dense blood irritates nerves in the brain. Most Nigerian water brands in bottles or sachets add salt to injury as they are acidic. Alkaline water is better. One may buy Eternal’s Energy Cup, load with water in the night and drink it in the morning, and reload in the morning for breaking the fast in the evening. The trouble, however, is that it holds no more than one glass of water. To the rescue should come LASENA bottled water, Nigeria’s most alkaline bottled water brand at 7.8pH from a 522 metre-deep artesian well near Lagos loaded with alkaline minerals such as Calcium, Magnesium Silica and Zinc. If the blood is left acidic, it would leach calcium from the bones and teeth, magnesium from the muscles, iron from red blood cells and deprive the enzymes and immune system of Zinc, among other physiological deficit. Often thus is one of the causes of fatigue experienced during a long fast. One of the best sources of these needed alkalizing minerals is CORAL CALCIUM, which has about 40 minerals the way Nature composes them in the human body.

Abia, Boko: Arewa, State Police, idiocy and us

S

OME of my police - hating friends are still convalescing from a brand of shock last week what I defined to them as the injuries of idiocy. That idiocy is disability to see deep down through, right to the bottom of public policy or advocacy. The irrepressible Tai Solarin and Akin Aguda lent themselves to this danger in the movement of the Federal capital from Lagos to Abuja, believing the reasons for the relocation were pure as stated. President Ebele Jonathan fell for it in the campaign to prevent Nigeria’s 36 states from having their police forces, as the regions had in the First Republic. On Tuesday last week, the president must have had second thoughts when about 500 men from the northern Nigeria traveling in a 35-bus convoy were arrested at about 03.00am by soldiers at a road-block in Abia State.

Two of the buses escaped into the dead of the night. Coming within 48 hours after the foiling of attempts by Boko Haram to bomb five churches in Owerri was foiled, the arrests fueled speculations that the 500 men were Boko Haram soldiers. The fear aligns with recent threats by Boko Haram that it would bomb oil installations in Port Harcourt and other parts of the Niger Delta. Northern leaders and youths immediately described the arrests as infringements on the right to free movement claiming the suspects were heading for Port-Harcourt in search of jobs. An attempt to free the suspects on bail has failed. And detectives have claimed one of the suspects was a key Boko Haram terrorist wanted by Nigeria’s Federal government and the United States. With that, the rest of the story-line can be pinned together. One fraction of the evolving story-line is that they were heading for Oron and, from there, the Cameroun border to pick arms, which are no longer readily available in the Nigeria’s northern border with Chad and Niger Republic.

I suspect that, if they are Boko, their mission may include Bayelsa State, home state of President Jonathan. What better

prize, apart from Abuja, would Boko have claimed for itself if it could blast Bayelsa real hard to tell the world a president who couldn’t defend his own village couldn’t be president of Nigeria? Psychologically, that would be bad not only for the President and his kith and kindred back in Bayelsa State, but the rest of the country. I suspect that, with that, mass movements would begin across the country, everyone to his or her own tent in his or her own native land. And this may be yet a drizzle foreboding a stormy rainfall ahead.

With these events last week, it became clear to more people in the south of Nigeria, the ostriches and the doubting Thomases, that Nigeria is at war, a brand of civil war different from the classical civil war, and that many people down south have not seen this unfolding picture for what it is. Last week, this column described the ostrich as a stupid animal.

When it senses or sees danger in its environment, it buries its head in the sand. It believes if it cannot see the danger, the danger cannot see it. As for doubting Thomases, they are people who see heavy clouds in the sky, do not believe it would rain, even lightning and thunder, in love, give them the final warnings and time to seek shelter. Last week, this column also published from the column of Gbogungboro in the The Nation on May 29, 2014. It suggests the north of Nigeria is under instruction from Sultan of Sokoto Ahmadu Bello to make Nigeria an extension of Uthman Dan Fodio’s empire by using the Middle Belt region to prevent the south from pursuing its destiny and making it a slave of the north.

That charge, said to be in a speech of the Sultan 11 days after Nigeria’s independence from Britain, was quoted as follows in Gbogungboro May29 2014 column in The Nation as stated: ‘Someday, some bright historians will reveal to the world the causes and details of this most unfortunate turn in Hausa-Fulani attitudes to the political development of Nigeria. Much of what we know is encapsulated in the statement credited to Sir Ahmadu

Bread, milk, egg, margarine, fried foods, white flour foods and sugar, which are acidifying, should be eliminated. After rehydrating with about 1.5 litres plain alkaline water sipped over some time, whole grain cooked pap to which some wheat is added may follow. My choice most mornings are cooked guinea corn or yellow corn pap, two or three Weatabix cakes crushed in before the pap is removed from the stove. To this may be added unsweetened yoghurt and one teaspoonful of blackstrap molasses. This dosage of molasses supplies about 40 percent of an adult’s daily iron need, plenty of potassium, the B complex vitamins and some minerals. The yoghurt provides probiotic (friendly bacteria) for intestinal cleansing and health. Weatbix gives fibre for bowel movement, the pap, energy. The fibre ensures the energy is evenly dispensed throughout the day. I find this meal sustains me till evening especially when I add one to two teaspoonfuls of wheatgrass powder and half teaspoonful of spirulina powder. If the budget permits it, other greens such as Barley grass, Moringa, and nettle may be added. The body need lots of minerals, vitamins, hormones, enzymes and trace elements, and they are present in these green plants. These plants have lots of chlorophyll for cleaning and rebuilding the blood, for stimulating immune function, for supporting the healing process and for reversing inflammation and pain. Spirulina has complete protein fractions, and is reputed to be the richest plant source of beta carotene, an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant precursor of Vitamin A which, in the presence of adequate amount of Zinc in the body, is good for the eyes and skin and the mucous membrane lining in the nose, mouth, intestines etc. As the body is going to be starved or hungry for nutrients all sunrise hours, it may be wise to keep lots of nutrient circulating in the blood all day. Eating mountains of food is useless in this project if the meals are devitalised, nutritionally speaking.

It is actually the absence of nutrients which make the body makes us to eat, believing it would find nutrients in the next meal to bridge the shortfall. For this reason, other food supplements may be considered.

If, for example, cell or tissue salts are found okay, they may be taken with the first water intake of the day, preferably Lasena water, to enrich alkalinity and last water intake.

That’s how I do it. I find that I need the phosphate cell salts for my eyes. So, before I go to bed, I drown some tablets, depending on the dosage, in a glass of Lasena water. These tablets are slightly bigger than as grains of sand, but are very potent. There are 12 cell salts. They are the constituent salts, in varying ratios, in different cells. Some products contain all 12 in a tablet. Some others specialise. The phosphates, for example, are a specialised group… (1) Calcium phosphate (for bones, teeth and metabolism) (2) Magnesium phosphate (to stop muscle spasms, especially heart palpitations, and to stop pain) (3) Ferrum phosphate (to provide iron, oxygen and to break congestions as in asthma and dark blood clots in the menstrual blood) (4) Potassium phosphate (to repair damaged nerves, ease muscle tensions, and rebalance fatigued brains) and (5) Sodium phosphate (to help hold water outside the cells). This is important because, a fast in which water is not taken may inadvertently cause dehydration. As we now know, dehydration may cause many metabolic disorders and diseases, including those of the so-called HIV and cancer.

There will be time yet to talk about dinner and make more suggestions about breakfast. As we look forward to Ramadan 2014, let’s offer genuine thanks like happy, child-like children to the Almighty Creator of All and Ruler of All the Worlds, and use this gift to maximum spiritual benefit and the rejuvenation of the health of our bodies.

Bello, the leader of the Hausa-Fulani political elite, only 11 days after the day of independence. This new country called Nigeria, ‘he was reported to have said, ‘should be an extension of the empire of our great-grandfather Othman dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of government. We used the peoples of Middle Belt as willing tools and the peoples of the South as conquered territory, and never let them rule over us, and never let them control their own future’.

That is the path that Hausa-Fulani politics has pursued ruthlessly since then. The central piece of it is to hold the power of the federal government by all means, and to use it to subdue the other peoples of Nigeria, in order to mould Nigeria into a de facto Fulani empire- what some now call a ‘sultan-state.

From this, the slogan, BORN TO RULE, which many southern people find objectionable has legitimacy in the northern script! So does Boko Haram, inherent in any public advocacy or debate is an item of this script. So, when the police road-blocks were dismantled, and many southerners rejoiced, did they look deep to the bottom of the ban? I remember telling my friends it was better for policemen to collect bribes at those check-points if their presence would deter criminals and enable us all sleep like babies at night. I said so, mindful of the claim that the police are armed robbers. But did we think that, if they did, they couldn’t do so from their barracks? In berating the police, we seem not to remember the social interchange theory. The police are not from planet Mars. They are bonafide members of our society. If we are corrupt, so will they. In the North-East, where it is most active, Boko Haram has exploited inadequate policing to great advantages. We saw the value of adequate policing when the traditional hunters of Borno took it upon themselves to police their towns and villages: Boko Haram activity stalled for a while. Those 35 bus loads of Boko Haram suspects from the north would not have moved as freely and as swiftly as they did if there were enough policemen on all the routes which yielded it free passage and one of the ways to do this is to let the states set up their own police forces.

55

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

NEWS

Boko Haram carnage making Nigeria break-up less likely, says Soyinka N ‘

IGERIA is suffering greater carnage at the hands of Islamist group Boko Haram than it did during a secessionist civil war, yet this has ironically made the country’s break-up less likely, Nigerian Nobel Literature Laureate Wole Soyinka said.

Speaking to Reuters at his home surrounded by rainforest near the southwestern city of Abeokuta, Soyinka said the horrors inflicted by the militants had shown Nigerians across the mostly Muslim north and Christian south that sticking together might be the only way to avoid even greater sectarian slaughter.

The bloodshed is now worse than during the 1967-70 Biafra war when a secessionist attempt by the eastern Igbo people nearly tore Nigeria up into ethnic regions, he added.

“We have never been confronted with butchery on this scale, even during the civil war,” Soyinka said in his front room, surrounded by traditional wooden sculptures of Yoruba deities on Tuesday.

“There were atrocities (during Biafra) but we never had such a near predictable level of carnage and this is what is horrifying,” said the writer, who was imprisoned for two years in solitary confinement by the military regime during the war on charges of aiding the Biafrans.

Soyinka, a playwright and one of Africa’s leading intellectuals who still wears his distinctive white Afro hairstyle, turns 80 in two weeks. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, the first African writer to receive

The (Boko Haram) forces that would like to see this nation break up are the very forces which will not be satisfied having their enclave. (We) are confronted with an enemy that will never be satisfied with the space it has

• Soyinka speaking with Reuters in Abeokuta...on Tuesday.

it.

A million people died during the Biafra war, though mostly through starvation and illness, rather than violence.

Boko Haram’s five-year-old struggle to carve out an Islamic state from its bases in the remote northeast has become increasingly bloody, with near daily attacks killing many thousands.

The conflict’s growing intensity has led Nigerian commentators to predict it may split the country, 100 years after British colonial rulers cobbled Nigeria together from

PHOTO: REUTERS

their northern and southern protectorates.

“I think ironically it’s less likely now,” Soyinka said. “For the first time, a sense of belonging is predominating. It’s either we stick together now or we break up, and we know it would be not in a pleasant way.”

Governments let in religion

Boko Haram’s abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in April drew unprecedented international attention to the insurgency and pledges of aid from Western powers, but

‘

violence has worsened.

Boko Haram fighters frequently massacre whole villages, gunning down fleeing residents and burning their homes.

Nigeria, amalgamated by the British in 1914, brought together often historically antagonistic peoples - principally the largely Muslim Fulani, Hausa and Kanuri of the North, and the Yoruba, Igbo and other peoples of the mostly Christian south.

Several regional movements have launched low-level independence campaigns that get little na-

tional attention. But Soyinka said fewer people were shrugging off Boko Haram’s menace.

“It’s almost unthinkable to say: ‘well, let’s leave them to their devices.’ Very few people are thinking that way.”

Attacks spreading southwards, including three bombings in the capital since April, showed it was not a just a northern problem.

“The (Boko Haram) forces that would like to see this nation break up are the very forces which will not be satisfied having their enclave,” he said. “(We) are confronted with an enemy that will never be satisfied with the space it has.”

Soyinka blamed successive governments for allowing religious fanaticism to undermine Nigeria’s broadly secular constitution, starting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo allowing some states to declare Sharia law in the early 2000s.

“When the spectre of Sharia first came up, for political reasons, this was allowed to hold, instead of the president defending the constitution,” he said.

Soyinka sees both Christianity and Islam as foreign impositions.

“We cannot ignore the negative impact which both have had on African society,” he told Reuters.

“They are imperialist forces: intervening, arrogant. Modern Africa has been distorted.”

He added that while the leadership of Boko Haram needed to be “decapitated completely”, little had been done to present an alternative ideological vision to their “deluded” followers, driven largely by economic destitution and despair.

Reps recommend 42.5mpa grade cement for construction in the country

T

O achieve standard construction works in the country, the 42.5mpa grade cement should be used, the House of Representatives recommended yesterday.

According to the House, the reason for adopting the 42.5mpa grade is because there is no building code hence 90 per cent of construction work in the country is undertaken by non-professionals, majority of whom are quacks.

“It will serve the national interest better to adopt a particular cement grade which is less susceptible to misapplication as the standard cement in the country,” the lawmakers said, adding that “most stakeholders will prefer it if given the chance to choose between 32.5mpa and 42.5mpa.”

The recommendation of the House was sequel to the adopting of the recommendations

T

From Victor Oluwasegun, Abuja

of the report of Hon. Yakubu Dogara- led ad hoc committee on Composition and Pigmentation of Cement (Cement Quality) which investigated the incidence of collapsed buildings in the country.

Lawmakers also recommended the quick passage of the National building Code Bill to check quackery, use of substandard building materials and also to serve as a tool for the regulation of the informal downstream sector of the construction industry.

The House also recommended that Standard Organisations of Nigeria (SON’s) governing council should ensure that all cement manufacturers in Nigeria retool and upgrade their production lines to start producing the 42.5mpa grade within a reasonable time con-

sidering the cost of social dislocation.

They further recommended that the government should create a cement fund from contributions of N10 per 50kg bag of cement produced in Nigeria and N20 only per 50kg of cement imported into Nigeria for the establishment of state-of-the-art laboratories in all the geo-political zones within the period of three years.

The fund, they said, should be managed by a task force to be set up by SON, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) and the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB).

The lawmakers said: “All cement packages must clearly and boldly indicate their grades, uses and expiry dates with tamper proofing on the packages to guard against repackag-

ing by middlemen; SON should ensure that all cement distributions withdraw expired cement from their warehouses and markets and destroy them, “ They asked that the Federal Government set up a National Quality Assurance Programme, using designated agencies and some professional bodies to regularly test samples of cement produced before they are sold in the open market.

Part of the House’s 12-point recommendations was that government “ should take immediate steps to establish a cement and concrete institute, as is the case in many jurisdictions,” and that “government should also revive all technical schools across the country and establish new ones to improve on the pool of qualified artisans and generate skilled as well semi-skilled labour.”

Court stops SAN from appearing in bank’s suit against Dana Group

HE Federal High Court in Lagos disqualified yesterday a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Bolaji Ayorinde from representing Dana Group of Companies in a debt suit brought against it

by Sterling Bank Plc. Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke, in a ruling, also disqualified the law firm of Messrs Bolaji Ayorinde & Co from appearing in the case.

The judge struck out all the process filed by the firm in the over a debt which Dana Group allegedly owes Sterling.

The company, through two of its subsidiaries, Dana Drugs Limited and Dana Impex Limited, allegedly applied for various credit facilities from Sterling worth about N2.5billion.

The facilities were said to have been secured with an All Assets Debenture

By Joseph Jibueze

of Dana Group; a mortgage debenture of Dana Impex; corporate guarantee of Dana Drugs, Dana Motors, Dana Pharmaceuticals, and the personal guarantee of Dana Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Mr Jacky Hathiramani and Mr Ramesh Hathiramani.

Following the defendant’s alleged inability to meet its obligations, Sterling Bank appointed Mr Kunle Ogunba (SAN) as the Receiver/Manager over Dana Group and Dana Impex.

The debenture is said to have provided for the appointment of a receiver/manager by Sterling if Dana is unable to pay the debt upon demand.

Sterling, through Ogunba, said in its motion on notice that Ayorinde’s

firm, now engaged by Dana, had previously represented the Sterling and was engaged in the “upstamping of the enabling deed” which is subject matter of the suit.

“The firm of Messrs Bolaji Ayonrinde & Co has previously acted and continues to act on behalf of the plaintiff (Sterling) herein…in perfecting some of the security documents subject matter of the ongoing proceedings.

“The firm of Bolaji Ayorinde & Co by virtue of the subsisting relationship with the plaintiff/applicant is in custody of privileged information which is being deployed on behalf of the defendant to the detriment of the plaintiff/ applicant herein,” Sterling said.

But Ayorinde, in a counter-affidavit, said no privileged or confidential document was given to him, add-

ing that the instruments given to him for “upstamping” were documents which others were privy to.

The SAN further said court’s rules do not support Sterling Bank’s prayers, and that “there is nothing in any laws or statutes which precludes Messrs B. Ayorinde & Co from acting for the defendant.”

Besides, the senior lawyer said Sterling, through Ogunba, continued to recognise and deal with him through various correspondences and, therefore, the plaintiff waived its right to challenge Ayorinde’s representation of the defendant.

He urged the court to dismiss the motion on notice for being “incongruous” and for being “brought in bad faith.”

However, Justice Aneke agreed with Sterling Bank’s submissions and

disqualified Ayorinde and all the processes he filed.

The judge said he has a duty to avoid the unhealthy scenario of conflict of professional interest which Ayorinde’s continuous presence would cause.

“It would have been different if the services Ayorinde rendered to Sterling Bank were on a different instrument/document and not that which affect the subject-matter of the suit,” Justice Aneke said.

Another judge of the court, Justice Mohammed Yunusa had earlier granted a similar application to Sterling Bank in a related suit against Dana Group. He also disqualified Ayorinde from representing the defendant.

Justice Aneke adjourned further proceedings till July 9.

56

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

I

57

Your Sexual Health & You: Novelty Tips, Questions & Answers

have been widowed for two years now and I will like to start dating again. It has been very lonely and it has not been easy. There is a man that is interested in me and he is really nice. But there is a big problem. Once in a while, I see the spirit of my dead husband. Once my male friend visited my house and after he left, I came upstairs to get my phone and my whole room was scattered as if a tornado had passed through my house. I don’t know what to do? I know for a fact that my children did not do it because they were at school that day – MrsOkene That is strange but let me ask you something. How did your husband die? Was he killed? While I know very little about ghosts, I understand that sometimes when people die very violent deaths, their spirits tend to get restless and haunt the houses they lived in or the people they lived with. So it seems to me that you are being haunted. When he appears to you, do both of you talk?

If you have conversations, you should ask him why he is appearing to you. Maybe he is trying to tell you something. Often when spirits haunt people or houses, it is because of an unresolved incident that happened in the past and when that incident is finally addressed to their satisfaction, the spirits become at peace and go away. Again, I am not an expert on this sort of thing so it is best you talk to a reputed religious person or spiritualist who is familiar with such matters. The best advice I can give you for now is to stop dating this man that comes to visit you. It puts both of you at risk – Uche I am interested in the Mood lubricant but I can see that there are different types. I am confused. I need something that can arouse a woman who is hard to arouse – Sandra Go for the Mood Arousal Gel. It is an aphrodisiac for women with low genital arousal or for women who simply want better sexual enjoyment and climax – Uche I told my best friend that I have never had an orgasm

and she told me to buy the Jelly Chocolate Vibrator. She said she bought it from you in 2010. Is there a chance that you still have it? Nneka Yes we do. It is very popular with women. You can call the numbers below to get it – Uche I have read severally that Cockrings help prevent erection loss. Which one would you recommend? Aina Yes Cockrings help prevent erection loss for men who get erections in the beginning and then lose them half way into intercourse. For this, a simple Cockring would do. So you can go for the Donuts Cock Ring. It is new and contains three Cockrings in the pack – Uche Do you know about these new hand cuffs that can be attached to a bathroom door? I saw it in a magazine and I really want to acquire it – Ikenna Yes we know about it. It is called the Closet Cuffs and we have it along with many others. We also have the Door Swing – Uche I just tried the new LS Male Desensitizing Spray for premature ejaculation and it is not bad. It made me last longer than the usual two minutes and I am impressed – Uche I am 64years old and I just cannot get an erection when I need it. I was told that you can help– John There are many options for battling erectile dysfunction.

If you have no heart problems, then supplements are best for you. Go for Rhino 5 or Exploding Thunder supplement – Uche The names of the people featured here have been changed for their privacy. Adults in need of these treatments can call us on 08027901621 or 08051924159 or any other number here to order or they can order online at www.zeevirtualmedia.com. We deliver to you wherever you are in Nigeria. For enquiries email us at custserv@zeevirtualmedia.com - Uche Edochie, MD, Zee Virtual Media.

58

THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

THE NATION

BUSINESS e-Business

e-mail: e-business@thenationonlineng.net

The telecoms sector has made enormous contributions to the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) of some African countries. Nigeria is one of them. Experts have said this trend will be sustained with the appropriate policies. This growth projection may, however, remain wishful thinking as some state-run telcos in the continent are still pulling back the hand of the clock. These firms have kept prices high for customers and stalled the modernisation of many economies.

State-run telcos inhibiting growth

A

DECADE ago, fierce battles were fought to get a number of Africa’s state owned telcos into private hands and to strip them of their monopoly privileges. This happened in all but two of what are now sub-Saharan Africa’s most successful economies: Ethiopia and Tanzania.

These state-owned incumbent telcos stand in the way of developing a country’s economy for some reasons. Almost without exception, they are poorly run and the quality of infrastructure and service they provide is sub-standard.

Because they are monopolies, they keep prices high for other players in the marketplaces, such as Angola, Cameroon, Ethiopia and Djibouti have some of the highest international, national wholesale and surprising retail prices on the continent.

Because they are owned by cash-strapped governments, they are under-invested in and wages for their employees are often late. Chinese loans have helped with under-investment but cannot deal with the other problems identified here.

Incumbents are significantly over-staffed and under-skilled.

Hardly any one of them has a business strategy that is worth the paper it is printed on. Like the baobab tree, very little grows in their shades so they become the only pool for certain types of skills and these remain sub-standard.

The easiest part of the Gordian knot at the heart of the divestment problem is that governments protect them because they fear what will happen if there are wide-scale redundancies.

Therefore, they are reluctant to remove the monopoly protection from them. In places such as Mali, when there was more competition from Orange, the government Sotelma lost customers quickly and they largely stayed lost.

However, governments such as Kenya and Ghana that bit the bullet on this issue lived to see another day. Some like Nigeria have made such a mess of the process that they have lost most of whatever the value might have been of the assets of NITEL and its mobile arm, MTel. Others like Niger and Zambia privatised only to see the collapse of Lap Green during the Libyan civil war mean that they had to re-nationalise.

Zambia has held on to Zamtel because a new government felt that the previous deal to sell was not at a fair price.

The trickier part of the conundrum is about politics. Often corruption extends back into the owners, the government. Politicians have a nasty habit of treating these telcos as cash tills that could be dipped into, particularly at election time. In the case of Swaziland, the ownership is directly held by the King. Why should he sell it off in those circumstances?

Where corrupt money is not involved, patronage has gone a long way to help wreck what efficiency might notionally exist. Everybody’s brother who is connected potentially gets a job and the management jobs are plum positions under political control in many countries.

African politicians would like to persuade the citizens that state telcos are a key part of closing the digital divide and joining the information societies. Because the rhetoric is warming and positive in intent, does not mean that they should be believed. All the countries identified are lagging behind in closing the digital divide.

One of the key issues in African telecoms liberalisation has been the way that state monopoly incumbents hold up the development of a more complex, higher skilled market. If the incum-

•LTE (4G) Advanced tower

bent sells wholesale capacity to local internet service providers (ISPs), you can be sure that its employees are going to those ISP customers and trying to poach them.

Furthermore, these kind of state companies have no idea of the cost of providing wholesale capacity for two reasons: firstly, they lack the commercial ability to work it out and secondly, there is no benchmark price in the market.

To tackle this problem, some governments have taken the sensible step of separating wholesale and retail functions. Ghana Telecom was sold on the basis that this had to occur and though there was skepticcism, it has worked better than expected. Botswana has done the same with BTC while holding on to both parts.

Also, the World Bank has sponsored and helped financed operator consortia to eat away at the more egregious of these monopoly privileges such as landing stations and national networks (as in Burundi).

So, there are 31 countries where there is a state owned incumbent telco that is either dominant or has monopoly privileges that hamper the growth and efficiency of the market.

These are Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo-Brazzaville, DRC, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Libya (which has several state entities), Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Sao Tome, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Several of these countries are in political turmoil that make it imposible to do anything about privatising the incumbent telco. Others such as Comoros are going through the privatisation loop again.

But in Africa, telcos to be privatised are in:

Ethiopia It is the North Korea of telecoms regulatory practice and maintains what is now called EthioTelecom plays a crucial role in closing the digital divide. Its equipment and network procurement has been a mess and even with Chinese loans, it is still serving less customers than it might if it were in private hands. Prices remain high and market development was not helped by things like the ban on short message service (SMS) for several years. It remains, more or less, the only company in the market whereas other more open economies have seen jobs and skills flourish. Rather cheekily, we’re going to add their traditional enemy Eritrea in here as it is the only telco without an international fibre landing station or any plans to build one.

Mozambique It is going through a phase of talking about privatising but don’t hold your breathe. Incumbent telco TDM retains a number of monopoly market privileges and charges neighbouring countries high transit prices for access to international fibre capacity.

‘African politicians would like to persuade the citizens that state telcos are a key part of closing the digital divide and joining the information societies. Because the rhetoric is warming and positive in intent, does not mean that they should be believed’

Cameroon There was one attempt to privatise Camtel and either the government didn’t like the price or no one came to the party. Despite the huge amount of pride some Cameroonians still have in Camtel, it is inefficient and its monopoly control of both the landing station and national fibre networks mean prices are higher than they should be. It refused World Bank money to create a national wholesale fibre consortium and its market development has been delayed by not dealing with this issue.

Namibia Telecom Namibia is one of those cozy unnoticed monopolies. The country is small and has a relatively high standard of living compared to many of its neighbours. It has a relatively wellequipped national infrastructure but keeps national wholesale prices high. In an act of hubris it had a commercial strategy to get involved in neighbouring telcos in Angola and South Africa.

Like the investments of South Africa’s Telkom, these were without exception a disaster.

Zimbabwe It hasn’t been for want of trying as the endless stream of rumors about potential buyers show.

But the recent spat about whether an ISP can run voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services shows that there are still red lines in what is now otherwise a competitive market. The issue here is that the government clearly wants more money than potential buyers are willing to pay.

Something has to give and it’s probably the government’s negotiating position.

Privatising a state-owned telco in the African context is about a government making a commitment to having an efficient economy that will produce sustainable jobs and grow the national economy substantially.

•Culled from The Balancing Act.

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

59

e-Business

T

Security chief dismisses SIM registration

HE State Security Service (SSS) has dismissed the ongoing subscriber identification module (SIM) card registration, arguing that information provided by subscribers to the telcos is usually misleading and has not substantially assisted the agency in tracking people that use their mobile devices to perpetrate crimes.

Since the launch of GSM services in 2001, SIM cards were sold to subscribers without the requirement to provide proper identification but

Stories by Lucas Ajanaku

sometime in early 2008, security agencies approached the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to assist in resolving crimes perpetrated through the use of phones in which criminal elements cannot be identified with the number of the phones that they used.

The SIM card registration, which got a budgetary approval of about N6.1 billion from the National Assembly began in 2011. While the reg-

istration of existing SIM cards ended in January 2012, telcos were directed to continue to register new SIM cards.

Speaking through one of its directors on the sideline at the Cyber Security Forum organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Lagos, the spy chief said telcos registered minors (small children) and other people with fake addresses that led security personnel to nowhere

Mobile phone plant possible in Nigeria, says Huawei chief

C

HINESE telecoms equipment vendor Huawei Technologies Limited has assured that it could cite a mobile phone assembly plant in the country in the future, adding that its global manufacturing hub is China where it turns out products that are not region-specific but global in quality and type.

Its Vice President, Middle East and Africa Region, Sandeep Saihgal, who spoke with The Nation on the sideline during the launch of its Ascend P7 4G smartphone in Lagos, said the firm veered into mobile phone manufacturing because it understood how the networks operate, especially with connectivity fast becoming the ultimate goal of convergence.

He said: “Citing a factory right now in Nigeria? That is a difficult question. But you know our research and development (R&D) global production is based in China.

“So, we make the same type of phones globally, the same quality.

But (with respect to your question), let us see the future. It is possible in

the future.”.

According to him, Huawei is a global leader in smartphone technology having successfully rolled-out superior smartphones that have earned it the third slot in global smartphone marketplace.

Saihgal said: “Basically, you know we already know the network and we understand that connectivity is our core business, so we are also into dongles, routers and mobile WiFi products. This is basically essential because since we understand the network, we can build smart phones.

Also, we are very good in convertibles which are value for money for people. That is why we are into smartphones which has become an essential part of the way people live.”

On the device, he said the P-series phones are known for being some of the thinnest mobiles in the world with the Huawei Ascend P7 is not being different.

At 6.5mm thick, it is thinner than

the wafer-thin 7.6mm iPhone 5S. Being eso skinny makes handling a 5inch phone like the Ascend P7 a bit easier. It is easy to reach from one side of the screen to the other.

Analysts say it is also somewhat iPhone inspired in its dimension, the Ascend P7’s look is quite iPhonelike. Its sides are aluminium-textured, the back a flat pane of toughened glass. This is almost certainly the best-looking phone Huawei has made to date.

He said highlights particular to the phone include a curvy bottom edge and a textured-look finish to the rear, sitting under the top-most glass layer.

“There are a lot of applications that run on the phone. We can also help you to back up your data and your location apps. You can also delete your data because you have a back up. It’s a cloud service where our customers store their data so if you lose your phone, you can always download all your data into the new phone,” he said of the security of the device.

whenever they committed crimes.

The director who craved anonymity, urged the Federal Government to ensure that the telcos are held for whatever went wrong on their network.

According to him, criminals register SIMs which they use to drive their modems and take them out of the country to wreak cyber havoc on their unsuspecting victims, thereby tarnishing the image of the country.

He said contrary to insinuations

Etisalat opens entries for Innovation Prize

E

TISALAT has announced call for entries for this year’s edition of its Pan-African Prize for Innovation introduced in 2012 to reward the most innovative mobile broadband product, idea or service that positively impacts on African mobile users and demonstrate a valuable socio-economic benefit to customers.

Its Chief Executive Officer, Matthew Willsher, said: “At our core, the Etisalat business is developing innovative initiatives, products and services to expose Nigeria and Africa in general to the opportunities that abound with broadband.

“Etisalat recognises the importance of broadband in healthcare, education, business, security beyond communication through voice and data and the Pan-African Prize for innovation is designed to reward corporate organisations; small and growing businesses as well as individuals developing advanced mobile broadband solutions and

T

•From left: Representative of the publisher and Executive Secretary, Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) Winnie Aduayi; a guest, Ediri Ose Ediale and General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN, Kolawole Oyeyemi (author of Kill or Get Killed; The Marketing Killer Instinct) during its media presentation in Lagos.

Phase3 urges gender equality for ICT development

P

HASE3 Telecom has said giving equal opportunities to both male and female children in the information technology (IT) and information communications technology (ICT) sector will accelerate economic prosperity for the country.

It added that developing technology skills for women and harnessing the skills are critical factors to achieving rapid national development.

Its Chief Executive Officer, Stamley Jegede, who justified the firm’s support for this year’s edition of the International Girls in ICT Day Celebration, in Lagos, explained that the era in which professions in the IT/ICT sector were largely dominated by the male gender is coming to an end.

He added that it is exciting the

progress female gender in the world is making in tapping into the huge potentials and possibilities of the IT professional fields based on the realisation that very few jobs exist for men that are not also open to woman.

Jegede expressed optimism that Nigeria and indeed, the West African sub-region will reap bountifully if more institutions and agencies advocate ICT skills for women.

He said West African women are under-represented across boards in ICT – from education and training programmes right through to high level careers in the sector whether in academia or industry.

He said: “We know that one of the key elements of addressing poverty is the empowerment of women and there is no better way

of doing that today than giving women ICT empowerment. There are many women with amazing talent and this has to be brought to aid our social and economic development.”

He added that building a crop of young female Nigerians to actively participate and compete in the evolving as well as innovative technological space globally is the basis for Phase3 Telecom’s commitment to always support the International Girls in ICT day celebration.

The International Girls in ICT Day is an initiative of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)-member state designed to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and women to consider careers in the growing field of ICTs.

that Nigeria is one of the countries with the highest cyber assisted frauds, the country has no such propensity for cyber frauds. He said the big scammers are not in the country, adding that those around are mere errand boys.

According to him, the private sector has a major role to play in helping to flush out or reducing to the barest minimum, criminal elements in the country, especially crimes perpetrated through the use of the networks of the telcos.

platforms in Africa.”

Meanwhile, the firm has announced the official launch of the iPhone 5s with 12-month warranty and a trade-in offer that will allow its customers exchange their iPhone 5s devices for the yet to be released iPhone 6.

Its Director, Retail Sales, Charles Ogunwuyi, described the partnership as a demonstration of the company’s commitment to providing customers with world class telecommunication services According to the telco, Prize for Innovation is awarded in two categories, the most innovative product/service and most innovative (not commercially available) idea with cash rewards of $25,000 and $10,000 respectively.

The award will be one of the major attractions at the 17th Annual Africa Com Conference and awards gala dinner scheduled to take place in Cape Town, South Africa in November.

Subscribers hail Glo’s roaming services in Brazil

HE roaming service offered by Nigeria’s National Telecommunications Operator, Globacom, in Brazil has been commended by sports administrators and consultants in Brazil for the Mundial.

Globacom announced the launch of prepaid roaming service in Brazil to complement postpaid roaming hitherto available in that country. The development is expected to excite thousands of soccer fans and tourists who have either travelled or who still intend to travel to Brazil to witness the on-going 2014 World Cup. Steve Stretch, Head of Glo Gateway, Globacom’s international gateway division, said the prepaid roaming service is offered on Tim Brazil and comes at competitive rates. TIM is the largest mobile operator in Brazil with over 74 million subscribers.

Stretch said that with the prepaid roaming service on Tim Brazil, Glo prepaid subscribers who travel abroad for business or leisure will now be able to make and receive calls on their phones, send SMS and browse on their

phones with ease.

The Chairman of Pamodzi Sports Marketing Company Limited, Chief Mike Itemuagbor who commended Glo for also launching prepaid roaming said he had enjoyed an excellent roaming service on the Glo network since he arrived Brazil about two weeks ago.

“From Sao Paulo to Curitiba, Cuiaba and Porto Alegre, I have enjoyed a distinctively clear roaming service on my Glo line. I commend Globacom for taking care of my communication needs and the rate is pocket friendly,” he said.

In the same vein, the Chairman of the League Management Company, Chief Nduka Irabor, expressed delight with the quality of service he had been enjoying on his Glo line since he arrived Brazil.

The LMC boss, who was preparing to go to the stadium to watch the Nigerian- Argentina match in Porto Alegre on Wednesday, said he was glad that he could use his Glo line to communicate with his family, friends and associates since he got to Brazil.

Samsung’s free service train lands in Lagos

D

R. Samsung Free Service Campaign train has landed in Lagos and is calling on all consumers of Samsung to bring their devices such as mobile phones, television, audio visuals, digital cameras, IT products and home appliances for Free Servicing or Upgrade at the The Palms, Lekki and Ikeja City Mall in Lagos.

According to a statement, any customer can walk into any of the special centres with his/her device and Samsung Smart Care engineers will be waiting to service or upgrade your devices free of charge in the special Dr. Samsung Free Service Campaign that started in Abuja and moved to Port Harcourt.

Larger products such as refrigerators, washing machines, room air conditioners and colour TVs over 22'’ screen size will

be service at the customers’ homes. Other products such as audio systems, DVDs, microwave ovens and 22'’ TVs should be brought to these special Samsung Smart Care centers for servicing or upgrade.

On the campaign, its Managing Director, Mr. Brovo Kim, said: “Dr. Samsung is a reaffirmation of our commitment to providing our customers with the latest, top quality products backed by superior service and a widespread after sales service network. Samsung is committed to showing our customer appreciation by providing follow up servicing on all of our products.”

Dr. Samsung offers free service or upgrade of all products bought in Nigeria which are under warranty and 50 per cent discount for spare parts on out of warranty items.

60

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

61

MONEYLINK

Firm sues AMCON to New York Supreme Court

NDIC urges banks to enhance consumer protection

T

HIEF Executive Officer of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim has advised Deposit > Money Banks (DMBs) to give priority attention to the issue of consumer protection to promote better service delivery and increase confidence in the financial system.

Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim gave the advice in his remarks during a courtesy visit by the new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc., Nnamdi Okonkwo to the NDIC. The NDIC boss maintained that as a deposit insurer and bank supervisor, the NDIC placed great premium on consumer protection, adding that the NDIC had taken many steps to promote consumer protection through the establishment of a dedicated 24-hour tollfree Help Desk in the Corporation to enable depositors and other bank customers lodge their enquiries and or complaints for prompt investigation.

HE US firm claiming that its interests will be jeopadised if the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) proceeds to sell Mainstreet Bank Limited, INTANGIS Holdings, has filed a complaint for damages for tortuous interference with contract against AMCON in the Supreme Court of the State of New York.

In a statement yesterday, Africa Media Agency acting on behalf of Intangis Holdings, said the firm’s dispute with AMCON over the sale of Mainstreet Bank Limited and its collateral interest in Afribank, have already been adjudicated upon by the International Court of Arbitration.

Earlier on Tuesday, Intangis Holdings, in a reaction to the issue, saidit expected AMCON, in its desire to divest from Mainstreet Bank, to al-

S

low for proper accounting procesure, by adopting the InternationalFinancial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

In its earlier statement, it said: “This liquidation, concluded between five and eight August, 2011, harmed all Afribank’s shareholders and creditors, including Intangis Holdings. Intangis Holdings referred the matter to the International Court of Arbitration, on 29 April 2011, which issued a preliminary decision in its favour in September 2013 and took the view that Mainstreet Bank was party to the contract between Intangis Holdings and Afribank.”

It said since that decision, AMCON has taken steps to divest from Mainstreet Bank, while omitting to make provision as required by the

C •AMCON’s CEO, Mustafa Chike-Obi

international accounting rules (IFRS) for certain liabilities of the bank, estimated by Intangis Holdings at $1.4 billion, adding that Intangis Holdings called for compliance with IFRS. However, AMCON had since distanced itself from Intangis Holdings assertion, saying its investment and interests in Mainstreet Bank Limited have no linkage whatsoever with Afribank that Intangis claimed it invested in.

Stanbic IBTC gets $100m loan for SMEs, energy financing

TANBIC IBTC Bank has received a $100 million Line of Credit (LOC) from the African Development Bank (AfDB) for on-lending to small and mediumsize enterprises (SMEs) operating in various sectors of the Nigerian economy.

In a statement, the lender said part of the fund will also be applied to the financing of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in Nigeria, in line with the requirements of the Clean Technology Fund (CTF).

Of the total amount, Stanbic IBTC Bank will fund SME projects in Nigeria with $75 million, while $25 million will be used for the funding of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Stanbic

By Collins Nweze

IBTC Bank is the first Nigerian bank to receive CTF’s approval.

The Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Yinka Sanni, commented on the approval, stating that the bank will continue to partner with reputable institutions to create avenues for growth and development of the Nigerian economy.

“We will continue to explore various channels of credit to empower small and medium-sized businesses. We recognise that the SME and energy sectors form an integral part of the Nigerian economy as a

whole. As a result, we will remain at the forefront to empower our clients and help them achieve their business goals,” he said.

The $100 million LOC to Stanbic IBTC Bank was approved by AfDB’s board of directors on Wednesday, 26 March 2014 and April 13th 2014 in Tunis.

In approving the LOC, the board of directors emphasised that the SME sector represents a strategic pillar for Nigeria’s quest to modernise and improve its economy. The AfDB highlighted financial inclusion as part of Central Bank of Nigeria’s drive to diversify the Nigerian economy.

GTBank appoints executive director

G

DATA BANK

Tenor

Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year

35m 35m

11.039 12.23

19-05-2014 18-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount Amount Offered ($) Demanded ($) 400m 400m 400m 400m 400m 400m

MANAGED FUNDS

NIDF

current position as Chairman of Africa Schlumberger Group.

The bank’s Managing Director, Segun Agbaje said: “We are pleased to have appointed Mr. Oyinlola; a seasoned professional with a proven track record to this position. All of us at Guaranty Trust Bank wish him the very best in his new position.”

He said Oyinlola’s appointment has been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in compliance with the highest level of corporate governance standards.

UARANTY Trust Bank plc has announced the appointment of Hezekiah Sola Oyinlola as a non- Executive Director.

In a statement, the lender described Oyinlola as a seasoned professional with over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, having worked at Schlumberger Group since 1984.

He has held multiple senior roles on the management team and was the first Nigerian Managing Director of Schlumberger Group in Nigeria. In 2011 he was appointed to his

FGN BONDS

Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33

By Nduka Chiejina

He also informed the meeting that a Complaints Unit had been established in the Bank Examination and Special Insured Institutions Departments of the Corporation to cater for the customers of Deposit Money Banks and Microfinance/ Primary Mortgage Banks (MFBs/ PMBs). While advocating for conscious and concerted efforts to improve consumer protection, Ibrahim advised all the insured banks to establish consumer complaints desks at their Head Office and branches to facilitate and promote prompt response to consumer protection issues.

He also tasked the insured banks, as members of the Bankers Committee, to show more commitment towards the adoption and promotion of initiatives such as Financial Literacy, Financial Inclusion and Sustainable Banking to engender confidence in the entire financial sector.

Price Loss 2754.67

Amount Sold ($) 399.9m 399.9m 399.9m

Exchange Rate (N) 155.75 155.8 155.7

Date 2-5-14 2-3-14 1-29-14

EXHANGE RATE 6-03-12 CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Currency OBB Rate

INTERBANK RATES 7.9-10%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day

Amount 30m 46.7m

Rate % 10.96 9.62

Date 28-04-2012 “

ETERNA GLAXOSMITH RTBRISCOE NEIMETH CUSTODYINS UACN NPFMCRFBK MBENEFIT CUTIX INTBREW

O/PRICE 4.33 64.00 1.00 1.32 3.74 65.10 0.77 0.52 1.83 28.00

C/PRICE 4.62 68.00 1.05 1.38 3.90 67.85 0.80 0.54 1.90 29.01

Current Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

147.6000 239.4810 212.4997

149.7100 244.0123 207.9023

150.7100 245.6422 209.2910

-2.11 -2.57 -1.51

149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

152.0000

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

(S/N)

GAINERS AS AT 02-07-14

SYMBOL

NGN USD NGN GBP NGN EUR NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N) (S/N) Bureau de Change

Year Start Offer

CHANGE 0.29 4.00 0.05 0.06 0.16 2.75 0.03 0.02 0.07 1.01

DISCOUNT WINDOWx Feb. ’11

July ’11

July ’12

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

12%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00%

SYMBOL

O/PRICE 76.45 1.75 1.34 33.90 5.39 179.60 0.57 28.50 0.88 198.00

C/PRICE 69.00 1.67 1.28 32.40 5.17 173.00 0.55 27.50 0.85 192.02

CHANGE -7.45 -0.08 -0.06 -1.50 -0.22 -6.60 -0.02 -1.00 -0.03 -5.98

6-2-14

28-10-11

% Change

CAP Index

N13.07tr 40,766.16

N6.617tr 20,903.16

-1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH BGL NUBIAN FUND BGL SAPPHIRE FUND CANARY GROWTH FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CORAL INCOME FUND FBN FIXED INCOME FUND FBN HERITAGET FUND FBN MONEY MARKET FUND FIDELITY NIGFUND INTERCONTINENTAL INTEGRITY FUND KAKAWA GUARANTEED INCOME FUND

Offer Price Bid Price 157.99 157.07 9.17 9.08 1.09 1.08 1.18 1.18 0.68 0.68 1.39 1.33 1,664.78 1,661.81 1,087.24 1,086.78 119.02 118.19 1,087.30 1,087.00 1.67 1.62 1.05 1.03

LEGACY FUND NIGERIA INTER DEBIT FUND PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND STANBIC IBTC ETHICAL FUND • • • •

LOSERS AS AT 02-07-14

JBERGER MAYBAKER MCNICHOLS OKOMUOIL PORTPAINT TOTAL JAPAULOIL OANDO NEM GUINNESS

NSE

UBA BALANCED FUND UBA BOND FUND UBA EQUITY FUND UBA MONEY MARKET FUND

143.11

142.62

0.78 1,944.64 13.62 1.07

0.76 1,936.31 13.28 1.05

1.3379 1.3544 1.0146 1.1770

1.3271 1.3544 0.9967 1.1770

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days

Rate (Previous) 4 Mar, 2012 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917

Rate (Currency) 6, Mar, 2012 10.17% 11.46% 11.96%

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK

Bank

Previous 04 July, 2012

Current 07, Aug, 2012

8.5000

8.5000

Movement

62

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 02-07-14

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 02-07-14

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

63

EQUITIES Unity Bank wins agric financing award

U

FBN Holdings rolls out 1.87b shares in Oasis Insurance takeover bid F BN Holdings has activated its billion-naira takeover bid for minority shareholdings in Oasis Insurance Plc. FBN Holdings is making the takeover bid through FBN Life Assurance Limited, an insurance subsidiary of FBN Holdings.

Under the plan, FBN Assurance is making a mandatory takeover of 1.87 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo of Oasis Insurance currently held by minority shareholders.

A declaratory report on the takeover obtained yesterday

by The Nation indicated that acceptance list will now open on July 7 and close on July 28, 2014. The qualification date for the offer was July 1, 2014 as a result of the T+3 trading cycle at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

According to the report, shareholders of Oasis Insurance Plc whose names appeared on the register of members of Oasis maintained by First Registrars on 31 December, 2013 and are eligible to participate in the offer should indicate by filling the necessary documents.

Stories by Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

Such shareholders who wish to tender some or all of the ordinary shares registered in their name would have to complete the acceptance form, together with valid share certificate, which should be stamped and signed by their stockbrokers and then submitted to First Registrars, not later than 4pm on July 7, 2014.

However, qualified shareholders who hold their shares in Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) and who wish to participate in the offer should complete the acceptance form contained in the take-over bid document in accordance with the instructions printed thereon. The completed acceptance form, which should be stamped and signed by their stockbrokers with their statement of CSCS account, should be submitted to First Registrars, not later than 4pm on July 28, 2014

FBN Holdings, through FBN Assurance, had acquired the majority equity stake in Oasis Insurance. It had acquired about 4.63 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each of Oasis Insurance from the previous core investors-Oasis Group Limited and MetroWest Investments Limited.

The sale transferred the majority 71.2 per cent equity stake in Oasis Insurance to FBN Life Assurance. The acquisition was effected through the execution of a share sale and purchase agreement between the parties following receipt of the requisite regulatory approvals from the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Oasis is quoted on the NSE. With the acquisition of 71.2 per cent, FBN Life was required to make a mandatory take-over bid to the remaining shareholders of

‘Firms with over N40b shareholders’ funds must convert to PLC’

A

BILL for an Act to provide for private companies whose shareholders funds exceed N40 billion, or their annual turnover or total assets exceeds N80 billion, to convert to Public Liability Companies, passed second reading on the floor of the House of Representatives yesterday.

The Sponsor of the Bill, Hon. Chris Emeka Azubogu (APGA Anambra ), said if passed into law, private companies whose shareholders’ funds exceed N40 billion, or their annual turnover exceeds N80 billion, or their total assets exceed N80 billion, would automatically convert to public liability companies.

The lawmaker, who stated the bill seeks to regulate private companies, said they will have their shares listed in the stock exchange, adding that this would promote growth for both the compa-

From Victor Oluwasegun, Abuja

nies and the Nigerian Capital Market.

His words: “If proper fundings are given to business owners or small companies in the country, it would help to build up strong business institution that will reduce the rate of unemployment.”

Speaking in support of the Bill, Deputy Leader of the House, Hon. Leo Ogor noted that the National Assembly has the responsibility of regulating private companies.

“It is a bill that should be given the necessary support for the interest of the growth of the country’s economy,” he said.

Hon. Nicholas Ossai, (PDP Delta), who also spoke in support of the Bill, noted that the listing of such companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange would make local

businesses grow.

His words: “It will empower Nigerians. It will enable Nigerians participate in the country’s economy. It is in line with international best practices. The bill should be passed so as to improve enterprise in the country.”

However, a member, Hon. Fort Dike opposing the Bill.

According to him, the bill was not worth the trouble and hence the sponsor should not waste time on it as it would be unproductive.

He said: “The bill did not take so many things into consideration. It is anti business to force individuals to go into stock exchange. This bill should not be allowed to scale through because it will be in conflict with the general ideas of investment in the country. This bill will make the parliament look like it lacks business knowledge”

Oasis insurance in line with section 131 of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) and Rule 445 of SEC’s Rules and Regulations. The takeover bid could however make Oasis Insurance, a publicly quoted insurance firm, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the group.

The acquisition would enable the FBN Holdings to deepen its insurance busi-

ness as FBN Life seeks to harness Oasis Insurance’s relative strengths, thereby creating synergies for the development of the insurance business.

Oasis Insurance is expected to leverage FBN Holdings’ wide network, including the international spread of its flagship-First Bank of Nigeria Limited, to expand its coverage of the Nigerian general insurance market through cross-selling of products on First Bank’s network.

NITY Bank Plc was adjudged the “Best Bank in Agriculture Financing” at the 2014 BusinessDay Annual Banking Awards.

Speaking after he received the award on behalf of the bank, managing director, Unity Bank, Mr. Henry Semenitari, said it was not a surprise that the bank won the award this year because it had consistently been at the forefront of agric financing.

According to him, the bank’s leading role in agric financing is evidenced in its wide range of agricultural products for both small scale and large scale farmers - collectively known as Unity Greens - which cover general agro-allied financing, industrial as well as cooperative leasing, support schemes and products.

He noted that the bank is also widely acclaimed as one of the most active in the implementation of Federal Government’s multi- billion naira Agriculture Intervention Schemes such as the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme, Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES), NIRSAL, Agriculture Credit Guarantee Scheme and the Agriculture Trust Fund Model.

“With over 150 branches along the Nigerian Agrarian belt, the bank has long recognized this positioning as an area in which it can make its impact felt,” Semenitari said.

It would be recalled that the bank had in 2013 received recognition for its support of the Northern Economy from BusinessDay.

64

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

NEWS (SHOWBIZ) Those who say I can’t speak English are ignorant, says Funke Akindele

AFRIFF 2014: Organisers extend date for film submission

P

•…To accommodate entries still in transit from across Africa

A

HEAD of this year’s edition of the prestigious Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) taking place in Calabar, the tourism hub in Nigeria, organisers are calling for film entries from African filmmakers, with a closing date now extended to July 24, 2014.

The event which enters its fourth edition this year, will resonate with film workshops, training programmes and thrills, from November 9th to 16th, at the popular Tinapa Business Resort, Calabar, capital of Cross River state.

AFRIFF, according to its Artistic Director, Keith Shiri, “is a platform that seeks to give expression to African cinema, by recognising and rewarding excellence in the industry.”

The event, will feature daily film screenings, workshops, master classes, exhibitions, film premieres, glamorous opening and closing ceremonies, and will round off with an award night that will cel-

• Lynn Withfield and Rita Dominic

ebrate winning film entries, as well as their cast and crew.

Shiri, an advisor for the British Film Institute’s London Film Festival (LFF), noted that eligible films must have been produced after January 1, 2013, while preference will be given to films which are yet to be screened globally or in Africa.

According to him, categories for entry will include Feature, Short, Documentary and Animation, with monetary award prizes ranging from $3000 to $6000.

Urging interested filmmakers to ensure that they read the rules and regulations thoroughly be-

fore submitting their films for the award segment of the festival, the artistic director disclosed that Short films must be of 40 minutes or less, while Feature length films must exceed 40 minutes.

“For your film to be considered for the 4th Africa International Film Festival, please include a DVD copy of the film, plus a synopsis and/or press kit as soon as possible. You can also send an online screener via dropbox to info@afriff.com.

We also require you to complete our entry submission form,” he stated, adding that “guidelines and entry forms can be found on the festival

website on www.afriff.com and other platforms such as www.facebook.com/ A f r i c a f i l m f e s t , www.facebook.com/ groups/124634550901861/, www.twitter.com/afriff, and on @afriff on instagram.”

Although the festival started four years ago, it made its debut in Calabar, last year, with American actress Lynn Withfield and Nollywood star Rita Dominic as ambassadors of the festival.

Shiri, in a recent interview assured that this year’s outing will be more glamorous and resourceful.

O P U L A R Nollywood actress, Funke Akindele, has lashed out at her critics, who claimed that her infrequent appearance in English movies is due to her linguistic deficiency in English.

For some time, the rumours had been rife that the talented actress has been featuring majorly in Yoruba movies because she cannot speak or act effectively in English.

But rather than take up her critics in the most common ‘street way’, which she is known to have acted in most of her movies, the Ikorodu, Lagos State-born thespian took to Twitter to express her disgust.

While the match between France and Nigeria in the ongoing World Cup was being played on Monday, Funke wrote on her twitter page: “I always laugh when people say na only Yoruba films

By Mercy Michael

she dey act. She no fit speak/ act English film. Maybe dey didn’t watch I Need to Know.”

Almost immediately after she dropped the tweet, her fans started to take a swipe at her critics. In a comment, a fan wrote: “Of course, they are either too young or ignorant.” And as if that was not enough, another fan said: “I agreed because that series was more than educative and I heard Funke was paid in Dollars.”

For those who have been following her story since she came into the movie industry more than a decade ago, the producer of Jenifa, an award-winning movie, is one of the respected crossover actresses, having also acted in a number of English movies, including White Hunters.

Stars absent at Foluke Daramola’s Cobweb premiere

• Foluke

A

S a prelude to the Saturday, June 28 premiere of top Nollywood actress Foluke Daramola’s latest flick, Cobweb, there was a lot of buzz, which generated enthusiasms among numerous movie buffs.

So, the turnout of passionate movie lovers at the Silverbird Cinemas, City

Mall, Ikeja, Lagos was not unexpected on the memorable day.

However, not a few of the audience were greatly shocked to find out that most of the ‘advertised’ lead characters in the movie and even her notable colleagues in the industry were missing in action at the premiere.

It was surprising that the likes of Funso Adeolu, Saidi Balogun, Uti Nwachukwu and a few others, whose fans had looked forward to meeting, could not attend the premiere, thereby raising questions in some quarters.

Explaining his absence at the premiere, actor Funsho Adeolu said: “I was on a set at Ijebu, Ogun State and that was the reason I could not attend the event. There is no other motive behind my absence. She sent a broadcast message, but it went to my

By Dupe AyinlaOlasunkanmi

wife’s phone. That was a day to the premiere.

“Foluke said she thought she had my BB pin. I really felt bad not being part of the event. And there was no way I could leave the set for the premiere,” he said.

However, worried by the reports that have now gone viral on the Internet, the mother of two has come out to reveal the reason her colleagues did not grace the event.

In an interview with The Nation, she said: “The notice I gave to my colleagues was too short and that was because I myself was given a short notice by my corporate sponsors. I had until the end of June to do the premiere.

However, the launch, which we usually do in the Yoruba

sector of the movie industry, will come up in August. So, all my colleagues will be in attendance because there will be enough time to send out invitations for them to participate fully.”

Directed by Toka Mcbaror, Cobweb stars the likes of Uti Nwachukwu, Funsho Adeolu, Dele Odule, Saidi Balogun and Tamara Eteimo. It tells the story of a young boy, Sam, who is gifted with a good voice. His father, however, wants him to become a scientist. The twists and turns of events lead to the separation of the family. Sam grows to become a popular singer cum actor.

It was not, however, a totally bad day for the producer, as the likes of actresses Ayo Adesanya, Toyin Aimakhu-Johnson and her husband graced the occasion.

Ekpoh dance competition: Waconzy promises five winners $1000 each

P

OPULAR singer, Obinna Kelvin Anyanwu, popularly known as Waconzy, has offered to give five lucky winners $ 1000 each in the Ekpoh dance competition.

It will be recalled that during the official release party for the song, Waconzy taught his fans how to dance the Ekpoh dance, following the popularity of the song by his fans.

According to the organisers, an interested contestant will be expected to cover his or her face with his or her left hand and dance like he or she is going insane.

“And when you hear the word “Knack am”, act like you are holding a stick with your

By Dupe AyinlaOlasunkanmi

right hand and use it to hit your enemies. You can also add your own flavour. Do anything very entertaining to express the Ekpoh dance. But you must cover your face with your left hand. However, a group dance drama will also be considered a plus.”

To participate in the competition, participants are to download the “Ekpoh” Mp3, watch the Ekpoh dance instruction video by Waconzy, record and upload their best dance video on YouTube with the name: Waconzy Ekpoh dance by (yourname). They are also to tweet to @waconzy with the hashtag #waconzyekpohdancecompetition

and email their Youtube video link to dv8@waconzy.com.

The organisers further revealed that winners would be announced on August 10, on top websites/blogs and www.waconzy.com, the official website of the initiator.

Wacozy shot to fame after his hit track, I Celebrate, which was released in 2008. Due to his passion for music, he distinguished himself by carving a niche in the music industry, thereby resulting in his style of music, which is a blend of Western and African rhythm called Afro-soul.

He has collaborated with Truth Hurts (USA), Banky W, Faze, Duncan Mighty, Naeto C and more.

• Waconzy

• Akindele

I didn't snatch microphone from Okorocha, says Charly Boy

C

ONTROVERSIAL celebrity, Charles Oputa, aka Charly Boy has debunked media reports, suggesting he had a showdown with Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, during the funeral church service for the former's dad, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, last weekend.

"May I use this medium to clear the air concerning news making the rounds," Charly Boy said in a press statement being circulated by his media officer, Kazeem Popoola. "There is no ill feeling between me and His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha. I did not snatch microphone from him, no such thing happened at all."

The former president of Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), was said to have stopped the governor from speaking at the event, because according to reports, he did not want his late father's funeral to be used as a political campaign platform. But Charly Boy maintained that, that also did not happen. "I did not, as portrayed by these news reports; I believe I am a very cultured individual, not one to rubbish a good gesture," he said, while thanking everyone who attended the

event.

"This is to register my utmost pleasure and appreciation to all Nigerians for the remarkable show of love to me and my family in giving my father, Hon. Justice Chukwudifu Akunne Oputa, a most befitting burial. I am very happy and indeed, very grateful to all.

My special gratitude goes to the Federal Government and President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Imo State Government and Governor Rochas Okorocha, Rivers State Government and Governor Rotimi Amaechi, for their immeasurable support and participation," he said.

• Charly Boy

65

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

NEWS Atiku rejoices with Ekwueme’s wife at 80

Suspected Boko Haram members arrested in Ebonyi From Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki

T

F

ORMER Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has congratulated Dame Beatrice Ekwueme, wife of Dr. Alex Ekwueme and the Ekwueme Royal Family of Oko in Anambra State, as she turns 80 today.

In a letter to the celebrant, made available to The Nation, Atiku recalled with nostalgia the grace and dignity with which Mrs. Ekwueme carried herself as the Second Lady and the high quality of support she gave her husband, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, who served as the VicePresident from 1979 to 1983.

Said he: “Your Excellency, as the wife of Nigeria’s VicePresident in the Second Republic, you carried yourself with dignity, as you were aware that Nigerian women looked up to you as a role model. You took that responsibility seriously, but effortlessly.”

HE Army arrested yesterday 17 suspected Boko Haram members at the Amasiri-Afikpo junction in Afikpo

North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

A source said after their arrest, they were handed over to the Area Command of the Nigeria Police in Afikpo for interrogation.

The Nation learnt that the suspects, who were arrested in a chartered white bus, were intercepted in the afternoon before they could get to their destination.

The source said after their detention, over 100 youths besieged the police station, seeking justice.

A man from Afikpo, who preferred anonymity, urged the police not to play down on the possibility of the suspects being Boko Haram members, saying nobody is safe in the country.

He said: “The police should not introduce the Nigerian factor in this matter. Why would these people arrive in Ebonyi in a chartered bus today, which is our Eke Market day? Why are they coming in large numbers?

“What employment opportunity could they be looking for in Afikpo? Who are they and their sponsors? We are worried about this incident.

“The Islamic school in Afikpo is seen as a ‘time bomb’. We are no longer comfortable with the school. There was a time it was rumoured that arms and ammunition were smuggled into the Islamic school by unknown individuals.”

Police spokesman Chris Anyanwu said: “The suspects were arrested by the Army before they were handed over to the Police. We believe they are either from Niger or Mali.

“Are we saying aliens are no longer free to enter Nigeria?

After our investigation, they will be handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service for further investigation.

“I advise that people should stop raising the alarm over Boko Haram if they don’t have the facts. No weapon was discovered on the suspects.”

•All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Lagos State, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode (right), presenting his book: “The art of selfless service”, to the publisher of Ovation, Chief Dele Momodu, at his Ikoyi, Lagos home.

Conference delegates back state creation

D

ELEGATES to the National Conference backed yesterday the agitation for creation of more states.

They were, however, divided over whether or not to remove local government councils from the Exclusive Legislative List and place it in the Concurrent Legislative List.

No resolution had been taken on the issues but most delegates who contributed to the debate of the committee report on political restructuring and forms of government saw creation of more states as one sure way to address the problem of imbalance in the country.

A particular mention was made by most speakers of the necessity to carve out one more state for the Southeast geo-political zone as a balancing measure.

Some delegates also supported the proposal for power rotation to create the sense of belonging in all parts of the country.

Former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo noted that the quest for power rotation in the country was as a result of the denial of minority rights.

Ojo said that following the recommendation of the Committee on power rotation, most of the quest for more states and self determination by ethnic minority groups has been due largely to marginalisation and domination that characterised the political relations among the various groups and component units at the state and local government levels.

He said: “The failure of previous constitutions, including the 1999 to provide for power rotation at different levels has led to deep sense of alienation and bitterness that can not be easily assuaged by mere legal positions that are not entrenched in the constitution.

•Want Local councils removed from Exclusive List From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor and Dele Anofi, Abuja

“This obvious lacuna has resulted in a situation where many ethnic groups in most States are entirely excluded from taking part in government contrary to the provisions of Section 14 (3) and (4) of 1999 constitution but it is also the primary cause of political and social instability at all levels of government.

“It’s a step in the right direction with the committee’s recommendation that power rotation should be entrenched in political party’s manifestoes but that is not enough.

“To make it lasting, a new subsection 5 should be added to Section 14 of 1999 constitution that the Office of the President shall rotate between the north and the south, the office of governor to rotate among the three Senatorial Districts and office of Chairman of Local council to rotate between the Local governments.

“In addition the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should divide the Local government into two or three equal parts for the purpose of the contest for the

position of Chairman.”

Chief Sola Ebiseni, delegate on the platform of Local government Administration from Ondo State drew applause from majority of the delegates when he highlighted what he described as the injustice of local government creation by the military.

Ebiseni gave facts and figures to back up his argument that the best way for the country to go was to empower states by making local government matters residual issue.

He said: “With the present constitution, no new Local government can be created, Lagos a State tried it, it was unsuccessful. Any attempt to create Local government through the National Assembly as dictated by the constitution will amount to a nullity.

“The implication is that even those who are clamouring for minority rights will never get local government created for them.

“The only problem that people have, in my opinion, is that the list of local government contained in the 1999 constitution be removed and empowered the States.

“I want to say that the re-

moval does not a mean scrapping of Local of Local government but it is intended to cure the ambiguities, injustice and inequity in the constitution as we have it today.

“If I may state this, the South West geo political zone, Lagos State was created in 1967 with a population of almost 15 million people, this constitution gave Lagos 20 Local government Areas.

“Osun was created in 1991 with a population of about three million people, this constitution gave Osun 30 Local government Areas.

Katsina state was excised from Kaduna, that still had more Local government than Katsina, yet Kaduna was left with 23 Local governments but Katsina having 34.

“The combination of Local governments in Kano, Jigawa and Katsina is more than the entirety of Local governments in the South East.

Bauchi is the most populous State in the North East, but today it has 20 Local government, while Borno with less population has 27.

“In the North Central, Benue has the largest population but not less than three States in the region has more Local govern-

ment than Benue.

“In the South South, Rivers State has the largest population with 23 Local government while Akwa Ibom has 32.

“We cannot, as a country, allow this kind of injustice to thrive by people who are romancing with the past.

“What this Committee has recommended on Local government is a national consensus, There was nothing mentioned about Local government in the 1963 constitution.

“Local government issue is residual, it belong to the State.

It was the same recommendation by the 2005 Political Reform Conference. It was the 1979 and 1999 military constitutions that are imposing this arbitrariness on our nation.

“This Conference will not address the massive injustice done to the minority groups of this country by not allowing the States, who know the geographical and biographical composition of their areas to handle local government affairs.”

Former Imo State Governor, Achike Udenwa, appreciated the recommendation of the committee for addressing the imbalance in state creation especially the proposal one satte should be created in the South East geo-political zone.

NDLEA arrests man with 1kg of methamphetamine

O

FFICIALS of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos have arrested a 30year-old man with a kilogramme of methamphetamine.

The suspect concealed the drugs inside the pockets of jean trousers in his bag.

Officials detected the drugs during the outward screening of Egypt air passengers to Malaysia.

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

NDLEA Commander, Mr. Hamza Umar, said the arrest was due to the search by the officers.

His words: “It took the search by the officers during the screening of passengers to detect the drugs. They tested positive to methamphetamine and weighed 1kg.

“Six parcels of the drugs were found in the pockets of three pairs of jean trousers inside a bag belonging to Orurno Osita Chukwu Michael. The case is under in-

vestigation.”

The suspect said he was to be paid $3,000.

“I was to be paid $3,000 when I get to Malaysia with the drugs. I work as a labourer in Enugu State. I am single and searching for a job.

I was excited when they offered to sponsor my trip to Malaysia and pay me $3,000.

“This is my first time of coming to Lagos and they promised to assist me in securing a job in Malaysia. Unfortunately, the drugs were found in my bag.”

The Chairman/Chief Executive of the agency, Ahmadu Giade, urged the public to be cautious of the tricks used by drug barons.

“The public should avoid being used by drug barons to smuggle drugs. They use many tricks, such as promising job opportunities abroad and assuring them that they will not be caught,” he said.

The NDLEA boss added that every arrest and drug seizure made is a victory for the country’s anti-narcotic campaign.

Ndigbo Lagos decries Boko Haram incursion into Southeast

By Nneka Nwaneri

N

DIGBO Lagos, the umbrella body of Igbo organisations in Lagos State, yesterday decried the incursion of the Boko Haram sect into Igboland.

The group was especially worried that soldiers arrested 486 Boko Haram suspects in Abia State, with one of them identified as “a notorious and wanted kingpin of the dreaded murderous Boko Haram”.

In a statement by its Director of Communications and Strategy, Chief Chuma Igwe, the group said: “It is instructive that the apprehension of these 486 suspected Boko Haram members in 33 Toyota Hiace buses in Abia State, on the Enugu-Port Harcourt Road at about 2am, occurred just a few days after the timely discovery of six timed bombs at the Port Harcourt Road branch of Winners’ Chapel Church, Owerri, a church that reportedly has over 10,000 worshippers on Sunday services.

“While we salute the gallantry and courage of the Nigerian Army for intercepting the suspects, and the vigilance of worshippers in identifying the bombs, there are indications that these subtle but deliberate push by the terrorists into Igboland has included the use of Fulani herdsmen to penetrate and infiltrate the underbelly of the Southern Nigeria – from the remote frontier villages of Enugu and Ebonyi states.

“It is on record that among many such complaints in recent weeks, the people of Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State have cried out about the infiltration of their villages by AK47 wielding ‘Fulani herdsmen’.

“According to the Vanguard Newspaper of June 10, Dr Obiora Ozobu, the PresidentGeneral of Ezeagu General Assembly, was quoted as saying that in a neighbouring village ‘...a farmer was shot dead by these Fulani people, and we have had of three reported cases of rape of village women who went to their farms.’

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

66

NEWS

Why we‘ve not contributed to $1b Ogoni fund, by Shell

T

HE Federal Government has been frustrating the release of funds for the implementation of the 2011 United Nations (UN) report on Ogoni land, the Uche Ekwunife- headed House of Representatives Committee on Environment was told yesterday.

Speaking before the committee at the National Assembly, Ogoni Restoration Project Manager for Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Augustine Igbuku said SPDC JV was willing to make its contribution to the $1b Ogoni Restoration Fund.

He said it was being hampered by the lack of governance structure and legal framework for Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP), the ad hoc inter-

From Victor Oluwasegun, Abuja

vention agency set up by the government.

Shell also identified lack of work plan by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources for the proposed clean-up and the utilisation of the funds as part of the delay.

Igbuku said bunkering and illegal refining were making it difficult to clean up the region.

“There were 47 breaks in the pipeline. We did 50 clean ups.

People are still breaking the pipes, despite the local contractors we employed to safeguard them,” he said.

The House Committee gave the Ministry of Petroleum Resources two weeks to submit a work plan.

T

HE suspended Deputy Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Festus Ebea, has been impeached for alleged misconduct and misdemeanour.

Ebea and three others-Friday Ogieriakhi (Orhionmwon South) Jude Ise-Idehen (Ikpoba-Okha) and Patrick Osayimwen(Oredo East)were suspended last month for alleged misconduct.

The impeachment took place at an old chamber in the Government House.

The 15 All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers commenced sitting at 11:10am yesterday.

Security was strengthened around the House of Assembly and the police said it would not allow a group of the warring lawmakers enter the chamber for legislative business.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers resumed plenary on Monday but were not allowed in.

They waited for five hours and adjourned plenary till Monday.

Assembly workers were locked outside waiting for the APC lawmakers to resume duty when news came in that the sitting had been relocated to the old chamber.

Majority Leader Philip Shaibu moved a motion that the old chamber be used for plenary, pending when renovation work at the Assembly complex was complete.

He said: “This is the old chamber. It was from here that the legislative business was moved to the new place. We have a lot of committee reports to consider.”

“I move that we sit in this old chamber, until the new chamber is refurbished and ready for use.”

Speaker Uyi Igbe said the

H

•Committee gives ministry deadline The UN report found out that there was serious contamination of the soils in Ogoni land by hydrocarbons and that carcinogens such as Benzene were found in drinking water at levels 900 times above the acceptable standards given by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

It was estimated that it will take up to 30 years to complete the clean-up and restore Ogoni land.

At the session, there was a disagreement between the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA).

While the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Danladi

Kifasi and the DPR’s Manager, Health, Safety and Environment, Dr. Musa Zagi, said the Federal Government is working on the implementation of the UNEP Report as against the belief of non- implementation; NOSDRA’s Director-General Peter Idabor said not much has been done in terms of the implementation.

“We are not aware of the emergency measures that DPR said they have done,” he said.

The Permanent Secretary said the Federal Government is serious and has set up committees on the issue.

According to him, the ministry has liaised with Ogoni communities and HYPREP has

started intervention work in the community.

The committee members said the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was hindering the implementation of the UNEP report by hurriedly setting up HYPREP, which has no legal backing or funding.

Mrs. Ekwunife expressed disappointment over the nonimplementation of the report.

She wondered why the Ogoni cleanup project, which is projected to take 30 years, is yet to begin four years after the report was released.

“We need a speedy resolution of the issue. We’re talking about a spill in Ogoniland that happened so long ago. We will not continue to deal with this matter in this manner,” she said.

T

•Hon. Victor Edoror, takes his oath of office as the new Deputy Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, with him is the Speaker, Rt. Hon Uyi Igbe, following the impeachment of Hon Festus Ebea at a sitting held at the old Assembly Chambers, Benin City...yesterday.

chamber could not be used for plenary because the former deputy speaker and other suspended members destroyed the doors when they forcibly entered the chamber.

He said the chamber would be ready for use in three to four weeks.

The Speaker told the lawmakers that their offices would be opened for oversight and committee work.

According to him, “we will be here until the chamber is ready for use. This is not your office. Office work will continue. We have to look for somewhere to conduct plenary.”

In his contribution, Johnson Oghuma, said: “We believe in the rule of law. And even when you are offended you seek redress in court. We don’t take laws into our hands.

drop of his blood.

He said: “The Edo State government and indeed the House of Assembly are thriving in illegality. Whatever they think they are doing it is a pity because the people are watching.

“Edo State does not belong to the comrade governor; neither does it belong to the 24 of us. People voted us in there.

We must not take them for granted.

“I have said it if we say status ante I am ready to go back to my deputy speakership position but when somebody begins to push Igbe I would tell you that we will resist it with the last drop of our blood.”

The PDP caucus in the House has described the impeachment as “a joke of the century”.

It said a deputy speaker could only be removed after a petition detailing allegations of the officer holder has

G

UNMEN killed yesterday a man, Akpan Ighodaro (45), on Old Road in Egor Area, Benin City.

It was gathered that Ighodaro and his wife were taking their kids to school when they were accosted.

An eyewitness said: “Five armed men waylaid the family, dragged the father out and shot him.

“The gunmen on executing their mission entered their vehicle and sped off.”

Police spokesman Noble Uwoh said he has not been briefed.

But sources said some policemen from Ogida Police Division have visited the crime scene.

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

•APC lawmakers sit in Govt House •Elect new Deputy Speaker •Impeachment a joke, says PDP caucus •Ebea: I’ll fight with my blood

“And it is the duty of the police to execute whatever pronouncement made by the court so that there will be no anarchy in our system.

“Nigeria is not a banana republic; we are supposed to be covered by law. And if an honourable calls himself honourable and cannot obey court orders then it is disheartening.”

Folly Ogedengbe, representing Owan East, moved the motion for impeachment under Section 9(2c) of the 1999 Constitution.

The lawmakers also removed Ise-Idehen as a co-opted member of Principal Officer Council.

Victor Edoror (Esan Central) was elected Deputy Speaker.

Edoror, who was elected under the PDP, defected to the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

Ebea has vowed to resist his impeachment with the last

From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

JTF destroys 40 illegal refineries

Suspended Edo deputy speaker impeached

From Osagie Otabor and Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

Man killed in family’s presence

been signed by two third majority of the members.

Minority Whip Kingsley Ehigiamusoe said the sitting at the Government House was null and void.

“There was no resolution of the House that the plenary session should be moved to Government House.

“They are only 15 members and the Speaker cannot vote and for them to remove the Deputy Speaker, they must be 16.”

Minority Leader Emma Okoduwa said: “If the APC wants to have a deputy speaker, it is for the APC caucus and not for the House of Assembly.

“The Deputy Speaker can only be impeached by 2/3 majority of the members of the House and they are only 15; that does not constitute 2/3 majority. That is what the constitution says.”

HE Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Pulo Shield, has shut down 40 illegal refineries in Bayelsa State.

Its Media Coordinator, Lt. Col. Mustapha Anka, said yesterday that troops destroyed the refineries on the creeks of Alkini, Kalatoro, Lagosgbene and Epelene in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

He said oil thieves operated in the area with 21 Cotonou boats, 78 dumps and 154 plastic drums.

Gen. Anka said the items were filled with substances suspected to be stolen crude oil.

“Both the sites and the items were destroyed in-situ with the aid of swamp buggy. No suspect was arrested during the operation.

Troops were deployed in the general area,” he said.

Anka further said that troops of Sector 1 anti-illegal bunkering squad of the command impounded four trucks laden with products suspected to be illegally refined products and crude oil.

He said the trucks were impounded on Akpokoka waterside in Koko, Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State.

"Two illegal crude oil refineries were destroyed at Egboisi Community in Uhumwada Local Government Area of Edo State.

"Three pumping machines and a generating set were recovered at the site,” Gen Anka said.

Protesters in Rivers call for free, fair elections in 2015

UNDREDS of placardcarrying protesters stormed yesterday the venue of a public hearing on electoral accountability in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, calling for free, fair and credible elections next year.

The public hearing, which was temporarily disrupted, was organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), headed by Prof. Chidi Odinkalu.

The peaceful protest was staged by a coalition of civil society and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), un-

From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

der the aegis of the State Civil Society Coalition for Electoral Reforms, led by Celestine Akpobari, who is also the Coordinator of Social Action.

The group condemned the falsification of election results, with the alleged connivance of some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the police and other security agencies.

Inscriptions on the placards included: “2015 elections must reflect the collective choice of

•Storm venue of public hearing Nigerians”; “INEC: The vote of a citizen is supreme”; “Whose voter card are we using in 2015?”; “We are doomed with a compromised electoral umpire” and “We want an unbiased INEC.” Addressing members of the NHRC’s Electoral Accountability Project, Akpobari admonished the commission to address how to ensure free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria, especially during next year’s polls.

The group’s coordinator said: “Our future depends on free, fair and credible elections.

We urge your commission to lay the foundation for credible elections in 2015.

“INEC staff should not allow themselves to be used by politicians. The police should not be trigger happy. Politicians and their parties should not induce voters with money and food items.

“Some powerful Nigerians are planning to relocate poll-

ing units in Rivers State to houses of party chieftains, as a precursor to rigging the 2015 general elections.

“I must inform you that should this anomaly be allowed to happen, then it must be regarded as electoral criminality of the highest order.”

The Chairman of the Electoral Accountability Project, Prof. Nsongurua Udombana, said Nigerians had the right to vote for whoever they wanted to rule them.

Udombana said: “When there is rigging, then such democracy is unfair and unjust.

We have had challenges with the elections that we have conducted in the past. We must not allow electoral malpractices to mar our incipient democracy.

“We must enthrone an electoral system that will punish electoral offenders. Electoral offenders must be prosecuted.

We must not support an electoral system that will enable electoral offenders to scot free.”

The NHRC’s Executive Secretary, Prof. Bem Angwe, said the public hearing on the electoral accountability project was aimed at addressing electoral impunity in Nigeria.

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

67

FOREIGN NEWS

France’s Sarkozy faces corruption probe

•Sarkozy

F

ORMER French President Nicolas Sarkozy was placed under formal investigation on yesterday on suspicions he tried to use his influence to thwart an investigation of his 2007 election campaign, the prosecutor’s office said.

The step, which often but not always leads to trial, is a major setback to Sarkozy’s hopes of a comeback after his 2012 defeat by Socialist rival Francois Hollande.

The conservative politician denies wrongdoing in a string of investigations where his direct or indirect implication has cast doubt on his viability as a candidate in the 2017 elections.

He is due to give a television interview at 1800 GMT. Magistrates are looking at whether Sarkozy used his influence to secure leaked details of a inquiry into alleged irregularities in his victorious 2007 campaign. He is suspected of influence-peddling, cor-

rupting officials, and benefiting from breach of professional secrets, the prosecutor’s office said.

The first former president to spend time in police custody, Sarkozy, 59, was detained for 15 hours on Tuesday before being transferred to appear before investigating magistrates who will run the inquiry. He was then released without bail.

Sarkozy “has gone through other ordeals of this nature, he has always known how to fight,” said Paul-Albert Iweins, the attorney for Sarkozy’s own attorney, Thierry Herzog, who is also being investigated for influence-peddling along with a judge involved in the affair.

Iweins said the inquiry was weak as it relied on legally questionable phone taps of conversations between Sarkozy and Herzog as well as between Herzog and the president of the French Bar. Investigating magistrates have a unique and powerful role under French law, both gathering evidence and determining whether it is solid enough for a trial. After the inquiry, the magistrate can drop the case for lack of proof or “charge” the accused, sending the case to trial.

Influence-peddling can be punished by up to five years in prison and corrupting officials can trigger a sentence of up to 10 years.

It was the second time the

...Case against me ‘political’

E

X-PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy has said the French justice system is being used for “political ends” after he was placed under formal investigation for influence peddling.

In extracts released ahead of the broadcast of a TV interview, Mr Sarkozy denied committing any unlawful act.

He said the case against him was intended to harm his reputation.

It is alleged Mr Sarkozy sought insider information from a judge about an inquiry into illegal campaign funding.

Mr Sarkozy was detained on Tuesday for questioning - the first time a former French head of state has been held in police custody.

Mr Sarkozy has recorded an interview for TF1 television and Europe 1 radio for later on Wednesday evening. In it he says: “The situation is sufficiently serious to tell the French people where we stand on the political exploitation of part of the legal system today.

“I say to all those who are listening or watching that I have never betrayed them and have never committed an act against the Republic’s principles and the rule of law.”

Mr Sarkozy says he is “deeply shocked” by the investigation and accuses the Syndicat de la Magistrature trade union of seeking to destroy him.

Mr Sarkozy was released from custody around midnight (22:00 GMT Tuesday) after appearing in court in Paris.

ex-president, who lost immunity from legal prosecution a month after he left office in June 2012, has been placed under such a judicial probe.

The first was in 2013 but magistrates later dropped the case against him.

Six legal cases, including this one, hang over the ex-

When a suspect is placed under formal investigation, he or she is then examined by a judge, who determines whether there is sufficient evidence for the suspect to be charged.

The step often, but not always, leads to trial.

Influence-peddling can be punished by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros (£120,000; $205,000).

July 2014: Placed under formal investigation on suspicion of peddling influence to obtain details from a magistrate about legal proceedings against him in 2013 October 2013: A criminal investigation into allegations he solicited secret campaign financing in 2007 from France’s richest woman, Liliane Bettencourt, is dropped April 2013: Judges open an inquiry into allegations that the Gaddafi regime helped finance his 2007 election campaign February 2014: Named as a witness in investigation into funding for Edouard Balladur’s unsuccessful presidential bid in 1995 A number of other inquiries are under way into wrongdoing by senior officials during his presidency, in which he has not figured directly Investigators are trying to find out whether Mr Sarkozy, 59, who was president from 2007 to 2012, had promised a prestigious role in Monaco to senior prosecutor Gilbert Azibert in exchange for information about the investigation into illegal campaign funding..

president’s head, a shadow that many in his fractured UMP party believe compromises his ability to lead a comeback in 2017.

Specifically, magistrates are looking to see whether Sarkozy tried to get a judge promoted to the bench in Monaco in exchange for infor-

Iraqi PM Maliki offers partial amnesty to Sunni insurgents

I

RAQI PM Nouri al-Maliki has offered an amnesty to some Sunni militants backing a jihadist-led Sunni rebellion in the north and west of the country.

It would apply to those who “return to their senses” and excludes those who shed blood, he said in a TV address.

He also said he hoped to overcome the challenges blocking the formation of a new government in Iraq.

Iraq’s first parliamentary session was abandoned on Tuesday after MPs failed to agree on top government posts.

Prime Minister Maliki is under pressure to form an inclusive government in a bid to counter the insurgency led by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) which has swept through vast swathes of territory over the past

month.

The unexpected move is thought to be aimed at breaking up the broad alliance of jihadists, Baathist loyalists of the late Saddam Hussein and anti-government tribal elements trying to monopolise power in the Sunni parts of Iraq.

It is not yet clear how the amnesty will be enforced or how many militants will be affected.

Iraqi security forces are currently facing a stalemate with Sunni militants on the ground Prime Minister Maliki also warned that the declaration of an Islamic State by the Sunni militant group, ISIS, poses a threat to the entire region.

The jihadist group said earlier this week that it was forming an Islamic state, or caliphate, on the territories it controls in Iraq and Syria, and has called on Mus-

lims across the world to immigrate to the area.

Mr Maliki also spoke defiantly against moves by Kurdish leaders to assume full control of the Kurdish autonomous region, saying that nobody had the right to exploit recent developments.

His comments come a day after Kurdish and Sunni Arab MPs abandoned the first session of the Iraqi parliament, depriving it of a quorum to elect a new speaker.

As the leader of the bloc that won the most votes in the April elections, Mr Maliki has demanded the right to attempt to form a governing coalition.

But Mr Maliki is widely blamed for precipitating the crisis by monopolising power and marginalising the Sunnis.

Oscar Pistorius ‘suicide risk’ report

O

SCAR Pistorius has post-traumatic stress disorder and could be a suicide risk, according to a psychologist’s report submitted at his murder trial.

The report, read by his defence lawyer, said he was mourning his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

On Monday, the court heard that he was not suffering from a mental disorder when he shot Ms Steenkamp.

He denies murder, saying he killed her by mistake when fearing there was an intruder in the house.

The prosecution says the Olympic athlete deliberately killed Ms Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, after the couple had an argument.

Both prosecution and defence have accepted the findings of the psychologist’s report. The BBC’s Andrew Harding, who was in court, notes that both sides can interpret its findings favourably.

Two reports - one by a psychologist and another by three psychiatrists - were drawn up after a month of tests to evaluate the athlete’s state of mind.

The prosecution on Monday noted that the psychiatrists’ report said Mr Pistorius, 27, was

capable of distinguishing between right and wrong and so should bear criminal responsibility for his actions.

Another defence witness has described Oscar Pistorius as anxious and vulnerable. Professor Wayne Derman, who has known the athlete and treated him for six years testified about his “exaggerated response” when in uncomfortable situations - the “fight or flight” response.

With the case coming to an end, two reports were pitted against each other, with each side quoting favourable excerpts.

A report by a psychologist in the panel found that Mr Pistorius showed no signs of an explosive temper, narcissism or abusive behaviour, while a report by the three psychiatrists concluded that he could distinguish right from wrong.

Both, however, agreed that he did not suffer from Generalised Anxiety Disorder, discrediting the testimony of a previous defence expert, which had led to the month-long, court-ordered evaluation.

Defence lawyer Barry Roux on Wednesday quoted the second

evaluation as saying that Mr Pistorius, a double-amputee, has a history of feeling insecure and vulnerable, especially without his prosthetic legs.

It said he was likely to react more sharply to fear than an able-bodied person would.

“Should he not receive proper clinical care, his condition is likely to worsen and increase the risks for suicide,” Mr Roux quoted the report as saying.

It also said he did not show signs of narcissism or explosive rage, which is usually seen in men who are abusive to their partners.

The court has previously heard that Ms Steenkamp had sent the athlete a message saying: “I’m scared of you sometimes.”

Members of both the Pistorius and Steenkamp families have been closely following court proceedings .

Final defence witness Wayne Derman, professor of sports and exercise medicine at the University of Cape Town, said Mr Pistorius was an anxious individual, with hand tremors and chronic problems with the stumps of his legs.

He has so far resisted calls from his Sunni, Kurdish and Shia opponents to step down because of his handling of the current security crisis.

mation on that campaign funding inquiry, in which he was accused of exploiting the mental frailty of France’s richest woman, L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, for campaign funds.

But as investigators last year used phone-taps to examine separate allegations that late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi funded the same campaign, they began to suspect that Sarkozy had kept tabs on the Bettencourt case, before he was dropped from it, through a network of informants.

Israel urges calm after Palestinian teen’s body found

I

SRAELI leaders have appealed for calm after the discovery of a kidnapped Palestinian teenager’s body sparked clashes in East Jerusalem.

Mohammed Abu Khdair, 17, was seen being forced into a car early on Wednesday.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the “despicable murder” and the mayor of Jerusalem urged restraint.

Palestinian leaders said they held Israel responsible for the killing, amid claims it was in revenge for the murder of three Israeli teenagers.

Agence France-Presse quoted the militant group Hamas as telling Israeli leaders: “Our people will not let this crime pass... You will pay the price for these crimes.”

The BBC’s Yolande Knell in Jerusalem says the Palestinian teenager’s funeral is expected to take place later on Wednesday and will be another cause for tension. Israeli police are still investigating the possible motives for the death.

Mr Netanyahu said he had ordered police to work “as quickly as possible to find out who was behind the heinous murder of the youth” and called on both sides “not to take the law into their own hands”.

There were also early morning clashes in Jenin in the West Bank “Israel is a law-abiding state and everyone is obliged to act according to it,” he said.

Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat also denounced the murder, urging all to “exercise restraint”.

“This is a horrible and barbaric act which I strongly condemn,” he said.

68

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

69

CITYBEATS

Police smash child-selling syndicate

T

HE Special AntiRobbery Squad (SARS), Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja, has smashed a child-selling syndicate.

Members of the syndicate were caught while trying to sell a girl, Yetunde 9.

The suspects, Fausat Ogidan, Abibat Oresanya, Idiatu Abbas and Bola Obajuwa, are being interrogated by detectives.

The Nation learnt that before their arrest, the officer in charge of SARS, Abba Kyari, a Superintendent (SP) and his men, had been interacting and bargaining with the suspects on the girl.

The suspects allegedly sold the child for N650, 000 to the operatives, who agreed to meet them at the Mobil Filling Station in

By Jude Isiguzo and Ebele Boniface

Gbagada to pick her up.

The policemen paid the women with marked money and arrested them after they handed over the girl and were about walking away.

Police said they had been trailing the syndicate since June 6, following a tip-off.

Ogidan (51), who said they renamed the girl Blessing, said she was given to her by Bola Obajuwa a.k.a Iya-Alaje, who resides at Agege, a popular Lagos suburb.

When Obajuwa was arrested, she said she got the child from Idiatu Abbas aka Iya Ghana.

Abbas said the girl was given to her by her elder

• L-R: Fausat, Abibat, Idiatu and Bola ... yesterday

sister, Abibat Oresanya, (48), aka Iya Lanre, at Ibafo in Ogun State.

Road users want fuel tankers relocated

I

T was a harrowing experience for road users on the Oshodi-Mile 2 road in Lagos early yesterday.

They could not get to work early because of traffic grid lock.

Besides, commuters could not pay the fares charged by commercial drivers.

Many were stranded at bus stops, waiting for buses which, in most cases, had been filled before getting to Oshodi bus stop. Some hanged on the doors in a bid to get to work in time.

While Oshodi-Mile 2 cost N200 for smaller buses, bigger ones charged N100 from

By Fatimah Abdul

those standing. There was a long queue for BRT buses but they were not available in time.

A commercial driver, Salau Abdullah, said: “It is those fuel tankers from Wharf parking by the road side that caused the traffic inhibition. I left home as early as 5 am and I was stuck in the traffic before going back for another set of passengers.

Infact, this traffic led to the fee increment because drivers calculated the amount of time they would spend on one trip before they could go for an-

other one.”

A passengers Mr Bayo Babatunde, lamented the fare hike, saying: “At least, they can increase it to a reasonable amount. N200 is too much to Mile 12 from Oshodi. They are not considerate at all. Are we the ones that must carry the burden all the time?”

Another passenger, Miss Nneka Chukwuemeka, who complained about such indiscriminate fare hike whenever an accident occurs, urged the government to find a lasting solution to the problems associated with parking of tankers on the road.

• Oshodi-Mile 2 Road ... yesterday

Security awareness for mechanics

T

HE Chairman, Motormechanics and Technicians Association of Nigeria (MOMTAN), Lagos State, Alhaji Morufu Arowolo, has urged members to join efforts at improving security nation-wide.

Arowolo said the security of lives and property is the responsibility of all and not only the police, State Security Service (SSS) and the army.

Urging auto mechanics to embrace the security structure put in place, he said chief whips and chief task officers across the state would be trained as chief security marshals by the police and SSS under the coordination of the

Ministry of Transportation.

He advised owners of abandoned vehicles in mechanic work-yards to remove them within three weeks, failing which they will be reported to authorities.”

“The Lagos State chapter of MOMTAN has now declared zero tolerance on abandoned vehicles. All work-yards will now be fenced where possible and be lit for security purposes. Also, it is advised that night crawlers should be discouraged and entry point monitored with detectors for Eko O ni Baje is everybody’s responsibility,” he said.

Arowolo urged his colleagues to change their attitude towards customers, and

asked all divisional masters to send the names of two apprentice which will be forwarded to the Nigerian Directorate Employment (NDE) at Abuja.

The secretary general, Mr. Kolawole Ogunsanwo, decribed as false the claim by the Nigeria Institute of Surveyor (NIS) that mechanics are destroying surveyors’ pillars at some sites.

Among those at the MOMTAN meeting were: A community leader, Amb. Idowu Mustapha, Island Division; Mr. Mufutau Abibiye, Mainland Division; Mr. Segun Kolawole, Ikeja/ Ikorodu Division, and Alhaji Yaya Adeshina, State Patron

When Oresanya was arrested, she fingered someone in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The person is at large.

Yetunde said she did not know her parents’ names.

Investigations revealed that Yetunde was sold to Ogidan by Obajuwa for N350,000, while Ogidan decided to sell her for N650,000.

Ogidan said: “I’m a divorcee. I have three children. I’m a traditional healer. The police arrested me because I wanted to sell the child for N350,

000. I collected the child from Bola Obajuwa. Bola said I should pay N350, 000. This is the first time I would do such a business. I told the person that a man wanted to buy the child because his wife did not have a child.”

Oresanya, a wine seller, said: “One of my friends gave me the child. Her name is Adenike aka De Gold. She lives in Ibadan.

She asked me to find somebody who would employ the girl as a house-help. I gave her to my sister, Idiatu, to give to my friend, Iya-Alaje. She paid me

N100, 000 through my sister. It’s about two years now.”

Abbas (40), who said he rushed down from Ghana to Nigeria following a frantic call, said: “When I got here, policemen arrested me because of the child I gave to Bola Obadiran who paid me N105, 000.”

Abadiran, 48, a mother of four, who sells herb at Agege, corroborated Abbas.

SARS operatives have embarked on a man-hunt for the Ibadan-based suspect and Yetunde’s parents.

70

NEWS

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

Chibok: Lack of result from govt’s action worries us, says Ezekwesili Continued from page 4

Her words, “If by tomorrow it becomes 80 days of the girls not being rescued, it will be a profound sadness for not just the families that are directly affected but for all Nigerians because our expectations that our government must rescue them must be realised, the successful rescue of the girls will profoundly strengthen the confidence that citizens have in the capacity of our government to play that very important constitutional role to lives and properties.

“Since our Chibok girls are alive, it is important that every effort towards their rescue should be seen not to have been ignored and so for us, what we look forward to is that their rescue is closer now and not farther.

“There is no doubt that some efforts are being made, but efforts need to deliver results and it is the continually lack of result that worries our movement and the lack of communication on the efforts towards the result, is also an important cause of concern to our movement.

“As a group, we are responsible enough to know that it has not been an easy assignment by the federal government, however, what has been particularly worrisome is the consistent confusing signals from the federal government as regards the rescue operations. As a group, we have been concerned at the inconsistency in the form of different parts of government to what is the

genuine demand from citizens for government to act and to act decisively in achieving the result of brining back our girls.”

A member of the group Mariam Uwais said: “3rd of July 2014 will be 80 days since the abduction of the Chibok girls. It will also be 37 days since the Chief of Defence Staff on May 26th informed the nation that they knew where the girls were and that rescue plans were at an advance stage.

“We called this briefing today to express our deep concern that in spite of numerous assurances, the Chibok girls have still not been rescued. We believe that our entire nation has been in great pain since the night of 14th April when the girls were abducted. The Nigerian army had at some point shortly thereafter reported the successful rescue of the girls, except for eight girls, but it later recanted that claim of a successful rescue by the military.

“It has always been the position of the #BringBackOurGirls movement that the responsibility of this rescue rests with our government and security agencies. For the past six weeks, no substantive communication on the issue has come from the Federal Government or the Presidency. The Nigerian people need and expect credible information from the Government.

“On the 26th of May, the Cheif of Defence Staff informed the public that they had located the abducted Chibok girls reiterating that the Army would do every-

thing necessary to bring back our girls further boosting our hope. What we have seen however is the escalation of persistent attacks on Nigerians with more mass killings, more abduction of property in Chibok, surrounding villages and the rest of the country. Our movement is therefore making the following demands, “An accurate assessment of the effectiveness of the ongoing rescue operation and more credible communication of progress to the public by our Federal Government on its mission to bring back our girls without compromising sensitive operational information.

“Reassure Nigerians on the adequacy and effectiveness of the Federal Government’s counter insurgency strategy especially in responding to the worsening insecurity condition in Chibok and other parts of Borno State where the Federal Government reported that it deployed about 20,000 Nigerian soldiers earlier in May as well as intensifying attention to the most vulnerable zones of the North East and the rest of the country in that order.

“Review of the financing of our security operations by the Federal Government and the National Assembly to ensure adequacy and value of money.

“Convene a governmentcitizen forum on national security as a pathway to rebuilding trust. This should help mobilize and unite the Nigerian people especially communities and families affected by terrorism.”

Nyako: Adamawa House directs CJ to raise panel Continued from page 4

them.

Laori said: “By virtue of section 188 of the Nigerian Constitution, we have satisfied the two-thirds majority with 20 out of the 25 members, which empowers the state Assembly to call on the Chief judge to constitute an investigative panel”.

Speaker Fintiri directed the clerk to prepare a clean copy of the resolution for the acting Chief Judge to inaugurate a panel to investigate the allegations leveled against the governor and his deputy. he added: “ The panel shall in the course of its pro-

ceedings adopt the ordinary rules of fair hearing. The panel may, however, in its discretion, be guided by the High Court Civil Rules of Adamawa State and the provisions of the Evidence Act, 2009”.

The procedure also maintained that evidence adduced before the panel may be oral or documentary; and that the evidence shall be led in the first instance in proof of an allegation; evidence may be led in the next instance in rebuttal of the allegation.

That the panel may regulate the time for the giving of evidence or the making of an application or final sub-

mission by witnesses or parties or counsel on their behalf and the panel’s decision in this regard shall be final.

However, Governor Nyako’s lawyer, Ayo Akam, holding brief for Kanu Aganbi,(SAN), described the action of the Adamawa House of Assembly as a contempt of court. He said the court had restrained the House from carrying on the impeachment process.

On June 26, A Yola High Court, presided over by the Chief Judge, Justice Ambrose Mamadi, restrained the lawmakers from carrying out the impeachment process until the case is decided by the court.

Obanikoro, PDP aiding Boko Haram, says Tinubu Continued from page 4

which Obanikoro is an active and pliable agent that is perpetrating the insurgency for pecuniary benefits.

This government has no shame. It lacks the moral authority to point fingers at individuals or the opposition.

The country is literally on tenterhooks and all the PDP can do is lie to Nigerians in order to cover up its failures.

“Obanikoro’s allegation that Tinubu and his friends in the opposition created Boko Haram is both falla-

cious and untenable. It is the kind of fable that can only come out of the mouth of someone who is delusional.

One whose intoxication with power is not in doubt.

This allegation is both unreasonable and unsustainable, but not surprising coming from the person it came from. Bola Tinubu and the APC have been on record repeatedly condemning killings and bombings

by Boko Haram and proffering solutions to the menace.

“The PDP is preparing the

grounds for its next round of hounding opposition leaders, militarising our cities and violating the democratic rights of Nigerians to move freely. This is political Boko Haram of which the PDP is the Chief Architect.

“In Ekiti, we saw a dress rehearsal of the impunity and near brigandage of this government and its agents.

Nigerians are urged to be vigilant before a few desperate persons steal our voices, our rights, our liberties and freedoms.”

THE NATION THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014

71

www.thenationonlineng.net

THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

TOMORROW IN THE NATION

‘Having made the president and the nation proud, Adesiyan and Obanikoro, who are yet to visit any part of the Northeast in their capacities as ministers of Defence and Police Affairs will wipe away our tears if they are directed to lead their 35,000-strong security team to Chibok JIDE OL UW AJUYIT AN OLUW UWAJUYIT AJUYITAN without delay’

VOL. 9, NO. 2,896

C OMMENT & D EB ATE EBA

T

HE stunning but totally unexpected defeat of Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governor of Ekiti State, by Mr. Ayo Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has led many observers and analysts to ask questions. No one gave Fayose any chance to win the election. A former discredited, impeached and disgraced PDP governor, he was still standing trial for all kinds of financial misdemeanours, including the multi- billion naira poultry project that never saw the light of day and murder charges when he was declared the winner of the election.

Presumably, these legal charges will now be dropped, including the ongoing investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of financial misdemeanours. He will claim immunity from prosecution while in office.

Many observers were initially sceptical of Fayose’s sweeping electoral victory, but were left in a quandary when Dr. Fayemi promptly conceded defeat, congratulating Fayose. This was most gracious of him and reinforces widespread public view of him as a decent person. It was commendable, as this gesture probably saved the state from post-election violence. The scope of Fayose’s electoral victory was stunning and surprising. The turnout in the election was rather low. Of the nearly 800,000 voters validly registered for the election, only 360, 000 actually voted. Fayose was recorded as winning 56 per cent of the votes, while Fayemi could only win 33 per cent. So sweeping was Fayose’s victory that he won in all the local governments, including that of Fayemi. The low turnout for the election may account in part for the scope of Fayose’s victory. Many of Fayemi’s supporters probably stayed away from the election, either because they were confident of his victory, or because they feared an outbreak of violence.

This was probably the most sweeping victory in Nigeria’s recent electoral and political history.

Since Governor Fayemi has not contested the results of the election, we must consider them free and fair, and a genuine representation of the electoral wishes of the people. We must accept the results in the spirit of democracy in which the best candidates may not win always.

But in the aftermath of the election, several questions have been raised concerning the unexpected outcome of the election. First, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, while acknowledging the right of the Ekiti electorate to vote for a candidate of their choice, in this case Fayose, has expressed concerns that we may now be entering a new phase of politics in Nigeria, specifically one in which financial inducements determine the results of elections. Here, he was referring to media reports that Fayose won the elec-

RIPPLES

Boko Haram: ONLY GOD CAN STOP THEM-Cleric

Yes, God...and a COMMITTED GOVT, TOO!

DAPO FAFOWORA

FROM THE SUMMIT dapo.fafowora@thenationonlineng.net

Ekiti Poll: The ugly face of democracy?

•Fayemi

•Fayose

tion by giving the voters financial and other inducements. As he asked in his recent interview in The Nation: “Is it a logical human behaviour for a land of so many intellectuals to reject so overwhelmingly an incumbent that was a respected family man, a devout Catholic, a gentleman and an urbane representative, even in his own ward?” He rightly expressed regrets that ‘stomach infrastructure’ has now replaced real development in Ekiti State, which is what is needed. It is the ugly face of democracy.

Governor Fashola was quite right in raising this pertinent issue as it is crucial for democracy in our country. There has, so far, been no response to this electoral poser by the Ekiti elite, who were probably as much in support of Fayose as the poor in the state. Only Femi Orebe has written in defence of Dr. Fayemi. Other Ekiti leaders

appear to be in hiding. Ekiti may be the poorest of the Yoruba states. But its people had a reputation for political doggedness and for fighting for what they considered right. That reputation is now in tatters. The Ekiti vote is a throw back to the horrible days of Adegoke Adelabu and Lamidi Adedibu, both of Ibadan, who used financial inducements and free food to win elections in Ibadan, the so-called Amala politics.

Governor Fayemi’s immense contribution to the development of the state during his tenure has not been denied even by the opposition. He built roads, schools and hospitals. He left the state with a far better infrastructure than ever before. He ran one of the most competent and effective governments in Nigeria. Under his leadership, there was no financial scandal or scam in the state. He was not being investigated by the EFCC or other anti-fraud agencies. But despite his impressive performance, he was spitefully voted out of office. The only thing he has been accused of is that he did not hand out cash gifts to the voters before the election. But the impressive physical transformation that took place in Ekiti State under his watch is of immense benefit to the public. It will endure long after the cash gifts from Fayose to the electorate must have been spent. That is the road to poverty alleviation and real economic development.

The second issue concerning the future of democracy in the country was raised recently by the distinguished American scholar, Prof. Larry Diamond, the Director at the Centre on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law. In his inaugural Freedom House Lecture on Monday, in Lagos, in apparent reference to the Ekiti election, he observed that the electoral process was badly flawed. “You cannot have the police

HARDBALL

F

ROM Wole Soyinka, our own WS and bard, it was Blues for a Prodigal. But from one of WS’s kindred spirits on the literary plane, Niyi Osundare, it is blues from a prodigal, in the aftermath of the Ekiti governorship election of June 21.

Prof. Osundare, ace poet and literary teacher, may have been “rural-born and peasant-bred”, from his native Ikere-Ekiti.

But by his take on the Ekiti election, at least from the winners’ perspective, he has become an instant prodigal — not if the old Peter Ayodele Fayose is alive and well, though the Ekiti governor-elect claims that Fayose the Terrible is dead; and a new Fayose the Reasonable is risen from those terrible ashes.

However it stands, for Osundare, there might be no triumphant Return of the Native soon, to pun Thomas Hardy’s sixth published novel — and the reason is simple: his devastating poetic take on the Ekiti governorship election, in four stanzas, which he titled: “The People Voted Their Stomach — Blues For An Arrested Renaissance,” now trending on the social media, after release on Sahara reporters.

The explosive opener: A-RICE, oh compatriots

Ekiti: Blues from a prodigal Your stomach’s call obey ...

Hold out your bowls for the golden grains Pawn your pride without delay Is there a more biting record of satirical poetry, of the Ekiti folk, by one of their own?

“A-RICE, oh compatriots”, reminds you, doesn’t it, of Nigeria’s national anthem, “Arise, o compatriots”? And if “Nigeria’s call obey” becomes “Your stomach’s call obey”, what does that pun suggest?

That Ekiti, the hardy land of honour, has at last fallen for the electoral corruption of Nigeria, a country of anything goes? If so, what happens to its old ethos, under Obafemi Awolowo’s developmental politics, of honour or nothing?

O, for more poetic lamentation!

The Riceman is here, your lord and saviour Pawn your vote for his golden gift ...

The people voted their stomach And the dunghill usurped their future ...

Cunning Riceman with bags

and the military blocking the supporters (not to mention fellow governors) of one party from moving about in a state and campaigning, and call that a fully free and fair election”. In effect, what Prof. Diamond was saying is that the electoral damage to the APC in Ekiti State was done in the weeks before the election when the ruling PDP Federal Government deployed its military, police and other security forces to ensure the defeat of Governor Fayemi, whose supporters chose to stay at home rather than face violence on the part of the security forces. This was no level-playing field. The dice was stacked heavily in favour of Fayose. Actual voting in Ekiti might have been free. But the entire electoral process was badly flawed. It is the tactics the PDP intends to employ in the forthcoming state and federal elections.

Now, what are the lessons to be drawn from the Ekiti elections?

First, the APC, and indeed all parties, must fight against the improper use of financial inducements in elections. Ideally, the INEC must monitor election expenses and disqualify any candidate spending money through cash gifts to the voters to win elections. This is subversive of democracy and should not be encouraged, or even tolerated. The APC should refrain from resorting to this despicable means to win elections. It cannot match the resources of the ruling PDP. Second, internal democracy must be strengthened in the parties through the fair conduct of primaries to ensure fairness. The existing rancour in the parties is the perception that unpopular candidates are being imposed on supporters by the leaders.

This practice will alienate the majority of those who will normally support the party.

Thirdly, as a progressive party, the APC must, despite the electoral setback in Ekiti, stand by its principles and programmes to win elections. It must stay the course and fight for what it believes in. The Ekiti defeat is only a temporary setback, a Pyrrhic victory for Fayose. The state can be regained in the next elections.

I

Corrigendum

WROTE in my last column in this newspaper that Chief John OdigieOyegun, the new Chairman of APC, previously won election as Governor of Edo State on the platform of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). This was an error. He won the election as a candidate of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP).

• For comments, send SMS to 08054503031

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above Full of tricks and daggers ...

His first coming left us all In ashes and fluttering rags ...

Brazen murders, strange disappearances: His hands drip with un-expiated crimes But he has an arsenal of cash and rice Both so vital in these degenerate times ...

And now the final lamentation, of a choice to proudly head back into the past?

Too good for us, far too advanced The reigning King is too high above our rot ...

Too much bound to Excellence and Honour And a public garment without a blot ...

He expends state funds on the road to the Future He never paves the way to our bottomless stomach ...

Whoever doesn’t know in the eating world That the gut is a grand, demanding monarch ...

We asked for rice, he gave us Reason We asked for booty, he gave us the Book So we trooped all out to cast our lot For the side of the dark and loaded crook ...

Is this the lament of a fanciful, out-of-tune poet? Or the true anguish of an Ekiti patriot, struggling to retain his sanity when others have merrily and proudly lost theirs?

Time will tell.

Published and printed by Vintage Press Limited. Corporate Office: 27B Fatai Atere Way, Matori, Lagos. P.M.B. 1025,Oshodi, Lagos. Telephone: Switch Board: 01-8168361.

Editor Daily:08099365644, Marketing: 01-8155547 . Abuja Office: Plot 5, Nanka Close AMAC Commercial Complex, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja. Tel: 07028105302. Port Harcourt Office: 12/14, Njemanze Street, Mila 1, Diobu, PH. 08023595790. WEBSITE: www.thenationonlineng.net E-mail: info@thenationonlineng.net ISSN: 115-5302 Editor: GBENGA OMOTOSO