July 4, 2014

Newspaper of the Year

Why poly, COE strike persists, by Wike NEWS

•NFF board, management sacked •Bonus row: Oliseh backs players •No match fixing, says FIFA QUARTER FINALS FIXTURES Saturday 5th July Friday 4th July •France vs Germany 5pm •Argentina vs Belgium 5pm •Brazil vs Colombia 9pm •Netherlands vs Cost Rica 9pm

Page 4

•ASUP boss: Govt not committed

•Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

VOL. 9, NO. 2897 FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

PAGES 16 & 49

•www.thenationonlineng.net

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

OSUN 2014

N150.00

•780,464 get permanent voter cards for election AND MORE •REC on leave, not removed, says INEC •ON PAGE 9 •Thugs caught destroying Aregbesola’s billboards

•ALL Q UIET QUIET UIET:: The Outpatient Department of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan deserted as doctors’ strike continues…yesterday. SEE ALSO PAGES 2&3

‘Car prices won’t go up’ •Vehicle financing scheme coming C

The Nation’s Akioye is Reporter of the Year

Q

By Nneka Nwaneri and Ibrahim Adam

UALITY journalism was on parade last night in Lagos where The Nation won the much-coveted Golden Pen Award.

Senior Correspondent Seun Akioye mounted the podium at the prestigious Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island to receive the Nigeria Breweries Golden Pen Reporter of the Year Award and the N1million cash prize.

Akioye, all smiles, emerged the overall winner with his Continued on page 4

PHOTO: NAN

•Akioye...yesterday

AR prices will not go up because of the new auto policy, manufacturers said yesterday.

As from January, duty on vehicles will go up to 35 per cent —to encourage local manufacturers. This, it is thought, will push up prices.

But such fears are unfounded, according to the National As-

sociation of Automobile Manufacturers (NAMA).

In fact, said NAMA in a statement, going by the policy, cars assembled overseas and brought into Nigeria will cost more, not those assembled locally.

NAMA’s logic, according to

Executive Director Arthur Madueke, is that locally produced vehicles’ prices will gradually fall, because prices crashed in aviation and telecommunications following a similar policy.

Madueke said: “We

Continued on page 4

2015: Jonathan under fire for early campaign

?

WHERE ARE THE CHIBOK GIRLS KIDNAPPED ON APRIL 15?

PDP disowns campaigners It’s callous, insensitive, says APC

By Emmanuel Oladesu, Raymond Mordi, Gbade Ogunwale and Leke Salaudeen

P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan came under fire yesterday for jumping the gun in the 2015

race.

Although the President is yet to speak on his political future, his party – the Peoples Democratic Party

He is indifferent to the law of the INEC and he is inviting everyone to do the same —Balarabe Musa

The PDP has nothing to do with...such groups. we are not even aware of such groups —PDP

No responsible group will choose this time...to launch a misguided campaign for the President —APC

(PDP) – has held some “unity rallies”.

Such rallies were held in Bauchi (Northeast), Kano (Northwest) and Enugu (Southeast) before they were

suspended, following criticisms.

After a brief lull, the campaigns may have reopened, with a new group, the GEJITES, displaying customised vehi-

cles and giant electronic billboards at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, where the #BringBackOurGirls campaigners have Continued on page 4

•SOCIETY P13 •SPORTS P23 •BRAND P26 •AGRIC P38 •POLITCS 45 •FOREIGN P58

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

2

NEWS

Reps intervene T

•From left: Chairman, Panel of Jury, Golden Pen Award, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, MD/CEO Nigeria Breweries Plc, Nico Vervelde, winner, Golden Pen Reporter of the Year, Seun Akioye, members of jury, Mrs Nkechi Ali-Balogun, Mr Gbenga Adefaye and Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye at the presentation of the 6th Golden Pen Award in Lagos ...yesterday. PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

• Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun (middle), his Kogi State counterpart, Governor Idris Wada (right),and President, Unilever, Africa and Middle East, Alan Jope during the Africa Investment 2014 Conference in Lagos... yesterday.

•Vice President, World Fashion OrganisationEurope, Mr. Bargalli Percaris (left) assisted by the Patron, World Fashion OrganisationAfrica, Dr. (Mrs) Merit Gordon Obua (centre) presenting the Grand Supporter of Fashion in West Africa award to the Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson (right) during the Africa Fashion Reception in Yenagoa.

HE House of Representatives has intervened in the face-off between the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the Federal Ministry of Health.

To broker peace between the warring parties, the House mandated its Committee on Health intervene in the industrial crisis.

The committee is expected to report the outcome of the intervention to the House within a week.

The House resolution followed a motion moved under matters of urgent national importance by Minority Whip Samson Osagie (APC, Edo).

In the motion, titled: ‘Urgent Need To Resolve the Crisis in the Health Sector’, Osagie urged the NMA and its members to call off their strike “in view of the critical and fundamental nature of their calling to the lives of the citizenry”.

The lawmaker urged the Federal Government “to do everything possible ...to have this crisis abated in the interest of the citizens of this country”.

He added: “From the NMA perspective, a number of issues, including the appointment of the Surgeon-General for the Federation, the payment of hazard allowances to doctors, retirement age of doctors, expansion of the NHIS (National Health Insurance Scheme) to cover a wider spectrum of the society, among others, are also some of the issues that the National Assembly (has) passed resolutions on.”

According to him, given the critical state of insecurity in Nigeria, Nigerians are at risk during emergencies, if medical services are not made available.

Fashola employs 265 graduates LAGOS State Governor Babatunde Fashola has urged doctors and other health workers to desist from using strike to make demands.

Fashola spoke yesterday at the second convocation of the Lagos State College of Health Technology in Yaba, Lagos.

The governor approved the employment of the 265 graduates of the college to work in the State Primary Health Care (PHC).

He noted that the effect of industrial actions violates doctors’ pro-

From Victor Oluwasegun, Abuja From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

By Miriam Ekene-Okoro

By Wale Adepoju From Osagie Otabor, Benin

fessional calling.

Fashola said: “Medical workers, from the lowest medical worker to the highest in the chain of command and the team, you are like gods on earth. Only sick people know your importance.”

The governor said workers in other sub-sectors of the economy are not satisfied with their remuneration, adding that such workers still do not hold governments by the jugular.

According to him, workers who restrain from strikes do not want Nigeria to fail.

Fashola hailed the management of the college for positively impacting the lives of the new graduates.

He said: “What delights me most is that we are producing graduates in areas where the Lagos economy has a compelling need - the primary

Reversing the trend of

T

•From left: Chief Host, Udo-Aka Foundation, Mr Udo Udo-Aka, member, Board of Trustees, Udo-Aka Foundation, Mrs Martina Udo-Aka; and Group Managing Director, Diamond Bank, Dr. Alex Otti at the presentation of an autobiography and unveiling of Udo- Aka Foundation in Lagos.

•Empty Accident and Emergency Unit, Central Hospital Warri...yesterday.

HERE is no argument that Nigerians are coming to terms with the realities of terrorism, but what many do not know is that their seemingly safest haven may be the softest target of terrorists. This ignorance can be understood; after all, one is still puzzled at what terrorists intend to achieve by killing religious worshippers, football fans or viewers or even ordinary citizens in their lawful businesses. These unprovoked attacks are the symbolic signs of radicalized terrorists, now gaining repulsive notoriety in Nigeria.

Since the history of Boko Haram insurgency, there has been a sustained shift in its modus operandi and target selection. Most often, they delight in soft targets that can give them maximum reach in the number of fatalities. Evidently, attacks that can result in a large number of civilian casualties are now top on the agenda of terrorists. This type of attack, which is the bait that catches the attention of the media, earns the terrorists maximum publicity and cheap media coverage which has become the very oxygen that sustains their nefarious

By Frank Mba

activities. Terrorists have the penchant to induce fears and doubts in people about their personal and collective security. The attacks are most times intended to make the citizens lose confidence in government as well as all symbols of authority of the state, including the Military, the Police and other security forces.

Today, leisure facilities such as football stadiums and viewing centres, which attract large crowd, are now making the list of terrorist targets. Terrorists see these places as easy killing fields where they can record mass deaths. The recent attack at a viewing centre in Damaturu, Yobe state is a good example of the kind of war terrorists are waging against our national unity. A similar attack as this had taken place in Jos, Plateau state, though unsuccessfully.

Nigeria is not alone in this kind of terrorist enterprise. In October 2002, tens of heavily armed members of Islamist militant separatist movement from Chechnya, laid siege

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

3

e in doctors’/Fed Govt’s face-off

‘

Medical workers, from the lowest medical worker to the highest in the chain of command and the team, you are like gods on earth. Only sick people know your importance

‘

•Patients vacate the wards at the Central Hospital, Warrii..yesterday. PHOTOS: NAN

healthcare, the primary healthcare development.

“We are producing graduates who will help us to achieve our objectives. So, to show that we are ready to work our talk, I have indicated and now say publicly that all of the graduating students today will be immediately employed by our government. We will work the process. We will go to the House of Assembly, if it is necessary, to raise supplementary budget to funds this. But I make this commitment to you as a matter of honour.”

Medical services paralysed in Lagos hospitals Services at Federal Government hospitals in Lagos State were paralysed as the NMA strike entered the third day yesterday.

At the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) at Idi-Araba, Surulere; the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) at Ikeja; the National Orthopaedic Hospital at Igbobi, Lagos (NOHIL) and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) at Ebute Metta, among oth-

ers, doctors did not attend to patients.

The NMA, supported by the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) is on an indefinite nationwide strike, making a 24-point demand.

The hospitals, which normally had a heavy presence of doctors, only had nurses and other junior health workers to attend to in-patients.

Relatives of seriously sick patients had moved them to private hospitals.

All the out-patient units and clinics were shut while in-patients receiving treatment were told to either seek health care in private hospitals or wait till the end of the strike.

Patients who were referred to tertiary facilities were told to seek treatment in private hospitals, which many considered as “expensive”.

The Accident and Emergency (A and E) units of the hospitals our reporter visited were closed, even to patients on emergency.

At LUTH, only minor injuries

were attended to by the nurses.

The major wards at LUTH, LASUTH and NOHIL were quiet, unlike on normal work days when they were swarming with doctors, nurses, patients and relatives of patients, among others.

Don’t pay striking doctors, patients urge Fed Govt Patients at the Benin Central Hospital in Benin, the Edo State capital, yesterday urged the federal and state governments not to pay the striking doctors.

Only three patients were seen at the male and female wards of the hospital when our reporter visited there yesterday.

A matron, who spoke in confidence, said the wards were usually filled with doctors and patients before the strike started.

Some of the patients said they would soon be discharged.

They said the striking doctors should be made to experience similar pains they had been passing through since Tuesday.

Mr Friday Iyebe, who had spent two weeks at the hospital, said it was sad that doctors could embark on the strike without considering the plight of their patients.

He said: “This is not the right time for doctors to strike. They are supposed not to be paid for allowing people to die. They should not receive salary for punishing patients.”

Another patient waiting to be discharged, Justin Idiaghe, urged the doctors to call off the strike.

She said patients were made to suffer the strike action.

At the maternity ward, it was learnt that six babies had been delivered since the strike started.

A source at the hospital said only expectant mothers without complications were allowed into the labour room while others were referred to other hospitals.

The source denied allegations that four babies died at the hospital because of lack of proper medical attention.

The hospitals’ Medical Director,

Dr. Edith Kayode-Iyase, confirmed that several patients had been discharged.

JOHESU threatens to sue NMA, MDCAN Delta State chapter of the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) has threatened to take a legal action against the NMA and the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) over their nationwide strike in government hospitals.

JOHESU chairman at the FMC, Asaba, Comrade Tony Asiodu, condemned the two unions for embarking on what he called an “ego-bloating and prejudiced” strike at the expense of Nigerians.

In a statement yesterday, Asiodu said an Abuja court had restrained the medical unions from any strike.

He said: “Nigerians must say no to MDCAN/NMA that have become anti-people. The Federal Government should not allow itself to be blackmailed by MDCAN/ NMA.”

f terror attacks on football viewing centres on the crowded Dubrovka theatre in Moscow, Russia with grenades and improvised explosive devices strapped on their bodies as they threatened to shoot hostages and blow up the auditorium should Russian authorities refuse to meet their demands. That three-day siege led to the death of about 133 hostages and 40 militants. Also in April, 2013, two terrorist bombs killed three people and injured 260 others at the Boston marathon in the United States.

The case is not different in Kenya where it was reported in June, 2014 that not less than 48 people were killed by Somali’s Al-Shabab terrorists in the town of Mpeketoni, near a tourist resort in Kenya. Among the dead were people watching a World Cup football match at a hotel.

The reasons for targeting these places are very clear. Football and other sporting activities are unifying factors which keep the adherents of all religions and political divides in Nigeria together- Boko Haram does not want this. Football is also associated with Western Culture which Boko Haram claims to detest.

Sports are tools for projecting national

creativity, pride and the Olympian spirit of friendship, love, tolerance, competitiveness, inclusivity and togetherness which are clearly repugnant to the terrorists’ ideologies of extremism and hatred. Like other terrorist agenda, Boko Haram wants to shift attention from the electrifying atmosphere of sports to their condemnable acts of terror. For instance, as far back as 1972, during the Munich Olympic Games, the Palestinian terrorists struck and kidnapped Israeli athletes and in this way shifted and monopolized the attention of the global audience. Now instead of discussing sports, the attention of the world shifted to that singular act of terror.

This piece therefore intends to conscientise citizens on terrorist attacks with tips that can help improve their safety in these places, and in this way build natural resilience against terrorism. Much as this educative guide has not set out to cow citizens into the closet, it is strongly advised that Nigerians opt for safer places in viewing or watching football. Doing this at home

is more preferable as this will even create opportunities to bond with family members as entrenched in our culture. It is also cost effective and health-friendly as it saves the cost of alcohol and protects one from being exposed to passive smoking and other unhealthy circumstances.

Where viewing Centres are the only option, there must be individual and collective effort to improve and strengthen security and safety around the Centres. In other words, operators of these Centres and managers of football stadiums and other sporting facilities must employ the services of security guards who will properly screen patrons or customers to these places before allowing them into the facilities.

Having this security measures will reduce the vulnerability of these leisure Centres to terrorist attacks.

Similarly, operators of viewing Centres and managers of stadiums should not allow vehicles to be parked close to these areas; vehicles should be parked within the range of 50metres to 100metres to avoid fatal impacts in an unforeseen

circumstance. In doing this, operators of these Centres should advise their patrons and habitués to dress light to the Centres, while handbags and other items that can be used to conceal improvised explosive devices (IEDs) should be disallowed into these places.

In order to ensure compliance to safety standards, government must put measures in place to regulate the operation of Viewing Centres. Much as the indiscriminate banning of the Centres is far from the position of this piece, the states or local governments in regions where these attacks are prevalent may consider this option in the interest of public safety, particularly where the operators of such Viewing Centres fail to take basic safety and security precautions necessary for safeguarding the lives of the patrons.

Finally, it is no longer necessary restating the fact that efforts should be made to look out for strange faces and suspicious movements, whenever one visits such places as this. Ignoring this important observation may leave room for a

•Mba

devastating terrorist attack. The message therefore is for all to be security conscious, as this is the surest way to prevent terrorists from achieving their aim.

•Mba, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, is the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Nigeria Police Force.

4

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

ASUP, COEASU not willing to call off strike, says minister

E

•Rivers State Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi (right), Former President of Ghana, John Kufuor and former President of ECOWAS Commission and Special UN Envoy, Mohamed Ibn Chambas (left), when they visited schools built by the Amaechi administration in Eleme, Rivers State.

Car prices won’t go up, say manufacturers Govt to unveil vehicle financing scheme

Continued from page 1

pledge our support to the Nigerian people that there would be no increase in the prices of vehicles as being heralded by harbingers of doom, who wish themselves well at the detriment of the growth of Nigeria for the benefit of all.”

NAMA accused opponents of the automotive policy of using scare tactics against a progressive policy designed to make cars cheaper in Nigeria, domesticate their production, create jobs and bring about transfer of technology. “It was clear that the country needed to gravitate in a new direction, away from the import mindset, if it was going to embark on sustainable industrial development. Only a select group of traders benefited from a high end auto market with massive resource drainage in form of foreign exchange outflow and littering of the landscape with a scrap heap in the name of fairly used cars,” Madueke said.

NAMA said it is against this background that the Federal Government launched a reformatory and revolutionary programme to reposition the economy on an industrial platform.”

This necessitated a structural

T

HE Federal Government is formulating a new Vehicle Refinancing Scheme that will enable Nigerians buy cars and other

locally manufactured vehicles at affordable rates, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga said yesterday.

He said the scheme which is expected to be launched in about four months, would allow Nigerians to buy vehicles of their choice and pay for them over a period of four years, adding that government is in discussion with both local and international banks to set aside a vehicle refinancing fund that Nigerians can access at not more than 10 per cent interest per annum.

“Buying cars and paying cash is not the best,” he said, adding that finances will be available at low interest rate.”

Aganga said to ensure that the auto policy succeeds and that local car manufacturers keep afloat, the Federal Government has crafted a policy that will ensure that local car manufacturing plants would be given priority in purchase of vehicles for official uses, stating that it is another way of creating demand for madein-Nigerian cars. change, one that entailed a reshuffling of resource allocation away from finished goods importation and distribution. It was clear non-value adding businesses in the auto sector had to give way to more productive linkages.

“To achieve this policy shift,

By Simeon Ebulu, Group Business Editor

The minister explained that reports in some quarters that the policy would lead to the exit of used cars was unfounded, saying that was not the case.

“I want to reassure Nigerians that we have not banned used cars, so anywhere you hear used cars have been banned, it is not true.” He said reports that put tariff on used cars at 70 per cent, is not true, “used cars are 35 per cent,” he stressed.

He said under the new auto policy, there are multiple tariff regimes, stating that it would not be entirely correct to even say that new vehicles would attract 70 per cent tariff. He said for those who import CKDs (Completely Knocked Down vehicles), the duty is zero per cent, while those who import SKD1 (Semi Knocked Down) and SKD2, it is five and 10 per cent respectively.

Aganga said those who are committed to implementing the auto policy, and have acquired land, and have brought in machinery and have assembly plants in place, would import the gap between demand and local

it became necessary to ensure the buy-in of all stakeholders. The Federal government embarked on a massive consultation to explain the industrial development vision, sensitise affected groups and educate them on changes required to re-integrate into the new paradigm.

Continued on page 57

“People naturally resist change. Rather than study the new value chain arising from local vehicle assembly operations, and determine where to position given the new platform, most in spite of acknowledging Continued on page 57

LEVEN months after, the polytechnics and Colleges of Education teachers’ strike continues.

Minister of Education Nyesom Wike blamed it all on the teachers, saying they were delaying the strike’s end.

Speaking at the public presentation on the education sector’s transformation under President Goodluck Jonathan, Wike said the N40 billon demanded by the teachers (N20billion for polytechnics and N20 billion for Colleges of education) would be paid in phases, but the two unions Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) and the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) disagreed.

He said the government could not raise the money at once, hence the plan to pay in-

been meeting.

The expensive billboards are believed to be meant to cast a shadow on the protest.

The All Progressives Congress (APC), the United Peoples Party (UPP), some politicians, lawyers and some opinion leaders, chided the Jonathan campaigners for their action and Dr. Jonathan for looking the other way.

The UPP said given the state of the nation, the President would face the consequences if he went ahead to declare his intention to run again.

But the PDP said it had nothing to do with the campaign by the group, which Second Republic Governor Balarabe Musadescribed as flouting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rules.

Leader of the #BringBackOurGirls protesters Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili said the group had never been bothered by the competition for space from the various groups campaigning for Jonathan’s re-election.

Mrs. Ezekwesili, reacting to the seeming attempt by the proJonathan groups to take the shine off the protests, said: “The trucks and billboards of the proJonathan campaigners have al-

stallmentally.

Wike said: “Government is not the one holding on to the strike.

An agreed proposal to pay CONTISS-15 arrears of salaries to ASUP members in phases is facing complications. Strike is not something you resolve easily.

“As of February when the arrears were computed, both ASUP and COEASU made a demand of N20billion each, amounting to a total of N40billion. It is not possible for government to raise N40bn. It was later agreed that the money be paid in two phases of N20bn apiece.”

It was gathered that the government, ASUP and COEASU Continued on page 57

Military hunts for women spies

B

•Brown urges UK to send troops

ARELY 48 hours after his arrest, one of the suspected masterminds of the Chibok girls’ abduction, businessman Babuji Ya’ari, has opened up to the military on the situation in Sambisa Forest.

Ya’ari and the two women, who are suspected to be Boko Haram suspects have been taken into custody in a military facility in Maiduguri – the troubled Borno State capital.

The three suspects were arrested in Maiduguri, Gombe and Numan, Adamawa State.

The military is on the trail of more women in the Northeast following the launch of a probe into alleged recruitment of women suicide bombers by the insur-

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

gents.

The investigation was as a result of a botched female suicide mission to 31 Regiment Army Barracks on June 9.

According to a top military source, who spoke on the ongoing interrogation of the arrested masterminds of Chibok girls, the suspects have given “useful insights into the workings of the insurgents in Sambisa Forest”.

The source said: “The three suspects have been moved to a military facility in Maiduguri for interrogation by relevant experts and security agents. They were arrested in different locations Continued on page 57

The Nation’s Akioye is Reporter of the Year Continued from page 1

story, titled “Even the rich envy us the way we live” an expose on Dustbin Estate, a community in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government

Area of Lagos State.

To win the coveted prize, which comes with a cash prize of N1 million, Akioye, a past recipient of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Journalism, shrugged off the challenge from Joseph Undu of

2015: Jonathan under fire for early campaign Continued from page 1

From Gbenga Omokhunu,

Abuja and Adegunle Olugbamila

Champion, who emerged the first runner up and Mojid Alabi of New Telegraph, who is the second runner up.

Akioye, a graduate of International Relations from the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, according to the organisers, was thorough and professional in his report on the slum community. In picking the final winners, the chairman of the jury, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, said this year’s entries were

Continued on page 57

‘Re-election campaign callous, insensitive at this time’

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC) has described as utterly callous and insensitive the ongoing campaign by the so-called GEJites, a pro-Jonathan group, for the President’s re-election right at the same spot where the ‘bring back our girls’ campaigners have been staging daily protests demanding the safe return of the over 200 abducted girls.

In a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the message being conveyed to Nigerians is that the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan takes priority over anything else, including the security and welfare of the citizens. ‘’Were this not to be so, no responsible group will choose this time, when over 200 school girls have been missing for over 80 days and the terror group Boko Haram is daily killing and maiming Nigerians, to launch a misguided re-election campaign for the President. If their daughters were among the missing school girls, will they be launching a political campaign for reelection rather than pushing for the girls’ ways been there. As a matter of fact, they came to station the trucks and billboards at the venue a few weeks after we started gathering at the Unity Fountain.

“But we are not bothered by their presence at the venue. As far as we are concerned, the Unity Fountain is a public place and it should be open to everybody

release? ‘’To show their contempt for decency and as if they were intent on inflicting more pain on the parents and guardians of the missing girls, they decided to position their campaign instrument, wheelmounted electronic billboards, right at the Unity Fountain in Abuja where committed and patriotic Nigerians have been holding their own daily campaign for the safe return of the girls,’’ it said.

The APC said much as it may deny, it is clear that the Jonathan Administration, that has surpassed itself in sheer cluelessness in providing purposeful leadership to stop the daily carnage in the country and ensuring the return of the missing girls, has apparently been secretly funding different groups to campaign for it. ‘’First there is the Protectors of Nigerian Posterity, then the Goodluck Initiative for Transformation 2015 and now the GEJites.

With the expensive newspaper, television and Social Media adverts that these nebulous groups are running, it is clear they are being financed from a bottomless war

that wants to make use of it.

“All we ask for is the right to peaceful assembly by our members, as guaranteed by the Constitution. What we will continue to kick against is a situation where one Commissioner of Police would wake up one day to say he has banned peaceful pro-

chest, to which taxpayers have been unwilling contributors. ‘’It is sad that a government that apparently cannot adequately fund the war on terror, a government that has lost the initiative to terrorists, a government that cannot provide jobs for its teeming army of unemployed, a government that is running Nigeria aground has suddenly found huge funds to engage in a re-election campaign that is going nowhere, touting tokenism as achievements,’’ the party said.

It said if the Administration does not endorse the callousness and insensitivity of the groups, it should publicly dissociate itself from them and then call them to order.

The APC also raised the alarm that the Federal Government is losing the war on terror, which has progressively got worse since the abduction of the Chibok girls over 80 days ago. ‘’Almost on a daily basis now, these terrorists have been striking at places and times of their own choosing. They are

tests over the Chibok girls.”

PDP National Publicity Secretary Chief Olisa Metuh insisted that the party had never been involved in any of the activities of pro-Jonathan groups.

Metuh who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, said: “The PDP has nothing to

Continued on page 57

do with the activities of such groups. As a matter of fact, we are not even aware of such groups.

“I believe the organisers of the groups are in the best position to comment on their activities and why they decided to choose the venue for their activities. I do

•Dr. Jonathan

not know any of them”.

Founder and National Chairman Chief Chekwas Okorie said Jonathan might have to weigh his options clearly before taking the plunge. He noted that the President could no longer take the people’s support for granted, particularly the people of the Southeast.

Elder statesman and politician Alhaji Tanko Yakassai believes Jonathan reserves the right to decide when to announce his Continued on page 57

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

5

NEWS N2.437b fertiliser ‘scam’: EFCC quizzes perm sec, ministry’s top officials From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

T

HE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission yesterday grilled the permanent secretary and top officials of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture for alleged N2.437billion fertiliser scam in the ministry.

The officials were questioned for several hours on how the fertilisers meant for peasant farmers were diverted to a neighbouring country for sale at an exorbitant price.

A source in the anti-graft agency said the probe followed a petition EFCC received from a bank.

The source said: “Despite the alleged smashing of the fertiliser syndicate, a fresh case of racketeering has been uncovered in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.

“The fraud made the commission to invite the permanent secretary in the ministry and some other key officers for grilling. Those people were quizzed for hours by our operatives.

“The bigwigs made statements before they were allowed to go. The investigation is ongoing and if they are needed, they will definitely be re-invited.”

The highly-placed source gave insights into how the racket was unravelled.

The source added: “The alleged fraud came to light following a petition by Ade Okeaya-Inneh (SAN) on behalf of Enterprise Bank Limited, against Abubakar Musa and three other companies - Messrs Madalla Enterprises, Ani B. Barak Nigeria Limited and Al Iman Agro Ventures Limited.

“Musa is the Agric Desk officer of Enterprise Bank. The bank is said to have, in April 2013, granted a loan to the companies to purchase fertiliser but they refused to pay back the loan. The three companies allegedly received products from the Growth Enhancement Scheme that was far in excess of what they paid for.

“MBS Merchant Limited, the supplier of the fertiliser, allegedly claimed to have supplied the three companies with fertiliser worth N2,437,050,000 for which it only received N844,700,000.

“It is alleged that the fertiliser, which was purchased at Federal Government subsidised price and meant to be sold to local farmers, was diverted to a neighbouring country and sold at exorbitant price.”

N10b jet expenses probe: Diezani, NNPC stall hearing P ETROLEUM Resources Minister, Mrs Diezani AlisonMadueke, her ministry and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) stalled hearing yesterday in the suit they filed against their investigation by the House of Representatives on allegation that she spent N10 billion on hired aircraft.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on June 19, adjourned till yesterday for hearing of the substantive suit, after ordering parties to maintain the status quo.

But the hearing was stalled yesterday because of an application by the plaintiffs seeking to amend their

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

originating summons.

They sought to add two additional prayers, including a declaration that the National Assembly and the House of Representatives (defendants) could not investigate against them Although the National Assembly, represented by Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), did not object to the amendment sought by the plaintiffs, the House of Representatives, represented by Abubakar Mahmud (SAN), opposed the plaintiffs’ move to amend their originating process.

Plaintiffs’ lawyer, Etigwe Uwa (SAN), was not comfortable with the House’s objection to his plan to the amendment. He said the objection was against the parties’ earlier agreement to proceed with the substantive suit.

The lawyer prayed the court to give him some time to respond to the objection filed by the House against his application to amend.

Mahmud argued that, as against Uwa’s position, it was the plaintiffs who had acted against the parties’ agreement to proceed with the substantive suit by coming with an amend-

ment midway into the case.

The lawyer averred that the amendment sought by the plaintiffs was an attempt to broaden the scope of the suit beyond what existed. He argued that the amendment was unnecessary.

Justice Mohammed held that there was nothing unusual in the objection raised by the House of Representatives against the plaintiffs’ plane to amend.

The judge was of the view that since the plaintiffs chose to amend their originating process, the House was entitled to either object or support such decision.

He adjourned till July 9 to hear the plaintiffs’ application to amend their originating summons.

IGP meets police chiefs over rising insecurity From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

INSPECTOR-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Abubakar met with highranking police chiefs yesterday in Abuja to proffer solutions to rising insecurity in the country.

The police chiefs, who had a closed-door meeting at the Force Headquarters, were said to have deliberated on how to adequately equip officers and men to evolve a modern intelligence gathering and crime fighting techniques.

A statement by the Force spokesman, Frank Mba, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), said the deliberations centred on the incessant terror attacks, herdsmen/farmers’ clashes in parts of the country.

Mba said the rising wave of kidnapping, transborder banditry, illegal possession of arms and ammunitions and other forms of crimes and criminality were examined.

Abubakar reportedly urged the senior officers to improve on their surveillance network and police visibility across the nation.

They were asked to begin early preparations for the next year’s elections.

NMMA 2014 begins entries’ assessment

already covered in Bill 455.

“The Senate Bill 379 (Amendment of Section 87 to empower INEC where a political party fails to comply with the provisions of the Constitution or Electoral Act, to exclude the nominated candidate of that party from the list of nominated candidates for the election.

“The committees noted that the court is the appropriate forum to determine the regularity or otherwise of a party primary.

“The Senate Bill 266 (Amendment of Section 100 to make Presidential Debates mandatory before an election). Election debates, the committees felt, should remain outside the purview of the law.

THE Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA), acknowledged as one of the most prestigious awards for media excellence in Nigeria, has inaugurated the 2014 Panel of Assessors (PoAs).

At a ceremony held yesterday at its secretariat in Lagos, the NMMA’s Board of Trustees (BOT) inaugurated a panel to assess the entries received for 2013.

The NMMA’s BoT Chairman, Mr Vincent Maduka, who was represented by a distinguished trustee and former Director-General of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Dr. Josef Bel-Molokwu, promised that the assessors would follow the procedures for selecting outstanding award nominees and winners.

The panel has two months to assess the entries and submit the final report to the board.

They agreed with Olorundare’s argument that pending issues raised by the accused against the court and the prosecutor should be resolved before any further steps taken in the case.

Justice Mohammed held that since there was a pending charge against Sylva and others, they were, by law, required to attend court at every hearing, despite their pending applications against the court’s jurisdiction, the charge and the prosecution lawyer.

The judge held that the defence lawyer failed to show any legal provision that the client could stay away from court just because they had pending ap-

plications challenging the jurisdiction of the court and the competence of the charge.

He also held that until he decides whether or not the prosecution lawyer was competent to proceed with the case, he could not be restrained from making any application in the case, including the application for bench warrant.

Justice Mohammed declined to issue the bench warrant on the grounds that the lawyers to Okoburo and Ogbuku had sufficiently explained why their clients were absent in court.

He adjourned till October 8 for hearing of the pending applications by the accused.

•From left: Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Ayotunde Phillips; Head Judge, Lagos Judiciary, Justice Funmilayo Atilade; Governor Babatunde Fashola; Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Mr Ade Ipaye and former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Prof. Yemi Osibajo, at a conference on: Delay in Justice Administration in Lagos...yesterday PHOTO: NAN

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Senate rejects presidential debates

HE Senate yesterday rejected a proposal that makes presidential debates mandatory before any election.

But it passed some amendments to the Electoral Act. It also gave the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the freedom to determine the procedure for voting.

The rejection of the presidential debates was contained in the report of the Senate Committees on the Review of the 1999 Constitution and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), titled: “A Bill for an Act to amend the Electoral Act, 2010 to provide for Tenure of Office of Secretary, power to issue duplicate voters card, deter-

mine voting procedure and for other related matters, 2014.” It was presented by Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba at plenary.

Also discarded was the proposal that sought to place the responsibility of proving the regularity or otherwise of any election on INEC. The committees said the burden of proof on electoral irregularities during election should be on the petitioner.

The report of the committee reads: “On the other hand, a number of proposals were rejected by the committees.

Some of the proposals rejected are: Senate Bill 297 - (Sought to vest the responsibility of prov-

ing the regularity of any election on the Independent National Electoral Commission).

The Bill was rejected in its entirety as the committees were of the view that in law, the burden of proof lies with the petitioner.

“Senate Bill 266 (Amendment of Section 25 to empower INEC to conduct elections into the office of the President, governor, Senate, House of Representatives and State Assemblies on the same day) - The committees agreed that INEC lacks the capacity to manage an electoral exercise of that scale in a single day.

“Senate Bill 379 (Amendment of Section 28 - to provide alternative authority for officers to swear oath of neutrality). This was rejected as it was

Ogbuku were absent in court.

This prompted prosecution lawyer, A. Adeniyi, to urge the court to issue bench warrants for their arrest.

Defence lawyers, Isreal Olorundare (SAN), who represented Sylva, opposed the prosecution’s application for bench warrants.

Olorundare averred that since the accused were challenging the court’s jurisdiction, the competence of the charge and the continued appearance of the prosecution lawyer in the case, the court should first decide those issues before proceeding to hear the charge.

The lawyer argued that since the accused persons’ ap-

plications were still pending, the court should decide them one way or the other before taking their pleas.

He said the prosecution lawyer was disabled from making any application, including for a bench warrant, because his appearance in the case was being challenged.

Lawyers to Okoburo and Ogbuku, James Odiba and Ajayi Olowo apologised to the court for their clients’ absence.

Odiba said his client was ill and had gone on a medical trip to Senegal; Olowo said his client was in another court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, over another criminal case involving him.

From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

Judge: Sylva, others to attend court on N19.5m ‘money laundering’ charge

J

USTICE Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has ordered that former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva and his co-accused should always attend court on the N19.2 billion money laundering charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) preferred against them.

The judge’s order was contained in a ruling yesterday on lawyers’ arguments on whether or not it was necessary for the accused to attend court and mount the dock when they were challenging the court’s jurisdiction, the

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

competence of the charge and seeking the disqualification of the prosecution lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN).

The EFCC, late last year, filed the 42-count charge, in which Sylva and others were accused of laundering about N19.2 billion.

Charged with Sylva are: Francis Okoburo, Gbenga S. Balogun, Samuel Ogbuku, Marlin Maritime Limited, Eat Catering Services Limited and Haloween Blue Construction and Logistics Limited.

Sylva and Balogun reluctantly mounted the dock yesterday, but Okoburo and

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

6

NEWS

•Senator Oluremi Tinubu (middle) with, from left: Oladele Adekanye, Olajide Jimoh, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, Mr Demola Seriki, Alhaji Mutiu Aare and new local government areas and local council development areas’ party exco members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos Central Senatorial District at the party’s Constituency Office in Yaba, Lagos.

TCN, NAEC to meet over nuclear power’s grid

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HE Director-General of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC), Dr. Osaisai Erepamo, yesterday said the organisation will, next week, continue its meeting with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on the connection of nuclear power plants to electricity grid.

Following the implementation of the National Nuclear Power Roadmap of 2007, the country has targeted 1,000 megawatts (MW) from nuclear energy by 2020 and 4,000 MW by 2030, Erepamo said.

The meet i n g , h e s a i d , would streamline the grey areas that could cause difficulties in the transmission from nuclear power plants.

The NAEC chief was responding to questions from the Deputy Director-General of the Technical Cooperation, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mr. Kwakiutl Aning, at nuclear power facility in Sheda, Abuja.

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

He said there were more stringent requirements for nuclear power plants because of the magnitude of their output.

Erepamo explained that having power plants ready without provision for transmission would cause a major hiccup in its electricity value chain.

He said: “We have been having interesting of meetings with them (TCN). In fact, I think in another week the team from that agency and us will be meeting with that agency to map out were there could be difficulties.

“This is because the requirements for a nuclear power plant make it more stringent than other power sources because of the quantum of output from the nuclear power plant. That is a serious one and I think as you have the power plants ready and you don’t have the transmission to absorb it that will be a major setback.”

NBA: Lagos unity worthy of emulation

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HE harmony among various ethnic groups in Lagos State is worthy of emulation by other states in Nigeria, the state branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has said.

The association said if Nigerians everywhere could coexist peacefully like Lagos residents, the country would be the better for it.

At a media briefing on the branch’s 2014 Law Week, to be held from July 9-11 at the Agip Recital Hall, MUSON Centre, Lagos, the branch praised Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) for fostering unity in the state.

The law week has the theme: Lagos: Melting Port or No Man’s Land – Setting Example for Nigeria’s Unity.

Chairman of the Law Week Committee, Dr Babatunde Ajibade (SAN) said: “Right now Nigeria is at a bit of a crossroads, and the issue of our unity is a hot topic. It’s a hot topic at the national conference, in the international press. I don’t think Nigeria has received much publicity ever as it has in the past six months, and unfortunately it’s not necessarily for the positive things.

“We think that this is an

By Joseph Jibueze

opportunity to perhaps showcase one of the success stories that we have had in Nigeria in the past, maybe eight years. I think that the developments that have taken place in Lagos, the style of governance and the harmony among the various people that make up Nigeria have been something worthy of emulation.

“If the entire country could adopt that same attitude to co-existence, we’ll be a lot better than we are now.

We’re hoping that the governor will give the keynote address.

“We think that he also has contributed a lot to what has happened in Lagos over the past eight years and it will be great if he can give speak to that theme,” Ajibade said.

The branch chairman Mr Alex Muoka said the first session of the week would dwell on election petition law, where lawyers would be taught on how to prepare and handle election cases.

Speakers will include the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr Mike Igini; Mr Rickey Tarfa (SAN) and Mr Tayo Oyetibo (SAN).

Growing income disparity big problem for Nigeria, says Okonjo-Iweala

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HE Federal Government yesterday said although the economy has been growing by about seven per cent in the last decade, the rising income inequality among citizenry has become worrisome.

Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala spoke in an interview with Christiane Amanpour on CNN. The minister said Nigeria’s rising Gini-coefficient, which measures income distribution of a country’s residents, remains a challenge.

She said the income gap has kept widening as the economy grows.

Okonjo-Iweala said: “Nigeria’s economy has been

N

By Collins Nweze

growing at an incredible rate of seven per cent. Still, we are facing the problem of growing inequality and we recognise that. We have to tackle that. It is also a global problem, and we have to focus on our own, although we are still behind several emerging market countries.”

The minister said the government recognised that lack of jobs among the populace was among the problems that also needed to be addressed.

She added that the Federal Government was also aware that corruption and governance remained major challenges to the economy.

Okonjo-Iweala said the government was tackling

them.

“We recognise that in Nigeria, again, corruption and governance issues are all there.

There is no getting away from them. They are problems we must confront. It is not that when you mention Nigeria, the next word that comes in is corruption. I think we must be specific on the things we are doing to confront it.

“I want less impunity. We want people to be punished, if they have done the wrong thing. As the Finance Minister, my interest is in getting money into the treasury.

People have to see consequences.”

The minister said the government was also willing to work with the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to solve both economic and social problems facing the North.

The minister said Sanusi, who was last month named the Emir of Kano, has lots of experiences that would be beneficial to the people.

“Absolutely, we congratulate him, and we are happy for him. It has been his dream to be the Emir of Kano, one of the most important rulers in the North. With his expertise, we do hope he will work with us so that together we will try to solve the problems in the North,” she said.

Okonjo-Iweala said there is need to step up security in the north, including working with local communities to achieve peace.

governments on transportation infrastructure, such as roads, railway, waterways and airways nationwide, the desired positive impact is yet to be felt by the business community and citizens.

“This is because a good number, which is between 40n and 50 per cent of federal and state roads, are still in deplorable conditions, compounding the already high cost of doing business in the country.”

To solve the problem, the NACCIMA president advised the government to collaborate with the private sector through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) ar-

rangement and provide more effective transportation across the country.

The entrepreneur regretted that the business community was being confronted by numerous taxes and levies by the three tiers of government.

According to him, these aggravate the already high cost of doing business in the country.

Abubakar urged the three tiers of government to harmonise taxes and levies throughout the country to mitigate against the incessant harassment of business operators by tax officials.

‘Nigeria’s monolithic economy threatened’

IGERIA’s monolithic economy is under threat, the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has warned.

The economy, which is 90 per cent oil and gas-dependent, is facing over 60 per cent threat in its revenue base, according to the group.

This followed the discovery of oil deposits in other countries and the continued development of new fuel efficient technologies in the automobile industry.

NACCIMA president, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who gave the

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

warning, quoted the Federation Account Allocation Committee reports.

He said part of the challenge of the sector is oil theft, which has robbed the nation of about U.S$2 billion in July, 2013 alone.

Abubakar, who spoke with our correspondent in Lagos on some pertinent issues on the economy, noted that the government needs to demonstrate the political will to effectively address this problem.

He said: “We have continued to observe that in spite of the enormous spending by

NAFDAC begins clampdown on ‘illegal’ pharmaceutical firms

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HE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has begun the enforcement of the deadline for the implementation of the Mobile Authentication Service (MAS) among pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria.

The enforcement started in Abuja on Wednesday under the supervision of the Pharmacovigilance and PostMarketing Surveillance Directorate of NAFDAC. The exercise, it was learnt, is aimed at mopping up from circulation anti-malarial and

From Vincent Ikuomola and Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

anti-biotic medicines that do not carry on their labels the MAS scratch and text authentication codes, which NAFDAC’s DirectorGenaral, Dr. Paul Orhii, introduced in 2010 to eradicate fake drugs.

Orhii, who has received global accolades for introducing multi-layered anticounterfeiting technology, said there was no going back on the enforcement of compliance with the MAS deadline.

The NAFDAC chief said

the deadline was shifted twice in the last three years following the pleas for more time by a segment of the pharmaceutical industry.

He said NAFDAC has President Goodluck Jonathan’s and Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu’s support to enforce the deadline.

He said the move was to eradicate counterfeit drugs in the country.

Orhii said instructions had been given to NAFDAC offices to enforce the compliance, adding that the deadline was irreversible.

The NAFDAC chief said

•Orhii

the scratch and text service had put the power of detecting counterfeit drugs in the hands of over 100 million mobile phone users in the country.

He added that the international community was hailing Nigeria for pioneering the use of cutting-edge technologies in combating counterfeit medicines.

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THE NATION FRIDAY JULY 4, 2014

NEWS

PDP sues Ekiti over council creation

•Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi greeting Chief Theophilus Akinyele, at Adegoke Adelabu Memorial Lecture in Ibadan... yesterday. With them is President, Ibadan Foundation Project, Chief Bayo Alugbin.

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

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KITI State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken the

state government to court on its proposed plan to create additional 18 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) from the existing 16 councils.

The suit with number HAD/75/2014 and filed at a high court sitting in AdoEkiti, the state capital, last Tuesday was deposed to by the state party Chairman, Mr. Makanjuola Ogundipe.

He described the state government’s move as illegal, unconstitutional and a flagrant violation of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

Joined in the suit were Governor Kayode Fayemi (1st defendant), Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Mr. Wale Fapohunda (2nd defendant) and the Ekiti State House of Assembly (3rd defendant).

Among the reliefs sought were: •a declaration that it is an exercise in futility for the 1st defendant to embark on the creation of local governments or LCDAs at the twilight of its tenure, being a process that cannot be completed before the expiration of the tenure; and •a declaration that any local government or LCDAs created by Governor Fayemi in contravention of the 1999 constitution as amended is null, void of no effect”.

The PDP also sought ‘a perpetual injunction’ restraining the defendants from embarking on further process towards the creation of additional councils.

The date for the commencement of the hearing in the case is yet to be communicated to the parties.

PHOTO: NAN

APC: Lagos not vulnerable to politics of poverty, stomach T HE Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has assured Lagosians that it was ready and prepared to protect the people’s mandate and ensure that the negative factors that decided the June 21 Ekiti election were not imported into the state.

The party said it was getting clearer picture of the “indecent developments the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) used to corner Ekiti,” insisting that “such will never work in any other state and will never ever work in Lagos.”

Its Publicity Secretary, Joe Igbokwe, in a statement yesterday, said what happened in Ekiti was “an anomie, a reversal of democracy and an affront on development.”

Igbokwe noted that the practice “is the bedrock of PDP’s politics of mass impoverishment through relentless stealing of state resources and using such money to buy the votes of the people.”

It warned PDP not to think it would get away with the deployment of soldiers and other security agencies as well as using stolen money to buy the people’s votes in order to manipulate the electoral process, adding that such would be resisted by the masses.

By Bola Olajuwon, Assistant Editor

The statement reads: “We note that the PDP and in particular the Lagos PDP has been over the moon since the disastrous elevation of its politics of mass hunger and mass deployment of the stolen money to buy votes, gave the party a pyrrhic victory in Ekiti.

“It should be noted that PDP is now flaunting what is now known as ‘politics of stomach infrastructure’ which targets the borderless hunger it has provoked for 15 years for exploitation.

“What PDP is celebrating is the seeming triumph of public stealing and corrupt inducement during election time over performance. We assure them that they will fail in this criminal reversal of what should undergird the people’s expectation from democracy.

“It is a tragedy that a party that should be advertising on its stellar performance for the 15 years it has inflicted this country is today leveraging its bid for continuity on how it shares out morsels to the hungry it has made during elec-

tion time.

“It is tragic that the PDP is now elevating a politics of public stealing for the purpose of building stomach infrastructure during election time.

“It is a grave pity that PDP is today celebrating the mass poverty, total infrastructure breakdown and total hunger and privation it has inflicted on the country and leverages on exploiting it during elections, as happened in Ekiti.

They will fail and we assure them of this,” the party said.

“We want to assure the PDP that it is building castles in the air by hallucinating that it will ever capture Lagos by its politics of hunger and mass poverty.

“We want to let them know that such negative alterations of the values of politics will be short-lived, starting from the upcoming election in Osun State.”

The party assured PDP that it would never drag Nigeria back to the days of politics of hunger and stomach infrastructure, despite what happened in Ekiti.

“What Nigerians are faced

with at present is the rustication of the failed PDP, which had been a curse to a well-endowed country for the 15 years its politics of poverty started.

Nigerians, despite the anomie of Ekiti, are still faced with throwing away the PDP government that continues attracting ridicule and scorn for its incompetent, corrupt and inept governance of the country.

“We want to let Lagos PDP and the entire PDP know that Lagos is still the base of Nigeria’s intelligentsia, and that Lagosians know the difference between performance and organised stealing and will never infect the state with the blight that the PDP has become.

“We want to let the PDP, both in Lagos and elsewhere that they cannot succeed in fooling Nigerians by targeting the mass poverty it had created for exploitation.

“We put them on notice that what happened in Ekiti, rather than mitigate the urgent need for throwing out the huge liability of a non-existent PDP government in Nigeria, will rather open the eyes of Nigerians to the dangers of the negative politics of the PDP,” the PDP said.

Ajimobi relives fond memories of ‘charismatic’ politician Adegoke Adelabu O YO State Governor Abiola Ajimobi relieved yesterday the fond memories of the late “stormy petrel of Ibadan politics,” Chief Adegoke Adelabu, promising that his administration would immortalise him.

The governor, who spoke at this year’s edition of Adegoke Adelabu Memorial Lecture held at Civic Centre, Ibadan, described the late politician as a great Ibadan son who lived and died an Ibadan man.

His words: “He stood for our brilliance, depth and exceptional skills in governance.

“When the world marvelled at Adelabu’s charisma as a politician and his unusual approach of identifying with the common people in spite of his political height, they didn’t know that he was advertising a characteristic that is peculiarly Ibadan. Here, everyone is linked by virtue of clan, birth, inter-marriage and our common ancestry. We do not have a choice than to identify with our roots.

“Adelabu was an extremely intelligent man and a gifted orator. In all his writings and speeches, he espoused the superiority of the Blackman over

•Govt to immortalise him

all other races. At best, he believed that the Blackman’s skin did not render him subservient in any way to his White brother.

“The United African Company (UAC) scholarship he got to study at the Government College, Ibadan is a demonstration of his rare brilliance.

Till today, about 60 years after, his academic record at the Government College remains a reference point. Even at the UAC, he was noted for his outstanding intellect and his organisational skills.

“His belief that the Blackman is not inferior to his White brother must have been accentuated by his highly applauded managerial skills as the first Nigerian manager of the then UAC, even while working with White manager-colleagues.

“His oratory, profound intellect and sheer bravery in the face of gang-ups in a political system are still told today as tale of a legend’s accomplish-

ment. He had an understanding of the English Language that baffled even the English, at a time when a high population of Nigeria was still illiterate. These all were demonstrated in his work entitled Africa in Ebullition.”

According to the governor, what remains today in Adelabu’s memory is the word, Penkelemes, stressing: “An adulteration of his inspirational usage of grammar, ‘Peculiar Mess’ by local drummers and praise-singers has come to represent the narrative of his depth and grammatical wizardry.”

Ajimobi said that many politicians from Ibadan had always attempted in vain to recreate the Adelabu model and influence in politics, adding that the narrative of his politics was that of egalitarianism and bonding with the people.

“Even when he was being vilified for allegedly tampering with state money, the local drummers who came to wit-

ness the occasion pitched their tents with him. To them, it was merely political persecution as they burst into a song which would soon become legendary.

“Adelabu believed in selfless service to his people. This is probably why he remains a reference point among the people of this ancient city. He loved to see Ibadan grow to an admirable metropolis. I am sure if he were alive today, Adelabu would have been one of the greatest supporters of this administration. We have restored the pride of every indigene of this state and made their state capital a wonder to behold. This was the vision of the petrel of Ibadan politics for his fatherland.”

He said that his administration was imbibing the lessons of Adelabu’s short but eventful life, as Ibadan and the entire state had witnessed a turnaround in the areas of infrastructure, education, health, urban renewal and many more, adding that his desire was to have generations to come and discuss his administration’s revolutionary touch

‘Why agric is panacea to unemployment’ OGUN State Governor Ibikunle Amosun has called for massive public and private investment in agriculture, saying this is the panacea to unemployment.

Amosun spoke at the opening of a two-day Africa Investment 2014 Conference tagged, “Partner to Win” in Lagos He warned that the nation would continue to have huge unemployment crisis if it does not take advantage of its agricultural potential.

He noted that agriculture is the only sector that can lead to industrialisation and get teeming youths engaged.

The governor added that the value chains Agriculture offers could make the national economy manufacturingbased as against the servicebased economy evident in the newly rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“We will continue to have a huge unemployment crisis unless we take advantage of our agriculture which will lead to industrialisation. The kind of practice we are into in Ogun is not subsistent but mechanised farming that will get our teeming youths engaged and boost our economy. Our determination is to grow, process and add value.

“We are opening up rural areas, including the longstretch 110km road in Ogun West which cuts across four local government areas,” Amosun said.

Highlighting the strides of his administration in its three years in office, Amosun said: “Everybody is in Ogun because we have been able to create a safe, conducive and enabling environment for businesses, which has made us the safest state in the country in three consecutive years.”

The governor, at the conference where his Kogi counterpart, Idris Wada was among the dignitaries, said the introduction of Geographic Information System (GIS) by his administration had made land title documents easily accessible and wiped out the incidence of land speculators.

“If you want to establish business in Ogun State, we will make sure you are done with all documents within 90 days,” Amosun assured.

140,000 pupils for Lagos schools test •Sen. Ajimobi

of the state in positive terms, too.

Ajimobi also eulogised the late Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Arisekola-Alao, who died recently, saying that his philanthropy and his commitment to the development and growth of Ibadanland had made him a modern day Adelabu.

The guest lecturer at the occasion, Dr. Isiaka Olalekan Aransi, called for the creation of more local governments in Nigeria with a view to bringing governance closer to the people.

He added however that local government councils should not be given on a platter of gold, but that they should be demanded for by the people.

PLACEMENT test for admission into Lagos State secondary schools for the 2014/15 academic session holds tomorrow.

It will take place in about 300 centres, the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, said yesterday.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Ministry of Education, Jide Lawal, quoted Mrs. Oladunjoye as saying about 140,000 pupils are expected to write the test.

She added that pupils are expected to obtain a 50 per cent average scores in English and Mathematics in addition to 50 per cent cumulative scores before they can be considered for admission.

Oladunjoye noted that the essence of the examination is to test the pupils’ ability to cope with the rigours of academics at the secondary level.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

NEWS RAMADAN KAREEM

Ramadan 7TH, 1435AH

‘Be good to all’

‘Free your mind from resentment’

By Fatimah Abdul

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HE President of Total Loyalty, Oluwatoyin Balogun, has enjoined Nigerians to tolerate one another and be good neighbours.

Balogun, in his Ramadan message, urged the nation’s leaders to be fair to the masses.

“A period like this call for evaluation and a time to ask ourselves sincere questions.

As a leader, are you leading right? Husband, are you faithful to your roles at home? Wife, are you performing your duties? All these are as important as the fasting itself. It is a period of sober reflection,” Balogun said.

He went on: “At this period, Allah requested us to show kindness to humanity.

To remember the downtrodden and do good to the lessprivileged and forgive every wrong done by anyone. We should not also forget that our country is in dire need of prayers. A period we are to collectively seek Almighty Allah’s face over the situation of the country that every enemies of the country should be exposed and disgrace. We cannot continue like this. Corruption is fast dragging the nation to her knees. Leadership is another worst case, yet we are living in denial. As we fast, let endeavour to do good to all and sundry.”

By Suliat Abodunrin

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•Former Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Legislative Matter and Chief Imam of Lagos State House of Assembly Alhaji AbdulHakeem AbdulLateef (middle), Redlam Clothing Chief Executive Officer Mr. Luqman AbdurRaheem (left) , Acting Head, Packaging Technology Division of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) Dr. Sakirudeen Ajani; Aremson Properties Managing Director Mr. Mufutau Agbi and FIIRO Senior Research Officer Mr. Muhammad AbdusSalam during Ramadan Lecture organised by The Muslim Congress (TMC) in Lagos... yesterday.

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Attack on churches contradicts Ramadan spirit, says MURIC

HE Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has condemned Boko Haram insurgents for attacking churches in villages near Chibok, Borno State.

It said the attacks were infringement on the rules of Ramadan, which requires Muslims to pursue a robust spiritual programme involv-

RAMADAN GUIDE WITH FEMI ABBAS e-mail: femabbas@yahoo.com Tel: 08122697498

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Tafsir in Nigeria

NE of the undisputable aiding instruments of Tafsir is literacy. The more literate the Muslims are in the relevant language, the more they are likely to understand the Qur'an through Tafsir. And no one who thoroughly understands Tafsir will be ignorant about Islam or even life.

Muslims who are deeply schooled through the Western system of education will discover that virtually all the sciences, social sciences and arts, originated from the study of Tafsir. Even some scientific terminologies confirm this. It therefore takes real scholars, not just reciters of the Qur'an or speakers of Arabic language, to be exponents of Tafsir.

This is a rare factor that is conspicuously missing in Nigeria.

There is a sharp difference between translating the context of the Qur'an and interpreting them expositorily. The one is shallow. The other is deep. Ordinarily, Tafsir is not supposed to be an annual Ramadan affair. It is should rather be a daily practice for scholars who are ardent in it.

Although Tafsir gains more popularity in the month of Ramadan because every true Muslim wants to get closer to Allah through familiarization with the Qur'an, it is not limited to that sacred month alone and it should not be seen as such.

Going by the limit of their knowledge and the extent of their unwillingness to learn more, only a few Islamic scholars in Nigeria are qualified to tutor the populace in Tafsir.

Most of the so-called Nigerian Muslim scholars (Alfas) have turned Tafsir into an annual commercial jamboree which fetches them what they regard as Ramadan booty. Their motive of engaging in Tafsir is more ulterior than religious.

What most of those Alfas often dish out in the name of knowledge is mere hearsay. And that is why majority of Nigerian Muslim audiences at Tafsir Centres can hardly benefit from what they hear in those Centres.

Tafsir is a special field of discipline meant only for research oriented students scholars. But unfortunately, it is one area of study which has very few institutions of learning in Nigeria.

Because of this problem, the Qur'an has been translated into very few Nigerian languages so far. And today, copies of the vernacular Qur'an so translated can hardly be found on book shelves even as most of them are virtually out of reprint. With this situation, how can Nigerian Muslim populace thoroughly understand the Qur'an? This is a great challenge to truthful Muslims who are blessed by Allah. They can pull resources together and jointly finance the reprinting of reviewed copies of the Glorious Qur'an in appreciation of Allah's special favour on them. And that can be best done in this sacred month.

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

ing supplications, glorification of Allah and enlightenment during the holy month.

MURIC said the insurgent’s action was a proof that Boko Haram is Haram.

Its Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, noted that why Islam teaches the halting of hostilities in Ramadan, Boko Haram chooses the same Ramadan to kill with reckless abandon.

“While Islam teaches the pursuance of education by both sexes from childhood to old age, Boko Haram forbids education for the girl-child;

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‘Burn that fat with fasting’

MEDICAL officer at TSH Medical Centre in Lagos, Dr. Monsurah Kadri, has counselled that fasting can help reduce fat in the body.

Kadri said aside spiritual benefits, Allah institutionalised Ramadan for mankind to serve as the period to use up all the stored fat from the previous year, free the body from all forms of toxins and chemicals that might have hidden in the body’s fat store.

According to her, fasting relief the burden of fat on the vital organs such as the heart, kidney and liver.

She said: “Have you seen the raw heart of a slaughtered cow or Ram? Did you notice the amount of fat that clogged the entrance and exit routes of the blood vessels? These fat deposits inside and outside the blood vessels and many other organs had been linked by reputable researches as being contributive if not the

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while Islam teaches peaceful coexistence, Boko Haram pursues a barbaric agenda of killing and maiming,” he said.

Akintola urged the Federal Government to demonstrate commitment to the war against insurgents.

He said: “We expect Nigerian soldiers to have studied the tactics adopted by the insurgents by now and to have evolved ways and means of truncating their gimmicks.

“At the same time, the Federal Government must start considering a round-table with the insurgents. This is a group that cannot build, but

it is capable of destroying.

Wise counsel dictates that the Federal Government must stoop to conquer. Too many lives are lost on daily basis.

The authorities should find ways of placating Boko Haram soonest in order to bring peace to the Northeast.”

Akintola enjoined President Goodluck Jonathan to be more proactive in handling the insurgent.

“Nigerians are not fools.

We are very eager to see peace returning to the Northeast, the President’s Northeast, because the whole country is Mr. President’s constituency. Fire in the Northeast is therefore fire on the President’s roof,” he said.

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

sole cause of many heart diseases and blood lipid disorders.

“Burning off these fat store during the two to four hours of hunger before breaking the Ramadan fast also assist in detoxifying the body systems from potential toxins that are yet to be identify, but being speculated as probable triggering factors in the changes in the body cells that later transforms into cancerous disorders - the disease that we are witnessing in the world today.”

Dr. Kadri said researches have shown that mild dietary stress without malnutrition in experimental animals delays age-related physiological changes and extends maximum and average lifespan.

Similar studies, she stated, also demonstrated that mild diet restriction can prevent or lessen the severity of cancer,

stroke coronary heart disease, autoimmune disorders / diseases, allergy, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

She said: “Part of the attributes of Ramadan fast is that you must break with fruits. Prophet Muhammad instructed us to break our fast with Dates, a fruit rich in easily digestible carbohydrate and a source of glucose for our already starving system before consuming any other meal. This is science taught and demonstrated by an unlettered, but spiritually guided mortal.

“Likewise, the compulsory need for Sahur (pre-dawn meal) and Iftar (post-fast meal at sunset) is to ensure we do not go into the intensive phase of starvation where the body turns to the protein reserve in our body and by so doing, protect the body from detrimental effect of prolonged fast on health.”

ANGUARD Academy’s Vice-Principal (Hostel) Hajiah Basirah Rabiu has enjoined Nigerians to free their mind from resentment towards fellow beings, stressing that the world would be a better place, if people live with a free mind towards one another.

Hajiah Rabiu, in a television interview, urged Nigerians to do away with all forms of hatred.

“The wholesome effect of enmity on the society can be quite disastrous if allowed to manifest; it is a great source of disturbance and disrupts the peace of the community. Its common signs are harted in the heart, envy, backbiting, lies, gossip and a host of other negative attitudes, hence the need to chide ourselves on moving away from rancour,” Hajia Rabiu said.

She said the trait is also prevalent even in children, adding that rancour could grow among friends, colleagues, family, and children.

Hajia Rabiu explained: “If a child’s academic performance is high in class; someone in the class could begin to spread rumours about him. Before you know it, other classmates begin to take sides and soon, all forms of devastating things begin to happen in the class.

“It is not limited to a school alone. It could also happen in a family. In this respect, parents should be careful of preferring a child to another. If this becomes apparent to the other child, he begins to feel inferior and develop extreme resentment for his siblings. In the long run, it could lead to avoidable problem in the family and the community at large.”

She enjoined Nigerians to purge their minds of all forms of diseases.

Failure to do this, according to her, leads to sin, distrust and unacceptability of prayers by God. “The way forward is to be contended with whatever we have, we should develop a feeling of love towards one another, a spirit of forgiveness of mistakes and building a solid relationship based on brotherhood,” she said.

Lawmaker wants end to insurgency

LAWMAKER representing Lagos Island State Constituency II in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Wahab AlawiyeKing, has urged Muslims to pray for an end to insurgency and safe return of the abducted Chibok girls.

Ramadan, he said, is a holy month, urging the faithful to seize the opportunity for spe-

By Ibrahim Adam

cial request from Allah.

“Ramadan, as we were made to know, is a solemn period, a period of sober reflection, which is used to move closer to God. Since Ramadan is a period that opens door for supplication and prayers to God, Nigerians should maximise the period

and use it to pray for the unity of the country to surmount all the challenges facing it,” the lawmaker said.

Alawiye-King, who is the Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Education, Science and Technology, enjoined Muslims not to return to vices they have abandoned during the period when the fasting ends.

•Alawiye-King

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

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NEWS OSUN 2014

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780,464 permanent voter cards distributed

EVEN hundred, eighty thousand, four hundred and sixty four permanent voter cards have been distributed to eligible voters in the 30 local government areas of Osun State ahead of the August 9 governorship election.

The State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje, spoke to reporters yesterday at the Indepen-

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•20 parties registered for poll

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

dent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office on Gbongan Road, Osogbo, the state capital.

Agbaje said 20 political parties would participate in the election.

Osun REC on leave, not removed, says INEC

The REC, who resumed duty about two weeks ago, added that all the parties’ governorship candidates, including their running-mates, had been screened.

He also noted that the Action Alliance (AA) recently changed the name of its can-

didate to Tunde Oralusi.

The REC, who promised a free, fair and credible poll, said the outcome of the election would be acceptable to all stakeholders.

Agbaje assured that INEC would ensure that the poll is not manipulated by any po-

litical party, noting that all was set for the peaceful and successful conduct of the election.

Soliciting for the co-operation of all political parties, the REC also called on all security agents to show high level of professionalism before and during the election.

He also insisted that no individual would be allowed to vote in any of the polling centre without the Permanent

Voter Card, urging those who are yet to receive theirs to do so before the election.

Agbaje enjoined the electorate to shun violence before and during the election.

He appealed to all relevant federal agencies, including the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the Federal Ministry of Information, to partner the INEC to ensure a credible election.

NDEPENDENT National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied some media reports claiming that Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Ambassador Rufus Akeju had been removed or redeployed.

According to Kayode Robert Idowu, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Akeju was “requested to proceed on leave of absence for his own safety as well as his contribution to ensuring the credibility of the governorship election scheduled for August 9.”

Idowu said in a statement yesterday that the REC was requested by the commission to step aside against the backdrop of intense partisan acrimony over his person.

“He (Akeju) acceded to the request, knowing the effort being invested by INEC to make the Osun governorship election free, fair and credible. He has not been indicted for any offence, and the appeal by INEC for a stay of execution of the interlocutory order restraining the commission from recognising him as Osun REC still subsist,” he said.

The INEC Chairman’s aide asserted that “for avoidance of doubt, Akeju remains INEC’s substantive Resident Electoral Commissioner for Osun State. But another Resident Electoral Commissioner will hold fort for the period that Akeju will be away on his leave of absence.”

The commission hereby reaffirms commitment to spare no effort in ensuring that the upcoming governorship election is successful and meets the best possible standard of credibility.

LP candidate promises free medicare for expectant women

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SUN State Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate, Alhaji Fatai Akinbade, has promised to give “free medical treatment to pregnant women till date of delivery,” if he wins the August 9 election.

Akinbade also assured that a state-of-the-art diagnostic centre would be constructed.

The LP governorship candidate, in a statement by his Director of Media, Mr. Kayode Oladeji, gave the assurance while speaking with over 500 women in Osogbo under the aegis of Women for Positive Change, led by Dr. (Mrs.) Eunice Adedayo.

Akinbade said in addition to

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

provision of qualitative free health for the residents, pregnant women would be specially catered for.

According to him, the priority attention for women would go a long way in reducing incidences related to pregnancies.

He said: “We believe one of the surest ways of preserving our future is to pay solid attention to our present because, if we are able to take care of our pregnant women, this will not only reduce mortality rate, but will ensure the delivery of healthy children who will be leaders of tomorrow.

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

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Ila residents urged to collect PVCs

HE Chairman of ReElection Campaign Committee of Rauf Aregbesola for Ila Federal Constituency, Sunday Akere, has advised the people of Ila Local Government Council Area to collect their permanent voter cards (PVC) from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Akere, who spoke during a campaign visit to Edemosi, Ajaba, Oragun-Ejigbo and Alegbede, said with their voter cards in their hands, they would be able to participate in the August 9 governorship election.

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

According to the committee chairman, who was accompanied by members of his team, Aregbesola is dedicated to improving the lots of the people, saying the only way to return him to office is through their votes.

He urged the people in the communities visited by the campaign train to ensure they collect their permanent voter cards at INEC office, saying information at the committee’s disposal showed that the people were not collecting their voter cards.

Akere further urged the people not to give up their cards for any inducement, alleging that some people were going round requesting voter cards from the electorate in exchange for financial assistance.

He further charged the community leaders to always sensitise their people on the need to vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying “it is the only party that caters for the development of the majority number of people.”

He also urged the teeming masses at the various wards to ensure that the stay back at their various communities to

vote for Governor Aregbesola and ensure that their votes count during the August 9 poll.

The campaign chairman assured the people that Aregbesola would not only deliver on his electioneering promises as he has done during his first four years, but would ensure that “he do more to make Osun a paradise for its residents and indigenes.”

In their separate responses, the Owajola-Kajola of Ajaba and the Edigbon of Edemosi, Oba Taiwo Adesoji Ayeni and Oba Adebisi Adeniran praised Aregbesola for his sterling performance.

Suspected ‘PDP thugs’ caught destroying Aregbesola’s billboards, posters •Omisore’s ‘Vandalism can’t diminish governor’s popularity’ aide denies allegation

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CRISIS was averted yesterday in Ibokun, the headquarters of Obokun Local Government of Osun State, by security agents as suspected Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) thugs were caught destroying the billboards and posters of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

Aregbesola is the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the August 9 poll.

According to the state’s APC spokesperson, Kunle Oyatomi, the destruction of the billboards and posters was allegedly sponsored by the PDP’s candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, who is billed to hold his campaign rally soon in the town.

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SOCIAL-POLITICAL organisation in Osun State, De Raufs Volunteer Group, has described the vandalisation of Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s campaign billboards and posters as criminal and barbaric.

It added that such acts being perpetrated by thugs suspected to be working for the opposition cannot lessen the popularity and public acceptance of the governor.

In a statement by the group’s Director-General, Comrade Amitolu Shittu, the group noted with utmost dismay that destroying Governor Aregbesola’s billboards and posters canFrom Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

It was alleged that as the thugs were defacing the posters and billboards and replacing them with those of Omisore, some youths demanded to know the reason behind their actions.

By Adekunle Yusuf

not save opponents from imminent defeat in the August 9 election.

According to the notable human rights activist, the opposition was only being intimidated by the popularity and acceptability of Aregbesola by the people of Osun State.

While warning opposition to desist from hiding under the darkness of the night to perpetrate unpopular and ignominious activities, the group explained that “Aregbesola’s soaring popularity is not by accident, but by the good works he has done in the past three and half years.”

The two parties then engaged in altercations before the timely intervention of the Alademure of Ibokun, Oba Festus Awogboro and security agents.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Maishanu, has warned that his men would deal with anybody

“Governor Aregbesola’s monumental achievements in education, health, job creation, road construction and urban renewal initiatives can speak for the pedigree of the phenomenon called Aregbesola.

“If we are to do a free and fair election tomorrow, there is no doubt that Aregbesola will carry the day. This makes his opponents panic and resort to barbaric acts. We can assure them that if they think they can have a field day as they did in Ekiti, they are making a big mistake,” Shittu said.

The pro-Aregbesola group also condemned the bomb explosion that

who violates the law.

But the Head of Media, Omisore Campaign Organisation, Prince Diran Odeyemi, denied the allegation.

He said that the allegation against Omisore and the PDP was designed to score cheap political points.

The APC’s spokesperson

occurred in Ile-Ife on Monday, asking the police to do a thorough investigation about the blast to put an end to such act.

According to the group, this is necessary considering importance of the forthcoming election to the state’s future.

“It is very important that police should get to the root of the matter because the opposition in the state will use the explosion as an excuse to justify the need for huge presence of security personnel, which can intimidate voters during the forthcoming gubernatorial poll, just as it happened in Ekiti State,” it said.

while reacting to the incident said the PDP has introduced terrorism into politics.

He said: “Political terrorism is being introduced into Osun State by desperate PDP politicians, who want to snatch power by all means; and it would appear they have the blessing of the Presiden-

cy.

“With Boko Haram terrorists devastating the Northeast of Nigeria and stretching the security forces to their limit, it is inconceivable that the ruling party will be setting off political terrorism in the West in addition to Boko Haram in the north.”

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

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NEWS Senate urges Okorocha to rescind HE Senate yesterday ID card policy urged Imo State

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Governor Rochas Okorocha to rescind the policy on the alleged mandatory issuance of Identification Cards (ID) to Northerners in the state.

It also advised President Goodluck Jonathan to direct security agencies not to cooperate with the governor and the Imo State government in the implementation of the policy.

The resolutions followed a motion by the Deputy Senate Leader Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central), titled: “The

From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

Issuance of Identification Card to Northerners residing in Imo State - Urgent call for policy reversal.”

He argued that the policy contravened the provisions of Section 41(1) and 42(1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which guaranteed among others, free movement of Nigerians from any part of the country to the other and right of residence without any inhibition or condition whatsoever.

Five ‘injured’ in Onitsha market fracas

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IVE persons were reportedly injured yesterday at the Onitsha Bridge Market, following a fracas, which ensued when suspected thugs disrupted the meeting of the line chairmen and secretaries of the market union.

They were discussing the botched market election when trouble occurred.

Federal Government has threatened to close the market because of the policy of non-sale of drugs in open

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

market.

Sources said about 40 suspected thugs allegedly working for the caretaker committee chairman invaded the meeting with weapons soon after it was declared open.

The suspected hoodlums, according to the sources, ordered the meeting to be closed, saying the group was not permitted to convene it.

The coordinating chairman of the forum and chair-

man of the Tablet line, Uchenna Ubah, who was allegedly injured, had his pair of spectacles broken by the suspected thugs.

A member of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) in Anambra State and the secretary of the Unity line, Comrade Ugochukwu Oforma, decried the act as “barbaric.”

The victims urged Governor Willie Obiano through the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to wade into

the matter.

They enjoined the governor to conduct an election in the market to avert crisis.

The Caretaker Committee Chairman, Ugochukwu Nwosu, said he was not aware of the incident.

He said he would talk “at the appropriate time.”

At press time, the matter had been reported at the Fegge Police Station and the Divisional Police Officer, Rabiu Garba, had invited the suspects for questioning.

Controversy trails Okopoly’s withdrawal from ASUP strike

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HE Federal Polytechnic, Oko (Okopoly) in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State has withdrawn from the 11-month old strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP).

After an emergency meeting yesterday, the Academic Board said while it was in support of the union’s agitation, it considered the students’ fate.

The Dean, School of Engineering and a member of the Board, Dr. Nsionu Ifeanyi, said the withdrawal from the strike was to enable the students write the second semester examinations.

The Academic Board, however, hailed ASUP’s efforts, noting that its withdrawal was not to dissuade the union from the struggle, but because of the students, who had wasted a lot of time at home.

The ASUP National President, Chibuzor Asomugha, told The Nation yesterday that Dr. Nsionu was not the ASUP representative in the Federal Polytechnic, Oko. He said he was not aware that the institution had withdrawn from the strike, adding that it was misinformation.

Nsionu said the management would announce the modalities for the examinations, which will begin immediately.

The Academic Board, the highest decision-making body in the polytechnic and the Governing Council have ordered the immediate reopening of the polytechnic and resumption of lectures.

In a message yesterday, the Registrar, Mr. Tony Nwaokolobia, directed the students and workers to return to school on or before next Monday.

Boko Haram scare at workshop

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FFICIAL vehicles of commissioners, local government chairmen, development centre coordinators and other top government functionaries in Ebonyi State were barred yesterday from entering the venue of a function.

They were refused entry into the Women Development Centre (WDC), venue of a one-day sensitisation workshop on “The Relevance of Democratic Governance”, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Nation learnt that police officers and operatives of the anti-bomb squad, numbering over 20, stationed at the entrance of the venue, ordered drivers of the government functionaries to park their cars outside the premises, while their bosses were asked to walk into the venue.

Also at the Government House gate, security guards searched the vehicles coming in and going out, including those belonging to workers.

From Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki

A source said security at the Government House was tightened and operatives of the anti-bomb squad were stationed at the gate.

The action caused vehicular and human traffic on the Ezza Road, forcing motorists to divert to adjoining streets.

The restriction, according to a police source, is not unconnected with the arrest by soldiers on Wednesday of 17 suspected Boko Haram members at AmasiriAfikpo Junction in Afikpo North Local Government.

They were later handed over to the Area Command of the Nigeria Police in Afikpo for interrogation.

Police spokesman Chris Anyanwu said the directive to screen people at the Government House and public buildings was not given by the command.

He said the security personnel attached to the governor might have given the directive.

Ex-NNPC GMD Kupolokun loses wife

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HE death has occurred of Mrs. Olubukola O l a t o k u n b o Kupolokun. She died in a London hospital. She was 63.

The deceased was described as a caring wife, a loving mother and a devout Christian, who was very active in the Anglican Church.

She had a successful career in the education sector of the Lagos State government.

She is survived by her husband, F.M. Kupolokun, an engineer, the former Group

•The late Mrs Kupolokun

Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), four children, two grandchildren and relations.

Funeral arrangements will be announced later.

•Anambra State former Governor Peter Obi (left), with the ex-Commissioner for Local Government, Chief Dubem Obaze and his wife, Pamela, at the conferment of a chieftaincy title on the former commissioner by the monarchs at Ochuche in Anambra North.

Tension mounts over land acquisition in Awka

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HE tension over the relocation of the cattle market in Awka, Anambra State was yet to abate yesterday One of the leaders of Umuike, Chief Dilim Okafor, told reporters that they are heading for court.

The Nation learnt that the community has hired a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who has given the Awka South Local Government one month notice.

Okafor questioned the power of a local government chairman to relocate a market in another council.

He said moving the cattle market from Awka North to Awka South would deny the council its revenue.

According to him, the market was built by the Umuike people in conjunction with the cattle traders in 1994

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•Hausa community: we contributed money for market development •Three villages head for court From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

when Prof. Boniface Egboka was the Commissioner for Works.

Okafor said the claim by Chief Austine Ndigwe that he built the market in 1991 when he was the local government chairman was false.

Said he: “If he actually built the place in 1991, why did he abandon it in 2000 when the former governor, Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju, appointed him as the transition chairman?

“If the place should be relocated, it is not the duty of the Awka South Local Government chairman to do so.

Rather, it will be on the orders of Governor Willie Obiano.”

Okafor said he was a member of the task force on urban road, set up by the former commissioner for works, with the ex-speaker of the House of Assembly, Anayo Nnebe, Onyekwelu Dike, an engineer and former traditional prime minister of Awka kingdom, F.A. Onwuemelie, as members.

He said what attracted them to the market was the royalty to be paid to the indigenes.

The chairman of the Garki market, Alhaji Musa Jitta, told reporters that they con-

tributed money for the development of the market.

He said it was built in 1994, adding that they later abandoned the place.

The Awka South Local Government Chairman, Azubuike Iloh, said the land was properly acquired by the government, adding that the place had not been released to anybody.

Ndigwe alleged that Okafor wanted to truncate the development plans of Governor Obiano.

He said nothing would prevent the local government from reactivating the market, describing the allegation by Okafor as baseless.

Kalu dissociates self from posters

ORMER Abia State Governor Orji Kalu has dissociated himself from the campaign posters adorning Umuahia and other major cities in the state, purporting his Senate candidature and presidential aspiration on the platform of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA).

In a statement issued yesterday by his media adviser, Ebere Wabara, Kalu described the posters as childish ploy by his detractors to discredit him and put him at loggerheads with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said: “Only gullible sections of the public and latter-day members of the PDP

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

can be misled on where I stand in terms of party membership, loyalty and political convictions. The people who matter in our party know my standpoint on national politics.

“I believe in President

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Goodluck Jonathan’s robust and enduring transformation agenda and subscribe to the implementation of the blueprint to the letter. No amount of blackmail from the opposition can dissuade me or tarnish my image in the eyes of right-thinking members of the PDP.”

Kalu asserted that even non-members of the PDP and most Nigerians know that he is committed to the party.

The ex-governor implored the mastermind of the posters to be gainfully- engaged, instead of dissipating their energies on worthless ventures.

Enugu denies involvement in election

NUGU State government has described as false and mischievous, a report in a national newspaper that it was involved in the elections of the ENUGU-USA, an organisation established

by Enugu State indigenes in the United States of America.

A statement by the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chuks Ugwoke, said the report was the handiwork of government’s

From Chris Oji, Enugu

opponents, who, having failed in previous attempts, were looking for avenues to embarrass the government.

He said government only sent a delegation to represent it at the annual convention of the organisation in line with the policy and tradition it maintained from inception by identifying with the ENUGU-USA and other diaspora groups.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

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NEWS ‘Only the best for Delta’

Vote of confidence in INYC

From Bolaji Ogundele, Warri

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EADERS of thought from the three major ethnic groups of Delta South Senatorial District, under the aegis of the Ijaw, Itsekiri and Isoko Leaders’ Forum, have said the next governor would emerge out of a stringent process.

The Forum’s Leader, Edward Ekpoko, said the group, which is also known as 3Is, would continue consultations with other ethnic groups to ensure that the best emerges.

Speaking after he was elected, Ekpoko said the group, which have the blessings of the monarchs, had not declared support for any governorship aspirant.

“We are going to build on the foundations laid by the outgoing executive and that the Ijaw, Isoko and Itsekiri Leaders’ Forum will always fight and protect the interest of the three groups.

“One thing that is certain is that Delta South will not accept just anybody because he comes from a particularly ethnic group.”

The group, which claimed to be 'political but not partisan', said it had not adopted any candidate for any elective office Other elected officers are Bare Etolor (1st Vice Chairman); Dennis Etaluku (2nd Vice Chairman); Vincent Omorie (Secretary); Jonathan Ari (Treasurer) and Amorighoye Mene (Assistant Secretary).

Group holds conference tomorrow

By Uyoatta Eshiet

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LAGOS association, Eket Local Government Association (ELGA) Lagos, has advised the Federal Government to address the security challenges in the country.

Its president, Dr. Patrick Emmanuel Essien, gave this advice at a briefing yesterday as part of activities to start his association’s conference and inauguration ceremony tomorrow at AKISCOM Hall, Surulere, Lagos.

He said security was paramount to the social, economic and political development of the nation, hence the need for the government to give it serious attention.

Essien, who is also the director of Industrial Relations of Steel and Engineering Workers’ Union of Nigeria, said: “We advise that the government should look beyond the threat posed by the Boko Haram and pay more attention to education, youth empowerment, women and other vital sectors of the economy.”

The chairman and secretary of the planning committee, Pastor Anietie Emmanuel and Princess Roseline Uduakobong, said the conference with the theme, “Eket Local government, the way forward” would be attended by the Chairman, Eket Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Obong Aniekan Akpan.

The statement added that Mr. and Mrs. U.D.U Etuk, chairman and chief executive officer of Magna Maritime Services Limited would chair the occasion.

From Shola O’Neil, Warri

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•From left: Partners, Babalakin & Co. Mr. Olawale Akoni (SAN); Mr. Oluwaseun Awonuga; Chairman, Bi-Courtney Service Limited, Chief Olawale Babalakin (SAN); Mr. Kehinde Daodu and Mr. Mobolaji Kuti.

Benin prince quits job to join PDP

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HE sixth son of the Benin monarch, Oba Erediauwa, Prince Osama, yesterday quit his job as an Executive Director in the Edo State government.

He joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Osama’s presence at the PDP state secretariat excited the party’s members as many struggled to shake his hands.

He said he decided to embrace change.

“Thank you for welcoming me to the party. I just tendered my resignation. I decided to embrace change to work and take over the state. We will see action as time progresses,” the prince said.

PDP State Chairman Dan Orbih described the prince’s coming as a big addition to the PDP. A PDP membership card

•It’s a non-issue, says govt official

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

was issued to Erediauwa.

Neither the Commissioner for Information, Louis Odion, nor the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Kassim Afegbua, could be reached for comments last night as repeated calls to their phones were not answered.

However, a source in the Governor’s Office, who pleaded for anonymity, described the development as a “nonissue as the prince was never a factor within the government or the Benin Palace.”

On what could possibly be the Prince’s grouse, the senior official said: “Osama would seem the black sheep of the family. I can tell you his sib-

lings, who still occupy high positions in the administration, are embarrassed by his action. I am sure our Oba would also be unhappy with this.

“He is not the only one the comrade governor gave political appointments as a mark of goodwill to the Palace. You have Princess Theresa Eradiauwa who is Executive Director of MDGs Bureau. You have Princess Ekiuwa Inneh who the governor made the Head of Service in 2012 and on retirement last year was made the Head of the Civil Service Commission.

“Princess Uze is a senior executive in the Economic Team Office. Prince Ekpen is a former Chairman of Oredo

No more tests for Edo teachers

Fed Govt owes Rivers N105b, says Amaechi

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HE Federal Government owes Rivers State N105 billion for the building of federal roads by the state, Governor Rotimi Amaechi has said.

The governor said his administration decided to rehabilitate federal roads to ease transportation and enhance socioeconomic activities.

Amaechi said it was confounding that the Federal Government, “which has no impact in the state”, had not paid the government.

He spoke with reporters in Port-Harcourt, the state capital, during a tour of projects.

Amaechi was accompanied on the tour by former Ghanaian President John Kufuor and former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Zapatero.

The inspection was preceded by the ‘Energy Environment and Investment Forum’, hosted by the governor.

The governor, who lamented the dearth of resources to fund projects, attributed the development to the shortfall in the federal allocation.

He complained that the allocation dropped from N34 bil-

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By Emmanuel Oladesu, Group Political Editor

lion monthly to between N13 and N17 billion, thereby frustrating efforts to implement projects.

Amaechi said the financial situation had been compounded by the Federal Government’s refusal to pay the state for the construction and rehabilitation of the federal roads.

Amaechi added: “What has slowed us down in the second term is the shortfall in the revenue from the federal purse.”

The governor however, hoped that the situation would change next year when an All Progressives Congress (APC) government is installed at the centre.

The projects visited included the mono-rail station; vocational centres; Model Primary School, Elekaha; Furuko Model; Obi Wali Conference Centre; Port Harcourt Centenary; Choba-Rumuokuta-Uniport Road; Borgu Road; Aluu road ; the Syringe factory site; the proposed Prof. Nimi Briggs Hospital on the campus of the State University of Science and

Council.

“I can tell you these individuals are scandalised by the action of this misguided man, who is insatiable and seems to think princehood is a meal ticket and a tool to make cheap money.

“He was in the habit of making unreasonable demands on the governor by invoking the name of his father.

He has been doing this cleverly over the years .

“I think the secret leaked recently that the Oba or the charismatic crown prince never sent him on any errand to the governor.

“I think he decided to leave the government as a result of the frustration arising from this.”

HE 500 Itsekiri beneficiaries of the Federal Government-sponsored Amnesty Programme have passed a vote of confidence in the David Tonwe-led leadership of the Itsekiri National Youths Council (IYNC).

The beneficiaries frowned at recent attacks on the INYC leadership by a group, represented by Esimaje Awani, who laid claim to the chairmanship of a faction of the INYC. They observed that the Tonwe-led leadership, which had spared no effort to ensure that nothing stopped their academic programmes, had independently sourced for funds to pay for their school fees abroad.

The beneficiaries, however, condemned Awani, whom they claimed had not been known in the INYC, for allowing himself to be a tool in the hands of those they described as his “paymasters”.

They said: “We are very happy with the progress so far made by the INYC under the leadership of David Tonwe who has even gone to lengths to secure funds for many of our colleagues to run their academic programmes in the UK. For this we think that Tonwe and his team deserve chieftaincy titles.

“Having read a publication which Esimaje titled: “INYC urges Fed Govt to stop payment of Itsekiri ex-militant’s stipend through Tonwe”, we are of the opinion that Esimaje is jobless and is seeking relevance through cheap means.”

•Amaechi

Technology, Port-Harcourt.

He said his administration invested resources in the development of education, adding that over 400 primary schools were rebuilt across the three senatorial districts.

Amaechi said following the building of model primary and secondary schools, parents transferred their children from schools in Europe and America to the model schools.

The governor said the state proposed 28 power sub-stations to aid power distribution.

Amaechi said efforts would be made to complete the projects before next May.

•Restores pay of 936 teachers

HE Edo State government has soft-pedalled on the planned competency test for teachers. It has recalled the 936 teachers, whose names were deleted from the payroll over certificate discrepancies and age falsification.

Making the announcement yesterday, Governor Adams Oshiomhole, at a meeting with teachers’ unions and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said: “On assumption of office, it was very clear to my colleagues and I that our future is defined by the level of investment in education and the quality of the basic education we provide for our children and that is why we have devoted resources to the rebuilding of our primary schools, junior and senior secondary schools.

“For me, it was clear coming from my own background, I had obligation to restore dignity to the educational sector.

“The government’s commitment to carry out competency test was informed by these broad facts having discovered that some of our teachers were not qualified. Our insistence on the fact that competency test must be seen in this light.

“However, having listened to all suggestions and consultations with various groups, government has agreed to set aside the competency or assessment test in order to re assure workers that government has no intention to sack anyone.”

Oshiomhole said in place of the competency test, government will introduce training and re-training for teachers and all others civil servants, promising that welfare package will be provided during the training.

“On the teachers with falsified age declaration with criminal intentions to cheat, government has resolved to pardon them and retire those whose records show that they are above 60 years while those below 60 are to return to the classroom with their names returned to the payroll; they will benefit from the training.”

Organised Labour thanked the comrade governor, adding that the prolonged crisis faced by leadership of the organised labour as it affects teachers and workers in the state will now be a thing of the past.

‘Ebea was impeached for destroying public property’

HE Majority Leader of the Edo State House of Assembly, Philip Shaibu, yesterday said the former Deputy Speaker, Festus Ebea, was impeached because he led some

From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

lawmakers to destroy public property.

Shaibu, who was reacting to an allegation by Razaq Mo-

moh that his signature was forged, said the issue of Speaker Uyi Igbe signing was immaterial.

He said Igbe signed as a member of the House which

he is part of.

The majority leader said: “Even if you say 2/3 of 24 is 16 and that the Speaker should not be part of that figure, then it means that 2/3 of 23 should be

15.

“The deputy speaker was impeached because he led four other lawmakers to destroy the entrance of the Assembly, which he is a part of.”

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

12

NEWS

Minister orders registration of aliens in Abuja

F

EDERAL Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Senator Bala Mohammed directed yesterday the six council chairmen to begin the registration of aliens.

They are required to do so in conjunction with officials of the Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS).

Mohammed, who gave the directive at an enlarged security meeting to review the security situation in the nation’s capital, instructed the council chairmen to continue with their regular security meetings with traditional rulers, community leaders, divisional police officers (DPOs) and other stakeholders.

In a statement by his Spe-

A

25-YEAR-OLD physically challenged man, identified as Danjuma, was discovered yesterday on a refuse heap, allegedly dumped there by his uncle.

Danjuma, whose mother is dead, is an only child and no family member could locate his father.

It was gathered that his mother, a former Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) worker, left money for his upkeep but family members did not spend it on him.

The refuse heap where he was dumped is high. This reporter climbed it to get a photograph. Journalists had to shout to talk to him.

Danjuma, who demanded for food, said he was brought there by his uncle. His wheel chair was on the refuse heap.

Neighbours said Danjuma was brought to the dump by the uncle after being left in the rain and the sun for many weeks.

They said the uncle threatened to deal with anyone who gave Danjuma food.

Pastor Ifeanyi Anyanli said Danjuma was recently

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•Bomb blast casualty figure rises to 24 •‘Emab plaza to reopen for business soon’ From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

cial Assistant (Media), Nosike Ogbuenyi, the minister reiterated his earlier directive for the strengthening of security at all shopping malls and markets in the FCT, particularly in the metropolis.

He assured that the FCTA was liaising with appropriate security agencies towards the re-opening of the EMAB Shopping Plaza, the scene of last week’s bombing.

The owners and management of the plaza have been

‘Man dumps’ crippled nephew on refuse heap

From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

K

ADUNA State Governor Ramalan Yero has said that the insecurity in the southern part of the state is a major challenge that can only be resolved through community participation.

Speaking when he received a delegation of the Police Community Relations Committee in his office, the governor said the government was willing to partner the Committee to address security issues in the state.

Yero said there was a need for the creation of additional commands in the southern part.

He said: “This is the right time to have commands in Kafanchan and other parts of southern Kaduna because we have challenges that can only be resolved through community participation.

“I believe the security challenge in the southern part can only be resolved through community participation and the PCRC can contribute a lot in ensuring peace and stability.

NIS rescues 17 victims in Jigawa From Ahmed Rufa’I, Dutse

T •Danjuma at the refuse heap From Osagie Otabor, Benin

brought to the uncle’s house.

“He has been in that place under the sun and in the rain.

We give him bread.”

Coordinator of Forum of Women in Politics Mrs. Florence

Igbinigie said Danjuma’s uncle was annoyed that family members who collected the N6million left by his mother brought him to his house without any money.

She said the uncle initially

abandoned Danjuma at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital and that the university management brought him back.

She said: “ The wheel chair he uses was thrown away. The man threatens to deal with an-

yone who assists him.

“I have reported to the Woman Affairs Ministry and they are yet to take action. The boy needs medical care and rehabilitation. He can still do something.”

Kwara Magistrates suspend proposed warning strike

HE Magistrates Association of Nigeria in Kwara State has suspended its proposed three-day warning strike earlier scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

A statement in Ilorin yesterday which was signed by

the Chairman, Magistrate K Yahaya, said the strike was suspended, following assurances from the State Judicial Service Commission that their grievances will be looked into.

The association said it held an emergency general meeting

North now hopeless, says ACF

B

given standard security requirements before the plaza can be re-opened.

He directed that the shopping centres and plazas on Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse 2 and on other busy corridors in the city and the satellite towns be made to comply with the new security templates.

The ownership and management of the plazas are also required to cooperate with the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) and other agencies to checkmate

hawking around the shopping centres, especially in areas that are considered soft targets for terrorist attacks.

The minister also directed the FCT Road Traffic Services Department and the police to eject all persons carrying out commercial or begging activities on pedestrian bridges.

Giving an update on the number of casualties, the FCT Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Demola Onakomaiya, said the casualty figure has risen to 24, following the death of three more victims.

He said two victims died at the National Hospital; one died at the Maitama District Hospital.

During the meeting, a minute silence was observed for the victims.

Present at the meeting were the FCT Minister of State, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide; the Permanent Secretary, FCT, John Chukwu, the Chairman of FCT Council of Chiefs and the Ona of Abuja, Mohammed Baba Yunusa, the heads of the various security agencies in the FCT, the Federal Road Safety Corps, the Brigade of Guards, the Nigerian Immigration Services and others.

Yero seeks participation

From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

OKO Haram activities have placed the North in a state of despair and hopelessness, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has said.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim, the Forum condemned Monday’s bomb attack in a market in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

It appealed to Boko Haram members to embrace civilised ways of addressing perceived grievances and seek ways of dialogue with the government.

The statement reads: “The bomb blast at the Maiduguri Monday market in Borno State was wicked, gruesome and condemnable.

“In the last 10 days, over 100 people were killed in various blasts in Borno, Abuja, Kano, Bauchi and Kaduna. Many northern states, including Abuja, have witnessed too many bomb blasts in the last five years.

“In fact, the insecurity situation has placed the region in a state of despair and hopelessness despite the effort of the military and other security agencies in combating the insurgency.

“ACF therefore appeals to the perpetrators of these crimes to embrace the civilised way of addressing grievances through dialogue with the government. The killing of innocent people through bomb blast and gun attacks is not a solution to the grievances of the perpetrators.

“The government should equally use its intelligence network to smoke out the kingpins of insurgency and terrorism to restore the confidence of the citizenry.”

on July 2 during which it resolved to suspend the strike, pending the outcome of the commission’s intervention.

Noting that it did not begin the strike as erroneously reported in sections of the media, the association said its

members have been performing their duties since yesterday.

The association also denied issuing a statement or holding a briefing on the issue.

The government has also

NEMA donates relief materials

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From James Azania, Lokoja

HE National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has donated relief materials to fire and rainstorm victims in Kogi State.

Executive Secretary of State Emergency Management Agency (KOSEMA) Mrs. Alice Ogedengbe said this yesterday in Lokoja, the state capital.

Items donated included bundles of roofing sheet, bags of rice, plastic buckets, cups, plates, blankets, clothes, insecticide treated mosquito nets, cartons of soap, detergent, mattresses and canned tomatoes.

Mrs. Ogedengbe said the relief materials would alleviate the suffering of the beneficiaries.

Bida Poly pulls out of ASUP strike

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From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

HE ACADEMIC Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) in the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, has pulled out of the nine-month nationwide teachers’ strike.

The decision was reached yesterday by the Congress.

The congress claimed that its decision was to enable the institution meet up with backlog of academic activities, as it is yet to finish the 2011/2012 academic session.

The branch Chairman, Malam Mohammed Gbati, confirmed that the branch had pulled out of the strike.

A source said the union was forced to call a congress when some members decided to sign the staff attendance register opened by the management.

It was gathered that the rector had on Monday directed the Registrar to open a register for any academic staff willing to work to sign.

denied media stories on the purported strike. In a statement, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Kamaldeen Ajibade, described the stories as false and politically-motivated.

‘Support Nasarawa pilgrims’

By Ozolua Uhakheme

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HE Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), John Kennedy Opara, has called on Nasarawa State Governor Tanko AlMakura to sponsor less privileged Christians and Moslems to the Holy Land because “pilgrimage should be for those who are spiritually rich, but materially poor.”

The NCPC boss said the commission had allocated 500 seats to the state this year.

Opara said President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan had approved a concessionary exchange rate of $1 dollar to N150 and a reduction of nine per cent in the pilgrimage cost.

The Executive Secretary spoke in Lafia, the state capital, on Tuesday when he and some commissioners visited the governor.

The NCPC boss thanked Al-Makura for sponsoring 238 pilgrims last year.

HE Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) in Jigawa State has arrested 17 youths on their way to Europe through the Nigeria/Niger border.

The State Controller, Malam Isa Idris Jere, said the victims made an arrangement with their agent to meet in Libya, from where he would convey them to Italy.

Jere said though the youths had their ECOWAS passports, there were no other travelling documents permitting them to enter Libya and Europe.

The Controller said his command had deported over 500 illegal immigrants in the last six months.

He said the illegal immigrants did not have the necessary travelling documents.

Council boss distributes transformer From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

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HE Caretaker Chairman of Ibadan North East Local Government, Ladi Oluokun, has distributed eight electricity transformers to eight communities and three generating sets to police stations in the council area.

The communities include Oranyan, Oje, Odejayi, IdiApe, Aderibigbe, Sunmade, Eru-Omu and Surulere, while the police stations are, Agodi, Agugu and Testing ground in Iwo-road.

In his address during the distribution held at the council secretariat on Iwo Road, Oluokun said the gesture was in line with the transformation, restoration and repositioning agenda of Governor Abiola Ajimobi to give back to the people.

“The administration embarked on the distribution of transformers to our people and power generating sets to police stations within the council area to complement the efforts of both the state and federal government in a bid to ensure adequate power supply across the country,” he said

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

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PEOPLE THE NATION

A SIX -PAGE SECTION ON SOCIETY

•From left Dr Uwaga; Prof Akinkugbe; Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi; Gen Gowon and Mr Tayo

New fellows on the block

The President and Fellows of the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy (NAP) have been inaugurated in Lagos. NNEKA NWANERI was there.

F

OR many Pharmacists, the Lagos Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Ikeja was where to be last Thursday. It was the day the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy (NAP) was inaugurated.

Fourty-seven men and women were sworn in as the academy’s fellows. Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon chaired the occasion; former Secretary of Health under the Interim government Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi assumed office as the academy’s first president.

The academy comprises Pharmacists, who have distinguished themselves in the corporate world, the academia and the public service. They are the foundation members.

Guests arrived early. They chatted, exchanged pleasantries and made new friends as they waited for the event to start.

At the appointed time, the masters of ceremony— Dan Egwu and Sina Opanubiwho are pharmacists, called the gathering to order. They asked those to be inaugurated to step outside and enter in a procession. Robed in a golden gown, laced with blue and a hat, they returned to the hall, looking more like graduates. They came in the order of Fellows, chairmen of standing committees, executive committee members, guest speaker, chairman of the occa-

sion and the president.

As they walked in, all eyes were on them.

They walked with confidence. As soon as they settled down, the National Anthem was taken with Mr Innocent Agudugba leading in signing the second stanza. It was followed by the pharmacy anthem.

Mrs Margaret Ibru, one of those to be inaugurated, read Gen. Gowon’s citation.

President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) Mr Olumide Tayo said the academy is peculiar because of the level of its network. He mentioned some notable names that make the academy tick.

He said: “In this academy, we have five vice chancellors, including those of the Rivers State University and the Ahmadu Bello University; a notable presidential aspirant; two governorship aspirants Yisa Biu and Jimi Agbaje; the President and Chairman of Council of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) Dr Nelson Uwaga; former President of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa; an entrepreneur Bolaji Oshinokun; military officers; a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Alex Okeke and commissioners.”

Tayo said the fellows were a pool of resources waiting to be tapped by the state.

Gowon recalled the 30-months civil war and shed light on the meaning of his name

Gowon, which means Owner of gods. He thanked Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi for constantly being in touch with him, urging the fellows to see themselves as key players in providing a good health system to save mankind.

“Do not relent in joining hands with regulatory bodies to produce world-standard drugs in Nigeria,” he said.

After goodwill messages, the inauguration began.

The first to be inaugurated was AdelusiAdeluyi. He took the oath of office before the Chief Judge of Lagos, who was represented by Justice Doris Okuwobi. He made a pledge. He then called out the fellows, asking them to face the audience. The fellows also took their oath and were presented with certificates. As they filed out one after the other to receive the certificates, the late Director- General of NAFDAC, Prof Dora Akunyili was called and a minute silence was observed in her honour. It was her first post-humous award and her son, Obumneme, received it.

Gen Gowon was decorated as the first honorary fellow of the academy. He was decorated with the regalia and robe by the president who asked the former Head of State to read the pledge which was admitted.

All the fellows, still standing doffed their

hats after tilting it to the left.

Adelusi-Adeluyi reminded the new fellows of their task of engendering quality mentoring programmes and to see the award as a platform for professional excellence.

Emeritus Professor of Medicine Oladipupo Akinkugbe, who has been friends with Gen Gowon for close to 60 years delivered an address titled: Economic Blue Print Towards Health System Transformation.

The session ended with a procession led by the president and the other fellows following.

The other fellows are: Managing Director of Emzor Pharmaceuticals Dr Stella Okoli; Publisher of Leadership Sam NdaIsaiah; Director-General of Standards Organisations of Nigeria (SON) Dr Joseph Odumodu.

In attendance were: former Nigerian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Dr Christopher Kolade; Publisher of Guardian Newspapers Mrs Maiden Alex-Ibru; coowner of Eko Hospitals Dr Sunny Kuku; Chairman of Lafarge Industries Chief Olusegun Osunkeye and Group Managing Director of Odua Group of Companies Mr Jimoh Raji among others.

•More pictures on page 14

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

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SOCIETY

NEW FELLOWS ON THE BLOCK

•Dr Kolade and Mrs Julia Adelusi-Adeluyi

•Justice Okuwobi (right) and Prof Raifu Salawu

•Swipha chairman Colin Cummings (left) and Mr Osunkeye

•Mrs Ibru

•Morit Healthcare Managing Director Dr Lolu Ojo (left) and his Nimeth Pharmacieticals counterpart Emmanuel Ekunno

•GlaxoSmithKline Pharmacieticals Managing Director Lekan Asum (left) and Anthony Akhimien

•Mr Agbaje

PHOTOS: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

Former Governor of Rotary District 9110 Mr Olugbemiga Olowu held a party for members and well wishers on the eve of his exit. He also presented a book titled: Streams of Love. NNEKA NWANERI reports.

Making a year of rewarding service E

VEN last Monday’s NigeriaFrance match did not stop guests from attending the party. They turned out in large number to be the first to grab copies of Streams of Love, a collection of poems written by the immediate past Governor of Rotary District 9110 Nigeria, Mr Olugbemiga Olowu.

It was also the last day of month and end of the 2013-2014 Rotary year. Olowu gathered all who partnered with him during his 365 days of service to thank them for their supports.

Also, Rotarians from the 83 clubs in the district (Ogun and Lagos), who are above 60 and have spent 10 years as members, were recognised.

Olowu, who is above 60, said many of them have lasted this long because of their passion and love for Rotary and service to humanity. He said the club serves as a platform to do more collectively as professional care-givers who promote the welfare of others.

“It takes courage and passion to stay that long and still attend meetings. So, I thought it was a good idea to honour the elders who had taken so much pain attending meetings and still making contributions to the

growth of the club.”

Olowu listed the elderly ones.

Some came from as far as Ijebu-Ode in Ogun State and others who could not make it sent apologies. Each stepped out to receive the golden crested emblems with the Rotary logo. All, including Olowu, were decorated with it by a past District Governor, Prince Julius AdelusiAdeluyi The Prince and Olowu caused a stir when there was a subtle tussle for who will decorate the other.

Adelusi-Adeluyi said the Rotary comprises men and women of character who can be trusted.

“The more the Rotarians we have, the better the country, because we will encourage fairness, goodwill and things that are beneficial to people.”

He described the governor-turned author as a man of character and a mentor, who will inspire many with his book.

“Olowu is a love-laden poet, and his writing style reminds me of poets like John Keats, Maya Angelou and William Shakespeare. The titles of the book are many, signifying that he is a man very diverse and deep.”

Turning to Olowu, who sat beside

•From left: Mr Olowu; Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi; Mrs Olowu and past Rotary president Kamoru Omotosho presenting the book

his wife, Margret on the left, Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi, said: “you have done well and we are proud to have you.”

Reviewing the book, Jarman Anikulapo lauded the piece as a comeback of the classical poems.

There are 110 poems in the book. He added that the book encompasses

love, philosophy and is a travelogue, on love, nature and metaphysics, written in simple language.

“With this, I say Olowu is a romanticist. The poems are to be enjoyed like a song and are meant for performances,” Anikulopo said.

Mr Kayode Aderinokun gave the vote of thanks. He said the enterprise

took many years to complete and, having done it, Olowu was too shy to bring it to fruition.

The event ended with AdelusiAdeluyi leading a 1979 song: ‘One Finger One Thumb’ and the gathering did a little exercise turning around and jumping about the hall in rhythm with the song.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

TRIBUTE

Aare Arisekola, this is your life A LHAJI Abdul Azeez Arisekola Alao, CON, Vice President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland and Aare of Ibadanland, died peacefully on Wednesday, 18 June, 2014 in London, United Kingdom. He was aged 69years.

Aare, as he was fondly called, was one of the world’s kindest philanthropists, successful businessman and a great wit.

He was my ‘egbon’ (older brother), teacher, role model and benefactor. We bonded closely in matters of tradition and culture, history, music (particularly Yusuf Olatunji’s brand of Sakara music) and sartorial elegance. I pray to fasten my pace in his long tracks of religion, charity and humility.

The unexpected death of Aare as necessitated my writing this piece which actually is a re-jig of my tribute, of the same title, dedicated to Alhaji Arisekole Alao on his conferment with the national honours award of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) by the late President Umar Yar’ Adua on Monday, 22 December,2008 in Abuja. I was a member of Aare’s delegation to the award ceremony. The tribute was first published in major national newspapers. For ease of reference, Guardian on Saturday of January 17, 2009 (page 21) and the Sunday Tribune issue of January 25, 2009 (page 14).

That 2009 CON tribute is what I can give now in honour and memory of Alhaji Arisekola Alao. When I gather my thoughts together, I promise a more detailed tribute to the late icon. Meanwhile, please read the CON tribute.

“As a mass communication student in England 33 years ago, one of my favourite television programmes was ‘This is your life’, produced and presented by Mr. Eamon Andrews of ITN. The well-researched, highly motivational and spell bounding documentary connects its guests, or shall I say great achievers with their pasts, oftentimes forgotten.

The pasts included ex-teachers, classmates, childhood friends, professional colleagues, mentors, protégés etc. who recall in unsolicited and candid manners, their experiences with guests on the programme.

“The high point of the programme is when Mr. Andrews, in the course of the live interview session in the television studio, asks a guest if he/she remembers, say, his/her deskmate at high school/college and present whereabouts.

Most guests, often looking askance, scratch their heads and after usually long pauses, reply for example, ‘Oh, that was the time! We lost contact about 40 years ago’. Dead silence follows. But presto, the ‘lost’ deskmate suddenly appears from behind the curtain! Usually flown in (across continents if need be) by the television station. Such surprise reunion of soulmates cannot but bring tears of emotion and joy followed by bear hugs, and backslaps, as they recall great moments shared in decades past. At the appropriate point in the programme, Mr. Andrews tells his guest, “This is your life”.

“This piece is not a full-length review of Mr. Andrews great productions, but a recall which, at the same time borrows the title of the inspiring documentary. Secondly, the principal subject of this piece will be shocked, if not embarrassed (pleasantly though, I hope as he naturally avoids publicity) on reading this. As Mr. Andrews’ This is your life programme has pleasant surprises as an unwritten objective, so be it then with this piece.

“My ‘guest’ here is Aare Alhaji Abdul Azeez Akanmu Arisekola Alao (A7), the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland and Aare of Ibadanland who, lastmonth, was conferred with the prestigious national award of the Commander of the Order of the Niger, (CON); an award many consider to have been long overdue. But, as they say, God’s time is always the best.

A detribalized Nigerian with friends, in-laws and business partners/staff across Nigeria and the globe, Alhaji Arisekola Alao, hereafter referred to in this piece as Aare, is a publisher, industrialist, religious leader, but best known for his philanthropy.

“As this tribute is borne out of one of my professions (Journalism/PR) ethos that achievers deserve due honours and praises in their lifetime, in order to motivate our youths, and in tandem with the objectives of our annual national honours awards, I assure dear readers, on my honour, that this piece is devoid of primordial sentiments, however.

“I derive tremendous joy in the honour and privilege of older friends company. Not for any pecuniary reason(s), but far more importantly, for the wisdom derivable. This habit started from youth. In school, most of my friends were my seniors. The habit grew in the course of my public/private service life as a village school teacher-editorial assistant- reporter-editor-press secretary-general manager, till I voluntarily retired two years ago. It continues to grow, as one is the better beneficiary.

“At personal/official levels, I have had the good fortunes of drinking from the deep wells of wisdom/achievements of, among others, Baba Alayande, Alhaji Adegoke Adelabu (Penkelemesi), Dr. Yemi Faroumbi, Chief ’Bola Ige, rtd. Generals Oladayo Popoola, Adetunji Olurin, Sasaenia Oresanya, Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola, Otunba Jobi Fele, Prince Adelusi Adeluyi, Bashorun Kola Daisi, Sir Bode Akindele, Olubadan Ogundipe Arapasowu, Mama Bolarinwa, Mama Gladys Vaughan, Mama Folake Solanke, SAN etc. May the souls of the departed among them continue to rest in peace, while God spare the lives of the living. Amen.

“I also study and ponder on the lives of Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, NnamdiAzikiwe, ObafemiAwolowo, Samuel LadokeAkintola, Ahmadu Bello, John Kennedy, Muhammad Ali, James Brown, Bill Gates, Nelson Mandela, Elvis Presley, Louis OdumegwuOjukwu, Wole Soyinka, DuroLadipo, D. O. Fagunwa etc. All these greatmen and

By Oloye ‘Lekan Alabi

women share common qualities, vision, creativity, discipline, organizational ability, among others.

“Aare belongs to the class of these greats not because of his immense wealth, but for those aforementioned attributes.

His humility, humour, loyalty and philanthropy are added gems. Before you say it, God, of course, is the Giver.

“It is public knowledge that Aare and other eminent Nigerians were conferred with national honors of various grades

by President UmaruYar’ Adua in Abuja on Monday, December 22, last year. The night before though, his friend of many years, Senator Kura Mohammed hosted a private dinner chaired by AlhajiUmaruShinkafi, also Aare’s long time friend at the Chopsticks, a Chinese restaurant in Abuja. In his speech, AlhajiShinkafi described Aare as an ideal Nigerian, who despite his connections all over the country, had politely shunned invitations, and pleas, many decades ago, to join partisan politics. Rather, he, Aare, remains a bridge to all, as a humble, kindhearted, loyal and cheerful friend.

The only man on earth qualified to endorse those attributes, especially Aare’s loyalty, is his brother, Oba. “Recently, I was inducted into Oba’s Idi-Ishin ‘royal court’.

In his congratulatory message to Aare on the conferment of the CON award, Chief Emmanuel Inwuayanwu, his in-law and friend described Aare as a deserving recipient.

“True, no human being is perfect.

“Many times, however, blurred views, hearsay or outright spite paint other-wise quiet, hardworking and kindhearted patriots as villains. For commercial, political or other social reasons, a great number of such innocent beings hire publicists, image-makers and lobbyists derisively called spin-doctors’ to launder their image, while others shrug off their shoulders and move on with life. Aare belongs to the latter, hence my caution at the beginning of this piece that he may be shocked on seeing this. However, Nigeria, through our president, has spoken with the CON award given to him.

“So, who is the true Abdul AzeezArisekolaAlao then? I shall attempt an answer by condensing an II-page citation prepared and submitted by my humble self, Dr.KamilOloso, Professor TaoheedAdedoja, and three of Aare’s children - a doctor son, lawyer daughter and another accountant daughter to the NMA committee in Abuja last December.

“Born on February 14, 1945 to the late Pa Abdul RaheemOlaniyanAlao and the late AlhajaOlatutuAlao at Adigun Village of Ibadan, in Ona-Ara Local Government Area of Oyo State, young Abdul Azeez attended St. Luke’s Primary School, Adigun and ICC Primary School, Ibadan where he persistently topped his class until he obtained Grade ‘A’ Primary School Leaving Certificate in 1960, the year he came to the city from his village, till date, he still refers to himself as an omookoi.e village boy. He thereafter successfully passed entrance examinations into the prestigious Christ School, Ado- Ekiti and Lagelu Grammar School, Ibadan, but could not take up his admission due to the poor financial position of his parents. A scholarship opportunity was not allowed by fate to be utilized.

“Nonetheless, the determined Abdul Azeez studied Western, Arabic and Quranic education privately, and today comfortably transacts business with the brightest and best in the corporate world.

“Young Abdul Azeez first joined his uncle, the late AlhajiKarimuOlasupoJenrola at the popular Gbagi market in Ibadan as an apprentice trader. After successfully understudying his uncle, he started the sale of Gammalin 20 vide the incorporation of AzeezArisekola Trading Company in 1961 with a loan of £310 given to him by Mr.OlaniyiOwodunni. The Manager of Imperial Chemical Industry (ICI) of England, Mr. P.K. Hampel, discovered in the young Abdul Azeez, great business acumen, a fantastic impetus for hard work, integrity and creativity and therefore appointed him a dealer of their products in Western Region of Nigeria. From there, the business magnate took off, combining charity as a hobby.

“Within a year, he received a commission of £1,000! An astute young man, he purchased a pick-up van at the cost of£400 and by 1970, he built his first house at the age of 25 years. In 1972, he registered his motor company, Lister Motors, becoming the star dealer for the Japanese brand, Datsun.

It was during that era that Aare’s fame as a philanthropist soared as he donated cars to institutions and individuals like one donates loaves of bread. He also had a fair share of social life and became the toast of parties and juju bands.

But all the social circuit stuff stopped in 1980, when he be-

He has amongst the staff of his business conglomerate, all ethnic tribes of the federation.

Knowing the importance of education, Aare gives scholarships to indigent students both at primary and tertiary levels within and outside Nigeria.

•The late Arisekola

came the Aare Musulumi.

“His business interests today include automobile, oil and gas, banking and insurance, food and beverage, farming and animal husbandry, real estate, publishing, transportation and food processing.

“From his league of friends, staff and admirers, Aare is a detribalized man as his love for Nigeria is great. His avowed love is based on a popular saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.): that, “The Love of one’s nation is part of faith”.

“He has amongst the staff of his business conglomerate, all ethnic tribes of the federation. Knowing the importance of education, Aare gives scholarships to indigent students both at primary and tertiary levels within and outside Nigeria. He established a scholarship scheme for that purpose in honour of his late father, Pa Abdul RaheemAlao. In appreciation of his love for his place of birth, Ibadan, he was honoured with the chieftaincy title of Aare of Ibadanland in 2006 by the immediate past Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Yinusa Ogundipe Arapasowu I. “He performed his first holy pilgrimage to Mecca in 1971, and was turbaned the first Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland by the league of Imams and Alfas in Yorubaland on July 14 1980.

Being a celebrated Muslim leader, he established the Abdul AzeezArisekola Mosque. He founded the Grand Council for Islamic Affairs (GCIA) in Nigeria in 1996 to complement Islamic propagation efforts just as he set up the AlasalatuIbaaduRahman Society for the spiritual advancement of the womenfolk. He is patron and foremost financier of more than 100 Muslim organizations in Nigeria and abroad. Since 1980 when he became the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, he has been extending annual Hajj scholarships to hundreds of Muslim faithfuls just as he sponsors Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem annually too.

“Aare is one of the privileged few honoured by the Chief Imam of Mecca to send delegates for the annual ceremonial washing of the Holy Ka’bah. He is also invited to the annual Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs International Convention in Cairo, Egypt.

“Aare is on record as the one who mobilized support for the settlement of the internal rift amongst the members of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Oke-Seni, Ibadan and ensured the settlement of their rift out of court. The said church eventually conferred on him the title ‘The Defender of Faith’, in recognition of his love for religious peace and harmony.

“He is married and blessed with children most of whom are successful professionals at home and abroad. The training he gives them makes them excel intellectually and morally. A blessing which he always ascribes to God. Can one complete a piece such as this on Aare without a mention of his passion for oka (amala) and ooyo (ewedu)! He once had his favourite menu packed from home while on a transatlantic business trip! May his system savouramala and ewedu for long.

“As Mr. Andrews usually signs off his programme, Aare, this is your life. May you live long. Amen”.

Alhaji Arisekola Alao was buried at his Oluwokekere, Basorun Area, Ibadan home on Friday, 20 June, this year after the Fidau (open air service) at the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Oloye Alabi is the Aare Alaasa Olubadan of Ibadanland

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

18

CITYBEATS

F

50-year old battles for life

OR more than a year now, Peter Olayiwola, a businessman, who hails from Ogbomoso, an ancient town in Osun State, has been languishing in the throes of kidney failure.

The 50-year-old father of five has since been moved from one hospital to the other in search of relief, which has remained a pie in the sky.

Currently bedridden at his residence at his 30, Igbehinadun Street, Shasha, Akowonjo, Lagos home, he was hale and hearty until sometimes in 2013, when he was suddenly rattled by high blood pressure, leading to acute tiredness.

“He was always complaining of tiredness and inability to breathe well. Sweat would be flowing all over his whole body and he would not be able perform even the simplest

A

•Seeks N8m for kidney transplant

By Oyeyemi GbengaMustapha

task without having to sit and rest for a while under good ventilation. This continued till June, when he began complaining of abdominal pains.

He was taken to the health centre at Vulcaniser area of Akowonjo, where the kidney failure was discovered.

“From there, we were referred to the General Hospital at Igando and later, the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, where we were told that the only permanent solution to Peter’s ailment is a kidney transplant. Following the disclosure, he was referred to an Indian hospital for the treatment,” said Kehinde, his wife.

Since his family could not yet afford the huge cost of the transplant, he began to undergo dialysis on August 25, alongside some checks every three days at N20, 000 per session. But when the family could no longer afford the cost, the dialysis was reduced to once per week.

“We pray even more if he had to be transfused with blood. At times, he experienced shortage of the blood and would require a pint or two.

Now, we are doing the dialysis at N21, 500 without blood.

We have already spent a fortune on this problem. Our life savings are gone and we are now at the mercy of Good Samaritans,” Kehinde lamented, adding that her husband currently attends a private clinic, while going to LASUTH for

check-ups.

The woman, who disclosed that Peter has no family history of illness or kidney ailment, explained: “He was never hospitalised since we met until this problem began.

We have been married about 20 years now; he has always been healthy.”

A total estimate of the cost of the transplant, which is expected to take place at Kims Hospital, India, she said, is put at N8 million.

A compatible donor, Kehinde said, is available, lamenting that lack of fund is currently stalling the proposed efforts to save the ailing man’s life.

“I am appealing to kindhearted Nigerians to come to my husband’s aid and help raise the required sum,” she pleaded, adding: “My husband can be reached on 08033440271.

‘Police officer’, others held for robbery

FAKE 34-year-old riot police officer, Julius George a.k.a Mopol, has been arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Lagos State Police Command.

He allegedly recruited idle men and women into his gang and led them in armed robbery operations in and outside Lagos State.

His accomplices arrested with him are: Samuel Ogah, 33; Lucky Olise, 44, and Lucky Friday, 32.

Police source revealed that on June 22, at about 10 pm, the officer in charge of

• George

•‘I bought uniform from hawkers in Lagos’

’By Ebele Boniface

SARS, Superintendent of Police (SP) Abba Kyari, got a tip-off that a group of dangerous armed robbers led by George, who just returned from prison, were planning to carry out a robbery operation between 10am to 11am on June 23 at Sango and Alakuko area of Lagos suburb. They planned to rob a factory of between N8 million and N10 million from its safe, The Nation learnt.

Following the information, Kyari, it was said, drafted an intelligence team to monitor the activities of the gang.

The following morning at their meeting point very close to the popular Ile Zik, bus stop along the IkejaMangoro-Abeokuta Expressway, the suspects were rounded off while the remaining member of the gang was picked up at Abule Egba, where he was waiting for his cohorts to embark on the planned operation. The police seized their operational vehicle in the process.

In his confession, George

said: “I am their leader. I gave them the police uniform they are wearing. I bought the uniform from hawkers in Lagos. I went to prison remand three times and I found my way out through charge-andbail touts hanging around courts. I have participated in over five armed robbery operations and remanded severally.

“My first prison experience was in Ikoyi prison when the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, charged me to court for armed robbery in 2012, leading to my dismissal. I contacted charge-and-bail people and regained my freedom. The second was in 2013 when I was arrested along the LagosIbadan Expressway with four others; yet, I found my way out of prison.

The third was the same route, where we hijacked a trailer load of iron rods valued N18 million.”

The “police officer” added: “The fourth operation was at Alakuko and Sango, but I was later arrested at Ile Zik when we

wanted to go and rob a factory of N8 million.”

Ogah a.k.a Don Simon, who hails from Otupo in Benue State and resides at 13, Baale Street, Ikorodu on the outskirts of Lagos, said his role was to provide the gang with money whenever they wanted to go on a robbery.

He said after surviving a robbery case in 2011, he was introduced to car snatching for which he was sentenced to jail, adding that he returned in 2014 and began searching for job.

Olise, a native of Amai Village in Okwuani Local Government Area of Delta State, said: “I am a robber by accident. I was into commercial driving until I met George at Sango. He later gave my phone number to Ogah to call and give me job. I did not know that the job was to drive armed robbers. They gave me N6, 000 after the operation.”

Friday, who claimed that he worked at a shipping company at Wharf, Apapa, said: “My predicament started when I lost my job and met George to help me.

I did not know that the assistance he wanted to render was to recruit me into his armed robbery gang.”

Nursing mother seeks abducted husband’s freedom

S

INCE her husband, Obazee Omhenimhen was abducted from their home on June 18 in Lagos, for Stella Omhenimhen, a nursing mother, life has been hellish.

She said her husband, whom some suspected cultists and criminals have always accused of being a police informant, was whisked away while watching a football match in their sitting room at 7, Coker Estate, Alakuko, a Lagos suburb.

But his disappearance, The Nation gathered, may not be unconnected to cult violence, killings, robbery activities as well as gang shootings, which have become rampant in the area.

The hoodlums, it was learnt, have on several occasions threatened to deal with him for being an informant to law-enforcement

By Precious Igbonwelundu

agencies.

Although the woman confirmed that her husband had survived attacks by the hoodlums a couple of times, she said he was not an informant.

“As we were watching a match, some armed men came and knocked at the door. At first, I thought they were armed robbers, but it became clear when they did not steal anything. Sighting their weapons, my husband ran towards the back, but he was pursued, caught and taken away. Since that day, I have not seen my husband and I have our new baby to nurse,” she lamented.

Continuing, she said her husband’s phones were all in the house, adding that they had searched everywhere they could to no avail.

“They should please release him for me and his baby. My husband is not an informant, he is a chemical engineer. Anyone with information on his whereabouts should please assist us,” she pleaded.

A police source said the hoodlums usually kill and dismember the body of anyone they suspect to be giving police information leading to a clampdown on them.

The source confirmed that the man had been missing since June 18, just as he stated that there had been serious of violent attacks in the area.

“It is a known fact that this area is dominated by dangerous cult groups like the ‘Eiye’ confraternity and the Black Axe Movement. Both are dangerous and troublesome.

Recently, cult activities left more than 20 people dead in this part of the state. Their

nefarious activities range from robbery, killings by rival gangs, extortion, maiming, looting, raping and other heinous crimes.

“There are several cases of young men who have been killed and or had to run for dear lives forever. These cultists have wealthy sponsors, most of whom do not even live anywhere near Alakuko, yet they are always causing problems for innocent people,” the source said.

The state police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, could not be reached for comment as calls to her telephone were not answered.

CORRECTION OF DATE OF BIRTH I, Tolulope Adamson Adedipe hereby notify the general public that my date of birth was wrongly quoted in some of my official documents as December 10th, 1972 instead of 10th of December, 1970.

Therefore my correct date of birth is 10th of December, 1990.

• Peter

PUBLIC NOTICE GO YE WORLDWIDE EVANGELICAL OUTREACH This is to inform the general public that the above mentioned Gospel Outreach has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part "C" of the Company and Allied Matters Act 1 of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES: 1 . Bro. Paul Igberase Akhabue 2 . Bro. Nelson Obehi Akhabue 3 . Pastor Isimemen Patience Akhabue 4 . Sister Victoria Affiong Akhabue AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1 . Village Evangelism 2 . Crusade Evangelism 3 . Mission Field Outreach 4 . Print and Media Evangelism 5 . To do the work of God worldwide, and establish any other thing as God would direct us.

Any objection to this registration should be addressed to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent off Aguyi Ironsi Street, Maitama Garki, Abuja, within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: Trustees

PUBLIC NOTICE MOUNT CARMEL PRAYER VILLAGE

This is to notify the General public that the above organisation has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja, for registration.

The object for which the registration is sought is as follows: 1. To provide a place of prayer and retreat for Christians.

2. To encourage and support missionaries worldwide.

3. To create a safe haven for missionaries in transit.

THE NAMES OF THE TRUSTEES ARE; 1.

Pastor MrsFolukeAdenikeAdeboye 2.

Pastor Johnson Odesola 3.

Pastor KunleAjayi 4.

Pastor Charles Akinwole 5.

Pastor AdeoluAdeboye 6.

Mrs. AdebolugbeAdubi Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar general, Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED; JOCLEGAL CONSULT (Legal Practitioners) Plot 27A Providence Street Lekki Phase 1, Lagos. Tel: 07063297860

PUBLIC NOTICE GUY OTOBO FOUNDATION The general public is hereby notified that the above foundation has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part ‘’C’’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990 THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.

Engr. Guy Eboe Otobo Chairman 2.

Mrs.Augustina AkpoebiOtobo Member 3.

Miss Oberhiri O.E. Otobo Member 4.

Miss Ejiroghene O.E. Otobo Secretary 5.

Miss Orevaoghene O.E. Otobo Member THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1) To provide scholarships for brilliant indigent students in secondary and tertiary institutions.

2) To provide financial assistance to educational institutions in rural areas of Nigeria in the promotion of qualitative and functional education.

3) To organise lectures, symposiums, seminars and workshops aimed at enhancing the development of qualitative educational centres of excellence in communities.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to: The Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, Off AguiyiIronsi Street, Maitama Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: Sampson OgbemudjeEsq. Legal Practitioner.

19

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

COMMENTARY FROM OTHER LANDS

EDITORIAL

Return to owner

•The repossession of Benin bronzes is a good start and must be built upon

O

NE of the more negative consequences of colonial conquest was the theft of the cultural artefacts of conquered people by those who had invaded them. The 1897 invasion, sacking and looting of the Benin Kingdom by British forces ranks among the most traumatic instances of this painful reality. It is all the more gratifying that a small, but significant step was taken to achieve healing and restitution.

The occasion was the formal return of two bronze artefacts by a great-grandson of one of the invading British soldiers, Dr. Adrian Mark Walker, to the Oba of Benin, Uku Akpolokpolo Erediauwa I. Dr. Walker’s explanation of his unusual action was as simple as it was right: he felt that the acquisition of the artefacts was an injustice which he had to correct.

It takes a great amount of courage to publicly admit that one’s ancestors were wrong; it takes even greater bravery to seek to make restitution for such errors.

Walker’s gesture is a welcome manifestation of the culture of reconciliation that has become vital to the resolution of long-standing resentments and simmering hatreds that continue to make the lasting resolution of many conflicts so difficult. He made no excuses for the behaviour of his great-grandfather or the nation that sent him; he did not demand compensation for an ostensible “loss;” he did not question the right of the Benin Kingdom to its own artefacts. He just went ahead and did the right thing: he returned the artefacts to their rightful owners.

By his actions, Walker has unwittingly given the world a useful template with which to resolve the vexed issue of returning stolen cultural treasures to their places of origin. Over the years, the countries in which these treasures are held have persistently refused to hand them back, and have disingenuously relied on several untenable justifications.

They argue that the artefacts are legitimate spoils of war; that they alone can maintain and display them appropriately; that those from whom the artefacts were stolen are no longer around to demand their return. When Nigeria was put in the humiliating position of having to request that Britain loan it the magnificent Queen Idia mask for use in FESTAC ’77, it was turned down. Walker has shown that none of these excuses is justifiable or reasonable. If the provenance of an artefact can be precisely determined, and if the descendants of the original owners can be located, then it is incumbent upon those who currently possess them to return them. It is as simple as that.

It is significant that Dr. Walker’s courage was matched by Benin magnanimity. The Oba of Benin, as well as the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, warmly congratulated Walker for what he had done, and encouraged others in similar situations to imitate his sterling behaviour. Such generosity of spirit on both sides of the issue is vital to ensuring that it does not degenerate into a blamegame that will do neither party any good.

Nigeria must do more to ensure that more of its treasures that have been spirited beyond its shores in dubious circumstances are brought back to the country. It must strengthen its capacity to accommodate and maintain artefacts, enhance its ability to monitor them locally and internationally, and improve co-operative relationships with foreign governments and institutions.

In this regard, it is truly distressing that artefacts continue to be stolen from palaces and museums, only to show up in museums and collections abroad.

Nigeria’s claims to its illegally appropriated cultural heritage will be hollow if it does nothing to protect those that are still within its borders.

‘By his actions, Walker has unwittingly given the world a useful template with which to resolve the vexed issue of returning stolen cultural treasures to their places of origin. Over the years, the countries in which these treasures are held have persistently refused to hand them back, and have disingenuously relied on several untenable justifications’

Umaru Dikko (1936 – 2014)

W

•A spectacular conservative politician departs

ITHOUT doubt, the most spectacularly dramatic event in the life of Umaru Dikko, who served as Minister of Transport in President Shehu Shagari’s cabinet between 1979 and 1983, must be his attempted abduction in London, apparently by agents of the military regime that terminated Nigeria’s Second Republic.

Dikko, a highly visible and influential member of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), had fled into exile following the military coup of December 31, 1983, that toppled the Shagari civilian administration; but he was fiercely hunted by the new rulers who accused him of colossal official corruption and involvement in the looting of millions of dollars from the country’s oil earnings.

It is a reflection of his perceived political weight at the time that, about six months

‘Against the background of the publicised lavish orientation of leading members of the NPN, he could be said to be blemished, even if only by association. Furthermore, Dikko’s reemergence in the PDP, with its similarly conservative hue and perhaps even greater profligacy, was sufficient in comprehending not only his political philosophy but also his understanding of good governance’

later, he was sensationally seized in front of his home, sedated and put in a crate headed for Lagos, which was then the country’s capital. But for the alertness of officials at Stansted Airport, he would have been flown to Nigeria as “Diplomatic Baggage.” This severely shocking incident, aptly called the ‘Dikko Affair’, happened in July 1984.

Remarkably, Dikko’s death at the age of 78 in a London hospital on July 1 coincided with the 30th anniversary of the failed kidnap. He had returned to politics and was, until his death, Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was an eloquent testimony to his conservative political tendency.

Unapologetically northern, even to the point of promoting northern hegemony, Dikko was combatively outspoken and played politics with striking passion. His earliest governmental role was as a commissioner in the then North Central State of Nigeria (now Kaduna State) in the 1960s; and he was also given the politically significant assignment of uniting the northerners as secretary of a committee set up by the military government in the aftermath of a coup in 1966. He was later appointed as Shagari’s strategist for the NPN’s successful presidential campaign, and combined his subsequent ministerial role with his function as head of the presidential task force on rice.

Interestingly, posthumous tributes, particularly from high-profile quarters, defined Dikko’s legacy and helped in evaluating him as a public figure.

President Goodluck Jonathan, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, noted Dikko’s “significant contributions,

especially his life-long advocacy for stronger political parties, greater discipline within political parties and the supremacy of political parties.” Really, in the context of the country’s current experience which reflects increasing centrifugal stress within political parties, there may be valuable lessons to be learnt from Dikko’s perspective.

Further characterisation of the late politician, provided by Gen. Yakubu Gowon, a former military head of state, was instructive for its apparent revisionism, which may have been understandably informed by the general notion that it is indecent to speak ill of the dead. Gowon said: “It was not his character to be what newspapers made him to be.” He added, “His death is a great loss to the country no matter what anyone will say.” However, the point must be made that it smacks of insincerity to suggest that the media’s reportage of the man was fabricated.

Indeed, against the background of the publicised lavish orientation of leading members of the NPN, he could be said to be blemished, even if only by association.

Furthermore, Dikko’s reemergence in the PDP, with its similarly conservative hue and perhaps even greater profligacy, was sufficient in comprehending not only his political philosophy but also his understanding of good governance.

Colourful but controversial, it is enlightening that his political career was not such that could be described as people-oriented, given the seemingly elitist platforms he promoted. The parties he appeared to love were those with low progressive content; and he remained faithful to his choice till the end.

Keep medicine out of the dark ages – Global action is needed to avoid an antibiotic apocalypse

D

AVID Cameron has added his voice to increasingly urgent warnings by the world’s public health leaders about the growth of antibiotic resistance. Besides talking about a return to “the dark ages of medicine” if we lose our power to kill microbes, the prime minister announced an internationally focused commission to come up with solutions to the crisis.

Although several medical and scientific bodies around the world have recently looked at ways to tackle drug-resistant infections, the Cameron initiative stands out because economists and policy experts will lead its deliberations with Jim O’Neill, formerly of Goldman Sachs, in the chair. This is the right priority: while there are formidable scientific obstacles to discovering safe new antibiotics, the necessary research will take place only if governments can provide sufficient incentives for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to do the work.

The principal reason for the dearth of drugs – no new class of antibiotic has reached the market since 1987 – is the industry’s withdrawal from research in favour of more lucrative pharmaceutical fields. Like much of the medical world, companies were lulled into a false sense of security at the end of the 20th century, regarding antibiotics as yesterday’s challenge; they could not see much potential profit in new drugs to tackle bacterial infections.

Now that antibiotic resistance has emerged as an impending apocalypse for the 21st century, the industry must be drawn quickly back into the field.

To some extent companies do respond to crises in a way that goes beyond their direct responsibility to maximise shareholders’ returns, as demonstrated by the huge sums spent on developing Aids treatments in the 1980s and 1990s, but we cannot rely solely on their sense of corporate social responsibility. More incentives are needed.

Direct public support for research and development is one route. Public-private partnerships are already beginning to stimulate antibiotic R&D, with the EU Innovative Medicines Initiative leading the way. These should be extended.

Another contribution should come from measures to ease the path to regulatory approval for new antibiotics, with better collaboration between authorities around the world, so that companies have to carry out no more animal testing and clinical trials than the minimum needed to demonstrate safety and efficacy. Carefully targeted patent extensions for innovative drugs might provide an incentive, too.

But the most difficult task of the O’Neill commission will be to design a market incentive to reward companies for developing medicines that would be used as little as possible, so as to prevent their microbial targets developing resistance. They would be held back for short-term administration in patients whose infections resist all existing antibiotics. Unlike other drug categories, where companies try to sell as much as possible, antibiotics need a system that decouples payment from prescriptions. An advance purchase scheme or market commitment, in which governments and health providers undertake to buy and distribute new antibiotics that meet agreed criteria, could provide the necessary financial incentive.

Some see a role for prizes. Britain’s £10m Longitude prize is on offer for the development of a cheap, simple and accurate diagnostic test for bacterial infections, which could be an invaluable tool for better targeting of antibiotics. But any prize for drug development would have to be huge to provide a serious incentive.

Whatever the O’Neill commission recommends, action is urgent. Next year should mark the start of a concerted global campaign to prevent medicine returning to the dark ages.

– Financial 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

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

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CARTOON & LETTERS

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IR: Last month, The Post published an op-ed by Ni-ger-ian President Goodluck Jonathan answering criticism of his response to the kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls by the group Boko Haram. This is what he should have written.

I have remained quiet about Nigeria’s continuing efforts to find the girls kidnapped in April from the northern town of Chibok, because, honestly, I hoped the world would ignore it as just another “African tragedy.” But the attention brought by #BringBackOurGirls forced my administration to abandon its usual do-nothing strategy. I admit that for weeks, the Nigerian military was nowhere to be seen in Chibok and aggrieved parents had to resort to venturing into the jungle on foot to search for their children. But I assure everyone, we are doing our best.

I am speaking out now because national elections are in less than a year and my Washington PR firm needs to earn the reported $1.2 million I am paying it to reverse the criticism that has overshadowed all my good intentions.

I wish to assure Nigerians and the international community that, even though my military officially wrapped up its investigation into the kidnappings, without locating the girls, we are sparing no resources.

We will keep the findings of the investigations secret, since my goodfaith assurances are enough.

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

What Jonathan should have written My heart aches for the missing children and their families. In fact, my heartache was so painful that I canceled plans to visit Chibok. Instead, I eased my pain by flying to Paris for a national security summit.

My first lady, Patience Jonathan, shares in my grief for the families affected by the tragedy. She was so troubled by the agitation of protesters demanding their girls back that she told them to stop their actions and allegedly ordered the police to detain several protest leaders.

While terrorism knows no borders, and security threats rage on across West Africa, Nigeria has long been reluctant to accept counterterrorism assistance from the United States and other partners. Nothing is more important than stopping the machinations of Boko Haram, except maybe my desire to keep up appearances and show the international community that Nigeria was winning the war against the group. I know that I have characterized Boko Haram as a temporary scourge, but in the wake of the latest attacks and kidnappings of more women just this week, I recognize that it has effectively ex-

As lawyers go to the polls

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IR: I write this as a reality check based on status-quo as obtained in the Nigerian Bar Association today. I stand to be corrected. Conference and practising fees go up year in and out whilst welfare of members remains on the “miscellaneous” list of the national leadership. No professional body has lost touch with realities as the NBA as it is today which is one of the reasons why the annual general conference has turned into a quasitourist destination to cool off the stress of a tasking legal year rather than a forum of intellectually stimulating and professionally rewarding discourses. Yet we are incapacitated to put good leadership in

place, no thanks to the anachronistic delegate-voting system.

To make it worse, these inauspicious signs are already rubbing off on the generation next known as Young Lawyers Forum. All hope is not lost, we can always get it right, starting with Abuja 2014.

Delegates must go out decisively to vote for their conscience and credibility not endorsement or inducement under any guise.

I look forward to a better, all-inclusive, active and reform oriented NBA leadership come August in Owerri.

• Ogbeni Babatope Adebiyi Esq Ado-Ekiti

ploited the inability of the Nigerian military to put up any semblance of a sustained coordinated response.

But in spite of all the challenges, we are definitely doing our best.

Despite Nigeria’s status as a regional powerhouse with a population of 168 million, until now it had not occurred to me to collaborate with neighboring countries to fight terrorism. I wish to thank French President François Hollande for inviting me and other West African

S

presidents to Paris to discuss this.

When it comes to strategizing on African solutions to African problems, a European should take the lead. Besides, I do my best thinking in Paris.

My critics say that decades of neglect have led to conditions amenable to radicalization in the north. My detractors will point also to human rights abuses perpetrated by the military. Let the finger-pointing stop. I am sparing no resources. I propose

to set up an international summit to organize a fact-finding commission of investigative inquiry to study the progress of ongoing investigations of corruption and lack of development in the north. I have again asked President Hollande to provide a forum for this in Paris, though I would accept the French Riviera.

Something positive can come out of the kidnappings more than 70 days ago. The world has seen what can happen when terrorism is left to run amok and the citizens of a country have little faith in the ability of their government to protect them.

But I wish to assure Nigerians and the rest of the world that I am doing my best.

• Karen Attiah, Editorial department, Washington Post, United States

?????????????????

Femi Fani-Kayode’s mischief

IR: There is this popular statement that silence is the best answer to a fool. However, when certain utterances are left without refutation, they are believed rightly or wrongly to be true. That is why I have chosen to reply the unguarded and mischievous utterances by former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi FaniKayode who has suddenly canonized himself as a “saint”.

For the past few days, FaniKayode has been using the social media to campaign against the All Peoples Congress (APC) and some of its leaders particularly General Muhammadu Buhari and former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The most recent was his appearance on Channels Television on Monday June 30, where he cast a lot of aspersions on the duo.

I cannot condemn his affiliation with Peoples Democratic Party since the choice of a political party is his exclusive right as a Nigerian.

It is however, not a hidden fact that Fani-Kayode is one of the few Nigerians who earn their living by blackmail and mischief; this had paid him well in the past and being conscious of the benefits, he still believes that this means will bounce him back in the current era hence his new sermon.

On Channels television and in other social media outfits, he accused the APC of plots to impose an Islamic agenda on Nigerians with the planned choice of Buhari and Tinubu as Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates respectively; that the APC and Buhari are sympathizers of Boko Haram; and that Buhari and his northern brothers have seen the leadership of Nigeria as their birthright and hence their connivance with a handful of southerners to remove a southern minority Christian in order to impose an Islamic agenda on Nigeria.

When Chief Obasanjo was sworn in as President in 1999, Fani-Kayode was at the forefront of those who saw nothing good in the new civilian administration. I remember when he called the President a CIA agent – not fit to rule Nigeria.

Shortly afterwards, he was appointed the President’s Special Assistant on Public Affairs where he immediately changed his tune.

While serving in that capacity, he descended heavily on anybody that dared to differ with the president on anything. I cannot forget the day he insulted Chief Sunday Awoniyi (of blessed memory) and Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar retd. for speaking out against the tenure elongation plot and other ills perpetrated in Aso Rock.

When he was nominated as minister in compensation of the mercenary assignment he ran for the president, he would later tender an unreserved apology the National Assembly for his primitive vituperations. As Minister of Aviation for few months, billions of naira was stolen under his watch for which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has since arraigned him in court.

Going by these antecedents, what moral authority has Fani-Kayode to attack the likes of General Buhari and others? Look at the people he is accusing to have connived with northerners to Islamize Nigeria: Tinubu’s wife is a Christian, Bisi Akande’s wife is a Christian, Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun’s wife is a Christian, Lagos State Governor, and Babatunde Fashola’s wife is a Christian. Can these people connive with anybody to pursue an agenda where their immediate families will be affected?

Nigeria may be a place where mediocrity is celebrated and deviants crowned as heroes; but it is high time we allowed people like FaniKayode to know where they belong.

• Comrade Richard Tersoo Mnenga Pfeffingerstrasse 12 Basel 4055- Switzerland.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014 16

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COMMENTS

Like dogs on a leash Email: tunji_ololade@yahoo.co.uk 08038551123, 08111845040

I

DIOTS as fragile as clay toys evolve into outsized heroes and gods, on our watch. But even gods grow out abandoned, held the late Christopher Okigbo; I would say, journalists too, but not your quintessential citizens, like the late Chinua Achebe. Achebe died and Africa mourned.

The novelist whose engaging literature taught the world to read and understand from an African perspective died at 82 and his demise was felt across literary tropes and political cultures.

In Nigeria, Achebe’s death reignites a seductive dirge; a ritual culture of requiem and colourful superlatives. Politicians froth with doctored and hardly-felt regret around their fattened lips and literary buffs compose tributes with obscene and overwhelming lyricism. Yet none is perhaps as impressive as the mainstream media’s glorification of Chinua Achebe.

At his death, Achebe not only made “cover page,” he commandeered the first five pages of many a flagship newspaper. And he didn’t

have to spend a dime to achieve such impressive feat. What height politicians and conglomerates burn a fortune to attain, he used mere words and a fertile imagination to ascend.

Alive, Achebe lightened many a thunder by his words; in death, he commands seductive shrieks of wonder and appreciation. Such is the quality of life and manhood of Chinua Achebe. It doesn’t matter how skewed or alluring he was in politics and candour, everybody remembers Achebe as one good thing that happened to Nigerian literature. In his death, the world relives his quality as a man and African.

How do journalists die? How do journalists live to be precise? Do we merit such honour and appreciation like we confer on Chinua Achebe?

Do we at least merit the passing tribute of a sigh at our demise? Is there such person amongst us that excites interminable tributes, poetry and superlatives like Chinua Achebe?

The time for pleasuring ourselves will soon be over and like failures

‘Every day we see that we are not ready for the travails of the inflamed distance. We know the darkness of our practice and the perversions in our hearts and yet pay lipservice to evolving a practice worthy of the humane and the heroic. This is not to deny the existence of the few good ones amongst us but their paltry band isn’t enough balm to soothe our practice’s festering sores’

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ANY people grossly underestimated the level and extent of the socio-political and economic decay of the country when the ongoing political dispensation came into being in 1999. One of the worst-hit areas was the education sector which, in spite of the fact that the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria expressly gives citizens the right to education, suffered from many more years of deliberate neglect. This state of affairs was further compounded by inadequate or outright derelict attention to policy frameworks within the sector by those who are responsible for their execution.

A conservative estimate rates the national literacy level at below 60 percent while over 50 percent of the teaching force is either unqualified or professionally- deficient in some of the areas of learning they are detailed to teach or supervise. The provision and installation of basic infrastructure, equipment, teaching aids etc is either inadequate or palpably non-existent at all the levels of education within the country.

To make matters worse, access to basic education is grossly hindered by gender issues and diverse socio-cultural beliefs, mores and practices among other issues. With an educational system that places premium on theoretical knowledge at the expense of technical, vocational and entrepreneurial education, there is an urgent need for a radical review of the intent and purpose of the present system of things to make the various school curricula relevant and practice –oriented. The education sector has the responsibility for producing and supplying the manpower required to propel, pursue, attain and sustain the critical goals of employment, wealth creation, poverty reduction and value reorientation.

Conventional wisdom indicates that government (at whatever level) cannot, adequately, shoulder all the responsibilities and foot the bills alone in the provision of the education needs of the people without the active participation of the private sector and its citizens who can afford to do so.

Globally, governments have begun to withdraw from its dominant role in the economy by privatising, liberalising and deregulating certain services – the education sector inclusive.

Innovative schemes like Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), BuildOwn-Operate-Transfer (BOOT), Rehabilitate-Operate-Transfer (ROT) and other platforms of private sector engagement are being encouraged in the key areas of pre-school, kindergarten, nursery, primary, secondary and even tertiary education.

In recent years, there have been a gradual paradigm shift from the old orientation of stifling bureaucratic control and checkmating; risk avoidance; personalising of governance through suffocating tax regimes and unproductive patronage, to a new era where some of the governments are now providing the enabling environment for private sector investment in education to thrive. Now, the private sector has become a pacesetter in providing qualitative education for the youths of this country. The establishment of good quality and adequatelystaffed privately-owned educational institutions at all levels,

eternally condemned to self-fellate on ego and all that vanity ever gives; many of us will pass in spasms of insignificance and self-love. The world has seen the swollen belly of our pride; it is nothing to write home about. Nothing excites, nothing moves, nothing encourages anyone to go to bat for our cancerous pride.

We have failed to become worthier than our bylines. And our bylines aren’t really worth much to be precise. Yet every time we see it, we feel like some gift. Gift to whom? Gift indeed. How narcissistic can we get? We, whose answers to national riddles have become trite. We, who bandy inappropriate cliché as solution to avoidable conflict, pretend to be worth more than disposable pawns in the scheme of things.

A simple lust is yet our woe; the lust for unearned riches and selflove. It drives many a practicing journalist beneath the bounds of ethics and above it. But no matter how significant we pretend to be, we are actually worth nothing in the eyes of our benefactors and “friends in high places.”

This is some truth we love to ignore simply because it’s therapeutic to do so. Every journalist on the beat is on a string to some puppeteer. Be it on Crime, Politics, Business, Aviation, Entertainment and Society beat, everybody kowtows to the wiles of some contemptible deep-pocket, to the detriment of society and journalism practice.

But many of us would never admit this much; rather we love to argue that we “operate on a higher level.” We have learnt to claim that by virtue of “quality journalism” that we practice, we get to hobnob daily with “the crème-de-la-crème of Nigeria’s high society.” And thus is the ultimate fulfillment to many of us.

It is however, fascinating to note

that many of us are actually kept on a leash by our so-called “high society,” like dogs. Our so-called “clients,” benefactors or friends in high places do not think much of us.

That is why they agree to an interview and request for the interview questions in advance. They think many of us are incapable of normal conversation and informed questions and follow-up questions hence their robotic repetition of what their “personal assistants” or “media person” tell them to say.

That is why they prefer an email interview but get their “media person” to write the answers. That is why they agree to a two-hour interview session and shorten it to 15 minutes on the spot.

Our so-called “big friends” in high society liken the Nigerian journalist to scum of the earth, that is why they invite journalists to their offices for an interview session only to keep them waiting for two or three hours in order to tell them that they can only do the interview if they can grant full copy approval before publication. That is why they invite journalists to their events only to tell security operatives on site to prevent them from getting into the venue. The embarrassment and shame will encourage humility and show the journalist who’s boss.

I do not know why an average journalist needs to blindly believe that he can attain relevance only by courting and serving as publicity pawn to his so-called “friends in high places.” It’s amazing to see journalists engage in heated altercation and fisticuff over accusations of “stealing” and “courting” of each other’s “friends in high places.”

Many of us are a pathetic fraud.

We make a show of friendship and intimacy with our so-called privileged friends although the latter do not consider us worthier than ver-

min or intolerable hacks. Many of us have nothing to say, do we? We have no more stories to tell or hope to offer to folk who still wander to the newsstands hopes aglow, every day, seeking answers to timeless conundrums on the pages of our colourful prints.

What answers can we give? What remedy can we flaunt past the trite banalities we haughtily couch as columns, and most times, “Our Stand?” But the readers hardly know better. They never know better and those that think they do would buy into our finest delusion as long as they can identify with it and as long as it fetes their vanities while they do the spirited waltz in the intellectual trash can of public discourse.

Talk is still cheap. It is yet the proverbial staple that keeps compatriots who know no better, glued to our sensational news prints. Still they seek answers but we have no answers to give, do we? Just more sensation and rhetoric.

Nobody actually learns from us anymore. Every journalist is seen as an attack dog or junkyard dog for a variety of interests and “high society.” Having pretended to have answers to everything, we have no more answers to give. And our usual alternatives are tainted by our vanities and grief; twin-miseries for which we have no tongue.

Every day we see that we are not ready for the travails of the inflamed distance. We know the darkness of our practice and the perversions in our hearts and yet pay lipservice to evolving a practice worthy of the humane and the heroic.

This is not to deny the existence of the few good ones amongst us but their paltry band isn’t enough balm to soothe our practice’s festering sores.

• To be continued…

Private sector and education development

By Abdul-Kadir Umar have come to fill the yawning gaps in the provision of sustainable education in Nigeria, while achieving linkages between government-owned institutions and the private sector.

Hitherto, there was this laid-back and laissez-faire attitude to investments in the development of education in Nigeria due to many factors. Some of the factors included prohibitive legislations and bureaucracy; restrictive and cumbersome registration requirements and the belief that there was slow pace of returns on investment in the sector, as opposed to some others which yield profits without the strains, regulations and oversight associated with the education sector.

Quite recently, Aduvie International School, an integrated educational institution in the Federal Capital Territory organised a launching and fund raising dinner during which speaker after speaker made references to the need for the private sector to help in the development of educational facilities in the country as a way of bridging the gap between educational institutions in Nigeria and their counterparts in other parts of the world.

One major constraint militating against quality education in the country has been the high cost of doing business in Nigeria which include policy uncertainty; inadequate basic infrastructure; poor access to and high interest rates on takeoff and working capital; stifling procedures and regulations and lack of relevant information on investment opportunities in the education sector. It is in this wise that many governments have liberalised the processes of setting up private educational institutions at all levels through the provision of vital enabling environment such as waivers; tax holidays; easy acquisition of land and Certificates of Occupancy; unencumbered access to finance at affordable interest rates; critical basic infrastructure like motorable roads; constant electricity supply; potable water supply; sector-friendly legislation etc.

Over the last decade, governments have established effective and efficient monitoring systems of both public and private education institutions to enhance and ensure strict adherence to and compliance with global best practices and standards. In addition to this, there have been attempts at the review of curricula needs of both public and privately-funded schools at all levels of education to enhance relevance while making them competency-based in line with global challenges and the needs of the job market.

Another major role of private sector involvement in the development of education in Nigeria is that it is principally complementary to that of the various levels of government whose engagements in other critical areas of providing succour

to its citizens place a lot of pressure on available resources. The intervention of the private sector in education development of Nigeria reduces, to a manageable level, the yoke or burden placed on financial out lay of the various governments who have hitherto been solely responsible for funding education, at all levels.

As profit-oriented concerns, many private sector-led educational institutions tend to cut corners in the provision of advertised in-house edges which they claim to have over the competition. Reacting to this despicable practice that is very rampart within the sector, Professor Steve Azaiki, Chairman, Governing Board of Aduvie International School, opined that parents and guardians should be more diligent and discerning enough to do background checks on those privately-owned schools with claims to dubious and highfalutin “excellence” that are rather mirages and not verifiable. In his words: “It is criminal for school proprietors or administrators to make dubious claims or trumpet achievements that are far from reality”. He added that: “The relevant government organ and other sectoral agency with oversight functions over these institutions laying claims to non-verifiable achievements and facilities should sanction them and restore sanity and honour to this sector”.

Professor Azaiki further explained that another reason for the involvement of the private sector in education development, at any level in Nigeria, is “to deploy scarce funds to provide those basic infrastructure; learning aids, tools and equipments; qualified and well-informed cadre of teachers and instructors in the privately-owned institutions at the service of the community in the areas of functional instruction methods and purpose-driven total education of the Nigerian child”.

• Umar is an Abuja based Public Affairs Analyst.

‘One major constraint militating against quality education in the country has been the high cost of doing business in Nigeria which include policy uncertainty; inadequate basic infrastructure; poor access to and high interest rates on takeoff and working capital; stifling procedures and regulations and lack of relevant information on investment opportunities in the education sector’

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

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COMMENTS ‘The one who adapts his policy to the times prosper, and likewise, the one whose policy clashes with the demands of the times does not.’----Niccolo Machiavelli

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, at his 2014 Democracy Day celebration held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, reportedly inspected laughable locally assembled Nissan vehicles with unfounded aplomb. In the revelry, he unguardedly declared that the vision of his administration to revamp the capability of Nigeria’s automobile sector to export locally manufactured cars is erroneously ‘near realisation’. Till this moment, millions of Nigerians have not seen those locally assembled vehicles on our roads. May be the ones assembled and displayed, for him and acolytes, with nauseating funfair were only enough for the use of the presidency’s team.

The president, after a recent meeting with Carlos Ghosn, chief executive officer of Nissan Motors during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, deludingly declared that the first made-in-Nigeria 4 X 4 Utility SUV would be on Nigerian roads by April this year.

Till now again, majority of Nigerian have not sighted such made-in-Nigeria vehicles from Nissan or any other brand plants in the country.

Yet, Ghosn mischievously assured our undiscerning president that it was possible to produce two to three million cars in Nigeria annually with the utopian consequent creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

The Jonathan led government has not been quite sincere in its pursuit of this otherwise important policy and this is symptomatic of its bungling of previous hitherto significant policies that were altered on the altar of promoters’/government officials’ greed and egomania. Like previous misplaced policies, the government, through insincere/myopic Olusegun Aganga, Minister of Trade and Investment, recently declared that the new automotive policy is purportedly geared towards discouragement of used automobiles and not its outright ban.

To justify the misplaced policy, the minister stopped at nothing to make importation of used vehicles look inimical despite the fact that the government has failed to address challenges that might follow suit.

In Aganga’s contentious view, tokunbo cars’ importation erroneously takes the biggest share of the country’s foreign reserves. To buttress his chimera, he disclosed recently too that as at 2012, Nigeria had spent a total of N550 billion ($3.4billion) and N660 billion ($4.2 billion) in 2010 on importation of cars. Aganga erroneously believes that the balance of payment problems of Nigerians is traceable to this alone because he thinks that those imported vehicles were a product of capital flight from the country. He has completely forgotten that majority of Nigerians in Diaspora legitimately make several millions of money in hard currency and found it easier to repatriate such hard earned funds by buying vehicles that were sent home to relatives/friends to be sold or used and the proceeds deployed to build houses among other needs, including savings. The balance of pay-

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S this my article goes to press, the forces and individuals within the progressive fold in southwestern region of Nigeria that could (and in my opinion ought to) put a conservative political action in the field in time for the August, 2014 gubernatorial election in Osun State, are already in motion: Caucusing, coalescing and laying careful plans for actions that will take place before, during and after the election day.

Though, it is not within the power of this writer as a patriotic Nigerian from the southwestern part of Nigeria, even if it were my place, to describe in details the probable sequence of events, or to describe the innermost thoughts or speculations of Nigeria’s leading progressive politicians and columnists in most leading Nigeria’s print media. But the calendar and election laws in Nigeria impose certain inexorable requirements on the hopes and plans of men, particularly the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that might compromise with the hawks in the national ruling party (PDP), to rig the forthcoming election in Osun State.

To take care of the southwest, Prof. Femi Orebe, writing in his weekly column in The Nation of Sunday, May 18, 2014, stated that “Not only has the presidency assembled the usual political outcasts in the region, it has successfully breached what has hitherto an impregnable regional elders redoubt with the result that men you could count on a few years back have completely sold out”.

Mustering one-fifth of the south-west’s population and 30 percent of its natural resources, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s government in Osun is rapidly consolidating a new force, both moral and material, with which to raise the living standard and erect adaptations of the design of modern progress to their own distinct cultural environments. Whether one adheres to the concepts of southwestern Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) document or not, this is the direction of Osun State progress and thousand of

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Automotive policy: Is Nigeria ripe for its implementation?

• Segun Aganga ment problem of the country was not a consequence of car importation but that of the unquenchable national fleecing of the few in power and their elite friends/collaborators that criminally transfers ill-gotten public funds abroad.

Most average-income-earning Nigerians buy tokunbo cars with prices ranging from N550, 000 to N2.5million. It is only those who are in government and the elite class that buy cars with N10 to N50million worth of value. Aminu Jalal, NAC’s Director-General, better amplified the contradiction in government figures through Aganga when he unknowing declared that the nation wastes N400billion on the importation of 200,000 used vehicles and 80,000 new vehicles annually when it has the capacity to produce 150,000 units of vehicles. Yours sincerely believes that the nation's capacity by Jalal is exaggerated and his calculation on used vehicles spurious. He should tell us the billions wasted on importation of new cars by his and Aganga’s likes in power. Afterall, Stella Oduah while serving as Minister of Aviation bought two BMW armoured official cars for over N230million. This singular incident has put a lie on the Aganga abracadabra on this roguery policy. Let Aganga/ Jonathan tell Nigerians what number of poor Nigerians, and how long will it take to import

tokunbo vehicles of that value from one single government official? This infamous policy might finally nail the coffin of this administration.

It is a lie too that this insincere policy of gradual phasing out of fairly used (tokunbo) cars’ importation into Nigeria would create a minimum of 700,000 jobs for Nigerians. It will shock Aganga and ilks to know that retail tokunbo importers/ dealers employ majority of Nigerians by creating a large chunk of employment in the informal sector. Contrarily, vehicle assembly plants including Pan Nigeria (formerly Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria), Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company, Toyota Nigeria Limited, Coscharis Motors Limited, Dana Group and KIA Motors employ less because most of their works are automated. They employ fewer Nigerians in their showrooms across the country where they sell new vehicles to Nigerians who by any standards can not be deemed to be poor because of their prohibitive car prices. It is the same unjustifiably now official forsaken tokunbo vehicles from retail dealers that have been the saving grace of Nigerians from the car profiteering tyranny of big automobile outlets that are friends of Jonathan, Aganga and others in power.

Unfortunately, this roguery policy still allows vehicles produced abroad to be imported in form of Semi Knocked Down (SKD) and Completely Knocked Down (CKD) by deceitfully licensed assemblers. And dubiously too, it also allows Jonathan/Aganga’s anointed vehicle assemblers to import New Fully Built Units (FBUs) vehicles at concessionary import duty rates while ordinary Nigerians as individuals and retail dealers are slammed with prohibitive high custom duty/levy when importing such vehicles. What an injustice! This exposition clearly amplifies the deceits in this automotive policy of the Jonathan/ Aganga administration.

More importantly, this policy will remain a ruse unless power is constant and the value of Nigerian currency to dollar is reasonably steady since those parts will be procured from abroad in hard currency; and until systemic corruption/ greed induced by constituency deficient persons including Aganga is reduced to very minimal level. For instance, this column wants to know

Halt shame of subjugation in Osun By: M. Ade. Shoyebo Iyiola Omisores and Abdul-Jelili Adesiyans in combinations cannot stop it.

It is corrolary to the shift of the south-western economic frontiers, as the whole epicentre of former Western Region affairs rotate back towards the area it started, i.e. pre-Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola’s administration. In this situation, it becomes vital that our own country orient its policies in consonance with this basic evolutionary condition rather than pursue a course blind to the reality that the PDP era in Osun could be reinvented as Osun people now covet the right to shape their own destiny. What they seek now is friendly guidance, understanding and support, not imperious direction; the dignity of equality, not the shame of subjugation.

Their pre-PDP government standard of life, pitifully low, and it could be infinitely lower if the devastation plan of the hawks in PDP is allowed to manifest, God forbid. There are those who are possessed with satanic spirit and desperately determined to capture Osun by any means. Nigerians know them, the people of Osun are vigilantly watching out for them. The incidence that led to the brutal murder of Chief Bola Ige over a decade ago is still very fresh in the memories of most Nigerians. The perpetrators of this heinous crime were allowed to get away freely to come back again and do their thing as they know best. That is why the PDP hawks in south-western states, particularly in Osun and Ekiti states, are developing a new phenomenon of criminal intent, and anyone who does not understand it will not be able to understand the chaos that contemporary Yorubaland has become or the potential anarchy the PDP hawks, in collaboration with the Presi-

dency, are threatening to bring to all of us again.

Nigeria will be absolutely in despair if Oduduwa Nation deserts it. But the thing is inconceivable. Osun is not going to desert it. The people of the southwest are not going to desert it.

The job is to get that into the consciousness of men who do not understand it. The job is to restore some of our fellow citizens to that large sort of sanity which makes a man bigger than himself.

It has always been regarded as a blot on Yoruba political sophistication that the PDP hawks and retrogressive elements in Yorubaland be allowed to hold in unwilling bondage of the people in southwest; it has seemed to argue a lukewarmness in matter of socio-political order on the part of the national ruling party, and it has always been apparent that the people in the other five geopolitical zones in Nigeria were more opposed to PDP political domination of Nigeria and consequently, more in sympathy with the opposition parties. State policy, begotten of national jealousy and national rivalry has always held the governments in check. The people, overlooking or despising reasons of state have seen only the injustice. But for the jealousy of what has been called the national ruling power, there can be no doubt that PDP rule would long since have ceased to exist in the southwest of Nigeria.

For Ogbeni Aregbesola, Governor of Osun State, who is the architect of vibrant domestic policy of the state from year 2010 until this present moment, and, hopefully beyond, nothing would serve the state consolidation better than a long period of peace. Hence, Aregbesola deserves a second term to complete the good work he has begun.

To their own minds of course, the trio of Iyiola

why the Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) companies would not invest in Nigeria before requesting for protection of their vehicle assembling business interests. Can such senseless request be granted by any serious government in well managed climes across the world?

No! The decision to value used imported vehicles as new ones and deemed depreciated by 10 per cent annually for cars and 20 per cent annually for commercial vehicles could be nothing but draconian and condemnable. The Jonathan administration and arm-chair economists like Aganga should be told, in clear terms, that subjecting the residual value to 35 per cent duty and 35 per cent levy is devoid of human face or empiricism in a country where public transportation system is in bad shape and where poverty is colossally rampant.

This column believes that the only way to reduce the preponderance of tokunbo cars on the nation’s roads is to locally produce the needed quantity and quality of affordable vehicles that can compete favourably with the good and sturdy ones from the United States, Canada and other European countries. Also, there are different markets for new and used vehicles all over the world with each thriving at its own pace.

Why is Nigeria’s case going to be different because of Aganga’s greed under a contemptuous President Jonathan? Under this ruse policy, we stand to see how the local demands of not less than official calculated 150,000 vehicles per year can be met in the next five years in the face of shamelessly commencement of the implementation of the new 70 per cent duty and tariff on used vehicles. How many Nigerians can afford new vehicles in the country today?

The Jonathan government seems to have long been disconnected with the people, otherwise, it would have realised that it is a tall dream for any government to think of discouraging the importation and use of fairly-used cars in a country that can hardly produce wheel spanner like ours. What it calls automotive policy with expectant phantom employment generation capability is a ploy to indulge some few vehicle assemblers/importers, and their promoters in power, to earn undeserved profits, at the expense of poor Nigerians under the guise of producing new vehicles and generating illusive employment for the masses. The policy will lead to increase in car smuggling business through the Benin Republic route. A stitch in time can only save nine for Aganga, who came up with this brutal and punitive idea. Again, time for urgent and honest re-think of this obviously ill-conceived automotive policy, and not undue postponement, is Now!

‘The Jonathan government seems to have long been disconnected with the people, otherwise, it would have realised that it is a tall dream for any government to think of discouraging the importation and use of fairly-used cars in a country that can hardly produce wheel spanner like ours’ Omisore, Abduljelili Adesiyan and Musiliu Obanikoro, nursing the sentiment of revenge was the chief threat to the state and by extension, the stability of the southwest. May be the enemies of progress within our midst should be reminded of the crisis tagged Operation Wetie, of which this writer, a septuagenarian who was an eyewitness at Mushin voters’ collation centre of election that was not to be in Mushin, and that which consequently triggered the crisis that engulfed the whole of Western Region as a result of the rigged election that took place on October 11, 1965, which led to the first coup of January 15, 1966. I believe that Omisore and his co-hawks should learn from the lessons of the past and behave.

Ogbeni Aregbesola no doubt, is committed to a better, egalitarian society. Although, he is fully anxious to build a society with massive physical infrastructure that promotes better living, believes first in pursuit of those human values that can pave the way for the emergence of that total man who is socially responsible. Hence, his dogged pursuit of extra-curricular schemes such as the Calisthenics, Omoluabi Boys and Girls Club and other schemes aimed at re-orientating the youths to channel their energies towards a society where the promotion of the common, collective good will dominate the crazy pursuit of the good of the self. He stirs the hornet’s nest often, usually in his determined attempts to break the norms to achieve extra-ordinary results.

To date, he has ignited debates on federalism, restructuring of education towards functionality, equity, justice and fairness in all spheres of life.

Even in the face of mounting criticisms, Aregbesola holds tenaciously to his ideas, convinced that opposition to them is a product of long years of military rule, ignorance of what is even good for humanity and the acute manipulative capacities of those whose interest it is to keep the ordinary people perpetually subjugated.

• Engr. Shoyebo, an Author and Publisher wrote from Mushin – Lagos.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

BUSINESS THE NATION

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

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

-Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga

FAAN urges clarification of alleged N174b debt

NCAA,NAICOM partner on insurance compliance

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

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T

HE Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), has said it will organise a forum for airlines, insurers and other stakeholders to boost their compliance with aviation regulations.

NCAA’s Director-General, Benedict Adeyileka, made this known at a seminar on aviation insurance and law in Lagos.

He said the event has become imperative in view of the poor compliance of domestic carriers, which are unable to pay compensation to victims of air disasters.

He said the NCAA was convinced that sensitisation of stakeholders would offer solution on how to resolve the issue.

He said the NCAA has put measures in place to ensure that all airlines in the country have a valid insurance cover for their aircraft and passengers as well as third party liabilities, insisting that the authority only awards Air Operators’ Certificate (AOC) to airlines that have valid and up-to-date insurance.

He said the NCAA has entered into agreement with local insurance companies to furnish it with information on the validity of insurance held by airlines.

Adeyileka denied insinuations that the NCAA is lax on enforcement of regulations of insurance for airlines, adding that the insurance regulatory body and local underwriters have a big role to play in ensuring that domestic and foreign carriers comply with the requirements.

Local content, a priority, says PENGASSAN

By Chikodi Okereocha

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HE newly elected president of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) Comrade Francis Olabode Johnson has said the union will focus more on ways of ensuring job security and decent jobs and employment conditions for its members in the next three years.

Addressing members after his election during the just concluded Fourth Triennial National Delegates Conference in Abuja, Johnson said none of the sub-sector of the workers’ union in the oil and gas industry will be allowed to go into extinction. He said the services sector which was endangered and threatened by extinction would not die as job security would be a priority of his regime.

Johnson said the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Development Act 2010, defined local content as “the quantum of composite value added to or created in Nigeria through utilisation of Nigerian resources and services in the petroleum industry resulting in the development of indigenous capability without compromising quality, health, safety and environmental standards.”

•From left: Representative of the Minister of Communication Technology, John Ayodele; Chairman of the occasion/Group MD/ CEO Computer Warehouse Group, Mr. Austin Okere and Chairperson, Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) Mrs. Mary Uduma, during the Nigeria Internet Governance Forum on Harnessing Multi-Stakeholders Framework for Internet Governance and Economic Growth at Muson Centre, Lagos.

Banks get CBN’s 30-day ultimatum to resolve customers’ complaints

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HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has ordered banks to resolve all complaints on Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) transactions, excess charges and loans within 30 days.

Its Director, Financial Policy and Regulation, Kelvin Amugo said in a circular to banks, discount houses and other financial institutions, that the regulator had in 2011, ordered lenders’ Help Desks to resolve consumer complaints within 14 days.

He said such time line is no longer adequate, hence the approval for extension to 30 days.

The apex bank had earlier warned banks: "Failure to respond to the customer or the CBN on ATM complaints within 72 hours

By Collins Nweze

will attract a fine of N50, 000 per day for each complaint after the 72 hours until the response is received," while failure to resolve any ATM dispute with evidence of resolution within 14 days, the operator will refund the total money involved in the fraud.

"All cardholders' complaints are to be treated within a maximum of 72 hours from the date of receipt of the complaints.

“Networks used for transmission of ATM transactions must be demonstrated to have data confidentiality and integrity. Where the user of the ATM blocks his image for camera capture, the ATM should be able to abort the transaction.”

The regulator also said

operators that fail to establish help desk or non functional help desk will attract a fine of N50, 000 for each day of infraction, while for failing to disclose ATM surcharge to customers, the CBN will enforce a refund of the surcharge.

The CBN added that other non-monetary sanctions that could be applied for these infractions include naming the offenders at the Bankers' Committee Forum, suspension of offenders from participating in clearing operations until the infraction is corrected, in addition to suspending offenders from participating in Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) operations until the infraction is corrected.

Also, the CBN directed

the helpdesk contacts to be adequately displayed at the ATM terminals, while all surcharges are to be fully disclosed to customers. The new rule also stipulates that there must be availability of cash in ATMs at all times.

"The funding and operation of the ATM deployed by non-bank institutions should be the sole responsibility of the bank or institutions that entered into agreement with them for cash provisioning.

“Every ATM is expected by this arrangement to have cameras that will view and record all persons using the machines and every activity at the ATM like card insertion, Personal Identification Number (PIN) entry, transaction selection, cash withdrawal and card taking, among others,” the apex bank insisted.

to achieve impressive growth.

“Our journey is very precise as aninstitution.Thereweretwochallenges to driving our growth strategy, one was capital and other was the right size and mixed of man power.Ontheissueofhumancapital, as you can see, that has been address. We have a new set of management with new executive directors and non-executive directors in place. On the aspect of capital, it has brought us this far, the importance of capital in business, beyond being regulatory as per capital adequacy, cannot be overemphasized; it is needed to drive the business. As you have seen in the prospectus, the utilisation of the proceeds clearly expressed what we are going to do with the funds,” Semenitari said.

According to him, the bank is optimistic that it will raise all the funds and there could be over-subscription as some

shareholders have started making deposits to take their rights.

“The offer will be used judiciously to drive our business and we are going to be more prudent. It is a new dawn in Unity Bank. You can see this in our first quarter result. With the network in excess of 245 branches, our retail banking is on track. To be the retail banking of choice in five years, we are working along three parameter-small and medium enterprises (SMEs), agriculture and rural economy.

Within SMEs, it involves personal banking and our growth strategy in term of deposit by the year 2016 is that 40 per cent of our deposit base will be in the hands of individuals, which is very sustainable deposit in our book coming from a public sector background. We can assure you that this is a reawakening as a bank,” Semenitari said.

Unity Bank extends N39b rights issue, placement

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HAREHOLDERSofUnity Bank Plc who have not completed the process of acceptance of their rights under the ongoing rights issue have been given extended period till July 9, 2014.

Regulatory filing obtained indicated that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the extension of the offer period for the rights issue till next Wednesday.

The lender is undertaking a combined rights issue and private placement that will inject more than N39 billion into the operations of the bank.

The bank is raising N19.22 billion through a rights issue of 38.447 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to existing shareholders at a price of 50 kobo each. The rights have been pre-allotted to shareholders on the register of the bank asatDecember16,2013onthebasis of one new share for one share

By Taofeek Salako

held as at the closure date.

The lender is also undertaking a private placement of 40 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at 50 kobo each, bringing in additional N20 billion in new equity funds.

The net proceeds of the new capital issues would be used for new branch development, upgrade of information and communication technology, human resource development, working capital and products and channel upgrade among others.

Its Managing Director, Mr. Henry Semenitari said the new issues would foster the current repositioning of the bank aimed at entrenching better service delivery and profitability.

According to him, the net proceeds would be judiciously utilized to improve the bank’s processes, procedure and people and strengthen its overall framework

HE Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN) has sought clarification on the alleged N174 billion debt accumulated by the Ministry of Aviation over the implementation of the third phase of airport remodelling project carried out since 2011.

Speaking through the Coordinating General Manager, Aviation Agencies, Mr Yakubu Dati, FAAN said it was shocked at the figures emanating from some quarters when the Senate Committee on Aviation has put the debt at N174 billion.

He said reports making the round that the total indebtedness of the Ministry of Aviation stands at N148.23 billion is yet to be confirmed by the authority.

He said these figures may have been sourced from independent sources, which FAAN cannot authenticate, because it is yet to give clarifications on the matter.

Dati said: “Some reports are quoting the total indebtedness of the Ministry of Aviation as N148.23 billion as against the sum of N174 billion earlier given by the Senate Committee on Aviation.

“FAAN has not issued any official position on the ministry’s total indebtedness on aviation projects, especially under the aviation sector master plan.

“It is possible that the figures were sourced from independent source, which FAAN has no control over, but we would have been more comfortable if such figures were referred to us for clarification.

“It is therefore better to clear any misconception such reports may have created in the mind of the public.“ It was alleged that the Senate Aviation Committee inflated the project’s sum from N148 billion to N174 billion.

Investigations revealed that the committee allegedly inflated the debts with over N26 billion for reasons that have sparked outrage among stakeholders in the sector.

FAAN sources said the Federal Government embarked on the rehabilitation, expansion and restructuring of airport terminals, the building of 14 fresh cargo terminals, provision of equipment for the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) since 2011.

The projects, the source added, are in three phases with the contract value of phase one standing at N12.81 billion.

The source said the amount already paid for the first phase is N11.22 billion, with an outstanding balance of N1.58 billion.

26

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

THE NATION

BUSINESS

BRANDS & MARKETING

e-mail: adedejiademigbuji@yahoo.com /mobile line: 08131075667

A push for growth in outdoor advertising With huge challenges confronting the growth of outdoor advertising business in Africa, the Lagos State outdoor advertising sector is pushing for growth through strategic partnership with countries in Africa to foster growth, write ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI and ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE.

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HE outdoor advertising business in Africa may overcome some of its challenges if the solutions proferred at the African Outdoor Advertising Conference and Exhibition are adhered to.

The conference gave media buyers, creative agencies, outdoor advertising practitioners, the government, as well as foreign investors in Out-Of-the-Home (OOH) advertising business, the opportunity to reveal some of the challenges that confront the business and hamper growth of the industry.

During the gathering in Lagos, which is home to about 60 per cent of Nigeria’s advertising business, the Managing Director, Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency (LASAA), George Noah, said though the industry has a healthy potential for growth, the challenges hampering the industry, such as lack of empirical data, amongst others, have continued to make advertisers price the business low unlike other platforms of advertisement, such as TV. Noah, who said he is often worried about the untoward effect of this on the advert businesses, noted that in packaging the event, the agency aimed at deepening the sector’s capacity to respond to the global trends, meet the demands from clients in order to leverage on the network of information, tools and systems that such a forum could put at operators’ disposal.

Although Noah admitted some of the prolonged challenges, the sector has witnessed huge transformation in the last decade as a result of the regulatory intervention from LAASA which he believe has enshrined sanity in the outdoor advertisements sector in Lagos in particular. He said one of the wars the agency had to fight was with those who deface the face of Lagos with posters.

With no data on eyeball traffic hitting the advertisements, he said LAASA is checking indiscriminate pasting of so that advertisers will no longer cut down advert spend for outdoor business. As a result of that, he noted that the agency has carved out zones where posters could be pasted all year round.

With determination to reposition for global competitiveness, Noah said the Lagos outdoor advertisement sector has recorded significant success in terms of revenue. According to him, despite the challenges, the sector accounts for over N50 billion turnovers while Lagos State with a population of 22 million accounts for 60 per cent of Nigeria’s total advertising market though he said this insignificant when what accrues to other sectoral growth within the sector is considered as cost of doing business is almost shrinking the OOH business.

Noah said outdoor media buying agencies generate about N8.6 billion, fabricators, rake in N1.5 billion; installers, N382 billion; large format printers, N8.27 billion. Also, outdoor specialist agencies generate N21.9 billion, outdoor protection services, N370 million; adverts N1.25 billion, while other areas account for N8 billion. He pointed at the huge employment opportunities of the sector, which employs over 100,000 people in Lagos alone.

With about 100,000 signs and 800 outdoor structures in Lagos, Noah also said the industry’s growth potential have been hindered by some of these challenges which also includes loss of market share to television, radio and social media marketing.

Also, the Chairman, Outdoor Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (OAAN) Mr. Charles Chijide challenged the government to open the space for all stakeholders to operate.

He said the changes in road architecture, lifestyles, business practices, policy directions and inadequacy of power are chief among the debilitating challenges facing operators.

Chijide,who is also the President of the African body of Out-of-Home operators said

• Bello, Noah and other delegates at the conference and exhibition in Lagos.

the cost of fuelling two giant generators that often powers any display site is colossal, a situation which is not helped by the lack of access to capital or loans from the banking sector.

He listed other challenges facing stakeholders to include multiple taxation, the menace of area boys and street urchins’, lack of data and lack of certificates of occupancy (Cs of O) on most of the sites being used for businesses.

Speaking on the challenges and prospects of out of the home Advertisement in Africa, Chijide said though these challenges seems local to Nigeria, they exist in relative measures and are common to all members of the association in the continent.

He said the platform which started in Nigeria in 1956, has evolved over the decades to digital, and his corporate members has moved from two when it began to 158. He said all stakeholders especially the government must give the necessary support to the sector realising that out of the home practitioners are changing life, changing the economy and changing the face of business in the country.

He noted that one of the ways government could support the sector is to ensure the stability of power supply, and the issuance of temporary certificates of occupancy for members sites to enable them use this to procure facility from the bank.

The Director of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Akeem Adeniji, who represented the Commissioner Mrs Olusola Oworu, tasked outdoor practitioners to key into the Lagos State Development Plan (LSDP) which has four parts: Economic development; infrastructural development, social and security development and sustainable environment.

He challenged all operators having issues with the state government to make use of the right channel in making the government aware of the gray areas they wanted addressed. He recalled that the Babatunde Fashola administration last year began the Lagos Corporate Assembly, an assembly of all business operators in the state, where issues hindering their profitability in business could be addressed.

However, Governor Mr Babatunde Fashola challenged the operators to think out of the box in repositioning the sector and make out of the home advertisement sector a vibrant platform.

Fashola, who was represented by the Commissioner for the Environment Mr. Olatunji Bello, said issues such as the lack of empirical data to support media buying into the platform and even power could be mutually resolved if operators decided to look inward and reapply themselves to resolving the peculiar challenges to their businesses.

‘Issues such as the lack of empirical data to support media buying into the platform and even power could be mutually resolved if operators decided to look inward and reapply themselves to resolving the peculiar challenges to their businesses

“When there is no data to support advertisement buying,” he said, “the buyer is at sea and loss of market share to other viable options becomes the alternative.

Also, the Managing Director, Insight Communications Mr. Jimi Awosika, likened a poor outdoor advertisement to an actor with a minor role (waka pass) in the thespian world said in a world of “democratised noise,” only an advert with a telling presence, creatively conceived and delivered would be remembered in the crowd.

He canvassed more synergy between the advertisers, the advertising agency and the outdoor practitioners in such a way that the messages meant to be communicated had desired impact in the market.

A resource person, Mr. Jerry Coasters of Out of Home Africa, while speaking on the challenges of OOH, re-affirmed that despite the challenges impeding the businesses, Nigeria remains an investment destination for investors.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Leteef Ibirogba, challenged operators to rededicate themselves to professionalism, adding that the government’s desire to regulate the industry is borne out of the desire to ensure that marketing communication messages are better packaged and uniquely presented.

“Government will always play the regulatory role because it is the way to go in sustaining business anywhere. If this business must continue and be profitable, it must be professionally packaged. If we all come together, we will get better for it,” Ibirogba said.

The Director-General, Oyo State Signage and Advertisement Agency (OYSSAA), Mr. Yinka Adebodun, praised the Lagos State for blazing the trail in outdoor signage and advertisement industry.

Over 200 exhibitors from Europe, Asia, America and Africa converged at the Eko Hotel expo hall to display their products as the Africa Signage and Outdoor Conference and Exhibition.

27

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

Brandnews

Youth market as beautiful bride

In those days, manufacturers, bankers and others did not attach much importance to the youth market, also called the Gen-Next. However, this perception has changed. To drive growth, top brands have realised how vital this market is to their brands’ sustainability, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.

Medheights, UK Vitabiotics partner A UNITED Kingdom-based pharmaceutical company Vitabiotics has signed an agreement with Medheights Pharmacy Limited on the distribution of its products.

The Lead Consultant, Sales to Medheights Pharmacy, Bayo Adepoju, by the deal, the product will be made available in Nigeria, adding that it will reduce unsafe pregnancy and maternal mortality caused by nutritional deficiency.

During the unveiling of the products, the three brands of Pregnacare products were used to emphasise the medicinal values of micronutrient supplementation before conception, during pregnancy and breast-feeding.

According to Adepoju, the sole franchise ownership for marketing and distribution of the products has been granted to Medheights Pharmacy Limited.

The brands are: Pregnacre Original (used during pregnancy, Pregnacare Plus Omega (used during breastfeeding), and Pregnacare Conception (used to enhance conception for women).

Managing Director of

Medheights Pharmacy, Mr. Tunji Doherty said: “Hitherto, what we used to have in Nigeria were the Pregnacare brands made and packaged outside the UK; Nigerians who travelled to Europe now discovered that the package being sold to Nigerians were different from what was being sold in the home country where the trademark owners are. So, this knowledge started affecting negatively the psych of the consumers and sales. The products were also being imported by all kinds of merchants into the market.

“We met with the makers and raised all these concerns and the dangers therein, especially faking and safe motherhood in Nigeria, and entered into business relationship to be the sole franchise owners of all the premium Pregnacare brands in Nigeria.

This has enabled us to structure the marketing and distribution channels. We have also secured NAFDAC numbers for the brands in order to avoid faking or cloning and, therefore, guarantees the product consumption for safe motherhood,” Doherty disclosed.

Somotex foresee immense business growth • Young music sensation Sean Tizzle at the UBA Next Gen launch.

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EFORE now, practitioners in banking, telecoms, FCMGs and other sectors held in high esteem the older generation of consumers more than the youth, also referred to as Generation Next.

There is a reason for this.The older people are believed to be the decision makers of purchases, and over the years, many brands rode on their shoulders to gain greater brand equity and market share.

But gradually, the tide is moving as brands are beginning to eye the Generation Next to position for future competition.

“Parents believe giving teens access to phones could make them lose concentration in school while giving them access to operate a bank account sounds bad despite that in the olden days parents encouraged their children to save through the mould box approach.

“Now, brand managers are targeting this group. Banks are designing products for them, telecoms are designing trendy offerings that appeal to them and they are becoming important in brand strategy crafting,” a brand expert said.

This development is becoming more apparent in the banking and telecoms sector, the fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs), where they have carried the youth along in their products and communications. For instance, Coca-Cola, Cadbury and Amazon have been named the most effective brands targeting the youth market both online and offline.

In a research by VCCP’s new youth agency, Rough Hill, 60 per cent of young people use Cadbury, while 34 per cent follow the brand online. For Amazon, 58 per cent of people use the brand, 33 per cent of them follow it online; also, 59 per cent of young people use the Coca-Cola brand regularly, while 31 per cent follow it online. Hence, their product is tailored to this market unlike banking, telecoms whose products seem to prefer the older people’s market.

But stung by their failure to recognise the Generation Next market, brands within the banking and telecoms sector are taking the youth market more serious than ever before. The growth of the segment in a larger number and their diverse, individualistic trait has

made them no more vulnerable to decisions of the older generation.

Hence, marketers are aiming at this market frequently.

Shockingly, an old generation bank, regarded as one of the ‘Big Three’ has announced its marketing and communication plan for the youth after years of sustained brand equity among corporate and big purse customers. The bank, UBA, long before its merger with STB, was known as an ‘old school bank’, perhaps a reference to its leaning to the older generation.

But after the merger, The Nation observed that it assumed another perception as a bank meant for the big purse, individual and corporate, leading innovation among the top tier banks.

“When I couldn’t cope with the bank again, I had to drop it for a new generation bank. I discovered that it was chasing mainly big accounts and not youths like us,” Sumbo Awoyemi, an undergraduate lamented.

But to avoid losing the youth market, UBA has offered a new window for the Generation Next. During the launch of a new product called a ‘Next-Gen’ account, no doubt, an effort to re-invent and build a new generation of loyal customers, the bank described ‘Next Gen’ as a product tailored to meet the unique needs of teenagers and young adults. The bank, however, added that it was introduced to offer special privileges and opportunities to account holders.

The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Phillips Oduoza, said: “Next Gen is about capturing and engaging the next generation of educated and enlightened professionals, employees, entrepreneurs, self-employed persons, from all walks of life, early in their financial life cycle.”

The UBA Next-Gen Account was designed to appeal to the educated and enlightened teenagers and young adults from 13 to 34.The product comes with features that fit into the unique needs of customers based on their age.

“This is a product that grows with the customer from his or her teenage years to, when he or she becomes a young adult. Next Gen is unique in the banking industry because it is not really a product. It is a partnership where the bank is

taking on a mentorship role to guide customers into a future life of prosperity, Olaloku explained.

He also said the Next Gen account was designed to take care of every young person’s unique needs from 13 to 34.

“It takes care of the unique needs of teenage customers when they are in secondary school through university to when they get their first job, start a family and even consider building their first house. At each of these critical stages in their lives, the Next Gen account provides financial options and opportunities to make life more comfortable for them and their family.”

On the unique features of the Next Gen account, the Head, Current Accounts and Credit Products, UBA Plc, Iyke Idukpaye, explained that teenagers who open the account will become part of the UBA Teen Fan Club, which offers great opportunities and networking.

He also explained that as teenagers with a Next Gen account grow and gain admission into tertiary institutions, they will enjoy great mentorship, internships and career advisory reserved only for account holders.

The benefits of being a Next Gen account holder extends further as owners graduate and prepare for the work or business. At this stage, account holders will enjoy exclusive invitations to job and career fairs as well as entrepreneurship workshops, he added.

Aside marketing and advertising support, the bank invited students from various secondary and tertiary institutions to attend the launch. Aina Oyawande, a student of University of Lagos, commended UBA for introducing the product. He said the incentives attached will make her open an account with the bank.

Falz, a musician, who addressed the students on the need to imbibe a savings culture, described Next Gen as a “great initiative”, which will attract young entrepreneurs like him to open an account with UBA. Also, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, of big brother fame called the product “innovative”, adding that it was great that UBA has developed such an incentive packed product for youths.

THE distributor of Midea commercial air-conditioning systems in the country Somotex has shared its recent research with its trade partners at three dealers’ conferences held across the country.

The event has as theme Innovation for creating new possibilities. Vice President, Somotex Nigeria Limited, Mr. Ajay Singh, said Nigeria has enormous potential due to its size and population, which is in excess of 160 million. “Nigeria, no doubt, will perform better in near future, as the country is set to witness an immense growth in civil constructions and Infrastructural development,” he said.

According to Singh, these facilities’ requirement for air condi-

tioning will grow exponentially.

He advised key dealers of Midea and users of commercial air conditioning systems to be positioned for the opportunities which will begin to come to the fore soon.

As an investor in the country with diversified business interests spread across Commercial air-conditioning; consumer electronics and home appliances; electrical LT switch gears, cables and Inverters; and automobile tyres, the Somotex chief said business challenges in the country are access to funds, paucity of infrastructure and project delays which reduce profits and cause delay in payments.

Clinton’s former aide for Abuja seminar July 10 A FORMER White House Political Director/Assistant to former President Bill Clinton, Mr. Craig Smith, will be speaking in Abuja to women political leaders/ women aspirants on ‘Preparing to run” on Thursday, July 10 at an international seminar on Political Advertising, Perception Building and Voter Education.

The international seminar, which will hold at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, will be chaired

by Independent national Electoral Commission (INEC) Chair-

man, Prof. Attahiru Jega, as part of the 41st Annual General Meeting/Congress of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN).

Robina Namusisi, Resident Country Director (Nigeria) for International Republican Institute (IRI), Robina Namusisi, said women who intend to seek elective offices will have a chance to engage Mr. Craig Smith on how to surmount the unwritten limitations placed by the system and still clinch the party’s ticket.

Explore arts, brand managers told ORANGE Academy, a brand management school, has challenged its graduating students to use their brand management and storytelling skills to solve complex social problems.

To enhance this, the institution launched a yearly project exhibition tagged ‘The art of positive thinking’, during graduation-immersion at the Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja.

According to the school, the focus of this year’s edition was on the need for sexually active youths to know their HIV status.

The African Marketing Director – Family Nutrition, GlaxoSmithKline, Mr. Lampe Omoyele, also a member of the school’s management board, described Orange Academy as the first un-marketing brand school in Africa where emphasis is put on storytelling.

Also, the new Chief Executive

Officer CEO) of the academy, Mr. Chisom Ohuaka, said: “Because stories are the most memorable vehicles through which we know our world, Orange Academy teaches and practices the art of compelling storytelling so our students can create memorable brand experiences.”

The Founder/Chief Imagination Officer of the Academy, Mr. Kenny Brandmuse, said the academy’s multidisciplinary faculty pool have been employed in core marketing, entertainment, non-profit, governance, education and public advocacies. He added that the school has grown from a 12-student school to a 150-student school in just six years.

The Dean of Studies, Franklin Ozhekome, formerly the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Insights Communications, said the academy has an alumni base of over 600 professionals.

FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

28

THE NATION

BUSINESS

E-mail: toniaitose@gmail.com

Sms : 07035302326

SHOPPING

Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.net

T

HE retail environment has literarily become a theatre of price war among retailers. The retailers most of who are eager to remain competitive and avoid losing sales, are offering irresistible discounts to existing and prospective customers as the second half of the year begins.

For instance, Sixth Sense, a furniture outfit, is launching what is called a ‘significant’ reduction in prices of often-purchased items, saying the decision is to satisfy customers and possibly entice new ones.

Contenders in the Home and Furniture section are already seeking to win back budget-minded customers who have migrated to discounters such as Life mate and Bedmate who recently started lowering the prices of over 7, 000 items and giving out discounts on. It is the same thing at the clothing section where, Mr Price, a South African clothing outfit, is doing a round of price cuts despite the increased competition among retail stores who sell similar items. Mr Price, which tops the list of clothing stores, and is the anchor tenant at Leisure Mall in Surulere, Lagos, is also stepping up in advertising and mail promotions. The firm has already announced a 10-15 per cent reduction on items beginning from the 1st of this month.

The General Manager, West Africa, Mr Price, David Botha, said his store has stepped up its game to satisfy customers this second half of the year by slashing prices with generous discounts. According to him, the strategy will help the store sell all old stocks to allow new ones come in.

“We also want our customers and prospective customers to experience sales of cheap but quality items, which we always make available. We encourage shoppers to buy from our store today instead of our competitor’s website or store tomorrow,” he said.

Also, grocery chains that are stand alone or high street stores are giving a face-lift to their price structures and customer reward programs to grab back market share from their competitors in the same category. Most of them have lowered the prices of perishables and products that are among the most purchased items in their stores.

Maku Oladele, who sells baby items at Alade Market in Ikeja, Lagos, confirmed this. He said: “It’s not more than a month since the last price war. This year alone, there has been one price war after another without making profit. For me, it’s difficult to sustain.” She, however, said big retailers still seem fully prepared for price battle as conventional festivals like Christmas and Valentine’s Day are no longer enough to keep up with the demand for discounts. “So they create event out of nothing, just to initiate new price wars,” she said.

Oladele added that price wars may soon become a battle for survival for small retailers most of who aren’t making much profit. She may not be far from the truth. A shopper who was seen patronising a clothing retailer, said he has been saving money by concentrating on discount periods and that he always plans his shopping around ‘what is on sale by the time.’

A retail analyst, Modupe Shopeju, attested to the fact that price is the number one factor consumers consider when they pick where to shop. According to her, it is the reason why more people are found in shopping places during promotional periods.

“People actually look forward to times like this to make the best of it. Some save

• A grocery store

As the second half of the year begins, competition in the retail landscape is getting more intense. With pricing as key determinant of who attracts more patronage, savvy retailers are dangling mouth-watering discounts to remain competitive and avoid losing sales, reports TONIA ‘DIYAN.

Price war among retailers as year enters second half ‘With price wars being waged all through the year, retailers struggle to make consumers happy and fulfilled by ensuring they get value for their money. This explains why retailers are bracing to the reality of the pricing trend as the second half of the year begins.

Some retailers have already taken their prices to an all-time low, leaving competitors in the cold as they brace with the need to adjust their price tags in favour of price conscious shoppers.’ towards sales period, some follow the trend and are able to know when sales are on, some do constant check on items in-store to find out if these items are discounted aside finding out what is trendy or new in the market,” she explained.

Investigations by The Nation Shopping show that retailers who refused to be part of this second half strategy are likely to experience a drop in demand and low sales. This is so because price conscious shoppers are already

moving to discounters or are purchasing lessexpensive items from such stores as substitute for items they are used to buying or would like to patronise.

The Centre Manager of one of the Lagos malls, Sander Norman, confirmed this trend.

He said retailers decided to lower prices because they are aware that the consumer is price-conscious and because it is one of their many strategies to improve sales at strategic times. “Price reduction has to do with timing, planning and sacrifice; being ready to give out at cost price or below cost price most times,” he said.

Sander cited Shoprite, saying that the store is priced about three per cent below the other grocery retail, and that is one reason it has gained a fraction of a point in market share since it entered the country in 2005 at the Palm in Lekki, Lagos where it tops the grocery market. Other retailers who already

enjoy the advantage of traffic drivers such as groceries and clothing retailers have said they won’t end their use of promotions to drive sales until the month is over.

Indeed, in the market, the retailer’s value is determined by how well he can satisfy shoppers, even the tech-savvy ones. With price wars being waged all through the year, retailers struggle to make consumers happy and fulfilled by ensuring they get value for their money. This explains why retailers are bracing to the reality of the pricing trend as the second half of the year begins.

Some retailers have already taken their prices to an all time low, leaving competitors in the cold as they brace up with the need to adjust their price tags in favour of price conscious shoppers. Even online stores woo customers daily with constant price changes to teach their ‘brick-and-mortar’ (traditional retail shops) competitors the need to use price intelligence solutions if they want to compete. Savvy retailers also monitor their online competitors’ prices every day to remain competitive and avoid losing sales.

Experts say today’s hyper-competitive, omni-channel landscape compels retailers to incorporate all sources of competitive pricing data in their pricing and competitive positioning strategies. Industry experts even say that ‘brick-and-mortar’ shops should expect online gurus to continue to escalate their price war tactics in the future.

However, one thing is certain: As the price war rages, consumers are the ultimate beneficiaries.

Newspaper of the Year

AN EIGHT-PAGE PULLOUT ON THE SOUTHSOUTH STATES

•Ukange

FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

PAGE 29

AMNESTY

KIDN APPERS KIDNAPPERS

NIGER DEL TA DELT

For some time now, there have been complaints about the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

The leadership of the programme has always explained out complainants as fake. Two aggrieved ex-militants trace their woes to their camp leaders.

Bayelsa State Police Commissioner Hilary Opara says the days of kidnappers are numbered. He says a lot is going on to ensure that they are out of business. He also says other criminals should pack their bags or be crushed.

Still basking in the successful completion of the first phase of the National Integrated Power Project, the Niger Delta Power Holding Comapny is on the march again as it unveils plans to build 16 HydroPower Plants under the second phase of the scheme.

•PAGE 31

•Opara

•PAGE 35

•Olotu

•PAGE 34

•File picture of a toilet at the State School One, Otuoke, one of the two schools created out of President Goodluck Jonathan’s primary school, St Stephen.

PHOTO: EVELYN OSAGIE

•Liverpool

Bayelsa SUBEB chief under fire •Kinsmen demand new lease for Jonathan’s alma mater SEE STORY ON PAGE 30 & 35

• YOU HAVE STORIES FOR US? PLEASE CONTACT US ON 07066954441 OR 08123521990

30

35

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

NIGER DELTA REPORT COVER

NIGER DELTA REPORT INTERVIEW

Kinsmen demand new lease for Jonathan’s alma mater President Goodluck Jonathan’s kinsmen are seeking a major revamp of his primary school amid a major crisis rocking the Bayelsa State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), reports MIKE ODIEWGU and EVELYN OSAGIE

W

ASHINGTON Liverpool or Walton Liverpool, as he is famously called, is in the eye of a big storm. He is the Executive Secretary of the Bayelsa State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and Governor Seriake Dickson’s in-law. His major problem is how he is running SUBEB. An adjunct of this problem is his claim that President Gooodluck Jonathan's alma mater, State School One, in Otuoke is not in a state of disrepair.

State School One is the product of the split of St Stephen’s School, Otuoke, where Dr. Jonathan had his elementary education. At the time he attended the school, it had only primary one to three. After completing Primary Three in the school, Jonathan moved to St. Michael's Primary School, Oloibiri, to continue his primary education.

When The Nation visited the school, pupils of State School, Otuoke had no chairs. They were learning under unpleasant conditions and trekking a long distance before using a lavatory. Like in the case of the president, some had no shoes on; others wore rubber slippers or 'shoes now turned slippers'. There were tatteredlooking uniforms as there were those who wore neat ones with shoes and/or stockings neatly folded.

The school was founded in 1937 by missionaries. At that time it was beside the Anglican Church where the Town Hall now stands. At a point, the name was changed to All State School under Governor Rufus AdaGeorge and later to State School.

Eventually, it was divided into State School One and State School Two to manage the number of pupils.

The L-shaped and M-shaped buildings (split in the middle by an independent building housing the library) located at the far end of the large compound houses the two schools. The school is next-door neighbour to Jonathan's Country Villa, containing three magnificent edifices, with Otuaba road separating both structures. And on the Main Road, it is directly opposite the Anglican Church on the Yenagoa/ Otuoke Road. And not far away from it is the Federal University Otuoke (FUO).

The bright coloured-yellow-andgreen paint coating on the wall of what appears as new buildings, with most windows facing the Main Road intact, are deceptive of the decay that lies within.

The pupils, particularly those in State School One, are learning under very harsh conditions and unpleasant environment. The situation has not changed, though chairs have been supplied but cannot be used because there are no doors on the classrooms to secure them.

Aside Primary Six that has all its doors and windows intact, other classes lack doors with some windows that have fallen off at the back, thus, giving free entry to sunlight and rain. The pupils often suffer the harsh rays penetrating into their room and are drenched, especially when it rains heavily.

In some classes, blackboards are

held up by wooden or plastic chairs or tables; the floor and ceiling boards have cracks in them; and there are not enough benches and chairs to go round. For instance, in a class of 60 pupils, the benches and chairs might not be more than 10. As a result, the pupils are forced to receive lectures sitting on dusty bare floors. Pupils were seen struggling for the little available seats. Most of their clothes were worn-out, perhaps due to the wear and tear of the constant washing that comes with sitting on a bare floor.

Significantly, the classrooms are too small for the number of pupils crammed into it. A single class now has more than 50 pupils. In some cases, two classes are merged into one to contain the pupils. The ceiling board and floors are bad. Five to seven pupils force themselves to sit on one seat. The Christ Embassy donated 50 plastic chairs and tables for Primary Six. For security reasons, they are packed after closing hours and locked up somewhere safe.

But Liverpool insists the school is not dilapidated. A source told The Nation earlier in the week that following the reports on the school, the SUBEB boss came visiting last Friday and was really livid with the headteacher.

Said the source: "Last Friday, as a result of your publication, the SUBEB Executive Secretary, Mr Walton Liverpool, came to the school. He was angry over the fact that the school's Headmaster talked to you, the press, about the present state of the school and various visits and intervention made so far by the government and the SUBEB, saying he had just come from a summon by the governor over the report.

"He threatened to transfer the Headmaster to a faraway school in an Island surrounded by water or even sack him. As of now, we don't know what will happen to the Headmaster. We are still watching to see the outcome."

The Nation learnt that a contractor was in the school on Tuesday on the instruction of the Ministry of Education.

"They said the governor gave them the contract to renovate the school; but the community resisted them.

The community demanded that beyond renovation, a new school should be built instead because the school is too small for the pupils there now. Even though they may not have enough land, they demanded that the school be turned into a more modern structure of onestorey building."

Aside his woe as a result of the president's school, Liverpool has so many other worries. He is at loggerheads with members of the SUBEB board and the House of Assembly.

When Dickson inaugurated SUBEB, he urged it to give the primary schools a major push. The major components of the plan for the primary schools are free tuition, improved infrastructure, free uniforms, sandals and desks for all pupils.

SUBEB was also mandated to take and execute critical decisions on

teachers' recruitment, promotion and welfare. These were the components of the emergency declared by the governor on the sector.

But several months down the line, the objectives of the emergency on education are far from being realised.

Pupils are still paying some fees charged by their school management. Free uniforms and sandals are nowhere to be found and pupils are embarrassingly sitting on bare floor to receive lectures in some classrooms owing to lack of desks.

In fact, many say the board has failed in its mandates. Liverpool is at the centre of the failed board. He has been the focus of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly since the lawmakers began their probe on problems besetting the educational sector.

Recently, the board members washed their dirty linens on the floor of the House. Aggrieved members took Liverpool to the cleaners. They accused him of acting like a King Kong and placed all crises rocking the board and the sector on his doorsteps.

They said Liverpool is running the board like a sole administrator and using his relationship with the governor to intimidate them. They lamented that the highhandedness of Liverpool had made nonsense of the existence of the board, alleging that the secretary had usurped the functions of the Board Chairman.

According to them, Liverpool was carrying on as if the board never existed and that his actions had negated the good intentions of the emergency declared on education by Dickson.

Members of the board were never part of most of the activities and programmes, including the ongoing employment and promotional interviews executed by the board, they said.

A member of the board, Mr. Austin Dressman, said Liverpool was fond of going against the collective decision of members of the board.

After taking some collective decisions, he said Liverpool would turn around to implement his sole decision. He said statutory board meetings were reduced by the secretary as forum to merely inform the members of SUBEB activities.

"The governor declared a state of emergency in education and in his wisdom appointed us to midwife and execute the programme. But the functions of this board are not being carried out," he said.

Dressman, a who said he had 30 years experience in management, decried the attitude of Liverpool, saying the board members had been rendered redundant. He said the board met formally about three times since its establishment, adding that the meetings always ended up in disagreements and chaos.

The SUBEB secretary was also accused of favoritism and deliberately allocating more slots to his Sagbama Local Government Area than other councils during the recruitment of teachers. When asked by the House to state how the employment was distributed, Liverpool said he could

• Pupils sitting on a bare floor at State School One, Otuoke

• A classrroom with broken roof at Jonathan’s alma mater • lIVERPOOL

not remember.

Though other members of the board perhaps out of fear were not firm while responding to interrogations from the Speaker of the House, Mr. Kombowei Benson, the Board Chairman, Mrs. Florence WilliamEbi, did not waver.

Mrs William-Ebi said she was relegated to the background by Liverpool. Citing an example, she said she knew nothing about the ongoing promotional examination for teachers in the state until she got the information from outsiders.

"Virtually nothing is being done the way the law prescribed our existence. The board is not moving smoothly. Each time we meet, we always argue on issues. Even when we decide on something, another thing is implemented," she said.

But, Liverpool denied all the allegations and said members of the board were involved in its management. "It is not true that I am a sole

administrator of the board. We have been meeting as recommended by the law," he said.

The rattled SUBEB secretary is further accused of neglecting schools in Ogbia, Jonathan's local government area.

Liverpool is also at the centre of the controversies surrounding an alleged illegal suspension of about 400 teachers. He was said to have overstepped the decision of the board to relive the teachers of their jobs.

All efforts to get the SUBEB chief to reverse the decision proved abortive, even after the teachers had gone through series of verifications by a team led by Chief B. Isagara. The team was said to have recommended that the teachers should be retained while more teachers of science background be employed. The governor reportedly adopted the recommendations and approved that their salaries should be paid.

The teachers later complained that

Liverpool gave counter directive but that after dilly-dallying he issued fresh employment letters to them and placed them under three months probation.

Shortly after that, the SUBEB boss was said to have overruled the fresh employment and immediately went on air to announce the suspension of the teachers who had discharged their functions for three months.

"This is the same reengagement he publicised in the media as having followed due process. It is painful that our arrears of salaries before our employment was suspended have not been paid.

"Even the three months we worked after our reengagement have yet to be paid. So, we are compelled to believe that this whole thing is political," the teachers said.

The teachers, after waiting in vain to be reinstated, took their matter to court. Niger Delta Report recently gathered that the court had ordered

the parties to engage in out-of-court settlement.

But, Liverpool has always defended his actions. He described public primary and secondary schools in Otuoke as the best in the state.

He also reinstated the board's commitment to supply seats to all the primary and secondary schools across the state. Liverpool, also said that the government was set to distribute over 13,000 seats and desks to schoolchildren across the state.

He also reaffirmed the government's commitment to providing conducive learning environment to schools in the state.

The SUBEB boss said: "In continuation of the government's policy to equip schools in the state with necessary infrastructure, the board has concluded plans to provide over 13, 000 seats and desks which will be distributed to all schools soon.

"This is in addition to the ones already provided since the inception of

the current administration. The target is before September 2014, every schoolchild in the state will have a comfortable seat to study."

According to him, about 200 seats and desks were ready for some primary schools around Otuoke and other communities in the area that were devastated by the last floods.

Liverpool also spoke on completed school projects in the state, saying the board had completed 25 community primary schools and Basic Junior Secondary schools.

Some of the completed schools, according to Liverpool, are CPS Biogbolo, Swali, Opolo, Okolobiri, Ogbia- CPS Elebele, Otueke, Ogbia Town, Ebedebiri, Okunbiri, Sagabama town, CSP Ekeremo and BJSS (Basic Junior Secondary School.

How long he withstands the storm remains to be seen. But what is not in doubt he has murdered sleep and sleeping easy should not be a luxury for him.

‘We’ll wipe out kidnappers in Bayelsa’ Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police Mr. Hilary Opara promises to wipe out kidnappers. He spoke with MIKE ODIEGWU. How safe is Bayelsa?

Bayelsa is very safe. The good people of Bayelsa State and all the people living in Bayelsa State are going about their lawful businesses without molestation. You can see that Bayelsa has played host to so many national and international events and we are still playing host to more. We are still expecting many national and international events in the state. This goes to show that Bayelsa is safe for law-abiding citizens. But Bayelsa is not safe for anybody who is here to perpetrate any act of criminality or terrorism. It is only safe for only law-abiding citizens. We have not had any case where investors are being harassed or expatriates are being molested. Many of them are already here. We have companies like Julius Berger, Chinese companies and many others operating in the state. They are going about their businesses and they have never complained to us that they are being harassed. That is why we can say that the state is very safe for law-abiding citizens.

But the state is still in the news for kidnapping?

Kidnapping is one of the challenges we have. But it is not peculiar to the state alone. It has not overwhelmed us. We have arrested many kidnappers and they are in the process of investigation and prosecution. We still have pockets of them that have not been arrested. These are the ones engaging in kidnapping in the creeks. It is true that the creeks are not easy to navigate but we are dealing with the situation. We are going after them and we have beamed our satellite on them.

Recall that we arrested some of the kidnappers that abducted the Dutch nationals. One of them was arrested in Warri after the Dutch had been released.

We are still on the trail of others. The one we arrested confessed to the crime and he is still with us. The ones that kidnapped a pregnant woman after robbing her and her husband; we arrested six of them and they are being investigated. They will soon be arraigned. So, it is a gradual process. We are in the process of wiping them out completely.

How do you handle kidnap cases?

We handle cases of kidnapping with utmost professionalism and that is why no kidnapped victim has been killed by the abductors. If a victim is in the kidnappers’ den, you don’t go there and begin to open fire on them. The primary objective is to rescue the kidnapped victim. That is why we are always careful until after the kidnapped victim has been released. Then we go out full blown to attack the kidnappers. Sometimes, you hear that someone has been kidnapped and the person is in the kidnappers’ den for two weeks. It is not that we don’t know how to go and raid the den. If you raid the den and in the process, there is an exchange of fire and the kidnapped victim dies, then the objective is defeated. That is why we are always very careful. So, when the kidnapped victim is released, you can then retstrategise and go after the kidnappers. That is what we have been doing in the state.

Why has kidnapping persisted despite the new law that prescribes death sentence for convicted kidnappers?

As a matter of fact, the problem is on the criminal justice system. The police is just one of the arms. There are other government functionaries in the criminal justice system such as the court and the prison. The police cannot do everything alone. What we do is to arrest, investigate and charge to court. The court will undertake their independent processes.

Before the case will go through the court process and condemn someone for kidnapping, it takes a long time. That is why the ones we have taken to court have not been tried. The court has to take its time to go through the case and ensure that any sentence it wants to pass must be sound. Even if a kidnapper is eventually sentenced, such persons requires time to go on appeal. The convicts must exhaust all the avenues available to them before they can be executed.

The kidnappers are now targeting relations of government officials?

We have observed that because of some of the cases we have the victims have something to do with persons in government either they are their mothers, their mothers-in-law, their sisters or fathers. This is what we have noticed because these bad boys want to kidnap someone with kidnap value; that is somebody whose son or daughter is in government or who is occupying a high position that will be able to pay them ransom. But what we do is to discourage payment of ransom. We always tell the relations of the victims to exercise patience and allow the police exhaust all other avenues available.

Anybody who pays ransom is encouraging the kidnappers because their objective is to make money. We always advise them to work with us so as to explore ways to rescue the victim without ransom being paid. But sometimes they go behind us and pay this ransom out of fear.

There are still pockets of cult clashes.

Recently, there was an incident at Niger Delta University We are trying our best to curb the menace of cultism in the state to complement what the state government has done. The government gave the cultists the opportunity to renounce cultism and those who have renounced cultism are being rehabilitated. It is just like what we have during the amnesty period. But those of them who refused to renounce, we are having running battle with them.

Many have been arrested. Many have been charged to court and many are already in prison.

For instance in Sagbama last week, six of them were arrested when they went to forcefully initiate one boy. We have charged them to court and they have been remanded in prison • Opara c u s tody.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

31

NIGER DELTA REPORT FEATURE

Lamentation of two ex-militants For some time now, there have been complaints about the Presidential Amnesty Programme. Most time there are complaints, the leadership of the programme has always explained them away by saying the complainants were fake.

ADEDIWURA ADERIBIGBE tells yet another tale of aggrieved ex-militants who traced their woes to their camp leaders

T

HE duo walked into The Nation’s headquarters in Lagos. The young men in their late 20s did not look an inch individuals who can foment trouble. Phillip Ukange and Avurakoghene Ogofotha said they are ex-Niger Delta militants, whose allowances are allegedly being owed. They presented identification cards to prove they were militants enrolled on the Amnesty Programme.

Ogofotha said after laying down his arms following the offer of amnesty by the late President Umar Yar’adua, he enrolled at the University of Benin. Now, he is troubled that his education is under threat as the expected source of funding has dried.

Ukange said he was entitled to N65, 000 monthly allowance; he said he only got paid for six months.

The young men claimed they were victims of corruption in the Presidential Amnesty Programme having being enrolled in the 2012 phase two of the initiative.

Ogofotha said: “I want to do something meaningful with my life. I am an ex-militant of the second phase of the amnesty programme, I have not been paid since 2012 when they started paying money into the account of the secondphase ex-militants.

“As at the time, they gave us a phone contact of a man called Tony (he said he couldn’t recall Tony’s full name) who was said to be the paymaster. We called him but to no avail. We also tried to go to the office but whenever we attempted going there they would bar us.

“Although some other affected ex-militants have gone to lay complaints but nothing was done; sometimes we would be molested by the military men there.

“I am not the only one, we are over hundred. Some got their money for a number of months while others were partly paid. When we disarmed, I actually started school with the hope of using the allowance to pursue my education in the university but that was not the case. It became difficult for me to pay my school fees to the extent that I had to resort to menial jobs to remain in school. As it is now, my graduating from the school is hanging in balance; I may not be graduating with the right grade because of financial difficulties. All I want is to get paid in full from January 2012 till date.”

•Ukange’s ID card •Ogofotha and Ukange (right)

‘

At the initial stage before they started paying into our accounts, the money was being paid through our leaders who were always deducting from our legitimate allowance; out of N65, 000 we were being paid, each ex-militant would pay their leader N25, 000 – sometimes we were not even paid anything

‘

•Ogofotha’s ID card

Ex-militant leaders hail Fed Govt

F

ORMER Niger Delta Militant Leaders have commended the Federal Government over the just concluded Nonviolence and Entrepreneurship Training for Phase 2 exmilitant Generals in the Niger Delta struggle, which took place in Calabar, Cross River State.

Speaking with reporters at the conclusion of the training programme, the National President, Phase 2 Ex-militant Leaders, Gen. Aso Tambo, aka General Kpala, stated that the training was a huge success as ex-fighters were equipped with entrepreneurship skills, non-violence and conflict resolution know-how, as well as self-reliance and on how to be employers of labour.

Gen. Tambo noted that ex-agitators came from within and outside the country to attend the training programme and thanked President Goodluck Jonathan and Mr. Kingsley Kuku for the brilliant ideas inculcated in the psyche of former fighters.

He noted that the quest of Niger Delta agitators was that the region be developed like other places such as Lagos and Abuja with basic necessities of life put in place, stressing the successful training of former militants on vocational trainings should also go hand-in-hand with their integration into various endevours in the workforce.

“My expectation is that the ex-militants will have a standing MoU with the Federal government that our need is put in place

and when that is done, we are okay, we are not fighting for a divided Nigeria. But our quest and our fight is that let Niger Delta be fully developed like Abuja and Lagos with basic necessities of life”, the ex-militant Leader said.

Also speaking, Gen. Kingsley Muturu (Delta State Chairman), Gen. Collins Arigo (National Vice-Chairman), Gen. Stephen Ebisinte (Bayelsa State Chairman) and Gen. Olotu Wanemi, they jointly warned Nigerians who are fighting for division to steer clear from the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme, NDDC and Niger Delta Ministry.

The group vehemently lampooned the statements made by the northern delegates at the National Conference on their aforementioned Federal Government bodies, warning them not to play politics with the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme as such could result unwarranted consequences in the polity.

They noted with one voice that the Niger Delta struggle was clearly for fair share of their God-given resources which was supported by the world over, unlike the current carnage carried out by Boko Haram in killing and maiming innocent citizens in the country.

They emphasized their unflinching resolve to ensure full support for President Jonathan in his efforts to bring transformation to the system, even if forces were bent on discrediting his good agenda for Nigeria and her people.

They said as militants they could afford all they wanted but not freedom to live and walk around. “There was money but we were not free to move around and enjoy the money. We were always staying in the bush,” said 28-yearold Ogofotha.

affected by the unpaid allowances but I know we will be up to five hundred as it cuts across different states.

“They have influenced the list of the ex-militants, some of them have put their girlfriends in the position. They receive money that ex-militants are

He went on: “Some of the repented ex-militants might have gone back. For me, I don’t want to go back; I want to go to school and live a different life but I need the money to complete my education. I may not be able to give you the exact number of the ex-militants

supposed to be receiving and they are even going for training abroad.

“When we took our protest to Abuja in 2013, they promised that they would send officials to come and rectify the problem in Warri. They did come to find out if we were the

real people documented as exmilitants. And when they came, they found out that we were the real people because they came with their own list which tallied with what was on ground. They promised us that when they got back to Abuja they would rectify the problem but since then we have not heard anything.”

Ukange said he got his first six months payments.

“When I noticed I stopped receiving money I called my Generale,George Esebaro. He is the leader of the group called Uti Camp which I belonged.

When I called him, he said I was a very rude boy, that since I had been receiving my money I did not pay return, I did not call him let alone send him call cards so that was why he went to Abuja to block my account.

“He told me that the people that have been receiving normally paid him some money.

So, if I could not do the same, then I should not expect to keep receiving money. Since then, he stopped responding to my calls; sometimes he would pick, he would warn me not to disturb him and hang up.”

Ogofotha offered more insight: “At the initial stage before they started paying into our accounts, the money was being paid through our leaders who were always deducting from our legitimate allowance; out of N65, 000 we were being paid, each ex-militant would pay their leader N25, 000 – sometimes we were not even paid anything.

“Meanwhile, at a point, some ex-militants refused to comply and all allowances were blocked by the leader of my camp, Abraham Ekokotu.

He had gone to court to get a documentation to back his action which resulted in the blockade of accounts from my camp called Agbalakoko Camp.

“When the affected ex-militants stopped receiving money, they had to seek a way out and he forced them to sign an agreement even as some of them could not read, they had to sign. The accounts were later unblocked when the people succumbed to his demands.

“It has not been easy for me going to school though my brother has been assisting me in a little way and advising me not to get involved in anything violent. When they stopped my payment, my intention was to go back to the creeks but my father did not allow me to.”

Lawmaker calls for free council polls in Delta

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EMBER representing Burutu North Constituency at the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon Daniel Yingi, has urged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to ensure free and fair local government election.

He spoke at the formal declaration of intention by a PDP councillorship aspirant to contest the Seimbiri Ward in Okpokunou town, Burutu, also charged all aspirants to go about the contest like sportsmen.

Yingi advised his party to allow free, fair and credible primaries, allowing every man with an aspiration to test his popularity in the open, thereby allowing the people to choose those they best trust to represent them at the grassroots level.

From Bolaji Ogundele, Warri

According to him “I am appealing to leaders in various wards not to interfere with the forthcoming council polls in the state by imposing unpopular candidates on the people.

Let there be a level playing ground for all aspirants to test their popularity with the people to allow them choose their grassroots leaders”.

He also appealed to aspirants to play the game with love and develop the spirit of sportsmanship by accepting defeat without bitterness. “Everybody cannot win at the same time.

There must be losers and winners in every election. If today is

not your turn, tomorrow could be yours. Therefore, do not make it a do or die affair” he said.

In his address, the PDP ward chairman, Kelvin Adamu, lauded the leadership qualities of Chief Daniel Yingi, Dr. Sunday Ezonfade and others who have joined him to rule smoothly without any trouble in Seimbiri over the years.

He assured the party leadership to always be transparent in the conduct of ward party primaries. He pledged to play a level playing ground for all the aspirants to exercise their popularity on the primary election ground and vowed not to be intimidated with an imposition of aspirant on the party at the local level by godfathers.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

NIGER DELTA REPORT FEATURE

NIGER DELTA REPORT FEATURE

Cineplex...Akwa Ibom’s home of movies, fun For almost next to nothing, Cineplex in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital provides fun for indigenes of the state and visitors alike. But there are concerns over whether the state will reap the huge investment on the complex, writes KAZEEM IBRAHYM

T

HEY troop in from time to time. With excitement on their faces, they come expecting.

Beauty stares them as they get to the complex. Inside too radiates beauty.

It smells good too.

This is Cineplex in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital. It is part of the controversial N33billion Ibom Tropicana Entertainment Centre awarded in September 15, 2008 to Silverbird Showtime Limited.

Governor Godswill Akpabio signed the contract on behalf of the state government while Ben MurrayBruce, Managing Director of Silverbird signed for the company.

The Cineplex is the cinema aspect of the Ibom Tropicana Entertainment Centre. It was opened to the public on Saturday April 30, 2011, three years after the project was conceived.

It has six cinema halls with 250 seating capacity for each of the hall.

Akpabio, while signing the contract, said 15 companies submitted bids for the job and three survived the pre-selection screening before the contract was awarded to Silverbird Group.

The governor described the Tropicana Entertainment Centre as a major milestone in the efforts of the government to ginger the economy through increased revenue generation and creation of employment,saying the centre would employ 5,000 people.

Apart from the Cineplex, which is already completed and open to the public, the Tropicana Entertainment Centre when completed fully would come with the following facilities: a 250-room five star hotel housed in a 16-storey edifice; an ultramodern shopping mall; an international convention centre with a seating capacity of 5, 000 people; games parks (wet and dry); and a monorail. The shopping mall is completed and awaiting inauguration.

Initially, N100 was charged at the cinema. After stabilising the centre and ensuring enough traffic flow of people, the rate was increased to N250 while the state government is still subsidising the amount.

During one of his visits to the centre, Akpabio explained that the state

•The front view of Ibom Tropicana Entertainment Centre.

•Movie viewers buying tickets.

government was subsidising the centre to encourage the low income earners enjoy one of the best facilities of the state government.

Akpabio admitted that the economy of the state has not developed to the extent where the low income earners would be spending N1, 500 in watching a movie.

For Michael Asuquo, an indigene

•The Shopping Mall

of the state, he believes the construction of the Ibom Tropicana Entertainment Centre is a monumental waste of public fund.

According to Asuquo, who did not mince words in condemning the state for embarking on such a white elephant project, he said: “there is endemic poverty in the state while the governor embarks on white el-

ephant projects like Ibom Tropicana and e-Library.

“The Tropicana project is a monumental waste of public fund as the state government subsidises the cinema yet not up to 20 people are seen in the cinema hall at a time even though it costs onlyN250 towatch a movie.”

“This is a stark contrast to

Silvabird Cinema in Victoria Island and Ikeja where movie watchers are ready to pay N1500 to see a movie.”

But, to Iniobong Kufre, who is a regular visitor at the cinema after the close of work, appreciated the state government for subsidising the cost of seeing a movie .

She said: “The cost is cool with most of us but at Ibom Tropicana they

repeat movies a lot and movies stay for too long. We don’t know may be it is because the government is subsidising the rate.”

A member of staff of Silverbird, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, explained that there is more traffic of people to the galleria from Friday to Sunday.

African Bishops storm Port Harcourt R ELIGIOUS leaders from all over the world gathered in Port Harcourt, Rivers State last weekend for the African Prayer Summit, a three-day programme with the theme, 'Pulling down the Wrong Foundation in Africa'. It was organised by I Care Ministry International Church in Akpajo, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, in conjunction with Africa chapter of Yesua Embassy Network of Churches International led

by Archbishop Richard Ngozi Innocent.

The organiser, Bishop Maxwell Oghenerume Okoro who is President of I Care Ministry, said it was to uproot all wrong foundations in marriage, family, religion, politics and economy, adding that wrong foundations are limiting people from achieving God's purpose in their lives. He said that the only way to be free from certain bondages is to demolish their satanic foundations.

Preachers at the programme included Bishop Franklin Mondo Muguisha (Uganda), Bishop Onana Compbell David (Cameroon), Bishop Dr. Denis Ejila (Gambia), Bishop Dr. Momodou Daffeh (Gambia), Apostle Dr. Israel Momo (Sierra Leone) Apostle Prince Ukandu (Liberia) and Apostle Livingstone Banjagala (Tanzania).

There were a lot of shocking and unbelievable testimonies at the end of the programme. The representatives of the conference of Bishops also went out for evangelism, preaching to people to accept Christ. They also took the gospel to the palace of His Royal Highness Eze Wellington Nkpor, the Paramount Ruler of Akpajo Town, and the palace of His Royal Majesty Eze Robinson O. Robinson of Ekpeye land.

Bishops, who spoke to The Nation during the prayer summit, said they were in Nigeria to destroy the wrong foundations which they blamed for the Boko Haram insurgency and other crisis in Nigeria. They noted that poverty, political assassinations, nepotism and corruption in African countries are due to wrong foundations which must be destroyed before Africa could have peace.

Bishop Momodou Daffeh said God brought them together to pray for Africa and to free Africans from several bondages which have limited African countries from achieving and overcoming many challenging affecting them. "I want to thank God that we are in Nigeria. Our leader Archbishop Innocent, who God has used to gather us for a great spiritual work like this, visited my country sometimes ago. While he was there he said Africa must be prayed for. This is because when you look at the African countries today you will see crisis,

•Representatives of African Bishop in a group photograph at the front of the Palace of Eze Ekpeye Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Eze Robison O. Robison

From Precious Dikewoha, Port Harcourt nepotism, corruption, tribalism, lack of education, unemployment, killing etc. It is happening everywhere including Gambia and Nigeria. These are things that would undermine the development of African countries. African moral is no longer there, so the vision came that we should pray for Africa and Nigeria was chosen as the host country while I care Ministry in Port Harcourt was the venue. We are here to pray for Nigeria's wrong foundation especially the issue of Boko Haram which we know came as a result of wrong foundation."

He said the men of God also used the summit to pray to God to give African leaders the wisdom to understand that Africa cannot go anywhere until they recognize the need to involve the new generation. "I feel we can do it, I feel we can stop corruption, political assassination, nepotism etc. and to introduce the youths to the new way of doing things where they could take over in future. The reason why youths take up arms in Africa today is because of lack of respect, we don't give them what belongs to them, there is no job and you are riding big cars before them when you know that they are jobless."

Apostle Israel Momo from Sierra Leone said they have decreed into the land of Nigeria for peace to reign, assuring that very soon Nigeria will begin to witness peace in abundance.

"In Egypt God raised a foreigner in the person of Joseph to solve their problem, in Africa God has raised us to solve African spiritual problems through the word of God. So no matter what the Boko Haram is doing they cannot do more than the power of God. We have already started a great job that will make Boko Haram to flee the country. " He said their gathering at the pal-

aces of the paramount ruler of Akpajo and that of Ekpeye Land was to ensure that God enters the heart of the indigenes and free them to possess their possessions.

"We gathered at the kings palaces and I saw that the indigenes of this state are going to take their possessions. It is time for foreigners in Niger Delta region to line up at the back of the indigenes. This is an environment they had told me has enormous resources. It is time to take charge of their resources that is the reason we are here to pull down the wrong foundations so that people and countries can be free."

The host, Bishop Maxwell Okoro said Africa is a blessed continent and Nigeria is abundantly blessed. He regretted that wrong foundations have jeopardized the manifestation of God, making people and countries to live under the influence of darkness.

"These things cannot be fought with dynamites, terrorism, gun; the only weapon strong enough to change the face of this country is fasting and prayer. God Almighty gave this inspiration to our Archbishop who spoke to me to host all the great men of God. Our prayer is for the breakthrough of the Niger Delta region, Rivers State and Nigeria as a whole, Port Harcourt is the womb of Nigeria and Niger Delta produces the resource of Nigeria. Anything that happens in Port Harcourt affects the Niger Delta and Nigeria. We prayed for economic stability, redirection of political economy, infrastructural development and everything that is inimical to the transformation of this country.”

Bishop Okoro, who revealed that he was born deaf and dumb said God changed his testimony. "My mother is still alive, she stays here with me in Port Harcourt, you can ask her. According to my mother, I was in her womb for 11 months, and she deliv-

Tambuwal, Imoke urge lawmakers to empower youth, women

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HE Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, has urged federal legislators to promote youth and women empowerment in their constituencies in order to assist in reducing the rate of unemployment in the country.

Tambuwal spoke in Calabar during the empowerment programme of the Federal Legislator representing Calabar South, Akpabuyo and Bakassi Federal Constituency in Cross River State, Mr Essien Ayi, said he was willing to encourage members of the Lower House to give back to their constituents by personally attending such programmes.

Tambuwal, at the event where 107 members of the constituency were empowered with cars, computers, hair dressing equipment, among others, said the challenge facing the present administration was job creation and appealed to wealthy Nigerians to bridge the gap by generating ideas that could help solve the problem.

“I would want to see more of this from our Federal Lawmakers and I promise to personally attend such a programme to encourage them. Of course, programmes like this touch directly on the lives of the people,” Tambuwal said.

The Speaker commended Pastor Essien Ayi for identifying with his constituents and called on other Legislators to emulate his example.

Governor of Cross River State, Liyel Imoke, said youth and women empowerment was a mandatory obligation of any representative of the people.

From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

He said representation comes with the duty to identify with the people and to bring democracy dividends to them, which will reduce joblessness and poverty in the society.

“Empowering the people is an obligation to any representative. If you want to represent the people, you must tell them what you will do for them. We have gone past the time when the people cannot ask their representatives what they have been able to achieve for the people,” Imoke stressed.

He also commended Ayi for exhibiting what he called an exemplary leadership by donating fifty cars and other empowerment items to his constituents and urged beneficiaries to put the items to good use.

Director-General of National Directorate of Employment, Mallam Abubakar Mohammed, whose organisation partnered with Essien Ayi to train the beneficiaries, said the organisation ensured that all the artisans among the beneficiaries were properly trained to provide opportunities for others and assured that there was reduction in the labour market.

Ayi said he was only fulfilling his promise to his people as he had empowered the people in the past, “though not at a scale such as this.”

Highlights of the occasion was the presentation of 50 cars of different brands to some beneficiaries, more than 100 computer sets, sewing machines, Lawn Mowing equipment, among other items.

•Some of the items donated to Ayi’s constituents

•Imoke (left), Tambuwal and Ayi at the empowerment programme.

•Bishop Maxwell ered me deaf and dumb on January 18, 1968 at Imode Town, Ughelli, Delta State. As it is expected of every child to cry when they are born, but mine was different. I didn't cry even my two hands where folded. They did everything humanly possible to ensure that I cried. My mother said the whole village gathered to initiate ideas on ways out. You can imagine a new born baby receiving a serious beating on his bottom just to ensure that I cry, yet I didn't."

He said while the community gave up on him that he would amount to nothing, his mother stood by him until God intervened and opened his mouth.

"It is God and my mother that kept me alive, because everybody had agreed to throw me into the forest but my mother insisted that she will accept me the way I am. But after three months when my mother was waterfeeding me, she said amazingly I finally cried. So, when human effort fails, God starts working".

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

NIGER DELTA REPORT FEATURE

Niger Delta power firm spreads wings Still basking in the successful completion of the first phase of the National Integrated Power Project, the Niger Delta Power Holding is on the march again as it unveils plans to build 16 Hydro-Power Plants under the second phase of the scheme, write MUYIWA LUCAS and BOLA OLAJUWON.

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HE nation’s power sector is upbeat. This is courtesy of a wind of change currently blowing across the sector. Touted to be a hydraheaded problem that had defiled all logic, the involvement of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) in the National Independent Power Project (NIPP) appears to have restored hope of steady power supply in the country soon. This is further accentuated by the successful privatisation of seven of the 10 thermal plants it constructed, for which payments amounting to $5.7 billion, representing 80 per cent of the proceed, has been completed.

This development has further given hope to the federal government’s promise of realising 10, 000 megawatts (MW) by December 2014, since the 10 NIPPs are expected to generate additional 5,454mw to the current estimated 4,500mw.This makes the NDPHC one of the best decisions government had made in a very long time.

Now, riding on the back of this success, the NDPHC is set for another giant stride as it recently unveiled a proposal to set up16 Hydro-Power Plants (HPPs), in Abuja, to kick-start the second phase of the NIPP, thereby bringing another vista of relief to the nation’s power industry. This initiative, stakeholders in the sector said, is a positive step considering that the country’s existing dams such as Kanji, Shiroro and others, have descended into deplorable conditions.The HPPs, which will be in three different categories of small, medium and large, will be located in 11 states of the country.

NDPHC’s Managing Director, Mr. James Abiodun Olotu,disclosed that the new projects had been approved by the National Economic Council for implementation. Olotu’s confidence of a successful HPP is buoyed by the experience garnered by the NDPHC in

•Olotu

executing the first phase of the NIPP and a better understanding of the industry.

The large hydro-power plants are Mambilla Dam HPP in Taraba State, with a capacity of 3,050 mw; Gurara II Dam HPP in Niger State, with 369mw capacity, and the only medium HPP with 40mw capacity will be sited in Itisi Dam, Kaduna State.The small HPPs, which capacities range from 0.3 mw to 10 mw, are to be constructed in Oyan Dam (10mw) and Ikere-Goje HPP in Ogun State (6.0mw); Bakolori Dam HPP, Zamfara State (3.0mw); Challawa Dam HPP in Kano State (7.5mw); and Tiga Dam HPP, also in Kano (10mw).Others are Kampe Dam HPP in Kogi State (0.5mw); Owena Dam HPP in Ondo State (O.45mw); Doma Dam HPP in Nasarawa State (1.0mw); Zobe Dam HPP in Katsina State (0.30mw); and Jibia Dam HPP also in Katsina (4.0mw).

Others are Katsina-Ala Dam HPP in Benue State (4.0mw); Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria Dam HPP and Jado Dam in Adamawa State.

The capacities of the last two dams

is yet to be finalised.This new initiative is already generating huge interest amongst energy experts, who reason that the new HPPs will bring succour to Nigerians after unenviable history of unimpressive state of current power supply.

Already, funding for the HPP would not be a challenge, unlike what happened in the first phase of the scheme.

This is because a significant percentage of the proceeds from the $5.7 billion from the sale of the thermal stations would be used to finance the HPP. Besides, the Federal Government also assured that it would invest $10 billion in collaboration with power sector private investors to build the new hydro-power stations in the phase two of NIPP. These funding, therefore, provides a good springboard for the launch of the HPP. Indeed, this feat has watered down the conflicting views on the HPP by other critical stakeholders in the industry.

While opposition to the earlier project was intense, the disposition to the new plan is subtle with those averse to the current move insisting that the

country does not have the capacity to build power plants without the involvement of multinational firms.

Such fears are however understandable given the fact that indigenous public enterprises have a penchant for failing in the discharge of their mandate to the people.

Tomiwa Sogunro, an energy consultant, however believes that for the NDPHC to achieve its full objective, especially with regard to the HPP, certain bottlenecks must be cleared. One of this is the pending litigations over the sale of the remaining three power plants.He is right.

Three out of the 10 power plants constructed under the first phase are yet to be concluded by way of NCP and NDPHC joint board approval on the outcome of the financial bid results.

The delay is caused by law suits filed by certain individuals and organisations over issues which could be sorted out administratively.

Although progress has been made in the ongoing discussions to end the legal disputes, Sogunwa is of the opinion that the issues involved should be speedily settled possibly out of the court.”Both the litigants and the courts should weigh and sway all decisions in favour of the privatisation process, which has been nationally and globally adjudged to be free, fair and transparent.

Since the interim injunction is not a perpetual order, it needs being revisited to put the conclusion of the three transactions on course. This will ensure that the ongoing reform in the power sector does not attract negative perception and reception, which could dent the image of the country before the international community,” he appealed.

Raymond Okeke, a businessman, said government must retain the confidence of foreign investors, especially

the World Bank and other international organisations, which have keyed into the power sector reforms, so as not to lose out in the long run, and bring the efforts made so far to zero.

But still, there are challenges ahead for the NDPHC. One of this is the inadequate supply and payment for the input by the end users, that is, the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN. This is constituting a clog in the wheel of progress in optimising the capacity of the NIPPs. While assurances have been given that gas supply hiccups to the power plants are being addressed by the Federal Government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, stakeholders are canvassing that since NDPHC pays commercial rate for gas used in generating power for TCN and sell at a not too profitable rate, then government should restructure the tariff arrangement to meet current realities, where TCN pays for power received from NDPHC. Importantly, the TCN should also be ready to liquidate its over N36 billion debt on gas to NIPP, as a further boost to encouraging investment in the sector.

This move, it is believed, will serve as a means of restoring investors’ confidence in the process. The NIPP was conceived in 2004 as a fast-track public sector funded initiative that would add significant new generation capacity to Nigeria’s electricity supply system along with the electricity transmission, distribution and natural gas supply infrastructure.

The initiative was dogged by the lack of confidence based on the country’s lack of experience in building thermal plants powered by gas.

But government kept faith and the results are trickling in.

‘Why Delta won’t stop demolishing illegal structures’ Delta State Commissioner of Environment Chief Frank Omare was the guest at the maiden edition of the ‘Searchlight on the State of the State’ hosted by the Warri Correspondent Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ). He fielded questions from reporters. BOLAJI OGUNDELE was there.

W

HAT alternative places have you made for those displaced (during the demolition exercise) considering the economic hardship and what are you doing about some of your men alleged to be collecting bribes?

We cannot allow people to continue to block government roads because they are poor, because they don’t have the means to have shops. If we do, they will just take over the whole place.

Abroad, we have open market on Sundays, we are not against that. But the culture of continuing to block our roads, we should discourage it in its entirety. Who is a poor man? We have provided markets, let them go into those markets and start trading. As soon as you enter Sapele, there is a market, but half of the market is a dump site, another half is abandoned.

The issue of bribe, he who alleges must prove. Why did you give bribe?

It is because you are doing something wrong. If one is giving bribe, we have the social media, you can snap us, as we are taking the bribe. We are going to comb round again before the structures will take over. So, when you are building a block store where we have removed a caravan, you will tell us who gave you that approval. We

mustn’t promote sentiment. Government policies and ideologies are always minority ideologies. Let us know that what government has put in place on the long run is the majority ideology.

Delta State Forest Reserve has been encroached by a lot of them. What the ministry wants to do by next week we are using the media to inform that all those forest reserves that have been encroached upon by Deltans and nonDeltans should be evacuated immediately. If you go to Sapele Forest reserve, it is as if government does not own a land there. Why should you be building on government property? If you go to Agbor, Asaba, it’s all over and I cannot fold my hands. I will take the bullets on behalf of you; Deltans and the government of Delta State. Government must make a decision and government must take a position.

Garbage removed from the gutters is beginning to litter the main roads, defacing Warri, what are you going to do about it?

Government is not a charity organisation, you generate waste, you dump them in front of your gutters and you are asked to evacuate them.

You should be punished for doing that. Thank God the governor of Delta state has taken the bold step in the area

of environment.

Some of the affected victims of the 2012 flooding have complained that they have not been given anything.

Is this correct and what is the Delta state government doing in respect of the recent flood predicted for the Niger Delta Region?

We have swamp boogies in the Delta South and Central Area, opening channels to major rivers. That is why after one hour of heavy rainfall, you see that all areas are flowing. That is one serious area the state government has been working on in the past three years.

Secondly, if the money doesn’t get to you as the community leader, you will claim that nothing has happened, it is not charity money. I know the Chairman of the committee, Rtd Justice Tabai and I can vouch that they have done a thorough job and have reported to the government of Delta state. I am sure and I am happy that my governor did not touch the money.

He set up a committee and released the money to the committee.

We understand that one particular ethnic group is more affected in the demolition of the royal cemetery.

Is that true?

I don’t know which ethnic group. I am an Ijaw man, I am not commis-

sioner of Ijaw ethnic nationality, I am a Commissioner of Delta State and I am given an assignment of the Delta state government, so it can affect any ethnic group or the Nigerian society.

The most important question is if what Omare-led team has done is against the law. If it is not then what is the issue? As a matter of government policy, my recommendation after the task work is that those people who have laboured government and used taxpayers’ resources be arrested and prosecuted.

Uvwie market has become a recurring decimal, what are you going to do about it? The Jigbale market still remains and caravans are still around, can Warri be clean?

The attitude of the people has propelled me to do what I should do. You are aware that overtime I have gone to the Uvwie market, if you want a financial quantification of what government has put in to clean that place, it is enough to build this house, and there will be change. But what has happened, the people are adamant.

They say, ‘this is our culture, our tradition’, and thank God the paramount ruler of Uvwie and other prominent people of Uvwie have condemned their actions.

There is what we call the helicop-

ter factor; when there is problem and you have tried all you can and it keeps returning. When twenty women, claiming poverty as excuse, will be matched to the Okere High College (Okere Prisons), they will know that government is serious, but that is what government is trying to avoid.

Please, I want you to educate and tell them, so that tomorrow, they won’t ask me, ‘did you tell them’? They should stop embarrassing the people of Uvwie. Uvwie people are clean people. I have been there on market days, when they see me, they behave, but when I’m not there, they come out.

Jigbale market and caravans, we are coming.

Is the task force only for demolition of illegal structures and street trading? In some places, we see traders using umbrellas, what are you doing about it?

The position of the task force is not for only illegal structures, we cart away waste. It is sad that people are just wicked to the government. Ask this, the efforts of Omare and his team, are they not enough for people to behave well? We are putting structures in place, even though it is slow.

Some persons have admitted to doing wrong against the environment.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

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NIGER DELTA REPORT COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

C

ALABAR has an advantage. Behind it is a rich history which brought with it development and global recognition.

But, Uyo has cash. In abundance. Some of this cash used to belong to Calabar until the law stopped it. Yet, long ago, Uyo was nothing. It was just one of the towns in the old Cross River State. Calabar was the state capital. Before it became the capital of the old Cross River, it was Nigeria's capital. That was before independence.

The competition between Uyo and Calabar began when Uyo became the capital of Akwa Ibom State, which was carved out of the old Cross River State. Calabar now is the capital of Cross River State. Obong Victor Attah, an architect and former president of the Nigerian Institute of Architect (NIA), became the governor of Akwa Ibom State in 1999 when the country returned to democracy. He started by fine-tuning a Masterplan for the state, especially Uyo. But, Uyo's race to catch up with Calabar took a new dimension when Obong Godswill Akpabio, the man who was Attah's Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, became governor.

Under Akpabio, Akwa Ibom's fortunes increased. For this to happen, it had to do battle with its neigbour. Both had to compete for oil wells. It was a bitter legal duel that took God's grace to prevent bloodbath. Wise counselled was allowed to prevail and Akwa Ibom's fortunes took a major leap when the Supreme Court gave all oil wells which entitled Cross River to the 13 per cent derivation fund to it. It was a decision which saw these brother-states quarrel seriously. In case you don't know, the states are also governed by two men who have come a long way. Akpabio and Governor Liyel Imoke were mates at the Nigerian Law School (NLS).They belong to the Class 88, having graduated 26 years ago. The decision of the apex court made Akpabio and Imoke almost become enemies. The media made a lot of money on advertorials by both parties on the court's decision. Somehow they were able to manage and life has since continued and for over one year now, Cross River has not received one kobo as derivation fund and this has affected it seriously. Its loss has been Akwa Ibom's gain and Uyo is happy for it.

Uyo has changed. It really has. It is no longer the 'village' it was when the military pronounced it a state capital. There are flyovers and bridges. So many beautiful things are happening in Uyo. But there is a trend I have noticed. Uyo seems interested in everything in Calabar. Or is it Calabar that is after Uyo? Or is it a case of Imoke and

OLUKOREDE YISHAU

ABOVE WHISPERS

•A weekly intervention on Southsouth people

olukoredeyishau@gmail.com

Brothers in competition

•Imoke

•Akpabio

‘

It is good that Uyo and Calabar are being developed. It is good similar projects are springing up. But it certainly is not good for a government to build a project and after completing it, it is still spending money on it instead of it bringing in money. Cineplex is a good example of this.

Akpabio not wanting the other to take the first slot?

There is a nice complex in Uyo. It has not

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LAST WORD

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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At a point, some ex-militants refused to comply and all allowances were blocked by the leader of my camp, Abraham Ekokotu. He had gone to court to get a documentation to back his action which resulted in the blockade of accounts from my camp called Agbalakoko Camp.When the affected ex-militants stopped receiving money, they had to seek a way out and he forced them to sign an agreement __

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Ex-militant Ogofotha

Ogene

been completed. It is known as Ibom Tropicana Entertainment Centre. Within this complex is Cineplex. It is the cinema arm of

Ibom Tropicana. There is also a mall. And when fully completed, there is going to be an international convention centre with a monorail somewhere around the complex. A 3-star hotel is also in the mix.

Please drive to Calabar and you will discover that it has its own version of Cineplex known as Film House Cinema-- which is part of the Marina Resort. I understand it has been in existence before Cineplex. On going is also the Calabar International Convention Centre (CICC) within the Summit Hills project.

Around the CICC, a monorail is also springing up to link Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort. A hotel, a golf course and a specialist hospital are also in the works.

There are a bit of difference in these projects, but the semblance are obvious. Who is copying who?

Don't misread me. There is nothing wrong in copying, especially when you are copying something good and improving on it.

Before I forget, Uyo also has an airport, even though it is less than an hour from Calabar, which has always had the Margaret Ekpo International Airport. How viable the Uyo Airport is is a matter for another day. But I must point out that for Arik to agree to fly there, the government had to be subsidising.

This led to disagreement between the parties and the deal has broken down.

The subsidy issue also brings me to the viability of the Cineplex in a state where majority of the people are poor. Similar cinemas in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja charge at least N1,500 for a client to enjoy any movie in their air-conditioned cinema hall. In Calabar, it is about N1,000. An average Uyo person cannot afford these prices. The government knew this and thus decided to subsidise. Initially, N100 was paid. Now, it is N250. Still, the six cinema halls are never fully booked.

The mall, which will be inaugurated soon, is beautiful. It sure makes Uyo the more alluring, but can the economy of the state support such? I will wait till it starts operation to get an answer.

My final take: It is good that Uyo and Calabar are being developed. It is good similar projects are springing up. But it certainly is not grand for a government to build a project and after completing it, it is still spending money on it instead of it bring in money. Cineplex is a fitting example of this.

I don't think subsidising movie-watching is a great idea. May be it is a good But certainly not a great or grand one.

Long live Uyo, long live Calabar and long live the brothers driving the affairs of these two brother-states. And long live healthy

•Last Word is Niger Delta Report’s verdict on Southsouth affairs

Something for Kingsley Kuku

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IME was when peace took a flight from the Niger Delta. The target was not really the people but federal establishment and the Joint Venture Partners, be it Shell, Chevron and Mobil. Anyone with white skin could easily get kidnapped, too. Gang wars went on from Port Harcourt to Okrika to Eleme to Yenegoa and the creeks of the Niger Delta. There was no better way to say it than to borrow the lines of the late Chinua Achebe’s classic novel Things Fall Apart. The centre could not hold for the governments at both the federal and state levels.

Oil revenue plummetted. Disorderliness made sure governance was on holiday. It was in the midst of this chaos that the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was ‘rigged’ in as president.

In his maiden speech, the late Yar’Adua admitted the flaws in the polls which saw him becoming president. He made a lot of promises and one of them was that he was going to curb the lawlessness in the Niger Delta. Not a few wondered how he was going to do it. It did not take long before he unfolded his agenda. He unveiled an amnesty package for militants in the religion. Give up your guns and be entitled to some favours from the government. The leadership of the militant movements also received juicy contracts in millions of dollars.

Guns of all shades and sizes surfaced. Not a few were fooled that some were not kept

away in case the government reneged. It is believed that some of those kept away are being used to support the high level of illegal bunkering and oil refineries still going on in the region.

But the concern here is how the lawlessness will not return on large scale. Some days ago, two young men who looked nothing like ex-militants walked into this newspaper’s corporate office in Lagos. Their identification cards and some other documents show they are ex-militants who were invlved in illegalities in one of the many militant camps which used to dot Delta State.

Going by their account, they embraced amnesty and were enjoying the benefits until their cap leaders who wanted a cut of their benefits connived with people at the Amnesty Office to stop them from enjoying these benefits.

Phillip Ukange and Avurakoghene Ogofotha said after laying down their arms, they thought they would never have cause to think of going back that bad road again.

Ogofotha enrolled at the University of Benin.

Now, he is troubled that his education is under threat as the expected source of funding has dried.

He said he was entitled to N65, 000 monthly allowance; he said he only got paid for six months.

The young men claimed they were victims

of corruption in the Presidential Amnesty Programme having being enrolled in the 2012 phase two of the initiative.

“I want to do something meaningful with my life. I am an ex-militant of the second phase of the amnesty programme, I have not been paid since 2012 when they started paying money into the account of the second-phase ex-militants.

“As at the time, they gave us a phone contact of a man called Tony (he said he couldn’t recall Tony’s full name) who was said to be the paymaster. We called him but to no avail. We also tried to go to the office but whenever we attempted going there they would bar us.

“Although some other affected ex-militants have gone to lay complaints but nothing was done; sometimes we would be molested by the military men there.

“I am not the only one, we are over hundred.

Some got their money for a number of months while others were partly paid,” Ogofotha said.

As head of the Amnesty Office, Kingsley Kuku needs to look at the case of these young men and others who have alleged that their camp leaders have cut them off from enjoying their benefits. The camp leaders are practically faceless to Nigerians. It is the Amnesty Office, Kuku and President Goodluck Jonathan that Nigerians know and when anything goes wrong with the programme, they are the ones to be held accountable. This allegation must not eb left uninvestigated.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

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SHOPPING

IDL launches wine

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NTERCONTINENTAL Distillers Limited (IDL) has introduced another brand of wine, Chapeau, a South African wine, into the market.

Its Managing Director, Patrick Anegbe, said he was delighted that the company had been able to come up with a natural wine that is different from others in the market. He added that a lot of wines in the market are made of flavour, alcohol, sugar and additives.

Brand Manager, Chapeau, Chioma Alonge, emphasised the goodness in grape, saying that is the main ingredient of Chapeau.

She said: “Chapeau is made

By Morakinyo Abiodun

from real grapes which are good for your heart as they lower blood pressure”. She added “a glass of Chapeau is a glass of goodness which is good for your heart.”

Chapeau, which literally means “I doff my hat” in French comes in three variants - Merlot, Rose and Cabernet Sauvignon.

The event, which took place at La Mango in Ikeja, Lagos had Nollywood faces. They include Segun Arinze, Fred Amata, Keppy Ekpeyong Bassey, Florence Onuama, Benita Nzeribe, and comedian Clint de Drunk.

• From left: GM Audit, International Distillers Ltd. (IDL) ; Mr. Umoren Akpan; Celebrities, Benita Nzeribe and Fred Amata; Chief Anegbe; Director, IDL, Mr. Esijolomi Rewane and President, Lagos Country Club, Ikeja,Chief Kayode Moradeyo, during the unveiling in Lagos.

Pregnacare unveils products

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EALTH conscious consumers can now benefit from the three brands of Pregnacare products, as they are now available in Nigeria. They are manufactured by Vitabiotics United Kingdom (UK).

Consumers of Pregnacare brands are advised to look out for the security features on the pack of the Pregnacare brands. These include a registered NAFDAC numbers and a dedicated line where the secret numbers to be scratched on the pack can be sent to for immediate response.

The manufacturers said the brands you see in the UK are also the same as the ones you find in the Nigerian market, and they are available at registered pharmaceutical shops across the nation.

The sole franchise for marketing and distribution of the products has been granted to Medheights Pharmacy Limited.

The imported brands are: Pregnacre Original (used during pregnancy, Pregnacare Plus Omega (used during breastfeeding), and Pregnacare Conception (used to enhance conception for women).

Explaining the reasons for introducing the UK made brands in Nigeria, Managing Director of Medheights Pharmacy, Mr. Tunji Doherty, said: “Hitherto, what we used to have in Nigeria, were the Pregnacare brands made and packaged outside the UK. “Nigerians who travelled to Europe discovered that the package

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

being sold to Nigerians was different from what was being sold in the home country where the trademark owners are. So, this knowledge started affecting negatively the psych of the consumers and sales.

“The products were also being imported by all kinds of merchants into the market.

“We met with the makers and raised all these concerns and the dangers therein especially as it concern faking and safe motherhood in Nigeria, and entered into business relationship to be the sole franchise owners of all the premium Pregnacare brands in Nigeria.

“This has enabled us to structure the marketing and distribution channels. We have also secured NAFDAC numbers for the brands in order to avoid faking or cloning and therefore, guarantees the product consumption for safe motherhood.”

According to a pharmacist, Mr Bayo Adepoju, who spoke on the usefulness of the products to women folk, conception period is a crucial phase in a woman’s life when the body undergoes a series of changes to create a suitable environment for the sustenance and growth of the fetus.

“Fetal health and growth depends largely upon what the mother eats and how much is available to the fetus. The incidences of congenital problems, where children end up with hole in the heart, spinabifilda, hydro-

• From left: Group General Manager Marketing Mr. Segun Kuti; Doherty; Group General Mana Doherty and Adepoju at the Pregnacare media presentation by Medheights Pharmacy Limited in Lagos.

cephalus among others can be significantly reduced, if not totally eliminated by taking these drugs, before, during and after conception, as at when due. They are affordable and accessible. This is what Vitabiotics UK is much concerned with as it wants to join the safe motherhood campaign of UNICEF in Nigeria,” he said.

Describing the brands, Pregnacare have produced the brands as better supplements for expectant mothers, breastfeeding mothers and women who desire children.

Knowing full well that poverty and other factors, such as ignorance and religious extremism hinder people in developing coun-

tries access to good and healthy living, balanced nutritional diets, Pregnacare has been prepared to reduce fetal and maternal effects of nutritional deficiencies, the expert said.

He said the medicinal values of micronutrient supplementation before conception, during pregnancy and throughout breast-feeding.

Online shopping to more than double by 2016 •Online shopping

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NLINE shopping by urban consumers will more than double over the next two years in the country to 14 per cent from six per cent last year, says a Boston Consultancy Group report.

According to the BCG digital influence study 2013-14, online shopping is expected to rise to 14 percent by 2016 from six per cent last year. It also said already 25 per cent of travel and tourism-related sales are digitally driven in the country currently.

Digital influence is rapidly expanding to small urban towns and rural areas, as the number of mobile users have increased. More than 34 per cent of total Internet users in the country are from small towns, while 25 per cent are from rural areas.

Of the total urban Internet users, around 57 per cent are of 25 and

above, and 45 per cent use only their mobile devices to access the Internet.

The study also said by 2016, the urban Internet user base would rise to 47 per cent from 28 per cent last year.

According to the report, discounts are not the only driving force for people to switch to online shopping, as was previously thought, but factors like convenience and access to wider assortment is also largely influencing shopping decisions.

Giving a snapshot of the key sectors driving online shopping, the report said the airline ticketing led the chart with 25 percent of sales being completed online last year, while the same stood at six per cent in regard to cars, though 32 per cent searched online before buying.

However, only eight per cent of the mobile/PC sales were online during the same period.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

THE NATION

BUSINESS

AGRICBUSINESS

e-mail: agrobusiness@thenationonlineng.net

Rapid urbanisation has resulted in a sharp increase in food insecurity. For this reason, urban farming practised by the poor and lower-income groups is fast becoming de rigeur among city dwellers. In some suburbs, maize and vegetable plots are springing up to counter expected food shortages, reports DANIEL ESSIET.

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RBAN farming is the cultivation of a wide range of crops – including fruits, vegetables, tubers and ornamental plants – in cities and towns and the surrounding areas.

With unemployment estimated at above 80 per cent and basic foodstuffs becoming unaffordable even for those who have jobs, vacant lots are fast being turned into agricultural plots. Following this, urban faming, widely practised by the poor and lower-income groups is fast becoming de rigeur among the city dwellers.

One of them is Madam Okoro Madu (not real name) who lives at the Journalists Estate, Arepo in Ogun State.

She was desperate to grow something, so she planted some vegetables on the only available open space around her home. Madam Madu sets aside time for farming on weekends. She tends her crops herself and makes sure that she does not run out of food by producing vegetables for consumption and sale.

Consequently, other residents followed her and began planting crops for their consumption. Collectively, they hope for enough rains to enable them to harvest a reasonable yield part of which they can sell to earn an income for their families.

In many states of the federation, urban farming is playing a pivotal role in supporting the growth of the food industry.

It is providing a livelihood for thousands of city dwellers, with vegetables bringing in good money for small growers and helping to alleviate malnutrition nationally. The demand for vegetables and the high prices they command in the cities have pushed many jobless residents into becoming small-scale growers.

The burgeoning income of small vegetable growers, who sometimes earn between 200 and 300 per cent profit, have made them more attractive to those involved in agro exports.

In some states with link to the major highways, most of the green spaces along the roadsides have been transformed into small farms.

For experts, urban farming is a lucrative business. This is particularly the case for some states where the dynamism of the sector has led to move up the value added chain and strong market position.

As a result, the sector contributes 30 per cent of the food sector total production.

A Crop Protection Specialist, Prof Daniel Gwary, told The Nation that developing urban agriculture is crucial, given the current demographic trend.

Globally, reports said urban food markets are set to increase fourfold to exceed $400 billion by 2030, requiring major agribusiness investments in processing, logistics, market infrastructure, and retail networks. This is because the growing middle class is also seeking greater diversity and higher quality in its diets. The most dynamic sectors overall are likely to be rice, feed grains, poultry, dairy, vegetable oils, horticulture, and processed foods.

The good news also, is that many supermarkets are poised to take off, where they serve the middleincome population. Their benefits can include a broader supply of

Urban farming on the increase

• A farmer watering her garbage farm

• Ogunwale

produce, safer foods, economies of scale, and lower consumer prices.

The supermarkets support small-scale farmers, including urban farmers.

For this reason, Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and many other international and local institutions, are pushing just that message – that micro-gardening and other forms of urban horticulture can go a long way to

• Gwary

boosting city dwellers’ food security and improving living conditions.

Gwary, of the Department of Crop Protection, University of Maiduguri, said micro-gardening and urban farming allow people to better feed their families.

As a matter of urgency, he wants governments at various levels to recognise their roles as facilitators in food security and nutrition

strategies.

So far, he sees the biggest weakness in the value chain, however, as farmers not being able to organise the collection of crops produced in scattered locations for delivery to processing facilities.

As such, there are high rates of spoilage. A shortage of sufficient throughput for processing discourages investments into valueadded production, which in turn

‘While the urban poor, particularly those arriving from rural areas, have long practised horticulture as a livelihood and survival strategy, in many countries the sector is still largely informal, usually precarious, and sometimes illegal’

leads to a further increase in spoilage.

Apart from this, there are significant information gaps as well: on up-to-date market information related to growers.

Prof Abel Ogunwale sees urban farms as a “growth area with compelling fundamentals driven by urbanisation, population growth, and rising incomes’’.

For Ogunwale, a consultant with the World Bank, urban farming is one within a menu of solutions to help feed more people in a manner that advances economic development and reduces pressure on the environment.

He said most forms of urban farms require land, water, feed, and energy—input that are scarce and need government assistance.

For him and some private sector stakeholders, one of the biggest challenges facing urban fruit and vegetable farmers are difficulties in obtaining large surfaces of land.

Whatever the size, the don noted that urban farmers need enough lands to assure sufficient production volumes.

Others are poor input markets, difficulties in accessing land and finance and inadequate skills and technology.

All-weather roads, Ogunwale noted, are crucial for urban farms to gain access to markets. Recent improvements in main roads mean that a disproportionate share of the high transport costs for agricultural produce are incurred within the first few kilometres from the farm, because the roads are bad.

For a strong sector to emerge, he said supply and credit services with it should be strengthened.

However, Ogunwale said the Geographical Information System (GIS) could be used to map vegetable production and analyse how urban agriculture contribute to food security.

GIS project, he maintained, would analyse data gathered on the ground and via satellite about crop species, production, land surface and workforce.

He appealed to the government to address post-harvest loss issues and improve input products and service delivery to farmers, while the agricultural and finance institutions should be well-positioned to support the development of the sector.

The President, Lagos Apex Fadama Association, Alhaji Abiodun Oyeniran, said the government is trying to open up some areas of land suitable for largescale production to farmers despite increasing pressure on urban lands for residential development.

FAO said an estimated 130 million urban residents in Africa and 230 million in Latin America engage in agriculture, mainly horticulture, to provide food for their families and earn an income.

“While the urban poor, particularly those arriving from rural areas, have long practised horticulture as a livelihood and survival strategy, in many countries the sector is still largely informal, usually precarious, and sometimes illegal,” world body said.

People often farm idle urban land, but with no legal standing, they can be kicked off when the land is wanted for development.

FAO said urban policies should acknowledge the role of urban and peri-urban agriculture in development.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

39

AGRICBUSINESS

Expert to govt: reposition crop insurance scheme T HE Federal Government has been urged to reposition the crop insurance scheme to ameliorate losses that farmers incur from flood, drought and plant diseases.

An expert, Prof Ayo Ogunlela, gave the advice during an interview with The Nation.

Ogunlela, who is a professor of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at the University of Ilorin, said significant changes in weather could increase drought and flood in some parts of the country, as such farmers need to be protected.

According to him, excessive rain-

By Daniel Essiet

fall and fluctuating temperatures could offer lead to seedling diseases on the farms.

He is concerned that rainfall extremes that only occur at most a few times yearly, could have very large impact, adding that agriculture and farmers should be the priority of the government as improving their condition is a must to strengthen the economy.

For experts, like him during critical crop growth stages, too many days without rain can reduce yields or lead to crop failure, which can reverberate through the agriculture-dependent economy. Also,

short periods of very heavy rainfall can create disasters.

To spur agricultural growth, Ogunlela asked the government to launch a comprehensive plan to provide a ‘Soil health card’ to all farmers across the country. The card will carry crop-wise recommendations of nutrients/fertiliser required for farms, making it possible for farmers to improve productivity by wisely using input.

He said there should be computerised systems in local agriculture science centres to keep data of ‘soil test’ results, adding that thess will make the easy collection of oil samples from small farms in remote vil-

lages.

The system will allow farmers to download the card using ‘unique number’ allotted to each soil sample. This way, any change in ownership of the particular farm land, will not create any problem in getting such cards or getting it updated, he added.

He further said the move would help farmers in identifying ‘health of the soil’ which will go a long way in improving productivity through judicious use of fertiliser and water.

GES’ll boost fish production, says UAC boss

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From left: Deputy Director-General (Corporate Services), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Kwame Akuffo-Akoto; President, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Dr Kanayo Nwanze; and DG, IITA, Dr Nteranya Sanginga, during the visit of the IFAD chief to IITA in Ibadan.

Govt releases herbicide-resistant hybrids T HE Nigerian National Variety Release Committee (NVRC) has released the first set of maize hybrids, resistant to metsulfuron methyl herbicide, that are also endowed with resistance to the noxious parasitic weed Striga hermonthica.

The hybrids were developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in partnership with DuPont Pioneer Seeds using conventional breeding with funding from IITA and the Integrated Striga Management in Africa (ISMA) project as part of strategies to control S. hermonthica in maize.

The hybrids were released as P48W01 and P48W02 and are recognised as IITA IR-Maize Hybrid 2 and IR-Maize Hybrid 4. The hybrids have a yield potential of up to five t/ha under Striga infestation in comparison with local varieties that produce less than 1 t/ha in such conditions.

“These hybrids are the product of introducing one nuclear gene that confers resistance to imidazolinone herbicides, including metsulfuron methyl (MSM), into inbred lines with known field resistance to S. hermonthica,” Dr Abebe Menkir, IITA Maize Breeder, said.

Recent baseline studies conducted under the ISMA project showed that farmers ranked Striga as the number one constraint to maize production in northern Nigeria, with 50 to 100 per cent of the households reporting Striga incidence in their farms. The parasitic weed infests more than 9 mil-

lion ha planted to millet, maize, and sorghum in Nigeria and severely lowers the production capacity of these crops.

Dr Menkir said yield losses in maize from damage by S. hermonthica varied from 20 to 80 per cent among subsistence farmers, but 100 per cent loss could occur in susceptible cultivars under severe infestation in marginal production conditions.

The released herbicide-resistant hybrids allow seeds to be planted that have been treated with low doses of metsulfuron methyl herbicide. This targets S. hermonthica before or at the time of its attachment to the maize root, killing the parasite underground before it inflicts damage on the crop. These hybrids can thus be used to deplete the Striga seed bank in the soil and minimise yield losses in subsequent cereal crops. MSM-reated seeds of these hybrids can be integrated into the diverse farming systems in Nigeria because the herbicide effectively controls the parasite at a low rate of application.

The ISMA project works with the private sector to catalyse the process of producing and marketing treated seeds of herbicide-resistant maize hybrids to smallholder farmers in Nigeria to control S. hermonthica.

Other collaborating partners engaged in extensive testing of these hybrids include the Institute for Ag-

ricultural Research (IAR) and Agricultural Development Programs in Bauchi and Kano States.

Also, the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme, (WAAPP-Nigeria), in collaboration with some research institutes in Nigeria, has produced and released a total of 966.5 metric tonnes of certified seeds to farmers for the current planting season.

The National Project Coordinator, WAAPP-Nigeria, Prof. Damian Chikwendu said this in Abuja at a meeting with seven private seed companies collaborating with WAAPP for the purpose of availing certified seeds to Nigerian farmers.

A breakdown of the figures shows that a total of 434 metric tonnes of rice, 432.5 metric tonnes of maize and 100 metric tonnes of Sorghum were produced and distributed to farmers through the seed companies. According to the Coordinator, the seeds being targeted for production by WAAPP are the high yielding and drought resistant varieties.

These include Samas 16, 26, Ife High Breed 3 and 4, for maize. Others are Faro 44, 50, 51, 52, Nerica 8, and Faro 59 and FK 512, BSR 01, 02, and KSB for sorghum.

Addressing the operators of the private seed companies, Chikwendu reiterated that the objective of WAAPP is to produce enough genetic materials in form of certified and foundation seeds in the priority agricultural commodities of rice, maize sorghum, yam and cassava to enable farmers increase their productivity.

Modernise slaughter houses, govt urged

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O save lives, the government has been advised to focus on the modernisation of slaughter houses and undertake proper anti-mortem examination of animals.

Speaking with The Nation, a former Chairman, Federation of African Nutrition Societies (FANUS) and Executive Council Member, International Union of

Nutritional Sciences (IUNS), Prof Tola Atinmo, called for increased attention on modernisation of slaughter houses and proper antimortem examination of animals prior to slaughter toensure safe foods to consumers.

Atinmo advised the government to make efforts in preventing and controlling meat adulteration by seeking the cooperation of

farmers, meat processors and scientists.

With the meat and poultry sector expected to grow in in the next few years, he implored stakeholders to come out with a framework to further strengthen safety and bring latest technologies to create meat and poultry processing industries to pitch into global market.

Since collecting ‘soil samples’ and uploading/updating the test results will be a mammoth exercise, states will deploy students of agriculture universities in doing this, he said.

All soil samples will be tested in various soil testing labs across the country. Thereafter, experts will analyse the strength and weaknesses (micro-nutrients deficiency) of the soil and suggest measures to deal with it. The result and suggestion will be displayed in the cards.

HE Federal Government’s aquaculture Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES) can allieviate food shortages and increase fish production, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of UAC Nigeria Plc, Mr Larry Ettah, has said He said though the scheme is commendable, the government should put in place policy incentives to boost local production of fish feed.

He spoke at the endorsement ceremony of Grand Cereal’s ‘Vital fish feed’ by the Catfish Farmers Association of Nigeria (CAFAN) in Lagos.

Ettah said investment in aquaculture, if well harnessed, has the potential to reduce the fish supply deficit estimated at 1.9 million metric tonnes per year, which makes the country spends N125 billion per year on fish importation.

He said: “This potential cannot and will not be realised without a strong and vibrant local fish feed industry,which Vital fish feed wants to address, as the imported fish feed brands entering the country are not only expensive,lack freshness due to number of days spent on sea, but also a huge drain on the country’s scarce foreign exchange and a leakage in the aquaculture value chain.”

Ettah, who was represented by the Director, Corporate Affairs, Mr G. Dada, said the endorsement by the association is a culmination of rig-

By Ajose Sehindemi

orous technical and laboratory analyses carried out by CAFAN on Vital Fish feed as well as the experential testimonies of fish farmers across the country.

The National President, CAFAN, Chief Tayo Akingbolagun, said Grand Cereal limited’s Vital Fish feed, met the criteria of the association, as testing had been on since 2012, when the company approached it for the endorsement.

He advocated more local fish feed company, saying the opportunities in the industry were enormous as the country’s fisheries resources is estimated at four million metric tons per year and if properly harnessed, is capable of meeting the local fish demand and generating surplus for export.

Restating their level of preparedness to be the country’s leading local fish feed manufacturer, the Managing Director, Grand Cereals limited, Mr Layi Oyatoki, said the 3,000 metric tonne per year capacity fish feed plant set up in Jos, Plateau State in 2007, has grown to 30,000 metric tonnes per annum as a result of investments.

Oyatoki said: “The endorsement will not make the company complacent but more determined to grow the fisheries industry as the dream is to see a day when there will be no need to import a single bag of fish feed into the country”.Grand Cereal is a subsidiary of UAC Nigeria Plc.”

‘Govt committed to sustainable agric’

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HE Director of Events, West Africa Exhibitions and Conferences (WAECON) Dr Kune Igoni said the government, through the ank of Agriculture (BoA) and Federal Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry, is determined to revamp agriculture by supporting activities that will reposition the sector for job creation.

He said in a statement that there were efforts to get more Nigerians employed as input suppliers, farmers/out growers, off-takers, processing/production units, distributors, wholesalers and retailers.

He said his organisation is organising an agric trade show to open a new vista in the promotion of agric business as stakeholders converge to deliberate on how to enhance the potentials of agric business in the country.

“The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) and other stakeholders including Federal Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry, and all state governments are determined to enhance the growth of agric business in the country going by their approval of major initiatives instituted towards realising this objective.”

According to him, many government agencies have given support to a maiden agrictrade show billed for between August 26 and 28 in Abuja.

Igoni said with the approvals received so far it is obvious that relevant agencies in the sector were willing to come together on a common platform to deliberate, collaborate and pool ideas together on how to make agric business more productive and attractive in the country.

“We are getting more endorsements day in day out as we inch closer to the D-day for our trade show. I think these endorsements are borne out of the desire to harness the inherent potential in agric business. We now have increased consciousness to boost the agric sector by making it more business oriented and commercial. For instance, I can proudly say that state governments have been showing interests for the trade show with various endorsements coming from them.”

The latest endorsement is from the Edo State government where the governor had given his assurances for the trade show by directing his Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources to act as deemed appropriate.”

He added that the Kano Chamber of Commerce, Industry Mines and Agriculture (KACCIMA) is one of the Chambers of Commerce that has thrown its weight behind the trade show as evidenced by its President’s acceptance to be a resource person.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

40

BUSINESS

as Iraq worries fade, Norwegian airline prepares for Oil slipssupply grows global expansion O

A

NORWEGIAN direct airline service to Los Angeles has revived hopes for a budget long-haul market.

Budget airline Norwegian has started the new twice weekly service out of London’s Gatwick Airport.

It will fly twice weekly from London to Fort Lauderdale and thrice weekly to New York.

Norwegian made its first foray into long-haul last year with routes from Scandinavia to the United States and Thailand.

Norwegian says that some low season flights can be had for as low as £179 ($272) one-way to New York, however only a limited of seats are available at this price.

Norwegian’s website was offering flights in the height of the holiday season in July and August from £329 to £647.

But the service, run from a new company called Norwegian Air International (NAI) in the Republic

of Ireland, has been heavily criticised by US airlines and labour unions.

They say NAI is using Ireland because of its more flexible labour laws.

The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said the creation of Norwegian Air International “was clearly designed to attempt to dodge laws and regulations, starting a race to the bottom on labour and working conditions”.

Among their complaints is NAI’s use of pilots and crews from Asia to drive down costs.

Norwegian says that it always respects the regulations of the markets in which it operates and says it is hiring 300 American cabin crew and New York-based pilots for its 787 Dreamliner operation.

It said in a statement that NAI was based in Ireland to “access to future traffic rights to and from

the EU (Norway is not a member of the EU)”, and because being registered in Ireland gave it access to more flexible rules on financing.

Norwegian has planned its longhaul business round fuel-efficient aircraft. It has a fleet of 787 Dreamliners with four more due for delivery before the end of the year.

If the Norwegian long-haul budget model works it could have far reaching consequences for the development of travel and how airports are used.

The new generation of fuel efficient aircraft could mean more passengers flying “point-to-point” rather than via large hub airports such as Heathrow, Schiphol or Charles de Gaulle.

There is an argument that these new routes are so significant, they could change the course of the runway debate in Britain.

•Supervising Minister of Aviation, Dr Samuel Ortom(left), inspecting facilities at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. With him are (middle): Acting Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Benedict Adeyileka and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer(CEO), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

I

ISPs take legal action against GCHQ

SPS from the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands and South Korea have joined forces with campaigners Privacy International to take the agency to task over alleged attacks on network infrastructure.

It is the first time that GCHQ has faced such action.

The move follows allegations about the government snooping made by US whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The ISPs claim that alleged network attacks, outlined in a series of articles in Der Spiegel and the Intercept, were illegal and “undermine the goodwill the organisations rely on”.

The allegations that the legal actions are based on include: claims that employees of Belgian telecoms company Belgacom were

targeted by GCHQ and infected with malware to gain access to network infrastructure GCHQ and the US National Security Agency, where Mr Snowden worked, had a range of network exploitation and intrusion capabilities, including a “man-onthe-side” technique that covertly injects data into existing data streams to create connections that will enable the targeted infection of users the intelligence agencies used an automated system, codenamed Turbine, that allowed them to scale up network implants German internet exchange points were targeted, allowing agencies to spy on all internet traffic coming through those nodes While the ISPs taking the action were not directly named in the

leaked Snowden documents, Privacy International claims that “the type of surveillance being carried out allows them to challenge the practices... because they and their users are at threat of being targeted”.

Privacy International has previously filed two other cases the first against alleged mass surveillance programmes Tempora, Prism and Upstream, and the second against the deployment

by GCHQ of computer intrusion capabilities and spyware.

Deputy Director Privacy International, Eric King, said: “These widespread attacks on providers and collectives undermine the trust we all place on the internet and greatly endangers the world’s most powerful tool for democracy and free expression.”

best in the world.

The training and setting up of a leather works factory is part of Project Cooperation Agreements between the Delta State Government and UNIDO under which agro processing capacities will be developed in the state.

The project aims at improving the quality of life of rural population of Delta State by setting up efficient farmer-owned small scale agro processing units for palm oil milling and fish drying linking them effectively with primary producers and domestic buyers.

The agreement also seeks to build creative industries for

women in rural Delta, especially the traditional Akwaocha fabric to provide technical support for the development of the local fabric.

Ogeah said it is the next level in the consolidation of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan’s action plan of building enduring institutional frameworks for the development of requisite skills to boost human capacity, create jobs and boost production and export of quality non-oil products.

At the graduation were the Delta State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Charles Ajuyah (SAN); Chike C. Ogeah, Commissioner for Information and Dr. Antonia Ashiedu, Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation.

Italy Footwear Design institute graduates five

F

IFTEEN students sponsored by the Delta State Government for a two-week training on Footwear Design and Technology have graduated from the prestigious Moda Pelle Academy, Milano, Italy.

The state also has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) for the building and equipping of a leatherworks factory in Delta State.

Under the agreement, UNIDO will, apart from part funding the factory, also help the state develop skills in shoe design to a level that will enable them compete with the

IL futures lost a little ground as worries over Iraq and other geopolitical hot spots eased and traders focused on growing crude supplies.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude oil for August delivery /quotes/ zigman/2196851/delayed CLQ4 +0.16 per cent fell 38 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $104.96 a barrel. On the ICE, August Brent futures / quotes/zigman/2648929/delayed UK:LCOQ4 -0.20 per cent fell 55 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $111.74 a barrel.

“In Iraq, most of the bad news has already been priced in, so it may take a significant escalation of the conflict there for oil prices to find renewed strength on just this one factor. What’s more, investors are making a more

sober assessment of the conflict there, realising that most of Iraq’s oil is exported from refineries in the south of the country, where the situation is normal,” said Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at Forex.com, in a note.

Enlarge Image Meanwhile, investors have shrugged off the end of a ceasefire in Ukraine, while rebels in eastern Libya have reportedly reopened two oil ports, he said.

The Iraq conflict in June drove both WTI and Brent crude futures to nine-month highs.

On the supply front, traders are awaiting the Energy Information Administration’s weekly crude inventories report.

The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday said crude supplies fell 875,000 barrels in the week ended June 27.

LG showcases OLED Tvs in Nigeria

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OREA electronics giant, LG Electronics, has unveiled the latest technology in television viewing in the country.

Branded world’s first curved organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TV, the firm said it is a product of research and development (R&D), adding that the model no. 55EA9800/ 55EA9700. The advanced TV is equipped with incredible picture quality, stunning design and innovative technologies.

General Manager, Home Entertainment Division, LG Electronics West Africa Operations, Mr. Steve Ryu, said: “The next-generation display technology and the advanced ultra-thin depth of 4.3mm comes with a unique curved design which represents a new era in home entertainment. It must be seen to be believed for we are fully committed to bringing next generation technologies to the Nigerian market.”

Featuring a gently curved screen and LG’s own WRGB OLED technology, the CURVED OLED TV offers exceptional picture quality and an immersive viewing experience. The cutting-edge TV has been awarded the prestigious Red Dot: Best of the Best honor and is recognised by respected international product testing and certification bodies TÜV Rheinland, Intertek and VDE. Speaking further, Ryu said: “Our groundbreaking CURVED OLED TV marks the beginning of a whole new era in home entertainment. Its IMAX-like curvature guarantees an amazingly immersive and comfort-

able viewing experience. Indeed, it is a point of pride that we were able to bring the world’s first curved OLED TV into the Nigerian market and we will continue to expand and improve our industry leading television technology.

“This is indeed a watershed moment in TV history because the Curved OLED TV technology will make it possible for consumers to enjoy crystal clear picture quality devoid of distortions,” added Ryu Recalling the evolution of television, the firm said it started with the cathode ray tube (CRT), otherwise known as the picture tube which pioneered the development of electronic television systems. CRT’s are a vacuum tube, containing electro guns and a fluorescent screen used in viewing images. They were however superseded by the liquid-crystal-display televisions (LCD TV) and light emitting diode (LED) TV’s which are thinner, lighter and have lower manufacturing costs.

After this came the world’s first 84" ULTRA-HD TV, which equals four units of 42-inch TVs and delivers an unparalleled picture resolution of 2160p which is four times higher than full HD. ULTRA-HD TV uses resolution upscaler hardware which delivers higher detail from the existing SD/ HD external sources. The TV’s Triple XD Engine comes with a TruMotion of 240 Hz with the benefit of fast screen refresh rate which guarantees quality viewing of fast movies and sports.

‘Marketing wars among telcos, others healthy’

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HE marketing wars that heralded the telecoms industrry when it was liberalised more than a decade ago and the ‘wars’ that took place among big brands such as Bournvita vs Milo, Cowbell vs Peak Milk, Legend stout vs Guinness Stout were healthy for the development of the industry, experts have said.

A book, Kill or Get Killed, The Marketing Killer Instinct, written by MTN General Manger, Consumer Marketing, Kola Oyeyemi chronicles these ‘wars.’

According to marketing experts, the book is replete with many case studies of marketers’ wars which shook the consumer landscape. It also showcased the major marketing contentions in the telecoms industry spanning over ten years and involving all the major players including MTN, Glo, Airtel and Etisalat.

The book presents the exciting behind-the-scene thinking and results of the great price wars occasioned by commoditisation in the industry, how creativity has been used to sustain market leadership consistently and how the networks’ marketing mavens constantly strike hard at the

competition’s jugular in the search for new customers or in the effort to keep current customers.

The case studies are comprehensively treated with major focus on Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and a few markets while the author also provides some critical insights into African markets in general.

Kill or get Killed (KGK) is regarded as the first serious attempt by an African marketing practitioner to pen real life case studies of the great material, intellectual and nerve-racking battles that characterise the rise and fall of brands in Nigerian and to an extent, the African theatres of war for the consumer’s mind and wallet.

The book presents some good case studies depicting a multitude of brands fighting for market space and the dynamics that shape success or failure in different African markets.

Specifically, is the effort of the author to identify the key differentiating factors affecting or determining mode of operations in the African environment, excluding South Africa and Africa north of the Sahara, which has fundamentally different tendencies in terms of culture, human psychology, climate and history.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

43

sHoWbliTz

Smith, Jay-Z Back Obama’s Gay Stance

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n May 9, President Barack Obama became the first sitting president to announce support for samesex marriage. Now two of the country’s celebrity Black stars actor Will Smith and rapper/businessman Jay-Z, are backing President Obama on his controversial stance on gay marriage.

While promoting his upcoming blockbuster film “Men in Black III” in Berlin, Smith told the Associated Press that Obama’s support of gay marriage is a “brave” move particularly in an election year.Meanwhile, Jay-Z, whose actual name is Shawn Carter, also made his pro-gay stance public, backing our president in his support of legalizing same-sex marriages.

In Philadelphia, when announcing a two-day music festival in early September, Jay-Z sat with CNN’s Poppy Harlow to discuss some issues and one

of them was Obama’s startling comment about his support of gay marriage. Jay-Z, who has rallied round Obama since his 2008 campaign days, told news reporters “I’ve always thought of it as something that was still, um, holding the country back,” In the not-too-distantpast, Smith was at the center of a gay controversy himself. There were reports that he was involved with actor and running buddy Duane Martin.

Star Magazine reported that Smith and Martin had maintained a gay relationship for years. It was implied that their union was responsible for the downfall of Smith’s marriage to Jada.

The rumors of Smith’s possible sexual preference began to pick up steam after he completed the 1993 film “Six Degrees of Separation,” where he portrayed a gay college student

POETRY Mind Behind Bars As the days progress From the rising of the sun My heart won’t cease its twists Of anguish.

This cold hospitality under locks Is poison for any mind.

Yet I see faults erased On the crunch guilt’s kolanuts.

I admit, I’m lost.

The rain has departed Now the sun wears his shoes, I rust on this spot still.

There have been no wages Of all my days in this cage.

The tears keep streaming, Fuelling the heart’s drive And now a stench I wear.

My flesh swells in fear And strange sickness.

Please ring the bell of justice, I tell the angels Hovering this rusty cell.

Good Friend

S

o many names to call a friend,The list is far from short,Like buddy, pal and good old chum, And some might say cohort. Partner sounds too western, Confidante just doesn’t fit, We could try to use acquaintance, (I don’t like that name one bit).

We’ve tried out quite a lot here, But they all feel like dead ends, So I’ll just stick with what has worked, And call you my good friend.

44

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

POLITICS

FRIDAY JULY 4, 2014

45

THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

There are fears that the country is gradually sliding back into dictatorship, with the recent antics of the military in dealing with the media and members of the All Progressive Congress (APC). Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the implications of the military meddlesomeness in civil matters.

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IGERIANS are becoming apprehensive over what appears to be the blos soming of the Goodluck Jonathan Administration into a full-fledged dictatorship. They are worried that the Presidency is steadily descending into despotism with assault on the freedom of expression and the press, and the use of national institutions against perceived enemies.

A number of steps taken by the military in recent times are reminiscent of the dark days of military dictatorship.

For instance, Governors Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State were prevented from travelling to Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, to attend a political rally organised by their party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), two days to the June 21 governorship election in that state. Amaechi’s plane was allowed to land in Akure, but his convoy was intercepted at the boundary between Ekiti and Ondo states by soldiers who claimed to be acting on orders from above.

His aircraft was also later prevented from flying out of Akure.

His Edo State counterpart suffered a similar fate. His chopper was stopped from flying out of Benin Airport by the military officials, who were also reportedly acting on orders from above. The jet that took the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to Akure was equally grounded by the security officials for similar reasons. He was not allowed to travel back to Lagos with it. On the eve of the Ekiti governorship election, no fewer than 20 APC chieftains were arrested and detained in their country homes in Ekiti by the military for no reasons other than carrying out instructions from above. Few days to election, a police officer threatened to shoot Governor Kayode Fayemi.

Even the Speaker, House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, tasted the bitter pill of military assault. Tambuwal, who had once accused President Jonathan of encouraging corruption with his body language, was shabbily treated at the venue of a security seminar in Kaduna, Kaduna State. Although other dignitaries were allowed free entry, the soldiers on duty insisted that Tambuwal’s official car must be searched, thereby forcing him to disembark and trek to the venue. The soldiers also said they were acting on orders from above.

The print media was not spared. Soldiers detained delivery vans and confiscated newspaper copies across the country, saying they were searching for bomb or materials for making bombs. Besides, soldiers invaded the vendor’s distribution centre in Abuja and stopped circulation of newspapers in the Federal Capital Territory.

To analysts, this growing intolerance and impunity of the Presidency pose a major threat to our hard-earned democracy. Former Kwara State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, a lawyer, Akin Ogundeji, civil rights activist, Ken Ogbulafor and a youth activist, Sule Danyaro called on Nigerians to rise up against the dictatorial tendencies of the present administration in order to save the country’s democracy.

Ogundeji said these acts of interdiction by the government are unconstitutional. He cited Section 41 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of movement to every Nigerian and concluded that the illegalities are a sign of the growing intolerance of the Jonathan administration.

Ogundeji stated that not even in the worst days of the military dictatorship were things done this brazenly, with citizens being denied their fundamental rights of free movement, free assembly and free expression of their views in the manner the administration has done.

His words: “My concern is that if highlyplaced Nigerians can have their movement curtailed, then ordinary citizens would become easy prey for the overzealous soldiers and police officers. Even more disquieting is the fact that President Jonathan has failed to speak out against the acts of civil rights in-

•Dr Jonathan

•Oshiomhole

•Amaechi

Concerns over growing despotism fraction being committed by the military.

He seems unconcerned as Nigeria under his administration slides into a Gestapo state.

“We are talking of the same police and security forces, who have failed to rein in the dreaded Boko Haram and under whose nose Nigerians daily lose their lives in regular acts of criminality. Under their very eyes over 200 girls disappeared, and several weeks after, their whereabouts is still unknown. Yet, they are being used by the Federal Government to harass and intimidate law abiding citizens”.

He called on the labour movement, civil society and indeed all Nigerians with conscience to condemn the brutal assault.

“This is crucial because this development, taken together with all the previous undemocratic actions taken by this government, clearly shows that President Jonathan anti-poor government is fast turning into a vicious civilian dictatorship,” he emphasised.

Ogbulafor agreed with Ogundeji’s position when he said in a democratic society, these illegalities must not be treated lightly.

Therefore, he urged all lovers of freedom to rise up against this growing reign of impunity that has become the trade mark of the Jonathan administration.

He said Jonathan’s silence over the matter confirmed the suspicion that he had a hand in the gale of repression being carried out by the military. He recalled that last year five opposition governors, who were on a

solidarity visit to Amaechi in Port Harcourt were hounded by armed thug, while the police looked the other way. The vehicles of the visiting governors were damaged.

A senator from Rivers State, Magnus Abe was attacked by thugs and injured by police teargas at a rally in support of Amaechi.

Ogbulafor called on lovers of democracy to speak out before things get out of hand.

“If democratically-elected governors could be so shabbily treated, despite the high office they occupy, what will happen to ordinary Nigerians in the hands of an increasingly-fascist government,” he asked.

Senator Saraki condemned the infringement on the freedom of movement and association by the armed forces. To him, the prevention of Amaechi and Oshiomhole from attending the Ado-Ekiti rally is an indication of the Federal Government’s desperation.

“This is the first time I am hearing of governors going for a rally being stopped.

I can’t even recollect such a thing during the military era. Even Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo didn’t do such a thing,” Saraki said.

He added: “The heavy presence of military in Ekiti State was uncalled for. There was no state of emergency in Ekiti; it does not have a history of tendency for violence.

I was even told there were as many soldiers as voters in the state. It’s unnecessary and the law is clear on this. The law says that no armed security men should be at

‘A number of steps taken by the military in recent times are reminiscent of the dark days of the military dictatorship. For instance, Governors Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State were prevented from travelling to Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, to attend a political rally organised by their party, All Progressives Congress (APC), two days to the June 21 governorship election in that state’

any polling booth, which means they are to just patrol the streets.

“Democracy is definitely in danger, let’s be honest. What we are saying is, allow people to go and vote. By bringing this level of force, you are intimidating the voters, and by that they cannot express their rights as individuals. To me, it’s not good for the democracy.”

Youth activist Malam Danyaro observed that the Goodluck Jonathan-led Administration was steadily descending into despotism, with a brazen assault on the freedom of expression and the press and the use of national institutions against perceived enemies.

Danyaro is of the view that if the President is not prevailed upon to change course, Nigeria may be in for another season of anomie, reminiscent of the days of the maximum ruler who took the country to the brink before his sudden demise.

He said the way President Jonathan was handling his political disagreement with the members of the opposition party had portrayed him as a leader who was willing to jettison democratic ideals and principles on the altar of personal ambition. He wondered why national institutions had to be bastardised and compromised just to get at a political enemy.

But an official in the Presidency who spoke on condition of anonymity dismissed the allegation that President Jonathan was descending into despotism. Rather, he said under his watch, Nigeria’s democracy has been consolidated; the scope of human freedoms has been further expanded and there is respect for due process and the rule of law. Ordinary Nigerians appreciate the fact they have a President who is humane, disciplined and focused, he remarked.

He said: “The paradox is that those who do not allow freedom and equality in their own party or backyard, those who are well known as self-proclaimed godfathers and closet despots are the same ones who are accusing others of despotism. The opposition party and their sympathisers should start by removing the log in their eyes.

President Jonathan is not a despot.”

Ogundeji also expressed concern at the growing propensity of the Jonathan administration to stifle the freedom of Nigerians.

He cited the report by a Geneva, Switzerland-based media rights group, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) as a testimony to the worsening situation of human rights in the country.

According to the CPJ, Nigeria has become one of the worst countries for deadly, unpunished violence against the press.

Nigeria and Somalia are also the only African nations listed on the CPJ’s 2013 impunity ranking. Yet, the government has not relented in its attacks against the media. The report cited Gestapo-style arrest of Leadership newspaper’s correspondents; fines slammed on Liberty Radio in Kaduna over a listener’s opinion on the so-called Good Governance Tour; arrest of two journalists of the Kaduna-based Al-Mizan newspaper; and the ban on a documentary on poverty in Nigeria.

He also criticised the ferocity with which the Jonathan administration went after the former Minister of Education, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, for saying that President Jonathan frittered away the $67 billion foreign reserves which she said former President Olusegun Obasanjo left behind in 2007; and the fate that befell the spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Yushau Shuaib, for daring to criticise the lopsided appointments in parastatals under the Ministry of Finance. These are glaring actions of an administration that is bent on stifling freedom of expression, he said.

Ogundeji said in a different clime, the level of repression being witnessed under Jonathan was enough ground for his impeachment. He urged civil society groups and other patriotic Nigerians, especially members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), not to sit on the fence when democracy is being desecrated.

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THE NATION FRIDAY JULY 4, 2014

POLITICS Masheni Johnson is a House of Representatives aspirant in the UghelliUdu Constituency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In this interview with MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE, he reflects on the plight of Urhobo in Delta State and their quest for a sense of belonging.

‘Enugu North should produce next governor’

‘I want to be Urhobo voice in National Assembly’

Former House of Representatives member Hon. U.S.A Igwesi, in this interview with MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE, speaks on the marginalisation of the Southeast and the zoning of the governorship to Enugu North Senatorial District .

H

OW long have you been participating in the affairs of the constituency?

I have been participating in the constituency politics since 1999. So, I am old in Delta politics. But I am only just coming out to contest for election.

Why are you going to the House of Representatives?

I am going there to be the voice of the Urhobo nation. I observe that after the death of Senator Pius Ewherido, the voice of Urhobo people have not been heard at the National Assembly. I am also going to the House of Representatives to see that I bring government close to my people. As at today, the government is very far from my people. I am going for the House of Representatives because having asked one or two questions without getting the right answers. I have probed into the activities of those representing us at the House, on what have they done and how its affect the lives of my people.

Coincidentally, I was having a meeting in Ughelli and I asked a simple question because that was when the National Assembly commissioned the constituency projects. I tried to find how many projects they have commissioned in the constituency. I discovered they have not really done much. So, the question that would come to mind will be what happened to the constituency allowance and what is it being used for?

Since there are other contestants in the APC, what is the assurance that you will get the ticket?

There are other contestants. In Delta politics, some people believe you cannot win election unless you have a lot of money. But over time, we have been able to build structures, and we have engaged our people on issues. Now, the orientation is changing; they are now aware that in the past they were used and dumped after collecting money. When they go to them to demand the dividend of democracy, they tell them that they have been settled.

Now my people are no longer looking for who will give them money and abandon them. They are looking for someone that they can send to the House as their messenger. So, I have presented myself to be their messenger and their voice. So, in the selection process and by the grace of God too, we are also consulting.

Don’t you think the PDP will use the power of incumbency against you in the election?

The power of incumbency will not count at this juncture. I must tell you that those who served one term in the

•Johnson

House do not always return. Ughellli North, Ughelli South and Udu Federal Constituency have never returned a sitting member of the House. From 1999 to the present moment, those who have served as in the constituency end up serving for only with one term. The record shows there has been no purposeful representation. When you are elected, you have to perform. As long as you did not perform, my people are ready to stop you. The power of incumbency to a large extent will not stop me.

Your party is always accused of imposition. If this plays out again and you fail to get its ticket, what will be your reaction?

Yes, there is this allegation that that our party imposes candidate on the people. We need to know again that this same APC also means well. When

‘The government has not done much in my constituency. The developments you can see on ground today are not commensurate with the resources that the state gets from Federal Govern-ment. We see this as a deliberate act to shortchange the people’

they imposed a candidate, they have their reason too. The candidate may have supported the party one way or the other. And the question I keep asking people is that is all the people that the APC imposed, are they not credible? I am not in support of imposition, because I am ready to go to battle it out in the primaries with anybody.

But when the issue of imposition arises, I will do all within my power to see that I participate.

What is the assurance that people at the grassroots will support you?

First and foremost, so many people have been urging us to come forward to participate in grassroots politics. But we have to accept the request at the appropriate time. So far, so good; we have been on ground. We have the Masheni Movement in the three local governments within the constituency.

This has become a household name.

We have been able to put that in the minds of the people. At the grassroots, we are on ground. As I speak today, I am the only House of Representatives aspirant in the constituency that has a formidable campaign organisation.

How has government fostered infrastructure development in your constituency?

The government has not done much in my constituency. The developments you can see on ground today are not commensurate with the resources that the state gets from Federal Government. We see this as a deliberate act to shortchange the people. My people have been in the opposition. They deliberately punish them because of their political affiliation. So, if you go to Udu, Ughelli North and South, there is no development. It is the only place you go to and see the least Okada rider that operate there is an OND holder.

Following the disagreement just before its convention, the APC still has some reconciliation to do within its ranks. What should the party do to bring everybody together?

In every election, the loser always comes up to cry foul; except what we have just witnessed in Ekiti, where someone will lose an election and would gladly have a warm handshake with the winner. My advice for the aggrieved parties is that they should see this as a sacrifice. They should see it as a way of moving the party forward. It is the real wish of the people that has prevailed. I also advise the new national chairman to harmonise the party. That someone is angry and wants to leave the party is uncalled for, if they tow this line, it means they are not democrats. As democrats, they should be prepared to win or fail.

• Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi (middle) with his Special Adviser on Security, Mr. Segun Abolarinwa (left) at the commemoration of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking held at the Western Hall, Parliament Building, Secretariat, Ibadan. With them is the Director of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mrs. Omolade Faboyede.

W

HAT are we expecting in Enugu politics next year?

The government has zoned the governorship to Enugu North. Enugu is standing on a tripod, which comprises Enugu East, West and North. These are the three senatorial zones in the state. Enugu East, where Chimaroke Nnamani and I come from, Enugu North, which has done eight years in government.

Governor Sullivan Chime, who would be completing his two terms of eight years in May 2015, is from Enugu West. So, by 2015, the governorship will be zoned to Enugu North, which has not produced a governor since the advent of the new political dispensation. The state party caucus has agreed on the formula. The governor and other prominent people from the state have agreed to keep faith with the arrangement by giving Enugu North the chance to produce the next governor of the state. However, there are dissenting voices, but they cannot stop the arrangement because it is well supported. Zoning is not written anywhere in our statute book, but we naturally agreed on work with the arrangement. If Enugu North presents the governor, it will be better for the state, for equity sake.

Governor Chime has done very well in the last seven and half years. He has transformed the state from what it used to be. Anybody who succeeds him should be able to do better. Since Chime intends to run for the Senate, where I believe he will do better, we should support him. He will run for the Senate where Senator Ike Ekweremadu is presently representing the constituency. I believe that Chime will do better. Ekweremadu has done three tenures.

If Ekweremadu does not return to the Senate, what next for him?

He can come home and watch from the ringside. Remember, I was at the National Assembly for some time and came back home, so there is nothing wrong in coming home to play local politics.

But, it appears that there is no agreement over the issue of zoning…

The governor wants everybody to come together to speak with one voice. Nobody likes trouble, if there is somebody who does not agree now, the next thing is trouble. They try to bring pandemonium and confusion. The governor has been trying his best to ensure that everything works well. At the national caucus level, when we met, he told everybody to come, so that we can reach agreement on how the next governorship will emerge. He said we should present one person because we still have other parties warming up for the same position. So, if we have problem in choosing a candidate now, it means we will have problem during the general election. You know, some people when they don’t like your face no matter what you do they will still not like your face.

Other parties will slug it out with the PDP during the election for the governorship. What does this division imply for your party?

As far as Enugu State is concerned, the only party on ground is the PDP. Our problem is not other parties, but PDP itself. Even if the people do not agree to zoning, the PDP will still rule Enugu because of what the governor has done. I was in government under Nnamani, we never had it so good like this. I was a participant and majority leader, so I saw everything and know to a larger extent the impact of Chime’s performance in the affairs of Enugu State. When Chime had health challenges, people wanted him to die, but to the glory of God, the man came out of it. We want him to present somebody to us because someone presented him and he performed. So, there is no other person that can present somebody other than Chime in Enugu State. He is the leader of the party in Enugu State and he has that prerogative.

What if the candidate presented is not acceptable?

We will tell him the person is not acceptable and he will give us another person. In fairness, he is not the only person that will take that decision.

Other key stakeholders would make input in the decision and the party generally will look at the viability of such candidate. So, people are now looking up to Enugu North to come up with one candidate that would be acceptable.

The Southeast has fully thrown its weight behind President Goodluck Jonathan’s 2015 bid.

What informed your position?

We are completely marginalised, even under the present administration. We have been marginalised in terms of democracy dividend and other things. To be honest to you, we are the only region that has been so marginalised. Apart from the second Niger Bridge, we cannot really point to concrete thing that the government has done for the Southeast. It is only the Southeast that we have five states, others have six. We have been asking God what is our offence. This is unfair, this is injustice, we are not really happy under this administration. The Southeast as a region do not speak with one voice. Our delegates at the National Conference do not have any • Igwesi serious agenda.

47

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4 2014

COMMENTARY

“L

AWS are like spider’s webs. If anything small falls into them, they ensnare it. But large things break through and escape. By Solon, Athenian statesman and poet, (638-559 B.C.)

Europeans who likened law to an ass may have generalised but not far from the truth after all. Laws generally are what human beings make them in the guise of interpretation. No law in any given society is naturally controversial. What brings about controversy is interpretation. All human laws, written or conventional, emanate from societal norms. Those norms only become laws when they are backed up by governing authorities.

In Islam, the body of the laws that govern the lives of Muslims is called Sharia. This constitutes what is known as Islamic law or culture. It is derived from four main sources which are: •Qur’an, the direct words of Allah revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) through the Arch-Angel Jubril •Hadith, the divinely guided but personal expressions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), which give interpretations to the contents of the Qur’an.

•Ijma’, the consensus of opinions of the learned Muslim scholars which must conform to the first two sources above.

•Qiyas, a scholarly analogy deduced from the first three sources above.

These sources are in sequence of authority. Qur’an is the first and foremost among them. No other source can supersede or equal the contents of the Qur’an. If any other source contradicts the Qur’an, that source automatically becomes null and void.

Because the Qur’an was revealed in coded language, the need to decode it for the purpose of understanding necessitated the adoption of Hadith as the second source of Islamic law. No one was as competent to give accurate interpretation of the Qur’an as the Prophet who received its revelations from Allah through Arch-Angel Jibril. The Prophet himself acquired the knowledge of interpreting the Qur’an through informal interactions from Arch-Angel Jibril as well as the informal revelations he received while sleeping which are called ‘Hadith-ulQudsi’ The third source is the consensus of opinion of highly informed Muslim scholars (Ijma’) based on the provisions of the Qur’an and Sunnah. It came into being as a result of scholarly understanding of the first two sources by credible Muslim clerics. This source became necessary to harmonise Islamic jurisprudence even if environments and circumstances would still leave room for variations in language and presentations.

The fourth and last source is analogical deduction (Qiyas) which arose from peculiar situations in which clerics might find themselves at certain times and in certain places. This source allows for logical deductions that could be made from the first three sources without contradicting any.

In sequence of authority, therefore, it becomes clear that only in the absence of Qur’anic provision can Hadith become the supreme legal authority in Islam. And, neither ‘Ijma’ nor ‘Qiyas’ can become point of reference where the Qur’an and Hadith are available. (Hadith is the collection of the divinely guided utterances of Prophet Muhammad while Sunnah is his exemplary conducts.)

Classification of Shari‘Ah

Like any other law, Shari‘ah is classifiable into civil and criminal aspects. As relevant here, adultery is within the criminal aspect of Sharia. In Islam, it is a crime which incurs a severe sanction. And the sanction is clearly prescribed in Qur’an 4 verse 2 as follows: “The woman and the man who are guilty of adultery, give each of them one hundred lashes of the cane. Let no compassion in their case prevent you from obedience to Allah, if you truly believe in Allah and the last day; and let their punishment be witnessed by a number of believers”.

The above quoted verse is Allah’s prescribed punishment for adulterers and adulteresses as well as for fornicators (male and female). In Arabic language, there is no distinction between an adulterer and a fornicator. The word for illegitimate sexual intercourse generally is ‘zina’ which is a crime in Islam. An adulterer is called ‘zani’ while an adulteress is called ‘zaniyah’. And those are the precise words used for the two respectively in the Qur’an. The two words are equally used for fornicators.

FEMI ABBAS ON femabbas756@gmail.com 08115708536

Stoning to death As is general with all laws, the interpretation of this verse of the Qur’an varies from scholar to scholar and from school of thought to school of thought. While some scholars believe that the quoted verse refers to unmarried people others contend that since the word zina applies to both fornication and adultery, the verse must be in reference to the two categories of people (married and unmarried).

Proof of law

As for stoning, no specific chapter or verse of the Qur’an can be cited as evidence for its application. In other words, the Qur’an is not categorical on stoning as punishment for adulterers and adulteresses as it is in prescribing flogging. But this does not mean that stoning, though controversial, may not be a punishment for illegal sex in Islam. Islamic law, as mentioned earlier, is a combination of sources. And we had been warned

by Allah that: “It is not for true believers, male or female, to have a choice (but to abide) when Allah and His Apostle decree on an issue. Whoever disobeys Allah and His Apostle has strayed far indeed”. (Q. 33, verse 36.)

There are many narrated versions of how and when stoning as punishment for adulterers and adulteresses became a law.

All the available evidences advanced in favour of this law are based on Hadith and Sunnah. But when did the Prophet’s expression or action authorise stoning vis a vis the Qur’anic revelation on flogging quoted above?

Was it before or after the revelation? If it was after, could the Prophet have given a verdict that would contradict the contents of the Qur’an? If it was before, shouldn’t such Hadith or Sunnah be superseded by the Qur’anic revelation that came after it?

Yet, there is the issue of homosexuality and lesbianism and the punishment prescribed for them by the Qur’an and Sunnah.

With good knowledge of Islam and thorough understanding of Islamic jurisprudence, the issue of stoning as punishment for adulterers should not, ordinarily, generate any controversy. The position of the Qur’an on this issue, as revealed by Allah, is very clear. What brought controversy into it is the interpretation of that revelation as attributed to several Hadith relayed in various versions.

Given the antecedence of the record of Hadith, any informed Muslim must be careful in using Hadith against the contents of the Qur’an especially as a legal code in Islam. Statutorily, Hadith is meant to complement the Qur’an and not vice versa. Where the former seems to conflict with the latter, the Qur’an prevails.

If any of these two major sources of Islamic law was ever controversial it could only have been the Hadith and not the Qur’an.

And, it was for this reason that Hadith was subjected to such serious scrutiny that led to scholastic separation of the wheat from the chaff in what came to be known as science of Hadith.

Documentation of Hadith

It must be remembered that the official compilation and documentation of Hadith did not take place until several decades after the demise of Prophet Muhammad. And what led to that exercise by great scholars like Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Maja, Abu Daud, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nisai and a host of others was the rampant fabrication of statements attributed to the Prophet by some mischievous elements.

Unlike the Qur’anic revelations which were promptly documented officially as in-

structed by the Prophet himself, Hadith and Sunnah were not authorised for documentation by the Prophet. His (Prophet’s) position was that such documentation could lead to a conflict of Hadith with the contents of the Qur’an and therefore cause confusion among the Muslims. That fear was never fully allayed after all, despite the efforts of the mentioned scholars. And, today, we still have thousands of Hadith classified as ‘weak’, ‘unauthorised’ and ‘rejected’. Yet, they bear no names other than Hadith.

In such a melee, it will be foolhardy to depend exclusively on Hadith in giving a verdict as fundamental as stoning to death especially when the Qur’an is silent on it.

Though I am not a Mufti, I personally believe that if Allah had intended stoning as penalty for adultery, He wouldn’t have left its pronouncement to the Prophet since He (Allah) was categorical in respect of flogging for adulterers.

Categories of adultery

In Islam, adultery is not limited to married men and women alone. The acts of homosexuality (i.e. man to man sex) as well as lesbianism (i.e. woman to woman sex) are equally treated as adultery. And this is where the logic of stoning becomes questionable. It is through the Qur’an that we came to know of a whole city of the people of Prophet Lut (Lot) which Allah wiped out for committing homosexuality otherwise called ‘sodomy’. The Qur’an does not tell us of a similar punishment meted out to any group of adulterers in history. Yet, homosexuals and lesbians are still given the opportunity to repent with a promise of Allah’s forgiveness.

This is how the Qur’an put it: “Against those of your women who commit adultery (lesbianism), call witnesses, four in number, from among yourselves; and if they bear witness, then keep the women in confinement until death release them or Allah shall make for them a way out of it. And if two (men) of you commit it (homosexuality), then punish them both; but if they repent and show remorse, leave them alone. Verily, Allah is forgiving, compassionate. Q. 4:1516.

Fabricated Hadith

Many versions of Hadith were relayed in respect of stoning. One of them was that a married woman once reported herself to the Prophet confessing adultery. The Prophet pretended not to hear until the woman repeated herself three times, saying she had become pregnant as a result.

The Prophet thereafter asked her to come and repeat the confession after delivery. It was thought that the woman would never come back having known the implication.

But surprisingly, she came back after delivery and repeated the same confession three times.

There and then, the Prophet was said to have ordered some of his disciples present to pelt her with stone. This act was carried out as the woman took to her heels. When those disciples returned to inform the Prophet that they had stoned the woman to death, he was alarmed and scolded them for carrying out such a dastardly act saying he did not send them to kill her.

One would wonder why the Prophet who was so compassionate and cautious about anything life would rush to give such a verdict without investigating the matter conclusively. For instance, nothing in the referred Hadith tells us anything concerning the woman’s sexual partner (i.e. the man who impregnated her) before the judgment was allegedly given. That is not the exemplary Prophet described by Allah in

the Qur’an thus: “you have a good example in Allah’s Apostle for anyone who looks to Allah and the last day and remembers Allah always” (Q. 33: 21).

Relevant questions

Some questions can be raised in respect of the process of applying the penalty for adultery. Some of the questions are as follows: when can a man or a woman be pronounced an adulterer or adulteress? How can such a person be tried? Who should pass judgment on him or her?

To ascertain that a man or a woman has committed adultery, there must be convincing evidence. One such evidence is for the married woman to be pregnant outside the wedlock. Another is for the woman or the man to voluntarily confess to adultery.

However, the sexual partner must also voluntarily admit that adultery was actually committed between both of them. The third is for other people to prove catching them in action. Anybody who came up with such allegation without proof must bring four male witnesses or eight female witnesses. Each of the witnesses must have seen the accused duo in action. This means they must have all seen the physical insertion of the male organ into the female organ. And they must be made to swear to on oath that they actually saw the act. This is to avoid any possibility of conspiracy.

Anything less than that should be considered mere suspicion which cannot warrant any penalty because adultery is not committed in the open.

If, through open evidence (like pregnancy outside wedlock) or voluntary self-confession by both sexual partners, a man or a woman is found guilty of adultery, the next step is prosecution in a Shari‘ah court. In the absence of an official Shari‘ah court the accused person should be tried by a judicial committee of a Mosque headed by a Mufti.

Such an accused person must have at tained puberty, he or she must be sane and the act must have been committed with his or consent.

In the case of the woman becoming pregnant, the court or the Mosque must allow her to deliver the child before any judgment is executed.

And if she alleges rape, she is automatically free if her claim is found to be true.

But the best is to defer the judgment till after delivery to avoid any psychological complication that may affect the child in her womb. Such deferment will also allow for thorough investigation before judgment is given.

As for the male partner, the penalty may be carried out as soon as the judgment is delivered, if enough evidence is established against him.

That penalty as prescribed in the Qur’an is flogging which should be done publicly and witnessed by members of the community in order to serve as a deterrent to others.

However, banishment from the community for one year after flogging may be waived, according to Imam Hanafi, if the culprit repents sincerely and promises never to repeat the crime, depending on the discretion of the judge or the Mufti.

Essence of punishment

The essence of any punishment in Islam is to enable people repent and desist from evil deeds. But what is amazing about the application of Islamic punishment for adultery is that only the lowly people in the society are caught and punished for it even when it is obvious that adultery is more rampant among the makers and shakers of the society especially the law givers.

Why is it that no single highly placed person has ever been caught and punished for adultery either in Nigeria or elsewhere?

Besides ‘shirk’ (associating something with Allah), no act is more annoying to Allah than miscarriage of justice, especially against the helpless people. Adultery is a very grievous crime in Islam and no true Muslim will solicit for adulterers or adulteresses. But, in applying the law against this monstrous crime, due process must be followed without any discrimination. Justice is the hallmark of Islam.

Let those who administer justice fear Allah. Like many other Hadith fabricated and credited to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) for authenticity, the commonly quoted Hadith about stoning sounds very much fabricated because it contradicts logic and misrepresents the just personality of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

48

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

SOCIETY Former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has been honoured by The Companion, an association of Muslim Men in Business and the Professions, for his contributions to the nation. The ceremony was held during a National discourse organised by the organisation at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) main auditorium last Sunday, reports OLATUNDE ODEBIYI.

T

HOUGH small in stature, he makes up for that with his oration. When former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Mallam Nasir El-Rufai talks, people listen. It was not difficult when he spoke at an event

by The Companion, an association of Muslim Men in Business and the Profession.

The lecture was one of the threelegged event. The others were award and prayer for the nation.

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) main auditorium venue of the event was filled with Muslim men and women, sitting in opposite sides. The hall decorated in green and white. It bubbled with life as guests streamed in.

El-Rufai’s arrival caused a stir.

Many stretched their necks to catch a glimpse of the diminutive figure.

Those on the high table rose to shake him.

El-Rufai spoke on, “Corruption and the challenge of good governance”.

After his lecture, he was given an award for his contribution to the society. Secretary-General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) Prof Ishaq Oloyede presented the plaque to him.

Dr Aliyu Badmos said the opening prayer.

Welcoming guests, The Companion's National Amir, Alhaji Musibau Oyefeso, said nothing seems to be working in Nigeria adding that it appears there is little hope in future because other nations which attained independence at about the same time as Nigeria are ahead in all indices of development.

Oyefeso said corruption is spreading from public to private sector even to religious and traditional institutions.

"In spite of our enormous wealth including the potentials from the huge endowment of our rich natural resources, it is a pity that Nigeria still remains among the top 20 of the poorest countries in the world," he said.

Chairman on the occasion Otunba Lateef Owoyemi said, corruption bred insecurity, massive unemployment, Boko Haram, oil pilfering, unsolved murders, and do-or-die elections.

“Until every Nigerian is ready to deal with corruption, the country may not be free from it,” he said.

El-Rufai who took to the podium after the reading of his citation, said corruption was the major factor hindering good governance.

"If we must have good governance in Nigeria, there must be provision of infrastructure,

For a corrupt-free nation

•Otunba Owoyemi

•El-Rufai (left) receiving award from Prof Oloyede

•Alhaji Wale Sonaike

•Prof Ishaq Akintola (left) and Dr Banire

education, health and electricity to mention a few.

"Where there is corruption, investors will be discouraged from coming into the country," he said.

There was laughter in the hall when he said: "We all want to get rich overnight doing nothing; we don't want to work hard but we want money, all of these are the traces of a corrupt country and Nigeria is one of them".

During the discussions session, All Progressives Congress (APC) National Legal Adviser, Dr Muiz Banire said good governance begins from nomination of good

•Alhaji Oyefeso (left) and Unilag Vice Chancellor Prof Rahamon Bello

candidates by parties, the masses voting for that person and ensuring credible, free and fair elections.

"Corruption is not peculiar to our leadership alone, it is all over, even in our homes and companies. If we truly want to curb corruption in Nigeria, we have to start with ourselves," he said.

To Comrade Debo Adeniran, another discussant, corruption is any act of dishonesty.

"When you do things in favour of yourself, you are already involved in corruption and any society moving with corruption cannot have good governance," he said.

WEDDING

•A staff member of Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, Mr Fuad Odunewu with his wife former Miss Hafisat Taiwo Braimah during their Nikah at Alausa Secretariat Central Mosque Multipurpose Hall, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos

•Alhaji Rasak Jaiyeola (left) and Ahmed Ighali PHOTOS: ISAAC JIMOH AYODELE

MARRIAGE

•Micheal Ehizibue and his wife, former Miss Adedamola Akanni during their wedding at the Civic Center, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

49

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

SOCIETY

The burial of Madam Abosede Talabi who died at the age of 88 on 9th April, 2014 took place 14th June in Idoko Quarters, Okun Owa, Ijebu, Ogun State. The commendation service was held at St. Barnabas Anglican Church, Okun Owa. Among the children is Pastor Adewale Talabi, National Vice President of Institute of Business Development.

Glorious transit •From left: Adegboyega Talabi, his wife Oyinlola; Mrs Adebimpe Talabi and her husband, Adewale Talabi

•From right: Pastor David Omunagbe (Pastor-In-Charge, RCCG, Lagos Province 17) with his wife, Christiana

•From left: Pastor Nireti Oladapo; Wale Talabi; Wunmi Adetona; Femi Babalola; Kolade Adesiyan and Emmanuel Musa

•Pastor Tunde Orundami with his wife Olufunke

•Lekan Adejola (left) and Bosun Akintobi

•Pastor Veronica Oludele and Pastor Ezekiel Owoyemi

ONE YEAR FIDAU FOR ALHAJA MULIKAT OYEFESO AT GRA, IKEJA, LAGOS

•From right: Son of the deceased Alhaji Musbau Oyefeso; Mr Sakiru Oyefeso and Alhaji Hakeem Kosoko

• Dr Muiz Banire

•Hon Abiodun Mafe (left) and Alhaji Jubreel Abdulkareem

•Hon Ismail Bello

•From left: Mr Olufemi Okenle; Alhaji Wale Sonaike and Mr Olufemi Bakre

•From left: Alhaja Fatimah Oyefeso; Alhaja Rasida Ajala and Alhaja Bushurat Ojo

PHOTOS: BIODUN ADEYEWA

50

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

SOCIETY An Islamic shop, Baytuzzeenah, owned by a former banker, Hajia Saidat Otiti, has re-opened its Lekki branch on another street.

TAJUDEEN ADEBANJO was at the ceremony.

Showcasing the beauty of Islam

COMMUNICATE YOUR IDEAS Public Speaking Icon (5)

“I

F I have seen a little further, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” This quote is credited to a man who made his mark in the world as a physicist, mathematician, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, philosopher and inventor. He is generally considered the most influential scienAMODU LANRE OLAOLU tist in history. This great man is (Ph.D) sospeak2lanre@yahoo.com. none other than Isaac Newton, 07034737394 the man who discovered the @lanreamodu Law of Gravity. When we learn from great public speakers, we benefit from their experiences and avoid their mistakes. In 2013, we benefited from the experiences of four great public speakers: Professor Idowu Sobowale, Professor Charles Ogbulogo, Mr. Olatunde Samson and Mr. Alfred Olomukoro. It is my pleasure to bring you the next speaker in the series of Public Speaking Icons and he is Dr. Olumuyiwa Oludayo.

•Hajia Otiti (left) with Mrs Hairat Balogun at the ceremony

L

EKKI residents have got a new neighbour, coming in last Sunday with 13 years of exquisite taste.

But, Baytuzzeenah is not all that new in Lekki. It was there all the while until it took a break because of the LekkiEpe Expressway’s renovation and its massive traffic.

Now, the one-stop Islamic shop is back for good.

The shop stocks trendy wares, uncommon decors, specially-made phones with multiple Islamic applications, including audio and video lectures, An-Nashid (rhymes) and many more.

Many Muslims shelved some of their programmes to attend the opening of the ‘returnee’ branch.

On Saturday, the Mufti (Grand Sheikh) of the Conference of Islamic Organisations (CIO), Sheikh Dhikrullahi Shafi'i led others to pray for a successful outing.

By the time The Nation got there, Baytuzzeenah Chief Executive Officer Hajia Saidat Otiti and some of her workers were hanging some of the wares, espcially clothings on their stands. The place had barely been opened when people started trickling in, in ones, twos and threes. In no time, the shop was filled up.

A cheerful Hajia Otiti took time to attend to their needs.

Christian customers were not left out.

Alhaja Teslimat Akinwande, former TutorGeneral, Education District VI in the Lagos State Ministry of Education, came all the way from Ogba in Ikeja with a friend.

"What are you doing here Ma?" The Nation asked her.

"I am here because of the interest I have in the owner of the shop and the products. Our relationship dates back 20 years," Alhaja Akinwande said.

She went on: "Baytuzzeenah has really exposed people to the knowledge of Islam and serve several purposes with varieties of goods, especially for people who do not visit common markets to shop for their wares; Baytuzzeenah has filled that space due to its quality taste."

Ambassador Hamzat Ahmadu described the shop’s return to Lekki as

•Amb Ahmadu (left) and Mr Shakiru Abiodun

• Dipo Mumuney and Alhaja Akinwande

•Television presenter Hajia Aminah Muhammad (left) and Alhaja Idayat Memuney PHOTOS: ADEJO DAVID

good.

He said he attends Baytuzzeenah’s functions because he is sure to get books

to read.

"Whatever book you want, you will get it here. It is a good decision to have an out-

let in Lekki. I like reading, so coming to buy books here is something I treasure," Ambassador Ahmadu said.

Ms Khadijah Ilavbare, a lawyer, discovered the place through a friend while looking for quality Islamic books on diverse subjects.

"Since then, I have been shopping with Baytuzzeenah for over nine years now.

When you talk about authentic materials, this outlet is the right place," she said.

Ms Ilavbare described Hajia Otiti as a focused businessminded person, who always strives to achieve her goals.

Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Terminal Public Relations Officer Mrs Shakirat AbdulMajeed described the shop as a place to get quality Islamic materials.

"Anything you buy here is original," she said.

Hajia Otiti described Lekki “as a major hub of our clientele”.

"We have our target markets here, so we decided to come back," she said.

She said the outlet objective is to showcase the beauty of Islam.

The former banker said Baytuzzeenah offers modesty with style.

"Baytuzzeenah is set up to cater for a niche market and promotes Islamic culture," Hajia Otiti said.

Dr. Olumuyiwa Oludayo Dr. Olumuyiwa Oludayo is the Registrar of Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. He is a 2006 graduate of the University, with several pioneer achievements to his credit. Dr. Oludayo was the pioneer Student Council Chairman and the first alumnus to become the Dean of Students and Registrar in Covenant University. He obtained his B.Sc, M.Sc and Ph.D degrees in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management.

He is also the pioneer resource person for the Public Speaking Vocational Training in Covenant University, under the auspices of Entrepreneurial Development Studies. He has very valuable perspectives on public speaking; do enjoy the interview.

Interest in Public Speaking It all started when I was a teenager. I was given an opportunity to introduce the church choir. I was asked to introduce the four songs that the choir would be presenting and to speak a little about each song. So, I did the introduction. We had not even sung, but everyone stood to give a round of applause.

That feedback was very instructive and it resonated within me that maybe I could do well speaking. Therefore, I took it up as a challenge. Whenever there was an opportunity to stand and say a few words, I tried to do it well.

It was at that time I started watching people who were great speakers. I started listening to people who inspired a great crowd- a large audience- and I started following them. I concluded that if they could speak to millions of people and the people kept coming back, then the way they spoke mattered. I also have great role models like Peter Daniels, John Maxwell, Brian Tracy, Pastor Adeboye, Bishop Oyedepo and Pastor Chris Oyakilome, to mention a few. These are the people I listen to and I try to follow some of the key patterns of their delivery.

Stage Fright I had stage fright at some points. When I came to school in Covenant University, I was asked one day to make a presentation, but I ran into the midst of the crowd until I was found out. I was asked to lead prayer for seven minutes but for three minutes, I was only charging up the audience. I kept shouting and revving the crowd without fixing my eyes on the goal. After three minutes of saying jump, shout, tap someone and say God is good, my attention was called back to what I was supposed to be doing. The reason was that I didn’t know what I would be saying for five minutes.

Over time, I got to stabilize, but I still had that fright and concern about saying the right things. I was too conscious of the feedback from the audience. However, it also affected me positively because it meant I had to prepare very well. So, I started taking time out for preparation, rehearsals, personal reflections and simulations by standing before the mirror to deliver my speech. I do a lot of vote of thanks and welcome remarks, so I rehearse and watch youtube videos to see how to give a good self introduction or a good introduction of people on the high table, how to give a very wonderful welcome remark and how to make a good closing remarks or vote of thanks.

I overcame nervousness through preparation and proper planning.

Over time, I started seeing the audience as one person; I started focusing on one person and to change a life. Hence, when I had the opportunity in 2006 to stand on the podium at Faith Tabernacle during Covenant University’s first convocation to give a remark on behalf of the set that was graduating, it was amazing. The Faith Tabernacle is reputed to be the largest church auditorium in the world and so many people were seated. That was a great outing that positively launched me into many other opportunities as the years go by.

Valuable lessons One of the valuable lessons I have learnt in public speaking is that when we speak, we say a few things, but it is what the listeners say to themselves that really matters. So, as a communicator, I tell myself, “speak to the extent that what you intend to say and what you eventually say are the things that the person at the other end will say to himself/herself”.

The second valuable lesson is that I know it is not what I say but what people hear that matters. I may make a personal bold statement and someone perceives me as being arrogant. My words count, so I’ve got to be careful that my intended meaning is my perceived meaning. That is, what you intend to pass across as a message should be what is perceived ultimately as the message; ensure that distortions are removed.

Dr. Amodu teaches at the Department of Mass Communication, Covenant University, Ogun State.

51

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

SOCIETY

A special Fidau has been held for Alhaja Sidiqat Adedayo, mother of a business tycoon and Arowoshadini of Nigeria, Alhaja Muinat Shopeyin-Akande, at Beko Kuti Recreation Centre on Anthony Village, Lagos. OLATUNDE ODEBIYI reports.

•From right: Alhaja Shopeyin-Akande; Alhaja Mujibat Atobajemi and Alhaja Ajarat Abeo

•From left: Mrs Gborigi; Azeezat Ayodeji and Alhaja Riskat Ajose

Exit of a sweet mother F

AMILY members, friends and well wishers came in their numbers to sympathise with the children of the late Alhaja Sidiqat Adedayo.

Alhaja Adedayo, the mother of a business tycoon and Arowoshadini of Nigeria, Alhaja Muinat ShopeyinAkande, died last month.

She was 88.

Many were at her house in Anthony Village in Lagos to mourn her departure before the Fidau (Prayer for deceased) in her honour last Thursday. Her home was a beehive of activities that day.

Islamic clerics from many associations within and outside Lagos were there. Despite the down pour, guests still turned out in their numbers.

LASTMA officials had a hectic time controlling vehicles around the venue. Itinerant drummers made brisk business as they drummed and sang the praises of guests on entry.

For traders in the area, it was a money-making day. Beggars made their way to the venue and got some assistance from guests.

Many of the guests were dressed in choice traditional attires and most of the women had net Hijab on their head gears. A few of the women were on uniformed pink lace. They all sat under the tent.

The event was anchored by a senior lecturer at the Lagos State University (LASU), Dr Ahmad Rufai Saeed. He was assisted by the Rector, College of Islamic Affairs, Dabiri

•Senator Ganiyu Olarenwaju Solomon (right) and Television presenter Alhaji Tajudeen Uzamot of Talmot Communication Ltd

•From right: Chief Ayo Akande; Murhi International Television (Mitv) chairman Alhaji Muritala Gbadeyanka and Al-Hujaaj chairman Alhaji Jelili Animashaun

Boonyamin, and a presenter in NTA Lagos, Aliu Gbodofu.

Imam Abdul Bariy Saba said the opening prayer and guests were introduced. Ustaz Abdul Karim recited from the Holy Quran following which the Chief Missioner NASFAT worldwide, Sheikh Abdullahi Akinbode, started the programme. Other Islamic clerics said prayers.

Portions of the Quran were recited by the Chief Missioner, Lagos Central Mosque Alhaji Mujitaba Giwa.

The first lecturer, Sheikh Jubril Ramadan spoke on “Preparedness towards Akhirah”.

He urged the gathering to avoid any form of distraction when studding the Quran.

He said death is something that will happen to everyone and urged the people to live a good life, adding that God has a good plan for all.

The second lecturer, Sheikh Muhydeen Bello, spoke on: The scenario of the grave.

He described the death of Alhaja Adebayo as “a painful loss that affected all of us.

“Even though she lived to an old age, we did not want her to go but she has gone. Nobody wants to die but the truth is that we will all die someday”.

He urged the people to use the

•Alhaji Sofiyullahi Kamaldeen (left) and Ansar-Ud-Deen Chief Missioner Sheikh AbdurRahman Ahmad PHOTOS: SOLOMON ADEOLA

gathering to reflect on what would be said of them when they are no more.

“It is time for you to check yourselves and amend your ways,” he said.

He wondered why a Fidau should be held like a wedding event where everyone wine and dine and all the women wore flying head gears, saying: “We are playing, gisting and whispering into the ears of our neighbours instead of paying attention for prayers because we are in the presence of God,” he said.

“Correct your errors today so that your tomorrow will be better, do you disrespect God? Do you have wisdom? Why are our ladies wearing cloths that are showing all the shape of their bodies and our Alfa’s cannot correct them? These are questions we need to provide answers to,” Sheikh Bello said.

Facing the clerics on ground, the firebrand preacher said: “This is your duty; it is your responsibility to tell the girls that their manner of dressing is wrong, you are not doing what you are expected to do, you have the authority to tell them that what they are wearing is wrong but you do not, God has given you the power but you are not using it. Let us all fear God.” The cleric later said prayers and

BURIAL

•Olu of Agege Oba Kamila Isiba flanked by his wife Olori Kehinde and Hon Bolaji Ajimotokan during the burial of the mother of the monarch, Alhaja Subedat Isiba in Lagos

some other Islamic clerics also did.

Collection of blessings/ Khutbah followed and Alhaja ShopeyinAkande thanked all for honouring her.

The event continued with a reception at the same venue, where guests were entertained with choice food and wines.

Kas Ventures, led by Kazeem Quadri, was on the stage. Layiwola Itinerant band was also there.

One of the children of the diseased, Mrs Atinuke Gborigi, a business woman, described her mother as “sweet, real, kind and loving. I like

everything about my mum, she was just too nice and she lived a successful and fulfilled life”.

Alhaja Shopeyin-Akande said her mum was a good mother and a worshipper that brought up her children in the way of God. She described her as a faithful Muslim that taught her children the Islamic religion and western education.

“My mother was my friend and I will miss her for so many things things, including her good advice and her teachings on the way to go about life. There is no one like my mother,” she said.

ANNIVERSARY

•From left: President of Like Mind Group (LMG), Mr Oludayo Ojewole; the Awowo of Awowoland, Ogun State, Oba Abdul Gafar Olasunkanmi Tijani and Pa John Abiodun Sanyaolu during the LMG 1st anniversary in Sango Ota Ogun State.

52

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

53

BUSINESS EXTRA NSE to delist two CITN seeks 15 years jail term for tax insurance firms soon defaulters, others T T HE President, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Mac Anthony Dike has, recommended 15 years jail term for tax defaulters and corrupt public figures that fail to apply such monies for the provision of goods and services.

Dike, who spoke yesterday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital during the opening ceremony of the joint district societies’ meeting of CITN, said the Federal Government should develop zero tolerance for corruption.

He said: “Those who embezle government revenue and fail to apply the tax payers’ money to providing goods and services should be rounded up, summarily tried and sentenced to not less than 15 years imprisonment.

“Why should government be co-habiting with people who have not shown evidence that they have paid tax, but are rather more interested in coming to consume or steal that which other people have contributed? he queried.

“People say there must be tax clearance certificates for those

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

who want to vie for offices. It is not enough to just pay tax, but are they paying adequate tax. Why should people be opposing tax payment? Why should people use the instrumentality of the law to circumvent proper conduct in a civilised society?

He said corruption by government officials is inhibiting people from paying taxes.

They will say that people who make away with government money will not encourage citizens to pay taxes, he added.

He said there should be no cover for those who are trying to circumvent the law to avoid compliance, adding that people should be of good conduct.

“They must know that we live in a society. People came together to say that there has to be a government that will aggregate the collective interest of the people because everybody cannot provide something they need all by themselves. Otherwise, there will be

crisis if everybody has to provide his own infrastructure.

“People should empower the government by paying their taxes and when the people do so, the government must deliver.

He explained that when you pay tax, there is a promissory note from the government that it is going to deliver public goods and service. These things must go round because they cannot be provided at the same time. So people should be patient. When people see it working, they should be patient and they will be encouraged to pay more.”

Speaking on the insecurity in parts of the country, he said: “Security concern brings about disruption in economic activities. You cannot talk of tax collection or tax administration in an area where there is insecurity. Certainly, once the economic activity is not there and income is not generated, even the tax offices are virtually closed because everybody is afraid for his life.”

Declaring the meeting open,

the state Finance Commissioner, Alhaji Ademola Banu hailed the role CITN has been playing in supporting governments at all levels to enhance their internally generated revenue (IGR).

Banu said: “There has been a consistent decline in the revenue generated from crude oil in the last six years. This has grossly affected the receipt from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) by all the arms of government.

“For us in Kwara State, the state government’s receipt from the Statutory Revenue Allocation (SRA) has reduced by almost 40 per cent. In view of this, the state government has continuously worked in collaboration with tax consultants to improve on our IGR. This has helped the state to sustain the tempo of ongoing development in different parts of the state.

He said: “I therefore, wish to challenge the institute to use this forum to come up with ideas and innovations that will assist the government at various levels in order to cushion the effect of the fall in the receipt of SRA by providing suggestions on how to enhance the IGR.”

•From left: Managing Director, Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria (PAN), Ibrahim Boyi; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga and Director-General, National Automotive Council (NAC), Aminu Jalal, during a press briefing on the PHOTO: SIMEON EBULU Nigeria Automotive Industrial Development Plan, in Lagos...yesterday.

Ogun pays N58m retirement benefits to defunct Gateway Hotels’ managers

O

GUN State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has approved the payment of N58.1 million outstanding retirement benefits owed managers of the three defunct Gateway Hotels in Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode and Ota. The trio were relieved of their appointments by the erstwhile Gbenga Daniel administration, in 2004.

A release signed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu, explained that the payment was sequel to an appeal made on behalf of the 34 workers by the Hotel and Personal Services

Senior Staff Association.

He said it was a fallout of an agreement reached with the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria in a meeting held on February 25, 2014 with representatives of the government, led by the Governor.

Olaniyonu explained that N2.5 million would be paid on a monthly basis until the benefits are fully paid.

He said: “The Trade Union Congress had at the recent meeting held with the Governor, appealed for the payment, as it will go a long way in relieving the hardship being faced by affected workers.”

He said the workers had, following the settlement/agreement reached with the government, withdrawn a suit filed at the Industrial Arbitration Panel.

The Daniel government after disengaging the managers, reneged in a 2006 agreement to pay the N2.5 million monthly till the outstanding balance of the terminal benefits were paid in full.

Olaniyonu said the Governor’s gesture is in line with his government’s welfarist policy which not only recognises the selfless services of the serving public officers, but also appreciates the untiring sacrifices of those

•Amosun

who served the state.

He said the Governor was pained that some of the workers had died while awaiting their terminal benefits.

Poor infrastructure poses problems for private investors in agric

P

OOR infrastructure is posing problems for interested private investors in the agric sector.

The Programme Coordinator, Farmers Development Union (FADU), Victor Olowe, who stated this, said lack of infrastructure is limiting agribusiness growth , especially through uncertainty and high transactions costs.

Olowe, cited the cost of elec-

By Daniel Essiet

tricity, the quality of the interior road network and the inadequate storage silos for cereals as major constraints affecting the industry.

According to him, road and port infrastructure, have not been sufficiently developed to allow for the shipment of fresh produce by air, and bulky produce by sea.

He explained that lack of adequate roads and electricity have continued to raise transaction costs of marketing the commodities and limit growth in the value chains in the markets.

Generally, he said the transactions costs are reducing the competitiveness of farm produce, urging that transport costs and reliability of electricity must be addressed to allow producers and processors to

take advantage of market opportunities.

He urged the government to accept the responsibility of providing adequate infrastructure, particularly transportation and power.

By prioritising investments in selected value chains, Olowe urged the government to focus public investments on key constraints impeding efficiency.

WO insurance companies are currently in the delisting process of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) owing to noncompliance of NSE rules and regulations on filing of financial accounts, it’s Director-General, Oscar Onyema has said.

Onyema represented by NSE’s Head, Legal and Regulation Division, Tinuade Awe spoke yesterday while speaking on “Performance of Listed Insurance Companies: Expectations of The Nigerian Stock Exchange” at an interactive session with Shareholders Associations of Quoted Insurance Companies organised by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

He also said out of the 29 listed insurance companies, only eight representing 27.6 per cent has filed audited financials for last year.

He added that only one company, which represents just three per cent of the companies, filed its report on time.

He however stated that with the issue of adoption of the International Financial Report-

By Omobola Tolu-Kusimo

ing Standard (IFRS) on the table, it is expected that insurance companies will face lesser challenges in the preparation and submission of their accounts as at when due.

Onyema said the insurance sector has the negative distinction of usually having a majority of its members filing in default, even before IFRS adoption while the discharge of continuous disclosure obligations is very discouraging.

He said: “There is also a noticeable knowledge and skill gap in the industry, lack of sufficiently deep actuarial know how in the country to conduct actuary valuation aspects of the financial statements, limited shareholder engagement. Tax regime is also not encouraging.”

On the way forward, he said insurance companies need to be mindful of filing calendars especially that of the NSE which is more stringent than other regulators and plan their financial reporting process with the filing dates in mind.

54

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 03-07-14

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 03-07-14

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

55

EQUITIES

Equities record modest recovery as investors scramble for FBN Holdings N IGERIAN equities started a modest bullish run yesterday as investors focused on leading banking stocks in a cautious repositioning for second quarter earnings.

Average day-on-day return at the stock market was moderate at 0.18 per cent but turnover was above average with the exchange of 570.82 million shares valued at N8.36 billion in 5227 deals.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) inched up by N25 billion to N14.095 trillion as against its

Stories by Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

opening value of N14.070 trillion. The composite index, the All Share Index (ASI), which tracks prices of all quoted equities rose to 42,686.86 points as against its opening index of 42,609.75 points. The modest gain nudged aggregate year-to-date return to 3.29 per cent.

With 34 losers to 23 gainers, the timid market rally was driven largely by gains recorded by highly capitalised stocks, especially leading stocks in the building mate-

rials and manufacturing sectors.

Dangote Cement, the most capitalised stock in the stock market, led the rally with a gain of N4.50 to close at N244.50. Guinness Nigeria followed with a gain of N2.19 to close at N194.21. Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria placed third with a gain of N1.98 to close at N112.98.

Unilever Nigeria rose by N1 to close at N55. Okomu Oil Palm rallied 60 kobo to close at N33. Caverton Offshore

Support Group gained 56 kobo to close at N6.20. Portland Paints and Products Nigeria added 25 kobo to close at N5.42. Dangote Flour Mills rose by 20 kobo to N8.20.

Guaranty Trust Bank added 15 kobo to close at N29.21 while Mansard Insurance garnered 10 kobo to close at N2.70 per share.

On the other hand, Nestle Nigeria, the highest-priced stock on the NSE, led the losers’ list with a drop of N55 to close at N1,090. Mobil Oil Ni-

Nigeria remains key investment hub, says Unilever president T HE President, Unilever Group, Russia, Africa and Middle East; Mr Alan Jope said the global conglomerate has confidence in Nigeria as a key investment hub despite security challenges.

He pointed out that in demonstration of the positive consideration for the country by the group; it has been encouraging investors to come to the Nigeria.

It invited over 60 global companies to participate in the Africa Investment Conference which took place in Lagos yesterday.

According to him, while Unilever Group is aware of the security challenges facing the country, Nigeria has great potential and there are strong positive signals to encourage will-

By Daniel Essiet

ing investors to see the nation as both immediate and future investment destination.

To show faith in the economy, Jope said Unilever is engaging more Nigerians and foreign companies across sectors, in activities designed to boost the economy and create job opportunities. Jope said his company intends to increase local sourcing of raw materials.

On the conference, he said it was designed to broaden the dialogue on Nigeria’s future as a beacon of investment opportunities.

Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun called for more foreign investments in the state, highlighting features of stable environment and positive incentives to attract businesses.

To boost investment, Amosun said the government is determined to put in place policies that would improve the lives of people and help the state achieve sustained and inclusive growth as part of the quest to reach emerging investment destination within the South-west area of the country.

He said Ogun State is open and ready to welcome foreign investment adding

that it is also keen to encourage private sector investment.

According to him, the state is committed to improving infrastructure, which is important to putting the economy on the path of prosperity.

Speaking during the forum, the Minister of Trade and Investments, Dr Olusegun Aganga said terror was global threat affecting most economies of the world.

Represented by the Director, Minister’s Office, Mr Jonathan Zoma, Aganga said the government is not relenting in its efforts to address threats and create an enabling environment

gerian Breweries, SIM Capital Fund, Skye Shelter Fund, Nigerian Energy Sector Fund (NESF) and Total Plc. The Programme became permanent in 2013 and the nine initial pilot stocks remained.

In April 2014, Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc became the 10th stock on the programme with Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc also coming on board in the same month as the 11th stock, based on it being a new security listing that was priced above N100 at the time of listing on the

Exchange.

With this development, Forte Oil Plc has now become the 12th stock on the programme.

“We have observed that the prices of these High Priced Stocks have been rather stable with none falling below the N100 mark which is currently the benchmark,” Babalola said.

With this, stockbrokers would be able to move the prices of Forte Oil Plc, in addition to the existing high priced stocks, with 10,000 units with effect from July 2, 2014.

Forte Oil gets special status as high-priced stock

F

ORTE Oil Plc would today join the league of some select stocks that benefit from preferential price movement.

Known as high-priced stocks, the select stocks under the category are stocks that have traded at an average price of N100 or more in four of the last six months.

Whereas all other stocks require 50,000 shares to effect price change, stocks under the high-priced stocks can move their prices with 10,000 shares.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday

stated that it would be adding Forte Oil to the highpriced stocks with effect from today.

Head, market surveillance, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Abimbola Babalola said a review of trading activities of Forte Oil in the last six months showed that the company met the criteria set by the Exchange.

He recalled that the Exchange commenced the pilot programme of the highpriced stocks with nine stocks –Dangote Cement, Guinness Plc, Nestle Plc, Ni-

geria followed with a loss of N2.25 to close at N135.06.

UAC of Nigeria declined by N1.85 to close at N66. CAP lost N1.51 to close at N38.50.

Ashaka Cement dropped by 50 kobo to N28.15. Beta Glass slipped by 29 kobo to N16.30.

University Press lost 23 kobo to close at N4.46. Stanbic IBTC Holdings and Nigerian Breweries dropped by 20 kobo each to close at N27 and N172 respectively while Red Star Express lost 19 kobo to close at N4.81 per share.

The banking subsector remained the main driver behind market activity. FBN

Holdings Plc was the most active stock with a turnover of 287.98 million shares worth N4.65 billion in 482 deals. Zenith Bank followed with a turnover of 65.02 million shares worth N1.63 billion in 303 deals while Fidelity Bank recorded a turnover of 54.42 million shares worth N109.37 million in 96 deals.

Altogether, financial services sector accounted for 496.60 million shares worth N6.86 billion in 2,373 deals, representing about 87 per cent of aggregate turnover volume of 570.82 million shares valued at N8.36 billion in 5227 deals.

Vetiva ETF pays dividends

V

ETIVA Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund (VG30 ETF), an exchange traded fund (ETF) that tracks the performance of the 30 most capitalised stocks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), will distribute interim dividend of 10 kobo per unit to investors.

The interim distribution would be made to unitholders whose names appear in the register of the ETF a at the close of business today, Thursday, July 3, 2014.

Managing director, Vetiva Fund Managers Limited, Mr. Damilola Ajayi, who manages the VG30 ETF, explained that the interim distribution is in line with the structure and design of the VG30 ETF which include distribution of returns twice a year.

According to him, Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund represents a convenient and efficient way for investors to have access to the top 30 most capitalized and liquid stocks on the NSE, both from a potential capital appreciation and distribution income points of view.

He noted that the VG30 ETF is the first and only equitybased ETF to be listed on the NSE following the listing of the Newgold Exchange Traded Fund-a commodity based ETF, in 2011, in which Vetiva Securities Limited acted as sponsoring broker.

VG30 ETF tracks the price and yield performance of the NSE 30 Index-an index of the 30 most capitalized and liquid stocks listed on the NSE. It was listed in

March 2014.

According to the fund fact sheet obtained from its website, the fund has achieved a capital appreciation of 10.77 per cent as at June 27, 2014.

ETF is a security that tracks the performance of a specified security or other assets including stocks, basket of assets, indices, commodity prices, foreign currency rates, and derivatives among others.

There are many types of ETF. Index-based ETF, like index fund, tracks specified market index.

Ernst & Young, the third largest multinational professional services firm in the world, has reported that the global ETF industry had 5,042 ETFs, with 10,053 listings, assets of US$2.3 trillion, from 215 providers on 58 exchanges as at October 2013. It also predicted annual growth of 15 per cent to 30 per cent globally over the next five years.

ETFs are essentially index funds that are listed and traded on the Exchange like shares.

Buying and selling ETFs is as simple as buying and selling of shares. Unlike shares and mutual funds however, the ETFs will trade continuously all day long and allow investors to lock in a price for the underlying stocks immediately, rather than being bought and sold based on end-of-day prices.

Vetiva Fund Managers Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vetiva Capital Management Limited and is registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) to carry out business as fund and portfolio manager.

56

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

MONEYLINK

CBN’s forex sales at RDAS rise to $2.75b F OREIGN exchange worth $2.75 billion was sold by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the Retail Dutch Auction System (RDAS) in June, Managing Director Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) Limited, Bismark Rewane has said.

Speaking at the Lagos Business School breakfast session, he said the forex sale is 7.3 per cent higher than $2.59 billion sold in May. He said the naira was flat in June due to increased exchange rate volatility in the official and parallel markets. However, the currency depreciated by 0.03 per cent at the interbank market. The

By Collins Nweze

amount on offer at the RDAS was $2.95 billion, which is 1.67 per cent lower than in the previous month.

Rewane explained that reduction in inflow was attributed to the 24.5 per cent fall in oil receipts while outflow was $4.16 billion from $4.41 billion resulting in net outflow of $0.38 billion. Decline in outflow was attributed to decrease in CBN foreign exchange sales at the RDAS.

“The spread between the parallel and official rate is expected to widen marginally. The BDC controls will reduce supply to the parallel market. Increased oil price and constant production will help support the currency in July,” he said.

The FDC boss said the naira traded flat at N167 after another vicious sell off early in the month while the stock market rally continued. Rewane said corporate earnings reported in May showed an average increase of 8.19 per cent over the previous quarter.

He said the international/domestic share of equity purchases

UBA inaugurates Twitter transaction notification service

U

NITED Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has taken banking to twitter based transaction alerts for customers.

The bank said in a statement that customers will now have the option of receiving transaction alerts in their Twitter accounts.

Before now, customers could only receive transaction alerts as text messages on their mobile phones and e-mails, this is the first time any bank in Nigeria will offer customers a third option of receiving their transaction alerts via their twitter handle.

However, UBA Twitter Notification Service will not replace the current SMS alerts system in place for all of the bank’s customers, but will complement it for added convenience for all those who subscribe to the service.

“Twitter is increasingly becoming a popular means of communication especially among the young adults.

As a highly innovative bank, we are giving the millennial, who are increasingly banking with us an option to get transaction alerts on their preferred platform” Rasheed Adegoke, UBA’s Director, Information Technology said.

UBA customers seeking to receive twitter powered transaction alerts through their twitter accounts should visit the UBA Group website or the UBA twitter page to register.

On the UBA Group website, customers will be requested to; click on the Twitter notification service page; enter their account number; click on submit. By following the displayed instructions to log into their personal account and enabling access, the customers can sign on to this service seamlessly.

•Rewane

shifted in favor of domestic investors adding that pension funds increased their equity holdings by two per cent in April to N614 billion.

Cashless drive: Remita processes N500b e-transactions

A

NIGERIAN indigenous electronic payment platform, Remita is driving cashless scheme as it currently processes electronic transactions valued at N500billion monthly.

Chief Executive Officer of Systemspecs, owner of the platform, Mr. John Obaro, who spoke during the unveiling of the new features built into the e-payment solutions in Ikoyi, Lagos said the platform is a one-stop payment platform that has helped to drive the cashless economy dream of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He said: “Remita is a one-stop, multibank, modular e-payment, ecollections, e-payroll and e-schedules platform. A very powerful platform, Remita presents individuals and organisations with a very simple and intuitive user interface.

“Today, individuals and public and private sector organisations have processed over N12 trillion of transactions on the platform and today, we

By Lucas Ajanaku

process minimum of N500 billion monthly.”

According to him, adopted by the CBN as the e-payment and –e-collections platform of the Federal Government and used by all 22 lenders and over 400 micro-finance banks in the country, Remita has significantly assisted to revolutionise the e-payment landscape in the country.

Remita was launched about a decade ago at a time when the Pension Act was enacted. Its purpose then was to support Pension Fund Administrations (PFAs). It has further been developed to become a one stop e-payment platform that can be used by government, corporate and individuals.

He said the key feature of the platform is the e-collection which provides opportunity for businesses and governments to handle the task of fund collection much easier.

He explained that the charges for

the use of the platform is also relatively attractive as users are charged 1.5 per cent of their transaction value as against between 2.5 per cent or 3.5 per cent often charged on other platforms.

T

Group Head, Remita, Dr. Demola Igbalajobi, who demonstrated how seamless the use of the solution is and explained the new features embedded, said the solution’s footprint is growing wider by the day.

Enterprise Bank CEO urges healthy living

HE Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Bank Limited, Ahmed Kuru, has called on Nigerians to be conscious of their lifestyle and prioritise the habits of regular exercise and healthy eating to ensure a fit and healthy life.

Kuru, who spoke at the end of the second edition of the Walk-For-Life campaign, a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative organised by the bank, said lack of regular exercise and poor eating habits by people cause health challenges later in life.

The campaign which took place at

the weekend saw workers of the bank and their friends as well as family members, walk a distance of about nine kilometers covering Victoria, Lagos and Ikoyi.

Kuru emphasised the need for moderation in what people do. “I am one of those who believe in moderation in anything we do. For me, people should be free to eat well but the watch word should be moderation at all times because too much of everything is bad. So the emphasis should be for every one of us to be conscious and engage in regular exercise so that we can strike a balance with what we eat.”

DATA BANK

FGN BONDS Tenor

Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year

35m 35m

11.039 12.23

19-05-2014 18-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount Amount Offered ($) Demanded ($) 400m 400m 400m 400m 400m 400m

MANAGED FUNDS Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33

NIDF

OBB Rate

Price Loss 2754.67

INTERBANK RATES 7.9-10%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day

Amount 30m 46.7m

Rate % 10.96 9.62

Date 28-04-2012 “

GAINERS AS AT 03-07-14

SYMBOL CAVERTON NPFMCFBK PORTRANT MAYBAKER MANSARD WAPIC CUTIX DANGFLOUR ROYALEX CONTISURE

O/PRICE

C/PRICE

5.64 0.80 5.17 1.67 2.60 0.78 1.90 8.00 0.50 1.06

6.20 0.84 5.42 1.75 2.70 0.81 1.97 8.20 0.51 1.08

EXHANGE RATE 6-03-12 Currency

Year Start Offer

Current Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

NGN USD NGN GBP

147.6000 239.4810

149.7100 244.0123

150.7100 245.6422

-2.11 -2.57

NGN EUR 212.4997 NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N) 149.7450 (S/N) Bureau de Change 152.0000 (S/N)

207.9023

209.2910

-1.51

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

CHANGE 0.56 0.04 0.25 0.08 0.10 0.03 0.07 0.20 0.01 0.02

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 4.69 1.45 1,145.00 0.90 5.00 40.01 0.55 0.98 3.36 67.85

C/PRICE 4.46 1.38 1,090.00 0.86 4.81 38.50 0.53 0.95 3.26 66.00

CHANGE -0.23 -0.07 -55.00 -0.04 -0.19 -1.51 -0.02 -0.03 -0.10 -1.85

Exchange Rate (N) 155.75 155.8 155.7

Date 2-5-14 2-3-14 1-29-14

CAPITAL MARKET INDEX

NSE

6-2-14

28-10-11

% Change

CAP Index

N13.07tr 40,766.16

N6.617tr 20,903.16

-1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH BGL NUBIAN FUND BGL SAPPHIRE FUND CANARY GROWTH FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CORAL INCOME FUND FBN FIXED INCOME FUND FBN HERITAGET FUND FBN MONEY MARKET FUND FIDELITY NIGFUND INTERCONTINENTAL INTEGRITY FUND KAKAWA GUARANTEED INCOME FUND

Offer Price Bid Price 157.99 157.07 9.17 9.08 1.09 1.08 1.18 1.18 0.68 0.68 1.39 1.33 1,664.78 1,661.81 1,087.24 1,086.78 119.02 118.19 1,087.30 1,087.00 1.67 1.62 1.05 1.03

LEGACY FUND NIGERIA INTER DEBIT FUND PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND STANBIC IBTC ETHICAL FUND • UBA BALANCED FUND • UBA BOND FUND • UBA EQUITY FUND • UBA MONEY MARKET FUND

LOSERS AS AT 03-07-14

UPL COSTAIN NESTLE ABCTRANS REDSTAREX CAP JAPAULOIL WEMABANK SKYEBANK UACN

Amount Sold ($) 399.9m 399.9m 399.9m

143.11

142.62

0.78 1,944.64 13.62 1.07

0.76 1,936.31 13.28 1.05

1.3379 1.3544 1.0146 1.1770

1.3271 1.3544 0.9967 1.1770

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days

Rate (Previous) 4 Mar, 2012 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917

Rate (Currency) 6, Mar, 2012 10.17% 11.46% 11.96%

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK

Bank

Previous 04 July, 2012

Current 07, Aug, 2012

8.5000

8.5000

Movement

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

57

NEWS

Car prices won’t go up, say manufacturers Continued from page 4

the immense benefits of the new policy set out to undermine it to preserve the status quo.”

The association accused car importers of embarking on false propaganda that the new policy will lead to price escalation.

“Such critics did not consider the fact that tariff has only been used as a tool to redirect incentives to the value-adding segment the government has decided was germane to the success of its industrial revolution agenda,”NAMA said.

“People have also cited lack of infrastructure as reason why a market of this magnitude, the largest in Africa, should not venture to local production. No nation has had to wait till all its infrastructure is in place to venture into production. It suffices to know that resources are being channelled to areas where the country has comparative advantage, which when diligently developed would make it competitive,” the association remarked.

NAMA praised government for defending the policy and

warned the public against being “swayed or fooled by laggards” who failed to move in response to the very strong stimulus provided by government.

“The government took adequate notice of the likely fallout of this policy initiative and put measures in place to cushion whatever effect an adjustment in tariff of imported and locally produced vehicles would have on vehicles prices. It effectively managed the supply side of the equation to ensure that, there is no justification to raise prices.

“In the first instance the implementation of the policy was delayed almost six months, allowing importers to adjust their plans and inflow serious inventory before tariff adjustments took effect. The Federal Government, furthermore, had the implementation of the tariff on used vehicles extended to December 2014. The result is that the market is awash with inventory, a situation that should drive down prices.

“In response to the announcement and as a result of the time allowed before the policy took

effect, import figures available to us show that about 37,500 new vehicles were imported into the country by May 2014. This represents 72% of annual imports in only five months of the year.

Withsuch high inventory levels, price increases at this time are unjustifiable and unsustainable and the public can look forward to a reversal in due course.”

In addition, the statement said, the local assembly plants have swung into action and cited examples, such as Stallion Nissan Motors Nigeria Limited which announced the commencement of production of the popular B segment compact Sedan “The Almera” in May 2014 which, they explained, is being “introduced into the market at a very competitive price, arising from the pass-on of auto policy incentives to the masses”.

It also cited Peugeot Automobile, which is launching its “Made in Nigeria” Peugeot 301 this week, and has two other models lined up for launch in quick succession.

Hyundai Motors Nigeria has begun the production of four

models of its compact segment and small SUVs in the i10, Xcent, Elantra and iX35.

Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing has expanded local production significantly since the announcement of the policy. New investments have been made to enhance its local content programme and increase local value-added. “Its SUVs are already in the market and proudly plying our roads,” NAMA said.

The association urged Nigerians to bear with the government, listing some countries that have gained from such policy. They include South Africa, Brazil, India, Egypt, and Thailand. All have thriving auto industries today, NAMA said.

NAMA spoke of the gains of the policy, saying: “Since its announcement, no less than five major Original Equipment Manufacturers, OEMs, have signified their intention to invest in Nigeria and produce vehicles, using Nigerian labor and resources. Investments running into tens of billions of Naira have been recorded and continue to flow in.”

‘Re-election campaign callous, insensitive’ Continued from page 4

becoming more emboldened to carry their terror campaign right into the heart of the nation’s capital, Abuja. Innocent Nigerians are being killed and maimed in high numbers across several states. ‘’Instead of cashing in on the global outcry that followed the abduction of the over 200 Chibok girls to galvanize national and international action, not just support, the Jonathan Administration has been chasing shadows, pointing accusing fingers at innocent groups and people; harassing the media and curtailing individual freedoms ‘’One misguided proJonathan commentator even said the attacks are occurring in states under the control of the APC, as if Bauchi and Ka-

duna are APC states. We have said it before and we will repeat it here: Boko Haram is a clear and present danger to all Nigerians: Christians and Muslims; Men, women and children; The rich and the poor as well as People of all political leanings and of all ethnic groups. ‘’When they want to throw their bombs, they do not ask if supporters or opponents of Jonathan are there. They do not ask if supporters of PDP or APC are there. They just kill, maim and destroy indiscriminately,’’ the party said.

The APC also reiterated its call for a non-partisan approach to solving the Boko Haram crisis, an approach that will not factor in the 2015 political calculations, an approach that will not demonize

a people of certain religion or ethnicity, an approach that will not divide Nigerians along primordial lines. ‘’This is why we have offered our hand of cooperation that has yet to be accepted by the Federal Government. This is why we have called for a National Security Summit of all stakeholders to proffer solutions to the Boko Haram crisis.

This is why we have reminded the federal government that Boko Haram is not just a security issue, but also a social, economic and political crisis that must be tackled holistically,’’ APC said. ‘’The state of emergency, which has been renewed twice, has not stemmed the tide of attacks. Chibok, where school girls were abducted, is not any more secured now as more attacks

Continued from page 4

INEC has not declared that campaigns for the 2015 elections should start. It is not good for the President to allow the people to campaign for him.

“The implication is that he does not respect the rules of INEC. He is indifferent to the law of the INEC and he is inviting everyone to do the same.”

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources Prof. Tam David-West said President Jonathan ought not to contest for a second term.

He said Dr. Jonathan signed an agreement with the North before the 2011 elections to serve for one term and that he had no moral right to declare his intention for another term.

“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has confirmed it and Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, who is in possession of the document has also confirmed it. He has a moral duty not to contest,” the university teacher said.

To David-West, the President’s

performance in the last four years is woeful and as such he does not have the credentials to ask for another term of four years. “Let him search his conscience to find out whether he has done well in his first term. As for me, the answer is no. So, let him spare Nigerians the agony of another four years of Jonathan. All the people that are urging him on are sycophants; Jonathan’s coming back is good for them because they would continue to get their sycophantic pay. We have not heard a credible rebuttal to the accusation that he agreed to do one term.

“He has not got much to build on in a second term; education is dying, the economy is dying, and for the first time in the history of Nigeria, we are having problems with our oil industry. Eighty-five per cent of Nigeria’s annual budget is based on oil revenue, but now our petroleum industry is in trouble because America, which used to buy about 55 per cent of

Continued from page 4

agreed that N20billion would be paid in April and N20bn in September or October.

The source said: “The minister later informed a committee he chaired at a meeting that the two unions wrote to him after he had communicated the agreement to President Goodluck Jonathan to say that they were no longer accepting the phased payment proposal.”

But the National President of ASUP, Dr Chibuzor Asomugha, faulted the minister’s claim.

Asomugha denied the union’s rejection of the proposal, saying that it was disappointing that the minister would be making such comments when efforts at resolving the crisis were going.

Asomugha said last night: “We did not reject the proposal; I think we have gone beyond that part. The question is: “Did the minister plan to pay that money at all? Did he put it in the budget?”

“First he (Wike) told us it (N20 billion) was in the budget; later, he said it was not in the budget.

“Why did he bring the Salaries and Wages Commission to begin to raise objections about the payment, if actually he wanted to pay?

“ASUP did not reject anything.

We ever proposed installmental payment and we rolled out a plan on how it would be paid, which the minister rejected but tried to impose his own on us, which we also rejected.

“Later, we arrived at a plan on

Continued from page 4 •Mohammed

and abductions have taken place there. The terrorists, who used to strike on the outskirts of Abuja, have now taken their battle into the city. It is time for new thinking, new direction and new purpose in the fight against terror,’’ it said.

our oil is walking away from us.”

Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN)said every Nigerian, including the President, has the constitutional right to start campaigning for the 2015 elections.

On whether the time is right or not, the legal icon said that should be left to INEC to decide.

“If Jonathan has breached the electoral rule, INEC should sanction him. But INEC has not prescribed any sanction. Let’s leave the issue for the electoral commission to handle,” he added.

Civil rights activist Moshood Erubami aligned with Akintola’s position. He said the President has the right to start campaigning, adding: “Under normal circumstance, this is the right time”.

Erubami said: “It is for him to say he wants to contest, it is another thing for people to reject him. Anyway, we are waiting to see what his campaign issue will be and how he will convince people to vote for him”.

though they belong to the same network.

“They have provided some useful clues on Sambisa Forest which have assisted in having knowledge on the inner workings of the insurgents.

“One of the revelations showed that the insurgents have changed tactics; they now engage more women in their operations, including intelligence gathering.

Also yesterday, the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education and former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on his government to send troops to Nigeria to help secure the release of the girls, who were abducted on April 15.

Speaking during a debate at the House of Commons, the former Prime Minister said in view of the possibility that the

Continued from page 4

and former President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) Mr. Gbenga Adefaye.

Akioye dedicated his award to The Nation Editors and children and people of Dustbin Estate, Ajegunle.

An excited Akioye said it was a clarion call for him to continue to project the voice of the underprivileged.

He said: “I‘m so short of words. I was almost giving up on it but glory be to God. It is unbelievable. I was never ex-

pecting it. I am so happy. I am grateful to my Editors, my colleagues in office. I dedicate this award to the children and people of Dustbin Estate, Ajegunle and my editors.

“The situation at Dustbin Estate was bad, but right in the midst of it you see the young people determined to get education, you see women and men struggling to make a better living and at a side is a young girl, Tolulope Sangosanya who founded an NGO called Love

on The Streets (LOTS) dedicating her life to improving the conditions at Dutbin Estate.”

Akioye was not the only winner of the night. Raheem Akingbolu of This Day, emerged winner of the Nigeria Breweries Reporter of the Year with the story “Star: Beyond music in the bottle”.

Sulaiman Hussain of New Telegraph Best Photojournalist of the Year. Stanley Ogidi of The Punch was first runner-up and Ayodele Ojo of Daily Trust was

more than 200 kidnapped girls might have been divided into groups and hidden in separate places, his government should send the UK forces to assist Nigeria’s army.

Brown said: “These wholly innocent young girls—Lugwa Abuga, Rhoda John, Comfort Amos, Maryamu Yakubu and 200 others—are now incarcerated in the forest areas of Borno State. Some have perhaps been dispersed across three other countries: Niger, Cameroon and Chad. Their physical and mental health is a worry for everyone.

Jim Shannon, a member of the House, told Brown that the legislators were concerned about the ongoing violence in Nigeria and the continued incarceration of the schoolgirls. He, however, expressed doubts over Nigeria’s reaction to the insurgency.

Govt to unveil vehicle financing scheme

Continued from page 4

production, adding that they can import at the maximum rate of 35 per cent. He said the 70 per cent tariff applies to those with no visible commitment to the new auto policy.

The auto sector accounts for nine jobs globally, and five per cent of manufacturing and the jobs come from the production of vehicle parts. This is why we

The Nation’s Akioye is Reporter of the Year at Nigerian Breweries awards

better in terms of presentation and accuracy. He praised Akioye’s entry for projecting the plight of the people of Dustbin Estate.

A member of the panel, Mrs. Nkechi Ali-Balogun, said Akioye’s entry fulfilled all the criteria necessary to win the prize. “ You need to read this story; it is so compelling,” she said. Other members of the jury are: renowned journalism teacher Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye

the installment payment on the order of President with the Ministry of Labour. If the minister was ready to pay any kind of installment and the time was up, is it our refusal that will now stop him from paying?. Or is it our refusal that stopped him from attending three meetings with the Senate Committee on Education conveyed to resolve the matter?’” he said.

On Jonathan’s score card, Wike said that part of the challenges facing the government is that about 10 million children are out of school adding that government had confronted the problem by building 120 Almajiri schools in the North.

Wike expressed disappointment that despite Federal Government’s efforts in assisting state governments towards improving quality of basic education, about N53 billion Federal Government and Universal Basic Education (FG/UBE) is still unaccessed.

The government, he disclosed, has approved nine more Federal universities to improve access across the country.

“High impact grant to institutions by TETFund, supporting institutions in developing critical infrastructure. Each university received N3 billion, polytechnic N1 billion and College of Education N1 billion each. The Federal Government funding of Federal universities and inter-University centres from 2010 to 2013 is N229, 631, 170, 175. Laboratory in 51 Federal and state polytechnics upgraded at the cost of N15 billion.”

Military hunts for women spies

2015: Jonathan under fire for early campaign

plan for 2015.

Yakassai argued that there was a time for declaration of interest by individual candidates, time for the other processes that would lead to the primaries and the emergence of candidates and time for the commencement of campaigns. He is sure that Jonathan is aware of the position of the electoral law on the processes.

He said irrespective of the security situation in the country President Jonathan’s declaration at any time would not go down well with everybody.

Second Republic governor Musa objected to the activities of supporters drumming support for the President’s second term bid.

Noting that the time is not ripe for any subtle campaign, he said the campaigners were flouting the rules of the game.

His words: “The INEC has not lifted the ban on campaigns. The

ASUP, COEASU not willing to call off strike, says Minister

the second runner up.

The Managing Director/CEO of Nigeria Breweries Plc, Mr Nico Vervede, said the company was celebrating journalists who excelled in 2013.

“We just need to celebrate them. Those journalists who have excelled and differentiated themselves in terms of developments and education,” he said.

Vervede added that it was about celebrating great professionalism in Nigeria.

should not miss this opportunity, he warned.

He said Nigeria spends on the average, $3billion to import new cars and another $3.7billion to import fairly used cars and parts. That number in likely to grow and will grow if we do nothing significantly and that will lead to structural adjustments in our economy as a whole.

It is for this reason that most countries in the world have auto policies, lamenting that until now, it’s only Nigeria and Bangladesh that do not have auto policies.

He said Nigeria cannot afford to be neutral on the issue because it is a big employer of labour. He said the auto sector accounts for about nine million jobs globally and accounts for five per cent of manufacturing.

The Managing Director of Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria, Ibrahim Boyi, the Director-General, National Automative Policy and Yomi Idowu of Leyland, were present at the briefing.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

58

FOREIGN NEWS Abdullah ‘would accept legitimate Afghan vote defeat’

Israel :boy’s funeral delayed

I

SRAEL has begun reinforcing its military forces on its border with the Gaza Strip amid heightened tensions with the Palestinians.

The murders of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank was followed by the murder of a Palestinian youth in Jerusalem.

Israel says the move is part of its response to mortar and rocket fire from Palestinian militants from Gaza.

It follows air strikes against the territory early on Thursday.

Ten Palestinians were injured in the Israel Defense Forces bombardment, which followed barrages from Gaza which struck two homes in the southern Israeli border town of Sderot overnight.

Meanwhile, the funeral of the Palestinian teenager who was abducted and killed in Jerusalem has been delayed so that a postmortem examination can be completed.

Mohammed Abu Khdair’s father has said he hopes his son’s burial can still take place on Thursday.

The 17-year-old’s murder raised tensions amid claims it was in revenge for the killing of the three Israeli youths in the West Bank.

Israel’s air attacks on Gaza should not be seen as part of any action it may be planning to take against Hamas for the kidnapping and murder of the three young Israelis buried earlier this week.

They were an immediate response to a wave of attacks from Gaza in which rockets and mortars were fired at southern Israel.

Israeli military sources say the targets were weapons manufacturing facilities and training sites used by the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

But the exchange of fire comes at a time of rising tension in Israel and the occupied territories.

As the time for the burial approached, the family appeared to accuse the Israeli authorities of holding the body unnecessarily - something denied by police. hes in East Jerusalem between stone-throwing Palestinian protesters and Israeli police officers, who have responded by firing sound bombs, tear gas and rubber bullets, have continued into a second day.

A

•Rights groups say the authorities are increasingly hostile to independent media and political opponents

Egypt ‘failing at every level’ on human rights

A

Amnesty International has warned of a catastrophic decline in human rights in Egypt, a year after the military ousted President Mohammed Morsi.

The campaign group says at least 16,000 people have been detained in the last year alone as part of the government’s bid to silence Mr Morsi’s supporters.

Eighty of the detainees have died in custody, the report adds.

Security was tight for the anniversary of Mr Morsi’s removal, with his supporters turning out

to protest.

Egyptian police fired tear gas to disperse protesters who had gathered across the capital and the coastal city of Alexandria on Thursday, with reports of dozens of arrests.

The authorities have cracked down harshly on Islamists and other political opponents since former President Mohammed Morsi, who belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, was removed by the military in July 2013 following mass protests.

The group - which was banned

in December 2013 - had called for a “day of anger” to mark the anniversary.

In a report released on Thursday, Amnesty International says that 1,247 death sentences have been handed down this year, with at least 247 of these upheld.

It said Egypt was “failing at every level in terms of human rights,” citing “harrowing incidents of torture and deaths in police custody”.

“Egypt’s notorious state security forces are back and operating at full capacity, employing

the same methods of torture and other ill-treatment used during the darkest hours of the Mubarak era,” says Amnesty’s Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui. Torture methods, the report says, include the use of electric shocks, rape and handcuffing detainees and suspending them from open doors.

One man reacts to the sentencing of 183 Muslim Brotherhood supporters last month It cites one case involving a 23year-old male student, who says he was tortured and raped during 47 days of detention.

Ukraine’s new defence minister promises Crimea victory

U

KRAINIAN Defence Minister Valeriy Heletey’s Crimea pledge was met by applause in parliament New Ukrainian Defence Minister Valeriy Heletey has promised that the army would retake Crimea, restoring the country’s territorial integrity.

Addressing parliament in Kiev, he said: “There will be a victory parade... in Ukraine’s Sevastopol.”

Russia annexed the peninsula - which has a Russian-speaking majority - in March after a controversial referendum.

In eastern Ukraine, a government offensive against pro-Rus-

sian separatists is continuing.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have urged Russian President Vladimir Putin in a conference call to use his influence to put pressure on the rebels in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Mr Putin said he was “deeply concerned about the rise in deaths among the civilian population and sharp increase in refugees” entering Russia from south-eastern Ukraine, according to the Kremlin.

All three leaders agreed that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) should play a more ac-

tive part in monitoring the situation in the conflict zone.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko later said he was ready to return to a ceasefire provided it was observed by both sides, all hostages were freed and borders secured by government forces.

His statement came after he spoke on the phone with US VicePresident Joe Biden. Mr Poroshenko called off a unilateral truce on 30 June, accusing the rebels of staging deadly attacks on Ukrainian government troops.

Police in Kiev stopped a woman who was demanding a halt to military operations in eastern Ukraine Ukrainian troops resumed the “anti-terror” operation on 30

June Thousands of refugees from eastern Ukraine are now sheltering in Russia Lt Gen Heletey, 46, was approved by MPs in Kiev after being recommended

by Mr Poroshenko as someone who would work day and night to restore the military capability of the country’s armed forces.

His remark about Sevastopol was applauded by the chamber.

The status of the city, home port of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet for centuries, was disputed by Russia long before it annexed Crimea.

A new chief of the general staff, Viktor Muzhenko, was also appointed on Thursday.

FGHAN presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah has told the BBC he would respect his rival winning, but only if it is proved the election was fair.

He said he would do everything he could to ensure a “legitimate outcome” to the 14 June run-off with Ashraf Ghani.

Both men have alleged vote fraud and provisional results have been delayed by a week while votes are re-checked.

Dr Abdullah won a clear lead during the first round of voting in April, but fell short of an outright majority.

The BBC’s Karen Allen in Kabul says the former resistance fighter and foreign minister appears to have softened his position.

Two weeks ago he demanded an immediate halt to the count and said he would not accept the result, unless his claims of mass fraud were properly investigated.

A senior election official at the centre of fraud claims has since resigned.

And on Tuesday, the election commission said provisional results would be delayed for a week while officials at thousands of polling stations hold re-counts in provinces where irregularities were reported.

In what appears to be a softening of his stance, Dr Abdullah said ensuring the legitimacy of the vote, rather than its outcome, was his current focus.

If Ashraf Ghani won by a “legitimate” process, he said he would welcome it.

Nearly a million votes are now being re-counted as election observers privately express fears about what they believe are “extraordinary” levels of fraud.

The key concerns include inflated turnout figures, with some provinces seeing a trebling in the numbers of people who voted in the second round compared to the first.

There are also worries about the absence of spoilt votes in some areas where candidates have achieved a suspiciously high number of votes, and an unusually big number of female voters in areas which are traditionally insecure.

A salad of troublous issues

•Continued from Back page Mohammed Abacha, the son of the late junta head of state, Gen. Sani Abacha, who is being prosecuted by the Federal Government for warehousing about N446 billion stolen by his father may soon be a free man. More galling, he may be handed a ticket by the ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), run for the governorship of Kano State.

Charges have recently been dropped against him by the government ostensibly to make him return close to $1billion stashed away across the globe by his light-fingered father. When Transparency International (T.I.) kicked against government’s penchant for oiling impunity and corruption, government insists it is all for a bargain.

But the message to Nigerians is simple: if you have access to the treasury, loot it well enough so that you may just return a little and be free from prosecution and punishment. Only those stupid enough to steal a little will go to jail. Let us call it delooting or re-looting if you please; pleabargaining is the new graft industry, the murky water where secondary corruption is legitimised. Weep not T.I. Doctors too down tools: What really do ministers do? One would think the minister of health would go out of his way to ensure that workers under his ambit, especially medical doctors, never go on strike. Not after a prolonged warning. But in spite of

the fact that doctors across the nation under the aegis of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) gave ample notice to government, nothing was seen to have been done and a strike of doctors had to be called last Monday.

This is sad indeed when government officials are perceived be starkly insensitive.

It does not seem to matter to anyone how many compatriots would suffer and how many souls will perish in all of this. We have become so stone-hearted; no milk of kindness flow in us anymore. It is worse with our fattened government officials. What a pity!

And many more: We can only take so many but so many more are left on my list. One is the reported threat by ex-Niger Delta militants to cut off oil supply to the North if President Goodluck Jonathan is not returned for a second term. So this is where we are today – an illiterate country being dictated to by miscreants who should be behind bars.

Why don’t these fellows simply decree the abolition of elections in Nigeria! There is also the forming of the National Unity Forum (NUF) by some members of the National Conference; people like Mantu, Ita-Giwa, Jo Anenih, Jerry Useni, etc. We knew it would come to this. We knew perfidy would rise and subvert the so-called talk. Here they go, ‘generals’ of that noxious art…

Finally, two more points: one, the U.S. declares they have no idea where the Chibok girls are and two, the U.S. will dominate ‘light ‘crude export soon. You may use your tongue to count your teeth on these. Cheers.

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

59

60

NEWS

•Lagos State Governor Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) (second right); Commissioner for Health Dr Jide Idris (second left); Special Adviser on Public Health Dr Yewande Adeshina (right) and Dr Abiola Tilley-Gyado during Lagos State College of Health Technology award of certificates and presentation of prizes at Yaba, Lagos... yesterday PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

•Lagos State Deputy Governor Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire(second left); Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Finance and other Matters, Mrs Funmilayo Tejuosho (left); Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Ayo Gbeleyi and Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Debt Management Office, Mrs Olabowale Ademola during the Ministry of Finance Management Retreat at Orchid PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN Hotel, Lekki, Lagos.

•From right: NASFAT Chief Missioner Alhaji Abdullahi Akinbode; Senior Special Assistant to Lagos State Governor on Transport Education and Coordinator, Lagos State Law Enforcement Training Institute, Dr Mariam Masha; former Prelate, Methodist Church of Nigeria, Dr Sunday Ola-Makinde and Bishop of Lagos Dioceses, Archbishop Ephraim demowo during a Community Outreach between LASTMA, KAI, Markets Women and Men Association, and National Road PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES Workers, at Oyingbo Park, Lagos Mainland ...yesterday.

•Lagos State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructures Dr Obafemi Hamzat(middle) presenting a cheque to Mr Kunnuji Adeoye (left) as compensation for his affected building at the ongoing road building in Badagry. With them are Special Adviser to the Governor on Works Mr Ganiyu Johnson (right) and Permanent Secretary Mr Omotayo Bamgbose

•From left: Oyo State Commissioner for Applied Science and Technology, Mr Dapo LamAdesina; Caretaker Chairman of Ibadan North East Local Government, Mr Ladi Oluokun and Alhaji Abass Animashaun during the distribution of eight transformers by the council boss to eight communities

•From left: Lagos Island East Local Council Development Area Chairman, Comrade Kamal Salau-Bashua; representative of Mrs Abimbola Fashola, Mrs Bashua Ipaye; wife of the Chairman, Mrs Kafilat Salau-Bashua and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Envioroment, Mr Hakeem Ogunbambi, during an environmental programme in Lagos Island.

•One day governor of Lagos State, Master Edun Olabanji and his exco members with Friesland Campina WAMCO Nigeria PLC Managing Director Mr Peter Eshekina and Public and Regulatory Affairs Manager Mrs Ore Famurewa, during a visit to WAMCO PHOTO: DAYO ADEWUNMI

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

NEWS (SHOWBIZ)

Kunle Afolayan’s Figurine now in literature

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N an unusual adaptation, award-winning movie, The Figurine, produced by Kunle Afolayan, has been reproduced in a book.

The migration, according to the filmmaker, will satisfy other educational purposes, going by the myth surrounding the history of ‘Araromire’, a clan whose fate of ups and downs is determined by the figurine.

“This is a novelty”, said the filmmaker, who has since shot two other well-acclaimed films, Phone Swap and October 1. “We have always said we should tell our stories. But I believe it goes beyond mere rhetoric and images on the screen. Releasing one’s movie to scholarly interrogation like this is one of the next levels for our film industry to climb and I’m excited that this is already happening through my film”, he added.

The demand for the story in a book form may not be unconnected with the success of its motion picture after five years of cinema and home video exposure; winning five awards, including Best Film category at the prestigious Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) and making impacts at film festival circuits.

Although the figurine remains the centre of conflict of the ‘Araromire’ people, the book returns with a thesis-like title called Auteuring Nollywood: Critical Perspectives on The Figurine .

Edited by Dr. Adeshina Afolayan of the Department of Philosophy, University of Ibadan, and Foreword written by Prof. Jonathan Haynes of the Long Island University, USA, the book will be unveiled at a major ceremony on Thursday, July 31, at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

In a release, Relentless Media, the outfit coordinating the book unveiling and launching in conjunction with Golden Effects Services, stated that the ceremony would witness a rich array of Nollywood stars, allied film professionals, academics, top government functionaries, captains

of industry and members of the diplomatic corps.

“Former Minister of National Planning and a respected patriarch of the arts, Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, OFR will chair the ceremony that is designed to be one of Nollywood’s greatest moments outside movie location,” said Steve Ayorinde, honcho of Relentless Media.

The book, a collection of scholarly essays, is the first of its kind devoted to the work of a single Nigerian film director. It interrogates the thematic focus and cinematic style employed in The Figurine, while also using that singular work to engage the new trends in the new Nigerian cinema, popularly referred to as Nollywood.

Contributors to the 455-page book include Dr. Sola Osofisan, Dr. Dele Layiwola, Dr. Chukwuma Okoye, Jane Thorburn, Matthew H. Brown, Gideon Tanimonure, A.G.A Bello, Foluke Ogunleye and Prof.

Hyginus Ekwuazi.

An ‘Afterword’ on “NeoNollywood and its Other” by the prolific scholar, Dr. Onookome Okome, is also provided in the book, in addition to a series of interviews with key actors and technicians who featured in the film.

Already earning comments from literary gurus, Nduka Otiono, a former Secretary General of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), who is a lecturer at the Institute of African Studies, Carlton University, Ottawa, Canada said: “This book is seminal in its inauguration of a new chapter in the study of Nigeria’s phenomenal contribution to global film culture … it makes a strong case for a more indepth artistic and critical approach to the study of Nollywood that triangulates around orality.”

In the same vein, Ayorinde, a renowned journalist/film critic applauds the arrival of Auteuring Nollywood, saying: “At a time that the Nigerian film industry is opening up to the Academy

Kefee to be buried July 11

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FEW weeks after celebrated Nigerian Gospel singer, Irikefe Don-Momoh, aka Kefee, passed on in the U.S., her family has announced that her remains will be laid to rest on Friday, July 11, at her hometown, Okpara-Inland, Ethiope East Local Government of Delta State.

This was disclosed during a condolence visit to the artiste’s family in Sapele, Delta State by members of the Kefee Memorial Committee on Wednesday, July 2.

In a statement on Thursday, her publicist revealed that Kefee’s husband, Teddy Don-Momoh, who has been making arrangement to bring her body back from the U.S., would arrive the country first to receive her body before taking her down to Delta State for burial.

Members of the Kefee Memorial Committee, who travelled to Sapele from Lagos, included Sammie Okposo, Nikki Laoye, Annie Ibrahim, Gordons, Princess, Linda Etukudo, Rex Anighoro, Noah Momodu, Covenant and Chika 100%.

Sammie, who spoke on behalf of the committee, said the delegation was in Sapele to commiserate with the family on the loss and

• Ramsey Nouah and Kunle Afolayan in The Figurine

Awards and is also being duly acknowledged as a major contributor to the Nigerian economy, the book fulfils two roles - championing a new and positive development in cinematic and literary studies in Nigeria by focusing exclusively on the work of a single cineaste, while also expanding the narrative around a

I

harmonise the arrangement of the Kefee Memorial Committee with the preparations of her family.

In his speech, Kefee’s father, Mr. Andrew Obareki, who expressed his gratitude to the team, said the visit had reduced their grief and prayed against such a tragic occurrence in the entertainment industry. .

Kefee passed away on Friday, June 13, following a brief illness.

as ‘telling our own stories.’”

The reviewers who will do justice to the intellectual content in the book are Mr. Emeka Mba, the Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission and Dr. Ikechukwu Obiaya, the Director of Nollywood Study Centre, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos.

Artistes thrill at Project Fame concert

T was a weekend of fun, as guests were entertained at the Project Fame All Star concert at the LTV Blue Roof Arena, Ikeja, Lagos.

Fans came out en masse to party with their favourite superstars and MTN ambassadors.

Thrilling fun seekers at the event, Timaya put up what was described by guests as one of his best performances so far.

Chidinma Ekile also dazzled the audience with her scintillating voice.

Other artistes who rocked the show include Banky W, Oritsefemi, Praiz, The Mavin crew, Kcee and Olawale Ojo, winner of Project Fame 6.

The crowd stood up for great showmanship and applauded the artistes who graced the All-Stars stage.

The climax of all the performances was when Larry Annetts, the out-going Chief Marketing Officer of MTN, enlivened the audience with his rendition of Kcee’s Limpopo.

• Banky W

British/Nigerian actor Wale Ojo joins Tinsel

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HONE Swap actor, Wale Ojo, has joined the DStv home stars, as a new cast on the popular TV series, Tinsel.

The actor, who also stars in Kunle Afolayan’s yet-to-be-released October 1, will, in the hit soap opera, play Nosa, a wellknown comedian and lawyer , known for uttering outrageous truths and taking positions that go against conventional wisdom, but always with a grain of truth in them.

Nosa, a well-travelled, welleducated and well informed but very street savvy Nigerian with humble roots makes his materials as a comedian well thought out and informed. Soon coming to the realisation that he wants marriage and children, he em-

Dabenja Abeni drops Ekaette

• Kefee

film industry that continues to announce its arrival on the global scene in a spectacular way.”

For Dr. Akin Adesokan of the Indiana University, Bloomington, USA, the book is “comprehensive and informed about its subject and, in unexpected ways, gives solidity to the characterization of Nollywood

B

ENJAMIN Uwah, aka Dabenja, has released his latest single, Ekaette, under The Mustard Seed Record label, (TMS).

The Malaysia-based artiste, who is a graduate of Business Administration, made his debut with his single, Whenever you Smile, which got massive air play. He followed it up with a video shot in South Africa by God Father.

Dabenja described Ekaette as a club banger and a high-life track produced by Vic.

barks on a mission to find a partner, but soon realises that as a result of his fame and his many unsuccessful romantic relationships in the past due to his battle with bipolar disorder, Nosa faces difficulties selecting the right partner, but will soon be romantically linked with the most unusual Tinsel character.

Ojo’s role in his new engagement is similar to the flick that brought him to prominence; the hit TV series, Meet The Adebanjos, which depicts the hilarious life of a Nigerian family living in London.

The actor is expected to bring his craft and talent as a trained actor to DStv viewers from July 7th, when the new series begins airing.

Ojo’s career as an actor spans well over thirty years, bringing to Tinsel, all the grace and expertise of a TV, stage and film veteran.

Speaking on the new show, Regional Director, Wangi MbaUzoukwu said “AfricaMagic is very proud of Wale Ojo’s addition to the fantastic Tinsel line up, which further reiterates our commitment, not only to identifying and developing new talents, but also working with the best in the TV and film industry and this is as a result of his track record as an established and professional actor”, adding that “Tinsel fans

are in for a wonderful season with some rib-cracking and A-ha moments” For the actor however, every rise in his job offers a new challenge. “I am very excited and looking forward to the wonderful challenge to be a part of the Tinsel train, hoping that with the commendable gang of cast and crew, we’ll all be able to ride the Tinsel train to higher glory,” he said.

• Wale Ojo

THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

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SPORT EXTRA

Chelsea sends Omeruo back to Middlesbrough

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NGLISH Premiership side, Chelsea, seem set to send Kenneth Omeruo back to Middlesbrough to continue his development.

The move seems confirmed,

following a statement by Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka, in an interview with British news station, Sky sports: Omeruo is currently on holiday following an

impressive World Cup campaign in Brazil, where he helped Nigeria reach the last 16 of the competition.

“Chelsea want to send us the player on loan and we would like to have him back with us again, Karanka told Sky sports in the interview.

And the Middlesbrough manager has confirmed his desire to take Chelsea defender back to the Riverside Stadium on loan next season.

The Chelsea youngster, who impressed at the World Cup, will return to England this week having further raised his profile with the Middlesbrough boss during his four appearances in Brazil.

“I like Kenneth not because of what he has done at the

World Cup, I like him because he’s a very good guy and very good player, Karanka told Skysports Omeruo made 14 appearances for Middlesbrough last season and Karanka would like to see the defender return to the Riverside Stadium.

“He played those games in a very good way. I was in contact with him during the World Cup, he wants to join us. Chelsea want to send him here so I hope we can get it sorted as soon as possible.”

This may not be the news Omeruo fans wants to hear following his sterling display for Nigeria, with the whole world writing that Chelsea will need him next season.

Porto picks Eze for pre-season

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LYING Eagles’ striker Chidera Eze will play no part in Nigeria’s African Youth Champions (AYC) qualifier against Lesotho, as he was named in the pre-season squad of FC Porto.

The teenage striker has recovered from the hamstring injury he sustained in the previous qualifier against Tanzania, but has been allowed by the

•Omeruo

Manu Garba-led technical crew to fight for a place in the first team of FC Porto in the coming season.

“Eze is ruled out of the qualifiers against Lesotho as he will be involved with his club in pre-season training,” disclosed a team official.

Nigeria host Lesotho on August 16 in a first leg clash, while the return encounter will take place two weeks later in Maseru.

Michael Olaitan resumes training after cardiac scare

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ICHAEL Olaitan, who at a time was tipped to make Nigeria final World Cup squad, is to resume training with Greek champions Olympiacos after a heart scare that threatened to end his highly promising career, AfricanFootball.com can exclusively reveal.

“He will resume training with the Olympiacos first-team squad ahead of the new season,” a top source told only AfricanFootball.com.

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“During the off-season, Olaitan repeated a visit to Belgium to see a worldregarded cardiologist and it appears he has now finally got the green light to play again.”

In March, former Nigeria U20 midfielder Olaitan was hospitalised for several days after he slumped on his own during an Athens derby involving his club and city rivals Panathinaikos.

He has since not returned to train with Olympiacos as they went on to win the Greek

league championship and exit the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Manchester United.

The 21-year-old midfielder, who won a football reality show in Nigeria before his move to Europe, enjoyed an eventful debut season at Olympiacos, playing a total of 16 games and scoring eight goals.

Former Nigeria skipper Sunday Oliseh will go on to say he is ripe to star for the Super Eagles at the World Cup.

Bosnia-Herzegovina.

While Shola sat it out, his teammates were then a little unlucky after giving France a real scare in their last sixteen knockout match.

Shola now reflecting; “Playing at the World Cup is a dream come true.

“For any football player, playing at the World Cup is the is the ultimate and it is what I have longed for a long time.

“For it to happen at the tail end of my career is incredible, being with the Nigerian team has really been a wonderful experience for me.

“We did not get anything wrong against France, we gave the match everything that we had. Unfortunately they scored and we didn’t. We had a goal that was disallowed and the ball fell to Paul Pogba form a corner kick for their goal.

“We took the game to them but couldn’t convert any of the chances that we had.

“We don’t have to feel disappointed because we gave a good account and the only disappointing thing was the result.”

As for brother Sammy’s international ambitions with

Nigeria, older brother Shola had this to say; “He’s his own man and knows what is good for him.

“He has been asking me about the team and what it

•Olaitan

Shola Ameobi wants to ‘live the dream’

E P A R T I N G Newcastle United striker Shola Ameobi has been talking about living the dream over in Brazil.

The selection of Shola for the Nigerian World Cup squad wasn’t without controversy as fans back home questioned the wisdom of selecting players who had played little club football in recent times.

However, Nigeria successfully came out of what had looked a tough group including Argentina and

•Ameobi

takes to be there, I let him know waht a great nation Nigeria are to play for.

“If he decides to play for Nigeria then I am going to give him all my support.”

Chukwumerije misses out of WTF Grand Prix

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IGERIA’S sole representative, Chika Chukwumerije, is set to miss out on one of the biggest global Taekwondo events – the WTF Grand Prix Series, which commences today, through July 6 at the Suzhou Sports Centre in the Chinese city of Suzhou, due to the laxity and negligence of a representative of the China Taekwondo Association.

The Suzhou Grand Prix event, the first of three Grand Prix series set for this year, is expected to attract a total of 236 top athletes from 57 countries. The Grand Prix events have a direct impact on qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympics, as a massive 40 Olympic ranking points are at stake. Only the world’s top 31 athletes in each weight category, based on their April 2014 WTF Olympic ranking, are eligible for the tournament.

Chukwumerije was Nigeria’s sole Taekwondo athlete eligible for the WTF Grand Prix Series, and one of the few from Africa, who was to represent the African continent at this global event.

Other participating athletes include nine Olympic medallists, including three double Olympic medal winners – Steven Lopez of the United States, Kyung-seon Hwang of Korea and Wu Jingyu of China. The other gold medallists are Argentina’s Sebastian Eduardo Crismanich, Great Britain’s Jade Jones, Serbia’s Milica Mandic and Italy’s Carlo Molfeta, Korea’s Dongmin Cha and Mexico’s Maria Espinoza.

According to the World Taekwondo Federation President, Chungwon Choue, “The Grand Prix is an exciting new concept in international taekwondo competition, inaugurated last December in Manchester, the United Kingdom. Our ambition with the Grand Prix is to provide an arena for taekwondo’s finest athletes to raise the sport’s visibility, and to realize taekwondo’s fullest potential worldwide,” said WTF President To adequately prepare for this event, Chukwumerije had jetted out to Taiwan for a 23-day long intense training camp, the same location he trained before winning a Bronze at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, a first for SubSaharan Africa at the time.

From the official draws released, Chukwumerije would have met Juan Carlos Diaz of

Golden Eaglets get warm welcome HE Golden Eaglets were in Cairo warmly received

T

Wednesday night as the Nigeria’s national Under-17 team landed at the Cairo Airport aboard EGYPTAIR from Abuja.

The contingent of 25 players and nine officials led by Alhaji Ahmad Muazu Kawu, a board member of the Nigeria Football Federation and Chairman of the Nigeria Nationwide League, finally arrived the ‘land of history’ at 7:20pm local time (8:20pm Nigerian time) and were met on arrival by officials of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) led Mr. Nadar Darwish of the Players’ Affairs Department.

Expectedly, Golden Eaglets’ Head Coach, Emmanuel Amuneke was an instant hit with the Cairo fans following his successful stint at Egypt’s top side, Zamalek FC in the 1990s.

“Emmanuel! Emmanuel!!” shouted well-set security personnel who quickly offered a warm handshake. “It is great to

see you again.”

Another excited Zamalek fan actually came in tow with his family to welcome Amuneke’s Eaglets saying, he was so happy to meet the 1994 African Footballer of the Year again.

“I hope this is Emmanuel, “said the enthusiastic guy who brought along his son for a photo shoot. “ I’m a great Zamalek fan and we cannot forget what Emmanuel did when he played for us and I want to wish you well.”

Similarly, Hassan El Shafey, a staunch Al Ahly fan and General Manager at Sheraton Dreamland Hotel and Conference Centre , was equally elated on seeing Amuneke during lunch time on Thursday: “You were wicked to us when you were are playing for Zamalek but we love you dearly because you were such a great player; Emmanuel is half Egyptian!”

•Nigeria's Chika Chukwumerije fights Cuba's Robelis Despaigne (in red) during their match in men's plus 80-kg taekwondo competition

Venezelua in his first fight, and if successful, met the winner between Konstantinos Gkoltsios of Greece and Ivan Trajkovic of Sloviakia, which was considerably a good draw for the veteran combatant.

Shedding some light on why he could not get the visa on time, he fingered the unprofessionalism of the host organisers as the root cause of his absence at the Grand Prix.

“The contact person, Mr Cui Wei, informed us we could get the visa in Taipei and we just had to wait for the invitation letter.

The Federation submitted all necessary documentation on time, before the stipulated deadline, and all the organisers had to do was send a letter of invitation on time. They then sent it just two days before I was to fly out to China, and Mr Cui Wei, did a complete turn-around and told me to head back to Nigeria to get a visa” Speaking from his training base in Taiwan, an audibly distraught Chukwumerije lamented about the huge work gone down the drain.

“The training camp has been so intense - three times training a day, very strict dieting, 6kg lost, hours of watching and analysing opponents. I have not trained this hard and been this focused since the London 2012 Olympics, and someone just sweeps all that layer of hard work through sheer incompetence” Clearly still shaken by the actions of the Chinese Taekwondo Association representative, the veteran athlete reflected on the negative consequences for Nigeria.

“Now the Grand Prix has started in earnest, and Nigeria is unrepresented by any athlete, just because the organizing committee could not respond to a request email on time or provide the right info at the right time. The unprofessional and unfortunate manner in which the China Taekwondo Association has handled this issue has cost the Nation dearly in terms of funds, money and Olympic points.”

The athlete thanked the National Sports Commission for their tremendous support towards the growth and development of Taekwondo in Nigeria, and hoped that this incident does not cause significant damage to Nigeria Taekwondo’s chances of qualifying for Rio 2016 Olympics.

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THE NATION FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

SPORT EXTRA

FEDERATION CUP...FEDERATION CUP...FEDERATION CUP...FEDERATION CUP...FEDERATION CUP...FEDERATION CUP...FEDERATION CUP...

Gateway bundle Pillars out of Federation Cup 3SC, Rangers, Lobi sail

By Taofeek Babalola

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ATEWAY United of Ogun State yesterday at the Lokoja Township stadium in Kogi state stunned the current Premier League leaders,Kano Pillars 2-1 in a pulsating round of 64 match.

The Kano side opened scoring in the 35th minute of play through Kingsley Udoh but barely nine

• Malikawa blames AR1 for defeat

minutes later Gateway United levelled scores through Francis Olanrewaju.

However, as the game was looking to stretch into extra time, the Abeokuta side sealed victory when Opeyemi Oluwafemi scored the winning goal in the 84th minute to end Pillars Federation Cup

Leopard FC walk over Kaduna Utd

By Taofeek Babalola

K

ADUNA United’s hope of making significant impact in this year’s Federation Cup was dashed when they were walked over by Leopard FC in the round of 16 tie at the Katsina Ala Stadium yesterday.

SportingLife gathered that the Crocodile arrived late at the stadium after the match officials had already awarded the game to Leopard FC. It was said that funds delayed Kaduna United trip. The players and officials were expected to travel on Wednesday for the match but they were unable to make the trip due to lack of funds.

The dejected players were called upon yesterday morning to prepare for the trip after being told that some money had been released.

The players left Kaduna at around 6:30 am yesterday and they could not meet up the kick off time.

A source from the team’s camp told SportingLife that the team left Kaduna without feeding and accommodation funds, stressing that the management promised to send the money to them in Katsina Ala. The club’s media officer, Uba Ibrahim denied the reports.

“We arrived late for the match. We met the Leopard FC players and match officials but they told us that the match had been awarded to Leopard FC. We were meant to travel on Wednesday night but we didn’t receive the funds on time. We got the money on Thursday and we gathered the players for the trip,” Ibrahim told SportingLife.

campaign.

Although, Pillars got a late minute goal through Adamu Hassan but it was ruled off side by the assistant referee 1 Abel Baba after the center referee Ibrahim Isiaku ruled for a goal.

By virtue of yesterday's victory, Gateway United who had never won the the trophy since it was founded now advance to the round of 32.

The club's media officer, Idris Malikawa said his side lost gallantly. But he blamed the assistant referee 1 Abel Baba for ruling Hassan’s goal offside.

"We lost gallantly because our boys gave everything to the game. Although, I don't like to comment on officiating but I must say that the AR1 Abel Baba caused our defeat. Hassan scored a late goal but we were surprised that Baba ruled it off-side after the center referee had already ruled it a goal. This is not the first time we are experiencing this. Baba did the same thing to us in one of our league games against Enyimba FC in Aba two years ago. We were leading 2-1 before he awarded a penalty to Enyimba FC instead of an indirect free for their equaliser. Today we scored a goal and he disallowed it again," Malikawa lamented.

to the Round of 32

From Tunde Liadi,Owerri

3

SC of Ibadan, Enugu Rangers and Lobi Stars strolled to the next round of the Federation Cup after comfortable 2-0 victories over their opponents yesterday.

The Oluyole Warriors started the avalanche of wins with a 2-0 victory of Dalhatu FC at the FIFA Goal Project, Abuja with goals from Taofeek Adepoju and Femi Ojo in the 23rd and 51st minutes.

The Oyo reps Media Officer, Jubril Arowolo reports that the game was a lovely tie and that their

Prime edge past Elkanemi Babes on penalties

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Crown FC advance

By Taofeek Babalola

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NE of the Oyo State representatives in this year’s Federation Cup , Crown FC have progresssed to the round of 32 after beating their opponents in the round of 64 match played yesterday.

Crown FC of Ogbomoso laboured to beat Bright Stars 4-1 on penalties after the full time ended 1-1.

Segun Ojo saved Crown FC from what could have been a big upset when he got an equaliser in the 90th minute for his side after the Bright Stars surprised the Ajilete Boys when they scored the first goal.

The Ajilete Boys heaved a sigh of relief when they eventually overpowereda their opponents in a penalty shoot-out.

Crown FC media officer, Kunle Oyeleye said Bright FC made the game difficult for his side.

“We never knew that the match will go into penalty shoot-out. They gave us a run for our money. Our boys didn’t have much time to train because of the World Cup break. It really affected them. It was not as if they were fantastic but this unknown team always try to create upsets, that was what happened,” Oyeleye told 7.

FEDERATION CUP RESULTS Dalhatu FC 0 Vs 2 3SC FC Dynamite FC 4 Vs 0 Rancher Bees Kaduna Utd Vs Leopard FC (Leopard walked-over Kad Utd) Bright Stars 1 Vs 1 Crown FC ( Crown won 1-4 on penalties) Bendel Insurance 1 Vs 0 Sunshine Stars Enugu Rangers 2 Vs 0 Ikpeazu FC Lobi Stars 2 Vs 0 Tornadoes Feeders (Jos, 2pm) Wikki 0 Vs 0 El-Kanemi ( El kanemi won 0-3) on penalties) Yobe Desert Stars 1 Vs 2 Kogi United Binani FC Vs FRSC (FRSC walked over Binani) Akwa United 1 Vs 2 FC Abuja (Enugu) Gateway FC 2 Vs 1 Kano Pillars Prime 0 Vs 0 El-Kanemi Babes (Prime won 3-1 on penalties) Dan Buran FC Vs Warri Wolves (walked over Dan Buran)

opponents gave a good accounts of themselves.

Rangers also qualified for the next round after a 2-0 triumph over Ikpeazu Redoubtable courtesy of Osagona Ighodalor's brace in the 5th and 50th minutes at the Umuahia Township Stadium, Umuahia.

Lobi Stars of Makurdi also booked a ticket to the next round at the Rwang Pam Stadium, Jos after a 2-0 conquest of Tornadoes' Feeders.

Seriki Audu and Bunde Moses' goals in the 69th and 86th minutes ensured victory for the Benue State sides.

KANO PILLARS 1-2 GATEWAY UNITED

Henry Nwosu: My boys never gave up From Tunde Liadi,Owerri

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ATEWAY United head coach, Henry Nwosu has stated that his players' self belief and confidence were largely responsible for their shock 2-1 victory over Kano Pillars in the Federation Cup Round of 64 tie played at the Confluence Stadium in Lokoja yesterday.

The game stood 1-1 apiece

at the end of the first half after Francis Olanrewaju equalised the Sai Masu Gida opener in the 44th minute before the Ogun State reps got the clincher in the second half through Opeyemi Olufemi in the 84th minute.

Speaking with SportingLife shortly after the tie, Nwosu said that his boys were really fired up to play against the reigning league champions and that the win

was for his players and the management staff.

"We are happy that we were able to beat Pillars. It was our self belief that was responsible for the win. We will take the rest of the matches one by one," Nwosu told SportingLife.

With the win, Gateway United have thus sent a signal to other premier league clubs of their intention to perform well in this year's edition.

El-kanemi beat Wikki Tourists

By Taofeek Babalola

E

L KANEMI Warriors advanced to the Federation Cup round of 32 after defeating Wikki Tourists in the round of 64 tie played yesterday at the Pantami Stadium, Gombe State.

El-Kanemi won 3-0 on penalties after a 0-0 scoreline at the regulation time.

El Kanemi media officer, Anthony Obaseki admitted that the game was too tough for both sides.

“Wikki Tourists gave us a good fight but we confirmed our supremacy on them. We

made them realise that top flight football is different from lower league game. We will continue from there by preparing for the next game.

As I said we have good plan for this tournament and we want to do everything to make an impact,” Obaseki said..

RIME Football Club progressed to the next round of the Federation Cup with a win over Elkanemi Babes of Maiduguri at the Bako Kotangora Stadium, Minna yesterday evening.

The Omoluabi Giants were able to silent the northerners 3-1 on penalties.

Prime dominated much of the encounter but lacked the cutting edge in the final third.

Elkanemi however came in very strong in the second half but the Omoluabi Giants proved too strong.

Prime could have rewarded themselves with a goal late in the game but Sanmi Okeowo missed kick.

Former Crown FC safehand, Adejare Adeniyi was Prime hero as he saved 3 Elkanemi Babes spot kicks for Prime to qualify for Federation Cup round of 32.

Prime will next week Wednesday/Thursday play against Warri Wolves in the round of 32 in a yet to be decided venue.

Akwa United crash out From Tunde Liadi,Owerri

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KWA United and Kaduna United were kicked out of the Federation Cup in the Round of 64 played yesterday across the nation.

The Promise Keepers went down to FC Abuja 2-1 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.

Dynamite FC of Edo and Kogi United are among other clubs that have sailed through to the next round of the Federation Cup.

TODAY IN THE NATION

FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2014

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

I

N a democracy, elections are the only means of choosing our leaders, and elections are about people’s preferences.

Preferences, on their part, could be rational or irrational, self-regarding or other-regarding. It does not really matter because in a democracy, the electorate are the kingmakers. The analogy is apt. Just as kingmakers select the king and reserve the right to depose him in the days of old, so the electorate elect their governor or representative and reserve the right to vote him or her out in four or five years as the case may be. With the power of recall, they can even do so in less than four years. It’s the beauty of democracy.

Since the return of democratic rule in 1999, Nigeria has had three general elections with varying degrees of success in the manner they reflected the true preferences of the electorate. In 2003, there was the routing of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) governors from the Southwest, except Lagos State, with rampant and credible allegations of rigging and violence. 2007 was worse, giving rise to successful challenges at election tribunals in the cases of Ekiti and Osun. That was how Governors Kayode Fayemi and Rauf Aregbesola retrieved their mandates. In 2011, cases of alleged rigging were few and far between and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and President Goodluck Jonathan were justly commended for allowing the people’s will to prevail. In the past year, Anambra State reminded us of the earlier days of an inept INEC. Ekiti 2014 has proved again that INEC is capable of shepherding our fragile democracy to a glorious destination and it should be commended by all citizens.

Now, the just concluded governorship election in Ekiti presents some issues for democracy and these arise for me in the form of questions that have agitated my mind since the announcement.

Does performance matter? If not, what does? What does the Ekiti election tell us about the electorate? They voted their preference. Is their preference for Fayose or against Fayemi? If their preference is for Fayose, what about him did they prefer? His person? His programme? His party? If their preference is against Fayemi, what about him did they not prefer? His person? His programme? His party? Can preferences be wrong? Where preferences reflect interests, can interests be misinformed? What does the election tell us about the defeated candidate?

I confess that I have no answers to these questions. But I cannot deny that they flow from a particular state of mind, one that is

A

T the end of my tethers as to what matter to interrogate this week, I began to draw a list of what I called troublous issues in the public arena in the last one week. In a short while I had a list of over a dozen items. Permit me to serve you this salad of issues as food for your soul. In no particular order, let us see how many can be accommodated.

Boko Haram: Despatches from Cameroon: Recall that for about five years this plague called Boko Haram came upon Nigeria, our Francophone neighbours, Cameroon, pretended it never existed until recently when the Chibok dimension happened and France practically summoned us all to Paris.

Since then, Cameroon has swung into action in its fight against the insurgent gang. In a professional and methodical manner, her gendarmes have taken to the northern border towns routing the miscreants.

The latest report last weekend is that about 50 Nigerian businessmen, who have been collaborating with the hoodlums, have been nabbed. In an intensive and clinical sweep through border villages, the Cameroonian soldiers also confiscated vehicles and large caches of arms. Did you ever hear our military arrest any sponsor? Since Boko Haram seems to have permeated our institutions, maybe we should bring in the Cameroonian gendarmes?

Our Super higgles: Members of our national team, the Super Eagles, are a smart

VOL.9 NO.2,897

‘Every day we see that we are not ready for the travails of the inflamed distance. We know the darkness of our practice and the perversions in our hearts and yet pay lipservice to evolving a practice worthy of the humane...’

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

SEGUN GBADEGESIN gbadegesin@thenationonlineng.net

Posers from Ekiti 2014

•Dr. Fayemi

confused, indeed, disappointed about the outcome of the election, having given a glowing endorsement of the loser. How and why did Fayemi lose? You might justifiably respond that he lost because voters rejected him, preferred Fayose, and that is good enough.

But while it is good enough, it is not deep enough. It answers the “how” and not the “why”. For a follow-up question is reasonable: why did they reject Fayemi and prefer Fayose?

Did Ekiti voters reject Fayemi because of a lacklustre performance? Even his bitterest opponent, including the governor-elect and the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would not go the route of despising the performance of the outgoing governor. Besides giving him credit for his statesmanlike concession speech to the people, he has also been praised for the achievements he made in four years. So, if a serious and objectively-valid case cannot be made against Fayemi on account of his performance, why

did he suffer such a crushing defeat by the people, including in his own local government? There must be something more than performance that is central to the voters’ idea of good governance than performance.

The last sentence needs modification. I am almost sure that Ekiti voters did not reject performance as an important criterion of good governance. But it appears true that they want something more. For them, it has to be “performance plus X”, where various items are substituted for X, depending on the preferences of individuals or groups. For contractors, it is performance plus contract awards. For teachers, it is performance plus payment of not only salaries but also allowances for training, in addition to not being held accountable for students’ performances through continuous certification tests. For students, it is performance plus free tuition at the Ekiti State University (EKSU). For the jobless, it is performance plus job opportunities. For the hungry, it is performance plus bags of rice and gallons of cooking oil. The list is inexhaustible because preferences are elastic, while the resources available to a small state like Ekiti, without the benefit of 13 per cent derivation fund, are limited. Here is the tragedy of our clime and whoever will put himself up as a transforming agent.

Fayemi has been accused of not being on ground, of not being a grassroots politician, and of not paying attention to what people want, instead of what they need, where want is prioritised above need. The last point is particularly troubling. No political office holder can hope to satisfy people’s wants especially in an environment of abject poverty. This is why developmental projects are targets for improving the lives of the citizens and the electorate. My information was that Fayemi made it a point of duty to solicit the input of Ekiti citizens in his budget priorities, prioritising what each locality claims as a need in the budget allocation for that locality. But apparently this wasn’t enough.

It has also been alleged that Fayemi im-

C OMMENT & D EB ATE EBA

STEVE OSUJI

EXPRESSO

steve.osuji@yahoo.com

A salad of troublous issues

bunch, but sorry to say that only by half.

They probably knew they were at the end of the road at the tournament so they insisted on getting all their cash upfront before the day of debacle. Their Ghanaian neighbours did the same. Our dotting president was forced to effect a trans-Atlantic cash shipment before the eve of that last game against a better-squared French team.

But it is just as well that they made their cash call because as they know too well, they would never have got their due. What is due to them would have been lost in the dark, hoary entrails of our football officials without anyone asking questions. Not even the presidency would have been able to help them. It happens all the time, it has become our stock-in-trade. Our football house has over the years become unashamedly mercantile and lost in such state of

pedestrianism, our football is the worse for it.

The team has done its best within its poor, wingless, circumscription. How could a bunch of old balding eagles be expected to soar too high? Though they won’t say it, I wager that the average age of that team would be about 35. A 35-year-old can only run so much against a 25-year-old. Have you ever wondered the average age of players in our local league? Don’t you feel the lads that won the under-20 World Cup (the Iheanachos and Alampasus) if groomed by a sound coach, should have been playing in Brazil? Do we really want to play football or do we want to play around?

ASUP for supper: We are a country assailed by ribald incongruities aren’t we? In a world where nations can only rise to greatness through scientific learning and technological

OLA TUNJI OL OLADE OLATUNJI OLOLADE

ported contractors from out of state to execute projects and this deprived Ekiti indigenes of the proverbial dividends of democracy. If this was the case, it was a grievous error on the part of the governor and his administration. What might be the reason?

It is not unusual; indeed, it is the rule in many cases that politicians-turn-contractors see contracts as rewards for political activism. They take mobilisation fees and run. I do not suggest that this is the case with Ekiti State, but it has happened with other states and with the Federal Government. We know of contract for road work that gets unexecuted. To preserve a legacy of developmental projects, Fayemi may have been advised to go for reputable contractors in or out of state. Sadly, we now know that the politics of stomach infrastructure is strategically more effective at the polls than an idealistic focus on developmental infrastructure.

In the final analysis, however, what really matters is that Ekiti voters have spoken with their ballot papers. Their preference is for Fayose and against Fayemi. The task of governance must proceed. Fayose will have to prudently combine his grassroots charm with the task of effective governance. He has been there before and he knows that the people that shout “hosanna” today are the same folks that will demand “crucifixion” tomorrow. The people may prioritise stomach infrastructure at the moment, but that does not mean they will reject developmental infrastructure. A governor that finds a way to combine both and more is a winner.

Of course, that is a tough call in an environment of scarcity.

I should end with a note of concern, especially for the Southwest political and economic development. Elections are about people’s will. If and when they have registered their will, politicians of all affiliations and tendencies ought to respect that will and work for another day. That was what Fayemi has been commended for and must be justly proud of. That frame of mind recommends itself to all, especially because in the spirit of the development of the Southwest and the commitment to DAWN, no state can be or should be left out. My greatest concern is that this election should have no negative impact on the spirit of DAWN, which Governor Fayemi has so effectively spearheaded. Governor-elect Fayose should be given every reason to know that he is an integral part of the success of DAWN moving forward. No matter the party affiliation, the work of developing the Southwest as a model zone is for all to embrace.

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know-how, our polytechnics have been virtually in the doldrums since 2001. That was the year the Federal Government reached what seemed like a groundbreaking agreement with members of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP). But 12 years down the line, government has reneged on that agreement (which in itself must have become badly jaded now). Now for nearly one academic session, ASUP has been on strike making a 12-year-old from the government.

Do we have an education minister? What on earth is he doing allowing this strike to last an academic session? Something must be wrong with that office; or the government or both. One doubts whether this can happen anywhere else on earth. Yet the minister organised a jamboree he termed: Education Sector Transformation under President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration. What manner of transformation might that be if an entire chunk of the sector is left behind.

Something terrible has befallen our education indeed; Philistines rule supreme.

De-looting Abacha loot: One day someone would sit down and draw up a list of a thousand incongruities that form the fabric of the polity called Nigeria. Why has our government become so awkward and lefthanded (or under-handed if you like)?

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