The Nation July 6, 2014 by The Nation

Newspaper of the Year

World Cup Crisis: Account forCongress N2.6bn, FG orders NFF sacks Maigari-led Board, reinstates Ogunjobi, Baribote

FIFA WORLD CUP

Brasil

–Page 5

Higuain sends Argentina into semi-finals Kompany happy with Belgium showing Zuniga apologies to Neymar for tackle Pele, Brazillians mourn star’s exit –Pages 78,79

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

Vol.08, No. 2901

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

SUNDAY

N200.00

JULY 6, 2014

BOKO HARAM

Colonel, 5 soldiers, 53 insurgents killed 10 policemen also in fierce Suicide bomber, four others die in checkpoint blast encounter in Borno

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Africa’s richestwoman,

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OSUN: APC RAISES ALARM OVER OMISORE’S MASKED GUARD –Page 4

Osun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Iyiola Omisore, with the controversial masked guard at a recent campaign event.

WHERE ARE THE CHIBOK GIRLS KIDNAPPED ON APRIL 15?

IMPEACHMENT: SOLDIERS SURROUND ADAMAWA CJ’s RESIDENCE

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014

PAGE 2 California Highway Patrol beats barefoot lady

CAPTURED

BAREFOOT woman described as harmless was subdued and pummelled by a California Highway Patrol Officer in an incident captured on video. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is investigating the incident, which occurred on Tuesday in Los Angeles. Video shot from a by-passing car shows the CHP officer chasing the woman on foot through traffic. In the video, the officer catches up to the woman from behind, spins her around and takes her to the ground. The pair struggled, but the officer ends up on top. From that position, he begins punching her rapidly in the head. “He is beating her up, yo,” a man filming the incident is heard saying. “Oh my gosh, why?” a woman asks. As the officer is continuously punching the woman and grappling with her, another man rushes to help the officer subdue the woman. The CHP officer then handcuffs her. “She took a left, and the cop, the CHP ran after her, grabbed her to try to subdue her, and then she you know, kind of tried to shove it off…Was she intoxicated? Was she mentally ill? Possibly,” David Diaz, one of the men who filmed the incident, told NBC Los Angeles.

OTHING demonstrates so poignantly the sorry pass Nigeria has come to in every area of national life as the federal government's phlegmatic approach to the Chibok abductions. On April 15, Boko Haram militants, in an attack that began on April 14, abducted some 276 schoolgirls from the town's Government Secondary School. The attack lasted many hours, some say as many as four hours. A federal government panel has determined, after much pussyfooting by the presidency, that about 219 of the girls remain in Boko Haram captivity. The problem is that in nearly three months of the girls' captivity, the Goodluck Jonathan government has done precious little, or at least nothing concrete and definable, to free them. Indeed, some weeks after the abductions, the Jonathan government was strangely silent or disbelieving on the matter. It gave the impression that issues surrounding the abductions were unfairly and dangerously politicised. The president's wife even melodramatically suggested that concrete proof was needed to confirm the story of the abduction which she passed off as a deplorable attempt to undermine and harm her husband. But a former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, sneered at President Jonathan's flatfootedness, accusing him of becoming needlessly embroiled in a useless controversy over whether or not abductions actually took place. But after the presidency finally convinced itself that the schoolgirls were missing, and on the scale previously reported, it has found it difficult going forward. The president would neither visit grieving and disconsolate parents of the abducted girls, to the chagrin of Nigerians and foreigners alike, nor set up and directly supervise an action/crisis committee to superintend and coordi-

Breaking and Entering On any given day the police will prosecute you for the crime of breaking and entering. But a few days ago, the tables were turned as this dramatic shot shows. A Chinese police officer in Weihai City in Shandong Province, in the east of China, escaped disciplinary action after losing control of a van and leaving it suspended three storeys above a street. The police clearly interpreted this as a mere accident.

BAROMETER sunday@thenationonlineng.net

Chibok: weeks of impotence become months of paralysis

nate the rescue efforts. The rest of the world has sometimes looked and sounded more affronted by

the abductions, and has created and sustained a worldwide movement to campaign for the release of the teenage girls. Embarrassingly, the Nigeria Police even briefly ordered a cessation of the “Bring Back the Girls” campaign in Abuja, the Federal Capital City, on the silly grounds that it was a ploy to undermine national peace and destabilise the Jonathan government. Unsure whether to launch a full-scale attack on the girls' captors, a strategy the military top brass have both publicly and privately deplored, the government has vacillated between strong-arm methods and the so-called 'prisoner exchange' option. Sadly and unbelievably, the early weeks of impotence have been replaced by the most offensive dithering any government anywhere is capable of. President Jonathan won't launch a total war, as he once

threatened, partly because he has been persuaded to see it as foolish and reckless. And he won't negotiate because he puzzlingly sees exchange of Boko Haram detainees with the girls as unethical and weak. The country is thus trapped in a vast, uncharted and suffocating netherworld, where nothing is ventured and nothing is gained. In the name of God, President Jonathan should kindly make up his mind what to do, and then do it with the sure-footedness expected of any government, even if he is unaccustomed to mustering that kind of resolve. The pains of the abducted girls and their parents, not to talk of the collective anguish of the country, are being unduly and unfortunately prolonged. The clearly unwanted option is for the president to do nothing and couch it as cautious deliberateness. The government must also not pass off the fortuitous capture of a Boko Haram intelligence cell as part of a secret, ongoing master plan to rescue the girls. Indeed, the fact is that even if the girls are returned to us today, the president is unlikely to reap any public relations credit from it.

Soldiers on rampage

RIDAY'S rampage in Lagos is not the first by soldiers. Given the backwardness of Nigeria's political leadership and the continuing breakdown of discipline in the security forces, it is unlikely to be the last. The implication, however, is that more and more, Nigeria is proving too big for those entrusted with directing its affairs to manage. The rampage is indefensible, no matter who was villain or victim. It is also a cruel assault on Nigeria's image for soldiers to resort to self-help. Though the military has hastily denied responsibility for the chaos, a denial undermined by photographs and eyewitnesses' accounts, Nigerians wonder just how casually our military deploys troops, or whether troops don't even wait for orders to deploy. If they have surplus manpower to engage in wilful damage of public property, why are they still enlisting men for the Boko Haram war?

National conference and graduate presidents

T was reported last week that the ongoing national conference has resolved that those seeking public office at executive level must hold a degree. Surely, the conference will clarify or reverse this decision. They can't possibly mean that only graduates are competent to hold public office, or that even if graduates get into office, their degrees would guarantee success. On what convincing argument do national conference delegates anchor the dubious logic that a university degree portends success in public office? The late President Umaru Yar'Adua and President Goodluck Jonathan are the first gradu-

ates to hold the office of president. But there is absolutely no consensus that they ruled Nigeria with anything properly describable as sterling quality or the kind of proficiency graduates are believed to possess. More importantly, by suggesting that only graduates are qualified to hold executive positions at all levels of government and the legislature, the national conference exhibits poor grasp of the qualities leaders must possess. If this provision should nest in the final national conference document, it is sure to be traduced vigorously. There will be many other national

conference resolutions that will jar public nerves. A referendum, contrary to the naivety of delegates, is unlikely to address and sieve many of these disagreeable provisions, for a referendum does not really sieve anything. From all indications, as the president himself indicated from the outset, there is no way the decisions of the national conference will not be vetted by the National Assembly. A referendum should come first to set the direction, followed by a draft constitution, and then a constituent assembly/national conference. For now, the country and its conference delegates have chosen to tilt at windmills.

By ADEKUNLE ADE-ADELEYE

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014

ITH the electoral scalp of Ekiti still dripping blood from its infamous hunter’s bag, the PDP rigging guillotine is now turning its attention to Osun State. It may yet presage the end of the Fourth Republic. Osun state is the cosmopolitan jugular of the Yoruba nation. But as somebody famously observed of a Nigerian military despot, it does seem as if the rigging collective is not intelligent enough to know fear. The PDP is the modern equivalent of the Yoruba folklorist Ogboju Ode ninu Igbo Irunmole. (the brave hunter in the forest of mystery) Before our very eyes, Nigeria has become a forest of evil in which there is no paddy for jungle—as they say. Yet one must marvel at the hubris of it all. As it was in the beginning so has it been at the end. Why is it that there is so much hubris in our history? Hubris, or pride and overweening self- regard , afflicts individuals, races, people, societies and nations. But it also seems to afflict certain historical epochs. Albert Einstein’s law of insanity—doing the same thing all over and expecting different results— seem to take over. As usual, the PDP political panzer division is led by renegade Yoruba children who do not care a hoot about the society and the nation as long as their personal ambition is fulfilled. It is not enough to say once again that they shall not pass. We need to ask far more fundamental questions. Is there something wrong and fundamentally rigged against rationality about the Yoruba leadership recruitment process, or is the Yoruba nationality gridlocked by fate to a fractious and eternally polarising political elite as decreed by Alafin Aole just before committing suicide? Ten years ago, on March 15, 2004, snooper laid the question bare to a distinguished audience of Yoruba elite and leading politicians at the inaugural Afenifere lecture. Why is it that each time the Yoruba nation achieves a significant degree of elite consensus and mass mobilization with grit and gruelling resolve, the wheels immediately begin to come off the armoured vehicle? The spoils of office and the politics of preferment and patronage begin to get in the way. As it was with Awolowo in 1962, 1979 and 1983, so it was with Abiola in 1993 and with Obasanjo’s doomed mainstream nonsense in 2003. Now in 2014 and with so many darts and poisoned arrows lobbing into Bourdillon, one is beginning to feel a sense of Déjà vu. Are the Yoruba too independent-minded for their own good, or too politically sophisticated to be locked into permanent romance and wedlock with a particular leadership formation? The old folks and usual suspects are restive again and anything might happen. As it is usually the case in Yoruba history, lucrative incentives from outside usually facilitate internal treachery. The Fulani conquest of their old empire was facilitated by internal perfidy. The ranking Yoruba warlord had become a law unto himself in a futile and ultimately suicidal bid for supremacy. According to Johnson, the fabled historian, even the fabled Prince Atiba, with an eye to his own future hegemony, deliberately allowed his flank to collapse in the decisive military confrontation. Now, conquest looms from another direction and mum is the word from those who are fixated on old battle formations. As they say in ancient Italian language, oggi a me, domani a te. (Today it is me, tomorrow it is you!) Sometimes, it is important to take a strategic gaze into the immediate past in order to unlock the dynamics of the immediate future. Ten years ago, when the issue of endemic disunity among the Yoruba political elite was broached at that lecture at the Muson Centre in Lagos, there were at least three AD governors, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Aremo Olusegun Osoba and Otunba Niyi

COLUMN

History as hubris (Looking back in amazement and amusement)

nooping around With

Tatalo Alamu

•Adesanya

Adebayo, who bonded very well and were sworn to collective action. As at this moment, the trio of political musketeers have gone their different ways, and the falcon can no longer hear the falconer. One must shudder to imagine what would happen to the current ACN/APC governors in ten years time. Would they still be in the same political fold, or would they have been driven by political exigencies to bitter political enmity? Still looking at the ever widening Yoruba political gyre, it is useful to recall that ten years ago at the inaugural Afenifere lecture, the Publicity Secretary of the organization and one of the prime organisers of the lecture was none other than Prince Dayo

LBERT J. Meyers of the staff of “U.S. News & World Report” has just toured the lands along the old “fever coast” of West Africa. This dispatch takes you into jungle areas of tribal rites, superstitions and abject poverty—where the politics and culture of the white man are up against baffling odds. Here on the Guinea coast of West Africa, you get a feeling that the white man will never really be able to understand this part of the world. This impression grows as the traveler moves through Cameroon, Nigeria, Dahomey, Togo, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Liberia, Guinea, and on up into Senegal on the African bulge. All of these, now are free, independent, self-governing black countries, each with a vote in the United Nations. They are countries whose politicians fanning the winds of change that keep blowing up crisis after crisis in Africa. They seem as different from the white man’s world as night from day. In the first place, West Africa is one of the most primitive areas in the world. There are no neat and gleaming cities here, such as Nairobi, in Kenya, Johannesburg and Cape town, in South Africa, or even Leopoldville, in the Congo. West African cities don’t gleam. They sprawl steamily amid a crowding, shoving mass of black community. Linked to past. Sometimes, the stench in Africa is overpowering. Open drains crisscross the cities—

Adeyeye. This very week, snooper looked on with ironic amusement as the same Ise Ekiti nobleman appeared before the senate nattily dressed and dandified to be screened as a minister in the PDP government. Adeyeye, a former Assistant of Chief Olu Falae and two time senatorial candidate of AD/AC, left the fold as a result of the fallout of the gubernatorial dispute which led to the emergence of Kayode Fayemi as the flag bearer for Ekiti State. And there were others, particularly the stoic and decorous Dare Babarinsa, who left never to return. The three leading grenadiers of the current PDP onslaught on the Yoruba nation, Musliu Obanikoro, Iyiola Omisore and Jelili Adesiyan,

all belonged at one time or the other to what is known as the progressive tendency. As it was at the beginning of the Action Group crisis, so it has been at the injury time of political football Given the current political configurations or reconfigurations as the case may be, and the ongoing deadly power struggle in the South West, one may not be surprised if Chief Olu Falae shows up at the coronation to wish his former boy a happy tenure, after all in politics the enemy of your enemy is a friend. It is all in the nature of these things. Last weekend in far way Santa Monica, yours sincerely was briskly roused from sleep at 2 A.M western coast time by a frantic call from Nigeria. It was from Wole Olanipekun, SAN, and one Nigeria’s leading legal luminaries. Wole is an outstanding Nigerian patriot and militant Yoruba nationalist with broad progressive tendencies. Like many of his Ekiti compatriots, he could also be brutally frank. It is a friendship that has lasted over forty years, dating back to our days together in the trenches against military dictatorship in Nigeria. While Wole served as the Secretary General of the University of Lagos Student Union, yours sincerely was the elusive and mysterious chairman of the Unife Joint Action Committee with concurrent accreditation to four un-nameable campuses. We had met when snooper appeared at the Unilag campus as a non-executive member of the Ife students’ union executive which was then visiting. Wole’s beef was with how the fallout of the Fayose resurgence was being managed. He had obviously read this column. In his view, the Yoruba nation was poised at the edge of a precipice which has to be carefully managed to avert a calamitous endgame. Fayose was the proverbial fly perched precariously on the most sensitive part of the anatomy which requires con-

siderable diplomatic exertion and engagement. With current developments in the old West, it is now even clearer that the Yoruba Question is an integral part of the National Question. There is no way out as long as everybody is boxed into this colonial cage of contraries. Despite the bold strides of its many outstanding and talented individuals to put Nigeria on the world map, it is obvious that Nigeria is dying from the kwashiorkor of failed leadership. The leadership lottery and the structural configuration of Nigeria are such that they will never allow the best and the brightest to step forward to rescue the nation. It is like going into competitive soccer with your tenth eleven. It is a hopeless mismatch. The lack of a visionary and integrative leadership and of a national consensus in critical areas of nation-building is telling, and it rears its head in profoundly ironic and totally unexpected ways.. Political developments in Nigeria are often stranger than fiction, and they sometimes best the most imaginative efforts of the masters of magical realism. Had he been born a Nigerian, Gabriel Garcia Marquez would long have been driven out of business. Actual reality is so unrealistic that the budding novelist must not attempt to enter into any competition with it. Once again, the Nigerian nation is stumbling precariously on a steep political escarpment. The Yoruba nation is critically endangered. Huge conflagrations in Nigeria are usually preceded by civil war among the Yoruba political elite. Is history about to repeat itself? The next few weeks will answer that question. For the second time, and by popular demand, we bring you an article which took an early look at the fate of the post-colonial nation in West Africa. Written in 1961, it reads like the horoscope of disaster foretold.

Where the white man can’t win A tour of africa’s “fever coast”

uncovered to the flies and other insects. This is often called the “fever coast” or the “white man’s graveyard.” It isn’t difficult to understand why. Many of the Africans here are descendants of those who were sold into slavery and taken to America— or of those who worked for the slave traders, rounding up captives from tribes other than their own. The tribal system persists. Language barriers give an idea of its complexity. There probably are 400 different tribal languages or dialects. That is only one roadblock to unity. Tribal hostility is another. The tribes within one nation often are deadly enemies, yet owe common allegiance to a central government in Lagos, Accra, or Abidjan—whatever the capital of the country happens to be. Everywhere, you sense the strange, secretive nature of the people. For instance, with these Africans, religion takes weird forms. Witchcraft and black magic are widespread. Ritual murders still are practiced. Humans are sacrificed to jungle gods. Children are kidnapped and sold to tribes that then slaughter them in sacrificial rites. In West African cities, native families—husband, wife with the inevitable baby strapped on her back,

other children and innumerable relatives—live in reeking, tin-roofed huts. In the bush, where most of tropical Africa’s people live, home is a mud hut with some kind of thatched roof. The “mammy traders.” All over West Africa there are “mammy traders”—women sitting by the side of the road selling anything from tooth paste to juju charms. Jujus are supposed to do anything from improving fertility to making the wearer invisible. An example of how Africans think jujus work: Recently, a Communistindoctrinated terrorist in Cameroon killed a Frenchman out in the bush and was stripping the victim’s body when police arrived. The killer calmly went on with his work because he was wearing a “magic” juju ring sold to him by a witch doctor. He thought the ring made him invisible. Slogans and lethargy. A “mammy economy” seems to prevail in much of West Africa. In Accra and other cities, for instance, the Africans travel by “mammy wagon.” These rickety buses are so designated because the businesses are run by women. The “mammy wagons,” always overflowing with passengers, carry slogans on their sides, such as “Jesus Is Mine,” “Nothing Bad,” “Slow but Sure.” An American, talking to West

Africans, discovers in them a sort of lethargic surliness. Perhaps that can be blamed on the climate. It is a climate in which disease—hookworm, tapeworm, malaria, yellow fever, leprosy—is likely to strike at any time. The visitor learns this quickly. Near the dirt-strip airport at Yaoundé there is a beautiful lake. Its blue waters look cool and inviting. But swimming in the lake is forbidden, because any swimmer would be sure to get hookworm. At the hotel here, the guest fights off centipedes, sleeps under mosquito netting, wakes up in the morning with mosquito bites anyway. He takes his malaria pills and hopes they’ll do the job. English with static. A white man has language trouble almost everywhere. Even in Ghana, where English is the official language, communicating is hard. The average West African, if he speaks English at all, does it with an accent that makes it seem as though he had studied it by radio, taking all his lessons at a time when the static was very bad. To an American, listening to a Ghanaian speak English is rather like listening to a phonograph being played at three or four times its normal speed. Continued on page 74

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

NEWS

Boko Haram: Colonel, five soldiers, 53 terrorists killed T in Borno attacks HREE weekend onslaughts by terrorists have claimed the lives of an army Colonel, five other soldiers, 10 policemen, three members of a vigilance group and 53 insurgents in Borno State. One of the policemen was a divisional police officer (DPO), according to sources. Most of the casualties were recorded in Damboa Local Government Area of the state where terrorists were said to have stormed troops' bases with a view to ambushing them. They were, however, repelled during which the Colonel, the five soldiers and 10 policemen lost their lives. Fifty of the terrorists involved in the operation were killed while a botched suicide

From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

mission at a checkpoint in Konduga in Borno State led to the death of the bomber, a policeman and three members of a vigilance group. The insurgents fired on the military in Damboa with rocket-propelled grenades, Gideon Jubrin, police spokesman for Borno State, said. He had no information on casualties. Another security source said the raid was a revenge mission after dozens of Boko Haram militants were killed

â&#x20AC;˘10 Policemen also â&#x20AC;˘Bomber, four others die in botched bomb attack in an air and ground offensive on two of their camps in areas of Borno called Yejiwa and Alagarno. The Director of Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, in a statement last night, confirmed the invasion by the insurgents saying only that "a total of five soldiers and a senior officer were also killed while repel-

ling the attack." He was silent on the identity of the senior officer. Our correspondent, however, gathered that a Colonel was killed in the encounter. The Colonel was said to have put up a gallant effort in coordinating the repel of the insurgents. The DHQ said: "Over 50 terrorists died as troops re-

pelled a daring attack on troops' locations in Damboa, Borno State yesterday (Friday) night. "The terrorists had stormed the troops' bases and police locations while most of the troops were out on patrol of surrounding villages. A total of five soldiers and a senior officer were also killed while repelling the attack. A cordon and search of the locality is ongoing, while the bodies of the fallen soldiers have been recovered and deposited in the military morgue. The wounded are also receiving treatment in the military medical facility." On the curtailment of insurgents in Baga and Konduga, Gen. Olukolade said troops on patrol around Baga area recovered explosives and rifles concealed in a truck loaded with fish and other commodities. Four suspects were taken

into custody in connection with the incident. He added:"at Konduga also in Borno State, a suicide bomber in a Golf car yesterday (Friday) crashed into a checkpoint killing himself, a policeman and three Vigilante Youth members." A source, who declined to be named, said residents were observing Friday prayers at Konduga when the pick-up truck approached. A local vigilante group stopped the truck to inspect it and the bomber then detonated the bomb a few metres away from the mosque, he said. Witness Mohammadu Sheriff said he had seen the vigilantes conducting checks on a pick-up van carrying firewood. "Suddenly it exploded," he said. "It would have been more devastating if the bomber had succeeded in driving near the mosque, which had over a thousand people in it." On the same day, terrorists had laid ambush on the Maiduguri- Mafa- Dikwa road killing about 15 passengers and motorists .

Egypt's prime minister justifies fuel subsidy cuts

â&#x20AC;˘From left: Bisi Kazeem, Deputy Public Education Officer, FRSC; Yusuf Gojara, Head of Research, Zone 7, Abuja and Peter Oke, Head of Operations, Niger State Command sitting for a promotion examination for FRSC officers while Osita Chidoka, Corps Marshall, invigilates

APC raises alarm over Omisore's masked guard T HE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State yesterday accused the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Chief Iyiola Omisore, of encouraging the terror culture by going about with a masked guard. The APC said the objective is to intimidate the electorate. The APC Director of Publicity and Strategy in the state, Kunle Oyatomi said in a statement that Omisore and the masked armed man have been spotted at campaign rallies. The party said: "While President Jonathan fights armed and masked terrorists in the North with Nigerian soldiers, the reverse is being done in Osun by Jonathan's man, hiding behind security cover to intimidate the electorate with masked and armed suspect terrorist guards." It called for "a full scale investigation by the security

agencies, if it was not privy to the exercise," saying "this potentially dangerous dimension of electioneering violence is a high risk factor that can derail democracy and threaten Nigeria's corporate existence." The APC also alleged that the PDP has "brought in bales of fake police uniforms with substantial arms into the state with the intention to replicate the scenario of Ekiti and enact the bombing experience in Ile Ife, in several other cities of the state." It deplored the impunity with which the PDP and Omisore are operating and said that "as the August 9 election approaches, PDP's desperation to win by force of arms rather than the votes of the people is manifesting ever so clearly. Political terrorism has arrived in Nigeria's democratic space

by the evil construct of the PDP." It said the only theme of Omisore at his rallies is 'arrangement has already been made to remove Aregbesola from office no matter whatever he is doing,' without articulating a plan of governance for Osun. In a separate statement yesterday, Oyatomi warned the PDP, Omisore and others against "breaching the peace of the state to stop causing chaos in the guise of political campaigns." It said the warning was necessitated by the rising wave of planned violent political attacks on the supporters of the All Progressive Congress (APC) across the state. The APC therefore cautioned "agents and promoters of conflicts and chaos to refrain from such acts or face the wrath of the law."

It drew attention to the political violence said to have been averted by the State Police Command in Obokun Local Government Area of the state on Friday in a fashion that followed similar attacks on the supporters of the APC at IlaOragun, Iwo, Ikirun, and the destruction of Governor Rauf Aregbesola's campaign billboards along Osogbo-Ilesha Road and Ibokun and Ile-Ife. It said: "Since PDP's exit from power, however, peace returned to Osun. Our people have from 2010 embraced the peace and harmony that Aregbesola's government heralded. It has been shown to the whole world that this state values, enjoys and promotes harmonious living among its various peoples. "This is one of the cardinal programmes of the APC government. Ours is not a government that fans the embers of disquiet, discord and chaos."

GYPT'S prime minister has sought to justify politically sensitive subsidy cuts on fuel and natural gas which took effect yesterday, saying they were a necessary part of fixing an economy hammered by three years of turmoil. Egypt had overnight on Friday slashed its subsidies for car fuel and natural gas, increasing their prices by more than 70 percent. The move prompted scattered protests, with several minibus drivers for instance protesting in the cities of Suez and Ismailia and demanding a rise in fares to compensate for increased fuel costs. Police fired tear gas to disperse them. However the move - taken during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when inflation is usually high due to increased food consumption - showed the government's determination to reduce the subsidies which eat up to a fifth of its annual budget. "The decisions were taken after delicate studies," Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb said at a press conference yesterday. "How can I achieve social justice while I am subsidizing for the rich on the expense of the poor? "We are at war, we are fighting poverty and ignorance," Mehleb said, adding that money saved from the subsidy cuts would go into the education and health sectors. Mehleb's cabinet was appointed last month by newly elected President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who also issued a 10 percent tax on stock market gains and increased the price of electricity. The economic austerity measures are part of Egypt's attempts to reduce its deficit to 10 percent of gross domestic product in the next fiscal year, from an expected shortfall of 12 percent in 2013/ 14. Such efforts, particularly those applying to basic items such as fuel, could trigger a backlash from many of Egypt's 86 million people, of whom half are poor and illiterate.

Pope: No-work Sundays good, not just for faithful

OPE Francis has lamented the abandoning of the traditionally Christian practice of not working on Sundays, saying it has a negative impact on families and friendships. Francis yesterday traveled to Molise, an agricultural region in the heart of southern Italy where unemployment is chronically high. While he said poor people need jobs to have dignity, he indicated that opening stores and other businesses on Sundays as a way to create jobs wasn't beneficial for society. Francis said the priority should be "not economic but human," and that the stress should be on families and friendships, not commercial relationships. He added: "Maybe it's time to ask ourselves if working on Sundays is true freedom." He said that spending Sundays with family and friends is an "ethical choice" for faithful and non-faithful alike. Francis, 77, appeared to have bounced back from a spate of illnesses which have caused him to cancel several appointments recently. He flew by helicopter to Molise for a full day of activity, including a lunch appointment with poor people and a visit to a prison. The pontiff moved energetically and smiled often as he greeted crowds. The Vatican had described the health problems as "mild" but did not elaborate. At one point, the pope, speaking off the cuff, encouraged parents to spend more time with children. He quipped: "Waste time with your children!" He said he liked to ask parents, "do you play with your children?"

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

HE tenure of Alhaji Aminu Maigari as President, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) came to an abrupt end yesterday following the dissolution of the board by an extra ordinary congress of stakeholders and delegates of Nigerian football. Simultaneously, an angry Federal Government demanded explanation from the dissolved NFF on the disbursement of N2.591billion allocated to it for football administration in the country. Maigari was arrested on Friday by operatives of the Directorate of Security Services (DSS) on his return from the World Cup competition in Brazil over allegations of financial mismanagement, but was released afterwards. The national football team, Super Eagles, were ousted in the round 16 of the ongoing World Cup in Brazil by France last Monday. The Minister of Sports/ Chairman, National Sports Commission, Mr. Timi Danagogo, in a July 2 letter to Maigari demanded the refund of the $3,600,000 released to the Super Eagles as their allowances for the encounter with France. The letter, NSC/HMC/ GEN/CON/2014, signed by Justice Joffa, reads “I am directed by the Honourable Minister and Chairman, National Sports Commission to request a detailed statement of account of all monies received from the Federal Government, other sponsors/donor companies and FIFA, by the Nigeria Football Federation under the following headings within 48 hours: • One hundred and fifty thousand naira (N150,000,000) monthly Federal Government subvention from January 2013 to date • Eight hundred and fifty million naira (N850,000,000) released by the Federal Government for the preparation and participation for the Super Eagles for the first round of matches at the FIFA World Cup, Brazil 2014. • One million and five hundred thousand dollars (US$1,500,000) FIFA grant the Federation received for the preparation of the Super Eagles for the World Cup. • Receipts from the various donors/sponsors companies for the prosecution of the 2014 World Cup and management of our leagues. “You are also expected to provide details of how the total of $14million expected from FIFA for Nigeria advancing to the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup, will be used to develop football in Nigeria. “You are to note that the $3,600,000 Mr. President graciously advanced for the appearance fees of players is not a donation. You are directed to ensure a refund of the said amount to the Honourable Minister without any further delay. “You are to further note that all the funds entrusted to you are to be deployed for the development of football in Nigeria and not for any political reelection bid. “This is for your information and strict compliance.” A reliable government source said: “The government is unhappy at the allegations of mismanagement of funds by the NFF. This is why the government is demanding accountability. “The government also is trying to prove to FIFA that the issue with the NFF borders on

NEWS

World Cup: Angry Fed Govt demands N2.591b account from NFF

•Minister writes Maigari •Congress dissolves Federation Board

FROM: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

transparency and accountability. Therefore, it has become imperative for the government to put the problems with the NFF before the public for FIFA to appreciate. “FIFA has threatened to sanction Nigeria as from Tuesday but the World Football governing body will also not tolerate alleged corrupt practices. “Nigerians can now appreciate why the players held the nation to ransom by demanding appearance fees before their last match with France. “The players appeared to have known much about the NFF than the government.” Responding to a question, the source added: “Security agencies are already looking into the activities of the NFF.” In dissolving the NFF, the extra-ordinary congress of stakeholders and delegates also lifted the ban on both Taiwo Ogunjobi and Victor Rumson Baribote by the Maigari-led NFF. A delegation of the stakeholders is scheduled to visit FIFA on Tuesday to table its position before the global football governing body. FIFA had given Nigeria up till Tuesday to let Maigari be after a Plateau State High Court last week voided his emergence as NFF Chairman. The congress in a resolution at its Abuja meeting “expressed heartfelt appreciation to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, in his personal capacity, and the Federal Government in general, for total and unflinching support to the Nigeria Football Federation for the development of the game. It also “Commended the players and officials of the Super Eagles for their impressive performance at the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil. Bemoaned the unfortunate incident of the international embarrassment caused the Nigeria nation at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, by failure of the Maigari– led NFF to fully and firmly resolve issues of finance with the Super Eagles ahead of the championship. “Accused the Maigari administration of short-changing grassroots development by failure to regularly avail State Football Associations of annual grant, and abuse of NFF Statutes in its constitution of NFF Electoral Committee, by altering the list of persons approved by the Congress at the 2013 General Assembly in Warri, Delta State, and inaugurating a different Committee. A new NFF Electoral Committee and NFF Appeals Committee were constituted. *Unanimously endorsed the dissolution of the Aminu Maigari –led NFF Executive Committee, and immediate termination of the employment of all Management Staff. “Endorsed the dissolution of the Boards of the Nigeria National League, Nigeria Women League and the Nigeria Nationwide League. The

Secretaries are to take over the running of the Leagues and report to the Acting General Secretary of NFF. “Approved the appointment of Mr. Lawrence Katken as Acting General Secretary of Nigeria Football Federation, pending the appointment of a substantive General Secretary.” It approved the constitution of an electoral committee to conduct a fresh election into the NFF. The committee comprises Mr. Jeriak Rowland (South South); Mr. Usman A. Usman

(North West); Mr. Emeka Asogwa (South East); Mrs. Margareth Aku (North Central); Mr. Hassan Adamu (North East); Others are Prof. Ademola Abass (South West); Mr. Chris Essien (South South); and Lawrence Katken (Secretary). An electoral appeal committee was also put in place. It is made up of: Mr. Effiong Oboho; Mr. Waribere Sonari; Dr. Isaac Akinloye; Mr. Thomas Awok; Mr. Simon Gyang; and Queen Otarakpo (Secretary). FIFA warned Nigeria about

possible suspension after the Plateau State High Court ordered the sacking of the soccer association and the appointment of a new administrator to run the game. It gave the Federal Government until Tuesday to restore the leadership of the Nigerian Football Federation failing which the country could be suspended from playing in international competitions. “FIFA has learnt from various sources that the Nigerian Football Federation has been served with court processes and

that consequently an order restraining the President of the NFF, his Executive Committee members and the NFF Congress from running the affairs of Nigerian soccer has been granted by a High Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” said a FIFA statement. It said it had also taken note of the detention of NFF president Aminu Maigari, although he has since been released. “FIFA has reminded the NFF that all FIFA member associations have to manage their affairs independently and without influence of any third parties. “The above mentioned actions are preventing the NFF from managing its affairs independently and are considered by FIFA as undue interference in the NFF affairs,” the statement added. The Plateau State High Court had granted an injunction restraining Maigari and co from running the affairs of soccer in the country.

Strengthening US-Africa Business Relations: Founder, The Tony Elumelu Foundation and Chairman, Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, C.O.N, (2nd right) and Wife, Dr. Awele Elumelu (1st left), former Secretary of State, United States of America, Mrs Hillary Clinton(2nd left); and Advisory Board member, The Tony Elumelu Foundation, Lady Lynn De Rothschild during a discussion between the Foundation and Hilary Clinton on the future of US-Africa business relations, held at Kensington Palace, London on Friday

US won’t give up on Nigeria, says envoy

HE United States of America says its support for Nigeria in tackling the war against terror is total. It is optimistic that Nigeria will win the war come whatever may. The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle, speaking at an event to mark his country’s 238th independence anniversary in Abuja, said Washington also remains committed to helping Nigeria achieve free, fair, peaceful and credible elec-

tions next year. “As we stand with Nigeria in its democratic journey, I want to make it clear that the assistance that we have offered over the years is in the same spirit that was offered to us by many other nations as we began our democratic journey,” he said. “You have many friends and partners who want Nigeria to succeed and the United States stands at the front of that line.” But he also explained that his country is only concentrating on

what to do things with Nigeria and not for Nigeria. He said: “We want Nigeria to win its war on terror and we are here to support you in that effort. It may seem that we suddenly sprang to Nigeria’s aid in the wake of the horrific Chibok girls’ kidnappings but the truth is that we have been working closely with you on this issue for a long time and that journey will continue. “We see a lot of ourselves in you. We are a nation made up of many peoples who have had

to figure out how to live together in peace and harmony. “We struggled through civil war, we struggled to develop economically and reduce poverty and we struggled to ensure equal rights for all of our citizens.” The ceremony, which was held at the United States Embassy in Abuja, was attended by members of the diplomatic community and Nigerian governors, party leaders and individuals from the entertainment industry.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

Soldiers surround BRT mayhem: Soldiers Adamawa CJ's residence action irresponsible, A condemnable, say activists

CTIVISTS yesterday condemned the mayhem that ensued two days ago on Ikorodu Road in Lagos, when soldiers went haywire and unleashed terror on the busy 10-lane highway, burning Lagos State government-owned BRT buses. A BRT bus had allegedly killed an okada rider who was said to be a soldier. Following this, enraged soldiers attacked onlookers, passersby and journalists. According to Ayo Obe, a legal practitioner and former president of the Civil Liberties Organsation (CLO), the action of the soldiers is not right and cannot be justified under any guise. According to her, "We are a society governed by the rule of law and the military cannot continue to take laws into their hands." She added that Nigerians have decided to live in an orderly civil society and be governed by the law; and therefore itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unacceptable for the military to go on the rampage. She also said she expects the military to take actions and bring those behind the mayhem to order. She advised Governor Babatunde Fdashola to fish out the culprits using the machinery on ground. She said, "the military have clearly breached the law by their action and I

By Gboyega Alaka

don't think this is complicated at all. It only becomes complicated if people begin to think that soldiers are above the law. Properties belonging to the Lagos State government have been wantonly destroyed and those responsible should be fished out by their superiors and made to pay for their actions. Nigeria has chosen to live in an organised civil society and that is it, except the military think, otherwise. In his response, Monday Onyekachi Ubani, a lawyer, said it was "clearly animalistic, uncultured, unconstitutional and an ungentlemanly behaviour to take the law into your hands, no matter the level of provocation and however powerful or big you might be." He said that so long as we continue to live in a sane society, where there is room for redress under the law, you are only expected to charge a person to court for murder as this case may be, rather than embarking on such display of mayhem and lawlessness. He also said that "the military is an institution created by the law and it therefore sends the wrong signals every time it takes the law into its hands. Coming from an institution funded by the tax payers' money, it doesn't really speak well and there is no justifica-

tion for it in a sane democratic society." While admitting that the BRT bus drivers can sometimes get reckless, he opined that the government and the military authorities nevertheless have a responsibility to fish out and prosecute those involved in the action to serve as deterrent. On what the Lagos State Government should do to address the unbecoming trend, Ubani said the issue of advocacy and concensus is important here. "We need to be united in saying that this kind of action cannot be tolerated. Governor Fashola should engage the military command on this. If they don't do anything, he should take the matter to the presidency. It can be anybody in government and we shouldn't politicise situations like this." Another Lagos lawyer, Malachy Ugwummadu, said it is unfortunate that such violent reactions are becoming perennial in the interface between uniformed security officials and civilians. He said all the statutory processes creating these security agencies of government are designed to deliberately protect lives and properties; and that "the wanton destruction of lives and properties by the same agencies for whatever reason is not just illegal but unfortunate and un-

acceptable." Abiola Afolabi-Akiyode, Executive Director, Women Advocates, Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), said it is unfortunate that this kind of situation has continued to unfold in our society, "the reason it has persisted is because when they engage in such ugly display, nobody seems to be responsible and no kind of action seems to be taken against them." Rev. Austin Emeka Nnorom, Executive Secretary of Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), said "It is clear demonstration of the present state of the country, where it seems we still need to get the military to know that we are now in a civilian regime." He said, "Such actions clearly do not show that they understand their place in the society. Right now the whole world is watching us and waiting to see how the Nigerian authorities will handle this situation. They will be looking to see how the government and the military hierarchy will handle the situation and redeem the image of both the military and the country. We also expect the military to come out with an official statement condemning the action and follow it up with an action to bring the culprits to book."

â&#x20AC;˘Gov Akpabio laying the foundation of Godswill Akpabio International Press Centre in Uyo..at the weekend.

Why we have to be cautious in Chibok girls rescue, Chief of Army Staff

HE Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Kenneth Minimah, said yesterday that maximum caution is required by the military in the effort to rescue the over 200 school girls abducted by Boko Haram. Anything short of that, according to him, may be

counterproductive. Speaking at the passing out ceremony of officers of Direct Short Service Course 21 at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji in Kaduna State, Lieutenant General Minimah, spoke of the need for the army officers to be committed to the service of the nation.

Lieutenant General Minimah reminded them of the enormous security challenges currently facing the nation and the roles they are expected to play in dismantling the challenges. He asked the newly commissioned officers to respect constituted authorities and democratic norms, saying new strategies

have been developed for the containment of the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast. Their commissioning into the Nigerian Army is part of efforts by the military authorities to increase the number of its personnel tackling the security challenges currently confronting the nation.

RMED soldiers yesterday surrounded the Yola residence of the acting Chief Judge of Adamawa State, Justice Ambrose Mammadi. Their mission was unknown at press time. However, Justice Mammadi, had on Friday, constituted a panel to investigate the allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement against Governor Murtala Nyako and his deputy, Mr. Bala Ngillari by members of the State House of Assembly. At the head of the panel is Mr. Buba Kaigama. The committee members are: Laraba Hassan, Njidda Kito, Joshua Abu, Binanu Esthon, Sa'ad Lawan, and Esthon Gapsiso. The panel will be inaugurated at a later date, the Chief Registrar of the Court, Abubakar Bayola, said in a statement in Yola. He said "The Acting Chief Judge, Justice Ambrose D. Mammadi by the powers vested in him under Section 185(5) of the 1999 constitution as (amended) has approved the appointment of seven (7) Man Panel to investigate allegations of Gross Misconduct of the Executive Governor of Adamawa State Admiral Murtala Nyako and the Deputy Governor of Adamawa State Mr. Bala Ngilari," the registrar said. The anti-graft agency, EFCC, has frozen the state's accounts over corruption allegations.

Jihadists destroy mosques, monuments in Iraq

IHADISTS who overran Mosul in Iran last month have demolished ancient monuments and mosques in and around the historic northern Iraqi city, residents and social media posts said yesterday. At least four monuments to Sunni Arab or Sufi figures have been demolished, while six Shiite mosques, or husseiniyahs, have also been destroyed, across militant-held parts of northern Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital. Pictures posted on the Internet by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group showed the Sunni and Sufi monuments were demolished by bulldozers, while the Shiite mosques and monuments were all destroyed by explosives. The photographs were part of an online statement titled "Demolishing shrines and idols in the state of Nineveh." Local residents confirmed that the buildings had been destroyed and that militants had occupied two cathedrals as well. "We feel very sad for the demolition of these shrines, which we inherited from our fathers and grandfathers," said Ahmed, a 51-year-old resident of Mosul. "They are landmarks in the city." An employee at Mosul's Chaldean cathedral said militants had occupied both it and the Syrian Orthodox cathedral in the city after finding them empty. They removed the crosses at the front of the buildings and replaced them with the Islamic State's black flag, the employee said. IS-led militants overran Mosul last month and swiftly took control of much of the rest of Nineveh, as well as parts of four other provinces north and west of Baghdad, in an offensive that has displaced hundreds of thousands and alarmed the international community. The city, home to two million residents before the offensive, was a Middle East trading hub for centuries, its name translating loosely as "the junction." Though more recently populated mostly by Sunni Arabs, Mosul and Nineveh were also home to many Shiite Arabs as well as ethnic and religious minorities such as Kurds, Turkmen, Yazidis and other sects.

Iranian pilot 'killed fighting in Iraq'

N Iranian pilot has been killed while fighting in Iraq, state media reported yesterday, in what is thought to be Tehran's first military casualty during battles against Islamic State jihadists. Iran's official IRNA news agency did not say whether the pilot died while flying sorties or fighting on the ground. It said Colonel Shoja'at Alamdari Mourjani was killed while "defending" Shiite Muslim holy sites in the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad. His death comes after Iran's declarations that it will provide its western neighbour with whatever it needs to counter the Sunni militants who are laying siege to the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Samarra is a major flashpoint in the fighting and is home to the Shiite Al-Askari shrine which was bombed by Al-Qaeda in February 2006, sparking a bloody Sunni-Shiite sectarian war that killed tens of thousands. The reports of the pilot's death came as Iranian officials insist their assistance is not in the form of troops, but rather of weapons and equipment if Iraq asks for them. President Hassan Rouhani vowed last month that Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, would protect Shiite holy sites in Iraq, including in Samarra.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

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Doctors’ strike: Uduaghan assures of early resolution

De –registration: Fresh Party threatens to return to court

ELTA State Governor, E m m a n u e l Uduaghan, at the weekend assured of early resolution of the nationwide industrial action by the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), which has crippled hospital services. The action, he stated, will soon be called off. The governor, who fielded questions from journalists in Asaba, observed that lives have been lost as a result of the strike. He stated he has met with all the parties involved in the industrial face-off, hinting that the striking doctors have agreed to embark on skeletal services if they cannot resume immediately to save lives. “If you recall, the doctors gave a warning strike sometime in December 2013. They were to go on another strike early January but we had to intervene and some agreements were reached with the federal government. “I understand that some of those agreements that were reached have not been fulfilled and that is some of the reasons they had to go on strike that started on the 1st of July,” the governor explained. Disclosing the outcome of a meeting recently with the parties involved, the governor stated: “I think reasonably some of the issues have been resolved and hopefully, emergency services should start very soon, by God’s grace in the next few days.” He also debunked insinuations that the strike may have political undertones. According to him: “Having met with both sides, I didn’t pick up any political undertone to it and I think that they might be some challenges with the management of the issues at one point or the other.” On why he intervened, he said it was based on the fact that he is a medical doctor, a concerned citizen and an elected governor.

From Vincent Ikuomola and Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

‘New Ondo Federal Poly, a welcome development’ From Damisi Ojo, Akure

HE Ondo State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the weekend hailed the location of a Polytechnic in the State by the Federal Government. It described the step as a welcome development. A statement signed by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Adesanya said: “Citing an institution is a matter of policy that can be done by anybody in power but the compulsory aspect is the erection of physical structures, the commencement of academic session in the institution within less than 24 months and equipping the institution to an enviable international standard.” The party implored President Jonathan and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to commence the development and building of the institution to a remarkable level of completion before May 29, 2015.

F •L-R: Dean of Lagos West, Venerable Abel Ajibodu, Anglican Bishop of Birnin Kebbi, Most Reverend, Edmund Akanya, Cathedral Gospeler, Reverend Opeyemi Ebenezar Ibikunle, Chancellor, Lagos West Diocese, Justice Babashola Ogunade, Bishop of Lagos West, Anglican Communion, Right Reverend James Odedeji his wife Lydia and Bishop of Oyo Diocese, Anglican Communion, Right Reverend Jacob Fashipe during the 2014 Trinity Ordination and Institution and installation of Canon, Deacons and Reverends of the Lagos West Diocese held at Archbishop Vinning Memorial Church, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: OLUSEGUN RAPHEAL

Ogoni leaders give conditions for oil exploitation S OME leaders of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) have insisted the federal government must clean the community of pollution before the resumption of crude oil exploitation in Ogoniland. They lamented that Ogoni people are dying from cancerinduced Benzene in the area. The Secretary-General of MOSOP in the United States of America, Michael Akoka; the spokesman of the Ogoni umbrella organisation, Bari-ara Kpalap and the National Coordinator of the Ogoni Solidarity Front (OSF), Celestine AkpoBari, stated these yesterday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. They appeared as guests on a phone-in programme, viewpoint of Rhythm 93.7 FM radio. The Ogoni leaders also noted that to ensure fairness, justice and equity, the next Rivers governor should be from Ogoni. They pointed out that Ogoniland has not produced a governor, deputy governor, chief judge or speaker since the

From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

creation of Rivers State on May 27, 1967. MOSOP’s President, Legborsi Pyagbara, had declared that the Ogoni people would have nothing to do with the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP) while insisting on full implementation of the recommendations contained in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoniland through the environmental assessment. Pyagbara reiterated that the refusal of the federal government to implement the UNEP report would make Ogoni people and their friends to protest in Abuja soonest. Kpalap said: “Ogoni people never embraced HYPREP. We want the establishment of Ogoniland Environmental Restoration Authority as recommended by UNEP. “We are also calling for the creation of an Environmental

Restoration Fund for Ogoniland with initial capital of $1 billion, which will be used only for activities dealing specifically with the environmental restoration of Ogoniland, as clearly stated in the UNEP report. Akpobari accused the federal government and the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) of insincerity on Ogoni clean up and environmental restoration. He reiterated that SPDC had indicated that releasing the $1 billion would not be a problem, but there must be legal framework and a body to manage the fund judiciously. Ogoni people in the four Rivers State local government areas of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme sent SPDC packing from their land in 1993. Shell is yet to return to Ogoniland. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo initiated the UNEP’s environmental as-

sessment of Ogoniland in 2006 to address years of pollution, neglect, marginalisation and environmental degradation. The initiative was well supported by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua while the 262-page main report was issued on August 4, 2011 and received in Abuja by President Jonathan on August 12, 2011. On receiving the UNEP report, Jonathan set up a Presidential Implementation Committee (PIC) headed by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke. In Ogale-Eleme, Eleme LGA of Ogoniland in Rivers State, the UNEP report reveals that the water contains cancercausing Benzene, which is 900 times the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) standards for water contamination, thereby requiring urgent attention. UNEP also states that the sustainable environmental restoration of Ogoniland will take up to 20 years to achieve and will need coordinated efforts on the part of government agencies at all levels.

Registration, forgery scandal rocks CAC

HE Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is enmeshed in a directorship registration and forgery scandal involving Gateway Estates Limited, a multi-billion naira firm. Two siblings, Mrs. Eunice Odirri and Mr. Sunny Esiso, children of the owner of the firm, the late Chief E.A. Esiso, and a lawyer, Mr. Wilfred Okoli, were allegedly arrested last week by the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the police in connection with the case. The suspects were, however, said to have been released on bail while the SFU was alleged to be on the trail of their suspected collaborators in CAC. SFU sources said the suspects may be arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Warri, Delta State, this week on charges of fraud and forgery. Founded by the late Esiso, Gateway Estates Limited has substantial real estate holdings across the country, particularly in Warri. The deceased and his wife, Mrs Iketiti Esiso, were registered as co-directors. Esiso’s death in 2011, according to a petition by his first son, Y. Esiso, and upon which

•Esiso siblings, lawyer arrested the SFU is acting, left the firm with one director. This threw up the need to appoint at least one more director to the company’s board. The family, in the petition to the Commissioner of Police, SFU, Milverton Road, Ikoyi, dated February 15, 2014 headed to a Delta State High Court, sitting in Effurun, which granted Esiso’s first son and the eldest daughter as interim administrators of his estate. The duo then approached the CAC to request that they be allowed to appoint new directors to the board of their father’s firm. This, the petition claimed, became necessary because the passing of their father had left the company with only one director, in contravention of the legal requirement of a minimum of two directors. “The CAC rejected their request on the grounds that an order from a state court does not suffice to command the compliance of CAC. “CAC insisted that the duo must go to yet another court, this time the Federal High Court to get an order for an

extraordinary general meeting. “The strident objection of Barrister Ama Etuwewe, acting for the court appointed administrators to the illegality of this peremptory command, did not sway CAC from her flagrant contempt of an order of court,” the petition said. This notwithstanding, the interim administrators reportedly instructed their counsel to approach the Federal High Court for the further order as insisted upon by the CAC. “In January 2013, the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, granted the said order subsequent upon which an extra ordinary general meeting was summoned by the administrators at which resolutions were passed and adopted and a list of new board members nominated and forwarded to CAC,” the petition stated. CAC was said to have made a U-turn and rejected the administrators’ list of directors mandated by the Federal High Court order The petition alleged:

“When pressed, they refused to give reasons for their second, more egregious contempt of court but a quick perusal of the files of CAC revealed that while CAC was sending the administrators on a wild goose chase for more court orders, they had proceeded with the acceptance of a list of directors from one Barrister Wilfred Okoli of C84, Banex Plaza, Wuse 11, acting for the duo of Mrs. Eunice Oddiri and Mr. Sunny Esiso, siblings and the fifth and sixth children of the late Chief Esiso. “Ostensibly, CAC accepted the list from the duo on the basis of a form purported to be signed by the sole surviving director, Mrs. Iketiti Esiso and one Mr. Anthony Chikwendu, who had acted as Company Secretary at the time of formation of Gate Way Estates Ltd. in March 1973, 41 years ago.” A family source said: “When the name of Mr. Anthony Chikwendu was appended to the April 2013 form and when, on examination, it was discovered that the name was incorrectly spelt and the affixed signature suspected to be forgery, the case was reported to the Special Fraud Unit of the police.”

RESH Democratic Party (FDP), one of the 28 political parties de-registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has threatened to return to court to force the body obey a ruling on the issue. The party accused INEC of deliberately ignoring the court judgment, which had overruled the de-registration of the party. Justice G.O Kolawole of the Federal High Court in his ruling on 29th July, 2013 declared the decision of the electoral body invalid and set it aside on the ground that no government agency is granted that power. The national legal secretary of the party, Kola Dopamu, and the party’s legal representative, including Lagos lawyer Fred Agbaje told reporters in Abuja the legal team is currently brainstorming on the next move. Dopamu described INEC’s claim of the party not having structures in at least 24 states as stipulated in the 1999 constitution as mere “falsehoods.” Although the party does not have any member in the National Assembly and the 36 Houses of Assembly, as well as local government area councils, it boasts that it is solidly on ground in 32 states. Dopamu said: “We have not abandoned our legal process. It is a strategy. If we go back to court, they will say the matter is still in court and we will not be able to do anything. “If you listen to the text of my message, INEC has not appealed the judgment. In terms of our memberships, it is one of the lies being peddled by INEC. “We have structures. As we talk to you, we have offices in not less than 32 states. INEC has this information. They have been to some of our offices in some states.” He added: “Be rest assured that we will follow a civil process in seeking a redress for the injustice. “We will unfold our strategy with time. The legal team is working behind doors. We will let you know in due course.” Agbaje said: “For any political party to function under the constitution, it must be spread across the federation. “For INEC to register you, they have to verify it. INEC was a party to the case we filed in the court.” A former governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, alleged INEC’s de-registration of 28 political parties is targeted at something, which he failed to name. “INEC’s action is targeted at a particular objective by those who control them. The case of Fresh Democratic Party is a clear example. “It has been one year since the court gave a judgment that INEC should reinstate the party, yet they have disobeyed that order.”

Redouble efforts on security, Anglican Bishop urges government By Musa Odoshimokhe

HE Bishop, Diocese of Lagos West, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Rt. Rev. James Odedeji, has urged government at all levels to redouble efforts in order to ensure the protection of lives and property. Addressing journalists on Friday during the 2014 Trinity Ordination and Installation of Canons of the church which was held at the Archibishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral, Ikeja, Lagos, Odedeji noted that government was not doing enough on the security challenges facing the country. He said, “It is unfortunate that the Nigerian government cannot protect its citizens. It is a pity that up till now, nothing has been done to save Nigerians from the nightmare on security. This cannot happen in other countries that share the same economic profile like Nigeria.” The clergy also called on the government to expedite action on the release of the Chibok school girls that were abducted over two months ago, urging, “We are appealing to the federal government to do something about the Chibok school girls that were abducted for over two months. Government needs to sympathise with the parents of the children. They need to put themselves in the shoes of the parents of these girls,” he said. Speaking on the ongoing nationwide strike by medical doctors, Odedeji pleaded with the striking doctors to consider the interest of the people and return to work.

30 yrs after, court fines Ondo firm over illegal possession of land From Leke Akeredolu

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

NEWS

N Okitipupa High Court in Ondo State has fined Okitipupa Oil Palm, the sum of N2million over unlawful acquiring of 29.571 hectares of land belonging to the Awotokunle Akinnameji family of Ode-Irele in Irele local government area of the state. The oil palm company was said to have taken possession of the land for the past 30 years without the express permission of the plaintiff. According to the claimant’s leading counsel, Victor Ajisomo, his client’s grandfather, Akinmameji, founded the land called Awotokunhe Akinmameji family land, Maran quarters in Ode-Irele. He added that the acts of trespass of the defendant into the land started in 1984 when the workers of the defendant came to the land and started planting oil palm seedlings without concrete agreement with members of the family. But the defendant’s lawyer, Olu Ogungbemi, submitted that the claimants had acquiesced their right over the land in dispute as they did not challenge the defendant when the planting of the palm seedlings were done on the promise that members of their family would be employed as staff of the defendant. The presiding judge, Samuel Bola, said the claimant has succeeded in proving their case by preponderance of evidence as required by the provision of the Evidence Act.

‘How FG is stalling completion of T Ayobo-Ipaja road’ HE lawmaker representing Alimosho 1 constituency at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Bisi Yusuf, has pointed fingers at the federal government for the delay in the completion of the AyoboIpaja road. According to Yusuf, the construction of the road, which bad state has been a nightmare for residents of the area in the last two years, has been stalled from the Abesan Gate point to the entrance into Gowon Estate allegedly because of a demand by the federal government that the contractor working on the road should pay the sum of N290million to protect the pipeline in the area.

By Oziegbe Okoeki

The lawmaker made this disclosure at the weekly ‘Time out with the Press’ organised by Assembly correspondents for lawmakers which took place at the Assembly complex on Friday. Traffic on this particular section of the road, which is just about one and half kilometres, is always hectic as vehicles coming from Ipaja to Ayobo and from Ayobo to Ipaja, as well as the ones coming out from Abesan Estate and going into Abesan Estate from both

direction get stalled because of the poor state of the road. Yusuf said, “The situation on that road is really bad; some people might not know the politics that is involved. The federal government is using the NNPC to stall work on the road; they are saying that the contractor should pay N290million for that very small portion of the road to protect the pipeline there and that is why today, only that portion of the road is left, while all other parts have been completed. “The contractor has done

its best, but the federal government is using that to make our party, APC unpopular, but we are up to the task. However, I am still appealing to the state governor to find solution to that place, because Ayobo-Ipaja is a very populous area and I know the pains they are going through, because I also reside there.” Also speaking on the state of roads in Gowon Estate which also fall within his constituency, Yusuf who is the Chairman, House Committee on Transportation, said though the estate belongs to the federal government, the state government is currently undertaking rehabilitation work on two major roads within the estate.

• L-R: Chairman of Bridge House College (BHC), Ikoyi, Dr. Alimi Abdul-Razaq; wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola; Executive Director of BHC , Mrs. Foluke Abdulrazaq ; former Military Administrator of Lagos State, Gen. Muhammed Buba Marwa (rtd), during the 10th Anniversary Lecture and Price Giving Day of the College in Lagos at the weekend. PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

Pastor suspendend in Foursquare Church

HE Foursquare Gospel Church has suspend one of prominent pastors in the Ikorodu area of Lagos. Rev. Isaac Adeyemi, the Host Pastor of Livingspring Tabernacle, one of the several churches controlled by Foursquare Gospel Ministry in the area, was suspended for six months for allegedly shunning a leadership conference organised by the church headquarters. Sources disclosed that concerned church members have made several attempts to convince the national leadership headed by its General Overseer, Rev. Felix Meduoye, to reverse the sus-

By Hamed Shobiye, Assistant Editor, Online

pension, but their plea has not been heeded. Many of the Livingspring Tabernacle members described Adeyemi, who is also Foursquare’s district overseer in glowing terms, saying his “forthrightness” has contributed significantly to the growth of the church. On what led to the crisis, one of the members, who preferred to speak on the condition of anonymity, said Adeyemi was allegedly suspended by the church’s national body for allegedly shunning the closing ceremony of a five- day confer-

ence organised for leaders and ministers of the church held during the week preceding the Easter celebration. According to him, the church General Overseer and other members of its national body were unhappy that Adeyemi left the leaders’ conference to attend a programme organised by his ministry for its members. “The current face-off between the General Overseer of Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria and the Livingspring Tabernacle whose host pastor is Rev Isaac Adeyemi has been suspended is giving us a serious concern. “He was queried for leav-

ing the ministers’ conference to attend a programme put together by its church. The programme tagged ‘Embrace’ is in its 7th edition this year. It takes place on every Good Friday and it’s been on since 2008. Remarkably, the General Overseer ministered during the 2011 edition. The whole essence of the programme is to win souls to the kingdom of God in line with the great commission,” the concerned member said. Adeyemi, who confirmed his suspension, told our correspondent that the matter would be resolved amicably by the feuding parties.

Renovate police barracks, lawmaker charges FG

EPUTY Whip of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rotimi Abiru, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to, as a matter of urgency, direct the appropriate authority to commence the renovation of all police barracks in the country, particularly those located in Lagos. Abiru stated this when he visited the site of a collapsed police block building at Pedro Police Barracks in

By Oziegbe Okoeki

Shomolu area of Lagos State. The lawmaker in whose constituency the barrack is located lamented the state of some of the buildings, saying, “The federal government must quickly renovate these buildings to forestall loss of lives and properties.” Abiru, who met with some of the occupants of the collapsed building, added, “From what I can see here,

some of these buildings still look okay, while others are not. But it is very obvious that all these buildings lacked maintenance. “I have come here to sympathise with those affected. We thank God that no life was lost and for those that are occupants of the collapsed building, I can assure you that the state government will come in and assist in any way it can,” he assured. Earlier, one of the occu-

pants of the collapsed building, Gbemileke Ayowole, told the lawmaker that they (all the occupants of the building) packed out of the building three days before it collapsed saying, “We have seen signs that it was going to collapse because it had cracked badly. We are appealing to the necessary authority to come to our rescue because many of us are now without roofs over our heads.”

Ogun 2014 Ramadan Essay competition enters final stage

HE final stage of the Ogun State 2014 Ramadan Essay and Quiz Competition took place on Saturday at the Reverend Kuti Memorial Grammar School, Abeokuta, the state capital. The competition, which was organised by the wife of the state governor, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun, began across the 20 local government areas of the state on July 1, 2014. In a statement by the Special Assistant on Media to Mrs. Amosun, Idowu Sowunmi, it stated that this year’s competition was divided into three stages with the hope of giving a sense of belonging to students at different levels and bringing the best out of them. The statement added, “There was poem writing for public primary school pupils across the length and breadth of Ogun State, in which the pupils were required to write poem with the theme: “Ramadan: The Month of Peace,” that would not be more than 100 words to be submitted to the Head of School Services in their respective Local Government Education Authority for onward transfer to SUBEB.” The second stage, Sowunmi said, involved Quiz and Qu’ran Recitation for public junior secondary school students and this took place in selected schools in each of the 20 Education Zones in Ogun State on July 1. The statement added that the third stage involved Essay and Debate Competitions for Senior Secondary Schools. The Essay Competition had “Sanctity of Life: The Islamic Perspective” as its theme, while the Debate Topic was “A Crimefree Society: Role of the Government or the Governed.”

2015: ‘Ajimobi’s victory will shock opposition’ From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

HE Caretaker Chairman of Ibadan North East Local Government, Hon. Ladi Oluokun, has said the victory of Governor Abiola Ajimobi will shock his critics and the opposition in 2015. Oluokun, who stated this over the weekend while addressing some youths who visited him in his office, said Ajimobi’s unprecedented performance will also ensure victory for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 elections across the state. “There is nobody that can defeat Governor Abiola Ajimobi in the next governorship election in the state. His achievements are unprecedented and unmatched by previous governments in the state. Peace has been restored not only to the hitherto crisis-ridden transport union in the state, the entire state is now peaceful and this is the greatest of Ajimobi’s achievements. Apart from this, roads have been widened and infrastructure generally given facelift. “Look at the state House of Assembly and the peace that is prevailing in the executive-legislative relationship. This is largely due to the political savvy of the Speaker, Alhaja Monsurat Sunmonu, who has been doing very well and deserves to be commended for achieving what men could not achieve,” the council boss submitted.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

NEWS

‘Reverse new bail condition in Ondo courts’

Police vow to arrest attackers of Ondo council chief From Damisi Ojo, Akure

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

group, the Conference of Nigeria Civil Rights Activists (CNCRA), has vowed to lead a mass protest against the Ondo State government if the current face-off between the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Olaseinde Kumuyi, and members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) over new bail conditions is not resolved. It issued a seven-day ultimatum to the state governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, to rescind the directive by the CJ on the new bail condition. In a letter addressed to Mimiko dated July 2 and signed by CNCRA convener and general secretary, Ifeanyi Odili and Shina Shadrack respectively, the human rights group alleged that the face-off has led to congestion in prisons across the state. NBA members in the state had embarked on street protests and boycot of the courts to register their rejection of the ‘obnoxious’ bail conditions directed by the state CJ. Kumuyi, in a circular dated May 27, directed that every surety in a bail application must present tax certificates, covering a period of three years, a development the CNCRA noted would cost a surety N75, 000. The rights group called on the state government to rescind this directive as a matter of urgent public importance. It said: “We cannot fold our arms and allow innocent citizens to be punished unjustly.”

• Some tanker/lorry drivers during an awareness campaign on Federal Road Committee Surveillance and Action against Road Abuse (FECSARA) in Lagos... at the weekend PHOTO: NAN

Ibru, Falana, others extol murdered rights crusader

EARS may have stopped flowing at No 1, Harmony Drive Harmony Estate, home of human rights crusader, Kunle Fadipe, who was murdered last Thursday, but the thick air of loss was palpable. The Publisher of The Guardian newspaper, Lady Maiden Ibru and Chairman, Editorial Board of the paper, Prof. Wale Omole, were among the early callers at Fadipe’s home yesterday. Fadipe, a lawyer, was until his death a member of the editorial board of the news-

RAMADAN GUIDE WITH FEMI ABBAS

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

Wives' role in Ramadan

ERHAPS, in no other month of Hijrah calendar is the role of Muslim women (especially wives) more pronounced than in Ramadan. Like in other months, they display the roles of wives, mothers as well as that of their husband’s confidants. But more than in other months, they mostly exhibit their spiritual dedication in Ramadan. In that sacred month they fast like their men counterparts. They observe Salat five times daily like them. They join those men in observing Tarawih after the Iftar every evening. Some of them even attend Tafsir and public lectures. Yet they do their daily work just like men either in the offices, shops, or farms. And they never relent in carrying out their matrimonial duties. Even as they assist their husbands financially in maintaining the homes, they still take care of those husbands as well as the children and relatives domestically. At the time of the day when the husbands are knocked out by fatigue arising from fasting, the wives are still busy in the kitchen preparing Iftar for the household. At the time in the night when some husbands are engaged in Tahajjud, or are snoring in bed, the wives are already up in the kitchen preparing the Sahur for the family. Some of these women are carrying pregnancy. Some are suckling their children. Some of them are knowledgeable enough to do the Tilawah (recitation of the Qur’an) like their husbands. Some of them are rich enough to finance the home fully or partially. And, in all these activities, they never feel tired. Where and when they feel tired, they never show it. If any month has ever depicted the virtues of women, it is Ramadan and the women activities in it. Wives are the live wire of the matrimonial homes just as their husbands are the transformers. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was quoted as saying that “The best amongst you (men) are those who are best to their wives in treatment....” Therefore, if only for the reason of their activities in Ramadan alone, they deserve tenderness and dignified treatment in the hands of their husbands.

By Adeyinka Aderibigbe

paper. Ibru, in her condolence remarks, prayed for the repose of the soul of the deceased. Omole described the late Fadipe as a diligent, detailed, profound and courageous man. “Kunle was a character with a great future, whose life was terminated prematurely by agents of satan.” Other dignitaries who paid condolence visit to the late Fadipe’s family included the Chairman Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan, who is a former secondary school classmate of the deceased. The chairman of Ifako Ijaiye Local Government Area, Dr. Oloruntoba Oke, described Fadipe as a legal titan dreaded for his capacity to put political office holders on their toes.

Council begins dredging of rivers

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

HE Akinyele Local Government area of Oyo State has commenced the dredging of major rivers within the council area to aid free flow and avoid flooding. The council boss, Hon. Opeyemi Salami, stated this during the supervision of the dredging of the rivers. The rivers include Ajibode, NISER and Moniya. Salami assured the people that the Governor Abiola Ajimobi-led administration would continue to take proactive steps in addressing the perennial urban flooding in the state. He lamented that most of the disasters referred to as natural were indeed man-made. According to him: “If drainages were clean, structures removed from waterways and river courses and residents observe the laid down rules and regulations on town planning particularly, the observance of the ‘set back’ rules, the occurrence of flooding in the state would be reduced to the barest minimum.” Salami noted that the state had faced the threat of flooding almost on a yearly basis since 2011.

Lagos lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), described his former comrade as a dogged fighter and crusader who lived his life for a safer Nigeria. He said: “Kunle dedicated his entire life to the struggle for human rights and social justice. “In particular, he fought to

make Nigeria safe for all only for him to be brutally assassinated for no just cause. Nigeria will miss Kunle dearly.” The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, who also visited, assured the family that the murder would not be swept under the carpet.

HE Police in Ondo State yesterday vowed to apprehend those behind the attack on the Administrative Secretary of the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC), Mrs. Odunayo Ketiku, in IfiraAkoko last Tuesday. The police spokesman, Wole Ogodo, said though the matter was not officially reported, his men have already swung into action to arrest the culprits. Ketiku, a renowned pastor, was said to have narrowly escaped being lynched during the burial service of a member of the commission, Alhaji Kasali Busari, who was an indigene of Ifira-Akoko in Akoko South Local Government Area. Busari reportedly slumped and later died during an interview session conducted for new officers of the commission to be promoted to the rank of Director of Local Government Administration (DLGA). According to an eyewitness, shortly after the remains of the deceased were lowered into the grave, the protesters allegedly pounced on Ketiku. Sources said the irate youths hinged their action on the allegation that the Administrative Secretary had a hand in Busari’s death. The quick intervention of security operatives was said to have saved the woman from being killed. But she reportedly sustained injuries and is currently on admission in an undisclosed hospital in Akure, the state capital.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

When Gov Jonah Jang of Plateau State assumed office in 2007, he suspended several chiefdoms and traditional rulers. But the Bogghom people of Kanam local government went to court to challenge his action. YUSUFU AMINU IDEGU writes on the battle of the chiefdoms to regain their status through the courts.

Bogghom Chiefdom triumphs in legal battle with Jang

HE people of Bogghom chiefdom in Kanam Local Government of Plateau State have, of recent, gone down on their knees in prayers for two reasons; one, in thanking God for using the judiciary to grant freedom denied them earlier by Gov Jonah Jang. Two, to beg the governor to respect the order of the courts which has made declarations to the effect that he has no power to suspend a chiefdom created by a law of the State House of Assembly. The immediate past governor of the state, Chief Joshua Dariye, had created a couple of new chiefdoms for most communities. One of the new chiefdoms created in 2005 and gazetted included that of the Bogghom Chiefdom in Kanam local government area. Those new chiefdoms were created by the past government so as to give the people some measure of freedom and sense of belonging. No more chiefdoms But as soon as Jang assumed office, he announced the suspension of all the new chiefdoms as well as their paramount rulers across the state. On suspending the new chiefdoms, he promised to re-structure and re-constitute them. However, seven years down the line, the governor is yet to make any move to lift the suspension or re-constitute

â&#x20AC;˘ The Pankwal Bogghom, His Royal Highness Alhaji Shehu Suleiman.

them. But some of the suspended chiefdoms went to court to challenge their suspension. For instance, the Bogghom people through their development association went to the court to determine, among other things, "Whether having regards to the Plateau State Chieftaincy Law 2005 and notice No. 92 of 2006, which law created the Bogghom chiefdom, the governor has the power to suspend, set aside or derecognise the Bogghom chiefdom and the stool of Pankwal Boggghom. Whether the governor has the power

to abolish, nullify, cancel or revert the Bogghom chiefdom and the stool of Pankwal Bogghom." The Bogghom people asked the court to determine whether having regards to part II of the 1999 Constitution and the principles of separation of powers, the governor can revert, cancel, set aside, nullify or abolish the Bogghom chiefdom and the stool of Pankwal Bogghom. And if answers to the above are in the negative, the chiefdom asked the court to make a declaration that the purported suspension of the Bogghom Chiefdom by the governor

Ramadan: Alaafin donates grains, cash to Oyo residents

HE Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi 111, has donated assorted grains and cash to the people of the ancient town. The gesture, which is in the spirit of the ongoing Ramadan, was not limited to Muslims alone. Christians and other religious adherents from all the nooks and crannies also benefitted. Rice and garri in large quantities were separately wrapped in the polythene bags

From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo and given to every individual in the palace in addition to cash ranging from one thousand to five thousand naira. The donation, which began last Saturday, lasted till yesterday evening as thousands of residents from the three out of the four local government areas that constitute Oyo Federal Constituency besieged the palace for their share. Those from the remaining local

government (Afijio) were catered for in all the to wards in the area. However, residents from the constituency rejected similar Ramadan gifts offered them by a member of the House of Representatives representing the constituency, Hon. Kamil Akinlabi. Their grouse with the federal lawmaker was that he has allegedly been shirking in his responsibility to the constituency.

and government of the state is ultra vires, unlawful, wrongful, null, void and of no effect. No, Mr. Governor After five solid years of legal battle between Bogghom people and the governor at the High Court of Plateau State, the court presided over by Justice Yargata Nimpar, passed its judgement this way: "A declaration is hereby made that the purported action of the governor in reversing, canceling, nullifying of abolishing indirectly the Bogghom chiefdom is ultra vires, the Plateau State government and

HE National Association of South Western Students (NASOWES) has expressed discomfort over the killings and kidnapping of students by Boko Haram insurgents. Speaking at a press conference over the weekend at the University of Ibadan, the association's president, Comrade Ayoola Amoo, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to stem the ugly tide. He stated that the educational sector and students in general have been mostly affected by the activities of the terrorists. According to Amoo: "We make bold to say that students have been the

all its agents. Their act is therefore ultra vires, unlawful, wrongful, null and void and of no effect whatsoever. "A declaration is further made that the reversion, cancellation or setting aside indirectly of the selection and certification of the Pankwal Bogghom is ultra vires, unlawful, wrongful, null and void and of no effect whatsoever. "A mandatory order is hereby made directing the state government to restore the Bogghom chiefdom and the Pankwal Bogghom on the second class status. The state government is hereby directed to pay the Pankwal Bogghom Alhaji Shehu Suleiman his salaries, allowances and entitlements due to him as Pankwal Bogghom on second class status from the date of this action and henceforth. "A perpetual injunction is hereby made restraining the Plateau State government, Governor Jonah David Jang, their servants, agents, privies or anyone person acting on their behalf from in anyway contending that the Bogghom chiefdom and the stool of Pankwal Bogghom has been reverted, suspended, set aside, cancelled, abolished or annulled." In the court's final words, "This suit succeeds in its entirety." The court judgement sent a wave of ecstasy across the Boggom land in Kanam local government. The people went out in jubilation like a people who suddenly gained their independence after a long period of oppression. At a press conference, the Bogghom Development Association said, "We received this judgement with gratitude to God, we also want to commend the Plateau State judiciary for diligent adjudication, objective, transparent, honest, fair and credible judgement in this case. "This judgement is a rare example demonstrating that the common man, indeed, has hope in the judiciary. While commending this sound professional judgement, our expectation was that the state government would, in conformity with the tenets of democracy, accept the judgement and abide by it." The association appealed to the state government to respect the verdict and accord their traditional ruler the "required recognition to the Bogghom chiefdom as well as our traditional ruler, the Pankwal Bogghom, Alhaji Shehu Suleiman." The judgement and victory of the Bogghom people against the state government has opened the eyes of some other chiefdoms who were also affected by the unconstitutional suspension. Those other chiefdoms who do not know their rights had been infringed upon by government have suddenly woken up and also heading to the courts armed with the instance of the Bogghom case.

Jonathan charged over killing of students

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

most affected by these killings and this is very regrettable to say the least." He said the Chibok girls kidnap and the attack on the School of Hygiene in Kano by the sect are pointers that the insurgents have declared war on the country's educational sector. The student leader on President Jonathan to put structures on ground to protect innocent students and youths in the face of insurgency, the student leader said.â&#x20AC;?

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014 Egypt sentences Muslim Brotherhood leader to life in prison

Senegal Prime Minister Toure sacked

ENEGALESE Prime Minister AminataToure has been sacked after her ruling party's poor results in local elections last Sunday. Local officials said President MackySall had asked Ms Toure to stand down, after less than a year in office. Ms Toure's Alliance for the Republic (APR) was defeated in key cities, according to preliminary results. Discontent over economic policies contributed to the party's poor results, correspondents say. "She was sacked. She is no longer the prime minister," a source close to the presidency told Reuters news agency. Her departure opens the way for President Sall to try to speed up his reform process, aimed at creating more jobs. In March 2012, election Mr Sall defeated Abdoulaye Wade who had been president for 12 years - promising to tackle poverty and corruption.

Palestinian teen burned to death, autopsy shows

TEENAGER who Palestinians say was killed by Israeli extremists in a revenge attack was burned to death, an autopsy showed yesterday, as clashes fuelled by anger over the case spread into Arab Israeli towns. Palestinian Attorney General Abdelghani al-Owaiwi said initial results show that 16-yearold Palestinian Mohammed Abu Khdeir, whose death Wednesday had sparked large protests in his east Jerusalem neighborhood, suffered burns on "90 percent of his body." "The results show he was breathing while on fire and died from burns and their consequences," al-Owaiwi said Abu Khdeir's charred body was found in a forest after he was seized near his home.

Taliban burn oil tankers in Afghanistan

ALIBAN insurgents set fire yesterday to about 200 oil tanker trucks supplying fuel for NATO forces in an attack just outside the Afghan capital Kabul, police said. Television footage showed black smoke billowing above the site of the attack, with the charred wreckage of dozens of trucks scattered around a vast parking space. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the trucks carried fuel intended for U.S.-led NATO forces. It was unclear how the fire was started. Some Afghan media reported that insurgents had fired rockets at the tankers late on Friday. There were no immediate reports of casualties. "The number of tankers on fire is not yet clear, but based on preliminary reports from police around 200 tankers have been burnt," the interior ministry said in a statement.

â&#x20AC;˘Local residents of the small eastern Ukrainian city of Nikolayevka, near Slavyansk, charge their mobile phone on a generator yesterday, after the main electricity lines were cut as the Ukrainian forces took back the city from the pro-Russian separatists two days earlier. AFP PHOTO/ GENYA SAVILOV

Ukraine claims victory in rebel stronghold

KRAINE'S forces claimed a significant success against pro-Russian insurgents yesterday, chasing them from a key stronghold in the country's embattled east. Rebels fleeing from the city of Slovyansk vowed to regroup elsewhere and fight on. President Petro Poroshenko said in a statement that government troops took Slovyansk, a city of about 100,000 that has been a center of the fighting between Kiev's troops and the pro-Russian insurgents, after a night of fighting. Poroshenko ordered the armed forces to raise the Ukrainian flag over the city, which has been under control of the rebels since early April when they seized the city's administrative and police buildings. Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for the National Security and Defense Council, said mopping-up operations were continuing. "Slovyansk is under siege.

Now an operation is going on to neutralize small groups hiding in buildings where peaceful citizens are living," Lysenko told journalists. Andrei Purgin of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic told The Associated Press that rebels were evacuating, but claimed the army's campaign had left the city "in ruins." The capture of Slovyansk represented the government's biggest victory since it abandoned a shaky cease-fire this week and launched an offensive against the separatists. Until now, the Ukrainian army had often appeared feckless in the months-long campaign against the rebels. On Thursday Poroshenko shook up his defense team, appointing Ukraine's third defense minister since the former president was ousted in February. It was not yet clear whether the latest advance has permanently crippled the rebels, many of whom are relocating to other cities.

In the city of Donetsk, streets were deserted yesterday as local officials urged people to stay at home. They said a battle was ongoing near the Donetsk city airport, but did not provide details. "Militants from Slovyansk and Kramatorsk have arrived in Donetsk," said Maxim Rovinsky, spokesman for the city council. Purgin claimed 150 fighters injured in Slovyansk were in Donetsk for treatment. "More than a hundred militiamen have been killed in the last three days," said Viktor, a 35-year-old Slovyansk native who had a shrapnel wound in his leg. "The mood is very bad. It seems that we've lost this war. And Russia isn't in a hurry to help." Alexei, a driver and local Slovyansk resident who would not give his last name for fear of reprisal, told the AP by phone that he heard bomb-

ing throughout the night. When the bombing stopped in the early morning, he left his house and saw that all the rebel checkpoints were abandoned. He said there was some damage to buildings in the center of the city, but said much of the rest of the city had been left untouched. A rebel commander who would only give his nom de guerre as Pinochet told the AP that rebels had relocated to the nearby town of Kramatorsk, 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Slovyansk. But outside Kramatorsk, an AP reporter saw an abandoned checkpoint and several hundred rebels, armed and in uniform, driving in minibuses in the direction of Donetsk. Some rebels played down the significance of Ukraine's advances. Pavel Gubarev, the selfdescribed governor of the Donetsk People's Republic, wrote online that the rebels had staged a tactical retreat.

Four killed in car bomb attack in Somalia

OUR people were killed yesterday when a car laden with explosives blew up near the parliament building in the Somali capital, a police official said yesterday. The Somali terror group alShabab, which has recently targeted parliamentarians, claimed responsibility. Capt. Mohammed Hussein said the car exploded at a checkpoint where it had been stopped by Somali troops. The dead

were soldiers and refugees from an internal refugee camp near the checkpoint, Hussein said. Troops had ordered the driver of the car out the vehicle for a search when he detonated the explosives, Hussein said. Seven children from the camp were wounded in the attack. Somali legislators were holding a meeting at the parliament at the time of the attack, but al-Shabab did not say

what the intended target was. Al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab has said it was responsible for the killing of a Somali lawmaker and his bodyguard in a drive-by shooting earlier this week. The targeting of members of parliament appears to be a new strategy for al-Shabab. The parliament is seen as an emerging pillar of democracy in the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation.

Al-Shabab militants have previously carried out attacks against United Nations staff, government officials and African Union peacekeepers. The group has launched attacks in neighbouring countries including Kenya and Uganda, which have sent troops to Somalia under the banner of the African Union to bolster the country's weak U.N.-backed government.

N Egyptian court sentenced Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie to life in prison yesterday, the court's judge said, for inciting violence that erupted after the army deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi last year. Badie, convicted along with about 36 other Brotherhood leaders and supporters for the same crime, is facing the death sentence in two separate cases. All 37 defendants were also charged with blocking a major road north of Cairo during protests that followed Mursi's ouster on July 3, 2013. The court also upheld death sentences for 10 other Brotherhood leaders and supporters, of whom 8 were charged in absentia, on the same crimes. Among the Brotherhood leaders sentenced to death in absentia is Abdul Rahman al-Barr, a Muslim scholar and member of the Brotherhood's Guidance Council. Mohamed AbdelMaqsoud, a Salafi preacher and a Brotherhood supporter, was also sentenced to death in absentia. He fled to Qatar after Mursi was toppled. Senior Brotherhood member Mohamed El-Beltagy and some former ministers from Mursi's administration were among those sentenced to life in prison.

Isis chief appears in first video

BU Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Islamist militant group Isis, has called on Muslims to obey him, in his first video sermon. Baghdadi has been appointed caliph by the jihadist group, which has seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria. The video appears to have been filmed on Friday during a sermon at the al-Nouri Mosque in Mosul, northern Iraq. It surfaced yesterday amid reports that he had been killed or wounded in an Iraqi air raid. It was not clear when the attack was supposed to have taken place. In the sermon, at Mosul's most famous landmark, Baghdadi praised the establishment of the "Islamic state", which was declared by Isis last Sunday. Experts say the reclusive militant leader has never appeared on video before, although there are photographs of him. "Appointing a leader is an obligation on Muslims, and one that has been neglected for decades," he said. He also said that he did not seek out the position of being the caliph, or leader, calling it a "burden". "I am your leader, though I am not the best of you, so if you see that I am right, support me, and if you see that I am wrong, advise me," he told worshippers.

WORLD/COMMENTARY

HE extremist Islamic State in Iraq and . Levant (ISIL) has become the more the powerful terrorist force on earth. This may not have been by design but it was also not purely by accident. This rise has been caused by the opportunism of the group itself but also by the cynical geopolitical strategy followed by America, its NATO satellites, and its Middle Eastern allies. By controlling territory in Iraq and Syria and threatening the Iraqi capital, ISIL, once a franchise of Al Qaeda, has ventured beyond the feats of its parent. Because of the personnel it has attracted from the global inventory of jihadist combatants, ISIL has transformed from a hit-and-run group into a formidable conventional military fighting force. It is no longer a guerilla outfit. It is a small, well-disciplined army capable to taking and holding territory. As such, it has quickly hashed the Iraqi army, revealing that institution to be no tougher than a damp paper napkin. The ISIL has gobbled a significant portion of the predominately Sunni regions as if by irresistible force. The Kurds are already well ensconced with a substantial degree of autonomy in their traditional homeland. At sixty percent of the population, the Shiite and the embattled Maliki government hold the rest. Given the relative newness of the intense fighting, the informal, war-hewn boundaries between the three regions will undulate. But, unless the rarest type of political reconciliation between the Sunni rebellion and the Shiitedominated government can be extracted from the belly of war then this division will stand albeit fluid around its edges. Effectively, Iraq has been partitioned before our eyes. The post-World War I boundaries drawn by the British and French upon this parcel of the defunct Ottoman Empire are being sundered and redrawn a full century after the start of the cataclysm that would prostrate the Ottomans. That Iraq has fallen into a more pitiful condition than under Saddam was a story foretold from the moment second President Bush determined to unleash war. The stated reason for the assault – to protect the world from weapons of mass destruction – was a malevolent fraud. The documentary evidence used to support the trespass was counterfeit. Rarely has such a sloppy, easily-disprovable fabrication been the impetus for a major power to strike war against a distant nation that posed no material threat. For its authors and architects, the war was part lark, part ideological imperative. For the Iraqis who would suffer it, the war was a compound tragedy. Under Saddam, they knew misery but had order. They would retain misery, only to have disorder heaped upon it. It would be the start of a great unraveling. For the United States, the Iraqi war will be recorded as the greatest strategic blunder of the post-Cold war era. I hope it stands as the worst foreign policy decision of the 21st century. For this to be true, America would have to avoid future errors of great consequence. However, should the present course of American policy continue, I fear the world shall see future errors and commissions, so dangerous, immense and costly that the Iraqi misadventure may come to be viewed as a minor failure or even a relative success when measured against the mistakes to come. The American war machine plowed into Iraq promising “shock and awe.” In the end, we were shocked that leaders so awed by their own power were also so arrogant that they failed to anticipate the strategic fallout of their dubious mission. In attacking Iraq, America certainly got their man. Saddam Hussein was hung unceremoniously like a vagrant cattle rustler. While excelling in getting Saddam, America miserably lost the country. Due to its superficial understanding of the nation it invaded, America alienated the population, failed to keep order and turned a stable if despotic nation into a laboratory of chaos. Saddam clearly landed on the wrong end of the war. With hundreds of thousands of people killed, a greater number maimed and an economy shredded into pockets of depression, the people were the second greatest losers. Ironically, the Americans who subdued Saddam and his cohort would be the next in the line of losers. The next in this queue of war casualties would be Syria. While America accomplished the rather odd feat of losing a nation by defeating it in war, Iran amply profited by America’s mis-

Iraq: The fire cometh

The fruits of winning an unnecessary war are indistinguishable from those of losing a vital one

•A scene of Iraqi war

guided exertions. Assessing the vacuum created by Saddam’s demise, Iran simply allowed proximity and Shiite religious solidarity to run their course. Inevitably Iranian influence would expand in Iraq once Saddam joined the league of the departed. The other benefactor was Al Qaeda. Saddam loathed the jihadists. They requited his animosity measure for measure, hatred for hatred. He held them off his land for his brand of despotism was a cynically practical one that brooked no place for a band of armed zealots who harkened to a voice that was not his and that no one else could hear. During the American occupation, Al Qaeda would grow, shrink split and splinter. One of the fractions would become ISIL. In time, its adherents migrated to Syria to ply their lethal trade. But they never took their eye off Iraq. By weakening the structure of central government, America released and gave liberty to ethnic, religious and regional rivalries that Saddam’s strong arm had kept pent. America said it was bringing modern representative democracy to Iraq. That was a sonorous but untruthful line. What it let slip was old-fashioned turmoil. There were elections and other institutions that gave the form of nominal democracy. But the actual working of governance ventured far from the democratic ideal. It was a beehive of ancient prejudices competing one against the rest. The lone element lending the government a semblance of order and stability was the American troop presence. In another twist of irony, America’s troops assumed the role Saddam played in keeping the subnational rivalries in check. Once the bulk of the American contingent was withdrawn, the breakage of the frail stability was a verdict foretold, like the cracking of thin film of ice atop a warm and roiling sea. America’s most serious mistake was that in Iraq, it waged war against a known enemy in Saddam but also against an enemy it did not know. America waged war against War itself. The ways of War may not be as mathematically precise as the rules that govern the physical sciences. Still, War is jealous of its laws and principles. These laws must be obeyed for the combatant to obtain the favor of War. In Iraqi, America broke War’s commandments. A nation should never invade another unless it is willing to occupy that nation indefinitely. If you must keep checking your watch to gauge whether you are spending too much time in an

occupation that place is not worth the expenditure of life and material War minimally requires of the undertaking. By placing a time limit on your presence, you signal to your foes to merely slink into the recesses and out wait you. Once you leave, they will undo in a moment what you took years to achieve. Second, never invade a nation you don’t adequately understand. One does not ask a goat herder to captain a ship or a farmer to design a skyscraper. To invade a place with little knowledge of its people and governance is to schedule an appointment with disaster. The invader ensures that he will leave more hated than when he came. His stint will not achieve his objective or even palliate the adverse challenge. It will exacerbate it. In the end, the invader will have to return or be forced to accept that victory had come at a price dearer than most defeats. Thus, America used a great display of military force to implement a grand strategy that was neither strategic nor grand. The strategy was is actually a petulant one unbefitting a nation that sets claim to be the underwriter of global stability and justice. To the outsider, American policy looks woefully inconsistent. In Iraq, it appears to be against ISIL; yet, in Syria, it allies with ISIL against the Assad government. The real problem is not that American policy is devoid of logic. The trouble is that it lacks high principle. Judge no nation by what is says for self-serving words bear light consequence and even lesser costs. But actions speak a language words cannot rival. Particularly in the Middle East, America has targeted certain regimes for extinction. It will expend every effort to accomplish this objective. Thus, it fixated on Saddam. America was not deterred by the fact Al Qaeda would grow where it once had no presence. America and its NATO brood furnished the air support that paralyzed Gaddafi in Libya, enabling the rag-tag ground forces of Al Qaeda and related groups to win the contestation. In Syria, the West now funnels substantial war materiel to the opposition knowing full well ISIL is the most potent rebel force. America now wants to send 500 million dollars in aid to the rebels. Inevitably, much of that aid will work its way into ISIL hands. In effect, western aid has so annealed ISIL in Syria that it could expand and re-enter Iraq in a new, more potent form.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014 A pattern emerges. Western rhetoric says the war against terror is the highest priority. The reality of Western action mutters a different tale. The top actionable priority is to dismantle enemy regimes. If this requires teaming with the itinerant jihadists, America will make this devil’s choice almost every time. This behavior accords with America’s overarching objective of retaining the title as the world’s lone superpower. For that title to stick, America also must strictly control the world’s key regions. Thus, the unfriendly governments must be swept aside. Even in the current round of the Iraqi breakage, America’s attention has focused more on removing Maliki as prime minister than on halting ISIL. In Western eyes, Maliki’s transgression is not so much that he governed poorly. His indecency was to have angled too closely to Iran. Iran infantry has come to his side in this time of crisis. Even Russian, poking its finger in America’s eye, has come to Maliki’s aid by sending lethal air support. With all this, America has determined he must go. America has placed heavy diplomatic pressure on other strategic points of the Iraqi political architecture, the frailty that it is, letting it become known that significant American military help will come only after Maliki departs. Meanwhile, America has sent a token group of 300 advisors to counsel Iraq’s beleaguered army. This symbol was as utile as grabbing a handful of ice cubes from the freezer to toss at the house fire raging all about. America cares little about Iraq beyond whether the leadership leans sufficiently westward. America is not even moved that ISIL might establish itself as a government in the areas it has conquered. In fact, America would be gladdened the jihadists transformed themselves from hidden ghosts and gypsies into a stationary government. The America military has difficulty against able guerilla fighters. However, it is beyond equal at toppling stationary governments and their conventional forces. If ISIL tries to establish itself as a government, it would have walked away from its expertise into an arena where the American military machine stands supreme. Thus, America is not too concerned about ISIL except in using it as leverage to boot out Maliki. As long ISIL remains a roving terrorist band, it poses no threat to core American interests while its presence can be used to stoke fear that will help increase the military budget. ISIL has declared for itself a caliphate over the land in Syria and Iraq from which it has ousted the two governments. This declaration is more symbolic than real. By itself, it confirms ISIL’s military prowess and achievements. However, it is far cry from establishing a government. A government requires offices, civilian personnel, currency. It requires static positions and routine activity. Government to be effective must sit in a place known to the public. If ISIL proves sufficiently foolhardy to try to sit as a government, America will bide its time and deracinate the fledgling government whenever it wills. Meanwhile, ISIL’s presence serves the corollary benefit of giving Israel an additional rationale to seek protection behind security and military measures, eschewing a diplomatic solution with the weathered Palestinians. When done best, national interests and foreign policy shape the contours of a nation’s military. But that is not how things are in reality. Once established, a military apparatus takes on a life of its own, independent of the national interests and of rational foreign policy formulation. The American war machine is the largest, most powerful ever assembled. Because of the dictates of modern technology, building such a machine takes long-term investment and arcane expertise that must constantly be honed and cultivate. The war machine has become a business. To remain afloat, business must profit and expand. For the war machine, peace is bankruptcy. Treasure is made amidst conflict. The nation cannot maintain its global leverage without the war machine. Thus, the propagation of war becomes the way of the nation. Policy is driven by what befits the war machine and its business allies not by what fits genuine national interests. This would merely be sad if the damage could be limited to America alone. However, this is not the case. America leads the world for better or worse. Once upon a time, it appeared America wanted to lead the world to a safer, more peaceful place. Now, it appears it may be leading the world down the maw of incessant war. 08060340825 (sms only)

Ropo Sekoni

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Femi Orebe Page 16

SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014

Imelda Marcos at 85 tunjade@yahoo.co.uk 08054503906 (sms only)

Birthday highlights striking similarities between Nigeria and the Philippines; and marked in a peculiarly Nigerian manner

LD habits, they say, die hard. That is why Imelda Marcos still wants the best for their dead patriarch, former President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, even in death. Imelda, widow of the late discredited ruler who clocked 85 on July 2, visited the crypt of her husband in Ilocos Norte, in the northern part of the country, as part of her birthday programme. At the crypt, she remembered the good old days, with the flame of love still burning in her as ever. She kissed the glass coffin where her husband’s body is, in a white jacket, ceremonial sash and polished medals. President Marcos was ousted from office in 1986; he died in 1989 but is yet to be buried, apparently because his widow’s wish is yet to materialise. He has been lying in a temperature-controlled mausoleum since 1993. Mrs Marcos’ wish is that her husband be given a hero’s burial, a wish the government finds absurd and has consequently turned down continually. No sane government would grant such prayer considering the harm done to the Philippines by Ferdinard Marcos who was removed during a sustained campaign of civil resistance against his regime’s violence and electoral fraud. What this tells us is that the woman sees nothing unusual in the global perception of her husband as a chronic thief when he was president. It is none of her business that her husband was one of the world’s renowned rogues that ever lived. Of course, she too is not a saint. How can she? A woman without blemish could not have enjoyed the company of a celebrated thief like her husband. If it is true that ‘beside every successful man there is a woman’, then, Imelda must have been a bad influence on her husband. Her only luck is that in her country, as in Nigeria, many things, including the most unthinkable, are possible. That explains why Mrs Marcos could still be a Congress Representative in the same country that she and her husband plundered. That is why her son, Ferdinand Jr, could be a senator, and her daughter, a governor in that same country! It is because in the Philippines, as in Nigeria, the ‘infrastructure of the pocket’ is vital that she handed cash gifts to people in her constituency, as part of her 85th birthday mementoes. And that was why the people would have collected the ill-gotten cash gifts happily, apparently with the kind of gratitude that words are not enough to express. Needless to say that a party was held in her honour in her family’s stronghold in the northern part of the country where she blew out a candle on a cake topped with a shoe decoration. It is not clear whether the cake designer did so out of mischief or due to request by Mrs Marcos. The import of my point here will be clearer when we realise that Imelda’s collection of shoes was one feature that differentiated her from her prodi-

•Imelda Marcos

gal colleagues in her era as First Lady. She was reported to have had as many as 3,400 pairs of shoes after her husband was removed from power in 1986. This was enough to commend her for psychiatric test because something must be wrong somewhere for someone to desire such number of shoes. I guess this must earn her a place in The Guinness Book of Record because I am yet to see any other person with a heart for such primitive accumulation of shoes! Then, Mrs Marcos realised that her birthday bash was incomplete without giving thanks to God for sparing her life to witness her 85th birthday. In church, she sang with a priest and was also presented with a crown made of flowers, a traditional birthday ritual in the country. What we were not told are the fat envelopes that the priests would have been given and the sweet and kind words they would have spoken of her and her husband, not forgetting to mention the privilege of having the former First Lady in their midst. Yet, the likes of Mrs Marcos, in saner climes, would be a recluse that many people would want to avoid like the plague. This was a woman accused of stealing billions of public funds to sustain her ostentatious lifestyle during her husband’s 20 –year rule at a time when many Filipinos were wallowing in abject poverty. The only thing is that she was never convicted. That should also remind you of Nigeria. Many Marcoses are walking free on our streets who should be in jail in a situation where we are kind enough not to administer the capital punishment on them. And even though Mrs Marcos left the presidential palace many years ago, she does not think

“It is this same ‘I don’t care’ attitude to serious matters of public concern by the public that is giving Imelda Marcos the impression that her husband deserves a hero’s burial. It is the same mindset that is propelling her belief that the incumbent President Aquino, come 2016, could be succeeded by ‘Marcos the son’. If her wish comes to pass, then the Filipinos would be in for it, unless of course, Ferdinand Jr. is not a chip off the old block. But Amaechi’s point should be well taken because if the Marcoses had been stoned publicly, Imelda would not be running her mouth so insensitively as she is now doing”

she has had her fair share of the place. She nurses a come-back there, this time not as First Lady but as First Mother. She is banking on her son succeeding the incumbent President Benigno Aquino whose tenure ends in May 2016. Perhaps the fact that her husband has not been buried 25 years after his death, such that she could still plant a loving kiss on his coffin makes her live in the illusion that death is like some deep slumber. Otherwise, an 85-year-old would by now be thinking of life hereafter instead of the mundane that she is still bogging herself down with. It remains to be seen though how far this ‘leap of faith’ would take her. Obviously, she is overstretching her luck. But, as we await the result of her wish and desire in spite of the colossal damage her husband and herself did to their country reminded me of what Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State said on Monday at the inaugural lecture on democracy organised by Freedom House, which held at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos. Prof Larry Diamond, the Director of Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Stanford University, in the U.S. who was the guest speaker said virtually everything that ought to be said, from history to economy, political economy, politics, etc. about Nigeria. And it was not surprising that he did a good job because of his rich knowledge of the country. Apart from being a Fulbright scholar at Bayero University, Kano, he has written several books on democracy in Nigeria. These include ‘Class, Ethnicity, and Democracy in Nigeria’; ‘The Failure of the First Republic’ and ‘Nigeria in Search of Democracy’. However, I was more fascinated by Amaechi’s submission (which drew the applause of the audience), that corruption persists in the country because Nigerians are not stoning corrupt leaders; this is what is directly relevant to what we are talking about today. Amaechi made copious references to the past saying that students in the country would have trooped to the streets with the humongous looting going on in the country. And he was correct. Hell was let loose in the Second Republic when we were told (rightly or wrongly) that some N2.8billion Nigeria’s money was missing. These days, we only made some side comments when told that about $20billion public money was missing. We forgot the matter only by being told that America would know if such money was truly missing! I remember we were almost getting to the point of stoning those we saw as thieves in the Second Republic, particularly in Lagos. As a matter of fact, despite their security details, some of the public officials in the then ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) were stoned on the streets of Lagos and called thieves. Perhaps it was the military coup of 1983 that did not let that get to other parts of the country. It is this same ‘I don’t care’ attitude to serious matters of public concern by the public that is giving Imelda Marcos the impression that her husband deserves a hero’s burial. It is the same mindset that is propelling her belief that the incumbent President Aquino, come 2016, could be succeeded by ‘Marcos the son’. If her wish comes to pass, then the Filipinos would be in for it, unless of course, Ferdinand Jr. is not a chip off the old block. But Amaechi’s point should be well taken because if the Marcoses had been stoned publicly, Imelda would not be running her mouth so insensitively as she is now doing.

Amala, rice, corn politics

OLLOWING the surprise victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the Ekiti State governorship election, Ayodele Fayose, it is understandable why supporters and sympathisers of the All Progressive Congress (APC) are worried about the fate of the party in the forth coming Osun State gubernatorial election and future elections in the South West. There are those who fear that the APC may lose its dominant status in the region if the party’s governors do not take necessary measures to prevent a repeat of the Ekiti experience. There have been claims that one of the major reasons Fayose won the election was because he was able to ‘connect’ with the majority of the citizens of the state by providing ‘stomach infrastructure’ instead of propounding some grandiose policies of what he hopes to accomplish if he is elected. Abimbola Adelakun, a columnist in The Punch captured the joke which the Ekiti election has been reduced to with a facebook post in which she wrote: The lesson of Ekiti Election, serve your rice raw. Consequently, APC governors and candidates of other parties have been bombarded with unsolicited advice about the need to adopt what they termed the Fayose’s populist political campaign style to ensure victory. Apparently irked by this line of thought, which he said has even been suggested to him by some members of his cabinet, the Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun, has said he will not reduce governance in his state to ‘Amala’ politics of sharing rice and money instead of neglecting infrastructural development. I agree with Amosun that this advice, informed by those who want the governors to win at all cost is not only an insult on the intelligence of the people but a disservice to the electorate who elected them based on various electoral promises the governors made. While there may be lessons for the governors to learn from the Ekiti about matching polices with politics, it will be unfortunate if genuine developmental policies will have to be sacrificed to satisfy momentary needs and selfish political interests. Governors and other elected political office holders should strive to meet the expectations of those who elected them and improve on their standard of living, but this should not be done at the expense of the introduction of policies needed to raise the standard of productivity and service in the states. If some teachers voted against Fayemi in protest against the introduction of competency test as alleged, Ekiti State is the ultimate loser as it will have to continue to have teachers who are not competent to raise the standard of education as required to meet new realities. Edo State governor has reportedly backed down on the sack of teachers who failed the competency test for fear of the political backlash. I would rather have governors who would do what is right and in the best interest of the state now and in the future, instead of those who are so desperate to do anything to remain in office. The picture of a governorship candidate of a party holding roasted corn he bought on the roadside has gone viral on facebook. Obviously, the picture is meant to be a publicity stunt to portray him as a ‘man of the people’ life Fayose, but the real implication is how cheap the basis for getting elected into political office has become.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

COMMENT

Policy implementation gone haywire Those who make policies and recommend implementation methods need to find out what the best practices are elsewhere

IKE many other countries, Nigerian political leaders must have made many good policies. So must they have constructed bad policies in their efforts to govern the country effectively. Compared to many countries of its size in other continents (such as Indonesia and Brazil) and to smaller countries within its immediate region (such as Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire), the implementation of several of Nigeria’s policies leaves much to be desired. On many fronts, policy implementation in the country is replete with confusion and practices capable of demeaning citizens. But there is no other sector where confusion reigns appears greater than in the transportation sector, particularly travelling out and into the country. Nigerians who happen to see the way immigration and customs services are delivered in other countries cannot but wonder if Nigeria has no respect for its own citizens. Most Nigerians (outside members of the power enclave who have the privilege to bypass formalities at the airport) needing to use the airport to travel out are subjected to indignities at the hands of security personnel. For example, in front of every airline departure desk is a long desk on which travellers’ boxes are opened in front of other travellers. Women’s and men’s under wears are exposed to other travellers at the instance of anti-drug officers. Anti-drug men and customs officers run their hands through boxes of travellers, with the purpose of making sure travellers are not carrying drugs abroad. Bag owners whose underpants are turned

into objects of spectacle for people unknown to them have learnt how to look on with embarrassment and with the hope that the officers would bring the invasion of their privacy to an end in good time. Customs men and women are also at hand to ‘x-ray’ boxes to ensure that boxes do not contain food items that are needed by Nigerians here at home. Such officers are quick to tell travellers to go and obtain certificates to export such limited food items, ignoring traveller’s explanations that the food is for personal consumption by them and their family members waiting at the other end for them. Nigerians in the Diaspora are not believed by customs officers to have as much right as their homeland counterparts to eat Nigerian food. Little do Nigerian customs officers with enthusiasm to ensure that substandard food do not leave Nigerian shores know that such foreign countries have more sophisticated methods of filtering food items that enter their own space. Travellers often wonder aloud why the country’s anti-drug police would not use sophisticated methods, like their counterparts in other parts of the world, to xray travellers’ boxes. Machines detect illegal drugs faster than police men can do by running their hands through women’s used underpants in boxes. Moreover, machines are not likely to mistake regular white powder for cocaine, as it happened not too long ago with respect to some Nigerian musician. Having a situation in which anti-drug enforcement officers run their hands through travellers’ boxes is also fraught with avoidable danger, especially the danger of agents working for politicians to drop illegal objects in the box of travellers belonging to opposition

political parties. Drug detection is something that should be removed from human subjectivity. This must be why other countries invest in such machines and in training dogs to sniff illegal drugs. The story is not different for Nigerians coming back into the country. The first point of embarrassment is that travellers see how connected Nigerians and even foreigners are aided by men and women in uniform to avoid getting on the lines for holders of Nigerian passports and of other passports. When confronted about this by bold travellers, immigration officers are quick to reply that such persons have been pre-cleared, whatever that means. I found myself playing such a role recently and got punished indirectly for such audacity. After giving my passport to two uniformed officers sitting feet apart from each other, I was still stopped by the man whose attention I had drawn to persons going past immigration desk without submitting their passports to immigration officers. On my way to the luggage claim section, the stern-looking immigration officer I had asked questions earlier stopped me. He asked for my passport and I told him I had gone through clearance. He retorted that it was his job to confirm that this had been done. He took the passport and looked through every page before handing it over to me. Even after travellers collect their luggage and are apparently cleared by customs, they are still stopped on the way out by persons without any appearance to identify them as security personnel. The task in this case is usually to match the tag on the luggage with the copy given to the traveller at the point of departure. Shouldn’t this have been done before

clearing customs, if it has to be done at all? A logical way to do this is to confirm that anyone claiming a piece of luggage is the authentic owner at the point that he or she removes the luggage from the luggage conveyor. Just a few days ago, a new mother coming from abroad was stopped after having been cleared by customs. The grand-mother pushing the new baby’s carrier was asked to present the claim tag for the carrier. She was told that there was no such tag, as the carrier was not checked in but carried into the plane with the baby in it. The ‘luggage officer’ (for want of better way to designate such workers) insisted that the carrier should have been tagged, but the grand-mother was not a push-over, she told the man to call in the airline’s representative. There is nothing wrong with the government having policies that prevent persons entering the country illegally, taking illegal drugs out of the country, or exporting food in commercial quantity without obtaining export certification. But the ways such policies are implemented show lack of imagination and sensitivity to citizens who need travel-related services. For example, the practice of putting names of infants on passports of their mothers can no longer be used by new mothers who delivered their babies abroad. Nigerian embassies no longer provide such services, and most of the time, they do not regularly have passport booklets. Consequently, new mothers have to obtain the passport of the country of birth of their new children and then ask for Nigerian visa to bring their new infants home. Those who make policies and recommend implementation methods need to find out what the best practices are elsewhere. Implementing a good policy in a bad way that dehumanises citizens makes nonsense of the good intentions of such policies.

COMMENT

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

Funding INEC T

The Federal Government has no excuse for underfunding the electoral commission barely seven months to elections

HE warning by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Electoral Matters that the capacity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) could be compromised by poor funding deserves the serious attention of the Federal Government, the civil society and the general public. The committee’s chairman, Mr. Jerry Manwe, said that the committee found out that the electoral body would require N120 billion to conduct the 2015 elections, whereas all that has been made available to it is N45 billion. The huge difference, he explained, could precipitate logistics crisis if not resolved early enough. Manwe echoed the fears expressed by the INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, in his earlier interface with the National Assembly. We find the alarm worrisome given the fact that the next general elections, including the presidential, governorship and legislative at federal and state levels are due in another seven months. The electoral commission ought to have the fund now to enable it prepare for the polls. Although the N120 billion appears huge, all the commission is required to do is convince the legislature that due diligence has been followed in its computation. It is curious that the House is crying out now after the Appropriation Bill had been passed. Mr. Manwe is calling for a supplementary bill before it is too late. While at this stage there appears to be no alternative, we are surprised that the House that had been interfacing with the commission did not deem it necessary to call the attention of the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office to the potential landmine during the defence of the budget by government agencies. It appears that the financial independence for INEC that Nigerians had fought for and won is being eroded so soon after the amendment to the Electoral Act in 2010.

HE universally old and popular maxim that states, “change is the only constant phenomenon on earth” is so apt when one goes in retrospect to rationalise and analyse the fall of the teacher. From time immemorial, in every human society, those who belong to the noble guild or profession of teaching are held in high esteem. Teaching as a role is all encompassing as it cuts across the family, religious bodies, school and the work place. Teaching as a profession evolved through a long period of time as the role and function become more complex. In the ancient Greek society, itinerant teachers were common sight as parents engaged their services for the transfer of knowledge to their wards. The great and cerebral Socrates was above equals in that era that threw up the likes of Pluto, Aristotle, et al. Teaching as a profession through evolution enjoyed a pride of place in every clime. Even the informal and nonformal types due to the common thread that links all together, ‘repository of knowledge’. The sudden shift in policy priority that saw to the relegation of this noble profession to the background awed many people. Those who ought to know pretended not to know and today, the festering old wound is malignant. The victims are searing in pain so excruciating that they had to fight with the tenacity of self-preservation as the first instinct of man

The ghosts of the heavily compromised 2007 elections are still haunting the process. Also, owing to late preparations, the first elections conducted in 2011 had to be aborted mid-stream. A repeat of these faux pas would be unacceptable in 2015. The electoral commission has been handed a mandate to improve on the recent Ekiti State governorship election; anything less would be unacceptable to Nigerians who are too eager to prove to the international community that they are capable of designing and conducting flawless elections. During the budget preparation, the House Committee on Police Affairs, too, had pointed out that poor funding of the police could hinder adequate security arrangement for the elections. The committee said, from the estimates submitted by the executive in a year leading to general elections, the budgetary provision for the police had decreased by more than N1 billion. It said this could precipitate a strike action when the men in uniform would be required to protect the integrity of the balloting process. We find it difficult to accept that the Federal Government needs prodding to appreciate these booby traps. While we acknowledge that we live in difficult times, when security challenges occasioned by the insurgency in the north east is causing so much pain and making a huge demand on scarce resources, TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

•Editor Festus Eriye •Deputy Editor Olayinka Oyegbile •Associate Editors Taiwo Ogundipe Sam Egburonu

•Managing Director/ Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Adekunle Ade-Adeleye

it must be noted that deepening democracy is one of the most serious challenges of the moment. It would take sustenance of democracy to guarantee professionalism of the armed forces and safeguard the nation’s territorial integrity. The recent Ekiti election has also brought to the fore the need to strictly adhere to the constitutional provision investing in INEC the power to “organise, undertake and supervise all elections to the offices of the President, Vice President, the Governor and Deputy Governor of a state, and to the membership of the Senate, the House of Representatives and the House of Assembly of each state of the Federation.” We hold that this provision presupposes that INEC shall be in charge of all arrangements, including security, associated with the conduct of elections. The commission has a security department that ought to liaise with all the security agencies involved in deploying men for the elections. It ought to make request for the number of men required from each of the agencies. A situation where each security outfit decides the number and calibre of men deployed without the input and control of INEC is indefensible and unconstitutional. It was such a situation that led to the wanton abuse of power and privileges by the armed forces personnel deployed for electoral duty in Ekiti on June 21. The responsibility of the Inspector-General of Police and service chiefs should be limited to designating a very senior officer to work with the security department of the electoral body. This is the system that has served the electoral system in India so well. All that Nigerians want is the delivery of free, fair and credible elections that accord to international standards and show that progress has been made in the democratic march. This cannot be guaranteed in a situation where the electoral umpire is underfunded.

LETTERS

On the plight of teachers ernment to have a rethink and translate this emphasis into a strategic plan. Going by the recommended percentage of a national budget by the UNESCO for the development of education sectors, we have a long way to go. It takes political will power, transparency, accountability and the genuine belief in human capacity building to rescue the deterioration the sector is in today. Given the vital role of education to human societies, human capital development, technology, political maturity and social cultural orientation, we risk underdevelopment by ne-

for survival. A cursory perusal of history textbooks, commentaries and analysis of developments in the education sector perhaps would reveal the missing link. The where, why and when things went awry in this sector call for sincere and holistic studies in order to proffer a lasting solution. Until the restoration of that old prestige to the teaching profession, enabling and empowering teachers through monetary incentives, the wound festers, when the sore festers, the victims who feel the pain can never stop complaining.

In my own humble submission, I do strongly believe that the education sector holds the magic wand that can transform the country. Imagine a scenario where the country becomes host to foreign students from all over Africa and beyond. Also, importing teachers outside the shores of the country to teach and repatriate home foreign exchange. Britain and Ghana are just but few examples of countries in the league of education for foreign exchange (the knowledge economy that will outlast all natural resources). This is the fullness of time for gov-

The new Emir of Kano

HE recent appointment of the former Central Bank Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, by the Kano State Government as the new Emir of Kano is clear indication that destiny can’t be prevented from happening. The rise of Mallam Sanusi did not come to many Nigerians as a surprise, seeing his many antecedents as regard his determination of being crowned as the emir of Kano any time the exalted stool became vacant. When the late Emir, Dr Ado Bayero, passed on, all eyes focused on who would become the next Emir.

Many Nigerians’ attention shifted to him because he has demonstrated the trait and most of his comments have been to occupy the position which his father was not privileged to occupy during his lifetime. Also, providence played a significant role in his ascension to the throne, which would have eluded him if he did not show his fearless attributes when he was governor of CBN by blowing the whistle on the controversial N20 billion oil money not re-

mitted to the coffers of government. Also, the reforms he made at banking sector made him one of the most popular Central Bank governors Nigeria has produced since independence. Malam Sanusi’s ascension to the throne in Kano would change the age-long tradition of doing things in the entire Kano Emirate, because he is going to bring vibrancy and modernise the ongoing affairs in the whole of Kano chiefdom.

glecting commensurate investment in the sector. The sad negative implication is clear as a crystal ball that one needs any analysis to discern the horrendous impact across generations. Is this gory scenario what successive leadership of this country wants to bequeath to the youths that supposedly are the leaders of tomorrow? Where then is the future for the youths to inherit and carry out their own leadership role as a continuum. The remedy to the impending anomie lies in fixing the education sector which is a crucial social institution for socialisation. We know many of the political elites today are beneficiaries of the purposeful leadership of the generations of leadIt must be noted that the new Emir, being a blue blood, would give the traditional institution in this country a different direction, with important role Kano has played in the political equation of this country. We sincerely hope the mounting of the throne by him as the 14th Emir of Kano would witness peace, progress, development and justice to the entire people of Kano and Nigeria in general. By Bala Nayashi Yashi Area Lokoja, Kogi State

ers before them. It’s high time they borrowed a leaf from those old classes of leaders. At the turn of yet other journeys into a new centenary of Nigeria existence, the education sector has been at the front burner of national discourse. There have been and still ongoing educational summits by stakeholders to grapple with the ugly menace bedevilling the sector that has overtime become an albatross Given the germane logic of teachers’ demands which encompass emolument, benefits and provision of needed facilities in school, they stand indicted on moral ground. These prolong demands that have stifled progress in academic activities across the tertiary institutions in the country should serve as a revolution in the sector. The government should for the sake of Nigerian children meet these critical demands. The government will now be justified to role out tall orders that border on restoring morality, ethics and values to the education sector. The child/ leaner will become a force to reckon with as their evaluations will decide the fate of their teachers. Teachers in various tertiary institutions abuse their authority by stepping out of bound in their teacher – student relationship. Unfair and unhealthy sex, money for marks/ grades negotiation has been the bane of the Nigeria’s education sector. By Comrade Ogbu A. Ameh Abuja Onwaters20ll@gmail.com

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COMMENT

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014

A peep into the Republic of the Philippines as Nigeria atrophies Aquino’s determination to lead the government and the nation towards the straight path has been the catalyst for unprecedented economic growth

N spite of the garbage being daily spewed on Nigerians by the socalled ‘protectors of Nigeria’s prosperity’, especially the over fed foreigner commentators among them who are so enamoured with an over achieving President Goodluck Jonathan it’s a surprise they hadn’t loaned him to oversee their respective country’s affairs, most Nigerians remain perturbed, agonising over what has befallen their country. It is the same reason this column will ‘afghanistIce’ today to let Nigerians see what governance is in other, even less endowed, countries of the world in contradistinction to the verbiage that passes muster here as governance. I must, however, thank a dedicated reader of this column for this paradigm shift, away from Ekiti affairs which had been the focus of the column for a straight ten Sundays, trying to ensure our people make the correct political choice until we got overwhelmed by PDP’s electoral abracadabra. Writing from Ibadan, the gentleman, who studied and married from that country, said, inter alia: ‘Good day to you. I have been reading your write ups for years now and I commend your efforts to straighten our society. Thank you so much. Please and please, go and read extensively on one country –The Philippines. There is a crusade going on in that country now by President Benigno Aquino Jr from which we can learn as a country. Let our people know about this. Many old and new senators are being whisked to prison without bail. They are sent there for corruption and

‘chopping’ of public money. I studied in that country and married from there and I live in Ibadan.’ That precisely was what gave me the urge to go read more about this island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 7,107 islands that are categorised broadly under geographical divisions with the capital at Manila though its most populous city is Quezon City. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and close to the equator, makes the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons, but that very fact also endows it with abundant natural resources and some of the world’s greatest biodiversity. The 15th President of the Republic of the Philippines, Benigno Simeon Aquino III, has come to stand for Filipinos’ reinvigorated passion to build a nation of justice, peace, and inclusive progress. Aquino, the only son of democracy icons Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino and President Corazon Aquino, has in different junctures throughout his life responded to the challenge of acting with and serving the Filipino people. In 1983, after the assassination of his father, he returned from exile to the country to help show the way for the EDSA People Power Revolution -the nonviolent and prayerful revolution by ordinary people -that toppled a dictatorship and restored Philippines democracy. In 1998, Aquino entered public service to make sure that the democracy his parents fought for would bring changes in people’s lives. He served as Representative of the 2nd District of

Tarlac from 1998 to 2007. In May 2007, he joined the Philippines Senate, wherein he worked to bring about legislative initiatives anchored on the protection of human rights and honest and responsible governance. Rather than do that, our politicians would rather conjure on poor Nigerians, the ‘earthquakes and typhoons’ which nature brings to the shores of Philippines with earthshaking consequences. The most despondent days perhaps in Aquino’s life took place in 2009 when his mother died. Her demise prompted mourning from all over the country. But it awakened a remembrance of the values she stood for. It stirred up the people’s yearning for a leadership that is honest and compassionate, and a nation that trusts and works with its government. Immediately after her wake, people began to call on Aquino, urging him to run for presidency in the 2010 elections to continue his parents’ work. Signature drives and an outpouring of support through yellow ribbons and stickers went full blast, convincing him to run, not the multi-billion, foreign denominated advert campaigns we see around here. Moreover, candidates for president such as Senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, Pampanga Governor Eddie Panlilio, and Isabela Governor Grace Padaca all gave up their presidential aspirations to support Aquino. On September 9, 2009, the 40th day after his mother’s passing, he officially announced his candidacy. At his inauguration on June 30, 2010, he declared: “I want to make democracy work not just for the rich and well connected but for everybody,” emphasising that he was in office to ‘serve and not to lord over the people. The mandate given to me was one of change. I

accept your marching orders to transform our government from one that is self-serving to one that works for the welfare of the nation.’ This, unfortunately, is what this unfortunate country has lacked, but now lacks more than at any point in our history. You will never, for instance, catch President Aquino protecting a minister under probe for the misuse of public funds, claiming that the agency of government constitutionally empowered to oversee the agency’s affairs had invited her a ‘million’ times for questioning. President Aquino, like his Ugandan counterpart, would rather hang himself than pardon the scion of a former president who is known to have fleeced the country to the tune of over N4 Billion dollars all because he must contest and win election. The Republic of Philippines, obviously a third world country like Nigeria, has shown by this, that you do not have to fight to the death to be president nor do you have to irredeemably mess up a country’s entire electoral system just so you would become an Emperor. In the case of President Aquino Jr, even candidates of the opposition parties withdrew for a man of honour, for a man they know will not be self-serving but will, in his own words, ‘transform government from one that is self-serving, to one that works for the welfare of the nation’. Only this past week on CNN, Christiane Amanpour asked our dear Coordinating Minister of the Economy why a performing governor, one that is building infrastructure and catering to the welfare needs of the most at risk segment of society, could be whimsically thrown out of office. The minister could only resort to braggadocio, rationalising what she knows not, claim-

Is the confab really serious about recommending 18 more states for Nigeria? Running a state is obviously a very costly business, and it does not include the expenses of caring for the people

ERIOUSLY? Honestly? When I read the report that the confab members planned to include the request that Nigeria create more states, I nearly flipped. I shook my head and immediately thought, surely, either that there are still people here who do not understand the problem, who do not get it, or I am living in Mars. Oh yes, there are people who normally do not get it and they are called, wait for it, the government. Today though, I prefer the other option: that I am living in Mars, because then, I can pretend others who do not get it do not exist. Let’s see now how best I can give the confab members my own opinion on the issue in a way that will not jolt them too much or give them the impression that I am not altogether with them or give them the impression I do not like them or the job they are doing. Now, how can I do that? NO, NO, NO; no more states. Haba! Now, how can we explain this problem to them? Let us begin with the most basic implication of this calamitous and precipitous move. It will unbalance my psyche. I will not be able to wrap the fact around my tiny brain that there will now be, what, fifty-five states in Nigeria, what with Abuja being treated as a state with its own government. Listen, things are delicate enough around here as it is without anyone adding to the confusion. That’s it:

ing that because an election was seemingly peaceful, it was transparent even as the larger world knows that there are enough rogue scientists, once the price is right, who would use science to screw up the most apparently transparent election. After all, science makes no noise as we saw when Syria sent to their early graves, hundreds of the opposition via the nerve gas. The presidency of Benigno Aquino III has been marked by a hardy dedication to bringing about shared progress by doing things the right way. Aquino’s determination to lead the government and the nation towards the straight path has been the catalyst for unprecedented economic growth, which has trickled down to the margins of society through improved government services, reforms in the education system, and conditional cash transfers for the poor; an inspired campaign for good governance and justice as evidenced by the prosecution of corrupt government officials and the empowerment of the citizenry. “My hope is that when I leave office, everyone can say that we have travelled far on the right path, and that we are able to bequeath a better future to the next generation.” These are not the words Nigerians hear today as protagonists of 2015, without any consideration for our stolen girls or their parents, decided to mount the Jonathan re-election campaign preliminaries right on the same grounds as those poor women staying right there, rain or shine, to continue to draw world, and in particular, the Jonathan government’s attention, to the plight of the Chibok girls. Amazing, how unfeeling politics could turn! As we march forward to an uncertain future in this country, everyone in public office, be they politicians or civil servants, even the many cheats that abound within the private sector, should know that if care is not taken, they could very well be victims of the same corrective measures President Benigno Simeon Aquino III is unerringly unfolding in the Philippines. A stitch in time, they say, saves nine.

more states = more confusion. You don’t know what I mean? Let’s see now. To begin with, having more states means having more governors. Right now, in this present dispensation, Nigeria has had to cope with governors who went on sick leave lasting more than eight months at a stretch, some lasting for more than one year so far and still counting; governors buying and flying jets from public coffers; governors wrangling over who presides over the affairs of other governors while not having completed their original purposes as governors; governors in perpetual tussles with their godfathers; and governors generally doing all kinds of things but governing. Do we want more of that? Do we really? Wait now, there is more. Having more states will definitely mean having more jets in the Nigerian airspace, and that will equally definitely make it more unsafe. Right now, there is an epidemic of the penchant for purchasing jets by public office holders. I tell you, it’s a biting bug, and it’s biting harder each day. So far, no one has told us that five out of six of the more than thirty-something jets currently in Nigeria were NOT purchased with public funds. No one. It is such a strange co-incidence that a goodly number of them belong to public office holders whose ‘people’ are still

living in worse than abject poverty because funds meant for their relief are being spent purchasing … jets. Worse, the airspace in Nigeria cannot quite accommodate these excellencies who sometimes wonder why they should not fly their own jets, like cars, as proof that they really own them, like cars. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe there is a governor who is still writhing because he wondered similarly and… Someday, I believe we will hear his story. Anyway, we know that a governor must be accompanied by all the paraphernalia of office such as FLs, SAs, FSs, FDs, etc. Just hold on to your yams, all will be made clear. First of all, we do not want to be encumbered with more First Ladies whose credentials to the office do not go beyond the fact that they are consorts to the multiple mini emperors. Listen, many FLs are bad news. No, they have not done me any harm, but they have not done us any much good either. Have you noticed that each one sort of comes with a programme that consumes billions of state funds to execute and as soon as they and their principals are out of office, the programme sort of dies a natural death, along with our billions? I have noticed it and I tell you, it boggles the mind. There is something definitely fishy there that we must examine someday. More, we most definitely do not want more Special Advisers to the Governors appointed to comfort the said governor, who is often caught in the throes of so much

work he needs loads of them, SAs that is, not more work. We have written on this topic before, so we do not want to repeat ourselves here but we must say this. We hear there is a state that has more than a hundred Special Advisers to the Governor… The less said on the topic the better. Anyway, we all know that these are political jobbers who prefer not to exert themselves too much in the boxing arena called the workspace plying their God-given talents and gifts for their daily meals. No sir; they prefer to answer their benefactors’ summons. Now, dear people, you most definitely do not want to add more to the number of first sons and first daughters we already have plaguing the country. Right now, we have chalked up such a huge number of them floating around everywhere in the world schooling, playing, laying and sniffing at the nation’s cost, it will make you wonder. You would not believe that those who are not abroad are here being contractors bidding for the same contracts issuing from daddy’s office as you and I. Guess who usually wins. So now, people, there are three ways we can approach this thing. I think we should cancel the idea of having eighteen more states altogether. From what I have regaled you with above, you can see that running a state is obviously a very costly business, and it does not include the expenses of caring for the people. If we were to add that, heaven knows what

a state’s bill would look like. Worse, very few of these states are actually generating enough to take care of the bills of the governor’s penchants, his family’s and his SAs. Seriously, nearly all of them have been going cap in hand to Abuja every month to have tea. Well, they have to take something while waiting to be received by the AG. Now, the boisterous atmosphere in the waiting room of that gentleman’s office is leading some of us to suspect they are having a tea party in there when they go, err, cap-inhand. Let’s go on. The second thing we can do is to ask state agitators to prove that the proposed states can cater for themselves. This means that the entire areas must prove that they have enough resources to take care of the apparatuses of the governorship office as stated above and still have plenty left over to distribute to, err, the people, especially during elections. The third option is to ask not for eighteen states but nineteen. That number will take care of all your own demands for new states, and also mine. Yes, my dear, I demand a state for myself. And why not? Frankly, if it is possible for me to live elsewhere in order to escape hearing about the grating, irrational deeds of mankind, white or black, I would gladly take the offer. Mars is a good option, but since there is no proof of life there yet, I am forced to settle for demanding a state of my own. Living on a state by myself, I will definitely be immune to demands from people that Nigeria be split into a hundred states. Surely, that time is coming too.

COMMENT

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014

(72)

You, your green passport and the world

OU were not nervous about your green Nigerian passport at the Toulouse airport as you prepared to leave for Berlin. You had your passport in your bag but you knew that you would not be asked to produce it either on the French or the German side of the border by immigration control officers. You knew because two days earlier as you traveled from Germany to France no one had asked you to produce your passport. In fact, you had your passport out in your hand as you approached the security check point but the officers waived it aside as something they didn’t need to see. And when you got to Toulouse and told your hosts about the experience, they laughed in a good-natured way at your ignorance of the fact that when you travel between European Union countries under the so-called Schengen Pact, you travel without your passport, as if it is a local journey. You smile in return as you remembered the fact that though you need no visa to travel between the ECOWAS countries, you still have to produce your passport and have it stamped when you travel from, say, Nigeria to Ghana or Sierra Leone to Senegal. But why are you writing about this experience, indeed this whole essay in the second person voice and not the first, as is customary with columnists and as you have done so far in this column? You are writing in the second person voice because something totally unprecedented in your personal and professional career happened at Toulouse. You had gone to Toulouse to serve as an external examiner in the defense of a doctoral dissertation at the University of Toulouse. You, in conjunction with the other examiners, had found the dissertation brilliant. You had all praised the writer of the dissertation, recommending that he be awarded the doctorate with the highest distinctions. But then had come the shocker, to you anyway, because all the other examiners being part of the French system were completely unsurprised: the chairperson announced that in our reports, each of us had to write in the third person. Unbelieving, you had asked, “you mean I should write something of the order of Professor Biodun Jeyifo found the five chapters of the dissertation equally well conceptualised and written”? Yes, the Chairperson had replied, you must write your opinions and observations completely in the third person! The look on your face must have eloquently expressed your disbelief, your amazement for all the other examiners chimed in by admitting that, yes, the practice seems utterly outlandish but that’s how they write their reports after a doctoral dissertation defense – third person voice all the way. You listened bemused and unconvinced as one of the examiners gave the lame explanation that the rationale behind the practice is to make for complete objectivity in the writing of the report since the third person voice is the voice of selfobjectification par excellence: writing about yourself and your opinions in the third person, you are forced both to become self-aware and self-distancing. You could have replied that the first, second and third person voices are all devices, all arti-

ficial rhetorical techniques and none of them is inherently closer to the truth than the others. But you kept quiet: when in Rome, do as the Romans do… That night, you wrote your report, all in the third person voice as requested. It was with great difficulty that you resisted the urge to be sarcastic, to stay within the third person rubric but break it up into contending parts as in “Professor Jeyifo thought that the methodology matched the subject matter of the dissertation, but then another part of Jeyifo thought that the candidate could have been a little more methodologically inventive while yet another part of Jeyifo thought that the whole point was irrelevant anyway”. But you resisted that urge. You resisted because as you wrote, you actually began to find the experience somewhat enthralling in that it began to feel like an other-body experience within your own body. In other words, it began to feel more than a mere change of rhetorical and stylistic register but something existential, embodied and therefore full of possibilities that the regular first person voice does not allow. And that was how that compulsory third person exercise in writing a self-objectified report led to this act of writing about the travails and misadventures of traveling in this world with the Nigerian green passport in the second person register. In plain language, it takes away the sting, the humiliations of the experience of traveling with a Nigerian passport when you write about it in the second and not first person voice. For the truth is that every time that an immigration official, having seen your green Nigerian passport and asks you to stand apart from all the other passengers with blue, black, burgundy, orange and other colors,

you instinctively feel that the experience is not happening to you but to someone else. Perhaps the very worst of this kind of response that the green passport provoked when you presented the passport was in Istanbul, Turkey, 2010. You were not only stand apart, you were quickly surrounded by several immigration officials all armed and all unsmiling. You were then matched to an office far away from the queues of all the other passengers and made to sit in a waiting room for nearly an hour, no explanations given. At the end of that one hour, just as mysteriously, your passport was returned to you and you were asked to go. You tried to ask what had been the matter but one of the armed officials just barked at you, go! You went and as you joined your colleagues from other countries who had travelled with you for an international conference, everyone saw the look on your face and wisely knew not to ask you any questions for at least that moment, that day. In your line of work, you travel a lot. Also, do admit it: from childhood, you’ve been bitten by the travel bug and you do have a love affair with travelling. Once in the early 1970s in Brooklyn, New York, when you were a graduate student at New York University, you’d seen a huge billboard with the legend, “See the World Before You Leave It!” and you had instantly adopted it as one of your few non-political mottoes. Philosophically, you believe that this earth, this planet is the only home we have as a species and you must see as much of it as you can. And you believe that if a part of us earthlings ever migrates to another planet to colonize and live on it that part of the species would be nothing like what we are now. But progressively worse and worse since that time in the early 70s, our green passport has become a liability with

which to “see the world before you leave it”. Perhaps it is useful to make what you are asserting here plainer: it is far more vexatious and taxing to the spirit now to apply for visas and to present your green passport at the immigration control borders of many countries in the world than it used to be two to three decades ago. You should also admit that it helps somewhat that you teach at a big-name institution but even that is often nullified by the negative talismanic power of the green passport. Recently – as recently as your application for a Schengen visa to Germany – you presented a letter from the Dean of your Faculty to you dated from late last year as proof that you are really an employee, a professor at the Institution in which you teach. Your letter was rejected and you were asked to produce a letter as recent as a week before your application. When you asked if you could have resigned in the middle of the same academic year, the stony response was – we just need a document with a more recent date, period! When you then went and asked the Chair of one of your two departments to write a letter of authentication for you, he said that no one, absolutely no one, had ever asked him for such a letter. He’d wanted to know why you were asked to produce such a letter of authentication, you’d said quietly to him, “you don’t what to know”. What you had in mind was of course you don’t want to know about the green passport and the headaches it generates when you want to and do travel. Dublin, 17 May 2009. You have that date down in your expired passport as the date on which a big and bold inscription, “Visa Warning” was stamped on your passport. Until the expiration of that passport, everywhere you went in the world,

you were asked what “visa violation” had you committed in Dublin, Ireland. Because of missed connections due to the airline’s own fault, you were put aboard a flight going to New York via Dublin instead of the original direct flight to New York. You disembarked with other passengers in Dublin for a stopover of about an hour. As soon as this immigration control officer saw your green passport, she asked you to stand aside and for the next fortyfive minutes completely ignored you regardless of your protestations that your flight would soon be leaving. Well, you finally snapped and loudly demanded to see a superior officer because you were not a would-be economic refugee to Ireland, you were a passenger in transit whose plane would be leaving in a quarter of an hour. In response the officer looked at you as if you both belonged to two different species, took hold of your passport, stamped “visa violation” on a page in the passport and then let you go and board your plane for your flight. You ask yourself: what are the headaches and inconveniences of traveling in the world with your green passport compared to the terrible hardships that most of our peoples face at home? Your response is clear and unambiguous: Nigerian fraudsters, scammers and con-artists have made nonsense of the value and worth of the green passport all over the world, just as looters, election riggers and state and non-state bandits have taken sovereign control over society, politics and economy at home. Whether you are at home or abroad, you carry Nigeria with you, their Nigeria, not the one we deserve and will achieve one day. Biodun Jeyifo bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

COMMENT

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014

Why I purged my Facebook friends list

T was a small act, but it was also one of liberation. In retrospect, I wonder if the woman had meant to come off quite so obnoxiously when she’d expressed her shock at my admission that I hadn’t yet read that hot bestseller everybody was talking about. But the way that she’d phrased it — “Well, what do you do with all that time when you’re at your cancer treatment?” – made me wonder why I was friends with her in the first place. And then I realized: I wasn’t her friend at all. We’d been in the same social circle of moms a few years earlier, before she’d moved away. We’d never been close and we were less than that now. Yet here we were, whatever semblance of a relationship we’d ever once had now reduced to me taking crap from her on Facebook. I scrolled over her profile picture and clicked “unfriend.” Oh, the sweet freedom of decluttering. I thought of that woman again recently, when a friend – a real one – mentioned that she’d found herself in a social media dilemma that was causing her true pain. Dolores [her name, like those of the other people quoted here, has been changed to protect her privacy] had been looking at an old school photo she’d been tagged in on Facebook, and there, in the comments, was the man who’d raped her. “I had almost posted something,” she said, “but then, there’s that asshole, close to me. Right there. There’s his ugly face and his whole happy life. I don’t want to see him smiling and acting normal. It scares me to think how many smiling normal men have a past of raping their dates.” She blocked the man to protect herself from seeing his posts, but then she began to wonder about their mutual friends, and what value some of those other old faces from her past really had in her life any more. She decided it was time for a sweep as well. She unfriended the person who’d posted the original photo too. In the early days of Facebook, it was easy –

An unfriending spree made my online life a whole lot better By Mary Elizabeth Williams

desirable even – to pick up friends with abandon. I remember my account back then as an empty home, and the impulse to furnish it was deep. I friended people I knew from other, similar online communities; I friended colleagues and old schoolmates and people I’d had an interesting conversation with that weekend at a party. Then a few simultaneous and unpleasant events happened in my onand offline life. A person I’d crossed in an online community years before – and who’d taken great pleasure in abusing me there – found his way onto several lists of “mutual friends.” A person I’d been briefly acquainted with many years ago found me in a Facebook group for a common interest, and began harassing me with obsessive messages. Then I got cancer, and I decided that it was as good an excuse as any to make at least one place in my online life a little more private. I stopped – with only a few meaningful exceptions ever since — adding friends. And I became ruthless about purging people I didn’t have a strong enough connection to — especially those who posted quack science stuff, who were openly hateful of ideals I stand for, whose entire feeds were of a self-promotional “DO THIS FOR ME” nature, or who frankly abused their “Here’s another picture of what I’m eating right now” and “Here’s another picture of my pet” privileges. I had never had a particularly bloated friends list, but after my “Game of Thrones”-like cleansing, it became considerably sleeker. Sure, I could have just hidden the feeds of some of them, but what would have been the point? Why keep people in the attic of your online life, never to interact with them? Why not just tighten up and move on?

Rachel, a law student, has a similar outlook. Three years ago, she cut her Facebook friend list right in half — from 1,200 to 600. As she puts it, “I was applying to law schools and just thinking more about my professional reputation. Not that there was anything horrible on my Facebook, but I wanted to control the number of people who had access to all that information about me. I also think part of my motivation was to spend less time looking at the profiles of people I didn’t really know… It was easy at first to go through and cut people I had never actually met, then people I had met once or twice several years before, but hadn’t talked to since. It got harder as I decided to cut people who were friends of friends, people I went to school with for many years, and people whose lives I was interested in following, but with whom I did not have a personal relationship. I think I decided to keep schoolmates based on our friendship at the time, not on how well we’ve kept in touch since. I’ll admit that I held on to a few people I barely know just because they’re fun to follow.” Yet Rachel and I seem to be unique. When I asked around recently about unfriending, I was surprised at how many people don’t do it. My writer friend Clark says, “I don’t unfriend. I put people on a restricted list and try to make sure my ‘public’ comments are PG instead of R. FB, for me, in large part is about promoting literary readings and events, so to unfriend someone is to chip away at the potential of my market. And I think unfriending goes against the Southern manners with which I was raised. Better,” he cracks, “to let the relationship die via slow, algorithmic atrophy.” Emmy similarly says, “I hide feeds now just because unfriending seems a little OFF WITH THEIR HEADS, which I know is stupid — there’s no implied social contract to stay ‘friends’ on

social media — even if, in my case, it’s mostly business ‘friends,’ but I’m a wuss.” Alicia says, “In my experience, unfriending is like a shot across the bow, inciting threats, unanswerable injured relations, toxic amounts of ‘How could you?’” And Juliet adds, “It just seems cruel to unfriend someone, when they haven’t done anything specifically to me.” Then there are those who see unfriending as a last resort. Ed, an attorney, recalls, “The one that comes to mind is the guy who tried to explain that trans-vaginal ultrasound was in fact a medically useful procedure for women seeking abortions.” Carly admits, “I unfriended a guy who became a MRA. He posted a lot of anti-feminist BS, and so I pulled the plug. There are legitimate arguments to be made for men’s issues, but MRAs are a hate group and rape apologists. Life is too short.” Bella did it after a FB friend went on a selfies binge, explaining, “I felt like I was watching sadness in front of me.” And Joanne takes the dramatic types at their word, noting, “The ‘please unfriend me if” thing is sort of a golden opportunity to do so.” I still have a few people on my friends list I’m not really friends with, but the urgency I once felt to clean house has abated as my Facebook circle has grown smaller. I certainly know firsthand the ego sting that an unfriending can bring. It’s a decisive act, whereas most of the time in life it’s easier to quietly drift apart. But I also know that the simplicity of a small list of names is a joy that outweighs it. Now, I just try to, in the words of my friend Meg, “be proactive by not friending stupid people.” And my short list could always comfortably get even shorter. As my friend Susan puts it, “My feeling is that FB is purely recreational/personal and any aspect of it that makes me feel bad I am totally justified in eradicating.” Courtesy: Salon.com

Redefining infrastructure development in Bayelsa

AYELSA State, created barely over 17 years ago on October 1st 1996 by the military junta of the late General Sani Abacha is a state with all the potentials of greatness. Being a product of years of struggle, the state is seen by vast majority of the people as a fulfillment of the long sought dreams and aspirations of the Ijaw people to have a hamogenous state. This underscores the reason that, to many Ijaw people Bayelsa represents the capital of the Ijaw nation just as Jerusalem is to the Jews. A walk through the streets of Yenagoa, the state capital, one could feel the air of the Ijaw identity, togetherness and the pride of a hardworking people. The governor of Bayelsa State Hon. H. S. Dickson, who happens to be a one-time National Legal Adviser of the Ijaw National Congress could not hide his sense of Ijaw nationalism when he delightfully stated during his inauguration as governor of the state on February 14th 2012, that, “As a product of the Ijaw movement, I am aware that I was not just a candidate of Bayelsa State but of the entire Ijaw nation… To all Ijaws wherever they may reside, let me reaffirm that Bayelsa will continue to be your Jerusalem and I will be your governor too.” Buoyed by this spirit of Ijaw patriotism, laced with obvious sense of mission to restore what many believed the eroding pride and glory of the Ijaw man. The general worry was the magic wand he would device to confront the plethora of seemingly overwhelming challenges and meet the general aspirations of Bayelsans. These challenges range from the comatose state of infrastructure, a parlous treasury, mindboggling wage bill to that of the state of insecurity characterised by cult activities. Typical of the Ijaw man known for its rare courage and determination to confronting the obvious, governor Dickson made it very clear to those who care to listen that; “We shall undertake fundamental reforms of governance culture to emphasize the transparency, accountability, due process and value – re-orientation.” Governor Dickson further stated without mincing words that, “The days of enrichment without labour and funding the greed and avarice of a few at the expense of the development of our people are over. I will work hard to plug all leakages and sources of corruption which have been the bane of development. I will rather

By George Fente

use our common wealth to fund the construction of good roads, education, promote tourism, generate wealth and develop agriculture than fund corruption and greed.” Governor Seriake Dickson, who is popularly called “countryman governor” by his teeming admirers, an appellation which represents a man of the people, stated unequivocally that he would not play politics with the development of the state and charged the people of the state to judge him by his performance index. One of the first positive steps he took was value re-orientation through the creation of a ministry dedicated to revive the rich culture and pride of the Ijaw people that had long been related to the background. Already, a quiet cultural renaissance is going on. For instance, apart from encouraging the documentation and celebration of Ijaw heroes heroins across the length and breathe of Ijaw speaking states in the Niger Delta, it has become mandatory for workers in the state to wear the traditional Ijaw attires on every Friday of the week. Another policy that has endeared the country man governor to the people of the state is the enthroning of a regime of fiscal discipline. For example, the holding of a monthly transparency briefing to give account of how the state revenue are being spent for the overall benefit of the state is seen as a very novel culture of accountability in the history of a state whose revenue expenditure profile are shrouded in secrecy. As a matter of fact, the governor who sounded a note of warning to politicians on a mission to feed fat on the scarce resources of the state to steer clear of his administration as he would not condone the ostentatious lifestyles which Bayelsa politicians were known for over the years. In other words, the days of singing the corruptive song, “PDP share the money” are over and it is time for serious business of governance. One of the Aids of the governor on Research and Social media and an unrepentant critic of successive administrations in the state, Dr. John Idumange expressed optimism that “the governor will take the state to the promise land if he would not be distracted by those on a mission to milk the state, stressing that Bayelsans must take their destiny in its hand and make personal

sacrifices to take the state to the next level.” The increasing wage bill of the state was another critical area that received the searchlight of Governor Seriake Dickson. It was a thing of worry that a state with a population of less than two million people had a wage bill equivalent to Lagos State with a population of over ten million. Of course, as a responsible government, this was declared unacceptable. The government embarked on an aggressive biometric exercise, with an eagle-eye screening process that has largely weeded out to its barest minimum the syndrome of ghost workers. In fact, the monthly wage bill has been reduced from N5-5 billion to N4.1 billion out of which a paltry sum of N400 million only goes for elected and appointed political office holders. These efforts are no doubt yielding fruits as wasted fund are being ploughed into projects that would place Bayelsa state on the world map of development. Among these projects are the construction of network of roads across the state. In the state capital, Yenagoa, there is what is called the outer ring road project under construction. This outer ring road is partnered after the Nnamdi Azikiwe ring road in Abuja, capital of Nigeria. The outer ring road is further linked by what is being described as “six-side profiled road” which are also dualised. This is essentially to avert traffic congestion coupled with the population upsurge associated with emerging cities like Yenagoa. Apart from the completion of several internal roads in the state capital, a very unique feature to watch is the dualisation of virtually all roads, to the extent that Bayelsans are beginning to marvel at a concept they thought could happen only in foreign countries and is right at their door steps. Among these ring roads are the Okaka road, AIT to Bayelsa Palm and the one linking Igbogene to AIT. The Honourable commissioner for works and infrastructure, Mr. Lawrence Ewujujakpo who spoke to Vanguard Newspaper on December 22, 2013 emphasized that; “What we are doing in Yenagoa is that all internal roads have dual carriage ways. We have taken note of all the single lane roads in the capital and we are going to expand them because some of them (constructed by past administrations) are less than six metres. All we

want to do is to construct standard eight metres roads across the capital, so that we can have standard driveways, walkways, flowers, street lights and drainage”. This is in addition to two major flyovers under construction in which compensation of about N1.2 billion has been worked out to pay those affected by the construction. According to the works and infrastructure commissioner. “So far, about N4 billion has been paid as compensation for people affected by the construction of one protect or the other. A further glimpse into development in the coastal areas of the state indicate that it is receiving a fair attention particularly a state that is 75 percent marine with the concomitant effects of high cost of development occasioned by terrain challenges. Inspite of these challenges, the governor is in a hurry to fulfill his electoral promises. Already, works are in earnest to complete the three senatorial roads leading to major towns and communities, which until now were accessible by only River crafts. These are the Oporoma road in Bayelsa central senatorial district leading to the riverine areas of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state, with high cost of the construction of several bridges. The second one is that of Ogbia Nembe road in Bayelsa East senatorial district. This is a federal project, yet the state government magnanimously intervened with the whooping sum of N3m to ensure early completion of the project. The third one is the Toru-Orua – Ekeremor – Agge road in Bayelsa West senatorial district. These road projects which have been in the drawing board for over forty years will open up the hinterland for investors to explore the economic and tourism potentials that abound in these areas especially in the area of sea food and agro-allied products. Another road worthy of mention is the road linking Amassoma in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area to Torogbene in Sagbama Local Government Area with bridges under construction by construction giants like Julius Berger, Okmas and China companies. This is being complemented by an airport and a deep seaport under constructions at Amassoma and Agge. Continued on page 76

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

Fears over confab gains PAGES 20

Arisekola’s death alters Oyo 2015 dynamics

“I have united Taraba Assembly members”

PAGE 22

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2015: APC’s many battles within F

OLLOWING its loss to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Ekiti State gubernatorial election few weeks back, leaders and chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have been reiterating the need for the party to re-strategise ahead of the 2015 general election. Speaking on the election shortly after Ayo Fayose of the PDP was announced as the winner of the poll, APC’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said his administration will leave no stone unturned in its effort to position the party as the one to beat in the 2015 contest. According to Oyegun, the leadership of the party is aware of the many grievances within its ranks as well as the crises rocking some of its state chapters. He assured Nigerians that immediate actions towards resolving all issues would be taken in due course. The APC’s emergence as Nigeria’s major opposition

In this report, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, gives insight into the on-going reconciliation efforts of the leadership of All Progressives Congress (APC) aimed at strengthening the party ahead 2015 party was predicted by many pundits even before it came into existence in February 2013. The party, a result of a merger between the country’s three frontline opposition parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), was formed with the intention of wrestling power from the ruling PDP in 2015. The resolution was signed by Tom Ikimi who represented the ACN; Senator Annie Okonkwo on behalf of APGA; former governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, the Chairman of ANPP’s Merger Committee; and Garba Sadi, the Chairman of CPC’s Merger Committee. Eight months after it was

formed, five PDP governors joined APC alongside numerous legislators and leading chieftains of the ruling party. This gave the party wider spread as the states of Kano, Adamawa, Borno, Rivers and Sokoto fell into its kitty. Determined to shove the PDP aside, the party embarked on vigorous membership drive that yielded immense fruits when it registered members nationwide few months back. And at its first national convention held recently, former Edo State governor, Odigie-Oyegun emerged National Chairman through a consensus arrangement. Odigie-Oyegun’s rivals, former governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva and former Foreign Affairs Minister, Tom Ikimi stepped down following a

resolution by stakeholders to allow for consensus. Though the convention has been adjudged as commendable both locally and internationally, it may also have resulted into one of the major challenges the party will have to contend with on its way to electoral victory in 2015 because PDP is said to be wooing those uncomfortable with the emergence of Odigie-Oyegun as National Chairman. Reports say the party has launched covert talks with exForeign Affairs Minister, Tom Ikimi, ex-Borno Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, a former National Secretary aspirant, Mallam Kashim Imam, and Borno State Deputy Governor, Zannah Umar Mustapha. It was gathered that although the PDP tried to convince the affected APC leaders to pull out

of the National Convention, it did not succeed. Consequently, Ikimi stepped down for OdigieOyegun while Kashim Imam, who had aspired to be the National Secretary, gave up his ambition for Mallam Ibrahim Gubi from Yobe State. The group was said to have lost the position of the National Vice-Chairman for the North-East. “Some PDP leaders have held discussions with some aggrieved APC leaders to prevail on them to defect to the ruling party in order to decimate the opposition. Their initial plan was to scuttle our convention but they failed to achieve that,” a source said. Worried by the development, Alhaji Imam Iman Saulawa, a national officer of the APC Youth League, said the party must immediately take steps to address the numerous grievances that came about as a result of the outcome of the •Continued on Page 23

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

POLITICS

“I

F you look at the seats, more than half of the conference delegates did not show up for de-

bates. “There are rules with which government regulates sitting allowance. “We should consider no payment of allowance to any delegate that fails to come to plenary. “We are all adults. “We don’t want to treat ourselves like school children. “From Monday, any delegate that does not show up will not be paid sitting allowance unless for medical reason.” With these words, the Deputy Chairman of the National Conference, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, penultimate week, tried to put to a stop what concerned Nigerians have been lamenting openly since March 7, 2014 when the Federal Government of Nigeria named the 492 delegates to the National Conference, choosing Monday, March 17 as the kick off date. As would be expected, the words of the leadership of the confab were unanimously welcomed by the delegates present at that meeting. Every one of them agreed it was necessary to deny paying sitting allowance henceforth to any delegate who fails to show up at plenary, except on health ground. It would be recalled that when the National Conference began on Monday, March 17, 2014, the 492 delegates, comprising representatives of ethnic nationalities, professional groups, political parties, civil society groups and government nominees were given three months to discuss and agree on, amongst other issues, the country’s constitutional, security and political challenges. But as soon as the list of the delegates was made public; a list featuring 37 Elder Statesmen, amongst other well known top political leaders, some Nigerians, especially youth activists and other critical observers voiced out criticism of the choice of the delegates, writing off some of them as either “too old, too tired, fagged out, sick or simply over used already.” Most of the critics said openly that many of the delegates will not make any meaningful contribution on account of ill health or age. Perhaps, one of the most outspoken critics of the confab then was the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), which out rightly refused to send its two delegates. The party had, months before the March commencement date, described the talk shop as a waste of time and another avenue to loot public funds. Although many Nigerians shared this view, federal government advocates pointed out that the experienced delegates; some of who were dismissed as aged or over-used, are actually some of Nigeria’s most prized human resources who cannot be excluded from a serious gathering like the national conference. This notwithstanding, most observers had since March considered reports of cases of un-seriousness on the part of delegates as confirmation of government’s failure to listen to good reason while adopting the method of choosing delegates. As Gbenga Olusegun, a social critic in Lagos puts it during the week, “We recall vividly some published pictures of some of the aged delegates sleeping during plenary. That is the reality. It is because we all know that government was adamant to use the same old horses and that they do not really care if any meaningful success is achieved from the multi-billion naira confab, that is why some of us refused to comment on the recalcitrant attitude of the delegates reported in the newspapers every day. As a Nigerian, each time I watch the live sessions and see the empty seats and some delegates dozing noisily, I most time feel ashamed to admit the delegates are actually representing an informed Nigerian population of today,” he said adding: “So, until the conference leadership made its recent pronouncement, I had been too annoyed to talk about the so-called national conference. So, although dismissed by some critics as belated, most Nigerians, including a few serious minded delegates, who have expressed worry at the way unserious delegates have laboured hard to turn the conference into a wasteful jamboree, have welcomed the idea, pointing out that unless delegates attend plenary and contribute meaningfully to the debates, the exercise

Fears over

Following widespread complaints over delegates’ unserious habits and the leadership’s belated threat to deal with absentee members of the soon-to-be rested National Conference, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu and Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, report on the fears and gains of the confab

•Kutigi

•Akinyemi

Major recommendations so far Some of the major recommendations made so far by the National Conference include: State Police One of the major recommendations so far made by the National Conference is the establishment of State Police to complement the efforts of the Nigeria police Force. - It recommended that the areas of jurisdiction of the Federal Police will cover the entire country while the jurisdiction of the State Police will cover the state and operate within the laws enacted by the State Assembly. - It however rejected proposal that state governors should exercise control over police commissioners posted to the state. - Aside state police, the conference also recommended that states be given the mandate to make laws for establishment of Community Police. - Other major recommendations on security include: setting up of Security and Intelligence Services Oversight Committee (SISOC) to be assigned the task of mapping out security architecture for the country. - They also endorsed a recommendation for the establishment of Waterway Safety Corps to man the waterways in riverine areas. This organization, if finally established, may be expected to perform similar functions as those performed by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). - They also recommended that state governors should be involved in the running of the Federal Police in their respective states. Creation of 18 new states The conference has recommended creation of 18 new states. It specifically agreed that “in the spirit of reconciliation, equity and justice, an additional state should be created for the South-East zone. The implication is that if the federal government accepts the Thursday, July 3, 2014 recommendation, Nigeria will now have 54 states with nine in each of the six geo-political zones. -Some of the proposed states already approved by the conference are Apa from Benue State, Kainji from Kebbi, Katagun from Benue, Savannah from borno, Amana from Adamawa, Gurara from Kaduna, Ghari from Kano, Etiti from the South-East, Aba from Abia, adada from Enugu and Njaba-Anim from Anambra and Imo. The others are Anioma from Delta State, Orashi from Rivers State, Ogoja from Cross River State, Ijebu from Ogun and New Oyo State from the present Oyo State. The conference announced during the week that it will later determine the names of the remaining two states and their capitals, which are to be created in the SouthSouth and South-West zones. Rotation of the office of the President The conference has also recommended rotation of the office of the president, which should be between the North and the South and among the six-geo political zones while the office of the state governor should be rotated among the senatorial districts in each state. would be a nullity. Even from within, some delegates had made efforts to solve the problem. A delegate, a member of the committee on devolution of power, said “while I cannot deny that some delegates have shown unseriousness, let me inform you that so much work is being done at the conference. It will surprise you that some of the issues many Nigerians have feared will divide the confab are being resolved amica-

bly. Take a sensitive issue like creation of state, it was agreed to unanimously. That will give you an idea of what is going on in that conference. We are not playing here,” he said objecting to being named. But such defence not withstanding, it would be recalled that shortly after the Confab broke into committees, the National Conference Committee on Civil Society, Labour and Sports

•Nwachukwu sacked its chairperson, Bola Ogunrimade, for absenteeism. The committee replaced the sacked chairman with her deputy, Issa Aremu. The committee, which is one of the ten committees of the confab that sat at the NICON Luxury Hotel, took the decision in a unanimous vote. “Because of persistent non-appearance of the chairperson, the committee members have asked me to take over as the chairman and we intend to communicate this to the secretariat,” Mr. Aremu had said while speaking to reporters after the sitting of the committee. Aremu said the former chairperson did not report formally since the committee took off. “It is going to be difficult to drive a committee which you don’t know the concept and the idea we have been running,” he said Although the decision of the committee members was later upturned by the leadership of the Confab, Ogunrinmade’s earlier rejection by her colleagues on grounds of absenteeism was the first concrete proof that serious delegates were in agreement with Nigerians that the unsavory attitude of some delegates at the talk shop must be stopped. Their recalcitrant attitude towards the national assignment and towards the sensibilities of the stakeholders they are representing have no doubt become an embarrassment not only to Nigerians and serious minded delegates, but also to keen observers across the globe. It would be recalled that just a day before the Ogunrinmade’s saga was made public; proceedings at the National Conference were almost aborted, no thanks to the absence of most of its members after the lunch break. The situation, according to a delegate, was very embarrassing to the conference leadership. “The 492-member conference only sits two times-between Mondays and Thursdays with the morning session holding from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the afternoon session lasting between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. “But that day, before the confab proceeded on lunch break at about 1.40 p.m., most of the delegates were present to debate the report of the Committee on Economy, Trade and Investment. “However, upon resumption, the leadership of the conference noticed that most of the members were not present to vote on the recommendations and amendments proposed by the committee.” We gathered that the Deputy Chairman of the conference, Bolaji Akinyemi, who was to moderate the session, expressed concern about the ability to go ahead with the voting since

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

POLITICS

confab gains How Northern, Southern delegates parted ways From Abuja, Assistant Editor, Onyedi Ojiabor and Dele Anofi, report that some of the recent recommendations have become the source of division between northern and southern delegates

•Aminu many of the conferees were not in the Andrews Otutu Obaseki Auditorium venue of the session. This, The Nation learnt, almost became the norm. For example, it is on record that after the Easter break, most delegates at the conference stayed out of the conference committee deliberations that was ongoing then at both the National Judicial Institute (NJI), venue of the conference and the Nicon Luxury Hotels Abuja. A source confirmed that most of the notorious absentee delegates were expectedly among those that failed to resume early from the Easter holiday. The situation got so bad that Mrs. Annkio Briggs, a federal government delegate, citing Order III Rule 3 (a) of the Procedure Rules, raised a Point of Order, urging the conference to address the problem of absenteeism. Rule 3 says: “A Delegate shall, to the best of his ability, regularly attend the sittings of the Conference and those of the Committee of which he is a member.” According to Rule 3 (a): “No delegate shall miss sittings without prior notification of the secretariat of the conference.” Based on these, Briggs noted that the conference had been having empty seats on a daily basis and urged the secretariat to call delegates to order. “I want to point out that the empty seats that we see here on a daily basis is very disrespectful to the members that are here. I believe that every one of us here have very pressing issues that we can do on a daily basis. This is a sacrifice that we are all making; a call to serve the nation. I do not believe that every (owner of) empty seat here has taken permission from the secretariat to be absent. “I believe that people will need time off once in a while; but I refuse to accept that it is proper for people that had made their presentations not to hear other people’s presentations. Some people who feel that their presentations are going to come a day or two later are making themselves absent, making it impossible for them to hear other people’s presentations.” She added, “It is neither distinguished nor honourable for people to behave in that manner,” urging the secretariat and the Chairman to call all those concerned to order. Briggs also suggested that it was more honourable for them to make it clear to the secretariat if they would not be able to continue participating in the conference. Shortly after this submission, the federal government issued a strong warning to the delegates who have formed the habit of absenting themselves from the proceedings of the conference without prior permission from the confab leadership, saying it will not pay the sitting allowance of such delegates who fail to attend plenary on sitting days save for medical reasons.

•Continued on Page 23

HE long awaited break-up of the ongoing National Conference may be looming as the bickering and power play between southern and northern delegates have blown open. Northern delegates have already rejected resolutions adopted by the conference on Thursday, July 3rd 2014 on the grounds that some of the thematic issues adopted were allegedly lifted from a document not prepared by the Conference Committee on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government. Monday and Tuesday sessions of the conference slated for the consideration and adoption of recommendations of the Conference Committee on Devolution of Power, insiders said, would be the make or mar sessions of the conference. Insiders also said that Wednesday July 9th, 2014 scheduled for the adoption of modalities of treating conference resolutions, may lead to fisticuff unless carefully managed. Southern and Northern delegates have been labouring to paper their relationship under the platform of the “Consensus Bridge Building Group (CBBG)” an amorphous group of leaders and elders in the conference who elected to seek common ground on sensitive issues before the conference. The Nation gathered that the CBBG, which had its inaugural meeting on June 22, 2014, was convened by Chief Raymond Dokpesi in his Asokoro Abuja DAAR Communications Complex. The CBBG group included leaders of delegation to the conference, Chief Edwin Clark (SouthSouth), Chief Olu Falae (South-West), General Ike Nwachukwu (South-East), Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie (North-West), Professor Ibrahim Gambari (North-Central), Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga and others. Coomassie, The Nation learnt, did not attend a series of meetings held by the group but mandated Professor Auwalu Yadudu (North-West) to lead three others to the consultative meetings. All seemed to be going well for the CBBG until Yadudu wrote the group to say that northern members of the select group were withdrawing from further participation in the group. The undated letter, addressed to “High Chief Raymond A. Dokpesi, The Convener, Leaders of Zones Harmonization Committee, National Conference” was signed by Prof A H Yadudu with the title “ Re: Terms of agreement of the six geo-political zones.” It claimed that the CBBG, with the tacit support of the leadership of the conference had formulated a hidden agenda to smuggle in a new constitution. The northern delegates accused the Deputy Chairman of the conference, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi of lobbying northern delegates to support a new constitution. Akinyemi vehemently denied the accusation saying that he merely made moves to bring two opposing groups at the conference to “start talking before we have a major issue at our hands.” Yadudu in the memo said “Recall that this group (CBBG) has been convened on the direction of the leaders of the geo-political zones to look into the recommendations made by the committees set up by the Conference with a view to cultivating the consensus of all delegates around contentious issues so as to facilitate their smooth passage at plenary. “We have reviewed the above titled document. Following this, I have been directed by the leaders of our respective states and other critical stakeholders to bring to you the following as our response to both the idea of consensus building and content of what has been circulated. “Our delegations welcome and remain available to participate in any consensus building process or effort that is conducted under an environment of mutual respect, which is genuinely inclusive and carried out in good faith. “It is well known that the document circulated and the ‘agreements’ ‘conclusions’ reached have been drawn up and vigorously canvassed by some zones in concert to the exclusion of delegates from our states and other vital stakehold-

“The recommendations of these Committees constitute over 98 per cent of the issues tabulated in the document titled ‘Terms of agreement of the six geo-political zones’ and were reproduced verbatim. “The remaining two per cent are the known objections by groups of persons to various committee recommendations. I expect to have more views during the discussions of our committee. “You will also observe that the covering massage I sent by e-mail to all the nominated members of the committee clearly stated that it is a working document to facilitate our deliberations. “The columns for the positions of geopolitical zones were conspicuously blank. “Please be irrevocably assured that there are no agreements and conclusions reached by any zone or group of states before now. Our mandate is to harmonise all unknown views and opinions before the plenary of the conference discusses the committee reports. “On the issue of creation of states, please let me state unequivocally that the committee on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government received over 40 applications. “Discussions at various informal fora clearly indicate that this Conference should recommend some states for creation based on the criteria outlined in the Committee’s report. “Some of these demands have been pending since the Second Republic in 1981. I take absolute responsibility for introducing it for discussion at our Leaders of Zone Harmonization Committee meeting so that we can arrive at some consensus/agreement on the way forward. “As regards the use of the emblem of the Conference on the cover of the working document, please permit me to state that the leadership of the Conference has absolutely nothing to do with the contents of the document. “As you very well know, the Leaders of Zones Harmonization Committee were constituted by Chief E. K. Clark, CON; Chief Olu Falae, CFR; Gen. Ike Nwachukwu (rtd); Prof. Jerry Gana, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, GCON, in the presence of Prof. Ibrahim Gambari and I. “The Leaders agreed to nominate three delegates each from the geo-political zones in order to keep the list compact. “I have the list of the nominees to the harmonization committee by zones and not states. “The same group mandated me to convene the meeting and nominated the members of the body from the six geo-political zones. “I therefore tender unreserved apologies if you got the impression that it is an official Conference document. “Please permit me therefore, to plead most fervently in the interest of our beloved country to request you and leaders of northern Nigeria to rescind the decision to ask representatives from the three geo-political zones in the North to withdraw from deliberations aimed at building consensus on major national issues at this Conference.” Our correspondent gathered that Southern leaders at the conference have scheduled a series of meetings to discuss how to deal with attempts by some delegates to break up the conference. But a northern conferee told our correspondent that the conference leadership “must cause delegates to withdraw some of the controversial resolutions adopted on Thursday if they still want us to continue to participate in this conference.” He noted, for instance, that the north is not comfortable with the liberalization of policing in the country. He also said that the north is not comfortable with the resolution that states should have their own constitution ditto the resolution that specification be made in the constitution on how to conduct referendum in the country.

Some elder statesmen at the conference •Dokpesi ers. “We view them more like ‘terms of surrender’ than proposals for discussion. “We observe that the document conspicuously contains many vital issues not at all discussed or even recommended by any committee. It seeks for anticipatory approval for many other recommendations not yet considered and, rather curiously, ignored issues in respect of which the Conference has come to a decision on at plenary. “It is evident that authors of the document have, without any consultation and in total disregard to sensibilities of other critical stakeholders, gone ahead to determine what number of states to create in Nigeria and even generously assigned named states to geo-political zones. “We find it curious and would need an official explanation or clarification as to how the said document contains the official emblem of the Conference. ‘We will take steps to seek to find out from the leadership of the Conference whether or not it has sanctioned the ‘agreement’ and ‘conclusions’ contained therein and under which Order within our Procedure Rules they derived such a mandate or authority.” Yadudu’s memo concluded by stating that “In view of the foregoing observations and reservations we have expressed regarding the on-going consensus building process, I wish to state, with regrets, that our representatives have been directed to take no further part in the process.” Dokpesi who responded to Yadudu’s letter with a memo dated June 24, 2014, said he was left speechless by the contents of the letter. He noted that Yadudu had been trying to break up the conference since the inauguration of the talk shop. He added that the alleged offensive document was a working document reproduced verbatim from committees’ recommendations to facilitate conference deliberations. Dokpesi stated in his response, which he copied to leaders of the zones at the conference: “I write to acknowledge receipt of your undated and unreferenced letter but received today, Tuesday, June 24,2014 with thanks. “I must confess that the contents of the letter left me speechless. There is obviously a misunderstanding and miscarriage of facts in arriving at your conclusions. “Please recall that during our inaugural meeting held on Sunday, June 24 at the DAAR Communications Complex in Asokoro, whilst discussing the modalities of building consensus on the most sensitive issues that we are yet to discuss at the conference, it was agreed by all members including your goodself that we review all the reports of the Conference Committees still outstanding, especially the following: National Security, Politics and Governance, Political Parties and Electoral Matters, Political restructuring and Forms of Government and Devolution of Power.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

POLITICS

•Arisekola

•Ajimobi

Arisekola’s death alters Oyo 2015 dynamics D

URING his lifetime, the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Abdulazeez Arisekola Alao, regarded himself strictly as a businessman and an Islamic leader. Though an acknowledged kingmaker, who is credited with having played major roles in the rise and fall of many governors that have ruled Oyo State, Arisekola never for once subscribed to the notion that he was a politician. In an informal interaction with select editors at his Ibadan residence sometime in late 2010, Arisekola was unsparing in his assessment of Nigerian politicians. “I hate politicians,” he said matter of factly. And his clincher: “They are very wicked, unreliable and untrustworthy.” But ask many notable politicians in the pacesetter state about the influence of the late businessman in the politics of the state and their likely response would be that while alive, he was, for many decades, a big factor in who becomes what and how in the state. During his parley with journalists in 2010 to drum support for the presidential aspiration of former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Arisekola had alluded to his influence in the state polity when prodded on his alleged withdrawal of support for the re-election of the then governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala. He said, “Some of these governors behave anyhow once they acquire power. I’ve seen many governors in this state come and go and this one (Akala) will not be different.” With Arisekola’s death, The Nation gathered that discussions within the political circles in Oyo State have, in the last one week, mainly focused on how this development will redefine the state’s

The death of Islamic leader, Abdulazeez Arisekola Alao, about two weeks ago may have redefined the race for the 2015 governorship race in Oyo State, reports assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo political dynamics ahead the 2015 governorship election vis-a-vis the re-election prospects of the state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi. The late Islamic leader, many in the state recall, played a key role in the election of the incumbent governor following his fall-out with Ajimobi’s predecessor, Adebayo Alao-Akala. Akala’s crime was in two folds: First, was his alleged betrayal of the stormy petrel of Ibadan politics, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu, shortly before the latter died about six years ago. Many of Adedibu’s political disciples are yet to forgive Akala till date. The relationship between Arisekola and Adedibu, sources revealed, ran very deep. There were reports that only Arisekola it was, who could compel Adedibu to take a particular cause of action, no matter how inconvenient. Adedibu’s extreme affection for Arisekola was proved beyond doubt when after he passed on, the latter was announced as the administrator of his WILL, a development that did not come to the late politician’s family and associates as a surprise. Arisekola was also miffed that Akala rebuffed his every attempt to reconcile him with the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, and former Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin, both of whom together with Arisekola, Adedibu and many others, were also instrumental to Akala’s victory in the 2007 governorship election. It was not only Akala that Arisekola ensured his emergence as governor. During the Second Republic, the late Islamic leader was credited as having made substantial financial contributions to the election of Dr. Omololu Olunloyo as governor in 1983.

Olunloyo in his tribute to Arisekola after his death said, “I had about N20, 000 while campaigning for governorship in 2003. Arisekola supported me by donating several buses for my campaign and also gave me a cash of N3million.” In the short-lived Third Republic, the emergence of Chief Kolapo Ishola (now late) as governor in 1991 also had the substantial imprints of Arisekola, ditto the election of other civilian governors, including late Chief Lam Adesina in 1999 and Senator Rashidi Ladoja in 2003. Ajimobi charts his own course Not a few stakeholders in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State believe Arisekola’s death may have depleted the support base of Ajimobi in his quest for re-election next year, it was learnt. With unconfirmed reports claiming that a crack had appeared in the governor’s relationship with Arisekola months before the latter died last month, a source in APC told The Nation that there were indeed attempts by certain politicians in the state to pitch the two men against each other. The source added, “Some persons perceived to be close to Arisekola, who want to be governors in 2015, had tried to sow a seed of discord between Arisekola and Ajimobi but failed. The two men remained close till the last.” Arisekola’s demise, coupled with the defection of an APC senator, Olufemi Lanlehin to Accord Party (AP) and the likely defection of the second senator from the party, Ayo Adeseun, to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the view of many stakeholders in the state have, according to some observers made Ajimobi vulnerable in

next year’s election. If Adeseun eventually defects to PDP as it is being rumoured, it will leave the APC with no lawmaker out of the three senators in the state as the third senator, Hosea Agboola, belongs to PDP. The scenario painted above may have forced APC leaders in the state to return to the drawing board to plan new strategies in order to retain the party’s control of the state post-2015. At a meeting held last week, chieftains of the party allegedly took some decisions, which include getting the governor to reach out more to the grassroots, in addition to addressing the concerns of key voting segments of the society like the artisans, market women, civil servants, amongst others. Expressing confidence that Ajimobi will break the second term jinx for all past governors in the state, an APC chieftain said, “We recognised Arisekola’s influence but without him, the governor will still win next year. Remember that even when the PDP recorded a tsunami in 2003, clearing virtually all elective positions, Ajimobi won his senatorial election hands down. “He (Ajimobi) also gave the Adedibu/Akala political machinery a run for their money in the 2007 governorship election despite running on a platform that was virtually nonexistent in the state then, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). Those underrating him are doing so at their peril.” How Arisekola’s death will shape the PDP primaries At the last count, over 10 aspirants are believed to have indicated interest in contesting for the PDP

governorship ticket. But of the lot, two of the aspirants, Teslim Folarin and a former deputy governor of the state, Azeem Gbolarumi, are known to be quite close to the late Arisekola. There were unconfirmed reports that both men were banking on the support of the late businessman to secure the PDP ticket, with Folarin said to be the most confident that Arisekola’s support for his governorship ambition was a done deal. Beside Folarin and Gbolarumi, many politicians holding elective positions and aspiring ones were said to have been devastated on account of Arisekola’s death. Many of them, it was gathered, had allegedly been assured by the late Arisekola of bankrolling their campaign for next year’s general elections. With the man’s death, some of them have been left in a quandary, unsure of what next to do. Situation different in Accord Party From all indications, the death of Arisekola may not in any way change the current configuration in the party. Among the party’s rank and file, it is almost given that Senator Rashidi Ladoja will pick the party’s 2015 governorship ticket. And between Arisekola and Ladoja, there appears to be no love lost, with the former alleged to have played a major role in the impeachment of the latter in 2005. Their relationship remained frosty until Arisekola breathed his last, sources revealed. As the build up to the 2015 governorship polls gather momentum, the race for the Agodi Government House will, no doubt, be a straight fight between the ruling APC, PDP and AP.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

POLITICS

2015: APC’s many battles within •Continued from Page 19 national convention. “It is not enough to say we have a new leadership. It is time for us to address all issues that came out of the process. We cannot afford to ignore the likes of Modu-Sherrif and Tom Ikimi. These are leaders of our party in all ramifications. If for nothing else, Ikimi it was who signed the merger deed on behalf of the ACN. Sheriff played vital roles in popularizing APC in Borno State. If they are aggrieved, we must console them,” Imam, a chieftain of the party in Borno State, said. Speaking on the development, Odigie-Oyegun, said: “We have started our reconciliation, right from day one; we will extend our hands of fellowship to those aggrieved. In my acceptance speech, I called for forgiveness and healing of rifts.” Speaking similarly, the Borno Deputy Governor said the party would appeal to the aggrieved chieftains to put the interest of the nation above all things. According to him, he would rise and fall with Governor Kashim Shetttima instead of leaving the APC. “I have worked with His Excellency, Governor Kashim Shettima in the last three years and I can tell you that he is the best boss any deputy governor can have in Nigeria. He is so humble, kind; he is a good listener and very consultative. He respects me and protects my integrity as his deputy. What more can I ask for from a governor? “I will rise or fall with him; I will stand by him through every step of the way, no matter what. Insha Allah, he will be the last governor I will serve as deputy because I don’t see myself being a running mate to any serving or past commissioner or anyone at all. “Wherever Shettima stays, I stay; wherever he goes I go. This is my kind of person. I am an APC man and a committed one for that matter. My governor is an APC man and I will support him. “Together with leaders of the party at the national and state levels, we will move the party to a grand victory at all levels of the 2015 elections in Borno and the rest of Nigeria”. On the APC congresses at the state and national levels, the Deputy Governor urged those aggrieved to embrace peace. He added: “It is God that gives power to anyone and it is also He that takes it or deny it to anyone. “Politics is give-and-take and it is a game of strategising and restrategising. Sometimes, we don’t get what we want and sometimes we get it either as individuals or as groups, the important thing is for

Adoke for justice or injustice 2

•Almakura us to move forward,” he said. Away from Bornu, the APC is also troubled in Ogun State where a severe rift between Governor Ibikunle Amosun and former Governor Segun Osoba, a national leader of the party, has led to rumours that the later is on the verge of dumping the party. Speaking recently, an ally of Osoba’s, Senator Akin Odunsi (Ogun -West) said although the Chief Olusegun Osoba supporters are not thinking of leaving the party despite the crisis rocking the state chapter, the crisis could only be resolved if the national leadership does the right thing.” Confirming fears that the group may be receiving overtures from other parties, Odunsi said; “Though our group appears to be a beautiful bride for a lot of groups to approach, we are not leaving because APC is our party. “But it will be disastrous if the party insists on taking wrong decisions on the parallel congresses conducted by the Osoba and the Governor Ibikunle Amosun factions. Which of them followed the party’s guidelines that say only candidates with bank tellers are qualified to contest? The party leaders should be guided in their decision by the party’s guidelines on the conduct of congresses. If the party takes the bull by the horn, I assure you that a lot of our members who are drifting today will come back. “The national secretariat seems not to understand the gravity of the problems at hand. If it decides to ignore the complaints of members of the National Assembly from the state, it appears the party leadership is treating the matter with levity. Before the matter got to where it is today, we intimated the national leaders but nothing was done.”

Osoba and his group boycotted the APC national convention held in Abuja. Another ally of the former governor, Senator Gbenga Kaka (Ogun-East) said he and his colleagues boycotted the convention because they were not formally invited. “The moment the APC national leadership decided not to review the appeal committee’s report on the parallel congresses in Ogun and decided to recognise the Amosun faction, we lost interest in what was going on,” Kaka said. Also recently, feelers from Ondo State showed that the APC may need to do some fence mending in the state too. A member of the state chapter of the party, Bola Ilori, said trouble was being caused by external bodies who do not understand the internal workings of the state politics. “People that do not understand the history of the state, by the time they are at the driving seat of events, you will always have trouble. This is a new party coming together, let the legacy parties be at the driving seat of events,” he said. This was just as the crack in Nasarawa State chapter of the APC took another turn with the rift between Governor Al-Makura and members loyal to the representative of Nasarawa North in the National Assembly, Solomon Ewuga, widening. Loyalists of the ex-Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory was alleged to have walked out on a peace meeting with the governor in attendance sometimes back, fueling fears that they may also ditch the party soon. Given its commitment to the task of defeating the PDP at the general election in 2015, the APC will have to first confront and conquer its internal challenges if it intends to make good its vow.

Fears over confab gains •Continued from Page 21 Akinyemi in passing across the new position called on delegates to be present at every conference debate except when issues like health concerns come up. He added that action will be taken as from Monday, June 21, 2014. “I don’t want a situation where distinguished delegates are treated like primary or secondary school students that we teach, correct and mark present,” he said. But in spite of the complaints and threats from several quarters, reports from the Confab reveal that the delegates have hardly changed their attitudes. “The seats continue to be empty even when crucial decisions are to be

taken. I wonder what kind of feedback some of us delegates will take back home at the end of this conference,” a delegate at the confab told The Nation this week. Another delegate refuted the claim that nothing has changed since the conference leadership warned absentees. He however pointed out that the improved attendance this week may also be attributed to the critical issues, which according to him were deliberately delayed until the last lap of the conference. Such issues, he said include devolution of power and restructuring. Given the short period remaining to round up the conference, observers say the government and the leadership of the confab took so long to correct an obvious lapse. “One thing is certain,” said Dr.

Francis Iheukwumere, “and that is that many Nigerians are no longer expecting so much from the conference since we are not even certain that the few reasonable resolutions at the conference will eventually be endorsed either by the National Assembly or through a referendum. We all agree that the idea of a National Conference is a bold move, but President Goodluck Jonathan’s government will need to prove to Nigerians that it has not wasted our time and resources,” he said. So as the National Conference gradually winds up, Nigerians are worried that in spite of the huge resources spent on the project, it remains to be seen how the few resolutions made at the talk shop would be turned into law for effective implementation.

LU Onagoruwa who was a proud member of the club of progressive lawyers found himself serving under the Abacha administration. It is to his eternal regret as he got more than he bargained for between 1993 and 1995. Michael Agbamuche succeeded him in 1995 and remained in office till 1997. Under the Abacha regime, the man who was trusted to do the job was Professor Auwalu Yadudu who was the Legal Adviser to the maximum ruler. Yet, the men were made to feel important, passing off to the public as AG. A well respected Abdullahi Ibrahim was AG in the last year of the regime during which period he plotted to transmute from a military dictator to a sort of civilian ruler. The strategies to get the job done, including getting the political parties registered to adopt Abacha as sole presidential candidate fell on the Kano General’s inner caucus of political and legal advisers. General Abdulsalami Abubakar retained Ibrahim in the office until the handover to General Obasanjo as the first civilian President of the Fourth Republic in 1999. Those who have served in the office since 1999 include Kanu Agabi, the assassinated Bola Ige, Bayo Ojo, Chief Olujinmi, Adetokunbo Kayode, Michael Aondoakaa and Mohammed Bello Adoke, the incumbent who has been on the seat since April 2010. This piece is not for profiling the AGFs, but calling attention to the roles they are meant to play and how they missed it. Rather than act as conscience of the society, they all interpreted their roles to mean supporting the government of the day at all cost. They have been more of aides to the President than the people’s advocates. Under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, it did not matter to the law officers that the more power the President ascribed to himself, the more democracy suffered and the country sank. They chose to look on, or even hail the emperor as he made to clobber everyone to submission. They served the President well, but failed the country and their fellow compatriots. During the reign of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Michael Aondoakaa was credited with serving as adviser to the infamous cabal. Even his colleagues at the Bar felt ashamed by the conduct that, following due trial, he was removed from the roll of senior lawyers as soon as he was made to step down from the office. As long as it lasted, he enjoyed official and unofficial power. He promoted himself as The Law. Then, he was succeeded by Adetokunbo Kayode for about one month, before paving the way in March 2010 for the incumbent who found favour with Dr. Jonathan. Bello was not so well known to the public before he mounted the saddle. Since then, he has stumbled many times, opting to err on the side of the President at all times. At the end of his term, he would be judged by his handling of the two anti-graft agencies that report to him. On a personal note, all he did to clear himself of insinuations that he had a share in the multi-billion Naira Malabu Oil Deal believed to have compounded the woes of the country was a terse statement by a media aide who said his principal would be willing to submit himself to a probe on the matter. He did not offer to step down to allow a thorough probe, knowing that both the EFCC and the ICPC take instructions from him. The alleged scam was brought to the fore by the |House of Representatives, not a frivolous body or an anonymous petitioner. It could be asked, too, how diligent have indicted high profile public officers been prosecuted in the courts? What has he done in respect of getting to the root of the Haliburton scandal? The plot to shield the Petroleum Affairs Minister from a probe into how she purportedly spent N10 billion public funds on trips by private jets has been blocked by the minister without a word from the Justice ministry. What innovation has the AGF brought to the administration of office in the past four years? The withdrawal of charges against Mohammed Abacha, ostensibly to enable him contest the Kano governorship election on the PDP platform is the latest in the series of anti-people conduct of this AGF. It is an illustration of the disgust the AGF has for his country. If he has respect for his pre-assumption of office attainments, he should resign now and issue a statement that he was being made to act against his conscience. Otherwise, he would qualify to be named an enemy of the people. Abacha was named the fourth most corrupt public officer in the world. Yet, his son who had approached the Supreme Court to be freed from corruption charges on account of a non-existent immunity has the audacity to get officials of state to clear the way to obtain the immunity.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

POLITICS

HE Fayemi mystique will linger. Of course, it will: there are overwhelming dimensions that require intellectual enquiries. I have read so many commentaries on what I will call “Iyanu Ekiti” (The Ekiti Miracle) but only few x-rayed these dimensions. As usual, some of the discourses exhibited high grade pedestrianisation while others were scholarly. Most of the elements and essentials of the election that have been analysed so far, quite expectedly, were ornamented with speculations, assumptions, street gists, malice, prejudices, informal sentiments, elite fallacy and populist triumphalism. Some of the commentators were unspairing in their castigation of Fayemi while others have been very generous. But of all the commentaries I have read on the election, the one that really excites me most was that of the governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola. Though not a tight and deep exploration of the sociological perspective, his views/comments on the elections paraphrased the composite tendencies of human actions. Fashola, still in doubt about the credibility of the election, wondered how an incumbent governor, who had been celebrated globally for his achievements and performance, would lose an election in his ward and local government. Though he admitted that the Ekiti scenario throws up some contradictions, what he could not understand was the resolution of an electoral paradox in favour of behavioural illogicality. He poohpoohed the accusation of “disconnectedness” against Fayemi wondering how this connects with quality electoral choice to be made between an erudite scholar and a fraternal demagogue of okada operators. Fashola’s position contrasts with the argument of Richard Sennett in his book, “The Fall of Public Man.” Sennett posits: “Intimacy is a field of vision and an expectation of human relations. It is the localising of human experience….the more this localising rules, the more people seek out to strip away the barriers of customs, manners… the expectation is that when relations are close, they are warm; it is an intense kind of sociability which people seek out in attempting to remove the barriers to contact…” “Disconnectedness” therefore was one of the offences allegedly committed by Kayode Fayemi against the Ekiti people. But the question is: can a man that is

Fayemi: The fall and rise of an idealist By Dapo Thomas

‘disconnected’ from the people be working assiduously for the provision of infrastructure that will not only stimulate economic activities for the people of the state but will also ensure quality and meaningful existence for the people. I understand when people are classified into elite and grassroots, which is for the purpose of social stratification and scholarly analysis. What I do not understand is the classification of the contents and materials of development. Both in theory and in practice, the concept of development is understood by all and sundry to mean structural, infrastructural, social and welfarist programmes and policies that will benefit the generality of the people. The people of Ekiti are free to romanticise “stomach infrastructure” but are they saying that the components of the real infrastructure like roads, hospitals, schools, housing, tourism, agriculture etc have no direct utilitarian value on their stomachs and other parts of their bodies? My reading of the “iyanu Ekiti” is that the defeat did not and still does not, make Fayemi a failure. Instead, Fayemi was a collateral damage in the hate-contest between the people and his appointees. If I say eight out of 10 Ekiti people love Fayemi and hate his appointees, I am not exaggerating, the outcome of the election notwithstanding. I may not

have the empirical data to support my assertion but from my interaction with the people before and even after the election, I know this to be true. The truth of the matter is that the people hated Fayemi’s appointees with passion and were determined to sacrifice the governor to get these appointees and some elected officers out of office. Assuming, but not conceding, that the election was free and fair, like Fashola said, the outcome of the election stands logic on its head. How come the All Progressives Congress (APC) did not win a single local government when the party controls all the 16 local governments through appointed caretaker committees, 25 out of the 26 members of the State House of Assembly, all the six of the House of Representatives members and the only three Senatorial seats? Besides, all the appointees, the chief of staff, commissioners, special advisers and special assistants are representatives of the local governments or the three Senatorial Districts. If the Party (APC) failed at all the local governments, does that not speak volume about these people? These are the people that should be doing the grassroots interaction, socialisation and intimacy on behalf of the governor. The

governor on his part had played his role by ensuring that projects were distributed to the various local governments with systematic precision. It is a shame that all these people failed to enhance the electoral value of the governor at the grassroots because of their aloofness and emotional distancing from the people. Some of the appointees and elected officers were accused of being very stingy and indifferent to people’s problems. It was said that some of them run to Lagos and Ibadan every weekend and use office protocols to prevent their people from having access to their offices during working hours. Alexis de Tocqueville, a French political thinker and historian best known for his work, “Democracy in America” must have had these people in mind when he wrote “Each person, withdrawn unto himself, behaves as though he is a stranger to the destiny of all the others. His children and his good friends constitute for him the whole of the human species. As for his transactions with his fellow citizens, he may mix among them, but does not feel them; he exists only in himself and for himself alone. And if on these terms there remains in his mind a sense of family, there no longer remains a sense of society.” The governor, on his part, was accused of humiliating the teachers, local government workers and the civil servants by introducing many reforms aimed at improving the quality of teaching and service delivery in Ekiti State.Allthesehadbeenexpertlyanalysed by public commentators but suffice it to say that Fayemi is a leader who ideates development through aggressive policies and reforms. What many people are saying is that some of these policies, particularly the ones on the teachers and civil servants, should

have formed part of his agenda for the second term and not first term. This was said to be his undoing. It must be stated however, that an idealistic leader like

•Fayemi

Fayemi never envisaged electoral defeatasaconsequenceofpoliciesand reforms that would transform Ekiti and position the state for greater development. Aside from demystifying theoretical constructs, the Ekiti election has introduced fresh dynamics into our politics. It has also cast a serious aspersion on the dominance of the political space by the elite. What kind of dominance would allow jaundiced masses and malicious teachers and civil servants to determine the political direction of a sophisticated state like Ekiti, using their sacred votes in favor of an individual that lacks the erudition of his rival? What kind of dominance would remain passive when a people were committing political suicide when confronted with the choice of leadership? What kind of dominance would allow the temporary seizure of the political space by vengeful elements who preferred Barnabas to JESUS? The apathy of the elite, the supposed architects of society’s vision, towards electoral competitions is causing gradual erosion of their political power. In addition, the dominance, or is it supremacy, of the elite is being questioned and challenged by a politically vibrant but prejudicedpeasantsbackedbyagroup of hateful, ungrateful and slightly literate elite, who have arrogated to themselves the authority to control the political space by opting for misfits in power. A voter’s power should be exercised with some degree of sanity and logical discretion and should not, under any normal circumstances be used to encourage the enthronement of tyranny and to celebrate mediocrity. The Ekiti people had used their votes to present Fayemi to the public as a local villain but Fayemi has used his character- the act of accepting defeat minutes after the announcement of the official resultsto turn himself to an international hero and political celebrity. As much as one appreciates the ecstacy and the excitement of INEC for its self-congratulatory posturing for conducting a “very peaceful free and fair election,” methinks it is rather too hasty to contemplate the adoption of the Ekiti election and its attendant process, as a template for future elections in Nigeria. It is the responsibility of everyone of us, especially our scholars, to do critical appraisal and analysis of the Ekiti election in order to understand and resolve its numerous contradictions, paradoxes, ironies and surprises. Until we are convinced that the whole electoral process was not skewed along the line, it will be very hard to accept the use of a template that is still shrouded in mystery.

So, who is behind this TAN?

NY keen observer of the political terrain in Nigeria today cannot but notice the organisation called Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN). It is perhaps the newest entrant in the merchandising of President Goodluck Jonathan to the Nigerian electorate, ahead 2015 Presidential Election. Whether or not you are a politician, 2015 is around the corner and many organisations will still come on board either for or against the President. Others will advocate that Nigerians look at another candidate other than Jonathan. Today, what is beyond debate is that of all the organisations currently mobilizing support for the president, TAN, already described by some observers as number one and the best, seem well funded. Agreed, their approach in television and

From Sadiq Abubakar Musa

website advertisements in packaging Jonathan for the Nigerian electorate may be described as logical, challenging and profound. Their newspaper outings are also somehow new, unique, consistent, strategic, focused and gradually but surely changing the approval rating of the President positively. In my opinion, this is because while the other promoters of Jonathan merely carry adverts in support of the President without much of intellectual content, TAN is doing better professionally. Also, TAN is very active in marketing the President in the internet and conducts awareness of the Presidents achievements in various fora on the web. Their style on the web is admissively attractive to young people who follow TAN activities religiously on the web and have shown membership enthusiasm massively. A young

researcher told me recently that TAN’s web traffic is very high. These efforts or achievements notwithstanding, the current debate on the lips of political observers is “who is behind TAN?” The television adverts from two popular broadcast stations alone are more than 15 slots a day. Also, I am aware that thousands of T-shirts, bearing the picture of President Jonathan, have been distributed nationwide by the organisation. Their support of the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the current world cup campaign is also praise worthy. They advertised their readiness to sponsor 12 Nigerians to the Brazil world cup fiesta with all expenses borne by the group. Many people did not believe them because many previous adverts by other contraptions making such offers came to naught. The winners of the ballot conducted by

TAN actually went to Brazil, all expenses paid and vociferously supported the Super Eagles of Nigeria in every match the Nigerian flag bearer played in the on-going world cup competition. As a result of these, more Nigerians are saying that TAN can be trusted, pointing out that they do what they say they would do. For example, one of their admirers said: “They promised a SuperEagles’ world cup jersey to every winner of their world cup “predict and win” promo in support of the Super Eagles and GEJ. They have fulfilled their promise to every quiz winner. So, I think they have integrity.” But may I follow other critical Nigerians to ask the question here, “who is bankrolling TAN?” Many have opined that given the huge budget being expended by TAN on all its activities, the financier or financiers must be resident in AsoRock or the Presidency. Other

pundits say if the financier is not in Aso Rock directly, the huge expenditure of TAN must at least be under-written by a close beneficiary of presidential largesse. As it is, no one knows for sure who is bank-rolling TAN. May be they should ask Dr Udenta O Udenta, the official face of TAN and the group’s Director of Communications and Strategy. He is surely in the position to know. Rumours making rounds now is that some President’s men are still denying having any links with TAN. So, if the brains behind TAN are not within the Presidency, pray, who are they? Concerned Nigerians are eager to know. — Dr Musa is a Kaduna based public affairs commentator and the Founder/Leader of New Arewa Foundation for Peace (NAFP)

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

POLITICS

‘I have united Taraba Assembly members’

S it true you are not interested in the clamour that power should rotate to your zone; that you are supporting the Acting Governor Garba Umar for 2015 because he has offered you the position of deputy? If somebody could sit somewhere and say I am not in support of power shift to Southern Taraba, that person is not being fair to me. I say so because, some people are saying “that thing that I am doing,” now, what is that thing that I am doing, or what is that thing I have done that to them they think I am sabotaging the agitation for the shift of power to southern zone? I have faith in God and I strongly believe that it is God that gives power. And God gives power to whoever he wants without consulting anybody. I always tell people, who care to listen, that if it is God’s desire or plan that power should shift to the south, it will definitely happen. But I must confess here that if we should go by that zoning arrangement, which the PDP as a party used to observe, and the fact that we have not had a share of the governorship, but the north and central have had for 18 years, then the next zone that is supposed to produce the next governor is southern zone. So, if it is God’s wish that power should shift to the south, who am I to say no? So, I challenge those accusing me that I am not supporting power shift to come up with any evidence to show that I am kicking against power shift. Maybe you are not being public about power shift, probably because you do not want to offend the acting governor? I don’t think so. And I want to say it is even too early for one to start talking of power shift here and there now. That you have jettisoned your initial intention of running for the Federal House of Representatives because you have accepted to be Umar’s deputy against the wish of your zone? It is not true. It is completely false. Let me tell you, I have maintained a stand that I am not in any confrontation with Alh. Garba Umar. What is before us (Umar and I) now is to work together for the unity and peaceful co-existence of our people. So, what is paramount before me now is to ensure that permanent peace returns to Taraba, particularly to my zone. We want to ensure that the people who fled their areas because of the crisis return to their homes to continue with their legitimate activities that they are known for. Honestly speaking, I don’t want to talk about the politics in Taraba now, because whatever thing you say, some people will look at it from a different perspective. But one thing I always want to maintain is that; let us play the game according to the rules. Let everybody try to respect the views of each and everyone. If we do so, there would be peace; the tension wouldn’t be too high. Honestly, that is my position. Does Taraba practice rotational politics? Yes we do because that was what happened in 2007. When former Governor Jolly Nyame completed his tenure, Mr. Danladi Baido won the PDP primaries but was not given the party’s flag and one of the reasons we were told was that (I say so because that was not the only reason) the president then, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, felt power should shift from the northern zone to the central zone. But even if you say so, looking at the case of late President Umaru Yar’Adua and President Goodluck Jonathan, Yar’Adua had not finished his tenure when he died. Jonathan completed his tenure and won a fresh election. So, the constitution does not recognise the issue of power shift, but by mutual understanding, people can decide to say yes, for fairness and equity, let there be rotational representation in the act of governance. Is there any grudge between you and your elder brother, Mr. David Sabo Kente

Josiah Sabo Kente is the Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly. He took over the leadership of the legislature at the time the state slipped into crisis over who should take charge of the machinery of government between recuperating Governor Danbaba Suntai and his deputy, Garba Umar. In this exclusive interview with Senior Correspondent, Fanen Ihyongo, the Speaker said he has been able to re-unite the once rancorous lawmakers who now work in harmony in the interest of the state. Excerpts

•Kente

(DSK), who is also contesting the governorship election? For whatever reason, whoever thinks that my brother DSK and I are at loggerheads is a joker. I have never ever had the cause of having any misunderstanding with my elder brother. He has been supporting me; he has always wished me well and prayed for me to succeed in this task –because he knows it is not easy; he knows the circumstance in which I came on board as Speaker of the House. So, honestly, I still respect DSK as my elder brother, I listen to him; he still advises me on how I will go about my political activities. To doubting Thomases –those who think they can use politics to separate us, they are joking. I don’t have any rift with my brother and I don’t envisage any problem coming between us. Are you saying you are not against his ambition of running for the governorship election, as being alleged? I am not and I will never be against his ambition. He is a citizen of Taraba State, he is a Nigerian, and by the constitution of this country, he is qualified to vie for any position in this country. You met a rancorous and divided House, how have you been coping? Truly, I inherited a divided House. But I want to say wholeheartedly that today I go to bed a happy man. This is because God has helped me to bring the two factions together and we now work in harmony in the common interest of Taraba State. Just come to the House these days and see how we discuss, not only in the lobby, but in the chambers. Before, if there was any communication from the office of the acting governor, some members would protest and would not sit. Motions that were supposed to be moved were not properly moved sometimes. But I assure you, today, we have put behind all these

problems. We are re-united more than we were before and we are ready to work for the people and progress of Taraba State. Recall that the crisis that divided the House had to do with Governor Danbaba Suntai’s return, in which some members were of the opinion that Suntai should take charge –having returned and written the Assembly while others insisted he was not yet fit –his deputy Garba Umar should continue to act. Are you saying the impasse has been resolved? I don’t know the way you are looking at it. But as far as I am concerned, it was not a crisis. It was the normal politics of the House –you can either support a decision or you decline (object). So, it was just a matter of decision, and whatever position one took that time was a matter of interest, not that the problem has been resolved. I personally don’t want to talk on that because the matter is before a law court and if I say anything on that, it would amount to contempt and I don’t want to commit contempt procedure; I believe the Nigerian judiciary is competent and capable of resolving this problem. Will you contest the House of Representatives seat in 2015 or be a running mate to Umar? It is too early for me to make such a comment. I don’t believe in making statements like this because I am still praying to God to tell me what to do. Once God reveals what I should do next, I will make it public. Is it right for the acting governor to be campaigning when ban on politics is not yet lifted –his posters are everywhere? I don’t work with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) so I don’t know when they would lift the ban. I don’t know what the INEC guideline provides for, as regards the issue of mounting bill boards and posters for

political campaigns. What I know is that this issue is not peculiar to Taraba State. It is all over the country. Each state you go to now, you will find people pasting posters to indicate their interest of contesting particular offices. So, I don’t think there is anything wrong in doing that –it is everywhere. In fact, ours is even a smaller case, compared to other states. If you go to Benue State, for instance, there are over 30 aspirants contending for governorship. In Nasarawa, there are posters everywhere. Even in Abuja FCT, you will see posters of President Goodluck Jonathan –posters are everywhere, so what are we saying? Is it true that Taraba State is now broke? I am not the Accountant-General of the state; neither am I the Commissioner of Finance. So, I am not competent to comment on that. All that I know is that government activities have been going on smoothly as and when due. We are up to date in terms of salaries. There are some neigbouring states that have not paid ordinary salary for up to two or three months. But here, salaries are being paid as and when due. The government machinery is in place, working perfectly as it is supposed to be. So, whoever that is saying the state is broke or the state’s treasury is in red should provide evidence as regarding the indebtedness of the state. What are the indices that make them believe that the state’s treasury is in red? We learnt Taraba borrows to pay salaries? It is not true. How can you say Taraba State is borrowing to pay salaries? How much is our salary bill? How much do we get from the Federation Account? I don’t want to go into details of some of these things even though I know them. For those criticising the government of the day, assuming the state is borrowing, is this the first time the state would borrow? Let us assume that the state government borrows money from the bank today, would it be the first time? We have instances when the state was borrowing heavily. So, as I said, I don’t want to go into details of these things. So, if the state is borrowing, it is not the first time, although I am not aware whether the state is borrowing. Is it true Umar is carrying on with all his principal’s projects? Yes. All the Danbaba Suntai projects initiated from the onset are ongoing. The Bali-Serti-Sardauna Road is ongoing. The PW is still doing the road projects in the state, and so other projects initiated by Suntai are ongoing. The 4 kilometre roads in all the local government headquarters are ongoing. In some of the local headquarters the roads are not yet completed but work on them is ongoing. Whoever says Umar is not doing well, by virtue of these projects, should prove with evidence by showing us that these are the projects that were started by Suntai or were in the budget and have been stopped. And again, government is a continuum. What has been your biggest challenge since becoming Speaker? My biggest challenge would have been the division of the House of Assembly members. It would have been my headache if the lawmakers were still in dispute. But as I speak to you today, we have put behind us whatever differences we had in the past and we are re- united, working together harmoniously day and night. So, the biggest challenge I inherited as I said, was the division in the House but we have cemented our relationship. Therefore, maybe my biggest challenge now is the issue of security. But even the insecurity challenge is being addressed and the security situation is improving on daily basis and that has gladdened my heart. I am feeling relatively more comfortable because we now don’t have attacks here and there.

38 MAGAZINE

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

MAGAZINE 39

ROAD TO BRAZIL

WORLD CUP With Emma Okocha 08034189964

ENTERTAINMENT

56 GLAMOUR/OUT & ABOUT

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014

-- Page 53

•Tuedor-Matthews

Dark clouds gather over sale of Mainstreet Bank Page 58, 59

‘My word is my bond’

‘Air travel remains the safest’ • Babalola

Page 60

•Oyebanji

Page 62

centralised registration IAEA, FG to work out legal FRSC of commercial motorcyclists framework for nuclear power T

HE International Atomic Energy Council (IAEC), Deputy Director-General, Mr. Kwanu Aning, yesterday revealed that having got the assurance of the Federal Government of Nigeria for the development of nuclear power in the country, the next stage is to put the legal framework in place. His words: "There should be a legal framework that covers the use, liability , emergency preparedness and ability to address God forbid if there is an incident. So, all of these things have to be in place. And then off-course, the actual development of the facility which is something you are going to be doing with vendors."

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

He led a delegation of the council to Abuja, where visited the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, who assured him of the country's readiness to adopt energy mix, including the nuclear power. Aning who had visited Vice President Namadi Sambo and also took a tour to the Nuclear Power Facility in Sheda, Abuja, noted that the council is working with the ministry and other relevant organizations to get set because of the complex undertaking for safety issue. Nebo however told the delegation in his office that it is no longer acceptable for the nation to put all its eggs in one basket, insisting that Nigeria

will need to correct and avoid in the future hiccups, occasioned by lack of gas to power plants. He said: “We need coal, biomass, small hydros, solar even nuclear, if it is designed it is the best as it remained the cleanest and safest form of energy”. The minister also told the delegation in his office that with regard to implementation,the ministry has a national mandate superintend over the entire power supply in the country from generation to transmission to distribution. He explained that there will be a framework for the building, transferring of a nuclear power plant between Nigeria and its partners. The minister noted that

whatever the case may be, there must be a bilateral agreement between the Federal Government and its partners for them to forge ahead. Nebo said that "And a special pool vehicle will be established to make sure that it is done, built owned and transferred mechanism that could allowed the plant to be constructed in a way that Nigeria working with private enterprises and two countries working together in Nigeria nation. "And whatever partner there will be a bilateral agreement to make us forge ahead. So we welcome you, and we are there to support our own atomic energy agency knowing that they play a significant role ."

HE Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Anambra, Mr Hyginus Omeje, has suggested centralised registration for commercial motorcyclists in the country. Omeje told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka over the weekend that such centralised registration makes it possible for the motorcyclists to get security codes. He said that such registration should be handled by one agency to ensure uniformity, adding that the codes would identify each motorcyclist with his area of operation. The commander said the codified helmets and vests would address the twin risks associated with motorcycle riding which included safety and security issues. Omeje also said the sector was working hard to enforce compliance with the ban on motorcyclist from the federal highways in the state. He insisted that the motorcyclists did not have any business on the highways, and that the personnel would continue to impound motorcycles that flouted the rule. Omeje maintained that the command did not have problems with motorcyclists but insisted that their activities must be regulated.

New FG's vehicle credit scheme ready in four months

•From left: Managing Director/CEO Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Nicolaars Vervelde, Chairman of Jury Golden Pen Award 2014, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi and Mr Gbenga Adefaye, Member, during the award ceremony organised by the company in Lagos...recently. PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

Cement grade: House berate SON for flouting orders

HE House of representative has slammed the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) for not following due process before announcing new cement grade. This was contained in the report of the ad-hoc committee on public investigative hearing on the composition and pigmentation of cement (cement quality) in Nigeria, resolution no (HR 27/2014), which was presented to the general assembly. The lawmakers pointed out that in the course of the public hearing, SON

published in the national dailies a new grading/ categorization of cement and uses in the Nigerian market place either to pre-empt the outcome of the Committee's assignment or to demonstrate that it was on top of its responsibilities in the regulation of the sector. According to the Committee members, the action undertaken by SON is deemed a step in the right direction except that it was faulted on grounds that its Governing Council, whose responsibility is to look into cement quality is not properly

constituted in line with S. 3(2) of its Act and process did not comply with the process laid down in S.12 Of its enabling Act. The lawmakers stated further in the report that none of the cases of building collapse in Nigeria which were investigated by relevant independent professional bodies was traced to substandard cement." There is therefore no scientific study that has arrived at an empirical conclusion linking any case of building collapse in Nigeria to substandard cement" they stressed.

"The Governing Council of SON properly constituted in line with S.3 (2) of the SON Act and in strict compliance with S.12 of the SON Act should in the immediate require all cement manufacturers in Nigeria to retool and upgrade their production lines to produce the 42.Smpa cement grade within a reasonable time taking into consideration the cost of social dislocation and Article 111.B .15 of the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection, 1999 a Protocol to which Nigeria is a signatory.

INISTER of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, said yesterday that a new Vehicle Credit Finance Scheme to make new cars affordable to the ordinary Nigerian would be in place in the next four months as the details of the scheme is being worked out. The minister said that the financing scheme is a combination of palliative measures, including partnering with banks towards having a common pool of funds for lending at concessionary interest rate of not more than 10 percent to potential car owners. He said it is only in Nigeria that cars are purchased on cash-and-carry basis. With the new financing scheme, Nigerians will be able to buy new cars assembled in Nigeria at an interest rate of not more that 10 percent, repayable over a period of four years. Clearing the air on the effects of the ongoing implementation of the Nigeria Automotive Industrial Plan, NAIDP, Aganga said there will be no increase in the prices of cars. The Minister said: "The rumour that the federal government has increased the tariff on imported cars by 70 percent is incorrect and misleading. The Nigerian automotive manufacturers have already assured the government and all Nigerians that there is adequate stock of imported vehicles and that its members have not and will not increase the price of imported vehicles." He said that last year about 50,000 vehicles were imported at an estimated cost of $3 billion, while between January and June this year, 37,000 vehicles were imported before the take off of the auto policy. He said: "Nigeria is the only country in the world where used vehicle were not banned following the introduction of the new automobile policy. "This is because President Goodluck Jonathan had taken into consideration current socioeconomic conditions and would not want to come up with any policy that will inflict more hardship on Nigerians." •Aganga

BUSINESS

The plan by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, which bought over bad loans by banks such as former Afribank Plc, (popularly known as Mainstreet Bank Limited, one of the bridged banks under its ownership), to divest its investment from the bank later this September, has set it on a collision course with shareholders and investors like Intangis Holdings, an American investment company believed to own majority shares in the bank. Intangis has since instituted litigation against AMCON in its quest to protect shareholders' investments valued at over $1.4billion. Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf in this report examines the issues

F the crisis brewing over the proposed sale of Mainstreet Bank Limited, one of the nationalised banks set up by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) later this September is anything to go by, then it is correct to say that the planned sale may not become a done deal after all. Prelude to proposed sale drama It is instructive to note that AMCON had assured fairness in the planned sale of Mainstreet Bank even as it defended timelines for prospective bidders. Expectedly, the Corporation had selected reputable world-class firms, Barclays/Afrinvest Consortium and Banwo & Ighodalo, as financial and legal advisers, including the Central Bank of Nigeria, in the planned sale. AMCON's Chief Communications Officer, Kayode Lambo, in a press statement recently in reaction to the reported investors' concerns on the Corporation's timelines for sale of Mainstreet Bank may not work, had countered such fears.

According to Lambo, with regards to the on-going divestment exercise of Mainstreet Bank, interested bidders were only invited to submit their expression of interest within nine days of the publication of the invitation in the acquisition of AMCON's shareholding in Mainstreet Bank Limited. The number of days required to submit an expression of interest, he said, is more than adequate for any serious buyer to respond with the required basic information of the entity interested to be admitted into the process, as well as their reasons and basis for the interest. AMCON further said that bidders at this stage are neither required to conduct any due diligence on Mainstreet Bank nor are they required to provide any indication of valuation or pricing. The information requested from bidders are simple and basic details about their company's history, experience, ownership and other general information that will enable the advisers send further information to eligible investors. The sale of a bank, he said, is a standardised practice all over the

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

Dark clouds gather over sale of Mainstreet Bank world and at a latter stage, qualified bidders will have the opportunity to submit offers under a Request For Proposal (REP), and thereafter conduct due diligence exercise on the bank, which is expected to take a longer time.” Discordant tunes over planned sale AMCON's assurances notwithstanding, shareholders raised objection over the planned sale of Mainstreet last May, saying they were not sold on the idea as well. Some major shareholders had kicked against what they called AMCONs hasty decision to sell Mainstreet Bank Limited. The group specifically kicked against the one-week notice given by AMCON to those who are interested in bidding for the bank to express their interest, a development seen to be grossly inadequate for any meaningful due diligence to be done on the bank. In advertorials in the media last early May, AMCON reportedly gave a week's notice to interested parties in the acquisition of the bank to submit their Expression Of Interest (EOI) not later than May 16. To the parties, who asked not to be named so as not to jeopardise their interest, they said the "rush" by AMCON to push Mainstreet Bank through the divestment

•Faith Tuedor-Mathews, MD/CEO, Mainstreet Bank

process without recognising the enormous work that needs to be done to ensure fairness and transparency in the eventual bid process, puts a question mark on AMCON's intention. The group insisted that Mainstreet Bank Limited, Enterprise Bank Limited and Keystone Bank Limited are national assets, to which every Nigerian has a claim, insisting

that all the processes leading to their sale, or privatisation at any material time must be done in such a manner that no one is seen to be excluded, either by way of withholding information, or restricting access to the process by not allowing sufficient time for qualified people to participate therein. Things fall apart Indication that things may have

'Nigeria will face huge scandal if AMCON se

INCE you set up shop in 2001, could you quantify how much level of investment you have made in Africa thus far? Intangis Holdings is an American financial and investment company (with offices in New York and London) established in 2001 and specialised in Emerging Markets. In Africa, Intangis Holdings has been involved in long-term with high potential projects. It participates in the equity and debt securities, credit and derivatives market. Intangis Holdings'

Jean Missinhoun, Senior Partner, Intangis Holdings, an American financial and investment company was the majority shareholder in former Afribank before it became Mainstreet Bank following its nationalisation by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in August 2011. AMCON is set to sell Mainstreet Bank in September, a move, Missinhoun has argued is counterproductive as other shareholders like Intangis were not carried along in the scheme of things. To protect its vested interests, Intangis last Wednesday filed a suit against AMCON at the Supreme Court of the State of New York, United States. Missinhoun spoke on the genesis of the dispute in an online interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf strategic vision and perfect knowledge of the "new frontiers" gives it a unique insight into its investments in Africa. Intangis

Holdings is one of the major players contributing to the development and deepening of African financial markets.

Intangis intervened on several structured finance in Africa (private and public): participation in the development and

integration of structured finance and securitisation market in the West African Monetary Union (WAMU) for the mobilisation of

‘Intangis claim to Mainstreet is misplaced’

“T

• Mustapha Chike-Obi, AMCON boss

HE background to the issue is that Intangis Holdings Limited (Intangis) recently wrote to AMCON's advisers on the ongoing divestment by AMCON of its equity in MainstreetBank Limited (Mainstreet), stating that AMCON is procuring a breach of Intangis' rights under a Confidentiality and NonCircumvention Agreement, CNCA, dated 2 November 2009 between Afribank Plc ("Afribank") and Intangis. "Intangis is claiming in a current proceeding at the International Court of Arbitration that Afribank contravened the provisions of the CNCA as follows: Not to enter into discussions, or negotiations with any potential investor in relation to acquisition of a portfolio of nonperforming loans of Afribank; and The acquisition of a minority stake in

In a statement obtained by The Nation, AMCON, while giving an overview of what led to crisis of identity between both parties, stressed that Intangis' claim to MainstreetBank is null and void. Excerpts :

the share capital of Afribank. "Intangis is further claiming that the CNCA was breached on at least two occasions by Afribank. It is clear from the above that Intangis is pursuing a frivolous claim because; AMCON is not a party to any agreement with Intangis; and Mainstreet did not even exist at the time Intangis signed the CNCA with Afribank. "Mainstreet was established following a 'special' audit of the Nigerian Banking sector in which Afribank was found to be in a grave situation along with 9 other banks. Afribank's Board and Management was then replaced by the Central Bank

of Nigeria, CBN, with a view to, cleaning up the bank and repositioning it by September 2011." However, when it became apparent that Afribank lacked the capacity and ability to recapitalize before the September 2011 deadline, CBN revoked Afribank's license. Consequently, pursuant to Section 39 of the NDIC Act, the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) in consultation with CBN organised and incorporated three (3) "bridge banks" including Mainstreet. A Purchase and Assumption Agreement was executed by NDIC (as the statutory transferor of Afribank) and Mainstreet, who

purchased assets and assumed certain liabilities of Afribank. AMCON subsequently subscribed for shares of Mainstreet in 2011. "Given that Intangis' claim is anchored on the ongoing divestment of AMCON's interest in Mainstreet, it is important to note the following: Neither Amcon nor Mainstreet are parties to the CNCA and neither party assumed Afribank's obligations under the CNCA. ``Further, the said CNCA expired on 2 November 2011 and as such there is no subsisting existing contract of which AMCON can be said to be breaching or inducing its breach. Even if the CNCA had not expired, the ongoing transaction relating to the divestment of AMCON's shareholding in Mainstreet does not constitute a prohibited transaction under its expired terms."

BUSINESS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014 fallen apart irreversibly became apparent last Monday when Intangis Holdings, an American financial and investment company, raised dust over the planned sale of the Mainstreet Bank by AMCON, citing concerns over flouting of corporate governance procedures. Crux of the matter In a statement issued by Intangis, the firm noted that its decision to contest the planned sale of Mainstreet Bank Limited was to guide against possible cover ups by AMCON. In the statement which reads in part, the American firm recalled that: "This liquidation concluded between 5th and 8th August 2011 with total disregard to the rules of law, harmed all Afribank's shareholders and creditors, including Intangis Holdings." The firm explained that it referred the matter to the International Court of Arbitration, on the 29th of April, 2011, "which issued a preliminary decision in its favour in September, 2013 and took the view that Mainstreet Bank was party to the contract between Intangis Holdings and Afribank." However, the firm said since that decision, AMCON has taken steps to divest from Mainstreet Bank, "while omitting to make provision as required by the international accounting rules (IFRS) for certain liabilities of the bank, estimated by Intangis Holdings at $1.4 billion." Intangis Holdings, which did not indicate whether the $1.4billion is equivalent of its investment in Afribank, is insisting that AMCON complies with the international accounting rules enshrined in the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), pointing out that it reserves the right to commence legal proceedings to assert its rights. It said: "AMCON has broadened its mandate to the detriment of transparency and governance requirements that are essential in a global business world. Having referred the Mainstreet Bank (formerly Afribank) case to the International Court of Arbitration

(ICC) in Paris, Intangis Holdings is contemplating legal action against AMCON." The firm noted that AMCON has set a September 15th date for the sale of Mainstreet Bank, warning that, "if AMCON manages to sell Mainstreet Bank after having organised such a transaction and without ensuring proper reporting of the bank's books, we would be dealing with a huge scandal. The banking group would be jeopardised, its customers endangered and its historic shareholders and creditors would suffer irreversible damages." Reacting to Intangis Holdings claims, AMCON denied any wrong doing, saying its investment in Mainstreet Bank, has no linkage with Afribank. In a memo from Project DOS Advisers draft response to Intangis, AMCON explained that Intangis Holdings Limited recently wrote to AMCON's advisers on the ongoing divestment by AMCON of its equity in Mainstreet Bank Limited, stating that AMCON is procuring a breach of Intangis' rights under a Confidentiality and Non Circumvention Agreement (CNCA) dated 2 November, 2009 between Afribank and Intangis. In its defence, AMCON said it is not a party to any agreement with Intangis and that Mainstreet did not even exist at the time Intangis signed the CNCA with Afribank. It added that Mainstreet Bank was established following a special' audit of the banking sector in which Afribank was found to be "in a grave situation" along with nine other banks. It said Afribank's Board and Management was then replaced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with a view to cleaning up the bank and repositioning it. "However when it became apparent that Afribank lacked the capacity and ability to recapitalise before the September 2011 deadline, CBN revoked Afribank's license. Consequently, pursuant to Section 39 of the NDIC Act, the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) in consultation with CBN

organised and incorporated three "bridge banks" including Mainstreet. A Purchase and Assumption Agreement was executed by NDIC (as the statutory transferor of Afribank) and Mainstreet, who purchased assets and assumed certain liabilities of Afribank. AMCON subsequently subscribed for shares of Mainstreet in 2011. Speaking exclusively with The Nation from his base in US, in an online interview over the weekend, Jean Missinhoun, Senior Partner, Intangis Holdings said it was determined to pursue the matter to a logical conclusion at the law court. A disincentive to investment Speaking with a cross-section of respondents who ventilated their views on the impasse involving AMCON and shareholders of Mainstreet Bank, they said matterof-factly that if the details of the transaction are considered on its merit, AMCON may have taken the other parties for a ride. Firing the first salvo, Mr. Ibrahim Abdulmalik, a lawyer said, clearly there is a breach in the agreement, and AMCON could be liable if the case is proven beyond reasonable doubt. "Such disappointments may clearly be a disincentive to business. The crisis within Mainstreet Bank is a sad commentary on what is currently playing in the so-called nationalised bank set up by AMCON. I think the authorities need to review these cases with a view to dispensing justice", he stressed. Echoing similar sentiments, a member of the shareholders' association who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak on behalf of the group said many of the shareholders of the bridged banks are not happy with the way things have turned out. Short of blaming the Sanusi-led CBN governor for some of the trouble plaguing the nation's financial sub-sector, the shareholder called for a reorientation.

BRAS becomes sole distributor of SeaRay boat in W/Africa

EARAY, the world's most renowned luxury boat builders, based in Knoxville, USA, has appointed BRAS Marine and Yacht Services Nigeria as its sole distributor across the West African sub-region. With this appointment, BRAS Marine and Yacht Services will market, order and import a range of SeaRay exotic boats on behalf of discerning customers within the West African sub region, with special consideration for Nigeria. SeaRay designs, builds, supplies and maintains a range of boats from a host of offices worldwide; chief among which are its Knoxville USA office, which looks after the US and Canadian markets, the Merritt Island, Florida, and Amsterdam offices which oversee operations in Latin America and the Caribbeans and Europe, African and Middle East markets, respectively. The burgeoning Nigerian economy has seen more and more Nigerians appreciate leisure provided by boat cruises and voyages in the pristine waters of Lagoons and indeed the West African Atlantic Ocean open seas. Thus, the new emergent Nigerian nouveu riche who desire the good life, acquire boats of all kinds of designs and sizes to complement leisure lifestyles they crave. SeaRay is a brand recognised worldwide with an unbeatable reputation; the boats come with elegant styling and superior technology and craftsmanship, ensuring that once in water they surge with matchless strength and performance. SeaRay customers will enjoy very spacious interior which has been described as ground breaking achievement in boat design and innovation. Customers will also enjoy powerful and unmatched luxury and consistent resistance to salt water corrosion; this is besides the endless and unparalled customisation for individual tastes, as well as choice of fabric options and accessories. SeaRay brand of boats, not totally new to the Nigerian waters, have been sourced and acquired by individuals who have hitherto imported them on their own. With the appointment of BRAS, SeaRay brand holds a strong promise in Nigeria and West Africa; the brand will assume a more focused marketing approach and Nigerians will be able to purchase their preferred models hassle-free. "We are poised to satisfy the yearnings of all Nigerians who desire the good life, and a life of luxury as provided by SeaRay boats. Each boat is built with modern technology and parades an array of creature comforts that will delight each customer. Indeed, our boats are a new breed that breaks the rules, especially with our very competitive pricing and standard warranty," enthused Yomi Sonuga, Chairman BRAS Marine and Yacht Services.

ON sells MainstreetBank' savings and access to long term resources. Intangis also works to promote integration and cooperation among some African stock markets and thus create liquidity. What was the total equity of your investment in former Afribank before and after it metamorphosed to Mainstreet Bank? Intangis had exclusive rights to Afribank and an option for majority equity participation interests. At the time Amcon invested in Afribank, the bank with a total assets of $3 billion was ranked 16th among West African banks according to the 2009 league table "The top 200 African banks" published by JeuneAfrique magazine. Afribank was also listed in the Dow Jones "Africa Titans 50" index. Mainstreet Bank is one of three bridge banks set up by AMCON to takeover some of the toxic debts of banks like Afribank. However, you claimed that AMCON used the vehicle (Mainstreet) to transfer all its assets at former Afribank in total disregard to the rule of law, thus jeopardising shareholders and creditors like Intangis. Could you shed more light on this? Created in 2010 to deal with non performing loans held by Nigerian banks directly affected by the 2008 international financial crisis, the Nigerian Bad Bank structure Asset Management Corporation of

Nigeria (AMCON) has broadened its mandate to the detriment of transparency and governance requirements that are essential in a global business world. After taking participation interests in the share capital of Afribank in 2010, AMCON organised the liquidation of the banking group and subsequent transfer of all its assets to a new structure, MainstreetBank, which it wholly owns. This liquidation, concluded between 5th and 8th August 2011, harmed all Afribank's shareholders and creditors, including Intangis Holdings. You reportedly took the matter to the International Court of Arbitration on 29th April 2011, for which a preliminary decision was given in your favour in September 2013, could you expatiate on your specific prayers and reliefs granted in the ICA's initial judgement? Intangis Holdings referred the matter to the International Court of Arbitration, on 29 April 2011, which issued a preliminary decision in its favour in September 2013 and took the view that MainstreetBank was party to the contract between Intangis Holdings and Afribank. This means that MainstreetBank is party to the contract. You claimed that AMCON's plan to divest its investments did not factor in the liabilities of over $1.4bn. Could you elucidate further on this? Since that decision, Amcon has taken steps to divest from

MainstreetBank while omitting to make provision as required by the international accounting rules (IFRS) for certain liabilities of the bank, estimated by Intangis Holdings at $1.4 billion. Intangis Holdings calls for compliance with the international accounting rules (IFRS). You have hinted of plans to pursue litigation with AMCON. At the risk of preempting you, could you tell us how and when that will be and how much damages you hope to sue for? On 1st of July 2014, Intangis Holdings filed a complaint for damages for tortious interference with contract against AMCON in the Supreme Court of the State of New York (United States). If all else fails, what other options do you hope to explore? For instance, would you consider diplomatic approach, in this case, the intervention of your home country and Nigeria's? If AMCON manages, with total disregard to the rules of law, to sell MainstreetBank after having organised such a transaction and without ensuring proper reporting of the bank's books, we would be dealing with a huge scandal. The banking group would be jeopardised, its customers endangered and its historic shareholders and creditors would suffer irreversible damages. Intangis Holdings cannot believe that the Nigerian authorities would tolerate such actions in contradiction to the requirement for transparency and good governance.

â&#x20AC;˘From left: Nolloywood actors, Chioma Akpotha; Ali Nuhu; Category Manager, Fab Cleaning, Unilever Nigeria, Ibironke Ugbaja and Nollywood actor, Olufunke Akindele, at the launch of New OMO and unveiling of brand ambassadors in Lagos over the weekend

Nigeria expands mobile phone market

HE chief executive of Tingo Mobile Phones, Dozy Mmobuosi, has said Nigeria has the capacity to produce mobile phones of international standard. He spoke recently in Lagos, during the launch of Tingo mobile branded phones, stressing that it would not only meet local consumption but export to other countries. Mmobuosi said 80 per cent of components used in the manufacture of Tingo mobile phones are sourced locally. He explained that Tingo products came into being as part of efforts to complement government's technological drive to launch Nigeria among comity of nations in communication technology. He stated that the phones range from single to dual sims, noting that apart from their durability, they are equally cost-friendly. He said the inbuilt system allows information to be passed in Nigeria three major languages; Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo. According to him, Nigerians who do not understand English language can make use of it because of the local language devices in the phones. The CEO stressed: "The phones can even assist you to locate your family members, pets and important things. This can be done by ensuring that they are properly documented. "Should your relations be kidnapped or held in danger, your car stolen, you can easily notify the appropriate authority for immediate action." He urged Nigerians to take advantage of the new product to express themselves. "It is all about your style, your personality and the Nigerian image. They are basically designed to conform with your life style."

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

BUSINESS

Furore over airport remodelling The airport remodelling project embarked upon by the federal government since 2011 has generated controversies. Amid brickbats between the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and senate committee on aviation, the supervising minister of aviation, Dr Samuel Ortom, reasons that the "healthy debts" would not derail the course of projects. Kelvin Osa Okunbor reports.

•From L-R. The Supervising Minister of Aviation, Chief Samuel Ortom, The Ag. Director General/ CEO Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Engr. Benedict Adeyileka, and the Managing Director/ CEO, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) during inspection of facilities at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport Lagos recently.

RISIS is brewing in the aviation industry over allegations of inflation of the contract sum for the third phase of the airport remodelling project embarked upon by the federal government. At the centre of the controversy is the difference in the estimated cost of the project as released by the senate committee on aviation and figures emanating from FAAN, which puts the figures N26 billion less than the N174 billion declared by the senate. In 2011, the federal government through the ministry of aviation embarked on the remodelling, expansion and restructuring of airport terminals across the country. The federal government also said it would build 13 fresh cargo terminals, provide equipment for the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET).These projects were all initiated during the tenure of the immediate past Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah. While several of the airport terminals have been completed and inaugurated, others are either at 70 or 80 per cent completion stage. These projects are not just at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) Lagos alone, they are scattered all over the country. For example, 13 perishable cargo terminals are to be located in Abuja, Akure, Calabar, Ilorin, Jalingo, Jos, Kano, Lagos, Makurdi, Minna, Owerri, Port Harcourt and Uyo. According to the General

Manager, Corporate Communications of FAAN, Mr Yakubu Dati, the perishable cargo terminal are, at present, based on expression of interest from the private sector and state governments. While these projects and others were going on at the various airports in the country, the president removed the former minister and this gave room for speculations in some quarters that the projects that have made the federal government to incur debts of N174 billion would be abandoned. To further buttress the point, the federal government has been making and reassuring stakeholders that none of the ongoing projects will be abandoned. The supervising minister of aviation, Dr Samuel Ortom, embarked on the spot assessment of the projects under construction at the Lagos Airport. During the visit, Ortom in the company of the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Engr Benedict Adeyileka, Managing Director of FAAN, Engr Saleh Dunoma, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Mr Ibrahim Abdulsalam, and the Commissioner, AIB, Dr. Felix Abali, inspected the projects at the Lagos Airport. Ortom stated that aviation agencies would continue to generate more revenue to enable them complete the ongoing projects. He said the decision to generate more

revenue for aviation agencies became imperative in view of the over N174 billion debts accumulated from the third phase of the airport remodelling project. The minister said efforts are on to compile a comprehensive report on all the projects to enable government work out a payback arrangement as well as prioritise the implementation of the projects. He said the aviation sector would require more funds to fix the on-going airport infrastructure, adding that the funding gap in the aviation sector has become imperative in view of the various projects that have been embarked on. Ortom said the implementation of the aviation master plan is still in place to turn around the aviation sector for enhanced efficiency. Ortom said: "I will soon come up with a comprehensive report on all the projects going on currently. This further confirms why we have a commitment of N174 billion! Some of the commitments are on projects that have not even started. As we speak, work is going on in other airports. Some have been completed. Some of the projects have been suspended due to paucity of funds but you will agree that the 2014 Budget has been delayed but it has been signed into law by Mr. President and once the funds are released to us, we will make them available to contractors to resume work." On how to address funding challenges in the aviation sector,

Ortom said: "We will programme the projects based on their current level of execution. Though we have funding challenges, through internally generated revenue, we can achieve a lot. We will strive to generate more revenue and plough it back into the system. "We also appeal to Mr. President to approve more funding and we are confident if there are funds he could assist us with, he would oblige us. He is very committed to the revamping of the aviation sector. He is the initiator of transformation in the aviation sector and for the first time a president is devoting this much attention to aviation in Nigeria and committed to revamping the entire 22 airports in Nigeria. I want to assure Nigerians that the projects will be completed." At FAAN Fire Service office, Ortom demanded to know what the uncompleted building in the environment was meant to serve. He was informed that it was meant to be a fire tower. The Acting General Manager, Fire Service, Rindap Domtur told the minister that the major challenge facing the section is the lack of manpower and human capacity building. Domtur lamented that the authority has a total of 600 fire staff across airports in the country and that the agency would require 1,500 personnel for effective performance. Domtur added that the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) Lagos, which is in Category 9 has only 160 personnel, which according to him is far below what the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) approves for such category. Ortom also visited the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) site at the airport, the new private jet terminal that is under construction, the expanded departure hall and arrival hall at the international wing, where two high-speed and ultra-modern conveyor belts have been installed, and the new international terminal under construction by CCECC which would be completed next year. At the departure area, the minister observed that the contractor in charge of cleaning the departure area was not cleaning the area properly and directed FAAN to ensure the contractor improve on the cleaning. Finally, the supervising minister inspected the 20-room hotel project at the international wing of the airport for transit passengers. Speaking shortly after inspecting the projects at the Lagos airport, Ortom said prior to inspecting the projects, he had constituted a committee to go round the project sites and make a thorough report on what the remodelling programme entails. The supervising minister stated that he was happy with the projects, adding that having seen them, "I can now understand why the debt is up to N174 billion. "Some of the airports, the remodelling exercise have been completed while we have phases one, two and three. We agreed that most of the work was suspended due to lack of funding, but you will also agree with me that for this year 2014, the budget was delayed and it has just been signed into law. Very soon funds would be released to the contractors."

‘Air travel remains the safest’ Discovery Air is Nigeria's newest airline. Mr. Tunde Babalola, the Ondoborn billionaire behind the project, explained to Joe Agbro Jr what Discovery Air is bringing on board.

OW that Discovery Air has received the AOC Certificate from the NCAA, what should Nigeria expect? A safe and price-friendly airline that people can fly on. The aim is to make sure that all Nigerians can actually travel by air no matter the class of the society you belong to. Our own idea is that you must be able to fly from point A to point B. Our own passengers are going to be treated like kings and queens because Nigerians deserve the very best when it comes to service. The way we see our airline is that if you pay, it is our obligation to deliver quality service and that is what we are bringing on board. We are going to try to cover where others don't go to. We want to cover the whole of Nigeria so that people can go to wherever they want to. Let's say you want to go to Akure which is about three and half hours by road, you will buy fuel like N8,000 depending on the type of car that you are using. Our own idea is to get you to Akure with that N8,000 within 45minutes. You can as well move from Akure to Port-Harcourt or from Uyo to Abuja with a minimal cost. That's what we are bringing to Nigeria and of course quality service that you cannot imagine it until you experience it. Talking about quality service, what are the safety measures that you have put in place? Well, I can tell you that in addition to safety measures put in place by NCAA, before any of our aircraft takes off, all the accountable officers must sign off. These are the people that have years of experience in the industry - like the managing director, Captain Abudulsalami Mohammed, has 36years of experience in the aviation industry, the airworthy guy, the engineer - they must all sign. I am going to fly with the same machines, likewise my family. We are going to ask for any extension from NCAA for our checks once it is due. Even a week before it is due, that machine is out and another one is in, rest assured. We want to reenact that in the minds of Nigerians that air travel is Safe, Affordable, Fast, and Efficient, according to our slogan: S.A.F.E. Also, what we are bringing on board is that if you want to go to Abuja by 9pm, you can with Discovery Air which is not happening in Nigeria at the moment. But if you go to America or other parts of the world, you can fly till about 11:00pm at night. Some people may want to do business at night in Abuja, so we are going to deploy smaller machines to do that because the volume of people that travel at night is not as much as people that travel during the day but you should be able to travel. Nigerians should have a new experience; a slight departure from what they are used to. How many destinations are we looking at for your take off? We are doing Lagos to Abuja, Lagos to Port-Harcourt. Then we will escalate to Uyo, Akure and other parts of Nigeria before we will do regional flights by God's grace. What message do you have for Nigerians as you start commercial operations? They should have confidence in Nigeria airlines because they are safer than before and nobody wants to have any blood on his neck. Let us put the past behind us. How did you come about the name Discovery Air? There was a day I was travelling from Lagos to London. I was going through a magazine when I saw DISCOVER LONDON, so I said, 'why should I discover London?' That means people too can actually discover Nigeria and it's always good to discover new thing.

•Babalola

ARA Durotoye, Banke Meshida, Sam Fine and B.MPro are some of the big names that come to mind when one talks about professional make-up in Nigeria.This line of business has created lots of small and medium scale businesses that are thriving all over the country. Instead of waiting for the typical white collar job, a number of unemployed graduates and other young people have discovered their talents here, created jobs for others and are smiling to the bank on a daily basis. AdeyeyeTemitayo, a successful make-up entrepreneur, talks about how it all began as a passion. "I have always loved to play with people's faces. I liked to do make-up right from my days in school. I can say I am obsessed with make-up. At times if I see you are not looking very fine, I give you my own make-up to use. I just like to transform people and so when I left school, I went for this job. As a matter of fact, I had also wanted to be independent and work for myself and so make-up did that for me." For Temitayo, starting out was not easy. "I just worked on the faces of my friends and family to start then," she said. "I went to photographers, models, magazines and worked for them to see and by doing that I created awareness and along the line, I got to work for some big people in the industry. It might take time to see the result you want but you just have to keep working. Know what you are doing, keep your makeup box clean, have a good attitude and be pleasant with people. By doing this, the change will come." To make it a profitable venture, Temitayo advises that it is better to have good contacts or a good network of people. "There are makeup artistes that are not so up to the task, but then they get the pay because they know a lot of people and right people at that. So, if you have the contact, it will be profitable. A bride called me for a job and I gave her my price and then she did not call me back, but the amount she used to do it eventually was worth more than mine. Later, I discovered that she felt like I did not know what I was doing because my price was too cheap. We are talking about N80, 000. So, when you have the contacts, it gets profitable. When you know what you are doing, it gets profitable." Getting customers, she says, is a major challenge but she has mastered the art to overcome this. "I work within London and Nigeria, and in London without

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014

Making a fortune with make-up Looking good, the popular saying goes is good business. BukolaAfolabi and DorcasUmunagbe write about how some entrepreneurs are making money from doing make-ups for others

â&#x20AC;˘Enterpreneurs now see makeup as good business

advert, you won't sell and so I do flyers, I make complementary cards. At times the complementary cards and flyers don't work because some people might just throw them away and so I go through the stress of making myself up every blessed day to advertise for myself. Also one's work should be able to convince people that you are good. There are many make-up artistes in Nigeria, though that is not my challenge because my work will speak for me. You just have to work hard. Another challenge could be that people are not ready to pay as charged; some people have underrated the business and so they are not ready to pay. They offer what is not worth your stress." Her achievements in the past seven years include setting up her studio worth about N1.4 million, buying a car and much more. "I work for weddings, birthdays,

graduation, etc. I go for parties that I am not invited, have rapport with the photographers and then stay with them and so when people come to take pictures, I do make-up for them and then they pay me. I can do make-up for like forty people. I might still tip the photographers but I have enough money." Happily, she recounts one of her memorable moments on the job. "I did a make-up for a wedding and in the course of the wedding they projected pictures of the couple on a screen projector at the reception. They projected the pictures of the engagement of which I handled the make-up and everybody was just commenting and commending it. The Master of Ceremony then asked the make-up artiste to stand up and I stood up and people were clapping for me. It was on point and I was very

PHOTOS: Oluyinka Oyindamola

happy." Oluyinka Oyindamola's journey into the make-up business was about six years ago with one of King Sunny Ade's videos. "His manager, then, introduced me to the job and I was always there to work," she said. "That was before I did my training with Shapes and Shadows. I really love doing make-up and I have a passion for it. It has also helped me to pay a number of bills with the economy of the country." She goes on to talk about some of the challenges encountered in the business. "There is a financial challenge in the sense that people look at make-up lightly and don't want to pay much for it and so they want a cheap work, but then the work differs. Quality is quality. It could also be a little challenging to get customers because there are now plenty make-up artists out there. Her major clients include

some artistes, brides and everybody. "I look at other people's works, see what I cannot do, practice it till I can do it. I practice a lot. I learn from people who are better than me. I wish to be a makeup artiste known all over the world. I want to do make up for real big people like Michelle Obama. I want to be known." Asked what inspires her on the job and she replies: "Okay, when I just got into the business I did some free jobs just to create awareness and some people have just got used to it. Just recently, I went to Ibadan to do a job for my cousin and if I tell you how much she gave me, you won't believe it. People don't just appreciate others. They feel she is my cousin or friend, so I can call her anytime." Tolulope Oluyemi also recounts how she got into the business while studying in the university. "Then, I was a Mary Kay distributor and I

discovered that my blushes do not usually sell. That was the time when people used blushes above the cheek bone, just very close to the eye ball and it looked like they have a burnt face. In my own little way, I could do makeup but I did not still know how to use the blush and so in my quest to know how to use blushes I signed up for a make-up training when I saw an ad on Facebook. The first day I was going to resume, I had plenty makeup on my face just to show them that I could do makeup but when the lady that was to usher me in opened the door, I was ashamed of myself; I realised I had rubbish on my face." Going down memory lane, she recalls some of the challenges encountered at the beginning. "In Lagos, you have to be in traffic for hours before you get to where you are going, so that's one. Another challenge is that people always think that prices are too high. You can call a price for someone and they will be like but say "it's too much, is it not just powder and foundation? Meanwhile, you know what you are going to put in for them. So, most people don't understand what make-up is all about and why you have to charge so much for makeup and it could actually pose as a challenge." Asked what she has achieved in the past four years and she replies this way: "I have achieved a lot, I can't mention all but most importantly it has taught me how to tolerate people because in make-up you meet lots of people, some are really nice and some are really nasty. I also got a professional camera for myself (laughs). I have a little studio outside Lagos State where I sell basically Mary Kay products. I am still working because I still have a lot to achieve." For her, the future is very bright and her prospect is she intends to have her own make-up line and also wants to be a well-known make-up artiste. "I also want to have a bridal fashion house. I attend make-up workshops. I watch makeup videos on YouTube and some of them I buy and I practice a lot." Asked about her memorable moments, she says: "When I first learnt make-up, I did not learn how to tie gele (women's traditional headgear) and then having to do my first bridal make-up, I was nervous. I actually did not think about tying gele and so when I did the make-up, everybody liked it and commended it and it was time to tie the gele and I could hear my heart beat but fortunately for me, the gele was fine and thereafter, I learnt how to tie gele."

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014

•Squad one

‘Why we got involved with Davido’ C

HINEDU Ezirim is a dance artiste, choreographer and dance instructor. He has been involved in many major works in the dance profession within the last 10 years with his group, Squad One dance troupe. With the many dance patterns and movements created by Ezirim and his troupe, they had been able to tour parts of Nigeria and Africa where they usually exhibited folkloric dance dramas totally embedded in contemporary African issues. To him, the intimacy and marriage between choreography and dance give the profession the best blend that make people want to watch dancers once they’re on stage. So far, Ezirim and his colleagues have been to several African countries representing Nigeria in major dance competitions and festivals. “We also participated in a festival in Togo a few years ago where we came second. You see, dance or whatever profession you’ve chosen can make you who you are depending on what you’ve give to it. I started as a street dancer during my secondary days. From there I began to nurture my talent and attended some practical dance classes. I went to Black Officers Academy where I studied traditional dances and then later contemporary African dance patterns. Later too, I attended Body Hard Clinic, where I studied how to project and manage my body for stage movements in contemporary dance.” For now, Ezirim has so perfected his stage craft that he can do all sorts of dances. These include salsa, hippop, all traditional Nigerian dances, African contemporary dances and more. “This was also why I needed to upgrade myself to be able to do choreography and equally teach others. To date, I have choreographed some outstanding jobs. I did choreography for Davido’s Aiyee which features the track: She no want ferari, she no want designer; all she want na my love. That was the best show I’ve done so far. Apart from Davido who was allowed to do free dance style in the video, the rest of the movements in the choreography were directed and perfected by me,” he said. In doing aesthetic of street dance some years back, the professional acumen in him came to the fore. He invented some noble dance ideals that have today spelt him out from the rest. “I have done Ajigbe too,” he remonstrated. “In addition, Echoes of motherland which I did not too long ago, was an award winning piece,” Ezirim said, smiling effusively. He also got involved in the creation of Davido’s Aiyee because the people who contacted him had been following his choreographic pedigree for a while. “First of all, they needed

Choreographical dance has come to dominate contemporary Nigerian dances in the last few years. Every year, new choreographers emerge to give vent to traditional and contemporary African dances to fit into the latest styles on world stage. Chinedu Ezirim of Squad One dance troupe who has travelled quite a bit both as a dancer and a chorographer told Edozie Udeze how he directed Davido’s latest musical video and how dance can be elevated and more me to listen to the track, to the rhythmic movements of the lyrics. In it, you feel more of African style and movement. So, what I did was to give them African dance movements that synchronised with the lyrics and the free flow high tempo of the sounds. You could even feel the vibes which the instruments pelt into the air.” Above all, the song was of a village setting, talking about a love that is not polluted yet; that is not all out to hoodwink or cheat or pester unduly. So my task was to get that sort of setting in place, involving villagers who could fit into the arrangement. Those who needed farming movements, I gave it to them. You can see all that inside the dance patterns to show you that truly that setting depicted the people in their locality,” he offered. In doing that aiyee, Ezirim said he thoroughly considered the potency of the dances in harmony with the movements. There are different rhythms and different tempos in any musical composition. Now, as a dancer or choreographer, you have to picture what you want to do in your mind. Once you are working on, you keep meditating on it; thinking it over and over in your mind to see how it can be translated into visual with the appropriate movements. You have to therefore create a particular tempo or rhythm to match not only the wordings but the actions hidden in the music. I did this not only in Davido’s work but in others that I’ve been privileged to handle in my professional career. The wonders of choreography to a video setting help to give an album its special place in the hearts of music followers. To Ezirim, there are some bad tracks that receive more life once the video is good and vice versa. Yet, most musicians prefer to do it their own way only ending up not having the best to show for it. “That concept to do Davido’s stuff was given to me only two days before we hit location. Immediately I went into rehearsal to get the patterns in place. It was tedious quite all right but in such a situation where you have only a few days to do your stuff, you have to be at your best.”

The dancers who were involved were mainly from his Squad One troupe. “Oh yes,” he said with broad smiles, “I had to use them because they are young dancers who understand the stuff very well. Some of them even wanted to use the opportunity to demonstrate their talents. So, what I did was to bring them in, instruct them on how to make the scenes real and convincing. In it, we tried to show a lot of discipline while also nurturing them to see the intrinsic value of dance choreographed to suit a defined purpose.” The opportunity created in this kind of outing helps to give exposure to young artistes who will also create their own niche when the ample time presents itself. “After that job,” Ezirim enthused with confidence, “a lot of parents called to thank me for giving their children the opportunity to be seen on the screen. In all honesty, it is part of what we do to nurture young talents. The opportunity offered by music, dance, choreography and all are many and people need to be well-tutored to see and appreciate these values. Last year, when the award-winning musical saros was produced by Terra Culture, the likes of Ezirim and company were involved. That wonderful piece was done to zero in on some past social and economic lifestyles of Lagosians. Apart from the hilarious applause given to the piece, Ezirim says it is one of the greatest showpieces to bring out the good old days when life in the city was pure, undiluted and friendly. “In it, I was a dancer and it told the story of a couple of young guys who came to city from the village. Their intention was to make it in the city. When they got to Lagos, they actually got into trouble. At the end of the day, they were arrested, jailed and dehumanised. But they later had their breakthrough after they were released from prison. The stage experience was good because it afforded me the opportunity to appreciate that sort of dance more.” Ezirim began his dance career as a kid. In those days in Surulere, Lagos, they had the opportunity to be involved in street dances. “There

was a festival then named Suru Festival which we did annually. I was involved in it while in secondary school. When I went for the first audition through my school, I was not really taken. That was because I couldn’t do traditional movements. Thereafter, I got more determined that the second time. I was able to make it. Soon after, I started under Muyiwa Osinaike who is not just one of the best dancers and dance instructors in Nigeria, but one who gives all he has to groom artistes to fit properly into the mould. He taught me the art of traditional and contemporary dances. Under him, we learnt all the movements that can make you a greater artiste.” When his tutelage under Osinaike elapsed more or less, Israel Otuedo, another well-known choreographer/dancer took over. From there, he moved over to Dayo Ijodee, the man that did Olorioko and who has been giving contemporary dance its many phases and styles. “There are artistes who do not compromise standard and dance ethics. So far, we have also been involved in plays by Fred Agbeyegbe and other great Nigerian playwrights. At the moment, we are doing Dance of the Forest to mark Professor Wole Soyinka’s 80th birthday. In 2009, I won the Mnet dance competition which involved a lot of dances across Africa. It was one of those tedious stage dances that helped to put one in the limelight. In 2010, the Dance Guild of Nigeria (GOND) gave me an award as one of the best dancers in its fold.” Although to him, dance is not well-appreciated now, those who really do try to show us as much appreciation as they can. “Well, we need to look at it as a profession that must pay our bills. And that is why we keep saying we should look at the business side of dance to be able to elevate its status. We wish to get to that level where if I am made to perform for say five minutes, I should be able to earn five to 11 million naira. By the time I finish sharing it with my people, there is still enough for me to take home. Dance is not dance for the sake of dance. You should be able to interpret a story to make people happy. That is what we are doing and we hope we’ll be able to carry others along so as to get to that stage where the profession is at its best.” At the moment, dance has been made so popular that people of all ages and class now enjoy it. “All you need to do while on stage is to give the audience what will make them watch you with attention.” Ezirim was also taken to South Africa to do a Malta Guinness advert when he met other foreign dancers who commended their Nigerian counterparts.

ARTS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014

‘Day I almost died on stage’

HILIP Okolo is one of the oldest stage artistes in Nigeria. When he started his stage career in 1977, his dream, along with his contemporaries then was to infuse a new lease of life into live theatre. This was during the era of Dr. Bode Sowande, when street theatre was the vogue and Nigerians had the freedom of watching theatre whenever the opportunity offered itself. “After a while, I joined the group of artistes with Bayo Oduneye who introduced me to the late Sam Loco Efe. I told him I wanted to be a full time actor and that theatre was in my blood. That was how I started as a full time actor.” Okolo reminisced, smiling. After he got to know Loco and others, they then gave him a role to play, which he did very well. From then on, the sky became his limit, he stated. “ Then it was in1984, that I actually started professionally. There was a show in England, that was the Commonwealth Festival of Arts and Culture. They wanted to pick the role of Akaraogun in Wale Ogunyemi’s Langbodo. I was then picked against so many other big names in the industry then. Uncle Jimmy Solanke and Loco were to play that role. But lo and behold, the role fell on me.” That was how it all began for him. Professor Adelugba who directed the play wanted to experiment with a younger artiste. In the process, he chose Okolo who incidentally dazzled the whole arena with his professional dexterity. “After that outing in England, when we came back home, I began to get more sensitive roles which also began to shore up my resume as a stage actor. It was during this period that I encountered other older professionals like the late St. Iyke and then Chief Fred Agbeyegbe whose plays formed part of what we were doing then.” Even though he has worked as a television actor, Okolo said he has not felt quite at home doing so. “I like live audience. To me that is pure theatre. Stage brings out total theatre and the people can easily feel it. See, if I had wanted to be in Nollywood, it would have been easy for me. What they churn out, most of the time, are below standard practice. I am not really condemning what they are

•Okolo By Edozie Udeze

doing, but for me, it is an easy way out. On stage, you are on your own and you have to be accountable to the audience. And that is why I love stage.” In acting out most of these roles, Okolo has discovered that one has to prove the stuff he is made. While acting in Langbodo in one of those roles that spells one out as a professional, he sustained a serious injury on stage. “You see, in my overzealousness in one of those shows, I jumped on to the stage instead of walking in

A bit of phenomenon Title: Uwem Phenomenon (...a people manager par excellence) Author: Sunday Obanubi Publishers: Rhegos Resources, Lagos, Nigeria No of pages: 65 Reviewer: Blessing Olisa HAT does it take to sail through stormy seas and come out unperturbed, yet standing tall? Which African woman gets impregnated by a man and chooses not to get married to him because he doesn’t fit in the picture of her future? Uwem Akai Martins is the exception to the rule. Welcome to the world of a woman who is strong, courageous, focused, disciplined and above all, a phenomenon. Reading through the 65 pages of her biography written by Sunday Obanubi, will keep you star-struck. It will dazzle you and just makes you want to keep digging into what makes the value of this jewel inestimable. The book also gives a deeper reavelation of the word, phenomenon. In the biography, titled, Uwem Phenomenon, Obanubi takes you through the life and career of Uwem, a people manager par excellence and the woman everyone refers to as the proverbs 31 woman. Born into a Christian home of seven, Uwem grew up as a regular kid with her four siblings in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Her life went on normally until 1995, when some events with a goal to alter her life began to unfold. A young woman who had a major challenge with her job found out she was pregnant with her first child. Unlike most young

women, Uwem refused to get married to the father of her baby because she was convinced that wasn’t the right thing to do. How could she even determine that? Pride? Dignity? This biography takes you on a trip of self realisation, gives you a reason to face your fears, man up to the reality at hand and also stay focused in trying times. The charming Uwem wields a personality that helps you see through who you are and who you want to be. Her personality also gives you an insight on achieving everything that you desire, giving you a reason to develop your strong points, stay on your dreams and pursue your dreams at all times till they materialize. Simple and charismatic Uwem reveals how to lead and grow a team from 15 to at least 200 people, yet being a very professional leader who leads by example. She gives all her subordinates a reason to be the best and stay the best in everything they get involved in. Uwem, who is the envy of many, gives an insight on ‘how to be an enviable professional’, while leading your team successfully. Obanubi reveals how this virtuous woman from Proverbs 31 strikes a balance between being a professional at work and in her home. The beautiful mother of two, Uche and Atinuke is happily married to Adetokunbo Martins and puts her family before everything else, without any conflict. She also conveniently spreads her love to her extended children, her over 200 staff members. Uwem Martins not only leaves her mark with those she comes in contact with, but also with those who read her biography.

through the auditorium. It was then that I sustained the injury. I had this costume that was very heavy and it hardily allowed me space to exercise myself. I was feeling more like a hero and so when they heralded Akaraogun, instead of appearing the normal way, I jumped onto the stage.” By the time he landed on the edge of the stage, he had got a deep cut on his ankle. But like most brave professionals, he got on with it, while blood kept tricking out. “At the end of that show, when I got to back stage, I passed out;

I fainted because I’d lost a lot of blood” he said. Before the acting ended, all the cast and crew were scared, for they thought the show would flop. The solution was that Okolo tore a part of the costume with which he covered the wound. But even then, the director of the play was not at ease until the show was over. Again, the artiste in him blossomed in the other shows that today, anytime there’s a tough role that needs serious role and stage interpretation, Okolo is usually sought after. “The role of a serious actor is to interpret his role convincingly”, he said. “I have not been out of active career since 1977. Even when I was at Saint Patrick’s College, Ibadan, I knew I’d be an actor. It was through literature that one of my teachers lured me into acting. I love story telling and of course my mum, at night would tell us plenty of stories. So, we kind of had the background, my brother Felix and I. So when we graduated while he went for directing I went for acting. But above all, watching Sam Loco in Ibadan in those days got the better of me. Then when we were in Benin and I used to watch Hotel De Jordan in which Loco and others took part, my imagination and love for the theatre grew. “I also love Bata drums,” Okolo revealed. “More so I love Yoruba acting. I love the traditional sentiments expressed in Yoruba theatre. When I listen to bata drums I feel like dancing and I really want to act and you cannot discountenance the place of Yoruba theatre in Nigeria. For me I try to spend some of my earnings to produce some plays. I work on mini festivals and it is an aspect of theatre I want to revive to bring back live theatre. We used to have open theatre at the National Theatre. Then if you had a show and people attended, and thereafter you’d share the proceed. That’s the sort of thing I want to bring out now. That will be in Delta State. I am in touch with them to that effect.” So far, his intention is to have some stories by Nigerian writers into stage. “We need to adapt those stories to give theatre real life flavour. This is one of the ways to bring theatre to its fullest meaning in Nigeria. From there, we’ll go into community theatre too. This will give us fulfillment, fun, joy and then writers would get their royalties,” he said.

Eni Ogun for Soyinka

S Professor Wole Soyinka, Africa’s first Nobel Laureate marks his 80th birthday on July 13th a number of activities, mostly stage plays, have been lined up at different venues and locations to make the event a memorable one. At the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos, Eni Ogun, a play written by Wole Oguntokun based on the autobiographical works of Soyinka will be staged. The play billed for July 19 and 20 is also directed by the playwright who today is considered as one of the best directors in the industry. Its content spans over six decades of the life and times of Soyinka both as a writer, an activist, academic, defender of human rights, public commentator and social critic. Other plays of Soyinka to be staged are: Dance of the Forests, Death and the King’s Horseman, Kongi’s Harvest and lots more. The plays will be staggered to last the whole of July in order to give Soyinka, Africa’s foremost playwright, a befitting 80th birthday anniversary. On July 13th, there’ll be a lecture at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) Lagos, to be delivered by Professor Abiola Irele in honour of Soyinka. The

lecture will highlight the place of the celebrator in the annals of world history, international politics, writing and what next to do to have a better society where peace and love for one another predominate.

•Soyinka

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

With Adeola Ogunlade 08083127847

Hello kids, How are you? Hope you had a lovely week. Remember hard work pays and taking the short cut to success by cheating, bribery or stealing could spell doom for your future. Your future is so bright, please keep working hard at school, home, religious setting or even in your community and with God on your side, you are on your way to success.

Etisalat relaunches new package for kids

OBILE phone operator, Etisalat, has relaunched its new education package tagged Cliqlite, designed to aid children aged 8 to 15 in their education. Cliqlite is a new educational product from Etisalat available via short code to all prepaid packages. This is an educational tool with applications for learning like series

POEM

G •Cross session of students at the launch of Etisalat Cliqlite, an e-learning product for children, recently held at Oriental Hotel, Lagos

Tips for success in examination E XAMINATION is fast approaching; some students are often times nervous, afraid and fidgeting. They think examination is insurmountable. But the fact is that the earlier you start to learn and prepare for your exams the more you will remember and understand. Here are some of the study tips that you need to succeed in your exams. Study tip Understand your study topics in your own words: Your teacher or lecturer can explain something to you, you can learn it from a text book, your friends can study with you, even your own notes can explain it to you but all these explanations are of little use if, by the end, you can’t explain what you have learnt to yourself. If you don’t un-

derstand a study concept that you need to illustrate in an exam to get top exam results, then you won’t be happy with your end exam result. To combat this, get into the habit of explaining whatever it is you are studying, in your own words, so you understand your study notes. Study tip Don’t be afraid to ask study questions: Don’t be afraid of asking a ‘stupid’ question – there really is no such thing when it comes to study and learning! Embrace your curiosity, for as William Arthur Ward said: “Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning.” Doing so will allow you to fill in the blanks and better prepare you for exams. Study tip Quiz yourself: Once you feel you understand a concept or a topic, it is important to

test yourself on it. Try and replicate exam conditions as much as possible: turn your phone off, don’t talk, time yourself etc. You can set yourself a study quiz or practice exam questions and, so long as you approach it with the right mindset, you can get a very good idea of how much you know. Study tip Get Creative with online study tools: Don’t feel obliged to just sit in front of a book with a highlighter; there are many different ways to study. You should pick whatever works for you. Try using as many study tools and techniques as possible to help you study better and find what works best for you. Perfect examples of such study tools would be online flashcards, mind maps, mnemonics, online study planners, video and

audio resources. Study tip Set your study goals and create a flexible study plan: In order to achieve exam success you need to know what you want to achieve. That’s why it is extremely important to set your Study Goals now and outline to yourself what you need to do. With your study goals in mind and your end of year exams weeks and months away it makes sense to have a flexible study plan as opposed to a rigid one. Exam time Notes: examinations are part of the test of life. Do not be afraid of examination because as you pass them, you are promoted to the next level. Do not cheat or bribe your way but be studious and God helping you, you sill succeed.

of JAMB, SSCE and IGCSE past questions, 14 NERDC Syllabus text books, IGCSE text books (Optional), interactive lessons and Norton parental control app for parents to monitor online activities of their children. Other applications include the screen time app (to shut down the tab at prescribed time set by parents) educational games and fun apps.

OOD Night and Good Morning A fair little girl sat under a tree, Sewing as long as her eyes could see; Then smoothed her work, and folded it right, And said, “Dear work, good night! good night!” Such a number of rooks came over her head, Crying, “Caw! Caw!” on their way to bed; She said, as she watched their curious flight, “Little black things, good night! good night!” The horses neighed, and the oxen lowed, The sheep’s “Bleat! bleat!” came over the road; All seeming to say, with a quiet delight, “Good little girl, good night! good night!”

She did not say to the sun, “Good night!” Though she saw him there like a ball of light, For she knew he had God’s time to keep All over the world, and never could sleep. The tall pink foxglove bowed his head, The violets curtsied and went to bed; And good little Lucy tied up her hair, And said on her knees her favourite prayer. And while on her pillow she softly lay, She knew nothing more till again it was day; And all things said to the beautiful sun, “Good morning! good morning! our work is begun! by Richard Monckton Milnes, Lord Houghton

JOKES Doctor! Doctor! My little boy has just swallowed a roll of film! Hmmmm. Let’s hope nothing develops. Doctor, Doctor, I think that I am God. How did that start? Well, first I created the sun, then the earth... Doctor, Doctor, some days I feel like a tee-pee and other days I feel like a wigwam. You’re too tense. Doctor, Doctor, I feel like a

pack of cards. I’ll deal with you later. Doctor, Doctor, I feel like a spoon. Sit still and don’t stir. Doctor, Doctor, everyone keeps ignoring me. Next please! Doctor, Doctor, I feel like a bell. Take these pills, and if they don’t help, give me a ring. Doctor, Doctor, I can’t get to sleep. Sit on the edge of the bed and you’ll soon drop off.

WORD WHEEL

D C

L I Send in your stories, poems, articles, games, puzzles, riddles and jokes to sundaynation@yahoo.com

I E U

How many words of three or more letters, each including the letter at centre of the wheel, can you make from all this diagram? We have found 160, including one nine-letter word

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

EBERE WABARA

WORDSWORTH 08055001948

Works Minister: Rapid response needed on Eha-amufu roads

ewabara@yahoo.com

Do reporters read? N A T I O N A L MIRROR front and inside pages of July 3 welcome us this week with this kindergarten goof: “…the first set of casualities was recorded yesterday.” Spell-check: casualties From the front page to Views: “…why did he not use his immense power against few (a few) individuals that want him out….” “These nouveau riche (nouveaux riches) could channel their resources to insurgency cause if it suits them.” “This is a welcomed ( w e l c o m e ) development….” “Dumpsites takeover (take over) Lagos communities” “Group raises alarm (the alarm) on drug abuse” Incredible! Most Nigerian journalists, particularly reporters and copy editors, do not read hence the recurrence of blunders in the media use of language. It is indeed a tragedy of gargantuan implications! “Youth Ministry inaugurates anti corruption (anticorruption) unit” Finally from the Back Page of NATIONAL MIRROR under review: “In October 2002, tens of heavily armed members of Islamist militant separatist movement from Chechnya laid siege on (to) the crowded….” DAILY SUN of June 30 posted advertorial and editorial faulty lines: “This is one game we have all been impatiently waiting for and the pride and honour of the nation will be upheld as the Super Eagles knockout (knock out) the French.” (Full-page advertisement by Guinness Nigeria PLC) Drink (and write) responsibly if you are 18 or above: “To leave your good will (goodwill) messages for the Super Eagles….” Next is DAILY Sun EDITORIAL of the above edition which circulated four blunders: “Altogether, the apex bank said it has (had) observed that….” “…as some BDCs (BDC) operators are reportedly using foreign exchange purchased from its window to fund u n a u t h o r i z e d transactions.” “For instance, the foreign reserves which early this year was $40bn have (had) fallen to $35bn last month….” “Beyond this, there is strong indication (a strong indication) that the operation of BDCs has encouraged the d o l l a r i s a t i o n (dollarization—no spelling variation in this

particular etymological circumstance) of the economy and money laundering.” “MTNF/MUSON Music Scholars (Scholars’) Programme: Applicants who possess the above practical or theory (theoretical) certificates must also satisfy the GCE (O/L) or SSCE requirements.” (Full-page advertisement by MTN…Everywhere you go!) “Poor electricity: PENGASSAN calls for revocation of new DISCOs licenses (DISCO licences)” “AGF blames N’Assembly over (for/on) delay in implementation of audited Federation Accounts” “We most sincerely thank God on (for) your aptly deserved recognition….” “Fondly (Fond) regards from us all.” (Hanging sign-off sentence…!) Corrigendum: A critical and eagle-eyed reader intervened last week, after some scholasticism, and professorially declared that the phrase ‘nooks and crannies’ exists. This columnist agrees with him based on the revelations of Oxford Learner’s Dictionary (International Student’s Edition) with Compass CD-ROM. THE NATION ON SUNDAY of June 29 smuggled in ‘lexical contraband’: “Inhabitants of Totowu Village, Igbesa in Ogun State (another comma) may not be fishermen but they cannot do without canoes as their daily activities revolve around it (them)….” “Why Ogoni is at logger heads (loggerheads) with Shell” “…he gives fresh insights on (into) the lingering crisis between Shell and its host community in Ogoni land.” THE NATION, SATURDAY, April 5, offered readers many slipups: “Don’t get me wrong, the fashion of yesteryears (yesteryear) was also very interesting, filled with sartorial splendour.” “…the JNC report would most likely end up in the waste paper basket but the point would have been well made.” (Back Page) An illumination: waste basket or wastepaper basket DAILY SUN of April 9 slipped several times: “NDLEA arrests food vendor over (for) cocaine in private part” “…the minister said no fewer than 5.3 million youths are (were) jobless in the country, while 1.8 million graduates enter (entered) the labour market

every year.” (EDITORIAL) “…top shots spill the bean (beans)” DAILY SUN of April 10 fumbled so many times: “Bravo, Our God-sent Governor” (Full-page advertisement by Ezeagu LGA of Anambra State) For Barrister Sullivan Iheanacho Chime at 55: our God-send governor “Why Fulani, farmers clash may continue— Northern Christian youths” National News: farmers’ clash “FG okays 6 months (months’) imprisonment for smoking in public” “Marketing Edge holds s t a k e h o l d e r s (stakeholders’) summit” “Atiku’s friend, Gado (another comma) who told the heart rendering story said….” Crime Watch: heart-rending story FEEDBACK ‘ D e w o r m i n g ’ (sometimes known as worming or drenching) is a medical/animal science terminology. It is a procedure for expelling worms from the intestines etcetera of humans and animals. Hence the familiar drugs known as ‘worm expellers’ or ‘dewormers’ which scientists call antihelmintics. The Global Charity Evidence Action Initiative is well known for its ‘Deworm the World Program’. Merriam Webster Dictionary and online dictionaries like The Free Dictionary and English language portals like Google, Wikipedia, Ask.com, Dictionary.com and Grammarly.com approve the word. (Sunny Agbontaen/Benin City/ 08055162531), with additional information by this columnist THE next five blunders from THE NATION ON SUNDAY of June 29 and Vanguard Allure of June 22 were casually detected by Mr. Kola Danisa (07068074257): “Oyegun paid a courtesy on (to or called on) Gov. Oshiomhole” “A majority of the youths having not attended primary schools….” Get it right: youths or the youth “And for the medical school to be at per (par or on a par) with others….” “When somebody is in a dire straight (in dire straits)….” “Indeed, people seat (sit) in their comfort zone and blame….” (DAILY SUN OPINION Page, June 30) MIKE Oluranti Ayodele (08034065353) rounds off this week’s contributions: “…on a daily basis to irk (eke) out a living for themselves.” (THE NATION, Saturday, June 28, 2014, Page 2)

•Badly dilapidated Eha-Amufu Road

Couple of decades ago, one of the touchstones of Eastern pride bordering the northern part of the country was Eha-Amufu. Revellers and long-fatigued train passengers from distant Iddo Terminus Lagos and Kano heading to Enugu, Umuahia and Port Harcourt, often heaved a big sigh of relief when they berthat this first Ibo speaking area. All trains the most popular then Express Train and later Diesel Train also the local goods train popularly dubbed ‘Subaba Train, amongst others, must make a major stop over and be recharged with tonnes of water. The train station popularised this homogenous and large community, which equally boasted of being haven to tens of hundreds of non indigenes living peacefully and doing commerce at EhaAmufu. The good old days of the 60s and 70s also made the town strategic in many respects. During the unfortunate pogrom in the north, when Easterners especially Igbos were slaughtered, it was at Eha-Amufu that the Red Cross and authorities of Eastern Region met with returning fleeing easterners and received some decapitated bodies. Scary stories to be left for another day but one cannot obliterate history.When eventually the war and guns boomed, with several months into warning 1967, the Biafran soldiers pulled out from the sectors of Obollo-Afor and Obollo-Eke, it was to EhaAmufu, this all important town that served as the rendezvous as all officers and soldiers retreated to the town. It became a buffer zone. When EhaAmufu fell to the Federal troops, it was only time for Enugu the capital to be threatened but the Biafran Engineers blew up the corresponding bridges to stop advancement. Ironically, at the end of that gory war in 1970, Nigerian troops were stationed in the town for years before relocating to Obollo-Afor. It is also the gateway for drivers plying the north through Obollo-Afor heading to the foremost Nigerian Cement Factory at Nkalagu just a stone throw. Then the roads were well tailored and maintained. Heavy duty trucks made daily trips to Nkalagu passing through the town to pick trailer loads of cement. Of late, indeed for over 30 years now, the town has been forsaken, there are no longer any passable roads, gullies and shallow graves are erecting along that busy roads as accidents occur regularly and

By Obinwa NNAJI vehicles fall into pits and craters that have since taken over what used to be a most easier and connecting road to Nkalagu , Enugu and beyond. There average villager believes successive Federal Governments have deliberately left the teeming population of the people of Isu, Agu-Amedeo, Amede, Ihenyi, Umuhu, Eboh and Mgbiji all in Eha-Amufu including users of the road to suffer untold hardship. A town that hosts a Federal College of Education with a spiralling student population and lecturers, is now the butt of mockery, forsaken and abandoned. The students and lecturers of this vital institution including commuters and vehicle transporters are the worst hit. They now swim through the ponds and instead of going through Nkalagu road to Enugu which also in very bad shape with major link bridges broken, now do a detour through Ikem to Ugwogo then Enugu, thanks to the road constructed by the Enugu State Government. The Eha-Amufu ageless Eke Market which often attracted traders from all over the eastern states and beyond, now hardly gets any patronage. The cash crops, tubers of yams, cassava, palm oil and the abundance of grass cutter animals which made the town the cynosure of all eyes, all are stockpiled without any external market for them. Of course once the place is inaccessible, it is only saying the obvious that no one would risk getting stuck in the mud. So the agrarian people suffer, no produce can be evacuated from the farmlands, and those that manage to get their produce, cannot find market for them. Several stories have been bandied around about contract awards, for decades but the roads deteriorate daily as no single work is at the site. So what has really gone wrong? The people are no longer interested in being told the Eha-Amufu road project is either captured in the budget or not. Their patience is running out. It could not be blamed on the stars of the rural peasants who inhabit the town. One will wonder if any official of the Federal Ministry of Works had ever gone through that road and why has the Minister of Works not taken proactive action at least to ameliorate the sufferings of the people. .For this strategic town which once produced an erudite scholar Professor Brown

Enyi, who had to be lured to return from Papau Guinea to strengthen the academic staff of the University of Nigeria Nsukka and has also produced notable academics- Professor Hilary Edeoga, the present Vice Chancellor Federal University of Agriculture Umudike, and Professor Benjamin Mba Provost of Federal College of Education EhaAmufu to name but a few amongst other sons and daughters of the town who are widely celebrated in different gamut of human endeavours, the least expected of appreciating their contributions to nation building, would be to reconstruct this crucial link road immediately. Since time is of essence considering that the people have been virtually cut off and lives made misery and brought to a standstill, perhaps the most agonising is the inability of the natives to connect and reach their brethren leaving across the Umuhu villages and those living on the farmlands close to Nkalagu in Ebonyi State, because of the Orchin Bridge which had since collapsed over five years ago, there will be the urgent need to take drastic action by government. Infant mortalities and expectant mothers are the worst hit during emergencies, they cannot be evacuated. Why this gargantuan sorrow for a people who pay their taxes regularly and are law abiding. Is it a crime to be rural based? In order to get cracking immediately, it is germane to consider the following urgently. Take One: The Presidency should approach the solution through a major Special Task Force. Construction equipment and workers should be drafted immediately under a Special Presidency Aggressive Execution and Arrangement to commence work even if it is palliative. Take Two :The two Governors of Enugu and Ebonyi State, need to get Abuja and the Ministry of Works to check this nuisance. Take Three Whoever has been awarded the contract, must be compelled to begin work without delay. If the contractor is incompetent, in its place, let another take. Take Four : All Public Officers elected and appointed of Isi-Uzo origin, both state and national levels should get cracking and swing into action. Unfortunately for the nation, nothing really works, until concerted efforts and pressure •Continued on Page 74

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014

‘Prominent ministers wanted me to join their cult’ The general overseer of Christ Anointed Church Peculiar International Ministry Lagos, Prophet Jeremiah Hephzibah, is different things to different people. He spoke with newsmen last week on his many curious acts. Sunday Oguntola was there

ANY people have argued you have no roots. Let’s begin with where you actually came from Is there any man without roots? I was born into the family of Tunde Ogunjimi of Ilesa, Osun State. But I was born in Lagos. I left Lagos for Ibadan in 1980 to continue my primary school education. I later went to Ilesha to complete my secondary school. I also attended CYNDICO seminary in Ibadan. I am from a polygamous family but my father was the first man to marry more than one wife and it was for a peculiar reason. His first wife only gave birth to female children, about six of them. In his prayer for a male child, a prophet in a community called Olatunbosun village then told my father that he would have to marry another woman before he could have a male child. Though such announcement did not go well with my grandfather and father because they were Christians, they eventually succumbed. The prophet told my father that he would meet my mother here in Lagos at Mushin market. My father came to Lagos from Ibadan searching for my mother and later met her. They got married secretly without the knowledge of the first wife. Several years later, my grandfather asked my mother to bring me to Ibadan and I was taken to my step mother house to greet her but I was told she poisoned me to the extent that

I was unconscious for three days. But one of the family members insisted that I would not be buried until the arrival of Prophet Olatunbosun, the man that prophesied my birth. But I regained consciousness few minutes before the arrival of the prophet. That is why a majority of my family members respect the call of God on my life because they all testify to series of attack that I encountered as a teenager and how God miraculously delivered me. In 1995, I came to Ibadan to start plank business and I was one of Briscoe Company suppliers. Then I lived a free life because I realised lot of money from the business. Then, how did you get into the ministry? I went into ministry in year 2002. Before then, God told me that He would use me for His work but I declined and God told me that I would be blind if I did not yield to His instructions. Eventually I got blind and I had to call one of my stepsisters to help me out and she tried her best. All proved abortive until 2002 that God Himself asked me if I was ready to be His prophet and take the gospel to wherever He would send me and I replied that I was ready to obey. Immediately, He restored my sight. Around 1:30pm of that very day, my eyes opened after being blind for two years and the next day I started preaching the gospel even

though I didn’t know how to preach, I forced myself. Since then I have a strong belief and faith in God. I do not believe in impossibility and that is why I can speak authoritatively today because I have the backing of the Almighty God. Did you undergo ministerial training anywhere before you started the church? I started in my father’s church, Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in Ibadan as an evangelist and when God asked me to start my own ministry, I told the ministers of God and they gave me their blessing. From there, I went for a nine- month special prayer and in 2003 I started Christ Anointed Church Peculiar International Ministry. In 2006, I started coming to Lagos for revival. How much of challenges have you faced since? There are lots of challenges. When I started, I could not afford to pay N5, 000 monthly rent for the apartment we were using. One Sunday morning, the man came and closed the place despite the fact that I was not around. It was very painful and I went back to the mountain crying why God called me when at least I was doing fine with my plank business. There was nobody to assist or help me but one thing that kept me moving was the assurance that I had from God He will use me mightily. You mentioned Jesus does not care much about miracles

xxx

•Hephzibah

but your church advertises more of miracles. How do you reconcile this? Jesus Christ said that these signs shall follow those who believe in His name, that they shall cast out demons, heal the sick, raise the dead, amongst others, but the number one thing we preach here is the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness. After sermon then the work healing, restoration and others will begin. What brought about the name ‘Baba Peculiar’? It was when people started witnessing what God is doing through me that they gave me that name. I am a young man but they gave me the name Baba peculiar.

NEWS

Life of God Church celebrates

HE annual Zoe festival of Life of God Church International begins tomorrow. The one-week long event has as its theme The Lord of host is His name. Ministers expected include

Pastor Kayode Odesola, Pastor Akintunde Olabiyi, Rev. Mrs. Borokini and others. A statement by the host, Pastor Abiodun Atunwa, stated that the event will feature apostolic teachings, impartation services, mar-

riage seminar and deliverance services. It ends next Sunday with a thanksgiving and ordination service by 10am. Venue is the church auditorium off Glo Mast, Asese Ibafo, Ogun State.

WHAT AND WHERE?

HOWERS of blessings is theme of a special revival by the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Zone 8 Lagos Province 26, Region II. It holds hold at Fountain of Love parish along 46, Agege Motor Road opposite Oando filling

Showers of blessings service

station Mushin, Lagos. The service takes place from July9-13th with power service and prayer focus. The pastor- in- charge of the zone, Pastor Babs Akinyeye, said

there will be ample of time for counselling and prayer sessions during the service. He said there would also be prayers for the nation’s economy and security.

Any regret? I do not regret coming into the ministry. I was only sad when I did not have anyone to assist me in the ministry; then I questioned God but I did not regret. Have you come across shocking developments among ministers that saddened you? Yes, I must be honest. There was a time some ministers of God asked me to join their occultic group. Many prominent ministers are involved but they threatened to deal with me. I was ambushed several times but God delivered me from their hands. Who is your mentor?

I do not have any minister as my mentor; Jesus Christ is my role model. Although I respect and honour these ministers of God. I respect late Pastor Obadare and Pastor Enoch Adeboye. Pastor Adeboye is a true man of God but God told me that he may not make heaven because of people that surround him. He also refused to tell these people the truth again. Have you ever prayed for someone and such did not receive healing? I have experienced such several times because God is the only healer; He only uses me as His vessel for His children.

Lagos PFN gets new chairman

HE Lagos State chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has appointed Bishop Sola Ore as its new chairman. He takes over from Apostle Alexander Bamgbola whose five-year tenure ended. It also appointed Apostle E.E.C Okwuonu of the New Life Christian

Church, Apapa as its vice chairman. Pastor Toyin Kehinde of the Agape Generation Bible Church was appointed as its General Secretary. Pastor Leke Akinola of the Upper Room Baptist Church is to function as the body’s financial Secretary while Pastor Mrs. Peace

Gooday of Christ Believers Healing Ministry is to serve the body as treasurer. Ore took over office from Bamgbola at an impressive ceremony at the secretariat of the body in Park View, Lagos. An a c c o u n ta n t, Ore is the Presiding Bishop of Love Aglow Ministries Int’l with headquarters in Festac.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014

WORSHIP

How to curb abortion, social vices’ The vocation of Christian business leaders T L HE Order of the Knights of Saints Mulumba (KSM) Maryland Sub-Council has reiterated that responsible parenthood will help to curb abortion, homosexuality and other vices in the society. It said anti-life practices such as use of contraceptives and same-sex practices are against godly and natural mandates. This was the consensus at the pro-life seminar organised by the group, which attracted secondary school students drawn from institutions in Lagos. The theme of the seminar was “The human family: A fountain of Grace.” The Grand Knight of KSM Maryland sub-council, Mr. Bernard Nkwo, noted that the group’s battle against abortion, which started four years ago, has become very challenging due to the erosion of cultural values. “Our values as Nigerians have been westernised,” he lamented. In his keynote address, a Catholic cleric, Rev. Fr. Nwachukwu, stated the fam-

By Sunday Oguntola ily is a reflection of the society. He emphasised that human life is of a fundamental value. Nwachukwu noted all deadly acts aimed at deliberately destroying human life are offensive and evil. Every life, he added, is sacred and should be protected at all costs. He frowned at the legalisation of abortion in several countries as pills, contraceptives and other sophisticated equipment from the western world are allowed to thrive. “The church and the larger society also should strive harder to imbibe good morals in the children who are tomorrow’s future. “Above all, we must pray to God to transform the lives of those who commit such a deadly act and help them to realise that abortion is evil,” he said. Giving an Islamic perspective, Alfa Awwal Muftau, noted that abortion is bad and against the injunction of God. He said: “Do not kill your children for fear of poverty for Allah would provide for them. Killing of children both born

and unborn is a great sin.” To arrest the situation, the Muslim cleric said Nigerians must go back to their God. Muftau said: “If we can do what God has commanded us to do, we would not have any regret. “It is regrettable that we have abandoned God’s way and chose to follow the ways of the western ideas and ideologies and borrowed everything from them which is alien to our culture and that is why they are selling anti- God ideologies to us. On Boko Haram, he condemned the endless killings and attacks carried out by the sect members.” According to him: “If you have grievances, you seek redress in the law court. We have the Islamic Sharia Court, High Court, Court of Appeal and if you are not satisfied you go to the Supreme Court and its judgment is the final. “So, no one must take laws into his hand since we have the judiciary. God said we should respect constituted authorities and they have put up a procedure for aggrieved persons to seek redress.”

•L-R: President, Ladies of Saint Mulumba, Maryland Sub-Council, Mrs. Joy Nwabuko; Deputy Metropolitan Grand Knight, Lagos Metropolitan Council, Mr. Egbert Imomoh and Grand Knight, Maryland Sub-Council of KSM, Mr. Bernard Nkwo at the seminar

ECWA Church launches new album

E reigns, the maiden album of young talented musicians of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), has been launched in Lagos. The three-track album tagged ECWA Mega praise project was produced in conjunction with Kingdom Business Partners, a consortium of business owners in the church. The singers were drawn from the youth chapels of the church and established music stars raised in ECWA. Popular artistes like Bunmi Adeoye (Omije Oju) and Yomi Oluwayomi of the Arugbo Ojo fame also contributed some of the songs in the album. Chairman of the event, who is also the Lagos State Per-

By Sunday Oguntola

manent Secretary in the Ministry of Water Resources, Mrs. Iyabode Obasa, praised the artistes for their dedication to propagating the gospel. “There is strength in unity, stick together. Some had come earlier but pride was their greatest weakness. You have done well by bringing your individual talents together to exalt the name of the Lord and I can assure you that if you continue this way, the sky will be your limit,” Obasa stated. Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Pilgrim Welfare Board, Mrs. Bolajoko Fashola, admired the artistes but also warned them against self-glorification. The Presiding Chaplain of

the Christ Church the Light, Rev Verralls, said investment in kingdom projects remains the best. Chairman of the Kingdom Business Partners, Elder Peter Arogundade, described the album’s launch as culmination of series of projects aimed at propagating the gospel. He said: “There are things we noticed that our generation have not been able to do, we think the younger generations have a better chance of realising these things. “Besides, we decided to bring the youths together to showcase their talents by singing gospels songs that have proper evangelism message as against what obtains in the society today.”

Aviation sector needs prayers, says Otubusa

HE Coordinator of the Christian Fellowship of National Airspace Management Agency, Funsho Otubusa, has solicited prayer supports for safety in the aviation sector. He spoke at the bi-annual National Prayer for the Safety of Nigeria Airspace organised by the African Children of Peace Club of the African Foundation for Peace and Love Initiatives at the Murtala Muhammad Airport, Lagos.

By Adeola Ogunlade

The event tagged trusting and standing on the promises of God attracted over 50 students and featured prayers, drama presentations, bible teachings and prophetic ministrations. Though he noted aviation mangers have done a lot to boost safety, he said prayers would ensure the sector does not record any disaster. Otubusa said: “Prayer is not too much because we have seen that God is working and

doing a lot in terms of keeping our airspace safe.” The founding President of AFPLI, Rev Titus Oyeyemi, challenged Christians to remain firm in trusting God for protection. He said: “Whether we are walking on the pathways, driving on the highways, flying in the airplane in the airways or sailing in the ships on the seaways, we must continue to trust the promises of God for our protection and safety.”

IGHTING up the world If the Church would truly witness to the life of Jesus Christ she must bring forth light in moments of darkness for Jesus called himself “light of the world” (Jn 8:12). The Church, here, is more than the four walls of a building. It is the living people of God, on pilgrimage to her heavenly home. This is the people to whom St. Paul addressed his admonition in his letter to the Colossians: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col. 3: 1-2). Between theory and practice Numerous parts of the Scripture remind and exhort Christians to stand up and be counted for Jesus Christ at critical moments, given the opportunity to witness to their commitment. Numerous as well are the clear occasions of failure where in spite of professed Christianity, little difference is seen in the conduct and character of Jesus’ followers. Mahatma Ghandhi, the great Indian leader is often quoted that he would have been a Christian if only Christians were like Christ. Bridging the Gap The Church still challenges her members at all levels to shine out like light in the world. In fact, the template for the Church’s call to all Christians exposed to public life is found in the words of Jesus: “For what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and loses his soul” (Mk. 8:36)? Recently, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, with the mind of the Church, published a reflection entitled

By Bishop Emmanuel Badejo

“Vocation of the Business Leader”. In the executive summary to the publication coordinated by President of the Council, Ghanaianborn Peter Cardinal Turkson, these very significant words appear: “Obstacles to serving the common good come in many forms - corruption, absence of rule of law, tendencies towards greed, poor stewardship of resources - but the most significant for a business leader is leading a divided life. The split between faith and daily business practice can lead to imbalances and misplaced devotion to worldly success. The alternative path of faith-based “servant leadership” provides business leaders with a larger perspective and helps them to balance the demands of the business world with those of ethical social principles, illumined for Christians by the Gospel. This is explored through three stages: seeing, judging and acting, even though it is clear that these three aspects are deeply interconnected”. The main focus of the said reflection is inspired by the current business situation whereby we seem to be having “more private goods but are lacking significantly in common goods”. It is very clear from here where the Church’s bias lies. One humanity and one destiny The Church’s concern and interest in these issues is the geowing gap between the rich and poor, the have and have-nots in the contemporary world. God simply did not plan things that way. The Scriptures emphasise that peo-

ple are meant to feel responsible for each other and for God’s creation. Jesus said “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded: and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Lk. 12:48). If the Church will ever make an impact on modern society and Christianity fulfil its mission, business leaders too must live up to their roles as co-responsible participants in the developing of a more just and equitable world. Conscientious Christian business leaders could encapsulate the entire reflection of the Pontifical Council with a few questions which have always been central to Catholic Teaching, viz: Do I promote human dignity and the common good? Do I support the culture of life, justice, transparency. Labour standards and the fight against corruption? Do I promote the integral development of the person in my workplace? Standing up and standing out It really all boils down to the important difference between businessmen who are first businessmen before being Christians and those who are first Christians before being businessmen. Clarity about these conceptualizations makes a world of difference. It incarnates the difference between Zacchaeus before he met Jesus and Zacchaeus when salvation entered his house and life. The latter obviously is the true image of the Christian businessman (Luke 19: 1-10). Badejo is the Catholic Bishop of Oyo and Chairman Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) Directorate of Communications.

NEWS

Daystar graduates 580 young entrepreneurs

O fewer than 580 graduated from the 14 th session of the Daystar Skill Acquisition Programme (DSAP) last week. They received trainings in different crafts such as fashion design, make up, photography, web-design, graphics, sewing, generator repairs, shoe making, beadsmaking, cake-making, pastries and drinks, hair making and event decoration, among others. The Senior Pastor of the church, Sam Adeyemi, urged the graduands to maximise the acquired skills to leverage on their lives. Adeyemi, who was represented by one of his AsHE Way of Reconciliation Evangelistic Ministries (TWOREM) International (a.k.a. Prophetic & Solution Chapel) Lagos will hold a special anointing night with the theme Oh Lord, remember me. The convener, Prophet

•A cake baked by one of the graduating classes

sociate Pastors, Grace Ofili, said: “Always strive towards further development and aim at being the very best in your chosen field. What you learn is what determines what you earn.” He commended the DSAP’s team led by Mrs.

Toyin Olusola for the initiative. Toye Adekoya, one of the newly trained graphics designers, said: “I came here not knowing anything about graphics but now I can design so many things as I’ve learnt a lot.”

Anointing service at Mapo Hall Oladipupo Funmilade – Joel (Baba Sekunderin), assured that participants will be delivered from satanic bondages and demonic attacks. It holds at MAPO hall in

Ibadan, Oyo State on July 4 by 10pm. Other ministers expected at the service include Evangelist Joy Oluwaseun (King Osuba) and TWOREM Ibadan mass Choir among others.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014

HEY came with anguished hearts and dampened spirits. They had been bruised, battered and brutalised. But there was a glimmer of hope in their strides and eyes as they walked into the Ecumenical Centre, Abuja last week. It was at the national conference of the Christian Elders Forum of Northern States (NOSCEF) where they had been invited to deliberate on the ceaseless attacks against their communities. Some of them were ordinary northerners; some community leaders. They were also traditional rulers, policy makers, church leaders and leaders of interest groups from the north. Their mission was simple: compare notes on their attacks against them and devise means of getting peace at all costs. This was the atmosphere at the Christian centre last week. NOSCEF’s chair, Olaiya Philips, welcomed the delegates to the conference, saying it was most timely and strategic to endanger peace in the troubled northern states. “We need to come together and provide a strong voice for our communities. We need everyone on board,” he charged. From Borno with fear To get a firsthand experience of how badly the terror war has affected the north, Prof. Nuhu Gworgwor, recounted how the insurgents have practically taken over the whole of Borno State. The villages and hinterland communities, he pointed out, have been raided, razed and deserted by locals. Of the five roads that lead to Maiduguri, he said, only the Damaturu

WORSHIP

NOSCEF rises against terror Hemmed on all sides by terror attacks, Christian leaders and traditional rulers met in Abuja last week to chart the path of peace, reports Sunday Oguntola

•Howarth (7th from left on front row), Oritsejafor and Olaiya flanked by Christian traditional rulers after the conference (inset: Howarth) delivering his keynote address

road remains accessible. The others, according to him, have been overrun by terrorists, making them impassable for residents and travellers. “The moment they take it, we are completely siege off and anything can happen to us,” he warned. On the modus operandi of the Boko Haram sect, he said: “They send us notices and when they come, they won’t be protection for us. Our freedom to free worship has been contained. We are all terrified”. He lamented that churches might no longer open for serv-

ices in Borno State, going by the numerous attacks against them. He solicited for government’s support to arrest the tide and prayers of all believers to scale through the stormy challenges. Forgiving the attackers The Secretary for Inter Religious Affairs for the Church of England, Rev. Dr Toby Howarth, who delivered the keynote address, called on Christians never to retaliate the many attacks against them. Forgiveness, he counselled, is critical to winning the terror war. Using the Egypt’s experi-

•L-R: Mrs. Esther Ademua, Mrs. Abdul Adunni, Rev ( Dr) Emosu-Ige Olubunmi and Mrs. Dosunmu Oluyomi during their swearing in as executive members of the International Women Ministers Organisation(IWMO) Ogun State chapter in Ijebu-Ode… recently

Churches can still ban weapons after Georgia’s open carry gun law takes off

HE Georgia Safe Carry Protection Act went into effect last Tuesday but legislators allowed certain institutions to continue to restrict weapons in their buildings. Bars, churches, government buildings and schools are now the only Georgia establishments that can legally stop someone with a Georgia Weapons Carry Permit from bringing a gun into their facilities. But the decision is optional. Faith Worship Center International pastor Norman Hardman is one of the church leaders that opted to ban the weapons. “I think that if we let peo-

ple go loosely, we’ll have a vigilante spirit,” he said. “So now we have to control what’s in our churches. I’m glad that at this point, we can put up a sign that says, ‘You can’t bring this in here.’” The Muscogee County City Services Building is requiring all persons to enter through a back entrance so that they can be processed by security. Georgia governor Nathan Deal signed the Safe Carry Protection Act into law on April 23. The National Rifle Association called it the “most comprehensive” gun law in the state’s history and Americans for Responsible Solutions Senior Advisor Pia Carusone

called the law dangerous and irresponsible. “Among its many extreme provisions, it allows guns in TSA lines at the country’s busiest airport, forces community school boards into bitter, divisive debates about whether they should allow guns in their children’s classrooms, and broadens the conceal carry eligibility to people who have previously committed crimes with guns,” she told CNN. She also stated that Georgia law enforcement agencies, local politicians, and the Transportation Security Administration find the law “potentially harmful” to citizens. Governor Deal said that the legislation actually protects citizens.

ence as an example, he said the country is still standing because Christians have refused to retaliate in the face of needless provocations. “We must never strike back. That is the way of Christ. That is what Jesus did himself. We must refuse to retaliate because that will give the attackers enough reasons to do even much worse,” Howarth began. “We must tell our kids that they must not hate because the way of Christ is the way of love.” Admitting this could be tough in the face of ceaseless attacks, he pointed out that Christians worldwide are praying for their Nigerian counterparts to pull through and demonstrate their faith in the face of strongest oppositions. “God is with you. Jesus knows about your persecution and challenges. He won’t leave you and we are praying for us. That is the best anybody can do in this circumstance,” he added. Combining force and dialogue Olaiya, in his speech, called for application of maximum force and dialogue to resolve the nagging terror war. According to him: “The army must start putting effective pressure on Boko Haram to stop the massacres. They should stop being timid and harness military, intelligence and police support. With the situation so dire, our communities need all the help we can get. “They need to use the mailed fist of force to put the killers on the back foot. At the same time, they need to reach out with the hand of peace to

end this conflict for good in the way that Jesus taught us.” This combination, he assured, will win the terror war. He also said every Nigerian must raise their voices against increased violence across the nation. “It’s time to stand up and speak out. It’s time we stood up and spoke out – about the importance of religious values and the religious freedoms of our people. “Time we stood up and spoke out – about the importance of protecting minorities from persecution. Time we stood up and spoke out – about the provision of equal access to education, healthcare and justice for all Nigerians. “Time we stood up and spoke out – about preserving the secular state and the integrity of the nation. “I do not fear the consequences of taking this approach whatever the controversy, but I do fear the consequences of war without end and terror enduring, for we have seen it for ourselves.” Olaiya warned: “There is a terrible price to be paid for silence in the face of violence; for apathy in the face of oppression; and for indifference in the face of injustice.” Winning the terror war The National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, said the Boko Haram malaise is the current manifestation of a long-standing demon that has been afflicting the soul of northern Nigeria. Lamenting the thousands of churches and Christians de-

stroyed by the sect, Oritsejafor said every peace-loving Nigerian must be committed to ending the group’s demonic attacks. To end the insurgency, the CAN’s helmsman said the country must begin to be truthful in its classification and analysis of the sect’s activities. “We must face the truth that Boko Haram underlining ideology is religion. Don’t tell me it is political or poverty because it is not. Until we accept this, we have not started winning the war,” he stated. He also challenged Muslim cleric, traditional rulers and politicians to engage the sect’s radical ideology with a “superior, stronger ideology that promotes peace”. An ideology, he said, cannot be shut off by guns but a superior ideological orientation. “We need our Muslim brothers to help and engage the insurgents with superior ideologies,” he appealed. Olaiya announced the formal take-off of the computers for Christians’ project aimed at improving education for northern school children. The initiative, he stated, also include the emergency preparedness and response plan for pre and post-attack responses among churches and Christians. “While we continue to raise our voices for investment in jobs and businesses – we will provide opportunities for people to learn new skills and trades and start their own businesses. While we continue to raise our voices for the protection and safety of our community – we will provide assistance in helping our churches prepare for disasters, so that should the worst happen, they will be ready to respond,” he explained. Traditional rulers from northern communities pledged to serve as peace agents in their localities. The Agom-Adara 111 in Kaduna State, His Royal Highness Dr Maiwada Galadima, said they would stop at nothing to promote peace coexistence among their subjects. The Osana of Keana in Nasarawa State, His Royal Highness Emmanuel Elayo, promised he and his colleagues would form a powerful consensus against violence and attacks in their domains. “Everyone is our subject and we have what it takes to direct them towards the path of peace,” he assured. The conference ended with the signing of a charter for peace by NOSCEF. The charter appealed to government officials to step up security and called on everyone to collaborate for peaceful coexistence.

Chinese pastor sentenced to 12 years in prison

HE Christian pastor of a church in Henan province has been jailed for 12 years by the Chinese courts. Zhang Shaojie, who leads the Nanle County Christian Church, was found guilty of fraud and of “gathering crowds to disturb public order” on Friday. His lawyer contends that the pastor is innocent, but “was targeted by authorities who are trying to control the fast growth of churches”. Shaojie and 23 members of his church were first detained last year as a result of a land dispute with local au-

thorities but supporters insist that they are being persecuted by the government and are innocent of all charges. “This case shows the Chinese government continues to cover up religious persecution with fabricated criminal charges against an innocent church leader,” Bob Fu, the head of US-based Christian group China Aid, told The Telegraph. “Total fabricated charges!” he tweeted, following Shaojie’s sentence this morning. “I strongly believe Zhang Shaojie is innocent. This is a total set-up by the local gov-

ernment,” warned lawyer Liu Weiguo who has previously worked with the church leader. Although the right to freedom of religious belief is guaranteed under Article 36 of the Chinese Constitution, that protection is limited to those who worship within state-sanctioned religious bodies. Those who choose to practise their faith outside of these, or whose beliefs are not officially recognised by the government, are at constant risk of being accused of participating in illegal activities, which carries heavy punishment.

Oddities The Nation on Sunday July 6, 2014

•Ajigbotifa

eated on a tiger's skin with all seriousness was the Ifa Priest, the Olu Ifa of Yorubaland, Anikinnikun Faluade Ajigbotifa while a live tortoise crawled 'gracefully' by his side. The Ifa priest was busy receiving phone calls and consulting for the callers at the end of the phone. On the phone he was chanting incantations aloud and at the same time telling his callers from the other end to offer sacrifices to the gods. In fact, he received over eight telephone calls (while the reporter watched) and these were all international calls, as he later told this reporter. The environment On the visitors' chairs were clients waiting patiently to see the Ifa Priest. Many of them were not ashamed to openly talk about what they came for while some others spoke in hushed tones .The place is like a hospital where you go seeking for medical solutions. Here they come to Ajigbotifa to seek divine intervention, spiritual help and to commune with the gods and offer sacrifices depending on which god their spiritual head demands. Hung on the walls of this consultation room are photographs he took with some Yoruba traditionalists , Elebuibon , a popular Yoruba Ifa priest, the Alafin of Oyo and many others. Also on the walls are different types of wrapped objects like gourds soaked in palm oil and tied with animal bones and cowry shells, meant possibly for one thing or the other. One could hear the cackling of live birds like ducks and pigeons, among others. The remnant of a headless slaughtered dog was placed by Ogun, the Yoruba god of iron. Dry and fresh carcasses of animals were also visible as well as bottles of what is known as hot drink. In one of the rooms are over 1,000 white saucers with different labels. In the expansive compound is a botanical garden where different medicinal plants, herbs and shrubs are planted , each has its Yoruba botanical names. Not only this , some rooms have their carved images of gods placed there with carved wooden images representing some Yoruba gods: Aje , Yemoja , Sango , Ibeji, Elegbara Osun, Obatala, Sopona , Esu Elegbara, Eegun, Ogun” According to Ajigbotifa, "We have two different types of Esu we can't pray not to be in our lives and that Esu is Aje the one that bring progress but it is the Esu the evil one that we are running away from. We run away from this bad Esu , but we want Esu Elegbara which is the good one." Placed on the heads of these carved

•Ifa Priest

A day with an Ifa priest The World Ifa Day ended this week. Taiwo Abiodun spent two hours with the Olu Ifa of Yorubaland , Anikinnikun Faluade Ajigbotifa, and reports. images are palm oil, cowries and other sacrificial materials dripping from their bodies - depending on what were used to offer sacrifices to them. One could feel the aroma or scent of burnt offerings and herbs wafting in the air from the kitchen. Welcome to Ajigbotifa's temple where people of all kinds irrespective of religion and status come to seek solutions to their problems. The white- painted building is modern, artistic and captivating. According to him, he receives about 50 clients in a day. There are charges or levies a customer has to pay for consultation, and these charges vary depending on what one wants, whether you want to wash your head spiritually, offer sacrifice to the gods etc. Ajigbotifa told this reporter, "Different people come to me. Kings do come here for consultation, while pastors and men of God also consult me for spiritual rejuvenation, and I do help them to make their churches grow. There is no sin in that .The fact remains that Ifa has the truth and you cannot betray that.” Tales from clients One of the clients, thinking this reporter came for consultation too, poured out his mind and told him how his mother had been spending fortune on her sickness. He said his mother who is about 70 years of age has been indisposed as a result of attack from the people of the wicked world, whom he called awon aiye. Another client said, "Life is too complex and mysterious, therefore, I have to protect myself against evil men." Another client blamed his mother for not showing him the 'way' to the native doctor early in life and could have nipped his problems in the bud , but now he is facing problems. A man confided in this reporter that he really needed protection, though he claimed

to be a Muslim but still needed additional protection, and he boasted about the efficacy of Ajigbotifa's power. He said, “the man is powerful and it is gift from Eledumare.' Another client said he had wanted to better his life; that was why he chose to come to him. When asked whether he was not shy to patronising a Babalawo, he replied, “Don't be deceived , most of these pastors do come here .Go and dig the ground where pulpits are in churches and you will marvel that the spot where they are standing in the church or spot where they preach, there is opele hidden or buried there. Don't mind them, they do come here in the night. If I am lying, ask Baba Onifa.” He looked at the reporter with pity and rhetorically asked, "Why are you behaving like a kid? At your age why are you still ignorant in his world? You better protect yourself because life is complex and delicate.” The reporter watched the Ifa priest consulted piously and dramatically for one of his clients. Asked why he sits on a tiger's skin, the man looked at the reporter, smiled and said, "That is how I met it. The tiger's fur was from the odu Ifa my parents bequeathed to me. If a dog sees the fur it would feel uncomfortable. A dog must not sleep on it, it would feel uneasy. Dogs run away from tiger because the dog knows the animal that owns the skin.” Students Ajigbotifa also has disciples and students who are studying under him, these are students who come to seek knowledge from his fountain of knowledge. They are learning Ifa corpus. These students' ages range between 12 years and 40 years. One of them, Fashola Ige, spoke with The Nation. He said, "I was

brought here by my parents at the age of six to learn the art of Ifa divination and this is my sixth year here." Ige knows the names of the plants in the garden and their usefulness. Other students are some young ones like Fayemi, Gbadegesin, Tumise, Falude and others are some of Ajigbotifa 's children. The students would all chorus in a thunderous voice whenever Ajigbotifa chanted incantations while the whole place would vibrate, he would now tell his clients what Ifa told him. They have prices for different consultations. A Mecca of sorts Ajigbotifa confirms the range of clients that come for consultations. “Sincerely speaking, I receive over 50 clients in a day. Irrespective of their status, age or religions; kings, alhajis, alhajas , pastors as well as white men do come here to do thorough search and spiritual cleansing on their inner heads and to make some enquiries on their lives as life is complex. Christians and Moslems do come here. Nothing is secret. When you face challenges in life, you will have no choice than to come here. I do assist the churches for increase of their church numbers. But it is not in our character to tell you who they are. They know why they should come here because there is wisdom and knowledge in Ifa. Yes, I assist them to be successful in their profession so that their church will not fall. I have done many consultations for them: prayer, sacrifice; we would do the necessary things such as ritual or sacrifice in their church.” On whether those he assists usually come back to fulfill their pledges, the Ifa man swore that many do come back to do this and this set of people are the grateful ones, according to him. "Many come back to thank Ifa and we again go back to Ifa who will in turn go back to Olodumare to thank Him,” he said. “My wife and children do not go to church, they worship Ifa with me. We know what we have; we know the meaning of Ifa. I know its meaning, and the reason behind it and what should be run away from. It is lack of knowledge, lack of research that makes people say Ifa is evil. Each one's faith will heal him.” Ajigbotifa said the difference between illiterate Ifa priests and the literate ones is that of education. He stated, “Professor Wande Abimbola is our father. The difference is that we were trained in Ifa. Education is important. We also have the likes of Professor Odeyemi, Wande Abimbola, Fayemi Elebuibon and many others “ Asked whether they use human being for sacrifices , Ajigbotifa retorted, “We don't use human beings for sacrifice. You will not come across such an Ifa priest in the category I've mentioned. Whoever is doing that is an infiltrator. They are not the real Ifa practitioners. It is a sin, ungodly and not in our practice or character to use human beings for all these. We use leaves and herbs, and animals for sacrifices .We don't use human beings." Born about 40 years ago, he said, “I learnt the Ifa practice from my father, Faluade Alani Anikinnikun, who took after his father Agbefawo Aninkinnikun. It runs in our family; it is hereditary. I was born into the Ifa family. I attended primary and secondary schools. I completed my secondary school in 1990. A life of mystery Asked to talk about any mysterious experience in his life, Ajigbotifa said, “When I first came here, something surprised me. A woman came to my house without opening the gate whereas all the gates here were locked .The mysterious woman demanded for some money and I gave her. Again she demanded to have more. I did not hesitate but gave her the money I purposely kept for another visitor I was expecting. When I opened the door and about to see her off she disappeared! I never saw her again .That was a mystery.”

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

Ikoro-Ekiti protests non-creation of new LCDA

HE people of Ikoro-Ekiti in Ijero Local Government Area of Ekiti State have expressed displeasure over the non-creation of a new local council development area in the town. In a peaceful demonstration led by chiefs and other residents of the town, the community expressed displeasure on the recent announcement of 18 new LCDAs by the state government without the inclusion of Eso Oba LCDA. In a letter of protest to the state governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the people maintained that the community met all requisite conditions set by the government for the creation of an LCDA. The community underscored the pre-eminent position of Ikoro-

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

Ekiti in the present day Ijero Local Government, which according to the letter, included the town, Ikoro-Ekiti, being the second town to Ijero in terms of population. Besides, they said the town is the only one with a first class Oba after Ijero with one-third of the land mass of the entire local government area. The community used the demonstration and their protest letter to remind the governor of a similar exercise carried out in 2003 by the Niyi Adebayo-led regime, which made Ikoro-Ekiti the headquarters of the then created Surulere LG. The community regretted that lesser towns within the LG were given two LCDAs in the new arrangement.

Works Minister: Rapid response now needed on Eha-amufu roads Continued from page 68 are brought to bear on those whose duties should have ordinarily done their bit without coercion. Take Five: This is the most craziest of all. Aged mothers and women of the 75, 80 and 90 bracket are prepared to bare topless and go on that road and refuse to leave until the Federal Ministry of Works and its allied agencies do something drastically and immediately. It will be an abomination for such elderly peeved mothers to show the entire world and go viral on the social network their flattened and flabby breasts after all they have nothing to lose and hide. After all the late Ghanaian sage Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah was fond of reciting ‘That one had nothing to loose, than his or her chains. These mothers would have nothing to shy away from but their chains of a cancerous Eha-Amufu road. We pray it does not get to that, or even make the women go full blast nudity, that would be a curse on the land, whose consequences cannot be quantified . There is indeed a palpable anger of the people, frustration and vexation . One can feel it in the air and smell the combustion as thick and clouded like cutting through an ice with a knife. Take Six : This is a critical period leading to an election year of February 2015 . It will not be out of place to urge those whose job it is to get the road repaired at least to put smiles on the faces of these beleaguered people whose strength is in their population, which is staggering and indeed the highest in Isi Uzo Local Government of Enugu State. Lets hope reason will prevail and the FederalGovernment will rise now to the occasion and repair once and for all this very important Federal road and build the corresponding bridges. Lets restore the beauty of a once popular town Eha-Amufu whose epic and resounding place in Nigeria history, cannot be wished away.

•Sen. Babajide Omoworare of Osun East (Ife-Ijesa) Senatorial District in cap, holding broom with Hon. Biyi Odunlade, S.A to the Governor on Youth, Sports and Special Needs, Hon. Tilewa Sijuwade Representing Ife Central Local Government in the State of Osun House of Assembly and Hon. Kunle Adeniji, former Chairman of Ife Central Local Government and other APC Members in IleIfe leading the “House to House Campaign” at Iremo Ward 3 of Ife Central LGA.

Continued from page 3

English, of course, is not the Ghanaian’s mother tongue. There are more than 50 tribal languages in Ghana, and the child naturally learns his tribal tongue first. Hence his tribal accent when he is compelled to speak English. Most West Africans— whether in the cities or in jungle villages where bare breasted women and naked children stare impassively as a car goes by—know very little about the outside world. City swelling West Africans have formed their image of America largely from the movies they have seen. In Abidjan, Ivory Coast, a cab driver asked me to send him “a belt like the shooting cowboy wear.” For whites, it’s “wa-wa.” The few whites who live and work in West Africa have a phrase that expresses their frustration. It is “wa-wa.” It means, roughly, “West Africa wins again—the white man just can’t win.” A housewife sighs and says “wa-wa” when she has told her native cook again and again to wash the salad

Where the white man can’t win

greens in a disinfectant solution and finds that he has done so—and then has washed them again at the water tap in the yard. A businessman says “wawa” after he has waited an hour or more for a West African clerk to cash his check at a bank. A traveler says “wa-wa” when he has been charged anywhere from 28 cents the first time to $2 the second for the same 10-minute taxi ride. As an American looks at West Africa, he cannot fail to be impressed by its economic potential. There are rubber, gold and diamonds in Ghana, coffee and cocoa in the Ivory Coast, oil in Nigeria, plus mountains of iron ore. A mass—in parts. Moving along the Guinea Coast—that great arc bordering on the Gulf of Guinea—a traveler sees West Africa as a mass of primitive people broken up arbitrarily into small countries, independent and in ferment. This part of Africa was “Balkanized”—cut up into small territories by the British

and French when they ruled the area. Now these territories are tiny countries, each with its own government, or about to get its own, each with its own brand of explosive politics. A day’s drive from Lagos, Nigeria, to Accra, Ghana, takes a motorist through two other countries, Dahomey and Togo, on the way. Split up as West Africa is, it is hard to believe that it can ever amount to much politically. Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah wants to unify under one flag the whole area— all of Africa, for that matter— with himself as boss. Others, like Felix Houphouet-Boigny, President of the Ivory Coast, and Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa of Nigeria, want a loose federation with a customs union and a common market, if anything at all. “No strings, please.” West Africa’s leaders have this in common: All want as much as they can get from both sides in the “cold war.” And they loudly proclaim that they

want “no strings attached,” that they will be “neutral.” This “neutrality” takes strange forms. In Ghana— where Russian technicians are suspect—it is a pro-Soviet sort of neutrality. But in Ivory Coast, President Houphouet-Boigny says this: “If we Africans be naive enough to sever relations with the West, in the end we will be invaded by the Chinese, and the Russians will impose Communism on our Country.” The overwhelming impression, after a tour of the new nations of West Africa, is that, if this area is ever to reach political and economic maturity, it is the white man’s skills that must do the job. But then, this question arises: How can the white man ever understand or cope with this Africa of witchcraft and black magic, of tribal secrets and primitive customs, of mud huts and “wa-wa”?

down a whining child, but the last thing you want is for an erroneous tap to lead to an embarrassing exchange where you have to explain those 50 selfies with you in an uncompromising position to your colleagues! With most other smartphones, the choice is to constantly hide your device from children or refrain from taking selfies. With the Galaxy S5, there’s a unique “Kids’ Mode” feature that limits children’s access to just the applications that you label as being child-friendly. Privacy Mode Enabling the Galaxy S5’s Privacy Mode option will help keep your sensitive multimedia files, including documents, music and voice recordings away from prying eyes. This feature ensures that

all of your private information is visible only after a set unlock pattern has been activated. To access this easy-touse feature, simply go to Settings, tap Private Mode and select which content you want to hide, click on Menu and then tap ‘move to private.’ A lock key will appear which means that the selected content is secure. Conclusion The Galaxy S5 excels at everything that is required of a high-end smartphone - Android 4.4 KitKat operating system; outstanding display; powerful quad-core processor, an excellent camera experience – and much more. The subtly improved and smartly refined device is indeed a superior smartphone that hits every mark.

Source: U.S. News & World Report (10 April 1961)

Amazing secrets of Samsung Galaxy S5

ART of the pleasure of owning Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5, is finding out all of the unique things it can do to make life more enjoyable. The wavemaking device builds on last year’s Galaxy S4 with improved camera capabilities, a new design, a fingerprint scanner, fitness tracking capabilities, and much more. But spend a little more time with the Galaxy S5 and you will quickly find out that there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. Use your Galaxy S5 as a TV Remote Makers of smartphones that can be used as a TV remote control limit their application to television sets of homogenous brands. Some

thirdparty application developers have also built apps that can be used to control various devices like TVs and Blu-Ray players, but over Wi-Fi connections only. With the Galaxy S5, you get a device that has a built-in infra – red (IR) blaster that can control ANY media device on the planet that uses a standard IR remote! Tilt your Galaxy S5 to create a Playlist Did you know that the

Galaxy S5 automatically provides you with access to a smart playlist based on the song that is being played on your device? Users who do not have the time to manually c r e a t e playlists inside Samsungs’

music application can simply tilt their smartphone to landscape position while using the application and let the system pull their favourite music from the recently played or most played tabs under a single playlist.

Send an SOS to the world on the Galaxy S5 This is one feature that you probably hope never to use but could be life-saving when the need arises. The Galaxy S5 boasts Samsung’s innovative Safety Assistance tool, a tool that lets you contact up to four pre-determined contacts in emergency situations when you press the power button on your device three times in quick succession. This action sends a series of SOS text messages containing your location, a photo from the Galaxy S5’s front and rear-facing cameras and a short video recording to selected contacts. Kids mode: Control access when sharing the Galaxy S5 with children Nothing beats a smartphone game in quieting

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

76 •Continued from page 55 Do you really think that? He would have said, “That's it, they can all go to hell, and we'll just pull ourselves in.” After he died, because there was nothing, I had to strike out again. A friend of mine at his funeral said, “He's freed you.” I thought that was very interesting. And in a way he did, 'cause I had to really start again, thank god. You've had relationships since. Why did you and Orin Lehman break up? He cheated on me. His accountant called me. The lady he had been seeing had been making purchases using his money. The accountant thought it was me and was calling to tell me to go easy. I finished with him the very same day, which was stupid. He called me every single day for a year, but I was so hurt and so betrayed. Did you want to marry him? We didn't want to marry. I still had six eggs left and thought, “Oh, I'll just make an omelet.” He was a wonderful companion. He lived another three years after that. I miss someone saying, “I'm going downstairs now. Do you want a sandwich?” Did you reconcile before he died? Yes, to a point. I saw him a couple of times. When I see friends finishing a relationship I say, “Just be careful, don't shut every door. What upsets you in July will not affect you that much in November.” How about dating now? No, the hotel is now closed completely. I look so bad in a bathing suit I kick sand in my own face. I've reached the point in my life where you think, “That's it.” You don't miss sex? You look at yourself and say, “How can you get a minus-44 dark room, pitch black and then some. Maybe if Stevie Wonder called I'd say “OK.” But you still get horny, right? Yes, but it's not worth it. Old men have too many physical problems. And with younger men, as my mother always said, “You need to be the good-looking one.” I miss being able to say to someone after a party, “Can you believe what that person said?” But I'm not bitching. If life is 100 percent, I've got 90. Do men flirt with you? Yes, it's the most disgusting thing when they say to an older woman, which I am, “How's my gal doing?” Go fuck yourself, I've had more good times than you'll ever know, so don't you dare patronize me. You love your grandson Cooper very much. I'm crazy about him. He's turning into good kid. He's 13. He broke his wristoh, it makes me crybreaking up a fight between two friends. He's such a good guy and he's funny, thank you God. And we can laugh almost on an adult level. And it's all due to Melissa, who is an amazing mother. And you and Melissa? We're very close. We have nobody else: She has me and I have her. I think it's going to be very difficult when I die, very hard for her. You think about your own death? Constantly. In your 80s, you'd be foolish not to think about that. I am definitely going to be cremated. I've left money so the dogs can be

‘Why Hollywood celebrities are mad at me’

•Joan Rivers

taken care of. I've said to Melissa, “Sell anything and everything you don't want. Don't feel beholden to my possessions.” I feel almost hysterical on that. I don't want them to have a sense of guilt. How did you cope with your sister's [Barbara Waxler] death last year? There goes your link to your childhood and she was the memory bank of our family. I have no one to call up and say, “Do you remember that time Daddy punched out our neighbor?” “Do you remember the time that Mummy bought the mink coat and didn't tell Daddy?” I am trying to be a good “mother” to her children, but they're in their 30s. We weren't very close, but we were sisters. We fought, we made up. I miss not having “my sister.” You joke about celebrities on Fashion Police, but very noticeably not your co-hosts Kelly Osbourne and Giuliana Rancic, who are always in the

tabloidsKelly's love life, Giuliana's very thin body. Are they off-limits? We really like each other, and we're very close. We close ranks. If someone isn't nice to any of them, they're dead in the water, fucked. Giuliana has the thinnest body, but she eats, she really eats, so what the hell are you going to yell at her about? I love Kelly, and as for her love life, I tell her to not do all this at 45, to get it out of her system now. What's she got to lose? She's young, successful, and pretty. This is the time to screw around. What about Melissa's love life? I want to marry her off, so I know she'll be taken care of. I'm worried about her. You mean, you dying and leaving her alone? Totally. Your child is never not your child. You can be 90 and your mother 120, but your mother is still worried about you. I worry about Melissa. I look at everyone who she

dates and think, “That one's not right, that one's not right.” She's dating a businessman in his mid-40s who wants to retire to Bali. He's made his money. But her career (as a producer) is going so well. You look and think, “Somebody's going to have to make a compromise here.” As long as she's happy, I don't care. What about you and retirement? Ha. Never. Do what? What fun is this, to wake up and say, “I don't have a minute free today?” It's fabulous. I had dinner last night with Barbara Walters, who's an old friend, and looking forward to retirement. I said, “You're crazy.” I bet Barbara, who is very driven, within two months will say, “Ooooh, I'll do a special.” She told me, “I'm retired. I'm going to have lunch and enjoy myself, I'm going to travel.” I said, “Barbara, call me again in October.” It's nonsense. What are you gonna do?

Take your dog for a walk? You're Barbara Walters, you don't want to retire. You're gonna watch one person on TV be an ass and say, “I could have done a better job.” What should they do with The View? Bring back Elisabeth, Joy, Barbara, Whoopi, and Sherri. Don't fix what ain't broke. I think they've blown it out of the water. It was perfect the way it was. Elisabeth represented America and conservatism. Joy was great with her funny remarks. Barbara gave it gravitas. She'd be a fool to go back unless ABC gave her a ton more money and a slice of the network. You don't seem to slow down? It's so exciting now. On In Bed With Joan I can say anything, there's Twitter and Vine. This is what it was like when we went from radio to television. I feel we're absolutely in the Wild West. It's great. Which actress gives you the most material? Oh well, Gwyneth Paltrow, my little GwennieWennie, and her two children, what is it…Apple and Sardine? Everything she says is wrong, and the arrogance… The Kardashians are the gift that keeps on giving. Just Kim's wedding… I said I'd caught Kim's bouquet, the first thing I ever caught from Kim that I didn't have to get a shot of penicillin for. And Beyonce and Solange. Solaaannnggge. And Shia LaBeouf. I want to introduce him to Amanda Bynes…they'd get married but couldn't hold hands during the vows because [Rivers is cackling] of the restraints in their jackets. You make a lot of jokes about the alleged sexuality of Tom Cruise and John Travolta. Tom Cruise's tombstone is going to say, “Here lies Tom Cruiseallegedly.” Why are A-list stars still closeted? I think Ricky Martin did it right: Make your money and say, “Guess what, this is my partner.”

Redefining infrastructure development in Bayelsa Continued fron page 18

Apart from the three housing estates and Golf estates under construction, the Seriake Dickson administration has signed a contract with IPP America for the generation of additional 120 megawatts for the take off of industrialization in the state. It is a heartwarming news that the state government has embarked on economic diversification by investing in home grown economy, so as to avoid all the trappings of a mono – cultural economy. Hence, government has established a starch production plant farm, aqua culture farm for production and export and the reviving of the stateowned palm estates. In the area of security, government considered it as one of its cardinal concerns. The state of insecurity which heralded the Dickson administration was a source of worry, as cult related activities became

the order of the day such that night life was like a scarce commodity. The government adopted the carrot and stick approach by rolling out rehabilitation programme for cultists who renounce their membership and enforce the law on those who appeared to be recalcitrant. The state government also put in place a crime response squad known as Doo Akpoor. This respond squad is not only equipped with the state-of-theArt equipment for combating crime but also strategically place them in the nooks and crannies of the state. Only few weeks ago, the resident pastor of Living Faith Church, a.k.a. winners chapel Yenagoa, pastor Stephen Abraham described Bayelsa as the most peaceful state in the country under the administration of Governor Dickson. No doubt, this is a shining testimony flowing from the alter of God by God’s own servant.

It is against this background the common opinion across the state is that, the governor, Honourable Henry Seriake Dickson has given development a new meaning anchored on the principle of goal setting and releasing the political will to achieve the set targets. The common phrase on the lips of the ordinary people of the state is that “Bayelsa will soon become the Dubai of Africa” which is in line with the vision of the governor. Happily, the economic indicators are all pointing to the fact that Bayelsa state is fast becoming the investment and tourism destination and indeed the fastest growing economy in the South-South. Inspite of all these laudable performance index, one grey area that needs government attention is the internal security that have to do with sea piracy that has reared its ugly heads in the riverine areas. Government really need

to double effort to nip it in the bud. In the area of agriculture, one can appreciate the modest effort of government to revive the lost glory of agriculture which was once the mainstay of our economy. To this end, government need to do more than ever before by encouraging Aggressive Agrarian Agricultural Revolution (AAAR). With the rice farm at Peremabiri in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state, if properly harnessed has the potential to feed the entire West African sub-region, not to talk of the continental shelve that has a capacity to provide the take off of sea food and agro-allied industries. What the situation demands is for all the people of Bayelsa state, regardless of the political divide, to come together to drive the development process to a very safe anchor. •Fente wrote from Yenagoa.

But that shows the intolerance of Hollywood that you can't be out as a star in your prime, rather than later. I know, but do you sacrifice your life for others? Well, very brave people who have fought for gay rights have sacrificed their lives for others. Good for them, I don't know if I'd have gone that step if I were gay. If I were an actress and young teens loved me, would I have come out and said, “I hate young boys.” I don't know. I work very hard for gay, lesbian, and transgender teens who've been kicked out of home. I get both sides. It's very difficult. [Rivers sees I haven't eaten a caviar-splodged canapé.] Eat the caviar, eat the caviar. Kenneth Battelle, one of my great hairdressers…he did Jackie [Kennedy], Barbra Streisand's, and Gloria Vanderbilt's hair in the '50s and '60s. Ladies would send him caviar and he hated caviar. He would call me up and say, “Jackie just sent me big thing of Petrossian. Ugh.” What do you want to do that you haven't yet? Everything. I want to bring back [her 1994 Broadway show about Lenny Bruce's mother] Sally Marr… and Her Escorts. I was nominated for a Tony for it, but lost out to Diana Rigg, that slutwhore-tramp who happened to do Medea, and I had no children to set on fire. Everyone kept telling me they'd voted for me. I really thought I was going to win. Bill Blass made a dress for me. But I say the same to everyone else now. Nobody's going to vote for me now, I'm never going to win anything. I'm too abrasive. I've not been invited to the Vanity Fair [Oscars night] party. The woman who cleans my toilets gets invited to the Vanity Fair party. It's hilarious. But I think comics should be on the outside. If you're on the inside, it's over. You've been rude about so many people. No. I told the truth. I don't think it's rude. I haven't been invited to the White House since the Reagans were there. I've never been on Saturday Night Live. Why are you still an outsider? I don't know. How do you feel about what's happening in late-night talk shows now? It's so full. If I did a show now, it would be in the latelate-late slot, between 3 and 4 a.m. I'd call it, Nobody's Watching At That Time, So Go Fuck Yourselves. Why aren't there women in the top hosting jobs? You need a strong personality to do that job. It's not to do with male or female, but you've got to be tough yet soft, familiar yet in control. I also found it incredibly boring after a while. You have to ask the same questions of the same starlets all the time. “Did you have fun on set?” “What's it like working in Rome?” [Rivers makes a snoring sound.] You need to go, I know. What advice have you given Cooper about girls? Don't trust them. They're very needy. Smack her below the collarbone, it won't show up in court. [horrified]: Joan, that's… [Rivers laughs.] What does Cooper say when you say stuff like that? He knows my sarcasm. He just laughs. “My grandmother's crazy.” •Courtesy: Daily Beast

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

•Former Army Gen. Luciano Benjamin Menendez attends his trial in Cordoba, Argentina.

HEN news came of the death of Bishop Enrique Angelelli, few in Argentina doubted that he had been murdered. Known for his strong social activism and vocal opposition to the military junta waging a Dirty War on the country’s leftists, Angelelli had for some time predicted his own assassination, telling those close to him: “It’s my turn next.” Now, almost four decades later, an Argentine court has sentenced two of the regime’s top military officers to life imprisonment for orchestrating the murder which became a rallying cry against the Right-wing dictatorship. Now both in their eighties, Luciano Benjamin Menendez, the former army chief, and ex-Vice Commodore Luis Fernando Estrella, were declared the “authors” of the 1976 car crash and assault which claimed Angelelli’s life and led the man who is now Pope to pronounce him a martyr. Former political prisoners, politicians and clergy packed the courtroom in the northern city of La Rioja to hear Friday’s verdict, the first time that junta officials have been found guilty in the killing of a senior church cleric. “Monsignor Enrique Angelelli is here! Now and forever!” came the cheers as the sentence was read out. Guillermo Diaz Martinez, the lawyer for a human rights group among the plaintiffs in the case, hailed it as a “historic” day in the fight to bring perpetrators of abuses under the 1976-1983 dictatorship to justice. “We have been waiting 38 years for the truth to triumph over impunity and finally the day came on which the judiciary sentenced the killers of a man who worked for the hope and dignity of thousands of people,”

PHOTO: AP

Retired military officers convicted of Catholic bishop’s murder

The two men ordered the murder of Enrique Angelelli during the 1976 to 1983 Argentinian military dictatorship and were sentenced to life in prison

By Hannah Strange said Martin Fresneda, Argentina’s minister for human rights. Pope Francis, at the time the head of the Jesuits in Argentina, played a key role in the trial, providing two letters from the Vatican archives written by Angelelli shortly before his death. In the letters, the cleric, then the bishop of La Rioja, had denounced abuses of the Roman Catholic clergy at the hands of the military regime. “We are permanently prevented from fulfilling the mission of the Church,” Angelelli wrote to the Holy See days before the killing. “I personally, the priests and the nuns are are humiliated, seized and frisked by police on orders from the army,” he said. He also made allegations regarding the July 1976 deaths of two priests from his diocese in another letter titled: “An account of the facts related to the murder of fathers Longueville (Gabriel) and Murias (Carlos).” The case has been followed closely by the Pope, who according to the current Bishop of La Rioja, Marcelo Daniel Colombo, has more than once telephoned him personally to enquire as to its progress. It was the documents provided by the Pope that brought developments of “great importance” in

the trial’s last months, Bishop Colombo told La Stampa’s Vatican Insider, as they “allowed a full understanding of what really happened on the afternoon of August 4, 1976”. And what happened that afternoon was not the simple automobile accident that the regime claimed for decades. According to the priest Esteban Pinto, the aide who was travelling with the 53-year-old Angelelli and who filed the lawsuit against the regime in 2010, the pair were returning from an event honouring the late Longueville and Murias when they became aware they were being followed by more than one car. Forced off the road, the vehicle they were driving flipped over when one of the cars struck them. Angelellli was then pulled from the wreckage, struck on the back of the neck, and his lifeless body dumped in the middle of the road. Father Pinto filed a complaint at the time and an autopsy uncovered injuries consistent with a blow from a blunt object to the back of the head., but the case was dismissed by regime officials. In 1986, following the restoration of democracy in Argentina, the case was re-opened and Angelelli’s death declared “a homicide, coldly premeditated, and expected by the victim”. But at the time, regime

crimes fell under a blanket amnesty; it was only after the government of Nestor Kirchner the late husband of President Cristina Kirchner de Fernandez - revoked the amnesty in 2003 that the killings and abuses of the Dirty War finally began to be prosecuted. Menendez, now 87, has already been found guilty in seven other cases of crimes against humanity and is serving a life sentence in the Buenos Aires prison Marcos Paz. Estrella, 82, was transferred immediately after Friday’s verdict to the Bouer prison facility in Cordoba. The full details of the ruling against two men, who defiantly claimed their innocence to the end, are to be published in September. Both men will undergo medical assessments to see if they can remain in jail given their advanced age. But the judges in the case have asked for the option of home detention to be removed and for the men to be held in “common prison” with no possibility of release. Dozens of Catholic priests and nuns were disappeared, tortured and killed during Argentina’s military rule, many of them targeted for challenging the junta’s brutal treatment of suspected opponents or for aiding those who

had attracted the regime’s ire. While the Argentine religious hierarchy officially supported the dictatorship, many in the lower ranks were at the time agitating for renewal and a more sociallyminded Church, a posture regarded as dangerously subversive by the authorities. Angelelli had before his death already come into conflict with Menendez. In an attempt to help a La Rioja cleric and two members of a social activist movement who had been arrested by the military, he petitioned the regime’s local commanders. Getting no response, he travelled to Cordoba to speak to Menendez, who was then the commander of the Third Army Corps. “It is you who have to be careful,” the officer reportedly warned the bishop. The future Pope Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was a friend of Angelelli, and as a Jesuit shared his vision of a Church actively ministering to the needs of the poor, though he did not go so far as to embrace the Socialist-influenced Liberation Theology which saw the older cleric actively involve himself in labour union conflicts, often to the irritation of the establishment. As Provincial Superior of

the Society of Jesus, Bergoglio intervened at Angelelli’s request to rescue three seminarians following the deaths of other religious workers in La Rioja. The men - Mario La Civita, Enrique Martinez and Raul Gonzalez â?” were being followed by the same death squads and accused of being “contaminated with Marxist ideas”. No one else would grant them sanctuary, but Bergoglio gave them refuge in his Jesuit compound, hiding them under the nose of the Argentine military. More than 30,000 people went on to be killed by the military regime, according to human rights groups. In 2006, as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, the now Pope hailed Angelelli’s sacrifice for the Church. Conducting mass in his memory on the 30th anniversary of the killing, Bergoglio said that Angelelli “got stones thrown at him because he preached the Gospel, and shed his blood for it”. “The blood of the martyrs (is the) seed of the Church,” he added. There was no immediate comment from the Vatican on the verdicts against Menendez and Estrella. But an emotional Father Pinto, who was in court to watch the sentences handed down, spoke of his elation that almost 40 years after Angelelli’s death, his killers had finally been held to account. “We have arrived at a happy day. The truth has been told, justice has been done,” he told local media. “Just as I told the people, they killed Angelelli.” S O U R C E : www.telegraph.co.uk

SPORTS THE NATION ON SUNDAY

Pele joins Brazilians to mourn Neymar loss

EXTRA

JULY 6, 2014

FIFA to probe Zúñiga's foul on Neymar

razil legend Pele suggests that it will not just be Neymar's spine causing the player agony now that his World Cup campaign is over. Neymar sustained a fractured vertebra after taking a knee in the back from Juan Zuniga during Brazil's 2-1 quarter-final success over Colombia on Friday and has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament. Pele wrote on Twitter that "it hurts our hearts to know that he can no longer defend Brazil in the World Cup." No stranger to tournament heartache, Pele recalls when his own international campaign came to a heartbreaking early end. "I was also injured during the 1962 World Cup in Chile, and I was out for the rest of the tournament," he wrote in English and Portuguese. "But God helped Brazil continue on to win the Championship. I hope the same will happen with our Selecao in this World Cup." Four years after winning their first World Cup, the Selecao had to play without Pele in the tournament in Chile after he was injured against Czechoslovakia in the second game. Brazil will face Germany in the semi-finals on Tuesday, without injured Neymar and suspended captain Thiago Silva. Meanwhile Newspapers in Brazil and Colombia were united in condemnation for the Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo after their foul-strewn quarter- final, as the hosts mourned the back injury that has ruled the home favourite Neymar out of the remainder of the tournament. Images of Brazil's stricken star filled almost every front page in the host nation, sometimes accompanied by one of the celebrating David Luiz, scorer of the winning goal. Diário Catarinense created a front page with mastheads at both top and bottom, with a picture of David Luiz filling one half accompanied by the single word alegria happiness while when turned upside down a picture of Neymar had the word Tristeza sadness. “The pain that stopped our joy,” read the headline in the Correio Braziliense. “Clattered by the knee of the Colombian right-back Juan Zúñiga, the best Brazilian attacker is out of the World Cup. A wave of sadness has invaded the country. For the first time under Felipão's control the Seleção will play without its star in the No10 shirt, against the strongest team in this tournament: Germany. In 1962 Brazil was deprived of Pelé's genius, also through injury, but won the title. It is time to repeat the feat.”

•Neymar

•John Ogu in action during a friendly match against Greece

Babatunde, Ogu beg Keshi to stay

U P E R E a g l e s midfielders Babatunde Michael and John Ogu have appealed to Stephen Keshi to remain as Super Eagles coach after it was reported that the coach may remain with several conditions. Babatunde who a just arrived from Brazil as new revelation for Super Eagles

By Taiwo Alimi

with impressive performance believes that the coach still has some unfinished business in the Nigerian national team. "It will be sad to many players if Keshi should go like that. He's coach like father, everybody loves him and he still has much to give the

team. I want Nigeria to believe that he's one of the best in the World as far as his achievement is concerned. And it will be great for most young players who are yet to have their chances but discovered should play for him," Babatunde explained. In the same vein, John Ogu who plies his trade with Academica of Portugal says

that Keshi is the undisputed number one coach in Africa and letting such coach go would be a setback. "I still dont believe, Keshi is Africa’s pride in the World. This is not the best time for him to go. We want him, he has more to give because he is a good believer of his players and such coach is needed in the team," said Ogu.

Deschamps: Why I dropped Giroud against Germany

RANCE manager Didier Deschamps says the reason to drop Olivier Giroud for their 1-0 defeat to Germany was purely tactical. Les Bleus exited the World Cup on Friday, with Mats Hummels' early goal enough to send Germany through to their fourth consecutive semifinal. Despite the narrow defeat to Joachim Low's side, Deschamps insists he was right to exclude Arsenal forward Giroud from his

starting line-up in favour of Real Sociedad winger Antoine Griezmann. Why did I play Griezmann rather than Giroud? I made that choice because it was important to put speed (into the team),” Deschamps told L'Equipe. “I expected to see Philipp Lahm on the right flank of defence, so we needed to defend well on that side too. “Antoine did well in the second half.” Having remained unbeaten during the group stages, the French boss admits that his

side are 'frustrated' following their quarter-final defeat in Rio de Janeiro. “There was not a big difference between the sides, but this is what happens at a high level,” he said. “We faced a team that had more experience. We started a bit shyly, but then we did a lot of good things. We didn't get success. “Finally, there is a feeling of frustration among the players, because the gap was not so big. There was a lot of sadness and frustration.” France qualified for the

tournament after a playoff win over Ukraine in November, and Deschamps says his side have shown signs of maturity since then. “After the win against Ukraine, a group sprang up. We don't have the same international experience as Germany, but I am very proud of what the players have achieved both on and off the pitch,” he added. “We have to keep that state of mind and that quality. I just want to keep the positives that I have seen since we arrived in Brazil on June 9.”

CAN U-17 NIGER 2015

Golden Eaglets tipped for qualification

ASED on their current f o r m a n d performances over three matches against Egypt, the Golden Eaglets have been tipped as one of the favourites to qualify for the 2015 African Under-17 Championship to be hosted in Niger. This much is the opinion of experienced Coach Mohammed Ali Gamiel, the Physical Education Doctorate Degree Holder after being pressed about the team under the aegis of Coach Emmanuel Amuneke following a pulsating goalless draw on

Friday night. Nigeria is drawn into the second round of the 2015 CAN Under-17 and would keep a date with Democratic Republic of Congo in Lubumbashi for a first leg fixture on July 20 but Gamiel said he has seen enough to give them a head start. "Today's (Friday) match gave me the opportunity to assess the Nigerian team much better because my boys are in a great physical condition and good form after we won two official games against Sudan(Egypt won on

7-3 aggregate)," reasoned Gamiel. "I really like this Nigerian team and along with Egypt, I think they are the best now at the Under-17 level because I have watched about 10 teams already and I would definitely rate the Nigerian side very high." He would further commend the Golden Eaglets' coaching crew for the spade of work already done over the last few months while counseling them not to rest on their oars. "The Nigerian team has

good skill, good physical condition and above all, good tactics and I would like to commend the coaches because it is not easy teaching players at this level," he noted. "I'm very hopeful the Nigeria team and my team Insha Allah (by the grace of God) would qualify for the tournament in Niger." In a related development, both Nigeria and Egypt would face-off again 10:00pm on Sunday night at the Police Sports Federation Stadium in Cairo to complete their fourSuarez match series.

IFA'S disciplinary committee is studying the challenge that led to Brazil's Neymar suffering a fractured vertebra to decide on action against Colombia's Juan Zúñiga. The defender caught Neymar with a knee in the forward's back during Brazil's 2-1 quarter-final win. Fifa's head of media, Delia Fischer, said: “The disciplinary committee is analysing the matter. The spirit of fair play is very important and we want to avoid difficult things on the field of play.” Ronaldo, Brazil's former World Cup-winning striker, believes Zúñiga intended to hurt Neymar. He told a news conference in Rio de Janeiro: “The challenge was a very violent one I believe there was an intention by the Colombian player to cause some harm. I don't think it was normal football play, I don't know whether he had planned this beforehand but I do believe it was very aggressive, very violent.” Zúñiga defended the challenge after the match, saying he had not deliberately hurt Neymar. He said: “It was a normal move, I never meant to hurt a player. I was on the field, playing for the shirt from my country, not intending to injure anyone. I was just defending my shirt.”

Ore Monarch backs maiden Ondo National U-14 Soccer Tourney

HE traditional ruler of the city of Ore Oba Olatomide Johnson, Olore of Ore Odigbo Local government Ondo State has expressed delight over the National Under-14 Soccer Championship slated for the town during this long school vacation. The monarch while reacting on the maiden soccer tourney where pupils from all the states of the federations are expected to converge in the town to participate in a week competition organised by A Square Sports International, Oba olatomide described it as a positive development for his youths. While calling on the executive Governor of the state, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko to fast-track the sports center project in the town for the visiting pupils to enjoy the good facilities.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JULY 6, 2014

SPORT EXTRA

Arsenal in Debuchy, Sanchez talks

WORLD CUP

RSENAL are in talks to sign Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez and Newcastle right-back Mathieu Debuchy. Their move for 28-year-old France international Debuchy is at an advanced stage but the clubs are yet to agree a fee, with Newcastle understood to be seeking a figure in the region of £10m. The Gunners' bid for Sanchez is complicated by Barcelona's pursuit of Liverpool striker Luis Suarez. Barca are reportedly seeking a fee of at least £25m for the Chile striker. And although the Gunners have been given indications that Sanchez would favour a move to Emirates Stadium, nothing will be resolved until the Suarez situation is concluded. Meanwhile, Juventus are also thought to be keen on the former Udinese player. Debuchy would replace Bacary Sagna, who left Arsenal to join Manchester City. Should the proposed £10m transfer go through it would RGENTINA reached double the Magpies' money their first World Cup on a player who joined from semi-final since Lille for £5m in January 2013. Arsenal are also in the finishing as runners-up 24 m a r k e t f o r a h o l d i n g years ago with victory over midfielder and back-up Belgium in Brasilia. Gonzalo Higuain scored goalkeeper. the only goal at Estadio Airtel steps up Nacional, a thunderous early that ended his run of grassroots football volley six international games without a goal. development But Belgium's so-called HE Airtel Rising Stars golden generation were ( A R S ) U - 1 7 undone by another Tournament for boys and girls is in the fourth quicksilver Lionel Messi season. It is a unique football performance, as Argentina initiative that seeks to set up a last-four encounter provide support for the with either the Netherlands development of football or Costa Rica in Sao Paulo on t a l e n t s b y d i s c o v e r i n g Wednesday. The two-time champions youngsters with football talents and providing them again failed to reach their the opportunity to gain fluid best, and it is significant football skills and develop that all five of their wins at this World Cup have been by into renowned stars. W i t h a p a n - A f r i c a n a single goal. Belgium went out with appeal, ARShas become an annual feature in the sports something of a whimper, calendar of Nigeria and 16 lacking cohesion, creativity other African countries and precision and only where tournament sponsor and organiser, BhartiAirtel Networks presently has operations. Since making a sensationaldebut in 2011,Airtel Rising Stars has grown in awareness, followership and participation, attracting within the first three seasons approximately 18,000 youth teams and 324,000 youngsters pan-Africa. Itprides itself as the biggest grassroots football tournament as well as the only non-discriminatory of such in the continent. Back home, the place of ARS in the history of Nigeria's grassroots football development is self-written, and more importantly, well UEENS Park Rangers' documented.In the last three manager Harry seasons, the tournament has Redknapp wants to successfully combed the make Victor Moses his big nooks and cranies of the nation in search of talented m o n e y s i g n i n g o f t h e youngsters that would fit the summer. Faced with the bill of future players for the departure of forward Loic national teams. This it has Remy, Redknapp has made done with the essential, M o s e s h i s f i r s t c h o i c e t i m e l y a n d i n v a l u a b l e replacement. Victor Moses spent last insights and support from renowned grassroots sports season on loan at Liverpool f e d e r a t i n g a u t h o r i t i e s and has since returned to Chelsea after an unsuccessful notably, YSFON and NSSF.

Higuain sends Argentina into semi finals

threatening late on when they played one long ball after another towards Marouane Fellaini. But on the day he equalled Diego Maradona's haul of 91 caps for Argentina, Messi stood apart, with a performance of majesty that propelled his side into the last four. At times, he was balletic, at others he was bold. He played 40-yard passes with the precision of a master craftsman and pirouetted away from danger time and again. Sharper to the ball, more urgent in possession, Argentina started the quicker of the sides. With Brazil striker Neymar confined to a wheelchair, there was a sense the tournament needed one of its superstars to produce a performance to remember. Belgium did not help themselves, however. Captain Vincent Kompany gave possession away

QPR want Victor Moses for £7.5

carelessly inside his own half after eight minutes, the ball running to Messi. The Barcelona forward spun away from two defenders and clipped a pass to Angel Di Maria. His pass was deflected into the path of Higuain, who swivelled and volleyed unerringly beyond Thibaut Courtois to send the tens of thousands of

•Higuain celebrates his goal against Belgium in Brasilia...yesterday

Argentina fans in the stadium into raptures. There was more Messi magic to come. Argentina's talisman danced his way through a crowd of Belgium players before being clipped on the edge of the area. His resulting free-kick curled narrowly wide but Belgium were on the back foot. Gonzalo Higuain has

matched Lionel Messi's total of five World Cup goals for Argentina, having played nine games compared to Messi's 13. This is the first time in World Cup history that Brazil and Argentina have both appeared in the semi-finals. Belgium only conceded three goals in their five games at the 2014 World Cup finals.

Eaglets, Egypt fire blank

IGERIA'S U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets on Friday night were held to a goalless draw by Egypt in the first of their twotie friendly played at the Police Sports Federation Stadium in Cairo. Coach Emmanuel Amuneke and Egypt's Mohammed Ali Gamiel admitted that both teams performed well with the promise to make few changes when they battle again on Sunday at the same venue. The match which kicked off 10:00 pm local time(9:00pm Nigerian time) saw the Junior Pharaohs dominating the first 15 minutes with their crisp short-passing game yet without any threat to the resolute Nigerians. However in the 17th minute, Samuel Chukwueze

got the ball into the net after Egypt's goalkeeper Ahmed Sallah rebounded into play a lively shot by Suleiman Abdullahi but was strangely ruled off side by referee Mohamed El-Hanafy.He also ruled Chukwueze off side yet again in the 26th minute after the lad pounced on a loose ball and drove an angular shot into the net. Yet the Egyptians nearly went in front in stoppage time of the first half when Captain Hamdy Abdulaziz whippedin a volley that took all of Eaglets' Benjamin Amos' agility to parry into a corner. The Nigerians stepped up the tempo of the game in the second half and practically dominated the game for the greater part of the session but poor marksmanship robbed them of many chances.

"The match today was a good test for us as well as the Egyptian team," remarked Amuneke."The Egyptians have improved and are more physical than the team we beat twice in Kaduna but we would have the chance to do much better when we play again on Sunday." Amuneke's view was shared by his opposite vastly experienced Egyptian gaffer:" Without any doubt, this is a very good match because the two teams showed a lot of passion and energy." Added the Physical Education Doctorate Degree holder:" I'm sure we would have another good game on Sunday and hopefully, these two teams would eventually qualify for the CAN Championship in Niger next year.”

Suarez could return to England for Barcelona preseason

IVERPOOL striker Luis Suarez is set for an immediate return to England should his move to Barcelona go through. The Daily Mail says Suarez may be poised for a quick return to English shores as Spanish giants Barcelona will prepare for the new season at

spell at Anfield. Brendan Rodgers decided against making a permanent transfer for the Nigerian international. QPR are believed to have contacted Chelsea regarding a move already and have been quoted £7.5 million by Jose Mourinho's side. OMA have firmed There will be competition up their interest in though, as Sunderland are Ashley Cole and he also rumoured to have is heading to the Italian entered the race for the player. capital ahead of talks over a

St George's Park. The four-times European champions have booked themselves into the home of English football for a training camp between July 28 and August 2. Technically, if Suarez is a Barcelona player by the time of the trip, he would not be

Cole set to travel to Rome

two-year deal.

The 33-year-old is a free agent after leaving Chelsea and has also had interest from Monaco and MLS franchises.

able to train because of his four-month ban from all football-related activity. However, Suarez may be allowed to train owing to revised terms of his world football ban, which he has appealed.

QUOTABLE

“As far as I know, if something happens to you while you are conducting an unlawful act, it is a criminal offence in its own sense. But it is really disappointing that public servants and that is what soldiers, paid with tax payer’s money, will act in a manner that has been suggested.. I do not know how damaging public property is the restitution of for any injury that may have come…”

SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL. 8, NO. 2902

HAVE always felt that in constituting the national conference, President Goodluck Jonathan was chasing a chimera. Given some of the resolutions of the national conference, Dr Jonathan is apparently not the only one chasing a chimera. The conference itself, true to its origins, and being a veritable chip off the old block, has made it its bounden duty to pursue chimera as assiduously as a hound hunts hare. Having dismissed the conference as a clever contrivance to keep the political class distracted, especially given the foggy circumstances of its birth and the convoluted framework of its legal standing, I had restrained myself from paying any close attention to their resolutions or giving those resolutions active and useful consideration. But last week, I could no longer forbear, for the conference gaily decided to spread a bizarre veneer on their work and shock analysts out of their wits. Among its many curious resolutions, the conference is recommending to us the creation of 19 more states: 18 in general, and one specifically and additionally for the Southeast to redress what conferees describe as a major wrong done the region since states were last created. They were clever enough, however, to hedge the recommendation with the proviso that no state could be created if it was not economically viable. At the moment, there are not more than five or so states really economically viable. And if about 30 states remain unviable, just where did the conference find the cagey optimism that any of their recommended 19 states could conceivably be viable? In the sentimental and impractical effort to create more states, the conference is deliberately provoking us and rendering that recommendation a mere academic exercise. Theoretically, Nigeria could fragment into a thousand states, and match that silly pastime with a thousand bureaucracies. The economic and social problems confronting Nigeria at the moment, not to say the country’s antecedents, do not however permit the luxury of impractical jokes. I thought the conference a huge joke; but the conferees themselves thought their deliberations a hugely serious exercise in constitutionmaking and country restructuring. Why could they not therefore lend their deliberations with the seriousness they pretend to muster? Not only are the recommended states unviable, the conference betrays a total lack of understanding of what the country’s problems are. The country may be in dire need of restructuring, but it is doubtful whether that restructuring should take the form of the miniaturisation the conference seems enamoured of.

Confab resolutions: impractical, idealistic, provocative They are even toying with a curious admixture of ‘presidentialism’ and parliamentarianism, a gargoyle they provocatively describe as home grown, which only they can quite comprehend. In their inscrutable wisdom, the strange admixture is then festooned with scores of provisions including rotational presidency, rotational governorship, and rotational local government chairmanship. The various rotations contain other mini rotations, most of them simplistic and risible. In their frenzy to ensure peace and stability, they completely forget merit and competence. It would have been better to leave the issue of rotation to the political parties which already have it as an informal and expedient part of their systems. Earlier last week, the conference recommended that no one could offer himself for election into the presidency without being a university graduate. Why this nonsense did not occur to them as plain nonsense must be due to their inurement to the farcical things of life. Leadership may profit from some form of education, even a deep one, as many great leaders have shown. But a university degree is certainly not a sufficient, nor even a necessary, condition for leadership competence. Where does the conference place polytechnic education and certificates? Nigeria has had two university graduates in office, the late Umaru Yar’Adua and the current president, Dr Jonathan. Neither, it seems to me, can hold a candle to the restless and bucolic President Olusegun Obasanjo, a man of modest talents and accomplishments. In one week, the conference showed a massive, if not defining, lack of understand-

ing of the ingredients of leadership, what conduce to political stability and the kind of state structure Nigeria needs. Before its task is done, what other dangerous brew will the conference have on tap? Perhaps it is fitting that the conference lacks legal basis, and its recommendations will unavoidably be passed on to the National Assembly, that patient fireeating and fire-quenching mill that has become the graveyard of many great and not-sogreat ideas. Were their recommendations to become law through a referendum, it is not certain what disaster the conference would concoct for us down the road. However, by far the most shocking resolution agreed by the conference is the constraints put on the position of vice president. The conference has made the vice president to be inextricably intertwined with the president. Having decided that the presidency should rotate among the country’s six geopolitical zones and along northern and southern lines, the conference then proceeded to recommend that in the case of death, impeachment or incapacitation of the president, the vice president could not automatically assume the highest office except in acting capacity. In other words, if the president is impeached for wrongdoing, the vice president must share equally in the punishment without the advantage of having benefited from the president’s impeachable offence. The conference hinges its strange, home grown, but hardly imaginative decision on the fact that nothing must interrupt the rotation between the north and south. By implication too, nothing guaran-

That Fayose-Bamidele entente cordiale

NE of the distinguishing features of the June 21 Ekiti governorship poll was the unprecedented collaboration between the supposedly progressive politician and House of Representatives member, Opeyemi Bamidele, and the Governor-elect, Ayodele Fayose, the conservative who passes himself off both as a progressive and pragmatist. Before the poll, the two entered into a gentleman’s agreement to join forces to help Mr Fayose sweep the poll. The agreement was disseminated in hushed tones, but reporters still got wind of it, and attributed the woeful showing of Mr Bamidele in the election to the fact that he had surrendered his goodwill to Mr Fayose’s cause. If anyone doubted the existence of the entente cordiale or its potency, Mr Baimdele himself gloatingly told a newspaper last week that among the reasons Governor Kayode Fayemi lost the election was his unbridled pride. But if so-called progressives could smother one another in this fashion, like a husband who slept with a whore to punish his wife, then they are in more trouble than they imagine. And judging from Femi Fani-Kayode’s

—Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, condemning the destruction of BRT buses allegedly by soldiers protesting the death of one their colleagues.

•Fayemi

•Fayose

volte face – apostasy, some say – we must ask how on earth progressives recruit politicians into their leadership cadre? In 2015, Mr Bamidele will likely have his path to the Senate paved by Mr Fayose, except he chooses something more exotic, something more mercantilist. By coming out openly to identify with Mr Fayose, he has indicated a permanent split with his erstwhile political family, a family that I have always argued is held together by the most tenuous of threads. More, the new conservative cum pragmatic alliance in Ekiti all but exemplifies the difficulty in assigning ideological

colouration and conviction to Nigerian politicians. The leading political parties, especially the PDP and the APC, are still roughly cast in ideological colours, and mouth programmes along lines that show their leanings. Not so the politicians themselves. They migrate very liberally across the divides and flirt as expediently as their whims carry them, incommoded by our protestations and outrage. The greater burden is on the APC, given its proselytising tendency, to firm up its ideological disposition and scrupulously vet those it admits into its leadership. The PDP basks in its expansive disposition to welcome everyone irrespective of his background and conviction. The APC cannot hope to match the PDP on that all-comers’ turf. It must rely on its distinguishing properties, its intuitive embrace of political morality, its instinctive and adaptable humanism. As its politics in Ekiti showed, the APC has not always got its priorities right, nor has it found ways to concretise its philosophy of governance, let alone stay faithful to the ideals of its founding. It must urgently address its mistakes if the Ekiti poll and all other prospective entente cordiales are not to turn its momentary defeat into a permanent rout.

tees that a vice president could succeed his boss except his zone is entitled to it by rotation. Should this nonsense be adopted by the country, it would be the most delicate piece of political contraption ever, far surpassing those of Labanon and Iraq, more convoluted than anything elsewhere, and of course more prone to abuse and massive disruption. That contraption, it must be stated forcefully, cannot work, no matter how delicately it imitates political engineering. Too many things are wrong with this conference, not the least the motive for setting it up. As it wounds up its activities, I half expect its deliberations and resolutions to peter out into contradictory and impractical conclusions. It is unlikely to disappoint us.

Ekiti unleashes the devil’s metaphysics

MMEDIATELY the All Progressives Congress (APC) lost Ekiti State in the June 21 election in a fashion many have described as spectacular and unnerving, a strange spirit seems to have seized parts of the country, particularly the Southwest states. Now, everyone wants to copy Governor-elect Ayodele Fayose’s social mannerisms and re-enact his quaint political abracadabra. His victory is attributed to his distaste for intellectualism, his refusal to inflame and annoy the electorate with newfangled ideas about production and social relations, and his obvious fascination with what some analysts disdainfully call inferior taste. Consequently, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the August Osun governorship poll, Iyiola Omisore, whose reputation is as tattered as Mr Fayose’s, has adopted the latter’s idiosyncrasies in order to appeal to the rabble and the booboisie. He eats by the roadside, hops on commercial motorcycles, shares rural jokes with farmers, and winks at the common idiocies of voters whose coarseness would ordinarily have received short shrift from him. You must expect that in the 2015 elections, many Fayose goblins will be let loose on the country, complete with the devil’s metaphysics to hoodwink and mystify the electorate. Worse, the Southwest and nearby states are in frenzy to check the devil’s metaphysics from wafting into their states. Edo State is courting teachers, even romancing them, no matter their follies and foibles. Did they forge certificates and cut their official age, well, all is forgotten and forgiven. Should they even require the elixir of youth, the comrade governor would be glad to oblige them. What about quality of teachers and instruction? Why, in the face of vote herding, perish the heresy of quality control. Ekiti has taught a hard lesson on the vulgarisation of governance, and the lesson is well and truly learnt. Ogun is also giddy with excitement to please teachers and civil servants. So, too, is Osun. The Southwest is truly animated, its governors eager to dole out, if need be, more than half of their states’ recurrent budget to obviate real or imagined discontent. Visionaries will be driven out of town, so also all ambitious social engineers and self-anointed political innovators. The future is now, and the new political and democratic orthodoxy is the need for politicians to connect with their bases. Let the future take care of itself, and let the devil take the hindmost. But it won’t be long before the Southwest is intoxicated, its maudlin soul sated and entangled in the labyrinth of grassroots politics, the kind best exemplified by Messrs Adedibu, Adelabu, Fayose and Omisore, all of them past and present champions and magicians of the devil’s metaphysics.

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