The Nation June 14, 2015

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

Court says Iowa residents have right to be drunk

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HE right to be drunk on the front porch of a private home was endorsed at the weekend by the Iowa Supreme Court, which said a woman can’t be convicted of public intoxication while standing on her front steps.

Patience Paye, 29, of Waterloo based the appeal of her 2013 case on the contention that her front steps are not a public place so she can’t be charged with public intoxication.

Justices agreed, rejecting a district court judge’s conclusion that Paye’s front porch was a public place because it was plainly accessible and visible to any passers-by and it was a place to which the public is permitted access.

“If the front stairs of a single-family residence are always a public place, it would be a crime to sit there calmly on a breezy summer day and sip a mojito, celebrate a professional achievement with a mixed drink of choice, or even baste meat on the grill with a bourbon-infused barbeque sauce — unless one first obtained a liquor license. We do not think the legislature intended Iowa law to be so heavy-handed,” Justice Daryl Hecht wrote in the court’s unanimous opinion.

Paye’s attorney, Public Defender Rachel Regenold said it’s an important property rights and personal liberty ruling.

“There was a concern how this could be extended if the court had found that front steps or front porches were public,” she said.

Iowa Attorney General spokesman Geoff Greenwood said prosecutors “respect the court’s ruling which has a narrow scope in that it addresses intoxication while a person is on the front porch of a single family home.”

Paye called police around midnight June 22, 2013, after fighting with her boyfriend who told police he kept Paye’s car keys from her because she was drunk.

CAPTURED

A presidential read

President Muhammadu Buhari left Abuja Saturday to attend the Africa Union (AU) summit in South Africa. Shortly before take-off he was captured in this shot engrossed in that day’s offering in The Nation. The president reads this paper, you also read it - you are in good company!

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F all the responses to last Tuesday’s National Assembly leadership elections debacle, the most hysterical, and probably the most mystifying, must be those of Bode George, former military governor and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Ebenezer Babatope, former leftist politician, pamphleteer, ideologue, minister and now also a chieftain of the rightist PDP. While virtually everyone saw the debacle from the angle of the continuing contest between the APC and the PDP, and in terms of what was alleged to be the disproportionate reward system erected by the ruling party for its so-called legacy parties, the two PDP chieftains preferred to analyse the disaster in terms of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the national APC leader of their jejune obsession. On Saturday, former Works minister, Adeseye Ogunlewe added his own pained and impetuous voice.

What took place on the floors of the upper and lower chambers of the National Assembly was of course a consequential political development, and Asiwaju Tinubu was not too far from its epicenter. The winners of the contests for the nation’s top legislative positions were Bukola Saraki, a former governor of Kwara State and two-term senator, and the Bauchi-born Yakubu Dogara, also a two-term member of the House of Representatives, lawyer and teacher. As if their elections were not complicated and complicating enough, given the manner of their emergence against the will of their party, Senator Saraki managed to win only by conced-

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George, Babatope respond to legislative snafu

ing the position of Deputy Senate President to the PDP’s Ike Ekweremadu, a ranking PDP senator and one-time deputy to David Mark, the former Senate President.

Had both Messrs George and Babatope merely dispassionately examined the general implications of the defeat of APC’s anointed candidates, rather than personalise the outcome, few would have seen their positions as either extraordinary or outlandish. Instead, Chief George focused on the APC national leader, Asiwaju Tinubu, and like he did before and during the last polls, proceeded to pronounce a sentence on his political career. Chief Ogunlewe followed suit. On his own, Chief Babatope opted to go spiritual, attributing the cohabitation in the Senate to the hand of God. They are at liberty to pass any sentence of their desire, and could even speak with the eloquence and

definitiveness of the gods. But by virtue of their positions in the society, and on account of their self-acclaimed maturity, wisdom and integrity, they owe it to their publics to embrace deeper reflections.

For Chief George, Asiwaju Tinubu is a monstrous and dictatorial opportunist. Said he: “You know I predicted weeks ago that the APC is just a congregation of strange bedfellows. The most beautiful thing about what has happened is that Bola Tinubu’s political influence in Nigeria is coming to a sunset and it is about five minutes to midnight for him. If he cannot see this now, then it will be foolish of him. He brought in the

APC national chairman and the vice-president and he thinks Nigeria belongs to him. So, he thought what he did in Lagos was what he could replicate at the national level and they have shown him that he cannot continue to be the lord of the manor...”

Chief George could still have made a robust argument without personalising it, whether he was right or wrong, though he is by nature seldom right on anything. As his involvement in the Lagos State PDP governorship primary showed, Chief George was an asset to his party and a restraining, redirecting and moderating influence. If he is capable of

the ratiocination that often comes with age, but of course not ineluctably, he would bring his vast administrative experience to bear not only to advance narrow partisan interests, as he seems always poised to do even in the most mundane matters, but also to promote altruistic national goals.

“We pray for the new leaders,” enthused Chief Babatope with the disguised zealotry of a closet PDP fanatic. “That is democracy at work; we now have the APC and the PDP sharing power in the Senate. I personally love Gbajabiamila, he’s an orator. I wanted Gbajabiamila to win, but you can see democracy at work.

We, in the PDP, are going to cooperate with Buhari. I can see the hand of God in all this.” When President Muhammadu Buhari won the March 28 poll, Chief Babatope saw neither the hand of man nor that of God in the poll because his party lost, nor still did he see any celestial input in the massive APC sweep of the subsequent April polls.

It is surprising that the full import of the NASS debacle appears to escape the three PDP chieftains. The democracy they speak so glibly about will indeed begin to take root only when leading party officials and well-known national leaders transcend personal interests in their understanding and handling of national issues.

Alas, there is nothing in any of these leaders, including many in the APC, that gives hope of a great and noble tomorrow.

APC, Buhari, NASS: have we bought a pig in a poke?

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IVEN the intensity of the actions and reactions to the brutal contest of wills on the floor of the National Assembly last Tuesday, leading to the bespattering of the face of the ruling party with rotten eggs, many Nigerians are beginning to wonder whether in the last polls they did not buy a pig in a poke. The APC must resist the temptation to dismiss the worries of the electorate. As far as elections go in NASS since 1999, that of last Tuesday is probably the worst, both in terms of outcome and in terms of the galling and unprincipled compromises reached.

Both the party and the president must by now have learnt a thing or two, especially how not to take them-

selves and the electorate for granted. They have an obligation to prove to Nigerians that the voters did not make a mistake. The trouble in NASS has just begun, and it will take a little while and plenty of wisdom to resolve. The president will from now on become more sensitive to political issues, knowing full well that the expectations of the people can only be met by brilliant and relevant policies, quickwittedness, and deep understanding of the forces shaping the affairs of the country.

More than anyone else, the APC must have learnt more lessons, chief among which is that not only will the party henceforth be challenged every inch of the way, other parties will do their worst to undermine its integrity and weaken

its hold on power. Last Tuesday, the PDP showed how easily the reputation of the APC can be denuded by one or two missteps. “Wars are not won

by evacuations,” warned Winston Churchill in his speech to the House of Commons on the Dunkirk evacuation (Operation Dynamo) in 1940. The APC will, therefore, be smart to remember that its reputation is not secure simply because it won the 2015 polls in a dramatic fashion.

Though still a young party with amorphous and seething constituents, it must strive to nurture its victory, sustain party discipline in the face of iconoclastic and ambitious members, and safeguard its future. But now, let the APC reassure the country that when the electorate voted for the party, they did not buy a pig in a poke.

By ADEKUNLE ADE-ADELEYE

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

COLUMN

War Lord Democracy A

S military rule mercifully recedes into remote and distant memory in Nigeria, it is profoundly ironic that the democratic process continues to manifest some of the ungainly features of repressive autocracies. For example, there is the continuing militarization of the polity and the weaponization of politics itself to the point that it has become a game of political warlords. This much was evident in the last days of the last regime. Only a balance of terror and the watchful eyes of the international community prevented Nigeria from tipping over into the abyss.

But so soon thereafter, we are at it again as it is customary for a country with a legendary reputation for permanently camping at the edge of the abyss and for flirting with suicide. Under the spreading chestnut tree, I sold you, and you sold me, as George Orwell famously noted. Politics in Nigeria is a game of multiple treachery and multivalent betrayal. Yet it is only those who consider politics however dangerous hair-raising as a mere game that would fail to see the delinquent seizure of the machinery of the senate by some rogue senators in all its dangerous and destabilizing import.

Once again, something new comes out of Nigeria. This one goes beyond the established norm of political normlessness. As we shall see, it strikes a deadly blow at the change mantra of the current regime. It casts the senate in dissident dissonance and disharmony with the executive and possibly with the judicial arm. It sets the stage for a crippling administrative disorder and possible disintegration. A hybrid senate leadership is a hybridized monster which is unknown in the history of modern democracy and one with a capacity to destroy even its own. It is a peculiar mess, a typically Nigerian peculiar mess at that.

Having said that, it is important for those who have invested intellectual, strategic, political, economic and even ethnic capital in the project of change and the possibility of national redemption not to despair or throw up their arms in frustration. Democratic change cannot and does not occur overnight. It is always easier for forces of reaction to regroup and reassemble at short notice because they know the economic price of everybody but the political value of nothing.

It is too early in the day to consign the Buhari administration to the trashcan of history. Nigerians, both mighty and low, must learn the virtue of patience. A people without any demonstrative capacity for collective revolutionary initiative must also not add the vice of impatience to their baggage. This is not the time to further inflame passions. It is not the time for wild speculations and unrestrained tirades. Without sacrificing party supremacy, APC must engage its dissident members. Bukola Saraki is a wasp perched on the most delicate part of the human anatomy.

It has been a typically Nigerian coup, full of intrigues, double dealing, double crossing and ambush within ambush reminiscent of the exploits of Nigeria’s aging coup maestros. There is also a hint of self-coup, or what the Latin Americans call Autogolpe.

An Autogolpe is a conscious coup against one’s self. But this one is

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nooping around With

Tatalo Alamu

•Saraki

probably unconscious. When Mohammadu Buhari tersely but awkwardly noted that “a constitutional process has somewhat occurred”, we say with the retired general that it is actually a constitutional autogolpe that has somewhat occurred.

The Nigerian president must now be helped out of the awful mess he has partly created. But he will need to change tack. He must avoid the Ben Bella Syndrome.

Ahmed Ben Bella was a great hero of the Algerian war of independence against the French. It was a nasty and cruel contention whose echoes reverberate till date. When Ben Bella finally assumed office, he had become so physically, psychologically and emotionally drained that he could only spend time trifling with extant structures until his colleagues put him out of his miseries.

There are extenuating circumstances for the presidential faux pas. As a born again democrat who has deliberately and strenuously purged himself of the autocratic mind-set of his military career, Buhari is anxious to be seen as a man who values consensus, a man is willing to marry messianism with the multiplicity of contrary views, and a man not willing to be seen as disrupting the seamless web of governmental harmony among the executive,

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N Tuesday, May 26, 2015 Christian Oladele Onikepe passed on to meet his Holy Father, God Almighty. His indomitable spirit and joy for life are carried on by his family, extended family, friends, colleagues and fellow travelers on the path we call life.

There is only one Christian Oladele Onikepe and yet to everyone that met him, he was many different things. He was a father, friend, mentor, spiritual guide, kindred spirit, a debate and discussion partner, a leader and much more... If you were to ask him to describe himself, he would simply say, “I was sent to this world to be a servant of God, in humility and simplicity of the heart, and to be a testament to God’s grace and mercy.”

Born to a large family, Christian Oladele Onikepe possessed a keen intellect and grew up to be one of Nigeria’s brightest minds and brilliant thinkers. He was a star student at GOAGS, Gbongan, Government College, Ibadan, University of Lagos where he bagged a Second Class Upper Division honours in

the judiciary and the legislature.

This can only work in advanced climes where people have learnt from bitter experience to live for the greater good of the greater society. But in a society teeming with political sharks and vultures, it is a manual for political martyrdom. It is up to the retired general to find a golden mean between the obsessive and obtrusive meddlesomeness of his military predecessor in civilian office and the hardy and alert proactiveness necessary to do the job at hard. The Nigerian presidency is not a habitat for secular saints.

In Latin America after they had almost killed themselves off due to incessant and tempestuous coups, the generals decided on a simple method of eliminating the perennial bloodfest. Whenever a coup is in the offing, they would do a simple troops’ audit and since God marches on the side of the greater battalion, the general with the highest number of battalions on his side carried the day.

On Tuesday, Bukola Saraki did a troops’ audit. But as a veteran power pragmatist who knows that there is no party as such but alliances of inconvenience, he simply called for help from battle hardened adversarial combatants itching for a pound of flesh. The old warriors of reaction

and ethnic revanchists still nursing the wounds of their ouster from the federal Toll Gate simply rallied.

It is a foul and unethical thing to do reeking of betrayal and perfidy, but it reveals the monumental hollowness that lies at the heart of the current democratic process in Nigeria. There is no party as such only amalgams of mutually contradictory and violently incompatible tendencies that have refused or are probably incapable of congealing and coalescing into an organic whole. It is a dialectical mirror image of Nigeria itself.

You cannot plant cassava and expect to harvest yam. It is a symptom in search of a disease and the nearest diagnosis we can come up with is democratic warlordism.

In the event, the defeated and disorganized PDP showed greater cohesion and dynamic mobility than the ruling party.

They have claimed that they were also benefitting from the phenomenon of Tambuwalism, which is akin to an invasion of enemy territory even before the commencement of proper hostilities. It is rumoured that the veteran Tambuwal himself also played a stirring role in this one. It is in the nature of cut-throat politics, and there are no permanent allies but present interests.

The APC has received its baptism of fire. It should now go back to the drawing board. It should immediately put in place a rigorous mechanism for party conflict resolution through the three Cs: conciliation, compromise and consensus. It is obvious that the party has suffered grievously due to lack of internal cohesion and as a result of excessive vanity and obsession with the spoils of office.

When all else fails, it is only the presidency that can wield the big stick. The failure of the president to wade in much earlier and to do so in a decisive manner when he was eventually roused to act has resulted in a political black eye for the party. It is a curi-

ous irony that Buhari would seem to be encouraging political warlordism in his own party when the electoral revolt that swept him to power is a stinging disavowal of the same phenomenon in the larger Nigerian polity. The Nigerian senate is the surviving stronghold of our last political Shoguns.

Having acquired teeth and muscle, this senatorial Shogunate is going to try President Buhari’s will and iron resolve to reform and sanitize the Nigerian polity to the snapping point in the next few months. It is going to be a battle royale the likes of which has never been witnessed in these climes. If the president wilts and withers away, it is all but guaranteed that his presidency will end as a colossal failure, unable to make a dent in the monumental rot that has stifled the nation. As we have previously advised, it is going to be a game of will and wits and the president will need all his political savvy and street wisdom.

A lot is going to depend on his party and its principal partners.

A few columns back, we had commended the tragic fate of the inchoate and incongruous alliance which ended authoritarian misrule in Kenya to the APC. Going forward to a fresh election, the party disintegrated into its political components and ethnic particularities. The result was a brief civil war which shook Kenya to its foundation and from which the country is yet to properly recover.

It is not a question of whether one likes President Buhari or not.

The Change Project which the retired general has courageously spearheaded in collusion with many patriotic Nigerians and which has resonated spectacularly with our compatriots both at home and abroad is the last chance to redeem this country and put it on the path of rectitude and righteousness. If it fails, it is going to be goodbye to Nigeria as we know it.

Christian Oladele Onikepe A Tribute

French, and capped it all with a Ph.D in French from the University of Grenoble, France.

In his professional career, he touched and changed many lives as professor, social activist, and advocate for peace. At the University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria, he and his peers were pioneers.

He led colleagues and students in reinterpreting African literature through the application of metaphysical concepts. This led to the first ever successful doctorate in his academic unit at the university. Christian expressed and lived his faith through his teaching and mentoring. Always the rigorous academician, he was also the humble teacher who respected his students’ intellect— even when he disagreed with them. He was an unyielding and passionate defender of the weak and helpless; and of what was

right.

In the United States he also worked towards sharing knowledge and shedding light on the African experience, both within the country and abroad. He was highly successful at two institutions, namely Mount Saint Mary’s University, Maryland (America’s second oldest Catholic university) and the University at Buffalo (SUNY), New York. At SUNY-Buffalo, he was part of the team that helped to lay the groundwork for the university’s graduate education in Cuba in January 2002. An accomplished teacher, Christian was also a Fulbright Scholar in Burkina Faso, West Africa, in 2004 and 2005.

In addition to his work in Francophone cultures, he never forgot his roots. He was a tireless promoter of his beloved Yoruba culture and language. His boundless energy and joyfulness were infectious. Wherever he was, he fought for religious tol-

erance and freedom. Always humble, passionate and charismatic, he tirelessly advocated for a space in which Christian, Muslim and Traditional practitioners could work beyond ethnic and religious differences, towards the common good. In Nigeria, he was one of the co-founders of NARETO, the National Association for Religious Tolerance and Peaceful Coexistence.

If he were to speak his wishes today, it would be to say, “celebrate my life as the only happiness in this world is that of always being content with what God has given me. I can “demand nothing with fervor, except the perfect accomplishment of God’s will in my soul.”

We will always carry you in our hearts, Oladele Christian Onikepe. We will always remember and see you in every smile, every joyous song and everything good in life.

•Tayo, Angel, Ope and Ifedayo

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

NEWS

UESDAY elections of Dr. Bukola Saraki as Senate President and Mr. Yakubu Dogara as House of Representatives Speaker tipped in their favour on account of the intervention of top businessmen, high-profile investors, and some exMinisters in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, it was gathered yesterday.

The plots were hatched in Port Harcourt, Lagos, Abeokuta, Abuja and Ilishan, Ogun State by four serving governors and seven ex-governors in what a source described as a bid to “decimate APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.”

Two of the serving governors are from the South-West and one from the North-West, while two of the ex-governors are from the South-West, three from the North-West, one from the North-East and one from the South-South zone.

An influential Emir was also involved in the anti-Tinubu campaign, according to sources. The monarch had first sought Tinubu’s support for Saraki’s bid in a move he described as “politically strategic” for the future of Nigeria.

Sources said that although Saraki had aspired to lead the Senate as a “mere political game which anyone could win,” the contest attracted vested interests because of the anti-corruption agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Some oil barons, especially those indicted in the subsidy scandal, high-net worth investors, and top businessmen were said to have found it difficult to reach out to Buhari.

They decided to form a ring around the new President by hijacking the National Assembly through which they believe they could checkmate and frustrate any anti-Jonathan policies initiated by the Buhari government.

It was learnt that the affected businessmen, some of whom benefited from curious waivers, concessions and unmerited subsidy funds, had reached out to Tinubu to assist them to appeal to Buhari for soft-landing on ongoing investigations but the ex-Lagos State Governor declined to intervene.

One of those whose investment was linked with the missing $20billion oil cash personally begged Tinubu who insisted that any financial infraction must be punished.

The high-class businessmen were said to have found allies in four serving governors, seven ex-governors who allegedly have a political axe to grind with Tinubu.

With the support of a top APC leader eyeing the presidency in 2019, it was agreed by the amalgam of

•President Muhammadu Buhari, (right) Deputy Secretary General UN Jan Eliasson (left), Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of African Union (AU) Commission, Commissioner for Peace and Security AU and Amb. Smail Chergui at the AU meeting in South Africa, yesterday.

How oil barons, others hijacked Senate, House election FROM: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

forces to “cut Tinubu to size” by taking over the National Assembly.

The plot of the aggrieved businessmen was buoyed by the fact that the ‘New PDP’ elements in APC felt “sidelined” in the scheme of things by not getting any of the top posts.

Three highly-placed sources gave a rare insight into the intrigues behind the election of Saraki as Senate President and Dogara as House Speaker.

A former governor said: “The coup against APC in the Senate assumed a magnitude which Saraki and Dogara did not imagine. What appeared as a mere aspiration turned into hi-wire politics and business intrigues. These aspirants did not expect that the race for Senate Presidency and House Speakership would turn into a big project that would threaten the fabric of the APC.” A member of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the APC admitted that some serving governors and former governors in the new governing party participated actively in the plot.

The BOT member said it was shocking that those initially thought to be Tinubu’s loyalists were among the aggrieved APC governors and exgovernors.

The source added: “Little did the undiscerning observers of the power play know that some of the APC leaders, especially those who have succeeded in forming a ring around President Muhammadu Buhari, were a party to the plot.

They have since been shedding crocodile tears to give an impression of their commitment to the party’s tenets.

“They did not only

support Saraki and Dogara against the candidates of their party, they went as far as participating in the wooing of PDP Senators who rallied against their candidates. ”At the outset, Tinubu supported the candidacy of Senator George Akume from the same NorthCentral geopolitical zone with Saraki as the Senate President. Akume is a known friend of Tinubu and the president did not hide his preference for Lawan.

“However, Tinubu had to withdraw his support for George Akume when presidential preference became obvious and it was made clear that the Northeast, particularly Borno and Yobe should be rewarded having been marginalized by past governments apparently because of the states’ solid support for the opposition.

It was at this point that Tinubu shifted support to Lawan.

However, it became a moral burden for Tinubu to communicate the new decision to his friend. But he eventually did and encouraged him to step down for Lawan. Akume then agreed to take the Deputy Senate President slot.

“Initially, he turned down the offer, believing it was the turn of the NorthCentral to be the Senate President, but later felt he had no option than to accept it. He said there was no need to rock the boat of the party or tamper with the peace of the fledgling administration.

“Curiously, but true, certain elements in APC resolved to work against the interest of, not only their leader, Asiwaju Tinubu, but also that of President Buhari. They chose three musketeers to coordinate the project which will demystify their leader. These beneficiaries

of Tinubu political goodwill held clandestine meetings on different occasions on how to outsmart both their master and the president, while giving maximum support to the candidacy of Saraki. “ Part of their strategy was to invite some of the moneybags with financial baggage, who would want to curry the president’s favour to escape investigations, disempower Tinubu by circulating negative stories about him and thus cause disaffection between him, Buhari and some other leaders in the APC. “They also asked the president to live up to his words of ‘belonging to everyone and belonging to no one’ as a way of further boosting his soaring democratic credentials.

They were also able to frame up Senator Lawan, who has been in the Senate since 2007, as a marked boy in the upper chamber ”At one of the meetings held on Thursday June 4, 2015, these three musketeers and APC accomplices were said to have invited the businessmen to sell the Saraki candidacy to them, with an assurance that there would be a shield for any probe against them.

“Well, these business and financial moguls with vast interests in fast moving consumer goods, the downstream sector, banking and hospitality industry had no option than to key into the plan. “ Consequently, the three musketeers expanded their frontier, sought and got support from some members of the National Working Committee to further give ‘credibility’ to their action as well as convince the president of the need to stay away from Tinubu, who according to them,

was becoming overbearing within the party.”

A PDP chieftain spoke extensively on how his party negotiated and benefited from the coup against APC. He said: “Capitalizing on his past influence in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the dwindling fortunes of the party of late, Saraki and some members of the ‘New PDP’ caucus employed a former SouthSouth governor who helped to perfect the strategy of winning other PDP Senators over for his candidacy in exchange for choice position compensations. Saraki also brought in a SouthWest state governor with a promise of soft-landing.

“Having been sold the possibility of negotiating with the pro-Saraki elements, the PDP elected senators saw it as an opportunity to get their pound of flesh from the APC. They also felt they could position themselves for juicy Senate committees. With 49 Senators, they resolved to demand for the concession of the office of the Deputy President of the Senate for PDP. They said once the slot was given to PDP, it would go to the SouthEast “A former top official of the Senate was then saddled with the job of getting his colleagues together for a “retreat’ in Port Harcourt, where they did not only discuss the modalities of decimating the APC Senators but how to hijack the Senate “The strategy included inviting some of those involved in the fuel subsidy fraud to back them financially with a promise to ensure that President Buhari would not be able to pursue their matter. The financiers were assured that no such probe would see the light of day because some forces

around the president were also with them in the game.”

The Port Harcourt meeting resolved that in order to ward off any suspicion, they would continue to discuss with Tinubu and other APC NWC members, selling them a dummy that PDP Senators would support the APC candidates for both Senate and House of Reps in order to ensure a peaceful reign in both houses.

The mafia fell for the proposition and supported the execution of the Saraki-for-SenatePresident project. The expensive presidential suite on the 10th floor of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja was the coordination base.

“And in order to make it appear that their party was carried along in the scheming, the PDP Senators briefed a former Chairman, Board of Trustees of PDP and enlisted his and the entire party’s support for them to go along with the Saraki team.

“The ex-BOT chairman, however, advised PDP senators to meet the Sunday night before the election to put the matter to vote in order not to betray one another. Of course the idea received a unanimous voting both as a result of anti-Tinubu agenda and the joy of watching the ego of the APC deflated on Tuesday.

“When Tinubu learnt of the Port Harcourt meeting and all that transpired, he met with the former official of the Senate who dismissed the plot as a mere rumour and that APC should take the promise of the PDP Senators to the bank. Well, they did and the rest is now history.”

Sources said last night that Buhari had “uncovered” the plot and was weighing his options.

A presidency source added: “This discovery made one of the spokesmen of the President to come out strongly against the ‘coup’.

The spokesman was able to give the mindset of the President about what transpired.

What happened embarrassed Buhari and he has been trying to intervene to broker peace and ensure reconciliation.”

The source further said that the President is determined to implement his reform agenda, bring to book all those who soiled their hands in the last dispensation.

The source added the new leadership of the National Assembly would not deter him from pursuing his goals. “Did former President Olusegun Obasanjo not live with a hostile senate under the late Chuba Okadigbo and adversarial House of Representatives under exSpeaker Ghali Na’Abba?

Why do corrupt businessmen think that they can escape justice by controlling the National Assembly?”

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015 EPUTY Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, said yesterday that the decision of the majority of the people of the South East to vote for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was appropriate in the circumstance.

He said that given another opportunity, the people would vote in the same manner.

Addressing his supporters on arrival at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, Ekweremadu said he decided to take another shot at the position of Deputy Senate President when it appeared the people of the zone were about to be sidelined in the scheme of

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NEWS

South East right to vote PDP, says Ekweremadu From Chris Oji, Enugu

things following the last elections.

The Deputy Senate President, who is also the Speaker of ECOWAS parliament, urged his fellow senators and all political office holders to settle down for business to deliver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians.

He advised President Muhamadu Buhari to accommodate all Nigerians irrespective of party and ethnic inclination.

He said:"We have no regrets. The Igbo have no regret for the way they voted; if they have the opportunity

tomorrow they will do it again.

"We are convinced we voted rightly, and because we believe we are part and parcel of this country, we believe what we got is within our right. So we expect that APC should be able to accommodate the people of the South South as they form their government, because don't forget that Buhari got about 15 million votes; we have more than 150 million Nigerians, so he is not the president of 15 million people; the rest of the people must be accommodated.

"In fact, that was why, when we saw that it

appeared that the South East and South South were being marginalised in the scheme of things, we decided to take a shot so that our people would be part and parcel of the government so that every part of Nigeria will have a sense of belonging.

"I'm very delighted to be among my people that have come to receive me after I was

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ome cabinet members of the Bayelsa State Government are

CBN suspends 437 BDCs from forex market

By Collins Nweze mandatory cautionary deposit.

"My suggestion to the CBN is that instead of demobilising the affected BDCs for non-rendition by denying them access to forex market, their N35 million cautionary deposit should be debited with the penalty sum," he said.

This is coming as CBN had last week, licensed additional 70 BDCs, bringing the total approved operators to 2,688 since the request that operators increase their capital base from N10 million to N35 million plus another cautionary deposit of N35 million kept with the CBN. There were 3,208 registered BDCs before the apex bank ordered them to recapitalise latest by July 31, 2014.

The regulator has, however, kept updating its list of BDCs, even though the deadline elapsed since July last year despite earlier stand that it would cease to fund any BDCs that failed to beat the initial deadline.

The CBN has consistently urged banks, BDCs and Other Financial Institutions (OFIS) on the importance of rendition of returns and compliance with anti-money laundering regulations.

CBN Director, Banking Supervision, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins said during the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) anti-money laundering workshop held in Abuja, that the CBN always wants to ascertain if lenders are complying with AntiMoney Laundering and

Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations.

Matins said: "Section 29 of the CBN AML/CFT Regulations, 2013 (as amended) requires financial institutions to maintain all necessary records on transactions, both domestic and international for at least five years after completion of the transactions or such longer period as may be required by the CBN and Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), provided that this requirement shall apply regardless of whether the account or business relationship is on-going or has been terminated".

She said financial institutions are expected to maintain records of the identification data, accounts files and business correspondence for at least five years after the termination of an account or business relationship or such longer period as may be required by the CBN and NFIU on a timely basis.

She said that financial institutions are required to forward their AML/CFT Compliance Manual to the CBN for off-site review of the document as well as carry out enhanced customer due diligence for high risk customers and effective Know Your Customer (KYC) processes. "The KYC means knowing the identity of the customer and understanding the kinds of transactions in which the customer is likely to engage in. By knowing one's customers, financial

honoured by the entire senators of the Federal Republic Nigeria; I'm honoured by the people of Nigeria and my people, the great Igbo people, were also honoured by the people of Nigeria, PDP was also honoured by the people of Nigeria.

"So I'm here coming home to my root, and I'm

happy that they are here to receive me. We have finished with politics, now is time for governance; we should put politics behind and move on; this country is bigger than any political party, so let's work together as a people to ensure that we deliver dividends of democracy to the people of Nigeria," he said.

Serving commissioners, other aides join plot to scuttle Bayelsa gov's re-election

• L-R: Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Senator Frances Alimikhena and wife, Monica during inaugural party at Nicon Hillton Hotel Abuja yesterday.

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has suspended 437 Bureau De Change (BDC) operators from accessing its weekly dollars sales from the foreign exchange (forex) market, The Nation learnt yesterday.

They have been denied access to the $30,000 weekly allocations to operators, and slammed with a N2 million fine each for non-rendition of their monthly returns to the apex bank.

They are said to have defaulted in providing detailed reports on how previous dollars sourced from the CBN were utilised.

Sources said the level of abuse was so massive that the CBN decided to impose sanctions to serve as deterrent to others.

"Given that the BDCs were long viewed as a potential source of forex leakage in the system, these measures should boost confidence in the sustainability of the forex band," one of the sources said.

CBN Director of Communications, Ibrahim Mu'azu did not respond to phone calls and text messages sent to him on the matter.

But when contacted, the President, Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe confirmed the development, and described the sanctions as punitive.

Gwadabe said the CBN would make over N1 billion when the 437 BDCs pay the stipulated penalties and that will add undue pressure on the finances of the operators already wailing from the burden of increased capital base and N35 million

5

institutions can often identify unusual or suspicious behavior, termed anomalies, which may be an indication of money laundering," she explained.

The CBN director said most challenges with the rendition of returns center around quality, accuracy, completeness and timeliness of the returns being rendered.

Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa believed to have teamed up with the opposition against the re-election of Governor Seriake Dickson next year.

Some of the officials (names withheld), attended a recent meeting convened in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, by a leading governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Timi Alaibe.

The former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is expected to formally announce his ambition next month.

Also interested in the ticket is a former governor of the state, Mr. Timipre Sylva.

A source familiar with the development said Alaibe is reaching out to Dickson's loyalists who are feeling shortchanged and sidelined in the system.

He met recently in PortHarcourt with some of those pro-change elements, among whom were former lawmakers, former commissioners, special advisers and local council chairmen.

Many of them who met under the aegis of Bayelsa Peoples Consultative Assembly (BPCA) are from Dickson's Bayelsa West Senatorial District.

But they denied Alaibe's sponsorship of the meeting.

Senator John Brambayefa from Dickson's Sagbama Local Government area is

Chairman of the group.

Members of the group took turns to criticise the administration of Dickson and resolved to align with the APC to wrest power from him.

But some elders loyal to Dickson yesterday said all the gang up against the governor would fail.

The elders who spoke under the aegis of the Bayelsa Development Forum (BDF) in a statement entitled: "Bayelsa's squalid nuisance", issued in Yenagoa and signed by its chairman, Tari Wellington and Secretary-General, Ekpai Okurus, accused BPCA of blackmailing the governor.

He said members of BPCA decided to join opposition against Dickson because he failed to satisfy their selfish demands.

Their words: "A combination of the harsh economic realities as well as the recent loss of the Presidency by the PDP has opened up new opportunities for political adventurism by these persons, who believe that President Muhammadu Buhari will unleash the federal might against the former president's home state of Bayelsa.

"Such is their puny mentality and the narrowness of their thinking. They had long constituted obstacles to Bayelsa's development and were known sponsors and promoters of a climate of vicious politics, thuggery and mindless militancy, which gave Bayelsa a bad name."

Nigeria requires double digits growth in GDP to cope with increasing population, says Osinbajo

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ICE President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) said yesterday that the nation's Gross Domestic Products (GPD) must match the fertility rate to ensure true development.

The Vice - President who spoke at the 10th anniversary lecture of Crescent University, Abeokuta, the Ogun State, said over 100 million Nigerians currently live below the poverty line.

He said that in a situation where the fertility rate is six percent, there is also the urgent need to nurture and spur the economy to grow by at least 10 percent annually, and enhance its capacity to cater for the population effectively.

He spoke on the theme: "Nigerian economy and the future."

He said that although Nigeria has the capacity to generate about 13,000 megawatts of electricity daily and sustain same to stir the economy to greater height the

Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta current transmission capacity is barely 5000megawatts.

The federal government, according to him, will consider the option of privatising power transmission as the current arrangement only covers power distribution.

He also identified inadequate supply of gas as a contributory factor to the drop in power supply, stressing that the present administration will ensure the completion of abandoned gas pipeline projects.

Prof. Osinbajo also identified insurgency, corruption, tax evasion as factors constituting grave threat to the nation's economy.

He said some tough decisions would have to be taken and also followed through to put the country back on the path of genuine growth and development in line with the All Progressives Congress (APC) programmes.

Osinbajo said: "Insurgency and instability of government is a major setback especially in the agricultural sector.

Agriculture contributes 24% to Nigeria GDP but the 24% is under threat because of the insurgency in the North East.

"The militancy in the south has also reduced oil production significantly and that is why any form of extremism must be out down not only because of the economy but for the unity and peace of the country."

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

NEWS

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N investigation has commenced into how the federal government has been allegedly short-changed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in swapping crude for refined products.

Nigeria is feared to be losing money through opaque contracts in which crude oil worth billions of dollars is given to traders in exchange for refined imports, mainly gasoline, international and domestic watchdogs have said.

The anti-corruption agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Directorate of Security Services (DSS) launched the investigation last month.

A security source with knowledge of the matter said the DSS wanted to find out how the value of the crude and products was computed.

"It appears that the value of the crude was more than the value of the refined imported," the security source said.

The contracts, known as offshore processing agreements (OPAs) are between Pipelines and Product Marketing Co (PPMC), a subsidiary of NNPC and three oil trading companies: Sahara Group, Aiteo and Duke Oil, the trading subsidiary of NNPC. Expired contracts with Swiss trader Trafigura, Taleveras, Ontario Oil and Gas are also being examined, the sources said.

The PPMC head was among the NNPC and company officials called in the investigating agencies in the past two weeks to answer questions about the agreements, the NNPC sources said.

FG probes crude oil swap contracts "It started about two weeks ago...he was called in to the DSS every day since Thursday and before that by the EFCC," one senior official at the company said.

A statement from the NNPC said some of its officials were invited by the agencies "to shed light" on the contracts and that none had been detained or arrested as part of this investigation.

The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative has said there was a revenue loss of at least $600 million due to a discrepancy between the value of the crude and the products delivered. The figure was taken from its 2009-2011 and 2012 audits of the oil and gas industry, the latest was released this year.

Some contract-holders have said that the discrepancies in value were reconciled.

Sahara, which receives 90,000 barrels per day for processing through an agreement with the Societe Ivorienne de Raffinage (SIR), said it was invited to the EFCC and submitted information to show that its contract was justified.

Aiteo, which also has a 90,000 bpd contract, could not be reached for comment.

There was no response to a Reuters email and no telephone details were given on its website.

Duke Oil, an NNPC subsidiary, which has a 30,000 bpd contract, could also not be reached for comment. The listed phone number led to NNPC and it did not respond to an email.

A spokesman for Taleveras, that held a crude swaps contract between

2011 and December 2014 via Duke Oil, said that the company did not owe any money and it would deliver gasoline until June this year to balance out what it received in crude.

A spokesman for Trafigura said that the EFCC had requested

P

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor service to humanity."

He added, "Uncle Sam who has several columns to his credit has demonstrated hard work, dedication and highest level of professionalism in his endeavours.?"

The former governor

Flamboyant and affluent Nigerians will by 2017 guzzle $1.5 billion worth of wine

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HE world's biggest wine fair opens in Bordeaux, wine capital of France, this weekend, with vintners eyeing new tipplers in Africa

noted that "Sad Sam" column authored by Mr. Amuka provided readers fulfillment and mental satisfaction.

Kalu, while wishing the celebrator a joyous celebration, called on journalists to emulate ?Mr. Amuka in their media pursuits.

Facility managers decry infrastructural decay

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he high level of the n a t i o n ' s infrastructural decadence is attributable to lack of budgetary provision for the maintenance of the existing facilities, the Programme Director, International Facility Management Association (IFMA), Mr. Collins Osayamwen Abuja Chapter, has stated.

He spoke in Abuja at the 2015 World Facility Management day with the theme: "building resilience for the future."

Osayamwen lamented that the only kind of maintenance Nigeria understands was breakdown maintenance.

This, he said, was due to lack of proper planning and budgetary provision.

According to him: "The reason why we are unable to

delivering refined product into Nigeria...delivery would typically precede the corresponding swap of crude oil by an order of weeks - sometimes months," the spokesman said.

"This reality led to ongoing supply imbalances...and ultimately

• President Muhammadu Buhari, (second right), Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom during the President’s departure for AU Summit in South Africa, yesterday.

Kalu extols Amuka's virtues

UBLISHER of The Sun and New T e l e g r a p h newspapers, Dr. Orji Kalu, has described the Publisher of Vanguard titles Mr. Sam Amuka-Pemu, as a veteran journalist whose contributions to the media industry are enormous and commendable.

He noted that the seasoned media owner and journalist had over the years dedicated his intellectual resources to nation building through objective, balanced and developmental journalism.

Kalu made the remarks yesterday in a goodwill message to commemorate the 80th birthday of Mr. Amuka.

He said: "Uncle Sam, I wish to convey my sincere congratulations to you and your family as you clock the glorious age of 80. With over five decades in journalism, you have remained a shining star in the industry.

Despite your age, you continue to inspire and motivate the younger generation in the profession including my good self. To clock the age of 80 is a special grace from God and it is my prayer that He will grant you longer life and continued blessings in the

information about their swap contract and it was provided by the company in the past month. Trafigura held a Refined Products Exchange Agreement, or swap contract, between Oct. 2010 and Dec. 2014. "Despite Trafigura facing extensive logistical challenges in

reconciled, every two months over the duration of the term."

The EFCC has investigated various oil scandals in the recent past, namely a fuel subsidy fraud costing the government $6.8 billion between 2009-2011.

But due to a lack of political will from the top, only a handful were prosecuted with little result.

From: Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

maintain our infrastructure, not even from government alone but even private is because from the word go, we get it all wrong."

He pointed out that the inability of the engineers, builders, architects who build to work together with facility managers has contributed immensely to infrastructural decay.

Osayamwen stressed: "The kind of maintenance we know in Nigeria is breakdown maintenance, until it fails you don't care whether it needs service or not."

The Deputy Director, Abuja Metropolitan Management Company, Mrs. Perpetual Ohammah, stressed the need for strong legislation to ensure that facility managers are carried along when a project is ongoing.

•Africa becomes 'next destination' for the global industry as global consumption rises in Asia and elsewhere.

Nigeria is one of the fastest-growing countries for champagne consumption, with the bubbly popular among its oil-rich middle class, hip-hop artists, and movie stars.

Nigerians are said to have spent $700 million on spirits in 2012 and are expected to double that to $1.5 billion by 2017.

The US and China are the world's top wine-lovers, but Africa is the industry's next "future destination", says the Vinexpo wine and spirits fair, in a market expecting 3.5% growth over the next three years.

In Bordeaux, 45,000 buyers from 120 nations will hop from luxury chateaux to prestige vineyards partying and guzzling as France, the world's leading wine

producer, lays out its best bottles and fare for a five-day get-together starting today.

Wine is France's secondbiggest export after aeronautics, accounting for half a million jobs, and President Francois Hollande will be the first head of state to open the Vinexpo fair.

But wine and spirits consumption, though buoyant, faces "a changing picture" and "many uncertainties", said the fair's CEO Guillaume Deglise.

"We're at a moment of transition with welldeveloped markets on the wane, such as France because of changes in consumption patterns and differences between generations," Deglise told AFP. "It's important to identify markets that will drive our exports outside of China and the US," he said.

The Vinexpo fair will gather 2,350 exhibitors from 42 countries, two-thirds of them from France, which last year produced 523 million 12bottle crates.

Big producers Italy and Spain too will be wellrepresented along with Portugal, Chile, Argentina, the United States, Britain, Germany, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Raising glasses will be buyers and traders in all tipples-reds, whites, roses, bubblies, sweet and dry wines, sherries, cheap plonk and boutique brands.

Even Georgia's famed old-world wines-aged in amphoras according to a tradition that dates back thousands of years-will get headline attention as its wine techniques become increasingly popular.

ASUU, VC differ on suspension of unionist

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HE Academic Staff Union of Universities [ASUU] Owerri zone and the Vice Chancellor of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike [MOUAU] Abia State, have expressed different views over the suspension of the ASUU chairman, Dr. Uzochukwu Onyebinama, by the university authority.

While ASUU condemned the suspension, the MOUAU chairman called for the immediate revocation of the suspension describing the action as callous.

The Vice Chancellor, Professor Hilary Edeoga, on the other hand justified the suspension of Onyebinama as

From Ugochukwuu UgojiEke, Umuahia a staff of the university, saying it was prescribed by the rules of service of the university.

He said that the MOUAU ASUU boss breached the service of the school and the recommendations of the committees set up to investigate allegations of exam fraud and misconduct leveled against him and not on his role as ASUU chairperson.

The union had, in its congress at the university last week, resolved to commence action against the university authority until it reversed the decision order suspending its chairman.

The resolution, which was announced by the Owerri zonal coordinator of ASUU, Professor Ike Odumegwu, said that the measure to suspend the chairperson, place him on half salary and ban him from entering the campus because he sought redress in the court against the university over cases of injustice, was unacceptable.

Reacting to the allegations of highhandedness, the Vice Chancellor, said the suspension of Dr. Onyebinama was neither personal nor a war against ASUU but followed the due process as contained in the university's rule of service.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015 Debt crises: African presidents for Abuja summit From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

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FRICAN Heads of Government will discuss ways of ending the debt crises facing the continent during a meeting in Abuja from July 3-4.

According to the organisers, The African Legacy International Media Service Limited, the summit said will also enable participating presidents to table their priorities.

Chairman and Chief Executive of African Legacy International Media Service Limited, Engr.

Innocent Ogu, said the countries will explore five fundamental changes such as new democratic and accountable government, sensible economic policies, end to debt crisis and changing relationship with donors.

Other issues that will be discussed, he said, include spreading of new technologies and the emerging of a new generation policy makers, activists and business leaders among others.

The Director of Mobilisation & Strategy of the organisation, Chief Ezekiel Afukonyo, assured participants must have learnt how to become more effective business leaders after the summit.

NEWS

Borno will bounce back, Shettima assures

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EASURES taken by the Buhari-led administration will make the north east region experience peace again, Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima has assured.

According to him: “We are going to bounce back despite of all the difficulties. We are going to use our meagre resources to start the reconstruction exercise.”

The governor spoke with newsmen at the Maiduguri International Airport on arrival yesterday from an official working visit with President Muhammadu Buhari.

Shettima, who was on the

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HE Miners Association of Nigeria yesterday said it could increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 10 per cent and create additional 300,000 in five years with cooperation from the federal government.

Its president, Alhaji Sani Shehu, stated this at a press parley to unfold the association’s five- year strategic development plan for the sector in Abuja.

Shehu identified unfa-

From Duku Joel, Maiduguri

presidential entourage to Niger, Chad and the G7 summit in Germany, said counter terrorism efforts have been stepped in the region with the commitment of neighbouring Niger and Chad.

He noted that Borno will be the greatest beneficiary of the war as most of its communities have been destroyed with countless displaced.

According to him: “I believe with the cooperation that the federal government was able to extract from our neighboring countries, we are on course to a sustained

peace in this part of the world.”

He also expressed delight with the reopening of the Maiduguri International Airport by the federal government to commercial flights, stressing the move will enable the people transact businesses all over the world.

The governor also called on the federal government to assist in the reconstruction of the destroyed communities by Boko Haram.

“People have started going back to Damasak and Gwoza but we need the support of the federal govern-

ment to reconstruct some of these communities that even if the people wish to go back, there little they can do.

“From behind the hills in Gwoza, their communities have been completely wiped out. So, if they will have to go back, where are they going to stay?

“In the same vein, Bama and Baga have been burnt completely and so many communities.

“We believe that in the next few weeks and months, the federal government will come to our aid to solve this problem. We are absolutely sure about this,” Shettima said.

Miners promise 300,000 jobs From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

vourable conditions for funding, inadequate geological and bankable data and inadequate logistical support as the major challenges facing the sector.

He also blamed the sector’s challenges on inadequate funding of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development as well as interference of min-

ing operations by lower tiers of government in Ogun, Oyo, Benue, Cross River and other states.

Shehu also called for extension of local content law for operators at single digit interest rate.

According to him: “Every year, millions of dollars are spent on importing raw materials that are so vast. We have

more than enough yet we prefer to spend the foreign exchange to buy these minerals.

“The implication is that we are creating unemployment and impoverishing ourselves.”

He also asked government to promote value addition in exportable minerals to create jobs and additional revenue from the by-products.

FG hands over fishing equipment to Itsekiri cooperatives From Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

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HE federal government has presented 24 Yamaha outboard marine boat engines of different Horse Powers, 50 bundles of fishing nets, 100 units of marine ropes and 10,000 pieces of SH-20 floats to Itsekiri Fishermen Co-operatives.

The inputs were handed over to a representative of the fishermen, Chief (Mrs.) Ritalori Ogbebor, in Abuja.

The Deputy Director, Artisenal Fisheries, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Development, Olusegun Babatunde, stated that the gesture was in line with government’s effort at increasing local production of fishes with an additional 200,000 metric tons.

The inputs, he said, would provide employment opportunities to the Itsekiri youths and help them to contribute to the fishery sector.

Babatunde also said that artisanal fishing has contributed to the 80 per cent of fishes produced locally in Nigeria.

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HE General Evangelist of Motailatu Church Cherubim & Seraphim Worldwide (MCCSW), Elder Prof.

Joseph Otubu, has urged Nigerians to be patient with the new administration.

He said the expectation of change from the masses was valid and understandable but said the new gov-

• Chief Operating Officer, Provast Limited, Wicus Bronkhorst; Chief Medical Director, Lagos State Teaching Hospital, Professor Wale Oke; Nigeria chapter Treasurer of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), Mrs Abimbola Olusegun-Adamolekun; former President IFMA Nigeria, Iyabo Aboaba; President IFMA Nigeria, Mr Richard Okesola; IFMA Fellow, Jon Martens; and former President IFMA Nigeria, Stephen Jagun at the commemoration of World Facility Management Day in Lagos... last week

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HE circumstances that led to the emergence of the Senate President and Speaker could spell doom for the ‘change’ mantra of the new administration, the chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) South West region, Archbishop Magnus Atilade, has declared.

Atilade, who was a Deputy Mayor of St. Paul Minnesota in the United States from 19721976, said the elections of Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara in defiance of the directives by the All Progressives Congress(APC) was dangerous to the nation’s democracy.

He expressed fears that the elections could derail the lofty programmes of the APC for the masses.

‘Saraki, Dogara’s emergence dangerous’

By Sunday Oguntola

“Nigerians have waited for this change to happen but I am afraid we might not see anything different with this kind of anti-democratic antics.

“Leaders who emerged without party’s endorsement and regulations could hardly stand for the people but for themselves,” the cleric explained.

Reacting to the development, he said: “Everywhere in the world, the cardinal feature of democracy is party supremacy. All the National Assembly members emerged through structures of parties.

“So, their aspirations and ambitions should always be within the confines of their

party’s dictates. Since there was a straw ballot, those who lost should not have contested.

“To do so is to become dissidents and that is what we have now in our hands right now. The development is dangerous and a threat to our democracy.”

He described what happened at both chambers as “a gang up by reactionaries bent on derailing the anti-corruption stance of the new administration”, saying it should be condemned by all democrats.

The cleric, who was one of the 200 honoured as outstanding citizens in 1997 during the bi-centennial celebration of the United States of America

(USA), also cautioned the APC against wielding the big sticks.

Rather, he canvassed for constant enlightenment and persuasion of elected officials on the platform of the party.

“Legislators need knowledge, skills and wisdom, which are the arts and science of governance. Parties must always teach them these.

“These are skills that some people like us have imbibed even in advanced democracies.

We would be available to impart the same if given the opportunity free of charge.

“So, they should enlighten them on the imperatives of party discipline and use persuasions instead of sanctions,” he stressed.

Otubu preaches patience with Buhari, others

ernment will require time to change the nation.

Otubu, who spoke with newsmen, said: “Nigerians are right to demand for change because that is what this new government promised.

“It is in order to become anxious and apprehensive with government but we

must give this new administration a little time.

“No nation is changed or turned over in an instant. It requires a lot of strenuous works and reengineering to salvage a complex nation like Nigeria.”

The patience required, the renowned gynecologist

stated, cannot be as much as the one Nigerians have exercised over the years.

He assured that the administration will start delivering once it settles down and is assisted by prayers.

“Since we have a government more Nigerians wanted, all we can do now is to embrace eternal vigi-

lance and pray for its success.

“More than anything, this new government needs prayers. It also needs a little patience because I have no doubt God will turn things around.

“It won’t be long again that Nigeria will take her place in the comity of na-

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Appeal Court to rule on certificate forgery suit against Rep From Tony Akowe Abuja

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HE Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has fixed June 18 for hearing in a suit challenging the legality of Hon. Abubakar Abdullahi from contesting election into the Suleja/Gurara/Tafa federal constituency in Niger state.

In the suit, the Appellant, Attahiru Abubakar, is praying the court to set aside the judgement of the lower court, which ruled that no case of certificate forgery has been established against the Abdullhai.

Abdullahi was dragged before the Court of Appeal in the allegation of two previous convictions in 2007 when the court found him guilty of certificate forgery.

The first respondent had, through his counsel, UB Eyo, raised preliminary objection over the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court in Minna which entertained the matter.

The first respondent counsel told the Appeal Court that since the appellants did not seek any relief against any federal institution such as INEC, it should not have approached the Federal High Court for adjudication.

Counsel to the appellant, Abdulsalam Husseini, sought a short adjournment to enable him respond to the issues raised in the respondent’s objection which the court granted.

In suit number CA/A/ 226/2015 filed on the 27th April, Attahiru Musa Abubakar alleged that as “a member of the Niger State House of Assembly on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Abdullahi had his victory challenged by one Hon Yahaya Sadauki of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in the National Assembly, Governorship and state House of Assembly election tribunal in petition number SHA/EPT/NS/11// 07 on forgery related issue and was disqualified both at the tribunal and appeal level and had to vacate the Assembly.”

The appellant is asking the court to determine whether in the face of exhibits A2 A i.e. Exhibit A2 which is the judgment of the election Tribunal for National Assembly/Governorship and State House of Assembly election 2007 and the judgment of Court of Appeal on same, the trial judge was right to have held that allegation of crime was not proved.

The court is also to determine whether by the provision of the 2nd respondent’s Constitution (APC) specifically article 19(2) and Article 20(IVB), the court was right to have held that granting the reliefs of the Appellant will amount to court nominating candidate for a political party.

tions and become the beautiful bride again.

“I urge for patience because we are in for a wonderful time where God will restore our pride and make the whole world come looking for us again.”

Real, lasting change, he explained, will require “patience because we have waited for this long and God will show up this time around for Nigeria.”

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Tinubu can resolve APC/NASS leaderships crisis Majekodunmi From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

NEWS

chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Femi Majekodunmi, on at the weekend expressed the confidence that the crisis within the party resulting from the emergence of the leadership of the eighth National Assembly would be resolved soon.

Majekodunmi said the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has the political sagacity to handle the matter and urged him to begin the process of reconciling all the parties involved in the crisis.

The medical doctor cum politician, who spoke with reporters in Abeokuta at the weekend, said given the immense contribution of Tinubu to the successes recorded by the party, the onus is on him to save the ruling party from what could lead to its factionalisation.

According to him, the former Lagos State governor has the skills needed to call a meeting of the major stakeholders of the party where the crisis which erupted over the election of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President and Hon. Yakubu Dogara, as Speaker, House of Representatives respectively, can be settled once and for all.

Majekodunmi, a close associate of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, maintained that going to court by the aggrieved party will bring further damage to the APC. He said, "It is important for the leadership of the party to learn from and also move a step ahead of what happened when both Hon. Dimeji Bankole and Hon. Aminu Tambuwal were elected Speaker of the House of Representatives even when they were not the preferred candidates of their party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which did not sanction them.

"With what Asiwaju Tinubu has done in the past, the time has come for him to deploy his political knowhow to tilt the leadership of the party towards genuine reconciliation through a meeting of the necessary stakeholders which will make Nigerians not to regret voting for the party in the last general elections."

The Baagbile of Egbaland further enjoined the APC National Leader not to have any candidate for any position among members of the party, stating that his role in the present political dispensation should be that of father to all with no preferred or anointed member.

He said the APC has to be careful not to give room for the opposition to come to limelight, noting that the PDP will always be happy to capitalise on the foibles of the ruling party to catch the attention of Nigerians.

'Tinubu, others must ensure APC survives crisis'

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ORMER All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Ambassador Nurain Mumuni, has pleaded with the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, President Muhammadu Buhari and other APC stalwarts to rise to the challenges of returning the party to the path of sanity and discipline in order to restore the confidence reposed in it by Nigerians.

Speaking in an interview with The Nation, Mumuni disclosed that the likes of Tinubu, President Buhari

and other APC stalwarts should not stand and watch helplessly while the party they built with their sweat and blood is being threatened by avoidable controversies and mudslinging that might lead to its disintegration.

According to Mumuni: "I just want to appeal to our leaders in the party, especially Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and President Buhari, not to allow the ongoing acrimony triggered by the outcome of the election of the National Assembly principal officers to degenerate further, hence the

need for them to ensure that all the grievances in the party are amicably resolved.

"Both Buhari and Tinubu have committed so much to the successes and eventual victory of the party at the just concluded presidential election, and no matter the situation, they remain strong forces and rallying points in the party.

Most of us look up to them as role models and liberators of the common people.'

"I'm inclined to think that in an attempt to gain recognition or place themselves in lucrative positions of relevance, some

party leaders would not be bothered whether their actions and utterances are inimical to the well-being of APC. They have been blindfolded by their individual ambition which has compounded problems for APC. They're in a hurry and short sighted too.

They're never concerned about the fate and integrity of APC. But I still want to plead with Asiwaju Tinubu not to relent in his efforts; he should not cave in to cheap blackmail. He must not allow the party to disintegrate, because that is the plot of the opponents."

• L-R: Azubuike Ezeh, Chinedu Ezeh, Christopher Ezeh jnr, Adaeze Nwaragwu and the bereaved husband, Chief Christopher Ezeh at the Memorial Service for his late wife, Lolo (Mrs.) Rose Ijeoma Ezeh held at Chief Ezeh's country home, Igbo-ukwu, Anambra State yesterday.

Guard against what caused your impeachment in 2006, ex-lawmaker urges Fayose A former lawmaker in Ekiti State, Omoniyi Ajaja, has given reasons why they impeached Governor Ayodele Fayose in 2006 during his first term in office.

He was reacting to the recent statement credited to Fayose that those lawmakers that impeached him in 2006 had died politically.

Ajaja, who is a member of the second session of the Ekiti assembly, said in a statement made available to reporters in Akure, the Ondo State capital, that it was better for the governor to see the impeachment saga as an experience in his political life rather than castigating the assembly that impeached him.

He maintained that Governor Fayose should thank God for his second coming, stressing that the 2006 impeachment was done by the lawmakers to save the state

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

from anarchy which it was heading towards.

According to him majority of those lawmakers that participated in the exercise had at one time or the other held several other political positions within and outside the state, stressing that some of them are still relevant in the politics of the state.

The governor, while inaugurating the new state House of Assembly last Friday, declared that "impeach me, risk political death," and that those who impeached him in 2006 have died politically today.

Ajaja, who was the Chief Whip of the second assembly, described the statement as too mean for a governor and that it was an attempt by him to intimidate the current assembly members who he described as "his stooges."

The former lawmaker said "As a former member of the second Assembly, a Chief Whip, Omoniyi Ajaja from Ido/Osi Local Government Constituency 1, from 2003 and 2007, I remain one of the pillars of Ekiti State politics today, still very active and alive to political issues not only in Ekiti but in Nigeria as a whole.

"Likewise, majority of the Assembly men that served at that time are equally still relevant in the politics of the state. Governor Fayose should be reminded that the House of Assembly remains an arm of government which enjoys its independence like the Judiciary and the Executive arms.

"If any Governor is found wanting in the discharge of his constitutional duties, it is the duty of the Legislature to

check mate him."

He said since 2006, some of the lawmakers that participated in the impeachment had held various positions in other administrations which came after Fayose.

The former legislator said politics should be seen to be dynamic and not a business of an individual as being displayed by Fayose.

He said only members of the fifth Assembly in Ekiti state who the governor claimed are his stooges and extension of his office may find it extremely difficult to call him to order.

Ajaja advised members of the fifth Assembly not to allow the threat by the governor to distract them from carrying out their constitutional duties, stressing that anytime the governor commits constitutional breaches, he should be called to order.

Lagos Speaker felicitates with Amuka at 80

S

PEAKER of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has described the publisher of the Vanguard newspapers, Chief Sam Amuka, OFR, as an icon who has brought honour and dignity to the profession of journalism not only in Nigeria but also throughout the world.

Obasa disclosed this in a statement congratulating the media icon on his 80th

By Oziegbe Okoeki birthday.

In the statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Musbau Rasak, the Lagos Assembly Speaker described the celebrator as a man worthy of emulation by all, having led by example through his belief in discipline, hard work and dignity in attaining success in life.

The speaker stated further that but for the pioneering efforts of people like Chief Sam

Amuka, the journalism profession in Nigeria would not have attained such high standard.

"People like Sam Amuka laid the foundation for the development of modern media practice in Nigeria.

Therefore, it is no surprise that the Vanguard newspapers founded by Chief Sam Amuka is one of the leading national newspapers in Nigeria today and well respected globally," Obasa said.

He also commended the celebrator for using his publications to champion democratic growth in the country.

"It is on this note that my colleagues and I in the Lagos State House of Assembly join your friends, associates and family members spread across the world in wishing you a befitting 80th birthday and we pray to God to continue to give you good health," he said.

Culture and Tourism great tool for job creation Oyintiloye

A

House of Assembly member representing O b o k u n Constituency of Osun State, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye has said investments in Culture and Tourism by the federal and state governments would boost job creation and the economy.

He made the submission in Ibokun, Obokun Local Government while speaking at the 2015 Obokun Festival.

According to him, tourism development would not only serve as alternate source of income, but would also reinforce the fight against social vices and help address societal ills by instilling high moral standards, and cultural values.

Bringing to mind the economic challenge in the country, Oyintiloye lamented that economic challenges being experienced in the country were largely due to heavy dependence on the revenue from petroleum products and the concomitant effect of the fall in global oil prices.

He advocated that it was high time Nigeria began to look beyond oil and diversify its economy.

Outlining areas of job creation in the sector to include tour guide, horticulture, food services, entertainment industry, craft and arts productions, and waste recycling, to mention a few, he maintained that it was the prerogative of Nigerians to tap into advantage of these opportunities.

While lauding the state of Osun for developing tourism master plan which he said had a robust and global outlook, he maintained that the blueprint had the mindset of economy of scale as it focused on development of local content.

He expressed strong hope that the master plan which was meticulously and diligently developed by the State Tourism Board when fully implemented would set the pace for others to follow.

Oyintiloye cited example of Olumirin Water fall, saying through effective management by agency of the state government over 50,000 were attracted as visitors in 2014.

The lawmaker who noted that Obokun cultural value and tourism potentials were enormous, called all stakeholders including sons and daughter of Ibokun at home and in Diaspora to contribute their quota towards its development.

Also speaking, the Oba Ibokun of Ibokun, Oba Festus Awogboro charged the government to encourage the Obokun festival and other such cultural event in the state, saying they are source of revenue generation for government.

Describing Ibokun as the source of Ijesa people, the monarch called on sons and daughters of the town to also find ways of attracting development to the town.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

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RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, who has barely been on the seat for two weeks, is already being criticised for not "hitting the ground running" - whatever the clichĂŠd phrase connotes.

While those who express disappointment with the pace of his new administration demand concrete change from the very first day, other informed observers counter that governance of a country like Nigeria, at a time like this, demands care and diligence.

Widow of the late activist lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Mrs. Ganiat Fawehinmi, summed up this later view when she told The Nation at the weekend that "the task of turning around Nigeria requires more brain than brawn."

Also, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in his reaction to the charges, told this newspaper that the president has shown enough determination to deliver on his campaign promises.

Our checks as at yesterday indicate that since his inauguration as President, Buhari has taken certain steps and actions that confirm what the priorities of his government would be.

On appointment of his team It is on record that within the first two weeks of his presidency, Buhari appointed three key aides, two of whom are his senior media advisers, and a protocol staff. He also sent the list of 15 Special Advisers to the Senate for approval.

Though many acknowledge that he needed these key officials to kick start his administration, critics insist he should have named his entire cabinet within these first two weeks.

But Buhari is not the only Nigerian president since 1999 that did not name his cabinet within two weeks. It took over a month for most of his predecessors since 1999 to name their ministers. His immediate successor, former President Goodluck Jonathan for example, sent the letter containing a list of his cabinet nominees to the National Assembly on July 27, 2011, one month after his inauguration. It was not until mid July that the cabinet was finally unveiled.

A close associate of Buhari, who spoke on a condition of anonymity, said in the case of the new man at the helm, there is need for caution before choosing the team. "The President would not want to make any mistake.

We all know the high expectations and besides, the political party that produced this president is a coalition of four political tendencies. This was not exactly the case with the political party that produced the other presidents you are comparing Buhari with.

He is conscious that these political tendencies must be taken into consideration before choosing a team. Have you forgotten that when he wanted to choose a running mate, it took time? Critics talked but he took his time and by the time he made the choice, everybody agreed it was the right choice.

That is what is happening. He is not being unnecessarily slow."

Security, corruption and economic challenges Besides appointment of his team, another area Buhari has received criticism over is in delivery of his campaign promises.

Though his critics said he is yet to 'hit the ground running' in the delivery of his campaign promises, it is on record that in the first two weeks of his administration, the president has taken certain steps that confirm his determination to tackle security, corruption and economic challenges.

Within the two weeks, Buhari made three foreign trips strategic to solving most of the major challenges he promised to tackle. They included the shuttle to Niger and Chad as well as the G-7 meeting in Germany over the country's economic and security challenges.

The trip this weekend to South Africa for the AU Summit is also in furtherance of those goals.

Before heading to the AU meeting, the president met in Abuja with leaders of countries comprising the Chad Basin Commis-

THE BUHARI PRESIDENCY

Two weeks after May 29 Following his triumph at the March 28, 2015 elections, President Muhammadu Buhari's has consistently commented on the huge burden of expectations from Nigerians who are hungry for change. Although his administration is just two weeks old, it has already come under criticism over the pace at which the components of the new regime are being put together. In this piece, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, Sunday Oguntola and Edozie Udeze review the actions and inactions of Buhari's first two weeks in office.

On the National Assembly, I believe what has happened is very commendable.

You see Nigeria is a very complex nation and you have to carry everyone along. If you don't, the nation can break. With what happened, you realise that all the six geo-political zones have been accommodated.

It is only the South-South that is yet to get something and I'm sure it will get a plum appointment soon. We shouldn't have a situation where the President thinks he is only for those who elected him or those who helped him to power.

We shouldn't have a winner-takes-it-all attitude. You should show magnanimity after you have won and accommodate others. It should not be a party-take-it-all. So, for me, the President is on course. When he eventually comes up with his ministerial list, I am sure it will be the best we can have at this time in the nation."

Femi Aborishade 'I am disappointed'

Human rights crusader and social critic, Femi Aborishade says he is disappointed in the first two weeks of Buhari's administration.

"I will say that I am disappointed in several ways. For God's sake, it's been two weeks and one expects to have started feeling the impact of change the President promised us.

The only good thing he has demonstrated is commitment to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency. Nobody can take that away from him. Nobody doubts that he means business and is set to flush the terrorists out of the country. How far he can go however remains to be seen.

But on other areas, I expected much more.

In the first place, I expected him to have tackled the fuel crisis. This crisis started before he came on board and Nigerians were hoping that once he assumes power, he would tackle the crisis headlong. It's been two weeks and the crisis is biting harder. Is it because people are not protesting? If it were to be in other places, people should have been on the roads by now.

Unfortunately, the President has not done anything about the crisis. He has not even said a word about it. As far as Nigerians are concerned, it is as if we don't have a government in place yet on the fuel issue.

Secondly, the President promised to publicly declare his assets but unfortunately, he opted to do it secretly. That is against what he promised us. He even went as far as saying all the ministers-to-be would have to declare their assets to be considered for positions. Why did he declare secretly?

I believe the explanation that the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) will later declare the assets after verification is an afterthought. Verification is not even a constitutional requirement. The President should have done the declaration openly, just like former President Musa Yar'Adua did.

It appears the hopes of Nigerians in the first two weeks are being dashed. He has not lived up to the high expectations of Nigerians.

Eseme Eyiboh 'So far, so good'

• Buhari

sion - Niger, Cameroon and Benin - whose forces are involved a multinational efforts to crush the Boko Haram insurgency. One of the fruits of that summits was the agreement that Nigeria - at the insistence of Buhari - would provide the commander of the multinational force on a permanent basis.

Besides these foreign trips, Buhari has met with security chiefs at least twice also on the issue of security. He has also made some confidential utterances and given directives that have led to the secret return of millions of dollars of stolen Nigerian funds.

These are some of the concrete steps he has taken even before the formal inauguration of the 8th National Assembly necessary for the formal take-off of his administration.

While some acknowledge these steps as

steps in the right direction, others who spoke to The Nation team say his pace is yet to match the people's expectations. The opinions differ sharply:

Don Etiebet

'President is on course' Former Minister of Petroleum, Chief Don Etiebet says President Muhammadu Buhari is on course.

"President Muhammadu Buhari is a very meticulous person who doesn't like to make mistakes. He likes to do things properly so that when he starts, it will be go-go for him.

For example, on Boko Haram, he has hit the grounds running in such a way that even those sponsoring the sect should already be developing goose pimples.

For the former spokesman of the House of Representatives, Eseme Eyiboh, Buhari has been able to demonstrate independentmindedness, strong character and personal integrity in governance.

"First, let me say that you cannot properly assess a President in just two weeks. In his inaugural speech, he also told us the parameters to measure him by saying he is for everybody and he is not for somebody.

But to me, it's been so far, so good. Look at how he handled the emergence of National Assembly leadership. By detaching himself, the President has shown his commitment to the enthronement of the principle of separation of powers. It is certain this President is committed to equity and fairness.

I don't believe he is slow as many are alleging. What he is doing is strategic recruitment of leaders or leadership recruit-

•Contd. on page 10

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

NEWS REVIEW

The Buhari Presidency: Two weeks after May 29 •Contd. from page 9 ment process. The President needs time to deliver and he is on track.

Those who are clamouring for ministerial list are those used to running Nigeria as a franchise where they can always have a buffet. He needs time to collate and assess the people who will work in his cabinet.

For me, the President has been able to demonstrate independent-mindedness, strong character and personal integrity in governance. It is this personal integrity that will lead to institutional integrity."

'I am not impressed'

Chinwoke Mbadinuju Slow and steady wins the race'

FORMER governor of Anambra State, Chinwoke Mbadinuju, told The Nation that Buhari's seeming slow pace should not be misconstrued to be a weakness on the part of Buhari.

"It is a well known fact that most politicians would say what they want to say in this present circumstance. But those of us who have been following Buhari's political antecedents can easily say that he has done well within these few weeks.

The evidence is there for all to see. Buhari has been talking about change which he has today brought to bear in what he has been able to do as the President. His slogan has been change and to all intents and purposes that change has finally come.

Anyone who says there is no change or that the political situation does not point to that direction is not only an opponent but does not want the change that these few weeks have ushered into the system. This is indeed a turning point in the political history of the country, a reality that is there for all to see.

From West to East and North, people have been rating him high and no one can now say he is not capable of handling the affairs of the nation. Whoever says to the contrary does not indeed believe in the truth. As the people talk positively about him, they should watch him go so that he does not make mistakes; so that people would eventually gain from his political wisdom and leadership acumen.

He is an astute leader and that is what he has shown so far in the affairs of the nation.

President Buhari is not in any way slow. If he rushes, he may make mistakes and his opponents will be the first to attack him. It is usually said that slow and steady wins the race and that is his wise approach to it all."

Jimi Solanke

He wants to thread softly VETERAN artiste, Jimi Solanke, said he believes Buhari is only being careful so as to get things right.

"I will tell you one thing. I cannot blame him or procrastinate on what he has done so far. We all shouted sai baba, sai baba and that he has not done anything now. But I think he is trying to get it right with his political caucuses. I believe he wants to thread softly and to me he should not be involved in all these things party members are doing. He has promised us change and therefore he should be involved in change. Even in his choice of ministers and those to work with him, he should be seen to be involved in change. That is exactly what Nigerians expect."

Chijioke Uwasomba

He has not hit the ground running yet

SENIOR lecturer, OAU, Chijioke Uwasomba, says the expectations of Nigerians are high and that Buhari is yet to move with the pace that matches with the peoples' expectations.

"The expectations are high because of the near collapse of the economy and the total destruction of national values and ethos by the previous government. Personally, I expect a new turnaround of the fortunes of Nigerians in all spheres of life.

This is why Nigerians seem to be impatient with him and his administration in

ensure the eventual release of the Chibok girls who have been under the captivity of the sect for almost a year ago.

Even though the outgoing administration had left the economy in state of ruins, there is a high level of optimism that this administration will reenact the enviable feats that characterised his tenure as head of state 21 years ago," she said.

Maxi Okwu

•Etiebet

•Ganiat Fawehinmi

•Solanke

•Shehu

the last few days.

He has not hit the ground running yet.

One expected that by now the new shape of things would have started unfolding. He must be in a hurry because Nigerians voted for a change and Buhari enjoys huge support from the international community. He appeared too aloof in the politics of the leadership of the National Assembly. He is the leader of the party. And so he must use his influence to hold the party together, otherwise, the party becomes another rally like the defeated PDP. With the way things are going, it looks like there is no difference between the PDP and APC. The collusion between the Saraki group and the PDP shows that the APC harbours all kinds of undisciplined and indecent characters. The Dino Melayes of this world don't have the temperament and ideological solidity to be in APC if the party is truly driven by a progressive ideology."

forded him the opportunity of holding key side meetings with some of the seven heads of state who will be convened at the summit.

"He is in a group of seven other heads of State who were called in as guests. The side meetings with some of the seven heads of state who convened at the summit yielded great dividends. I can assure you that we will soon begin to see some of these results.

Aside our gains as a nation, the invitation is also a sign that the international community is obviously acknowledging Nigeria's significant role in global affairs, especially with the recent change in government," he said.

He added that the president would do all within his powers to guarantee that Nigerians would not regret entrusting him with national responsibility by electing him during the March 28 presidential poll.

"This government is capable of and willing to fix the nation's problems. Nigerians will not regret that they have entrusted national responsibility to President Buhari.

Sure, the tasks are daunting but they are by no means insurmountable."

Garba Shehu

"He's shown determination to fulfill electoral promises"

TO the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President has so far shown his determination to fulfill his electoral promises to Nigerians. The Presidential Media aide told The Nation that the President's actions in the last two weeks are all geared towards delivering on his promises.

He contended that the administration is just coming on board and was still in the procedure of setting out suitable modalities on how to actualise its plan of restoring Nigeria as contained in the manifesto of the All Progressives Congress.

Citing an example of an action of the President that is of great benefit to the country, Shehu recalled Buhari's recent visit to Germany during the G7 Summit. He explained that the trip holds a lot of promises for the country.

"Mr. President was invited to that meeting even before he was sworn in. The invitation was a clear indication of the international community's willingness to cooperate with the new government of Nigeria.

Although President Buhari did not participate in the main meetings since Nigeria is not a member of the G7 group, the trip af-

Ganiat Fawehinmi

He is on the right track

WIDOW of late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Ganiat Fawehinmi, is of the opinion that so far, President Buhari is on the right track.

According to the activist while speaking with The Nation at the home of late Chief M.K.O Abiola on Friday, the task of turning around Nigeria requires more brain than brawn, and as such, Nigerians should exercise patience and allow the President time to tackle the many issues facing the country.

Mrs. Fawehinmi, who commended the general for his perseverance and tenacity of purpose, said she was hopeful that his administration would offer Nigerians the much needed change they desire.

She however expressed optimism that with "With the directive he gave when he assumed office, there is hope that the dreaded Boko Haram sect and other security challenges which have continued to become a nightmare for the outgoing government and previous administration before now may soon become a thing of the past.

While I urge us all to continue to pray for Buhari, I want to beg Mr. President to pursue the security with much vigour that will

CHIEF MAXI OKWU, former presidential candidate and current National Chairman of a faction of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), told The Nation that he is not impressed by President Muhammadu Buhari's performance in the first two weeks of his administration.

Asked to assess the president's performance in the first two weeks, Okwu retorted, "I am not impressed because he did not hit the ground running as expected. I thought by now he would have named his core team.

By now, he should have at least named his Chief of Staff, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the new National Security Adviser, etc. It is strange that two weeks after his inauguration, he has not only named his ministers but has also not appointed his advisers. It is not enough to appoint media aides and a protocol officer.

I am also not satisfied with his failure to address the issue of making clear cut policy directives of his government known. Yes, he travelled to Chad and met with Cameroon and he traveled to Germany for the G7 meeting. He went to Chad to seek assistance on the critical issue of Boko Haram. He also went to Germany to seek assistance on the critical issue of economy. But besides seeking assistance and besides the broad references made in the inaugural speech, what is the clear policy directive of this government on these critical areas? What of oil subsidy? I am not impressed so far.

On Buhari's handling of the politics of National Assembly leadership election and how the President should handle the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dokora's emergence as Senate President and speaker of the House of Representatives, where the ruling party's choices for the leadership of both chambers lost out in a delicate political intrigue, Okwu said, "my worry is that Mr President won the election on the platform of a political party. As the president, you can't say you are not interested in who leads the National Assembly.

You can't play Pontius Pilate in this matter.

On the way forward, I think APC is in a dire circumstance. There are two extremes available to it. In one extreme is to discipline the party members who disobeyed the directives of the party. At the other extreme is the option of allowing the rebels to go scot free. Either way is dangerous for APC. But if I were APC, I will opt for the option of giving them appropriate discipline. For a party to command respect, it must be ready to bite when it becomes necessary. It is however left for APC."

Adeyemi Ikuforiji

'Buhari has hit the ground running' FORMER Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, said two weeks is too short to asses any government because governance is not as easy as people think.

However, he is of the opinion that President Buhari has hit the ground running since taking office last month. He said the new government will change the country for the better soon.

"I urge the citizens to be patient and prepare for positive change. Now that the progressives are in control of the administration, I am sure of positive change in all sectors. Governance is not as easy as people think. But in my opinion, the President understands the task ahead and he has hit the ground running immediately he took office," he said.

On how best he thinks Buhari should handle the NASS crisis, the former Speaker would rather have the President steer clear of the issue.

"It is none of his business if you ask me.

He is the head of the executive arm of government and the national assembly is the legislature. He has no business worrying his head over that. He should concentrate on delivering on his electoral promises," he quipped.

•Contd. on page 11

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

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HE events that culminated in the election of Senator Bukola Saraki as the President of the Senate and Yakubu Dogara as Speaker of the House of Representatives, on Tuesday, June 9, would continue to ring and ricochet around political circles. Their election against the wish of the leadership of the party has generated so much heat and upset so many political permutations causing the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to go back to the drawing board and look at itself under a new prism.

It is no doubt a challenge to what is known as party supremacy, the idea that the political party as a unit is superior and that any decision taken by it is binding on members. How far this can be applied in the events of that Tuesday on the floor of the Senate and the House is still in the air.

Since the jostling for the leadership of the National Assembly kicked off, President Muhammadu Buhari had declared that he had no interest in who the members decide to thrust the leadership of the red and green chambers on. Many observers have wondered whether it was in the best thing for the president to make such a declaration since any of his programmes and plans have to pass through the scrutiny of both chambers.

Party supremacy on trial Many of those who wondered why Buhari decided to take this stance point at what happened during the tenures of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, the late Umaru Yar'Adua and lately Goodluck Jonathan. For instance, the Senate Presidency had the highest turnover of occupants during the tenure of Obasanjo largely because he was interested in who occupied the seat. This perhaps was a way of ensuring that his programmes and plans saw the light of the day.

Although, many viewed this as overbearing and undue interference of one arm of government (executive) in the affairs of the other (legislature), the former president played very prominent even if silent role in the choice of who presided over the affairs of the legislature during his eight-year tenure.

During his first term between 1999 and 2003, the senate had three presidents (Evan Enwerem, Chuba Okadigbo and Pius Anyim) while the House had two Speakers (Salisu Buhari and Ghali Na'Abba). On his second coming in 2003 the senate had a turnover of two presidents (Adolphus Wabara and Ken Nnamani) while the House made do with only one (Aminu Masari). Of the two chambers, the senate seemed to be the more unstable under Obasanjo. This was not so much so with the late Yar'Adua and Jonathan. But President Jonathan had it tough with the House during his tenure.

It is, however, too early to say for how long the president would be able to maintain his 'disinterest' in who presides over the two chambers which are very crucial to his delivering on promises made to the electorate during the campaigns.

For Maxi Okwu, claimant to the position of National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the president's declaration of disinterest does not bode well for him and his party. He said: "As the president, you can't say you are not interested in who leads the National Assembly. You can't play Pontius Pilate in this matter." He is of the view that as much as he was not advocating outright interference the president cannot allow an antagonistic leadership to control the assembly.

On what he thinks the party has to do, he said: "I think APC is in a dire circumstance. There are two extremes available to it. One extreme is to discipline the party members who disobeyed the directives of the party. At the other extreme is the option of allowing the rebels to go scot free. Either way is dangerous for APC. But if I were APC, I will opt for the option of giving them appropriate discipline. For a party to command respect, it must be ready to bite when it becomes necessary. It is, however, left for APC." At the other end of the spectrum is the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Augustine Alegeh (SAN), who said the

NEWS REVIEW

Inside the first crisis The election of the leadership of the National Assembly on Tuesday has thrown the first challenge to President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Olayinka Oyegbile takes a behind-the-scenes look at the management of the new administration's first major crisis.

•Buhari

emergence of Saraki as Senate President was not illegal. According to him, the issue at stake was largely moral and not legal. He faulted the argument that the presence of 57 (out of 108) was not enough to pick a new leadership. He said the number had already constituted a quorum.

"Inaugurating the National Assembly is considered as an ordinary business and for an ordinary business the requirement of a quorum is one-third. So, legally, there was a quorum. You can argue from a moral perspective but legally, it is in order," he said.

Alegeh argues it was wrong for the party to have called for a meeting on the day the assembly was to be inaugurated. "Why wait till the last minute? We must understand that if a time had been fixed for the inauguration, one would expect that all those who want to be inaugurated, given the importance of that event, should have arrived on time. The Clerk of the National Assembly, who is in charge of determining such, said there was a quorum. It will be difficult for me to fault that."

Rather than see anything wrong in what happened he said it was a demonstration of the fact that the legislative arm was beginning to show some streak of independence which is healthy four our democracy.

"There is a need to have respect for institutions. If the Senate was having an inauguration, other people should respect that fact and schedule meetings appropriately. The day for the inauguration of the House is a very important day in a democracy."

In the same vein, the Publisher of Ovation magazine, Mr. Dele Momodu, described Saraki's election as fair. In backing the election he posted on his Twitter page that Saraki has earned the right to the plum position because he "depleted the PDP for the sake of the APC." He is of the opinion that "Saraki didn't sell out."

The opinion of the former Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji tallies with those above. To him, the President should steer clear of the issue because "It is none of his business if you ask me. He is the head of the executive arm of government and the National Assembly is the leg-

•Continued from Page 10

•Saraki

•Dogara

islature. He has no business worrying his head over that. He should concentrate on delivering on his electoral promises."

A calculated move The handling of the crisis that led to the emergence of Saraki may have painted Buhari as a man who is slow in making up his mind. But some analysts argue that as a retired and experienced military general he was only being calculating and biding his time to take a decision. They pointed to the fact that the day he emerged as the presidential candidate of the party, many had expected that a few days later he should have named his running mate. This was not to be. It took him longer thus leading to many speculations and conjectures. However, the day he announced his choice, it was hailed as a masterstroke. The choice of Yemi Osinbajo, a professor of Law and a senior pastor at the influential The Redeemed Christian Church of God beat many hands down.

It was also pointed out that the APC be-

11

ing an amalgamation of various interests and coalitions needed to be thorough in its moves. All these inform the deliberate and meticulous move which many see as a weakness which has more often turned out to be right.

Conspiracy theory As is expected, since the events of Tuesday there have been many stories insinuating that the president may have had a hand in the drama both at the Senate and the House which saw to the election of both presiding officers against the wish of the party and its preferred candidates.

However, investigations have shown that the president was himself taken unawares by the event. In fact, a source close to Aso Villa confided in The Nation that those saying such things were only out to cause disaffection between the president and party leaders.

According to our source, it was a deliberate move by some interests to drive a wedge between Buhari and APC National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

These forces are said to be both within the party and the opposition PDP. The plan of those behind this plot it is to drive a wedge between the president and the party leader. Their expectation is that an isolated Buhari would be more vulnerable and they would then be able to move in and push their own agenda.

Those who believe this added that the absence of the president at the International Conference Centre was a sign that he was not on the same page with the party leaders and their choice of leadership for the legislature.

But the explanation by the president's Senior Special Assistant (Media and Publicity) Mallam Garba Shehu that the president decided not to go to the meeting because the legislators had commenced the election process thus making it unnecessary for him to be there.

It was gathered that the meeting was not called to embarrass any one or to back any candidate, the president was only interested in meeting both parties and call for party unity and nip the brewing crisis in the bud. But since the elections have been held in both chambers, the party leaders later met with the president to sound him out on how to respond to what transpired on the floor of the National Assembly.

At the meeting, it was said that the president restated his stand that the decision of the party was okay by him and that he was disappointed that the party's order was flouted. A two-pronged approach was the proposed with the president restating his stand and saying that since it had happened the party was encouraged to take its stand and continue with moves to douse the crisis. He also restated his resolve to work with whoever emerges as the leaders of both chambers.

Before meeting the president, party leaders were said to have met with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who was approached to give the party leaders an expert legal opinion on what had transpired.

The vice president, a professor of law was reported to have said that what transpired at the chambers could pass the legality test. He said that going to court to challenge would not only be time-consuming but would deepen the cracks within the party. He advised the party to be "strategic" in its response to the crisis.

It was then resolved after the counsel of the vice president that a fast one had been pulled on the leadership of the party and there was a need to resolve it and move on. Thus the party decided that it would accept the election and then embark on fence mending moves.

Party chairman John Oyegun has since announced a reversal of the APC's initial position by saying the party had now reconciled itself to the reality that Saraki was the Senate President.

According to our source President Buhari would not meet with the new leadership of the National Assembly until all the fence mending moves have been tidied up.

12

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

Ropo Sekoni

13

Page 14

Femi Orebe Page 16

SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

The fear out there Can Saraki fight corruption?

tunjade@yahoo.co.uk 08054503906 (sms only)

P

RESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari became an issue in the last presidential election because of his antecedent in the anti-corruption war. The ‘Change’ slogan of the All Progressives Congress (APC) under which he contested itself became appealing to Nigerians as a result of this perception of Buhari as a man with zero tolerance for corruption. So, Buhari’s victory at the polls was Nigerians’ powerful statement of rejection of the Goodluck Jonathan administration and its romance with corruption which it glorified as ‘stealing’.

That was why many Nigerians were shocked by what transpired in the National Assembly last Tuesday, when Senator Bukola Saraki was elected Senate President.

He was able to get 34 votes from senators of his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as well as 23 from the APC, a clear indication of the gulf in the party. This was at a time majority of the other APC senators were said to have gone to honour an invitation from President Buhari, probably in a last ditch effort to mediate in the crisis that had rocked the party before Tuesday and make the party speak with one voice in the election.

Although the APC does not have twothirds of the membership of the Senate, it has a simple majority. With that, Nigerians went to sleep after the elections, thinking that they had done their bit to give the party the opportunity to dictate the policy thrust in the National Assembly, which is crucial in the fight against corruption.

The same situation applies to the House of Representatives where the APC also has simple majority. Speaker Yakubu Dogara who (alongside Senator Saraki) defied the party to contest the position of speaker defeated the party’s favoured candidate, Femi Gbajabiamila, by a slight margin of 182 votes to 174. Apparently, the development in the Senate influenced the voting pattern in the House because the south west (where Gbajabiamila comes from) alone could not have produced the vice president, Senate President as well as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Apparently too, the crisis reflected the party’s inability to reconcile the different tendencies in its fold, especially with regards to the legislature’s leadership, a thing that eventually led to the mock primary that it held on June 6, preparatory to the inauguration of the National Assembly on June 9.

Regrettably, the mock primary was itself mocked by the Saraki group which rejected its outcome outright and decided to defy the party by standing for election into the National Assembly positions against the party’s directive. Senator Saraki and his group promptly reported in the National Assembly and went straight to business.

The rest is history.

It is instructive though that, in a Senate with 108 members (one is dead), the upper legislative house started on such a shaky note. The APC initially threatened to deal with Senator Saraki and Co. even as some other senators also threatened to go to court to challenge the process of Saraki’s election.

Unless the matter is amicably resolved, the eventual winner of the caucuses flexing muscles would depend on a lot of factors,

•Saraki

including financial inducement, given the role that money was said to have played in the Senate even on Tuesday. This position is further strengthened by reports that some of the APC senators have been pledging to work with Senator Saraki.

But the incident should not have caught anyone by surprise, unless we want to deceive ourselves. It was inevitable, whether in the long or the short run. The surprise element is that it came this early. When you have political juggernauts and those who see themselves in that light in an alliance, there is bound to be problem. Remember too, the way and manner the APC was formed is another issue. It was not as if most of the people there are bound by any ideology; they just came together by happenstance. And that happenstance was the common enemy: former President Goodluck Jonathan. So, the only consideration that brought the different people from different backgrounds into the APC was the need to ease out the former president, probably for different reasons, too.

It is now that that has been achieved that the centripetal tendency is now giving way to the centrifugal contradictions.

But let me leave politics to politicians.

After all, some of the APC senators who earlier said they would not accept the result of the senate election are reported to have resolved to work with Senator Saraki. These politicians, they work in mysterious ways, and that is why it is difficult to stick out one’s neck for them! I hear the reason for the volte face is to enable them be in the good books of Senator Saraki for consideration for juicy committee appointments!

That, if true, is part of my fear for our politics. But my main worry is about Senator Saraki’s emergence as Senate President and the likely implications for the Buhari administration’s anti-corruption war. Even the uninitiated knows that President Buhari won the presidential elections because of his anticorruption credentials. Indeed, I said in this column after the retired general emerged the

“Will Senator Saraki be comfortable when laws are to be made to make people who once grounded our banks pay for their crime?

Will he be at home with laws or efforts to make those who exploited and are still exploiting Nigerians through fuel subsidy account for their actions? Or will he be at ease when the powers that are keeping Nigerians in perpetual darkness despite the humongous amounts of dollars we have spent on power projects are asked to vomit the public funds that they had swallowed?”

presidential hopeful of the APC that the PDP was in trouble. Even the PDP knew; and that was why they resorted to hate campaign when they should be advertising their achievements.

Mercifully, I am not alone in my fears that President Buhari’s anti-corruption war may soon enter into some troubled waters with the developments in the National Assembly; many other people share a similar sentiment. Indeed, some of them called on Tuesday as the event unfolded to ask how the war would be won with Senator Saraki as the Number Three Citizen.

Many of my colleagues received the same message either via personal calls or through text messages. Will Senator Saraki be comfortable when laws are to be made to make people who once grounded our banks pay for their crime? Will he be at home with laws or efforts to make those who exploited and are still exploiting Nigerians through fuel subsidy account for their actions? Or will he be at ease when the powers that are keeping Nigerians in perpetual darkness despite the humongous amounts of dollars we have spent on power projects are asked to vomit the public funds that they had swallowed? These and many more other questions went on simultaneously in my mind and made me uncomfortable throughout last Tuesday and even for the better part of Wednesday. I am just recovering from the stupor. Again, many people who sent similar messages of depression wondered aloud if this would not be a mere continuation of the business as usual in the Senate.

It should be understood that there is nothing personal about my fears and Senator Saraki. It is just a matter of his antecedent and the antecedents of some of those behind him. I have no doubt Senator Saraki would be shocked if he conducts an independent opinion poll about what I am talking about. Of course I am not unaware that some people would want to ask whether some other people or persons are better than Senator Saraki when the issue is corruption.

But that is beside the point. Those people are not the country’s Number One or Number Two citizen or even Number Three; even if they were, they had served in different periods, including when the government did not see any need to deal the corruption cankerworm a serious blow that would make all other things fall in place, because corruption is at the root of almost all our problems in the country.

I have said it before. And I am restating it; that corruption is not the easiest thing to fight because it would always fight back. To put it bluntly, not a few persons saw Senator Saraki’s emergence as part of the plot by corruption to put a clog in the wheel of President Buhari’s anticorruption battle, even if the ruling party itself contributed inadvertently or otherwise to the development. I can only hope this is a misplaced fear. I sincerely pray so. For now, however, I hold my peace.

CHIBOK GIRLS: STILL ON MY MIND

Indigenisation: beyond the economic

By Ahonsi Unuigbe

N

IGERIA began producing oil six decades ago and is now one of the world’s largest oil producers. But up until recently, indigenous participation in the oil industry, particularly the upstream sector, has been minimal. Previously dominated by International Oil Companies (IOCs) whose financial reach and technical expertise gave them a distinct advantage, the oil industry has finally started to see much needed change.

Efforts to indigenise the oil industry have spanned two decades and have previously been slow and unsuccessful. The Local Content Act which emerged in 2010 has had the greatest impact on the sector, finally resulting in an increase in indigenous oil and gas companies who now have the financial resources and technical competence to own and operate assets in Nigeria across all activity areas in the industry and are, therefore, now able to make a sustainable contribution to the Nigerian economy.

This contribution is much more tangible and real, coming from a home-grown company compared to an international one. Recent Nigerian history is rife with stories of infamous disagreements between IOCs and the communities where they operate as residents decried what they perceived as exploitative treatment from the companies. So far, indigenous companies have not had those problems which have perennially bedevilled the IOCs. This is perhaps because as more Nigerian companies begin operations and discover oil in marginal fields, it is clearer than ever that their organisational success is tied to the optimal balance of the communities in which they operate. It is also likely because corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities are more tailored to solve Nigerian problems which are best understood and most felt by Nigerian-owned companies.

Nigeria needs more socially-inclined companies that grasp the magnitude and complexity of indigenous problems, and are willing to empower those who can best solve them to do so. Strategies such as Petralon’s clearly express faith in Nigerians to successfully handle responsibility for their development and to drive targeted projects in crucial areas such as employment, healthcare, and education.

An indigenous upstream energy company with a pan-African reach, Petralon Energy acquires, develops, finances, and operates assets in the oil and gas sector. The company has set out to redefine the relationship between oil companies and the community by pledging 5% of net profits from all present and future assets to the communities in which it operates. This is based on the understanding that the members of its host communities are best placed to determine the areas that will benefit from additional resources with Petralon empowering its host communities to decide which projects to deploy funds to, and who the funds should be allocated to.

Similarly, indigenous Nigerian integrated gas company, Seven Energy, engages with the community investing in their development directly, cutting out third parties which ensures that money meant for the community is received by the community.

In turn, it is critical that the incoming administration empowers indigenous energy companies by providing guarantees for increased security and fair regulation/legislation. In addition, the Department of Petroleum Resources should be encouraged to empower indigenous companies by allocating more oil assets to qualifying companies, and doing so in a transparent manner and at a faster pace.

The expansion of indigenous companies into more Nigerian communities can only lead to higher impact social responsibility with more tangible benefits felt by the host communities. Only when indigenous oil companies begin to take the lead in the sphere of social responsibility can there truly be development and societal balance in resource-rich host communities in Nigeria.

Ahonsi Unuigbe is the CEO of Petralon Energy - www.petralon.com.

14

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

COMMENT

The new NASS: old struggle with new armour What happened last Tuesday is worse than mere carpet crossing; it is a coup d’etat against the ruling party, a relic of the old political culture that citizens voted against last April.

M

ANY of regular readers of this column have bombarded me with questions and requests for comments on the recent election of principal officers of the two houses of legislature. Despite my efforts to wriggle out of discussing this matter until all the facts are in, many of such readers have insisted that my emphasis on the Manifesto of Change in the last few weeks should make it obligatory for me to comment on what appears to them as an assault on change.

By way of preliminary remarks, those who asked for votes on the promise of change did not include PDP members who eventually got elected on the platform of that party. It is thus pointless for citizens to lose sleep that current and former PDP governors and other representatives in the new National Assembly chose to assist in getting Saraki as President and a leading member of the PDP, Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President. PDP lawmakers have not done anything unusual. What is clear is that the PDP is still very strong in the Senate.

Although this should not be an excuse for the leverage demonstrated a few days ago by PDP lawmakers in the new National Assembly, in view of the fact that the majority of the Republicans in the 113th Congress of the U.S. Senate was not any more significant at 53 Democrats to 45 Republicans than that of APC’s 64 to PDP’s 45 in Nigeria’s 8th National Assembly. Yet, it was easy for the Democrats to elect the principal officers of the Senate. The difference between the two contexts was party cohesiveness and discipline.

If what happened in the National Assembly had been in the days of “PDP Power,” it would not have created tension for many as it has now, given the number of emails I had received since Tuesday. In a period when the safest psychological state was not to expect so that one was not disappointed, nobody would have worried or been worried by what appeared as political tricksterism in the election of principal officers in the national assembly last Tuesday. But in a government - executive and legislature - that came to power on the

manifesto of change, it is conceivable that the average newspaper reader would feel disappointed by the behaviour of APC members of the new legislature.

Citizens have no reason to feel despondent at this point. It is too soon to feel discouraged. Buhari and the APC promised change, and it is logical for citizens to expect clear departure from the political style of the past in the first major action of the APC-controlled legislature. President Buhari may be a reformed or born-again democrat as he was presented during the last campaign. It is not being realistic to expect that all the folks in the APC are democrats in the true sense of the word, given the mass migration of politicians seeking power and recognition to the party in the last one year.

Without any exaggeration, the APC is a political party that is still unfolding or evolving.

As it is today, it is a mix of political views and ideas. And this should be understandable, given its history. It is obvious that the APC is a party that houses ideological factions. If this was not clear before the elections, the events of last Tuesday illustrates graphically that there is diversity of ideological perspectives in the APC, unlike what obtains in the PDP. From its inception, the PDP had shown no apology for being a party of the extreme right ideologically, a conservative political party, despite periodic rhetoric of progressive politics by individual members of the party. PDP was created largely to sustain the governance philosophy and style of the military dictators that midwifed the party. In a study of the governments of Nigeria from colonialism to now, Atul Kohli described in a book STATE-DIRECRED DEVELOPMENT: Political Power and Industrialisation in the Global Periphery those who had governed the country in the post-independence era as ‘personalistic and patrimonial.’ In the last sixteen years, ‘PDP Power’ whether under Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, or Jonathan, was deployed to confirm Kohli’s classification of Nigerian rulers by ensuring that each PDP government in the last sixteen years built on the culture of corruption that is generally the result of a gov-

ernance driven solely by personalistic and patrimonial interests.

With respect to the APC, the party ideologically houses mainly centrists sandwiched by a thin layer of rightists and leftists. This amorphous situation was compounded by the migration of members of the New PDP to the APC shortly after the formation of the party.

What played out as lack of cohesiveness or discipline with respect to the election of principal officers of the national assembly last Tuesday is the effect of the party’s ideological amorphousness. Those who came to the APC out of dissatisfaction with the culture of a political party besotted to power sharing should be expected to have as much interest in sharing of the plums of office, as those they met in the party. It is thus not bizarre that members of the party that lost out in the primaries to select the presidential ticket and others who believe they too had worked hard to bring victory to the party in their respective states became passionate about their desire for office in the Senate and the House of Representatives. Ambition in this instance is not a political crime or moral lapse.

What is absurd is the failure of the APC to prevent any of its members from negotiating the interest and right of the majority party away through an ugly form of horse trading with the PDP, to the extent that in the name of geopolitical balance a current PDP member was given the position of Deputy Senate President as a compensation for the PDP’s decision to give the position of Senate President to a visible member of the APC, regardless of the choice of majority of his colleagues in the APC. In a political culture that focuses on power, there is bound to be politicians that act solely in the interest of obtaining power from the electoral victory of their party. But invoking the principle of geopolitical balance to justify what happened on Tuesday is diversionary. There are many other more straightforward and respectable ways to achieve geopolitical balance.

On the question on the implications of this action for the manifesto of change, it is too late to tell. However, it signals the possibility of

other conspiracies between a section of APC and the PDP to scuttle executive policies that may be in the interest of citizens but not to the advantage of ideologues of personalism and patrimonialism in both APC and PDP. It is unlikely that the new alliance between some APC members and the entire PDP lawmakers can threaten the president with frivolous impeachment. For that to happen, APC will have collapsed as a party. However, executive bills sent to the Assembly stand the risk of being delayed or deformed, should APC leadership fail to find strategies for containing its errant members.

As for whether this action can destroy the manifesto of change, especially from the executive side of the federal government, President Buhari himself will have to have changed his mind on his electoral pledge to end the politics of corruption and personal interests that endeared voters to him two months ago.

Having promised the nation and the international community two months ago to move the country away from policies that promote the interest of the elite to those that address the problems of people at the grassroots, he should have nothing to fear about conspiracy between some members of the party on which he got elected and those of the party he defeated in the last presidential election. Once majority of citizens are solidly behind good policies of Buhari, regardless of how uncomfortable such policies make politicians beholden to self-promoting political practices, there is nothing to fear.

But there is a need for concerted efforts on the part of leadership of the APC to make the party more cohesive ideologically. What happened last Tuesday is worse than mere carpet crossing; it is a coup d’etat against the ruling party, a relic of the old political culture that citizens voted against last April. One lesson that nobody can miss is that the strategy employed to gain power from a non-performing political party may not be enough to sustain a new party in power. Party leaders need to remember a Yoruba proverb: Bi inako baa tan l’aso, ejekii tan l’eekan (for as long as lice hold on to or reside in its owner’s clothes, there will continue to be blood on the owner’s fingers resulting from the owner’s efforts to fight the lice).

The political fabric of the country is still replete with lice and what happened last Tuesday in the National Assembly is a graphic illustration of this malaise.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

COMMENT

15

Sleeping legislators The seventh Senate performed magic when it passed 46 bills in 10 minutes, oblivious of the implications for good governance

J

UST a day before the Senators had to bid goodbye to the Red Chamber of the National Assembly, they chose to do what was unprecedented in the annals of law making anywhere in the world as 46 Bills were introduced, rules suspended and all passed, awaiting presidential assent. It was a classical example of how not to make laws.

Chairman of the Rules and Business Committee, Senator Ita Enang, guided his colleagues in suspending Order 79 that spells out the procedure to be adopted in legislation. He explained that, having been passed by the House of Representatives where the due process was reportedly followed, it would amount to a waste of time if the Senate, too, had to pass the Bills through the First, Second and Third Readings. As far as Senator Enang was concerned, it would amount to duplication of efforts if the Bill had to be referred to the relevant committees to examine the clauses and advise accordingly on what should be done.

To the senior lawmakers, it was sufficient to adopt whatever had passed through the Green Chamber on that last day of deliberation by the Senate. It was preposterous. It negated all that informed the establishment of bicameral legislature. The Senators were quick to forget that there had been many cases when the two chambers disagreed on Bills, including Appropriation. They had to sit at Joint Conference in such cases to iron out the differences. The few dissenting voices were quickly drowned and overruled by the majority.

In electing the senators, the electorate had assumed that they were men of great experience and knowledge. If, as the senators averred in suspending the due process, there was no

A

NUMBER of Nigerians, including some noted columnists and groups, have been calling for the public disclosure of the assets and liabilities of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN). This came barely a week after their inauguration.Some have also mischievously insinuated the beginning of the end of the hyped fight against corruption.

In all these, it is reassuring to get an update from the SenNOTHER chapter has been opened in the history of Ogun State when the people returned Senator Ibikunle Amosun back to office to continue his good work.

The taste of the pudding is in the eating, says an adage.

This statement aptly applies to Ogun State which has given the governor a fresh start. It is a new start, a new beginning for the governor who came into office four years ago with a promise that he would work for the people. Just like yesterday, a full term of four years is over. It has been four years of trials and triumph, pains and gains, challenges and consolidation. To cap it all, it has been four years of new things not only in Ogun State but also across the country and indeed the continent of Africa.

There were trials in putting

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need further scrutinising whatever had passed through the other House, then they had presented a perfect argument for scrapping the Senate. It is a justification for the loud suggestion that bicameralism is sheer waste of scarce resources, especially with the very high cost of maintaining each of the federal lawmakers and the chambers.

If anyone needed proof that the senators had been indolent for much of the 48 months they were in office, that single incident provided it.

What were they doing that the Bills piled up so much? Most times, they were in their towns and villages politicking and engaged in irrelevancies. They were only interested in their fat salaries and allowances to the detriment of the primary task that they were elected for. The argument that they had to do so in view of the resources committed to the process by the House of Representatives is lame. The rule expects them to have complemented the House.

The Rules and Business Committee, the Senate Leader and the presiding officers failed in doing their jobs of tracking developments in the other House. Had they been alive to their responsibilities, they would not be waking up to the reality 24 hours to the expiration of their

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

•Editor Festus Eriye

•Managing Director/ Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh

•Deputy Editor Olayinka Oyegbile

•Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye

•Associate Editor Sam Egburonu

•General Editor Adekunle Ade-Adeleye

tenure.

In a country crying for patriots and nationalists, the privileged lawmakers are only interested in feeding fat on the public. They are doing less than was demanded of First Republic legislators who had to perform the task parttime, yet they (present lawmakers) concentrate more on destructive plots and schemes than building a new society.

As senior lawmakers, the National Assembly members, especially senators, should realise that lawmakers at the state level look up to them for guidance. Nigerians have incessantly complained about the quality of services rendered by state lawmakers, describing the legislature at that level as mere rubber stamp.

The senators owe it a responsibility to these men and women to show enthusiasm in the performance of their task.

We call on the eighth National Assembly to learn from the foibles of the preceding Assembly by offering quality services in making laws and ensuring that the executive works in the overall interest of the people. There are so many laws that are out of tune with today’s reality. Some of the laws date to the colonial times and the fines imposed are simply ridiculous. We expect that the statute books will be cleaned up to set the stage for a dynamic society. All public officers, be they in the executive, legislative or judicial arms of government should realise that we live in borrowed times.

There is a budding crisis of expectation and sleeping legislators have no place in the new scheme of things.

President Muhammadu Buhari had pledged his commitment to effecting the necessary changes that would make the country better. The lawmakers should similarly change the lackadaisical approach to doing their job.

LETTER

This president gives a damn ior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, “that President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo will make their assets declaration public after same would have been verified by the

Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).”

The elementary lesson here is the need for patience and circumspection on the part of our critics. That we have a formidable combination in a retired

army general and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria as the occupants of the highest offices in the land should now be clear to all.

Take this team for granted and become a comic character

in the eyes of more discerning observers. Casting aspersions on the credibility of these gentlemen is therefore not an option and should be discouraged.

It’s early days yet.

Public commentators who insist on this hasty path will

As Amosun begins his second journey up structures for the take-off of the urban renewal project of the Amosun administration but the triumph today is that we have a whole gamut of a successfully executed project that includes modern markets across the state to replace the unsightly traditional markets, the ones paved way for six lanes roads and elimination of street trading, well fixed roads complete with bus stop sheds and street lights, relocation of mechanics from the township and road sides to a facility that adds value to their trade, removal of the auto mart and construction of motor parks that compare with airports.

The gains today speak volumes of a programme that has become a reference point in safe

mother hood in Nigeria and indeed Africa because of its potential to reverse the scourge of infant and maternal mortality in the continent. Empowering the various segments of the society; including the youths, women artisans, among others, posed great challenges. But today, the Amosun administration is consolidating on the VERY profession has its own ethics that guide its members in the discharge of duties. The medical profession is one of those professions that are guided by a code of ethics. Therefore, most people who go to hospitals or any other health facility do so because they need treatment.

If the priority of medical staff is to save lives, why is it

E

three to four agricultural villages in the state that absorbed young unemployed graduates.

The other strand of the consolidation of the agricultural villages is that it promotes food security like the one in OkeMosan secretariat “Oja Irorun”.

Unlike many politicians in this clime, who acquire power merely for the sake of

it, Amosun did not come into office unprepared. He believes that power ought to be acquired in trust for the vast majority of the people. At every point in time, he demonstrates that being in government means being the servant of the people, working for them and reversing the status quo that promotes poverty in the land

Deaths loom at UBTH

that all other staff who work in the hospital have an opposite code of ethics that they operate by? Or do the medical ethics only apply to medical doctors and exclude nurses, hospital attendants and all other staff who work in the hospital? I don’t think so.

A colleague of mine went

to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), recently, for treatment and it took even more than six hours for her to see a doctor. It took twenty minutes to submit the personal card and almost about two hours and thirty minutes for the hospital attendant to locate her file. It was after an-

only continue to make a mockery of their columns and persons. If the relevant details of their assets and liabilities have been lodged with the Code of Conduct Bureau, it is incumbent on the Bureau to verify same for accuracy and authenticity.

Calling for the public disclosure of such unverified claims is undoubtedly premature and infantile. Let us not stampede our new leaders as this president and his deputy appear to give a damn!

•Frank Oluku, GRA, Benin and oppresses the people.

The state has not only become one huge yard where all manners of construction jobs are either completed or ongoing, it is also a big clinic where all the segments of the populace in dire need of medical attention are attended to.

Only an incurable pessimist won’t believe this.

•Ademola Orunbon Olomore, Abeokuta other hour and thirty minutes before she got the attention she needed. This was, because, after the attendants collected her card, they just dropped it somewhere and started chatting away.

It is important to re-train all hospital staff. They must know about the sensitive nature of their work.

•Sandra Eguagie, Benin

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

COMMENT

The U.S 2016 presidential election –A cursory look The United States presidential election of 2016 will hold on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, meaning that, unlike in Nigeria, no OPC-like groups or some other anti-democratic conspirators will be in a position to have it postponed by a day, not to talk of weeks

W

ITH political events cascading rapidly back home, all poignantly demonstrating what a rainbow coalition APC, the ruling party, is, I am reminded that my vacationing in Scotland, June 2011, enabled me reflect on the implications of the then recently concluded Scottish election, especially what I considered are its implications for Nigeria. In the article: The Scottish Election and its relevance to Nigeria, I observed that the election of May 5, 2011 was the equivalent of a political tsunami, giving the Scottish National Party (SNP) an unprecedented landslide victory and dominance in the Scottish parliament. That was, in fact, long before the 2015 general election at which the SNP literally wiped out the Labour Party in Scotland. What underpinned the 2011 result, like the last, I must add, are cultural identity and shared history, economic self-management, promotion of enterprise, and a desire to end local imperialism. I concluded from the above that a honest restructuring of Nigeria would result in a fiscal federalism in which each constituent part will develop at its own pace, plan its economic development as suits it best, and, among other things, pay salaries and wages based on its ability to pay rather than the present, head-masterly arrangement in which the federal government railroads compensation with states like Kogi, Ekiti, Ebonyi and Osun having to pay their workers the same salary as Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Lagos or Kano. The last has become particularly germane given the rash of unpaid workers.

Unfortunately, when in 2014 the opportunity came to put things right,

the effort was completely politicised, conceived, primarily, as a stunt to gift the incumbent president two additional years in office. For that reason, the membership was so skewed the government coyly nominated most members by including organisations whose representatives it nominated whilst its Afenifere midwives even had the audacity to tamper with the list of nominees submitted by some state governors. Today, the best that could reasonably happen to its report is to make it a working paper, amongst others, at a genuine attempt at restructuring Nigeria.

I digress.

Matters appertaining to the 2016 U.S Presidential election predominate the airwaves where I currently find myself. I therefore think it is an opportune time to take a cursory look at what is going on. First, some irreducible facts about the U.S Presidential elections: The United States presidential election of 2016 will hold on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, meaning that, unlike in Nigeria, no OPClike groups or some other anti-democratic conspirators will be in a position to have it postponed by a day, not to talk of weeks. It will be the 58th quadrennial U.S Presidential election. Voters in the election will select presidential electors who, in turn, will elect a new president and vice president of the United States.

The incumbent president, Barrack Obama, is ineligible to be elected a third term due to term limits in the twenty-second amendment to the United States Constitution and, unlike some African Heads of State, would not be manipulating to have

his country’s constitution amended to enable him serve longer. Article Two of the U.S Constitution provides that for a person to be elected and serve as president of the United States, the individual must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, at least 35 years old, and a resident of the United States for a period of no less than 14 years. Candidates for the presidency typically seek the nomination of one of the various political parties. Each party devises a method (such as a primary election) to choose the candidate the party deems best suited to run for the position. The party’s delegates then officially nominate a candidate to run on the party’s behalf.

The above is very much in tandem with what obtains in Nigeria – of course, we copied the presidential system from the U.S – though it must be stated that our own bribe-suffused part of it is a creation of Nigerian politicians. Additional requirements before formally declaring as a candidate include filing with the Federal Election Commission, getting listed in five or more major independent nationwide polls and having held office as the head of a cabinet-level department, be a member of the U.S Senate, or a member of the House Leadership, governor, former or incumbent vice-president, or incumbent president.

Both the Democratic and the Republican parties already parade a galaxy of names, some of them with high name-recognition. Those already in the field for the Democratic Party are: Lincoln Chafee, Governor of Rhode Island, 2011–2015, former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, 2009–2013; U.S and Senator,

2001–2009. Others are Martin O’Malley, Governor of Maryland, 2007–2015 and Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator since 2007. An exponential, and yet increasing number of candidates have shown up on the Republican side of the divide most probably as a result of a feeling the GOP thinks it could build on the 2014 Midterm election momentum to put its candidate in the Oval Office. There are, at the last count, about 10 of them, amongst them Ben Carson, a professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery, and paediatric medicine and the first surgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins joined at the head. Others include former and serving governors Jeb Bush, George Pataki, Mike Huckabee, Chris Christie, Scott Walker and Rick Perry and Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham –who says he has never sent an e-mail; Rick Santorium, Bernie Sanders and, Carly Fiorina, former Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett Packard, who believes that her work as tech adviser to agencies like NASA, CIA etc eminently qualify her. The list must remind the reader of a typical Anambra governorship election.

Each of these candidates brings different experience and expertise to the table but what will be the key campaign issues at the 2016 U.S election?

As is usual, domestic issues, especially the economy, will dominate the campaigns. A recent Gallup poll showed that eighty-six percent of Americans say the economy will be extremely important to their vote next year, a significantly higher percentage than for any other issue. The economy has historically retained this importance

Law and (Dis)order Mr. Buhari, a people’s man, may be president, but Nigerian politicians are still sharing things. They are still sharing the nation, partitioning it among themselves like slices of cake. They are old wine in new bottles. My problem is that I think Mr. President believes these politicians are part of the people

‘H

ONESTLY, this is laughable’, was a commentator’s take concerning the elections that took place in the senate which saw the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President. The commentator was speaking on the radio. He said more but that was what struck me most.

Certainly, the affair was no joke; yet, it managed to elicit laughter, and sadness and tears and what not, in many of us. To the commentator, it was simply inconceivable that a group of people who were supposed to attend their own inauguration on a certain day decided rather to hold an intraparty meeting, at the same hour the event was scheduled to begin! Seriously?!

Actually, when you think comedy materials are about drying up, something happens to pull us out of the dry rot. First came Buhari’s belonging to everybody and nobody which everyone understood alright but which fed our comedians’ funny bones. They went to town with it and took it viral.

Then came this latest comedy: senators deciding to go and do a last minute meeting hoping their seats would keep warming for them. Naturally, someone shaved their heads for them in their absence.

Many people have been crying foul over the election of senate officials, especially the aggrieved party, APC. Naturally; I would too. I notice though that the party is not basing its anger on

the legality or illegality of the action.

I would not either. Though not a lawyer, I believe that the election was somewhat lawful. I would say that the principal actors in the matter took care to work within the law. The party could therefore only anchor its anger on the fact that its wishes were not respected.

Actually, that’s the argument that has been raging. Once elected, who does an individual owe his allegiance to: his party, which fosters his election, the people, who vote him in, or his conscience, which constitutes his integrity? This is one of the questions that accompany civilisation. In the not so civilised times, this was no issue.

People simply decided they were willing to sacrifice themselves to the public good by going into public office.

They also held cudgels in their hands to convince recalcitrant electorates.

Thereafter, they did not owe anyone anything, only those with bigger cudgels.

Now, with civilisation have come political parties, made up of people who gather together to build political machines that automatically make people. This is why it is called the party machine. It makes people. It also gobbles people up. It provides the means and machinery for getting mostly wrong people elected into office; that’s why they need the machine anyway. It also explains why

most people prefer to listen to and obey the party rather than the electorate or their consciences. Just think of the alternative – going around with cudgels which are bound to wear out, so forcing one to get more and more cudgels…

Anyway, let’s get back to the matter. I believe that the clerk has confirmed that a quorum was formed on the day of the election, and every other order was observed. I think that seals the legality of the event. The problem is that constitutions have a habit of being general sometimes. They go something like this: a quorum shall have been formed when two-thirds of the members would have gathered in from their homes, toilets, girlfriends’ and boyfriends’ houses, kitchens, and so on. Unfortunately, those blessed constitutions are typically silent on matters such as the nature of that gathering, e.g. how many of that quorum shall be female or male; how many shall be morally good or bad; how many shall be of one party or the other; what the maximum number of the psychiatrically unsound shall be allowed in, and so on.

I think this last is important; too many organizations have too many mentally cuckoo land lubbers these days.

So, in that senate election, I think the law was satisfied.

I do notice though that our legal luminaries have been pointing out that the senators’ election that day was either morally questionable or downright fraudulent. The problem with

arguing on morality is that every issue has too many sides. An action that is morally corrupt in one situation may be slightly admissible in another. That is why it is difficult (though not improbable) to use morality as a yardstick to judge legal matters. And this is a legal matter.

What we should rather be raising dust over, and this is what really bugs me, is why the APC senators-elect chose the hour of their inauguration to hold a party or party meeting (what really is the difference?) That is what is disorderly. There are conflicting stories on how this sorry state came to be.

One says the senators had been summoned to a meeting by the president in order to resolve the impasse regarding the party’s senate president candidate. Another report says the senators decided to hold a meeting at that hour preceding the inauguration so that they could all speak with one voice. I think that was what caused the radio commentator’s laughter. Hmm; the party machine for you.

Anyhow, at the inauguration hour, the APC senators were not on their seats, literally, not just like your Nigerian ‘not on seat’; but come to think of it, neither was the president.

And this is where the story gets a little sticky. There are also reports that the president had sent a message to the clerk of the house that his deputy would deputise for him, literally. So you see, these stories just don’t add up, not that I’m too strong on mathematics. In fact, you could say my math-

at both presidential and midterm elections, irrespective of whether the economy is weak, as in 2008 or strong as in 2000. Immigration and race issues, in particular, are attracting more traction than hitherto and the decibel will be quite high between candidates, like Hillary Clinton, who support granting immigrants within the U.S a pathway to citizenship, and those like Marco Rubio, who once supported it and was one of the four Republican senators who joined in drafting a comprehensive, bi-partisan reform bill, but now not only opposes extending it to citizenship but wants legal immigration drastically cut down. The GOP has upped the ante on the recruitment of Hispanic voters which the Koch political empire is aggressively pushing but the Dems are not just standing by. Indeed, congressional Republicans have done enough damage to their cause to make Hillary Clinton the favourite Latino candidate.

On the international front, Russia, China and ISIS will take the cake.

Putin’s swagger and arms twisting tactics, specifically, his annexation of Crimea and continuing war in the Ukraine and Obama’s response, which the Republicans consider tepid, will be on the top burner. Ditto, China’s increasing belligerence, staking claims to international waters just like the bestiality of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is of such importance both parties only last week had a bipartisan vote authorising President Obama to arm and train Syrian rebels.

Equally important will be the neverending war on terrorism which has now spread ferociously into Africa through the likes of Al Shabab in Kenya and Boko Haram within our own borders in Nigeria.

Next year’s U.S election promises to be quite an engaging one. The much awaited Supreme Court judgment on Obamacare, President Obama’s all important law, with a distinct possibility of being his greatest legacy, could very soon come spinning off with over six million Americans losing their health insurance and what better place to start the fireworks, should that occur. ematics is stronger on me than I am on it. But really, I don’t get this situation at all.

The president is a very busy man, especially now that he is trying to put back on track a highly ruptured country. No one appreciates that more than I do. Yet, given that the national assembly is a very important part of our governing process, it seems that the president could have spared some minutes to build himself some goodwill among the assembly members and declared the proceedings open himself. Altogether, the party ought not to have scheduled a meeting for that hour, if it is indeed true that it did.

I learnt from the assembly elections a few disheartening facts. Mr. Buhari, a people’s man, may be president, but Nigerian politicians are still sharing things. They are still sharing the nation, partitioning it among themselves like slices of cake. They are old wine in new bottles. My problem is that I think Mr. President believes the politicians are part of the people. He needs to watch out; they are not. They are in the business of trying to own Nigeria. To me, that is what is truly laughable, because if they really want to know who owns Nigeria, they should come back in fifty years time and ask.

So, we can conclude, from the smart way the elections were conducted and concluded, that there is still an unknown force, cabal or group that is ruining, sorry, ruling Nigeria, and we have not run far enough away from them. The voice is indeed the people’s; they have spoken by electing Buhari.

But the hairy hand is decidedly that of Esau with some wily politicians attached at the other end. I can only warn the new collective leadership of the country that revolutions are never planned; they just happen, and usually conditions breed them, for example, when leaders think they own the state.

That is when the people’s voice becomes loud.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

COMMENT

17

(120) F

RIDAY, May 12, 2015: as I write this column, a meeting is being held between the President, Muhammadu Buhari, all elected members of the APC in the Senate and the national leaders of the new ruling party. The intention is to resolve the crisis sparked by the ‘coup’ carried out against the party by Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki through the brazen manner in which he aligned himself with the defeated former ruling party, the PDP, to get himself elected Senate President. It is likely that by the time this column is published on Sunday, May 14, the crisis would have been resolved to the satisfaction of the bickering parties involved in the crisis. This is unlikely, but it is not completely impossible. We are still very close to the era of the PDP’s rule, together with its accustomed habit of lurching endlessly from one crisis to another. Thus, if this particular crisis is resolved, the new ruling party may very well lurch into another one and this will continue until the ghosts of the PDP years have been laid to rest or sent permanently into the netherworld of historical oblivion. Meanwhile, in this article, I wish to reflect on some rather extraordinary aspects of Saraki’s “coup”. As we shall see, the big lesson, the important “take-away” from this ‘coup’ is the frank and sober recognition that though PDP was electorally defeated, the defeat is yet to extend to the party’s deep roots in the subsoil of the endlessly amoral ethos of political elites in all our ruling class parties.

As the details of the Saraki ‘coup’ have been widely reported, I shall draw attention in this article only to those aspects that I consider the highlights. For me, perhaps the most salient of these highlights are those indicated in the bizarre ‘arithmetic’ in the title of this article: 49PDP + 8APC + 1Buhari. Saraki belongs to the APC, though of course he was once a chieftain of the PDP. Because a caucus of his new party, the APC, chose someone else to support for the Senate Presidency, Saraki dumped his party and went to the PDP from which he got the overwhelming majority of the votes that gave him the Senate Presidency. But please note that even with 49 votes, the PDP could not have secured the position for Saraki precisely because 49 is 6 votes shy of the simple majority of 55 that any contestant needs to win the Senate Presidency.

This in effect means that in this bizarre “arithmetic”, 8 is at the very least as important as 49: Saraki absolutely needed those 8 defectors from the APC that linked up with the 49 PDP Senators to produce the winning majority of 57. But then, along comes the most critical number in this “arithmetic” of electoral sleaze, this being Buhari’s 1.

Before I come to a discussion of this most significant number in this “arithmetic” permit me to briefly dwell on a few other details of Saraki’s pact with the PDP in open defiance of his party and its electoral victory in the recent general elections.

As part of his pact with his former party, the PDP, Saraki and his 8 APC accomplices rewarded the PDP with the posts of the Deputy Senate President (Ike Ekweremadu, Enugu-West) and

49PDP + 8APC + 1Buhari = Saraki’s anti-party, anti-democratic ‘coup’ of impunity

•Bukola Saraki with the symbols of the PDP and APC

Senate Leader (David Mark, former Senate President). It should be noted here that as soon as the leadership of the PDP sensed that the APC senatorial body had fragmented into factions jockeying for leadership posts, it instructed all its members to act together to align with Saraki’s disgruntled faction and exploit the situation to the maximum extent possible. In the event, the capture of the posts of Senate Leader and Senate Deputy President by a party still licking the wounds of a massive electoral rejection by Nigerians is nothing short of spectacular.

This has to be one of the exceptions in modern political history in which a defeated party that has less than half of the total number of seats in a legislative chamber nonetheless wins the posts of Senate Leader and Deputy Senate President. Indeed, as Buhari meets with the two bickering factions today with a view to mending broken fences, this anomaly in which the Nigerian people elected APC only for the PDP to defeat the APC in the Senate will be on everyone’s mind.

This leads directly to the issue of the most important number or integer in our strange ‘arithmetic’, this being Buhari’s 1 that combined with PDP’s 49 and APC’s 8 to make Saraki’s ‘coup’ possible. Admittedly, this was/is a non-casting vote for the simple reason that the President is not a member of the Senate.

With regard to this single all-powerful Buhari vote that is more virtual than actual, perhaps the most important observation to make here is that in the course of this week when this crisis has unraveled, Buhari’s position has evolved gradually to the point where today he is meeting with both the Saraki and Lawan factions. His very first view, as expressed by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Femi

Adesina, was that though regrettable and against the interest of the party, Saraki’s election as Senate President was a fait accompli that had to be accepted if only because it “appeared to have followed due constitutional process”. Indeed, Buhari in this first response to the crisis went as far as to assert that he was willing to work with whoever the lawmakers elected.

To say the least, these were astonishing remarks from the President. The first observation is completely erroneous since close to half of Senate members were absent when Saraki’s election took place, a situation that has about it all the marks of the many infamous instances when the PDP conducted its primaries or impeached state governors and assemblymen with only a fraction of members present. Particularly troubling in this first response of Buhari was the assertion that he had no preferred candidate for any leadership posts in the National Assembly and was willing to work with whoever the lawmakers elected. Please note that this assertion was not made in a vacuum; it was made after the PDP had aligned with Saraki’s minority faction within his own Party, the APC and as part of the deal elected David Mark as Senate Leader and Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate Leader. Above all else, please note that Buhari expressed these initial views after the entire leadership of his own party, the APC, had rejected Saraki’s ‘coup’ absolutely without any equivocation. Indeed, note too, that Saraki has thanked the President again and again for not siding with the Party leaders in rejecting his election as Senate President.

There is a more sinister view of Buhari’s role in Saraki’s “49PDP + 8APC + 1Buhari” coup against his

party, but I remain unsure whether or not there is any credence to it.

This is the view that Buhari and the Presidency may have as a matter of fact deliberately lured most of the APC Senators away from the Senate when the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly and the vote on the Senate Presidency took place.

The story is that the inauguration of the new National Assembly had been postponed and Buhari was instead going to meet all the APC Senators at the National Conference Centre to try to resolve the crisis between the two factions. Saraki and his defectors stayed at the National Assembly and went on with the election; meanwhile, the President never showed up at the National Conference Centre to meet the Lawan Unity Group. This story, this view is not implausible. For me, it just stops short of providing elements of action and reaction, words and deeds that would indicate that this early in his administration, Buhari is already so wary of the constraints of party discipline and party supremacy on the presidency that he was willing to clear the path for Saraki to go outside the APC to clinch the post of Senate President.

At any rate, by the end of the week, definitely by Thursday evening, indications were coming from the Presidency that Buhari was moving away from regarding Saraki’s coup as a fait accompli and also that the President is a party loyalist. And so in place of Femi Adesina, Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), one so-called Presidential Spokesman, Garba Shehu, did the rounds of media outlets to express a distance between Buhari and Saraki, together with the staff of the National Assembly that had participated in Saraki’s election. Mr. Shehu indeed went as far as to assert vigorously that Buhari respects and

would uphold the supremacy of the party that brought him to power.

Moreover, Shehu asked the public to take note of the fact that the President had not called Saraki or any of the other putative winners of the National Assembly leadership posts to congratulate them.

It is deeply symptomatic of how much this crisis within the APC is embedded in the legacy of the PDP that Buhari himself has not personally uttered a word on the crisis. This is, quintessentially, the PDP style, from presidents to governors: responses to crises rocking the party and the nation to their foundations are left to special assistants and spokespersons. This is meant to leave all guessing, all musing on exactly where the boss stands. Buhari even appears in this matter to have directly copied Jonathan’s distribution of duties between Doyin Okupe and Rueben Abati in his own two “voices” this week, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu. In this pair of media stand-ins for the President, one person, like Okupe, was blunt, bullish and simplistic while the other, like Abati, was more mediafriendly, nuanced and conciliatory.

In the end, both but represent two sides of the same coin, this being the “coin” of a conception and a practice of power that stands sovereign over party, nation and the people.

This is part of the PDP legacy. If by the end of this week we still do not know exactly where Buhari stands in this Saraki ‘coup’ against the APC, if we still have to get his feelings and thoughts from his double-headed media representatives, know, dear reader, that the PDP’s astonishing gains in the Senate elections this week run much wider and deeper than we realize.

Biodun Jeyifo bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

18

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

COMMENT

sms only: 08116759748

T

HE crisis of the National Assembly leadership elections which tore through the All Progressives Congress (APC) might just be the best thing to have happened to it in its short existence. People forget that the party is barely two years old and has never held power at the center.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the other hand has been at it for 16 years. It has had almost two decades to make mistakes and learn.

APC stumbled and that should not be mistaken for a fall.

Last week’s storm was a rude awakening to the fact that if the party doesn’t sort out its politics it would be unable to deliver on the change mandate.

It is to its advantage that the crisis occurred early in the party’s reign rather than at the tail end of its tenure when it would be going into another election cycle. So, rather than allowing the bitterness and anger of the moment to fester, the leadership needs to handle the fallout of the June 9 debacle with humility and introspection to see if things could have been handled differently.

There are so many lessons and APC would be misunderstanding the import of recent events if it embarks on any sudden or extreme moves against those who have challenged its authority. The emergence of Dr. Bukola Saraki as Senate President and Yakubu Dogara as Speaker of the House of Representatives was a rebellion driven as much by ambition as by other factors. The immediate thing to do is indentify what these are.

A wise leadership would first try to de-escalate things and contain the damage that’s already been done.

That is exactly what Chief John Oyegun and his team have done by finally recognizing Saraki as duly elected head of the Senate. All the talk of the nuclear option of drastic disciplinary action was not practical as APC risked the danger of driving the offenders back into the embrace of a PDP that is desperately looking for a way to get back into the game.

So where did APC get it wrong?

For one thing they made a fundamental error in not dealing with the power sharing concerns raised by elements of one of the legacy parties that came together to form it the ‘New PDP’. Dismissing their demands by saying that such groups died when the new party came into being was unrealistic. In every big political party there are diverse tendencies and people who have been linked in the past would flock together even in a new home.

The seed of the rebellion was sown in that sense of marginalization and thrived because the issue was not dealt with frontally. It is no surprise therefore that the new Senate President and Speaker of the House were members of that ‘New PDP’ group.

Thus far the APC leadership has been outraged by what it perceives as a breakdown of discipline within its ranks. Before their very eyes party supremacy which they had touted as distinguishing them from PDP has been stamped upon by the rebels.

No organization that wants to be taken seriously would condone such brazen acts of indiscipline. However, it bears pointing out that the application of the concept of party

E-mail: festus.eriye@gmail.com Twitter: @EriyeFestus

APC and its baptism of fire

•Buhari

supremacy cannot be absolute. It works best under the parliamentary system of government because rebellion against the party line by parliamentarians could lead to fall of the government of the day.

Under the American presidential system things are slightly different. There is a lot more latitude for independent action on the part of lawmakers. Times without number we have seen Democratic senators and Congressmen cross the party line to join Republicans in voting against major legislation of their fellow Democrat – President Barack Obama.

Whenever that happened, those who crossed party lines were not condemned for voting the way they did. They never come up for censure by their party. Pay back comes when they have to present their voting record to the electorate. Still, we acknowledge that we operate under different circumstances in a society that still has to deal with primordial issues like tribe and religion.

But this is not to say that the methods adopted by Saraki to achieve his goal are acceptable. It wasn’t just the fact that he took the contest to the Senate floor in defiance of his party leadership that was galling he compounded the injury by inviting the defeated enemy to share in the victors’ banquet.

Surely, Saraki must have known that the APC leadership would be incandescent with rage over what they have described as his treacherous conduct in selling them to the disgraced PDP just to satisfy his ambition, but he just didn’t give a damn about the consequences.

His rivals and the APC clearly underestimated him - thinking he would not push things to the brink.

He did just that without blinking.

They should have known that the man who moved against his own father – the late strongman of Kwara politics Dr. Olusola Saraki – and ultimately retired the old man from

•Oyegun

active politics would be capable of defying anyone when his dream was so clearly within reach. Such ruthlessness is uncommon even in the rough and tumble of Nigerian politics.

But to make sense of what happened on June 9 we must not focus on the ambition alone - notwithstanding the fact that it is a powerful incentive.

I strongly believe that no matter how driven they were, Saraki and Dogara would never have sustained their challenge without the backing of powerful forces within and without the APC who have an eye on 2019 calculations.

President Muhammadu Buhari is still trying to make something of the fresh mandate in his hands. No one knows what his intentions are concerning a second term bid but there’s a lot of guessing going on that a man would be 77 in four years could choose not to run again.

Were he to spurn the chance of running again, the usual suspects are positioning powerful allies in the positions that could positively impact their ambitions. The backing of those with these presidential ambitions no doubt have encouraged the rebels to take the contest to the floor of the National Assembly.

One other factor that sustained the rebellion was the anti -Bola Tinubu sentiment whipped up by one side in the contest as well as the PDP still bitter about the role the former Lagos State Governor played in its downfall. For them this was the perfect opportunity to retaliate as he was perceived to be the driving force behind Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila.

Most of those who have gone overboard to vilify Tinubu have been less than honest in their presentations. The Gbajabiamila project was initiated by his colleagues in the House who felt he was the natural person to rise to be Speaker having led them admirably as Minor-

“Truly he’s in the saddle right now, but whether he would sit there comfortably is a different matter. He may just have placed that saddle on what in American rodeo circles is called a ‘Bucking Bronco.’ Anyone who ever sat on those wild horses would tell you it’s not the most stable seat in the world”

•Tinubu

ity Leader.

That he supported Lawan is no secret. But didn’t other APC leaders back other candidates? All of the senators from Buhari’s home state, Katsina, voted for Lawan in the primaries. So how did he become a lapdog that Tinubu was seeking to impose on the Senate?

Success has many friends but paradoxically the successful are often hated for doing well by those less fortunate. The Saraki and Dogara camps tapped into the deep antiTinubu sentiment and played the card for all it was worth.

However, all those writing political obituaries of the APC leader are being unduly hasty. Politics is not like football – a game of two halves. It is more like a towering bestseller where one action-packed chapter opens into another and builds to a climax. He may have had a bad day at the office but his foes would be foolish to read too much into what has just happened.

Many of those gloating over Tinubu’s perceived loss in the scheming for the National Assembly leadership should be reaching out to him to mend fences. If God permits, many who have ambitions beyond today would be seeking his support and that of his South-West base to actualize them. Just ask Muhammadu Buhari.

Bar the shouting and the threats of legal action, Saraki and Dogara are the new reality that APC and the Buhari presidency must deal with for the foreseeable future. What are the implications for the individuals caught up in the controversy and for the polity?

The new leaders of the National Assembly may have achieved their ambition but they have left something broken in their party. People keep referring to what former Speaker Aminu Tambuwal did in the last House – using members of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to seize power against the wish of the PDP leadership.

That precedence has come back to bite the APC as the Tambuwal scenario has been repeated in both chambers of the legislature. The new governing party finds itself in an awkward position where it cannot really moan now that it is being paid back in its own coins.

That said the brazen and longdrawn campaign of defiance against their party which Saraki and Dogara carried out, along with the

Tambuwal episode would weaken the authority of Nigerian political parties – not just APC – for a long time to come.

Powerful individuals would continue to rubbish the concept of party supremacy knowing that the cold reality of political calculations would shield them from harsh punishment.

We saw it when Tambuwal defied PDP. The ruling party chose to grin and bear it so as not to make matters worse. The same scenario has played out again in APC. On an individual level the implications are equally grave. The new Senate President is the undisputed Lord of the Manor in his Kwara fiefdom. His word is law and you cross him at your peril. Now that he has played the card of disobedience in Abuja it would be interesting watching him try to impose the party line in Ilorin.

Don’t be surprised if many who have been chafing under his rule suddenly acquire a taste for rebellion. Whatever a man sows he usually reaps with interest.

For a man known to nurse presidential ambitions it would be virtually impossible for him to realize such dreams on the platform of the APC. He would never be trusted again and would now have a very awkward relationship with the party high command. It was the same experience Tambuwal had with former President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP leadership.

One of things that the Fourth Republic Senate enjoyed under David Mark was an extended period of stability after the initial years of turbulence. Given the manner of his emergence Saraki has just steered the upper chamber into stormy waters.

Truly he’s in the saddle right now, but whether he would sit there comfortably is a different matter. He may just have placed that saddle on what in American rodeo circles is called a ‘Bucking Bronco.’ Anyone who ever sat on those wild horses would tell you it’s not the most stable seat in the world.

APC may not be able to oust either the Senate President or Speaker because they wouldn’t be able to muster the required two-thirds of members to get the job done. That effectively makes Saraki and Dogara hostages of the former ruling party on whose votes they must now depend for survival.

LIFE

19

SUNDAY

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

How we fought Ebola in Sierra Leone,

by Nigerian volunteers They went, they saw, they conquered. That is the story of the 250 Nigerian Ebola volunteer returnees who went to the Ebolastricken countries to help fight the deadly virus and indeed rescue humanity.

But it wasn’t all rosy stories and chivalry, as Gboyega Alaka found out.

T

he situation we met in Sierra Leone was quite different from that of Nigeria. Though we had recorded cases in Lagos and Port Harcourt, it was nothing like what we met on ground there. There, the infection was everywhere and it was a terrible sight to behold.

I got there on the 5th of December 2014, which was the peak of the infection.

That was also exactly two weeks after my wedding. Duty called and I had to

postpone my honeymoon. All over the Northern Region where I was, it was so bad that you could record up to a hundred deaths from the virus in one hour. We had 100 bed-spaces at my ETU (Ebola Treatment Unit), and all were filled up, yet we were expecting more to come. It was so bad that if you closed from duty at night, by the time you came back the following morning, virtually all the 100 beds would have become empty; and when you asked, they simply tell you that they died in the

night. Believe me, it was something you don’t want to witness. It was like a wind of death was blowing. But God helped us at the African Union (AU) team, especially the Nigerian team. I worked in Makini city in Bombali districts, and at a point we were able to record about 57% survival rate. As such patients didn’t want to go to other centres managed by whites; they wanted to come to the centre managed by Nigerians. As of the paediatric patients (five years and below) that I was directly in

charge of, we had 81.8 % survival rate. My passion for the children and desire to stop the deaths made me recruit a solid team with which we battled the scourge.

Why did we record that level of success?

I’d pitch that on the trainings we received, in Lagos- before we travelled to Sierra Leone, in Port Harcourt after the first case was recorded in Lagos and in between the programme by the WHO in Sierra Leone.

• Continued on page 20

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

20 SUNDAY LIFE

It was like a wind of death was blowing - Dugbor Muekara • Continued on page 19

And also the prayers and the efforts we put in.

But it was not the same story with the white-run centres. You may want to know why.

As we were leaving on that mission, the Minister of Health delivered the president’s message to us, which was that ‘’we are sending you there to go and work and come back home.

We don’t want you to go and mingle with Ebola patients as heroes. You can only be a hero when you come back alive.” Aside that one of their officials in Sierra Leone also warned that they already had an instruction that if any of us died, his body would not be taken to Nigeria; neither would his clothes nor his ashes. So part of our strategy was to limit the level of contact with the patients. We decided that at no point should a health worker spend more than one hour with the patients at the Red Zone. Red Zone is highly risky because that is where the Ebola patients were, while the Green Zone was where we had the staff and where the risks were low. And we adhered strictly to this and even watched each other to make sure they never defaulted. So by the time you spend 45 minutes, you are expected to be on your way out. This was in contrast to other centres, where they were spending up to five hours with the patients. So that was the reason we were not infected. At a point, a white Canadian joined us and wanted to be spending up to five hours with the patients, but we put our foot down and said ‘No. This is an African Union centre and we have our Standard Operating procedure.’

The reason most of the whites were getting infected was because they are very emotional and want to help all the time, but with Ebola, you can’t do that. Even if a patient is dying, falling or throwing up, you cannot hold or grab the patient like we do in normal hospitals. Not even when you are in your protective gear.

Rather we wait for some time and approach them from the rear, you know most of them are

“I saw a patient, a nurse who was a matron. She was infected and by the time I got to her, she was bleeding from every opening: her eyes, ears, nose, mouth and her private part.” depressed and they can react violently and you don’t give them that opportunity to grab you. Sometimes we went in with psychologists who talked to them and tried to calm them down. When we arrived, there was a particular hospital, where a total of 29 doctors and nurses died from the virus despite wearing their protective gears. We discovered that it was because the contact was too much. So you see, the protection from the gear was not full proof. We made sure that none of our members touched the patients and even if you did, because we always have another colleague who is like shadowing you, he would in turn inform us and we would make sure we decontaminate you before you joined us in the Green Zone.

Most emotional moments I have strong love for children, but at the height of the outbreak, children were

dying so much so that even health workers and doctors were scared of going near them due to fear of infection. That touched me and I had to step in at a point to coordinate the treatment of the infected children.

There was also this occasion when I could not help but shed tears. I saw a patient, a nurse who was a matron. She was infected and by the time I got to her, she was bleeding from every opening: her eyes, ears, nose, mouth and her private part. I tried to console her but she told me ‘thank you doctor, but between you and I, you know I cannot survive this.’ In fact she told me that she knew she was closer to the other side of life. And I said to myself, “Oh my God! This is terrible.” I was shedding tears right under my protective gear and throughout that day.

Disbelief, as a major factor When we are in situations like this, we need to do everything we can as human beings to help, like the African Union and all other bodies did. And as for the general public, I think we need to learn that once the authorities have come out to say this is the situation, there is this illness and these are the risks, we should try and believe. The problem in Sierra Leone was disbelief.

People thought Ebola was some propaganda stuff and because of that they were not listening to the procedures and education.

Let me give you a scenario. A native doctor in the Northern District where I worked claimed in February that he could cure the virus. An infected person now escaped from the Western Region, Freetown to be specific, into the Northern Region. The native doctor died. He had like three wives, all of them died; all his children died; then like 20% of the village died; all because of one single case. The native doctor thought it was about the gods and wanted to appease the gods, and he went down six feet. By the time we got to that village, they had been infected badly. Most of them died, but we were able to

•Muekara cut the chain of transmission and that was why the whole village was not wiped out.

Once cured, forever free The good thing about the virus is that once you have been cured of it, you may never contract it again.

Your body develops immunity and fights it, just like Chicken Pox. So in my centre, we needed the assistance of some of our survivors, such as the nurses and other health workers, especially in cases where the risks of touching blood was too much, while we supervised them.

‘You are not Jesus Christ,’ my husband told me - Patience Oise

•Adebanjo

•Oise

I

WAS into teaching, when I saw an information on Lagos State facebook page that they were looking for volunteers to fight the Ebola scourge. I read accounting but I went for the interview anyway, and was taken into the Admin Unit.

Was it about the money?

No I won’t say it was about the money, but frankly, it is something that will lead to money. I wanted to know what Ebola was about and help fight it. But my first worry even as I took the decision were my children, who were in school. I remember my husband calling and telling me “I love you and your children love you; do not go and die, you are not Jesus Christ.”

But rather than dampen my spirit, that spurred me on.

I was part of the Lagos team that

arrested the virus; we were working from the Yaba Central Laboratory and I was in the Logistic Unit, providing vehicles, fuelling and delivering of consumable items.

When we got to Sierra Leone, it was a very sad situation. The airport was empty. And you know, being a human being, there was this palpable fear. It was not really an easy mission because you have to make everything available for them especially in their own land. I was deployed to the Ebola Treatment Unit, ETU. The only additional responsibilities I had were to ensure that the drugs were properly delivered on time from Freetown, and to go out and meet other agencies. But apart from that, I didn’t have much contact with them, although I dealt with them from a distance. We were always there to speak with the patients, ask questions and all that.

Interestingly, from my own point of view, I think we Nigerians were the only team who went in there with professionals. We brought doctors, and these were doctors who had had practical experience fighting the virus in Nigeria, unlike countries like Congo, Burundi and co that had no practical experience whatsoever.

Closest shave We had an internal outbreak. One of us, a Sierra Leonean did private home practice. In our ETU, you were not

allowed to treat any member of your family that comes down with Ebola, but report and take the person to a holding centre. But we heard he treated his dad, treated his mum and felt he was almighty Alfa and Omega. Incidentally, his name was Alfa. Unfortunately, he got infected.

We also found out that he was already treating himself. Curiously, he had been telling us that he wanted to be on the night shift, but we didn’t understand why. So they took him into the holding centre and within three days, he died. So the guy was like a time bomb in our midst. He could have infected all of us. We had a case of another Sierra Leonean who got pricked by a needle while drawing blood. I saw him that day holding his hand in a peculiar manner, but he eventually came down with the virus and died. But he had infected one of our colleagues, another Sierra Leonean. Another of my colleague who is an admin officer and a Sierra Leonean slept with his girlfriend; then another of my colleague who is a local slept also with the same girl. In Sierra Leone, sex is cheap and they don’t take it as anything. Even right in the hospital, some of those undergoing treatment were having indiscriminate sex. So we sacked more than half of our local staff, because of their dangerous habits. Two of them died.

I really wept for that guy, because this was a guy with whom we were getting along. I also felt it could have been me, because I remember he told me he was ill and wasn’t really free with me on that day, but I never thought ‘infection.’ I was also isolated and tested, but luckily, I was free. At a point I was reading 37 in temperature, but it was out of fear, but I was really scared and kept calling my husband.

“At a point I was reading 37 in temperature, but it was out of fear, but I was really scared and kept calling my husband.”

What was responsible for the spread of the disease most was treating at home, aka self medication. The people just believe that when you wear white and you can give injections then you are good enough to handle the virus. Then the nurses themselves got greedy and were even telling the people not to go to the Ebola Treatment Units, ETU; so in the end they got infected, their husbands and children got infected, even their neighbours got infected. And their living pattern is such that you can have up to 20 people in a two-bedroom flat. So when you hear that 120 people were infected and died in nine houses, you should not be surprised.

Women as greater casualties In all it was the women that died more because they were the care-givers. They took care of the children when they were sick, so they were much more exposed to the virus.

• Continued on page 21

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e r s . f d e ,

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

I

’d always wanted to do something on conflict resolution, so when I finished my degree, I did a masters in something related to International Relations. However, I never even thought of anything related to health until I got the information that they were looking for health volunteers during the Nigerian outbreak, and I volunteered.

Going on the mission was a risk for me, but everybody takes risks. After all those other people coming from other countries are also human beings. Besides, they were also looking for communication experts and social mobilisers, because really, the second epidemic was the panic and the government in Nigeria needed people to curtail the panic.

I handled media relations and some of your colleagues would actually remember my voice, calling them from time to time.

We were doing house to house, door to door mobilisation, teaching people hand washing, organising radio and television talk shows. Though it was the doctors that were going, but we were kind of in the background putting things in order.

Death mission To be frank, going to Sierra Leone was a death mission. In fact one of my cousins told me “Chinasa, when you come back, stay on your own for six months before even trying to reach me.” But then again, it is ignorance. When you have the right information, do the right thing, you’re likely to come out clean.

The media made it look like people were just dropping dead on the streets, and we really were apprehensive. Funny enough, when we touched down, it was like a ghost country because it was the tail end of the lock-down. We hardly saw anybody, save for red and blue ambulances. But we were told to simply follow due procedures, even as they agreed that infection rate was very high. But like two weeks into the exercise, we started relaxing and communicating with the people we met on ground, and then it wasn’t that bad anymore.

The government was very strict with the lock-down, and anyone who broke the rule was liable to ten days imprisonment or a

M

y going on the Sierra Leonean Ebola rescue volunteer mission was purely on humanitarian grounds. To help you understand that passion, I had only been married one week when I took off. I had been part of the team that responded to the call for volunteers in Lagos, so when the call for experienced person to go abroad came, I naturally stepped forward.

My wife was the only person I told, and then later my dad; so let me use this opportunity to thank her again. Some of my friends are still angry that I didn’t tell them I was going abroad; they thought I’d travelled to South Africa and thoroughly chastised my wife for keeping them in the dark.

The fears Naturally, my wife was afraid and anxious. But I did my best possible to placate her. The money aside, I told her I needed to make the trip. I’m a Political Science major of Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti and a member of Junior Chambers International, so I just had the humanitarian thing in me.

Landing in Sierra Leone, the situation was really scary, especially in the first few weeks, but of course we had to follow standard procedures: don’t touch, do hand sanitising, don’t talk to your colleagues too closely....

But quite frankly, it was a very high risk area to be at that time and if you were not careful, you could pick the virus, we saw volunteers like us who got infected, so also Sierra Leoneans who worked with us, because they were not following the standard procedures. But it wasn’t as if people were just dropping dead like the media made it look.

Duties as a data expert I worked at a command centre, which is an equivalent of our EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) here in Nigeria. The word command in their own case simply reflected the fact that the military was

SUNDAY LIFE 21

Going to Sierra Leone was truly a death mission – Chinasa Imo

•Imo

fine or five hundred thousand Leone, which is about a hundred dollars. But it is real big money over there.

But yet there were stories of people escaping the quarantine homes to look for food. I was working as a psychosocial support officer, so we were kind of monitoring people in quarantine homes, making sure they got food. We had support from the Department for International Development, DFID, who were supporting other locals and international NGOs with food, but there were no manpower to distribute the foods. However, as time went by, we harmonise the food distribution pattern, and that became less of a problem.

Closest shave That would be on the occasion when we took food to one of the centres and one of the guys under quarantine was almost

going to hug me out of excitement.

The sickness basically was hitting the people in the communities. You know a rich man knows what is at stake. If you tell him to wash his hands ten times, he will comply, but a poor man will be like ‘I have a culture; I’ve been eating without washing my hands for years.... They also thought Ebola was a magic gun, some spiritual stuff and the white man’s way of putting them into extinction. They even said the chlorine we use to decontaminate their house, was to spray them to death. But of course it was the information, and later things normalised a bit. Also, when they began to see survivors return, they started having more confidence and trust in the system and they allow us take their sick people.

A particular community refused to allow any of the volunteers near it, until one of them, who had been cured of the disease in Freetown insisted that we took him to his mother’s village. It was when they saw him that they let down their guards and allowed us in. They even started fishing out suspicious cases for us.

My take-aways As Africans, we can achieve whatever we set out to achieve. I’m saying this from the point of the African Union volunteering people to go there. Again there are some cultural practices that we need to adjust. I’m not talking about putting them into extinction, but adjusting them. Basically what escalated this scourge were the burial practices. The instruction red alert said, ‘Do not touch dead bodies;’ but you find that even when the health workers had buried these corpses, they still go and exhume them and perform these rites. Then again, our hygiene practices are still very low in Africa.

And we really need to work on that.

Social Life?

Yes, there was social life in Sierra Leone.

We went clubbing, we went to the beaches; they do have beautiful beaches. And I made friends - lots of them, and we had fun, but

“It was like a ghost country because it was the tail end of the lock-down. We hardly saw anybody, save for red and blue ambulances” with lots of caution.

When we were leaving, things had come under control; we had a whole eight days without a single case and we were beginning to think that soon, the World Health Organisation, WHO would begin a countdown for Sierra Leone.

But getting here, the news wasn’t that good. In the past week, they had recorded five cases. But the train is always from Guinea to Kambia to Port Loco to Freetown.

In the border provinces, some have counted eighty days already without any cases.

Most unforgettable experience I have two. The first would be the case of the 18-year old, who lost all the sixteen members of her family: the mother, the father, all her siblings; and even her child.

We went and picked her the very first week we arrived and I can tell you it wasn’t easy counselling her. She also had the virus, but survived. The other case was that of a girl who abandoned her baby and ran away. She wasn’t an Ebola victim; she just decided to be rascally. At a point, I was about getting someone to adopt the child, when the mother’s uncle came forward.

Going to Sierra Leone for me was purely humanitarian - Tunde Asefon “But you know, Ebola is a chain thing. If you work with a doctor that treats Ebola, you are as close to Ebola as the doctor himself.” involved. At the command centre, we analysed data, we knew number of cases, got alerts, called the necessary team, the contamination, those to move the victims to the centres, areas people should avoid.... And every evening, we had meetings, review the data and synergise.

Close shave with the virus At a point, we needed to go to the field. And at that point I was a bit scared, but I was not the only one in the team, there were white guys from the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta, USA, with whom I was expected to attend to cases sometimes. But based on the SOP (Standard Operations Procedures) we were given, there is a distance you have to maintain. I went to the ETU a number of times and worked with other psychosocial team: Chinasa, Mr Kazeem, Mr Ariyo; I worked with a doctor, Osonuga; and they all did well. But you know, Ebola is a chain thing. If you work with a doctor that treats Ebola, you are as close to Ebola as the doctor himself. And Dr Osonuga was my closest friend; so if he got infected, I could hardly have escaped it. The good thing was that we

maintained the standard procedures, despite our friendship. So as far as Nigeria and the African Union were concerned, none of us was infected. The Sierra Leonean locals who worked with us however were getting infected – probably because they used locals who went from house to house and their government didn’t have enough funds to get the right equipments.

Ebola is not something that is welcome in any society. At my command centre, two British volunteers got infected; and their government had to fly all of them to the UK. That was very grim and I told one of my doctor friends that, ‘Men! Our life is at risk here o.’ Even contact tracers got infected. But the Nigerian system was different; we were very professional. We had epidemiologists, doctors, who do perfect contact tracing, who were monitoring temperatures with thermometers.

Best team, Nigeria Sincerely, I will tell you that the Nigerian Ebola volunteer team was the best team ever. The Sierra Leone case started with just one incident and I think it was out of non-challant attitude that it got out of hand. But imagine about twenty cases breaking out in an urban area? That was the situation Nigeria faced in Lagos, and the fact that we were able to manage it showed our level of professionalism and competence. One of the problems with Sierra Leone was that most of them were local people, who kept thinking that Ebola was not real. Many of the local native doctors got themselves infected because they thought they were dealing with something that had to do with their gods. So now, I can tell you that Nigeria is blessed with some of the best doctors in the world, if only the government can play its part.

The truth is that you cannot defeat Ebola without uniting. So I really appreciated all the countries that came on the mission:

•Asefon

Uganda, Burundi, Congo, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia.

How did his wife receive him?

How did your wife receive you when you came back from the mission?

Receive me? No, I’d rather say I received her because I did not go home direct. We were camped for like twelve days and placed under observation in Sierra Leone before coming back – it should have been 21 days really, but maybe because we had the UN clearance. When I landed in Abuja, I called on her to hook me up there, from where we went on our honeymoon. But for some time, she wasn’t allowed to have direct contact with me.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

22 SUNDAY LIFE

Face-to-face with Ebola in Sierra Leone •A street in Freetown during the lock-down

Sunday Oguntola reports on the ordeals, nightmares and pains of Nigerians resident in Sierra Leone during the peak of Ebola epidemic that hit the country

L

uke Macaulay considers himself a cat with nine lives. Three times, he escaped being infected with the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone. The close shaves, he stated, were down to nothing but sheer luck and providence.

Last October, while the country was being ravaged by EVD, one of Macaulay's neigbhours suddenly dropped dead. It was clear the 22-year-old student had succumbed to the virus. But the deceased's relations were anxious to bury him without official notice. That would enable them preserve his final resting place and avoid the stigma of being quarantined.

“Some of us said it was a bad idea but were shut out. They desperately wanted him buried. So, in the night, they brought out his corpse, quietly washed it and prepared him for burial. I was going to ease myself, when someone poured the same water used in washing him in my direction.

“For some inexplicable reasons, I dodged the water even though I didn't know what it was used for. It was when I got to the frontage of our apartment that I realised what had happened. If that water had touched me, I would have been infected. I could have died like others,” he recounted.

It was the second time he was beating the infection in dramatic fashion. A month before, he was playing football in a neighbouring field when one of his team mates suddenly collapsed. He was the nearest to the victim but instinctively stepped aside. That was the saving grace.

“Everyone who touched him came down with the virus in just days. Not less than seven of them died,” Macaulay recalled.

He is one of the Nigerians in Sierra Leone who narrowly escaped the viral infection that left 3,912 dead in the diamond-rich nation. Over one million Nigerians are

believed to be resident in the neighbourhing country. Many of them, trapped by the lockdowns following the widespread of the virus, stayed through the height of the epidemic.

Muyiwa Oke (not real name), a trader married to a Sierra Leonean woman, recalled how the Eastern Kono district where he lives became a death bin. “There were corpses practically on the streets. People were bringing their dead relations out because burial had been declared illegal. It was such an eyesore and a frightening sight,” he began.

Oke's two children and wife locked themselves in their apartment for weeks. “I couldn't risk having them come in contact with anybody. There was no electricity or anything to communicate with the outside world. We were more or less left to survive on our own. My strategy was to be the only member of the family going out. Everyone stayed inside, while I risked going out once every two days to get food and essentials,” he recalled.

According to him, the epidemic spread faster because of poor cultural orientation and official ineptitude. “People kept touching sick relations to show affection. I couldn't understand it. Those of us who spoke otherwise were almost mobbed. So, we just kept quiet and resorted to self-help. If people had left the sick and dead alone, the epidemic wouldn't have risen that much,” he explained.

On government's response, he said it was most appalling. “Responses were slow and poor. Health workers were even afraid to intervene. Hospitals were overwhelmed and shut down. Volunteers were not motivated to respond quickly. I know the government was overwhelmed but I believe that was because the situation was not treated promptly when it started.”

Welcoming Ebola Sierra Leone recorded the first infection

on May 26, 2014 through a traditional healer.

She was said to have contracted the virus from treating Ebola patients in a border village with Guinea. Upon her death, she was said to have been washed and prepared for burial, which led to infections among women in neighbouring towns.

Though the country shut its trading borders with Guinea and Liberia on June 11, 2014, the virus had gained foothold to be dislodged easily. The closure of some schools to check the spread also did little to contain it.

Though government deployed troops to enforce quarantines in July, the last district formerly unaffected by Ebola had recorded a case by October 15.

On September 19, a three-day national lockdown was declared to enable health workers enforce quarantines and fish out suspected victims. It was largely unsuccessful as locals devised several means to beat the government officials. Many burial teams and health workers were even attacked in different parts of the country by irate locals to escape arrests.

No longer at ease A second lockdown was declared to further stem the tide of the surging virus. But the efforts meant little, as economic adversities forced residents to beat government's impositions. In Kenema town, hundreds of those on quarantine escaped to hustle for foods. “It was like we were already in hell here. There were quarantine centres but people kept running away to get food.

“We had to stay indoors because you never could tell who among your neighbours had been infected. You couldn't even come in contact because that neighbour could be coming right from a quarantine centre. I cried the day I saw a father running away from his son, who was suspected to be sick with Ebola,” a Nigerian, who identified herself simply as Grace told our correspondent.

According to her: “An epidemic is the worst thing that can happen to humanity. I

“One afternoon, I saw a wife refusing to open the door for her husband, who ran off from a quarantine centre. She wept and wept as the husband banged the door, begging her to open before the volunteer workers arrived. But she refused because she needed to protect her children and her life.”

believe it is tougher than war because everyone becomes a suspect and even a potential enemy. One afternoon, I saw a wife refusing to open the door for her husband, who ran off from a quarantine centre. She wept and wept as the husband banged the door, begging her to open before the volunteer workers arrived. But she refused because she needed to protect her children and her life.”

When schools were shut in August, 2014, life became different for the family of Chukuma in Port Loko. Husband and wife were practically grounded and jobless. Both taught in a secondary school close to their home. The school was all they had. They had invested their resources and time in building the community's literacy. “The day the school closed, it was like my life had been shut down. But we had no choice. Five of our students had died; many more parents were dead and down. It was the end of a chapter for me. It was like taking away a baby from a new mother,” she recounted.

Her husband, a mathematics teacher, watched as the three children struggled daily to keep in touch academically. “We taught and taught until we couldn't again. The kids too were no longer receptive. We were seeing deaths and infections every day. The fear was too much and we were psychologically down,” Emma stated.

He said they had to fend for some of the students whose parents were either sick or dead from the meager family meals. “We couldn't invite them over. We only told them to pick the meals in nylon at a point to avoid contacts because they could have touched their parents. We knew we were taking a risk but the human side of us will not also look away. The meals kept many of our students alive in no small way,” he explained.

When schools resumed in early April, it was a tearful emotional reunion with the students that survived the epidemic. “For the first three days, it was all tears. Nobody could teach anything. We simply listened to tales of survival, deaths and heartaches. We wept and wept. Nobody wanted to do anything but weep for the calamities, “Eunice remembered.

According to a report by UNICEF and World Vision, no fewer than 9,000 children became orphans from EVD. The nine-month closure of schools affected the students.

Many of them suffered severe trauma, psychological breakdown and emotional strains. More than half of the estimated • Continued on page 24

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

SUNDAY LIFE

23

Although, Friday, June 5, was World Environment Day (WED), many Nigerians living in Lagos were oblivious of it or its significance and simply went about their day's business. Freelance Reporter, Joke Kujenya, who went to town found out that Nigerians were not even aware of what roles to play.

A

s early as 9.02am, amid the teensyweensy windy weather of the morning rain, this reporter was somewhere under the Oshodi fly-over in Lagos, popularly known as 'Oshodi Under-bridge.' It was the last day of the week and scores of Lagosians hurried towards their various destinations. To get to their points, some formed long queues, as they awaited Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) buses, while a few of them who could not afford the long time on the queues, hopped into soole vehicles (private cars and SUVs used as cabs). To them in general, it was business as usual.

After observing the scenario for a few minutes, this reporter approached some of the commuters to feel their pulses. Just how much do they know about June 5, the World Environment Day? An elderly man, Pa Adedayo, 71, still agile for that age and going to his business, was the first respondent.

“Are you aware that today is World Environment Day?” We asked.

“No, I am not,” Pa Adedayo replied, “and what is the day about?”

Not surprised, this reporter explained to him that it was the day set aside to ensure that every citizen kept their immediate environments clean. It was a day when everyone is saddled with the civic duty to tell the other person to observe same.

Following that brief education, the old man walked away, smiling.

Janice Ezendu, 34, a career lady also confessed her ignorance: “Sorry, I don't know about it.”

Same for young Segun Majekodunmi, 18, a Mass Communications student of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, who was lost for words: “Though, I don't know about this, but I know about 'World Milk Day,' which is st commemorated on June 1 every year?”

Likewise Khadijat, a young female who hawked gala and allied snacks at Oshodi. She knew nothing about the day, other than the now traditional monthly 'environmental sanitation day.'

Even a well suited up, Richard, a banker on his way to his office that Friday morning said: “World Environment Day? Serious? It's interesting to be hearing about it for the first time in Nigeria though.”

“And what role am I to play as a citizen?”

He asked.

“Simple,” this reporter responded. “Just inform your friends to be more environment friendly not just for today but every day.”

About the same time, the government of Lagos State commemorated the day in the five divisions of the state namely: Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island and Epe; where the governor was represented by key personalities.

A few days earlier, the government had urged the people of the state to keep drains around their homes clean, to allow for free flow of storm water and prevent flooding, as the peak of the rainy season approached. Also, weather forecast for Tuesday, June 2nd and Friday, June 8th, 2015 from the Water Resource Department, Office of Drainage Services, Ministry of Environment had predicted that the WED week was expected to be mild in temperature, with cases of rainfall in the state.

As a result, the government called for intensive cleaning of drainages in flood-prone areas within the state as the rain gets heavier.

In all, 11 people were spoken to, but beautiful as the messages of the day were, none of them knew of it, although they are

World Environment Day: Nigerians confess ignorance

aware of their basic responsibilities of maintaining and keeping their immediate environments clean.

World Environment Day and Sustainable Development Goals The 2015 World Environment Day has as its theme: 'Seven Billion Dreams, One Planet. Consume with Care;' but sadly, scores of the Nigerian populace, whose daily activities affect their immediate environment, are in total darkness about the day or what its theme represents.

For the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (UN/SDGs), environment is at the heart of its overall progressive issues, especially, if the world is serious about putting an end to poverty.

Environment, the UN argues, is intermarried with all socio-economic developments of every nation of the world.

Thus, in its 17-point Sustainable Development Goals focal point, the UN report states that “Development, at its most basic, is about reducing poverty. Dig deeper and you discover that it touches all our lives in ways we little imagine!”

It adds that: “It's the economy, stupid!

Yet economics are at the heart of development and an understanding of this singular fact is vital for anyone participating in a public debate on development priorities….”

The essence is on how the well-being of humanity, the environment and economies ultimately depends on the responsible management of the planet's natural resources. It is based on the grounded evidence that people are consuming far more natural resources than what the planet can sustainably provide. As a result, several of the earth's ecosystems are reaching precarious tilting levels of depletion or irreparable change, pressed by high population growth and economic development.

Looking ahead, the UN noted that by 2050, should the current consumption and production patterns remain the same and with a rising population expected to reach 9.6billion, the world might require triple its current planets to sustain the human way of life, as there is the need to live

within global precincts as the most promising strategy for safeguarding a vigorous future.

By this, the UN is poised to use the WED campaign as its prime channel for informing global consciousness and action for the environment.

On a UNEP tweet on the post-2015 agenda, the message notes: “Over the years, the WED has grown to be a broad, global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated by stakeholders in over 100 countries. It also serves as the 'people's day' for doing something positive for the environment, galvanizing individual actions into a collective power that generates an exponential positive impact on the planet.”

Instructively, the 'people', in the Nigerian situation, are least aware of such a day to enact such a commitment.

Pondering on that, Olumide Idowu, Campaign Specialist, ClimateWED & UNISDR Youth Champion Africa, said: “I am in total agreement with the focus of the SDGs. And really, while talks about the environment are strictly not a business matter, yet, we cannot divorce environmental issues from our day-to-day business, as our basic activities either make or mar the environment we all live and relate.”

In an interview at a session between journalists and environment experts in Lagos, Idowu said, “It is vital for everyone to understand that to end poverty; the culture of keeping our environment healthy must be embedded with the focus to enhancing the living standards of a nation's citizens.”

He added that “One of the most dangerous consequences of our polluting the environment is that we add huge amount of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels, such as oil and gas and through industries and automobiles. With this, my suggested solution is that we need to take responsibility for our immediate environment. By doing so, we all reduce the emission and make our community a better place for all. This must start with the head of a family to make sure that he educates

members of his household to make their environment clean. It is only this way that we can have a successful environment without waiting for the government.

“In essence, WED is just a celebration to remind all of us about our planet earth. For us to relate this to the SDGs is a very strong point, which calls for action for all Nigerians. From the government, everyone must be aware of what the SDGs are all about and start putting them into practice.

There must be education and information around SDGs even in schools. Sadly, our government does not even have the understanding of SDGs, which is why people barely know what WED or SDGs are.

However, it can be achieved if more awareness is created.”

At about the period this reporter was having a vox-pop with some citizens, officials of the National Environmental Standards and Enforcements Agency (NESREA), led by its Deputy Director, Lagos Coordinator, Mrs. Eze Eunice Oyibo, arrived under the bridge with posters and educative materials, which they distributed to Lagosians.

When asked why they were there, she said they had come to speak specifically with leaders of commercial vehicle operators under the bridge in Oshodi. She noted that protection of the environment also has to do with the kind of generators people use in their homes and work places, as the smoke from such impacts negatively on the home, people and their environment.

Oyibo said: “We have told you before, and we are telling you again that Tiger Generators in particular; and any twostroke engine, remains banned by the Lagos State government with a circular issued since 2013 in order to preserve our environment.”

Surrounded by some leaders of bus operators associations, hawkers and a few market men and women, Oyibo said that “A two-stroke engine is one in which oil and petrol are mixed together to power a generator,” noting that “the smoke emanating from such is as dangerous as the carbon monoxide being emitted from the exhaust of poorly maintained vehicles because they all pollute the homes and environments, where people live and make their livelihood.

“Carbon Monoxide mixing with Carbon Dioxide is toxic and these both kill people almost immediately or slowly as the case may be.”

She added that while there are several aspects of environmental problems, NESREA decided to look at one aspect of its regulations which is “the Environmental Regulation of Vehicular Emissions, which is why we are here today. And this is why we are talking to transport operators because the federal government is working on creating Safety Centres, where all of these issues will be duly addressed and the people given new orientation in ways to relate with their immediate environment.”

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

24 SUNDAY LIFE

•Mr Ajibulu demostrating how to use the instruments

•The Graduands at the ceremony

Photos: Taiwo Abiodun

Shelter Watch Initiative, an NGO with a passion for improving the lots of artisans in the country, recently retrained over 100 artisans in their respective trades and skills in modern techniques and tools. Taiwo Abiodun who was at their graduation in Ilaro, reports.

T

HE environment was filled with excitement, and food and drinks were freely served. Music also blared from two giant hi-fi speakers placed strategically at the four corners of the hall, while the celebrators who were graduating danced their hearts out. You could tell that they were really in a joyful mood.

Somehow, these graduates are however different in that they are not your run-of-the-mill youths. These are men in their 40s; some in their 50s; and some in their 70s. They were proudly regaled in their ceremonial graduation gowns, beaming with smiles and full of joy, as they took photographs and posed with their family members and friends. This was on the occasion of the graduation ceremony of some Nigerian Artisans, who recently underwent training under the Shelter-Watch Initiative (NGO) in conjunction with the Department of Building Technology, Federal Polytechnic Ilaro, Ogun State penultimate Thursday.

The school graduated about 108 artisans, who were retrained in their various skills, to enable them garner more practical skills, improve and be able to perform up to international standard.

Following the training, they were also expected to compete favourably with their counterparts in other parts of the world.

This was the first graduation ceremony taking place at the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP building of the institution. It was witnessed by hundreds of parents, relations and well-wishers, who came from far and wide to see and cheer their own in their academic gowns something they never dreamt of, as they received t h e i r c e r t i f i c a t e s .

In his speech, Builder Tayo Fajuyitan, Dean School of Environmental Studies, Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, said among other things that "as you are all aware, Nigeria is currently undergoing serious social economic challenges in the areas of massive unemployment and disequilibrium and lack of technical know-how.

That is why it has become imperative for you to embrace the vocational training that can make majority of youths self-sustaining and selfenriching.”

The Chief Executive Officer of Mortgage Bankers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Kayode Omotoso, described the graduating students as “lucky to have the opportunity of this feat,” while Builder Segun Bolarinwa, who is Director of Building, Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Abuja, said he placed so much value on the programme that he had to stop his journey to Abuja to honour the graduands and give them words of encouragement.

Omotoso advised them to behave well and show good attitude to their customers. He also said that they should not be temperamental and that it takes time to succeed.

In his words, “Everybody in Nigeria wants to be a big man and become a millionaire in a day, but life is not like that.”

He said there is no menial job but menial attitude, and implored the artisans to take their job with seriousness and dignity: “We should not look down on our job because it is what we use to feed our family and maintain ourselves.

Your work is important and crucial.”

Speaking on the occasion, the Executive Director of Shelter Watch, Mr. Segun Olutade, stressed the need for the artisans to be trained and retrained in a world where technology has taken over the manual and archaic skills.

According to him, 'Learning is a never- ending process.'

He said this was not the first time such training and retraining of artisans would be taking place, adding that over 2,000 artisans has been successfully trained in various polytechnics across the country.

Olutade bemoaned the old style of moving materials to work site, saying "Use of sacks to carry tools to sites has been identified as one of the major setbacks for the sub-sector of the building /construction industry. Coupled with this are the energy-sapping tools most artisans still use, but which have been long forgotten in the developed and developing countries of the world. While it would take 50 seconds to shoot a nail into the wall by a carpenter in the developed and developing world, it might take his counterpart in Nigeria five minutes, with energy-sapping effort to poorly hammer a nail into the same wall.”

He said “It is sad to note that neither Nigerian unemployed youths nor their parents want to be identified with artisan trade in the building sector, which is begging for attention of over a million unemployed youths. As you can see today, we have succeeded in dealing with the attitude of our artisans and their dressing code."

In order to show the technical know-how of how to utilize the latest instruments, Adedamola Ajibulu, a London-trained builder

and an expert in building technology and instruments, declared that the era of working with outdated tools and old system was over.

He added that the developed and developing world have jettisoned old styles and types their Nigerian counterparts are still using. To the excitement of the graduands, he demonstrated how some of the instruments are used. He brought out different tools used in carpentry, building, fabrication, welding, electrical, and practicalised their usage, while the artisans watched in awe and appreciation.

Ajibulu said 'No one uses hammer for hours to put a nail on a door anymore in the modern world, as it consumes more time and saps energy; but with the new technology of these tools, things would work faster and man hour would be saved."

Among the graduands were young and elderly people, who said the yearning for more knowledge prompted them to go back to school to be retrained.

Speaking, Lamidi Fatai Alaba, who graduated in Electricals, said "I am glad to have participated in this course. I am a graduate of Electrical under this crash programme. This will improve my knowledge and help to equip me more than the others out there."

Adelu Oluwatosin, who obtained a certificate in Welding, said "We were trained in many things we did not know, thus bringing us up to date with modern trend, and we can now compete with others in our area of specialty anywhere in the world. I am glad to have taken part in this course.”

Musibau Lateef had a retraining in Carpentry and he thanked God for the opportunity. "I thank God that I participated in this course, as it made me realise that many things have changed in the profession. We were exposed to the latest instruments that would make our job faster and neater. I

thought I was using latest equipment before, but I now know better. I only need to look for money now to equip myself with some of the equipment. ' Alhaji Mujaidi Kareem, 72, who also underwent retraining in carpentry, said he was excited to be among the graduands. He said it was one of his clients in Ibadan where he went to repair a mosque roofing that invited Olutade to come and meet him.

Despite his age, Kareem said “I wanted to know more, that was why I decided to go for this training. In his excitement, he made jokes about his lecturers who called him Baba, apparently because he was young enough to be his son.

Alhaji Toyin Lawal also a carpenter said it is good to know more in order to be able to compete with those in the civilised world. He said "When we were asked to go and learn more, we did not know this is what they meant. Now we know better. It is a big challenge for us to buckle up, and sort of improve ourselves to meet up with current world standards.”

Chief Michael Olumuyiwa Ogunbanjo (69) said he is a welder and has decided to add to his knowledge because he who fails to learn more is not fit to be alive. He said 'As chairman of Ijebu Local Government's Welders Association, I should learn and know more and also go out to teach others. Although I am successful in this job, but without additional, nobody can be successful.

Even the Oba of Ijebu-ode who is over 80 is still learning, so learning is good.”

Face-to-face with Ebola in Sierra Leone • Continued from page 22

1.8million students were reluctant to return, citing fears of another epidemic.

'All that mattered was survival' A Nigerian minister with Grace Baptist Church Bo, the second largest city in Sierra Leone, said the EVD challenge was the lowest moment of his life. Watching members struggle with the challenges of the epidemic, as well as staying away from infection took a serious toll on him.

“I couldn't even pray again. I was confused. The more cases I saw, the more paralysed I was. I was brain-dead by the confusion around. I could be counseling someone and you will hear someone else was sick. Yet, I couldn't visit to avoid infection. We couldn't hold services again, even when we had five-hour every Sunday during the

lockdowns.

“I kept asking, 'Where is God? What have we done wrong? How do we even get out of it? It was a period that tasked my faith and belief in God. My life was on a shutdown, yet I had to stay strong to look after members. I had to look after my family too to avoid infection. It is something you don't pray to ever witness, I can assure you,” he said.

A banker with one of the Nigerianowned banks said the period taught her about the futility of money. “You know they say money answers everything but that is during normal times. When the epidemic started, money became useless. I mean you cannot even spend because there was nothing to buy again. The stores were closed.

Nobody was there to sell anything.

“Yes, some of us had some leverages with money, such as getting people to do

certain essentials; but when the situation degenerated in Freetown, all of us left the country. We were flown through Morocco back home.

It was a harrowing experience because nothing mattered again. All everyone wanted was to avoid the infection and death. All that mattered was survival,” she stated.

Thankfully, Sierra Leone is back on her feet. Schools have resumed and offices have reopened. Life is gradually returning to normalcy again. But for Nigerians who lived through the worst epidemic in the nation's history, living in Sierra Leone has become more a burden.

Only eternal vigilance will prevent a reoccurrence.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY,

29

June 14, 2015

Adetutu Ayoola weds Omowunmi

Awobiye @ 50

T

he traditional wedding between Omowunmi Odunewu and Ayoola Omotunde was held at Orile-Agege Local Government Development Area, Agege, Lagos, recently…

Groom's parents, Mr. Olubunmi Omotunde and wife, Funmi.

Bride's parents Mr. Kayode Odunewua and wife, Olaide

Couple: Ayoola Omotunde and Omowunmi

Lovebirds Nurudeen and Balqees

Bride’s Parent, Alhaji and Alhaja Ishola Aliyu

Groom’s Parent, Alhaji and Alhaja Adeyemi Hassan

I Couple, Balqees and Nurudeen

t was all smiles as Nurudeen and Balqees were pronounced a couple.

The primary school mates between 1988 and 1995 had their Walimot Nikkah at Urban Grammar School, Ile-Ife, Osun State. Balqees said she was attracted to her husband because of his soft heart.

“She is simply a caring lady,” Nurudeen quipped.

Couple, Balqees and Nurudeen

Adebola Adamson 40th Birthday gig

Celebrant, Mrs. Adebola Adamson with her children, Tobi, Dayo and Tolani

L-R: Pastor Denson Saturday, celebrant, Mrs. Adamson, Isa Adamson, Mrs. Zeenat Asseh, Ayisat, Jean Park Bestman and Mrs. Mariam Akintunde

30

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

ETCETERA

SUNNY SIDE

Cartoons

By Olubanwo Fagbemi

POLITICKLE

deewalebf@yahoo.com 08060343214 (SMS only)

A modern dictionary •Romance edition The writer has gone soft. After reacting to heat in the polity, he hops on the bandwagon of love.

OH, LIFE!

THE GReggs

Attraction n.: A magnetic feeling shared by two to the exclusion of others at any time.

Butterflies adj.: On the approach of a love interest, the sensation in the stomach akin to the flutter of insects.

Crush n.: A temporary tenderness reserved for the opposite sex with even more temporary conviction.

Dating v.: Deploying energy, time and effort to get to know someone you like today, loved yesterday and may not really like tomorrow.

Easy adj.: A term men used to describe a woman who thinks of love in a man’s terms.

Friend n.: An opposite-sex acquaintance with some flaw which hampers romantic development.

Gift n.: Something that often counts more than the thought or giver.

Heartthrob n.: Something between a heart throbbing with love and a heart robbed of love.

Irritating habit n.: What little qualities that initially attract become. The guy with ‘dreamy eyes’ soon looks like a ‘sleeping fool’ to a displeased girlfriend.

Joke v.: A man’s indirect method of getting the attention of an indifferent woman.

Kindle v.: The process by which sly looks and enticing body language explode into full-blown and often uncontrollable passion.

Law of relativity n.: The attractiveness of one partner is directly proportionate to the unattractiveness of the other as proven by attention garnered by either the man or woman on an outing.

Money n.: The source, substance and sustenance of many an affair.

Nonsense n.: Also ‘sweet nothings’, it describes meaningless conversation between passionate lovers.

One-night stand n.: Invariable conclusion of a hurried romance.

Pair n.: The typical appearance of humans on Valentine’s Day. Note: there appear to be more four-armed and four-legged creatures about than usual.

Queer adj.: Description of the reserved Romeo’s loosened tongue or quiet Juliet’s fidgeting upon finding love.

Rendezvous n.: The meeting point where romantic progression often concludes.

Sober adj.: A state of calmness and reason impossible for lovers.

TLC n.: Whether in form of romantic dinner or treatment, ‘Tender Loving Care’ is both reward for the committed lover and cure for the love-sick.

Utopia n.: A form of higher wellbeing encouraged by reciprocated love and discouraged by developing-country conditions.

Valentine’s Day n.: ‘Buy-day’, Father’s Day and Fool’s Day all rolled into one, with visible consequence nine months after.

Whim n.: Or ‘love at first sight’. What occurs when two not-so-choosy people looking for love meet.

XXXXX n.: Kisses, as they appear in standard stationery of the season of love – letters and greeting cards.

Yarn colloq.: What the hopeful lover does to the object of his infatuation with chocolate, cake, greeting card, or spoken words.

Zodiac sign n.: The twelve parts of the imaginary area in the sky in which the sun, moon and planets are positioned make up the zodiac in the psychic realm. Matching the signs helps lovers decipher long-term relationship prospects. Example: ‘Today, you’ll meet a tall, dark stranger’.

CHEEK BY JOWL

Readers’ Response A twenty-first century guide Happy Sunday. I just read your SUNNY SIDE: ‘A Twenty-first century guide’ in The Nation of 21 December, 2014. Thank you very much. Regards. +2348026251***

Resolutions for all Resolutions for all: I read it. You are a man and actor, try more. The Nation: January 18, Page 76. +2348064239 *** I just read Resolutions for all. I like it. Keep the good work going.

Evans, Edo. +2348074075*** •’Significant terms’ to be continued

QUOTE Love, and a cough, cannot be hid.

Jokes Humour Forever Yours A GIRL asked a guy if he thought she was pretty. He said ‘no’.

She asked him if he would want to be with her forever, and he said ‘no’.

She then asked him if she were to leave would he cry, and once again he replied with a no.

She had heard enough. As she walked away, tears streaming down her face, the boy grabbed her arm and said, “You’re not pretty; you’re beautiful.

“I don’t want to be with you forever, I NEED to be with you forever. And I wouldn’t cry if you walked away. I’d die!”

Forever Not Yours A MAN walks into a jewelry store to buy his girlfriend an engagement ring. Looking behind the glass case, he sees an exquisite band with a handsome-sized rock in its center.

“Excuse me, sir,” the gentleman says to the salesman. “How much is this ring?”

“Ah, that’s a beautiful piece,” the salesman says. “It goes for N100, 000.”

“My God!” the man says in alarm. “That’s a lot of money!”

“Yes, but a diamond is forever.”

“Perhaps,” the gentleman says, “but my marriage won’t last that long!”

Marry Me ROBERT, a cynical man of early middle age, had evaded many a marital trap, but was now hopelessly in love with pretty young Susan.

Finally he said, “Will you marry me, Susan?”

She smiled and said, “Oh yes, Robert.”

There followed a long silence, till Susan said, “Well, say something more, Robert.”

And Robert, in a moment of deep reflection, said, “I think I’ve said too much as it is.”

Curse of beauty BEFORE Linda became engaged, she was quite the beauty, and didn’t mind letting her boyfriend know it too.

“A lot of men are going be totally miserable when I marry,” she said to him.

“Really?” asked the boyfriend, “And just how many men are you intending to marry?”

•Adapted from the Internet

—George Herbert

Writer ’s Fountain OW to write and Contest judges are not greatly moved by win: Would you really like to win a lyrical language, snappy dialogue or deep short story contest? What do judges look for insights into the human condition. They look when awarding prizes? You would expect for evidence of structure. Provided a story is every judge to bring his or her prejudices to competent in other respects, its structure, or the table – and they do – but professional lack of it, is the deciding factor. judges usually agree on which stories merit How can you strengthen story structure? an award.

By asking several key questions of your story: And how do panels of judges, usually Have you focused on just one protagonist? acclaimed authors, reach their verdicts? How A short story should have just one protagonist do they select the winners, among so many whose viewpoint the reader will occupy. A excellent stories? story may be told by several narrators, or Between men and women: through more than one point-of-view, but one •Men are a lot more streamlined than protagonist must clearly predominate to women for swimming, because the female’s sustain the reader’s engagement in the story.

For instance, a famous collection of short mamaries create a lot of drag – enough to ensure that racing suits have been developed stories was told through 24 different points with tiny pegs above the breasts to cause of view, but the presence of a single protagonist was always implicit. disturbance, which decreases the drag.

Do you bring on the protagonist early •Men are more likely to be left-handed enough? The main character should appear (10%) than females (8%).

•Men, on the average, can read smaller print in the first 400 words of a short story or no later than page one. than women.

Readers bond with the first strong character •Men commit suicide three times more frequently than women, but women attempt they meet. It’s important that the first person suicide two to three times more often than they meet is not a bit-player who subsequently disappears. men.

H

PAGE 31

JUNE 14, 2015

• Saraki • Ekweremadu

What next in the Senate?

Pages 36 & 37

32

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

POLITICS

June 12: Will Buhari heed calls fo

In this report, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, recalls the June 12 political struggle in the past two decades and wonders if President Muhammadu Buhari's government will finally immortalise the winner of June 12 Presidential election, the late Bashorun MKO Abiola

A

S they have done yearly for over two decades now, eminent Nigerians again on Friday called on the Federal Government to immediately take steps to immortalize late Chief Moshood Kolawole Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

Abiola, also known as MKO, who was the candidate of the defunct Social Democratic Party, won the June 12 1993 Presidential Election by a landslide but the election was annulled by the Ibrahim Babangida-led junta. The annulment of the election elicited widespread protests across the country.

On June 11 1994, Mr. Abiola announced the formation of a Government of National Unity in Epetedo, Lagos. He was subsequently arrested by the Sani Abacha military regime. He died in mysterious circumstances in detention on July 7, 1998.

While numerous Nigerians across political, religious and tribal divides spent the day urging President Muhammadu Buhari to declare June 12 as the nation's official Democracy Day, in place of May 29, in memory of Abiola's victory and the resilience of June 12 struggle, many others want the new President to do what others before him failed to do by naming a national monument after the late politician.

Two years ago, the immediate past Goodluck Jonathan administration attempted to immortalize Abiola by announcing the renaming of the University of Lagos as Moshood Abiola University. But, in what must go down as one of the greatest ironies of Nigerian history, what should have marked the highpoint of nearly two decades of democratic struggle for the recognition of one of the most iconic symbols of Nigeria's democratic journey was received with mixed feelings by many who had looked forward to such recognition.

And when the students of the institution rose against the renaming of their University, not even the civil society bloc, which has been in the vanguard of the agitation for the immortalisation of Abiola, bat an eyelid. Consequently, the Jonathan administration, tail between the leg, retraced its step and abandoned the attempt to change UNILAG to M.K.O Abiola University.

This year, to underscore the importance of Abiola's contributions to the nation's democracy and the need to constantly remember him as a national hero, four South West States of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Osun declared Friday, June 12 as a work free day as part of the 22nd year commemoration of the annulled June 12, 1993 Presidential election presumed won by the late Chief MKO Abiola.

In a statement signed by Habib Aruna, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, the Governor said the date marked a watershed in the annals of transparent, free and fair elections in the country.

He described June 12, 1993 as the day Nigerians voted in one voice across ethnic, racial and religious lines, saying it represented a day when

• Abiola

Nigerians said no to voting along ethnic lines.

Similarly, Ogun State government the annual holiday is in honor of the late legendary son of the State, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 Presidential election who fought for the democracy currently being enjoyed across the country. Also, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, said June 12 is significant and central to the development of democracy that the nation is now enjoying.

On Friday, across these states and many more, Nigerians gathered in halls and on open fields alike, not just to remember Abiola, but to continue the demand that he deserves a greater place in the records of the country than he currently enjoys. Though all the callers are united in their quest for the late politician to be immortalized, they differ in their opinion of how best it should be actualized.

But while those pushing for the immortalisation of Abiola say they will not give up the struggle even if it takes another twenty two years, many pundits are wondering if President Buhari will yield to the call, or whether he will simply join the number of Presidents who refused to see Abiola as befitting of such honor, in spite of his indisputable place in the democratic history of Nigeria.

Among those who led the call include Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, who challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare June 12 as Democracy Day in the country as a way of immortalizing Abiola. He insisted that what the nation presently enjoyed has its root in June 12. The Governor made this known during the June 12 rally at the Lagos Television Ground, Ikeja in Lagos, where he explained that the hope of the people was dashed when the June 12 election was annulled by General Ibrahim Babangida.

According to him, "June 12 personifies our desire to liberate ourselves and take charge of our destiny. June 12 symbolises the patriotism of all Nigerians as the election fired up hope in the mind of the people. "Lagos has continued to be the hub of democratic ideas and we will continue to expand the frontiers of

• Babangida

democratic governance and freedom of our people. June 12 should be declared the real democracy day," he said.

Stressing that the outcome of the 2015 general elections is a testament to the fruitfulness of the June 12 movement, Ambode asserted that Nigerians owe it a duty to immortalise the memory of those who made this possible. This was as he assured that Nigeria would never forget Abiola and other martyrs of the June 12 debacle.

Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, who was billed as the keynote speaker at another event, could not attend but sent a note that was read during the event. In his note, MSoyinka, praised the organizers for keeping the flag of the Abiola democratic legacy flying "despite the unrelenting efforts to expunge it from the chronicle of the nation".

Speaking at the programme held at the residence of the late Abiola by The June 12 Movement, a political platform committed to the principle of popular democracy, former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, called on Buhari to rename Aso Rock in honor of M.K.O Abiola without delay.

"The place of Abiola in the history of Nigeria is very clear. Although successive administration refused to recognize him officially, Nigerians know and appreciate what he did for us all. In my candid opinion, it is not too much for President Buhari to make history by renaming Aso Rock as M.K.O Abiola Rock in honor of the man who laid down his life for us all to enjoy civil government today," he said.

Professor of International Law and Jurisprudence, Akin Oyebode, who was the chairman of the occasion where Governor Ambode made his own call, said the day was a celebration of die-hard spirit of Abiola, his wife Kudirat and hundreds of Nigerians that were killed in protest of annulment of the freest and fairest election ever held in the country. He said it was sad and almost inconceivable that the politicians and the military decided to make May 29 Democracy Day. "It must be said that without June 12, 1993, we would never have had May 29, 1999. We know that even as enemies of democracy try to thwart the idea, the sacrifice of MKO Abiola and of Nigerians

who took to the streets should never be forgotten," he said.

Oyebode added that it was unfortunate that the June 12 watershed has been ethnicised, with some states in the South west already marking it as a holiday, while others were still not bothered. He said it was also amazing that Nigeria named monuments in Abuja and Stadium in Kano after military junta Sanni Abacha, while Abiola has not been immortalized as so deserved.

"Abiola remains a hero, even as June 12 has conscientised Nigerians that no power or effort can stop the will of the people united. MKO Abiola is the precursor of the 'change' we have today, given his idea of 'farewell to poverty.' To continue to ethnicise such date is a disservice to Nigeria. I think the time is now ripe for Nigeria to demonstrate their commitment to democracy and truly declare June 12 as a national holiday," he said.

Apparently in agreement with earlier numerous others across the country, Human Right Lawyer, Femi Falana, said the onus was on Federal Government to immortalize the true heroes of Nigeria's democracy.

Falana said: "This day (June 12) must be a national day and be declared a national holiday."

He appealed to Lagos State to further champion the course of deepening democracy, by ensuring that living heroes and heroines of June 12 struggle are not forgotten.

Abdulmumuni Abiola, one of the children of the late politician, spoke what might be the mind of the Abiola family when he said the significance of the MKO Abiola tribute was to help coming generations remember the role his father played in the actualisation of democracy in the country and to help Nigerians avoid making the same mistakes all over again.

"For me it is another way of remembering the sacrifices that have been made in the past because that is another way of we can avoid making the same mistakes again. If you don't remember your past you're bound to make the same mistakes. It is a way of honouring my father and the role he played in bringing democracy to the country," Abdulmumuni said.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

POLITICS

alls for Abiola's immortalization?

• Abacha

• Soyinka

de-annulment of that election and it should be witnessed by governors of the states that constitute the Southwest and other guests from across the nation. It is important that the event is broadcasted live on television and radio all over the world.

This should be followed by the inclusion of his names and photographs in the list of former Heads of State. This is because the election of President Buhari on March 28 came with big joy that the ruling political tormentors were not power drunk and driven by their u n e t h i c a l credentials to annul the election, it should therefore open the door for the execution of all the • Kingibe

To human rights activist, Moshood Erubami, recognizing the late Abiola as a winner of the June 12 1993 election by the Buhari administration would be the greatest step towards immortalizing the late politician. According to him, Buhari should make good use of the opportunity presented to him by his own recent election victory which is a re-incarnation of the principle of oneness of Nigerians witnessed during the June 12, 1993 election.

"This administration should organize a special posthumous installation ceremony where the late Abiola would be officially recognized as a former President of Nigeria. This posthumous ceremony should be organized in conjunction with the family of the late Abiola and members of the human rights and pro-democracy community that fought gallantly for the

good tidings resident in the June 12, 1993 presidential election as it were," Erubami suggested.

A former political assistant to the late Abiola, Olu Akerele, who has remained unrelenting in his advocacy for the official recognition of what he describes as "the democratic martyrdom of MKO Abiola as the icon of the current democracy and his posthumous declaration as president-elect of Nigeria", also used the day to reach out to President Buhari to do the needful by immortalizing Abiola.

In a press statement in Abuja, Akerele said "for a man who selflessly martyred himself and whose blood watered the tree of the very democracy that we enjoy today, declaring him president-elect posthumously and recognizing the day that symbolizes his political struggle will not be too much to assuage his spirit and

to give proper repose to the soul of such political icon."

He maintained that "the late icon of democracy (whose pan-Nigerian and cross-cultural electoral victory on June 12 remains a watershed in the democratic learning experience of Nigeria) was conspiratorially martyred on July 07, 1998, after four years of incarceration by the military junta of the late General Sani Abacha".

He said as "true democrats, prodemocracy activists, Nigerians and Nigeria remember the late Chief MKO Abiola on June 12."

He renewed his annual appeal to the ruling political administration of President Buhari "to do the needful and the long overdue, namely give Abiola the deserved honour," appealing that the late doyen be invested with the highest title of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic(GCFR) reserved only for Nigerian presidents".

He argued that the late politician not only won the freest and fairest election, but that his name currently symbolizes the struggle to end military dictatorship and the crusade to install democracy in Nigeria.

"Abiola built bridges across ethnic, regional, religious and political divides," Mr. Akerele said. "Today marks the twentysecond anniversary of the annulment of the one and only election still adjudged to be the freest and fairest in Nigeria, the June 12 Presidential Election won by the late Chief MKO Abiola."

During a breakfast of prayers and tributes to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the annulment of the election, at the graveside of the late Abiola, the June 12 Movement called on President Buhari to recognise the late winner of the annulled 1993 Presidential Election, Moshood Abiola, as a former president of the country. The Co-ordinator of the of the group, Wale Okunniyi, said Abiola is the face of democracy in the country and deserves to be so immortalised.

Okunniyi said President Buhari should also name at least one monument in all states of the federation and Abuja after Mr. Abiola to immortalise him.

"Democracy must give priority to the people. President Buhari should make MKO Abiola the face of democracy. He

33

must recognise MKO Abiola as a former President," he said.

He said the government should compensate the Abiola's family for the collapse of his businesses while he was in detention. He decried the neglect of the family by past governments saying Abiola sacrificed his life and businesses for politicians today who are now enjoying the trappings of political offices. He therefore called on Buhari to appoint one of Abiola's children to a prominent political position.

"Just look at the state of this compound. I'm not happy with what I'm seeing. Past governments have neglected the Abiola family. Abiola sacrificed his life and business for the democracy they enjoy today. He left wives and children and nobody is catering for them. President Buhari must make sure one of them (Abiola's children) is appointed into his government to compensate the family," he said.

Okunniyi also said June 12 is the real Democracy Day and should have been so recognised by the government instead of May 29 as it is currently being celebrated. He said the group would send a letter to Buhari demanding that June 12 be made the official Democracy Day. He announced that the June 12 movement is working on a plan to set up a foundation in the name of Abiola and promised that the foundation will be launched by Buhari.

Introducing a different dimension to the remembrance, Pan-Yoruba association, Afenifere Renewal Group, slammed Abiola's running mate in the annulled June 12, 1993 election, Babagana Kingibe, for his recent comment over the election. Kingibe had said recently that the victory of the All Progressives Congress had put to rest the ghost of June 12.

However, the ARG described the June 12 struggle as an albatross for those who betrayed its cause, particularly Kingibe. The group, in a statement by its publicity secretary, Kunle Famoriyo, said Kingibe, who, some days ago, reportedly wants the "ghost of June 12 laid to rest" on account of APC's victory in the last presidential election, has an antecedent that disqualifies him "from commenting on or identifying with the success of a democratic campaign."

The statement read, "As the vicepresident elect, Kingibe ought to have been the captain of the ship for the June 12 struggle when Chief M.K.O Abiola was arrested but he was the first to jump ship. The ARG understands that Kingibe may have missed being in the corridors of power and may be itching to have a voice that could be reckoned with as credible - therefore, his wish to have June 12 'laid to rest'.

"Kingibe's undemocratic and treacherous antecedents disqualify him from commenting on or identifying with the success of a democratic campaign.

Instead of wishing that June 12 be forgotten, it is better for him to retrace his steps and purge himself of ethnocentric perspectives."

The group described June 12 as a watershed in Nigeria's annals which should forever be remembered. The Yoruba group urged President Muhammadu Buhari to formally recognise the June 12 mandate and honour those who lost their lives to the struggle.

While the effort of those agitating for the immortalisation of Abiola is commendable, uncertainty pervades the air as to what would be the likely reaction of the new government to the calls that have been on for over a decade now. Also, questions are being asked on how the new national assembly would handle the agitation for the recognition of the man acclaimed to have died for Nigeria to enjoy democratic rule.

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POLITICS

OW that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has replaced the defeated Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the political party at the helms of the federal government, the expectations in most quarters are that a new political order will gradually emerge on the political landscape of the country.

While this will happen in the federal executive council to be constituted by President Muhammadu Buhari as soon as ministers are nominated and confirmed by the Senate, the National Assembly itself will have its fair share of the imminent change in the order of things.

Already, the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as a replacement for legendary ex-Senate President David Mark and the coming of Hon. Ahmed Dogara into office as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives are parts of the changes that will herald the new order in the 8th Assembly.

And with the elections safely out of the way, politicians are returning to their duty posts. So it is with elected legislators, who are expected to prove themselves deserving of the mandate of their constituents in the new assembly. Based on their political and other antecedents, it seems certain that some of the legislators will play crucial roles in the new parliament as things unfold. So, some members of the parliament, old and new, to watch out for in the 8th Assembly include: David Mark The political story of the years to come will very much be incomplete without good mention of former Senate President David Mark's performance and the direction in which he chooses to take the PDP caucus in the National Assembly.

No doubt, he remains the leader of the party in the parliament, with or without the title of Minority Leader.

So, there is pressure on him to help kick start the revival of PDP from the National Assembly. Reviews of strategy and policy are under way in the PDP as a whole, but much is expected from the David Mark-led National Assembly caucus of the party. So, expect to hear a lot about David Mark, the man who holds the enviable record of being not just the longest serving Senate President in Nigeria, but also the only two-term Senate President ever, in the history of the country.

Bukola Saraki Today, there is no gain saying in the fact that the new Senate President is one of the most influential politicians in Nigeria. Even before his controversial emergence at the head of the National Assembly last Tuesday, his prominence has shot up astronomically and he left no one in doubt that he is one of the legislators to watch out for in the new dispensation.

Many say the medical doctorturned politician has finally stepped into the big shoes of his late father, Dr. Olusola Saraki, who was not just the political godfather of Kwara State in his life time, but was also for a time one of the most revered members of the National Assembly where he served as the Senate Leader.

Saraki was a presidential assistant to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He later became a two-term Governor of Kwara State. He was also chairman, Northern States Governors' Forum (NSGF) and Nigerian Governors' Forum (NGF). He enjoyed the support and loyalty of his colleagues all through his tenure.

It was Saraki, as Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology and a member of the Senate Committees on Capital Markets and Finance, who pushed a motion in the Senate to expose the fraud in the fuel subsidy regime.

It was that motion that brought to the fore the excessive waste of the country's resources under the subsidy regime and set him on collision course

NASS: Legislators to watch in From new Senate President Bukola Saraki, who represents Kwara Senatorial District to little known Lasun Yusuf from Osogbo, Osun State, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, identifies some of the federal lawmakers he expects to make waves in the 8th Assembly

• Saraki

• Dogara

• Lawan

• Akume

• Tinubu

with his then party, PDP. And with the in-coming APC administration determined to end the rot in the petroleum sector, coupled with his position as Senate President, it is natural to expect to hear a lot about Bukola Saraki.

Ike Ekweremadu A lawyer from Enugu State who has served in the Senate of Nigeria since May 2003, Ekweremadu, like Mark, is a chieftain of the troubled People's Democratic Party (PDP) and is currently Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate for the third consecutive time.

An outspoken senator, in September 2003, as Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information, Ekweremadu stated that the senate would make a serious investigation into allegations of bribery leveled by the then Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai. El-Rufai was eventually charged with corruption in 2008.

An internationally acclaimed parliamentarian, he was elected First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament in 2009 and emerged the Speaker of the regional parliament in August 2011.

Aside from his surprise return to office as Deputy Senate President last Tuesday, Ekweremadu's ranking as one of the longest serving members of the National Assembly comes with so much responsibilities. Consequently, he is a politician to watch out for in the new dispensation.

Ahmed Lawan Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan is currently in the news as the preferred choice of the ruling APC as Senate President. He lost the seat to fellow party man, Bukola Saraki, in controversial circumstances but has taken his seat as the senator who represents Yobe North Senatorial District of Yobe State.

A ranking lawmaker, Lawan became a senator in 2007. He was earlier elected to the House of Representatives 1999, where he chaired the House Committees on Education and Agriculture at different times, discharging his duties meritoriously. He was also a member of the National Assembly's Joint Committee on Constitution Review.

In 2009, as chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Lawan initiated and sponsored the Desertification Control Commission Bill.

Same year, he spoke against the proposed Kafin Zaki Dam. He said dams caused intense poverty, increased desert encroachment, migration and conflicts between arable farmers and herdsmen.

Although he lost his bid to become Senate President, a development his party, the APC is currently contesting in court, Lawan's pedigree as a legislator and his commitment to good governance stand him in good stead to emerge as one of the stars of the 8th Assembly.

George Akume The immediate past Minority Leader of the Senate, like Lawan, is the preferred candidate of the APC leadership for

Deputy Senate President. He lost in similar controversial manner as Senator Ekweremadu got the seat. Of course, the APC is in court contesting the elections.

In 1999, he became governor of Benue State and served two four-year terms. He won elections to represent the people of Benue as a senator for Benue North West in 2007 and was reelected Senator in the April 2011 elections, running on the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

He was again re-elected in March 2015 for a third consecutive term as senator. With his vast experience, both as governor and senator, Akume is expected to bring his weight to bear on the 8th Assembly irrespective of the outcome of his party's spirited effort to get him into office as Deputy Senate President.

Oluremi Tinubu A second term senator representing Lagos Central Senatorial District, the former First Lady of Lagos State is no doubt a highly respected lawmaker, especially within the ruling APC as well as amongst female legislators.

Since emerging as a federal legislator, she has brought her voice to be heard on matters affecting the womenfolk as well as the average Nigerian. She is seen as a stabilizing force within the senate, giving her numerous roles in dousing tensions within the hallowed chamber.

An educationist, administrator, and Officer of the Order of the Niger, she was the exemplary First Lady of Lagos State

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

ch in the 8th Assembly

• Mark

• Ekweremadu

• Yusuf

• Melaye

• Gbajabiamila

principal officers of the Senate, Melaye is already courting controversy.

Ex-Governors' bloc Following reports that they had a hand in the emergence of Bukola Saraki as the Senate President, the group of former governors in the National Assembly may have fired the first salvo in their bid to tell Nigerians that they are not in the Senate to complete the numbers as some have insinuated.

Sixteen former governors joined some of their colleagues in the senate. With their sizeable number in the senate, the club of ex-governors is expected to impact on the 8th Assembly in many ways. Many say the putsch that saw Saraki emerge as Senate President is just the beginning.

The governors-turned-senators include Theodore Orji (Abia-Central), Godswill Akpabio (A/Ibom West), Samuel Egwu (Ebonyi North), Joshua Dariye (Plateau Central), Jang Jonah (Plateau North), Akume George (Benue West), Goje Danjuma (Gombe-Central), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano-Central) and Kabiru Gaya (Kano-South).

Others are Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central), Bukola Saraki (Kwara Central), Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West), Isiaka Adeleke (Osun West), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto North), Bukar Baba Ibrahim (Yobe East) and Ahmed Rufai Sani (Zamfara West).

Female lawmakers Although the next Senate will be mendominated, the eight female members of

the 109-member Chamber and their counterparts in the House of Representatives are not likely to spend their time in the National Assembly warming the benches. Given their pedigree and personalities, some of them will leave lasting marks on the sand of time in the 8th Assembly.

Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who is a ranking member of the Red Chamber from the Lagos Central Senatorial District and the immediate past Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Alhaja Monsurat Sunmonu, who is representing Oyo Central are two of the amazons.

There is also Binta Masi Garba from Adamawa North. From Anambra are: Former House of Representatives member, Uche Ekwunife (Central) and former Aviation Minister Stella Oduah.

Ekiti State contributed Abiodun Olujimi, former Deputy Governor (South), and Fatima Raji-Rasaki (Central), a former House of Representatives member between 2003 and 2007.

Fatima is also the wife of former military administrator of Oyo and Lagos states, Brig-Gen. Raji Rasaki (rtd). The other is Rose Okoh, Cross River (North).

Okoh has been indisposed since her nomination as the PDP candidate. She neither participated in the campaigns nor the election she won.

Yakubu Dogara Yakubu Dogara, the new Speaker of the House of Representatives, represents Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa-Balewa Federal

Mark remains the leader of the party in the parliament, with or without the title of Minority Leader. So, there is pressure on him to help kick start the revival of PDP from the National Assembly. Reviews of strategy and policy are under way in the PDP as a whole, but much is expected from the David Mark-led National Assembly caucus of the party

between 1999 and 2007, during which period she founded the New Era Foundation; a Non-profit organisation, dedicated to youth development, girl-child education, women empowerment and inspiring young persons to excellence.

As Senator, she hosts a quarterly Town Hall Meeting with her constituents, to render accounts of her stewardship and obtain feed-back on their developmental needs. To date, she has sponsored three bills: to provide Social Security for Elderly Citizens; seek the Amendment of the Labour Act, to enhance employment opportunities for women, and; a Bill to provide Special Economic Assistance to Lagos State in view of its status as a former capital city and the commercial capital of Nigeria.

Pundits say she will no doubt play significant roles in the 8th Assembly.

Dino Melaye The Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, is another legislator to watch in the 8th Assembly largely due to his penchant for controversy within and outside the hallowed chamber.

A former member of the House of Representatives, Melaye is the founder and served as the Executive Secretary of Anti-Corruption Network, Abuja.

With his recent statement that the Senator Barnabas Gemade-led group, The Unity Forum, was frolicking at a critical time outside the National Assembly when they were supposed to be on sit to participate in the election of

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Constituency of Bauchi State. Dogara has been a member of the Federal House of Representatives since 2007.

He has sponsored many bills and undertaken several assignments as a federal legislator.

Between 2007 and 2011, Dogara chaired two House committees, namely the House Committee on Customs and Excise, and the House Services Committee. During this period, he was also a member of the House committees on judiciary, capital markets and institutions, foreign affairs, rural development and power, among others.

During the 2011-2015 dispensation, he served as Chairman of the Committee on House Services and Welfare, and as a member of others, including judiciary, land transport, labour, employment and productivity, steel development, and legislative budget and research.

He emerged as the Speaker of the House of Representatives on June 9, 2015 after a keenly contested race with Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila. He is definitely one federal legislator to look out for in the 8th Assembly.

Lasun Yusuf Following his surprise election as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yusuf Sulaimon Lasun, representing Osogbo/ Olorunda/Orolu/Irepodun of Osun State has become one of the leading figures of the 8th Assembly.

The hitherto little known politician from Osun State, according to sources close to him, is determined to make the best of the opportunity given him by his colleagues to make his mark as a federal lawmaker.

Lasun defeated Hon. Mohammed Monguno, who is the preferred choice of the APC for the position, to emerge deputy to Dogara. He polled a total of 203 votes as against Monguno's 153 votes.

Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila The former Minority Leader of the House of Representatives lost his Speakership bid. But he is still expected to make his mark in the 8th Assembly. Gbaja Biamila was elected to the House in 2003, and re-elected in 2007. He represents the Surulere I Constituency of Lagos State in the House of Representatives.

Razak Atunwa Atunwa was the Honourable Speaker of the 7th Kwara House of Assembly. On 28 March 2015, he was elected as a member of the House of Representatives to represent Asa/ Ilorin West Federal Constituency. An astute ally of Saraki, Atunwa was a major backbone that championed the election of Dogara as Speaker of the House.

In August 2005, he was appointed the Honourable Commissioner for Land and Housing of Kwara State. A year later in August 2006, he became Honourable Commissioner for Information and Home Affairs. In July 2007, he became Honourable Commissioner for Works and Transport. He was moved to the Ministry of Finance in November 2009.

Abdulmumin Jibrin Jibrin was a member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) until 2013 when he was one of the leaders that led 37 other lawmakers to cross-carpet to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He had previously served as an officer of a civil society group and occupied different positions in political formations. He contested for an elective political office in 2011 which won him a place as a member of Nigeria's House of Representatives, representing Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency of Kano State of Nigeria.

He was re-elected in March 2015.

He vied for the Speakership but stepped down for Dogara and emerged as the strongest pro-Dogara voice. He is a legislator to watch out for.

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POLITICS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

What next in the Senate?

Results of the Senate and House of Representatives elections have continued to generate debate in Nigeria. In this report, Assistant Editor, Onyedi Ojiabor, in Abuja, gave an intimate account of what transpired during the election of Senators Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu at the upper chamber and the way forward

• Buhari

T

HE ripples being generated from the controversial election of Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Senator Ike Ekweremadu as President of the Senate and Deputy President of the Senate respectively continues to spread in the polity. Opinions are sharply divided about the propriety of the election.

The D-Day for the election started with a total barricade of all entrances into the National Assembly by the police. Workers arrived for their usual duties, only to be confronted by over-zealous policemen who used their operational vehicles to block all entry points into the National Assembly.

The explanation of the police was that "order from above" mandated them not to allow anybody to enter the National Assembly complex.

Even though scores of hapless workers, including some security operatives who were locked out kicked and cursed loudly and endlessly, the police did not budge.

Some of the workers, who arrived as early as 6am for an event that was billed for 10am, were exhausted as they moved from one distant entry point to another in desperate bid to access the National Assembly Complex.

Reprieve finally came around 9.30 am when a counter "order from above" was said to have been received by the same policemen.

At the National Assembly complex, tension was high.

Senators and House of Representatives members, mostly of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) began to arrive in clusters.

Nobody knew what was amiss. Only a few senators elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), the majority party, were seen around.

Tension continued to heighten. What could be the problem, some o b s e r v e r s wondered aloud.

Few minutes to 10am when t h e inauguration of the senate was supposed

to commence, information filtered in that President Muhammadu Buhari had summoned APC Senators-elect and House members-elect to a brief meeting at the International Conference Center, Abuja.

It was equally suggested - unofficially though - that the inauguration was to be delayed to allow the majority party senators-elect and House members-elect to arrive from the ICC. The touted delay of the inauguration turned out not to be as the Clerk to the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa, kick-started the inauguration of the Senate at exactly 10am.

The Senate chamber was virtually empty when the process of the inauguration started.

Majority of APC Senators-elect were nowhere to be found.

Only twelve APC Senators-elect including Saraki , Dino Melaye, Ahmed Rufai Sani, Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko,

• Saraki

Ibrahim Abdullahi Gobir, Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi, Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim, Mohammed Danjuma Goje, Mohammed Ali Ndume, Mohammed Ohiare and Francis Asekhame Alimikhena were seen in the Senate chamber at the start of the inauguration.

Majority of PDP Senators-elect who sat comfortably in the chamber were observed using eye contacts to pass messages to one another. Some PDP governors, former Senators, former House of Representatives members also sat in the chamber. Tension continued to build as tongues began to wag. Some concerned observers openly asked where majority of APC Senators-elect were. Nobody answered. It was an unimaginable situation, an observer uttered.

At 10am prompt, the Clerk to the National Assembly called the Senate to Order and proceeded to read the Presidential Proclamation of the National Assembly

by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The ritual of reading of Presidential Proclamation of the National Assembly concluded, the Clerk mandated the Clerk to the Senate, Ben Efeturi, to proceed with the roll call.

Instead of Efeturi, the Deputy Clerk to the Senate, Adedotun Durojaiye, took over proceedings and conducted the roll call.

The Deputy Clerk announced after the exercise that only 57 Senators-elect were in the chamber.

He did not stop there; Durojaiye also gave the quorum required for the day's business - election of presiding officers of the Senate - as 37.

The roll call and quorum established, the Deputy Clerk asked for proposal to take the Chair of the Office of the Senate President.

Former Zamfara State Governor, Senator Ahmed Rufai Sani, promptly proceeded to propose Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, to take the chair of the Senate President. The indefatigable Kogi West Senator, Dino Melaye, sprang up from his seat and seconded Senator

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015 Sani's proposal. Saraki was immediately called to accept or decline the proposal. He accepted to take the chair of the Senate President.

The Clerk called for further proposal. There was no response. The Clerk for the second time called for further proposal. There was dead silence in the chamber. Tension increased. It was a done deal. Saraki had emerged. The Clerk announced that in the absence of further proposal, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, had been duly elected to take the chair of the Senate President of the Eight Senate.

There was initial seeming unbelief on the faces of observers in the Senate gallery due to the rapidity of the events that produced Saraki.

Inside the chamber however, Saraki's loyalists, the 'rebel' APC lawmakers, as some refer to them, spontaneously launched into victory dance as they took to the floor of the chamber to encircle their man.

The victory dance over, Clerk to the National Assembly administered the oath of office on Saraki, apparently to seal his election as the President of the Senate. The whole drama, called election of the President of Nigeria's 8th Senate was concluded within 30 minutes.

It was after the election and inauguration of Saraki that APC Senators-elect who went to honour the invitation of Mr. President for a brief meeting started rushing into the chamber. By then it was late.

Before the APC Senators-elect arrived, the election and swearing-in of Saraki had been concluded without the participation of 51 of them.

The next business of the day was the election of the Deputy President of the Senate.

Senator George Thompson Sekibo proposed Senator Ike Ekweremadu. The proposal was seconded by Senatorelect, Olaka Nwogu.

Further proposal was made in the person of Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume.

At the end of the election, the Deputy Clerk of the Senate announced that Ndume received 20 votes while Ekweremadu got 54 votes.

He also said that one Senator-elect abstained.

Ekweremadu was immediately inaugurated as the Deputy President of the Senate to the applause of his supporters.

If you thought that the election and the inauguration of Saraki and Ekweremadu was the end of the tussle for the office of the Senate President, you may have to think twice.

The APC leadership and the Senator Barnabas Gemade-led Senate Unity Forum have already said that the emergence of Saraki and Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives, is unacceptable to the party.

"There can be no higher level of treachery, disloyalty and insincerity within any party than what Saraki and Dogara did," the APC said.

The APC "decried a situation in which some people, based on nothing but inordinate ambition and lack of discipline and loyalty, will enter into unholy alliance with the very same people whom the party and indeed the entire country worked hard to replace and sell out the hard won victory of the party."

Some observers are of the opinion that what played out on Tuesday at the National Assembly was highly negotiated.

It was said that Ali Ndume who was originally promised the position of Deputy Senate President in the Saraki camp, appeared to be even happier than Ekweremadu who defeated him.

Perhaps it may be appropriate to ask where party discipline was in the whole scenario. Where was party supremacy?

The APC "decried a situation in which some people, based on nothing but inordinate ambition and lack of discipline and loyalty, will enter into unholy alliance with the very same people whom the party and indeed the entire country worked hard to replace and sell out the hard won victory of the party

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• Ekweremadu

When did party politics become a free for all and a zero-sum game; a situation where a party has the right to create platform for candidates to emerge but lacks the right to say who occupies what political position.

Conspiracy theorists have been at work since the emergence of Saraki and Dogara to explain what happened.

The theorists are canvassing forensic examination of the entire scenario to isolate who did what in the alliance between the APC 'rebel' senators and the PDP 'hawkish' senators.

What role did the immediate past President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, play to produce Saraki/ Ekweremadu Senate Presidency? Was it the case of the voice of Jacob but the hand of Esau?

At what point did the APC rebel Senators decide to forge an alliance with PDP Senators to deliver Saraki?

Perhaps the explanation of the former Chairman, Senate Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Enyinnaya Abaribe, may be instructive.

Asked how the APC Senators and their PDP counterparts struck a deal, Abaribe said there was absolutely no deal. The Abia State born Senator said what happened was that PDP Senators saw an opportunity and seized it with both hands. Just like that?

Another Abia PDP Senator, Mao Ohuabunwa (Abia North) in his reaction said with the election of Senator Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy President of the Senate, the era of winner takes all in the country's politics may have been over.

Ohuabunwa also said that Nigerians should be happy because the development of the All Progressives Congress (APC) majority party sharing elevated office with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) minority party is bound to prove a beneficial political engineering.

He was of the view that before Tuesday's election of Abubakar Bukola Saraki (APC) and Ekweremadu (PDP) as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively, what is common in the country had always been that the majority party takes everything.

He described the emergence of the duo as victory for democracy and victory for Nigeria and underscored the fact that once elections had been concluded and winners emerged, the issue of party politics should be under played in the interest of the country.

He said, "First and foremost, I would want to believe that every Nigerian should be happy because this is victory for democracy, it is victory for the legislature and victory for Nigeria.

"You know that before now, the system had always been the party in majority taking everything. That has been the system we are used to and you find out that within that system, we always fight on party line but on Tuesday we came to speak with one voice.

"We have realised that what is important is Nigeria and once you have been elected from your constituency,

from your party, you are addressed as the Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, not senator of PDP or APC. "What is important is that the law we make is not law for political parties, it is law for good governance and peace of the whole country.

"So, what we have done is to say that we have decided to put away every other thing that had divided us before now to come together so that you won't say oh PDP has taken or APC has taken everything.

"Now, we have decided to share position so that together we can work, speak with one voice and move Nigeria forward.

"From what has happened, the spirit of former President Gookluck Jonathan is taking over; his spirit is hovering everywhere because he came for the first time, what people thought is not possible for a black Africa, for a sitting president to lose election and concede, Jonathan did.

"He did that and now what also people thought will not happen in Nigeria has just happened for two opposing parties to share positions.

"So, we should be optimistic, I expect every Nigerian that loves Nigeria to be happy that this has happened and I think this is victory for democracy.

"PDP has 49 senators and if you watch, they were about 76 or so senators that sat and if you even look at the position of the election for the Deputy Senate President, we have 54 for Ike Ekweremadu and 20 for Mohammed Ali Ndume.

"If you add that which is 74 votes with one abstention, so we have 74 already. What it means is that what happened on the floor had APC and PDP. APC members were there and also as lawmakers, we should also be law abiding.

"Everything that happened on the floor of the Senate was within the confinement of the law, because the law says first, the constitution gave the National Assembly the powers to make laws for its own procedure and the law says that it is one third that forms a quorum and the quorum should actually be 38.

"So, the Senate was well constituted because the Clerk of the National Assembly was the one who presided and I know that if the Senate was not properly constituted he wouldn't have gone ahead to inaugurate the Senate."

A worrisome trend, observers say, is that what happened on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday may mark the beginning of the return of the infamous banana peel in the Senate.

It may be difficult to completely figure out who did what in what has been dubbed a parliamentary coup d'etat against the APC, what is obvious is that a dangerous seed may have been planted among the progressives.

38

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

POLITICS

After his prolonged tenure in office, Chief Victor Umeh-led National Working Committee on June 6, 2015 handed over the leadership of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to a new executive. In this report, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, recalls the long leadership tussle and wondered if the emergence of Chief Victor Oye-led NWC will translate to a new dawn for the party

APGA: A new dawn?

W

HEN he took over office from Chief Victor Umeh-led leadership on June 6th 2015, the new National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dr Victor Ikechukwu Oye, said he and the other members of the new leadership will take the party to a new height. Describing the party as a movement that has the backing of several people, he said the party under his watch will gear towards taking its proper place in the nation's political space.

But The Nation's investigation shows that what transpired on June 6, 2015 National Convention of the party in Awka, in which Umeh handed over to Oye and former minister, Labaran Maku as National Chairman and Secretary respectively, may only be the beginning of another phase of the prolonged leadership crisis in the party.

In a telephone chat with The Nation on Friday, Chief Maxi Okwu, who is still contesting the national chairmanship position of APGA with Umeh at the Supreme Court, described the June 6th convention as an exercise in futility. "The show in Awka on 6th June was an exercise in futility," he said, adding, "it was an attempt to destroy the res, that is, the issue between Umeh and I at the Supreme Court.

The issue before the court is to determine, between Okwu and Umeh, the authentic National Chairman of APGA. So, one of us cannot, when the court is yet to give its ruling, sneak out to organise a convention and to hand over APGA leadership to some elements. That arrangement is illegal and unacceptable."

History of long travails APGA, founded in 2003 began with so much promise. But a long history of leadership tussle has been blamed for what some observers described as its seeming inability to reach its visible potentials.

As at the end of this year's general elections, the party, which is currently on record as the third biggest political party and the second biggest opposition party in Nigeria could not add any state to Anambra, the only state it still controls the Government House. It however has four House of Representatives seats; two in Anambra State, one in Abia State and one in Taraba State.

In the House of Assembly elections, the party won 40 seats across the country: 27 in Anambra, 11 in Abia, one in Bayelsa State and one in Taraba State.

Although the former National Chairman of the party, Chief Victor Umeh, and his ardent supporters refer to this record as a proof that the party has come of age, critics of the party blamed prolonged leadership tussle under Umeh for what they termed the misfortunes of APGA. They insist that but for the leadership crisis, the party should have performed better.

• Obiano

• Oye

•Umeh

• Maku

It is on record that for years, APGA was embroiled in a protracted leadership tussle between the founding Chairman, Chief Chekwas Okorie and Chief Umeh who took over from him in what some described as rather controversial circumstances.

Umeh's supporters had allegedly spearheaded Okorie's expulsion, leading to sharp disagreements even as Umeh, who was then the National Treasurer of the party, was declared the new National Chairman by his supporters. So, for years, the two chieftains made claims to the party's leadership. While Okorie argued that no court in the country pronounced Umeh as APGA chairman, Umeh insisted that the Supreme Court, like the other lower courts, sealed Okorie's hopes by upholding his expulsion from the party.

After Okorie finally left APGA and founded another national party, PPA, another leadership tussle began in APGA; this time between Umeh and Chief Maxi Okwu, who emerged the National Chairman in a convention Umeh and his supporters rejected.

The matter on who, between Umeh and Okwu, is the authentic National Chairman of the party was still pending at the court when Umeh held the controversial convention and handed over to Oye. The implication of this development is yet to be fully decided since our searches show

that the legal battle at the Supreme Court was last adjoined to October 20th 2015.

Commenting on the effects of the leadership crisis in APGA, Chief Reagan Ufomba, former APGA's governorship candidate in Abia State who is still in court to challenge why he was suddenly dropped for Dr. Alex Otti as the party's gubernatorial candidate in this year's election, said in an interview shortly before the emergence of the new NWC that what is needed to resolve the prolonged leadership crisis in the party and move it forward is the installation of a new leadership made up of people better grounded in politics.

Arguing that the former leaders of the party were not grounded enough in politics, he said: "It can only take astute politicians to accomplish what Tinubu did with APC. Ahmed Tinubu is a very persuasive politician, a former Senator and governor, erudite activist. That was why he was able to achieve the monumental feat of making the APC a national party. Obi came in from the banking sector, just like Willy Obiano, the incumbent governor.

These are people who are not well grounded in politics. It takes knowledge, local street experience, and of course determination for you to manage resources, conquer not just states, but visions, surmount obstacles, and

win wars. With a change of leadership and vision, APGA will grow.

"The moment we install a politician who understands the operating environment in any of the Southeast States, APGA will begin to grow in the zone. And for every staunch members of APGA, it is their ambition to move APGA around and take over the Southeast. But the people we have there today, as leaders of APGA, cannot do that. Who would believe that the person we thought as the leader, the person who should know what APGA means, has not reached out to any of the leadership in the states, so how do you propagate the vision of APGA? It is painful because APGA has everything to succeed. We have loyal members, the resources, and a compelling vision. But it will take someone who understands the operating environment in the Southeast to lead and do what Tinubu has done in the Southwest. Until that is done, victory will continue to elude us in APGA. In their reaction to the fate of the party, shortly before the convention, the South East Stakeholders of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), blamed the failure of the party in winning elections in the zone on what they described as "lack of internal •Contd. on page 41

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

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39

Kunle Amuwo: When death offends W

e can never really get used to death and dying. And that is despite the fact that we have grown used to its inevitability.

Death will always have a way of throwing us off balance, of mocking our long term friendship and solid relationships. The sting of death is not reduced whether we are lamenting the death of friends, neighbours, relatives or family; we do not grieve less even if the person is not connected by blood.

All that matters is that the person whose finitude has been untimely abbreviated is a human person, and that such a person matters to us in some intimate or profound ways.

Alfred Tennyson was a great poet, but he was very wrong about death: And a day less or more At sea or ashore, We die - does it matter when?

Of course we die, but it matter when and it matters who. It matters so much to me that Prof. Joseph Kayode (JK) Ogunmoyela of Ifon, Ondo State and of FUTA just died, as it does to me and much more to a woman and her children right now that Professor Adekunle Amuwo is no more; it matters to me that death should have happened to JK and Amuwo at this material time; it matters to the study of political science that one of its leading lights in Africa (Amuwo) would cease from his earnest scholarship; and it matters to Nigeria that death chose this most unconscionable time to silence one of her most critical interlocutors.

Professor Kunle Amuwo was not just a mere person; he was a brother, a friend and a fellow labourer in the intellectual struggle for the reformation of Nigeria. Amuwo, to all intents and purposes, was simply an intellectual institution. His death is all the more frightening and annoying because there wasn't any hint of mortality about a month ago when we met at the Covenant University Town and Gown Seminar organised by the Faculty of the Social Sciences. I was not even aware all this while that he was the dean at Covenant University, or that he was instrumental to my invitation to give the lecture. My memory of his very large heart and warm spirit dates back to my undergraduate days at the Department of Political Science of the University of Ibadan as well as his intervention in, and contribution to, my doctoral ambition. As an undergraduate, it was easy to flock to his rich library which formed part of my introduction to the deeper nuances of political science discourses. In those days, the Faculty of the Social Sciences was the hotbed of a prodigious cross-fertilization of ideas and policies. The researches of Professors Aboyade (Economics), Dudley (Political Science), and Mabogunje (Geography) reverberate with their very presence in government policies and in our classrooms!

Amuwo was part of the new generation carrying the burden and the baton of practical theorisation and conscientious teaching. As is now obvious to all-he didn't falter.

Sometime in 2003, we had a most momentous interaction at the University of Ibadan bookshop where we bumped into each other. I sadly told him then I might abandon my doctoral research again; for the third time. He would have none of that intellectual resignation! He literally begged me to rethink my decision.

'Tunji,' he said, 'I know you have what it takes to pursue this programme; you have the requisite materials and the intellect to put them together into a solid understanding of the civil service.

Sustain the endurance trek, complete the doctorate and if you like, dedicate it to the department of political science here at UI.' That encounter became a solid reminder every time I felt the research was becoming too demanding within the context of my civil service responsibilities. I had since been sucked deep into the complexities of civil service reforms and wasn't fully apprised of Prof. Amuwo's intellectual

The Buhari Team (2) T • Amuwo

By Tunji Olaopa development after I left the University of Ibadan. But I kept tab as best as I could.

I cannot therefore claim to be familiar with the substance of Amuwo's scholarly contributions as I had left mainstream political science for public administration when his scholarship reached its maturation. What follows is therefore bound to be sketchy. Suffice it to say that over a long and illustrious career, Amuwo managed quite effortlessly to build an unimpeachable reputation as a concerned scholar for whom political science was the most conscientious disciplinary avenue for confronting our collective predicament as a nation. His scholarship, if I am to attempt a violent summary of the rich and multifaceted corpus, is a deep search for a framework that enables us re-theorize Africa's uncomfortable position in the global order of things.

That requires bringing the best analytical tools of political science and social science methodologies to bear on diverse issues like security, electoral policies, policy formulation, crisis management, political economy and even pan-Africanism.

Amuwo was always and constantly interrogating Africa's colonial misadventure and the multiple consequences this has generated for our postcolonial political progress (or the lack of it). For instance, his critical scrutiny could not understand the continental adulation that has been poured on the NEPAD initiative in Africa. This socioeconomic action plan, in his reckoning, fails to adequately countenance the two major factors in Africa's developmental impasse-the colonial intervention and the postcolonial leadership crisis in Africa. What is needed, according to him, is a more continent-friendly and non-extroverted framework that would cater for Africa's peculiar predicament without ever assuming a delinking of Africa from global processes and flows.

There is no critique of Africa's postcolonial and governance palaver that would not recognise the immediate significance of theorizing the evolution of developmental states in Africa. And Prof. Amuwo's sharp intellect saw how such an institutional framework could serve as one of the very means by which mal-development and bad governance could be arrested. The idea of the developmental state was therefore his entry point into the critical analysis of the evolution and performance of the Nigerian state and its venal elite configurations and practices. Amuwo's major theoretical framework for confronting the Nigerian situation derives from the historical dichotomy between the society and the state. For him, the relationship between the state and the society presents a serious dilemma: In the first place, it is the evolution of a democratic developmental state that possesses the capacity to improve the lives of the citizens in real time; yet,

state elites are assiduously ensuring that such a developmental state does not evolve. The consequence is that as long as the Nigerian state is not adequately capacitated, the Nigerian citizenry would continue to suffer the pangs of development.

I share one fundamental passion with Professor Adekunle Amuwo: the urgency of reforming the Nigerian state. With the best of the social science methodologies and framework, Amuwo had been concerned with the evolution of a strong reform programme that will initiate the birth of strong institutions around which the state can be enabled and possibly enforced to serve the people and the society. On the other hand, I have been minded from the beginning to inquire into the conditions for the possibility of one of those fundamental institutions of state-the Nigerian Civil Service. I have theorised in the firm belief that if the civil service fails as an institution that integrates the social contract, then we are confronted with the end of the Nigerian state as we know it. The successful reform of the civil service system in Nigeria is the beginning of realising Prof. Amuwo's theoretical desire for the transformation of Nigeria into a developmental state.

And yet that same man is gone into the 'nothingness' of death. Death offends our longing for immortality.

When death steals into our homes and relationships, we see the end of everything; we see nothingness. But the nothingness of death should not translate into a nothing. For T. S. Eliot, 'And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.'

What then does the end of Professor Kunle Amuwo's sojourn in this realm of existence portend for political science scholarship in Nigeria? What does his demise say to the critical analysis of the Nigerian state? When delivering what would turn out to be his last major theoretical assignment-Covenant University's 39th Public Lecture-Professor Amuwo signaled the significance of the ballot over the violence of the bullet. The Nigerian state has failed to become a public agency that could unite the people around itself through good governance. For him, Nigeria requires the intervention of the ballot to maintain its national sanity, and that has proven to be somewhat prophetic.

Nigeria is transiting, and Professor Kunle Amuwo will not be there to witness the full fruition of our collective hope. But then his end ought to be where we start from; and that constitute a fundamental challenge to political science scholarship in Nigeria: Can our policy and political reflections animate the new wave and dynamics that is defining political trajectory in Nigeria? –Dr. Olaopa is the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, Abuja, Nigeria

HEY are not certain that the administration would go far enough in ensuring that public perception of officials change. This is one group the President must do everything to bring on board. Sure, all his men could not be made up of reluctant men and women, but he needs some. They are to be encouraged to take up the responsibility for the fatherland.

I look forward to see some of them named to key offices. I cannot wait to see the grimace and disappointment on the faces of professional politicians when the list is out. This is one way forward.

Then, we have the available, but incompetent. These are, in the main, professional politicians who have nothing to offer. They lack academic qualification and even cognate experience. They are to be avoided like lepers confined to their colony. When allowed to come near the scene, they not only exhibit their ignorance, but are wont to corrupt and corrode the system and process. They are always available and quick to point out that they are hands available for hire. The President is well advised to avoid them in the interest of his administration and the country.

The not-so-qualified but irresistible are the godfathers who contributed so much during the electioneering process. They are needed to provide the necessary stability for the government. Some, like lepers, may not be good at milking the cow (that is, in governance), but should be watched closely because they could spill the milk. Where they are not suitable for frontline offices, others that are not so prominent could accommodate them. In the alternative, room could be made for their qualified nominees.

I remember this was the case in the old Oyo State when the late Chief Bola Ige was elected governor in 1979. As soon as he assumed office, he was confronted with what to do with the late Chief Busari Adelakun, popularly called eruobodo. Ige could not have defeated his old secondary school principal, Ven. Emmanuel Alayande who was Chief Awlowo's preferred candidate at the Unity Party of Nigeria's primary election, but for Adelakun who mobilised Ibadan delegates for him. Adelakun had no more than the Teachers Grade Two certificate. He was one of those Chief Awolowo called party stewards-doing the odd jobs for the party. He was certainly not qualified to hold any serious office.

But, Ige felt indebted to the man and appointed him to the portfolio of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

Adelakun loved it. It afforded him the opportunity of receiving isakole from the chiefs and local

leaders. He was at home with the Yoruba language and did not have to be bothered by the burdensome English language. It mattered not to him that papers were usually circulated for discussion at the executive council. Adelakun watched out for the political flank.

At a point, he became a pain in the neck for the suave governor. He could not be reined in and did as he pleased. The governor had to do something fast. He reshuffled his cabinet and moved eruobodo to Health. What recommended him for health, no one may know. The movement displeased Adelakun who pronmised to deal with his successor. Olatubosun, a retired Commissioner of Police also from Ibadan who was made the succeeding Commissioner of Local Covernment died only a few weeks after he assumed his new office.

Eventually, Ige threw Adelakun out of his government and the coalition of forces to deny the governor a second tterm began to take shape. President Buhari needs solomonic wisdom to tackle such problems.

The giddy events of the past week have shown that the All Progressives Congress chain has many weak points. As feared by many of us when the party was being put together, it was too easy to mobilize people to flush out the Jonathan administration because it had become the worst in the history of Nigeria. But, there were no connecting principles. Anyone who half as indicated interest in fighting the Peoples Democratic Party was offered a prominent place in the APC. It was predictable that the tendencies would have to slug it out at some point. That point came after election when the spoils of electoral war had to be shared. It became the moment of the long knives. Rebels arose within against the decision of the party, and, as Afonja found support from Alimi, the Fulani warrior in Ilorin against Alaafin Aole, a budding faction of the party sold out to the PDP and raised the party to life.

The President should watch out. No one could say categorically the role President Buhari played in the game. The truth will be out one day. But, he ought to watch out that the ground on whaich he is laying the foundation of his government is not mere sand.

Anyone who understands politics would not encourage subversion of the party. In the next few days or weeks, the colour of his government will emerge and it will be clear if he is being guided by any principle or has simply been overwhelmed by some party men.

It is my view that he carefully considers the mix of those to work with him. As President Olusegun Obasanjo once said, it is true that governance is for both saints and sinners. But, the mix could make the difference.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

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40

National Coordinator of the Oodua Peoples' Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams, was among the personalities in the South-West who were opposed to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari's election. He promised to deliver six million votes to the President Goodluck Jonathan but was unable to do so. In this interview with Daniel Adeleye, he spoke on why he did not pitch tent with the All Progressive Congress (APC), the controversial oil pipelines surveillance contract awarded to the two OPC factions in the South-West and other militant groups in the South-South and South-East.

Excerpts

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HAT is your assessment of the last general elections?

Well, the general elections has come and gone. We have no options but to accept the outcome of the polls. Embarking on a deep assessment of the election may not help both parties. But I will speak the voice of experience on some of the shortcomings before and during the elections, such as the issue of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), under-age voting in some parts of the country and the creation of additional polling units in the North. You can imagine the figure and population of voters in Lagos compared to Katsina. Katsina has higher figure than Lagos State. During registration, Lagos State has about six million registered voters, while Kano has 4 million. What then happened to the figures that came from the Lagos polls? You would recall that the way Lagosians were being sensitised about the election was more than any other state. You can imagine the figures from Ogun State where there were issue of PVC; they have less than 400,000 voters for both PDP and APC. Oyo State, despite the fact that it has about 2.5 million registered voters, has less than 800,000 voters. So, I think that in future elections, when an organisation or a body raises an issue, we should not throw it away because the party that benefits from that anomaly today may not be so lucky tomorrow. Every situation has swings and roundabouts.

On the issue of security, there were also huge short-coming in almost all the states of the federation - especially during the governorship election. Although the Independent National Electoral Commission has a lead performance in the elections, especially in the governorship and states House of Assembly elections; they tried as much as possible to ensure that electoral materials got to the various polling units very early. So far so good, I

• Adams

I cannot disown Jonathan because he lost -Adams think what would guide and move forward our nascent democracy is to accept the outcome of the elections and forge ahead.

You promised to deliver six million votes of your factional OPC group to former President Goodluck Jonathan, but it turned out that he polled less than two million votes in the whole of the South-West. It seems the greater percentage of your followers did not vote?

It is not only in the South-West that OPC has members. That is one of the blunders the media make. OPC has members in Kogi and Kwara states. OPC members cut across 33 states of Nigeria. In Rivers State, OPC has no fewer than 150,000 members. In Bayelsa, we have about 8,000 members, so also in Akwa Ibom State. At the same time, when you're talking of six million people that will vote, do all of them have PVCs? In the South-West, about 40 percent were short-changed of PVCs. How do you expect them to vote? The six million that I was talking about are in 33 states of the federation.

The 1.8 million that voted for Jonathan in SouthWest are not only OPC members. And that gave me the impetus to tell those calling me a betrayer for pitching my tent with Jonathan that all the people who cast their votes for Jonathan in the South-West are also betrayers.

Afenifere members are betrayers; Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) are betrayers. Look, we need to correct the wrong impression in our politics. That party A did not consult you, and you're then a betrayer of party A. APC did not consult me. And I can't have and control a big organisation like t h e OPC and still be begging to be consulted. It's all about negotiation. If you don't dialogue with me, you can't force me to work for y o u r interest.

Even in the future, if t h a t mistake repeats itself, I would still act the way I did. A g o o d politician should

not ignore any organisation that has up to 2000 members in the society. 2000 people are enough to make and mar the advantage of a majority if they are good in strategy and highly determined. But in a situation where you fail to negotiate with me and think that you can hijack my structure from the grassroots, I will work against such political party. And I don't have any apology for that. If PDP could poll 1.8 million votes in the six states of South-West, what about the other 27 states where we also have members? What about our sympathisers?

I'm not a politician that will talk about the laws of PDP or APC. OPC members are not PDP; we only supported the candidature of Jonathan.

Likewise we know that 70 to 80 percent of those that voted for Buhari may not be APC members.

They may vote for him because of his antecedents on anti-corruption or because they want change. So, we have a right to association. If you don't tell me my benefit if I follow you, you can't just use propaganda to force me to your side. The Yorubas c h e r i s h recognition so much, that was what Jonathan did before the elections.

He invited all our leaders to the State House in Abuja where he thanked all of us for the support given him in 2011. This boosted our morale to support him even beyond our earlier decision.

So, I didn't just come out and tell the media that we're supporting Jonathan without being cleared by the National Executive Council and Coordinating Council.

People said your support for Jonathan was based more on the financial benefits you stood to reap and that y o u ' v e deviated from your original motive and mandate as a Y o r u b a freedom fighter.

What's y o u r reaction to this?

T h e l a s t general elections cut

across all sectors. It didn't exclude any freedom fighter. It was either you supported Gen. Buhari or President Jonathan. The majority freedom fighters in Nigeria pitched their tent with Jonathan. I don't know what you mean by deviation. I was entitled to my opinion during the contest of the election.

No one saw me protesting for PDP or carrying placards against APC; the protest that we organised then was against the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega. During the protest, nothing was said against APC or in support of the PDP. Even those who came from Jimi Agbaje's campaign rally and joined us on Ikorodu Road with PDP banners and T-shirt, we did not allow to join us, until they threw away their PDP banners and replaced their Tshirts with ours.

We told about 25 of them that our protest was neither in support of PDP nor against APC. We told the 28 Nollywood artistes that joined us the same thing.

Before we embarked on that protest, we explained our motive to them and they agreed.

We did it not because of money but because of the anomaly of INEC chairman.

And when you're talking of financial benefit, I didn't support Jonathan for f i n a n c i a l benefits; I supported him based on the relationship we've had in the last six years.

Our relationship has come a long way, from his days as Vice President, when he personally attended the 10th anniversary of The News magazine. He asked people to call Gani Adams for him; that he wanted to see me. And I went to the high table to see him.

He shook hands with me and said you're doing well, keep it up. And when he became substantive president, he invited me again through Ambassador Ighali, who is now Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power. When I got to the Villa, the he said to me, I'm now the Commander-in-Chief, I need your cooperation. I don't want any clash between my government and OPC members. Tell your members to operate within the ambit of the law. He said if any security agency harasses OPC members, I should report such case to either Ambassador Ighali or late Oronto Douglas and they would take necessary actions. That was the beginning of our relationship.

So, it's not the election of 2015 that brought us together. I supported him in 2011; even Asiwaju Bola Tinubu supported him in 2011. So, when there was a change not to supporting him, did they call me and tell me the benefits therein for me? Although I am not a member of any political party, there is a way of supporting a candidate without being in a political party. So, I will not say because Jonathan lost his re-election bid and twist my words, no way. I'm now 45 years old; even when I was younger, I never twisted my words. If you're my friend, you're my friend. I cannot disown Jonathan because he lost. That he is no longer in power does not mean I should betray my relationship with him like many people have started doing. I'm not saying they should not decamp to another party, but

APC should also be careful.

They should realise that most of the people that destroyed PDP are now in APC. Every statement should be well-managed by the new president and the party leadership. They should restrain from using media to assassinate people's character. The media, not the judiciary, is the last hope of the common man

•Contd. on page 41

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015 •Contd. from page 38 democracy, autocracy and injustice that had characterized the party leadership for years."

The group held a meeting in Awka, Anambra State, in the office of its National Coordinator, Chief Sylvester Nwobu Alor, and released a communiqué signed by the party's leaders in Anambra, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi and Imo states. In the communiqué, the group said: "That the conference regrets immensely the inability of the All Progressives Grand Alliance to control Abia, Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi and full control of Anambra State because of lack of internal democracy, autocracy, and injustice which characterized the party leadership."

Some of the party leaders that attended the meeting include Prof F.C Dike, SAN (Imo), E.O Kalu (Abia); Emeka Chijioke (Enugu); Obi-Okafor (Anambra) and Okpara Ferguson (Ebonyi).

APGA's prospects Although Umeh and some of his supporters insist that the party has suffered some setbacks as a result the prolonged leadership crisis, they said the party has recorded some achievements.

Acknowledging this fact, Umeh, while giving account of his stewardship in his valedictory speech, said he faced unprecedented challenge from both within and without. He rejoiced that he and his executive were not hounded out of office.

According to him, during his tenure, the party was taken to court 46 times. "There were unconstitutional attempts to force our leadership out of office before the end of our tenure. Litigations were unleashed against our leadership for reasons that were purely selfish, but God being on our side, we won all the cases. In the last count, there were over 20 suits against us in the past 4 years."

Umeh however said the litigations against the party have helped to strengthen party supremacy as decided cases in which APGA was involved are now cited in the various courts of law.

He listed times when the party was stretched to its limit to include the period when Imo state Governor Chief Rochas Okorocha attempted to "drag APGA to the merger of some political parties."

He continued: "Our leadership resisted the attempt and had we succumbed to the pressure, APGA wouldn't have been here today. Solace came to the party, he said, when its governorship candidate in Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, won his election in 2014.

POLITICS

41

APGA: A new dawn?

• Okorie

• Okwu

"In the 2015 general elections, APGA fielded quality candidates for the various elections and looked set to record remarkable victories."

He cited the likes of Dr. Alex Otti who contested for the governorship of Abia State, Capt. Emmanuel Ihenacho for Imo, Labaran Maku for Nassarawa and Alhaji (Dr.) Sani Shinkafi of Zamfara State among others.

In the National Assembly elections, too, Umeh said the party equally fielded capable people including himself, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, Chief Clement Owunna, David Bourdex Onuoha, Chief Chris Nkwonta and Professor Benard Odoh. Others are Hon. ThankGod Ezeani, Mr. Ahamdi Nweke, Chief Nwabueze Okafor, Chief Willy Ezugwu and Paschal Nneji among others. But he recalled with pains that the party lost all these seats though credited with Fears over APGA's future after Umeh

Chief Victor Umeh's supporters, who argue that he is largely responsible for the survival of the party, are already expressing fear over the fate of the party after him.

But as soon as the new APGA National Workers Committee (NWC) took over office on June 6, the new National Chairman, Oye, dismissed fears about the future of the party, assuring party members that the new leadership will bring about reconciliation of all aggrieved members of the party. He also cautioned that APGA under his watch would not tolerate indiscipline among members.

The former National Chairman of the party, Chief Victor Umeh, had identified indiscipline as the great challenge facing the party and urged the new National Workers Committee (NWC) to tackle it.

As he puts it when handing over the National Secretariat of the party to the new NWC: "One of the greatest problems in our

party bothers on indiscipline. The unactualised political ambition of a party member should not be the basis for launching attacks on the party leadership."

Charging the members to be loyal, patient and to cooperate with the new leadership while pursuing their various aspirations through and within the party he explained that "the party has made adequate provisions in section 22 of the amended APGA Constitution on Matters of Party Discipline and Indiscipline to checkmate such development".

New Direction: Shortly after his emergence in Awka, Anambra State capital as the new National Chairman of APGA, Oye told newsmen in Umuahia, Abia State capital, that the new leadership was poised to chart a new direction for the party.

He said he would "steer APGA away from leadership crisis that had rocked the party over a long period of time and reposition if to grow in strength," adding, "I believe in the party's vision to grow as a geo-political party that would become a strong national party."

He blamed the crisis that has enveloped the party for so long on leaders, who according to him were only using the party to advance selfish political interests at the expense of party progress.

Assuring APGA members and supporters that the party has brighter prospects, Oye said the fact that the party presently controls only one state, Anambra, would not constitute a drawback to its march to overcome other parties. "Some people see us as small but we are everywhere in Nigeria, spreading like cancer and we shall win elections any day if the rules are applied strictly," he said.

With Umeh and Okwu's case still coming up on October 20th and with the possibility that Okwu may laugh last, the future of the party remains rather hanging. Some of the questions that still need to be answered is what will become of the current hopes if the apex court finally ruled that Umeh was no longer the authentic National Chairman when he organised the June 6 National Convention? Will it mean the end of APGA's leadership crisis or the dawn of another?

I cannot disown Jonathan because he lost -Adams •Contd. from page 40 Nigerian politicians should be very careful.

The incoming party should also be careful.

They should realise that most of the people that destroyed PDP are now in APC. Every statement should be well-managed by the new president and the party leadership. They should restrain from using media to assassinate people's character. The media, not the judiciary, is the last hope of the common man because they are the voice for the voiceless. It was the media that saved Nigeria during the regime of late Gen. Sani Abacha. But unfortunately, the media has been caged.

The waterway and pipeline policing project was to have commenced operation since 27th of April, what's the latest trends on this?

That is very wrong. We read it in one of your publications. The operation has commenced since the 15th of March. The police only did the final handing over on the 27th of April to OPC and other organisations involved. The job is not given to OPC alone.

And directives have been issued to the Obas to give able-bodied men in their domain as security operatives for the assignment. So, in the process, we're employing many people from the different communities. The idea is to stop the activities of the vandals on our pipelines. Nigeria is losing 1.3 trillion naira yearly to vandalisation. The money that NNPC would pay for the surveillance of the 6 pipelines is not up to 15 billion naira. The 85 to 90 percent of this money will go for

salary. A target of N50, 000 for each security operative was given to us.

Some people are already speculating that the pipeline surveillance contract is as good as dead now that Gen. Buhari is President. What's your reaction to this?

I believe Buhari is going to be the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Those awarded this contract are Nigerians; they are his subjects. I believe Gen. Buhari is looking for a way to get more money to introduce free education, free healthcare delivery and to stabilise Nigeria's economy. Gen. Buhari said he would block a lot of holes, and one of the ways to achieve that is to reduce the illegal activities of vandals, so that government can realise more money to develop the country. So, I don't believe that it would be fair enough to be spreading sentiments. And these sentiments are only coming from the Yoruba. The problem with them is that they always like to stall every opportunity given to their own people. And that is why some people always refuse to join sectional party, they believe in national party.

When you come to their party, they will not give you an opportunity to be empowered. So, I know Gen. Buhari and I'm not saying this to pamper him. Before the pipeline surveillance contract, our group survived. Even now, we've not gotten a kobo from the money accruing from the contract. We're still using our money to service people on the project. It's a project of security and not a project of supplying. So before the pipeline contract, was Gani Adams a poor man? So, why are they crying up and down because of pipeline surveillance? The God that provides for me is still in the high place to do

• Adams more. His supremacy abides forever. Many people thought the project was a carrot thrown at us to support Jonathan during the last elections. Are you now telling me that APC used similar contracts to bribe its supporters? Look, in politics you don't need much money to garner the support of those that you've had a smooth relationship with. So, we welcome Mr. President on board. He is entitled to his own decisions, but he should not allow people with sentiment to ruin his government. If Gen. Buhari wants to add sentiments to his administration, he will

deny Niger-Delta who voted almost 92 percent against him some national rights. He will also deny the South-East, whose 98 percent voted against him. When President Obama became the president of the US, he didn't victimise The Republicans. When a candidate wins an election, especially in the case of president, he becomes father to all. If you don't put behind you everything that happened during the contest, you will lose focus and have more enemies.

You and Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, from whom you broke away, have suddenly become allies. Again, is it money or you genuinely align with Jonathan rulership?

Although we operate in different parties; that does not mean that we have enmity between us. It's all about position. We have a lot of Yoruba who don't even believe in APC and who are ready to die for Buhari. So, that is politics. There's neither permanent enemies in politics nor permanent friends.

Your political enemy today might turn to out to be your best friend tomorrow. The two recommendations of last year national conference brought a lot of people together, beyond the interest of Jonathan. What we were saying was, look, let's use this man [Jonathan] to achieve what we want in the South-West. If Nigeria is well structured today, the transparency Gen. Buhari is talking about will be easy to achieve. The only monster that stalls the progress of this nation, as we all know is corruption. But if Gen. Buhari can champion his crusade on anticorruption, I, Gani Adams, am ready to give him maximum support.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

POLITICS

For ex-Gov Aliyu, trouble beckons

Hallucinations of 'Brother' Bode W

•Bode

S

Between Buhari and Saraki

ONDERS they say, will never end. Can it be that Chief Bode George, the former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), now hallucinates?

Or how else can one explain his statement that Senator Bukola Saraki's emergence as Senate President and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as House Speaker on Tuesday, June 9, 2015, was a signal that the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Lagos State former Governor, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, is a local champion?

Coming from a man who could not win his polling unit during the last general elections, to a man who not only won his state but lead his party to win at the national level; and whose party produced both Saraki and Dogara as federal legislators, one can only wonder what meaning George intended people to give to his latest utterances.

Also considering the fact that George abandoned his troubled party at its most crucial stage and is speaking from the comfort of his hideout abroad, it is obviously a case of a bad workman blaming his tools.

HOULD claims by President Muhammadu Buhari's Senior Special Assistant on Media, Garba Shehu, that lawmakers led by Senator Bukola Saraki, disrespected the President even after he requested that the elections be postponed so he could meet with them, turn out to be true, then all may not be well between Buhari and Saraki, who is now the man at the helms of affairs in the National Assembly.

Shehu, during a television interview, had revealed that in spite of the President's humble request, Senator Saraki, alongside others, decided to ignore Buhari's appeal and went ahead with the elections.

Shehu further said that the reason the President did not honour the meeting at the International Conference Centre (ICC) was because the other lawmakers were already at the Senate chambers, conducting the election which made any meeting unnecessary.

However, Saraki's camp has denied that such request was made and challenged the Presidency to provide proof of such request. The Presidency is yet to provide proof but should it turn out that the Senators had actually disregarded the President in any way, informed observers fear that the last may not have b e e n heard of l a s t Tuesday's inauguration drama.

I

F news filtering in that the Niger State Government has asked former Governor Babangida Aliyu to refund N2.9 billion is true, then serious trouble may be in the offing for the man who lost his bid to move from governor's office to the Senate chamber.

Reports have it that the money was taken as loan on the eve of Mr. Aliyu's departure. Sources within government said the money was shared haphazardly and without records of what it was spent for.

Ripples learnt that the office of the SSG for example, was given N600 million. The records did not say what he would do with the money. Now, the new government is saying the money must be repaid by Aliyu and his co-travelers or they will be made to answer for it.

Chief Press Secretary to the new governor, Mr. Ibrahim Dooba, was heard vowing that the government will not allow the fraud to go just like that. He said "Well, we want our money back. The money belongs to the people". Well we wish Aliyu and his allies a safe delivery from this looming trouble.

Ikpeazu's simple appellation

S

OMETHING new is happening in Abia State. After years of Excellences and even a Mother Excellency, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, the new governor of the state, has directed that the appellation, "His Excellency and Executive" be henceforth avoided in all communications that has to do with the governor.

To ensure that the matter is treated with all seriousness, the governor's Chief Press Secretary, Godwin Adindu, was mandated to announce the new simple style in which Ikpeazu would like to be addressed which is "Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, Governor of Abia State."

"The governor wants all public communication to be concentrated on the work and policies of the state and not on the person of the governor and has therefore directed all contractors, political groups, individuals and party loyalists not to put his portrait on billboards, posters and signage but to only use the pictures of ongoing projects in their billboards and posters" the statement directed.

It appears the governor's desire is to reduce the awe surrounding the office of the governor so as to give the people better access to him. This is not only commendable and progressive but a sign that Okezie's entrance may have marked a new dawn after the long dark night in God's Own State.

• Buhari • Saraki

• Ikpeazu

IN VOGUE

By Kehinde Oluleye

Tel: 08023689894 (sms) E-mail: kehinde.oluleye@thenationonlineng.net

Raising a voice for the Nigerian girl With Temilolu Okeowo temilolu@girlsclub.org.ng 07086620576 (sms only) Please visit my blog www.temiloluokeowo.wordpress.com for more inspiring articles. Twitter@temiloluokeowo

55

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

What Buhari must do for visual arts H

AVING been schooled in one of Nigeria’s oldest and most reputable art schools, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Abiodun Olakun has over the years gone through thick and thin to create a niche for himself. A member of Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) and many other professional visual arts bodies both at home and abroad, Olakun is known to belong to that class of contemporary artists who are not limited by space or style. His is known as a serious painter who hardly conforms to tradition to produce his works.

“Yes, we were in the United Kingdom to exhibit some of our works. It was really in collaboration with Apple Art, London, to let members of Guild of Professional Fine Artists of Nigeria (GFA) to exhibit as a body and to see how far our art can go in the world. The exhibition had to do with a concept that began since three years ago. And this was the third in the series. This year’s theme was transcending boundaries. It was indeed organized strictly for members of the Guild just to showcase their works and bring out the highest level of visual art from this part of the world,” he said.

To them, the theme was chosen deliberately to project the Nigerian art to the global stage. It was to do with a concept that would help the artists to project into the future and to give Nigerian contemporary art an edge over the rest. Olakun said, “Before the last edition of the outing, we seemed to be un-coordinated. But this last effort was made a huge success because we wanted it to be outstanding in all respects. Most of the ones we did in the past were personal and somewhat whimsical. It was difficult to get and even classify artists with different styles and methodologies, with their profiles in place. But this time the Guild became fully in-charge in order to really use the art to explain the Nigerian technique.”

All the exhibiting artists are members of the Society of Nigerian Artists. However, the Guild takes it a notch higher. It was formed basically to include committed studio artists whose influence and contributions to the profession have been immensely recognized. This is why it is often more reasonable for them to come together to project Nigerian arts beyond the shores of Nigeria. Olakun explains: “For us members, our sole responsibility is to promote visual arts and also encourage the practice to the hilt. This is why we do not look up to anyone for employment or the sort. So we have been able to groom the Guild right from the moment it was formed in 2008 to this moment.”

So far, the Guild has offered these artists the platform through which the Nigerian arts have been projected in a more comprehensive manner, not only in Nigeria but world-over. “This was why we find it more appealing to use the London platform once every year to showcase what we have,” Olakun offered. “When we took off in 2008, I was the Vice-President of the Guild and our primary aim and object was to take it to the height it is today. We still need to do more, for to us Nigerian art has to be given its proper place in the world.”

Today, these efforts have not been in vain. Not only that the artists are now better known in the world, their works have come to show that contemporary art is very much alive in Nigeria. “People have begun to notice the potentials of Nigerian contemporary arts outside the shores of this country, not only through the individual members of the Guild but by extension other artists, other art businesses in Nigeria. And the Apple connection in London has indeed been very wonderful.”

He, however, commended the Bank of Industries (BOI) which was able to come in to sponsor some of their outings in the past.

“This was made possible then because the person at the helm of affairs (Helen Oputu) was a lover of art. It was due to her per-

Abiodun Olakun was the first of his generation of Nigerian fine artists to be recognised as a master in the visual art sector in the society. By this, he is known as one of the most notable and reputable contemporary artists of his time. He was one of the members of Guild of Professional Fine Artists of Nigeria whose works were showcased in a recent art exhibition in London. He shares his views on the role of the current political dispensation to impact on the arts and what artists themselves can do to bring the trade to the front burner and more with Edozie Udeze

•Painting by Olakun

•Olakun

sonal disposition, and not really or necessarily due to the official policy of the BOI, that we were able to enjoy some level of support. So, we found her tenure very useful and instrumental to the development of the sector. The period indeed brought the art to the centre stage. However, we feel that we need more co-operation from government agencies to push the frontiers of the art to an enviable level. We hope to go pass this level someday to be able to get a total support from the government. Art is not a personal thing, it is part of the many constituents of the society.”

The BOI has indeed been one of the many that have been privileged to play this role. It

has been a tip of the iceberg.

Artists themselves have to be more committed and businesslike to be able to project their art in the world. “This is where we have been lacking and we need to sit up. But government has to have the vision, the willingness and zeal to support the art, especially the visual art.”

In relation to what the government of Muhammadu Buhari can do to encourage the sector to prosper, he said, “personally, I am a realist. The headship of government agencies and departments created to take charge of the art should sit up to do their duties. We have our own special positions on the matter. It will be up to us now to probably apply the needed pressure on these agencies to look seriously in our way. The institutions that are statutorily positioned to do this job must make sure policies are done to suit art and artists. Through that we need to have platform through which we exchange ideas on how those policies can be implemented to promote the art.

For me, this is the first pot of call.”

If the government agencies truly live up to their official responsibilities in which art is given its due preference, there is every likelihood that there will be room to expand the frontiers thereby empowering and emboldening the visual art the more. Olakun offered a leeway in this regard: “Within the Ministry of culture, you can count the number of agencies in-charge of the art. What have they been doing? They are those that are specially instituted to carter for the art and we expect them to do more. Where you have the National Gallery of Art (NGA) which currently enjoys autonomy, then you have the National Museum, all with the sole role to

keep the art together.

While the NGA is holding fort for modern art, the Museum is in-charge of antiquities and ancient arts. But it is the modern art today that becomes ancient art tomorrow.”

So, to him, there has to be a meeting point in this regard. It is supposed to be an endless relationship, but there are things happening now that need to readdressed, that need some re-engineering. One simple example is National Museum issuing permit for contemporary works to be taken out of Nigeria. That sounds absurd to me. I mean, it is a bit of aberration. The National Gallery that is positioned with the requisite knowledge and foresight to do this job, should be allowed to do it.”

As it is now, Olakun and most of his colleagues do not necessarily want to be stuck in this complication or the like. All they need is a sector that functions very well, a sector that is good to promote the ideals of the visual arts in its totality. “We as a body also need to work with them to get it right.

That line of communication needs to open once more. Whenever that act that established the NGA goes back to the National Assembly for reappraisal, we artists need to be involved. We are the stakeholders and so we have to be at the public hearing. Before it even gets to the National Assembly, we have to rub minds with the NGA to get it right.

This will help us to find the operational policies that are good for the industry.”

In an attempt to get it right, the need for the private and public sectors to work together also becomes instructive. “This way we can also reach out to patrons and be able to bring all the people into one fold. This is one of the best ways to ensure that the government is made to show serious interest in what we do.” He however, berated his colleagues for their inability to form a common front over the years to show commitment towards the business aspects of the visual art.

“Now, see what the musicians are doing to steal the show and make all the money. We have to also hustle to make more money.

Even those we call our grandchildren in the industry are doing better. It means that there is something fundamentally missing in the industry and we need to address it now and urgently too.”

In other word, he still feels that the issue of representations in proper quarters is the problem. “This is why we need to strategise.

We need to bring in the serious principles of business into what we do. So when we do this, we can be focused and have time to work and make money. We produce art, we market it ourselves and we do administration and the rest. This is not good for us. It diminishes the strength you have to do studio works. So, for us to get it right we have to distinguish between these and get the right people to do the rest for us. This is how it is done in other genres of the art and we need to create that niche for business sense.”

56

THE NATION ON SUNDAY,

ARTS

JUNE 14, 2015

•Some of the paintings done by children with the theme, say no to terrorism

T

HE National Gallery of Modern Art (NGA) is the parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism with the mandate to collect and preserve works of arts and paintings that are of modern quality to the nation. Ever since the edict that established it, NGA has been in the forefront of ensuring that Nigerian contemporary arts are kept in good order. This is why also, every year the management of NGA, Lagos office, makes it a point of duty to organize art paintings and sculpting for children. The idea is to encourage the children to fall in line with their talents on time and to also express their artistic ideas as they deem it fit.

This was why this year’s children’s day celebration was no different. To make it worthwhile for the children, NGA organized painting and sculpting competition for many school children in Lagos State and beyond. Part

Making terrorism visual

By Edozie Udeze

of what the organizers did was to fulfill the mandate of NGA which says that the parastatal is meant to serve as the repository of Nigeria’s creative spirit and to equally promote the appreciation of Nigerian modern and contemporary art.

To make this realizable, both the primary and secondary school children in the state were invited to showcase their talents. In this regard Mrs. Ekene Okoroma, the head of the Lagos office of NGA said “this art talent cum art hunt exhibition is usually done on May 27 every year in commemoration of the children’s day celebration. For us, amidst every uncertainty our entire nation may have gone through this year, yet we

have been able to come this far to ensure that our children participated in this competition.”

Amid series of plays and dramas enacted by the NGA management, the children were very enthusiastic to be part of the shows. In her speech, Okoroma insisted that the goal of the NGA even amid hardships and the stark economic problem was still able to give the children the opportunity to excel. She said, “In the quest to continue to make our country greater, our theme for this year’s celebration hinges extensively on one very dangerous and globally accepted evil, terrorism.

And because terrorism has dealt devastating blows on many societies and have consequently destroyed most homes, this year’s painting

theme for the kids was anchored on, ‘Say no to terrorism; it destroys our nation.’ It was meant to continue to create awareness among the youths of the nation. It is also to help them understand wholesomely the dangers inherent in the act and how it will affect their future. Therefore, the children should be taught on time on how to reject in its entirety the lure to be drawn into this heinous behaviour.

With a lot of passion the children did very classical paintings that zeroed down on the theme. They were able to produce big works that beat the imagination of many people. Most of the guests could not indeed believe that children in primary and secondary schools could do those works.

Besides that, Okoroma noted, however, that the children took their time to do justice to the paintings in order to bring out the beauty of creativity and then show that terrorism is not good for anybody. “This is why you can see this array of beautiful works today.” The day was crowned with the award of trophies and certificates to those who won positions.

Apart from giving the awards in different categories, the winning schools were specially recognized and commended for their love for the visual art. Teachers who have taken their time to instruct the kids and put them on the right track were told to keep it up. Art, in all intents and purposes should be exposed to the children at their early age so as to enable them

Preferred bidder ready for National Theatre

A

FTER many years of deliberations and business discussions on the need to use the Public Private Partnership (PPP), to develop the National Theatre premises, a final bidder for the concession of the fallow land around the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, has been chosen. At a press briefing during the week, the General Manager of the National Theatre, Mallam Kabir Yusuf, stated that after series of brainstorming sessions, the option of PPP was agreed upon as the best way to develop the complimentary facilities and infrastructure within the surroundings of the Theatre in line with the master plan of the National Theatre.

The preferred bidder is Topwide Apeas/Chris Michael Ltd while the reserved bidder is Calzada Nigeria Ltd. In other words, this result has been certified by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Committee (ICRC) which is set in place by the Federal government for purposes of this nature.

The General Manager reiterated the need for the public to understand that the main body of the Theatre is not in any way affected by this arrangement. “All we need do is to refurbish the mainbowl of the Theatre to serve for bigger purposes for the culture sector. It is the fallow portions of the land within the premises which form part of

POEM

Akpaka WHOEVER cultivates akpaka tree? the one that speaks like thunder whoever cultivates akpaka tree? the one that scatters its seeds whoever cultivates akpaka tree?

Harbinger of the immortal salad

By Edozie Udeze

the masterplan that will be developed to meet the required standard befitting a theatre environment,” he said.

He stressed that over the years many people have misconstrued this to mean that the National Theatre edifice is up for sale. “No we are not selling the National Theatre. Let me say that crystal clear here.

There was a masterplan put in place in the early 1970s when the idea of the place was first mooted. Now, the Federal government feels that the completion of that place is long over due. This is why we have been given the mandate to go ahead to complete it so as to give the environment its proper place as the entertainment city of the country,” Yusuf said.

On completion, the Theatre would boost of five star hotel, shopping mall, offices of international standard, land and water parks, leisure and entertainment centre and multi-level car park. When this is done, many of the shanties and makeshift buildings which have been considered illegal would be dismantled.

“To this effect,” Yusuf reiterated, “a stakeholders committee made up of the federal government ministry of land, housing and urban development, federal ministry of works, office of the surveyorgeneral of the federation, federal ministry of physical planning, infrastructure conces-

do better when they grow up.

In graphics, in the primary school category, Adetola Ogungbemi of Confidence Nursery School, Lagos, took the first position, while Moshood Fathia of Ewe-Nla School, Lagos, came first in painting. The first position in sculpture was clinched by Christianah Samuel. In the Junior Secondary School category, Altta Samuel emerged first in painting, while Chigbo Ralchukwu came first in graphics. The overall winner was Mayinoluwa Okulate of Lagoon Secondary School, Lekki, Lagos.

Some of the schools present were Queensland Academy, Yabatech Secondary School, Effortswill Academy, Iman College and many more.

All the winning works will however be preserved by the NGA for posterity. This tradition has been maintained over the years just in line with the spirit of the promotion of visual art for which the agency is noted.

Ta warara!

I hear you at midday defying the moon rebuking evil old men dropping your seedlings at their shit stool

•National Theatre (Inset) Yusuf

sion regulatory committee and the National Theatre was constituted and was indeed inaugurated on 20th September last year by the federal government. The occasion was used to ask the public to get people who would be interested in the bid since government could not go it alone.”

Thereafter, stakeholders began to be associated with the exercise and today it is obvious that PPP initiative is the best option to finally complete the masterplan. With the final arrangement having been given the nod by the Federal executive council, a roadshow to sensitise the public on the need to be fully involved in the plan took place. Yusuf

said, “with these approvals, the parent ministry and the National Theatre went for shopping of credible local and international investors by organizing investors roadshow.

This took us to Lagos, London, Dubai and Johannesburg in 2014. It was from this exercise that eleven consortiums indicated their interest and consequently submitted tender bids upon which advertisements for same purpose were placed in both local and international media.”

When the concession is completed, it will last for 33 years after which the property will again return to the federal government. However,

it is believed that the PPP arrangement is to totally ensure that even the green areas of the premises, including the lawns and the flowers would be left intact. As it is now, the arrangement is in its final stage.

This is why Yusuf asserted that the next stage of this transaction is negotiation and the preparation of the final outline business case for the approval of the federal executive council.

After this, the project will commence stage by stage, phase by phase until it is finally completed to give the whole Theatre environment its deserving status as the best entertainment city in West Africa.

Ta warara! you spread unrequited love you dish immortal ugba to a slithering world you sow another seed for yet another bowl Ta warara! oriental wonder celestial citizen from age to age you know neither farmer nor season forest nor footpath you spread your seeds for all to gather To warara! husband of widows boundless giver the one with no owner no planter, no plantation no king, no kingmaker democrat of the forest whoever cultivates you To warara!

I hear you …

By Steve Osuji

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 2015

No longer at ease with petroleum subsidy

Page 58, 59

ABC of effective salesmanship • Lawoyin

Page 59

• Ilori

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‘Stocks -- Page 53 investment good for small savers’ Page 60

GSK posts N30.52b turnover, pays N717.5m dividend

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From left: Managing Director, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nig. Plc., Mr. Dayanand Sriram, Chairman of the Company, Mr. Edmund Onuzo, Company Secretary, Mr. Uche Uwechia, Finance Director, Jonathan Murray and Non-Executive Director, Mr. Tunde Lemo, during the 44th Annual General Meeting of the company in Lagos…

PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

SEC to governors: You're free to borrow but...

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HE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has urged state governors to go ahead and borrow in order to augment the allocation but with a caveat: such borrowings must not be for consumption.

A statement by the SEC Director General Mounir Gwarzo in Katsina at the SEC Day at the ongoing 18th Katsina State Trade Fair, he said cheap funds can be accessed through equities, bonds or mortgage bond securities.

Represented by Head Kano Zonal office of SEC, Malam Adamu Sambo, Gwarzo, said the Nigerian capital market has the capacity to provide long term funds needed to solve the

By Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

infrastructural challenges in the country and act as a springboard that would fast track development of their states.

He disclosed that the Commission was attending the fair in order to manifest one of its broad functions which is to carry out enlightenment on the activities in the market.

"We are here to enlighten the Katsina state government and its people on the need for them to take activities in the market as a means for development. We have a new government in place and we hope that they will access the capital market to raise floating funds to meet their development needs.

"The President has already said he is keen on development of the country and we therefore urge the state governments to use the capital market as a channel to raise funds. States have a lot of potentials and we believe that they can use the capital market as one of the means of achieving their potential," he said.

He noted that both the federal and state governments in the last dispensation tasted the potential of the market as over N500 billion was raised from the nation's bourse through bonds by various states for infrastructure development between 1999 and 2013. Gwarzo expressed dismay at the attitude of some state governments who claim they do not want to borrow

funds for development in order not to leave the states with huge debts saying such attitude is counterproductive as it is better to borrow to meet infrastructural needs than to be contented with just paying salaries.

He said "indebtedness is not bad, what is bad is a situation where such funds are used for consumption. If there is commensurate infrastructural development on ground, there is no regret in borrowing. Even abroad, states borrow for development."

Gwarzo therefore urged the state governments to embrace the capital market in their economic strategy in other to meet the needs and aspirations of their people.

Inflation rate highest in May since 2013-NBS

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HE National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has stated that the headline inflation for May 2015 at 9.0 per cent, 30bps was higher than 8.7 per cent recorded in April 2015 and the highest since May 2013 (9.0 per cent).

Measured Month-onMonth (M-o-M), the Headline Index rose 1.1 per cent in May, the highest Mo-M increase since June 2012. NBS attributed the acceleration in the headline inflation to increases in most COICOP (Classification of Individual Consumption

by Purpose) divisions which contribute to the headline index.

The uptrend in the COICOP divisions is not unconnected to the scarcity of petrol which led to increased pump price of Petrol (Gas Prices) in May. This had a knock-on effect on the prices of other consumer commodities and related services.

The increases in the COICOP divisions were also observed in the major sub-indices of the headline Index as both core and food inflation accelerated in May.

The Food index rose by 9.8 per cent Y-o-Y, 30bps higher than 9.5 per cent in April. Measured -o-M, the index rose 1.1 per cent, the fastest increase since September 2012. The NBS ascribed increases in Food prices to the combined effect of higher transportation cost and late onset of rain which delayed the harvest period.

Similarly, the Core index rose 60bps to 8.3 per cent (Y-o-Y).

Whilst the major driver of inflation in May is majorly transient, the possibility of subsidy removal by the new administration remains a risk factor for future price

stability. The glut in global crude oil supplies and impact on external reserves accretion and the exchange rate also remains key risk factors.

Also, the current level of inflation is already at par with the CBN's upper limit target of 9.0 per cent.

Major markets in Africa trended southwards as the Egypt EGX declined the most, losing 1.8 per cent Wo-W, followed by the Kenya NSE 20 (-0.8 per cent) W-oW. Similarly, the Nigerian ASI declined 0.1 per cent Wo-W even as the Ghanaian GSE (-0.3 per cent).

LAXOSmithKline Consumer Nigeria plc, a subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline plc, one of the world's leading researchbased pharmaceutical and healthcare companies has declared a N717.5 million dividend for its shareholders for the year-end December 2014.

In the year under review, the company recorded a turnover of N30.52 billion growing 5per cent over the previous year. Profit before tax at N2.75b and profit after tax at N1.85b declined over the previous year by 36 per cent and 37 per cent respectively while total assets grew from N26.2b to N27.96 during the year 2014.

Speaking at the 44th AGM of the company held in Lagos, Mr. Edmund Onuzo, Chairman, GSK Nigeria Board of Directors, stated that although the year 2014 was quite challenging, the Company remains committed to ensuring that its shareholders get the best returns on their investments.

"Despite the decline in profitability, the Board will be recommending a dividend of

N717.5million to be paid to shareholders, representing N75k per share, subject to appropriate withholding tax deduction. A bonus issue of one new share for every four existing shares was recommended for approval during this meeting."

The shareholders approved the Board's recommendation. While commending the Board, the shareholders urged them to produce a better performance in 2015.

"We will continue to deploy appropriate marketing strategies and retool our route to market model to focus more on the different categories of our diverse businesses.

Furthermore, the Company is committed to continued investment in commercial and factory operations."

Speaking with a crosssection of shareholders, namely: Ayo Ogundeji, Shola Abodunrin, Lazarus Owuka, they lauded the Company's performance, even as they tasked the Board on the need to seek better ways and means to improve the Company's fortunes in the coming years.

LEAP Africa, Lafarge, Sterling Bank task SMEs on risk assessment

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XPERTS have urged the need for entrepreneurs to consider risk assessment before they embark on any prospective venture.

Giving this charge recently was a cross-section of participants at a public forum organised by LEAP Africa in conjunction with Lafarge Africa Plc and Sterling Bank.

Tagged: 'Staying Ahead: Maximising Profits and Mitigating Risks', the event drew over 800 well-known industry business leaders,

entrepreneurs, as well as risk management experts in Nigeria's business sector.

The forum which addressed SMEs on the importance of risk identification, assessment and analysis with a focus on minimising loss of revenue, with by LEAP Board member and Google Country Manager, Juliet Chiazor, and the Group MD/CEO, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr. Guillaume Roux presenting different papers.

Omo holds grand finale of competition

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HE Omo Imagine and Achieve Creative Arts and Essay Writing Competition came to an end in Lagos recently with winners emerging after going through a rigorous drawing competition.

The overall winner, 12year-old Imurang Salisu of Army Children School, Abule Egba, Lagos who went away with N1, 000,000 in bursaries in the creative arts category drew a soldier as the participants were told to draw what they want to become in future.

He was followed closely

by Clementina Emmanuel of De Brain Foundation School in Kaduna State who smiled home with a bursary of N500, 000 just as Sunday Daniel of Mafah Education Centre,

Benin in Edo State got N200, 000 cash reward.

The Lagos State winner in the Essay Writing category, Adedeji Adesida of the Corona School in Gbagada also went home with a prize.

Speaking during the grand finale, the Brand Building Director, Unilever Nigeria, David Okeme, said that the competition had served as a platform for thousands of school children to express their talent.

"Omo is very proud that many more children, their parents and schools are getting onboard the Omo Imagine and Achieve Initiative and even several years after its inception, the level of creativity shown by the entrants has continued to amaze the organisers," he said.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

BUSINESS

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No longer at ease with petroleum subsidy T

HE argument for the removal of subsidy on petroleum products or otherwise, has been a hotly debated issue for years, especially in the last political dispensation.

While majority of those benefiting from the subsidy racket wanted it sustained forever for obvious reasons, many others raised their voices above the din in their aversion to it and thus wanted the nation to be rid of the rentseeking cabal.

But then, the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan-led administration, which had allowed itself to be boxed into a corner either by accident or design, could not stand up to the cabal.

Thus, the nation's treasury was left at the mercy of the cabal, whose appetite for subsidy claims rose inconsiderably to the point that the debt burden has now rendered the economy totally prostate.

Update on subsidy claims At the last count, oil marketers said they were still being owed over N291billion subsidy claims.

The Executive Secretary, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association, Mr. Olufemi Adewole, in a statement made available to our correspondent, noted that "It has become necessary to state the fact that depot owners and other fuel importers under the 'petroleum support fund scheme' are still being owed billions of naira in unpaid subsidy reimbursement, interest on delayed payment and foreign exchange differentials."

Adewole said this much was expressed to DAPPMA and the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria by the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in her letter to both associations, a copy of which, according to him, she also released to the Senate committee for reference.

He, however, said the letter did not state the timeline for the re-verification exercise which the minister instituted on the amount she disputed and also did not state the expected date of payment which 'PSF' participants had been clamouring for in all the meetings held with Okonjo-Iweala since February 2015.

"It would be gross injustice against participants in the 'PSF scheme' who actually render a social service to the nation by importing petrol at international rate and sell below cost price at the behest of the Federal Government to be accused of being saboteurs just because they asked to be refunded the difference between the landing cost of the imported petrol and the local selling price in line with the agreed conditions of participation."

"It should be noted that this is the first time since the establishment of the PSF scheme that marketers will not have ready and easy access to fuel import loans as it is also the first time that commercial banks will notify importers that based on CBN regulations, importers have attained their credit ceilings with their various banks and would have to make some refunds on the existing loans to the sector prior to being funded for petrol imports; unfortunately the expected refund to the banks is yet to be carried out by the Federal Government."

He said due to debts owed transporters by marketers, who had been experiencing serious financial stress due to outstanding debts owed them by the Federal Government as a result of petrol imports under the petroleum subsidy scheme. The PTDNUPENG and NARTO had at various times protested non-payment of their freight charges by withdrawing their services "Hence, it is unfortunate for anyone to insinuate that marketers are blackmailers holding the nation to ransom via a strike about which they know nothing," Adewole said.

"DAPPMA's initial assertion on

The sudden change of opinion by stakeholders hitherto opposed to the removal of petroleum subsidy analysts have argued, has put a lie to the hues and cries over the recurrent subsidy crisis, reports Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

• Crowd at a filling station petrol importers and marketers who participate in the petrol subsidy scheme and are therefore entitled to subsidy reimbursement is based on the widely circulated payment list from the Federal Ministry of Finance, which was published in several newspapers."

He said the publication detailed payees and other 'PSF scheme' participants even when there was no payment due to them and the name of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited was conspicuously missing, adding that "further investigations have confirmed that the company is indeed being owed an undisclosed amount which however cannot be confirmed to have been added to the figure released by the former minister of finance."

"Depot owners and marketers, as patriotic Nigerians, had always advocated the need to remove fuel subsidy, which only benefits foreign refineries where the product consumed locally in Nigeria is being sourced.

"The Federal Government should fully deregulate the downstream petroleum sector as the Nigerian economy cannot continue to sustain the subsidy regime. Funds released after the removal of subsidy can be utilised for infrastructural development and job creation as addition to jobs already created by DAPPMA members."

Fear of subsidy removal Indications recently emerged that some marketers of refined petroleum products, who were not sure of the new policy direction of the President Buhari-led All Progressives Congress government concerning the oil sector, had resorted to stockpiling the products.

It was gathered that the marketers believed that stockpiling petroleum products ahead of a likely deregulation would boost the value of the products when eventually they were made available to consumers after the subsector might have been fully deregulated, which automatically would result in petrol and kerosene being sold for higher prices.

Commenting on the development, a former Chairman of the Indepen-

dent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Western Zone, Mr. Olumide Ogunmade, said it was normal for the marketers to be apprehensive of possible changes that could come with the new government.

Ogunmade, who said the marketers as well as other Nigerians were expecting a change in policy as far as the current petrol subsidy programme was concerned, said, "Nobody expects the new government to continue with the status quo."

He said with the depleted treasury inherited by the new government, among other challenges, its decisions could be pragmatic given the realities on the ground.

Marketers, he said, would likely take precautions so that they would not be caught unawares.

"We don't know the policy of the new government, but we are expecting a change," Ogunmade emphasised.

Strident calls against subsidy removal Following the lingering petrol subsidy crisis that has bedevilled the downstream sub-sector of the petroleum industry, stakeholders in the industry have expressed hope of a likely deregulation of the sector by the incoming government.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) at the weekend said it has started discussing with foreign partners to refine crude oil abroad and import Premium Motor Sprit (petrol) and Kerosene into the country.

It added that it has no intention to claim any subsidy payment from the Federal Government through the method.

IPMAN National Secretary Danladi Pasali, who spoke to reporters in Abuja, explained that should the Federal Government approve the intervention, it would be a temporal relief arrangement pending the improvement of the capacity of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation's (NNPC's) refineries and the construction of greenfield refining entities.

According to him, the initiative was developed by the association's

new executives to assist the present administration to reduce cost in subsidy payment at the same time meet products' demand.

His words: "We urged the Buhari administration to support IPMAN in mobilising our foreign partners in importing petroleum products at no cost or without subsidies payment to government.

"We have done all our mathematics that through our new model of Crude Oil SWAP arrangement; we can wet the country with petrol and kerosene and still gain from the transactions," Pasali said.

Nigeria is currently consuming about 35 million litres of PMS. But only 30 per cent of the amount can be refined by the four local refineries at full capacities.

The IPMAN secretary said the association in the long run will construct two brand new refineries in the country with 400,000 barrel refining capacity with Blue Oil International.

He added that the association's National President Mr. Chinedu Okoronkwo is in Lagos to monitor the distribution of the PMS to its members to stop its scarcity.

This is just as some oil marketers have maintained that one of the best decisions that can be taken by the All Progressives Congress-led government, concerning the downstream sub-sector and its many woes, is to deregulate the sector and allow market forces to drive demand, supply and price of petroleum products, especially Premium Motor Spirit.

This is coming at a time when petroleum and financial experts have described the current petrol subsidy regime in the country as unsustainable, given its impact on the national economy and the Nigerian people.

Thus, there has been the fear that the new government of President Muhammadu Buhari will overhaul the entire process and probably discontinue the subsidy programme.

Not sure that the status quo will be sustained, oil marketers insist that arrears owed them in the light of the prevailing subsidy programme be settled so that business losses can be minimised in the case of the new gov-

ernment discontinuing the scheme.

The Chairman, NUPENG, Lagos Zone, Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo said judging by the body language of the APC-led government it would not encourage the petrol subsidy scheme which had hitherto been ridden with fraud cases.

"The incoming government had made it clear that there won't be any room for corruption."

Some members of the APC have identified deregulation as the most viable option to end the perennial scarcity of petroleum products caused by the delay in the payment of subsidy claims, saying that the controversy over subsidy claims had always caused the country embarrassment by fueling perennial scarcity of petrol and inflicting untold hardship on the people.

Commenting on this development, Chief Julius Omofuwa, a businessman said, it was surprising that the oil marketers were suddenly making a volte face saying they can afford to import fuel and kerosene without subsidy only after it was mentioned that the President was planning to boycott the marketers and perform an oil swap for refined products deal.

"I recalled that when many Nigerians questioned the veracity or otherwise of the so-called subsidy, apologists of the immediate past government will not have any of that. With this development, it's getting clearer that the "subsidy" is indeed a scam by the past government and its accomplice collaborators out there."

Also the President, Nigeria Association for Energy Economics, Prof.

Adeola Adenikinju, stressed the need for the Federal Government to discontinue subsidies on petrol consumption, saying the country should look into subsidising production of petrol and other petroleum products locally.

He emphasised that it was more economically viable for government to encourage businesses that wanted to invest in local refining of crude oil.

The Professor of Economics at the University of Ibadan called for a costbenefit analysis of the current subsidy regime on account of the scheme's operation for some years now and the

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

BUSINESS

59

Port Harcourt Disco embarks on customer survey

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•Okonjo-Iweala

ORT-HARCOURT Electricity Distribution Company, PHED, has embarked on special survey to establish customers' position concerning tariff and other issues that are related to customers' services.

To this end, PHED has contracted Stakeholders Democratic Network to conduct the survey. SDN, is a leading nongovernmental organisation that focuses on social and energy issues, especially in the Niger-Delta and other parts of the southern Nigeria.

The Corporate Communications Manager, PHED, Jonah Iboma, said that the decision to embark on the survey was due to desire of the firm to

Stories by Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

effectively determine customers' true needs and also properly provide solutions that will meet established needs.

He said: "We embarked on this survey due to our desire to adequately position our firm to address real needs of the customers and not just what we think internally as a firm. We could have carried out this survey using our staff, but decided that an independent firm should do it so that we have a result that can be trusted and presented to the industry regulator for use."

He added that although it is

generally known that adequate power supply is the desire of everybody, it is necessary to ensure that all factors related to providing power in a sustainable manner are properly identified an addressed in the correct manner.

"Everyone's desire is to have electricity power but we know today that 24/7 power is not easily -achievable. So this survey will enable us know how customers will embrace issues related to tariff changes and the their position in terms of infrastructure provision and other initiatives that we are putting in place to help provide good services in the country," Iboma.

ABC of effective salesmanship

A •Nwosu whole objective of the scheme.

In view of the falling oil prices and its attendant challenges on economies, he said the global energy market was fast changing and Nigeria could not be isolated in the scheme of things.

"We need to find out if the scheme is achieving its objectives. It is not.

We need to ask if it is cost-effective. It is not also. We need to explore other policy options that are available to the country. There should be a transition from consumption subsidy to production subsidy. This is because subsidising consumption means supporting other economies where the product is refined to our detriment," he explained.

He said it was very pressing that the country phased out subsidy because of its huge negative impacts on the country's foreign reserves, exchange rate, inflation and the budget.

He said the country should begin to look at how to phase out subsidy on petrol, given the economic realities on the ground, which were largely unsustainable.

Sir Sunny Nwosu, the National Coordinator of Independent Shareholders Association (ISAN), on removal of subsidy, said: "My joy today is that even those who would want to say no are now saying they want subsidy removed. National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) came out openly to say no to subsidy. Even the labour force also came up to say remove subsidy.

I was listening to a programme on Traffic Radio the other day. 18 people were debating about subsidy and 14 out of them asked for the removal of subsidy. If we're in a more advanced country where opinion poll is considered, I think by now the government should have known what to do by taking the necessary decision on the policy by now."

Continuing, he said: "Even the NASS is saying remove subsidy. Nigerians must continue to shout for the government to remove subsidy. This is something I have been canvassing for in the last nine years now and in doing that I have been called names and so many things. But I want to say very clearly that Nigerians are crying for the removal of subsidy.

"Definitely when the subsidy is removed the price of petroleum products will go up. But subsequently, it will start coming down because of supply and demand in a competitive market. I think that would be in the interest of the country and Nigerians at large."

T the centre of a very successful and profitable business venture whether in the goods and services segments or manufacturing and extractive industry, is good salesmanship.

The irony, however, is that for many going concerns and startups, designing an appropriate sales strategy remain not just a missing link but a hard nut to crack as it were.

Interestingly, imbibing good salesmanship as an ideal is the idea and ideal being espoused by Mrs. Oyeronke Durojaiye Lawoyin in her book entitled: 'Selling Right In The World of Retail.'

The book which draws inspiration from the field experiences of the author, who had stints as a customer service representative in a departmental store in the U.S. among other related job experiences.

Besides, the book is laced with rich tapestry of anecdotes from individuals

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BOOK REVIEW

•Lawoyin and experts' views on the theory and praxis of retail marketing and salesmanship in general, a fact, which makes the book a good, read any day.

According to Iboma, PHED is aware of the fact that some customers do not have a proper understanding of how government has privatised the electricity industry, adding that a lot of people still think that distribution companies are the same as transmission and generation firms.

Port-Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, (PHED), is a privately held company partly owned and managed by 4Power Consortium Nigeria Limited. The firm operates in the four states in the South-South geopolitical region of Nigeria namely: Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River and Rivers states.

Divided into six chapters, the author begins by taking the reader through the rudiments of sales with a view to correct the often wrong misconceptions about sales vis-à-vis the right concepts of selling, the importance of retail business, merchandising, relationship between the retail department and other arms such as account, customer services, advertisements, with a view to building a synergy of cooperation.

The author while sharing the downsides of retail marketing including rejection by customers among other challenges, was however, quick to add that these expected unpleasant outcomes are not enough to dampen the career of a retail marketer who knows his salt.

If anything, she says, the retail industry is filled with excitements and rewards for those passionate about building a career in that segment.

The author concludes by giving useful nuggets for quick wins especially in terms of maximising sales, etc.

Gaviscon, stakeholders to host confab

N its quest to boost the treatment of Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Gaviscon, the leading non-prescription pharmaceutical brand from the stables of RB Nigeria Limited, a multinational consumer goods company has partnered with a major stakeholder - the Society for Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Nigeria (SOGHIN), to host the eight scientific conference and annual general meeting of the association in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The scientific conference tagged: 'Infectious Disease and Gastroenterology Practice in Nigeria' will feature expositions by a reputable international faculty on the treatment of reflux disease.

As an innovative brand, Gaviscon constantly seeks new ways to treat Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD); hence, the partnership with SOGHIN. In his statement buttressing the vision of RB Nigeria Limited, Marketing Director, RB West Africa, Mr. Oguzhan Silivrili stated, "Our vision is to have a world where people are living healthier lives in happier homes. Our purpose is to make a difference by providing innovation solutions for healthier lives and happier homes."

Speaking on behalf of RB Nigeria Limited at the conference, a Consultant Gastroenterologist at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Dr. Samaila Adamu said, ''Gaviscon contains Alginates which is very essential in the treatment of people with Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux Disease commonly known as heartburn. This Reflux disease is very common in Nigeria. Before the advent of Gaviscon and other forms of alginates, we had antacids which neutralise the acids but do not have the additional property of alginates that protects the Oesophegus from the reflux content of the stomach by

forming a raft.''

Also speaking on behalf of RB Nigeria Limited, Consultant Gastroenterologist and Director of Medical Education at Princess Diana of Wales Hospital, United Kingdom, Dr. Asif Naqvi stressed that 40 per cent of patients who suffer from Reflux diseases do not respond to the Proton-Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) treatment only, noting that the use of

Alginate which is present in Gaviscon provides the simple solution.

While highlighting the benefits of the Gaviscon brand, President of the Society for Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Nigeria (SOGHIN), Prof. Musa Borodo stated: "Reflux disease is very common in Nigeria and it can be very troublesome; standardly we use Proton-Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) but we get difficult

situations when we want to do some add-ons; in this situation, we have found Gaviscon to be very useful."

In corroborating the efficacy of Gaviscon, Marketing Manager (Gaviscon), RB West Africa, Mr. Qaiser Rashid, pointed out "Gaviscon is a reflux suppressant that rapidly soothes the burning pain of heartburn in just three minutes and provide relief for up to four hours."

FirstBank promotes financial empowerment among women

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IRST Bank of Nigeria Limited, has partnered with Genevieve Gatherings 2015 to raise the bar on Women empowerment.

The event themed 'Becoming Financially Fearless' was organised to advance the Nigerian woman's financial confidence as well as secure their financial future. Mrs. Nimi Akinkugbe, CEO, Bestman Games Limited, Mrs. Funmi Oyetunji, CEO, Abitos Financial Services Limited, Mrs. Arese Ugwu,

Head of Wealth Management at Partnership Investment Plc, and Mr. Tonye Cole, Co-Founder and Group Executive Director, Sahara Group were among the speakers at the event.

Ms Arunma Oteh (former Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission), who chaired the event emphasised the need to become financially fearless, achieve business success and leave a legacy.

According to the Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, FirstBank, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, the Bank is committed to initiatives that would encourage women's participation and contribution to the growth and development of the economy. "We would continuously engage with initiatives that will inspire, mentor and raise a new generation of entrepreneurial women," she stated.

•From left: Mrs. Rhonda Watson, Public Diplomacy Officer, US Consulate General, Nigeria, Mr. Josiah Mogbonjubola, General Manager, THP Project Ltd, Mr. Babatunde Adejumobi, Assistant Researcher, Centre for Radio and Rural Technologies, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa, Mrs. Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, General Manager for Enterprise Marketing, MTN Nigeria and Mr. O'Femi Kolawole, CEO, Posterity Media at the 4th Posterity Media Business Forum held in Lagos...

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

BUSINESS

H

OW would you access the Nigerian capital market?

The Nigerian capital market has come of age and is the biggest capital market in the West African subregion.

The current regulator of the Nigerian capital market has been able to put in place a regulatory framework that put Nigerian market on the World map. The Nigerian Stock Exchange is currently playing a pivotal role in the development of not only the Nigerian capital market but also in the entire West African sub-region through its leadership of the West Africa Capital Market Integration Council (WACMIC).

The management of the Exchange has put in place policies and procedures aimed at fostering development of the market and encouraging broker dealer communities to operate efficiently on the floor of the Exchange and also creating an enabling environment for companies and organisations to list their securities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Securities and Exchange Commission as the apex regulatory body in the Nigerian capital market is also encouraging all public companies to list and trade their securities on the floor of and Self Regulatory Organisation (SRO), either the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) or National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD).

These developments are tailored towards the development of the Nigerian capital market.

What is your company doing to encourage investors into the Nigerian market?

What we are currently doing to encourage investors, both corporate and individuals to invest in the capital market is through the creation of awareness on the benefits of investment in the stock market. To small savers, investment in shares is still the best form of savings that can provide security, capital preservation and as well good returns on investment. To high net worth individuals and organisations, stock market still provide the best investment alternative with best returns for their investment both in the short

'Stocks investment good for small savers' Bernard Oluwole Ilori is the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mutasec Group, comprising Mutual Alliance Investment & Securities Limited, Mutasec Financial Services Limited, Mutasec Properties and Investment Company Limited and Thistle BDC. Ilori who took the mantle of leadership of the group in August, 2011 in this interview with Nneka Nwaneri speaks on the prospects and challenges of running a financial conglomerate. Excerpts: term and the long run.

Public companies are also encouraged to list and trade their securities on the Exchange because of the tremendous benefits that this offers. Access to unlimited amount of capital, continuity, corporate governance and exit strategy among others are some of the benefits that the capital market offers. We are using various media to communicate these benefits to the populace.

Against the backdrop of recent meltdown, what are you doing to safeguard investors from market risks and volatility?

The capital market is yet to fully recover from the meltdown of 2008. To complement the efforts of the regulators at avoiding future meltdown or reduce its negative impact, what we are doing is to advise on diversification of the investment portfolio of our customers through research based investment advisory services.

Assets reclassification and assets allocation are some of the measures we are putting in place as an organisation to safeguard investors from market risk and volatility.

What are the expectations of the capital market community from the new administration?

Every new administration brings about new expectations and new hope from the investing community. Many foreign fund managers pull out their funds from the capital market in the rundown to the last presidential election. The moment the

• Ilori

fiscal and economic policies of the new administration is made public, there will be inflow of funds (both foreign and local funds) into the Nigerian capital market which will leads to the development of the market within a very short time. We will witness the kind of development that was witnessed in 2012 and 2013 when the Nigerian Stock Exchange made returns of 47per cent and 30 per cent

respectively. It is expected that the market will make a similar or even better returns in 2016 and 2017. The new administrations fiscal and economic policy directions will play a major role at making the above scenarios possible.

What makes Mutual Alliance unique among the myriad of other capital market operators?

Mutual Alliance is a unique company because of

the uniqueness of its human resources. It has young professionals running the orgaisation with three past ICAN Presidents been member of its Board of Directors at some point in time. The company has been able to weather the meltdown unscratched and it's still waxing stronger on a daily basis. The company was currently rated BB+ by Global Credit Rating Agency (GCR) in its 2014 review.

This rating result was made possible because the company has embraced and complied with corporate governance principles and as well put in place strong management to drive the affairs of the organisation.

The deadline for the recapitalisation of market operators is September 2015.

Have you met the new capital base? If yes or no, please explain.

The company has always met its minimum capital and Mutual Alliance is among the companies that met its capital as at 31 December, 2014. Our net capital is currently above the required minimum capital required for our operations as a broker dealer company.

How do you see the market after the recapitalisation?

After the recapitalisation, I see a capital market that is resilient and world class.

There will definitely be a reduction in the number of operators because not all licensed organisations will be able to meet the required minimum capital and as well minimum standard but there will be a robust market

with adequate liquidity and good turnover.

There is fear that several capital markets are still suffering from the liquidity problem as a result of the margin loans problem and recent meltdown. How serious is this challenge?

The margin facility offered by banks was one of the factors that aggravated the meltdown of 2008.

Thanks to the federal government for the bail out of the margin loans through the forbearance offered to all brokers through Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), who obtained margin facility from banks prior to the meltdown.

With this development, the broker dealer community were giving the opportunity to start on a new slate free of debt burden that may have arose has the debt not cancelled. This development is expected to improve the liquidity in the market and as well level of operations going forward.

What can be done to resolve this?

The failure of the margin loan was basically due to lack of requisite knowledge both on the part of the lender (the banks) and the borrowers on the operation of the margin loans accounts. There was also no regulation for the operation of the margin loans in Nigeria as at the time these facilities were being offered by the banks. This led to the systemic failure of the operations of the margin facilities and aggravated the impact of the global melt down on Nigerian banks and the capital market.

Margin loan is expected to improve the liquidity of the market. However, to avoid future problems, the market operators should acquire requisite technical skill with respect to the operation of margin loans with requisite regulatory framework.

How can brokers attract more companies to list their shares on the stock exchange?

Brokers can attract more companies to list their shares on the Exchange by providing advisory services and educating the management of organisations on the tremendous benefits of listing and trading their company's shares on the floor of a recognised Stock Exchange.

International University confirms Onalo professor of credit management

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HE Senate of the International University, Panama City in Central America has announced the formal investiture of Dr. Chris Onalo as Professor of Credit Management.

In a statement issued by the varsity, it said the authority of the university is pleased to celebrate Onalo's unparalleled contributions and sustained devotion of his time, energy and resources against all odds which has made possible the emergence of credit management as a taught discipline in many universities today around the world.

"As we welcome Professor Chris Onalo to the city of Panama for this occasion, we

remember to congratulate the new Nigerian Federal Government headed by President Muhammadu Buhari following a successful presidential election held in the country on March 28 2015."

Justifying the appointment of Onalo, they said: "As an International University working with carefully selected credible affiliates around the world, we noted with amazement the superior intellectual endowment and creative capabilities of Nigerians in nearly, if not almost every known field of human endeavor, which also in this case, includes credit management.�

Besides, the varsity said Professor Onalo's work in the

development of credit management curriculum is adequate as it connects well in the application and processing of credit management in all fields of business as well as intergovernment credit creation initiatives for economic development.

Onalo's work, the school emphasised, which is in the academic warehouse of the London Postgraduate Credit Management College (LPCMC) in the United Kingdom formed the basis of collaboration for credit management academics between the International University, Panama and LPCMC, UK, thus bringing internationalisation to credit management.

• From left: Prof. Jorge Laurencena, President of the IUP, Panama, presenting Professorial Sonoris Causa to Dr. Chris Onalo, with Prof. Jesus Santos Hernandez supporting.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

Persistent violation of consumers' rights by airlines

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OW would you feel if after some months holidays in Nigeria, you are looking forward to resuming work in your place of employment; so you shop, pack your bags, say bye to your folks in Nigeria, call your family in the United States to expect you the next day, only to arrive at the airport and be told that your flight has been cancelled?

Dazed, angry, frustrated, exasperated, traumatised, weak, you name it. That was the fate of many air passengers on May 29th. They had booked to travel to Houston, United States on United Airlines carrier.

Mrs. Nneka Udokwu and many others had booked their flight even months before the supposed day of departure. Mrs. Udokwu, who was almost crying, said she was due to resume work at her work place in Florida June 1st and had compelled her sister to buy fuel at the exorbitant price of N400 per litre against the normal rate of N87.00, all in the attempt to get to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in good time in order to check in her luggage without much fuss.

Why was she and some other passengers not informed on time, especially as it was at the peak of the recent fuel crises, so as to save them from the frantic efforts of trying to get to the airport on time and also to give them ample time to reschedule their work engagements?

Flight delays and cancellations are usual occurrences in air travels and that is why the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority [NCAA] Bill of Rights stipulates that booked passengers on international routes must be informed of any flight cancellation seven days before the scheduled departure time.

Demanding an explanation why passengers were not given prior notice, Mr. Lasisi, a United Airline official with badge number 31243 at the airline's check port in the Departure Hall, said the flight which was supposed to air lift the passengers that night to Houston arrived Nigeria that morning instead of the previous evening.

"The crew have to rest and the plane attended to before starting another trip, hence the postponement of the departure time," clarified Mr. Lasisi.

Not in the least satisfied

with that explanation, this reporter insisted on knowing why passengers were not informed so that they would not have bothered coming to the airport that evening. He said he was not in a position to give a formal response to the reporter, who had by then properly introduced herself. Mr. Lasisi took her to the Customer Service Director of the airline, Mr. Alphonsus Ujah, who was busy trying to calm other passengers down. He explained that the airline officials informed those passengers who bought tickets directly from them about the cancellation but left the agents to inform the passengers that bought from them of the cancellation.

Offering his apologies to the traumatised passengers, he explained that the delay was occasioned as result of a 'storm' which delayed the flight in Houston, causing the late arrival of the plane in Nigeria. "Instead of travelling tonight, the over 200 passengers will be travelling tomorrow morning, that is May 30th by 8am," he assured.

He explained to the passengers that there were three buses designated to transport them to three hotels the airline had booked for them.

A majority of the passengers joined the buses to the three hotels, while very few intending travellers went back with their relatives.

The NCAA Bill of Rights states that when an international flight is cancelled or delayed for a period of over six hours, passengers will be entitled to hotel accommodation with feeding, transportation between the airport and place of accommodation.

According to the United Airlines Customer Service Director and some of the passengers interviewed, they were provided with vouchers to take care of their dinner and breakfast before leaving the hotel to catch the 8am flight.

Days later in an interview with Mr. Ujah, he explained, "If there is any reason why the passengers should still remain in the hotel, extra vouchers will be made available for them to take care of their feeding till they board the flight."

Lamenting that it was one of the challenges of the business, "anytime we have issues like this, we lose money because of

accommodation, feeding and transporting of our passengers," adding that the need for profit does not mean you will not take care of your passengers.

"Instead of giving passengers a bad experience, we would rather give them a good one so they can continue to patronise us and over time we shall make profit," said the Airline Customer Service Director.

In an interview with the Assistant General Manager, Consumer Protection Department, NCAA, Mr. Anaso Kalu, he said that the department would have waded into the matter if the air carrier had not done the right thing of taking care of its stranded passengers.

"In cases like this, which was caused by a storm, there is nothing anybody could have done about it except God. Nobody can be blamed for issues like this as no one can have control over it except God. The airline did not see it coming, so there is no way they could have given seven days notice to passengers about the cancelled flight,'' said the Assistant General Manager of NCAA. Recalling an experience he had during the recent fuel crisis, Mr. Kalu narrated that he had booked an Aero flight to attend a wedding only to be informed on getting to the local airport in Lagos that the flight had been cancelled due to lack of aviation fuel.

"On further enquiries, they said they could not inform passengers earlier because a marketer had promised them some supplies but disappointed at the last minute. What will I do, except to ask for a full refund which I got and travelled by car?"

However, on many occasions air passengers have recounted sad tales of instances where flights have been delayed or cancelled without the air carrier involved taking care of them.

The Director General, Consumer Protection Council (CPC ) Nigeria, Mrs. Dupe Atoki, had even recently decried the high rate of consumer abuses in the aviation sector. She said that, in the aviation sector, air passengers always complain of regular delays and cancellation of flights without notice, noting also that "damage and loss of baggage without compensation still occur."

Skye Bank launches new retail banking roadmap

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N a quest to reposition its Retail Banking business and make it the centre-piece of its business focus, Skye Bank Plc. has embarked on a comprehensive transformation of its retail offerings, focusing essentially on the needs of customers in its identified target segments, individuals and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, SMEs. The Bank's new Retail strategy code-named Project RTAG, 'Retail Transformation and Growth', is designed to simplify Retail Banking business and serve as a game-changing business model with a focus on customer segments using unique value propositions rather than the product led approach commonly adopted

by Retail organisations.

Speaking at the launch of the project in Lagos, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, assured that the new business transformation project would bring about customised and needs-satisfying financial solutions in a manner that will exceed the expectations of the customers.

Oguntayo said the trend in retail banking involves knowing the needs of the customer beyond finances to

include lifestyle needs and designing appropriate solutions to meet those needs, saying, 'Skye Bank is poised to serve as a dependable partner to its customers across the country.'

In her remark, the Executive Director, South South, South East and Retail Banking, Mrs. Ibiye Ekong, said amendments to the Bank's existing retail products is to streamline and position them for better fit with the identified customer segments.

Also speaking at the occasion, Head, Retail Banking Group, Nkolika Okoli, said the R-TAG project would help streamline the Bank's product portfolio targeted at Individual and SME customers via the

identification of primary focus segments, with a maximum of 2 products to serve each segment.

Meanwhile, a businessman residing in Kaduna State, Mukaila B. Hamzat emerged the first winner of the Bank's 'Reach for the Skye Millionaire' reward scheme. Mr. Hamzat, a former Mainstreet Bank savings account holder, now merged with Skye Bank, was selected during an electronic draw from over 400, 000 customers during the launch of the retail banking project.

Three customers would emerge as millionaires each month during the monthly promo draws. The next draw event is scheduled for the first week of July.

•From left: Deputy Managing Director, Skye Bank Plc., Amaka Onwughalu, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Timothy Oguntayo, Executive Director, South-South/ South East, Retail, Ibiye Ekong and Head of Retail Banking Group, Nkolika Okoli, at the launch of the Bank's new retail banking roadmap held at the Bank's headquarters‌Lagos

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

INTERVIEW

‘Nothing can stop Fayose’s impeachment’ Prophet Joseph Oladipo popularly called “Ogunse” is the General Overseer of Faith and Victory Church with headquarters in Akure, the Ondo state capital. The cleric, who predicted the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari, spoke with Damisi Ojo on national issues. Excerpts:

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OU predicted the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari.

What should Nigerians expect now that he has been sworn in?

The government of Muhammadu Buhari needs prayers of genuine men of God for its success. The aims of Buhari and his plans for Nigeria can only be achieved with prayers. There are people who surround Buhari who may not really want him to succeed but with prayers he will overcome them.

Buhari needs to be careful with the way and manner he handles Boko Haram. Guns and other weapons cannot overcome Boko Haram, only the prayer of the saints, especially true men of God can solve the problem of Boko Haram in Nigeria.

If Buhari uses his own knowledge or believe in himself for solution to Boko Haram problem, he will fail woefully.

But, if he relies on God and allow men of God to pray for the nation, the problem confronting the nation, especially the insecurity problem will become a thing of the past in the country.

Any revelation on the abducted Chibok girls?

Buhari should invite men of God to pray for the release of the girls. The Chibok girls are not dead; they are still living and if we pray fervently these girls will be released and taken to their parents. If we pray seri-

ously, within just two months the Chibok girls will be released from their captivity.

It is also important to state that the first six months of the Buhari led administration will not be comfortable for Nigerians. God told me there will be financial and economic hardships in the country, but all Nigerians will laugh at the end of the day.

Nigerians also need to pray for some individuals to see the end of the Buhari -led government because there are people who work for the emergence of Buhari who may not see the end of his administration except they pray very well.

There seems to be trouble in Ekiti state until recently.

What is the fate of the Governor Ayodele Fayose?

Governor Ayo Fayose will be impeached. He cannot complete his tenure as Governor of Ekiti state. I don’t see what can prevent the governor from being impeached. I saw in a vision that Fayose was sitting on a chair and all of a sudden some men came and removed the chair from him. This simply means that the governor will leave the office before his tenure ends.

I am not a Prophet of doom and I don’t believe in fallacy. I have not made any prophecy or prediction that was not confirmed later by the Almighty God. This will not be an exception. Fayose will not complete his tenure.

How can an Assembly full of his loyalists impeach Fayose?

It doesn’t matter. God is not a God of the present alone.

He is a God of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Our God is a God of every time and season. When He speaks, He speaks. On the case of Ayo Fayose, God has spoken and I have also heard Him, so the man will be impeached. I predicted his coming back to government some years ago. I also predicted the victory of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state after a very long legal battle. I didn’t just make my own prophecies; I allowed God to speak through me and when He speaks I relay it to the world.

I have told my congregation what God told me about Governor Fayose and I am saying it to all the people of the world now. I have nothing against Fayose but as a servant of God, I am only saying what God told me. If Fayose is not impeached, then I am a fake Prophet and nobody should believe me or my prophecies again.

You also predicted the impeachment of the former Deputy of Ondo state, Alli Olanusi and it happened. Is the new Deputy Governor, Alhaji Lasisi Oluboyo safe?

Impeachment has not ended in Ondo state. The current deputy governor will also be impeached with time and a

•Oladipo new man will emerge. The deputy governor has a limited time to spend in office; he will soon leave the office and a new person will take over from him. Also, Ondo state Governor also needs serious prayers to succeed in his second term in office.

What advice do you have for President Buhari?

I will advise President Muhammadu Buhari to be careful of those around him. He needs to be careful of those who surround him as advisers and co-politicians. He should focus on his plans for the country and pray along.

Also, the President needs serious prayers for him to succeed in office. He should rely on God for everything and not rely on men for anything. If he

trusts God and rely on Him, he will do exploits in office but if he puts his trust in men, he will fail. He should look for true men of God and asks them to pray for the country because the country needs the prayers of true men of God. What message do you have for Nigerians as a Prophet of God? Nigerians should seek the face of God and seek for forgiveness. All that we need to do as a nation is to seek for God’s forgiveness and ask God to intervene in our nation’s issues.

I want to inform you that the current season shall be a season of defections in the nation’s politics. The former Oyo

state Governor, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, Engr. Seyi Makinde, former Niger state Governor, Alhaji Babangida Aliyu will all defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Also, three governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will decamp to the APC. They will not find it easy to join the party but they will defect at last. Jimi Agbaje, Jonah Jang and Alhaji Rasheed Ladoja of the Accord Party will all fail at the elections petition tribunal in their various states.

The Chairman of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will be removed from office in no distant time. There is hope for the nation. All we need do is to pray and pray fervently. It shall be well with our nation.

NEWS James to Buhari: lead by examples University of Roehampton begins online Theology HE University of ested in the programme may

By Adeola Ogunlade R E S I D E N T million Nigerians who did not Master Roehampton, London be working as clergy and Muhammadu Buhari vote for him.

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has been advised to exhibit exemplary leadership that would move the country out of her economic doldrums.

The general overseer of Glory Christian Ministries, Lagos, Pastor Iruofagha James, gave the advice in an interview with our correspondent last week at the church’s headquarters.

Buhari, he said, has the opportunity to right the wrongs of the years of bad governance in the nation.

He asked him to justify his relentless desire to govern the nation since 2003.

James said: “As one of the very few people ever given the opportunity to lead this great country twice in a lifetime, I

pray history will record him as the only one who did things right and saved Nigeria from another disappointment.”

Nigerians, according to him, are aware of the enormous challenges awaiting the new administration, especially with months of unpaid salaries, unbridled corruption and thoughtless loans by government officials to support their extravagant lifestyle.

The cleric said Nigerians will be patient with the new administration because they are ever ready to follow any leader who can provide their basic needs, not minding his tribe or religion.

If Buhari stays true to his electoral promises, James said he would win over even the 12

James lamented that the greatest treasure of Nigeria is not the vast oil fields of the Niger Delta or the untapped deposits of uranium, bitumen, gold, copper, etc scattered across the country, but the vastness of her best brains scattered across the globe - in every field of human endeavor.

“President Muhammadu Buhari must do what is right to break the jinx whereby the best of us has for too long been ruled by the worst amongst us,” he stressed.

He charged Christians to continue praying and believing again in Nigeria because God the Most High who rules in the affairs of men has the last say over Nigeria.

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has commenced an online Master of Arts in Theology and Leadership in its Department of Humanities.

The programme, the university said, was created to help meet the demand for leaders of faith-based organisations and other organisations in regions around the world.

It is also informed by the growing Christian populations who wish to develop their skills and improve their effectiveness in order to

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ROPHET Sunday Korede has emerged the new general leader of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Ayo Ni O, Lagos.

He was announced at the weekend to replace Prophet Gabriel Fakeye, who died

transform their communities.

The programme, the institution added, was “designed to provide administrative, management and research skills to individuals with a background, occupation, orientation or interest in Christian theology and religion to aid personal, career and organisational growth.”

The programmes is open to “working professionals of all faiths, backgrounds and traditions, students inter-

laypeople in churches, nonprofit or nongovernmental organisations, hospitals, educational institutions or charities.”

According to Dr Julian Gotobed, a lecturer in ministerial theology in the university, “The programme aims to develop leaders capable of approaching, analysing and thinking strategically about issues confronting Christian ministry and mission today.”

Korede leads C&S Ayo Ni O early in the year.

Reacting to his appointment, the World Christian Council Association (WCCA) urged Korede to consider his new position as God-given.

The group, in a statement by its founder, Primate Ayoola Omonigbehin, challenged him to “defend the cause of the poor and the rights of the needy, which is church’s foundation.”

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

WORSHIP

64

COLUMN

Living Faith

By Dr. David Oyedepo

Coveting spiritual gifts for profitable living!

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• Some of the women that testifed at the rally

Odukoya: Courageous female politicians will emerge soon

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ORE courageous women would soon emerge in the nation’s political landscape, the senior pastor of Fountain of Life Church, Lagos, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, has declared.

He also predicted that cultural stereotypes that once held them captive will be dismantled, leading to an army of empowered women triggering national development and growth.

Odukoya spoke last Sunday during the quarterly discovery for women rally that attracted thousands with the theme courageous.

He charged the womenfolk to stand boldly

By Sunday Oguntola

in the face of crisis and setbacks.

He said they have the propensity to show exemplary courage and accomplish unimaginable feats going by biblical and contemporary examples.

Recalling the exploits of women such as Rosa Parks of the American Civil Rights Movement and Leymah Gbowee, the Liberian Peace Activist, Odukoya told the participants: “If these women can make a significant difference in their nation, so can you.”

He challenged them to break loose from cultural limitations that have relegated many of them to the background.

Award-winning act, Frank

Edwards lifted the spirit of the women with his hit songs Mma Mma and Oghene Doh. One of the nation’s most celebrated choirs, The Grace Levites, also added colour to the event.

Their performances were followed by captivating personal stories of women who surmounted incredible obstacles to achieve breakthroughs in their careers, businesses and relationships.

The testimonies drew cheers and applauses from the participants.

Many of the women left the hall determined and empowered to explode to international acclaims.

Depend on God, Osinbajo charges Nigerians

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ICE President Prof Yemi Osinbajo has appealed to Nigerians to depend solely on God for breakthrough in life.

He spoke at the special monthly prayer and thanksgiving service for leaders and emerging leaders last Sunday at the Redeemed Christian Church of God Headquarters (RCCG), Throne of Grace Parish, Ebutte-Metta, Lagos.

The service with the theme not by might attracted thousands, including government officials, captains of industry and judges, among others.

Osinbajo stated there is nothing like luck and fortune as everything belongs to God. God, he said, can make the impossible possible when people look up to him without doubt.

Pointing out his emergence as the Vice

By Adeola Ogunlade

President is by the grace of God, Osinbajo said: “I am what am I am today by the grace of God. He elevated me beyond my wildest dream. He can do the same in your life.”

He charged Nigerians to continue to be positive change agents within their immediate communities for the nation to achieve its fullest potential.

RGGC’s general overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, charged Nigeria leaders to be humble and develop listening ears.

He challenged them to serve the people and allow God to direct their path because the wisdom, knowledge, and knowhow of man are limited.

He noted that power belongs to God but God respects the humble.

According to him: “It is God who gives power to the weak, strength to the faint, might to them that have no strength, wisdom to the foolish because he only is unlimited in all

things.”

Adeboye posited further that no matter how powerful one can be, man is limited by sleep, death, sickness and even incurable diseases.

He said only those who dare to depend on God will excel.

He challenged Christians to brace up and harness the countless opportunities that God has in store.

According to Adeboye: “In every sector of our national life, faithful children of God will begin to lead as the sky is not our limit.

“If we fear God and do his commandment, no one will limit our destiny.”

The nation, he said, is in need of God’s intervention in every area.

“At a time like this when people are highly expectant, only the help of God can enable the leadership meet the yearnings of the followers in reaching the goals ahead of us.”

Church blesses media houses, practitioners

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ORD Tabernacle in Osongama Estate, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State has prayed for divine guidance and protection for media organisations and journalists.

The church urged them to be prayerful and fearless in practice.

Its general overseer, Apostle (Dr.) Gabriel Nkenang, spoke during the media day service last week.

The theme of the service was “Harnessing the media for Kingdom projects”.

He explained the service was to lift up media practitioners to God, noting

From Uyoatta Eshiet, Uyo

that their work is very hazardous as many get harmed or killed while reporting happenings in the society.

Apostle Nkenang said the vision to set aside a day in a year to pray for media professionals as directed by God came in 2008 and the church had been doing it consistently since them.

Speaking on the importance of the media, the cleric noted that evangelism would not have strived well without the media.

The Chairman, Media Department of the Church, Evangelist Mrs. Margaret Ekpo noted that the church is about

the only one that celebrates media professionals.

As part of the church’s contribution and encouragement to the growth of the media industry, awards were presented to Pastor (Mrs.) Emah Ekpo, former Zonal Director, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and the General Manager, Pioneer Newspapers, Silas Effiong.

The Akwa Ibom State Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ), Elder Patrick Albert, appreciated the church for setting aside a day to pray for and celebrate the media.

PIRITUAL gifts are real to life and are life-long assets. They are not religious emblems, myths or theory neither can they be compared with natural things because they are not in the same class. That simply means, it is spiritual gifts that make all the difference between one believer and the other, because the gift of a man maketh room for him and bring him before great men (Proverbs 18:16; See also Zachariah 4: 6; 1 Corinthians 12:31).

What are Spiritual Gifts?

They are treasures embedded in the Holy Ghost for our profiting. According to 1 Corinthians 12: 7-10, there are nine gifts of the Spirit which includes: The Power Gifts: They consist of the Gift Faith, Gifts of Healing and Working of Miracles.

Revelation Gifts Include, the Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge and Discerning of spirits.

Inspirational gifts comprises of Prophesies, Diversities of Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues.

Spiritual gifts also include the seven Spirits of God as listed in Isaiah 11: 1:2: The Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of Wisdom, Counsel, Might, understanding, knowledge and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord. Each of these seven Spirit will make a star of any believer.

Today, we shall focus on the Spirit of Might and the Spirit of Faith.

The Spirit of Might: Understand that every exploit places a demand on man’s strength. It is impossible to be a man of exploits without vigour (Daniel 11:32; Joel 2:5).

The spirit of might can further be divided into two: Physical and Emotional Might.

Physical Might: The Spirit of Might is the standard against all forms of weakness, sickness and diseases (Joel 2: 1-11; Isaiah 59:19). Any form of feebleness in your life is out to rob you of your place in destiny, because every child of God is ordained for exploit (Psalm 105: 37).

Emotional Might: The Spirit of Might does not only strengthen our physical body, but also our emotions so that we are driven tirelessly with passion after God. That means it strengthen our soul, because the soul comprises of man’s intellect, will and emotions. The more zealous a man is for God, the more glorious his destiny becomes (1 Corinthians 9:16-17).

The Spirit of Faith: This is the life wire of redemption because everything redemption offers, only answers to faith.

Again, we understand from scriptures that all the heroes listed in Hebrews chapter 11 were men and women who operated by the Spirit of Faith.

Thus, we cannot make the most of our journey in life without faith (Jude 1:3).

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THE SPIRIT OF FAITH? It is a Driving Force: It drives people to fulfill their destinies based on scriptural directives (Mark 1:12).

It operates on a spontaneous frequency: You have to organize the Word of faith, you have to engage the gift of faith but the Spirit of faith engages you (2 Corinthians 4:13; Matthew 10:20).

The Spirit of faith boosts our capacity to believe God and His Word: The Spirit of Faith puts us at rest in the midst of challenges; as such, God steps in (Exodus 14:13-14).

How Do I Access The Spirit Of Faith?

Locate A Carrier: Identify a carrier of that gift you are interested in and go for it (2kings 2:9). y Receive the person: Believe in the carrier of that virtue and you will be a partaker of

what he carries (Matthew 10:41).

Cry out your Heart to get it (2 Kings 2:12).

COVETING SPIRITUAL GIFTS IN HUMAN VESSELS Spiritual gifts in anointed vessels can be released to multitude of individuals at the same time. For instance, we are told of how God took the spirit upon Moses and gave it to 70 elders (Numbers 11:16-17; See also Philippians 1:7; Romans 1:11). That is why the scriptures says all the ministry gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelist and teachers are for the perfecting of the saints (Ephesians 4:11-13). Thus, we can draw virtues from those channels as we locate and covet them.

However, it is not an inheritance to be distributed; it is our responsibility that determines our take because God is not mocked. He won’t let you have more than what you put in.

Furthermore, we must understand that the devil knows that these amazing treasures are passed through human vessels; thus, he tries to devalue them before the beneficiaries so as to rob them of their access to these treasures. But that won’t be your portion.

Friend, these gifts are available in God’s chosen vessels and we can access them.

However, we must understand that it is God, Who takes these gifts from one and places it on another and He does so only to those who are born again.

Are you born again? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord? If you haven’t, you can do so by saying this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner.

Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the Living God. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!”

For further reading, please get my books: Unlimited Power of Faith, Exploits Of Faith, The Law Of Faith, Anointing For Exploits and Understanding The Anointing.

I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 9:40 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. respectively.

I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 7747546-8; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

NEWS

‘Family critical to checking societal problems’ A G E N E R A L Authority of the Africa West Area of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -Day Saints, Elder Edward Dube, has identified family as key to checking malaise in society today.

Speaking with reporters after the Conference of the Church with the theme hastening the work of salvation in Calabar, Dube said if leaders in the country would teach the importance of families, other problems would be taken care of.

He explained: “If we have harmony in the home and families, if the national leaders would teach the

From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

importance of families, other problems would be taken care of because those individuals come from the homes.

“So if we teach well in our families and we chose the right things in the homes, then we would find peace, joy and success because we have strong homes.”

He advised couples to embrace effective communication for family harmony.

According to him:”Communication between husband and wife is very

important. Yes, there would be differences in the home. If they arise, they need to be resolved.

“Never go to bed with an unresolved issue. So that communication is very important. If there are any differences, the best way to deal with that is outside the children. They need to deal with it in private.”

The President of the Calabar-Nigeria Stake of the Church, Dr Victor Bassey, said there was no home without challenges.

He advised that whatever challenge there was should be contained and sorted out at the family level.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015 CHANGE OF NAME CHANGE OF OF NAME NAME CHANGE OYEWOLE I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Oyewole Damilola Esther, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ogunleke Damilola Esther. All former documents remain valid. the general public should please take note.

ELECHI I, formerly known and addressed as MISS ELECHI CHIGOZIE CLARA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. EZUGWU CHIGOZIE CLARA. All former documents remain valid. the general public should please take note.

ADENIRAN

I, formerly known and addressed as Halimat I. Adeniran, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Halimat Adeniran Oyelaye. All former documents remain valid. the general public should please take note.

YISA I,formerly known and addressed as Yisa Shukrat Oriola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Fatai, Shukrat Oriola. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

AJIBOYE I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Ajiboye, Afolashade Aminat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Popoola, Afolashade Aminat. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

TOKUTA-ETETE

NWANKWO

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS AARON DOUTIMIAREYE BLESSING now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. CHRISAKPOTU, DOUTIMIAREYE BLESSING. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Nwankwo, Bridget Uchechi, now wish to be known and addressed as Ubani, Bridget Uchechi. All former documents remain valid. UNILAG and general public should please take note.

ONEYOR

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Oritsejemiyotan Oneyor, Jemiyortan Oneyor and Jemiyotan Oneyor, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oritsejemiyotan Ogunyemi. All former documents remain valid. NYSC, WAEC, NECO and general public should please take note.

ADEEKO

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Adeeko, Abimbola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ayobamidele Abimbola Abiodun.

All former documents remain valid.

Hospital Management Board, Ekiti State and general public should please take note.

ABIOYE

OGBUVIRE

ADESOYE

OGBUVIRE

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Abidemi Etabuno Dinah Ogbevire, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Abidemi Etabuno Uduh. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

ANOLIEFO

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Anoliefo, Joyce Nneka, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ozioko, Joyce Nneka. All former documents remain valid.

MOUAU and general public should take note.

AJANOGHA

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Oghenekevwe Precious Ajanogha, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oghenekevwe Precious AdeOdenike. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

AJAYI

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Ajayi, Ifeoluwa Adenike, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adesanya Ifeoluwa Adenike. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

OLANIYAN

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Kehinde Beatrice Olaniyan, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Kehinde Beatrice Olusoji. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

BAKARE

I,formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Bakare Sola Adijat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Kayode Hassan Sola. All documents bearing the above names remain valid. IBTC Pension and general public should take note.

FALUSI

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Adenike Falusi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adenike Akinola. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

UMEOKOLI

I,formerly known and addressed as MISS CHIDIMMA CYNTHIA UMEOKOLI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. CHIDIMMA CYNTHIA NWAFOR. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

MAMUDU

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Mamudu, Chritabel, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Omoh Christabel. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

OYEYEMI

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Oyeyemi, Abimbola Omowunmi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. DaviesIdowu, Abimbola Omowunmi. All former documents remain valid.

Oduduwa University, NYSC and general public should take note.

OZOR

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS OZOR JULIANA AMAKA now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. CHIME JULIANA AMAKA. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Aderemi Aolat Omolara Adebanjo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Aderemi Aolat Omolara Ojoye. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Abidemi Etabuno Dinah Ogbevire, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Abidemi Etabuno Uduh. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss TAMARATARE EBIERE TOKUTA-ETETE, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. TAMARATARE EBIERE OYEDIRAN. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Abioye, Christiana Toyin, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Orisale, Christianah Toyin. All former documents remain valid. Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Civil Service Commission and general public should take note.

ADEBANJO

65

I,formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Adebimpe Olufunke Olaore Adesoye, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Tella, Adebimpe Olufunke. All former documents remain valid. general public should take note.

IGBOROODOWO

I,formerly known and addressed as Igboroodowo, Moshudi Kayode, now wish to be known and addressed as Igboroodowo, Michael Kayode. All former documents remain valid. RCCG and general public should take note.

AGOMUO

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Francisca Nwanyieze Agomuo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Francisca Nwanyieze Ndubuisi. All former documents remain valid. Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike and general public should take note.

SORONNADI

I,formerly known and addressed as Soronnadi, Chidinma, now wish to be known and addressed as Onwuemene, Chidinma Assumpta.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

POPOOLA

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Popoola, Ayobami Mary, now wish to be known and addressed as Oyewumi, Ayobami Mary. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

ANOLIEFO

I,formerly known and addressed as MISS ANOLIEFO JOYCE NNEKA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OZIOKO JOYCE NNEKA. All former documents remain valid. Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike and general public should take note.

IZIMEZI

I,formerly known and addressed as MR. IZIMEZI ONYEKACHI MONDAY, now wish to be known and addressed as MR. UCHECHUKWU ONYEKACHI ENOCH. All former documents remain valid.

Methodist Theological Institute Umuahia, MCN Uzuakoli Diocese and general public should take note.

NWACHUKWU

I formerly known and addressed as MISS NWACHUKWU LUCY UJUNWA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. ABIANULIA LUCY CHIEMELIE UJUNWA. All former documents remain valid. Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund and the general public should take note.

PETER

I,formerly known and addressed as MISS PETER OGADINMA FAITH, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. UCHENNA OGADINMA FAITH. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public should take note.

SALAKO

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Salako Suwebat Adejoke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Odebode Omolade Abosede Adejoke. All former documents remain valid. University College Hospital, lbadan and general public should please take note.

AARON

ONYESO

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS ONYESO ESTHER AMUCHE now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OHANEBO ESTHER AMUCHE. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

AKPAN

I formerly known and addressed as BOKIME THURSDAY AKPAN. Now wish to be known and addressed as VICTORY THURSDAY AKPAN. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, UBIWE, CHUKWUEMEKA CURTIS and ANINTA CHUKWUEMEKA CURTIS refers to one and the same person. Now wish to be known and addressed as UBIWE, CHUKWUEMEKA CURTIS. All former documents remain valid. General public please note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, IGWE JOSE-WEALTH NDUBUISI, IGWE NWUDE NDUBUISI and IGWE NWUDE NDUBISI refers to one and the same person. Now wish to be known and addressed as IGWE JOSE-WEALTH NDUBUISI. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

OKAFOR

I formerly known and addressed as MISS OKAFOR UZOAMAKA ETHEL, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OLAIYA BOLAJI UZOAMAKA ETHEL. All former documents remain valid.

Ministry of Agriculture, NYSC and general public should please take note.

OGUNDELE

I formerly known and addressed as MISS OGUNDELE ESTHER TEMITOPE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. IFEDAPO ESTHER TEMITOPE. All former documents remain valid. University of Ilorin, Kwara State and general public should please take note.

MAKANJUOLA

I formerly known and addressed as EUNICE FUNMILAYO MAKANJUOLA, now wish to be known and addressed as EUNICE FUNMILAYO OKPAKO. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

AYOMIDE I formerly known and addressed as AMINA ABDULWAHID AYOMIDE, now wish to be known and addressed as AMINA BILEWU MUSA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

YUSUF

I formerly known and addressed as HAJARA ABDULWAHID YUSUF, now wish to be known and addressed as HAJARA SALMAN. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

OKORIE

I formerly known and addressed as NONYE NNENA OKORIE, now wish to be known and addressed as CHINONYEREM NNENNA OKORIE. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

ADODO

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Folashade Omotayo Adodo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Folashade Omotayo Adebiyi (nee Adodo). All other document remain valid. General public take note.

TIJANI

I formerly known and addressed as Christiana Fausat Tijani, now wish to be known and addressed as Christiana Adebisi. All other document remain valid. General public take note.

NWUDO

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

SAMUEL

DOUGLAS

CHANGE OF NAME ALOH

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Samuel Tochi Maryann, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Emesiobi Tochi Maryann. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss DEBORAH UDUAKOBONG DOUGLAS, now wish to be known as Mrs. DEBORAH DOUGLASOLUJIE. All former documents remain valid. RSUST and the general public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Mr. ALOH OGBONNA JUDE MONDAY, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. OMELI SUNDAY AKPOKPO All other document remain valid. General public take note.

ONUIGBO

OBANLA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss KUSHIMO OLAPEJU WURAOLA, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. ADEYEMI OLAOEJU WURAOLA. All other document remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME NAOMI ELIJAH and NAOMI OBIOMA ELIJAH refers to one and the same person now wish to be known as CORDELIA OBIOMA ELIJAH. All former documents remain valid. general public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss LAWAL DEBORAH MOTUNRAYO, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. JOSEPH DEBORAH MOTUNRAYO. All other document remain valid.

General public take note.

URUAKPA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss OJEDELE DORCAS MAYOKUN, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. OLUOKUN DORCAS MAYOKUN. All other document remain valid. General public take note.

LONGJOHN

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ezumah, Chizoba Henrietta, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ekwurumadu, Chizoba Henrietta. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Former DOROTHY EZIAMAKA ONUIGBO(NEE UFIO) now DOROTHY EZIAMAKA AARONONUIGBO(NEE UFIO), former RACHAEL CHINEMEMMA ONUIGBO now RACHAEL CHINEMEMMA GABRIELA AARONONUIGBO, former KELVIN EBUBECHUKWU ONUIGBO now KELVIN OLUEBUBECHUKWU AARONONUIGBO, former KINGSLEY ONYEDIKACHI ONUIGBO now KINGSLEY LEO ONYEDIKACHI AARON-ONUIGBO. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OSOBU

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS OLUWAFUNTO FOLASHADE OSOBU now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OLUWAFUNTO FOLASHADE AYINLA. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

FOLAJIN

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Folajin Olanike Abiola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adejumo Olanike Abiola. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

ADEBAYO

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Adebayo Tawakalit Jumoke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Afolabi Tawakalit Jumoke. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

AINA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Aina Busayo Theresa, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Durotoye Busayo Theresa. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

OKOYA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Okoya Ololade Victoria, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Shomope Ololade Victoria.

All other document bearing OkoyaShomope remain valid. General public take note.

OWOLABI

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Owolabi Olanike Khadijat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ogunlude Olanike Khadijat. All other document remain valid. General public take note.

OLADAPO I formerly known and addressed as Oladapo Agunloye (A.K.A) F.O Adejuyigbe, Gleenwood Dean,Frank Dapo, now wish to be known and addressed as Oladapo Adejuyigbe. All other document remain valid. United state homeland Security Service, United state immigration Service,Austin Bank of Chicago,Nigeria immigration service, and Illinois state secretary of state and general public take note.

SEIDU

I formerly known and addressed as Abiodun Olajuwon Seidu, now wish to be known and addressed as Abiodun Olajuwon Taoreed. All other document remain valid. General public take note.

CHILAKA

I formerly known and addressed as Chilaka Nneoma Nelly, now wish to be known and addressed as Aliri Nneoma Nelly. All other document remain valid. General public take note.

CORRECTION OF DATE OF BIRTH I, ESOMONU THELMA CHINENYENWA, declare that during my WAEC. certificate in June 2008 and JAMB. in 2014 my date of birth was wrongly written as May, 28th 1985 instead of May 28th 1991. Therefore the correct date of my birth is May 28th 1991. All documents bearing the date of birth above remain valid, general public please take note.

MOHAMMED

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Mohammed Adijat Abidemi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adebiyi Adijat Abidemi. All other document remain valid. General public take note.

WILLIAMS

I formerly known and addressed as Williams Edem Williams, now wish to be known and addressed as Abraham Edem Williams. All other document remain valid. Hope Waddel Training Institute, Calabar, APTECH Computer Education, Calabar and general public take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss OBANLA ADEOLA MARY, now wish to be known as Mrs. OYEWUSI ADEOLA MAARY. All former documents remain valid general public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss CHIOMA ESTHER URUAKPA, now wish to be known as Mrs. CHIOMA ESTHER ADIMBITE. All former documents remain valid. general public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Mrs. NIMISOYE ALBERT LONGJOHN, now wish to be known as Mrs. NIMISOYE .H. ADONIJAH BRIGGS. All former documents remain valid, general public please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss QUEEN BARIKUI FRED, now wish to be known as Mrs. QUEENETH BARIKUI JUSTICE BOMS. All former documents remain valid general public please take note.

OWOBU

I formerly known and addressed as Miss EUNICE EITUAJE OWOBU, now wish to be known as Mrs. EUNICE EITUAJE COSMAS. All former documents remain valid general public please take.

LEMON

I formerly known and addressed as Miss LEMON LEDINE, now wish to be known as Mrs. LEDINE BARIDA NEEDOM. All former documents remain valid general public please take note.

AYARA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss AYARA JENNIFER YINKA. now wish to be known as Mrs. OZAVESHE JENNIFER YINKA. All former documents remain valid Nigeria immigration service and the general public please take note.

KELVEN

I formerly known and addressed as Miss KELVEN ANORIOCHI PRECIOUS, now wish to be known as Mrs. NNADI NKEMAKOLAM. All former documents remain valid general public please take note.

DAN-AZU

I formerly known and addressed as Miss DAN-AZU OROMA, now wish to be known as Mrs. OROMA ANTHONY BIIRA. All former documents remain valid general public please take note.

ATANG

I formerly known and addressed as Miss MFON YVETTE JOHNSON ATANG, now wish to be known as Mrs. MFON YVETTE ODAFE EBIRERI. All former documents remain valid general public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME NWABUEZE OBI and NWABUEZE OBI JOHN refers to one and the same person. now wish to be know as NWABUEZE OBI JOHN. All former documents remain valid general pubic please take note.

OSUAGWU

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Virginia Nneoma Osuagwu, now wish to be known and addressed as Miss Okafor, Virginia Matthew. All other document remain valid. Nigeria Police Force, NOUN and general public take note.

CHUKWUMA

ONYEKPOMNWANNE

BADMUS

I formerly known and addressed as Sunday Chikaodi Nwabeke, now wish to be known and addressed as SundayChikaodi Obinna. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I,formerly known and addressed as MISS ONYEKPOMNWANNE FLORA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. ADIGWE ONYEBUCHI FLORA. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME AGWU KELECHI ISAAC and AGWU KELECHI KALU refers to one and the same person but now wish to be known and addressed as AGWU KELECHI KALU. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss BADMUS BILIKISU ABIODUN, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. YUSUF BILIKISU ABIODUN. All other document remain valid. TESCOM Oyo State and general public take note.

LAWAL

OJEDELE

EZUMAH

OLATUNDE

FRED

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Francisca Omenebele Chukwuma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Francisca Omenebele Chukwumah. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS NWUDO IFEYINWA THEODORA now wish to be addressed and known as MRS. ODEZUGO IFEYINWA JANE THEODORA All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

KUSHIMO

NWABEKE

IMAOBONG

I formerly known and addressed as Mbang Gladys Imaobong, now wish to be known and addressed as Mbang Gladys Bassey. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Mrs Olatunde Kehinde Basirat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Idris Kehinde Basirat. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

LAWAL

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Lawal Omolara Olaide, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Idowu Omolara Olaide. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

ABDULRAHEEM I formerly known and addressed as Bilqis Adenike Abdulraheem, now wish to be known and addressed as Bilqis Adenike Obalola. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

ENEBELI I formerly known and addressed as Enebeli Simon Ugboma, now wish to be known and addressed as Bolaji Simon Salau. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

EDAFIOGHOR

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Edafioghor Oghogho Hapiness, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Esebamen Oghogho Hapiness. All former documents remain valid. NYSC, UNIPORT and the general public take note.

ADVERT: Simply produce your marriage certificate or sworn affidavit for a change of name publication, with just N4,500. The payment can be made through FIRST BANK of Nigeria Plc. Account number 2017220392 Account Name - VINTAGE PRESS LIMITED Scan the details of your advert and teller to gbengaodejide @yahoo.com or thenation_advert @yahoo.com.

For enquiry please contact: Gbenga on 08052720421, 08161675390, Emailgbengaodejide@ yahoo.com or our offices nationwide.

Note this! Change of name is now published every Sundays, all materials should reach us two days before publication.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

66

Celebrating Ambode at 52

EBERE WABARA

WORDSWORTH T 08055001948

ewabara@yahoo.com

Oguntunase’s authority

L

AST month’s edition of The Nigeria Political Economist published by a friend of mine, Ken Ugbechie, welcomes us this week with just three blunders: “Majority (A majority) of the applicants who pleaded anonymity said….” “…they are processed into yarn and fabric and reexported back to Africa.”

Yank off ‘back’ in the interest of lexis and structure.

“Before now, I thought loans are (were) procured to finance projects….”

The next entry is THE NATION ON SUNDAY of May 31: “May 29, 2015: Scattered, cautiously optimistic reflections on an (a) historic turning point.” “…at (on) the occasion” “BPP’s antidote against (to) corruption” “Lawan group stages walk out (walkout) in Senate, threatens court action” How did they ‘threaten’ court action? They planned litigation! “…sound health and all round (all-round) favour in every area of your life.” (Full-page congratulatory advertorial by the Bayelsa State Government, DAILY SUN, June 11, Page 4) “Okowa, wife, others defy heavy downpour to atten Kumuyi’s crusade” ‘Downpour’ is impliedly heavy and, as such, does not require any intensification, adumbration, amplification, padding or inflection.

“Tribunal will recover Abia stolen mandate, APGA chieftain assures” Who did the stalwart assure?

“Tourism: Time to get our act right (together) This is a fixed expression.

“May God grant you the fortitude to bear the loss as her soul rests in perfect peace.” (Full-page condolence by Christopher University, Mowe, DAILY SUN, June 11, Page 46) Is there imperfect peace?

‘Peace’ does not need any qualification—except ‘graveyard peace’. So, let the woman’s soul rest in peace. Perfection is for the living. If you live an Ochendo-like life while here, no amount of prayers or wishes can change your hellish destination!

“Police invades (invade) Blatter’s office” “The emerging reality tells a lot of story (stories) about the famed BuhariTinubu rapprochement.”

And informally: lots of (many, preferably)stories (not story) Let us welcome Jimi Disu of Front Page News Analyses, Classic FM, June 9: “If it is a secret ballot….” ‘Balloting’ is essentially a secret affair. This way: if it is a ballot “…there is (are) going to be people….”

The official magazine of the Nigerian Communications Commission, The Communicator, goofed in its January-March 2015 edition: “…but its challenge is with the telecommunication networks that flaunted (flouted) it (sic) regulations.”

“Ayade slams waste collection (waste-collection firms” “European warships rescue 5,900 migrants off Libya (Libyan) coast” “19 companies beat NSE filing deadline amidst (amid) extension” ‘Amidst’ and ‘amongst’ are relics of Elizabethan English!

FEEDBACK “I could not find ‘decampment’ in the dictionaries available to me”.— KOLA DANISA (07068074257). It sounds as if Baba Sala (Alawada), or Gringory is talking in the City Hall! Good grief! “To decamp”, meaning (1) to leave quickly, secretly or without ceremony, to run away or to flee, e.g. The thieves had decamped by the time the police came; or (2) to leave a camp/ camping ground or to break camp”, is a verb. Its corresponding noun is “decampment”, which means (1) the act of decamping and (2) a quick departure.

– WORLD BOOK DICTIONARY (page 536; Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (page 213) and THE NEW INTERNATIONAL WEBTSER’S COMPREHENSIVE DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (page 331).

You cannot find “decampment” in New Method Dictionary by Michael West, which I used in standard one in 1950! Martins Oloja celebrated my birthday last year, and you, Ebere, celebrated my birthday this year. May your days be long (Amen).

(BAYO OGUNTUNASE/ 08056180046) RETIRED Brig.-Gen. Samuel Ogbemudia was quoted as saying on Page 38,

Sunday Vanguard, May 31, that “you will excuse me if I say anything in favour of Buhari because there is ‘espirit de corps’ (team spirit) between us”. The interviewer should note the correct spelling of “espirit” (esprit without the first ‘i’ please). A fact is something known to be true. If not, it is a falsity or untrut. Undisputed in ‘undisputed fact’ in Wordsworth of February 1 is unnecessary. Also, THE NATION, February 1, Page 5, reported that a jet owned by a Nigerian clergy (cleric or clergyman: clergy is plural) was seized in S’ Africa.” Those who sell things in the black market are not ‘black marketers’—they are black marketeers’ (double ‘e’) (KOLA DANISA) Note this mistake in THE NATION ON SUNDAY of June 7, 2015, Barometer Page 2: “He proceeded to muscle (muzzle)…and others inside.” (Contributed by Dr. AYO GBADEYAN, UNILORIN, 08116846128) Media Gaffes & Essays I have received many enquiries about the availability and accessibility of my recently launched book entitled Media Gaffes & Essays (Plus other interventions). It is not snobbishness that I have not responded to most of those short messaging services which have been coming in torrents, but the decision to do a global response via this column. We printed just a few copies for presentation and discovered thereafter that the printer muddled up the package.

It became imperative to reprint the entire book.

Having bungled it the first time, we are now exercising circumspection in order to get it right. Once the book is ready, it would be massively communicated via multimedia platforms to all those desirous of it very soon. I did my best to ensure that the book will be error-free as much as possible (Mr. Oguntuanse prefers ‘as hard as possible’). I apologise for the delay and assure everyone that the final product will be worth your while and very affordable in compensation for your whetted appetite!

I thank you for your patience.

HE first few days of Akinwunmi Ambode as the Governor of Lagos are adding up as eventful as his 52years on planet earth.

Consider these: within only a few hours of his inauguration, Ambode announced well-received appointments, including the choice of the urbane and respected journalist, Tunji Bello as the Secretary to the State Government.

In less than a fortnight of Ambode’s ascension, he has visited scenes of fatal petrol tanker explosions at Iyana Ipaja and Idimu; he has met oil industry stakeholders; he has set up a committee and charged them to work out ways of putting an end to the excesses of fuel tanker drivers; he has met senior editors to honour them and establish the points that he will partner with the media as the Fourth Estate of the Realm.

It’s quite a handful with even more events yet to be mentioned. But to have a complete picture of the unfolding personality of the new governor of Lagos state one needs to look at the journey of his life: Ambode spent close to 30years in the public service in Lagos; he has straddled the local government system, where he reached the apex in the service; he went on to become the Auditor-General of Lagos State; he judiciously handled the finances of the state when the central government under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government seized the federal allocation due to Lagos such that the state did not go under or go abegging to fund its people-oriented projects.

Academically, Ambode received intellectual exposure in some of the world’s best universities including Harvard and Pennsylvania; and when he wanted more action and felt he wasn’t challenged enough to offer his services to society, Ambode left the public service for the private sector where again, he launched into several thriving enterprises.

Now Ambode is back to the public service, this time as the elected governor of Lagos state. What a life!

What is he going to give the people this time around?

Most of us are getting a hint of what this illustrious successor of the great legacies of Alhaji Lateef Jakande, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Mr. Babatunde Fashola is up to, not necessarily from his worthy past or experiences. Our takeaway is from what the man has done in only a fort-

• Ambode

By Habib Aruna

night. As the old saying goes, the morning shows the day.

What you do in the morning charts the course of the day.

What you do with your youth determines what you make of your old age.

The principal characteristic of Ambode’s speech when he was sworn in was to pledge that ideas would form the fulcrum of his reign. Put another way, creativity would be allowed to blossom such that Lagos under him would accommodate the dream of every citizen. If Tinubu laid the foundation of excellence, and Fashola built on it, Ambode would exploit the successes of these two brave men to forge even more formidable exploits based on these invincible resources: creativity, ideas, dreams and the people.

Let’s hear him: “Creativity is the most valuable asset in any public institution. Progressive governments must reward contributors of good ideas. Therefore wherever practicable, we shall practice government by incentives and not by enforcement. We shall implement creative ideas and concepts that reduce the cost of running governments; ideas that make life simpler and happier for our people. I therefore invite you all to join hands with me to offer new ideas that will put resources to cater for the poor and needy amongst us. This will be a compassionate government.”

When you are armed with these – vision, ideas, creativity and human resources – you can’t fail. Ambode’s own life proves this. At a time Obasanjo had conspired to have Lagos as the only opposition state in the South West and he had gone ahead to strip the state naked financially as it were, Ambode called upon his creative professional acu-

men to steer the state through. He did not need oil money to do it. The story of how he performed the magic when nobody expected Lagos under the uncompromising and principled Tinubu to survive will be fully told one day.

But it is heartwarming that the man Tinubu’s government and the whole of Lagos counted on for survival is here again, and one more time at a critical point when oil wealth coming to the states from the central government is at its lowest depth. He isn’t scared at all by the challenges.

On the contrary, Ambode is excited that he has work to do, that his skills of financial prudence are being put at the disposal of his fatherland.

These are his words: “The challenges we face today as a state are good enough ingredients to bring out the best of all of us. Together, we shall push forward and not look back, with our hands firmly on the plough. We would work hard to tackle poverty, ignorance and social decadence in our state.”

As we celebrate Ambode at 52 today, the thinking is that he has not arrived, even if materially he is classed as among the Joneses. He has not arrived in the sense that he wants to be judged more by how he strives to lift the poor from their poverty, how his government initiates and pursues policies to identify the administration as a compassionate one, how his team relates with the man in the street, how state institutions help the people to live their dreams, how a person of little substance but brimful of ideas and creativity would be honoured and rewarded, and in a word, how “everyone must have a voice in my administration.”

The cynic in our skeptical society would want to poohpooh this mission statement of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode as a tall order. But before they do it, I invite them to examine the lives of remarkable men and women. It was their great dreams and dogged pursuit of these dreams that earned them a place in history.

I wish you a Happy Birthday sir, as you seek a place in history!

• Aruna is the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ambode .

•Managing Editor of The Nation, Mr. Waheed Odusile who is running for president of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) exchanging pleasantries with some journalists in Jos during his campaign visit to the state council of NUJ at the weekend.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

FOREIGN

What money should do for a nation He who waters a stone has received his yield in full but he who waters a field may yet receive a bounty.

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AST week’s article asserted that money does not answer everything. In the wrong hands, it is more apt to complicate things than to resolve them. Today’ piece identifies some good money can bring to national development if guided by adroit fiscal policy.

Poverty is the greatest single challenge for Nigeria and Africa. Thus, the intelligent deployment of money to spur growth in the political economy is of keen interest to Nigeria and Africa. Where inordinate poverty exists, pervasive unemployment and idle capacity will also be found. Sage fiscal expenditure is essential to reducing poverty by bringing idle capacity into the productive stream. This is important given current trends in the global economy.

Most African economies depend on the export of natural resources for two essentials that are interrelated yet actually distinct. First, exports are vital to procure foreign currency through which the nation may satisfy its import obligations. Given that our currencies are not considered hard currencies readily traded in the global market, this function is vital and inescapable. The second function is more important but less inevitable. Nations then tend to use the amount of foreign currency received from imports as the basis for determining the amount of its sovereign currency it shall release into the domestic economy. This mechanism is a significant determinant of the activity and employment in an economy so constructed.

Currently, this mechanism augurs poorly for most African nations due to the global decline in commodity prices, particularly of oil. The lower oil prices result from more than a transient downturn in the business cycle.

These lower prices threaten to be long-term or secular in nature. The advance of technology has severely undermined the model upon which Africa’s fragile economies are based.

Shale oil fracking technology has swiftly catapulted America to being an oil and gas producer of such a magnitude that it can now satisfy its own needs. This self sufficiency has reduced the American appetite for Nigerian oil from a flood to less than a trickle. The prosperity and activity we hoped would be spawned by the deep sea wells of the Nigerian coast has now moved to the oil fields of the American heartland.

China and other Asian nations have taken up the some of the slack but they cannot completely cover the hole left by the American shift in consumption. Moreover, China now invests tens of billions of dollars in alternative, renewable energy. At some point in the near future, those investments will begin to bear fruit for that nation just as investment in fracking gave the American economy a fount of newly available, affordable oil that had nothing to do with importing from Nigeria or other nations. When that day comes, the Chinese economy will have added another buttress to its long-term development and diversity. It is will be a fine day for China. For African nations, it will be the opposite. If the two largest economies in the world lose appetite for a nation’s primary exports, the model upon which that nation’s political economy falls under assault by these harsh realities.

The nation is faced with stark choices. Either it holds course in hope that other consumer nations will increase their demand or that nation must adapt to the new reality. To hold course is to rest the fate of the political economy on the graces and goodwill of another sovereign nation with its own interests and objectives. It is a thin and slender reed upon which to anchor a nation’s future. Even if another nation or a group of them increase consumption, the relief to the exporting nation would be a trembling one. Given the pace of technology and the gradual diminution of oil as the lifeblood of the global economy, the exporter cannot assume the new consumer will align with them forever. Just as America rapidly changed its consumption patterns in the brief span of a few years and as China invests in oil-independent technologies, others nations might well follow either the American or Chinese path. That would leave the exporter in the cold.

This tenuous circumstance calls for a restructuring of the exporter political economy.

Such a change cannot be done on the cheap and without government policy leading the way.

Herein, the dilemma lies.

Just as the nation is coldly shaken by harsh economy reality into recognizing it must change, the nation now receives even less money than before to accomplish the great

•G7 Summit: Buhari pictured together with world leaders

change. One setback becomes inescapable. With fewer buyers purchasing reduced amounts of the commodity, the nation earns less foreign currency.

The nation will be forced to modify its imports or place great pressure on the domestic economy to answer its foreign import obligations instead of its own internal challenges and imperatives. This will place a visible burden on the national currency’s exchange rate. This would not be so onerous if the nation had considerable industrial capacity. The lower exchange rate would render its manufactured goods more affordable and thus shift export earnings from raw material to the manufacturing sector.

Over the long-term, this feat must be done. At some point, African nations hoping to establish a strong manufacturing base will likely have to endure some of the pain associated with lower exchange rates. However, it can only capture the benefits thereof through government policy filliping the development of nascent industries.

Without such policies fueling a more benign industrial level, the exchange rate drop will be a nearly absolute economic detriment. The weakening exchange rate is only the most visible effect. The hidden costs levied against the productive economy are even more injurious because these costs combine to both suppress economic activity – increasing unemployment of human labor and productive capital. The hidden costs also inflate prices through an external shock while bringing none of the salutary benefits of a reasonable level of demand-driven inflation.

The new economic reality requires a new industrial policy and a new industrial policy cannot be had without the wholesale rebuilding of the national infrastructure ranging from roads, ports and rail to electricity and potable water. To achieve this, will cost money, more money than the government currently produces based on the mechanism of using export dollars to determine the amount of naira the government issues.

Thus, the government of a natural exportdriven political economy faces an existential choice in this harsh environment. Retaining the mechanism of basing the quantity of local currency on the amount of foreign currency derived from exports is to consign the nation to the lower rungs.

There shall be no escape from national poverty except greater national poverty.

There is no need to retain this anachronism. It is a throwback to a global financial currency regime that no longer exists. Whatever utility this mechanism once had, is long gone while the harm it imposes gets compounded by the day.

To achieve full employment of our human and material capacity, Nigeria must eschew this vestige of a day long past. We must question why Nigeria continues to peg the amount of naira

government issues and spends to the quantity of export dollars earned.

To do so abnegates our national economic sovereignty at a time when freedom of decision is most needed. It is to allow the fuel consumption appetite of the leisure vacationer in California, the London cabbie and warehouse owner in Shanghai to determine the level of economic activity in Nigeria, more so than any Nigerian, even more so than the government itself. Few successful nations have given themselves over to the whims of foreign consumers to such a degree. There is no reason why Nigeria or any other African nation should abandon its destiny in this manner.

How government now distills naira is a function of the gold standard. But that system was abolished forty years ago because it proved untenable under modern conditions. This currency regime had a built-in defect. It tended to brief eruptions of exuberance followed by longer periods of deflation. For example, the growth of money supply for the overall system was not dependent on the level of economic activity. It was dependent on the continuous mining and supply of gold, the rate of growth of which may not have been consonant with the rate of growth of the real economy. This asymmetry was a cause of dysfunction sending many an economy into unnecessary recessions and curtailing growth and employment that might have been. Nigeria now experiences a similar turn with the decrease in dollars caused by declining oil prices.

All this means that, instead of chaining the naira to gold as in the former currency regime, Nigeria ties enchains its currency to the dollar.

Nigeria has “dollarized’ the economy in such a way that economic and monetary policies decisions an preferences made in America hold undue influence over this economy. While not stated as such, by limiting naira issuance to the amount of export dollars earned Nigeria has imposes a dollar standard on its economy. This denigrates the status of the naira to that of an ordinary tradable commodity, thus forfeiting its rare utility as an instrument of sovereign national power.

Enslaving itself to this mechanism means the nation has inadvertently converted exchange rate management into the primary goal of economic policy. This mistake in policy is tragic given the coarse and steep poverty afflicting so many Nigerians. Nigeria’s economic policy imperative should be sustainable growth derived from the full employment of the people and of the national assets. To focus so much on exchange rate management will be to sacrifice the imperative of growth. In sacrificing growth, maintenance of the exchange rate too becomes unavailing.

We must comprehend that the amount of foreign currency earnings is a good indicator for

only one thing: how much the outside world wants a nation’s products and services. The amount of foreign currency earned in no way should be the final arbiter of how much domestic currency is needed to sustain optimal growth.

We must convert ourselves to a different view of what money is. From last week, we now know what it is not. It does not answer all things. We also must not treat it as a finite item, a commodity. Money is nothing but a social construct, a human invention to help us improve our material well being and reshape the world to our betterment. It is an agreed symbol of economic value so that value can be better transferred over space and time to accomplish economic goals that mere barter could not even comprehend. Money is way of attaching economic value to people, goods, services and even ideas.

As such the primary objective of government in exercising the sovereign right to issue currency is to deploy enough money and do so in a manner that allocates a just sum to all productive factors of the economy. As a priority, this includes the vast reduction of poverty and joblessness by allocating funds to people and assets heretofore left idle due to suppressed, inefficient levels of economic activity. Wisely using this sovereign right to allocate value, government can minimize unemployment and begin to construct infrastructure capable of hosting a modern industrial sector that will further tackle joblessness and idle capacity by bringing more people and equipment into productive endeavor.

At some point, the nation will have to full face the bitter medicine of exchange rate adjustment that positions the nation to be export competitive at level of manufacturing. To get to that point, government must spend funds to create an environment with the requisite infrastructure conducive to enhanced industrialization. To be able to make such expenditures, government must ultimately sever the de facto dollar standard now imposed on fiscal policy. If Nigeria does not make this break, the economy will always function at less than capacity. Unemployment and poverty rates will always be too high. The exchange rate will continue to face a permanent downward trajectory characterized by disruptive fits and jolts that reflect the search of other actors for their economic high ground while Nigeria stands as passive backdrop to its own economic reduction.

Nigeria should exchange reliance on the dollar peg with a lever of greater collective purpose and ingenuity. It would help the nation and the legions of poor and jobless people if government fiscal expenditure would be based on a calculation of how much money was needed to lessen joblessness and idle capacity while ensuring that inflation did not climb to unacceptable proportions and the exchange rate did not suffer too steep a decline in too brief a period. In this manner, government can allocate sufficient funds to build the infrastructure required for a non-oil based economy.

Government will thus have the funds to develop a social safety net as well as provide meaningful jobs for many. At the same time, government must assertively implement an industrial policy that expands, modernizes and makes competitive our manufacturing as well as agricultural sectors. As Nigeria deepens economic activity, the resultant growth and enhanced diversity of the nation’s export strength will give the nation better leverage to manage the exchange rate than it now has.

Nigeria must face the fact that its current unemployment and idle capacity hover have sunk to what other nations would regard as those of a depression. What is now considered normal in Nigeria would be bemoaned as a disastrous depression in other nations. History shows that rescue from such a dire state is not found in the private sector. Government must do the heaviest lifting or the lifting will not get done. In assuming this rightful status, government will become the main driver of economic development. This is the path that every nation has taken that has escaped from depression without losing a generation over to the economic calamity. It is up to Nigeria to decide whether it will have the courage to try to break the old chains that will bind it to newer depths of poverty and economy dislocation or will it meagerly seek to live within the current confines and try to manage the increasingly bleak consequences of this supine poise.

The clock is ticking. Nothing can stop it.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2015

NEWS

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Facility managers preach maintenance culture

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ISCUSSANTS at the World Facility Management Day organised by the Nigeria chapter of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) have emphasised the need to promote maintenance culture among Nigerians.

The Nigeria chapter president of IFMA, Richard Okesola, said the theme building resilience for the future was appropriate as facility management has placed so much responsibility on the shoulders of its practitioners.

According to him: “Our primary assignment is to ensure that we bring all other professionals in the right measure and quality together and ensure that our respective services and products are integrated toward the creation of a beautiful, functional, comfortable, safe, secured, healthy and sustainable work place that has the capacity to improve our productivity.�

Former Lagos Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, stated that facility management was essential in the public health sector for quality service.

This, he said, would complement quality care to the patients, access to medicare and efficiency.

He explained that it was because of the importance of facility management that the Lagos State government pioneered the Office of Facility Management and Maintenance in Nigeria.

The primary objective, Dr Idris further said, was to ensure that all public buildings, facilities and installations operate at optimal capacity.

Engr. Olumuyiwa Akinkunmi of Eko Electivity Distribution Company said despite the huge infrastructure and other liabilities inherited by the new companies, a

facility management team dedicated to duty will help to improve processes, technologies and safety practices.

Dare Oyedotun of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company said his company was committed

to equitable power supply to customers by leveraging on partnerships to achieve additional supply outside the national grid, efficient vending platforms, smart metering and transparent billing for energy consumed.

WISCAR to hold speed mentoring programme

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OMEN in Successful career, WISCAR will hold its 2015 Speedmentoring Programme come Saturday, June 20, 2015 from 2.00pm to 5.00pm. The event will be held at the Elion House Hotel, Agbeke Rotinwa Street, Dolphin Extension, Ikoyi Lagos.

Among those expected at the programme include the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, International Commercial Bank, (ICB Bank) Ghana, Subu Giwa-Amu,

Company Secretary and Chief Counsel West Africa, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Fola Akande, Head Human Resources, MTN, Mrs Aminat Oyagbola, and Editor ThisDay Style, Ruth Osime.

The Executive Assistant, WISCAR Mentoring Centre, Mrs Tobiloba Adeyemi said it is going to be an interactive afternoon and will present a unique opportunity to network and meet several women in successful careers (WISCAR Mentors).

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015

SPORTS THE NATION ON SUNDAY

NYSC commends Promasidor over Cowbell Volleyball tournament

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ATIONAL Youth Service Corps, Lagos Secretariat has commended dairy giant, Promasidor Nigeria Limited for consistently sponsoring the Cowbell Chocolate/NYSC Female Volleyball Competition among the youth corps members in the state.

The commendation was given as Platoon 8 won the gold medal in the tournament organised for the 'Batch A' of the corps members deployed to the Lagos Orientation Camp located at the Iyana-Ipaja area of the state.

Mr Cyril Akhanemhe, the State Director of the NYSC, who gave the commendation, described Promasidor as a pace setter that every other responsible corporate entity should emulate in terms of giving back to the society where businesses operate from.

He said the company has consistently created excitement for the Corps Members lodged at the Orientation Camp and that it has continued to make their stay there enjoyable.

Apart from this, Akhanemhe said the tournament has helped to bring the sporting skills of the corps members to the fore.

EXTRA

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JUNE 14, 2015

AFCON QUALIFIER

Super Eagles off to winning start

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IGERIA began their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign began with a 2-0 win over Chad in Kaduna on Saturday.

It was not the most convincing performance from the Super Eagles, who are looking to return to the continental championship after missing this year's finals in Equatorial Guinea, and they even finished the match with 10 men.

Nigeria took some time to find their rhythm and put in an underwhelming performance in the first half of the opening Group G fixture.

The Super Eagles almost claimed the lead just over 10 minutes before the half-time break when Gbolahan Salami was presented with a chance at close range, but the Chad goalkeeper Mbaramadji made a superb save to keep his side on level

•Super Eagles Ola Samuel (M) takes on a Chadian during the first leg of Afcon Qualifier in Kaduna yesterday.

terms.

The home side continued their lackluster play in the second half, but finally broke the deadlock just past the hour mark though Salami. The in-form striker was finally able to find a way past Mbaramadji after some inspired build-up play.

With 12 minutes to play, Nigeria were awarded a penalty when Odian Ighalo was pulled down in the box.

In the wake of the incident, Ogyeni Onazi was guilty of a brainless off-the-ball push and was deservedly red carded.

The 10-man Super Eagles

doubled their advantage when Ighalo converted the spot kick, and they were able to see out the remainder of the game to confirm a winning start to the qualifiers.

The other Group G match sees Egypt host Tanzania in Alexandria on Sunday.

Nigerian player Oniya collapses, dies in Malaysia

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IGERIAN defender David Faramola Oniya collapsed on the pitch and died after playing just a few minutes of a local friendly in Malaysia on Saturday, reports said.

Oniya, 30, went down about three minutes into the game for T-Team and was pronounced dead at hospital around half-an-hour later,

the club`s chief executive told The Star newspaper.

CEO Syahrizan Mohd Zain said Oniya, who was in his first season with secondtier T-Team, had barely touched the ball in the friendly with Super League side Kelantan in Kota Bharu.

"There was no hard running and it was a slow tempo match. It`s only a

friendly game," Syahrizan was quoted as saying.

"The match was called off in the 60th minute when we received a call from the hospital that Oniya had died."

Deaths on the pitch, often from heart failure, are not unheard of and Belgium lost two players in two weeks in late April and May.

The most prominent case was Cameroon midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe, who collapsed and died while playing a Confederations Cup semi-final against Colombia in Lyon in 2003.

Super Falcons: We did not play to instruction

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From Stella Bamawo, Winnipeg

HE Super Falcons of Nigeria in spite of their 2-0 loss to a technically sound Australian team on Friday at the Winnipeg Stadium had insisted that God was still with the team.

One of the Super Falcons players who spoke with NationSports confessed that the team did not play to Coach Edwin Okon's instructions.

“Today was our bad day.

I can't say the God of soccer failed us because we did not do the right thing. Our coach told us that we needed to fight together but we did not,” she said.

The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the match against Sweden, Ngozi Akobi, was, however, of the opinion that the players did not put up the fighting spirit that was synonymous with the team in their opening match against Sweden.

“Only God knows why we were not coordinated, we were so anxious,” she revealed.”

AFCON RESULTS

Nigeria 2 - 0 Chad Tunisia 8 - 1 Djibouti Angola 4 - 0 CAR Uganda 2 - 0 Botswana Zambia 0 - 0 Guinea-Bissau Morocco 1 - 0 Libya

QUOTABLE

SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL. 9, NO. 3246

“So, if he wants to travel round the entire globe in order to solve the issue of Boko Haram, please, just let him do so.”

—Nobel laureate, Prof. Wale Soyinka, admonishing President Muhammadu Buhari to use all means to end the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.

I

T was clear from the beginning that the All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders were deeply suspicious of Senator Bukola Saraki, and were unwilling to have him elected as the Senate President of the 8th Senate. He had been Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governor of Kwara State, a defector among many others, including five sitting governors, to the APC since 2013, and one-term senator. He worked hard for his new party, risked so much, and together with scores of APC leaders and bulwarks, secured sweet victory against the prematurely ageing and considerably conceited PDP. In a party of some 60 senators, 210 Representatives, and 22 governors, he had a following that could not be ignored, and a presence that transcended but unfortunately divided his new party. To many party faithful, leaders and the wider public, it was inconceivable that a few APC leaders, essentially ensconced in the party’s headquarters, could seek to elbow Senator Saraki out of the senate leadership race.

The distrust for him was, however, deep, though constricted. Without saying it, his opponents thought him excessively ambitious, unprincipled, amoral, ruthless, and without filial — whether of party or family — loyalty. Before and during his brief campaign for the senate presidency, he was accused of bringing every vice in his being into the service of that ruthless ambition. He disagreed. He believed he had a right to be ambitious, and in particular to aspire to the leadership of the senate.

He saw nothing deeply offensive about being Machiavellian, for in his estimation, no one approaches the goals of power and office with the squeamish diffidence of a neophyte. As a veteran of many political wars with an eye permanently fixed for the main chance, he intuitively understands the need for strong-arm tactics. But in executing his plans for the senate leadership, he inadvertently but remorselessly justified the fears and suspicion of the party leadership.

The party had conducted a mock election to present consensus candidates for the National Assembly (NASS) leadership, to wit, Senator Ahmed Lawan and Representative Femi Gbajabiamila. That consensus, from which Senator Saraki and his counterpart in the lower chamber, Yakubu Dogara, from Bauchi State dissociated themselves, woefully failed to fly in the face of what many uncritical members of the public regarded as the APC’s distasteful attempt to circumscribe the tenets of democracy. The consensus, they said, was either undemocratic, unrepresentative, or that it dangerously impugned the virtues of fairness and equity. Senator Saraki represented a solid group of PDP defectors in the APC, and that group was in danger of being shortchanged. Worse, they argued, rather than view the party consensus as a real consensus, it was in fact a consensus engineered

by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the party leader accused of being both a control freak and power monger.

Even though he and his group were invited to all APC meetings where the consensus was to be built, Senator Saraki was smart enough to recognise that the party leadership was suspicious of him. He rightly gauged that the leaders had no intention of giving him the ticket. He therefore took his destiny in his own hands and planned his war. He discountenanced his party’s change mantra and deployed all the old tactics the PDP was famous for to build a devastating coalition. He coaxed and cajoled legislators and reporters, and adopted scaremongering tactics. No one could quote him directly on some of the stories that inundated mainstream and social media, but the suggestion came from his bivouac that Asiwaju Tinubu was deliberately and malevolently running rings round President Muhammadu Buhari, after virtually installing many other party leaders and popularly elected officials. No one in the party should have so much power concentrated in his hands, they concluded.

The consequences of these campaigns were that Senator Saraki upped the ante,

Saraki and APC’s seething cauldron played Senators Ali Ndume and Ike Ekweremadu against each other, negotiated his party’s clear victory away by supporting a PDP senator for the position of deputy senate president, and seized upon the APC’s momentary lapse of concentration to engineer an election in which more than 50 senators were away at a botched meeting with the president. There were indications he could still have won had he and his backers, most of them snickering PDP ranking senators, allowed polling to proceed honourably. But citing legalistic reasons, and feigning ignorance of the meeting called by the party with the president, Senator Saraki stole behind his opponents and dealt them a death blow. The style, not to say the motive, rankled against the new philosophy the APC sold to the electorate during electioneering. But Senator Saraki justified his methods as completely legal, and even moral, for his opponents also deployed underhand methods to disenfranchise him.

It is not certain what the APC can do to remedy the problem or assuage the deep public embarrassment and humiliation it faced with Senator Saraki’s election. The party’s leaders have, however, finally reconciled themselves to his victory. But, in a perverse way, given the style, method and the structure of Senator Saraki’s victory, the APC leaders’ opposition to him was comprehensively justified. It is not easy to defy your party, but he did it robustly. In addition, he struck a deal with the opposition PDP, undermined his own party, and vitiated its March and April polls victory. He underscored what APC leaders probably feared most: that Senator Saraki was definitely not sufficiently APC, and could not be trusted to lead the party’s policy and ideological charge in the senate or elsewhere, notwithstanding his contributions. There was no emotional commitment between him and his new party other than as a vehicle for achieving political goals, they insinuated. Though he scorned the idea of returning to the PDP, as some have speculated he might do soon, it is all but clear he remains indistinguishable from his former party. He may not defect; but he is not in love either. As every family knows, there is no marriage as sterile as one in which a spouse is emotionally indifferent.

Senator Saraki is not only capable, as he has shown, of brutally hurting party relationships over what he described as unjustifiable wrong done him, his election and the cohabitation he has consummated with the PDP will inordinately complicate the task of building the APC into a left-of-centre organisation with clear, progressive and enduring philosophy. His style is idiosyncratically PDP. He is, therefore, inured to the PDP’s vices, shenanigans and deplorable style. In any relationship he strikes, Senator Saraki will most probably insist on his own way, no matter the cost. But more humiliatingly for the APC, its failure to enthrone its candidates will considerably weaken it as a party, structurally and morally, and make it

almost redundant. It is so weak now that rather than any of the coalition of victors in the NASS leadership contest defecting to another party, the possibility of seizing control of the party at a later date is even much more likely. To all intents and purposes, the APC is now either asphyxiating or already apoplectic.

The party will have to fight scrupulously and cleverly to reclaim respect and impose discipline. If they push too hard, they could selfdestruct. And if they approach the grave challenges facing them so early in the day lackadaisically, the party could become inconsequential. It is even harder to understand why some notable party leaders were not sensitive to the deeply nuanced politics of the NASS elections. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, probably because of his ambition for 2019, has thrown in his lot unreflectively with Senator Saraki. He is himself not the most principled politician around, given his capriciousness and flighty political dalliances. He has built a reputation for unpredictability to the point that every scintilla of presidential character in him seems irretrievably lost. Surprisingly too, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, whom many, including this column, had touted as a future president, was disappointingly unable to appreciate the nuances and implications of the Saraki revolt, and had indeed even celebrated the comprehensiveness of his party’s humiliation in both legislative chambers, humiliations he regarded as triumphs.

President Buhari may have his misgivings about the role the party attempted to play in the NASS elections, especially in view of his conviction that the legislature should be completely independent. Nor, is it clear how much he is bothered by insinuations of the role and influence Asiwaju Tinubu is alleged to be amassing to himself. But so far, neither the president nor Alhaji Atiku, nor still Mallam Tambuwal, has demonstrated deep understanding of what their party should be, and how it should be run, not to talk of the power and influence it should command. If they understand that without the party, their positions and ambitions could suffer constant reverses, none of them has shown it. Indeed, it is not even clear where analysts got the impression that it is wrong for either the president or the party to show interest in who become NASS leaders. Nor is it clear where they adapted their theory of complete legislative independence.

The president in particular has been misadvised on the legislature, especially the relationship between the presidency and the lawmakers. It is certainly not undemocratic for him to be interested in who lead NASS, or have friends and supporters in both chambers. More, he should be interested in NASS leaders whom he can described as passionate party men and loyalists, those who can help give a concrete feel to his ideas and visions of the country.

President Buhari may be seeking to bur-

nish his suspect democratic credentials by bending over backwards to allow democracy to take root in all the branches of and arms of government. But the country still needs a strong president, one who has definite and visionary ideas of what to do, how to do them, and when. Those who have the president’s ears must nudge him to open up to edifying power groups across the country rather than inadvertently sequester himself in the captive hands of eloquent, sinister and capricious politicians and governors. He should have studied the implication of a Saraki senate before deciding on non-interference. Senator Saraki’s campaign style was so open, so disavowing of everything the APC stands for, and so pregnant with gloomy forebodings that they recommend themselves for the president’s determined, even if subtle, countervailing moves.

His refusal to intervene, not to add his reluctance to inaugurate the 8th NASS, spoke more to his incomplete understanding of democratic precepts than his salutary regard for democratic norms and an independent legislature. Even his statement after the NASS elections neither captured the tragic undertones of those elections nor gave a clue as to just how forceful, prescient and powerful he hoped to be as president.

Senator Saraki’s campaign style and controversial election have given fillip to a weak and struggling PDP. He exhumed them, and gave them life. He also surrounded his campaign with men like Dino Melaye, a politician so enamoured of injustice and undemocratic practices that he poisons everything he touches. The PDP, which should strive to redefine itself, and especially the ideas it hopes to project in the next few years, has instead been given a soft landing and leeway to take a shot at the presidency in 2019. The APC has not really and fully defined itself. The PDP’s unprecedented involvement in the leadership of the NASS will complicate APC’s journey of discovery and definition. What is clear now in NASS is the triumph of a group dedicated to conservative approach to politics, society and economy. Because the NASS elections witnessed dangerous compromises, APC will be compelled to tread softly and slowly, if not emptied of its soul and inner core.

The NASS elections also indicate that the APC has not found the formula to grapple with the inchoate ideas, controversial standards and acute restiveness of the party’s Young Turks, many of whom resent party discipline and control, and don’t get along very well with party leaders. Senator Saraki’s election in particular has left a deep wound in the party that will be difficult to treat. APC leaders must therefore adopt more imaginative consensual and inclusive political tactics to cater to the needs of the many groups in the party. But perhaps the frictions and fractures displayed so early in the day will help the party to moderate its methods and find more ingenious ways of communicating its nuanced march into the future. If this is not done forcefully and soon, the PDP, which has found the APC’s fault lines, will exploit the situation desperately and ruthlessly.

Nigerian democracy lacks depth, direction and quality. The APC was expected to be the tool to recalibrate these standards. In view of what happened last Tuesday, especially how some analysts erroneously thought the results of the NASS leadership elections bode well both for democracy and diffusion of power, Nigeria still has a long way to go. That journey cannot be helped by Senator Saraki’s victory, let alone his style and ambition, which come at the expense of his party. Sadly for the APC, it seems that only a few of its members really appreciate what the country is up against and how it should transcend the self-inflicted problems of a poorly drafted constitution, national redefinition, and national rebirth. The problem is enormous. Given the fractious coalition that gave APC victory in the general elections, not to talk of the anticipated clash of egos in the party, that problem will be with us far longer than we fear.

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Website: www.thenationonlineng.net ISSN: 115-5302 E-mail: sunday@thenationonlineng.net Editor: FESTUS ERIYE